Aynsefian

The IR84U and her horrible captain have come back for us. My heart feels like it has frozen over. They are probably going to kill us this time. I still don’t know why they’re doing this. I can scarcely believe our poor fortune. I would glance at my companions, but I would see the pain they must be feeling, so I don’t. They’ve found their beloved Aynsefian, and as we’re about to go and explore it, we get captured again. We have just started to collectively recover from our ordeal out there on the planetary surface and to feel good again, and now we’re right back where we were a week ago. It’s soul destroying.

Will we actually be killed this time? Or will be dropped on some other barren planet, this time to truly be banished and die horribly? I can’t deal with it. I can feel tears forming in my eyes.

How did my life come to this? Why has fate so utterly and horribly cursed me?

Maybe there is a way. Maybe I can pretended to comply and then surprise that captain, or whichever of her crew comes for me. Maybe they won’t gas us this time. They already destroyed… our ship. There’s just us now. We are no threat. Maybe they’ll be off their guard. Perhaps I can spot a weakness and attack them when they least expect it. I’m not given to violence, but it feels like I have no choice. I’m determined to try anything to save my own life, and that of my companions.

I can grab some rocks and use them as projectiles. It’s a desperate thought, but I’ve got to try something. The problem is, I bet they’re watching me. I can’t bend down directly and pick up something from the ground. They’ll see me. I have to think of some sort of ruse. I’ll pretended to fall over and pick them up when I’m on the ground. I must act quickly, though.

I scan around with my peripheral vision at the ground in front of me, looking for rocks. There’s two over there, to my right. I can fall in the sand next to them and grab them with my right hand. I must do it immediately. I trip over my own feet deliberately, and the landing is a bit painful, but I’m not seriously hurt.

It feels exceedingly lame, but I hope it’s convincing. I have to assume they’re watching.

I’ve landed next to the rocks and I roll over onto them, faking moderate pain in my lower back from my fall. I grab the rocks quickly. They’re not very big, about half the size of my fist, but they’re all I have. I lay on the ground, writhing in pretend pain, disguising the shoving of the rocks into the right pocket of my pants. I get up, brush myself off, and feign a quick recovery. I raise my hand towards Arlyss and Cindlyss, indicating that I’m okay. I think they know what I was up to.

I can only pray that the IR84U scout ship crew do not.

It feels like a feeble thing to do, but it gives me hope. I see Salvation out of the corner of my eye. I wonder what he would think of my antics if he could talk.

No sooner have I gotten to my feet than the scout ship has moved over to the shore, right in front of us. Did they spot me? I hope not.

It seems like they are landing so that they can get out of the ship. This time I will get to see who these beings are, rather than just hearing a voice. The ship stops on the shore, about fifty metres away from us. The exterior door on the ground level opens, much like Nikse’s used to do. Not for the first time am I struck by the similarities.

A human woman steps into the doorway. Behind her are another woman and a man, and a smallish looking male humanoid. He is of a species I don’t recognise.

They are not armed. I can kill or injure at least one of them if I use my rocks at the right time. I’ll work out the rest after that.

I must approach them and not show fear. I steal a moment to glance at Arlyss and Cindlyss. They are looking at me to take the lead and approach our captors. They are kind, gentle beings, and I know I must be bold and fearless for them as well as myself. Absent this time from my companions is the looks of destiny that they had when we were first captured. That is a real concern. Now I don’t know how this is going to end.

That Captain is mad. She must be the shorter female at the front. She will surely kill me if I don’t act first.

She speaks. Her voice is not the same as that laughing, angry, maniacal voice I heard a week ago.

“Hello, Axin Fernea. I’m Captain Zarasena Fen of the IR84U,” she says. Her voice is almost soft and gentle. Is this the same woman? It’s the same voice. I wouldn’t mistake that voice anywhere, even if the tone is different. I feel such intense hatred, hearing her speak again.

I don’t respond. I glare at her with all the anger I can muster. I can’t do anything else. I hate that Arlyss and Cindlyss are going to have to see me be violent. I hope they will forgive me. I actually feel like they won’t. However, if I don’t do this, I’ll surely die. Them as well.

Captain Fen continues. “I can imagine that you must hate me. I apologise for what I had to do back there when we first met. You must believe me when I say I had no choice. I hope that you will soon understand why I did what I did.”

I can’t help myself. “Understand?” I almost scream. “You killed our ship and you left us to die! What is there to understand?”

As I’m yelling at her, I’m studying her closely. I haven’t even looked any further at her companions. All I can see is her. She is captivating to me in a way that is making me uneasy. I hate the mix of feelings I’m currently having. I’ve noticed something about her that confuses and distracts me terribly.

She’s quite good looking. She stirs feelings deep inside me that I haven’t felt before, ever.

This is not at all helpful. I’m supposed to muster the energy to kill her, at the right moment. How do I do this if I’m attracted to her? Why am I noticing this when she’s the one who destroyed my beloved Nikse? How is this attraction to her to be factored in to this life-or-death situation? I’ve never felt attraction to anyone before in my life. Until now. And it’s a woman who has killed my ship and left me – us – to die. My emotions are swirling in a mix of darkness and emerging passion. I fear it is beginning to overwhelm me.

I pause for a moment while she is forming her response. I need to assess the physical attributes of all of the beings in front of me if I am to overpower them.

Captain Fen is shorter than me. She’d be just past my shoulders in height if she stood next to me. I’m really of average height, so that would make her the same, as a human female. She’s quite slim, and with red wavy hair down to her shoulders. Her face is… I wish I could stop looking at it. She’s pretty. No – she’s more like, good looking. That’s a more apt way of describing her. I hate that I have noticed this but I can’t stop it now. She’s slight of build, so I have her easily covered for strength, if it comes to that. I’m already hating that I’m forced to think this way.

The woman behind her is older than Captain Fen, and slightly taller with straight, shoulder-length brunette hair. It’s quite a bit shorter than Captain Fen’s. The man is tall, with sandy blonde hair. He looks older too. Neither of them appear is if they’d cause me any trouble, one-on-one.

The humanoid behind them is most intriguing. He is of a race I have not seen before, and I have seen quite a few species in my travels. He seems quite serene. I wonder what his role is in this whole thing. Is he some sort of advisor? In other circumstances I would want to find out more, but I’m steeling myself for the confrontation I know is coming. A confrontation that I know is necessary if I am to live.

A confrontation that is going to happen in the next few seconds.