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Talax shifted his hooves in the soft soil that covered both the forest floor and the road that led from the city to the Qea mountains, one of the many features of Talax's realm. Talax was the RaxQeas—"earth lord"—but the air belonged to the TreQeas, Ejal, and the water realm was ruled by Qhhuax, the RasQeas. Air, water, earth, and fire were all brothers, family to the sister-lords of light, dark, and life.
Talax shifted uneasily once more as he tossed back his mane of reddish hair and searched the skies. A sudden breeze lifted up a few strands of his hair and danced through the moaning trees. A breeze like this had never blown through Rav before, Talax knew. Only once before had Talax known of this wind, and it had only been legend to him.
The legend told of the Qe, a once caring and curious race turned powerful and arrogant. Before the Qe became an empire, the lonely race created beings they called the Ra. With the Ra at their sides, the Qe explored the universe, one galaxy at a time until the Qe became bored of the Ra. The Qe turned on the Ra, using the Ra as slaves. Finally, after millennia of enslavement, a few chosen Ra rebelled against the Qe government. The Ra were eventually banished after centuries of war, of hide and seek between the forces. A few stray Ra left the Qe homeworld in search of other worlds to bend to their will, one of which later found a primitive planet with an early and still developing culture. Keeping his race as his name, the Ra became a sun god, an appropriate position for one of the Veledal, or House of Light. But nearly all of the Ra, both living and dead, left on a great ship to find a new world to call their own. After finding a new star and planets, the Ra divided up the seven planets between the seven Houses. A large, magnetic asteroid field surrounded the system; in this were laid the dead. The now peaceful souls formed a great energy ring of protection, so that no conquerors could ever capture the Ra again.
The winds of war were back, and the only way for them to return was for a Qe to be present. Xei, the DalQeas, and Ghhomhn, the TroQeas, had both seen a great ship in orbit around Rav. Vehlqu, the VeQeas or "lord of all," sent the Qea of six Houses to study and learn but not interfere with the new strangers from this vessel.
Talax knew he should report back to Vehlqu as soon as possible to tell him of the winds. But no, if Talax could feel it, then Vehlqu certainly could. All the same, new information might yield new orders. Talax breathed in a great sigh and bent to scoop up a fallen leaf. Cradling the bright green leaf in his massive hand, Talax whispered a few words along with the energy flowing from his veins into the leaf. The leaf twitched about and returned the energy, laying obediently in his hand. Talax carefully turned and raised his hand to the sky, holding the leaf out so it would float on the next breeze. The breeze came swiftly, sweeping the little leaf out to the sea of air beyond the treetops. Talax watched it go, knowing it would find Atuhmhn as soon as possible. Although Atuhmhn was destined to lead the Velerav, she still had a ways to learn and practice. Talax knew that Atuhmhn would not wander too far off from the forest, so he had let her go for him in exploration of the strangers. Talax considered himself Atuhmhn's guardian and teacher, as would any brother to a younger sister. Shaking his head in memory of Atuhmhn's curiosity, Talax turned and galloped off down to the river valley of the city.
Atuhmhn was so fascinated by the newcomers to her world that she had forgotten all about the report for Talax until a green leaf brushed by with his call. Sitting crouched in the high branches of a qiaps tree, Atuhmhn gazed down at the strange beings, reluctant to leave now that the group had started to explore her world. She thought it funny—she was studying them as they were studying her world.
The beings were quite similar to Atuhmhn's people, the Rave'ihrans. At one time, the gold-skinned one had referred to the group as "humanoids." Obviously a kind of specification; perhaps their species. These humanoids had bodies almost identical to the Rave'ihrans, with the exception of their ears. Rave'ihran ears were pointed, and the tip reached an inch short of the top of the head, whereas these humanoids had rounded, short ears. Of course the language was different; complex by Atuhmhn's studies. Though she had thought at first that the group came in different colors and shades of skin color, but then she realized that the colors had been part of their clothes.
But what amazed Atuhmhn was the variety of the face. All Rave'ihrans looked alike when in their humanoid-like form; the only major difference in facial appearance would occur in a morph. But the humanoids had several kinds of faces: one was dark brown with ridges on the forehead; the gold- skinned one had gold eyes; and another had a metal crescent across where his eyes should be.
The group was moving on, stepping through the brush below their feet and ducking under low branches. At least they were trying their best not to interfere with the plant life, Atuhmhn thought to herself. Atuhmhn carefully jumped over to the next branch. The two branches bounced—one from her jump and the other from her landing—and made a noise with the branches above and below. Atuhmhn quickly morphed into her falcon form and sat quietly on the branch, waiting for the humanoids to move on.
One of the group, the gold-skinned one, looked up and moved his handheld box up to the trees. He said something in his foreign language and the rest of the group looked up to where he was pointing. The older humanoid with no hair on top said something to the gold-skinned man. The gold-skinned man nodded and began to climb the tree that Atumhn was sitting in. Atuhmhn considered flying away, so the group would merely assume that she was just a form of wildlife, but she could sense that they were explorers by nature, so she sat where she was and turned her head to look at the gold-skinned man.
He came up through the branches quite quickly, looking around until he found the red and orange bird. Each looking at the other with golden eyes, each studied the other. The gold-skinned man tilted his head and touched the surface of the box in different locations. The touching seemed to summon light and sound—much more advanced than Atuhmhn's people. Atuhmhn tilted her head and turned the rest of her body towards the gold- skinned man. She flapped her wings and hopped closer along the branch to study him. When they finally got nose to beak, a shout came from below, startling Atuhmhn. Losing her balance, Atuhmhn tumbled through the branches until she managed to grip one of the lower ones in her talons. Using her strong muscles, she swung herself up onto the branch and began to preen herself like a normal bird.
After smoothing out the ruffles, Atuhmhn looked around for the gold- skinned man, seeing that he was sliding down the tree trunk towards the rest of the group. He spoke a few words and nodded, then spoke again in his strange language and pointed at Atuhmhn. Autumn tilted her head in puzzlement at the reference as the oldest-looking humanoid spoke to the gold-skinned man. The gold-skinned man nodded again and began to slowly walk toward Atuhmhn.
Atuhmhn assumed he wanted a closer look at her, so she flew the remaining distance between them, landing on his shoulder. The man stopped and lifted his box up to her, apparently a device used to study various things. Atuhmhn looked at the box and then at the man, squawking pleasantly as a hello. The man tilted his head in an odd fashion and pressed more places on the box, bringing more lights and sounds to life. Then the man lowered the box and walked back towards the group. Atuhmhn balanced patiently on his shoulder, studying the group. The dark humanoid with ridges on his forehead pulled out another box—one slightly longer and thinner than the gold-skinned man's box, and slightly inclined at one end—but the dark one did not summon light or sound. He merely held it front of him, as if it would ward off Atuhmhn if she came any closer. Atuhmhn squeezed her talons from the thought of a weapon and found that the gold- skinned man had a hard, metallic body instead of soft flesh like Atuhmhn's people. Perhaps these strangers were all metallic beings.
Still wary of the weapon, Atuhmhn inched off the metallic man's shoulder in hopes of getting a chance to land on one of the others. She looked around to choose. Settling on the tallest humanoid, a man with dark hair and a red top, Atuhmhn started to spread her wings. The dark man stepped forward and spoke sharply to the man with the dark hair, interrupting the conversation between the metallic man and the rest of the group. The group turned to look at Atuhmhn, watching her next move. The dark-haired man turned toward her just as Atuhmhn sprang from the metallic man. The dark-skinned man fired his weapon, sending a streak of light at Atuhmhn.
Atuhmhn let out a startled squawk and just managed to twist away from the burning energy. The man fired again, this time catching the tips of her feathers. Atuhmhn sped away as fast as she could, away into the safety of the forest. Before disappearing among the canopy, she glanced back at the group, all watching her. Atuhmhn flapped her wings to keep from sinking in the air and flew off.
Riker looked around at Worf and gasped, "You think you could fire when it's not that close to me?"
"Sorry, Commander," Worf grunted, putting his phaser back in its case. "The bird appeared ready to spring at you."
"Right," Riker replied, turning back to the captain. "What now?"
"Data?"
Data tapped a few commands into his tricorder and looked back at the captain. "The energy source is approximately through those trees," he replied, pointing past the group.
"Let's continue, then."
The group stepped over the brush and pushed aside trees for a minute or two, coming to another clearing. A great waterfall cascaded down from towering cliffs of great reddish-brown rock. The cliffs looked rough, not quite jagged but far from smooth; however the pebbles and stones at the bottom of the large pool formed by the waterfall looked quite smooth—much like good skipping stones. Various bushes and reeds surrounded the pool, which, as the group got closer, flowed off into a stream that wound through the mountain. Farther off, the forest continued, in hues of greens, blues, reds, and purples.
Data continued scanning the area. "This is the energy source, sir. The waterfall, pool, and cliffs are creating the energy."
Picard stepped closer to the pool, which was now many meters across. Strange orange fish swam around in circles, avoiding a black lizard that would snap out in search of a quick meal. The water reeds swayed with a slight breeze, and a faint insect's chirping could be heard. Picard reached out a hand to touch the water's surface when a shadow passed overhead. Looking up, Picard saw a great black eagle swoop high above, gliding towards the tip of the red mountains in the distance. The white sun sank behind the mountains as the sky darkened to a midnight blue.
"Data, could we take refuge in the cliffs?"
"Yes sir. Nothing appears to be in the cliff."
"Let's go then," Picard said, looking around for the others to follow him. He started walking alongside the pool, being careful not to disturb the river life.
When the group got to foot of the cliffs, Picard gazed up at the great challenge. As he had gotten closer to the mountain, he saw the beginnings of a giant carved into the rock. The waterfall, dwarfed by the colossus, flowed out as the bottom of the giant's robes, although the giant himself appeared to be a mere golem with no ceremonial robes whatsoever. Perhaps an underground civilization had lived here. The giant could have been a monument to the gods or a warning to intruders. The stone-faced giant sat straight-backed on an eroded throne of rock, with his right hand holding a gigantic stone staff; the other resting palm up on his left knee. The left hand had its fingers curved inward a little, as if the giant had been holding something—an offering perhaps. The face was impassive, with his jaw jutting out a little. The eyes were closed, as if in sleep. A monument indeed.
"Search around," Riker said, stopping between the titan's feet along with the rest of the group. Some rested on the giant's toes, which were boulders. "We should look for food now that the sun's gone down."
Picard nodded. Riker took Worf to the left, and Wesley and LaForge started off to the right. Data walked over to Picard.
"Sir, there is an energy reading in what appears to be the stone giant's left hand. Perhaps it is an offering of some sort."
"Yes, I was thinking that, Data," Picard replied, looking up once more at the stone colossus. "Food was a common offering in ancient civilizations. This titan looks like it had been around for millennia. Shall we take a look?" Picard offered, extending his hand toward the rock. Data nodded and started to climb the rock. Picard followed him.
After about a half hour of climbing, Data and Picard reached the top of the giant's hand; just as Riker, Worf, LaForge, and Wesley had gotten back from their search of something edible. Through communicators, Picard heard that although there were many plants around the pool, the only source of food had such a bitter taste, that even it was unedible. Also, LaForge revealed from his tricorder that the water in the pool was unfit for humanoids, even though its beauty was what lured the crew here. So it came down to the offering. Picard really didn't want to take any of the food, if there was any, since it would be disrespectful to the civilization who built this stone monument. All he was really interested in was the chance of clues to this ancient people.
"Sir." Data was pointing with his tricorder at the center of the giant's palm. Picard wondered what he has pointing at, but it all became clear as soon as he pulled himself up over the last lip of rock.
There was no heap of priceless treasures galore, no feast fit for a god, not even a glorious display of power—only a simple tree, with a small rock pool in front. Picard cautiously walked forward for a closer look.
"Sir, it appears to be made of the same energy as the planet itself. No traps or ambushes seem present."
"Thank you, Data," Picard replied, stepping closer. The pool of clear water was enclosed with small stones. The pool flowed from the tree itself—from in between the tree's roots, which blended up from the giant's palm, forming a smooth, reddish bark. The leaves were a reddish orange color, with pleasant yellow fruit hanging. The whole thing was quite enticing to the captain—ripe fruit, clear water, and pleasant shade—all one could ask for.
Picard stepped under the tree's branches. There, at just the right height, was a hole in the tree. In the hollow alcove sat a cylindrical, woven basket from the reddish-orange leaves of the tree, filled with the yellow fruit, and a reddish stone pitcher of the clear water. Looking back at the pool, Picard saw a large, flat stepping stone in the middle of the pool. On it was delicately carved scripture of some strange language. Data was already scanning it with his tricorder.
"Unknown, sir," Data asked Picard's unasked question. "The language seems to be too complex for my tricorder to translate."
"Do you think it is a prayer of some kind?" Picard asked, studying the stone. "Or perhaps a warning, to not take this offering?" he guessed, looking back up at the android. Data considered the notion and replied, "There is only one way to find out."
"Yes, there is only one way," Picard agreed, turning back to the tree. He reached cautiously into the hollow and let his hand hover over the small barrel of fruit. He quickly snatched a golden, apple-sized fruit and stepped back as if the tree was going to retaliate. After a minute or so of staring at the tree, fruit in hand, Picard looked at Data, who nodded at the safe appearance of things. Picard stepped forward again and handed the basket to Data, then took hold of the pitcher. Careful not to spill any of the clear liquid, Picard stepped around the pool to follow Data, who was already climbing back over the giant's fingers.
Maybe it was Picard's imagination, but he seemed to reach the giant's fingers quicker than he expected. Picard stopped for a moment. It was then that he realized that it wasn't his imagination; the giant's fingers were closing in!
"Data!" Picard yelled, seeing his friend turning back for him. Picard rushed forward to squeeze between two of the monstrously thick fingers. He managed to hand the water jug over to Data, but by then the fingers had nearly shut out all light. Picard could faintly hear Data's yells from outside of the giant's fist, but there was no way out.
Backing away from the ominous, rumbling rock, Picard stumbled and fell backwards. He felt a splash of water and realized that he had tripped over the stones around the pool. Picard looked up instinctively at the branches and felt a pang of fear at the violently shaking branches, which cast a strobe of shadows onto his face.
Shadows? Yes, shadows. The light was coming from behind the tree, where the giant's fingers had not yet reached its wrist. Picard rolled over onto his feet and ran for the light. Managing to squeeze out between the groping fingers, Picard barely had time to catch his breath as he slid down the giant's forearm, soon realizing that the stone titan was no longer blended into the rock.
The giant had had its hand up to its face, as if in anger at the intruder. Surprised at the captain's escape, the giant swung its arm out, letting Picard drop. With his other hand, the giant caught Picard, stunning him with the literally rock-hard impact. This gave the giant time to close its fist around the captain's limp form. The giant slowly turned to go back to its throne as a phaser blast shot out at its ankle.
Riker gazed up at the giant and fired his phaser again. He had heard Data's yells of "Captain!" from up above and had come running out from under the giant's throne to see what was the problem. After Data jumped and slid back down from the cliffs, the android had quickly explained the situation to Riker. By then, Worf had joined them, and now all three were firing full blast at the titan.
Riker saw the titan pause and turn to see what pest of a beam had hit it. The titan focused on the group instead of the attackers and started to lift its muscular leg to step towards the pool.
That's when he saw the hawk.
The same red-orange hawk that the crew had seen earlier was soaring above the titan's head, squawking and squealing. Riker had a sneaky suspicion about this bird from the start, and his disbelief was growing with every turn of its wing.
But the titan was apparently either not in league with the hawk or very annoyed with it. Either way, the colossus picked up its stone spear and fired at the hawk.
Data had stopped along with Riker to watch the beam of energy that pierced the sky with a thunderous crack. The neon-green beam shot out like a narrow lightning bolt at the hawk, which jerked to one side. The hawk twisted around and dove like a fired arrow towards the titan's head. The giant fired another green blast, grazing the red-orange feathers as the hawk banked a curve around the titan's head and up back to the titan's throne. The titan gave one last shot at the pesky flyer. His miss was accented by the thundering break of boulders as the massive rocks groaned and rumbled down the colossal throne. The giant thrust his free hand up to cross with his other to protect himself. The rocks bounced off and continued on, covering the titan in a fog of dust and thunder.
Riker yelled and motioned the others to follow him back into the cover of the alien forest as the dust enveloped the rock pool. Troi, Dr. Crusher, Wesley, and La Forge rushed behind Riker and Worf and Data jogged past. The last glimpse Riker got was shadowed forms of varying sizes falling behind a dark curtain of dust.