Sunlight gently enters the wooden boat gently rocking in the ocean, the stench of fish wafting in the air invisible to all, including the man who had long become used to the smell. The catch was good yesterday, so it's time for him to return to his captors. There is nothing but open ocean for as far as Havelock can see, but if he wants to live, returning is necessary. Making his way back over a period of ten hours in the far distance, the large fleet begins to shrink in the distance. Once again the ship fleet comes into view. Time was ticking for Havelock; he must return to the fleet. He always sets aside time to spare just in case. The scar on the back of his head itches the skin, never having gone back to the way it was before. Then the ships engage the unseen enemy, the fleet blocking the view. Then the shields on the vessels fail; they don't fail. The fleet is one of the strongest in the area. No one bothers with the slavers. Then one of the ship's hull sides is blasted out the other end. The hole is so large it covers several decks. The nervousness increases for Havelock. He continues to sail towards the fleet; he has no choice. He expects the enemy fleet to be on the other side, but finally the enemy shows its face. He can no longer control his despair.
A giant ship in the distance appears at the moment to be a patchwork of other ships. A Devourer never before defeated, only escaped from. Havelock sinks to the bottom of his boat, knowing his survival is unlikely. Who would, when escaping the greatest enemy, pick up a slave? he thinks to himself. Coming back to himself, he continues to move forward, though the distance seems to not have been closed but only widened. The fleet is beginning to sink, and the largest ship makes a move; missiles launch from their cells, screaming towards their target. The ship slowly aims right for the devourer, prepared to sacrifice itself to allow the other ships to escape if that is at all possible. The Devourers' translucent shields in an unknown pattern flicker and break. Finally a missile strikes the deck of the ship. The next second, an explosion and then a flash. Instantaneously light propagates from the devourer. Havelock, still standing, manning The sails, looking at the fight unfold, go blind in both eyes. His skin heats to a horrifying degree. He quickly drops to the deck; the wood's outer layer vaporizes into a dust that floats away. Then the shockwave slams into the poor boat and its unfortunate captain with no crew. The mast creaks, lines pulling taut before snapping only fractions of a second later. His ears popped painfully; his lungs just felt like they took a beating. The sail is uselessly hanging on the splintering mast. He recovers some vision in only his left eye. The mast saved him from total blindness. Through the fuzziness he notices the whole fleet sinking.
Weariness settles in his heart; he only has some time left to live. The devourer remains, though listing heavily scarred and pitted. It's quiet on the seas for the first time in hours. Only the sound of gentle waves accompanies him and the great creaking of his vessel, which he can now call his own. The devourers are unknown by all, and the only thing floating beside himself makes it his only choice available. Havelock turns towards the highly advanced ship and sails closer. The night sets over the ocean, dark but still visible for miles under the alien night sky.
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The ship looms over him. The stars were blocked by the mass of the ship, the moons casting a faint glow across the warped hull, scorched and shattered. The eerie quiet of the ship likely meant no one was alive on board, he thought. He fell asleep, almost passing out, the adrenaline finally having run out of his system.
The sun once again unforgivingly beating on the man's body as it always did this season. Havelock stirred, the ship a mystery to all, a last hope for survival. They were undefeated as far as anyone was aware or a secret kept by few. Carefully he made his way into the damaged part of the hull, though what part wasn't damaged it would be hard for anyone to say. Looking around, it was immediately apparent it lacked hallways. In other spots, little voids with no connecting hallways. It seemed impossible that anyone, unless they were the size of a small cat, could get anywhere, and even then it would be tight. Havelock found in the cavernous melted metal a cone-like shape originating from deeper within. Whatever had created such an explosion must have originated from here. Crawling deeper inside, there was a space. Havelock popped through; it was very dark, no lights, no reflections, just the faint bit of sunlight reflecting off the metals that had vaporized. A faint glow originated further back in the first room-like space; he had encountered no entrances or exits observable to him. Moving forward slowly, finally off his hands and knees, the glow slowly became more visible, a faint purple. Getting ever closer, a small crystal faceted, maybe a diamond or something else entirely, the glow originating from inside it. It was slightly cracked, barely noticeable, with the purple glow leaking towards the edge of the crack. Havelock hoped it wasn't some sort of radiation, though he supposed it wouldn't matter regardless, as he would be dying soon anyway. Putting his hand on the crystal, it reacted violently. Tendrils escaping the crack and penetrating his finger. He screamed quickly; he had reached the limit of his vocal range. Then, as quick as it had begun, it stopped. The pain caused him to fall to the floor. He sat taking a breather. He quickly noticed exhaustion creeping in. Unusual, for it was still very early in the day, likely still late morning. Sitting in the darkness, he thought he heard something. A gust of wind noise traveling in the air. Then a whisper. Looking all around, he couldn't identify where it was coming from. Training his ear, the sound came from nowhere. Looking over, a faint glow appeared on his left hand, barely noticeable as a faint discoloration. The glow stabilized, and then a voice rocked his mind.
"Hello, and I should thank you for picking me up." Havelock was stunned, not expecting the voice, and trying to figure out what to say.
"Oooh, what is this?" the distinctly female voice said.
Then, as soon as it had finished, a little shock like a pinprick and a roar before everything went dark.
A body of what was once a man's head splattered across the wall behind him, a body slumped over on its side. No skull to be found, just a red wall like some splatter-paint modern art.
