On the way Home

Driving back to Base C5, the squad has let go of any tension and drove on quietly in peace. Along with no signs of any Zakana on their path, the squad silently bask on their own first victory and their success of getting out of the mission safely. Until Chirlin spoke up.

"Hey, Miss Kirin! How many soldiers have I shot down?" She asked. "Hm?" Kirin glanced to her left. Niela aligned their Lancer to hers. "You fatally shot one, and the other guy had a minor wound, almost like a scratch" Kirin said. "How was that a scratch?!" Chirlin then focused on thinking back at the outpost.

"Your bullet ricocheted and grazes a soldier, I have seen it with my eyes" Kirin said. "How about Niela?!" Chirlin then tightens her arms around her sister. "Niela killed two soldiers, and fatally wound one. That's not too bad, Niela. That ain't a surprise for me, because I saw you shoot down some Scratchers on the move" Kirin glanced at her. "Thank you... It was scary, but I'm glad we all made it out safely" Niela nodded slightly.

"The whole mission went short thanks to Sterling. That beam gun did all the job. They call that Ravager, by the way" Kirin pointed at Sterling. "Yeah, I think I heard them call out that name, it's a straightforward name" Sterling looked up to see the barrel of the Ravager. "Y'all saw how that thing works. You may think that gun is already overpowered, but you have yet to see the rest of their arsenal. That cannon merely shows a fraction of their power" Kirin said.

"What? They have a weapon that can destroy a planet?" Marve asked. "Sad to say, yes, they do have a weapon that can destroy a planet" Kirin shook her head and everyone was surprised. "The moment Lonara knew about it, she was quick to talk to them about it. Warning them and making an agreement to never use it on any planet our people inhabit OR recklessly destroy any planet without proper reason and the Arkula's knowledge" She said.

"What did they say?" Niela asked. "Of course it is a strong no!" Kirin laughed. "They said who are we to tell them what to do" She added. "It was a waste of time, but at least they know that we are aware of that weapon" She shrugged.

A minute of silence passed before Chirlin spoke up again. "Who is more dangerous between the two?" She asked. "Hm? The Krygs and the Sthola? I'd say the Narukh'za if we're talking about a civilization of warriors that solely exists to serve their masters. Those idiots are willing to fight until their death for their masters" Kirin slightly looked up.

"Of course not all of them wanted to serve that way, as you may already know. But it's baffling that most of them believe that the Arkula is a shameful display of our kinds, that we Arkula doesn't know what our people are capable of" She said. "And they prove their point to us by being superior to war technology, a harsh civilization, and mass killings and invasions of any planet they come across. No sane person will rationalize those actions! There are many ways to prove that point without needless killings! They-!" "How about the Krygstek?" Kirin grunted, bothered by Chirlin's interruption.

"Well. I already said this before, but Krygs are just as dangerous as the Narukh'za. The differences are, they are not warriors. They are proud inventors and engineers. They build the impossible. They build the most fierce war robots. They use artificial intelligence for war" She said. "You think it's scary to face the Narukh'za at the frontlines? Well, the Krygs are in another level" She added, making the squad more interested.

"The first year of our war with the Krygs after they separated from our society, we fought against nothing but steel" Kirin goes through her memories. "All steel and no flesh. All of the dead bodies that lay on the battlefield are our people. Along with them are countless scraps" She said. "We checked the tanks, no person. We checked the robots, no pilot. Not even a space for a person exists inside them" She added. "Along with the silence of the planet we are on, we experienced some kind of delirium. The thought of fighting a cold and lifeless army got the best of us" She shook her head, remembering her past.

"It lasted for months until we found out that they are being controlled by someone somewhere on the planet. We all felt stupid after that" She laughed. Niela looked up to the skies. "I'm somehow excited again to go there" She said. "You better be!" Kirin grinned. "It's a completely different experience in there! You will see robots anywhere helping out the people too! Robots that work on an establishment, something like those" She said, exciting the squad.

"Aaaand! Since we're in the military, and we have a request to ask, we will be able to meet their top-notch inventors!" She added, raising up the thrill. "I want to make friends with them!" Chirlin said. "Oh, they will be surprised to know that you are in the military!" Kirin chuckled. After that, they fell silent.

They drove for a while in silence, until Kirin's transmitter opened. "Kirin, a Narukh'za starfighter is following you" Lonara's voice came out. "Huh?" Kirin looked behind them and saw nothing. "Kirin, that thing can't know our base's location. You have to get rid of them before I will let you go further to the base" Lonara said. "No way!" Kirin used her eyes to scan the skies and saw a cloaked Demon Eagle. "Shit! It's invisible! How is that possible?!" She said to the squad.

"Speed up!" Kirin went full speed with the squad. After a few seconds, she scanned once more. The Demon Eagle was able to remain close behind them. Kirin's transmitter made a long stutter. "What?" She used her eyes to configure her transmitter. "Ah! That damn starfighter is trying to hack in!" She tried to get rid of the intrusion, but it was too late. "Arkula, you have something that belongs to us" A male voice came through. "What are you talking about?" Kirin asked.

"Let's not play dumb and continue this chase any further. I only seek the Ravager" The pilot responded. "Then how about you uncloak first? We will stop and give it to you then" Kirin said, silencing the pilot for a second. "Do not try anything stupid. Lord Karuga is watching" He warned. "Karuga?" "It's that woman we met before!" Chirlin said. "Hey, no one cares about your lord. If YOU try anything stupid, I will put you and your lord down the ground!" Kirin taunted the pilot.

"The Lord's army is poised to strike anytime, YOU do not try anything that will lead to your death" The pilot said. Kirin grunted. "This is stupid" She shook her head. "Miss Kirin, are you actually going to give it back?" Sterling asked, visibly disappointed until she saw Kirin wink at her. "Oh boy" She slightly sighed.

"Well?" Kirin talked back to the pilot. "...Very well" A red shape of the Demon Eagle appeared behind them, fading into its real appearance. Chirlin gasped. "Well, ain't that a weird-looking Demon Eagle. Say, you've been making more starfighters?" Kirin asked but the pilot didn't respond to her question. "Stop now or I will fire" He instead threatened the squad. "Alright, alright. Everyone stop and get behind me" Kirin instructed the squad.

They stopped and faced the Demon Eagle. "Well? Are you going to land and take it?" Kirin asked, the pilot fell silent for a few seconds. "Do not try anything stupid" The pilot said, leading his starfighter to the ground. "Hey, you sound nervous" Kirin smirked. The squad quickly held their weapons. "Don't. Let's not antagonize him" Kirin quickly scolded them.

The Demon Eagle carefully touches the sands to land, then its cockpit opened and its pilot jumped down. The pilot was fully suited up. "I never saw that kind of suit" Kirin said. "My name is Ladrak Vina. I am Lord Karuga's chosen Devoted, leader of the Lord's fleet. Right now, I do not wish for trouble" The pilot introduced himself.

"Why? Because you're outnumbered?" Kirin crossed her arms. "But make no mistake, know that I'm not just any pilot. I know how to face multiple enemies without my fleet, even if outnumbered" "Oh?" Kirin smirked. "Now, hand over the Ravager" He looked at the squad and saw Sterling. "Narukh'za?" He sounded confused. "Why are you on their side?" He asked, leaving Kirin to laugh.

"Did you just come out of your cave or something? Even Karuga knows the reason" She stopped and sighed. "We can tell that you aren't as close as you think with your lord" "The Ravager" Ladrak ignored her. "I did not come down here so you can question me! Hand it over!" He clenched his fist to them.

"Fine. Sterling, show him the Ravager" Kirin instructed. Sterling took the Ravager behind her and held it. "Sterling. Charge it up and aim at the rear fuselage" Kirin's words came through Sterling's mind, taking her by surprise. Kirin glanced at her and nodded with a smile. "That Demon Eagle must be experimental, I want it gone" Kirin's voice came through once more. Sterling roughly sighed, overwhelmed by Kirin's telepathy.

Then she quickly charged up the Ravager, alarming everyone. "You fool! Don't make yourselves regret this! Stop that Ravager now!" Ladrak quickly became infuriated. "Do you really think we will just stop here and hand it to you?" Kirin smiled, angering him more. "I will let this slide if you just turn that off and hand it over!" Ladrak asked once more, but Kirin didn't say anything.

Ladrak looked back at his starfighter, then back to the Ravager. "The Lord will get back at you!" He said before jumping high up and falling to the cockpit. The Demon Eagle quickly hovered up. "I'm going to fire!" Sterling noticed the Ravager finished and alerted the squad. "Fire!" Kirin shouted and the Ravager fired. "Just burn the back of that D'eagle!" She said. Sterling carefully leads the beam towards the Demon Eagle.

The starfighter flew away, but the beam was still chasing it. "Come on, don't miss the chance!" Kirin said. Knowing that the beam won't reach the Demon Eagle with how fast she's moving the cannon, Sterling pushed the cannon violently. "My Lord! I'm phasing out!" Ladrak then looked behind him and gasped. The Demon Eagle flew up and phased out, but the beam was able to cut it half. "She did it!" Chirlin cheered. "Alright, enough" Kirin felt satisfied.

"I don't..." Sterling went through the buttons and pressed the last button she haven't touched, and the beam stopped. "Oh..." She sighed. "Good job, now let's go!" Kirin quickly drove ahead and the squad followed.

"Miss Kirin, I'm not sure how you did that to me, but you got me a headache" Sterling said. Kirin laughed and scratched her head. "Haha, sorry. I did it with my eyes as usual. I actually don't know how to do actual telepathy" She said. Sterling just sighed.

"You told her to fire at him?" Marve asked and Kirin nodded. "It's crazy that none of us, even the Narukh'za pilot, is aware of your interactions with each other" He said. Kirin's transmitter stutters again. "I will remember this, Kirin Solana" A familiar voice came through. "Oh! It's Karuga!" Chirlin pointed at Kirin. "Sure you will, sweetheart" Kirin smiled in amusement. "Sweetheart?" Karuga sounded confused. Kirin proceeded to completely shut down any communicators. "There, no one's going to talk to us until we get home now" She said.

They traveled in silence for a few minutes. "Where are the Zakanas at?" Kirin looked at the sands and mumbled. "Is something wrong?" Niela noticed her. "Just wondering why we haven't encountered any Zakana at all. Did it happen that they have some kind of hive around those sands we took with the Shuttle?" She asked. "Nirinaya's local forces haven't reported anything like it" Niela said. "Then they better do their jobs properly! They knew the military had to pick up some people, they could have at least secured the sands around it!" Kirin got slightly annoyed. "We don't have much technology back home, Miss Kirin" Niela laughed awkwardly.

"Your governor has a lot to pay for" Kirin shook her head. "I will watch over Nirinaya once everything calms down" She said, giving the squad a slight joy. Later, they finally saw the base and felt safe.

"We're hooooome!" Chirlin rested her head to her sister's back. "Huh. I'm surprised the Narukh'za didn't bother chasing us after what we did. That's unusual" Kirin glanced behind. "Karuga seems like in charge of the Narukh'za army here at Kryok. I swear she leads her army WAY too different from the rest of the Loyalists" She said. "Really?" Sterling asked and Kirin nodded. "They like to retaliate. They always seek vengeance on their fallen comrades. They won't let their enemies run away without facing the consequences. That mission with the outpost is enough for them to have the entire fleet of a Loyalist to come rushing down on us" She said.

"It seems like Karuga is not as dumb as the rest of them. She rather fits the role of the founder of the Narukh'za" She rubs her chin in thought. "You think so? I believe Kantala is much better, given how they act violent" Sterling said. Kantala Rukh'van is the current leader of the Narukh'za. Her family is the one who founded the Narukh'za, making her inherit the title of the Founder. She is known to give terror to her own people and strikes fear to those who refused to serve under her.

"Kantala? She's way too crazy!" She shouted. "Everyone says that she believed she can accomplish her parent's wishes way better than them! That's the reason Narukh'za is now far dangerous than ever!" She added. "Than ever?" Sterling repeated a word. "Yeah. Ever since Kantala sat on their throne, the Narukh'za drastically changed, that includes their way of living" Kirin sighed. "Miss Kirin, how long have you lived? Were you able to experience the beginning of the Narukh'za?" Sterling sounded quite curious.

"You got to be kidding, right? That event happened ages, ages ago! The leader of the Arkula has yet to find his partner when that happened you know. And he still hasn't ceased to age until he did, so that adds up millenniums" Kirin said. "Wow..." Chirlin gasped. "And I think the cessation of aging is one of the Narukh'za's reasons of treason. They knew their precious leader is going to live a long life, enough for them to be able to grow in power to oppose the Arkula" She added.

"So, how did you know all these?" Sterling asked. "Man, y'all need to sit down at the library and read some books sometimes" Kirin said. "Wow, so you're a bookworm" Marve slightly smiled. "Hey, there's nothing wrong about reading history. You wanna call me a bookworm, wait 'till we get to Valorna. Everyone there is a nerd" She said.

Later on, they reached the gates of the base, arriving safely back from their first mission.