Cosmonogic

Chp. 3: Through the Border

To say the ride was rough would be an understatement. They weren't even at the border yet and the turbulence was becoming more of a problem than any of them cared to admit. Moxin gritted his teeth under the intense shaking of the Astrocruiser. Nex clenched his butt cheeks so hard one would think he was about to blow.

The two of them were seated on the ship's bridge alone. Moxin had tasked himself with steering the ship through the multitude of obstacles that awaited them at the border, and to their surprise, before it as well. Where is all of this crap coming from?

Moxin steered, a task which required every bit of his attention while Nex monitored the ship, and its power levels. The last thing they wanted to do was go critical and shatter into a million pieces. Although Moxin was usually needed in the engine room, he saw it necessary, under the current circumstances, to leave the maintaining of it to what he considered to be his less-than-capable crew. His razor-sharp instincts were a commodity that only he, and his brother, Rake, possessed. Rake, however, was about to have his own hell to attend to.

Moxin entered his true form flawlessly. Valdorian's true form turned them into violent, carnivorous creatures. It was unfortunately necessary for a job like this. When a Val carries their true form, their senses are kicked up by a thousand percent. As a result, discretion was key whenever either Moxin or his brother entered their true form, this being the reason that Nex was the only other person on the bridge. Only he and a handful of other members on Astrocruiser were aware of the fact that their commander could turn into a monster at will.

Crossing the border was going to be no easy task with its own monster on patrol. Kurtis was the guardian of Beetle's territory, a gigantic snake-like creature that quite literally encircled the border. Kurtis possessed a horde of offspring, not nearly as large as himself. Still, they presented a problem, especially if they were unfortunate enough to accidentally run into one of them. Then Kurtis would notice them, become agitated, and all hope of escape would be lost.

Astrocruiser lurched and whined as Nex and Moxin pushed it toward the border. Suddenly, Moxin tugged violently at the controls, narrowingly avoiding an oncoming asteroid that came out of nowhere. What the heck? The ship lurched in retaliation, uhappy with the series of sudden movements it was forced to perform.

Rake was inside the cargo hold with Maddie and Sydni. The two mages were preparing to use the full extent of their power to shield Astrocruiser. Rake's authoritative presence compelled them to wait on his order.

"Shouldn't we start?" Sydni frowned and crossed her arms impatiently. Her anger was already building up, making her skin a reddish-pink. Had she been anyone else, she would have been rushed to the infirmary for an assumed blood fever.

"Once we enter the border. We can't risk burning up any strength unnecessarily." As Rake spoke, he hardly payed them any attention. His gaze was fixated, eyes staring off at some intangible object.

The intercom made a sudden shrieking noise that quickly shifted into Moxin's voice. "We're beginning to enter the border. Rake, I'm going to need you to do your thing in the main engine room to give the engines a bit more kick. It doesn't look like we'll have enough juice to make it past Kurtis otherwise."

Moxin looked at Nex. "You ready?" He asked, his tone one of feigned concern. Truth be told, Moxin didn't particularly care for anyone except his brother. If Rake wasn't here, he would leave.

"Well?" Moxin growled at Nex when he failed to respond. Moxin was beginning to sound more like a beast than a man.

"Definitely." As Nex spoke his voice quivered. It was almost like Moxin could sense the fear. It even appeared as if he strained a great deal to keep himself in his seat and not kill him on the spot. Nex grasped his controls so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Though he had seen Rake transform before, he found the increasingly-demonic sight of Moxin to be unbearable. Rake had never looked this hellish. Has he been holding back? A multitude of thoughts swam into his head all at once.