grease monkey

Lorwenn landed with a soft thud on the metal railing, and closed the hatch leading to the maintenance hallway, she gripped the sidebars, and picked the toolbox that sat on the corner of the rail. The toolbox, though heavy, was nothing she couldn’t handle. Lorwenn was a tall strong fox Kruvnir, her orange fur smudged with a few oil stains she had already gathered up from work. She had long light strawberry red hair tied in a tight ponytail and a good humored attitude, whistling as she casually walked down the core’s maintenance hall.
“Morning Lorwenn, how was the date yesterday?” Kale her supervisor asked as she walked in. Kale, an old wolf Kruvnir, had hired her as the core mechanic mostly for her skills, but she knew it was out of compassion for being the same race.
“Dreadful… I swear I cannot find a single good male out there,” She rolled her eyes. “How ‘bout you? How’s your back doing?”
“It got better – a little bit. It still feels stiff.” Kale tried to move his back to a more comfortable position, but gave up and dropped forward again. The old Kruvnir was only around sixty but having been a mechanic for many years and the constant hunching in tight spaces took a toll on him.
“You didn’t go to the chiropractor like I told you did you?” Lorwenn laid the toolbox down close to a panel that stood against the wall facing the Core’s main entrance, the poorly lit maintenance room was just a door away from the main reactor of the core. Lorwenn had been working on the panel for a day at least, a broken electric connector and the arcana cell had been damaged.
“I didn’t… Well I did but when I heard how they take care of it I backed away.”
“You’re a large rough tough wolf Kale, you can’t fool me.” Lorwenn brought up a pouch she was carrying, putting down the new arcana cell: a square little item made of the synthetic material that allowed storage of large amounts of magic. It hummed with new energy, a sound she loved to hear.
“You should have heard the sounds from the clinic… I thought someone was being taken apart back there.” Kale shivered.
“They won’t take you apart…” Lorwenn’s voice sounded half muffled by the panel surrounding her head now.
“I know but… Still.”
“Are you afraid of medics?”
“No…”
“Yes you are” Lorwenn poked out and gave him a playful glance.
“Would you get back to work” Kale barked, snorting impatiently.
Lorwenn laughed and took the wire strippers digging into the panel again.
“I wish the dragons wouldn’t trash their ships like this as much… how do you even do this to a coolant auxiliary panel?”
“It was not their fault, didn’t you know? This ship was attacked by pirates, those nasty buggers know how to damage a ship.”
“In order to take on a dragon ship I imagine these pirates are either dragons themselves or incredibly well equipped.”
“Pirates have been getting hands on some power armor as far as I’m aware, it’s been getting pretty dangerous out there.”
“That’s reassuring… Good grief there is also a burnt out circuit in here.”
“I have some here with me.” Kale opened his pouch and picked out a new fuse, lifting himself from the chair he sat, when suddenly a loud explosion shook the entire ship, throwing Kale off his feet, and making Lorwenn bump her head against the panel’s top.
“Warning, hull breach, critical damage.” The monotone voice of the ship computer echoed around the walls.
“God damnit what happened?” Kale painfully got himself up while Lorwenn moved out of the panel rubbing her head and cursing.
“Maintenance do you copy?” The radio sounded from the reactor’s main panel.
“This is Kale we copy”
“The station is under attack, I repeat, under attack, you are to evacuate any personnel with you.”
“Good damn thing you’re the only one” Kale said to Lorwenn who was already on her feet and helping Kale.
They ran through the core’s railings, climbing the shaft’s stairs. Lorwenn let Kale go first, if anything happened she could help. They managed out of the maintenance bay, running through the tight corridors that lead to the main ship’s halls. Another crash shook the ship making the two lose their balance, Kale yelped as he held to the wall.
“Kale!” Lorwenn shouted reaching for his hand, he grabbed it, and they continued down the hall. The warning being repeated by the ship’s computer.
“Warning, main hull breach, oxygen supply damaged, life support disabled.”
“What the hell would anyone want by attacking a harbored ship!?” Lorwenn spat as they finally made to the exit of the maintenance access and into the large spacious dragon hallways.
“Nothing good I’m sure, this is a cargo ship, and I would imagine they might have something valuable.” Kale said weakly, wobbling as he tried to keep up with Lorwenn, he pressed a hand against his chest gasping.
Dragons were running past them now, the escape pod area at the end of the semi maze like structure of the ship. None of the dragons stopped to even offer help when another explosion caused the hallway to break in half, white panels and wires sputtering sparks as the ship’s inner walls turned to a blazing mess. The outside of the ship and the large hangar now revealed. Kale shouted as he stumbled back, falling against the ship’s breaking half. He managed to hold on to wirings, grunting as he tried to pull himself back up. Lorwenn had managed to keep her balance, throwing herself forward and grabbing onto a door to her left. She looked back at Kale who was struggling to pull himself up.
“Kale!” She cried and tried to look for a way to reach him. The wiring he held on to was at the very edge of the broken half of the ship, all the metal covers that hid the wires had flown off. She couldn’t see a good foothold, the ship began to slant forward as gravity took its toll. Above, the space dock revealed explosions and shouts, Lorwenn caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a second ship, but half of it was hidden by the ceiling of the broken hallway.
“Don’t try anything Lorwenn! Go before it’s too late” Kale shouted.
“But Kale!” Lorwenn shouted back
“Go! Damnit you, get the hell out of here!”
Tears formed in her eyes, but she did as he ordered, her boots gripped the ship’s still smooth floor, and she ran as if dashing up a hill, looking back one more time only to see Kale let go and fall. She looked away stifling a sob as she continued her way through the halls, her mind racing through thoughts of Kale’s companionship, but she was quickly snapped back to reality as another explosion shook the ship.
The ship’s engines still thundering in the background as she followed the arrows leading to the escape pods. Two dragons hurried her along as she passed the rec room, until she finally arrived the large round room where some of the escape pods were. The two dragons followed her, three other dragons and one human waited inside a pod, beckoning to them; the last pod in the bay.
She sat on the smaller seat, next to the human who helped her put the seatbelt. The passenger area had five dragon seats and five smaller seats, one of the dragons took the pilot seat and pressed the red button, the pod’s door closed, and the strong clunking of the latches locking the door felt reassuring. An explosion behind the door rattled the pod. Lorwenn gripped the seat’s arms, the dark interior of the pod gave her chills as she realized they would be ejecting into the space dock, and hell knows if they would hit a wall.
“Hold on tight!” The pilot dragon spoke as the pod began to charge its engine. The continuous ‘woosh’ it emitted prepared the pod’s exit, and with one strong blast the pod was away. Silence suddenly gripped them as they suddenly flew to the vacuum. The space dock had been ripped apart, debris spreading through the vacuum of space as the space dock parted in two. The smaller half of the dock had drifted away from the station itself, allowing the ship’s escape exits to be cleared. Lorwenn cleaned her wet cheek’s fur as she noticed one of the dragon’s looking back towards her, she quickly looked away outside, the pilot picked the headgear on top of the panel, placing it around his ears.
“This is hechi five thousand, any survivors heading to the planet please respond.” He looked out through the window trying to make out any other escape pods or ships that might have made it. The pod shook violently as the outside of the pod began to creak under some stress.
“Bogeys” The pilot said taking the manual controls. “You two take the guns now!” The pilot said to two dragons who sat on the sides. The console for the guns had neat entrances for dragon hands, the two took their positions. The other two dragons seemed uneasy by the experience, one of them shifted on his chair, the other, a female, gripped to the chair’s sides, ripping the cushion.
Lorwenn couldn’t help but do the same and gripped her chair tighter feeling the pod shake once again. The two dragons began to restlessly press buttons, grunts, and growls showing their frustration as they tried to fend off the incoming enemies. Lorwenn felt a hand on hers, it was the human, their eyes met. She bit her lip but relaxed even if slightly by the human’s reassuring smile.
“Clear the one on the right, he is locking on to the engines!” The pilot said shifting the joystick.
The pod rattled and shook again as another impact bounced off the shield.
“Shields at forty percent” The pilot said desperate “Entering planet’s atmosphere in thirty seconds.”
“Enough for those bastards to take us out.” One of the gunners snarled.
“Keep shooting damnit!” The other gunner said slamming his controls. “Out of ammo!”
“I got it!” The first said smiling.
“Still more after us. Hold on to your tails, we are entering atmosphere.”
“Pursuers pulling back” one gunner said
“Missile launch!” The pilot frantically pressed buttons. “Redirecting power to shields…”
A loud explosion blew a hole on the side of the pod. The human shouted as the explosion reached his left side, he held his arm tightly. An ugly burn covered his arm and part of his chest and belly, burning through part of his clothing. The flames were put out by Lorwenn’s patting.
“We have a wounded!” She shouted.
Already she could feel the change in pressure, and her lungs began screaming for air. Masks dropped from the half broken panel above, the dragons took theirs and put them on. The masks covered the entire face with a transparent screen, closed off on the back of the heads. The same applied to the humanoid masks, there were various shaped for kruvnir and human. She pulled the kruvnir shaped one over her head, and fumbled for the other one placing it over the human’s head. The reassuring hiss made Lorwenn at least feel better as the powerful atmosphere changed around her. The sudden pressure punched her in the lungs and made her gasp for air. The intense G force began to crush her, as if her innards would fly out of her mouth. The fire from the pod’s exposed hull did not help either, the searing heat uncomfortable against her furry body.
“We are losing altitude fast, I’ll try an emergency landing.” The pilot announced, his voice sounding clear through the mask’s speaker.
Lorwenn held her breath as she felt herself spin out of control, the vertigo making her feel faint. Lorwenn tried to hold on and keep herself awake, if she would die, she wanted to see it happen till the last moment. The dragon’s seats blocked her view but she didn’t need to see outside to know what was happening.
“Brace for impact… three… two… one.”
A loud crackling crash surrounded her as the ship slid through rocky faces, she was thrown forward, but caught by her seatbelt. The crashing seemed to last forever. Lorwenn was thrown to all directions as the pod tumbled and slid through the rocks of the planet, loud screams of metal giving in to the weight of the pod. Finally it stopped, and Lorwenn breathed fast, her heart pounding quickly, she could hardly feel anything else. She lifted her head and looked around, noticing she was mostly unharmed, any injuries she had she didn’t feel or see it. The human was laid over his face with the seatbelt still holding him. She lifted him, he was still alive, but had lost consciousness.
“Are you all right?” The pilot said behind the seats. The pod survived and the other dragons seemed alive by the unhappy grunts and the moving bodies in front.
“I’m fine.” They said one by one.
“I’m alive but we have a casualty back here” Lorwenn said, her voice trembling and weak.
“What’s the situation?” The female from before unbuckled her seatbelt and peered over from her seat.
“He seems burnt on the left side, most of his arm and part of his chest.” Lorwenn said unbuckling her own.
“I have some medical training I’ll take care of it.” She said pushing through her seat.
“Anyone of you fix this?” The pilot asked.
“I’m a mechanic sir” Lorwenn said stepping forward, her legs wobbled as she walked.
“The door seems damaged, can you manage it?”
Lorwenn inspected the jammed door. The lock seemed broken, but the panel beside the door seemed intact. Lorwenn pulled the emergency manual lever, and kicked the large door off, the lock’s emergency assembly disengaging neatly with a hiss. She stepped off first, onto a rocky landscape, large growth of green and brown trees surrounded them, and behind the large pod the trail left from the crash. Lorwenn removed her mask, taking a quick sniff of the thick air, the strong humid air felt almost painful to take in as it swarmed in her lungs, she could hear a loud cacophony of birds and animals coming from the jungle.
“Miss, your shoulder.” The pilot’s voice sounded from behind.
Lorwenn placed a hand over her shoulders, looking at them to see her right hand stained with blood. She didn’t feel any of the pain though.
“It seems like a small wound but your fur is stained with blood, I would get that checked soon.”
“I’ll be fine captain.” Lorwenn cleared her throat.
“Skips, that’s my nickname at least, please call me that…”
“Lorwenn.” She said looking at the seemingly young red dragon, he was strong built but smaller than normal, no larger than four meters.
“Miss Lorwenn what was your station?” He asked helping the other dragons out.
“Engineer, second in command of the space station’s reactor, I was conducting repairs to the ship’s core when the whole thing came down.”
“You seem shaken, have you been trained in any sort of survival?”
“No.” Lorwenn shook her head, noticing her legs were still wobbly.
“Very well, thank you for your help with the door, can you open the hatch on the back of the pod? All the survival equipment should be there.”
“Yes sir -- uh -- Skips.”
He nodded and began speaking with the other dragons, one of them opened his wings and leaped up standing for a second in the air and then coming down softly.
“Nothing seems to be around, and I see no ships coming either.” The gunner said, he was only slightly bigger than the pilot, but colored green.
“Damnit… They must be after it” Skips said punching the ground.
“Survival equipment seems fine” Lorwenn said picking up a fire extinguisher and putting out the flames still alive but weak around the ship’s left side. “But it’s dragon sized stuff so I can’t do much.”
“We will take it from here. Private, I need you to scout for shelter big enough for all of us, this rocky nowhere has to have some kind of cave.”
“Will do” The green dragon took off flying low over the trees, his color mixing in with the leaves.
“I need medical supplies, the human is not faring well.” The female said from inside.
“I got some” The other dragon, another red one had taken out some of the survival equipment. He rummaged into the metal box picking out a small white box with the three scratches of dragon tongue meaning ‘first aid’ he handed the box to the female who took it graciously.
“Our priority will be to take shelter right now. Those pirates will be coming after survivors, and I’ll be caught dead before my crew comes out as slaves.” Skips said looking at the other three dragons and side glancing at Lorwenn. “Once we find shelter we will try to establish contact with the other survivors if there are any.”
“If we try to make any contact won’t the pirates be able to intercept our signal and find us?” a blue dragon asked.
“That’s why we will try to wait them out in a shelter, we might be able to hunt and survive well enough for a while in this jungle.”
“The same might not be said by the other survivors” A deep voiced red dragon spoke.
“It’s the best plan of action I can think of right now, unless you have a better plan” Skips growled impatiently.
“No sir.” The red dragon shook his head.
“I’m not familiar with any of you though.” He signaled to the dragons.
“Private Julius, gun specialist.” The other gunner, the red colored slightly taller than Skips spoke first, abruptly.
“Doctor Farek, research and development, and general scientist.” The deep voiced red dragon said.
“Wing-dragon Fried” A smaller blue dragon said.
“Doctor Amethyst, student of medical science.” The dragoness said from inside the ship, still tending to the human, she was a dark blue color, almost mixing into a purple hue.
“A student?” The pilot looked frowning.
“I was doing an internship at the space station, I came to look at the ship’s medical bay when the attack happened.”
“That’s some damned bad luck” Farek growled.
“She would probably have fared much worse at the space station, I would say she was lucky to be close to the escape pods.” Fried said chuckling drily.
“I don’t think anyone in the space station’s area could say they had any kind of luck my friends…” Skips said looking at Lorwenn and signaling for her to introduce herself to the group.
“I’m Lorwenn, general engineer.” She said sheepishly.
“Good, an engineer, you might be of use with the equipment.” Julius said pulling out the last of the metal boxes, he counted four of them in total, each big enough to cover several of Lorwenn’s size.
“I’ll do what I can” Lorwenn touched her hurt shoulder again, feeling the oozing blood.
“Doctor Amethyst, Lorwenn needs medical assistance as well, how is the human?”
“He is stabilizing, his burns should be well off by tomorrow, but I think he might have a broken rib. I can have a look at her.” She stepped out of the pod, carrying the medical box. She laid it next to Lorwenn and gave her a quick smile, Lorwenn looked away bashfully. She lowered her jumpsuit and removed her tank top. Finally she pulled off her bra’s strap, and sat, allowing Amethyst to have a look at her shoulder.
“You seem to be holding back a lot of feelings” Amethyst started.
“I tend to do that” Lorwenn sighed.
“A hurting soul only gets worse by holding back the pain.” Amethyst picked at Lorwenn’s shoulder. She pulled out a fur remover, and pushed it over the wound. The hairs surrounding the wound were burned right off. Lorwenn winced and tried to hold back her muscles from moving.
“It was someone special… A very close friend. He was in the ship with me.”
“I’m terribly sorry.”
“How about you?” Lorwenn asked trying to keep her mind off the burning the disinfectant did.
“I had colleagues in the station, but no one close to me… As Fried suggested I’m probably the luckiest here.”
“Are you afraid?” Lorwenn looked at Amethyst, their eyes meeting.
“I would be lying if I said no…”
“I found a cave that way” The green dragon said pointing to a direction. Lorwenn’s ear twitched as she was surprised by the sudden return.
The pilot nodded. “Very well, Amethyst can you carry the human and Lorwenn?”
Amethyst nodded.
“Good… You three help carry the supply boxes, we will try to share the weight if it’s too heavy.”
“I can carry one by myself.” Farek said already taking off and carrying one of the boxes.
The other dragons tried the weight of the other boxes, luckily each dragon could carry one box.
“Can you pick the human from his seat?” Amethyst asked.
“He looks small enough.” Lorwenn said while she put her clothes back on, and wrapped the jumpsuit’s top around her waist. She placed her arms around the human, lifting him on his side, her shoulder startled, but she managed. Amethyst crouched and helped Lorwenn with an arm, placing them neatly on her smooth back.
The cave dripped ominously with droplets in the deep of the dark cave. Strong flashlights were brought out, hand cranked for energy and placed on top of rocks illuminating the cave’s walls.
“Private Gor.” The green dragon said when Skips asked, they settled down on the cave and began to pick through the metal boxes. The survival equipment was already laid down over the smoother surface of the cave. Canteens, water filters, a human sized rifle, some dragon gauntlets, and other equipment that Lorwenn knew would come in handy. Except for a compass which seemed to point to a direction, but given the planet was uncharted no one would know what it would mean.
“Can’t tell what the planet’s magnetic field is like, but we can still use this when someone leaves the cave, it can still point out where we are headed, and it’s a lot better than the not working GPS.” Farek said putting the compass away.
“Why won’t it work?” Lorwenn asked perking up
“No satellites.”
“Oh…” She perked down again
“We will try to conserve the rations as much as possible, the longer we stay inside the better.” Skips said settling down on a smooth surface close to a corner of the cave.
“Is anyone else hurt?” Amethyst asked turning from the human.
“I’m bruised but no real injury.” Skips said.
“Just my pride” Farek snorted.
The other three shook their heads.
“Having a tough scaly hide pays off.” Julius said with a faint smile.
Lorwenn frowned, she placed a hand on her bandaged shoulder, and looked at the human who seemed to sleep uneasily. He was right, none of the dragons had suffered any injury, and their tougher hides protected them. She couldn’t help but feel like deadweight.
“Don’t worry little one, you will be fine.” Amethyst said noticing Lorwenn.
“Hard to believe that” She shook her head, and picked a sleeping bag from the pile of supplies.
Amethyst laid her head over her forelegs and sniffed, watching Lorwenn settle down, but looking over at the dragons again, engaging in a conversation in dragon tongue. Lorwenn could make out most of what they were speaking, but they spoke too fast. She shrugged and closed her eyes, letting her sore mind forget the hardships that had happened that day