Dispatch #25: “Dark Days Pt. 2”
Moulton sprinted over and embraced the Captain, thinking that he had lost his brother for good after leaving the Brazorian Casino. The rest of the crew exchanged hugs and handshakes, grateful that they were able to reunite before it was time for them to be sacrificed.
“How have all you guys been able to survive here?” exclaimed Riemer, “This is literally the Wen base we’re talking about!”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding. It hasn’t been easy.” responded Captain Th4Monst4 as he adjusted the straps that he had been improvising as a belt. “They dang near starved us to death before you all arrived.”
“Couldn’t be happier to see another human besides these two.” said Captain Wolfpup, grinning as he stared back at his captain counterparts, putting his hands on both Risk and Riemer’s shoulders. “It’s good to see you boys.”
“Alright, alright, enough sucking up, how are we getting out of here?” asked Captain Brian, anxious to get out of the prison they’d been held up in for the last week.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” said Riemer as he foolishly attempted to pull the prison bars apart in front of him. “Looks like Risk is up to something, though.”
The crew turned to look towards the back corner of the prison cell where they found the Payload Specialist messing with something near his belt buckle.
“Hey man, we’ve made it this far without having to establish a pee corner, let’s not start now please.” said Captain Wolfpup jokingly. “But seriously though, what’s going on over there?”
“You promise you won’t freak out if I tell you?” said Risk apprehensively, knowing it was time to relay to the crew what he was working on.
“Uhhhh, buddy, you’re scaring me.” said Riemer, “Come out with it!”
Risk turned around, revealing the Seal of Ilsendor that held within it the two relics of Simia and Zolturia 2. The captains tried to look through their fingers while shielding their eyes, the bright, yet warm glow of the seal penetrating their attempts. A few seconds went by as Risk tied the seal back around his neck, tucking it in underneath his shirt.
“Ummmm, time to explain mi amigo.” stuttered Captain Th4Monst4, “What in the alien juju heck is that?!”
“So it is true…what King Aras and Ringbolt were murmuring about for two planets…this is that Seal of Ilsendor thingy?” said Captain Brian, having a hard time finding his words.
“It certainly is.” said Riemer confidently, “It also seems to have bonded with Risk, like, it basically listens to everything he says. Since Makanan there hasn’t been a second where he and the seal were apart.”
“Uhh, so you’re okay then, mate?” Moulton said to Risk, the entire crew thinking the exact same thing. “This isn’t a ‘One Ring to Rule Them All’ type scenario, is it?”
“No, no, no.” laughed Risk as he pulled the seal back out, the two relics inserted deactivated but still gleaming. “From what I understand, the Seal chose me to be its bearer after I rediscovered it on the Makanan sand dunes. There are no voices, moreso just a confidence of decision making associated within it. Like a second conscience of sorts.”
The rest of the crew looked at each other, mentally coming to the conclusion that Risk had never once seen the hobbit trilogy. Before any more questions could be asked, the Payload Specialist had already found a way to open the gate using the seal’s power.
“See, it’s just that easy. Let’s get out of here.” said Risk.
Riemer looked back at the rest of the crew and shrugged, following the supremely confident Risk out of the Vizenfall prison cell.
- — -
With Wen grunts patrolling seemingly every corridor of the prison of Vizenfall, the crew made their way from one side of the prison to the other, finally entering a hangar housing a variety of service ships. They had made it so far without making a peep until Captain Wolfpup tripped a surveillance laser with his foot.
“Crap.” whispered Captain Brian.
“HEY!” yelled Trikaza, “STOP! GUARDS — WE HAVE A PRISON BREAK!”
The crew sprinted towards the hangar of various aircrafts, sprinting into a waste disposal ship. Riemer pulled out a small microphone from inside his vest pocket as he felt the inside of the ship rev its engines in preparation for take off.
“Good timing, who’d a thunk?” said Moulton as he and Captain Wolfpup high-fived.
“Elekron! Elekron, can you hear me?” said Riemer over the roaring engines. “Link, Ringbolt, we’ve managed to find the captured captains on a Wen prison base called Vizenfall, it appears to be a few clicks away from the transport hub of Omrow. Think you can do us one more favor and help us out here?”
A moment went by until Riemer was finally able to hear a faint response from a familiar voice.
“My friend, it’s so glad to hear you and the rest of the crew are safe.” shrieked a delighted Elekron. “I’ll relay to the rest of the crew that you’re in a transport headed towards Omrow, we’ll intercept you once you arrive. Stay vigilant.”
Riemer put the microphone back in his vest pocket, smiling in relief as the rescue mission was going almost too well. The waste cargo ship took off, starting its course to the wastelander hub of Omrow.
- — -
A slimy hand slammed down on the surface of the command deck. Several grunts looked in the direction of their frustrated leader, who returned their gazes with a stern face of disgust.
“Ryventor. Trikaza. It was foolish of me to trust either of you with this task.” said Nifty, annoyed by the lack of accountability from his Wen grunts. “I should’ve known that disrupting the boot race on Zolturia II should’ve been handled by someone else, those pathetic humans are still alive!!”
“We are so sorry my lord. We promise to make it up to you.” said Trikaza as bowed his head in shame.
“Yes — sorry, Master.” said Ryventor in a jock-type manor. The two Wen partners when standing next to each other were comical to watch.
“I did okay, Bozo over here failed.” said Ryventor.
“I did no such thing.” Trikaza snapped back, “If you hadn’t have hit the dynamite out of my hands we wouldn’t even be talking about –”
“ENOUGH. INGRATES.” said Nifty, raising his voice as he continued to grow more impatient by the second. “I don’t care whatever you two did back then, you already got us into this mess. Now the rest of the Wen have to clean it up for you, we cannot let those pesky flesh-beings make their way off this base!!”
“We’re on it, sir.” said Ryventor dopily.
“Yes sir, on it.” said Trikaza as he smacked the back of Ryventor’s head. “You suck up.”
A loud siren made its way through the base with a security protocol voice proclaiming a message over the intercom.
“ATTENTION, WEN SECURITY. ATTENTION, WEN SECURITY. THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH IN CELL B35A7. I REPEAT, THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH IN CELL B35A7. HOSTAGES ARE ON THE LOOSE. NO LIVES SHALL BE SPARED.”
“AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH” screamed Nifty, taking over the intercom system, “The humans are off the base and headed for Omrow, all teams AFTER THEM!”
- — -
Destiny’s Fortune soared through the asteroid field that lay just outside the old entrance to the recently abandoned moon of Omrow. A pub hub back in its hay day, the Arderean moon was mostly used as a transportation site to send travelers back and forth through portals created by the Arederan gods.
As Commander Sean weaved in and out of the massive asteroids, Ringbolt chimed in with a little history of the hub that they were zeroing in on.
“Oh man, the days that we used to have at the Omrow pubs,” said the old turtle warrior. “This one time, Vadum tricked this broad into thinking that he was a god and –”
“I’m sure we can save these stories for another time that isn’t as pressing.” interrupted King Aras, smirking as he tried to divert the conversation.
“Man, I was actually enjoying the beginning of that story.” commented Commander Von, propped up in his hospital bed a few meters away from the rest of the Flight Deck.
“Anyway, let’s get back on track here,” said King Aras. “Commander, how is the ship navigating?”
“We’re hanging in there my friend.” said Sean, swerving around a tight gap in between two large boulders. “It’s going to take a lot more than this field to get me to make a mistake, turn me up!”
After a few more minutes of navigating through the asteroid field, Destiny’s Fortune had finally arrived at the now abandoned transportation hub of Omrow.
“It’s quiet. Way too quiet considering this is the teleportation site to Otherside.” said Ringbolt, taken aback by his own comments. “So the story of the Wen destruction is more true than we thought…”
- — -
The Vizenfall waste transport made its way through the asteroid field and landed just outside the gate to Omrow’s abandoned walls.
“Alright, Riemer, we’re ready for you.” said Elekron as Destiny’s Fortune made itself visible to the escaping crew members.
The captains and crew started quietly making their way off the ship while trying not to be seen, but before all were off the transport, Risk pulled Captain Brian aside.
“Here, before we go any further.” said Risk as he took off the Seal of Ilsendor, placing it around Captain Brian’s neck. “This belongs to you now, please take care of it for me.”
Unable to process what that meant in the moment, the Captain nodded and felt part of his soul leave his body, his first meeting with the Arderean gods well underway. The Payload Specialist turned around and took one last look at Destiny’s Fortune, turned, and headed towards the hub’s center.
“Where’s he off to? We have a battle to fight.” said Riemer.
“No clue.” said Captain Brian’s subconscious, his soul in another dimension.
- — -
The Legion of Wen and their fearless, heated leader had finally surrounded the moon of Omrow, with Destiny’s Fortune well within its perimeter. Nifty’s solo ship slowly maneuvered around some of the smaller asteroids within the moon’s orbit, landing abruptly next to the hijacked waste ship that the crew had used to escape the prison. The Wen leader exited the spacecraft and used his blaster to destroy a section of nearby rubble, revealing the shimmering relic of Omrow.
“Finally, the time has come to use this extraordinary power.” said Nifty outloud for everyone listening in to hear. “By the power of the relic of Omrow, I command that this Arderean portal awake from its slumber!” said Nifty emphatically, “You shall now be…OPEN!”
The grounds of the hub began to shake, consequently forcing the nearby asteroid field to move incoherently as well. Destiny’s Fortune had no choice but to back off away from the volatile pummeling space rocks, unable to risk being seen after witnessing Nifty’s power.
The hard, rocky surface continued to vibrate underneath the Wen leader’s feet, slowly starting to reveal a portal that appeared to be sleeping for several hundred years. A swirling view of the cosmos lay ahead for those brave enough to jump through, the Arderean transportation system only granted its services to those who held the ancient artifacts created by the gods several thousands of years ago.
“At last.” said Nifty, rubbing his hands together with joy. “The first portal is now open. My soul can now live out its destiny!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” yelled a voice that had been watching from the shadows.
The Payload Specialist lunged, grabbing onto Nifty’s horns at the back of his skull, jamming his knees as hard as he possibly could into the Wen warlord’s back while attempting to fight for the relic piece. After a series of screams and grunts, Nifty threw an elbow back into Risk’s jaw, causing his head to slam back into the wall behind him and loosening his grip for just a brief second.
After being able to free one hand, Nifty grabbed the stone and smirked, clenching his fist and throwing the seal piece in the air. The distraction caused Risk to relax his grip on the horns, launching him flat on his back as he saw the relic of Omrow fall to the ground. Before he could get to his feet, he looked back at Nifty, who was pointing a blaster in the direction of the relic.
Scrambling to his feet, Risk sprinted a few strides and lept full speed at the Wen leader. Nifty took one look at the outstretched human lumbering towards him, jumped backwards into the Arderean portal, and pulled the trigger…
- — -
The sky erupted into a fireball of debris, filling the empty night sky with a luminous orange glow. The impact of the blaster caused a chemical reaction that destroyed the relic of Omrow, obliterating everything within 100 meters of the explosion. All nearby ships had their communication systems temporarily disabled due to the radioactive behavior, resulting in several minutes of lifeless drifting through the wartorn sector of the galaxy. As the dust began to settle, all that could be seen of the battle site was a vast crater , the temporary portal created by the relic disappearing without a trace.
Members of Destiny’s Fortune looked on helplessly, unable to process the falling of yet another crew member. No longer was the journey about saving Earth, it was about exacting revenge.
