Captain Burnsworth

I decided that I want to flex my writing muscles with short exercises. Some of those exercises will be in the form of random and unrelated stories or descriptions. Other times they will be small parts of a bigger (and most likely developing) story. Today's will most likely be one of those longer developing stories. Let me know what you think.


Captain James Burnsworth sat alone in his quarters, pondering over the recent events that had enticed him to turn his ship toward the Alpha-Centauri Quadrant. Intercepting the small freighter had started as nothing more than a routine boarding--until thirteen crates of Quirathine crystals were discovered in the freighter’s secret cargo holds. Captain Burnsworth understood how important these crystals were to Quirath, or perhaps more specifically to the prevailing religion on the planet, and the thought filled him with great hope; he had some serious debts to pay. He almost shuddered remembering how cruel the Quirathean religious leaders could be—he’d seen the punishments they had meted out on that Quirathean child’s neck and back—but that kind of fanaticism also spoke well of how much they would pay in ransom to get those crystals back. He looked down into the small clear crystal in his hand; mesmerized momentarily by the soft blue streaks that occasionally glittered back at him. Turning the crystal slowly, he smiled, thinking of the good fortune that had suddenly befallen him and his crew.