Outside the Wall Part 2: Draaconian

As Spoon started to feel fatigued, the group landed the skiff and took a moment to survey their temporary campsite. The tree canopy had grown thicker, but was high enough that the skiff could easily fly underneath it. There was a clear path for them to follow that led all the way to their destination, so navigation was going to be child’s play. The job was looking easier by the second, despite the change in atmosphere. The sun was nearly down, but already the full moon was providing enough light for Drones with capable eyes. Spoon used a portable light he had with him, a small circular crystal glowing a gentle yellow and even having a hook attachment that allowed him to hang it inside the almost unfinished gravity skiff.

Spoon poked his head outside the skiff’s side entry as steam poured out of the ventilation ports. “I’m making some fried potatoes and pasta. Do either of you want a serving?”

Jane nodded, then both looked at Steve. He bit his tongue on asking how a Drone actually eats, and just confirmed as well. Spoon pulled his head back in, getting to work as he finished preparing the meal. They would not be staying long, but it would be best to make sure they are not going the final leg of their journey on an empty stomach.

Both Jane and Steve wandered a bit further, though they were careful not to lost sight of the skiff. Jane bent down and picked up a flower, blue with jet black streaks running along it. “This flower… I think it’s rare, but I can’t remember the name.”

Steve surveyed it. The black seemed to almost move and shift as he observed it. “Well, I’m certainly the wrong person to ask.”

“Xeno tulips.”

Both Jane and Steve looked up suddenly, seeing there was someone gardening nearby. She was bent down on her knees, with a wide brim straw hat. Her skin was a light tan, and her garb was strange. Her arms were covered with gold jewelry, coupled with a full jet black dress that contrasted with her choice in hat. She continued speaking without turning around. “They are indeed rare… it seems no one around here knows how to properly plant or care for them. Tell me… are you both prepared?”

Jane and Steve cautiously approached. It was beyond strange for there to be a woman all alone in the wilderness, much less gardening. Steve responded. “Prepared for what?”

“The Eventual. The Gateways won’t hold forever. They can’t keep us out indefinitely. There was a time in the distant past… no, no. No living in the past. I speak of the future.”

Steve got closer, while Jane remained further back, visibly concerned. Steve reached out to tap the woman on the shoulder. “Excuse me? What do you mean by us?”

The woman let out a laugh as she began to turn around. “I’m talking about Vorpals. The hateful Gatekeepers can’t-”

Steve rapidly backed up when he saw the woman’s front. Jane screamed. The woman had four arms, just like him when he activated them, but these were flesh and blood, all covered with jewelry. Her face was normal, except for having a single large eye of a neon yellow now staring at him. The smile she just had melted away, as her face contorted with an emotion Steve did not expect. Terror.

Her face lost all color, turning sheet white. “D-d-d… Dro….” She stumbled backwards before turning to run, while a metal sphere flew through the air and smashed into her shoulder, knocking her down as she cried out in pain. Her top left arm looked broken, and she struggled to pull herself along the ground as Spoon flew towards her.

She flipped onto her back, extending arms in front of her as Spoon loomed with his weapon in hand. She pleaded in desperation. “NO! PLEASE, DON’T-”

With a sickening crunch, Spoon smashed her head. He turned around, a look of hate in his eyes as he left the corpse to dissolve. “Filthy Vorpals…”

Steve couldn’t wrap his mind around what just happened. “Spoon…”

Spoon spun to him, agitation still in his voice. “What?”

“Was that… really necessary? She was fleeing, I don’t think she even wanted to fight…”

Spoon got a bit too close to Steve’s face as he responded. “What’s your point, Steve?”

“She… she wasn’t a threat. You didn’t need to kill her…”

Spoon put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes as he responded, a din of deep seated rage burning behind them. “Vorpals all deserve to die. I can’t begin to tell you the crimes against humanity they committed. I don’t care if they look like women, children, or anything else you think is cute and innocent… they are to be slain on sight. Period. That is just one of the duties for the Gatekeepers.”

“That… sounds like genocide.”

Spoon sighed, releasing his grip. “You still don’t understand. Maybe I can help you see the truth someday, Steve, but all of that doesn’t really matter at this moment. The food is ready. Come on, let’s eat.”

Now slightly nervous around Spoon after such a shift in his demeanor, Steve managed to summon the courage to follow him back to the skiff. Then, the group heard a rustling from within, and a hushed yelp as utensil hit the ground. Spoon growled and readied his metal sphere in hand. “Both of you, stay back. I’ll handle this…”

Both Drones watched as Spoon cautiously hovered into the lit innards of the skiff. There was silence, then a small amount of commotion before a figure was roughly tossed out of the doorway, landing at Steve and Jane’s feet. It appeared to be a young lady with orange hair. Spoon stalked out angrily. “We have an intruder. She was trying to steal our food.”

The woman quickly stood up and brushed herself off, angry herself. “I was just going to borrow some! I swear, I come to the one place crawling with both Vorpals and Gatekeepers when I was trying to avoid both…”

Steve tried not to stare, but the woman was unlike any of the races he had seen so far. She was a fairly normal height, but had shimmering copper scales on her hands and feet, both of which were completely bare. Her forehead and around her face also had scales, and her garb exposed her midsection, showing she was completely covered in them. The only parts that weren’t scales were her face, which had human skin of a sunkissed shade accompanied with muted yellow lizard eyes, and her stomach area, which was also normal skin. Most striking of all, she had a full lizard tail with the same scaly metallic sheen as her other inhuman patches.

The young woman spied Steve looking at her, and did her own double take at his appearance. “What the RIFT!? Are you… made of METAL?!”

Spoon raised a hand, causing her to collapse to the ground under her own increased weight. “Watch your tongue, Kin. We are the ones asking the questions here.”

Steve turned towards Spoon. “Wait! Just back off a bit, Spoon! We have enough food for everyone, she can have some!”

Spoon shot Steve a dirty glance with a raised eyebrow. “You are far too trusting of strangers, Steve. Especially one who just tried to rob you.”

The young woman choked and gasped as she fruitlessly tried to stand back up. “P… please… let me explain…”

Steve was the one who gave Spoon a stern look this time. “Spoon… I’m the leader on this voyage. I took the contract, so technically you work for me. Let her go.”

Spoon did not like having rank pulled on him, given he was likely strong enough to flatten both Jane and Steve, but he acquiesced. Steve ran into the skiff and brought out several bowls of pasta along with a plate of fried potatoes using his extra arms, and the group all sat around on some logs that Spoon pulled over with little difficulty. Thankfully, Jane immediately began eating so Steve could see that Drones had a port they could open in the top of their head for fuel. He found his own with little difficulty, being able to open it with a simple mental command and dumping some food in. Though he could vaguely taste it, he was more than a little disappointed at the lack of flavor. He resolved to make sure he had the best taste sensors available when he spoke to Bin again, as he was not willing to live out an existence where he couldn’t enjoy his meals.

The woman ate voraciously as if she had been starving, but managed to give some information on who she was. “I ran away from my… superior, because he is a bad person and I don’t like him. I’ve been wandering ever since. It’s been about… three days. By the way, do you mind if I start a campfire? I don’t like sitting in the darkness like this...”

The group all looked at each other. Steve answered for them. “We don’t have any any materials for a campfire.”

The strange lady leapt up and ran over to a tree. She slashed at it several times with her claws, then came back with several blocks of freshly cut wood. She plopped it in the middle of the clearing they were seated around, and inhaled deeply.

As she exhaled, a jet of bright orange fire flowed forth igniting the logs. She smiled as she turned back towards an amazed Steve. “I’m a Draaconian. I can breathe fire!”

Steve was in awe, but Spoon was not amused. “Kin, sit down.”

Immediately, the Draaconian instinctively bent down onto her knees with her hands in her lap, waiting silently and patiently. Spoon turned to address Steve and Jane. “Most Draaconian are slaves from birth. They are conditioned to perform any direct command requested of them.”

Steve shot out of his seat. “SLAVES!?”

The woman looked down, ashamed. “I’m sorry… I should have said so, but I… didn’t want you all to send me back…”

Steve looked at the Draaconian with incredulity. “I’m not angry at you! SPOON! You know people are out their with slaves, and you aren’t doing anything about it!? What’s the point of the Gatekeepers when there is LITERAL SLAVERY GOING ON?!”

Spoon was stunned at Steve’s sudden outburst of anger. “Steve… calm down. Things are never as simple as just forcing social structures to change. The Pyro Empire has owned slaves for hundreds of years, and they aren’t all Draaconian. It’s just that almost all Draaconian are slaves. I’ve heard there is a bilogical reason that-”

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SO CALMLY!?”

The woman started to cry a bit, prompting Steve to bring his voice back down. “I’m sorry… I don’t know what I did, but… You can punish me if it makes you feel better. Do you wish to lock me in a cage? Chain me to a tree?”

Steve uncomfortably tried to comfort the woman, not understanding how the situation had gotten to him hurting her feelings instead of Spoon. “No! No, I’m… I’m sorry. I’ve just never even imagined that slaves were an everyday occurrence in this world. Just forget all of that. I’m Steve Lyon, that’s Spoon, and this is Jane. What’s your name?”

The Draaconian looked back up at Steve, surprise in her eyes at the question. “Copper. My name is Copper.”

Steve patted her awkwardly on the head. “Copper the Draaconian. Well, I don’t care what anyone else here thinks. I say you are now part of our crew, if you want to be. Welcome aboard.”

Jane, Spoon, and Copper looked at each other, all unsure what to make of this new development.

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