Post by Captain Appos on Apr 1, 2019 23:24:11 GMT -5
Appos grimaced as their target scampered across an open field. They called it “The Harbinger”, some sort of creature which was disrupting the research being done on Cardon 7. It seemed to rally other creatures around it with a sort of telepathy unseen in any of the local fauna. Possibly an extraterrestrial but no signs of full sentience. Appos saw this mission as the perfect chance to train Bana a bit more before any legitimate missions went off. A simple hunt with plenty of room for mistakes. Though something told him Bana would chew through that room with enough time… The brush would crunch slightly as he tilted his head to the left, adjusting himself slightly while prone. He would notice Bana about ten feet away, slowly wiggling across the ground like a fish out of water and breathing about as heavy as one.
“What took you so long?” Appos would whisper before returning his sight to the creature
“I...Fell...in...mud” She would manage to huff out as she popped next to him.
“I did too and got here just fine…”
“You’re also seven feet tall and able to bench press a starfighter” She would say with her eyes narrowed. She had a good point, the tuffle was tiny and very out of shape. But the benefit of being smaller was that she could build muscle mass easier with less work. There was a method to Appos’ madness, even if it was a method that made Bana want to die.
Appos would hand her the macrobinoculars he was using to sight the creature. “The creature is about a half a mile out. What can you tell me about it?”
Bana would scrunch her face in focus as she examined the beast. “Hm… It’s a quadrupedal, the leg structure would appear to make it well suited for fast, but short sprints. The eyes are on the side of the head, indicating it is not a predator. According to the reports it uses some sort of Nerve manipulation to control other creatures, it seems it was specialized to get others to fight its battles and run if the worst occured. It’s lack of preparation in long distance running makes me think that it had no bipedal or distance running predators, there are several on Cardon. It’s alien…” Appos would pat her on the head as he rose to a kneel, causing her to blush.
“Good job kid. Now the question is how do we kill it? You said it can’t sprint for long distances, but I sure as hell can” He would remove a knife from his belt. “A swift strike to the skull should take it down without any risks of it retaliating with other animals. Sound like a plan?” He’d look down at the Tuffle, who now had a worried expression.
“Do I have to run?” She’d ask quietly.
Appos would smirk slightly. “You wouldn’t be able to keep up with me even if you were trained. Few custodians could”
Bana would relax a bit. “Whew, alright I’ll stay here an- Hey! Wait!”
Appos would grab her and plop her on his shoulder, handing her the knife. “I never said you’d stay behind. Hold on to something” She would wrap her arms around his neck with utter terror across her face. Appos would burst into a sprint, covering the half mile in around 5 seconds. As he got closer, something would set off his senses. Quickly he would turn to right to see a charging horned beast getting ready to impact their flank. The damned thing knew it was being hunted…
Just before it impacted, Appos would swiftly grab Bana off his neck. “I’m going to throw you, get ready!”
“WHAT?!”
Appos would toss her like a football towards The Harbinger just as the horned beast impacted his side. One of it’s horns managed to pierce into his shoulder, nothing lethal. Appos would bring an elbow strike down on it’s horn, breaking it in half like an arrow shaft. He would grasp the other horn firmly with his uninjured arm, forcing it down and snapping the beast’s neck. Appos would rip out the horn with a pained grunt. “I forgot those things had barbed horns…” He would mutter to himself before rising and looking for Bana. After searching for a bit, he would eventually find her sitting in a large pool of blue blood with the knife to her side. Harbinger was about three feet away, struggling to breath. Appos walked over to the creature and stomped on it’s head, causing Bana to flinch.
“Are you alright, Bana?” Appos would ask as he examined his injured arm.
Bana would sniff slightly with her head down. “I-I don’t know”
Appos would walk to her and kneel, not spotting any injuries. She was shaking pretty bad, maybe mental shock. “Was that your first kill?”
She would shake her head yes.
“Bana, I need you to look at me” Appos would set his stoic gaze as serious as he could. She would follow his order. “I know this isn’t something you are used to. This is something most Custodians couldn’t handle. But when you are out here on the field, every moment may be your last. Every enemy is an obstacle trying to kill you. You cannot hesitate, or someone will die. You cannot let your emotions get to you out here, do you understand?”
Bana would simply continue to shake. Appos sighed and stood, grabbing her and sitting her on his shoulder.
“H-how do you do it? Fight like that? Fear nothing?” She would ask as Appos started walking to their campsite. Appos thought for a bit.
“It’s what I was born to do”
Appos would slowly wrap his arm as the day turned to darkness. He had given Bana his shirt to wrap up in, as the cold would be unbearable for her tonight. The benefits of being adaptable to most any situation, he assumed. Bana would look up at the towering figure, eyeing the vast array of scars his torso sported.
“Why don’t you get those healed, sir?”
Appos glanced down at the tuffle. “Each scar tells a story. They make sure you never forget the mistakes you made. Getting rid of them would mean getting rid of all those times I nearly died in the line of duty” Appos would sit forward and toss a capsule onto a pile of wood, causing it to set ablaze. “If that creature had hit me a little bit more to the right, it could have pierced my torso and one of my vital organs. I hadn’t fully scouted the area and I underestimated the enemy” He would look down at Bana once more. “One scar is a small price to pay for that lesson”
Bana would shift a bit uncomfortably.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um...If I get scars, can I get them healed?”
Appos would give a grin. “You have my permission. And just call me Appos or Boss. Calling me Sir is a good way to get me shot by a sniper”
Word Count: 1182
“What took you so long?” Appos would whisper before returning his sight to the creature
“I...Fell...in...mud” She would manage to huff out as she popped next to him.
“I did too and got here just fine…”
“You’re also seven feet tall and able to bench press a starfighter” She would say with her eyes narrowed. She had a good point, the tuffle was tiny and very out of shape. But the benefit of being smaller was that she could build muscle mass easier with less work. There was a method to Appos’ madness, even if it was a method that made Bana want to die.
Appos would hand her the macrobinoculars he was using to sight the creature. “The creature is about a half a mile out. What can you tell me about it?”
Bana would scrunch her face in focus as she examined the beast. “Hm… It’s a quadrupedal, the leg structure would appear to make it well suited for fast, but short sprints. The eyes are on the side of the head, indicating it is not a predator. According to the reports it uses some sort of Nerve manipulation to control other creatures, it seems it was specialized to get others to fight its battles and run if the worst occured. It’s lack of preparation in long distance running makes me think that it had no bipedal or distance running predators, there are several on Cardon. It’s alien…” Appos would pat her on the head as he rose to a kneel, causing her to blush.
“Good job kid. Now the question is how do we kill it? You said it can’t sprint for long distances, but I sure as hell can” He would remove a knife from his belt. “A swift strike to the skull should take it down without any risks of it retaliating with other animals. Sound like a plan?” He’d look down at the Tuffle, who now had a worried expression.
“Do I have to run?” She’d ask quietly.
Appos would smirk slightly. “You wouldn’t be able to keep up with me even if you were trained. Few custodians could”
Bana would relax a bit. “Whew, alright I’ll stay here an- Hey! Wait!”
Appos would grab her and plop her on his shoulder, handing her the knife. “I never said you’d stay behind. Hold on to something” She would wrap her arms around his neck with utter terror across her face. Appos would burst into a sprint, covering the half mile in around 5 seconds. As he got closer, something would set off his senses. Quickly he would turn to right to see a charging horned beast getting ready to impact their flank. The damned thing knew it was being hunted…
Just before it impacted, Appos would swiftly grab Bana off his neck. “I’m going to throw you, get ready!”
“WHAT?!”
Appos would toss her like a football towards The Harbinger just as the horned beast impacted his side. One of it’s horns managed to pierce into his shoulder, nothing lethal. Appos would bring an elbow strike down on it’s horn, breaking it in half like an arrow shaft. He would grasp the other horn firmly with his uninjured arm, forcing it down and snapping the beast’s neck. Appos would rip out the horn with a pained grunt. “I forgot those things had barbed horns…” He would mutter to himself before rising and looking for Bana. After searching for a bit, he would eventually find her sitting in a large pool of blue blood with the knife to her side. Harbinger was about three feet away, struggling to breath. Appos walked over to the creature and stomped on it’s head, causing Bana to flinch.
“Are you alright, Bana?” Appos would ask as he examined his injured arm.
Bana would sniff slightly with her head down. “I-I don’t know”
Appos would walk to her and kneel, not spotting any injuries. She was shaking pretty bad, maybe mental shock. “Was that your first kill?”
She would shake her head yes.
“Bana, I need you to look at me” Appos would set his stoic gaze as serious as he could. She would follow his order. “I know this isn’t something you are used to. This is something most Custodians couldn’t handle. But when you are out here on the field, every moment may be your last. Every enemy is an obstacle trying to kill you. You cannot hesitate, or someone will die. You cannot let your emotions get to you out here, do you understand?”
Bana would simply continue to shake. Appos sighed and stood, grabbing her and sitting her on his shoulder.
“H-how do you do it? Fight like that? Fear nothing?” She would ask as Appos started walking to their campsite. Appos thought for a bit.
“It’s what I was born to do”
Appos would slowly wrap his arm as the day turned to darkness. He had given Bana his shirt to wrap up in, as the cold would be unbearable for her tonight. The benefits of being adaptable to most any situation, he assumed. Bana would look up at the towering figure, eyeing the vast array of scars his torso sported.
“Why don’t you get those healed, sir?”
Appos glanced down at the tuffle. “Each scar tells a story. They make sure you never forget the mistakes you made. Getting rid of them would mean getting rid of all those times I nearly died in the line of duty” Appos would sit forward and toss a capsule onto a pile of wood, causing it to set ablaze. “If that creature had hit me a little bit more to the right, it could have pierced my torso and one of my vital organs. I hadn’t fully scouted the area and I underestimated the enemy” He would look down at Bana once more. “One scar is a small price to pay for that lesson”
Bana would shift a bit uncomfortably.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um...If I get scars, can I get them healed?”
Appos would give a grin. “You have my permission. And just call me Appos or Boss. Calling me Sir is a good way to get me shot by a sniper”
Word Count: 1182