Faction Samhain's Derelict [Darkwire]

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie clawed onto the foot of the desk panel for dear life, feeling the vile creature trying to pull her into the darkness of the bridge not lit up by her comrades. She saw the carbine dropped on the floor and utterly out of reach for her. There was little she could do than to hang on and hope that someone of her friends would hear her and able to come to her rescue.

The figure of a well known denonian girl appeared at her level once the girl had spotted her. Brie reached out to grab Daiya's stretched out hand, but that was not meant to happen. Instead, Brie heard the creature changing its wretched growls and screeches into those of panic and distress. The claws around her foot was released and as she looked back, the creature was half levitating and seemed to have trouble breathing. The monster fell dead to the ground and Brie hurried herself to grab the carbine and huddled up against the desk panel with Daiya by her side.

"You okay, Brie?" the younger teen asked.

''Yeah. Yeah! Thanks!'' Brie answered in an equally breathless manner, eyes wide open as she gave her friend a couple of quick nods.

After been giving a moment to recover, Brie joined Daiya in trying to gun down as many of these fast and agile monsters as possible. Only fractions of her could register how Xan, Elpsis, Natalie and the others were doing. Something suddenly towered over the two teens, but Brie never got the feeling of it being one of the monsters. Her feelings was confirmed as she saw a furry stock appearing by their side, and as she followed it upwards with her eyes, her helmet-mounted flashlight revealed the mighty Tawrro coming to the girls defence. However brief it may have been, fight demanding their participation, it sent her a feeling of relief.

"Get the ship out of the atmosphere. We need to get this thing out of the planet's grip." she heard Xan calling out. Figuring out what was about to happen, Brie found a moment to check on her oxygen tank and then immediately turned to Daiya.

''You ready? Suit's and breathing apparatus okay?'' she asked shortly and went for a check of the younger girls gear - it seemed okay. They were ready.

Brie took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a short moment, gathering herself before she stood up and hauled the carbine over the desk panel, firing at two or three monsters that stood on the nearby desk panels and was about to advance to them. One hit. Miss. Miss. Two hits, and the monsters were down.

Natalie had set thrusters at fastest possible speed out of orbit without overloading the ancient ships engines. They were finally making progress.

"What are you kriffers waiting for, let's move." called Xan and apparently they were a bit after the others. Breathless, Brie pulled Daiya up and along as they fell in line with the group leaving the bridge. Tawrro made sure their six was clear as they went for the exit.

Daiya Xan Deesa Elpsis Kerrigan

 

[Daiya]

A tiny, little spot of light.

That's all it was. A tiny, little spot of light in the middle of the dark bridge, the last spot of hope on the infested ship. That's what she had left to defend against the creatures of unimaginable horror. They had made this ship their home, but it wasn't theirs to make. This ship, the job, and her life depended on keeping this tiny, little spot of light going for just long enough.

Her blaster fired into the darkness, staccato shots that drew sounds of pain and rage from the creatures. The girl couldn't shoot them fast enough, but she couldn't stop shooting. Her heart was pounding, her vision was a blue, but she couldn't stop shooting. Her friends huddled close, Brie and Tawrro and Xan and Elpsis and her teammates, all but the single woman handling the terminal. The center of their tiny, little spot of light, the entirety of their world for the moment. It was her life, besides the girl's own, that Daiya fought to defend. Nothing else mattered right now.

She nearly lost her balance as the ship's ancient engines fired, the thrust shaking the deck and adding a new wrinkle into the fight. Daiya and her friends were not the only ones fighting for their survival any longer. The creatures seemed to realize it, coming faster now, their desperation palpable. The girl felt frenzy engulf her once more as she, too, fought with desperation. Her blaster blazed, and she screamed from one enemy to the next as they raced forward, reaching for her, sharp claws and hideous bodies aiming only for her destruction.

Eventually, their cries grew weaker, their efforts slower, and Daiya felt like they were turning the tide. More of the aliens were dropping faster than they could come, and the heavy feeling on her chest was lightening. Her blaster clicked empty as the last creature came within reaching distance, its arm dropping limply to the deck just as it could. A rasping, wheezing noise came from the alien and its companions. Their slow whine persisted until the noise of the ship overtook it and the girl could no longer see them moving.

She drew a breath of mechanical air, blown onto her face by respirators in her mask. It was what kept her alive now. The pit in her stomach had been replaced by something else, another unsettling feeling, and it took the girl a moment to figure out what it was. The ship's engines had stopped. They must be above the atmosphere now, with no air around them, and that meant...

Cold.

She was so cold.

Daiya shivered, barely hearing Xan's voice explaining it to her. Brie was talking too, and she nodded quickly to her friend. This was why she hated space travel! Wrapping her arms around herself, the teen nodded in agreement. Whatever it was they were planning, she wanted it too. Daiya didn't really care what that was, as long as it got her moving and warm again.

They did move, retracing their steps back to the entrance with the ships. The farther they went, the more she felt unsteady. Her feet missed their mark on more than one occasion, causing her to stumble and fall. Tawrro dutifully helped her up each time, keeping her going, but Daiya wondered if even he was going to make it. The great Wookiee's fur was crystallizing with frost, he wasn't immune to the cold of space either!

She glanced at the others, wishing she had a full spacesuit now. Hers only covered her body, leaving her neck and most of her head exposed. That was all that was needed to chill her to the core, leeching off more heat than she had to give. Daiya plodding forward, but her forward was no longer upright. The deck came up to meet her once more, and this time she wasn't able to right herself even with help.

Daiya felt massive, frost-covered arms wrapping around her. They picked her off the deck as if she was a doll, cradled in the arms of her Wookiee guardian. Tawrro carried her the rest of the way to the ships, but by the time Tawrro and Brie climbed back into hers, Daiya was out cold.

That's what Daiya was going to remember the most from this job. Her most ferocious enemy was not the alien creatures, but the cold of space itself.

So cold.

Brie Jaxx Elpsis Kerrigan Xan Deesa​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Brie Jaxx Xan Deesa Daiya

If there was one member of the party who was untouched by the biting cold, it was Zhaleh. She was new to the sky-ocean - as the Qadiri liked to call space -, its many dangers and wonders, but the cold was familiar. After all, she had been born and raised in the arctic north of Tygara. Thus she was not troubled when the vessel suddenly halted in the void, and a freezing cold engulfed it. The monsters were already or dying, freezing to death in the merciless void. Pearls of frost spread across her armour. She whispered a prayer of thanks to the Great Goddess Kashara, Queen of the Skies. "May the lost souls find peace in your heaven," she said in her native tongue.

So without further ado, the party departed. "Let's move," Elpsis stated - not that anyone here really needed extra motivation. She did not possess Zhaleh's near-immunity to the cold, but her powers allowed her to let heat flow through her. "Sorry about cutting the treasure hunt short, guys. We can nab whatever's nailed clean later," she added as they swiftly made their way back to the hangar.
"Mayhaps the next skyship will have riches and no beasts, ma'am?" the Qadiri asked innocently and probably not entirely seriously. "Mayhaps they won't be cursed."
"Don't jinx it."

"The experience I gained slaying these beasts will already empower me - and thus my people," Rhea stated. The Rattataki did not like the cold, being used to warmer climes. She wore a sealed suit, but the temperature was dropping.
"Speak for yourself. I'm not doing this pro bono, Red," Natalie said sarcastically. She was not wearing full armour, and thus shivering in the cold.
"Want help?" Elpsis asked with some concern in her voice.
"Keep your magic away, and use your big bank to toss some extra credits my way."

Elpsis felt like pointing out that it wasn't her bank account, but thought better. Sensing that Daiya, craddled in the arms of the Wookiee, was freezing in the cold, Elpsis briefly placed her hand on the girl's head. Daiya might experience a moment of discomfort, then heat would surge through her body. It would make the cold a bit more bearable till she got back to her ship. Then Elpsis removed her hand and quickly moved onward. Eventually they left the space hulk behind them.

FIN for Elpsis