Chapter 13: New home
Watching the approaching horde, Chege didn't know what to do. However, after the first encounter with humans, he was not too eager for a repeat. This time he was on high alert. Any wrong move and he would scatter.
However, in his heart of hearts, he prayed for a warm welcome. After the nights spent alone, all he needed was some company, the right kind. Despite the obvious language barrier and the apparent differences, Chege hoped to find a home among them, and maybe, a chance to go back to his home.
The group came until they were standing in front of Chege and his hostages, who by now were doing their best to remain unnoticed. The group eyed Chege, and he eyed them back, unsure of how to proceed.
The awkward silence was interrupted by Kassam, who made his way to the front until he was facing Chege. He then placed his hand on Chege's chest. Having survived quite a lot together, Chege had learned to trust him, so he reciprocated the gesture.
Seeing this, sighs of relief could be heard. It was as though a wall of tension had been brought down. The Mayi folk could now breathe with ease, recognizing Chege as one of their own.
It took a while to get everyone organized, and leadership was a mess. However, with Kassam and Jiwu in the midst, everything went as smoothly as possible. Of all the elder warriors in the Mayi community, this general was the most revered.
Hailing from the previous chief's era, he was one of the chief's subordinates that had been left behind to watch over the community when the warriors went to war. He, alongside the soldiers that had been left under his charge, had to pick up the duties of the fallen warriors. In addition to protecting the clan, they had to train the future generation, those that had been spared.
Despite the many detractors, he had managed to do so faithfully, and now Jiwu stood as one of the pillars of the community. He was the de facto leader in the absence of the high priestess, and even she had to take heed to his words.
Signing to Chege to follow, the warriors and their captives made their way back up the mountain. Chege found it curious that they didn't go to reconnect with their brethren. He later found out that by the time the others had decided to follow, there was nothing left behind. The civilians had already been evacuated to the mountains, and all tunnels sealed.
After a whole day of walking, they finally made camp at the foot of the mountain ranges. Chege was treated to a hot meal made up of wild fruits and some hunted animals. By now, he was being treated with uttermost respect, a fact that made him smile from ear to ear. The adoring eyes cast by some of the females in the group almost made all he'd been through worth it, almost.
At the crack of dawn, the morning rays brought with them hope. Weary, ragged and strained, the civilians emerged from a cave. When the two groups merged, it felt like home. They had lost everything, and many had lost those they looked up to, but they had survived.
Needless to say, the warriors were more cheerful than the new arrivals. Their numbers were fewer, and they were bloodier than their counterparts, but they had something the civilians didn't have. Hope. They had seen the impossible happen. They had watched as their worst nightmare crumbled before a giant. So powerful was he that he even took 2 of them hostage.
It didn't take time for word to proliferate, and with it hope. By the afternoon, even the children danced and laughed, the morning woes seemingly having left. It wasn't that they were insensitive to the recently dead, but now they had hope, a reason to keep pushing. There was light shining at the end of this dark tunnel.
At the heart of it all, the crowning jewel of the achievement, the trophy to be shown to all naysayers, were the 2 human captives. Though they were just civilians, the Mayi people didn't know that, and quite frankly, they didn't care. Capturing not one but two little monsters was a testament to the giant's strength. With someone like that in their ranks, the little monsters had had their time.
One person though maintained their composure despite the excitement. The High Priestess Menza kept a close watch over Chege. She seemed to be in deep thought, On seeing her though, Chege guessed that this was the resident shaman. He'd seen quite a lot of those, and her appearance matched the ones he'd seen.
As was tradition, after moving on from a nest, the Mayi would hold a prayer ceremony. Based on their nomadic traditions, they were supposed to hold this ceremony before departing from their previous nest, but following the invasion, there hadn't been time.
The Mayi believed in a pantheon of gods called the Emuye. This was a council of gods who watched over them. Despite the deplorable conditions they were in, they still faithfully cried to their gods. In times of desperation, one could only turn to their gods' help.
A huge altar was erected around the tree they chose to settle as the dusk drew ever closer. There were many kinds of animals and creatures were hunted, but none was eaten. Moreover, there were multiple pyres of fire lit all around the altar. Chege imagined that looking from above, the spectacle would be quite a sight to see.
By the time darkness had fallen, all preparations had been done. Each family settled around a pyre, with the high priestess manning the central altar. Chege didn't know that the sitting arrangement was determined by someone's position in the community. The closer to the altar one was, the more influential they were.
Chege found himself in Kassam's fire, and beside him was Kassam and the creature that he had seen brave the mech suits despite not being able to deal damage. Looking at her now, he discovered that she was quite pleasing to look at. Her curvy body and feminine allure were not lost, despite the difference in species. Moreover, the lush green fur added to the beauty. In another life, Chege would have been into cosplay, if he knew such a thing existed.
Alongside them were the 2 captives. They were seen as Chege's prize, so all others did was look on, not bothering them. Chege found that he was okay with having them around. Since he couldn't talk with the others, and any attempt to communicate was restricted to the bare essentials, having fellow mute companions was not that bad.
Looking at his prize, he noticed one had a white garb on. He had seen quite a few humans wearing that. What's more, the white lab coat wearing one seemed familiar. Chege could vaguely remember running into such a face in his time in the base, but he couldn't place it. Doctor Hanni was too low in the food chain, any interaction he'd have had with Chege would have been for low-level tasks such as drawing blood.
The other was a total stranger to Chege. The 2 humans occasionally talked, but it seemed the lab coat wearing one was in charge. Doctor Weere also owned a lab coat, but due to the nature of the assignment, he chose to wear coveralls. When it came to interacting with the creatures, and if there was any chance of escape, he deferred to the resident creature expert.
Chege didn't talk to them directly. Instead, he let them have some freedom to roam about. The humans were under no illusions, for they knew that they couldn't wander too far off from Chege. In such a camp, many harbored a deep-set hatred for the humans, and should they leave their protection, Chege, they would become fair game to anyone.
After everyone was settled, the High priestess began a prayer in an ancient language. It started slowly at first, with just the priestess speaking, but he others soon joined in, and their voices permeated the forest in unison.
"To the one who stands guard against the forces of the night,
Light our path with the shine of your protection.
To the one who wields the sword of justice and the shield of mercy,
Strike now against those that lack empathy ... "
"Wait! Wait!" At first, Chege thought he was dreaming, but now he was sure. All along Chege hadn't been able to understand a single thing spoken by the Mayi, but now, things were different, He could understand!
***
Following the report and the streams that had been sent, everyone in the base had heard of what happened. A dark cloud seemed to have descended upon them, marring every ray of joy. Though joy was a rare commodity.
This was the first major loss they had experienced in a long time. 2 hovercrafts lost, with their entire crew. One badly damaged and in need of repairs before it can move. All Warframe QRF (Quick Reaction Force) had been lost. The soldiers especially were distraught. Many of those that had fallen were their comrades, and they would need to train others to take up their position.
Standing by Major Kenji's bunk, the colonel reached out for a framed picture. It was more like a gif replaying a happy memory, which made even the cross man let out a rare smile. The woman and the 2 children in the photo were waving at the viewer passionately with smiles plastered all over their faces. Last he had seen her, the woman had tried to make him promise to bring back her husband, but an old geezer he was, he knew better.
He still remembered the words he told her:
"Up there, there is nothing that can hold a candle to your husband." Back then this was a true statement, didn't seem so any longer. Rage and bitterness were already at a tipping point, so he only whispered, "I won't let your death go unanswered, kid rest easy!"
Flying a hovercraft was quite a difficult task, but nowhere as difficult as flying a space ship. Due to this, there was a very high bar set before anyone even thought of driving a spaceship. Few could make it, hence recruiting a spaceship pilot was no easy task.
Despite all that, when the ship was docked in its orbit up in space, they had little to do for the time of the deployment. Some would pick up extra work such as flying hovercrafts.
Ordinarily, there were always 2 ships docked at any given time. However, following special mission orders, there was only one left, and it was for emergency purposes. Despite that, losing 2 of the 4 qualified flyers was a big blow, one that Sir Anyang was still reeling from, but that was not his only loss.
In his chambers, he switched on his comms link and stared at the screen. It took him a few minutes to dial a number, and even some more to press the call button. With a deep breath, he watched it ring in anticipation.
"Anyang, why are you calling?" A very beautiful woman answered the call, but despite her beauty, her face was cross. The expression on her face was that of exasperation, as though Sir Anyang was a nuisance she had to deal with.
"What, no greetings?"
"Cut the crap, why are you calling, do you know what time it is here?" Admittedly, Sir Anyang hadn't thought about that, he'd been too worried about making the call first. Now checking the wall clock, he realized that his call came hours late into the night. While in his time this was relatively early, where she was, it must have been in the wee hours of the night.
"Sorry about that, will check the time when I call next."
"Why. Did. You. Call?" The woman was clearly annoyed by Anyang's avoidance of the topic, and her anger was showing even on the screen.
"We have a problem."
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