With a final exertion, Simone deactivates her grav-weights after the final set. The overseeing pair of Gratt help her by handing over the Terran’s bottle of water and sweat excretion collection towel.

“Two-thirds to my usual max…” Simone huffs as she accepts the assistance.

“You look better much! Much shiny too!” Meeki says in encouragement.

“Thanks.” the redhead chuckles as she pads her towel against her damp two and a half inch length head fur, “Still not feeling my best, but progress is progress. The head is still in the scrambled department unfortunately and Dave has done all he can do. Even Vermis refused to have a session after seeing the mayhem in here… ‘Too unraveled. Requires healing or risk death.’ they said… Fun.”

“If need, I have much traditional Gratt remedies. I ask Dave what be accept.” Nodrin offers.

“Remedies huh? Like what? Cuz I got the drug department covered.” Simone inquires before Meeki helps her sit upright.

“Drugs yes, but not just for body. For mind and for spirit. I help guide to your spirit, align self. Common Gratt practice.” Nodrin clarifies.

Simone exposes her teeth with a sharp inhale.

“Ehhhh… I don’t know about that… I’m not really the spiritual type.” she gently turns down.

“No need to be. Practice akin… to… med-medi- hmm… medita-tion. I believe spirits involve, but also health of mind. If no, much fine! Mere offer.” Nodrin assures with a hand wave.

“Nodrin much good Shamen! No hurt!” Meeki adds, though being ‘hurt’ isn’t one of Simone’s concerns.

“Hmm… I mean I already meditate… Well I kinda fell off the horse for a bit… so… I suppose this can work as a motivator to get back into the swing of things. Sure.” Simone caves with a shrug.

“Good! Not regret!” Nodrin promises, “Will prepare in bathe room! First I meet Dave. Give… some time. Will call.” they say before peeling away from their bondmate to start the quest.

“Alright. Meeki and I will wrap up here I guess.” Simone replies with an amused shake of her head.

“Nodrin much excited! Much thanks!” Meeki says as she helps Simone on to her feet.

“It’s all good. So, how’re you two settling in? Any issues?” the redhead asks as she starts some final stretches to activate any muscles that need attention.

“Much good! Learning much! Magic mind vision device still… much hard… But we see news of Gratt! No bad, little scary, most good. See me lots, interview broadcast in much places. People say funny things, think me scary. But many scared of Gratt…” Meeki responds with a mix of enthusiasm and disappointment.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since a notable Deathworlder species joined the stars. Especially with how yours started. Hasn't been anything like it since my people came on stage. But, I meant more of you and Nodrin specifically. I know it’s been a lot.”

“Ah! Exciting! We happy, much adventure, much new to see! Exactly we want!” Meeki assures.

Simone lets out a strained laugh mid-stretch.

“Heh! If you say so. Just warnin’ ya, things might get… rough.” she says.

“We understand. Stars harsh, and stars in… peril? But if Gratt help, stars like Gratt better.” the dark green woman reasons, “Gratt protect community, stars new community. We much want to be here, good place to help. Gratt know violence, world use it, we do. Stars… just new world. But violence is for defense, Gratt no like concept of ‘conquer’...” her voice trails off at that final notion.

“Hm. I’m guessing you’ve been looking into Terran history more?” Simone guesses.

Giving herself away before even speaking, Meeki whips her tail in discomfort.

“Yes… Not judge… but why so much attack on own? Big bombs. Cruel leaders… War hungry…” Meeki answers, trying to not sound insulting.

“Judge away, we deserve it.” Simone replies, “We’ve made more catastrophic mistakes than most other species combined. Earth was apparently the worst Deathworld on record. So much so that we killed it. The stars didn’t know if they should be more grateful that it’s gone, or that its spawn murdered it and lived.”

“I see… but why Terran like… it is?” Meeki inquires.

“We are selfish and strive to have the final say in things. If words don’t work, a bigger rock will. I mean… at least compared to everyone else. Our ancestors had to overcome so much just to stay alive long enough to spit out the next generation. I guess we crave control, because throughout most of our existence we never innately had it. We had to craft it, then fight for it. And what’s left once we were at the top? Eachother. Ironic, because we were reminded that actual control is impossible once we entered the stars. For a long while we weren’t in any sense of control. We were leashed and used in order to survive. We learned a lot, but will that matter? I don’t know. Probably not.” Simone rants, slowing down on her stretches.

“I see… think… still much hope for Terrans. If Terrans like you exist, hope remains.” Meeki compliments with a pat on the redhead’s back.

Simone doesn't have the heart to argue against the well intentioned compliment.

“Thanks. I think the stars really need people like the Gratt.” she says, “All of the positives of Terrans, few of the drawbacks.”

“Gratt not perfect. Far from.” Meeki counters, “I’m sure stars need Terrans same much.”

-

“Sink in tub.” Nodrin notifies as Simone as she disrobes without question.

“Ain’t gonna argue that.” she jests as she steps right into the warm liquid and settles down, “I like the atmosphere you got going here.”

Around the tub are thick rolls of soaked parchment burning out a dense orange smoke. It smells… well of nothing. In fact, Simone notices that she can't smell or taste anything in the air. She even gives her freshly sweaty armpit a whiff, noticing not even Terran B.O is completly muted.

Nodrin struggles a bit as they operate a remote pad, but quickly manages to lower the lights to their bare minimum.

“Lay back, float if can.” the Gratt instructs.

Not particularly a fan of the lack of vision, Simone pushes herself up so that her face was the only thing exposed. Due to her muscle mass she wasn’t much of a floater, but the job is more or less accomplished.

Nodrin walks around so that they hunch over the Terran’s head. In their grasper is a vial of a dark substance.

“Dave warn use of this, but not harmful. Do want proceed?” they ask.

“Already this far. So yeah.” Simone responds to the muffled Gratt voice, “Do I drink it?”

“Yes. Taste much bad. Much much bad. But smoke make no taste.” Nodrin nods as they lower the open vial down to the Terran’s maw.

True to their words, Simone tastes absolutely nothing. In fact she struggles to even detect the thick syrup-like consistency. After making sure she downs it all, she clears her throat to prepare to ask another question.

But the vibrations from her neck spread well past her throat. Like ripples in a pool of water the sensation spreads and bounces back within her as if she’s completely hollow.

She freezes up and waits for it to gradually settle down.

“No speak. No move. State between states of physical and spirit. Sensitive to own self.” Nodrin’s disembodied voice whispers.

It’s at this point Simone realizes she can’t make anything out visually. Either the lights were completely extinguished, or her eyes have become incapable of processing what littl light there is.

“Breathe slow. Focus on self. See… sellffhnshshshhhhhh…shhh…shhhshhh…”

Nodrin’s voice grows distant and dissolves into white noise. Until Simone’s consciousness it all by itself. No senses, no feeling, just existence of a consciousness in a void of itself.

Simone has never felt more at peace in her entire life. And despite her general skepticism, her imagination can’t help but wonder if this is the state before and after life. If so, it’s not so bad. Or maybe, this is at the core of life, what it feels to be alive at its basic raw incarnation. Endless reach, within a state of nothing and everything. Reality stripped away, time meaningless and no need for some purpose to be. It just is, and that’s all that’s needed.

But then something begins… itching. Like an internal rash of the soul. An interruption sourced from something else. Something that feels tethered and coiled within her that both feels her and not her.

It’s hard for Simone to understand or wrap her head around it, so she tries to filter in her own context. Something that matches the feelings she’s getting in a visual form.

Stars begin to spread out around her, sourced from the unknown. They expand and swirl into an open galaxy. Then another, and another and another- Until a vague visage is constructed. A broken face in shambles. But it’s more than a face, Simone can feel that it’s a sense of identity that continuously collapses and twists until pieces loosely connect. Yet so much is still out of place, not cohesive in any manner. It struggles to pull itself together with only the most minimal drop of success in an ocean of failure.

“Sharra…” Simone knows, seeing how her mind translated the fractured scraps of Manarian within it.

“Sharra… are you there?” the Terran inquires in thought.

The distorted jumbled face pauses for a moment, acknowledging being addressed. Half baked thoughts and feelings start to leak from her, some connected, others not. The result of a person shattering into several millions of fragments working in an unfathomably broken network of questionable consciousness.

Though there is one ‘word’ more prevalent than all others, with an endless ranging degree of specific intent behind it.

“Ape…”

With that the visage of the face stretches and squirms away like a spooked animal, squeezing itself far deeper within the nooks and crannies of the void.

“Wait…” Simone calls out to no avail. She tries to draw it forth again, but there’s active resistance that sends her pursuing mind into folding in on itself, somehow resulting in her ending up right where she started.

Mentally dizzy and disorientated akin to spirling through open space, Simone tries to grab onto some stabilizing feeling. Flailing around, she finds a sort of unknown mental tether. However as soon as she grabs on it starts to pull her forcefully in a certain direction like a malicious zipline.

It’s better than tumbling around in nonsense, so she holds on to it regardless of where it takes her.

Uncertain of how much time has passed, she arrives at the base of what her mind makes as a staircase. And she’s not alone, above her are two figures turning back to look at her. The details of their features are impossible to make out, but one is significantly taller than the other and is clad in vaguely shifting knightly armor.

“Dad!?” she asks, remembering her visions on the Gratt homeworld.

But it’s not him. She immediately feels it, in fact he’s so disconnected from her she’s unsure what he represents within her mind. Focusing on the shorter person, Simone half-expects to recognize it as herself at a younger age. But no. It’s not her.

Yet… the shorter person feels… closer? Despite being not attached, there's a soft link of recognition that Simone can’t wrap her head around.

The visage of the shorter figure -though unclear as to how- seems to have aspects of metal. Though not like armor.

Before Simone can strain even more to make some sort of sense to these two, they both turn away steadily ascending the steps. Simone tries to give chase, but is unable. She’s rooted to the base, part of the stairs themselves. Not allowed to follow, because it’s impossible to.

They are not a part of her, but need her regardless.

The staircase splits, taking each figure away in separate directions. When the split reaches Simone, she starts to plummet down. But before the staircase leaves her view, she swears she can see it reuniting in the far distance in an exploding collision.

Void all around, she is once again sent into a whirling hell, breaking though the unseen, smashing against where she can’t go.

Finally she stops in a room made of crumbling material. An echo of what once was a table sits in the middle and sitting at it is a Manarian made up of static and blurs.

She’s eating nonsense, but it’s important to her. So she keeps eating it, even if this fragment can’t remember what it is.

“Sharra?” Simone tries again.

“Ape.” the aspect replies without hesitation, nor does she attempt to flee.

“Are you… alive? Like in my head?” Simone asks as she settles at the opposite end of the table.

“I don’t know.”

“What are you trying to do? Are you… trying to take my head over?”

“I can’t. But my duty will be fulfilled. My duty…. My…” the visage starts to eat faster as if out of desperation.

“How do I get rid of you?”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“nonononononononononNONONONononNONONONONONONONONONO…” the blurred Manarian began to stream out like a hysterical malfunctioning program, “Not yet yet, not no noo not not yet… I must- duty. Duty. Duty. Duty.”

“You already did it. I saw. You died doing it.”

The Manarian in ballistic aggression and confusion throws the fragment of table aside and screeches at Simone.

“There’s more I must there’s more I MUST THERE’S MORE I MUST THERE’S-”

-

Simone flails as she flies through open air, along with the rest of the tub’s liquid contents. She is briefly suspended surrounded by orbs and droplets of wavering liquids. But gravity returns as she smashes back into the solid floor. Red lights are flashing, an alarm is blaring, the pain of hitting the spa floor… this is real… this is real!

Still very much out of sorts, Simone twists herself to get on her hands and knees. Her wet nude body barely resists slipping on the slick floor. Just before she’s about to stand up, another world shaking occurrence thunders out, shaking the floor more than enough to send her crashing back down in a prone position.

“Engine’s offline! Boarding ship attached!” Chucknuq’s voice speaks out from the intercom.

Simone reaches up to her Lens and comm, only feeling bare skin. She isn’t wearing them… of course she isn’t.

“Locking ship down! Intruders imminent!” the Captain’s says.

The dizzy redhead coughs and grits her teeth, she’s needed, and she couldn’t be more useless.

No… no there’s got to be something, anything she can do.

Getting up once more, Simone practically barreled over to the door, finding it sealed and unresponsive to her input.

“Okay, Simone, think… think…” she mumbled as she traced her hands along the edges of the door, “Locks there… and there… And there... okay… you can get through a door. You just need something to wrench and weaken the locks…. You need a tool… tool, tool, tool…” she uttered before it hit her.

Hurrying over, she reached the showers, reached up, took hold of a shower head and with an intentful twist removed the solid metal shower head.

A shit tool, but a tool nonetheless.

-

“Turning off comms in case they tap into the network! Princess, if this is the last time we speak, it’s been an honor and I will ensure your child’s safety no matter the cost!” Chucknuq says through a direct call to Chak.

“It’s not over yet. We will work our way to you. Lock yourself in your quarters with Seven and Essjay. We’ll grab Simone and get to you, alright?” Chak replies, doing her best to not let the sheer dread take over.

“Understood. May the stars be with you!” the Captain agrees.

“Chucknuq.” Chak says.

“Yes Princess?”

“I… I just want you to know that you- you have been- I think of you as everything a father should be, and that I cherish you more than I can express.” Chak speaks, as if the possibility of these being her last words to the Captain fully sinks in.

“I know... I hope to see you soon and safe!”

With that, the comm network goes completely dead.

Shaking her numb legs Chak hurries to put on her power armor, noticing that thanks to her juvenile requested modification… isn’t yet air-tight.

But it still works for its combat capabilities. As she starts connecting on plates Meeki and Nodrin come into the armory-gym with Vin in tow.

“Where’s Simone?” Chak says.

“Locked in spa.” Nodrin updates, “Can’t open. Broken. But I drag Simone out water at first attack. Unconscious. Safe for now.”

A clash of relief and dread mix like cold and hot water in Chak.

“Very well. She’s not in the best shape for fighting. It’s up to us.” the Cali sorts out to the room and herself.

“I’m afraid I have no combat training or experience, but I can hold a weapon.” Vin volunteers.

Chak nods before looking to the Gratt duo.

“Simone gave us weapon firing lessons, I hope you retained what she taught you. The rifle is mine, each of you take a pulse pistol.” she directs before fitting on her helmet”

“Yes.” Meeki answers for the both of them as they scramble over to where the weapon rack wall.

“And I?” Vin inquires.

“You are the most vulnerable out of us. So you will stay behind us with this. Only use it if you need to.” Chak replies as she holds out Simone’s golden plated plasma colt.

Vin hesitates but accepts the weapon, feeling as though he’s holding an armed explosive.

“Oh… oh my…” he pants as his mittens struggle to find a comfortable hold on it.

Thinking it over more, Chak carefully places a lower appendage on the Noxii’s shoulder.

“Do you wish to use a pulse weapon instead?” she offers.

Vin’s beady black eyes harden.

“No. We’re defending our home, and we must rise to the occasion. This is fine.” he resolves bravely.

“Very well.” the Cali agrees before addressing everyone, “Vin’s correct. However, I won’t ask you all to fight. These pirates are here for me, and although I can’t guarantee your safety if I turn myself over… if that’s the prefer-”

“Silence! You no surrender! No!” Meeki interrupts, “Gratt trade one life, may as well trade all. This our home. No one takes anyone from home!”

“Gratt value all, we together or we not. We choose together, always.” Nodrin adds firmly.

“Too much rides on your safety, Chak. Even if I was inclined to the idea, the universe’s future requires you to be alive.” Vin asserts.

“Right. I just needed to know. Thank you, let’s go.”

The fully armored Cali marches ahead of the rest, funnily enough being the most durable. She activates her armor’s systems to be five times her natural strength and lifts her rifle up at the ready.

Gazing down the hallway towards the center cargo bay overhang she can already hear the stomping and skittering of inbound intruders making their way up the steps.

Hearing this as well, the Gratt scatters to the doorways of other rooms, preparing to hold the hallway while not clustering together. Chak waves for Vin to remain in the armory while she sets up back in its doorway.

When the first Carvvv peaks around the corner into the hallway, their cranium explodes from Chak’s precise shot.

Unable to mentally celebrate her shot, a dozen more Carvvv blunder around the corner in a furious swarm. Chak has to take cover in the room as an avalanche of incoming fire pounds on her position.

However there’s a sudden break followed by the chittering screams of furious Deathworlders. Peeking back out, Chak sees that Meeki and Nodrin bounded right into the swarm and were in the midst of ripping and tearing segmented legs free from Carvvv bodies.

Meeki being the more brutal of the two, tackling one after another shredding at anything that her teeth and claws found. Nodrin being the lesser fighter, fires their pulse pistol in close proximity and uses it as a crushing club at any Carvvv that attempts to attack their bondmate when she’s exposed.

Though sloppy in execution, executing they commit… until the hallway is caked in neon blue gore and chitin corpses.

Meeki stands from her last prey, spitting out blue chunks and wiping her mouth. Nodrin pats her back but raises their pistol at a Z’ah’Tuck dashing into view. But the dino-fuck’s ribcage impodes as they are squarely hit. Screeching in a hollow wheeze, they step back and fall over the railing to the cargo bay floor.

Chak nods at the Gratt as she maneuvers up to them.

“You good…” Nodrin comments to the Princess as they regroup and slowly move to view the cargo bay.

“Simone is a good instructor. Now focus.” Chak replies softly.

She presses on and gazes down to see at least four more Z’ah’Tucks taking cover down below. Unfortunately there’s no reliable cover other than ineffective railing. In addition to that problem, she notices that they’ve already breached the first set of doors towards the front of the ship. Meaning there are more who are getting close to the rest of the crew. She has no time to-

In a flash, a tendril whips around the corner and snatches the Cali’s arm. In a violent swing she is lifted and thrown along the overcropping in front of the other upper hallway.

She tumbles harshly, but thankfully her armor does its duty and takes most of the impact. She staggers back on her hooves to see that it’s a Thakmaw who tossed her like it was nothing.

“The Princess is here! She’s in armor!” the Thakmaw announces gleefully before suddenly two Gratt ponce on it’s back in a mad murderous rage, clawing and firing their weapons point blank.

The dense Deathworlder panics as his insides are scrambled from the pulse impacts, and in desperation rolls over the railing, taking the Gratt with him. Chak readies her rifle to provide covering fire for her friends but she isn’t given the chance.

“Then we… peel it off of her!” A roaring Dillo says as he bounds from the stairs, backhanding the Cali with the strongest arms of any Deathworlder.

This time Chak feels it much more as her chest plate dents on impact. Her grip on her rifle is nonexistent as she flies and crashes down the facility hallway. Without thinking she increases her armor's strength output, to the point where it warns her of possibly causing self harm from the sheer momentum the armor can currently operate at.

However she feels no choice as her back slams into the far back wall. Fighting a Dillo opponent alone is near hopeless otherwise. She pushes up from the floor with too much strength behind it, sending her up into the air a bit before her hooves land back down unsteadily.

She can’t fight like this, too much unintended momentum will make her unbalanced and clumsy. But she won’t have the raw strength otherwise… Maybe if she can simply get past him…

Turning her strength down to a manageable level, she readies herself to bolt. But the larger than average frame of this particular Dillo shakes her resolve. There’s so little room to squeeze through. Even for a Dillo, this individual is a massive specimen of his people.

“Must this be… difficult Princess? It’s over.” The Dillo speaks through his neck vents with evil intent. His beak snaps in excitement as the blazing red alarm bounces off his six dark eyes.

“I-I’m not allowing you to take me, for as long as I breathe!” Chak challenges, raising her upper fists up while instinctually wrapping her lowers around her torso as a form of extra bodily protection. Though it’s clear her lack of hand-to-hand experience is dreadfully nonexistent.

“Dead is… just as good…” The Dillo vents darkly.

Chak’s eyes flash in defiance despite knowing the probable outcome.

KRUNCHWAAAM!!!

The spa door buckles and flies out with tremendous force right into the side of the Dillo. Against the door is a naked Terran using her entire body to propel the dislodged object as a crushing ram.

The shocked Dillo crumples against the wall, his massive head fringe cracking from the sheer thrashing impact.

Simone pulls back with the door in her grasp, reels it back, and casts it downward against the Dillo’s head like an oversized paddle.

The Dillo roars through his vents furiously before charging the Terran with his superior mass. Pulling the door up as a shield Simone is thunderously pushed back closer to the Cali.

The redhead’s weakened muscles tense and tremble in resistance, only able to slow the advance enough for the Dillo to switch his plan of attack.

Swinging a thick arm he crushes the Terran from the side and smashes her and the door into the wall.

Seemingly to only piss the redhead off even more, she pushes off and superman-punches her first straight into the Dillo’s exposed neck vents. Her arm sinks until it explodes out the vents on the other side. Rupturing the airway from this gruesome attack, the Dillo thrashes to bring the Terran down with him.

However Simone launches herself up and around on the Dillo’s back, grabbing her bloodied fist with her other arm. She squeezes with all her might as neither the Dillo’s massive walking arms or smaller chest manipulators can reach his assailant.

In a last burst of desperation, the Dillo smashes against the wall in vain. After a gutteral snap, crackle and pop… his brain is separated from his spine, sending him down forward to the floor.

Panting for air, Simone rolls over and draws her arm free from her defeated enemy.

“I take… one fuckin’ spiritual journey… and I wake to this shit…” she rasps tiredly before craning her head to see Chak, “You… alright hun?”

The Cali rushes to her Terran.

“No, pirates jumped us in an ambush. Their ship is currently connected to ours and they are making their way to the front of the ship. Essjay, Chucknuq and Seven are there. And the Gratt are engaged in the cargo bay! We have to go help!”

Hiding behind the railing, Vin takes aim at a Z’ah’Tuck moving to flank Nodrin and Meeki, who are all too preoccupied. He swallows hard as his mitton shakes on the weapon’s trigger.

He hopes that either of the Gratt sees the flanking attacker, but to his dismay they don’t as the Z’ah’Tuck lines up a perfect shot.

Firing a burst of plasma, Vin watches as it strikes true into the pirate’s back shoulder. It chars and boils the flesh down to exposed bone, sending the dino-fuck down to the ground in horrid agony.

“Nice shot.” Simone’s voice says from behind him, he turns uncaring about the Terran’s current undressed state.

“Take it! Take it!” Vin pleads holding the weapon up to her.

Nodding Simone takes her prized pistol.

“Head back and lock yourself in a closet. We got this.” Simone reassures before lifting herself over the railing to drop down into the fray. Immediately followed by Chak.

“Yes yes… I think that’s best… Oh my… oh-” Vin replies to no one before he expels his stomach contents while retreating back.

Meeki yelps as a Z’ah’Tuck deeply claws at her chest, tearing into her clothes and ripping streaks of blood.

Almost immediately the sneering attacker’s skull is no-longer-existing into a plume of evaporated particles. Nordin growls in contempt as they aim their magic gun away from the collapsing headless pirate.

“Dearest! Here!” they toss a vial of his own pain remedy, which is caught with ease by the ducking Meeki, “Do you require bandages!?” Nodrin shouts before taking aim at another enemy position to cover their injured bondmate.

Meeki slathers on the salve, feeling the burning sting of her wounds begin to quickly numb.

“It’s bad my love, and will certainly require it later. But I should be fine until this is over!” Meeki chiters back.

“Be careful dearest.” Nordin replies before more Carvvv begins to pour out from the front area of the ship to join the fight. A concerning sign…

Simone opens plasmic-rain into the horde, making those who don’t get turned into chunks of char to scatter.

Meeki peeks up with her sharp teeth exposed and pop-shots a too-curious Z’ah’Tuck wanting to gauge the new combatants.

“We have our Terran!” she cheers as she clutches her chest.

“Yes, but she’s weakened dearest. And unarmored. She still needs our assistance.” Nodrin replies.

“You're right, love.” Meeki concedes, gaining back her seriousness.

Chak maneuvers quickly on the outskirts keeping overwatch while Simone goes into the thick of it, taking planned plasma shots at opponent after opponent. Eventually in the heat of combat the remaining intruders attempt a retreat back into their ship through the loading doors. Utilizing several recovered crates as transportable covers.

Nodrin and Meeki regroup with a staggering Simone, the Terran on running on adrenaline fumes.

“Baseball?” Meeki suggests.

Simone bites her cheek but nods and holds her arm out. Both Gratt take hold of it and tightly wrap into each other. Then mustering the strength from deep within Simone stands straight and stomps in a mighty spin. Taking loose aim, she puts her whole body into a powerful Gratt projectile pitch above the retreating foes.

Soaring like a single flesh bullet the Gratt separates, rebound off the wall and strike right into the remaining shielded Carvvv.

The message must have been clear, because while the sounds of viscous Gratt tearing into helpless bugs, the vessel attached to the Kwip-chap begins to close its doors from any potential counter-boarding.

Chak hurries and manually presses the controls for the Kwip-chap’s doors to seal as well before bolting down towards the front of the ship.

“They might have got to them!” she chirps in panic.

Simone’s heart begins to race, giving her the fuel to follow at a fast pace. It then sinks as she sees the remains of a bot’s torso in front of forced open doors that lead into the bridge. Around them are several Curvvv bodies that have been crushed.

“Seven!?” Chak shouts as she moves up to it.

“My core is not-ot damaged. I held the door for as long-ong…” they say in a worried buzz.

Rushing past Simone’s shoulders falters when she sees the slumped over Tromple body next to the pilot’s seat. Still adorned in his Captain’s uniform, the square of his back is harshly indented.

“Chucknuq…” Chak whimpers before she removes her helmet, eyes completely gray, “I’m so sorry…”

Solemnly, Simone falls down on her knees and puts a hand on the Captain’s shoulder.

She jumps when her hand sinks right into him as if he’s a deflating paper balloon.

“Bwhahahaha!” the echoing laughter rings out around the Princess and Chief of security.

From above, a vent opens free allowing a freshly mottled Tromple plop to the floor. His scales reflectively gleaming and new. In his arms is a confused but safe Essjay.

“The oldest Tromple trick in the book! Hahaha!” he bellows as he immediately returns to his seat, “Are they detaching!?” he demands.

“Y-yes…” Simone says still mentally catching up.

“Good… Essjay, to battle stations! Bwahahaha!” Chucknuq declares as he brings the Kwip-chap fully online.

Although the major propulsion engines are unresponsive, he is able to turn the vessel on a dime to face the much more clumsy pirate vessel.

Then, with a dragging motion on his controls, the Kwip-chap’s upgraded fury fires away. The cannon thuds vibrate the floor as the projectiles zip and rupture the pirates into glowing, exploding confetti in a matter of standard seconds.

“Cheap bastards didn’t even have proper shielding! Hahaha!” the Captain cheers, while Essjay excitedly watches on with great interest.

Simone plants a hand on the real Captain’s shoulder before completely collapsing to the floor cry-laughing along with the old man.

Chak sets her rifle down and embraces Chucknuq’s side.

“I’m glad everyone’s okay…” she whispers in huffs.

“Indeed! It takes more than a few ruffians to get the better of us! Hahaa! That said… we are rather vulnerable and completely stranded without propulsion…” the Captain points out.

The Terran weakly raises a dismissive arm.

“I know who to call for a tow…”