Page 3 of Possessed By the Alien Guard
And such was all too rare.
The scourge of the Folri Swarm had decimated one live planet after another.The teeming multitudes of insectoids knew nothing but hunger and recognized no other life forms as precious but their own.
My hand tightened on my sword hilt.I set out, skirting around the sloping lines of the outpost building to scale the mountain at its back.With so many cameras in place, a physical inspection of the area proved unnecessary.Yet restlessness ate at me.If I were still on theJelvanianin orbit, I would at least be able to spar with my fellow warriors.Enjoying this new planet offered my only consolation.
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An hour later, thesteepness of the path increased right as I passed a mass of boulders, their sides blotched with silvery-green lichen.A shape reared above me—one of the four-legged undulates, its outline made strange by the long, pointed horns standing straight up from its head.It gave a coughing grunt, lowering said horns.Its hooves clattered as it clambered across the sloped tops of the rocks as easily as if it moved upon level ground.
Gray fur covered its form, darkening at the head and lightening on its chest.It almost perfectly blended with the color of the granite surrounding it.These creatures were not so different from some of the deer species of my home world, only they seemed far more belligerent.Perhaps they were territorial because vegetation was somewhat scarce in these climes.
Unwilling to harm a beast acting from natural instinct, I sprinted forward, dodging around yet more rock formations even as I leaped over obstructions.My boots thumped against stone and ground, my heart picking up a tick at the increased exertion.I left the animal behind, but continued to move at speed, my body enjoying the exercise.
The ground leveled out for a stretch.A stream splashed over water-darkened rocks, and short, wide bushes covered in light-green oval leaves gave the area a splash of color.I paused and unclipped my water bottle from my scabbard belt.After filling it with the cool, clear water, I closed it and shook it vigorously to activate the purification system.No matter how uncontaminated it appeared, the water was not safe to drink.It was one of the downsides of a compatible planet—the local microorganisms were more than happy to infect a Varool.
Wind gusted past, carrying the first hints of rain as gray clouds amassed on the horizon.Although they appeared far off, the distance could be deceptive.Weather moved at furious speeds on Sagittarian One.
A small brown rodent emerged from underneath the bush.It saw me and froze, its tiny eyes assessing.Since the fauna here had not evolved alongside a bipedal primate such as the Varool or the humans, many of the prey animals were not as wary as would seem prudent.True to this, it scampered on its way, darting quite close to my boot.
The beep of the perimeter alarm split the air, and the tiny animal disappeared.
I tapped at the control gauntlet on the back of my left wrist, and a video played on the display.The human had crossed the valley and now climbed toward my outpost.Her relative lack of height did not show clearly via video, but her exaggerated breasts and hips did, marking her clearly as alien—Varool women were built strong and muscled, warriors just like our men.
Her looks mattered little.The human’s intent was clear.
I took off at a fast lope, my curiosity piqued.What does she hope to gain by this intrusion?While our leaders negotiated, they had made a temporary agreement that we would not venture into each other’s territories.
The human’s intent mattered little—I would best my new foe easily and provide my king with proof of her duplicity.We would win control of the planet eventually anyway, but this would speed matters greatly.
My lips pulled back from my teeth as a fierce joy filled me.The little human had no idea what she had just walked into.
The main computer sent one warning after another to my wrist gauntlet as the human attempted to manipulate its interface.Had our adversaries deciphered our language?I slowed to a walk to better assess the situation.
Her fumbling soon made it clear that they had not—she called up weather-pattern data, then a schematic of the water-filtration system, and finally an ancient treatise on the varoolian warrior code that had first offered my people a way past our warring nature.These were not the actions of someone acting from a place of comprehension.
When I rounded the mountain, my outpost finally came into sight.Lingering near the door, I watched as the display on my gauntlet showed her now wresting the holoprojector from the floor.Why would she want such as that?It held no military data.
She stood, and her face came into view.A wide smile made her small features glow with excitement.A trickle of unease ran through me.Fighting the insectoid Folri had been easy—they had attacked our home world without mercy and seemed incapable of such an emotion.
Yet this human looked far too much like a Varool in her joy.
It did not change that she had snuck into my base attempting subterfuge.Her people were a deceptive lot, untrustworthy.Her actions violated everything varoolian honor demanded.We always met our foes face to face in honest battle.
She moved toward the door, and I leapt forward, ready to intercept her.
