Chapter 14: Chapter 14 – Final Plays – Arc 1 Finale

Chapter 14 – Final plays – Arc 1 Finale

“Attention all passengers, this is the captain speaking, this is an announcement regarding the boarding situation. If you're in any level above the lower decks, please remain within your cabins and follow instructions given by the guard crew. If you're on the lower decks... things don't look good for you, I apologise for the inconvenience but there is nothing we can do at the moment if you're stranded down there, please hide as best as possible. We currently have every bulkhead door locked down and the boarders appear unable to breach them, meaning we're currently safe and locked in a stalemate.

It is to the agreement of myself and the guard unit that its too dangerous to release any of the bulkheads so we cannot recover any lost passengers at the moment. I have requested assistance from the nearby guard post and they've dispatched some Quill-Belly fighter/bomber units to help dispatch of the intruders and break the stalemate- so please remain calm and allow the guards and the Quill-Bellys to deal with this, thank you.”

The captain ended the communication and swivelled his chair around to the central ship display, looking closely at the holographic model of the ships interiors and scrutinising the bulkhead positions. It appeared the assaulting force was lacking in anti-armour weapons or tools, which meant they were struggling greatly with the massive armoured bulkhead doors within the ship, entirely stopping their assault at those points. They'd managed to lock every door off successfully to the mid-section of the ships innards but were trapped and as long the lower decks were occupied by the intruders, they would remain grounded.

Things were about to change rather viciously however, as multiple strike craft entered the planets atmosphere and began to hone in on the freighters location as they approached into lower orbit.

“Appreciate the assistance 4-1, weapons free on anything outside the ship within the forests and city perimeter...”

Diego and Seeth were both collapsed on the slightly damp grass a decent pace away from the factory entrance, panting loudly and getting oxygen back into their bodies, a myriad of thoughts and feelings buzzing through them both but neither had said a word since the stairs...

After a couple more minutes of fresh, crisp air and somewhat awkward silence, Diego's heart rate dropped to something more reasonable and he was able to regain some composure, it had been a very long time since he'd experienced this amount of pain and it was anything but pleasant, but he was proud of getting Seeth out for many a reason. He looked over to her to check if she was alright and found that she had been looking at him quite intently, but shy'd away upon seeing him look back.

“I... think we need to talk...” He shuffled over to her, she was currently leaning against a thick tree stump to help support her on account of her legs still being out of commission.

“Y-yeah... Look... I'm... I'm sorry I blurted that out... I-i just, I thought-” She stumbled over her words repeatedly, blushing madly and looking rather embarrassed.

“Seeth. Relax. I understand why you said it when you did but... how...? I've got a lot of weird feelings in my head right now, I also can't feel my legs but we'll sort that later...” He felt himself rambling, he was nervous too. “You-you love me? You've known me for less than a week!”

She nodded carefully and let out a long sigh, deciding to just let her feelings be free, it made for quite the pleasant change compared to the last year of her life.

“I know that... it might seem sudden... Look, Diego. Ever since I laid eyes on you, I've been damn near obsessed with you, I can't get you out of my brain. You have- ALL the qualities I've ever wanted in a partner, you braved coming into the dungeon for a girl you hardly knew just because you made her a promise to keep her safe... You escaped from the dungeon and then fought your way back in to rescue me! You gave up your sword for my safety, you risked your neck again to get me up the stairs and you saved my life AGAIN before that by binding my wounds... I should be dead twice over and i'm not- because of you...”

“I mean... yeah... but...” He ruffled his hair shyly.

“Its not just the heroics and the rescuing... You make me feel good again. In both ways... I haven't felt anything since I was changed, I just had this layer of apathy that coated everything and brief spikes of pleasure when I indulged in those desires... Leech coaxed me into helping her and I thought that was me now... just some cold, murderous piece of shit that wrecks other peoples lives... I didn't know what else to do!” Her frustration was briefly visible as she clenched her fists. “Then you came along and its like you lit a fire in my heart and burned away all this mud that was coating it... You made me feel real again. Just looking at you makes my heart flutter! I want to be with you so badly... just to get away from all this and... just be a person again.”

He watched her closely as her mood shifted... as she began to get increasing upset about her life though, Diego reached over and hugged her around the shoulders tightly, pulling her attention to his face once more.

“I understand Seeth. I've been there...” He hesitated slightly, pausing for a second before pressing on. “I lost my family years ago to the DA, they murdered them in the civil war that took place some time ago... I was only young back then and I became a bitter, angry person who took his rage out on the people around him. I did a lot of damage and I hurt people who didn't deserve it. But I broke free and now look at me! You can bounce back from these things, I promise. You can be better, I believe in you.”

“But i'm dangerous, Diego... and I don't deserve to be with you. And I don't even know if you like me... I don't know what I'm doing any-more, I know I'm not going back to my old life, that's for certain. But I'm just... lost... I'm confessing my feelings to a guy who's hopelessly out of my league, probably thinks I'm scum too and I've got no friends and no place to go...”

“You think you're out of my league?!” His quite abrupt response made her jump a little, he seemed offended at her words. “Seeth. How the hell am I 'out of your league'? Are you joking? You're fucking gorgeous, you're like a bloody super model but you've got giant tits and a figure to die for- you know what, I'm not going into that now but you're hot alright? More than that. You know what you also are? A good person. I know that, I can feel that, you were so stubborn to try and get me to leave you behind because you wanted me to be safe.” He didn't really want to go into his history too much, but felt it was appropriate to at least tell her some.

“Good people fall off the path sometimes, Seeth. I know, trust me. I'm not pretending to ignore what you've done, but promise me that you'll never corrupt another person willingly again and i'll accept that.” He held out his hand for her to hold, he wanted her to leave this old life behind permanently.

She reached out firmly and squeezed his smaller hand within her own.

“I promise. I will never willingly corrupt someone again, ever.” Seeth stated firmly, as if to sign a verbal contract between the two.

They shared the moment together, both their hands tingling pleasantly from the others touch, wind gently blowing through the trees and rustling the foliage. Seeth felt a weight lift from her shoulders, a burden had been shared but things felt hopeful, more so than they had in a long, long time.

“Then I think we can make it work... You wanna travel with me? I usually just drift around and see who needs help, I could really do with the company.” For someone who was insisting that Seeth was worth his time and seemed really confident about it, he suddenly went rather shy.

Her eyes lit up upon hearing the words.

“Y-you mean that? I-in what capacity? Like an assistant or...?”

“Eh... I was thinking more like... girlfriend.... maybe? Its selfish of me but... I really like you... you're attractive, you're brilliant in bed, you're selfless and self-aware... I get lonely on my travels through the stars, its a dark road and not a lot of people take it, I'd be happy with anyone but the idea that I could have you with me? You? That gets me excited.”

She pressed a wet, soft kiss against his lips, hugging him in close as she did so, the two of them humming slightly in one-another's grasp. After a few seconds, they slowly parted, both blushing furiously and smiling like a couple of love-struck idiots.

“I... assume that's a yes...?”

“I'm going to be a lot of work, you realise? My condition makes me incredibly horny all the time, I've been suppressing it as much as I can but now I know I have someone willing and able...” She ran a finger over his chin and up his ear, watching him crease up from the delicate affection.

“You think you're a lot of work? You seen all the trouble I got in since I arrived? You gotta deal with that!” They laughed together, exhausted and happy. “Besides, you say that stuff like its a bad thing... as soon as we've got the disposal of your dangerous goo sorted, I think we're gonna have a lot of fun together! Uhm... Seeth, can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” She smiled, her heart filled with warmth and love.

“Can I touch your hair...? It looks so pretty and strange, like weird jelly dreadlocks...”

She smiled sweetly and held out a few strands to him, which he gripped softly and felt with his fingers, they giggled sweetly together again.

“I-its so strange! Its like wet and dry at the same time! Very soft though...”

As they continued to talk about their future, they both heard some familiar voices calling out nearby and the worried forms of Plasia, Trent, Geralt and Tivy appeared from behind the treeline, dashing over the wet grass to check if they were OK.

“Holy fucking shit bag balls fuck- Diego, you got her out?!?” Geralt exclaimed, his mouth agape in shock.

“Not just that, I think he carried her!” Trent called out, noticing that Seeth's legs were looking rather wounded.

“He did. I don't know how, but he did...” Seeth ruffled his hair and ears lovingly, staring at him awe-struck.

“Well, I don't understand it, but i'm glad you're out, Diego.” Geralt shook his head in disbelief. “So what's the plan...?”

“I think we were going to find a way to that isolated station right...?” Tivy chirped, slowly approaching Seeth and offering to hold her hand as a peace treaty, Seeth smiled warmly and accepted.

“I have a better one.” Diego tapped the white armoured gauntlet on his wrist. “I got this off a dead DA captain, seeing as this is the key to the ship, we should have a free ride out of here!” He tapped on it again to reveal the location of the craft and it was only a click or so away, a 15 minute walk at most.

He stood from Seeth's side and wobbled a little on his legs, Trent and Geralt immediately went to help, standing under his arms and keeping him upright.

“S-so we just take the DA ship and get out of here then?” Plasia asked, shyly walking over to Seeth and beginning to pick her up off the floor.

“Yup, easy as...” Diego stopped mid sentence again, his ears twitching once again, there was something buzzing in the sky- a lot of things by the sounds of it.

“What happened to the DA...?” Trent asked hesitantly.

“You... don't want to know.” Seeth winced as she recalled what unfolded down in the depths below.

The entire group went silent, the sound of screaming in the distance started to echo through the forest on cue with Seeth's dismay.

Then several shuddering explosions shook the trees and rumbled through the ground, prompting a new level of panic through the group.

“What the hell is going on?!”

More explosions rang out, some of the voices in the distance went silent...

They heard buzzing through the air and a strike-craft appeared overhead, visible through the shaking branches as it hovered there menacingly. It was a “Quill-Belly” fighter/bomber, recognisable by its underside that was lined with explosive rocket-bombs, protruding from its chassis similar to an upside-down porcupine.

Without warning, a salvo of explosive rockets flew out from its underside and carpet bombed a section of the forest close-by, silencing yet more of the unknown crowd but the explosive payloads hit with devastating force, rupturing the ground and blasting the trees into splintered bark, Diego recognised the munitions and made the group stay still, deep concern over his face as the nearby trees showed silvery specks lodged in their ruptured frames.

“T-they're using anti-personnel rockets... we're gonna get torn to shreds! Quill-belly rockets have a 50 meter kill radius!”

His point was reinforced when another rocket hit close-by, shaking the entire crew to their feet aside from Plasia, from the epicentre outwards, the trees had their bark and wood completely pulverised by the detonation in a massive radius. The one saving grace was the shrapnel did not fully penetrate the trees...

As the team began to panic, the sound of more ominous buzzing became audible and the repeated thudding of the bombs intensified. The forest was being absolutely decimated by bombing runs and bombardment, a stray blown off limb hurtled through the air and landed near Tivy who was looking mortified anyway but this proved too much for her and she fell to her knees, putting her hands over her ears and closing her eyes tightly.

As the forest quaked and filled with constant explosions, the team looked at one another in disarray... As if things couldn't get worse, the air filled with the sound of heavy auto-cannon fire from the Quill's too, showing that they were actively hunting targets in the area. They couldn't know if they were targets themselves, but it was only a matter of time until someone was at least wounded...

“What the hell are we gonna do?! C-can we make a run for the ship?!”

“Can you help me run?” Diego asked Trent urgently. “My legs are fucked, I don't know if I can hold a steady pace by myself.”

The fox nodded back, stress worn into his face as he checked on everyone else.

“OK, Plasia's got Seeth, I've got you... Geralt! Carry Tivy!” He noticed that Tivy was unresponsive and still shielding herself from the noise, terrified and shaking all over. “I-i think that's everyone! Lets move folks!”

They began to quickly make their way through the forest, everyone in their assigned pairs, Diego and Trent leading the way, their arms draped over the other as the Fox took some of the Lizards weight off him.

Another explosion rang out close by, followed by two more to the teams left, they were only barely protected by a raised outcropping, the ground was flattening out as they got further away from the factory and that made things more dangerous as the shrapnel from the Quill-Belly's would travel much further and unimpeded...

Another explosion shook the ground, Plasia screamed in pain as a silver speck slashed into her forearm, causing a trickle of blue blood to ooze through the wound. They'd barely been moving a minute and someone had already been hit.

“We're not gonna make it...”

Diego looked around at his crew, the forest was getting bombed into the ground, turning the once mighty conifers and greenery into shredded wood paste, Tivy was having a panic attack in Geralt's arms, a Quill-Belly was hovering above them and opened fire at something in the distance, raining empty shell casings onto the crew as its high-calibre auto-cannons thudded over and over again.

“GATHER UP!” Diego yelled at the top of his lungs, competing with the roar of the engines and guns thudding above him. The crew pulled in close, each of their faces deeply stressed and concerned. “Theres a strong chance I'm gonna faint after this so... be ready Trent.” he nodded to the Fox, standing up straight. There wasn't much time to argue or debate with him anyway...

Diego thumped at his chest twice, standing up straight and looking annoyed when nothing happened.

Another explosion rang out close by, wood splinters and chunks of dirt flew over the groups head.

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He thumped at his chest again, more aggressively this time and still nothing happened.

“COME ON!” He slammed his fist against his chest twice more and roared into the air and finally an eruption of psyonic energy zapped out from him, bolting between all the members of the group. He fell to his knees for a second, his eyes rolling back but standing to his feet again shortly after with Trent's help, he was still standing, but he looked visibly weaker again. Despite this, the team all felt lighter on their feet, their skin/fur having a golden shimmer to it, almost like an after image.

“That's the last of my energy, should protect us from the shrapnel but it was a weak cast so it won't last long... we gotta get to that ship!”

Diego's point was proved when a rocket impacted the ground just meters away from the group and silver shrapnel blasted out, but could not penetrate the second skin of psyonic plating his warcry provided.

“Fuck me! That couldn't have been any closer, could it?!” Geralt was deeply impressed by the psyonic call, admiring the silver specks caught in his golden after-image. “We gotta make this count! Lets go!”

With a faster pace and greater confidence, the team charged for the ship, multiple bombs impacting close to their positioning, making Diego think they had been spotted and were actively being targetted... His point was proved when a volley of well aimed rocket bombs landed directly ahead of them, decimating the treeline and sending a massive wave of silver shrapnel at the group, all of which was thankfully stopped by the psyonic plating.

They were closing in on the ship when they reached a clearing in the forest and upon stepping into it, a Quill-Belly flew directly in front of them, bringing itself down a little and deploying its auto-cannons, two sets of twin barrels aimed at the team, the pilot barely visible through the tinted cockpit at the front.

“Diego... can the plating take hits from an auto-cannon...?” Trent asked, backing off into the treeline again.

“I... it was a weak cast and those rounds look dangerous... I can't guarantee that...” The lizard shook his head firmly. The team waited for a second as the Quill-Belly didn't open fire, it remained hovering in the air menacingly instead, weapons primed and pointed at the team.

“Fuck this! Why are they firing on us?!” Geralt shook his head in disbelief. “We're literally just trying to leave!”

Trent decided to try the peaceful approach and waved his arms at the Quill-Belly, trying to get the pilot to recognise that this completely naked group of wounded people weren't a threat. For a few seconds, they could make out that the pilot was communicating to someone, but then the auto-cannons refocused on the group, taking aim at Trent and Diego in front.

“TIVY?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Geralt yelled after her as she struggled free of his arms and ran out.

Suddenly, a Tivy appeared in front of them, bounding through the grass and causing the Quill-Belly to back up a little and fire upon the new target, sending multiple high-calibre rounds crashing into the ground, kicking up mud and rock.

She ran as fast as she could, zig-zagging through the open area to get the gunships attention and it worked, it completely focused on her and found it difficult to hit such a small, nimble target. The team surged forward, running past the gunship as it unleashed hundreds of rounds into the grass.

“SHE CAN'T DODGE FOREVER! WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GONNA DO?!” Geralt screamed, practically in tears as the gunship honed its aim and got a little closer to her with every shuddering volley of rounds.

There was a gut wrenching yelp as one of the rounds directly connected in the bouncing figure, sending her scattering into the long grass of the clearing...

“Plasia... find me something to throw...” Seeth and Plasia were a little further behind and Plasia did just that, finding a solid chunk of rock, the size of a mans head. Seeth took it in her hands, taking a slow, deep breath and hurling it through the air with astonishing accuracy, the rock slammed into the cockpit and cracked the glass, clearly scaring the pilot as the gunship shook suddenly but otherwise bounced off.

“Now run!” Seeth ordered, still in Plasia's arms.

The gunship changed targets and span around to address the rock assault, lining up its guns with the two aliens when something shook the entire area violently.

Fire erupted into the sky and a ear bursting explosion ruptured through the area, only Diego's warcry protecting the team from the deafening blast, weaker and damaged trees were uprooted and sent crashing to the ground from the shockwave. From within the centre of the forest, a column of fire rose into the sky like a volcano had just erupted, lighting the already wrecked forest into a blazing inferno, as the pillar of fire faded away, hovering in the middle of the sky by two jets of brilliant plasma fire, Moltezz made her presence known.

Surrounding her were several demonic looking orbs, she pointed a finger at one of the many Quill-Belly's in the sky and a massive lance of pure energy erupted from one of the orbs, annihilating the entire craft in a brilliant explosion...

“I won't be beaten so easily...” Her eyes narrowed as the Quill-Belly's began to advance on her, dropping their current objectives to begin battling the demonic terror that just blasted one of them from existence.

The sky lit up with fire and fury, the sound of bleaching pure energy followed by crashing machinery played out over and over again, auto-cannons were brought to bear against her being as she melted the gunships with terrible efficacy.

The gunship in front of the group clearly had new orders and rose up, heading towards the fiery mistress and bringing its guns to bare upon her.

As the gunship departed to face a bigger threat, the team ran over to where they saw Tivy get shot, hearts heavy in their chest as they approached...

To their collective relief however, Tivy was laid in the grass, clutching at her chest but the bullet had not penetrated the psyonic plating, it had certainly scared her, but she was fine. Before too much celebration could be had however, the plating flickered for a second on the entire group, its strength waning, their protection wouldn't last much longer.

“You gotta give yourself more credit, Diego. Jeez, don't scare us like that Tiv!” Geralt wiped his eyes and picked her up again, wasting no more time, the team pushed on towards the ship as the dog fighting in the air intensified.

Another massive explosion tore through the sky as another Quill-Belly was obliterated by a Nova Lance, piercing through the clouds. Another ship attempted to get close but Moltezz held out a hand a produced another cone of flame, which melted the ships front, causing its ammo and fuel containers to explode in its rear and the entire thing detonated in a blast of metal, glass and scrap. Its immolated carcass plummeting from the sky and slamming through shrapnel filled trees in a wave of bark, wood and metal, landing not too far from the group.

They pressed on despite the dying cries of the pilot who was rapidly burning to nothing within the damaged cockpit, any further distractions could cost them all their lives and they all knew it, not that they felt that bad for the people who had just been bombing them seconds ago...

As they limped through the forests damaged interior, both Plasia and Seeth became aware that the forest was rapidly filling with corrupted individuals, they weren't the only ones on the run, they weren't sure how but there were now Nomads desperately running through the forest for their lives, groups, families, friends, all desperate to get away from the monochrome hordes and Nodes that were chasing them down.

More explosions rang out and the distant thudding of guns began to run dry, in the heat of the battle in the sky, Moltezz appeared to be winning quite decisively, she took the Quill-Bellys down one by one, defending herself from their attacks with a shield of fire and annihilating them with more Nova Lances which continued to pierce though the morning sky with demonic clarity.

Although the bombing runs had certainly wounded and killed a lot of Slaves, the assault was waning and had not deterred the attack on the freighter... The forest began to fill with thick smog that choked the ground relentlessly, fire and ash spreading through the acrid air as stray fire bolts occasionally sprayed through the sky and splattered through the forests tree line. The heat became unbearable but once again, the psyonic defence kept the group alive and moving even in its flickering state.

The team pushed on, ignoring the screams and fire around them to the best of their ability and thankfully, to their collective relief, found the DA assault craft Diego had spoken about, parked by itself in another clearing in the forest tree line.

It was a reasonable length craft, with a brilliant white hull and a sleek design to it, with a ramp to the ground half way down its shielded body. It looked like some bombs had impacted close or even on it, but the ships shields were effective and it didn't have a single scratch on its hull.

With Trent's help, Diego limped up the ramp and placed the gauntlet against a bright blue access panel, causing the armoured airlock door to sharply snap open and give the team access, once past the second lock, the door closed behind and gave them relative safety and just in time too, as Diego's warcry shielding faded away and left the team vulnerable once more.

Wasting no time, they charged up the plated corridor together, finding the ship completely empty of staff and perfect for their use, the cockpit had space for the whole crew, with multiple comfy looking pilot chairs and control panels to use. Thankfully, ship piloting was a relatively common skill in Nomad sectors and everyone but Seeth knew roughly how to get the craft off the ground.

They activated the ships engines and it sprang to life with a satisfying rumble as its main systems engaged and it rose off the floor by a few meters.

Tivy was looking at the controls that dotted the edges of the cabin and pressed the radio on, flicking through the channels to see if anyone was available or listening when a familiar voice sounded on one of the channels.

“Attention all craft and stations within sector 90-50 EXN-2-T – The planetary freighter is compromised with an anomalous agent, you must NOT allow it to dock. Attention all craft and stations within sector 90-50 EXN-2-T – The planetary freighter is compromised with an anomalous agent, you must NOT allow it to dock” - the message was playing on repeat on a local radio wavelength. It was being broadcast from a local station but upon hearing the voice, three people in the room recognised who it was.

“Is that... is that Oxyi...?” Diego tilted his head, listening closely to the fuzzy broadcast. “I-it must be! She could still be alive! Where could she broadcast that from?!”

“Theres only one place in town, the comms centre... think we can pilot this thing over there with Moltezz blasting everything out the sky?”

“Hell yeah I do, I have another promise to keep.” Diego sat himself in the main pilot seat in the centre of the cockpit. “Plasia, there should be a medical facility on the upper deck somewhere, get Seeth to it and make sure shes alright. Tivy, stay on that radio and listen out for where Oxyi might be. Trent, Geralt, keep an eye on the ships vitals and let me know if something is getting out of hand. Lets grab her and get the fuck out of here.”

The ship rose quickly and picked up speed over the raging inferno of the forest, its shields were strong enough to resist the blazing heat but Moltezz was wrapping up the remaining Quill-Belly's, driving them into a full retreat as her efforts had destroyed upwards of 15 of them. She surveyed the surroundings with her sinister ruby glare when the DA assault craft sped behind her, causing her to take notice, upon seeing it however, she frowned in confusion, thinking she had killed the captain and crew earlier...

Within the rickety confines of the comm tower, Oxyi was watching the battle unfold, feeling bitter and defeated but taking some solace in what she presumed was her final message to the universe. She watched the figures running about the city like ants under her, refugees trying their best to escape from the horde that hunted them. There was nothing more to be done than wait for her eventual capture or death... Just went hope had left her completely though, she spotted the DA craft rapidly approaching her direction, making her bolt upright in the chair as it came straight for the comm tower, she was not expecting to die to a space ship crashing into her!

“What in the fuck is going on?! UGH! I am so sick of saying that!”

The ship slowed on approach and floated above the comms tower, hovering just above its roof, which was accessible from the cabin Oxyi was in. She was overcome with confusion, theres no way in hell the DA would come and rescue her... right...? Her body still aching and tired, she hauled herself up the ladder at the back of the room and pushed the hatch up, climbing onto the roof to reveal the DA ship hovering just to the side, its airlock hissing open and revealing a couple of men she both recognised, Geralt and Diego.

Her jaw dropped upon seeing them both, the ship inched closer as there was a bit of a gap between them and the roof, but Oxyi sprinted across the roof top and launched herself across, landing in the arms of men who ensured she wouldn't fall.

The airlock closed once she was in and the sense of relief was palpable, she shook Geralt's hand firmly and give him a hug and then turned to Diego, Geralt leaving them as he felt like they needed a moment.

She looked him up and down, tears forming in her eyes and a grateful, heartfelt smile on her face.

“You look like shit...” She half laughed and half cried and didn't even give the lizard a chance to respond, before throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his neck.

“And you didn't leave the planet like I said... did you...?” Diego laughed back, hugging her close.

“N-no... but... oh god.. Diego, its good to see you!”

They felt their weight shift as the spaceship was rapidly pulled up from the town and ascended into the sky as fast and as safely as possible. After only a few seconds, the craft was already in high orbit, the planet rapidly receding from their sight, the town becoming nothing more than a dot under them as they finally made it to safety, away from the hellish fire and rumbling hordes below them.

Once the ship was safe in the darkness of space, the team took some time to just breath it in and relax. Safety had been reached, the dungeon laid in ruins and they had a way of getting help or just escaping.

Trent sat with Tivy, enjoying a cool drink from the ships mess quarters, Geralt and Oxyi were catching up a room away in the lounge although it was obvious that Oxyi had someone else on her mind the whole time... and in the top of the ship in the infirmary, Seeth laid on a medical table as the exhausted lizard poured over her wounds and ensured she was safe, keeping her company along with Plasia, who was shyly scribbling a picture on a notepad with a pen she'd found, this being the first thing she'd drawn in a long, long time.

She was sat on a large crate in the corner of the room, just happy to watch Diego and Seeth as the lizard pressed a damp cloth against Seeth's head and cleaned her up, he was beyond exhausted but simply wouldn't rest until he was certain Seeth was safe, the two held each-others hands sweetly and could be heard softly giggling.

Plasia grinned ear to ear, happy with her drawing. In her notepad there was a scribble of a black lizard with sabre teeth fangs, flowing black locks, cute ears and an oversized sword strapped to his back- “Most unusual for a Nomad traveller to bring a melee weapon like that-” an arrow annotated the sketch. “-But perhaps unusual is exactly what we needed.”.

Chapter 14 Epilogue

“So the Quill-Belly's have been destroyed and we're still trapped... but the bulkheads have held strong and you've got a plan, guard captain?” The captain of the freighter was looking visibly more shaken since the back-up had been destroyed but still had faith in his crew.

The tiger captain, dressed in his full suit power armour with a squad behind him nodded confidently, bringing his massive rifle forward.

“We just need to reclaim the hanger so we can lift off. Me and the boys will lead the charge and lock the bulkhead behind us, we'll hit the hanger bay quickly, get the door closed and that should buy you enough time to lift off, once off the ground, we can work through the ship methodically and deal with them without the threat of constant reinforcements.”

“Excellent! Prep your men, we've got some time but the sooner the better!”

Just as some hope filled the room, a desperate guard came running onto the bridge, looking mortified.

“Captain! They've breached a lower security door! You need to see this!”

The crew turned their attention to a camera view that was flicked on, it showed a heavy security door that had been completely destroyed, bent and ripped from the frame, with huge, thick, dark trails of murky looking goo smeared over the walls like someone had dragged a series of huge, tar covered paint brushes over them, the guards down there had been ripped to pieces brutally, their corpses barely recognisable through the dark goo that coated their armour and body parts...

A shudder could be felt through the ship followed by a deep, monstrous alien roar, then several alarms sounded in unison, bleaching the bridge in flashing crimson lights.

“WARNING – LOWER BULKHEAD BREACHED – WARNING – LOWER BULKHEAD BREACHED”

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