CHAPTER 2
Ilaynia Seogoro & HU-12
The night was silent and still, with only the occasional ramii mating call from the canopy high above. The birds were relatively quiet, remaining out of sight and mind throughout the year until the spring when their mating began. Even then, they were barely a nuisance. Ilaynia had grown accustomed to their wailing through these months and though once, as a small child, she had been unable to sleep through the night now, as an adult, she slept undisturbed. Ramii mating season or not, the nights were never a time for resting as far as HU-12 was concerned. The droid didn't require sleep of course, and remained vigilant over their home, wrist blasters up and ready to fire. This was instinct through programming of course, to protect his master's family, but over the years it had become a bit more than that. As far as his processors allowed, HU-12 was able to be quite an adaptive droid. So adaptive, in fact, that all those years ago he had come to not only establish Ilaynia as his master but in some ways his own kin. She was his life as much as he her own.
Abundant with life, their new planet had never failed to deliver a wide variety of flora and fauna. Even now Ilaynia and HU-12 were still coming across new species of both quite frequently. Fortunately, no life form on the planet had so far presented itself as a threat. Sure, the hounds could be viciously territorial at times, but they mostly kept to themselves. While the hounds tended to roam in packs, finding one or two on their own was not uncommon and therefore provided Ilaynia a safer means of hunting without attracting too much attention. If anything, their lives were rather mundane, following a tedious and seemingly endless routine. HU-12 appreciated that Ilaynia was safe and would remain so, yet a part of him nearly yearned for a chance to fulfill what programming remained used - his combat skills.
The droid's sensor pods flickered red light as they spotted movement in the underbrush edging the clearing and adjusted, zooming in and providing comprehensive information on its source in less than a second. Four mice were scurrying about, clumsily bumping into each other as they searched for food. One of them peered up at the rust-colored droid with its large pink eyes. HU-12 watched them move closer to the camp, calculating their route. They would come upon Ilaynia's shelter in fourteen minutes if they continued on their current path. Without moving, the droid's red eyes switched to a brilliant white and shone down upon the rodents. Startled, all four scattered away toward the trees.
Beep-eep-eep.
Beep-eep-eep.
Something was beeping within him, and though HU-12 had not heard the sound or its purpose for many years he instantly recognized its meaning. Tilting back his head, he watched the starry skies intently. Sensor pods switching back to red, they flickered while zooming and performing scans.
Beep-eep-eep.
HU-12 targeted his gaze toward the largest of the planet's three moons. Before he saw the ship, he knew it was there and approaching fast. A light cruiser, perhaps, or a large scout by the sensor readings. Minimal weaponry. A highly unusual amount of sensor arrays and various survey device emplacements on the hull. Life sign readings reported forty-three onboard. The transponder signal was alien to him, not matching records in his databanks. That was to be expected, given the length of time it had been since he had last encountered a starship. Of course, this ship could very well be of an origin completely unknown to him. Not that it mattered. Whoever or whatever, this was a potentially dangerous arrival.
The ship was breaching the atmosphere of the planet, casting fiery colors against the blackness of the night sky. A shimmering cloud had formed behind it and trailed the vessel like the tail of a comet. On its current trajectory, the ship would pass far above them before reaching its final destination. For HU-12, the risk was too high to be present when it came that close. Although it would be perfectly logical to assume the ship had already spotted their encampment, the droid had no intention of being present when its crew came to investigate.
As HU-12 turned toward Ilaynia's small cylindrical shelter, about to call her name, a sonic boom tore through the night. Ramii screeched at ear-piercing volume and flooded the sky, fleeing from the canopy. A scream of nearly equal muster came from Ilaynia.
