chapter seven

Sorry, It's been a while since I updated. I had to decide whether or not to consolidate the story or not. I've decided to go ahead and stretch it out longer; in the hopes that I can manage proper character development and possibly lay background for some future scenarios.


Chapter seven

It had been three days since the attack, Kiera was begining to grow worried. The platoon that had escorted the wounded to a local hospital were going to arrive at the rendevous point in a few minutes. She was already begining to question the wisdom of meeting by night. Were the Ga-Vok nocturnal? Would they be patrolling? Would they even be looking?

After another half hour had passed she was growing restless. What if they had gotten lost, or worse? Did the Ga-Vok eat Nielda? She'd heard about some of the cuisine that diplomats had been forced to endure for the sake of diplomacy, and she could only imagine how little the sentience of a being would matter to them.
She decided to risk an attempt to signal them, in case they were lost. The Ga-Vok didn't seem to notice color, maybe just a little red...
She concentrated, thinking of the desired results, and released a small flare that hung over her position. All she could do now was wait.

"Princess, I see a torch. Just over the ridge."
"Quickly, let's go meet up with them"

The joy of having found the platoon quickly turned to horror as she saw the odies strewn across the hillock.
"Men, get them out of there!"
The sergant began barking commands to the other guards, who hastened clumsily to obey. By the time the Ga-Vok had been finished another four of her guards had fallen. She strode to the survivors, tending their injuries as they related the events that had happened since they left.

It seemed, though their words were garbled, that the Ga-Vok attack on the palace had not been an isolated incident. When they had arrived in town they found it under the control of several dozen Ga-Vok warriors. Before they could decide upon a course of action a hunting party had stumbled on their camp. In their rush to escape the wounded were abandoned. Both guards took great shame in this; Kinel went to considerable lengths to justify his actions, while Siru just broke down weeping audibly. Kinel could not be roused from his defensive state, but Siru was coereced into earfully relating what had followed. The hunting party they had escaped tracked them, and joined with several others. This larger band had cornered them here on the hill a few minutes before Kiera and her guards had arrived.

Kiera stood, she thanked Siru and Kinel for their efforts; then left them to the medic.
This was worse than she had thought; the Ga-Vok had not only attacked multiple, likely all, towns across Anatolia, but had likely managed to defeat the local garrisons and gain a level of domination over the planet that allowed them to hnt down the survivors at their own discretion.
"Men, gather the fallen and head back to camp. The longer we stay here the longer our scent will linger for them to track." She wasn't sure if they could smell quite that well, but she could smell them and it stood to reason the Ga-Vok could too.
"Sergant. Gather their dead on the hill and set fire to it." With any luck the smoke would blur the smell, or at least the pile of corpses would distract them a while.
She wasn't sure how, but she would not let the fallen rest unavenged. The Ga-Vok would all burn for this, just like their fallen comrades.