Dark Blood

Chapter 22

Hidden lights on the floor and ceiling came to life, illuminating the interior of the ship. The slanted walls, grated floor, and arched ceiling were just as sleek and silver as the hull, not a blemish, smudge, or scratch in sight. Kara followed as the alien walked towards an open doorway just a few feet ahead of where the ramp closed, the patter of her shoes swallowed by the heavy thunk of his footsteps. They met a wall as they passed through, two halls curving out of sight on the left and right. Dhi'ki-de pressed a hidden panel in the center and the wall slid open, revealing a pedestal with a bunch of wires and tubes coming out of it. His helm hissed as he removed it, setting it in its place and painstakingly attaching all the cables for the homeostasis system. As he finished, multiple little rectangles began to jut out of the wall behind the pedestal. Kara watched in utter fascination as the alien removed all of his weapons (combi stick, shurikens, smart disk, net gun, whip, and plasmacaster) and placed them on the rectangles, the metal reforming to hold them properly with some mechanical magic she'd probably never understand. With everything stowed away, Dhi'ki-de turned and headed down the left hall, the weapons hold closing automatically behind them. Kara noticed only one door on their short walk around felt like the edge of the ship; she figured the center part must be where they slept or something, maybe more storage. At its end, the hall widened and morphed into the cockpit.

A huge, high-backed metal chair sat in front of the curved window she had noted earlier and a wide control panel covered in numerous red symbols, glowing pads with squiggly lines, buttons, and a semi-raised dome in the center. She glanced around the room and saw that there was nothing else exciting, just a little alcove off to the right that held a smaller control panel and chair. Distracted, Kara nearly ran into the alien when he stopped abruptly. She looked up to see him pointing at the smaller chair and inclining his head in its direction. Ok, I guess that's where I sit. Without waiting for her acknowledgment, Dhi'ki-de strode across the room and sat in the pilot seat, leaving her to scurry over and plop herself down in her little corner. She tucked her skulls and guitar case beneath the control panel as best as she could; hopefully, they wouldn't slide around on takeoff. With a wave of his hand, Dhi'ki-de brought the ship to life, sending a surge of red and blue light across the panels that made Kara gasp. The air around her was suddenly filled with floating schematics, symbols, shapes, diagrams, and other things she couldn't name. It was actually quite a beautiful sight. His species had obviously mastered haptic technology; his fingers swiped through images and fluttered over commands, everything controlled by the slightest of touch. She watched as he homed in on the dome, pushing a few floating buttons and sliding a few things around. Must be the steering wheel, she thought as the ship began to rumble beneath her. A quick check of her seat revealed that, to her horror, there were no seatbelts. Her grip around the Xeno tightened as she braced herself against the cool metal.

Fuck.

Dhi'ki-de finalized the launch sequence and pulled up a full-room scan of the area as the ship began to lift off the ground. Kara watched in frightened amazement as they rose above the red 3D trees surrounding the Colonial Marine's headquarters, feeling the rumbling increase as the thrusters rotated and began to propel them forwards. Everything was a blur of crimson as the ship began to pick up speed, the images beginning to shrink as they angled further up into the sky. Once they were clear of the landscape, Dhi'ki-de shut off the scanner, activated the ship's cloak, and prepared for the final push through the atmosphere. The rumbling turned into quaking as he increased the thrust. Kara's body clenched as she felt the g-force trying to meld her into her chair; it was like the most intense rollercoaster ride of her life. But then, almost as if someone flipped a switch, everything was still. The ship purred contently as it flew through the vast emptiness of space, away from Earth and its restricting law of gravity. Even though all she'd see is a wall, Kara looked behind her. She could see it in her mind's eye; a blue and green orb with swirling clouds and twinkling cities, gradually growing smaller and smaller as she sailed away on this alien ship. A fucked up world that was always on the brink of tearing itself apart. Her home. Or, at least, it used to be.