Kapitel 10: The Mayi people
Kassam had been born and raised in this shelter all his life. From when he was a fledging cub to now that he was a defender, he owed his all to this community, and now it was his time to defend it. All his life, he had heard stories of how powerful his people used to be, but none of those wonderful stories reflected the situation he lived in.
As a protege in the community, young Kassam grew to be a top warrior and someone to be depended on, a promising warrior in a time of war. However, by the time he had become an adult, the war was over, and their side had lost.
Once the humans made their way into the planet, the shepherds had mounted strong defenses and waged powerful wars, but the might of human technology could not be undone. A grand war had been waged, but the victory they had hoped for didn't come. What was even more surprising was that they were unable to conquer their opponents, resulting in minimal fatalities.
Soon the grand war devolved into guerrilla warfare. Since they realized they couldn't take down the invaders in frontal warfare, they sort to whittle them down by picking them off, one by one. They would observe the humans as they went to their mines, and plan on when to ambush.
Things seemed to go pretty well at first, but the humans quickly adapted. Their soldiers in armor kept watch, and with those present, the creatures had been utterly powerless to cause any harm.
All this was well and good since their side still had the numbers, they still commanded the land as natives. Somehow they still help the initiative, but one fateful battle would be the last nail to the coffin.
Though even then, Kassam was still young, he wasn't completely useless. The chief had mobilized any able-bodied creature under him, and what a grand spectacle it was. Kassam, alongside other children, was to be used for the non-warfare duties. He was sent around, serving under powerful-looking heroes whom he so desired to be one.
The battle this time was brought to the front door. The massively mobilized army made their way to the base's front gates, intent on bringing the base down under any cost. Blood was spilled, sword and shield shattered. No mech suit was destroyed, no hovercraft came down. They didn't even make it to the front gates before a retreat was sounded.
Kassam never knew what happened that day, but it was a black hole that no veteran who survived ever wanted to see again. Many seemed as though they had seen ghosts, and the previous mighty looks had been striped.
More than half of the nest had been taken down, including the chief. Attacking the base again was something never to be attempted again, but it was a lesson that had come at a hard cost. Instead of whittling down the enemy, they were the ones that were battered.
By the time Kassam had reached adulthood, their raids were seen as nothing more than an annoyance, and soon even that stopped. The little monsters, as the shepherds called the humans, had won. Their scary weapons were unfathomable. All hope had been lost, until ...
The Mayi people had been a proud and sturdy species once, now they were all but broken. Forced to live under deplorable conditions, unable to hunt in peace due to the constant threat that loomed over them, they were ready to give up. They would move from nest to nest, seeking to keep the little monsters at bay.
However, their efforts had been thwarted when a tan brown bigger little monster ran into their latest shelter. Hot on his heels was the little monsters in metal suits seeking to destroy him. This was the same monster that had been causing trouble at the base.
On that fateful day, however, the Mayi people saw something they had never even dared to dream about. The monsters in metal suits had been brought down! Not one, not 2 but almost all that chased the bigger monster. What's more, the bigger monster had done it with a holy relic obtained from their temple.
Seeing this, a holy tribune had been called. Contrary to past events, the tribunal took less than an hour to come to a unanimous decision. This was mostly due to High Priestess Menza's influence.
She had already been quite influential, second only to the chief. After his unfortunate demise, her influence only grew. The entire community was looking to her to take leadership and guide them out of these perilous times.
That was easier said than done, and under any other set of circumstances, she would have been more than equal to the task. However, she was facing an insurmountable enemy with more than half her forces destroyed. A weak and broken people, too scared to fight.
Capable as she was, there was only so much one can do. She did manage to maintain a semblance of a society, where everyone was united under the fear of the enemy. Somehow the species survived, but they were by no means free. They were permitted to exist. They knew that if they became a nuisance, extermination would no longer be a threat.
By the time Kassam had hit adulthood, many in the older generation were more than afraid. They did all they could to avoid any kind of skirmishes with the little monsters. Some sort of peace had been reached. Though there were some crashes here and there, they mostly went in different directions.
Despite all that, the Mayi people found a way to keep living. Life had to keep going, and the same applied to Young Kassam.
Due to the constant investigation and research conducted on the creatures, the humans had an in-depth understanding of who their enemies were, and in one of their notes there was a line:
'Shepherds mate for life.'
Once a Mayi found a mate, the bond they formed would last for their whole lives, even widows and widowers wouldn't find other mates. In essence, it was a lifetime bond, the perfect definition of a soulmate.
For Kassam, Kiel was it. Her feminine body coupled with her powerful form and a warrior's heart, Kassam was smitten from when they were young. Struggling together, the memories they made would see them through thick and thin. So how could he be expected to remain still while his beloved charged into battle!
Kiel had been holed up for far too long. In her heart, she knew Kassam would come for her. The 2 had made a promise to each other. While they were both warriors, they would champion the needs of the community. However, they were to remain true to each other, as each other's assurance, but some things you just have no control over.
Her support had been sent off to god knows where and was probably dead or dying. Though she never lost hope, she knew that was an ever-present threat.
As she watched, her friends, teachers, and colleagues were cut down. The little monsters didn't even seem to be struggling, and this only served to anger her all the more. Truthfully, she was afraid, but she wouldn't let the fear cloud her judgment.
All the warriors present understood one thing. This was not about glory or victory. There was no happy ending in this. They were trying to buy enough time for the civilians to escape through the underground tunnels. In their minds, for every life that fell, ten others were saved, free to live and repopulate.
Soon it was Kiel's turn. In her mind, it was not fear that came, just regret. She knew she wouldn't get to see him one last time, maybe even hold him, maybe do more. The naughty thought made her smile, and it warmed her heart to know that he was away from all this madness. She hoped against hope that he'd survive, but she knew that was a fool's hope.
Her charge had been spectacular. When she got into the battlefield, she had been like a demon. Charging like crazy, she swung her weapons left and right. Well, at least she had heart. Too bad her weapons were unreliable and her opponents were too well-armored.
Now on her knees, ready to die, she knew she had no regrets. He'd be proud of her, and if she was to chose a way to go, fighting for her people was the way she would, the way it should be.
It took her more than a moment to notice that she had not been killed, someone else had. Looking around, she saw 3 mech suits fall.
***
"Sir we have a boogie in the field!"
"Unidentified Markman on the field."
"Start trace, I want to know his location now."
"Trace commencing, tracking!"
"Trace complete! We hav..." The pilot didn't get to finish his sentence.
Alarms started blaring, and immediately, the hovercraft closest to Chege went on Automatic Auto-pilot, following the death of the flight crew.
"Come again, repeat your last."
"..."
"Someone check on HummingBird 013 Pilot!"
"Both pilots unresponsive, unlocking Hovercraft cockpit."
A golden arrow planted on each of the pilot's chest, it was a technological miracle the hovercraft was still afloat.
"Sir both pilots confirmed KIA."
"Someone get me that GODDAMNED Shooter!" Major Kenji was getting exasperated. It was dawning on him that he had just lost the initiative. From having no fatalities in such a high profile mission to soldiers dropping all around him like flies. A sharp sense of helplessness sipped into his bones.
"Everyone, take cover. We make for the target on foot!" Changing his plans, he realized that if he was to deal with the giant, then these others were easy picking. In that case, he focused his team on attacking the main target.
Having successfully aggroed the attacking horde, Chege sort to proceed with the next part of his plan, Annihilation. This was going to be a slow death, where he would make sure they never showed their faces again. Casting his Reload Spell, all his arrows were back in the quiver.
"2 Heat signatures detected rapidly moving away from the battlefield." A hovercraft pilot reported after examining his instruments. He didn't dare move too close, lest he ended up like the other 2.
"Come in Humminbird 322, do any of the targets possess any kind of weapon." The major didn't want to chase after ghosts or just some cowardly creatures.
"That's affirmative sir. One has a spear, while the other wields a bow, and has many arrows."
"Send Data to all Mech suits." A very excited Major exclaimed. In his mind, he couldn't help thinking, 'I've got you now!' Conflicted on whether to give the little bugger any time of day or just blast him to kingdom come, the major chose the latter.
"Seargent, show this thing what our guns are made of!" That command brought wails of joy from all the soldiers listening in. It is easy to get complacent when you are at the top, and that is what they had been. Now, they were reminded of what being prey meant, and that was not a good feeling to have.
The roles were now reversed, and the giant was going to get a taste of what Human firepower was all about.
"Guns loaded and ready, awaiting orders."
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
Kaboom!
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein