[Chapter 11] Popeye the Astronaut Man

Now that Popeye has entered the public domain, I am writing a science-fiction story starring the sailor in an entirely new adventure. This story will be told over the next thirteen weeks exclusively available to members. If you’re not a member, now’s a great time to join.

I plan to self-publish the entire work this summer. In the meantime, here’s Chapter Eleven: Forging a New Path.

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"Evasive maneuvers!" Buck Rogers cried out.

But it was too late. The Ropoda had caught them trying to sneak around Jupiter and fired several photon lasers from their ship. There was a low rumble from somewhere far from the bridge.

"Navigation is offline!" Kormo shouted.

"Weapons?"

"Active."

"Fire back."

Pulses of energy fired forward. As each pulse struck the Ropoda's vessel, they spread out against the enemy's shields without dealing any permanent damage. The Ropoda, having successfully disabled the Space Hag, turned and proceeded further into the solar system.

"We have to go after them!" Buck ordered.

"We only have auxiliary engines. We'll never outspeed them."

"It's better than nothing."

The Space Hag limped through the field of debris surrounding Earth. Its hull was scarred and smoking from the Ropoda attack. Popeye helped Kormo and the engineering crew assess the damage, as he was able to move heavy steel beams out of the way.

"The main engines are offline," Kormo reported. "Looks like we took a direct hit to the power core. It'll take a few hours to reroute the auxiliary systems and get us back online."

Buck Rogers' anger was clear over the telecom system.

"Hours?! We don't have hours! Every minute counts! We need to send a distress signal to the rest of the fleet."

"Captain, our long-range comms are down," Kormo said with hesitation. "The Ropodas are jamming our signal. We can't reach anyone."

There was a wave of despair. They were stranded and unable to join the fight for their homeworld.