Madness of the Black

[Corran Boid]

The unending silence that is the black of space. Mading thoughts run endlessly through the void turning the sane insane and the already insane ... into nothingness.

The short trip back to the Iron Maiden from St. Alban was to entail a short stop at his cashe to resupply on amo for his gun amongest other things. But when he neared the cloister of ship crusher asteroids Corran noticed a very familuar looking vessel. It was an older class aliance freighter but from the look of it it was run by reavers. Yet when he scanned the ship with the scout runner that he aquired from one of the gun hands who fell to Boid's deadly aim, he was able to see that the ship was as cold as death. The second scan also found no life either.

When he locked to an acess door his sensors confirmed what his scans told him. Gathering his vacuum suit, he readied himself for the worst. The worst being a fully dead ship no life, and no way to repair the ship to move it. Time was on his side the crew was not looking for him for another week or so. So having a ghost ship to run around on was a bit of fun for him.

Unlocking the hatch, air stablized between the two ships. Going five feet into the ship he read the read-outs from his suit and the environment around him. The air was fair and no toxins or poisins. Quickly stripping out of the suit and placing in a back pack Boid made his way into the very depths of hell it's self.

[Corran Boid]

Working his way into the bowels of the ship Boid could feel the anger of the reavers in the broken dishes and smashed wall panels and the non-directional spray pattern of blood from long dead victims or ..... themselves. Corran turn a corner into the mess hall and found the harshest scene that and nightmare could imagine. Three bodies tied to tables and one half hanging from the ceiling all badly mangled and half eaten. Yes eaten. The reavers at time most dire eat their own kind. From the look of them these poor souls were the newer of the group, so thus softer chewier as it was for the older and stronger to stay alive a bit longer.

For the reavers to turn on themselves meant only one thing they ran out of gas. Corran had came across many a reaver ship in his time that was running on imagination only, yet they had a full tank of gas. So either the reavers were still hiding on this ship some where or they snagged a passer-by and swapped ships. The later being the more unfortunate for those poor souls, but better for him. Removing himself from the gory scene Boid made his way to the crew births. This area of the ship faired no better.

This part was littered with dried bones and other pieces of those they either ate or simply torn apart playing with them. Going mid-way through the births Corran saw a rare sight, a female reaver long dead. She at first sight looked like as if she died giving birth to a child. Looking at the staining of the bedding and the dried blood would have been about right. The one thing Boid knew that many did not was that a chemical changed happened to female reavers, those from Miranda, went through a emotional and psychological shift. They became quiet almost loving to their child but even harsher to and being getting near to the child. Many male reavers often saw the change as a weakness to their clan and dispatched them with out thought. This one was the same. On closer look her neck was snapped by a large set of male hands..

As for the child, rarely have reaver children been seen or survived to become like those around them. Corran hated the confirmation of the later. Often small bones would be found piled in a corner where they were eaten and discarded as a mid-night snack. This beyond all things made Corran rage in his mind. So he continued his search. No other bodies were found on the ship except for the bridge a male of non-reaver being was bent over the controls. Some one had indeed stopped to help and what was more the bones of a child was not found. It could only mean that they had another female who came with this other ship and was now in charge of taking care for the raising of the young child.

This was a bit of disturbing news for Boid which meant that they still had some humanity left or the second generation of reavers those taken as reaver replacements are now the growing numbers which meant that soon the reavers would be back in greater numbers. A reaver at first was considered just a wild beast but when you mix and give enough time to the wild/tame breeds they tend to become the new beast. Stronger maybe not but smarter and having no fear of man with the need to propagate their numbers.

Boid shuddered at the thought, then took the second's controls firing the maneuvering thrusters to hide the ship in the cloister of ship size debris to hid. Leaving the ship here away from traffic and hidden from scans would be a fitting resting place for then dead. Soon Corran would have to leave but not before giving the cargo a good once over.

[Corran Boid]

Working his way back with a closer eye Corran could see a few more of the passt actions of the reavers cabnet doors ajar. This was to draw the eye to them so that their blody traps might hinder those who find them. Most were flash bangs but a few were frag bangers. These reavers like to inflict pain no matter whether they were near or not.

Finally getting back to the cargo hold he went about checking the boxes. Any box which had their nails removed or had ruff scratches in them he left alone putting a big X upon them in red paint. Tampered or not he was not about to open a box that would explode on him while he was in space better to take the ship to another place or planet to trip the triggers. Safe than bloody and sorry for the actions of being that loved the gore of life.

One container that bothered him was a cryo container it had major scratches but the seals had not been broken it must have been mag sealed. This was not the best of packages to move or return with out the history of how it got to where it was found. Yet he had to make sure it was some thing that could be. Taking a look at the shipping listing on the side of the container, Corran's eyes widened. It was to go to a blue sun medical group lab with in three weeks of pick up. The three weeks were nearly up. What could be being sent to that type of lab had to be either hot or very dangerous.

The container did have a glass view panel which was covered by a thick layer of dust. Wiping the dust off he was to his dismay saw what it was. It was a reaver female and a child in her arms. The child was a great deal older than the one that could have been born on this ship yet it might explain them attacking a small ship like this one. Which ment that the reaver ship was near-by. With renewed focus Boid ran to his ship picking up the few items he found a crate of liquir, spices, and a crate of ammo for reloads. Then he came back to the cryo-container it had to go becasue if he did not then his stash would be found and taken. He had to make a show of taking it. So jettonsoning it out of the field would be the flare and him picking it up would give the reavers some thing to chase. Thankfully for him the hell band was between him and his destination.

Jumping in to his vessel he slowly shifted his ship to tag a hidden cargo he had left, which was one of many boxes. Pulling from the field he taged the cryobox and let it slide into the vacuume hold. Near as soon as he did this from a patch of stary blackness engines fired to life there they were waiting as the thought. He to flared his engines and rabited for the 'hell band'.

The hell band was a darkened stretch of space with black hole maws. Most piolets avoided the area like the pleage but he had mapped most and had them memorized to the click position. He just hoped the little ship had enought of muscle to avoid getting sucked into one of them. He was about to see.