The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Planet Xerciam Prime)

(Rexanera Sea)

"Please proceed towards the stations in an orderly fashion," Captain Ahab yelled as several impatient passengers started to push and shove while in the line.

Agents walked into the crowd to forcefully separate some of the more aggressive passengers and soon the line was peaceful.

Sophie leaned back against the metal railing while staring up at the clouds in the sky. It felt good to feel the warm gentle rays of the two suns shine down on her face.

It was a sign of the start of a new day.

Lily was snuggling against her side while making soft cooing noises to get Sophie's attention. She was simply the most adorable and precious bundle of joy Sophie had met since Moon.

The water in the Rexanera Sea was a pale lime green colour and there were an uncountable number of marine horrors lurking just beneath the seemingly calm surface.

More passengers had decided to take up the compensation offer so the captain had decided to delay talking about the second announcement until the lines in front of stations had cleared up.

Sophie had a feeling that the discussion would be about what happens next.

Hopefully the Libera financial group would send more vessels to take the remaining passengers to king's island.

The journey had taken two months already so it would take more effort and time to return them to the original port when compared to just completing the trip to the destination.

The nutrient vials in Sophie's storage device could last for up to two years but she was slightly worried about her heightened consumption after ending her bloodlust state.

It would not be safe to run out of this supply especially when there was no way to ensure that the food available would meet their nutritional requirements.

"Big sister…." Lily suddenly tugged Sophie's hand.

"When can we go home?"

Sophie gave a long sigh and thought about what to say. Lily had asked this same question quite a few times before and the truth was that Sophie had no way of knowing the answer.

To get to king's island was originally a three-month journey and then she would need to somehow get on a spacefaring vessel willing to travel to an active war zone.

"I don' t…. I don't know," Sophie frankly admitted.

"But I promise you that I will find a way to bring us back safely. Do you believe me?"

Sophie smiled gently and squeezed Lily's tiny hand.

She could not help but feel a warm feeling as she saw her much larger palm cover the smaller one.

"I believe you," Lily replied as she stared at Sophie with trusting eyes.

There was a comfortable silence as the duo relaxed and listened quietly to the other passengers talk.

Most were still in a state of shock over the events of the previous night but there was an unmistakable feeling of joy in some passengers after receiving the money.

Sophie didn't know if this amount was enough to rent a spaceship, but it was certainly better than nothing.

None of the passengers had approached Sophie or Lily due to the intimidating aura surrounding Sophie's body as well as the scent of the dried blood on her cloak.

It had been fortunate that the only places where blood and guts had gotten in contact with Sophie's bare skin were the tips of her bladed appendages and the area around her mouth.

This was not a pleasant feeling but there had not been any time to take a shower, so Sophie just had to ignore it.

Maybe she would have the chance to return to her cabin room to freshen up after the second announcement.

Bleep! Bleep!

Two loud buzzing noises were heard from the front of the upper deck as the captain once again stepped forward to grab everyone's attention.

Sophie tilted her head slightly to the side to take a closer look while Lily yawned sleepily as she couldn't understand what language the captain was speaking.

Captain Ahab moved his tentacles awkwardly as he tried to shift his body into a comfortable position.

He adjusted his posture and then began to talk about the second announcement,

"Now that the compensation has been given out to those willing to sign the waiver, I would like to talk about what happens next."

"I have spoken to the upper management and the Libera Financial group has decided to send a second vessel with a skeleton crew towards this location."

"This replacement ship should arrive in about one day and then the journey will proceed as normally planned without delay."

The terrorist invaders had managed to blow up the ship's main engine room with miniature explosive devices and this damage had been substantial to the point where it could not be fixed.

The ship was currently completely useless aside from continuing to float and even the protective shielding functions could not be maintained.

The plasma cannons and laser arrays were also without power so in the event of an emergency the ship would not be able to protect itself.

This was incredibly dangerous as the terrible sea monstrosities hidden in the depths of the ocean were known to occasionally attack foreign objects.

"So, are we supposed to just wait around like idiots and wait for a sea monster to attack us?!" an angry passenger yelled.

"It is completely outrageous that the replacement ship is going to take so long to reach!" another voice added on.

"This journey had already been long enough! Why doesn't the Libera group send an aerial transport vessel instead?!" a lady wearing a green evening gown yelled.

Bleep! Bleep!

Another series of harsh noises blared out from the loudspeaker in the captain's hand as he attempted to drown out the hostile crowd.

Captain Ahab waved his grey arm and pointed towards the nearby vessels,

"Your safety will not be a concern as my crew, and I have arranged our fleet to surround this ship in a protective formation."

"Any lifeform within five miles of the ship will be treated as a potential threat and be driven off using lethal measures."

"But what about just using air carriers?" the same elegant woman could not help but ask again.

"My apologies ma'am but all available airborne vessels are currently in use in the alpha six mining zone so there are none available," Captain Ahab replied dully.

The lady was clearly unconvinced but the bored look in the captain's eyes made her hold back the other questions that she had wanted to ask.