999 OCTILLION SOULS, June 10, 2024
I FLIGHT 36
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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE:The following information is derived from Information Seed 40 and received by the Gravitational Wave Observatory. I and AI performed a frequency analysis on it. IE edited certain parts to make them more 'readable'. (He might have overdone it.) Please feel free to comment.36
Legume pressed herself and Charlotte deeper into the shadows of the ventilation shaft, the metallic clang of boots and gruff roars echoing through the narrow space. Once a distant orange glow, the fire now cast an angry red reflection on the grimy walls. The Ore Seeker, their supposed vessel of escape, was a burning tomb, and the only hope of survival – the lone remaining escape pod – was the source of a brutal struggle.
Shi pirates, their language laced with raw greed, fought amongst themselves. Legume pictured them clawing and biting, a pack of ravenous animals fighting over a scrap. Disgust churned in her stomach, but it was overshadowed by a primal fear. These weren't mindless beasts; they were armed, ruthless criminals who wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone who got in their way.
A fresh wave of panic threatened to engulf Legume. They were trapped – the flames blocking their escape through the main corridors, the ventilation shaft offering only a temporary reprieve. Charlotte, roused from her restless sleep, whimpered, clinging to Legume's neck. Legume hugged her daughter close, whispering reassurances.
doc_T: yes, reassurances are a must
Through the grating, Legume glimpsed a flash of movement – a large Shi pirate threw his opponent against the metal wall with a sickening thud—a strangled gasp, then silence. Legume's breath hitched. They were killing each other. A single, horrifying thought hammered against her skull – what if they found them?
Desperation, a cold, metallic taste in her mouth, spurred Legume into action. The ventilation shaft, cramped and treacherous as it was, offered a path deeper into the bowels of the Ore Seeker. Hope flickered within her. They wouldn't find them in the labyrinthine maze of ventilation tunnels, not unless they knew exactly where to look.
With a silent prayer to St. Trillian, Legume crawled, dragging Charlotte behind her. The air was thick with dust and the metallic tang of blood. Each breath scraped against her raw throat, each creak of the metal shaft a hammer blow against her frayed nerves. But she pressed on.
ru_mikhail: stubborn
Legume didn't know where this tunnel led, or if it even offered a way out. But for now, the darkness and the stifling air were a sanctuary, a fragile shield against the violence and the flames that threatened to consume them both. In the stifling darkness, Legume clung to the faint hope they might, against all odds, find a way out of this metal coffin, a way to survive the chaos that raged above.
The screams of the Shi pirates were a chilling counterpoint to the hiss of escaping atmosphere. The flickering glow of the emergency lights winked out, plunging them into suffocating darkness. The fight for the escape pod reached a crescendo, a brutal ballet of violence soundtracked by the groans of dying aliens.
Then, an abrupt silence. An eerie, unnatural quiet that pressed against Legume's eardrums. Tentatively, she peeked through the ventilation grate. The corridor was bathed in an otherworldly orange glow, the source a writhing mass of dust motes that pulsed with an unsettling rhythm. The Shi pirates were gone, not a single form to be seen. In their place, the nebulous cloud writhed, a sentient storm that seemed to feed on the lingering echoes of violence.
Awe battled with trepidation within Legume. The creature, the terrifying entity that had almost been their doom, had now turned on the pirates, driving them away. Was it a predator, attacking any sign of aggression? Or was it… something more? Hope, fragile as a spider's thread, pierced through her fear. Maybe, just maybe, this horrifying entity wasn't their enemy.
cap_mal: irrelevant
With a deep breath, Legume pushed herself out of the vent, Charlotte clutched to her chest. The air hung heavy with the acrid tang of burnt metal and the ozone tang of superheated air. The corridor, once bustling with life, was now desolate. Cautiously, she crept towards the escape pod.
Across the corridor, the dust cloud pulsed, its tendrils writhing in a silent flamenco. Legume held her breath, unsure of how to proceed. Then, as if sensing her apprehension, the cloud swirled. A tendril, thinner than a hair, snaked towards her, brushing against Charlotte's cheek. The touch sent a jolt through Legume, a mixture of fear and a strange sense of… comfort.
In that instant, Legume understood. This wasn't a mindless monster, but an intelligence, alien, and terrifying, yet somehow… protective. With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched the tendril. The sensation wasn't unpleasant, a soft warmth that pulsed against her fingertips. The dust cloud swirled in response, a silent communication passing between them.
Then, with a final, pulsing glow, the entity retreated into the depths of the derelict ship. The corridor was plunged back into darkness, the only sound Legume's ragged breaths and the soft whimpers of her daughter. Standing before the escape pod, Legume knew they had been granted a reprieve, a chance at escape thanks to the intervention of a most unexpected savior. The galaxy remained an uncertain place, but for now, they had a chance. Clutching Charlotte close, Legume climbed into the escape pod, a desperate hope blooming in her chest. They might not understand the strange entity that had saved them, but they were alive, and that was all that mattered.
luo_ji: sure, why not?