This Forsaken World Chapter 39
Former Captain, Victor Grimm (Captive)
The man before me was large and from what I could tell he relied entirely on upper body strength, which I hoped made him slow. My theory was proven as he took one step forward and roared, swinging the large sledge hammer straight down like he was attempting to smash my head in.
Spring boarding off the wall beside me I propelled myself past the man who struggled to recover from his initial attack and kicked out the back of his knee. The crew leader grunted in pain as I skipped backwards to put some distance between us.
I couldn't help feel excited with the situation, I was a warrior and any chance to put my natural talents and skills to the test was enough to get my adrenaline up. I casually tossed the stick to the side and gave the man a feral grin which seemed to give him pause in his next attack.
"What, done already?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and standing up with pride.
"I'll make you swallow those words along with your tongue you bastard!" The man snarled, spittle spraying from his mouth.
"Really? That's your come back?" I shook my head as everyone around me laughed, the slaves having momentarily stopped there work in order to witness the fight.
Up above me I could see a cluster of vampires making bets on who would win and felt disgusted with myself for entertaining them.
With a growl of anger the big man rushed me once more attempting to swing the sledge hammer to the right, aiming for my rib cage. Stepping to the left I hugged the wall as the construction tool ricocheted off the metal surface and missed me completely.
The weight of the weapon caused the man to stagger forward towards me and I smiled, extending my arm and close lining the fool so he slammed down hard on his back, the sledge hammer sliding away to settle in the middle of the workers.
Staring up at the fat pit boss I shook my head.
"I'm military you fool, he doesn't stand a chance." I called out. The vampire gave me a toothy grin as he pointed at the current crew leader who was attempting to rise to his feet.
"He ain't done yet!" The Nocturnal slave master announced.
Turning to face my opponent I took two steps back to allow him time to stand up and dropped into a fighters crouch. Extending a hand I opened my palm and beckoned him forward in challenge.
"Bring it..." I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me.
Bellowing like an enraged animal the crew leader ignored his lost weapon and charged head first towards me with his arms extended, apparently planning on grabbing onto me and using his superior size and strength to do some damage.
Waiting for him to fully commit to the attack I side stepped and spun on my heel, my raised leg catching the oncoming crew leader in the gut and causing him to double over and land on the floor. Looming over the slave from behind I put him in a choke hold and grabbed onto what little hair he had left, forcing his head up.
"Enough! There are too few humans as it is for us to be killing each other for there sport!" I pointed to the vampires above.
"From now on, we work together! No more killing, we share food and we take care of each other! If anyone doesn't approve, step forward and get ready to face me next." Letting go of the man I was holding I stepped away.
Rubbing his raw throat the large slave rose to his feet once more and turned to face me. His anger was gone and instead I saw respect in his eyes.
"Your one hell of a fighter. What's your name?" The former crew leader asked.
"Victor, you?" I extended a hand to the man.
"Jericho. I'll follow you." We clasped hands and he gave me a firm shake. His strength was truly impressive and I was glad I'd been able to avoid him.
A wet substance splattered over the back of my neck and I looked up to see the pit boss wiping spit from the edge of his mouth.
"I had four marks bet on you big man. You, new guy, if you don't kill him I'll execute one of the slave's!" The fat vampire informed me.
"No, I don't believe you will. You can't afford to lose more workers or precious blood for that matter after the casualties you suffered on the surface. You see I was down there and I saw just how badly you got your asses kicked. We'll do your work but you leave us alone, you don't like that, take it up with me and leave them alone!" I snapped.
Jericho took a few steps back when I said this and I stared at him in confusion. Without warning a net fell from the ceiling and wrapped around me, metal prongs digging into my combat suit and holding me tight.
"What the hell?!" I cried out as I was unceremoniously picked up.
Looking at the net I realized there was a winch attached to it and a track line running the length and width of the entire room, something I'd failed to notice until now.
The net was designed to pick up any slave in the room in case the vampire's wanted to get them out of the pit safely without the danger of being swarmed by the other's. I was hauled up into the air and carried over to the edge of the platform near the pit master.
"Your right, I can't risk anymore lives. That doesn't mean I can't break your spirit so your a little more cooperative. You, big human!" The fat vampire pointed to Jericho with a clawed finger.
"Your still crew leader, this one isn't suitable for the task. Consider yourself lucky for now." Cackling like a maniac the pit boss waited until I was released before grabbing me by the back of the neck and slamming me onto the platform repeatedly until stars filled my eyes.
My mind hazy and my surroundings fuzzy due to the continued blow's to the head the Nocturnal grabbed me by a leg and began to drag me out of the room and into an adjacent chamber. While my vision was starting to clear I was strapped face first onto what looked like a bed out of an insane asylum.
Three other vampires were in the room, two men who appeared to be guards and a beautiful woman with an hourglass shape most men would dream about. The guards held me down as the vampiress secured me fully and the pit boss snorted once before leaving the room.
"Don't do any permanent damage!" He called back, slamming a metal door shut with shrieking hinges.
The woman nodded to one of the guards and my armor plating and uniform were stripped away leaving me naked from the waist up.
"We're just going to be injecting you with a serum that increases pain ten-fold so you will feel everything we are going a little bit more. Do try not to pass out, that takes away all of the fun." The female's voice was so seductive and deep that it made my body respond with arousal despite my protests.
Struggling to look over my shoulder I hissed as a sharp pain entered my lower right side just below the waistline. I was released as an icy cold feeling ran the length of my body and I shivered involuntarily.
After several long minutes of the uncomfortable sensation the vampiress stepped into view once more and smiled at me, showing fangs that appeared longer than usual. Holding up a hand the woman displayed a device that covered her palm and every finger, needle sharp tips extending from her fingertips. Squeezing a pump on her wrist a strange bluish green liquid squirted from the tip of each needle point.
"Now then, shall we begin? When we're done you'll be much more cooperative, or you'll go insane in which case we can still find a use for you." I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation of the pain to come.
Commander Devin Crowe
I'd managed to get some sleep before Sally woke me up. My lover had taken position beside me and kept watch over me while I'd been recovering when Jewel and Sledge entered the room. Groggily I fought the hazy drug induced after sleep from my eyes.
"You guys are okay?" I smiled as I struggled to sit up with Sally's help.
"That's right. Wish you had been out there boss, that was one hell of a fight." Sledge said, clapping me on the shoulder before pulling back from the groan of pain the impact caused.
"Sorry." He mumbled apologetically. Angel rolled her eyes before slugging the big man in the bicep. The physical action actually caused Sledge to stagger a bit and he gazed at Jewel with obvious amusement as well as a touch of desire.
"Guess I gotta get used to you being stronger than me now red." The bomber pilot chuckled and wrapped an arm around the red head.
"Damn straight. So Dev, we need to get you to the bridge, Admiral's orders. She wants you to help coordinate the return to the fuel station." I blinked in surprise.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, looking between my three friends.
"About two hours, the fleet has mostly been gathered and we're almost done with repairs but there is a small Nocturnal patrol on the edge of the battle zone as well as a lot of prisoner's. I'll let her explain it to you in more detail." My wing mate nodded to Sally and the two women helped me up once more.
Grunting I nodded reluctantly.
"Fine." I was carried between the two beautiful ladies to the bridge where they deposited me in the command chair. Sally stayed beside me as Sledge and Angel left the room, hand in hand. The sight was refreshing as the two of them had been hinting at romance for as long as I'd known them.
Admiral Glass made her way over to me and gave me a handshake instead of a salute.
"Good to see your doing okay, how's the pain?" She asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"Better, the sleep really helped. So what did you need me for?" I asked, looking out the view port at the surrounding space outside.
From what I could see the dreadnought and fleet of destroyed battleships were still floating in a circle in the distance. Three of the large warships were positioned just beyond the impact zone and from the way they were sitting it was obvious they were undamaged. Moving about the wreckage was several dozen smaller ships and fighter/bombers that were apparently searching for survivors and I frowned.
Aside from this the Alliance ships were clustered together with repair teams working rapidly to get the engines of the Eclipse repaired. A handful of AFS-1's sat idle nearby watching the Nocturnal ships in case they made a move. The Star was positioned off to the port side with tethered cables stretching between the two carriers, most likely for personnel and materials to be passed safely between the large ships.
"Several of the vampire's are requesting asylum. There almost entirely composed of females but there are at least fifty males. They've been sending us SOS signals for almost an hour and we took the time to capture one of the ships to see what they wanted, that's how we found out about there request. I asked Captain Connor's for her opinion but she stated she wanted you to decide." I pondered this for several moments as I looked at Sally.
"What do you think, can we trust them?" I asked. My lover stared out the view port at the floating ships nearby and sighed.
"Well, I'd say we can trust the women but the men should be held in containment for a while if we plan on bringing them aboard. There are some decent male's in the fleet but there mostly the under ranked soldiers who haven't tasted the privileges of leadership. Ultimately it's for you humans to decide but if it was me, don't trust the males and keep an eye on the females. Some of my kind can be a bit...tricky I guess you could say?" I nodded as I considered what she'd said.
"Admiral, we're severely short handed right now. If we do bring them aboard there's a good chance they'd be able to take over the ship and hand us over to the vampire's. Can we get a message to the civilian fleet near Venus?" I turned to look at my superior.
"Um, it will take a bit but yeah, the Star is gonna have to do it though our transmitter took damage during the fight. Why?" I gave her a grin.
"We could have them send an unarmed ship to pick up the Nocturnal survivors and bring them with us. At least that way if they do try anything they won't have an armed ship to steal or people to take hostage." With a thumbs up being the only thing I could manage the Admiral laughed before setting off to inform the Captain.
Giggling gently, Sally leaned on my good shoulder and kissed me on the cheek.
"That's brilliant, I knew there was a reason I liked you." I gave her a soft smile and turned to capture her lips against mine in a sensual kiss.
"Good to hear it, a guy always likes a compliment from a beautiful woman. When I'm fully healed you can show me how much you like me." The vampiress gave me a playful wink before stepping back and putting a hand on my chair.
I watched as the fleet continued there repairs and the battleships kept there distance. Thing's seemed to be going alright for the moment and all I could do was wait. I noticed a pair of ships, one bomber and one fighter, leaving the hangar and heading for the Star. I had to assume because of the ship type's it was Angel and Sledge, most likely returning to there mother ship.
"I miss the Star I gotta say. It's strange being stuck over here for so long when that carrier has been my home. I feel out of place." Sally stared at the ground for a few seconds with a somber look in her eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think about what your going through." The vampiress smiled softly as she looked over at me.
"No its okay, I was just thinking how Cassiva never truly had a home. They moved us around a lot from ship to ship. I spent most of my time on the dreadnought with my own quarters but it wasn't what you'd call a home. I think...I think my home is wherever you are. I just wish she could be here and have that feeling as well. I miss all of them, they were the closest thing to a family I've ever had." I reached out and squeezed her hand affectionately, bringing another smile to her.
"I'm sure they felt like home was with you, that was why they followed you when you joined us." Sally nodded before staring out the view port at the Nocturnal dreadnought's remains in the distance.
"Yeah...your right. I haven't regretted my decision for one second, not that it was much of a choice considering I was your slave and all." I snorted at this, instantly regretting it as my chest hurt.
"You could have killed me easily and since you weren't on your ship you could have gone against the idea of being a slave. Not to mention I want to point out technically I didn't defeat you in combat, we ran into each other and ended up on the flight deck together." I gave her a challenging look.
"We ended up on your ship and mine was not functional anymore. According to me, that was you beating me. If you'd ended up like that on the dreadnought I'd have taken you as my personal little pet to do with as I pleased." Her red eyes seemed to glow with amusement at this and I swallowed hard.
"I don't know if I'd enjoy that or not. Still, it's definitely something that I'm going to think about in the future." A giggle erupted from her as she squeezed my good shoulder.
"Good. So what's next after we get the fleet to the station?" She asked me. Looking out across the bridge I sighed and shrugged.
"I guess we finish fixing things, repair and rearm, then we use the wormhole generator to leave the solar system. Only problem I see is it's going to take a few months to get everything ready and we're short on ammunition. If the vampire's attack us before we're done it could mean trouble." The concept of being attacked was scary due to how low we were on pilots and bullets.
If we could get the entire fleet back to the station we'd have the ships but not the personnel. We barely had any pilots left or trained crew for our warships. The fuel station was running on a skeleton crew so they would provide little relief and we lacked the technicians and mechanics to get things running again. It was going to be a challenge but then again, that's what human's were good at.
"I guess we wait and find out what happens." I gave her a soft smile again before staring out the view port and thinking about the event's to come.