“There she is.” The freighter Captain said to his first mate/wife “Bring her about 90 degrees and hold aft” then turning to the scanners did a check once more “No signs of the local feds anywhere, go ahead and take her in.”

The freighter maneuver directly alongside the other ship and in under a minute the two ships were mere inches apart “Open the port hatchway and begin transfer, Bob keep an eye on those scanners.” The Smuggler Captain said as he got up from his chair. A few minutes later he exited the port hatchway and entered the other ship, there the other ships Captain, an Orion stood with some of his crew. “Come the cargo’s being transferred, lets go have a drink while they get you loaded eh?” The Orion Captain said slapping a heavy hand on Smuggler Captains back. “I’d rather we just get this over with, lot’s of ships end up floating hulks out here and I don’t intend to be one of em.” He said moving toward one of the containers waiting to be loaded. Before the Orion Captain could so much as protest the man had opened the container, a look of shock then realization spread over his face. “That’s right, we’re ripping you off.” The Orion said as he pulled out a disruptor and shot the smuggler in the back. The smuggler dropped where he stood the sand from the container labeled weapons slipped through his fingers.

The Orions were merciless killing the entire crew, well almost, the women they took as prisoners, over the next few days or even weeks for some of them they would be used to satisfy the crews every desire until they tired of them, afterwards they’d be killed and disposed of like the rest. The Orions stripped the ship clean, taking anything of value before moving off and as a last gesture of contempt or maybe it was just plain meanness they used the ship for target practice. An escape pod caught their attention, sensors revealed a faint life sign on board, once retrieved the life sign turned out to be that of a young boy.

The boy it turned out was the ships cabin boy and was badly burned and disfigured and the Orion Captain decided to put the lad out of his misery, after all he was so badly burned he hardly looked human. Surprisingly the boy made a valiant but feeble attempt at grabbing the disruptor when it was pointed at him, that moment would forever change that boy’s life. The Captain as well as the rest of the Pirates admired the boys spunk and willingness to live, in time he became part of the crew, and eventually Captain, outliving those that had saved him, as well he should for over the years he managed to kill them one at a time, striking from within he’d sought his revenge and it wasn’t until his last victim, the captain himself, that the boys true identity was revealed. For as the Captain looked at the small jar of sand that the boy placed on the table before him seconds before the knife pierced his heart did he finally understand even as the boy whispered the last words he would ever hear into his ear “For my mother and father you son of a bitch”

The boy, now a man stood and looked at the the small jar of sand that sat upon his desk then picking up the hood slid it over his head before slipping out a secret passage way and emerging in another room several doors down, walking out of the room he passed his own quarters, not even his guards were aware he’d slip out and nor would they find out. He’d left strict instructions not to be disturbed, and one thing everyone here knew, especially them, that when Scorpion gave an order he meant every word. Satisfied his disguise was complete he joined the others and filed into one of the classrooms and took a few rows from the back, enough not to be conspicuous but close enough to be among the first ones out after class. Impatiently he waited for the new teacher to arrive, checking the time he knew the guards were bringing Alex to her new class whether she liked it or not. Inwardly he wondered what the first day of class would be like as he along with the rest sat and waited.