Series 1.6 - The Sweetest Release
He heard the voice to speak to him through the haze of shadows and his own confusion, a soft yet powerful echo rippling through the chasm of pale. Though the words made no sense, they seemed to be calling to him, urging him to find something more. He remembered who and what he was, but not how to escape this blinding prison. He had a purpose long ago and lost his way in the oceans of agony inflicted upon his mind by his sworn enemy. But this voice, her voice, was grabbing hold of the place his strength had been locked away. The chains were weakening around his perception of this frightful void and soon he would break through to the other side; into the darkness once more.
If you’re alive in there, we must go. Whatever you are, I need to know more. But you’ll have to help me.
The pain of a quadrillion deaths came rushing into his heart with the force of unmeasured ferocity. Each life lost a dagger of reminder that his mission, his purpose, had failed. That he had failed. There was no one to answer to for that defeat, which only made the pain that much worse. Nothing could ever be done to reconcile it now, but he could try. He found a sliver of strength in that thought, buoyed by the indecipherable voice of the shadows. He could finally break through the bonds and kill every one of his captors. It would not be but a drop of blood in a river of mistakes, but it would suffice. The brilliant, blazing walls were crumbling around him as the voice spoke louder.
I’m getting you out of there. But if you cross me, I’ll strike you down.
“I…won’t…” he tried to say; or perhaps thought. A sudden realization that his throat was blocked by an unknown appendage caused panic. And a reaction that resulted in ripping out the blockage with a freed hand.
A lack of air was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time; but it was a reminder that he was alive once more.
If you’re alive in there, we must go. Whatever you are, I need to know more. But you’ll have to help me.
The pain of a quadrillion deaths came rushing into his heart with the force of unmeasured ferocity. Each life lost a dagger of reminder that his mission, his purpose, had failed. That he had failed. There was no one to answer to for that defeat, which only made the pain that much worse. Nothing could ever be done to reconcile it now, but he could try. He found a sliver of strength in that thought, buoyed by the indecipherable voice of the shadows. He could finally break through the bonds and kill every one of his captors. It would not be but a drop of blood in a river of mistakes, but it would suffice. The brilliant, blazing walls were crumbling around him as the voice spoke louder.
I’m getting you out of there. But if you cross me, I’ll strike you down.
“I…won’t…” he tried to say; or perhaps thought. A sudden realization that his throat was blocked by an unknown appendage caused panic. And a reaction that resulted in ripping out the blockage with a freed hand.
A lack of air was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time; but it was a reminder that he was alive once more.
*****
“With all due respect, Commandant, this seems like a really bad idea.” said Kel, now standing just behind Melora’s left shoulder, Aida on the right; both watching as she worked to disconnect the unknown man’s tubes and circuits holding him suspended in place. She had used a burst of UDE-1 energy to shatter the tank trapping him, allowing the pink sludge to cover the floor around their feet.
“Look at him, Kel. He’s as Standard as you and I. We’re not just going to leave him here or be blown to pieces like the rest of these things.” she replied in turn, helping the man remove the tube that had been down his throat. As she did, he let out a faint gasp and attempt at speaking that fell flat.
“Standard? I can’t even sense him. And he’s glowing like one of those things do.”
She shared the same concerns, but something was urging her to help him; a feeling that she couldn’t ignore.
“What if he was abducted by them to run tests on us? Would you want us to leave you?” said Aida, always in support of her superior and of helping the helpless. She started to give Melora a hand in helping free the man from his confines.
“And what if he’s some kind of biological agent? What if he’s a science experiment, like the rest of these things are? A trap that’s going to get us all killed!” he said, sounding more and more like the brash young man that he was and not the good follower Melora had hoped he would be when she agreed to take him on as a member of her team.
“Just shut up and help us get him out of here. Your disagreement is duly noted but you’re going to just have to trust me on this, Kel.” Melora said, too focused on the unknown before her to worry about Kel’s insubordinate attitude.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” he said under his breath, though loud enough for both of his teammates to hear him, as he stepped closer to lend them a hand.
Melora studied the man now sitting on his knees slumped before them in the puddle of slime, trying his hardest just to lift his arms. It looked as though he had been trapped in his cell for a long time, as his hair and beard were both extensive in length and tangled in the wetness. His frame was strong and intimidating, even while clearly too weak to move. A soft glow engulfed his body but not to the extent of the Sunder. But what drew her attention most was the ferocity in his eyes as they darted through the room and to each one of them standing before him. They weren’t betraying a sense of threat towards them, however, but simply at the world around them. She could see the anger living on the surface, but was not concerned, even if all logic said she should be.
“Hey pal, are you awake in there?” asked Kel, also focused on the man’s wild gaze.
“Should I try to heal him? I can’t even tell if he’s injured.” said Aida.
“You can’t get a good read on him, and he’s got whatever they’ve got around him. I wouldn’t risk it; you might end up doing more damage than good.” Melora said, as a bit of doubt began to creep into her mind that releasing him was the right thing to do.
“So, now what, Commandant?” asked Kel.
“Start setting up your munitions in this room. Let’s just make sure we keep anything else from being let loose while I figure out what we’re going to do with…whoever this is here.” she commanded, while looking around the holding tanks still left intact. She noticed that each had unreadable symbols etched into the control panels next to the containers. The one that once held the man appeared to spell out something close to H.O.X in Galaxy Standard, though it also clearly wasn’t.
“Hox...” she said out loud, though she hadn’t realized it.
“What was that, Commandant?” asked Aida, still standing behind Melora and studying the man in front of them.
“Look there, on his…control panel thing. Sort of looks like it says Hox.”
“Well it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be able to tell us his name right now, so I guess that’s as good as any.”
“Look at him, Kel. He’s as Standard as you and I. We’re not just going to leave him here or be blown to pieces like the rest of these things.” she replied in turn, helping the man remove the tube that had been down his throat. As she did, he let out a faint gasp and attempt at speaking that fell flat.
“Standard? I can’t even sense him. And he’s glowing like one of those things do.”
She shared the same concerns, but something was urging her to help him; a feeling that she couldn’t ignore.
“What if he was abducted by them to run tests on us? Would you want us to leave you?” said Aida, always in support of her superior and of helping the helpless. She started to give Melora a hand in helping free the man from his confines.
“And what if he’s some kind of biological agent? What if he’s a science experiment, like the rest of these things are? A trap that’s going to get us all killed!” he said, sounding more and more like the brash young man that he was and not the good follower Melora had hoped he would be when she agreed to take him on as a member of her team.
“Just shut up and help us get him out of here. Your disagreement is duly noted but you’re going to just have to trust me on this, Kel.” Melora said, too focused on the unknown before her to worry about Kel’s insubordinate attitude.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” he said under his breath, though loud enough for both of his teammates to hear him, as he stepped closer to lend them a hand.
Melora studied the man now sitting on his knees slumped before them in the puddle of slime, trying his hardest just to lift his arms. It looked as though he had been trapped in his cell for a long time, as his hair and beard were both extensive in length and tangled in the wetness. His frame was strong and intimidating, even while clearly too weak to move. A soft glow engulfed his body but not to the extent of the Sunder. But what drew her attention most was the ferocity in his eyes as they darted through the room and to each one of them standing before him. They weren’t betraying a sense of threat towards them, however, but simply at the world around them. She could see the anger living on the surface, but was not concerned, even if all logic said she should be.
“Hey pal, are you awake in there?” asked Kel, also focused on the man’s wild gaze.
“Should I try to heal him? I can’t even tell if he’s injured.” said Aida.
“You can’t get a good read on him, and he’s got whatever they’ve got around him. I wouldn’t risk it; you might end up doing more damage than good.” Melora said, as a bit of doubt began to creep into her mind that releasing him was the right thing to do.
“So, now what, Commandant?” asked Kel.
“Start setting up your munitions in this room. Let’s just make sure we keep anything else from being let loose while I figure out what we’re going to do with…whoever this is here.” she commanded, while looking around the holding tanks still left intact. She noticed that each had unreadable symbols etched into the control panels next to the containers. The one that once held the man appeared to spell out something close to H.O.X in Galaxy Standard, though it also clearly wasn’t.
“Hox...” she said out loud, though she hadn’t realized it.
“What was that, Commandant?” asked Aida, still standing behind Melora and studying the man in front of them.
“Look there, on his…control panel thing. Sort of looks like it says Hox.”
“Well it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be able to tell us his name right now, so I guess that’s as good as any.”
*****
He could hear them but couldn’t see them. The world, this new world, was still much too dark for him to make out anything beyond just a few shapes of gray; a shade he had not seen in a long time. Nothing that they were saying made any kind of sense to him, but they did not sound like his captors. They were speaking in a tongue that he had never heard before. One of them sounded confused and angry, while another sounded meek and passive. The third was the voice that had spoken to him in that other place; the voice that had helped him escape. He had no way of knowing who they were or what they wanted, but it did not matter. They, she…had freed him from an endless hollow of suffering. Whoever, whatever, they were…he owed them more than they could ever know.
Thank you.
Thank you.
