AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much to everyone reading this fanfic, and to everyone leaving reviews. Thank you for pointing out my errors; I've gone back through and changed what was pointed out to me. I can't thank you enough.
This is a fanfic based off of Team StarKid's musical, Starship. This fanfic takes place after the end of the show, as a continuation. I do not own any of these characters except for the recruits, and any and all credit goes to the StarKids themselves. Thanks, and please enjoy.
"Friggin robot..." Kelvin croaked as he regained concsiousness. He blinked groggily and shook his head to clear his vision. He immediately wished he hadn't. At the opposite end of the room, arms crossed, stood Taz. The three recruits were all bound with steel cables. Their hands were tied behind their backs and their feet were bound together. They were lying on cold metal tables, much like those used in the infirmary. Kelvin struggled into a sitting position, unable to use his arms to push himself up. Soft moans came from the tables on either side of him as Xaria and Riker began to stir.
"Um, guys? We're in a weird situation..."
Taz slowly strode toward them as Riker and Xaria fully woke, they too struggling to sit up. Taz stopped a foot away and stared at the three of them. Her face was expressionless, and it was impossible to guess what was going through her head. Kelvin, however, had a pretty good idea of what it was.
"Please don't kill us."
In response, Taz drew her knife. Riker swallowed hard.
"Don't- don't blame them. It was me. I-I dragged them along."
"He's lying," Kelvin piped up "I was the one who suggested something was up."
Xaria snorted. "You two can't lie worth shit. I blackmailed them into helping me prove my theory."
Taz looked from Riker to Kelvin to Xaria, studying them carefully.
Without warning, she grabbed Kelvin by the front of his shirt and hauled him off the table. His arms and legs immobilized, the boy fell into a heap on the floor. Taz hauled him to his feet.
"Bullshit," she snapped "I know dis was jour idea. De tin can said so. I may hate dat thing more dan a chupacabra hates de sun, but she tells de truth." Kelvin looked down at his feet and gulped nervously. Taz lifted his chin with her knife, until he was looking her in the eyes. He could feel the prick of the tip of the blade, and a dribble of warm, sticky blood slid down his neck. Taz drew her blade away, and with a short, inarticulate shout, sliced downward. Riker and Xaria averted their eyes just in time, but they were unable to block out Kelvin's scream of agony. It trailed off, and they slowly lifted their eyes, expecting to see Kelvin's bloody body. Instead, the dark-haired boy stared in disbelief at the severed cables lying at his feet. Taz pulled the other two recruits from their tables and freed them as well. She sheathed her knife and faced them.
"De needs of de many bugs outweigh de few."
"Sorry… What?" Riker asked, rubbing his wrists to restore circulation.
"It's a saying on de Bug World. Jou tree are loyal to each other. But if one of jou had to give jour life for de greater good, jou would have to watch dem die."
"Charming," Xaria grimaced.
"Bug World…" Riker racked his brain, trying to recall where he'd heard the name before. "Wasn't- wasn't a Ranger from Bug World?"
"Sí, Bug. We lost our Schience Officer, February, to him."
"He killed her?" Kelvin asked, wide-eyed. Taz snorted.
"Hardly. Dey fell in love, and she stayed on Bug World with him."
"Why would two Starship Rangers live among bugs, instead of on a Starship with other Rangers?"
"If I recall," Xaria said slowly "Bug was an actual bug." Taz nodded.
"An' one of de finest Rangers I ever met in my life."
"Not to change the subject, but, um, what was the point of tranquilizing and almost killing us?" Riker asked.
"A test."
"A test? What, to see if we'd piss ourselves in the face of imminent death? 'Cause I may have failed that one," Kelvin offered cheerfully. Taz did not answer his question, but merely shouldered her zapper and beckoned for them to follow her. After sharing a quick glance, the trio complied and followed her from the room.
Commander Up was in the middle of watching 'She's All That' when there was a knock at the door. He quickly paused the movie and turned off the projector screen.
"It's open! C'mon in," he called. Taz entered and Up perked up noticeably.
"Taz! Didja come to watch a movie after all?"
"No."
Kelvin, Riker, and Xaria entered the room. Up blinked in surprise.
"Oh, um... What'd you do to 'em, Taz?"
"I didn't do anything," she replied indignantly. "I'm recommending dem for Sector 326."
"Sector 326? Are you sure? They've only had one day of training, and one of 'em ran into a wall!"
"Okay, yeah, we keep throwing that around, but that's not really what happened," Riker protested. Simultaneously, Kelvin elbowed him in the side and Xaria stepped on his foot, silencing him.
"Dey may be of use to us, and dis is de only way to find out. We don't have time to lose, Up," Taz urged. The Commander chewed his lip as he debated whether or not to pass Taz's recommendation. The three recruits watched him intently, each wondering what exactly Sector 326 was, and what they'd gotten themselves into. Taz raised an eyebrow expectantly, awaiting Up's response. Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Alright. Recommendation approved. Get 'em ready."
As Taz led them back into the hall, Xaria was able to catch the last phrase the Commander whispered before the doors sealed shut.
"Good luck, recruits."
Taz led them on a winding path through hallway after side hallway. Within minutes, the recruits had lost all sense of direction. Taz remained silent, even when Kelvin peppered her with questions.
"What's Sector 326? Why're we going there? What are our chances of actually, like, surviving?"
"Kelvin, shut up," Xaria sighed, exasperated. "She's not going to tell us anything."
They turned yet another corner, and nearly ran into Specs and Krayonder.
"For the last time, Krayonder, I won't let you slap my- oh, Lieutenant! May I ask where you're headed?" She noticed the recruits and squinted, pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose. "I see you're all conscious again. And you don't appear to be suffering any brain damage-"
"Dey're going to Sector 326," Taz interrupted, cutting off Specs' rambling. Specs and Krayonder gasped simultaneously.
"Sector 326? But that's, like, insane!" Krayonder exclaimed. "The point of no return, end of the road, make it or break it, man!" Taz glared at him, eyes blazing. Krayonder swallowed hard. The last time she'd looked at him that way, she'd ended up stabbing him.
"I mean… have fun, dudes," he said weakly, stepping behind Specs. Taz rolled her eyes and continued past them. After a moment's hesitation, Riker, Kelvin, and Xaria followed. Riker's heart was starting to pound faster, and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Even Specs and Krayonder, two trained Starship Rangers, were afraid of whatever lay in store for them. What chance did they, three untrained recruits, stand of survival? None of them spoke, but he could tell Kelvin and Xaria were thinking the same thing. At last, Taz came to a stop in front of a set of steel doors. There was a keypad to the left of the doors, and a fingerprint scanner below the keypad. Taz scanned her right index finger and quickly punched in a series of numbers. Her back was to the recruits, blocking their view, and none of them could make out the numbers. The doors slid open with a faint hiss. All four of them entered the room. Riker's heart was pounding against his ribs like a sledgehammer, and he was certain the others must be able to hear it. All the color was fading from Kelvin's face. Xaria looked fairly calm at first glance, but closer inspection revealed her fists were clenched and her hands shaking. Riker tensed, expecting at any minute for the doors to slam shut behind them and some hideous creature to attack. To his surprise, neither happened. The room was a huge storage closet, packed floor to ceiling with weaponry. Zappers, knives, and guns of every shape and size covered the walls. Xaria gazed around in amazement, turning a complete 360 to take it all in. Kelvin glanced curiously at Taz.
"This is it? This is Sector 326?"
"Choose one weapon." Taz ignored his question, just as she'd ignored all of his other questions. There was a twinge of something in her voice. Something like… remorse? Regret?
"Any weapon?"
"Sí."
Riker let his gaze drift about the room. A silver instrument caught his eye. It looked out of place among all the other heavy-duty equipment. He pulled it from its hook in the wall and turned it in his hands. It looked like a laser pointer. Why would a laser pointer be kept in a room like this? He turned to pose the question to Taz.
"Jou've all selected jour weapons. Dis way."
"Wait, what? No, I-" Riker saw that both Xaria and Kelvin were clutching large, black zappers. Before he could protest, glass casings slid out of the walls, covering the remaining weaponry. A door on the far side of the room slid open. Riker's stomach dropped like a boulder. His curiosity was going to be the death of him. Instead of choosing a real weapon, he'd been distracted by a cheap little tool. Whatever they were about to face would take him out in a heartbeat. Xaria and Kelvin shot him pitying glances as Taz ushered them into the room. She didn't enter, but stood at the doorway. The lieutenant's face was impossible to read as they passed her. Riker was the last to enter the room. The second he crossed the threshold, the door slid shut behind him, closing them off from Taz. They were alone. Alone, untrained, and clueless as to what they were about to face. The trio stood shoulder to shoulder, each trembling in fear and anticipation.
"What d'ya think it's gonna be?" Kelvin whispered.
And then, from the other side of the room, it appeared out of the shadows.
Kelvin screamed.
Xaria screamed.
Riker screamed.
In an instant, it was upon them.
NEXT CHAPTER: There is a reason Sector 326 is dreaded by all of the Rangers, even Commander Up himself. Xaria, Kelvin, and Riker are about to figure out why. Firsthand.
