Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 155 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 5
Uninhabited Island /Beach near crashed escape Capsule 20045
Galactic Standard Time / 0900
Jinn glared down the tunnel as he kept firing. He saw the spider-thingâs corpse was almost gone, and he knew it was time to leave. He had seen what Jess had done, and he was worried about what her actions might have meant. There was one thing that came to his mind, and that was the worst outcome. That would mean that the creatures could think, and reason. Or something directing to them could.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw the girls had moved through the central tunnel. Looking back at the spider-thing, he fired at the rocks above it. As dust fell, he did his trick and âdashedâ to just above the opening of the tunnel. Once he landed, he ran down it, seeing the girls at the end.
Making a sign to keep quiet, the girls nodded and as one they ran down the path through the rocks.
Jinn couldnât believe how this day had been so far. They get attacked by a kind of False Plant Mother Tree, then they find a survivor from another ship. Then they get chased by monster wolves, and then a kind of bug monster. This world seemed to be pushing against all his nerves.
And now their new friend was acting like the enemy might be able to think. That was the only reason Jess would have done what she had if Callahin had done it first. He wanted to have a nice long talk with him later and find out why that was. Because he didnât know about the bugs there, and only reacted once they came down.
Ahead of them, Callahin poked his head out of a cave set in the right wall. He was looking at them and gesturing for them to move faster. Once they reached him he ducked into the cave and they followed him in. Once they made it in and found the others they heard the sound of stone moving. Behind them, Callahin pushed a boulder to block the cave mouth. In seconds the only light was from crystals set in the ceiling and the mouth was completely blocked.
âWeâre safe now. We have to keep moving!â Callahin said as he looked around at the others. âWe canât waste time here.â
âHold it!â Jinn barked as he grabbed one of Callahinâs arms. As Callahin looked at him, Jinn saw anger in the manâs eyes. âNot so fast Callahin! Why did you think that these things could think!? Or that something was directing them?!â
âBecause that was how my captain died! Some kind of Insect that could talk. It was just getting us to lower our guard before other bugs killed two other crew members! I saw that witch bite the captainâs throat open!â Callahin exclaimed, anger in his voice. Then he chuckled darkly. âAnd what was worse was that the little succubus looked like a normal human!â
âShe what!?â Al asked in shocked horror. As everyone looked at him, he seemed to be staring at Callahin with a strange look in his eyes. âShe was wearing a disguise to look human, or she was able to âshiftâ from a human form?â
âBoth really. I think her skin was set up to hide her chitin and that her mouth could hinge open. She acted all scared and then her real mouth opened, from her nose to her neck, all teeth!â Callahin said bitterly. âTook out the captain in one bite, then her arms released revealed chitin blades on the outside. Black-hole cursed witch! I killed her and escaped over a river, destroyed a log bridge to get away!â
Jinn was expecting a lot, but not that. As he took that in, the other started to cry out in anger and rage. He could understand them, the idea of someone honey-trapping people to kill them? It was barbaric.
âYou didnât say anything when we went at the hive up that ramp!â Skâp snarled.
Callahin looked at them, a scowl in his eyes. âBecause all the hives around here with flyers are either only fliers or too big to get down here! I thought youâd come back down! And you went too fast for me to stop!â
Jinn had to admit, the three of them had reacted fast. That might be the reason, but there was something else here. After his realization about what Callahinâs tech could really do, he hadnât trusted the man. He still didnât, there was just something that told him not to. But he couldnât blame Callahin for that, it might just be nerves after all.
âRight, sorry. But how close are we to the final clearing before the ship?â Jinn asked.
Callahin looked at them and then sighed. âWeâre almost there. Just another few minutes really, less than an hour, at most. Just let me block the boulder here and we can be out of here.â
Without waiting, Callahin moved and started to pack stone against the floor.
Jinn watched him work and saw that this was a practiced routine. That was both surprising and worrying. Worrying that he had taken time to do it, and surprised that he had thought to do so. That spoke of a lot of effort taken to think up more defenses than what the old crew of the Yard Ship did. And that spoke of creativity, and knowing a lot more than his amnesia would say he had.
âSo nice cave? Howâd you find it?â Al asked from behind Jinn.
âOh, this place?â Callahin asked joy in his voice. âI found it after I moved in after the first invasion of those pirates. I just followed the smell, one of them came in here to die. Found the path back to the ship here, and well here it is.â
Callahin was about to say something when they all heard the sounds of something outside the cave. They all went still as the sound moved on, and then they heard an insect roar of rage.
With a scared look on his face, Callahin faced them and pointed behind them. Without waiting, Jinn aimed his pistol at the cave's mouth and slowly moved backwards. He saw Callahin walk calmly past him and he heard the others moving as well. This was it, they were on the clock. His eyes found Paige who nodded once as she looked back at the boulder. Jinn felt his blood freeze for a second, at least they knew.
That scream had a note of rage in it. Rage meant that the spider-thing or something else expected them to be down that passage. And that meant emotions and they could think for themselves. They were facing something that could think and wanted to eat them, a nightmare for most people. But for him and how he was raised, this was nothing out of the ordinary.
A moment later he felt someoneâs arm on his right shoulder. He turned and saw Racha nodding at him. If she was getting him, then it was time to move on, leave the boulder blocking the cave mouth and race for the Yard Ship.
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Paige felt a spark of something behind them, something more than just a beast or bug. The idea is that this could have emotions or something controlling. The answer seemed clear with what just felt from that thing beyond the boulder. It was strange if she was honest, something that was both beast and sentient. The way that both felt to her was different, they always were. This seemed to be something that was in the middle of the line, completely balanced.
But what bothered her more was what Callahin felt. When Skâp said he heard something up above them, Callahin had felt a spark of rage. Not fear or anger, but rage. She didnât understand this, she just didnât. The emotions she had expected were surprise or shock, but not rage. That didnât make sense to her, what was she missing here? Why, what wasnât she seeing here? There was something that Callahin was hiding, something that was important.
Callahin seemed to be holding it together on the outside but he was acting only. Inside, he was as cold as ice right now with a crack of rage. He was a master actor at least, or he had practice doing this, acting one way but feeling another. But he said he had amnesia, so where had he gotten training for this? The other that survived with him had all died before he found the Yard-Ship, that was what he said. So what was he hiding now, what was the truth he knew they didnât?
âSo, that happened,â Skâp said next to her. âThatâs going to be a problem for the others.â
She looked and nodded, wondering what he meant for a moment. Then it hit her and she breathed in a gasp. He was talking about Locke and the others! He was thinking that they would be attacked by the bugs! She had to admit, she could see it. They had no idea about anything that the group had seen since they left them. They could have been walking into a trap right now. And the wolves and apes? Those two groups were still out there, and one of them had lost their battle.
âYeah, youâre right. But still, itâs just another reason to get to the ship. We can use the weapons to signal them, signal everyone!â Paige said with force in her voice.
That was the best idea that she had, and the only way that she saw they could go. They needed to do something to signal them. It wasnât likeâ¦â¦ She stopped.
âIs there a part of the ship that is open to the air on our left side? And our as in the way weâre walking now left,â
Callahin stopped and looked at Paige, a question in his eyes. âYes, but what does that have to do with anything?â
Paige only smiled and the others all smiled and Sara chuckled. Callahin looked around, not understanding why the others had reacted this way.
Jinn stopped chuckling to look at Callahin, grinning as he did so. âDonât worry about it. A friend of mine is with the group. Weâve got a few codes using flashes of light. Weâll just, signal them.â
Paige looked at Jinn, feeling his emotions. It seemed to her that like herself, Jinn didnât want to let Callahin know about their abilities. She was still worried about how heâd react, but it seemed that Jinn was thinking about something else.
Looking at Callahin, she hid her own frown. Callahin was feeling a roller-coaster of emotions. From greed to anger to lust and then back again, all in an instant. The more she thought about what she was feeling, the more she grew scared. There was something about him something that she just couldnât place.
âThatâs perfect! I was wondering how we would signal your friends myself!â Callahin said with a grin as he felt anger and rage. âI said to myself, Callahin, youâve got to save them! Those vile wolves, they're still out there! They have to be coming back around on their hunts. And if they lost, theyâre going to be hungry! People like the ones that your friends told you, theyâre going to be the targets of the packs! How can you save them?â
If it wasnât for her ability, Paige would have believed him. But there was just a way his emotions âtasted; that told her he was lying. But why, that was something that she couldnât understand at all about him.
âBut then you told me about the signaling, and thatâs perfect! I was thinking of maybe getting anything in the ship to use as a weapon. Then Iâd draw the hive in, and then kill them all!â Callahin said as he looked around, smiling as he did so.
Paige looked at him, shocked that a man like him could feel humor in what he just said. He was either thinking about something or he was feeling the emotions.
âGood,â Racha said with a sigh. âWeâll need to deal with them. But we can âtalkâ to the others first. Itâs not the best idea, but itâs the only thing to do.â
Paige blinked, trying to understand what Racha just said and what she felt.
âLet me guess!â Skâp said with a loud look and feelings of anger but resignation was there. Resignation that was equal to what Racha felt. âIf we donât, they might attack us when we sleep, right?â
Paige looked at Racha who nodded and then she winced. Racha might be right. Anything that could think, it would want revenge or to kill a rival. And she had no idea if that was the same for whatever these things were.
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Al looked around the cave, trying to understand just what this was. He had seen enough marks outside to think that the survivors made the passages outside. But the dead ends, and the way that there were so many of them? It didnât make sense, he just couldnât think of why they had done it. If they still had enough tech to build the suit that Callahin wore, why waste time to make these paths?
All in all, this place was still confusing him. There was nothing like this that he had ever read about in biology or food chains. All the different species, the fact that they could survive together was shocking. Any one of them would have taken over already, but all of them together, in the same area? It seemed that they had made a kind of balance that was shocking in its deadliness.
âYou canât it them, canât you?â Sara asked from his side. He looked up and saw her smile at him.
âIâm sorry, what do you mean?â Al asked as they followed the rest of the group.
Sara only gestured around her. âThis place, how everything is so strong. Any one of them would have been the alpha species anywhere else. But here? None of them have advanced at all. I canât explain anything about this. Itâs a medical miracle that became a calamity!â
Al only nodded, trying to gather his thoughts. The problem was, she was right. There was nothing in any source of knowledge that he had ever heard of that explained this. But her description put it into content. And he had to admit that she was right. And then a thought hit him, and everything suddenly slotted into place. âGood word. I like it. And thatâs not counting the gateways that Burt talked about. Or their impact on this place.â
Sara and Al looked at each otherâs eyes for a few seconds as Sara took in what Al said. Finally, she took a deep breath and exhaled. âWow. You think that the Gateways he talked about had an impact on this place?â
âWork it out like a scientist, go slow,â Al offered and Sara nodded.
âOkay, okay. He said that the Gateways open to any place on this planet. That theyâre used for trade. But if they open with no rhythm or reason according to him. That means that distance wouldnât limit the spread of fliers,â Sara said, frowning and Al nodded.
âKeep going,â Al said.
Sara nodded and looked up at the ceiling. âSome of the evolutionary adaptions could be explained as defenses against predatorsâ¦. Wait.â
Sara looked at Al, her face going pale. âBut then the Gateways would let the adaptions flow both ways! Life could have evolved in competition with things from different biomes! I mean, thatâs been theorized, but this? This is the result?â
Al looked at her, happy that she had come to the same conclusion he had. This place was the result of so many different food chains intermingling. Altogether, this had created a planet that was the greatest âHell Worldâ that he had ever heard of. It was so dangerous that it had to be beyond the Sentient Survival limit. Al went still as the thought went through his head.
âAl? you okay?â Sara asked him.
He didnât reply, only stumbling to the wall as he tried to think. Humans like Burt and other sentient races had crashed and lived here. The âHell Worldâ theory said that they would have died in a generation at most. So how had people survived here, and then there was the Power to consider. It had to play a part in their survival, it had to.
But some animals could wield it as well. But why was the Power only on this planet? But Paige, she had gained her abilities on her home world, so it was possible to gain them. And Burt said that he had been taught one of them by others. So was it possible to be taught the Power off world? But why wasnât it widespread? Who could have learned it and not shared it with their people? His eyes widened as everything slotted into place.
A hand on his shoulder caused him to look up at Sara. âWhat is it, Al? Whatâs wrong?â
âI was thinking about the theory we were talking about. And something hit me.â
âHow this world is always going to keep trying to kill us?â Sara asked bluntly.
Al nodded as he chuckled at what she said. âMaybe. But thereâs something more here. Your thinking was wonderful, it explains so much. But thereâs one other X-Factors that did affect evolution here. What comes to mind?â
Sara looked at him, confusion in her eyes. âI donât see what else could be this X-Factor. What do you see that I donât?â
âThat Power some of us developed, and Paigeâs abilities. She got them off this planet. That means that they can be gained off this planet. But why havenât they?â Al asked as he looked at her, trying to make her understand. âBurt also said to me that he learned one of his Powers from someone. Now Paige shows us people can develop the Power off this planet. And who says that somewhere, somehow, someone did learn how to teach these abilities?â
âWhoâ¦. The Ancients. Thatâs it. Thatâs how their techâs so advanced, they use the Power,â Sara breathed out in shock.