The Pioneer Spirit.
I was escorted through the ship and along the way I was informed that I was to meet their leader. They called him "Captain" and suggested that I do so as well if I knew what was good for me. When I looked him over there was nothing about the man that indicated that he had authority over anyone. I could see why he was not a member of the raiding party that had captured us. He was not in good physical condition and was probably about a hundred pounds over weight. The way that he waddled about his cabin I concluded that if he and Jobu were to race up the steps of the shrine, Jobu would win.
They knew little about me other than one of the crew that stunned and captured me told the Captain that I was wearing the robes of a monk. From their raids on other villages on Angkor they knew that the monks were healers and community leaders. As the Captain spoke I knew what he was after even though he did not come out and say it right away. He knew his crew was sick and given the look of some of the corpses that we passed on the way to the Captain's quarters, there were not many of them left alive and those that were still alive did not have long to live. The plague was in its final stages and I think he knew it.
I listened to him ramble as he brought up the subject of his dead crewmembers and the black festering sores on those still alive. His voice started to tremble and it was obvious that even though he did not leave the ship during the raid the virus was brought onboard and it had spread through out the crew. I did not have to wait long to find out what he was after and what the price would be for non-compliance. I had the choice of curing the crew or being tossed out the nearest airlock.
I knew that I could physically take the Captain out easy enough if I wished to make a move on him but my worry was the man behind me with the stun rifle. I looked over my shoulder to see how far away he was and as I looked at his face I could see that he was perspiring terribly and that his eyes were half shut. He was wavering slightly and I could see that just like the Captain he did not have much time left. I had a feeling that they could toss me out an airlock a bit faster than the plague could take their lives so I knew I had to do something.
Without the healing beam of the shrine there was nothing that I could do to save the lives of my captors. Refusing to help them would leave me just as dead as if I explained that I could not or would not help them. I allowed the Captain to think that I was paying attention to him even though I did not answer. As he spoke I looked over my left and then my right shoulder to get a count of the number of people in the room with me. I could see only two and as I started to formulate a plan the man behind me with the rifle poked me in the back and demanded that I answer the Captain.
I honestly did not hear the question so I stammered for a few seconds to get them both focused on me as they waited for my reply. Once I knew that they were focused on my face and lips I used the wardrobe device to digitize and remove my magnetic restraints. Faster than they could see what had happened I was standing naked before them with my wrists and ankles free from their shackles.
The man with the rifle was the closest to me so before either of my captors realized that I was free I took a step to my left and twisted to my right. My hands closed the barrel of the stun rifle and as I secured my grip on the weapon I pulled hard. One thing that they stressed in weapons training at the academy was not to keep your finger on the trigger until you were ready to fire. The fool behind me must have forgot about that or was absent that day. As I pulled the weapon forward his finger pulled the trigger. The rifle discharged and struck the Captain in the chest as planned.
The discharge of the weapon startled him, and probably the sight of his Captain crashing to the deck unconscious did not help either, but since his concentration was broken I once again pulled on the weapon and twisted. I suppose I moved faster than he thought was possible and it was quite easy to twist the weapon from his grip before he realized what had happened. With the weapon free I took a hold of it with both hands then lunged forward, striking him in the throat with the rifle butt. On impact he clutched his throat as he sunk to his knees, and once he was no longer a threat I turned the business end of the rifle on him and fired.
I was armed but the altercation in the Captain's cabin was bound to draw some unwanted attention. In the few seconds that I had to think about the possibilities I used my wardrobe device to don my battle suit. To accessorize my outfit I added my bow, quiver, and katana. I knew that the suit would easily absorb the blasts from their stun rifles so I would be safe from their weapons while I made my way to the flight deck.
The flight deck was just down the hall from the Captain's cabin, and as I entered the flight deck I found two crewmen on duty. They looked about as ill as the Captain and even though they were close to death, I helped death along. When they heard the door open they both stood and turned towards me. They were not fast enough to avoid the arrows that I had launched in their direction. Both were struck in the chest as they turned to face me and as they dropped to the floor they had a few seconds to try and pull the arrows free. Even though one managed to pull the shaft from between his ribs, he expired a minute or so later in a pool of his own blood.