Castaway Planet

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 2

Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Escape Capsule # 405

Galactic Standard Time / 1000

Duncan sighed as he looked up at the sky. His mind was going over everything that had happened. So from everything, he learned this place had flying creatures that could grow to a titanic size. But at least they weren’t radar ghosts. He had ordered someone to watch the sensors, so if it or something else came at them they’d have a warning. One of the other guards had suggested they check if there were any ground-based sensors. The idea to set up a web around the clearing was smart, but he wanted them all to be line of sight distance only.

He had to admit that it might help if something came at them again. He’d been in enough battles where a minute's warning could make all the difference. But something about the last attack bothered him. Terra said the creature ate the leaves, so it might not have eaten the carrion from the lizard-things. But if it ate the leaves, then why did it attack them?

Vegetarians didn’t attack if they didn’t have to, that was what his niece told him. And since she was trying to be a zoo keeper, she would know. He could see it attacking them because it thought they were destroying its food source.... but there something was wrong with that line of thought. He couldn’t tell what, but something still bothered him. He couldn’t see what it was, but it was there. At the edge of his sight, just there waiting for him to notice one thing to reveal it. Somehow, he just knew that it was the worst thing, something that would make this so much worse.

“Ahhh……Chief?” Jones's voice caused Duncan to scowl and turn, looking at Jones with a scowl.

Jones winced and just grabbed his left hand and tried to look at Duncan. “It’s just….. if we’re using the sensors, then don’t I need something to read it out here? I mean, you put me out here to guard out here. So don’t I need something to see the readings?”

Duncan kept his mouth closed as he looked at Jones, an unreadable look on his face. On one hand, it made sense. But he put Jones out here to keep him away from the passengers really, and to keep him busy. Something like that might need the airlock to be open, and that was the last thing Duncan wanted. But the professional in him balked at the idea of sending a soldier out without the proper equipment. So in the end, it seemed that he had no choice at all before, just something that had to be done.

“Just keep an eye out here for now Jones. I’ll ask anyone with engineering skills to see if we even have something that can do that,” Duncan said and Jones grinned back and saluted.

“THANK YOU SIR!” Jones barked before turning around and walked towards the far side of the crater.

Duncan watched him walk away, a frown on his face. The way that Jones had reacted suddenly raised so many red flags. He had already had a lot of concerns about Jones, but the way he reacted just now……….

He hoped that he was reading into this more than he should. If not, then the limits he hoped Jones had didn’t exist. If the threat briefing he had read was true, then that meant the company had a problem. There were active safeguards in the screening process to keep them from getting jobs! It was to keep people in his mental range from being on ships like the Spirit if events like this happened! he would have to watch the little brat even harder and hope that he wasn’t a fanatic!

“Sir?” The voice of Terra caused him to turn and saw her coming towards him down the crater wall. He sighed as he looked at her, wondering just what she wanted to talk about.

“Yes, Terra? You can go rest with the others. I’ll call everyone for a debriefing and handle you last. You helped drive off that thing, it’s the least you’ve earned and…..” Duncan began but Terra interrupted him.

“Sir. It is because of that creature that I need to talk to you!” Terra bit out and Duncan looked at her.

She seemed to be holding on by a bare inch, and that bothered him a lot. Terra’s time on the ship showed she was a very balanced person, it took a lot to rattle her. Duncan could only hope this wasn’t post-battle jitters. He’d seen the hardest talkers reduced to nothing more than pacifists if they had them.

“This that important deckhand?” Duncan asked and Terra only nodded. Duncan sighed and shook his head. “Then let’s talk in my office.”

Terra just nodded and followed after Duncan as he hobbled back towards he airlock.

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Jones came around the crater and saw Terra and Duncan walk into the capsule. He kept his face blank as he looked up at the capsule, trying to see if he could see the sensors. The fact that they had seen the winged demon when it attacked them was truly a blessing from creation. The fact that it had been chased off before taking a life was a miracle.

He saw it as just another sign from Creation. For did not the scriptures say that the Unfaithful would run after attacking the Pure? All in all, he was even more sure of the righteousness of his mission. And the fact that Duncan had said that he would look into giving him access to the sensors out here?

Perhaps he was wrong about the Elder after all. Yes, he could see the truth now. Duncan was just one of the Unenlightened. The poor man had never had a chance to see the truth of the Order’s doctrine. And that too was one of the Scriptures, one of his favorite of them all.

“‘For it is the work of the Pure that will bring others to our Fire. Only when all sit and prepare to work the land that Creation gave us, will true peace come.’ This place, it has to be it. This is the land of the Deliverance,” Jones whispered in awe as he looked around, for once shocked and awe on his face. But after that, he went white as he thought of another part of the Doctrine. The reason the Order even needed guards, the Enemy Forces!

Jones leaned against the capsule, his mind going miles in seconds. He didn’t want to be right, but everything fit. The way those two gained powers, how they were able to save everyone, it all fit!

“Oh, my dear Racha! Don’t worry my beloved, I will bring you to the light!” Jones said with fever and looked up at the sky. For a moment he just stood there, leaning against the escape capsule, trying to think.

He just held his head, trying not to let the weight crush him. He had thought the work before him would have been easy, but his revelation shattered those lies. If things were as bad as he thought they were, then he needed to find others who shared his beliefs. Only together would they survive the coming fire!

As he looked up at the top of the clearing, he tried and failed to think of how he could get greater power. With that fool Jinn so easily gaining a blessing, there had to be a way for him to get one as well. If the time the Great Pope had seen was truly here, then he needed strength no matter what happened to the others!

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Jones came around the crater and saw Terra and Duncan walk into the capsule. He kept his face blank as he looked up at the capsule, trying to see if he could see the sensors. The fact that they had seen the winged demon when it attacked them was truly a blessing from creation. The fact that it had been chased off before taking a life was a miracle.

He saw it as just another sign from Creation. For did not the scriptures say that the Unfaithful would run after attacking the Pure? All in all, he was even more sure of the righteousness of his mission. And the fact that Duncan had said that he would look into giving him access to the sensors out here?

Perhaps he was wrong about the Elder after all. Yes, he could see the truth now. Duncan was just one of the Unenlightened. The poor man had never had a chance to see the truth of the Order’s doctrine. And that too was one of the Scriptures, one of his favorite of them all.

“‘For it is the work of the Pure that will bring others to our Fire. Only when all sit and prepare to work the land that Creation gave us, will true peace come.’ This place, it has to be it. This is the land of the Deliverance,” Jones whispered in awe as he looked around, for once shocked and awe on his face. But after that, he went white as he thought of another part of the Doctrine. The reason the Order even needed guards, the Enemy Forces!

Jones leaned against the capsule, his mind going miles in seconds. He didn’t want to be right, but everything fit. The way those two gained powers, how they were able to save everyone, it all fit!

“Oh, my dear Racha! Don’t worry my beloved, I will bring you to the light!” Jones said with fever and looked up at the sky. For a moment he just stood there, leaning against the escape capsule, trying to think.

He just held his head, trying not to let the weight crush him. He had thought the work before him would have been easy, but his revelation shattered those lies. If things were as bad as he thought they were, then he needed to find others who shared his beliefs. Only together would they survive the coming fire!

As he looked up at the top of the clearing, he tried and failed to think of how he could get greater power. With that fool Jinn so easily gaining a blessing, there had to be a way for him to get one as well. If the time the Great Pope had seen was truly here, then he needed strength no matter what happened to the others!

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As it watched the soft meats, the creature clicked its mandibles. After the hunting party had awoken the giant, they had fallen under its control. They followed it to hunt the soft meats, and died before too long. This one had stayed out of the giant's control, and tracked it. It had seen the defeat, something it never thought would be possible. It had tracked the scent of the ones that had beaten the giant one, hoping to take their strength. But for its effort, it had found a great feast. All it had to do now was make it back to its nest and bring the horde. It would take it a few dark times, but once the horde was here, it would be rewarded. It might even be allowed to become the new mother of this perfect hive site!

As it turned away and moved back into the forest, it never saw something move from behind a tree. The small armored figure looked from the watcher to the clearing before moving in another direction into the forest.

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As Jones walked around the capsule, his mind was intent on his revelations. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he never noticed Terra had led four deckhands out the airlock. He only noticed them when he walked into the sensor tower two of them had been carrying. As he fell to the ground, the deckhand carrying the back almost stepped on him.

“Jones!? Pay attention!” Terra barked as she looked back, having heard the commotion.

As Jones pushed himself up, he looked up and saw the sensor towers and felt a spark of fear. “Sorry, I just…… I was thinking about the attack and…..”

Terra sighed and looked at him, shaking her head. “I guess with what happened to your last team that’s to be expected. Still watch out, okay? We’ll be bringing four more of these things out!”

Jones nodded and looked at the towers. They were beige lances of metal a foot round and four long, and on top were three radar dishes. He stared at them, a little confused. He thought that civilian models only had one radar dish, and ……

“Jones, did you hear me? You okay there?” Terra asked with concern in her voice.

Jones blinked and looked up, seeing Terra look at him, taking a step towards him.

“Sorry, sorry….. but, those are military models, right? How do we even have them?” Jones asked in shock and Terra just shrugged, a smirk on her lips.

“No clue! But these babies will help keep us safe!” Terra said with a smile.

As Jones watched, Terra started to instruct the others on how to get them to the top of the crater, he tried not to worry. Another of the passages was coming to pass before him, ‘when the eyes of metal see nothing, only then will the horrors come’. This meant that sooner or later a great darkness would attack their betters! He needed to talk to Sir Bradford as soon as he could, this was getting worse by the minute.

But how? He was sent out here by Duncan, and he couldn’t go against his orders, but he had to talk to him! One of the other deckhands started to buckle as he tried to push the tower up. “Let me help!”

Jones dashed and got under the tower, helping the deckhand push it to the top of the crater. As it was pulled off their hands, the deckhand turned and grinned at Jones. “Thanks, friend! Maybe we should have gotten more help, eh?”

“Don’t even think about it, helping others is the right way to live after all,” Jones said with a small shrug and the deckhand grinned back, wiping his forehead. The male deckhand had short black hair and green eyes, and as he smirked he revealed a gap tooth.

“Not many would do that, my man! Thanks, you need something just ask old Victor and I’ll come running brother!” Victor said with a laugh.

Jones looked at Victor, a feeling welling up inside him. He needed to talk to Sir Bradford, but maybe a messenger would be just as good.