Across the Galaxy: A Pirate's Path to Glory

The Red Captain’s legendary treasure

“I’m happy that the bounty hunter won’t bother us for a while, however… What made you think searching for the Red Captain’s treasure was a good idea? You know that she buried it so no one would know, taking her secret to the grave.” Tristen crossed his arms and seemed sceptical. He was not happy with the outcome at all. We were gathered in our regular meeting place at the ship, making sure no one would record us in any way. Zayn gave me soothing looks while Valerie did not hide her boredom and Sylas seemed a bit annoyed as well. Just looking at them made me feel more and more guilty. 

“I panicked… I read a random article about it not long ago and it just slipped out of me. I’m sorry…” 

“It’s just… I-” He sighed and shook his head before placing an arm on my shoulder. 

“You did what you had to. We have nothing better to do anyway so we might as well try. It’s just now I have to see my mother again after 5 years.” His face grimaced and placed his hand on his forehead, rubbing it. 

“I’ll figure something out. Legends are not always true. She might have told her right-hand man or… Maybe even her sister before she passed.” He smiled but his eyes didn’t seem hopeful. I gave a simple nod and curled myself into a ball. Not only was my phone lost but I also got the crew into a weird situation. Even if we tried to run away, the bounty hunter would begin chasing us again. I didn’t even know what kind of pill she made my skin absorb. When I told Sylas about it he suspected it was something related to Igawa. So something magical. I didn’t dare to take off the bracelet either to check how it works, maybe accidentally calling her. Sylas didn’t want to meddle in it either. 

Tristen sort of ended the meeting by leaving. Sylas returned to the cockpit to check on a few things he said. Valerie disappeared without saying a word. I couldn’t help but sigh which is when Zayn placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.  

“Don’t feel too bad Dahlia. No one said pirate life is easy. You gave us a fun little project, we would have just wasted time on this planet, drinking and passing out.” I gave him a half-smile then nodded slowly. 

“I guess…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” His voice was filled with genuine emotion. I could feel the tears slowly building. I looked away and moved slightly away. I gave a nod, hoping he won’t notice I’m getting teary-eyed already. 

“It’s not your fault Dahlia.” I bit my lip and shook my head. 

“Please… You’re gonna make me cry again.” I looked at him. blinking away the tears and forced a smile. He looked straight into my eyes. It all felt so intimate. Intimacy I was not used to. Not the kind of romantic intimacy I saw in movies between two lovers either. I couldn’t maintain eye contact with him. Which is when he pulled me into a hug. 

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault Dahlia. I’m here.” Burying my face into his chest again I let the tears fall and hugged him back tightly. I still tried keeping in my sobs but it was difficult. Each time I heard the doors closing or opening I felt myself tensing up but Zayn said it’s okay every time. Feeling a bit suffocated I pulled away from the hug and wiped the tears as well as the snot off my face, noticing the wet stains on his s**t. 

“Oh sorry…” 

“No need to apologize. I can just wash it.” He smiled and slowly stood up. 

“I’ll bring you some water. Need anything else?” I shook my head and with that, he left. 

A few hours later we gathered again, everyone had more time to cool down and we began discussing plans. What to do next and such. Sylas presented some information he had managed to gather from Peclite’s data which wasn’t much. It was more like gossip, what-ifs. Humans weren’t interested in legends since it’s only stories that can’t be proven it’s true anymore.

“The reports say that the pirate problem has been a problem for centuries. But when Red and Blue captain is said to exist, that’s when the economy kind of dipped for most of the empires around since the pirates kept taking treasures with so much violence. There are links to the legends. The so-called Red captain was a pirate but Blue wasn’t. She was with the empire trying to stop her sister. She was the only one who managed. But after these two, popularity grew within both the navy and piracy. Also the year Sadotune created their first pirate movies.” Sylas read then sighed. Tristen gave a nod then stood up. 

“We know they existed. My family is related to them. It’s just there is a chance my family didn’t keep anything from the time. My family has always been against anything that has nothing to do with tradition. But family heirlooms are a treasure. Sylas, search up about Blue captain.” Sylas clicked on the link which popped up a picture of the Blue captain. She was wearing a long dark blue coat, her hair was light, tied up in a high ponytail and she had four eyes. Similar to Kirsh’s. 

“It’s said after her sister’s death she was rewarded with a lot of riches and she retired from the sailing life. It’s said she moved back home, married a priest and settled down. Since then no one has mentioned her and her fame slowly faded.” 

“Huh… I guess she was grieving her sister’s death… She didn’t share a lot about the stories either. And that was probably lost in our family.” Tristen nodded then clapped his hands together. 

“Alright, we gotta get ready.” 

That night we left Paradise Planet and began our travel to Tristen’s home planet Yoter. It would take a few weeks to get there but we weren’t really in any rush. I kept staring at my new bracelet from the bounty hunter. It’s funny… I never even got the chance to learn her name. 

Tristen was having story time more often during the ride, he kept telling stories about Krish which made him less intimidating. But it still didn’t change the fact that he tried to kill me. He even showed pictures when they were younger, helping out at the farm or during traditional celebrations. 

“Funny thing… Our mother wasn’t the usual traditionalist. She was the one often telling us about the legend of the “pirate” sisters. Our dad always told us it was silly, that our place is here, at home. As it has been for generations. He was a firm believer of the dragons, if we leave then unfortunate things would happen. It’s what kept me from leaving but…” 

He paused, shaking his head and smiled as if he tried to hide his guilt. 

“He passed away in an accident. Ironically by a dragon. Lighting struck him.” He looked down and sighed then kept going. 

“Mother was extremely upset of course. She said that no matter how much one does the right thing or avoids punishments. Sometimes one is at the right place but at the wrong time. Few months after that I left. I’m unsure what mother thinks of me now but we’ll soon find out.” The rest of us nodded and no one commented on the story he told. 

“How about a story about the legendary pirates? From the reports they say that Blue captain wasn’t a pirate yet you keep calling them the pirate sister. Is there another version you heard or what?” Valerie asked and it made Tristen seem a lot more relaxed. 

“I’m not sure which is the truth but I’ll tell you what my mom usually told us. The two sisters were on the same side once. They were pirates but not the usual type. They didn’t steal for themselves but the more unfortunate ones. However… The older one became more greedy. Some say it was out of nowhere, that she was under some kind of spell that made her turn evil. They separated. The younger sister, the blue captain, kept trying to find her sister, hoping she could turn her to the good side again. The chase went on for years. Most pirates looked up to the red captain, how she managed to find so many treasures and be so ruthless. While the blue captain was viewed as a hero, the only one who could stop the red captain. The story ends tragically… Just when the two sisters finally found each other, without all the conflict. The red captain died in front of her younger sister.” Tristen shrugged and sighed. 

“I guess people don’t want to admit that a hero could be a pirate so they made her part of the empire instead. Funny.” Valerie chuckled and Tristen nodded. 

“My mother usually told the stories much better than me. You guys could ask her.” He changed the subject and laughed slightly before rubbing the back of his neck. He then stood up and excused himself. 

The stories made me think. Especially what Valerie said. Those people couldn’t accept the fact that Blue captain was a hero yet a pirate so they changed history and made her part of the empire instead. It was kind of funny to think about it. How would history see us? 

I was inside my room, fidgeting with the bracelet. I usually didn’t wear bracelets and it was beginning to annoy me, unable to keep my fingers off it. Suddenly I heard a sound of it turning it on. 

“Hello sweetheart, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.” The bounty hunter’s voice was heard from the bracelet. I flinched and cleared my throat. 

“Uh, hi.”

“What’s the occasion? Did you already find it?” Her voice was filled with excitement when it came to the treasure. 

“No. Not yet. I just accidentally called you honestly.” At first, she didn’t say anything before she burst out in laughter. I bit my lip, feeling how warm my cheeks became.

“You’re so cute. Then tell me, any news?” Her voice relaxed and she didn’t seem annoyed with me either. 

“Well, we researched a bit about the legend. We are on our way towards a clue so yeah.” I made sure I didn’t tell her our location, still feeling a bit wary around her. She made hummed in approvement. 

“Alright, then what are you up to sweetheart?” 

“Oh, um. Nothing much. I was planning on going to bed soon after I watched something.” 

“I was hoping I could hear some cool adventure but I guess being a pirate isn’t always an adventure.” Her tone was playful, hiding her boredom. 

“What are you up to then?” 

“Hmm, paperwork mostly. Gotta arrange so no bounty hunters bother you. I’m sticking my neck out to you.” I could hear footsteps and paper shuffling in the background. 

“It was nice to hear your voice, but I have to go now. I hope I get to hear from you soon, darling.” Then she hung up. I sighed in relief. It wasn’t too unpleasant. But being around her made me incedibly nervous.