Talis opened her eyes.The grim, unfathomable expanse of dark space stretched ahead of her for eternity, as black and all-encompassing as the darkness of her closed eyelids. She stared out into empty space for a few more seconds, feeling the smothering weight of the vast nothingness surrounding her.She turned slowly, movements hindered by the bulky space suit she wore to protect herself from the unforgiving darkness. The sound of her breathing bounced back at her inside the dome of her pressurized helmet, loud even over the thumping bass of whatever music her barely-functioning ship's AI had chosen. The tether that kept her safely moored to the side of the ship was in the way, so she pushed it aside, the long metal and plastic cord looping lazily away to hang next to her. Reaching down to the utility belt slung around her hips, Talis retrieved a portable TIG welder and pressed the activation button, the pale blue jet of fire bright against her eyes. The viewscreen of her helmet attempted to darken to compensate, flickering once or twice before going completely black, shutting out the wavering light."For all the - " Talis swore under her breath, her pupils dilating to the extreme in the black and she reached up to smack the side of her helmet with her free hand. The viewscreen blinked back to clear with nauseating speed, the sudden light of the welder causing her third eyelid to slide over her eyes for a split second, blinding her again."M-ma'am are you all g-good?"The cheerful, stuttering tone of Dubois - the AI - crackled into her headset, the music cutting off as he spoke. Talis finished swearing and shook her head, the motion causing her to drift side to side."It's fine Dooby, how's the nav recalibration going?" She replied tersely, moving the welder back into position."G-going as well as things ever d-do m-ma'am!" Dooby chirped. Talis sighed through her nose as she went to work on repairing the damage on the ship's hull. The tear was small, barely three centimeters across, but out here even the tiniest amount of damage could be fatal. The nearest station was days away, and the chances of running across a friendly ship - or anything for that matter - this far out in dark space were laughable, to say the least.Talis finished her repairs to the sound of Dooby's off-key humming, slapping the palm of her gloved hand affectionately against the hull of the ship before reaching over and unclipping the tether.This was the most exhilarating part.
Talis gripped the metal hull and pulled herself along the curve of the ship, the tether trailing behind her like an umbilical cord, winding back into the dark womb of space. She focused intently, world narrowing to her hands and the metal in front of them; one slip, one mistake, and she would be floating away, lost forever with no one but Dooby to even notice she was gone.It was thrilling.She reached the airlock and hung there for a moment, letting the adrenaline filter through her system before slapping the release button and opening the hatch. She pulled herself inside, spiraling lazily before tucking her knees and flipping upside down. Talis tugged the tether in alongside her, coiling the heavy length neatly in her hands and securing it tightly.“Shut the hatch Dooby, we’re back in buisness.”“R-right away!”The heavy door slid closed, locking out the darkness and sealing tight with an audible hiss. Talis unclipped the tether from her suit and then latched it back in place on the ceiling before flipping herself right way up and moving to the other hatch and opening it as well. She floated through the door; gravity would not resume until they were moving again, as a ship this small relied on it’s acceleration to generate gravitational force. Talis didn’t mind, maneuvering in zero-g was almost second nature to her at this point.“M-ma’am? I d-do believe I’ve run across s-something!” Dooby said, the pitch of his voice reaching nearly a squeal. Halfway through removing her helmet, Talis frowned."Run across...what do you mean?""I've p-picked something up on the r-radar; a cylinder, p-pinging metallic; about t-two metres long." Dooby replied. Talis hung her helmet in place and began undoing the fastenings on her suit, her blue hair floating around her face."Get us next to it, I want a visual."
What was something that small doing all the way out here? If it was just debris Dooby wouldn't have brought it up. Weird. She finished getting out of her suit and tucked it away, bracing herself against the curved wall as the ship began to accelerate and gravity returned. Talis slid to the floor with a thump, unzipped her flight suit and slid out of the sleeves, tucking some excess into her belt so it didn't brush against the ground and climbed up the ladder up to the cockpit. She dropped into the well-worn pilot's seat, strapped herself in and tapped a yellow-tipped finger against the console."Let's have a look…"The exterior lights clicked on, triple beams of yellow slicing through the abyss. Talis leaned forward in the seat."What is that?"A cylinder hung directly in front of the ship, the exterior lights reflecting off the metallic surface."I'm n-not sure m-ma'am; should we m-move along?""No no - can we bring it in?"There was a pause, and several strings of code flickered across the holo-screen."Yes, opening c-cargo bay!" Dooby chirped. Talis watched as a slender arm unfolded from the front of the ship and slowly closed a claw around the strange cylinder. She unstrapped herself and pushed off from the seat, pulling herself down the ladder to the cargo bay door. What could that thing be? From what she had seen, it had been in pretty good shape, and most certainly man made - must have been jettisoned nearby.
Which was why she had wanted to bring it on board.The only people out here were pirates or smugglers - whatever a ship like that had jettisoned was certain to be worth something."Let's get going Dooby, still got a deadline to keep." She said as she braced herself next to the cargo bay door. There was a chirp, and Talis felt the ship begin to accelerate again. As her feet settled against the floor she opened the cargo bay and walked inside, crossing her arms over her chest.The mysterious cylinder sat horizontally on the metal floor, gleaming dimly in the stark overhead light.Talis frowned, reaching up and rubbing a thumb across her lips as she examined her newly acquired cargo with interest.
There were no markings she could see, no ID numbers, no religious or company logos; nothing. The sound of her boots clanging against the metal floor was loud as she walked around the strange object.
She came to a stop roughly where she had started in both a literal and figurative sense."Dooby, did you do a in depth scan of this thing?" Talis asked, still rubbing at her lip."Yes m-ma'am! Couldn't g-get a good r-read, but it won't h-harm you!" There was a pause."At least, the o-outside won't!" Dooby said cheerfully. Talis stepped closer, reaching out to place a hand on the metal. Her eyebrows raised as she felt a seam. She ran her sensetive fingers as far as she could reach; the seam ran along the length of the cylinder. An opening, perhaps? Talis placed both hands on either side of the line in the metal and gave an experimental tug. It didn't open, she hadn't really thought it would, but she did feel a recessed button. Talis pressed it.There was a click and the hatch began to open with a hiss. Talis stepped back, watching in fascination as the cylinder cracked open, vapor seeping out and disapating in little roiling clouds.Inside, there was a large, black bag.A body bag.Talis inhaled sharply; a cryopod, out here? She stepped closer, looking at the bag with apprehension. She'd expected drugs, stolen goods, even a bunch of food rations - but a cryopod? A slight beep from inside the pod drew her closer, and she saw a light flicker in the interior, casting a sharp shadow over the curve of the bag. Biting her lip, Talis bent at the waist, leaning down to open the bag. The spines along her back raised with apprehension as she pulled at the seal, slowly splitting the bag down the middle.The light from the back of the cylinder was bright against her eyes and the beep came again as the top of a head was revealed, dark hair plastered in thick, viscous liquid against a forehead, which was marked with a -Talis yanked her hands back from the bag, baring her teeth as her skin shifted from blue marked with yellow to a sharp, warning red.Saint Peter's Cross.The Church.Now that the bag had been unsealed, it continued to open, revealing a man's body.
Talis immediately drew her gun and pointed it at the bag, a breath away from pulling the trigger. Her mind was racing. The Church, here? How? Why? Where was the ship this pod had come from, was this some sort of trap? Had the rat squealed already? She stared down at the man, at the symbol burned into his forehead.Not just any Church dog; a Knight.A legendary monster, the Church's bogey man, slayer of thousands; in the flesh.She curled her lip, mouth cracking all the way back to her ears, sharp teeth baring against the literal embodiment of the Church's foul rhetoric. Her finger hovered over the trigger, hand steady, orange eyes narrow.
It would be so easy, like shooting fish in a barrel. He most certainly deserved it - how many times had their positions been reversed? It would be the right thing to do, the only correct option.Wasn't it?"Re-boot complete - Vega online." A feminine voice, a far higher quality than Dooby's poor vocal emulator, emanated suddenly from inside the pod. Talis blinked and slowly lowered the gun, not willing to admit that she hadn't been able to convince herself to pull the trigger."Re-boot complete. Beginning thaw process." The AI - Vega - continued. Talis grimaced and put the gun away, trying to plan her next move. She didn't know how long the thawing process would take, what she would do when it was over and the Knight was conscious again. She let out a long breath and composed herself; this could be an invaluable opportunity to gain information on the enemy - as long as she was careful, controlled and very very clever.Talis pulled up a crate and sat down on it, crossing her arms and hunching forward, her skin shifting back to its original coloration. She cast a critical eye over the still thawing man. He was probably in his late twenties, quite close to her own age and very well built - a body shaped to combat. His skin was a boring shade of brown; humans didn't vary much in color, which Talis found slightly baffling. It also made them much more difficult to tell apart. She tilted her head, her gaze following a deep and strangely precise scar on his skin. Her eyes flicked back to the Saint Peter's cross and she pursed her lips. This could very well result in her death, but she resolved to wait and find out what had brought this frozen monster into her path.