The Untold Story of Lady Robby Coffman: A Prequel to the Evolution Series

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Act One: Spiral Down

Thursday, 9th of July

5243

Outside of the Amethyst by Taruram 384

Onboard the Onyx after fighting the Sun’s Fury

The sound of her own breathing inside her helmet was distracting, sitting strapped along the wall of the inside corridor. For what felt like an eternity, the ship rolled, bucked, and shook until it stopped. Pieces of debris and metal sailed past them, brushing against them occasionally. Gravity still had yet to return as things continued to drift around them.

Several crewmen dashed past, heading to sections of the ship to help make emergency repairs. And a few others carried bodies of wounded and the dead heading below to the infirmary on the ship.

Feeling a tapping on her left arm, she turned to look at Karla, whose bright blue eyes were clearly visible through her helmet’s face shield. Her hands making several gestures. Her right hand coming up, moving it back and forth from her helmet, showing no internal communications between them.

Robbie nodded at her helmet as Karla made a face. She raised her left palm up, pulling her four fingers towards herself. “What?”

Karla pointed at her eyes with two fingers. “Look.” 

Then a stabbing motion down at the umbilical service panel as Robbie bent over, turning to look, noticing the panel indicator lights were out. Looking back up, Karla pointed to her, then herself making a chopping motion at her throat. “No oxygen.”

“Shit.” Robbie sighed, nodding again, raising her left forearm up to glance at the suit’s small display before reading it. She had only seventeen percent oxygen left. The ship’s service line, which they were connected to, had failed, leaving them with only the oxygen in their suits. Nor did they have a direct line between each other than the general wireless system.

Karla tapped her arm as she looked back, making a sweeping motion and pointing forward. “Go.”

Curling her index and middle fingers inward, she made a brushing of her left palm downwards. “Good to go. Let’s move.” Karla nodded, reaching for the safety seat’s harness, releasing it, then unplugging her suits auxiliary connectors’ umbilicals.

No sooner had she straightened, coming up to push herself back down to the floor, letting her magnetic boots latch onto the deck, than she found Robbie staring at her. She patted her chest twice with both hands, then curled her right finger towards herself. “Follow me.”

The two walking slowly down the corridor to the adjoining one, stepping aside to let others pass and occasionally push debris safety from their path.

Robbie stopped glancing left, finding further on down a gaggle of crew were patching what appeared to be a hull breach from the inside welding plates and braces around the hole. Then, looking left, she could see the emergency light flickering on with more pieces of metal, and other litter floating around.

Her helmets speakers screeched in her ears, making her wince as it settled to soft static.

“Internal communications are now restored. Several locations on decks three, six through seven, and fourteen have been compromised. Emergency bulkheads are closed around the affected sections. All emergency crews are to continue to assist in recovering the wounded and repairs. Damage control teams are to report updates to engineering every fifteen minutes.” The static clicked off.

Then the click again.

“Do they know about the service panels for combat suits have failed? Probably not. What we get, since your father only uses loyalists for his officers.” Karla’s voice stung her ears.

Groaning while looking down to the right at another cross section corridor, seeing the same chaos, only this one had two bodies floating with globes of blood inside the corridor. She activated her mic.

“Have you seen any raiders? The safety lights are still on, but no sign of us being boarded or any signs we are still in combat.”

Karla stepped beside her, hearing the click.

“No. I don’t even know who we fought, but I can tell you we lost but how much damage there is.”

Robbie turned to face her as Karla glanced peering at her eyes through the faceplate for a moment before a shadow appeared from behind making them both turn around.

Romans robust six foot four body blocked their way. His face, scarred and tattooed, was a glimpse into the battles he’d fought, visible through the worn and battered armor. His left cybernetic eye, a stark contrast to the rest of his face, emitted a vibrant, almost otherworldly glow. “What are you two doing down here?” His deep voice said, coming across almost distorted through their headsets.

Robbie raised her right hand up to her face plate as her first and middle fingered curled, touching her thumb, sticking the two outer fingers out, making a plucking motion away from her head. "Fuck off.”

He sneered, laughing, bending back some before moving closer towards her as their speakers again clicked on.

“If your father saw that, he would have your pretty ass in the brig again. You are lucky I respect you. Others of this crew who follow him wouldn’t be so kind, seeing you disrespect an officer of a higher rank.”

Robbie activated her mic. “I don’t care what he thinks. He only does what he wants for himself. I’m tired of being out here in the Amethyst and not able to return home. We are Reapers. We fight for and defend our people. Instead, we are out here alone, our clan fractured for years all because a few wanted to hold on to power instead of doing what is right!”

She could see him take in a deep breath as his chest armor rose, then fell, followed by the click. “I hear what your heart says. But you are still young, Robbie. Yes, you have a few that hear you like myself, but your father still commands. And those who are loyal will silence those who speak out against him. Even you.”

Making a growl, she turned back around, making the gesture again, this time more exaggerated as Roman shook his head.

“Are you two OK?”

Karla turned around nodding as Robbie threw a hand over her helmet, giving a mocking thumbs-up, “ok”.

Roman pushed past them with three others walking down, retrieving the bodies of the two other crewmen as Karla and Robbie watched. They came back, pulling the bodies along with them.

“Roman? What happened? Who did we fight with? Last I knew, Father was headed out to Taruram.” Robbie said, stopping Roman before he passed, taking a step back to peer at them.

Her speakers clicked again. “We are at Taruram. Just that we found Lady Yvonne LeBranch of the Red Runners here as well. She laid claim on Taruram and your father challenged her. We lost.”

Robbie looked away for a moment, then back as her eyes squinted. “We lost?”

He nodded.

“Then what is going on? Why have they not boarded us and killed all of us?”

Roman’s voice again crackle in their ears. “We don’t know. When I left the bridge, both our ships are still close together, just floating out here. We think they are just as damaged as we are. But unsure of just how bad.”

“And us?” Robbie asked, feeling her stomach get uneasy.

“We lost half the bridge crew. Including all three pilots and two navigators.” He replied.

“How?” Robbie felt her stomach drop.

“We were in the middle of a shift change and the third pilot is new, still training. They were all on the bridge when this happened and sat on the rear emergency combat couches. Your father, one navigator named Brian Salter, and four others, including myself, are the only ones who survived. The bridge is in shambles but has been repaired, so they have life support up there. Reason I am down here helping.”

Karla glanced at her as Robbie looked around. “So what now?”

“Guess as good as mine, little one. Right now we are trying to fix things as best as we can in the time before they get their bearings over there and turn on us again.”

Robbie glared at him, making the rude gesture once more, then activated her mic. “Don’t call me that. I am a junior lieutenant.”

“Then act like one. Talk alone won’t make others follow or believe in what you say. It takes action to follow up with what you speak, Robbie. I knew your mother. She was a good woman, an influential leader. She not only could talk, but she could lead by example.”

“Then why follow my father?” She cried out, making the speakers crackled in his helmet.

He made a patting motion showing to “Calm down.”

“You are a Reaper Robbie. I swore an oath to serve your father with my blood. I may not like him, but I must follow him or my life is forfeit. And I have a family. My heart stands with my wife and my son and I will not let them standalone even though I am out here away from them in exile.”

She remained silent as Roman peered at her, then reached to put his hand on her shoulder.

Glancing at his hand, she looked back at him, nodding as he withdrew it and turned around, walking away.

“For how long do we have to endure living with the asshole?” Karla said.

Robbie turned to look at her. “I don’t know. If he continues down this path, we will either starve, die in some meaningless battle, which means we truly are just nothing more than barbaric pirates.” She looked away. “He may be an asshole, but he is still my father. I may still break through to him somehow.”

Karla shook her head. “You can’t be serious?” She turned more to peer at Robbie, who locked eyes with her, seeing her anger. “Do you know what they say about your father back home since he left, taking you away from me after the days of sorrow?”

Robbie remained silent, only continuing to stare.

“Don’t you remember what he did? Our brothers? Our sisters, my family! He killed even your mother Robbie! I was only seven and I can still hear their screams in my head!”

Karla shoved her, making the plucking gesture towards Robbie’s face as she watched her.

“I’ve been waiting all that time until I turned fifteen to join the Reaper clan and then six months out in some fucking rock until you guys passed to finally join the crew to be with you. You are my only family now! And in that time I’ve seen your father beat you twice with in inch of your life in the past year and a half. He will kill you, Robbie. It’s only a matter of time. He knows you speak out against him to the crew. Told you that to your face, even! There is no love, no heart, no passion in that man as a Reaper. He is dead inside!”

Robbie turned walking away as Karla waved her arms about behind her. “Hey!”

“We have to go to the bridge.” Robbie tapped her arm after talking, shutting her communication device off as Karla realized she no longer could talk, punching her in the back a few times as they went. She kept going around the corner down the corridor to a travel tube, stepping in and pulling herself up, letting her weight carry her, twisting around to let the other crew pass her going down. Coming to the top, she grabbed the exit handles, pulling herself out, almost stumbling, finding gravity was working on the deck. No sooner she regained her footing she felt Karla grab her then fall turning around seeing her getting back up.

The two walking to the end of the corridor, finding the safety bulkhead down at the end. Punching in the security code, it opened, and they stepped in as it shut behind them, then walked to the next one, repeating the same process. This time, when they entered the short corridor. The environmental panel showed oxygen as they reached up, unlocking their helmets and taking them off.

“Bitch, why did you shut off your communicator? I was talking to you. Should punch you in the face for that.”

“You wouldn’t.” Robbie said loudly, walking up to the door. She hesitated, thinking of how her father would be. She knew he had a tendency to fly off the handle over anything. And his actions were becoming more and more erratic.

Karla walked beside her, peering up at her since she was shorter. More and more her Spanish ancestry showed in her facial features as Robbie peered at her. She feathered her black hair back along her head to her neck. “It’s ok. I’m with you now.”

Robbie laughed, looking over at her as her hand hovered over the security door controls, smiling. “You’ve always been my little defender since school. Why?”

“You are the closest thing to family and a sister that I have. And I love you and I believe in you, Robbie.”

Robbie nodded. “My mom was always right about you. You would always be at my side, no matter what happens in life. Even though we are not of the same bloodline. We are of the same spirit.”

Karla nodded. “Always. We are Reapers. We follow the way.”

Robbie nodded, taking in a deep breath, looking at the door, preparing to meet what was behind it and the ramifications of her father’s actions tapping her code in.