A small bright light flashed against the inky black backdrop of space. It only lasted a second but it was bright enough to make itself known to anyone who stared out the window. A brief moment after it the flash had been winked out of existence, colours swirled of turquoise and sky blue in a small sphere of accumulated radiation. Light from the nearest star glittered off its prestigious hull as it drew closer. Silently and gracefully gliding towards them while Atlantis grew larger with each passing moment.
“Atlantis has arrived, Ship Master.” One of the dragons said at his console. The bridge of the Galaxius Mons was cavernously larger than Alex anticipated when Armadra had invited him. Despite everything he had seen, the bridge was split into two levels with the lower level slowly curving downwards to form a ditch that surrounded the central platform the Ship Master would preside over. Each draconic officer sat on their haunches half buried in the alcoves that were built into the semi-circular trench, faces bathed in ethereal blue light while their consoles trilled and beeped with each action performed.
Armadra gave a short huff. “Maintain course.”
Alex looked over at the window, the hull stretched out beyond the windows and was covered in rows of battery guns and closed in weapons systems that made the Bridge a fortified target. The Atlantis glimmered in the distance; he could almost make out its spearhead-shaped body from where it was.
“Distance?” Armadra said.
“Thirteen kilometres off our starboard bow, minus fifteen declination.” A female officer replied from the trench.
Alex clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly approached the window, keeping his eye on Samantha’s vessel as it drifted closer towards them. Its hull slowly became more defined with each passing second, and its engine plume became visible behind it like a bright blue aura surrounding it.
Armadra spoke with conviction in his voice. “Tell the Atlantis to hand over control and have the secondary launch bay crews prepare to receive them.”
Behind him, he heard one of the officers contact Atlantis and command that they allow the Galaxius remote control to guide them in. The same message Alex had heard when they docked with the Rakii. His gaze slowly drifted downwards, first from the Atlantis, then to the hull just outside the window, and then the base of the window. He felt his gut churning in ways he never felt before, his stomach felt like it had been placed in a laundry machine, contents shifting along the walls, never stopping. His conscience racked with guilt over the loss of his childhood friend. As his anxiety wrestled control from his calm rational self, even the occasional breathing exercise helped him regain some modicum of control for a short time. Then the fears and hypothetical scenarios began to form in his mind. Samantha never did have a good grasp on her anger and he feared she would turn feral and hunt him, chew him up, and rip his limbs forcefully from his body with unrestrained anger. But she was also a captain, a trained officer disciplined just as he was, surely even she would be reasonable. But how can she be reasonable? One brother is dead, and another is locked up and serving a lifetime sentence for the worst crime committed against a human. She was losing her family slowly but surely, she would lash out.
You owe them this, he would think to himself. You owe him for giving you another chance, you owe her for being given the chance.
“I would suggest you get yourself and your crew ready, Captain,” Armadra said from behind. His baritone voice boomed off the support trusses that hung from the ceiling and echoed the large bridge.
The two marines that stood vigilant by the door closed in on Alex and followed him as he made his way through the Galaxius. During the elevator ride down several decks to the dock, Alex checked his Wrist-Pad and messaged Fёderov asking if all the survivors were rallied. He replied shortly after Alex’s message had been sent confirming that they were.
The rancid smell of unwashed body odour washed over Alex when he entered the large waiting room. Over a dozen crewmen had made use of the reclining convex stones while the rest sat slumped against the walls. Others had fallen into little groups and sat on the floor in circles, conversing in mumbled tones. The large bay that had once grabbed the private yacht and brought it in sprung to life suddenly with warning beacons pulsing bright orange, the slowly rising sound of hydraulics waking up filled with power humming from the walls. Then they made a sudden whir sound that attracted Alex to the window, several others of his crew got up off the ground and pressed themselves against the Perspex, watching the Atlantis dock. From out underneath them, the Atlantis slowly ascended, plumes of jet fire dimming the ventral hull soon extinguished themselves as inertia brought the Atlantis up. Her spearhead-shaped frame glistened and glittered against the clean white lighting inside with her registration illuminated. Towards her stern, Alex watched as the power to her three engines cut themselves, a few puffs of vapour escaped from several notches along the curved hull, no doubt, whoever was in control was fine-tuning the Atlantis’s docking procedure.
A dull bang came from within the walls that sent a strong vibration through the floor, the massive apertures that would grab the Atlantis reached out and extended its padded digits before slowly clamping down on her hull. Then the machines whirred loudly and the arms slowly retracted towards them with the Atlantis still attached. The small ship grew larger and larger until her hull had completely obstructed their view of the bay area. Alex then removed himself from the window and stood in front of the sealed airlock doors just as the umbilical extended outwards. Then he sighed, yet the force that gripped his chest hadn’t let itself go, Alex spun on his heels, his crew either pressed themselves against the glass with childlike awe and wonder in their eyes as they took in every detail of the shiny, new ship, or they had grouped themselves in small units scattered across the cold metal floor. Then, summoning the courage from every fibre of his being he bellowed out.
“ALL CREW, FALL IN!”
His voice’s stentorian notes echoed off the walls and supported trusses, deep and carried with each note the power he commands. Each man, woman and creature that served on his ship as his crew jumped at the sound of his voice and obeyed his commands, quickly rallying themselves into two perfectly straight rows of Terran species that created a wide corridor from the airlock doors. The sound of pressure being released from behind Alex drew his attention and he spun around with such rapidity that the action had occurred before his thought had concluded. And there, standing just above the threshold of the large door stood Armadra with his two escorts following close behind. Unlike back on the bridge where the duo was last, the dragon had decorated himself in ornate blue robes with gold trimming. Armadra had looked more closely to an old politician from the ancient roman empire than he did a dignified Ship Master.
Both he and Alex acknowledged each other with a subtle nod.
“Has the airlock been pressurised?” The Ship Master asked.
Alex shook his head. “Not yet.”
Armadra walked past him and walked towards the airlock, his massive black claws spread out against the surface of a touchpad on the airlock’s frame. It beeped in response to his touch and the surface flashed red as clawscript lettering filled the display, and trilled away while the chamber behind the closed doors filled vapour clouds that shortly dissipated. Then the doors jerked apart from each other breaking the seal that kept them together and then slid away into the walls, then the external doors parted similarly to their internal counterparts to show the brightly lit, reinforced glass tube that reached out to the Atlantis. On the far end of the tube, where the dark grey hull of the Atlantis used to be, a bright light shone out from it as the opposing airlock opened up. Two silhouettes appeared from the left of the airlock and calmly strode down the umbilical; the silhouette on the left stood taller than its counterpart and had a broader frame with digitigrade feet. The right figure was a foot shorter and a slender frame. Both walked calmly, almost in lockstep down the narrow gantry at the bottom of the glass tube.
Samantha Hammer, stood tall and proud in her Captain’s suit as she looked around to see the dishevelled and exhausted survivors of the Phoenix, Alex had no doubt in his mind that she was looking around to find her older brother, Milo. Guilt managed to grip Alex’s stomach once more, but he chose to bury the pain and swallow the guilt until he could explain to her, hopefully with the result of the guilt easing up on him. The man that stood next to Samantha had his hands clasped behind his back, his older, weathered face made him seem to be in charge instead of Samantha, but, his shoulder epaulettes were decorated with the rank of a commander, no doubt he was her executive officer.
They stopped a few feet away from him and gave a sharp salute. Alex was quick to return the greeting, standing next to him, Armadra placed one of his legs forward and lowered his head to the ground in a show of respect.
Samantha dropped her arm and glanced at Alex. “Captain Rowan,” She spoke. Then turned to look at Armadra. “Ship Master, permission to come aboard?”
Armadra then rose off the ground, standing at full height looking down on the Lykan and human officers. He nodded graciously in response.
“Captain Hammer and Commander Benner; welcome aboard the Galaxius Mons. You will find the survivors of the Phoenix ready and eager to disembark on your word.”
Samantha nodded, “Thank you, but, my proper title is Corvette Commander.” She corrected Armadra, For a moment, Alex was shocked to hear her not be referred to as ‘captain’ but he realised that commanding the Atlantis would have awarded her the title of Corvette Commander then turned to her XO and said. “Commander, ensure the crew have finalised the accommodations onboard, we will be leaving shortly.”
He saluted her then spun around on his heels and proceeded back through the airlock tunnel. Samantha returned her focus on Alex, her right ear twitching nervously.
“Are you alright?” She asked sympathetically.
He could see it in her bright yellow eyes just how much she cared for him. And just how genuinely glad he was unscathed by the whole ordeal. However, it began to eat him from within just how much Alex wanted to tell her about Milo. But he couldn’t, not yet anyway. The words needed to be said at the right moment.
Even attempting to speak seemed a Sisyphean task as he choked on his words, his throat felt like it had been gripped.
“I will live.”
“Good.”
Then he cleared his throat, the sound echoed louder than he wanted to in the quiet waiting room, then a small beep came from the Wrist-Pad attached to Samantha and she investigated it, then dropped her arms to her sides.
Samantha put on a phoney smile hoping to alleviate some of the awkwardness in a faux attempt of giving good news. “Looks like accommodations are ready for some guests. Care to come along?”
“All hands are dismissed, step aboard the Atlantis, obey her crew’s instructions.” Alex commanded.
Without even a moment’s hesitation, the Phoenix crew eased their postures with many bipeds slumped over, exhausted and tired. Formlessly they all walked toward the airlock and proceeded down the well lit tunnel.
Armadra’s chest had let out a satisfied rumble that could be felt through the floor. “It would seem this is goodbye.” The dragon said.
His deep voice didn’t sound as morose as his comment suggested, he seemed very calm and collected. Alex spun around to face the dragon and look him straight into his nocturnal eyes.
“I guess it is. You think we’ll ever encounter each other again? Preferably under better circumstances.” Alex replied, chuckling to himself.
Armadra cocked his head up, his gaze still fixed on the human captain beneath him and let out a small huff of amusement. “Of course. But we do not need to be in person to be graced with each other’s presence, while I regret not showing you more, I hope I can set you on an enlightened path. One where we can see each other across the stars, in here.” He gestured his claw lightly tapping the side of his flattened temple.
Alex no doubt knew what the dragon was referring to, the dream realm that existed outside their bodies opened up whole new opportunities for Alex. Finally, some closure to the guilt he felt to his brother’s demise. Then he heard someone clear their throat, Alex looked over to see Samantha with a puzzled expression as her eyes darted between the two. She stared at them as though she had walked in on them engaging in some queer activity that required context which she had none of. Rather than explaining what was going on, Alex stepped towards Samantha and eventually past her.
Alex could see the last of his crew ahead of him further down the glass tunnel, eventually stepping out of sight in the corridors of the Atlantis. His crossing was not one to be rushed and he took a brief moment to look around him in the tunnel, the Alliance vessel seemed so diminutive compared to the Phoenix, but she was only a small corvette; fast, agile and light on the offensive. Her only real means of defence were the dual autocannons bolstered underneath the slender aerodynamic frame and the four rows of torpedo tubes. Where the long slender frame met with the blocky-shaped engineering compartment, a row of cannons lined the top. In a fight against those insectoid ships, the Atlantis wouldn’t stand a chance.
Inside the smaller and familiar airlock of human design, he stepped over the knee knocker that partitioned the airlock from the corridor and was saluted by two ensigns who had waited for him to arrive. Their faces suddenly glowed red as a loud beep sounded off from behind him, Alex recognised the sound as an airlock seal confirmation and he turned to see Samantha stepping over the knee knocker. Her bright eyes still looked down on Alex with sympathy and with a shaky voice had asked Alex.
“Where is my brother? He wasn’t with the crew that boarded.”
He almost choked on his words once more as he said. “Is there someplace we can talk… privately?” And the sensation lingered before he swallowed it down to mewl with the rest of the guilt he had already suppressed. Samantha nodded and walked down the clean grey corridor. The Atlantis’s interior was far more condensed than the Phoenix, with corridors only wide enough to allow two people to pass each other but still bump their shoulders. Many of the crew seemed to be devoid of species with larger bodies such as Naga’s or Centaurs. A deliberate decision based on Samantha’s crew selection or mere coincidence? Even Alex was not sure if STARCOM had singled out particular species from being assigned to certain vessels. From the Royal Sovereign to the Germanicus and the late Phoenix, he had always found himself posted aboard a large vessel with wide corridors. Samantha continued to lead Alex through the bowels of the ship and traversed up a steep ladder that led to the deck above them, Samantha, after having ascended to the deck above Alex then turned around and walked the other way, he followed her and saw her going up another ladder to the deck above and he quickly followed. Once above, she waited for him outside a door that sat behind the bridge and Samantha entered the command centre.
Inside, it was far larger than the Bridge the Phoenix possessed, however the CIC had also been merged to form one central location where operations could be organised. Samantha’s larger captain’s chair sat in the centre of the large triangular bridge. Pilot and navigator were positioned at least ten feet ahead of her while tactical officers and specialists lined the two walls of the bridge.
“Comm, hail Galaxius, tell them we wish to depart.” She said with a stern tone.
A short moment of silence fell, the computer consoles beeped and trilled quietly, hushed voices of officers speaking to one another filled in the void. Samantha who had sat at her chair stared intently, her eyes carefully glazing over each officer on the bridge, vigilant for anyone slacking off or any sign of an issue. No doubt she wanted to be made aware when something has gone awry at the same moment the officer in charge of monitoring was made aware.
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“Galaxius has given us clearance to depart, Corvette Commander.” A young female human said on the right of the bridge. “Pri-Fly will manoeuvre us out of the Galaxius and restore controls as soon as we confirm our readiness.”
Then, Samantha reached up above her, the overhead radio and monitors flashed intermittently, then she grabbed the microphone in her large furry hands, her claws almost the size of the device itself, and pressed down on the side as she brought it up to her snout.
“Corvette Commander Hammer to Chief Of the Boat, Chief, is everyone strapped in and ready to leave?”
The radio crackled in response.
“Chief Ralov, here. That’s a confirmation, Ma’am. We are all good to go.”
“Copy that.” She responded. Samantha threw herself up from her seat to attach the microphone back to the radio and she turned her head to her communications officer. “You heard the man, tell Galaxius we want out.”
The woman spoke into her headset and a short second later, the Atlantis jerked suddenly. Alex threw his arms out in an attempt to balance before he regained his footing. Soft humming vibrated through the walls around him and the view of the hangar wall slowly shifted upwards. A few muffled puffs from the Atlantis’ RCS thrusters were able to put the ship into a descent from the hangar and another series of puffs to counter the inertia. Alex felt the floor beneath him slowly rise upwards before the feeling had dissipated. Then the helm and navigational consoles lit up with a series of beeps and brightly displayed a change in status.
“Navigation controls restored,” The Navigator said. “Disabling remote controlling module. All systems are green.”
The star-filled environment around them sparkled unremarkably compared to nighttime on Earth, above them, a broad metallic structure loomed above them and proceeded to overtake them. The Galaxius Mons soon left Atlantis in its wake, her massive three engines glowed a brilliant bright blue, leaving a massive plume of exhaust in its wake. Then a bright flash completely enveloped the Draconic ship and it had been winked out of existence. Presumably on a course back to Dragon Territory.
“Aye,” Samantha responded. Then she turned to her comms officer once more. “Send the Galaxius a wave. Helm, prepare to bring us about for a Jump. Nav, have a Jump course plotted to Terra.”
The bridge filled with affirmative aye’s, Samantha then stood up from her chair. “I will be in my office, Nav, inform me when we have a course plotted and await further instructions.”
“Aye, ma’am.” He responded. And with that, Samantha turned around and left the bridge.
The office was much smaller and utilitarian than his used to be with only a small two-seater fabric couch that faced the deep brown wooden desk. To the left of the couch was a set of cupboards with shelves loaded with blue binders that were filled to the brim. And in the centre of the cupboard, a small mirror and a set of glassware that sported sharp edges at the top of the rim before degenerating into a network of interconnected triangles at its base, and at the centre of it stood a full bottle of rum.
Samantha slowly reached for the bottle and grabbed two glasses and walked over to her desk. Alex plopped down on the fabric sofa while his childhood friend quietly sat down behind the desk. Using her enhanced strength she wrestled with the cork that sealed the bottle for a moment, letting out a series of frustrated grunts The glasses clinked against each other and she had begun pouring the liquid down until it had reached the top of the interconnected triangles on the glass before filling the second cup to the same level. She sat the bottle down and gently nudged one glass towards Alex to which he greatly accepted.
“I really am glad to see you are safe, Alex.'' Samantha started. Then she took a sip of her alcohol and leaned forward so as to get as close to Alex as she could over the desk. Her expression soured while her ears flatten themselves. “But I need to know; where is my brother?”
Alex felt the guilt he suppressed earlier rise up in full force, his vision blurred and became watery as he could no longer hold back a tear. He had held it in for so long so as not to show weakness to his crew and draconic hosts, but now he was safe in the presence of a long-time friend, it wanted to come out whether he had control or not.
“I… I tried, Sam. I really, really tried… I had to scuttle the Phoenix. Myself and a few others stayed behind. We got boarded by these- these things and there he is. Heh, you should have seen him, Sam. Covered in machine oil, his uniform was dirty and shredded. And he tells me that the engines were on the verge of going critical. I ordered him and the others to evacuate…” Alex took in a deep breath and sipped on his glass, the heavy liquid opened up his lungs, creating the sensation that his chest was capable of taking in more air. He shook his head, Samantha stared at him, staying as still as a statue.
“I ordered him to leave! If the engines went nova then it would have been hot enough to ignite the whole damn nebula to the point even Terra would see it with the naked eye. I turn around, standing over the computer console and just as I was about to vent the heat from the overloading engines, Milo grabs me with all his might and tosses me halfway across the room. I must have been unconscious for a couple of minutes because when I woke up we were already launched from the Phoenix and she scuttled… That fool, that damned fool, he saved us all!”
As he recalled the memory of what had happened, Alex hadn’t noticed how emotional he had gotten, his voice breaking and tears streamed down his face. Samantha’s furry digits shakily brought the trembling glass up to her muzzle and gulped down the rest of the alcohol, leaving an aroma that briefly filled his sinuses, opening them before clearing up. But she said nothing, her eyes didn’t move, in fact she had remained unnervingly still. Fear worked its way through Alex as he waited for a response, any response. His attention was distracted when he heard something crack and he looked down at her hands; her fingers tightly gripped the glass, trembling ferociously as power began filling her body with a force strong enough to make the drinking glass explode in her hand. Shrapnel flew from her hand at such a pace it made Alex dodge to the left to avoid being struck by one such piece. Samantha on the other hand seemed to be undisturbed by the broken glass that pierced her hand, she even seemed to be unaware of the blood slowly pooling under where her clenched fist rested.
“S-Sam, are you alright?” Alex said, concerned.
But she didn’t respond. Her ears twitched once when he spoke but he wasn’t certain if she had processed what he had said.
“Sam, say something. Anything, please!” He said this time more fervently.
Samantha’s eyes suddenly shifted to the side before centering themselves on him and she shook her head out of her stupor and only noticed now the broken glass that had embedded itself in her hands, she raised it up for inspection a drop of dark red blood oozed out from her palm and trickled down until it dripped on the polished desk surface but Samantha seemed unfazed. Her attention on her hand was short lived as she then snapped her head back at Alex, and narrowed her eyes in a fashion reminiscent of a predator honing its gaze on its prey before pouncing. Her lips began trembling and her ears stood alert, slowly the loose flap of skin that lined her mouth peeled back to reveal her fangs, sharpened to pierce flesh as easily as a needle.
Samantha growled, first a lowly rumble that soon escalated to a deep threatening sound, she mumbled something that had been muddled by her growls.
Alex, paralysed by what he was witnessing, stayed in his chair. “W-what?” he said with a trembling voice.
Samantha stood up from her desk and moved carefully with calculated, deliberate movements. Still baring her fangs and growling viciously at him. Beneath her fur, thin blue fissures glowed and spread along her body. The lights followed her arteries until they reached her eyes which then shifted to a blue glow until her pupils were removed by its light. Alex was about to open his mouth when her fist flew through the air so quickly that it was a blur and by the time he had processed what had happened he was already pinned up against the hatch. Her claws slowly dug into his neck, sharp pain rose up and a tear leaked from his eyes. Samantha held him up above the floor with her one hand and stared him down threateningly, clearly communicating that she could at any moment end him right there and then without breaking a sweat.
“How could you!?” She shrieked, her tone slightly removed from the unintelligible growls of an animal. “He was my brother, your friend. You let him die, you’re supposed to go down with the ship!”
Her thumb adjusted its position and it pressed down on a pressure point that made it hard for Alex to think. Everything was blurry from his thoughts to his vision, all he could feel was the burning pain beneath her strong grip. All he could focus on was her fingers slowly cutting off air and blood to his brain. He tried to speak, telling her he wanted to go down with the ship but it had come out as a series of strained gurgles and groaning sounds. Samantha leaned in closer, even with his vision blurring and tunnelling he could make out her wet nose clearly, even the stench of her breath still came across to him.
“Huh!? What do you have to say Alex? What do you possibly have to say to me? You were supposed to be my friend, my brother. And you let Milo die!?”
She loosened her grip and Alex slid down the door until his legs collapsed under him. He coughed a few times, wheezing in an effort to draw as much air in. He looked up to Samantha and saw her looking down at him with those vengeful eyes lit by a blue flame that filled her very essence.
“I… ack! I tried to… I wanted to… hurk! but he got the better of me, knocked me out when my back was turned… If I could turn back the clock and take his place I would have!” He coughed out. “But, Sam, you must know I didn’t want to leave him. He was my brother, my friend. I trusted him with my life.”
Her bared fangs dripped with anticipation as she towered above him, her shadow casted a darkness that surrounded his slowly returning vision and only her Magia infused eyes provided the only source of illumination. Her breath shook with a ferocity that could only be matched by her anger.
Suddenly a chime sounded off from her Wrist-Pad. Its glossy surface lit up a different shade of blue compared to her eyes and she tapped on it.
“What is it?!” She demanded.
“Corvette Commander this is Navigator Thompson, Jump course plotted in for Terra. Engineering says the engines are spooled up and ready for your orders.” The voice spoke from the device.
Samantha closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose. The blue glow of magic that pulsed through her veins dimmed out of existence and her eyes returned to their original golden form. Still, she looked down on Alex with her fists clenched.
“Commander?” Her Wrist-Pad spoke. It took Alex a second to realise that nothing had been said. Samantha tapped on her device. “Bring Atlantis about, slow ahead. Await my command to jump.”
The navigator replied affirmatively.
Samantha walked over to her desk, towering over the shattered remains of the crystal decanter glass that had broken under her grip. Her bulk then slumped into her chair all while refusing to take her eyes off Alex.
“Get the Hell out of my office, Rowan.” She sneered.
That sent sharp pain through his chest and up his neck. Alex looked at her trying to mask the pained expression he wore. He stood himself up and tugged at his uniform to straighten it out. Knowing her, he knew the full extent and the full meaning behind her words. She said for him to get out, but really she meant to say “I don’t want to see you again, don’t speak to me again.” The words stung him with the sharp precision of a well-forged blade. Cutting deep and badly leaving a mark that will remind him for a long time to come. Paradoxically, a small part of him felt relieved. A part of him that wanted her to say it and get it over with, to ease him of the guilt that would haunt him and all it cost him was the life of his best friend and the ire of another. The part of him that was relieved was overshadowed by the rest of him, hurt by her words, yet he remained stoic to avoid showing weakness. He got up off the floor and sullenly opened the hatch behind him, he took one more glance at Samantha who shot him a look that almost made him hear what she was thinking “Are you still here?” In that threatening growl she had.
Sullenly he closed the hatch behind him and his own breath escaped him, he caught it just in time to avoid breaking down emotionally.
He wandered the cramped halls of the Atlantis, searching for his accommodation. He’d only gone down two decks when the lights suddenly cut to black and were replaced by the yellow warning lights.
“Prepare for Jump. Repeat: Prepare for Jump.” The automated message said.
There was nothing around him he could hold on to for support but his eye caught a water pipe outside the wall ahead of him and he reached for it, holding on with a tight grip. The alarms for the jump drive continued its synthetic wailing. The Jump Drive spooled up, it hummed through the walls and the pipe Alex held on to, slowly its whirring rose up in tone and in his head, Alex was counting down until they could jump, starting at five and counting down. The whir of machinery unseen continued its rise in pitch and volume, preparing for a burst of energy that would violate the laws of physics for only a time. Alex mumbled zero to himself and he braced himself for the coming thrust of gravity. It came as no surprise to him when he was thrust back by the sudden forces pulling at him roughly before giving up as quickly as it had started, with only a mild sickness in his stomach to distract him from the uncomfortable situation he came from.
Alex’s grip on the pipe eased up, he looked at where his hands had been, nearly certain that his grip had left indentations in the metal. The lights were restored and the alarms quietened, all was quiet and calm in the Atlantis once more.
An officer turned into the hallway Alex was traversing, a young gargoyle with blue-purple skin tones, her claws were trimmed down and her tail bobbed happily with each step she took; she was ten feet away from Alex when he caught her eyeing his insignia patch and her training kicked in. She had pressed herself against the wall and saluted him. Instead Alex looked at her.
“Can you take me to where the Phoenix crew is being accommodated?” he asked her. The gargoyle nodded and she spun around back to where she came from. Down another deck, at the base of the steep set of retractable stairs, seemingly waiting for them was another Atlantis officer. His hair was short, almost to the point of being completely bald but not so much as to erase the dirt blonde colour. He had his arms behind his back and his legs were shoulder width apart and the man had a small smile on one end of his mouth. Alex could have sworn he had seen this man earlier and glanced at his shoulder patches to see his rank; Executive Officer.
“Captain Rowan,” He said with a slight bow. Then he turned to the female Gargoyle and said. “You are dismissed, return to your post.”
She walked right past her superior and disappeared behind a corner which had left Alex alone with the executive officer in the narrow, tight hallway. It was at this point Alex felt embarrassed as he hadn’t remembered his name.
“I am dreadfully sorry, Commander.” Alex said embarrassed. “I forgot your name.”
“Benner,” he said in a heavy southern drawl. “Executive Officer Gordon Benner.”
Benner stood only an inch shorter than Alex and had a more tanned skin tone, his suit was pristine and clear of any blemishes, standing next to him, Alex’s own suit looked far more stained and ruined than before. Its colour is a bleached yellow compared to its original colour scheme.
“I take it you were on your way to see the rest of your crew?” Benner asked, his head tilted slightly upward.
“Yeah, I… the last few days have been very long indeed. And informing STARCOM of everything is going to be an ordeal in and of itself.” Alex mumbled.
Then, Benner jerked his head towards one end of the corridor “Walk with me, I got some questions of my own.” He said.
They walked down the corridor and proceeded past many of the crew's quarters, Benner nor Alex spoke. It wasn’t until they had cleared the crew quarters that he spoke. “From what I heard, is it true that it was an alien craft? What did it look like, did you see them yourself?” Benner asked excitedly.
A groan escaped Alex, he hadn’t meant to verbally display his avoidance of the topics. Nor did he want to dredge up the horrid memories in the Phoenix. Seeing one of those creatures up close, effortlessly slicing through his crew with little resistance.
“I apologise, sir. I realise my tone was inappropriate.” Benner said.
“Oh, no. You’re alright. It's just difficult to remember. Everything became a blur and other stuff I try not to think about… You’re right, though. It was just one craft. It cut through our AURA shields, fired some energy weapons at us. When our defences were down, they fired dozens of insertion pods. They looked like giant crickets or cockroaches or something. But equipped with bladed limbs and a resilience to the elements.” Alex recalled.
“You used Elemental Magia against them?” Benner inquired.
“No, I meant gravity. I set a gravity plate to its highest strength and it was just barely standing.” He corrected.
Benner whistled, he seemed almost impressed by it. “So, mind if I ask something a bit personal?” He asked curiously. The sudden shift in topic was so sudden it almost gave Alex whiplash. “I understand you and Commander Hammer are close,”
Were close, past tense. It was obvious he was unaware of the recent altercation that took place only a few minutes ago. Benner’s green eyes shifted downward for a moment, then shifted back to look at Alex.
“What happened to your neck?” He said.
Alex merely acted to sound surprised, a small part of him didn’t know what Benner was talking about. He gestured by pointing to a spot on his own neck. “Your neck, it has this massive mark on the side and it's bleeding in a couple spots.”
Alex’s reflexes took over and he wiped his hand over his neck, the flesh had been tendered where Samantha’s strong grip had once been, causing him to wince in pain at the slightest touch. When he brought his hand back he examined the small dark brown smear of blood on his fingertips. He let out an amused snort.
Guess Samantha hasn’t been trimming her nails lately.
He wiped his hands on the sides of his suit, dismissing the drawn blood as trivial.
“So what was that you wanted to ask, about me and Sam?” He asked.
Benner’s eyes glanced back to where the blood had come from again, his raised eyebrow and tone sounded as though he found Alex’s nonchalant dismissal of it to be quite strange. In a flash he had regained his composure and his face went back to its neutral position.
“I wanted to ask you what she was like, what you know about her.”
Alex had let out a dry chuckle “You planning on asking her out on a date?”
“Heh, no. Not that.” Benner responded with a chuckle. “I wanted to know if she had always been uptight.”
Alex raised his eyebrow curiously and he turned to face Benner as they traversed the corridor.
“She’s probably under a lot of pressure being a captain, correction; Corvette Commander. I’m sure she’ll settle down.”
“Well see that’s the thing sir, not to sound like I am spreading gossip but this past week she has come down hard on even the tiniest infractions. When we first got posted she was lenient and charitable to the crew. Now, someone who hasn’t polished their boots is immediately dismissed. I wanted to ask, since you and her are close, if you would have anything to share. Something that I can work with and calm her down when she snaps.”
Milo.
Alex stopped, Benner continued for another four feet before he noticed Alex was behind him and walked back.
“It was her brother.” He responded in a lowly voice. “Her brother was my second in command and he perished when I lost my ship. On top of that, her younger brother has been sentenced for life without parole. No doubt she is taking this hard.”
“God!” Benner exclaimed. The two officers came across a dead end, a hatch was sealed shut and Benner proceeded to open it, then allowed Alex through before closing it behind them.
“No wonder the Commander is so uptight.”
“It gets worse.”
“Worse?”
“She blames me for her brother’s death. And to be honest, I don’t think I blame her.”
Just as he had said those words, Alex’s gaze fell to the floor, it had felt as though his body waited for him to admit to it, to hear him say it.
The Atlantis was only a small corvette, her storage capacity was less than that of the Phoenix. It had one large space that had been filled with inflatable mattresses and standard issue sleeping bags for the Phoenix crew to rest on. Everyone had been resting on their designated mattress, which had been lined up in six columns with nearly twenty in each row. Major Fёderov and the surviving Marines had all been gathered in one corner of the storage compartment, each one was out of their power armour and had left resting in an organised pile. Their superior officer, Fёderov still had the lower half of his armour below his navel still attached. He wore a stained white singlet that had a shade of yellow, his large beefy arms were covered in scars and a tattoo of his old units emblem was inked on his shoulder, he had given a quick glance to Alex when he had entered the makeshift barracks and gave a nod of acknowledgement. Clemens was already curled up in a foetal position by the entrance, his space suit looked the most clean, his once pristine, gelled back, raven hair had a few strands of hair poking out in multiple directions, the least immaculate he had ever seen the man.
Further down the row from Clemens was Liyurch, he looked to have been tending to Christopher, the Naga. Silas had occupied the inflatable mattress next to him and was seen patting Christopher on the back. His long body grew out from the perimeter of the bed and was occupying the space between several mattresses, there was no doubt in Alex’s mind he chose to remain by Chris’s side for comfort. Another Naga just in front of Silas had curled their entire body into a multileveled coil while resting on top reading from a tablet device. It was then that Alex noticed that the entire Naga species on his crew had grouped themselves together. Liyurch then departed towards the opposing end of row of beds and lowered his body onto the nearest unoccupied mattress, his wings hung limply from the sides of his body until the long bony fingers were lazily resting on the cold metal floor while Liyurch had coiled his tail to his front side and played with the sharpened cartilaginous tip, his glum expression and lowered eyes spoke of how young the dragon truly was, the recent emotional journey proving too much for even he. The final row of beds remained mostly unoccupied, several members of crew loitered around specific corners of the storage. Alex sat down next to the young drake, hoping his presence might spark even the faintest iota of comfort. The mattress squeaked and croaked under the bulk of his weight. Then he reached over for the rolled up sleeping bag that had been placed adjacent to the mattress and stretched it out before overlaying it atop the mattress. Then he looked over to Liyurch once more, still fiddling around the tip of his tail.
“Everything is going to be fine, Doc,” Alex said with a sympathetic tone. “We can rest easy now, once we get back home things are going to be less crazy from here on out… Everything will be alright.”
When he concluded, Alex was, in truth, only talking to himself. Hoping he would believe his own lies for the sake of helping himself.