//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Rude Welcoming // Story: An Alien in Need, is a Friend Indeed // by Word Worthy //------------------------------// Dadab awoke with a painful jolt. He put a four-fingered hand to his forehead, moaning. His thick cranium felt like a crushed watermelon, if aliens ate earth fruit. Not only that, his limbs hung limp like they were noodles. And wherever location he was in, the sunlight hurt his eyes. His current condition was comparable to that of a young individual after a night of hard partying and consumption of fermented beverages To make matters worse for the alien, his gas meter told him his methane supply was running dangerously short. He would have to hit the gas somewhere, somehow, or he would eventually suffocate in a few hours. After an unfortunate encounter with a hammer known as the Fist of Rukt from a certain Jiralhanae chieftain, it would seem karma was not yet done with the poor Unggoy. With another weary groan, the short, stocky alien pulled himself up from the ground, and sniffed the air. It smelled sweet, thick, and warm. Warm...not cold, which meant no methane to breathe, only oxygen. He made finding a gas supply his number one priority. His second: find out where in the Prophets' names he was. Looking around, he discovered he was at the edge of some kind of dark, scary looking forest. The heavily verdant woods seemed to extend outwards for dozens of miles. The land around the forest though was positively beautiful, colorful, and peaceful looking. Flowers, tall grasses, and birds of diverse varieties dominated the area. A little brook babbled somewhere nearby, out of the grunt's line of sight. All in all, the region was much like the human planet Harvest, where Dadab last remembered being. This gave Dadab an idea, perhaps he was still on Harvest, but he had gotten knocked out somehow in his fight against the mohawked-brute Tartarus. Still thinking about the fight, a loud noise brought the Grunt's surroundings back to his attention. He heard what sounded like ragged breathing. Dadab looked around again, this time to the ground near him. Laying in the grass, was the source of the annoying wheezing. It was a Kig-Yar, a jackal. The bird like alien was face down, apparently unaware of the grunt's presence. Dadab picked up a twig, and poked the other alien twice. It twitched, but did not roll over. With a grunt of effort, the Unggoy flipped the jackal over onto it's back to get a good look at it. It's avian-reptilian head gave it the appearance of a buzzard or falcon, crossed with an alligator. What distinguished it, however, was the lack of spines on it's head. This one was a female, and one Dadab just so happened to know all too well. He checked his belt, and seeing his plasma pistol, swiftly pulled it out, training it on the Kig-Yar. As the jackal came to, she saw the Unggoy, and narrowed her ruby-red eyes. She started chattering to him rapidly in the Kig-Yar's native language. Neither was obviously happy to see the other. The jackal in front of Dadab was none other than Shipmistress Chur'R-Yar, or Yar for short. Former shipmistress would be a more adept designation for her, as she had blown up their starship, the Minor Transgression, in an effort to stop a human from taking the valuable treasure Yar had been secretly hoarding on board. In the ensuing explosion, she nearly killed Dadab and his engineer friend, Lighter Than Some, but they survived. The rest of the crew was not lucky enough to say the same. Naturally, Dadab could be forgiven for wanting to attack the jackal. Just as he was about to respond to Yar's angry chattering tirade, something in the corner of his vision caught his attention. Up in the sky, Dadab saw briefly what resembled some kind of winged quadruped creature, flying in a direction away from the forest. It didn't give any indication it had seen him, and had continued on its flight path to parts unknown. Writing it off as nothing for now, the grunt finally spoke. "What you angry about? I'm not the one who blew up the ship. You almost killed me and Lighter Than Some, birdbrain!" Yar chattered something back. This angered Dadab further. "Who are you calling a useless gas sucker?" This time with a mocking tone, Yar chattered in response a third time. "No, I was not hopped up on infusion. I would like to see you fight evil human with this friggin pea shooter! I wanted plasma rifle, but big old meanie quartermaster said I was too much of a 'half-pint'. The nerve of that guy!" Dadab began pounding the grass with his stubby little fists in frustration. The jackal had finally stood up. At her full height, Yar was almost a head taller than Dadab. She still had her shield gauntlet on her wrist, as well as her needler at her hip. She carried both things with her at all times, and now stared down at the grunt. "Me wish Lighter Than Some was still here. I need more gas." Dadab declared. Yar merely shrugged at him, indicating she had no idea how to solve his problem. Dadab started to throw a fit, but then he calmed down. "I think we are still on human planet Harvest. Maybe there are friends nearby, they have gas for me?" While Chur'R-Yar had no strong desire to follow a lowly grunt around, she figured it would be better to try and find a nearby Covenant position with a grunt under her command rather than alone, for fear she might be mistaken as a human from the distance and sniped down by her brethren. And as a bonus, she could get the no-good gas sucker out of her feathers once and for all. She garbled out an order to Dadab. "I no like you, but I might as well follow you, if it will get me methane. Following, 'boss'!" He replied. At that, Yar got a look at their surroundings. She wasn't about to go into the dark forest, the grunt would be too cowardly to enter with her anyhow. Looking over her shoulder she noticed what resembled a dirt road of some kind leading off over a hill. Yar was willing to gamble that her allies had established an encampment along it in hopes of ambushing human travelers. Where there were Covenant, there would be gas for Unggoy, and a ticket back home. Just before the pair could set off however, something shook in the bushes near them. The creature made a growling noise. Without hesitation, Yar ignited her shield, and equipped her needler, crouching into a defensive stance. Dadab readied his pistol as well. It was then that the potential threat decided to strike. Ten quadruped creatures with long snouts, and bulbous, glowing green eyes leaped out of the overgrowth at the edge of the forest. The pack moved in rapid succession. Instead of flesh or fur, they were made strangely of hardy tree bark and moss, and held together with sap. They all stood in place, growling at their next meal. Yar had many plans, and being breakfast for indigenous wildlife was not one of them. She fired seven rounds from her needler, the pink crystalline projectiles homed in on their targets. One of the beasts was struck with all seven, and it erupted in a pink explosion, a super combine. The blast blew it and its fellow next to it into a pile of burning wood fragments, which were far too damaged to reassemble like normal. The Kig-Yar chattered in exhilaration. Counterattacking, the beasts attempted to get around her shield gauntlet, but Dadab provided cover fire on her flank with his pistol, distracting them and injuring two of the creatures. The short alien pulled out a blue sphere from a pouch in his armor, and pressed the button in it's center, causing it to pulse with a blue light. Tossing it at one of the beasts, he shouted, "Here's one for your momma!" It stuck to one of the predators' snouts, causing it to yelp in alarm. The device, a plasma grenade, detonated, bathing it and four more of its comrades in a super-heated antimatter explosion. Only three of the beasts now stood alive. With no bravado remaining, the beasts retreated back into the dark canopy of the forest, whimpering loudly as they ran. "We're champions!" Dadab exclaimed. He started jumping up and down excitedly. Chur'R-Yar simply blinked at him. "What?" The jackal chirped something back to him. "What do you mean it was just a lucky throw? Grunts can be good fighters too, ya know!" Chur responded simply with what had to be the jackal version of a chuckle. Dadab didn't say anything much else after this, as they set off down the road. After approximately ten minutes had past, they chanced upon something. Instead of finding a Covenant encampment, or even a gun or vehicle emplacement, they found some kind of town. Something was odd though. It looked nothing like the human settlements that were supposed to be dotting the countryside. The buildings were not metal or concrete, but wood, bricks, thatch, and other more primitive building materials. Even stranger, one of the buildings seemed to actually be a hollowed out tree. Seeing that particular structure, Chur was instantly reminded of Kig-Yar houses in the forests of Eayn, where she was born. Feeling nostalgic, and at least a little bit nervous, she ordered Dadab to follow her into the township. As they neared the small town, they duo finally got a glimpse of its inhabitants. Instead of humans, as the aliens had been expecting, they resembled the large quadruped creature Dadab had seen earlier, except for the fact that all the ones they could see at the moment either had no wings, or possessed some kind of horn on their foreheads. None of them had seen the duo yet. "I no think we're on Harvest anymore, Shipmistress." Dadab declared, quite nervously. Yar chattered back. "Alright, I'm moving boss." He ran, using his arms to speed himself up, and prepared to enter the town. The jackal readied her shield, but did not yet draw her needler from her hip. Grunts were always cannon fodder, and if Dadab's meeting with these strange creatures turned awry, he would distract them long enough for Chur to make a quick getaway into the nearby woods. As she stood and carefully observed Dadab walking awkwardly into the settlement, she did not realize someone was watching her from the nearby woods along the side of the road. "What are those two doing here?" The voice said with a haughty tone. "The Great and Powerful Trixie only requires you for her purposes. You are to play an important role in my plans, my floating luminescent little friend." The subject of her words responded with a soft series of whistles. Its body flashed blue lights across the sacks that kept it airborne. "Trixie cannot understand you dear, but she knows you can understand her. If your friends attempt to interfere with my plans by rescuing you, The Great and Powerful Trixie will have to dispose of them. Mark my words, that annoying unicorn will get what's coming to her, and if anypony, even an alien tries to get in my way, they will be dealt with severely." The Engineer Lighter Than Some responded with a distressed whistle, and curled up into a ball, trying to shy away from the azure-colored unicorn. His buoyancy sacks glowed purple as he drifted. Trixie laughed malevolently at the Huragok's discomfort. "Plans, plans, plans." She trotted off, tugging the alien along with her using her magic. The Engineer was too frightened to resist. Trixie laughed ever more intensely as she went, disappearing into the shadows of the overgrowth.