"Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on."
―Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile
Twenty second Yuga, Yaksa calendar (1624 C.E. Earth Date) Elder Vaha'raya's throne room.
-"Today," she straightened, "everyone will die," her head turned ever so slightly towards the Elder, "Starting with you!" Kapa'lika hissed, and her Vaj'ra cannon hummed into action as she aimed it directly at Vaha'raya's face.
Vaha'raya reacted quickly, kicking at the female's ankle, knocking her off balance just as the cannon fired. The superheated ball of plasma barely missed the Elder's head, tearing off a dreadlock from his crest.
The Clan leader put a hand to his wound to stifle the bleeding. At that moment Kapa'lika regained her balance and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall on his back. He used his final strength to roar viciously at his opponent as she wiped the blood splatter from her face.
-"Yabh!" She exclaimed. "Mur'kha Je'kainde, Vaha'raya." She planted her foot on the Elder's chest and spat, "First you reject me," she applied her considerable weight to his ribs. They crunched alarmingly, "then my abilities." She leaned down to better glare at him, "and today you even dare to turn your back on Cetanu himself."
-"So that's what it's all about for you," Vaha'raya said with contempt, "Pure and vile revenge," and then he added, "You have everything it takes to be a Raksasi."
Several cycles before, Kapa'lika had been part of their clan. She was an excellent warrior; strong, proud and fearless. Every male adored her and outdid themselves to gain just a moment of her attention. It was no secret that she'd had her eyes on Vaha'raya, the eldest son of the former Clan Leader, but the custom dictated that it was they who requested the female and not the other way around.
Kapa'lika however, refused to submit to tradition. She came to Vaha'raya's chambers one night, wearing nothing but a sheer, translucent mesh. That night they became sexually involved but as it turned out, young Vaharaya was more interested in his career. In the end, he chose it over the female.
This infuriated Kapa', who refused to give up her affection so easily. She thought that perhaps if she could be admitted as Ngar'ika, a hunter of honorless criminals, Vaha'raya would understand that they were perfect for each other. However, her impulsive nature and taste for unnecessary violence caused the council to reject her, with the final vote at the hands of Vaha'raya himself.
This was the last straw for the Yaksi, she defected from her clan and joined other rejects under the Raksasa S'harva's command.
-" Get back to the ship," Ujesh' voice crackled through Kapa'lika's mask. "We have what we came looking for." The rest of the strike force began to retreat, leaping through the hole in the ceiling. She remained where she was, intending to finish what she had started.
-"Not until I get my revenge!" She flared her mandibles in response, her eyes were like fire.
-"I said come back!" Ujesh' snarled. He did not like being disobeyed or challenged. "They will be dead soon anyway..." He lowered his voice ominously, "You too if you don't obey."
- "Very well, old fool, the time has come," she said, looking down at the fallen leader, "let's get this over with." She wielded her Ki'cti-pa with the intention of driving it straight into Vaha's chest.
Across the room, Anu'sha growled at the sight of her prone father and the fate that awaited him.
Kapa'lika snarled as she plunged her spear deeply into the Leader's chest, nailing him to the floor until the shaft of the weapon buried almost half its length into his body. The Elder roared thunderously, his eyes darkened with disdain. Kapa' removed her mask and leaned down slightly, she wanted the dying leader to see the look of satisfaction on her face.
Her victory was however short-lived. Vaha'raya's beady eyes narrowed momentarily before they widened and he drew up his arm with surprising speed. He smiled back at Kapa' and grabbed the Raksasi surprisingly by her skull necklace.
-"What are-?!" Kapa' grunted in surprise, realizing the Elder's intentions.
-"You craved my arms once," he mocked, his voice rasping, "You dare to reject them now?" Using the last of his strength, he pulled his old lover onto him and impaled her on the double tipped spear. She roared in pain as she sunk down on its length.
-"You will die as you lived," the Elder recited to her, coughing and glaring at her directly into her eyes, "with a broken heart..." He exhaled one last time before his eyes glazed over and the old Clan Leader grew still.
Kapa'lika shuddered and made a final attempt to break free. The jerky movements made her slip on her own blood and she drove herself further down on the Kic'ti-pa. Finally her body relaxed, blood spurted from her mouth, splattering Vaha'raya's lax face. She took one gurgling breath before she too died.
Anu'sha rushed to where her father's body lay and gave a prayer for the great warrior: " Jyok Vaha'raya! Sm'rtiPaya Ri'ti. "
-"Jyok Vaha'raya," Rava'an repeated while bending down on one knee. He bowed his head to give his respects to their former leader. There was no time to mourn. His face turned quickly to Anu'sha, who was still curled over her father's body. Rava'an stood up resolutely and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come, the fight isn't over."
The rest of the Raksasa fled the scene and abandoned the place, climbing over the rubble. Adhi'nata and the other surviving warriors went after them.
-"They are running away!" Anu'sha exclaimed, "M'rkata cowards! They don't like to fight on equal terms." Her eyes moved from the retreating Raksasa to her Sire's weapons display. The wall that had been filled with ancient weapons was now completely empty. The thieves had stolen his entire collection!
-"They aren't running away, that Vermin ..." Rava'an said, referring to Ujesh', "He has ordered them back to the ship." He climbed onto the collapsed roof and used the mask's sensors to track the Raksasa's spacecraft high above them.
- "They have a Deva warship!" Anu'sha exclaimed, after putting on her mask and climbing up beside him. They saw the individual fighters used by the Raksasa dock with the mothership.
The Deva warship was nothing like the Jag'd'dja or Man'Dacas used by the Yaksa. Rather than sleek, elegant forms, this ship looked like an ode to destruction. It was shaped like a crescent moon, with a dented exterior made by multiple protrusions, giving it the appearance of being built out of bones. In fact, the aesthetics were very similar to the armor Ujesh' and his band of thieves wore. Rava'an stared at the mother ship as it hovered over the ruins of the citadel. How in the name of Cetanu would they be able to defend the city from enemies that had access to superior Deva technology?
- o -
-"Ujesh and his people will pay for this affront," the Yaksi growled, clenching a fist and flaring her jaws, "Where's your ship, warrior?" she asked Rava'an.
-"There," He pointed to the nearest platform where a small Ner'uda class shuttle was situated.
To him, it felt like an eternity had passed since he landed there to take part in the trial, although in reality just one Ad'nam had passed.
On the next platform Rava'an spotted his father as he rallied the remaining experienced warriors. Once they were all assembled, they headed for the main hangar, where their warships were parked.
The city suddenly started to vibrate and a loud rumble echoed between the remaining buildings. Rava'an located the source of the sound to the nearby archipelago. A flock of birds rose squawking from the jungle on one of the islands, moments before the palms and trees shook.
Out of the thicket, a black object emerged, rising like a scorpion's tail. The upper end was bulbous with a tapered protrusion that gave it the appearance of a stinger. The rest of the structure was arched downward and ended in a sharp point.
- "In the name of Paya, what is that?!" Anu'sha exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.
- "I don't know, but it comes from the ancient temple!" Rava'an replied, equally astonished, "What have these Raksasa done?"
The huge object kept ascending to meet Ujesh's ship until moments later it docked with the Deva warship.
The sound of a horn blowing filled the air. All the Yaksa directed their attention to the object over the city. An iris-shaped hatch opened at the bulbous end of the structure and from it, a myriad of disk-shaped drones flew down across the city.
The small robotic artifacts impacted each of the ships before they could even take off. The entire Yaksa fleet was destroyed in a matter of moments. Rava'an watched as Adi'natha was thrown out from the platform into the water by the force of the explosion of the Ugra'danda, his ship.
Another ship, the Ijana, managed to take off, but one of the drones pierced the right thruster and the Man'daca fell into the sea spinning on its axis.
The citadel's automated air defenses activated and opened fire on the object, but were rendered useless as more of the discs turned their attention to the plasma cannons sending them flying in a whitish-blue ball of fire.
-"Ujesh' has gone too far this time," Rava'an roared, shaking a fist in the air. "Those things only react to an attack." He said, pointing at one of the small projectiles, which made a sharp turn to avoid hitting a building stacked with non-combatants. The drones concentrated their fire on activated ships and point defense systems.
-"What are they planning?" He asked out loud to no one in particular.
Neither Anu'sha nor Rava'an knew the answer, but inside the Deva ship, Ujesh' at last saw the culmination of a finely planned revenge.
- o -
Finally, sorry for the delay. I have already posted this chapter and the next on AO3 but distraction kept me from posting it here. Thanks to AO3 user iterations for the editing. Final showdown soon and wait for more stories of the Yaksa Saga. See you soon and don't forget to comment.
Glossary:
Ad'nam - Day, planet cycle.
Ijana - Sacrifice by fire.
Jag'd'dja - Mothership, Clan-ship.
Je'kainde - Stubborn.
Jyok! - Hooray, greetings (expression)
Ki'cti-pa - Combistick, a double tipped, retractable spear.
Man'Daca - Scout ship, hunting party ship.
Mur'kha - Useless (Insult)
M'rkata - Monkey-like (Insult)
Ner'uda - Shuttle, drop-ship.
Ngar'ika - Enforcer (Rank)
Raksasi - Female bad blood, m. pl. Raksasa.
Sm'rtiPaya Ri'ti - God's practice fulfilled (expression)
Ugra'danda - The Relentless.
Yabh - Fuck! (Curse, expression)
Yaksi - Female warrior (pr. Iaot-yi) m. pl. Yaksa