Chapter Three

in which Saph and her small crew come face to face with their adversary and find the trouble they are in is greater than anyone could know.

“E’ich eti vu oot, Feetuni?”

The Definite ignored its lackey’s question and examined the burning planet through the ships main viewing port. It wasn’t ruins, but the start of an empire. Their empire. A glorious new kingdom for its people, one they had deserved since their home planet was tragically lost.  And what had the other-worlders done as they sat in the darkness of their moon? Nothing. They carried on, enjoying their desert land and abundant life. Just like the predecessors before them. No matter, it was their time now. Time for The Definite and its army of Units to reap what rightfully belong for them. And the purple beings that once dwelled there, their losses were not in vain. No, their bodies would make the desert land fertile. They were now a part of the planet itself, cultivating it for its new owners. And have saved them from their own destruction. Without the merciful release it had provided them with, the Other-worlders would surely have destroyed themselves, just as their predecessors before them had. The Definite stood, spiny hands folded behind its back, watching the flames light reflect off the glass. Glorious. Yet, his work was not finished.

Back in the Darkness, they hadn’t known there was anything other than the Other-worlders and the New World which they inhabited. But others had gotten too close to the planet, and one of the units had ordered the ship shot down. That unit was immediately sent into the flame, most likely believing its sacrifice was positive reinforcement for a successfully taken risk. All of The Definite’s army thought death by fire was an honorable death indeed. But The Definite used the furnaces to eliminate extra or dysfunctional resources. That’s what his people were, only resources. Oh, but the pride they had for their race was exquisite, and The Definite was grateful for this. This is what had won them their New World. But if there were other species, there were other worlds- other worlds in danger of suffering destruction at the hands of its inhabitants.

“Shall we pursue them, master?” The lackey, Unit 8922, repeated its question. The Definite considered this. The strangers had proven they were strong. Yet the possibility of other worlds that may need their help was great, and no matter how strong these strange flesh creatures were, the Definite would make its people stronger. They were extremely adaptable. And with two worlds, maybe even three, all its own, The Definite and its army could never be wronged again. And no race could ever harm itself or others.

“Yes.” It answered calmly in its native language, still dreaming of its new empire. “300 Unit Ships only, with this vessel as flagship. The others must stay with the New World.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And these others,” it added. “they are not to be harmed.” No, they were to be studied. Perhaps The Definite could convince them to join its noble quest. Yes, its intentions were noble indeed. And if they did refuse to join them, it would just have harvest their powers for his own use. It would be a tragic loss, but a necessary one. Like the lives of his people. Nobel deaths in the fires of war.

            Saph was in the Revenant Mark II airlock, adjusting her suit before departing to the abandoned cruiser she was supposed to inspect. She griped her throbbing head- hangover again. She wasn’t supposed to drink on duty, but like many other Core regulations, she disregarded that rule. And then the throbbing got worse and everything was fuzzy and she was suddenly in space. She didn’t know why she wasn’t exploding or why she couldn’t move. And suddenly she wasn’t alone. Lyl was there, without a suit or a helmet, suspended in space. And she was screaming, but Saph couldn’t hear because there was no sound in space. She was screaming at Saph and she didn’t need to hear her to know what she was saying. And then they were both on fire, but Saph didn’t burn. There wasn’t a scratch on her, just flames. But Lyl, she was ablaze and screaming as she melted away. Saph reached out for her, but she turned away, shrinking and burning into space-

            A hard knock on the door jolted Saph awake. Her breathing was labored and she was sweating like a pig. D****t. The nightmare was back. It had been surprisingly scarce during her stay in Abaddon. Course, she barely slept there so that could have had a lot to do with it. But it was back, and in full force. There was another knock. She swore lividly under her breath, and wiped her brow. “Come in.” The door slid open, revealing none other than the good Doctor. Saph sighed and rubbed her head which still ached. “What the hell do you want, kid?” The girl twiddled her thumbs nervously.

            “I’m really sorry I woke you.” Saph wanted to yell back, oh no it’s fine really, you just interrupted the first good sleep I’ve had in years! But instead, she just stared. Truthfully, she didn’t want to live through the nightmare again, so she was slightly grateful for the interruption.  Realizing she wasn’t going to get a response, the Doctor continued. “But Rakos informed me that we are heading to Asylum and I was wondering if-“

            Saph read the rest in the Girl’s mind, too impatient to listen to actual words. She wanted to go back to Kel after they got parts to get supplies for the stupid baby. “No.” she answered curtly.

            “But you didn’t-“

            “Didn’t have to, I can read your mind. Ooh, fascinating right? I’m sure you’re gonna wanna probe me or something or whatever it is you medical types do, but I really rather get back to sleep, k kid? Great thanks.” She punched the button to close the door, but the girl stepped in the way. Saph sighed loudly. “I don’t know what the whelp told you about me, but I’m not exactly what you would call a ray of sunshine.” The kid was obviously pissed, but she didn’t lash out the way Rakos did when he got angry. Instead, she reserved herself and coolly replied,

            “You’re half Surian, on your mother’s side. And your father was human, of some Italian decent, I’d say.”

            “How-“

            “Oh, just something us medical types do I guess.” The girl was absolutely smug. “I wrote one of my dissertations on the impossibility of Surian Human hybrids… guess I was wrong.”

            Saph didn’t have as short a fuse as everyone thought- just a couple shouts and all her anger would be gone, for the most part. Unless she was mad at herself, which she was going to have to learn how to control, now that she could rip things apart with her mind. But this girl had absolutely driven her crazy. Who did she think she was, storming into her private quarters like that, demanding they fly around because of a damn baby she brought on board when she shouldn’t have even been on board in the first place, and profiling Saph like she was some sort of science experiment? What an insolate, foolish, little-

            She saw it all in her head, like a dream but more real even; her fist flying into the kids face, her nose breaking against her fist, pulling back to strike another blow and another blow, and another until she was an unrecognizable bloody mess. Asking Thudd to kindly throw the body out the air lock and the baby too while he was at it-

            Saph blinked and she was back in reality. What the hell was that, some sort of vision? She blinked again. The girl was still there, still smug. So Saph grabbed her by the collar, making her gasp, and held her face to hers. She held her there for a solid minute before speaking again and when she did her voice was a harsh whisper.

            “Stay. Away. From. Me.” She released her, not even flinching at the sore exhale she let out as she hit the ground. The girl backed away, but before the door could close shut completely, Saph reached out to her mind to see if she was afraid. And she was. But one word echoed in her head:

            No.

As the door clicked shut, Saph slammed a fist into the wall, screaming.  It bled. She really did not give a damn. She had almost killed that girl, a Doctor, who could be a serious asset to her team, and an innocent baby. Saph may have been cruel, callous, mean, and even horrible at times, but she wasn’t heartless. At least, she didn’t used to be. Maybe that’s what happens when a heart breaks- it literally gets ripped from the chest. She strode to the cabinet, pulled out the box. She just stared at it. She didn’t open it. The velvet fabric was comforting against her rough fingers. She lied back down on the cot, not bothering to turn the lights off, and closed her eyes. With the box in hand, she drifted into a deep, nightmare free sleep.

            Ashlee had hurried back to the Med bay only to find that she didn’t really want to be cooped up in the stuffy room anymore. And Leahn’ah was doing well, as Kelahn infants were relatively low maintenance.  However, she was going to have to find some sort of substitute for the nectar newborns lived off of since they weren’t going back to Kel. She would be fine for a few days but the sooner Ashlee took care of the problem, the better. She went across to the galley, and began to go through the supplies in the kitchen which proved to be almost as limited as those in the med bay. But she was able to find some sugar and some sort of Surian milk, among other things. That would do for now. What she would give for some test tubes and basic chemicals. All her things had been lost on the planet. She thought about the letter in desk. It was probably ash now. She sighed, and searched for some sort of vessel to put her concoction in. After going through several flasks and empty liquor bottles, she finally found a shallow bowl. That would do fine. She mixed up the ingredients best she could, then returned to the room across the hall. The infant cooed at the smell of food. Ashlee smiled and set it down in front of her, as she had seen the nurses do countless time before. Leahn’ah let out a little squeak and flipped herself over so that her face was in the nectar, and lapped at it like a small fleshy dog. Ashlee had once found the sigh strange, but now had grown accustomed to it. When the infant had had her fill, she flipped over on to her back and let out a surprisingly resonant burp. Ashlee giggled and moved the empty bowl away.

            “Aren’t you a silly little thing?” she said as she lifted the child from its makeshift crib. Leahn’ah cooed again and reached out instinctively, wanting to be held. Ashlee’s heart melted a little as she pulled the infant close. She was warm and smelled like cinnamon. She thought of how the nurses always sung the newborns to sleep, and the lullaby that Leahn had sung when she had broken down only a few nights ago. Had it really only been a few nights ago? And now her friend was gone forever. All because- no, she wouldn’t think about that now. She had the child to take care of, and that was enough to keep her mind from the terrible things that happened. She took a deep breath, and rocked the baby in her arms as she sang in Kelahn; “E’el Ke’ahn uarh teem, e’el Ke’ahn urah ti’su-“

            “You’ve got a lovely singing voice, doc.” Ashlee whirled around, trying not to startle the infant drifting off to sleep in her arms. The Gorgonian, Thudd, was standing in the doorway smirking.

            “Goodness, keep it down you’re going to wake the baby.” But she smiled back at him. Though he was a bit intimidating at first, he was slowly growing on Ashlee. 

            “Not my problem,” he said though he had lowered his voice a bit, “just wanted to-“

            “Hold on.” She whispered, carefully placing the Kelahn back into the chamber. She was completely asleep now. Ashlee stepped into the hall and closed the door to the med bay. “Ok, what is it, is that wound acting up already? If I had the proper antibiotics-”

            He chuckled heartily, cutting her short. “No, no doc I’m fine. I just wanted to let you know that we’re coming up on Asylum.”

            “Oh, alright then.” She scratched her head. “Is that all?”

            “Well,” He drew out the word and beckoned her to follow him up to the bridge. The Strange Surian was piloting the ship, and Rakos was sleeping at one of the consoles. All was quiet, except for the snoring. “It’s kinda my unofficial job to keep an eye on the Captain. But when I went to her cabin to tell her we’re getting close, she had put a bio lock on her door with an encrypted override. And she never locks her door. I know you went in there, what the hell did you say to her?” His demeanor had quickly shifted from light hearted to serious, which made Ashlee anxious. She hadn’t meant to cause trouble.

            “I was just going to ask her if we could turn back to Kel after so I could get food for the baby and medical supplies.”

            “But you didn’t ask her that.”

            “Not out loud.”

            Thudd raised his chin, making him twice as intimidating. “What did you say out loud?”

            “Nothing I would find offensive.”

            “Doc,” he said with a humorless laugh, “Saph isn’t exactly like you. There’s only one thing in the whole universe that can set her off. You didn’t mention her mother, did you?”

            Ashlee felt the knot in her stomach tighten. “Not intentionally.”

            “D****t.”

 Ashlee noticed that the snoring had stopped, and turned to see Rakos standing up from his chair and stretching. “Why her mother?” he asked drowsily. 

            “Aw, I really shouldn’t be telling you guys this, she’s gonna kick my a*s.”

            Rakos was wide awake now, glaring at the gorgonian impatiently. “After all she did to me, I have a right to know.” Ashlee held back her surprise. She had gathered that Rakos and the Captain weren’t close but was it possible the two weren’t even colleagues? She had noticed that he was a lot less gruff on the exterior then the rest of the lot. What kind of people was she getting herself in with? She was about to inquire, but the tension demanded the question at hand be answered first. Besides, she was extremely curious as to why mentioning her mother had gotten Saph so aggravated. So she kept her mouth shut as the two men went back and forth.

            “Listen whelp, I don’t have the authority to tell you this kind of stuff.”

            “Authority? How is that relevant?”

            “Saph’s the captain, and this is her life we’re talking about so you should just keep me out of it, ask her.”

            “What good would that do? She can rip me apart with her mind.”

            “Not my problem!” They were inches apart now, screaming at each other. Ashlee gave them some distance.

             “How is that not your problem?”

            “You’re just extra weight anyway!”

            “And you’re just some glorified muscle!”

            “The hell-“

           

            “ENOUGH.”  The room fell silent. The three standing spun around to see the Surian, still in his chair, staring them down. Ashlee had assumed he was mute. The knot in her stomach felt like concrete now. But the Surian paid no attention to her, and looked up at Thudd with dagger eyes and said softly, “Tell them.” With that, he spun back around, acting as if nothing had happened. Ashlee blinked up at Thudd with anticipation. She felt like a kid waiting to be told a bedtime story.

            “Well I guess that settles it then.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone else was dead silent. He sighed. “Alright well, just the bit about her mother, alright?” they both nodded. The Gorgonian sighed again. “She doesn’t talk about her much. Guess she was a rather ghastly woman.” Thudd stopped to rub his neck. “She was some sort of dignitary scientist on Krysis, I think, in the capital. Then one day she suddenly ran away to one of the human colonies, and married Saph’s dad, Loren. But it wasn’t cus she loved him. At least, that’s what Saph says. It was because Loren was also a brilliant scientist, and thought that an intelligent human Surian offspring would be the perfect super weapon or something like that. So after she had Saph, she stuck around for a couple years. Just long enough to find out Saph didn’t have any powers at all, and then bolted.”

            Ashlee blinked. “But she does have powers.”

            “Eh that’s new… actually I haven’t even heard that whole story yet. Anyway, her old man wasn’t as bad. He took care of her for a while but eventually got tired of her too and sent her off to Military school on Prime when she was fourteen.”

            Ashlee blinked again. “She was a part of CORE?”

            “Yeah, navy, she really is a captain, you know. But then something happened, and she, well you know sometimes she says she resigned, sometimes she said she was dishonorably discharged, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a bit of both.”

            “What happened?” Rakos asked, equally as enthralled as Ashlee was.

            “Hell if I know. Sparky knows I think, but that’s cus Saph didn’t used to be so good at mental shielding. I’d be damned if he’d tell me though.” He leaned in, like he was telling a big secret. “Maybe-“

 

            “Maybe it’s none of your damn business.” The three whirled around simultaneously. Saph was standing there, her expression hard but more irritated than angry. She looked exhausted. Ashlee instantly felt guilt for interrupting her sleep. “Or maybe I destroyed an entire CORE fleet and went to live on Mars with the Furloids.” Her voice was dripping with venomous sarcasm.

            “Oh come on Saph, that’s just a rumor I started to scare people.”

            “Yup, because it’s none of your damn business. Now get your gear and get your asses to the cargo bay. Except you Thudd, man the helm.”

            “But cap-“

            “That’s an order.” Ashlee wanted to get out of there as fast as she could, but as she turned to leave, Saph locked her steel gaze onto her. “Hold up kid.”  Ashlee froze. Thudd, not wanting to get in any more trouble, hurried out of earshot.

            Ashlee had never been so terrified in her life. Before she had confronted her, she thought that Saph’s ‘Tough Chick’ vibe was just an act. But after being hoisted like that, she knew that the woman could have killed her in the blink of an eye. And when she had threatened her-

            “It wasn’t a threat.” Her voice was strained but sincere.

            “Then what was it?” She tried her best not to sound frightened.

            “A warning, one you better heed if you wanna keep that pretty head of yours.” 

            Ashlee swallowed. “That sounds a lot like a threat to me.”

            “Trust me, it’s not.” But her fists were clenched and her brow was furrowed. “Just stay away from me, kid.”  Ashley nodded quickly in agreement. Saph’s face immediately shifted into a smile. “Good.” She reached into her jacket. “You know how to handle one of these, kid?” She pulled the gun out and waved it around. “Considering Core at least does some basic training for its higher priority clients-“

            Ashlee snapped her head up. “How did you find that out?”

            Saph smirked. “Oh, I did a little digging on my own for some background information. Course, I wasn’t stupid enough to get caught.” Ashlee felt her face grow hot. Luckily, Saph didn’t seem to notice. “Now take the damn gun so I don’t have to babysit you on the planet.” 

            Ashlee obliged, but was concerned. “I can’t really leave Leahn’ah alone.”

            “What the baby? It won’t be alone, Thudd will be here. And he’s great with children- he practically is one.” She snickered. “And besides, you said you needed supplies, right? Well the only one who knows what you need is you so,” She made a shooing gesture towards the hall. “Off you go.”  Ashlee was slightly irritated by Saph’s smug demeanor, but at least she wasn’t shouting.  She stuffed the gun in her coat, and headed towards the door. Again she wondered just what sort of people she had gotten herself in with. Apparently, they were kind of people who felt the need to carry guns everywhere. Of course, Asylum wasn’t exactly known for being a safe haven. But perhaps these were the kind of people that gave this planet such a reputation. Ashlee tried not to think about it as she checked on the child again, and then made her way to the cargo bay. The rest were already there, checking their weapons. Ashlee hadn’t been that anxious since she had spoken at her Dad and brother’s funeral. She felt sick to her stomach. But she had to do this, for Leahn’ah- for the fate of the Kelahn race. As she stood there shaking, Rakos approached her, a warm smile on his lips.

            “This should be quick and easy. I have a feeling they’ve done this before.”

            Ashlee looked up at the Surian and the hybrid and nodded in agreement. “How long have you been with them, exactly?”

            He smirked. “Approximately two days more than you, actually.” That was odd. She wanted to know more but he quickly changed the subject. “If you don’t mind my asking, what was the purpose in saving the child?”

            “I hope to save their race.”

            “But-“

            “It hasn’t been proven,” she explained, “but its suspected that Kelahn women can mate with other species and produce almost pure Kelahn offspring.” She shrugged nervously. “So yes, I’m playing a hunch, but I’m not about to let the race I spent five years among die. And right now, that little baby is all I have left.” She tried not to let her pain show through her face, but by the way Rakos was looking at her, she could tell it hadn’t worked.

            “I am sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“If it helps,” he hesitated. “I don’t have any family left either.”

“Oh it’s not that exactly, my mom and brother live on Logos.” She instantly regretted her words. “Oh.” He said, and awkwardness hung in the air. But her biological family wasn’t the same as what she had lost on Kel. Her biological family was flawed- mom drank a lot and was never home. And who knew what kind of drugs Sam was into these days. But Leahn, she was perfect. She could never do any wrong by Ashlee. That was her only true family, not biologically but really. And that was gone. So Rakos was right. And it hurt to think about it that way, but to know someone else really knew what she was going through really did make her feel better. “But it does help.” She added, killing the silence. And she felt a smile creep onto her face. It helped a lot.

 

Rakos involuntarily scrunched up his nose as he stepped into the dirt. Some pungent odor hung in the air. It was thick and strong, most likely a drug. This wasn’t the part of Asylum he was accustomed to.  The compound beneath Abaddon and the surrounding city had been maintained by CORE and therefore was kept in good condition. The rest of the planet was another story entirely. Most of Asylum was made up of slums, like the one they had landed in. People migrated to the outer system trying to start over, out of the reach of the overbearing government. And they succeeded, as long as they steered clear of the prison, but they never got the fresh start they wanted. There was no organized police force, so crime ran ramped. Shop vendors had to stow weapons within reach, but were often killed regardless. Rakos had heard that Asylum used to be a major hub for the slave trafficking industry, before it collapsed several years earlier. It was also notorious for pirates. Rakos was sure the lot he was with had connections there, which most likely was part of the reason Saph was grinning as she kicked the dust from the boots.

“Ah home sweet home!” She looked up at the prison hovering in the distance and saluted sarcastically. “It’s a shame we won’t have time to visit.” Rakos turned back to see if Ashlee had noticed Saph’s less than subtle comment. She hadn’t. She was busy lecturing Thudd on how to properly care for a Kelahn infant.

“And if-“

“Geez, Doc, relax! I’m just gonna fly the ship somewhere safe than I’ll bring her right back once you get done. How much damage could I really do in that time, huh?” She looked up at him sternly.

 “You tell me.” He just laughed, and patted her on the back as he returned to the ship. The Doctor sighed, and stepped down into the dirt with the rest of them.

“Nice of you to join us, princess.” Said Saph impatiently. “Alright, I’m giving us an hour. We don’t know where those things are and while it’s unlikely, they could make it here and I want to get the hell out before that happens.” Rakos nodded in agreement, and so did Ashlee though she seemed reluctant. Sparky just stared. “Okay, first things first we need parts. I know a guy.” She tapped the comm. “Take her up, Thudd.” Rakos thought Ashlee looked nervous as she watched the ship zoom away.

“You can trust him.”

“Huh?”

Rakos forced a smile. “Thudd, you can trust him.” Ashley scratched her arm anxiously. “Yeah, ok.”

Saph cleared her throat with an obnoxious cough. “Come on people, we really don’t have all day!” Rakos bit his lip and fell in step behind her, with Ashlee close behind.

Rakos thought they would be a strange sight, two disheveled humans, a Surian, and whatever Saph was, trudging through the crowds awkwardly. But in comparison, they blended right in. Half-bred Gorgonian children clung to their unhappy looking mothers. Beggars of all species littered the streets. Rakos felt uneasy. He had grown up in the countryside. Crowds bothered him, let alone crowds with unsettling faces. It didn’t seem like Ashlee was fairing much better. He had noticed that she seemed to get fidgety when nervous. She was drumming her fingers against her pant leg and looking down at her shoes. Rakos wanted to say something to calm her down, but he couldn’t find the words. Luckily, they arrived at the shop soon enough, though, it wasn’t as much a shop as it was a shed. The flickering sign read “Mr.Molly’s Merchandise.” Saph grabbed the door by the handle and held it open.

“After you,” She grinned. Rakos scowled at her, but it only made her chuckle. As the door shut behind them, the room fell silent. “Hey, Davie, you here?”  Ashlee sneezed- there was dust everywhere. Saph tried again. “Davie? It’s Saph, and Sparky. We need some parts… I got credits this time!” She pulled a credit chip out from her inside her coat, and waved it around as if to entice an animal. There was a rustle, and then a tall dark man with a mangy beard stepped out from behind a curtain. “Who the hell are you?” She shouted, eyes narrowing.

“Davie’s on holiday.”

“Davie’s poorer than a gorgonian prostitute with twenty children. So you better tell me where he’s at or-“ She stepped up to the counter, and laid her gun on the surface, finger hovering over the trigger. Ashlee started to pace. Rakos tried not to roll his eyes. “well, you can kiss those credits goodbye.” She pocketed the chip, but kept the weapon on the counter, barrel pointed at the man’s chest. He just snorted at her.

“I said he’s on holiday.”

Saph muttered something in Surian, a curse perhaps, and slammed her fist on the counter. “He’s dead, isn’t he.”

“Yup.”

She swore again, and concealed the weapon. “Guess I need you alive then.”

“Yup.” The man looked absolutely smug.

“Okay, let’s cut to the chase. What’s your name?”

            “Charley.”

            “Alright Charley, I need a warp transmitter, a Surian core drive, and anything you’ve got for mass-heat sensors.” Charley just stood there silently. Rakos swatted a fly away from his cheek. “Come on, Charley. I’ve got the credits.”

            “Oh, I’ve got the parts sweet cheeks.” His face began to contort into a sick smile. “But I’m gonna need a little something more than credits, if you know what I mean.” Saph looked at him for a minute. Slowly, a grin began to form on her own face, and she yanked back her arm and punched Charley square in the jaw. He yelled and fell back, clutching his bleeding lip. Rakos had to admit, the guy was asking for it. He rubbed his sore jaw, and was about to yell but Saph didn’t miss a beat.

            “Sparky.” Rakos hadn’t even noticed the Surian lurking in the back of the room, but he was suddenly standing next to the captain. “Convince him, would you?”

            Sparky didn’t grin or smirk the way Saph did when she had inflicted pain on the man. His face was as blank and expressionless as it always was as he lifted the man by the neck single handedly. Charley grasped at the translucent fingers wrapped around his throat, trying to pry them off, but the Surian didn’t let up. Rakos heard a pop and looked towards Sparky’s free hand. It was glowing, sparking. He realized why Thudd had said he’d find out why they call him ‘Sparky’ and was filled with terror. He had seen Surians with telekinetic abilities plenty of times, but never with power of that magnitude. Sparky lifted his hand, electricity humming on his fingertips. But as he reached for Charley’s throat, the man was able to let out a feeble cry. “Stop!” he whimpered.

“Alright, Sparky, I think he gets the point.” Saph piped up. Rakos was relieved. He didn’t think he could bear to watch that. But the Surian didn’t stop. In fact, his expression changed ever so slightly. He seemed determined. “D****t, Sparky, don’t-“

But it was too late. He grasped the man’s neck with sudden enthusiasm. Charley writhed and screamed. Ashlee cried out. Rakos looked away. Saph swore. After what felt like hours but surely was only minutes, the screaming abruptly stopped and there was a loud thunk. Rakos looked up again. Charley’s body lay on the ground, shaking and twitching. Rakos thought maybe he had a chance. But then he went limp. Ashley let out another sharp cry. Tears stained her face. Rakos felt a pang of guilt deep in his chest. He couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault, bringing her into this mess. But then, he hadn’t much of a choice. He couldn’t let her die. But seeing the misery in her face made him miserable as well. He wanted to get her out of there. “Saph-“

She lifted a hand and he stopped. He knew better than to cross her at a time like this. She was absolutely livid. She didn’t shout, but her voice was stern when she spoke. “Sparky, get the parts and get back to the ship. And bring the girl with you.”

“But Saph-“

“Shut the hell up Rakos.” And he did. Then she turned her wrath onto Ashlee. “Doctor, it would be beneficial to your health and mine if you just went back to the ship, alright?” She didn’t respond. She was shaking. They all stood in deafening silence except sparky who was diligent searching for parts. Saph sighed and tried again. “Kid-“

“No.” Rakos flinched at the pain in Ashlee’s voice. He felt like he had caused it. Saph clicked her tongue against her teeth.

“No?”

“I refuse.” Saph was on Ashlee like a bullet, face inches from hers. Rakos backed away, wanting to be anywhere but here.

“You refuse my orders?”

Ashlee looked like she would burst into tears any moment, but instead she gathered herself and let out a breath. “I am not going anywhere with that… that murderer.”

Sparky stopped for a minute, but otherwise seemed unoffended. Saph on the other hand, tensed up, brows furrowed together. Then a thin smirk smoothed her features, and she cupped Ashlee’s face with her fingers. Ashlee stayed completely still, too frightened to pull away. Then Saph leaned in, and whispered, just loud enough for Rakos to hear. “Hun, look around you. We are all murders.” She pulled away just as suddenly as she had leaned in and looked at Rakos. Her dark eyes dug into him. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”

He grew stiff. He didn’t want to tell her. It was childish, but he didn’t want her to think poorly of him. Besides, that didn’t seem to be the most important matter at the time being. But Ashlee shook her head. “I don’t care what you are. I’m just not going back with him.” Saph stared her down. It seemed like an eternity had passed before she finally snapped her head away, and looked back at Sparky who had finished gathering parts and was standing calmly in the corner. Saph rubbed her brow. “Sparky, get back to the ghost and fix her up. Here.” She pulled the comm. from her ear, and tossed it to him. He caught it with surprising agility. “Make sure Thudd didn’t break my baby,” she gestured towards Ashlee, “or hers.” Sparky nodded, still expressionless, and did as he was told. Rakos blinked. Ashlee had just stood up to Saph and won. He looked back at the doctor. She was still a bit shaken up, but she appeared much better. Rakos let out a breath, relieved. “The rest of you, we got one more stop to make.”

Saph didn’t hold the door for anyone this time. She just stepped out into the street and started walking, not even bothering to check to see if the two were following her. Rakos and Ashlee exchanged a look of concern. Rakos knew that Saph could snap at any moment, and that her wrath was worse than Sparky’s because she would kill you and it would make her happy. Sparky just didn’t seem to feel anything. Ashlee seemed to understand this because she stuck closely to Rakos. He didn’t mind. If she was at ease, strangely, it put him at ease. After a while, she spoke.

“So what is it?”

Rakos was confused. “Pardon?”

“What is it that you are?”

He clenched his fist, trying not to get angry. “I am not associated with them.”

“Okay, then what are they?”

Rakos stopped walking, so Ashlee did too. She looked up at him with those sad green eyes and he faltered for a moment. Then he cleared his throat. “Well-“

“CRAP! Duck, duck now D****T!” Saph was prone in seconds. Confused, Rakos looked ahead. A round object was flying straight for them.

Grenade.

He grabbed Ashlee by the arms, and forced the both of them into the dirt. She squealed, but didn’t resist. He squinted his eyes shut, but there was no explosion. He didn’t take any chances though. He heard Saph shift slightly.

“The hell-“

And then the bang hit, and Rakos covered his ears. He thought the sound must have hit before the pain. But there wasn’t any pain, nor fire or an explosion. But there was a smell, sickeningly sweet. And suddenly he was having trouble breathing. He opened his eyes. Thick smoke was everywhere. It took him a minute before he realized what it was- a sleeper agent put into a smoke bomb. He didn’t recognize which drug it was but he knew that he only had only a few seconds before- and as he slipped into the blackness, he prayed that Ashlee would forgive him someday.

Saph would have been content to keep her eyes shut and fade back into unconsciousness.  The darkness was comfortable, and familiar, and it was a hell of a lot better than dealing with whatever was going on in reality. But suddenly that wasn’t an option because a blinding light shone through her closed lids, making her eyes sting and water, forcing them open.  She blinked angrily and tried to shake the headache out of her skull. It took a while before her vision finally cleared.

She was on a ship of some sort, but it wasn’t moving. By the way it was patched together she could tell it was like those that had attacked Kel. The metal had been smoothed out, but everything still looked out of place. Large glass panes made up much of the structure, and none of it matched. The light hit her eyes again, and she squinted and swore. It was one of those things, its toothy maw gaping inches from her face as it probed at her. She struggled to pull herself away but to no avail. She couldn’t move, but she wasn’t chained, at least not from what she could see. The majority body was stagnant allowing her to look around her and move the muscles in her face to speak, but that was all. She was utterly helpless. In her peripheral vision, she could see Rakos floating beside her on the left, and Ashlee on the right. The former looked like he was about to scream, and the later seemed to be on the verge of tears. Fantastic. Saph had been in lot of tough spots and she always got out. Hell, she had managed to escape the most secure prison in the galaxy. But this was going to be a tough one.

“Hey, you guys hurt or anything?”

Rakos replied with a stiff no. Ashlee said nothing. She was probably afraid she would cry. Saph looked back at the thing in front of her. It seemed to pay no attention to what she was saying. She assumed it couldn’t understand her. She also assumed her companions weren’t going to be much help. So it was up to her to get them out. She started with steadying her breathing. She couldn’t think clearly if she wasn’t calm, and her heart beat pounding in her ears was rather distracting. Eventually, she was able to slow her panicked breaths to even ones. That was good. Now she had to list the resources at hand. There was, of course, her newly discovered telekinetic abilities which would most definitely come in handy. But she couldn’t just start flinging stuff about blindly. Regardless, the room was fairly sparse, holding only the strange containment contraption they were suspended in, and one of the creatures which had now made its way to Rakos. There wasn’t any glass in front of them, nor chains nor ropes restraining them. So there had to be a release mechanism of some sort. But she didn’t know where it was, and she didn’t have anything to throw at it if she found it.

“What do you think they want from us?” Rakos asked suddenly, gritting his teeth as he restrained agitation.

“Don’t know.” She replied dryly. “Ask the doctor- she’s the alien expert.”

Ashlee didn’t respond. So much time passed that Saph thought maybe the poor girl had fainted. But finally, she let out a strained breath she said, “By the way they have us propped up like this, I’d say they’re studying us.”

“Well yeah, doesn’t take a damn genius to figure that one out.” Saph blinked as the bright light passed over her line of sight again. “I swear to god if that stupid light gets in my eyes one more time-“

A door on the other side of the room slid open. Saph fell silent and turned her attention the figure emerging from the darkness. It was another one of those things, big and dark and scaly with teeth protruding from its jaw. But unlike the others, only a few fangs were exposed, and the spines covering its body were less defined. Its face unreadable, it stepped towards the other who handed it the strange light it had been probing Saph and her crewmates with. He held it up, and muttered something unintelligible, then pressed a button. And when he spoke again, Saph could understand.

“I am the voice of my people.”  Ashlee gasped. Saph was impressed. The technology needed to create a translator device that could just examine a species and understand its language was unheard of. The doctor would definitely want to get her hands on that. “Do not be frightened, for I am here to ensure the safety of your worlds.” Saph narrowed her eyes.

“Safety? You just wiped out an entire bloody species!”

It looked directly at her then, beady eyes burrowing into her. “Their extinction was necessary to preserve the planet.”  He clasped his claws behind his back and began to pace. “We are the Oovatuvi. I am called, in my tongue, Feetuni. In your language, you may call me,” He stopped and stood tall in front of them, “The Definite.”

“How is it that you can understand us?” Rakos asked, in awe.

The creatures expression remained unchanged, it’s scaly complexion working as a mask. “This device, your people would call it a translator?” He waved the small light beam about. “It was left by our predecessors. You see, my people lived peacefully among a race known as the Vilinaya. They dwelled among the trees, and we stayed in the dirt. We traded together, feasted together, celebrated together.” He began to pace once more. “They were a brilliant race, the Vilinaya. They created technologies that my people could not begin to grasp, and shared it with us. They lived in harmony with our planet, Avianya, not taking without giving back. Yes, they were indeed brilliant but they were dangerous. One community broke into many and they began to bicker, argue, fight, kill. They spilled blood over the sacred soil, tainting it. My people, we ran into the forest to find refuge. But they sought after us, and enslaved us. We were trained to fight, to kill their enemies. They abused us, but we were not concerned about our bodies. They abused our beloved planet. They took and took until one day, it broke. The oceans had dried, the soil was used up. There was a great battle, and the great rock Avianya split in half. A cluster of us were able to escape with Vilinaya’s great sky ships. Our captors, however, were all lost. They were engulfed by the planet they had destroyed, as they deserved. And we, in the wake of this great extinction, retreated in the shadows of the world you call Kel.”

Silence blanketed the room. Saph didn’t like the way that thing was staring at her, but she didn’t want to piss it off. Ashlee, on the other hand, was livid.

“You killed an entire species,” she hissed, “for what purpose, Revenge?”

The Definite turned to address her. “No. The Oovatuvi have no use for such a petty motive. We mean only to preserve the integrity of the planet ourselves, and claim it as our own so that we can ensure its longevity.”

“You’re justifying the ruthless genocide of one of the most brilliant races in the galaxy by saying it was for their own good?” Ashlee’s voice was shaking, as it had when Sparky killed the man in the shop.

“Indeed,” it replied coolly, “And if you would allow it, we would do the same to your planet as well. We will grant you safety in our new empire.”

Saph scoffed. “Like hell you would! You can’t just relocate humanity and not expect us to resist, you b*****d.” The Definite was in front of her in an instant, startlingly still as it looked over her.

“You, you are not human. Yet you speak as if you are.”

She was growing impatient with this thing’s cryptic beating-around-the-bush method. “I am half human, so yeah, I’m plenty pissed if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Rakos piped up from the other side of the room, “There are other races living on our home planets, living together, without fighting. Our worlds do not need your kind to save them.” The Definite simply ignored him, still studying Saph. Its intense gaze was unsettling her.

“Your eyes hold an anger that is familiar to me.” It leaned back slightly, as if to get a better view. “A creature with eyes like that found us once, as we were building our army. A female.” Saph went numb. It couldn’t be. It was impossible. “She asked too many questions about our technology. We were forced to terminate her. We kept the body to study until the smell was unbearable.” It muttered something in a different language to a lackey behind it. “But we did keep a visual file.”

“Holy s**t.” Her voice was a whisper, but it felt like a scream.

The face of her mother scowled at her from a large monitor across the room. For the first time in a long time, she was at a loss at what to feel. On Kel, she felt no sympathy for the now dead race. Sure, she pitied Ashlee but she wouldn’t call that sympathy. She didn’t care if humanity was wiped out, she could have worked out some sort of deal with The Definite to spare her life. Not that her life meant much to her anymore any way. But there, in front of her was her mother’s face, her face, contorted and brutal. How had this happened? She knew her mom was a scientist and often traveled off planet for research, but what if she hadn’t left her after all? What if she had planned to come back? What if- Saph swallowed- what if she cared? Saph couldn’t wrap her head around that. Her Dad had raised her under the notion that no one was going to care for her unless she worked for it. This simply could not be happening.

“Is that your mother?” Ashlee asked quietly.

“Yeah, it is.” She didn’t believe her own words. But there in front of her was the woman who had birthed her then taken off , all for science, simply because she wasn’t what she wanted. But maybe she wasn’t just a scientist. She had never thought of her mother as a mother at all. But this thing in front of her had killed her, and as much as Saph didn’t want to admit it, her mother was a part of her. So The Definite had killed a part of her. And that made it personal. Her whole body shook. She needed to break something, to kill something, preferably, the creature in front of her blinking its blank eyes in wonder.

 “How intriguing,” It said, as the screen went dark. She spat in its face, too outraged to come up with the right swear to name her hatred. It didn’t react. “Should I assume then, that I do not have your cooperation?” Saph was too busy fuming to respond, so Rakos answered for her,

“No, you do not.”

“Very well then, I have no choice but to exterminate you and your entire species. It is for the good of your worlds, even if you do not believe that to be the truth. Without us, you will destroy yourselves.”

“You can’t do this!” Ashlee yelled, tears running down her cheek. “Find another planet, one without sentient life, there’s plenty of those, please, just don’t kill innocent people.”

“Then we will be leaving you to your own destruction.” The Definite turned towards a window.  “We shall take this planet first, and then you will lead us to the rest. You should rejoice in these days you have left. It is an honor to dwell among us.” He said something else to his lackey, who began pushing buttons on a crudely constructed console. The Definite continued to stare out the window. Saph, in her daze, followed his gaze. “This marks the beginning of your salvation.”

Something within the vessel rumbled, like a beast waking from a slumber. And then there was silence. The Definite nodded its head once, and the lackey pressed one more button. A high powered laser ripped through the sky, like a streak of blood in the dark. It seemed like it was ages before it hit the station, and when it did, it seemed as it hadn’t made much of an impact. But then it was falling, Abaddon was falling, out of the sky and into the planet. The place that had been home and hell to Saph for seven years was a tiny dot in space plummeting to the surface, faster, faster, and Saph really hoped that Thudd had taken the Ghost to the other side of the planet, and she wished she had her comm. And she wished once again that she just wasn’t so bad and it just kept on falling faster and faster, until she couldn’t see it over the skyline. And then there was fire in the distance. She imagined the screaming and tried not to care. Ashlee cried. Rakos swore. Saph felt nothing.

“I must prepare for our ascent.” And with that, The Definite left the three of them with a few of his lackeys, suspended helplessly in the hull of the alien vessel. As the deep rumble of the weapon activating died down, the only sound remaining was the soft whimpering of the Doctor.

Saph had to get out. And if the others came with her, it was a bonus but she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice them. All that mattered now was survival. The image of her mother was still ingrained in her mind. She had to get out because she had to know if her mother had died as some glorious martyr or the self-centered hard-headed scientist Saph believed her to be. Never mind the fate of all sentient life as they knew it. It seemed, though, that that’s all her companions were concerned with.

“We must get to the Primus System. They have to be warned.” Rakos said softly. The creature guarding them looked up at him suspiciously, and clicked in it’s strange language. Rakos fell silent, and thought, Perhaps it is not safe to speak out loud.

Saph agreed internally, wishing that the telepathy worked both ways. If Sparky was here, this would be a piece of cake. Then again, Sparky hadn’t exactly been himself lately so maybe it was best that she had sent him back. At least he was out of harm’s way, for now. She looked out of a glass pane. The creatures had begun to liter the planet, other ships had landed. This was about to get bloody.

She had to focus. She couldn’t think about her dead mother, or Sparky, or imminent war. Only escape mattered. Her attention was drawn to the guard. If she could expose of him, that would make everything easier. But how? She didn’t strong enough to just throw him around, and she didn’t want to risk mental strain. She had already noted that there weren’t any lose objects around. Even if she could reach her gun, the others would hear the sound and come running. If only she had a weapon that could kill silently…

“Rakos,” she whispered so the thing wasn’t alerted. Its attention was glued on the console before it, “Sword.”

Right side.

That was good. She would have a better chance if she could see it. She could just barely make out the hilt of it in her peripheral vision. Now all she had to do was concentrate. She visualized it with her mind, what she wanted to happen. But it wasn’t working. It had occurred to her that the telekinesis only happened when she didn’t want it to, when she was angry. Well, she had plenty to be angry about. She thought about her mother, and the thing that had killed her, the possibility that she wasn’t as terrible as her dad had made her out to be. She thought of the innocent people dying in the distance, and all the people on Abaddon, innocent or otherwise, who were either dead or terrified. She thought about how this whole mess was all her damn fault and if she hadn’t sent sparky back with the comm, Ashlee wouldn’t be crying and maybe those people wouldn’t be suffering if only she wasn’t such a selfish-

Rakos exclaimed as the weapon flew from its sheath into the creatures back. It was dead before it could even turn around.

“Well that’s one probably solved.” Saph said, ignoring the aching rising at the base of her skull. “Now how the hell are we gonna get out of here?”

Before anyone could respond, the door began to creak. It sounded like someone was trying to break in. That couldn’t be good. Maybe it was a crazed escaped prisoner, one worse than her. Whatever it was fighting the guards and winning by the sound of it. One of the creatures screamed in anguish, and the creaking stopped. Then the door flew open, revealing a bloodied Gorgonian with a toothy grin.

“Hey, Boss!”

“Thudd!” Saph couldn’t help but smile back at him. “You scared the s**t out of me!”

“Sorry bout that. Looks like you could use another break out, huh?” He frowned as he eyed the Doctor whose eyes were puffy from crying.

“Yeah, I owe you one… again.”

“Damn right you do!”

“The release switch is most likely on that console.” Rakos piped in, sounding relieved. Thudd whirled around and scratched his bare head.

“Uh… lets see… eenie-meenie- oh screw it.” He slammed his fists onto the panel, hitting several buttons at once, one of which must have been the release because there was a soft ping, and the three fell to the ground beneath them. Saph regained her footing, quickly looked over her companions, and got right to business.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Thudd looked down at the dead creature with the blade protruding from its spine. “You don’t have to tell me twice!”

Saph looked back at the others. “Ready your weapons.” Rakos quietly helped Ashlee up, pulled his sword from the thing, and nodded. “Right, lead the way, Thudd.”

His face pulled into another grin as he brandished his gun. “I’m on it, boss!” He charged ahead, and Saph stayed close behind. It seemed the majority of the crew was planet-side. They didn’t face resistance until they hit the cargo bay. Saph was going to suggest a stealthy approach, but Thudd charged in and took out the first few with a couple clear shots. She swore, and ducked behind a crate for cover. Luckily, most of the creatures had close range weapons, and if they did get close to the group, Rakos handled them easily. Ashlee held on to a gun, but didn’t fire it. It didn’t matter, they had it covered. They worked like an efficient killing machine, dispatching enemies with ease.

Until the reinforcements came. They started to swarm the cargo bay, the majority holding energy weapons now. And Saph was out of ammo. “D****t, they’re closing in on us!”

Thudd shot another, and stood to take point. “The shuttles just outside, I’ll cover you!”

“What?” He wouldn’t stand a chance a lone, as tough as he was.

“This might be your only chance,” he held out his gun to her. “I can hold them off!”

“There’s no way in hell I’m abandoning you!”

“Hey,” he smiled solemnly, “You owe me one, remember?”

A strange pit began to form in Saph’s throat. “This does not count.” But they were getting closer, and if they waited any longer, it would be too late. She pushed the weapon back towards him. “You’re gonna need that.” She said quietly as she plucked the gun from Ashlee’s shaking hands. The doctor didn’t even notice. “Fight hard, Thudd.”

He rested a meaty hand on Saph’s shoulder. A pang grew in her chest. “You too, captain.” He stepped out of cover, and looking back over his shoulder said, “Tell Sparky not to be too hard on you, ok?” She only nodded. He nodded back and started to fire off rounds into the crowd of hostiles. “Ok, here we go! Go, now!”

They didn’t waste any time. As the things ganged up on him, they were able to slip out behind the crates and bolt towards the open hanger door without firing a single shot. The ship began the quake. It was going to take off. There was no going back now. Saph’s heart was heavy in her chest as they cleared the cargo bay, and made it to solid ground. She turned back, but the door was already almost shut. She could just barely make out Thudd, beaming as he took out a swarm of them. She turned away. Something was crawling up her throat, a ball of pain that would release in a whimper. But she swallowed it. She refused to feel, at least for right now. She turned around. Ashlee was crying again.  Rakos was trying to comfort her.

“Suck it up.” She blurted out, helplessly. “we gotta go.” She looked back at the ship as it flew off in the opposite direction, taking Thudd with it. But it didn’t matter right now. CORE wouldn’t have cared about losing Asylum, but Abaddon housed some of the most influential political criminals in the galaxy. They were gonna be pissed. “A war just started,” she said as she unlocked the shuttle, “and we’re right in the damn middle of it.”

He didn’t know which. He didn’t know how. But one of the two most important people in Sparky’s life was dead. And the crippling ache radiating from the center of his being was proof.

When Thudd had told him he was going to find Saphyra and the others, he knew nothing good could come from it. But he too, had a feeling that something was wrong. “I will go.” He had said, standing from his pilot’s chair. Thudd let out a hardy chuckle. “No offense, pal, but subtlety isn’t exactly your specialty.” Sparky couldn’t argue with that. Especially if Saphyra was in danger, his actions could get out of control. And once he lost control there was no guarantee he could gain it. “Besides,” Thudd added, suddenly sheepish, “I may have implanted a tracking chip under her skin when she was passed out in that bar on Hovianous, so I know where she is.” Sparky wasn’t surprised. He had wondered how Thudd really had known Saph was in the hospital on Asylum because it couldn’t have merely been a rumor.  The Gorgonian clamped a friendly hand onto his shoulder. “Relax, Sparky, it won’t take long. Then we can get back up in the sky and do some good-ole-fashion pirating, alright?”

Sparky didn’t respond. He was deep in thought, trying to get his mind from dwelling in the dark and unstable places. But he thought about the man he had killed planet side, the sound of Ashlee weeping, and the look of disappointment on Saph’s face. He hadn’t intended that to happen. Under normal circumstances, he could have restrained himself. It had been years since he had lost control like that. But the way that the man had spoken to Saphyra had pushed him over the edge. And he could read his thoughts. He knew what he was thinking about her and he couldn’t stand for it. It had taken enough restrain to hold back in the distance, all of his will power not to react. And then she had given him permission to hurt him. It wasn’t like that man was significant, just a speck of dust of a human on a planet in the outskirts. But Sparky had learned over the seven years that Saph was imprisoned that nothing was insignificant. Not even humans, whom his people often imprisoned as slaves. Saphyra herself was part human, and she most definitely was not insignificant. He had never agreed with the hidden enslavement of their race, but he wasn’t fond of them. He wasn’t fond of most people.

It was Thudd who showed him that there is a little bit of good in all people, regardless of their species. Sparky didn’t believe it at first. In the rough life of piracy, it was hard to get to know anyone and everyone, at least on the surface, had malicious intentions. But then he got to know the Gorgonian who turned out to be a rather sensitive fellow, an all-around a good guy who was just trying to make ends meet. He became Sparky’s first friend, as Valkes wasn’t deserving of the title. And then he met Saphyra who had completely confounded him. He had probed her mind countless times, trying to figure her out, only to find that she never thought anything she wouldn’t say out loud, never kept secrets exposed. So the only choice he had was to talk to her out loud which he loathed. As time progressed, she became his second friend.

 He was most content when it was just the three of them. Yes, the ship was more efficient with a full crew on board, but it was also tedious keeping the others in line, having to be weary of hidden intentions. Perhaps though, he wasn’t ready to get back into piracy. Mining had promised routine, and a steady source of incoming. Piracy was uncertain and risky. Those qualities used to be what had drawn him to the industry. Now it was what was pushing him away. He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, looked up at his friend and said, “Have you thought about doing honest work again?”

Thudd’s eyes grew as wide as the moons circling around the burning Kelahn home world in the distance.  “Where did that come from?”

Sparky only shrugged.

The Gorgonian sighed, preoccupying himself with reloading his weapon. “I once met an old fisherman on Hovianous, who had fallen into the poison sea. Burned the hell out of him.” Sparky had heard the story before, but listened to his friend intently. “And that was thirty years before I met him. He just kept on fishing, even told me that had lost two of his sons to the sea, too. But he kept on fishing. And he didn’t have to, he had all the credits he could ever need. So I asked him why the hell he did it. And he looked at me all funny and said, ‘If the sea had teeth, I would still sail.’” Thudd holstered his gun and looked up and Sparky with a thoughtful smirk. “Took me ages to understand what he meant, but I think it’s the same for me. With space, I mean, and pirating. I know the risks. Even after Saphyra was caught, I knew I’d go back to the sky. So that’s what I’m gonna do. Until I die.”

Sparky jumped at the sound of the shuttle returning to the cargo bay. He bolted from his seat, propelled by fear and adrenaline. He didn’t know what to expect so he expected the worst. By the time he got there, the shuttle door was sliding open. Rakos stepped out, clutching a bleeding wound on his leg, and supporting his weight on the puffy eyed doctor. The door slid closed. His heart all but stopped beating. Then it slid open again.

A distinct voice let out a hardy Surian curse. Sparky allowed himself to breathe again. Saphyra stumbled out of the small vessel, clutching her skull. “Damn, I’ve got one helluva headache. Get me some painkillers from the med bay after you take care of that idiot’s leg, would you, doc?” The girl muttered back a meek yes, then Saph turned her attention towards Sparky.  There was anger in her eyes.

Saphyra-

Don’t.

Sparky flinched, taken aback by the anger and pain bleeding through her thoughts. I-

Don’t start. You disobeyed me, Sparky. How the hell am I supposed to trust a man who blatantly goes against their superior, hmm?

I am sorry I may have over reacted, but-

May have? You killed him! And I don’t care that he’s dead, but if the feds figure it out, D****t, Sparky! 

He didn’t know how to respond. There was so much anger in her mind, he almost missed the sadness. But it was there, and growing. An intense feeling of loss.  Thudd’s dead, isn’t he, He thought quietly.

She looked up at him with helpless eyes, and the pain inside his skull intensified. It’s his own damn fault.

Sparky understood. He felt her pain, and she felt his. They didn’t need any more words. Neither of them let it show on their faces, the immense wall of grief they were feeling. They stood staring at each other, dwelling in the pain, begging it to not be true. He wanted to hold her, and reassure her that it was going to be ok. But that wasn’t in his nature, and it definitely wasn’t in hers. Besides, he never made promises he couldn’t keep, so he most certainly couldn’t tell her it was going to be ok. Because it wasn’t ever going to be ok, not without Thudd. A piece of them had been ripped out by force, leaving only horrible deafening silence.

At last, Saph turned and walked towards the bridge, bringing her agony with her. But his own pain was still heavy on his shoulders.