Respin

I'm afraid.

Respin hastes down the sterile white corridors of the Starblazer.

But I've got to do it. If I fail all I did will be in vain. If I fail my friends die. I can't let this happen!

From the start he has prepared himself mentally for the worst. Now the worst has come to pass, and he has to deal with it. There is no turning back.

Where does this courage come from?, he wonders while his gills get uncomfortably dry due to his fast breathing. Or am I just a fool for trying? Best not to think anymore about it. I can't hesitate…

Still, his heart beats painful in his chest and this not because of him running through the ship. He needs to protect the others. Lappor will sound the alarm once he regains his consciousness. Respin has to put his wellbeing and safety on the line for the others. He will not let them suffer for his stupid ideas. He will not let them down.

I will survive. But can I really believe myself? he wonders as he leaves the bowls of the Starblazer. Will I really survive? Or will he execute me on the spot? Treason warrants death. No! I've to stop thinking like this! There's only one way to go, and if it means Serfin and the others get away with the pale creature, then my death won't be in vain.

Respin can’t help himself but smile. Never in his whole life he would have imagined going this far. The joke of a Menkar… The weakling without horns… If all he went through in his life is meant to culminate in his heroic sacrifice then so be it. But was it a heroic sacrifice and not just a suicide mission?

No. I do the right thing. What I do means more than all the planets the Empress and her predecessors have conquered!

While he relishes his sudden newfound resolve, he enters the warmer parts of the cruiser. Again his mind shifts to the pale creature. What exactly is this creature? What can she do? Is she indeed a weapon of mass destruction? Will she stay calm upon waking up? Or will she kill Serfin and the others?

Have I done the right thing? I’ve done the right thing! I shall not delude my resolve!, he tells himself. Everything will be alright. I've chosen the right way to go. Even if this pale creature is dangerous, nothing breathing and alive should be seen as a mere thing to be exploited!

Suddenly, the dreaded alarm echoes through the ship and makes Respin slitter to a sudden halt. Frozen and gasping for air he looks to the blinking crimson lights above him. Right next to them are the speakers, which are scattered across the Starblazer. A moment later Lappor's nasal voice echos throughout the whole ship.

"Attention! Attention!" he says sounding like he is still in pain from the hit against his head. "We have a traitor on board! Bladedancer Respin Gloomer is 'ereby no longer a member of the Imperial Fleet! 'e's now an enemy to the Empress and everyone on this ship. Further more 'e's to be immediately brought to Captain Slicer but not killed on the spot! I repeat! Bladedancer Respin Gloomer is not to be killed! 'e's to be brought to Captain Slicer first and foremost!"

With his heart beating up to his throat, Respin swallows hard and continues to run through the corridors.

Lappor repeats the whole message again.

Now Respin is for sure running for the lives of the other and his own.

—

Serfin

"I have to keep calm," Serfin tells himself in a whisper, repeating the words over and over.

Easier said than done. As long as he carried the pale creature — who is surprisingly lightweight for her size — he had something to concentrate on. A quest to be fulfilled. But now, right in front of the life-ship with the creature inside, he has nothing else to focus on and all his thoughts circle around Respin.

Nethra and Topasa stand next to the entrance of the life-ship and keep each to their own. Not a single word is spoken. Toddy has gone inside the life-ship the moment they have arrived. Now, the Insectoid sits next to the pale creature, watching her intently.

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More and more minutes pass and the time for them to depart creeps closer and closer. Walking up and down Serfin feels like he is about to scream. I should've never agreed to this!, he chides himself and bits his lips. I should've gone instead or, even better, with Res. I'm his Bondmate, dammit. Bondmates protect and help one another through everything!

As the traitor alarm starts to echo throughout the whole Starblazer Serfin stops as if glued to the ground. With blank eyes, he looks up to the speaker and the red flashing lights while Lappor's nasal voice echoes throughout the Starblazer.

Without much restrain Serfin pulls his bow from his hyperspace-bracelet and shoots an arrow into the speaker. The arrow hits its mark fair and square. The speaker explodes with a sizzling sound and falls silent before falling from the wall. Sparks rain down as the small speaker hits the ground with a loud clatter.

"Have you lost your mind?" shouts Nethra and walks up to him.

"What do you care?" he snaps at her growling.

"Once they get Respin the whole ship will be after us, smartass."

"Then get your bony ass into the ship!"

"I'm not going to set one foot into this thing! Not as long as I'm alone with this weapon-creature!"

"Will the two of you stop!" Topasa shouts and walks between them, pushing each away with a hand on their chests. "You don't want me to get angry!"

"Fuck off!" growls Nethra and backs away. "And don't you dare order me around!"

"Then don't get on each other's throats!" she snarls. "Once we're back on Cetus you two can fight as often as you want. And to you Serfin…"

"What?!" he replies growling. "I haven't started!"

"Sorry," she says and sighs tired. "I've just noticed… Your psychic ability… Are you a reversed Empath? Because the vibes you gave off a moment ago weren't that pleasant."

"I didn't mean to attack you," he apologises, scratching the base of his horn stumps. "I can't control it very well. Never could to be honest — even with my horns. Why you ask?"

"This could be useful if we are spotted," she says showing her toothy grin. "Making people feel angry or frightened can give us the chance to escape unscathed."

He returns the smile, but a few moments later he feels something powerful approaching. Something in the life-ship stirs. A moment later the ship rocks back and forth as if hit by a bomb.

The lights burn out in a beam of bright lighting.

Serfin and the other tense up.

Everything is deadly still.

—

Respin

Other crew members swarm the corridors within minutes. Respin has no time to think. All he can do is follow his instinct and duck and dodge.

He slides past out stretched grabbing hands. He kicks against knees and hits faces and chests with his fists. All without stopping or looking back.

While he continues to run to his doom, he finds strange happiness in the situation. Laughing Respin continues to defend himself and run. He even notices amused that many his would-be-captors do not know how to catch him. Since Menkar are taught to grab other Menkar by the horns to subdue them, most of the crew members do not know how to stop him.

"Isn't too bad to be a hornless freak now!" Respin shouts gleeful after a tall male Menkar, who has tried and subsequently failed to grab him by his non-existent horns.

But before he can turn around again, his flight gets cut short.

Without a warning, the Starblazer rocks back and forth.

With a scream Respin stumbles and slams against a wall. All his glee and madness wash from his body and leave utter dread behind. Simultaneously, a second alarm intermingles with the one started by Lappor. This one is meant to signal danger from the outside with damage to the life-support.

Ignoring both alarms with pulled back ears, Respin forces himself to stand up again. But the moment he stands something hard hits him against the back of his head. He has lost his consciousness way before he even touches the ground.

—

Serfin

With an unusual delay, the emergency UV-lights flicker to life. Still, Topasa pulls a flashlight out of her hyperspace-bracelet and turns it on with a click.

"What in the name of the Void has happened?" Serfin asks in a hushed voice.

"Dunno," Topasa replies and lets the small bluish cone of the flashlight flicker over his and Nethra's feet. Serfin steps a forward and looks around with another arrow at the ready. He can still feel this strange powerful presence.

"Shit!" Nethra hisses, which draws Serfin's attention to her and then to the inside of the life-ship. "It's gone!"

"I doubt that," Topasa replies and shifts towards the entrance. "Maybe she fell further into the ship."

Serfin feels something moving in the surrounding darkness. Purely out of instinct he holds Topasa back. With a hand-wave, he indicates to her to shine the flashlight towards the area behind them. She nods and moves it, while Nethra moves closer to them. Slow Topasa shines the light cone over the other white life-ships towards the other side of the hangar. Nothing moves in the proximity of the light. But there is something in the shadows. Serfin can almost feel it.

Suddenly, there is a loud noise on top of their life-ship. Immediately all three Menkars jump around, but there is nothing on top. Still, Serfin tightens his fingers around the bow.

Topasa screams.

In a split-second he and Nethra turn around.

All they can see before they are pushed into the life-ship is a smooth white mask with a single staring red eye painted on it. Black hair flies around the mask as the three Menkars stumble and fall over each other in blind panic. A moment later Serfin falls and gets buried underneath Nethra and Topasa.

Gasping for air, he tries to push himself free and sees at the last moment how the door of the life-ship seals shut. With a jerk the life-ship starts to initialise the undocking process. Before either of the three Menkar can get close to the console to stop it, the ship shoots from the Starblazer.