Captain Keith and the Ice Demons of Pluto

Chapter 10: Two Against the Horde

The alarm blared louder than the mating call of a Saturnian ultra-cat in heat. In mere moments, Captain Keith and C'ia of Mars would be awash in a sea of ice demons, all of them seeking the honor of destroying the most famous Space Explorer of all time.

Captain Keith's brow wrinkled in an incredibly rare sign of confusion. His hyper-naturally keen senses had not detected anything that could have tripped an alarm. None in the galaxy could match his stealth. He'd not been sensed by surveillance technology since he had attempted to sneak out of his crib at nine months old. And he would have gotten away then, too, if his NannyBot had not happened to roll through the room on a computer-glitch-created deviation from her normal hyper-nursery patrol.

"How in the name of B'rk'uvv did they spot us?!?" C'ia hissed.

"I'm replaying the last hour in my Mind-Theater from twelve different angles," said Captain Keith, "and I would swear by all that's Cosmic that they shouldn't have detected us."

C'ia quickly tied her hair in a thick braid and checked her ammunition. "I don't care if there be a million Ice Demons, my chork'lak. You and I will slay them all." She lifted her beautiful face and gave a throaty laugh.

Captain Keith drew her to him with his mighty arms. He looked deep into her eyes and then kissed her full, pouty lips. As her tongue ran playfully across his teeth, Keith suddenly pulled back.

"This reminds me of the time on Sirius 3, my love. When you, Professor Nargus and I repelled the Twillian invasion. We left a pile of dead Twills a mile high. Do you remember?"

C'ia smiled. "Of course, I do, my splendid Captain."

Deadly photons flew from Captain Keith's gun and blasted a hole through C'ia's midsection. Blood trickled from the corner of her beautiful mouth and her eyes widened with shock. Her jaw worked, but she could form no words.

Captain Keith slid his ZX9 Laser Gun back into his holster. "I don't know who you are, monster. But whoever sent you was unaware of the Martian diamond C'ia of Mars has embedded in her tongue. A good rule of espionage is that you should never kiss someone if you don't know what they kiss like."

As the shape-shifter slid to the ground and breathed its last, Captain Keith turned grimly to the horizon and prepared himself for the hordes of ice demons who would soon be charging toward him, blood in their eyes. "Let them come," he thought. "My will is steel and I am ready."


Illustration by Katarzyna Zalecka

Captain Keith and the Mega-Parasites of Io

Chapter 7: Showdown in Jupiter’s Shadow

Captain Keith gritted his teeth and called upon all of his steely reserve not to show any outward sign of pain as the Mega-Parasite’s tendrils coiled cruelly around his spine.

The creature smiled, its jagged teeth forming a mountain range of horrible evil in its mouth. A voice that could extinguish a supernova emanated from inside the thing. “You should know, Captain Keith, in these your last moments, that, after your spirit leaves this corporeal form, I will use your body to infiltrate Space Explorer Headquarters and rain death upon those pitiful humans you call friends.”

The tendrils worked their way between Captain Keith’s vertebrae and the flagitious fiend began to inject its malignant venom directly into the hero’s spinal cord. Calling upon his encyclopedic knowledge of every horror the solar system had to offer, Captain Keith determined that he had approximately ninety-seven seconds before the toxin reached his brain and ended his valiant existence. That meant he had not a nano-second to lose.

As the nerves in his back exploded in a paroxysm of pain, Captain Keith willed his arms to take action. His puissant hands grasped for the tentacle with which the Mega-Parasite held Captain Keith in a vice-like grip. The same mighty sinews that had once crushed the skull of a Plutovian ultra-bear now pried the Mega-Parasite’s muculent limb from around his throat.

The beast redoubled its efforts and his voice roared in Captain Keith’s ears. “Why do you struggle, Terran? Your doom is writ!”

Captain Keith used the hand not vying with the tentacle to reach for his trusty ZX9 Laser Gun. The holster was only inches away from Captain Keith’s fingers, but it took every bit of his Herculean strength to bridge the tiny distance, as the Mega-Parasite fought him with all its brawn.

Captain Keith could feel the creature’s toxins working their way toward his brain. He knew that the moment of truth was upon him. If he failed to reach his gun, his life and the lives of every Space Explorer in the galaxy was forfeit. The searing pain in his back must be overcome.

The creature hissed in Captain Keith’s ear, “The first victim of my wrath will be your beloved Cia of Mars. Oh, how I will enjoy her sweet, sweet agonies.”

“I guess you didn’t realize, creature,” Captain Keith said coolly, “my wrath is bigger than yours.” And with that, his finger closed on the contact and sent a beam of deadly red light through the creature’s brain. The brute’s grip went slack and Captain Keith shoved the thing away. As the vacuum of space carried the creature from him, Captain Keith adjusted the setting on his ZX9 Laser gun. He took aim and sent another blast toward the Mega-Parasite, this one blasting the thing’s body into atoms.

The pain in Captain Keith’s back subsided somewhat. He began focusing his mind, controlling his body on an almost microscopic level and willing the toxins to leave his system.

He knew that the other Mega-Parasites might still be headed for Space Explorer Headquarters. His job, then, was far from over. The agony in his spine would have to put circumvented if he was to be sure that his Space Explorer brethren and the beautiful Cia of Mars were safe.

Image by Redspotgames

Captain Keith and the Space Scorpions of Nebulong V

Chapter 1

As Captain Keith stared out the window at the surface of Planet Nebulong V, he focused on his breathing.  Years ago, as a cadet, he’d mastered the ancient Tibetan art of Sh’ow Wei, or “Mindful Breathing,” a respiratory technique that gave a man power over his emotions at a time when they might otherwise overwhelm him.  He had quickly become so adept at this method of self-control that his instructor had turned the reigns of the class over to him. 

A great many men, faced with the prospect of setting foot on a bizarre alien world such as this would feel panic rise in their throat; feel sweat dotting their brow; feel a tiny trickle of urine leaking into their space suit.  Captain Keith was as far superior to those men as an Andromedan Stallion was to the Taint Beetle of Arcturus IX.

With his emotions fully in check, Keith was free to focus on the task at hand: an inventory of the supplies he’d be bringing for this initial exploration of the world’s surface.  In his head, he went through each of the necessary pieces of equipment.

Space suit and helmet, both checked for potential leaks.  The Rebreathifier 2000, without which a Space Explorer would quickly find himself without the necessary oxygen to survive in hostile climates. Fully charged ZX9 Laser Gun, the weapon that kept every star-faring daredevil safe from enemy aliens. Captain Keith was so proficient with a laser that he could shoot the wings off of a Martian Fruit Fly from a mile away and not disturb the delicious Lk’thok Berry the fly was resting on.  Rocket Pack, extremely useful when a speedy retreat was required.  Captain Keith had worn a Rocket Pack on every mission he’d every flown, but he’d never once used it to retreat.

Inventory complete, Captain Keith stepped into the airlock.  Touching a contact on his wrist, he closed the doors behind him and sealed himself off from this ship, seconds away from being the first human being to set foot on this fantastic new orb.

Briefly, his mind flashed back to his last mission, during which he’d encountered the Lava Men of Fremulon IV.  He’d been challenged by their leader Gorpfap to singular combat, a battle that he’d won handily.  He’d so impressed the Lava Men that they’d begged him to stay and be their new chief.  Gorpfap’s daughter, Princess Klipfap was a luminous beauty, with long, flowing hair of fiery red; full, pouting lips; breasts like a Jovian Ultramelon; taut, sinewy thighs and legs that could thaw a Plutonian Ice Lizard in January.  She’d thrown herself at him, as so many women had before her--and he had to admit, he’d been tempted for a nanosecond--but, in the end, his sense of duty kept him on the right path.

He wondered, would Nebulong V hold any of that same danger?  Would it prove to be another amazing adventure?  Or would it be a routine data-gathering trip of the sort he seemed destined to never know.

Captain Keith chuckled dryly to himself.  “Only one way to find out,” he said as he punched in the access code and felt the dust-filled Nebulong V wind blowing the dust of the planet into the airlock.  “Banzai.”