There was scrambling on top of the small ship.

It took Jackie half a second to realize she was toast. The noises were coming closer fast and the last she checked, Kol-Eresh didn't have four pairs of legs.

Panic set in, but that was where living with the fear of dying for so long finally came to her aid. Jackie didn't hesitate a second, didn't let the despair overwhelm her before it was already over. She grabbed the first sharp piece of rubble from the floor and hid behind the fallen seats.

Terrible, clawing sounds came from the ceiling like something mechanical was trying to break through, with iron nails and teeth. Jackie shut off the sound as best she could, tearing a piece of cloth from her already torn shirt and wrapping it around her hand. That way she could grip her makeshift blade and hope it actually served as a weapon long enough.

The roof opened up, bent out of the way like it was made of paper, and Jackie screamed.

She'd known she was trapped, with the ship being surrounded and everyone else more than likely dead. She'd been prepared to fight to her last moment, but Jackie had expected something roughly humanoid.

The thing that looked down at her from the roof wasn't human. It wasn't even alive.

A head bigger than her, with maws like a hell dog and burning eyes to match, stared at her. Then it opened its mouth and a strange call sounded, half-roar and half mechanical distortion.

Abomination. They sure got the name right.

Voices washed into the small compartment as Jackie raised the blade in her defense. The giant dog head disappeared and footsteps were coming closer again, running on the ship's surface above her head.

Then Jackie heard Kol-Eresh's voice, not far either.

"Jackie, run! They can tell where you are! Run!"

She moved at once, not even questioning how the Eternals could come her way without seeing her. Whether they had heat sensors or something even more advanced, Jackie didn't know and she certainly didn't care.

If Kol-Eresh told her to run, it was bad. The harbinger was a proud man, she'd learned that. The call meant that he wasn't sure whether he could hold all the Eternals off by himself or at least he didn't want to bet on it.

Jackie's heart was beating out of her chest. She had stared death in the eye many times in her nightmares and recently during her surgery, but this time was the worst. It wasn't just the Eternals clawing through the ship as she crawled through spaces that she hoped were too small for them. If the massive Abominations had to take time to bite their way through the ship, it bought her precious seconds.

No, the real terror in her heart came from Kol-Eresh and the bond between them.

Back on Terra, Jackie had been very close to making her peace with the hand destiny had dealt her. Then Forack had figured out the way to save her. She was in love. She was safe, she could see the finish line. To have everything ripped from her grip at that moment was so cruel that Jackie felt bitter tears in her eyes.

Fresh air should have been a blessing, but it was not. Jackie had no idea how many Eternals there were or how many had decided to follow her through the ship. Hearing the haunting clawing behind her, she knew she had no choice but to make a run for it.

A hand grabbed out for her, narrowly missing as Jackie dashed into the daylight.

She didn't look back. She didn't even know whether she was running in the right direction. None of it mattered. All Jackie could think of were Kol-Eresh's words about reinforcements. They had to be coming and all she had to do was keep away from the Eternals until then.

There was a pounding behind her, the ground shaking beneath her feet like something incredibly heavy was running.

It was straight out of nightmares.

When Jackie heard Kol-Eresh's roar behind her, she couldn't help turning around, just for a second. The sight nearly made her scream, if she hadn't been that terrified.

There were four Abominations, all resembling dogs, but on an enormous scale. And four Eternals too. They were tall, incredibly tall men with mechanical arms strapped to their backs. Some of those extensions were wielding weapons.

The Eternals were coming her way with a slow, almost bored pace now and Jackie could see why.

The path she'd chosen was blocked by a steep drop she hadn't seen before.

Jackie backed away, seeing one of the Abominations run her way, jaws opened like it wanted to bite her in half. She raised the small blade in her defense, but the creature never reached her.

With a furious battle cry, Kol-Eresh jumped five feet into the air and grabbed a hold of the mechanical beast. Jackie couldn't tear her eyes away from her fated as the harbinger ran along the dog's wide back, the sword held in both hands. When he reached the head, Kol-Eresh buried the sword to the hilt between the creature's eyes.

It bellowed like it was actually wounded. The cry was deep and loud. Jackie had to cover her eyes as she watched the Abomination trying to shake Kol-Eresh off.

The harbinger's eyes were burning with fury. He held on, pulling the sword out and driving it back inside. Sparks flew from the Abomination’s head as it scratched at him.

As the last resort, the Abomination threw itself on its back, throwing Kol-Eresh free at last. The harbinger was on his feet before Jackie could blink, running back to stop the creature. She saw the wide arc of his tall blade cutting through the air and the helldog stumbled, two of its front legs cut straight off.

Kol-Eresh cut off its head with a blow that had to shatter every bone in his arm. Jackie could practically see the knock-back when the sword connected with the hard metal the Abomination was made off.

Miraculously, it still died, but Jackie could see Kol-Eresh's hand shaking a little from the force of the strike.

"Kol!" she screamed, pointing to the Eternals.

"Deal with him," one of them ordered, coming toward her alone while the other three engaged the harbinger.

Jackie's heart dropped. Every man who'd ever fought the Eternals was dead. She backed away from the last one, approaching her with a purposeful stride now.

She wanted to scream, to tell Kol-Eresh that she loved him. The words refused to come over her lips. It wasn't over yet. It wasn't over until she kept fighting, that was all she could do.

Up close, the Eternal towered above her. The man was much taller than Kol-Eresh, who dwarfed most Nayanors. His eyes were pure black, without the whites or a colored iris. The silver hair that all Nayanors had was ashen like dirty snow that fell after a fire.

When he leaned down, Jackie could hear the obsidian armor move and adjust. The hands on the Eternal's back grabbed her.

Over the Eternal's shoulder, Jackie could see Kol-Eresh roaring. Outnumbered, he'd still managed to bring one of the warriors down. The Eternal laid on the ground, moving slowly as if he didn't really register what had just happened to him.

"Jackie!" the harbinger roared.

"Pay no attention to your fated," the Eternal who was holding her said and Jackie's eyes flickered back to him. "You will be better soon."

"Better?" she coughed, held so tightly by the mechanical claws she was choking. "You're killing us! Why!? Why are you killing Terrans?"

The Eternal looked at her oddly, a strange expression his face as if he didn't really understand what she was saying.

"We are not killing you," he said, pulling a small vial from his armor. "At least not on purpose. Dying is an unfortunate side effect of the serum. We are working to fix it. We believe you will not die."

Jackie struggled with all her might, trying to pull free.

"Is that what you believed with the other women too?" she asked. "That it would be safe for them? Why? What are you doing to us!?"

"We're trying to heal you," the Eternal said. "Open your mouth, female."

Jackie was torn between wanting to squeeze her mouth shut and to yell everything she felt at the warrior. She opted for something in between. Covering her mouth with her hands the best she could, Jackie tried one more time to reason with the warrior.

"Heal us from what?" she asked. "There's nothing wrong with us!"

"You don't give us daughters," the Eternal said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Our world is dying. We've given it so much, and yet it keeps on withering. With daughters, our species can be great again. Terrans bring weakness into the mix, but we can fix you. The serum is meant to make you able to bear female children."

Jackie stared at him, unable to believe her ears.

"Us?" she shouted. "It's not us!"

The Eternal didn't seem to be listening. He pried her mouth open. Jackie screamed, but the sound was muffled by the cold armored fingers holding her jaws apart.

One of the mechanical hands emptied the serum into her mouth. Jackie tried to spit it out, but the Eternal quickly closed her mouth and held her head until she'd swallowed the bitter liquid. It tasted like death itself. Jackie thought she was going to vomit.

The Eternal dropped her to the ground. Jackie tried to get up, but her body refused to obey her. The serum was running in her veins, she could feel it. Her blood felt like it was crawling with something that wasn't supposed to be there.

"What did you mean, female?" the Eternal asked.

Jackie hadn't realized the bastard who'd tried to kill her hadn't left yet. She stared up at the ancient warrior, tears running down her cheeks.

"It's not us!" she yelled. "We are not the problem! Why are you trying to cure humans? We have no problem having daughters on Terra, with Terran men! How can you not see the problem is with Nayanors!?"

"The wombs are in your body," the Eternal said, but Jackie could see the warrior wasn't so certain anymore.

"That doesn't matter," Jackie wheezed, coughing. "We carry babies, but it's the seed that's wrong!"

The Eternal was staring at her like she'd just dropped from the sky. Then he turned on his heel without a word and marched back to the others.

Jackie propped herself up on her elbows just in time to see Kol-Eresh break away from the attackers. He dodged out of the way of the third and came toward her, running.

With the last of her strength, Jackie stood. She closed her eyes, knowing what was going to happen. It was going to hurt, but it didn't matter.

The harbinger pulled her into his arms and jumped. The Eternals missed them by inches and they went tumbling together again. This time, there was almost no way for Kol-Eresh to protect her from the first heavy crash against the ground but then Jackie was sliding down the rock wall on top of her fated.

The drop to the bottom was hard. Jackie cried out, feeling at least one of her ribs crack. Kol-Eresh took a much harsher blow from the ground, but the harbinger barely grunted.

They both looked up first, but the Eternals weren't following.

Jackie sat down, resting her head against the wall. Blood was trickling from her hair into her eyes, but she didn't even care about that. She wanted to cry, but the tears didn't come.

It was over. Just like that.