Starward Bound

Chapter Three: Welcome Aboard

The last few hours are a blur. I can clearly remember staring off into the distance and unresponsive at the window, Rake patiently waiting for an answer to his question. But I couldn't give him one, Earth was nowhere to be seen. Then my will that had somehow remained strong up until that point finally shattered, first was a wave of emptiness. It felt like my purpose and sense of reason disappeared along with the solar system. What was my purpose? Family, friends, my job, humanity... everything was gone.

Soon after that, I felt my body give out and tears start to form at my eyes. Anger. Fear. Devastation. All of my emotions came pouring out in a series of sobs that rattled my body. It was hard to believe that this was happening, I was actually on a space ship, surrounded and at the mercy of creatures I could barly comprehend and to top it off...I was lost. The first of my species to be this far from home. But why? I still had no answers to anything. What brought me here? Why me? And how do I get back... to Rake's credit, he did try to help. I felt a clawed paw rest on my shoulder as his form casted a shadow over me. "Vin...i- are you okay..what's wrong?" I couldn't muster a response. I simply tugged the blanket tightly around myself and continued to sob.

What kind of nightmare was this? Ripped away from the safty of the place you call home, the foundations of everything you knew about the world you were apart of shattered. Left stranded, drifting through a vacuum of nothingness, on a machine that shouldn't exist and...completely alone. No depiction of hell came close to this. After that, everything mostly merges together. Rake, carrying me in his arms, scraps of conversation, mostly Rake trying to get me to respond, many more creatures that looked like him coming in and out of the cell.

Always looking and tapping away at those holographic devices, never closer than a few feet though. Things have died down now though, it's been a while since anyone has come in. But just as quickly as the silence came, it vanished. The door to the cell slides open with a soft mechanical whoosh and a familiar face steps in, Rake was dressed in the same grey uniform I saw him in earlier and had some sort of folded fabric tucked under his arm. "H-Hey Vin, are...how are you doing?" He askes, taking a few steps over and plopping down on the edge of the bed as I sit there, hugging my knees and staying almost completely coverd in the blanket.

"...Fine..." Its a bullshit answer, and Rake wasn't convinced by a long shot, but I didn't care...was just so done with all of this that I wanted to just sink into the bed and dissappear. "I get the feeling you are far from it..." He says with a sigh. I can feel his eyes on me as I stare at the wall opposite the bed. "Vin listen...i- I know I can't possibly relate to your situation. But I do want to help..."

He rests a paw on my knee and I turn to see those familer amber eyes looking back. "I want to help you in anyway I can...so please if there is anything I can do, let me know okay?" He says with a gentle smile. "...Thank you Rake. I-...I appreciate that." That does mean alot. Rake is the only...person? I have had any conversation with since this mess and I appreciate any form of normalcy that our conversations provide, even if they lead to me learning a new horrible detail about my predicament.

"Of course! I am a doctor after all, it's my job to help people haha~" He says cheerfully while patting my knee. "Yeah that's true...does this mean you can let me out of this room?" I ask. His face immediately loses its chipper energy and is instead replaced by a sheepish expression. "Yes...um, about that...technically yes? But it's not actually my decision." I tilt my head in confusion and he elaborates. "I was sent here for one thing but I came here to do two, the first being to let you know that I'm here if you need me...and the second is to retrieve you for the General." ...did he just say General? Like millitary general?! My eyes widen and I immediately speak up.

"W-Wait General?! I-I thought you said we were on a ship?" Rake keeps his composure and responds with a slightly nervous laugh. "Y-Yes I did...and we are! but not all ships are for transport or commercial purposes Vin...this one just so happens to be the commanding ship in a fleet."