//------------------------------// // 17 - The Village // Story: Harmony Among The Stars // by tom117z //------------------------------// ??? It would appear I have guests. The ship in orbit is of a configuration of which I have no recognition, but it is heavily damaged. Long range scans from the Interceptor indicate it was taken damage from gaecha weapons fire, unlucky for them. What’s even more unfortunate is that they decided to come here. Whoever they are, I cannot have them interfere with what I have here. So I engaged them, took my ship and destroyed two pods that descended down from their vessel. One was completely destroyed, while the other crashed a little bit away from the village. I dispatched some of my drones to take care of them, and yet they did not return. The video feed revealed a… fascinating group. Equine. Covered in fur of various colouration. One had a horn on his head. There was one who seemed a mix between some kind of mammal and an avian lifeform, that one was the first to down one of my drones. And that’s not even mentioning the big one, the one with wings and a horn, hair that seems to defy gravity itself and has… abilities. This one took hold of my entire force like nothing within some kind of energy field coming from the horn, crushed them into atoms. I have never seen anything like it in my entire life. I would imagine that one is the leader, and I shall have to keep a close eye on her. Finally, there was him. A sharin like myself, in full naval uniform. If he is here, then others might know of this too. I need to get my hooves on this officer and… acquire the answers to my many, many questions… The officers of the Harmony followed closely behind the Sha’Du male, Teneer. The forest was thick, and without their guide getting lost would be all too easy. Thankfully, Teneer knew the area like the back of his hand. Twilight still couldn’t get over how much like a human he appeared to be. “How much further?” Xal asked. “It’s likely those drones are still searching for us.” “Not much further,” he responded telepathically. “My home is safe. I hope.” “You hope?” Nimble Star deadpanned. Teneer shook his head regretfully. “We’ve had encounters with the person who controls the soulless ones.” “Encounters?” the Princess questioned. “Have you been attacked?” “Yes,” he answered, pain evident in his voice. There was silence after that. Only the rustling of leaves and the odd animal scurrying about offered any audio for the group as they continued forth. The sun was already getting low in the sky, the first embers of twilight beginning to move across the sky. “Your telepathic abilities are… well, incredible. I’ve seen hive minds and individual connections created between people using our… abilities. But nothing like yours,” Twilight stated, breaking the silence. “Have your species always had it?” “As far as the stories of our forefather extend back,” he confirmed. “Seeing other use their mouths for talking is… disturbing.” The Princess’ eyebrow raised up high. “Disturbing?” “The mouth is for food,” he explained. “For us, that’s all it has ever been.” “But you can understand us?” Iynx spoke up. “How is that, we’re not telepathic.” “As you speak with your mouths, as do you in your mind.” Suddenly, the group was rather on edge. “Wait,” Silver Wrench interrupted. “You can read our minds.” “Yes,” he admitted. “But my people only use it for communication and sensing emotion, any further without consent is a crime worthy of death.” “Such a violation is also looked down among our people, even if it contain a lesser consequence for the caster,” Princess Twilight stated. “I’m glad to see your people share that morality.” Teneer looked back briefly, nodding his head. “If it eases your concerns further, you would know if I went deeper than what is plainly seen,” he stated. “An evolved countermeasure, I have an inkling,” Geneser noted. “To stop others from secretly seeing what one is thinking.” “The rhyming one is correct,” Teneer said. “We have a presence in the minds of others, alerting them if we were to go too deep.” “But you can feel emotion, right?” Iynx asked for clarification. “Passively, only what is not hidden, but kept to the surface,” he explained. “So then, what am I feeling?” “Bemusement,” he responded. “All of you I can sense, except your princess.” “You cannot feel my emotions?” Twilight questioned. “Only what you speak,” he confirmed. “Your mind is… old. Advanced. A forced entry would be… unwise for any Sha’Du, we would only ever know what you actively and consciously share.” “Can’t say I, for one, am surprised,” Iynx stated with a smirk. “The Princess has been around for a while.” “And she’s an alicorn,” Nimble Star added. “I do not know the significance of ‘alicorn’,” Teneer stated. “But her strong mind is testament to her power.” Teneer sighed, looking a little nervous. “You could help us,” he said. The group threw him a questioning glance. “Against the soulless ones,” he continued. “You came from the sky, like them. Many of us are brave enough to resist, but bravery alone will not win against them. They are too strong and too many, our spears can only do so much.” “It’s possible,” Twilight said diplomatically. “It’s certainly something we can discuss with your leader.” “Our elder,” Teneer stated. Twilight nodded. “Yes, when we meet your elder, we can discuss it.” “You’re looking at him.” Twilight did a double take. “You? But… ‘elder’, you seem so young.” “Barely in my third decade,” he admitted. “Our previous elder was old and wise, she had seen much of the world’s offerings in her years. But the soulless ones ended her time here.” “Elder Teneer,” Princess Twilight addressed sympathetically. “In the final leg of our journey, could you please tell us when this all started?” Teneer paused for a moment, but then nodded. A Few Weeks Prior The moons shone down onto the planet, a controlled fire crackled in the centre of a small village on the edge of a forest. Huts were arranged in a circular pattern around the central fire, one hut had heat coming from within as several newly made spears with bronze tips rested our front. A few Sha’Du sat around the fire, and another few talked outside the elder’s hut, but everyone else was asleep for the night. There were no rival villages nearby, and the fire along with their numbers kept any of the forest’s predators fearful and at bay. The night was as quiet as any others, children slept in their mothers’ embrace while the hunters recovered from a hard day’s work. None of them were prepared for the fire in the sky. The people still outside noticed it first, a flame high in the sky. None of them questioned it at first, such phenomenon happened every now and then, something any advanced species would recognise as a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. But this one didn’t go away, but instead seemed to get bigger as the flames died away and a green shape illuminated by the dying flames emerged. And it was heading right towards them Before a shout of alarm could be made, a loud whooshing and high winds swept through the village as the object swerved upwards and over their village. It moved on a short ways into a clearing just outside the village, opposite the forest, before setting down. Teneer came rushing out of his home, his fellow hunters grabbing their weapons as they rushed to get into some kind of defensive position around the village against the possible threat. Teneer too grabbed a spear, heading towards the Elder’s hut as the old woman was helped out of her home by one of the villagers. “Elder!” he communicated towards her. “An object from the sky, born in fire! It has come to a rest just outside the village.” The Elder looked towards where Teneer was pointing, her face emotionless. “We do not know its nature,” she stated. “Stay your blades until we know.” That was when metal spheres began to crowd over the village, eliciting several screams from scared children as they cowered behind their parents. The hunters all gathered around the centre with the rest of the villagers as other metal being on legs began their approach, at their centre an equine lifeform with bony facial features and wearing a padded brown coat with the faded remains of a sharin naval uniform underneath. The Elder, with Teneer at her side, stood bravely in front of her home as the outsiders rounded the fire and came to a halt a few feet away from them. The sharin examined the Elder and her guard, a smirk plastered on his face. “Hello,” he greeted simply and cheerfully. “I know you can understand me, telepath.” “You speak with your mouth, but I can hear your mind all the same,” the Elder stated. “You are an unknown, you are unfamiliar to us.” “Oh, well… let us change that. I’m J’poc, and you are the Elder of this village, correct?” “I guide my people, true,” she confirmed. “Why are you here in you object born of fire?” “Object born of fire?” he laughed. “That, my dear, is a starship. And these fellows…” He knocked on the chassis of one of the drones. “Are my friends, my servants.” “You didn’t answer the question,” Teneer stated. J’Poc glanced towards Teneer, his predatory eyes tearing into him. “I want what everybody want,” he stated. “A place to call my home, to settle down. My people will be looking for me, and what better than a mostly forgotten primitive world of savages in the middle of nowhere?” “Savages?” Teneer’s grip around his spear tightened. “Teneer.” The Elder gave him a reproving look, before addressing J’Poc again. “So why do you address us now, outsider. I can feel your emotions, they are dark.” “You noticed? Good for you,” he said patronisingly. “It’s really rather simple. I have a big bloody army, and I’m in need of servants with a bit more soul in them than these ones.” “Is that a threat?” Teneer asked, bringing his spear up a little. The answer was blunt and to the point. “Yes.” “You are an aberration, aren’t you?” the Elder stated. “What did you say?” “You are on the run from your people, and the emotions I sense from you… you are not like the others.” “The others?” His smirk widened. “While hardly emotionless they are a bit too logical for my tastes. All these rules and regulations, even sex is made boring when it’s just seen as for reproduction while other species go wild! My time with them is done.” “If you believe we would serve a disturbed criminal, outsider, you are misinformed,” the Elder said in warning. J’Poc snorted, glancing between the drones either side of him. “Who said I was asking you?” The drone to his right lifted a foreleg and a flash of green struck the Elder, killing her immediately. All the drone in the sky began firing down at the huts so they would have nowhere to run as the ones on the ground moved to subdue the rest of the village, only killing where necessary. Teneer watched with wide eyes as this began, glancing over to the Elder’s corpse before bringing his spear up in a rage. He struck forwards towards J’Poc, who barely flinched as he sidestepped, brought up his rear hooves and bucked hard into Teneer’s side. Teneer crumped down, his spear discarded as pain shot through his torso. The sharin stood to his side along with one of the drones as his looked down at the man with sick amusement. “Brave. But stupid. Don’t get up, be a good pet.” Teneer shouted in rage as he grabbed his fallen spears and pierced it upwards. The blind jab hit the drone and pierce into its core, causing it to crumple with the spear still stuck inside. J'Poc sighed. "You couldn't resist, could you? Maybe it's my fault, if only the armoured variants weren't so damned expensive." J’Poc glanced down at the fallen drone, and then back to the now sitting, and stunned Teneer. “Not even a shout, I can’t even hear any emotions or voices from them… They truly are soulless.” “Yes,” J’Poc responded. “And you got up. Now I’m going to have to kill somebody as an example.” Teneer’s eyes darted towards the one who had attacked them. Fires raged from their homes as the last of the villagers were subdued and held hostage. “Goodnight,” J’Poc said as he collided his hoof with Teneer’s face. Present Day The entire group was left stunned by Teneer’s tale, they had no idea things were that bad. “When I woke up, J’Poc made me elder,” Teneer explained. “He was mocking me, he sees himself as our ruler.” “What then?” Princess Twilight asked, Teneer didn’t need his telepathy to see she was seething. “He made terms for us to follow,” he stated. “We to provide food and slaves that would alternate every now and then, and it fell to me to organise who would and would not go. If we resist, he threatened to kill another, and then another should we continue until it was only me left.” “I’m truly sorry,” Twilight gave her condolences. “What do the slaves do?” “The men, he has taught them to do repairs on his drones and ship, but not how to operate them. Sabotage is seen as resisting, so none dare.” “And the women?” Twilight dared to ask. Teneer winced. “Remember what I said about what J’Poc told us, specifically about sex and how other species ‘go wild’.” “Oh that fucker,” Iynx angrily muttered under her breath. “Princess…” “I know,” Twilight stated. “You want our help, Teneer? You have it.” Relief filled Teneer’s being. “Thank you, Princess.” Xal hurried up to Twilight’s side. “Princess, while I would prefer to take this J’Poc alive to face court martial…” he began. “If he resists, the logical thing to do may be ending his life and his threat to the villagers.” “We’ll have to see how things go,” she responded. “We’re here,” Teneer stated, moving some foliage to reveal his home. The houses had been rebuilt, the fire in the centre was being prepared for the night. But there was an undeniable sense of dread and sadness around the village. However, all the villagers stopped and turned as they saw the group approaching, fear evident on their faces. They all knew why, the last alien they met hadn’t exactly been friendly. What he had done, in Twilight’s opinion, was beyond unacceptable. Not just as a former officer of the sharin navy, but as a living sapient being. Princess Twilight had a few things to say to J’Poc.