Luke and Seer burst out into the sunshine, breathing in deep the sweet air of a new day. Looking around from the entrance of the nest, a ring of lush trees surrounded them. A large variety of birds could be heard flitting from one tree to the next, and a cacophony of insects greeted the morning in their own way. Luke shouted out with laughter, reveling in the joy he felt in that moment. Silence overtook the creatures for a moment, then steadily grew again as the alarm from the sudden sound receded. Seer looked at him and just shook her head. You are one strange creature, Luke. Luke smiled and patted her head with his hand, which she nuzzled lovingly.
"This… this is why I look forward to each morning… besides you of course Seer" said Luke. Ah yes, the annoying comings and goings of prey. What joy I feel when I hear it scoffed Seer. Prowling close to the ground, Seer stalked towards the closest tree. She never made a sound as she climbed its trunk, sneaking up on a clueless blue chested bird. In a whirl of movement, Seer quickly snapped her tail spike straight through its chest. In all but a second, the bird was Seer's meal. "Ruthless but efficient isn't she?" muttered Luke as he walked towards her. I heard that said Seer as she dropped to the ground by his feet. Would you like one as well? She began to eat the bird, savoring the taste of a fresh kill. "No thanks. I'll find something at the lake". Suit yourself, you don't know what you are missing. Once Seer was finished, the two friends raced off into the trees, enjoying the rush of wind over exoskeleton and skin alike.
It was at times like these that Luke felt closest to his family. Physically he looked much different than his sisters, but he and his sisters alike love the thrill of the chase. There were no other creatures quite like his family, and through his own exercise and play with Seer he had grown nearly as agile and as swift as them. Exhilaration is what Luke felt as he raced alongside Seer through the forest. Nothing in the world could catch them, not unless they willed it. What they did not know, however, was that something not of this world was watching them at this very moment.
"I'm sick of this bloody patrol in this bloody forest in this bloody heat…" grumbled Jack. It had been a week since he was given this assignment, and from day one he had hated it more than anything he could remember. The only consolation was that his academy graduate buddy Rex had been given the same assignment. They had been friends for as long as he could remember, and knowing that Rex had his back gave him a sense of comfort that help alleviate some of the tedium of the patrol.
"Quit your bitching Jack! I'm in the same boat as you, and you don't hear me complaining." Jack waved his hand in dismissal to Rex "Bugger off you, I can complain if I damn well feel like it." The two continued through the brush, swatting away branches that got in their way.
As they continued on their route, the snap of a cracking branch sounded just to the right of the pair, followed by the rush of something moving fast through the trees. Quickly Jack and Rex ducked down to the ground, eyes swiveling looking for the source of the disturbance.
"You see anything Rex?" Jack whispered, his eyes straining to see what could have caused the noises. "Nothing… but whatever it was, it was fast. Faster than most anything that I've ever seen." Slowly Jack straightened, and when nothing jumped out at him he pulled his pack off of his back. "It may be fast, but ol' Sparky is faster." Jack said with a grin. Rustling through his pack, he eventually pulled out an oblong disc, not much bigger than his own head. He set it gently on the ground, and with an intricate series of taps on the disc, activated it. Sparky jumped to life, extending a pair of copter blades on both sides, and a camera upon the top of its hull. It flew up into the air, performing a series of acrobatic aerial maneuvers before returning to float head high before Jack.
A heavily modulated tinny voice emitted from the drone, saying Directive? Jack pointed in the direction of the disturbance, and commanded "Locate and observe target heading 97 degrees from our current location. Target is traveling fast, and with no apparent regards to stealth, should be easy for you to track. Contact me when you have found the target. Confirm?" With a series of high pitched beeps, Sparky flew straight up and away at a fast clip in the direction given.
"You sure Sparky will be able to find whatever did that?" Said Rex, already settling down next to a nearby tree. Jack followed suite, motioning in the direction Sparky went. "If anything can, it can. I doubt it was anything major, but we can't be too careful on a planet as unknown as this one is." Rex snorted, shaking his head "You would think after a few years we would know what was out here, but we're just as clueless now as we were six months ago." Jack nodded in agreement. He had been living in Capsei, the local settlement, since it had been established, and still this planet felt almost alien to him. One can only imagine what lurks just beyond the horizon.
**I feel like around a thousand words is pretty good for each chapter. Let me know what you think, and leave a review!**