Kjon's Audio Diary Log
June 12, 2621
I was surprised when I heard the Drukathi warlord speak in my language, although now that I think about it, given the rivalry between our species I shouldn't have been to surprised about it. I guess the shock of meeting and fighting my species most feared and ancient rivals was still getting me.
"You've grown since I last saw you ,Graithal, and your technology has progressed." Ph-rills complimented the Drukathi.
"I see you've grown older as well since I last saw you ,Ph-rills. Despite this however, your age has not hindered your performance any." The Drukathi returned. His voice was deep and foreboding, kind of like a classic fantasy villain. His demonic red eyes, Obsidian black armor and fur coat, and the broken left horn on his head helped to solidify that feeling very atmosphere that resonated around him like a distortion field that paralyzed almost anything that entered it's radius with fear. I could feel it, and even if Jenny wasn't holding my arm tightly, I could tell she was feeling it too. Ph-rills however, remained unfazed by the Drukathi's intimidating appearance, and continued to face the warlord with a stoic frown. "It is such a shame though that I see your clan has grown weaker and that your technology has not changed one bit. Pity, I was expecting our ancient rivals to have been able to put up more of a challenge."
"Leave my people out of this! I know why you are here! There is no need for either of our clans to shed blood so needlessly like this!" Ph-rills told him.
"And it is disappointing to see that you are still a liar, but it disgusts me even more so that you have become a coward too." The Drukathi spat. "Even when our races were at war those pathetic worms who fell under our feet were still brave enough to die without running away. Unlike you, who resorts to fleeing." The Drukathi continued to chastise my clan leader as he took pointed over to the wreckage of the escape ship. Standing next to it were the captives who'd been taken hostage by the Drukathi before they destroyed the space craft. Among them were Ph-rills' many concubines and children, most of whom starred fearfully at their captors, while others gave the warlord hateful frowns.
"I was going to allow my clan to escape before I confronted you ,Graithal! Leave them out of this!" Ph-rills bellowed at the warlord after seeing his family bound and gagged and wrapped up in nets.
"Now you see how it feels, to see others whom you care for be harmed. I would question if you even love them at all considering those of your offspring who dishonor your foolish traditions you disown and kill." The Drukathi warlord spat. I saw Ph-rills' angry look intensify as he saw the fearful looks his family gave him. Had it been me in his shoes I would've likely not had the patience to continue to stand there and take this kind of humiliation. But to my clan leader's credit he held his temper. "Do not worry though, unlike you were to my mother and father I shall be more merciful to your kindred and instead take them as slaves." The Drukathi warlord spoke with a sadistic smile creased his gums.
"Your mother and father tried to destroy my clan. I fought to protect my people. They agreed to the wager I made with them, and they lost. It is not my doing that brought their downfall. I gave them a fair opportunity, and I respected them as honorable opponents." Ph-rills told the Drukathi warlord.
"Yet you also sought to end their lives, and take their skulls and spines as trophies! Accomplishments of your might for you to display to others of your species! To desecrate their image and to use them to help you rise within the ranks of your barbarous society! What honor is there in that?!" The warlord spoke.
"They agreed to the bet I proposed, and for that they lost your lives and you were forced to retreat! I did what I could to protect my people! Your kind goes and conquers other races that are bellow you simply for the fun of it! It is you who is the barbarian!" Ph-rills protested.
"And does your kind not hunt other species for the same reasons?! Of course you also do it for honor and recognition, but is that better than for why you hunt other races like animals simply for the fun of it?!" The Drukathi retorted sharply. The warlord did have a point in his accusation, although because of the remark Ph-rills had made about the Drukathi, he didn't have much room to speak himself.
"Our kind only hunt the strongest and most worthy prey in the galaxy, we do not wish to conquer, destroy, or control as you do!" Ph-rills fought back.
"Then what is it I hear about the individuals of your kind, whom you call bad bloods? What about them?" The Drukathi asked with a smile.
"They are not of us if they are bad bloods! They are dishonorable abominations who deserve what they receive!" Ph-rills answered. "Enough of this foolishness. If you wish to fight me then I accept your proposal for a duel!" Ph-rills bravely spoke as he drew his sword.
"Very well!" The Drukathi's sadistic smile intensified deeply as he drew his energy sword. The sword was only consisted of a handle and guard, but after squeezing the handle the blade ejected out of the guard like a lightsaber, which began to spark with energy. As the Drukathi clasped the weapon tighter the energy of the weapon intensified causing it to crackle and snap in blinding sparks of electricity.
"HEY!" I called out right as the two were about to throw down. I managed to sneak around the Drukathi who kept us away while they were distracted, causing my clan to whisper, and the Drukathi to laugh as they watched.
"Schaefer! What are you doing?!" Ph-rills asked me as I rushed towards them both.
"I want to speak!" I said before one of the Drukathi's electrical whips wrapped itself around me pinning one of my arms to my sides. I was hit with another painful electric shock, which the Drukathi soldier intensified as he pulled. I saw that Jenny was about to come to my aid and attack the Drukathi, but fortunately, the Drukathi warlord prevented the scuffle from getting uglier.
"No! Let him come. I would like to hear what this Yautja has to say." The Drukathi spoke with a short grin as his grip on the sword loosened causing it's energy output declined in power, causing it's blade to whisper a soft humming sound, rather than spark in several crazy electrical explosions. The Drukathi that had caught me loosened it's whips hold on me and allowed me to continue forward.
"Thank-you." I told the warlord graciously as I approached.
"What do we have here? Is this a member of your clan, Ph-rills? Perhaps one of your offspring?" The Drukathi warlord asked.
"First off, yes, I am a member of his clan. Two, no I'm not his kid. And three, why don't you leave him alone?!" I raised my voice to the Drukathi.
"What?" The Drukathi asked. By the expression he made with his face, I couldn't tell whether he was confused and irritated, or confused and amused.
"You heard me! Why don't you leave my clan leader alone?! He's not in his prime anymore and you think it's fair to just square up with him, especially after he has a wounded leg?! In fact why don't you and your entire tribe just piss off?! I mean seriously what kind of pathetic group of fags are you guys to attack and kill a bunch of Yautja who aren't able to put up a fight against you, enslave their women, and kill their children?! Great conquerors you call yourselves! You don't even have the spine to come out of your ship and lead your armies or do anything they do!" I told him. I expected the Drukathi warlord to be upset by my remarks against him and his people, but to my surprise he began to laugh. "What?" I asked with a perplexed look on my face.
Finally once the Drukathi was able to stutter a sentence he said, "Since when have you began letting your children fight your battles for you, Ph-rills?!" The Drukathi laughed.
"Yeah, what of it?!" I asked.
"You have spirit young one. Yet I find it ironic that you defend your clan leader, when he is to be defending you, but instead he runs away like a coward!" The Drukathi continued. "What could you possibly do against me to defend your pathetic clan leader any way?!"
"To be perfectly honest I don't know, but I'm not just going to let you and your pals just walk all over us and kill and enslave us like this." I responded bravely.
"Indeed, you have great spirit young one. But I do not see how you hope to accomplish such a task." The Drukathi warlord said to me.
"Well I bet that you felt the same way, when my clan leader over here kicked your parents' asses, and hung them on display." I retorted calmly. The spectating Yatja and Drukathi stood there astonished as I made my remark against the warlord. Even Ph-rills was impressed by my attitude.
The younger Drukathi who stood behind bellowed aloud something in his language after I had said that. The Drukathi warlord halted his son's advance with his arm. The Drukathi warlord was also a little taken back by my hurtful statement, but not in an antagonistic way. Don't get me wrong he was stunned, by my remark, but my disposition seemed to spark some interest in him.
"Wait son." The warlord told him.
"Oh, this guy is your kid? Well I can definitely see he takes after his father. Doesn't he?" I shot again, further irritating the Drukathi warlord's son. The Drukathi spoke to his son in their language managing to calm him down enough to stop him from attacking me, before he lowered his head to get a better look at me. He made a series of thoughtful sounds as he looked at me in interest, and perhaps a little irritation over what I said about his parents and his son. "Well? You going to do or say something or...?" I asked as he continued to eye me.
He could see that I was different from the rest of my clan, very different, both in attitude and appearance. Most of my clan feared these guys to the point of running, but I stood firm like my clan leader, and while Ph-rills was brave enough to step up and challenge the warlord, he was still respectful even when antagonistic. I'd outright insulted his family, not him mind you, his family. And as for my appearance, well that one was kind of obvious, with my camouflage pants, tattoos, and my crucifix. He also noticed the blood of his comrades drenched all over me, which further peaked his interest.
"Where do you come from ,young one?" he asked.
"Say again?" I asked him. I understood his question, I just didn't understand why he asked it.
"I said where do you hail from ,young one? More precisely, what people do you come from? I know that if you were born among these people, you would not be the way I perceive you, nor would you seem so abstract from them." The Drukathi warlord specified.
"I was born and raised on KJ-147 a Ooman planet. They are the ones that raised me." I answered.
"The humans... Interesting... Very interesting..." The Drukathi said as he mulled over the idea of my answer. "That explains much. Still..."
"What?" I asked.
"The humans are a weak species to us. Their technology and culture does not interest us, as your species does. They are weak, both in body, and in character. They prey upon themselves all to oft. It is surprising that they have made it as far as they have. Still they do not interest us, and what accomplishments they do possess bores just to even think about. However, they, a weaker species than yours, managed to train you, and you not only have managed to slay many of my soldiers, but also fight to defend your people. This interests me greatly ,young one." The warlord explained. "Tell me, who is the human who trained you in your body, and in your character?" He asked.
"Man by the name of Hadrick Schaefer. He's the one who taught me my virtues and trained me physically." I answered.
"Is he simply your mentor, or is he more to you, this human?" The warlord asked.
"He's my father." I answered.
"Interesting. Perhaps there is more to the humans than my species thought. Still it's not enough to make us desire to conquer them, but it still interests me." The Drukathi said.
"Okay, can you stop eyeing me like a cheerleader while she's taking a shower, and get to the point already?!" I snapped.
"Very well then ,young one. What do you say?" The Drukathi asked.
I took a quick moment to light a cigarette with the M240 unit in my wristblade gauntlet ,which seemed to impress a few Yatja as they saw it, before giving the warlord my answer. "Okay. Here's the way I see it. You're here because your pissed off that my clan leader won a bet that your parents made with him and lost, and also got killed by him because of it? Have I been paying attention?" I summarized.
"Yes, that is it." He answered.
"Now, let me also ask you something. Why did they attack in the first place? I mean it wasn't even our kind who drove you to extinction it was the shadows, or kiande amedha as my kind call them. Also your technology was and still is more advanced than ours is. If this is all because you wanted to conquer us, aside from slaves, what else would you hope to gain?" I questioned thoughtfully before I sucking another drag of my cancer stick.
"You are a perceptive one aren't you?"
"Hey I may be the high tech equivalent of a jarhead but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." I said as I puffed out a cloud of smoke.
The Drukathi chuckled a little before answering. "It was your kind that lead us to the knowledge of the Raptusorms, or shadows as you call them. My kind believed they were a plague, a weakness of yours we could use to bring you to your knees quickly after your kind began fighting back against us. But when my kind found out how truly tenacious, and structurally perfect they were, we thought we discovered the ultimate weapon we'd used to destroy, not just your kind, but all races we sought to dominate throughout the galaxy. Thus, we sought to find a way to harness them, and we succeeded, however our hold on the beasts did not last, and we were quickly decimated by their rapidly replenishing numbers. It was then that we began to believe that they were a curse that was brought about us by you. That is what my father and mother thought. They desired that we take our revenge on you, but you already know how that transpired." The Drukathi answered.
I took another few inhales from my coffin nail before replying. "Sounds to me, like they couldn't let an old rivalry go, nor could they tell who was the real enemy in this situation. My kind wasn't the one that screwed you guys over it was the shadows."
"I agree with you young one it was the Raptusorms that drove us to our point of weakness." He replied.
"Then why the fck are you coming after our asses for?!" I asked perplexed.
"It was their beliefs, not mine."
"Still! What the fck?!"
"It is like you say ,young one. There are some rivalries that can never die."
"Why does this rivalry have to be one of them?! Don't you have enough worlds under your belt already?! How many more do you need?!"
"As many as we wish! Perhaps I shall have my armies conquer the humans just to prove that?" He spat back with a sadistic smile.
I felt my face contort into a hateful frown and my hands squeeze into fists, crushing my cig as I did so. Although the Oomans were assholes to me, I still made a promise to protect them, and I wasn't about to let God's chosen people suffer at the hands of these monsters. Despite this however, I had the sense not to react with hostile intent. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" I told him in as deep and threatening of a voice I could. The Drukathi just laughed at my attempts to intimidate him.
"We do not conquer for gain, mostly anyway. No, we conquer other races for the same reasons you hunt them, because we enjoy it. Because ,like you, we keep our primal nature alive through plunder and destruction of other races, and whatever technology we find that we may use to improve upon ours we take to make us better at our pillage. It is for the same reasons your kind uses their technology to keep the beast alive in them. We do the same thing. Because we enjoy the thrill of it. Only your kind chooses to be more patient and tactful in their approach, and you abide by foolish laws that set you in place from truly enjoying the thrill of it. That and we leave little left behind, if we choose to leave anything behind at all of course. That is why my kind took such an interest in yours when we first encountered you. We both enjoy conflict, it is a natural part of us that wishes to be set free." The warlord explained his species motivations. "As for my threat against the humans. I was lying. What possible fun could we gain from them when they destroy themselves so frequently of foolish things. But your conviction to protecting them is still fascinating nonetheless. You truly are blessed with great spirit and character ,young one. You are young and flow with vigor, but you also have experience. You have strength, but you also rely on strategy to guide you. You lack patience, but have the sense to restrain your anger. Indeed you do have the heart of a true warrior." I was a little astonished by the way he spoke about my character. It was similar to my meeting with the Grand Leader. I could see that this conquering alien warlord was more than what he looked like. In some areas I could relate to him, while in others I just wanted to beat the sht out of him in the worst way possible. Still it was a very interesting thing I caught as he spoke to me. "This should be interesting..." he said as a thought began to bounce inside of his head.
"What are you plotting ,Graithal?" Ph-rills asked.
"A simple competition. Like what you and my dear mother and father partook in when you slaughtered them." He answered.
"What is this competition?" I asked curiously.
"A duel. This shall not be like your hunt like last time Ph-rills. The victor shall win the freedom of his people, and shall have the privilege of destroying his enemy. I select one of you to fight me in this competition. We may have as much armor as we wish, and we both shall sport one weapon of our choosing. Does that sound fair?" The Drukathi asked with a evil grin.
Ph-rills and I looked at each other with concern. We knew that this was a huge risk, but if we didn't take it and tried to continue the fight our chances of success were very very low, as the Drukathi could just shoot us all to pieces with their ship, and even if we did manage to succeed in driving them away or even kill them, what cost would it come at? We both were aware of this, and we knew that it was either all or nothing. We had to do it. Ph-rills and I gave a reluctant nod of affirmation.
"Good. Now, to decide which of you I shall choose." The warlord said.
"I volunteer!" I called.
"No, it is me you want! Choose me!" Ph-rills responded.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"They are my clan it is my duty to protect them, and you. Take me!" Ph-rills responded.
"I do not take volunteers." The Drukathi said as he eyeballed the both of us trying to decide who he wanted to kill more. Ph-rills had killed his parents and he was the very reason he'd come in the first place, but I'd astonished him with my character. It was a toss up now on who he'd pick, but I still persisted.
"Ph-rills, I'm nothing more than an Abomination to the rest of the clan, and that's all I will ever be to them. If I lose I'll have less to lose than you will. Besides I'm the younger one, and I don't have a broken leg." I retorted.
"You are an Abomination?!" The Drukathi asked in surprise.
I lifted up my dreadlocks to reveal my gills. The Drukathi saw them and began to scratch his chin with interest. "You do not cease to amaze me young one. You fight for the defense of your clan despite the fact they ridicule you as a blight. Very well then ,young one I shall accept your proposition." The warlord said.
"Deal!" I told him without hesitation. Ph-rills stood aghast as he saw me take on the responsibility he should've taken on himself. Despite this however, he knew it was the Drukathi's choice, and the deal had already been made. There was no turning back now.
"Good." The Drukathi said right before I cut him off.
"Under three conditions!" I told him.
"Very well. What might they be?" He asked.
"I want those who you've taken captive to be let go! I also want your soldier to stop harassing my clan! You'll have your fun eventually, there's no need for them to suffer until then!" I spoke.
"Like I said, your character never ceases to amaze me ,young one. I shall grant these requests. And what of the third?"
"Well for number three I'd like a couple days to get patched up, cause I just got my ass stomped on by three elders and an crap ton of your guys."
"Very well. I do not appreciate waiting, but from what I've seen of you thus far you should be worth it."
"I'll met you over at the coliseum in that time."
"Also, might I know the name these pathetic creatures call you, and that interesting human that I see?" He asked.
"Kjon Schaefer. And your grave is already deep enough as it is ,Goliath." I named him that since I couldn't pronounce his real name properly, "Don't dig it any deeper, by hurting her. This is between my people and yours. Don't bring her into this." I warned him. My threat did little to scare him in the slightest, and only made him chuckle a little, which I expected.
"Very well ,Schaefer. I shall be eagerly awaiting for our duel. Enjoy your rest while you can, you will need it." Goliath told me.
"Back at you." I said with a leer, before we both parted ways.
As much as I did not trust the Drukathi warlord, he was true to his dealing, and allowed those of my clan whom he captured to be released, and he did not have any of his troops harm my people. They all congregated inside their ship, which floated above us the entire time. While my efforts didn't do much to help them, I at least tried to give them some freedom and hope before the fight. What else could I do. As for Jenny, I was fairly certain she would be safe, and I had little doubt in my mind that even if things did go south, they wouldn't harm her. Like Goliath said, his kind wasn't interested in the Oomans, and although Jenny did draw his attention for her, it was only because she was part shadow. And even if I was unable to bring her home, the other clans may take notice of the distress signals after the Drukathi leave, and they'll come for her. Things wouldn't go smoothly for her, but at least we had Ch'ris and Rachelle, and even the Grand Leader who could help. No, I wasn't worried about Jenny on this one. My true concern was for my clan. They needed me, and although I could tell some of them weren't very hopeful about that ,quite the opposite in my opinion, it still couldn't be denied that I was their only source of hope. If I didn't go through with this the fighting would continue, and more of my people would die, and if I lost then everyone, spare Jenny and myself, would either be killed or forced into slavery.
Needless to say, Jenny also wasn't okay with me doing this. We argued about it a lot during those two days. Merciful Master Jesus, I didn't enjoy that. But the damage was already done, and no amount of arguing could make it stop, it would only make it worse. She knew this, but I could tell that wasn't the real reason why she was upset. I knew she didn't want me to do this. Hell, I wasn't exactly jumping with anticipation myself, but still...
"What more could I do? What more can I do?" I asked her every time. I never got angry with her whenever she was like this, nor was I disappointed that she was loosing her faith, not in God, but with the situation. There is only so much one soul can take before it cracks. After an argument, I'd cuddle her softly and try to do my best to comfort her and lift her spirits, despite how poorly they did to effect her. I still wasn't angry or disappointed with her though. That's all that I could do for her. I wanted to make my efforts count, and I didn't want our last moments together to be dysfunctional. She'd given me so much comfort when I was like this, it felt nice to give her some comfort.
Then again no amount of distracting could hold back our enemies. My days were numbered and so was my clans, and after they were over after the fight was over... It would all just depend on who wins, and the odds didn't look like they were going in our favor.
But like the saying goes, "The night is always darkest before the dawn." Yes, things were looking bad, and they probably would be just as bad, if not even worse than they looked, but still there was a sliver of hope, and for me, I knew who'd given me and anyone else who held out for hope this peace. All I could do was have faith in Him and pray that it, that I would be good enough.