Chirps from all kinds of different species that they were not familiar with echoed through the depths of the Taekan Rainforest. This was a very lively world, after all. One of the more populated within their federation. The two Star Patrol officers would push through the dark blue bushes and vines... finally closing in on their location.

".. We're here." Serry would murmur.

Moonlight had illuminated the area, giving the two agents relief from the constant darkness that blanketed these arboraceous lands at the dead of night. There, they had stood in a wide clearing, facing a sinister looking figure seated atop a single rock. It was obvious that this was the one that they had been sent here to apprehend... but the surprising part was that this individual seemed to expect them.

Indeed, the "Sky Eater" had been waiting for their arrival. Arms crossed, the Zanziko had looked up and down at both of them. It appeared as if she was sizing the both of them up. Her clothes looked slightly tattered, and there were patches of dirt scattered across her body. It became obvious that she had been surviving in this jungle on her lonesome the entire time.

"So, that's her, then." Val would comment. "I've gotta say, she's much smaller than I anticipated."

"It's a bit surprising to me as well..." Serry would add. "But my tracking devices definitely pinpoints it as the one over there."

"Curses.." A young voice would mutter. Yet, imposing enough to quiet the two.

".. More people coming over here to capture me. What a pain..." An irritated Sky Eater would complain. "I saw your ship coming down from the sky. You're here to capture me, right?"

"Don't waste your time. I will never let that happen."

And then, that commanding voice would into a yell.

"Leave this place, or you will regret it!"

Both Val and Serry were undeterred by the threats. Really, dealing with situations like this was par for the course when working in law enforcement. Instead, Serry would run an analysis on the Sky Eater as Val would comment on the situation.

"Hey, cool, she really does talk!" Val jested. "You know, it's actually not that bad when you get up close. If it weren't for the circumstances, I would probably even go up and pet her head."

"That's not funny... why would you want to go and pet that thing?" Serry remarked, fingers placed on his goggles as he leaned in for a better look. "The way people were talking about this, we're dealing with a straight up monster! And my analysis definitely doesn't deviate from that either."

"We'd better be careful."

"Can I see?" Val would say, turning to him.

"What do you mean, "can I see?"... do it yourself! You're wearing a Shell, aren't you?"

"Right, right. You know, sometimes I do forget about this thing." The dragon pondered, putting his sharp fingers underneath his snout to feel the pseudoplastic of his Shell. "They really did a number with this technology if I can barely even feel it on my face."

".. Didn't you put it on, like, fifteen minutes ago?" Serry asked, momentarily breaking away from his analysis to determine whether Val was joking or if he was actually that dumb.

Usually, it was a little bit of both.

The flow of that aimless conversation was interrupted by the sound of grass rustling, the Sky Eater standing up. Both Val and Serry would instantly turn their heads to face her, cutting through the laidback atmosphere and putting them both back on guard.

"You both really are foolish... to be making such banter with each other at a time such as this." she would state quite verbosely for her age.

"Heed this warning!" she spoke theatrically. "The both of you meandering simpletons are currently making a death wish! Turn back now, and perhaps you will be spared from my forthcoming wrath!"

"Do you understand? Leave!"

Despite the second attempt to threaten them, the agents were still unbothered. Again, they dealt with being threatened all the time by various different crazy criminals and screwballs. Being patient about it was all part of the job.

"Sorry, no-can-do, Sky Eater." he'd reply. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon. To be honest, I'd rather deal with your "forthcoming wrath" to getting scolded, so I kind of don't really have a choice."

The Sky Eater would only give a confused look.

"But really, though..." Val would add.

"It's probably innapropriate for me to be messing around right now, huh?"

"Especially considering... the circumstances."

The receptacle from within his eyesight would zero in on the Sky Eater, the Shell responding to synchronized wave signals emanating from his brain.

A scan would be run on the Sky Eater.



[ANALYZING TARGET...]

[SPECIES - ZANZIKO]

[BIPEDAL SPACEFARING SPECIES. SENTIENT INTELLIGENCE.]

[MEMBER OF LOST SPACE'S "BANISHED LIFEFORM LIST". THEY CAN DISCHARGE GIGAWATTS OF ELECTRICITY USING "MINUS ENERGY". MINUS ENERGY IS GAINED FROM USING A RETRACTABLE NEEDLE IN THEIR TONGUES TO ABSORB ELECTRONS FROM THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT. THE AMOUNT OF MINUS ENERGY AND THE PERCENTAGE THAT CAN BE EJECTED DEPENDS ON THE ZANZIKO'S GROWTH.]

[HEIGHT - 5'1 WEIGHT - 105 lbs]

[STATE - SIGNS OF CURRENTLY MENDING WOUNDS ON LEFT WRIST. OTHERWISE, HEALTHY.]


He would shift from the visual analysis menu and open the files that he downloaded onto his Shell.

There was something here that was of great interest to them both.
The result of various attempts to send on-world military to apprehend the target before they were called in.



[OPERATION TERRA SAVOR] --> [MISSION OVERVIEW] --> [EXCURSIONS OF CAPTURE]

[EXCURSIONS OF CAPTURE]


[TEAM 1 - FAILURE]

TERENOR ALKA NANJAR - DECEASED
MADNE KON BORON - DECEASED
EPH TEN LAKAM - DECEASED
XOR TIFF WATMAGTINS - DECEASED
HOKKINZIOR EN YUORO - DECEASED

[TEAM 2 - FAILURE]

YARCWATT GESSRISH - DECEASED
PINESTAR - DECEASED
JOROAN WYNNKOT ROK - DECEASED
VAKRONE YUT GILCH - DECEASED
AOREN TOOTOO WURRENZUR TX. - DECEASED
BYAKORN HON HOORAN - DECEASED
FAI JHEP NUTA - DECEASED

[TEAM 3 - FAILURE]

TYARAN HRATZ - DECEASED
SCAI VWENCHENDON - DECEASED
GENZI OROS TYALBA - DECEASED
LEBRENOR LORKAR - DECEASED
OREN BASCII JEN TYEKEN - DECEASED

"Concerning, isn't it?" Serry would remark, being able to gather what he was probably looking at.

"Yeah, at a first glance, you wouldn't expect someone so little to cause so much damage." he'd respond, his tone getting serious.

"We were told what we were getting into, of course... something like this was not out of the question." The robot would say, adjusting his goggle implants. "So, what should we do, then? How should we handle this situation?"

Val would hesitate, turning to the Sky Eater. "Well, for starters... let's ask her."

"Hey, Sky Eater."

"Why does the data that your superiors at CALCOR tell us...that all seventeen soldiers that have come after you are deceased? All of them, reported to be completely out of commission."

"Would you happen to have an explanation for this fact?"



For a moment, the Sky Eater gave the agent an odd look. Eyebrows furrowed, she'd step back, hesitating to answer. It was as if in that moment, that confrontational attitude of hers had suddenly been broken through. It was a strange reaction to have to such a question. There would be a tense silence between them all. Wind would brush against the cerulean bushes.

Picking up on this, Val would prod her for a response. "Well?"

.. Her entire body seemed to tense up on impulse to the authoritative demand in his voice. Again, she would hesitate to answer.



However, after that...

The Sky Eater's behavior took a very disturbing turn.



A grin started to creep onto her face. Chuckling could be heard beneath her breath, as her head hung low towards the grass. It was quite unnerving, even for the two hardened officers. The situation had become unpredictable.

The girl would suddenly lift her head back up, staring at the two with a disheveled, unhinged look on her face.

Opening her mouth, the striped tongue that the Zanziko were known for would slowly creep past her lips, the appendage unnervingly going down past her chin. The sharp needle used for injecting itself into its prey like a syringe would eject itself through the tip.

What she did afterwards would collectively confirm something in both of their minds. What they were warned about as they were travelling to this world... All those rumors that seemed so exaggerated that they could not have been more than hearsay, all of those horror stories interstellar explorers told from eras past, all of what they previously thought was just hysteria among the paranoid...

Everything that they were warned about... Right then, it was certain.







It was all true.

With a wily look on her face, the Sky Eater would start taunting them. The same brashness that she exuded before returning in one of the most twisted ways possible.

"So, then... You both are aware of my streak of terror! The rain of misery and woe that I have cast upon those peons!" she would relentlessly gloat.

"That is what happens to those who DARE cross my path, and threaten my freedom!"

"And you will not be spared once I dispose of you, just like those puny fools who thought they could take me on with those weak, feeble peashooters!"

"You will be beaten down and torn apart, and then afterwards, I'll absorb every piece of essence from your body!"

"To me, you're nothing but a snack waiting to get eaten!"



"Don't you get it?"

"This is simply who I am!" The Sky Eater declared with a particularly venomous bite to her voice.



Retracting her tongue, she would hold a single hand up in front of the two, who could only watch in fierce silence as the monster kept up her demented threats, one after the other. Electric sparks had circulated through her fingers, a sight that meshed well with how her eyes seemed to glow in the night's darkness.

"Continue to step forward, and I assure you..."

"You will soon regret it... as I take your precious life!"







A great pressure had permeated in the air, weighing down on the two officers.

Like Serry said, something like this was within range of what they were probably going to have to deal with. But what they didn't expect was the cruelty that came with that. The seeming lack of remorse and care, the audacity to rub such a tragedy into their faces like dirt. Valryn clenched his fist so hard that it began to hurt. The way she carried herself was clearly juvenile and extravagant, but somehow... something about it sent a shiver down even his spine. Looking at her was as if he had been staring down a vicious predator of the wild.

"Serry, analysis." He would coldly command.

Immediately, Serry would push his finger onto the steel of his goggles, the yellow graphics on the glass changing.

"What she's saying does match up with the report we've been given." he'd inform. "It would be convenient for us to ask CALCOR directly about this, but their comm lines seemed to have been destroyed during the Sky Eater's escape."

"But considering how Director Zascent was treating this situation as if this whole world was at stake... As well as how dangerous the Zanziko species has been throughout history..."

"She is most likely telling the truth."

Val would look downward, letting out a chortle.

"So, that's that, then."

"Damn it..."

"We couldn't even manage to rescue... a single one of them!" he'd yell out in frustration.

Serry looked over to Val with visible concern in his face. The situation had indeed turned grim, but he knew how much this hurt for him. He knew better than anybody else.

"Of course..." Val would state, his tone getting serious. "You realize that this is a serious crime, right?"

The Zanziko's snide grin had widened. "What's this, now? Are you really still willing to step forth and risk your life? It would be much easier on yourself if you took this chance to finally get out of my sight. Then again, I suppose it is not MY funeral."

"I'm not getting out of anyone's sight" he would refute. "In fact, I have a different idea in mind."

"Really, now? Do you truly think that you are in a position to choose?" she'd retort.

"I suppose I do..." he'd mutter, before holding his hand out and outstretching his sharp fingers.





"Instead, I want YOU to step forth, Sky Eater... I want you to step forth, and show me exactly how deadly you are." he would goad. "You can do anything you want. Zapping me, punching me, kicking me, biting me. Anything, really. I don't care."

"But once I've had my fill of whatever show you put on..."

"I promise, I will avenge the citizens that you've hurt!"

The confused look from before would suddenly spring back onto her face. "Huh?"

Caught off guard, she'd step back a bit. "Hold on. You... actually WANT to fight me? Willingly? You're challenging me to a fight?" she'd ask.

"That's right. Is there a problem with that?" he would comment.

The Zanziko would give a cautious, perplexed look.
"..."
".. Hmph. You're a bold one. I'll give you that. Nobody has ever up and challenged me like you have before."

"Guess that makes me the first, then." he'd snarkily reply. "The world up there is much bigger than you think, you know. You're pretty bad, but I've faced all kinds of powerful and dangerous beings. Many whose very existence threatened an entire population, just like you."
"Why do you think they sent us?" he'd say, adjusting his cap.

The Sky Eater would smirk. ".. The world up there, huh?" she'd repeat. "That is interesting and all, but no matter where you flew in from, I will be staying right here."

"We'll see about that." he'd quip, smirking himself underneath his Shell.

As they both had their stand-off, Serry would slowly inch away. You could cut through the tension here with a knife, and he had already finished his role of analyzing the situation through the known probabilities within his system. He could hold his own in a situation like this, but with what he knew about these two could respectively do... this was going to become beyond him.




Arm to her side, the Zanziko would tense her muscles... and following that, the color of that arm would change from her natural blue to a violet with darker spots scattered all over. The strict anatomical structure of her flesh and bones melted into an elongated tendril shape as the girl went through the process of "Subtracting" the limb.

"Fine, then... I'll take you up on your offer." she'd say.

"Take this!" Rearing her body back, she would throw all her weight forward and flick her Subtracted arm towards Valryn's direction, it seeming to drive itself forward with the same maneuverability as an actual limb. It extended longer, and longer, and longer at her command, the speed of it easily crossing the distance between the two in barely a second.

With a resounding "WHAP!", Val smacked that tendril out of the air as if it were nothing at all.



The Sky Eater's eyes would widen.

The Phaisekon would lower his hand, the tentacle pathetically hitting the ground.





"I asked you to show me how deadly you really were."

"What was that supposed to be?"



A startled look colored the girl's face. Nobody had ever opposed her to this level before. In fact, it never happened at all before this point. Usually during test sessions back at CALCOR, any fight that she had gotten into with drones or robots had finished as soon as she exerted any effort at all. But the sheer force of that blow rattled her to the core.

























Was this... the true scale of the vast celestial heavens?



The black sea above the sky that Father spoke of so often?



It felt beyond anything she had ever known.



One fact became clear to her, right then and there...



























Evading capture wasn't going to be so easy this time.