Starborn: Origin of the Stars

In the end, the scene turned out a little different from what she had expected.

Patience stood only a few meters behind her in a wide stance, both feet firmly planted onto the rocky ground. The Stalker was already in mid-jump when the woman struck in one fluid motion.

The moment fist and head connected, Alena heard a sickening crunch, then the Stalker flew past her and crashed into the ground. Only after ten meters did the beast stop skidding, its face an unrecognizable mess. Slowly, blood and brain matter began to pool under its corpse.

“Damn, what’s that fucker’s head made of?” Patience winced and rubbed her sore hand.

The women watched the blood slowly seep into the ground, coloring the brown dirt in a muddy dark red. Inspecting the battlefield, Alena found the two Stalkers that had avoided her lying dead on the ground, too. They weren’t a bloody mess like the other, but one looked like it had a twisted neck.

“I may have underestimated you…” Alena said, taking a metaphorical step back from her snarky remark.

“I know you think of me as useless baggage out here and while you’re not completely wrong, you look at it from a wrong perspective. I’m no mercenary, no soldier. I’m just a girl from the lower city. We don’t need guns, our problems are solved in a more direct and personal manner. I would like to claim that we fight less bloody and without the constant urge to go for the kill, but looking at that kitten over there…” Patience motioned at the corpse with the exploded head, “...yeah, I don’t see me winning that argument. The point is, weapons are made for war and I’m not. It’s not that I use the wrong means in such fights, it is the one sending me to the battlefield that uses the wrong person.”

“Sounds like some psycho shit you wanna sell me as an excuse for your poor shooting skills. However, I see your point, even if I disagree in some parts. I think we should postpone this longer discussion to a later date when alcohol is flowing and not blood. For now, we should put this to a halt and instead focus on finding out why the Hubble is coming here!” Alena said and pointed at the distant sky.

“Huh…” Patience grunted and searched the horizon with her eyes. It took only a moment before she, too, could see the approaching ship. While they waited, she turned to Alena once more.

“Don’t tell your brother about this…” She muttered and motioned at the mauled corpse.

Alena didn’t answer at first, not taking her eyes off the ship. Only when the Hubble finally came to a halt above them, did she give her a nod.

“He really likes you. Don’t mess this up, you hear me?”

***

While Happy tried to land the Hubble in a little chasm that would be their new hiding spot, Robin was in the hangar and did some last minute checks on the BWT drone. With everything they learned so far, they would be in dire need for a good scout.

After realizing that they weren’t the only ones on this supposedly godforsaken planet, he quickly ordered Sevastian to look for a new landing spot. It wasn’t easy to find a ship in this jungle, but with all the broadcasting they obviously had attracted unwanted attention. Niu assured him that they weren’t spotted yet, but the unknown ship should at least know by now that they have been in the region somewhere. That was why Sevastian searched for a new location where they could hide properly while Niu flew towards the plateau to establish contact with Landom.

When they arrived at the collapsed site they witnessed a rather bloody scene with Alena and Patience in the middle of it. Luckily they had managed to fend off the attack, but it was still disturbing to learn that their energy weapons would be much less useful than expected. If they had known earlier, they would have brought more ballistic guns, even if ammunition for those is a real pain in the ass.

“Landom apparently found clues hinting at an act of sabotage… Why would anyone try to mess with us out here? No one should know about this mission, as the human faction of the UAS kept a lid on everything concerning the monolith from others…” Robin mumbled and put the drone’s casing back in place.

The Hubble could only stay for a short moment out of fear to be found out. So, they got very little information from Landom and only managed to plan that the small team would head for the monolith first to observe the area while staying hidden from sight. The others would follow on foot and would need some time to reach the artifact.

“We are split up again…” He mumbled and fastened the last screws, “Burn in plasma, that sucks! Let’s hope this will work out better than the shitshow on Seavis.”

***

“Okay, is everyone ready? Any questions?” Robin asked when they all stood under the belly of the Hubble, well armed and dressed in their armored suits. As Landom wasn’t here, Sevastian was in charge of security and had everyone wear their helmets. He also conscripted Ang’Tue and Happy as defenders that used energy rifles. Robin had his pistol and Timothy didn’t get a weapon - they concluded that they were more afraid of friendly fire from him than anything the jungle could throw at them.

Therefore the researcher was carrying most of the sensible equipment they might need for the work on the monolith and Robin was in charge of ROMAS in his drone-form as the other thought of it.

“I still think it would have been better to meet up with the others first…” Happy muttered while she skillfully checked her rifle.

“And I do remember to have explained already that staying stationary and waiting for them until we found a hiding spot was too dangerous!” Sevastian said, nothing of his usual mischievous demeanor remained and instead he exuded an authoritarian aura. He knew about the high risks they were about to take and took his role and responsibility seriously.

“Let’s go, no need to dally any longer!” Robin said and motioned into the jungle.

From the ground and close up it was even more impressive than from the ship. The huge trees were an amazing sight and the uncontrolled growth of bushes and plants was so dense that visibility was quite reduced.

While Sevastian took the lead and Timothy was responsible for keeping them on track, Robin observed some of the smaller trees in more detail. Big spikes littered its whole trunk and even through his suit he realized how sharp they were. He also saw flowers that looked to be carnivorous and at one point he believed to have spotted a snake a bit higher up in the branches.

After walking for more than an hour through this green hell, the fateful moment finally arrived. Somehow Robin felt kind of relieved when they met their first Flat-Nosed Stalker. They were under so much mental pressure that it was good to be finally confronted with the beast.

Also, the situation was handled pretty well, which gave the group a bit more confidence. Happy and Ang’Tue both quickly fired as soon as the predator stepped out from behind a tree and when it began to stumble and slow down, Sevastian moved in for a physical fight. Patience had mentioned that it worked well for her and therefore he had put on a pair of heavy metallic gloves. However, he didn’t bring his shield because it was way too clunky for such nimble opponents and also too heavy to carry it through the jungle for hours.

With just three energy projectiles and a few well placed punches they quickly resolved the fight and hurried on.

They knew they got lucky with just one of the Stalkers coming at them, but it was a good test for the team. After another hour they once more met a single Stalker and this time Sevastian handled him completely on his own. He did get some scratches, but nothing that completely pierced his suit.

Four hours in on constant travel through the wild forest, Timothy was the first to ask for a break. The warm, damp weather combined with their armored suits and all the baggage they were carrying around took a toll on their endurance.

“How much longer?” He asked and dropped his big backpack. A bottle of water appeared in his hands and he hastily drank big gulps after taking off his helmet.

“Is this a version of the ‘Are we there yet?’ question kids use to terrorize your life?” Happy laughed and sat down next to Timothy.

Robin also took out his bottle and suppressed a grin. Niu definitely was at her limits, too. He saw her chest quickly rising up and down while she tried to suppress panting like the rest. Her face was a little flushed, too and she couldn’t hide her cutely reddened cheeks - even if Robin noticed the last detail only after he secretly threw some glances at her with the drone.

“Also, if I may…” Ang’Tue said and walked over, “Aren’t you in charge of guiding us? It’s a bit disturbing to think you wouldn’t know where we are and how much distance is left.”

“Ugh…” Timothy sighed theatrically, “We only have managed to do a bit more than one fourth of the way. The next sections should be a bit faster so… maybe 12 hours to go?”

There was a collective grumbling as no one was excited to be on this trip much longer. Mind you, the first hour or two were great. There was so much to see and experiencing the jungle first hand was something special.

It was special for about an hour, after that it turned into a really long, exhausting hike through a hostile and freaking hot environment.

“At least we could manage to fend off the Creepy Cats quite easily!” Niu gave a fake cheer.

“You…! Why do you have to raise a red flag now? Don’t you know anything?” Sevastian whined and threw his hands in the air.

Like that the break went on for another 15 minutes before the group continued the trip.

***

Ang’Tue was walking behind Sevastian for some time already, his mind now accustomed to the constant pressure of fear of a sudden attack.

Suddenly Timothy, the human responsible for research related topics, began to excitedly jump up.

“Yes baby!” He yelled, “Finally halfway there! When will we have the next break? My body is about to fall apart!”

It was a bit inappropriate to make so much noise out here in the jungle, but he could understand the man. It was a torture cross this forest. Sevastian stopped right after entering a small clearing and turned around to scold the troublemaker.

“Damnit, just shut up and keep quiet!” The bulky man hissed, but no one was really listening. The clearing was inviting them to a long break with time for proper food. Ang’Tue had to admit, he also was longing for a moment to rest.

Unfortunately, someone else was also hoping to get some food in this nice place. Three of the creatures called Stalkers rushed out of the undergrowth and headed their way. Robin managed to shout a warning, but Ang’Tue had already taken aim and fired at the first beast approaching. The projectile hit true and moments later another one hit its head and made it stumble. Not having time to compliment their pilot’s great shot, Ang’Tue aimed at the second beast while Sevastian knocked down the injured one before he jumped to intercept the last Stalker.

The loud shots of a pistol tore all jungle noises apart. A moment later, the beast that Ang’Tue and Happy were fighting broke down with two holes in its head.

“That went better than expected!” Robin said while they observed Sevastian who was wrestling with the last Stalker.

Before they could see how this fight would conclude, Timothy shouted an urgent warning with panic in his voice.

“Careful! There comes another one… a big on!”

Ang’Tue felt the differences even before his eyes registered them: This beast was of another breed. It was bigger than the other Stalkers by half at least and its leathery hide had a metallic sheen to it. With slow but steady steps it confidently walked to the middle of the clearing. It only watched as Sevastian slowly suppressed one of its kind and didn’t make any attempts to intervene. Its eyes however showed a pure and wild rage, like a volcano that was about to explode.

Suddenly, an energy projectile hit its side. To their surprise, the beast’s only reaction was to slowly turn its head and look at the woman next to Ang’Tue. No damage was done, not even a scratch or burned mark on its hide where the projectile hit. Robin followed up with three shots from his pistol but even those bullets didn’t make the huge beast flinch.

“Oh shit…” Ang’Tue heard the man mumble and had to agree. This won’t be an easy encounter.

“Sevastian!” Robin shouted for the man, “Let’s switch targ-”

Two more beasts had pounced at the frontline fighter just as he managed to put his enemy down. He would not be able to help anyone.

More shots were fired at the big Stalker but didn’t achieve any better results. While the beast slowly walked towards them, Ang’Tue saw Timothy, Niu and Robin back up step by step. Frantically they tried to harm the beast but failed to penetrate its hide.

For a brief moment, Ang’Tue closed his eyes and calmed his mind. Then he made a decision and took a step forward.

“Leave!” He said to Robin, “Circle around the cleaning and enter from the other side. Just observe and don’t come closer.”

“What are you planning? We will not leave you here!” Niu yelped in outrage.

“We won’t leave him… we will let him fight and have to save him afterwards, right?” Robin said with a sad face.

“Just make sure to activate the shackles before…” Ang’Tue said without explaining the details. The man would understand soon enough. Hopefully Sevastian was far enough away from him.

Concentrating back on the approaching Alpha Stalker, Ang’Tue pressed the button on the remote in his pockets.

Just when the others retreated into the forest did his Suppression-Shackles beep once and dark mist began to rise from his body. He didn’t vanish into the shadows however, instead he stuck out as a black spot on the brightly lit clearing while the grass all around him quickly began to wilt.

~See? I knew you would need help sooner or later…