This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Obvious_Ad4159 on 2025-07-05 12:13:12+00:00.
Nubela trembled. It was neither from cold nor hunger, but from rage, magnitudes of which she had never experienced before. How dare Orvina backstab her?
“Command. She wanted command. That’s what they all want. I should’ve seen it, back on Kalibash, when she stopped me from teaching that old bitch and her degenerate of a grandson a valuable lesson.” Nubela growled, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails embedded themselves into her palms, drawing blood.
“She is the one. She brought poisoned food onto the ship. She’s the only one who hasn’t eaten it.” The captain whispered, eyes widening in realisation.
“It must be her.”
Nubela jumped from her bed, pounding on the locked door of her quarters.
“Guards! Open this door at once! I must urgently speak with the vice captain.”
The two Flarians guarding her door exchanged confused looks before one of them shook his head at the other.
“Our apologies, ma’am. We are not to let you out, Vice Captain Orvina’s orders.”
“I am your captain. And I am giving you an order!"
The guards felt a chill run down their spines hearing the way her voice morphed, a mixture between a whine and a growl. The captain sounded to be in great pain. Still, they were not going to break their orders by opening the door.
“Hang tight, Captain, the doctor will pay you a visit soon.”
Nubela kicked the door in frustration and walked back over to her bed.
“I am so fucking hungry. So tired. I guess I should try and sleep the hunger off.”
***
Orvina sat on the bridge, watching the Xyrlek ship slowly activate its thrusters and start to leave. The transfer of supplies went smoothly, which took some pressure off her. It seemed like the first thing that went without incident in a while.
“How long until we are within hailing range of the nearest allied station?” she asked.
“Not long, Vice Captain. A couple of hours at best.” One of the operators replied.
“Good, good. I will retreat to my quarters to rest a bit. Baland, call me if something happens. With the station and with Nubela.” She groaned as she got up from her seat and headed for the door.
“Understood, ma’am,” Baland replied, giving a quick salute.
***
Alarms blared through the Solar Echo. Nubela woke up in a pool of sweat, her stomach twisting into knots. With great effort and shallow breaths, the Flarian captain rolled out of bed and stumbled towards the door.
“Hello? Hello?! What’s going on out there?!” She banged on the door, but got no response from the guards.
All she could hear was the noise of the alarm and animalistic snarling coming from the hallway outside.
“No…” She gasped.
The nightmarish scene of Kalibash flashed in her mind, reanimated corpses of the slaughtered villagers barking like hounds as they chased her. The thought that they had somehow made it onto the ship sent her into a panic.
“They are coming. They are coming for me. For all of us!”
Her pounding on the door became more incessant, more violent.
“Let me out. Let me out!”
“I am so hungry. I need to eat. I need to regain my strength so I can fight back.” Nubela’s head was swirling from starvation, dulling her senses. She didn’t even notice that her blows to the door bent it out of shape until she finally broke it down.
Her eyes widened when, not even two steps into the hallway, she encountered a pair of beasts, barking and snarling at her. No Flarian guards in sight. Nubela roared before going on the offensive, not giving the malformed creatures a chance to attack first. She grabbed one of them by the neck, slamming it against the hallway wall until she made a human-sized dent in it.
The other creature recoiled, raising itself up on its hind legs and screaming, calling out to its kin and master. Nubela kicked it in the chest with such force that it went flying several feet backwards before hitting a wall.
Hearing the sounds of running come from down the hall, Nubela did not have time to confirm whether the two beasts were dead or not. She was hungry and exhausted; she needed to eat and regain her strength before the rest of the monsters caught her.
The Flarian captain took off running, knocking aside a couple more snarling animals as she tore through the hallway that led to the cargo bay. Alarms still blared across the entire ship, none of her crew in sight. She assumed them all dead. Anger began taking over as she slowed down, allowing some of her pursuers to catch up.
They tore at her uniform, trying to grab and pin her down. Nubela howled, her war cry echoing through the ship, catching the attention of every single malformed animal that roamed the halls. The Flarian no longer pulled her punches; each strike was delivered with everything she had. It did not take long for the monsters to stop attacking, now circling her at a distance. Several of them lay motionless on the hallway floor.
“Come on!” Nubela shouted, striking her naked chest with her clenched fists. Her uniform was little more than tattered rags at this point, but she didn’t care. If anything, being free from the confines of her clothes allowed her to move better.
Slowly, one by one, the beasts retreated, leaving her alone in the hallway. The captain was breathing heavily, her head ringing with the alarm. Suddenly, everything went silent. The blaring of the alarm was replaced by the soft sound of wind chimes. He stood before her at the other end of the hallway.
Morphing between man and monster with each pulse of the emergency lights. Blood dripped from his hands and mouth, pooling onto the floor. Flarian blood. Nubela screamed, dropping on all fours, pounding the floor with such force that her fists left dents in it. Tarnuk responded in kind, slowly walking towards her.
Just as she was about to lunge at him, he spoke. His words, like thunder, shook the entire hallway. She could not understand the language, but it stunned her, preventing her from moving. As soon as she regained control over her body, Tarnuk spoke again, robbing her of it anew.
Nubela panicked, realising that she could not take even a single step towards Tarnuk without being locked in place. Escape was her only option if she was to survive. He was only a few steps away from her now, her form still ever changing between flesh and living horror with each pulse of the red lights. The captain backed away, grabbing one of the knocked-out beasts from the ground with her larger arms and throwing it at him, successfully interrupting his chanting.
The monster swatted the body aside, but Nubela was already gone, running wildly down the hall towards the cargo bay. All she could hear in the distance was a warped howl coming from Tomyris’s grandson and the sound of the remaining monstrous colony members responding in the distance.
The lights went out, plunging the ship into darkness. The captain struck the doors of the cargo bay with full force, the metal bending to her unrelenting force. She strained and growled, prying the entrance open just enough to squeeze through.
“Food. Food. Where is it?” Nubela rushed to the crates with supplies, tearing the lids off of them and gorging herself on the nutrient blocks inside. She could not even feel the taste anymore, tearing the large blocks into smaller chunks and shoving them into her mouth.
“I’m hungry. I’m hungry.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, confusion taking place of anger, as no matter how much she ate, the hunger refused to dissipate.
“Please. I’m so hungry.” She whimpered, as if begging the nutrient block to begin satiating her.
Even as the doors groaned and slowly slid open, Nubela kept eating. Even as Tarnuk, now a towering form clad in darkness, approached her, she kept eating. When no more remained, Nubela turned towards him.
“Please…”
She couldn’t move, feeling her muscles spasm. Her lungs burned as if air was forcefully pulled from them. The Flarian captain clenched her fists through great effort, but before she could swing, Tarkun spoke again, finishing his chant. Each word felt like she was being electrocuted, pain tearing her body apart. Nubela gargled, foaming at the mouth and collapsed on the floor.
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