Captain Jokah stepped over the body of the pirate whose throat she'd cut, and did a little skip over to the edge of the stage. "I liked the cut of his jib. Ha! Well, well, well. You must be Captain Bloody Byron Jones of the starship Icarus. At last we meet, face to face."

She jumped down from the stage to the floor, and her boobs jiggled as she straightened. "Or should I say, handsome face to a beautiful face. My, that comm screen does not do you justice, dear. Mmm."

Byron tapped his bracelet to bring up her stats.

ROGUE - LEVEL 12

STR: 6

DEX: 20

NRG: 7

ARMOR: 4

HEALTH: 200/200

She was way more powerful than him. The other pirates were sevens or eights, something to worry about, too.

She took slow steps towards him with her long legs as her high heels clicked on the hardwood floor. "Now there's only one guest missing from this big royal ball, and that's the good doctor, Professor Beautiful. Where is she, sweetheart? Is she playing hide and seek? We've been looking all over the place and can't find white-hide nor white-hair of her."

Byron glanced at Scarlett. She had anger in her eyes but he shook his head, knowing she would get them all killed with a snap decision. "No idea."

Jokah burst out laughing again. "My word, give me a spot o' credit, eh? I'm not a total wanker. No, I already sent somebody round to bring her up from the basement."

He turned around to see Fala being shoved up from the trapdoor by another of Jokah's pirates.

"No, that was just a wee test. And you failed." Jokah pushed out her lower lip in a pout. "Aw, why you gotta lie to me like that, Sweet Cheeks? We could've been right good together."

She leaned over and clapped her hands. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. Da-da-da-daaaa! Professor, do you have my gem?"

Fala shook her head. "I will tell you nothing."

Jokah made a sound like a buzzer. "Ehhhh! Wrong answer! Thought you would have learned your lesson back on the Star Flower. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way, and I love the hard way."

Scarlett raised a hand. "Hey, you didn't tell us there was an easy way. What's the fucking easy way?"

Jokah didn't answer, only swung her sword and lunged it at Fala. The alien professor screamed and jumped back, but the sword caught her robe on its edge. The blade sliced through the garment, causing it to fall open.

Fala hunched over a little in her white bodysuit as Jokah hooked the robe with the edge of her sword and pulled it towards herself.

After digging through the pockets, Jokah laughed and pulled out the wooden box. "Oh, that's so darling! It's like a little treasure chest. So perfect."

She opened the lid and squealed at the glowing gem inside. "Wow, look at that sparkle. Really brings out the color of my eyes, don't you think?"

Scarlett smirked. "If by color, you mean the color 'batshit crazy,' then yeah, it does."

Jokah giggled. "You think I'm crazy? I consider that a complement."

She shook a finger at him. "Byron, seriously, thanks for starting that bar fight so everyone killed each other - well, most of them killed each other, we had to off a few - and getting the gem for us. We were gonna just kill everyone and get the gem ourselves, but then your arm gets tired swinging your sword that much and there's all that blood all over your clothes, and who needs that, am I right?"

Jokah swept her sword at Fala again, who screamed and fell back. Her bodysuit split open and fell away, leaving her naked with a bloody slash along her stomach. Her hands tried to cover her breasts and crotch as she lay on the floor, gasping in pain.

"Leave her alone!" Byron lunged at Jokah.

He froze when he heard the clink of metal and Chetaara and Xana cried out in pain.

The pirates holding swords to them had pressed the blades to their throats.

Byron clenched his teeth but stayed still.

Jokah giggled and pressed her fingers to her lips. "Oh, that's so darling. You're trying to get all manly and protect them, eh. You should be more worried about yourself, love. I got two gems and I'm gonna find out where the next one is, so I really don't need you or your buddies anymore."

She reached out to run a slim finger along his jaw. "But you are one lovely hunk o' man. I can see why you're surrounded by lovely ladies."

She wiggled a finger at the others. "I like your taste in women, by the way. I wish I could add them to my crew, but they turned me down. So I'm gonna kill 'em. But you don't have to die."

She tossed her sword to one of the other pirates with one hand while touching a button on her top with the other. Her bikini top popped open, letting her breasts fall out. He tried not to stare at them, but they were huge and had the same glowing lines around the nipples.

She smirked. "I like having girls around 'cause they're tough as shit and they smell good, but every now and then, I need a little sausage on my pizza. Know what I'm sayin'?"

Byron tried to think. He couldn't make a move without the pirates cutting the throats of the other girls. He had no weapons. He had to keep her talking while he tried to find a way out.

"What do you want?" he growled.

Jokah's jaw dropped open. "Are you gonna play ball? And by play ball, I mean let me play with your balls?"

She came closer as her nipples puckered and hardened. "Of course, I think you're bullshitting me. Gianni, get his wrists."

The pirate woman behind Byron grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. He could feel her tying his wrists with a rope.

He looked down at Jokah's legs and took note of a knife tucked into her right boot.

He raised his eyes back up to her, pretending he hadn't noticed while he made plans.

In her high heels, Jokah was tall enough to look him in the eye as she placed a finger under his chin. "I'd love to see you in my quarters every night, making me happy. But we gotta do a little audition."

She reached down and tugged on the side of her bikini bottom, causing it to fall away as well. "On your knees."

The pirate who tied his hands grabbed him by the top of his head and forced him onto his knees.

Scarlett yelled, "You fucking wanna-be reject from Avatar bitch!"

As she opened her legs, Byron looked up at Jokah's smooth, blue pussy.

Jokah stood over him with her legs wide and a grin on her face. "If you want to join my crew, you'll have to show you can dine at the 'Y.'"

He flexed his wrists. The rope felt tight, but he thought he felt it give slightly.

"Aw hell no," Scarlett snarled. "No means no! Take me instead! Seriously, ask Chetaara, I eat pussy really well."

Chetaara snapped, "Scarlett, now is not the time!"

Byron glanced over at them. "It's all right."

He stuck out his tongue and plunged it into Jokah. She gasped and rolled her head back as he entered her.

With his last girlfriend Cindy, she always demanded he give her oral, even if she wouldn't give him any in return. After Googling a ton of articles about it, Byron had actually gotten pretty good at it. Or at least, Cindy said he was.

He flattened his tongue and ran it up the lips of her pussy, making her moan. He had to admit, it wasn't bad. She tasted sweet. When he reached the top, he quickly swirled his tongue around her swollen clit.

"Oh, so far so good," Jokah gasped. "Very nice. Mmm, that's it."

As he ate her, his wrists continued to strain against the ropes. His arms ached as the rope cut into his skin. Yet he felt something give, loosening the ropes slightly.

"Oh, right there." She twitched against his face. "That's the spot, love."

He looked past Jokah's stomach at the other pirates. They had all their eyes focused on his head buried in their captain's lap, not their prisoners. As he looked at his women, they nodded and tensed.

His arms bulged as he continued to stretch the ropes around them. He felt them give a little more. He hoped his strength stat would pull through this time.

Jokah just kept moaning as he flicked his tongue over her slit, keeping her eyes closed.

The rope snapped.

Byron drew his head back and slammed his forehead into her crotch. As she cried out, he snatched the knife from her boot, sprang to his feet, and held the knife against her throat. His other arm went around her shoulders to hold her still.

"Everybody freeze," he yelled as he swept the room with his gaze.

The pirates with their swords at the throats of his girls flinched, bringing the blades in closer.

Jokah burst out laughing while waving her hands in the air. "Stop, stop! Do what he says."

He twisted her around to face the pirates behind him while he yelled, "Drop the swords! Now!"

The pirates exchanged a glance before letting go of their swords and letting them fall to the ground.

Xana immediately tapped her collar to make her bodysuit melt off and she vanished.

Chetaara snatched up one of the fallen swords, and thrust it into the pirate guarding her. The pirate fell, crying out in pain.

Jokah still laughed while she turned her head and smiled at him over her shoulder. "Bravo, well done. Stupid but well-done."

Byron nodded as he pressed the knife closer to her throat. "Gimme the gem. Nice and slow."

She raised the gem in her hand. "Uh, no, I don't think so."

She popped it into her mouth.

Before he could try to pull it out, her throat bobbed. She opened her mouth wide so he could see it empty.

"Checkmate," she said in a sing-song voice and started laughing.

Byron curled his upper lip to make what he hoped would be a cruel sneer. "We could just cut it out of you."

She winced. "You could. I mean, that's what I'd do, but I don't think you will. You seem like a nice guy. Too nice, to be honest. You wouldn't fit in with my crew after all. Although you do eat pussy really well."

Scarlett grabbed a sword and held it with both hands in front of her. "Come on, boss, let me cut her fucking ass up. This bitch needs to get sliced and diced."

Jokah smirked. "You're barking up the wrong asshole with this one. So what comes next, Sweet Cheeks? A great escape? Hold me hostage? Do share. The suspense is killing me."

He froze for a moment, unsure of his next move. She was right. He didn't want to just kill her in cold blood. He also didn't know how he would get the gem out of her.

"Okay," he said, "we're leaving. And yeah, you're coming with us."

Jokah shook her head. "Nope. Don't think so."

She grabbed the blade of the knife with her hand and twisted it out of Byron's grip. As the knife slipped through her fingers, he expected to see blood gush from her hand. It didn't.

She took the knife and sliced it across her own neck. It didn't even leave a scratch. "Fake knife. Some dumbass always tries to get away and go for a knife. Helps to keep this one in plain view."

Chetaara and Scarlett stood, tense and wary with their swords in hand. They all looked to him, and he didn't know what to do. Even with swords, the pirates outnumbered them.

Jokah tossed the fake knife to the ground, and the pirate who had her sword tossed it back to her. "So here's where we are, kiddies. I've got two gems, and you have none, which means I'm winning this game."

She swung her sword in figure eights in front of her while turning to Byron. "As much as I've enjoyed our little fun and really enjoyed your tongue, we have to get going on that third one. And since decrypting these gems is a bitch, we'll need the professor here to speed things up."

Byron lunged for a sword in a severed hand on the floor. Snatching it up, he pointed it at her and shook his head. "You're not taking her."

Jokah tilted her head to one side. "Oh, that wasn't a request, Sweet Cheeks."

One of the pirates grabbed Fala's arm and pulled her up to her feet.

Byron lunged at her with his sword.

Jokah's sword whipped out to block him. Their swords met with a clang.

She gave him a cold smile like a cobra. "Oo, I like a man who knows how to swing his sword around. It's been a long time since I faced a real challenge."

She swung at Byron's head.

In that split second, it hit him that he had never handled a real sword in his entire life. He panicked that he wouldn't be able to use it, then remembered he'd never handled a gun before in real life. The game strength stats seemed to be able to give him new skills.

Sure enough, his arm moved on its own to block her. Their swords clanged together, locked for a split second.

She winked at him and drew back for another swing.

Chetaara and Scarlett faced off against pirates of their own while Byron and Jokah struck swords again and again.

The one remaining pirate moved to attack Byron when one of the swords on the floor jumped up at her.

Xana made herself visible again, and whipped her sword hard to stop the pirate. He got a brief but enjoyable glimpse of her naked butt before he had to focus on Captain Jokah.

Byron slashed his sword at her throat. She leaned back to let it whistle past her while swinging her own. Before he could block it, her sword pierced his side. His armor took most of the impact but he still felt the blade cutting into his ribs.

His health bar dropped by a fourth.

Jokah laughed. "I draw first blood."

As he stumbled back, gasping in pain, she spun and kicked him in the gut.

He doubled over and she swung her sword to hack at his neck. He managed to bring his sword up in time to stop the blade.

He scrambled up to his feet and swiped at her again. She spun again, dancing away, leaving him to slam his sword into a table. The table fell neatly in half.

"Too slow," she sang as she leaped over the table.

He managed to bring his sword just in time to block hers.

He traded blows with her, slashing and blocking, as their swords clashed again and again. He found himself backing away from her flurry of attacks. He knew the only reason he had even survived at all was because of his strength stat, but he clearly wasn't skilled enough.

All around him, Chetaara, Xana, and Scarlett all locked swords as well. Xana was doing the best, spinning and twisting away from her opponent easily. Scarlett was doing the worst, lying on her back while she swiped at her enemy.

"Fucking shit," she yelled. "This bitch is good!"

Byron knew he had to end this fight quickly. The longer they fought, they more tired they'd become, and the better the chance the more skilled pirates would win.

He called up his shield code and swung his arm in front of Jokah's sword. The sword clashed with the shimmering energy shield, and slid away. As she moved off-balance, he swung his blade up to her arm. He chopped it off just above the elbow.

She gasped and stumbled back. Her free hand grabbed the stump on her shoulder. "Bloody hell! Now I gotta get a new arm. You know how much those fucking things cost? Oh, not gonna play fair, are you? Had to go with the magic spell, eh? Well, I've got a few bloody tricks of my own. Ladies, code fourteen!"

All the pirates dropped their swords and grabbed hold of metal shelves or chairs bolted down, or something else attached to the floor or walls.

Jokah's eyes glowed.

Before he could yell for his women to grab onto something, the room turned upside down.

He felt like the floor had suddenly become the deck of a ship in the middle of a violent storm. He fell over and clung to the wooden floor that swayed and bobbed. Nausea pushed its way up his throat.

Through the spinning room, he could see his women screaming and falling over too.

Jokah called out, "I could kill you while you're under my vertigo code, but you're too much fun. I'll save you for later like the motherfucking snack you are."

The room spun but he managed to focus on Captain Jokah as she stumbled out of the bar. The other pirates followed.

When Jokah and the pirates left, the feeling of vertigo went with them. He lay on the floor, gasping for breath.

MISSION FAILED

"Shit!" Scarlett stumbled to her feet. "She got away again!"

"Indeed." Chetaara poked her foot at Jokah's severed arm. "Yet we have done significant damage. I count this as a victory."

"Baby, I love you, but this is not a victory." Scarlett jabbed a finger at the door. "She's got the second gem."

Fala sighed as she climbed to her feet. "We can still do this. We have two more gems to find."

Byron closed his eyes. "Two down, two to go."