Xenos

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. This was the last thing that Conrad heard as he was pushed into the airlock with only the oxygen in his suit, “Stop, I was set up by the Runners,” he shouted out, only to be ignored as the door slid shut. The runners were a small criminal band that was trying to take over the station floating in space over planet Xenos and were succeeding by setting up individuals that had some importance on the station. “Come on guys, you know I wouldn’t try and sabotage the life support, that would be crazy and insane,” Conrad protested through the airlock communications. “Sorry sir, but all evidence is pointing at you and you had the access with your clearance,” one of his former colleagues replied. “Just give me a chance to clear my name,” was the last thing Conrad said as he was sucked out by the vacuum of space when the door slid open. Floating helplessly in the vast darkness as the station floated further and further away when a crackle came over his comms, “Sir, can you hear me?” came a female voice. “If you can sir, I am coming in from under you and when I get close enough he will shoot a line to you. Do you understand what I am saying?” she asked and trying to conserve his oxygen gave a thumbs up.

A few moments later there was a small fighter class ship closing in on him, but it wasn’t the ship he was talking to but one of the runner’s ships as the laser just barely missed him. “They must have been tracking the communications,” he thought to himself as another beam streaked by him. Conrad looked around but could not see the ship that contacted him as the runner’s ship came close and fired again, coming closer than previously when it was hit by a torpedo and exploded in front of him and that was when the other ship appeared from behind a nearby asteroid.

“Sir, are you all right?” came the voice again, and once again he gave a thumbs up cause his oxygen was getting low and he was slowly losing consciousness when a grappling line went by him, slowly he reached out and grabbed it, attached it to his suit and that was the last thing he remembered.

When Conrad opened his eyes, he was lying on his back in some kind of med-bay as he tried to sit up. “You must remain lying down till the oxygen can replenish your body. It has been through a lot and you must relax to regain your strength,” came a voice close to him, and when he looked he could see the auburn skin and bright aqua eyes of Xana. She was a native of Xenos, the planet below, and was a friend of Conrad that he made when he was first deployed here and now she was his savior. “How did you know?” he asked. “I heard a rumor that the runners were going to set someone up but didn’t know who and I was on my way to confront you about this when it went down and I heard their communications, and lucky for you I was already on the way or you would have been floating out there somewhere now, dead. That is when I contacted you and I could hear the crackle of another radio and knew we were being listened to so I hid behind the asteroid and then I saw the laser bolts. Patiently I waited for them to come into torpedo range, hoping they wouldn’t hit you and then I destroyed them cause if I missed we both would be dead now cause this ship is not equipped for head-on battle, with no lasers we are sitting ducks so I had to set it up so I could take him out with the only torpedo I had,” she explained. “You were lucky,” he said as he sat up and she walked over to him. “I’m happy to have you as a friend and partner,” he said as he embraced her in a hug and ran his hand through her purplish, red hair. “Thank you.”

“So, what do we do now?” Xana asked.