After everything had calmed down and the group all figured out why the bathroom was so messy, everything was cleaned up and talked out. April said good bye to everyone seeing as she had to make dinner or other things since she’d left it all to Paige most likely since she’d accidentally cut herself. Chloe couldn’t keep her smiles off of her face as she looked at Zoey who was now blushing bright red without any chance of an excuse for what happened other than he wanted it in one sense or another.
Within seconds of the group starting up a new conversation, the alarm in the ship went off as it began to shake violently. There were only two potential reasons that a ship was shaking as rapidly as it was now and those were either they were under fire or they were close to a black hole and were being sucked in. Ray immediately ran to the control room with Zoey hot on his heels. The girls both sprinted after them as fast as they could without tripping over each other and positioned themselves into the top and bottom guns that were built into the ship and awaited orders. The ship sped through what felt like a nuclear war as Ray tried to balance the ship his fears became a reality, seeing four ships firing at them and hot on their tail.
“CHLOE, MIA, CHECK OUR SIX AND START FIRING TO BREAK THEM UP!!” Ray screamed over the intercom.
Zoey sat down in his designated seat and pulled up the ship’s defense and offensive response mechanisms and began moving things around on the screen to position defensive shields and attempt to give more power to their thrusters to get their speed increased so that they could fight and run at the same time instead of one or the other. Ray continued to give out orders to the girls while Zoey tried as hard as he could to rapidly detonate any rocket or artillery that was fired at them to avoid impact or a breach. Regardless of how hard they tried, four on one just simply wasn’t a plausible victory so Ray directed them to the closest planet that they could try to make a last stand on. He took a turn only just a little too quickly at Zoey’s expense as in almost slow motion he turned to see blood splatter throughout the room and a hole the size of a softball form in his upper right chest causing him to collapse forward.
“FUCK, ZOE GODDAMN IT.” Ray screamed as he put all the of the remaining ships power into the thruster supply and left the controls to rush to Zoey and try to put pressure on the wound.
The ship grinding through the skies sending metal and sparks flying through the skies as the four pulled back without stopping. The giant piece of metal now plummeted towards an unknowing planet. Chloe and Mia jumped out from their locations and ran to the cockpit to grab Ray and Zoey. With any consciousness fading in and out, Zoey began to have flashbacks to the night that still haunted his darkest nights and the deepest reaches of his mind. He started screaming at the top of his lungs and thrashed around as the alarm sounded. Sparks became more frequent and parts of the ship’s exterior were peeling off like butter to a hot knife. Chloe could easily tell what was wrong and fell to her knees wrapping her arms around his chest apologizing over and over while rocking back and forth.
“Ray you’re the only one here who’s in serious danger get the hell out of here in one of the pods while you have a chance… Mia go with him..” Chloe demanded without letting her eyes shift from Zoey for even a second.
“There’s no way I’m leaving either of--” He tried to finish.
“GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, NOW.” Chloe yelled as she tensed up and held Zoey even closer.
Ray’s eyes shifted back and forth as he searched for an answer. Mia grabbed his arm and quickly lead him towards the escape pods. He watched as he practically left his best friend behind in a shower of sparks and building flames. Mia tried to comfort him but she couldn’t hide her concern for both of them regardless of knowing their past and potential for survivability. As the two sat into the small pod, it launched itself out in the opposing direction. They watched the ship spiraling toward the planet engulfed in flames and sparks flying out as the ship continued peeling down one layer at a time.
“Zoe.. I’m sorry that you have to go through this more than once… For fuck sakes you shouldn’t have had to tolerate more than one lifetime but yet you’ve endured over hundreds of deaths..” Chloe said as she held him close.
Her words only held little meaning to him because of his fading consciousness and his lack of focus. His screams and movements became slower with each passing second as the blood poured out of him almost as fast as the ship was falling like a meteor from the sky. Chloe stared at the human she’d grown attached to as she ran her bloody hands against his cheek and braced herself for the impending impact that she knew was going to happen any second now.
“How the hell could we just walk away from them?!” Ray asked as his fist slammed against the interior glass of the pod.
“We had to.. Besides, those two can’t stay dead and it’d be murder to send you out alone so it was the tactical thing to do and you know it.” Mia said quietly as she tried to reassure him.
Ray clenched his teeth and kept his fists just as tight as he saw the ship finally collide in mountains of sparks and flames along with metals against the planets now smoking and torn soil. He yelled again and again to himself as he regretted even leaving the ship.
“So what if I couldn’t survive?! That wouldn’t be the point! Why the hell couldn’t he have come with us?!” He asked as he turned to Mia.
“Ray you’re not thinking, the pods can’t hold more than two passengers and if you were paying attention, the shot that.. hit Zoey, also blew a hole clean through the other pod.. The weight alone would’ve made the pod off balance and probably send us into the wrong direction..” She said, still trying to calm him down and reassure him.
The second that the pod landed down, they were surrounded by sirens and guns. As the two stepped out slowly, they raised their hands up and got down to their knees, knowing the drill. They were quickly handcuffed and put in the back of vehicles that resembled the typical futuristic looking lamborghini police vehicle as they sped even farther away from the crash location. It was next to impossible not to blow up on the police who were asking multitudes of questions ranging from if the crash was a terrorist attack to were they running from someone. Regardless of how much the police poked and prodded they weren’t getting anything out of either of the two ‘survivors’.
“Holy shit, did you hear about the two that we thought were dead? They’re barely alive but in critical condition, doc says he can’t even believe how they’re breathing.” A young voice said from the other room.
“How is that even possible? You saw the damn thing, there’s no way anything could survive that..” Responded an older man, probably in his 30’s or 40’s.
“Think they’re gonna make it? Or do you think we’re just wasting supplies on em’?” The first voice asked.
“I dunno, kid. That’s not my call, it’s Marshal’s.” the older man said as he cleared his throat.
“Yeah, shocker on that. What ISN’T his ca--” The youngin started.
“Shut up before you get us both in trouble you idiot.” Finished the old man, quietly in almost a whispering tone.
Ray bit his lip as he sat silently on the uncomfortable cot inside of his cell that now encased him in more than just metal, but in his thoughts. He had nothing to do but sit around and think about everything as he waited to get ‘processed’ into the stations database. The planets outer structure didn’t seem to be as technologically evolved as the inside which was actually pretty surprising. It was strange that they seemed to be hiding in the ground like animals or bugs. He could only assume that they were hiding from the very things that brought down their ship only moments ago. He started to think back to the ship and watching it fall and quickly began to worry about Zoe’s well being once again even after knowing that he couldn’t be killed without the assistance of multiple nuclear warheads and some luck.
“You alright in there, pal?” The older guard asked Ray as he lightly tapped on the bars.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Ray quickly answered, sitting with his hands together as he stared down to the floor.
“Alright, if you feel like talking just ask for Craig.” The old man said with a smile before turning and walking back to his station.
Hours had passed and Ray gave up worrying about the other two when Craig came back to the cell and knocked on the metals bars with his baton before opening up the metal cage. Ray frowned but nodded his head to thank Craig with a sort of silent grace. Ray felt something was a little off as Mia and himself were lead out into a poorly lit elevator that frequently flickered. As the mass of tape, scrambled wires, and other assortments that could only barely be called an elevator moved downwards, the smell burning metals became more apparent.
“Turns out you two weren’t the only ones who survived, congratulations. Honestly no one knows how the other two made it but they’re a tough lot.” Craig said with the same smile from before as he turned to Ray.
Mia saw the smile forming on Ray’s face and grabbed his hand gently as they stood side by side. Rays hand was gripping tighter by the second, not out of fear or anger of what happened but from being so eager to see the two idiots who didn’t make it out like they said they would. Mia was 90% sure that he was going to either hit, or yell at both of them for ‘being idiots’ aka bleeding out and keeping the other company. Heaven forbid that someone has company while they’re dying for the millionth time.
As the elevator opened Zoey and Chloe were sitting next to each other, handcuffed at the wrists by a minimum of 3 or 4 different pair. Zoe looked extremely tired and Chloe was nervously biting the inside of her mouth while her legs were crossed. She kept fidgeting with her hands while looking around which only continued to make Ray feel like this was almost to easy.
"Apparently I have skinny wrists." Zoey said, raising his hand as best as he could while obviously trying to hide a smile.
"More like wouldn't stop picking the locks.." mumbled one of the guards in the room.
"Wh- I would NEVER!" Zoey gasped, sarcastically acting shocked that someone would say such a thing.
"Yeah, honestly I'm surprised you didn't just knock his ass out." Ray said, scratching his chin scruff.
"Uh.. him?" The guard questioned.
" You guys did medical on both of them right? So you know which one of them is uh... a little less impregnable than the other?" Ray poked his words around, feeling slightly confused how they didn't know.
"Well yeah but the women nurses clothed them out of respect of privacy of course! But if that's the case.. is it... that one?" The guard asked while pointing to Chloe, who's only resemblance of a male was the occasional bump on the groin of her clothes.
"So help me whatever God or God's you pray to.. if I turn around and that finger is pointed at me I'm going to kill you..." Chloe threatened as her eye twitched and slowly turned around.
"HA! Suck it, bitch! I look more like a girl!" Zoey cheered as he started laughing harder by the second.
"I guess after taking as much cock in the ass as you have, it's inevitable." Chloe said plainly, holding back the smile as Zoey immediately shut up.
" I didn't mean you look more manly, its just... You seem more mature than.. him?" The guard said, trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the strangers.
Zoey was now speechless and slightly annoyed at the things that made him more girly than Chloe. Ray and Mia thanked Craig who was more than happy to get free of the gender talk. The other two had all pairs of handcuffs removed on the promise that they wouldn't try to steal or break anything, which was more or less directed at Zoey who had freaked out when he woke up and began on a rampage of blind fear until he found Chloe in another room that was nearby. Thankfully they didn't try to separate the two again but out of fear of capture and no release, the two almost constantly tried to escape which is actually what lead to the other two being locked up without question.
"I don't mean to take us from all the joy but Craig, do you know who or what shot us down?" Ray asked.
"Unfortunately I do, that's what's left of this planets mechanized defense systems. Its actually the reason that we're here ourselves. If it wasn't for Marshal.. This 'colony' wouldn't exist." Craig said.
"If it's a defensive mechanism then shouldn't there be a control center somewhere outside?"
"That's what the other group figured, but they never came back and judging on the 'landing' that was pulled off by your ship.. I'd say they didn't find it and died trying. So because of that we don't even go to the surface anymore."
"Wait a second.. we aren't on the surface right now? There's light coming in the windows right now that I can see. Now I get you guys aren't exactly on a level two planet but there's no way you could create a fake surface lighting inside and down here, not with the scrap I've seen laying around anyways."
" Hey, careful what you say. This is still my home, regardless of how good or bad it looks in the eyes of strangers. To answer your question however, you're correct to assume that we didn't make his this from scrap metal and fried circuits. Marshal has actually been the one to build and provide everything for us."
"This 'Marshal' seems to be an amazing guy, is there any way we could maybe get a visit with him?"
"Funny that you ask, He actually asked to meet you all in person When we got everyone around and make sure they were alright. Which based on everything I've seen, you all are."
Ray got the uneasy feeling it this was going on way too smoothly. The others had no problem with Craig and his commands and stood up promptly, ready to follow. Ray waited for everyone to go in front of him and walked slowly in the back to keep an eye on everything as best he could. Zoey and Chloe were still practically glued at the waists as they walked together down the the endless twists and turns through the rusted metal pathways. Every drop of water, screeching piece of metal, or off beat footstep put Ray even farther over the edge of his comfort.
Craig stopped suddenly and turned to the group with a serious look solidified on his face. No words came forth to hear but the message was clear, authority figure ahead. Most likely it was this 'Marshal' that he heard about. Perhaps Ray just wanted that to be the case so he could have a little bit of the upper hand of knowing more than the other if the time came, he would have the small knowledge already in his mind.
As the door opened it was like the group was looking into an entirely different part of the world, everything was clean, polished even. With everyone already dazzled, a man stepped forward with a stunning smile that even made Zoey a little weak at the knees. Ray knew better than to fall into the charm of a man in a suit and decent smile, especially not ones who let the rest if the 'city' sit in dirt and rust while he wines and dines.
"Friends! Welcome to our home, Nero! I am the.. Mayor of the city!" Marshal said all too enthusiastically.
Chloe could see Zoey practically already cream himself. She moved her hand gently down his spine until she got low enough to be able to set an example of who owned what. Zoey quickly stood up straight and blushed so red it could rival a rose as he bit the inside of his lip and pulled the front of his shirt down as non-obviously as he could. Mia saw exactly what was going on and giggled to herself quietly.
"Oh dear, do you have a fever little lady?" Marshal asked, spewing out concerning.
"Oh she's fine, just scared of things poking her, like those needles!" Chloe chimed as her finger pressed relatively forcefully against Zoey's o-ring, causing it to almost push passed and inside.
Zoey silently nodded quickly and gave a faint smile and began biting 'her' lip harder to the point of drawing blood. Chloe smiled and pulled her hand away only to pull him closer. Ray was silently observing every possible detail or flaw about this seemingly perfect man but couldn't find anything. There had to be something, no one is perfect and the ones that seem like they are, usually are the worst.
"I'll be off, gotta help the fields if that's alright, Marshal." Craig said, standing straight and saluting.
"Ah, I see, do tell Joan that I said hello, please!" He said with the same charm he conjured for the others.
With that, Craig thanked him and headed out of the room. Marshal simply leaned against his desk and smiled at the group. Mia was zoning out while reading random book titles along the shelves, Chloe and Zoey were whispering back and forth. Zoey was beat red and Chloe was laughing so hard she wasn't even breathing. Ray however stood still with his arms behind his back and looking directly at Marshal, waiting for him to make a move.
"So, the details around your crash are a little sketchy, do you mind taking e through what happened?" Marshal asked, no longer smiling but practically interrogating.
"From what I know, we were fired upon by an unknown enemy. Before we could cause little to any damage on the opposing faction, we were shot down. We were unprepared for anything let alone a safe landing." Ray said, choosing his words wisely.
"The opposing faction you're talking of is the planet's previous defense system. In fact it's the same thing that shot us down when we came through here two or so years ago." Marshal said, running his chin while thinking.
There's no way it had been only two years. Based on the rust alone, they had to have been here for at least six or seven years with some flooding. Which raised the question of what exactly did this planet's ecosystem comprise of? Not only that but why would anyone lie about how long they have been seemingly stranded for? There were so many unanswered questions that circled endlessly through Rays head. He felt like he was being tested with no way to give a response and none of the other crew members even found it remotely strange that they had no clue where they were, imprisoned under the disguise of safety, and the one person who everyone is seemingly afraid of is living like a king while the rest rusts and cracks with time.
"Perhaps I could escort you all to your quarters? Would you prefer grouped, or individual rooms?" Marshal asked, breaking the silence.
"Groups of two, if possible. Zoey and I, then Mia and Ray for another." Chloe said, turning to the crew to make sure she didn't forget anyone somehow.
"Wonderful! Right this way then!" He said with his pearly smile.
He positioned himself by a bookshelf and rummaged through a few ledgers until he found one that read, Visitors. Ray couldn't help but notice how strangely thick the 'Visitor check in' ledger was opposed to the paper thin 'Visitor check out' one. Ray wanted to practically scream and slap the crew for not noticing such obvious things but knew if he did, he could set Marshal's eyes to be fixed on him and if he wanted to figure out what was going on here, he would have to play carefully.
Marshal flashed his now signature smile and began to jot down the names of each ‘guest’. Ray stood by silently and patiently while he felt Marshal was practically writing their names in the book of life, or death in his situation. Once Marshal finished writing down the last name he snapped the ledger closed and set it back on the shelf next to others of the same worn down quality. He opened the door and gestured for them to follow as he held it open until each of them passed by him.
“So tell me a little about yourselves, where are you from? Species? As you can tell the majority of us are human with a small mixture of Skwith, but I suppose that’s what you get when you live on one of their planets.” Marshal said as he pressed a small button on the wall outside of the door that caused metal shutters to open and reveal the true depth they were being ‘stored’ at, in Rays understanding.
“Wait a second.. We’re underwater? Why the hell are we under water?!” Zoey practically screamed as he panicked.
“Worry not! Only a fraction of the planet is engulfed in water but the Skwith love it here because of the tropical like climate, not purely the water.” Marshal explained.
“Yeah that’s fantastic and all but why are WE underwater?!” Zoey rephrased.
“Ah, you mean instead of on the surface where we would get massacred like the last three parties that tried to make a life? Well.. I think you can guess.” Marshal said with a smile on his mouth but anger in his eyes.
Ray could see right through this bastard, there was no way in hell he was going to trick him. He wasn’t up to good and Ray was going to figure out exactly what was going on, but he still had to play it cool as to not get caught too early. Marshal had been shooting glances towards Ray more often than the others as is so he knew he had to cool down and keep his ‘cover’. As Marshal lead them down the remainder of the hallway, two doors opened up showing large rooms just as luxurious as Marshals in both cleanliness and technology, it was as if they were living here already and Ray hated the feeling.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Marshal I believe it was?” Chloe said appreciatively.
“You’re welcome and correct you are madam! Now I took the liberty of making sure everything is in order for the rooms myself, if you find it to your liking you should come talk to me about slightly more permanent quarters?” He hinted exactly what Ray was worried about but his smile was as obvious as his lies of peace and kindness.
As the time ventured closer to night and the sun or sun's around the planet faded into the distant waves on the surface the crew all found themselves climbing into bed sluggishly. Everyone was fast asleep except for Ray, who was wide awake and practically waiting to ambush the next person who walked through the door from his bed. He was feeling extremely paranoid but knew it wasn’t in vain, this Marshal guy was hiding something dark behind his words and mirrors of manipulation. While the minutes seemed like hours, so did the hours to days as he tried to put his worries to rest, hoping and wishing that he could maybe get some sleep before he had to wake up to another day of deciphering hidden intents. Though his hopes came quicker than he’d wanted as his consciousness faded and gave into his bodies will to rest.
