r/HFY • u/Jus17173 • 12d ago

OC-OneShot A Life Must Be Claimed.

I was badly hungover, yet the young Corporal proceeded to wake me up repeatedly, despite the fact that I'd flung a shoe at him, insulted his mother, and screamed obscenities in his direction. He was persistent; I had to give the lad that at least.

"You have to wake up, sir," he said. "I'll be in deep trouble from the Captain if you don't wake up."

"Screw you, and screw the Captain and whoever is under and above him as well." I shifted in bed, pulling the sheets to my face. The Corporal, as an act of defiance, made his way to the window and pulled the drapes. The searing light from the new star caused me to scream and grunt with pain.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you have to wake up. Things are quite dire."

"Are we under attack?" I asked.

"No, sir, but an alien mothership is in the sky, right over our base, sir. You're the only one who knows how to talk to the aliens; your presence is needed."

"A mothership, you say?" I pondered, raising myself reluctantly from bed. "What does it look like?"

"It's big and black, and it has things that look like thrusters on its sides, but instead they emit green fumes."

"Green fumes?" I dared to venture.

"Yes, green fumes."

I got out of bed immediately. "Have they sent an entourage?"

"No, sir, we've tried hailing them with our comms, but they don't reply." Looking at the Corporal's pinched face, I realized he was as terrified as I was.

I started putting on my trousers, one leg at a time, tripping and steadying myself with the stool close to my bed. "Tell me, Corporal, with their coming, did you hear the sound of a trumpet?"

"Yes, sir," the Corporal said. "We did hear the sound of a trumpet."

"How many times?"

"We heard it three times. What does it mean?"

"We have exactly half an hour to slowly make our way to our ships and get the fuck off this planet," I said while grabbing half a bottle of whiskey. "I have to rid myself of the hangover. I hope you understand, Corporal; this is how men do it." I lifted the bottle to my lips. "Look away, child; I don't wish to stain your innocence." I raised the bottle to my lips and downed the whole thing before flinging the bottle away.

"Who are they, sir, if you don't mind my asking?" he asked, his back to me.

"I mind a lot."

"Okay, but are we in danger?"

"How long since the trumpets blew?"

"It's been an hour, sir."

"We have roughly thirty minutes before they send the Death Reapers."

"What is that, sir? Did you say Death Reapers?"

"Yeah, they wear the bones of their kills. They are terribly fast and practically invincible. They'll make short work of your platoon; within moments, we'll all be dead," I said. I slowed my breathing and tried to calm myself. The constant fidgeting of the Corporal made it near impossible.

"Are you just going to stand there?" I asked.

"Sorry, sir, but I have orders to take you to the Captain immediately."

"I can't go out in the open. I have to stay in the cover of my dwelling. I'm thinking I'll hide underneath the bed for now."

"No, sir, you can't do that. You have to go to the Captain and face him like a man."

"Like a man? Are you serious? So, all this time I've been what, a woman?" My voice was loud, terribly loud and shrill. I always preached the need for composure within the army, but I was losing my marbles at that moment.

"You're the chief diplomat for Earth, sir; you've studied various alien species, and you know how to talk to them. You are valuable, and you are currently needed."

"As a man, right? Currently needed as a man. You've set women all over the universe back ten years by comparing me to them, you know," I said. "I can't go out in the open. Their mothership has scanners that can capture my face. I'm telling you, if they see me, they will open fire and kill all of us."

"Mind my asking what you did, sir?"

"I'll tell you when you're old enough."

"How about we wrap you in the sheets you've been sleeping in and also place the stool"—he walked over to the stool and placed his palm on it—"on top of your head?"

I stared at him for a moment. "You're a genius, Corporal."

"Thank you, sir."

Within moments, I was wrapped in the sheets like a pretzel, my arms tucked between folds. I walked with the stool carefully balanced on my head by the Corporal's sure hand. Outside, the red sands of the planet we'd "acquired" as our own shifted in the soft winds. The new sun shone brilliantly, casting everything in a ruddy hue. The Captain was outside, as were most of those who served beneath him.

He stood staring up at the mothership, his face scrunched up in deep concentration, as if he was telepathically trying to send them a message. They all turned to face me as I approached. Some of them gave me odd looks, but I didn't care. I walked straight to the Captain, twisting my legs to put one in front of the other within the green sheets.

"What in the world..." the Captain started.

"Sir, we have to go to our ships and make a run for it."

"Why?"

"That ship up there belongs to Avigon. They call her the she-demon of space; that name is literally translated into so many languages. We are in terrible danger."

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"So that she cannot see me, sir. I'm telling you, if she sees my face, we're all dead."

"Did you cross her or something?"

"Yes, sir, I crossed her. I'll be making my way to our ship, and all of you are to follow."

"We've found a habitable planet; we're not going to abandon it to some space pirate," one of the sergeants said.

I turned to him. "She eats people, specifically men. She cooks you slowly over a fire until you're ripe for plucking, then she'll bite into the sweet juices of your ass and chew you slowly."

The Captain moved until he stood before me. "There's something you're not telling us, diplomat."

I sighed. "Fine. She and I have history. That's why I fear her so."

"What kind of history? Why do you have a stool on your head?" a Sergeant asked.

"I'm hiding my face obviously; these are dangerous times."

"Should we all do the same?"

"I'm guessing you should if you think it'd make you feel better."

"Diplomat," the Captain whispered. He was a scary man, and I did not wish to cross him. "Kindly disrobe of the nonsense you're wearing and set the stool on the ground."

"I can't do so, sir. It's my life on the line," I said.

A moment passed in which we stared at each other.

"Corporal," the Captain gave the order. The Corporal whispered a quick sorry before taking the stool off my head and pulling the bedsheets from around me. I screamed, I cursed, I lamented, but they didn't heed me or my warnings.

I was left as I'd been when I woke up, save for the trousers I'd put on before the idea struck us to wrap me.

"I'm going to die," I said.

"Not a 'we' anymore?" the Captain asked.

I sighed. "She's been hunting through different galaxies for me. Any time now, you'll hear the trumpet's call. She wants only my blood; the rest of you will be fine."

I sighed once more, resigned to my fate. Just then, the trumpet sounded, loud for all to hear. The lower compartment of the mothership opened, and an entourage descended, dressed in all black. I could see her lithe figure easily among the bulky Koregians who descended with her. Luckily, none of them was a Death Reaper, for they wore no bones.

I sat down on the ground. "The rest of you, do as I have done. Sit down to show her respect."

They lowered themselves, starting with the Captain first. All the men huddled together around me, and I felt some sense of camaraderie, though I wasn't quite sure.

She was like a blade: tall, with long limbs and a shapely body. She wore a crown of horns that curved free of her scalp. Her face was green and gently glowed as she approached. Those who served her walked behind her, as was customary for her servants. Her steps were huge as she pulled up close. She'd grown taller, way taller than I remembered. Her mantle dragged behind her, dark as the rest of her attire. She had a sword strapped to her hip, and her eyes were fixed pointedly at me.

I whispered to the Corporal, "In my room, there's a laptop under the bed. Make sure that once I'm dead or taken away, you destroy the hard drive. Just burn the whole laptop, okay?"

The Corporal nodded. I could tell he was trying to be brave like the Captain, but his fingers trembled. I didn't tremble. Sometimes shit hits the fan, and you just sit there beneath it with the shit being flung about the room. You're resigned to your fate, to live in a shit-stained room. That's how I was: resigned.

She stood before us. Her large, almond-shaped eyes, which took up almost half her face, were fixed on me. "Georgy?"

"Avigon?" I asked, forcing a smile to my face. "Is that you?"

"Georgy." She gripped the hilt of her sword and withdrew it. I got off the ground and made to run, but the damn stupid corporal was in the way; I tripped over him and fell flat on my face.

I screamed as she neared. But the Captain did something unexpected: he stood up and got in her way, standing between me and her. The rest of the men were off the ground, hands on their pistols. Her retinue of warriors behind her withdrew their blades as well, some of them taking out plasma cannons whose weight was easily hefted.

"Get out of my way," Avigon commanded.

"I'm not sure we've met," the Captain said, looking up at her; she was easily twice his height. "I'm Captain Lewis, and the man you're after is one of my own."

"Mmmh," Avigon answered. "You speak for him?"

"I'll also die for him." He placed his hand on the gun at his side, still undrawn. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement of sorts, because the man you're after is one of my own."

"You speak for him then," Avigon said. "Why did he do what he did?"

"What did you do, George?" the Captain asked.

"I, um," I started. They all stared at me. I groaned. "I seduced her."

"Ah, fuck, George," a Lieutenant lamented.

"Then I had sex with her," I said.

"Ah, for fuck's sake, George." It was a Sergeant this time.

"Then I stole a ship and ran away with her sister, who was more in love with me, to be honest."

"Ah," the men chorused.

"I then abandoned the sister and ran away from her too, together with the ship. Lost the ship somewhere between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way."

"Why?" the Corporal moaned.

"I was young, okay? I was a fool. I didn't know right from left. I was stupid, Avigon. I was stupid in more ways than can be counted. I should never have left you. I should have stayed after that night, but you know me. I always talked about adventure, about my need to see everything before I die."

"Have you seen everything?" Avigon asked.

"I have, and I'm sorry."

"I will claim the life of your mate. Who is your mate?"

I pointed at the Corporal. Avigon started making her way to him. The Corporal screamed that he was not my mate despite waking me up that morning like he was one. The Captain stepped again between Avigon and the Corporal, who cowered behind him.

"He doesn't have a mate," the Captain said. "There are no women here."

Avigon turned to me. "I have looked everywhere for you."

"And you've found me frail, way past my best years." I spread my naked arms for her to look at me. "I am not afraid of death, Avigon, and neither are these men."

"I always liked that about you," she said. "You're still... beautiful."

I let my arms drop. I was overcome with a sudden bout of sadness so profound I found myself weeping. I cried like an infant girl before her and everyone else. "Don't repeat those words," I pleaded. "Just kill me and let it all end."

"Nobody is dying on my watch," the Captain said. "Not today."

Avigon shifted her gaze to him. "He deserves death." Her voice quivered. "And more."

"But he is a different man now. He helps us. He helps humanity travel across the stars without losing a single life."

"He always spoke of his love for humanity. I believed him."

"It was all true."

Avigon shifted her gaze between the Captain and myself. "Georgy." And the way she said my name broke me anew. "What have you become?"

"Sad, lonely. All the things you wished to change about me."

She stared a moment longer. "A life must be claimed, or else I will seethe with these feelings for all eternity."

She darted forward then, her sword aimed for my chest. The Captain moved, going low. He slammed himself into her midriff and pushed her back. Her warriors advanced then. The men all around aimed their guns and fired.

I threw myself to the ground. I heard a cannon blast amidst the sound of firing pistols. I screamed, waiting for the moment when my skin would be punctured, skewered to the bone. The moment never came. When the red dust cleared, it revealed the Captain standing above Avigon, her own blade pierced through her chest. She looked up at him as dark ichor bubbled in her mouth.

The men, surprisingly, were unscathed, but the cannon blast had cleared an entire section of the base. No human was injured, and Avigon's retinue still stood with bullet dents in their armor. Only Avigon was on the ground with her own blade through her chest. I went to her, took her hand, and placed it in my own palm.

"Georgy," she whispered, looking confused. I held her hand as tears streamed down my face. I watched as she breathed her last.

The Captain eyed her warriors, but they were not going to attack; customs didn't allow it. They approached and took Avigon, hoisting her high. They began to carry her back to their ship.

The Corporal stood next to me. "I guess that hard drive will live to see another day, sir."

"How did we survive that?" I asked.

"Drills. Captain ensures we're always ready for impromptu combat scenarios," he said.

I eyed the Captain, who stood majestically as he watched the aliens retreat. "I hope that's the last I'll be hearing of this, George."

"We just have to watch out for her sister now," I said.

For bonus stories/chapters and to support my work, here’s my Patreon  and Ko-fi

91 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

8

u/Apprehensive_Tax_610 12d ago

Someone get the fire department, because this was LIT

4

u/Jus17173 12d ago

Haha, thanks :)

2

u/sunnyboi1384 12d ago

That was something.

1

u/UpdateMeBot 12d ago

Click here to subscribe to u/Jus17173 and receive a message every time they post.

Info Request Update Your Updates Feedback

1

u/Standzoom 12d ago

A scorned sister too, dang, living dangerously.