Home Fires – Chapter Fourteen: Invasion
Chapter Selection
Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Epilogue
“Looking forward to logging the Honor on its way out of the system?” Lugenburg Catiel needled.
“You may think it’s boring, but I really am.” Faustiel Eawynn said, barely contining a squeak of excitement. “Two logs of a Space Marine vessel in one year! One Season!”
Lugenburg yawned, genuinely but with a bit of exaggeration. “Doesn’t count the second time.” he slurred with exhaustion. “Same ship.”
“Shut it, Catiel.” Faustiel snapped. “Don’t ruin my fun.”
“The farewell ceremony isn’t even done yet. It’ll be hours before Captain Antonius and his brothers even go back to the ship you so dearly love to log. It might even be days before they take their leave. And you’re on the edge of your seat.”
Faustiel repeated Lugenburg’s taunting in a high-pitched squeal, punctuated with whiny noises and gibberish. “That’s what you sound like.”
Faustiel and Lugenburg’s conflict escalated to shouting, then throwing hands, and then something else entirely; the only activity that had kept them from each other’s throats these many long years of duty. However, their activities were interrupted by screaming sirens and eye wrenching red lights flashing with extreme malice.
Flinging on what few articles of clothing were in reach, Faustiel bounded toward her console to confirm the worst.
She slammed her keycard into a narrow slot, which caused a clear plastek cover to flip up, unveiling a sinister red button which Faustiel slapped with enough vigor to bruise the bones of her hand.
Lugenburg hauled her out of her station as she filled the thin air of the station with invectives. With bare seconds to spare, both of them tumbled into the station’s only saviour pod and ejected.
They looked on in horror as primitive angular ships tore the station they had served on for close to half a decade into scrap. They collapsed in grief, slowly bouncing around the pod in a haze.
It was only then that the horror of their situation fully enrobed their minds. For Lugenburg had raided the emergency rations of the pod. Luckily, he had replaced them…
…with the egg packs he had sworn off.
Faustiel came within inches of flipping the switches necessary to depressurize the pod.