Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo would hear the light whisperings of Dracon as well, but since he had almost zero grasps of the language, there wasn't much that he could do. Instead he chose to focus on the others in the group. Perking up when one of the men mentioned that he'd gotten a signal. Finally, some good news amidst all the bad.

"We can't be that far from base then." Kairo exhaled in relief, making sure to keep his voice low. "Is there anyone on the other side?"

 

[Da Doofus]

“It’s faint, sir.” The trooper said to Stryx instead of Kairo.

“Maintain radio silence until we’re a fair distance away from the mountain.” The commander advised. “We keep moving until we’re clear.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo opened his mouth, intent to remind the guy that he'd asked him a question. But quickly decided against that, moving awkwardly back a few steps instead. Stryx knew what he was doing anyway, no real reason to intrude.

He waited in silence for their escort to pay their respects, before following him again.

 

[Da Doofus]

Dracon soon lead the way across the path on the other side of the mountain. The trek down was easier than the one up the mountain, yet Dracon was moving slower than before.
Rufus’s pace brought him too close to the Feral, which earned him a glare and a snarl. Every so often, the moonlight would reflect off of the blood drops that Dracon left behind.

Darrek did his best to ignore his brother’s continuously deteriorating condition, but did so poorly.
“What was this path for?” He asked, hoping to occupy his thoughts to ones free of stress.

Dracon was quietly panting at this point and had held himself up with a hand on the rocky rail as they moved.
“Grandfather had this built as an easier means for hunting parties to go from the forest to the town. Mother used it often since she disliked going through town.”

Kairo’s shoe kicked over something small and metallic. It clinked like a tiny coin and shimmered in the moonlight next to a drop of Dracon’s blood.
A rusted bullet casing similar to those from the manor.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was mentally conflicted, more so then he wanted to be, about Dracon's physical state. The older irokai looked more and more like he was about to give out, and Kairo debated whether or not to help the injured Saurian, but then again, he knew close to nothing about medicine, not to mention Dracon would probably rather jump off a bridge then accept his help, so he kept his mouth shut. Doing his best to respect Dracon's wishes.

With nothing better to do, he listened in on Dracon and Darrek's conversation, but that was cut short as he felt something metallic get kicked up under his foot. He felt around on the floor and picked up the opposing item. It was a bullet, and if Kairo couldn't feel the rust on the thing he would have freaked out. Examining it for a second, he couldn't help himself from asking what was on his mind. "Was this...from." He paused, but the insinuation would have been enough for anyone with insight to know what he meant.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Yes.” Dracon answered bluntly. “This is how Mother got us out.” He added quietly, since the three were further ahead of the rest.

“Us?”

“You weren’t hatched yet.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo sighed, tossing the bullet as far away as he could from the overgrown path. He figured Dracon didn't need a reminder like this everytime he walked through here.
"Bunch of bastards that's what they are." He said spitefully, before continuing his descent.

 

[Da Doofus]

Dracon was silent, and remained so on the rest of the trek down.
When the rocky slops melded back into grassy, tropical forest, the group pushed through the jungle until a clearing was found at midday.

Stryx ordered his men to stop and rest.
“Are we far enough away?” He asked Dracon.

The Irokai stopped as well and lifted his head to smell the air. He took a few extra moments to crane his neck and take deep whiffs of the humid air.
“No scents, but a storm is coming.” He said at last. “And this way leads to your peoples’ colony.” He pointed West. “Find the bridge formation over the canyon and cross it. Your radio should work well enough to find the rest of the way.”

Stryx nodded. “Thank you.”

Dracon looked at the Commander. “Don’t make me regret helping you.

Darrek.” He gestured East. “I’m taking you back to Drafisl. Stay there until I can lead those bandits away. The Kendian clan will be here any day so they will drive out that scum.”

The younger brother was silent, but nodded in understanding. “Alright . . .” He stepped away from Rufus and Kairo and moved next to Dracon.

Stryx looked to Kairo. “Hunjan, Maye; come on. We’re going home.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo stood still as Stryx urged him and Rufus to come with them. Through all the chaos and the madness, he had almost forgotten what he was supposed to do again. That was right, they'd left Drafisl to get back to where they were from. They're home.

But looking back at Darrek and Dracon, he realized that going through with that decision was a lot harder then he thought. It'd been a short time since he'd been forcefully removed from camp, but in that time, he'd gained more from the new people he met then he could have ever imagined. Could he really just leave everyone?

It was a hard decision, but one he needed to make. And in the back of his mind, he knew the answer. He loved Drafisl and it's people, but even after that, he couldn't give up on his home. It might've just been a sense of entitlement, but he really felt as if that place would need him and Rufus. After all that had happened, he needed to make sure that things were okay back there, that the event's from previous Noah's wouldn't happen. He couldn't do that in Drafisl.

He sighed, and signalled for Stryx to give him a moment as he walked towards Darrek and Dracon. He looked at Darrek for a second, in the short amount of time he'd known the youngster, the two of them had gone through almost everything together. The up's, downs, and everything in between. He'd miss him and Dracon. "Hey, I'll see you soon okay? Don't forget about our talk earlier" He said, before playfully patting the irokai on the back. He then looked over at Dracon, a grateful smile donned on his face. That mysterious bastard really deserved more then what he got in life. He hoped that maybe that prayer could be answered. "Take care of yourself...and your brother."

With that, he walked back towards Rufus and Stryx, nodding at both men as he readied himself to go.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx’s men began leading the way with the Commander and Kairo following. It only took moments for at least one to notice that Rufus was not with them.
Glancing behind them, Stryx saw Rufus still standing in the clearing. Dracon and Darrek had already gone.

“Maye?” Stryx asked.

Rufus looked at the war hero and then at Kairo. He’d never expected to find such companionship with a rookie or even to see a Republic soldier as a friend. Still . . .

“I’m not going with you this time, kid.” He said to Kairo. “Nothing for me on the Noah that I want.
I’m going back to Drafisl . . . And I’ll move on from there eventually.

It was a hell of a run, but looks like this is goodbye, kid.” He adjusted his jacket. “You take care of yourself too, Captain Stooge.”

Stryx frowned, but it was a short lived one.

 

[Chai_T3a]

As Kairo walked towards camp with Stryx, he had little doubt that Rufus would follow along with him. The two had pretty much done everything together, start to finish. So seeing that Rufus hadn't tagged along, but rather decided to head back to Drafisl shocked him to the core.

In hindsight, he should have realized that Rufus wouldn't return. He thought back to that very first day he'd met the man, back in the storage container. It was always Rufus's dream to get away from the republic, and this was his one opportunity to do just that.

But still, this felt wrong.

"Wait!" Kairo called out, but Rufus was already gone. Kairo paused, stuck in position as he watched his friend, his brother, walk off into the distance. He was keen to follow, but knew that he ultimately couldn't. "Stay safe." Kairo muttered to himself, before he tucked away the emotions and continued to follow Stryx.

 

[Da Doofus]

The journey back took longer it seemed than it did to escape the Dakovis ruins. For Kairo especially, his body would feel heavier and his feet would drag after the departure.
The canyon Dracon mentioned would be visible as a vast scar in the land. Scanning the horizon and cliffsides, a familiar playeau came into view once Stryx pointed out.

“There.” He pointed to the seemingly empty spot. “That’s the settlement there. They have the cloak beacons set up finally.”

In a mind’s eye, imagining oneself atop the plateau, the memory of the view below would be familiar now that it was scene from a different perspective. It was still a far distance, but the Noah’s First Colony was within reach.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The journey back was long and tiring, and even if Kairo's mind remained rather occupied on the recent farewells, even the hurt from that couldn't combat with how tired he was beginning to feel. Kairo felt weak from the emotional and physical strain that came with everything that happened today. Knees buckling, he felt as if he was wearing shoes made out of lead. That's why he was more than happy when Stryx mentioned they were almost home. The nostalgia hit him hard as he realized where he was. The view that he had looked down at on his first few days here was now where he was. For a second the fact that Rufus was missing almost left his brain.

He could finally head home.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Sir, we can call for a pickup.” One of the soldiers suggested.

“Good idea.” Stryx nodded. “We’ll rest here. Mcmahan?”

“Sir.” A second soldier stepped forward.

“As soon as Burke calls for a ship I want you to pop a smoke signal.”

“Affirmative.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had found himself staring upwards to where the camp stood, shrouded by the cloaking beacon. He wondered what had changed in his time away. Knowing how quickly things got established the first few days he was here, he was pretty sure this place would be
unrecognizable to him now.

He let his mind wander for a bit as he waited for the ship to pick the crew up. Given the situation, there was a lot for him to think about. But one thing seemed to particularly bother him the most.
“Are we going to tell the others about the attack?” Kairo questioned, curious and slightly concerned.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx was sitting down on a nearby rock to inspect his still-damaged prosthetic.
“I have to. Hostile natives are something that people need to know about if we’re to start recolonization.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo nodded in understanding, not expecting anything less from the man. Stryx was republic after all, and in the end, it was in his best interest to protect his own people.

“Then let me come with you.” Kairo asked. “People need to know that their’s more to them then what we’ve seen yesterday.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Oh your account will be recorded, don’t worry about that.” He reached into his picket and pulled out a small wrench. He began testing his metallic arm’s movements and adjusting to conpensate for the shredded pneumatic tubes.
“You seem worried about what I’ll tell the Director.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

“He doesn’t seem like the most accepting guy last time I met him.” Kairo admitted, watching as his commander tinkered around with the broken prosthetic. The pain of his own hand rearing it’s ugly head back up as he watched.

“I’m not entirely sure about this. But we’re not the first Noah to land. There were others, and I heard the people on one of them were less then welcoming of the people already here. Trophy killing, massacres, messed up stuff like that. Not surprisingly it spawned a war. I guess I just don’t want that to happen again.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx looked at Kairo. He was concerned but unsure of how to respond.
“How did you come by this knowledge?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo suddenly realized how much of a bombshell he had just dropped on Stryx. A small laugh escaping his system as he realized how confused the older man must have been. “Oh sorry. A little sudden eh?” Kairo apologized. “I read about it in a scroll a week or so back. Yeah those are a thing now. Apparently there’s been more then one Noah that landed down here before us, and most of them‘ve integrated into life here. But that’s about all I know.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx was silent. The soldiers were far enough away for their conversation to be private as they were adjusting for a proper signal to call for transport.

“You’re leaving details out again.” He finally said

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo nodded, being caught red handed. Because honestly he had no clue where to start with the information he’d learned the past few weeks. It was difficult for him to wrap his head around it. Let alone to make it coherent to Stryx.

“There’s a lot of stuff that I’ve learned in the last bit. There’s been an entire civilization here going on while we were gone. And to be honest, I don’t think I’ve got enough time to tell you everything right now.” Kairo admitted. “But, I can try my best to explain all that I can...”

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx sighed and flexed his arm.

“For now . . . It can wait until we get back to the Noah.” He put away his tool. “We still need to ensure the safety of the colony first.”

One of the soldiers stood up.
“Sir! Dropship en route in ten minutes.”

“Affirmative.” Stryx nodded to his trooper. “Sit down, Hunjan.” He ordered, albeit politely.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo did what he was told, glad that the conversation was going to be postponed. He didn’t know what he’d accidentally share if he was put on the spot like that. This way at least he'd have some time to figure out what he wanted to say. Obviously, there were things that he'd keep hidden. No one was to know of Drafisl, he had that promise to keep. But there were ways he could inform everyone that were better then other ways. And if he was going to make sure that his people would integrate peacefully with the other inhabitants of this world. He was going to have to make sure his story was perfect.

He spent the rest of his time mulling over that, as he waited for the ship to pick them up.