Trash Panda

The Hive

Okay :)
I'm glad that you're sticking around for us

I'll try to get something up in the IC between crashes

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix listened to the human’s story, leaning his head on the chair while she spoke. So the Lunairans had come during a time of peace on the Earth. Their invasion must have come as a huge shock to the majority of the population. He tried to imagine what it would be like if they reversed positions. He closed his eyes, trying to picture his home planet from the stories his parents told him. He imagined a vast number of ships filled with humans descending on the land and spraying it with toxic fumes. There would be chaos in the streets as the Lunairans tried in vain to flee from their tormentors, only to die soon after from the Plague that had infected the land. Serix opened his eyes again.

There was only one part of the human’s story that didn’t make sense to him. She claimed that his people had killed her parents, while the higher powers always told them that they used nothing but the Plague to exterminate the Earthlings. There was no way the Lunairan authorities could get away with murdering so many humans without someone leaking the information to everyone else. So why was this human’s family the exception? He wondered if it had something to do with the mysterious disappearances of the sympathizers. Perhaps her parents had been in touch with one of them.

“You're turn,” the human said. “What's it been like all this time on your end?”

“What’s it been like for me?” Serix repeated. “Let’s see. I’ve lived on a ship all my life, so my routine every day never changed much. Eat a meal, do some physical training, study the history of my people, eat another meal, do some more training, et cetera. It was pretty boring. Well, until we came across your planet, that is.

“Everything changed. I noticed the little alterations in my daily schedule. Physical training increased and studying decreased. So did free time. It was like we were being prepared for war. Then, our leaders began to draft spies to plant among your people so we could learn about your weaknesses and attack. But after three rotations around your star, we realized we were too badly outnumbered to fight. We didn’t want to decrease our numbers while we were already dwindling on the verge of extinction.

“Then someone came up with the Plague. I don’t know who it was; that’s classified information. Our best medicinal authorities all got together to create a disease that would be potent enough to kill your people, but not quite strong enough to be fatal to us. It took two more rotations around your star before it was completed. Then, our leaders sent in ships to drop the new Plague on your planet. My father was one of them.

Of course, you humans wouldn’t go down without a fight. Your soldiers actually managed to take out two of our ships before they finished spreading their loads of the Plague. My father was on one of them. My mother was furious when she found out what your people did to her mate. She wanted to lead a platoon of fighters to kill you Earthlings with gunfire. Of course, her request was immediately shot down by the authorities.

“But she did it anyways. She stole one of the armed ships and took off by herself. I can only imagine how quickly your people shot her out of the sky,” Serix had been reciting his history in a factual, unfeeling manner, but he had to stop at the mention of his mother’s death. He would never forget the look in her eyes when she slipped away that night. It was a cruel and merciless expression. It was also his last memory of her. He pushed the image out of his mind. “I suppose we’ve both lost people we cared about to this war.”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix was happy to take up the human’s offer and get out of the rain. They hurried back to the ‘airport,’ as the human called it, and boarded her ship. When he was finally in a dry, secure location Serix began to notice another problem those black sky things were causing. Although it was still early in the morning, if the Storm stayed all day he wouldn’t be able to tell when night came. He wouldn’t be able to report back to the pilot on time. He looked out the window and hoped the rain would subside before dusk.

“I need to get into something dry before I catch my death...” the human said, interrupting his thoughts. She dug around in a bag and pulled out a new set of clothes, then walked to a door leading to what Serix assumed was the cockpit of the vessel. She turned back to him once more, “Turn around, I don't want you to see me through the window.” Serix rolled his eyes and turned, although he wasn’t sure why she cared. Sure, they looked similar, but they weren’t even the same species. He heard the click of the door closing behind him.

He tapped his foot, waiting for her to come out again. What was taking her so long? He glanced back over his shoulder just as she was slipping the shirt over her head. The human was facing away from the window, so he only caught a glimpse of her lower back just before the shirt covered it, but it was enough for him to feel a slight warmth rise in his cheeks. He quickly spun around again before she could catch him peeking. What’s wrong with me? he chided himself, shaking his head. She’s not a Lunairan female. What am I getting excited about? He closed his eyes, willing the flush of his skin to go away.

Behind him, Serix heard the door click open again as the human came back out. He wore a mask of calm as he turned around to face her, studying her face to see if she suspected anything. When she looked at him, he didn’t see any anger in her eyes. He gave an inward sigh. She didn’t see him. Then something else caught his attention. The human was holding his lost weapon.

“Okay, listen up,” she said. “I found your gun here, but you're not getting it back. I'm keeping it so you don't try anything funny again. Also, since I know it's not going to kill you...” She held the weapon up, aiming the barrel straight at him. Serix’s violet eyes widened in surprise. “I'm going to show you what it's like to get shot by one of these things.”

“Whoa, wait,” Serix stammered, taking a step back. He held up his hands, but it was too late. He saw the bright spark of blue before a sharp pain exploded across his shoulder. He felt his muscles seize up from the shock and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move while the electricity had him in its grip. He squeezed his eyes shut until the pain began to ebb away, then he slowly moved to sit up. Everything felt sore. He groaned under his breath.

“That's how much this sucker hurt,” the human said, putting the Silencer away. “Well, actually, it probably hurt me more since it almost killed me, but you get the picture. It was painful. So next time you want to try and hurt somebody, think about the pain you feel right now.”

“I get the point,” Serix gasped, trying to stand up again. His legs were wobbly and partially numb from the shock, so he gave up and just sat on the floor of the ship until his strength came back.

“Do you need an dry clothes?” the human moved on as if she hadn’t just shot him a moment before. “I bet I can find some that might fit you. I tend to wear baggy pajamas, which are always sweat pants and t-shirts by the way. It would be better than being soaked.”

“No,” Serix replied. He did want to get out of his sopping clothes, but he had to visit the pilot later. If he showed up wearing human clothes, it would definitely raise some questions. He stretched out his legs and rolled his ankles, testing to see if he had the strength to stand up yet. His muscles seemed to be working fine again so he climbed to his feet, using a nearby chair for support. He glanced out the window. The Storm was still raging.

“Since we’re going to be stuck here for a while,” Serix said, easing himself into one of the chairs. “Why don’t you tell me more about what happened before the Plague?” He realized he had resigned himself to whatever fate the higher powers had in store for him. It was too late to take back his actions, so he might as well get some answers before he disappeared. He looked up at the human, waiting for her response.

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix didn’t look up, but the sound of the human’s receding footsteps told him she was gone. He waited until he was certain she was out of earshot before he let out a scream of frustration and punched the wall. Why did he have to go and make such a foolish mistake? He should have just killed her when her first saw her sneaking into that construction. He had so many opportunities to get rid of her, yet he wasted them all. Now one of the others would surely find her. She would probably take out her rage towards him by telling the other Scouts what he had done; or worse, she would make up lies about him helping her. The Scouts would tell the pilot, who would in turn report him to the higher powers. Serix wouldn’t last another three days.

He sank to his knees. He had let himself get carried away, and now he would suffer the consequences. There was no way his betrayal would stay a secret. Somehow one of the others would catch wind of what he did, that much he was sure of. The success ratio by which the human-sympathizers were removed was one hundred percent, which meant the higher powers never failed to capture them. Although Serix had to wonder how they always knew who was betraying them. If the sympathizers had befriended the humans in secret, how were they caught?

He was still puzzling over this thought when a cold drop of water hit him on the head. Immediately his heart began to race. Not again. He looked up. Those dark masses had rolled across the sky while he was preoccupied with his musings. Now, only small patches of blue could be seen through their sinister black. The Storm growled in its deep voice, sending tremors up Serix’s spine. He stood up, his wide eyes frantically searching for a place to take refuge.

There. Nearby, he spotted a narrow pathway. The rain was falling at such an angle that the alley was almost completely dry. Serix quickly ducked inside, crouching against one of the walls. He found himself longing to be back in the safety of the human’s odd ship. He felt vulnerable in the open space among the constructions. He drew his knees tighter to his chest and buried his head in them, shuddering as the Storm let out another booming roar.

Serix stayed like this until the muffled sound of footsteps made him look up. A shadowy figure was approaching him in the rain. He froze. Was it the pilot coming to make him disappear? How had he found him out so quickly? He suddenly realized that this was impossible. The figure didn’t have luminescent eyes. It couldn’t be a Lunairan, which could only mean one thing: the human had come back to him. He could only stare as she moved to stand over him.

“Yo,” she said curtly. “You're going back to the airport with me.” Serix didn’t move. He was still too baffled by her reappearance. He had tried to kill her. Why was she still trying to help him? It made no sense. The human let out an irritated sigh when he had yet to respond to her command. She reached down and took his arm, giving it a tug in an attempt to pull him to his feet.

“Come on big baby,” she taunted. “If you don't hurry we'll get caught in the worse part of the storm when it really starts up. That pulled Serix out of his daze. He stood up on shaky feet, taking a moment to regain his balance, and then looked at her, frowning in confusion.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “I have nothing to give you… I tried to kill you. So, why are you always helping me?”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Of course the human wasn’t going to give him any answers that easily. She squirmed to try and break free of his grasp, even spitting at him to make him let her go. Instead, he just held on tighter. Her futile attempts at escape had only made him more annoyed, even teetering on the edge of anger. The human began shouting about how he was no different from the rest of his kind: a bloodthirsty alien. A fresh pang of anxiety struck him in the chest. If you only knew, he thought. If I was actually like the rest of my kind, you would have died a long time ago. But he said nothing to defend himself.

“So much for the glory of being the one to finish off my species,” the human snapped at him. “Bet you were hoping to drag my body back to your people and show it off like a trophy. Too bad.” That was it. Serix had had enough of her attitude. In his rage, he shoved her into the nearest wall and pinned her against it, glaring at her with as much venom as he could muster.

“You think I want to be the one to complete a mass genocide?” Serix snarled. “Well I have news for you, human. I’m not the only one who came to your planet yesterday. If any of the others had found you, you would have died on the spot. You see, we have very specific instructions to kill all survivors and end your species.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her any of this. His fury had made him blunt, and he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.

“So you should count yourself lucky,” Serix went on. “That I was the one to find you. Because you might not believe me, but I am different from the other ‘bloodthirsty aliens,’ as you like to call us.” He looked away so she wouldn’t see the pain in his eyes. “I’m different, and I’m probably going to die for it.” He knew he could change that. There was plenty of broken glass on the ground. He could still kill her right now and end his problems. But somehow he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, and that was why he was going to die. A melancholy smile crossed his lips.

“If you want to go, then just go already,” Serix stepped back, still not meeting her gaze. All the anger had drained out of him, leaving him tired and apathetic. “No point in trying to keep you around if you’re just going to fight me.”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix felt a blinding pain explode across his jaw as the human’s fist connected. He fell back in a daze while she scrambled to her feet and took off running. He had to shake off the confusion though, because she was getting away. He stood up, staggering slightly, and then chased after her. He vaguely took notice that he had left his weapon lying on the ground, but it was too late to go back and grab it.

Sprinting at full speed, it didn’t take him long to catch up with the human. He snatched at her arm and jerked her back, using his own knee to hit her in the back of her leg and cause hers to buckle. He twisted her arm behind her back to stop her from falling and also prevent her from getting away again. He was getting tired of chasing her down. With his free hand, he caught hold of her other wrist so she couldn't hit him again. His jaw still throbbed from the first punch.

His mind was still full of questions. The entire situation they were in seemed impossible. She should have died back there. Yet here she was, very much alive and kicking. Had his Silencer malfunctioned? He was sure he had shot her straight in the heart. But that didn’t make sense either. Lunairan technology never failed unless it was intentionally sabotaged, and he was certain it had been left untouched the previous night. He tightened his grip on the human’s arm and pulled her closer.

“How did you do that?” Serix hissed. His face was right next to hers as he kept her restrained. “How are you still alive?”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix waited until the human’s breathing evened out, telling him that she had fallen asleep. Then, he quietly opened his bag and took out the food he had been provided. He quickly found that, as it was dehydrated, it was inedible without water and the pilot hadn’t provided him with any. He sighed and put the food away. The pilot must have assumed the Scouts would find water on their own since the planet’s surface was covered with more than seventy percent of the stuff. Unfortunately, Serix had been too busy dealing with the human to go in search of water, so he couldn’t eat.

He glanced at the human’s makeshift shelves, where she said she kept her food. He could take some from her stores, but he wasn’t entirely sure he could digest the same food that she could. Besides, there was always the chance she had poisoned it when she grabbed some for herself. There were too many variables. He would just have to go hungry.

Serix shifted to a more comfortable position and closed his eyes. In spite of his exhaustion, he couldn’t fall asleep. The Storm continued to rage outside and his imagination was running rampant. He couldn’t stop picturing the pilot somehow finding out what he did and reporting his treachery to the higher powers. Then his mind would come up with spectacular ways by which the higher powers would remove him. Eventually, however, Serix managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

--

It’s too quiet.

That was Serix’s first thought when he woke up the next morning. He panicked for a second, thinking that the human had escaped while he was unconscious. His worries were put to rest when he saw the human dozing in her bed, right where she was before. He exhaled. At least she hadn’t slipped away on him. Still, she could have sabotaged his weapon or gear so he double checked all of his equipment while he waited for her to wake up. Everything was untouched.

Serix heard the human stir on the other side of the vessel. She was waking up. After a few minutes, he heard her get out of the bed and walk down the aisle to where he was sitting. When she caught sight of him, her eyes widened in surprise and she let out a high-pitched yelp, jumping back from him. Her reaction caught Serix by surprise as well, so he flinched at the flurry of movement.

“What a way to wake someone up. I need to work on waking up more alert,” she said irritably, walking over to one of the windows to look outside. Serix couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at his lip when he realized she had forgotten he was there. He stood up and stretched to get his blood flowing, then began to gather his things. He hesitated when his eyes fell upon the Silencer. This was the day he would complete the human genocide. He picked up the weapon.

“The storm stopped. We can head off to the robotics storage now,” the human was saying. “The storage is actually in the city, in the basement of the tallest building. Not so much a hiding place, but hey, it was something.” She grabbed a container of water and tossed him one as well. He wordlessly accepted it, packing it into his bag for later use. He made a mental note to check it for signs of poison later.

“Come on, we have a long walk ahead of us,” the human called back to him. She was already at the door. Serix followed her out, still saying nothing. He kept a close eye on her in case she tried to make any last ditch attempts to run away.

Serix let her lead him further into the city for a while. His finger twitched on the trigger of the Silencer. He was divided in two. Part of him wanted to kill her now and get it over with, while another part of him argued that it wasn’t the right time; that he should wait for the ideal moment. But he knew he was just postponing the inevitable. He stopped walking.

“I’m glad,” Serix said. The human stopped as well and turned to face him when he caught her attention. “I’m glad not all of the humans died in that wretched Plague. I’m glad I got to meet one of your kind face to face.” He lifted his eyes to meet her gaze. His expression was chillingly emotionless. “My only regret is that I’ll be the one to end your species.” He raised the Silencer, aiming straight at her heart. The motion was swift enough that the human wouldn’t have had time to flee.

Then he pulled the trigger.

There was a bright flash of blue and her body crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud. Serix had to look away. The weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered to his feet. He stared down at it in shock. Thinking about killing her had been hard enough, but actually going through with the act had taken all of his willpower. He felt strangely empty. He forced himself to look at the human’s collapsed figure. What have I done? cold dread swept over him. I just annihilated the last of an incredible race of beings.

Serix took a shaky step towards the human. He slowly walked over to her body and crouched beside it. With no physical damage, she looked like she was just sleeping. He had a sudden irrational urge to check if she was really dead. He shook his head. Of course she was dead. No human could survive a shock from a Silencer. Their hearts were too fragile to withstand the voltage. Still, he found himself reaching to feel for a pulse beneath her chin.

As he suspected, Serix felt nothing. She was gone. He was about to pull his hand away when something caught him off guard. One beat. Then two. His own heart began to pound faster. How was this possible? There was no way she could still be alive after taking a direct hit from the Silencer. It was impossible. His mind reeled. Just what was this human?

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Again, Serix was amazed with the humans’ creativity. They not only invented war machines, but from what the female was saying, they created countless variations of them. The Lunairans always stopped working on their projects when they found something that functioned properly. They never continued on to improve or change their technology unless they discovered a serious flaw. He supposed that was because they never felt any pressure to do so. They didn’t have any deadly enemies and they rarely bickered amongst themselves. Everyone obeyed the laws of the higher powers. That was how they kept the peace.

Except now, that is.

Serix was beginning to think his simple act of keeping the human alive had more weight to it than he first believed. His pilot had instructed the Scouts to exterminate any and all survivors of the Plague. The order had to have come from the higher powers, which meant he was disregarding their supreme authority. He racked his brain to think of another time when a Lunairan committed an act of treason, but none came to mind. It was a rare occurrence, if it ever happened at all… but what if someone did?

A dark thought came to him. The human had mentioned a possible sympathizer. If there was one, there were bound to be others, but why had he never heard of them until now? What had happened to those who rebelled against the authorities? It was like they had all vanished from existence, never to be heard from again. Serix swallowed. What would happen to him?

His eyes slowly drifted back to the human female on the other side of the vessel. He had to get rid of her first thing after the Storm left. His own curiosities didn’t matter. It was for his own safety. If the higher powers received word of his betrayal, he might end up disappearing just like the others. He couldn’t— no, he wouldn’t let that happen.

“You said this Storm will last all night, correct?” Serix said abruptly. “I suggest you get some sleep. I would like you to take me to this ‘robotics storage’ tomorrow.” His tone was suddenly distant. He knew he couldn’t let himself get close to this human. It was already going to be difficult enough to kill her because of her appearance. He didn’t want to develop any emotional ties on top of that.

“Don’t worry,” Serix said, not meeting her eyes. “I won’t shoot you in your sleep.” But I will be rid of you when you awaken, he added silently to himself. Then there would be no more problem. He would be back on track, scouting the city properly according to his original instructions. He would no longer be in danger.

…But why did it still feel so wrong?

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix nestled deeper into the corner where the chair met the wall as he listened to the human talk about the robot machines. He had hoped conversing with her would help him stay awake, but somehow her voice was only lulling him to closer to sleep. Maybe if I keep her talking she won’t notice if I doze for a little bit, Serix thought, stifling another yawn. Although he knew it was an impractical idea. The chances that he could actually get away with it were slim to none.

“What makes you so interested in the robots?” the human asked from where she lay on the bed. “Aren't they so much inferior to your people's technology?” She was taking another stab at insulting him. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t care about making a point of how much better the Lunairans were than the humans. Quite frankly, he didn’t have enough information to make that judgment, even if he wanted to. He smiled in response to her comment.

“Sure,” Serix said. “But we never progressed our technology in a direction like that. We mainly focused on transportation, medication, and communication. We never experimented much in the ways of war. Our weapons might look scary, but they’re really not that complicated.” He paused. That was a thoughtless thing to say. Should he have given information like that away to a human? His mind was hazy with weariness, and he realized he didn’t have much of a filter right now. He needed to be more careful with what he said to her.

“Nevermind,” Serix made a clumsily attempt to cover up his mistake. “Basically, I’m interested in your robots because my people never created anything like them.” He looked up at her. “What did they look like?”

Legacy [ Summer + Em Sensei ]

Avery clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away. She couldn’t argue with the woman. She hadn’t been paying close enough attention to notice the men who broke into her apartment complex. It was a foolish mistake on her part. Still, now that she knew about the danger she would tread more carefully. She could take care of herself, just as she had been doing all those previous years when her father didn’t seem to care about her. What was up with that, anyway? He suddenly sent in a bunch of bodyguards to look out for her, as if he was concerned about her safety. Why was he choosing now to act like a father rather than just a reluctant caretaker?

Fletcher snapped at the others to shut up and the van grew instantly quiet. Avery almost wanted to keep chattering just to be defiant. Maybe she could pester him enough that he would kick her out. She smiled at the thought, even though she knew that would never happen. Instead, she sat back in grudging compliance until they reached their destination.

Avery climbed out of the van – with an unhelpful shove from Fletcher – to see that they had arrived at an old warehouse. She let out a curt scoff. It was such a stereotypical hideout. She looked back at the others and raised a brow as if to say, Are you people for real? The way things were going, she half expected the inside of the warehouse to be set up with a couple of rickety lawn chairs and a PC computer.

What she did find, however, was a base that took her breath away.

As the door slid open, Avery gaped at the high-tech weaponry spread all across the warehouse. But what really drew her eyes was the computer. It was a sleek laptop, equip with all the latest military-grade software. She stared at it hungrily. Just imagine all the things I could get away with, using a beauty like that, she thought. A computer on this caliber would make my job so much easier.

Avery was jerked from her daydreaming when Fletcher shoved a vest at her and told her to put it on. She shot him a poisonous look as she snatched the article out of his hands and slipped it on over her shirt. While she didn’t want their help, it was a nice vest. Maybe she could sneak it out with her once she was rid of these ridiculous guards.

“Now what, guard boy?” Avery flipped her blonde hair out of the vest so it fell freely across her back and shoulders. She tilted her chin up haughtily at Fletcher. It was meant to be a confident gesture but it probably looked ridiculous to him, as she was only half his size.