“Attention all passengers, this is the captain of the freighter speaking. This is an announcement regarding the boarding situation. If you are in any level above the lower decks, please remain within your cabins and follow instructions given by the guard crew. If you're on the lower decks... things don't look too good, I apologise for the inconvenience but there is nothing we can do at the moment. If you're stranded down there, please hide. We currently have every bulkhead door locked down and our assailants appear unable to breach them; currently, we are safe.

After much discussion between myself and the guard unit, we’ve agreed that it’s too dangerous to release any of the bulkheads, and so we cannot recover any lost passengers at this time. I have requested assistance from the nearby guard post, and they've dispatched some Quill-Belly fighter-bomber units to help us dispatch of the intruders and break this stalemate - so, please remain calm and allow the guards and the Quill-Bellies to deal with this. Thank you.”

The captain ended the communication and swivelled his chair around to the central ship display, looking closely at the 3D holographic model of the ship's interiors, and scrutinising the bulkhead positions. It appeared the assaulting force was lacking in anti-armour weapons or tools, which meant they were struggling with their massive armoured doors within the ship. He’d managed to lock and seal every door to the mid-section of the ship successfully, but the passengers were trapped. And as long the lower decks were occupied by the intruders, the ship would remain grounded.

Things were about to change, however, as multiple strike craft entered the planet's atmosphere and honed in on the freighter's location, as they approached into lower orbit.

“Appreciate the assistance, 4-1, weapons free on anything outside the ship and within the forest and city perimeter...”

*

Diego and Seeth collapsed on the slightly damp grass several feet away from the factory entrance, panting loudly and desperately filling their lungs with fresh, clean air. A myriad of thoughts and feelings buzzed through the both of them, and both were yet to say a word.

After a few minutes of recovery, and a somewhat awkward silence, Diego's heart rate dropped to something more reasonable and he was able to regain some composure. It had been a very long time since he'd experienced this amount of pain and it was anything but pleasant, but he was proud that he’d managed to get Seeth out of there.

Finally he looked over to her, to check if she was alright, and found that she had been looking at him quite intently, but she shied away upon seeing him look back.

“I... think we need to talk...” He shuffled over towards her. Seeth was sat and leaning against a thick tree stump, her legs flopped out in front of her.

“Y-Yeah... Look... I'm... I'm sorry I blurted that out... I-I just, I thought -” She stumbled over her words, blushing deeply and looking rather embarrassed. “I mean, it worked!”

“Seeth. Relax. I understand why you said it but... how...? I've got a lot of weird thoughts and feelings in my head right now, I also can't feel my legs but we'll deal with that later...” Diego could hear himself rambling; he was nervous too. “You - you love me? You've known me for less than a week!”

Seeth nodded carefully and let out a long sigh, deciding to just let her feelings be free; it made for quite the pleasant change compared to the last year of her life.

“I know that... it might seem sudden... Look, Diego. Ever since I laid eyes on you, I've been damn near obsessed with you, I can't get you out of my brain. You have ALL the qualities I've ever wanted in a partner. You willingly gave yourself up as our prisoner to save a girl you barely knew, a girl you’d only just met. You escaped from the dungeon, and then fought your way back in, just to rescue me! You gave up your sword for my safety, you risked your neck again to get me up those bastard stairs, and you saved my life AGAIN by binding my wounds... I should be dead at least twice over and I'm not - because of you...”

“I mean... yeah... but...” Diego ruffled his hair shyly.

“It's not just the heroics and the rescuing... You make me feel good again, and I don’t just mean in bed... I haven't felt anything since I was corrupted, I just had this… thick layer of apathy that coated everything, and brief spikes of pleasure when I indulged in those dark desires... Leech coaxed me into helping her, and I thought that that was me now... just some cold, murderous piece of shit that wrecks other people’s lives... I didn't know what else to do!” Seeth’s frustration was briefly visible as she clenched her fists. “Then you came along, and it’s like you lit a fire in my heart and burned away all this mud that was coating it... You made me feel real again, just looking at you makes my heart flutter! I want to be with you so badly... just to get away from all this and... just be a person again.”

Diego watched her closely as her mood shifted. As she became more and more upset, he reached over and hugged her around the shoulders tightly, pulling her attention back to him.

“I understand, Seeth. I've been there...” He hesitated slightly, pausing for a second before pressing on. “I lost my parents, years ago to the DA. They murdered them in a civil war that took place a long time ago... I was only young back then and I became a bitter, angry person who took his rage out on the people around him. I did a lot of damage and I hurt a lot of people who didn't deserve it. But I broke free from all that, and now look at me! You can bounce back from this, I promise. You can be better.”

“But I'm dangerous, Diego... and I don't deserve to be with you. And I don't even know if you like me…” She paused, but when Diego remained quiet she carried on. “I don't know what I'm doing any-more. I know I'm not going back to my old life, that's for certain. I'm just... lost…” She scoffed loudly. “Pfft. Here I am confessing my feelings to a guy who's hopelessly out of my league, probably thinks I'm scum too, and I've got no friends and no place to go -”

“You think you're out of my league?!” Diego’s abrupt retort made her jump a little; he seemed offended at her words. “Seeth. How the hell am I out of your league? Are you joking? You're fucking gorgeous, you look like a super model with ginormous boobs, a figure to die for - look, I don’t want to get into this too deep right now, but I really like you… And more than that! You know what you also are? A good person. I know that, I can feel that. You were so stubborn to try and get me to leave you behind because you wanted me to be safe.

Good people fall off the right path sometimes, Seeth. I know they do, trust me. I'm not pretending to ignore the damage you've done, but promise me that you'll never corrupt another person again and I'll accept that.” He held out his hand for her to take, for her to leave this old life behind, permanently.

Seeth reached out firmly and squeezed his smaller hand within her own.

“I promise. I will never corrupt anyone again. Ever.” Seeth stated, firmly.

There was a brief pause between the two, both their hands tingling pleasantly from the other's touch, the wind gently blowing through the trees and rustling the foliage. Seeth felt a weight lift from her shoulders; a burden had been shared, and things seemed hopeful, more so than they had in a long, long time.

“Then I think we can make it work. So, do you…” Diego hesitated; his burst of confidence had now gone, and he suddenly went rather shy. “You… wanna travel with me? I usually just drift around, seeing what’s what, who needs help. I could really do with the company.”

Seeth’s eyes lit up at Diego’s words.

“Y-You meant that? I-In what capacity? Like an assistant or...?”

“Eh... I was thinking more like... girlfriend.... maybe? It's selfish of me but... I really do like you... You're attractive, you're brilliant in bed, you're selfless and self-aware... I get lonely on my travels through the stars, it's a dark, long road and not many take it. The idea that I could have you by my side? You? I want that more than anything.”

Seeth pressed a wet, soft kiss against his lips, hugging him close as she did so, the two of them humming slightly in one-another's grasp. After a few seconds, they slowly parted, both blushing furiously and smiling like a couple of love-struck idiots.

“I... assume that's a yes...?”

“I'm going to be a lot of work, you realise? My… condition makes me horny, all the time. I've been suppressing it as much as I can, but now that I know I have someone willing and able...” She ran a finger over his chin and up his ear, and grinned as he shivered from her delicate touch.

“You think you're a lot of work? Have you seen all the trouble I got in since I arrived? You gotta deal with that!” They laughed, exhausted, but happy. “Besides, you say all that stuff like it's a bad thing. As soon as we’re out of here, and we’ve got a place that’s just ours, all to ourselves I think we're gonna have a lot of fun together! Hey... Seeth, can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” She smiled, her heart filled with warmth and love.

“Can I touch your hair...? It looks so pretty and strange, like jelly dreadlocks...”

She giggled sweetly and held out a few strands to him, which he gripped softly and felt with his fingers; they giggled sweetly together.

“I-It’s so strange! It's like wet and dry at the same time! Very soft though-”

“Holy fucking shit bag balls fuck - Diego, you got her out?!?”

From the treeline, the worried forms of Plasia, Trent, Geralt and Tivy appeared, sprinting across the wet grass towards them.

“Not half - I think he carried her, Geralt!” Trent called out, eyeing Seeth's wounded legs.

“H-He did. I don't know how, but he did...” Seeth ruffled his hair and ears lovingly, staring at him awe-struck.

“Well, I don't understand it, but I'm glad you made it, Diego.” Geralt shook his head in disbelief. “So, what's the plan now?”

“We were going to find a way to that isolated station, right...?” Tivy chirped, slowly approaching Seeth and offering to hold her hand as a peace treaty, Seeth smiled shyly, and couldn’t quite meet Tivy’s eyes, but accepted.

“I have a better idea.” Diego tapped the white armoured gauntlet on his wrist. “I got this off a dead DA captain, seeing as this is the key to their ships, we should have a free ride out of here!” He tapped on it again to reveal the location of the craft; it was only a klick or so away, fifteen minute walk at most.

Diego stood from Seeth's side and wobbled a little on his legs, Trent and Geralt immediately went to help, placing his arms under their shoulders to keep him upright.

“S-So we just take the DA ship and get out of here, then?” Plasia asked, walking over to Seeth and picking her up off the floor.

“Yup, easy as...” Diego stopped mid sentence, his ears twitching once again, there was something buzzing in the sky - a lot of somethings by the sounds of it.

The group fell silent as the sound of screaming started to echo through the forest.

Then, several shuddering explosions shook the trees and rumbled through the ground, prompting a new level of panic through them.

“What the hell is going on now?!”

More explosions rang out, and the screaming promptly stopped. The group could hear buzzing through the air and a strike-craft appeared overhead, visible through the shaking branches as it hovered over them, menacingly. It was a Quill-Belly fighter-bomber, easily recognisable from its underside which was lined with explosive rocket-bombs, protruding from its chassis similar to an upside-down porcupine.

Without warning, a salvo of explosive rockets flew out from its underside and carpet bombed a section of the forest close-by, silencing yet more of the unknown crowd. The explosive payloads hit with devastating force, rupturing the ground and blasting the trees into splintered bark.

“Nobody move!”

Diego had seen this before, deep concern spread across his face as he stared at the flecks of silver lodged in the tree’s ruptured trunks.

“T-They're using anti-personnel rockets... we're gonna get torn to shreds! Quill-Belly rockets have a fifty-metre kill radius!”

Another rocket hit, closer this time, knocking them all but Plasia off their feet. Their one saving grace was the shrapnel did not penetrate through the trees...

The team began to panic. The sound of more ominous buzzing drew close, and the repeated thudding of impacting bombs intensified. A stray limb hurtled through the air and landed at Tivy’s feet; if she’d looked mortified before it was nothing compared to the expression on her face now. She fell back to her knees, placed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly.

As the forest quaked and filled with constant explosions, the team looked at one another in disarray... As if things couldn't get any worse, the air filled with the sound of heavy auto-cannon fire too; the ships were actively hunting targets in the area. They couldn't know if they were the targets themselves, but it was only a matter of time until someone was hurt..

“What the hell are we gonna do?! C-Can we make a run for the ship?!”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Can you help me run?” Diego asked Trent urgently. “My legs are fucked, I don't know if I can hold a steady pace by myself.”

The fox nodded, stress worn into his face as he checked on the others.

“Okay, Plasia's got Seeth, I've got you... Geralt! Carry Tivy!” Tivy was still unresponsive and shielding herself from the noise, terrified and shaking all over. “I-I think that's everyone! Let's move, folks!”

They began to quickly make their way through the forest, everyone in their assigned pairs, Diego and Trent leading the way, their arms draped over the other as the fox took some of the lizard's weight for him.

Another explosion shook the ground, Plasia screamed in pain as a silver speck slashed into her forearm, causing a trickle of blue blood to ooze through the wound. They'd barely been moving for a minute and someone had already been hit. It seemed the further away they got from the factory, the more barren the land became, and shrapnel was flying everywhere.

“We're not gonna make it...”

Diego looked around at his crew, the forest was getting bombed into the ground, turning the once mighty conifers and greenery into shredded wood paste. Tivy was having a panic attack in Geralt's arms, a Quill-Belly was hovering directly above them and opening fire at something in the distance, raining empty shell casings onto the crew as its high-calibre auto-cannons thudded over and over again.

“GATHER UP!” Diego yelled at the top of his lungs, competing with the roar of the engines and gun above him. “There's a strong chance I'm gonna faint after this so... be ready Trent.” Diego paused and shifted slightly away from Trent, standing up straight. He thumped at his chest twice, then again, and his face went from concerned to annoyed when nothing happened.

Another explosion rang out close by, wood splinters and chunks of dirt flew over the group's head.

Diego thumped at his chest again, more aggressively this time and still nothing happened.

“COME ON!” He slammed his fist against his chest twice more and roared into the air, and finally an eruption of psyonic energy zapped out from him, bolting between all the members of the group. He fell to his knees for a second, his eyes rolling back into his head. Trent immediately bent down and lifted him to his feet. After a moment, Diego re-focused; he was visibly weaker following the burst of psyonic power, but he was still standing.

Thanks to Diego, the team all now felt a little lighter on their feet, their bodies shimmering gently with a golden glow, almost like an after image.

“That's the last of my psyonic energy, should protect us from the shrapnel but it was a weak cast, so it won't last long... we gotta get to that ship!”

A rocket immediately impacted the ground just metres away from the group and silver shrapnel blasted out, but it didn’t penetrate their second skin of psyonic plating.

“Fuck me! That couldn't have been any closer, could it?!” Geralt was deeply impressed, admiring the silver specks caught in his golden after-image. “We gotta make this count! Let’s go!”

With a faster pace and greater confidence, the team charged towards the ship, multiple bombs impacting close to their positioning. Shit… we’ve been spotted. A volley of targeted rocket bombs landed directly ahead of them, decimating the treeline and sending a massive wave of silver shrapnel at the group. Again, they were left unscathed.

The team were closing in on the ship. They charged into a small forest clearing, when a Quill-Belly flew directly in front of their path, bringing itself down a little and deploying its auto-cannons. Two sets of twin barrels aimed directly at the team, the pilot barely visible through the tinted cockpit at the front.

“Diego... can the plating take hits from an auto-cannon...?” Trent asked, backing off into the treeline again.

“I... Those rounds look dangerous... I can't guarantee that...” The team waited for a second as the Quill-Belly didn't open fire, it remained hovering in the air instead, weapons primed and pointed at the team.

“Fuck this! Why are they firing on us?!” Geralt shook his head in disbelief. “We're literally just trying to leave!”

“Maybe we just need to tell them that!” Trent approached and waved his arms at the Quill-Belly, trying to get the pilot to recognise that this completely naked group of wounded people weren't a threat. For a few seconds, they could just make out that the pilot, he seemed to be communicating with someone… but then the auto-cannons refocused on the group, taking aim at Trent and Diego in front.

“TIVY?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Geralt cried out as she struggled free of his arms.

Suddenly Tivy was at the front of the group, bounding through the grass. The Quill-Belly to back up a little and fire upon the new threat, sending multiple high-calibre rounds crashing into the ground, kicking up mud and rock.

Tivy ran as fast as she could, zig-zagging through the open area to get the gunship's attention, and it worked, the pilot focused on her, struggling to hit such a small, nimble target. The team surged forward, running past the gunship as it unleashed hundreds of rounds into the grass.

“SHE CAN'T DODGE FOREVER! WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GONNA DO?!” Geralt screamed, practically in tears as the gunship honed its aim and got a little closer to her with every shuddering volley of rounds.

There was a gut wrenching yelp as one of the rounds directly connected with the bouncing figure, sending her scattering into the long grass in the clearing.

“Plasia... find me something to throw...” Seeth and Plasia were a little ways behind the others, and Plasia did as she asked. With one hand, she grasped and pulled a solid chunk of rock from the ground, about the size of her head. Seeth took it in her hands, drew a slow, deep breath and hurled it through the air with astonishing accuracy. The rock slammed into the cockpit and cracked the glass, clearly scaring the pilot as the gunship shook suddenly, but otherwise the rock simply bounced off.

“Now run!” Seeth ordered, still in Plasia's arms.

The gunship changed target and spun around to address the rock assault, lining up its guns with the two aliens, when something shook the entire area violently.

Fire erupted into the sky and an ear bursting explosion ruptured through the area, only Diego's warcry protecting the team from the deafening blast. Trees were uprooted and sent crashing back into the ground from the shockwave. From within the centre of the forest, a column of fire rose into the sky like an erupting volcano, lighting the already wrecked forest with a blazing inferno. As the pillar of fire faded away, hovering in the sky by two jets of brilliant plasma fire, Moltezz made her presence known.

Surrounding her were several of her demonic looking orbs. She pointed a finger at one of the many Quill-Bellies in the sky, and a massive lance of pure energy erupted from one of the orbs, annihilating the entire craft in a brilliant explosion...

“I won't be beaten so easily!” Her eyes narrowed as the Quill-Bellies began to advance on her, dropping their current objectives to begin battle with the demonic terror that had just blasted one of their own from existence.

The sky flashed with fire and fury, the crackle of energy followed by crashing machinery echoing out over and over again. Auto-cannons were brought to bear against her being as she melted the gunships with terrible efficacy.

As their gunship departed to face a bigger threat, the team ran over to where they saw Tivy get shot, hearts heavy in their chest as they approached...

To their collective relief however, Tivy was laid in the grass, clutching at her chest but the bullet had not penetrated the psyonic plating; it had certainly scared her, but she was fine. Before they could celebrate however, the plating flickered across the entire group. Its strength was waning, and their protection wouldn't last much longer.

“Tivy! You can’t just go off and do crazy shit like that! Scared the life out of me!” Geralt wiped the sweat from around his eyes and lifted Tivy up off the ground. Wasting no more time, the team pushed on towards the ship as the dog fighting in the air intensified.

Another massive explosion tore through the sky, a nova lance pierced through the clouds and obliterated another Quill-Belly. Another ship immediately took its place, tried to get close, but Moltezz casually held out her hand and a cone of flame erupted into the air, melting the ship’s front in seconds, and causing its ammo and fuel containers to explode in its rear. The entire thing detonated in a blast of metal, glass and scrap. Its immolated carcass plummeting from the sky and slamming through shrapnel-filled trees in a wave of bark, wood and metal.

Despite the desperate cries of the pilot within the damaged, quickly burning away to ash, the team pressed on; they didn’t have the time to feel sorry for the people who’d just been trying to bomb them a few seconds ago, and any distractions now could be fatal.

“Seeth, is that -”

“I see them.”

As they limped on, Seeth and Plasia realised that they weren't the only ones on the run; the forest was rapidly filling with their corrupted slaves. They were chasing down nomads, who were desperately running through the trees for their lives, families, friends, but try as they might, the horde was gaining on them. Their screams grated against the ears of the exhausted lizard, who cast a tired glance out towards the horizon, his tail flicking anxiously as he realised he did not have the strength to aid anyone else.

More explosions rang out and the distant thudding of guns began to run dry. In the battle in the sky, Moltezz appeared to be winning quite decisively; she took the Quill-Bellies down one by one with precision and tacticity, defending herself from their attacks with a shield of fire and annihilating them with more nova lances, piercing though the dawn with demonic clarity.

Although the air raid would have wounded and killed numerous slaves, their attack on the freighter would not be deterred so easily. The forest began to fill with thick, choking fog smog that rolled low across the ground, fire and ash spreading through the acrid air as stray fire bolts sprayed through the sky and splattered through the forest's tree line. The heat was unbearable, Diego’s psyonic defence being the only thing keeping the group alive and moving, even in its flickering state.

Finally, they burst into another clearing and found the DA assault craft.

It was a reasonable length craft, with a brilliant white hull and a sleek design to it, with a ramp to the ground halfway across its shielded body. The indents and shrapnel on the ground suggested that the bombing raids had gone right over the assault craft, missiles perhaps even having directly hit the body of the ship, but the DA’s shields proved effective, and it didn't even have a single scratch on its hull.

With Trent's help, Diego limped up the ramp and slapped the gauntlet against a bright blue access panel. The armoured airlock smoothly snapped open. Once past the second lock, the team sprinted onboard and the airlock closed quickly behind and gave them, just in time too - as the door sealed, their shielding faded away.

Wasting no time, they charged up the plated corridor together. The ship was completely empty. The cockpit had space enough for their whole crew, with multiple comfy looking pilot chairs and an intricate set of control panels.

“Right, we’re in!” Diego slammed his gauntlet against the scanner and the ship came to life, engines activating with a satisfying rumble as its main systems engaged. “Can anyone fly this thing?”

“Jeez Diego, don’t you high-class boys know how to do anything?” Tivy winked playfully at the lizard and leapt from Geralt’s arms and onto the pilot’s chair. “A nomad child could fly this thing!”

Diego forced a grin onto his face. “Just as well we’ve got you here then, short stuff!”

The ship was already beginning to rise, and with it rose a strong pang of guilt inside him, right in the guts. Yes, he’d saved a handful of people, but at what cost? And, perhaps worst of all, the very person he’d arrived here to help had likely died, right along with the rest of her city. He’d come here to help, to help pick apart the mystery that had been tormenting this small nomad planet, but instead, all he'd done was fall, face first into it. He just hoped he hadn't made things worse… As he glanced out of the cockpit's windows, he considered landing the ship, and keep it there, on the slightest chance that they could say someone, anyone else… But the ship kept rising, and Diego remained still; the raging inferno was quickly engulfing the entire forest, and any unshielded nomads would be dead within minutes.

Tivy glanced over the numerous blinking lights and colourful buttons that dotted the edges of the cabin and pressed the radio on, flicking through the channels. It was mostly static; the group settled down into the remaining seats as she continued to scan the channels and run her fingers over the controls.

Attention all cra-

“WAIT! GO BACK, GO BACK!”

Diego lurched forward. Tivy quickly turned the radio scanner.

-nd stations within sector 90-50 EXN-2-T. A planetary freighter has been compromised with an anomalous agent. Please exercise caution; if spotted, you must NOT allow this freighter to dock. Attention all crafts and stations within sector 90-50 EXN-2-T. A planetary freighter has been compromised with an anomalous agent… The message was playing on repeat on a local radio wavelength… from a local radio station.

“Is that... is that Oxyi...?” Diego tilted his head, listening closely to the fuzzy broadcast. “I-It must be! She's still alive?! Where could she broadcast that from?!”

“There's only one place she could; the comms centre!” Trent replied. “ Do you think we can pilot this thing over there with Moltezz blasting everything out the sky?”

“Hell yeah I do. I have another promise to keep.” Diego sat himself in the co-pilot’s seat next to Tivy, eyes firmly glued to the windows.“Plasia, there should be a medical facility on the upper deck somewhere, get Seeth to it and make sure she's alright. Tivy, take the wheel and stay on that radio, listen out for where Oxyi might be. Trent, Geralt, keep an eye on the ship's vitals and let me know if anything’s out of hand. Lets grab her and get the fuck out of here.”

The ship rose quickly, picking up speed as it moved over the raging inferno that used to be a forest. Its shields were strong enough to resist the blazing heat but Moltezz was wrapping up now with the remaining Quill-Bellies, driving the survivors into a full retreat. She was surveying her surroundings with a sinister ruby glare and a smug smile, when a DA assault craft sped past behind her. She whipped round and stared after it. Hmm… Didn’t I kill all of those pesky little dragons earlier?

*

Within the rickety confines of the comm tower, Oxyi watched the battle unfold. She felt bitter and defeated, but took some solace in her final message to the universe. She watched the tiny figures running about the city like ants underneath her, refugees trying their best to escape from the horde that was hunting them down. There was nothing more to be done now, than wait for her eventual death.

Just all all hoped had left her, a bright light suddenly shone and hit Oxyi right in the eye. She winced from it and used her hand to cover her face, but turned slowly to find out what had dared to interrupt her final moments.

A brilliant white aircraft was rapidly approaching the comms tower! Oxyi sat bolt upright and knocked her chair back, as she stared at the giant craft heading straight towards her.

“What in the fuck is going on now?! UGH! I am so sick of saying that! Can’t I just die in peace?”

The ship slowed on approach, finally stopping and hovering over and beside the roof. Oxyi was overcome with confusion; she recognised the DA’s style and calibre, but there was no way they’d come all this way to rescue her… right?

The roof was accessible from the main communications room Oxyi was in, via a skinny metal ladder at the back of the room. Her body still aching and tired, she hauled herself up the ladder and pushed the hatch up. She pulled herself onto the roof, and onto her feet. She stood, directly facing the DA ship hovering close to the side. Its airlock hissed open, exhaling great white clouds of air. They slowly dissipated, revealing the silhouettes of two men in the darkness of the craft’s interior.

“Diego..? GERALT?!”

The last two men Oxyi had ever been expecting to see in this life again.

Hair whipping around her face, Oxyi’s jaw dropped and her eyes primed with tears as Geralt and Diego held their arms out to her. The ship inched closer to the roof, but it couldn’t quite close the gap.

“Jump, Oxyi, JUMP!”

Oxyi didn’t even hesitate; she sprinted across the rooftop and launched herself at the aircraft… and landed safely in their arms.

The airlock closed the moment she was inside. Oxyi stood, breathing heavily, feeling the strength and the warmth in the arms that still held onto her. Immediately she felt her tough facade, her bravery slip away, as she realised that she was safe. She wasn’t going to die today. Choking back tears, she wrapped her arms around both of their necks.

“Thank you…” She whispered. “God, thank you…”

Diego gently unwound her arm and placed it over Geralt. Oxyi embraced him, then pulled away as the tears started to roll down her face. She took his hand and shook it firmly, her own hands shaking.

“Don’t mention it, Oxyi.” Geralt smiled at her, relief deep in his wise and wrinkled eyes. He lowered his hand from her grasp and stepped back, glancing up at Diego. “Besides, it’s this guy you should be thanking.”

Oxyi turned and threw her arms around Diego, resting her head heavily against his chest as she tried desperately to control her crying. He gently hugged her back, glancing back at Geralt with a small smile as the old feline made his way back to the cockpit, and towards the sleeping quarters.

Oxyi stepped back slightly and looked Diego up and down, fresh tears forming in her eyes and a grateful, heartfelt smile on her face.

“You look like shit...” She went to laugh but quickly it devolved into a sob. She didn't even give the lizard a chance to respond; she threw herself back into his embrace and squeezed him tightly, burying her face into his neck.

“And you didn't leave the planet like I said... did you...?” Diego laughed back, hugging her close.

“N-no... but... oh god.. Diego, it's so good to see you..! Where… where’s your sword? And why was Geralt naked?!

Diego laughed, and they felt their weight shift as the spaceship pulled up from the town and ascended into the sky. Only a few seconds later, the craft was already high in orbit, the planet rapidly receding from their sight. The town Oxyi had spent her whole life in had suddenly become nothing more than a dot beneath their feet as the team finally made it to safety, away from the hellish fire and the rumbling hordes below them.

They’d done it. They were off planet. The dungeon lay in ruins. Safe, for now at least, in the dark and comforting confines of space. Distant stars winked down at them. Galaxy clouds floated aimlessly around in the ether. Tivy gazed out the cockpit’s windshields as Trent celebrated behind her. With the flick of a switch, the craft was set to autopilot, and she spun her captain’s chair around to face them, beaming from ear to ear.

Geralt emerged from the sleeping quarters with a pile of clothes in his arms of varying sizes. Trent and Tivy made their way over to the ship’s mess quarters, plucking some shirts and trousers from the feline as they passed. The pair raided one of the many well-stocked refrigerators and slumped down together at the lunch table. As Oxyi approached the rest of the team, Geralt, now dressed in a comfortable white polo shirt and grey shorts, took her down towards the lounge, only a room away, where they sat on one of the comfy sofas to catch up. Her mind was elsewhere though; her hero hadn’t followed her into the social quarters of the ship. At the top of the craft, in the infirmary Seeth lay heavily on a medical table as the exhausted lizard tended to her wounds, and ensured she was safe. The two spoke softly to one another, such sweet nothings in this hour of victory and hope.

Plasia sat in the corner of the room against a large crate, just happy to be in the company of Diego and Seeth as he pressed a damp cloth against Seeth's head and cleaned her up. He held onto her hand tightly, and Plasia glanced up and smiled as they softly began to giggle.

In her lap was an A4 notebook and a slightly chewed biro. She’d shyly been scribbling away with the stationary she’d found in the infirmary - the first thing she’d drawn in a long, long time.

Plasia lifted the notebook up in front of her and held it out. A satisfied smile spread across her face. Considering she was out of practice, she was happy with her creation.

On the page before her was a scribble of a black lizard with sabre toothed fangs, flowing black locks, cute bat-like ears and an oversized sword strapped across his back. Most unusual for a nomad traveller to be wielding a melee weapon like that… Plasia had quoted below the sketch.

But perhaps unusual is exactly what we needed.

EPILOGUE

“So. The Quill-Bellies have been destroyed and we're still trapped... but the bulkheads have held strong, and you've got a plan, sir?” The captain of the freighter was looking visibly more shaken, now that their back-up had been so easily destroyed, but he still had faith in his crew.

The guard captain, dressed in his full suit of power armour and his squad donned likewise behind him, nodded confidently. He flexed his massive rifle. “Yep. We just need to reclaim the hanger, and then we can take off. Me and the boys will lead the charge and lock the bulkhead behind us and hit the hanger bay quickly, get the door closed which should buy you enough time to get us in the air. Once off the ground, we can work through the ship methodically and deal with the remaining assailants without the threat of constant reinforcements.”

“Excellent! Prep your men, we've got some time but the sooner the better!”

Just as some hope filled the room, a desperate scout came running onto the bridge, looking mortified.

“Captain! They've breached a lower security door! You need to see this!”

The crew turned their attention to the camera view before them. The same heavy security door they’d looked at dozens of times before, was now gone, completely destroyed, bent and ripped from the frame with huge, thick, dark trails of murky looking goo smeared over the walls. It was like someone had dragged a series of huge, tar-covered paint brushes against them. As they panned the camera, the remains of several guards came into shot. They'd been torn apart, their corpses barely recognisable through the dark goo that coated their armour and body parts...

A shudder ran through the ship followed by a deep, monstrous, alien roar. Several alarms suddenly sounded in unison, bleaching the bridge in flashing crimson lights.

*WARNING*

*LOWER BULKHEAD BREACHED*

*WARNING*

*LOWER BULKHEAD BREACHED*