#thurrin
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Inktober drawings- Abduction scenes
I didn't color all of them... yet. I might get around to it later
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Yeah, this is totally Wenona
this website pisses me off, everyones always like âspace is so cool!â not its not, space is bullshit and i hate everything about it, i genuinely just saw the phrase âa black hole with a mass two billion times the mass of the sunâ im so pissed off, shut the fuck up, dont patronise me scientists you know i dont know what the fuck that means, my sad little brain cant comprehend the mass of one sun let alone two fucking billion, i cant even count past 10 without getting confused and youre out here talking about the mass of two billion fucking suns, shut the hell up. and dont even get me started about black holes or the expansion of the universe because thats another two seperate rants entierly. oh and apparently theres a planet made of ice except the ice is also on fire??? yeah sure fucking thing, scientists. and this is just the shit i know about. i purposely dont research space because it pisses me off so much, god knows what other fucking bullshit exists out there that ive yet to read a fucking wikipedia article about. i dont think space is real, literally everything about space is so fucking fake, this is just some elaborate fucking practicle joke. two billion times the mass of the sun, fuck you
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Jacen and Clank
Another short SWR fanifc based on my fanart and the idea that Jacen has an ID-10 Seeker Droid companion when heâs older. This is the story of how the two might have met.
Hera and Jacen were visiting Lothal to check in during Sabineâs absence. They werenât really sure where she went, but they knew she was with Ahsoka and that both women were equally capable of taking care of themselves and eachother. They were going to find Ezra, and wherever that took them, it had finally cost them communication with the Ghost.
They came to Lothal a lot, mostly on short visits or on âKananâs Force Dayâ as Jacen called it. Every year, on the day that his father had become âone with the forceâ as his mother would tell him, Hera and Jacen visited Lothal and said their respects to the grand mural that Sabine had painted in one of the transmit towers on the outskirts of town. Jacen wasnât really sure what to say to the painting of his father, so instead he would just tell him a little about what had been going on in his life and leave it at that. It was his mother who seemed to like talking to the picture the most.
Today was not that day, but instead, it was close to Jacenâs birthday, and before they lost contact, Sabine had mentioned to them that she had a present waiting for Jacen back at the Lothal tower. She couldnât give it to him herself this year, but had prepared it before sheâd left and told Jacen to go and find it when it got close to his next birthday. Therefore, his mother flew them over on her downtime from the New Republic Army.
After landing, and saying hello to the mural, Jacen found the present wrapped on top of a small table in the corner, the paper decorated with colorful images that were easily recognized as part of Sabineâs artwork.
âI found it!â Jacen exclaimed, grabbing the package as he ran back to show his mother.
âWell,â Hera said with a smile. âWhat did you get? Go ahead and open it.â
âItâs not my birthday yetâŠâ Jacen said, his look questioning her as though her invitation was a somehow a trap.
âItâs okay to open it a little early,â she laughed. âLet her rip!â
He smiled, his eyes gleaming as he happily tore off the decorative paper and saw his gift.
He gasped in awe as he let the wrapping fall to the floor. In his hands was a small, saucer shaped shoulder plate with a Lothwolf design painted on it. The design was the same one as she had detailed into his vest a few years back and he was ecstatic about it.
âWow! My own shoulder plate! Look Mom! Look!â
âThatâs very nice!â Hera grinned. âBe sure to thank Sabine the next time you see her.â
âI will!â he said, still smiling. âCan I put it on?â
âSure luv, come here.â Hera helped him put on the armor and Jacen strutted around proudly, an eight year old picture of pride. Hera patted him on the back and continued. âNow, Sabine hasnât bent it into shape yet because she didnât know how much youâd grown since the last time we saw her. Iâm sure we can fit it to you later.â
âItâs so cool!â he said. âCan I go to town and show it to Arwynn and Parsee? Please!?â
Hera hummed in thought. Sure Lothal was a lot safer now, but Jacen was still only eight.
âNot alone,â she said. âIâll drop you off closer and you can meet up with them while I check in with some old friends, deal?.â
âOkay.â
âOnly for a short while, Jacen,â she warned. âWe have to get back to base soon, you got that? No arguments this time!â
He nodded, barely hearing her because his attention was too focused on his shoulder. Hera rolled her eyes, and directed him back to the ship, his gaze never leaving the armor, not even when he stopped to show it to Chopper.
When in town, Hera allowed Jacen to sprint away to where his Lothal friends lived and played nearby.
âJacen!â they each greeted.Â
One was a short boy with dark skin and light hair, the other a green skinned Rodian. Both had grown taller than Jacen, but that was to be expected due to them both being a little older. He knew heâd catch up eventually, but that wasnât important today.
âCheck it out!â He showed off the plate.
âThatâs pretty wizard!â one cheered.
âWow! Real armor!â The other knocked on the piece to hear it defensively clank in return. âDid you feel that?â
âNope!â Jacen replied with a swift shake of his head and a smug grin.
After a few minutes of admiring the present, the three young boys started talking about their time apart and everything that had been happening since Jacenâs last visit. Jacen had plenty of neat stories to tell thanks to all the travelling and fighting he did with his mom and Chopper on the Ghost.Â
He was halfway through a daring tale of a thwarted spice cartel in the Outer Rim, when a sad whirring noise in the distance made them pause.
âWhatâs that sound?â Jacen asked.
âProbably the Thurrin brothers,â said Arwynn. âTheir dad is a junker.â
âTheyâre always getting spare droids and old ship parts,â continued Parsee.
âYou mean, they sneak them!â Arwynn growled. âUsually to torture or to torture us with.â
âIt sounds like they got another new toy to mess with.â
Jacen was already up and walking towards the sound before the other two knew what was happening.
âCome on!â He motioned at them with his hands.
âWait! Where are you going?â
âDonât go Jacen!â Parsee hollered. âThe Thurrinâs are all mean as Tuskens!â
âTheyâll beat you up!â Arwynn hollored.
Jacen ignored their warnings with a wave of his hand and ventured towards the noise anyway. Timidly, the boys decided to follow a safe distance behind him, but by then Jacen was already a good block and a half ahead of them.
When Jacen found them, he saw the three older boys, all taller than any kid he knew, so that meant they were probably already 13 years old or more. Each kid was dirty and covered in black grease, their skin tough and yellow, and each of their hair was worn long and as dark as the oil marks on their clothes.
They were throwing a disk between them, catching it and tossing it again as they tumbled over one another and climbed over obstacles in the street. Most people cleared out of their way, a lot with looks of disdain or distrust, so Jacen thought they must be troublemakers like his friends had tried to tell him.
Jacen looked for the noise between the three of them and finally realized that it was coming from the black disk they tossed back and forth. He saw it clearly when one of the brothers held it for a long while while pointing for his brothers to run out further ahead. He tossed it again, and Jacen heard the unmistakable sound of its binary screaming through the air.
âAn old seeker droid!â Jacen breathed to himself.
The thing was dented, the eye barely glowing, and all of its appendages were missing, but it was still struggling to remain active as its circuits spun around in a dizzy whirlwind.
âHey!â Jacen called, rushing forward to face them.
The brothers stopped laughing and looked with upturned nose and sinister smiles down at Jacen. He didnât even come up to the shoulders of the smallest Thurrin brother, and it was apparent that none of the boys saw Jacen even remotely close to a threat.
âWhat are you supposed to be?â one said.
âWhatâs up with your hair?â another said.
âGet lost big ears!â the last finally motioned, a thumb jabbed in the opposite direction.
Jacen frowned, but avoided the urge to touch his ears. His brows lowered again, and firmly, he pointed a finger at what was left of the Seeker droid and stomped his foot in the dirt.
âStop messing with that droid! Canât you see he doesnât like it?â
They burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Jacenâs friends had caught up and were parked, peeking around the corner where they were less likely to be seen by the older kids. They were too afraid to take even an inch closer, and Jacen knew he couldnât ask them for any help. He was on his own.
The boys shooed Jacen away, mocking his words as they threw the seeker droid again, its sad binary voice begging for them to stop.
Jacen stepped closer and shouted, louder now.Â
âHey!â
Looking to one another, the medium sized boy stepped out and shoved Jacen hard, making him fall backwards into the dirt.
He sniffed once, but got back up and dusted himself off.
âWhat are you gonna do, huh? Tough guy?â He shoved him down again.
Jacen waited on the ground until the boy laughed and turned his back, then he kicked him hard in the back of the knee before jumping off the ground and using the boyâs back to launch himself at the smallest brother who held the droid.
âWhat in the hell?â the oldest said.
âGet this crazy kid off of me!â
âGet off, you little half-breed!â the tall brother yelled, grabbing at Jacenâs clothes until giving up his attempts at grappling and prepared his foot for a harsh shove in Jacenâs side.
Jacen braced himself for the kick and slid a little ways after being struck. Still, he was able to get up onto his feet before the boys surrounded him and had him cornered against the fence.
âYou see this?â The medium one said. âThis here is an Imperial droid!â
âYeah, wise guy!â The small one yelled. âItâs a bad robot! Itâs not like it doesnât deserve it! Someone threw it out and now itâs ours!â
âAnd now itâs not so much a droid but a flying saucer!â The oldest waved the droid around, its beeping still dizzy and weak.
âThat doesnât matter!â Jacen yelled back. âThat doesnât make it right! Droids have feelings too!â
âIf theyâre programmed for it?â The small one scoffed, spitting into the dirt by Jacenâs feet.
âGet outta here, kid!â The oldest shooed. âBefore we make dents in you like this thing.â
They walked off, and Jacen took only one step forward before stopping. What could he do? He was smaller and weaker than these older kids, and they had him severely outnumbered. His side still hurt from where the biggest Thurrin had kicked him, but he didnât feel a single hit directed at his shoulder thanks to Sabineâs gift.Â
He touched it and froze.
âW-wait!â He called, his voice shaky as he took three large steps towards them.
They rolled their eyes, but turned only to see Jacen taking the shoulder piece off his arm. He held it out to them and swallowed, his brows curved and eyes wet, though no tears came out as he blinked the droplets away and his voice grew firm and demanding once more.
âHere!â He held it out. âTrade me! That old droid for this! Itâs brand new, I promise!â
They gave one another a look, and the small brother stepped closer and looked it over.
âItâs plastoid!â He exclaimed. âMust be made out of some old Stormtrooper stuff.â
âIs it cool?â The middle one asked.
âKinda?â The small one replied.
âYou can throw this instead of the droid. See?â Jacen tossed the shoulder piece all the way over the the tallest boy who caught it in his free hand, almost struck off guard.Â
Jacen knew it would be easy for the boys to just take both items and walk away, but he really wanted that droid and hoped that they wouldnât be so mean as to keep both. He wanted that seeker droid so badly that he felt as though his desires would make the other boys want to give it to him. He wondered if that was how the Jedi mind tricks were supposed to work. He sure wished he knew how to do that right about now.
âWell?â Jacen crossed his arms. âYou want to trade with me, or not?â
The oldest chuckled, but threw the junker droid into Jacenâs hands. âSure kid!â he chortled. âCrummy thing is gonna die any minute anyway? Have fun with it.â
Jacen turned the droid towards him so the flickering red eye could look into Jacenâs own.
âThanks!âÂ
He smiled at them, though he didnât really feel all that grateful. Still, they didnât take both things away, so Jacen was at least relieved that his bargaining had gone the way he wanted.
The older kids only laughed and walked away, admiring their new flying disk as they continued their game and disappeared around the corner.
âSorry about them,â Jacen said to the droid. âDonât worry, Iâll fix you up, good as new!â
âWow Jacen!â Parsee rushed over and shook Jacen like his friend was in shock and needed help coming back to reality.
âThey didnât beat you up!â Arwynn gasped. âHow did you do that, Jacen!?â
âDid you see him!? The way he kicked Fier down and then jumped out at Ribel!â
âThen you took a direct kick from Levin!â
âAre you okay?â Parsee asked.
âYeah,â Jacen said, ignoring their storm of comments for the most part as he rubbed the dust off of the old droidâs holo-projector.
âWhatâs so special about that pile of junk anyway, Jacen?â Â
âIt doesnât even have all itâs parts?â Arwynn added. âWhyâd you give away your birthday present for that old thing?â
âBecause he asked,â Jacen replied simply.
âYour mom is gonna kill you!â
âI knowâŠâ Jacen only bowed his head.
âMiss Wren is probably gonna kill you too.â
Jacen sunk deeper, his forehead touching the droid now.
âI knowâŠâ He said again.
The boys both placed sympathetic hands on his shoulders and patted.
âIt was nice knowing you JaceâŠâ
On his way back to the Ghost, he saw his mother waiting for him as she waved from the platform.
He frowned and tensed his shoulders, but meekly waved back, the droid held firm in his arm. He took what was perhaps his last steps as a free man towards the ship and prepared a story to tell his mother about the loss of his birthday present from Sabine. Nothing came to mind, so he just kept on walking and got ready for her to yell.
âWhatâs wrong luv?â Hera asked. âWait⊠why are you so dirty? Did you get into another fight?!â She dusted him off and stopped when her gloved hands fell on his shoulders.Â
He looked to the sky and started saying his goodbyes in his head. He found solace in the thought that maybe Sabine would paint him on their mural after Hera got done killing him?
âWhereâs your shoulder piece? Jacen, look at me!â She tilted his chin at her and her eyes were two fiery pits of pure green anger. âDid someone steal from you? Do you know who it was? Did you see them?â She repeatedly touched his face, checking him over for scrapes as she continued threatening whoever had done this to her baby. âWhen I catch the lowly gutkur, theyâre going to wish theyââ
âMom!â Jacen finally stopped her when her voice started sounding more like Aya Chamâs accent, something he knew was done only undercover or when she was extremely angry. Her lekku were pointed at her back, so Jacen could tell it was the latter.
âWhat happened baby?â She asked, calmer now as he lekku relaxed and her voice returned to itâs more gentle tone.
âIââ he tried to say something, but ended up just telling her the truth. âI traded it.â
âJacen Caleb Syndulla!â Hera scoffed. âSabine made that armor especially for you! Why would you do such a thing? I thought you liked it?â
âI did,â Jacen sniffed once, but wiped away his tears before he could cry. âBut these guys were picking on this droid!â He cried anyway. âAnd I traded them my shoulder plate so I could fix it!â
Hera looked down at the black saucer in her sonâs hands, noticing it for the first time.
âJacen, thatâs an Imperial Seeker droid!â Hera exclaimed, more shocked than angry. âThose are dangerous!â
âI thought I could fix itâŠâ He sniffed. âIt was asking for help.â
Hera sighed and shook her head until her own hand caught her face. This boy was her child alright.
âOkayâŠâ she said. âAlright, alright⊠Get it inside and weâll see what we can do for it.â
âReally!?â Jacen perked up.
âYeah,â she sighed. âGo ask Chopper if we have any spare parts in the back that are compatible to this model.â
âWUH!? BUH! BER! BUH! WAH!â Chopper grumbled, his binary cursing hastily upon seeing the broken junk heap.
âWeâre going to fix him Chopper!â Jacen said. âLike Mom did with you.â
âJust be glad it wasnât a Lothcat, ChopâŠâ Hera sighed. âCome on, letâs help Jacen fix the old clanker up.â
âHear that, Clank?â Jacen said to the eye port. âMom is going to help me make you better!â
Chopper buzzed.
âAnd so is Chopper!â Jacen corrected. âHeâs really nice, I think youâll like him.â
âJacen,â Hera eased. âTry not to get too attached until we know how much damage the little guy has. We might not have a lot of spare parts onboard to fix him.â
âI know we will!â Jacen said. âI can get more parts back at the base too, right Mom?â
âIâsuppose?â Hera finally shrugged.
âDonât worry Clank! Youâre safe now!â Jacen smiled.Â
The droid almost sounded like it was sighing with relief, before shutting down so Jacen could work on it.
âIâm gonna take good care of you, I promise!â
And it was a promise that Jacen knew he was going to keep no matter what.
#jacen syndulla#swr fanfic#clank#id-10 seeker droid#origin story#hera syndulla#chopper#lothal#i swear i'm losing followers for posting so much about this kid! but i love him!
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ROMEO KARA/Qëniet mtmë shpifura të ketij kombi, mender gjykatës apo prokurore, punojnë dhe japin vendime vetëm në emër të pushtetit Shqiptaret duhet te protestojne parreshtur perpara gjykatave dhe prokurorive, aty ku minjte e neveritshem sherbetore te te gjitha pushteteve dhe krimeve thurrin padrejtesite ne emer te drejtesise.
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"ArbĂ«ri ishte margaritar tĂ« shtunĂ«n, pasi mesfushori anĂ«sor e tronditi Djonin. Ădo vrapim i tij i shpejtĂ« me topin i bĂ«ri tĂ« djersitĂ«n fort kundĂ«rshtarĂ«t. I fortĂ« nĂ« kĂ«mbĂ«, i fuqishĂ«m dhe preciz, ai shĂ«noi nga njĂ« top i kthyer nĂ« zonĂ« nĂ« minutĂ«n e nĂ«ntĂ«", shtoi gazeta franceze pĂ«r kosovarin
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Abduction - Chapter 29
First Chapter   Previous Chapter     Next Chapter
***
Wenona was frustrated by her position. The sensible part of her knew she was in no condition to help. There was a louder part of her though, that screamed that she had been in worse condition before and fought off a room of montauk! The memory of it flashed in her vision and she could feel her heart racing. She should help! She should be fighting! She squirmed in Jebâs arms to be let go.
He only readjusted his hold.
âWenona, I know what youâre thinking, and no.â Jeb held on tight as he spun quickly to avoid a blast. In a fluid movement, he charged the guard, getting close enough to grab the blaster from their grip and kick their legs out from under them.
Jeb managed to toss the blaster to Vern, who provided cover as Jeb ducked behind a cabinet
âI need to help!â
âYou need to breathe,â Jeb countered forcefully. He set her back down on her feet but held her by the shoulders. âYouâre hyperventilating. I believe youâre having a âpanic attack.ââ
Still holding her, Jeb leaned back from behind the cabinet to look at the shuttle.
Wenona glowered, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. It came as more of a gasp. Oh wow. How long had she been like this? She hadnât noticed. She tried to take deep, slow breaths, but the best she could do was just the deep part. Her head started swimming and the corners of her vision started getting dark. She barely noticed as Jeb helped lower her to the ground, but she knew that at some point she was sitting on her legs, hands on the ground as she gasped for breath. Her body seemed to be frozen, unresponsive, focused solely on getting what seemed to be too little air. Her mind continued on separately.
âWhy canât I get it together?â she thought to herself exasperatedly. âWeâre in the middle of a battle for our lives and Iâm freaking out. I need to get up. I need to wrap this up so I can get up.â
It felt like forever, but her rapid breaths slowly became less desperate. She slowly recognized the soothing feeling of someone rubbing her back.
Jeb. He crouched next to her protectively, quietly.
She tried to get up again, but he stopped her.
âWenona, youâre in no shape to fight right now.â âI can do this,â her voice sounded wavering and cracked, even to her.
âI know you can, I was there when we found you on the Montauk ship. Youâre incredibly strong, and stubborn enough to survive this, but as your friend, Iâm telling you to trust me. I wonât see you hurt like that again.â
Wenona looked up at Jebâs face, half pleading.
Jeb leaned in close to her. âDo you trust me?â
Tears were forming in the corners of Wenonaâs eyes and she clenched her jaws as she struggled to speak. Eventually, she nodded.
Jeb stepped out from behind the cabinet. He hated to leave Wenona in such a vulnerable state, but she was at least physically in a safe spot. Well, as safe as she could be. Sheâd be safer on the shuttle, so that was his next task. The taser shield was deactivated, but the hatch hadnât opened yet.
Simmo was the closest to him, slashing at the air as guards dodged her sharp claws, trying to step back far enough to get a good shot in. Humans Vern and Kylee and the dog Carson were just a few paces farther, punching, kicking and in Carsonâs case, biting away at their assailants. At one point, Vern picked up a tool from a workbench and hurled it at the guards. It was surprisingly well-aimed and had even more surprising force as it hit a guard in the head with a crack. The guard stumbled and fell backward to the ground. Jebannuck had seen Mike and Wenona throw things before and knew they had good aim, but he had never realized they were capable of weaponizing that ability.
As some guards were falling at the hands of his friends, they were being replaced with more guards rushing in from the hall. Jeb ran at and blocked a small group of them as they approached Simmoâs location. He grappled with a spiky yellow guard and was able to throw it off balance and into its companion, though not without a few cuts to his arms. A third guard had stayed back and was aiming a blaster directly at him.
He stepped back, but not enough to completely avoid the shot from the blaster. Pain bloomed from the side of his torso and seemed to erupt like lightning to every part of his body. He felt himself fall forward, crumple to his knees. By the stars. Was this how he went out? After everything heâd been through and done? His solar cycles of service and combat? If so, he was fine with it, he realized. Death in the defense of those that need help - or in this case, his friends- was as noble a way to go as any.
But then⊠he was still on his knees. He wasnât dead. He hurt like a screaming flincher, but he was alive. âTheyâre not using deadly force,â he realized.
He looked up and around. It was like he was seeing the fight with new eyes. There were still guards everywhere, but those that were actively fighting were doing so mostly in defense, or with hesitation in their movements. He could see it in their stances. Most were not on the offensive. They were supposed to fight, they were under orders to kill, but Jebannuck could tell that there were several of the guards still standing that werenât giving the fight their all. And then-
âSTAND DOWN!â
Jebâs revelation was interrupted by a deep bellowing voice. He turned his head to the source. A tall, light brown-furred Tiamin with curling horns protruding from his head and long floppy ears resting on his shoulders stormed into the room. Jebâs memory vaguely registered that the newcomer was dressed in scientist sashes and getup.
The remaining guards that were not fighting hand-to-hand or knocked-out stood at attention. Even those that were fighting and had heard, scrambled away from their opponents, pulling their companions along with them.
Jeb could see a confused and limping pair of humans to his left, a gasping Montauk nearly hunched over behind him, and beyond them, Thurrin was straining to hold up a very injured-looking Mike.
The sudden silence in the docking bay ensured that every step Jebannuck took was heard as he struggled to his feet and ran towards Mike. Images of the first time theyâd met flashed in his mind. Well, maybe not met. Mike had been on the verge of death then. He wasnât in quite that bad a state now, but that really wasnât saying much. He looked like he was just barely holding on to consciousness now and was bleeding, but he couldnât tell where from yet. Multiple places.
He grabbed Mike as soon as he got in armsâ length, relieving Thurrin and helped him sit down carefully.
Jeb had been so preoccupied with Mike that it took him a moment to notice the figure crouched next to him. It was the Tiamin. Jeb shifted slightly to put himself more in the way between the Burnti scientist and Mike.
âIs he okay?â
Jeb was surprised at the amount of worry he heard in the Tiaminâs voice, but he turned and snapped at him. âDoes he look okay to you?â
The scientist frowned and lowered his gaze a bit. âI came as soon as I heard Rozarâs announcement. ThisâŠâ he sighed, âThis was not supposed to happen. This is all wrong.â
Mike groaned and shook his head in a daze. âDrin? What-?â He hissed as he tried to bend his leg under him.
Jeb grabbed his knee and gently pushed it back down and straightened the leg. âMike, I need you to keep still for now.â âWhere do you hurt the most?â Drin asked as he carefully started taking stock of the wounded leg.
âLeg. Back. Everywhere.â Mike gasped but managed a momentary weak smile at Jeb after a few breaths.
Thurrin cut in with a shaking voice, âJeb, whereâs Wenona?â
Jeb glanced warily at Drin, not really wanting him to know where she was hidden. âSheâs back there. Sheâs okay.â That last part certainly wasnât true, but she wasnât bleeding, so that was something.
âThe intrudersâŠâ Drin looked from the ship to Thurrin. âPlease tell me you have a medic aboard that ship?â
Thurrin looked nervously between Drin and Jeb as if trying to decide how much to say. She eventually looked at Mike and nodded. âWe⊠we do, yes.â She activated her communicator, âDemfar, weâve got injured. Where are you at with the doors?â
Behind them, the doors of the ship clicked and hissed as if in response. Jeb could hear Demfarâs voice in Thurrinâs communicator. âI think Iâve just about got them open. Whatâs the situation out there?â
âWe have a cease-fire, but weâre all hurt. Mikeâs in really bad condition. He needs you. Now.â
âUnderstood. Hold on."
Drin stood back up to his full impressive height. He sighed sadly and turned back to the guards who had started shifting their weight nervously. "As soon as their ship is open, help the injured board and let them go."
One guard wearing a different-styled sash gave a half-step forward. "Sir?" He looked to where the other humans were standing and back. "Sir, Commander Rozar-"
"Yes, I heard," Drin interrupted. Behind him, the shuttle's doors finally opened with a hiss. Demfar rushed down the ramp carrying a first aid kit and supplies.
Drin watched the medic rush to Mikeâs side. He had a strange combination of emotions on his face. "Let them off this ship. Theyâre not safe here anymore. I know no one here really wants to see the humans killed. I will take full responsibility and deal with Rozar later.â
Jebannuck saw relief flood over many of the guardsâ faces and a realization washed over him. They werenât villains. They were defending themselves and their stations. They were doing their jobs, just as Jebannuck or those under his command would. They genuinely did not want to harm them- or at least not harm the humans. Or at least, not permanently.
That still didnât mean their help was overly welcome. Vern and Kylee turned down assistance from a green scaly guard and instead helped each other hobble up the ramp to the shuttle. Jeb stood up and with some difficulty, made his way over to where heâd left Wenona. Sheâd cautiously poked her head around to see what was going on, but, to Jebâs surprise, had followed his orders and otherwise stayed put. âWell,â he thought to himself, âthis is Wenona weâre talking about, not Mike.â
He got to her before any Burnti guards did. Thank the bright stars for that. Even though they were going against their Commanderâs orders, Jeb didnât want them getting near her - not only for her mental health but also because he doubted theyâd get close without her finding a way to seriously maim them somehow.
âJeb, whatâs going on? Whatâs Drin doing here?â
Jeb carefully picked her up, minding her injuries as best as he could. She seemed to have calmed down a little? Maybe that was just hopeful thinking on his part. At least her breathing patterns werenât quite so alarming anymore. âHeâs letting us go.â
âLetting us- wha-? whatâs he really up to? That jerkâs got to have an angle.â
Jeb paused and looked over to where Drin was hovering over Demfar as the medic bandaged up Mike. âI donât know. Honestly at this point, whatever heâs doing, we can use it to get away. Thatâs what matters right now.â
Two guards shuffled nervously over to Jeb, not sure how to help but looking anxiously at the human in his arms. Jeb ignored them and walked towards the shuttle.
âWenona!â Thurrin bounded over, âAre you okay? Jeb is she okay? Wait for me!â
Jeb slowed down as she approached. Thurrin rose up on her hind legs to try to better look up at Wenona but stumbled and fell back to all four legs. Jeb noticed she was definitely favoring her right hind leg.
To Jebâs annoyance, Drin had followed the Booka over. Not wanting him to bother Wenona, Jeb started towards the ramp again.
âWait, Wenona,â Drin grabbed Jeb on the shoulders to stop him. If Jeb hadnât been carrying Wenona, he would wrench the Tiaminâs arm and throw him to the floor on instinct. He resisted though, and Drin was able to step closer.
âWenona, I⊠Iâm⊠sorry about this. About your injuries, andâŠâ his voice dropped hesitantly. Wenonaâs face was emotionless as she stared at him. âOur goal was to, in the end, form an alliance with Earth. I fear we may have ruined our chances in our incivility and brash actions.â
âYou think?â Wenona shifted her weight slightly and Jeb winced as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. âYou okay?â
Moving most of Wenonaâs weight to his left arm, Jeb freed his right hand to brush at the scarves and cloaks Wenona was wearing. A small blade fell to the floor with a tinkling clatter. Thurrin stepped forward and picked it up to examine it. It looked like a small precision knife that would belong in a medical ward or lab.
âOh,â Wenona sighed, âI wondered where that dumb thing went. Of course it shows up now.â
Drin leaned down to examine the blade in the Bookaâs paws. He frowned and looked back up to Wenona. âYou- thatâs from my- what in gadring were you planning on doing with that?â
Wenona narrowed her eyes.âI donât know. People make plenty dangerous things out of less dangerous supplies though, so I thought it might come in handy.â Wenona reached for the small blade. Thurrin passed it to her carefully. âI thought I lost this when I broke out.â She examined it briefly before raising an eyebrow at Drin. âIâm keeping this, by the way.â
Drin opened his mouth and shut it slowly, blinking confusedly for a moment before nodding. âI- uh, alright.â
âWait,â everyone looked down to Thurrin, sitting between Jeb and Drin. âThe Burntiâs plan was to make an alliance with Earth, but as soon as we get out and everyone knows what you did⊠Rozar was trying to bury the truth. Why are you helping us?â
Drin looked behind him to where Demfar was preparing Mike on a stretcher, to Wenona having to be carried by Jeb, and down to his hands.
âTruth rarely stays buried, especially when there are multiple mouths to leak it. Few on this ship know all the real circumstances of the humansâ presence here. In order to truly keep the secret, Rozar would only have to frame a few and have them executed.â Thurrin gasped. âThatâs terrible!â
âThatâs Rozar.â Drinâs expression darkened, though he kept his gaze on his hands.
âOh, thatâs what this is about,â Wenona winced in pain as she tried turning to face him better. âYouâre saving your own skin.â
Drin looked up from his hands to stare blankly at Wenona. Jeb tensed. He wanted to just get Wenona onto the shuttle and get out of here. Did it matter what Drinâs reasoning was?
âIs he though?â Thurrin interjected. She looked up at Drin with confusion. âI mean, Rozarâs going to be furious with you once he knows it was you who let us go.â
âThatâs true,â he admitted, âbut now the whole ship knows somethingâs up, and Iâve alerted Burnti High Command to his actions.â
âSo you reported him?â Wenona squirmed in Jebâs grip as if she wanted to be let down, but Jeb merely frowned at her and shook his head. He wasnât going to let her down just so she could try to pick a fight in her state - not when they were so close to getting out of here.
Realizing she wasnât going to be let down, Wenona resigned herself to chewing Drin out from Jebâs arms. â And let me guess, in your report, youâre also the victim? Poor little Drin being forced to order bounties on Earth life and experiment on them? Oh and Iâm sure that your stunt now, calling the guards off of Rozarâs orders will only help your story.â
For half a moment, there was a spark of anger in Drinâs eyes. Or maybe just indignation? In any case, Jeb stepped back and turned slightly to move his shoulder in between the human and the Tiamin. Instantly, the look faded from Drin and he sighed as he buried his face in his hand. He shook his head and dropped his hand, eyes lowered apologetically again. âI hope someday we can repair what weâve done.â
Wenona glared at him. âWell, you do that then. And if you ever think you've done enough, think again. But you can fix all this,â she gestured vaguely at the docking bay and beyond, âIâm going home and I hope I never see you again.â
Jeb strode up the shuttleâs ramp. Enough was enough. It was time to go.
âI freaking told you he had an angle,â Wenonaâs whisper wasnât exactly quiet, but Jebannuck didnât think she meant it to be.
.
It was crowded in the shuttle. After one of the guards helped Demfar load Mike in on a stretcher, it was even more crowded. There was a time when Wenona would have found being in such close quarters extremely uncomfortable and stressful, but honestly, she was too busy being relieved. After Jeb helped her get strapped in, she was able to rest her head back and breathe.
âUh, Demfar,â Thurrin, who was sitting at the controls in front called out worriedly. Immediately Wenona tensed up, but she couldnât find it in her to lift her head back up to see what was wrong. âDemfar, Wenonaâs eyes are leaking, get over here, hurry!â
âThurrin, Iâm busy. Sheâs fine. Humans do that sometimes. Itâs different than when Bookas do that.â
Wenona felt herself blush, but again, didnât move. She hated crying, especially in front of people, but at this point, she really didnât care. She hadnât even noticed she was crying until Thurrin pointed it out. Though if the amount of sniffles she heard coming from around the small shuttle was anything to go by, she wasnât the only one.
âThurrin, I need you to focus,â Jebâs voice was slightly reprimanding, though it sounded more tired than anything. âDemfar, is everyone safely strapped in?â There was a pause and an affirmation. âGood. Youâre going to need to put things on hold for a moment until we warp. Find somewhere to strap in until then.â
âUhhh⊠where?â
The engines of the shuttle hummed to life.
âOh, I- I donât know. I guess just hold on tight.â
Wenona cracked her eyes open just enough to be able to see what was going on up front. The airlock doors ahead of the shuttle were opening slowly. This was it. They were really leaving. Wenona smiled weakly. Drin might have been a jerk, but heâs a self-serving jerk whose spite aligned with helping them.
If sheâd had any extra energy, she would have told Jeb to fly straight to Earth. Donât even bother stopping at the Rock Base, or some other headquarters or meeting place. Just. Straight. To. Earth. To hell with any regulations or protocols! Anyone who disagreed with her could fight her!
But she didnât have the energy, and she knew Jeb would never do that. Or at least, not without a very good reason, a very persuasive argument, and some very sad puppy dog eyes on her part. All of which might as well have been asking her to run a marathon right now.
Instead, she kept her head rested back and wandered in and out of consciousness. At one point, Kylee, who was sharing the seat with her, fell asleep and her head had fallen onto Wenonaâs shoulder. There was some part of her that must have been awake enough to realize that she didnât really know this person and she was in her personal space. It was largely ignored because she also had a part of her that knew there was no personal space left in this over-crowded shuttle, that Kylee had risked everything to come help her, and that overall, she was just too tired to really care. She ended up resting her head on Kyleeâs.
Sometime later, Wenona overheard Demfar talking to Jeb. It sounded like Demfar was asking how they got out of there. They were speaking quietly, but she vaguely caught on to bits here and there.
â...Snuck in and found a map and took an educated guess where they were keeping Mike and WenonaâŠâ
âAnd thatâs when you heard Rozarâs announcement?â âWell, we were still in the room, so yes.â âAnd - not that Iâm condoning violence as a medic, but you didnât kill him?â âNo. Whatâs done was done, and that would have made for potentially catastrophic repercussions later on withâŠâ
âWait, wait, did the black and white animal have a long, bushy tail? With two white stripes down its back?â âNo, no tail. Its hair was short and itâs back was completely white. I think everyone else nearly lost it when it ate the greable.â âGreable? They had a greable deathbird aboard? And you were close to it? Let me look you over. You werenât exposed to it, were you? ...Wait. What? It ATE the greable?â
â... said it before but Iâll say it again, once weâre all done with this, I must insist on a visit to Earth. Can you imagine the medical breakthroughs we could make by studying...â
â...we can get this all cleared up, I hope you do get a chance to visit EarthâŠâ
Earth, Wenona caught on to that in her sleepy state and smiled. Earth. She was going home.
***
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#abduction#humans are weird#humans are space orcs#aliens#wenona#mike#jebannuck#jeb#thurrin#simmo#space#writeblr#booka#humans are space aussies#original writing
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Abduction - Chapter 26
Weâre getting close to the end here people! Itâs officially been 2 years since I started writing this and I am so close I can almost taste it! Itâs officially been 2 years since I first sat down to write this story. I never would have been able to do this without all the feedback and encouragement Iâve received from posting it. Thank you for the critiques, the ideas, the advice, and the reactions. Itâs kept me going!
Also, thanks for being patient while I get this written and edited.
Chapter 1      Previous Chapter       Next Chapter
***Â
Thurrin wanted to pay more attention to the conversation going on in the shuttle, but she had to stay focused. Human Vern was piloting, but she had been put in charge of navigation through the warp. No small task seeing as the Burnti Command fleet had been on the move. They had exited warp and were now following slowly, very far behind the Arum Bloom. Hopefully, Mike and Wenona were still aboard. Or at least, Thurrin thought, why wouldnât they be?
âOh my gosh, is that it? Itâs freakinâ huge!â Kylee leaned forward, marveling at the screen. It was big. Even from this far away. There was no atmosphere or obstacle of any kind to block their view of the ship. If they continued at their current pace, it would take a few solar cycles to reach the Arum Bloom, even if it was at a stand-still. Thankfully, the distance coupled with their shipâs small size would keep them âunder the radarâ as the humans said.
Human Vern turned and pushed Kylee back out of his space to her chair. âHow can you say thatâs huge after having been on the Rock Base?â
âOkay, thatâs on a completely different level. Thatâs like comparing a mouse to a bear. The bear is huge, but I can still look at a mouse and say, âwow, thatâs a big mouse.ââ
For the first time in what felt like forever, Thurrin felt she could take her eyes off her controls long enough to look back at Kylee. âI assume those are Earth creatures?â
âYeah, they are. Bears are the largest land predators back home. Mice are small rodents thatâŠâ She paused. A slow smile spread across her face. âWell hey, I actually think youâd be really interested in mice, Thurrin.â
Thurrin glanced again at her instruments to make sure nothing had changed. âTo be honest, Iâd be really interested in anything about Earth. I think Iâd like to visit someday.â
âWell hey, we get out of this alive, youâre more than welcome to come to crash it at my place if youâd like.â
âIf we survive⊠yeah.â Thurrinâs tail drooped. The humans seemed pretty nonplussed at the idea of maybe dying. She herself knew it was a possible outcome. And on top of that, even if they did survive⊠âI might have to visit. Might not be welcome back on Bernor after⊠after we get done with this.â
âHey, guys,â Human Vern interrupted, âwe can make plans later, weâve got movement.â
âThey havenât found us out, have they? I thought Booka Vernâs signal dampener was supposed to keep us hidden!â
Thurrin checked the readout of Booka Vernâs device. âIt is! It is, itâs working, or it should be. I canât exactly go outside and check!â
âWhat kind of weapons does this thing have?â Kylee stood up, ready for action.
Vern checked. âUh, I think just a few small balinton blasters.â
âThatâs it?!â
âThis is a shuttle, not a battlecruiser!â
âWait, hold on,â Demfar spoke up for the first time in a while, âI donât think theyâre coming after us, look!â
All eyes locked onto the small vessel in question. Sure enough, it was headed in their direction, but it didnât seem to be coming straight at them. No one spoke, almost as if their silence would help keep them from being detected. It was some sort of small transporter. Or perhaps a mechanicâs hopper? What was it doing out here alone?
âWe should hail it,â Vern whispered, already entering the commands to the computer to hail it.
âWe should wha- are you completely out of your mind?!â Kylee whispered back.
Thurrin stared at the screen in front of her. Vern was searching for a compatible frequency that would an audio message without giving away their location. She looked out towards the oncoming ship. They were really booking it out of there. What were they doing all the way out here, so far away from their ship?
âTheyâre obviously not coming for us.â Vern selected a frequency and was preparing the shipâs communication commands. âI want to know what theyâre doing out here.â
âHave you ever heard of the phrase âcuriosity killed the cat?ââ Kylee hissed quietly.
Thurrinâs ears perked. She knew what a cat was. Mike had told her about them and Wenona had drawn a few pictures of them. She had to say, they did look a lot like Booka. She didnât understand why Kylee was bringing them up now though. âWhy would you kill a cat?â
âItâs just a figure of speech,â Kylee sighed, âMeaning being curious is going to risk us all getting found out and ruining the entire mission, Vern!â
She tried grabbing at Vernâs hands to stop him, but he pushed her arms away with one hand and continued entering the commands with the other.
âLook at it. Somethingâs up. We need to know whatâs going on before we go in,â Vernâs hands were big, but the final command needed input from the console from two separate keys at once. Thurrin looked between the console, the ship headed towards them, and Vern. He was right. That ship had no business being this far from the main fleet. Something was going on, and it was best if they knew as much as they could before continuing with the mission.
Vern was struggling to reach the final key while still holding down the other. Before Kylee could stop her, Thurrin reached over and hit it. The communication programs were set and the frequency went out.
âYou two are going to get us all killed,â Kylee huffed.
âWeâll be fine,â Vern sighed. âWeâre still shielded. If they mean us any ill, we just stay hidden and continue on our way. Maybe even with a bit of insight as to what to expect here on out.â
Kylee grunted and sat back down, arms folded tightly across her chest. âMaybe next time we could vote on it before you go making stupid decisions.â
âMaybe next time.â
For a while, no one spoke. No one even moved. The ship got closer After what felt like a small eternity, a voice hesitantly peeped from the speakers.
âUh, hello?â a wheezy voice broke the silence.
âWhat are you doing?â Hissed another voice quietly. It sounded like the speaker was standing away from the microphone. âWe are running for our lives and you answer the weird signal?
âItâs not a Burnti signal,â the first voice said back. âYouâre not Burnti, are you?â A pause. âHello? Is anyone there?â
Vern looked around at the group before answering, âHello, yes weâre here. You probably canât see us, weâre cloaked, but weâre from the Galacti-â
âHello? Hey, sorry,â the first voice interrupted, âI canât hear you very well, could you speak up?â
Looking down at the console, Thurrin found a tuning dial. She carefully moved it a notch and leaned into the mic. âYes, sorry, we can hear you just fine. Weâre honing the signal, it should be better now, but there may still be interference between our operating systems. Uh⊠can you hear me now?â
There was a bit of inarticulate grumbling noises from the speaker for a moment. âYes, we can hear you. Did you say âweâ? Who are you? What are you doing here?â
âWe- well, we are from the Galactic Confederation.â Which was true, even if this little trip of theirs wasnât sanctioned by the Galactic Confederation.
âBy all things bright and shining! This is Mahben Glaykur of the ESS Sicatna. My companion and I were prisoners on the Burnti ship, Arum Bloom. There was a breakout or a glitch or something in the cell doors where we were being held in and we escaped and stole this hopper.â
Everyone on both ships let out a deep sigh which turned into relieved laughter.Â
âWe canât tell you how happy we are to hear you!â Mahben Glaykur continued, âWhere are you? Are you the scouting party? Are there more ships coming?â
Thurrin looked over to Human Vern who stared back, his mouth straightened to form a straight line.
Thurrin paused. Her stomach tied itself in knots. The Burnti had prisoners besides the humans. How did she tell them that they werenât here for them? How did you tell someone theyâd been left behind? âThere arenât any other ships coming. Itâs just us. For now. A, uh, covert mission of sorts.â
Behind her, Kylee made a short exhaling sound. âA very covert mission,â she mumbled under her breath.
There was a long silence from the other ship. They were almost close enough to see the markings on the side of the vessel. It was a small cargo ship, probably one that would carry specialized equipment and electronics. She wasnât sure if it would have a warp drive aboard or not.
Once the silence was starting to become unbearable, Thurrin activated the comm device again. âMahben Glaykur, how many escaped with you?â There was no response. âHow many from the Galactic Confederation are still aboard the Arum Bloom?â She tried again.
The speakers clicked as if the other ship had activated their comms, but it took another quarter of a moortik before they heard the Mahben finally respond. âUnknown. Iâm sorry, I⊠I know there are others. I donât know if they made it out. Itâs⊠itâs just the two of us here. There was a third, but he stayed behind to find his companions, the two humans.â
Thurrinâs tail twitched. Someone else was trying to save Mike and Wenona? Her brain tried to process what sheâd heard.
âMahben Glaykur, do you know who that was? Who was it that stayed?â Thurrin felt Demfar rest a tentacle on her shoulder. She looked up at his large eyes. As a medic, he was all too well aware of those who had been lost during the Battle of the Blockade. They both turned to look eagerly at the speaker for the answer.
âHe was a sefra. Jebannuck Sefra. We tried to tell him it was a suicide mission, but he said he was pack-bonded with the humans. Iâm sorry, we had to leave him, there wasnât time. I wish we could have helped him, or found others to bring with us, but we barely made just ourselves.â
Thurrin wasnât really listening anymore. She felt her fur ripple across her body. It felt both freezing cold and blazing hot at the same time. Her mind was about in the same state. She suddenly felt exhausted and hyperactive all at once. She wanted to cry and laugh. And she did. A bit of steam actually rose from the tears that fell into her fur.
Jebannuck was alive!
Demfar sighed deeply, which turned into a chuckle and grew to a full laugh. Squifra arenât very loud creatures in pretty much anything they do, laughter being no exception, but the broken exhales and low clacking noises were the most Thurrin thought sheâd ever heard one laugh before.
It would take a while to calm down - for either of them. And they still had a mission to do. Thurrin rose to her hind feet, having to balance herself for a moment before jumping down to let Kylee take her spot. They could figure out the specifics of their next step - getting aboard the Arum Bloom.
Where Jebannuck was. Where Mike was. Where Wenona was. All safe. All still alive!
Well, she paused, her giddy high dropped like a claw to the gut, she hoped they were all still alive. The humans might be safe for now, but he certainly wasnât. Jebannuck should have just come with these two escapees. He should have. But she understood the reason why he didnât. It was the same reason she was here now.
She took a moment to try to calm herself. She was here, and here was a dangerous situation. Jebannuckâs presence changed things, for good or bad - well that was easy, it was good. Oh, it was so good! It was more a matter of would this make things harder or easier?
 Humans Vern and Kylee were trying to get as much information from Mahben Glaykur as they could. It turned out that the other escapee aboard the ship was a relegated Burnti officer who had insights that would help them immensely. Their little hopper of a ship didnât have a warp drive, but it did have some hyperspeed capabilities. They could probably make it out of the system alright. They could make it to secured Confederation space within half a partec if they were careful and didnât get caught first.
It was helping with that last part that pulled Thurrin back into full-on mission-mode. The escapees had made it pretty far from the Burnti command ship, but there would be other ships scrambled to intercept them if there hadnât been already. Stopping to talk with Thurrin and crew certainly put a damper on the lead they had going. Their hyperdrive was still coming online. They wouldnât be able to get to hyperspeed before the Burnti arrived.Â
Not unless some other small, mysterious ship just happened to disengage their signal dampener, and seemingly pop into existence to provide a distraction long enough for them to get away.
Thurrinâs tail twitched back and forth nervously. Their ship only had the balinton blasters. Not enough to fight off multiple enemy ships for long. But they wouldnât be doing that. One, that would be death. Two, Human Vern and Kylee planned on getting captured. If they surrendered after what looked like a sufficient-enough struggle, they would be delivered right to the Arum Bloom.
Thurrin didnât really like the plan. It was crazy. It was dangerous. All of this was. But it was the humansâ plan, and from the stories sheâd heard and Thurrinâs own experience, those usually seemed to be the ones that got the best results. Thurrin looked around at her group. Demfar and the humans. She could think of no better group to help her get her friends back.
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Draw the squad - at the movies
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The moon of the thurrine.
Prompt #1:Â Favorite Loki Prince Loki of Jotunheim with short hair an ice.
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Abduction - Chapter 22
I need to write at the library more often. Itâs a good place. I just- can I say that public libraries are just so dang great!
As always, any feedback is always very appreciated. You have no idea how appreciated! Thanks for all the support so far!
Chapter 1   Previous Chapter    Next Chapter
***
âThey said what?!â Demanded Kylee. Thurrin suspected that she wasnât really looking for an answer as she paced up and down the stall in the repair bay. Nevertheless, Ricardo reviewed the gist of the meetings that he and Thurrin had just been through anyway.
Most of it sounded like a bunch of diplomatic nonsense. It was an amazement and a wonder to Thurrin that humans got anything done with all the âred tapeâ as Ricardo put it- that their leaders had to go through. It didnât help either that Earth apparently has hundreds of governments. Granted, the Galactic Confederation usually dealt directly with the United-Earth Space Embassy, or USE (humans love their acronyms), but when the news reached Earth that two of their own had been abducted, the entire planet went into an uproar.
âThey said,â Ricardo continued, âthat until they know more about the situation, no one is to do anything. They donât want a galactic incident to happen because they didnât have the full story.â The explanation didnât help Kyleeâs mood. âSo theyâre just going to sit on their fat butts and not do anything then?!â Thurrin flinched at the outburst. She had never seen a human get so angry. She flickered with yellow and she felt a few sparks fly off her fur. She had seen Mike and Wenona bare their teeth before, but that was with them smiling. This⊠the furious expression Kylee had now was something completely different and it scared her.
âItâs not just the Embassy, itâs all of Earth,â Ricardo went on, trying to keep his voice level and calm. Thurrin wondered if he was doing it so Kylee would mirror his behavior. If so, it wasnât working. âEveryoneâs worried about the alliance with the Galactic Confederation, some want to keep it, others agree with what Mike said, that it was made too quickly and with too little information about our options. Oh, and those extremists are back at it again with the isolationism rallies. And then, different governments have a lot of business deals within the alliance or others want ties outside of it and see this as a chance to break from the GC,â Ricardo sighed and started massaging his forehead. âHonestly, itâs a hot political mess right now.â
Kylee kicked at a crate that peeked out from under the workbench. It was empty and her kick sent it rolling under the tables and into another crewâs repair station. It was stopped by a Spotted Helzu. They held it out to try to return it, but no one took it, so they sat it down and continued listening to the conversation. There seemed to be quite a crowd listening in actually, Thurrin noticed. It made sense. This was pretty big news.Â
The Galactic Confederationâs alliance with Earth was only a few standard solar cycles old, but it had led to a lot of changes - a lot of good changes and improvements throughout the Confederation. Between trade with Earth for various goods and supplies as well as having been granted mining permissions in their solar systemâs meteor belt, thereâd been a huge economic boom. Humans had also become an integral part of Galactic Confederation crews, science and engineering teams, and had been integral components to various rescue and relief efforts in emergency situations. To lose them now would be like losing an arm when they had just started getting used to that arm.
The conversation went on. "So basically, what you're saying is that those two are going to be left to the Burnti?"
Ricardo tilted his head from side to side. "I⊠I'd like to think no, butâŠ"
Thurrin looked between the two of them sadly. The group around them was silent, with a few murmurs on the edges. Her ears picked up bits of hushed questions -Â they seemed to wonder if humans would really leave their own behind.
Kylee must have picked up on the questions too and she wasn't having it. "If they won't do their job, then we will." She grabbed her tools off the workbench and a knapsack of sorts from underneath. She unzippered the bag and started shoving in whatever could be useful.
âUm, what?â Ricardo slowly got to his feet. The murmurs and whispers of the surrounding groups intensified.
âYou heard me.â She swung the bag onto her back and started walking towards the exit. âWeâre going to rescue them.â
Thurrinâs fur flickered with apprehension, but also a bit of excitement. Was she serious? Could they do that? Could they actually do that? Oh, if they tried, they could- and probably would get in so much trouble! But if it was possible, it was worth it, right? Of course, it was!
âIâm coming too!â Her voice seemed higher than normal in her excitement. Tiny flames were rising off her fur everywhere now. She hadnât felt this pumped since sheâd first found out sheâd been accepted to the Gladius crew.
Both humans and many of the surrounding group looked at her. Before anyone could object, she fluffed her fur into the most distinguished shape she could manage on the spot. âMike and Wenona are my best friends. Iâm coming too and nothing you say or do is going to stop me.â
No one spoke. They just looked at the two standing humans, waiting for their response. Kylee nodded.
âWouldnât dream of it, Thurrim.â âThurrin,â Ricardo corrected.
âThatâs what I said, isnât it?â She tilted her head as she turned around and started for the exit to the bay. âLetâs go. Weâre gonna need help if weâre gonna pull this off.â
It took some gathering. And some figuring. And some sneaking. A lot of sneaking. What they were going to do was likely going to end up getting them all dishonorably discharged- at best. That was if this whole ordeal didnât get them all killed or captured.
Kylee and Ricardo had reached out for help from the rest of the humans from the Maywing, and a few others they trusted to keep shut about what they were going to do. Theyâd gathered supplies, found transport, and were supposedly now, working on making sure they could get said shuttle and supplies off of the Rock Base and warp jump away in the right direction before anyone could stop them.
Them. The humans and herself.
Thurrinâs fur flickered and sparked without stop. What was she thinking? This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea! This was against orders from way, WAY above her. She could die, she could get captured, she could start a galactic incident. She could die! This could end in so many terrible ways. She fretted and paced just outside the small shuttle they were going to be⊠taking.
Oh by all things bright and shining! What was she doing? All the work to get where she was now, her time in the academy, late nights studying and reviewing protocols, her acceptance into the Confederation Fleet, the work sheâd put into her position - was she really going to risk it all? It was madness! What was she thinking?!
But the idea of not acting felt so wrong. Mike and Wenona deserved more than to be abandoned by the Galactic Confederation. She understood their reasoning, or at least, part of her did. This whole situation was like walking on fine Karchreer glass. But another part, the louder part of her was indignant and honestly outraged that the Confederation would leave two humans - two beings who are part of the race they had just made quite possibly one of the most important alliances of the century with - in the clutches of their enemies. And whatâs more, Earth seemed to be okay with it, or at least the pushback against the decision wasnât strong enough to overthrow it. Humans were supposed to be such great pack-bonders. Sheâd heard so many stories of humans never leaving others behind. She was so confused. Why would that suddenly change at their governmental level? They were still humans. How could this happen?
âHey Thurrin,â Human Vern came around the corner and nearly startled the fur off of her, âI just heard from the rest of the team. Weâre about ready to go. We, uh, we need to get going before someone notices. Kylee and Ricardo drew straws, Ricardoâs staying behind to help cover as long as he can. So itâs just going to be the three of us.â
Thurrin nodded and smiled. At least humans at an individual level were what humans were supposed to be. Whatever hell they were all about to get themselves into, she felt a little better knowing she was doing it with them and for the right reasons.
Looking to make sure no one was looking, she followed Human Vern around to the shuttle's entrance. There was a camera that hung high on the wall a few docking stalls down, but they wouldn't be front and center on the security screens. It was one of the reasons this particular shuttle had been chosen. Besides, by the time anyone noticed what they were up to from there, everyone else would have figured it out when they started an unscheduled launch. Even then, the others were going to help by stalling any resistance for as long as was needed to get away. Again Thurrin's fur flickered as she fought to keep her nerve.
The coast seemed clear. Human Vern had already snuck aboard to start take-off sequences. By the time Thurrin and Kylee snuck aboard - they were trying to stagger their entrances to help avoid detection - they should be ready to take off immediately. Thurrin took a deep breath and started up the ramp.
âHey! Guys, wait up!âÂ
Oh frewan. They were caught. Thatâs it. Thatâs it! Itâs all over. They hadnât even gotten the engines started and theyâve already failed.
But when Thurrin turned around, it wasnât a security officer coming towards them, but Booka Vern, running at them on all fours.
âVern, keep it down!â Kylee hissed.Â
Vernâs ears dropped back apologetically as he approached a little slower, rising up to his hind legs. âSorry, I hope I didnât just blow your cover.â
âNo, itâs fine,â Kylee waved her hand dismissively. âAs far as anyone cares, weâre over here making repairs or whatever. The trick is, you gotta look like youâre where you should be, doing what you should be doing. You fake that confidently enough, no oneâs going to question it.â
Thurrin came back down the ramp. Her heart was still trying to slow down to a normal rate. She probably should just get on the shuttle. She really should, she kept telling herself. But what if they failed and this was the last time sheâd ever see another Booka. Or what if they succeeded and this was the last time another Booka would see her without her having been dishonorably discharged from the Galactic Confederation Fleet? What if this was the last time sheâd be on equal standing with someone in her society? The last fleeting moment to spend time with someone that she kind of⊠well, it didnât matter, did it? She wasnât going to have a chance with him after she fell into disgrace after all this. Or died.
âWeâre about ready to go save those humans from the Gladius crew, right?â Vern pulled off the small pack strapped around his shoulders. âIâve got a few things that will definitely come in handy!â
âVern,â Kylee started, but the large Booka had already opened his pack to show the two of them what heâd brought.
âI figured theyâre probably expecting us to do something, so Iâve got some signal dampeners for the shuttle, a few mobile ones for scrambling our comm lines, and a few that I fitted with a tiny emp generator. Itâs one of my old designs I pulled out and finished just for the occasion. It works by sending out a tiny burst-â
âVern, Iâm sorry,â Kylee interrupted, âIâm really sorry, but you canât come. We discussed this with the rest of the group.â
Thurrin felt her stomach drop at the look Vern gave them.
Kylee sighed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around again to make sure they were still not attracting any attention. âThe more people we take with us, the less likely weâll A- get out of here, and B- get in and out of Burnti space safely and C- less people getting in trouble for having ignored the GC and USEâs decision. Plus we need the extra room on the way back for Mike and Wenona. The shuttleâs not very big.â
âBut Human Vernâs going!â Booka Vern protested in a strained whisper.
âHuman Vern has experience as a pilot. Iâm going as the tech person.â âYouâre a mechanic. Iâm the tech person!â Vern slipped the signal dampeners back into his bag.
âVern, I know what Iâm doing. Besides, can you fight off the soldiers and guards - if it came to a physical fight?â âIâŠâ Vern paused. Thurrin sighed inwardly. Sheâd kind of hoped Vern could come too. But Kylee had a point. It was crucial to keep their crew as small as possible and make sure everyone coming could each take on several jobs. Generalization of multiple skills was more important than specialization of one skill for this particular mission. And fighting was likely going to be one of the very important skills needed. Humans were very good at what they call âwearing multiple hats.â Kylee was also going to be much more helpful in a fight than the now very dejected Booka.
Vern looked up and over to Thurrin. A few flickers rose from his fur. âAnd what about you?â
âThurrinâs from the Gladius crew,â Kylee explained, âsheâs friends with Mike and Wenona.â
âIâm a navigation and docking specialist on the Gladius bridge,â Thurrin sheepishly explained. No, wait. She shook her head slightly. What was she doing? She shouldnât feel bad about going just because Vern has to stay behind. That was part of the plan! These were her humans they were rescuing! She tried to stand a little straighter as she readjusted the pack she was carrying. No matter how cute or sad or upset Vern looked, she wasnât going anywhere! Or well, she was going somewhere. She was going to Burnti-controlled space.
âListen Vern,â Kylee put her hand on his shoulder, âwe all really want you to come, and we wish you could, but the smaller the crew on this mission, the more likely chance we have of succeeding, the less we have getting in serious trouble, and the safer we can return back to Rock Base.â
Vernâs fur had been growing more and more dark. It was almost red. After a tense moment of silence, it started lightening up into a rich orange. He picked up his pack and made sure all the pockets were closed and handed it over to Kylee. âHere then. Youâll still be needing these, after all. Thereâs more than just the signal dampeners in there too. A few standard-issue tools. And some non-standard issue ones that I modified. Top pocket on the left has a hand-held AV splicer, good for hacking into security feeds and whatnot. Uhh⊠Make sure I get that back in one piece though, I kind of⊠uh, borrowed it from Taygie.â
Kylee smiled and bent down to kiss Vern between his ears. âWill do, Vern.â She looped the bag over her right shoulder and nodded to Thurrin to head back up the ramp. âRicardo and the others are going to buy us time, think you could lend them a paw?â
âAh, consider yourselves gone.â Vern turned and started back the way he had come before he paused and looked back. âGood luck.â
The shuttle made a low humming sound. It was time to go. Thurrin scampered up the ramp. Kylee followed behind, trying to walk slowly to be inconspicuous. Human Vern was at the control, scanning all the readouts as they came up. He turned to look at Thurrin briefly as she came up behind him. âGood, youâre here. Iâm going to be starting up the engines as soon as we close the door. Can you handle the atmospheric differentiator and anything that comes up on that panel over there?â
Thurrin nodded and jumped up into the seat next to Human Vern.
âReady to go!â Kylee sat down in one of the seats behind them and strapped herself in.
Thurrin flashed a smile at her before going back to work. The shuttle was much, much smaller than the Gladius, so the atmospheric alterations were minimal. It would be more of a pressing issue when they reached the Arun Bloom where her friends were being held. She wasnât quite so nervous anymore, she noted to herself. Here at the controls, she was in her element, at work. This was happening, this was really happening! They were really going to do this!
âAnd just where do you miscreants think youâre going?â
Thurrinâs whole body froze. Except for her stomach. That felt like it had fallen through the floor. She wasnât the only one. Neither of the humans moved. After what felt like partecs, Vern turned around to see who had found them out. Thurrin followed suit.
âDemfar?â
âThurrin.â The medic nodded to the shocked Booka, and then again to the two humans. âOh, itâs a pleasure to meet you. More humans! I do love meeting new humans. You know, since weâve been here, Iâve really been able to advance my own studies on-â
âDemfar, what are you doing here?â Thurrin interrupted. Her poor heart was really getting some cardio today. She fluffed her fur up to try to look more soft and innocent. She hoped that that, combined with Demfarâs love of humans, would be enough to get Demfar to let them go and maybe not snitch on them.
âOh, yes, sorry. Iâm here on orders.â Thurrin tilted her head, waiting for more explanation.Â
âYouâre going to rescue Humans Mike and Wenona, correct? That is your plan?â was all the further explanation Demfar gave.
Thurrin, Vern and Kylee exchanged glances. âHow do you know?â Kylee questioned.
âWhose orders?â Thurrin asked almost in unison with Kyleeâs inquiry.
Demfar looked between the two of them, âUm, well to answer both of you, Captain Salora.â He shifted his weight. Thurrin finally noticed that Demfar was carrying several large bags in his tentacles. Each one had medical symbols on the front of them. He turned to look directly at Thurrin.
âThe Captain told me youâd probably try something foolish like this. She said that, and I quote her words here not mine, âif those foolhardy glug-heads are going to do what I think theyâre going to do, theyâre going to need a medic.ââ He shifted his weight as he settled the bags on the ground next to him. âSo here I am. Where shall I put this stuff? I assume weâre leaving now. The quicker the better, really.â
âDemfar,â Kylee got his attention, âIâm sorry, we- I just went through this with Booka Vern from my crew, but we donât have room. We need the extra space for bringing back Mike and Wenona. Besides, this is going to be dangerous. You could get hurt.â
âPrecisely why Iâm here. You all could get hurt. You all could get seriously hurt, and if that happens, youâre going to be needing me and my supplies here. Unless of course, any of you have any medical training? No Thurrin, put your paw down. Helping to bandage cuts doesnât count. No? Either of you two?â Both Human Vern and Kylee looked down and shook their heads. âExactly. So I suggest we all become quick friends now because we are going to be quite cozy on our way back. Speaking of which, I do believe we really should get going.â
The three of them looked at each other again. Demfar was right. They would likely need a medic. The shuttle came stocked with a first aid kit, and thatâs about as far as medical care had been planned. The fact that Captain Salora had sent him - well, actually the fact that Captain Salora knew about what they were up to and was not only allowing it, but actively helping them was a huge comfort to Thurrinâs warring conscious.
Thurrin pointed at the bins along the wall behind her chair, âYou can stow your bags in there if theyâll fit.â
As Demfar loaded up the supplies, Vern turned back to the controls and started entering the final commands. The ramp retracted. The doors shut and sealed. Thurring checked the atmosphere in the shuttleâs cabin and systems - all seemed normal. Vern pulled on the steering levers and the shuttle rose off itâs docking mount. The first set of gates to the airlock were already opening up for them. Ricardo and the rest of the team seemed to be on top of things.
âWell,â he sighed before he pushed the levers forward, moving the shuttle quickly toward the exit, âNo going back now. Mike and Wenona, here we come!â
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#abduction#humans are awesome#humans are weird#humans are space orcs#original writing#humans#aliens#space#thurrin#mike#wenona#gladius#booka#vern
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Abduction - Chapter 20
Iâm on a roll! I donât think Iâve posted a chapter a week since I started working full-time! Hopefully, the creative juices keep flowing! As always, comments, questions, critique, input, and feedback of any kind is very much welcomed!
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There were a lot of humans.
Well, a lot of humans meaning there were more than two. That was more than sheâd ever seen in one place! Thurrin knew under normal circumstances, sheâd be ecstatic to see and meet them. But they reminded her so much of Mike and Wenona that it made her heart ache a little.
Still, bookas arenât anything if not curious.
Sheâd flit around different work areas where human crew members were stationed, listening in and watching as theyâd help repair navigation systems of ships, fetch equipment, or lift and carry heavy replacement parts as they were installed. They were amazing! Sheâd heard humans were strong, but sheâd never seen anything like this before. Not only that, but they seemed to be tireless. Other mechanic teams around them had to constantly trade off tasks to rest and recuperate. Not the humans though. Theyâd finish one task and simply move on to the next, and the next, and the next. In a matter of seemingly no time, the small cruiser one particular group had been repairing that used to look like scrap heap material became pristine!
âWow,â she muttered under her breath as she padded closer. There were three humans and a robot that must have been from the planet Klox if the shape of it was anything to go by. It had a similar build to its human companions but had stockier legs, a short tail, and four long, spindly arms. As she got closer, one of the humans turned and noticed her sneaking up on them.
âHey Vern, finally show up now that the workâs done, huh? Typica⊠oh,â the human finally got a better look at her. âOh, youâre not Vern.â The other three in the group turned around to get a look at who their friend was talking to.
Not the least bit shy, Thurrin jumped up on a nearby step stool and leaned back on her haunches. âUh, no. My nameâs Thurrin. Iâm sorry to bother you, I was just admiring your work.â That earned her three wide, toothy grins in the style that humans do, and one pair of shuttered optics from the Kloxan. âIâve never seen so many humans in one place before, well, actually, I donât think Iâve ever seen this many humans⊠ever!â
âWell, itâs our pleasure to meet you Thurrin. This is is Kylee, over thereâs Ricardo, and that handsome bot over there is Clout.â
The first human, the female he had pointed to, Kylee was tall and had yellowish hair with streaks of purple in it that was pulled back tight in what Thurrin thought was called a âponytail.â Ricardo was quite a bit shorter with dark eyes and skin that reminded Thurrin of Wenona. They each nodded and gave a little wave as their names were said. Clout placed his two left hands on his chassis and gave a subtle bow, as was the formal greeting custom of kloxans. Or at least, she supposed it was.
âAnd I am Vern, a pleasure to meet you.â Vern gave a deep, exaggerated bow. He had, by far, the darkest skin of all the humans that Thurrin now knew. How exciting, she thought. I wonder how many colors humans come in? But what an interesting name-
âVern?â She cocked her head to the side.
âHis nameâs actually Vernon,â clarified Clout, âbut he hates it. So we only call him that when heâs being annoying.â
âWhich is often,â smirked Kylee. That earned her a shove from Vern. Thurrin watched, amused, but still puzzled.
âYeah, no. Itâs Vern, thank you. Or Human Vern. We have a booka on the crew named Vern. Apparently, itâs a pretty common name for booka?â Thurrin nodded. It was. She grew up with three Verns back home when she was just a kit. â Yeah, well, it can get confusing, so sometimes we have to do the formal greeting thing with the species in the name, ya know, Human Vern, Booka Vern.â
Ricardo shrugged his shoulders, âDoesnât help that you two are almost always together.â
âYeah,â Human Vern nodded and picked up a nearby rag to wipe his hands that were still coated in the oils and fluids from the shipâs engine. âSo I thought you were him. He wandered off over half an hour ago and hasnât been back since, the little stink bomb.â
With his hand now mostly clean, Human Vern reached it out to Thurrin and held it tilted to the side, palm up. Mike did that when they first met. It must be some sort of greeting thing all humans did. She patted his outstretched hand and looked over the rest of the group.
âAre all of you on the same crew? Which ship did you arrive on?â
Kylee turned and pointed across the docking bay towards a large light gray and orange ship that was currently having several large crates unloaded and hauled to various work stations.
âThat one over there. The Maywing. She was on her maiden voyage when Captain Fenz got the transmission that we needed to load up with as many tools, spare parts, and rations as we could carry and come here.â
âWhat about you? Thurrin, right?â Vern turned back to her. She nodded. âWhich ship is yours?â
The conversation settled into comparisons of their ships, what their individual duties were, how long theyâd each been part of the Galactic Confederation fleet, how they got along with the rest of their crew, etc. Thurrin smiled to herself as she listened to the humans interact and joke as they recounted their stories. The kloxan was a little more reserved, but she could tell they all enjoyed each otherâs companionship.
It was, in a way, bittersweet. She was really starting to like these humans. She wondered if Mike and Wenona would like them too. Probably. Vern and Kylee reminded her a lot of Mike. Wenona was actually a little more like Clout, reserved and watchful, but sheâd probably be happy to see other humans.
The sound of clattering metal and scurrying paws drew the groupâs attention. Another booka was sprinting on all fours towards them, knocking over whatever happened to be in his way as he skidded around corners.
He was big, Thurrin noticed. At least, big for a booka, who were on the shorter side of average height in the Galactic lineup. She remembered Wenona once said that she and the other booka aboard the Gladius were about the size of a bobcat, which was a creature back on Earth. She didnât really know if that was a good comparison or not at the time. She did look it up later and agreed they were pretty close. Though the poor creatures had no long, gorgeous tail! How sad!
The yellow flames of the approaching bookaâs long fur were currently yellow-orange. It looked soft. He must groom it very well, Thurrin thought.
âVern!â Human Vern yelled out, âWhere the heck have you been?â
Booka Vern slid to a stop and rose to stand on his back legs, panting as he tried to catch his breath. âSorry for⊠being gone so long⊠I passed by⊠I passed and⊠I sawâŠâ
âOkay, Vern,â Kylee interrupted, âjust breathe. Catch your breath first, then talk.â
While Vern gasped in air, Thurrin took the opportunity to look him over. Not only was he big in size, but he was also looking a little big around the middle. Probably the reason he was so out of breath now. His ears were large and wide set. The tips of fur on top of his head had curly flames flickering up. The tufts of fur around his neck were so thick, it almost looked like a mane. Some bookas did grow out their fur like that. Thurrin wasn't too big a fan of the look but on him⊠well, she had to admit he seemed to make it work. It was a little old-fashioned, but...
Oh, who was she kidding? He made it look super classy. Vern was flarging handsome!
âYou doing alright there, buddy?â Ricardo leaned down slightly to get a better look at his crewmate.
âI⊠I passed by the rec room on level⊠level three and they had a bunch of monitors going. There were tons of people there, so I wanted to see what was going on. Theyâre all displaying the same thing, I think itâs an open stream. Everyone and I mean everyone is watching it. Not just here. Everywhere!â
âVern,â Clout vented air through his systems in a sigh, âdo you mean to tell us you sloughed work so you could watch some show someone probably hacked into the broadcast for?â
âOooh, was it the Olympics?â Kyleeâs eyes lit up. âAre we finally getting the signal for them? Iâve been waiting forever for them to be approved to run in the Galactic AV Stream!â
âNo, no, itâs not that - itâs the Burnti Empire! Theyâve hacked into the stream, every channel. Theyâre sending a message to the entire galaxy!â
***
This wasnât good.
This could be a serious blow to the Galactic Confederation.
Thurrin sat back on the cushion sheâd been sitting on. The original stream had come through a solar cycle ago. Sheâd watched the entire interview seven times now. She⊠she wasnât quite sure what to think.
On one paw, she was happy to see that Mike was okay. He was alive! Oh she wanted to jump around and shout, âHeâs alive! Heâs alive!â She wasnât on the screen, but if Mike was alive and well, maybe Wenona was too? Or what if Mike was the only one on the screen because he was the only survivor! No, hopes were too high now to think that - if Mike made it, then so did Wenona! Thurrin refused to believe anything else.
Oh, they were alive!
Then her brain started coming up with questions.
Were they alright? What were they doing with the Burnti? Had the Burnti hurt them? Did Mike and Wenona fight back? Where were they right now? How was she going to get them back?
Then she had started really listening to the interview.
Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest and squeezed tightly. What was he saying? He blamed the Galactic Confederation for his and Wenonaâs abduction. That⊠no. What? Thatâs not what had⊠Had the events before her crew rescued them frazzled their memories somehow? Maybe he wasnât remembering things, right?
No. That was a stupid idea.
Maybe Mike had been brainwashed by the Burnti. That would make a little more sense. But was that even possible to do? It was very unlikely, but did anything else make sense? What else could get Mike- her Mike- her friend Mike to say what she was now hearing come across on the stream?
She wasnât the only one having a hard time understanding what was going on. All around the room, conversations broke out, some less hushed than others. Some less civil than others. One such group included the humans she had just been talking happily with from before.
âDo you mean to tell me heâs sending a secret message while also being interviewed?â One of the Rock Base crew- a long-necked speckled daydam- ranted, âI know you humans are supposed to be these great multi-taskers, but thatâs outlandish even for you. Heâs just blinking because he canât see. Heâs under a lot of lights, Iâm sure. There are very few species that can see properly under those conditions.
âHumans can!â Retorted Kylee. âWe do it all the time. Heâs not just blinking because itâs too bright, heâs blinking a code!â
This had been going on for a while until their âconversationâ had erupted into an all-out shouting match. One by one, other groups around them quieted down to watch and listen in. They soon had the attention of everyone in the room.
âWhatâs all this? Whatâs going on?â Captain Salora stepped into the conversation. The yelling daydam dipped his head respectfully at her arrival.
âCaptain Salora Akeno, we were discussing the recording from the Burnti Empire. Youâve seen it, I presume?â
âOf course I have,â she waved her claws, a bit irritated. âEveryone has. You were doing a bit more than merely âdiscussingâ it. Care to share your conversation?â
âHey,â hummed one of the daydamâs alienâs companions, âWasnât that human one that you had on your ship? What is all this? Do you have any idea what he could ruin? This could lead to all-out war! I canât believe you and your crew-â
He was cut short by a dangerous glare from Captain Salora. His companion elbowed him to stand down.
âApologies, Captain Salora Akeno,â the first daydam muttered. Its short fur was standing on edge in several places, making it look very ruffled and disheveled. âThese humans claim that your human⊠Mike⊠is sending some sort of code during the interview. Itâs preposterous! The reasons theyâre giving are unfounded and farfetched.â
âNo, itâs true, just look at him!â Kylee interrupted and pointed at the closest display screen where a close up of Mike was answering questions about the great times he had been having aboard the Arum Bloom. Captain Salora had to admit, he did seem to be blinking a lot. It was very strange.
âIâm telling you, thatâs normal for many species under bright lights. Youâre just trying to find an excuse for this betrayal because heâs also human! We all know how humans pack bond with each other.â
âAre you freakinâ kidding me?â Kylee was shouting again. âDoes it physically hurt you to be that stupid?â Ricardo and Human Vern each put a hand on her shoulders, but she brushed them off and stepped up so that she was nearly face to neck with the Rock Base Crewmember. âI donât know this guy from Adam! But if heâs doing what I think heâs doing, heâs more a hero than you could ever hope to be in your entire life!â
âAnd what, exactly,â interrupted Salora before the two broke out into an all-out brawl, âdo you think heâs doing? You said heâs using some sort of code?â
âMorse code, Maâam,â interjected Ricardo. âItâs a type of binary code from Earth. We think the patterns heâs blinking are in Morse code.â
The long-necked alien snorted. âAgain, all while also holding a conversation with the urma interviewing him?â
âItâs called multi-tasking,â Kylee growled, âWeâre great at it. For instance, while weâve been talking, Iâve been tolerating your special brand of idiocy, watching this Mike possibly risk his life on the screen, and calculating how many vats of fermented gent entrails Iâll need to fill up your personal quarters once weâre done here!â
Thurrin watched as Captain Salora sighed deeply and rubbed her temples with the blunt of her claws. As an akeno, the captain was very patient. It was a very famous quality many of akenos had, but even she had a limit.
Thurrin padded closer to the group. âThe Morse code heâs blinking,â she began. All eyes looked down to her, âdo you⊠does anyone know what heâs saying?â
Everyone turned back to the display. It was at a wide shot now, but it soon went back to switching between close-ups of Urma Kalabretti Esh and Mike, who continued blinking strangely. Could it really be code? If so, what message could he be so intent on sending to the entire galaxy?
âHmmm⊠Vern took a closer look. âIâm not sure. I donât really know Morse code. Ricardo?â
Ricardoâs dark brown eyes studied Mike closely. âNot really, but⊠there! That was an S. And, oh, thatâs an O! UhâŠâ he kept watching but shook his head. âThose are really the only letters I know. Everyone knows SOS in Morse code.â
âCaptain Salora,â the second long-necked alien complained, âDonât tell me you believe any of this nonsense!â
She ignored him and instead turned her focus back on the three humans. âWhich ship are you from? Who is your captain?â
âCaptain Fenz, Maâam, of the ESS Maywing,â said Ricardo.
Captain Salora nodded thoughtfully. âI know Captain Fenz. I believe heâd be alright if I borrowed you for a bit HumanâŠâ she paused.
âRicardo.â
âHuman Ricardo,â she repeated. She turned to the other two. âIf you would, let Captain Fenz know I am taking Ricardo from his duties for a few moortiks.â Kylee and Vern nodded. âRight. Youâre excused then. Human Ricardo, if you would follow me please.â
As she and Ricardo started for the door, Captain Salora nodded at Thurrin. âThurrin, you might as well come too. I know you will anyway.â
Thurrinâs fur blushed a slight shade of red. She bounded after her captain and new human friend on all fours, trying to keep up with their brisk pace.
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#abduction#HUMANS ARE WEIRD#humans are space orcs#thurrin#captain salora#gladius#waywing#humans#aliens#original writing#novel#morse code#galaxy
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Abduction - Chapter 13
Between this and Inktober, I must say that this will be a busy month for me! Iâve got so many ideas and so little time to do them all! Thanks to everyone who has been reading along - especially those who keep encouraging me to keep writing and posting! Youâre the best and I really appreciate the boost you give me!
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To be perfectly honest, he felt a bit out of sorts and had no real clue as to what to do next. It didnât happen often, but it was not a feeling he enjoyed. Not in the slightest.
What a day!
What a day indeed. He thought he was a goner when the Montauk - Simmo, it had said its name was - was about to deliver a deadly blow after knocking him down. Heâd be dead now if it wasnât for⊠well, if it wasnât for both of the humans. Mike had tackled Simmo before she could strike. Jebannuck still couldnât fully wrap his mind around how that had even been possible. Mike had been down, struggling with his own serious injuries one minute, then flying to the rescue the next. Wenona as well - both were seriously wounded. If theyâd been anything but human, one might say theyâd been mortally wounded.
And yet, they fought through it all. Nothing, no contusion, no cut, no amount of blood loss seemed to stop them. Theyâd been downed, seemingly beaten, and yet they still fought on with a fervor that Jebbanuck had heard of only in stories.
They were terrifying.
Granted, he had already seen what they could do before, or at least, heâd seen the aftermath of their wrath. The Montauk ship had been full of evidence of what happens when humans are scared and fighting for their lives. It was an image that had remained in the back of his mind since. Sure, it had faded a bit over time aboard the Gladius as he got to know Human Mike and Human Wenona, but after today? Well, those images had returned to the forefront of his memory and were enhanced now with firsthand experience.
The light of a campfire flickered across the clearing. The Montauk, Simmo was asleep on the ground to his left, spread out on itâs back as much as it could with all its bandages and restraints. It was barely breathing, it hadnât fully woken up since the fight, though it did slightly stir a bit just before the humans shut themselves up in the pod for the night. They both refused to sleep anywhere near the Montauk. It was nothing short of a miracle that they hadnât killed it yet. They nearly had. It had taken nearly everything he had earlier to call them off, or rather, pull them off.
Simmo stirred again. She had been on the verge of waking off and on for some time. Even though she was securely tied down, Jebannuck still felt himself go tense. There was a part of him that almost questioned if he shouldnât have stopped the humans. He felt bad about that part.
A little.
He had no love for the montauk, sure. He knew their kind well, had fought their kind often. Had lost⊠had lost to their kind. Justice had been served, yes. But justice didnât completely repair damages done.
He had made the right choice though. He wasnât sure if the humans would have actually killed the montauk, but it was still his duty to make sure they didnât.
âEhhhhrrrrrrâŠâ the montauk turned her head, her eyes flickering slightly. âOhhh⊠my head. What didâŠâ She shook her head and scrunched her eyes tightly before opening them. She started to lift an arm to reach her face but was stopped by the restraints. âWhat theâŠâ her eyes widened and darted around, trying to adjust to the firelight, resting on Jebannuck. Alarm turned to recognition, which turned to a mixture of panic and anger. Snarling, she tried jumping to her feet but managed to only squirm violently.
âOh calm down, will you? There are people trying to sleep.â Jebannuckâs own tone surprised him. Teasing? He must have spent too much time around Mike, that must be it, yes. He tried again in his more typical, serious tone. âCalm down, youâre not going anywhere, but no oneâs going to hurt you now.â
âIs that so, sefra? Because to me, it seems a little late for that,â she all but snarled at him, but Jebannuck noticed her eyes flicker around the camp, searching. âWhere are your little attack pets? Iâm not sure theyâd share your little sentiment of leaving me in one pieceâŠâ
âThe humans,â Jeabannuck cut her off, âare no pets. They are members of the galactic confederation and my crewmates.â His sudden vehemence regarding his human charges surprised him. Crewmates? Since when? Oh, what did it matter right now?! âAll things considered, youâre lucky to still be alive. Iâve seen them take down an entire ship of your kind. They can be terrifying when theyâre hurt or afraid.â
Simmo continued to stare Jebannuck down, her eyes darkened and became harder for him to read. âMy kind. Ha. I have no kind. My kind, my people, have been gone 741, no wait, how long have I been out? 742 local days.â Simmoâs stare was becoming more and more intense, but Jebannuck refused to be the first to break eye contact. She leaned forward as much as she could against her restraints. âYou and your little monsters are certainly not the first to try off me. And to be honest, since Iâm not dead, Iâd appreciate it if youâd release me. Iâve got things to do. People to kill, and none of you are currently at the top of my list.â
Jebannuckâs raised a brow ridge. âRelease you? Oh right away, because you certainly know how to instill a sense of trust, donât you?â
She sneered at him, baring her small but sharp teeth hidden behind her mandibles, but said nothing more. The fire crackled. A log fell over and shot a cascade of sparks dancing into the air. Jebannuck watched them rise, his eyes catching on the stars beyond.
How was the Gladius fairing? His crew? He was supposed to be there with them. Fight with them. Protect them. And yet here he was stuck on a planet that was barely hospitable, with a prisoner who was not at all hospitable, and two humans who seemed to attract and be attracted to danger in everything they did. All of them injured, none of them on friendly speaking terms with each other at the moment. He shouldnât be here. This whole situation was ridiculous. His place was on the Gladius! And yet, if he hadnât been hereâŠ
âSee what youâre looking for up there, sefra? See your ship? or at least, pieces of it up there, do you?â
Jebannuck glowered at her but said nothing. Instead, he dropped another log onto the fire.
What a day.
***
Thurrin had never seen the medical bay like this before. I mean, sure, itâd been busy at times. After exploratory assignments or during mass check-ups. Itâd been really full when the humans had first been brought aboard. But now, it was a different kind of busy. A scary kind of busy.
Gerben and Demfar had their hands full. Or tentacles full in Demfarâs case. They raced to and from patient, wrapping bandages, administering photon treatments, tying slings, etc. Gerben walked with a slight limp. Heâd taken quite a hit to his leg while being thrown across the room during the fights. His skin was very dark where it could be seen through gaps in his feathers.
A few in the crew who were fairly well off helped where and when they could. Thurrin was on duty now, relieving another crew member who looked like theyâd been there a cycle or two too long. Everyone looked like that though. Rest seemed to be a rare commodity when you were busy running from a battle you just got your tail kicked in.
Itâs not supposed to be like this. Sheâd been thinking that over and over. This was all just so⊠wrong.
They were explorers, not fighters. Sure, the Gladius was equipped with shields, blasters, etc. but those were supposed to be used for safely maneuvering asteroid fields, or pushing through nebula storms, or at most, self-defense. Not all out battle. Especially not all-out battle against an enemy they werenât expecting, who were also armed with calciar cannons!
âOw! Thurrin, not so tight!â
âOops, sorry Karbrir,â she muttered sheepishly. She started unwinding the bandage sheâd been wrapping around Karbrirâs massive shaggy arm and began re-wrapping it, looser this time.
Yeah, they hadnât been expecting to be suddenly thrown into a fight like that. Theyâd nearly been torn to pieces. Theyâd been told to retreat. And yet, as bad as all those things were, they werenât the worst of it.
Captain Salora had ordered that the humans be sent to the surface of Gamnut 4. It was the nearest planet that could sustain life, though, in all technicality, it was a planet that had been labeled as âoff-limits.â Mostly due to the fact that it was right in the middle of what was the Burnti Blockade, but also partly due to the fact that it was considered by most species to be a âdeath world.â It was category 3, so honestly it wasnât that bad, but still, not a place youâd want to vacation, for sure.
Thurrin missed Mike and Wenona. She wasnât the only one either. She realized now what an impact theyâd made on the morale of the crew. She wished the captain hadnât sent them off. Yeah, it made sense. This wasnât their battle. Technically speaking, they werenât part of the crew, they were civilians. Practically speaking, however, their absence left a hole.
Not the only hole though.
Thurrin felt the temperature of her fur drop and darken to a dull red. Sometime during the battle, after heâd gotten the humans off the ship, Jebannuck went missing. Then they discovered just how much damage the hall heâd been in had taken. He was gone.
Thereâd was no way theyâd be able to find the body now, returning to the blockade space now would be less than wise. The thought should have made her furious, her friendâs body floating amidst the debris, alone, broken. She felt a little guilty for not being angry about it. Instead, she just felt numb and sick.
She finished Karbrirâs bandage. He grunted thanks and shuffled out and into the hall. She glanced over the rest of the medical bay. She wasnât sure what to do next. Sheâd applied salve to and wrapped three arms, four legs, and a few small cuts. Everything serious was left to the actual medics, but it looked like most of the âeasyâ medical treatments she could do were done. She leaped down from the high stool sheâd been working on and found Demfar stitching up a head wound two bays down.
âDemfar, is there anything else I can help with?â Oh, she wished her voice didnât sound so tired. Or sad. Or both.
Demfar hardly looked up from his work, his tentacles didnât miss a beat as he pulled and tied the edges of the worst part of the wound closed. âYouâre fine, Thurrin. I think our other volunteers already left. Gerben and I need to be the ones to handle whatâs left.â He finished the stitches and applied a light orange gel over the entire area surrounding the injury. âThank you for being willing to help so we could focus on those in critical condition.â
Thurrin put up her best smile she could muster, it immediately felt like it was slipping off her face like a wet pexa fish, âGlad to help.â She turned and walked on all fours to the exit. She knew she was hungry, but she felt like the cafeteria was the last place she wanted to be right now. That was where sheâd met⊠and that was where sheâd talk to and laugh at⊠and they werenât there. Her nose stung as her eyes watered.
Sleep, she thought. Sleep sounds good. Iâm tired of being awake right now.
#abduction#chapter 13#humans are weird#humans are space orcs#space#aliens#jeb#jebannuck#mike#wenona#simmo#humans#thurrin#montauk#original writing#fic
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Abduction Chapter 7
Itâs a big one. After I made it through some writerâs block, this chapter was a lot of fun to write - and the next chapter will be too!
If you havenât read Abduction before, be sure to go back and read chapters 1-6 first, otherwise, youâre going to be all, âWhaaaa? What is all this? Who are these people?â and thatâs never much fun.
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Space sucks. Why does it take so long to get anywhere? Even with alien technology that can travel at near light-speed or warp spacial fabric, or whatever it does, it was too slow. Too. Freakinâ. Slow.
Captain Salora had been kind about this whole ordeal. So there was that, at least. As far as aliens went, she was alright.
Wenona glared out the window. Two more days. Thatâs pretty much what the captain had said during their last visit. Two days stuck somewhere you never had any desire to be. Two days stuck surrounded by aliens who stare and gawk at you because theyâve never seen a human before. Two days with not much to do but look out the thick, layered pane at the white streaks of the stars they were passing.
The two days had kind of dragged on.
âWenona? Oh hey, there ya are,â Mike burst into the room, nearly slamming his shoulder into the side of the doorway. âFound ya.â
âCouldnât have been hard. I havenât moved.â
âDemfar said weâre docking in five minutes!â Wenona scooted aside as Mike came up to get a good look outside. âCan you see the station yet? Demfar said it was huge!â
âWeâre still going pretty fast. I donât think weâll be there in five minutes. I donât think they even know what âminutesâ are.â
âMinutes, moortiks, same difference.â
âActually, itâs a difference of about-â
âHuman Mike, Human Wenona, weâre going to be approaching the Confederation outpost soon. Captain Salora has invited you both to the bridge so you can observe the docking process,â Gerben shuffled into the doorway, but didnât enter the room. He was carrying several large jars, half-filled with a dark orange, goopy liquid.
âJebâs gonna come pick us up, then?â
âJeb?â Gerben tried shifting weight on his feet, but almost lost balance and dropped a jar. Regaining composure, and his grip on the jars, he gave a thoughtful look at Mike. âOh, you mean Jebannuck. No, he will not be coming today. Heâs attending to his security duties for the docking process. Ghem-et should be here soon.â
And he was. The escorts were always very punctual. Ghem-et was friendly enough, but sometimes hard to get much of a rise or reaction out of. Mike didnât like that very much. Especially when there was Gerben or Jebannuck that had such great, albeit different reactions to his antics. For example, Gerben nearly blew a gasket the other day after he found Mike trying to, quote, âboil himself aliveâ in a bathing tub. He had asked Wenona to help bypass the temperature limiter on it when the other day when he got bored.
Or when Gerben had walked in and found the humans sleeping, sprawled out half on the floor, half on whatever furniture happened to be nearby. Worried something must have happened to them, heâd tried resuscitating them, Wenona first.
In hindsight, Wenona realized that he had probably just learned a bit of CPR for humans in the garbled fragments of info the ship had received, but it was clear Gerben was far from having the technique mastered.
His attempt, however, did succeed in waking up Wenona. Just not very well. She had panicked. Gerben ended across the room, tripping over and falling on Mike, effectively waking him up as well. Though, Mike was much less⊠violent about it. Needless to say, Gerben had been much more cautious since, and left sleeping humans where they lie.
Jebannuck, on the other hand, usually only dealt with the humansâ antics while escorting them around the ship. Antics usually coming from Mike. In fact, almost completely coming from Mike. Unlike Gerben, Jebannuck reacted with a more âIâm-very-much-DONE-with-this,â look on his face. Mike thought it was hilarious. He loved it. He loved all of this. He was basically living the dream aboard the Gladius.
But her? Not so much.
She felt very tense every time she had to leave the medic bay. She knew they were friendly, but she still kept a close eye on every crewmate they happened to pass in the halls. She walked close to the walls, brushing her fingers over itâs panels and smooth surfaces as they went by.
Ghem-et led them quickly and quietly to the shipâs bridge. Upon arrival, Wenona frowned at how full it was. When theyâd come in the past, there were only a few of the crew here and there at their posts at a time. Not now though. Everyone was here as the ship prepared to dock with the outpost.
âCaptain,â Ghem-et called out loudly, âHumans on the bridge.â
Captain Salora craned her long neck up to look across the room. She really looked like some sort of dinosaur when she did that. She started walking toward them before she turned and muttered one last to the helmsman, a large four-armed alien with greenish fur, who nodded and began pulling up on the levers in front of her.
âThank you Ghem-et. You may return to your regular post. Weâre coming up on outpost 4MG6 now.â
âRight away, Captain,â and he hurried off to the lower decks.
âHuman Mike, Human Wenona, you can join me at the controls. I think youâll enjoy seeing this.â
Captain Salora slid a scaly, clawed hand over the main panel on her station. A holographic screen, much like the ones used in the medic bay, lit up in front of them. âHere we are. Keep your eyes on the exterior portsâ
Both Wenona and Mike looked up towards the front of the bridge. Windows like the ones Wenona had been looking through earlier, only much larger, showed bright streaks of lights from the stars and celestial bodies they were passing at insane speeds.
While they watched intently, Captain Salora entered a few commands into the display and opened a ship-wide intercom announcement, âAll crew prepare to exit warp in five, four, three, two, one.â
The helmsman shoved the levers down into their lowest settings. The streaks outside the window slowed down, flickered, then flashed. Wenona covered her eyes for a moment. When she looked back, she saw space as it normally was, stars looking like stationary pinpricks of light, a few large asteroids floating nearby, etc. Were they in the right spot?
It took her a moment to realize what was right in front of them.
The asteroid. Except it wasnât an asteroid. It was huge. It was massive! It was mind-boggling to think something this big could be man-made. Or, not man-made, but whoever made it. How? What the heck? HOW?!
âWha- I? Wow,â was all she could get out.
âConfederation outpost 4MG6,â Captain Salora announced proudly, âMost just refer to it as âRock Base.â Not the most fancy place in the territory, nor the most high-tech, but certainly one of the oldest and most impressive.â She turned to look at Wenona and Mikeâs expressions, grinning slightly at their awe-struck expressions before returning her gaze to her display. âWeâve been given clearance. Baun, take us in to bay 15, Thurrin prepare atmospheric compression seals.â
âYes Captain,â both voices called out in unison. Wenona turned and look behind to Thurrinâs station. The cat-like alien was turning dials and checking readouts across the board. She caught Wenona watching, her fur changed to a cheerful orange as she flashed a toothy grin - a human greeting Mike had taught her.
âWenona, Wenona, look! Are you seeing this?â Mike tapped on her shoulder, gaping at the view outside the ship. Parts of the outpost looked like theyâd been carved right out of the asteroid itself, outfitted with shining windows, metal ports, vents, antennas, dishes, and graftings, and other materials that Wenona didnât recognize. Each section of the outpost looked like it had been made, built, or carved at different intervals of time. Perhaps even by different alien cultures. It was a hodgepodge of designs and shapes, and yet, they still somehow all seemed to fit. It wasâŠit was... was there a word to describe something like this other than beautiful? Beautiful didnât quite seem to fully grasp the description.
Wenona and Mike watched quietly, in awe, as the ship slowly approached the lower part of the asteroid outpost. The rays from the nearby star danced across the glassy surfaces, creating myriads of various colored lights reflected into and all around the bridge. As the ship turned in towards the docking bays, Wenona caught a glimpse of the massive propulsion engines. They looked like they were at least four times bigger than the Gladius itself, and appeared to be dimly lit, probably on minimal thrust to maintain a steady position in orbit.
âOutpost 4MG6 has been passed from one race to another for millenia,â Captain Salora watched as their view of the outside of the asteroid base gave way to the view of the docking bay entrance. âItâs seen empires rise and fall and been put to countless uses. The oldest sections even outdate the star weâre currently orbiting.â
âHow long are we going to be here? I canât wait to explore!â Mikeâs smile stretched almost impossibly large across his face and he seemed unable to stand still any longer, shifting his weight from side to side.
âSomeone here will be able to get us home, right?â Wenona turned and asked Captain Salora quietly.
âYes. Someone here whoâs available. If not, theyâll outfit us with the latest updates for human necessities, which honestly we probably should get anyway, and weâll take you back to Earth ourselves.â
âThat may just be what ends up happening, Captain,â a deep voice called out from the front of the bridge. One of the science officers had stood out of his chair to get a better look at the docking bay.
The empty docking bay.
âWhatâs going on?â âDid something happen to everyone?â âBy all things bright and shining!â âIâve never seen it so empty!â âWhere is everyone?â Several voices, some loud and some hushed, rippled across the bridge.
Captain Salora looked silently at the empty bay, her mouth pulled tight in a small frown. âEveryone, calm down. We were given clearance to dock upon our arrival. That means someone is here. We would have been alerted if the Rock Base had been evacuated or under attack. Baun, land this ship.â She reached for a button near the edge of her station, âJebannuck Sefra, are you and your team ready for receiving?â
Jebannuckâs voice came over the intercom, âWe are ready and waiting Captain. Is there any problem?â
Salora inhaled a slow and quiet breath.
âCaptain?â
âMy apologies, Jebannuck. There is no problem. Carry on, we are landing now.â
Wenona looked around the bridge. Every face in the room was wildly different, in shape, in color, in size, but there was was one commonality: anxiety. She turned back to the front windows. No ships. In a place this big? No wonder the crew was worried.
Where was everyone?
âWe are docked, Captain.â
âThank you Baun. Thurrin, whatâs the status on our atmospheric exchange?â
âEqualized, Captain. Shall I unlock the seals?â
âUnlock. Open the doors. Mike, Wenona, if youâll accompany me, the outpostâs receiving team should be with us soon.â As she turned towards the exit, Wenona had to step aside to avoid being hit by the Captainâs tail.
Before following, Wenona caught eyes with Mike. Sheâd seen that look on his face before. Right before they broke out of their cell on the Montauk ship. His eyes looked steely, his jaw was clenched, he looked ready for a fight. The expression didnât last long though - it was quickly interrupted with a overly-cheesy grin and two thumbs up. She cracked her own small smile, and shaking her head, followed after Captain Salora.
#abduction#humans are weird#humans are space orcs#aliens#space#wenona#mike#jebannuck#thurrin#captain salora#demfar#gerben#novel#beat the writers block
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Abduction - Chapter 6
Yes, you read right. Chapter 6. In that this is the 6th part of this story. In that there are 5 chapters before this one. If this is the first youâve seen of my âHumans are weird/space orcsâ story, click below and read the previous chapters. Itâll make more sense that way, I promise!
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âI swear, I was just popping my knuckles. Iâm fine. Can you stop touching me?â
Mike almost laughed, but he caught himself and hid his smile. It was funny, but not funny enough to risk Wenona getting mad at him. Gerben had nearly lost it after he heard the series of popping noises coming from her when she got up after a routine health check.
âAre you certain nothingâs broken?â Gerben still had Wenonaâs hands in his long fingers, inspecting them for signs of injury. âPerhaps the pain hasnât registered with you yet?â
âIâm fine. I am, I swear, just give me back my hand.â Gerben gave the hands one last look over before releasing them enough for Wenona to yank them back.
âDonât worry, Gerben, it happens all the time, totally harmless,â Mike jumped in before either Wenona or the medic could say anything else. âPeople do it all the time. Well, uh, human people do it all the time, see?â He popped his knuckles as a demonstration. âItâs just tiny pockets of gas escaping the joints and stuff. Itâs healthy.â
The look on Gerbenâs feathered face looked less than convinced.
âI can pop my back too if you want to see.â âPlease. Donât.â
Of the two medics, Mike had quickly decided that he prefered Demfar. That guy was one inquisitive and easy-to-impress space-squid. Though he did like Gerben too. It was a different kind of like. Gerben was fun to get a rise or reaction out of every time some new âhuman thingâ was discovered. Popping joints was just the latest on a long, long list that made Gerbenâs face scrunch up in funny shapes.
âA-herm.â
All eyes turned toward the sound.
âJebannuck! Youâre early.â Mike thought he heard the slightest hint of relief in Gerbenâs voice.
âJeb! What is up my dude!â
âAre the humans ready?â He ignored Mikeâs greeting while he stepped into the room and folded his arms across his chest. Mike hadnât known him long, a few days, maybe a week. Had it been a week? Itâs hard to keep track of time with everything that had been going on. Go figure. But in the time heâd known Jebannuck - however long itâd been - Â he could tell he was a bit of a stickler for proper procedures.
âWeâre going to be getting something to eat first, right? Before we meet with Salora?â Wenona chimed in.
âThatâs Captain Salora. And yes. Weâll be stopping in the cafeteria  before I escort you to the bridge.â
âSweet. What are we waiting for, letâs go!â Mike stretched his arms over his head. A few pops from his shoulders made Gerben wince. âOops! Sorry bud, see ya later!â
Theyâd been to the cafeteria a few times now. Twice a âdayâ cycle, or whatever. It was always fun. Not the first time, though. It was a little freaky, actually. Their escort, who was usually Jebannuck, tried to time visits when it wasnât very busy. There was always someone though.
He felt a lot more convinced that no one here meant any harm as soon as he found out that none of the aliens on the ship even slightly resembled a Montauk. With that established, it became something of an adventure to meet as many members of the crew as he could.
Pretty much everyone acted SUPER nice and curious about their new human passengers, and, well, they acted the same way most humans would if the roles were reversed. Mike, thoroughly enjoying himself, tried to meet and remember as many new (sometimes strange-sounding) named aliens as he could get within earshot of. Wenona, on the other hand, had been less excited by the attention. Jebannuck, and sometimes Ghem-et if he was there, did his best to divert crewmates from crowding the humans. Mike noticed that Wenona usually stayed pretty close to Jebannuckâs side whenever there were too many aliens around.
It wasnât often though. Captain Salora, the medics, and their escorts had all proved very adept at making sure the humans were given plenty of space. But Mike could tell there were a few on the crew that were chomping at the bit to get in a little closer with their new passengers.
In fact, here came that orange furball now.
âGreetings Human Wenona, Human Michael! How fortunate that our paths cross!â
Jebannuck raised his brows. âI thought you were in the hospital wing, Thurrin. Feeling much better already, are we?â
âWhat? Oh. Yeah, I am, actually. Must have just been in need of a good stroll. Cleared my head right up!â
âIs that why we always saw you sneaking around outside the medic bay? Itâs great to finally officially meet you, Iâm Mike.â He held out his hand.
Thurrin tilted her head at the humanâs gesture, before reaching out and patting Mikeâs fingers a few times. âGood to meet you Mike, Iâm Thurrin from the planet Bernor.â
âThurrin, I thought Iâd made myself clear that you, and the rest of the crew, were to not crowd the humans.â
âAww, come on man,â Mike interjected, âWeâre on a ship full of creatures from other planets and yet weâre lonely,â Mike bent backwards as they walked to add drama, earning a surprised and somewhat worried look from Jebannuckâs, and a giggle from Thurrin. âOr at least I am. We never really get to meet or interact, ya know? I donât mean that youâre not great to hang out with, Jeb, but Iâd really like to get to know more, uh, peopleâ
âMy name is Jebannuck, not Jeb.â
Thurrin led them to a nearby bench and table and quickly laid claim to her favorite cushion, âHumans are social creatures, they need to pack bond. Eepereep told me so.â
âAnd what about you, since when were booka so social?â âWe can be social when we want to. And on top of that, weâre inherently curious by nature.â âCurious? Or just nosy?â
Thurrin gave a pouting look at Jebannuck, the fur on the back of her neck flickered a dark shade of red.
Wenona gave a small chuckle, âWhat a grumpy kitty,â and reached out to scratch Thurrinâs ears. Everyone froze. Wenona pulled her hand back. âOh, I⊠Iâm sorry. Oh my gosh, I wasnât thinking. I, I grew up with a cat and⊠Iâm sorry, okay? Can everyone stop freakinâ looking at me? Are we going to eat, or what?â
âUm, yeah. Whatâs for lunch this time, Jeb?â
âHuman Michael, my name is Jebannuck, not Jeb.â
âNo promises, Jeb...annuck. But I youâll have to call me Mike, not Michael.â
Jebannuck sighed, âVery well, Human Mike. Your meal will be a banchip mash and a side of raw ruproot.â
âAgain? Thatâs all weâve had since weâve been aboard.â
âImprovement from the last ship we were on,â muttered Wenona.
âOur information on humans is still quite limited. Once we dock at the outpost, we can upload the entirety of the Confederationâs data files on your race. That will include a list of foods we have available that are compatible with your digestive system. Until then, weâll just have to stick with what we know wonât make you sick, or worse.â
âAw, I knew you cared about us, Jeb.â
Jebannuck closed his eyes and sighed before he got up to walk to the food dispenser window. âYou can do this, Jebannuck. Quick meal, visit with the captain, and then back to the medical bay. You can do this.â
#abduction#HUMANS ARE WEIRD#humans are space orcs#aliens#humans and aliens#thurrin#jebannuck#mike#wenona#space
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Abduction - Chapter 3
This is going pretty well, I think. Thanks again for all the support! Itâs really helping me stay motivated to keep writing!
This is a continuation from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
Chapter 4
It was really bright. Like, stupid bright. Who has lights this bright? Ow.
Mike had to squint long before he could even think about opening his eyes. His nose really itched too, it felt like it was stuffed up. He reached up to scratch, but his hand was stopped by something that felt almost like a soft plastic dome. Maybe it was rubber? What the heck is this? He felt around, there were a lot of wires and tubes. Was he in the hospital?
âOhhhâŠâ his voice caught on his dry throat. âMy⊠everything hurts. What the heck did I do this time?â
He moved his hand up to his eyes, shielding them from the light to try to get a look at the room he was in.
There were instruments attached to the walls, standing on wheeled carts, or hanging from the ceiling. Some were connected to hoses and nozzles. There were wires, screens, cupboards and drawers against several walls. The platform he was resting on had most of the wires and tube connected to or around it. There were diagrams posted on the walls, but not in a language Mike recognized. There was a beeping sound, like a heart-rate monitor, but the tone was higher and sounded like it was coming from some sort of musical instrument.
It certainly looked like a hospital. Just not like one heâd ever been in before. There was something⊠alien about it.
Oh.
Alien.
Mike gave a start as the events from the past few months rushed back. His scout ship, sent to do a quick orbit of Saturn to pick up an observation drone. The mysterious ship. Bright light. Then darkness. Cages. Food that could hardly be considered edible. Aliens that kind of looked like some ugly, hairy bug. Different needles, blades, vials, injections. Heâd felt treated more like an animal than a human being. No, not even treated like an animal. More like a science experiment. Or a punching bag.
The machine in the background started beeping faster.
Oh no, he thought, Oh no, no, no, no. Where am I? What happened?
Clawed black hand reached to undo the lock. Exoskeleton clinked against the bars. Theyâd become relaxed around their prisoners. Thought theyâd broken them. Complacent. Still dangerous. Just waiting for the right moment. That moment.
Them.
Two.
Where was Wenona?
The beeping was getting faster. A new sound started, a lower, longer sound.
They had snatched the guardâs weapon, knocked him unconscious. Locked him in one of the cells theyâd been held in. They snuck their ways through the halls, taking out guards or officers when needed until the alarm sounded. Theyâd been found out. Even though theyâd both been weakened by their time aboard the alien ship, there wasnât a creature aboard that could stop them. Cuts. Burns. Scratches. Barricades. Blasters. They fought through them all to get to and take the control bridge. Wenona had been trying to figure out their position when another alien ship appeared on the screens.
Pain. Blood. The adrenaline was wearing off. It was getting harder to see, harder to stand up straight. Wenona helped him to hide. Tried to stop the bleeding.
Mike tried propping himself up to see if he could find Wenona. Theyâd both been captured around the same time. Theyâd been each otherâs sole companionship during their time as prisoners. Sheâd saved his life. He needed to make sure she was still nearby, still okay.
The heart-monitor beeps got faster. The lower, longer sounding beeps got louder.
Mike pushed against the strange plastic-y cover. It moved easily enough, swinging away on hinges of some sort. He tried turning around to get a better look of the rest of the room. Owwww⊠ahhhh. It felt like every muscle in his body was made out of frozen rubber. He had been covered by a thin, soft blanket from the neck down. As he sat up, it slid down. He wasnât wearing anything. The torn, bloody rags were gone. Probably a good sign, right? Whoeverâs ship this is, at least cares enough to clean me up, and⊠ He felt his side with his hand, Those are new scars. Completely healed scars.
How long have I been out?
Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was definitely alien.
If Mike had been standing, the alien would probably have been as tall as his chest. Looking at it quickly, one might mistake it for some strange, dry octopus, but the legs under the main part of the body was long and sturdy, ending in four stockier tentacle-feet. Itâs skin was varying shades of brown ranging from the color of a dark chocolate candy bar to a lighter brown of a cardboard box with spots and streaks of purples and blues that must have formed some sort of camouflage pattern back on whatever planet it must have originated from.
âKrouschee fen glub you een denoo ing? You are abrehmf kroot. Dooka you understand kama Iâmehs seraying?â
âWhat?â
âDook. You. Underswand. Kat. Iâmehs. Seraying?â
Mike looked puzzled at the alien. It didnât seem dangerous. The features on its face looked⊠curious? Maybe even concerned?
âUmm⊠I understand you? Mostly.â Which was already saying a lot more than the previous aliens he had encountered. Good step. Good step.
âKold on a momentehk. Weâve equipped you koob ap translator. It eereha take a momentehk to adjust, so I goos I will just keep talking until everyshringreh is sounding the way it should to you. Letâs see, Iâm trying to thinkek of things to say, things to skray. My name is Demfar, I am the head medic. Todayshk I ate three kerber patties for my meal. Uh, Iâve been assigned to the ESS Gladius for nearly six of my worldâs solar cycles. Thatâs about, oh.... I want to say about seven and a half deca-partecs?â He paused, he looked like he was running out of things to say. âIs this working yet, or not? Sometimes it takes only a few words to sync, but Iâve heard instances where it took half a day before it started getting everything translated properly. Can you understand me?â
âUh, yeah, itâs working. I, uh, I understand you.â
A smile spread across Demfarâs face. Was it a smile? It at least it looked like it should be a smile. His large eyes creased slightly and the fins on the side of his face moved almost comically far upwards. Mike smiled back.
The fins on Demfarâs face dropped and his eyes widened. âOh, my, I apologize. I didnât mean to upset you. I meant no offense.â
âWhat? No, I was... I was smiling, it means Iâm happy. I thought you were smiling, so I smiled back.â Demfar tilted his head to the side slightly. He lifted one of his tentacled arms and a small holographic display appeared and seem to hover over a small watch-looking device on his⊠um, wrist? Or wherever his âwristâ would be in comparison to Mikeâs own arm. He seemed to be reading something. âAh, yes. A smile. Your species often display your happiness by baring your teeth like that, I see.â He smiled again, though the fins on the side of his head did not reach quite as high. It was still enough to make Mike smile a little bit, though he made sure he didnât show his teeth this time.
Demfar looked at Mike and then to the display again. âI do apologize. We learned as much as we could about humans from our shipâs internal database, but seeing as we did not have any humans aboard, it was quite limited. Weâve managed to send for more information, but itâs been slow. Weâre still a ways out from the nearest Federation outpost, and communication is often disrupted by cosmic interference during warp.â The display disappeared and Demfar stepped toward Mike and lifted the blanket that was still partially covering Mikeâs torso.
âIncredible,â Demfar murmured quietly.
âWhat?â Mikeâs muscles tensed and he felt himself leaning ever so slightly away from Demfar. Breathe, he thought, itâs okay, he seems nice. Heâs a doctor. Iâm his patient. Itâs okay. Iâll be okay. Heâs a doctor⊠an alien doctor.
Demfar paused and gave Mike the same concerned look he had when he first came in.
âI understand youâve been through quite an ordeal, but I can assure you, I mean you no harm human⊠uh, humanâŠâ the fins on the side of his face tilted back closer to the side of his head. âOh my, do excuse my lack of manners. I have told you my name, but have not asked for yours.â
âCaptain Michael Rockwell,â he responded automatically. âUh, but my friends just, most people just call me Mike.â
âMike, yes. Very good. Well, human-Mike, as I was saying, I mean you no harm. No one on this ship does. We are on an exploratory and diplomatic mission for the Galactic Federation to the outer sectors. Those that abducted and harmed you and your companion have been taken into custody and will be punished for their crimes. Now, about your injuries, weâve done our best to-â
âHold on, hold on, my companion? You mean Wenona? Where is she? How is she? Is she okay?â
âWen-no-na? Is that her name? Yes, sheâs fine, or at least as fine as one can be in such circumstances. Most of her wounds, much like yours, have healed remarkably fast. Sheâs been awake off and on for about half the day-cycle, but she has so far refused to speak to anyone. She took a good swing at me earlier when I tried to check her wounds after she first woke up.â
âOh. Sorry about that.â So she was awake. Good. Maybe if he could convince Demfar he was well enough, he could go see her. He scooted over and dropped his legs over the side of the platform heâd been resting on.
âWhoa now, hold on! Where do you think youâre going? I still need to check you out and make sure youâre alright!â âIâm fine. I need to make sure Wenona is okay. Sheâs probably freaked out right now, she needs me. She needs to know Iâm alright.â He stood up, the muscles in his legs and lower back protesting the movement. The blanket that had been on him slipped and fell. Mike tried quickly to grab it before it reached the ground, and in doing so nearly lost his balance.
Oh boy, dizzy.
He righted himself again and wrapped the blanket around his midsection. Demfar looked more than a little dubious. âIâm fine, just a bit sore. I need to see Wenona. And I need some clothes.â
#abduction#humans are weird#humans are space orcs#humans are awesome#humans and aliens#aliens#space#novel#jebannuck#mike rockwell#wenona#thurrin#salora#gladius
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First full week of inktober. I've been taking prompts when and from whatever list or inspiration source I please.
Ink, white gel pen, and alcohol markers
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