by Joe Crouch
His body eventually arrested, allowing him to slowly look up to see his captor leaning over him, a sense of defeat slowly crept over him, he now knew there was nothing he could do, not without help. Letting his body go limp he lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t have long to rest, though, as the Xuron hoisted him up off the floor and over his thickly scaled shoulder. From there he got a better sense of just how formidable these beings were, they didn’t have to rely on constructed materials for their own defence, they formed it naturally through thousands of years of breeding and evolution. There were many things he could list off that surprised him about the being that effortlessly carried him to his demise, its strength, its seeming intelligence, but what surprised him the most was the oddly pleasant sweet smell which emanated from its body, reminding him of toffee from back home, it was almost a calming respite for his situation.
Looking around at his surroundings as he bobbed up and down on the Xuron’s shoulder, he noticed other cells just like his own, each with their own occupants, mostly from races he had little to no knowledge about, their bodies looked frail which didn’t bode well for him. They came out into a large open space, circular in design with a massive pylon in the centre of the room that connected the slimy floor to the hardened ceiling, it glowed a faint blue as what looked like blood coursed through its thick veins. The whole ship was surprisingly devoid of life, a structure of this size he imagined to be bustling with activity, but outside of the odd worker that darted about he hadn’t seen much.
Much of the ship passed him by as he couldn’t fully concentrate at a time like this, images seemed to flash before his eyes and then disappear, he fully expected to never see the way back to his cell again, so paying notice to the route they took would have been pointless. It wasn’t long before they arrived in a smaller, less organic looking room, the walls were coated with a type of black tar, its surface flickered in the oscillating light that was overhead. The large Xuron placed him down into a chair, its surface looked like it had been woven from strands of plant fibre, its green body radiated a snapping cold that made him clench his muscles as he was forced to sit.
Looking around the room there was little of interest, it was much like his cell, apart from the walls, nothing else seemed to be new, his chain of thought was interrupted as a female looking Xuron strolled through the open walkway, its features far sharper and more defined than the others he had seen thus far. She walked in and took up position in front of his feet, standing not much taller than him she looked down at him, her grey eyes reflected his own fear as she smiled, revealing her blunted teeth and with a hiss she walked across the room, placing a single hand on the tar-like substance. Responding to her actions, the tar formed into what appeared to be a screen, it pushed out from the wall and flashed into life, displaying a stream of information that scrolled from right to left in a language he had no hope of deciphering.
The silence in the room was palpable, he was unrestrained, which he couldn’t decide if it was comforting or alarming that they had so much confidence in themselves, if he himself had such bravado he would have ran for the door and made his way through to the easily-accessible escape pods, at least that’s how he dreamt of it. The female Xuron stood at the display, looking as if she was communicating via text, it didn’t take long for her to finish what she had been doing as she spun around and gave him a deep stare, slowly pulling out a small pointed instrument from her belt.
The cries of agony that emanated from him must have been heard throughout the sector as she dug the device deep into his mind, burrowing around searching for whatever she could find.
* * *
“Is everyone ready?” Taris asked as she clicked a small weapon onto her chest and flung a larger one over her shoulder.
“Yes Lady Taris, we are good to go,” came the response from the commanding officer, “We will take point when inside the ship with you and Feghouli falling behind. Our main goal is engineering to disable power and then we find the Human.”
“That Human has a name,” Taris snapped, “But yes, continue as you see fit and gather as much intel as possible while aboard, if we can find a way to destroy that thing now, we will take it.”
“Yes Lady Taris,” came a chorus of replies, all the soldiers slammed their clenched fists into their shoulders in unison. With the final preparations complete the team stepped aboard the small shuttle, the hatch automatically sealing once they had taken their seats.
“I wish Yumie was here to help…” Fez sighed. Taris took a seat beside the pilot, strapping herself firmly into place as the engines roared into life, the grav-plating locked the crew in place as they lifted off the ground and passed out through the protective energy barrier and into the wilds. Taris looked on as the pilot played with the various devices attached to the main console.
“Watch this,” the pilot smiled, pressing a button on the console. A large whirling sound surrounded the ship, piercing through the ears of everyone who heard it before dissipating, leaving a calm humming that was almost warm, “Cloak,” the pilot smirked, turning back to control the ship. They were hidden and invisible to any Xuron device, this was it, they were well on their way to the flagship and it wouldn’t be long before they kicked the door in and pillaged their way through the vessel…
Chapter 21
Sean swayed from side to side, his surroundings blurred into one large bland palette of colour. He tried to turn his head but an electric pain shot down his spine. He let out a piercing scream his captors once again landed a hard fist to his temple sending him further into a daze. He hadn’t been restrained in the chair for long and his kidnappers hadn’t asked any questions, instead choosing to torture and undermine him at every opportunity they had, and they had a lot of opportunities.
He brought his head up once the beating subsided, blood trickled down his eyes. He looked to the ceiling, the lights strobed red, unable to tell if his vision was just that impacted or if it was a tactic, he let his head drop, unable to support its weight any longer. The few moments of respite were all he could claw at, they were the best moments of his life and it wasn’t hyperbole to him, he was teetering close to the inevitable, only his sheer will and Taris’ voice pleading him to hang on kept him clinging onto a thinly veiled thread of life. The room grew eerily silent, struggling to turn his head he noticed it was also empty, he could breathe a sigh of relief, at least for the moment while he was alone, it gave him time to catch his breath and clear his mind, ready for the next onslaught. But it never came. He was alone as his vision began to clear, the blood dried rapidly on his face, the claw marks across his back still oozed. He pleaded with any form of higher being that would listen to stop what was happening and free him from his bindings, metaphysical or not.
His thoughts were interrupted as the hatch, now behind him, slammed shut with force snapping him back to reality, his situation once again dawned on him, bringing him into a spiral of depression and desperation that would not be easy to subside. The being that entered casually strolled across the room, its light footsteps squelched across the organic floor, whoever it was, they weren’t in a hurry as they played with instruments that lay on a large table out of his vision. “Get it over with,” Sean eked out while spitting out the pool of blood which gathered in his mouth, “Let me see your pitiful face you fucking scumbag.” He tried his best to hide his fear behind paper-thin threats and taunts, the alien may not have understood, but it made him feel better, and in this moment, that was all that mattered, that he actually tried.
“Don’t be so eager to wish for your own demise, Sean Maguire of Earth, I have granted many-a-wish in the past,” the voice pierced through the silence, a low hissing rumbled through his’s chest as the Xuron grew closer, the being’s footsteps remained calm and collected.
“Great Prophet Zao’Ren, I presume,” Sean stuttered, his body almost frozen to the touch, “You think highly of yourself, don’t ‘ya?” he was interpreted as the Xuron prophet laid a hand on hi
s shoulder and walked beside him. The alien’s large red gown flowed across the murky floor, the gems sewn into the collar reflected the dim light in a rainbow of colours, it was all very out of place aboard the Xuron vessel, his opulence would be better suited to royalty back on Earth. The being continued to stride around in front of Sean. Stopping, the commanding Xuron turned and stared at him, a strange intelligence filled the eyes of his captor, he lacked the barbarism his underlings shared which made him less predictable.
Vines and tentacles rose out from the now cold flooring, wrapping around each other and hardening as they did to form a throne for the Great Prophet to occupy, it didn’t seem to match his stature, but it was still impressive. The Xuron fiddled with his own fingers for a while longer before finally looking up, almost as if the whole situation was tedious for him, “Why did your clan attack us?” he asked bluntly, “We had no prior quarrel with your species, and regardless what the despicable Var’Un may say, we would not have attacked unless provoked, but I’m sure you’ve been fed plenty of misinformation.”
“Attack you?” Sean asked, incredulous, “We did no such thing.”
“Then why did your vessel exit into our space,” the Xuron hissed, “It gathered a large quantity of data before it returned to whence it came.”
“It was a damn probe, you fool, that’s its job, to gather data,” he sat back, his anger flaring up at the alien’s lack of any existing knowledge. The Xuron perked up, leaning forward he pulled out a data pad and brought up a list of information.
“This is what your probe observed,” he said, a picture of a Xuron fleet was displayed, “As you can imagine, we were concerned that a Var’Un spy drone had infiltrated our space,” leaning back again and placing its arms on the easily compressed rests, it spoke. “Tell me about your race.” He was unsure what to answer, or even if he should answer, he knew in times of war every little detail could mean life or death for someone on the battlefield.
“What is it you want to know?” he questioned.
“That is a good question, Earthling, what do I want to know,” he said with a thin smile that frightened him more than everything that had happened so far, “Tell me about your home.”
“My home?” he said surprised, “I grew up in what is now modern day Britannia, its rolling hills are sprayed with vibrant greens and large trees pierce out from the surface everywhere you look, a lot of locals underestimate just how beautiful our own country actually is…” Sean trailed off, wondering to himself why he was getting so sentimental. “But it technically doesn’t exist, the entire planet is under a single banner, we are united as a people after much strife and we are experts of destruction, Great Prophet Zao’Ren, let me warn you of that.”
“Your technology does not impress, although it has shown to be at least moderately effective in the past…” a small sensation of victory washed over his beaten body, their projectile weapons could inflict heavy damage on almost anything. A cold air seemed to swirl about the room kicking at his bare feet, it was an ominous omen, the Xuron had been courteous enough thus far, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down. “So tell me,” the Xuron questioned, “What are the ground defences of Earth like, what should we look out for, specifically.”
“Raptors,” Sean replied, smirking.
“Raptors? Is that a form of your projectile weapons systems, if so we have already encountered those, I need more.”
“The raptor is fast, agile, and packs a serious bite,” he spat out blood as he laughed to himself, “Yeah, make sure to watch out for those, they’ll get ‘ya,” the robed Xuron stood and walked towards him.
“Do you think you can toy with me, Human, I am Zao’Ren, Great Prophet of the Xuron people and I foresee your death,” he spat out, slamming a fist into Sean’s already battered face. He landed blow after blow, Sean’s head jolted side to side as the impacts rained in, the Xuron Prophet raised both his hands to land a final blow before someone barged into the room.
“Great Prophet, we’ve detected a Var’Un signature approaching,” the Xuron panted, “They’re employing some form of concealment technology, what should we do?” Sean looked up, glee plastered across his face.
“They’re here,” he said, laughing manically to himself.
* * *
“Approach slower, if we’re detected we will be blown from existence with ease in this useless thing,” Taris said, turning to face Fez in the compartment behind her, “What even is this junk, Feghouli? This is the best you could come up with?”
“On short notice, yes,” said the embarrassed Captain, “It will be adequate for its task, believe me when I say this, there is no chance that we will be…”
“We’ve been detected.”
“- Detected,” Fez finished, letting out a loud sigh.
“Wow, great going there, Captain, you really proved yourself right,” Taris said, rolling her large eyes as she turned to face the forward displays. The pilot frantically played with the shuttles controls disabling the active cloak and revealing themselves fully to the Xuron flagship. With a flash of movement, the shields were engaged and ready to absorb any incoming fire, however unlikely it seemed to be. The hum of the shields filled the silence that swept over the vessel, its presence provided a misguided safety to everyone aboard. The Ioution ship drifted ever closer to the lumbering behemoth that occupied almost every inch of their vision, the finer details of the almost reptile like skin that coated the ship came into focus. The tension aboard could cut have been cut with a knife as the crew shuffled about in their seats, waiting for a Xuron response to their presence, it wasn’t long before one came.
“Point defences are becoming active on the ship, Captain,” the pilot yelled out.
“Engage in evasive patterns then, pilot, it is your job after all,” the defensive Captain muttered and without reply the craft veered to the side, avoiding the incoming fire as best they could. Throwing the ship to and fro, the grav-plates ramped up to their maximum output to stabilise the fragile meat sacks that sat aboard. Grabbing onto her armrests, Taris closed her eyes and whispered comforting words to herself. “Not scared of a little turbulence are you, Taris?” Fez asked, smiling at the rest of the crew.
“Oh no Captain, I love it, this is just so I can experience the G-forces better, I might as well enjoy the full experience before we get blown to tiny pieces with this idiots flying,” the expression on Taris’ face gave away her true feelings. Fez went to relax back but was jolted forwards, his face crashed into a supporting pylon as a bolt of energy slammed against the ship's shielding.
“Sorry Captain,” the pilot yelled behind him. The shields absorbed the weapons fire easily, it made for a bumpy flight but they were safe, at least for now, the lack of firepower continued to baffle Fez, it wasn’t something he was going to complain about right now, but there had to be a reason. The shadow of the structure now fully encompassed the small Ioution vessel, only the dim illumination from the various terminals provided any sort of light, bathing every surface in a faint violet mixture.
“Alright, we’re nearly there,” Taris yelled while performing a final check on her weapons, the sound of moving equipment rattled through the air as every marine prepped their armaments, anxious to see what would be on the other side once they were aboard. With careful manoeuvres, the pilot managed to squeeze past the weak point defence systems and angle their vessel along the ship’s hull, crawling along the surface searching for the perfect breaching point – “There,” Taris said, pointing a long finger towards what looked to be a fleshier substance on the underside. Pulling the small vessel back and coming to a gentle hover above the fleshy surface, they descended with grace. The landing struts impacted the surface, stretching its rubbery exterior, “This is it, grab the instruments and get to work” Taris ordered, standing up from her seat she put on her atmospheric collar. The ship was a hive of activity as the crew danced about as they approached their task with efficiency, and most importantly passion. Fez leant over the chairs
and grabbed a toolbox from a shelf above where he had been seated, it rattled as the ship swayed side-to-side as the flesh below seemed to be breathing, its movements disconcerting and regular.
“Is everyone ready?” came the call from an Ioution marine that stood beside the exit hatch, a chorus of affirmative replies signalled for him to unlock the door. Mechanically, it jolted outwards, swinging to the side it cushioned up against the small craft's hull. The first marine stepped out, descending the winding steps that formed before him, “This is insane, I’ve never been this close before,” he said and kneeling he placed a hand against the breathing surface, its warm flesh was entwined with a rhythmic beating that spread out across his palm. Pushing himself up, he motioned for the others to step out, the strange squelch below Taris’ feet couldn’t be heard, but she certainly felt it, “Put your hand on it,” the marine said, motioning down towards the skin.
“Wow, what is that feeling?” Fez asked the bewilderment was plastered across his now wrinkled face.
“It feels like a heartbeat,” Taris replied, “But why would we feel one, is this thing alive?” she asked rhetorically, receiving only a shrug from the Ioution Captain that was now stood beside her. “Let’s get to work, we can ask these questions later,” she reminded herself more than anyone else. The crew rifled through their various toolkits, each pulling out different instruments and within seconds’ hot plasma began to burn into the flesh, with a snap it contracted, tightening up the area they were working on.
