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The Saukaur's Final Stand

Sethis Melser

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** ** I thought by staying in this colony my problems would all go away. Guess I was only running from it. I felt that we were responsible for this mishap, especially since we felt something was amiss with the Vyrnians on that satellite colony.

I had no proof of why I felt something was wrong with them, but my hunter senses felt that they were hiding something. Usually, in a hunt, you tried to find hidden nests to try and draw your target out, sometimes using their younglings to our advantage. I was never proud of that, but for a Saukaur, you survive if you know how to be smart, even if being smart means you're practically an asshole.

That experience taught me that I needed to know if I could trust these Vyrnians or I should be wary of them. I knew Arcturus and the others trusted them on the basis that one of them, Domel Andrates, was a loving father for Arcturus. Still, as much as he tried to hide it, I knew there was a dark secret the moment I saw his expression changed when he got out of the archive room.

I checked the archive without him or any of the Vyrnians knowing. As far as I knew, the room was free to use by anyone, so the Vyrnians did not suspect anything. I quickly uncovered something rather peculiar about the cryogenic unit in the archival basement. I remembered they claimed to be hiding from cultists that took over their government more than 3500 years ago. I mean, the claim that they came from the ancient times was already suspicious enough. It turned out to be right. The units were not as old, but it started a continuous operation from 500 years ago, which was the time when the Vyrnian Exodus happened.

My stealth skills managed to help me stay hidden, but I could not help but wonder if they had suspected my involvement. That was when I decided that these Vyrnians were not to be trusted, and I told my comrades and Astha to be wary of anything they pulled. Using the cover of us trying to find a better life on Arkari and with Astha going to join the Vyrkaya, we got away from Lekan and safely landed on Arkari. I was almost certain that we would never reach Arkari, but I guess they were not that paranoid.

Of course, I found out later that the reason they did not suspect me was because they were preoccupied with something else. I only realized it after it was already too late. They were secretly contacting pirates and marauders from around the region for their own purposes, and that purpose was abduction.

I heard about the Trikelians from Zarya and Arcturus, the two Vyrnians I learned to trust. They were basically parasitic aliens that took over a person's mind and control them like puppets. They rarely move about in their own form. For some reason, they could only use Vyrnian hosts, but even without their hosts, they were terrible creatures with nothing pure to it. It almost looked like a creature the Saukaurs hunted not for status, but for total extermination, in the past. They were considered enemies of the Saukaurs. I thought it was mere coincidence. Turned out it wasn't.

However, the problem was not the Vyrnians or the Trikelians, but the pirates. They came from many different backgrounds and even races, ranging from Vyrnians to Nuoevans. I even saw some Saukaurs I knew were exiled due to something in the past that I had no knowledge of, though I suspected desertion. It's not uncommon for Saukaurs to do this due to the horrors of the war. Talking about the war, the Felinians were there too, and I could see some of them wearing their uniform, albeit tattered.

But their presence seemed rather out of place. You never had that many groups of pirates in one place, especially in a place like Arkari. There were many other colonies with more prosperity than this place, even if it was a trading colony. From what I heard, no pirates or even marauders ever got interested to this place, mostly because it was out of major trade routes. The only way they could do this was because of them being called deliberately, possibly promised something in return.

Of course, that was never the case, and any reasonable person, even the pirates, knew it. But then, it was much better than nothing, and I could say that the pirates that attacked Arkari had problems with their pirating activity and became desperate. How the Vyrnians could know about that was something I had not think before. I just knew they somehow had an information about pirates out there that I wasn't aware of. Also, I could not think about this conspiracy if I was trying to save the Vyrnians.

The pirates were ruthless and clearly did not show mercy. The Vyrnians were bigger in size, but they could not fight them, mostly because these aliens knew how to fight and even kill a Vyrnian, as shown when they killed one of the guards of this colony. I managed to notice a family being stalked by a menacing Saukaur as he approached them wielding a battle axe. I moved quick, reaching them before he could swing and decapitate a young Vyrnian who looked like he was trying to protect his family. He was too distracted to notice me creeping behind him and jammed my wrist blade through his skull and shot him from behind, killing him gruesomely.

I pulled my wrist blade and clean the brain matter off it, before I said, "Get to the western gate with the guards. Now!"

They were as scared of me as the Saukaur I just killed. Who wouldn't? I could've just slit his throat, but I chose something more gruesome. However, they quickly realized that I wasn't a pirate and quickly ran towards the western gate without even stopping to thank me. I just silently said, "You're welcome" before I tried to find a place to hide before this Saukaur's comrades found the body. I knew I should've tried something more proactive, but I was not the kind of person who would just stay out in the open wanting to beat anyone coming at me, which was completely different from Astha, my twin. We may look the same, but we had completely different personalities. And besides, I needed to try and get to a communication center to warn the Vyrkaya crew about this.

It wasn't that easy, especially since I was far from the communication center and the other Saukaurs were busy trying to evacuate the Vyrnians without being mistaken as a pirate. Of course, 17 smaller reptilian aliens would not be enough to calm a hundred or so nine-foot winged reptilian aliens. I knew that the Vyrnians were already trying their best to find help, but I could try and at least help.

Before I could reach the center, however, my stealth skills failed me when one of the Saukaurs looked at where I was hiding and shouted, "There's someone behind the crates!" I quickly got out of hiding and shot them to make them disperse, then use the distraction to get away. It wouldn't look convincing if I did not shoot to kill because Saukaurs were trained to face shooters to demoralize them. But I was a hunter, and yes, I knew they would only disperse if I shoot them right between the eyes. I managed to get one of them before the rest got away.

It wasn't the right idea since one of them saw me and grabbed me by my hood. I saw the one pulling me up: a buff Saukaur who clearly did not train himself for stealth and only for wrangling beasts.

"Got you now, sneaky bastard," said the buff Saukaur.

I did not hesitate. The Saukaur did not expect my wrist blade, one that I jammed through his side and through his liver. I knew which part of a Saukaur that would be fatal, somehow out of my training that I applied during my first hunt. I sometimes wonder whether I was trained to be an assassin or a hunter, but either way, it worked well in this situation.

The Saukaur's grip loosened, giving me time to either get away or finish him now instead of letting him bleed out to death. I chose the former as I was in the open and stealth was no longer an option. I looked around to see where to hide, but I found the communication center instead. The place stood out due to the satellite dishes they used to communicate off-world, along with how it was one of the most well-guarded places in the area.

Just before I could approach it, however, there was an explosion from inside the compound. I realized I was too late. They finally found the one thing that could save us, effectively crippling us. I hoped they got something out of it, because the only other way was to escape Arkari. The Vyrnians had already did so when the first attack hit, but now all ships were already attacked. The pirates were too coordinated to do this on a whim, which supported the theory of their attacks being planned beforehand.

But I did not have the time to think about any conspiracies. Now that the communication center went down, we needed an alternate way to contact anyone. With the center in chaos and the pirates attacking it, it would be tough to get inside stealthily. I guess stealth was not the answer to everything, especially if it was against Saukaurs.

Changing my strategy, I moved fast, first by dispatching the closest pirate I could find, which happened to be a Felinian. I had a choice between killing him or sparing him, but I chose to knock him out when I remembered what happened to a Felinian when they died. I had a one-ninth chance of him not returning back to life, so I did not like the odds. I had never been on the front lines during the Felinian-Saukaur conflict, so Sel Kylas was the first Felinian to show me their secret.

I quickly took the gun, set it to stun, and shot the Felinian's two comrades where they least expected it. I quickly ran inside, trying my best to stay moving and kept the invaders guessing. I thought this strategy was quite sound, given that the pirates would need to second guess who was shooting who, especially since I was relying on the animosity between Saukaur and Felinians due to the war (even though by this point they were having peace talks) along with a distraction for me to try and find the main communication center, which I knew had not been attacked yet.

When I turned to a corner, I met a Saukaur who did not seem to be wearing rags and tatters over her armor. In the current state of urgency, I almost regarded her as enemy, at least until she raised his hands and said, "Whoa, Seth, wait! Friendly!"

I did not lower my gun, but I quickly realized who she was and exhaled.

"Shen? What in Ap's name are you doing in here?"

"I worked here," said Shen. Shen was part of my surviving command from Aurelis Three. She was one of the 17 survivors.

"Since when?"

"First day on the job," she said. "Got a training in operating the oversized controls when the pirates attacked."

"They gave you a job in a Vyrnian communication center? I don't know that's wise."

"I know, right? Anyway, you're here, so what's the word?"

"We need to get a message out before this place is compromised," I said. "Where is the control room."

"Follow me."

There was a reason Shennesi, who I called Shen for short, worked in this place. She was part of the radio team during our siege back on Aurelis Three, though she lost the kit during a skirmish in the forest. She saved many in the team, but unfortunately, it did not really matter when we only had 17 of us left.

I could trust her, partly because she was part of the survivors, and partly because she was a slightly more experienced hunter than I was. I asked her to be the unofficial command, but she refused and instead asked me to be one, because she felt that I was a better leader. I never thought of it that way, and until now, I was not sure why Shen decided to let me be the commander while she had more experience.

Shen directed me to a door, just as some pirates got there. We quickly took cover as they started shooting us. I looked at Shen and said, "Wrist?"

"Fully charged," said Shen. "How about yours?"

"Hardly," I said, referring to the rifle I was carrying. I did not wear my wrist gun as I prefer a wrist blade, though I regretted that decision. Clearly, I was done with conflicts and just wanted a peaceful life.

"One movement," said Shen. "On three. One, two, three!"

We rolled amidst energy shots. One of them grazed the tip of my tail, close to my rattle. The door automatically opened and after it closed, Shen locked the mechanism. I turned to find the Vyrnians looking at us in shock.

"We've been breached!" shouted one of the Vyrnians. "Sound the alarm!"

One of them managed to reach the alarm button before I could stop him, but I quickly found it beneficial, given the imminent breach. Of course, I still have to talk to them that we were not one of the Saukauri pirates, especially when one of them reached an emergency gun and pointed it at me.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "I am not one of them!"

"That's what they usually said!" said the Vyrnian pointing the gun at me.

"My name is Sethis Melser. I commanded the 17 Saukaurs currently in this colony. Her name is Shennesi Helsik and she works here!"

"Shennesi Helsik? Oh, you're the intern," said the Vyrnian. "Can you vouch for him?"

"He's my command, so yes," said Shen. The Vyrnian then lowered his gun.

"What's the status of off-world communication?" I asked.

"The dishes are mostly crippled, and the anti-jammers are not working," said a Vyrnian working the control. "We still have worldwide comm, and the other colony is coming here to help us in two hours. They are on the other side of the planet."

"Is there anyway we can contact someone out there?"

The controller shook his head, but then one of them said, "We can boost the signal of one dish to one designated receptor. That way, we can use it to signal an emergency."

"But that will burn out the remaining dishes!" said the controller. "As of now, we only have three small receptors and even if they are combined, there is still the signal delay we need to contend with. I suggest we keep the worldwide band to communicate with the other colony."

"We need more than just colony security," said another. "Karlia won't be enough against these raiders. We need off-world backup to ward them off."

"But the delay!"

"We just have to risk it, Rion."

Rion, the controller, was still conflicted about it, but he said, "Ah, fuck it!" and operated the controls.

"Where do you want to point it?" he asked.

"The closest colony we could find," said the other Vyrnian. He quickly accessed the nearby computer to check the signal range and quickly found one, "Orlonel of planet Amurlun."

"Which have heightened security due to the alien they had in custody," said another. "It's going to be a stretch, but I hope they know our plight."

Right after he said that, there was a bang on the door. Realizing that this control room was a dead end, I said, "Do whatever you need to do, and quick. Set it on auto and find a way to get out."

"How the hell are we going to escape from a dead end?" said Rion.

One of them snapped his fingers. "Cable maintenance corridor!" he exclaimed. "It's right behind the controller."

"Welfer, right?" said one of the Vyrnians. "You know the way?"

"All the way out of the third floor," said Welfer. We need to glide to another building, but it won't not be a problem if no one sees us."

There was another bang on the door and a loud explosion noise from the other side that caused the door to bent inward. Realizing we were out of time, I turned and said, "Get out of here. I'll hold them off."

"Wait, come with us," said Welfer. "You don't need to do this."

"Don't argue. Go, now!"

I was hoping that the pirates did not know about the maintenance corridor. The corridor was designed to fit the Vyrnians, so smaller aliens like us would access it much easier than them, which would cause more problems. We could follow them, but then there was not enough time, because just as they started getting into the corridor, the door was breached. We had no time to prepare, so both me and Shen quickly took cover while shooting them based on what we could see among the smoke.

My aim was good, but it was only a matter of time before the charge went out. A Saukauri wrist gun also had limited charges compared to a full charge pack because it was intended for used as a last resort, not for continuous last defense attack.

It quickly dawned to both me and Shen that we must retreat because we were clearly outnumbered. However, I remembered what the Vyrnian named Welfer about us needing to glide across to properly escape, which was something we Saukaurs could not do due to our lack of wings. We could climb down, of course, but we had no time to do that.

Just as we got on a decision, one of the Saukaurs attacked us. I managed to dodge and counter by grabbing his arm and throw him over me as another came. This was when Shen quickly drew my sword and stabbed through my attacker. We both quickly pushed forward to try and get them away from the control room and to give the Vyrnians time to escape, which we did.

One of them struck my head with a shield, putting me in a daze. I managed to open my own folded shield to block an incoming shot, but my reaction was impaired. I barely dodged another attack, but with my impaired reaction, I could not react when one of them pulled my tail and yanked me off the ground.

I do not remember what happened afterwards. I think one of them knocked me out while I was stunned by the tail snap, the one thing that was nasty enough to be considered very rude, an equivalent to a mammalian term of being 'kicked in the balls', something I learned from George Atmell later.

And that was the start of everything that was wrong in my life. It is hard to describe, for every time I looked back, all I could see was everything bad. It was the worst part of my life other than learning to kill fellow Saukaurs and being involved in the horrors of war.

Because unlike them, I never quite got through this.