"Status report, please."
The insect-like creature that sat on the pilot's seat directed his prism-like eyes on the monitors.
"We're travelling at good speed, Sir."
"And what did Sh'ka and Fly'a report?"
"They said that everything's functioning as normal, Sir."
The captain nodded his understanding. "Good. Maintain course, Klal'pak."
"Yes, Captain Jor'gas."
Jor'gas simply tapped his claw-like fingers on the arm of his seat, then stood up to stretch his legs. They had a long way before reaching their home-planet, after all; there was no need to spend his entire trip sitting.
Just then, a beeping sound filled the room, and the pilot sat up in his seat.
"Captain Jor'gas, we've just picked up signs of an unfamiliar object drifting in space."
Jor'gas remained as if rooted in his tracks, his wing-like appendages twitching behind his back. "On screen, Klal'pak."
"Yes, Sir," Klal'pak answered, typing the appropriate instructions. The image of the vast blackness of space changed to the image of a metallic object, drifting aimlessly in that hostile, star-embroidered sea.
"Hmm… It appears to be a sort of automated android mechanism. Yet what is it doing out there by itself?" Jor'gas mused, scratching his chin. He looked at his companion. "Do you detect the wreckage of a ship nearby?"
"Negative," Klal'pak replied. "Whatever it is, it's out there on its own."
Jor'gas hummed. "Very curious, indeed. Activate the tractor beam. I want to have a closer look at it."
"Yes, Captain," Klal'pak said, complying with the orders. Both captain and pilot watched on as a great green light surrounded the metallic creature, and they almost expected that that would motivate the metallic creature to try and escape.
Nothing of the sort happened, though. The creature was probably in no condition to react, so it wasn't long before the beam dragged it back to the ship. Feeling satisfied, Jor'gas activated his transmitter.
"Medic Sh'ka, Engineer Fly'a, report for duty at once. I have work for you."
Jor'gas stepped inside the medical room, his eyes instantly locking on the mechanism laying on the surgical table. It certainly looked in a bad shape, its plating scratched and dented, while its colours of red, blue and white were all but faded. The red glasses that obviously served as eyes were dimmed too, a sign that the robot wasn't functioning.
"Well, Sh'ka, Fly'a… What have you got to say?"
Sh'ka placed his claw-like hands under a spray of water to wash them. "I haven't seen anything quite like it, that's for sure," he said, and he dried himself on a piece of cloth. "It makes an interesting specimen."
"And practically starving for energy," Fly'a completed. "I attached the mechanism to our main generator; it might allow us to reboot its systems and so examine it further."
The words had barely flowed out of the engineer's mouth, when everyone present in the room heard the sound of gears in motion. They turned around, just in time to see the red eyes shining brightly and the grey mouth moving.
None of the Turkans could understand the words that the mechanism uttered, but it was intriguing how a high-pitched voice could sound so weak. Curiosity overwhelming him, the captain stepped close to the mechanism, regarding it with quite the critical eye.
Probably noticing the motion from the corner of his optic, the mechanism faced Jor'gas and looked at him curiously. Its optics widened slightly, and Jor'gas thought that he caught a flash of recognition reflected in them.
"You're a Turkan," the mechanism said, and he looked at the other two members of the ship. "You all are."
Jor'gas was quite surprised. "Indeed. You're familiar with our race," he noted.
"Yes. Well enough to speak your language, as you can see," the mechanism replied haughtily, hands clenching into fists and its own wing-like appendages twitching. "Now do the same and tell me where I am."
"You are aboard Gath'son, a Turkan merchant ship." Jorgas answered patiently. "We found you drifting in space and we brought you in. The engineer hooked you to one of our generators so you would come online once more."
"I see… And where is this ship heading?" the mechanism asked.
"We're currently passing by the planet of the Echoans," Jor'gas said, indulging the mechanism.
"I've come so far then?" the mechanism mused before locking his gaze on the Turkan captain. "I suppose I should thank you for picking me up."
Jor'gas shook his head. "All in due time. What is your name?"
"My name?" the mechanism said, pondering on the question. "Starscream."
Jor'gas wasn't able to register what happened next. The mechanism lifted his arm and fired at Fly'a and Sh'ka, killing them instantly. And before the bodies had even collapsed in a heap on the floor, Jor'gas was pinned against the wall, the mechanism's hands choking him.
"And I've just taken command of your ship," was the last thing he heard as the dark veil of death descended upon him.
The pilot collapsed on the controls, black blood oozing from his chest wound, but Starscream didn't think twice about it. He simply pushed the body aside and started typing new orders on the main computer. When he entered the last code, the ship veered off to a new direction, and Starscream sat on the commander's seat. He smiled, finally savouring the position of a leader, even though there wasn't anyone left in the ship to serve him. In his mind, it was just a minor setback till he reached his one true goal.
Now… how long would it take him to reach Chaar?
The End