Sweet Venom Arc 02 Ch. 11

They sprinted across the floor at one another, falling into each-others arms and burying their faces in the others shoulder.

"I-I thought I'd never see you again!"

Robin stayed silent, shuddering slightly in Venner's arms and holding onto her tightly. Before they should share the moment for too long however, Jace cleared his throat in the background, catching Venner's attention. She held onto her husband but addressed Jace from over the smaller males shoulder.

"A-are you the asshole that-" Venner's eyes narrowed and she felt her temper begin to rise.

"No. I would never stoop so low as him." Jace met eyes with her purposely but remained calm.

"You know about all this...? What he did?"

"I do. Or I know enough. I know it doesn't fix anything, but I promise you that I will attempt justice for his actions. I understand you're evacuating?"

"We are. Why do you ask?" Venner continued to be extremely cautious, wondering what exactly the dragon had to gain from all this.

"I docked with a small independent vessel, I can take up to 15 people on it, I'd like to offer those seats to anyone onboard the station, yourself and your husband included."

"I don't need it, I've got my own ship, but I know its a bit of squeeze on the pods... if you're truly intent on helping, get your ass down to the primary hangers and tell 'em Venner sent you."

Jace merely nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait! What's your name?"

"Jace Koa, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Jace. Safe passage."

"You're welcome, Ma'am." With that, Jace left the two alone and headed back down the stairs, following the signs towards the hanger.

Venner turned her attention back to the smaller human in her arms, finally prying herself off him and getting a good top to bottom look of him. Her eyes took in every detail, from his scruffy hair to his baggy shirt and trousers. He was shorter and thinner than Venner, a rather meek human but his amber eyes portrayed a sly intellect. A weak smile crept over his face as he did the same back, looking her from top to bottom.

"Its so good to see you, Robin!" Venner choked back more tears and pulled him in for another hug. Before he responded, Robin quickly glanced around to ensure they were alone.

"Mhm." Despite the smile on his face, his grip around her was loose and he seemed unimpressed. "Its good to see you too, Venner."

"I-is there something wrong, Robin? Are you hungry? Did they hurt you...?" As she spoke, the comms unit buzzed loudly with multiple incoming call requests, but she silenced it and focused back on Robin.

"It's fine, nothing really."

"No, really, Robin, what's going on?"

"I just think you could have done a little better, that's all."

She paused, her throat croaking quietly as the words choked her.

"I-i tried Robin! I really did! You got caught by the DA! What was I supposed to do?!"

"Don't. Lets get out of here first, then we can talk. You said you have a ship?" He pulled away from her, looking around the room.

"I... Robin- I can't leave yet. I'm going to be one of the last off, I need to make sure this evacuation goes as smoothly as possible. I-i can arrange getting you escorted to my ship if that makes you feel safer?"

He sighed loudly and shook his head.

"Fine. You do your thing. I'll wait here."

"O-okay. You just... sit tight. I'll uh..." She turned around, her shoulders slumping with a weak sigh escaping her lips, she took another look at him as she paced into her office, he sat on a chair away from her and stared around the room, looking anywhere but her.

She crept back to her chair and slowly pulled her headphones over her ears, pressing the button to accept calls again.

"Venner here... what's up?"

Time ticked away as the Freighter approached, passengers were guided onto ships and quickly departed from the station, with the guards holding key locations. The attacks from the corrupted passengers were weak and ineffective, unable to breach the line of Scasers and pistols, half formed from guards and stubborn Nomads.

Each ship launched would have a tally of the number of passengers on board and Venner clung to her desk, watching the total number of passengers drop as the time they had burned away. She bounced between different calls from her guards, registering the departed ships each time and keeping a close eye on the stations critical systems. Although the long stay wing had completely collapsed, the rest of the station remained in working order.

Despite the amazing progress, the clock continued to count down, every second meant the Freighter was closer and soon enough, it became apparent that the evacuations would not be completed in time -- it was close -- they only needed a few minutes more, but it was time they simply didn't have right now.

She relayed the message to her guards, explaining the situation as best as she could. There was no easy way to say it, she needed volunteers to defend the hanger. Just 20-30 people could save the lives of 500-600 others.

Across the station, the guards began to relay the message, across their choke-points and amongst the Nomad's who were committed to defending the station. It was an open message, an honest one.

They looked at each-other in silence, all across the station, the conversations played out the same. Some broke and shook their heads, some mulled it over as they focused on the defence of the stations, but a few gathered their weapons, receiving supplies and extras from the guard force as they made their way to the hanger.

Venner watched over the cameras in amazement as several Nomad's strode across the station, their faces all written with the same steely determination, some looked more nervous than others, but none of them turned back. A couple of Venner's guard unit joined them, trolleys of weapons, armour and provisions were loaded and brought by spare Nomad hands.

Solemn thanks escaped the lips of every person they passed.

This was a one-way trip. Whoever entered that hanger, would not be leaving.

Venner took the names of every person who offered their lives. She would ensure they would not be forgotten.

They quickly formed defensive positions, stacking up crates and spare ship plating into defensive positions, along with the two construction mechs, both armed with their heavy nail drivers and rock breakers. A mixed line of guards and Nomads, dressed in a mixture of salvaged guard armour, flak plates, space gear and worn mechanic outfits, those who brought their own sidearms were provided with beefier armaments but more importantly, the very best Barru X had to offer was given in full.

A tray of food left over from the station's restaurants and a mug of "Bold Nova" brand whiskey was given to every defender.

They laughed together, "Bold Nova" was an acquired taste and it showed in the various reactions around the room. Their hearts beat together as they ate their last meal and enjoyed the prestigious drink, watching distant lights through the hanger doors. Ships and pods escaping the station visible to them via the hanger doors, like shooting stars escaping to live another day.

But one star drew closer.

It was time.

Nova was necked, weapons were drawn, they took their positions. A line of rifles, Scasers, Repeaters and two huge nail-guns were waiting for the coming assault. The order was just to hold for as long as possible.

The massive metal ship encroached on their vision, its silhouette becoming more and more pronounced as it closed in, blotting out the stars behind it as it approached.

They all shuddered in their boots as metal hit metal, the sound of hydraulics sliding, airlocks sealing and hundreds of tons of securing mechanisms interlocking to bring the docking ramp of Freighter into the hanger.

Slowly, the hanger doors clunked and unveiled the Freighter's dreaded cargo, they all raised their weapons and waited as Moltezz stood tall above the line of Slaves stood in front of her, they had clubs, knives and tools as weapons and each stood perfectly still under Moltezz's direct control, more than any of the Nomad's could count.

Oddly, the Slaves parted and Moltezz confidently strode down the ramp alone, a shield of dancing flames slowly forming around her, the room already beginning to heat up. Fingers twitched on triggers, the mech's readjusted their aim towards her.

Moltezz's twisted glare glanced over the line of guns pointed at her and slowly, her disappointed scowl broke over her face.

"Hmm. I deserve a stronger response than this."