"So, what's the newest report from Fube?"

"Shutma's crew was caught".

"The Hubassukk Pirates? Who would've thought..?"

A scarred hand of the Young Captain moved a green crystal on the board laid on the table. The piece opposed a blue crystal of Jedha Mahut – his second-mate and, currently in this Daluman mind-game, his adversary.

"Actually, he was on a visit to Esnan – his home planet," Jedha moved his blue crystal, absorbing the captain's green one and unlocking his way through. "Coincidentally, Planet Esnan got attacked by the Divine Emperor right on that day and was colonized. Shutma and his brethren couldn't make it out".

"You mean he was caught by the Reptiloids? Heh, small fries... He should've escaped".

"That's not all. The fleet of the Divine Emperor was opposed by the Galaxy Navy on their way back".

"Eh? That doesn't happen so often! A whole fleet battle?"

"More than that – the Emperor himself was on one of the Green Snake ships".

"What?!" the green crystal Arubah was holding fell off his hand.

"I understand why you're so surprised – the Divine Emperor rarely leaves his palace back in Retti. But that's not all – they have a relatively new soldier in the Galaxy Navy, whom they call a 'secret weapon'. There are rumours that he was able to injure the Divine Emperor so that now he's bed-ridden. It was so dire that he was hastily teleported back to the Raden Universe in his palace".

"Teleported? They used such an expensive means?! Damn, Jedha, that's some news! Are you sure it's a trustful source?"

"I'm positive. A survivor of Shutma's crew contacted us. He witnessed it all himself".

"How come the Divine Emperor could be injured? Mom said he is quite powerful and unless I master the ancient Herminese techniques I cannot beat him. Even Sinbad is wary of directly opposing that snake..."

"I was shocked too, so I investigated further. These are some suspicious rumours, but they claim that the guy is actually a Daluma".

"What?!"

"Exactly, that was my reaction too. There are even further surprises that I find too hard to believe. That is why I've decided to report all of it to you".

"There's more? What surprises? Spit it out, quick!" Arubah slammed his fists on the table.

"Rumours claim that the guy... uses Black crystals".

The Pirate Emperor gave no word. He fell back into his armchair, frozen in his jaw-dropped pose. Jedha retained his calm composure – it seemed that he had already passed the wave of shock and astonishment the captain was currently undergoing. Right now, he had grown concerned, since he had already fully realised that such a powerful entity operating in the Galaxy Navy might cause them immense problems in future. Finally, Young Captain let out a heavy sigh and grimly adjusted his slouch hat:

"I shall talk with mom about that – she might know more. Meanwhile, report the information to Bax and Zehu too, and tell the crew we're entering Raden".

"Why Raden? Hadn't you already planned to go to the Tengendah Universe?"

"That was just for fun, but it seems, I'll have to postpone holidays for the time being... According to your report, the Emperor's immobilized. This is a perfect opportunity to penetrate through the Raden Universe and set some Crimson Ardour to that placid space".

Seeing the too-familiar bloodthirsty grin sparkle through the captain's lips, Jedha too, smiled as his blood boiled with excitement. He nodded and left the cabin. Arubah, on his part, unlocked a door behind a wardrobe and headed to his parents' room through a hidden passage.

When all of the head members of the crew had been informed of the news, Arubah assembled a summit in order to discuss their further plans. It seemed that he had taken this new information rather seriously since he had never seen his mother be so petrified about anything before.

"Children," Maluma began when all the headmen – Captain, Baxus, Jedha, Zehu, and Roderigo – had gathered, "the new reports we've just received are not a matter to laugh at. It might be even more serious than you presently think. Black crystal power has never been detected on our asteroid before. It was simply a fairy-tale that such power could be obtained. If those rumours are true, then we are going to face the most terrifying of all powers – the Black Matter".

"Does that thing even exist? I've only heard people from the Mordhor Universe prattle about that stuff," Baxus sneered, blowing some smoke right out of his nose. It seemed that the Bakhal lava blood had begun to boil within him.

"I've never actually seen that power either, Bax, but, I did fear... My father claimed to have unlocked it. He even kept a whole book about how to obtain that power and put it to use," Maluma trembled upon remembering her father's mad years when he would lock himself up in his room to work on the gruesome Mind-Book he'd later name The Black Core and hide the manuscript in his shelves, which had been lost after Planet Hermin met its doom. "I didn't know whether to think what he wrote was real or he had just been tricking us as he often used to. Father's tricks were so hard to decipher that one would actually think they were real. In the end, nobody knew when he spoke the pure truth and when he lied. Father was a complete enigma to us".

"So we can assume that the power exists. If there are so many rumours about it, then it must contain at least a bean of truth".

"It's said 'a grain of truth,' Aru".

"I'm a Daluma too, papá. 'Bean' sounds better".

Roderigo palmed his face with annoyance. Maluma, however, wasn't in such a joking mood:

"Take this more seriously! If what defeated the Divine Emperor is truly the Black Matter, then the Intergalactic Government getting their hands on it is the worst possible outcome. We should not hand that power to the Galaxy Navy. It is the very negation of life. It is an extremely dangerous weapon!"

"If it is a threat to us, I'll blow it up".

They all glanced at Baxus, whose hands had begun to cover with stone skin as small sparks of explosions formed in his palms.

"That is why I love you, Bax! You always have a solution at hand. You're right – all we need is to eliminate the threat. If the Black Matter is the negation of life, then a perfect opposition to it would be my Crimson Ardour, wouldn't it, now?" Arubah cracked his finger-joints.

As fiery as ever... He's totally like you, dad... Maluma smiled, remembering her hot-headed father who would always venture in the most troublesome adventures just to undergo new thrilling experiences. It was indeed suitable for such a vivacious man to possess the red crystal powers – the rarest existent colour for the Daluman energy. Aru's right – the Crimson Ardour might just be the power to defeat the Black Matter.

The Galaxy Pirates changed their course and headed directly towards the Raden Universe, in order to cause havoc there yet again, under the fierce and hot-blooded Galaxy Pirate Emperor's orders.

***

A blue-to-purple-sailed Galaxy Navy vessel was serenely floating through space. However, aboard the ship, the situation wasn't quite serene and placid:

"Damn that bastard Zenon – he goes once to patrol Fube and has already gotten his hands on a big fish! Yet here I am, stuck with this puny vessel and its weakling crew who has no sense of space battles whatsoever! Curse it all..."

A middle-aged man of comely demeanour, dark complexion, and quite peculiar lunar-white hair, was thus cussing while sipping his bolb-wine in the captain's cabin. It was Harug wan Buetter – a cousin of Admiral Zenon wan Buetter, a rival to him since he remembered, and yet always a step behind him. It filled him with extreme envy and jealousy and he often blamed bad luck, his crew, his ship, or the authorities, but never himself.

"If I had such luck as to encounter some renowned scoundrel in these galaxies, I too would easily_"

"Captain, there's a ship up ahead!"

"What?" he sprang from his chair once saw his first-mate barge in. "Why the heck are you calling me on such a trivial matter, Yord Hamingo? Take care of it yourself!"

As Hamingo was but a casual yord – an upper middle class of the Radenese society – he had a double disadvantage against wan Buetter who was both a nobleman and his commander. Harug would often use this circumstance to abuse him. Yord Hamingo never dared return an answer, anyway.

"I apologize, Captain, but I had do disturb you – it is a pirate ship".

"Pirates?!" Harug's hands began to tremble as he took a little step back, "S-So what? Small fries! Take care of them!"

"I would, Captain, but it is not an ordinary pirate ship... It is the Cyber Sammy flag, and there's a crimson diamond on the highest mast".

Sweat began to trickle down Harug's forehead – the Cyber Sammy flag, thus Shark Tooth Pirates... and there was just a single Shark Tooth ship to carry a crimson diamond in its highest mast.

"Okay, give the signal to prepare for battle. I'll be there in shor_"

His speech was cut off by two destructive blasts of cannons, followed by helpless shrills of his crew:

"Golden Dragons! Golden Dragon cannons! Save yourselves!"

Now there was no doubt: only a single Shark Tooth ship was equipped with Golden Dragon cannons – the very original one.

"Blood Diamond..."

"Captain, your orders!" Hamingo yelled for he could already hear their crewmates grapple with the fearsome pirates that had landed on their deck. The buzzes of laser-swords, cracks of sabres, and pop of pistols echoed throughout the entire area, followed by the wounded Radenoids' screams. "Captain, snap out of it! Your orders_"

"Blood Diamond... There's just one way out of this".

"Huh?"

"Abandon the ship!"

The captain, who just a few minutes ago complained about his bad luck for not having encountered any serious criminals, now ran through the deck pushing off his desperate crewmates as these latter ones were getting butchered by the merciless space-robbers right before his eyes, and cursed that very luck which had brought him the biggest fish he could possibly catch if he so wanted – the infamous Galaxy Pirate Emperor, Young Captain Blood Diamond. However, instead of trying to catch him, he thought only about saving his skin – he launched a tiny boat and wished to quickly leave the place when a hideous cackle of an explosive beast reached his ears:

"The captain leaving his ship the first? Now that won't do..."

The last thing he could see before forsaking his life was fiery red eyes of a stone-skinned blond man who blasted him with a set of destructive explosions that very instant. Seeing their captain so easily defeated, the Galaxy Navy crew panicked more, yelling and running up and down in disorder. Some of them had already begun to launch boats and get away as fast as they could while others were getting helplessly butchered by the vicious pirates. These latter ones had a lot of terrifying members: the explosive blond man to have blasted the captain – Baxus; a green-haired young fellow whose green eyes made the opponents fall in a coma – Zehu; and another green-haired man who utilized green laser-swords infused with his own energy to cut down absolutely anyone and anything – Green Thunder Jedha Mahut. Everyone feared to confront these three.

However, the Galaxy Navy crew turned out to have some valiant members too – apart from the old warriors who desperately fought to defend their lives and pride, there was also one who selflessly engaged in direct battles and didn't even fear to confront the three pirate leaders.

"He's at it again?"

"That crazy man is going to get himself killed!"

"Forget about him. He's but an obedient dog and probably has no idea his master – Yord Hamingo – has already fled".

Such was his crewmates' comments towards his fearless behaviour they counted crazy. Still, the man didn't seem to care as he valiantly defended the ship against the pirates as if he had firmly decided he was not going to die on that day. Those cut marks on his face implied even further that he was not a man to easily give up the fight. He approached Zehu, who had been taking out enemies with his hypnotic spells, and closed eyes once confronted him. Zehu was stunned – how did he figure out that was the best strategy to fight against him? Since he had gone mute, now his eyes were his prime weapon and if he didn't establish eye contact his powers would be of no use. Indeed, the man's rusty old sword soon cut his chest. He yelled and fell, injured.

"Prince Zehu!" Jedha instantly appeared on the scene and his two laser-swords buzzed against the man's rusty blade, "If you want a sword battle then bring it on!"

The man didn't flinch, instead went on the direct offensive. He battled for long against the two laser-swords and mind-games of his crafty adversary, but soon, his limited strength gave in and he fell before Jedha, injured in both arms and a leg. He, together with fifteen other survivors, was apprehended and tied up. All of them, with all the treasure on the ship, were taken back on the Shark Tooth, to meet the judgment of the heartless Captain Blood Diamond – the very Emperor of the Galaxy Pirates. 

***

The captives were dropped to their knees on the deck, surrounded by the vicious pirates holding laser guns and swords. Some of them were even cackling at their ominous future. These diabolic laughs sent shudders down many of the captives' spines, but one of them – that exact scar-faced man to have injured Zehu – stared at the floor motionless, no flinch shown upon his countenance.

Presently an eerie sound of stomping boots caught the captive soldiers' attention. Many of them trembled and sweated in nervousness. The middle-aged man awoke from his thoughts but remained tranquil as before.

The entity they expected came up to them: the tall young man with pitch-black short hair, black eyes glittering like two pieces of fiery embers, a slouch hat shadowing his stern face, and a long pitch-black coat hung over his red shirt and shoulders – the infamous Galaxy Pirate Emperor, Young Captain Blood Diamond. Once beheld him right up to their noses as he calmly drew on his golden pipe, all of them shuddered in dread – this man was known as the most fearsome criminal of the Seven Universes. It was rumoured to be nearly impossible to gain his mercy.

"Fifteen guests today? Quite a number! Let's see what we've got..." he walked up to the soldier first in the line: "Yo, amigo. What is it you live for?"

While the said soldier stared at him in horror and stupefaction, another one from the middle cut in:

"What the hell of a question is that? Let us go, bastard!"

"Interrupting others' conversation when you're not invited... That's some bad habit you've got there. Radenese dogs like you should be disciplined".

The captain raised his hand towards the poor soldier, who now regretted to have ever given a word:

"I am sorr_"

"Balal, Yoh!" he murmured a spell in a strange language. His eyes shimmered red, and red fiery energy glowed around his hand. An agonized shrill sounded – the victim soldier's whole body began to crystallize red. After a few moments, only a crystallized figure remained of the once-alive man. The captain's crimson glow faded and he resumed smoking his pipe. "Baxus, dispose of that eyesore".

"Aye aye, Captain!" the first-mate chuckled and blasted the red figure with his explosive impact, sending it off the board and shattering it to pieces.

"Goodie," Young Captain smiled casually as if nothing had happened, and turned to the first soldier: "Sorry, we got interrupted. So what did you say you lived for?"

"I... I don't understand the question. Please, mercy_"

"Are you that dumb? Nay, that won't do, man," Arubah raised his hand again. Seeing him prepare to perform that horrendous magic now on him, the soldier gasped:

"No, please! I_"

"Balal, Yoh".

The same fiery red energy now engulfed him. He felt crimson crystals overpower his body that burned and stung like infernal flames. He roared in pain and anguish, to be silenced forever – he too, froze in a lifeless pose, his hands covering his eyes.

"This one's right hand seems good... No, I guess it's not perfect – there's a scratch. Am I that tired today? No matter. Bax, if I'm not asking too much_"

"No problem, Captain!" Baxus grinned and blasted yet another figure off the ship.

"Thanks, my friend," Arubah put the pipe back into his mouth and walked to the next soldier who was already quivering in shock and horror, having beheld such indescribable atrocities before his very eyes. "Yo, amigo. Same question – what do you live for?"

"P-Pardon me, sire... Y-You mean life goal?"

"Aye, you could put it that way, I guess".

"I... I've never thought of it in such details. I guess g-glory?"

"Glory, huh? Nice motive..." Arubah stroked his chin, studying the soldier. This latter's eyes brightened, but his joy proved temporary: "Nay. Lacks something".

He too, no matter his pleas, was soon turned into a crystallized statue.

"Hmm, this one's got a nice head... Jedha, what do you think?"

"Do whatever you like, Captain".

"One can't even ask you a single question... Okay, let's give it a try," he grabbed the head of the lifeless statue, pronounced another weird spell, and released immense heat, melting the crystal until only the crimson skull remained. "Heh! Who would've thought? It came out pretty neat! I guess I'll add it to my skull collection," he broke the skull off the statue's neck in a single swing and threw it in an empty sack one of the pirates held open for him. "Goodie. Let's proceed?"

He would thus stop before every soldier and pose them the same question. The answers were different each time since every previous captive was being crystallized for their wrongness, but none of them could ultimately please the captain. The replies could be summarized as "success", "goals", "fortune", "treasure", "good position"... Shortly – different words with nearly the same meanings. After he had crystallized almost all of the soldiers and grabbed crystal hands, legs, and skulls of some of them, the captain finally came up to the last captive – that very middle-aged man to have shown quite some resistance in the battle of earlier and have injured Zehu, then to be taken down by Jedha and apprehended.

"Oh, you seem older than those goons... So, what is it you live for, old man?"