So, here is the last part of this short story. I ran into many writer's blocks, I'll try to explain it, perhaps, fully in the next story. So, comments/questions? I'll do my best to answer them. :cool:
Chapter 2
Escaping the Impossible
I woke up slowly and painfully, after a moment of confusion I realized I was still in engineering. I rubbed my eyes with my hands and stood up. Something caught my eye I looked to see Aylora limping toward me with something in her arms. I helped her to a chair by a console next to me. With a sigh, she put the items on the console surface. She handed me two items that looked to be some sort of tank with a hose connected it at the end was an opening by the sides of the opening were two loosely tied wires. “<I rigged it while you slept. I don’t know how much it will help us, but better than nothing,>” Aylora explained putting the device over her mouth and then tying the wires into a knot. I followed her lead I put the tank on my back with the help of the wires. I activated it by turning the handle it hissed loudly. I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose. Even though it was strange breathing habit, Aylora assured me there was enough oxygen for several hours. It was time to explore the parts of the ship that had an atmosphere.
We went to the entrance of engineering, I waved my hand over the circuit and the door opened. I yelped in surprise as a cyborg abomination walked through it. I swiped at me with a heavy arm. I ducked underneath it easily. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aylora limping toward cover. So far, the cyborg abomination is focused on me. I jumped away from it as it tried to swipe me again. I quickly spotted that it had a Pyratorian blade wedged in its thigh. I spun around it as it tried to swipe me again with its other arm that was clawed as I spun around I removed the blade from its thigh. Before it could react I sliced into its spinal cord. The cyborg shuddered violently for a moment then went still. I have paralyzed it. I then sunk my blade into the back of its skull, its head jerked backwards as I removed it. The cyborg collapsed onto its knees, then fell forward onto its face. I did a small victory flourish with the blade which was an old taunt to my enemies. I reached out with my free hand to Aylora, “<Shall we leave, my Lady?>” I asked with a small grin, although the device covered it. She took my hand. I helped her balance her weight on me as we left the engineering bay. The corridor was dimly lit from the exposed wires that were no longer glowing blue-green, but a blazing orange. From my quick look at the map on the console earlier this corridor should go into a lift that will take us to the hanger bay where my ship is awaiting.
We both hurried down the corridor our metallic breathing broke the silence, the lift doors opened walking inside, I waved my hand over the circuit to take us to the hanger bay. The doors slid shut and it silently and effortlessly moved downwards. “<Leaving? Not so quickly,>” Dark Tormentor boomed all around us. I held onto the wall of the lift as it jerked to a halt. The lift doors opened to a darkened corridor, I was relieved that we haven’t entered the vacuum sections yet, but we have entered zero gravity. We both hopped out of the lift and into the corridor. We continued this movement down the corridor at a steady-quick pace. We dived forward as the ceiling started to collapse on us. I urged Aylora forward as it collapsed right on top of us. I threw her ahead of me as the floor suddenly dented upwards just as the ceiling collapsed. I managed to squeeze by, but barely. I grunted in pain as gravity suddenly came back. I scrambled to my feet and helped Aylora to hers’, I practically carried-dragged her down the corridor. I stopped abruptly when the doorway to another corridor was crushed into a knot of twisted metal. I closed my eyes and held Aylora closer as I felt and heard the ground go upwards toward the ceiling. At least I would die with our most sacred leader of our time. Instantly, I was in the arms of darkness.
I woke up with a wild cry of immense pain. I gasped for air it was wonderful to feel it fill my lungs again. I looked around my surroundings to see that I was in the cargo bay of my ship. I looked about wildly for Aylora. I heaved a sigh of relief to see her lying next to me. Every part of me felt like it was on fire. I startled to hear Aylora woke up coughing and gasping for air. Her entire body began to tremble violently. Sitting up painfully, I rolled her onto her back and her eyes were rolled in their sockets and bloody foam bubbled out of her mouth. I put my hands on her and concentrated. Finding the Life Stream, I used it to heal Aylora. I watched as the blue-green energy surrounding her covering her in a sheet of blue-energy for a moment before disappearing through her skin and into the floor taking her illness with it. She coughed and gasped for air, taking deep breaths until she calmed down to slow, but steady breaths. “<You seem to be quite the Pyratorian, Kyral, death seems not able to hold you in its grasp. I shall say, thank you for getting me off that ship,>” Aylora said sitting up. She looked about, “<Where are we in fact?>” She asked painfully getting to her feet. Her leg seemed to be healed from the way she is standing tall rather than hunched. I smiled at her faintly, “<Welcome aboard the Secret Exile, a ship that I ‘borrowed’,>” I replied, Aylora gave me a looked from the way I said, ‘borrowed’. I listened for a moment and found my ship was indeed in space because I could hear the drive Spatial Drive humming.
“<So, how did we escape from the Dark Tormentor, exactly?>” Aylora asked, I shook my head. “<I woke up aboard and healed you fairly quickly, so I have no idea,>” I replied, my ears perked up from the sound of metal hitting metal like footsteps. We both turned to the sound of the footsteps coming closer and closer. That’s all I need is a cyborg slave to have stowed away, but it wasn’t a slave, but a male Pyratorian with strangely familiar family markings that covered his head. Then it came to me like a blast from the dark. “<Rylroa E’Isynak, but how?!>” I exclaimed as I saw the same look of surprise on Aylora’s face. Rylroa E’Isynak took a deep breath and letting it out nosily, a pained expression came on this face, an expression that I knew he felt the deaths of billions of Pyratorians through the Life Stream.
“<I faked my death to escape the notice of the Dark Tormentor, but I was prepared for that anyways. I stayed with the Great Elders themselves to find myself again, atonement for the actions I did during my leadership. When I found myself they said I could leave, so I did, taking a ship they built themselves. I found a convoy that was escaping our home galaxy and stayed there until the Dark Tormentor took over. I stayed out of sight and out of mind of the Dark Tormentor masking my Life Signature, very carefully. I couldn’t believe when he pulled Aylora S’Iynara out of the Life Stream and into the physical world. Then Kyral came aboard, probably searching for the automated distress beacon, which was just a ruse. I saved you both before you were crushed by heaps of metal. I brought you here to your ship, the Secret Exile, but I was helped by the Center Consciousness. The two fleets have emerged at the coordinates which your ship and mine are going to, in fact both transport fleets have arrived there as well,>” Rylroa E’Isynak explained walking toward Aylora. He was wearing regular civilian clothing which was a long cloth open on the sides with a wide breechcloth hanging from his waist.
Aylora and Rylroa put their heads together meaning trust and respect for a moment before separating. He bowed his head, as he walked away from her. “<See you on the other side,>” He said and suddenly phased out of existence. A hologram avatar it wasn’t uncommon for communications, but I didn’t see it coming, I actually thought he was on my ship.
“<So, it was the fallen Pyratorian that saved you, along with the help of my brothers Center Consciousness and you destroyed my project, no matter. There shall be others. I am coming for you, little Guard and I will enjoy watching you burn, and there is no sanctuary in this Universe for you to hide to. Not even my brothers could save you, they would only delay me. I am coming from the Dark Void and I shall I come in numbers,>” Dark Tormentor boomed his voice was seemingly everywhere. We shall see. I said in my head. I led Aylora to my quarters first to get cleaned up and put on a fresh pair of clothes, after that we headed to the cockpit of my ship. I took my chair by the controls and she took the co-pilots chair with a small grin. I brought up the Spatial Tunnel destination timer and it read that we were mere moments away from our destination. I took the throttle controls as the Spatial Tunnel opened up to a blue planet orbiting was one large moon and a fleet of ship. Exiting the Spatial Tunnel, I took the controls and headed for the fleet of ships.
My communications whined as a transmission came through from Rylroa, “<Welcome to Earth, our new home.>” I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had some decently sized continents with a lot of blue oceans and white clouds. I detected technology, but it seems to be a pre-warp, industrialized civilization with pollutants in the atmosphere and ocean. As well as seven billion inhabitants, our stay maybe cramped, but it will be better than living in space for the rest of our lives. Just perhaps, they’ll welcome us with open arms, a hope that we all would like to become reality for us, the lost and the homeless, Secret Guard.