Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

Exactly as the soldier had predicted, a rippling aura flashed around the spot on the plateau above, and a flying craft with flaring engines descended down to their level.
The grass around them waved and frantically swirled about as though they were living creatures attempting to flee from the metal object roaring downward.

 

[Chai_T3a]

His train of thought was quickly broken by the distant humming of the ship, which grew louder and louder until the sound of its roaring engines were the only thing Kairo could focus on. It gave him a feeling of déjà vu. Suddenly, he felt exactly like old world Kairo. Waiting patiently as he readied himself to board the transport ship that’d take him to his new life. This felt oddly similar.

He stood up, letting the wind ruffle his hair as he waited for the ship to land.

 

[Da Doofus]

Back atop the plateau, the cloaking device deactivated entirely to reveal the metal walls and security towers of the settlement.
Clearly, construction had been made in Kairo’s absence.

The ship’s landing gears creaked onto the grassland with ease and the passenger entrance opened on the side.

“In the can, sardines!” Stryx bellowed over the ship engines, and the soldiers piled into the ship in single file line.
“You too, Hunjan.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo promptly answered with a "yes sir" before briskly entering the ship along with the rest of the soldiers. Sitting down and buckling in, he awaited his ride back to camp.

 

[Da Doofus]

The ship ascended once Stryx signaled to the pilots, and was soon conversing through his commlink. Whatever he said was drowned out by the inner sounds and rumbles of their brief flight.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo laid his head against the seat, letting his muscles relax as he waited to touch down back at base. The ship focussed much on functionality then comfort, and yet, the sitting down on the seat still felt absolutely heavenly to Kairo. He was surprised to say this, but he was excited to finally see that dingy barrack bed again.

He smiled to himself, for once he wouldn't have to worry about the threat of constant danger.

 

[Da Doofus]

Once they returned, and the ship had landed, Stryx’s team emerged from the ship to be greeted by cheers from the Noah colonists. Once Stryx stood and appeared, they only grew more intense at the sight of the Republic hero.

Stryx waved to them, but did not nask in their praise. Clearly, his mind was elsewhere.

Beyond the camp, to the East, dark clouds approached. Dracon did mention a storm was coming after all.

 

[Chai_T3a]

One thing that he could clearly tell as he left the ship was that camp was nothing like they had left it. So much more infrastructure had been put into place, Kairo could hardly recognize the place. It was going to take some time for him to get used to all of this.

The commotion was definitely something else too. He wondered if his disappearance was a big deal, and if so, would he be seen any differently because of it? He definitely wasn't enjoying all this extra attention to much. Made him feel like his every move was being watched. He'd had that feeling to many times in the past weeks already.

But either of those 2 things bothered him much. What was really on his mind was Stryx. He could see that the man wasn't completely there, something was on his mind. And Kairo was determined to figure it out. As the crowd died down, Kairo approached the older man. "So, I'm guessing I can't just...go back to being another colonist so quickly. You need me for anything sir?" He asked. "Seems like there's something on your mind."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Get to medical and get checked out.” He patted his shoulder. “Then get some rest.
You’re safe now.”

The Commander departed from Kairo and the soldiers went another way.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo nodded, watching as both Stryx and the rest of the squad all parted in their own ways. He does what he was told, heading towards the medical centre, which was not surprisingly much more equipped then he had last remembered. Helen worked in research, but he hoped he would see her there. It would definitely help with the loneliness of losing Rufus.

 

[Da Doofus]

Inside, Syndroids tended to supplies of medicine and other such aid. Hauling and unloading boxes as a familiar red headed woman coordinated the inventory with her datapad in hand.
What was once a humble medical tent was becoming a fully fledged Republic clinic.

She was turning toward Kairo as she spoke to one of the Syndroids.
“Don’t place the morphine by the humidifiers, that can risk damage to the containers-“ she paused as she saw the young man.

“Kairo?” She blinked.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The controlled chaos of the medical facility was mesmerizing, and yet Kairo paid it no heed. Instead, he was focussed on one person who was inside the building. The familiar red-headed woman he hadn't seen in almost a month at this point. Kairo smiled as his wishes were answered.

"The one and only." Kairo said, raising up his broken hand. "Though I am a bit damaged."

 

[Da Doofus]

She looked him up and down.

“Where in the hell have you- WHAT happened to your-“ She turned off the datapad and scowled at him with a hand on her hip.
“In a chair. Now.” She ordered.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Okay okay. I missed you too." Kairo said defensively before taking a seat on a nearby chair. Man, he had almost forgotten about Helen's stern nature. "You think this is fixable? It got crushed pretty bad." He asked, trying his best to get any movement out of the hand. All he did instead was cause a surge of searing pain to run through the damn thing.

 

[Da Doofus]

“If it’s broken, you’ll need a medical brace and cast.” She answered bluntly and looked about for something. “But it shouldn’t be anything serious. I don’t see any discoloration or swelling.”
She took his arm and gently inspected his arm. Her face was just as it was after so long away. Aged with grace and with an air of shrewd wisdom.

“How did it happen?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

He spent a moment contemplating if he should tell her the truth, it wouldn't benefit either party if he added any more tension between the colonists and the saurians. But then again, Stryx had already known the real story, plus Kairo clearly wasn't a good liar.

"Remember the Guest?" He asked, finding it a bit uncomfortable to use THAT specific name for Dracon. "I accidentally pissed him off a little too much, and this is what I have to show for it." He explained. "It was less so his fault and more so self defense. Happened when Stryx found me and Rufus, so he could testify too." He added with a bit of a smile, before resting the arm with the injured hand on the armrest. "You've got no clue how good it feels to be back."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Rufus? He’s here too?” Helen asked, then chuckled with a motherly smile. “Stryx haul him off for losing that Cricket?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo's smile quickly faded then and there at the mention of Rufus. The man's departure playing fresh in his mind again. Rufus was capable of fending for himself, hell, if there was anyone that could survive this world it would be him. But Kairo was still worried. How could he have not been? He cared for the man, and not having the reassurance of having him here? Of knowing he was safe? It almost felt like Rufus was back on scouting duty again.

"I wish he was here. He didn't wanna come back." Kairo muttered. "But on second thought, with all the shit he'd have to deal with back here, it might be better that he's out there now." Kairo chuckled, though the laugh was bittersweet.

 

[Da Doofus]

Helen’s smile vanished.
“So he’s still out there?”

Silence filled the air between them as Syndroids continued working around them.

Finally, the doctor sighed and released his hand.
“Well that’s what he wanted I suppose. To be away from the Republic.” She stood up.
“I’ll get some supplies. Stay here and don’t move that hand.” She said like a concerned mother would to a hurt child and walked away to a table of half-empty containers.

Outside, Noah colonists peeked inside and whispered among themselves. Some mutterings could be heard.

“That’s Kairo Hunjan?”

“I heard he was dead.”

“Heard a lizardman ate him.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo nodded, giving Helen a genuine smile as she began to work on whatever magic she does. Sitting in the chair silently, he was expecting to be left alone. But it wasn't long before he noticed muttering's from outside the clinic. Kairo seeked out the origin of the sound to find a group of people huddled outside the clinic, all watching him. The surprise caused him to jerk and almost fall off his chair.

Well, if he was going to convince the entire republic that these supposed 'lizardmen' weren't as harmful as they seemed, he was going to have some kind of recognition either way. But this? He was not prepared for this. "Uh hi!" Kairo used his functioning hand to wave at the small crowd gathering around outside. "Yeah...so I'm Kairo, I'm also not dead and 100% not eaten by a lizardman! So yaaaaay me!" He hoped that his acknowledgement of their presence would cause the crowd to disperse. "Don't you guys have like...jobs?"

 

[Da Doofus]

A formidable yet familiar silhouette appeared behind the two women and the one man.

“I believe you do.” Stryx said with his arms crossing. “Double time.
Hell, I’d settle for single time.”

All three snapped to attention in panicked swiftness.
“Yes, sir!” They said in unison before hurrying away.

Stryx entered the clinic with a bland expression. Sweat was drying on his dark skin which gave him a somewhat shimmering face as he stepped inside.
“Dr. Faolain? How’s his hand?”

Helen was currently extracting a clear liquid into a syringe. “Not too bad.” She answered. “Just going to give him some painkiller and a cast.” She looked at the Commander. She almost smiled at him, but whatever casualness vanished when she met his gaze.
“What’s wrong, Stryx?”

More silence, then Stryx sighed and rubbed his face.
“We lost people. I just made the list of names.
I’ll have to be the one to inform next of kin on my next stop at the Noah.”

“How many?” Helen said with solemnity.

“Too many. But precisely eleven.” Stryx sat on a nearby cot. “Are the defense fences operational yet?”

“Not yet, we’re still waiting on the new generator to arrive.”

“Then until it gets here, I want volunteers on watch every hour.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was more then a bit relieved to have Stryx scare away the colonists for them, but the relief quickly dissipated as he mentioned the men and women who had lost their lives yesterday. Kairo had tried his best to block out the violence that day, so much so that it had almost worked. But he couldn't just forget everything that happened, not anytime soon.

He felt for Stryx, he knew how much the man cared about these people. That was one of the many things he admired about Stryx. But right now, that protective instinct only served to make Stryx's life harder. The poor families too. He'd lost his family to war as well. That feeling, he didn't wish it on anyone. This time though, he had no choice in the matter.

Man, he needed to do something before all this guilt and worry ate him from the inside out.

"I'll volunteer. I've got nothing better to do while the hand heals anyway." Kairo offered. "Least I can for skipping duties for so long."

 

[Da Doofus]

“No.” Stryx said. “You’ve done enough. Once that hand heals you’ll be going back to the Noah and you can be reassigned to one of the other colonies if you wish.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo seemed a bit alarmed by that. A different colony? But he’d already gotten so used to this one! And with all that extra free time, he knew all it’d do was serve to fuel his worries more. “With all due respect sir, I think I can handle being here.” Kairo objected, though not in a demanding way. “I’ll be ready to go as soon as my hand is healed.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“If that is your decision, I won’t stop you.” The Commander nodded. “Nevertheless, you will still be returning to the Noah for a full medical checkup.”