Empyrean Iris

Part 2 (Chapter 12)

She hit the ground with a sharp crack, the impact carrying through her carapace and into her shoulder. All around her voices barked and cheered.

"Get up, Chalan! Get up!"

She scrambled to her hands and knees, small hands gripping the mossy stone as she turned around just as the other Drevling charged her. She tried to dodge to the side, or duck under her much larger opponents blow, but she wasn't fast enough and was sent back staggering into the stone with a huff and another sharp crack.

"Chalan! Get up!"

"Pathetic."

"No daughter of mine-"

"Get up!"

Chalan leaped upright nearly bashing her head against the bunk above her listening to the groans of other aliens as they rolled from the beds and down onto the deck of the communal sleeping quarters. There were at least ten bunks in all squashed together into a space so tight she barely had enough room to think.

The ship was cramped even for the smaller aliens, but for Chalan, it was almost maddening.

She felt like she had been crammed inside a cramped smelly cave rather than a spaceship. She practically had to crawl to get out of the bunk unfolding herself to collapse onto the floor where the other aliens squealed and darted out of the way, scatting in all directions as she stood to brush herself off back hunched so she wouldn't slam her head against the ceiling.

Everyone stared at her in fear cowering back against the doors as she stalked past, out the doors and down the hallway forced to squeeze themselves tight against the wall so she would not run them over.

It was as well they did, because she didn't care if they got out of her way or not.

She could hear others whispering as she passed by, listened to their voices bouncing off the walls and ceiling until they reached her ears, with words like.

Barbarian.

War.

Drev.

She did her best to ignore them, though a part of her was annoyed and another part of her was almost thrilled listening to them whisper behind her back.

They were afraid of her, and that was something she had never experienced during her lifetime.

She pushed her way through the doors and into the cargo hold, where she was finally able to stand up; the ship was still rather cramped, and even the cargo bay wasn't much taller than she was, but at least she could stretch.

As she moved, blue sand crunched under her feet.

She had left the Tesraki, Felix, back at the market with a word of thanks and advice about how to survive in this strange new world. He told her about credits, and how they were the most important thing to have when you were on your own. It didn't matter where you were or what you were as long as you had credits.

For her troubles, she had been given a few of her own – enough to buy better translation equipment and still have enough left over for food – even after she bought her ticket off world.

As that was the capital planet of the GA – or so she was told – there were plenty of extravagant GA ships to choose from: imperial cruisers, short liners, and transport vessels. However, those with a GA seal generally required identification and a reason to be traveling; plus none of them were heading towards A136.

Her ride – and the only ship on the launch field going to her destination – was an old cramped heap of scrap. In fact, it was so old, that no one could even really say what model it was, and the inside barely had room to breathe properly.