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The Good Old Curse

After getting Amhyr's assigned gadgets and acquiring the credits for the Areolian's bounty, the Azure and her crew flew on the galaxy without any known destination. The credits they got was enough for upgrading the ship's aging systems, with many inputs from the ship's technical experts, Let and Capisa.

With so many of the crews in his ship, Dairyu felt different. For so many years, he had been travelling alone, with occasional crews who eventually left him or were dead. This time, though, unlike the previous occasions, he was surrounded by different races of aliens, with one Terran on his ship. The only thing he was proud of was that he had no human crew, as their xenophobic nature would be a danger to his diverse ship.

By this time, though, he knew his ship was being criticized by the humans, due to no human race representing it. Well, I don't care, thought Dairyu. The Federation clearly instructed him and the others to do whatever they wanted to do, so he had a freedom to pick crews at his will, as long as they didn't do anything that would be fatal.

Yet, despite of the danger, there were some tensions between crew. Let argued with Amhyr over an engineering banter that was mostly unknown to the Orient, but it somehow involved the communication system. Luckily Dairyu knew how to stop them from getting into a worse problem that could damage the ship. Then Atho commented on how cramped his ship was, knowing that it was actually designed only three Terran crews, while they had a diverse group of aliens in the ship with different views of the cosmos. By time, though, they managed to make up their differences in the living conditions.

It had been a week since the Alain colony incident. Due to their actions of shutting down the main slave ring, the galaxy was in turmoil because of so many illegal actions being uncovered in many systems and planets, and also the outrage of so many outlaws that depended on the slavery and alien trafficking to thrive. Dairyu and Let had made sure that their crew couldn't be implicated with the destruction of the security vids and their 'leave no witnesses' policy, with meant they killed anyone associated in the inner ring, with no mercy.

It was fortunate that Amhyr and Capisa didn't know about it. He had a hunch that both of them were assigned there to stop Dairyu to do anything rash and out of morale. Yet, despite of his secrets, Atho could made up with it. The insectoid alien then said it in his mind once he probed the Orient's mind.

"I know that's how you do things, Dairyu, but isn't that a little bit too extreme? If Capisa knows he won't believe you anymore," said Atho through his mind.

"Yeah, so do me a favor and don't do that conference call telepathy. You don't want this crew to break up because of that, right?" replied Dairyu inside his mind.

"Your secrets are safe with me, Dairyu, but let me give you an advice. By time, your actions will get to you, and eventually, you will have to choose between your decisions."

"I've heard that so many times, Atho. Believe me, you're not the first to give me that advice."

"Then...it could have fallen to deaf ears."

"Are you playing the words on me? I'm the only one here with ears leaves, you know."

"A fact known to all of us..."

Suddenly Dairyu's ship made a jerk and the rest of the crew grabbed onto something that was sturdy. It was a small jerk, but it caused their ship to lose her trajectory and tumbling into space. Capisa managed to use the thrusters with precise angle to return the ship upright.

"What the hell happened to this ship?!" exclaimed Amhyr. "Was that a space rock?"

"If it is a rock it should bounce on the force field. Capisa, what hit us?"

"There's a force that pushed our ship away. I think it's a sunburst from that star," said Capisa while pointing to the sun at the side of the ship. "Most of the systems are fine, but it deactivated our communication system and weapons."

"How's the shield?"

"Don't worry, Ryu, I can manage it."

Let came out from the room under them. After being freed from slavery, he wanted for some fresh clothes, but he picked some 'tribal' taste that was somewhat impractical due to so many exposed scales with that clothes. Despite of Let saying that it's a casual clothes for his race, it looked too rebellious.

"Let, is there any damage on this ship?"

"Any damage? Ryu, your ship is a heap of junks flying on space and you're saying that there are any damage? There is a damage every goddamn second! Really, bas, you should find a new..."

The ship made another jerk, but this time it wasn't more of an attack, because the alert went on all of the sudden in all places. Dairyu quickly tell Let to man the weapons, but the Scylla said, "I was repairing that!"

"If this goes on, Dairyu, there will be no more us. Our best answer is to surrender."

Just as Atho's voice talked inside Dairyu's head, there was a line of communication coming from the attacker, which caught their transmission.

"This is the captain of the Grofaska. Surrender your goods and we'll let you go unharmed," said a Scylla on the screen. The appearance of the space draconian made them gasped and they quickly turn towards Let, who made a body language of 'freeze it for a sec', in which Dairyu promptly severed the connection and said, "Let, you're their chieftain. Talk to them, will you?"

"Do you know the concept of being a Kaf'rak, Dairyu? He's clearly not one of my konrothes. When he know I'm the missing Kaamoreta Kaf'rak, he'll raise hell on this ship and you'll be destroyed like a piece of Nhfus. Just...take their suggestion, and surrender anything valuable in this ship."

"Like what? This ship is a fucking junk!"

"I don't know, you're the owner of this ship."

Dairyu was deep in thoughts when Capisa opened the comm again. After a while, he said, "We want to give you something valuable, but you do know that this ship is an old broken ship drifting in space, right?"

"So? We don't go by Federation rule. Your ship is clearly commissioned by the Federation, and we live from that. Now surrender anything valuable or we'll shoot your ship."

"You're pushy, aren't you? You want to shoot me? Then how about you tell me about your weapons if you claim your battered ship can even put a dent on my ship?"

After hearing that, the Scylla abruptly closed communication. Then, Amhyr exclaimed, "They are forcing a mid-flight tunnel! They are boarding this ship!"

"Oh, now that's more like it. They are one hell of a jackpot, don't you think?"

"Why your mindset is always the credits, Dairyu?" said Amhyr while pulling his gun.

"Are you trying to make a joke or are you trying to say that this ship is in the best condition there is? Risk your life for your life."

Dairyu quickly pulled his weapons he tucked neatly under the cockpit, but then, he had second thoughts, as he didn't want to risk anything happening in the bridge that could be disastrous. The others knew Dairyu's movement was the right decision, so Amhyr put his gun away and pulled a stick, while Let just ready himself.

When the door opened, just as they predicted, there was a group of the pirates storming the ship, with Atho in front of them seemingly surrendering. Then, as Dairyu had planned, he quickly emerged from the side with Amhyr and dispatched the group, where Dairyu showcased his martial art skills, which baffled his crew when he roundhouse kicked two of the Scyllas at the same time (knowing that they had a sturdy body and well-known as a powerhouse) without any apparent problems.

Then, when one of the Scyllas charged at him, he gathered the air around him and punched the Scylla in the face. It propelled him at least three meters away from Dairyu, where he became out cold.

Ignoring his surprised friends, Dairyu ran towards two unsuspecting Scylla and kicked them hard on their back. He backhanded another one trying to catch him. He could see that his comrades had helped him from behind while he proceeded to the bridge. Given the relative size of the ship, it took him no time at all to get to where the captain was at, which was relatively unguarded.

He found the captain, a green-scaled Scylla who was only sitting there with no apparent actions, which struck Dairyu as suspicious. He told his comrades to stay alert, but the captain turned his seat and said, "There's no need for that, Black Orient. I should've known when I saw you kicking my crew like he's a khon darnos. I surrender."

"So you really don't have any firepower to fight our ship?"

"We are just fugitives from our main planet, and since we couldn't do anything profitable, we became pirates. What a bad choice, that was."

Then Let walked forward and said, "Wait, what happened back in Kvonka?"

"It's better you don't know, bas. We don't want to go back there anymore. You might as well be with the Black Orient if you still value your life."

"Scylla...there's something wrong with your energy system," said Amhyr while trying to disable the command system. "It's draining very fast, but we are not the one doing it. It's eating your life support."

"What? Are you sure it's not siphoning your systems."

"We need to see your cargo, Scylla. Let, Amhyr, stay with him. I'll check their cargo bay."

Dairyu walked towards the back of the ship, where there were still some of the crews still standing. The Orient made it clear for them that he wasn't someone patient by producing a tornado at his palms, which made them stand down. He walked towards where the pirates kept their booties. There were many of them, ranging from genuine wines to artifacts of some sort that could be valuable. Yet, upon walking deeper to the back, he saw how the Scyllas tried to run away from their home planet, where they put many belongings that had significance to the pirate crew, and some Scyllan trinkets. He quickly walked towards the end of the ship.

Meanwhile, Let and Amhyr kept the captain on gunpoint, but the captain said, "Unless that is a laser, draconian, you won't be able to pierce a Scylla's hide."

"Yeah, but this is the only weapon that can make a hole to your hull," said Amhyr.

"You have a good way to be persuasive, almost like the Black Orient." The Captain made a small laugh. "Dairyu Tsukasa...all pirates both feared and adored him for being a rogue bounty hunter known to be thorough in his job. Even if you think you can outwit him, he's not someone you want to mess up. So, it's quite surprising that he got a crew for himself and a Federation ship."

"We admire him and to help him, bas," said Let to the pirate. "Now...will you tell me about Kvonka?"

"Who are you to ask me about that planet? The Kaf'raken are fighting each other, blaming each other for the problems we faced to ourselves. And now there's this Endragas problem. If this goes on...we won't have any place to go home, let alone come clean."

Let hesitated for a moment, before he said, "Bas...I...should be more cautious of the pledge of my konrothes. I never knew the problem is this dire."

"You talk like an important..."

"There is no point hiding anymore. My name...is Renziletis Kaamoreta the third."

Upon hearing that name, the captain gasped and said, "Ormato kwayra (which means 'by the almighty Ormato')" then kneeled in front of him, while saying, "I-I'm sorry, Kaf'rak! We are truly sorry for attacking the Black Orient's ship!"

"Wow...you're really a very respected Scylla, Let," said Amhyr.

"We're his konrothes, draconian. We are his people. The Kaamoreta family is one of the influential Scylla family, until..."

"Yes, I know, my father was killed, but...if you ask me to return, I'm afraid I must decline."

"Do not return yet, Kaf'rak Renziletis! The konrothes under you is so small and so...weak. You don't have anyone to support you. Kvonka will eat you alive!"

"And that is why, I must gather up any experience around this galaxy, and to take back all of my konrothes so we can return and reclaim my rights as a Kaf'rak. But, will you serve under an Endragas?"

"You're such an honest Kaf'rak! Endragas or not, we will gladly serve you as a former fifth Benaro Garrison."

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt this talk, but you all gotta see this. You too, Captain," said Dairyu behind them. They quickly broke off the meeting and walked towards the cargo bay.

While on the way, Amhyr, who was walking with the captain, said, "Let will be a good Chieftain...but you still owe him for attacking our ship..."

"Amhyr...I'm not a pushover!"

"It's alright, Kaf'rak. We will pay the Khlak in full."

"We're here."

They both saw the back of the cargo bay, where there was nothing there except a middle bright box that was making a smoke like it was full of dry ice.

"You mean, a freezer is taking all the life support system?"

"Don't talk too soon, Amhyr," said Dairyu. "This is something intriguing enough. It's like a capsule."

"It looks like a cryogenic capsule, but it's definitely older than those in the prison," said Amhyr. He then noticed that the back of the capsule was jacked to some cables from the ship. He then turned to the captain and said, "An ancient Terran technology from 200 years ago is energy consuming, and you sustains it by putting it to your systems. No wonder your ship is struggling."

"Can you open it, Amhyr?"

"It's not that hard, actually. I can hack into the system and open it, to see who's inside. But, we need to be careful."

"Anyone inside this capsule might be from Terran pre-space civilization, or maybe when we are still on our early stages of space travel," said Dairyu. "But, if we keep operating it, your crew won't survive the flight. You don't even have the necessary power to do an FTL."

"Then, what should we do?"

"Redirect the ship's primary propulsion system to your life support," said Let. "If everything goes right, we might still have two or three hours before the electricity won't be enough to sustain everyone on board."

The Scylla made a nod and turn towards the console. Let then said, "They are not pirates, just some lost Scyllas."

"They could be lying so you can let your guard down."

"They won't be," said Let with a growl. "Even if they are, they have no choice."

"You know, if they are like that, can you even trust them when you tell them your identity like that?"

Let made a smile. "You're not the only one experiencing betrayal, Dairyu."

They all waited for Amhyr and Let to do something with the capsule. During the one hour wait, Dairyu and the rest of the crew acquainted themselves with each other. By time, the Orient could trust them, as they did anything genuinely and not too perfect or dramatized. The Orient would also know if they became different, and made Atho secretly read their minds while Dairyu said that he couldn't talk telepathically with strangers.

By the hour had finished, Let came into the Azure's main room, calling Dairyu to him. He walked with him with the Scylla captain following them. They reached the room where it was held, with Amhyr inside.

"So what can you say about that capsule, Amhyr?" asked Dairyu.

"Well...I must simply say. This capsule has been drifting in space for 200 years by draining the nuclear fusion cells of its previous ship, which is designed to sustain this pre-space freezer. When your crew salvaged this, did you happen to get any radiation when you're inside? Because anything that sustain this..."

He could hear Let cleared his throat, and he realized his mistake. He then said, "Oh, right. You're a Scylla. Anti-rad space dragons. No wonder. I'm more concerned with who is inside, though. I'm gonna open it."

The rest of the group readied their weapons when Amhyr pushed some buttons. A hissing sound came out from the capsule as air was pumped out of it. As Amhyr leaned over, he gasped.

"What is it?" asked Dairyu.

The Western draconian was speechless for a moment. Only when Dairyu touched his shoulder did he return and said, "It's...a woman."

"So what?"

"No, not just a woman. She's a werewolf. Just look at her."

Dairyu leaned in and saw what Amhyr saw. Kept frozen by the cryogenic capsule was a lupine woman, gray in fur, sleeping with no concern whatsoever with the world around her. It looked like an old story Amhyr had read, but there's a twist where she's a werewolf, the member of the canine race.

"So what? We're not living in the world 500 years ago, so why are you so surprised? Even an exile like me see many werewolves around the galaxy."

"No, you don't understand, Dairyu. Terra's prison used the same cryogenic technology to freeze deranged sociopath of all races. Some of them are even more than 200 years since this technology had just been developed. This werewolf girl is no exception."

"Okay, then explain to us why she's drifting in space? If she's a deranged killer she shouldn't be put on a nuclear-powered probe and sent to the great beyond! If any aliens found her she would massacre the hell out of them."

"So why she's in cryogenic stasis in the first place?" said Amhyr. "What if she wakes up? Even if she's just a werewolf, she would be--

Amhyr could feel his body being pulled to the back, and a crimson pistol was put on his temple. He then sighed and said, "Why can't you just believe me for once?"

"Sorry, love, but I'm not a bloody killer," said the werewolf from behind him, still shivering because of the cold. "If I am a killer, I would kill everyone in this room. Oh, don't think you're draconians, you're that strong. I've met some in my journey."

"At least you're right for both of us," said Dairyu calmly. "The rest of the reptilians, though, they're not draconians."

She moved aside and examined the nearby Scylla, who quickly grunted. Dairyu could see she was wearing a period outfit from two centuries ago, as he knew it from a museum he saw once back in Terra. He was partly convinced that this werewolf woman was really asleep for so many years, as she also couldn't even make a difference between a draconian and a Scylla.

"Hmm...three big fingers. That's quite extraterrestrial. Oh...OH! Bloody hell, mate, you're a bloody alien!"

"Okay...she's a pre-space."

"Oh my goddess, a bloody reptilian alien! So there are some of them out there!"

"Calm down, sister, they are getting confused," said Dairyu. "Besides, your fur is freezing. Maybe you need to warm yourself first before..."

She quickly turned towards Dairyu and, suddenly making a serious wolf face, said, "What year is this?"

"It's 2289 Terra Year," said Dairyu short.

The werewolf was silent, then she howled and walked towards the back, making some canine noises, before turning around again and said, "I was frozen in 2020...so, no one's survived. I wish I could turn back time, to talk to them that I'm okay. They..."

"You just need to be accustomed to the future. Those sleeping for two whole centuries tends to be erratic," said Amhyr. "Do you have a name?"

"It's Rosalinda...Van Helsing."

The mention of the name 'Van Helsing' was enough to make the two draconians gasped. Rosalinda was clearly confused when both turned around, whispering something, until they returned to her.

"Rosalinda...you have to get to our ship immediately. Is it true that your name is Van Helsing?"

"Well, even in my time the mention of that family name is always disputable. But I can tell you, I'm a Van Helsing, through and through."

"Okay, then who is the greatest vampire hunter of all?"

"If you're referring to my ancestor, Abraham Van Helsing, you're wrong, mate. He's good, I know, but not as good as my grandfather, Joseph Van Helsing. Cool mate, he is."

"Joseph Van Helsing? Ancestors..."

"Is there something wrong?" She quickly became worried, and said, "Tell me, did my family survive? Is there still any Van Helsings?"

"Your family is still there, Rosalinda, and you should be proud," said Dairyu. "They are now a great family of werewolves, very well known to help werewolves around the world, both in Terra and in space. Who knows, you might meet many werewolves when we go to any Terran Colony and when they know your name, they will revere you as their hero."

"I'm not into hero reception, and call me Rose. Rosalinda is too bloody old-fashioned. And if I'm not mistaken, we're in space, right? Because my senses are running wild. So we're all around moons, so my instincts are running very wild."

"You know," said Dairyu with a smile. "You'll love travelling with us to the brave new world, Rose."