Amelia had just turned to walk away from the science building with Viza when it happened. A sharp, electrified pain hit her back as her muscles tensed, electricity firing throughout her and causing her to go stiff as every Deathworld-hardened muscle in her body contracted. While it only lasted for a few moments, because the attack from nowhere had triggered her fight or flight response, and because this, in turn, triggered her implants, it felt much longer as her neural capacity was expanded. Her augments went into tactical combat mode, increasing her perception time to absorb and react even faster than the adrenaline coursing through her body did.
Once the electricity ran its course, she took just a second to recover and saw it. A strange bending of light around her periphery. Her augmented eye switched from normal vision to UV, then x-ray, then thermal, finally seeing what was there. A creature in a strange suit, and it was making off with Viza.
"Viza? Viza! What the hell are you doing with him!?" She shouted.
It entered what she assumed was a maintenance tunnel with blinding speed, probably trying to lose her and for a half second, what Viza had told her about how Krultathans were treated came to mind.
'The Axons take us as slaves, they use us for their pheromone farms. It's like a drug to them.'
Was that an Axon? And they took Viza?
'They took Viza.'
Nothing else mattered. Once again, someone was taking something precious from her, but this time she could do something.
She had been prepping for years to take down Wonderland, an organization with the backing of a full government. One little Axon? Oh, she was for sure going to make him pay.
In a flash she kicked the boots Viza had gotten her to its lowest setting, utilizing the lower gravity to her full advantage as she commanded her augments to prep. Then she took one step, and then another, and another, turning into a full sprint toward the door that only seconds ago the thing made off with Viza in. Reaching the door, she didn't bother trying to hit the access code to open it, instead, she took her right arm, the one that had been reinforced to hell and back, and released the limiters normally put on her muscles to keep them from tearing apart, punched it.
KAK-THOOM!
The door didn't just buckle but outright was blown back and against the wall of the tunnel with a loud booming sound. the few onlookers around made a startle at the noise and began panicking, but Amelia didn't care. Viza was in trouble, and she'll be damned if she let something happen to him. She looked around her eye still in infrared mode and saw the piece of shit that took him running along the right path, trying to escape.
"Give. Him. Back!"
The words tore from her throat like the low growl of a predator defending its territory. She took off again, willing herself to catch up. Her steps were so heavy with the power she was generating that audible Thoomps were made and dents were left in the thin metallic floor. She didn't care. She had one goal, get Viza back. Falling back into her cold self, the one that gave her the nickname Cheshire, she ran, she chased... She hunted.
The axon was fast, but only in bursts, it kept having to stop. Amelia thought, while she wasn't a part of the military anymore she had kept up her physical fitness. Even without her augments, she knew she could run across this station many times over. With them, however, it was hardly a challenge.
Thoomp,thoomp, thoomp, thoomp.
She was getting closer, the Axon had stopped for a moment, then suddenly bolted off again, turning left down a different tunnel. Amelia didn't even bother slowing down at the turn, instead, she planted her right foot against the wall at the corner, and used her muscles to rebound her down the new direction while keeping much of her speed. The corner however dented in deeply in the shape of her foot, robbing her of some of the energy.
Not enough to save the Axon though.
He darted through another turn, and then another, each time slowing down some, and each time Amelia got closer. She could see his panting, see his desperation like a prey caught in a maze with a beast, which he was.
"Give. Him. BACK!"
As she spoke, she launched forward, all senses trained on the thing carrying Viza. Her hands were already balled into fists and as her right, then left foot landed she used the momentum from her running to propel a punch forwards at the Axon, stopping her in her tracks and practically launching the creature forwards into a wall with a visible dent, it letting go of Viza in the process. Amelia immediately rushed over to Viza's side, checking on him.
"Viza? Viza! Are you okay? Wake up, wake up!" She said, trying to wake him to no avail. She checked his pulse. He still had one. She checked his breathing, he was still breathing.
'Good. He was just knocked out from the stun then.'
Turning to the Axon, who was groaning and just now getting up, his suit cracked into pieces but himself seemingly in one piece, she glared at him.
'He had hurt Viza.'
In a voice that was utterly calm, yet had a chill that could freeze the air itself she said to the Axon.
"You're going to tell me. Everything."
"O-or else what, Uman?" It said. Its voice sounded like gravel in a blender to Amelia's ears, even through the translator.
"You misunderstand, Axon. There is no or else. You. Will tell me. Everything."
She said as she slowly stalked forward towards him. Out of her pocket, she picked up three steel balls. She had planned to use them to show Viza how humans evolved to use parabolic trajectories, but now. Well, someone else was going to learn as the Axon tried to run. Tried.
THUNG!!
A bearing embeds itself in the wall ahead of where the Axon tried to run, stopping it in its tracks. By now its stench was leaking out, smelling like rotting garbage.
But the stench wasn't enough to deter her as she continued walking forward.
"I-I am a loyal citizen of the Axon Matriarchy! I will not yield!" It shouted at her frantically.
"Oh, good. So it was the Axon Empire that sent you. That simplifies things then." Her voice still held that same calm, cold tone as she looked at him.
-----------------Axavon Pov-------------------
Whatever this creature was, the Matriarchy's intelligence was vastly off. It saw him, it could see him! He took off, running as fast as he could, holding onto the Krultathan only as an afterthought as his instincts kicked in, telling him what he already knew but refused to believe.
He was being hunted.
He was in the tunnels but was still being hunted. He could hear it coming for him. A steady strong thumping vibrated the floors, a sound like a low growl emanating from it, and on the one chance he dared to look behind him, he could see a look of hunger on that predatory face that sparked an evolutionary fear within him.
But he was an agent of the Axon Matriarchy. He had their best armor on, and he was in a burrow-like place. He had the advantage in every way. He just needed to lose the beast and then make his escape. So he tried running as fast and as far as he could, and although he gained some distance, every time he stopped, the monster would catch up, as if it didn't have any need to rest, as if it could run forever.
He tried bursting several more times but each time it ended with the same result, and he couldn't keep it up forever. So once he happened upon an alternate tunnel he took it, hoping to lose the demon in the maze of tunnels.
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It. Kept. Coming.
Axavon was panicking now. Even with his suit's enhancements, even with using the maze to his advantage, he could hear it, feel it, getting closer and closer. He heard another guttural yell from it as it asked for the Krultathan back. He had almost forgotten about the damn thing he was hauling around. Maybe if he left it, it would distract the abomination long enough-
Craka-thoomph
Pain exploded as he was launched towards the wall of the tunnel face first, his chest feeling like he had just been hit by a cargo container dropped from orbit as his 4 eyes rolled back into his head.
he wasn't sure if he had been out for a second or a minute, but when he came to, everything hurt. His armor, made of the most advanced polymers in the Axon military had been shattered. He was also sure he had broken bones as well, but somehow he was alive. Picking himself up, he would see the..thing, was tending to the Krultathan and tried to sneak away.
But then it looked at him.
Its eyes, forward-facing and predatorial, were haunting. It sent a chill throughout his body, struck a primordial fear deep within him, and froze him in place. he tried to will himself to move but couldn't. Its expression was even worse. No anger, hunger, wrath, or anything else anymore it was just, empty. It was indifferent. No snarl, no expression whatsoever on it. Like he didn't matter. Like the situation didn't matter. Maybe if he just left then-
"You're going to tell me everything." It had spoken. Not with a growl or anything, yet somehow it was worse. He felt like his skin and blood had frozen in place, but he still had his pride!
"O-Or else what!" He demanded. A lowly predator dared demand from him? A member of the Axon Matriarchy's Imperial Capture Squad? He would die before giving a filthy predator what it wanted!
"You misunderstand, Axon. There is no or else. You. Will tell me. Everything."
Feeling a raging fire boil within him, Axavon stood up and dashed away. He would not let this predator have their way. He would return to his ship, re-arm himself, then capture it by force if he had to! He would not fail his Empire! He would prove that the Axon Matriarchy is superi-
THUNG!!
Axavon paused, looking at the hole in the wall just centimeters away from where his head would have been. It had a weapon?!
He turned to look but saw nothing in its hand but two metal balls, one of which it tossed to its other hand and reached back as if to throw it.
"I-I am a loyal citizen of the Axon Matriarchy! I will not yield!" He said defiantly as he tried and winced to push out his chest, making himself seem bigger. If it knew he was a part of the Matriarchy, then it would have no choice but to let him-
"Oh, good. So it was the Axon Empire that sent you. That simplifies things then."
Why.Why was that voice so terrifying? What was this beast, this creature?! If he was going to die to this monstrosity, then so be it. But he would die fighting! He rushed forwards towards the beast, raising the stun stick he had equipped and igniting it. He thrust forward, this time the setting on maximum, to try and incapacitate the beast.
Axavon looked down at his arm that had been holding the stun stick, now twisted at an impossible angle. It took his brain a moment before the pain hit him, and he let out a scream.
Fighting through it he tried to claw at the beast with his other hand, only to see it move lightning fast and do the same to his other arm. He tried to attack futilely with a headbutt but the creature reached out, grabbing him by the throat. The entire time its face didn't change one bit, showing any expression. And when it spoke, its voice held that same, bone-chilling tone.
"Are you done? or do I need to break another bone?"
"I won't tell you-AHH!" Axavon began to refuse the creature, but it grabbed one of his hands and began squeezing with an impossible grip. He could feel the bones grinding against one another, teetering on the edge of breaking.
"Tell.(squeeze) Me.(Another squeeze) Everything.(Snap)"
Axavon let out a silent cry as his vision faded in and out, barely holding onto consciousness. He couldn't beat this monster, this demon. This...This thing. It had to be an Apex Predator! Yet it wouldn't even kill him, just torture him like this until he gave it what it wanted. He couldn't see a way out, couldn't see how to escape, how to survive.
Except for one path.
"P-Promise my sanctuary!" He shouted, or more accurately whimpered, at the beast.
"What?" It asked, finally showing some emotion, and he almost wished it hadn't with the look of pure malice on it.
"S-sanctuary. Promise me that, and medical attention, I'll tell you everything."
The beast stopped, looking at him, its powerful upper limb still wrapped around his neck. It looked like it was pondering for a moment, before finally saying.
"..Fine." And it let him go. He did it, he was free, he could escape from this place, the stupid predator let him go-
His body went taught as the electricity went through him, and his mind faded into the depths of unconsciousness.
---------------------Amelia POV---------------------
Amelia knew torturing wasn't useful for information, she knew it was wrong, but every time she thought of it hurting Viza, she couldn't help it. She hadn't meant to break his arms, nor his hand, only to bruise them and make them hurt. When he asked for sanctuary, she genuinely considered it, and genuinely agreed to it, even if she disliked the thought of a monster like him existing.
And then he had to try and run.
She grabbed the stun baton and pressed it to the creature, incapacitating it as it finally passed out. Ripping off a part of her shirt, she fashioned makeshift ties to bind it with, then headed over to Viza, checking on him again.
He was unconscious still. She hoped he would be alright. Picking him up, she was surprised at how much lighter he was than she was expecting. She held him as best she could in a fireman carry, then went and grabbed the Axon by the leg ties and started dragging them out of the tunnels.
When she exited, there was a multitude of Hexat police, along with the Ambassador and doctor. Evidently, one of the witnesses had called the authorities, and Kixix found out. The station guards had their weapons trained on her, but she ignored them, walking up to Kixix, and dropping the unconscious Axon in front of him.
"Get that one trended to then thrown in a brig or whatever equivalent on the ship, I'm going to have words with him later." Amelia could hear that her voice was still cold, and evidently, Kixix could tell she was in no mood for debate as he simply nodded.Turning to the doctor, she gently laid Viza down as Kaxus called for a stretcher to be brought for Viza.
"He was hit by some kind of stun baton. He hasn't woken up since." She said, worry in her voice.
Kaxus looked Viza over for several moments then made a strange sound, like the snapping of teeth.
"He'll be fine, but he will be unconscious for several hours at least, and will be under bed arrest after that. His body looks like it tried to tear itself apart from the electricity. I'm sorry."
"No, thank you Kaxus. Make sure he gets whatever he needs." She responded then turned to Kixix with a hard look.
"We're changing destinations," she said sternly.
"Oh, we are? And why exactly would we do that, and to where, Miss Amelia?"
"Simple. The Axon already knows about us. It called me Human. Which means they at least know about us, and who knows what else."
"That's what the prisoner is for I take it? Interrogation?" Kixax says disapprovingly, to which Amelia nods.
"So then where would we head beside the council?" He asked as if heading to the council was the obvious best choice.
"To the Krultathan homeworld. You want an alliance between the three of us? Well, then we need to start. Now. Before the Axon wise up to everything you're trying to make a surprise of." Amelia said sternly, before adding. "We also need to set up a secure connection to Earth, and find the mole on the ship."
Kixix thought for a few moments, seemingly displeased, but surprisingly agreed.
"With Earth focusing on building their defenses and the 5th fleet mobilized to Earth as well, I suppose avoiding drawing attention that is going to be too difficult now. Especially if the Axons already have information on you. In that case, prioritizing mobilization makes sense. Secure communication can be handled easily enough. The mole is going to be the problem, however."
"I'm betting this thief or slaver or whatever he is will have answers to that. I'll even bet that's where he got the information from." Amelia replied, nodding towards the Axon.
"In that case, General Istrung will have a grand time with him."
"Istrung?" Amelia said, looking perplexed.
"What, don't tell me you thought all Hexats had names with K and X in it?" he replied with a smile of his own as if to say he knew she had.
"To be fair, all of them I've met til now have."
"That's because you've been meeting my brood brothers."
"Of course...Aliens." Amelia said, throwing her hands up.
"I'm heading back to the ship with Viza and getting him, and myself checked over. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sore as hell soon." She then added.
"Tell the lovebixil I said hello," Kixix replied, and then chortled as he saw Amelia's face turn red.
"He's not-We're not-it's not-UGH." She said, stammering several times and looking frustratingly at the Ambassador.
"I'm an ambassador for a reason, Miss Amelia. I pick up on things fast. besides, you just chased down an Axon and pulverized half the station doing so just because he got stunned and kidnapped while on your date."
Blushing even more, Amelia said. "It wasn't-..." Then, in a quieter, almost shy voice, she said. "Do you-do you think Viza really thinks of me like that?"
"If he didn't before, he definitely will now. He'll probably start calling you his 'Huntress' after how you rescued him." Kixix said with a chortle. "Head back to the ship and get some rest."
"Yeah... Good advice." She said as she heads back, the pain already starting to seep in. She made it approximately ten steps before she collapsed too, prompting Dr. Kaxus to rush over, scanning her.
"By the voids, The muscles in her arms are torn even worse than Viza's. And is that..C₉H₁₃NO₃? Why is a class 5 combat drug in her system?! Get her to medical on the ship, NOW." He shouts to two workers who picked her up, realized she was too heavy, and grabbed two more to help carry her in lieu of having another stretcher.
Kixix sighed, seeing the poor girl collapse like that. It would be a long day for all of them. He would have to contact the council and make up an excuse for the delay, and they weren't going to be happy about that.
"Pack bonding Apex predators." He said to himself, letting out a small laugh as he looked at the damage done to the station. Several walkways were utterly decimated from collapsed support pillars beneath, all down the main one you could see heavy indentations from Amelia's running, and an electrical junction where the access door had been was utterly decimated as well.
"Good luck Viza dear boy, you're going to need it. She's a wild one, but i'm rooting for you." He said quietly as he watched the two of them being moved back to the ship.