Buy a Little Mercy [Open; Potentially Graphic Material]

[cityship]

Less than an hour after the ship leaves Agrestic's orbit, an announcement is broadcast throughout Stacy.

|| Attention, crew. Your crewmates, Howard Bassem and Charles Merriman, have been apprehended attempting to desert. They will now be given Punishment. According to established guidelines, you are all requested to report to the Observation to witness the Punishment. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly suggested. This will serve as a reminder of the consequences of treason and desertion. ||

On the observation deck, Archon Yavek, Archite Rekkti, two other Daligig and a handful of Kessek soldiers stand outside a spherical force field. Inside the bubble, Orc and Howard are suspended by tentacles looping around their wrists. Orc's ceased thrashing around and struggling against his restraints; rust-colored fissures have developed around his shoulders and forearms from the strain, but now he simply hangs there, looking defeated. Howard's nose is bleeding, and every time a drop falls to the bottom of the forcefield there's a small sizzle. He's weeping and begging the Daligig with every plea possible, but they act as if they aren't listening. Instead, they wait for an audience.

Comments

[bequiet_hescreamed]

Clef ducks the punch, taking advantage of his short stature to crouch and summon an ice spear to impale the Kessek from below. He's never killed another living being before - not directly, at any rate - yet doesn't hesitate as he attempts it. Before that spell has even finished, his right hand is already crackling with the electricity of another lightning spell intended for the alien joining the fray.

[meat_mooks]

Unfortunately for Clef, the spear and attempt to kill a Kessek trips Stacy's alarms that death is possible. Tentacles whip down from the ceiling and, none too gently hoist Clef up to the ceiling, binding his arms and legs and injecting him with a sedative.

So much for that.

[monster_san]

Fuu had known that Clef was the Guru of Cephiro. She had seen him easily dispatch a monster and conjure armor into existence--he had given her the magic she herself now used. But she had not actually seen him use his magic in this kind of battle. It seemed to Fuu that even if it had been a good idea to join in the fray, there was very little she could do compared to him.

She stepped back to stay out of his way, rather than the Kessek's, one hand covering her mouth as she silently prayed that he wouldn't be hurt. He showed no hesitation in confronting the enormous warriors. Irrational hope leaped in her heart as he effortlessly ducked their strikes, but the battle was over as soon as it began.

"Clef-san!" she shouted as the tentacles whipped him up towards the ceiling. "No--is he hurt?!" she demanded, whirling on the Kessek. It was ridiculous to expect them to care when he'd just been trying to kill them, but the words flew out before she could think about that.