Recovery
Gumball sealed the door to the Power Conduit behind us. The immediate area was clear and defensible if need be, just a simple corridor with some scattered lights. Doc started patching up Sarge and Headcase. They weren’t too badly injured and he got them fully healed up from his med-kit. They were ready to go back in the fight.
Not entirely sure how true that is though. I looked around at the whole crew. The nine of us that remained. Starburn’s body was lying back there on the floor of the power conduit room. The only thing that brought us any semblance of relief was that his killer’s body was right next to him.
The whole crew was shell-shocked that Starburn had died. Ha. Shell-shock, maybe she was right, maybe we should never have come here. Doesn’t matter now, we’re in it and the only way out now is through the rest. We still have our map, we’ve picked up some very nice toys, I just hope the price hasn’t been too high.
I turned to the crew, “Listen up, we always knew we might not all make it out. We’re an independent crew in the Ravaged Galaxy. We leave fast, live free, and die well. Most of us only ever get to do two of those things. Starburn did all three. Now, those doors won’t hold forever, and he would not have wanted us to sit here, mope, and get eaten. Time to move.”
They looked up and nodded slowly, then got to their feet and checked various weapons. We all know the outcome of this life, it never takes much to remind them to keep going.
Pushing On
We moved down the corridor, taking a bit more care. The area seemed completely clear but that suggested that all the Hastian’s victims had simply concentrated in a single place. A place that was likely ahead of us. A place we were getting closer to with each step.
As we followed the map through a couple of turns and corridors this section of the station degraded substantially. The lights began to fail more, the walls had more blood on them, decayed body parts started appearing. Oh, and we began to hear more fucking zombies up ahead of us. The noise got louder as we approached a corner, everyone held back and I scanned around it. There were about 15 zombies ahead of us, all gathered at a door, trying to get in. A quick glance at my map suggested it was a small supply room. This didn’t make any sense, unless there was someone in there. Interesting.
Back To Work
I turned to the Void Dragons, “Ahead, 15 zombies, no firing, minimal noise, let’s go.” I wanted this done as silently as possible. We could handle 15 of the Hastian’s victims in close combat, and I didn’t want gunfire attracting more to the area, at least not until we were able to check out that store room.
The crew rounded the corner and fanned out. We moved as quietly as we could until the zombies noticed us. We were about 4m away when that happened. As soon as the first one saw us I charged forward and clubbed it with my new shock maul. It flew backwards through the air and then we were into the thick of it. Limbs flailed all around as weapons thrust, slashed, and clubbed into heads and spines. No battle cries, no screams, just the thud of flesh as it hit the floor.
As the number of zombies diminished the door opened and a woman in light clothing appeared in the doorway. Her long black hair swept back in a severe pony tail. She had high cheekbones and deep red skin, her eyes blazed with a controlled fury.
A zombie swung an arm at her and she just blinked out of existence. As soon as the arm passed she reappeared and dispatched the zombie. She entered the battle from the rear and continued, seemingly untouchable, just disappearing when she was in danger. Her weapons of choice seemed to be a shotgun and knife. Clubbing with the shotgun and stabbing with the knife, she used both to great effect in the melee.
That Makes My Brain Hurt
Then the absolute strangest thing happened, she stepped too far into the melee and a zombie got her from behind. It bit into her neck and tore it open. I saw it happen, but I also saw her stab the same zombie in the head from behind it. I was certain both these things happened but the zombie was dead and she wasn’t. And then I knew what was happening, and what she was.
As the last Hastian’s victim fell I turned and looked at the woman. We all did. She looked back at me and started to speak. Before she could say anything I smiled and interjected, “You’re a Time-Walker, aren’t you?” She looked at me in astonishment.
“How did you know?”
“Simple, I watched you die, but you’re still here. I’ve encountered that before. The only way both memories are real, is if you’re a Time-Walker.”
“Ah, yeah, that. Didn’t think anyone saw that.”
“What are you doing stuck down here in a store room?
“Too many of the Hastian’s victims to escape the room. As for the station, against my protests the Captain and crew figured it couldn’t be that bad and came in here unprepared. They’re all dead now. Not a great loss to the Galaxy, they were idiots. I was going to move on before we came here, because, Hastian’s,” she shrugged indicating the whole station. “Captain knew that and was pissed off about it, so he flew here when I was asleep. Next thing I know I’m at this delightful death trap and really quite put out about it.”
A Proposal
“So, you were the ship’s First Mate?” I asked. She nodded back at me. “Give me a moment with my crew.”
I turned to the rest of the Void Dragons, “We’re down a First Mate, she has the experience and is clearly tough enough given she’s still alive this deep in the shit. Does anyone else want the job before I offer it to her?”
Wolf coughed and stepped forward, “Yeah, so the First Mate position is open. I’m just going to speak for all of us here. Do you know how much work the First Mate has to do? Fuck. That. Shit. Cap, we just want to variously blow stuff up, loot stuff, see stuff. None of us want the job. She looks pretty solid, can clearly handle herself, let’s bring her on board.”
I scanned the faces of the crew, they were all nodding their agreement. Time to fill a crew berth. I turned back to her.
A Job Offer
“We’re down a First Mate, you’re down a crew. Want a job?” I asked.
“What’s your plan for this place?” she countered.
“Right now, we’re heading back to our ship to resupply and rest. After that, we’ll either explore a different area, or blast off and never come back. Our biggest problem so far has been the other crews we’ve encountered. We aren’t the only ones down here. They all seem fairly grenade happy though which is really fucky-stupid. The zombies are not a concern so far. As a crew, we’ve been at this game a while. We’ve got a good ship and some really good gear. We have more successes than losses. You heard about the bounty on Gimmet Y?” She nodded, “that was us.”
She looked startled, “Wait, Gimmet Y? I’ve heard of you. Are you the Void Dragons?”
The crew visibly swelled with pride at being recognised. None of us had any idea we were that well known in the Ravaged Galaxy. “Yes, we are the Void Dragons. I’m Nightwind, this is Doc, Nitro, Phantom, Lo-ball, Gumball, Wolf, Headcase and Sarge. The Stone Shark is back in the hanger bay.”
She looked impressed, “Alright, I’m in. You guys are a better bet than the last collective of clowns to pass this way. Their pitch was, let’s say, less than impressive. I’m Flicker.”
Gumball stepped forward, “Welcome aboard, I’m the Quartermaster. You need any gear, Flicker? Ammo, meds, food, water? We’ve got stuff to spare right now, can’t have our First Mate running short on gear.”
She shook her head, “No, I’m good right now, thanks.”
I looked around, “Alright, let’s not hang about for more zombies to turn up. Time to move on.”
With the crew back to full strength we pushed on into the station, moving ever closer to The Stone Shark.
Stargrave is published by Osprey Games and was created by Joseph A. McCullough