Windfall

Prologue

Gale staggers out of the bridge of her crashed ship, rebreather firmly strapped around her face. She briefly glanced back to see the crashed Soviet ship; It's not getting off the ground again, more than likely. She adjusted her rebreather and turned back to the silver pyramid in the ground, half buried. In the portion that was shadowed, deep crimson lines criss-crossed the stone, dimming completely before barely becoming visible again, as if indicitive of a heartbeat.

As she walked closer, her Aludian friend meandered over to follow close behind, along with several other aliens climbing out of the ship to follow at a distance. Within the shadowed portion, she saw there was an opening inside, half hidden by dust and ice. It was a hallway leading many meters down, illuminated only by the glow of the Aludians' center eye.

Reaching the bottom, Gale would find a glowing red cylinder, cracked and leaking a red mist. The Aludian and a Qowld joined her down there, the Qowld using a salvaged communicator to shine a light around the room, illuminating statues of some eldritch abomination. Gale slowly approached the core, reaching up a hand to touch it. It would feel to her like cracked glass... And yet, her hand pushed through into its' interior with slightly more effort, making the surface reverberate, as if breaking the surface tension of water.

The Qowld moved to stop Gale, but the Aludian held up his sword, watching her with a tilted head. Gale pushed herself all the way inside the cylinder. She looked around as she heard something akin to breathing... Not normal breathing, though. It hitched occasionally, as if whoever was doing the breathing was wounded. Gale dared to remove her rebreather and, to her surprise, she could breathe within the core. She spoke in a hushed voice to no one in particular.

Gale; "... Hello?"

"Who... Are you, spawn of Prometheus?"

The voice, though weak, was filled with spite and rage. Not at Gale, no, but just in general.

Gale; "... I'm Gale. Gale Tempest."

"What do you want?"

Gale; "Well, who are you, first of all?"

The Qowld and Aludian watched the conversation take place with wide eyes. The core increased and dimmed in brightness, dependent of the volume of the voice eminating out of it.

"I am called Ei'ernsha; Scourge of Proxima Centauri, slayer of the scores."

Gale nodded in both confusion and fascination, gently holding her hands in front of her abdomen.

Gale; "Ah... Neat. Why do you sound so angry, though?"

Ei'ernshas' next words were preceeded by a hum, though Gale couldn't tell if it was out of pain or malice.

Ei'ernsha; "My thoughts dwell on another of my kind from long ago... Lekse, traitor to his kin. He sought your destruction; the destruction of your universe, many millions of years ago... What I wouldn't do to get my revenge on him."

Gale tilted her head at the statement, scratching the inside of her right elbow joint, where she usually injected herself.

Gale; "You're not the only one... Looking to get revenge, I mean. Maybe we can work something out?"

Ei'ernsha; "Perhaps... What vengeance do you seek?"

Gale; "I was locked up by a Qowld named Asuka, when she could've easily just let me walk away... She's earned a month or two in the slammer."

Ei'ernsha; "Hmph... I will give you the means to get back at Asuka, if you swear to deal with Lekse after the fact."

Gale; "I would want nothing more."

Particles within the core condensed before Gale into the shape of a golden staff, floating mid-air before her.

Ei'ernsha; "Now... Turn around."

Gale raised an eyebrow as she turned around, leaving her hands at her sides.

Gale; "That staff isn't gonna go where I think-"

As she speaks, more particles condense into the form of a slim exo-skeleton, and it quickly attaches itself to Gales' back, then the stave attaches itself to the back of the exo-suit. Gale took in a sharp inhale as the accessories took hold.

Gale; "- Ok, good, it's not."

The core then lights up with red lightning, frightinging Gale. Before she could say anything, a bolt strikes the staff, and it dissipates. Gale then suddenly begins to freeze solid with yellow ice. The Qowld and Aludian in the back begin to move on the core, but a four foot wall of obsidian stone comes up in front of them, blocking their path.

Ei'ernsha; "Give it a moment."

Shortly after, the icy encasement is shattered and Gale faceplants to the ground. The wall lowers once Gale begins to stir, getting on her knees and running a hand through her hair to run it back out of her face.

Aludian; "Are you alright?"

Gale looked at the pair a moment, taking a quick breath before standing and shrugging off the exo-suit. She looked at her hands, and moved them close together, forming a small crystal ball of golden ice. Her response was eager and preceeded by a giddy, malevolent laugh.

Gale; "Yeah... I'm great."