Separate Ways

Orion walked into the living room where Sasha sat on the couch holding herself tightly trying to process everything her father had told her. She wanted to forgive him for everything, as he had come in at possible the most crucial moment of her life and saved her, but there was still a wound in her heart, her mind and her soul that could not be repaired yet. Sasha could be a pushover at times and easily forgive, but this was different than insulting her, or forgetting to wish her a happy birthday. He had missed all seventeen of her birthdays.

“They should be here soon.” He said to her. She jolted from hearing his voice, not realizing he was back in the room with her. He had left her alone after explaining everything to her and giving her some alone time to reflect on everything she’d learned. Now she didn’t want to be alone, but she wanted Corvus there with them and shortly the three of them would be together. It was a long time coming and she couldn’t wait.

“Does Corvus know any of this?” she asked him. He shook his head.

“He knows less than you do right now, that’s for sure.” He responded. She nodded and felt it would be necessary to warn Corvus before any guns were drawn. She hated her father for what he’d done, or at least what he did not do, but he certainly did not deserve to die. He was still her father and he did rescue her from what could have been a miserable end. They could hear a ship land outside on the platform and Orion looked down at his personal comm, raising an eyebrow.

“That was quick.” He said as he walked to the window. Before he could reach the window the door to his apartment blew open and clipped him in the shoulder knocking him to the ground. He gripped his shoulder writhing in pain and looked to the smoking doorway. Sasha jumped up from the couch and backed up into the wall. Men with blaster rifles ran into the apartment and pointed their guns at Orion and Sasha. Orion wanted to draw his pistol but there were four of them, and three of the guns were pointing at Sasha; he couldn’t risk it. It could be a misunderstanding; it happened often.

“What do you want?” asked Orion.

“Shut up!” yelled the rugged looking man who smacked him in the head with the butt end of his rifle and put his foot down on his chest. The two other men who resembled mercenaries approached Sasha and grabbed her arms; she wanted to fight but Orion looked over at her.

“No, Sasha, don’t fight.” He said. She struggled but they slammed her against the wall which winded her and caused her to stop struggling.

Suddenly, the Black Butcher walked through the smokey entrance and looked down at the Baron his helmet mirroring the fluorescent lights above him. He turned his head toward Sasha and looked directly at her, but to her it felt as if he was looking through her. Despite the absence of eyes, his gaze was as piercing as a knife.

“Well, you were correct.” He said through his mechanically menacing voice. From the smokey doorway, Borin entered the apartment behind the Butcher with a smug grin on his face, now clearly much less intoxicated. He glared over at Sasha and winked at her.

“Hello, lass.” He said. Sasha felt as if she were going to pass out, and the sight of Borin caused her bottom lip to quiver.

“Look, you can have anything you want, just please don’t take her.” Orion begged the Butcher. The Butcher looked over at him and stopped spinning his knife, immediately gripping it tightly.

“Anything? Well, that is very kind of you, but you see, it’s not, substance that I want.” He said, approaching Orion. Borin smiled and crossed his arms watching the Butcher. The Butcher knelt down over Orion and pushed the knife up to his neck.

“You see, it’s very simple.” He said, dragging the knife down to Orion’s gut and getting face to face with him.

“Nobody, outbids the Butcher.” He said, slamming the knife into Orion’s gut and twisting it around. Sasha screamed at the sight, and Orion let out a short cry trying to hold in the pain as the Butcher ripped the blade out of his gut and stood up triumphantly.

“Take the girl to my ship.” The Butcher said, turning around and leaving the apartment. Borin turned toward Sasha and walked over to her getting extremely close to her face. She could smell the familiar scent of booze and bad breath from her kidnapper. He smiled in her face and lightly chuckled almost unable to contain himself.

“Together again.” He said. Sasha couldn’t help but feel extremely weak in his presence as he’d put her through so much physical, emotional and mental pain and now that her father was bleeding out only feet from her made her lose all hope. She simply hung her head not wanting to respond to him at all. He grabbed her by the back of the neck tightly and dragged her out of the apartment with the four guards following behind him.

Orion watched his daughter be dragged away and slowly began to crawl across the floor trying to get to the first aid cabinet, but the pain was immeasurable and he was bleeding out fast. He knew looking down at the puddle of blood that there was nothing that would save him. The Butcher’s knife was serrated and had most likely torn up the inside of his gut to the point of no return. At this point, he simply wanted to hold on long enough to see his son one last time.

Corvus opened his eyes once he felt the ship shaking and knew the landing sequence was beginning. He jumped out of his bed and ran into the main room where Vikurl was waiting in the same chair he was when Corvus left. He had slept a few hours and he didn’t want to think of what Vikurl had done in that amount of time to not move from his spot. The ship came to a stop and rocked slightly for a moment as the sub-systems began to disengage. Rik descended from the cockpit and limped over to Corvus, holding his side.

“You’re okay?” Corvus asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Rik answered without thinking. Rik deflected the question with an answer that would keep Corvus calm, but he was smarter than that. Regardless, he was about to see Sasha again for the first time in a long time and nothing was going to feel better than holding her in his arms again. Vikurl stood up and approached the panel that controlled the ramp access, pressing a series of buttons which made the ramp slowly drop to the platform beneath.

Rik let the three of them out of the ship and knew what Corvus was about to find out was far more than his sister being safe. There were so many times Rik wanted to tell Corvus who the Baron was and why he was here this whole time, but he felt it was better for his father to explain to him. Rik and Orion went further back than Corvus and Sasha were even alive and for Orion to pick Rik as someone to watch over his children whenever he could was a strange honour. They had their differences and quarrels but at the end of the day they had each other’s backs. He remembered the countless times that they’d pulled each other out of situations; Rik was a mercenary and Orion was a starfighter pilot but they had countless run ins with each other. It was a love/hate relationship between the two of them.

They stepped onto the platform and when Rik turned toward the apartment he could see the remnants of smoke settling around the entrance and the door blown open. Without thought he pulled out his blaster and ran, limping toward the apartment. Vikurl drew his gun and Corvus followed closely behind him as they all knew something was wrong. Rik stumbled into the door and saw Orion laying on the floor with a small trail of blood behind him as he tried to crawl to the bathroom to try and fix his wounds somewhat but could not continue any further.

“Orion!” he yelled as he ran over dropping his blaster and rolling him onto his back. Orion’s eyes were barely open, and when Corvus heard the name his heart jumped up into his throat and began to throb. He slowly walked into the apartment behind Vikurl who was now checking the apartment for any threats.

“What happened?” Rik asked hastily.

“Corvus, where is Corvus?” Orion asked catching his breath. Rik shuffled aside and slightly lifted Orion’s head to look over at his son. Corvus was stopped in his tracks as if he’d been hit by a freighter and was speechless at the sight of his father, who had aged quite a bit since their last meeting. The man he’d known well as a child, but barely remembered as an adult laid before him bleeding from his gut. There was so much blood on the floor that Corvus didn’t know how he was still alive, but he stepped toward him and looked down at him.

“Corvus, I’m so sorry.” He said, tears swelling up in his eyes at the sight of his son that he once had a strong bond with, but had to leave shortly after his sister’s birth. Tears swelled up in Corvus’ eyes as he watched his father cry, and fade away before him.

“Dad.” He said, which came out as barely a whimper. Like his sister, he felt the same mix of rage, happiness and grief but was far more sad seeing him for the first time in nearly a decade, dying at his feet. He quickly ran to his side as Rik stood up and stepped back to let the two of them reconcile for the last moments Orion had left of his life.

“What happened?” Corvus asked, now holding his father’s head.

“The Butcher, found us and took her. The Butcher has Sasha, Corvus, I’m so sorry.” He said, barely able to keep the sentence in one breath having to gasp for air.

“Dad, damnit. I-“ he said but he didn’t know what to say afterward. He wanted to scream and punch his father for everything, but he could not bring himself to it. His father wasn’t to blame for Sasha, or maybe he was. It didn’t matter now.

“Corvus, let me get this out before I lose the chance,” he began to explain laboriously, “I’m not a freighter pilot, like your mother told you. I’m a starfighter pilot with the Federation, and I haven’t been there because I’ve been protecting you, from war. I failed you and your sister, and your mother. We couldn’t hold them back anymore, and they broke through.” He said as he began to cough and gasp harder for air.

“Dad, it’s okay. I-“ he said again, not able to utter the words he wanted to. Orion looked up at his son as everything for him began to fade; sound, sight, smells, touch and he could only taste the blood in his mouth.

“I forgive you, dad. I forgive you.” Corvus said, finally pushing it out. Deep down he still hated his father for what he’d left him with but he also understood why he did it. It was bittersweet knowing his father was protecting them but he couldn’t do it from the comfort of his home with his family at his side. Corvus wasn’t too much older than Sasha, but he was much more mature having been forced into parenthood. He grabbed his father’s hand and squeezed it tightly and while shutting his eyes tightly, more tears dripped out onto the floor and into the puddle of blood.

“Corvus, I love you, and you’ve already done more for your sister than I ever could. Promise me one thing.” Orion said, now nearly choking on his own blood.

“Anything, dad, what?” Corvus asked quickly not wanting his last words to fade.

“Find your sister, save her and kill that son of a bitch. Please.” Orion blurted out as his body began to flinch as his mind fought for the urge to live.

“I promise. I promise, dad.” Corvus said. Orion looked up at Rik, who fought with everything he had to fight the tears. Rik gulped and looked down at Orion who gave him a small smirk and between the two of them, Rik knew it was Orion’s way of saying that Rik did everything he could. Rik gave a short little nod, not wanting to speak, respectfully giving Corvus the last word with his father.

Corvus looked up at Rik, who shot him a quick glance and looked back over at Vikurl who was sympathetically waiting by the doorway holding his gun vertically from the floor. He had just met these two men, but could feel the compassion between the three of them. It was monumental to Vikurl, as courage and loyalty were paramount for his culture; family was also a strong virtue but it was never stated between families; love for your family was just accepted, and didn’t need to be written down. Strength of family was written in their blood, and could not be tainted. What Corvus had gone through to get his sister was inspiring to Vikurl.

Corvus looked back down at his father who’s head was now hanging back and his chest was still. Corvus clenched his teeth together and began to cry as he held his father’s hand. He wanted to scream, and he wanted nothing more than revenge. Finally, his father had made one last appearance to try and save Sasha and reconcile with them and after all they’d been through it was ripped from him. Soon, all of the emotions filtered into one; hate. He stood up and looked at Rik.

“I’m sorry, Corvus.” Rik said. Corvus walked over to Rik and stood inches away from his face, and for a moment Rik felt Corvus was going to punch him as hard as he could but he did not.

“I want him dead. I want them, dead.” He said. Rik nodded and held his hand out to which Corvus grabbed it and they pulled each other close and hugged tightly. They both then remembered Vikurl was with them and they turned to the alien. Vikurl looked back and forth between them and then landed on Corvus.

“I will not stop until that little girl is safe.” He said. Corvus nodded and looked down at his father’s corpse and back up at Rik.

“If you’re done, Corvus, go back to the ship. Vikurl and I will take care of Orion.” Rik offered. Corvus didn’t want to leave his father’s side but there was no more he could do. The only thing he felt would bring his father peace was to ensure the Butcher’s death, however it was brought about.

Corvus watched from the co-pilot’s chair as Rik and Vikurl exited Orion’s ship after putting his body on board. The ship soon began to lift off and ascended into the dark sky, soon vanishing through the clouds. He took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. His mind was cloudy with things he wanted to say to his father and would never have the chance. He couldn’t just forget them, or say them to somebody else; he needed to accept the fact that his father would never hear what he had to say, good or bad.

His father had been respectfully laid to rest in his ship and would be auto-piloted to a planet named Hellena in the Abyss which was a few sectors away from where they were. The planet was a graveyard for many pilots and was normally a last request of pilots to be sent there to rest with their brethren. Corvus had heard pilot’s talk about this at the service shop on Fares. There was a code of honour in the brotherhood of pilots, and he wondered if Rik was part of that brotherhood.

Shortly after, they both entered the ship and Corvus descended down into the main cabin and stood up. Rik walked over and sat in the pilot’s chair and Corvus soon followed slowly, sitting beside him.

“Where is the Butcher?” Corvus asked. Rik looked over at Vikurl.

“I’ve made many deliveries to the Butcher, and I know his estate fairly well aside from some of the sub-levels. I could get us there but we need some sort of plan for getting in.” He explained. Rik nodded and looked at Corvus, then back at Vikurl.

“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let’s find the estate first and then make our game plan.” He said. Vikurl nodded and walked over to a panel beside the cockpit that would enter coordinates for the pilot. He entered the codes in and Rik and Corvus ascended into the cockpit. They activated the ship and took off into the massive city of tall, spike shaped towers. The planet simply looked evil, like a swamp of a city that emitted massive black stalagmite from the depths of it’s foggy surface. Very few ships were flying around and based on the sun’s position, it was late in the evening.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Corvus asked, finally being able to blurt out the question that was burning in his mind. He slightly resented Rik for not telling him and demanded an explanation.

“Corvus, surely you understand if I told you, you wouldn’t have acted rationally.” He responded.

“You don’t know how I would react, Rik.” He responded.

“I watched over you and Sasha for nearly six years, Corvus. I know what you got in trouble for. I know what classes your sister takes. I know where you work. I know your boss. You may not know me, kid, but I know you better than you think.” He responded quickly. Corvus wanted to fire back but realized the truth in his words. Corvus didn’t even know how he would react to that type of information.

“Your father saved my life, many times. He pulled me out of a lot of situations I otherwise never would have escaped. I owed him my life, and his only request was to ensure your safety.” He finished. Corvus nodded and looked out into the dark city.

“That’s why you wanted to help me for such a small favour. It all makes sense now.” Corvus responded, now knowing that Corvus wouldn’t have had to do anything for Rik to help him.

“He was my best friend, Corvus. He was my only friend. Be happy your father did what he did for you.” He explained. Corvus still felt bitter about his father having been absent but fully understood that it wasn’t his fault; it was simply fate.

“What was your dad like, Rik?” Corvus asked him. Rik could sense the question coming a mile away and already prepared himself to answer.

“Abusive. Drunk. Scum. There isn’t much else to say about him. He was a city guard, here on Sareen. He was there for me, but I wanted him as far from me and my mother as possible. Eventually, my wishes came true.” Rik said. Corvus could understand why Rik was the way he was, and why his exterior was so rock hard.

“He left you?” Corvus asked. Rik blankly stared out into the city he’d grown up in as a child, as many dark memories clouded his childhood with screaming, punching and kicking.

“I made him leave.” He said after a long pause, not breaking his aimless glare. Corvus could see how shaken Rik was to think about his father, and as much as he didn’t want to think about how Rik could kill his own father, he’d never grown up in an abusive household. He wanted to understand, but he simply could not.

“I’m sorry, Rik.” Corvus said.

“Don’t sweat it, kid. He deserved what he got.” He responded.

“That’s fair.” Corvus said. The thought of what Rik had gone through in his life compared to Corvus, even up to now seemed so minuscule that he felt almost ashamed of feeling the way he did. Regardless, his sister was in a horrific spot in her life and it would likely change her forever if she survived. If there was ever a moment Corvus could read minds, he prayed it was this moment but alas, he could not.

“Get some rest, kid. We’ll get the scumbag.” Rik said.

“How are we gonna do it?” Corvus asked.

“We need to hatch a plan, which could take a while, kid.” He responded.

“How long is a while?” Corvus asked.

“We gotta be smart about this. We plan, then we attack.” He said, finishing the conversation. Corvus wanted to continue the argument trying to get Rik’s blessing to run in guns blazing, but he instead descended into the main cabin of the ship and went to where Rik let him sleep the last few times. Vikurl was absent from the main cabin and was likely keeping to himself. He climbed onto the bed and collapsed onto the thin mattress of the bed and could feel the steel frame upon impact, which he didn’t mind.

His body was tired and his bones and muscles ached having had to run, dodge, shoot and jump his way through the fray, and it was far from over. Though his body was tired, his mind was far from tired and was a whirlwind of his father, Rik and Sasha. His father soon began to fade from his mind and Sasha’s well being became a priority. Not until now did he realize how serious the situation with Sasha was at this point. Before, the Butcher had almost got her but missed by a landslide; now he had her in his grasp and could be doing anything to her right now. She could be screaming and crying his name right now, praying he would bust down the door and rescue her. She could be dead.

His eyes were shut but his mind would not stop. It began to recharge his body with new found fuel he didn’t think he had. The adrenaline had kicked in and before he could process the thought in his head and before he knew it, he was dead set on getting Sasha back. Whether or not he was going to wait for Vikurl and Rik was no longer the case and was growing severely impatient. He wanted to reason with himself about going after her without their help but he knew as soon as the ship landed there would be nothing to stop him. Rik wanted to plan, but Corvus wanted action; not only for Sasha but for vengeance of his father.

Sasha pummelled into the hard concrete floor and failed to push herself to her feet. She turned her head slightly enough to see the door slam shut behind her. Once the door shut she was left in near darkness other than the thin line of light that seeped through the cracks of the door. Suddenly, lights flickered on in the cell and she noticed the front and back of each cell was thick concrete and metal, and the sides were all thick glass so she could see down the cell block into other cells. They were all empty, aside from the stains of blood and remains of bones and decomposing bodies.

She crawled up against the back wall and curled her legs up to her chest and shut her eyes. The room smelt musty and carried the scent of dried up blood; there was a slight haze to the air that made it difficult to clearly see all the way down the cell block. The light was nothing but a small bulb hanging on a wire from the ceiling which was a maze of pipes and steel beams. She looked for a way out of the cell, but it was hopeless; even if she escaped her cell the estate had several cameras that she noticed on her way in and she wouldn’t make it very far without being caught.

The image of her father polluted her subconscious and his final pleading words to let her go ravaged her from within. The guilt of her father’s death was not easy to cope with, and ever since being dragged from his apartment hours ago it became worse and worse. She know it wasn’t hurt fault, she kept repeating it in her head and out loud, but the more she said it the more it lost its meaning. Sasha wasn’t sure what was happening, but she began to realize that she may be losing her mind.

After being kidnapped by Borin the day before, now closing in on the second day, her body and mind had been through a chaotic rampage of trials. If she miraculously made it out alive, then this event would change her for the rest of her life, without a doubt. She wanted to be a nurse but all of that changed drastically; she knew if she ever got out of her perilous situation that she would do everything in her power to attack, dismantle and put to justice everybody involved in the slave trade. If she had a gun she wouldn’t think twice about ending everybody that surrounded her in the estate; but the difference between killing a man and not, was whether you thought about pulling the trigger, or actually pulling the trigger and she wasn’t sure if she could do it.

Suddenly, a small window opened in the door and a perfectly oval shape peered in through the gap. She covered her face and peeked through her arms at the man peeking through the slot. Whoever it was kept his gaze fixated on her and after a short but awkward moment the small window shut and a locking mechanism could be heard. The door slowly swung open and the Butcher was standing there silhouetted in the doorway. Her fears intensified and her muscles tensed up keeping her pinned as close to the wall as she could be. He approached her and looked down at her.

“You’re filthy.” He said, as his mechanical voice echoed through the cell block. She didn’t know whether or not to respond to the man, so she kept her mouth shut and forcing herself to stare down and not up at his black helmet.

“We’re going to wash you, then wait until you dry. Then we can play.” He said monotonously. The monotony in his voice was more frightening than words of anger; it showed his true psychotic nature as he calmly announced the potentially horrific things he planned to do to her. He turned and walked out of the cell as another man walked in with a massive hose. Before she could react the water blasted her and felt like rocks pounding against her flesh. She screamed as the water crushed down on her, rinsing her body off as if they were blasting dirt of the side of a building or putting a fire out. The cool water partially felt good, but the sheer force of it made her wounds ache and nearly split back open.

After what felt like an eternity the water stopped and she was drenched from head to toe. She now realized how cold the cell truly was as the water gave her goosebumps and chills. Her body began to shake from the cold and she held herself as tightly as she could to shield her from the relentless cold, but her efforts were in vain. The man who dragged the hose back out through a towel at her feet and slammed the door shut again, leaving her alone and cold. She went to grab the towel which was stained with dry blood and other darker coloured stains that she couldn’t pick out.

Closing her eyes she grabbed the towel and began drying the water off of her body cautiously and slowly. At this point she’d seen some nasty things, and it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it should have. Her mind was plagued with images of death, torture, pain and suffering and the idea of getting over the traumatic ideas seemed far fetched. The realization struck her that she may never want to get out of her situation alive. She looked at the towel and up at the pipes above her that were just low enough for her to grab. It would stop the fear. It would stop the pain. It would stop everything.

She threw the towel across the room and screamed not wanting to fall victim to the idea of taking her own life. The fact that it crossed her mind ashamed her, but there was little she could do right now. Fighting back would only enrage the Black Butcher and that was the last thing she needed to do. Corvus would fight tooth and nail to get out of any situation and as far as she knew he was fighting to get to her.

Sasha hoped that Corvus had gotten to their father before he would die. Perhaps they saved Orion’s life in time, but the nature of his wound would be difficult even for an experienced surgeon to fix. She hoped Corvus and her father had shared even a few words before his death. If that was the case, Corvus would be on the war path to save her. She would give him this chance to, but he didn’t have long. Sasha put her faith into her brother one last time and sat against the wall waiting for fate to guide her.

Borin entered the cell block and walked down the thin hallway to meet the Butcher with two of his guards half way. He crossed his arms waiting for the Butcher to say or give him something, but he remained silent and still.

“Well, we’re done ’ere.” Borin said. The Butcher remained still, staring at Borin through the shiny black dome of his helmet. Borin became restless and began fidgeting unsure of what exactly the Butcher was waiting for.

“Well?!” Borin yelled.

“You know, I’ve been thinking.” The Butcher said quickly. Suddenly, two guards came up behind Borin and jammed a stun baton into his back sending him crashing into the ground with a thud.

“What are you doing?!” he yelled through the grunts. The guards stood over him with their stun batons pointed to his face. He wanted to jump up and fight but he remained on the floor quivering, trying to hide both his anger and fear. Borin wasn’t scared of many things but the Butcher was certainly one of few things he was terrified of.

“You’re worth a lot of money;” he explained deviously, “so I said to myself, why am I paying this scumbag, when I can just make the money back? Instead of paying you, I collect on your bounty.” He said, chuckling to himself.

“And, also, I can’t believe how stupid you really are, I offered you the exact same amount as the bounty on your head.” He continued condescendingly. He quickly stopped laughing and knelt down over Borin.

“Funny, isn’t it?” he finished as he stood up and opened the cell beside Sasha’s. The guards grabbed him dragging him into the cell as he struggled and threw him against the wall. His two other guards entered the room and made way for Borin to look back out of the cell at the Butcher who was now silhouetted in the bright lit hallway in contrast to the dark cell.

“Beat the hell from him.” He said, walking out of the cell block. The guards began to kick, punch, shock and toss Borin around his cell as Sasha watched through the thick glass between the cells. Borin began yelling and begging for the guards to stop as they continuously beat into him with not a single moment of relent. The more he begged, the harder they hit him and the more he cried the more they shocked him.

She pulled herself up the wall and walked over to the glass in order to get a closer look. Wanting to tell herself it was wrong, and that she shouldn’t enjoy such a sight she pressed her forehead up against the glass and locks eyes with Borin, who was now lying in the ground with tears in his eyes and blood trickling down his face. All she could do was smile, and despite her dire situation there was nothing better than watching the disgusting man who had beaten her to within an inch of her life have the favour returned.