Humble Beginnings (Tri System's Edge Series Book 1)

by Ron Schrader

  As she sat alone in her ship, surrounded by Vie, Kalla felt no fear. Instead of worrying about what was outside, her thoughts were focused on meeting up with Reav again and on getting her ship fixed. She knew that once he saw what the device in the crate could do to protect him and his village, he couldn’t possibly turn down her offer. She’d just have to wait now until morning and hope the Vie were gone. And if not, she’d take her chances, confident outrunning them wouldn’t be an issue. But one way or another, she didn’t plan on hiding out any longer than she had to. She’d be meeting with Reav tomorrow, and all the Vie on the planet were not going to prevent her from reaching that goal.

  After a few hours, Kalla walked back to the cockpit for a peak outside to find that the Vie were not only still there but growing in number. With a feeling of concern building inside, she thought about Jarek, wishing he were here with her.

  In that moment, she could suddenly see Jarek in her mind, as if looking through his eyes. He stood at the opening of the cave, staring out into the sunset as it slowly began to fade. She could feel him thinking about her, hoping she was all right, wondering if he should go look for her. She watched as he finally grabbed his gun and sword from the wall where they hung and backed up to the farthest corner of the room. She watched as he ran at full speed toward the opening of the cave, jumping out into the night sky, plunging himself far away from the side of the cliff. His freefall came to a loud crash as his feet hit the ground, pushing his frame into a crouching position. Without skipping a beat, he jumped forward and began running toward her ship.

  As he got closer to her, she could hear the screeching in massive numbers all around him.

  “Go back!” she yelled, but he couldn’t hear her.

  With her mind connected to his, she was experiencing everything he did. His thoughts and feelings in that moment were open to her view, but she couldn’t communicate with him. She could only watch, helpless to warn him.

  Concealing himself in the mist, Jarek carefully made his way toward the Vie, cautious as he approached. Reaching the first line of creatures, Kalla could see that he was watching the Vie and seemed to be devising a plan. She knew he’d never battled this many before and hoped she was wrong.

  “Please, go back!” she yelled again, only this time, for a brief moment, he acted as though he’d heard her. Was he close enough to the ship now? “There’s too many!” Kalla yelled, now standing in the cockpit in plain view.

  As though not sure if he dared attempt such an unfair fight, Jarek stayed low and kept quiet, but he didn’t appear to be backing off. He was still looking for a way through.

  Kalla closed her eyes, desperately trying to communicate with him in her mind. Don’t!” she screamed in her head as she watched helplessly. But he didn’t hear her.

  In an attempt to keep Jarek safe, Kalla decided to draw attention to her ship. She flipped on the outside floodlights and looked out the cockpit window. The Vie surrounding her ship were already moving in closer now. Though impossible to get an accurate count, she figured there were easily over a hundred of them by now, circling her ship, waiting.

  I need to warn him, she thought. She opened the door just enough to yell to him. “Jarek,” she called out, “I’m safe, go home.”

  She closed her eyes again and focused once more on Jarek, connecting again with his mind. It only took her a few seconds to realize he wasn’t going home.

  She watched through his eyes as he appeared to be planning something, keeping a safe distance as he studied their movements. Finally pinpointing a single Vie, Jarek prepared to move in. He stood tall and took hold of the hilt of the sword on his back, removing it from its sheath, waiting patiently for the right moment.

  Then, sword in hand, Jarek quietly began running toward the Vie he’d singled out from the rest. With a swift pass of the blade, the beast fell to the ground, its head rolling off into the crowd.

  Kalla ran to the cockpit, now able to see Jarek with her own eyes. She watched as he ran through the crowd of Vie, swinging his sword relentlessly, having confused and disoriented the group. But that good fortune only lasted a moment before they realized what was happening and began to attack him in droves. Jarek fought a good fight, taking out close to half the group before their sheer numbers began to overpower him, knocking the sword from his hand and forcing him to the ground.

  By pure luck, Kalla caught a glimpse of his sword lying just outside the hysteric mass. She rushed to the door and lowered the ramp, her rage beginning to consume her.

  The Vie were so enthralled with Jarek, who was losing the fight that they didn’t even notice Kalla open the door and walk off the ship. They also failed to pay attention when she rushed over to where his sword lay and picked it up. Their final undoing was the rage of a woman who didn’t fully realize until that moment that she was in love with Jarek and wasn’t about to let these monsters take him from her.

  The blade swung gracefully as she began her work of destruction, forcing the Vie to shift focus from Jarek, who was virtually helpless now, to their new threat. As the Vie came at her, one by one and in groups, she gracefully danced her way through the monsters, leaving a trail of death in her path. In her rage, she moved with great speed, though it all seemed to be in slow motion as she watched the slaughter take place until the last blow was delivered, ending the battle and bringing the species just a little closer to extinction.

  Before any reinforcements could come, Kalla raced over to where Jarek lay, having been severely wounded, with bites and scratches covering his body from head to toe. She grabbed his arms and lifted him over her shoulder, taking him directly to her ship. She barely took the time to close the outside door before rushing him into the sick bay. Carefully laying him on the table, she couldn’t get over the large number of cuts and bites that could be seen all over him.

  “Are you insane?” she questioned as a stream of tears rolled down her cheeks. “Dar-vlen-tu! What were you thinking?”

  Jarek struggled to speak at first, coughing up blood from the deep wounds that had pierced his lungs. “G-girl i-in dis-tress!” he muttered, attempting to smile and lighten the mood.

  Kalla rummaged through the cabinets in the sick bay, searching for anything that might help fix the bloody mess, but she became lost in worry and frustration.

  “What should I do?” she finally screamed out.

  “R-raw m-m-eat,” Jarek managed, wincing in pain.

  “On it!” she replied, heading for the exit.

  Once outside, she initiated the lock to prevent any unwelcome visitors from entering the ship and then headed out into the valley to hunt. She ran for almost an hour straight, covering several kilometers, before the fog began to dissipate some, making it easier to see her surroundings.

  Her mind was focused, now in hunting mode, as a new set of instincts kicked in, helping her to quickly locate a small herd of boar-like animals a few hundred meters away from where she stood. She ran toward them, moving faster than she could ever recall, stopping just short of several of the large animals. She picked out her target, the largest in the herd, and then waited until they all began charging toward her, now aware of her presence there. But the large beast never had a chance as she lunged forward, Jarek’s sword in hand, killing it with a single blow that separated its head from its body.

  Leaving the head where it landed, Kalla didn’t waste time, quickly tossing the body of the animal over her shoulders as though it were a scarf, then running from the rest of the herd, rapidly outpacing them until they gave up their hopeless pursuit.

  While she ran, the thought of encountering more Vie entered her mind, followed by her promise to exterminate them all before morning if she saw even one more. But fortunately for the Vie, there was no such threat as Kalla made it safely back to her ship, where she went to work tearing the meat from the animal’s corpse, then carrying several large slabs onto her ship.

  Finding Jarek where she’d left him, his condition still critical, she began to feed hi
m chunks of meat, tearing it first with her own teeth, then giving him small pieces to start with. She continued this task until the large slabs she’d brought onto the ship were gone, Jarek having devoured them all.

  With nothing more to do, Kalla backed up against the wall across from where Jarek rested on the table. She slowly slid down to a sitting position, her head collapsing against her bent knees. Exhausted from the night and all that had transpired she soon dozed off, thinking about Jarek and hoping he’d be all right.

  Morning came in an instant, as though she’d just blinked to find a new day now upon her. As she opened her eyes, she found Jarek lying on the floor next to her, holding her in his arms, sleeping peacefully. A feeling of relief came over her as she felt his breath on the back of her neck.

  “Jarek?” She spoke softly. “You’re all right!” A single tear escaped her eye as she considered the possibility of what could have happened the night before. She’d almost lost him, only she hadn’t. Jarek was with her, alive and well.

  She remembered the bloody mess she’d pulled into the ship the night before, seeing the evidence of hundreds of Vie bites all staining his clothes. But as she peeled back the cloth from his arm around her, his skin was smooth, with no sign of injury to be found. She grasped his arm tight, pulling him closer to her, enjoying the first true moment of peace she’d had since landing on Paradise.

  “Jarek?” she whispered again. “Are you awake?” Though she didn’t want the moment to end, they had more work to do if they were ever going to get off this rock. When she turned to face him, he met her with a big smile on his face. “What?” she asked playfully.

  “Nothing,” he said, still smiling and holding eye contact. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” she replied, smiling in return. “Anyway, I owed you.”

  The two lay motionless, Jarek’s arms wrapped around Kalla as the sun worked its way into the sky. Holding on to his arms, Kalla remembered the vision she’d had the night before. She didn’t understand how or why, but without it, she believed Jarek would be dead. About to say something, she paused and remembered the plan that would get them both off this desolate planet. They didn’t need any more distractions right now, and she didn’t want to spoil the moment.

  “So how did you know I was out there?” Jarek asked.

  “I . . . I don’t know.” She hesitated. “It was just a hunch.” An awkward silence lingered before she finally spoke up again. “We really need to get up and find Reav,” she said. “I left a crate by the cliff that I need him to see.”

  Jarek pulled away. “So why didn’t you just bring it up yesterday, then?” he questioned, a hint of irritation in his tone. “Probably could have saved a lot of trouble.”

  The look in his eyes as Kalla turned to face him made it clear that he was not interested in dealing with Reav.

  “Hey,” Kalla replied, feeling hurt by Jarek’s reaction, “that was my original plan, but it’s big, and I forgot to grab rope.”

  “I know Reav!” Jarek said loudly as he stood. “I can officially say he’s responsible for not one but two attempts to get me killed now.”

  “No, Jarek, it’s not Reav’s fault, at least not last night.” Kalla blushed with some embarrassment. “I’m the one who made the choice to come down here, and I’m the one who forgot the rope and had to come back to the ship.” She looked him in the eye and began to smile until they both finally started to laugh.

  “All of this over some rope, huh?” Jarek asked, looking more at ease now.

  “Yeah . . . ” was all she could get out as the two finished laughing at the situation. “We need to get you some new clothes,” she finally said, changing the subject as she looked at the rags he now wore.

  “Yes,” he replied. “I will definitely need something else to wear.”

  Motioning him to follow, Kalla led Jarek to the quarters of one of her previous crew members. She stared into the room before letting Jarek enter, feeling the loss of her crew for a moment. “Quell was about your size, I think,” she finally said, pushing the loss aside. “See what you can find.” With that, she left Jarek to change out of his destroyed clothing, torn and shredded from his ordeal the night before, while she went to get the rope that had caused all of this to begin with.

  Waiting by the exit, Kalla watched as Jarek finally appeared wearing a dark tan T-shirt, a dark brown leather vest, and brown pants tucked inside his boots as he’d always done.

  “Looking sharp,” said Kalla, enjoying the vision before her. “Ready to get out of here?”

  “Let’s get this over with,” he replied in the usual irritated tone she’d come to expect when it came to Reav.

  The two headed out the door, down the short ramp, and ran side by side, Kalla leading the way back to where she’d left the container the night before.

  “This is all going to work out,” she said as they ran, more for her own convincing than Jarek’s as she contemplated the events of the previous night. She also understood more than ever how bad Reav needed what she was about to give him—protection from the Vie.

  Chapter 12

  As Jarek and Kalla approached, they could see that the container from the night before still sat undisturbed on ground next to the cliff face, right where she’d left it. Now came the challenging task of getting it up to the top.

  “I was able to carry it here without too much trouble,” Kalla began as the two approached the large crate, “but I’m not sure I can make the climb with that thing hanging from a rope behind me,” she added as she considered that prospect.

  “No sweat,” boasted Jarek as he snaked one end of rope in and out of the four handles, one on each side of the container. He then tied a large knot at one end that left a loop big enough for him to slip the rope around his waist. Kalla watched with a smile as he jumped from the valley floor up toward the vertical rock surface, catching the rock a good five meters high.

  “I figured that little trick out last night,” Kalla called out just before jumping herself, landing slightly below the crate. She climbed just fast enough to catch up and climb alongside him. “I’m impressed,” she said as she glanced down at the container dangling behind him. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that crate weighed nothing.”

  “What crate?” Jarek replied in jest.

  Kalla let out a laugh, but the truth was, his strength impressed her. She was quite strong herself, but there was no denying the fact that he was much stronger.

  A short time later, they both arrived at the opening of the cave. While Kalla assumed they would stop for Jarek to rest before continuing the climb, he surprised her once again. As they approached the opening, Jarek simply steered his climb around the entrance and kept going.

  “You don’t need a quick break?” she called up to him. “It’s not like we have a deadline to meet.” She stayed just below the entrance, waiting, just in case he decided to turn back.

  “Why?” came his response as he continued climbing with no intention of stopping. “You tired?”

  Kalla shook her head in awe and continued up the cliff face, following behind Jarek, who had increased his pace for the last stretch, climbing as though the heavy container wasn’t even there.

  At last the two reached the top, both pulling themselves up over the edge, the container following as Jarek stood and walked away from the cliff. Wasting no time, he removed the rope, lifted the large crate upon his left shoulder, and began to head in the direction of the village off in the distance.

  Kalla continued to stare in admiration, noticing again the definition in his muscular arms as he balanced the heavy object.

  The two walked side by side, taking their time and enjoying the scenery for a change. About halfway to the tree line, Jarek broke the silence of their peaceful walk.

  “So what exactly is this thing?” he asked curiously.

  “It’s a Directive shield generator.” Kalla hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I, uh . . .” She paused once more before
finally finishing her thought. “It kind of fell into my lap, really,” she said as she looked away, her voice fading with each word.

  “Fell in your lap, huh . . . ?” Jarek replied with some concern in his tone. “You mean you stole it?”

  Kalla struggled to respond, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.

  “I’m not an expert on the Directive, but I’m smart enough to know that stealing their property isn’t exactly petty theft.” Jarek continued. He then stopped and turned toward her. “Say Reav goes along with this. What if the Directive finds out they have this? Won’t he get in trouble?”

  “It will save their lives,” she responded. “No one should have to go through what I did—well, almost did.” Her voice fell silent as she spoke the last few words, looking over at Jarek with an expression of gratitude. “What you saved me from.”

  “Yeah, well . . .” Jarek quickly tried to change the subject as they approached the tree line. “So what exactly does this thing do, anyway?”

  “It’s a self-contained solar-powered shield generator. One won’t be enough, but I have more on my ship. They can be linked together to create a large dome shield that will protect their village, keep the Vie out at night.” She continued with excitement. “Since they use sunlight to recharge, there’s no need for external power. Reav can’t say no to this. He needs this.”

  Finally reaching the tree line, Kalla and Jarek made their way through only to find two unfamiliar faces greeting them in the same manner as the previous guards they had met on their last visit.

  “Stop!” yelled one of the guards, aiming his rifle toward them. “Stay where you are.”

  “Do your thing,” Jarek said, turning to Kalla.

  “No need,” she responded. “Reav has to know we’d be coming back.” With that, she proceeded forward, ignoring the warning. “We’re here to see Reav.”

  The two guards looked at one another, hiding their mouths with their hands as they whispered back and forth.

  “Yes, we’re the two strangers who were here the other day,” she answered, having heard everything they said.