Note: It appears I may have been wrong about reprints. From what I can see, when the series transferred over from the ill-fated Starlord they did not reprint the old stories that had already taken place in that magazine, but continued on. Hence, it would seem, none of the Starlord stories were shown in 2000AD. Sorry about that.
Episode III: “Papa Por-ka, Part I”
First print date: May 27 1978
Prog appearance: Starlord Issue 3
Writer(s): John Wagner
Artist(s): Carlos Ezquerra
Total episodes: 3
On the way to their next assignment Johnny and Wulf are travelling aboard a starliner, much to the disgust of the norm passengers, when the ship is attacked by a space pirate who goes by the name of Papa Por-ka and looks like, well, a pirate pig! Banished to the cargo hold --- “This is First Class ---
Sir! The rules say mutants travel cargo ---
Sir!” (was ever an honorific so begrudgingly bestowed and so insincere, as to almost sound like an insult?) --- the bounty hunters meet a strange alien being, who eats metal and is afraid of just about everything, necessitating his travelling in a box, lest anything spook him. He is a gronk, and his kind can quite easily die from fright.
The gronk is a timid little creature with a nose like an elephant's trunk, through which he speaks, while his mouth is located low on his stomach. Wulf takes an instant liking to the creature. Just then, the pirate ship attacks, hitting the astroliner with a tractor beam. Completely defenceless, the cruiser is no match for a pirate vessel, and Johnny and Wulf are asked to come up to the bridge where the captain asks for their advice. Johnny points out that the tractor beam has already locked on, and in addition their weapons were taken from them on boarding the ship, so there is little really that they can do. However, no matter how the norms treated him and Wulf, Johnny Alpha is not a man to abandon civilians to their fate, so they grab whatever weapons are to hand and lay into the pirates as they board.
Their cause is useless however and they are soon overwhelmed. Seeing how well the two Strontium Dogs fought, the pirate leader orders them taken prisoner, where he declares their boss will want to talk to them.
QUOTES
Alien mother: “Goodbye, Grenjnog! Be sure to thought-transmit as soon as you get to Ursa Minor!”
Wulf: “Vot in gott's name --- are you?”
Gronk: “I-I'm a gronk, sir! From B-Blas, in the Gallego system! P-pardon me for existings, Sir! Please don't hurt me!”
Wulf: “I von't hurt you, gronk! Vot you do here?”
Gronk: “We g-gronks always travel in our b-boxes, Sir. We're very shy. Excitements is bad for our p-poor heartses!”
Gronk: “Oh dear, oh dear! I forgot humans find our eating habits u-unpleasant! If I've offended you sir, I'll die!”
Wulf: “Vulf is not offended! Stomach is smart place to haf mouth! Near to business end, ja? I like you, gronk! You and Vulf friends vill be!”
Captain: “This is a routine astroflight, Mister Alpha. We don't carry any fighting capabilities.”
Johnny: “So now you want us to help you? But it's too late Captain: our weapons are already locked away, and the pirates will be through your hull in seconds!”
Johnny: “Grab anything that even
looks like a weapon! You've got to fight! Pirates don't take many prisoners!”
Welcome to the world of tomorrow!
Where you can hop on a spaceliner and tke a trip to the next star system as easily as we jump on planes now and go from country to country. These huge astroliners are built for comfort, not defence, so when a pirate ship attacks there's little hope of beating them back. Papa Por-ka of course knows this; it's the very reason he targets the ship in the first place. Like all pirates, he's looking for soft targets. It also seems that, though mutants are not refused permission to travel on these, they are seen as little better than pets, or luggage, as they have to travel in the cargo section. This rule is enforced despite the fact that here, Johnny and Wulf have paid for First Class seats.
The Powers That Be
Once again, Johnny's uncanny alpha-vision allows him to see through the very hull of the spaceliner, to note the huge attack craft grappling on with its tractor beam. Even though he's one tough mofo, the Strontium Dog knows that the day is lost before it even begins. There are no weapons they can commandeer, the ship has no defensive capabilities and no doubt their signal for help is being jammed by the pirates.
Show no mercy?
Again Johnny shows that he is so much better than the people who revile him and his kind. When he realises that the pirate ship is attacking, knowing of the bloodthirsty appetites of such raiders, he entreats everyone to fight, grabbing any weapon they can, for he knows that pirates seldom bother with prisoners --- or leave witnesses. Despite the fact that, only a few hours ago he and Wulf were unceremoniously marched out of the First Class compartment, with the insults and jibes of the norm passengers ringing in their ears, despite the fact that they have been treated as little better than animals or criminals, Alpha still feels a sense of responsibility to the passengers. He does note, acidly though, that had he and Wulf been allowed to retain their weapons they might have had a better chance of defending the ship...