The Stars Between -- (VLD)

[31] You gotta stay with me

Flashing lights filled the Blue Lion's cockpit, causing Lance to turn towards the console so fast he lost his balance.

"Heck!" he yelped, stealing Olly's swear of choice as he tumbled to the ground. Thankfully, the small pile of soft toys that he had purchased at the space mall (which was, funnily enough, exactly as he had pictured it) broke his fall.

Standing up and kicking the toys back into a rough pile, Lance made his way to his seat, eyes darting over the console. The radar was picking up a blip nearby - a distress beacon.

The beacon pointed towards a planet nearby - not too far off his course. Lance paused for a moment, wondering if he should notify the Resistance first.

He cleared his thoughts instead, sitting down and taking control of Blue. It was a distress beacon. 

Someone needed help.

Landing with practiced ease, Lance was out of his Lion before she had settled, using his jetpack to propel towards the beacon as fast as he could.

It occurred to him, as his foot caught in a crack in the ground and he stumbled, that maybe going in alone was a bad idea. He had no idea what he would be up against.

The thought was cut off as a geyser burst from the ground, causing Lance to scream and fall backwards.

Of course. The planet was trying to kill him.

Lance groaned, pulling himself to his feet and skirting around the geyser before continuing to the point displayed on his visor.

A piercing scream filled the air, followed by a roar, and Lance's legs burned as he continued to push himself, heart pounding as heavy as his feet.

He skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff, kicking pebbles down the ravine. His arms pinwheeled for a moment as his balance centred, and Lance breathed out a sigh of relief. Even if he could see the bottom, it wouldn't be fun to fall.

The sound of crashing water continued behind Lance, and he turned, barely managing to dodge another geyser as it burst underneath his feet.

A perfect trail following where Lance had run from, Blue standing beyond, watching. Her yellow eyes glinted through the spray of water, and Lance's jaw set, turning back to the ravine.

Down below, Lance could just make out the outline of a purple lizard-creature, tail swishing along the ground as it advanced towards its prey - whoever had set the beacon off.

He had no idea what this creature was, and for lack of a better name decided on Tim.

Tim the destroyer.

Yeah, that worked.

For the second time in minutes, Lance cleared his mind. No time to think of silly names for the creature about to move in for the kill.

He had to get down there and save them.

Lance's bayard morphed into his hand in a quick flash of light, taking the shape of the small knife.

And he jumped, using his jetpack to slow his decent just enough to avoid injury. Aiming for Tim's eyes, Lance threw his bayard as hard as he could.

Maybe the rifle would have been a better form, easier for rapid fire.

Tim writhed in pain, and Lance landed boots-first into its neck from above. He gripped the handle of his bayard, pushing off and using the jetpack again to put some distance between him and Tim, pulling the knife with him.

The pained scream rang out again, and Lance winced, feeling as if the noise was being blasted directly into his ears. For the love of everything in the universe, he hoped it wasn't actually that close.