Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 155 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 5
Uninhabited Island /Tunnels near Yard Ship
Galactic Standard Time / 1045
“He’s a what!?” Racha barked as she stared at Jinn. The words ‘Sentient Eater’ reverberated in her mind, going to all the dark places.
“Sentient Eater, keep up. At least that’s what the guy controlling those bugs said,” Jinn said as he shrugged.
“You spoke to the Queen?! Wait, he!?” Racha asked in shock.
Jinn shook his head. “Yeah, a he. He said his people were like Burt’s ancestors. Only in the Mountain Realm.”
‘That place?! I’ve only been there once, for about fifty minutes. And I was only there as a transfer between Gateways!” Burt exclaimed and then he looked down at one of the dead bugs. “But I might have seen some kind of insect being used as a mount. Might have. There are a lot of strange things used as mounts out there after all.”
“Come on man! A bug being used as a mount and you didn’t look at it more?!” Jess asked with a hard tone to her voice.
“You should see some of the trade towns! Those places are crazy! They are the only place you’d see hovercrafts in traffic with beast-drawn carriages! I’ve seen plant races argue with what looks like green moles once!” Burt said with a laugh as he shook his head. At the way the others were looking at him, he only grinned. “What can I say? The Trade Towns are places where anything can happen!”
It was all Racha could do to keep from screaming, this was the last thing that she needed! If this being had attacked them because they were with Callahin. Why didn’t this sentient try to talk to them!? Just what had he experienced that he thought the only way to get Callahin was to kill everyone!? “Just why did he think that!?”
“I was following my captain’s last orders,” A deep voice said from the tunnel.
Everyone looked up, seeing an insect being standing there. He just stood there, in the cave mouth with three of the smaller bugs around the being’s feet.
Racha looked at the being and her eyes widened. She was expecting a lot, but not this, not one of his race. “You’re an Olictix. But how, when did your people crash here?”
“A long time ago. We were a relief fleet according to the records. I’m sorry that the things I tamed attacked you,” The Olictix said as the smaller bugs pulled back. He looked around the chamber and released a sigh. “So the scum escaped me again? I have been hunting him for a while now. He had hunting grounds on the other shore, but it took me a while to track him here. And please, my name is Karakpace. Allow me the honor of calling me that.”
Racha nodded, her mind going dark places. Karakpace’s people had a belief that the body of the dead was to be respected. The sentient eaters that took Olictix victims were hunted down by members of this race. The things done to them….. they were almost as terrible as the crime the criminals had done.
“You’ve been hunting him for a while then?” Racha managed to ask.
“Yes. My beasts are those that my crew tamed here. We built a defensive nest over a few months. Then he came along, being chased by something from the forest. He killed our leader, I’m the only one to chase him down. The others are repairing our ship,” Karakpace explained.
“Good!” Burt snorted. At the way Karakpace looked at him, he only grinned darkly. “This place is a target for Pirate clans! Much like the landlocked Marauders mate! The best you can do is get out of here as soon as possible!”
“But how can you know that?” Karakpace asked as he looked at Burt who bowed.
“Burt’s the name friend! I’m from an island around this realm. Been Realm Walking for years!” Burt said as he moved up from the bow.
“What of the rest of you all? Our people are allies. The ship is damaged, we have room for you all with the eggs we’re taking. If we leave the eggs, we might be able to bring ten of you…… More?” Karakpace trailed off as he looked around. “You have, more than ten?”
“With this group alone. We can talk later. But we have to get through that tunnel first!” Racha said as she pointed at the tunnel that Karakpace’s forces had closed.
“Step back and allow mine,” Karakpace said as he looked at the debris in front of the tunnel. He suddenly gained a savage green aura around him. The bugs all screeched before two globs of liquid came from above bad hit the debris. As that happened, the smaller ones moved towards it.
They all watched as the bugs speared the glop with their horns and pulled it apart.
Racha watched as they moved the mass that the liquid had made of the rock and dirt. When they were all away, another blob struck the mass, even as the top of the tunnel was revealed.
“Effective,” She muttered as she looked at Karakpace as he glowed. She had seen others of his race before, even some of their defense force. None of them had anything like these things, their technology was like the Federation. So again, there was evidence that this world gave beings more of the Power as Burt called it. Again she had to wonder, what was it about this world?
“Amazing,” Jess said as she looked at the bugs slowly clearing the passage.
“He still struck first,” Racha growled.
“Technically, yes. But also no,” Karakpace rumbled from behind them. As they looked at him, he looked away doing his species blush. “I ‘set’ the bugs to attack any human like the monster. I didn’t think any of your kind would come here.”
Racha just blinked, staring at him in shocked horror. With that one sentence, everything suddenly became clear.
“Oh. Anything else?” Racha asked sarcastically.
“Yes. The monster we hunt? he has an ability like my own. And another that lets him feed off ‘memories’," Karakpace rumbled.
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Racha just stared at him, horrified. But there was something about the way Karakpace spoke that told her there was more.
“What?” Racha breathed as the full threat ahead of them was revealed. If this monster would know everything that Paige and Sk’p did if he fed on them. They had to move faster, they still had an element of surprise.
“Wait memories!? Was the one he killed able to control these things!?” Burt exclaimed after a second. As Karakpace nodded, Burt only slammed a hand over his eyes. “Oh waves, Trees, and skies! This is bad, this is so bad!”
Racha looked at Burt and tried to understand. After a few moments of Burt falling apart, she reached over and slapped him across the face.
He blinked and looked at her, shaking his head. “Thanks. I needed that”
“Good,” Jinn said as he crossed his arms. “So why is this so bad?”
“You can learn to use different abilities if you know how to move the Power. And memories can tell you that. Another way to learn,” Burt admitted.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
As Paige led the way, she kept her ‘senses’ open. The others were still beyond the range of them, but she didn’t know what the bugs had. When they found the ship, they would find an easy way inside. She had turned off the guns, and she hoped that it was the right choice.
“So the platform should have the proper setting already, right?” Sk’p asked as they walked. Behind them, Callahin was following, looking around.
He had acted like they were going the wrong way, but then that was what she expected. He kept trying to say that this route was no good. That he had seen other paths that went this way that were destroyed.
Paige hid a smirk. She had seen the condition of the ship through the Access Pad, this was still in one piece. She didn’t know what he planned, but they wouldn’t fall into his trap.
“Really, we should go back. This way is just the wrong one! Please, I’ve lived here! Some places have been breached! We’ll have to go back!” Callahin said, trying to get them to turn around. “I don’t know if your friends will be able to survive! We need to run!”
Paige only rolled her eyes and sighed. She didn’t say anything, she just kept moving. She knew he wanted them to go the other way, and he said that it was faster. He said that it was the fastest way, that they had to save the others. But then his emotions were telling her otherwise. He wasn’t feeling worry, he was feeling anger! There was rage and a bit of worry in there too, and she didn’t like that.
The sensors told a story, the ship’s doorways had been locked down, but the Pads could unlock them. That must have meant that they were locking the doors from things that didn’t have nanites. And that was a worry.
“I mean you all want to save the others right!? So why are we going this way?” Callahin asked with a historic edge in his voice.
Paige only scowled as she kept facing forward. He was worried or scared, he was angry. And with every step he took, the more his anger intensified. And that meant more than she understood. He had been running a plan, some kind of goal he was working towards. And that goal needed them to die for it to work!
She didn’t know how, but she knew that from his emotions he wanted something from them. There was just a way to them that told her he wanted to kill them.
“Don’t worry Callahin! This path is just what we need!” Sk’p said with a smirk in his voice.
She looked at Sk’p, seeing him nod at her.
Paige sighed and shook her head, knowing that she had to give him something now.
“How can you know that!? I’ve lived here! You would…… you did? That pad lets you see the ship!? Callahin one asked in shock.
Paige forced down her smirk as she felt the horror that knowledge caused Callahin. Now what could he think she saw that caused that emotion? “Yeah, but only the ship’s status. I can’t see what’s inside this place. So we need to go slow. Anything might be ahead of us.”
As she said that, they reached a door with a pad against it. She looked at Sk’p as he moved his body against the other side of the door. She angled her body against the wall with the pad and touched it, and as it opened something slammed against it. As soon as the door opened, a hunched humanoid figure barged out.
It had pure white fur and was shaped like an ape. It had large bulky legs and arms that were at least six feet long and thin. It had two fangs in its mouth, a slit noise, and two pure black eyes. The beast looked around until it found Callahin. For a moment, nothing happened as everyone was frozen. The creature roared as its arms came up but Callahin shot it shot it through its head.
“What was that!?” Sk’p demanded as he glared at Callahin, anger in his voice
“White Long-Ape,” Callahin answered with horror in his voice. “Monsters that eat everything they can! But what was it doing here!?”
As everyone looked at him, Paige felt the horror he felt as he looked at the body.
“What!?” Sk’p asked with a scowl.
But before Callahin could say anything else, there were another three roars from the doorway.
Paige looked into the darkness and willed light. Within a moment, the darkened room was like noon on a sunny day. Screams of pain came from all around, and Paige went white before she willed the door closed. As the door closed a large arm reached out and kept the door open by a half foot.
“GET CLEAR!” Callahin cried out in horror.
Paige dodged back as Callahin fired, severing the arm behind the elbow. The door slammed shut and there were cries from within. Something slammed against the door and there were screams of rage.
“What were those things!?” Sk’p demanded and Callahin only swallowed.
Paige looked at the limb for a moment, trying to calm down. But her other sense kept battering at her, keeping her heart beating fast. On the other side of the door, she felt the minds of twenty creatures at least. Each one had a rage, an anger that was almost sentient. Bu Callahin? He had been horrified for real this time Just what was his history with these things?
Callahin only took a deep breath and then looked around. “I called them White Long-Ape on account of their arms. Their dangers, really deadly monsters! I saw them tear apart this thing on the mountains to the north once! It was months before I found this place! But what were they doing here!?”
A screech from inside caused Paige to put her hand on the pad. She closed her eyes and let her mind sink into the ship. The blueprint appeared in her mind, her location and destination both highlighted. After a few seconds of seeing the data, she discounted it and moved back. “Found our new route. We go up a level a hundred feet that way!”
“And we won’t go into that compartment?” Sk’p asked as he followed her pointing finger to the left.
“Of course!” Paige promised as she led the way, the pounding dying behind them
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
As soon as the bugs had broken through the blockage, Jinn and Jess dove through the opening. The others followed behind them, with the bugs following their master.
Jinn kept his ears open, on watch for anything that might be there. But no matter what he tried, all he could hear was the sounds of the wind.
“Think they attacked him?” Jess asked as they ran.
“No,” Jinn muttered as they reached a turn. Running down the tunnel, Jinn shook his head. “I think they’re buying time. We just need to get there. If he does his thing, he could try and escape. I mean they might know how to work the ship’s factory!”
A howling roar ahead of them caused Jinn to almost stumble. But he turned his forward fall into a cartwheel and looked at Jess.
She had fallen to the ground and he chuckled as he reached down for her. “You just gotta learn to fall the right way, my friend.”
“Yeah, mind teaching me? Once we get through this of course!” Jess said as Jinn pulled her up. Another series of screeches came from the tunnel ahead of them.
With a look at Jess, Jinn nodded once. “Into the fire!”
“So others can live!” Jess said with a small smile.
As the sounds of the others behind them came closer, Jinn just nodded and ‘dashed’ ahead.
He finally reached the cave mouth and stared out in shock. Ahead of him was a large field, with the mountain at the other end. Set in the mountain was a ramp into the ship, but before that were large white ape-like monsters! There had to be over twenty of them! They had large bulky legs, their arms were at least six feet long and thin. One of them looked at him and he saw it had two fangs in its mouth, a slit noise, and two pure black eyes. But what was the most shocking was the gun barrel tripods that were around the ramp. Some of them were on the ground, but why hadn’t they fired at the apes? Where were the others?
A screech from the one that saw him caused all to turn. A roar from the ramp caused him to look and see a true monster. It was larger than the others, easily eight feet tall. It had two arms, but one was broken off at the elbow. But as he watched, it seemed to be regenerating before his eyes. It was when he found the creature’s eyes that he just stood there. The eyes were said to be the windows into the mind, and these eyes were full of rage and anger.
For a second he looked at the eyes of the larger creature and then it roared, and the apes all charged into the ship.
Jinn just stood there, stunned speechless.
“Jinn!” Racha’s cry from behind him caused him to turn and stare as the others came out behind him. She looked past him and then around, scowling as she didn’t see anything. “What happened? What was that roar?!”
He looked at them for a few moments before speaking the words. “There were twenty of these white ape things. A bigger one at the ramp roared and they all just thundered into the ship.”
“The White Apes!? What are they doing here!?” Karakpace asked in shocked horror.
“The what?! You know these things!?” Al asked as everyone turned to him.
Karakpace only looked away for a moment before he nodded. “Well, yes. My crew called them White Apes. They rule a territory near the top of the mountain over there. Leave them alone and they leave you alone. I mean the doctor aboard…….oh.”
“What is it, and how bad am I going to not like this?” Racha asked with a hard tone as Sara walked past her.
Jinn watched as Sara leaned back, shielding her eyes as she looked up. “Solar panels?”
“What!?” Racha barked as she looked at Sara and then looked up. Her mouth dropped open as she saw what Sara had done.
Jinn looked at the gun tripods and whistled. “Nice, power for these things. But why didn’t they fire at the apes?”
“Paige! She must have done it! She turned them off without Callahin knowing, but how? Oh, STARS!” Sara said with shock as she looked at the ship. “That thing has to be over a thousand years, at least!”
“How could Paige have turned them off?!” Racha barked.
Sara looked away and swallowed. “She told me once that she used to be a tour guide at a space tech museum. She had nanites to use the old control pads. But what about the Apes Karakpace?”
“My ship’s doctor said that they were sentient, or on the edge. They had the Power as most people call the energy that lets us use Abilities. He must have fed on them!” Karakpace said with anger in his voice.
“They would have tracked him down here!?” Racha demanded and Karakpace nodded.
Jinn looked at the ramp, his mind traveling miles. These new facts changed things a lot. Another faction was here, and they most likely wanted Callahin too. But only time would tell if they wanted to kill everyone here.