(Lucy-Lu's POV)
She was floating on the edge of consciousness, neither awake or fully asleep. Her brain felt like worms were crawling thought it. She felt both times happy and sad, calm and enraged. She could not decide. What was she supposed to be doing?
Opening her eyes she saw the twisted ragged hole in the ceiling, created by her. It had all come to her so fast. Too fast. Pain jolted her spine and she writhed on the deck, that fall had not been gentle. And there was something else, she felt warm, more so than she should be. Her spine still smarting, she reached over to her back and started when her fingertips brushed over the ragged burned material of her jacket. "Aww, nerts," she sighed.
She unzipped the jacket and shucked it off her shoulders, she brought it over her lap and a worried expression crossed her features.
Between the area where her shoulderblades would be, there was a ragged hole, and a tangle of twisted wires, as well as seven fractured power crystals. It was the remains of her jacket's inbuilt thermal regulation system, it allowed her to operate in areas where her blizzarian physiology would make her susceptible to nasty things like heat exhaustion and hyperthermia, it had obviously been destroyed trying to shield her from the effects of her stupid desperate act. This was her favorite coat too, and now it was a total loss.
Not seeing the point of crying over her situation, Lucy-Lu stood up and looked around for her staff. It was nowhere to be seen, so it could still be on the level above her.
Before she could set about trying to find her favored weapon, she heard a sound that chills up her spine. The sound of running water. 'No, no, no. Not again!' Her mind screamed, every instinct she had told her to run away from here as fast as she could. Nobody was here to help her. Unbidden her feet carried her down the corridor, away from the sound of rushing water as fast as they could carry her.
'Must find a way out... if the water gets me, He will come back!'
(Gorman's POV)
They had lost Lucy.
"What the hell happened Rayner?" Anju demanded of her fellow Sky Knight. Anger edging in her tone.
Rayner had his face composed, but his eyes were withdrawn and haunted, "I don't know, one moment she is edgy, the next she is terrified, then she goes crazy and evocates all the energy in her souped up crystal into the floor."
Gorman shook his head in denial, Lucy-Lu was a friend, a good friend, practically a little sister to him. She may not have been the most accomplished of her people, but she was just as brave, determined, and resilient as the best of them. The idea of Lucy being scared was alien to him, the girl lived off of doing the most death defying and stupid stunts just for the giggles, what did someone like that have to fear?
"She was scared?" Darius said, "I didn't know blizzarians had the mental capacity for fear, she was laughing like a maniac in the last batt- oof!" Gorman suddenly had the smuggler pinned to the wall with his arm against his neck, rage painting his features, "Lucy, has more brains than you do, you sodding gobshite! Understand?!" Gorman growled murderously.
"Lock it down!" Rayner ordered, separating them before it came to blows, "Both of you!"
He turned to Anju, "Any idea why Lucy-Lu would act the way she did?"
Anju thought for a moment, "No, she did look off though, after we entered the ship and she complained about the smell of the musk... oh shit." Her eyes widened, "Damn it! How could I forget?!"
"What is it lass?" Gorman demanded, "Don't keep us all in suspense."
Anju collected herself after a moment, "The Shalk Queen, she secretes psychoactive pheromones on a daily basis that permeate the entire hive, and in our case the entire ship. It uses these pheromones to communicate with it's brood, that pong in the air is these same pheromones, and they are known to produce hallucinogenic effects in other creatures."
"Then why haven't we been affected yet? Why was Lucy the only one?" Rayner asked.
"It takes time for the effects to set in," Anju explained, "And as for why Lucy was the only one, I guess blizzarians are simply more susceptible to the effects than a human would be," she reasoned further.
"Will you guys stop addressing her in the past tense!" Gorman snapped, "She could still be alive! We can't just abandon her like this!"
"No, we can't," Rayner said, "But we also need to destroy the queen, while our mental faculties are still working properly." he looked at all of them in turn.
"We split up," Anju said, "Weren't you the one to say that we should not do that?"
Rayner's expression hardened, "Lucy-Lu is a member of the Black Legion, and I will not leave one of our own at the mercy of these vermin, but at the same time we have a mission to fulfill. So Anju, Gorman, you two are going to search for Lucy and subdue her if necessary, the rest of us are going after the queen."
"Why would we have to subdue her?" Gorman asked, confused.
"Because if we do find her, she will likely be as high as the exosphere; Who knows how she could be perceiving the world at this moment?" Anju pointed out for her larger teammate.
"Shit," Gorman stated under his breath.
Anju adopted a humorless smile, "Alrighty then, lets hunt down our lost blizzarian."
(Darius' POV)
The two teams went their separate ways, the rescue team took a hatch down to the level below, the kill team took the coaming on the other side of the immense steel spool looming over them, where the cable of an immense skyline anchor would be wound up while the airship was in powered flight.
He, Rayner, and Pocky walked in a triangle formation with the Sky Knight in front. Their steps were hurried, the knowledge they were running on a biological countdown was at the forefront of their minds. How long before they become completely combat ineffective? The cloying musk filled the air, infecting them with it's hidden hallucinogenic pheromones; come to think of it, his mind was feeling a tad foggy. He was really starting to hate this ship.
"This is so much fun, do you guys really do this kind of thing for a living?" Pocky asked.
"Fighting an army of possibly demonic insects from the Wastelands inside a Cyclonian cruiser in total darkness while having our sanity chipped away by the foul odors created by their queen?" Darius asked as he kept his blaster leveled down the corridor they were advancing through.
"Exactly," Pocky affirmed, "The ever persistent danger, plenty of good fights... living on the edge you know?"
Darius looked at her with a suspicious eye, "I thought Merbs were supposed to be cautious and conservative."
Pocky flashed him a wide smile, "That's no way to live, my dad was a living example of freedom and I do my best to carry it in his stead. His name was Mardo, you probably heard of him."
Rayner looked back, surprise in his features, "Mardo? The famous daredevil? Everyone knows about that crazy bastard."
A very prideful look came upon the merb female's features, "He died in the most glorious way possible, in the hopes that our people would stop acting like collective pussies and start actually living!" she sighed and adopted a sour expression, "But instead they labeled us as 'disturbers of the peace' and banished me."
"How did Mardo die again? I can't remember," Darius asked.
Pocky's extreme cheerfulness returned as she answered, "He strapped a hundred over-charged high explosive crystals to his body, while fighting a pair of bog howlers on an anti-shipping torpedo flying into an active volcano in a sky full of hungry Sky Sharks." She said her voice filled with nostalgia, "They never found the body, only a singed piece of his jumpsuit and a broken can of Axe bodyspray." Her expression turned serious, "It is my ambition to live and die in a way that measures up to, or even exceeds my father's example."
'And I thought Lucy was crazy,' Darius thought, at the same time praying that Rayner would not let her join the squadron. The team's cohesion was already shaky, Lucy-Lu hated his guts and was plagued with an unusually acute and debilitating case of aquaphobia, Anju was a hothead with a laundry list of unresolved issues, Gorman was totally irrepressible as ever, and Rayner himself had changed little since leaving the Talons, and his dark enigmatic nature was creating a general air of unease for those around him, even his closest friends, it did not help at all that he was also widely distrusted by the other Sky Knights. And Garth had not even joined the team yet! Darius himself was of course blameless for any imbalances.
As they proceeded through the space between the hulls, they eventually came upon the breach. They encountered it after Rayner manually winched open one of the several fire doors that sealed off the ship by section, the light of the outside was blinding, but welcome, as was the clean unpolluted air.
"This is going to cost us," Darius observed, looking at the immense tear that traveled through five decks, creating a massive gap in the corridor that prevented them from moving forward. Fortunately the armor was arranged in modular sections, so with the right contacts the damage could be completely repaired, that is if they lived that long.
"Well, considering this ship spent nearly a decade in the Wastelands, it isn't too bad all things considered," Pocky added, "But it is going to be a problem, this area is completely impassable."
"Look on the bright side, you might be killed by a falling strut, or trip and plummet off the side of the ship," Darius quipped.
"That's not an honorable death," Pocky pouted.
"We will have to take an alternate route," Rayner said finally.
"Back into the bug infested parts of the ship?" Darius asked.
Rayner said nothing and simply passed him back the way they came to the nearest coaming connecting to the second hull.
"This deal is getting worse all this time," the ex-smuggler muttered.
(Anju's POV)
They were on the level below the hole that Lucy-Lu had blasted into the floor earlier, around them were the bodies of several recently killed Shalk workers and one soldier.
In her hands she held Lucy's mauve colored fur-lined winter jacket, turning it over in her hands.
"No blood, no Lucy," Anju stated grimly.
"But she did survive the explosion," Gorman added, "But that begs to question; where did she wander off to?"
Anju studied the scene, trying to picture out how events took place after the explosion. She looked upwards. Lucy-Lu had been standing facing the Shalks when she detonated her ice crystal. She noted a dent on the rim of the hole in the ceiling; the force of the explosion knocked her back as she fell, and she hit the rim, thankfully her hardy physiology probably warded off the brunt of the damage. She then fall face down onto the deck below. After a few more moments Anju cleared her throat and spoke, "She went that way," she said, pointing down the corridor that lead towards the stern.
"We will have to hurry, there is no telling how many Shalks are down there," Gorman said, hefting his energy sword.
"I'm curious Gorman, what does this girl mean to you exactly?" Anju asked as she followed him down the corridor.
Gorman chuckled, "It's not what you think. Y'see Lucy-Lu is a rather troubled sort of lass. But she did save my life a while back, during that mutiny me and Rayner pulled off years ago." He said, a small smile cresting his features.
"So you owe her a life debt?" Anju inquired.
"Aye, one I intend to settle today. But it goes beyond that, she reminds me a lot of my kid sister, always up for a little action, but tends to lose confidence in herself if things don't go her way the first few times. Besides, I'm the only one around to look after her."
"What about Rayner? From what I gathered they are close friends," Anju replied.
Gorman shook his head, "Rayner tries, but his heart is divided. The man is pissed off, and closed off. And while his Talon days are behind him, he still has not left that part of himself behind, it continues to fester in him and keep his friends at arms length, though I admit he does have his sensitive moments, it's still hard to see him as a Sky Knight rather than a Talon."
Anju nodded, that summed up Rayner perfectly. She had no idea of what drove the man onward with such intensity, it was another thing that made it difficult to trust his judgment and get along with him. But Rayner was a highly shrewd leader, he was able to think on his feet and deliver competent strategies in the heat of battle.
"Although, I notice that recently she has started taking a liking to you Anju," Gorman commented as he ducked under a bunch of loose cables dangling from the ceiling.
"Well that's not too surprising," Anju said as she followed after him, "The girl is probably starved of female company, between Rayner's solitary behavior and you being half-drunk most of the time, she is likely desperate for someone new to talk to."
Gorman chuckled, "Lucy doesn't mind me getting tipsy, in fact she is a grand drinking partner herself. I have never seen a girl handle alcohol so easily, she can sometimes drink me under the table such is her prowess. It kind of makes me confused as to how this musk affected her so badly."
Anju frowned, "It's a different form of intoxication, Blizzarians have naturally strong constitutions, true. But the pheromones get into the bloodstream through the lungs, humans are just better built to fight this kind of intrusion; but not for long, I can already feel it happening."
Both of them became silent, but they were determined now, to save their mutual friend before the delirium that claimed her overtakes them as well.
(Rayner's POV)
Rayner was worried, not just for Lucy now, but for his team as a whole. It was unnerving, to be confronting with an enemy he could not pummel into submission, the musk was this enemy. He hoped that his other three team members were still alive. If Lucy was dead, the Absolute Zeroes would hunt him down and Suzy-Lu would exact revenge in the most painful way possible.
But he needed to make sure the Queen was taken care of. It was a difficult decision, and if it weren't for the damned pheromones he would have committed the whole team to the rescue effort. But he would have to settle on the hopes that Anju and Gorman could find that loopy blizzarian and get out of here before they too succumb.
"We must be getting close," Rayner said out loud.
"How do you figure that?" Darius asked as he picked his way over a fallen strut.
"The smell is getting worse," Rayner answered as he quickened his pace towards a door at the far end of the corridor.
"Well here we are, Reactor Control," Rayner announced. He manually winched the door open and immediately noted the red glow in the room, and the fact that it was inhabited.
"Scatter!" Darius shouted as the telltale screech of Shalk soldiers filled the air. Rayner jumped backwards, Pocky and Darius took cover on either side of the bulkhead.
Not an instant later, tongues of flame shot out of the room beyond, and the sound of scuttling intensified, not only from the room but from the way they came as well.
"It's a trap!" Rayner shouted as he joined his two escrima sticks together at the ends to form a bo-staff. They had been boxed in, he had not taken Anju's warnings of the Queen's intelligence seriously, 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'
"Darius, Pocky! Keep the little bastards back, the big ones are mine!" He ordered. Without waiting for confirmation, Rayner leaped through the bulkhead and smashed his staff into the disgusting head of a soldier, pulping it into an uglier mess. There were more than a dozen of them in the Control Room, flaring their oversized serrated mandibles in anticipation of a fresh meal.
Instinct took over; Rayner dived to the side as yet another series of fire streams came at him from the throats of the damned insects. Shalk soldiers were about a third larger than the workers, and twice as vicious, their carapaces were also thicker and covered more of the body.
He smashed his staff hard into the back of another Shalk, small fissures formed on the natural armor, but that only served to piss the monster off. Rayner nimbly dodged it's counterattack and slammed the staff back down on it's back, right upon the fissure, shattering the carapace and crippling the soldier. He didn't have time to finish it off because it's buddies were trying to swarm him.
"Holy crap, there's a million of these things!" Darius shouted over the din of screeching and blaster fire.
"Face death with your head held high, coward!" Pocky snapped.
Rayner jabbed and swung his staff at his opponents, it's ends spinning so fast that they created trailing arcs of green light. Four of the Shalks now lay dead, their gore spattered across the deck, and Rayner's flight suit and body armor. His goggles and face was smeared with their black essence, it made him want to vomit.
"To hell with this!" Rayner roared, his body began to radiate with pulsing green light as he turned to his signature move. The Sky Burial.
He burst out of the Shalk encirclement and swung his staff towards them. A large sphere of green energy spat out the end, and it began to suck in everything near it; loose debris, crates, and Shalks were dragged into it. An instant later, the sphere contracted, and everything was forced together. The sphere disappated and the resulting implosion threw liquified pieces of Shalk, and twisted pieces of metal flying in all directions at subsonic speed. Altogether, nine Shalks had been killed. The walls, floor, and ceiling painted with their blood and tiny pieces of crushed carapace.
"Rayner, we are going to be overrun!" Darius exclaimed from the other side of the bulkhead.
"Get in here, and shoot the manual override!" Rayner commanded, turning his attention to the remaining Shalk soldiers. Now that there were less in here, it was safer for his team to retreat into the Control Room.
Darius and Pocky backpedaled into the room, firing at the approaching horde of workers, as soon as they crossed the threshold, Darius aimed his blaster to the side and shot a bolt into the override mechanism. The heavy door promptly slammed back down to the floor with a loud clang.
Afterward, they finished off the remaining soldiers with relative ease. But the sounds of scratching and screeching could be heard beyond the sealed door.
"That should hold them for a while," Rayner observed before turning and examining the room properly. Reactor Control was slightly illuminated by the red light produced by the fuel crystals that came from the reactor itself. It was a series of twelve cylinders with the crystals themselves embedded into slots in the surface.
"I believe this is your show Darius," Rayner said, gesturing to the towering reactor assembly.
The man looked at it and sighed, "If this thing works, I will be impressed."
Atmospedia
Gorman: A native of Terra Conwya, Gorman lived on a farm with his parents until the age of eighteen when he left his home terra to join the Talons of Cyclonia. His service in the Talons was mixed with commendations for his prowess in combat, and complaints about his off duty behavior. Over time however he became disillusioned with the Cyclonian cause. Rather than quit, he decided to get shit done instead. Over the course of three years, Gorman killed forty-six officers of the Secret Police, and several ranking officials.
Rayner, who at the time was a Talon himself discovered him to be the culprit, but at the time he was already disgruntled with the current state of the Empire and chose not to rat him out. Some time later, Gorman was eventually found out and instead of being executed on the spot, the Talon High Command decided to have him shipped to Cyclonia to be made an example of. But he never got there, with Rayner's aid he escaped, making him a living legend among Talon soldiers.
Indebted to Rayner, Gorman came to help Rayner when the latter wished to stage a mutiny during the brief Cyclonian occupation of Terra Edmontonia, and today he now serves as Rayner's wingman. He pilots a Razorblade II Ultra Gyrocopter.
Darius: Born an Airboomer, Darius is the bastard son of a smuggler mother, and a transient mercenary father. His mother's lifestyle meant that Darius was mostly left to his own devices, and therefore learned to take care of himself at a very early age. But unfortunately, his mother was also a miser and paid bare minimum for his needs. So Darius did as his mother did, he sold things. Over the course of his childhood and into his teens, Darius became a master of selling worthless crap to people, and late into his teens went into business for himself.
It was during this time that he met Rayner, who was hanging out with the Ghost Claws Sky Knight squadron, and together they made a profitable arrangement between the two of them without the knowledge of the Ghost Claws. After each battle the Ghost Claws fought, Rayner would surreptitiously signal Darius and his team to sweep in and collect valuable salvage, over the course of three years Rayner and Darius scored huge amounts of money, enough for Rayner to start a squadron of his very own.
Darius follows Rayner because he believes that this is a path that can make him super-rich in a relatively short amount of time. He serves as one of the team's sharpshooters and lead flight engineer. He is also useful for his underworld contacts and his smooth negotiating skills in lieu of Rayner's 'sledgehammer diplomacy'.
Darius flies a highly customized Air Skimmer II Alpha airframe.
A/N: Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Anyway here is the second part of the Hellbender story arc. I've introduced some of the flaws in my characters, revealed some of Pocky's backstory, and have risen the stakes a little higher. As always reviews are welcome. Stay tuned for the third and final part of the Hellbender chapters.