Butterflies of the Dark Star

11 (REVISED)

"You are not in trouble, Miss Spacyn."

The urge to throw up grew behind her hand and lips when she covered her mouth to stifle it. Her knees turned into jelly while she sat in east security with Admiral Mythrai standing across from her. Cameras kept eyes on both inside and outside their section of the facility, revealing the giant space station which carried them to a harder truth. Izerva stood at rapt attention at the door leading into what amounted to nothing more than an interrogation room, called to discuss the situation with the Admiral himself, her heart burned in acid. And without Neo's stalwart presence, the pressure drove into her temples and burst her brain into bits.

"Horizol told me my droid was undamaged?" she forced out the question, but avoided the black hole gathering in her view. Admiral Mythrai turned to Izerva, whose muzzle twitched. "I heard... there was an accident in the bay." Ignored no longer, she scooted onto the edge of her chair and prepared for the life-ending leap. "Can you please tell me what occurred? I know you say I'm not in trouble, but..." Hand against her beating heart, she tried to crush it between her fingers.

Admiral Mythrai's scaled tail curled around his legs. "I shall divulge what I can to you, Miss Spacyn, but first..." He turned when Izerva's ears perked, and they opened the door to reveal Ulin, with a wrapped, oily bundle in his hands. "Mx. Fayzir, was there any trouble within the bay?"

"No, and I got what you requested." Ulin headed to her, then unwrapped the bundle to reveal the anomalatic buffer Neo gave him for her droid. Bubbles lodged into her throat at the bubbling crimson ooze slipping out of the cracked surface.

"An alarm went off at the droid's arrival — one indicating a major anomalous force," Admiral Mythrai explained when Ulin took a step back into the shadows. "Yes, it is true your droid is fine. I cannot say the same for Mr. Horizol's, nor the scout which has yet to return." He breathed through his long nose. "And yes, I'm afraid the rumours are true, though I am not quite clear on the details as I have yet to study the feed myself, there was an accident during the emergency procedure." At his words, Ulin's brow furrowed and they sank deeper against the wall. "We've interred the unfortunate in the medical tower's morgue on the basis of watching out for anomalous readings."

"Can... you tell me what happened to them?" Nova begged.

"We're not sure, exactly." Admiral Mythrai twitched his tail. "Mx. Fayzir? Are you comfortable talking about it? I know Mr. Horizol was less than willing. Anything which can shed light on the events."

Ulin nodded. "Of course," they remarked. "It happened fast. I got an indication in the control room of the droid's arrival, minus the scout. Both of them carried extreme readings for anomalies. Before I could even send out the alert to prep for the landing sequence, both droids slammed into the bay. Luckily, it didn't affect the outer hull. There was no breach, but... one of the engineers couldn't clear the area in time and was... struck." They gazed at her with a weak, uncertain smile. "Your buffer did its job. Thuni's droid wasn't so lucky." Their lips folded and they turned to Admiral Mythrai. "I can only hope they didn't suffer long. It was straight to the heart, but I think Thuni is taking it rather hard, Admiral, being the closest to them at the time."

Nova choked. "They were hit? By what?"

Ulin frowned at her. "I don't know. It might've been a broken part of one of the droids — it could've been whatever they're carrying."

Admiral Mythrai broke in, "It won't matter until I've seen the footage for myself to determine the cause and what exactly happened. Has the hazard team moved the anomaly into the lab and out of the way?"

"Last I looked."

Elbows on the edge of the table, she groaned into her hands, only to be dragged out of her own pit when Admiral Mythrai nodded at Izerva, whose ears flicked to the side. "They've cleaned the mess. I think it best if Spacyn saw the state of the droids for herself." He nodded at her. "As I said, you are not in trouble. Once you've viewed and confirmed the state of your droid, I recommend you take your ease and stick to the eastern sector until central command figures this mess out." At his words, Izerva raised their tail and opened the door, motioning at Nova to leave her chair and follow.