In the end, it was Death 897 that stood (or it should be said, hung) over Death 998 in victory. His severed mandible bled, but not profusely, onto the Kohr-Ah beneath him. The Dnyarri had engineered their worker class well, for losing a limb and recieving so many deep blade cuts could have easily been lethal to another species.
It was unsure whether Death 998, however, would survive. He had been badly bruised and his black sheath was shredded. But that mattered little to Death 897. 998 had submitted. They would enter hyperspace and begin scouring Spathi space for filth.
~
Death 897 found it interesting to note 998's slowly dropping life signs during the long hyperspace trip to the Illuminati constellation. He was very much unconscious now. It seemed that his single fellow to his cause was, in fact, dying. Huh.
It was his distraction with this matter that made Death 897 fail to notice the swarm of fast-moving hyperspace spoors converging on the Marauder. In moments his vessel had been pulled down into TrueSpace, ten Eluders arrayed haphazardly about the Kohr-Ah ship. Not recognizing it as among Dnyarri control, the unwilling but unwaveringly loyal Spathi starships began swooping in, opening their railguns fully on to the Marauder in a strange, unexpected act of 'bravery.'
Death 897 pulled down the blue F.R.I.E.D. lever with one manipulator, still firmly holding a three-pronged killing blade to Death 998's eyes (in case he awoke). Two Eluders turned to yellow and red fireworks, stark against the void. Yet still the remaining eight flew on, wreaking destruction on the already cracked hull of the Marauder.
~
That was when a command was issued by the lead Eluder of the fleet, straight from the mouth -- no, mind, actually -- of the Dnyarri aboard.
"STOP," it ordered.
"I feel there is one dying, and one wounded Kohr-Ah aboard that Marauder. Board the ship and retrieve them." It liked the sweet irony of saving the rebellious slaves' lives. But what to do with them? Make them slaves once again, of course. This time, more permanently, perhaps. By altering their genetic structure, and not just physically (although advancements could certainly be made there as well) . . . This time, they had the technology of the Umgah at their finger tips (metaphorically speaking). It was true that the Dnyarri had the knowledge basis to do the same experiments, but with the Umgah as slaves it could accomplish it's goals without actually having to do any real work. At that, it smiled.
~
It was there that the bloodbath occured, over the trophy bone pit in the control room. Death 897 fought as fiercely in person as via his ship (and this was not uncommon among the Kohr-Ah), coldly slicing through Spathi after Spathi. It did not help the Spathi that their race did not a tendency for personal combat, and that though their mind control lent them infinite courage, it wasn't so with their skill or strength.
In the chaos of flying bodies and projectiles, it was easy for a few controlled Spathi to drag Death 998's unconscious and bleeding form away. Death 897 didn't have the time nor interest to notice this. The Dnyarri was delighted when the still (but alive) body was brought to his nest.
The clean white trophy bones shone glinting crimson, dislocated eyeballs floating on top the pile. The sight was a horrifying one, yet Death 897 thought it had a kind of beauty. Still, he quickly became exhausted, wounded from his fight with 998 as he was. The Dnyarri didn't have potent followers, but they had numbers. Eventually, he began slipping up here and there. This was what horrified him. He knew that these Spathi could not be acting of their own accord, and there was only one kind of creature he knew could do something like this. He didn't want to be taken alive by his ancestral enemy, he would rather die. Yet there, feeling like the whirling spirit of death itself, exhilarated, he could not bring himself to kill himself.
The only way out, he felt, was to win. But sometimes, you can only lose. It was inevitable, but finally a Spathi subjection dart* pierced him. Death 897 felt a sting in a soft space above his top eye and all went dark.
*Similar in function and structure to what you might see on an Earthling planet lander, but handheld.
