‘...what was THAT?’ I wondered, my long suffering manic energy returning after having been near constantly vigilant for... how long has it been again?
Doesn’t matter. Focus on the strange feeling.
It was akin to a light rain shower hitting my harvesters, except it came sideways instead of above.
Checking the moisture level in the ground disproves that it was a rain shower. Just in case it rains sideways or something weird like in this place...
So question is then, was it natural or unnatural.
If it was natural I would like to know what the hell it was just in case, but can be put on the back burner.
However if it was UNnatural, well.
The invaders finally reached me. Or found me.
‘I reeeealy need to know where in this giant sand bucket I am’, mind spiraling once again from the constant vigilance I forced myself to sit through. I was starting to feel slightly deranged. ‘I hope that they didn’t use this time to muster a too large of a force. If that strange pattering actually was the invader.’
Attempting to think of something to do to prepare myself yet further, I checked on my now sizable horde of scorpions and the now ever-present form of leather clad humanoids in almost every room.
‘Scorpions are fine. They managed to pack themselves nice and tight in fixed territories, with some roaming to refill the area when they get killed in the dozens. The Wrappers on the other hand...’
Looking over the wandering humanoids I pondered my choice. I could feed them again, would allow me to increase their numbers before the possible attack. Or I could not feed them, maybe making a few of them to starve, but would make them to fight to the death instead of being opportunistic attackers.
In the end, I decided to feed them. It was the safer option. I would lose them unnecessarily if they didn’t come immediately. If that prickling was some sort of scanner that could give some solid information. It might just be able to detect my defenders situation. In that case starving them to make them more dangerous would not work. They would just have them starve before attacking.
After creating more carcasses for the Wrappers to engulf, I tried once again to keep preparing for the incoming invasion.
Oh, they know. They know about your defenders and are just waiting for you to grow to tired to resist.
Banishing the now regular negative and paranoid thoughts, I focused onto my core.
Healthy, healthier than I have ever seen it be, inside or outside. No omnipresent half necrotic flesh lacing every part of my flesh and organs. No spreading petrifaction from the stone shell to my flesh parts. Hell, even managed to create a delicate web of veins outside of my shell to allow my blood to flow to cool down my core!
Last time I tried that I lost so much blood. Sooo much blood. Damn the bastard who put me here to starve me! When i get my hand on him I shall convert him to a statue and throw him into the desert wind to-
Snapping out of my deranged thoughts with a quiver of the core, I gave a mental sigh. Looking at the core again I could see the exhaustion and tension in it. Short spasms on the occasional tendril, blood flowing quickly then slowly at irregular speed, tendrils hanging from the core twitching erratically.
‘What a mess.’
Needing something to occupy myself I started going through my home systematically.
You have already done that many times now. You are simply wasting time again.
‘I’m not, I have almost no sensory feelings from anything I don’t focus on. I need to keep checking just in case.’ In a fit of irritation i responded to the thought, only remembering after why I try to only ignore those thoughts, never respond.
Oh but if they were in you and you hadn’t noticed, then you would be doomed anyway. They could simply invade from any angle with stealth and get to your core room before you could catch them all. After all, it almost happened once before. REMEMBER?
Getting lost in my memories I found myself back to a early disaster, where a sand borrowing creature with sharp claws, some sort of weird mole, manged to almost get to the core before I noticed it. It managed to dig through the panicked cave-in I brought down upon it, painfully eating my sensory veins while doing that. Rending the flesh, it hurt so much. The acid I must/will use will hurt even more. So much pain, it burns, I’m-
Violently shifting my gaze from my core I systematically proceed to check on my resources.
‘Water, full. Need to find and make more storage rooms. Never waste water. Note, find metal storage to make room. Defenders, alive and well. No new modification at the ready, focu-’ Useless idiot, no trump card to- ‘FOCUSED on upping numbers. No starved or mutated individual found. Structure, maintained and held fast. Impact damages from meteorite are healed, rubble is to be sorted later. The metal construct moving passing by in the glass tube need to be harvested and stored. Water harvesters-’
Wait. ‘Metal construct?’ Thinking slowed and after a moment of incomprehension my gaze snapped back to the glass tube that the meteorite made.
Right there in the tube some sort of drone crawling slowly downwards on the glass wall. I had sealed off the top of the tube long ago, to allow the desert to cover the impact crater faster by not having it require to fill the entire kilometer long tube with sand first.
Thinking about it now I should have made the water harvesters hidden after i sealed of the tunnel. ‘Should have broken all the glass down so there wouldn’t be such an obvious path down!’ See? You- 'No. Focus here and now, on the drone. Past is the past and that can't change. Reflect properly in the future, not now.'
Taking my own advice, I kept my gaze on the drone. It didn’t seem to have noticed my gaze yet. ‘Perhaps I can simply remain hidden from them.’ Thinking a moment longer I discarded the absurd notion. I had many water harvesters above, they would not be capable of missing those while finding the meteorite. Besides, I though about the water harvesters already.
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'A choice then...' I realized after a moment that I had to decide. Destroy the drone or let it go.
‘Destroying it would deny access to the meteorite, maybe preventing them from realizing the value of it and simply leaving this place.’ My thoughts raced, I had to decide fast so I could prepare in time. ‘It would also be once less thing I have to worry about if the drone is combat or scouting capable.’
Shifting gear to ponder the other option fast. ‘Letting it go would mean it most likely find the meteorite, but there would be no conflict with the intruders yet. It’s value might also distract them from investigating me, if only for a moment. I have only harvested a small part of it, around 5-10%. That might be enough for them to focus on harvesting it full time, while ignoring me.’
Thoughts flowing swiftly around my mind, I decided for the second option. So long as I made sure to not allow the initial scouts that surly must be coming now to gain any resources from me, then I might convince them to not bother with me, while they get their precious rock.
‘Not to mention they probably have some way to scan for the meteorite. Otherwise they would have sent the drone to me first.’ Thus the first option would most likely simply make them more aggressive towards me, to get rid of a hostile force preventing their harvesting operations.
Decision thusly made, I proceeded to rile up my defenders near the surface. Scents started seeping into the rooms while a low sound hummed along the first few dozen rooms. Scorpions became exceeding territorial and hostile while the wrappers started to roam, attempting to find whatever was making that noise.
After some adjusting the defenders where riled up enough to attack anything unfamiliar that come forth, while not going into a frenzy and attacking their fellow defenders. I shifted my gaze back to the glass tube.
I spotted the drone once more. Going up this time. Looking closer I confirmed that it had a piece of the meteorite in a metal clamp. Sticking to the plan, I simply gazed as it went up till around the middle of the tube, where it went through a hole I didn't notice at first. Probably was the drone that made it.
Watching until it went out of my sight, I started to enhance my worm defenses. Replacing inert catalyses with active ones for the various acids and toxins, reinforcing walls, the jagged spikes inside of the walls, I kept going through my worm defense checklist.
‘Best be prepared so I don’t have to split my attention from the invaders more than necessary.’ I though grimly. Gone was the panic and erratic burst of need to do something. Now all that remained was the calm before the storm, the will to survive at all costs and, unfortunately, the exhaustion from before.
‘If they truly did wait till I was exhausted then I am most likely dead.’ I though in a detached manner. ‘If I survive the first round and nothing comes in a single water cycle, I will rest. It’s more detrimental for me to be this exhausted before combat than it would be for them to get a surprise attack on me.’
With a sigh, I regrow some of the empty feeding grounds for my scorpions in advance to keep myself busy.
‘All I want is to have the vanguard or scouts attack me already so I can sleep.’
Finally managed to get into a routine of checking the scorpions feeding ground and regrowing them, creating carcasses for the wrappers and emptying the water harvesters to store and then drink when the storage is full, I managed to relax slightly.
After a few rounds of of work I got snapped out of the routine.
It was suddenly difficult to empty some harvesters.
After blankly and instinctively attempting to empty them as usual a few times, I instead looked around the water harvesters.
Humanoids.
‘Ah, the invaders are here.’ I though apathetically for a moment, before feeling a rush of energy and focus injected into my mind.
‘THEY ARE HERE!’
Doing one final checkup and agitation of my defenders I started observing first their actions. General observations later!
They were carefully looking over one of my water harvesters, holding some sort of tool up towards it while keeping some distance. Focusing on the harvested pointed at by the tool I feel some sort of prickling, just like I felt before. After the tool produced a sound, he one holding the tool seems to read something of it while speaking in a low but clear voice to the other two.
‘Wish I could understand the language, but at least I can assume that prickling feeling is from scanning me.’ grumbling for a second before looking at the other twos actions, which were thankfully simply looking around the area while standing near the tool user.
Probably standing guard to have nothing ambush them. Which is good since that means they probably don’t know everything about me so I can still ambush them! But also bad since that means they will not haphazardly waltz into an ambushed.
‘Well, good that they don’t have that good of a grasp of me just yet.’ Since they were simply trading what I assume to be short words with each-other I started observing them closer.
First, Mr. scanner-tool-man was a short haired male with brown hair and eyes. Fair skin, which means some way to avoid the sun out here. A swift glance at the other two showed the same skin-tone, so they are all from outside the desert I assume.
Equipment and clothing is the best I have seen. Loosely draped cloth over his shoulders and head, with what i think is some sort of protective undergarment underneath. No sweat that I can see on the face, hard with their interference radiating from them to confirm this. Some sort of cooling mechanism perhaps?
Legs covered in what I guess to be working pants, light muddied brown in color with plenty of pockets that could contain various tools. Pockets seem empty currently. Only two thing I can spot is a large knife, almost elbow to hand in length, and another tool at his belt. Seems to be simply a cube.
Deliberate and short gestures with accompanied short words. Since the other two are doing the same I guess they have some sort of discipline training, either military or some other serious group. ‘God why couldn’t they be bandit like instead, would be so much easier! If these kinds of groups is what I will be contending with then I need to get more kinds of defenders. A ambusher and opportunistic attacker won’t cut it against organized attackers.’
Taking a short breath to calm myself, I started looking for anything I could use against him, any possible weaknesses. And I found something, I think.
His slight is posture is slightly crooked. Oh and he is slightly shifting his weight back and forth from each feet. Either impatient or nervous. Might try to bait this one into a trap or a rash decision if they split up. ‘Won’t cost me anything major, so might as well attempt it.’
Shifting my observations to the female I confirmed that they did have some discipline. She seemed eager to go forward and explore with her eager posture. Yet she held her ground, keeping her place in the formation.
‘Same kind of pants as the tool-man...’ A quick glance at the last one showed that all of them had the same pants. Different clothing above the waist as-well as different tools on the belt. All have that same knife however.
The tool on her belt was something I would classify as a, well, crossbow. Or some-kind of projectile weapon at-least. Solid handle, with some sort of barrel. Can’t see where one would load that thing, nor anything to load it with. Unless those pockets contains the ammunition in a loose form, which would be strange to not have magazines with her. ‘Or perhaps it’s loaded as a musket?’ Shelving my pondering I shifted towards her clothing, and is shortly baffled.
It was a well fitting shirt with nothing covering her arms from her shoulders to her hand, no gloves either so I can see she has callouses on both her hands. Not particularly curvy figure yet I can see some muscles on her arm, so well trained at minimum. Yellowish eyes with dark hair to her shoulders. So far so normal.
But what i find find so baffling about her is the fact she is wearing what looks to be a medieval style helmet. Solid steel or iron helmet, with a nose guard and covering from the sides and back of her head ending around halfway of her neck. ‘Why... WHY?! Why get a solid looking helmet if you let your arms be unarmored? What are you thinking!? Why do you not have anything on your arms!? Who wouldn’t go for your arms!?’
Staring dumbfounded at the what might be a insane female I suddenly became less certain of them being in the military or any form of organized group. Only snapping out of my dazed state when they started walking towards my entrance.
‘Need to observe the last one before they get inside!’ Taring my gaze from the female I looked over to the last man.
Same pants and knife for the lower body. But no additional tool for this guy. ‘Strange...’
Shifting my observations upwards I got saw that this one dressed properly. In fact, this one is probably the leader of this bunch judging how well dress and disciplined his movement is.
Cloth shirt and covering jacket with gloves, both of a unknown material, all in the desert muted orange. Short, nearly shaved hair with the same muted orange as his other clothes. Eyes, same color as everything else. At this point I suspect he can change color of his eye and hair, or that they are dyed. Otherwise this is one freaky coincident.
His behavior is what makes me say he is the leader. Eyes carefully brushing over every surface, intently listening at both the environment around him and the two other. Responding in a even and calm tone. And leading them onwards slowly towards my entrance.
For a moment I wondered if I should simply collapse my entrance before they get too close. It would give me more time, but it would also cut me off from my water harvesters. And even if these individuals don’t have any way to dig down to me, dose not mean the next group coming after them won’t have some way to tunnel down to me. And who knows where they will be able to come at me from if they start digging.
As for sealing myself off completely, I have only done that once before, by covering my whole home with solid stone. The resulting agony I felt nearly instantly... Well, I would like to forevermore avoid that.
No, best let the invaders have an obvious point of invasion, to keep a better eye on them and to make better defenses overall.
Readying myself I finalized and readied the traps I had made during my long preparatory period.
First healthy invasion, of what will most likely be many more.
Let’s have a good debut, shall we?