Floranian forests were never quiet, even at night. When the daytime creatures went to sleep, the nocturnal creatures were just getting up. They mostly consisted of insects and amphibians, though there were a few mammals you could find skulking around, their wide eyes and large ears on constant alert for night time predators that also prowled the forest. The air was filled with a cacophony of noise as the various creatures called to one another in exotic tones. Even the plants were active, as the bioluminescent ones displayed themselves readily to any insects in the area for pollination. It was thanks to one particular moss that glowed a neon green colour and coated most trees that Skyla and the others could see anything at all.
But still, visibility was near zero as the trio sped through the forest and Skyla was constantly on the lookout for anything they could trip over and hinder them. They had maybe 3 minutes before the guards would be hot on their trail, probably less.
Marco seemed to know where he was going despite the lack of light, though Skyla wondered where exactly he was taking them. Now was the time when they were most at risk. If the Rilgarian wanted, he could just abandon them right now and leave them for the wild creatures or the guards. Skyla couldn't quite decide which fate would be worse.
Once again, she was thankful for her large Lombax eyes that absorbed maximum light from their surroundings allowing her to see more than normal. Unfortunately, her ears weren't too good around now as the sounds emitted by the insects and amphibians masked most other noises, so she was unable to hear accurately if they were being followed.
"Where are we going?" Maia called to Marco but he made no reply, instead increasing his pace and forcing the friends to do the same. The Cazar nearly tripped on a protruding root but Skyla caught her, keeping her upright as they ran on.
"Marco!" she shouted at the Rilgarian in a commanding tone. He stopped and turned,
"We haven't much time," he said, eyes flicking back and forth with apparent anxiety, "the guards will be here any minute. We have to reach the cliff before they catch us."
"What cliff?" yelled Skyla.
"Where we'll be picked up," he called back, running off again.
"By who?" she shouted at his back.
"My friends," he replied over his shoulder, disappearing into the undergrowth. Cursing under her breath, Skyla increased her pace, Maia alongside her.
For a moment, they were just running. Wisps of hair had escaped the clutches of the band and floated around her head irritatingly, but she hadn't time to push them aside.
Then she heard it, the most unwelcome sound of them all – the sound of pursuit.
Heavy footsteps and shouting announced the arrival of the guards like the baying of hounds. Skyla's heart skipped a beat with fear and she put on a burst of speed, pulling Maia with her.
The yells grew closer and closer, they were closing in fast.
All of a sudden, the duo emerged from the undergrowth into a small clearing. On the other side of the clearing the ground simply dropped away and Skyla realised this was the cliff edge Marco had mentioned.
The Rilgarian was already at the ledge, eyes raking the heavens in search of something.
"Come one, come on..." he muttered to himself. Skyla ran over to him and was about to ask what he was looking for when she received an answer. The sound of an engine could be heard on the approach, and a form was seen in the sky, heading straight for them. It was a ship, medium in size. It looked slightly bulky, and appeared to be some sort of cargo ship. It looked large enough to house a small crew, so it would be perfect for transporting cargo. From what she could tell, it looked a little on the old side, but seemed in good enough condition to fly safely as it drew alongside the cliff edge without a problem.
The hatch slid open revealing a dark interior. A hand reached out,
"Hurry!" a voice called. Marco grabbed the hand and was heaved aboard. Skyla pushed Maia forward in front of her. More hands reached out and grabbed the Cazar and yanked her on board and then another came for Skyla. The Lombax was pulled aboard as the first guard broke the tree line.
With a cry, he drew his weapon and began firing. His shots were wild but dangerous and one chipped the ships door. Once safely aboard the vessel, the doors closed behind Skyla and the ship began to move off quickly. The Lombax span around to look out of the window in the door and watched as more guards poured out of the undergrowth and started firing their guns.
Some clipped the ship but there was no real damage and they were soon out of range and leaving the atmosphere. She watched as the planet surface grew fainter and fainter until clouds obscured her view and the guards were gone. Then it struck her. They'd made it. They were off Florana. Step 1 – complete.
Skyla turned to see Marco getting up from where he'd fallen and dusting himself down irritably,
"You took your time," he muttered.
"Well it took a while to decrypt your message," answered a voice, "did you have to make it so complex?"
Skyla looked around and took stock of her surroundings. They were in the main cargo bay of the ship, surrounded by crates of all shapes and sizes. Various doors led out of the bay and presumably into the other parts of the ship. A basic metal platform ran around three quarters of the bay, with ladders hanging down and more doors leading off it. The interior of the ship was a little rusty, but looked well cared for. The Lombaxes eyes flicked onto the several figures that surrounded them.
There were 9 of them and they were all armed with a gun and at least two knives. They were mostly Rilgarian and Novalian, with a couple of Markazians and even a young female Blarg. They all looked like they'd seen action and seemed a bit rough around the edges.
"I had to make it cryptic so I wouldn't be noticed," replied Marco and Skyla switched her gaze over to him and who he was talking to. It was an older female Rilgarian who Skyla took to be the Captain from the way she held herself and the air of command that hung about her.
"Really, Marco," she rolled her eyes and cuffed him around the head less than a little lightly. Before he could protest her eyes fell onto Maia and Skyla and they narrowed slightly,
"Who have we got here?" she asked.
"They're just accomplices," Marco explained vaguely. Skyla's own eyes narrowed at this but before she could make a cutting reply Maia spoke first.
"I'm Maia and this is Skyla," the Cazar introduced them, "thank you for helping us off the planet," she added.
"Save your thanks," the female Rilgarian snorted, "we're not out of the blue yet."
"Who are you?" Skyla asked bluntly and the woman turned on her. Surprise registered as she seemed to take in Skyla's appearance for the first time,
"A Lombax? Well, don't see many of those nowadays." Skyla's ears lay back a little but the Rilgarian went on as if she hadn't noticed, "but, I do believe introductions are in order. I am Captain Jaynwae and this is my ship and crew," she gestured the gathered creatures, then pointed directly at Marco, "and that there is my useless nephew who I have just had to dig out of trouble for the billionth time." The young Rilgarian scowled,
"Useless? I just hacked my way out of a top secret facility!"
"Completely unaided, of course," Skyla added sarcastically but he ignored her.
"Where were you anyway?" Jaynwae asked, "I was surprised when your co-ordinates came up as Florana, there's hardly anything down there anyway except swamp and mud. The facility can't have been that top secret if you got out so easily."
"It wasn't easy," Marco retorted, "and it was just a Genetics facility." Jaynwae sighed,
"If you say so. You were a fool to get caught in the first place...again. Hadn't you learned your lesson from Rykan V?" Marco flinched at this and Skyla sensed some of his old wounds being prodded. She felt no sympathy for him, though, and Jaynwae was probably right. The Captain turned to the two friends,
"So who are you two anyway? Disgruntled workers?"
"Slaves, actually," Skyla answered curtly, "but ex-slaves now." The older Rilgarian's eyes widened,
"Slaves? You didn't say anything about slaves being involved," she addressed the last part to Marco who shrugged.
"Must have slipped my mind," he mumbled.
"Idiot," his aunt muttered, "who was your master?"
"His name's Baen," Skyla told her. Jaynwae shook her head,
"Never heard of him. Ah well, his loss. You should know we don't normally carry passengers. We've got a schedule to stick to so we can't take you any place you like."
"We just need to find the authorities," Maia explained, "to free our friends." Jaynwae gave a short bark of laughter and several other crew members sniggered,
"We ain't takin' you to the authorities, darlin'!" scoffed one of the Markazians.
"Hush your gums, Camron," Jaynwae snapped but she was smiling, then turned to the duo, "we can't take you to the authorities."
"Why?" Maia asked, frowning slightly.
"Let's just say they don't care much for our kind," the Captain answered with a sly smile.
"What are you?" Skyla asked, suddenly curious, "you're too well armed to be simple traders or merchants."
"That's because the stuff we deal in isn't exactly...easy to transport," the Captain explained. The Lombax's eyebrow rose as it clicked,
"You're smugglers?"
"We prefer to think of it as 'free traders', sounds more friendly." Marco looked around as if suddenly noticing something,
"Where's Smug?"
"Off in the Polaris galaxy, hunting again," came the reply. Marco cursed,
"What?"
"He sends his love," Jaynwae told him with a smirk.
"That dirty, rotten, cheating..."
"Oh give over, Marco, you know Smug. Never hangs around for long," his aunt cut across. Marco muttered a few more curse words and Skyla looked from the Captain to her nephew. There was obviously a great deal of background to their lives, but she hadn't time to hear of it now.
"Look, we need to contact the authorities somehow," she began, "do you have a spare communication system we can use or...?"
"We haven't got anything that isn't traceable," Jaynwae cut across, "we can drop you off at the nearest space port which isn't that far away, but after that, you're on your own." Skyla glanced at Maia and the Cazar shrugged and nodded,
"I guess that would be good enough."
"Right, good thing for you it's on our route or things would be a bit more tricky," the Captain mused. Then clapped her hands,
"Alright, to your stations girls and boys, enough time wasting. Let's go! You three," she pointed at Marco, Maia and Skyla, "come with me."
The crew dispersed and Skyla and Maia obediently followed the female Rilgarian through the ship. They arrived at what Skyla took to be the mess hall as there was a small kitchen and large table.
"You hungry?" Jaynwae asked, tossing them a piece of fruit from a bowl on the table before they could reply. The Lombax caught it and studied it. It was bright green in colour and sphere shaped with tiny pore marks all over the surface. Skyla took a sniff of it, it smelt funny.
"They're Rilgarian Oranges," the older Rilgarian told them, taking a bite out of her own piece of fruit, "go ahead, take a bite. It won't kill you." The Lombax nibbled a bit of the flesh and let the flavours settle. It was sour and a little bitter, but had a sweet kick to it as well. Feeling a little braver, Skyla took a bigger bite, chewing the flesh of the orange carefully lest there were any pips.
"So tell me, Marco...what did you get up to on Florana?" Jaynwae asked, lounging on one of the table chairs.
"They had me working as a slave," her nephew muttered. Jaynwae let out a sudden burst of wild laughter and wiped her chin of orange juice before replying.
"Whoa, that must have been a humbling experience for you, eh?" The young Rilgarian simply glared at her but made no reply.
"So how did you end up as slaves, then?" the Captain asked Maia and Skyla. The Lombax's eyes narrowed slightly, but Maia didn't seem to take any offence.
"I've been a slave all my life and worked on Florana since I was very young," the Cazar explained. The female Rilgarian gave a grunt of disapproval,
"Never approved of slavery. Nasty thing, keeping creatures locked up and making them do unpaid work. It's barbaric if you ask me."
"Yet you know it goes on?" Skyla asked, a little incredulously. Jaynwae shrugged,
"It's business. I'd never deal in it, but there are plenty who do and make a profit from it. It's how they get about in life." Skyla's fists clenched and Maia put a hand on her arm as a warning. The Lombax really didn't like the casual way the Rilgarian was speaking about slavery, as if it was just another line of work, even if she claimed she disapproved.
"But you're free now, aren't you?" the woman went on, "you can do whatever you like, now. You'll probably want to go to Kerwan," she told Skyla. The Lombax frowned,
"Why would I want to go to Kerwan?"
"Because that's where the other guy is...you know," the Rilgarian waved her hand vaguely, "the other one." The Lombax was confused,
"What other one?"
"The other..." Jaynwae trailed off and looked at Skyla, brow knotted, "you don't know?"
"Don't know what?" Skyla said, her confusion growing. The Captain gaped at her for a second, then turned on Marco,
"You didn't tell her?"
"Tell me what?" Skyla exclaimed, getting a little irritated. Marco shrugged,
"I didn't see the point." Jaynwae cursed,
"You're such a selfish bastard, you know that?" Marco ignored her. His aunt sighed irritably and looked at Skyla with an almost soft expression,
"You're not..." She got no further as alarms suddenly blared all around them. Jaynwae leapt up and ran to the nearest com,
"What's the situation?" she yelled.
"There are five ships on the approach from the planet Florana. They say we've stolen their property," came a voice, crackling over the intercom, "they've given us a minute to surrender what is theirs or they will fire." Jaynwae said a very rude word before asking,
"What property?"
"They say..." there was a pause, "that we've stolen three of their slaves who are...the property of...the Collector." There was an audible gasp from the other end and it was obvious they were relaying a message as it was given. Jaynwae froze where she was and turned visibly pale.
"The Collector?" she muttered hoarsely.
"Affirmative."
"I'm on my way." The Captain released the intercom and looked around at them. To Skyla's shock, her eyes were blazing with anger and...was that fear? Marching over to her nephew, she grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him against the wall.
"The Collector? Why didn't you tell me it was the Collector you were under," she hissed in his face.
"Because then you would never have come for me," Marco replied, not even bothering to struggle against his aunt.
"And you didn't think to mention it the moment you came on board?" she demanded, steam practically pouring out of her ears.
"I'm sorry!" Marco cried angrily. Jaynwae dropped him on the floor none too gently and stormed out of the mess hall. Skyla and Maia exchanged apprehensive looks and ran after the Captain.
They followed her onto the bridge of the ship where the crew were in a state of heightened anxiety as they rapidly fiddled with their station controls.
"What's our status?" the Rilgarian demanded, taking a seat in the main chair.
"We have 34 seconds before they've said they will board us and take the slaves," explained the Blarg female from the communications board, "if we resist they've said they will board by force, take the slaves, enslave the rest of the crew and destroy our cargo and ship." Jaynwae rubbed her chin nervously,
"Stand down all weaponry and divert all power to our main shield. We're not going to engage them and the last thing I want is a blood bath."
"Aye, Captain, diverting power," called a Novalian. At that point Marco stumbled into the room. Jaynwae shot daggers at him, and her hands twitched as if she wanted to throttle him,
"You're a fool, Marco. Now look at what you've done! They want you and the other two back and if we don't turn you in we're dead meat!" The Rilgarian had the decency to look a little ashamed, but only a little.
"I just got out of there," he argued, "there's no way I'm going back. Send them back!" he pointed at Skyla and Maia. The Lombax's fists clenched and her ears went back but Maia restrained her.
"You don't understand, idiot! The Collector never lets anyone get away from him...haven't you heard the stories?" Marco refused to meet her gaze and Skyla wondered what stories the Captain could be referencing. Then again, someone like Baen was bound to have a past, and a dark one if the panic of the crew was genuine.
"And now you've dragged us into this mess...and brought two of his slaves along with you! And a Lombax, no less!" Jaynwae exclaimed.
"I didn't want to bring them with me but I had no choice," Marco retorted angrily, "I needed their assistance. Send them back, but not me."
"I may not have a choice, you worthless piece of meat," the Captain muttered, then her eyes flicked over to Maia and Skyla and her expression changed to contain an element of sympathy, "sorry guys, looks like you're going back down there. Marco, I'll try and talk them out of taking you, for your mother's sake. God knows I wouldn't even be here otherwise." Skyla's eyes widened at her words. Go back, when they'd come so far?
"What? No!" she cried. The older Rilgarian gave her a somewhat pained look,
"Sorry, kiddo, there's no other way and I'm not willing to risk my ship and crew." Maia's grip on Skyla's arm tightened and she felt her friend freeze up with fright. The simple gesture of terror caused Skyla's temper to bubble over.
"No," she snarled, ears flat against her skull, eyes crackling with energy, "we are not going back there." Jaynwae looked a little shocked at her ferocity,
"I wish there was something I could do," she shrugged, "but there's nothing."
"If you send us back there, I'll die," Maia said in a quiet voice.
"We'll both die," Skyla corrected. A voice came over the intercom,
"Cargo ship, your time is up. Lower your shields and prepare for docking or we will fire." Jaynwae nodded at the Blarg female,
"Lower the shields, Emy, and prepare the docking port."
"Aye, Captain," the Blarg replied, "shields lowered. Ship docking in 40 seconds." Skyla pulled Maia behind her and drew herself upright, looking Jaynwae right in the eye,
"I will fight you to my last breath if I have to. I would rather die a free creature than live as a slave." Her voice was laced with steel and venom and not one creature on that bridge doubted her words. The Rilgarian Captain studied her closely, taking her in. She seemed to look beyond Skyla's blue eyes and into her mind. Jaynwae saw the raw determination in the girl's eyes and knew she would have problems were she to try and hand over her and the Cazar. Here was a creature who should never have been chained in the first place, let alone chained again.
Her mind made itself up, and though she knew she'd probably regret it, she was set. Ignoring the screaming, sane part of her mind, she rotated to her right and indicated to a female Novalian,
"You, show them to the escape pods." The Novalian gaped at her,
"What?"
"You heard me," the Captain snapped.
"But..."
"That's an order!" Jaynwae glanced at Skyla, "I can't make any promises, but this is your only chance. You'll probably be picked up outside the ship, anyway," she told them sharply.
"They're boarding, Captain," the Blarg called.
"Go!" shouted Jaynwae, shoving the stunned Novalian. She motioned for Skyla and Maia to follow her. Skyla locked eyes with the Captain once again,
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, you'll still get caught," Jaynwae muttered drily. The Lombax turned and ran after the Novalian, dragging Maia with her. As they left, they could just hear Jaynwae's strained voice following them,
"When this is all over, Marco, you and I need to have a little chat..."
Skyla and Maia followed the Novalian through the ship. A small bump told them the other ship had successfully docked. They had seconds.
"Quickly, this way!" called the Novalian as they rounded another corner. Footsteps echoed in the corridor, Baen's guards were on board.
"Down there!" the Novalian yelled, gesturing the end of the passage. She ran over to a set of controls and jabbed at them furiously. Part of the wall slid away to reveal 3 hatches, each for a separate pod.
"Get in," the Novalian told them, voice raised in panic. One of the hatches flipped open and Skyla practically shoved Maia in. She was about to follow when there was a yell from the end of the hall and she looked up to see two Reapers at the end, just noticing their activities. The Novalian whimpered and shrank against the wall.
"Skyla, come on!" called Maia. The Lombax hesitated, eyes on the cowering Novalian who looked like she was about to pass out. Several shots flew past her head, hitting the surrounding area. Making a split second decision, Skyla pushed the Cazar further into the pod.
"Stay here," she muttered. Before the Reapers had time to fire again she charged them. Taken by surprise, the Reapers had little time to react as she descended on them, limbs flying with deadly precision. They were surprisingly easier to knock out than Snivelakians, possessing thinner skulls, and despite the confined space and two to one disadvantage, Skyla had quickly dealt them both knock out blows without injuring herself. She viewed her work with a nod of satisfaction,
"Right, let's go." She turned around to head back to the pods and her eyes widened in shock. Now there were only two. Rushing over to them, she looked desperately through the glass. The two remaining pods were empty. Maia was gone.
A whimper made her look down at the Novalian, still quivering like a leaf.
Grabbing her shoulders, Skyla shook the young woman violently.
"What did you do?" she hissed in her face.
"N-nothing," the terrified Novalian stuttered, "they're o-on a t-timer. They l-leave after a m-minute or s-so." Skyla cursed,
"Where's the last on headed?"
"Kerwan." Skyla yanked her over to the controls,
"Set that one for the same destination. Understand?" Head bobbing, the Novalian shakily plugged in the same co-ordinates. The hatch doors slid open and Skyla practically dived into the pod. A moment later, they closed and she was ejected into space. Looking out the glass Skyla watched as the ship grew smaller and smaller with each passing second. She saw the ship attached to the cargo chip like some great space bug. Other small ships were flying about in formation, but there was no sign of Maia's pod. The Lombaxes eyes flicked from side to side as she scoured the rapidly diminishing shapes for any pod sized ones.
Then she saw it, the unmistakeable form of a pod flying in space near the ship. Skyla's heart leapt as it began to move towards her.
What happened next shocked Skyla to the very core of her being. One of Baen's ships broke from their formation and swept past the pod, firing several shots as it did. The shots were well placed and the pod exploded in a mini fireball, the red flames quickly dying in the vacuum of space, leaving a blackness with bits of debris flying everywhere.
Skyla gave a howl akin to a wounded animal and her fingers scrabbled at the glass, as if she could somehow reach the pod through the distance of space that separated them.
Another ship broke formation and loomed towards her, bearing down on her like some great beast. It fired one, two, then three shots.
The pod shook violently and a single alarm began blaring in Skyla's ears. They seemed to pick up speed as the pod began spiralling out of control. There was a small explosion to her left and she was blasted with the brief heat of fire.
Skyla closed her eyes as faces flashed before her eyes. Maia, Jaymz, Xavier...everyone she loved and cared for was there before her.
A single tear trickled down the Lombax's face.
Then all was black.