Page 11 of Torn from the Alien Commander

A stream of machines lines the halls, their red lens glaring with the promise of our deaths. We return fire, killing some as I dodge and block the molten blue murder directed at us. The clamor is deafening as the ship rumbles and shakes, the floor almost toppling us over. I steady Tyrxie, who kills many, her accurate shots streaking from behind, piercing their shields and mechanical bodies.

Kaanus’s voice echoes through a sound system I never knew this ship possessed. “Scythian Voidbanes and Nebian Starcrusiers...” his voice trails off, full of wonder.We must be very close to Nebia.“The way they move through the void... Beautiful.” There’s no beauty here for us, caught in a brutal struggle for survival, not just for ourselves but for the entire crew.

Drones crash against my plasma shield, their frantic bladed limbs spinning with darting motion. I clench my teeth, muscles bulging, resisting the pressing weight of the mass. Buying Tyrxie the time and safety she needs to destroy them with pinpoint accuracy. The endless tide pushes us back, but they pay dearly for each step, each inch. The air swirls with thick smoke and the acrid scent of melted arcweave and smoldering vapors.

“Void!” Kaanus exclaims over the internal comms system. “A Voidbane just went nova, a Nebian Starcrusier is on an intercept course with us!”

To save us or finish us?There’s no time to dwell. I can only trust in the others and in the Gods that we will prevail. The golden fury of my Rush leaks from my eyes as my wrath reaches new gorgeous heights, muscles rippling with newfound strength, my focus and awareness heighten beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.

It must be Tyrxie. Our bond!I slash in a flurry of lightning-fast blows, dodging the orbs’ feeble, clumsy attacks that seem to float through the air. Plasma blast erupts from behind their fallen in their haste to kill us, but I see them coming, blocking them in my shield. Any opening I create, Tyrxie exploits, raining laser death upon them, delivering coordinated destruction.

Our ship rocks and groans until a shuddering, horrendous snapping sound echoes. Followed by a deafening zapping noise that reminds me of Tyrxie’s laser pistol, if her gun were battleship-sized. “The Nebians are attacking. Abandon ship, I’ll draw them off!” Kaanus yells through the sound system, confirming my fears.

I watch in amazement as the Scythian drones retreat in a rush, leaving through the breaches they’d created only moments ago. “Tyrxie, we need to reach the escape pods. The ship is done for!” I roar over the dim, clutching her.

But she shrugs me off, her eyes laden with desperate concern. “I can’t leave Kaanus!” she yells, dashing towards the bridge in a frantic pace.

I grimace, following her, contemplating carrying her against her will. “We don’t have time for this,” I plead, but my words don’t reach her, lost in her irrational desire to save a male who abused her for years.

Sirens wail, hydraulics hiss, exposed wires snap and spark, the ship lurches and moans. It feels like we’re trapped in the body of an immense dying monster, hoping to avoid the same fate. Approaching the bridge door, we pass a fleeing Hyanxa, who urges us to join her in the escape pod. “Not without Kaanus,” Tyrxie affirms.

“Don’t be a voiding idiot!” Hyanxa calls back, but her words fall on deaf ears. Moments later, we arrive at the bridge, and my eyes immediately draw to the viewport. A cosmic battle rages in the distance, hulking Scythian Voidbanes blast arc cannons atthe nimbler, sleek Nebian Starcrusiers, which return punishing precise laser fire. Kaanus was right. It’s a beautiful sight, one I’d seen often enough—too often.

Kaanus turns at our arrival, his face full of shock. “Tyrxie, what the void are you doing here?” he asks, now lacking any trace of his earlier inebriation.

“Kaanus, come with us!” Tyrxie pleads with outstretched hands, her eyes moistening.

“I can’t do that,” Kaanus asserts, shaking his head. “Someone has to lead them away.” His milky white eyes leak tears as he continues. “The least I can do for all the pain and suffering I’ve caused.”

Tyrxie crumbles in despair. “No, please,” she howls as I place a comforting arm around her.

My eyes dart to the viewport. A Nebian Starcrusier is maneuvering closer to our vessel. “Quick, we need to leave. Now!” I roar, picking up the distraught Tyrxie.

I drag her sobbing beauty out the door, “I forgive you Kaanus,” Tyrxie cries through weepy eyes.

“I’ve always loved you, Tyrxie.” The almost inaudible response reaches us, the last words of the Captain of the Mutalisk Hammer.

“Hurry, or his sacrifice will be in vain,” I urge, carrying Tyrxie as quick as I can, knowing another strafing attack is imminent. Moments later, rushing through the chaotic maelstrom, we near the escape pods, which sit next to the engine room. Then my senses detect the same deafening laser cannon firing. Some instinct, some knowing, compels me to throw Tyrxie forward with all my might.

She screams, hurtling far through the air as my consciousness is bathed with scorching, agonizing pain. I watch in horror as a blinding beam of red laser, as wide as a borack, evaporates my outstretched arm. But I don’t have time for shock as the blastexplodes the entire corridor, sending me hurtling backward to crash against a wall.

My vision swims, hazy, as I struggle to remain conscious, aided by the intense stabbing pain of a thousand blades where my arm should be. I stare at the cauterized remnant of my left arm, missing below the elbow, in dumb disbelief.

Rylar would love this!I chuckle, wily, half-delirious with scorching agony.

The ship is a ruin, creaking under its own weight, rocking, and spinning, lost in space, most likely cut in twain by the ruthless laser blasts. It won’t be long now until I die, exposed to the unforgiving elements of the void.

I had a good run.

My foggy thoughts turn to my beloved Tyrxie, hoping she made it to the escape pod intact. A desperate curiosity prompts me to reach out to Noroth via my warvisor. “Brother, soon I’ll rest with the ancestors. Does Tyrxie live?” I ask, not knowing if any of my warriors have survived either.

After a moment of watching parts of the ship break off, as small explosives cascade through the corridor, I rise on shaking legs, struggling to stand amidst the spinning, swaying turbulence. “She lives, brother. We’re all aboard the escape pod, except you and the Captain.” His gruff voice is now the sweetest music to my ears.

I breathe a sigh of relief before immediately wincing from the savage pain of my destroyed arm. “Good, tell her I love her, and please watch over her, Noroth. It’s all that matters to me now,” I reply, my thoughts carrying great weight.

“I swear it, Xandor,” Noroth’s reply comes laden with sadness. “May you rest with the ancestors in peace, knowing Logarn and I carry your honor within us.”

“Farwell Noroth,” I intone, watching the ship further disintegrate. It’s almost peaceful standing amongst the ruin, being a ruin myself, accepting my fate.

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