I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys creations.
A/N: Thank you to fuschiagrasshopper and Icesong180 for their reviews, it is always appreciated. Enjoy!
Essex snapped his head up, as the day was upon them. "Did you hear that?" He looked over to Khan who was looking for a path through the rock. He returned the younger Augments stare. Indeed, the sound of the crash resonated against the rock. "Here!" Essex yelled, having found a narrow footpath. Khan ran as fast as he could through it, following behind Essex. As soon at the gray walls broke open to the other side, they could see in the distance a large dusty cloud, steaming smoke and at the base of the cloud, the sun gleamed off of a shining craft.
"That is our aim." Khan snapped, then he ran. He ran as swift and tireless as an Augment can. Through the trees, under birds who tended their nests. To Essex, this forest seemed much lighter and fare than the forest on the other side. He kept pace with Khans long legs, as they ran towards the crash. In the distance, the smoke served as a banner to where they were headed. Khans heart raced, pumping blood to his starving muscles, but he couldn't slow down. If anything, he only sped up.
The frigid water as they crossed the rushing river felt good on their hot skin, but they could not linger. It was not much farther to the crash site. There was another band of trees before it lead to a sparse land. Their footsteps left little clouds of dust. It was almost frightening, how different this world was. One moment, he's in plains, the next in woods, and now he's in what seems to be near desert mesa or plateau.
"Whoa!" Khan held up a hand, the canyon becoming visible as he got nearer. They slowed, then came to a stop. On the other edge of the gap, was the small craft. It appeared familiar, yet so foreign to Khan. Through the settling dust he could make out a crumpled shuttle door that had been wrenched open most likely in the hard landing.
"What the fuck are those things?" Essex panted, as his keen eyes noticed large black and tan furred creatures climbing all over the ship.
"I don't know. We got no reports of any sort of large predators before settling here." Khan seemed to go pail as he heard their howling roars with his own ears. How did they miss creatures of this size? But something was mixed in with that howl that caught his ear. A sharp scream, high pitched and steady. That was Safiya, he was sure of it. "We have to find a way around!" Khan stood at the edge, looking back and forth. The end of the canyon was a good two or so miles south of where they were located. he tried to formulate calculations of times in his mind to determine the path.
"Khan... Look..." Essex pointed as they watched the creatures run away from the crash. "Going around won't be necessary."
The door to the bridge dented as the animals clawed and rammed it, wanting it to open. Ren drew knives from his boots in a stance between the door and Safiya. She herself had reached into her bag to grab out a phaser set to kill. It may not have been effective for the last crew, but it was a newer model than what the previous crew had, and with luck, it would at least by them time to get away.
"Ren, thank you for being here with me." She gulped as he gave her a quick nod before looking back to the door. This was definitely not a part of his plan, but hey, plans always changed, right? There was a rumbling sound, like a sickly purr before another growl and a clawmark through the door. "This isn't going to hold much longer." She shivered. She couldn't have spoken sooner as the door was wrenched open, this cat-goat struggling to fit its massive body through the hole it created. It in fact, had two horns, one on either side of its head. They were so low to the skull, it looked like just one from the side.
Of all the missions she had ever been involved in with 8, she never came across a creature like this, and so little armed at that. Her mined raced through her training to find something that would be of use against these brutes, but she was at a loss. She could fight, but against such a formidable and powerful creature, her skills were of little use.
Safiya shot at it with her phaser. It whimpered loudly, but it only seemed to make it angrier, as its eyes glowed angrily, a renewed determination in its efforts. The door finally gave way, and it wasn't just one. It was all three. The others managing to shake off the impact, and joining its companion in the ship.
Ren brought his knives down into the shoulder of the first one that got through, but it did nothing but fling him to the side like a cornsilk doll. Ren struggled to his feet as the blades were still in the beasts shoulder, but couldn't move to avoid it as it turned and bit down into Rens shoulder and upper arm. Ren fell to his knees, letting out a cry, and wincing. Safiya fired her phaser as fast as she could, but it seemed to do little to them. It obviously hurt, but they would not stop their advance.
A large paw came across her side, causing her to fly backwards over the pilots desk. She held her side tightly, a high pitched scream emitting from her throat, deep gashes having been left by the long claws. The one that swiped her was missing the top half of its ears. She gritted and tried to regain her breath, but inhaling was painful. 'Oh, that could be a broken rib.' She thought, grimacing. She could smell the metallic blood as it leaked from her body.
"Ren..." She barely managed to croak out. "I'm sorry. Tell Khan." She whimpered as she got dizzy, no doubt losing more blood than she though. The gashes went from her side across her stomach. The cat-goat stood above her wearing a satisfied look, before dropping to a knee grabbing a fistfull of her hair and screaming right into her face. Its breath smelled of death, decayed meat, and a little dusty. She gave a last ditch punch, angrily sending the cat back in anger and agony. She could hear the snapped canine clatter on the ground next to her, as she grasped it, tucking it quickly into her pocket. She couldn't see Ren, though he was pinned by one of these cats. She was covered, and the last cat was waiting at the door.
When the third cat gave out a grinding whine, they were picked up carelessly and carried over the shoulder. Safiya cried out in the pain, screeching, as the fur dug into the three deep lacerations. Ren gritted, as the cat who had him seemed to do what he could to make him hurt. The three cats left the ship, meeting up with a more of their kind.
Some were much larger than these three, others were smaller, some white, black, blonde, brown, tan. They were curious about this find, snapping and howling loudly in curiosity. There were some that snapped back, as if establishing their heirarchy, a pecking order over this fresh meat. She would have been happy to be studying them, if she weren't doing it in the form of dinner.
Ren reached his hand over, holding hers, as the two felines ran side by side. She could barely register it as soon her blood was dripping down the cats light coat. With one powerful leap, she watched the canyon pass by beneath her, her hand slipping from Rens, followed by the racket of all of the cats sniffing at them, wanting to lick up her blood with their purple tongues, wanting to taste this fresh... Kill. Safiya looked at Ren, and he watched as a tear fell from her eye, down her forehead and get lost in her hair. With that, her eyes closed. Ren gritted his teeth and looked away, but he could not bring himself to let go of her hand. Khan wouldn't want her to die alone. This was never a part of his plan, and he now wished he could change it.
Khan and Essex stood amazed, watching these creatures leap right over the gap. "What the...?" Khan gazed in awe. But then a scent hit him on the wind. It was blood. Unmistakable, that was one scent that an Augment knew above all others. "We've got to go." Khan ran to the north where those creatures were heading. It was a large pack, but he was able to just barely make out the identifiable head of Safiya bobbing lazily over one of the shoulders. Her light shirt appeared well reddened even at that distance.
Essex had noticed this as well, but being younger and more spry than Khan, he had picked up the pace leaving Khan behind. Safiya was his friend, he wouldn't let her be taken without even attempting to get her back. The creatures had speed on their side, but Khan wasn't sure about their endurance. They were a new species to them, so who knows? Maybe they could run for days, like the sandcats that Safiya used at home. Maybe they would tire in a few minutes and be worn out? Khan could only hope, but soon they leaped up high in the air, and disappeared again into what seemed to be the start of another canyon.
Khan and Essex were tired and running out of breath by the time they caught up with the cats again. Following was easy,as the blood trail led the way. They carefully and quietly made their way through a maze of dim tunnels. It dawned on Khan that this was why they didn't pick up these creatures. Living underground like this would have proven nearly impossible to pick up, not unless they had surfaced at the time of the scan. The tunnel they were in finally led to a large chamber. It was decently lit from opened holes in the earthen ceiling high above, letting the noon sun through. The dust flickered through the bright beams of light that light up the room. They could hear the sounds of the creatures moving about in other pathways.
"There, look." Essex whispered, pointing to a pile, slight movement catching his attention. It was Ren, who was trying to work his shoulder, sitting up on the dirt floor.
"Ren, what happened?" Khan kneeled beside his comrade, whose shoulder was well mangled.
"S-Safiya I wanted to stop her... She was going to leave." Ren grunted as he tried to stand, looking around.
"Where is she?" Khan searched his face but Rens gaze dropped, and Khan stepped back. Essex and Khan both swept the area around them. She was tossed carelessly, almost hidden behind among some tall grasses that grew wild down there. She was pale, her lips slightly blue. Khan fell to his knees, and leaned over her. Her eyes were barely cracked, as her lips were gently parted, blood smeared on her cheek and neck.
"Oh, Kesi..." Khan whispered. He rested a hand on her cool forehead, and leaned over her. His mind raced, not knowing what to do in the moment. He couldn't let his tears fall, not in front of Essex and Ren. Nor could he cry out in anguish, drawing attention to themselves. Her shirt was near shreds as he winced at the gaping wounds on her side that still leaked. Her subcutaneous tissue was visible, even some bits of muscle poked through. He noticed an unusual bulge on her side, indicating a rib had been snapped, and was no doubt digging into her organs.
"Khan, I... I'm sorry." Ren had dragged himself towards him.
"What were you doing there?" He hissed, his eyes closed, as he lifted her head to rest on his lap.
"I, I wanted to stop her. Well. Buy you time, really." Ren grimaced as he rotated his shoulders. "I knew you'd follow, but she was going to need time to figure out coordinates, and learn how to really fly that old craft." He looked over her cold body.
"You didn't bring her back?" He growled.
"She wouldn't have come with me. It's not I who needed to bring her back, it was you Khan. When she went to bed, I altered the power supply to the engines. She would be lucky to fly around a few miles, and that would have given you time to find her, and do what you should have done this whole time. I don't know what happened though, when the engines failed. We were already being stalked by those thins." He tried explaining angrily. Khan just shook his head.
"This should never have happened. We need to get her out of here. She won't be left as a meal for them." He sniffed. The air was musty and smelled of deep soil and death. As Essex took a better look around the cavern, he noticed the scattered bones half covered in dirt. Some skulls still had tufts of hair attached. As he glanced ever upwards, he noticed the glowing eyes starting to appear from the dark corners.
"We gotta go..." He croaked, stepping backwards. A loud crack emitted as he snapped a femur that was dried out on the ground in half. "Shit." He hissed, turning back around to the group.
With a light thud, the creatures were upon them. One landed about ten feet from where Khan was sat with Safiya, a tooth missing, blood staining the left side of its coat. It snarled, baring its yellowed fang, still angry about its prey snatching the other. This was his meal they were prodding at. Soft thudding continued as they were soon surrounded. All snarling, some snapping their teeth in a menacing way, smelling blood, smelling food.
Khan gently laid Safiyas head back down, and stood up with the other two. One was still young, and the other already wounded. They stood with their backs to one another. If they were to die, they would die fighting. It was the Augment way in battle. They would not run, they would not cower, they would not give in. They also, however, would not make the first move. So there they stood, a stalemate of sorts, neither side wanting to strike first. Not yet.
"It's been good." Ren gritted through a snarl that he was returning to the cats. Ren was ready to return to Vivienne, and had no qualms of falling honorably in battle. Essex nodded.
"It's been very good." He replied. Khan just nodded, saying nothing. He didn't need to speak for them to know he was grateful to have them at his back.
All it took was one step taken too close by one of the creatures for their battle for survival to begin.