Chapter 7
The scout ship returned to the command ship and docked with it. Commander Hans led his prisoners off of the scout craft and onto the main bridge. "Not so tough now, are you, Knydaxian?" he sneered at Anna.
Anna glared at him. "Kiru ke." she said venomously.
Elsa looked away in shame. Anna was now in chains and in a containment pod, a force field around her. She hated seeing her friend like that, but it was the only way Anna would survive.
Anna looked at Elsa, a glimmer of hope in her yellow eyes. "Fein." she whispered.
Elsa looked away, a tear falling from her eye.
Commander Hans directed his attention to Elsa. "Welcome aboard the Black Raven, Captain Frost. She's one of the best cruisers in the entire Zetan fleet."
"Thank you, Commander." Elsa replied, faking a generous tone in her voice.
"Now, Captain, you have two options. Option one: be locked in a containment cell alongside your little friend here. Option two: swear loyalty to the Empire, and to me, and be allowed to walk relatively freely within my ship."
Elsa thought carefully. If she was in a cell, she would be closer to Anna, and be able to comfort her. But if she was on the outside, she could do so much more to help her. Plus, she knew Hans was the heir to the Empire, and that presented an opportunity she couldn't pass up. "I'll choose the latter." Elsa said. "on one condition."
"Oh?" Hans inquired. "And what would that be?"
"I know that you're the heir to the Empire," Elsa explained, "and as such, you'd need someone to continue your lineage. I'll become your wife and be loyal to you alone."
Hans raised an eyebrow. "Are you...offering yourself to me?"
"As your bride, yes." Elsa replied. "Do you accept me?"
Hans thought for a moment. This was perfect: he could acquire a wife skilled in combat, thus allowing them both to remain as soldiers. "Yes, I accept your terms."
Elsa kissed him, as Anna stared in wide-eyed horror. "Sona..." she whispered.
Hans smirked. "Come with me, my pet. You need a uniform. Lieutenant, please escort the Knydaxian to a containment cell."
Elsa gave Anna one last look before following Hans.
xXx
Anna sat in the corner of her holding cell on the Zetan command ship. She felt so weak; she had no iridium energy left in her body. She was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Elsa came down to her cell, now wearing a Zetan uniform. Anna had been placed in a special confinement cell on the ship that would keep her alive, but she would still be very weak.
Anna heard footsteps approaching her cell. "Elsa...?"
"It's me, Anna." Elsa replied. "I'm so sorry this had to happen."
Anna looked at her angrily. "Fierfek." she spat.
"I had no choice." Elsa looked away. "If you hate me, then fine. I'll accept that."
"Weita jai inusa."
Elsa sighed. "I'm sorry we can't talk properly; your translator was what led them to us in the first place. It's my fault. I'm only trying to make things right."
Anna scowled. "Jai nex deuta ke."
"I'm sorry." Elsa looked at the Knydaxian girl. "I'm going to try convincing the commander to drop you off on a peaceful planet, where you can live happily."
The anger on Anna's face began to mix with sadness. "Jai yunisa ke, Elsa. Jai...jai tokun ke. K'nas ja'tou nira."
"Anna, I'm doing this for you." Elsa explained. "If I wanted to abandon you, I would've thrown you out of the airlock when I found you in the cargo hold. But I didn't. I realised you were worth fighting for. You're just like me."
"J'enai nexis ani ke." Anna retorted. "J'enai nex fierfek."
"You lost your world, your life, your friends to the Zetans." Elsa replied. "All things considered, we're identical." She sighed. "I'm sorry."
With that, Elsa left Anna be and returned to her quarters. They had been on the Zetan ship for four days now, and Elsa was sharing quarters with the first officer, Lieutenant Eric Ansaris.
Eric soon entered their quarters. "How is she?" he asked. "The Knydaxian."
"Anna is fine, Eric." Elsa informed. She knew Eric sympathised with her about what she had been through. He was the first Zetan that Elsa would actually consider a friend. If he was a Zetan, that is.
"So that's her name." Eric mused. "Anna."
"Yes, it is." Elsa said. "I just wish she wasn't in that damn cell."
"She can't be allowed to walk free. Even in that weakened state, she's still dangerous."
"I know, you've told me that about a hundred times now/" Elsa remarked.
Eric sighed. "Captain Frost...have you ever had a moment where you began to question yourself, and your deepest beliefs?"
"I did that when I was forced to come on this ship." Elsa answered. "And pledged myself to that bastard captain of yours." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm going to marry that man."
"Ever since your friend burned his face, he's been a completely different man," Eric commented. "The commander that I knew wouldn't allow a personal vendetta to get in the way of a mission."
"Why didn't he get rid of the scar?" Elsa asked. "He could have just used a dermal regenerator on his face and it would be all gone."
The lieutenant shrugged. "I don't know. It's like...nothing matters to him anymore except killing her. Like when his face was burned, his soul and sense of honour were just destroyed."
"If that's the case, why didn't he say no to marrying me?"
"I don't know," Eric repeated. "I'm starting to wonder if joining them was a good idea."
"The military?" Elsa inquired.
He nodded. "I'm not actually a Zetan. I come from the planet Orphenis. It was one of the first planets to be overtaken by the Empire. It was a few years before they took your world. Before the war began."
"So we're around the same age." Elsa surmised.
"No. You're definitely older. I know that Arendellians age more slowly."
"I see," Elsa stated. "Well, I'm actually a member of the Arendelle royal family. My cousin was the crown princess."
"Really?"
Elsa nodded. "Not that it means anything. My people were still treated as slaves by the Empire, no matter what social class they were."
"So were mine." Eric replied. "That's why I joined the Zetan military. I thought if I helped them conquer new worlds...maybe they'd leave my world alone."
"Obviously not." Elsa remarked.
"It wasn't until you and Anna came along that I started having doubts."
Elsa gazed out of the window, seeing the streaking lines of warp space flying past. "I can't believe Zeta Prime is this far away. I must have jumped to warp so many times trying to get Anna to Aquatus that I lost count."
"I know," Eric agreed, looking out the window as well. "It's several lightyears from Zeta Prime to the neutral zone. Lucky for us, we have warp technology. We can make the jump in a matter of days."
"It's a few days too long for me." Elsa said.
Eric sat down on his bed. "Why did you offer to marry him?"
"An advantage." she explained. "I knew if I was his bride, he'd treat me better than just an officer or a crew member. And maybe, just maybe, I could convince him to be easy on Anna."
"True, but what are you gonna do with that advantage?"
"Figure out a way to get Anna and me both off this ship. Or Hans off the ship; either way, I want us to be safe."
"I don't think she'll go with you. If she's anything like us, she won't trust you."
Elsa sighed. "I know. But she's my responsibility, and I won't let her die in some Zetan prison."
"Why do you even care?"
"Because...I don't know. I just do."
"How did you two meet?"
Elsa chuckled. "Found her in the cargo hold of my ship about a week ago."
"She stowed away, huh?"
"Yeah."
"And you didn't just get rid of her?"
"No." Elsa replied. "You don't exactly get rid of someone who's scared half to death."
"Why was she scared?" Eric asked.
"She was a slave girl. She barely escaped with her life." Elsa shed a tear. "She's only a kid, Eric."
"Wait a minute. A Knydaxian slave girl? Was she, by any chance, sent to Decine?"
Elsa nodded. "Yeah, a local gang lord named Duke Weselton bought her."
"Oh, God." Eric looked at his hands. "I...I sold her to him."
Elsa looked at him, shocked. "What?!" She became enraged and grabbed Eric by the neck, pinning him against the wall. "Why did you do that to her? Why?! She didn't deserve to have the shit she's been through done to her! And you probably just wanted to sell her for a few good credits to blow on some Asari whore, you sick fucking bastard!"
"D-didn't...take...money...." he choked. "Gave it...to Hans...selling her...his idea...."
Elsa released him. "Hans sold her too? Then why does he want her back?!"
"He was against the idea of killing the races the Empire conquered," Eric explained, rubbing his neck. "He voted to enslave them. Free labor. But Anna...he wants her as a trophy."
"So why didn't he just keep her when he sold them all?"
"Because he wasn't scarred by her then."
"I see." Elsa replied, sitting down. "I'm so sorry for that, it's just...."
"No, I don't blame you. I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of."
Elsa looked at him. "You're not like the other bastards on this ship at all, are you?"
He shook his head. "I may not be the only non-Zetan, but I'm the only one willing to help you."
"Good, because I really don't wanna marry Hans."
"And I don't want to work for him anymore. Now, listen carefully. Anna's cell is supplying her with trace amounts of iridium energy from the warp drive. Not enough to give her power, but enough to keep her alive. If we can get her in contact with the warp drive, she'll go through the roof."
"What do you mean?"
"The energy from the warp drive. She can absorb it. Her powers will grow exponentially."
"How much will they grow? Will she be able to control it?"
"I don't know, but right now, that's our best shot. We can take a scout fighter back to the moon of Geon IV and fix your ship."
"Not a chance. My ship is beyond repair." Elsa replied. Which is why we're going to take over this ship."
"Are you insane?! There's no way we can pull that off!"
"We have to, Eric. For our sake, and Anna's."
"Elsa, trust me. If we take the scout ship down to the surface and use parts from it's engines, we can get your ship up and running again. We can't take over the Black Raven. I've seen others die trying."
"We can take this ship over; we just need to convince the crew that it's a good idea," Elsa explained. "I'm pretty sure you're not only the one on this garbage scow that thinks Hans is nuts."
"Almost everyone else was indoctrinated. They follow Hans' orders without question."
"And how do you know? From what I've seen of the crew, you're not exactly a social bunch."
"I'm the second-in-command here. I've given out orders before. The crew never disobeys."
"Well then, you'll just have to give them a few more orders, won't you?" Elsa was confident that they would succeed and that Anna would soon be safe.
xXx
Meanwhile, in Hans' quarters, the computer on his desk began to beep. "Incoming transmission from Zeta Prime." it stated.
Hans sighed. The bitch requires me once again." He pressed the button on his computer. "Hello, Mother."
Empress Maleficent nodded. "Hello, Commander. Have you captured the Knydaxian?"
"Yes, Mother. She's in our custody. In fact, I have good news for you."
"And what is that?"
"I'm coming home to marry."
She smiled. "So you are retiring?"
"I suppose you could say that. I plan on marrying my new bride as soon as you'd allow me to."
"Excellent. Please bring her to me when you return. I wish to meet her."
"Certainly, Mother. I'm sure she'd be very glad to meet you."
"What of the Knydaxian?"
"As I said before, Mother, she is currently in a containment cell. Nowhere near our warp core."
"Good. Do not allow her to escape."
"I don't intend to." He placed his fist over his heart. "Glory to the Empire"
She mirrored his action. "Return safely, my son."
Hans ended the transmission, smiling wickedly. "Oh, I will, Mother," he said to himself. "But when I arrive, I'm afraid you'll be the one who won't be safe."
xXx
Author's note: This is the start of the next big arc for the story. I hope you are all enjoying it so far. I do believe this will be the last chapter I post in 2016 (Or not depending on when I post this)
Here's what Anna was saying.
"Kiru ke." = "Fuck you."
"Fein." = "Help."
"Fierfek." = "Traitor."
"Weita jai inusa." = "Leave me alone."
"Jai nex deuta ke." = "I don't believe you."
"Jai yunisa ke, Elsa. Jai...jai tokun ke. K'nas ja'tou nira." = "I trusted you, Elsa. I...I loved you. You were my sister."
"J'enai nexis ani ke. J'enai nex fierfek." = "I'm nothing like you. I'm not a traitor."
See ya next time! ^^