4. Tyrxie
Chapter 4
Tyrxie
Drop
M y heart pounds in my chest, and my vision spins as I hurtle through the air, thrown like a bag of old tools. Before I know what’s happened, I thud against a wall. The impact snaps my head back and steals the breath from my already strained lungs. The familiar taste of acrid blood fills my mouth, and the aches and bruises now register.
What the void happened?
Groggy and disoriented, I struggle to rise, my ears ringing as the world swims in a hazy blur. Where is Xandor? Panic surges through me, forcing my eyes to dart around in a frantic search. Then, I catch sight of the corridor—or what’s left of it. A devastating force, like a titanic blade, has cleaved the interior in two. Despair seizes my heart with ruthless force. “Xandor!” I scream, my voice raw with fear as I tear through the wreckage, flinging aside shattered gangways and debris, desperate to find him, praying against all odds that he’s still alive.
“Xandor!” I repeat, my voice growing more desperate with each iteration. Please, don’t take him from me! I plead to the uncaring void. I burn my hands, moving smoldering wreckage, but I barely notice, knowing I can’t stop until I find him. “Xandor!” Sparks, and sporadic fires force me to shield my face, forcing me backward, away from him.
No, this can’t be happening!
“Quad, bring her inside quickly,” someone says, behind me, but I only want to hear Xandor’s voice, to see his handsome face.
Powerful hands pluck me off my feet, causing me to resist in desperation. “I haven’t found him yet!” I yell, twisting and turning, but it’s no use; it’s as if I’m encased in solid arcweave. “Please help me find Xandor! Please!” I plead, tears spilling from my eyes.
“Stop wiggling, Tiny,” Quad demands. Hearing his voice, I realize that he and Hyanxa are rushing us towards the escape pods.
“No! Please Quad, you’re strong. You can move the debris!” I plead, still trying to free myself from his immense four arms. “Help me find him!”
With each step away from where Xandor once was, my heart twists another degree with anguish. “Please!” I scream, my throat growing hoarse, but I don’t care. I’ll scream until I render my voice useless if it means Xandor will come back to me.
“He’s gone!” Hyanxa snarling face screams in my face, gripping the collar of my shirt. “And we’ll join him if you don’t hurry the void up!”
No, Xandor can’t be dead!
I shake my head in disbelief, not daring to believe it, should it become reality, “No, Xandor can’t die! He always finds me.” I glare at Hyanxa, trying to convince her to turn back. “You’ll see, he’d never abandon me!”
Hyanxa’s face turns solemn, sinking my heart and hope further. “No Tyrxie, he’s not coming back. I’m sorry.”
Tears leak from my eyes as sobs shake my body, wishing they’d just leave me on this doomed ship. The environment changes around me, but I don’t notice too lost in my despair. Quad sets me down in a cramped oval-shaped pod, where the other survivors are already seated, their faces grim and haggard.
“We’ve waited too long already. Yes?” Job states, his hand poised over blue glowing controls. The ship creaks and shudders as explosions ring out, sending shockwaves through the remnants of the hull.
“Get us out of here, Job,” Hyanxa intones, her eyes downcast, prompting my weeping to intensify. I place a hand against the oval hull of the escape pod, wishing I could see Xandor one last time before abandoning him to the void of space. My heart twists and my stomach lurches, feeling like I’ve committed the most bitter betrayal. He isn’t just a normal male, he’s a hero from a story, unstoppable and almost invincible. How could he die?
The escape pod rumbles and detaches with a violent jerking motion that threatens to force me from my seat. The low hum of the weak engine onboard follows, giving the sensation of dropping as the vessel changes course, controlled by Job and Hyanxa.
My weepy eyes search the others, but they all avert their gaze, unable to offer me any words of hope. Their silence speaks the terrible words: Xandor’s dead. But I refuse to believe it. No matter how dire the situation, he’ll find a way out. He always does.
Noroth winces, placing a hand on his mask. Angry-looking cuts and bruises cover both him and Logarn, with green blood spotting their solid armor and new dents marring it. A somber silence stretches on, accompanied by my haggard breaths and sniffles amidst the growing turbulence from the vessel.
“If Nebians consider us a threat, they bombard us with planetary cannons? No?” Mob questions, breaking the silence, his antennae drooping.
His words should frighten me, but I don’t care. I’m lost to my shocked despair, powerless to change course and to save the male I love. Why didn’t I say I loved him? Now I’ll never get the chance! The remorseful thought intensifies my sobbing.
“We’ve no choice,” Hyanxa interjects, taking out her vaporstick. “I’d rather be blown up than die from exposure in this thing,” she gestures with a rueful sweep of her arms.
Like Xandor and Kaanus drifting in space.
I shudder at the horrifying thought, noticing Noroth removing his warvisor and banging his fist against his chest. His gaze falls to me, filled with pity that steals my breath. I dread the words he’s about to speak. “Tyrxie... Xandor has fallen,” he intones.
“No, I don’t believe you!” I scream, shaking my head. The escape pod pressing in around me, the pitying stares of the others maddening. “Xandor will find a way.”
Noroth places a massive hand on my shoulder, his stare intense. “Soon he’ll rest with his ancestors. His own words,” he states, collapsing my universe with crushing finality. My heart feels torn out and cast into the void. I recoil and fall into my seat, head buried in my hands, unable to look at anyone, struggling to even breathe.
“He told me to tell you that he loves you and his last thoughts were for your safety,” Noroth continues, wrapping a sympathetic arm around my weeping body. His words only stoke my brutal misery.
If he loved me, then why has he abandoned me?
The bitter thought comes, stupid and selfish, but I can’t help but lash out. My mind reels, consumed by despair, anger, and anguish. Anger at Xandor for saving me, but not himself. Yet worst of all is the seething anger I have for myself. “If I hadn’t gone to see Kaanus, Xandor would still be alive!” I wail, lost, hating myself for my foolish actions.
Now they’re both dead.
“Void, it was crazy in there,” Hyanxa says, her voice laced with unusual sympathy. “Who’s to say? If you left a fraction earlier, you both could’ve been caught in a blast.”
Her words ring hollow, knowing if I had followed Hyanxa when she urged me to leave, Xandor would still be alive. The realization is almost unbearable, that I must live with the terrible shame that I did this to him, killing the only male who truly cared for me.
As my weeping diminishes, leaving behind a gaping wound where my heart once stood, Noroth moves back to his seat. “Don’t worry, Tiny!” Quad booms, rubbing my back with two hands, “Scary is best basher. He’ll survive.” He beams with a nodding head.
I’d give anything for that to be true.
“Void sake, Quad,” Hyanxa interjects in annoyance. “Now’s not the time.” She sighs, exhaling a puff from her vaporstick.
“What?” Quad exclaims, glancing around in surprise. “I speak truth.”
I would laugh if I’d any joy left in me, but there’s nothing—only an emptiness that can never be filled and a burning regret that will torment me for the rest of my days.
Please forgive me, Xandor.
The escape pod jerks and rumbles with increased turbulence, prompting the others to cast nervous looks around. A deafening, blazing sound roars through the cramped enclosure, and I can feel the temperature rising. It can mean only one thing—we’re penetrating Nebias atmosphere.
Instinctively, I grip my seat to avoid being thrown off, driven more by reflex than by self-preservation. I don’t deserve safety. “Hmm. Good Nebian’s don’t blast us. Yes?” Job states, his antenna growing more animated.
“Perhaps they realize earlier error? No?” Mob speculates, his arms limbs fluttering with renewed excitement.
Hyanxa frowns, examining the glowing blue console controls, which now projects a dense urban sprawl, the first insight into a place I know nothing about. “Going to be voiding hard to land. The entire planet is covered in buildings.”
All their gazes snap to the display, a look of concerned wonder in their eyes, while mines are sore and blurry. Tall sweeping buildings with pointed tips crowd the projected landscape, jutting outward like sharp teeth awaiting us for its meal. Not surprising considering it was the Nebians who destroyed our ship, killing Kaanus and Xandor. A bitter, worrying thought about what fate awaits us down on the surface. I’d probably feel panicked if I had the emotional energy left to care.
The ship shudders and jolts as Hyanxa engages the stabilizer thrusters. “Grab onto your seats. This is going to be a bumpy ride,” she declares until the console beeps and several objects appear on the holographic display. Immediately, our escape pod shakes and groans under great strain. “Void, I’ve lost control! They have us in some kind of tractor beam.”
“Least they haven’t expired us. Yes?” Job states, glancing around the cramped pod as if the walls might implode at any moment.
“Let me do the talking,” Noroth says in a solemn tone. “Nebians have no love for us Klendathians. Better to distance yourselves.”
As the escape pod creaks, being pulled off course, Hyanxa stares at Noroth, a look of sadness crossing her fierce, scared face. She nods in agreement, hard and strong, wishing I could conjure the same. “I’m turning off our thrusters. Let’s see where they’re taking us,” she declares, her hands darting over the controls.
The groaning and shuddering cease, leaving only our ragged breaths and tense silence. Noroth and Logarn inspect their armor and gauntlets, hinting at an ominous future for all of us. Have we escaped the fire only to land in molten plasma? I’d welcome a quick death, then I wouldn’t feel so much pain and anguish.
Then I could live with Xandor like in his strange religion.
The sensation of the escape pod descending interrupts my morbid thought. Glancing at the console, it seems we’re now inside one of the buildings. How such a thing is possible is a mystery to me, much like the Nebians themselves. Suddenly, our vessel jolts as it contacts the floor, causing my teeth to rattle with the jarring impact.
We wait on edge, glancing around the vessel, wondering what fate awaits us. The sound of movement outside, along with the whooshing of airborne vessels, can be heard. No doubt we’re surrounded by powerful tech, resistance impossible. “Intruders, come out slowly with your hands up!” A booming amplified voice demands.
“No one do anything stupid. Not like we’ve done anything wrong,” Hyanxa cautions, sweeping a glance over everyone. Her hands dart over the controls, and the escape pod door slides open, permitting a refreshing stream of fresh air to pour into our enclosure.
Despite the bellowing mist, I rush to the exit. “I’ll go first,” I offer, knowing my life has little meaning left. With my hands raised, I take a step out. Large darkened silhouettes and the deafening roar of hovering vehicles assaults my senses, then a blinding light forces me to shield my stinging eyes.
“Hands up! I’ll not warn you again!” The booming voice demands, prompting me to elevate my hands, despite my instinct to cover my sight. As I walk forward, almost blind to what’s happening, I can just make out a large sleek armored vehicle shaped like a giant person approaching.
The machine towers over me, even taller than Xandor, one source of the blinding green light that assaults my senses. “She’s armed—two pistols, numerous knifes,” the amplified voice announces. I resist the urge to reach for my laser pistol, hoping my disguise will fool them. I feel dazed, as if trapped in a terrible dream, overwhelmed by the noises, the lights, the near-death experience, and the loss of my Xandor.
I almost don’t notice the massive machine placing a white collar around my neck. My fingers trace the metal object that emits a soft glow of green. Am I to be a slave again? The dumbfounded thought jolts me with a sudden, mad panic. “No!” I roar in crazed defiance. “No, never again!” I reach for my pistol but before my hand moves an inch, scorching, agonizing pain emanates from the collar, now glowing red, forcing me prone to the ground.
Laying shuddering under the intense pain that tenses my muscles, I’m rendered immobile, filled with panic, once again powerless and at the mercy of others. Mercifully, the torment stops and I’m left gasping for air on the ground as six tiny airborne drones buzz around my crumpled form. I watch, daring not to move, as they emit a black beam that extracts my pistols, knifes and wrist console.
Mesmerized by the frightening efficiency of it, I worry about how I will overcome such advanced technology and escape. “Come with me,” the machine booms as a massive, cold, metallic hand tears me from the floor, shoving me forward with jarring force.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Noroth emerge from the black escape pod. “Klendathian!” The cry goes up, and several of the massive hovering armored suits descend, pinning the brutal Noroth forcefully to the ground despite his lack of resistance.
“Leave him alone. He’s here for peace!” I scream, but the cacophony of panicked shouts, whirling drones, and hovering powered armor suits drowns out my words. Another immense shove pushes me forward just as I notice Noroth now also has a collar struggling to fit around his thick, bulging neck.
My heart aches for him and for the others, their mission in jeopardy and my worst fears becoming reality. Xandor lost and my imminent enslavement. I glance around, desperate for any plan or escape, seeing nothing other than a darkened black interior, an obvious hanger of some sort. Numerous armored suits hover and stand surrounding the escape pod, bathing the vessel in blinding green searchlights. Hovering higher are two sleek ships, like miniature versions of the massive Nebian Starcrusiers. They both emit a black beam onto our craft, keeping it locked down.
I try to take in as much as I can as I’m forced forward with jolting shoves by the machine behind me. Far enough away from the others, I finally notice the array of small oval vehicles aligned before me, perhaps big enough to seat two people, or maybe one Xandor. They also hover above the ground with open doors that hinge upwards.
I glance back at the armored suit behind me with a questioning look, but find no sympathy, no understanding, just the towering form of sleek white and blue metal. “Get in,” it commands, shoving me forward yet again. With a racing heart and tentative movements, I step inside. If they were going to kill us, they would’ve done it already.
Hardening my resolve, I take a seat in the translucent orb. Panic grips me as I notice the collar around my neck changes to an ominous orange hue. Expecting a torrent of pain, I wince, but nothing happens. It’s only when I attempt to touch the horrible device do I realize, to my horror, I’m unable to move.
They’re going to take everything from me!
Panic clutches my heart, but I can’t even react, trapped in my body as a passive witness to this unknown terror. The orb hums to life, lifting into the air with incredible speed, yet I don’t feel any g-force. I grimace with a pounding heart, fearing the orb is rushing to crash into the solid black wall of the hangar. Helpless to my fate, I’m unable to even recoil in shock as the vessel passes through a shimmering wall that must be an advanced shielded projection.
I breathe a sigh of relief, as much as I’m able frozen in place as I am. I’m greeted by a stunning sight, now amidst a sprawling cityscape that stretches as far as my eyes can see. Buildings tall and cone-like dot the horizon, sweeping backward all in the same direction, like new brushed hair on a titanic beast. Most buildings display a sandy-orange color, but others exhibit a wide range of colors, like vibrant nebulas. They vary in size and shape, some more decorated than others, unlike the off-putting monotony of Tier Three on Omega Flux Station.
Struggling in vain against my invisible restraints, I can’t shift my head, only my eyes. Still, I try to soak in everything I can. Two distant and distinct suns cast contrasting sunlight over the landscape—a mix of orange and blue, creating a blend of brownish hue. The skies and streets buzz with other orbs darting around at frightening speeds. How they don’t crash into another is a mystery.
Shifting my eyes downward, peering through my translucent oval vessel, I can just make out the Nebians milling about on the streets. Their skin ranges from light to deep blues, often accompanied by orange or brown hair. It’s hard to be certain hurtling at such speeds, but their fashion appears to be colorful polymers, tight-fitting and tidy.
I marvel at the sights of massive, glossy war ships patrolling amongst the dark blue clouds. Never have I been on a planet with such advanced technology and ordered society. Shame it’s under such horrible circumstances. The vast majority of people are Nebians; only the natives and the foolish would risk living here, under constant threat from war.
Me Included!
Dotted along the streets are massive turret placements, their barrels aimed towards the skies, bristling in gleaming black metal. Mob was right. If the Nebians had chosen to finish us, they could’ve done it in an instant. Countless armored suits dart around the skies, their focus also on the heavens. As my gaze shifts to other buildings, I notice the smoke and entrenched positions, wondering if it’s from active industry or recent attacks.
My attention shifts to my vessel, now coming to a halt above a large black building, its blocky angles and color giving it a severe, imposing feeling that heightens my anxiousness. The orb drops, and my stomach lurches at the jarring sensation, watching the world rushing to meet me with shocking speed. Just like before, I wince, fearing an imminent crash until the orb passes through a shimmering projection or shield. It lands with a smooth stop.
The door opens upward and my collar switches to green once again. I take a deep breath, testing my arms, happy to discover I can move again. Finding it absurd, I’m grateful for whatever malevolent entity is controlling the device.
I step into the black cramped room, my heart sinks, recognizing its purpose in an instant—a cell. Thick and numerous bars glow and spark a frightening red, promising pain should I touch them. In the corner is a small cot, too small even for me, and a seated device I hope is a toilet. Treading carefully, I strain to listen, hearing nothing other than the soft hum of the bars.
I sit on the edge of the cot with my head in my hands as the fear of what lies ahead gnaws at me. I’ve never felt so powerless, so completely at the mercy of others. The collar’s grip is not just physical but mental, a constant reminder of my captivity and helplessness. Yet, even in this dire situation, a small spark of defiance remains within me. I will not give up.
I will find a way to survive, to escape, to honor Xandor’s memory, and fight for my freedom once more.