Alex had been traveling for around thirty minutes now. The sound of the Sand Drake had followed him for the first ten minutes. Alex decided to descend a little further in to the sand. He couldn’t hear the creature anymore, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he went lower, or if it couldn’t track him anymore. Either way, it was a relief.
He had heard stories of soldiers getting shell shocked on battlefields with a bunch of artillery. It could get to the point where they would go crazy from the constant sound. This was how Alex was starting to feel a little with the incessant screeches of the Sand Drake during its chase. He hadn’t even spent much time with the sounds, only about thirty minutes to an hour total, but he felt like that added with the unceasing threat to his life was enough to drive anyone crazy.
The drone of the drill was like white noise. Alex could fall asleep right then and there if he knew how to steer his rocket ship subconsciously. As it was, there were a surprising amount of moving parts, and it took a significant portion of Alex’s focus to keep it all moving while staying sand free on the inside. All worth it though to get away from the Sand Drake.
Maybe I won’t fight it after all. I mean I was going to fight it mainly because I had to so that I could get back to Earth. Now, I don’t really need to other than to say I did. Not that it would be a bad goal.
“You should still fight it. You don’t know how strong your enemies will be back on your planet. I see two problematic options. One, they are all weaker than you and will not be suitable for your growth. Or two, they will be stronger than you and in your haste to return, you have squandered your chance at leveling the odds,” Nagaar said.
“Yeah. I think I’m going to do what I want to do and not listen to you. I haven’t had a chance to really get mad at you. You not only took control of my body *again*, but you also tried to coerce me into giving in to your control. You knew I was in a particularly difficult situation. You tried to take advantage of me,” Alex fumed at the snake.
“I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you. I was trying to help you. I could see that you were struggling and I wanted to offer my expertise.”
“Most people offer advice, not possession.”
“Is that because all they can offer is advice? I could have given advice, what I had to offer would have been much more substantial in the moment.”
“Obviously, I didn’t need either. I’m not some damsel in distress. I make mistakes, but I feel like I am fairly capable as well.”
“If you say so,” Nagaar said, obviously not convinced.
“I’m going to get back to steering this awesome rocket ship I made, so if you could stop distracting me, that would be great.”
“I’m proud of you. You are doing phenomenally,” the king said sarcastically.
Alex narrowed his eyes. Even though the king couldn’t see his face physically, he scowled in annoyance. The message should translate into his emotions.
Alex continued his underground voyage without any further disruptions. He was actually pretty grateful the Sand Drake had been blasting him the occasional blast of sandy breath. It had provided the fuel for his daring escape.
Alex traveled for another hour before running his reserve fairly low. He didn’t want to risk getting stuck underground, so when he had around two hundred P.E. left, he started his ascent. In what he assumed to be the last hundred feet, Alex listened hard. He didn’t want to be caught unaware by the Sand Drake if it had been following him this entire time somehow. It would take him a while to find his bearings and that would be the perfect time for an ambush to take him.
He didn’t hear anything and so felt it was safe to ascend the final feet. It took longer than he thought it should, but he decided that was due to his own estimation of how much further there was than anything else. The body of the rocket shot out of the sand, and Alex knew he had finally left the sand due to the sudden lack of resistance and subsequent reverse of course due to gravity.
He landed hard enough to knock the wind out of himself. He retracted the Eonsteel and looked around.
“Ah. Good old desert. Not sure if I expected anything else, but it’s still a welcome sight.”
He surveyed the sky and felt that he had lost his tail. The Sand Drake was nowhere to be found and that was ok by him. The longer he could put off that fight the better. He wouldn’t ever tell the snake, but he had a point. He needed to take every advantage he could get his hands on. Who knew when his next opportunity to grow so substantially would be. He could go years without being called to the frontlines, or it could be every month. Either way, every single level and every single stat point mattered.
Stolen story; please report.
Plus, who didn’t want to kill a dragon, or at least dragon adjacent creature? That would totally win him some points with the ladies. He still wasn’t sure how he could casually bring that up in conversation, but he was fairly certain he could somehow steer a friendly chat towards dragons.
‘Hi, how are you?’
‘I’m great. Did you see that movie?’
‘Which one?’
‘The one with the dragons.’
‘No, not yet. I want to though.’
‘I killed a dragon one time, you know?’
I’m epic. A master conversationalist.
Alex wandered through the desert, occasionally changing direction as his GPS dictated. Overall, his journey was growing tedious. He never thought he would be itching for another fight so quickly after his encounter with the Sand Drake. He had spent the last months of his life in near constant battle and he had apparently grown accustomed to it.
Is this why they send people to boot camp? Make them used to the battlefield life?
Alex hadn’t ever considered the military lifestyle. He respected everyone that did, but it just wasn’t the life for him, especially after his accident for obvious reasons. Now, he was wondering if it would have been an immense leg up in his new lifestyle. It didn’t matter much to him now.
He had plenty of advantages already. Just his Eonsteel was a crazy help. It definitely came with its drawbacks, but it was the most versatile tool he could ask for. The only limit it seemed was his imagination and the finite amount it offered. Other than that, the sky was the limit.
Finally, something had changed. He could see off in the distance, a large city. This was likely the city of Tristix. His metaphysical compass had started to move a lot more recently and now he understood why. It was currently pointing to the southern most edge of the city, and Alex assumed that was where they were staging their offensive.
Tristix had an interesting look to it. Alex wasn’t sure what he expected a Saxan city to look like, but this was not it. It had large spherical buildings made of glass. With how shiny the city was, it made him feel like it was a mirage and that he was just imagining it. If it weren’t for his GPS changing directions suddenly, he would have thought it was.
He wondered if it would be an all out siege or if they were going for a more subtle approach. Alex hoped it was the siege. He was not known for his subtlety. On more than one occasion he had ruined his sneak attacks and had to resort to brawling anyway. He would much rather have a plan that focused on the brawling in the first place. Things would just go smoother that way, for everyone. Sure more people would die, but that was a sacrifice Alex was willing to make. They had just abandoned him and any good will they had garnered was burnt up the second they exiled him.
He was not going out of his way to save anybody. Except for Krizzik. He still felt like he wasn’t mad at him necessarily, but the situation as a whole. That didn’t mean that he would just leave them to die. That would probably do more harm than good for him. He couldn’t take the city by himself after all.
----------------------------------------
“You want me to take the city by myself?! That’s just dumb. I get that I’m basically worthless to you guys, but come on. Whose idea was this? Have they met me? There’s no way this was the best plan. I know I can help, but why do I feel like I’m just going to be cannon fodder to thin their numbers before the actual attack.”
“That’s because it is exactly what it is happening,” Krizzik said matching Alex’s own volume.
His response actually shocked Alex.
“It doesn’t sound like you approve of this plan.”
“That’s because I do not. I do not see the value of sending one of our strongest combatants in alone. It would be much more prudent to use your abilities in almost any other way.”
“Well surely you have some way to change their minds right? You have to have some sway among the higher ups. Why would you be in charge of me if not?”
“I do, but you do not understand. I have used my influence already. That is why you are here at all. The others wanted to maintain your exile, but I took it over their heads. The hive queen herself was involved in your return. Since that was all she requested, the elders have done just that and only that. Your presence is highly contested. You were only allowed to return because our situation is so dire.”
Alex stayed quiet for a second. He thought that he was being welcomed back and that he would be able to resume his previous role as battle support. This changed things. Instead of fighting for his life in the desert among a few strong enemies, he would be fighting for his life in the city against an army. And, he was going to do it by himself.
Maybe he would need to be stealthy. He couldn’t go in guns blazing if he wanted to make it out somehow. He would need to pick his moments and weaken them before they could fight back. He would be in a very interesting position to sabotage their efforts, but he would need to do so carefully. If he got backed into a corner or was too aggressive, it would end poorly for him. Either they would kill him or he would end up as some kind of prisoner.
Could you make a prisoner a prisoner?
That would surely be a terrible existence. It wasn’t likely that the Starbound Coalition would pay any time of ransom for his return. Why would they? They could make a new one of him without any issue. All they had to do was kidnap another poor soul.
“I have not been given authorization to include you in our plans for the city. I have not been prohibited from coming up with plans for you, however. Here is what I have thought up if you don’t mind a little help,” Krizzik said.
Alex and Krizzik spent the next few hours talking over the plans he had thought up. Alex felt overwhelmed still, but he felt like at least now he had a chance of doing something. With Krizzik’s intimate knowledge of Tristix, it would almost be like Alex had walked in with a guide.
That is, if he could read a map.