Denxeiter was upside down coming toward the Selene and Feln turned so his back was facing the ship. Red beams sizzled past him on either side as he yelled, “Wave Slash!” and brought Denxeiter right-side-up head over feet and sent the shockwave blasting from the sword in a vertical slash given even more velocity from his flip maneuver.
The blue arc of light that came with the shockwave shattered the Selene’s shields so suddenly there was only the briefest of flashes to let anyone know they even existed in the first place. After that, the wave continued down the length of the ship cutting her perfectly in half. A moment later, the two halves exploded in a satisfying ball of fire and light. Feln looked around and was finally alone, but couldn't be sure for how long. He deactivated Durandal to save energy and the sword dematerialized.
He looked at Aaltskog’s window on his screen and touched it to maximize it. “Was it a good idea to use Durandal?” she asked. “I mean, not that I had any better ideas. I’m just worried how many times you can use it and whether things will get worse.”
“I know,” he said. He exhaled heavily and said, “Darling, I think I’d better pull farther away from the colony from now on.”
“What? No!”
“It’s just, these guys keep bringing heavy firepower to the battle and we’ve been lucky no stray shots have hit the colony. But when the Tiger Moth fired those torpedoes and two of them just went out into space… Well, what would have happened if the enemy would have done the same thing, but instead of going harmlessly into space they hit the colony. A lot of people might get killed. They’re obviously after me, so to save collateral damage I’m gonna head a few more miles out. ”
Aaltskog started to sob. It had actually been a while since she’d cried, but now her tears started to come uncontrollably. “What if you die out there? I won’t even know because of the bad communication. You promised we’d Leave together.”
“And I’ll keep that promise. I’ll try to stay in visual range as best I can, but I know that’s almost impossible to do. Still, just make sure to keep watch and I’ll try to stay close enough here and there so you can see me.”
“Feln, I think I’ve been pretty good about holding it together ever since those bastards tried to take over my body. But this is getting to be too much.”
“I’m sorry, I know,” he soothed. “And I promise to make it up to you when it’s all over.”
“You keep making those promises, but when will you ever deliver on them?”
“I will. Don’t worry. I’m sure the fleet will be back before we know it and everything will be okay. And hey, I haven’t even used the Burst Slammer yet or the Smasher Blade. And I’ve probably got a few shots in the Booster Punch too. So I’m not totally out of weapons here along with the usual stuff I use. I might not even need Durandal again. So it’s gonna be fine. I’ll hold out. But until then…”
She made one last sniff and dried her eyes. “No, you’re right. And I’m sorry to act like such a child. Maybe it’s easy to do because of how I look, but I am almost thirty and need to act like it.”
“Well, no worries, we’ll both grow old together. Or at least, I’ll look like an old fart, but you’ll still be the same. I’m looking forward to the day when people ask me why I’m making out with my granddaughter.”
Aaltskog suddenly howled with laughter. “Oh man, I can’t wait for that!”
“You won’t be the one getting arrested!” he said. “‘No really, officer, I swear she’s 80 years old!’ Well, I’ll either be arrested or be put into a home for the overly senile.”
“Don’t worry, grampa, I’ll come to visit you in my sexiest clothes! Make all the other old farts jealous!”
She lowered her head and Feln could tell she had started crying again. She lifted her head and uncovered her eyes. Feln’s heart broke to see her eyes with tears in them again. “Feln I’ll love you forever. You know that. We’ll both Leave together someday and always be together forever after. Just please come back to me so we can actually do that when the time comes, okay?”
“I will, my dear beautiful Companion. You’re my whole life and everything after. I promise I will survive this.”
“Another promise…” She wiped her eyes. “But it’s fine. And I’ll hold you to it. I promise I’ll be here waiting for you.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll let you go. I love you so much, my dearest knight.”
“I love you too, my faerie princess. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Aaltskog cut the communication and Feln was thankful to her for making it easier on him in that respect. “I’ll be back soon, darling,” he said and he turned Denxeiter away from the colony and out toward open space. When he reached the outer limits of visual range from the colony, he stopped and waited. Communications were completely gone, but he could still make out the shape of the colony. He hoped Aaltskog could still see him, but it was doubtful.
After about an hour, a group of insects appeared out of the fog and debris. “What took you so long?” Feln asked.
Part II
Chapter One
Francescan Star Calendar Year 583.2
Location: System Unknown
Unit: Francescan Star Empire Planetary Colonizing Fleet #198— Heavy Assault Space Carrier Imperial Francescan Star Navy Tannhauser — Medical Bay
Feln awoke suddenly and looked around in a panic. I fell asleep again, dammit! Then he realized he wasn’t in Denxeiter’s cockpit, but in a bed. Aaltskog was sitting next to him.
“Feln!” She put her hand on his arm to relax him. “It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re on the Tannhauser. Remember? The fleet came back just in time after you’d been fighting alone for two weeks straight.”
“Yeah… Yeah, the admiral was talking to me and I must have fallen asleep then.”
“Yeah, you did,” Aaltskog laughed. “But the Admiral was cool with it and said you more than deserved a good rest.”
“Things were getting so weird near the end. Taking all those stims to stay awake and subsisting on nutrient bars. I was having a hard time telling what was real and what wasn't or even if I was awake or dreaming.” He looked around and saw they were in the medical bay.
“Well, yeah. I told you so. But thank God you made it. I’d catch glimpses here and there of you out fighting, but could never talk with you because you were always out of comms range. But your plan was a good one. The enemy only focused on you and never once attacked the colony.”
Feln suddenly sat up straight. “Ganxeiter! Katashka… Did I actually…?
Aaltskog nodded. “Yes, you destroyed Ganxeiter…and Katashka.”
“I wasn’t sure if I dreamed that or not.”
“No, it was real. Although watching the footage from Denxeiter’s in-cockpit camera, I’m not sure if you were asleep or not for some of the time. Your eyes are open and you’re talking to Katashka like she’s right there in the cockpit with you. But all that appears from the comms feed with Ganxeiter is just Katashka’s body…possessed.” She shivered. “God, that was horrible. We can’t ever let Valisia see that footage.”
“No, definitely not,” Feln agreed. “But you’re saying her possessed body on screen never spoke or anything?”
“No, it just sits there quietly staring.”
“Huh, I heard her talking to me clear as day. And then it was like she came out of the screen and was in the cockpit with me. But it was like she was normal— not that thing they turned her into.” He decided not to tell Aaltskog that the Katashka that came out of the screen was nude and tried to seduce him. “So maybe I did fall asleep and dreamed all that just to wake up in time to use Durandal.”
“Maybe…” Aaltskog said. “But maybe not. We know these things have some level of psychic ability and so did Katashka. Maybe they somehow combined those abilities to use against you.”
“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad that’s over at
least. I just wish we could have saved Katashka.”
Aaltskog clasped his hands in hers. “My love, you did everything you could. And you and I both know Katashka is watching from the afterlife and is glad you avenged her. That thing inside of Ganxeiter only had her body and memories, but it didn’t have her soul.”
“I hope not. I just keep thinking about what you said about them maybe working for the Ancient Enemy. What if they can trap souls?”
“No, I’m positive they can’t do that.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know. When they tried to possess my body, it was like they were trying to push what makes me me out and use the body as a vessel. Well, what makes me me is my soul. If they have to push that out to possess a body, then that means they don’t keep the soul. The soul moves on, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose so. Do we even know if souls exist?”
“Considering all the other weirdo supernatural stuff we’ve seen, why not?”
“Good point. I’m gonna have to think about that though.”
“Even so I don’t want you to worry. You just killed the shell of Katashka with someone else inside. But Katashka herself left long ago.”
Feln suddenly remembered right before Katashka’s possession was complete, he felt a message come to him in a wave of warmth. Goodbye Feln. He didn’t fully understand at the time, but now he knew it was Katashka’s soul, essence, whatever leaving. The fact that it was accompanied by such warmth made him feel much better.
He turned back to Aaltskog. “I think you’re right, so I’ll try not to dwell on it.” Then changing the subject he said, “So how long have I been out?”
“Two days.” She pointed to an IV in his arm. “They’ve been feeding you intravenously— you lost almost 20 pounds out there. Luckily your body’s enhancements saved you from getting in even worse shape, but even so lets try not to test those limits again anytime soon, okay?”
The Tannhauser’s doctor came by. “Captain Koenig, good to see you awake. How’re you feeling?”
“Still pretty tired, but okay besides that.”
“Well, being tired is to be expected. You could stand to get some more sleep.”
“Nah, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to get up and walk around after spending two weeks stuck in pretty much the same chair. Denxeiter has the cabin, but its not like I ever had the chance to use the bed and stretch out.”
“I suppose you’re right. Alright then, let’s get that IV out of you and get you up and around. But not for too long.”
A nurse appeared and removed the IV and pulled the curtain around Feln’s bed so he could get out of the hospital gown he was in and get dressed. Aaltskog helped him put on his clothes and get shakily to his feet. When he pulled the curtain aside, he almost jumped. Kesh and Larkin were standing just on the other side of the curtain and he nearly walked into them.
He clumsily saluted. “Ah, sorry sir!”
Kesh’s eyes were warm and he returned Feln’s salute before grasping his hand tightly. It seemed like Kesh wanted to move closer but the quiet Ssalss stood his ground instead.
“Ah, c’mere,” Feln said pulling Kesh into a hug. Kesh stiffened for a moment, but soon relaxed, patting Feln’s back gently.
“Captain, it’s such a relief to see you okay.”
“You too, sir. When the Tannhauser arrived and saved me, and then seeing your face on screen; I don’t think I could have been happier if it was my own father.”
Kesh was stunned into silence by Feln’s kind words before finally saying, “I’ve been monitoring your progress intently and gave orders to let me know the moment you were awake.”
Larkin laughed, “When he got the message from the doctor a few minutes ago…well, I’ve never seen a Ssalss move so fast. I figured I’d better come too just in case he ran himself to death getting here.”
Feln let Kesh go and then pulled Larkin into a hug. “It’s good to see you too, Captain.”
Larkin happily returned the hug and said, “You have no idea how overjoyed I was to see Denxeiter still fighting hard when we finally got back here. You’re really pretty amazing, Captain.”
Feln started to protest, but Larkin and Kesh both shushed him at the same time. Kesh said, “What you’ve done, Captain, will surely go down in the history books. I can’t imagine many other Space Knights being able to pull off what you were able to, especially with a severely wounded Hyper Battle Machine.”
“I only wish the three destroyers and the home guard that were with me could have also made it,” Feln said.
“We’ve lost so many good ships with good people. Those three gallant ships will also have their names burned in history and we won’t forget the help that they, and those lost home guard ships rendered to you. But I’d like to think that none of their deaths were in vain. Please take some time to get used to walking around and please have something to eat. Come and see me in an hour or two and we’ll tell you what we found and work out a plan from there.”
“Yes sir, thank you sir.”
“And Captain,” Kesh said, “Do be sure to spend some time with your Companion. Governor Zalk tells me she never left her post watching your progress— it was as if she was a statue, according to him. And she’s stayed by your side here the entire time you were recovering.”
Aaltskog blushed and looked down. Feln held her hand. “Don’t worry sir, I’ll never forget my Companion.”
“Good. In that case, I look forward to seeing you a little later. Until then…” Kesh turned and left the medical bay with Larkin following.
Feln turned to Aaltskog, “The first thing I wanna do is get a shower. I can’t stand being in clean clothes while my body still has all the funk of the last couple weeks.”
“Well, I’ve been giving you sponge baths,” she giggled.
“Bah, that’s not the same. Not that I don’t appreciate the effort.”
“Oh no, I agree sponge baths are poor substitutes. So let’s go.”
When they got to their cabin, Feln quickly stripped off his clothes and hopped in the shower, the warm water helping to rejuvenate him. He almost jumped when the door to the shower opened and Aaltskog slid in behind him.
“Y’know there’e not a whole lot of room in here to have a good time,” Feln said. “These things are generally only made for one person.”
“We’ll just have to get creative,” Aaltskog purred.
“Okay, but please, let me actually get clean first,” he laughed.
“Fine, here,” she grabbed the wash cloth out of his hand and spun him around and started washing his back.
Not having to actually do anything as Aaltskog pampered him made Feln feel wonderful. Absurdly, he almost wanted to cry. I need more sleep, he concluded.
“Now bend over toward me,” Aaltskog commanded. She ran her fingers through his hair and lathered it up with shampoo. As she rinsed it off, he put his arms around her and buried his face against her chest.
“Sorry there’s no cleavage for you there,” she sighed. “It’s how I’m designed.”
“I don’t care about that,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here with you now.”
“Well, we all need pampering from time to time,” she said gently.
“You’re right. Now hang on…” He quickly washed the rest of his body before saying, “Okay, now let me return the favor.” He turned her around and washed her back. As he ran the wash cloth lower, she arched her bottom out. With a chuckle, he obliged her and ran the wash cloth over her bottom while also gently massaging it. She let out a small moan and pressed up against him.
“Now, now, not yet. I haven't washed your hair…”
She turned and glared at him. “Enough stalling.”
“No,” he teased. “You have to be patient.” Through her wet hair, he could see her glaring at him. Her expression made him sigh. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, I sometimes have the urge to rip your eyes out and eat them. What is that all about?”
Feln laughed. “I guess this is the real reason we’re together. Not because of any great teamwork with Denxeiter. We’re both just reeeeeaaallly creepy.”
Aaltskog giggled, “Yeah, probably so.” She suddenly stood up and thrust the shampoo bottle into Feln’s hands. “Fine, wash my hair. But be quick about it because you’re right— this shower is way too cramped for any long term excitement. We’ve gotta get outta here ASAP and get to the bed where we actually have some room to really have fun.”
“Your wish is my command, Princess,” he said and immediately got to work.
Chapter Two
About an hour later, they finally emerged from their cabin and made their way to the Tannhauser’s bridge. Aaltskog skipped along happily while Feln slogged behind her about to collapse.
“Geez, did you have to put me through my paces like that?” he grumbled. “I was barely awake and the next thing I know I’m having violent sex with a crazed Mechanism for an hour after what should have been a simple shower.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” Aaltskog sang out.
“Damn right! What happened to the girl who was complaining that I didn’t get enough sleep before the last mission?”
“She’s gone, never to return.”
“What happens if the enemy attacks?”
“Then we’ll both die happy together.”
“How do you figure? What happens if I die but you’re left behind?”
“I’ve taken care of that eventuality,” she said, stopping outside the bridge.
Francescan War Chronicles 1: Space Knight Denxeiter Page 25