Until he met Jokah, Captain Ra-Lor-Kenn had been enjoying his voyage. The Star Flower normally ferried wealthy tourists on lavish interstellar cruises but this time, the ship had been contracted to carry refugees from the Gesserit Wars to a safe sector. The war ravaged passengers were much less demanding and more appreciative than usual.

Everything changed when First Mate Wes-Kir-Shah looked up from his console. "Sir, we are picking up an incoming contact dropping out of hyperspace. Closing in fast."

Captain Ra-Lor-Kenn set down his cup of coffee to walk across the bridge over to him. He watched on the sensor screen as the glowing symbols moved towards the ship. "What are they?"

The sensor technician shook her head. "Not sure, sir. I cannot get a fix on them. The signal is being jammed."

The captain licked his left eye with his prehensile tongue. "Pirates. Never seen them this close to the edge of the Easher sector before. I wonder how they got past the patrols. Is the escort on it?"

Wes-Kir-Shah nodded. "Aye, sir. Hailing them now."

The captain turned to the viewscreen where a fellow Shuliman looked out from a fighter's cockpit. "Alpha Squadron, are you picking this up?"

The pilot nodded. "Affirmative. We will investigate."

Ra-Lor-Kenn looked back at the display. Half the fighters surrounding the Star Flower peeled off to head for the incoming ships. He relaxed. The Star Flower always traveled with an escort but Alpha Squadron was the best.

The pilot returned. "We've got a visual. It's just one ship. Looks like a mid-level frigate."

The captain exhaled. There were pirate fleets of hundreds of ships that kept him awake at night. One ship wasn't much to worry about.

Wes-Kir-Shah nodded. "Fighters engaged."

The pilot's voice came over the bridge. "We are firing a warning shot. Hopefully, the ship - by the stars!"

The fighters exploded.

Even without the sensors to tell him that, the captain could see the flashes of light from the destroyed ships through the forward windows.

Alarms began to blare as the captain yelled, "Battlestations! All passengers below decks! Comm, send out a distress signal. Engineering, all power to shields. Alpha Squadron, close ranks."

"Aye, captain," the crew said as they rushed to their stations.

Not for the first time, Ra-Lor-Kenn wished his ship had weapons of its own instead of having to rely on escort fighters.

He went to his chair to watch on the viewscreen as the fighters moved in. Magnifying the view allowed him to see the sleek and familiar lines of the enemy ship while the burning engines of Alpha Squadron headed towards them.

The captain turned to his sensor technician. "I need details. Who are we dealing with?"

The sensor technician tapped keys. "It's coming in range. I'm getting a reading. It's--"

She looked up at him. "It's the Black Thorn."

Gasps rose up from the bridge. The captain managed to keep his reaction calm but went cold inside. Everyone knew the Black Thorn, the ship of the most feared pirate in the Galaxy, Wikona Jokah.

"Fighters engaged," said Wes-Kir-Shah, but not as confidently as before.

Captain Rah-Lor-Kenn clenched his hands into fists as if he could will the pirate ship into destruction.

Only a few seconds later, the fighters went up in bursts of light. The Black Thorn continued on an intercept course.

The captain closed his eyes and raised a hand. "Open a channel."

He went to face the camera. "This is the AIS Star Flower to the Black Thorn. This is a transport vessel that is unarmed in accordance with the interstellar protocols of safe passage. We are unarmed. Repeat, we are unarmed. We have four thousand passengers onboard including men, women, and children. We will cooperate with releasing our valuables if you cease fire and board our vessel peacefully."

A woman appeared on his communications screen, one with dark blue skin and a twisted smile that he recognized from a thousand warning videos. "Well, hello, Star Flower. I'm Captain Jokah. Are you happy to see me? I know your fighters were dying to meet me."

She burst into frenzied laughter that sent shivers down his spine.

When she calmed down, she shook her head. "Very nice offer, but we don't really want your money. We're looking for a passenger. Bah-Tee-Fala. You know her, love?"

The captain looked at his first mate who was already scrolling through the ship's passenger list. The first mate nodded.

Rah-Lor-Kenn turned back to Jokah. "Black Thorn, whether she is on board or not, we cannot just hand her over to you. If she is a passenger, she is under our protection."

Jokah winced. "Oo, that's a shame. Tell you what. I'll start tearing your ship apart, piece by piece, while I give you some time to think about it. Okay?"

Before he could answer, she vanished from the screen and the Black Thorn fired a volley of missiles.

"Brace for impact," the first mate yelled.

The ship thundered as missiles blew through the shields and slammed into its hull. Sparks flew from consoles, sending the navigation officer screaming to the floor with burns on his face and hands.

As sirens blared, Wes-Kir-Shah yelled, "Should we prepare to abandon ship?"

Rah-Lor-Kenn yelled over the sirens. "She will use the escape pods for target practice. Prepare a security detail. Sounds like we are going to be boarded. And find this Bah-Tee-Fala!"

To himself, he whispered, "And pray she knows how to stop this."