Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 155 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 5
Uninhabited Island /Beach near crashed escape Capsule 20045
Galactic Standard Time / 0820
As Callahin led the way, Paige kept back. There was something about Callahin, something about his emotions. She had sensed lust and desire before, but this was something else. It was like he only saw them as food or something. The wolves had been beyond her range for most of the chase, but only until the end. Then for a moment, she had gotten a spark of such anger and rage. She still didn’t know what it was but it was there.
“Now you have to understand, I found the factory ship when I was running away. I came down onto this island a long way away, practically on the other side. And I came down with my crew! The captain survived but we lost our medic before that!” Callahin said with anger in his voice as he led the way.
Sara walked behind Jinn and Racha with Paige behind her. So far, Callahin had treated them right but he was still feeling those emotions. She just couldn’t understand why. If he had been away from ‘civilization’ for years, then there was that. But everything she had was telling that there was something more to him. And that she wouldn’t like any of the answers when she found them out.
“It must have been hard for you all,” Racha said with a soft voice.
Paige could feel that Racha was feeling nothing. It must be a Service trick to keep your emotions down as you interrogate someone. The fact that Racha might know there was something wrong with Callahin. That made her feel confident that they would survive Callahin.
“Yeah, it was. We lost most of the security guards first, to these giant bugs! Some kind of giant centaur mantis ant hybrid, ten feet tall! Just bit their heads off!” Callahin said, a shudder in his voice.
Paige looked at him, keeping her reaction down. While most people would feel anger, he was feeling joy and happiness talking about their deaths. Just what kind of ship had he been on?
“We ran into giant humanoid ants with a giant one leading them. We fought them off, and
Then ran into these reptilian baboon things when I and a few others were looking for food. We fought them off, but they threw their waste at us, and that took the Security head next! It must have had a virus in it, cause that was what killed him. Some kind of fever that took him out over a few days! The captain led the rest of us to the ocean and then we were attacked by giant crabs. That was when I was separated you see,” Callahin said as he looked over his shoulder at them. There was a look of sorrow in his eyes that almost made Paige believe him.
It would have if he wasn’t feeling pride talking about how he was alone.
“So you were alone when you got here, how’d you get by the ship’s weapons?” Jinn asked and Callahin laughed.
“That’s it, I wasn’t alone! I was being chased by these winged fish with teeth, parona, no piranix…. Piranha! That’s the word! Well, piranha crossed with rats!” Callahin said with a mad grin. “They liked how I tasted! But I ran toward the ship, and the weapons must have been set to kill anything not from the Federation! Found my way in through an open door and then I closed it! After that I explored and well, a month later the first of the ‘pirates’ attacked. After a few days, I came out and burned the bodies.”
Paige looked around at the walls, seeing marks on the stones. She could imagine that pirates came through here fighting off those things as they did.
“So how often have that race come here?” Al asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
“The ship’s fought them off about five times since I’ve been here. And the moon’s been full ten times between each time, at most. It’s been around five or so. So I was planning on starting to gather some food before the explosion. But don’t worry!” Callahin said with a laugh as he looked at them. “There’s a great grove of trees behind the ship. Enough to feed around a hundred people every week!”
Paige felt the smugness that Callahin was feeling. For a moment she wondered if he had been the one to make the orchard he talked about. But then she blinked, remembering how Jinn had described what he had seen. The Yard-Ship was in the mountain! How could something be behind the ship, if the ship was in the mountain?
“We found a few of those trees, but it was more hunting for us. I was able to eat part of one, nice fruit. But how could they feed people every week?” Jess asked.
Callahin only laughed and shook his head. “I think those trees get all they need from the sun. Don’t ask me how they do it. But the ones with the most sunlight always taste better!”
Paige looked at Jinn who shrugged. It might be the truth, and if it was then they had another resource to use. Paige smiled as she felt Sara’s excitement building. The two of them had talked, and Sara wanted to make a lab to start studying this planet. With a whole island or two to work with, they wouldn’t be searching for space to build. With the colony plans in the ship’s core, they would be able to make a good base here. But she frowned as she remembered that Callahin had done repairs without knowing how to. He might have even whipped the core for all she knew!
“So how far away is the ship, anyway?” Sara asked.
Paige felt the spark of anger from Callahin and almost stumbled. That feeling was red hot, and almost blinding in its intensity. What could he have been thinking of……. No. What was he planning that caused him to feel such emotions?
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“It’s a bit of a walk, I have to admit. And I’ve blocked off a few passages here and there. So follow old Callahin and stay close! That’s if you want to stay alive and free!”
Racha scowled the more Callahin talked. She didn’t know why, but every word he said made her want to punch his lights out! The longer she thought of it, the more anger she felt. After a few minutes, she blinked and almost her head. Why was she feeling this way? Just what was her problem with him? Just what was it?
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“Wait, what? How many paths were there here!?” Sk’p asked in shock.
“I think I found over ten of them. Yes, all together ether were twelve. They snaked around and all came out at the endpoint in three ways. After I closed them and tracked my steps, I made sure that I was the only one who knew the way to my home!” Callahin said, laughter in his voice. “I mean, the number of corpses that I find once the pirates leave in this place! Sometimes I miss a few, and I have to follow the scavengers!”
The more Racha listened, the worse she felt. But it was when he talked about scavengers that she understood. Somehow, he felt the same way to him as that Cult leader! He had a complex so far outside of civilization on that planet that most people who tried to escape died. He even left the bodies there as food for the beasts around him to eat! It had gotten so bad that subspecies were born that ate sentient meat! That was why the Special Service was called in!
“You don’t smell them? I mean rotting flesh always stinks or is your nose damaged too?” Sara asked.
Callahin stopped and after a moment nodded. “Yeah, it’s been hard on my stomach to tell the truth. I think I had more stomach problems than I ever did before it crashed here. But again, hard to say.”
Racha had to wonder if that was true. The Cult leader had been a piece of work, true scum. The profilers said he felt pleasure from the smell of those who betrayed him dead. There had been a few killers she had hunted down who took trophies. But still, what were the chances that Callahin was like that?
“We’ll need to make markings that we can take down when we get there. Some of those signposts that we used before?” Jess asked.
Racha nodded. “Yeah, perfect. That way only people with nanoes will be able to find their way in.The best thing we can do really. If we don’t just fly to get them!”
“Fly….how would you….. The factory. You plan to get it working again!” Callahin said, shock in his voice.
Racha grinned and looked at him, trying to see if they had been able to shock him to reveal his hand. She saw that his eyes were wide, and his mouth had dropped open. He must have thought that they wouldn’t be able to do that. And without Al, that was the truth. But he said he would be able to, and she was betting everything on him.
“That’s…….that’s amazing! I thought the few weapons that the crew set up were the only thing that the old girl had! But you can get the factory working again!?” Callahin said in shock.
“Maybe, if I can get all the system connected. It might take some time, but hopefully, the production core is still there. We just need to wait and hope,” Al said with a shrug.
Callahin blinked and looked at him for a few seconds. “Isn’t hope an emotion that your people hate? Don’t they hate all emotions?”
“No, those are the Logic is all bunch. There’s a lot of us out there. We all have different taboos really,” Al said with a shrug.
Racha nodded, having seen a lot in her career in the Service. The number of times that rival Sholar’s Way caused planetary level problems? It happened at least once a year! “Yeah, and figuring out how they all connect is something that would give anyone a medal!”
At the looks she was getting she just shrugged. “Heard it on a documentary once. Something about how keeping peace between the Scholars. Said the Federation had a task force who did that as their sole job.”
“OH. It’s that complicated?” Callahin asked, shock in his voice.
Sara only laughed and shook her head. “You’re lucky you forgot that about home! Every station is always competing with the others, each one trying to find something to hold over others. Grav-ball is just one of them. The times people get into fights at the trade stations! Always something in the stations!”
“It’s like that all over really. I’ve seen a lot, and people always unite against outsiders. Just the nature of unity sometimes,” Sk’p said softly.
Racha nodded, keeping silent as she looked at Callahin. The man hadn’t reacted much, only looking at them, his eyes blank. But he kept his mouth in a smile, a smile that she was sure was forced. This was slowly starting to seem so wrong, that they were going into a beast’s mouth.
“I saw a few recordings of Grav-ball once you know. I scavenged it from a crashed life pod, I found it tracking some scavengers. The occupants took one of the worst packs around with them. Sparked a war on that side of the island. Still going on actually,” Callahin said, shaking his head. “Such destruction. Such death. Good to scavenge food from old battles.”
Racha only looked at him, shocked for a moment. That one sentence showed her all she needed to know. There was something wrong with Callahin mentally. And that put everything that he had said into question. If they were going to secure the Yard-ship, they would have to take Callahin down. All she could do now was hope that it wouldn’t have to be permanent.
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As Callahin led the way, he could barely keep his mouth from watering. There was such a feast here that he was almost tempted to attack them now. Why wait, why keep the charade up for now? It would make no difference if he killed them now or waited. The way the prey was behind him, all he would need to do was turn and strike. If he fed on the first one, then he would have a meat shield.
“So you must have been through a lot here. Any advice about this island? And I’m Sara. I just realized we never introduced ourselves,” One of the girls said behind him.
“Well, I’m Paige,” The girl behind Sara said. “Behind you is Racha, then Jess followed by Sk’p. Jinn is the one who fought those wolves followed by Al.”
“Well met! Having names to go with faces will make this a lot easier,” Callahin said with a smile. That was why they were still alive, the knowledge they could give him. “How many were on your ship before it came down?”
“A million at least! We only know about a hundred or more on the island,” Racha said bluntly.
Callahin felt his mouth water as he turned to look at Racha’s face. He couldn’t believe his luck! Over a hundred meals that could walk into his den! Even feeding her, he would eat well for months! Plus if Al could get the factory working, then he could leave at last! Hunting and preying all over this world, he could even find a breeder!
“That’s if the passengers survived. And all the crew!” Jinn said bluntly.
“It must be terrible, not knowing. That must be why you’re here. I hope that this works out the best for all of us!” Callahin said as he looked ahead again, this time his mouth was dry. Yes, wait and feed later, that was the best thing to do. This way he would finally have a large meal source, and he would be able to feed for a long time.
“And forty of them are right behind us. We need to find a way to make this path safe soon!” Sk’p said.
Callahin only felt his heart beat faster. This was the best day he had in a long while! All he had to do was keep them talking and trusting him, and he would finally have all he could eat!
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As Sk’p followed the others, he kept his feelings from showing. He had dealt with people who had been lost in space all alone, and they had handled it a lot better than Callahin was. He looked back at the others and saw Racha and Jinn both looking at Callahin with hard eyes. There had to be a reason that the two of them had problems with their new friend, they were too calm otherwise. He looked away, gazing at the wall when he noticed something. He kept moving, not stopping as he tried to keep calm.
A few feet up, he had seen the marks a digging machine would make. Callahin hadn’t said anything about finding one of those things at the ship, and the way he something to Al. Meant that there were marks of Al’s Religion there. This mystery was getting bigger and bigger. He had never liked mysteries that much.
“So the corpses you found, what were they? Any meat on them or just bones?” Jess asked.
Sk’p looked up and saw Callahin put his head down.
“Mostly bones. I don’t know if it's because of something that broke through here or something about them. I just wore things on my hands, made a fire, and burned them and what I used to move them. I was a bit scared really,” Callahin admitted and kept walking.
“Nova that was good! The stories I’ve heard about a few sects! The stories go that they used nanite bombs in their flesh that went off when they died!” Al said with a shudder.
“And you know about those kinds of things how?” Sara asked, a note of shocked horror in her voice.
Sk;p couldn’t blame her. The very idea of nano-weapons that were primed when someone died! That was pure nightmare fuel and something that most planets outlawed!
Al just laughed a little, a note in his voice that sounded like old pain in his voice. “Those were the fireside stories that I grew up on! Nothing made the festival bonfire the same than old stories of terror and fear!”
But as the group passed through an intersection with a way that went up and to the right, he stopped.
“You never mentioned this Callahin!” Sk’p called out. The others looked towards him and then they saw the ‘ramp’.
“Is this another way to the ship?” Racha asked.
“No! I have it a lot more protected than that!” Callahin said, his hands up. “It goes up to a cave mouth. But to get to the ship we need to go through a tunnel ahead! The way up stops at the tunnel by the way,” Callahin explained.
Sk’p nodded before he went still. He closed his eyes and looked up, his ears catching a sound. For a second he stood there and let the old training he had take over his senses. As his teacher once said, let the sounds come to you. Make a picture out of what comes.
“Bugs. Big bugs are up there! They can fly!” Sk’p said with a hard edge to his voice.
“Bugs!? What are you talking about!?” Callahin said demanded.
“I can hear them! Up there, a lot of them!” Sk’p said as he pointed at the ramp.
Callahin looked at him and laughed a little. After a few moments, he recovered. “Good one! Really, but it's impossible!”
“How?” Jinn asked as he slowly brought his knife out.
Callahin didn’t say anything, only shrug. “Well, they’d have to have built a hive last night! And the cave has another opening in the wall so high that you’d need to fly. I mean sure, if they can fly then that’s a plus. And the cave is the perfect place to make a nest to defend with how…… Easy it is. ……and. The only way around that is the cave mouth up there…… oh Nova!”