Siege's End
Compendium 2020 story 25
By Andrew Hawnt
All was lost.
The crew of Skylark Station were marched from the holding cells, and each of them wore the same grey expression as the Dinari warriors directed them to Ops. Each of the tall, grey Dinari held a Stormlance, their traditional weapon that melded a spear with a high-powered energy blast capability.
The six remaining crew had never felt claustrophobic on the station until now, with the corridor lights dimmed and the sounds of a bustling scientific facility long gone. Their boots beat out a mournful rhythm as their captors followed behind, ready to kill anyone who tried to make a stand. Kelly, Deepak, Joanne, Maurice, Sasha and Jimmy knew that soon the only voices that would be heard aboard Skylark Station would be throaty Dinari clicks and moans.
Effects of the past three weeks were very evident in the human crew. Their once snug uniforms hung off gaunt frames. Healthy complexions had given way to dark circles and thin skin. Their faces were obscured by their helmets
The siege of Skylark Station had taken them from forty crew to just six, and those half dozen were about to be executed before the Dinari Patriarch, the horrid, spindly creature known as Krean Torg.
“Don't we get a last meal?”
The Dinari behind Kelly lashed out with its Stormlance, catching her in the shoulder with a shock of energy. The others tried to pull her away from starting a fight, but once Kelly was angry, nothing would stop her. She lashed out at the warrior with both manacled fists, connecting with the side of its face. The impact gave out a satisfying snap, but the Dinari just shook off the blow. It reached over to Kelly's helmet and dragged her by the face away from her colleagues. It pulled her off her feet so her face met its own.
“Pro-voked,” it said in a dry, clicking voice. “Could ex-e-cute here.”
A deeper alien voice boomed from Ops and the six of them were ushered into the circular control station.
Krean Torg was waiting for them. It wore heavy scarlet robes, but otherwise looked like the other warriors. Guards flanked it, all armed. Behind them the glory of the cosmos glowed from high definition viewscreens, each monitoring the gargantuan crystal cloud that the station had been studying. It rippled and shimmered in unimaginable ways.
“No last me-al,” said Krean Torg, “On-ly last words.”
The six nodded to each other and held hands. This was it. The siege would end for them at last.
The Dinari raised their Stormlances, ready to fire on the command of Krean Torg.
Deepak began, and the others followed.
“Epsilon five.”
“Gamma nine.”
“Delta two.”
“Echo seven.”
“Alpha six.”
“Execute.”
Krean Torg laughed with clicks and rattles as the last human seemingly called for their own end. He bellowed for his guards to fire, but no blasts came.
Just piercing alarms and the sounds of every airlock on the station being blown out.
Krean Torg hadn't even finished laughing when it was violently dragged out of the station, along with his guards.
As the station was purged by the vacuum of space, the six knew they would die as one, but they would die victorious.
The siege was at an end.
They held hands tightly as they were pulled out into the void and waited for their last breath to freeze forever, basking in the wonder of the crystal clouds that would be their grave.
(C) Andrew Hawnt 2020
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About Compendium 2020:
Compendium 2020 is a project which sees author, comic book writer and screenwriter Andrew Hawnt release 52 new pieces of fiction throughout 2020. With a mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories, flash fiction and vignettes, it is an epic journey through the strangest, darkest recesses of his mind.
The stories can also be found on YouTube, narrated by Andrew, and in quarterly Ebook collections on Amazon. A collected omnibus edition will be released in paperback at the end of the year.
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