[Pioneer Dominique Reynolds]
We had left the station almost immediately after seeing the news. A Moqango and a masked bipedal was pretty much as suspicious as you could get in this situation and we weren’t sticking around to find any trouble. The ship wasn’t fully refueled but it was enough to get us to the Meldren system.
I’d intended to make it there before any investigation forces did so that I could check the status of the colony ship and maybe get my original ship back. That idea has gone down the drain considering I’m now staring at the back of a Grahtonian warship. On the bright side, I was able to connect with the colony ship and confirm that everyone was still alive. I immediately opened a line with Captain Brand. Knowing him, there was already a plan in the works and I just needed to be informed.
“Pioneer Dominique reporting, what’s our-“
“Since you’re here, buy us time somehow, the ship is currently offloading and we are not combat capable! You are given all operational authority!”
Whelp, that wasn’t very helpful. This stolen transport had nothing in terms of firepower and I wasn’t keen on testing Dokchara’s evasive maneuvering against the wall of guns that the warship sported. I doubt the Grahtonians would be so kind as to let me swap it out for my own so that only really left one sane option: running the hell away and hoping they follow.
“Dok, how far can we jump now?”
“We can barely make it to the neighboring system… which happens to be a Grahtonian border system!”
“Jump anyway!”
That at least got their attention. The warship started emitting warp signatures moments after we did, turning to match our direction so they could follow right behind us. The distance between the systems were relatively short, only being a lightyear away from each other, so the time we spent in warp was just a few seconds.
This system was small, only bearing two planets and no moons. The planets that were in the naturally habitable range had been completely terraformed to feature thick jungle on the entire surface barring their polar caps. Apparently, Grahtonians did that to every planet that could support it in order to match their homeworld’s ecology.
I didn’t have much time to stare at the dark green planets as the Grahtonian warship had also just arrived, albeit at the other end of the system after incorrectly guessing where we would go. Dokchara had already started to descend towards the planet we were in orbit of, which was definitely the correct move, but the distressed look in his eyes and the way he held his breath worried me.
“Dok, what’s going on?”
“Grahts never go light on the orbital defenses and I’m really not a fan of being shot out of the sky!”
Right on cue, I heard the telltale sound of air being parted at an increasing pitch, signifying the rapid advancement of physical ordnance. Regardless of how fast I could move, there was nothing I could do to stop munitions that were already en route from hitting the ship, so the next best thing was to prepare for a rough landing. I barely had time to grab emergency supplies and hold onto Dokchara by the back of his neck before ejecting myself through the nearest wall. I looked back to see the ship get ripped into two by a massive bullet which then proceeded to explode, launching us down much faster than appreciated.
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The shockwave had knocked Dokchara unconscious, making this next part exceedingly difficult. I tried maneuvering to place myself between him and the ground but I couldn’t keep all of his limbs secured while also holding his head and keeping the orientation. I barely had time to aim for a thick patch of trees before we made contact.
There was about five seconds of blasting through massive trees, often leaving a hole through them instead of snapping them in half with how big they were, before I finally reached the ground. We began to bounce and tumble which made me lose my grip on Dokchara thanks to the plates of his carapace becoming slick with blood, causing him to fly off out of sight. I continued my tumble, unable to properly slow myself in the mud until coming into contact with the base of a cliff and making a small cave in the process.
There was dread rising in me as I dashed back to the point where I lost him and started moving in the direction he flew. I was constantly scanning my surroundings as I moved, but the thick jungle around me made it difficult to get a good read. I spent countless minutes searching for him, plagued with the suffocating doubt that I might’ve already passed him and I was just moving further away, or that he may not even show up on scans if he was already dead.
Just before I was about to double back, I caught him on the edge of a scan, hunched down on the ground. I ran over to him as fast as I could, nearly felling a tree in the process. I had put the emergency kit in his uniform, but if he was too injured to provide aid for himself then I needed to be there to do it for him.
I got to him and saw that his right arm had been completely mangled from the fall. Fortunately, he was completely conscious and turned to look towards me as I approached, but I was taken by complete surprise when I saw him tearing chunks out of what an exotic looking lizard.
“Fucking hell, Dok! Did you go feral!? I mean, uh, are you okay?”
“You sure took your sweet time for being the ‘pinnacle of humanity,’ hm? And no, I’m not currently okay, this thing tastes like shit.”
“I thought you were herbivore, why are you eating that? Shouldn’t you at least cook it first?”
“No plants here are going to feed me enough to grow an arm back, I’m vegetarian by choice, and do you really want me starting a fire and giving away our position?”
A tree collapsed behind me with comical timing.
“Come on, let’s get somewhere safer. I, uh… found a cave we can stay in.”
I had to support him on the walk over to the cave and was able to get a closer look at his arm. I saw strands of sinew reaching out and connecting parts of his arm that had been opened, pulling it back into shape and refilling the muscle that had been crushed. It was a bit grotesque, but it made sense as to why he refused to use the first aid kit on something like this. I set him down on one side and sat across from him, waiting for him to finish his catch.
“Listen, Dok, I’m really sorry about dragging you into this mess. I should’ve never bothered you with my problems-”
“Can it, Dom. I’m right where I want to be, if not a bit earlier than I planned.”
…
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Do you know why Moqango fought a war with the Grahts?"
“...no.”
“I’d be surprised if you did, it was hidden pretty well.
Our regenerative ability is unique in the galaxy, not even other animals on our planets have the same capabilities. The Grahtonians were too lazy or dumb to figure it out using genetic modifications, so their brilliant idea to steal our ability was to steal our people and use them as cell farms. They made serums from our blood and gave it to their nobles, making sure it couldn’t be inherited so that power wouldn’t spread to the lower masses.
When our government caught wind of this, they declared war on the Grahtonians in an attempt to free the tens of thousands that were being kept in tubes to be constantly harvested from. They lost spectacularly against the Grahtonian’s overwhelming force. Those people never got their way out. They’re still around to this day, living their infinite lives in constant agony and keeping the Grahtonian monarchy alive.
I was working in that prison because it gave me access to information that most people would be killed for knowing. I was really damn good at getting into places where I shouldn’t be and remembering everything I saw. The galactic ceasefire association was siphoning Moqango prisoners over to Grahtonian worlds to line their pockets a bit, and in the process they had records of where the farms were being hidden.
Back when we exited warp, the warship had guessed we would go to the other planet because it had so many more ships and weapons on it. They probably weren’t even aware that there’s a farm filled with my people here.”