by Seth Libby
Upon reaching the opening, Liam was met with a site he would not have expected, of an underground cavern as he looked at what seemed to be a lush forest. Trees of various types were spread throughout the cavern as well as several fruit bearing bushes. A small stream came through an opening close to the cavern entrance where Liam and Callen hid and traversed through the center of the cavern to exit out another small opening on the far end. The most amazing thing was where the light was originating from. A type of bioluminescent lichen covered the roof of the cavern, glowing brightly, giving off the equivalent amount of light that you would find on a cloudy day.
Callen acknowledged Liam’s approach with a silent nod then pointed off in a direction deep within the cavern. Following where Callen indicated he spotted the subjects of his earlier conversation. Surprise filled Liam at what he saw and he now understood why Callen had mentioned that perhaps the Meshtrell had been meddling with other races. What he saw before him was also found in mythical lore upon Earth.
There was a group of several Lykaans present, all of various heights. Liam guessed the shorter ones to be children but the adults stood close to seven feet tall. They were covered in a coarse fur of various colors, no two Lykaans of the same color. Their heavily musculared upper bodies rested upon equally muscular digitgrade legs with a tail that descended to roughly equal to their knees. The arms were longer in proportion to that of what you would find on a human, the hands displaying five clawed fingers. The most disturbing part was their head. It was definitely canine in appearance with a long snout, large ears that protruded up out of the sides of their heads and dark intelligent eyes.
“Correct me if I am wrong but what creature of lore do you think of when you look at them?” Callen asked Liam, his voice barely above a whisper.
“A werewolf,” Liam responded without hesitation.
“Do you think the Meshtrell might have brought some of these Lykaans to Earth? This would explain a lot of Earth lore. I mean just look at their name…Lykaan, it is almost the exact same sound Lycan which is commonly referred to when speaking about werewolves,” Callen asked as he gazed out upon the group in the distance.
Liam did not answer but only watched the group as they went about their business. While covered in fur the Lykaans did wear some semblance of clothing which suggested they observed some sort of modesty in regards to their race’s genital regions. The Lykaans, Liam, gauged to be males, only wore what appeared to look like loin clothes around their waists while the ones that could possibly be female’s worn clothing at their waists and chests. Most of the females seemed to be picking some sort of purple fruits from nearby trees while the males stood guard with crude spears in hand. Most of the children ran about chasing each other in what looked like a game of tag.
Liam did notice an older group of the Lykaan adolescents much closer to their end of the cavern, near the small stream that cut through the cavern. The group was gathered around two Lykaans who were hunched down over the edge of the stream seemingly observing something in the water. Each remained absolutely motionless with a clawed hand poised in the air. This went on for several minutes until one of them stuck out with his clawed hand, plunging his arm up to the shoulder before pulling free from the water. When he withdrew his arm he held a white creature that Liam judged to be a fish. Standing, the Lykaan held the fish aloft for the group to view as the other Lykaan stood and bowed slightly.
“Must have been some sort of competition,” Callen whispered from beside him.
The Lykaan adolescents did not return to the stream but instead turned to head back towards the larger group. This was when Liam spotted the shadows moving through the nearby trees towards the small group. The Lykaans was either unconcerned with the presence or unaware; Liam guessed it was the latter. He continued to watch the shadows move, their path was clearly moving so they would intercept the smaller group.
“What do you think that is?” Liam asked of Callen as he indicated the shadows.
Callen studied them for a few moments before he responded.
“Not sure but whatever they are I get the feeling they do not have good intentions.”
Liam continued to watch the shadows as they stalked through the shadows of the nearby trees, moving silently as they closed with the adolescent Lykaans. The group was almost to the point of the interception when the Lykaan who had caught the fish stopped suddenly, one of his arms coming out to stop the rest of the group, as he gazed at the treeline nearby where the shadows lurked. Slowly, he motioned the rest of the group to retreat to the side and backwards, which took their path away from the grove yet still moved them slightly in the direction of the adult Lykaans. Several of the Lykaans looking behind them to make sure the way was clear of danger.
“Seems they finally noticed their shadows, judging by their retreat I would guess whatever is in those trees is not friendly,” Callen whispered from beside him.
Liam watched, not knowing what to do, their mission was only for observation unless they encountered one of the tribal leaders. If they interfered now then they would give away their presence.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a high pitched screeching howl from the cavern. The shadows must have realized their prey was retreating and burst forth from the trees.
There were five of them and the creatures were a horror to witness as they surged forward. They stood roughly six feet in high and ran on four muscular legs. Its skin was a dull charcoal black of heavy scales with spiny protrusions that ran along their backs. The most disturbing feature of these creatures was most definitely the head. The head was heavily armored with no visible sign of eyes or ears but it was the mouth that caught your attention. The mouth opened wide to reveal several rows of long dagger-like teeth glistening with saliva.
The adolescent Lykaans broke and ran in the opposite direction in an attempt to escape the beasts. The adult male Lykaans, on the opposite side of the cavern, recognizing the danger their young were in, broke and ran in pursuit of the creatures. Liam was surprised to see how quickly Lykaans could run as they moved towards a group of nearby trees. Judging by how quickly the creatures were closing, Liam gauged it would be close but he estimated the Lykaans would make it to the safety of the trees before the creatures caught them.
“Should we help them?” asked Callen, as he cast a sidelong glance at Liam.
“Not yet, it looks as if they will make it to the trees,” Liam said as he indicated a small grove of nearby trees. “Also, it looks like the adults will catch up soon,” Liam added as he indicated the dozen males Lykaans that was closing quickly.
“What use will those spears be against those things?” Callen asked incredulously.
Liam had to admit Callen had a good point although the Lykaans knew these creatures so it stands to reason that they might know weak points they would be able to exploit with those spears, also who was to say those spears did not have some sort of poison on the head of the spears.
Turning his attention back to the adolescents he saw that the young Lykaans were being helped into the high branches of the trees by the two Lykaans who had been fishing until finally only the one that had caught the fish remained. He paused to cast a quick glance over his shoulder to confirm where the creatures were before jumping up to his companion’s outstretched hands. The Lykaans locked hands and hauled the young hunter up so he could lock and arm around a nearby tree limb as the creatures were just about upon them.
“Looks like you were right,” Callen said from beside him.
But Callen had spoken too soon as what looked to be some sort of long barbed tongue shot forth to wrap itself around one of the legs of the dangling Lykaan. The barbs immediately sank into the flesh, drawing blood that ran down his hairy leg and onto the tongue. The creature jerked its head sideways in an attempt to pull the Lykaan free of the tree. The young Lykaan howled in pain and sank his claws into the bark of the tree limb that he so desperately held to as his friends attempted to pull him up.
&nbs
p; The creature continued to jerk its head side to side, saliva spraying everywhere as the rest of the pack circled the tree, awaiting their prey to fall. It was at this point a spear flew through the air and bounced harmlessly off the back of the creature that was wresting with his treebound prey. The dozen Lykaan adults had arrived and were yelling in an attempt to distract the creatures. Seeing new prey that was not out of their reach, the rest of the pack moved off towards the Lykaans, leaving the lone creature that refused to give up on dislodging his prey.
The rest of the pack fanned out, each choosing a separate Lykaan hunter as their target. Barbed tongues shot forth but were knocked aside by the Lykaan spears while the hunters that were not being focused on danced in and attempted to plunge their spears into the sides of the creatures. Callen’s earlier assessment seemed to be correct as the spears had little to no affect on the hard scaly skin of the creatures. This dance went on for several minutes as neither side could gain the advantage.
The lone creature that worked to pull the young hunter free was another story entirely. It was clear that the young Lykaans were tiring and would not hold out much longer unless they received some help soon. The wounded Lykaan seemed to not be putting up much of a fight as his friends struggled to hold onto him.
“They will not get to him in time, that creature is going to win,” Callen observed from beside Liam.
The internal battle that had been fighting within Liam finally came to a head as he watched the young Lykaan’s work so hard to save their friend. “Oh hell, I guess we meet the Lykaans sooner than we planned,” Liam said as he stood.
Callen grinned and followed suit as he stood as well.
Together the pair moved from the cavern as they quickly moved towards where the battle was taking place. As soon as it became apparent that the treed Lykaans were about to lose the battle Liam broke into a full run. The distance closed quickly as they ran at full speed.
“Help the adults, I will help the youth,” ordered Liam to Callen.
Callen diverted the direction he ran so he would come up from behind the creatures that were currently engaged with the adult Lykaans. Their approach was finally noticed by the group of Lykaans at the same time as the creature finally managed to pull the young Lykaan from the tree. Two of the Lykaans took up defensive positions against Callen’s approach as another attempted to circumvent one of the creatures to come to the aid of the young Lykaan who was now in peril of being killed. Unfortunately for the Lykaan, he was intercepted by one of the creatures and forced to return to the safety of the group. Liam, on the other hand, was not so restricted in his approach. As the creature closed to finish off the young Lykaan, Liam pulled his plasma sword free of his belt, igniting it as he ran. The creature sensing his approach hesitated long enough to turn its ugly head in Liam’s direction as Liam launched himself up into the air to flip over the creature and land in between the creature and the Lykaan. The creature let out a low hiss at the newcomer, clearly expressing its anger at being blocked from its prey. The barbed tongue lashed out at Liam to which he easily sidestepped. At the same time as he sidestepped he swung he plasma sword down, the searing hot blade severing the tongue from the creature’s mouth. The creature reeled back, screeching in pain and anger. The remainder of the creatures, now shortened, tongue retracted quickly into its gaping maw as it launched itself at Liam. The creature’s rage was quickly diminished as Liam spun away but as he completed his spin he brought the blade down hard upon the creature’s small neck. There was little hesitation as the blades burned though the armored scales and into flesh to severe the head from the creature’s body. The smell of burnt flesh assailing his nostrils as the creature slumped to the ground, sliding several feet from the momentum of its charge, to come to a rest infront of the wounded Lykaan.
Wasting no time Liam spun about in time to witness Callen sidestep the lunge of another of the creatures as it attempted to bite him. Before Callen could swing his blade down, as Liam had done, the creature sidestepped quickly to slam its bulk into Callen. Not expecting this, Callen sailed backwards onto his back, his plasma sword falling from his grasp and bouncing to rest a few feet away. The creature sensing this opportunity charged forward, intending to finish off Callen. Without hesitation Liam assaulted the creature with a surge of the electricity from within him. Blue energy engulfed the creature as it flowed from his left hand, causing the creature to howl in pain as its flesh burned beneath the assault. Liam released the electricity and the creature fell over, convulsed a few times and then moved no more.
With two creatures dispatched the remaining three must have sensed they had lost the advantage and ran for the cover of the trees. Seeing the creatures behave this way made Liam realize that these creatures possessed intelligence greater than that of a simple beast.
Liam extinguished his plasma sword as he walked over to Callen who sat upon the ground looking thoroughly annoyed.
“Anything hurt?” Liam asked as he helped him to his feet.
“Only my pride,” Callen said sourly.
Liam chuckled but otherwise said nothing else as he looked about.
The Lykaan, who had initially threw his spear and had been attempting bypass the creatures, was now kneeling next to the wounded Lykaan checking the wound. All of the young Lykaans had descended out of the trees and were gathered around their wounded friend while the remaining adult Lykaans formed a protective semi circle around the entire group as they watched Liam and Callen. Liam noted that none of the Lykaans took an aggressive stance towards them, most leaned on their spears, breathing heavy from the recent battle.
“What do you think?” Callen asked from beside him as he hung his plasma sword from his belt.
“Not sure, let’s head back to the cavern. If they try and stab us in the back then we know we can’t trust them.”
Surprise shown upon Callen’s face but he otherwise remained silent as the pair turned and began to walk towards the cavern they had emerged from.
They had walked for less than thirty seconds before Liam heard a shout from behind to halt and the sound of footsteps approaching. Turning about they saw that the Lykaan who had been administering aid to the wounded Lykaan was approaching, six of the Lykaan males following behind him. First thing Liam noticed that the lead Lykaan was taller than the others by perhaps three inches which he estimated put him just about seven feet five inches.
The Lykaan stopped roughly four feet away and seemed to study Liam and Callen for several long moments before he spoke again. When he did speak, his voice was deep and seemed to have a persistent growl to it.
“I must thank you for your help; if you had not intervened my son would have died.”
“You’re welcome,” Liam said simply but said no more.
The Lykaan hesitated before speaking, as if he expected Liam to say more. When it was clear Liam would not volunteer anything further he spoke again.
“You are not of this world, at least not from any area I have been to and I have travelled far. Where do you originate from? Are you great travelers and come from the stars like the Shenkar?”
“That is a delicate subject to broach, I do not know if I trust you as we just met. Who we are will cause some you know to anger quickly. Knowledge of our presence upon your planet could place you and your loved ones in danger.”
The Lykaan’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at being told their mere presence could generate danger.
“If you think the danger will come from us then you would be incorrect, my people wish you and your people no harm,” explained Liam.
This statement seemed to alleviate the suspicion from the Lykaan’s eyes and replaced it with curiosity.
“If the harm would not come from you then who would it come from?”
“The Shenkar,” Liam stated simply.
Surprise shown upon the Lykaan’s face at hearing Liam’s statement.
“Why should the Shenkar harm me for your presence?”
Instead of answering, Liam c
ountered with his own question.
“How much do you know of the Shenkar?”
“They are great warriors born of the stars; they provide guidance for my people and wish for us to become part of their great Federation as equals.”
As the Lykaan recited his view of the Shenkar, Liam could not help but detect something in his voice that stated what he was saying and what he felt were two different things.
“Great warriors? I apologize if I offend you but they are far from great warriors. Sure they are very skilled in battle but that does not necessarily make you great.”
An expression Liam could only interpret as amusement shown upon the Lykaan’s face at hearing Liam’s view on the Shenkar.
“I like you, stranger; you are not afraid to speak your mind nor are you afraid of the Shenkar as some of my people are.”
“Afraid? I find it very hard to believe your people are afraid of the Shenkar,” Callen said, not bothering to hide the amusement upon his face.
The Lykaan looked at Callen for several moments before a low variable growl began to emit from him. It wasn’t a growl of displeasure, in fact it was quite the opposite, as the Lykaan laughed in amusement.
“I like you too, you are smart,” said the Lykaan to Callen.
Callen smiled at the compliment but otherwise remained quiet. Turning back to Liam the Lykaan placed a hairy clawed hand to his own chest as he spoke.
“I am Grashianka.”
“I am Liam and my compatriot is Callen,” said Liam, the latter part said as he waved his hand in Callen’s direction.
“It is an honor to meet you but we still have not spoken of where you come from or why the Shenkar would wish us harm for speaking with you.”
Liam studied the Lykaan for several moments as he weighed on how much he should tell Grashianka. Not telling them would probably cause more harm than telling them. If Granshianka wanted to inform the Shenkar of their presence he would simply describe them, inform the Shenkar they wielded plasma swords and that would be enough information for the Shenkar to deduce who the intruders were. But telling him who they were and of their war with the Shenkar might show the Lykaans that the Shenkar were not all powerful and that there was another race out there that were their equals. This could go a long way to being introduced to one of the Lykaan tribal leaders that could help with their mission. He did not need to tell Granshianka of their mission here, how many warships they had in system nor of the Cathergons alliance with them.