WildSpace - Voyage of the Naginata Ch. 08

Khaine raised one gloved hand, muttered a few eldritch words and closed his fist. A moment later the same fist was ablaze with unnerving energy, much like his hammer. He pointed his fist at her and opened it. A beam of seething, lethal energy raced out at her. It happened so quickly that Kat didn't have a chance to react. She held up her gauntleted hand, the blast impacted it and fizzled away.

"I'll take those damn gauntlets off your corpse!" Khaine growled and charged at her again.

This time, Kat just sneered and charged at him. His hammer swinging horizontally for her head, she ducked and launched herself toward him, the left gauntlet him on the chin! He staggered back and down to one knee. He shook his head, but Kat was on him again. A fist came from above this time. Crashing down onto his eyebrow ridge. This blow put him completely on the ground. Blood pouring from his new wound

He started to stand, but was met with a one-two combo that caused him to stumble back and release his hammer. Kat paused to glower at him and like a flash he launched himself into her awkwardly. They both rolled and Khaine ended up on top of her! He gave her a sinister sneer.

"Your life ends now...princess!"

"Kat!" Lexi cried and opened fire at the Grimdrax. Just then, more Organization troops appeared from one side and Hawk from the other.

Suddenly, Saphina dropped from an overhang, twin curve blades gripped in her hands. Her landing was not altogether graceful, but she recovered and steeled herself.

"Saphina?!" Kat exclaimed while trying to defend herself. Saphina took two swift swings at the Grimdrax, actually hitting him across the cheek. Khaine took a swipe at her, but she stepped away in time. This took his balance a little too far forward and Kat was able to push him off her. Unfortunately, right at Saphina! He reached for her, but Lexi appeared next to him again.

"Don't touch her fuck face!" She growled and shot him, point blank, in the face. Shockingly, the shot didn't kill him! He reached for Lexi but she dodged, unfortunately right into Saphina! The pair rolled and landed at the feet of Hawk! Something resembling a sinister grin crossed his face as he turned his carbine on them.

"NO!" A voice boomed down the hall. Hawk looked up, searching for the source.

"No..." the voice said again, this time with more... control. Hawk stepped back and stood as still as a statue. Kat started to get to her feet, but was met with Khaine's hammer and was launched across the causeway and slammed into a wall. She fell in a heap, unconscious.

"Kat!" Saphina screamed at her princess being cast into the wall, possibly dead. Khaine moved toward Kat's prone body, looking to finish her off.

"Alexandria Blackstone..." Miss Kavanagh stepped through the rubble and stopped a few feet away from Lexi and Saphina, surrounded by Black Coats.

"What the fuck to you want?!" Lexi roared, getting to her feet.

"Relax, I'm just here for what's mine."

"What did that mean?" Saphina asked.

"Why... Lexi, of course." She replied. "We spent a lot of time and money on you, we don't just throw away such a valuable asset."

"She's not a thing! She's a person with-"

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care." She looked up at Hawk and gestured. He grabbed Saphina by the arm and drug her away from Lexi.

"Saph!" Lexi reached for her.

"Aahhh... she must be the girlfriend. Well, say goodbye, because you're coming home." Miss Kavanagh said. The Black Coats moved to encircle Lexi. "As you can see, you and your crew are utterly defeated. Come with me and I will spare their lives."

"I won't." Khaine interjected. Miss Kavanagh glared at him.

"Whatever." She shrugged, and motioned for her soldiers to take Lexi.

Lexi looked past the soldiers at Saphina, who had tears streaming down her face. "Fine." Lexi resigned to her fate. "If you spare them, I will go with you."

"Lexi, no!" Saphina exclaimed. Lexi slumped her shoulders and moved past Miss Kavanagh. The Organization officer approached Saphina. She cupped the Kurn's chin in her gloved hand.

"Do not come looking for her. If you do, I will kill her in front of you, then kill you. " She gave Saphina a wink and released her. "Come." She said to Lexi and her troops. Hawk paused for a moment, but fell in line.

"Lexi?" Saphina whimpered.

Khaine grunted and shifted as Miss Kavanagh walked past him. "Do as you will."

He sneered at her and turned back to Kat's unconscious body and lifted her into the air. "Wake up princess!" He growled in her face. Kat's eyes fluttered open.

"Time to die!" He grinned evilly. He reached out with his other hand and wrapped his fingers around her neck and slowly began to squeeze. Kat began to gasp and rip at his hand with her hers.

"Kat!" Saphina cried, feeling helpless.

"Shut up bitch, you're next!" He yelled at her.

"I don't think so." An unearthly echoing voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"What?" Khaine looked around confused.

"Let her go." The voice seemed to come from right next to his ear.

"Go away!" He released Kat and spun around looking for the source of the voice. Saphina scrambled over to Kat who crumpled to the ground. She stroked her cheek.

"Princes?"

"I will destroy your soul!" the voice said. Khaine picked up his hammer and took up a defensive stance.

"Show yourself, so I can kill you!"

"You could never kill me, you're nothing!"

Khaine mumbled a few eldritch words, causing him to glow for a moment with deep red energy. "Show yourself!" he growled. The area started to grow dark with an eerie black gloom.

"What's this?" Khaine took a step back. Then, the voice was in his head, he could feel a cold breath on his neck.

"Run..."

Khaine spun to see a thick black "cloud" of energy that seemed to seethe with malice.

"I'm not afraid of you!" He lifted his hammer before him.

"You should be!" the voice growled in his head. Suddenly, a wraith- like white horror appeared out of the cloud and sped toward him. Khaine took another step back as the wraith passed through him! He felt a deep, bone chilling cold throughout his body. He suddenly felt very weak and dropped his hammer!

"What? What are you?!" He tried to swat at the ethereal form, but his hand went right through it.

"I'm the end of your pathetic existence!" The voice was an echoing scream. A form began to coalesce.

"Is that... Il'taira?!" Saphina said to Kat who was finally stirring.

"I... I think so." Kat replied weakly. A blur of black and white raced around and through the Grimdrax until he stumbled away, leaving his huge hammer behind!

"Nooooo!" He wailed as he ran clutching his head and looking around with a wild paranoid expression.

Amara arrived back at the entrance to the series of suites for the crew and could hear the chaos.

"What the heck?!" she mumbled to herself as a group of men carrying a figure and being led by a woman appeared around the corner. As they passed, Amara looked at the figure they were carrying.

Captain Harkner?! What's going on?

"Is she okay? I'm a medic, do you need help?" Amara dared to confront them.

"Mind your business!" One man snapped. She stepped back as they passed.

I need to find the others!

Amara ran down the causeway into a scene straight from a war zone! Bodies lay about the area among shattered glass and broken shops.

Then, she noticed two people moving in the rubble and hurried to help.

"Kat? Saphina?" She knelt immediately to examine Kat's wounds. "What happened?"

"A lot, but that's not important. Lexi is gone and Serra is nowhere to be found." Saphina said through tears as she held Kat.

"Serra? I just saw her, a group of men were carrying her away." She gestured toward the way she had come.

"That's right! Kyree is here!" Saphina remembered. "She attacked us and knocked me out."

Suddenly a black cloud wafted across the room.

"What the?!" Amara cowered back. Out of the cloud, stepped Il'taira a few feet away. Her features appeared hollow, her eyes were a deep, inconsolable sorrow.

"Kyree is almost to her ship." She said quietly.

"We have to go!" Kat coughed and tried to get to her feet grimacing in pain.

"Kat, you have extensive internal injuries, we need to get you to the infirmary." Amara said.

"No...to the Naginata. Kyree will be off-world in no time."

"But... What about Lexi?" Saphina whimpered.

"We'll get her back, Saphina, I promise." Kat reassured her. Saphina and Amara struggled to assist Kat back to the ship while Il'taira ran ahead. As they reached the door to their secured landing bay, Il'taira opened it and hurried to the ship. As they reached the loading ramp, the Naginata's engines began to power up. Amara and Saphina took Kat to the med bay, but Kat held out a powerful, but shaky arm. She grabbed the doorway and stopped them.

"No..." she grunted, "to the bridge."

"But..." Amara countered to no avail.

"The bridge!"

Kat had to strap herself to the pilot's seat to stay upright. She slammed the controls to urge a quick take off. The Naginata groaned under the stress, but ultimately began to rise off the pad.

"SS Naginata you have not been cleared for departure!"

"Fuck departure!" Kat replied as she steered the ship around "cross traffic" and rose into the sky. "Scan for Serra's comm signature." Kat said. Saphina sat in Lexi's seat and turned on the scanners. She had been learning from Lexi in between their carnal adventures.

"Got her! It looks like they are waiting for departure clearance, but could be at any moment."

"How do we stop them?" Amara asked, feeling suddenly very invested in the safety of her new crewmates.

"I'm still working on that." Kat grunted her response through her pain.

"There!" Saphina pointed toward a small ship rising over the city. "That's where Serra is!"

"Got it!" Kat rolled and slammed the throttle. The Naginata roared across the sky toward Kyree's ship. Kat flipped on the comm.

"Land... now!" Kat growled.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Don't fuck with me Kyree, let Serra go!"

On Kyree's ship Serra stirred hearing Kat's voice. "K... Kat?" Serra called weakly.

"Shut up!" Kyree called back to where Serra laid.

"I'm not going to deal with your friends, you're mine now!" Kyree screamed completely unhinged. She turned the ship away and pushed the throttle. Kat saw her move and followed her.

"If she gets out of the atmosphere Serra is lost to us!" Kat said through gritted teeth.

"Twenty seconds!" Saphina said, watching the scanners. Kat flipped a few switches and pushed the much larger, lumbering Naginata to her limit.

"Fifteen seconds!"

"Come on!" Kat growled.

"Ten!"

"I know!" Kat barked as she tried to get even more power from the ship's engines. "I could really use Cali's help to coax more power from those engines." Kat immediately regretted mentioning Cali when she thought she saw Il'taira's reflection in the window, but when she looked back she wasn't there. She suddenly realized they hadn't seen her since they boarded the ship.

"We're out of time! They're breaching atmos-" Saphina read and reread her screen. "Kat..."

"I know, I see it!" Kat said as she pulled the throttle back, slowing the ship.

"What did you do to my ship?!" Kyree's voice screamed over the comm. Kat looked back at Saphina and Amara, who rolled with confused expressions.

"Leave us alone!"

"Kyree, we didn't do anything." Kat replied.

"Don't lie to me, you b-"

"Silence!" Another voice cave over the comm... not the comm, but just within both ships, somehow. "Bring Captain Harkner to the Naginata or I will cripple your ship." The voice was commanding, feminine, masculine and mechanical.

"Who is this?" Kyree demanded.

"You have thirty seconds." The voice said firmly.

"But"

"Twenty five." The voice said. The comm went silent. Suddenly, Kyree's ship slowly moved toward the Naginata.

"Prep the boarding tube." Kat said over her shoulder. Saphina rushed off and after a pause, Amara followed her. A loud clang and thump signaled a connection. The portal opened and Serra stood at the far end of the tube with Kyree. Serra looked up at Saphina and Amara and smiled. She was still groggy, but she staggered down the tube toward her ship. As she reached the portal, she turned back and looked at Kyree.

"I... I love you Serra." Kyree called to her. "I'm...sorry."

"Goodbye Kyree." Serra said and hit the portal button, closing the hatch. Saphina pulled the release level and severed the connection. Serra sighed and turned to them.

"What happened?"

"We don't know." Saphina replied.

"Who made it out?" Serra asked.

"Just us..."

"And me." Kat said from the hallway entrance. She held herself up by the edge of the bulkhead.

"Oh my god, Kat!" Serra leapt at her, wrapping her arms around the injured warrior. Kat grunted and winced in pain as Serra squeezed her.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Serra said and released her. She gathered herself and spoke. "So, the four of us, what about Lexi, and Il'taira?"

"Lexi was taken by the Organization and we... lost track of Il'taira during our run to the ship." Kat said.

"Actually, I'm here." Il'taira appeared from the lounge area. Her face was unreadable. She had tears streaming down her face. An alert chime startled them. On the bridge, they all stopped short. Kat gingerly sat down.

"What the?"

Just outside the window was the massive Organization ship.

"We're being hailed." Saphina said. Serra nodded.

"SS Naginata, this is the Obelisk."

"Go ahead Obelisk." Serra replied.

"We're sending a shuttle over with your crew mate."

Serra and Kat looked at each other.

"Something doesn't feel right about this." Kat said. Before they could respond, a small black shuttle had already launched and was approaching.

"Lexi..." Saphina whispered to herself.

"It could be a trap..." Kat said watching the shuttle slowly approach.

"It seems there is psy-block technology on that shuttle, I can't detect anyone on that shuttle." Il'taira appeared on the bridge and said quietly. "I'm sorry captain."

"Don't be, you saved our asses back there." Kat said. Soon, the shuttle was docked and portals were open. Serra and Saphina stood at the portal on the Naginata and Lexi, Miss Kavanagh and a large hooded man stood on the Obelisk. As they started down the tube, Saphina noticed Lexi had her head down and was not looking up.

"Lexi, are you okay?" Saphina called out to her to no response. Within moments, Lexi stepped into the Naginata and Saphina put a hand on her arm.

"Lexi?"

"What's wrong with her?" Serra glared at the woman.

"Nothing, she's just... following orders." She smirked.

"What do you-?!" Saphina started to say, but Lexi shoved Saphina down. She drew a heavy pistol and pointed it at Serra!

"What the hell Lexi?!" Serra demanded.

The large man stepped into the ship and shoved Serra hard to the ground. He looked over her as he pulled back his hood.

"Hawk?! How?" Serra asked, shocked. Then several black coats rushed down the tube and into the Naginata!

"Shit!" Serra cursed. Just then, Il'taira appeared in the doorway from the lounge and attempted to neutralize their attackers. She grabbed her head in pain as she was struck with psykik backlash! "Urg!"

"Oh, I do apologize young lady, but we can't have you messing with anyone's mind." She said as yet another figure arrived from the tube. This woman was not wearing a long black coat like the rest, she wore a red and black body glove and arcane gauntlets with faint traces of energy racing across them.

"What is this?!" Kat appeared from the bridge. Hawk stepped up and pointed his heavy carbine at her.

"What do you want?!" Serra asked.

"It's very simple." Miss Kavanagh stated. "We're keeping Lexi and we're taking your ship."

"Never!" Saphina said and got back to her feet. Two black coats stepped in front of her, pointing their guns at her.

"My ship?!" Serra said.

"Yes, so you won't be in any more trouble." She said, "So, get on our shuttle and we'll take you back to the surface and on our w-"

Her words were cut short by the lights in the Naginata going out all at once! Chaos ensued. A struggle between the two groups ended as the lights came back on and the Organization troops had moved back into the tube.

"I've had enough of this! Just kill them. Lexi and Hawk bring the Naginata to the outpost." She said and walked back up the tube next to the woman in the body glove. Hawk stepped toward Serra and primed the firing mechanism. Serra looked at each of her crew members with a tear in her eye. This was our, this was the end. She steeled herself and looked Hawk in the eye. Saphina looked up at Lexi as she aimed her pistol at her. The rest of the black coats aimed at the others.

"Hawk, if you're still in there, hear me!" Serra pleaded with him. "Please, don't do this!" He narrowed his eyes and looked her in the eye. Suddenly, he winked at her, spun in his heel and unloaded on the black coats!

The crew all dove for while Lexi jumped back into the tube and scrambled up toward the Organization shuttle.

"Lexi!" Saphina shouted, but couldn't chase her due to the attack. Multiple point blank shots of return fire impacted Hawk's chest! They ripped through his armored vest. Kat yanked a pistol off one of the dead black coats and fired. Within seconds, all of the black coats were dead and Hawk lay dying, again. The shuttle disconnected and moved back to its home ship.

"L-Lexi?..." Saphina whispered.

"S...Serra..." Hawks' voice was weak and shallow. The captain knelt next to him, surveying the damage.

"We've got a medic, she can..." Serra looked up at Amara who gave her a slight head shake.

"No... it's... it's okay..." he coughed violently. The crew gathered around him, saddened by his impending second death.

"I... I'm sorry... about Wrolmar..." Serra said as tears rolled from her eyes.

"It's... okay..." his voice was a weak whisper. "C-captain..."

"Yeah?"

"Never... give up... this..." He coughed again. "L- life." He wheezed and spit up blood. "You were... meant to... sail amongst the... stars." His last words faded into nothing as the light faded from his eyes and his body went limp.

"Fuck!" Serra screamed. Kat stepped next to her and put a hand on her arm. "Why? Hawk... again! And Cali.. I just can't..." she broke down and wept. An alarm blared from the bridge.

"Now what?!" Serra said through her tears. She started to get to her feet, but the ship was hit by something!

"Did we just get shot?!" Amara asked.

"Why?" Saphina cried.

Kat and Serra hurried to the bridge. Saphina and Il'taira followed them, while Amara just stood, in complete disbelief at the carnage around her.

On the bridge, they saw that the Organization ship had maneuvered to face the Naginata.

"They're hailing us." Saphina said as she dropped into Cali's seat.

"Put it on." Serra said through gritted teeth.

"Captain, I want you to know, the Organization does not take this insult lightly, now you all die!"

"Get us out of here!" Serra said to Kat as she jumped up and moved to the Ops station. "Powering up the shields!"

"That power outage earlier means we need to cycle the power because everything is offline!" Kat replied. Saphina, filled with dread as her whole world was turned upside down. Serra and Kat instinctively reach for one another as the cannons on the Organization ship come to bear.

"This is it!"

"No." A powerful voice said.

Suddenly, the weapons in the Organization ship powered down. "Go away!" The voice said. The ship powered up its engines and vanished into jump space!

"You're safe now." A quiet voice came from the doorway to the bridge. They turned to see Cali standing there, hand outstretched toward where the Organization ship had been. She glowed with a blue-green light. Her face was serene but stern.