Sethis

I was rather furious that Astha still used his old ship while carrying his trophies around, but that's his problem. In fact, I did not care whether those trophies survived or not. If we both get through this, then I regarded it as the greatest treasure of all. I'm personally impressed on how quickly he found me. I thought that I might end up the reigning champion of this blood arena full of amateurs since I predicted at least five months. I did reprimand him for using an old ship incapable of maximum warp, but at least he knew what he was doing.

Even with the knowledge that they might be late, I was still worried that Astha and his friends might be too late when they finally found me. I was well-aware of the berserker drug and what it would do to me when I saw gladiators losing their minds. The drug turned them into feral, rabid beasts, and yes, it was hard to see a fellow Saukaur reduced to a dangerous reptilian beast. It was the final state before they died due to the adrenaline wrecking your body and caused a heart attack. I knew sooner or later, the Red Arramers governing the blood arena would suspect that I swapped my collar. Their business relied on backstabbing others, so they would be the first to notice the discrepancy. I was very lucky they did not notice for a month, but they'd be suspicious. It's what they do best.

And because of it, I was worried that my projected five months might've been a little bit stretched. Fortunately, Astha, Shen, and the others came to the rescue just in time.

My brother and his team were pretty much solid in term of teamwork. While they had not fought together for long, they trusted each other's backs. Kilkaja, as I noticed, seemed to have developed his telekinetic ability further since I last seen him use it back on Aurelis Three. Before, he could only erect an effective, but weak, telekinetic shield and a telekinetic push that only served as a hindrance. Now, he managed a very fine telekinetic control in which he pulled a nearby dagger and hover it near him. Considering his lack of combat training, that was quite impressive.

We could not stay and hoped to fight off every last gladiator on the arena. We needed to get to the landing pad, find a transport, and hoped it was good enough for our escape. I would prefer to use Astha's ship since it had his trophies, but he told me that the ship's no longer space-worthy after the damage it sustained on the orichalcum planet and the trip to this planet was its last trip. Realizing he was willing to sacrifice his trophies for my sake made me trust my brother even more, even though those trophies could still be saved if Astha just find a different ship. Of course, given that the tracker was linked to his ship (again, a stupid decision), he had no choice but to use the ship.

Even so, with the whole situation, I had a feeling that it might be impossible. Unless Astha had a plan of his own, we might not be able to save the trophies and ourselves. We must sacrifice them. I hope Astha did not care about it and I hope no one's going to care, either. With the Saukaurs in disarray, losing one's trophies was the least of one's concern.

Without waiting for the berserkers to rush us, I quickly realized that we could only escape from where Sethis and the others came from. Astha got the idea first as he threw a flash grenade towards the group while Sel shielded Kilkaja's eyes. It was bright enough to disorient some of the Nuoevan combatants and stunned the berserkers slightly. It gave us a chance to quickly run towards the exit. With the guards already dealt with, it was an easy escape for us as the berserkers clearly did not focus on us.

However, our first hurdle came when some of the blood arena syndicate members, already knowing what our plan was, stopped us as we ran towards the exit. They had some guards ready to attack us.

"Do you think it's going to be that..."

The syndicate member did not even have time to finish his sentence as Kilkaja telekinetically shove a knife through one of the guards's head and slice it open, spewing blood everywhere. The other guards were too surprised to react to Sel and Astha shooting each of the guards in the head.

"What the hell?" I said, still trying to process the seconds that happened.

"Can't afford to wait," said Kilkaja as he pulled the dagger to his hand.

But then the part where it was supposed to be hard came after we got through the gate and into the area with the cages.

Several of the cages were open and the berserkers were already prowling the dark place. Unlike the arena, this place was much smaller and was a corridor, meaning that we needed to find a way to move among the berserkers. I knew the berserkers, as the name suggested, would be berserk and attacked each other, but that would not help us either.

Good thing Kilkaja's basic telekinetic shield and the berserker's state of mind made it possible for us to get through them and exit the area...into the chaos that was Ends.

"Oh, shit," said Astha, rubbing his head. "I...guess things got out of hands, huh?"

"Astha...," I said, glaring at him. "Is this your idea of diversion?"

Astha simply shrugged and let out a hissing sigh. I knew my brother well enough to know that he preferred a plan that involved chaotic diversions and traps instead of proper strategy. Most of them were also made within the minute, which made him a quick thinker. He also had this lack of dignity if it was for his own or his allies' benefits, including when he 'slept' with a stubborn, selfish hunter so that he could hunt in the claimed territory. Even so, those plans had a problem since they had no preparation or risk mitigation, meaning that they could get out of control. I was always there to prevent such thing from happening, but without me...well, chaos happened.

I would usually be mad despite his good intentions, but I would let it slide if we managed to escape.

The syndicate members dispatched many of their berserker slaves, but this time with a twist. I noticed one of them got to a nearby slave and then, without skipping a beat, they blew up, taking a whole lot of the slaves and townspeople with him. I was, of course, shocked by this and was furious. It was such an undignified death, and clearly not something that any sane person would do. It could only be done by someone or a group who disregarded the lives of people and considered them assets.

I was so angry and, as Astha pointed out, intimidated when I stopped and turned around to face the syndicate members who walked with their guards, smiling smugly towards us. They knew this act would test my patience and even my conscience to the point that it would cause me to make mistakes. If it wasn't for Kilkaja (again) approaching me and stood by me, I would rush at them and met a certain end.

"I know your anger," said Kilkaja, grabbing my shoulder.

"Don't try and stop me, Kilkaja," I said, full of anger.

"I won't," he said. He then turned towards the Syndicate member and, making use of his telekinesis, took a gun from one of the syndicate member's holster and mimicked pulling a trigger. The energy gun he took control also discharged and hit said member point blank, killing him instantly. Without delay, he shot the next member and hit him square in the chest. The rest tried to retaliate, but gunshots from a different source finished them.

The violence was something I did not expect from Kilkaja, who only looked at me with his four eyes and said, "I won't stop you, so I'll make it quick."

I sighed and turned around. Sel, now in a relatively safe place, aiming at the members and their guards. Astha and Shennesi were nowhere to be found.

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"Sel!" I shouted. "Where's Astha?"

"I sent him to find us transport!" she shouted back. "We need to keep them busy!"

I nodded just as I turned to see Kilkaja being thrown away by yet another telekinetic attack. One of the Red Arramers was a female Nuoevan who clearly was more adept in telekinesis compared to Kilkaja. She was the only one left standing with the rest of the members already dead or injured. She also specifically attacked my brain, knowing that a Felinian and a Nuoevan were immune to psychic attacks. My head was wracked with such great pain that I could not bear to stand. I even noticed that my arm, the one with the wrist gun, was slowly moving towards a position to shoot my head if it wasn't for Kilkaja breaking the Nuoevan's concentration with a direct attack, one that the Nuoevan dodged.

"I don't know who you are or who you work for," she said as she recovered from Kilkaja's attack. "But you have painted a target on your back. No one kill members of the Red Arramers without consequences. That being said...you don't even know who the Red Arramers are, do you?"

"Who cares about all that?" said Kilkaja. "We're here to find our friend. Anyone who's against us are our enemies."

"I suggest you don't provoke the other members for such a trivial thing, Nuoevan," said the female Nuoevan. "They will not like something as simple as that."

"So?"

"Do not act like a child, Nuoevan. I know you're still a naïve when it comes to the dealings of this galaxy, given that you're a former slave. One cannot mistake those scars around your neck. They will forever remind you of who you were."

"Yes, they will, and also when I was finally freed from it," said Kilkaja. "If you have that kind of courage, then you should do it, too. I know you can."

"You don't know me," said the female Nuoevan.

"How about if I knock some sense into you, then? It's what I'm good at."

"You can always try. But unfortunately..."

Just as she said that, there was a very strong telekinetic force that started to push Kilkaja. He managed to stand his ground, but I knew he was straining, and he was being pushed back. I could practically hear the screeches of his hooves on the lightly paved road

Despite Kilkaja's efforts, the Nuoevan he fought clearly had more control and force of her psychic power, especially when powered by the suffering all around us. Kilkaja tried his best to fight back using the same pool of suffering, but he was hopelessly outmatched. Sel tried to shoot the Nuoevan, but the telekinetic force stopped the energy shot midair and even dissipating it.

"You are untrained," she said. "You may have used the suffering around you, but you cannot extract more of it. It's a matter of limits, kid."

I need to help him, I thought. He was losing and without support, he would not be able to hold on and would lose. I found myself capable of moving due to the Nuoevan focusing her telekinetic blast on Kilkaja, and along with it, I found the trick she used.

Kilkaja and the Nuoevan might as well be similar in psychic strength, but the Nuoevan had a better control on her telekinesis compared to Kilkaja. She focused her attack on a small point while keeping herself shielded from harm. But as she concentrated on her attack, her shield was not strong enough, meaning that if she was being ambushed, she might not be able to switch fast enough.

But there was a fatal error in that reasoning. I did not know how good Nuoevans were in term of psychic abilities, but I clearly underestimated her and to an extent, Kilkaja. I would end up getting myself killed since the Nuoevan could clearly see me and she could simply telekinetically throw something towards me from my blind spot and incapacitate or even kill me. She was in control of the battlefield. I could even visualize many different scenarios where she could kill me and still retain her struggle against Kilkaja

But, the Nuoevan was not the only one who knew their strength.

"Yes," said Kilkaja with a considerable strain. "I admit I'm a novice in term of strength, but I have been faced with so many perils in this travel that I know what it feels like to be desperate!"

To my surprise, Kilkaja let go of his telekinesis and dodge. It wasn't enough to dodge the full strength of the female Nuoevan's blast completely as it hit his left shoulder. I could hear something dislocating as he screamed in pain and shed tears. Having your shoulder dislocated could be painful, and it was even more painful putting it back. I had experienced that too many times to the point I was rather...numb from it.

But I could imagine how it felt for someone who never felt it before. The pain could be overwhelming, and Kilkaja showed it. However, he braced it while gritting his sharp teeth and in a split second when the Nuoevan was still recovering from the feint, Kilkaja used his free hand and pulled a stake from the ground, all the while running and yelling towards her. Kilkaja rammed the metal stake through the Nuoevan's shoulder and pushed her down with all his weight. The pain also broke her concentration, though she managed to sneak in a well-place telekinetic blast to Kilkaja's stomach, causing the lanky Nuoevan to cough out blood.

The fight was over the moment both of them stared at each other, each unable to continue fighting. For an alien race with such lithe physique and overreliance of psychic abilities, the physical pain must've been too distracting.

"You...charged at me," said the Nuoevan as I approached the two. She looked very surprised and grimacing in pain. "You really did. Nuoevans do not do that."

"It's a bad idea," said Kilkaja while trying to endure the pain on both his abdomen and his shoulder. He was crying because of them. "But I'm willing...to do it."

"A plan out of desperation, huh? You are clearly not like any Nuoevans I know, ex-slave or not. But don't you even think, even for once, that you're digging your own grave? I have trained myself to use psychic abilities even in tremendous pain and..."

That was when I saw Kilkaja grabbing the female Nuoevan's head and whispered something in her before his head slumped to his side. I panicked, thinking that the desperate attempt was too much for him, only to find that he passed out due to the pain and exhaustion.

I did not know about that, though, so I was ready to finish the Nuoevan off when she said, "Don't bother. I give up."

I was surprised by this declaration, even saying, "What?"

"Even if I did finish you all, I'm already dead, anyway. I survived while my fellow Red Arramers died." She then moved Kilkaja aside and ripped off a logo on her shirt that I presumed to be a Red Arramer and threw it to some rubbles.

"You think they'll be tricked by that?" I asked, thinking that she was planning to fake her death.

"No, but it will delay them," said the Nuoevan. "And your little troublemaking gave me an opportunity then be freed from them, so make haste."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You blew the slaves up and now claimed you joined us? We are not going to take a cold-blooded murderer into our ship, especially one as dangerous as a Nuoevan!"

"I can say that it's not my call and I never pushed the button. Still guilty, regardless, but my hands are not stained today. Besides, you need someone to guide you out of Red Arramer's territory."

"You can't just push yourself into our crew like that!"

"Or you can just let me go and risk getting yourself shot by reinforcements."

"I can just kill you right here and now."

"Between my psychic and your wrist-gun, which is faster? I can kill you before I drop dead, so either we get along or we both die."

I wasn't sure if she was bluffing or not. Damn it! This was the reason why I needed Astha. He could make a snap decision because his mindset would be 'do it and think about it later'. It may sound like a bad mindset, but in many cases, it worked.

Luckily, Sel approached us. She heard the Nuoevan's proposal and took an alternative by showing her a dampening collar she somehow had.

"If we want to get along, then wear this and get going," said Sel. "Don't argue."

"Well...if you say so...," said the Nuoevan as she reluctantly put the dampening collar around her neck. I noticed the scars on her neck, too, meaning that she had a bad memory with the collars just as Kilkaja did. I could argue, but we did not have such luxury.

"Take us to your ship," said Sel, pointing her gun at her. "Now."

"Follow me," said the Nuoevan. Her tone was clearly that of defeat and disgust, clearly from Sel forcing her to put a slave collar.

We both nodded as I took Kilkaja's unconscious and injured body and slung him on my back.

We ran towards the landing pad area and rendezvoused with Astha and Shennesi. They wondered what happened to us and what happened to Kilkaja, to which I told them the short version of events. Astha himself did not bother asking about the Nuoevan we got in tow, but he did give us some updates.

"Well, the bad news is, we can't find a good ship to escape this planet with," said Astha. "All of them were heavily guarded. No civvy ship, either."

"And the good news?"

We heard an explosion from somewhere right of our position. I turned and saw Astha's ship burst out in flames.

"We got another distraction," said Astha. "Rigged my ship and another to blow up."

"Wait, what if..."

"My ship's this way," said the Nuoevan as she directed us to a different white ship of Nuoevan design. "It's a bit cramped compared to that ship you used, though, so don't complain."

"No, we won't," I said. "Unless you do first."

She scoffed and silently directed us to the bird-like ship, now unguarded since the guards were directed towards a much bigger explosion near where Astha's ship were.

We clearly did not have any way to complain about this whole event, knowing that whatever happened now would be trusting our enemy not to screw us over. This whole thing was too risky and she clearly was not trustworthy enough.

Even worse, no one I really trusted could pilot a Nuoevan ship, not even our unconscious Nuoevan friend.