The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (20 page)

‘To the rifles!’ Shayne roared, not hesitating a moment as he bolted through the camp, most of the Earthmen were already up and mustering, some held their pistols, but they were quick with their wits and began to make their way to their saddle packs. Most of the horses had spooked as the predators came and were lost into the night. Ulossa and a couple of Warhorses were all that remained. Ulossa’s ears twitched in anticipation and he pounded the ground where he stood, snorting and wild with adrenaline. Shayne took his railgun-rifle from his saddle and flipped it; cocking the trigger generator pack within it. A slight vibration ran through his hands. The others scrambled to their packs picking up their weapons.

The sound of roars broke out as the beasts attacked the lionmen once more. As Shayne rushed towards the fighting, he heard Hanniver shout, ‘Don’t use the handguns unless you have to. Put them back in your holsters. Grab the rifles!’ 

Shayne found some open ground so he could see all flanks; he dropped to one knee and raised his weapon towards the fighting. He did not use the scope; instead he looked down the side and waited.

Kíe fired his bow several times, keeping the beasts back, their angry cries of rage breaking out every time he made his target, pushing them further into the darkness. Though his bow was a weight that most humans would never be able to pull back the hides of the creatures were tough and those that were pierced continued on with only minor injuries. He managed to down one of them after it finally charged him; half a dozen arrows embedded in its hide. The creature was just metres away from him when it finally dropped with an arrow deep in its throat. The others had moved back again at the sound of the beast’s brief dying cries. They now moved together in the darkness; out of sight, prowling as a unit. They were clever and cruel, cautious but not daunted by the swords that swung before them.

‘Soldiers to Stand,’ Hanniver called amongst the snarls. Red Rocket was terrified, but she growled viciously at her master’s feet not wanting to leave him. ‘Corporal Bianchi, cover Colonial Forrester’s back.’ with that Hanniver made a guard covering one side of the lionmen circle. Dominic slid in by Shayne’s side; he had his back to him watching an open flank, the other side already covered by other Earthmen. Shayne sighed with relief knowing he no longer had to worry about that side.

‘Should’ve grabbed the night goggles,’ Dominic cursed. Shayne ignored him watching the scene before him. Pan’arden held her group in a tight circle, her sword bloody as she scraped the side of one of the beasts; causing it to retreat again. Kíe joined Shayne, His bow was half drawn as he keenly watched the night; his ears flicked as he listened to the sounds of howls. He did not have many arrows left so he retreated back, saving them in case of a last stand.

‘What are they?’ Shayne called.

‘Dikean’armada,’ the scholar whispered. Just then the call from the forest sounded again, the warning howl of a small creature.

‘And what is that? The dwelarg?’

‘A small and solitary predator,’ Kíe answered as his eyes monitored the beasts before them. ‘They howl when danger lurks, though it seems to be howling for us, I don’t understand why such a creature would, unless it is a Maltat.’ Just then more of the wolf like cats came from the forest, drawn by the noise in the night and to help their pack. Kíe drew in a shocked breath as the beasts’ snarls joined together. 

‘To the right!’ Dominic called, Shayne kept his head before him, but he could hear the voices of the Earthmen behind him as they spotted more of the creatures flanking them. Hanniver was calling out for them to hold as the creatures stalked just outside the light, they regarded the humans as an easier target with their openly spread guard compared to the tight circle of the Bohanese fighters. The two androids were also active; they looked vulnerable to the unknowing eye, standing unarmed just behind the circle, but they were perfectly prepared. Their programming meant they could never harm a human but they also possessed the laws that demanded them to protect them. If the creatures attacked, the robots would be amongst them, fighting with their metal hands.

‘There are too many,’ Dominic called. ‘We have to fire or the Lions will lose someone.’ Shayne’s finger was poised, unsure which to aim at. Just then one of animals pounced at the lionmen guard, with the others following behind. The recoil of Shayne’s rifle filled the night and everything froze with the shock. The beast fell dead; sliding lifeless before the soldiers left flank, the usual sound silenced the rest of the pack, causing them to falter just before scattering.  One of the beasts flanking the Earthman panicked at the noise and charged. Two more electrically charged thunderclaps deadened their ears as it was shot to the ground. The rest of the dikean wolves broke under the terrifying sound, fleeing back into the Wayel-Éaa, their howls lost into the night.

After they were certain the beasts  were gone Pan’arden turned to face Shayne, her gaze now locked onto him and his weapon, her sword dripped with blood though she claimed no kill that night. The Bohanese warriors’ faces betrayed their bewilderment as they stood staring at the humans. Pan’arden regained her composer and walked to the beast that Shayne had shot; placed her foot upon its neck and with a mighty shove pushed it over; there she examined it, staring down at the entry wound that tore through its chest. Shayne lifted himself from the ground and deactivated his gun before walking towards the High Captain. Kíe and Dominic followed him though the Corporal still held his weapon ready: watching the forest. 

Pan’arden rose from the dead beast, she took a cloth and wiped the blood from her blade before sheathing it, she was silent for a moment as she contemplated them. The Brigadier and Rae also came with rifles in hand, along with one of the droids; still in protector-mode. Pan’arden looked away from them as she spoke.

‘This is the power of your weapons?’

‘It is,’ Shayne replied.

‘You feared using them before us?’

‘We don’t want you to fear us,’ Hanniver answered. ‘That’s why we didn’t want to use them.’

‘What is their range?’ she replied. Hanniver hesitated, which received a dark look from the Bohanese leader.

‘Beyond your sight,’ Shayne answered. Her eyes narrowed at this and she thought deeply.

‘Do not fear our weapons for we would never train them upon anyone unless they were trying to kill us.’ She did not look convinced but she nodded, not in agreement but in acceptance. She returned her gaze to the animal Shayne had killed.

‘By rights the pelt is yours,’ she said. ‘Take your trophy.’ Shayne glanced across to Hanniver, a silent question to his superior. Hanniver shrugged before making a gesture for him to go on. Shayne looked blankly back at the captain, unsure what to do.

‘They need to be skinned,’ she replied.

‘But it is the Falling Crescent Moon Hour.’

‘We do not have time to skin them when the sun rises,’ she returned, ‘and the hide will spoil otherwise.’ Shayne looked across at the others who had claimed kills and watched as they began to skin the creatures. Hanniver did not look impressed as one of the warriors guided him to the dead creature they declared as his kill. Pan’arden then ordered a small group of soldiers to find and retrieve the horses that fled. Most were specially trained to return but that was no guarantee, especially for the human horses that were not military bred.

Kíe dragged his heavy carcass next to Shayne’s kill. ‘Come Afra’hama, I, the teacher will show you how to be a butcher.’ He then pulled out his meat knife from his pocket and began to pry the skin.’

‘You eat with that!’ Dominic cried, looking horrified. Kíe merely smiled up at him, before giving Shayne instructions. Shayne was not a very good skinner; he kept nicking the hide which would require repair later on. His inability was also driven by the fact he was not remotely interested and he grew annoyed at Dominic who moved between him and the Brigadier recording the event, and highly amused by the situation. Shayne’s lack of interest brought one of the foot soldiers, Zayarh’kuda to take over, but not completely, she often made him do the lesser dexterous work. He sat there most of the time holding onto something for the other lionman or being instructed. He never expected to be given lessons in hide tanning and he hoped that he would never have to again.

‘What if they come back?’ Shayne asked both of them.

‘Dikean wolves are not stupid creatures,’ Zayarh’kuda replied, her knife now making its way along the back rump. ‘Four of their pack were killed tonight, they will not threaten us again.’

‘Why did they attack in the first place?’

‘We are far from any main settlements.’ Kíe was nearly finished with his carcass, making his way down the last section, pulling and cutting as he spoke, ‘Those who tread these paths are farmers and maybe a trader or two, they would not have known the pain of steel until tonight.’

‘But they are dangerous, people could die.’

‘And they do, but that is their nature and we are in their land. One must respect a creature for its will to survive. It was a large pack, I have never heard of so many, but I’ve never been here and who knows what roams the old kingdom. There could be dragons in there and we would never know. I am sure the Nida Kushnalor will send a rider to warn the provinces in the morning.’

‘Why do we have to skin them?’ Shayne added, wanting nothing more than sleep. Kíe stopped stripping his creature for a moment as he looked at him with bloodied hands.

‘You killed a strong and powerful creature Afra’hama — you should display your strength and courage with pride. We walked the borders of the Wayel-Éaa, the spirit of the forest sent out its warriors to us and we fought them off. We are worthy of the forest now. You will wear your hide with pride and the story will be told, for you are now one us: in more ways than you can imagine.’ With that Kíe returned to his work in silence.

By the time they had all finished they had five great wolf-like pelts scraped of any unwanted flesh and fat and soaked in water before being hung out to dry. Hanniver and Shayne were thoroughly disgusted that they had to collect the brains and preserve them, carrying them for the next stage. The stench of the event caused Hanniver to throw up, but he continued on and now they were feeding a great fire to destroy what was left of the carcases before they went to bed knowing that dawn was almost upon them, and exhaustion would plague them as they continued their journey. Hanniver offered the Bohanese Warriors an Earthman for the last night watch but they refused as usual. Instead he had the two robots remain active and watch the night.

Shayne lay down in his swag, he was exhausted and struggled to keep his eyes open while he helped skin the animal, but now he lay awake: unable to sleep. His arms and face felt like they were stained with blood even though he had washed them. His mind raced with the events of the night, but exhaustion still plagued him. The darkness of night slowly succumbed to the greyness just before dawn when he was eventually able to drift off.

***

Shayne was called to the opening ceremony of the colony; a tradition that began with the colonisation of the third star in the Western Empire and the seventh colonised world, Zeta Tucanae, a young system compared to Sol, with an abundance of small life but no intelligence. There were many legends of how the tradition was born, but the conflicting stories meant the truth was lost in history. It was a strange concept considering that Football; or Soccer as it was called in lesser societies, was the galactic sport, yet on one small volcanic world in Zeta Tucanae nothing was more important than cricket, and thanks to that world, every new Western Empire colony begins their official state of affairs as an independent country with a cricket match.

It was strange to see the military in their sports uniforms; they appeared so casual compared their typical attire yet were more formal than the civilian cricket side. Almost every Planetsider was present with an Astronaut delegation as well; two of the three captains will incur quarantine just to stand upon the planet, but politics demanded someone had to represent them. The colonists that were not present were on patrol; including the other seventeen SB soldiers. Shayne was not allowed to patrol at that stage; this did not bother him as he saw it as a pointless exercise with the large barriers, technology and robots at their disposal. It seemed more of an exercise of show, and to give duties to the lesser members of the military contingent.

The crowd was pressed in around the newly created cricket oval. It was nothing fancy, but it was open and inviting. Further out were the
Farmdriods
, working the land tirelessly since their arrival some months before the humans touched down.