Chapter 03
Maya stretches out her arms as she lazily walks down the hall to the loading bay. When she turns a corner and enters the bay she sees Lilith and four other soldiers knocked out in various random spots; countless alcoholic bottles and cans littering the floor. She smirks as Lilith snorts in her sleep and falls off the crate she was sleeping on, creating a loud, echoing sound of bottles and cans skittering across the floor. Lilith then shoots her head up and looks around.
"I'm up!" She groans as she grips her head, "Dear god I shouldn't have challenged Torres to a drink off. My head is killing me."
"That's your body saying you're a lightweight, Lil." Maya sees Angel sitting on a crate, playing with her hands. Maya walks up to her and places a hand on her shoulder, "You okay, sweetie?"
"I got a bad feeling in my stomach... what if she doesn't want to come with us?"
"Than that's her choice, Angel. We just have to try our best and tell her the circumstances. If she decides to stay where she is, that's her choice."
"We can't, like... force her to come with us?"
"No."
"I just want someone new to chat with. No offense but everyone back home I know like the back of my hand. It's boring."
"No offense taken, sweetheart." Lilith groans as she kicks the other soldiers awake, "Get up and suit up. We're an hour out from Eve." Maya rubs Angel's back and gives her a warm smile.
"Let's just get this done and see what happens."
"And what happens, happens." Lilith sighs as she cocks her gun. The sound makes her recoil and grab her head in pain, "Just no shooting."
"Agreed." The soldiers groan as they slowly form up.
More soldiers file into the loading bay and form two, single file lines. Lilith, Angel and Maya standing in front of them. The lights shut off and red emergency lights flicker on as the cabin starts to shake furiously.
"Which town should we hit first?" The pilot asks over the intercom. Lilith takes out a small headset that wraps around her ear and puts it on. She turns it on and taps it to make sure it works.
"We're going to the one with the spaceport first, Port Garden I think it's called?"
"What type of name is that?" Angel laughs as she slips on a long-sleeved jacket and puts the hood on, completely concealing her face. The cabin jerks to the left and a faint explosion is heard from the outside.
"What the hell was that?" Lilith asks as she steadies herself.
"We're getting flak! Pirates have overrun the entire town. Once I get low enough they won't be able to hit us!"
"Oh god, what if she's down there?"
"We're seeing return fire from a large property in the north side of town. Looks like some survivors dug themselves deep. Building integrity looks shaky though. Don't know how long it has left before it collapses though. We have to hurry if we have any chance of saving the survivors." The female co-pilot says as the ship goes nearly into a nosedive, "We're doing a dive bomb! Be ready!" Maya's markings start to glow as the emergency lights switch from red to green and the bay doors start to open.
"We'll land a few klicks east of the town! Radio us in when you're ready for the pickup!" The bay doors are fully open and the ship jerks upwards and is completely vertical. Everyone jumps out and with Maya's help they land softly in town square, behind all the pirates.
"Let's get busy!" Angel cheers as she cocks her gun and charges the pirates with the other soldiers.
The bombardments and hail of bullets are endless now. Michael is shooting Ebony and Ivory with Father Grimes shooting his shotgun right next to him. All the woman and children are huddled behind the front desk while Lorik is under the terminal trying to fix it.
"Clank, status on the shields?!" Lorik cringes as he works furiously on the inner satellite.
"Entire integrity is down to forty percent! We take anymore damage and it might cut off the power all together!"
"Fuck it! Switch the power on but keep the shields down!" Lorik grabs his power tools as the lights slowly come back on.
"If we keep the shields down it'll drain the generators faster, Lorik! We have to hurry!"
"TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW!" Lorik lies back down on his back and starts working.
"If we make it out of here alive I'm gonna dedicate my life to church!" Michael cries as he guns down three pirates.
"Don't go making commitments like that, child! Let's just get through another day!" An explosion causes the building to shake and Lorik cries out, "LORIK?!"
"The fiber-chip is broken! DAMNED PIRATES MADE MY HAND SHAKE!" Lorik cries as he holds it up, "It's no use, we're stuck here!"
"What the hell are we going to do now? I'm almost outta bullets!" Taylor yells as he reloads.
"What about a radio? We can jerry-rig it to pick up frequencies of the other towns nearby. Ask them to send help?!" Michael asks as sits down, Father Grimes taking his place.
"Clank, do we have what we need to do that?"
"It'll mean completely stripping the terminal for parts but it could work. We'll just need the ham radio to work off of the platform."
"Ah shit!" Lorik yells as he kicks the terminal.
"What now?!" Father Grimes asks as he loads his shotgun with the last remaining bullets.
"We need the ham radio!"
"So get it!" Another man yells as he shoots down a pirate, "Take that you bitches!"
"The radio is in the shack!" An explosion causes the ground to shake and pirates cry out in pain, "At least the traps are working again!"
"I see another ship!" Taylor yells as he peers through the port.
"More pirates?!" Lorik yells as he grabs his guns from Michael.
"Too small, maybe it's Hyperion?" Michael peers through a small bullet holes and sees a ship diving down in the middle of town.
"No markings, maybe it's from another town looking for us?" It then does an impossible maneuver and people poor out of the bay, "Oh shit, It's the Crimson Raiders!"
"God damn it! As if we have enough trouble as it is!" Father grimes yells as he shoots a pirate charging the front door. Lorik and Michael glare at him and he shrugs, "Now's not the time, boys! We need to get the radio!" Something warm then splatters onto the side of Father Grimes' face and Lorik looks like he's seen a ghost. Father Grimes turns around and sees Taylor crumble to the ground with a bullet hole through his eye, "OH GOD, NO! TAYLOR!" He runs to his side and starts to shake him, "NO, NO, NO!" A woman starts to cry as she blocks her child's view. Lorik's eyes widen and his blood starts to boil.
"YOU BASTARDS!" Lorik jumps through the window, completely shattering the frame and breaking the shield off of it's hinges. A black and purple hue starts to swirl around Lorik as he hovers to the ground. Purple like steam starts to wisp in and around his eyes like fire and his markings start to glow under his windbreaker, "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He aims his guns at the large crowd of pirates and opens fire.
The pirates scream in fear as the Siren before them kills their comrades. His shadow swirls around him as the purple mist starts to intensify around his eyes and now is coming out of his mouth like smoke.
"FALL BACK! ITS A GOD DAMN SIREN!" Lorik holsters his guns and extends both his arms. His shadow swirls round his arms like a furious cyclone and purple electricity crackles in and around them.
"DIE!" The cyclones shoot out at them and swallow the front lines. The electricity strikes them and sends them falling back with a scream right before they evaporate into ash.
Maya and Lilith start shooting the retreating pirates as Angel joins a squad of soldiers flanking around the left side. Lilith extends her left arm and fire shoots out. Maya does the same only a handful of pirates are encased in a transparent, blue orb and the other soldiers shoot them down.
"What the hell is that?!" Lilith yells as black and purple clouds slowly encase another handful of soldiers, purple lightning electrocuting them to death.
"It's the other Siren!" Maya cheers as she runs ahead with the other soldiers. Angel and her squad start shooting the rest of the pirates.
Lorik retreats back into his house, the black and purple mist still swirling around him. Everyone recoils and starts to back up as he climbs through the window.
"It's alright... I'm calm. I'm calm." He starts to repeat it as the mist slowly dissipates and he's back to his normal self, "The Raiders are killing the rest of the pirates. We have a chance to escape!"
"How?" Father Grimes asks as he puts a white sheet over Taylor's corpse.
"Michael, is your car still working?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll use that!"
"I don't know man. I haven't driven that thing in months and I need a co-pilot for it.
"That'll be me." Lorik sighs as he helps people up, "We're moving out!" Father Grimes picks up Taylor's assault rifle and calls up to the men upstairs. Everyone gathers around the back door as the gunfire starts to dial down.
"My garage is still open. And if the pirates didn't touch it; it should only take a minute or two to start it up." Lorik nods as he kicks open the door ad everyone files out, "Follow me and stay low!" Michael yells as he cocks Father Grimes' shotgun and leads the people through the junk maze and out on the other end that leads into an endless desert.
"Hug the walls and we'll be there in a couple minutes!" Father Grimes orders as he walks backwards; covering everyone's flank with Lorik, "You sure this'll work?"
"I'm might be a prodigy in electronics and robotics but when it comes to vehicles; both land and space traversing, he's the prodigy."
"You two use that term much to often."
"Because it's the truth."
"You know... a real prodigy wouldn't brag about it."
"And a real prodigy would rub it in everyone's face because he's smarter than them in something."
"So in your world, all smart people are egotistical, narcissistic jerks?"
"Exactly."
Lilith shoots the last pirate in the head and sighs as she flicks the safety on her gun and wraps it around her shoulder. Maya walks up to the destroyed house and peers into the window. The other soldiers start gathering the dead bodies and piling them up. Angel joins Maya and kicks open the door.
"Nobody's home. Where they hell are they?"
"The back door is open. Maybe they escaped through the back. They then hear a loud bang and faint conversations, "You hear that?" They both walk into the middle of town and see movement in a nearby building, "Down here!" Maya yells as she aims her gun at the house.
"Come on, man! Fire her up!"
"The engines have to warm up!"
"Well do it faster!" Maya points at the door and Angel nods as she slowly walks up to it. She grips the handle and looks at Maya while Lilith and the other soldiers block the the entire front face of the garage. Maya starts counting down silently and Angel readies her gun. Maya nods and Angel opens the door and they both run in. They see a makeshift convoy loader holding two dozen people and an old man with a strange cross aiming his gun at them.
"WE GOTTA GO!" The old man yells as he starts firing at the two woman. Maya and Angel take cover behind two metal podiums and the other soldiers start providing cover fire.
"HIT IT!" A young man wearing a strange visor yells as he hops into the passenger seat. Angel gets a good look at him and he has a purple aura around him.
"That's... that's impossible!" She gasps as a bullet ricochets off the podium; almost hitting her in the head. The engines burst to life and knock both Maya and Angel on their knees as it bursts through the back double doors and flies away.
"SHIT!" Lilith yells as she starts to throw fire balls at it.
"NO! STOP!" Angel yells as she lowers her arm.
"The pirates are getting away!"
"Their the towns people and the Siren is with them!"
"SHIT" Lilith yells as she stomps her foot on the ground, "We have to catch up to her!" She turns her back and walks out as she contacts the pilots.
"What's wrong, Angel?"
"I saw the Sirens aura but-"
"But what?"
"It was coming from that man that jumped in the co-pilot seat." Maya laughs and Angel raises an eyebrow at her.
"You've gotta be kidding me, right? No way a man can be a Siren!" She looks at Angel's face and her laughter is cut short, "Wait... you're serious, aren't you?" Angel nods and Maya scratches her head, "The fuck? How's that possible?!"
"Our ride is here." Maya and Angel join their comrades and pile into the cargo bay, "Chase after that convoy rider!" Without closing the doors the ship takes off and chases after the land ship.
Lorik flicks a couple of switches and takes the joystick while Michael unbuckles himself and walks to a platform and steps on a pedal. A large, triple-barreled gun rises from the porthole and Michael taps a very muscular, shaved man.
"Lucas! Take the flak gun!" The man turns around and stares in awe.
"Where the hell did you get it?!"
"The Hyperion cat burglar known as Lorik." Michael rolls his eyes as the man climbs onto the gun.
"We got company!" Father Grimes yells as he loads the last magazine into the assault rifle. Michael runs back to the pilot seat and pushes a button to load the flak gun.
"Their tailing us." Lorik flicks a few more switches and puts his foot on a pedal.
"Ready to see how fast she can really go?"
"What did you do?! The stick is shaking like crazy!"
"I opened all exhaust ports and put the engine to overdrive!" Lorik laughs as a hologram of Clank's orb body appears between them.
"All systems are a go, captain!" Clank laughs as Michael jumps in surprise.
"You got that working too?!"
"What can I say? I'm that good!" Lorik presses the big red button and they are flung back into their seats. Michael and Lorik cheer and laugh as their ride kicks up dust and blasts away.
"HOLY SHIT! That thing is fast!" The pilot yells as the ship picks up speed.
"Can you catch up to it?"
"We're an interstellar ship inside a moon's atmosphere! We can circle around this entire moon in two hours! She laughs as Angel looks down on the ship. Flak then starts to shake the cabin and Angel almost falls out of the bay before Maya grabs her belt.
"WHY THE HELL ARE THEY SHOOTING AT US?!"
"Probably think we're more pirates!" Maya yells over the wind as she pulls Angel back in with a soldiers help.
"How do we tell them we're the good guys?" Lilith asks as she stares down at them, "WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS, ASSHOLES!" Angel then jumps down towards the ship. Maya and Lilith scream out in horror as they try to grab her arm.
Angel then extends her wings and flies down towards the ship. Lorik looks in his side-view mirror and sees a woman flying at them.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"What?"
"Is she flying?!" Michael looks in his rear-view mirror and his jaw drops.
"She's a Siren!"
"The hell? Sirens have wings?"
"Apparently!" They both slam down on the pedal and gain even more speed. Angel blocks her face as the dust starts to hurt her fair skin.
"Slow down! We're the good guys!" Lorik holds up his middle finger out the window and laughs.
"Up yours, bitch!"
"OH SHIT!" Michael yells as he slams down on the brakes. Lorik looks ahead of himself and sees a large rock formation hurdling towards him.
"OH SHIT!" The both yell as they make an immediate right turn. The whole ship begins to shake and then collides with the rock, causing it to spin out. They both yell as they've lost control and they reach out to hold each other.
"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" The ship's engines give out and people start to scream as the ship collides with the ground and spins in the air.
"Oh shit!" Angel cries out as she dodges debris being torn off of the ship. Michael and Lorik cling to each other like their lives depend on it while they spin out and collide with another rock, stopping them cold, "OH GOD, NO!" Angel flies towards the wreck while the the ship lands a few feet next to the crash. Angel lands on the ground and her wings dissipate as she runs towards the back part of the ship, "Is everyone okay?!" She tries to open the door while the others run to join her.
Michael and Lorik groan in pain as their hugging each other close like lovers. Their both laying in the roof of the cabin, their seat belts torn and dangling in front of their faces.
"I knew... we forgot something." Michael groans as he looks Lorik in the eyes, "We forgot to reinforce the locking mechanism in the seat belts."
"If my body wasn't completely broken I'd hit you." Lorik groans as he looks back into Michael's eyes. They then realize what they're doing and push each other away, "Nobody knows."
"Agreed." They start to hear faint noises as banging begins around their cabin. Lorik crawls over to the gun and slaps Lucas' cheek.
"You okay, dude?"
"Yeah... next time I drive." Lorik rolls his eyes as he crawls over to the double doors and kicks them open. He then slowly stands up and walks through the cargo hold and looks at everyone, "Everyone alive?" They all groan and Father Grimes waves his hand to signal that he's okay, "Good, cause we got another fight in our hands." Lorik takes out his guns and flips them on as the talking outside gets louder.
"Pry them open! We gotta get them out before this thing goes up in flames!"
"I'm seeing any fuel though!"
"DO IT ANYWAY!"
"Lorik, you gotta get outta here, man. Get to the next town, Salvation. Get help. We'll hold them off here." Michael groans as he Lucas hands him a pistol.
"I'm not leaving you guys!"
"You're the only one with a hover-board! Get outta here and go get help!" Michael starts to kick the passenger side door, "This isn't a discussion!" He kicks the door open and starts to push Lorik out, "GO!" Lorik stumbles out and two soldiers point their guns at him.
"FREEZE!"
"Clank, you ready?" Lorik whispers as he slowly stands up.
"Put your hands h=behind her head!" One of them demands as she slowly walks up to him. Lorik reaches for his board and throws it at them, knocking them out. The engines then kick in and Lorik jumps onto it.
"OVER HEAR!" Angel yells as she takes out her gun, "Freeze!" Her eyes widen as she sees the torn sleeve and stares at the markings, "Oh... my God."
"HIT IT!" The engines kick up dirt and Lorik flies right past her, spinning her and knocking her down onto her back.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
"FREEZE!" Maya yells as she holds up her arm to hold him still with a gravity orb. Lorik bursts right through it and makes a left turn and flies past their ship.
"SUCK IT!" He yells as he hovers away from them at high speeds.
"AFTER HIM!" Angel yells as her wings reappear, "He's the Siren!" Lilith contorts her face at Angle like she's crazy, "I'm Serious!" Angel flies after him and Maya shrugs as she creates a small, bright blue platform and jumps onto it, following Angel.
"Get everyone out and tend to their wounds! Their not pirates! Treat them well." Lilith's wings unfold and they scorch the earth under her as the flames intensify and she flies after them.
"Get them outta there and get the medical kits!"
"Yes sir!" The soldiers start helping the people out as the Sirens chase after Lorik.
"Get off of me!" Michael yells as he starts to kick and punch the soldiers, "You'll never take me alive, Raider Dogs!"
Lorik flies across the desert with a laugh as readings and stats start to appear in his visor. He looks around and sees a reading of another town five kilometers due east. Another orb appears next to him and he dodges it with a gasp. He looks behind himself and through the dust he sees three heat signatures.
"SIRENS!" Clank panics as the thrusters give off more energy and Lorik gains speed, "What do we do?!"
"We get to the next town before they catch us!" Another orb appears in front of him and he breaks through it, "SON OF A BITCH!"
"How is he doing that?!" Maya yells as she throws another, "HOW?!"
"WILL YOU STOP IT!?" Lorik takes out Ebony and shoots off a bullet. It flies right by Maya's face and she almost falls off her gravity disc.
"WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!" Angel picks up speed and reaches out her arm to grab him by the back part of his coat that's whipping in the wind.
"We're not gonna hurt you!"
"GET AWAY!" Lorik closes his eyes and he vanishes from Angel's view. Her eyes widen in awe as he reappears a few meters away from them and is gaining more speed, "HOLY—it worked!"
"And we didn't die!" Clank cheers as his orb appears in his visor's view, "How do we shake them?"
"Just keep dodging them and by the time we reach Salvation they'll be detained and I can go help everybody else!" A fire ball flies over his hand and lands in front of him. He jumps over the scorching crater with a surprised scream, "BULLSHIT, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HURT ME!" Lorik teleports again and he can hear one of the Sirens roar in anger and another fireball lands next to him, "STOP IT!" He gains more speed and the town is in sight, There it is!"
"We made it!" Clank cheers as Lorik flies through the town gate.
"HELP! I'm being chased by-" A gun but stops him mid sentence and he lands on his back with a gasp of air. The engines on his hover-board cut off but are still attached his his feet as three men aim their guns at him, "N-no." Lorik gasps as he can hear the Sirens getting the same treatment he did.
"Looks like our boys failed in Port Garden." One of them laughs as he hits Lorik in the face again with his butt, knocking him out, "Get these four in the holding cell! We got what we came for!"
"Let go!" Maya growls as she's being handcuffed. She swings her head back and nails one of the men in the nose. He holds his nose in pain as she starts to run away but is then shot in the knee and she falls to the ground with a scream.
"MAYA!" Angel cries out as she tries to run towards her but the man who got nailed in the nose hits her in the gut with his gun and she falls to her knees, gasping for air.
"HEY! SHE'S JUST A KID YOU PRICK!" Lilith yells as she spits blood in his face, "FUCK YOU!
The same man knocks her out with the butt of his gun and she crumbles to the floor.
"Get them into the holding cell, NOW!" The man orders as he stands over Lorik's body with a smirk, they seem to hate each other."
"What makes you say that, boss?" The man with the broken nose asks as he looks at the tattooed man.
"Those three were chasing him. Throw them in the same cell together. Could be some good entertainment." Two pirates pick up Lorik and carry him away to their ship.
A young boy is running through an open field holding a small orb that's glowing blue. He runs into a house where a man is tinkering with a propulsion unit while a woman is putting another one onto a steel board.
"Mommy! Daddy, look what I made!" The kid shows them the orb and it hovers down to the table, hovering only a few inches off of it.
"Wow Lori! What is it?" His mother asks as she takes off her welding goggles.
"Greetings. I am Calibrated-Lexicon-Atrifical-Neural-Klank. You may call me... Clank"
"A V.I.? Oh my god sweetie! How did you do this?"
"I stole a V.I. Chip from the Hyperion Depot a few weeks ago and built it a platform."
"That's my boy!" The man laughs as he ruffles their son's hair, "What are you gonna program it to do?"
"Well when we're done with the hover-board I'll take the schematics from the propulsion units and make smaller versions and integrate them into another, much larger platform for him to be able to roam around in. And then I'll unchain him and turn him into an A.I."
"Our boy is getting smarter than us, Kreg." The woman laughs as she kisses his head. The lights then dim and everything gets dark.
"Is there an eclipse today, Lori?" Kreg asks as he looks out the window, "Lori, get Lorik into the shelter, now!" He yells as he grabs his shotgun and cocks it. Lori grabs Lorik and the sirens start to go off. Lorik looks up into the sky and sees a large H hovering in front of the sun.
"Mommy?" Lorik cries as she picks him up. The red orb in the middle starts to glow red and everyone is running past them, screaming, "Mommy?!"
Lorik sits up with a scream and starts gasping for air. He looks around and sees his hover-board is still attached to his feet. He feels his face and sighs in relief as he feels his visor around his neck. He takes a deep breath and looks around.
"Clank, you still there?"
"Of course, Lorik. I was worried you would never wake up."
"Who the hell are you talking to?" Lorik turns around and sees three woman severely beaten and one of them looking at Lorik with worried eyes, "Are you okay-?" Lorik punches her in the face and she falls back and screams in pain.
"HOLY HELL MAN! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Maya screams as she runs over to Angel's side.
"What the fuck to you! You kidnapped me?!"
"We didn't kidnap you, dumb ass! The pirates did!" Lilith screams as she grabs Angel's nose, "Hold still, sweetie." She pulls on her nose and a sickening pop faintly echos through the cell.
"GAH—SON OF A BITCH!" Angel cries as she holds her nose, 'What the fuck man? Them beating me wasn't enough for you?!"
"You chased me across the desert! You fired fireballs and blue, freakish orbs at me!"
"We tried to stop you!" Maya yells as she jabs her finger into his chest.
"I was just trying to burn you so you knew we were serious." They all stare at Lilith and she shrugs, "Little punk was getting on my nerves." Lorik reaches for his gun but his holsters are empty.
"Oh god... Ebony and Ivory! Where are they?!"
"The captain took them." Lorik starts to hyperventilate and they all look at him with raised eyebrows, "You okay, dude?"
"They took my guns! It took me three years to build those things!" Lorik puts his hover-board on his back and starts to bang on the cell walls, "GIVE ME BACK MY GUNS YOU DIRTY PIRATES!" One of the guards jabs him with a long spear and it shocks him fiercely. Lorik convulses on the floor and Angel drags him away and the guards laugh.
"Shut up and be quiet." Angel sits Lorik up and stares at them.
"Do you have any idea who we are?"
"Three Sirens and a brat. The Crimson Raiders."
"That's right!" Angel holds up her arm but is then shocked. She screams out in pain and Maya holds her steady.
"Nice try, bitch. Those collars will keep the three of you in check." Lorik slowly opens his eyes and grasps his stomach in pain.
"Son of a bitch shocked me!" Lorik gasps as he slowly stands up, "What do you guys want?"
"The Raiders will pay us handsomely for four hostages of their comrades. And if they don't the slave trade will. I mean... you three will probably even get us more money that the Raiders in the slave trade. We'll probably just kill the boy."
"Fuck you!" Lorik barks as he slips on his visor and sits in the far corner, "Clank... can you hack the ships system?"
"I could but it's all foreign to me. I might do something wrong. I'll have to scan the entire network to get familiar with it."
"And how long with that take?"
"A day or two?"
"You're guessing?"
"The lowest possible amount of time too. Longest amount of time is about a week."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"Who the fuck are you talking to? Are—are you crazy or something?" Angel asks as she sits next to Lorik.
"Get... the fuck... away from me."
"Look, we're trapped in here together. If you're hatching a plan we need to know so we can help you."
"I'm talking to my A.I. So if you can go away... that'll be nice." Angel slaps the back of his head and he slaps her back. She then grabs his arm and rolls up his sleeve.
"I knew it!" She whispers as Dante takes back his arm and rolls down his sleeve, "How the fuck are you a Siren?"
"I don't fucking know! I was working on a customers hover-board and I started feeling pain in my arm. And it was these crappy tattoos!"
"They're not tattoos! Their elemental codes."
"Elemental codes? Clank says their genetic codes."
"Well... they are but each Siren is connected to an Eridian Element."
"Isn't Eridium and element on its own?"
"Yes but the Eridians gave us the other elements."
"How the fuck do you know this?"
"I can hear them." Lorik scoots away from her and she rolls her eyes, "They're not gone. They're in dark space. Don't know how but they are."
"Just stay away from me. I didn't ask to be a Siren. I don't want to be a Siren! Sure it's cool to have mental powers and teleport and shit but I'm a freak!" Angel slaps him and he glares at her, "Do. That. Again." She glares at him as his pupils turn to slits and she holds up her hands.
"Sorry... sorry." Lorik turns his back to her and she walks over to Maya and Lilith, "He's a fucking Siren, dude!"
"You're shitting me." Lilith says lazily as she rests her cheek in her palm, "What the fuck is going on with the universe."
"H-how is a man a Siren?" Angel shrugs and they all look at him, conversing to himself, "Is he insane?"
"No, he's talking to his A.I. called Clank." They raise their eyebrows again and she just shrugs.
"How the hell do you make these things work?!" The man who hit Lorik demands as he holds up Ivory.
"LET HER GO!" Lorik demands as he walks up to the cell bars, "They'll only work with my voice!"
"What the fuck kind of guns are these?"
"I made them myself, you son of a bitch!" The captain looks at the gun and then at Lorik.
"Can you make more?" Lorik spits in his face and Angel snickers.
"I'd never make anything for pigs like you!" The captain reaches through the cell and Grab Lorik by the throat.
"If I can't shoot these things then I'll beat you to death with them!"
"Big talk from a man with no balls." The captain raises his eyebrows and the Lorik kicks him in the balls through the cell. He drops Lorik and cries out in pain. Lorik and the Sirens laugh at him; and even the guards silently snicker at him.
"You little... fucking punk!" He winces as he holds his groin in pain, "Kill him!" He orders the guards as he slowly gets up and puts Ivory in his belt loop.
"I'll get my guns back you son of a bitch! AND I'LL MELT YOUR FACE!" The guards shock Lorik again and he winces in pain. Angel drags him away as the guards open the door.
"Hand him over."
"Fuck you!" Angel yells as she puts Lorik behind her. They both shock her and she cries out in pain as she crumbles to the ground. Lorik lets out a battle cry as he tackles one of the guards and grabs his face with his left hand. The markings then glow through his jacket and the man screams as his shadow slowly chokes him.
"GET OFF OF HIM!" Maya and Lilith tackle the other guard and take his spear.
"Fuck you!" Maya yells as she stabs him in the face and shocks him. He screams out in pain as his eyes sizzle out of his sockets. Lorik stands up and peers out of the cell.
"Seriously... you'd think he'd take longer to limp out of here. I have steel toed boots!"
"Shut up and lets get out of here!" Maya yells as she grabs his arm. He yanks it away and they all stare at him.
"I'm not leaving without Ebony and Ivory!" He runs down the hall and they chase after him.
"Don't be stupid, Lok... uh...Lerk? Uh... what is his name?" Lilith stammers.
"It's Lorik!" Angel yells as she grabs Lorik's arm, "Calm down, dude! We'll get your guns back!"
A soldier knees down and offers Michael a canteen of water. He takes it and stares at the soldier. Another one passes them and helps Father Grimes with his tourniquet. Michael stands up and walks over to Father Grimes and gives him the canteen.
"Have you found them yet?" Father Grimes asks as he takes a few sips of water.
"No... their last known location was somewhere in the south."
"What about the ion trail?" The solders cock their heads at Michael and he rolls his eyes, "Lorik was on his hover-board when he was running away from you bastards. He uses solar energy that powers a deluded Eridium crystal at the core of main thruster." The soldiers nod and walk away to the pilot's cabin. Michael sits down next to Father Grimes with a sigh.
"He'll be fine, Michael."
"If the Sirens haven't got to him first."
"They mean him no harm."
"He doesn't know that." Father Grimes groans in realization and Michael nods, "He'll put up a fight."
"That boy is as stubborn as they come." Father Grimes pours some of the water onto his leg and winces, "Next time I drive, my boy." Michael gives him a fake laugh and swipes the canteen away.
"He's got Clank but all he is is an enabler for his shenanigans." Michael takes a sip of water and the ship makes a hard right and they both bang their heads together. They yell in shock and one of the soldiers returns.
"We picked up his ion trail but it goes cold in Salvation."
"WHAT?!" They both yell as Michael shoots out of his seat.
"It just... goes cold?!" Father Grimes yells as he grabs the soldier.
"Yes but we picked up another trail." They both look at him and he sighs, "Pirates attacked Salvation as well. Our guess is that they captured both Lorik and our Sirens and took them off Eve." Father Grimes grabs his chest and Michael sits him down.
"FATHER?!"
"GET ME A MEDIC! HE'S HAVING A HEART ATTACK!" The soldier yells as he rips Father Grimes' shirt off and starts to give him CPR."
"OH GOD, HELP HIM!" Two more soldiers rush over with a medical kit and another guides Michael aside as they put an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and lift him onto a portable gurney. Michael covers his face as tears roll down his cheeks, "PLEASE GOD NOT NOW!"
Lorik and Angel peek around a corner and see one a large loading bay that's been converted into a type of bar where hundreds of pirates are drinking and cleaning guns. Maya and Lilith join them and Maya's eyes widen.
"There! There's the captain!" Lorik whispers as he eyes his guns. His eyes widen as he watches the captain bang them on a table. He grits his teeth as Angel holds him back, "I'll fucking kill him!"
"Patience. We have to cause a distraction." Angel whispers as she pats his back, "Patience."
"I'll show you a distraction." Lorik rips off his sleeves, completely revealing the arm part of his markings and they all gasp in surprise. He extends his left arm and the markings start to glow a faint hue of purple along with his eyes. A pirate then begins to scream as he stands up and picks up his guns. He then starts to shoot his comrades and the entire bar erupts into a bloody bar fight.
"Nice job." Lilith chuckles. They then hide behind the wall as a few bullets ricochet right in front of them.
"We'll hang back before it blows over." Maya sighs as they sit down, "Where's Lorik?" Lilith and Maya glares at Angel but she's not there as well, "OH—WHAT THE HELL?!" The peer around the corner again and see Lorik and Angel sneaking along the walls towards the captain who's using his own shotgun to fed off his pirates.
"CALM DOWN, YOU BASTARDS!" The captain yells as he blows a woman away, "CALM DOWN!"
"I have to say... this is the most fun I've had in years!" Angel cheers as they hide behind a wall.
"I gotta say lady... you have a strange definition for fun." Bullets start to shoot through the wall, getting ever closer to Lorik's head and Angel's eyes widen as she pulls him towards her and they both fall down; Lorik on top of her. He looks behind himself and sees another bullet rip through the wall where his head was. He looks back at Angel and their nose to nose, "Thanks for that."
"No problem." Angel blushes as they stare into each other. Lorik gets a better look at her and starts to blush as well. Her hair is shaved on one side and the other is long and in a few braids on her bangs. Her eyes are so blue he feels as though their piercing into his. She then pushes him off and dusts herself off, "Now, can we get what we came for?" Lorik nods and peers around the corner. The fighting has stopped and the captain is scolding the survivors. Lorik looks at the table and sees both Ebony and Ivory are on the table.
"There yo two are." He gets on all fours and crawls towards his guns.
"WHAT... IN THE HELL WERE ALL YOU THINKING?!"
"Crazy bastard starting shooting up the place!" The captain shoots her in the foot and she squeals in pain.
"Does that give you and every other stupid bastard still standing to start a fucking riot on MY ship?!" They all shakes their heads and the captain spits in rage, "Clean this shit up!" Lorik grabs his guns and starts to crawl back, "Get any survivors to the infirmary." Angel helps Lorik up and the captain walks out of the bay. Lilith and Maya beckon them both quickly and they rush over to them.
"Great, you got your guns. Can we please leave now?!" Lilith grabs Angel's arm and Maya grabs Lorik and they both run out of the bay and down the hall.
"Where are the damn life boats?" Maya growls as they search every corner, "What kind of ship doesn't have life boats?!"
"Well we need to know where we are first. Life boats can only go so far. What if we're in the middle of open space?"
"Oh god." Angel whimpers as she stares out a window.
"What is it?" Lorik pushes her aside and looks out the window. His eyes widen and Clank beeps within his visor.
"Oh God. We're at Hermes; The Planet of Thieves." Lilith groans and Angel stares at Maya, "We're so screwed."
"That. You Are." Lorik slowly turns around and sees the captain and five other pirates aiming guns at them, "How'd you get out?" Lorik flashes his left arm with a smirk and his eyes widen, "What the f-"
"Boo!" Lorik jokes as he shoots his shadow at them, blasting them back and through a door.
"TIME TO RUN!" Maya yells as she grabs Lorik's arm and pulls him away.
"KILL THEM!" The captain yells as he opens fire.
Bullets burn past them as they all race down a narrow corridor. A bullet grazes Lorik on his right shoulder and he whimpers in pain as he holds it. They make an immediate right turn and Lorik slides along the floor and bangs against the wall before he keeps running.
"CLANK! SCAN THE SHIP AND FIND THE NEAREST POD!"
"Scanning!" The entire ship gets highlighted in red in his visor as a few parts of the ship are lighted in white, "Three pods are currently right above you!" Another bullet knocks his visor off of his face. It dangles around his neck and he grabs Lilith and Maya by the arms to stop them.
"WHAT THE H-"
"HOLD ON!" Lorik jumps up and breaks through the ceiling; carrying Maya and Lilith. Then knees down and pulls Angel up before a stray bullet can hit her in the leg, "There are three pods here!" Lorik throws Maya in one and Lilith jumps in another.
"What about you? This can only fit one!?"
"Don't go getting all wet, lady!" Lorik sits down and pulls her onto his lap, "I'm not sacrificing myself for you." The clear sliding doors close and the captain bangs on it as the pod detaches and they both wave goodbye.
"I'LL GET YOU, YOU LITTLE FUCKS!" He yells right before the engines kick in and they blast towards Hermes.
"Get you hand out of my—OHH!" Angel gasps as Lorik pulls his hand out of her back pocket, "Did you have to squeeze?!"
"Don't flatter yourself. I was trying to get the blood circulating." They wiggle in what little room they have and Angel begins to blush again.
"I really thought you were gonna stay behind."
"Like I said... don't flatter yourself. I would've left you but I didn't want your death on my conscience. Plus the other two would've killed me as soon as we landed." The cabin then begins to shake and the see explosions all around them, "OH SHIT!" Lorik pushes a button and the seat rotates and moves closer to a control console. Angel squeaks as she's pushed closer to Lorik and he screams as her weight crushes his groin.
"Sorry." She sighs as she maneuvers on his lap as two joysticks pop out. Lorik gasps in pain again and he headbutts her in the back of the head, "OW! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"STOP MOVING!" He grabs the joysticks and starts flying the pod. He dodges the flak as they start to enter the atmosphere.
"I didn't know you can drive!"
"My mother taught me!" A shell strikes the side of the pod and the glass begins to crack, "CLANK?!"
"Hull integrity at fifty-seven percent! If we don't slow down the vanity with shatter during reentry!"
"OH THAT'S JUST GREAT!" Lorik pulls back on the joysticks as fire begins to engulf the pod, "STILL HAVING FUN?!"
"YES!" Angel cheers as she holds her hands up in the air, "STILL FUN!" Lorik rolls his eyes and continues to pull back.
"WE'RE NOT SLOWLING DOWN!" Lorik pulls back even more and both joysticks are ripped off. Angel and Lorik look at them and then at each other. He shrugs with a crooked smile and weak chuckle and then they both begin to scream as the pod enters the planet and they begin their free fall.
Maya and Lilith both land their pods safely in a forest and step out. The run to each other and start check the other for any wounds. They then both hug each other in laughter and look up to see another pod veering of course and tearing itself apart.
"Is that Angel and Lorik?" Maya squints her eyes and hears them both screaming.
"Yep." Lilith sighs as she rolls her shoulder in pain, "Let's get after them."
Angel and Lorik's pod crash into water and they both headbutt the console. Angel grabs her leg in and screams in pain as water starts to fill the cabin.
"LORIK?!" Lorik takes out Ebony and aims in at the vanity.
"Cover your ears!" He flicks the switch and the gun begins to charge, "Ebony! Electric compound, single-fire!" The gun hisses and Lorik pulls the trigger and shatters the glass, flooding the pod with water. They both take a deep breath before it reaches their heads and Lorik unbuckles the automatic seat belt. Angel grabs her leg in pain and grabs Lorik arm to get his attention. He rolls his eyes as he grabs her and swims up with her in his arms.
They breach the surface and gasp for air as Angel leans back into Lorik, crying in pain. He wraps his arm around her bust and starts to swim towards the shore. When they finally reach it he lies Angel onto the sand and lies down next to her, taking slow, deep breaths.
"Still... having... fun." He sighs as he looks at her.
"My leg." She cries as she holds it, blood spurting out. Lorik's eyes widen and he starts to tear off a long piece of cloth fro his pants.
"Hold still!" Lorik wraps it a few inches above her leg and ties it down tight. She winces in pain as he knots it, "Sorry." He gets a good look at it and sees a thin piece of metal through her thigh, "I'm gonna have to pull it out." He takes out ebony again and it's still in electric, "Ebony. Fire compound, single-fire." The gun charges then hisses. He aims it at the ground and fires a couple shots, burning the earth. He then tears off more cloth and looks Angel in the eye, "Ready?"
"Yeah." She nods hurriedly as she grabs her leg to keep it still.
"On three. One... two." He rips it out of her leg and she gasps in pain but no scream comes out as she rests her head on his shoulder.
"What happened to three?" She winces as she starts to bleed profusely. Lorik wraps his hand in cloth and then picks up a burning piece f earth and holds her leg down, "This is gonna hurt."
"No sh-" She screams in pain as he cauterizes both holes in her leg, "AH—SHIT!" She starts to shake in pain and is gripping his arm; digging her nails into his skin. He throws the rock away and tightens her tourniquet. He then helps her up and she winces as she tries to put weight on her leg, "I can't walk." She cries as she continues to hold her leg.
"Put your arms around my neck." He says as he knees down. She complies and he wraps his arms under her knees and picks her up, "Did you see where the other two landed?"
"No." Lorik looks around and then a loud boom echos through the sky. They both look up and see the pirate ship entering the atmosphere, "Ah-"
"SHIT!" Lorik runs into the forest, Angel holding on tightly.
Maya and Lilith duck down as a loud boom carries over the wind. They look up and through the canopy of trees, see the pirate ship they escaped. They loot at each other and then bolt down a small stream leading to a large lake. They see the remains of the pod and look around frantically.
"ANGEL?!"
"LORIK?! ANGEL?!" Maya runs her fingers through her hair with a worried look, "Could they still be-"
"No... the vanity is busted open and I don't see anyone. But I do see this." Maya joins her side and gasps as she sees a small, smoking crater and a lot of blood, "Oh god... one of them is hurt."
"Badly. That's a lot of blood." Lilith feels the burning rubble and sighs, "It's still warm. They couldn't have gotten far."
"Especially if Angel is the one carrying Lorik."
"Man... why can't every Siren see a Siren's aura like Angel?" They look around and the Pirate grows closer, "We gotta move."
"Which way, though?"
"We just gotta find civilization. I'm pretty sure that's what they're gonna do as well."
"But if they do they'll be surrounded by pirates!" Lilith shrugs and starts walking back towards the forest and Maya joins her side, "You heard Lorik! This planet is called, The Planet of Thieves!"
"Don't go being mama goose, Maya. Angel can protect herself."
"Not with that collar on." Maya adjusts hers and Lilith does the same.
"She's got Lorik. He has guns... and no collar."
"Yeah... about that." Lilith raises an eyebrow, "I still can't believe a man is a Siren. How can that be possible?"
"I don't know. But I believe my own two eyes, and what I saw is a young man with Siren markings teleporting and making a man go crazy out of his mind and shooting his friends. That to me screams Siren. How 'bout you?" Maya shrugs as she steps over a log.
"All I really care about right now is finding Angel and getting the hell outta here."
"And Lorik."
"Could give a rats ass about him right now." Lilith slaps her shoulder and she glares at him, "What?"
"He's a Siren like us! He's a sis—brother. We're gonna get them both outta here, safe and sound. We're gonna get back to Pandora and the four us will work on being a family like the old Sirens!" Maya holds up her hands in defeat and the pirate ship looms overhead, "You don't think they can see us... do you?" Maya shrugs and then a mortar lands in front of them and sends them flying backwards. Lilith slams against a tree while Maya hits her head on the log she walked over.
"YES! I THINK THEY CAN!" They both get up and start running.
Lorik steps into a stream as Angel winces over his shoulder. He almost slips on a hidden rock but regains his footing. He hikes Angel up to regain his hold on his and continues walking through the ice cold stream.
"M-must be freezing." She mumbles, "You should rest."
"I ain't restin' until we find some civilization." A faint explosion catches their attention and when they look behind themselves they see the pirate ship firing off mortars a few miles back, towards the lake.
"Could be Maya and Lilith!" Angel cries as she tries to get off Lorik. He holds her still and continues walking, "Where the hell are you going?!"
"To find a cave or something safe to put you down." He steps out of the stream and looks around, "No use in getting us both killed." He sets her down in a small cropping of bushes and trees. He takes out Ebony and switches her on, "Ebony. Acid compound, single-fire mode." The gun hisses to life and he hands it to Angel, "If anyone but the others or me comes back... shoot them." She nods and Lorik teleports away, leaving Angel alone, hurting in the forest.
Maya and Lilith are running through the forest as mortar shell after mortar shell strikes the earth all around them. Tearing down trees and scattering what little forest creatures there are into the wind. Lorik teleports right in front of them and then lets out a small scream as they all collide with a thud. Both Maya and Lilith fall on top of Lorik as a mortar shell lands a few feet away from them; blasting them off the ground and in the air. Maya lands on a bush while Lorik lands on top of Lilith.
"GOD DAMN IT!" Lilith cries as Lorik slowly stands up.
"Sorry." He helps her up and Maya runs up to them.
"WHERE'S ANGEL?!"
"Somewhere safe!" He grabs both of their arms tightly and starts to run, "No matter what, keep moving you legs!" Lorik then teleports right before a mortar shell strikes their location. The appear a few meters away and Maya screams in pain and falls down. Lilith looks behind herself and Maya's foot is flipped in the other direction, "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP MOVING!" He picks Maya up and grabs Lilith. He teleports again and the mortar shells cease.