⫸ [ TIME: 18:45 LOCAL PLANETARY TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: CRASH SITE PERIMETER – NORTH RIDGE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: RECONNAISSANCE ]
⫸ [ VISIBILITY: DROPPING (MAGNETIC FOG) ]
The night did not fall gently on Sector Zero. It collapsed.
As the twin violet suns dipped below the jagged horizon, the temperature plummeted. The humidity condensed instantly into a thick and clinging fog. It was not normal water vapor. It was charged with static electricity from the iron-rich soil which caused the droplets to hover and drift in unnatural patterns. The air tasted of wet copper and impending violence.
Elian crouched on a ridge overlooking the crash site.
He felt different. He looked different.
The chest plate strapped to his torso was crude and ugly. It was a mosaic of brown insect shell and grey titanium fused together by the Fabricator. It did not have the sleek lines of Federation tech. It looked like something a warlord would wear in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It was jagged and scarred and functional.
But it worked.
The chitin was light. The weight on his shoulders was gone. He could move his arms freely. He held a spear in his right hand. It was a six-foot rod of starship landing strut filed down to a monomolecular point.
"A.R.C.," Elian whispered. The vocal pickup in his collar transmitted the sound directly to the AI. "Status on the perimeter."
◤ SENSOR SWEEP ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Passive Sonar: Active
⬢ Thermal Imaging: Intermittent (Magnetic Interference)
⬢ Warning: Atmospheric pressure fluctuating. Storm forming.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elian adjusted his grip on the spear. He was not up here to admire the view. He was up here because the Calorie Deficit was a ticking clock that never stopped. The rabbit meat was gone. The surgery and the labor of dragging the bugs had burned through his reserves. He needed food again.
He needed something bigger than a bug.
"Show me the game trails," Elian commanded.
A wireframe overlay flickered across his vision. A.R.C. highlighted paths in the mud where heavy things had walked.
One trail stood out. It was wide. It smashed through the metallic trees like a bulldozer. The footprints were deep depressions in the rock that suggested a mass of at least four tons.
"That is too big for me," Elian muttered. "Avoid."
[ Correction. Observe. ]
[ Commander, you are an invasive species in this ecosystem. You do not know the hierarchy. ]
[ If we do not identify the Apex Predator of this ravine, we will eventually build our base in its living room. ]
Elian frowned. The logic was sound. He crept forward and followed the ridge line parallel to the massive trail.
The fog grew thicker. Silent lightning arced between the trees. The air tasted of ozone and copper. The hair on Elian's arms stood up inside his undersuit.
Thump.
The ground shook.
It was a rhythmic vibration. Something massive was walking.
Elian dropped to his stomach. He crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the valley floor.
Below him the jungle canopy had been torn open. In the clearing stood a monster.
It was a primate but built on the scale of a siege tower. It stood thirty feet tall at the shoulder. Its fur was silver and bristled with static electricity like needles. Massive jagged stones floated in the air around its shoulders. They were not held by ropes. They were suspended by an invisible force.
◤ TARGET IDENTIFIED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Designation: Target-Alpha (Apex Class)
⬢ Morphology: Primate
⬢ Estimated Mass: 15,000 kg
⬢ Energy Signature: Critical
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"It is controlling gravity," Elian whispered. "Just like the Rabbit. But on a macro scale."
[ Observation: Negative. It is not generating gravity. It is manipulating the local magnetic field. ]
[ The stones are rich in iron. The creature is generating a high-voltage field from its fur which turns the stones into floating projectiles. ]
[ It is a biological Railgun. ]
Elian felt a cold sweat break out on his back. A biological Railgun.
Crack.
The ape froze. It turned its massive head toward the jungle floor.
From the shadows a pack of the insect scavengers emerged. They were swarming over the carcass of a deer-like creature. There were twenty of them. A swarm that could strip a human to bone in seconds.
The insects hissed. They sensed the predator. They scattered and moved with terrifying speed.
They were not fast enough.
Target-Alpha did not chase them. It simply raised one massive fist. The air around its arm shimmered and superheated.
THOOM.
It punched the air.
It did not touch the ground. A shockwave of compressed air and kinetic force blasted downward like the hammer of a god.
The impact zone was a circle fifty feet wide. It was instantly pulverized. The trees shattered into splinters. The ground turned to liquid dust. The insects did not even have time to scream. They were vaporized into green mist and chitin fragments.
Elian felt the shockwave rattle his teeth even from three hundred meters away.
"Did you get that?" Elian asked. His heart pounded against his ribs.
[ Data Recorded. ]
[ Technique Analysis: High-Pressure Kinetic Discharge. ]
[ Mechanism: The subject creates a localized vacuum and releases it instantly. ]
[ Efficiency: 78%. ]
[ We cannot replicate this yet. Your body would disintegrate from the recoil. ]
"Yet," Elian corrected. "Give me a week."
He watched the Ape descend to lick the green paste off the rocks. This was the power scale of this planet. A single biological entity could flatten a tank with air pressure.
"We cannot fight that," Elian concluded. "Not with a spear. Not even with the fabricator."
[ Agreed. Strategic Recommendation: Avoidance. ]
[ However, Commander, we have a secondary problem. ]
[ The shockwave disrupted the magnetic camouflage of the crash site. ]
[ Three signatures are approaching your location. They are not animals. ]
Elian gripped his spear tight. "Not animals? Then what?"
[ Bipedal. Tool-users. Vocalization patterns detected. ]
[ It is a hunting party. ]
Elian slowly pulled himself back from the edge. He checked his surroundings. The fog was his ally. He moved silently and utilized the heavy and controlled steps of a man who knew exactly how much he weighed.
He retreated toward the narrow choke point he had identified earlier. It was a gap between two massive boulders near the tail of the Horizon Seeker.
"A.R.C., scan the approaching targets."
◤ TARGET ANALYSIS ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Count: 3
⬢ Height: 2.2 to 2.5 meters
⬢ Equipment: Stone weaponry / Bone armor
⬢ Note: Tracking the noise of the Titan
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elian reached the tail section. He hid behind a twisted strut of titanium.
From the fog they emerged.
They were humanoid but huge. They were easily seven feet tall. Their skin was grey like granite and covered in glowing blue tattoos. They wore armor made of bones that looked disturbingly like the ribs of the creatures Elian had just seen. They held massive stone clubs that looked like they weighed three hundred pounds.
◤ TARGET ID: BIPEDAL HOSTILES (TYPE-1) ◢
They moved with surprising grace for their size. They sniffed the air. One of them pointed at the dead insects in the distance where the Ape had fed. Then he pointed at the ship.
He grunted something in a guttural and grinding language.
[ Linguistic Analysis: Initiating... ]
[ Sample Size: Small. Syntax: Aggressive. ]
[ Inferred Meaning: Subject 1 is identifying the ship as a foreign object. Subject 2 smells organic matter inside. ]
"They smell the food," Elian muttered. "Or they smell me."
The leader of the trio stepped forward. He was wearing a chest plate made from the skull of a reptilian beast. He sniffed the ground near the airlock.
He roared in disgust. He raised his club to smash the ship's hull.
Elian knew he could not fight three giants in close quarters. His spear was sharp but they had reach and mass. If they hit him once his new bones would shatter.
He needed an equalizer.
"A.R.C.," Elian whispered. "The fuel lines on the emergency thrusters. Are they still pressurized?"
[ Affirmative. The Hydrazine lines are ruptured but contain residual volatile liquid. ]
"Perfect."
Elian looked at the puddle of clear liquid pooling near the Giant's feet. Hydrazine was nasty stuff. It was highly toxic and highly flammable.
He picked up a small rock. He wrapped a piece of copper wire from his pocket around it.
"Physics lesson number one," Elian whispered. "Combustion."
He scraped the copper-wired rock against his metal thigh plate.
Sparks.
He threw it.
The spark hit the puddle.
WHOOSH.
It was not an explosion. It was a wall of white fire. Hydrazine burns hot and fast. The flame engulfed the three giants instantly.
They did not scream like humans. They roared like lions. The fire caught their bone armor and the furs they wore.
"A.R.C., targeting solution!"
[ Target 1 (Leader): Blinded. Disoriented. ]
[ Target 2: Panicked. Retreating. ]
[ Target 3: Charging through the fire. ]
The third giant was a berserker. He ignored the flames licking his skin. He charged through the inferno and swung his stone club blindly at the wreckage where Elian hid.
CRASH.
The club hit the steel strut next to Elian's head. It dented the starship alloy like tin foil. The force threw Elian off balance.
"8.5G Momentum," Elian analyzed instantly. "If that hits me I am paste."
The Giant raised the club for a second swing. He was huge. He towered over Elian. His eyes were milky white and rolled back in rage.
Elian did not try to block. He couldn't.
He dropped his center of gravity.
"Inertia Check," Elian growled.
He lunged forward under the swing.
He planted the butt of his titanium spear into the ground. He angled the monomolecular tip upward.
The Giant stepped forward to crush him.
He stepped right onto the spear.
The tip did not just pierce the skin. It slid through the giant's groin and through the intestines. It crunched into the spine.
The giant froze. The club fell from his hands.
Elian did not stop. He twisted the spear to sever the spinal cord.
The giant collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
◤ KILL CONFIRMED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Target: Neutralized
⬢ Adrenaline Spike: High
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The other two giants were burned and blinded. They heard their comrade fall. The leader roared a sound of mourning and rage but the fire was too intense. They retreated into the fog and dragged their clubs behind them.
Elian stood over the dead giant. He was breathing hard. The fight had lasted ten seconds.
He looked down at the corpse. The tattoos on the giant's skin were fading.
"A.R.C.," Elian said as he pulled his spear free with a wet squelch. "Scan him. Why was he so strong? That club weighed as much as a motorbike."
[ Scanning... ]
[ Subject possesses triple-density muscle fibers similar to yours. ]
[ Anomaly Detected: Look at the chest. ]
Elian knelt. He examined the bone plate strapped to the giant's chest. It was not just bone. It was grafted into his skin. Roots from the bone dug deep into the giant's flesh and wrapped around his spinal column.
[ Analysis: This is a biological interface. ]
[ Hypothesis: They are grafting the bones of other species into their own bodies. ]
[ They are stealing genetic traits via viral fusion. ]
Elian's eyes narrowed. "Crude genetic splicing. They are chopping up monsters and sewing them on."
[ Affirmative. Primitive but effective. ]
[ Commander, you have just engaged the local sentient population. ]
[ We are now at war with the tribe. ]
Elian wiped the blood from his spear. The rain started to fall. Heavy and hot drops sizzled on the hot ship hull.
"Good," Elian said as he turned back to his ship. "I needed test subjects."
He looked at the dead giant. He didn't see a person. He saw raw materials. He saw a way to upgrade his own biology.
"A.R.C., prepare the Med Bay. I want to know exactly how that graft works."
He grabbed the corpse by the ankle. It was heavy but Elian was stronger now. He began to drag it inside.
[END OF CHAPTER 5]