Kale opened his eyes slowly and lay still for a moment taking in the calming atmosphere of the ship. He had slept well, the quiet hum and slight vibration of the ship acting as a lullaby and letting him sleep much more soundly than he had in a very long time. He looked back and forth realizing that Kershala was already up and about and that he was alone in the room. He sat up slowly and took a breath before standing and walking to the window. The light that seemed to envelope them as they travelled was hard to look at for very long but was unlike anything he had seen before, it seemed different than when they were travelling on the other ship. "Wow." Kale shook his head and turned to the doorway planning on heading to the lab. His stomach growled as he took a couple of steps and realized he hadn't eaten since the food they found in the other ship's storage. As he approached the door it opened automatically, and he stepped out into the hallway. There was a guard posted across the hallway at one of the other doors, he made notice of Kale who stopped and looked around.
"Do you know if Kershala went back to the medical lab?" Kale asked.
"Yes, I believe he is there now, repairing the AI," the guard answered. Kale couldn't help but notice that the guard's stance seemed defensive in nature, he approached him and greeted him with a smile.
"What's your name?" he asked. The guard seemed nervous at the question. "I know I'm different than you, but you don't have to be nervous." Kale watched as the man's posture and expression seemed to soften.
"Ashal, is my name." Ashal looked to the ground and then back to Kale looking him in the eye. "I am sorry, my commander has ordered me to not speak with you. Please leave me be. Kershala is in the lab."
"Oh… kay…" Kale wondered why they would be told not to speak with him but decided not to push the subject, he didn't want to get anyone in trouble. Ashal kept his gaze as he turned away from him to take the short trek to the lab. It wasn't long and Kale stepped into the medical lab to see Kershala bent over the AI core. He could tell he was hyper-focusing on what he was doing and didn't want to distract him. Lenari was at one of the other workstations looking at some read outs on one of the holographic monitors. He walked over to where Lenari was standing and was greeted with a smile.
"Good morning, you look well rested," he said keeping his voice low.
"Thank you, how long has he been working?" asked Kale mimicking his volume. Lenari looked from Kershala to Kale.
"Just over an hour. The AI has been quite scolding of his work though. I do not think they are getting along very well at present." Kale smiled and watched as Kershala sat one tool down and reached for another tool.
"Kershala, you have removed too much of the affected processor, it was not necessary to…"
"It was dead was it not?" Kershala interrupted Anubis.
"Yes, once the replenishment process begins it would have come back into functionality with the newly formed unit," explained Anubis. Kershala started poking away at the work area with the newer tool. Kale watched the holographic image and could see a large piece of the area detach and lodge itself to the tool in Kershala's hand.
"But now the processor will form an entirely new unit and it will work more cohesively with the newly formed system much faster. It is better in the long run." Kale could hear the frustration in Kershala's voice as he spoke.
"You are only making more work for yourself; these systems will function for a millennia before the effects of your actions will be felt."
"It is done." Kershala was stern and clearly done with the matter looking at the AI core as he spoke. "I would appreciate if you kept your corrections to yourself unless I am doing something that will cause more damage."
"Yes Kershala." Anubis spoke reluctantly and Kale could tell that it was falling in line. Kershala pulled the tool back and something barely visible dropped from it and onto the table. He looked up from what he was doing, looking back at Kale with a welcoming smile.
"Why are you over there?" he asked. Kale smiled and walked over to him.
"I didn't want to disturb you; I know this must be really delicate work." As Kale got in arms reach Kershala took his hand and pulled his arm to be around his neck.
"I will work better with you here." Kale sat his chin on Kershala's shoulder to look at what he was doing and kissed him on the cheek.
"Well I guess it's good that I don't really have anywhere to be. Even if I wanted to, I guess." Kale's words were laced with a light sarcasm at the interaction that he had with the guard.
"What do you mean?" Kershala stopped what he was working on and selected another tool and looked at Kale.
"It's not really a big deal I guess, just that the guards have been given orders not to talk to me."
"Rotabu," Kershala sighed and then went back into his work. Kale didn't understand the word thinking he had heard wrong.
"What's that word mean?"
"Kershala is talking about our primary warrior, Rotabu. He is a strong traditionalist and will likely be mistrustful of you," explained Lenari, "Do not take it personally…"
"He and I had words earlier, regarding our bonding," Kershala shook his head and started back into his work.
"Is everything okay?" Kale was starting to be concerned that they stepped out of one prison and into another.
"It will not be a problem."
"Rotabu is an old warrior, the same thing that causes him to be an issue also causes him to be nothing more than a mild complainant," explained Lenari. Kale looked at back at him confused. "Tradition. Kershala is a descendant of the last king of our people, he will be respected." Devotion for the sake of devotion made Kale uneasy, that kind of loyalty was frail at best and it didn't take much to shake it. He felt Kershala take his hand as he continued to work and squeeze it, catching his concern through their bond.
"I know," he said simply. Kale watched as Kershala focused on his work on the AI, who remained silent. "You must be hungry?" Kershala spoke as he worked not breaking his focus. "Lenari would you mind taking Kale to get something to eat?" Lenari looked up from his work.
"The information I'm sorting won't be ready for an hour or so anyway. It is about time for the next shift to be sitting down to get something to eat in the galley." Lenari smiled and stepped over to them.
"Are you sure? You won't get in trouble, will you?" asked Kale.
"No. I know that the guards are not able to talk to you, but they report to Rotabu, I report to Elara. She would encourage our interaction."
"Make sure whatever you give him to eat is compatible with his physiology," said Kershala still not looking up from his work.
"I will program the replication system myself. Come Kale, we will go find something to eat."
"Okay, sounds good." Lenari smiled as he headed for the door, and Kale kissed Kershala on the cheek before leaving him to follow. They stepped out into the corridor and Lenari led the way.
"The galley is just this way." They crossed the small ship passing a pair of security officers on their way to the galley. Lenari nodded to them but no one spoke, Kale assumed they may have been communicating with their implants but had nothing other than a hunch to follow on it. They came to a large double door that opened at their approach. Kale wasn't sure what to expect when they entered the room. He could see Elara sitting at the other side of the room at a single table with two other chairs at it. Lenari was leading them toward her. There were two other Daoran's Kale hadn't met yet in the room they sat together just beyond the entrance. As they approached Kale could see that Elara interacting with a device as she ate from a cup that sat on the table. She noticed them as they approached and looked up from her device, greeting them with a smile.
"Lenari, how is the sequencing coming on that vaccine?" she asked.
"Well, I am just letting the computer finish compiling the data before I continue, it will be ready in less than an hour," Lenari answered. "Kershala is repairing the AI core and asked me if I wouldn't mind getting Kale something to eat." Lenari gestured to Kale before turning and walking to a blank alcove on the wall.
"Mind if I take a seat?" asked Kale.
"Of course. I was just looking at some information I took from your scans." Kale smiled as he took a seat.
"Find anything else interesting."
"Plenty." Kale watched as Lenari stepped up to the alcove, a holographic interface appeared as he came within arms reach of it. "Lenari, have it use the scans we took to create something compatible with him."
"Would your food really be so different? Kershala seemed to be able to eat anything we came across on earth with no issue," said Kale.
"Well, not necessarily but the amino acid construction might be different enough that you wouldn't get any nutrition from it." Lenari tapped a few spots on the interface and a strange green light began to emanate from the alcove. A couple of plates materialized seemingly from nothing and Lenari brought them over to the table.
"How does that work?" asked Kale trying not to sound in awe.
"The technology is based on the same premise as our teleporters. Molecular deconstruction and reconstruction. Far more complicated than it is interesting," explained Lenari as he pushed one of the plates in front of him. "Try some." Kale looked at the food on the plate in front of him. He could tell from looking it was a plant-based material. The color was almost the same as cooked greens not very attractive. He made his decision to try it picking up a small piece of it with his fingers. He realized that no one else in the galley was eating with any type of utensils. It felt almost like cooked spinach as he touched it, without hesitation, he put it in his mouth. The taste and consistency were familiar without being like anything he had really eaten before; it was well seasoned with a little bit of spice to it. He chewed carefully before swallowing it deciding that he did like it.
"Good thing it tastes better than it looks," he laughed.
"I am glad you like it," said Lenari taking some from his own plate.
"So, is this a regular thing on the city ships you guys live on?" asked Kale. "Kershala said that the Daoran people have been pretty destitute since …" Kale paused realizing the topic may not be appropriate. "Sorry." Lenari seemed to drift off as he ate but Elara's body language did not alter.
"They city ships are for the most part well equipped to serve and maintain their population. When things are good, they are great. But we do often go through periods of time where the entire populace is at risk of starvation. Military units such as ours are given priority because we defend the people. If we are not healthy and strong then we cannot fight."
"Kershala's upbringing seems very different from this."
"It was likely because Yailar was a strong traditionalist he focused on keeping several of the traditions of the older tribes alive even though now it is usually not necessary," Elara explained.
"I don't know if that's the case for Kershala. At least recently I don't think they had a choice," Kale paused, "They've been on the run for years."
"It has been several cycles since the Ataria city ship was destroyed. I barely remember, I was so young. But that is when Yailar took his family and ran. He knew Baraketh would continue to hunt him and that he was putting the rest of us in danger," Lenari spoke quietly between bites of his food.
"Yailar was great leader," said one of the two at the other table, "He knew he had to leave his people to keep them safe. Now that his child has returned to us, I just hope he has the same sense of leadership." Kale wasn't sure if he was hearing disdain or doubt in the man's voice. The Daoran inflections were hard for to fully grasp since their emotions ran so hot. He also couldn't help but notice that the story the Daorans told of his father was different than what Kershala had told him.
"I can say with certainty that he wants nothing but the best for his people," said Kale turning to look at the speaker.
"We will see."
"Sashir, didn't your duty shift start thirty minutes ago?" asked Elara.
"Um, yes Elara. I wanted to eat something before I took my post," the man quickly became bashful seemingly loosing his confidence.
"Then eat and be done. Rotabu would not be impressed that you are late for your duty shift again." Kale felt a sudden awkwardness come over him. He felt as though there was something significantly more political going on here than he was able to deal with. He stayed quiet taking another bite of the food in front of him. "Apologies Kale, some of the younger generation only know what they have been told."
"That seems to cross societal barriers." Kale took another bite of the food in front of him staying quiet as Sashir and his companion left the room. "On earth entire generations have been corrupted by the beliefs of their parents or those that came before them."
"I've been looking at the records we have on humans since I took your scans. Your society is quite interesting. It appears every part of that little blue rock has a different language attached to it. It is amusing that you fight over things such as skin color, even with your medical technology you can see you all are the same on the inside."
"Daorans all speak the same language? It seems like some of you have a very different dialect than Kershala."
"That is because of where we come from on the planet. The language spoke is primarily the same with minor differences. From our collected information your western continent and eastern continent couldn't be more different regarding spoken word," Elara shook her head.
"How is it possible for a society to evolve and all speak the same language? You couldn't have always been as advanced as you are now. My planet has so many different languages because before it was so connected like it is today with the internet and easy travel options most of our continents couldn't even talk to each other," Kale explained.
"It is true we were not always so advanced, like any society we have had our technological revolutions that changed the entire face of it," said Lenari. "But the planet we come vast as it is, was largely uninhabitable until those revolutions took place. For thousands of generations our people lived vastly on one continent. We have a definitive cradle of our civilization that we spread from. As our technology became better, we spread to those continents that were previously uninhabitable." Kale took a breath and looked down at his food taking another bite. Lenari did the same.
"There are theories that our planet existed as one large continent and then shifted over the course of millions of years. Dividing the land mass and the population into what it eventually became. So, in a way our planet separated us, and we took it from there. Then we started to change and adapt as that fractured society."
"You adapted to your planets changes. We evolved and then adapted our planet," said Lenari.
"That is a crude but effective explanation of those events Lenari," said Elara smiling over the pad she held in her hand. It wasn't long before Elara excused herself from the table and Lenari and Kale sat making small talk for almost an hour. Kale was alone with Lenari. They had finished eating and Lenari took their plates back to the alcove he got it from Kale watched as it dematerialized in a flicker of light.
"Shall we return to the lab? My vaccine should be done any minute now," said Lenari. Kale stood up he had eaten his full and wanted to see how Kershala and Anubis were making out with the repairs.
"Lead the way." Kale and Lenari stepped out of the galley and headed back to the lab. As they entered Kale could see that Kershala was still working hard at the AI core's repairs. The lab was empty but there were guards posted outside. Kale could see that Kershala was straining and didn't bother to say anything not wanting to distract him. Lenari stayed quiet and walked over to his workstation where the vaccine had been synthesizing. He tapped a few inputs into the console and the quiet sound of gas venting could be heard as the vaccine vial was ejected from the casing. Kale watched as Lenari looked it over, a small smile cracking his features telling him it was a success. "Will you administer it or will Elara?" he asked walking to the station.
"Elara will check the synthesis records and likely administer it before we are back to the city ship." Kale nodded acknowledging the statement before turning his attention back to Kershala. He wanted to ask how the repairs were going but wasn't sure if it was a good time to disturb him.
"I am just applying the last of the repairs now. This equipment has made it significantly easier to complete these repairs." Kershala spoke without diverting his attention from the task at hand. Kale walked over to him and placed a hand on his back feeling the muscle moving under his hand.
"How you feelin' Anubis?" asked Kale.
"I am almost back to full functionality," Anubis answered seeming from an intercom in the room. "I have regained my ability to fully interface with the Arktora's ship. The two crewmen aboard are now conduction scans and attempting to download any data from its computers."
"Good, maybe they can find something that will give them an edge against the Shironians in the future." Kershala sat back and put the tool he was using on the table.
"I have finished my part now you must focus on rebuilding the rest of the damaged sectors."
"It will not be much longer before I regain my full functionality." Kale felt Kershala lean back into him and take his hand. Pulling his arm around him and kissing his hand.
"You feel okay?" asked Kale.
"Yes, but the repair process was quite straining. I am glad it is done."
"Me too." Kale leaned down and kissed him on the cheek just as the door opened. Elara walked in and walked straight to Lenari's workstation.
"How did the vaccine take?" she asked.
"It seems to have gone well. From what I can tell it is ready to be administered, although you should check the synthesis records," explained Lenari. Kale watched as she took the vial from the workstation and looked it over, Kale figured she was probably using her implant to scan it. "Good work, Lenari. You're the first Daoran to synthesize a vaccination for a human." Lenari smiled at her praising him, it was becoming more apparent with time that he was her ward. She turned her attention to Kale and Kershala. She approached them with the vial in hand taking a tool off the table and loading it with the vaccine. "Are you ready for me to administer the vaccine?" she asked. Kershala stood up and extended his hand to Elara.
"I would like to scan it myself before you administer it," he said.
"Of course." Elara passed Kershala the vial without hesitation and he held it up looking it over.
"The AI's medical database lists several vaccination components that would be normally present in a vaccine for a Daoran that would likely be very dangerous to Kale."
"All of which I was made aware of when I took the scans of his physiology, Kershala."
"I have to be sure. Please do not take this as doubt Elara." Kershala smiled and passed the vial back to her. "It seems you were both very thorough. I was wrong to question you." Elara nodded and met his smile.
"So how does this get administered? It's not going to be like the translator is it?" asked Kale, remembering the pain of his last Daoran injection.
"Goodness no, you will not even feel it." Elara stepped within arms length of him and placed one hand on his neck. "Be still a moment." The place she touched on his neck went cold briefly then returned to normal temperature as she put the injection tool to the vein in his neck. Kale realized that the cold was likely some type of disinfection taking place. She pressed the trigger on the tool and there was a quick quiet hissing. She was correct in that he didn't feel anything. "There, see?" She smiled as she lowered the tool to her side and walked away.
"Thank you." Kale put his hand to the spot on his neck, there was no sign that he had been vaccinated.
"Kershala why don't we get you reacquainted with your fully charged much healthier nanites?" Elara sauntered over to the nanite chamber grabbing the wrist tool and put her hand to the glass, she snapped the tool around her wrist and entered a sequence on the console. The nanites swarmed around the tool, they seemed to shifting color from a silver to violet color.
"I have not seen them do that for a very long time," said Kershala as he stepped over to Elara. "Shut off your retractor tool and I will call them back to me." Elara seemed to remotely shut the tool off and Kale watched as Kershala put his hand into the swarm. Kale could see that he was calling them by the look Kershala had on his face. Everyone watched in slight awe as they nanites began to crawl along Kershala's arm forming the armor behind them. His fingers than hand forearm and bicep and before long Kershala was fully armored except for his bare face. The armor looked different, it was brighter and denser than it had been. Violet markings appeared to mimic the designs of Kershala's body markings. Kale couldn't help but thing of how well fitted the armor was to Kershala's body every curve and muscle was accentuated. Kershala glanced back at him and smirked seemingly catching his thoughts before the helmet closed over his face. Kershala seemed to be examining the suit. "They have never been so vibrant before." He spoke from behind the mask.
"They're incredible."
Kershala could feel his implant and the AI connecting to the nanites as they covered his body and fused together to form his body armor. He could almost hear Kale's heart flutter at the sight of his form underneath it. The full charge made the nanites much more efficient gripping his body tighter and forming a denser protective grid then before. They seemed to have upgraded themselves while they had been exposed to the energy from the ships power core.
"I am detecting an increase in density by thirty percent," said Anubis. "Exposure to the power core seems to have strengthened their bonds to each other. As well as they seem to be processing information much faster than before."
"I can feel them communicating with the implant, they are much more focused."
"Have they ever been recharged with one of the chambers before?" asked Elara using a device to take several scans of the suit.
"Not in recent memory," said Kershala, "Since we took to running, we have not had access to one."
"I know they are meant to perform upgrades, there may have been some information in the database that wasn't available at the time of their construction." Elara looked over the scanning device before setting it down at one of the nearby workstations. "They have definitely been enhanced."
"The Shironians won't know what hit them," said Kale walking up to Kershala and resting a hand on his shoulder. "The suit feels different then before." The helmet peeled back and collected into the implant. "It feels like your skin." Elara cracked a smile and walked back to her workstation. Kershala knew she was the only other person that would understand that the nanites detected his connection to Kale through the implant and his memories. They were relaying the tactile information to him as well. It was like Kale was touching his bare skin.
"That is the tactile interface responding to you," said Kershala making shy eye contact with Kale. Suddenly the lights flickered and the whole ship shook violently. Kershala reached out and grabbed Kale's hand instinctively keeping him from falling backwards. The ship dropped violently from FTL speeds.
"We are under attack, all crew to battle stations!" Rotabu's voice announced over the ship's intercom. The AI hovered over to the two of them and Kershala already knew what was happening as it relayed information to him from the ship's sensors. The Shironians had found them.
"We must go to the command center," it said. Kershala nodded as his helmet activated. Kershala looked at Kale knowing that he would be safer in the medical lab but knowing he wouldn't stay behind if he wanted him to.
"Let's go," said Kale turning to leave. They left the medical bay with the AI floating within arms reach of him. As they exited the lab two guards met them outside reporting to their combat stations, they stopped briefly to stare at him in his full armor before continuing. They made their way quickly to the bridge where another guard was posted outside, he nodded them in as they passed. Kershala was detecting fear in the crew he doubted many of the younger ones had been face to face with the Shironians before and that their reputation alone would be enough to shake the resolve of unvetted soldiers. They walked onto the bridge Atondra was at her post in the center of the room, Rotabu, Omall and Jelani were at their stations Atondra was mid orders.
"… damage report!" she called. "Activate our defenses."
"They knocked out the FTL drive, but it doesn't look heavily damaged, more like it's being disrupted by something," explained Omall. Kershala knew that Shironian ships often deployed dampening fields to keep ships from jumping back into FTL speeds. Most of their ships were slower than Daoran ships, but for what they lacked in speed they often compensated for in fire power. The ship shook again as they were hit with another volley.
"Have they made any moves toward the Arktora's vessel?" Kershala spoke to the AI over their private channel.
"No, I do not believe they can detect it currently."
"Bring us about Jelani, Rotabu hit them with everything we've got target their weapon systems. Omall see if you can find the source of that dampening field." In the main viewer port, they could see the ship coming about and the attacking ship was now in front of them. A Shironian dreadnaught, not unlike the vessel that had destroyed Kershala's parents ship. "Evasive pattern shahar!" The ship opened fire again on them before Rotabu fired back a full spread of cirex class torpedoes and let the Sironia's energy weapons fly. All seemed to land their targets."
"Direct hit Atondra. Our barriers are active and holding." The ship fired at them again this time landing several hits. "The barriers are weakened by sixty percent! We cannot take another hit like that."
"Knock those weapons out fire at your own discretion!" Kershala wasn't sure that Atondra's method was going to work. He could see their weapons fire several more times landing different targets on the attacking ship.
"Anubis can you get any information on this vessel that is helpful?" he asked.
"It is the same class of vessel that destroyed the family ship. It does not use kinetic energy barriers instead is covered in a thick ablative armor."
"Can our weapons effectively penetrate that armor?" Atondra looked back at them from her position. The AI stayed quiet seemingly calculating.
"Not effectively."
"Jelani, focus on maneuvers get us far enough away that you have time to react to their attacks."
"Yes Atondra." The pilot tapped frantically at the controls in front of her.
"We can use the teleporter to send a boarding part that we may shut off the dampening field affecting the engines," said Rotabu. "They have no energy barriers therefore we should be able to teleport through their armor."
"That would be effective," the AI concluded.
"Rotabu, Omall, take Sashir and Lenari and form a boarding party," ordered Atondra. Kershala stepped forward as the other two men locked down their station getting ready to leave.
"No, there is too much risk involved," said Kershala. Rotabu and Omall both stopped in their tracks and Atondra turned her attention to him. He could tell that she was not accustomed to having her orders questioned. "My apologies Atondra, but I have fought these people as you and Rotabu have, but your crew has not. Let me do it."
"Kershala are you crazy," said Kale who had been silently taking in what was happening.
"Kershala you must not risk yourself if it is not necessary," said the AI. Kershala looked at the AI then back to Atondra who was pondering the scenario.
"If this ship is destroyed because they fail, then we will be destroyed with it, then we both fail our mission…" Kershala's helmet opened as he looked at Kale. "I will not fail." He could feel Kale's fear pulsing in his mind like another heartbeat. He kissed Kale quickly and looked at Atondra who nodded before touching the console in front of her.
"Sashir, meet Kershala at the teleporter we are sending him to the Shironian vessel." Kershala gave once last reassuring glance at Kale before running out of the room and heading to the teleporter station. Sashir ran ahead of him having been the guard watching the bridge. The two of them ran into the room Kershala right to the pad Sashir to the operator's station. "Anubis, determine a location for boarding and relay it to the teleporters station."
"I've got the coordinates, Rotabu you must drop the barriers for me to activate," said Sashir.
"It is done, quickly now!" Kershala could feel the teleporter activating as Sashir did what he needed to do.
He was sent quickly to the other ship and as he touched down, he immediately ducked behind a wall activating the implant performing wide area scans to make sure nothing was around him. He figured a ship this size probably housed several thousand Shironians. He had never been on a Shironian ship before, it was what had been told to avoid his whole life. The deep red lighting made it harder to see around him causing him to use the implant mostly to navigate and the pungent smell seemed to permeate his senses. He didn't detect any immediate movement nearby, but he could tell there were almost one hundred Shironians within fifty square feet of him. The population was denser than he had thought it would be. The AI had downloaded the frequency of the dampening field to him and once he knew he wasn't in immediate danger he began scanning for it. As far as he could tell he was likely somewhere in the secondary hull of the ship, from old information gathered from Daoran recognisance missions he was likely close to what would be their engine room and major operations center. The implants scan determined the dampening field was two hundred feet ahead and below him. He began moving toward his destination. The corridors of the ship were wide and tall likely to accommodate the large population and vast size variance of the Shironians themselves. He moved quickly staying low and silent. He knew it wouldn't be long before he would run into his first patrol or security team as they likely had already detected as he entered. The nanites would automatically deploy a scattering field making it difficult for them to home in on him. He turned a corner and there was a group of five of them patrolling. Two of them were much larger than the other three all of them were in the body armor he recognized so well. As Kershala analyzed the situation he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid detection, at best he would be able to dispatch one of them before triggering the others. He wasn't worried, having handled several of these soldiers before with little issue. He ran out into the open and bounded at one of the two larger creatures, it turned to face him mid air and he landed using the momentum of his jump to thrust his arm into the creature's chest. It roared and grabbed at him but ultimately fell victim to his attack. The others sprang into action as quickly as he expected the smaller ones activating their weapons. While the bigger one attempted to bring a large blade down on him. Kershala jumped out of the way taking two energy weapon discharges to the back. The nanites protected him and didn't seem to take much damage from them. He looked back to see them readying for another volley and to also see that the blade had cut the body of the first in half. He hadn't fought the bigger ones as much as he had fought the little ones, but he knew they were slow as long as they didn't get a hold of him, he'd likely be okay dealing with them. He ran up the wall all the while sparks flying at his feet as the energy weapons collided with the duratanium plating on the walls. He propelled himself off the wall and landed behind them he grabbed one of the smaller ones by the arm and pulled it into his other fist in one quick motion severing its spinal cord. He threw his victim into its larger companion as a distraction before jumping onto its back and gripping its head under the chin. Using his legs, he pulled as hard as he could until the creatures head snapped back and fell to the ground.
"Daoran rat!" The one farthest from him yelled. The lighting in the ship changed from red to flashing yellow telling Kershala that they had sounded the intruder alarm. He quickly dispatched the next guard all the while being under constant fire from their energy weapons. The one that had spoke he closed on fast and with his hand around its neck slammed it into the wall.
"Where is the dampening field generator, Demon!" yelled Kershala. The Shironian grasped at his hand as he held it in place.
"I would never tell you anything," it hissed. Kershala reached up with his other hand and ripped the protective helmet from its head, there was a clanging sound as it hit the ground. Kershala had never been so close to a Shironian out of its armor before. It was green skinned with small eyes and a crooked nasal plate. Bone spikes protruded from around its brow and seemed to run the length of its neck as well. The very look of it disgusted him.
"Tell me!" Kershala pulled it toward him and slammed it against the wall hard enough that its backplate was cracking.
"You will kill me anyway!" it roared back at him.
"The less you cooperate the more painful your death will be." Kershala tightened his grip around its neck it struggled against his grip and started to gasp.
"I will tell you nothing!" With that the Shironian spit in his face, an acidic liquid that would likely burn if it came in contact with biomatter. Kershala's patience had run out he slammed the creature against the wall several times almost losing control of himself until the creature went limp and the back of its head was split open. Kershala felt a rage building inside of him as though more of where he was sinking in. Letting the creatures body fall to the floor, he started back toward his destination dropping down an access hatch for the maintenance tunnels that lead through the ship. As he moved through the tunnels, he took scans looking for vital systems. He knew that any damage he could do while he was here would only help the Sironia avoid them longer.
His feet hit the ground as he landed on the next level down. There was a low growl behind him, and he turned in time to see a large scaled beast jump at him pinning him to the ground. It bit ferociously for his face pawing and scratching at him with razor sharp claws and teeth that caused sparks as they connected with his suit. The saliva that oozed from its mouth was accompanied by a putrid odor and seemed to be a good deal more toxic than the guards had been. Kershala struggled to get a hold of the situation but calmed himself and grabbed the creature by its two large fangs and pulled apart with all his strength the creature cried out in pain as its bottom jaw split open. As the creature tried to pull away from him Kershala ended it with a thrust of his pointed hand through its nasal cavity. The creature's green blood and saliva oozed onto him as it collapsed onto him. The nanites in the suit triggered the self-cleaning system to get rid of the waste and within seconds it was gone from his body.
"Kershala, have you found the cause of the dampening field yet?" asked the AI coming in silently over his private channel.
"I have not made it to it yet, but I know where the source is. It looks like it is in the main engine chamber."
"Captain Atondra wants you to get as many scans of their interior as you can." Kershala started moving again.
"I have been getting scans since I landed. Have you been able to bypass their cyber warfare suite?"
"Not yet. My processors aren't at capacity yet. The process is proving frustratingly more challenging than it should."
"Keep trying, if you can get in after you disable their weapon systems access their environmental controls and drop the temperature to below freezing."
"Noted Kershala." Kershala turned a corner dropped down another hatch this time he fell out into a main corridor, it was full of people. All of them Shironian none of them in any type of armor or uniforms. They noticed him right away and seemed to be cowering away from him. Kershala stood still and looked around him in more detail. He was in a civilian area. Children and other non-combatants surrounded him.
"Please leave us alone!" called a female's voice. A small Shironian child came running out of the crowd and began hitting him at waist level. Kershala only looked at the child taking no action.
"Leave us alone, you Daoran rodent!" yelled the child. Kershala grabbed the child's arm stopping his actions. As he did, presumably the mother appeared from the crowd to retrieve her child. The child struggled under his grip.
"Please, let him go, your quarrel is not with us. We are not armed, and we cannot fight back," she spoke quietly and with previously unheard reason in her voice. The women took her child's other arm. The nanites in the helmet retracted and Kershala looked the women in the eye.
"I have seen memories of Daoran children who were tortured at the hands of your people." There were tears in Kershala's eyes as he recalled the memories from the implant found in the Arktora's collection, but also the conflict within him as he was faced with the option to do to so many Shironian soldiers, what had been done to him. The women looked him in the eyes he could see the fear rising in her as her child continued to struggle under her hand. "Your leaders and warriors killed my family including four children younger than this one."