Fears, worries and sorrows.
Itel watched as Eti sat down on the bed and put on a leather glove. She always started with that after everything... even though it was only their third time... She didn't know if... if they were closer, she would do it too... Did it have any special meaning for the feline girl? Did she show that she didn't care? That it meant nothing to her. Was it really just a moment of… fun for her? Consolation? She felt stab of pain in the heart…
When Eti put on pants and panties, it always required some effort from her because of the tail, she touched the tips of her fingers the short soft hair that grew on the feline girl's back. Eti stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed. Once upon an unexpected touch, she would have flinched at best, perhaps even recoiled. It was some progress.
„You know, it's not your fault we're traveling here. We all decided it together." her friend said.
„But if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't vote for that?" she asked in a sad voice. Eti turned to her and said.
„What difference does it make... We'd have to fly somewhere anyway. I will go anyway where you are, and for me all places in the galaxy are similar."
Her friend was usually sincere, even if she was insensitive. She was never nice to please anyone either. Sometimes she twisted the truth, sometimes she told tales, but she rarely lied. Not calcultedly…
„It's not an answer". she replied to her friend. Eti sighed.
"You're… my friend, just my best friend. You all are friends and I want us all to be together.
"A friend... so that was..." Itel said bitterly.
Eti lowered her head...
„You were sad and I wanted to comfort you. You know damn well I'm no good at this, so I thought you'd enjoy it."
The Solarian laughed helplessly. Indeed it was. Eti found it over a cup of half-melted sweet cream ice cream, staring straight ahead, choked with fear and guilt. It was then, after seeing that message, that she realized what a terrible place they were flying. She survived the Swarm Attack and believed that she couldn't find anything worse, and here ... She took her friends, the only family she had and threw them to be devoured by evil much worse than the mindless mass of claws and maws. She didn't think about all the stories about the White Demons, she believed that the truth would come out as soon as they got there. And it come out. Evil who was destroying the planets. This Horde Prime chose to do to others what had been done to her loved ones. Why? It's… Unbelievable. Even if he is dead, if he had been defeated, what did it matter? She exposed her friends to witness such a terrible tragedy. She made them relive the nightmare of Kesler's fall. She knew it would leave scars on their souls. Even on Eti's soul, though the girl didn't show it like the others.
When Eti saw that Itel would not eat her ice cream, she asked if she could finish it for her. The feline girl didn't really like ice cream and most sweets, but she liked sweet cream ice cream. Without a word, he handed her the bucket. Only after devouring half of it did Eti ask if she was okay, and then the elf burst into tears. After a while, Eti hugged her, she wasn't as clumsy as she used to be. And then they ended up in Itel's room and… For a moment she felt fine, but she knew it wasn't true, that they would always be just friends.
„You know what? I don't think we have anything to worry about!" Eti said, and Itel pricked up her pointed elven ears.
"Because, you know, I guess we should start with the fact that this is a whole country of Wormdaks, cloned in honor of Archwormdak. You can't expect too much from them."
She sighed and shook her head.
„Wrongdak can fight, believe me. He's nice, but he can be dangerous, he just doesn't feel like it. But his mean brothers might be waiting for us there." Itel said in a resigned tone. Eti shrugged.
„But we didn't come here to fight anyone. We just have to go to this Etheria and find a whatsit for this captain and we're back. We just have to keep our heads down." she said getting out of bed. She went to the mirror and wiped her face.
„And that Etheria? If the Lady of Chaos really lives there? And the rest of these monsters." the solarian asked looking at her friend. "She's So Beautiful"
"It's just the talk of this drow. drow! Who could believe someone like that? That's dumber than believing the Lord Admiral. And besides, you know, with our disposition, we can be friends with such a lady of Chaos. I think it's time to change the hair color ..." she said. Then there was a knock on the door. Itel felt herself turn red. She didn't want anyone to catch them here. She wanted to scream not to come in when Eti opened the door with her tail.
Toshi flew inside, who immediately started rubbing against Eti, and a smiling Rosie stood in the doorway.
„I'm only here to let It in..." said the girl in sign language, when suddenly she saw Eti naked from the waist up, and then itel on the bed, trying to cover herself with a blanket. The white-haired girl turned beet red, just like the Elf. She covered her eyes and tried to speak, but doing both were impossible for her. She finally slammed the door and ran down the hall.
"I must have done something not good." Eti said in her usual monotonous voice
Bina got up, sat on the edge of the bed and wiped her forehead.
„Fuck, we did it, didn't we?" Bina said. Her cabin was no better than the others. Well, she was a captain in name only.
Dilayla, who was lying next to her, also sat down next to her.
„We slept in the same bed naked, I guess that says it all." The mercenary bared white tiny teeth inherited from her elven ancestors.
„I didn't need to drink so much." said the red-haired woman.
„And you played cards too. Needless to say you won?" Dilayla smiled wider and wider.
The captain snorted.
„Because I cheated, I'm too good at it." she started getting dressed.
„Not that I'm complaining, sometimes the deceived really wants to be deceived." The mercenary also started putting on clothes. She did it efficiently, like a soldier.
„I don't usually do this with passengers. In fact, I expected sooner to end up in bed with Arkan-tar. He seems to be the type who does not refuse and quickly forgets." Bina grunted.
„He looked poisoned after seeing this news, I think he realized where he arived." replied Dilayla. Bina looked askance at her.
„You don't seem to care much".
The half-elf shrugged.
„ I'm a mercenary, I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life. No shadow beasts will scare me. . she said, and when Bina narrowed her eyes suspiciously, she added. „And i got used to crap pushed by politicians. The enemy is always mindless monsters. You don't look scared either."
"Good point"
„I guess I see propaganda bullshit in this, too. I've seen much bigger shit being foisted on the masses, like making a hero out of a one Lord Admiral. You don't know him, do you?" She added seeing Dilayla frown. "Anyway, I have to go now." I have a talk with Lady Cala soon, because Verthani and Lashunti want to see what Lady Cala is transporting." She smiled as she saw Dilayla wince. "I know you and Eti hate her, and I don't like her either... But if she wants to show me something..."
„Sure." Dilayla said. She finished dressing and stood up. "Only when your face melts, Don't hold a grudge against anyone." I'll go over the equipment, then try to get Rosie to train. The girl has talent. It's a pity to let it go to waste.
Arkan-tar was worried. He was worried as hell. This travel was turning into something he was absolutely unprepared for despite years of putting himself in danger. He had heard of what a scary place the Ravaged Zone was, but seeing was believing… He had seen the remnants of extinct civilizations. Well, researching them was his job. Cultures have been born and died, whether through conquest, natural disasters, or simply morphing into something new. It was the natural order of things, it was easy to distance yourself from such matters when you study civilizations that had been dead for thousands of years. But when you've seen the extermination on a planetary scale, and you hear the words of the one who did the carnage... then you realize the tangibility of evil. "By all the gods and devils, I see his face every day!" he thought as he looked at Wrongdak, who still hadn't recovered from the shock of picking up the signal from that Horde Ultimate. The existence of such a person did not surprise him. Whenever a ruler died without heir, his empire was torn apart by his sucesors until the strongest emerged or it crumbled. He was much more worried about this Lady of Chaos and the other beings that appeared there. The Lady of Thorns in particular, for she fitted in very well with his knowledge of the dark Fae, who often combined life and death, pain and pleasure, destruktion and rebirth. As a Verthani, even if not native-born, he had an instinctive aversion to absolutes. Of course, maybe everything was lies and propaganda... But often evil can only be destroyed by greater evil, and how monstrous must have been the force that annihilated someone who was murdering entire populations of planets.?
The next morning, Lady Cala was to show them an object she was carrying. Bina and Rechiza were also present, and of course Lady Cala, though without Miss Daisy. The Dark Sorceress had been spending more and more time with this strange elven mistic lately, and judging by the scent she often exuded, they were rather relishing liquors of very dubious quality. Lady Cala stood by a chest made of a strange green stone. The noblewoman knelt and lifted the lid. Inside was an unusual red stone interspersed with green metal veins. It was the size of a human head. It seemed almost identical, though much larger, like the stone set in Lady Cala's ring.
„We call it Bloodstone. It has been in my family for hundreds or even thousands of years, ever since the daughter of Mary, the founder of our ruu, came to Carurystal. It remained lost and forgotten for centuries, somewhere in the endless underground stretching under our castle. I found it with the ring when I wanted to know the history of our bloodline. It is said that he comes from Etheria and allowed the use of magic that permeated this world …" said the aristocrat. „I want to return it to the people of that planet as a gift to show the best side of the galaxy and of course the pact worlds." said Lady Cala.
Bina looked at the artifact with a hint of skepticism.
„Doesn't look dangerous, but... was he just a decoration?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I don't know for sure, but it was said to allow the ring's owner to control Etherian's magic in a unique way. Apparently, there were more similar items, and each of them gave the user a different power. That's all I know."
Bina sighed.
„Nice story. Were your ancestors from there? So you can somehow relate to this Lady of Chaos and the whole Worst Things Ever Squad?" she asked with a hint of irritation in her voice.
„Oh, the answer is simple. It's all a lie. Mara was from Etheria and gave her life for it, would she do it for a planet full of monsters?"
„As you said, it was thousands of years ago... The future will show us the truth. Bina said. She touched the communicator and said. "Alatar calls me to the bridge. He has something important to show me. Bina said and left the hold. He was not surprised, for he knew the gem's origins, albeit only in general terms. It appeared to be the work of a long-extinct reptilian race that was said to have used similar items to manipulate the flow of magical energy. This was consistent with what Lady Cala had said, but also how did it relate to Mara being one of the First Ones. When his glasses, which sometimes showed visions of the past, but only the ancient one. But here he couldn't see anything, and that made him very uneasy...
"We must make contact with the Lord Admiral, only he can guarantee our safety ..." He thought and also started towards the bridge.
Rosie stood in the doorway to the Arcanic lab, rubbing her eyes. It's not that she got sad when she found out that Eti and Itel were together. She just felt… disappointed. She liked Eti. And Eti liked her too. And she guess they'll still like each other... buddy, won't they? They will continue to play and train… although now they are reluctant to do so. And when they get to some planet, they will assume that they are on some mission. Only now would she have to be more… careful? Give Eti and Itel more space so that... they can be more together. And to be more of a distance to the feline girl, but now at least she knew why Itel was mean to her even though she hadn't done anything to her. Of course, she had no reason to be jealous. They were just friends, after all. Not even friends, just buddies. They'd only known each other for… ten days… maybe two weeks? She wasn't sure, it was hard for her to keep track of time on the spaceship. However, she liked her very much. She was weird, unusual, funny… she was a real magical cat!
But she still felt sad, and she didn't know why. She wiped her eyes and put on her glasses. Then they showed that someone was talking to her. She turned and saw Miss Daisy standing in the shadows. She looked really scary at that moment.
„Is something wrong child?" she asked smiling gently. She walked over to him and gave him a questioning look.
"No, I'm fine… just…" She hesitated.
"Speak, I'll listen to you... I don't have much to do now anyway..." said the grim elf. Rosie smelled alcohol on her.
„Nothing but... Toshi was hanging around the corridor and wanted to go to Itel's room, so I let him in, but I went inside and... There was Eti and they with Itel... together… you understand..."
Miss Daisy sighed sadly.
„Oh, poor child. She reached a hand to her face. The holographic cloaking quivered, and she felt a slight tingle on her cheek, then the touch of the woman's claws.
„You've only known each other for a moment and you've already felt something you can't name... I understand you. she said, then looked up into the air. How strange that it took them almost two decades to figure out what they have in common when others only need a few days… or a few hours." the dark sorceress said to herself.
„They? Are you talking about any other girls you've looked after like Lady Cala? she asked curiously.
"Looked after… What a wonderful euphemism… And they were definitely not like Lady Cala… Those girls… They were actually my daughters. In some sense…"
Rosie's eyes widened.
„Did you have children? What happened to them?"
Miss Daisy hesitated.
„Yes. But they don't remember me well. To be honest, I rather hope they don't remember me anymore."
Rosie studied the gloomy woman, trying to decipher her words. She felt pity for the dark sorceress. She too had a family that she had lost. She didn't understand how anyone could want to be forgotten. She suddenly felt so sad. She suddenly embraced the older woman and cuddled up to her. The sorceress flinched, but then placed a clawed hand on her head. There was no tingling, so the woman must have turned off the holographic cloaking
„Don't worry. You are so young and strong. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't let fear, worries and sorrows ruin your life." said the sorceress, and then Rosie burst into tears.
Dilayla was scared. She was a veteran of dozens of clashes and skirmishes. She has come close to death countless times. She'd even survived invasion of that insane Horde Prime motherfucker ... But now she felt a constant cold stab of fear in her heart. She wasn't afraid of Horde Ultimate, he didn't have that crazy, but in a way sincere, megalomany of his Big Brother... He seemed to be just another power-hungry dictator, which the galaxy had known so many. He just had a rather unusual PR specialist. She was not at all afraid of the Lady of Chaos and her entourage. She'd heard too much propaganda crap in her life not to be amused hearing about the Lady of Thorns or the Shadow Beast, the true identity of which she had some suspicions. She preferred to trust the Wrongdak's judgment. He may have been good-natured and a bit naive, but he wasn't stupid, and it had slipped through their conversations that his friends were good people, even if they had been through hard life. No… Dilayla was afraid of her companions.
After seeing Lady Cala fight, she had no doubt that this woman didn't need protection. In fact, she feared that she would be able to slaughter a whole group of them without much effort. And without remorse. "She didn't hesitate to rip out Rosie's throat in training. If only the girl had been just a little slower…"
It just felt like Rosie should be afraid too. The likeable and friendly intern defeated the deadliest warrior Dilayla had ever seen in a fight. And on top of that, she didn't remember anything about the clash. When she found out what she had done, the white-haired girl was genuinely terrified. She refused to continue training because she was afraid of hurting someone. The mercenary was also full of fears, both for the girl's life and for what might happen if she fell into a combat trance for longer. She had no idea what secret the girl's past was hiding, but there must have been something very dark about her. That's why she wanted to talk Rosie into continuing her training, maybe then she'd get some clues. Perhaps he will ask Eti for help, after all, the feline girl liked ... or even "liked" the intern.
After looking through the equipment, she decided to look for the girl. She couldn't find her. She finally went to the arcane lab. In the doorway, she saw Rosie and a ghostly entity with a hand on the intern's head. Years of war and fighting instinct kicked in, and before she had time to think, her body reacted and she jumped into the fight...
And Rosie grabbed them with a cybernetic hand in the air and effortlessly held them still. The nightmare figure looked at her in surprise and said in Miss Daisy's voice.
"Apparently Arkan-tar and Rechiza didn't think it important to inform you." She touched the back of her neck to activate the holographic cloaking and became Miss Daisy. The mercenary widened her eyes and stammered.
„What the fuck..."
„That `s nothing. It's just Miss Daisy. She had a terrible accident once and that's why she looks like this now." explained Rosie, who let go of the mercenary's hand. Her eyes were red as if she had just cried.
'Rechiza and Arkan-tar saw my face, as did Rosie the night before we left Saltmarsh. It's unfortunate that your comrades treated you this way. I hope this misunderstanding will not affect our future relationship. she said in her strong and powerful voice. Rosie smiled at her
„It's really okay, it's just a misunderstanding."
Dilayla sighed. „The girl must have found a foster mother like that" she thought, and then they were sumoned bridge.
Dilayla looked around. Almost all crew members were there. Itel tried not to look at Rosie as if she was embarrassed, Eti watched her shoes very intensely, and Rosie was very ostentatiously cheerful. The half-elf sighed, she really didn't have the strength for teenage dramas. Luckily, Bina came to terms with what had happened between them.
„Listen, we just got an emergency call. the captain began. It comes from the convent of Saint Serenia. I immediately inform you that I am required by law to help."
Arkan-tar winced.
„And how old is the call?" he asked skeptically.
„I'm not sure, maybe months. But rather a few years." Bina replied. Verthani spread his hands helplessly.
"As you can see, our help is rather useless." he said with all too much feigned sadness.
"He's right, our mission is more important, and there's nothing we can do anyway." Rechiza added.
„Pathetic cowards," the mercenary thought and said.
„We can't just let this go on the agenda. Stories of shipwrecked people waiting for years for help have been heard many times. Besides... After all we've seen, after all the testimonies of Horde Prime's crimes, we have to do something... For ourselves. Otherwise, we will let evil win again".
Wrongdak looked at her with admiration, and Eti, Rosie and ... Miss Daisy with respect. Lady Cala stepped into the center of the room and said.
"Dilayla is right. We cannot pass by this cry for help indifferently. Besides, maybe we'll find some clues there that will help us discover the truth about what's going on here."
"Why do I get the feeling this wasn't the best idea?" thought the mercenary staring at the smiling face of the aristocrat.