(Prince's POV)
I awoke to the sound of shouting outside my tent which according to my captain, is the size of a small house back on Earth. Being a veritable giant compared to the average human, I needed a bigger tent. One half of it was blocked off with another large piece of fabric, for Kyet. The back and forth sounded like Sargent Musaki and Captain Darksky. They seemed to bicker a lot, like they were siblings or something.
Humans are weird creatures, very tiny. The small things were half my size, I stood at 12 feet, the smallest of my once proud race. They acted like Dhumdara, a small animal that was more bark than bite. Barking at each other one moment then, once something larger comes along to make them their prey, the tiny creatures banned together and prove far greater the threat.
I groaned as I lifted my bulky frame off the ground. No bed this world could come up with would support my weight. The furs and pillows were just laid upon the floor in a simple bed mat. My tiny toothpick of a weapon Khimari gave me was beside it. I needed to rip up a tree soon, that way I could make a better weapon. The weapons here were too small for me. I walked out into the now busy camp surrounding the crashed ship. Newind was overseeing the repairs to the ship while Musaki and Darksky argued about materials. "The whole point is to test the fibers for heat resistances, you need to nuke whatever Esqueezeme's team brings back. they have to be alive in order to test it properly."
"But I will end up buck-ass again and again until you find the right one!" I don't think they realize that I can hear them. Not wanting to be a party to that mess, I went to join my team and Kyet by the front gates. The plan was to bring back the next chunk of the ship in Zanarkand. Most of it would be moved with the Chocobos that Darksky got us, the rest would be brought back by me. Perks to having a giant on the team. That's what Darksky says anyway. I nodded to Cid then grinned at Kyet. She knew exactly what I was capable of. The woman seemed to see through the bullshit I give everyone else to the soul I hid away a long time ago. "Let's move." I waved the team forward and began the trek up to Zanarkand once more.
According to Musaki we have been here a month now. It's been two weeks since Darksky came down the mountain on a stretcher. He stopped wearing his tunic to allow the massive wound to heal properly. Dale asked him if he wanted a white mage to heal it for him. He said no. "I want the reminder." He practiced on the fiends with his new sword. Away from camp. I glanced back and watched him shrug off Musaki and Esqueezeme and wander out on his own again.
"He is smart to go alone. The power needs control. He has none."
"Makes sense, as a boy my people sent me to the lava fields to train. We are much stronger than the humans, we needed control before we were allowed around them. That was before the country was destroyed." I didn't tell her that I was from a different planet, because Darksky ordered us not to inform the people of this fact.
"What did you fight?"
"Large fire lizards we called them Drakon, humans call them Dragons. Taste terrible."
"Darksky fought Dragon."
I shook my head. "That was a toy compared to what I fought." Kyet tilted her head to one side, her expression turned curious. "You not from Ivalice like they say."
Cid stiffened slightly. I glanced at him. Cid nodded then moved faster to join the men up front at the vanguard.
I didn't want to outright lie to her but Darksky put a gag order on our actual origins. He didn't want to cause a panic on a planet that already had technology that matched ours to a point. They still haven't figured out the space drive, according to Musaki. Maybe I can fudge it a little to seem like they didn't lie to her. "I am not from Ivalice, Darksky, Musaki and Newind are. Me and Esqueezeme are something else. It's why we have different characteristics from the others. I am twice as large and fire proof. Esqueezeme is more like a Ronso, only no tail, fur, or facial features. Maybe the eyes. They are cat like, rounded shape and better vision. Makes her a good marksman."
"So you are not human?"
"No, I'm human. I am a different kind of human. I come from the country Hellfire. The whole place is covered in volcanos and lava fields. The only food source is the Drakons, and Dhumdara, a tiny creature that yaps and barks. It's not a nice place to most, but it was home."
"What happened to it?"
"I don't like to talk about it. What happened to your people, happened to mine, on a much larger scale. The whole country was wiped out."
She glanced at me sharply. "Was it humans?"
"No, it was the Aurutusians. Their King deemed us savages and said we would kill the other races, I am the last one."
I paused long enough to punch a fiend with my flaming fist. It exploded and we continued on the path we mapped out with check points. The idea behind them was to make the trip less dangerous for the crew in charge of dismantling the ship. The check points had two rolling teams and a couple men handling supplies. We drop off fiend drops and get aid in return. They send one team down each day to cash out the drops. Another one of Darksky's ideas to make money. We discovered that the Hunter's camp has an infinite supply of money, so we abused the hell out of it. As we reached the first check point Kyet moved off to speak to a crew mate and I emptied the drops on the counter for our supplies. Not telling her the whole truth is harder than actually telling her. I had to follow orders and yet I wanted to tell her everything. Even my name. I haven't used it since the destruction of my planet. I wasn't sure yet, but the urge to tell her is there.
My group made it through the Calm Lands with very little trouble, thanks to me, to the entrance to the Mount Gagazet. "We rest here, push up the mountain at daybreak." Musaki's hand picked crew of engineers groaned as they say on the grass. Kyet shook her head and walked over to stand next to me. "Act like they never went on a journey."
"I have been pushing them. We are so close to the finish line, that Jason is getting jumpy."
We moved nearly two / thirds of the ship so far. Musaki and Newind spent a good part of the time we were here going over blueprints for the reconstruction. Jason asked for things as he discovered them. The Chocobo Stables for our new rides, more in depth rooms for the crew. Some have made suggestions too. Jason was able to hire Dale as a manager for his next idea. A Hunter's Hall. He wants to make use of the current professions that the planet has to offer. Hunting. He even put Princessa in charge of picking his Hunters. The man had goals. He even built a weapons training hall for the different weapons we have acquired. His plan was to get his men to the same level as the rest of the planet. When the crew had downtime they were required to go to the training hall and practice new skills and shore up old ones. Musaki as been monopolizing the hall for tests but only during the night. Something about Jason having to test the place for heat resistances. I split off from Kyet and began a perimeter walk in a semi circle, Kyet took the other half of the perimeter. We were the sentries. Cid posted up in the center of the circled up crew. His job was to keep both of us in his sights. The first guard post was just inside the gates of the mountain so we had to manage our own safety until then. I could have forced them up the mountain to that guard post, but I wanted them to not revolt. Apparently making humans move at an ungodly pace is mean. Though Darksky hasn't complained yet.
At the start of the next day we set off again. This time slower, the fiends are stronger here than on the Calm Lands. I had to keep running up and down the column taking care of the stronger fiends that my men couldn't handle. Perks to being ridiculously strong, I was not only stronger than all of my men, but faster too. It was as we neared to Ronso village that I began to notice that the fiends died down to barely any at all. "Something is not right, we should be seeing more fiends." I whispered to Cid and Kyet, not wanting to scare my men. Cid nodded, understanding what I meant. Kyet gripped her spear tighter. "Stronger fiend, kill off the small ones."
I shouted to the group to hang back behind us.
No sooner than the words left my mouth a blue shadow swept by me. Kyet hissed and flew back hitting the cliff face hard. Reason left me. Cid backed away from me slowly. "Oh Fuck, Prince, calm down dude. Musaki's not here to stop you." When I got like this, it was Shani who brought me out of the blind fury, they call it Drakon rage. My people had this gift. It was hard to control and it didn't take much to set me off.
I couldn't think straight. I was back on Hellfire, the people screaming and running, children dying around me as I was shoved into an escape pod and launched into space. Rage hit me next. Very few people cared about me, Kyet was one of them. And that fucking behemoth had hurt her.
"Cid pull the men back, he's mine." I could feel the power of the Drakon surging just under the surface. My skin itches as metallic scales shimmered across the surface of my body. I could literally become a Drakon if I didn't have Shani to keep me grounded. I was the only one of my people to actually possess this skill. The behemoth turned and I saw the burnt flesh across it's face. It wanted payback. Fine. My turn. I set my feet as it began to charge at me. my muscles bulged as the behemoth slammed into my chest. I didn't waste time. I gripped the horns on its head and with it's own momentum, I hurled it straight up. I cliched my fist. As the behemoth came back down I smashed it's face, sending it back up once again. Then on it's second descent, I whipped my left foot up and connected with it's neck, kicking the thing into the same cliff face. Only I buried it into the wall of rock and ice.
While Cid drug the carcass out of the wall, picked up Kyet. "I'll meet you in the village big guy!"
His words barely registered as I ran for her life.
As I entered the village, Khimari came flying towards me. I stopped him mid flight with one hand. Kyet still in my arms. I understood his fear and rage. From what Kyet told me, Khimari raised her after his people were nearly wiped out. The man was her father at this point. "She needs a healer, not your anger. I killed the beast. She saved me. Her debt is paid in full." My voice came out as more of a growl than actual words. I was losing it. Khimari finally calmed down enough to lead me to a tent I can put her in. A healer was waiting for us when we got there. The woman took one look at me and then Kyet and started chanting a spell. White light surrounded us, the energy was soothing and I felt all my aches melt away. Kyet stirred and began to wake. I stared down into her amber eyes and knew that this was the feeling Shani and Jason had when they looked at Trillian and Yama. Peace and hope surged forward, but I stomped it down ruthlessly. I would examine this feeling later. I had to complete the mission. Darksky always put the mission first. This was our one constant. "You okay?"
"Yes, thank you Prince."
"Hawke. My name is Hawke. Prince is a title." Khimari watched me for a minute, his cat like eyes all too knowing. "I give permission." I was confused but didn't deny the thought of having her with me. Maybe this was a good idea. The Captain will probably kill me.