[Backlog] "The Jungle" Part 2/2 | CSEC | Arrain Maec tr'Verelan

Posted on 241506.07 @ 1:05am by Arrain Maec tr'Verelan

Mission: Agua Mala
Location: Ch’Shrrh
Timeline: Several years ago

[Ch’Shrrh]

Swinging the blade in an arc Maec knelt down and spun sending the Kaleh’s sharp edge slashing violently through the Kaa’zzh’s left leg completely severing it. The animal shrieked loudly and crashed into the water just a few feet behind him sending a wall of water into him. Standing up Maec suddenly felt a burning sensation on his shoulder and turned to find a large bubbling gash. He turned his eyes back to the Kaa’zzh’s which murmured hisses at him as it hobbled back up. Panting heavily Maec lurched forward and slid the blade into the beast’s belly and pushed it through until the hilt met flesh and fur. The Kaa’zzh opened its gigantic jaws and roared loudly sending a clump of thick venomous spittle into Maec’s face before heaving and falling back into the water. Its chest rose one last time as the water bubbled near its nostrils before finally stopping. Maec slowly slid himself along the creature’s body as his vision began to blur and spin. Before he could steady his balance he collapsed into the water.

A giant blur of dim light met him when he opened his eyes. He tried to move but felt a hand press against his chest and a soft commanding voice ordering him to “stay still.” He laid still as the blur slowly began to coalesce into shapes until he could finally make out the blinking controls of a panel. Slowly sitting up he found a thin blanket draped over him and let it slide away to reveal a thick bandage over his shoulder. Rubbing a palm against a pounding temple he looked across the bomber to cockpit where his aunt standing near the pilot’s chair. Outside the windows he could see the thick wavering foliage as streams of water cascaded against the glass.
“Finally awake?” His aunt spoke without turning her eyes away from the controls as tapped at them with her long slender fingers “try not to move too much or you will reopen the wound in your shoulder. I am not a doctor but I did my best to stitch you up and administer the antivenin. I’m sure your father will be livid when he finds out.”
“I’m sorry…” Maec said, he turned to stand but his foot hit something soft and cold as he twisted to get up. Next to the cot he discovered a large black plastic bag next to him its glossy surface gently reflecting the dim light.
“Sorry, for what?”
“Failing.”
“Fail?” His aunt abruptly stopped her work and looked at him pursing her lips “why do you think you failed Maec?”
“I lost my Kaleh…I was almost killed.”
“You survived. That is all that-”
“Only because you helped me!”
“Well I very well couldn’t let my nephew die. Argelian would have never forgiven me if I brought you home in a body bag instead of that.” She walked over to the cot and pressed her boot into the bag with a sigh “many would have died immediately upon encountering a Kaa’zzh. You fought well. You survived. You passed.”
He was silent and stare at the glossy plastic bag next to him.
She returned to the pilot’s chair and sat down. “I almost intervened when the Kaa’zzh trapped you in the tree. I didn’t expect you to grab its tail. I’m not sure which was more surprised- me or the Kaa’zzh!” She smiled, a soft expression that seemed strange compared to the seriousness she often wore. “I am preparing for our return to Romulus- with your trophy.”
He pressed his hand against the cold plastic and pushed until he felt the hardness of the body inside. There was a bit of sadness there for having killed a living thing. He knew it was just an animal and that it would have killed him but he still felt a bit of remorse for it. How sad, to live one’s life, and then to suddenly have it taken away. An image of his mother flashed into his mind- her eyes…much like the Kaa’zhh’s at the moment it relinquished its last breath- the realization of death. “How long was I unconscious?”
“Seven hours.”
Seven hours? That long? Slowly he pushed himself to his feet taking careful care not to trip over the dead Kaa’zhh bagged next to him. He made his way to the cockpit and took the empty co-pilot’s seat. “You didn’t mention anything about test when we came here…you just said that it would help me train. What did you mean by I passed?”
The bomber’s engines roared loudly as his aunt pressed the controls. Outside the leaves flickered widely against the windows as the bomber slowly lifted into the driving rain. “You have trained very hard for the past three years- I simply wanted to see how you behaved in a more…stressful environment.”
“I see.” Maec said. There was something more though. He could…feel it? There was something about her statement that seemed disingenuous but he didn’t know why. Was it her mannerism or just the way she said it? “But there is…something more?”
“Your father wants you to follow in his footsteps. To join the Galae like him.” She spoke as her eyes focused on the controls. The bomber rattled as its engines continued to roar and bring the small craft into the planet’s clouds obscuring the jungle below in white mist. “You know I was once Rei’Krannsu.”
“You want me to join the Rei’Krannsu instead of the Galae?”
“No. I want you to follow the path your father wishes but I also want something more for you.” The clouds outside gave way to a gradient of black on white as the bomber ascended into the upper atmosphere. Above them several warbirds hovered near a large military complex in orbit. His aunt turned away from the controls and looked at him her face sudden imbued by a dark shadow “there are other…avenues for you Maec. You are talented more so then you know.”
“Other avenues?”
“Yes. Other Avenues.”

[To be continued]