V S M The WYVERN's Call

[Lilith]

The powerful always have a throne. For Ridley, it was bones fashioned from the corpses of xenomorphs, positioned at the helm of the Dreadnought. For Lilith, it was her extraterrestrial lover's lap, which she curled up on like a cat greedy for attention.

"Did you see the way I ravaged her? Unff, I can't wait to do it again, over and over and over~" the sadist purred.

Ridley strongly objected to sharing his seat of authority, but he supposed wherever he perched, his clingy subordinate would follow. At least in other respects, he had control over Lilith and could direct her appetite for havoc towards mutually beneficial endeavors. The rewards he reaped from the woman's outstanding performance made up for the vulgar fondling, so for now the space dragon tolerated it. "Your hunting methods are efficient. You've also demoralized your prey. When her spirit breaks entirely, Chara Dreemurr will make an excellent addition to WYVERN."

"Fuhuhuh… Don't worry, we'll spend plenty of time getting all nice and familiar with each other. I'm bound to rub off on her in all the right ways," Lilith sang.

Ridley gave a stern snort. "Don't let this obsession consume you." Speaking from experience.

"You're the only one I'd let consume me, sir~" She hopped on the tyrant's thigh to stare directly into one of his eyes, her lips salivating. "Although, I'd rather swallow you~"

Ridley responded to the teasing with an annoyed growl, then tail-whipped Lilith back down.

"Aiiye!~ That sure hit the spot," the perverted lady cooed. She seemed relatively normal sized compared to the pirate king. Come to think of it, she hadn't appreciated how spacious the starship was. As she examined the interior, her mind instantly drew parallels between the purple metal plating and Ridley's rock hard scales. "Yknow, this is a real kickass ride to dominate the galaxy in. Though I think it's missing a few… personal touches."

Ridley processed the suggestion. "Modify the Dreadnought as you see fit, but it's coming out of your own pocket."

"Ehh, that sounds like a lot of work. How about I just give ya all this coin I have lying around and you can figure out how to spend it?" It's not like Lilith needed to pay her way to her dragon's heart. She and Ridley were already official, besides the mating stuff. I'll come- I mean- That'll come later. I know he can't resist my devotion.

Allocation of funds — Ridley's specialty. He grunted in acknowledgement.

"Alright, I wanna see what this feels like first." After unloading her small fortune onto the floor, Lilith sprang from the throne and dived into the ample pile of coins.

CRRSHING

Unsurprisingly, the shiny discs provided no comfort to her landing. "Eagh… I don't know what I was expecting. Don't you have a treasure stash or somethin' ya lay on?"

Ridley stifled a cackle. "Do you take me for a baser dragon? Hoards are for admiring."

"Hmhm… I'll just stick to you then, master." Lilith returned to adoring her most prized possession.

How unappealing to have his sudden surplus of riches strewn about haphazardly, thought Ridley. First order of business: securing the vaults.

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[Ghost Orchid]

Ghost had a hard time finding where to go on this place. Pushing the missiles he'd recovered with Lilith around the ship like some sort of janitor was both humiliating and growing increasingly tiresome. He'd gathered that he'd been asleep for about 48 hours since the nightmare that was his loss of home. Returning to Erde Nona would ultimately result in his execution.

He shook his head and looked up at the passing walls of this ship and began to fear that he was going in circles trying to figure out where Ridley's quarters were. Maybe subconsciously he was also avoiding being on time. Not wanting to see the draconic tyrant nor the horrid giantess he'd been made to work with. The lingering thought of what had happened in that military base, his encounter with whatever-that-thing-was that asked of him something. He was having a hard time remembering what it had said but he knew he would see the thing again. Somehow.

Ghost ran into a passing crew member. A tired looking pirate likely heading to his shift.

"Pardon." Ghost stopped to talk to the man. "Can you direct me to Ridley's quarters?"

Now of course this man was quite confused by the conversation as a whole and due to the nature of the request. He rose an eyebrow at Ghost.

"You have clearance fer' that sorta' thing?" The pirate asked with a heavy yawn.

Ghost nodded once.

"I... Believe so, yes. I have to deliver these to him. Anti-matter missiles intended for the ships defenses."

The dazed crewman looked around as if he was ensuring he wasn't still asleep in a dream and then took a step away from the large box.

"Uh, didn't Lilith already deliver those?"

Ghost was... Unsure. He'd passed out towards the end of the excursion. Was he made to deliver these as a show of good faith from her, despite having already captured and brought them here? After letting him sleep for two whole days? Her thought processes were truly impossible to follow. Ghost shrugged.

"Can you please just point me in the right direction."

"You're going the wrong way. He's at the helm."

Ghost nodded and turned the cart around which almost swiped the crewman down to the ground and granted Ghost a look of 'what the hell man'. They looked at each other a long time before coming to the realization they'd both have to walk the same direction. Which they did in synchronized, awkward silence.

---
Ridley had been in deep thought about the vaults after seeing Lilith's share fall to the ground and so he almost didn't see the lithe man pushing a cart and a box his way. His head craned upward to take better note of the approaching stranger just to realize it was this 'ghost' Lilith had told him about when he rescued them from Arcadia.

Lilith also sensed her pet approaching and smiled at him with a big and exaggerated wave.

"Hiiiiiiiii pet ~"

In typical Ghost fashion, he ignored the cooed taunts from his captor. He'd gotten the brunt of her two days ago. He looked upward towards the large dragon and locked eyes through his steel mask.

"May I approach?" Ghost asked, not sure of the etiquette here.

Ridley quickly waved him off. "Your formalities are appreciated but unnecessary. Please, come closer."

Ghost promptly did so and brought the crate to the front of the throne and stepped to the side of them.

"I believe this was your ultimate goal for your attack on Arcadia. These are the missiles found in the military base at Arcadia's heart."

Ridley leaned forward which put his chest a bit closer to Lilith, sending her reeling in silent joy.

"I heard that you proved to be an immense asset in recovering these. And proved yourself over and over in the mission despite not knowing what was happening until the end of it."

Praise felt strange from the monster. It felt strange to just be in the presence of two horrendously powerful beings such as these two. Luckily his mask guarded his sweating face and darting eyes. Ghost shook his head.

"I did what was necessary. Nothing more."

A smirk from the dragon.

"Of course, you did. Despite the fact that you could've turned those missiles on us via detonation. Or escaped the scenario on multiple occasions. Or tried to fight off my right hand. But you didn't. I wonder why that is."

Ghost stayed silent a moment. That explanation was one he needed to figure out for himself. What the hell had that creature said to him? Why couldn't he remember?

"Perhaps, Lord Ridley, we may speak on the subject alone."

781 words

 

[Ridley]

Ahhh, the business of being a tyrant. While he appreciated the current status and prestige he had, it already reminded him of why he enjoyed a mission out. Barely a few hundred pirates were now under his belt, ready for their first raids under Ridley’s command, and he now had meetings with new assassins and old wardogs to handle. Though Lilith was closer to a felinoid with her unfettered independence.

Even after his mission to Kraw, the old bird was already flexing a few fingers. He needed a proper mission. One more suited to his strength than mashing a few spiders for the sake of some overvalued eggs. The thought almost distracted him from the current question, as the notion of a meeting in private flitted through his mind.

“Alone?” Ridley asked, a slow, grunting noise following. “You will meet me in my private chamber in ten minutes. Ratt.” Ridley growled, looking to the blue-armored zebesian in his crew, the creature’s mandibles clacking as he turned.

“Oh, yes, Lord Ridley. Rest assured, he’ll be… coming, in ten minutes” came his effeminate voice. “Is there… anything else you would have me do for you, Lord Ridley? I am always happy to serve-”

“Shut up.” Ridley replied, flicking a lazy hand in the creature’s direction at the statement. He’d already forgotten how annoying his command crew was. Though…

Ridley leaned forward on his throne, flaring his wings. “...Patch me through to the girl. Omelette Robotnik. And Olivia Octavius.””


Ghost turned to him, sllghtly confused by the statement. “Lord Ridley-”

Ridley turned his eye to him. “You lack options, Ghost Orchid. Erde will hunt you. Your former boss has likely given up on you. Your recent stunt with Lilith makes you ill-suited for regular contract work. And no one in what passes for the civilized sector in this miserable star system trusts someone with your death count.” Ridley added with a growl.

“Join my cabinet. You will gain plunder and protection. And the ability to use skills you clearly enjoy using. Lilith reports you enjoy murdering a certain kind of pathetic scum. I can always use less of that type in my galaxy.” The old Pterodactyl offered, a chilling smirk coming across as he turned to observe ghost with one baleful eye, as 2 holographic vid-screens appeared at the front of the ship, displaying Omelette Robotnik and Olivia Octavius’s faces.

“Ridley. You seem to have… friends? What a surprise?” Olivia’s voice chimed in, as Omelette’s grumpy face popped up.

“Is this about the scrap-heap from before? You can’t actually have expected me to fix it in four hours. I need at least another day-”

RIdley raised a talon and made a fist, something he’d learned from a few mammalian crews was enough to get attention even with those untrained to his body language, though Olivia had already noticed the look in his eyes and stopped.

“Both of you have work to do. Omelette is Chief engineer of WYVERN. Olivia is Head scientist. Lilith is chief enforcer.” Ridley replied, looking to ghost with a hard glare. He expected him to etch this knowledge into his soul.

“Ghost Orchid has shown himself to be a WYVERN. You will give him any assistance he needs until he leaves this ship.” Ridley replies. “What happens after depends on the rank I decide for him. In the meantime, Lilith’s newest pet is our guest.”

Olivia gave a roll of her eyes at the word ‘pet’, but didn’t seem to comment, while the thought just seemed to confuse Omelette, before she quietly muttered, “ohhh. he’s like Lilith’s Fails.”

603 words

 

[Omelette Robotnik]

Chief Engineer… That had a nice ring to it, and Omelette found her mood buoyed by the new title she’d received. Sure, it meant she was still ‘under’ the giant purple people eater, but at least it showed that he recognized her worth and genius. Too bad he had to immediately dash away those good vibes by speaking again.

“Of course,” he continued, his saurian eyes boring into her soul from beyond the holographic display. “With your new position, I expect more from you. Lilith and our new friend have brought in some interesting weaponry I’d like for you to incorporate into our ship.”

Before he finished speaking, a schematic for the ‘loot’ passed its way onto Omelette’s screen. Anti-matter missiles… not too shabby, but the design was positively Jurassic! But… even more than that, there was something else that she needed to address.

“Whoa whoa!” Omelette objected, glaring through the screen at Ridley. “You already have me beating that hunk of junk back into shape, and now you want me to start retrofitting our systems to handle these outdated derelict missiles the harlot and her new pet brought back too?”

“Listen, if I thought you were going to keep me busy doing work for other people, I’d have stayed my sweet patoot back on Mesa. I thought you were going to give me time to do my own research!” she finished, punctuating her last word with a jab of her finger at the screen.

“That reminds me,” Ridley continued, either ignoring her complaints, or oblivious to them. “I need you to overhaul our storage-”

“Alright, no.” Omelette cut-in, emboldened by the distance between her and her employer. “I’m a genius, alright, but I’m not a machine! I can’t do all of that by myself! If you want it done, I’m going to need some help! You’re crazy if you think I can do this all by myself! And don’t even think about saying something like ‘you got Failz!’ We both know that hunk of junk is barely worth the scrap I used to make him!”

From off-screen, the saddened whine of a perpetually insulted droid lent some sound to the awkward, and terrifying, silence that came from the dragon. Omelette watched the screen like a hawk, still huffing irritably as her mind raced through plans and strategies to get off this ship before he could make it over to her. Fortunately, it seemed that Ridley was willing to let it go, or maybe Liv had said something to him that Omelette couldn’t hear.

In either case, when he spoke, it was to say, “If you require assistance, then you have it. As a chief officer of Wyvern, you have the authority to order our soldiers as you see fit, so long as they aren’t busy with other tasks. Does this satisfy you, child?”

Thankfully shielded from view by her goggles, Omelette blinked in slow amazement at what she’d just been told. Chief Engineer was one thing, but this? She had… MINIONS?! She had POWER?! It was staggering to learn, and left speechless by the implications, Omelette barely registered Ridley’s next words.

“Now, I have business to attend to,” he said, talon already raised to turn off the hologram. “When next we speak, I expect to hear about how much progress you’ve made on the tasks I’ve assigned you. Do not disappoint me, child.”

And with that, the connection was cut and Omelette was left staring at a blank wall as she considered just how much her life had changed since her homeworld had been Unmade.

598 words