Chapter Two
Raza walked out into the field, surrounded by Tul’Zera Jah-Wai hopefuls. They looked at him in awe as he was dressed in the full armaments of a war chief—a metallic chest plate, three silver rings along his tail, ornaments on his hands and claws, along with a spiked headdress of bone, leather, jewels, and carapace, marked with symbols the Sauren used as emblems of different quarry and hunts. All his impressive attire displayed his achievements.
He stood in the center of the younglings and raised a claw to quiet them. “Today, you begin your trials to become Jah-Wei,” he began, and the large ceremonial fire blazed behind him. “Those who survive and return will be seen as younglings no more, but as hunters, brethren to all who also hold the title. You continue the lineage of our race. We are more than simply soldiers, bounty hunters, and mercenaries. We are Sauren, the fiercest race of the known galaxy, and should we discover more, you will be there to show that we will always hold that title.”
Roars erupted all around and tails and feet pounded the ground. “And we are Tul’Zera. We are the ones who brought our world together. We are the ones who brought our race to the stars and to the worlds beyond so that our hunt could be everlasting. You have a birthright, but it is not simply given. It must be earned. You must prove what it means to be Tul’Zera.”
More roars of approval followed, and the area grew steadily wilder as the blood of the Sauren boiled in excitement. “You have your tasks, younglings, and I hope this is the last time I will call anyone on this field that.” Raza looked around, drew his ornate spear and unfolded it, then held it up. “When you return, I will be here. We will honor the fallen and celebrate the victors, the new cycle of hunters. For the might of the Tul’Zera!”
“For the honor of the Sauren,” the crowd finished. Almost as one, the younglings departed and raced past each other. Some headed out to the most dangerous parts of the planet, while others would board ships for other planets where their prey waited. Raza watched them go, constricted his spear, and replaced it on his belt. He removed his headdress as the last of them left.
“I’m not much one for grand speeches, Ken’ra.” He sighed as his friend approached.
“You still do them well, Ran’ama,” he assured him. “Your ship awaits.”
“My thanks.” He handed him the headdress. “Watch over our people for me until my return.”
“Of course, as always.” Ken’ra studied the headdress thoughtfully. “At times, it feels so long ago, but I remember when you got most of these markings.”
“Most of them I still recall fondly.” He frowned slightly. “Others…hmm. If it wasn’t a rule, I would wipe them from my collection.”
“That’s almost heresy,” his friend chided and focused on the spines of one of the crowns. “Although I suppose I know what you speak of, which brings me to a new development.”
“What is that?” Raza asked.
“Some of the Tsuna delegates wished to depart with you to the embassy,” his advisor informed him.
Raza gave him a quizzical look. “Don’t they have their own vessel?”
“Yes, but that is currently back on their homeworld, Abisalo, to bring another group to Saura. The trip was expected to be a few days longer, but something came up and one of their ambassadors is needed to attend a meeting,” Ken’ra explained. “I can tell them that the use of your vessel is not possible or—”
“It is fine but tell them to meet me there quickly. I’ll depart soon.”
“Understood, War Chief.” His aide nodded and retreated quickly from the ceremonial ground. Raza took another look at the sky before he went to change into his normal attire.
---
Onboard his ship, he walked along one of the long corridors to the main chamber. This was the Spear of Saura, the first vessel ever built capable of space travel by the Sauren and specifically the Tul’Zera. That had been over two hundred years before and it was now the personal carrier for the tribal leader. It was due for an upgrade, he thought, as the power core was still fueled by energy extracted from Asta crystal, an ingenious idea implemented by Tul’Zera creationists at the time. Now, however, it was only good for long-term space flight as it didn’t allow a vehicle to achieve any significant speed and power had to be diverted if they wanted to activate their shields or use more powerful weapons on board.
Then again, the only other species that were currently capable of space travel were their allies, so perhaps it did allow for some leeway.
Raza opened the doors to the gathering area. Inside were two Sauren delegates and five Tsuna—two guards, two delegates, and their ambassador. They turned and the Sauren bowed to their leader while the Tsuna saluted.
“Greetings, War Chief,” the ambassador intoned, her voice soft but respectful over the translator. “I am one of the Tsuna ambassadors of the Oiro Clan. We specialize in politics and delegation among the races.”
“I assume that duty is relatively new for your clan,” he commented. “I don’t believe we have met properly. How should I address you?”
She dropped her salute. “I have designated myself Azure after a human word for the shade of the color blue.”
“That is fitting, certainly,” he noted and studied the ambassador briefly. The female Tsuna were similar to their male counterparts but with noticeable differences—their skin shades seemed more on the lighter spectrum and instead of the seaweed-like hair, they had long fins or tendrils that spiraled out and more ovular eyes, said to give them better sight in the dark. The ambassador was a very bright shade of teal with one long tendril that encompassed her head and fell down her back. “Azure, you seem quite young for an ambassador to other races. What brings you here?”
“Duty, sir, but as you mentioned, communing with other races is a new endeavor for our clan. I was among the first Tsuna born after first-contact and among the first of our kind trained specifically for this position,” she explained. “We only met other races a short while ago, of course, starting with you and then the Mirus, followed by the humans.”
“I remember. I was among the team that initially discovered Abisalo,” Raza recalled and immediately caught himself. “I…regret what followed after that.”
The ambassador raised a hand to her mouth and wondered briefly if she shouldn’t have mentioned that but recovered quickly. “I did not mean to imply anything, War Chief. The past is done, and we have made great strides since then.”
He nodded and immediately recalled one of the symbols one his headdress—one that was inked blue and showed a curved arch with a circle on the front, their symbol for the Tsuna. He was one of the few to have one.
“So, why is the runt with us again?” Jok’sa asked. The veteran hunter scowled at Raza on the back of the transport. “This is Rekka—ritual combat. This is for the rights to this fishy scum’s planet. I was told only the best would represent the Sauren.”
“Ran’ama deserves his place here,” Seeb stated unequivocally and looked the dark-green-scaled hunter in his good eye. “I want to know who let the disgraced bastard in who lost his eye on a simple skinning mission.”
Jok’sa growled his annoyance and stood. For a moment, it seemed that he would lunge at the elder orange Sauren, who bared his teeth at his hostility.
“Enough, save it for the fight,” Tiox roared and both backed down. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and both of you will die and give me a peaceful trip home.”
“This old fool is acting like my question isn’t well-founded.” Jok’sa hawked and spat disgustedly. “All here are veterans, hunt leaders, Ken-Wai, Sur-Wai, and you’re a war chief,” he said and pointed at Tiox. “Except for him. He only completed his Jah-Wai trial four cycles ago.”
“And Ran’ama has shown himself to be the best among his cycle,” Seeb stated.
“You show bias for one of your tribe,” Jok’sa responded dismissively.
“He has proven himself, having already taken on a Ken-Wai-level hunt on his own,” Tiox stated. “But more imp
ortantly, he was among the group that discovered this planet. As a member of that team, he has hunter’s rights along with the others. As Rekka only allows for eleven members at most, he was chosen as the representative.”
Jok’sa eyed Raza again. “Feh, at least you were able to find me something new.” He tapped his arm, where dozens of symbols were etched into his scales. “I’m running out of space and need to start on the next one.”
“We should have simply chosen war,” another Sauren, Kolp, stated. “I haven’t been on a large hunt in many cycles and haven’t seen war since the last tribal war.”
“Which caused us to go from forty-three tribes to twenty-nine,” Tiox pointed out acerbically. “And the one before that was eighty-six to forty-three—literally half the tribes destroyed or absorbed.”
“Maybe that’s how it should be. One united Saura under the leadership of the best,” Kolp retorted.
“We are hunters, the fiercest warriors, but we are more than that,” Seeb stated. “Without the craftsmanship of the Xola tribe, we would not have the weapons we all train and hunt with. Without the Bel’Reve’s artists, we would not have the symbols you wear so proudly on your scales.”
“And without the Tul’Zera, you wouldn’t have the ability to make this hunt.” Raza finally spoke up and gestured around the ship. “You can thank us for that too, along with sparing your tribe in that last war, Kolp.”
Kolp dragged his claws along his chair and glared at the younger Sauren. “Keep talking like that, and you won’t live to see Ken-Wai, youngling!”
Tiox closed his eyes and huffed. “This is why I hate going to the tribal communes.”
“We’re almost to the arena,” the pilot informed them. “I’ll bring the ship down and open the viewer so you can take a look.”
The sides of the ship retracted and the Sauren looked out to see a golden dome floating above the watery planet. “Elegant, but it’d look better colored in their blood.” Jok’sa chuckled.
“Why did we allow them to choose the arena?” Seeb asked Tiox with a frown. “This could give them a clear advantage.”
“We chose the combat and they chose the location,” the war chief reminded them. “If you’re worried about fighting underwater, maybe you should have prepared better.”
“They can choose to fight in space itself,” Kolp grunted. “We will still be victorious.”
The ship drew up to a dock on the side of the arena and the eleven Sauren walked out. Dozens of Tsuna awaited them. Raza looked around warily. Even though he didn’t want to question the elders or sound like he was siding with miscreants like Kolp and Jok’sa, he was worried that this was a trap. Eleven Sauren on a world full of people they were there to essentially conquer didn’t make for encouraging odds.
If it came down to an ambush, they would annihilate many of their adversaries, but they wouldn’t be able to boast about it. Hopefully, the Tsuna weren’t foolish enough to risk all-out war with an unknown race, especially after everything they had done to try to end this with as few casualties as possible.
One approached, holding a box, and Raza and a few others prepared themselves for trouble as he opened it. Inside were eleven small devices. He pointed to one and then to his head. None of the Sauren moved, with the exception of Tiox, who took one of the devices and placed it on his brow.
“Translators,” he stated. “They speak with some sort of noise—sound waves or the like that we can’t hear naturally. We have to use these, or we can’t understand them.”
The others looked at one another before they each took one. Once they had put them on, they waited for the Tsuna to talk.
“Checking…can you understand me?” the one with the box asked.
“We can.” Tiox nodded. “Are you prepared?”
The emissary shut the box and bowed as another Tsuna, this one in armor with a domed helmet and holding a spear, walked forward. “I assume you are one of the war chiefs of the Sauren?”
“I am Tiox Vorlen of the Hassar tribe,” the war chief responded. “How do I address you?”
“Prey,” Jok’sa murmured.
The Tsuna removed his helmet to reveal alabaster skin and a bald head. “I will be known as leader. Even with our translators, our names are not so easily understandable, so we shall simply use titles for now.” He motioned to ten of his compatriots behind him. “I and my warriors will face you in individual combat, as per the rules of your Rekka, to decide the fate of our world and people.”
Tiox studied the Tsuna warriors briefly. “Then I ask again, are you prepared?”
“Are you?” he asked in turn, “This arena has been used by my people for generations. All the warriors here, including myself, have fought within many times. We wished to offer you one day to get to know it so that there can be no recourse or claims of unfair advantage once it ends.”
“Generous and foolish—a perfect pair.” Kolp chuckled and grimaced as he had forgotten the translator and saw the leader eye him with open disapproval.
“Fine, we will accept those terms and prepare,” Tiox confirmed. “Come the next night, we shall begin Rekka.”
Although there were cheers from the Sauren, Raza noticed that there wasn’t much enthusiasm from the war chief and that Seeb was oddly silent. They entered the arena and when Raza looked back, he saw the Tsuna leader speaking to the war chief.
Chapter Three
Raza watched as two Tsuna warriors practiced, one wielding a rifle and the other a blade. The latter weapon was mostly featureless, a silver color, and it looked more like a paddle than a true blade. But he wielded it expertly, dodged the other warrior’s shots, and even deflected them with the flat side of the sword.
“They are quite good, aren’t they?” Raza turned as Tiox and Seeb approached. “I have seen them in combat while I and the other war chiefs came here for talks. They fight differently than we do. It’s more about form than strength and cunning, but they aren’t without power.”
Raza took another look as the warrior with the sword disarmed the one with the rifle. “Practicing for gunplay won’t do them much good. We hardly use them.”
“Jok’sa uses a hand cannon, and Ozil is fond of blasters,” Seeb reminded him. “But I think it was a practice of speed and dexterity, not simply dealing with guns.”
“They won’t be able to deal with us using raw strength so will have to rely on their other advantages in this situation. They are aware of their shortcomings and are looking for the best way to approach. This should be a good fight,” Tiox reasoned.
“You sound like you admire them.” Raza looked the war chief in the eyes. “Not like one admires a powerful prey, but as a fellow hunter.”
The older Sauren was silent for a moment. “I didn’t want it to come to this. For all the cycles that we have traveled out into the stars, searching for prey, we have only found beasts, monsters, and ruins. Those are proper hunting grounds, and there is honor in those hunts.” The war chief moved his hand across some scars on his chest. “I have seen wars—the tribal wars we spoke of on the vessel. I fought in the last one and saw many of my tribe felled by those they used to call brother. It started over territory—new territory, the planets we were hunting on—then old wounds opened, tempers flared, and we were stuck in a war that continued through three cycles and almost halved the population.”
“These are not Sauren,” Raza pointed out. “We were not egregious with our demands. Our only request is that they allow us the use of their planet for hunts, for which we pay tribute for the culling of their beasts.”
“That was the sticking point. They try not to cull their beasts but train them and allow them to live on their own. They hold their planet’s environment sacred,” Tiox explained. “I was told that they place the blame of any rampant beast on the actions of the races called the Angula in the deep recesses of their planet. This is a foe they have fought for generations. They see us as another version of that.”
“Then these Angula are nothing more th
an hunters?” Raza questioned. “It seems we would have more in common with them than with these weak people.”
“The Angula are not like us. They hunt for the thrill of killing alone, beast or person. Also, they take no trophy and use the beast not for sustenance or progress, but as toys.” Tiox grimaced. “I would have no issue hunting them, but these Tsuna show more grace and wisdom, something we need in the Sauren.”
Raza looked at Seeb. “You say nothing to this? Do you agree with the war chief?”
Seeb shrugged. “In some respects. I have not spent the time with these Tsuna as he has, but from what he has told me, we could learn from them or at least find some agreement.”
“If that is the case, why are you fighting? Why was Rekka chosen to begin with?”
Tiox frowned. “I am the oldest among the war chiefs, old enough to remember that last war. The others…well, some are wise and know the potential boons of meeting another race, learning their ways, and making pacts. But most of the others…imagine if Jok’sa and Kolp were war chiefs.”
“I can’t imagine we would get much accomplished,” Raza grumbled. “But why are you fighting, specifically, if you feel so strongly about this?”
Tiox clenched his jaw and looked at Seeb for a moment. “I will not fight them. None of us will.”
“What are you talking about?” Raza demanded. “Why are we here, then? Rekka has already been declared. It cannot be undone.”
“When a war chief dies, what happens, Ran’ama?” Seeb asked.
“The passing ceremony, What of it?”
“Before that—the dying words.”
“When a dying war chief makes a request, if the one who follows upholds it, that will become rule.” Raza’s eyes widened and he gripped Tiox by his arm. “What are you planning?”
Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration Page 41
