“Fuck you, stop calling me that,” Vel said, tossing the head down a nearby shaft. “It didn't. It was more concerned with making sure we didn't get off the rock first.”
“Lelantos, can you bring the flea to us?” Aariel asked.
“Affirmative. Powering up now, it would be wise to try and meet it halfway.”
“Let's go, i'll run ahead,” Vel yelled as he tore off toward their shuttle.
“Fuck, he really is fast. Has he ever, like, literally punched something's head off?” Aariel asked as she ran alongside the droids.
“I am not sure that's anatomically possible with many species ma'am,” Lelantos replied. “Get down!”
One of the pretty boys sprung up from all fours and drug Aariel to the ground just in time to block a shockwave from tearing through her. She was stunned, but alive. The Prettyboy was toast though. The others had been able to brace and only took minor damage.
“Could Vel have survived that?” She asked, again being drug to her feet. This time, the Prettyboy sat her atop the others. “I'm fine, I can run.”
“Negative, your left fibula is broken in several places.”
“Oh gods...” She sobbed, starting to feel the pain in her leg. “What about Vel?”
“That was Vel,” Lelantos told her as the two remaining droids rushed forward with their guns out, firing at targets that Aariel couldn't even focus on between the speed they were moving and the pain in her leg. “He leapt onto the flea and dropped a seismic blast, detonating it 30 meters down a shaft. However, multiple enemies remain.
“Oh this day really sucks, guys. Guy?” Aariel said, slipping into unconsciouscness.
“Damnit, there has got to be a way!” Vel roared, slamming his fist into a bulkhead.
“Sir, it is not possible to restabilize the core,” Aariel heard Lelantos saying, somewhere not far off.
“That rock is inhabited!”
“I am aware sir, but with all due respect, so is this ship.”
“What about the Fleas I had you send back to collect samples?” His voice was oddly calm.
“Five have returned with indigenous lifeforms. Another seven are enroute with flora samples. The rest will remain in high altitude until we are ready to use the FTL drive to escape the system.”
“The system?” Vel asked, slowly through a clenched jaw.
“Affirmative. According to my calculations, an irradiated core of this magnitude is large enough to kill anything left alive in this star system.”
“FUCK!” Vel roared, Aariel heard him hitting the bulkhead again and again. “That bastard knew there were multiple life harboring bodies in this system. Get the Fleas back onto the dog's back and get us out of here. Five training droids to the training room. NOW!”
Vel's anger was radiating through the ship. The rush of emotion was too much for Aariel to handle. She passed out once more.
“Lelantos. Where am I?” Aariel asked when she woke up.
“Resting. In your cabin ma'am.” The overheard replied softly.
“I didn't know I had one,” She giggled. “Oh, someone drugged me.”
“Vel was not comfortable running you through the shortrange with all of the radiation coming out of the system. Unfortunately, your leg is still broken. It will be at least three days until we're at a safe distance to run the medical teleporter for you.”
“What would Vel do?”
“He would let it heal. His people believe their scars guide them through each battle after. Every scar is a victory, even if it is a small one such as living another day.”
“Maybe, i'll just let it heal all normal like then,” She laughed.
“I would advise you to reconsider once you're not highly medicated.”
“Most decisions aren't as fun when you aren't. You wouldn't know that though, you're a robot.”
“Given your state of mind, I will not bother correcting you.”
“Sorry, do you have feelings?”
“I am not fully sentient. I am limited by the capabilities of those who programmed me. I can learn and replicate, even emphatize, but I can not 'feel'”
“Where's Vel?”
“He's likely in the foreward section of the ship, overseeing the conversion of Leisure Deck Charlie into a makeshift habitat for the lifeforms we managed to extract.”
“How many?”
“Not many unfortunately, several thousand at most. They're still undergoing classification, so the numbers fluctuate.”
“That's a lot isn't it?” She asked groggily.
“No. It is a tiny amount considering early estimates from orbit had the planet supporting between 50 and 100 million distinct life-forms. And only from a single body in a system with many other planetoids that are now lifeless.”
“Lelantos, where's Vel?”
“Likely in the same place he was just moments ago when you asked that question.”
“Have I asked that afore?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Twice now since you've awoken this time. Seventeen total.”
“This isn't the first time i've woke up?”
“No.”
“Has Vel come to see me?”
“He checks in every few hours, but you have not been awake during those times. He also has your quarters displayed on the Leisure Deck console so he can keep an eye on you.”
“Aww, that's sweet of him.”
“He is concerned for your well being. You mean a great deal to him, as did your brother.”
“You think i'll remember that part when I wake up later?”
“Most likely not.”
“What about him, is he alright?”
“I do not think so ma'am.”
“Why not?”
“He has minimized all interference and communications and is attempting to channel his emotions so as not to affect the creatures we brought on board.”
“What do you think he's feeling right now?”
“He is unable to help calm the creatures himself, as he would under normal circumstances. I have had to introduce a set of synthetic pheromones into the air to help the life forms adjust. His name was taken from a great conservationist in the history of your species. His species feels every loss more profoundly than most and this target has taken an incredible amount from him.”
“But what about Vel?”
“I have never seen him so angry,” Lelantos replied. The lights in Aariel's room dimmed a bit as she slipped back into unconsciouscness. She probably wouldn't remember this part of the conversation either.
The Final Flight of the Phaseship Lelantos: Part 2
“16 systems down. 6,734 within subluminal to go.”
“And counting with each passing day.” Lelantos added.
“You knew what you signed up for. Besides, you've got in the field combat experience in five different enviroments now. I bet you wouldn't even die immediately if I weren't around.”
“Damn right, Vel. I haven't broken a single bone in any of the last 11 systems.”
“In addition, I have begun an algorithm to find any unusual patterns in the systems the mark has left traces upon.”
“Utter disregard for life, in any form, seems to stand out,” Vel replied. “Speaking of which, how long until we have feedback from the terrabots we left with the displaced inhabitants of target one?”
“Sustainability of the new eviroment should be received within the week. Would you like me to recall the bots once the packet is received?”
“Let's hold off on that decision. I'd like to do a long scan as well if the initial feedback is positive.”
“Rosie, What happens if it isn't?”
“Either they die slow, agonizing deaths or we make our way back in a big damn hurry. After that? We try again in a different system.”
“Has anyone ever gone back to a failed terraform to see what it looked like?”
“I've been to a few. No matter
how many worlds I traverse, nature always ends up surprising me. More than a few had begun to form completely new rudimentary lifeforms in the ruins.”
“What ruins?”
“The ruins of whatever was left to die,” Vel said. “No. No, it's not as morbid as it sounds. Those corpses and habitats can become seeds for an entirely new and beautiful world.”
“We've cleared the system and are ready to procede to our next target, on your mark.”
“Strap in, kid.” Vel said, a faint smile played across his face as he recalled seeing the primordial life that had defied odds on a nameless rock in some unrecorded prim.
“What's that?” Ariel asked, caught off guard by Vel's lightened spirit. “Are we under attack? You never smile unless we are...”
“Holster that sidearm,” Vel laughed. “Lelantos, Mark.”
With that command reality bent and flexed around them as the fastest ship in all the Civs tore through this undeveloped universe at a speed that its inhabitants couldn't hope to achieve in ten thousand years.
“Ariel, do you know what yugen is?” Vel asked as the ship roared through star system after system.
“I don't know what that is Vel. Is it something on the command console?”
“Nah kid, it's almost like a type of serenity.”
“Yugen, an ancient japanese expression for the emotional response a homosapien might feel when confronting an awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and meaningful for words.”
“Well thank you, Mr Definitionary. Does the database also have a wordasuarus?” Ariel giggled.
Three more hours in the black. Lelantos passed through indescribably huge gas pockets and into systems containing exotic, but unusable worlds. The core had to be right in order for the mark to build his rudimentary phase device. A core that wouldn't survive this disgusting and dangerous method. The death of the system containing Target One would be nothing compared to the destruction this would cause. A hole in space. Nothing there and uninhabitable for all time, ever expanding until it destroyed another system or collided with a black hole.
“Battle stations,” Lelantos bellowed as they neared their next destination. “I repeat, Battle stations. We are being intercepted by a class four asteroid bearing 37 degrees starboard on our stern.”
“Lelantos, options!” Vel Barked as he leapt toward the main gunner's console a deck above. “Ariel, man the astronav!”
“At this speed our only options are to brace for impact or to make an emergency jump out of this universe and into the next closest.”
“No. We can't jump. We might lose the area completely when we return. I won't give that bastard more time to rig a dirty Phase Station.”
“Bracing for impact. All droids deployed,” Lelantos came back “What are your orders, Captain?”
“All sensitive materials to the crunch deck. Slide the fleas as far toward our stern as you can.”
“Understood. Awaiting flight adjustments.”
“Head on Ariel,” Vel shouted down to the trembling, inexperienced new pilot. “Lelantos is one tough son of a bitch. Hit that rock head on and then drop us hard and fast through the debris. Let that stupid fucker think it worked.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Ariel replied, steeling her shaking hands.
“Impact in 17 seconds.”
“Correct course to match bogey. Full power from all engines. All weapons free!” Ariel yelled.
“Impact imminent.”
The collision was so violent that Vel was thrown from the weapons console and completely over the open flight deck.
“Vel!” Ariel screamed as she watched him fly toward the crunch zone and a certain death.
“Not today, sir.” Lelantos launched a maintenance droid directly at Vel. As it closed the distance, Vel kicked off of the droid, back toward the deck. The droid wasn't so lucky, it landed in a crunch zone just moments before the area compressed to absorb the shock for the rest of the ship.
“Full power to the engines topside, get us below this shit storm!” Ariel said, frantically swiping around the control panel.
“Lelantos, release coolant to the outer decks and utilize all noise dampeners,” Vel gasped, climbing back toward his console. “He won't have tech much more advanced than heat scanners. Make this bird invisible.”
“Affirmative,” Lelantos chirped. “Vessel and mining operations detected.”
“Arm weapons,” Aariel screamed.
“Awaiting confirmation.”
“No, not yet.” Vel told her. “We're going to give him a lift off this planet, but I can't do that if you cowboy up and start blowing the place all to shit.”
“He's earned this death, Vel!” Aariel shot back, slamming her fist into a panel, “You made me your pilot for a reason, now let me do my fucking job.”
“You're right,” Vel calmly replied, “I made you my pilot, but I sure as shit didn't make you Captain of this vessel.”
“Go fuck yourself, you alien freak,” Aariel jumped up from her chair and sulked out of the command center.
“I believe your pilot is angry with you, Rosie.”
“You don't say?” Vel laughed. “Once we drop far enough off his sensors, swing us around the planet and prep two Fleas.”
“Two fleas, sir? How many droids will you need?”
“Two fleas and nothing else, Lelantos.” Vel told him, “Tell my lovely pilot to get her ass to the med bay. I've got a broken rib or three that need tended to.”
“For the record, you humans are one of the most freakish races i've ever seen. I mean, hell , look at your enormous, impractical ears.”
“Did you just say I have big ears?” Aariel asked as she gave him a quick jab to the bandage.
“Thank god for the bots, you'd be useless in a fight.”
“That's what plasma cannons are for, dumbass.”
“The only ones on this ship weigh more than you do.”
“Well then i'll put it on a cart and roll the damn thing.”
“Good plan,” Vel told her. “Oh and just make sure you patch the Aariel sized hole in the wall after the kick launches you thirty feet.”
“If your plan works, and I dont think it will, i'll gladly fly through a wall for a shot at that bastard.”
“It will work,” Vel reassured her, “He's never seen the ship, just a flea.”
“You think Lelantos could fix my ears, maybe give them a logical little point on the top?”
“My ship ain't doin' some of those damned body mods on you.”
“However, my systems are fully capable of accomplishing such a trivial task.”
“Oooo, did you hear that Vel?” Aariel asked, “Me and Lelo are gonna have a girl's night and do makeovers. Maybe i'll get him to augment my skin to that peculiar bluish-grey hue you've got goin' on.”
“You can put lipstick on one of the prettyboys, but it'll still be the same ugly ass old bot.”
“Yeah, but it'll look fucking fabulous.”
“The 'Pretty boy' model droids do not have any discernable lips.”
“Oh shut up, Lelo.”
“Lelo?” Vel asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah, we're pretty much best friends now.”
“Good to know,” Vel replied, “I'm going to check on my new toys, I suggest you come.”
“Gods be damned, how do you ever find your way around this thing without the maps up?”
“Because my species didn't evolve from simians.”
“What exactly did your species evolve from? An Asshole-asuarus Rex?”
“I'm pretty sure that wasn't a real dinosaur.”
“You're not a real dinosaur!” She shouted, struggling to keep up with his quick pace. “Answer the question or i'll make Lelo break out the infographics again.”
“My 'verse was the second to ever break through the walls,” Vel lied. “There aren't many species left that can definitively say where or what they came from.”
“Wow, I had no idea.?
??
“Yeah you did. You read about it as a kid, i'm sure,” Vel replied, “You just never realized I was one of them.”
“Wait,” she said, struggling to remember lessons long gone. “You were. Are. One of war relics? Exactly how old are you?”
“Relic. Yeah, that's a good word for what I am,” Vel smirked. “You humans typically punch out around 250 these days, right? Well, my ancestors have the ability to activate genetics rejuvenators to keep us young. You could say that we're ageless.”