#Kal’Hal notes on a human ship

[mr-clow]

Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 4:

I walked fast into the mess hall, I didn’t have too much time to eat before my shift after the talk with Alex and his plan. I glanced quickly and nobody from my team was there. That made me nervous, what if Alex plan didn’t worked! It was too late to let him know, so I hurried up, maybe I could avoid all this.

Suddenly my tray flew off my hands, and suddenly I had food and tea dripping from my uniform.

Who the fuck you think you are, damn alien!

Wh… Wha… Alex?

Nobody teach you to clean your unif...

HEY APOLOGIZE NOW!!

ALEX BACK DOWN!

Suddenly, an angry mob of humans was coming to us. Alex tried to keep his plan going and try to grab my arm when suddenly Tom, the chef, jumped over the food stand and knock him down, at the same time I felt at least two pair of hands pulling me away from them. Two more people I barely knew went over Alex to restrain him, and I look to my side and Claire was starting to wipe my uniform. I remembered her name only from the initial meeting, I haven’t even seen her from that day, and there she was sincerely concerned about me.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? Everyone froze when the captain walked into the room and screamed. In that eerie silence the only thing that was heard was Alex voice “Do you trust us now?”

I had totally missed my shift, my uniform was still messed up and Alex’s too. He had a black eye and was holding an ice pack over the back of his head. I was worried about him, but more worried about being in a closed office, with the captain looking us in silence while her anger ate my consciousness.

Lt Husker, if you open your mouth even to breath, I will send you back home in a pod before the end of the day. Is that clear? Alex nodded and looked at the floor.

Well Eng. Laffite, I have to say that you could have gone easily if I hadn’t heard what Alex said, but suddenly I feel you are as guilty of all this as him. Could you elaborate?

Yes captain, you are right, I’m equally guilty. I planned this scene with Lt Husker before going to the mess hall. (Alex looked at me with open eyes as trying to tell me something, but I ignored him) As the witness said, the idea was that he would make a fake attack on me to prove me his point.

So Eng. Laffite, you are telling me that you disrupted the peace on my ship for a bet?

No Captain, we didn’t bet, it was to prove a point.

Please, entertain me. Which was said point?

That I was safe on this ship captain, safe from my crewmates.

Excuse me, what did you say? Alex lifted a hand to ask permission to talk, seeing that the captain was more surprised than angry right now.

We walked down the aisle with Alex without saying a word. After he explained all that had happened, another thing surprised me. The captain congratulated him, shook his hand, and made him sign a “First and final warning”, something that wasn’t explained in my contract at least. Then, with an expression with more sweet than a mother, the captain looked at me and asked me if I felt safe or if I wanted time off, a companion or anything else. I assured her that it was not necessary and that Alex made all that was needed. Then, after a weirdly uncomfortable speech about disrupting the ship’s working environment, that all the present didn’t feel necessary, she told us to go clean ourselves and fill our posts.

I changed my uniform, clean myself and hurried to the engine room N°4, I hoped that Maggie was still there assembling the engine. Now I started feeling guilty of leaving all that work to her. As I was approaching, yelling could be heard. I recognized Maggie voice and a few others of the engineering department, As soon as I walked in everyone jumped and me and started talking at the same time.

I had to take a good time to explain to them everything that happened, they were planning to “fuck up” the people from security. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it wasn’t good. That talk was long, and I was assaulted by several emotions, I had thought that I didn’t belong to a pack and here they were ready to ruin their careers for me. They felt bad too, even if it wasn’t their fault. After a long chat, everyone returned to their positions, some of them on the other side of the ship, and Maggie gave me what they call a hug. It was weird, this human, with a strength even high for her peers, was there holding me between her arms that could kill me at a whim and I felt better than I have ever felt. More safe, understood and loved than I ever remembered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

A human year has passed since I joined the crew. The first month were strange and full of misunderstandings, but everything worked better than I ever expected. The last two months we move to a joined quarter with Maggie, it was allowed under certain conditions in human ships to have a partner on the crew, and we made it work somehow.

Now our mission was coming to an end and the humans had this practice where, when the ship returned and all the paperwork was handled, they would have 30 rotations to do whatever they wanted to. Magg didn’t have any family, but she was really insisting on meeting mine. I had to explain to her several times that we were different, and my parents only raised me at the beginning of my life, and then we grew in large groups where we learned everything necessary, and she only dismissed it, saying that I had a bigger family than I wanted to admit.

After signing a lot of paperwork, I was ready to be responsible for a human on my home planet. She didn’t seem too worried, I guess that part fell only on me, and we boarded an express cruise to my world....

#humans are deathworlders #humans are weird #earth is a deathworld #humans are space orcs #humans are space aussies #Kal’Hal notes on a human ship

[mr-clow]

Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 3:

I was tired, as tired as the first day I started my training to form part of a crew and go out to space. I dragged myself to my private quarters and as soon as I closed the door I let the rest of my body slide to the floor and stayed there. As part of my training I had studied some parts of human history, and what I thought was a bloody class turned out to be a light-shortened version of reality that now looked like political propaganda. Humans had many wars between themselves, that is common in deathworlders, but humanity turned it into a sport (Quite literally they had practical war games for milenia!) and not only that made them stand out. A lot of other aspects in their daily lives were(?) cruel and violent. Segregation, slavery, discrimination, abuse of all kinds of power, lack of empathy for the other and themselves in general and even with all that, something that emerges as illogical is that they have a pack instinct stronger than any other known race. Kal’Hals are very empathetic and all this hurt me deeply, I dropped myself to bed and wailed on my pillow. I was hurt by the humans, for the humans. All my crewmates studied, lived and took on their lives knowing that in their story, instincts, and genes this could happen again, they knew how to be afraid of themselves and even like that they lived happily. How can a whole race go on like that! After what it looked like an eternity, I fell asleep.

I woke up to my alarm, I felt like I needed more rest, my skin was dry as I hadn’t changed nor taken care of it. Luckily, Kal’Hals needed a lot less rest than humans and I could change and take care of myself in time. As I went through the corridors and waved some humans that were ending their own shifts, I couldn’t stop thinking how they ignored all that. My mind was stopped to a halt as a sharp pain assaulted me in my tail and my reflexes rolled it below me, which caused a commotion by itself as it hit the legs of a crewmate from security. I turned and not only Alex was on the floor grabbing his legs, but Susan had also fallen on a door frame and was massaging her head. I couldn’t snap out of it, not only did I hurt two humans, but they barely know me, I'm not going to live another day!

Laff! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I stepped on you!

What?  (I looked at Susan, why wasn’t I being attacked)

You pack a hell of a punch with that tail, girl! And you, Susan, be more careful during shift changes!

I swear, Alex, I didn’t mean to step on her. Laffite, are you alright? You look scared, are you hurt? Do you need help to go to the infirmary?

I thought you were going to attack me.

What!? Why would I!? It was my fault!!

Susan, keep going. I will speak with Laffite.

Alex face changed from surprise to being really serious, he got up while he exhaled and after Susan started going away he looked at me concerned.

Laffite, I will not hurt you, OK? Can you follow me?

I’m sorry, Alex, I didn’t mean it. (My tail started to unroll slowly as I looked down)

I know Laff, it was an accident, yes it hurt a bit but is alright. I want to speak with you alone. Can you come with me?

I nodded and went behind him, looking at the floor. Two days ago I yelled at the Captain and now this, up to this point I was going to be happy if I got down alive from this ship. I kept my tail sliding as little as I could, as if that made me invisible to all the nods or salutes I was ignoring while we went to the level below to the security office and Alex office. He waited for me to come inside and closed the door, with a gesture he pointed me to a couch as human seats were rather uncomfortable to me, and then he moved a seat to face me while we spoke and looked at my eyes as if I were a prey.

Laffite, are you being harassed?

Sorry, what did you say?

If you are being harassed, are other people intentionally making you have a hard time?

What!? No!

Look Laffite, I am from security, you can count on me if someone is mean to you alright?

I don’t understand what is happening or why you are asking me this or why are we here, Alex. I had a few rough days and this is getting to me.

Oh, I��m sorry to hear that. - He relaxed his demeanour and position in the chair - To be honest, what you said worried me. I don’t know why you’d think that we were going to attack you.

I... I just... I don’t know. I felt pain and my body reacted, and you were there, hurt and... And... Well, I had been thinking about your history, and suddenly I was afraid.

Our history? You mean what the course you have on your home planet before having a position with humans, or you were speaking with someone about our history?

I don’t want to get them in trouble, Alex...

Don’t worry Laff, nobody is in trouble, seriously, nobody is. If someone has a problem it is me, because I like that everybody feel safe on the ship, and you don’t.

Emm... Alex, I don’t want to offend you with...

You won't Laff, I swear that doesn’t matter what you say now, I won’t think bad about you.

I asked how humans knew about their limits of radiations poisoning and... Well, we started speaking how you discovered radiation and one thing led to another. I learned about WWI and WWII, and slavery, and some political movements that oppressed entire nations and other things.

I understand that learning our history might be disturbing at least, but I don’t get why you feel insecure.

Well, the thing is... You did a lot to yourselves, to your own people, and I’m not even one of you. What could happen if...

Laff, stop there. I understand now. And... I’m sorry we made you feel like that. Let me first say that you are allowed to deeply study our history. We do it to avoid past mistakes, we are not proud of it, but we don’t deny it or hide it. We just... Eh... soft it down, because others might have a strong cultural shock to say the least. (Alex stood and walked a circle while watching the ceiling as if what he was going to say next was written there, then he stopped and looked at me sadly)

Look Laff, I have no real way to make you feel like you are one of us right now, but you are. You are our ally, our crew member and not only that you belong to your team, and they appreciate you more than anyone inside here. We may be clumsy, as Susan was when she stepped on your tail, but accidents happen a lot and humans will always get that.

Yes, but what happens if you react, or your instincts appear?

The worst that can happen is that you get a fist in your direction, but I assume you never saw a human angry.

No, luckily no. Today was frightening and even when my tail got you, you stood up as nothing!

No Laff, it still hurts, but yes, I can ignore it. I had an idea to demonstrate you that you are one of us. Do you trust me? A little bit at least?

Yes Alex, I know that you won’t intentionally hurt me at least.

Well, let’s do this...

#Kal’Hal notes on a human ship #humans are deathworlders #earth is a deathworld #humans are space aussies #humans are space orcs

[mr-clow]

Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 1

I slid happily over my tail into the engine room N°4, Maggie was already there putting down the shielding around the reactor. I’m a Kal’Hal female called Laffite. I had been working in this human ship the last 30 rotations or so and already was beginning to feel comfortable around them. The KalHal had been friendly with humans for as long as human had been recognized as a space faring species. I was in this ship as part of a formal program that had been going on for the last thousand human rotations. A lot of people from my species were roaming space in ships with humans and other species, but I preferred a more safe approach as this was the first time I went out of my world.

I greeted Maggie as started to climb over a structure to bolt the already mounted pieces while hanging from my tail. Maggie, usually a rather talkative human, barely responded and her eyes were fixed onto a bolthole of a shielding piece that easily weighted twice as Laffite. “What’s wrong Maggie? That’s only a bolthole, it is supposed to be there” I said as I took a bolt from my pocket and placed it carefully. Maggie grumbled “I think it is bigger than it should, this could cause problems, such as radiation coming out or ESD noise”. Those words made me shiver, “That cannot be, that would mean this core had a leak for the last 5 years and no sensor detected anything” and Maggie chuckled as she fetched the laser measuring device from the table. She looked at me with amusement, “You should be wary of our tolerances, we reinforce everything and yet, we have a high margin of error for everything”. I was stunned, nobody should be subjected to any kind of radiation, not even background space radiation. Every other specie developed their own ways to block them at a great cost. Here, a human, someone from a specie that was travelling through the space well over a millennium, told me that as if it was a common deal. I let out a laugh “You are good Maggie, but please don’t joke with those thi--” The measuring beeped and she didn’t even look at it, just lifted it for me to see it. I read those numbers, felt my strength failing me, and darted out of the room.

“Captain Schulz! I think we need to halt every reactor in the ship!” I said as I stormed into the command room. She looked at me with an eyebrow lifted and… A boring look?

“Lt Smith, could you check all the operational reactors and inform me if anything is wrong”. Bill tapped quickly into his pad, looked at me instead of the captain, “Everything is in order Captain”. “You heard him, eng. Laffite, so do you know something that the sensors cannot read?” said Anna with a smirk on her face, I was starting to suspect why this post was abandoned before. 

Laffite – Captain, with the utmost respect, I think all the sensors have been tampered with and we may be slowly getting radiation poisoning.

Bill without moving his eyes from me lifted a hand to stop me.

Bill – Laffite if you really think so, I’ll come with you to every engine room, but the sensors show that the background radiation everywhere on the ship is below 50mSv a year, there is nothing to worry about.

I heard that and blood left my face. 

Laffite – 50mSv!? That’s a lot for every standard!! YOU COULD BE MISSING ENTIRE LEAKS WITH TH--

I woke up in a familiar room, I was in my quarters and Maggie was looking at me with a worried look on her face. My head hurt, and my long tail was uncomfortably rolled. As a Kal’Hal I was on the small side, only 10’ in total length. As several humans told me before, we looked as a mermaid or a medusa from their mythology. I could understand them as there was a similarity, but our skin is bluish and we did not petrify people that looked at us.

Are you OK Laff? Captain told me you fainted and fell on her console

That would explain why my head hurts, or it could be radiation poisoning already doing its work.

Laff, we’re not being poisoned, you even agree to these terms on the contract and no other KalHal ever was poisoned working in a human ship. 

The contract didn't say it like that, it said that the maximum allowed before evacuation was that value, not that we'd be subjected to lower values who know for how long!

Oh Laff, I understand that you are really worried about this, but I don’t understand why, every star produces radiation, almost all elements have a radioactive isotope, how does your world deal with this, radiation is everywhere.

WAIT? Do you mean the earth surface is radioactive all the time?

Ehhh well… Yes… Maybe not this value, but 5mSv a year is normal for us.

NO WAY!! We consider a radioactive leak at 0.05mSv!! How can you stand that!!!

Does Kal'Hal get sick with only that? We should inform the captain!

We don’t know. Why would we check how much radiation gets us sick, we just avoid it and that is enough. You humans are the only ones in the universe that discharged radioactive bombs in their home world we know of!

Ohh yes, right… I had forgotten about that… Laff, can you trust me in this one, please? No other species, yours included, got poisoned on board a human ship. If it helps you, I will try to get you a personal radiation sensor and talk to the Cap to do regular radiation screening to you on the Medbay.

I don’t like it, Maggie, not one bit. Let’s do that at least. I want to be alone or a while now, can I take the day?

Yes, just rest. I’ll talk to the Cap and get you the day off and the other things.

After a soft smile, Maggie left my room and I was left alone in my room. At first, I wonder how much the metal walls of my room could block radiation, then my mind wandered to what Maggie said. I tried to remember if there was any case of radiation poisoning I heard. Without taking into account the last war, where humans used some kind of radiation bombs almost two hundred years ago, I never heard something similar. Even in that war, humans tried to take all that themselves and almost no other species were allowed where they used that method.

My mind slowly went through all the history lessons I remembered about humans and their violent wars until I fell asleep.

#earth is a deathworld #humans are deathworlders #humans are weird #humans are space aussies #Kal’Hal notes on a human ship

[mr-clow]

Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 2:

Laffite woke up a few moments earlier than her alarm told her to. She rolled around the bed for a while, thinking about yesterday's events and stretching her torso. She felt the air going out between her ribs. Kal’Hals had evolved from an aquatic world, and they could breathe water or air, their gills having evolved into pseudo lungs, their hands with palmed fingers and a powerful tail connected where humans would have legs. Her big blue eyes with no white to sight, something that humans had and still looked weird to her, panned the room, and she saw a small package on the floor in front of the door. She unrolled her tail and with the full length of it she reached the box and put it on her bed…

I opened the box, inside the first I saw was a colourful paper with some kind of human animal that was saying get well soon. I looked kinda cute, but I didn’t get any reference if there was any and Mag had signed it. Below I found a card with a clip attached to a paper that explained that is a long term sensor to check the radiation received and that humans use it when they work in radioactive environments (They really work in radioactive places!) and also below there were some pills. The paper explained that it was something humans used in case they got poisoned, but I should check if Potassium Iodide was bad for my health, something even I didn’t know. Below all that I found a small device that I recognized, it was a radiation sensor. Maggie really tried and I was glad.

I had met humans before, even if a lot of other species treated them as wild dangerous creatures, Kal’Hal knew better. Both species had an early relationship and for more than a thousand human cycles they had been supporting each other. Humans could be extremely loyal given the same treatment, and that didn’t include their pack bond. I have never been included in a human pack, but some people said that there was no safer place in the universe than being included and surrounded by a human pack. I wondered if this box was only a form of respect, or if it was a sign that they had started to include me in their pack.

After that, I took the time to moisturise my skin and change my clothes, my world was way more humid than earth and I needed to keep myself healthy. After that I took the things from the box, read the instructions again and searched about those pills on my way to the mess hall.

When I reached the mess hall my face was showing quite the concern, those pills could shut down several of my organs, technically I had a blister of poison in my hand. Maggie waved a hand, she was having breakfast with Bill who was in charge of the engineering department, Rose and Raúl, both of them colleagues also from the same department. I waved back, took a tray and served myself some food. Most leaves from the human world, some processed seeds and various teas were fit for my consumption, so I chose peppermint tea and a light salad. Most humans wouldn’t eat this at this hour, but the cook knew my taste, so I gave him a nod and an imitation of a smile, he smiled back, and I went to sit with Maggie.

Maggie asked how I was, and I explained that I still felt uncomfortable, but I was willing to give it a try and thank her for all the things she got me. Bill explained that everyone room in the engineering department had helped and that they had asked in the Med bay for the pills. My face turned with worry and Raúl asked what happened. I took the time to explain that iodine was poisonous to a lot of species and turned back the pills. They apologised, and then the conversation turned to other things from work, and I felt relaxed. Maybe they were starting to include me in their pack.

I went back to help Maggie assemble the reactor we were working on the last day. The job hasn’t advanced too much, but I noticed some tools that weren’t here yesterday. “Maggie, why did you bring all this?” While I checked a welding equipment that I haven’t seen before. “Yesterday, after I left the box in your room, I came back here and checked all the boltholes and filled the ones that had more diameter than they should. You shouldn’t worry any more for this” Her face had a smile but with an expression I didn’t knew. “Thanks Maggie, I appreciate all this. Anyways the sensor you gave me didn’t go off even in here, so I’m starting to feel more secure” I took the sensor from my belt and showed it to her. “Ehhh Laff, I don’t want to scare you, but you checked that it was set to your standards? It is really sensitive, but you have to program it” I looked at her, then at the sensor, and it was true, the threshold was set to 1mSv, lower than a human needs it but higher than I was comfortable. I changed it and when I pressed OK the sensor went off automatically. I looked at her worried and she took my hand and led me outside. “How low did you set it, Laff?” She asked with a worried look on her face. “Not too low, only 0.01mSv” and she put the same smile from before, “Oh hon, that won't do. Why don’t you try 0.4mSv at least, remember what I said yesterday. Earth is slightly radioactive, humans are, and this ship also is human made. Nobody got hurt before with even more than that, so let's try that.” I nodded slowly, I didn’t like it, but I knew she was right and changed the alarm. It stopped, and I exhaled, she took my hand again, and slowly we went inside the room, it didn’t sound again.

All that day I was distracted, but Maggie chatted as usual, and she gave me some simpler tasks, so I could entertain myself. At the end of the shift I went out to the mess hall with Maggie and when we sat down I looked at her and Bill “Yesterday you told me that humans knew how much radiation makes you sick, it’s that true?” Bill and Maggie looked at me with a serious face. Bill took a breath to start speaking, but Maggie spoke first. “Look Laff, we are not proud of explaining this to you, but I consider you my friend and I think it is fair to explain you some of our history”

#humans are deathworlders #humans are weird #earth is a deathworld #humans are space orcs #humans are space aussies #Kal’Hal notes on a human ship

[mr-clow]

Prelude: The regrets of an imperatrix:

Notes from the author: I started writing a few months ago and defined a lot of historical events in my fantasy, this story goes over one of them and I had the idea to build the chapters as an Opera. Let's see how it goes. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The shared military and science station, Amanitore, had been peaceful for over a hundred years. Several species walk among the humans, but it was said that the station was shared because nearly 30% of the people living there were Kal’Hal. A 10% of the personnel that came and went on the passing ships were from other species. The station orbited between the ninth and tenth planet of the human solar system. In its four hundred years it had grown exponentially as one of the main stops orbiting the original human system and especially with the astounding amount of commerce conducted after we joined the Galactic Council a hundred and fifty years ago.

Jeanette Iceni was really happy with her life, she had gained a position as general two years ago, and she was raising a young daughter with her husband in the Amanitore station. Her skills have been proved as, maybe one of the best, political negotiator of the outer ring. Humans had been a recognized space faring species for the last eighth hundrish years, but only accepted as a significant governing self sustainable species in the last century and a half. And now, she was there, on the doors to all the vast space, handling human interactions and setting a peaceful example of how humanity could be a significant allied on the universe.

I walked into the command room of the station. This huge monster held almost half million souls between all the species that came and went and all the ones that lived here. A lot of familiar faces saluted me as I was in charge of all the military and security operations of this place. I told them to rest and Ictenia, a Kal’Hal that had gained her position as operation chief, dragged herself on her long tail with a data pad on her hand.

Ictenia – General Iceni, I have the list of the operations conducted during your absence since yesterday.

Jeanette – Thanks Lt Ictenia, is anything out of the ordinary, or it does require my attention?

Ictenia – Nothing immediate, but you should know that a Gubni ship asked permission to restock and refuel and is carrying a Gubni ambassador.

Jeanette – What? How I was not notified that an ambassador was travelling through our territory?

Ictenia – It wasn’t in any notice. How should I proceed?

Jeanette – Prepare the upper levels docks for a welcome ceremony and handle the communications with their ship to prepare for the event.

I smelled something fishy. The Gubni came from a garden world, even they evolved from plants. Nothing made them more proud than the fanfare that came with political events, and here I had one that came without notifying half of the universe where he was going.

The rest of the day went normally, I learned that in three days the Gubni ship was going to dock. Some Sav’Jok made a scene and I had to handle the situation only because they didn’t understand that this was a human base, and they had to acknowledge our laws. A lot of others informs later, and I was done for the day. I wondered how my little girl did today at school while I took a v-train that went through several levels to fetch her.

As I arrived to the school, I already could see her outside chatting with her friends, one young LintNok that haven’t learned to fly yet and two Sanarin, which I was sure she befriended more because they resembled an earth feline than any other reason. As I came closer, Kluc, the LintNok youngling, puffed her feathers as a greeting and the other three turned around. Jazmine, my daughter, run to me and gave me a hug while the other two bowed as a signal of respect. I chatted with them a few minutes as they told how their day was at school and I parted home. Mike was going to arrive later, so I stayed in the living room playing with Jazmine and then sent her to do her homework.

I took the chance to read about the Gubni and after two hours the only thing I accomplished was being more unease than before with all this. My husband came and took me out of my data pad, distracted me for a while until my frown was gone and after the diner and having Jazmine finally asleep we talked about my suspicions until I calmed down.

The next day I focused on the preparations for the arrival of the ambassador. I managed to get as much military presence as was peacefully possible, and as much as the inner council that handled the station allowed me. I was part of that council as my rank required it, but that group of tight up old people reacted as if I was being paranoid. They couldn’t see something wrong in anything, never. This day was going to be long, so I made some time to let my husband know he needed to get Jazmine off school, and then they could come as a parade was going to be held for the ambassador.

Hours later, a lot of discussions in the middle, and after straining the last drop of patience of my subordinates with the promise of a day off in mind, all the preparations finished. Finally, I could meet with my husband and held my little girl in my arms. We took our seats on the front row and saw the soft polished Gubni ship as it softly reached for the dock. It was a majestuous sight, as the ship reflected the lights and look like a dagger that cut the sight of the station and moved very differently to other's ship, like it was weightless. No thrusters, windows, or decks on it, only the sober silver reflection. Suddenly, several lines appeared beneath the ship and the standard docking clamps appeared and with a soft touch it finally landed and grabbed itself to the station. The band started playing while another set of lines made themselves visible and the ramp stated emerging from the ship.

A chill went down my spine, something was wrong. I grabbed Jazmine and pulled my husband to start running. Mike followed me dumbfounded until a second later laser shoots were heard and all the screaming started. I was a general, a part of humanity first line of defence but right now I was a mother, so I ran, I needed to protect my baby.

The screams and shots followed us for a few corridors, and then the explosion started. It wasn’t a rogue ship, it was a full scale attack to the station. The strong wind that was making it difficult for us to move meant that the atmosphere was leaking, quick. As I arrived to the escape pods I turn around and saw my husband looking at me, lying on the floor, all his left side red from the blood, and with only one look I understood. He wanted me to keep going. I climbed to the pod, pushed the emergency button and put my daughter on a seat. She looked at me with big tear filled eyes, she was bleeding too. “It hurts mommy” were the last words I heard from her as the sudden jolt of the ejection threw me to the floor.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are weird #earth is a deathworld #humans are space orcs #humans are space aussies #The bloody imperatrix