Chapter Text
A blaring alarm roused him from unconsciousness. Groaning in pain, Taishen lifted his head, barely able to make sense of the flashing alerts on his console.
"Catastrophic...hull damage....oh, that is ... not good..."
Another wave of pain swept over him, and his head thudded back to the floor.
------Two Cycles Earlier-------
"Are ya sure, Taishy? You know the next solar pulse is in less than five cycles. If ya get caught out in that-"
"I'll be fine, Queenie! I'm only going to check the nearest asteroid field. That's less than 2 cycles away. I'll be there and back before you know it!"
Queenie bit her lip as she turned towards him, concern plain on her face.
"Taishy....do ya really gotta check every single 'field? I mean,....it's not really a big deal to stop, despite what Barnabos says. But I'm more worried that you..."
Taishen smiled brightly, keeping his face turned away as he coiled some loose cabling from the mess that was their storage room around his arm. "Worried that I'm what, Queenie? That I'm keeping my hope too bright? She said she would hide out in the fields for me, and Mei Li wouldn't lie. She's out there, and I'm going to find her. No matter what."
There were complaints and grumblings from most of the crew, but nothing anyone said or did could convince him otherwise, and, true to his word, Taishen set out in their scout craft, heading towards the 'field nearby.
--------
Once again, the blaring alarm made him lift his head from the floor. He felt weak...dizzy. It took him raising his hand from where it was clutched at his side to realize why.
Blood spilled from the hole in his side where a jagged shard of console was embedded quite deeply. The dragonborn sucked in a shaky breath.
"O-oh. I am....in quite a bit more trouble than I thought..."
He reached out with a shaking claw to tap at the comms.
"Ah....Taishen to....to the Astral Borealis. Please...please come in. I don't know what happened.... I wasn't even close to the 'field, and something... hit me. The hull's ruptured, and... h-hello? Anyone?"
He trailed off at the silence from the comms.
"...of course they wouldn't hear me this far away. What was I thinking...?"
Wincing, Taishen pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the back of the craft. Overhead, he could see the faint outline of stars through the shattering viewscreen.
"...I'm...sorry." His voice cracked. "...sorry, everyone. Barnabos...Skrimm...Jornir...Queenie. I should have listened. And now... nobody's going to find me out here..."
He thumped his head back against the wall, vision blurring from tears.
"... I don't even know why I keep going out here to search... she... she has to be gone, right? After this long, there's no way she's still waiting in the 'field for me to come get her."
The crack in the viewscreen grew larger in front of him. He could feel his breathing begin to feel... laboured, consciousness beginning to drift away from him again.
"... I'm sorry, Mei Li...."
He slumped sideways and thought no more.
---------
"....shy..."
It hurt again. Why wouldn't it stop hurting?
"...shy!"
He thought that going to the Great Beyond would release him from all of life's aches and sorrows, but...
"TAISHY!"
He jolted awake, gasping and wheezing. Someone pressed a mask to his face, and he breathed deeply. The rush of Jornir's medicine filling his lungs immediately eased the pain; he barely felt when their firbolg medic removed the piece of console in his abdomen and sutured him shut.
Queenie was sitting by his side, both paws wrapped around his hand. "You scared the SHIT out of me, Taishy! Don't you ever sound so... defeated, ever again!"
Taishen frowned, but before he could ask any questions, a pair of sea-green arms picked him up easily. Barnabos gave him a stern look as he turned towards the door.
"Now, if I didn't know better, Mr Fireblossom, I would say that you were willing to let yourself be taken out by a bunch of lowlife pirates thinking you an easy target. But I do know better, don't I?" The triton strode out of the wrecked scout craft with his armful of dragonborn, letting Taishen know that he was inside the Astral's landing bay.
"...pirates?"
"Oh, aye. Mr Stabbaskotch intercepted a comm from one of the yellow-bellied scum. But we couldn't get through comms to you to warn ya."
Taishen took another few gulps of the medically-treated air before lifting the mask off to answer. "Comms.... didn't work. I thought I had... hit something."
"C'mon Taishen, you're not -that- bad at piloting, ya gotta give yourself -some- credit!" Skrimm bounded down from the catwalk above, giving a razor-sharp grin to the dragonborn. "We took 'em out just before we caught up with you. You didn't hit anything. They ambushed you, must've got the comms in the same shot. Well,....most of the comms."
"Most of....?" Taishen lifted his head, blinking slowly. He cast a bleary-eyed gaze at the rest of his crew.... Queenie looked worried, Barnabos was stormy, Skrimm not really meeting his gaze. Even Jornir was uncharacteristically fussing over the dragonborn, making sure his wound was clean and dry for the third time.
"... could... you all hear me...? Oh... " He turned his head away, feeling the heat rising in his chest.
"Now... Taishy? Don't you go thinkin' we're not gonna just let that slide, do ya hear me?"
"I'm... I'm sorry, everyone, I-"
"Thinkin' you're just gonna die out there all by yourself an' that we're not gonna go -look- for you? Now, I ain't one for losing my temper at ya, but for heavens sake, you can never, -ever- think we're not coming for you! Or else, I -will- lose my temper!"
"...oh."
Skrimm clambered up to Barnabos' shoulders, leaning down to grin at Taishen."Not like we have a better navigator. 'Sides, I need someone to take over watch from me! Barnabos is too grumpy to wake up late at night, he doesnt get as mad at you if -you- wake him up!"
Barnabos grunted, tightening his grip on Taishen as they strode through the halls to Jornir's infirmary. ".... you're an important part o' the crew, Mr Fireblossom. We'll watch your back to th' gates of the Great Beyond and back, an' don't ya forget it."
A swelling feeling began building in his chest, making him finally lift his head to look at each of his crewmates.
Barnabos gently deposited him onto the waiting cot, nodding towards the waiting firbolg. "All yours, Mr Jornir. We'll be on the lookout for th' rest o' those pirates."
The quiet of the infirmary was like a balm after the noise of the rest of the hallways, especially after the door sealed shut behind Barnabos' retreating back. Jornir glanced down from his seat, giving Taishen the barest hint of a smile.
"...welcome back, Taishen. Rest now. You will recover quickly, and there will be more places for you to search tomorrow. And we will be there to help guide your path."
He felt the exhaustion hit him in a crashing wave and, for the first time today, slipped into unconsciousness willingly.
Safe at last.