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 / 1015
As dust fell from above, Jess raised her pistol as she moved towards the tunnel. As the dust cleared, something hit the wall above the tunnel to the ship. To her horror, it started to melt, the rock itself sealing the tunnel mouth.
“NO!!” Sara bellowed out in rage.
Jess could understand, Paige might have died. But that was something that they had to put a repair notice on that. For now, they had to deal with other problems.
“Nothing for it! Time to fight and kill!” Jinn barked as he pulled out his blade. As soon as he turned it into a sword, he looked at Racha. “I’ll keep the thing that did it up there! Find a way out of here!”
“GO!” Racha barked as she fired down at the tunnel.
Jess could only watch as he disappeared. He reappeared kicking off the ceiling wall above them, and in a moment he was gone again.
“I have got to learn how he does that!” Jess muttered as sounds of combat came from above. The cries of the things coming out of the tunnel that was still open finally reached them.
As Jess watched, three dog-sized three segmented insects came out of the tunnel. They were each three feet tall and over five feet long. They had bodies of molted grey, and they had two segmented eyes. Below them was a horn that pointed straight forward above two mandible pincers.
As soon as she saw them, she opened fire. Racha fired as well while Al ran past her.
“Get us through it Al!” Racha barked as she joined her shots to Jess’s. In a moment, each of the bugs had their heads blown off, and the bodies fell to the ground.
“I’LL TRY!” Al called back as he ran.
“I’ve got your back!” Burt bellowed as he aimed his weapon down the tunnel.
Jess gritted her teeth as she fired. “So they did have smaller things to send at us! Great, just great!”
“Keep it up!” Racha said as she looked at the tunnel. “I think that this isn’t over just yet!”
“Of course, it isn’t. That would have been too easy for this place!” Jess muttered sarcastically as she looked behind her at Al. She didn’t have any idea how Al could get through the tunnel mouth. The way that the glob had caused it to fall, the much had to be a kind of acid. But she wasn’t sure that it had destroyed the earth, it had to have loosened a large rock! That was the worst scenario, they would have to go around it. And the only way that she saw this was possible, was if Jinn took them up there. Something that would only happen if he handled the things up there!
But as another cry sounded from the tunnels, she looked at it and fired into the darkness. She was starting to think that the bugs had sent all their forces here to kill them! But why!? They had figured that these things could think more than mere beasts. But what had the group done to anger them that they were attacking the group!? It made no sense at all! Why throw themselves against a foe that could and had killed them?
Something told her that if she figured out the answer, she wouldn’t like it. And something told her that their new ‘friend’ Callahin was involved in this new problem. The more she thought about it, the more that she was starting to think that he had planned this. But then why would he want those two to follow him? Unless he was hoping that someone else would be there. Someone that he wanted to kill or capture for some reason.
Jess looked at the tunnel as Al cursed behind him.
“NOVA! That stuff liquefied the dirt! It hardened into rock! We can’t get through here!” Al cursed.
“We have to wait for Jinn! He’ll need to get us out of here by going up!” Racha said as she fired into the tunnel mouth.
A screech from the tunnel caused Jess to tense. This screech sounded like it was from many mouths and that meant this was going to be bad. The hardest combat was against those who didn’t care how many you put down. And she was having a bad feeling that this was going to be another of those times.
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Jinn slashed down with his blade, slicing through the last segment of one of the flying bugs. It flew a foot before falling to the ground, bleeding out as it lay there. Jinn paid it no mind, his sight was on the living monsters that were attacking him. He looked around the rocky surface he was fighting on, taking stock of his opponents.
Behind him were three corpses. The first of a new larger insect that had been behind the broken rock wall behind him. It had a body that was made of two segments connected by a short middle part. The front segment was three feet wide and long, colored a deep green while the back was six feet wide and long. This segment had four legs, with each one being three spikes in a triangle formation that dug into the rock. Its head had two eyes and a large triangle-shaped beak with a round opening at the end. The back segment was wider and longer, a good six feet in total. It was round and seemed to be nothing but a way for this thing to generate the liquid it used as spit. Once he had gotten up here, an Aether Dart-empowered shot had torn the back sack open. The liquid from it had splashed on the big bug and two smaller ones with horns. Next to it, They had all screeched as the liquid killed them, melting their bodies.
Once that was done he saw he was facing six more of the smaller ones, two guarding one of the big ones. Three quick shots had killed one of the big ones, and they retreated as twenty fliers had come. So far they darted at him and he dodged them, and that was how he spent the last few minutes.
As the nineteen flying bugs flew around him, he knew he had to change the tempo. So far he had stayed on the ground, so maybe he should change that. Another one flew at him from the right and he ‘dashed’ upwards through a gap. As he reappeared the bugs flew all over for a second, a second he used to fire three times. The blasts hit two of them in the center segment with their wings and they fell, their wings dying down.
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As he fell, he slashed out and through the part connecting the ‘head’ segment of one. As it fell he landed and fired, killing another of them. As the bugs flew higher, he looked at them with concern. From what he had seen, these things were melee fighters, so what was happening? He couldn’t understand it, and when that happened in combat, people died.
“Okay, let’s see what I have to work with,” Jinn muttered as he looked around. There were just fifteen of the bugs left, and they were staying back, flying around him. As another one of them came at him from behind, he spun around and slashed down. As the bug’s head was cut in two, another two came from above and to his right.
Without looking he ‘dashed’ to the right and spun around in a circle. As the bugs saw him, he fired his blaster again, this time killing three of them. He grinned as he looked at them, and this time he felt like taunting whatever was controlling them. “That’s just eight left! Still want to do this or go home? I’m still here to play!”
The bugs just hovered there, and he cursed himself. Part of him had been hoping that he was wrong, but here it was. Proof he was right about these things, that they were controlled by something. He had no idea what kind of range he was looking at here, but it had to be far. And that was the worst for them all. A hive mind controller would send all of them to the enemy, all to learn how to kill with the next swarm. And that meant that they had to go back to the hive as soon as they could.
“Well?! Do you have something to talk to me like that one Callahin spoke of!?” Jinn called out and the hive looked at him. He moved his blade and saw the smaller ones were behind him by around thirty feet. “Keep them there if you want to talk. And pull back whatever is attacking my people down below.”
The sounds of something moving and the buzz of the flying bugs slowly started to die down. He watched as they landed before him and he knew he had gotten through to something. He just stared back, knowing that this was going to be either good or bad.
The sounds of slow steps caused him to move his blade and his heart went to his throat. Walking towards him was something he had never expected to see. It was chitin chitin-covered biped insect. The chitin was colored a deep red with green splashes here and there. It had two hands that ended in a four-fingered claw. Slowly he turned and looked at the being. It was as tall as he was, and it was wearing a kind of kilt made of something that looked like blue plants. Its head was a face with only two multifaceted eyes above a normal noise. Below that was a normal-looking mouth with two mandibles on the sides that were curved blades. By its side was a piece of wood with a large tooth or horn on it, making a spear. If the being before him wore normal clothes and was alone, he would have thought it a member of the Federation. But more to the point, there was something about this one that struck his memories.
“So, what are you? The mouthpiece of the swarm or the controller themself? Do you control these through their mother?” Jinn asked and the being shrugged.
“Their controller. I’m sorry that some of my creatures attacked you. I thought that it had found more like it,” The being rumbled in a deep voice.
“Okay, so the creatures? Yours? An Aether Template?” Jinn asked, grasping at some of his more outlandish thoughts.
“My ancestor. He was blessed, I learned like so many of my kind,” The Being said.
“Ahhhh. So your fellow castaways then?” Jinn mussed as he looked at the insects as they stood there. “And I think….. yes. For the survivors of your ship, there were two templates that were passed down. A Controller and a way to modify the bugs in their eggs?”
All the bugs buzzed as the being took a step back, and its mouth dropped open for a moment.
“Yes. You are quite different from that one,” The Being rumbled and leaned forward. “Why do you follow him?”
“If you mean the man in the disappearing clothes, that was beyond our control. We need where he’s making his home. It’s a resource that we need to survive on this place,” Jinn explained and the being nodded.
“Survival is all that matters on this hell. My kind has a story much like that. But that thing, that predator is not to be trusted,” The being rumbled and the bugs buzzed louder.
Jinn looked at the being and sighed, shaking his head. “Of course, somehow I’m not surprised that he found a way to make you mad. I was thinking that maybe he was after us for something. So what does he feed on?”
The being rocked back a step and this time the being leaned back. “You know it wants to eat you? And you still followed after it?”
Jinn only chuckled and shook his head, a somber look on his face. “I was raised by some people who disguised their hate. It took me many years to learn the truth. I had hoped that my worst fears were wrong.”
Jinn looked at the being only for them to sigh and shake their head.
“You were right. All terrors that one would be worthy of all horror tales. What it can do, is completely against everything that honest beings see as good. It must die!” The being growled.
“But not us for following him for a few hours?” Jinn asked and looked into the being's eyes.
The being rocked back and the bugs all stopped buzzing as the being looked at him. “NO! By the first no! You’ve done nothing to deserve that!”
“Then why’d you attack us? Why keep following us?” Jinn asked.
He looked around, taking in the bugs. The smaller ones seemed to be more of a guard force than attackers. But if they were the only thing to be able to get through the tunnels, then this being would have to use them. But they didn’t seem to be heavily armored. If there weren’t too many, then his friends would have survived. And that was all that he needed right now, that they would live.
“The larger ones are able to share their ‘scent trackers’. I detected that one’s scent on you. I followed after that one,” The being rumbled, growling as they looked at Jinn.
“So how long ago did you make a camp in those caves?” Jinn asked.
“A few nights. I tracked that one’s scent here. I was expecting it to come from the other side,” the being rumbled.
“So you did…. I’m sorry. But do you have a name?” Jinn asked
“Karakapace. My kind are called the Olictixs,” Karakapace rumbled.
“Jinn looked at him and smirked a little. “From the planet Olitronics, 5th planet in its system right?”
Karakpace blinked and looked at Jinn with surprise. “Yes. That is what the old songs say our home world was. But how do you know that place?”
“I knew you looked familiar! Met one of your people once before on a ship! Was part of the crew, I worked for passage for a cruise!” Jinn said with a smirk that quickly fell into a frown. “But what are you doing here? And by that, I mean you yourself.”
“The stories say we were going to aid our allies in the Federation. A Relief convoy for a disaster on a planet. I forgot the name, but those of my people who survived from our ship made a home in what others call the Mountain Realm. We have outposts where we grow food and trade with other city-states nearby. I was with a trade convoy that had to escape through a Gateway. We crashed a few moons ago. Now only I and a few others remain alive,” Karakpace said with a deep rumble.
“And stop me if I’m wrong, but that one took something when he ate one of yours, didn’t he?” Jinn said before he blinked. “Wait, a few moons? Then the pirates haven’t attacked yet?”
“Pirates?!” Karakpace rumbled as the bugs started to screech. “What do those scum have to do with this place!?”
“Do I have a long story to tell you!” Jinn said bitterly as he shook his head. “But later, let’s get down there and see if we can get after your target!”
“Go to those below. I will be there soon,” Karakpace said with a final rumble. Then they turned away, the bugs following behind.
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Racha looked around as the bugs moved backward. The battle had been in their favor, but this was something else. If she knew anything, it was when the enemy pulled back but stayed out of sight, then you worry. All she could do was handle this, and hope that the others were doing okay.
“What are they doing!?” Jess hissed as she looked on.
“I haven’t seen this anywhere. But there’s something about them that strikes a chord with me. It’s just weird. There’s something about them,” Burt mused as he aimed his weapon.
“You’ve heard of these things?!” Al snarled, rage in his voice.
“I’ve heard of a lot of things. Some of them when I was drunk! I can’t remember everything that I’ve heard over the years at a drop of food! It’s too much!! And I probably only know maybe half of one percent of all stories!” Burt said with a slight edge to his voice.
“Don’t fight you two! We need to deal with enemies that can think!” Jess said with a scowl on her face.
Raccha had to admit that she was wondering that as well. The small bugs tried to attack by charging at them with horns. But the shoots of the three of them had been able to handle them. All in all, she didn’t know what she expected but not this.
“Keep watch, if something happens, we strike. For now, work on that stone!” Racha whispered harshly.
“Do it. Burt cover him. Jess, Sara with me. We have to hold the line. If Al can’t find a way out of us we need to hold until Jinn gets back!” Racha said quietly.
“Tell us something we don’t know Service girl!” Sara said with a bitter edge to her voice.
She heard a scoff and she knew that Jess was just ‘saying’ what she was feeling. This whole thing was beyond anything that she had expected. She had thought that these things were aware, but this was beyond them. And that was something that Racha didn’t like when things went beyond what she expected from her enemies.
Suddenly she heard the sounds of someone falling to the ground behind her. “Well, that was something else.”
At Jinn’s voice, they all turned to look at him as he shook his clothing to get the dust off.
“Jinn!” Jess exclaimed joy in her voice.
“What happened up there?! Did you kill the queen?” Al asked in a rush.
Racha looked on as Jinn shook his head. She liked to think she was a good judge of character, and that told her that Jinn was holding something back.
“Jinn!” Racha barked and scowled as he looked at her. “What did you find out?”
“Well….. Even if we killed the birther, it wouldn’t have done anything. Seems these are being controlled by that Power you told us, Burt. And the controller is another survivor descendent like you,” Jinn said as he looked at Burt. “And he was only after us because he was after our new friend. Seems they crashed here and he killed some of them. And he might be a sentient eater.”