Shadow Star

Part 2...it would be a chore to clean the blood...

Name: Raised By Wolves.

Alias: Effie/Athena.

Location: Galley, USS Catena Ruptor. Currently under attack.

Status: Ravenous.

Mission: Consume...

Darkness reigned within the empty galley of the ship. Cold clinical air touched every spotless surface. It was the type of cold that you could feel in your bones and see in your breath, however there was no sign of life to corroborate this fact. Devoid of human life, the chamber of consumption beat with a rhythm of it's own as though refusing to accept it's empty silence.

 One forgotten spoon vibrated against a table leg, keeping time with the altering frequency of the ship's engines. Out of sight, in the kitchen,  one faucet steadily dripped into a pristine sink. Each sharp strike of water against steel felt louder than the last. Backing up the sticato of the water and the rattle of the spoon was a deep, threatening humm from one refrigerator. This trio served to build tension and unease in a place where there should have been none. Anyone present would have felt their collar tighten and something creeping down their back as the strange pressure built from no where. The increasing suspense and unknown was a constant cliff hanger hovering in the air. Perhaps that was the intention of the Guilty Three all along...

A slim beam of light stretched along the floor, up the far wall and touched the ceiling. It slowly widened to reveal a doorway. Framed within the door and illuminated from the corridor behind was the outline of a vaguely humanoid shape. It's shoulders which heaved up and down were so wide it could not progress into the room. With each heave of mountainous muscle, a cloud of hot air turned to mist as it panted into the galley. Large grasping hands were latched onto the sides of the entrance and began to tighten their grip. Tendons bulging and muscles tightening, the tough nails of the creature clawed at the reinforced plating of the wall as it dragged its way inside.

Lights flickered on within the galley to reveal Lieutenant Effie in all her pregnant glory. Saliva started to trickle out of the edges of her mouth as her wolf like gaze was fixed firmly on her prey. In response, the refrigerator quivered.

A short time later Lieutenant Effie was sat at a table with a feast laid out before her that could have fed a dozen people. There was a lot going through her mind these days. Not only had this mission gone on longer than she initially expected but now she had to try raising a child on a military star ship. On top of it all, she couldn't remember her husband's name. It was due to Psychic conditioning he had undergone as a child that interfered with people's memories. He claimed to have been raised in a cult that wished to remain completely anonymous. Their goal was to secretly share wisdom and knowledge among humanity without the recipient being aware of where the information originated. Apparently they were the origin of the expression "Well, you know what they say..."

Hormones, stress, duty and the general unknown of her child's future was getting to her. Each day felt like a new and greater challenge. Normally the Lieutenant would relish the thought of overcoming the odds, except this wasn't like battle. She couldn't solve her issues with a spear or plasma disruptor, all she could do was sit and wait to see what happened next. It had been too long since she killed something, no wonder she was uptight.

Aware of the kicking within her belly, she closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe slowly. She then lifted and placed a pair of earphones on her head. Commander Cassie had been kind enough to make her a mixtape of her favourite Death Metal songs. She remembered listening to it as a baby and it reminded her of simpler times. The blood curdling screams and rapid fire drums really helped bring down her blood pressure. Pressing play, she began munching on some watermelon they had grown in the hydroponics laboratory.