The group remains in silence the rest of the trip as they nervously wait for the train to come to a halt. After the betrayal Razzo goes and sits at the edge of the train where Ostikous follows him and sits next to him. They don’t say a word to each other, just watch and listen as the train makes swooshing noises passing through the tunnel. Hours pass as the creatures all wait to get back to the Froklins not one of them knowing what the meeting will bring them. Razzo keeps his breathing steady but the artificial stagnant oxygen pumped throughout the outpost doesn’t provide him with a breath of fresh air that he’s missed greatly since leaving Earth. Even now the train tunnels remind him of home he may never see again. Everyone slowly turns their attention towards the front of the train as it inevitably begins to slow down. No one wants to say anything while waiting for someone else to cut the tension in the air.
Razzo finally speaks: “We’re here, let’s hope you guys made the right decision ditching the captain”.
Razzo waits as the train stops and walks over to the wall that exits towards the platform. The doors begin to open up along the train but the doors in this section only open up partially. As the train dislodged this section of the train had ripped in half and as a result the technology was damaged. Razzo waits for a moment for the doors to fully open but it doesn’t happen, he turns around and all the creatures have huddled up behind him. He turns back towards the door and loads up his fists separating and pries the doors apart himself before walking out of the train. The creatures rapidly exit the train behind Razzo not realizing the feat he had just performed for a human. From the other side of the platform the squad of Froklins that had brought them to the train appear heading towards the crew of creatures. Further up the train Dre exits the train with Feefee on top of the Automaton and two Froklins as they head to rejoin the rest of the crew. Dre notices that something isn’t right and that the group looks different. The Automaton looks throughout the crew and notices that one of the Acarine’s are missing along with the captain.
Dre walks up to Razzo and asks him: “Hey where’s the other Acarine and Kyro?”
“I’ll explain later let’s first see how this goes with the Froklins” - whispers Razzo just as they reach the Froklins in the middle of the platform.
The Versi telepaths to the group: “I notice that your masked leader is no longer present with us?”
“He perished during the mission…” - answers Ostikous.
“Liiiiiiieeeeees!” - hisses the restrained Krutsummus being carried by Chorion.
Chorion takes the Krutsummus on his shoulder and drops it on the ground. The Froklin leader walks up to the captive and takes a good look at it.
“I see I shouldn’t have given you those weapons, but looks like it didn’t matter because here you are once again! But do tell where the captain is?” - asks Versi.
“Puuuuushed ouuuuuut into theeee tunnel” - hisses the Krutsummus.
The Froklin takes two of its arms and holds the Krutsummuses head in place then in a fast rapid motion the Froklin slices through the neck of the Krutsummus with its claw limbs and decapitates the being. The group watches in horror as the leader of the Froklins picks up the head and tosses it aside. The head bounces a bit and rolls a bit on the platform before a different Froklin steps on it.
“Was that necessary?” - asks a shocked Razzo.
“Was it necessary to throw the captain off the moving train?” - telepaths the Froklin.
After a brief moment Versi continues to all of the creatures: “I have no quarrel with you performing a mutiny against your captain but someone will have to take his mantle. While you all figure out who’s going to be your new captain I’m going to deal with the agreement I had with the previous captain”.
The Froklins quack amongst themselves and Versi sticks his limb out that had been used to make the agreement with Kyro and in one quick motion a Froklin behind him removes the limb in one quick motion of a weapon. The hand drops to the ground and rots rapidly before dying. All the while Versi does not flinch and simply stares at all the creatures either trying to intimidate them or waiting for them to pick a new leader amongst themselves. Everyone in the group stares back at Versi or the rotting hand on the ground.
“You see if the leader had perished I would’ve felt a release in my hand, but since that didn’t happen I know that’s not the case. Hopefully the captain left behind no longer needs his hand either” - states Versi.
Razzo asks: “But if you knew he wasn’t dead, why kill the Krutsummus? They were speaking the truth”.
The Froklin kicks the lifeless body next to him: “I have no use for prisoners…”
A shudder goes down Razzo’s spine upon hearing these words. It would’ve been nice to have Kyro do all the talking as one misstep with Versi and they could all end up just like the Krutsummus. The Froklin kicks the hand on the ground and motions with a different limb for the guards to dispose of it along with the body of the Krutsummus that had just been decapitated. A different Krutsummus guard then walks up next to the leader and begins tending to his open wound.
Versi continues: “Now you’ve already cost me a hand and it will take quite some time to recover so I would hurry up with deciding on new leadership before I become impatient”.
Razzo nervously looks back at the rest of the crew. They all take a moment to look at one another and know that right now is the opportunity to state your claim towards being selected as a leader. Some creatures appear more willing and confident to step into those shoes unfazed by what decisions will lie before them. Others try to shy away from the spotlight and stay towards the back. Razzo, indifferent of the result but unwilling to take on the responsibility of the group, stands still and waits for someone else to make the initial decision. The jumbled up group of creatures slowly spread out until a circle is formed where everyone can see everyone. Upon no one making a move Jata steps forward from the Zenvas.
“I will take that mantle if no one else wants it” - she states with confidence.
Feefee takes issue with that: “Not so fast I believe I would make a better leader than you that’s for sure!”
She eyes the Wokwok: “What makes you think that? You’re much smaller than me to being with, not to mention that squeal of a voice”.
The two creatures begin bickering with one another as to who should be one to take the leadership mantle, throwing slights at one another hoping to earn some support from the rest of the group.
In the process Dre whispers to Razzo: “You should stand in for the captain”.
“Are you insane they won’t follow me, they’ll throw me overboard sooner than they did to the captain!” - Razzo whispers back with emphasis.
Dre takes a moment to think and provides a rebuttal: “I don’t think Ostikous will betray you he’s practically sworn to protect you at this point”.
Razzo turns to the Automaton and raises an eyebrow in doubt: “That’s right now, not when I take control of the crew who knows then! He might decide that it’s not worthwhile for him to have my back in that case”.
Dre shakes its head: “Well for right now it looks like you have his vote. Plus you have my vote. That’s two already!”
“And what about the rest!” - exclaims Razzo a little too loudly.
Their back and forth whisper exchange had slowly turned into just a regular conversation that had begun to interrupt the bickering between Jata and Feefee.
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Feefee takes exception to this interruption: “Eh the two of you over there, can’t you see the two of us here are trying to have a civilized argument that probably won’t lead to any fighting”.
Razzo lets him know: “Yeah I’m sorry won’t happen again”.
Dre pushes Razzo towards the middle where Feefee and Jata are arguing and whispers behind him: “Just believe in yourself a little”.
Razzo thinks to himself ‘how’s believing in myself going to give me the necessary support to gain all of their trust’. He shakes it off as he awkwardly stands in the middle with Jata eying him down now and spreading her roots. She stops extending her roots right before him.
“I understand Feefee with his big brain actually being a decent leader but what makes you think you got any sort of ability in this department. You couldn’t even step up on your own!” - begins Jata with a diss.
Feefee clarifies: “I actually have two brains you wench!”
Upon hearing the latest insult Jata extends her roots out towards Feefee and tries to capture the Wokwok but the Wokwok is simply too quick for her and her roots and runs all around her while disrupting her polarity causing her to float and drop from the air a few times. Finally Feefee separates himself from the Zenvas and floats himself up to the ceiling of the platform.
“I’ll be having the remainder of our discourse from up here, away from your meddling vines!” - squeals Feefee as loud as he can which even so is barely heard.
Jata collects herself but out of frustration for the Wokwok binds the roots near Razzo with his legs: “See you’re not going anywhere!”
“I haven’t moved this entire time so I don’t see this as being all that necessary!” - exclaims Razzo.
“I see you have some wit to you as well but that won’t help you take this mantle from me!” - says Jata angrily.
She starts to wrap up her human opposition higher and higher. Everyone watches in awe as Razzo remains perfectly still and unmoved by the uncomfortable predicament the Zenvas is putting him in. He waits until he’s fully enveloped by the roots of Jata before he lights up his fists. In this moment Razzo stares at the creature and notices that it’s not necessarily doing this out of anger or the need for power but instead because of the uncertainty that any other leader will bring other than herself. He thinks about what had happened with Kyro earlier in the tunnel in a similar fashion although in that situation he couldn’t read Kyro through the mask it was eerily similar. What was driving Jata was the fear of losing control as she had once before when she and the other Zenvas were captured. Figuring out his opponent Razzo now knew exactly what he had to do.
As the binds wrapped around his face he yelled out: “WAIT!”
“Speak fast as you won’t get another opportunity” - says Jata in a stern tone.
She unbinds the roots slightly from his head revealing Razzo’s face.
“What way do you wish to lead?” - asks Razzo.
She sneers at the question: “Why does it matter?”
“Because you want us to follow you. Do you want to lead a team similar to Kyro? The way you’re doing right now?” - asks Razzo calmly.
All the creatures lay their eyes intensely upon the Zenvas and she begins to release her hold of the human as she feels the pressure of the different eyes mounting on her. After a few brief moments she fully releases Razzo and retracts all of her roots entirely. With an embarrassed expression on her face she gestures up to the Wokwok to come down from the ceiling.
“My apologies I let my emotions get the better of me” - says Jata.
Razzo smiles at her nonetheless: “It’s okay it happens to the best of us!”
Upon Feefee’s arrival he ruins the good vibes: “Couldn’t reach me ya old hag with your vines huh!”
“Feefee enough!” - interjects Dre.
“You’re smart enough to know the best way to have decided this is to have a vote! Not try to fight one another” - adds the Automaton.
Feefee agrees with too much confidence: “I agree we should vote and you should all vote for me!”
“Let’s step aside the three of us and let the rest decide” - says Razzo.
Jata agrees quickly and Feefee also takes to it and all three of them go and step aside from the rest of the group. The creatures then begin talking among themselves with each creature trying to figure out who the best leader for them will be. In this time Versi and the rest of the Froklins begin to grow impatient as the idea of a democracy eludes them and the whole charade seems like a waste of time.
Creatures begin to slowly leave the group and stand in with which leader they wish to follow. First Dre and Ostikous showing their loyalty to Razzo join him in the middle. The two other Zenvas decide to go with Jata to support their own kind. Eekk looks around and notices that none of the other creatures have joined her companion Feefee yet. She begrudgingly makes her way over to him and when he opens his arms for a hug and shoots her a smile she simply huffs and puffs and stands next to him without acknowledging him considering the fool he made out of himself. Chorion walks over and joins Razzo’s side.
Upon arriving he tells Razzo: “I only joined your side because Ostikous convinced me”.
Razzo looks over and smiles at Ostikous who gives him a firm head nod in return. Next up are the three Froklins. Typically these creatures respond well to a show of strength similar to what Jata displayed and for that reason Screep and Fauwk join Jata’s side. Dengrad, remembering the recent battle and Razzo and Ostikous saving him on numerous occasions, decides to overlook the typically respected display of strength and goes to stand with Razzo and his side. All that’s left is Kreeg.
Dre whispers to Razzo: “She’s the wildcard, she hasn’t said much since Kroug died during the battle. While I was talking to her she was telling me it’s between you and Jata for her”.
Kreeg sways back and forth as gently as possible for a giant of her size. She carefully walks up and looks between both groups surrounding Jata and Razzo. She walks over to Jata and stares at her in the eyes. They lock in for a moment as if to read each other's minds without a word spoken between them. Then Kreeg walks over to Razzo and looks at him up and down. He waits for her to stare into his eyes too but she simply takes a whiff of him and lies down next to the group. Just like that the decision has been made and Razzo barely edges out Jata for the leadership role.
“I guess this means I’m our leader now” - says Razzo unconvincingly.
Versi focuses his gaze on Razzo: “Well it’s about time. You were already answering me now you officially get the title. I just hoped we would have seen a little bit of action on our end”.
A few quacks are heard behind Razzo and as he turns Screep and Fauwk walk up to Versi. They quack amongst themselves and at one point Dengrad even chimes in with his own quacks. Everyone else is left confused waiting to hear what all the quack is leading up to.
Versi telepaths to the group: “It appears as though you may already have a few deserters on your hands, captain”.
“What do you mean?” - answers Razzo aloud.
Dengrad telepaths to him: “You see in the process of selecting a leader Froklins tend to respond well to signs of strength and being able to rule your subordinates with an iron fist and immense pressure. That is why they sided with Jata”.
“And why did you side with me?” - Razzo turns to Dengrad and asks aloud.
He doesn’t say or telepaths a word and merely points towards his missing limbs as the answer. Razzo acknowledges this and nods back to the battle tested veteran. Razzo then proceeds to turn back his attention to Versi.
“So they can just abandon me because they don’t like the new captain?” - asks Razzo.
Versi telepaths: “Not quite they’re actually cowards for asking me if they can return home given that they know perfectly well that in our customs they must ask you to release them from their line of duty and typically some provide some form of payment to their leader for such a release”.
Razzo thinks to himself whether he wants to keep these two with him if they don’t wish to be a part of the crew. What kind of message would that send to the rest of the crew? Would they think he’s weak because of it? Would they respect him for releasing them? Does he now have to release all of them and carry out Kyro’s promise to the crew? What about getting home? All these thoughts race in his head without him pausing on one for too long. Everyone else watches in anticipation as their captain remains still as a rock and waits to hear his verdict. The two Froklins also nervously walk in one place waiting for a decision to be made.
Dre tugs at Razzo’s hand: “Are you okay?’
“Huh? Yes I’m fine, just a lot to think about”.
“How about you ask Versi if we can keep the weapons we received as payment from the two Froklins?” - proposes Dre.
Razzo replies: “But that isn’t something they can offer, is it?”
“I don’t know but it wouldn’t hurt to try”
Razzo looks towards the two Froklins and says: “I will agree to your release and freedom if the two of you can allow us to keep our weapons in return”.
Versi interjects telepathically: “You see I gave you those weapons they have no say in whether or not you can keep those weapons”.
The two Froklins quack back to Versi and begin a new exchange. The quacking goes back and forth as they negotiate with the leader. Eventually they come to a decision.
Versi communicates through thought transference to the group: “It appears we have struck an accord. Screep and Fauwk will be in my servitude for two star cycles and be released from your indefinite duty. You and your crew will be allowed to keep the weapons you have now. Now let me show you to your ship”.
It was a breath of relief for the crew as they had never seen the previous captain release anyone. The vibes were much better now heading back to the platform than they were heading into the outpost. Even still with much of the future unknown and the pathway uncertain they could be a little more at ease. To their benefit Razzo appears to be much better poised to lead this crew than half of them anticipated.