The vortex energies subsided, and Eshami and I were teleported to a new section of the ship, thanks to Olear. We immediately assumed a defensive posture.

This room apparently housed the extra-dimensional prison hold. Anything could happen in here!

The lights were dim, and there was smoke filling the entire room; I had no idea how big it was, but I surmised that it was large enough to get lost in. “Stay close,” I whispered softly to my companion, who had her hand crossbow drawn.

Eshami spotted movement ahead first, and signaled to stop. I thumbed the trigger on my sword, and it began to ooze a black smoke, empowered by my own feelings of anger, hate, and malice. If anything was lurking in the smoke, this dark blade might give me the advantage I needed.

Finally, a lithe feminine figure came into view. She looked human and wore the same kind of jumpsuit uniform as Ketal and Olear. Her face was beady from sweat or tears, and her uniform had a few rips, likely from a fight, though her — supple — skin appeared undamaged.

“Hello?”

I risked another step forward to see her more clearly. Her collar and lapels had been torn clean off, revealing her rather voluptuous bosom. Her hair was wild, like she had just been in a fight, and a drop of blood slowly ran down from her lips to her chin.

She seemed to notice me suddenly. “Oh! The beasts have escaped the Hold!” she cried, diving into my arms. “I fought them but they were too strong! They’ve run off somewhere…”

“Did you see what they looked like?” Eshami asked, trying hard to ignore the half-naked woman in my arms.

The woman shook her head, grasping me tighter. “Let’s get as far away from here as possible!”

“Not yet,” I responded, and she squirmed a little in my arms. I felt her intense warmth through what little clothing she had on, and I turned away, my cheeks flushed. My reaction did not escape an observant Eshami.

“We’re here to make sure that the Hold is secured,” I continued. I caught a glimpse of Eshami’s expression and nodded briefly. “We must accomplish our mission above all else. Stay back with Eshami, I’m going to inspect the Hold.”

She pouted in protest but moved away as I instructed. I stepped forward through the smoke gingerly, my sword drawn and ready, black tendrils of darkness flickering at the air and dripping inky bubbles into the floor.

I finally reached the entrance to the Hold — it was barely large enough to hold two people, but like everything on this ship, I surmised, there was probably a much larger extra-dimensional space within.

“Ketal, are you there?” I queried the smoke, assuming he was, in fact, there.

On cue, his dramatic entrance appeared through the smoke as he spun up out of the flooring. “It appears you have secured the Hold,” he stated matter-of-factly, ignoring the obvious destruction of the outer room.

“Yeah, but is the Hold intact? Nothing broken or…tampered?” I gestured vaguely to the pod in the middle of the room as if I had any understanding of its inner workings.

Ketal’s eyes glowed white, and visible sensor beams fired out, scanning the surfaces of the Hold with expected precision.

The beams ceased, and he blinked twice before turning back to me “There were several microfractures in the containment unit that I have just sealed. There was also a discrepancy in the diagnostic log that states it was briefly set to test mode…”

“That crewmember may have done something,” I said, pointing to the general direction of where Eshami and the woman stood, invisible in the smoke. I didn’t really understand much of what Ketal said, but I imagined it wasn’t good!

Ketal made a short whirring noise. “There are no crewmembers on this level, excluding Eshami and yourself,” he answered.

I cursed silently. I’d hoped that this wasn’t the case, but while flesh and blood creatures could be fooled, Ketal understandably, couldn’t.

“Hero,” I heard the woman call as both she and Eshami appeared out of the smoke. “Is everything all right?”

For an instant, I could have sworn I saw what looked like a tail behind the woman, but I couldn’t be certain.