Humanity Endures

Part 3 - Light's End | Chapter 6

"I completely agree — this is less than professional. Or safe, for that matter." Terxah replied.

Velan, seeing the opportunity, inserted himself into the conversation.

"Honestly, before boarding that ship I would have said that a bit of alien water couldn't possibly do that much harm," Velan hastened to say, "though now I have no choice but to concede that you're right. Whatever protocols you think we should enforce when we return, Falmenec, I'll have them enforced."

Both of his officers turned to face him; Velan added, "Most of our crew members are loitering by the airlocks here — I'll order the Nemesis to dock along this half of the ship and command the remaining crew to gather here so that we may return to our own vessel as soon as is possible."

"A wise choice," spoke Falmenec, who added, quietly, "I also thought I should tell you — I acquired some samples during our involuntary expedition that may prove useful in helping us eventually beat these things, and I'd love an opportunity to study these samples from within the confines of my own laboratory, if you don't disagree."

Velan shot a piercing glare at his chief scientist, who faltered under his captain's gaze.

"Unless you prove to me that those things are safe within an hour after we board, they're going to be shot out the airlock while we're Remnant-bound. I was just on a ship where the floor was an enemy — I don't trust that your 'samples' aren't dangerous either."

As the conversation progressed, more and more of Velan's crew members arrived at their designated rallying point within the host warship — no doubt all who remained would be accounted for within a few minutes.

Falmenec opened his mouth to speak, but the void in conversation was filled instead by Dentor, who, bottle of 99% in hand, appeared with a host of other crew members and said, "We just survived humanity's first encounter with a genocidal alien species, our fleet has been met with crippling losses, and we've all lost valued friends and fellow soldiers; why do I not see drinks in your hands?"

It was, admittedly, a good question — Velan was about to answer by saying, "We haven't yet left the system and we aren't yet on our own ship; intoxicating ourselves before we're truly safe is a great way to get ourselves killed" — but, yet again, just as Velan was about to speak, he was interrupted by the arrival of another one of his senior officers. Korthekar, drenched in the blood of aliens from the chest down, while his helmet was smeared bright-red with the blood of humanity, lumbered towards the awed party, glowered at Velan, and stated, "The next time we meet those aliens, let me fight them for longer."

While Korthekar's words choked whatever conversation and mood had existed before to death, Korthekar walked past the intimidated crowd to loiter — and sulk — menacingly, wherever his hulking form would best fit. Velan, unlike most, understood the titan's pain: Korthekar had witnessed death on a scale that was unprecedented in his life, and indeed in recent history; he had lost many of his own soldiers, and even one of his closest lieutenants, all in less than two hours. Such awful casualties, under such terrible circumstances, could not be easy to endure — even for a bloodthirsty, MECS-drugged man of war. Despite his insect-like appearance, and his unnatural physical strength, Korthekar still had a human mind, with all its emotional trappings; this was one of all soldiers' greatest weaknesses, one that the genetic engineers of the Empire had been unwilling to "solve."

The next moment, the hull of the Poseidon began to whine and strain as it docked with the similarly-sized Nemesis, while a rush of air signified that the atmospheres of the two vessels were being equalized, a process that Velan knew took roughly five minutes for two ships of this size. If he were to attempt to board his vessel immediately, without waiting for pressurization, Velan stood a chance of rupturing the docking tubes between the two ships as well as wreaking havoc with the occupants of both ships; despite the impatience of the battle-weary Velan, who wanted nothing more than to be safely back on his own ship, he would have to wait.