On a moon far outside of the inhabited universe, a Drel facility the size of Seka could be seen. The Drel were using it as one of their hidden locations for advanced research on weapontech. The scientists and technocrafters that worked here stayed for so long, they brought their families and often settled down permanently. The whole outpost was like a big, bustling city with hundreds of thousands of citizens, protected by an enormous globe that shielded them from environmental hazards.
At the center of this city, a big tower stood tall and overshadowed all other buildings. In its topmost floor, the commander in charge, Koltan Ben Seguranas, looked on in silence as the huge humanoid robot walked out of the hall. He was lost in thoughts and only refocused his eyes when his assistant and old friend Genaro Tul Bemutu came in, moments after their visitor had vanished.
“It is gone, it disappeared as suddenly and secretly as it appeared before…” Genaro said and Koltan could hear the insecurity in his voice.
“Are communications back online?” Koltan asked.
“No, everything is still blocked. I have no idea how it does that.” His friend said, “Do you believe it? That it is what it claims to be?”
“I don’t know. I heard of the old legends, but never did I think any of those could have even a grain of truth in it.”
“I always thought those to be just some stories parents tell their children to scare them at night…”
“Any feedback from the scans?” Koltan shook his head to concentrate on the matter at hand.
“Nothing yet - just where did it go? It can’t have come here without any means of travel, right?”
“I don’t know…” Koltan mumbled, lost in thoughts again. He tapped on his datapad for a moment and a report from last week opened:
“Contact lost: Outpost XDS1154”
That one wasn’t too far away from here. However, the expedition sent to check on them travels from the central regions of the Drel. It will need a few more weeks to reach there and find out what had happened.
“We have a hit!” Genaro suddenly exclaimed and sent Koltan a distorted image of a spaceship.
He couldn’t tell how big it was, but when he saw the bright white ship that was adorned with golden symbols and dozens of criss-cross running spikes, recognition flashed in his eyes. Koltan took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Raise all shields, prepare the Orbital Defense Cannons…” He muttered, his eyes unfocused.
“You think it will try to attack us?” Genaro asked with a raised eyebrow. That would be madness - this facility was protected in both defense and offense with the best their race had to offer. They were Drel, they stood at the pinnacle of the universe when talking about warfare. Who would try to mess with them?
A notification on his datapad interrupted his thoughts.
“Communications are slowly coming back, at least we can send a small message now!”
Koltan remained silent for a moment and sighed again.
“Send word: The First has awakened, The Second has returned - The hunt has begun.”
“What does that even mean? Do you really…”
“Fire all cannons, don’t hold anything back!”
Genaro relayed the commands and looked at his friend in worry. He was always cool headed, never feared any conflict. What is pushing him to such drastic actions?
Moments later they heard the muffled explosions triggered by the shooting of the Orbital Defense Cannons.
Together they watched a radar picture on one of the screens. Twelve little dots rose from the moon and neared a single dot that was further away and represented the enemy's ship.
Koltan threw a quick glance at his friend.
“Maybe we get lucky… but in any case: it was an honor to work with you at my side for so long. You are a true friend!”
Genaro also looked up.
“Do you really think this will be a hard fight for us?”
“No, it won’t be hard…” Koltan muttered and before he could continue, they saw the shots finally arrive at the ship on the video-feed. A shield flashed for a moment when all twelve projectiles hit at the same time and engulfed the vessel in raging flames, before everything calmed down again. The ship was still resting there in the deep void of the endless space, not disturbed by the attack at all.
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Only when they saw the white ship fire a small projectile downwards to their moon, Koltan finally finished his sentence.
“...it won’t be a fight at all.”
Moments later, contact with outpost XEH1492 was lost, too.
***
Krezolgok walked slowly along the path that wound through the deep forest. The sun was high in the sky and heated up the damp air. He hated this season, the high humidity made his fur stick to his skin like a wet rag. Who thought it would be a good idea to build this camp here in the middle of the rainforest?
He kept following the trail and observed his surroundings. Krezolgok saw many birds flying around and some small animals hiding under the bushes but of course he couldn’t spot any traces of predators at all. Here, they were the predators, they were the hunters, they were the top of the food chain. Every sentient being and every beast with at least a sliver of awareness recognized this undeniable fact.
Thinking back at his shameful initiation rite two days ago, anger arose in him. With a growl he lashed out at a tree with his claw, leaving deep scratches on its bark. Pain shot through his arm as his wounds were strained once again.
When Krezolgok finally arrived back at the camp, a stern looking guard already waited for him.
“Bloody Wolf is awaiting you! Hurry up, Bultaz.” It bellowed and shoved him forwards.
Bultaz, the name for those that failed their rite but still survived. The greatest shame one could get. Losing a fight is one thing, but then at least die an honorable death at the hands of your enemy. However, losing and still being alive to tell the tale? That means you’ve either fled like a coward or you were so weak that your enemy didn’t even see a need to kill you off.
Krezolgok however was just unlucky. Correct, he lost the fight against the Notobruk, but it was really close and the beast actually wanted to kill him after his legs gave in and he couldn’t stand upright any longer. Unfortunately, just before it could close its huge maw to finish the job, another Notobruk came to the scene and chased it away. He heard both beasts rumble through the forest for some time, before everything went quiet. Krezolgok had waited and longed for their return, but neither of them came back, giving his body enough time to heal him a bit and stabilize his condition.
He survived in shame, reduced to a lowly Bultaz by the whims of fate.
He came to a halt in front of the biggest tent of the camp. It was made of leather from beasts way stronger than mere Notobruks, hunted and killed by their alpha, Bloody Wolf, himself. Krezolgok took a deep breath to calm himself down and then announced his arrival with a low, subservient growl.
“Come in, Bultaz!”
Nervously he stepped into the tent and spotted the tall male sitting behind a desk, many different datapads were lying messily around him. Like all Zulbano, Bloody Wolf got his proper name after the initiation rite. Even when he was young, he must have been a hell of a fighter, killing a Botonga with only his claws. Today his fur was getting gray in many areas, signs of his advancing age. His right ear had a piece missing and his long, wolf-like snout was marked with scars - the face of this alpha was telling stories of fights, honor and glory.
“You failed. You’ve brought shame not only to you, but to your family and clan, too.” He said, his voice low and accusatory with a hint of disappointment, “I had high hopes for you…”
Krezolgok remained silent. What could he even say? That it wasn’t his fault that he survived? That fate played petty tricks on him? He was alive, that was his burden to bear and no one else was to blame.
“We will break down the camp tomorrow, we have to return to the clan.” Bloody Wolf said and Krezolgok got even more nervous. What does that mean for him? As Bultaz you live a life at the bottom of the community.
“What will happen to me?” He carefully asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“Actually, that depends. You could come back with us and take a job fitting for your title,” The alpha growled with disdain, “or you could grasp another opportunity to earn a name.”
The young wolf's eyes went wide. Another chance? That was rare…
The old male gave a sigh and his face softened a bit.
“You didn’t do too bad. Weak, but not shamefully weak. I know the circumstances played you a bit. However, that doesn’t change the result. Only you can do that. I can help you to get a second chance, but if you mess that up, not only will your life be at stake, but the clan will have to pay the price, too.” He said and rummaged through his datapads. After he found what he was looking for, he handed it to Krezolgok.
“We got word that there is something brewing in the Drel’s region. We don’t know what and have no idea of the timeframe. So far, not even rumors have reached us. However, the leaders have absolute faith in the source of this information. They hope that unrest will rise and spread among the galaxies. It was decided to halt all our infiltration-operations for now and wait until we know what is about to come. Maybe we will profit from the situation.”
Krezolgok’s ears began to twitch. Why did the old wolf tell him all that? That would be above his rank, even if he had defeated the Notobruk… with only using one claw.
“The leaders want to ensure that our operations remain hidden for the time being. However, there was an unlucky encounter in some backwater system. The job is easy to understand but hard to fulfill: Find all those that do know of our involvement and make sure they can’t spread the word.”
After seeing the Bultaz’ disbelieving look, he clarified.
“We cannot send a hunting squad, as it would attract too much attention, also the system is so far away from any major hub, that the risk of exposing anything sensitive isn’t high. Therefore this is the perfect opportunity to send someone like you. Succeed and gain a name or fail and die like a warrior - your family will follow your death to free the clan of any shame. It’s a win-win situation, what do you think, Bultaz?” Bloody Wolf barked, a predatory grin on his face.
Krezolgok immediately nodded and held the datapad tight.
This was his only chance he could grasp to not live as a Bultaz for the rest of his life. He saw the faces of his parents and his little brother. They would be proud of him when he returned with the name of a warrior!
After he left the tent and walked to his own resting place, he took another look at the datapad.
“Pranum Expanse, Mereus Cluster…” He growled, “TechnoBlood… let the hunt begin!”