Saturday Gazette - Octopus in Space

Episode 3 - Space! Pirates! - Act III

It's still dark when we come to, and we're moving. Mighty, Feely, Sneaky, Chokey and Cheeky are already awake, and they feel out our environment while we wait for our other three arms to recover.

It's a solid container of some sort, easily large enough to contain us – we guess the Stony Tide's crew haven't figured out how squishy we can be yet. Unfortunately there aren't any holes in the container for us to squeeze through.

There is a seam though, on three sides, and we realise it is a case of some kind. The motion of the case suggests we are being carried, and when we listen carefully we can hear multiple footsteps. After a short while the case is set down on the floor.

More footfalls approach from the other direction. When they stop a conversation ensues in the language Buddy calls Local Standard.

'It's in here.' We recognise Hawu's voice.

'What is it?'

'Octopus. Cephalopod. From a nearby garden planet. Shouldn't be sentient, or out of saline water, but it is.'

'What did it tell you about the Dhruhagon?'

'Not much. And we didn't ask. It said it tricked the ship into thinking it was its commander. Probably with this. Some sort of data device. We think it might be Mixcycli, but it won't talk to our data officer without the octopus.'

'Open the case.'

'Might want to step back. It's got a lot of tentacles.'

There comes further shuffling of feet, and then the case cracks open and light spills in. We squint out to see two heavily-armoured Ghutarn soldiers pointing their rifles at us, with a third, an officer, between them. This one wears only light armour, and no helmet. Its mottled blue face peers down at us.

'Hi,' we tell it, and Cheeky gives a little wave. 'They're actually arms, not tenta-'

'Close it,' the officer says, and someone – presumably Hawu – shuts the case from behind, sealing us in darkness once more.

Sneaky, however, has snuck out a bit, and is trapped hanging from the front of the case. The seal is quite flush, so it hurts a lot. The Ghutarn don't bother trying to push it back in, but someone does poke and prod at it. Knowing Sneaky, it's playing dead out there.

Someone lifts the case up.

'The bounty,' Hawu says.

'No bounty. You may have this instead.'

A tense silence follows.

'Command codes,' the Ghutarn officer says. 'You can have the Dhruhagon. Looks like you could do with an upgrade.'

One of the other Ghutarn sniggers. Another lengthy pause comes before Hawu says, 'Fine.'

And with that the Ghutarn carry us off. They walk not too far, then go up an incline, and the sound of the footfalls on the floor changes. We think it sounds more enclosed, and when we hear the sound of a rising ramp we realise we're in a shuttle.

The case is set down and the footsteps disperse away from us. A moment later there's a small tone and the officer speaks. 'This is Quastas. Fire on the ship as soon as we're clear.'

'Yes Captain,' comes a voice, and the timbre of it suggests the speaker is elsewhere, not aboard the shuttle.

Huh. The Ghutarn aren't going to give the crew of the Stony Tide the Dhruhagon at all. They're going to kill them.

We're tempted to leave them to it, given Hawu's duplicity and the unnecessary electrical attack on us. But as much as we dislike him, we dislike the Ghutarn even more. Light suddenly spills into the case as it cracks open, and the pain coming from Sneaky eases somewhat. We swiftly realise the Ghutarn haven't opened it – Sneaky has unclipped the catches on the case.