#drathus

Drathus often avoided interactions with the rest of the crew if he could, the less he talked to them, the better. Besides, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable talking to the same beings that he used to eat.

His morning cup of hot water was interrupted by commotion as Igrok stepped out of the elevator carrying Eli in his arms. Drathus was about to excuse himself from the situation until Igrok called on him.

“Quit sitting on your ass, I need some help.” Igrok grunted, kicking the elevator door with the heel of his boot when it threatened to close on Eli and himself.

There was a familiar smell in the air, thinking back to the moment, Drathus was ashamed to admit that it made his mouth water. When he stood from the couch he understood what it was, Eli’s leg looked like it was snapped it two. He could see the bone, the sight made him feel faint.

“Oh no plant boy, now’s not the time to wilt. Clear the pillows off the couch.” Igrok hurried over, Eli was sobbing, clutching on to the Engineer’s tanktop.

“What happened?” Drathus asked, tossing the pillows aside.

“Gear shit. Tryn’s fixing it. Where’s 03?” He carefully lowered Eli onto the couch.

“I-I don’t know?” Drathus couldn’t stop staring at the blood, there was a trail on the floor, it was soaked into Igrok’s pants.

“You’re going to have to let go of me, kid.” Igrok’s tone was surprisingly soft until he spun to face the Coric. “Well? Go find her!”

Drathus kept staring at the wound, watching the blood ooze past the makeshift oil-rag tourniquet; it brought back memories.

“God!” Igrok yelled, snatching one of Adelaide’s embroidered pillows (the one that annoyingly said ‘A happy sleep is just a good pillow away!’) he placed it carefully beneath Eli’s leg. “I have to do everything on this ship! Drathus if you’re going to stare at it, at least try to be useful, be comforting or some shit, I don’t know.” He looked to Eli who was writhing in pain. “If he tries to eat you, fuck, scream louder or some shit. Somebody will hear.”

Drathus ignored the comment, he didn’t expect any less from the Engineer. He came to Eli’s side. “Take my hand. It’ll help if you have something to squeeze.” Drathus offered her his non-mechanical arm.

Eli appeared as terrified as she felt. She didn’t know whether or not she had to fear a blood thirsty Coric or her own blood loss. After some hesitation she grabbed his hand.

“It’s not too bad.” He tried to sound encouraging.

“I’m bleeding out!”

“No, it looks like it’s slowing down. The tourniquet is working, you’ll be fine.” He smiled but with his carnivorous teeth, he was certain it would make her feel worse- even he didn’t like the sight of them. Yet much to his surprise the girl seemed to relax, at least Coric comfort was better than none. With his free mechanical hand he brushed away a tear from her cheek. “You’re holding up better than I did when I lost my arm.”

Eli let out a short huff, it was as much as she could muster for her typical dry laugh. “You’re just saying that.”

“No really, it’s true. I was hysterical.”

“How did you lose your arm?”

Drathus hesitated. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.” Eli said, relaxing further now that she had a distraction from her pain.

“Corician cannibals.” He admitted, he didn’t like to think of it, but he could tell that the conversation was helping.

“You’re bullshitting me.”

“I know, it sounds like it, right?” He agreed. “I was working in the jungle and they attacked my camp. They held us hostage to eat us alive.”

“Fuck!” Eli’s face twisted in disgust. “That’s fucked!”

Drathus thought over her reaction, then he laughed. “Yeah, I suppose it was pretty fucked.”

“So they…?” Eli nodded her head towards his mechanical arm.

“Bit right into it, they said it was better fresh.”

“Fuck!” She dropped her head back. “I can see why you were hysterical.”

Drathus couldn’t explain his behavior, but he laughed about it again. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t know- fucking gear burst from one of the engines- the thing that stopped it from breaking the wall and probably shooting out into space was my leg.”

“Hey, that’s a pretty cool story.” He reassured. “Every tough girl needs a,“ he searched his mind for the word, “badass injury like that.”

Eli perked up. “Think so?”

“Absolutely.”

At that moment Igrok came back into the room, followed by 03 and a far more worried Enelden carrying supplies. “She’s on the couch if Drathus hasn’t eaten her yet.”

“Thank you for your assistance Drathus.” 03 spoke coolly as she assessed the wounds, pushing an IV into Eli’s forearm. “You should go and find Mr. Grelek so that he may get started on this mess, then you should clean yourself up.”

Drathus did what he could to avoid looking at his own reflection. He had become a far different man since the incident. Prior to, he prided himself on his handsome, groomed looks and like many Coric men did, he had embellished himself with plants that could thrive upon his body. Now things were different. Drathus’s copper beard had grown long and his eyebrows less tailored. He saw the society of T’sandera Jould differently too, and he wondered if he would ever return to normal. Surviving the attack was a traumatizing process, watching the love of his life slowly drift away from him was salt on top of his wounds.

He pulled his long hair back into a bun, it was easy enough to do with his eyes closed. When he picked up his lasered-blade to shave, he found it difficult to look at his own reflection.

Avoiding a reflection was a difficult task to do on a high-tech ship. Glass, metal, monitors, screens: they all reflected the same Coric face back at him. Every time he saw a flash or movement of green skin, his heart jumped and he could taste the sickly heat of the jungle air in the back of his throat...

Taking a deep breath, Drathus peeled one of his amber eyes open. If he shaved quickly, it would be done with. He could go another few months without having to look at himself. He brought the laser to his face, trembling so fiercely that his mechanical arm could not stabilize the movements. The laser sliced his cheek, instantly sealing the wound before the lasered-blade hit the floor. Drathus pressed his eyes shut, gripping the counter until his knuckles turned white.

"Deep breath, deep breath." Adelaide rested her hand upon his, her left knee cracked as she bent down to pick up the blade. "There is nothing here to hurt you, remember you are not them, you're not a monster. Repeat that to yourself."

"There is nothing here to hurt me..."

"Good, good, and?" Adelaide coaxed, stepping closer to better read his tight expressions.

Drathus swallowed the dryness from his mouth. "I’m not one of them..." He opened his eyes, looking at Adelaide's hand upon his own. Humans were a peculiar species. Nyctcimmerians, Rosians, and Tymalians had general cultural characteristics that made them easy to predict. Humans were not as unified, in a sense they were similar to Kiliktin, or his own Corician people.

He was a man of scientific thought and logical reasoning. Now that he worked alongside humans, he realized that the Anti-Federation propaganda spread by the Corican government did not hold as true as he imagined it would. Humans weren't so wretched, generally they were quite kind. He looked to Adelaide; she had a comforting smile that creased her face with soft wrinkles and warm brown eyes- a rare occurrence for those of his own species.

"Do you feel like you can try it again?" Her gaze glimmered with hopeful determination for Drathus. "I know we can do this, you've made so much wonderful progress since you've been aboard."

Name: Drathus Sto’Stash

Race: Coric

Age: 37

Height: 7′ 3″

Languages OC Speaks/Knows: Glactic international, Corelandic

Fear(s): Cannibals, other Coric. 

Loves: Rare plants, gardening, mushrooms.

Medical Condition(s): Missing left arm from the elbow down.

Right, Left, or Both-handed: Right

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Appearance:

Eyes: Amber

Hair: Chest length, copper

Notable markings: Green skin with yellow scales, Robotic prosthetic left arm from the elbow down.

Position: Star Ship Life Systems Specialist

Backstory: On his home planet T'sandera Jould, Drathus was a head conservation scientist whose work was concerned with the stabilization of the living systems of a rare flowering mushroom nearing extinction in the Cortanica Jungle, Zercus Bisporus. 

During the expedition, Drathus and his team were attacked by a group of cannibals. Those who weren’t immediately eaten alive were kept in cages. Drathus spent nearly a month in captivity before the cannibals decided that he would be the next meal. Believing that the willpower of Drathus had been destroyed as it had been with the others, the cannibals let their guard slip. The feast began on his arm, but Drathus was able to break free and escape. He wandered the jungle for days, his wounds beginning to rot in the stagnant heat. He collapsed from a fever and much to his surprise, he awoke in a hospital. 

Drathus was the only one of his team to survive the ordeal, and after it all, Zercus Bisporus was lost to time, only to be remembered on the pages of botanical books.

After a long psychological leave from his job Drathus attempted to return, yet after everything he went through he found it difficult to function in Coric society. He applied for a work visa in the Galactic Federation, found a job as a Star Ship Life-Systems Specialist and eventually found himself on the SS. Nebula Cruiser.

Character Reference: