Part II
*****
The echoes of his cry bounced about the pod as it floated aimlessly. Bob struggled to right himself as the pod tumbled to and fro. Sighing, he turned to look out the window. As he had expected, the Guardian saw only the dark, murky swirls of the Web.
A dim shadow slid over the window, and then something immense took the pod and shook it about like a child's plaything. Bob braced himself against the sides of the pod, fervently praying for a quick end.
The web creature's talons ripped open the pod. Bob saw he wouldn't stand a chance trapped inside, and so pushed himself out, unused to the Web's lack of gravity. His whole body stiffened with pain as he was exposed to the piercing winds and alien atmosphere. He hoped his Guardian code would keep him from degrading long enough to find shelter.
Bob bit back a cry as the creature attacked him from behind, nearly slashing through his thin armor. He spun around and tried to defend himself, though he had no idea how he would without a weapon or keytool.
He kicked at the monstrosity, but only succeeded in making it angrier. It slashed out at him, its bestial eyes ablaze with fury. Bob held his arms in front of his face, hoping his metal arm guards would provide some protection from the creature's attacks. It struck at him again, and managed to get a claw between his blocks, gashing below his eye. He cried out as the poison on the tip of the claw entered his system, sapping his strength. Bob gave the creature one last futile kick. Then his field of vision quickly faded to blackness as his battered body went off-line.
*****
The Web. Same, old boring Web. She watched as various pieces of debris floated among the dark eddies. Far away, the guttural growl of a pod of sluggish Web creatures momentarily attracted her attention. As they moved on, something remained behind, drifting.
Sentra leaned forward in her saddle, trying to get a better look. The thing was a of sprite size, and blue.
"Quicken!"
Her companion remained with his back to her. She fought the urge to smack herself on the forehead; she had relapsed in normal speech again, useless when one was out in the Web.
[Quicken!] There still was no response. With a despondent sigh, she leaned over and tapped him on his shoulder.
He turned to glare at her. [What is it, Sentra?] Quicken asked, allowing an annoyed tone to creep into his voice.
Sentra pointed off in the distance. [I think I spotted something. I wanna go check it out.]
Quicken shrugged. [If you want to go chase after some Web trash, be my guest.] His dismissed her with a wave of his gloved hand, and she started to pull away. [Don't get lost now! The Clan can't afford to lost you!] She simply shook her head and continued on. Basic girl, he thought to himself. If she wasn't the Clan's only healer, she would have already been harshly reprimanded.
She approached the object, having no clue as to what might be. As she got closer, she could see the thing had arms, legs... it was a sprite! Sentra urged her steed, Neflit, on, and was soon at the sprite's side. She gave him a quick look over. He was a young man, older than her, with blue skin paled by energy loss, and silver hair. He was already beginning to show the tell-tale signs of exposure; silvery scarring had started to carve itself out upon his skin. Various, recent scars marred his face and pitted his armor.
Her eyes fell to his icon, and saw the familiar gold and black. A Guardian? How in the Net did he manage to find his way here? She grasped a well-muscled arm and pulled his body in front of her, draping him across the saddle. Might as well see if I can patch him up. Sentra quickly made her way back to the Clan's base.
*****
The sounds of an argument woke him.
[What should we do with him?]
[I say we leave him; we don't need another straggler!] another voice said. The speaker sounded angry.
[Silent, Maxis! You know we can't just leave him back out there!] the first voice said.
[But what would we do with him, Quicken?] a women spoke. [We can take him in, treat him, perhaps, but then what?]
Quicken sighed. [I don't know.]
The guardian tried to speak, but his strength gave out and he blacked out once more.
*****
When Bob opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a tall figure standing over him. The first thought that came to him was Megabyte! He quickly tried to scramble away, but his weak body betrayed his commands, and he fell to the floor.
The figure reached towards him, and Bob realized she was speaking to him. In normal speech, no less. His vision cleared, and he saw a woman pulling gently on his arm, helping him back onto the bed. "Don't go tire yourself out, Guardian," she said, with the mild rebuke of a mother, or perhaps an older sister.
Bob finally looked up into her face. Not a particularly stunning sprite, she had pale purple skin and a thin, bony face. Her dark red hair hung in limp strands down her back, and blue almond-shaped eyes regarded him curiously. She was garbed in a peculiar sort of armor, rough and strangely colored. She looked to be somewhat younger than him, but the lines in her face and a perceptiveness in her eyes made her seem beyond her hours.
The young woman settled herself at the foot of the bed with a pleasant familiarity. "Well, Guardian, how are you feeling?"
He winced as he gingerly sat up. "I've been better."
"I'm not surprised, seeing how that creature almost killed you."
"Yeah, well, it sure feels like it." Bob reached up and cautiously touched the spot on his right side where he was sure the Web creature had gashed him.
The woman quickly leaned forward and grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch that!" He looked at bit taken back, and she smiled to reassure him. "That was a deep laceration, Guardian," she explained, releasing his wrist. "It's still very sensitive."
He eyed his wrist, surprised it wasn't bruised. She had an uncommonly strong grip. "The name's Bob."
To his astonishment, the woman blushed. "I'm sorry... Bob." She said his name as if it felt strange on her tongue. "Guardians are held in high esteem where I come from." She paused. "I'm Sentra."
Bob flashed her a small smile. "Well, then, where are you from, Sentra?," he asked.
"Oh, um, system Novell. It's a relatively small system; you've probably never heard of it. What about you?"
"Mainframe. Kinda small too. No Net ports."
"No ports?" She looked at him inquisitively. "Then how did you get here?" Sentra smiled shyly. "I assume it wasn't a volunteer mission."
A shadow of anguish passed over the Guardian's face. It was swift; yet she caught the look of pain in his eyes. He looked down to the bed, and for a nano he couldn't find his voice. "I'd prefer not to talk about it," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry for whatever has befallen you, Guar... Bob," Sentra said softly.
"It's nothing," Bob said, trying to ignore the throbs of agony in his core. He looked back up at her. Even sitting down, she still towered over him. "How did you get here?"
"Oh, well, I was on a transport to the Super Computer. both of the engines suddenly malfunctioned, and we became lost between systems. A portal to somehow opened up nearby, and we drawn into it. Web creatures converged on our ship, and to make a long story short, I was the only one alive when the Riders found it." She didn't seem to much grieved by the loss of her home.
The room shook slightly, and Bob gripped the sides of the bed uncertainly. "Don't worry," Sentra reassured him. "That's just the airlock."
Several sprites - or something that looked like sprites - ran past the room. Two of them carried another between them. One of them stopped in the doorway. [Sentra! Come quickly! Cobalt's been hurt!] He turned and quickly followed the others down the cramped hallway.
Sentra smiled at Bob as she stood up. "Sorry, duty calls!" She made her way to the door and turned around. "Try to get some sleep. I'll be back in awhile to check on you." The woman turned and left.
Bob fell back on the bed, and allowed the much needed to rest to come, wondering what nightmares would haunt him this night. The last thing he saw was a pair of sparkling violet eyes, and then he drifted off to sleep.
