"You don't understand! You cannot land that ship under any circumstances! A-Are you listening?!"
The line paused for a few seconds as the panicked lioness made her case over the intercom. She'd spent the few hours painstakingly inching her way across the city, and then climbing the somewhat rickety ladder to the tallest building in the entire city; the Communications Centre. It was no more than a couple of rooms on top of a massive set of metal scaffolds, with many sets of aerials, dishes and wires hanging from its extremity.
Oxyi had always wanted to come up here; the view was spectacular as the city was actually built quite low to the ground so the comms tower sat above everything, giving it a beautiful view over the surroundings in every direction, including the glorious sunrise that showered golden light in through the building's windows... and through those of the freighter, which was currently descending slowly towards the drop pad on the city's outskirts. Under different circumstances, this would have been a lovely way to spend a morning, but right now the wounded and absolutely exhausted Oxyi was sitting in a rickety office chair, glued to the control panels in front of her and trying with all her might to stop the ship from landing. The fate of the entire sector, all the surrounding space stations and planets depended on it. Suddenly, the intercom buzzed alive again and a new voice crackled through it.
"This is the Captain speaking, my officer has passed communication over to me. Who am I speaking with and what appears to be the issue?"
"Captain! My name is Oxyi Vennit, I'm a security consultant and the last person alive in the entire city. I-I-I must insist that you do NOT land that ship!"
"For what reason, Miss Vennit?" The captain spoke sternly through the intercom and didn't sound impressed.
"J-Just Oxyi is fine. Captain, I don't even know where to start, but the entire planet is compromised. I have spent the last few days under constant assault and I nearly died last night -"
"Oxyi, I need you to understand my situation here." The Captain interrupted. "I have twenty-thousand refugees on board. They urgently need somewhere to stay and they're insisting that I land. They have very little food and cannot stay aboard this ship much longer. I understand that the settlement has been abandoned, and it sounds like a perfect fit. If you're struggling with a few bandits or pirates, we have a guard unit on board and I'm happy to dispatch them to deal with the issue. I will delay this journey to ensure the safety of the people on board, but there is nowhere else they can go."
"Captain, I can't overstate the scale of the issue, there's thousands of them, they took everyone here who didn't run! The city is fucked, and I've been shooting my ass off to survive! If you land, they'll take your ship and all the people on board, and then they're airborne! That means they can start attacking the nearby systems!" Oxyi was nervously twirling with the cable connecting the headset to the control panel, her foot bobbing anxiously. "People have been disappearing for months now, and we found where they were going and - and - and I think they've been infected with something that's driving them crazy, because one of them tried to hump my leg and I used to know him but he was different, and I shot some people in a forest and - and - and they grabbed me from behind and my friend gave his life for me and if you land that ship then it'll all be for nothing! It can't be for nothing, Captain... Please..."
Oxyi knew she was rambling, but she was desperate; this was the most important conversation of her entire life and the last few hours were weighing heavily on her. She clutched the headset, listening closely for the captain's response.
*
Diego's ears bolted upright, listening closely as the others were celebrating their escape, enjoying the crisp, outside air. He could very clearly hear multiple sets of engines in the air, the distant rumble of freighter engines. They were loud, heavy and powerful, designed to lift hundreds of thousands of tons of ship and cargo, sturdy and reliable. Behind that though, there were more rumbles, something leaner and faster...
Suddenly, the trees around them shook violently and two low-flight assault craft hurtled past, disappearing out of vision as fast as they appeared, shocking the group into silence as they roared overhead. He couldn't be sure, but Diego was sure he recognised the ships, their sleek shape and that hazy cobalt coloured plasma trails their engines left in the air.
They've found me. How... How did they know I was here...
It took the group only a couple of seconds to notice the anxiety rolling through Diego.
"You alright, Diego? You look more worried now than you did back down in the dungeon!" Trent joked, walking over to Diego. "Any idea what that was about?"
"I think that was the Draconic Alliance..." His concern was becoming more and more evident with each passing second as he connected the possibilities in his head.
"Do you think they're here to help?" Geralt pondered, checking around to see if they'd been followed.. "Finally put an end to it, maybe?"
"Maybe they've seen what's going on?" Tivy skirted right up to Diego and gently grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him.
"They've seen something alright." Diego remarked, looking away. "I think... I don't know how exactly, but I think they're here for me..."
"For you? Are you wanted by the DA?!" Geralt asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah." Diego laughed dryly, and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe it, after all this time they're still looking for me."
"But... What for?!"
"Long story. Too long. I need to get out of here, I've just escaped one prison, I'm not letting those bastards take me into another." Diego glanced about at the clearing, planning his way off-planet, then turned to face his team. To his surprise, they all stood and smiled warmly at him.
"That was the plan, right?" Trent patted his shoulder. "We're not exactly friends of the DA, either. Doesn't matter why they want you, we're sticking together and getting out together."
"Right! Fuck the DA!" Geralt nodded enthusiastically. "They're not getting my boy Diego."
"Fuck the DA!" Tivy leapt into the air, pumping her fist dramatically.
Behind them all, Plasia remained silent, her face covered with worry similar to Diego's, fidgeting nervously and looking up at him occasionally.
"So, what are our options then?" The lizard felt empowered by his companions' trust in him, but he was closely watching the nervous alien as he spoke.
"What about the freighter?"
"We can't. If Leech is anywhere close, Plasia will lose herself and turn on us - we have to keep her away from Leech. That means getting her as far away from this place as possible."
"Okay. I bet the freighter's screwed anyway, this lot haven't failed to subdue anything they've attacked so far." Geralt said with a shrug.
"You guys good at long journeys?" Tivy asked, deep in thought. "I know of an outpost right out on the coast, it's like a three day drive from here but it has a small space dock and a little fighter jet, it would be enough to get us off the planet if we get cosy?" Truth be told, Tivy rather liked the idea of being squished in with the guys.
"That... would work.... we literally just need to get off this planet. There's a few space stations and mining outposts in the system, we can stop at any one of those and go from there!" The group began to fill with excitement at Tivy's suggestion, as Trent planned further.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Lets play it safe, stay away from these fucks and find us a vehicle!" Geralt turned on the spot, ready to head off immediately and the others almost joined him, when Diego blurted out suddenly:
"Wait... I..." He hesitated slightly. "I need to find Seeth, too. I can't leave her behind. I said I'd help her, and I meant it."
"Diego... I get that this is what you do... but with all due respect, we have no idea where she even is..." Trent seemed genuinely sorry as he tried to convince Diego that going back was a bad idea.
"The dungeon is huge. You don't know how involved she is with this stuff either... How do you know she's not the one leading the attack on the freighter?" Tivy was almost pleading with him, desperate to leave and go somewhere safe.
Geralt however, placed a hand firmly on his shoulder; he understood.
"As much as I get it, Trent's right. Without knowing where she is, we can't do anything... I need to find my daughter, but I can't do it naked in the forest with a rifle that I barely know how to use... we can come back with reinforcements?"
"I - I just... I said -" An internal struggle played out right in front of the group, and it was painful to watch him battle himself in such a manner... There were a million reasons to leave, and only one to go back... Diego turned towards the group and went to speak, but then he noticed Plasia, welling up with tears again. Her fidgeting was reaching hysteria levels as her hands shook and wrapped around one another endlessly. "Plasia...? What's going on? You okay?"
"I know where she is..." She stammered out, whimpering. She pointed at her wounded face. "S-She did this to me... I remember what happened."
"What?! Why?! I thought you two were friends?!" Diego recoiled in surprise, reaching over to the weeping alien and holding onto her arms to calm her down.
"W-We are friends. She didn't hit me... She hit the other me..."
The group went silent again, listening closely.
"S-She came down into Leech's lab just before I bumped into you... She was screaming at Leech, told her that she needs to stop all this corrupting stuff... They were fighting... I jumped on her and she hit me through a wall..."
"Through a wall?! How badly hurt are you?!" Diego was becoming increasingly alarmed at Plasia's words.
"I'm fine... But Diego - She needs help. She's in trouble." Plasia broke into a full wail, her chest shuddering as she continued to try and get the words out. "I don't know what happened between her and Leech, but as I was running a-away, I s-saw Moltezz heading over there... Moltezz is so strong, Diego... she can't fight that... Moltezz doesn't take kindly to people who betray her..."
The group turned to look at one another, before looking back at the lizard. They knew what was coming; a mix of feelings spread through them but no one was happy at the revelation.
"I'm going back."
"Well I'm not!" Tivy shook her head, her little body quivering as emotion overwhelmed her. "I can't do it! We've just escaped! I can't go back down there!"
"Me neither, I'm sorry Diego, but I can't bear that right now... not to rescue another one of these things... No offence." Geralt gestured towards Plasia.
