All of her life, the Bane Mothership hovered over her home planet of Foreas like a menacing bird of prey.
She’d often wondered how the sky of her friend and mentor Hawk’s home planet of Terra looked after the Bane invasion. Was it similar to this only with a pale white moon?
As far back as she remembered she had been alone. She had no memory of parents or other Foreans inhabiting her small hidden valley. She learned what to eat by watching the animals and birds. Once or twice she had even feasted on Treelurker after a life and death struggle that she had won. “I’m a survivor,” she thought proudly.
She didn’t know just what to make of the sound of the AFS hedgehog the night it dropped off Hawk and his spotter just a few meters away from where she slept. She knew the sound of incoming Bane carriers. They flew over her valley repeatedly every day coming and going from the Bane Base that hemmed her in on all sides. These creatures were not Bane!
The two moved silently past her sleep-pit and continued on down a game trail. She slowly crept after them attempting to be as quiet as they had been.
Where did they go?
She looked up and down the trail and studied the ground for marks that should have been left by their passing. It was if they were not real or were made of the night air that surrounds her. They had left no trace of their passing. Even she couldn’t do that.
Suddenly a strong hand clamped over her mouth and an armored clad arm wrapped around her middle and quietly dragged her into the darkness. She remembered being more embarrassed than scared that she had been taken so easily. She intended to regain her pride as soon as the creature released her and clenched her fists in anticipation.
A creature came into her view. It was shaped like a bane and had four glowing green eyes on the front of it’ dark colored head.
“What have we here?” strange sounds came from the creature; sounds like she had never heard before but somehow understood.
When the grip around her middle loosened she wrenched free from the hand over her mouth and sunk her teeth into the arm of her captor, a move that sent pain shooting through her jaws. She squirmed in its grasp banging its body with knee, elbow and fist until the futility of her struggle became evident to her. She sighed and went limp.
“Hard and beautiful” came from the creature holding her, “a diamond in the rough.”
The creature released her only to clamp a hand on her shoulder as she tried to scamper away. “Hold on little lady, we aren’t going to hurt you.” It said with a tone of reassurance. “You just be quiet and stay here with us for a couple of hours and we’ll be gone.”
The second creature sat across from them. It brought a hand up to its neck and there was a quiet click and she thought it was about to remove its head. What was removed was a cover the creature had over its head. “Probably for protection she thought” as she had seen the bane remove body coverings before as well.
The creature’s face was not unpleasant to look at. It had the same basic shape and things her face had but the skin looked softer and pale white. “What’s your name honey?” came from the creature as it gestured toward her with a pointed finger. “My name is Pepper and the big lug next to you is Hawk.” The creature said while making gestures toward itself and its companion.
“I’ll bet she’s hungry,” said the creature named Hawk as it was unwrapping something with its hands. Soon it handed her a small rectangle that smelled wonderful. She raised it to her mouth and took a nibble and her mouth exploded in taste ecstasy. “Chocolate,” said the creature, “candy good, eat, eat.”
“What we gonna call her boss?” asked the creature named Pepper as it handed her another bar of candy.
“Like I said Pep we found us a Diamond in the rough.” was the reply from Hawk who was now examining the back of her head. “A Diamond that’s had a rough time of it. Look at this lump on the back of her head. It’s been there a good long time, maybe why she can’t talk.”
The two creatures poked and prodded the back of her head until one made it hurt and she pulled away with a hurt “Yip” coming from her mouth.
“Sorry Diamond,” said the Hawk creature, “we’ll take you with us when we leave and get that looked at by a real doctor.”
The threesome past the night hours with the two foreigners asking questions and Diamond, she liked that name, not answering; but continuing to make a large dent in the pair’s rations.
Come sunup the two prepared to complete their mission and Diamond was instructed to say put and left with a dull colored covering to hide under and some more of the yummy rations.
They returned just before nightfall packed up their gear and with Diamond in tow made their way to the other end of her valley where they were picked up by an AFS hedgehog.
Her life seemed to rush by after that. Weeks in a hospital, months in school and then two more months of basic training where her two friends snapped her a salute followed by big hugs the day she graduated.
Now here she was a fresh graduate of Commando School and ready to kick more Bane Butt. Now and everyday of her remaining life she would attempt to bring an end to the Bane and their masters.
She is now, and forever will be, Diamond. A member of the Magestar family, a family at war.
Author: E.F. (Gunner) Smith
AKA Magestar
Orion server
Images by E.F. (Gunner) Smith