Dematerialization was not what Elytra expected it to be. She thought there would be some kind of sensation to it, something that would physically let her know that her body had been broken apart in one location and reassembled in another, but as she flew the Storlayacas out of the arena, energy beams and debris raining down around her, the only thing that let her know they'd been dematted was her view of the underside of the black space ship suddenly being replaced by a gunmetal hangar bay.
Thankfully, the Storlayacas reacted much quicker than a T0-K4Y did, so she managed to cut her thrusters before she sent them careening into the ceiling of the room.
"Hurry, to the right," Pryseia directed beside her, and though Elytra couldn't see her, she could sense where the other woman was pointing.
Standing at rest in the area indicated was another Storlayacas. Elytra had questions, but the urgency in Pryseia's voice nudged her curiosity aside for the time being. She walked the mech to stand next to its twin, and clamps came down to secure it in place, a walkway swinging inward to allow for exit. And before Elytra even had the chance to worry about how she was going to get out of this thing, the restraints that had kept her pinned down to her seat pulled away from her body, and her vision flickered as something was removed from her head. She was briefly treated to the sight of screens and displays blinking off around her in the cockpit, and an instant later the hatch swung open to the walkway.
Elytra turned to Pryseia, and whatever words she had intended to say died in her throat as she finally got a proper look at the other woman.
The bottom of her uniform was tattered and burnt around her legs, while the smattering of nasty gashes across her face and torso were bleeding sluggishly.
"My attack was more dangerous than you led me to believe!" Elytra shouted, rising out of her seat, horror and guilt roiling in her gut.
"It was necessary." Pryseia was quick to reply, but then another voice rang out through the space.
"Captain, the ship is being swarmed. They need you on the bridge!"
Pryseia nodded to wherever this unseen voice was coming from before saying, "Come, we can talk later."
Before Elytra could say anything else, Pryseia grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the Storlayacas, breaking into a run once they'd cleared the stairs on the walkway. Elytra followed her to an alcove towards the front of the hangar, the floor of it lined with a complex geometric pattern in glowing chartreuse, and then she was treated to her second dematerialization of the day when she suddenly found herself in a narrow corridor, warning lights and sirens adding to whatever chaos was causing the whole place to shake violently.
"With haste!" Pryseia shouted, darting off down the corridor, and Elytra unthinkingly followed after her.
A few twists and turns later, and they came out into what was clearly the bridge of the black space ship. The walls of the room were dominated by a massive screen showing that they were indeed being swarmed by a mass of ships as they climbed out of the atmosphere of the planet below, while at the front of the room sat the pilot who was obviously the one responsible for flying them through this firefight. At a console to the right of them sat an alien that appeared to be the same species as the one Pryseia had picked a fight with the previous day, but the woman in question shoved Elytra over to a console on the left side of the room before she could even think to ask a question.
"The controls are similar enough to a T0-K4Y. Shoot down those attacking us." Pryseia ordered before throwing herself into the chair at another console, the whole thing swivelling in place as Pryseia took the controls and began opening fire herself.
Adrenaline had Elytra moving on instinct, her eyes quickly finding her reticle on the massive display, and as the pilot wove the ship through the enemy vessels trying to box them in, Elytra opened fire.
"Is the jump engine ready?" The pilot called out, to which a different voice over the comm system shouted back, "Good to go on your command."
"Not just yet," Pryseia said, and Elytra could hear the grin in her voice, "Nevara, take us to the subgate, let them think we haven't other options!"
The alien at the other gunner station let out a menacing cackle before in a singsong voice said, "Oh, that's gonna be messy!"
The pilot - Nevara - said nothing, but they pivoted the ship with envious grace, ducking through the worst of the throng around them and heading for a massive ring structure beyond the gravity well of the world they were leaving behind. An energy field rippled within the ring, more like light reflected off of water than water itself, a pastel iridescence that stood out starkly against the black of the void.
Elytra shifted her attention back to the task at hand, targeting ship after ship and filling the void with crimson explosions as she destroyed one after another.
A moment later, as calmly as one would comment on the weather rather than piloting a craft through weapons fire aiming to kill them, Nevara asked, "Vi, a countdown, if you please?"
"We'll be at the gate in thirty two seconds," the voice from the hangar bay responded before counting down from there.
No doubt tracking where their ship was headed, some of the Baithaiz ships rocketed ahead to try and cut them off, but through a combination of Nevara's skill an the rest of their shooting, the ship made its way restlessly towards the gate to subspace.
Ten seconds to go, and the other gunner called out, "They're collapsing the subspace rift."
Elytra hazarded a glance up, and saw the ring structure looming just within reach, the iridescence dissipating like smoke from an extinguished candle.
"They're going to regret that." Nevara responded, and as the voice over the comm reached "one", Nevara hit a switch on the console, causing the entire ship to lurch like it had been tipped over the edge of a cliff, the view of the outside world abruptly cutting out.
As the rattling of the ship died away now that they were no longer under fire, the portion of the screen at the very front of the bridge turned back on, now showing iridescent streaks streaming past them.
They'd safely made it into subspace, and without their own gate to chase after them, the Baithaizan ships wouldn't be able to follow. Elytra let out a sign of relief, automatically moving her gunnery controls into neutral, the training sims she'd been subjected to for nearly a month doing the heavy lifting in that regard.
"Well, this ship is definitely living up to its reputation," the other gunner said, swivelling their chair enough that Elytra could get a better look at them. Their body was similar to Pryseia's, though they lacked the horns. Their skin was the colour of golden beach sand, while their hair and eyes were the dark brown of loam. Like Pryseia, their hair was long and wavy, but unlike Pryseia, the sclera of their eyes was white.
They stood up, and Elytra was suddenly struck with how large this alien was. Easily a head and a half taller than Pryseia or herself, broader at the shoulder and hips, and though the outfit they wore wasn't tight by any means, the flex of their muscles was apparent as they levelled a finger at Pryseia and said, "And you to yours. I knew you were gonna come back looking like you'd thrown yourself in a wood chipper!"
Pryseia threw her hands in the air and made a noise like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, and from the pilot's seat, Nevara turned to glare at her.
This alien looked more like Elytra than the other two, possessed of a segmented carapace over softer flesh, though Nevara was teal and grey in colouring. They didn't bother standing, instead crossing their arms as they regarded Pryseia silently, though Elytra could tell from the length of their limbs that they were probably taller than she was. Nevara said nothing, but the mandibles along their jaw flexed in obvious displeasure.
"These wounds are hardly what I'd mark as noteworthy!" Pryseia shot back indignantly.
"You're actively bleeding." Elytra couldn't help but point out.
The tall alien motioned towards her, looking grateful. "Thank you!" They then pointed a finger back at Pryseia. "Medbay. Now. I'm sure you're gonna want your arm and eye back too."
"Please," Pryseia groaned as she pushed herself out of her seat, "These were poor substitutes."
The tall alien bullied Pryseia out of the bridge, but Elytra could feel their concern for the other woman, murmuring just under the surface like a gentle breeze through leaves.
"You should follow after them," Nevara said as they turned back to the controls of the ship, "No doubt you'll be wanting that collar off."
At the mention of that wretched object, Elytra became keenly aware of the weight of it around her neck. The feel of it became suddenly unbearable. Nodding to Nevara, Elytra rose and chased after the other two aliens. She was more than ready to be rid of anything of baithaizan make.