Brynn Phytrelia Pt. 01

Brynn pulled the hood on her cloak down a little further, hiding her face. She felt her shoes clicking against the street as she walked. She was hurrying, not because she had anywhere in particular she wanted to go, but because it was starting to rain. She tugged at the vest she was wearing under the cloak and cursed her luck. But, in a way, she supposed she should be grateful. Caught stowing away again, it was fortunate they'd simply kicked her off-ship on this rimward planet, instead of...well, the innumerable things they could have done to her instead.

She was wearing a pretty, lavender, ruffled skirt that flowed just beyond her knees. Her cloak also covered the pink tunic she'd ended up with, and the skirt she wore was well worn, but neatly mended.

She hadn't been paying attention. Someone's hand wrapped around her arm and she was yanked right off her feet and thrown to the ground. She tried to get to her feet and someone's hand wrapped in her cloak to pull her back against a man's chest. Her wrists were grabbed and held above her head.

"Lookee here." The first man purred. There were three of them. "Thought you lost us at the last jump, didn't ya?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked, deciding to feign ignorance. The second man laughed and touched her leg, above her high socks.

"Last time you was wearing pants." He grunted, and slid his hand higher. Fear spiked and she squirmed in his grip. If she screamed, the authorities would come, but then they'd ask her what she was doing in this place...they'd notice her, and that would be worse...

She closed her eyes. Don't lose control.

She heard her captor gasp and he dropped her. He screamed, his jacket erupting into flames, and she tried to duck under his waving arms. One of the others grabbed her ankle and she fell, the wind knocked out of her, and she kicked at his face. She struggled to her feet and took off. The two men, not currently fighting the flames took off after her.

She made it to the station without being caught, but that wouldn't last for long. They were bigger, she was faster, and they were not breathing as hard. She slammed into someone, nearly knocking both of them off their feet.

"Please, help me...!" She cried, then gasped. When the man looked at her, he looked equal parts stunned, angry, and confused. Then he looked behind her, where the two men were still chasing her. She saw him take a second to weigh his options.

"Please."

He made his choice, "Fine, come on..." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a run.

She huffed out a painful breath and nearly protested, but she wanted to hide more than anything else, so she didn't argue. She ran with him, following him where ever it was he was going to take her.

Idris considered pulling his gun and just dealing swiftly with these men, but without more information on the circumstances, he couldn't commit to such a severe action. His boots didn't have any trouble with the sprinkling rain that was slowly growing heavier. He knew that the walkway would be slick with the rain, very soon, and her ability to keep up with him would be hampered. They kept going down the walkway, his grip firm on her hand, but not uncomfortable.

Brynn felt faint. She had already been running a lot more than her shoes had been made for and quite a bit more than she had intended to when she'd left that morning. She was out of breath and her steps were coming less and less easily.

Idris reached over with his free hand and took her opposite elbow, holding her arms in either hand as he pulled her into a gap between two shops. Her back pressed against the wall, his chest very close to hers as they squeezed into the narrow space. His head slowly looked out over her shoulder. She was completely concealed from anyone who was not immediately nearby, so he felt confident that whatever was going on would probably miss her.

He turned to face her, his face a few centimeters from her own.

"Now, do you want to tell me what is going on?"

"I'm, um, in trouble?" She said, uncertainty in her eyes. "They were trying to- they wanted to- my skirt, they were t-touching and I ran..." She stopped. "Can you help me? I'll tell you everything, I swear." She would tell him nothing. "Please..."

Idris studied her face for a long moment and then nodded. "I see." He said simply. He looked up the walkway and didn't see anything threatening, other than the rain. It had picked up to a bit of a downpour now. "Very well, but we have to hurry. I don't want to be out in this any longer than I've got to." He stepped out of their spot and reached out for her hand, inviting her. She looked at his hand and hesitantly took it.

"I've no love for rain, like this, either." She agreed, and they stepped out into the storm.

He rushed them down the walkway, his cloak pulled over his head. "It's not much farther. Just try not to slip."

He led her along, and Brynn's legs complained as they went on for what felt like a few kilometers. It wasn't that far at all. He continued to lead her and made a quick turn down a different path. The first door on his left, he pushed open, and stepped inside, holding her hand as they went through the door, and received relief from the now pouring rain. The lights of the room lit up as the door closed behind them and she could see they were now in a large hangar. A large ship, about thirty-five meters long and twenty-five meters across, met them as the hangar filled with ambient light.

Idris called out towards the ship, walking towards it, and leaving her hand free. Brynn did not spot anyone else in the hangar with them, but she checked around to see if she had missed someone. "Ophelia! Start the engines and warm up the ship!"

The landing ramp slowly descended as they approached, time to touch the ground the moment Idris' feet reached it. He motioned Brynn to follow. She could hear the various sounds of engines and generators coming to life. As they reached the top of the ramp, the lights in the ring corridor stayed dim for a moment, and then sprung to life, bathing them both in dim lighting. Once the ramp had closed behind them, he turned to look at her.

"Ok, if you're going to come along, we're going to have to have a few ground rules." They'd stopped just inside. It seemed like Idris was in a little bit of a rush, but the cause of his urgency didn't seem apparent to Brynn. She looked around a moment and then focused on his face again.

"Um, ok?" She said, mildly.

"Alright, for now, I need to get off this rock. So, I want you to either sit in the copilot's seat, or buckle up in the galley." He pointed, indicating their respective locations. "Once we've left the system, and we've initiated the jump, we'll figure out where who is going to sleep where and find you something to change into. I don't usually have passengers on my ship, but, no offense, if you're going to be with me for three days, you get to use the refresher at least twice between now and then. That's...not negotiable."

"Yes, I agree. Copilot's seat then." She was cold wearing wet clothes, shivering a little now that they were in the even cooler air of his ship.

He started walking down the corridor and around to the passage that came off the ring, and up to the cockpit. He sat down and strapped in. Reaching up overhead, he flipped a few switches, looking up at the cloudy sky and the air traffic lanes as the hangar door opened above them. He spared a glance at the copilot's chair as she strapped in, then maneuvered the ship for lift off. Brynn heard the roar of the sublight engines as they took to the sky and ascended towards orbit.

"Ophelia, bring up the navicomputer, and get me Baramasta jump coordinates." He waited until the antispace window generator had a green light, and then throttled forward. The vast window seemed to peel open for that small fraction of a second, and then they were enveloped in it, the viridian and azure hues of antispace engulfing them. He looked down over the panel, and then at his wrist, checking to be sure his chronometer matched ship time. He sighed, and then turned to look towards the copilot chair again.

She was sitting rather stiffly, staring at the display in front of them, her hands tight in her lap. "I don't mind Baramasta. I'll be out of your hair quickly." She said softly. "I won't make trouble."

He shrugged at her, obviously not having paid it a great deal of consideration.

It was then that the miniature projection came to life on the control console, standing near the center. The holographic figure was about as tall as Idris' forearm was long. "Captain Chariton? Why...do we have a passenger...again?"

Brynn had jumped at the sight of the small woman made of blue light. The woman, who must be Ophelia, looked and sounded like an adult, but her voice held the curiosity of a child. It was rather charming.

"We have a passenger because..." He stopped mid-sentence, looking over at Brynn a moment, his eyes taking in her appearance, before he turned back to Ophelia. "Well, she's here now."

"I have...no, I had coin. I had to leave it in the inn." Brynn said, disappointed. "I'll pay you back, help in any way I can. I can sleep anywhere, too. I'm really used to it. Thank you so much for taking me with you." She was earnestly, truly grateful, and she was thinking of all the ways she could avoid answering any real questions. "Did you have anything I can help you with?"

"I can do a status check and then meet you in the galley. It's not anything that you can help with yet though, so just follow Ophelia."

She frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's something I have to do so I can make sure it gets done. Also, if there is something wrong, do you think you're going to be able to correct it?"

"Oh. No, I guess not." She pursed her lips in frustration. "I hadn't even thought about that."

"It's okay, really. It won't take but a few minutes, unless there is a problem."

"Alright." She turned to look towards the console, searching for Ophelia's image.

Idris smiled. "It's just in there," he said, pointing into the corridor. "Just take a right when you reach the first wall and then it's the next left in the corridor. You can't miss it."

Brynn nodded and walked out of the cockpit, following the tunnel into the main deck. The walls were barren, just hard bulkhead from floor to ceiling. She followed the curve of the tunnel to the right, as Idris had directed, and then found the opening into the galley. It was open and relaxing. She was worried it was going to be cramped, like the cockpit, or small and destitute like the feel of the ship so far. She sat down on a cushioned bench off to the side of a table and was greeted by Ophelia's image.

"Hello again. Is there anything I can assist you with? Are you hungry?"

Brynn's hands instinctively went to her stomach and she thought she heard it gurgle. "Actually, that would be nice. What are my options?"

"I can remotely access the converter to produce a large variety of items. It may not have anything you are familiar with though. Perhaps if you give me a bit more information on what you would like I would be able to provide you with some suggestions."

Brynn looked down at the table as she thought, staring at Ophelia's image. "I don't want anything extravagant. Maybe just some soup and bread?"

"Light or dark?"

Brynn furrowed her forehead. "I'm sorry? Light or dark what?"

"Would you like your bread darker or whiter? And would you like your soup to be thinner or more heavy?"

Brynn nodded. "Ah yes. Um, well, I guess just lighter bread. And...thinner soup?" She wasn't entirely sure what her request was likely to produce. Then she looked to the hall outside of the galley and saw Idris run by. Brynn stood and moved away from the table. "Actually, never mind. I will eat later. Where'd Idris going?" As she asked, she was already making her way back into the corridor.

She started walking in the direction she'd seen him going. She found Idris stopped in the tunnel, looking through a transparent panel. "Idris?"

Idris jumped a bit. "Brynn. Hi. Sorry, I just didn't hear you come over here."

"What's in there?"

"Nothing," he replied too quickly.

She arched an eye brow at him. "I mean, I know it's not my ship, and arguably, it's not my business. But obviously there is not 'nothing' in there or you wouldn't be glued to the door."

Idris nodded once. "Fair enough. It's not anything you need to worry about. It's just a..." His mouth hung open a long moment as he decided on the right words. "An unexpected complication."

"What? Why? What's happened?" She demanded, not mousey at all. "Idris, can I help?"

"No, it's fine, I'm just running through the status check still. And, this is part of it. Just go back to the galley. I'll be there soon."

"Alright." Brynn said, calmly. She walked down the hall, looking over her shoulder to see him watching her. As she walked into the galley, however, she saw the lights flicker and she could hear what sounded vaguely like rending metal. She looked out into the corridor just in time to see someone step out of an aperture. She assumed it was Idris, but they were dressed in full body armor. He walked past the galley and slowed a moment, turning to her. The face plate opened and he pointed. "Stay in the galley." He didn't wait for her response, turning back to the hall and making his way around the corner out of sight.

She blinked and moved to sit again. She heard another noise, the whirring sound of another motor, echoing from around the corridor. Frowning, moving carefully but at a brisk pace, Brynn defiantly made her way down the hall towards the strange clanking noise.

The door Idris had been glued to was now open. It open into a cargo hold's antechamber. The door to the cargo hold itself had broken loose. Blue, red, and yellow hues were reflecting on the bulkhead floor from it onto the corridor bulkheads. There was an intense heat coming away from the hold and out into the corridor. She made her way closer, not feeling quite confident enough to rush into whatever mess Idris may have ended up in. As she got close enough, she could feel herself sweating and looked around the corner, into the hold. Idris was struggling to extinguish several fires that were burning inside of the barren chamber.

The compartment was about six meters wide and probably only five meter to the wall opposite the broken door. There was a creature inside of the hold, with Idris. It was large enough to monopolize the space for most of the compartment. It reminded her of a huge lizard, but it was black, with hard scales and thorny protrusions over most of its body. I was also the deepest shade of purple she's ever seen. Its face glowed orange for a moment and she saw it spray fire onto the bulkhead wall. She noticed a section on the floor where it looked like half a dozen chain links had sheered in half. So that's what the "complication" was. And she realized the other reason he hadn't said anything.

"A pyre fiend? You brought a PYRE FIEND on a cargo ship?! Are you insane?!"

She made her way closer, deflecting the intense waves of heat coming out of the hold. She saw that Idris had some kind of weapon in his left hand. Unfortunately, the energy it was emitting seemed to disperse over the beast's natural armor, leaving it completely unphased by his efforts.

He spun around to look at her when he heard her voice. "Brynn! No! Get away from here! I've got it, really! Just..."

She folded her arms, skeptically glaring at him. But then the creature caught a glimpse of her and turned to try to come after her.

Idris called out to her. "Brynn! No!" He grabbed onto the tail of creature, rooting his feet, and holding on. The creature jerked back a little, its head turning as it sprayed another blast of fire towards the corridor. Despite his efforts, the creature was too close, and he watched as the fire blew out of its mouth to try to encompass Brynn in a wall of bright, blue flames.

Brynn raised her arms, instinctively, trying to shield herself while backing away. The flames engulfed her, but as they dissipated, she came out unharmed. Her heart sank as she watch Idris pause. She couldn't even see his face now, but his body language was enough. She sighed and focused on the creature that was now eager to hurt her. Even if it couldn't burn her, it could still pummel her to death. "Is there another way to, to stun it?"

Even if she hadn't shown up, Idris seemed a bit overwhelmed, and if he ended up hurt, she couldn't pilot the ship herself. It was either step in this moment or carry him out later. Well, maybe if she made herself very useful in potentially saving his life, he'd be nice enough to not say anything until she jumped planets a few times.

Idris hesitated for a long moment. Intellectually, he knew she should be dead, but she wasn't. He didn't have time to dwell. The tail came out of his grip and its head moved closer to Brynn, blowing another blast of fire over her. Again, nothing. Even her clothes weren't singed or hurt.

Then the creature flicked its tail and hit Idris in the midsection, launching him off his feet. He flew into the bulkhead, his back slamming against the wall, hard, and he crumpled to the floor for a moment. By the time he got to his feet, it was already on top of her. Brynn held the jaws of the creature with her bare hands, trying to hold it back. Idris ran over to her and swung his armored fist into the side of the creature's head. With it distracted by trying to kill Brynn, it didn't have time to turn away from the blow.

The sound of metal hammering rock echoed through the compartment as the beast's neck jerked to one side, its body following it as it smashed into the bulkhead. It stopped moving, and Idris worked frantically to drag it into the center of the compartment. He walked over to right side of the room and opened the lid for a hidden interface. He input a few commands, and a door opened in the ceiling. A large, metal cage slammed down on the creature, denting the compartment floor as the delivery arm savagely pushed into place.

Once he was sure that it was contained, he walked over to Brynn, his face plate receding. "Are you alright?"

Brynn looked up at him, reaching up to take his hand and letting him help her to her feet. She winced with pain. Her hands had been cut trying to hold the creature back, but not badly. She didn't say anything as she watched the cage behind Idris. The cage was filling with thick, white smoke.

Idris sighed and wrinkled his forehead at her, turning his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye as he gave her a suspicious glance. "I can't help but get the feeling that you MIGHT have left out some details about why you were so anxious to get out of Janx City and off planet..."

"What do you mean?" Brynn asked, her eyes widening with innocence.

Idris stared at her, hesitating. "Right..." He shook his head and walked away from her, back into the antechamber. Brynn moved to follow, standing next to him outside of the compartment. She glanced at the broken door and frowned. Then Idris moved out of the chamber to stand in the hall, closing the outer door and standing next to her, wordlessly.

"Okay." She said, at last, and her voice was firm. "There...might be a reason I was running. Or even more than one reason. But they did...they were...well, there was more to it than just that, but it was a large part of it."

He heard the outer door of the cargo hold close and nodded to her. "I see," he said simply. He frowned at her. "Well, I suppose it wasn't any of my business for you to tell me, and I guess I can understand why you would want to...be discreet. However, I had hoped that if you had enough trust in me to go gallivanting off with me, isolated on a ship, that you might also have enough confidence in me to be...honest?" He tasted the word as he said it, his eyes looking up at the ceiling as he tried to decide if that was the right word.