Jessica and Jack talked mostly about work things for the short trip to Hagar’s. She had heard of the place but had never been there. It was very expensive. The view of the river gorge and waterfall from the dining room was breathtaking. Their table was right next to the window. Jack really had spent quite a bit of time and effort setting all of this up. Calamity was right on. The wine came and they returned to light conversation.
“… After college, I just felt that my heart was with my family and so I came back to Benara-3,” Jess told him before she realized what had just come out of her mouth. She couldn’t take it back now.
“My whole family was captured by the Jags,” Jack said to her in a low voice meant only for her ears. “We were herded into a cargo container with four other families. By the time that Hank’s ship caught up with the Jags, there were only three of us left alive. I stayed with Hank and we settled here.”
“Oh my God! I can’t even imagine how horrible that must have been,” Jessica gasped.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you strong. I was pretty messed up at first. Uncle Hank helped me to find my inner strength and turn my hatred and rage into a positive force.”
“Well, you sure seem to have done that with StarQuake.”
“Oh yeah, I guess that too,” Jack answered. “Enough about me, tell me about your family.”
The food came as Jessica switched into high gear and began speed-talking about her brothers and sisters. It’s what she did when she was nervous. Jack just kept smiling at her the whole time and nodding as he ate. Jessica’s narrative went speeding through the wonderful qualities of her mother, Alice and then to her father, Ben.
“My Dad is a veteran. He fought in the Battle of the Benaran Nebula. He was a gunner’s mate.”
She stopped. “I am speed-talking. I am boring you to death.”
“Oh No. No, not at all. Please go on. I can’t remember the last good conversation I’ve had with anyone but Uncle Hank. I am enjoying this. Go on… please.
“Well okay, but you have to talk too.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best.”
“I really like Uncle Hank,” Jessica began once more.
“You say that like maybe you didn’t think you would.”
“People did tell me that he was…” Jessica searched for the right word.
“Crazy,” Jack filled in for her with a half a mouth full of steak.
“Well… yeah. They said he believed in the Crystal Dragon.”
“And you don’t?”
“My Father said that the Crystal Dragon was just a myth, a legend. It never really existed. It was just a story that some people told.”
“And so then, I’ll only be asking you this: If the Crystal Dragon didn’t save all of those people that terrible day, then who did?” Jack asked her.
“My Dad says the nebula was so thick that the Union starships couldn’t even see ten meters. He says that their sensors were useless. He says that in that blinded confusion, the Jag ships just started shooting at each other until they all were destroyed.”
Jack looked her right in the eyes. There was fire in his eyes as he told her, “The way I heard it, those Jag ships knew perfectly well where their other ships were and in all probability knew exactly where those Union ships were too. They were closing in slowly for the kill when the Crystal Dragon hit them from behind. The Dragon just plain out-flew them and out gunned them. The Dragon tore them to shreds.”
A long moment passed. Women hear more than the words that are spoken.
“You say that like you were there … like you saw it with your own eyes.”
Jack hesitated. “So I heard,” he said looking down and went back to his steak.
“But the Crystal Dragon was a Pirate ship, wasn’t she?”
Jack put down his fork and thought for a second. “Now that would all be a matter of opinion.”
“Opinion? How could that be an opinion? Story has it that she was declared an outlaw ship by the Union. I would think that should be pretty clear.”
“Yes, opinion,” Jack told her. “So you discover this ‘technology’ on a planet that is well outside of Union space. It cannot possibly be subject to Union laws. There is just no way that the Dragon is an outlaw ship.”
“Then that would be exactly what any Union Court of law would declare.”
“Yes. I expect that it probably would, for all of the good that it would do you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“While you would be standing there empty-handed except maybe for that warrant, with your mouth hung open, your ship and all of its ‘discovered alien technology’ would first be impounded as evidence and brought into space dock. The Feds would boot your boney butt off of your own ship for three to five years, which is how long the court battles would last. It would cost you a fortune in legal fees to get back what was rightfully yours in the first place. In the meantime, they take your ship and move it from place to place to make it all but impossible for you to keep track of. They disassemble it, dissect it, and just plain steal all of your valuable intellectual property and there would be precious nothing you could do to stop them. In the end, you would win back a derelict dysfunctional disassembled and totally unspaceworthy ship.”
“Oh, I see,” Jessica considered. “I guess you are probably right.”
“I know that I’m right. While you would be fighting the battles in court, the Admirals would all be getting rich doling out your valuable alien technology to their corporate cohorts and you would be left with pooka. That’s just how the system works.” Jack picked his fork back up and finished his steak.
“So why do the guys all call you ‘One-Eyed-Jack’?” Jessica changed the subject.
Jack laughed. “Well, there was this card game. I was just a punk kid. I took that game so life-and-death serious. I won it by drawing a One-Eyed-Jack. I was so excited. The guys all had such a good laugh over it that they have called me ‘One-Eyed-Jack’ ever since. I kind of like it.” Conversation turned to lighter topics after that. Jack flew her home after dinner and kissed her goodnight.
Jack and Jessica grew closer every day. He gave her a beautiful crystal necklace that she wore all the time. Things were going so well between them that Jessica quickly forgot how intense their conversation had been that night …
Chapter 3
Jack was asleep when the crystal charm that he wore as a necklace began beeping and flashing red. At first it, was on the fringes of his consciousness but he awoke with a start when he realized what it was – Jags! Uncle Hank burst into his room.