Homestar Saga

Chapter 143: Soul Gaze

The Last Hope of Those Who Were Betrayed sat brushed up against the Spire in the center of City 43. The ship was an inverted diamond, or at least it used to be. A fifth of the ship was missing, destroyed by a bomb the humans had detonated in an attempt to keep the Lucendian ship out of pixen hands. The living crystal that composed the Hope's hull could not be repaired by traditional means, but the ship was healing.

The Last Hope hadn't seemed that large in space. A mere eight hundred meters across, smaller than most battlecruisers. She looked a lot bigger on the ground. The top of the ship came to a point a full kilometer above Yvian, nearly a third of the height of the Spire itself.

A dozen crystal obelisks formed a rough semi-circle around the Hope. The space between the Spire and the nearest buildings stretched just over a kilometer, and the Hope had been forced to place them between structures. The obelisks were half again as tall as the ship, and almost as damaged. They were barely sentient, and mostly served as assistants and amplifiers to the Last Hope, but Yvian was pleased to see they were healing as well.

Yvian had expected to find Skygem docked inside the Last Hope, but the smaller vessel had chosen to park in such a way that her nose was nestled between her mothership and the Spire. The smaller Lucendian ship was the same length as the Encounter. Ninety meters. It looked like a short four sided crystal pyramid had been fused to a long four sided crystal pyramid. Like the Last Hope and the Spire, the crystal looked clear and sparkly, but was opaque enough Yvian couldn't see through it.

A small group of people stood in front of the Skygem. Two humans, two Peacekeeper units, and eight pixens. Yvian was surprised to see them chatting so amiably. Pixens were taught to fear humans from an early age, a reputation that was only enhanced by exposure to Mims. She'd been expecting the pixens to stand as far away from the scientists as they could get, but she'd underestimated Dr. Yuriko Miner. As Yvian watched, Yuriko draped her arm over one of the pixen women, saying something that made the entire group burst into laughter.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" Lissa sounded concerned. She must have seen the look on Yvian's face. "I've got eight assistants here. You don't have to-"

"I'm fine," Yvian cut her off. She took a breath and squared her features. "It'll be fine."

Yvian braced herself as her group closed in, but the other pixens barely reacted to her presence. Instead they stared at Scathach and Scarrend. The Vrrl towered over the rest of the group, nearly three meters of muscle and fangs and claws. Even knowing they were allies, Lissa's chosen assistants couldn't help but react with fear.

Scarrend chuckled. "Softpaws."

"Do not insult our allies," Scathach chided. "Did you forget the reading the Scargiver just assigned?"

"No, Warmaster." Scarrend spoke quietly, chastened.

"See that you don't," the Warmaster warned, keeping his voice low so the other group wouldn't hear. Then he spoke louder. "Fear not, Citizens of Pixa. I am Skell Scathach, Third Warmaster of the Vrrl Starfang Empire. This is Scarrend Scathach, Ambassador to Pixa. We are here as friends. No harm will come to you so long as we draw breath."

The humans and pixens looked at each other. Dr. Laswell stepped forward. "That's... good to know. I'm Dr. Laswell." The Lead Scientist introduced the rest of the group, but Yvian was no longer paying attention. The other pixens were looking at her, now. One of the males was glaring, but the rest looked more awkward than hostile. More importantly, Yuriko was staring at her. Yvian tried for a smile and gave her a wave. Dr. Miner waved back, biting her lip.

Once the introductions were over with, Lissa took charge. "Alright, we all know why we're here. These ships," she gestured at Skygem, "are the last of their kind. The final legacy of the Lucendians. You, all of you, have been chosen to be their caretakers. To protect them. To use their power to protect the Technocracy. These ships are the only known defense against the Vore, and our greatest weapon, but they aren't just tools. They're alive. They're people. Citizens of Pixa just like you. If any of you don't want the responsibility, if you think it's too much, speak now."