A Change Of Scene

Posted on Sat Apr 20th, 2019 @ 7:01pm by The Narrator

Mission: S1E3: Moments Of Consolidation
Location: Gastarox's Ship
Timeline: MD6 2100

Gastarox and his Reka mercenaries set a punishing pace through the jungle of the White Tower.

Under careful scrutiny, the amphibian-like alien had checked over their gathered supplies, going through them for anything that could be made into a weapon. This included taking out the laser scalpel from the field medical kit, and removing all of the heating packs from the field rations. Their 'Probably Meat' patties were going to be cold and sad affairs from here on out.

They walked for hours, resting only occasionally as Gastarox alternated between berating them for their lack of common sense in investigating Prior ruins and threatening to have one of the Reka eat Rollins. The rotund crew chief was fully aware, with his ripped pant leg revealing the numerous dermal pain relief patches covering his lower leg. Calhoon did his best to distract his friend from the fact he was missing a foot. Rollin's pretended to humour him.

Blaise and Spire's were plenty distracting all by themselves. For Spire's, it was the indignity of being dragged through the foliage and loose littler of the forest floor. Twigs, sticks, but at least no apparent animal leavings: so let's call it a win. For Blaise, it was the fact the Reka dragging him had to be changed twice: the first one got skittish, and the second one lost a finger. The third had one of the prisoners do it.

But soon they arrived at Gastarox's ship.

It was an aerodynamic whale of a thing. Easily three times the length of the runabout, and almost three times as high, it verged from being a small ship to a fully fledged starship all by itself. Its wide wing-shaped body was broken by a beaky cockpit, and a wide aft section housing its engines and loading ramp. Approaching from the rear Gastarox waved a device at the ramp, which began to lower. A logo or name had been painted in neat white lettering on the tail ramp, but some industrious fellow had scrapped most of it off.

The interior was spacious but littered with cargo containers and pallet's with webbed mounds of the glossy metal ingot's the Tower had been producing. A few of the items stacked here and there had the odd porous bone look of Prior machinery, but with a jaundiced yellowing at the edges. A scavenger's horde if ever there was one.

"Through there, to the cages. I'll be on the bridge," Gastarox grunted and pointed into the interior of the ship. He instead climbed a ladder up to the second deck, as his Reka guards moved the captives deeper. Beyond the cargo bay was a short corridor, framed on either side by two large bunk-style rooms with retrofitted bars set into the frames. The Reka pushed the Canopus Station crew into the port side bunk and squawked loudly at Calhoon when Rollin's yelped in pain when he stump hit the bed frame.

Then the door was shut, locking with a finality that was vaguely ominous. More so because the Reka walked back into the cargo bay, closing the companionway hatch behind them.

"Well," Rollin's said through gritted teeth' "Worst field trip ever, am I right?"