Author's Note: This is my latest addition (#19) to my short story compilation. It's a tale of our time-traveler hero going into the future while on vacation and his unexpected encounter with a pirate named Hook (no, not that one) and a smuggling ring of fine jewels.
Pirate ship bow with Jolly Roger flag flying in stormy open sea near rocky coastline. Adobe Stock
Introduction- -
The scene: Sitting on the front porch of his home where we first met Mr. Curtis. He’s thinking about what cocktail he wants while he wanders back in his memory to those excursions he took helping the Admiral.
He’s also contemplating taking some well deserved time off in the form of an actual vacation. He hasn’t had one in a long time; work and service to one’s planet had always come first. Times like these had his memory take him back to when he’d visit various hotels around the world and on other planets. It was a hobby of his.
Another time traveler colleague had once told him of a rumor about a very majestic hotel in another solar system, a myriad of light years away. In Mr. Curtis’ mind this was too good of a mystery to pass up.
So, after gathering much of the background on this mysterious place, Curtis embarked on a trek in time far more interesting and terrifying than he imagined. He would never have thought that he would encounter a world so beautiful and corrupt as this one. The Underworld of 20th Century’s ‘40’s would pale in comparison.
However, off he went, determined and curious like his inner child exploring his vast backyard of the 1950’s.
Now his story and vacation begins . . .
Upon arrival in the 30th Century, time traveler Curtis aimed to seek out a “grand hotel”- like Majestic Hotel and its glorious lobby (a sort of hobby). The Majestic, dear readers, was a fashionable hotel of the mid-Twentieth Century in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mr. Curtis vowed to return there one day, possibly even retire.
This hotel was said to be in the capital city on a distant planet in the Cerebellus System. Hotel Syntalla is said to be some 300 years old but was modeled after several hotels in Europe dating back light years to 20th Century Earth. The planet, Volex 2, has as its capitol city, Sentoppe, in their Sabol Province.
Upon arrival in Sentoppe, Curtis wasted no time locating the hotel. It was absolutely breathtaking; no photo could do it justice. Once inside Curtis took a few minutes taking in the massive lobby. Though it was huge, its layout was luxurious and comfortable. The various layouts or sections if you will were actually quite cozy and served well many conversations taking place.
As he made himself comfortable in one of the oversized Olde English leather easy chairs, another gentleman made his way over to where Mr. Curtis was seated and promptly greeted Curtis as he sat down, “Good day to you, sir. Beautiful lobby, eh?"
Curtis smiled and simply replied, “Yes, it is.”
The two men started talking after introducing themselves and gradually got around to saying what each did for a living. Curtis, wanting to keep a rather low profile, simply said he was a "mostly retired" government services worker and that he was on vacation. He'd heard this hotel had a fabulous lobby and, as was his hobby, he wanted to spend some time checking it out.
The other gentleman, named Felix Von Glazer, indicated he was a developer of resort areas and held interests in various mining operations of rare gems. He proudly pointed out that most of his resort areas are designed into and around beautiful natural landscapes; after a brief pause of reflection he boasted with a big grin, "they are absolutely breathtaking!"
Mr. Glazer further pointed out that the planet itself is 80% water with the remaining land composed of rich greenery, sculpted sea cliffs and mesmerizing rock formations. He asked Curtis if he had been here before and when Curtis said he had not, Glazer suggested he take a tour of the planet and enjoy all the incredible sights available to him. While he was appreciative of the information, Curtis remarked he didn't know how he'd get around the entire planet to go sightseeing.
Glazer immediately invited Curtis to join him on his yacht which treks all over the planet. He said they could leave anytime at Mr. Curtis' convenience. They agreed that Glazer would pick up Curtis the next morning at the hotel.
The next morning, bright and early, the two left for Mr. Glazer's local resort property and adjoining marina. While en route, Glazer told Curtis about his yacht and crew. Obviously proud of both, Glazer boasted about the yacht's refinements and advanced technology, about which Curtis thought to himself it would have to be extremely advanced if it were cruising the planet's oceans as if that feat was no big deal.
During their morning excursion to his marina, Glazer gave Curtis a bit of a rundown on his crew's background. The captain of this magnificent yacht, the “Sojourn," is a Scottish fellow named Gregory Kirk. He’s partnered by a Vulcan First Officer, T’Vula. Interestingly, both the captain and T'Vula are descendants of men who were part of some long-ago intergalactic federation of planets, now no longer in existence but “reorganized “ to better deal with the times of our 30th Century (Star date 2939).
The closer they got to the resort and marina, Curtis's jaw dropped when he saw the yacht. The "Sojourn" was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It sort of resembled a smaller version of an ocean-going cruise ship of the 21st Century but meant for private, chartered parties.
The Sojourn yacht with a retractable helipad and drone launch station. Adobe Stock
Getting around on land is by helicopter but not your great-great-great grandfather's helicopter, Glazer pointed out. When on land it's capable of operating like an ATV. When Curtis saw it, he remarked it reminded him of something out of an Ian Fleming novel featuring a British secret agent.
"Let's go onboard, shall we Mr. Curtis."
"Incredible!," mumbled Curtis. "I take it that the Sojourn is one-of-a-kind?," he asked. Glazer responded proudly, "Yes, sir. She's quite unique."
Before they could further their tour, the captain and first officer presented themselves and Glazer introduced them to Mr. Curtis. "These are the two gentlemen I was telling you about, Mr. Curtis," as Glazer pointed them out.
Just at that moment, another person approached the three men, and Mr. Glazer immediately made the introduction.
"Mr. Curtis, I'd like to introduce you to our ship's chief medical officer onboard, the lovely Australian, Juliette McCoy Williamson."
Curtis immediately picked up on the name, "McCoy." "Are you also a descendant of the long ago doctor who was a part of that federation I've read about?"
"Yes, sir, just like my colleagues Kirk and T'Vula," she said. "But, Mr. Curtis, that was a very long time ago. I know about my heritage only by having read my family's history books and looking at the photos," said Ms. Williamson.
“OK, now, since Mr. Curtis is not familiar with our planet or this vessel, let’s give him a scenic tour of where we are and what the Sojourn can do,” prompted Mr. Glazer.
As the captain completed mapping the ship’s initial trek and they were on their way, Mr. Curtis remarked how smooth and quiet the ship’s maneuvering was.
“That’s because of our hydro-neutronium drive,” stated Mr. Glazer. He continued, “The Sojourn does not run on traditional engines; but, rather a combination of pulsating waves timed to propel the ship four feet per second, as it stands now. As we progress, our speed will pick up to approximately 40,000 feet per second, our usual cruising speed,” explained Glazer.
“When the need arises, the Sojourn can hit up to 120,000 fps, an equivalent of Level 3 Transwarp Speed. That comes in handy when chasing bad guys,” stated Glazer.
“Yes, I would think so,” muttered Curtis.
“So, as we continue down the Cozul Straits, we’ll eventually come upon . . .” The onboard intercom interrupts with “Captain, communications is reporting what appears to be an auto-transmitted distress signal, originating approximately 400 parsects to the northeast.”
“Navigator, adjust course accordingly. Communications, try to get a response from the originator of that message to learn the nature of their problem,” orders the captain.
“Do you get many distress calls out here, Captain?,” asks Curtis.
“Oh, it varies,” responded Kirk. “But here in the Strait, we get more than our fair share,” he says.
Incoming message over the intercom: “Captain, communications reports no response from stress call originator.”
“Very well,” Kirk responds, “keep trying.”
“Navigator, stay the course to projected bearing at Warp 8,” Kirk orders.
“Think it’s a legit stress call?,” inquires Curtis.
“Don’t know yet,” replies the Captain. “But we have to check it out, regardless,” he says.
Curtis thinking to himself, “Boy, what a start to my vacation! Nothing boring about this.”
Communications barking over intercom: “Captain, we have arrived at stress call site. Nothing here. Just a lot of open water.”
The captain orders an all stop. Radar, sonar and hydrosphere report nothing.
“Hmmm, I don’t like this,” Kirk reflects, and orders navigation to come about to a new heading.
Just then a voice comes into the ship but not over the intercom: “Sojourn, please stay where you are and come to complete stop. We have you surrounded and any attempt to move away will result in your bridge officers being shot one by one.”
A quick check on radar showed a small flotilla of six naval vessels with a lead ship suddenly appearing as if de-cloaking.
The Jolly Roger pirate ship emerges from a vivid, psychedelic storm. Adobe Stock
Meanwhile, Curtis and Bruno, still being undetected, located the stolen artifacts underground; Curtis was astounded - Neutronium, hyperdrives, rare gems from Octavious 4, prostitutes and stolen historical records from generations ago.
Pirate's treasure chest overflowing with shiny coins, jewels, and other valuable trinkets. Adobe Stock
At that point Bruno contacted his ship on a closed, secure channel to get new coordinates for transporting this immense supply of artifacts. Curtis then reset his cane for wide disbursement of the beam to transport them back to the Jolly Roger.
Upon beaming safely back onboard but before the new cargo could be inspected, a sudden change had occurred on the water around the two ships: the pirates’ defensive flotilla had reappeared. The Sojourn was again surrounded.
As soon as Curtis and Bruno and the loot were onboard, the Jolly Roger wasted no time in getting underway. In a matter of seconds, she was gone, disappearing as if instantaneously cloaking and going who knows where. The pirates had obviously no intent on returning Mr. Curtis or dealing any further with the Sojourn.
Seeing this, the Sojourn immediately activated their defensive mechanisms and fired upon all the surrounding pirate ships. She blasted away with Neutronium torpedoes (ten times more powerful than the old photon torpedoes used generations ago) in a 360 degree firing, obliterating all.
The captain ordered sensors to track the Jolly Roger and proceed at Trans-Warp Mach 3, closing in as fast as possible. Top priority now was to retrieve Mr. Curtis, leaving the Jolly Roger alone to be dealt with.
Upon quickly reviewing the re-acquired loot, the captain of the Roger, as it was known among pirates, ordered Bruno to accompany Mr. Curtis back to his holding cell but without his cane. As Curtis was rather forcibly being escorted, the captain expressed his gratitude for helping to retrieve the goods and for that he was extending Mr. Curtis' stay with them. He also mentioned that he would keep the cane under wraps for safe keeping, seeing as how Curtis wouldn't really need help walking inside the rather small environment of his cell. Once he said that, Bruno quickly took the cane away and handed it to the captain. Now, Curtis was basically trapped without the cane and couldn't get back to the Sojourn.
While back in his cell, Mr. Curtis began slowly putting the pieces together as to what had transpired to that point. He surmised that this "loot gathering" was more serious than just running into some interstellar pirates and being kidnapped. For this operation to be actively spread over the galaxy, it needed a powerful, resourceful person who could orchestrate it without much suspicion. In that case, Curtis could think of only one man: Glazer must be the mastermind behind all this.
Glazer knew the gems would most likely lose value when sold on the black market - even if sold, he’d still make a fortune with the buyer being unaware (no way to tell the “real” ones are fake due to the proprietary formula he invented). That’s been part of his fortune making: selling these “rare” gems to various black market cells on planets throughout his galaxy.
How would Curtis prove any of this? That’s where his cane comes in handy; it has a setting that detects true gem composition - those taken from a planet’s special soil in contrast to those made in a lab. Even with Glazer’s formula, the cane’s setting would register as abnormal or unknown, a clear indication the gem is not real.
Glazer knew at this point he had to intervene somehow. How could he stop this chase over the seas or at least slow it down? After all, he felt he had to take possession and control of the artifacts; he trusted no one other than himself. So, once they were within transfer range of the Roger, he ordered the captain of the Sojourn to open fire on them with just enough power to weaken their shields, allowing the Sojourn to fire directly into the Roger's engineering section to disable her engines.
Having done that very expeditiously, Sojourn then got a lock on both the array of artifacts and Mr. Curtis' cell and teleported both back to the Sojourn. At this point, both ships were stopped but Sojourn's shields were still up, and quite impenetrable. Glazer knew that in order for him not to be suspected of being the mastermind, he had to destroy the Jolly Roger and Hook. However, he was not aware that Curtis' cane could detect fake gems and he was about to blow up the Roger when Curtis reminded him that he needed his cane back from Hook.
Surprisingly, Glazer thought nothing suspicious about this and promptly ordered the captain to lock in on the cane and as soon as it was beamed back over to Mr. Curtis, Glazer ordered Kirk to immediately open fire on the Roger and obliterate her. Now, in the far reaches of the ocean, the Sojourn was the only ship left floating.
Glazer, calmly but quickly, excused himself and headed down to the vault where the artifacts were being stored and secured. Nobody was the wiser except for Curtis and his suspicions. Only his cane could detect whether or not the gems were real or fake. Yet it didn't matter to Glazer as he would route them throughout the black markets in his galaxy anyway.
**************************
To this end, Curtis couldn't really do anything about Glazer's larceny besides reporting it to the interplanetary authorities several light years back in time and on another planet far from the current jurisdiction.
Whether or not the Authority would or could act would be something only they or an inter-tribunal judge would have to decide. With this in mind, Curtis decided to thank and say farewell to the Sojourn officers and set his cane back in time to when he began his vacation.
Once back there, he thought that, finally, he would actually take a vacation, but this time to a place he knew and felt comfortable. That could only be one place; so he set his cane to these coordinates: Galaxy-Milky Way, Planet-Earth, Nation-USA, State-Louisiana, City-Lake Charles, Year-1963, Location-Lobby-Majestic Hotel.
A photo of the front porch of the Majestic Hotel in Lake Charles, La.
Then, poof, he was gone!