Jacques 'Flash' Carter, Space Pirate

Chapter 1 S.O.S.

Jacques gasped! A nine dimension hypercube had just moved across his vision. "It's not possible," he thought. "There's been no declaration of war."
The hypercube tumbled slowly, orbiting Jacques' head. A low rumble permeated the control space. Jacques spun in his protective embryo and released the surrounding force field, allowing the nutritive fluid to escape. Standing freely in the open, Jacques' body glistened as it dried.
Locking his concentration on the intergalactic data system, Jacques searched for an indication of the hypercube's source. Gradually he felt the Presence flow through him.
"We've been trying to pull you back from your meditations, Jacques."
"What may I do for you?" Jacques ventured?
"That's not much of a 'Hello', considering your debt to the Trinity!"
Jacques snorted,"Debt my blasters be scorched! Given that I had to be reconstituted, replicated and resurrected, what do I owe?"
"More to the point, more than you can pay." The Presence shot back with a painful neural thrust...
Jacques' body shuddered, writhing with agony he managed to image a suitably abject apology.
"That's a little more acceptable," came back a pain soothing emanation.
"The Trinity has need of your miserable talents."
Jacques tenderly extended a thought tendril, "Talents?"
"For larceny, theft, cowardly conduct and clandestine intrusion amongst others," intoned the Presence coldly. Jacques mulled over the backhanded compliment concerning his diverse talents
"Perhaps my reputation has been misrepresented!" Jacques squirmed feeling the ice of the Presence pierce his vanity... “How am I to be of assistance to the Trinity," he queried?
A rose colored image of himself answered his question. The image showed Jacques being honored with full status as a Galactic Corsair and as such, privilege to all the glory and profits that went with the Letters of Patent.
"That's great! But you still haven't shown me how I'm to help you!"
A Sentinel, smoothly emerging from the energy of the Presence, soothingly projected more glorious emanations of Jacques being elevated to official Seminal Status.
"Oh!" Jacques gasped, feeling a warm tingling spreading through his visceral center.
"Still…..?"
"Just say, 'Yes' and everything will be duly revealed," commanded the Sentinel.
Jacques, dazzled by the rewards soon to be his, gave his neural acceptance.
"Ah," the Sentinel sighed with a satisfied grunt as she affixed a neural lock on the agreement.
"Now down to business!"

S.O.S. Page 2

"First, you must contact ShéRa and convince her to abandon Horus. Then, you both are to go to Galaxy M4 and hack into a Big Bang."
"But ShéRa hates my guts," spluttered Jacques!
"So that may be," intoned the Sentinel. "However inform ShéRa that bygones are bygones and everything will be well."
The Sentinel flowed closer to Jacques, permitting him to breath in her subtle perfume. The music of a Tango enveloped them as she took him into her arms.
"Let me guide you she murmured…..." her voice a low sigh which resonated in his mind. Their bodies moved to the erotic rhythm of the Tango. Suddenly; two Guardians swept into the control space, joining in the powerful ritual of the dance. The Sentinel spun out of Jacques' arms, her long silky hair wiping him cruelly across the eyes.
"What is it that you wish?" She thundered, addressing the Guardians with scorn.
The Guardians, ignoring the Sentinel's demand, enveloped Jacques in their arms and pulling the half blinded pirate forward continued to dance to the insistent rhythm of the Tango. The Guardians guided his hands to his face. Drawing his fingers across his eyes Jacques' vision cleared. Where the Sentinel's face had been, framed by the Sentinel's beautiful tresses, a Death's Head gleamed. Jacques breaking loose from the Guardians' grip sank to his knees as a strangled, "What …”gurgled from his throat?
'The Universe has been deactivated," intoned the Death's Head.
"So that's what's happened," Jacques muttered to himself.
"Yes, the Gods were angered when ShéRa resurrected Horus, so they locked the Universe in a nine dimension hypercube. Your task is to find the Universe…," hissed the Death's Head through a lipless mouth and so saying a yellow mist began to flow from beneath the Sentinel's robe.
Jacques felt his Ka being absorbed from his mortal coil by the mist's cold, clammy touch.
"No…;" Jacques moaned.
"Oh but, Yes!" replied the Death's Head. The music of the Tango intensified, sweeping all thought but of escape from Jacques' mind.
The Sentinel glided towards Jacques and enveloping him in her robes pressed the Death's Head close to his face. The fetid smell seeping from the slit which served as a mouth made Jacques gag with nausea.
"Ah, please, I can't …," grunted Jacques, trying not to breath.
"Take this," the Sentinel commanded, snatching the hypercube from the air and thrusting it into Jacques' hands.
The hypercube glowed brightly in his hands and began to emit sparks which spun round Jacques’ body causing it to become transparent. The Guardians raced forward, grabbed Jacques, lifted him, thrust his body over their heads and proceeded to move rapidly in ever greater circles around the control space. The Death’s Head let forth a maniacal laugh. “So be it then”. “If you think you can fend me off so easily you shall be sadly disappointed.”
With that the Sentinel began to spin rapidly. Shafts of light radiated from the Sentinel’s cloak and clashed with the sparks causing them to swell and pulsate. Jacques felt his body heat to the point where he thought that he would explode. His transparent body began to pulsate in unison with the swollen sparks which had become globes of multihued energy. The control space was now filled with the spinning flashing bodies moving ever more rapidly.
“Stop”! ShéRa’s voice broke the vortex of light and energy!
With a crash the Guardians let Jacques’ body hit the floor. The Sentinel was frozen in space yet continued to undulate with malevolent energy.

S.O.S.
Page 3
“Well, nice to see you cousin!” exclaimed Jacques.
“More than I can say.” replied ShéRa.
“To what do I owe the honor of your lovely presence?” asked Jacques.
“I thought that would be obvious.” she said. “Look at you.” “What a mess.”
“Oh, this?” remarked Jacques. “No sweat.” “It seems that my visitors were just having some fun!” he laughed.
“Really, no doubt you would have been able to handle the situation with your usual brilliant moves.” she snorted with derision.
“Perhaps, but now that you’re here we can get to the bottom of all this.” “Why is everyone in such a bad mood?” asked Jacques.
“First let me clean up your pig sty.” With that ShéRa radiated from her shapely body a clear energy which swept through the control space enveloping the frozen Sentinel and two Guardians. The energy field compressed the uninvited guests in an ever decreasing sphere until with a pop the whole unwholesome mix vanished.
“Cool, I like your style.” Jacques grinned.
“Shut up and listen.” snarled ShéRa.
“You don’t have to be rude.” pouted Jacques
“I wouldn’t have to be if you would be able to be serious for once in your life.”
“O.K., I’m serious and listening.” Jacques muttered...
ShéRa began slowly, “I was with Sentä, who’s the fifth king of the IInd dynasty as you probably don’t know.” “Don’t interrupt!”
“I was just rubbing my chin,” grumbled Jacques.
“As I was saying, two other priests, Aasen and Ankef were helping me to prepare Sentä for his long journey through eternity when I caught your cry of panic.”
“I wasn’t panicking.”
“What do you call bleating like a sheep?” ShéRa sneered.
“What do you call dressing like a man so you can play priest with your two Egyptian buddies,” queried Jacques?
“Four thousand years ago women had priestly duties and I was not dressed like a man!”
“More like drag if you ask me!”
“You’re not being asked so shut up!”

Chapter 2
Page 4

PLANET ISHTAR

Jacques stretched languidly looking out at the bright stars laid out before him.
“I wonder what I shall do with ShéRa”, he thought. “Perhaps if I betray her to the Gods I’ll get a better deal from the Sentinel”.
From where Jacques stood the illusion of isolation was perfect. He was supported by a soft force field high up in a needle pointed spire rising from the surface of the planet Ishtar. Ishtar circled the dead star Gorin, which had been extinguished and forgotten in a long past galactic war. Gorin being dead and dark shed no light and the only illumination came from the stars upon which Jacques gazed.
Jacques began to go through a grueling, beautiful dance, part of his daily routine to stay fit. As he entered the first part of the adagio he let his mind dwell on the pleasant fantasy of ShéRa being tortured by some lesser demons.
“All the same it’s better to play it safe,” he mused. “Helping ShéRa could be fun plus profitable and if I’m careful I can pick up some tidbits from all concerned!” “Yes, better to play it safe, betray everybody and you’ll always come out on top.” With that philosophical encouragement from his darker side Jacques launched into the difficult allegro part of his daily routine.
Suddenly the spirit of Ishtar appeared before him gliding sensuously across the surface of the undulating force field. With a soft leap Ishtar leapt forward and extended her arm to Jacques. Jacques looked at the offered hand and fingers attached to the arm and chose the wise course of taking the hand. A sharp tug and they were off in a dance of lust and inquiry. Ishtar’s hot breath softened Jacques’ already troubled mind and he felt her steely body wrap around his with insistent hunger.
“Well fair spirit of all that’s good, to what do I owe this exquisite honor?” purred Jacques nibbling on Ishtar’s pearly ear. “Kindly remove your forked appendage from my hearing instrument and I’ll tell you!” replied the princess.