Part 26: The Last Option
"Ughn... what happened..." Clover grumbled groggily as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She was encased in a steel bubble of some kind... it took her a few moments to clear her mind, but when she did she sat straight up. Scanning the bubble she didn't see Sam with them, but Madison was sitting right behind her, staring out the small porthole in the side of the space suit and navigating with the remote in her hand.
"You... you left Sam behind..." Clover growled darkly. Madison didn't look back at her, staring out the window instead.
"We have more important things to think about. Like what we do now. We don't have any food, but thankfully this thing has a huge oxygen tank. We need to find someplace to dock... maybe another Zardexian sh-" She was interrupted when Clover tackled her from behind, slamming her face first into the side of the suit with a thunderous bang. "Clover!"
"You left Sam to die!" Clover growled, gripping her throat tightly from behind. "How could you do that!?"
"Clover! Get off of me!" Madison croaked angrily.
"Shut up! You should've been the one out there you heartless monster!" Clover squeezed her throat tighter, shoving her cheek roughly into the side of the space suit. "You deserve to die right now!"
"This is your last warning..." Madison croaked as Clover's hands squeezed her windpipe dangerously.
"Or what?" Clover smirked confidently. "It looks to me like I have the upper hand."
"Appearances are deceiving..." Madison, grabbed both of Clover's wrists and jammed her thumbs forcefully into the nerves underneath them. Clover yelped as her hands fell numb, allowing Madison to whirl and grab her, slamming her into the side of the suit and planting her foot on Clover's chest to hold her there, knelt down in front of her on the other knee.
"Grk..." Clover grunted and tried to grab Madison's ankle, but her wrists were still too numb.
"Listen to me, Clover." Madison's voice was calm, but her gaze was sharp. "If we turn on each other now, it's over for us. Sam is gone, nothing we do now or could've done can change that. Now get a grip on yourself, we have to find a way to get transportation to the planet Alex took those other settlers to. That's all we can do now, because this suit can't get us there before we run out of oxygen. Now are you going to be civil, or do I have to cut our oxygen usage in half by killing you?"
Clover glared up at her darkly, but closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay... I'll calm down." Madison slowly moved away from her so Clover could sit up more calmly than before. Madison stayed on guard for any further aggression, but Clover kept her eyes closed and her chin to her chest. When she was convinced the blonde was no longer a threat, Madison picked up the remote and turned back to the suit's window.
"I figure if we can get to one of the Zardexian scouts, we may be able to fool them into thinking we're one of them and letting us on board. From there, we might be able to take over the ship." Madison said.
"We've never been able to kill them hand-to-hand before, why would we be able to now?" Clover asked.
"One concern at a time. It's board a Zardexian ship or float in space until we both die." Madison replied.
"Point taken." Clover conceded. Madison smirked and used the suit's jets to guide them toward one of the visible Zardexian ships nearby. Before they were halfway there Madison turned off the suit's jets, letting them drift toward the ship on their momentum alone. "What are you doing?" Clover asked curiously. "Why not just jet there?"
"If we leave our jets on, they'll think we're conscious. If we drift in, they may think we're unconscious and not expect a radio reply." Madison informed her.
"Wow... you thought a lot about this. How did you..." Clover was interrupted.
"I've been involved in espionage since I was twelve, I think I've learned a few things." Madison explained drolly. Clover fell silent and nodded, curling up into a small ball. They both looked up when they heard a low, grumbling voice float into the suit through a small intercom near the window. Madison gestured for silence, and received an affirmative nod from Clover.
The voice came back with the same series of unintelligible grunts for a few moments. Madison watched out the window carefully to see what the ship was doing... and to her relief a small hatch in the side began to open, just big enough to let their suit through. Two other suits filed out of the vessel to fly toward them.
"They're coming to get us..." Clover whispered. "They're going to slaughter us when they find out what's in this suit."
"I'm open to any suggestions you have." Madison whispered back. They both felt a jerk as the Zardians grabbed hold of the suit and began pulling it back toward the space vessel.
"Hmm... wait for my signal, and then follow my lead." Clover whispered back. Madison nodded, and they both settled down to watch out the window as the ship loomed closer and closer. They moved through the small hangar door, which they heard close behind them. They could see movement outside of the suit, tentacles moving toward their last thread of shelter. The suit began to open...
"Now!" Clover lurched forward onto her hands, then catapulted out of the suit. Startled cries erupted form the Zardexians and Madison alike, but Clover ignored them all and dashed for the door. She heard Madison's bootsteps right behind her, but the Zardexians moved after them with furious cries when they recovered from their surprise.
Clover skidded into the hallway and slammed into the wall with a painful thud. She would've collapsed if Madison didn't dart past her and grab her wrist, dragging her along behind her down the hall away from their pursuers. They charged around a corner and turned another one quickly, before their pursuit could round the bend and get a bead on them.
They leaned against the wall, panting heavily and trying to remain silent as they slid away from the still hunting aliens. The Zardexians rolled down the hall quickly, not even glancing in their direction before disappearing.
Madison let out a soft sigh of relief. "Brilliant strategy." She quipped ironically.
"Sometimes it's the stupidest, most obvious stuff that's the most unexpected and effective." Clover replied with a wink. "Now come on, we've got to find a way to-"
She was cut off by a deep, but English speaking voice. "Got to hurry along to try to destroy this ship too?" Clover and Madison both jumped and whirled on a handsome looking man wearing a formal suit and a smirk on his face. "I was hoping we could speak in the loading bay, but this is as good a place as any I suppose."
"You knew we were in the suit?" Madison asked.
"Of course. Our sensors can detect you humans a million miles away." The man told them. "And far be it from us to let the people who ruined my beloved get off on a fate as pleasant as starvation or suffocation." His formerly somewhat pleasant demeanor changed as he marched forward, a vengeful glare contorting his features. Madison and Clover dropped into defensive crouches, though they knew it was probably hopeless.
"So what, you have two more humans." Clover smirked. "Big freaking deal. We're never going to roll over and die... humanity will live on!"
"On Argath?" The man asked casually. It took Clover a moment to figure out what he meant... the Argathin homeworld. The man grinned when he saw her surprised expression. "Yes, we were quite surprised to learn that those double-crossing lizards have decided to throw you humans a lifeline. We thought we put them in their place long ago but... some lessons have to be taught again, and again, and again it seems."
"I... don't know what you're talking about." Clover bluffed. How could he possibly know about the Argathin rescue?
"Don't play dumb, wretched human." The man scowled. "Your little friend already squealed all of your secrets. She told us exactly how many of you there are, where you are, and what you've been doing." He chuckled. "She was surprisingly easy to break actually. It almost seems like she's been conditioned by us before."
Clover stared at him, then growled darkly. She knew what that meant... The Rev had been a Zardexian, and he'd controlled the ACC. The ACC's methods must have been based on Zardexian control methods... she remembered being caught by them, and she would rather die than go through that again. "I will kill you if you hurt her..." She growled.
"Is that so?" The transformed Zardexian walked up to her, until they were face-to-face. "What are you going to do, human? Attack me? You know that's futile." He laughed. Clover growled again, but knew he was right. Attacking him would simply be throwing her life away... but she really would rather die than return to the Hell that had been the ACC.
Suddenly a massive impact rocked the ship, sending all three of them flying up against the wall. The Zardexian hit the hardest, weighing the most. "Do it, now!" Madison shouted over the sudden roar of sirens over flashing red lights. Both women lurched forward with all their strength as the lights flashed, raining down blow after blow as hard as they could.
For a brief moment they had the upper hand. But suddenly the Zardexian gripped Clover by the throat and shoved her back into Madison, sending them both hurtling through the air to the cold, steel floor. They skidded and rolled to a stop, watching the Zardexian climb to its feet again. It fixed its suit, then walked toward them again.
Suddenly a gutteral sound like that of the Zardexian language came from the hall behind the Zardexian, but the voice resembled that of a human rather than a Zardexian. The man stopped and blinked in surprise, then whirled around.
"Zeninia!?" He exclaimed in delight. "Zeninia, you survived!" Clover looked past him, and gasped in surprise when she saw Mandy marching down the hall toward them. There was a massive, thick field of violet energy flowing in the air around her, and her eyes were little more than purple pools of glowing light. Her expression was nothing short of vengeful.
"That's more than I can say for you... you despicable, murderous monster." Mandy's voice was darker than before... and somehow it almost sounded like it had a faint echo.
"Monster?" The Zardexian backed away from her instinctively as she approached. "Zeninia... I am your lover. You must remember... don't you?" He asked.
"I remember." Mandy grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against the wall before driving her other fist straight through his chest. It embedded itself into the steel behind him. His eyes went wide in shock. "I remember I was a monster too..." Mandy muttered. "Rest in Hell... my love. I'll join you soon." Mandy yanked her arm out of his chest as his shape began to change.
A massive, round Zardexian body soon lay on the floor. Mandy turned to walk toward Clover and Madison. For a moment they backed away. "Come on, we have to get out of here."
"Mandy..." Clover climbed to her feet slowly, staring at her. "What happened to you?"
"Time for that later. This ship is going to detonate any second. Sam is on board, and pumped full of Faustium." Mandy told them. Clover gasped, but Madison didn't seem too surprised. "Come on, hurry." Mandy turned to jog down the hall, followed by the two fully human women. She led them to a corner, around which the air was being sucked through a hole in the side of the ship.
"What now?" Madison asked.
"I can fly us out." Mandy replied. "Just get ready..."
"Wait!" Clover exclaimed. "That Zardexian mentioned Alex. What if she's on board? We have to find her!"
"No time!" Mandy thrust an arm at them, wrapping them in violet energy.
"No! Wait!" Clover tried to break free, but she was pulled forward and outside of the ship inside of the whirling energy. "Go back! Go back damnit!" Clover screamed. "I said go b-" Suddenly the vessel detonated in a violet flash of light, sending the newly formed ball of purple energy hurtling through the stars away from it. It finally steadied itself, and the three women inside stared blankly at the debris of the ship.
"Sam..." Clover muttered. "Alex..."
"Tarren was the head of the Zardexian military. Maybe now that he's dead... the wars will be over." Mandy commented.
"Not a chance." Madison replied. "We've slowed them down for maybe a few minutes while the second-in-command takes charge of the fleet. Like any good war-hungry culture, they're going to have more than one commander in case one of them falls in battle." Madison nodded to the other ships around them, which were already resuming their course after surveying the wreckage. "They're still heading for Argath."
"Then the Argathins are still screwed." Mandy replied. "And so are the humans on Argath."
"It looks that way..." Madison replied.
"Can't we do anything...?" Clover asked softly. "We've come all this way... fought all this time..."
"All we can do now is deliver a warning..." Mandy told her. "Not that it would do anyone much good."
"But it's better than nothing, right?" Clover insisted. "I mean, at least they could TRY to fight instead of getting caught by surprise and rolling over."
"Perhaps we could find a way." Mandy said. "It will take them a few weeks yet to reach Argath from here... Mandy can get there in a fraction of the time." Mandy gestured to the violet cloud that surrounded them. "At the very least, we'd have time to convince the Argathins that it's really time to fight again."
"Then let's do it!" Clover exclaimed.
"Not like there's anything else to do." Madison agreed darkly. Mandy nodded and the violet energy cloud turned away from the Earth. Clover looked back to watch it, then let her gaze move to the cloud of debris before it was left far behind them. Sam was gone... lost to the stars. But what about Alex? Had she been on board too? Had Clover truly lost everyone she cared about at the same time...?
TO BE CONTINUED
"Ughn... what happened..." Clover grumbled groggily as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She was encased in a steel bubble of some kind... it took her a few moments to clear her mind, but when she did she sat straight up. Scanning the bubble she didn't see Sam with them, but Madison was sitting right behind her, staring out the small porthole in the side of the space suit and navigating with the remote in her hand.
"You... you left Sam behind..." Clover growled darkly. Madison didn't look back at her, staring out the window instead.
"We have more important things to think about. Like what we do now. We don't have any food, but thankfully this thing has a huge oxygen tank. We need to find someplace to dock... maybe another Zardexian sh-" She was interrupted when Clover tackled her from behind, slamming her face first into the side of the suit with a thunderous bang. "Clover!"
"You left Sam to die!" Clover growled, gripping her throat tightly from behind. "How could you do that!?"
"Clover! Get off of me!" Madison croaked angrily.
"Shut up! You should've been the one out there you heartless monster!" Clover squeezed her throat tighter, shoving her cheek roughly into the side of the space suit. "You deserve to die right now!"
"This is your last warning..." Madison croaked as Clover's hands squeezed her windpipe dangerously.
"Or what?" Clover smirked confidently. "It looks to me like I have the upper hand."
"Appearances are deceiving..." Madison, grabbed both of Clover's wrists and jammed her thumbs forcefully into the nerves underneath them. Clover yelped as her hands fell numb, allowing Madison to whirl and grab her, slamming her into the side of the suit and planting her foot on Clover's chest to hold her there, knelt down in front of her on the other knee.
"Grk..." Clover grunted and tried to grab Madison's ankle, but her wrists were still too numb.
"Listen to me, Clover." Madison's voice was calm, but her gaze was sharp. "If we turn on each other now, it's over for us. Sam is gone, nothing we do now or could've done can change that. Now get a grip on yourself, we have to find a way to get transportation to the planet Alex took those other settlers to. That's all we can do now, because this suit can't get us there before we run out of oxygen. Now are you going to be civil, or do I have to cut our oxygen usage in half by killing you?"
Clover glared up at her darkly, but closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay... I'll calm down." Madison slowly moved away from her so Clover could sit up more calmly than before. Madison stayed on guard for any further aggression, but Clover kept her eyes closed and her chin to her chest. When she was convinced the blonde was no longer a threat, Madison picked up the remote and turned back to the suit's window.
"I figure if we can get to one of the Zardexian scouts, we may be able to fool them into thinking we're one of them and letting us on board. From there, we might be able to take over the ship." Madison said.
"We've never been able to kill them hand-to-hand before, why would we be able to now?" Clover asked.
"One concern at a time. It's board a Zardexian ship or float in space until we both die." Madison replied.
"Point taken." Clover conceded. Madison smirked and used the suit's jets to guide them toward one of the visible Zardexian ships nearby. Before they were halfway there Madison turned off the suit's jets, letting them drift toward the ship on their momentum alone. "What are you doing?" Clover asked curiously. "Why not just jet there?"
"If we leave our jets on, they'll think we're conscious. If we drift in, they may think we're unconscious and not expect a radio reply." Madison informed her.
"Wow... you thought a lot about this. How did you..." Clover was interrupted.
"I've been involved in espionage since I was twelve, I think I've learned a few things." Madison explained drolly. Clover fell silent and nodded, curling up into a small ball. They both looked up when they heard a low, grumbling voice float into the suit through a small intercom near the window. Madison gestured for silence, and received an affirmative nod from Clover.
The voice came back with the same series of unintelligible grunts for a few moments. Madison watched out the window carefully to see what the ship was doing... and to her relief a small hatch in the side began to open, just big enough to let their suit through. Two other suits filed out of the vessel to fly toward them.
"They're coming to get us..." Clover whispered. "They're going to slaughter us when they find out what's in this suit."
"I'm open to any suggestions you have." Madison whispered back. They both felt a jerk as the Zardians grabbed hold of the suit and began pulling it back toward the space vessel.
"Hmm... wait for my signal, and then follow my lead." Clover whispered back. Madison nodded, and they both settled down to watch out the window as the ship loomed closer and closer. They moved through the small hangar door, which they heard close behind them. They could see movement outside of the suit, tentacles moving toward their last thread of shelter. The suit began to open...
"Now!" Clover lurched forward onto her hands, then catapulted out of the suit. Startled cries erupted form the Zardexians and Madison alike, but Clover ignored them all and dashed for the door. She heard Madison's bootsteps right behind her, but the Zardexians moved after them with furious cries when they recovered from their surprise.
Clover skidded into the hallway and slammed into the wall with a painful thud. She would've collapsed if Madison didn't dart past her and grab her wrist, dragging her along behind her down the hall away from their pursuers. They charged around a corner and turned another one quickly, before their pursuit could round the bend and get a bead on them.
They leaned against the wall, panting heavily and trying to remain silent as they slid away from the still hunting aliens. The Zardexians rolled down the hall quickly, not even glancing in their direction before disappearing.
Madison let out a soft sigh of relief. "Brilliant strategy." She quipped ironically.
"Sometimes it's the stupidest, most obvious stuff that's the most unexpected and effective." Clover replied with a wink. "Now come on, we've got to find a way to-"
She was cut off by a deep, but English speaking voice. "Got to hurry along to try to destroy this ship too?" Clover and Madison both jumped and whirled on a handsome looking man wearing a formal suit and a smirk on his face. "I was hoping we could speak in the loading bay, but this is as good a place as any I suppose."
"You knew we were in the suit?" Madison asked.
"Of course. Our sensors can detect you humans a million miles away." The man told them. "And far be it from us to let the people who ruined my beloved get off on a fate as pleasant as starvation or suffocation." His formerly somewhat pleasant demeanor changed as he marched forward, a vengeful glare contorting his features. Madison and Clover dropped into defensive crouches, though they knew it was probably hopeless.
"So what, you have two more humans." Clover smirked. "Big freaking deal. We're never going to roll over and die... humanity will live on!"
"On Argath?" The man asked casually. It took Clover a moment to figure out what he meant... the Argathin homeworld. The man grinned when he saw her surprised expression. "Yes, we were quite surprised to learn that those double-crossing lizards have decided to throw you humans a lifeline. We thought we put them in their place long ago but... some lessons have to be taught again, and again, and again it seems."
"I... don't know what you're talking about." Clover bluffed. How could he possibly know about the Argathin rescue?
"Don't play dumb, wretched human." The man scowled. "Your little friend already squealed all of your secrets. She told us exactly how many of you there are, where you are, and what you've been doing." He chuckled. "She was surprisingly easy to break actually. It almost seems like she's been conditioned by us before."
Clover stared at him, then growled darkly. She knew what that meant... The Rev had been a Zardexian, and he'd controlled the ACC. The ACC's methods must have been based on Zardexian control methods... she remembered being caught by them, and she would rather die than go through that again. "I will kill you if you hurt her..." She growled.
"Is that so?" The transformed Zardexian walked up to her, until they were face-to-face. "What are you going to do, human? Attack me? You know that's futile." He laughed. Clover growled again, but knew he was right. Attacking him would simply be throwing her life away... but she really would rather die than return to the Hell that had been the ACC.
Suddenly a massive impact rocked the ship, sending all three of them flying up against the wall. The Zardexian hit the hardest, weighing the most. "Do it, now!" Madison shouted over the sudden roar of sirens over flashing red lights. Both women lurched forward with all their strength as the lights flashed, raining down blow after blow as hard as they could.
For a brief moment they had the upper hand. But suddenly the Zardexian gripped Clover by the throat and shoved her back into Madison, sending them both hurtling through the air to the cold, steel floor. They skidded and rolled to a stop, watching the Zardexian climb to its feet again. It fixed its suit, then walked toward them again.
Suddenly a gutteral sound like that of the Zardexian language came from the hall behind the Zardexian, but the voice resembled that of a human rather than a Zardexian. The man stopped and blinked in surprise, then whirled around.
"Zeninia!?" He exclaimed in delight. "Zeninia, you survived!" Clover looked past him, and gasped in surprise when she saw Mandy marching down the hall toward them. There was a massive, thick field of violet energy flowing in the air around her, and her eyes were little more than purple pools of glowing light. Her expression was nothing short of vengeful.
"That's more than I can say for you... you despicable, murderous monster." Mandy's voice was darker than before... and somehow it almost sounded like it had a faint echo.
"Monster?" The Zardexian backed away from her instinctively as she approached. "Zeninia... I am your lover. You must remember... don't you?" He asked.
"I remember." Mandy grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against the wall before driving her other fist straight through his chest. It embedded itself into the steel behind him. His eyes went wide in shock. "I remember I was a monster too..." Mandy muttered. "Rest in Hell... my love. I'll join you soon." Mandy yanked her arm out of his chest as his shape began to change.
A massive, round Zardexian body soon lay on the floor. Mandy turned to walk toward Clover and Madison. For a moment they backed away. "Come on, we have to get out of here."
"Mandy..." Clover climbed to her feet slowly, staring at her. "What happened to you?"
"Time for that later. This ship is going to detonate any second. Sam is on board, and pumped full of Faustium." Mandy told them. Clover gasped, but Madison didn't seem too surprised. "Come on, hurry." Mandy turned to jog down the hall, followed by the two fully human women. She led them to a corner, around which the air was being sucked through a hole in the side of the ship.
"What now?" Madison asked.
"I can fly us out." Mandy replied. "Just get ready..."
"Wait!" Clover exclaimed. "That Zardexian mentioned Alex. What if she's on board? We have to find her!"
"No time!" Mandy thrust an arm at them, wrapping them in violet energy.
"No! Wait!" Clover tried to break free, but she was pulled forward and outside of the ship inside of the whirling energy. "Go back! Go back damnit!" Clover screamed. "I said go b-" Suddenly the vessel detonated in a violet flash of light, sending the newly formed ball of purple energy hurtling through the stars away from it. It finally steadied itself, and the three women inside stared blankly at the debris of the ship.
"Sam..." Clover muttered. "Alex..."
"Tarren was the head of the Zardexian military. Maybe now that he's dead... the wars will be over." Mandy commented.
"Not a chance." Madison replied. "We've slowed them down for maybe a few minutes while the second-in-command takes charge of the fleet. Like any good war-hungry culture, they're going to have more than one commander in case one of them falls in battle." Madison nodded to the other ships around them, which were already resuming their course after surveying the wreckage. "They're still heading for Argath."
"Then the Argathins are still screwed." Mandy replied. "And so are the humans on Argath."
"It looks that way..." Madison replied.
"Can't we do anything...?" Clover asked softly. "We've come all this way... fought all this time..."
"All we can do now is deliver a warning..." Mandy told her. "Not that it would do anyone much good."
"But it's better than nothing, right?" Clover insisted. "I mean, at least they could TRY to fight instead of getting caught by surprise and rolling over."
"Perhaps we could find a way." Mandy said. "It will take them a few weeks yet to reach Argath from here... Mandy can get there in a fraction of the time." Mandy gestured to the violet cloud that surrounded them. "At the very least, we'd have time to convince the Argathins that it's really time to fight again."
"Then let's do it!" Clover exclaimed.
"Not like there's anything else to do." Madison agreed darkly. Mandy nodded and the violet energy cloud turned away from the Earth. Clover looked back to watch it, then let her gaze move to the cloud of debris before it was left far behind them. Sam was gone... lost to the stars. But what about Alex? Had she been on board too? Had Clover truly lost everyone she cared about at the same time...?
TO BE CONTINUED