[Inaius] David and...

Ringworld Tok
Sometime Station Time

Kosh pulled at the neck of her protective ferroweave suit. It was starting to get too tight for her liking. Like it was trying to choke her. She could not tell if it was because she had grown and needed a resizing or because she was hearing the call of her ancestors. To run free like they did. To hunt as they did. Just pitting oneself against the worst that nature could muster. To feel the hunger of an empty belly that yearns for anything to satiate its need. Reflexively she took a puff of her y-stick. The soothing vapors washed away such thoughts. Instead returning her to her irritation. She pulled at the suit once more. Guess I have grown a bit, she thought. She rubbed her knees trying whilst trying to shift her weight back and forth. Sitting cross legged all day was far from easy. Staring at the same bland door everyday too was far from easy. She bet she could recreate that door from memory with her eyes closed. If only there was no door. Then perhaps she would at least get to stare out into the landing hangar for guests and visitors. Alas that was not her fate. Instead she had the privilege of staring at the grey sliding door.

The silence was deafening. Only the low hum of the ring permeated the space. The urge to check her dataslate scratched its way into her mind. She tried to resist. She really did. All it would do was remind her that there were no new arrivals today. No incoming shipments. No visitors. Nothing. Just a blank manifest with a clock reminding her that she still had long to go before her shift was over. She kept looking at it from the corner of her eye. She took another puff in an attempt to alleviate her growing restlessness. It did not help much. Kosh questioned why today was so bad. Sure it was not the greatest assignment, sitting and waiting all day, checking in other people, getting them situated for their hunt, watching them run off into the jungles of the ring. Many times she found herself jealous. She figured one day she would join her sisters and brothers out there. However she was still young. Most who went out were middle aged or close to the end. A sort of retirement from society and service. There was no coming back though. And Kosh figured she was not ready to give everything up yet. Far too soon for that.

Her dataslate beeped with a notification. Change! She immediately swept it up to see the news. Finally! Battery low. Her head sunk into her hands as she pulled at her bone ridge out of frustration. This day will never end. A part of her was actually arguing for going on a blood rage fueled massacre, but ultimately she decided against it. She rested her dataslate on a charging pad. That was when to her great surprise. The bleak unchanging grey door in front of her beeped before sliding open. She looked on in disbelief as an upright bipedal pink faced being walked into view carrying a small bag. It was a human. She had never met a human before. She had seen them in her exobiology and galactic civilization classes. The human looked short in comparison to the door. She almost met him eye to eye even when sitting down. The human approached without a care in the world. Soon enough he was standing right in front of her. A bit too close even for her comfort.

“Can you understand me?” the human asked.

That’s right I can understand you! Kosh thought in a sudden flash of excitement. Her training was kicking in. The ring rarely got visitors from other species, but they did sometimes. She had trained just for this. She thought hard before responding.

“Correct,” was all she could muster.

“Ah, that’s good then. I believe I am scheduled for arrival,” the human said. This one was a male. A man. She thought she might have misheard him.

“Arrival? You visitor,” she responded whilst pointing at the human.

“No, no. Not a visitor. I am an arrival. I wish to undergo the Kyng,” he said matter of factly.

This was the second time she was in disbelief in a span of minute. If she was understanding this human correctly. He wished to join her sisters and brothers in the Kyng. The last hunt. To pit himself against the unwavering hammer of mother nature. To survive alone. To die alone. She could not believe it. She grabbed her dataslate to check the manifest. Battery low. She growled in frustration. Of course now of all times. She looked back to the human standing before her. This had to be a mistake or failure to communicate. For the first time in hours she stood, towering over the human. He seemed to pay it no mind. In fact to her observation he seemed more than comfortable being in her presence. Kosh beckoned the human to follow her. She walked down one the hallways that led to an observation bridge before one of the main living barracks, the human following behind, he seemed to be taking in everything with ease. She stopped once they reached a sizable window that beheld the vastness of the ring world. An artificial structure dedicated to one of her people’s most sacred practices. Its jungles and its mountains were visible the whole way around the ring. She pointed out the window and then to the human.

“You go out there? Hunt? Die?” she asked. She really hoped she was saying the correct things. This would be a first. If it was real, she could not wait to tell her clutchmates.

The man gave out a small laugh and shrugged his shoulders. “I heard it’s one of the best ring worlds your people have.”

Kosh definitely knew she was saying the wrong things. Damned classes! Otherwise this human would be terrified. She opted to take him to the visitor center. At least there she could talk to her clutchmother. Mother would know what to say. She beckoned the human with a talon. He followed happily along. Now her day seemed like it would never end for another reason.

Ringworld Tok
Sometime after Sometime Station time

Normally escorting visitors to the visitor center was not so stressful. It passed through the living barracks which gave a chance for others to interact with those who were visiting or about to undergo Kyng. Talking to the same clutchmates over and over got old fast. It was always an interesting time full of stories and discussion. Then again normally most visitors did not look like a light lunch. Kosh had instinctively put herself between the human and any of her intrigued stationmates. Most only stared, probably as struck as she was when first encountering the human. There were a few who she could tell were a bit more interested than just observing. She had to stare down most who tried to approach. It did not help that a lot of the maintenance crews were on break or awaiting assignment. One such group stood at the end of the barracks blocking the hallway to the visitor center. Kosh and her following human, who looked more than happy to be taking in the sights, reached the group.

Kosh piped up in her native tongue. “Make way. I am to bring this visitor to my clutchmother.”

The tallest one of the group dressed in a yellow body suit to denote fluids maintenance like the rest of group turned to Kosh and then the human beside her. Kosh could already feel a tingle up her spine. This one was going to be difficult. Everyone was always testing each other. It was natural.

“What is this that you bring us? A human? How did you capture a human?” the tall one said through her respirator. She extended a talon to point at the human.

“I did not capture him you dimwit, he is a visitor, now move,” Kosh repeated more firmly.

The tall akid did not budge and took a more imposing stance over Kosh. “Dimwit? I won’t move until you share your prize with us, tell where there are more of…” Her speech died in her throat when she noticed the human holding her hand and shaking it.

“Pleased to meet you, this is a fine station as I’ve seen so far! You gals must work really hard to keep this impeccable standard up,” the human said still shaking the akid’s hand. Both Kosh and the maintenance group could only stare. Kosh snapped out of it first, ushering the human forward past the group that was still stunned to silence. It was only down the hallway she heard the distinct sound of laughter from behind followed by what could only be described as a screech and then the distinct yet familiar sound of a fight.

“They seemed nice, you’re lucky to have such nice fellows,” the human piped up walking along side of Kosh. She glanced towards him. He was carefree. Either he was stupid and got lucky or he knew akida better than she thought. By grabbing that other akid’s hand, he showed not only to her, but the whole barracks that he was not afraid and that the only way to solve the engagement was death or submission. Perhaps the other’s did not notice because of the shock, but Kosh did. When shaking that akid’s hand. He looked relaxed, but he was ready. His posture was defensive. His eyes were piercing. She figured she was imagining things. There is no way he was going to take on akida. Still though. She could not shake the feeling. Reflexively she took a puff of her y-stick to calm her now heightened nerves.

“Yes, family good. Rough. Fun,” she finally replied with a large cloud out of her nostrils. They finally reached the end of the hallway. Kosh walked up to the doorway leading into the visitor center. It did not open. Grumbling she turned to the panel off to the side. She pushed the manual override. Its door slid open to reveal the visitor center. It was a serene room, with many mats and cushions for lounging. It was populated with viewing screens so visitors could watch their family participate in their hunt, if they were inclined. Immediately Kosh noticed an akid with his back turned to her speaking with her clutchmother on the farside of the room. He looked older, Kosh could tell due to the yellowing bony plates on his arms. His scaly skin was white in many areas as if shedding constantly. His movements were fairly slow and deliberate. Kosh moved forward with the human in tow. She waited patiently behind the older one. Hopefully her clutchmother spoke the human tongue better than herself. This was all a big misunderstanding. Kosh would not suffer any mistakes on her record. Any further mistakes. Maybe a few more.

She noticed the human had tired of standing around and moved to one of the viewing screens. Perhaps he had known an akid that now resided here. Surely that was the reason. It seemed more sensible. Finally her clutchmother spoke, “Approach Kosh, what can I do for you?” She leaned to peer past Kosh to stare at the human.

Before Kosh could speak up, the male akid had turned, clearly intrigued by the new arrival. Something seemed fairly familiar about him. She could not place it. Side glancing at the male she formally asked, “I have a new visitor here. This human, I think I am struggling with his language and misunderstanding him. Can you help interpret his tongue?”

Her clutchmother's gaze was a bit unnerving. She clicked her tongue before responding, “Did I not teach you their speech when you were young? I did not expect one mine to mire my reputation so viciously with a single question.”

Another test. Such was the life on this ring. Kosh sat cross legged across from her before replying, “You did mother. I am not insulting your teachings. I know all that you taught me, but... the human. He has requested the Kyng. I do not think he knows what it means.”

The clutchmother clicked her tongue some more. Something was mulling over in her brain. Kosh could see it. No matter. This debacle would be cleared up shortly. The clutchmother finally spoke, “Bring him forward. I will speak with him. It will determine whether you learned or not.”

Kosh bowed her head a bit before turning to where the human was. Was. He was no longer where he was supposed to be. The sudden drop of panic began to tug on her tendrils. Where was he? He was right there! She stood immediately with a twirl to take in the whole room. It was then she noticed her clutchmother pointing at the human. He was near one of the large windows observing the jungles and ranges of the ring. Next to him stood the male akid. They were talking. When had he moved there? Kosh was beginning to lose her patience. She rushed over towards the human and reached out to grab him by the shoulder, only to have her wrist grabbed in turn. The male akid was now staring down at her. It was as if he had suddenly become taller than what she had seen before. His grip was like a vice. It threatened to crush her bones.

“You would do well to respect our guests,” the male akid said in perfect tone of the human tongue his eyes still burrowing into her own. She recognized him finally. Nodorai. He was her shipfather. More importantly he was everyone’s shipfather on this ring. Even worse, he was one of a handful of male ship guardians in the entire Tretrarchy. She had never met him in the flesh. The ring was large and many lived on it. It was rare to meet everyone else. The older akid laughed an eerie laugh before releasing her.

“You have not met me. I have met you however. Kosh. Many years ago. You were much smaller then, my how you’ve grown, “ he said in akid before turning back to the human and nodding. “This human here, his name is David Simmons. He is fully aware of what our tradition is. He will go. Who am I to deny him? The call has sounded for him. He must answer.”

Kosh could only sit crossed legged in front of her patriarch. She was still fairly uncertain what protocol dictated for this. “And you will prepare him. Take him to the springs. Ensure his last night of civilization is one of contemplation.”

Kosh stood without meeting his gaze and becocked David to follow. David rubbed the back of his neck and waved to the shipfather as they departed. Nodorai waved back. Clearly David had caused a kerfuffle and he was not too proud of it.

The clutchmother approached Nodorai after the doors closed and they were alone. “What did he say to you? You know we don’t let other species onto our reserve,” she asked, waiting for an answer. For this was highly unusual. Nodorai stood, still staring out of the window. He himself could hear it. The call. But he was a shipfather. He was not afforded such luxuries. Breaking the silence he replied, “he said he needed a vacation.” And it was true. He looked like he needed a vacation. Those eyes however told a different story.

Ringworld Tok
Some small time after the sometime after sometime Station time

The ride in the lift was silent. Not that Kosh had been talkative beforehand, but this new silence was somehow different. She could feel it. The human kept fidgeting. Perhaps the full weight of his decision was finally sinking into his mind. She herself could still hardly believe it. A human participating in the Kyng. What seemed like an amusing story to share now seemed like a sad one. A human came to die and he would. The end. There was no shame in it, many died on the ring. However, Kosh did wish for something a bit more amusing to tell. She rubbed her wrist. It was still sore from her shipfather’s grip. The ferroweave suit did nothing to protect her. This was another story she was not keen on sharing with her clutchmates. Embarrassing herself in front of the physical manifestation of their station. As if she was not being tested enough as is. If any of them heard of this they would surely try to pin her as the runt of the group. A headache to deal with later. She did not suspect anyone would know, but akida had a sixth sense when it came to shame and secrets. Especially her own. The thought of fighting off her family started to make her fidgety as well. Naturally Kosh took a large puff of her y-stick. The feeling of relaxation washing across her muscles was a welcome replacement to the induced tension of her earlier encounter. The worries of combatting her family’s pecking order are already long forgotten.

Kosh heard coughing. She glanced at the human, David. He was waving the cloud from his face. How thoughtless could she be! She was too used to escorting other akida. They never minded the vapors. It was common enough to share with each other. Kosh stumbled with her words in her panic, “Many sorries. I will not use the vapors with you. Are you alright?”

David simply smiled as he waved away more of the cloud before responding, “It’s alright lass, I know what it is for. I just wasn’t….expecting to get such a dose…” The human started slightly swaying where he stood. “I just might have to lie down a bit.”

“Lie…. down?” Kosh replied, staring quizzically at the human as he sat down on the floor of the lift. She waited for a response. She received none. “David?” she tried again now crouching to keep her head at eye level with his. The human was making an interesting noise. She poked him with a talon. He slumped slightly over more at the poking. Kosh held the back of her hand to the man’s mouth. Still breathing. That was a small mercy. The doors of the lift decided to open at that moment.

“Kosh?” another akid rumbled behind her. Kosh turned around again only to be staring up at a larger akid. Luckily it was her clutch sister. One of them at any rate. “What is that? We have arrivals today?”

“Hello Yoki. This is….a human. An arrival,” Kosh said now carrying the human in one arm and his luggage in the other.” She finally got a good look at the springs behind her sister. The warmth and humidity of the room already soaking into her ferroweave suit. “I am to prepare him for the Kyng.”

“You! Help prepare for the Kyng? As if you could...Wait the human is performing the Kyng?” Yoki abruptly interjected on her own insult. Kosh slapped her tail against Yoki as a confirmation. “When did this happen? Why are you doing this?”

Without looking back at Yoki, Kosh replied, “Our Shipfather graced me with this honor.” As she gently laid the snoring human down gently on the wet mossy stones near the springs. With the steam and mists floating around Kosh could have swore the man was dead. The deep slow puffs emanating from his lips told her otherwise.

“You met the Shipfather too?!” Yoki was practically bouncing with each question now. Her excitement was clearly visible. “I can’t wait to tell the others!”

Kosh didn’t say anything. She was more focused on the human. Finally getting a good look at the man’s face. His olive rosey cheeks were pudgy, but the man was not fat. He had dark circles under his eyes. A scar ran along the front of his neck. Kosh did not know human biology too well, but she knew that it was a battlescar. Perhaps this human had more to him than she had judged.

“Wow he’s ugly!” Yoki said as she leaned over Kosh’s shoulder. Kosh snorted. She reached back to flick her sister’s bone ridge.

“He’s our guest, and my charge unless you’ve forgotten,” she said, now turning to face her sister. Yoki was already snarling before huffing off the anger and marching back to the lift. Kosh watched her until the doors closed. She breathed deep to let the tingling in her muscles pass. She’d probably have to fight Yoki later now. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

Ringworld Tok
More time after some small time after the sometime after sometime Station time

Kosh was now sitting with her legs in one of the warm springs. The aroma of the humidity alongside the green moss and foliage filled her nostrils. It brought her a sense of peace and ease. A large glass window stood towering over her on the far side of the springs, showing the lush jungles and landscape beyond. At its base was a small hatch that one could crawl through. It only opened from her side. Once someone crawled through, there was no coming back. This spring was the last stop before heading out for the final hunt. It was meant to help prepare those making the journey mentally and to give a relaxing farewell before introducing someone into a brutal environment. Nature was a cruel mistress as all akida well knew.

It was nice to get away from the monotony of the arrival hall. She rarely got to come this far. It wasn’t her first time in the springs, but it had been a while. It always reminded her of the first akid she saw actually climb out into the jungle. The way they always stood for a moment staring into the vast greenness. Like it for the very first time. That akid had looked back through the window right at Kosh. With a smile and a laugh no less. She had always wondered what they were thinking in that split second. Regret? Acceptance? What was so funny? She’d never know.

The human, David, stirred. Finally! Kosh thought. He let out a wheeze and fit of coughing before bolting up right. The sudden movement actually caused Kosh to flinch slightly. Much to her own embarrassment. The man looked tense for a few seconds before relaxing again and taking in his surroundings. Kosh prodded the man with a talon before asking, “Are you not dead?”

The man seemed uninterested in her question and more focused on some thought he was having. He slowly got up and moved towards his bag. The contents of which Kosh finally got to see. A very large knife in a very large scabbard, some camouflage pants and jacket, and including what looked like some sort of data slate with vials on a wrist band. Kosh’s curiosity was getting the better of her. “What that for?”

The man stood all the way up and started slipping off his vacation shirt. “It’s what I’m taking into there,” he said while gesturing to the large window wall with the knife. “Speaking of which, how long do I have before you’re supposed to reject me?”

Kosh sat pondering what could be driving this man. He did not seem like he was committing to the hunt. She replied slowly in the best human she could, “Two days before I need you to prove your predator heart.”

“Predator heart huh?” the man said whilst taking off his pants and slipping into the camouflage ones. “Well young lady. I don’t know if I got that, but what I do have is some prey. And she’s in there. And we don’t have that kind of time.” After zipping up he fastened the long blade he was holding to his right calf.

Kosh didn’t understand what he meant or like being ignored. Especially by this human. It was twice now he had not answered her questions or avoiding straight answers. “What that for,” she repeated again, now pointing to the dataslate with the vials on the side. The man now grinned a smile that Kosh knew meant bad news. His entire demeanor had somehow changed. Or perhaps it was there the whole time and only now she was noticing. He fastened the wrist dataslate onto his forearm before responding.

“This here,” he said as he activated the screen and started pushing on buttons, "is Mark six combat stim, a left over from our dearly departed Bellazaran friends. These babies allowed a man to fight for days without sleep and not much to eat. They have got quite the kick.” Before Kosh could interject at the use of enhancements before performing the Kyng, the vials started to drain one by one. As soon as she saw she stood out of the spring. He had taken the stim. What was she supposed to do? Stop him? Her senses were telling her something bad was going to happen in the next few moments. It was hard to hold back the tingling in all of her muscles.

The man had tensed up as the vials emptied into his arm, but now he relaxed with a sigh. In the next moment however he was already tackling one of Kosh’s legs throwing her off balance. She had no time to react. The pure shock of seeing something that small move that fast has thrown her off. Out of reflex she swiped her left claws where the man had tackled, but he had already moved on. She needed to create space, so she jumped back from the springs with her back against a wall. He may be quick over short distances but he was still limited by his size, she could move farther in a shorter time. Why had he suddenly attacked? The question kept burning in her mind as her eyes scanned the room. The human was nowhere to be seen. The haze from the springs and the foliage were not helping. There was barely any lighting in there to boot. There! A gleam from something shiny behind some leaves. Two shiny glints. His eyes. He had clearly noticed as he came sprinting out of the brush holding his dagger in front of him in a suicide charge. He may have caught her off guard before, but now this was easy! She took to all fours and charged back. A few steps before contact Kosh locked her head down to allow her ridge to do all the bloody work. As she did however, she saw the man had dropped into a slide to get underneath her now, it was a feint! She couldn't react fast enough. And that’s when she felt it. A stinging sensation from her tail. She flipped around as quickly as possible only to see a smug human holding aloft the end of her tail and with it, her life. Kosh was dumb struck. She tried to speak human words, but only akid came out.

“You didn’t! You can’t! You are not akid! This means nothing!” she bellowed with an animalistic anger. David did not flinch at the loud noises. He merely took a finger to wipe off the blood from his knife before fastening the tail to his belt. It hung there almost as big as his thigh. Kosh’s cursing died down as the gravity of the situation set in. Her tail. Taken. By a human!

“I know what you’re thinking lass, why me, why the tail? Well I’ll tell ya why. You see, in that there reserve is an akid. A very special akid to me. She was a merc you see. Her and her pals killed a lot of my good friends,” the man said while strapping on a watch and making his way to the gate to the reserve. “So I am going to show her what it means to be hunted. She’s the only one left. Now, seeing as you work on this here ring, you probably have a somewhat intimate knowledge of the landscape. And thanks to your lovely viewing center, I know her last position. You are going to help me get there” He fiddled with the controls to the gate. The swished open. The sounds of the jungle and beyond already filling the room.

Kosh could not refuse. He had claimed her. She tried thinking of anything she could do to somehow nullify this pact that this man had done. The man was waiting at the entrance. “Tick tock missy, if you don’t do as I say, you’ll have to explain to your momma why you don’t got a tail. And how you rejected me. Well...you could lie. But you akida never lie.”

Damn him! Damn this man! To think she was beginning to find him interesting and nice! She slowly followed the man to the gate. She paused before the entrance. “You plan on escape after yes?” she asked through gritted teeth. The man grinned his troublesome grin.

“Oh don’t worry. We’ll get to that. First we gotta live long enough to make it there.”

Kosh sighed and took a long drag of her y-stick before dropping it and crushing it beneath her foot. She stepped through the gateway. It was going to be a long journey.

Ringworld Tok
After the more time after some small time after the sometime after sometime Station time

Ratsa sat quietly in her pilot’s seat. The ring world was floating some distance off in front of the ship. A shining ring against the blackness of the void. She was waiting for landing confirmation. A screen to her right blinked to life showing an akid from a landing bay as he relayed the instructions needed, “Proceed to bay four. Remember to set your reactor to low.”

Ratsa clicked in affirmation. Punching in the coordinates for bay four. The large glass cockpit lit up with a guidance trajectory for her to follow. She eased the ship into the path. The autopilot kicked in. With that she pushed a few buttons and the general white noise of the reactor below the floor now dulled to barely noticeable hum. She took this time to get up and talk to her crew.
She entered the common area where four other akida were lounging. Two of them, Skra and Sok were playing a game of knife hands*. Another, Hikki, was sleeping in his corner. The last, Raksha, was watching the game unfold while polishing his black ferroweave suit till it was almost a mirror.

Ratsa thumped her tail against a wall to get their attention. In that moment with Sok distracted as he looked towards their shipmother, Skra slammed his knife down into one of Sok’s palms. He yelped in pain. Ratsa snorted. A warrior was to be alert at all times. Sok hissed as he took the bloodied knife out. Despite the commotion they gathered in front of her and sat cross legged.

“You know who we’re hunting,” she said more as a statement then a question.

“Yes shipmother,” the four responded in unison.

“Failure to capture this human will bring shame to our queen, you understand?”

“Yes shipmother.”

“Will you make me proud?”

“Yes shipmother.”

Ratsa patted them each to confirm her understanding of their commitment. With that done, they each gathered gear that had been prepared in the center of the lounge. The sleak black ferroweavesuits that had been polished and oiled to be dead silent. An assortment of close quarters tools. Several rail harpoon rifles. Bags of gas grenades. And to five hunter-drones, one for each of them. After they were all fitted and good to go they stood ready at the rear hatch of the ship. With a thunk the ship came to a stop and the reactor powered off completely. The door slid open to reveal bay four of the ringworld. They made their way down the ramp toward the arrival hall.
“Little sparse innit?” commented Skra as he looked around the empty bay. None of these younglings had been to a hunting reserve before. Shame. Didn’t even know their own history, Ratsa thought. Still they would prove more than capable for what was to come. She approached the akid sitting cross legged at the end of the arrival hall.

“I am shipmother Ratsa, this my clutch, I must speak with your shipfather for his sacred permission,” she said to the now panicking akid. It wasn’t really sacred, more of a formality, but it was indeed permission. Ratsa disliked this level of interactions with other shipmasters. It definitely came with its benefits, but what seemed like freedom at first came with a new set of social etiquette. Ratsa watched as the nervous akid led them all to one of the lifts. This was one marked differently than the others. It had markings engraved along the doors and interior. It was supposed to be reminiscent of a famous carving done on the old homeworld of Ra. Where a single akid became the first queen and the destruction of their world because of this affront to nature.

Ratsa hoped this shipfather wasn’t as religious as some akida were and that this was merely decoration for aesthetics. The lift took off at blistering speeds, the landscape merely a blur in the distance. It hurdled towards a larger structure amongst the green foliage.

“We’re going to be slogging through that?” Sok whined as he rubbed his bandaged claw staring out the windows of the lift. Ratsa wasn’t exactly looking. These types of ringworlds weren’t the biggest, but they didn’t have to be. They weren’t trying to pack as much as possible into as little as possible. She knew it wouldn’t be a long hunt, but there definitely wouldn’t be any of the comforts of home. They’d make do. Well it all depended on this shipfather. The lift began to slow, before coming to halt at the center of a large open structure. The nervous akid bid the group step out before closing the doors and zooming off in lift once more. Ratsa looked up at the ceiling. It must have been several stories high, a pyramid with a hole at the top shining down the sun onto an akid, the shipfather. He was sitting atop a rug deep in meditation. Ratsa slowly made her way to the older akid. She had never met a shipfather of a ringworld before.

“Prestigious shipfather, I ask for your audience,” she said her voice echoing off the carved walls of the spacious hall. The shipfather opened his eyes from his meditation and rose. Without a word. He marched right up to Ratsa. A mere inch from her face. His eyes piercing and full violence. Damn. He was definitely religious, she thought. Only old timers did this. Everyone else was just happy to have a normal conversation. He was testing her own worth as a shipmother. If she showed any fear, he’d start a trial. She clenched her jaw and pushed on balls of her talons to appear taller and unintimidated. Her eyes locked with his. Only a few seconds passed, but his eyes abated, clouding over as if nothing had happened. He took a few steps back before sitting once more.

“Prestigious shipmother, I ask for your query,” he said softly now staring at the other four akida behind Ratsa. Ratsa exhaled to relax the tingling in her body. She began to make her case.

“I am Ratsa. These akid are my clutch. I am bounty hunter and have been tasked by the Queen t-”

“You were tasked by Queen Yihna?” the old shipfather interjected leaning in close to read Ratsa’s face.

Ratsa winced at her mistake. “By my queen, Queen Nulma. The bounty given to me by her now resides on this ring. It is a human.” She could feel her eyes wanting to draw more and more to the floor. She had to fight the instinct to kowtow to this old akid and kept her eyes always on his.

“Ah, yes the human. He is as you say. Upon this ring. He came here to perform the Kyng. Alas I doubt that was his true intention. He took one of my daughters you see,” the old akid replied as he scratched the old scales on his chest.

“If the bounty is here I ask your sacred permission to hunt this bounty upon your ring, without interference,” Ratsa quickly spat out. She wanted this interaction to be over with.

The old akid sat there pondering the request for a moment staring at Ratsa. All she could do in the silence was count his teeth and how well kept and sharp they were. The light beaming down from the ceiling made his face cast shadows that only enhanced his terrifying visage.

“He will eventually die here. Why hunt the man? Why is your queen so interested in this human?” he finally asked. Ratsa didn’t know what to say. She really didn’t know, but she figured the shipfather would not accept that as an answer.

“I hunt the human because my queen told me to do so. I cannot divulge her reasoning to you. I am blood bound. I cannot fail in this charge. I request your sacred permission,” Ratsa urged. Hopefully the religious nut would be more agreeable to something more honorable instead of a simple hitsquad. She technically wasn’t lying. She could not divulge what she did not know. She was blood bound to her queen, but for a different reason. And she couldn’t fail because….she knew she was just that good.

“Blood bound? For a simple bounty?” The old akid replied now standing and turning away to pace. As he paced he kept looking back at Ratsa as if he could glean the information from her eyes. He finally stopped pacing and said, “So be it. You have my permission to hunt your charge. Since you are blood bound I understand you have no choice. I would rather this be a civil and not be a battle of honors. Good hunting to you shipmother.”

Ratsa did her best to hide her relief at the acceptance of their query. She turned and signaled her clutch to follow. They fell in line behind her as they all made their way to the lift that had returned for them. As they all got in and the doors slowly began to close, Ratsa watched as the old shipfather stood in the light, still staring at her. Still testing. Damned geezer.

---

*knife hands is like red hands except they try to stab/dodge the stab instead.

Ringworld Tok
After welcoming the jungle

The human, David, moved through the dense foliage as if it didn’t hinder him. Kosh noted that he moved with a grace of sorts. Never was he slowed by branches or the thick roots. Each step carefully placed, allowing him the flow through it unabated. Meanwhile Kosh on the other hand was constantly pushing leaves and crunching the soft undergrowth as she surged forward to follow. Every now and then the man would stop. Kosh would follow suit. She knew he was listening for danger. Clearly the man was in his element. Kosh wished she could say she was in hers.

Despite being akid. Despite being a naturally born predator. Kosh was still born into a life of ease. She had never before had to fend for her life in such a manner. As she clawed through the jungle, she reflected that her younger self’s ambitions to join the warrior caste were probably misplaced. Already her ferroweave suit was getting damp due to the humid air. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Stop that,” the human whispered harshly. Barely audible over the ambiance of the jungle.

“Stop the what,” Kosh asked as she froze in place. She didn’t know what she was doing wrong.

“The clicking. You’re giving away our position. We have a whole week of travel before getting to the last known position of my prey,” replied David. “If I was one of your sisters. One of the best ways to ensure survival would be to kill all new entries to your lovely ‘reserve’ when they least suspect it. Which would be upon entry. Which would be right now.” The human stared at Kosh. She swore the man’s expression was one of contempt and frustration. She could not say for sure however. Human faces were confusing. Especially now that his face was covered in mud.

They kept moving forward in silence for the next handful of hours. The human had grown tired of Kosh’s constant crunching and showed her how to move quietly through the dense growth. How to choose which spots to plant her feet. Well quietly was relative. She was after all still much bigger and had to cut her way through most of the time. Still it was a vast improvement. Kosh realized they were climbing as the ground started to incline. The sun was setting off the port side of the ring by the time they had arrived at their first rest stop. They had reached the peak of a high ridge. From their vantage point, David wanted Kosh to point out the path they would be taking. Even though he had said he needed her, he seemed to already know the way forward and she was merely confirming his plan.

Kosh’s muscles twitched. She was more than annoyed now. Her tail had been itching the entire trip thus far. The shame she had buried on their initial venture forth was now bubbling a bit to the surface. On multiple occasions she thought of perhaps killing the man. She tried coming up with excuses she could use upon her return. Everytime she thought she had one, David would look back with eyes that told a long story. And that story did not end with her stabbing the man in the back.

They had set off again and were working their way down the ridge. That is until it was complete dark. The only light was the day side on the opposite end of the ring. It barely illuminated the night. Luckily David had located a stream that led to a waterfall. The man stopped near the rocky edge looking back at the tree line behind himself.

“We rest here for the night,” he said at full volume for the first time during their trip. Still he was barely audible over the roar of the waterfall. They had been hiking for almost seventeen hours by Kosh’s count. She was taking a rough guess. Kosh tried finding a comfy position to rest in, but the hard rock and the constant noise of the jungle was keeping her from sleep coming to her. She tossed in frustration. The pain of her tail regrowing was also keeping her awake. She had also noted that she had not eaten all day. The human on the other hand had propped himself up against a tree facing away from the forest and towards the waterfall. Away from her. He showed no sign of discomfort and looked rather content. His chest rose slowly and rhythmically. He looked asleep. Maybe this was her chance! Kosh thought. She stared at David for a long while. And waited.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Kosh slithered her body against the damp rocks trying to get closer. Painstakingly she tried to be slow and not make any sound. If she could reclaim her tail. If she could feign this whole ordeal. Everything would return to normal.

“I don’t need to cut off more of you now, do I lass?” the man said without opening his eyes. His blade however glinted slightly in the dark. Kosh froze at the voice. Damned stims.

Ringworld Tok
Much after welcoming the jungle

Kosh was rudely awoken by a slight kick to the tail. She had managed to finally fall asleep after her attempt at retribution. Her muscles were already complaining as she rose. Their soreness from yesterday’s hiking and subsequent lying on the hard ground was making itself well known. It was early morning. David was filling a pouch of water in the stream nearby. Kosh let out a grunt and growl of annoyance at her still lamentable circumstances.

“Now now, you better let it all out now, before we set off. I don’t want to hear a peep when we're in the muck, ya hear?” David commented as he took a swig from his water pack. He was giving her a glare. One that Kosh understood perfectly. No more stupid ideas. She deflated slightly and looked away. David smirked.

“Drink up, today’s going to be much longer,” the man said as he capped his water pack. “From what you’ve shown me, we’ll be following this stream until we hit a larger river. Should make for easier going.”

Kosh nodded before plunging her whole head into the stream to gulp down water. It was cooling. For a small moment it washed away the stress she was burying deep. Only for a moment. When she pulled her head out the man was already looking for a path down the ridgeside. He motioned for her to follow his lead. It was much of the same as the previous day. Only this time hugging a riverside. Kosh struggled to not shift the smooth stones that lined the water. Every time she did, David looked back at her with the same irritated scowl. She felt shame. Not because she was ‘disappointing’ the human. Kosh was raised on the prime belief that as an akid, she was a natural hunter. Clearly she was not. She was not stealthy. A simple human had bested her. If her clutchmother could see, she would be disgusted. Her stomach was growling. And the only edible thing nearby was a human that somewhat scared her. She shook her head; instead refocusing on carefully placing her steps.

“We’ll hunt later tonight,” David said without looking back. “In case your stomach was wondering. Or you could grab some sari* from the river. If you think you’re up to it.”

Kosh’s muscles twitched despite being sore. She was desperately fighting the urge to charge the man. At the same time now she had to show him that she could at least catch something. That’ll show him. And herself. She had never done anything like it, but she had seen others do it on the observation screens. It was about patience and speed. Kosh figured she had been pretty patient so far all things considered. As she waded out into the middle of the stream she noted the human had taken a seat near a tree on the bank. His expression gave away his amusement. Kosh clicked her tongue in annoyance. Enough about him. More about sari.

She could barely see through the rushing water, but the worm-like sari were there. Their red bodies gave them away. They populated the bed of the river. Finding them was not the issue. They were lightning quick as Kosh was soon to learn. She plunged her right arm into the water as fast as she could. Before she could even register, all the blurry red masses had fled. Her first attempt went as well as she had expected. Still though, she simmered in her annoyance. She heard the man chuckle from his seat under the tree. What happened to being quiet? She thought. It didn’t matter. As she stood still in the waters, she could see the sari returning to their normal feeding. She tried controlling her breathing as she reached into the water slowly. The red blurs still rushed away from the disturbance. She let out a growl of frustration.

“We all aren’t born quick lass,” David said, as he stood on the bank near Kosh all of a sudden. It slightly startled her. “Be smarter.”

Kosh didn’t acknowledge him. Between the rushing water straining her sore legs and the standing perfectly still, Kosh couldn’t decide which was worse. She felt anxious. Her arm was still submerged. She waited. No sari yet. Kosh felt something deep in the back of her head. A gnawing feeling. Like she was a trap waiting to be set off. She waited more. She saw nothing except the water below her. The blurred greys and greens of the rocks. Even the human faded from her world. A red blur appeared in the water. Her muscles twitched instinctually as if to tell her something. She responded. Her entire body contracted as fast as it could to help launch her talons towards the sari. Kosh blinked. Her talons were embedded in the rocks below. Something red was flowing down the river from her hand. She had done it. Pride swelled within her. Ha! The stupid human is wrong! Kosh thought to herself as the ecstasy of victory washed over her much like the river. She turned to see the human’s reaction. He had already resumed his lounging under the tree. Kosh clicked her tongue again before biting into the water flesh of the sari. She stopped chewing. The taste was not pleasant. The human was staring at her directly with a slight smirk. She would not give the man the satisfaction. She resumed her chewing. Kosh figured the human couldn’t read akid expressions too well. No matter how hard she tried to put on a straight face, the raw flavor of the sari made her twitch at the sourness.

---

*Sari is like a red eel but is more porous and looks like a noodle sea sponge.

Ringworld Tok
A couple of weeks after entering the reserve

The wind howled across the grasslands. The waves flowed through the red stalks like water. It made the whole landscape look alive. Kosh didn’t like it. It was harder to see movement. It was also mesmerizing. She couldn’t help let her eyes follow the waves as they danced across the grass. The past handful of cycles had been hard for her, but the more time she spent in these open spaces. Surrounded by nature. She felt almost a peace within herself. The only reminder that stood to bring her out of her bliss, was the human now trailing behind her. After the first few days she noticed the stims had worn off. The man moved slower. Coughing repeatedly. Drinking more and more water as time went on. Clearly he should be resting. However, he insisted on pushing on without delay. Despite her circumstance, Kosh could not help but feel some respect for the human. She knew even now, he could be just as dangerous as he was on the day they met.

Kosh turned her head back to watch his progress. Still, though, she figured he could use rest.

“Shouldn’t strain hard,” she said, “Revenge no good if dead.”

The man grunted in annoyance, but acknowledged her suggestion. He sat down in the trail Kosh had been leaving in the tall grass. He took big gulps of water out of his pouch before biting into some dried sari. Kosh had improved her technique, she caught enough to feed them for some days. She was helped by the river that had gone on for so long. The sari would not last forever. She looked forward to her next opportunity to hunt. The thought of it gave her the shivers. Kosh noticed the man staring at her as he ate.

“You know lass, I’m sure you’re all proud of what you’ve done,” he took another bite, “but when we find my ‘friend’ you’re going to be doing a little more than fishing.”

Kosh didn’t know how to respond. She had thought about that eventuality before, but the closer they got, the more the reality began to set in. She would have to help the man with his quarry. It wasn’t that she did not wish to help, Kosh just didn’t think she would be capable. It would be different. Different from all the playful infighting of her sisters. Different than walking away with bruised pride. Sure she had seen kills before. But another akid? Fighting to survive? Kosh was out of her depth. Eventually she piped up.

“What did sister do? Why go so far?” she asked, hoping answers might help her doubt.

David sat there in silence. He had stopped eating. The man stared off towards the waving fields of grass that surrounded them both.

He finally spoke up, “You’ve never been off this ring have you? I bet you haven’t even been on a space walk.”

“True true. Only ever lived on station. Many new things for me,” Kosh replied.

“You’re lucky. You didn’t grow up in a hellhole, having to kill your neighbors just to eat. You didn’t serve in a war. You don’t even know what the word really means. I doubt you would understand the love I had for my brothers. How happy we were that we made it through. How guilty some felt that others didn’t. I didn’t feel guilty. I did what I had to. To make it through all that blood. Through all that shit. It was a miracle. And then my old comrades start dropping off the grid, one by one. It wasn’t surprising at first. It wasn’t surprising until that overgrown chicken tried coming for me as well. I did six tours in the domes. Not a scratch.” The man gestured to the scar on his neck. “A present from your sister.”

Kosh blinked. The akid they were hunting was clearly a bloodthirsty one. She now regretted asking. How could she help this man when he could easily subdue herself? The man only stared at her for a brief moment before laughing. Something was lost in translation to her, but his words still rang in her head. If he was going to find this akid then he would need all the help he could get. The man stood still chuckling, before coughing some more.

“She made a mistake that akid. One you could learn from.” he said walking past Kosh. She too stood and followed in step. “If you’re gonna kill someone. Make sure you finish the job.”

Ringworld Tok
A week after entering the reserve.

Ratsa slapped a tilto bug suckling on her suit. The luminescent blue streak it left looked rather pretty she thought. The contrast between the goo of the tilto and the dark of the night cycle of the ring was pleasing. It had been a while since she had been on solid land. Or at least what was trying to simulate the real thing. The dirt below her body was reassuring in a way. Her eyes focused back on her scope. Using a talon she scrolled the zoom on her target. They had stopped for rest. The human David and his now lokshi* friend. Skra and Sok had already started slowly moving closer under the cover of the tall grass. They would wait for Ratsa’s command once they surrounded the duo. The prey had stopped on top of a hill. A defensible position, but not invincible. Hikki and Rakasha were still with her. Hikki fidgeted with grenades in his claws. Rakasha on the other hand kept his scope on the prey just as his shipmother was. Still no movement, the duo appeared to be sleeping. Appearances were always deceiving as Ratsa had learned over the years. Better to be surprised by the mundane she had figured. She had the patience to wait, but her clutch was still young. Always eager. Aggression and initiative had their uses, however right now, they needed the patience of true hunters. So she made them wait.

Kosh hated this. The tension building in her was threatening to burst. Lying wide awake ever since the human had told her of the hunters. They had apparently been following for a day now. He had woken her when two of them had broken off to flank them on the opposite side of their hill. She laid in dirt next to David. Her muscles spasmed with the anticipation of violent action. He had pointed out where the main group was. His movements were slow and deliberate as to not tip off their stalkers to their awareness. Kosh wouldn’t have seen where they were if he had not pointed them out. The mix of frustration and fear was boiling inside of her. She had to do something! Each moment seemed an eternity. She looked towards the human. His demeanor had hardly changed. Calm. Collected. Analyzing the situation. He was thinking up a plan. The man finally whispered to her, “I’ve got a plan but you might not like it.” Kosh did not like any of the human’s plans thus far. She wondered why she expected any different this time.

Sok hated this. Just waiting. They were right there. They had the numbers! Why the hesitation? He knew his shipmother had good reasoning, but still he was struggling to keep focused. His claw was still sore from his game with Skra. He kept balling it into a fist to flex out the aching. It hardly worked. He looked through his scope again. He saw Skra across from him on the far side of the slope. They were ready.

His comms suddenly burst to life. It startled him slightly.

“Sok, Skra, they’re up, moving your way, ” his shipmother crackled over the comms.

“Yes ship mother, moving,” Skra had responded.

Sok clicked the button on his collar to respond, but he saw movement in the grass in front of him. He shifted the rifle and scope towards the tall dark reeds in front of him. His heart was pounding. His body was frozen in anticipation. The reeds only swayed in the light breeze.

“Sok respond.”

Sok hissed and clicked the button again.

Sok tried his best to whisper, “Possible Cont-”

It was at that moment an akid burst forth from the reeds with a feral roar. Sok instantly hefted the rifle onto target. The akid was closing the distance fast, but Sok had all the time he needed. His cross hairs were dead center of mass. His claw squeezed the trigger three times. With each squeeze the rail rifle whined to life and shot a bolt, it’s metal sheen still glowing from conducting so much energy as it soared through the darkness. The three bolts hit dead center of the Akid’s chest. She roared again in pain as she kept sprinting towards Sok. The glow of the bolts revealed her chest shining. A ferroweave suit! Sok cursed. Time to go for the head then! he thought as he shifted to a crouching position, hefting the rifles once more. He aimed his scope, she was ten yards away. He couldn’t miss. The akid’s bloody grin was illuminated by his nigh vision. Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger he heard a human voice yell something. The sprinting akid reached behind her and hefted a human from her back. It was the human they were hunting!

She launched the small body through the darkness with all her might. Sok felt his heart drop. Panic began to overtake him. He aimed his rifle as fast as he could, he held the trigger squeezed whilst he did. His rifled began to screech as it hurled bolt after bolt into the darkness. None of them hit. The human landed right on him knocking him over. He roared trying to leverage the body off of him with his rifle and stand back up. The human did not fight to keep him pinned only to hold on to Sok. That’s when Sok felt the familiar sting of cold steel. Except this time, it was in his neck. Right between his boneplating. Sok let out a yelp of pain, he threw the human off of him with a surge of strength that the pain brought. He held the side of his neck as he gurgled blood from his maw. This was bad, but nothing a good medkit couldn’t fix. He hefted his rifle with one arm to aim it at the human. A roar reminded him that he had forgotten about the akid, he cursed again just as she was right on top of him. She had grabbed onto the rifle tearing it from his weakened grip. Sok instinctively drew his knife, but it was too late. The last thing Sok got to see was the blue glow of his own rail-harpoon rifle and Skra taking aim.

For Kosh everything was happening too fast and too slow. The sprint felt she ran for miles despite being a handful of yards. The actual fight with the akid seemed over too quickly. His body was already slumped to the ground. Her claws were shaking as she held onto the rifle.

“No time for that! Get down!,” David screamed as he took cover behind the now lifeless akid’s corpse. Kosh started to turn around only to feel another electric bolt sink into her shoulder. She dropped the rifle as she held onto her new wound as she too dropped to the ground alongside the human. Without losing a beat, David, who had picked up the rifle, had started firing bolt after bolt at the hunter.

“Pick this dead bastard up, we’re moving!” The human screamed at Kosh. With their lives on the line Kosh could not argue. Despite her wounds still bleeding, Kosh picked up the dead akid, holding him in front of herself. The blood from the skull poured over her as she did. She stood as did the human. She felt the now warm barrel of the rifle between her arm and body. The human was still taking shots.

“Forward! We can’t let up!”

Kosh couldn’t see where she was going, but she heard and felt the whizzing and thuds of bolts landing on the fleshy shield she held in front of her. David kept firing. The human was letting the rifle overheat. She could feel it now burning into her side. This is not how she imagined this would go. Finally there came a yelp from in front of her. The human did not stop firing. They kept walking forward slowly. Kosh’s muscles could not take this punishment much anymore. The bolts in her chest and shoulder were beginning to take their toll. She dropped the body, only to see another akid corpse peppered with bolts. David immediately moved to scavenge what he could from the body. He tossed Kosh the overheating rifle and picked up the new one from the freshly dead akid. Kosh tore out the bolts in her chest with a hiss. The human walked up to Kosh now armed and equipped.

“Not bad so far, but we ain't out of the woods yet.” He told her, his eyes still scanning the ridge of the hill they had descended. Kosh took that as a sign, that the others would be on top of them soon. She would have to ask what forest he was talking about later.

Ringworld Tok
A week after entering the reserve.


Ratsa was rushing up the hill as fast as her limbs would allow. How could she be so stupid? She kept calling for Sok and Skra over comms. There was no response. Hikki and Raksha were barely able to keep up. Ratsa berated herself for not jumping on the situation. She knew that something was up as soon their target started moving. The peak of the hill was near. She surged forward gripping her rifle tightly. The bodies of her fallen children slowly came into view. She suppressed the urge to roar. Hefting the rifle up, she methodically made her way down the hill, scanning the scene. There had been a firefight. Sok and Skra’s gear had been stripped.

“So they’re armed,” Ratsa spat. Hikki and Raksha had finally caught up with her. Before they could react, their shipmother was already giving them signals to move forward quietly and to be alert. There was no sign of the human or the lokshi akid. They could not have gotten far. Ratsa reached Skra first. His body was still smoldering slightly from the bolts that peppered his entire body. Ratsa gritted her teeth. She cautiously checked the body. He had been stripped of his rifle, ammunition, and grenades. The only thing that was left was his suit and drone.

“You two check on Sok, see if they took his gear like Skra here,” Ratsa quickly ordered. She slammed her clenched claw on the lifeless body. Damn them! Damn them both for their weakness! For her own weakness. The need for action was ever present in her mind. She rose and turned to go inspect Sok. Any clues to this mishap would be essential to it not being repeated.

“Anything?” she asked as Hikki inspected the corpse.

“Nothin’,” Hikki clicked. “Just like Skra. Stripped clean.” Ratsa grumbled her acknowledgement, motioning for Hikki to take up overwatch with Raksha. She looked down at Sok and scowled. The akid was face down in the dirt, head half singed off with a bolt sticking out the back of it. Ratsa saw on the ground, claw marks and boot prints. Signs of a struggle. Some blood leading away from the body. It was akida blood, but wasn’t Sok’s. The lokshi was hurt, she surmised. She bent down to prod the bloody trail with her claws. The scent was fresh. Her nostrils burned it to her memory. Her prey were still close. And this time, she would not underestimate them.

Ratsa stood. She signalled for Raksha to deploy his drone. “You hang back and keep an eye on them, they’re in this grass, you’ll find them from above,” She ordered. Raksha clicked in agreement whilst unfurling the drone from his back. The black orb-like drone hummed as it activated and lifted into the air. Ratsa gestured to Hikki to follow her into the tall grass as the drone flew overhead to scout the area. Ratsa kept glancing at the ground to make sure the droplets of blood were there as she followed them deeper into the wall of foliage. She could hear Hikki two meters to her right.

“Got something. Shipmother. Ninety meters ahead towards your right face. Dead still,” Raksha whispered over his comms. Ratsa immediately quickened her gliding pace. The blood trail confirmed it. Hikki followed suit, the crunching of the dead grass was anything to go by.

“Shall I engage?,” Raksha asked over comms.

“No. Keep searching. We need two confirmed contacts,” she whispered back, still moving as quickly towards her target as her training would allow. She noticed Hikki had stopped following.

“I see it,” whispered Hikki, his rifle pointed into the grass. “Taking the shot.” Before Ratsa could get her eyes on the dark figure laying low in brush, a bright bolt was already flying through the air towards it. She too levelled her rifle and opened fire with three bolts of her own. The pair slowly advanced on their target. There was no movement. No sound. If anything it sounded like they hit dirt. The dark slump didn’t move. Ratsa looked through her scope. It was dirt. A hat and jacket atop a pile of dirt.

“Just a decoy,” Ratsa whispered into comms, resisting the urge to whip her tail in annoyance. Hikki, however, did not resist the urge, and proceeded to kick the hat and jacket. Ratsa was about to chastise the akid’s lack of noise discipline, when she noticed a whining noise coming from the pile of dirt along with the distinct sound of a gas grenade beeping down to detonation. She had no time to warn Hikki, only to cover her mouth and run. She heard the grenade explode behind her as she tore through the tall grass. Within a few seconds, a giant yellow cloud of highly toxic dust rushed past her and consumed her vision. The dust burned against her eyes. She held her breath whilst running. One breath was enough to be a death sentence.

“Shipmother? Shipmother respond!” Raksha’s voice was yelling over comms. Ratsa was running as fast as she could. But the cloud was endless. Her lungs burned from the lack of breath. Her rabid ripping through the grass was paying off. She could see a glimpse of Raksha in the distance. Just a little bit longer! She could almost taste the fresh air. But then there was a glimpse of blue bolts being fired. Raksha slumped to the ground. Ratsa wanted to scream. Her muscles burned and rebelled at her command. Her mind was a mess of fear and rage. She saw the two figures standing right over her child’s body. Staring right at her before disappearing once more into the foliage. She gasped a breath. Heaving and raspy. She roared out into the night of the ring.