When she reached the hanger with Anisa, she was surprised to see a small gathering of her sisters in the hanger. From how they were standing she suspected they were just as worried as she was. Readying makeshift weapons for fear that she had been taken by their originator. Before she could open her mouth, before she could explain, Anisa continued to run full force to them. She tried to warn her captain, tried to let her know what was happening, but it was too late. As her sisters started to fire on the captain she expected it to send her careening to the floor, but she dove between shots from the scrap weapons easily, using a diving tackle to grab one of their legs before they could react. Sweeping the other leg as she passed and twisting her body like an alligator with its prey, she threw the first to the ground with enough force for them to bounce. Going into a handstand to narrow her profile and dodge any shots that would have hit her crouching form, she bent her body backwards and flipped onto the one she had just thrown, leaping from them quickly and jumping sideways. Effortlessly she grabbed their heads, one with her arms and another with her legs, and twisted with terrifying force. A loud crack filled the hanger before the sound of their weapons, and their bodies, hit the floor. As Anisa motioned her to follow, she looked at the corpses that her friend had made in seconds of a few confused and scared souls who had no idea what was going on. She couldn’t help but shout, “What the hell, Nisa!?”
Anisa spoke in a manner she had never heard from her before. Cold efficient, full of remorse but resolute. “We need to get planet side before this gets out of control. Come on.”
Whatever happened while she was out, it had created a noticeable shift in her commander. One she would have to address with her later, because if outright murder was going to be Anisa’s way moving forward then she would need to make clear why that wasn’t going to fly. Regardless, she went to follow Anisa into the ship. It was only as the boarding ramp for this ship closed and the hangar doors opened that she realized her captain’s insane plan.
——
Zwei held her sword close, keeping her eyes open as she watched the younger sister of the captain work. There was a strange man on the screen she swore she could recognize, but she couldn't place the face. The sword spoke in her mind, You are allowing your eyes to focus. A true swordsman need not see one thing but must see all things. When you are fighting faster than the eye you cannot narrow your focus, only your goal. She knew he was only teaching her in hopes that she could break the lock on the sheath, but it was like Master Phoenix was still here. He had disappeared so suddenly that she hadn't had time to figure out her role in this larger world. Now Kuntaret and Trinta seemed to know more about him than she did and this signal had dragged them all so far away from him. The blade spoke to her again, Your mind is drifting now. You are facing a far more experienced foe that you know nothing of their tactics. How could you possibly call yourself a warrior while you daydream like this? It was right. She needed to focus on the now. Watching the young woman who she was willing to kill all that time ago, she couldn't understand or even remember why anymore. Was the effect of The Original so strong that it could make her kill like that? She could feel the sword on her hip try to suppress those thoughts. Trying to keep her in the moment and clear her head of distractions.
Stolen novel; please report.
Hepta struggled against the wheel and shouted to the woman on the floor, "Kid! You almost done with your phone call over there? Because I'm not pilot but this thing is fighting me about as hard as it can."
The girl sighed, "It isn't a phone call. His name is Tai and he is helping me work the thrusters and calculations. The real issue we have is the odd profile of the ship. It isn't designed for re-entry. We are fortunate that the Phoenixian Crystal powering the defenses. I mean do you understand..." It was here that Zwei's mind began to drift at that point, unable to fully understand what the girl was talking about. The odd part was that as the confusion took her focus, her eyes began to absorb the room and she began to understand what the sword was talking about. Seeing the entire room all at once. It was as she did so that she noticed odd movements in a nearby vent, just barely out of the corner of her eye. She tried to keep her perception broad, but she prepared herself for potential invaders.
Shi noticed and seemed to close her eyes as she listened for them. Hepta's face shifted to mild concern as she continued to struggle against the wheel to keep their current course. Whatever her sisters noticed, she wasn't going to have much chance to join in. If she let go for even a moment there was no telling what would happen. The girl was seemingly oblivious to these events as she continued to speak to the man on her tablet. “I understand but we are talking big picture. Can you give me any more information on this stuff?”
As she said this, the voices began to echo from the vents. Tak’Nasi’s smile was dominant in her tone, “My oh my. Three kittens and a little girl are trying to keep their heads above water before the dolphins come down the river to eat them.” After a moment of pause where no one replied she continued condescendingly, “Oh, did you not know that some river dolphins are aggressive carnivores? Of course you don’t. Without my countless lifetimes of knowledge you are simple children. Helpless before me as we begin this dance.” Movement in the vents. Loud and suspicious. Most likely a feint. “But that’s fine, because you have no idea what I’m about to do to you.”
Ready for the converted to launch their attack, a fair but one sided fight, they were completely caught off guard when the viewing panels fell away. The pressure change pulled all of them off their feet and towards the opening. Hepta managed to get a grip on one of the edges, Shi and Zwei just barely getting their hands on her for their lives. Hepta glared at the corrupted bodies of Kuntaret and Ellefu. As the two placed their hands on Hepta, a strange goo left their hands and began to cover her. Zwei watched in horror as the goo consumed her two sisters and began to cover her as well.
Katsi, more or less fortunate than the others, was now free falling in the upper atmosphere of an alien planet, having just enough time to process this fact as she watched a glorious golden city of science and culture be crushed beneath the hull of the mobile citadel she had come to call home up to this point, the sheer loss of life stinging her heart.