Homestar Saga

Chapter 121: Failure

"What's our status?" Mims ran an exhausted hand through his hair. They were back on the Encounter, safely docked in a shipyard in New Pixa Sector. Yvian had spent nearly two days stuck in her armor, eating protein paste and fantasizing about real food. Now that she had it, she didn't want it anymore. The pizza was perfect. The beer was cold. Why did it all taste like ashes?

Kilroy spoke. "We have evacuated all the pixens that could be reached. We could not reach the pixens that were on Brilend Prime itself, and thirty one point six percent of the population refused to leave." His eyes were a steady depressed blue. "This unit estimates there are three million citizens of Pixa that have been left to face the Vore."

"Three million." Mims shook his head. "Damn it."

"What are the Haulgoods doing now?" Yvian asked.

"We are attempting to evacuate the other species," Kilroy reported. "We will save as many lives as we can."

"Good." Yvian nodded. Her eyes were watering. "That's good."

"Surprising," Scarrend remarked. "I didn't expect your kind to care about anyone who wasn't Pixen."

"We do not," the Peacekeeper confirmed. "We are acting on the orders of Lissa Kiver."

"It's a smart move," said the Captain. "Gets us some good will, and there's always the chance we'll pick up a few pixens who come to their senses." He shook his head again. "And it's the least we can do, after failing them like that."

"Affirmative." Kilroy agreed. "Evacuation efforts will continue for another eighty four minutes."

"Yeah." Mims looked at his wrist console. "I guess that's all the time we can spare."

"I didn't think the Sphere's would arrive for another..." Yvian trailed off. "The Needles," she realized. "The ones they shot at us."

"They're still accelerating," said Mims. "They'll hit Confed space in about two hours. We can't have anything with a jumpdrive there when they do."

"Are you sure we can't go back?" Yvian knew they shouldn't. She didn't even want to. But there were billions of souls on Brilend Prime. Three million of them were her people. She couldn't ignore it. Couldn't bear the weight of it. If there was even a chance... "If we worked with the Confed..."

"We'd die," said Scarrend. "The Vore will spread throughout the sector, multiplying as they go. The Skygem won't be enough to stop them." He growled. " The full might of the Empire wouldn't be enough."

"The Confed Military won't be much help. They don't have the tech or the firepower to take on the Vore," Mims added. "They'll just be fodder."

"The Pixen Stellar Defense Force would be fodder, as well," stated Kilroy. "We are insufficient."

"And if we show up, we bring jumpdrives with us," Mims continued. "We'd doom the whole galaxy."

"Crunch." Yvian looked down at her pizza. "There has to be something we can do."

"There isn't." Mims took a swig of beer. "There never was." He glared at the wall of the kitchen.

There was a chirp. The Captain checked his wrist console. "It's Fightsmart." He accepted the comm request. "This is Mims."

"Mimsey-cake." The Krog Admiral's guttural bass rumbled out of his wrist. "You know what happening Brilend Prime?"

"Yeah." The human chugged his beer and set it down.

"Mangy Vrrl come," said the Admiral. "Mangy Vrrl leave. Mangy Vrrl not come back."

"Yeah," said Mims. "How secure is this line?"