Earth date: 1972 AD

Darkblade was restless, he knew this sector of space better than he knew his own thoughts. The only planet in the sector was an ugly ball of dust with three dead moons. Darkblade hadn't yet gone to the surface to explore.

The planet deeply offended his sense of aesthetics.

Just as he was turning to leave, a most unusual spacecraft appeared in a flash of white, almost seeming to stretch back into existence. The ship was nearly as black as his own armor, and looked like something a Teknoman might wield in battle.

Darkblade cocked his head, intrigued. He resolved to follow this odd weapon-like craft. To his dismay, the ship was headed for the hideous barren green-and-yellow planet. Shaking his head, Darkblade wondered what a species that had made such an elegant ship could be doing on a world that repulsive.

Flying directly under the shaft of the weapon-ship, Darkblade watched the unsightly planet grow larger. Friction turned both him and the ship into blazing fires in the sky, and Darkblade reveled in it. He had almost forgotten what a thrill atmospheric re-entry could be.

The flames died out as he decelerated, taking his cue from the black spacecraft. Both he and the ship slowed till they were hovering motionless in the still air, Darkblade could now see that the planet had a reasonably well equipped spaceport. And that the inhabitants were as ugly as their planet.

Disgusting, oozing worm-like creatures with a multitude of clicking red legs scuttled toward the elegant black ship. Darkblade was tempted to obliterate them, but wanted to see what the pilots of the craft would do to the creatures. Willing himself invisible, not wanting the worms to see or touch him, Darkblade waited and watched the craft settle to the ground.

An entryway irised open, and out of it stepped a creature that Darkblade had never seen before. It was a biped, as was he, but there was nothing beyond a superficial similarity between them. This new creature walked on talons and had a distinctly reptilian appearance. An avian beak, as well as a long counterbalancing tail and a truly grand selection of obviously biological blades made for quite a fearsome figure.

"Fantastic," Darkblade whispered, settling slowly to the ground himself.

As his armored feet touched the soil, he willed himself to de-transform. The strain of remaining in Tekno-form was beginning to wear on him. As soon as the bioenergy surging through him had faded to its normal level, he noted the dryness of the air.

He also noticed the stench, doubtless it was coming from the worm-creatures. Suddenly, one of the worms turned in his direction. Several more did likewise, and Darkblade tensed, wondering what would come next.

***

Sub-Visser Seven strode calmly out of the Blade Ship and onto the barren dust of the Taxxon planet. His Hork-Bajir body was not adapted for this kind of climate, but he had learned to cope. He hated this kind of menial transport work with a passion but since he was not yet a full Visser, he was forced to endure it.

The Taxxon technicians who had come to examine the ship were behaving oddly, they were all staring at empty air and gnashing their round mouths. One of them lunged, and then something impossible happened.

The Taxxon split open like it had been sliced by a fast moving blade, only there was nothing there. Another Taxxon fell, this one having been cleanly decapitated. Sub-Visser Seven watched in amazement as the apparently invisible attacker dispatched all nine Taxxons.

***

Darkblade finished off the last of the worms, and that was when he caught sight of the bladed creature. It was staring, not precisely at him but at his victims.

"I suppose you would have called them off," he said insolently.

***

Sub-Visser Seven blinked, completely at a loss. He had not been prepared for anything like this, he decided to attempt to draw this new creature into the open, so to speak.

"Called what off?"

"Your slave worms," the insolent voice responded.

As the last word was spoken, the air distorted, but only in a small area. A bipedal figure warped slowly into existence. The look on the creature's face was as insolent as his tone.

***

Darkblade willed himself visible, a smug smile firmly on his lips The bladed creature was staring at him in complete astonishment. But there was a shrewdness in those eyes, nearly as red as his own, that intrigued him. This was surely going to be interesting.

The creature held out its hand, beckoning Darkblade forward, Darkblade took it, and the creature led him away from his impromptu battleground.

"Do you have a name?"

"Perhaps," Darkblade shrugged, deliberately vague.

"Will you tell me it?" the creature asked shortly.

"In time," Darkblade said with the utmost carelessness.

He was pelted with queries, but ignored all of them. Finally they came to what seemed to be the creature's objective. More of the worms were there, as well as more creatures.

"Take him!"

Darkblade was tackled by one of the creature's fellows, and though he was not hurt, he was slightly angry. But more than that Darkblade was curious. And so he let himself be handled.

Hanging limply in the creature's arms, Darkblade waited.

The apparent leader, the one who had encountered him when he first landed, did something most unusual then. Placing his hands awkwardly but gently on the sides of Darkblade's head, the creature pressed his ear to Darkblade's.

Was this some kind of greeting? Some kind of alien ceremony? Darkblade felt something warm touch his left ear, then the thing started pushing against his ear. Darkblade felt the thing writhing its way in, it was slightly painful at first, but soon faded to just a background sensation.

When the sensation had passed, Darkblade felt a second presence in his mind. But not the obvious and forceful presence of a fellow Teknoman, nor the almost overpowering presence of a Tekno-Warlord. This was several times weaker, but closer somehow.