Nearly a decade later, in a secret facility on Florana...
There was a buzz on the door to Drako's quarters and he looked up from the security plans he was revising. Closing the file he checked nothing of value was in sight before calling,
"Come in." The door slid open and a slightly panting Kerwanian came in,
"Sir..." he gasped, "there's a fight." Drako got to his feet quickly, snatching his hand gun off the desk and shoving into his belt.
"Where?"
"Hydroponics Chamber," the creature replied. Drako brushed past him and began striding off in the direction of the chamber, the Kerwanian followed close behind.
"When did it start?" he asked as they walked briskly.
"A few minutes ago, I came to get you straight away," the young creature replied, having to take two steps for Drako's one.
"Are there no guards on duty?" the head of Security asked incredulously. The hydroponics chamber was massive, surely someone must have seen something...?
"Well..." the Kerwanian seemed reluctant to reply. Drako glanced at him as they turned the corner, not far now.
"Well what?" The man had no time to reply as the sounds of fighting reached their ears. Stabbing in the code Drako swept into the chamber. It was filled with all types of exotic plants, bright and colourful in appearance, but no-one was admiring them at the moment as all attention was focused on two creatures fighting on the tiled floor.
They were encircled by a mixture of guards and workers, distinguishable by their uniforms. Drako scanned the fighting creatures and quickly realised why none of the guards had alerted him.
Groaning inwardly he shoved through the ring and plunged into the fight. The excited cries of 'fight! fight!' from the gathered guards faded as their superior pulled apart the fighters. Hauling away the smaller of the two he attempted to restrain them. The other fighter got to their feet. He was a Snivelakian, and a guard by his uniform. He scowled angrily at the creature that struggled in Drako's arms. The Head of Security fought to control the thrashing form in his grasp,
"Be still, you little minx," he hissed and the creature gradually stilled. He released them but kept his body planted in between the opponents, lest things kick off again.
Drako observed the smaller creature for a moment, taking in the heaving chest, clenched fists and blazing blue eyes. Sighing to himself Drako turned to the guard,
"Explain." There was no need to ask, he could already accurately pinpoint what had happened; he only asked for protocol's sake.
"She attacked me," the guard spat, looking around his fellows for support and receiving nods of agreement.
"He provoked me," the young female retorted. Drako held up his hand for silence,
"Can anyone tell me what really happened?" he asked wearily, though he didn't need to. He knew how these situations played out. He looked around the gathered creatures nevertheless, searching for someone to explain properly. Another Kerwanian, a female, raised her hand slightly. He looked at her expectantly.
"He did provoke her but she was the first to attack," she informed him quietly.
"Thank you, Flora," Drako nodded his thanks. He turned his attention back to the fighters who were glaring fiercely at each other.
"I won't tell Baen, for both your sakes," he told them, "but no more fighting, and I mean it, or there will be severe punishments...for both of you," he added, looking pointedly at the guard. The reptile shifted and scowled but nodded curtly in acknowledgement. The smaller fighter also nodded and smirked,
"As long as he keeps his big mouth shut, I won't have a reason to kick his behind."
"That's enough, Skyla. Taktar, come with me, I'm moving your shift," Drako gestured to the guard who opened his mouth to protest but was cut across by his superior, "not a word. Right everyone, back to work." The creatures dispersed obediently and the Head of Security left the chamber, closely followed by the guard who shot daggers at his opponent until they were out of sight.
"Nice one Sky, you nearly had him there," a nearby Rilgarian muttered to the creature as he passed by. Skyla gave him a small smile,
"Thanks, Jaymz...maybe next time." The green skinned man chuckled at this but said nothing.
Retrieving the watering can she'd dropped when she'd first punched the guard, the Lombax continued the work she'd been doing. The hydroponics chamber contained almost every kind of plant you'd never find anywhere else. Her current job was to water those that needed constant watering, either because they were used to damp conditions or simply sucked up water like there was no tomorrow (which was ironic, in a way).
They had hydration systems in place, but sometimes they weren't enough and Baen liked to know his things were being looked after properly, by living, breathing beings. That's why there were always several guards lounging about the chamber, chatting and occasionally making a nuisance of themselves. They made sure the workers did what they were supposed to, but they weren't averse to a little distraction every now and again, as Skyla's fight with Taktar had proven.
Barely ten minutes had passed after the incident when there was a tap on Skyla's shoulder. She turned around to see the soft hazel eyes of a female Cazar, a few years her senior.
"You had another fight?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. Skyla bit her lip and shrugged apologetically, knowing it was pointless to deny it. The Cazar sighed,
"You can't keep doing this, Sky."
"He was asking for it!" the young Lombax protested but her friend simply shook her head.
"Is it really so hard to just walk away?" Skyla looked at the Cazar with a somewhat guilty expression but made no reply. They both knew the answer to that.
"I'm sorry, Maia," Skyla mumbled. The Cazar rolled her eyes,
"If only that were true," she muttered. Skyla's expression of guilt deepened, though it looked like the kind of look a child gave their mother when they knew they had done something wrong...but didn't regret it.
"You're right, I'm not sorry," she admitted. Maia shook her head in disbelief,
"What am I going to do with you, Sky?" she asked, thinking aloud, "can you not go through one week without getting into some sort of trouble?" The Lombax shifted,
"If they kept their big mouths shut I might..."
"No, Sky, this isn't about them," Maia interrupted, "yes, they are idiots and yes, they say stupid things. You need to learn to ignore them! What if, one day, things go horribly wrong and no-one's around to save you?" Skyla fiddled with her watering can and didn't answer. Everything she had to say would already have crossed Maia's mind, such was their friendship. Maia sighed again,
"I know you think you don't need saving...but can you understand what I'm saying? It doesn't bear thinking about what they could do to you if their minds ever turned to darker thoughts."
"I don't care what they do to me..." Skyla began to speak, but the Cazar cut across,
"Well I do!" Maia exclaimed, keeping her voice firm but soft so as not to attract unwanted attention. Skyla's eyes softened and she smiled gently,
"I know you do, Maia," her expression hardened, "but I mean it when I say they can do what they like to me, I will never break."
"Please, Sky..." Maia murmured, inwardly cursing the proud streak in the Lombax, "I don't like it when you get hurt. And I hate to break it to you but you're not indestructible. No-one is." Skyla mulled over her friends words, seeing the truth in them (though she was loath to admit it). She nodded,
"I can't promise anything...but I'll try, Maia. For you. I'll try and stay out of trouble," she told her friend seriously and honestly.
"That's all I'm asking...it's all I ever ask," the Cazar smiled sadly, knowing that her friend's pride would always get the better of her when truly stung. Then she noticed something,
"Sky, you're bleeding!" The Lombax looked down at her arm and realised she was right. Blood was slowly seeping from a wound running from her shoulder to just above the elbow.
"Oh, I didn't notice that," she lifted her arm to inspect the wound, "it's only a cut," she commented. Maia gave her a look,
"A cut? He's gashed your arm open! You need to see Professor Xavier."
"I'll go in a moment, it's not that bad..."
"No, Sky, you're going now," her friend's voice dropped to a tone that Skyla knew well. It was a 'I'm very angry at you so do as I say right now...or else', tone. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, the Lombax nodded,
"Alright, I'm going."
"I'll cover for you," the Cazar swiping the can from her friend's grasp before she could react, then she lightly pushed her friend in the back.
"Thanks, Maia," Skyla nodded gratefully, accepting defeat. Her friend's eyes sparkled softly and she nodded,
"Off you go." The young Lombax smiled to herself and left the chamber.
The facility was quite large and if you didn't know where you were going, you could easily get lost. But Skyla had been here ever since she'd been 'sold' and knew the place like the back of her hand. The hydroponics chamber, where she'd just come from, was by far the largest room in the complex, several hundred metres in width and even longer in length. It boasted the largest collection of exotic, rare plants in the galaxy, thought not many knew of it. Baen, or the Collector as he was called by the workers (or Boss by the guards), like to keep his treasures a secret.
And it wasn't just plants he kept; he had another room, a little smaller than the chamber, which was practically a museum of artefacts you wouldn't find anywhere else in the galaxy, or universe. On top of this, there was also a mini complex within the facility that was designated 'The Zoo' where a variety of singular, striking creatures could be found in lavish cages. Living out their lives behind bars, they were the last of their species, ranging from the dangerously rare Aquatos Sea Tiger to the now-extinct Hoven Striped Flamingo. And obviously, there was Skyla. Baen often referred to her as his 'crown jewel' of rarities. Not only was she the last of her kind, but she knew it. The other creatures knew nothing of their status in the galaxy, but Skyla was reminded on a regular basis that she was alone and her species doomed to destruction. She tried not to think about it.
Of course, Baen was incredibly wealthy to afford all of his 'items', and he was getting wealthier. Not only did he sell some of the products of the rare plants and creatures he kept (for a hefty price), but he ran his own genetics company. He had been lucky enough to discover that the Floranian Swamp Worms held a unique fluid in their heart sack. This fluid could be purified and sold as a most effective acid, capable of burning through anything of an inorganic nature. He'd immediately set up this facility in the heart of one of Florana's largest forests and brought in a team of scientists to supervise the production of the fluid. He got them to genetically modify the worms to produce more of the fluid and then cloned them. They then grew them into foetuses and once they'd reached a certain age, they were tagged and released in to the wild to be hunted down and harvested when they reached adult size. This all happened in the lab, where Skyla was heading at the moment. After the hydroponics chamber it was the largest room, which was no surprise considering it harboured so many baby swamp worms of all shapes and sizes.
A guard stood by the main entrance, lazily polishing his sword. The Lombax stopped in front of him, hand clutching her arm to slow the bleeding. The creature looked up lazily,
"Gotta pass?" Skyla rolled her eyes,
"I'm kind of bleeding, Grignak. I need to see Xavier."
"No pass, no entry...unless you get checked," the Reaper told her absently. The girl clucked her tongue in annoyance,
"I don't have time for that. I just came from the hydroponics chamber, how could I have smuggled anything out of there and why would I be trying to smuggle it into the lab? C'mon, Grignak, five minutes." The gorilla-hedgehog-crocodile alien looked at her with a scrutinising gaze,
"Fine, but I'm checking when you come out."
"Whatever, tough guy," Skyla muttered as he swiped his pass and let her through.
Entering the lab she was immediately enveloped by the smell of chemicals mixed with the acutely swampy smell of the incubation pods. Several Peluchians were scattered about, examining things under microscopes and experimenting with various substances. Skyla approached the nearby table where a small Peluchian in a grubby lab coat was adding a mysterious green liquid to a purple, smooth looking rock.
"Cornelius," the creature jumped and the liquid splashed over the rock, causing it to fizz violently and start to bubble.
"Oh, Sky, hey..." Cornelius quickly grabbed a nearby container and plonked it over the bubbling mass. Skyla smiled,
"Experimenting with amoeboid DNA again, are we?"
"What? Er-no, of course not," the scientist was quick to decline but Skyla saw right through him.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't tell. Where's Xavier?"
"He's over by the pool, and thanks," Cornelius told her sheepishly. She winked at him,
"Just be careful." Moving away from the scientist and his rapidly mutating experiment, she made a bee line for the pool.
As informed, an older looking Peluchian stood beside the large tank that took up a whole corner of the room. It was filled with baby swamp worms that swam about in the murky waters, their tentacles flapping happily against the artificial current. The scientist held a clipboard which he seemed to be ticking things off on. He too had a lab coat on, though it was a lot cleaner than Cornelius'. Shaggy ginger hair and a ragged beard told anyone he didn't care for appearances. At the moment, his small black eyes were narrowed in concentration.
Skyla stood by the tank, watching the creatures. In a way, she envied them. They may be clones and bred in captivity, but at least they'd be free, if only until they were fully grown. But that was more freedom then it looked like she'd ever have. The Peluchian finally noticed her,
"Sky! Sorry, didn't see you there. How are you?"
"Ok, thanks, Xavier. Yourself?"
"Can't complain, just counting another batch that are due to be released in a couple of days..." he put his clipboard under his arm and began walking away. Skyla followed.
"What can I do for you, then?" he asked as he reached a computer station and began filling in a table of data.
"Well, I've kind of cut my arm," the girl explained vaguely.
"Oh?" Xavier said distractedly, then looked at her. His eyes widened,
"A cut? You've gashed your arm open!" he exclaimed.
"That's what Maia said...have you got anything for it?"
"Yes, of course...let me see." The scientist began rummaging amongst the various bottles on the desk beside him, "another fight, I presume?"
"Yeah."
"What was it this time?"
"Just Taktar, being his usual self."
"You can ignore him, you know. Save yourself a whole lot of trouble."
"I know." Xavier found what he was looking for and picked up a vial containing a dark blue paste. Flicking the cap off he shook a bit onto his fingers,
"This is a new formula I created last week. It's an antiseptic and anaesthetic in one. It also cleans the wound. Great for when you're in the wild and there's no clean water available." As he spoke, he rubbed the paste onto Skyla's arm which she held out dutifully.
"Will it go anywhere?" she enquired.
"Probably not. I'll just keep it here and use it every now and again. Right, all done. How does it feel?" Skyla inspected her arm that was now quite blue looking, though the colour didn't show up so much against her dark fur.
"It feels fine. Thanks, Xavier."
"You're welcome. Now stay out of trouble! I don't want to see you in here for another week at least, alright?"
"What, so no friendly visits?" the Lombax countered cheekily.
"You know what I mean," grumbled the Peluchian, "now shoo." Skyla gave a small laugh and made to leave the lab. As she passed Cornelius' table she saw him on the floor, wrestling with the mutated green/purple-rock-thing that clung like a limpet to his face. Sighing, Skyla went over to him and wrenched the thing off him. Looking around for a suitable container she shoved it into a large vial and put a stopper on it.
The Peluchian got up, dusting his coat down,
"Thanks, Sky." The Lombax gave him a mock glare,
"What did I say to you about being careful?" The small scientist looked a little embarrassed,
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Skyla clapped a hand on his shoulder,
"Maybe go for something a little less adventurous next time. I won't always be here to save you from your own monsters."
"Alright, I promise," Cornelius nodded obediently as he spoke.
"Good lad, see you around." Skyla left him to it and left the lab, waving at one of the other scientists as she did (a female Peluchian with blond hair) who returned the gesture.
As soon as she left, she was pounced on. Rolling her eyes, she stood in a star position as Grignak ran his scanner over her.
"What you done to your arm?" he muttered thickly.
"I got it cut...in a fight."
"Who with?"
"Taktar." The Reaper grunted in amusement,
"He's a right pain, that one." Skyla smiled,
"That he is." The search complete, the Reaper let her go with a lazy wave of his hand.
The Lombax made her way back to the hydroponics chamber where she relieved her Cazar friend of the watering can. After a few minutes of quiet (designed to remind Skyla that Maia was still annoyed at her for the fight), the two friends came to a silent, mutual agreement not to mention what had passed, and began chatting softly together, the past (temporarily) forgotten.
Note – A Peluchian is the name I have given to the small, teddy-bear like species who are usually portrayed as scientists or engineers. For example, Fred the engineer is a Peluchian.