Star Devourers

Stage I

The last thing Clover saw was the bright red lights as he cowered in the Shields room. The asteroid belt had been hurtling towards the ship faster than he could conceive, his vision already slipping in and out of focus. He heard stern yelling from Navigation, probably Raven directing Valentine and Lavender. Raven was a great leader, but there was no use. The best option they had was to brace themselves, as he was doing, pinned in a corner by the sensors. He had grown used to keeping down the panic in his throat, but he felt himself gasp for air the moment he blacked out.

The halls of the facility shone through the thick windows around him. Blurred shapes that may have been scientists darted around behind them, all talking to each other with tangled words that he couldn't decipher. He couldn't even tell if the numbing confusion was in his head, or whether they truly were speaking a language he didn't know. Fear surged through him again, the walls caving in slowly. What were they doing to him? Where were the other members of the crew? Were they all suffering in the same way? There wasn't time for questions. He tried to move but found himself thrashing at straps around his chest. He felt his muscles relax with the sharp pain of a syringe in his neck. Something was creeping into him, a piece of a mind that didn't obey the rest, that didn't belong. It was somebody else.

Suddenly, Clover was standing in the cockpit of the ship, his suit back on and the rest of the crew beside him. Something had happened since then- a memory in the shadows, tugging at the rest of the thoughts swirling in his head. The stars above them glittered against the velvet sky as the ship broke through the atmosphere, machinery rattling from behind the metal walls. It seemed far too good to be true. So much of him wanted to believe that they had truly escaped and that they were going home. Right as Raven turned from the pilot's seat to say something to him, they were cut off by yelling from across the ship. Rouge was standing in the doorway, a hand on his hip.

"I told you this was a bad idea! Now, look where you've gotten us." He pointed accusingly at Raven, who had turned their attention back to the sky ahead of them, ignoring the sirens as Rouge continued, "...surrounded by asteroids in a faulty ship. How are we gonna-"

Clover sighed and shouldered past him. "Rouge, shut up. There's no time for this. Just go tell Lavender and Valentine, then let Raven handle it. I'm going to shields."

The ceiling of the ship drifted back into focus, rocking back and forth as Clover tried to sit up. Humming from the reactor was ringing in his ears, and though his suit had absorbed a lot of the impact, there was a throbbing pain in the side of his head. Wait- the reactor? He thought, slowly climbing up from the ground and squeezing his eyes shut. Something next to his foot rolled a few inches, bumping into his ankle. Opening his eyes again, he frowned. It was a screwdriver. He was in the lower engine room, pretty far from shields. Still a little disoriented, he stumbled back through the storage room to the cafeteria. Raven was already waiting at the center table, their hands folded in their lap and helmet sitting on the table. Clover carefully sat down on the other side of Raven and quietly asked,

"Where is everyone? What happened?"

"Lavender and Valentine went to look for Jaune. Rouge was by the hull when the crash happened, so he might take a little while to recover. Silvius will be here in a moment, they're assessing the damage and making sure the ship's stable while we're meeting here."

Clover nodded, tracing a circle on the table. Raven hadn't mentioned Sky. "What about..." He trailed off, noticing the discomfort in the room and the leader's solemn expression.

Raven shifted on the bench, inhaling softly. "Let's just wait until everyone else gets here."