When the cryo-technicians had strapped me into my sleeping pod back on Aquila Major they mentioned in thick accents that animals couldn't sleep during transport. With their black, probing eyes on my slender figure they said no matter how strong the cryo-anesthesia was they just wouldn't shut down. Most of the time any animal transports had to be sedated in their pods. I had raised an eyebrow at this – did my appearance somehow categorize me as animal? A robed technician had snickered and said it was only my eyes. Said the primitive side never slept and I was facing a long journey.

Now, three days into the excursion, I scoffed under the red glow of the light above me. I guess it was true—I was wide awake and bored out of my mind. I had never travelled cryo before. Preferred to keep awake in case anything went wrong. This situation seemed perfect for my luck; while everyone else seemed comfortably dowsed in slumber I was awake to the point of frustration. You'd think they'd have backups for this kind of thing. Or at least a magazine.

I looked at my reflection in the glass door of the pod. My bright yellow eyes stared back at me unblinking and glowing. Under stress they always seemed to shine more than normal. A curtain of shoulder-length auburn hair framed my pallid face, ending in a short pixie at the back. Low maintenance, baby. I lifted a lip at my complexion; I looked dead. I needed energy.

Reapers like me were a secretive species that needed fresh energy every few days to support the delicate balance within our bodies. Operating half in the physical realm and half in the energetic spirit one, we needed constant sources to keep us firmly planted in both worlds. Humanoids happened to work perfectly for us.

Snorting at my boredom I looked past my reflection and out into the chamber beyond.

Thirty-two passengers were on board the Hunter-Gratzner, a cargo ship destined for New Mecca. When I first learned my trip was to be taken in the ass of a shit carrier I was tempted to try another way home, but the rest of the ships available were full of mercs and I didn't run with scum. My only other option was an actual passenger cruiser but I sure as shit wasn't stepping foot on one of those. The cost of the seat alone could almost pay for my own land-glider but that was beside the point– the thought of rubbing noses with the wealthy and elite made me gag.

More like a metal tube than a starship, the carrier boasted eight sections. Six were stocked full of cargo – I didn't know what the goods were. Passengers didn't need to know. Probably precious metals or pretty lingerie or some shit. The seat was cheap and came with no questions asked and that was fine with me. The other two sections were stocked full of passengers.

The section I was in was at the back of the ship and the smallest. Sixteen cryo-tubes were stationed side by side, each with a single occupant, but I could see only twelve. I had memorized most of their faces already. A dark-skinned holy man was just in view to my left. A delicate pair of spectacles teetered on the edge of his nose above a bristly black beard and his face held a strong countenance that was also humble. Wrapped in a white cotton robe and black turban, he was the very picture of piety. His scent was musky incense and his three boys smelled similar. I wondered at the contrasts of our lives; what were their gods like? Did they fear them? Were they merciful? We reapers adhered to no god, choosing to rely only on the energies within ourselves to show us our paths.

To my right was a woman with long brown hair. Dressed in a leather belt and boots, she looked the prospector type and smelled faintly of sweat and lavender. She and the man beside her were married; matching silver bands adorned their fingers and they had shared a sweet goodbye before the technicians put them to sleep. Their scents mingled and sometimes it even seemed they breathed in unison. To be intimate with someone like that was something I had always yearned for but human males, attractive as they were, were simply too delicate.

I fixed my eyes on the man stationed next to the woman's husband. This one made my eyes narrow from the moment I saw him. He was a merc; that much was obvious. A baton and taser were belted to his hips along with two plasma guns. A bulletproof vest hugged his lean torso. No one needed that much heat unless they were prepared to use it and he fit the profile beautifully. His features were arranged handsomely but there was an underlying darkness to his good looks. A mixture of sweat and adrenaline flowered from his skin, making my palms sweat. I could tell he was having intense dreams and had been doing so since we left the planet. His rapid eye movement and bodily twitches were consistent signs of stressful slumber. I pegged him for a junkie – no one sweats like that just standing up, and the shakes were a dead giveaway. What a perfect package. I hoped never to meet him. In my experience all mercs were devious assholes and I supposed he had to be; his cargo was more dangerous than he was.

Directly across from me was a large glass case with the words NO EARLY RELEASE stamped across the door in bold white lettering. From the moment they had strapped us in curiosity had gripped me about that particular pod. It was already closed and locked when we were put to sleep, its occupant already supposedly out cold. This pod was larger than the rest and made of thick metal with a shatterproof glass panel. I had seen cells like this on other ships, made for holding serious criminals on their way to slam. Yet another reason why this seat was so damned cheap.

The large figure restrained within was huge. Fighter's arms, tanned and heavy, were chained to the walls on either side of him and every now and then a muscle would tense with the ship's movement. My eyes caught every motion. A black cloth was tied around his eyes. Sometimes I thought I could see a flicker of silver from behind a small rip in the fabric but I couldn't be sure. A metal bit was between his teeth. Kinky.

I had been observing him from the moment we took off. His sheer size was impressive; being an energy reaper I had immediately deduced that his build was perfect for the feeding process but what chance would I ever get to sample his raw energy? His scent was dark and musky, with an underlying spice that made my mouth water. Even separated by glass cases my body was responding to him at the thought of reaping his energy. Along with other things.

I sighed in frustration. He hardly moved, but I knew he was just as awake as I was. His breathing was not that of a sleeping person but steady, controlled. What really intrigued me was that he knew that I was awake, too. Like this moment, I could tell he was looking back at me with an unwavering stare. Probably was waiting for the perfect moment to kill me if ever the chance arose. The thought made me grin. Let him try.

These straps were getting really fucking annoying. I had begun to struggle out of sheer frustration again when a whistling sounded through the chamber and one of the pods to my left was suddenly bombarded with shooting bits of metal the size of bullets. I heard smashing glass and the hiss of steam under pressure. A loud siren began to go off and a red light began flashing in the center of the room.

I instantly feared for the holy man and his children but they weren't the ones hit. The man who had occupied the destroyed pod was dead and obviously so; blood was spattered on the inside of the cell and a loud beeping flat line had begun. His head hung limply on his shoulder. In my panic I managed to utter a quick prayer for him and was silently glad he wasn't one of the faces I had memorized.

There was suddenly a huge jolt and a terrible deep mechanical groan and I felt the ship begin to plummet downward at a terrifying angle. My heart shot up into my throat and I resisted the urge to scream. The shaking was incredible. I deduced that at the rate of deceleration the ship had entered the atmosphere of a planet. Fear flew through my body like a drug; at this continued velocity we wouldn't stand a chance landing on any terrain.

I looked out into the shaking chamber—I could see people becoming awake inside their own pods, panicking and looking fearful. Everyone's red light was flickering. Cryo-support was shutting down in the rapidly spinning craft. The only figure who hadn't yet moved during this ordeal was the convict across from me; he hadn't done so much as raise his head but every muscle was taut. I didn't have time to stare at him though, for at that moment the right side of the hull, with a deafening screech of metal, was pulled away to reveal the blinding light of day.

I could see an orange horizon beyond and realized that we were seconds away from hitting the ground. My heart dropped into my stomach and I couldn't help but scream as I felt the ship fly apart like a dandelion in a breeze. The impact of hitting the ground resounded only a moment later, a jerking crash that sent me colliding painfully with the glass door of my pod despite the straps that held me in place. A few more seconds passed where I knew that the ship was scraping against the face of the planet like a matchstick and I could only hope that there would be no climactic explosion when it stopped.

When I could take no more of the ear-splitting shriek of metal against rock, what was left of the ship shuddered to a halt. I stayed curled around myself a moment before I was convinced that the ship wasn't going to move anymore. I hesitantly opened my eyes and blinked at the sight of the spider-web shatter pattern that was all that remained of my pod door. At the moment I didn't think that I was hurt. My limbs were all still there and there was no visible blood. However I slowly realized that the thick fabric straps of the pod were still keeping me in place but felt much too tight. The metal wall behind me had caved in and was exerting tremendous pressure from behind.

Spots of light flashed in front of my eyes as I struggled to stay conscious. The sounds of distant screams and shouts filled my head and I wanted to help, but I couldn't move. Shit, is this how it ends, here on this fucking rando planet in a shipwreck? I bared my teeth at my shattered reflection and saw the yellow of my eyes glow a little brighter. Fuck that! I started struggling again. Pain blossomed in my chest; the main strap holding me in place was slowly crushing my ribcage. Breaths were coming with difficulty and I felt like I was drowning in open air. My vision grew fuzzy and the sounds around me started fading.

It's really not so bad…