Just A Girl
She was just a girl of little to no consequence. An unimportant fragment in a doomed place. There was just one thing that was true about her: she was a daughter to a faceless pair of lost souls; forever drifting from one place to the next. Trillions existed like her at any given time, and more importantly in any given part of space. She owned nothing but the love of family; the only comfort for a quiet voice echoing in the silence of emptiness. There was nothing else to hold onto besides the hope that someday they would find a place they could call home. They recently banded together with those of similar circumstances into what became an extended flotilla of drifters and scavengers all looking for somewhere safe. She was too young to provide much to that purpose, but that made no difference. Life had never been easy, but her mother’s embrace made it bearable. And her father’s ambition was admirable. There wasn’t much more she would need. She was just a girl.
And they were just pirates; barbarous marauders who fed their own personal wealth by preying on the weakness of others, with no remorse and much less decency. They harassed, robbed, raped, and murdered their way from one system of the virulent Biodrone Sector to the next. A brigand of squalid monsters intoxicated by the thrill of new treasures cut from the throats of the helpless. There was little that a victim could do when confronted by such a group of ruthless souls; fleeing meant a tired death and surrender often meant a slower path to the same result. The galaxy was truly endless and yet these two groups had found each other through the haze of poison and anger.
“Father, I’m scared!” cried a young girl with a mess of blonde curls adorning her head.
“Aida, go find your mother now, and tell her to lock the two of you in the aft holding. Don’t come back out until I say it’s okay. Can you do that, my sweet child?” said her father in a tone she had never before heard; one of fear and feigned calm.
“Yes, father!”
Her bare feet pattered down the dirty corridor of the rundown freighter they resided in. She had been through this before, but something seemed different. Her father had never sounded the way he did now and had never sent her away from the flight deck with such haste. She had to find her mother before it was too late. By chance, it wouldn’t take long as she found the tired looking woman exiting the galley just as she neared the entrance.
“Mama! There are pirates here! Father said for us to hide in the dark until things are safe!” she squeaked out through shortness of breath.
“What’s that? Pirates? What would they be doing here of all places? How could they have known we were coming?” the woman said with as much anguish as confusion.
“Mama, I’m scared!”
“It will be fine, little sweet Aida. I must see them for myself. I want you to follow your father’s word and go hide, I’ll be there with you soon. I am sure everything will be okay; we’ll just make it clear that we hold nothing of value in this ship or any of the others and I’m sure they’ll let us pass. Run now!”
It took everything in the girl’s power to make her legs work again and run away from her mother to hide. Something had surrounded her entire being and seemed to be urging her to stay. It was making it clear that this would be the last time she ever saw her again. Her mother’s eyes seemed to say the same as the woman turned away to find her husband. Aida made it just a few steps towards the aft before the ominous feeling overcame her completely and forced her to stop once more. She could not understand what it was but knew that she could not ignore it. She had to see her parents again, perhaps one final time. So, she went against their word and ran back towards the flight deck, finding a small set of empty containers near the door to hide from them. She watched as her worried mother sank into her father’s caring arms, all the while he kept his focus on the dangerous ships just in front of the view port.
“I’ll say this one final time for you dimwits to comply with before I command my men to let loose on your miserable collection of garbage haulers. Land on XTT-456 and prepare to be boarded or else!” came a terrifyingly gruff voice of unknown species over the ship’s communication device. Aida’s bright blue eyes grew to the size of the star that hung in the middle of this cursed system at the sound of it.
“Flotilla leader to marauder leader: I say again, we have nothing to offer you in our holds. We have barely enough to sustain ourselves. It’s why we’re this deep into the Biodrone in the first place. Please have some mercy and let us pass.” said another voice over the com device, this time that of the hastily elected leader of the flotilla from his rundown vessel near the front of the formation.
“Consider this!”
A barrage of elder-tech and illegal UDE-1 weapon fire tore through more than half of the flotilla’s formation with a horrific ease. The flotilla leader’s ship was cut nearly in half, spilling the contents into the deadly void of space. Within just a matter of moments, the pirates had decimated the tattered fleet. Aida’s father knew that they would be next if something was not done.
“Flotilla to marauder leader, we surrender! We will touch down on the moon, please just spare us the fate you just placed on our comrades! We have children here!”
“Children, you say? Those can fetch a hefty price on the Contra-Grid depending on the type. We’ll be taking them with us, and you’ll be lucky to have survived so that you may birth more into this horrid existence you call a life!”
Aida knew her father would never allow her to be taken from him, but she was still afraid as he maneuvered the ship towards the surface of the nearby moon. The feeling of impending doom had yet to subside and had only grown worse the closer the ship got to landing. She could see that there were only a small number of flotilla members to survive the onslaught from the pirate’s initial attack. She let out a faint cry as another two of the ships were burned up upon entry of the atmosphere, having not been maintained well enough to withstand such drastic and sudden reentry. She could only hope that her family’s vessel held together through the violence, to which she was unsure solely based on the sounds it made as it attempted the same. Her father managed to land, though rough, on a patch of open land on the small moon. Aida was nearly tossed down the length of the hall from the force of the sudden landing, sliding along her rear and only stopping when she bumped into wall at the aft. Now, she thought, was the right time to finally hide like she had been told. She climbed inside the compartment and shut herself in.
She was just a girl; a girl with an overpowering feeling of dread and despair. These were feelings that she had never experienced on her own but were familiar to her. They, along with pain and anguish, were things that she sensed all around her and never understood why. It was as if she could feel the way all living things felt in those dire moments of suffering. She was never hurt by them but was aware at all times of the misery of others. The misery she felt now was coming from her parents on the other side of the ship. They knew things were not going to be okay; and so did Aida.
Her heart sank. And a smoke began to engulf her in the darkness.
And they were just pirates; barbarous marauders who fed their own personal wealth by preying on the weakness of others, with no remorse and much less decency. They harassed, robbed, raped, and murdered their way from one system of the virulent Biodrone Sector to the next. A brigand of squalid monsters intoxicated by the thrill of new treasures cut from the throats of the helpless. There was little that a victim could do when confronted by such a group of ruthless souls; fleeing meant a tired death and surrender often meant a slower path to the same result. The galaxy was truly endless and yet these two groups had found each other through the haze of poison and anger.
“Father, I’m scared!” cried a young girl with a mess of blonde curls adorning her head.
“Aida, go find your mother now, and tell her to lock the two of you in the aft holding. Don’t come back out until I say it’s okay. Can you do that, my sweet child?” said her father in a tone she had never before heard; one of fear and feigned calm.
“Yes, father!”
Her bare feet pattered down the dirty corridor of the rundown freighter they resided in. She had been through this before, but something seemed different. Her father had never sounded the way he did now and had never sent her away from the flight deck with such haste. She had to find her mother before it was too late. By chance, it wouldn’t take long as she found the tired looking woman exiting the galley just as she neared the entrance.
“Mama! There are pirates here! Father said for us to hide in the dark until things are safe!” she squeaked out through shortness of breath.
“What’s that? Pirates? What would they be doing here of all places? How could they have known we were coming?” the woman said with as much anguish as confusion.
“Mama, I’m scared!”
“It will be fine, little sweet Aida. I must see them for myself. I want you to follow your father’s word and go hide, I’ll be there with you soon. I am sure everything will be okay; we’ll just make it clear that we hold nothing of value in this ship or any of the others and I’m sure they’ll let us pass. Run now!”
It took everything in the girl’s power to make her legs work again and run away from her mother to hide. Something had surrounded her entire being and seemed to be urging her to stay. It was making it clear that this would be the last time she ever saw her again. Her mother’s eyes seemed to say the same as the woman turned away to find her husband. Aida made it just a few steps towards the aft before the ominous feeling overcame her completely and forced her to stop once more. She could not understand what it was but knew that she could not ignore it. She had to see her parents again, perhaps one final time. So, she went against their word and ran back towards the flight deck, finding a small set of empty containers near the door to hide from them. She watched as her worried mother sank into her father’s caring arms, all the while he kept his focus on the dangerous ships just in front of the view port.
“I’ll say this one final time for you dimwits to comply with before I command my men to let loose on your miserable collection of garbage haulers. Land on XTT-456 and prepare to be boarded or else!” came a terrifyingly gruff voice of unknown species over the ship’s communication device. Aida’s bright blue eyes grew to the size of the star that hung in the middle of this cursed system at the sound of it.
“Flotilla leader to marauder leader: I say again, we have nothing to offer you in our holds. We have barely enough to sustain ourselves. It’s why we’re this deep into the Biodrone in the first place. Please have some mercy and let us pass.” said another voice over the com device, this time that of the hastily elected leader of the flotilla from his rundown vessel near the front of the formation.
“Consider this!”
A barrage of elder-tech and illegal UDE-1 weapon fire tore through more than half of the flotilla’s formation with a horrific ease. The flotilla leader’s ship was cut nearly in half, spilling the contents into the deadly void of space. Within just a matter of moments, the pirates had decimated the tattered fleet. Aida’s father knew that they would be next if something was not done.
“Flotilla to marauder leader, we surrender! We will touch down on the moon, please just spare us the fate you just placed on our comrades! We have children here!”
“Children, you say? Those can fetch a hefty price on the Contra-Grid depending on the type. We’ll be taking them with us, and you’ll be lucky to have survived so that you may birth more into this horrid existence you call a life!”
Aida knew her father would never allow her to be taken from him, but she was still afraid as he maneuvered the ship towards the surface of the nearby moon. The feeling of impending doom had yet to subside and had only grown worse the closer the ship got to landing. She could see that there were only a small number of flotilla members to survive the onslaught from the pirate’s initial attack. She let out a faint cry as another two of the ships were burned up upon entry of the atmosphere, having not been maintained well enough to withstand such drastic and sudden reentry. She could only hope that her family’s vessel held together through the violence, to which she was unsure solely based on the sounds it made as it attempted the same. Her father managed to land, though rough, on a patch of open land on the small moon. Aida was nearly tossed down the length of the hall from the force of the sudden landing, sliding along her rear and only stopping when she bumped into wall at the aft. Now, she thought, was the right time to finally hide like she had been told. She climbed inside the compartment and shut herself in.
She was just a girl; a girl with an overpowering feeling of dread and despair. These were feelings that she had never experienced on her own but were familiar to her. They, along with pain and anguish, were things that she sensed all around her and never understood why. It was as if she could feel the way all living things felt in those dire moments of suffering. She was never hurt by them but was aware at all times of the misery of others. The misery she felt now was coming from her parents on the other side of the ship. They knew things were not going to be okay; and so did Aida.
Her heart sank. And a smoke began to engulf her in the darkness.
*****
