|
The strange vessels that appeared in a flash to surround his vessel were ones his crew had never seen the likes of. Almost wire frame in composition, they looked bizarre? The things that had simply ‘Ghosted’ through the hatches to his vessel, that were now stoming the interior of the vessel, were anything but!
A battle was in full flow. Not that the Jogarth troopers stood a chance! Flung around like rag dolls, dismembered. Dead. Woken by the racket, he had stared at the screen, seen the intruders, shuddered and decided on his next course of action. ESCAPE!
Commander Voge had Trime? He was dragging her towards the escape pod. She lashed out at him, he activated the slave band pulse, the seering pain making her drop to her knees. “Behave or I WILL cause you more pain ! “
They were just moments into the last corridor, leading to where the escape pod could be found, when the figure appeared, blocking him. Voge froze. Behind this monstrosity a few of his men could be seen, busily opening the hatch to the pod.They had arrived at the pod a few moments earlier!
Chased by the demon?
Voge cast his eyes over it, it was definitely the figure of a male? Huge, well built and muscular. Similar, he thought to a giant Urowq, the biggest ugliest you could imagine! No weapons visible. On seeing him with Trime it had changed its mind about pursuing his crew! It walked towards him, he took aim and fired. Behind the figure the crew had also decided, with its back turned to them, it made sense to target it, with their weapons!
Their weapons had no effect. Injure it, maim it, NOTHING!
It didn’t flinch ! Huge hands picked Voge up. slapped his body, slamming it mercilessly against the bulkhead repeatedly, with Trime cowering in the corner watching. Voge’s body felt the seering pain, the crunch of bones and the blood, pouring from his torn and beaten body. Then a pause, before one of the things, hands, wrapped across his neck, the other on his head. A twist of his head, a distinct crack and Voge was dead!
Blocking Trime’s view, it turned towards the troopers, it’s hands tore off Voge’s head throwing it at them, followed by his lifeless, headless torso! They scattered screaming! Into the pod. Throwing out the head! Hastily shut the hatch. Ejected the pod from the main ship, to vanish into space at speed!
The figure turned towards Trime, it gently picked her up, as the slave band fell off her, he softly smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. Carrying her walked into the next compartment where other Bexians had been released.
Trime was handed to them, carefully placed in the arms of a female. “ I prayed he would come for me, he would take vengeance for me “ she paused, “ Longshanks “ The female sat down with Trime on her lap. “Longshanks” Trime murmured as she closed her eyes to fall asleep.
Whatever it was in front of them, vanished. Gone!
The craft they were aboard was now under the Bexians control. They debated on what to do next!
To return to Bexes would be crazy! The Jogarth would be searching for this vessel! Only one solution seemed sensible. Head for the Psemon Empire and ask for asylum? Help at the very least!
The engines suddenly came to life. Some of the Bexians were looking at the control units as the navigational units flashed with lights. Wherever they had wanted to go was now out of their control! Had the Jogarth taken over the vessel by remote control?
Dram had been feeling the same lack of control! This time over the sudden lack of response from the systems on their vessel. They were attempting to reactivate them when suddenly four Jogarth battle cruisers entered the space around them. Game over? It seemed like it. The voice of the Jogarth Commander echoed across the ship, “Surrender to the might of the Jogarth Empire, you will submit yourselves or be destroyed.
Charging their weapon arrays, Raptor moved forward when a figure appeared in front of Nathan it was Kiato!! “ Stand down all weapons on your ships immediately, do not engage them, you WILL submit to the Jogarth Imperial or suffer the consequences “
Choices? Not a bit of it!
Aboard the captured craft and all of the remaining craft other than the Jogarth vessels, the systems shut down one after another. The Raptors defences and systems locked out, completely off line and it was clearly ‘All defence systems disabled!’
The Jogarth warships moved closer, the Commander’s lips broke into a smile, another major victory for the mighty Jogarth ! He had the images of his incapacitated fleet of enemy vessels, carefully leaving out the Jogarth vessel, sent to Princess Isabellini.
Watching, smiling, she had baited the trap and they had walked straight into it! She had tucked the four heavily armed battle craft behind the meteor cluster, holding them back until the final moment, she looked at the mighty Raptor.
Now still and motionless, its pale form softly lit against the star cluster of Omirco.Hers for the taking! Ordering the commander to board Raptor and to bring the slave Nathan to her, he was NOT to be harmed, just secured. “I will have great pleasure torturing you, playing with you and having you, as my personal slave.!”
The delight of knowing she had some power over Cistera? Maybe she would surrender Soniette and Dram for her beloved? There is nothing like those who are so confident that they are so blind they cannot see, as the Jogarth troops readied themselves loading up armfuls of slave bands they didn’t see the strange craft around them or the figures entering the ships, strange dark and deformed creatures that walked the corridors.
|
