~ six

~ part six ~

Zelda - In the cargo bay watching him, his massive sword in her lap.  "I will wield this blade."

Esmeralda - "Sounds serious."

Zelda - "It is."

Esmeralda - "I see ... "

Gunner - "Plot course ?"

...

Esmeralda - "We did.  We charted your position according to the tears, and then charted the exact position inside the abyss."

Gunner - "NOT Exact.  Nearby."  His eye goes to the blade ...

Zelda - "I'm keeping it.  It's a serious trophy from my first time in space."

Gunner - Stares a moment ... "The dead are many."  He hisses a smile.

Zelda - "Yeah ?  You know what's weirding me the fuck out right now is that we went to space, landed on planet sized carcassese, and what the fuck happens but the same thing that happens on Earth.  Got chased by a fucking cannibal again."

Gunner - "... home ..."

Zelda - "Yeah ... well guess what we have in the kitchen."

He stares drawn ...

Zelda - "Fat bloody steaks for you and me.  We have some time, with no jump vectors in the abyss we have to travel directly, straight line hopping.  And I'm really a great cook.  It's a shocking fact."

Esmeralda - "Lies !  These are lies.  But hook me up too yeah ?"

She gets up kachunking the blade to the ground, lights a cigarette and passes it to his face.  He grins happy with the smoke watching her as she leaves dragging it away.

~ sizzling steak in the skillet.

Alien meat in the abyss, as a superficial corpuscle from having been caught in the light, pops in the fire.  This sentence makes me happy for no particular reason.  Out the ship's viewport, Lucifer's sphere as it lashes down ships too close, past the clog of vessels attacking, just beyond their number.

Zelda - At the co-chair in the cockpit with a plate of steak in her lap, "Beacon dropped."  Cutting and eating.

Auto - "We can't jump to the core, there's too much interference."  Clears his non existent throat, "Even for me."

Zelda - Chewing, "Then we go through."

Esmeralda - Mouth full, "That's the worst plan ever."  A random spider-drone dragging cable pokes her steak with a pincer before waved away scurrying.

Auto - "Agreed.  But it is her turn."

Gunner - "Gunner."  In the back suspended at an angle by the mechanical arms over his finished plate, eying the fork and knife.  He stabs the air laughing then at each other like they're fighting.

...

Zelda - "So he is a gunner.  And he's not even a pedophile !"

Esmeralda - "Told you.  Only psychotic and that does come up."

Auto - "And I do need particular focus on piloting this time."  The arms whisk the gunner away and to the lower gunnery, plopping him to still holding him.

Esmeralda - "So we make this very bad idea even worse ?"

...

They high five and Zelda hits a big red button on the console marked 'Auto-pilot'.  

Auto washes dishes, gets annoyed and ejects the plates into space.  

Through their ports from outside the ship, dishes passing by, Z and E each positions on a wing, gunner on the belly cannon, all prone for the controls the gunner still held by the mechanical arms.  He eyes the controls ... smiles and drops the silverware.

Behind them, the stars begin to blot dark.  

I wouldn't want to give it away to a reader but if one were to pay extremely close attention on a second watch, stars have randomly been blotted in all the space scenes distantly behind the Decibel.

 ('Kill Everything' by Skunk Anansie)

As they prepare in their gunneries (spellcheck say nunneries, but no), one by one in slow scenes in the ship's approach, before Gunner launches the first missile.  The camera tracks it through the distance ...

Revenge Captain - On Comm, "Temple ship Decibel.  You are not alone."

The Revenge among other similar and similarly torn ghost ships fade in (ghostly) to join battle alongside.

Charon - On comm, "We owe this one."  On deck of their own with Styx, "For our children."

Revenge - Good to see you Autopilot."

Auto - "I missed you."

Revenge - A laugh, "Indeed.  There were no better since.  Let us teach them."

The Decibel's missile strikes target, alerting the pack to turn.

One for the battle director, which is currently your imagination, to play with.  It plays as it should.  I do 'the silence of space' so there is no outside of the ship sound but the song.  

They do survive, but suffice it's a complicated battle to imagine, and damage is taken.  No guarantee everyone survives the screen draft.

Each of auto's spider bots is usually assigned to special tracking a single ship in greater conflicts, while he synthesizes the movement of the whole and pilots.  In most cases he has enough, here he does not and uses his jumps only rarely and not in attack.

A to B battle through until nearing halfway Lucifer spots them.

He assists with lashes across enemy bow, beginning to work them a path.  Here the vessels become freshly deployed and seem less and less mechanized so much as simply hollow with a form of bio-engine when destroyed.

Upon the silent battle through, Lucifer focuses to form still massive, his back along the sphere arms and legs stretched across the surface.  He opens his mouth, and there through they see the huddled ships.  

Lucifer continues the now hardened battle while they dock and load the remaining crews.  Gunner harpoons the Rose with heavy chains, set to drag.

Lucifer - Booming, "Leave me.  Escape.  With Love.  You cannot escape."

Esmeralda - As the rear hatch opens, she waits, mechanical arms stretching out speakered into the escaping air, "We don't leave people behind.  But we're just the rescue party.  This is the official response, concerning the treatment of our people.  Including you."  Into a comm, "Light 'em up."

('Ante Up'  by M.O.P. (remix)

Esmeralda - "No stand down soldier, you look tired.  It's time to go home."

The comm is relayed to the beacon as the ship's arms reach into Lucifer and pulling out the core, sphere flickering out and pulling his normal body in glowing bright as the rest dissipates.

Small port ins surround the battle, the alien ships still active begin to turn to.  All missiles in a perfect sphere around theirs, one wave after the next then another and another.

They begin to strike.  

~ to Sanctuary, beneath the tree where the warriors gather.  The army files to their ships, missiles are piled while Lazarus works with his own.  Ships port ot as Glitch sends lightning across the field forming more missiles.

Up to the tree where Lucretia ports them out, back to the the battle in space, more porting in with the Sanctuary warships, battle begins as the Decibel tugs the Rose.  The missiles swerve to avoid, moving on to the nearest targets while they drag peacefully through the chaos.  

Lucifer - Normal, looking at the screen next to Aedera and crew as the missiles strike, more port through ... "Seems obligatory at this point."

Aedera - Laughs with tears falling, "It's home.  Lucis.  We're going home."  She turns his face to kiss as the Sanctuary warships begin to port in.

They chug slowly through the chaos untouched, destruction clearing their path.  At the view-screen, their kiss continues as they port with the Decibel, dragging the battle away to fast distance, then gone.

~ the end ~

~ closing credits ~

after one

Strophius - In a dark room, steel table, ashtray across from a man dressed in a black suit, face shadowed.  Ashes and inhales, "So Agent ... "

Agent - "Geneva."

Strophius - "Yes."  He ashes.  "What you invited me here to tell me is that I have 'rights', now because you've found me ... 'human enough' ... 'genetically'."

Geneva - "And congratulations !"

Strophius - "Yes ... we were here before you.  And you say that I have to sign this ... 'disclaimer' now.  Do I understand ?"

Geneva - "That is correct.  Otherwise ... it just wouldn't be legal."

Strophius - "So that you can dissect me."

Geneva - "Well.  More like an organ donor really, a living one.  You know.  For science !  Science is good ..."

...

Strophius - "I'm using my brain powers to walk out of here now good day ..." 

 

~ shot of the ashtray as he puts the cigarette out, the credits continue ~

('Chule' by Zani Challe with Buffalo Soulja)

~ the song over, the final after credits ~

Aedera walks out toward the Middleton Arena (from Special Not a Valentine), the crowd's noise in advance she stops.  Takes a drink, composes her self, a mint, a smile, and out to meet the general in sitting in the stands, back turned and waiting.

~ 2020 ~

 

In the cafe, (from 'Diver Deep the Prologue to' ... the epilogue of ?) the line at the counter takes another march step, snapping their head to turn and stare ... an explosion out the window behind them while everyone ignores.

General - Still on the phone, "No really.  Something's not right here.  I need ... hello ?"  He looks at his phone gone blank, then the typing onscreen ~

 

Diver Deep the First

is coming soon

 

The click of a stage switch, all fades to set and green-screen out the window, crew clearing through while he stares in wide eyes, the line of customers all break character and babble ignoring him.  

Workers wheel away the counter as the walls start to lift, the barista takes off her mask walking away, slurping the last coffee with a straw.