The Legend of the Crystal Dragon by Bill Parker Page B

her.
    “My Dad says the nebula was so thick that the
Union starships couldn’t even see ten meters. He says that their
sensors were useless. He says that in that blinded confusion, the
Jag ships just started shooting at each other until they all were
destroyed.”
    Jack looked her right in the eyes. There was
fire in his eyes as he told her, “The way I heard it, those Jag
ships knew perfectly well where their other ships were and in all
probability knew exactly where those Union ships were too. They
were closing in slowly for the kill when the Crystal Dragon hit
them from behind. The Dragon just plain out-flew them and out
gunned them. The Dragon tore them to shreds.”
    A long moment passed. Women hear more than
the words that are spoken.
    “You say that like you were there … like you
saw it with your own eyes.”
    Jack hesitated. “So I heard,” he said looking
down and went back to his steak.
    “But the Crystal Dragon was a Pirate ship,
wasn’t she?”
    Jack put down his fork and thought for a
second. “Now that would all be a matter of opinion.”
    “Opinion? How could that be an opinion? Story
has it that she was declared an outlaw ship by the Union. I would
think that should be pretty clear.”
    “Yes, opinion,” Jack told her. “So you
discover this ‘technology’ on a planet that is well outside of
Union space. It cannot possibly be subject to Union laws. There is
just no way that the Dragon is an outlaw ship.”
    “Then that would be exactly what any Union
Court of law would declare.”
    “Yes. I expect that it probably would, for
all of the good that it would do you.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “While you would be standing there
empty-handed except maybe for that warrant, with your mouth hung
open, your ship and all of its ‘discovered alien technology’ would
first be impounded as evidence and brought into space dock. The
Feds would boot your boney butt off of your own ship for three to
five years, which is how long the court battles would last. It
would cost you a fortune in legal fees to get back what was
rightfully yours in the first place. In the meantime, they take
your ship and move it from place to place to make it all but
impossible for you to keep track of. They disassemble it, dissect
it, and just plain steal all of your valuable intellectual property
and there would be precious nothing you could do to stop them. In
the end, you would win back a derelict dysfunctional disassembled
and totally unspaceworthy ship.”
    “Oh, I see,” Jessica considered. “I guess you
are probably right.”
    “I know that I’m right. While you would be
fighting the battles in court, the Admirals would all be getting
rich doling out your valuable alien technology to their corporate
cohorts and you would be left with pooka. That’s just how the
system works.” Jack picked his fork back up and finished his
steak.
    “So why do the guys all call you
‘One-Eyed-Jack’?” Jessica changed the subject.
    Jack laughed. “Well, there was this card
game. I was just a punk kid. I took that game so life-and-death
serious. I won it by drawing a One-Eyed-Jack. I was so excited. The
guys all had such a good laugh over it that they have called me
‘One-Eyed-Jack’ ever since. I kind of like it.” Conversation turned
to lighter topics after that. Jack flew her home after dinner and
kissed her goodnight.
     
    Jack and Jessica grew closer every day. He
gave her a beautiful crystal necklace that she wore all the time.
Things were going so well between them that Jessica quickly forgot
how intense their conversation had been that night …

Chapter 3
    Jack was asleep when the crystal charm that
he wore as a necklace began beeping and flashing red. At first it,
was on the fringes of his consciousness but he awoke with a start
when he realized what it was – Jags! Uncle Hank burst into his
room.
    “Jack! Jack!”
    “I’m up!”
~
    Ten thousand kilometers away, Jessica was
awakened by an incessant