\| Divided Paths |/ - Chapt. 3 - Resolute - Biome (IC)

Survivor was staring at the smoke from the downed ship for a bit to long. A small creature walked up and attempted to bite his non-robotic leg only to meet the tough exoskeleton and breaking its teeth. Survivor heard the crunch and looked down at the creature. He moved his robotic fingers then.

"You poor thing..." He said as he grabbed a pistol with his other hand then shot it in the head with a rather loud gunshot. "Your in a better place now."

A bush shakes behind him then and a much bigger version on the creature charges out. Survivor flips over it while grabbing his assault rifle. When he hits the ground Survivor unloads into the beast causing it to fall to the ground.

Well I guess I found my dinner. Though I've never seen a creature like this. Long legs, sharp teeth, and a horn to impale targets. A beast like this could survive on Xion. Now that I think about it I better not eat these. Their meat might be poisonous to me. Hmm I wonder if that ship that crashed has rations. Cause mine will only last me a couple of days. And who knows how long night day or night is on this planet.

Survivor walked back to his ship then and went in side to make sure he had ammo for a long trip.

Ravage looked up at a large, smoldering plume of smoke, which came from the engines of the gigantic ship that had crashed, “We came to gather supplies, since this looked like a good place to collect food and water. From space, it looks like a normal planet capable of supporting life, but as it turns out, it’s equipped with a faulty gravity beam that stops its pull mid-way through.” She said, looking at Krevozs, “Smaller ships can overcome their momentum and make a safe landing, but their engines wind up so damaged that they’d rattle apart trying to re-enter space. Larger ships can soften the landing, but in the end, their momentum is too great and they impact anyway.”

Xenos whined, and pawed the ground, waiting for Ravage to give him a command. He didn’t like the turn of events, but regardless, remained standing where he was, waiting for something to happen, as Ravage continued to speak, “I know just about as much regarding this planet as you do, but from what one of my companions just said, nothing here is a native species. They’re from some other world, so someone has been messing with this planet’s ecosystem. We doubt they’re friendly, whoever they are.” Xenos knew she was refraining from saying they were dependents or children. Never let an enemy know that you were protecting children.

From behind one wing, the strange, high-pitched giggle came again, “Either way, we can’t leave this jenggui planet until we disable the gravity beam.” There was more, eerily joyful laughter, before being followed words that sounded forebodingly dark, “There’s hunters on this planet. Hope everyone likes fighting wild beasts, or we’re jenggui dead!”

The brief period of sibling affection was broken by the sound of unearthly screeching and gunfire. A quick search of the surrounding area yielded the corpses of two horned beasts, one juvenile and one adult, but not their killer. Slightly on edge the Xenoqqi went back to the task at hand, Ifka and Braaj heading the two groups that would search the ship individually.

For Ifka the search was not fruitful. Many areas of Great Glutton had completely collapsed, burying crewmen and important supply stores completely. Everywhere the party looked there were the bodies of the dead and near-dead, the stink of Xenoqqi blood permeating the air around them. Ifka ordered the dying to be euthanised and those that could be moved were taken out to be identified. The more messy cadavers were avoided.

The area of worst effect was the medbay. Or more accurately the pile of rubble where the medbay had once been, buried along with its occupants under the above floor. A brief search of the area came up with several dented medical supply canisters, so it was deemed not a total loss.

Gorth was eventually found unconscious inside the wrecked form of his Thresher. The radiation leak had died down relatively quickly and so he was hastily retrieved before both him and his rescuers were blasted in anti-rad foam. His hasty inquiry into the whereabouts of the armoured intruder was met with uncertainty. Apparently the trespasser had vanished in the events of the crash and now was assumed dead.

Ifka hoped Braaj's team would be more successful.

________________________________________________________________________

673 looked up from his latest meal as the shots rang out across the canopy. Ever since the giant chunk of metal had fallen and interrupted his hunting, the Hithe had been on edge, tense like a wound up spring. 673's eyes darted from tree to tree as his nostril slits flared, bringing in more unfamiliar scents. Normally an animal would be cautious in a situation like this, but 673 instead grinned as a small thought trickled its way through his narrow mind: possible danger meant possible conflict, and he liked fighting.

Without much more consideration 673 scooped up the chewed corpse in his jaws and knuckled off at speed towards the plume of smoke on the horizon, his bone armour rattling as he bounded through the forest.

Survivor left his ship in time to see unknown aliens move away from the two corpses he left. Curious Survivor quickly jumped into the trees and followed them all the way back to their crashed ship. Staying hidden in the leaves he pulled out his sniper rifle and watched them trough the scope.

Guess I was wrong about where it would crash. Hopefully these....things are not very perceptive and wont notice me. My natural camouflage doesn't work in these green leaves. If they did notice me though. They would have a tough time catching me.

"I found some kind of beast, or really, it found me, a ways back from here. It was severely wounded, and I can't help but notice your own injury, Ravage..." He paused, studying Xenos for a moment, and then looked back up at its master. "You wouldn't have had anything to do with the state I found it in, would you?" He glared at her for a moment, before abruptly shifting the subject of conversation.

"These trees are too flimsy to climb," He said, gesturing to the ambient forest. "And I think that your own ship must be nearby, so I must ask a small favor of you. I need to climb to the top of it to get sense of direction. I will be returning to the crashed vessel which must be very far from here by now... Unless you can point me to an appropriately sized rock, or hillock." In truth, Krevozs could have backtracked and found his own way back to the Forge Hulk, but he wanted to judge the condition of Ravage's ship, incase he needed it later. To him, this conversation was a prime opportunity.

He paused again, and looked down at one of the cybernetic implants on his left forearm. Then he looked back to Ravage. "If you're still suspicious of me, I can't blame you, but if we can drop any false... neutrality, I would point out that you outnumber me, at least two to one, depending on the ability of your... companion?"

Ravage's tail twitched faintly, and she tilted her head to one side. It wasn't that hard to figure out that Krevozs had been on that large ship that had crashed; he had almost confessed it. Unfortunately, Ravage had seen the plume of smoke from her ship, and it wasn't hard to figure out that it would take a miracle to make it space-worthy again. If Krevozs wasn't able to leave on that ship, he needed a different way of getting off of the planet. She also knew that if she wasn’t careful, Krevozs would probably try to steal her own ship in order to get off of the planet, leaving her, Rune, and Querois to fend for themselves. She didn’t know if Krevozs was still kind to children or not, but regardless, she didn’t want to become involved in a conflict with him, if there were other threats on the planet.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, Ravage knew that her ship was badly damaged, and was in no condition to leave the planet, or even leave the ground; it was probably safe to let Krevozs see for himself that she had no means of helping him off the planet unless it was on her own terms. Still moving with a fashion that suggested she half-expected him to attack her, she nodded over to a spot where behind some trees, something gleaming and black seemed to shimmer in and out of reality, like a mirage, though there were no wavering lines to indicate that it was an illusion. “My ship is over there, go ahead and look.” She said.

It was obvious from her expression that she knew what Krevozs was really interested in seeing, as she lowered her patterned wings to reveal Rune and Querois hiding behind them, clearly not adults, but children. “So we don’t have to hide behind the wings anymore? Oh! A Jorro’kil! I’ve never seen one in person before!” Querois exclaimed, his eyes lighting up, as his black tentacles twisted around the other side of Xenos’ back.

Rune, who had been so quiet one wouldn’t even have been aware that he was a person to take into account, simply stared at Krevozs with large, dark eyes, faintly framed by gold irises. Krevozs had last been aware that Krylonians, at the time the only kind of Chimerosu to exist, were nearly extinct. He was not aware that new groups had been discovered, and that Rune was a hybrid of two kinds that came from a single planet. Crouching with a distinct hunch on the back of Xenos’ saddle, Rune folded his arms for a brief moment, before quickly ducking behind Ravage’s back again.

As Survivor was watching the fallen ship and its remaining crew, someone was watching him. A small spherical robot, about a size of an adult's fist was standing on a branch with its five spidery legs, dozen feet away from the survivor. It was slightly mimicking the surrounding colours, making it hard to spot in the dim undergrowth. It zoomed in and out with its one camera-eye.

Similar robot was climbing up one of the curled up trees bordering the small clearing Ravage's ship was landed. Slowly it made it's way up to a branch about ten feet from ground. As it sweeped around with its camera, it's lens hit a lone beam of light, making a small glint of light from amongst the dark green leaves.

In the wake of the Metan War, many Ryun came to a collective yet rather surreptitious conclusion - Their species had become inferior to the Wreae. Their robotic creations were faster, stronger, and more efficient than the Ryun. They did away with emotional drives entirely, a feature that some believed made the Ryun a risk to society. Studies at the time showed that Wreae production would soon overcome the rate of birth, erasing the notion that the Ryun could remain a dominant species. Inspired by fears of the Federation being overcome completely by machines, a former Grand Admiral named Vasorin who had recently been recruited to the Alicor Corporation proposed Project Predator's Solace. Twenty Ryun subjects were to be in it, genetically altered before birth and biologically augmented afterwards. The company's most expensive project was proposed with the idea of making the perfect soldier, but internally it was meant to create a superior Ryun, a future for their species. The project gained increased funding with the discovery of other species. Some board members of the corporation believed the project to be born out of xenophobia, but Vasorin dismissed this, simply stating that he wished for their to be equality within their society and within the interstellar one for the Ryun. Netheun was the last subject to be in Project Predator's Solace. He was not treated the same as the other subjects, Ryun whom he grew to know not only as fellow soldiers, but as friends. He was given more difficult tasks, his training more intensive, and was not pampered, but subject to more harsh conditions. When the executives of the Alicor Corporation swept through the training grounds to look upon their newest tools of war, he had always noticed that Vasorin looked upon him with a different gaze than the others. It was more studious and interested, but there was a certain air of pride about Vasorin's one functioning eye. He could never figure out the reason behind it.

Now, he knew.

It was with this same gaze that Vasorin greeted Netheun in his office, a chamber that had the appearance of a very simple room. The black, metal, hexagonal floor tiles allowed for its furnishing, such as Vasorin's desk (which he currently stood behind), to be available at any time, rising up out of the ground. A large window was at the back of it, displaying the glory of Ganna. Warm yet cutting words flowed out of Vasorin's mouth as he looked with strange deliberation upon his son.

"What do you have to report?"

Netheun took several deep, calm breaths, but then allowed his confusion and rage to be known. "Why didn't you tell me?" He shouted, his voice echoing several times within the chamber. Vasorin tilted his head slightly in response, confused. "Sir, please. You know perfectly well what I am referring to." His voice was quieter, more tranquil now, but his anger could still be inferred.

"I didn't tell you so I could protect you, Netheun." Vasorin responded simply, his tone completely neutral and unchanging. It was as if he felt nothing at the time, his emotions erased by some destructive mental process.

"Protect me from what?" Netheun asked, taking a step forward, and realizing for the first time how much larger he was than his father, due to his alterations. "Look at what you have done to me. What would you possibly need to protect me that you’re willing to go so far as to hide the fact that you’re my father?"

Vasorin stared forward, past Netheun, as if he were gazing into infinite nothingness. He began reciting words that he had convinced himself were true long ago. “Protect you from our greatest weakness. The ultimate fault of organic lifeforms is irrationality and emotions. By removing you from all variables that would enkindle those traits, I coul-”

“Don’t give me that delusional idealism!” Netheun yelled, slamming his armored hands on the desk. Vasorin seemed to snap back to reality at the sound of metal colliding, flinching. Netheun sighed, clearly exasperated with his father.. “Look, this bickering is not why I came here. I figured out what the Alkisuns are planning… sir.”

Vasorin leaned forward, eye widening with interest. “What would that be?” Netheun told him, and the other Ryun stepped back in shock before shaking his head in doubt. “It’s not possible for them to do such a thing. The Alkisuns don’t have enough resources.”

“Isn’t the attempt what matters?” Netheun argued, folding his arms. “Even if they don’t ultimately succeed, they’ll have done a lot of damage in the process. The Confederacy needs to be prepared… Getting caught off guard will only make matters worse.”

Vasorin stood there for a while with his back turned to his son, thinking over everything Netheun had just explained to him. He observed the landscape of Ieegar, and came to a realization. He was in control of the Federation, and his purpose at that position was to care for and protect its property and citizens at all costs. The same could be said for the alliance the Federation stood for. Out of his window, Vasorin could see the Confederate races going about their business in the capital of the organization. Jorro’kil, Ryun, Wreae, Krathunians, Markovans, UFIAI machines, and Xikarians. All of these races were part of one entity, and had responsibility to each other. Just as Vasorin needed to be the guardian of his own people, he needed to be that of the entire Confederacy. Eventually, he turned back to Netheun, a glint in his eye. He was about to speak, when a hologram interface opened on the surface of this desk. He stared at it, as if surprised, before looked back up at Netheun. "An attempt was made on Emperor Xonoc's life about twenty minutes ago," He announced, shock in his voice.

"What?" Netheun asked incredulously, not believing what he had heard.

"We need to prepare the fleets, Netheun."

_____________________________________________________

Pain.

Metal claws lightly dragged across the tender surface of a wound, then held up in the cold, bitter air. Blood dripped down the arm, through the ridges and intricate details in the armoring, and onto the red soaked snow. The hand fell down upon the wound once more, and it was smaller. The area of the injury vibrated ever so slightly. The bodily repair nanobots within Relthar’s body worked quite well. Eventually, the wound created by Netheun’s sword had disappeared, and Relthar slowly picked himself up, droplets of deep red blood flowing down his body. Even though the machines had fixed any damage done, he had lost a lot of bodily fluids. Lightheaded, he looked upon what remained of his men.

Disgraceful. Dishonorable. All of them… All of us.

A small, weak voice cried out for help among the white field of Alkisun corpses. Relthar could feel the blood pumping throughout his body, clouding his thoughts, as he stumbled towards the source. He stopped, coughing up blood, splattering upon trampled snow. The blade had done more damage than he thought. It didn’t matter to him - The nanobots would act upon it.

Weakness is not an option. Endure it.

Relthar slowly came upon the Krathunian whose feeble voice had reached him. His eyes quickly observed the Alkisun. A slash across his torso, violently tearing through metal and flesh, the ground about it drenched with gore. The Krathunian’s breaths were shallow, and raspy. He gasped, grasping at the air in Relthar’s direction with a bloodied gauntlet.

What could he possibly have to say to me? Nothing will fix what has been written by time.

“He was… too much, too… fast… Couldn’t… stop him,” He rasped, blood dried around his mouth. “Please… forgive… help me…” Relthar was silent as he knelt, grabbing his comrade’s pistol, and directing it between the soldier’s eyes. A single shot echoed throughout the mountains - A sound that was quickly drowned out by the deep hum of a spaceships. Five black vessels descended, the snow whipped up around them as they came to a stop near Relthar. He stood, holding the firearm down at a neutral position, as Alkisun troops streamed out of the ships like a river, forking in its path around Relthar. Silus stepped out of one, directly approaching his second in command.

Relthar held his head down in shame. “I have failed you, sir. I deserve a most dishonorable death,” He whispered, closing his eyes. “At your command, I will fire, and join the spirits in Lievya.”

“Honor doesn’t exist, Relthar.” Silus forced the pistol from the other Krathunian’s grip, dropping it to the ground, and smashing it under his foot with immense force.

“Even so…” Relthar suddenly jerked his head upwards, staring into Silus’ eyes with a fiery gaze. “I vow to bring that Ryun to Yvarkag, even if it means that I am also devoured by hell. I will not rest. I will not stop until my revenge has been realized - Netheun's corpse among the others whom I have slayed.”

A slight smile crept to Silus’ face. “Go, then.”

Braaj squinted in the sunlight as he guided his troupe of soldiers from Great Glutton's wreck, the battered twin APC's trundling behind on their small insectoid legs. Their search had led them to the Forge Hulks armoury where several engineers alongside a sizable cache of weaponry where found to be unscathed. The battlesuits held in the same area however were trashed and there was no sign of the individuals that had been wearing the others during the search for the intruder.

The intruder himself was missing according to a Field Commander that called herself Marrith, her recount of events describing him falling out through a hole in the hull shortly before Great Glutton had made contact with the ground. The trespasser's ship was also said to have been completely buried, alongside the group of engineers Marrith had accompanied to retrieve it. Also taking into account the confirmation that the Drone Control Hub had detonated rendering every automated machine onboard useless, things looked grim.

However as Braaj looked out over the clearing the sight of the small encampment that had quickly sprung up over the past hour brightened his mood, reminding him of the Xenoqqi's resourcefulness in dire times. Reassured, he made his way towards the camp, looking over the unfamiliar canopy as he went.

As quick as it came Braaj's smile dropped as the forest backdrop shifted, blurring as something unseen moved forward. Words of warning petered out with his stutter, but the mirage made itself known, dropping its camouflage to reveal a twisted tripod creature that stared with pale unblinking eyes. A brief moment of shock gave way to unthinking terror as the camp scattered.

The beast stalked after them with uncanny silence, its three stilt-like legs moving with grace as barbed tendrils lashed out at the screaming crowd. Those that could flee scattered, intent on putting as much distance between them and the ambush predator, all thoughts of helpless kin forgotten. The injured also made their best to crawl away, but they were quickly bound up and skewered on the monster's crown of spines as it passed them, apparently focused on the main group.

"T-to the Forg-ge Hulk!" Braaj shouted over the din, waving the crowd over away from the ravenous horror. Most obeyed, quickly taking shelter in their ships ruined shadow. A few others ran into the forest, some picked off by the creature as they ran past it in panic. With the workers now out of the way, a swift arm motion and a barked command, Ifka rallied her remaining troops to stand against the predator. A quick volley of plasma shots pierced its lumpy hide, the creature collapsing without a sound apart from the brittle snap of its legs breaking from the impact.

Ifka walked over and spat on the steaming corpse, giving it a kick for good measure before turning back to where Braaj stood in front of Great Glutton.

"Please tell me those APC's are full of guns brother".

Braaj looked back at the vehicles before answering. "Y-yes?".

"Thank Harkt for that".


((Feel free to kidnap one of the Xenoqqi that ran into the forest Alimnation, this seemed a better idea than nabbing one that just needed the loo))

Krevozs said nothing in response, and mosied over to where Ravage's Stealth Strider was parked. He occasionally looked back at Ravage and Xenos; this was partly a reflex, and partly conscious caution.

Upon arrival at the craft, he did as he said and managed to, with a leap and grapple, get atop the hull. From his vantage point, he was struck by the ambient glow of an alien sun, and the dull glimmer of leaves in the surrounding canopy. He had, as he hoped, a good view of the massive Forge Hulk, and now an albeit meager sense of direction. He looked down at the ship on which he stood, and determined that it was indeed not suitable for escape. There were some very abnormal depressions in the hull, and what appeared to be the formation of tears.

Content with his observations, he jumped off of Ravage's Stealth Strider, and began to walk off in the direction of the Forge Hulk.

He said nothing to Ravage or the others as he left. He did not intend to let her escape the planet alive, but he would first need supplies from the Xenoqqi ship.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

As the Emperor and his escorts disappeared into the belly of the hovering parade craft, soldiers clad in bright, silver armor immediately stepped forth from among the crowds on the  buildings where the crowds had their seats. They acted to disperse panic and sort through potential candidates for the assault on the Emperor's life, and a special medical team was quickly dispatched to collect the she-kil who had been wounded by the shot.

Meanwhile, military dropships appeared very shortly after the attempt. Some hovered close to the ground, whereas others maintained a watch in the sky. Those that descended let off several squads of troopers, who hurried to establish a perimeter and set up particle field generators, so as to ensure the Emperor's safe departure from the parade site in a specially prepared shuttle that arrived within minutes of the others. It looked identical to the other dropships, but had a special ability which it would soon employ.

Most of the civilians were being escorted from their seats and checked for weapons, so few were left to observe the two Zealots and Emperor Xonoc depart from the parade float via a frontal ramp. Visual contact was further obscured by the waves of bright energy washing over the established safety perimeter, due to the activation of enhanced particle shielding. Both Zealots were at the Emperor's side as he was escorted into the prepared shuttle. After they boarded, the entrance doors sealed shut, and the shuttle ascended until it was three quarters of the way up to the skyline. From here, it steadily but hurriedly left the area, and abruptly disappeared. This particular shuttle was equipped with active camouflage. Two other dropships followed it loosely from a distance, as they shared a GPS link with it. Satellites in orbit around Irooscin followed all three very precisely. Meanwhile, a heated conversation was being carried on between the occupants of the shuttlecraft.

"Who could have possibly sneaked a weapon in? Security is airtight, and it gets tighter every parade. Unless-"

"Unless we have a traitor in our midst." Xej finished Zjer's sentence. "But who? And why now?"

"I suppose that remains to be seen." Zjer said. Xej looked downcast, and he stared at the floor for a moment, before returning his attention to Emperor Xonoc. "My Emperor, are you sure you are unhurt?"

Xonoc, though slightly dazed, gave Xej a look of tired appreciation. "Yes, Therus, I am perfectly well. You've already asked me five times, and my answer remains the same." He raised his arms in a wide gesture. "But, I cannot chastise you for doing what you rightly ought to. Nevertheless, our focus should be on finding the perpetrator and..."

"Yes, your majesty?" Xej replied.

"I thought I heard.. a scream, sharp and shrill, from the crowd just after the shot."

"My Emperor, with every due respect, there was a disturbed murmur from among all of the crowd. It would be hard to distinguish a single cry." Zjer said.

"Perhaps," was Xonoc's answer.

One of the other soldiers in the shuttle, an elite guard clad in gold and lavender ceremonial armor, addressed the three in a very polite tone, and informed them of the incoming reports on the Absolute News Network.

"Sirs, my Emperor, it might be beneficial to see the news reports."

Xonoc delayed his response slightly, and replied, "Yes. I think that would be helpful. Turn on the monitor." In response, the guard immediately reached over to one of the monitors positioned on an adjacent wall, and turned it on to the appropriate channel. The reports consisted mostly of what Xej, Xonoc and Zjer already knew, but one thing came as a shock.

The she-kil who had been hit by the sniper fire that missed Xonoc was Resa Therus, Xej Therus's niece.

As soon as Krevozs had disappeared, far enough that he would be out of earshot, Ravage quickly got off of Xenos’ back and began tightening the straps that kept his saddle firmly in place, making sure it would not slip. “Rune, Querois, we need to hurry and get off of this planet as quickly as possible. We need to disable that gravity beam, and repair the Stealth Strider. Forget cosmetic details, we have to get it flying and get away from here.” She said, before using her one good arm to hop back on, and ordering the spiromander to take off in the opposite direction of the one that the super-soldier Jorro'kil had gone in. When Xenos had gone far enough, she made him back track, go in another direction, and, using the trailing smoke from the crashed ship to determine where to go, finally began moving towards the gravity beam. Krevozs had a strong sense of smell, like her, so she needed to make sure that he was occupied, at least for a time; hopefully, he would follow her path before heading towards the same destination.

"Ravage, who was that person? You know him from somewhere." Rune said, asking her as he tightly clung to Xenos' saddle. When she did not respond, he asked her again, "Who was that alien, the Jorro'kil?" He repeated, this time, his voice raised to a somewhat higher volume.

"Now is not the time to interrogate me, Rune!" She snapped, as they charged through the trees.

"Why are we running!?" Rune shouted, the debate escalating.

"Enough! I will tell you when we have time!"

Survivor laughed silently to himself. The aliens scattered like a bunch of recruits during the Terrors. He noticed a lone one running near his tree. So Survivor jumped down and grabbed the alien with his good arm and moved the robotic fingers of the other.

"Hello there Xenoform. I've got some questions that I am going to enjoy ripping from you." He said as he then jumped back up into the tree holding the lone runner.

When he landed in the tree Survivor slammed the runner into the tree and moved his robotic fingers again.

"Now what are you and who are you? And don't play games trust me you don't want to play games with me."

Assistant engineer Yystir sprinted through the forest, her heart racing as she struggled to keep her mind off how she had left her superior officer face down in the dirt. By how far she had run, the beast was thankfully far behind.

Feeling slightly safer, Yystir slowed to a jog and started to look at her environment. Massive trees rose into the sky, while the ground was coated in smaller plants of every shape. For a person used to post-urban industrial sprawl, the forest unnerved her. So focused on the unfamiliarity of her surroundings, Yystir didn't notice when the Xliveien dropped down from above.

Before she could react her armoured attacker had grabbed her and bounded back into the tree, snarling something in his guttural language that Yystir did not recognise before slamming her back against the trunk. Yystir could feel several ribs cracking as she coughed up some azure blood.

The attacker spoke again in his unintelligible dialect. Feebly struggling against the Xliveien's vice-like grip, Yystir pawed at where her pistol would normally be but found nothing. Turning her head slightly she blurrily saw the firearm laying on the forest floor, already being dragged into the petals of some plant by its tentacle like vines. Unable to stay awake due to trauma, Yystir slipped unconscious, the luminous organs on her arms dimming.

Survivor sighed a bit as he slung the alien over his shoulder. He looked down at the ground below to see if it was clear. He jumped down and sat the Xenoqqi against the tree.

I guess I went a bit over board. Might as well stay here and make sure someone comes to get them. No one deserves to die in their sleep.

Survivor then grabbed a stone off the ground and pulled out his sword and started to sharpen it. He needed it sharp for any wild animals that wanted to play.

Braaj's haul had left the remaining Xenoqqi armed to the teeth, but Ifka disliked the idea of mere wiring technicians and the like running around with ballistic weaponry and very little training. In addition the small amount of data cores retrieved intact from Great Glutton did not cover the armoury index, so Ifka, Gorth and a small group of troopers had decided to test and note down what the more unique devices did.

The Xenoqqi Captain hefted the next weapon, the stock fitting snugly under her arm as she squinted down the telescopic sight. The gun was long and thin, terminating in two prongs that glowed with lilac light. After flipping a switch that read "STARTUP", the machine whined as it powered up, the light brightening even more so. Pointing the gun at a far off tree, Ifka pulled the trigger.

WHOMP.

Ifka and her retinue were left in a cloud of kicked up dust. After a brief period of coughing Gorth went to inspect the tree, or rather what was left of it.

"I must say, an excellent shot Captain. A clean slice straight through, I'd reckon it fires some sort of planar energy beam. Low temperature too somehow, hardly any burn marks so it must be hard light. I wonder how we managed to get hold of that kind of tech?".

Ifka raised an eyebrow before remembering Gorth's experience in the field. She held out the hard light gun to an attending soldier, who swapped it for a bulkier weapon that bristled with antennae. Inspecting the stocky barrel for possible defects, Ifka took a while to notice another Xenoqqi patiently standing to attention.

Turning to the newcomer, Ifka leant the gun against her shoulder casually. "Ah, yes. How's the foraging expedition going?".

The trooper saluted before speaking. "Badly, no-one wants to go in too deep into the forest...after that incident, Captain".

Ifka sighed. The encounter with the camouflaged tripod beast had caused some Xenoqqi to run off in their panic. Initially a team was to be put together in order to retrieve them, but that plan was cut short when one missing individual was found hanging upside down at the edge of the clearing, skinned and disemboweled. After that no-one wanted to go too far into the dark groves. Occasionally screams were still  heard off in the distance.

"Did we find anything edible anyway?".

The trooper shifted from one foot to the other. "There were some large fruit that the chemo-sensors said were safe to eat, but everyone's a little apprehensive over eating natural food. We're talking about people that live off paste from a tube and powdered fluids, after all".

Ifka rubbed her temples, sparking a small amount of pain from the dried wound. This would be a lot less difficult if it weren't for the fact that the Xenoqqi were completely out of their depth when it came to the outdoors. It didn't help that the tripod creature had effectively killed off most of the injured and several healthy Xenoqqi, leaving them with only 31, 12 of which were actively capable of defending the camp adeptly. Add in the fact that the processed food would eventually run out meant survival looked slim.

The trooper continued. "There were also these berries, but half of them turned out to be hollowed out and full of...bugs. One team member is dealing with a dozen bites right now, non harmful but he says the itching is driving him crazy".

"Valt'ath. At least we have a lot of anti-inflammatory salve by what I remember, he can use that. How about the thing that attacked us? Any edible parts?".

"No, totally toxic I'm afraid. We buried it as it started to smell".

"Well then, keep me updated if anything else catches your eye. I don't want to risk more casualties with a hunting trip, so meat is of the lowest priority".

The soldier saluted. "Of course, Captain".

________________________________________________________________________


673 trudged through the undergrowth, casually picking his teeth for leftover pieces of bone and skin. His destination had proved to be farther away than 673 had first thought and it wasn't long before he grew bored and took his mild frustration out on the many carnivorous plants that attempted to trip him up. However fighting things that stopped moving once he had uprooted and stomped on them a couple of times provided entertainment for only a short while and so 673 continued on his way, if a little more sticky from the encounter.

Survivor sighed after waiting an hour with no one showing up. He picked up the knocked out Xenoqqi and walked back to his ship and laid the Xenoqqi in his sick bay. Survivor then went to his storage area and looked for a translator that might work for his guest. Hopefully something worked.

After departing from Ravage's makeshift camp, Krevozs's pace was swift at first, but, although the ground was mostly even with relatively few natural obstructions, it covered a huge expanse, and so he decided to conserve his energy. He crossed several streams on the way, noting each one and wishing that he was able to place a digital marker on their locations. It was at the last of these that he encountered that he found several wild animals drinking. They odd, mammalian-looking creatures seemed to take no notice of him, and so he passed on undisturbed. Twenty minutes later, he came to the greatest depths of a clearing, and approached cautiously.

Having found a spare translator Survivor walk outside of his ship and was tinkering with it to make sure it worked. Out of the corner of his eye though he saw something move into the clearing. Survivor quickly jumped up into a tree and move around the clearing and jumped behind the stranger. Pulling out his gun Survivor pointed it at the stranger and moved his mechanical fingers carefully.

"Don't move and no one has to get hurt."

Krevozs looked upwards, and gave a look of dismay, before replying, "I hope you weren't intending to move, then." His combat blade jutted out to half its length, and crackled with electricity.

"Who are you, may I ask?" He asked. Normally he would have paced around his new acquaintance, but now he simply stood still, being completely unfamiliar with the tendencies of whoever this cyborg was.

Survivor stared at the intruder behind his guns iron sights. He slowly moved his mechanical fingers to speak.

"I am...." He hesitated not knowing weather to give his nickname or not. "I am General Salinex "The Survivor" Darnex. Most just call me Survivor. Who are you?"

A huge beam of light and distortion shot across the sky above the jungle. It stayed for couple of seconds before disappearing. Soon after a meteorite appeared to the sky, dragging a sizable curtain of flames behind it. It was the tractor beam, and it had shot from afar, from behind the horizon.

Elsewhere a lone operator was controlling the small spidery drones, peeking through their eyes. One drone was looking at the two strange, modified soldiers, both seemingly ready to jump and rip each other open at any second. The winged dragon-creature riding the huge beast with the minors was moving too fast for the drones, and had left the surveillance area. Well, the wall should slow them down enough. But then there were the ship and its surviving crew. The operator had several camera drones watching them. Already they had faced the wrath of the nature. They survived, but the operator didn't put too much hope for them, as the fighting probably had already gained other operators' notice.

Krevozs analyzed the situation quickly. He had two choices. Either let Survivor be, perhaps even work with him, or kill him now. His prey had the upper hand for now, but Krevozs's size and speed could quickly compensate for that. Deception, on the other hand, would have more long-term benefits. There were far too many variables to calculate. Krevozs didn't like to leave his prey in the dark about their ultimate fate, but it was sometimes necessary.

"I've never heard of you, and it is likely you likewise know nothing of me." Krevozs replied. "I am Krevozs, although Ilik'na is an acceptable title." He glanced towards the clearing in the forest, and the light seeping in from outside. "I'm going to that crashed ship. You don't look like you're very well off, in any case, or you wouldn't be here waiting for prey. You aren't scouting, or else you would have kept hidden, and I am too large an opponent for you to expect to be able to bring back to whatever camp you may have very easily. I would, then, suggest a temporary partnership. I need supplies from the crashed ship, and you need... well, what do you need?" He asked.

Survivor calculated the chances of eventually being betrayed by this Krevoz and it was not good. But Survivor knew for a fact that it was easier to survive with other people than alone. Though he did not like how this Kervoz seemed to have an attitude among him.

"I need supplies. I have seen that ship and working together we could easily take its crew. So I agree we should work together. But I need to say one thing to you. I have killed things much bigger than you and I have seen things that your mind can't even imagine so if you even think for one second of double crossing me. Just know that my species is made to survive and we can be hard to kill. Especially me."

673 stared dumbly towards the heavens as the meteor arced overhead, burning bright before disappearing from view. Distraction now gone, the Hithe turned his attention to what had piqued his interest only minutes prior.

The air smelled faintly of blood. 673 was not a stranger to the scent, having caused a lot of it in some way or another during his time here. No, what interested him was how familiar yet strange to his nostrils this particular kind was, a confusing blend of nostalgia and foreignness.

673's dim intelligence struggled to work around the conundrum before dismissing it entirely in favour of simply following the smell as it was carried by the mild breeze. Knuckling down to all fours, the Hithe swung under a low lying branch before steadily increasing speed as he barreled across the forest floor, scattering foliage and dirt with each bound.

"Don't be so quick to judge me, mechanical mouth." Krevozs retorted. "Before we go to find our prey, there is something specific that I am looking for. My own small ship is aboard that crashed vessel. I'll need help locating it, so don't kill every one of those Xenoqqi things."

With that, his combat blade disappeared into his forearm implant, and he began to walk towards the clearing.

He wondered what Ravage was doing about now.