Nawrok was not moving at an optimal pace. Nor did they appear to Skeet to be very enthusiastic about returning to Tedexa Goran. Nevertheless, they trudged along with inevitability. Their head was down, and their hands were clenched.

They hesitated once more just outside of the mountain tunnels. They looked around as if they were hoping for something to happen. Nothing did. With a glare, they entered.

Skeet notified Mako and patched him into the feed.

Nawrok entered a simple throne room. The decor was basic but clean. Guards lined the wall holding spears and there were a few other Shins surrounding a dais at the far end of the room. There was a padded and somewhat elaborate stool upon which sat a large Shin with brown scales that almost shimmered like burnished bronze. The leader had a large voluminous crest of blood red pseudo-feathers as Odysseus had taken to calling the plumage on the Shins. Sharp spines could also be seen poking out from the plumage. They also wore dark gray armor that was well scored in many places along with the typical Shin armored mask. They sat on the stool, bent forward with an elbow resting on one knee.

The other Shins parted as Nawrok approached and knelt on one knee, bowing their head. “Dominant.”

“You look as if you have seen battle, Theen. Tell me what you encountered. Where are my Dwellers?” Dominant spoke with no inflection, almost seeming hardly interested in this minor detail.

“We were attacked by a people calling themselves Oracle. They defeated 2 squads of spear adepts and... me.” They choked on the last word.

Dominant sat up. Their crest seemed to flare out as well. They spoke sternly, but still with an understanding that there must be a reasonable expectation. “You lost 2 squads? Was this an ambush? An army?”

“There,” Theen hesitated. “There were many. But the numbers seemed to be on our side. They had weapons of great power. They could instantly kill from a distance. And with great speed.”

“What were these Oracle?” Dominant asked.

Theen knew Dominant wanted to know their race. “I am not certain. They were covered head to foot in black armor. They seem to be like elves. But I hit the leader with a fully charged Thunderstrike while impaling them with spikes. I thought for certain I had killed them. I hit 2 more with the area affect. None of them died. I thought I had killed the leader, but they rose again a few moments later. In just seconds we were down a squad. We killed three of them but soon 8 more showed up. By that time, both squads were dead.”

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“How many were there to begin with?” Dominant asked seeming to intuit the information Theen was trying to omit.

“6.” Theen stated flatly. “One was hidden.”

“Who initiated the battle?”

“I did, Dominant.”

“Why?”

“They demanded that we stop culling the Dwellers.”

“Did they want them for their own slaves? Why would they make such a demand?”

“I,” Theen swallowed. “I do not know.”

“You did not ask?”

“No, Dominant”

Dominant paced on the dais for a moment.

“Why did you attack them?”

“They challenged our supremacy, Dominant.”

“Yet you had no knowledge of their level, their skills, or their weapons? Is that correct?”

Mako took note that Dominant said level and skills.

“Did you hear that?” Skeet asked.

“Yup.”

Theen hesitated too long.

“Is that correct?” Dominant raged.

“Yes, Dominant.”

Dominant said nothing. They stood and paced for a moment again and looked back at Theen. “Kordok.”

“Yes, Dominant.” Another stepped forward and knelt.

“Dispatch the scouts. Find these Oracle.”

“Yes, Dominant.” Kordok hurried from the room.

“Theen,” Dominant’s voice was filled with impending doom. “You attacked an enemy of whom you had no knowledge and it cost us 2 squads.”

“But Dominant...” Theen spoke with trepidation.

“I did not bid you to speak!” Dominant roared. “The information you brought back to us is less than helpful. And you may have antagonized an enemy much stronger than us. Perhaps they are not. But we do not know. I cannot have foolish Shing’risgi in my service. I need thinking and intelligent leaders who do not simply stab everything they do not understand.”

“Dominant...” Theen started before one of the others around him kicked Theen in the head.

Dominant looked down. “Strip them and cast them out.”

The others started to take of all Theen’s armor. Then, once Theen was stripped of everything, they grabbed handfuls of Theen’s plumage and brutally ripped it off of him. There was a frenzy around Theen as their colorful plumage was torn from their body with some of it having bloody bits attached to the ends. Then, their spines were cut off. They were grabbed by each arm and forcefully led from the throne room. Theen remained quiet the whole time even though they were clearly in agony.

Skeet left the drone in the throne room. She used another drone to watch what happened to Theen. She couldn’t follow past the halfway point of the city, but she could see that Theen was led to the edge of the city and unceremoniously cast down the slope that led to the forest.

Mako sighed. “That turd didn’t mention the white flag or that the Shins are considered enemies to be shot on sight.”

“They did not.” Skeet agreed. “What are you going to do?”

“I think I’m going to pay them a visit. This Dominant person seems like they could be reasoned with.” Mako said. “I’m going to need vid copies of the encounters with Theen and Sigroth.”

Mako pinged Skeet a moment later and mentioned one more thing he would need from Skeet.