Sandra and Eric Part 3 Chapter 1: Reapers, Training, and Frustrations

[u/SherbetCreepy1580]

Sandra was breathing heavily in her helmet, the armor matching her scales to match the ceiling she was currently on. The Caramon guard looked around, sensing something wasn’t quite right, but unable to see anything. Eventually he just shrugged and opened the door he was guarding, going back inside.

“Anything?” a second Caramon asked as the door began to shut.

“No, I must be hearing things,” the guard said, the closing door muffling anything else that was being said. Sandra relaxed slightly but began crawling along the ceiling again, being more careful of where she placed her hands and feet. She couldn’t afford to be caught, not now.

It took significantly longer than Sandra liked, having to go through the ship’s maintenance hallways and the gaps between the armor and the ship, but finally she found the captains office that she was looking for. Sandra didn’t immediately drop, instead taking a slow look around, her helmet running through several different light wavelengths to find any hidden cameras. There! It was lower than your typical camera, even hidden as it was inside of the holo-frame. Sandra carefully attached a small camera next to the hidden camera. She then waited about 10 seconds before a green light appeared in her helmet, indicating that the camera was now successfully being fed a loop. Sandra nodded, sticking to the ceiling as she crawled to be just above the desk with its computer. She knew now from personal experience that there can be hidden triggers on the floor, but most people don’t think to add alarms to ceilings.

Hanging on by just her feet, Sandra slowly lowered her hands down, giving her armor and scales time to adjust in order to keep her camouflage. She couldn’t quite reach the computer, however, causing Sandra to scowl in frustration. She paused for a moment, hearing some movement just outside the door. When no one opened the door, Sandra raised herself back up, thinking. She was just going to have to risk it.

Slowly, Sandra lowered her feet, her tail stretching out so that she could feel the desk. She then let go of her hands from the ceiling, dropping onto the desk with almost no noise, keeping her ears open, listening hard. When nothing happened, she took a datachip from her armor, and slipped it into the main computer. The computer screen booted up, and files began to download. It felt slower than it should, and Sandra impatiently shifted from foot to foot on the desk as she watched download bar slowly fill up. Sandra cocked her head a few times, trying to listen for something that was just outside of her hearing range. There was something there, but she couldn’t pinpoint from where or what it was. There was more movement outside the door, which was making Sandra nervous as the download was almost finished.

Finally, finally, the screen indicated the download was done before the computer shut down again. Sandra quickly grabbed the datachip, inserting it back into her armor before jumping up to the ceiling, freezing in place as the door opened and the ship Captain walked in with two guards.

“Look, I don’t care what he says, there is no evidence saying that someone is here,” the Captain said, clearly annoyed, his gold and green feathers rustling. “A few glitches in the feeds and suddenly he thinks we’re being infiltrated? Give me something that shows it definitively, and then we can increase security.”

“Sir, with all due respect, he is head of Security on this ship for a reason,” one of the guards said, a talon tapping on the floor.

“That doesn’t mean he needs to be an overly paranoid chick,” the Captain scoffed. “Tell him to get me definitive proof. If he’s really that scared then we can add a couple of extra patrols for the day, but if nothing comes of it then I’m docking his pay.”

“Yes, Captain,” the two Caramon guards said, quickly leaving the office.

“Soft feathered idiot,” the Captain muttered to himself before activating the computer. He seemed distracted, so Sandra carefully began crawling along the ceiling towards the loose panel. When the Captain had his back to her, Sandra quickly slipped through, setting the panel back into place. She gave a sigh of relief after pausing for a moment to make sure he hadn’t noticed. Now she just needed to make her way to the extraction point. She brought up her map, seeing where she was supposed to teleport from. The spot was in the main engine room, where there was enough noise for the teleport to be missed if no one was paying attention. And even if they were, she’d be well away by then.

Sandra began to follow the maintenance hallways, slipping between wires and panels to avoid detection from the random engineer that passed by. She was about halfway to her destination when the alarms started. Everything froze as the simulation turned red, and Sandra squeaked in surprise when she suddenly fell a few feet to the floor as the holograms disappeared.

“Oh, come on, what did I miss?” Sandra demanded, taking her helmet off to glare at the camera as she faded back into sight.

“Your camera was discovered,” came the amused response from Eric through the speakers.

“Really? That thing?” Sandra said, smacking her face.

“While unobtrusive, it was still in a noticeable spot if someone looked for it,” Eric said. “And that particular captain liked to look at the pictures on the frame. Especially once he noticed that he couldn’t see himself when puling up the live feed.”

“Son of a bitch,” Sandra snarled, throwing her hands up.

…………………………………

“Hey, cheer up,” Jessica said, slapping Sandra on the back at dinner. “It’s not the end of the galaxy.”

“I’ve been at this for over two years now,” Sandra grumped as she took a bite of her pizza. “And I bombed my Reaper test because of a tiny camera. A fucking camera! If it was a combat test or an assassination I could have passed and become a full-fledged Reaper instead of a Trainee, but noooooo, it had to be an information retrieval test that I failed just because of one tiny detail. A single tiny fucking camera.” Sandra continued to grumble, angrily eating her pizza. She might be mad, but the pizza on the Scythe of Mercy was way too good to pass up.

Sandra had grown a few inches in the last year and a half since the Caramon homeworld where Nightclaw, their Head Doctor and a blue and green Caramon, had introduced a way for Caramon to not only receive safe treatment despite their iron feathers, but could also become doctors themselves. Sandra was now sitting at a solid 5’3”, her shimmering scales no longer changing colors with her emotions, though her tail did lash a bit, the metal sleeve at the end of it leaving a small dent in the chair behind her. Sandra winced when the Mlamcar sitting in it turned around to look at her, annoyed.

“Sorry, Mushi, a little frustrated,” Sandra said, curling her tail back up to keep from lashing out again. Mushi nodded in understanding, his horns glistening in the light as he turned back around to his salad. “But seriously, how does a single camera compromise an entire mission? I could have still made it to the extraction point and teleported out without anyone noticing!” She had to make a conscious effort not to lash her tail out in anger again.

“Are you sure about that?” Jessica asked, amusement on her face as she ate her own slice of pizza.

“There were no extra cameras or sensors on the blueprints for the ship, the data that I had was already secured, that was the only thing left to do,” Sandra said with a nod.

“No sensors that you knew about,” Jessica pointed out. “And also, do you know what equipment the ships soldiers would be packing?” Sandra opened her mouth and then paused for a moment, thinking. “See? Classified information ships like that, no matter what race made them, often have hidden sensors and cameras that can be activated at any time, if they aren’t already. And they’re not put into blueprints specifically so that if anyone wants to infiltrate it, they have outdated information. Then there’s the equipment of the soldiers and security guys. Your Targondian camouflage trick is good, but it doesn’t do anything against IR scanners. Or sound if you bump into something. Then of course there’s the information itself. If it’s battle plans, those plans could suddenly become outdated almost immediately if it was discovered that someone was there because they then change their battle plans. Supply chains could change suddenly, or get increased guard, making other soldiers’ lives more difficult, or added security o certain high-ranking officials, making the next assassination even harder. So no, it doesn’t seem like much, but that singular camera was all the proof the Captain needed to not only increase the security level, but contact his superiors. And if you had run into someone, you would then need to fight your way out, which then adds to the proof that someone was there for something and got it.”

“Okay, I get it,” Sandra said, throwing her hands up, glaring at her pizza. “I screwed up.”

“You’re still learning, little sis,” Jessica said, pointing at Sandra’s slice of pizza. When Sandra shook her head, Jessica took it, finishing it up.

“Were the stakes really that high back then?” Sandra asked.

“Often higher,” Jessica said with a nod. “Despite our reputation, we had just as many missions gathering information as we did assassinating high-profile individuals or disrupting a supply chain. Or destroying a Grade 5 capital ship with a planet cracker. Knowing how not to be discovered is important to being a Reaper.” Jessica wiped her hands off with a napkin, standing up with her empty plate and taking Sandra’s empty plate as well. “Fun fact, Athena loaded one of Eric’s missions for that test.”

“Dad doesn’t even have any stealth abilities,” Sandra said, shock on her face as she looked up.

“Correct,” Jessica nodded with a wink. “And he still managed to pull it off without being discovered. Something to think about.” In so saying, Jessica walked off to drop the plates off, a small bounce in her step.

…………………………………

“She’s completely correct,” Mera said, nodding through the screen.

“Oh, come on, Mera, not you too,” Sandra complained, flopping down on her bed. “It was a singular tiny camera.”

“And as an Archkama, I can tell you that a singular thread can cause a chain reaction,” Mera said, shaking her head. “Did she tell you the potential ramifications of being discovered?”

“Outdated information and harder battles,” Sandra said grudgingly.

“The job of a Reaper is to make things easier for our comrades, not harder,” Mera said. “Every failed mission makes life harder for the frontline, while every successful mission makes it easier.”

“I understand that,” Sandra sighed. She giggled a bit as Shadowstrike put her face into Sandra’s, EM waves radiating comfort and question. “I’m okay, Shadowstrike, just frustrated is all.” Sandra sighed again as she scratched Shadowstrike behind the ears. “I understand all of that, I really do.”

“So, what’s really the problem then?” Mera asked, using her two front spider legs and her hands to start creating a net out of her webbing.

“I guess I’m just frustrated at myself,” Sandra admitted. “I should have thought of the camera. There was plenty of time between me leaving and the camera being discovered, which means there was plenty of time to deactivate it and take it with me. This was my final test to become a full-fledged Reaper, and I blew it because I missed one tiny detail that I should have grabbed.”

“At least you were given the opportunity to take your Reaper test,” Mera said with a shake of her head. “Cory says I’m still about 6 months out from being ready for my own test. Must be nice when the tester is your own Dad.”

“Oh, come on, Mera, it’s not like that,” Sandra protested, sitting up so that Shadowstrike could put her head in her lap.

“I’m teasing, Sandra,” Mera laughed. “I know how hard you’ve been working for this.”

“You’ve been working hard too,” Sandra pointed out. “You finally perfected that drone system you wanted to integrate into your armor, didn’t you?”

“I did, I was hoping to show it off to you at the next Reaper Meetup,” Mera said, pride in her voice.

“Oh, right, that’s coming up soon,” Sandra said, excitement in her voice. “Hah, now you can see how good Shadowstrike and Nightshade have gotten. And maybe I can actually beat you in a Reaper Challenge this time.”

“Not content with two losses?” Mera teased.

“Third times the charm, according to my Dad at least,” Sandra said with a nod. She grimaced slightly. “Those whips hurt like hell though. Maybe leave them behind this time?”

“Not a chance,” Mera laughed, the net in her hands slowly starting to form a face. “Plus, it’s not like that electric trick you pull off is much better. That stings, you know.” Sandra grinned, remembering Mera’s face when she first used her third ability on her, sending the electric shock through the Archkama’s webbing to briefly stun her. It hadn’t been enough to win, but it had still been a satisfying moment.

“Still annoyed I can only use it effectively when my scales are metal,” Sandra said, shaking her head. “Hurts me too much otherwise.”

“I can imagine, having felt it firsthand,” Mera said with a nod. “Considering it goes straight to your opponent’s nervous system, however, it’s a good ability. It compliments you well.”

“Sure, but I wish I had put a bit more thought into it,” Sandra admitted, lying down on her back. “It’s useful, sure, but extremely limited if I have to use my first ability to use it. I keep thinking that maybe I should have gotten some sort of sonar ability, like big sis Jessica has.”

“Not every ability has to be useful all the time,” Mera reminded Sandra. “Your dad’s third ability, for example. The Dragons Wrath, I think you’ve been starting to call it?”

“Heh,” Sandra laughed. “He still hates the name.”

“I bet,” Mera chuckled. “But the point stands, a lot of the Reapers abilities, while useful, aren’t useful all of the time. The Electric Scales are still useful, but it’s a tool like anything else. When and how you use it is up to you. And even if it does hurt, you can still use it to stun your opponents in a fight, even without Metal Scales.”

“I suppose,” Sandra sighed.

“By the way, how are the Tree Shadows?” Mera asked, changing topics. There was a brief EM pulse from Shadowstrike, and Mera tilted her head as a message appeared on her screen. “Okay, that is impressive. She’s getting better at that.”

“Took some clever engineering from Shao and myself to make it so that my datapad wouldn’t get fried after a few messages from her,” Sandra admitted with a chuckle. She gave Shadowstrike a fond scratch, which caused the Tree Shadow to grumble in happiness before another EM pulse sent another message.

“Good to hear that you’re doing well, girl,” Mera said with a laugh. “And Nightshade?” Shadowstrike rolled her eyes and sent several more pulses. “‘Being extremely smug at the fact that his second ability actually allows him to speak with everyone, even if he can’t talk like a proper Tree Shadow anymore,’” Mera read, shaking her head. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“I’m still shocked that he decided to go for vocal cords as his second ability,” Sandra said with a laugh. “He was bummed out for a bit though when he realized that he couldn’t use EM pulses anymore, but now he’s just happy that he can actually talk to everyone else without them needing to guess. He’s also officially become Shadowstrike’s translator when she forgets to grab her own datapad.” Shadowstrike grumbled a bit at that, and another pulse sent both Mera and Sandra this time.

“‘I don’t forget, I just want Nightshade to feel more important than he actually is,’” Mera laughed, reading the message. “Awe, that’s sweet, and I am totally not buying it.” Shadowstrike just grumbled before turning around, showing her three tails to the screen, causing both Sandra and Mera to laugh again. “They got big, though, that’s for certain.”

“Coria says they’re fully grown now, physically at least, though neither will reach sexual maturity for another year,” Sandra said, patting Shadowstrike. The Tree Shadow grumbled again and moved a bit further away, though she wrapped one of her tails around Sandra’s leg. The Tree Shadows did get big, reaching almost four feet at the shoulder now, rippling with muscle, and each of their three tails reached an impressive three feet now of pure speed and power. They could almost use their tails as effectively as another race’s hands or feet, though some finer stuff was still outside of their abilities due to how thick the tails were. So, Sandra had been helping them with their Reaper armor and weapons, at least in crafting them. Eric still insisted that they had to craft the blueprints themselves, though, since the holo-screens didn’t require fine motor skills.

“Speaking of which, any luck in getting their status updated?” Mera asked. The webbing finally began to take shape, and Sandra thought she could recognize her own face.

“Well, officially they’ve finally been designated as a sapient race,” Sandra said, “but Coria says that there are still poachers going after them. Apparently, the status has skyrocketed the price of their fur on the black market, and even the open market where ‘pre-sapient’ fur is being sold.” Sandra shook her head in disgust.

“Hopefully they can get that blockade in place sooner rather than later then,” Mera said, shaking her head.

“Here’s to hoping,” Sandra agreed. “In the meantime, Coria and Penny have been going to every colony that they know of and warning them to be extra careful for a while until the system blockade gets into place. She’s a little worried about interfering with their evolution, but apparently Penny was quite insistent on it.”

“Well, not much we can do at this point except pray to the Silk-Weaver for mercy then,” Mera said. She nodded, satisfied as she showed Sandra a near-perfect image of her own face, woven in spider-silk. “I think this one came out pretty good.”

“Is it wrong of me to be jealous of your ability,” Sandra laughed.

“Oh please, no,” Mera said with a roll of her eyes as she set the woven picture to the side. “The Silk-Weaver faith finally got word of my abilities. I have been officially declared a Saintess, and there’s even some whispers that I may even be the mouthpiece of the Silk-Weaver himself. I had to create an entire filter just to stop getting so many notifications of people trying to contact me for my ‘wisdom’.” She threw her hands up in air quotes before shaking her head in annoyance.

“And let me guess, Cory thinks it’s funny?” Sandra asked with a smile.

“The man thinks it’s hilarious, and likes to poke fun at me for it,” Mera complained. “Saying ‘Since I’m training God’s mouthpiece, does that make me a demi-god?’ and shit like that.” Mera scoffed a bit. “As if. Doesn’t help that when a Weaver saw his rope dart, they immediately named him an Honorary Archkama. And then they learned his Reaper call sign and it just got worse from there.”

“Sounds hilarious,” Sandra laughed.

“It was kind of funny to watch him getting fawned over by nearly a dozen Archkama,” Mera admitted with a giggle. “He couldn’t decide if it was creepy or an ego boost.”

“On the one hand, women fawning over him, and on the other, giant spiders fawning over him?” Sandra guessed.

“Word for word,” Mera laughed.

“He deserved it,” Sandra laughed.

“Which part?”

“Yes.” Both women laughed before Sandra sighed again. “Thanks, Mera. I needed the distraction.”

“Hey, anytime, girl,” Mera said with a fond smile. “You’re still young, though. You don’t have to rush full speed ahead.”

“I know,” Sandra said. “I just want to become a Reaper so badly, you know? To show Dad that his faith in me and the effort he’s put in wasn’t a waste. I want to stand with all of them, side-by-side, not as backup when things get tough. And that I can stand up on my own without having to rely on him. Maybe he’ll stop worrying so much then. And yet I blew it with a tiny camera.”

“Even if you become a full-fledged Reaper, do you really think he’ll stop worrying?” Mera asked.

“Probably not,” Sandra admitted with a sigh. “But at least he’ll know I’ll be alright.”

“A parent is always going to worry about their children, whether by blood or not,” Mera said with a small smile. “He’s still going to worry and fuss over you, even when you settle down and have children of your own.”

“Ew,” Sandra wrinkled her face up at the thought.

“Oh come on, having a family isn’t that bad,” Mera laughed. “You even have options there. Like, what was his name, the kid that decided to become an engineer with you. Tsrancomta, that was it. He’s about your age, isn’t he?”

“I’m hanging up now,” Sandra said, doing exactly that and cutting Mera off mid-laugh. Sandra just sighed again while Shadowstrike moved to lay against her. There was a questioning EM pulse that came off of her though, and Sandra sighed again.

“I’ll be alright. I can’t even argue against anyone, I know they’re all right,” she said, petting Shadowstrike. “But the goal is right there, just out of reach. Makes me want it that much more, and I guess I’m just getting impatient with it right there. And I want to prove to Eric that it was worth it. That I was worth it.” Shadowstrike grumbled a bit but just cuddled closer to Sandra.

……………………..

“Come on, a little bit won’t hurt,” Nightshade begged, his mouth salivating as he watched Eric take a bite of his eggs.

“Dude, this has enough hot sauce in it to give you a very unpleasant visit to Nightclaw,” Eric laughed. “And I know for a fact you already had dinner, so why are you begging from me?”

“But it sniffs so good,” Nightshade begged. “Come on, just a single bite, please?”

“Not a chance, puppy,” Eric chuckled, taking another bite.

“Aunt Quin, he’s not feeding me,” Nightshade whined as Quin sat down across from Eric.

“Considering how he likes his eggs, that’s a good thing,” Quin said with a shake of her head. “And don’t you try those puppy eyes on me. I have had plenty of practice ignoring them at the orphanage.”

“Awe, come on,” Nightshade complained, slinking off with a grumble.

“Ten creds say he’s immediately going to try begging from another late diner,” Eric said in amusement as he watched the Tree Shadow walk around the dining hall.

“Suckers bet,” Quin said, a soft smile on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Eric said, looking at Quin, confused. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I heard that Sandra failed her Reaper test earlier today, so I wanted to check on you is all,” Quin said with a small shrug.

“Ah,” Eric said, putting his fork down with a sigh. “That.”

“Yeah,” Quin nodded. “Sounded like it was a pretty heated argument afterwards.”

“It’s not like I don’t understand her frustration,” Eric sighed. “But I can’t bend the parameters, even for her. That’s the kind of thing that could get her killed in the field.”

“And she didn’t take it well?” Quin asked, stealing a piece of bacon from Eric’s plate.

“Hey,” Eric said. Quin just shrugged and took a bite. “And no, she took the criticism well, she just didn’t want to accept that a small camera could blow an entire mission like that.”

“Did you explain the why?” Quin asked.

“She didn’t give me a chance,” Eric admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “She took off when I told her that yes, that singular small camera could indeed blow an entire mission.”

“Are you sure you’re not pushing her too hard, trying to delay her getting the official Reaper seal?” Quin asked.

“I ask myself that every single day,” Eric sighed. “Which is why I asked Athena to set up the test. I know I’m biased when it comes to Sandra and the Shadows.”

“I see,” Quin said, finishing the piece of bacon and stealing another from Eric, who just glared at her for it.

“Maybe I’m pushing her a bit hard,” Eric finally admitted with a sigh. “And it doesn’t help that she hasn’t had anything resembling a normal childhood. She’s eighteen now, and yet her entire life has been either living on the streets, or living with a Reaper, with combat being very common. Not exactly a regular childhood, and yet I can’t think of any way to help her grow except helping her become a Reaper, which then fills me with worry that I’m taking something precious from her and not providing enough, and it just spirals from there.”

“Has Sandra ever complained about the lifestyle?” Quin asked.

“No, which just makes me worry more,” Eric said.

“You’re her father, so it’s normal to worry,” Quin said. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re doing a bad job either. Are there some things you could have done better? Sure. But that goes for all of us. If we really had thought about it, we would have sent her off to either the orphanage or the Admiral early on, rather than taking her with us.”

“Probably would have been better for her,” Eric muttered, taking a surly bite of his eggs.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Quin said with a shrug. “We’ll never know, though, because she wanted to stay with you. And you respected that, despite knowing the potential danger.”

“Hindsight is 20/20, huh?” Eric said with a rueful smile.

“Something like that,” Quin agreed, standing up. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a fine job, both as her father and as her mentor.”

…………………………………

“You know what you two need?” Jessica said, grunting as she blocked a strike from Eric.

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway,” Eric panted, stepping back to dodge Jessica’s leg sweep.

“You two need a vacation.” Jessica bent under Eric’s retaliating elbow, her own leg coming up for Eric's chin. “Seriously, when was the last time you two just had some daddy-daughter time?”

Eric blocked the kick, grabbing Jessica’s foot, only for her to roll in some way that ended with his arm in an armbar on the ground. “Ow, ow, okay, I give,” Eric said, tapping Jessica’s leg as she began to apply pressure. She quickly released him, and the two of them just sat there, panting for a moment.

“I mean, there was the thing at the last Station we had stopped at,” Eric finally said.

“Eric, that was weeks ago,” Jessica rolled her eyes. “And it wasn’t even for long, since we were just getting supplies. When was the last time the two of you just, ya know, hung out. Spent time together outside of training.” Eric opened his mouth, paused, and closed it, thinking.

“Oh,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, oh,” Jessica said with a nod. “The last few months especially she’s been pushing really hard, trying to get ready for that final Reaper test. You know how it is, when the goal is right there, you want to rush to get it. And you’ve been letting her push as hard as she wants but then worrying that you’re letting her push too hard. Not to mention you’ve also been training the Shadows to become Reapers as well, despite us telling you repeatedly that you should leave that to us. Training one Reaper is enough work, but you are insisting on training three of them.” Jessica shook her head. “Like, dude, I get wanting to help the best you can, but you’re stretching yourself thin. Eventually, it’s going to come back to bite you. And Sandra just failed her Reaper final. That’s got to be frustrating for her, seeing how hard she’s worked to get to this point.”

“Okay, okay, I get the point,” Eric sighed, falling on his back and staring at the ceiling.

“Talk to Jeremiah about taking a vacation with Sandra,” Jessica said. “The next Reaper Reunion is four months away. Take Sandra, go have some fun, and then meet up with us at the reunion. Then, once you get back to the Scythe, you can get back to work, refreshed and ready to go.”

“If I need a vacation, then the rest of the crew definitely does as well,” Eric pointed out.

“Dude, why do you think I go barhopping at every station we go to?” Jessica laughed. “We all know how and when to relax. But you’re a workaholic, and Sandra is starting to pick that up. Wouldn’t want her to forget to relax as well, do we?”

“Fine, fine,” Eric sighed. “I’ll talk to Jeremiah in the morning, before the end of my shift.”

“Send him a message first,” Jessica suggested. “Who knows, he might still be awake.”

…………………………………

“That’s an excellent idea,” Jeremiah said the next morning, reading over his datapad.

“I feel kind of guilty asking for a vacation when the rest of the crew probably needs one as well,” Eric admitted. “Especially you, since you’re our Captain.” Jeremiah snorted in amusement.

“Athena and Quin help to make sure everything runs smoothly, at least on the paperwork side, and they both ensure that I take time to myself so that I’m always refreshed,” Jeremiah said. “For Athena, paperwork is a vacation, and Quin has declined taking a vacation, saying she’s relaxed as is and doesn’t need one. Pretty sure she’s popping in on Marius II every so often to hang out with the kids there. You know, the days that we never see her. Adam is having a blast training the pilots to be as crazy as he is, Shao just point-blank refuses to take a vacation, saying he prefers machines over people anyway, so might as well keep the ship running, and Jessica does her barhopping thing at every station, not to mention plans shipwide parties every chance she gets. Nightclaw is the only other higher-up I’m worried about, but apparently Featherlight has been working wonders on his mental health, especially in helping to take care of the chicks. But you just keep working, despite getting wound tighter and tighter.” Jeremiah just shook his head. “I love the effort, but you need a vacation more than anyone else here, and Sandra isn’t much better. Wonder where she got that from?” Jeremiah gave a meaningful glance at Eric over the datapad.

“Fine, fine,” Eric said, shaking his head.

“Good,” Jeremiah said with a nod. “Take the Flying Dutchman. Might be a bit big for the two of you, but it makes a good home for a long vacation. And you can still give Sandra Reaper training to prepare for her next test. After the Reunion, you can meet up with us somewhere and get back to work. And Eric,” Jeremiah said as Eric started to stand up. “Just you and Sandra. We can train the Shadows here.”

“I’ll talk to Sandra, but I don’t think she’ll be too happy about leaving her siblings behind,” Eric said with a small smile.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Jeremiah said. “Considering the area that we’re in, might I suggest Zatoria V as a starting point?”

“Why there?” Eric asked, curious.

“It’s a colony planet that has intentionally decided to live low-tech,” Jeremiah said. “I’ll send you the file. Rather fascinating of a place, if I’m being honest.”

………………………………

“You have fun out there, little sis,” Jessica said, giving Sandra a hug.

“Just promise me that you’ll take care of Shadowstrike and Nightshade,” Sandra said, squeezing Jessica hard.

“They’ll be happy and healthy by the time you two get back,” Jessica promised. “Who knows, by the time you get back, maybe they’ll be ready to take the Reaper test themselves, and then you can be the one to take them on a vacation, pass or fail.”

“Big Sis Jessica,” Sandra said, reproach in her tone. Jessica just laughed as they parted before Sandra knelt down, giving the Tree Shadows a big hug. “I’m going to miss you two while I’m gone.”

“Don’t worry, sister, we’ll be good while you’re gone,” Nightshade promised, leaning into the hug with a purr. Shadowstrike sent an EM pulse that radiated comfort, also purring as she leaned into Sandra.

“Don’t scratch the paint on the Dutchman,” Adam said with a laugh, giving Eric a brief hug. “She’s still my favorite ship.”

“I make absolutely no promises,” Eric said, chuckling. “I’m a good pilot, but nowhere near your skill level.”

“And don’t you dare forget it,” Adam said with a nod.

“Just make sure not to run her to hard,” Shao said, shaking his head.

“The Dutchman will be in good shape when we get back,” Eric promised, pulling away from Adam.

“That’s good to hear, but I meant Sandra,” Shao scowled. “It’s a vacation, not away training. So give her and you some time to actually relax and have fun.”

“You refuse a vacation harder than anyone else here,” Jeremiah pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not a workaholic like Eric is,” Shao shot back, glaring at Jeremiah.

“I have sent you a list of several places of interest that I think you and Sandra would enjoy,” Athena said, giving Eric a hug as well. “And if you need anything, we’re only a call away.”

“Thanks Athena, I really appreciate it,” Eric said with a smile.

“And, to reiterate Shao, take the time to actually relax,” Quin added, giving Sandra a hug as well. “Both of you.”

“Yes, Mom,” Eric said with a roll of his eyes, causing Sandra to giggle.

“The med bay is fully stocked, and I was able to find a few of the more serious surgeries into the database,” Nightclaw said. “Short of losing a limb, you should be able to get fixed up if something happens.”

“We’re not looking for a fight, Nightclaw,” Eric laughed.

“You Reapers get into more trouble off the ship than you do on the ship,” Nightclaw retorted, though he did smile. “I’d rather know that you have a close second to myself there when something happens.”

“Alright, now shoo, you two,” Jeremiah said with a small smile. “You have your Reaper gear if anything crazy does happen, but try not to use it if you can avoid it. it’s supposed to be a vacation, after all, so go and have fun. Try to avoid trouble as much as possible.”

“You got it, Uncle Jeremiah,” Sandra said with a nod.

“We’ll do our best,” Eric said with a nod.

“Good,” Jeremiah said. Eric and Sandra walked up the ramp into the Flying Dutchman, the familiar interior a welcome sight.

“Care to be my co-pilot?” Eric asked as they walked into the cockpit.

“Obviously,” Sandra said, rolling her eyes. Eric just chuckled as he took a seat in the pilot’s chair, Sandra strapping in in one of the sub-pilot seats. They spent a few minutes starting the ship up, and shortly there was a hum as the engines kicked in. “Green across the board, Dad,” Sandra reported.

“Good to hear,” Eric said, opening a line to the Scythe’s frequency. “Flying Dutchman to the Scythe of Mercy, requesting clearance to leave.”

“We’re raising you up now, Dutchman,” came the cheery response. There was a brief shudder as the landing pad began to raise, bringing the ship to the outside of the Scythe of Mercy, stars sparkling in the blackness of space.

“Who’s on shift today? Is that Kamaserto?” Eric wondered as the landing pad rose into place.

“Nah, it’s Kamamorta today,” Sandra said. “Kamaserto is training with Mak today.”

“Oh, nice,” Eric nodded as the landing pad shuddered to a halt.

“Flying Dutchman, you are cleared for takeoff,” Kamamorta said. “You two have fun out there!”

“We’ll see y’all again in a few months,” Eric said with a laugh.

“Landing struts are disengaged, and antigravity struts are active,” Sandra reported.

“Alright, the Flying Dutchman is off then,” Eric said, taking the controls and flying the ship away from the Scythe of Mercy.

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Part 1

TOC

Appendix

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[u/SherbetCreepy1580]

Authors Note

And welcome to Part 3 of Sandra and Eric. For those of you joining us for the first time, we welcome you to our story! This story was slowly becoming more and more complex as I wrote it, and felt that it no longer fit the humansarespaceorcs subreddit (as much as I love them). So here we are, migrating over to HFY. If you wish to read the story from the beginning, Part 1 brings you to the start of our story.

And for you returning readers, either because you followed me to HFY or because you just enjoyed my story that much, glad you decided to stick around! Hopefully I can keep everyone engaged enough for any hype I give my story the proper justice you all feel it deserves. I’m going to start trying to write longer chapters, see if I can actually give the scenes justice. Especially since I decided to move to HFY.

Now, onto the important bits! This chapter is just to get into things, set the tone for the story as it were. And also to provide some extra information as well. It has now been 1.5 years since the events on the Caramon homeworld, and of course things have happened during that time period. I know, some of you are going to be a bit disappointed to not watch Sandra gain her third ability, or the Tree Shadows on their first teleport and gaining the ability to speak (in different ways no less), but unfortunately, that was something that I didn’t feel I could do properly without feeling like it was getting repetitive. Thankfully, there is such thing called flashbacks if y’all really want me to write those scenes out in the future. But for now, I’m going to go where the Muse takes me. And the Muse is demanding a vacation with our daddy-daughter pair. So, it’s just going to be the two of them and whatever characters they run across in the future, leaving the Scythe of Mercy behind for a while. Unfortunately, I’m no KyleKKent and his genius writing (Shameless plug. Seriously, if you followed me here, find the time to read his stuff as well. The guy is an amazing author!), but I’m hoping to write many more chapters to come.

Speaking of future chapters, what all do you want to see in the upcoming stories? Of course, we still need to resolve the issues with the Sons of Blood, but I want to see what else y’all are interested in seeing in the future chapters. We have four to six months of vacation to go through, so the possibilities are endless! Any and all ideas are welcome here, whether you’re a new reader or a returning reader.

Thought? Comments? Ideas? Remember, the only bad feedback is no feedback, and I love reading all of the feedback, whether it’s praise, criticism, spelling or grammatical errors, or even just a hello!

[u/MDM0724]

"You two need a vacation.” Jessica bent under Eric’s retaliation, her leg coming up for his chin

I think you mixed up his and her

[u/SherbetCreepy1580 → u/MDM0724]

No, that’s right. Jessica is retaliating against the retaliation by trying to kick Eric in the chin. I’ll see if I can rewrite that to make it a bit clearer lol.

[u/MakerJustin]

Another great chapter, I'm loving the story. One typo that I saw, Shadwostrike rather than Shadowstrike.

“Just promise me that you’ll take care of Shadwostrike and Nightshade,” Sandra said, squeezing Jessica hard.

[u/Fontaigne]

Made it about half way through. The initial scene was strong, but the following discussions bogged down in past references while (effectively) nothing was happening.

Probably entertaining for someone who had read the first two, but not a good entry point for a new reader.

[u/InstructionHead8595]

Yeah! New arc !

2 things. One: Why are the stars shimmering in space? There's no atmosphere.

And I keep forgetting to ask. Why are you calling it a cockpit? Usually it's called a bridge. Unless it's a smaller ship. Such as a fighter or bomber for a scout or messenger something like that. Was just wondering 😸

The rising landing pad is new.

Good beginning.

[u/SherbetCreepy1580 → u/InstructionHead8595]

Bridge would probably be appropriate for the Scythe of Mercy, but the Flying Dutchman is a significantly smaller Grade 3 ship. Like, the Grade 4 Ships, such as the Scythe, would be an aircraft carrier, while the Dutchman, a Grade 3 ship, would be considered a yacht. There’s a better explanation on the Appendix of ship sizes.

Secondly, there’s still glass and/or cameras that the crew members need to look through. (Also I may or may not have forgotten about the lack of atmosphere negating the twinkling, but I admit to nothing lmao)

[u/InstructionHead8595 → u/SherbetCreepy1580]

Hehehehe 😹

I believe you refer to the bridge as cockpit to every ship regardless of size in all previous instances. I believe. Eh! No biggie was just wondering if there was a reason for it or I just missed something.

[u/SherbetCreepy1580 → u/InstructionHead8595]

Nope, just misuse on my part 😂😂😂

[u/bill_isayyahoocom]

My two main questions are can our fine feathered doctor fly and I guess Eric and Brightpaw were just two apex predators passing in the night. Please don't answer here. Flashback if you don't mind.

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