Chapter XXX
Lord of the Hunt
This is the first conquest report of the Lord of the Hunt, and Master of the space hunting Shell the ‘Ravenous’. Further to my last report as we were approaching the star system 8390, this is the follow up report of our activities upon reaching this star system. This report is only a brief summary, since it is being sent over the limited capacity ether communication system. The detailed report of this system and our activities along with logs of all the hunt masters is being compiled and would be sent shortly over the light speed communications system. It has rich data, not just for scientific consumption, but visual and aural data of breathtaking beauty about this amazingly beautiful star system. Unfortunately being light speed, the data will reach you only after 70 odd rotations.
Before we set off on this mission, I had studied every single detail of the only automated probe that was ever sent past this star system, as was my duty as the Lord of the Hunt. Let me state for the record that the data of that probe did no justice in illuminating the stunning potential of this star system. To be more specific, the automated probe completely misjudged the treasure that lay in the form of a single planet in this star system – the home planet of the indigenous species of this system, the 3rd planet from the star.
I realize that the probe was sent tens of thousands of rotations ago, when we were just making our first tentative steps into interstellar space. I further appreciate that the primitive probe of that time just made a flyby survey of the star system, as it went through a set flight path visiting numerous star systems. Given the fleeting and transient nature of the survey that primitive probe performed, it is fully understandable why the probe had classified the 3rd planet of the star as a borderline interesting planet and moved on.
To be fair to that ancient probe, it had got all its facts right, given that it surveyed this star system from a fair distance, while flying at a significant fraction of the speed of light. The gravity and the composition of the planet inferred were correct. The atmospheric composition was less accurate but within acceptable level of accuracy. The atmosphere is richer in oxygen than the probe thought, although not as rich as our own home planet. The probe had correctly guessed a strong likelihood of organic life generating the oxygen, although it could not have guessed in its wildest imagination, if automatons had imagination, about the rich diversity of life on the planet.
However, the most stunning feature of this planet was something that the automated probe only conjectured in the passing – liquid water. I realize that we did not find any more interesting systems in this neighborhood to send further probes, but that was a mistake. If a follow on probe had been sent just to explore this planet, it would have been worthwhile; for this planet is a water world! This world is a paradise. The pleasure worlds of Ixia and Groth with be forgotten when this planet is visited by our kind. This world will become the pleasure world to beat all pleasure worlds!
The amount of water and the beaches is not even the best part about this world! It is the indigenous wildlife of the planet that is the real prize. Especially the dominant and sentient species of the planet, which had even developed some rudimentary spacefaring capability, with primitive space technologies. It is not their primitive technology or their primitive weapons that is of interest though. It is the fighting spirit and the delicious cunning and deception they are capable of, that make them priceless.
This species makes any hunt not just enjoyable, but ecstatic with unique ploys being deployed every time we go for a hunt! I have ordered the species preserved, and their numbers maintained at a certain level on the planet to enable this world to be developed as a hunting paradise for our kind. I have limited the number of hunts and the size of raiding parties in order to preserve the diversity and viability of the game species. We plan to stay and hold this world for our kind, and I invite you all to come and seek pleasure here and join the hunt!
Triumph & Defeat (Shaitan Wars Book 4) Page 54