Parting

"Since your army is here, we should be moving out" Ah, right. Since my fleet has covered the entire outpost, their assistance would be no longer important. I looked around and our starfighters are still busy fighting off the aliens.

"The Zakana is still fighting back and our guns are still blazing. With my Bastion's starfighters bombing the sands, it can be dangerous" Even if I try to warn my warriors, no one can tell if there will be a stray bullet or explosives coming for them. "Then tell them not to bomb our way!" And of course, Kirin Solana insists on the most childish solution. How irritating. If not her anger, I have to deal with her childish thinking. Perhaps peace with Arkulans is not worth it, I just don't feel like dealing with this kind of person. Of course, that was a joke, but if she keeps this up, it probably no longer be.

"Unless you need assistance during your departure, we won't be able to guarantee your safety from its payloads" "Fine! We can fight our way out of here. Tell your army" She seemed impatient. It's probably the fact that they are surrounded by my warriors. She called her warriors and they slowly gathered near us. They would perform some sort of roll call, I had no idea how they can do that with such a large number.

I grew weary sitting idly here watching them do their Arkulan things. I looked around to look for Kirin Solana. Once I found her glowing eyes, I walked towards her. I approached her to conversate. "You might think you have done a small help, but every second of you helping my soldiers is precious to me, Kirin. The Narukh'za will surely notice your efforts of kindness" I laid my appreciation. Although I did that to eliminate my boredom, I was sincere in my appreciation. She turned herself to me and sighed deeply.

She has her hands on both of her hips and looked a bit bothered. "Sure. It wasn't a 'small' help, we sent out a company here to hold out until the rest of your army arrives" A company... I've been hearing about this company from them. Are the Krygstek here as well? "I have been hearing about this 'company'. When we hear that certain word, we think about the Krygstek. But I see that is not the case here" I asked her.

"Company doesn't instantly mean the Krygstek. It can mean a business, someone's presence with people, or in military terms, a slightly large group of soldiers, usually around a hundred troops" Kirin Solana has given me new knowledge. I was somehow surprised that there is more meaning to the word 'company' other than the stupid Krygstek.

"Come on, no way you've lived your life this long without knowing this" She smirked at me. How absolutely revolting that look on her face...! I calmed myself down and chuckled. "Of course, I know what the word 'company' means. We have never used that word on our service" I said. At the very least, I know 'company' also means someone accompanying you.

"How do you measure the size of your military then? How do you even lead them?" She asked. She looked really curious. "The way we lead our army is entirely different from each other. Loyalists lead their army in their own way. In my case, I have divided my power. I lead my ground troops, and my Devoted leads my fleet" "My Devoted, Ladrak, he introduced himself to you and confronted you without any intention of aggression" The first time Ladrak introduced himself to her was unpleasant. Such unnecessary violence from her. Had he wanted harm for them, he would have done so without saying his name.

"...That's it? How about like... a squad, or a battalion?" Squad or a battalion? We've never used those terms within our armies. We've only heard those from them, not even Krygstek. I wonder how it works for them. Kirin Solana was seemingly bothered by my silence to her question. "What the..." She rubs her face. What's with her? "You mean to tell me that this whole time, we have been fighting you without anyone else leading a group or more within your army? Your army just scatter around and follow orders directly from you?"

What is she saying? They don't just scatter around. They indeed follow orders directly from me, but they are not disorganized as she described them. They work in unison, so I had no idea when she said that. Maybe they have another meaning for 'scatter'? She scratched her head, visibly upset about my silence again.

She never bothered speaking up to me again after that. What is she so upset about? I just stood there staring at her while she annoyingly looked away from me. Fortunately for her, I guess, her warriors informed her that they are ready to move out. I speak to her one more time. "I will tell you one last time. Even if my army doesn't aim at you, there will be some strays and misfires" I warned her.

"It's fine, just... don't try to aid us on our way out" She then turned to her warriors. "Stick close and don't scatter, she has told them not to fire in our direction but we still have to be careful. We will go out from the same way we came in" With a finger pointed to the direction they came from, she told her warriors that way will be their exit. She then took a careful look at them. "Everyone ready? Let's move!" With her shout, the Arkulans quickly moved. She and her young warriors rode one of their vehicles and went out with the rest. I stood there as I watch them go.

"Rid, guard the Arkulan's exit. If Zakana chases after them, help them defend" I told the garrison to watch over the Arkulans as they make their way out of Rid. Right at the moment they made it out, the Zakana chased after them. As I commanded, the warriors watching them started to fire. I could hear the Arkulans getting agitated by the gunfires, but they soon realized what was going on. With my warriors' help, they got out of the area unscathed by the aliens.

I was about to turn away to the Bastion when a great amount of Ravens started to appear from the Arkulans' directions. Troublesome creatures. "Bastion, more Ravens on the skies. Eliminate them" With my command, the squadrons of Qaxozina accumulated on the outpost before engaging the incoming Ravens. Like a pest they are, they quickly perished from the beams of the starfighters. Just like that, the outpost was secured. There are still some persistent aliens running around the outpost, but our defenses are sufficient to halt them from entering the outpost.

"Khan, prepare yourselves and secure the rest of the outposts in these sands. Make sure to secure Zan properly, we have a portal in there" There was no time to celebrate, we still had more outposts out there. Most of the warriors from my army quickly assembled themselves into groups and heads out of the outpost. My thoughts quickly went into the Attractors. I quickly contacted Ladrak. "Ladrak, I want you to supervise the warriors disabling the Attractors" I commanded him to watch over the Attractors. With those out of the sands, the Zakana will surely stop surfacing.

"My Lord, I received multiple reports of higher Zakana heading our way. But it looks like they will face the Arkulan convoys first. What should we do?" He asked. The whole time, the Arkulans have not reported any sightings of the higher Zakana. Where have they been? Where could Lurza'Far possibly warp them to? "Keep watch over them. If they are having difficulties dealing with the higher Zakana, aid them. Assign someone to supervise the Attractors instead" I dispatched him to watch over the Arkulans facing the higher aliens. Surely they will be surprised at the sight of the new aliens before them, there will be a chance they will be slaughtered if left alone.

With all my orders relayed to the fleet, I decided to head back to my Bastion and sit with Lurza'Far. That I did, and I quickly head back to my office. There, I still see Lurza'Far awake and not sleeping. "You're a resilient one, aren't you?" I told her. She lost a lot of energy warping in and out between incredibly faraway planets and she still has the strength to stay awake. How incredible, I'm envious, really. "Don't we regenerate even if we don't rest?" She asked. Indeed, we still regenerate our strength when awake, but it is a slow process. Resting would be preferable.

"It amazes me that you can stay awake after all that" I said. "Well, seeing you exchange gratitude and getting all comfortable with the Arkulans gives me strength so I can watch you, Karuga" She was still in shock seeing me together with the Arkulans. "Mind you, we are also on their planet. The very planet of the Arkulans. I don't think I can peacefully rest with such tension" She scratched her head. "I told you there's nothing to worry about. They would have to face me first before they could even see you" She chuckled at me. "Sure they will. But still, I preferred to watch than sleep. Everything that is happening is so foreign to me, Karuga" She was implying about the Narukh'za and Arkulans are on the same side together.

"I bet the Arkulans are happy that one of the Loyalists started to come around" She mocks me with a smile. "That's not the case here" I shook my head and went near her to sit down on the bed. We silently stare at the sands of the planet. Kryok, the planet we once live on, together, along with the Krygstek. Back then, there was no Narukh'za and no Krygstek, we live under the same identities and under the same society and with a great leader. We were united. It's crazy to think we once prospered on this very planet and eventually divided away.

We left the planet in search of our own identities, discontented with what we currently had. The same goes for the Krygstek and we eventually grew into our own empires. It must have been heavy for the great leader to watch us leave, the betrayal he felt was extreme and he treated us as criminals. I was about to feel sympathy for him, but I remember how cruel he was to us and the Krygstek. No Narukh'za would ever forget how cruel the Arkulans were, they truly despised us.

I looked over Lurza'Far. Seems like she's also in deep thought. I took a peek at her expression and she seems calm. She must be questioning how the Arkulans could stand with us after everything the Narukh'za has done to them and the Krygstek. Indeed, just like she said, this is all foreign to her and especially to me. After a while, Ladrak's voice came and broke the silence.

"My Lord, we have aided the Arkulan convoy successfully from the higher Zakana, they are no longer. We are nearing their base, should we head back to the Bastion?" He asked. "Yes, return to the Bastion. We are already clearing this whole mess up. Once we're done, we're phasing ourselves back to space" I replied to him. Lurza'Far looked over me. She looks troubled.

"The higher Zakana are no longer?" She asked. "What's wrong?" I asked. Her reaction really got me curious. "I can still sense a great amount of their energies, somewhere far" I got a bit worried for a second, but we will be leaving the planet anyway. The Arkulans would have to clean the rest of the higher Zakana themselves. Just as I thought about that, someone knocked at the door. "My Lord" A female warrior called me. "Come in" I said. With my words, she opened the door and came inside. She bowed before us.

"My Lord, your Siszha is receiving a transmission from the Arkulans. It must be the Arkulan leader" She said. What more does she want from me? "I'll go and take a look, I'll leave you for a while" I said to Lurza'Far and she waved her hand in response. "Lord Lurza'Far..." She bowed to her before leaving with me from the office. I followed her to the port my Siszha is parked. "Thank you for noticing me" I told her. "You're welcome, my Lord" She bowed before she walks her to her duties.

I entered Siszha and sat on the seat. With a sigh, I spoke up. "Lonara Hamarya?" I called out to her. Her hurried voice quickly came after. "Oh, thank goodness you answered. Kirin and the company have reported sightings of unknown Zakana, There are wolf riders, some... furry, bear-like creatures and a single-horned humanoid, and one with a big, tough body, they reported" Wolf riders... It amuses me how they call them simply 'wolf riders'.

The creatures these 'riders' are on are called Hounds. Their appearances are similar to the wolves, hence the Arkulans calling them wolves. We believe they are naturally born from their homeworld and are used as scouts or for quicker engagements. They also form packs and use their numbers to overwhelm their victims. The 'riders' are just regular Zakana, the Rangers, and we call them Hound Rangers.

The 'bear-like' creatures are definitely the Rigirans. They appear as furry creatures, similar to bears. They stand with their two feet and use their sharp claws as their weapons. Their main diets are meat and will devour any flesh including their own kind if starved. They are really terrifying. The single horn one is a Druid. It is one of the higher Zakana with a supernatural power similar to ours. With its powers, it can use the environment and turn them into a healing energy that restores the vitality and flesh of its own allies. We are currently on a mission to research this power and use it as one of our arsenals. Seriously, imagine the convenience of a flesh-healing power? Also, their bodies are covered with various creepy vines. Sometimes they are completely naked and look exactly like a human, though they don't have any visible reproductive organs. If not for the horn and a pair of glowing eyes, they can easily be mistaken for humans.

Lastly, the one with a 'tough body' is definitely the Carnage. It has a blue, huge muscular body. Way buffer than the rest of us. It takes pride in its raw power. It can use its own big arms and hands to crush its victims, but they sometimes carry big stone weapons like a hatchet or a hammer. According to our observation, these creatures appear as the leader of a group of higher Zakana. Pretty mean-looking, perfect for a leader, I assume.

"Miss Karuga, we have no records of these Zakana. But I appreciate your help with the convoy. I believe we have done so much for each other today. I hope you will soon take your part of the deal and stay off our planet" At least they don't suspect us about bringing these higher aliens to their planet. It seems like they still can't detect energies like we do. Lurza'Far's energies were scattered in the sands and had they sensed it, they would have suspicions.

"Yes. Once we have all of our soldiers with us, we will leave this planet immediately" I replied. "Good. I would say 'have a good day' but the day has already been dire. Goodbye" The call was cut followed by a static noise. It seems like the frequency we were using to communicate with each other is no longer. I guess that's enough communication with the Arkulans. Once the Attractors are cleared and the warriors on the outposts have joined the army, we will leave this planet.