Creesh was terrified, she was usually a bit scared but tonight she was panicking. There was an alarm going off outside her prison room and no one was telling her anything. She flapped her feathered arms in frustrated anguish and miserably shuffled to the farthest corner of her room.
In a vain attempt to disappear she pressed herself as far into the corner as she was able. Maybe if she did so hard enough she would vanish and this whole nightmare would finally be over. She tucked her head under one of her feathered arms and tried to think happy thoughts, but there was too much noise for her to fully settle herself.
The sound of her prison door opening reached her ear holes and caused her to tremble. Soft steps could be felt approaching her location but she stayed tightly curled, awaiting the inevitable sharp pain that preceded oblivion. The footsteps stopped right next to her and she could hear raspy breathing and feel the tiny stir of air. Her soon to be murderer sank down beside her and she stiffened, but the blow did not fall.
Creesh shivered, she could not bring herself to look death in the face for as strong as she was among her kind, she was still cowardly and weak. Then it happened. She felt a soft caress along her feathered back. She shuddered for a few moments more before allowing the relaxing contact to sooth her nerves and finally peek out from under her wing.
The sight that greeted her should have been terrifying, two chatoyant green predator eyes peered at her from only centimeters away. Long yellow teeth glinted sharply in the flickering lights, but she was not afraid. Lifting her head, she reached one of her wing graspers out towards the terrible visage, gently placing her fingers on the furred cheek of the monster. Beginning to cry, Creesh whispered “Oh, Samantha, you came for me.”
**********
Seth was feeling like a million osmir, even though he was only worth a quarter of that. Laughing quietly to himself over the joke he took another spoonful of mushroom soup. Everything was looking up in his opinion. He was an officer on a starship, sure as a kid he had always dreamed of being a captain, but second in command was perfectly acceptable in his mind.
Turning his thoughts to the figure seated across from him he smiled openly. Neirdith was beautiful in everything she did, from giving orders to eating dinner. He still had a hard time believing that she shared his feelings. He had a crush on her almost since they first met, and he had never dared to hope she would ever feel the same.
The last sixty hours had been a rush of stressful planning and sweet stolen kisses as they passed in the halls. He would pass by her and she would twirl around him and give him a peck before continuing on her way. He had gotten her back a good few times too, he thought with a wide smile.
"Now what could you be smiling so hard about?" Neirdith asked him from across the table.
Looking her in the eyes he said "Oh just thinking about a girl I know." She gave him a piercing look and he continued "Hey in my defense it's hard not to with her sitting across from me."
Neirdith gave a small laugh and continued eating. Seth, who's bowl was clean by now, stood up and walked it into the kitchen area and tossed it into the sanitization unit. The faint whirr of mechanical components announced its cleaning. Walking back to her he put his arm on the table and said to his assistant "Call Gloom." Neirdith looked up just as a scroll of text popped up and was followed by Gloom's synthesized voice projecting from the device.
"I know why you are calling, and I stand by my assessment. It may not be what you wanted to hear but it is still by far the safest, and most effective option. As I told you before, I had already thought about this before I had left the precinct and have come well prepared to accomplish this task." Gloom vocalized without the normal emotional bleedover as they were wired directly into the ship's computer.
Seth shook his head slightly in defeat before saying "I know it's the best way, but I would be lying if it didn't still make me feel at least a little useless."
Gloom replied quickly over the link "On the contrary Seth, you are performing an incredibly vital role, there is much to do, and you and captain Neirdith will have to do it without our help. Skorr possesses incredible physical resilience and strength, and I will be able to overcome any computer systems we encounter. We are both highly resistant to temperatures and have no requirement to wear bulky space suits making us very mobile. There is no better plan than the one that we have already come up with."
Seth put his head in his hands and got a reassuring shoulder squeeze from Neirdith who said "You know that Gloom is right, they have covered many possible scenarios with you or me on the station and many of them end in the severe injury or death of one or both. This way there will be virtually no risk and the chances of rescuing any prisoners will be drastically higher."
Skorr's voice then rumbled to them from the doorway where the behemoth stood "Gloom and Neirdith are correct. Though it pains me to leave her when danger is so close, I know it will ultimately lead to her being less in harm's way, and you as well. I can clear the station alone, but Gloom needs to be there to keep the pirates from venting the prisoners into space. It will be highly beneficial to have someone to watch the systems directly." After finishing, Skorr turned around once more.
Seth sighed and put his arms back on the table while giving an appreciative nod to Neirdith. He said to Gloom "I know the plan is sound, it's just that if something goes wrong I won't really be in a position to help you Gloom. I'm not worried about us, we have enough armour to survive multiple direct hits from the station, not that they will get the chance to shoot us before it's too late. I guess I'm just worried that something might go wrong.” He finished mildly, his head bowed towards his hands.
He felt Neirdith squeeze his shoulder again before she stood and took her dish into the kitchen. As she walked away Seth mentally reviewed the plan again. They had reverted the ship's signature back to The Bloody Doom, and would use its disguised IFF signal to close on the unsuspecting station. Once close enough to guarantee accurate hits, Seth would take out the station's somewhat lacking defenses. It seemed that Medrigil did not fully trust his station operators to not turn on him.
Seth briefly wondered if there was a peaceful resolution to this but dismissed it, they were all pirate scum as far as he was concerned. If not for this being a rescue mission he would have just blasted the whole station to slag. After taking out the weapons they would dock and Skorr would clear a path for Gloom till they got to the main control room. It would be quick going since Skorr could physically batter down any doors and walls in their way. After Gloom hooked into the station, they would simultaneously lock all areas down while setting off all alarms. In the resulting confusion Skorr would clear the rest of the station.
Skorr would not have to worry about making snap decisions as the weapons of the pirates could not hurt him. He would slowly and methodically clear the station. In order to facilitate Skorr's combat prowess Seth and Neirdith had fabricated a truly gigantic titansteel greatsword using the ships onboard machine room, the rigidity and hardness of the tungsten alloy weapon would allow Skorr to swing it without it flexing or shearing itself apart.
While the design was somewhat rushed, it was nevertheless well made and had a hilt made of the same material. At Skorr's own insistence, and the slight annoyance of Seth, the name Death's Veil had been inscribed along the blade. Neirdith had rolled her eyes and stated that it was cheesy but admittedly cool. Seth personally thought Excalibur would have made more sense, but Skorr didn't get the reference so he had dropped the point.
Neirdith had finished with her dishes at this point and strode over to him saying "Well, I know that your human law of Murphy probably applies to this whole mission, but I still think we are as prepared as we can reasonably expect to be." Stopping by him she offered a hand which he accepted and stood.
Shaking his head slowly he retorted "If I was a religious man I might recommend praying to Lady Luck, but I'm not sure if it's really appropriate at this time. Well, for what it's worth I don’t think it's a bad plan, I'm just worried about the things we didn't think about.” he gave Neirdith a thoughtful look.
“Well if it's going to happen then it's going to happen.” she replied somewhat noncommittally.
Giving a solemn nod he walked with her to the bridge as Skorr followed behind. Reaching the bridge they parted to their individual positions.
Seth sat at his new console, he thought about the plan and all of the possible ways it could go wrong. When they docked with the station all he and Neirdith would be doing was waiting, and making sure no pirates tried to hijack the ship of course. There wouldn't be that many of them, but they were not going to risk it. It was a good plan, he thought to himself. But he would be damned if that admission made him feel better about his lack of an active role.
Once again he was dragged from his thoughts as Gloom’s voice echoed out of the speakers from the comms station “We leave warp in five minutes, I suggest you get to your stations, as Skorr and I will be heading to the cargo airlock to prepare for boarding.”
He heard Neirdith reply “Thank you Gloom, I know that this is a bit personal to you, but please stay safe. Skorr will do the fighting, just stay behind them and get those prisoners out. Good luck and may the powers that be smile on you.”
“Thank you captain, Gloom out.” was the morose crystal's only reply before they supposedly cut the link.
Turning towards the doorway Seth called out to Skorr, who was apprehensively looking into the bridge “Hey Skorr! You should probably head down to meet Gloom at the airlock. You need to be ready to go as soon as we’re docked.”
Skorr looked at him with his molten orange mechanical eyes, then glanced at Neirdith. She gave him a wave and an encouraging nod before turning back to her console. Skorr took one moment longer to look at her then stood straight and turned. Before Skorr left they lifted their arm in a salute, then marched away with heavy steps. The amount of emotion conveyed in those steps was telling, even though Skorr was mostly slabs of armour and had little expression, they never seemed to have difficulty portraying exactly what they felt.
Seth turned his attention back to the console in front of him and watched the timer tick down. As it finally reached zero he felt the familiar gut wrenching shift of warpshock and watched the contacts pop up on the radar and other sensors.
The faint reddish glow from the small primary star cast fitful light across the Flom system. It was mostly barren with no gas giants and only rocky worlds, the nearer planet was small and dry, with a weak magnetic field and a large companion moon that was tidally locked to its surface. The station was situated on a large asteroid that had been towed into a stable lagrange orbit near the companion moon and had been turned into a refining facility as well as a control center for the mining drones down on the moon's dusty surface.
The station was a ways away, it would take them several minutes to get within firing range and then there was the boarding action after that. The station was a huge bloated mass of coolant stacks and condensing towers built into a large asteroid which had been partially hollowed out some time in the past and turned into a tritium refinery.
The station itself was heavily defended with thick slabs of natural armour made of nickel rich asteroid and was the main reason why they had decided they would need to board in such a risky fashion. The nearby moon had long since been depleted and the station had been abandoned, before being revived as a hideout for the infamous criminal Medrigil.
Seth’s hands tensed reflexivity as he started to sweat. Focusing on the range counter he watched it slowly spool down to one hundred thousand meters, then fifty thousand meters. At ten thousand meters he received a somewhat panicked sounding message from the station asking why they were not following normal procedure.
Now that the station crew had realized something might be wrong they started to activate its defenses and Seth figured ten kilometers was close enough for the main beam cannons. Having already painted a firing solution on five separate targets with secondary and even a few tertiary targets, Seth activated the automated firing sequence.
With a loud hum audible even on the bridge, the beam cannons capacitors fired and five spots on the station flared into flashes of vaporized material in an incredibly bright release of energy. The purple afterimages had only just faded from Seth’s vision when the beams stabbed out a second time. Before any of the station's defensive guns could recognise the threat, the heavy weapons stabbed out a third and final time. The station had been rendered entirely defenseless by the rapid strike. Well, there was still the self-destruct option to worry about, seeing as it was an old tritium refinery after all. The likelihood of them trying to self-destruct the refinery was very slim though.
Piloting the ship with a small amount of skill but a larger amount of luck, Seth managed to get in close and dock with the station. As he saw the airlock go green he sighed and stood from his chair. His part of this tale was mainly over now. Seth walked over to Neirdith and reached her just as she stood as well. Smiling he stated “Well, I guess we had better cover the airlock so nothing mean gets on before the boys get back.”
“Oh I dare them to try it.” She said with a savage grin. “C’mon, let's go get our guns and cover the breach. With any luck, Skorr and Gloom will be fine.” she added.
“If I know anything about Skorr, I know that nothing’s going to happen to them, Gloom is made of jeseorite, so not much can really hurt him either. I have a feeling that they'll be ok. I'm worried what the pirates might do to the prisoners if they feel like they have no hope left.” Seth said quietly with a concerned look at Neirdith’s face.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder and a tail around his waist he leaned on Neirdith lightly as she said “Nothing more we can do for them, we just have to trust Skorr and Gloom.”
“I know.” said Seth with a faraway look. “I Do.” He finished with as much confidence as he could muster.
**********
Skorr hated leaving their friends alone. They knew that it was the right thing to do given the circumstances, but it still rankled their pride to leave them unattended. But as Skorr walked down the corridor towards the airlock they knew that they were doing the right thing.
These pirates, these evil beings, had no right to exist. They were an affront against the very nature of sapience. They had the ability to feel and think, to act in kindness towards others of the same nature, and they used it for evil. It made Skorr’s blood boil in a way they were unfamiliar with, but not only that, Gloom had told Neirdith that there were prisoners on board, free spirits caged like animals for no reason other than out of cruelty.
Well that was fine then, if these pirates wanted to be cruel, Skorr would show them no mercy, they would be the manifestation of vengeance for all the innocents slaughtered by their wrathful deeds. Skorr would bring damnation, and they would be consumed by the fires of their own foul deeds. Calming slightly, Skorr rounded the corner to see Gloom. A strange creature made entirely from crystal, they were nevertheless an amicable, if somewhat dour, individual. And if Neirdith trusted them as a member of their people's law enforcement, that was good enough for Skorr.
Aiming a tight beam radio signal at the dark being, Skorr relayed a greeting and got a surprised message in response.
“You can speak without noise?” Gloom beamed back to them.
“I can, don't forget that I am a machine, just like your translator. Also this way we can converse without being overheard.” Skorr replied.
Seeming to mull over this new information Gloom sent “This is good, this will give us an advantage, though I recommend we set a frequency so that we can converse without overlap.”
Giving their equivalent of a nod, Skorr bowed slightly and set a frequency before sending it to Gloom. Gloom sent back an affirmative in the same frequency. Now waiting silently the two of them awaited the docking in silence. As the ship shuddered and docked with the station Skorr sent to Gloom “Alright, you may be tough, but you are not invincible, stay behind me and keep sharp.”
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Gloom sent the electromagnetic equivalent of a huff and relayed “I understand the plan, just clear a path to the information center as fast as you can. We need to get this over with quickly.”
Sending an affirmative Skorr reached to their back and with a fluid motion drew Death's Veil from its hooked back scabbard. The swish of it leaving its hooks was deeply satisfying, and while Skorr could measure its exact weight down to the thousandths of a gram, they felt the inertia imbued into the dense weapon. The vast weight of it made it feel lethal, and in their hands it certainly was.
With a clang and a hiss the airlock doors opened and Skorr immediately stepped through into a large room. They stepped forwards and the sounds of alarm could be heard from an opening to their front. Beginning to move towards the portal Skorr saw several heavily armed pirates rush into the room and stop in terror at Skorr's horrifying visage.
The pirates saw a mighty armoured juggernaut armed with a huge sword of dark shimmering metal. As they took a second to recognise the sight, Skorr advanced with steady thundering steps. The pirates screamed in terror and began to fire upon Skorr, with no effect whatsoever. As the pirates got within striking distance Skorr simply swept their sword in an arc and smashed most of the pirates into a gory mist. The wet mess slapped into the walls and door frame before the few remaining pirates fled in screaming horror. Chuckling to themself Skorr sent an all clear to Gloom and continued to move forwards.
The massacre continued for a while as Skorr made their way to the control area, they went as quick as they dared, not wanting to leave anyone behind to attack Gloom who strode behind like a dutiful acolyte, Gloom had equipped a tesla projector before they had boarded so they were far from helpless, but that would only allow them a few shots before they became too tired to move. So Skorr continued to slaughter the pirates.
At one point the pirates had tried to bring out anti-vehicle weapons. While this desperate tactic had succeeded in knocking Skorr back a half step, this had only fed into Skorr’s rage and the pirates had soon been turned into nothing but mushy red and purple puddles.
Finally rounding the last bend, Skorr could see the control center. The way was blocked by four scared pirates and a heavy armoured blast door. Bellowing a war cry, Skorr charged at the pirates as they opened fire ineffectually on Skorr's armoured bulk. The shots fizzled out harmlessly or ricocheted into the surrounding walls as Skorr closed the distance, with two great swings crushing the pirates into paste.
Skorr then turned their focus to the offending blast door. It was certainly tough, but it was fashioned out of ordinary steel and as Skorr bludgeoned it with their claw, it began to buckle inwards. The force of their blows made the ground shake slightly and with a final blow the door crashed inwards now horribly warped and buckled with great rents torn in its surface. Scanning the room for threats Skorr made out four pirates, one of whom immediately charged Skorr and was obliterated with contemptuous ease. The other three seemed too scared to move and Skorr felt disgust for these shivering wretches.
Stepping closer to the terrified pirates Skorr spoke in a base rumble "Surrender now or be destroyed." Without hesitation the pirates dropped to their knees with their arms up. All their thoughts of fighting quenched by the dark gray monster before them who was drenched in blood and carrying an immense black sword. Gloom sauntered into the room and gave the surrendered pirates a cursory glance then pointedly ignored them and moved to the control station.
Standing over the main console Gloom messaged Skorr "These ones will not trouble me, go, free the prisoners and send them to The Shining Knight. I will keep watch and make the enemy panic." Replying with a simple acknowledgement, Skorr turned and continued out of the control center.
Retracing their steps was easy due to the carnage they had inflicted in their passing. Turning at one of the main junctions, Skorr followed the internal schematic that Gloom had beamed to them as they left the control room. Skorr continued for several dozen meters before turning again. Ahead of them were several barricades and some very frightened pirates.
As Skorr rounded the corner the pirates screamed and opened fire. Skorr walked towards them completely ignoring the ineffective fire until the pirates were only a few meters away. Skorr stopped and stood still, after the few moments it took them to realize they were not having any effect the pirates stopped as well.
Skorr was bored of the violence and figured that they would give these wretches a chance to surrender, speaking gruffly Skorr said "Any of you who throws down their weapons and surrenders to me will live, those who chose otherwise will be terminated with extreme prejudice."
No sooner had the words left Skorr's voicecasters than one of the pirates snarled back loudly "We ain't gonna surrender to a big tin can like you! You had better be ready to…. URK!" The offender was cut off mid sentence by a bright purple beam emerging from the center of their forehead. The pirate that shot him quickly threw the weapon away and put their cybernetic hands into the air. The action was quickly mimicked by the other four.
"That was a wise move, I will be sure that your decision is noted, it may bring you some leniency in your sentencing." The young man simply gulped and nodded. Skorr continued "Walk to the main corridor and turn left, follow it all the way to the end. Keep your arms up as you approach as I will be informing my captain that you are coming." The pirates looked at each other and began to walk slowly towards the main way. Skorr ignored them and continued down the hallway to the prisoners block.
The Fortress of Despair had no prison cells, the prisoner blocks were converted crew quarters and as such were housed near the outside of the station. This kept them far from the defunct refining equipment.
Skorr made their way towards the prisoners and noted the lack of resistance. Perhaps the pirates had either fled from their advance or were never here to begin with. A nagging feeling seemed to pull on the corner of their consciousness and Skorr brushed it away. But as they got closer to their target the fluttering feeling came back. Pushing it down harder Skorr entered the prisoner area and walked towards the first door.
Checking the door controls, Skorr growled as they found it locked, simply digging their claws in and pulling sufficed to wrench the entire assembly off its frame with the screech of shorn metal. Leaning down and peering into the room Skorr was disheartened to see a pirate with a gun to the prisoners head.
The pirate screamed when they saw Skorr's glowing mechanical eye peering at them, they shouted "Don't come any closer you monster, or I will blow their brains out! I swear to the deep I will!"
Skorr cursed silently and thought about their options, they could try to reason with this pirate, but They were likely so scared that it would do no good. Skorr could not kill them through the small doorway without also killing the prisoner in the process.
Thinking hard for a moment Skorr decided to try intimidation, figuring that at worst the pirate would kill the prisoner which would deprive them of cover after which Skorr could kill them free of consequence. Not ideal but they could not think of another option.
Mustering their most aggressive tone Skorr growled in a deep primal voice "Release the prisoner now or your soul will be torn from your quivering flesh and subjected to an eternity of torment. You have three seconds to comply. Three, two…" with a shriek the pirate threw the prisoner to the side and dropped their weapon putting their hand forwards in a gesture of protection, Skorr simply reached through the door and skewered them through their chest with Death's Veil.
As the pirates limp body flopped onto the ground, Skorr withdrew their arm and looked to the prisoner noting their species. They were a creature that Skorr had not seen before but had been shown by Neirdith, a razah'vool. The strange creature had four legs and four arms spaced equally around its body and had a multitude of eyes. Its legs were bowed and ended in soft weight distributing pads with wide toes, its gray wrinkled skin seemed to gather in folds along the edges of its body. It had a large round mouth in the center top of its large head and if what Neirdith said was correct, the razah'vool were capable of splitting their focus among its four brain segments and doing four separate tasks at once.
Skorr looked at the seemingly terrified creature and spoke in a much softer tone "I am not here to harm you, in fact, I am here to escort you to safety. Please if you could follow me."
The prisoner made a few stunned noises before stumbling towards Skorr. Skorr backed away from the door and allowed the creature to enter the hall. It seemed to try to look at Skorr with all eight eyes at once which was of course impossible, the result was that it stumbled a bit and promptly fell over.
Skorr reached out a hand to assist but the creature recoiled, nonplussed Skorr said "I am offering assistance, if I was going to hurt you, you would already be dead. I know you are intelligent enough to realize that."
Seeming to think deeply, three of the Razah'vool's arms reached out and gripped Skorr's hand as they heaved themselves upright. Skorr was disappointed that they seemed unable to blend as well. No matter, they would be safe now anyways. Turning towards the other rooms, Skorr went about freeing the other prisoners from their internment with no similar problems, most of the prisoners were terrified of Skorr's blood soaked visage and needed to be coaxed out by one of their fellow prisoners.
Finally coming upon the last door Skorr detected two life forms present and turned to the prisoners that had remained and bade them to retreat to the ship just in case. Shivering in fear and shock the group of scruffy beings complied. Skorr's sensors could tell that one occupant was yeown, but the other was a mystery. Most likely a species that they had yet to encounter in their brief travel of the SCU. It was likely that the yeown was a pirate trying to hide behind a prisoner like the first one.
Sighing internally Skorr prepared for the worst and grabbed the door with their claw before they ripped it out of its frame with the shriek of shearing metal.
**********
Samantha was scared, she was usually rather stoic but the current attack had her brain in a fog of fear. She was sure that everyone was going to die. She would not go down with a whimper though ‘If these invaders want me dead, they will get a fight.’ she thought grimly as she flexed her claws.
She sprinted down the dim corridor towards the prison block. She could go and defend the choke points with the other hired thugs but she knew it was hopeless. Besides, she despised the others, they were unnecessarily cruel to the prisoners.
Laughing at their fears and plights, the other’s would sometimes deny them food or water just for daring to ask. She knew it was wrong, but she never spoke up, she had tried once to her father. He had snarled at her weakness and slapped her down, oh how she hated her father. She was appreciative of the life he had given her, but she still hated him.
Reaching the prison block she slowed to a walk, panting she looked both ways as she searched for a specific prisoner. Her heart slowed as she reached the end of the rooms, and then she saw it, the last room held the one she sought.
Opening the door she was at first surprised to see nothing, then she heard the tiny noise of fear and saw the pitiful huddle of feathers in the far corner of the cramped room.
Padding softly over to them she squatted down and caressed the shivering form. The smaller creature shivered in response to her touch but did not pull away, instead it lifted a wing to reveal a feathered head. A pair of golden eyes focused on her face and she smiled instinctively revealing pointed teeth. Instead of shying away the small creature lifted a wingtip and touched her face with delicate fingers and spoke in a soft but melodious voice “Oh, Samantha, you came for me.”
Samantha replied “Of course I did, I would never dream of leaving you alone.” covering her smaller friend's fingers with her own hand Samantha continued “The station is under attack Creesh, I don't know if they are here to rescue you or not so I came to make sure you were safe.”
Creesh perked up a bit at the word rescue before hunching inwards again at the mention of keeping her safe. Samantha was afraid for her safety and was about to continue when Creesh asked “Why would you risk yourself for me? I know we have become friends, but am I really that precious to you?”
The way Creesh looked as she asked this prompted Samantha to drop to her knees and grab both of Creesh’s hands in her own, looking into her golden eyes with her own she thought hard about how to word her response. Eventually she replied “Creesh, before I met you I was lost, drifting alone and broken on the tides of my fathers wrath. But then you came, and acted as my rudder. The guiding force that would help me back onto the true path of good. I never wanted this life, but life sometimes makes your choices for you as you are well aware. Creesh, I don't know where I would be if I had not met you. You are as important to me as my own claws, and I could no sooner forget you than my own tail. Believe me when I say that you are more important to me than any other soul in this vast universe.” letting out a small woof of air at this heavy admission she was prepared for a lot of responses, from disgust to mocking. What she wasnt counting on however was Creesh pulling her fingers from her grip and raising both graspers to Samantha’s cheeks again, giving a small sound of surprise Samantha felt Creesh pull her head down slightly and very close to Creesh’s own.
Creesh looked at her intently for a few moments before replying in her soft musical voice “I didn't know I meant so much to you Samantha. I am shocked that you would pour such emotion out to one such as I, given your race’s tendency to keep personal emotions reserved for all but those most special to them. It's for this reason that I feel I must be candid as well. Samantha, I was terrified to leave my home, but I did. And when my ship was taken by pirates I thought I would die from fear, but I didn't. When I was thrown in this cell and asked to help make this station run again I thought I knew fear, then I met the terror that was your father. I was scared for my life more times than I can remember, but then something happened that I never expected, amidst all this death and chaos I met you. You, who had somehow maintained a degree of soft civility among the brutality of your peers, I thought that maybe I could use your kindness to escape, but then another thing happened that I would never have believed possible, you opened up to me. The more we talked, the more I came to realize that you were truly a good person, despite your savage appearance and brutal surroundings you were, well, you. And as we grew closer I came to believe that we were truly meant to be friends. Samantha, I could no more forget you than my own wings, and the thought of living a life without you makes my heart break in sorrow. No matter what happens I will not let you go, come wrath and fire I will stand by your side.” Panting slightly at this long winded speech Creesh let go of Samantha’s head and stood, her bionic leg braces making the faintest of noises. Samantha followed her with her eyes but made no movements other than that for a time.
Finally gathering the will to move Samantha stood tall and reached out a hand to her friend saying “Then we are agreed, neither of us can live without the other, but neither of us will cower before the end. The only option is to face our fears side by side, as equals in all things.”
Creesh moved to her side and put one of her wingtips in her hand saying “If the end has come and the final wind blows, we will face it together. And if fortune favors us and the fates decide that we should sail high upon the winds, then we shall do that together as well.”
Feeling a tear slide down her lightly furred cheek Samantha was unable to speak and so just nodded her head before jumping slightly at a loud crash from outside the door. It was followed by a multitude of other crashes getting steadily closer. As the noise grew louder she felt Creesh’s fingers tighten but she stayed standing by her side.
Samantha remained standing firm even as the sound of screaming metal sounded from the door in front of them before it was torn directly off its hinges by some incredible force. Her legs started to shake of their own volition and she felt faint with terror but glanced at Creesh and drew strength from her presence. Looking through the dust filled doorway, she thought she saw a light, but it disappeared as quickly as she noticed it.
A rumbling voice came through the door, it sounded like the slow wearing passage of time itself. The voice asked a question and she shivered at its tone “Are you standing as friend or foe? Answer quickly because I am short on time.”
Speaking clearly Samantha called out to the voice “I stand as a friend to those who would be willing to befriend, but as a foe to those who seek violence.” Looking at Creesh she saw her shiver but nod in agreement.
The voice once again emanated from the passage outside “If you are willing to speak directly, I would ask that you exit into the hall. I apologize that I am unable to enter your room. I promise that no harm will befall you by my hand as long as you remain peaceful.”
Looking at Creesh for support Samantha hissed “I don't like this Creesh.”
To which Creesh responded with a chirp “But what choice do we truly have? We either stay here and die, or we exit and risk the very same.”
Grunting quietly Samantha said “You are right of course, like always. But I get to exit first just in case.”
Clicking her beak, Creesh replied “Fine, but next time I get to leap into danger first.” Samantha just nodded her head.
Walking slowly to the door she peeked outside but saw nothing out of the ordinary, frowning to herself she took a breath and released it slowly before exiting into the hall. Samantha immediately noticed something was different, but couldn't immediately place it. She could see nothing but the dull gray machinery of the walls and a larger mass that was attached to the wall where none had been before.
As her eyes started to take in the shape before her she let out a yell as it stepped closer, its giant legs shaking the ground slightly and its molten orange eyes seeming to bore into her. Creesh wilted under its furious gaze before clutching onto Samantha with both arms, in response Samantha placed a hand protectively on her back and raised the other in a pitiful defense.
Stopping well short of them the titanic figure raised its right arm and this was when she noticed that it carried the largest sword she had ever seen, made out of a matt black metal that could only be forged titansteel. She watched in fascination as the sword was raised and then placed in an out of sight holster on the things back, snapping her gaze back to the figure she took it in at a glance.
It was tall and wide giving it an almost squat appearance, it had two legs and arms with the right ending in an obvious hand while the left was an arrangement of claws seemingly designed for some unknown purpose. It had no head, its eyes being instead situated high on its body spaced wide near the shoulders. It had no mouth but it had spoken, and with this enigma in mind she asked it “Wait, you don't have a mouth but you spoke, how is that possible?”
Seeming to find this observation amusing, a low sound emanated from the figure. It took her a moment to realize that it was chuckling, it then spoke while turning to the side and raising an arm “Ah, that is an interesting question, you see there are voicecasters on my sides just in front and below my shoulders. These allow me to emit audible wavelengths in a vast multitude of frequencies and decibels. If there are no more pressing questions on your mind, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Skorr, I am a cyborg and crew member of the independent ship Shining Knight, and I am here to rescue the prisoners of the treacherous pirate Medrigil, who has been brought to justice.”
Samantha was too enraptured to speak and so Creesh was the next to respond “Ah venerable savior, I am Creesh from the planet Sabith and I thank you for the rescue. My speechless friend is Samantha. And I'm sure she is grateful as well, and will express it when she finds her words.”
Samantha felt a small pat from Creesh and sputtered “Y-y-yees, I am grateful for the rescue, and am heartened by the news of Medrigil's downfall, tell me, how did he perish?” she asked in a slightly pleading tone.
Seeming to smile with only their eyes Skorr said “Ah, that is news to discuss over a fine meal. I will leave it a mystery for the moment, but if you would accompany me to the ship I shall be pleased to introduce you to the captain.” With a beckoning gesture Skorr turned and began to stride away.
Samantha looked down at Creesh and saw the determination that must surely be mirrored in her own eyes. Hand in hand they followed the huge cyborg into whatever fate awaited them.