Episode IV: “Papa Por-ka, Part II”
First print date: June 3 1978
Prog appearance: Starlord Issue 4
Writer(s): John Wagner
Artist(s): Carlos Ezquerra
Total episodes: 3
With the astroliner completely under his control, Papa Por-ka gives the passengers one choice only: join his murderous band of pirates or die. Those who choose not to serve are unceremoniously ejected out the airlock into space: the space pirates don't even waste their weapons on them. Meanwhile, their association with the Gronk has been serendipitous for Johnny and Wulf, imprisoned in the brig. The pirates obviously know nothing about the timid little creature, least of all that it can eat through metal! When the Gronk finds them imprisoned he is eager to help, and dissolves the cell bars with his saliva. The bounty hunters are soon free, but they are only two against many, and have still no weapons. They manage to jemmy open the weapons locker on the ship and recover them though: now they are armed!
And not a moment too soon! Just then pirates come around the corner, blasting at them. Johnny and Wulf duck into the locker, and Johnny uses a Time-Trap to keep the pirates in a temporal loop of two seconds, so that they can advance no further. It's like watching an endlessly looped piece of videotape, or listening to the same few seconds of music over and over again. As they move on, the two bounty hunters fear for the safety of the passengers and crew of the
Sondheim. They know what scum space pirates are, and lives --- human or alien, norm or mutant --- mean nothing to them. As they advance to the cruiser's command bridge, Johnny knows it's going to be one hell of a fight.
QUOTES
Gronk: “Oh my poor heartses! All this excitments has made me positively ill! Gronkses have very weak heartses, you know!”
Wulf: “Very brave, you haf been! Go back to your box now, little friend. Ve come for you when der fighting is all over!”
Pirate: “These two fought well, Papa. The thin one's a Strontium Dog: a bounty hunter! They could be useful.”
Papa Por-ka: “Yes, dat am possible. What you say boys? You want join Papa Por-ka?”
Wulf: “A hundred times Wulf die before he serve you!”
Johnny: “We got animals on Earth that remind me of you, pirate. We call 'em pigs!”
Johnny: “The Time-Trap was only set for the minimum two seconds --- here they come again!”
Pirates: “The bounty hunters! Kill them!”
Wulf: “Ja, und every time they cross der time trap zone they get sent two seconds back in time again! Is clever, Johnny!”
Tools of the trade
Time-Trap: Johnny uses this on the pirates in order to effectively freeze them in time, so that they can advance no further. I don't actually know if this is the same weapon he used on Max Quirxx in the first episode, but that was called a Time Bomb. Seems to operate on the same principle, though in that episode Alpha set it for the future, whereas here it's the past, but only a mere two seconds.
Beam Polariser: This is mentioned at the end of the chapter, when Johnny says it will nullify the weapons of the pirates. Quite how it works I don't know, but we may find out in the third and final chapter.
Electronux: Again, these are only referred to in the final panel, but you can see them and they appear to be basically an electronic pair of knuckle-dusters, hence perhaps the name. Again, we will probably see them in action in the next part.
Friends in low places
Though Johnny and his kind are considered the lowest of the low by the norms, it's creatures like the Gronk, who most people would ignore or think a disgusting alien, that help him when he needs it most. Here, the Gronk chews through the bars of the cell Wulf and Johnny are in. The pirates seem to know nothing about Gronks, and have not bothered to even secure the little guy, probably believing he poses no risk, or is perhaps someone's pet.
Show no mercy?
You would have to think that with Johnny and Wulf's experience of starships, spaceships and even the odd luxury cruiser, they would be able to locate an escape craft and head off, leaving the passengers and crew to their fate. But Johnny is not about to abandon these people, even if they are mutant-hating norms. Not only that, Papa Por-ka, while not an actual commission, is breaking the law and, like Dredd, Alpha is sworn to uphold the law and take down the bad guys. He may not get paid for this job if he succeeds, but he doesn't care. Sometimes, it's about more than the money.