Extinction: The Will of the Protectors

by Jay Korza

  The remaining five Shirkas took up positions in trees and on rock outcroppings just outside the impromptu fighting ring the two warriors and two Shirkas now stood in. Seth could tell they were going to watch the fight and not get involved unless their family member fell, in which case they would jump in and take over.

  Seth wasn’t worried that the warriors might ultimately win and escape, but he was concerned that they might be able to comm their base and advise them of the enemy contact in the forest.

  Sister had made the opening strike but the warrior didn’t slow down because of it. He struck back at her with an open palm-heel strike and followed up with a swing of his blade towards her midsection. The strike caught her in the jaw and Seth heard the unmistakable crack of bones breaking as he saw her head flip back.

  The blade from his meter-long weapon was deflected downward by Sister’s hand as she reached over the top of the weapon and pushed it down with lightning speed. The sword struck the ground and stuck in the soft soil for a split second, long enough for Sister to bring her other hand and outstretched claws under the shoulder joint of the warrior’s lower left arm, the one holding the sword.

  Sister’s claws ripped through enough muscle and other connective tissue that the warrior’s arm went slack and dropped the sword. It was now three arms against two.

  Seth was so focused on Sister that he missed the action taking place between First Son and his opponent. When he looked over, he saw First Son tore mercilessly at the warrior; blue tissue and blood flew everywhere and hung from the low-hanging branches. The warrior was as dead as he was going to get but First Son was determined to make him into as little of pieces as he could.

  Seth looked back to Sister and saw that she had somehow managed to become ensnared by the warrior. His upper two arms held her close as his remaining lower left arm punched her repeatedly in the ribs. His grip was just above her elbows, which allowed her hands and claws to still move and rake back and forth across his chest. She was not making deep cuts into the warrior’s body; her superficial attacks were nothing more than an annoyance to him at this point.

  The warrior lifted Sister off the ground and that gave her the opportunity she needed. With her legs free of supporting her weight, she brought her equally clawed and dangerous feet up her opponent’s chest and dug her claws deep before she slashed and pulled them down his torso. His body opened and his organs spilled onto the forest floor.

  The warriors, though tougher and stronger than any species Seth was aware of, still died from the same basic injury patterns that most other species did. The caveat being they tended to not know they were dead for much longer than the average sentient would, given the same set of circumstances. As such, the warrior had effectively been killed by Sister, but he was still upright and still tried to pull her limb from limb.

  Sister brought her right foot up and slashed it across the warrior’s throat for good measure. She then placed both of her feet against the insides of his upper arms and pushed out, trying to slash through his muscles to make him drop her.

  The warrior succumbed to his other wounds before Sister could rip his arms apart. He released her and dropped to the ground. Sister landed in a crouch and was ready to fight if he decided he was not really ready to die yet. When he did not get back up, Sister stood and looked around at the carnage.

  “I see you won the challenge,” she admitted to her older brother.

  “I did.” He puffed his chest out. “But in all fairness, your opening attack drew my prey’s attention and he did not see me until after I had already opened his throat. It was over much too quickly.”

  “Thank you, brother.”

  Seth guessed that First Son’s admission meant he was conceding whatever bet or contest they had to his sister.

  “We need to look over the bodies for intel they might be carrying.” Joker began searching one of the warriors.

  Shar’tuk and Ratchet went to two of the other felled warriors, leaving the shredded one for Jenson. “Thanks a lot, guys,” Jenson complained.

  As Seth’s men searched the warriors for anything useful, the Shirkas scented the corpses for the less tangible evidence the humans wouldn’t be able to detect.

  Huj’pa’ul spoke first. “I can smell fish entrails on the hand of this one.”

  The first nephew grunted his agreement. “And there is stagnant mud between the toes of this one.”

  Joker looked to Jenson. “He’s smelling the dude’s toe jam so I wouldn’t complain too much if I were you.”

  “No shit,” Jenson agreed with a laugh.

  The warriors didn’t wear armor or uniforms, which made them easy to search. Each one wore an identical belt that had sheaths attached for their bladed weapons. Two also had cross-shoulder sheaths for swords on their backs. A wrist comm was on the lower left arm of each.

  Seth took a look at the wrist comm Joker offered him. “Definitely a communications device. Audio only, most likely.” He turned it over a few more times. His advanced electronics and engineering degree kicked in to overdrive as he analyzed the device. “I would bet this is also an identifier, similar to the security badges we get issued.”

  “They might also use biometrics. Maybe we should take a hand or arm with us.” Jenson had finished searching the pile of goo he had been left with.

  “I don’t think so.” Seth knelt by two of the warriors and compared their hands. “Don’t get me wrong—that was a great idea. I just don’t think they could use biometrics.”

  “Why do you think that?” Joker now looked at the hands.

  “First off, they don’t have fingerprints.” Seth showed Joker the fingertips of a warrior. “That’s not to say that there isn’t something else in their hands that could be used for biometric scanners, but the second thing is, they’re clones. They are absolutely exact copies of each other. Biometrics wouldn’t serve to distinguish one from another.”

  “However,” Jenson clearly was not finished with his body part snatching idea, “that’s looking at biometric scanning from a human or Coalition point of view.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “We use biometrics to determine personal identity, one person from another. What if they use biometrics in a more general way, such as just to show they are in fact a warrior and not another species? They put their hand or eye to a scanner and it identifies them not as an individual, but simply as a warrior who has access to whatever they are trying to get into.”

  Seth mulled it over for a moment. “Okay. Chop off a hand and scoop out an eyeball. Your idea—you’re carrying it.”

  Jenson shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he hauled something dead from a forest. The task actually made him think of the fun times he had hunting with his father; he smiled as he worked. The Shirkas looked at Jenson and nodded their approval, thinking his positive attitude was due to his task and not realizing it was because of fond memories.

  As the team finished getting every last bit of intel from the site, First Son and Seth squatted near a tree as they spoke.

  “The scents the warriors carry tell us they have their camp near stagnant water.”

  “I don’t believe you are wrong, but I am curious how you know that.”

  “It would be too difficult to describe the different scents to you, but a particular scent is on their backs and feet, meaning they are lying and walking in the same area. Where else do you lie down except at your camp?”

  “True. What else can you glean from the scent?”

  “There are three rivers that flow together to form one larger river. One of those smaller rivers flows around a dormant volcano.”

  “I remember seeing that area on the topographic maps. Our original information is their initial insertion point was near the base of where those three rivers come together.”

  “They must have decided to move their camp up the river. Their scent tells us they are near only the river from the volcano.”

  Seth pulled out his datapad and looked at F
irst Son. “If you look at the map with me, will that violate your beliefs concerning technology being used on a birthing planet?”

  “No.” First Son was pleased Seth was worried about the pack’s honor. “I already know what I know; the map will only allow me to show you what you cannot smell for yourself.”

  “Fair enough.” Seth brought the holographic topographic map to life. “Yes, I can see why they would move upstream from their initial insertion point. The volcano river comes around this bend here and then down this waterfall. If they backed their camp up to the base of the waterfall, they would have a huge cliff as a protective backdrop.”

  First Son didn’t need to look at the map; Seth had figured out for himself what First Son already had known. “The pool below the waterfall is the only stagnant area of the river anywhere near their insertion point. That must be what Nephew smelled.”

  “I agree. That waterfall is also in the general direction they came from.”

  Seth looked at the map for another few minutes before he closed it. “Alright, we need to contact the sniper team. Davies was sent to the initial insertion site for the warriors. We assumed their camp would be there.”

  First Son shook his head. “Uncle would have figured out by now that the warrior camp has moved. He is one of the best scouts in the Shirka militia. Uncle will make sure the sniper team gets to where they need to go.”

  “If he has changed direction, why hasn’t he let the rest of the pack know yet? With the voices of the forest and all that jazz?”

  “I do not know what jazz is, but if it is some sort of communication device, we do not have those.” First Son cocked his head to the side, unsure of why Seth tried not to laugh. “Our forest songs have their limits. Without other pack members strung out through the hunting area, we can communicate only so far. I am sure Uncle tried to tell us of the change but was too far away for us to hear it. No matter. He will be where he needs to be when the time comes.”

  Seth mulled that over for a second. “Okay. I trust your pack. We need to head back to the other group and give them this new information.”

  “Agreed.” First Son clapped Seth firmly on the shoulder before he stood and signaled the other Shirkas to disperse into a traveling formation.

  Seth was becoming more accustomed to the forest and its sounds. Every minute he spent under the lush canopy he felt more at home and at ease with his surroundings. He even began to see areas in the forest where he could picture building a log cabin and spending the future golden years of his life, with Emily at his side.

  Seth was snapped out of his daydreaming when he saw a predator leap out of a tree, grab something from the underbrush, and then sprint off into the distance.

  Seth quickly did a roll call and made sure all of his men were accounted for. The animal that had been snatched up had made a terrible squeal as it was stolen from its hiding spot, so Seth knew it hadn’t been one of his men, but all the same he wanted to make sure those he couldn’t see were still okay.

  He turned to look for one of the Shirkas, but he didn’t see any of them. He knew they would be within earshot, so he just said aloud, “What the hell was that? And why didn’t you warn us?”

  A few seconds went by before Fang swung down from a tree. “That was a dunghotep, a very dangerous predator in this area.”

  “I can see that. So again I ask, why weren’t we warned?”

  “Huj’pa’ul and I were tracking it. We wanted to make an offering to Father with it. If we warned you about it, you probably would have spooked it.”

  “Fang, I know you’re new to my team, but in the future, your commanding officer’s safety and those of your teammates comes before any sacrificial offerings to other packs. Understand?”

  Fang’s fur ruffled a little. “Captain. You are my pack leader and I would never let you fall prey to any danger I could prevent. We knew what the dunghotep was tracking and we knew it was not you. The humans of our pack now smell of Shirka since we have scented you and left our scent in return. The smaller predators, no matter how dangerous they are, will not dare attack you until our scent has worn off.”

  Seth was still a little unnerved at the event. It reminded him of when he saw Robby, Emily’s brother, attacked and killed by a predator on another planet. That had been during a training exercise and Seth had not been able to do anything to prevent the tragedy. This incident was a little too close to that memory for Seth to just shake it off.

  “I have to believe that you two knew what you were doing. So far I have found my respect and awe for your people to be skyrocketing with every encounter we have.” Seth sighed. “But I want you to consider something the next time you decide to make a similar decision. Humans do not have the senses you do and do not see the battlefield in the same way you do. We may have reacted to that predator in an unexpected way, in a way that could’ve compromised the stealth and security of the team and the mission overall.

  “I do not expect you to baby us or treat us as inferiors. What I do expect, however, is that you, as a subordinate, will not take it upon yourself to make decisions for this team that I should be making. You should’ve told me we had a predator in our midst and requested permission to hunt it. I would have gladly said yes and then we all would have been on the same page. Are we clear, Fang?”

  “Yes, Father.” Fang bowed his head in supplication and apology.

  Seth was taken aback at being called Father. It was an honor that he knew Shirkas would not give lightly. “Can you two catch up to it?”

  Fang’s ears perked up and his jaw dropped slightly as his tongue excitedly slid out just a tad. “Yes, Father, we can.”

  “Then go. Represent our pack with pride and bring us honor.” Seth was sure his words didn’t match a Shirka speech of the same meaning, but Fang knew what he was getting at. He was also sure that he was the only Coalition officer to ever send one of his soldiers on a hunting date in the middle of a galactically important mission.

  Seth found Surgeon’s team a short time later at their predetermined waypoint. “How did it go?”

  “Great. Sister has a broken jaw that she won’t let us set, but other than that the four warriors weren’t a problem at all.”

  Surgeon eyed Seth closely. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Seth put his hand on Surgeon’s shoulder. “Mike, everything is fine. I took care of it.”

  “You’re the captain, but let me know if you need any backup.”

  “Copy that, brother.” Seth looked around at the operators scurrying around. “What’s with all of the hustle?”

  “I was just about to get to that. Father sent out two scouts after we got in position. We have another group of warriors moving southwest of our location. They won’t run into us but we need to move to contact them. This isn’t a hunting party; it’s a fully armed squad. We have no idea what their mission is but we can’t move on their main camp until we take care of them.”

  “Agreed.” Seth pulled up his topographic map. “We can’t have an enemy force to our rear when we move on their camp. For all we know, it may be an actual base by now and not just a camp. We cannot risk having those patrol forces out and about.”

  “We have already put a plan together. It’s just awaiting your approval, sir.”

  Seth still was not completely used to his mentor having become his subordinate. “I don’t think it’s necessary for me to approve it, Surgeon.” Seth used Mike’s combat call sign to emphasize his trust in his friend. “I think I just need to familiarize myself with what we are going to do.”

  “No, that’s not it at all.” Surgeon’s sternness caught Seth off-guard. “I appreciate that you trust me, and you should and can. But regardless of how much you trust me, you are the ranking officer in charge. In these situations, you have to act like it and approve preplanned missions.

  “Even if the mission is planned correctly, you know things can go wrong. And when things go wrong, the brass wants answers. You can’t stand in front of your s
uperiors and say that you didn’t approve the plan—your career would be over.”

  “You’re right, Mike.”

  “We are friends, but you have to stop treating me like a friend and start treating me like the team’s first sergeant.” Surgeon sent the plans to Seth’s wristcomp. “I mean, don’t be a dick or anything—I still want some special treatment.”

  “You are shit out of luck, First Sergeant,” Seth joked. “No special treatment for you.”

  “Alright, Captain, let me know when you’re done approving the plan. Father wants to move out as soon as possible. The patrol is moving fast and we don’t want to have to play too much catch-up.”

  Seth nodded to Surgeon and looked at the map and the tactical plan attached to it. When he was done, he found that he actually did want to change a couple of the details; he sent the updates to his teammates’ wristcomps and then went and found Father.

  Fang and Huj’pa’ul knelt in front of Father, and offered him the corpse of the dunghotep they had hunted together. Seth couldn’t tell exactly what was going on but he decided to wait until it was over before he spoke to Father. The ceremony or whatever it had been only lasted a few more minutes. The two Shirkas left Father but took the kill with them.

  “What was that all about?” Seth stepped up to Father.

  “They were asking permission to mate.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty fast; they just met.”

  Father snorted. “No, human, it is not like that for us. When two Shirkas are interested in each other, they almost immediately get permission to mate from the pack leader or the appropriate family members. They do not actually mate until they decide to become life partners. That could take days or years to happen.”

  “Then why ask so soon?”

  “If they courted each other for the next two years and then asked permission and were denied, that would have wasted a lot of time for both of them.”