9

Dark Observances

Elsewhere, miles and miles from where the young boy lay under an impressive scope of stars, someone stirred. Something...something was different. Something was not as it always was. Something was posing a...difficulty. He knew this from the simple fact that he had been called after decades of rest.

The last one had been nearly seventy seasons ago. He had been a stupid fool with only visions of glory in his head. He was strong, a brawler, but no warrior. He knew no honor. He knew no pride, only his inflated ego.

He had been easily defeated, and his body shredded then set to the vultures.

There had been one before that only a couple of decades, if even that. She had been an honorable, worthy opponent that had challenged him. Honor was not so important; what was important to him was if the other was a worthy foe. If the other fought with skill, and for a purpose, be it evil or no. If the other took pride in his fighting, and his reason for fighting, if he was strong in body, and in will...then he was a worthy opponent.

The female had been difficult to subdue. He had had to take her down with everything he had, and the battle of wills had been long. It had set him to rest for many, many days. But she had been worthy. He had sent her body back to her village; the viscous scars from their long battle would serve as a warning to any others who tried, but he had not set her for the animals to devour. He had given her to her people for a decent burial.

But this time, something was different. He had strength, but not of the body. Not yet. But he felt strength of will and of spirit. This would have to be kept track of, and carefully. Receding into the darkness, he watched.

------

A good distance away in the other direction, a small group talked inside a giant fortress that had set down in a barren, rocky region. The firerock pits flamed and glowed outside, the acidic-smelling fumes drifting in and out the opened windows. It was a good smell for those within.

"Hey, look at this!" one exclaimed, his metal armor glinting a lurid red in the light of the nearby pits. He was looking at the sensors as the glow came in from the open windows.

"What?" A female with blue skin and white hair looked at the screen irritably.

The short, fat one in armor laughed, bouncing once on the new cyber implants that had replaced his feet. Most of his clan had the cybernetics put in, as it enhanced their already great strength. Only one of their dense makeup and intense strength could gather enough power to use such a thing. His legs were still there, but fused to them all the way around were the triple pistons. "Look at this village. The humans are looking for something."

"They don't call themselves humans anymore," the female said, but did look interestedly at the screen. "What are the primitive freaks doing?"

The male snorted. "You'll never believe it, Icerii. One of their people went beyond their borders. Sounder traveled there and listened from beyond the outskirts of the town, and it's one of their children that made the journey!"

Icerii raised a brow and then laughed. "But are their borders not forbidden to them? Even now they only travel the northern one to give us our offerings." She snorted derisively. "What would make a small squirt so bold as to go beyond their other?"

The male shrugged. "I don't know. But from the way Sounder made it out to be, it's the same one they brought to the last of their gatherings." He grinned unpleasantly. "The one whose father Chilldon iced."

This did raise some surprise on the woman's face. "Yessss, I remember that," she hissed, and watched the villagers. "I remember the brat; he wet himself in fright." She laughed harshly. She saw that they were still sending out search teams, and a group had even searched the Western boarder, but none dared cross it. "Those superstitious fools," she spat. "If they were not so ignorant, they would have found him by now. But they will not leave the village."

The male looked up at her with a frown. "What do you care if they find the brat or not?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't. But stupidity angers me. They should just be wiped off the face of Fourth Earth." She looked for a minute. "Earthquake, can you find the kid that left on the scanners?"

Earthquake shook his head. "No. I tried, but from what Sounder says, the child has been missing for several days. They think him dead."

Icerii snorted. "And he probably is. If something in the woods did not get him, hunger probably did." Having lost interest, she moved away from the screen. "Still, it would have been interesting."

"Yeah." Earthquake watched the screen a little while longer, then also left. He wished it was time for a gathering. He felt like terrorizing the stupid villagers who thought them to be demons. They feared them. "And rightly so," he said to himself. "They are no match for the mighty Lunattacks."

------

Gods, don't these miserable trolls ever shut up? one of the others thought. She stared at the ground in stony silence as an extremely small Lunattack chewed her out for a mistake she had made earlier in the day. It was a good thing there was only one of the lunar Clan Lunattacks left here on this mudball of a planet: Infra did not think she could bear two of them. And from what she had heard, it had always been females that ruled the Lunattacks of Fourth Earth.

"Well?!" the pint sized thing demanded. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Sitting atop a large brute
Lunattack, the squirt put her hands on her scrawny hips.

Knowing that any argument would get her eardrums in further peril, Infra sighed. "Sorry, Fintii," she grumbled. "I didn't do it on purpose. How was I to know Psycho was on the outside cleaning the engine wells when I blasted off?"

Fintii, which was a name meaning tiny warrior in Plundaarian, shrieked and struck the Sight Clan Lunattack on the head with her crop, as her mount growled threateningly. Infra yelped in indignation and stepped back from the beast. "What!"

"Is that what you insolent, overconfident fools call him?" she demanded. His real name was Psychren, but all the other Lunattacks called him Psycho. He was, too. Get him with someone he had permission to pummel, and he went nuts. He did horrible things to the prisoners, things even most the others thought horrible.

Infra scowled. "He doesn't care. You know him, he's proud of the name."

Fintii narrowed her eyes at the other, then turned her beast away. "Very well. What are these reports of the humans leaving their valley?"

Infra shrugged. "I'm not sure, Fintii. One of the local children left their village by way of the west, into the forest."

"What's out there?"

"Nothing but forest so long as we know." Even the Lunattacks had forgotten the isolated little colony of Berbils a few miles from the Erthrins' Valley. "He'll probably die out there, if he hasn't already. And their people are too frightened to go after him." She laughed derisively. "Pathetic."

The small leader also laughed. "You're right about that...but I want this situation monitored. If you locate the brat, tell me and keep me up to date on what he is doing. Also, watch the others of their village. We don't want them getting ideas of leaving their Valley. Let them think that's all there is to their world. If they start expanding out, they may get ideas, and be harder to control."

Infra nodded. "Got it. I'll go tell the others. Sounder was listening from the outskirts at what the adults were saying. It's some little shit called Saber. They brought him to the last Gathering, but I wasn't there."

Fintii nodded. "Fine, fine. Just keep me informed. You are dismissed."

"Gee thanks," she mumbled as she left. "Little troll turd."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh kkrekk!" As Fintii's beast crashed through the closed doorway with a speed she would not have thought possible, Infra took off down the hallway, the beast in pursuit. Well she hadn't meant THAT to be heard!

An hour later, and after Infra had been caught and appropriately thrashed, she was in the hot engine room with a handful of slaves taken from the villages around the planet. There were some humans, the strange more feral creatures they had become to adapt to the air changes after the Great Cataclysm, and a couple of the Bruter tribe, all chained up and working. There was even a Lunattack that had betrayed the others, and been made a slave.

And now she was stuck for a week of engine room duty working with these lowlifes.

She heard the crack of a whip above her, and a male voice calling out, "Stoke faster, slave!"

Infra looked up and glared. "Shut up, Chilldon!" she hissed. She gave him a threatening glare. She hated him, why did he have to be on guard duty down here? That was the last thing she needed.

He leered at her and stood, the leapt down to where she stood, covered in soot, glaring at him. "You're beautiful when you're angry," he told her, and she growled and took a swing at him.

She was fast! But he had anticipated it, and leapt back lithely. He frowned in mock anger, and raised the whip threateningly. "Now, now, slaves who rebel get themselves in trouble." With a malicious glint in his eyes, he narrowed those eyes and blew a stream of icy breath at the Sight Clan Lunattack.

Infra yelped in surprise, and also jumped back, but any adult Ice Clan member that was trained for fighting and battle, could strike a moving target. Infra yelped again, this time in anger, as her bosom iced over solid. "You miserable bastard!" she said in furious indignation.

Chilldon snickered, and gave her a suggestive leer. "I think I like you like that!"

Infra was about to show him how amusing she thought this situation when she heard a burst of surprised laughter from above. One of the other two guards, her own younger brother, had caught sight of what happened. "Watch it, punk!" she warned. The adolescent Lunattack covered his mouth with both hands, dropping the whip he held. "Sorry, Infra,' he said. "I couldn't help it."

She could see his body still shook with laughter, an she narrowed his eyes, vowing to kick his sorry behind later. Then she turned her attention back to Chilldon. "Thaw them!" she demanded, gesturing at her frozen bosom.

His snickering threatening to turn into laughter, he only looked at the frozen breasts and held his own hand to his mouth. "Colder than a witch's -"

SMACK! Infra had hauled off and smacked him across the face before he could finish the nasty remark. "It's starting to hurt, you asshole!" she said, about ready to pummel him.

Chilldon growled and lunged for her when a shrill voice stopped them both short. It was probably a good idea. Infra was no wimp, but she had taken a beating thanks to the owner of that voice. "What is going on here?"

Infra only glared at Chilldon, and he hid a smirk. "Nothing, Fintii..."

Fintii looked at the dirty deed and rolled her eyes. "Thaw them Chilldon. And save your childish pranks for when you are NOT on guard duty."

The icy Lunattack did as he was told and thawed the mammaries, and returned to his post. But Infra could see him and her brother snickering. She'd get even with them later, she vowed.

By that night, all Lunattacks in the many-times repaired and upgraded Skytomb had been told of the situation with the little human colony to the south, and were told to be on the lookout as they roamed the planet, acting as the leg-breakers of the planet. The Lunattacks had been lords of Fourth Earth now for thousands of years, surely they could handle a task such as this. But having seen that incident between Chilldon and Infra, Fintii wondered.

Infra, down in the furnace area, after insulting Fintii
Infra

Part 10: Retrogression

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