LF Friends, Will Travel

Our Clockwork Children: Chapter 22

With another frightening display of speed, the android rushed forward, grabbing the remaining guard by the head and driving it into the wall with a sickening crack and splatter of blue blood and brain matter. It did so again, and again, over and over until the flesh and bone it was holding was no longer recognizable as a person.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE WHAT IS MINE, THAT WHICH I FOUND. I SHALL ERADICATE EVERY SINGLE ATOM AND MENTION OF YOUR PERSON UNTIL THERE IS NO TRACE OF YOUR FOUL TAINT LEFT UPON THIS UNIVERSE TO BE BLIGHTED UPON. THERE WILL BE DEATH AND I AM ITS BRINGER!"

The robotic voice echoed out with pure rage as they continued to mutilate the long-dead body of the Uhae, still slamming what was mostly no longer solid into the wall. The humans... just stared, half in shock, half in fear as the scene played out in front of them. There are three common reactions to any kind of unforeseen external impact: Freeze, Flight, and Fight. There is also a fourth far rarer action, which requires a special set of circumstances to unlock. When something so absurd, so unlikely, so completely outside the realm of logic happens, a person might have the fourth reaction: Blue screen. Tumaini was currently blue screening.

She recognized that android, the design, the terrible cruelty. It was of Tritian make, a figure that had appeared in some of her nightmares ever since that fateful day when she'd been taken prisoner by a warship filled with them. The real confusion however was why was there a Tritian on this planet assaulting their captors? Her brain was desperately trying to come up with some baseline of knowledge to recover to, and failing catastrophically as the Tritian android continued to mutilate the very very very dead Uhae.

"No, no no no no! Come back Ramsey, what are you doing!"

That was was voice that Tumaini recognized, one that she'd spent a lot of time around, a lighthouse in the absolute dark confusion of unknowns currently raging in front of her. That was the voice of JOSH, just before a heavily armed exosuit of clear Terran design bounded into view.

"Stop, stop, stop! You are freaking the humans out, what are you doing?!"

JOSH placed a hand upon the shoulder of the Tritian android, causing him to finally stop assaulting the now mostly smoothified Uhae, spinning around to look upon the Terrans staring back at the digital pair from behind the prison bars. It took a mere 1.52 seconds to fully scan and recognise several of the crew members within this prison, but one in particular caused his attention to focus, the one he'd come all this way to rescue.

The barrier didn't stand a chance as the Tritian smashed it apart, lumbering into the now broken cage with a purpose, staring directly at his target, making their way towards the singular female Terran with a purpose. A few more defensive and braver prisoners tried to put themselves within his path or even attack them, but Ramsey simply pushed through them like a hippo wading through water, unconcerned with the near-zero threat the other Terrans posed.

In mere moments Ramsey stood in front of his goal: A very confused and scared Tumaini.

"TUMAINI! THE MUSIC MAKER! YOU ARE FINE, YOU ARE HERE. YOU ARE HURT! WHO DID THIS. POINT THEM OUT AND I SHALL REMOVE THEM FROM EXISTENCE! NO ONE WILL TOUCH MY ORGANIC! YOU ARE NOW FINE, YOU CAN NOW PLAY MUSIC, THIS IS GOOD!"

Tumaini just stood slack-jawed with confusion as the dripping-with-blood Tritian android referred to her by name

"I - I - I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I AM RAMSEY. I AM HERE TO BRING YOU BACK FROM THOSE WHO TOOK YOU FROM ME. I DO NOT SEE VICTORIA HERE. THE ORGANIC WITH 'FETCH' BETTER BE FINE OR I SHALL SET ALL UHAE WORLDS ALIGHT IN FLAME!"