Chapter 133: Chapter One Hundred Thirty Two

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 3

Uninhabited Island /Beach near crashed escape Capsule 20045

Galactic Standard Time / 1600

Jinn looked out at the waves as he tried to remember when he had last seen such beauty. His upbringing might have been near a lake, but the mountain always hid the sun after the third hour after lunch. But nothing would ever seem more beautiful to him than the setting sun. It was something that invoked a strange sense of belonging in him, and the way that it looked! Every time he even looked at the setting sun, he was blown away.

In the hours after the group had made it back to the capsule, Jinn and his group had been welcomed. The group had spoken of their mission and been told the troubles their hosts had dealt with here. From the hunt for food to what attacked them, this capsule had been able to survive.

“I will never get used to those views man,” Locke said from behind him.

Jinn only chuckled and shook his head. “Sooo, how’ve ya been?”

“Can’t complain. After everything went down, I just wandered. Won a contest for a year on the Spirit. Section 5-34-609 near the top! What about you?” Locke asked.

Jinn only laughed. “Section 5-34-609? Get out of here! I was in Section 5-60-800! We were in the same building phase?”

“Crazier things have happened. I mean, look at us!” Locke said with a grin that died.

Jinn looked away and tried to keep calm. “Locke, I’m……”

“Don’t say a thing. I would have done the same man. After everything, who would have thought that she was the spy?” Locke said bitterly.

“Yeah. So what was your plan?”

Locke only laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “Move around, find a pirate colony, and then just live. I was a mean cook so I thought become a chef and then open a restaurant on another pirate planet. I didn’t have anything more really. What about you?”

“Find out who was involved, then hide away until they died really. I didn’t want to fight any of them. I just trusted time to take care of them for me,” Jinn said, bitterly looking away from his friend.

“Same as me then! So this mission?” Locke asked as he grinned.

“Old Yard ship, maybe old. Could be a pirate one. Hoping for that,” Jinn said with a sigh.

Locke looked at him and then grinned. “Oh! I see. How they always have to make new colonies! Smart.”

Jinn only looked at Locke and then away. He knew that he would have to bring it up, but he felt like a monster for doing that just after they found each other. But with how everything here was changing, he would have to if he wanted to look at himself. “I have to ask, the thing that’s different about this mission? I wasn’t going to say anything but there’s no way you can go.”

“Yeah. My powers are one of the few things keeping the people here safe. I can’t just up and go. If something bigger comes out of there!” Locke said with a scowl as he pointed at the waves.

Jinn nodded, remembering the creature that they fought at the river. That monster had been a hard fight. If there were more beneath the water they could make it to the capsule! The only thing they had to keep that from happening was Locke’s powers.

“Yeah. But. I don’t know man. I can’t leave. But I think one of the guards will go with you. He wanted to rescue one of the girls on your team. Think he’s sweat on her?” Locke asked with a grin.

Jinn looked at him for a few moments before he nodded as things slotted into place.

“Oh? Then he must be one of the Special Services like one of the girls with me. They must be on the same team, one of her soldiers. That makes sense then,” Jinn said absently.

“Wait, Service!? On the ship!? Why!?” Locke asked, horrified.

“Relax, they not at all like the stories we were raised on. Another chain they made for us really,” Jinn said bitterly.

Locke only nodded and then shuddered. “Good! But what were they doing on the ship?

“Never said. I think it was to protect someone or something. There was a rumor going around that actual Ancients were aboard. A full squad!” Jinn said with a grin.

Locke only looked at him and shook his head. “What would some of those people be doing in the Federation!? I thought they had closed borders!”

“There was going to be an announcement by the Federation in a few weeks. And last I checked, it was going to be at a space station along our path. Was the Spirit used as a carrier for them?” Jinn asked with a shrug.

Locke only looked at him and then shook his head. “Maybe. And there are the Drones. You know, the things from the cabins that let people see the attractions from their cabins? It was news that the ship had it after all.”

Jinn looked at him and nodded, a thousand thoughts going through his mind. Finally, he blinked and shook his head. “The Ancients were using the Drones to watch us. They had to make a choice. So they were basing it on how the people acted without them being there.”

Locke looked at him before groaning and face-palming, muttering curses under his breath.

“That means that this was a bit bigger than just a peace treaty or a trade deal. And that means that there’s going to be problems with our disappearance. And that native? The fact that he’s here isn’t giving me a lot of confidence in the possibility of rescue. We might need that Yardship more than you know,” Locke said with a bitter tone.

Jinn nodded. “So once we make a craft to rescue people, we pull you people out first. Then Chief Duncan. He and your chief here can decide how to get the others. But we need to save those in danger first.”

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“Only way to live, only way to fight. Save those who need it, and then go for those who don’t. The lessons they used to hide their hate. Who knew they would have real reasons to use them?” Locke asked with a bitter smirk

It was all Jinn could do then was laugh, and look at his friend as they enjoyed the setting sun. This planet was strange and deadly. But as long as they kept their heads about them, there was no doubt in Jinn’s mind that they would all survive.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

“So what happened Boss? I’ve lost a few hours, then we’re crashing!” Sal’go asked softly as he and Racha were walking along the dunes.

Racha had volunteered to do a patrol near the woods, and Sal’go had said he’d join her. All were part of the plan if they needed to talk to each other. An old tactic that the Service had drilled into them. Mostly useful when two people or more people are on the same cover job, like now.

“Your guess is as good as mine. That’s the story that happened to everyone back at the crash site. I was hoping that you’d remember something. What with your memory and all,” Racha said with a cheeky tone.

Xordig only laughed himself and shook his head. He didn’t know what to do with his boss sometimes. The two of them had been friends since they joined up, and that was a long time ago. Together they had taken down some of the worst beings out there and saved whole planets in the past.

“Oh great! Another mystery! That’s not talking about the plant things!” Sal’go said with a hard tone.

“I know. I’ve never seen the like anywhere. And we’ve been around. The only thing that might have a connection is the Ancients. I mean the things we’ve seen rogues do? If there’s a connection,” Racha mused.

Sal’go only sighed, shaking his head. “But there have been a lot of things here boss, a lot! I mean from being attacked when we crashed and the sounds we heard the last few nights! If Locke hadn’t been able to make the stone walls, I don’t know what would have happened to us! And the scavengers!? I mean the food we’ve been able to gather and closing down the capsule have been the only way we’ve been safe.”

“And I fought giant insects. Then a thing that could paralyze people for who knows how long with a roar and evolve based on what it eats. Who’s had the worst time?” Racha asked with a grin.

Sal’go opened and closed his mouth before sighing. He smiled at his friend as he crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. The two of them could go back and forth, trying to one-up each other again, but really? They had better things to do. Like, figure out what they could do. Like dealing with Racha’s group. “So why are you here again?”

Racha just shrugged in the way that she always did. “Crashed ship over there. They say it looks like it might be a Yardship. If it has anything that works we can make things to help us. If not then at least it could be a base to gather everyone here. Food will be an issue, but harvesting local might work.”

Sal’go sighed and shook his head. A safer base would be perfect, but then there was the issue of materials to make things. There might be sources here to gather, but they needed to make it safe first. And with the wildlife, that was something that was in doubt.

“Good idea. But what about our eggs? I mean they can handle themselves, but did you feel safe leaving them at your crash point?” Sal’go asked.

Racha looked away, and she bent down to look at the flowers. “So these plants? Anyone look them over to see if they have anything we can use?”

“Yeah…. They weren’t with you. Then whatever happened, they had to be in their rooms. That makes the time frame when this happened a bit low, doesn’t it? So when the ship entered the next system then?” Sal’go asked as everything hit him.

“What I was thinking. And with what happened to Roy’s site, and the powers we’ve gained. There has to be a connection to this place. We have to make contact, what we could learn from this planet!” Racha said with a grin on her face.

“What about the Native?” Sal’go asked, crossing his arms. The fact that people had lived here long enough was one thing to think about. But the fact that they were from old-generation ships was another kind of trouble. And the way he wasn’t surprised about other sentient species raised all kinds of alarms.

I’ll be going with you. But the others, can you trust them? And with Jinn alone? I thought you had questions about him?”

“I did, and they’ve been answered, some of them anyway. He said he was raised by a group. He had to escape from them and smuggled himself aboard a ship. And this Locke must be from the same place,” Racha said with a shrug.

Sal’go blinked, absorbing everything. Then he slammed a hand over his eyes as he groaned. “So my worst problem is related to your problem? Just wonderful.”

A cry from the forest caused the two to point their weapons at it. Some of the bushes and grass rustled but then it died down.

Sal’go just kept looking at the forest, his mind going dark places. So far the worst enemies had come from the seas, but that made the forest even more suspect to him. Those things had attacked the party once they crashed, and that meant they were used to doing that. That meant they thought of what was on the beach as food. And that meant there were living creatures in the forest near them. Could one of them have decided to attack the two of them? Seeing the two Special Services members as easy prey. Even without the power Locke had, Sal’go and Racha were deadly.

He just sighed after a few moments and looked at Racha. “Boss, we need to talk about a lot of things. But I think we need to move to a better location on our patrol. Maybe toward the hill to that river?”

Racha nodded, before giving one last look at the forest. “Smart idea my friend. Shall we go there then?”

“I’ve got a point. Watch the woods,” Sal’go said as he led the way towards the hill.

They never noticed that they were being watched, not from one location but from two.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

“So how is it?” Tomkin asked as he leaned back in his chair.

He and Al were in the command room, with Al looking over the coding for the main broadcaster. So far, Al hasn’t found any problems. But since they weren’t able to make contact with the capsule that Al came down in, that was a problem. One of the pieces of tech Al had brought along was a transmitter. It was supposed to be able to connect any crashed escape capsule that was uploaded with the code. But no matter what they did, there was no response from the Clearing.

“It all checks out. There’s only one answer to this problem. The fault is on their end. All we can do is hope that they’re all okay. Not something one of us usually does, but needs must and all,” Al said with a sigh.

“Yeah. Thanks for looking over the code. I’m more designing really, and my specialty is making a ship void-proof! That’s more than I could normally do,” Tomkin admitted.

“Not really,” Al said with a shrug. “You’ve kept this place alive. That’s something. And the problem has to be on their end. There is nothing you can do to fix this problem Chief!”

“Thanks, kid for that kid. And for looking it over,” Tomkin said with a sigh. “It’s Invertor good to see the work of one of my bros students. But we can’t not talk about why you’re all here, ya know?”

Al just sighed and shook his head as he looked at his teacher’s brother. “Yeah. Racha will probably have my hide. But you should know. Farther up the beach, we saw a Yard-Ship. We went back to the capsule and Chief Duncan sent us out to take it.”

“What kind of reason did you have for your route? Why didn’t you just make a straight line to it? That’s how most of our faith would do it.” Tomkin asked and Al sighed.

“Yeah but most of them wouldn’t be dealing with monster biped insects at least ten feet tall!” Al said with a chuckle.

Tomkin only blinked before he looked at Al, his eyes wide. “Tem foot tall!?”

“At least! And it was within a half-hour walk from our landing site! On the way back we found a cliff and that’s how we saw it. And the rest is history. And if we had gone straight, Roy would have been eaten. And that plant thing too,” Al said with a shudder.

“Yeah,” Tomkin said as he turned his chair and called up a view of the main chamber. The screen showed Burt moving his hands around as he told a crowd of beings a legend of the planet. “Natives, and decedents of a Colony ship. That’s going to be a nightmare with the courts!”

“It’s worse than that. One of our faith’s ships crashed here and it’s Small minds are still active! Burt spoke of riding past it to kill people hunting him!” Al said with a hard look.

“Small minds? One of those?! I thought they were discontinued…… oh. How long has this planet been eating ships? Will we even be able to make contact with home?” Tomkin asked with a hard edge in his voice.

“Don’t know. Survival for the next month is all I’m thinking of. “Find the short-term problem…..” All said and Tomkin laughed.

“…….That will hurt you the most’. My brother,” Tomkin said with a sad grin. “A thousand sayings, and all good advice.”

“Yeah,” Al said as he looked at Tomkin. “Racha will talk to you about our mission later, it’s her show after all. I expect she’ll have some things to tell you.”

“Not going to give me any guess how she’s going to twist my arm?” Tomkin asked with a smirk.

“No. I don’t dare,” Al said as he put a hand over his heart.

“Ahh,” Tomkin said with a scowl. “Good. Talk to you later. I need to check a few things.”

Al nodded and walked out of the room. He closed the door and looked at Burt talking. Shaking his head, he turned and walked outside.

Outside, he found Sara and Paige by one of the ‘doors’ near the sea. Without saying anything, he walked over and looked over their shoulders. He saw Jinn and Locke looking out at the setting sun, and he sighed getting the girls' attention.

“Oh, Al. You done inside? Were you able to get in contact?” Paige asked with a hint of hope in her voice. Hope that died as Al shook his head.

“I checked every bit of code twice! The problem has to be at the clearing! And unless the capsule was destroyed, we should have gotten something!” Al snarled.

“Which means what!? Something is blocking them!? some kind of creature!?” Sara asked, her voice full of anger.

“Doesn’t make sense! Why would a creature be able to generate a null field? What could it be used for!?” Al asked with a scowl.

Al was starting to think that nothing here was natural. It was a dark thought but there was the possibility that this was the remains of a Bio-Weapon facility. But that would only explain about a quarter of the creatures and plants. The plants alone were things that would have taken lifetimes to make! And to blend them all together into a food chain? Even the ancients wouldn’t have been able to do that!

“So let’s talk. We’re dropping Roy and his cargo here. But do we expect anyone to come along? Besides the person we can’t talk about because of his connection to her?” Paige asked.

Al just laughed. He was sure that one of the two guards was under Racha’s command in the Service. And that he couldn’t tell who was bothering him. “No, one of them is probably that. But what about Jinn’s friend? Think he’ll come along?”

“No. It would be good but some of them were talking about how Locke closes them off at night. I can’t see them surviving long without him here,” Sara said as she crossed her arms.

“Yeah,” Paige said as she shivered. “You don’t want to know how that thought made so many of them feel.”

Al looked at Paige and nodded after a few moments. To even know that it was possible to read emotions in another sense, was mind-blowing. But then Paige was showing the actual uses of that. And the more he thought about it, the more he was glad he couldn’t.