Xeno Core

"They're an easy target," Mos Gol states. "There's only a junior chief holding the savages together. We've been able to hold off his raids so far, but a mass assault would cost us this position."

"Just a junior? You shouldn't have had any trouble then," complains Bruen. "What's it look like over there? Have we gotten a scout report?"

"It's supposed to be rather nice on the other side," his elder snarkily replies. "The colony's in the middle of a large swamp. We have reports of mountains in the distance, but not much more on the surrounding areas. Very humid, nice and warm. Not too bright. Lots of large reptilian creatures and plenty of fruits growing everywhere but, of course the neighbors are awful."

Bruen nods. "I think I've met them. Terrible parties. What's the plan to break this one up?"

"You, Zek and the bulk of the soldiers will go through first. I'll stay back with a token force to guard this side of the portal," explains Gol.

"I don't like it," the younger warrior replies. "Come through with us, stay at the rear if you have to, but don't stay behind. I think we should seal up the tunnel behind us before we go through." He indicates a place on the map spread on the folding table between them. "Here. There's still plenty of wreckage from the last fight. We can use it to plug up access. Melt it solid and we'll have plenty of time to deal with the colony before reinforcements could dig through our barricade."

"Chella! Find some parchment and write down a note, in case our people get here first. We don't want them doing anything stupid," orders the armor-clad old warrior. Soldiers leap to obey, and she nods once before turning back to her junior officer. "Take a group and get it done. We need to move quick; I'll have the soldiers strike camp."

Bruen rushes off, grabbing two soldiers as he heads to the supply tent. Fire charged runic explosives, capable of melting rocks in a small radius. He has each warrior take two and grabs ropes and picks to help secure and shape the stones.

They set off as the tents around them are taken down, soldiers busily packing away all their supplies.

Bruen plans to set off the charges in sequence, as the wall is built up, to secure the wall firmly. He and his men get to work moving the melted rock into position.

They work quickly, their many tendrils hauling slag and rubble and stacking it against the wall. They bury their explosives inside the stacked stone, at varying heights. Soon the pile is almost complete, held together by deftly tied knots. He's about to order Zek to activate them when he detects the faint sounds of movement from the other side.

The rock dust covered workers all pause, silently waiting for a questioning code phrase.

When he hears alien speech Bruen orders all the runic charges be set immediately. Zek channels energy into the waiting arrays and they draw in heat and force from outside the physical universe. As soon as the runes activate the soldiers are sprinting away, behind a curve in the tunnel.

The detonation is followed by screams of pain and frustration, and Bruen smiles as he leads his squad back to the portal.

They return and see all their soldiers standing in formation, ready to cross at his command. He leads his two assistants to the place they've earned beside him at the front of the lines of waiting soldiers.

Mos Gol gives the order to cross and Bruen leads his people through the tear in space. Reality flickers as he crosses the portal and he stands in deep water, cooled by the dark shade of the canopy overhead. He leads the way to one side and allows more to join him in enemy territory.

When half the warriors are assembled, he orders off two of them to wait and lead the last half once they've arrived. He takes the rest of them forward slowly, not wanting yet to give away their presence to the watchful tribals. They hold their weapons low, under the murky water and creep ahead, every move cautious.

A shout goes up somewhere ahead in the gloom. Bruen raises up his glowing spear and charges. He's followed by great splashing as the warriors behind him leap forward.

Two heavily armored forces collide, chitinous carapaces scraping together. Asymmetric claws swipe and snap at weaving tendrils and whipping tentacles. Other exotic forms move through the mist here and there, but the great bulk of the tribal forces are the clawed and armored tripodal people.

Some of the clawed warriors are wearing scraps of once well-crafted garments, perhaps stolen from more advanced prey. The craftmanship that created these fabrics is well beyond any skill displayed in this primitive village. The buildings around them are built from mud and logs, many not even stripped of small branches.

Bruen wrestles the heavy pincher away from his face and stabs, grip close to the head of his spear. The thrust connects but slides off the opponents thick shell with a sickening screech, leaving a long scratch behind.

Distracting the beast with the bright spear head, he grabs the stone knife from his side. Throwing his tentacles around one of its thick legs he drags and heaves. He then stabs with the heavy knife at the top of top of its leg, where the spiky thing grows out of the armored body.

The blade shatters, but the flint core remains together and pierces the weak spot, sinking half a ubit deep. Bruen twists and drags the blade, severing the leg from his enemy's body.

Off balance, it tumbles, taking the young warrior down with it. Bruen stabs his spear into the opening he had made, until his tendrils are deep inside the warm twitching innards of the monster. He keeps stabbing until all the pulsing motion inside stops and pulls his slippery weapon free.

Looking around he sees two smaller monsters coming at him from his right. One a thin gray creature with an obsidian axe held in both its arms and the other a smaller version of the creature laying still below the dark water.

Screaming at him in challenge as they approach fearlessly, not even attempting to sneak past his defenses, the tribals close quickly.

He stabs his spear into the center of the clawed tripod while ducking low and swinging out two of his tentacles at the gray creature.

The thin primitive goes flying backward into a large tree, sliding down it unconscious. The large claw of the armored foe deflects Bruen's spear and the two smaller claws dart in, snipping at his lower tendrils and leaving bloody cuts.

He steps back and to the side, pulling back his spear to block a thrust from his heavy foe. The attack is followed up by quick jabs from the smaller claws on its other side. Bruen twists and keeps one claw away but the other stabs into his central eye, splattering dark fluids.

Bruen screams in pain, but the sound is lost in the greater commotion. Every tribal still standing begins wailing at once, all sense of reason leaving their varied forms. Somewhere in this camp, the junior chief just died.

The armored being before him thrashes wildly before laying eyes once more on Bruen. It scrambles madly towards him, any form of defense abandoned in its unthinking rage.

Keeping its maddened attacks at bay with the superior reach of his spear, Bruen edges quickly towards one of the tall trees growing out of the rich mud below the cloudy water. Leaping upward, he strains to catch hold, pulling himself up. The limb creaks dangerously but supports his weight. Out of the water and into the lower branches of the moss draped tree, but not yet into safety.

He continues climbing, claws snapping shut fractions of a bit behind him, barely missing taking off the tips of his tentacles. Crushing vinelike growths beneath his mass, he turns and looks below him.

There the creature leaps and snaps, unable to reach him, unable to climb.

Taking several deep breaths, Bruen calms himself, readying himself. He clings to the thick branch, sliding his body along its length. Stopping when he's above the unthinking brute, he points his spear down and leaps.

They collide with a loud splash as the young warrior's weight forces the tripodal savage into the water, legs snapping below it. Bruen's spear drives into the foe's chitinous face with the force of gravity behind it, cracking thick armor and stabbing deep into its insides.

One final twitch as the spear is pulled free and it lies still, sinking into the muddy water to join its fellow.

Brilliant lights fill the sky, and shouting can be heard soon after. Shouting in a language Bruen does not recognize.

Several small explosions can be heard in the distance as Bruen stands up. He looks over at the knocked out tribal, not wanting to be attacked from behind in an unknown situation.

He starts moving towards the unmoving creature when he's bathed in bright light. Someone shouts nearby, but he cannot understand. He freezes, spear tip only bits away from the still form's exposed gray neck, its heartbeat visible in the brilliance.