“We need to assist them!”
“Lightblade, slow down.”
“They sent a distress flare!”
“Lightblade, listen!”
“We have to go right now!”
“PHOS, STOP!”
Lightblade finally did as he was told, mostly because using his actual name rather than his codename always caught him off guard and made him pause. But also Soulblade and Voidblade were both standing in the way, physically stopping him from going any further.
“There is a Life Goddess in a ship who is sending out a distress flare, and you are telling me we SHOULDN’T ASSIST THEM?”
Voidblade crossed his arms and growled. “It might be a trap. We have had similar traps and distress signals sent in the past. When the Thantir were among us, we were sent distress signals from fake Life Goddess vessels three damn times!”
“But we can see the ship! It is right there!” Lightblade was getting twitchy. He’d already called ahead and had his crew set up a ship for him, ready to go. “It is a LIFE GODDESS. We literally exist BECAUSE of Life Goddesses! And, since the Voidborns are gone, it is our duty to HELP those in distress, whether they are Life Goddesses or otherwise!”
Voidblade clamed down a little, then patted Lightblade on the shoulder. “You are right, my dearest friend, but we are running head first into the unknown. We need to think things through and not be rash, and that means putting your desire to protect the innocent on hold, just for a moment.”
“I have a bigger concern, actually!” Soulblade interrupted. “That vessel looks far too familiar.”
“It… does?” Lightblade blinked.
“It looks like the two strange Life Goddess ships the Thantir used to get to the Diamond undetected. The only difference is the colour.”
This caused both Lightblade and Voidblade to pause.
“That… that… I don’t… That is weird… And only solidifies my desire to help!” Lightblade finally exclaimed. “That might be someone connected to the Mothers! We HAVE to help them!”
Voidblade sighed. “We’ve told you, a hundred times, Lightblade. The Mothers are gone. The only one still alive fled this sector before we even formed.”
“Most of the Thantir were connected to the Final Mother!” Lightblade protested. “Please, just let me go and do my damn duty!”
“We can’t. You are too easily swayed…” Voidblade turned to Soulblade. “You are going to have to grab a team and go. Your psionic underlings are less likely to be tricked by an aggressive entity if this turns out to be a trap.”
Soulblade didn’t like that statement at all, but he knew Voidblade was right. “Fine. Lightblade, you have a ship ready, yes?”
“I do.”
With a rather unwilling sigh, Soulblade closed his eyes and fired off some telepathic messages. “I will take it. Orders have been sent, Spiritblade and Pneumablade will accompany me. I am not taking anyone else, do not want to risk too many casualties.”
“You… really think it is a trap?” Lightblade frowned.
“When was the last time we had a Life Goddess distress signal be genuine?” Voidblade asked back. “A very long time ago. Better safe than sorry, yes?”
“Yes…” Lightblade frowned some more, relenting fully. “You had better be quick though, Soulblade. If it IS genuine and-”
“I am going right now!”
Thankfully, the ship was prepared and ready to go, as Lightblade had ordered. Spiritblade and Pneumablade, two powerful psions dressed in white, pink and gold armour, assisted Soulblade, with Pneumablade flying the ship and Spiritblade on communications and monitoring. The small ship quickly left the hangar of the Shimmering Blade and made its way towards the bright pink vessel.
Once they were close, Soulblade attempted to make audible contact.
“Unidentified Vessel, this is Phantai ship Helping Blade 012, please state your emergency.”
A voice trickled through the intercom, overly sweet and alluring. “Oh my! You are friendly! Would you be able to board my ship so I can… see you in person?”
“Who are you?” Soulblade asked.
“Life Goddess. A lonely one. Fresh out of the Kinigian Wilderness, kinda lost here in the… uh… well, my map says the Golden Paradise, but this doesn’t look particularly golden or paradise-y!”
Spiritblade and Pneumablade glanced at each other, but Soulblade suddenly felt rather nervous.
“Feels like a trap, boss…” Spiritblade muttered. “No one calls the other place the Kinigian Wilderness but calls this place the Golden Paradise.”
“Brother, we have been trying to turn the Goldtorn Remains back into the Golden Paradise for a while now. Maybe our marketing team actually accomplished something!” Pneumablade tutted.
“From where within the Kinigian Wilderness are you from?” Soulblade queried.
“Dunno. Think some idiot named it the Phovon Gap. Don’t know why it’s named after Kinisis anyway, she was fucking useless.”
All three Decay Lords abruptly fell silent for a moment.
“I… am going to go on board and speak to her in person…” Soulblade finally whispered. “If she does anything aggressive, run away, tell Voidblade and Lightblade and shut off all communications with the ship. Because if this is a Mother and she is angry, then you two will not be able to stop her alone.”
“Understood, boss.”
Soulblade frowned, then got up and sent a boarding request.
“Life Goddess, you have requested that we board your vessel. We are sending over one individual now.”
“Alrighty!” the cheery voice beamed back. “Side door is open! Ready when you are!”
With an anxious sigh, Soulblade set up the connector tube and docked with the pink vessel. He took a moment to steady himself, stepped through and sealed the door behind him before he boarded. However, Soulblade breathed a massive sigh of relief as he entered the new ship and realized that the Life Goddess on board, who seemed to be utterly alone, was blatantly not a Mother.
She was a giant, pink and purple snake. With tits.
But she wasn’t a Mother.
“Hello!” the Life Goddess grinned. “Oh! You’re one of those Beh’evok thingies! Am I in the Golden Paradise or did I take a left turn at the Athata Rift? Also, what’s your name and can I visit your ship? Are you the local folks in charge around here?”
“We are, yes. I am Soulblade, a member of the Phantai Decay Lord sect, our duty is to offer protection to all those in the Goldtorn Remains. We are currently trying to rebuild the area after the millennia of destruction and damages caused by the recently destroyed Voidborn cults. Is your ship damaged in some way?”
The Life Goddess shrugged. “No. I’m just curious. Can you take me to your flagship please?”
“Why?”
“I want to learn more about you.”
Soulblade eyed the Life Goddess somewhat. She was larger than he was, not even including her massive, snaking tail.
“Again, why?”
More shrugs. “I’m looking for family.”
“Family?” Soulblade very suddenly realized his initial thought was incorrect. The Life Goddess standing before him may not have been an original Mother, but she shared blood. And that was danger-
Sini swirled her fingers around, making Soulblade abruptly pause. While the Psion’s telepathic network was initially well-shielded, Sini quickly spotted an unusual, Skyavok-like gap in it. A tiny one that was very well hidden. Sini didn’t need it though. She just politely and telepathically informed Soulblade that she was technically a Mother.
“So, Psehon, are you going to let me meet your friends or what?” Sini smiled.
Soulblade rubbed his eyes. “Please do not hurt anyone.”
“Why would I do that? I’m a nice Life Goddess. Plus, you’ve already met my little sister. Anyway, dear, can you take me to your ship? I want to have a look around.”
Knowing he couldn’t really argue, Soulblade sighed. “Of course. Please follow my ship back to the Shimmering Blade.”
Sini patted Soulblade on the head. “Good boy. Introduce me to your friends now, won’t you?”