"Captain, we've found one."
Captain Musashi, an Oriental Styled Android, turned his chair to look at his Sensors and science tech, a large Nuar named Roch. Roch, while slightly small compared to other Nuar, was still massively tall and big, and his horns made him even more imposing. The man had a heart of gold though, and would only ever hurt someone if they were in the wrong, and had hurt someone innocent first. "How far away from us?"
"Forty seven hundred kilometers. They haven't noticed us yet, but once we get closer that will likely change," Roch explained as he tapped his large fingers on the console in front of him, answering the captains questions before they were even answered. "They are not going even a fifth of our speed."
"Alright, how big?"
"Average saucer size. Should be equipped with four plasma cannons. Maybe some missiles and . . . . nope, no missiles."
"Alright, good. Tethys, can you get us into combat range?" Musashi asked as he looked to his pilot, a Shirran with a pale blue carapace.
"please, I can get us close enough to se the seams on that grey piece of junk," Tethys responded in a smug tone.
"Just keep us under the radar as long as you can," Musashi said with a sigh before pressing a button on his command console. "This is thee captain, we have found our quarry, all hands are to move to battlestations for combat. ETA fourteen minutes. I repeat, all hands to Battlestations for ETA fourteen minutes."
"Captain, how hard are we hitting them?" The ships main weapons officer, a Brenneri named Cam, asked with a hint of hope in his tone. Unlike most of her kind he greatly enjoyed the thrill of combat, and loved putting excessively large ordinance into things that could not take it.
"That depends on how hard they play tag with us," Musashi said as he heard a noise and saw the ships other gunnery officers enter the bridge and take seats on their positions around Cam.
"Understood. Though I do think we should fire the missiles to soften em up first, just to be sure."
"We will see," Musashi said simply as the lights on the bridge dimmed as they moved into combat alert. After a while he pulled up the scans of the grey craft. A Saucer, as Grey craft were called due to their shape. It did not look damaged in any way, and the scans showed four operational plasma cannons, one on each quadrant edge of the craft. It was about forty meters in diameter, and it was then that Musashi noticed something about the scans given to him. Not only was the craft going far under its optimal speed, it appeared to be releasing extra energy from its reactor, and its life support systems. "Roch, are these accurate?"
"What part captain?"
"the ships energy ratings and life support systems output."
"One moment. . . . . huh, that is odd. Greys shouldn't need that much oxygen."
"Are you sure the scans are accurate then?"
"One sec. . . . scanners are scrubbed and rebooted. Redoing scans again. . . . .no, its accurate captain."
Musashi pondered calmly for a moment before it clicked. "Roch. Can we get a life signs scan of that grey craft?"
"Sir?"
"Can we or not?"
"Yes, but they may detect us if we do."
"Then do it."
Many in the bridge were confused by the captains order, but said nothing until one of the gunners spoke up. "Sir, Grey craft is picking up speed according to my targeting computer!"
"That's fine. Tethys, get us to combat speed. No more stealth. All hands brace for combat maneuvers!" Musashi commanded, the bridge turning red in color. "Roch, do you have that scan?"
"One moment and, got it. . . . Sir, nine grey life signs, and three, sorry, two human life signs."
"One is no longer among the living?"
"Residual life signs, yes. Probably just passed on within the last few hours."
"Wait, that means that isn't a patrol ship, bit a grey abductor," Tethys spoke up, causing the entire atmosphere in the bridge to go cold.
The greys were a race that few other races cared for. Their cold detached regard for others and complete disregard for galactic laws and decency made them highly hated, and of all greys, the ones who abducted the innocent were the most hated.
Especially since they often attacked non advanced feudal or primitive worlds that were protected under Galactic law.
"Exactly," Musashi said as he pressed the shipwide comms button. "To all crew, we have confirmed the Grey ship we have encountered is an Abductor, with two still living abductee's aboard it. As per galactic law, and the rules of our current contract, we will not be destroying the grey ship and instead boarding it to retrieve the abductee's. Boarding teams are to prepare for boarding action to be launched as soon as the grey ship is crippled."
"Captain, Grey ship is firing its rear Plasma cannon at us. At suboptimal distance," Tethys said I nan almost wounded tone, like his pride was hurt.
"how long till we are in firing range?"
"Thirty seconds," Cam answered.
"Good. Gunnery, Weapons free. Aim all weapons to cripple that ship and do not strike it's core. Bring it to a halt."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Louise opened her eyes and instantly regretted it as her entire skull pounded with a headache like no other she ever had before . her eyes watered, her skull stung, and the back of her head felt like it was literally on fire. It of course was not, but no matter how much she grabbed at her head the pounding incensing pain would not go away.
It went on for what felt like hours, the pain not subsiding even a little, it traveled into her ears and down her spine, making her body freeze up and twitch all at once. And with each twitch, each movement of her body, it felt like her bones were on fire.
The pain did eventually subside though, shifting slowly to a dull throbbing that, while painful, allowed Louise to finally move her body and shift herself up to a sitting position with the help of the wall. She was in a Cell again and it looked, different. It looked the same, but something about the Cell was off that made her think it was a different cell than the one before, though she had no way to confirm it.
In the cell with her, just as before, was Montmorency, who was curled up into a ball and crying in pain.
"Mont- Mont-" Louise tried to speak as she slowly crawled toward Montmorency, her throat so dry she could barely speak, while her body still cried out as if her very veins were on fire. "Momo, I'm here, it . . .will go away," Louise said with difficulty as she reached Montmorency and hugged her rolled up form. "The pain, will go away."
Montmorency merely whimpered in response as she continued to cry and writhe. Louise had no idea how much time passed. Her own body still hurt, and slowly, very slowly, Montmorency stopped whimpering and shuddering in pain.
She did not stop crying however. "Why, why is this happening, to us? None of us, have done anything to deserve this! Even, even if we, sometimes arrogant, its not enough, for all of this. Why, why why! Why do we have to suffer like this?!"
" . . . . I don't know."
"I, I just want to go home."
"We will. We'll get home and-" Louise was cut off as the entirety of the prison block shook, throwing the two girls to the ground and across the entire Cell. "Ah, Founder damn it all!"
"What, what is happening?" Montmorency asked fearfully.
"I, I don't-" Louise tried to say as a loud crashing or crushing sound shook the entire of where they were, causing them to both slip into the back wall of the cell. "That was, an explosion? Is this monsters, thing, under attack?"
"But, we're inside of it?" Montmorency said in worry.
"Yes," Louise said just as the entire place shook one more time. Before the already dim lights went completely out, leaving the two girls in utter darkness. "Oh Founder."
"Louise . . . . do you, believe in the founder?" Montmorency said hesitantly as the two of them sat in the dark.
"Of course, he is the Founder," Louise said as she could began hearing a strange, distant thumping noise then following by odd screeching's that echoed through the prison block, as if reverberating through the whole building.
"I am being serious," Montmorency said, holding back a sob as she did. "We, we are nobles, our families are, and we have never wanted for anything, but, that isn't the same for the common folk. We're supposed to protect and guide them, and I know our families do, but others never did. And, and what good does following the founders faith do us, if praying for anything when we need it most, doesn't do anything for us?"
Louise wanted to tell Montmorency it was fine, that believing was fine, but she couldn't. After years of not being able to do magic, after years of pushing so hard for anything but an explosion, after years if praying for a sigh of any kind, and having nothing, she had long since grown jaded over the church and the Brimiric faith. All she could see it as now was a way or the nobility to exert control over the commoners, and for the church to control the nations and wage pointless wars upon the elves. She had to keep tryign though, had to make it seem like she still believed, so she still did everything a proper follower was supposed to.
"No. not for a long time."
"Because, you couldn't do magic like everyone else?"
"And for, other reasons," Louise said with a sigh as strange sounds, like pistols and lightning and fire began being heard at a distance.
"Like?"
"you know my family, so you know how my sisters are either, angry and demanding, or friendly, but sickly. It was never said outright, but after Eleonore failed in her marriage, it was sort of expected that I would be the one to not fail. To marry and have a family, to continue the family lineage and strength since Cattleya couldn't with her health."
"So, you were being married off, in addition to being unable to use magic?
"Yes. I am, to be wed to Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis De Wardes immediately when I finish my schooling at the academy. Whether I could prove my nobility, or not."
"He, is the Viscount not over twice our ages?" Montmorency asked in surprise. It was not uncommon for women to marry men older than they, especially in arranged marriages, but in Tristain it was heavily looked down upon if the man was more than double the Womans age, and as such, very rare.
"Yes, but since his family is of a lower standing, and friendly with my own, it was deemed. . . . acceptable," Louise said as the strange sounds she assumed were somehow related to combat seemed to get louder. "At first I found no issue with it as he was handsome and friendly. But as my belief has waned, I've realized it was just a way for my family to get rid of me. To claim that something has been made of me."
"I guess both of us have problems at home then," Montmorency said quietly, though their close quarters made it pointless.
"What do you-" Louise tried to say until the sound of metal grinding echoed in the prison block alongside a sudden beam of light that illuminated the central walkway. And on that light, was a shadow that quickly got bigger until one of the monsters appeared in front of their cell, raising its arm, and the odd object upon it, and shooting some kind of greenish blue blast of light and fire at something outside of the prison block.
For a moment that was all that was occurring, the monster shooting at something unseen in a way that almost seemed frantic, or panicked.
Then a long rod of metal, not unlike a javelin or spear, flew out of someplace unseen and struck the monsters thin hand, impaling down the length of its arm before ripping out the back side, causing the creature to fall to the ground soundlessly, its arm a limp mass of bloodied flesh that oozed a green liquid, totally unlike proper red blood. And before either girl could react, another creature came into view.
It was huge and hulking, like a lizard but bipedal and wearing armor and clothing. It lunged into view, claws grabbing the short bluish monster by its bulbous head and picked it up, slamming its head into the opposite wall, before then bringing its head down, and its knee up, snapping its back in the process. Then, seeing the bluish one dead, the great huge bipedal lizard tossed it to the ground, and turned toward the Cell.
"Stay behind me," Louise said as she moved in front of Montmorency, keeping her nakedness mostly covered as she hid Montmorency behind her. She knew it was pointless. The lizard monster was massive, easily as big as a troll. It has killed the blue thing so easily, and its head was large and its teeth many. If it wanted to kill them, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
The lizard monster stood there for a moment before touching something on its head and mumbling something that sounded faintly like language and then knelt down in front of the two girl as it took out what looked like a roll of cloth from somewhere on its person and held it out toward them, giving them a toothy grin all the while.
"You are safe now little ones. The Grey's cannot hurt you now."