Raiding a shelter

Carzola walked along the forest trail late at night. After brutally killing all those people, even he had to keep a low profile. It wasn't fear that gripped him, just caution. Part of the conditions for his mission on this planet was that he was to remain undetected. His coming and going should all have explanations.

Unlike most mercenaries, he enjoyed working on a Tier 1 planet. He loved the experience of the raw fights, the sharp call of swords and metal bashing metal. It gave him a novel experience.

Tier 0 planets were the lowest level of civilization. They consisted of an undeveloped and unknown planet, like the world of Chege. The inhabitants could be humanoids but were not among the known races, hence labeled as beasts or creatures. Their technology, if it could be called that, was still far from modern standards.

Next came Tier 1 planets. This is where he was in. The inhabitants were known races such as humans or elves. However, their technological standards were still far below the universe's standards. They were commonly known as medieval planets, and this is where Carzola was.

Tier 2 planets were technologically advanced to a point where they were close enough to galactic civilizations. However, they had not yet made contact with the greater galaxy. They were on the precipice of transcending their planets but still hadn't.

Tier 3 planets were also known as colony planets. Higher civilizations spanned across star clusters and galaxies. The civilizations on these planets that were established by non-natives, as a colony of the main planets. They were seen as an extension of the parent civilizations.

Any planet above this tier had a high-level indigenous population. The races were seen as master races and they dominated others. The most populated race were humans, and it was also the one with the most variation.

Due to such established systems, there were rules put in place that dictated the handling of lower-tiered planets in the galaxies. One of the most sensitive areas involved information. Higher tiered planets were very touchy on the kind of information and exposure given to planets of a lower tier. Breaking these rules had severe penalties, and that was why Carzola had to burn the bodies. No trace left behind.

It had been exhausting work, and he hated having to kill for no reason. While Carzola could be defined as a textbook sociopath, he adhered to a code. The code separated him from the rest of the animals who killed for pleasure. That being said, he wouldn't kill just for the sake. There was no remorse, just exhaustion.

He had to do it, he consoled himself. The moment he pulled the gun out, their fate had been sealed. In hindsight, he knew the fates had been sealed the moment the bandits started toying with them.

Finally, he got to his destination. A house in the middle of nowhere. Anyone looking at it would find it extremely weird for someone to build this house where it was. It looked like a cabin but was too wide to be just that.

Without wasting time, he pulled out his keys and walked in. Only then was the truth about this house revealed. It wasn't a house but a spaceship. At the center lay the craft. Looking more like a cockroach, the craft was divided into 2 parts.

The front end comprised of navigation while the rear was the living quarters. It was designed to contain a skeleton crew, no more than 3. Its advantage was it could be piloted even by just one person, and in this case, Carzola was here alone. The spacecraft was manipulating its forcefield to form the illusion of the house. Despite the intense consumption of power this process took, the roof was optimized for efficient absorption of solar energy.

Taking the time to relax in the cabin, Carzola even pulled out a cigarette. His mission on the planet was done. A new one had been issued, this one coming from one of the most prominent families in the galaxies. A mercenary like this was curious.

As he enjoyed his company, a blare of alarms rang. Checking his systems, he realized that there was a lifeform in the area, closer observation, he realized it was humans. At first, he wondered how they had tracked him here, but on further magnification, he realized they were human females.

The older of the 2 was no older than eighteen, while the younger seemed fifteen. Both seemed scared of something, and they were rushing towards his house. Instantly, Carzola was high alert. There was no way he'd let them see his tech, or they would meet the same fate as his traveling companions.

Looking at them, the merc wondered if he should just make quick work of them. However, his code wouldn't let him. Maybe they were bandits in disguise, trying to trick him or rob him. He quickly discarded that thought, there was no way they could be bandits.

As someone adept in combat for many years, he had developed his sixth sense to a point where he could even detect if someone had ulterior motives. Looking at the 2 women, no, girls, he saw nothing to indicate any threat. If they were, they had to be incredibly good actors to deceive him.

Hesitation meant death in his line of work. This time, he didn't reach for the gun, but the sword. Time to meet the ladies.

***

In front of a giant cave, 30 mayi people and one giant human peered in. Unlike the previous ones which were warm and inviting, this one gave off a very eerie feeling. Just by looking in, one felt as though a ferocious beast was bearing down on them. While Chege felt hesitant to enter, the rest strolled in as if they were walking in a park.

Of course, before setting off, Chege had been thoroughly briefed on where they were going. The mayi people were not fully nomadic. Once in their history, they were, but over time, they formed good shelters. Not wanting to give up these treasures, they established a system of recycling shelters.

In that, once they moved, they didn't destroy their shelters as they once did but kept them preserved for the next occupation. Due to this, the construction of semi-permanent and later permanent structures in these shelters was established.

However, they didn't give up their nomadic ways. As such, there was a need to leave behind proper security in these underground shelters they had constructed. Like most magical civilizations, the important stuff was safeguarded by magic.

One of the security measures that had been put in place was Aura Intimidation. Using special scrolls, the mayi could create an illusion of a terrifying beast. With this, no animal would dare enter the cave.

While this had been effective in the past, they were now dealing with a much more intelligent enemy. These cheap tricks didn't always work. It was as though their enemy felt invincible. They never even seemed to realize there was a terrifying aura.

What they didn't know was that due to increased intelligence, instinctive or primal senses and reactions had been suppressed. The humans would still sense the danger, but their understanding of what lurked inside was not as comprehensive as wild creatures.

Of course, just like humans, there happened to be species that didn't seem to mind this kind of aura. That was why the braves had come here, to venture in, scout, and root out any threat within. If they found the obstacle too big, then they would warn the others.

That being said, Chege was getting bogged down with all this community-building activity. While the mayi treated him with warmth and respect, he couldn't help feeling used. He had come to realize that they only needed him for protection.

Chege hated the fact that he was made to feel like he had to perform, to prove himself. There had only been one thing he'd received that he couldn't get on his own, and that was companionship. Yet because of that, he had to slave around in a fight he had no stake in.

However, he chose not to lose sight of what was important to him. He needed to get as much information as he could from them. He needed to also find a way to get back home to where he came from, where he belonged. So he gritted his teeth and went along with them, all the while bidding his time.

Maybe all this came from the feeling coming off the cave. For some reason, Chege couldn't shake the fact that something was lurking underneath behind. Despite convincing himself that it was all an illusion, the hunter could feel there was more than meets the eye. Not wanting to look the fool, Chege said nothing but kept alert, just in case.

After it was discovered that he could talk the language of the gods, a priestess that had learned how to read and write the language had been appointed as his chaperone. Young and quite good-looking, Oyoo was a prize indeed. She also had no mate, which was ideal. Her cat-ears shivered constantly whenever she was with Chege, a sign that she was attracted to him, kind of like blushing. Chege, being none the wiser, assumed it was just wind effects.

As she looked at him, Oyoo wondered if he truly was from the gods. Some many myths and legends supported the belief. Still, she couldn't be sure. One thing she understood was that he was different but so much more powerful. Maybe he was the one spoken of in that prophecy. However, under strict orders from the matriarch, no one was to mention such a thing in public. All she could do was look at him and wonder, hope welding in her.

The air in the shelter was damp and smelled of putrid. Chege tried hard not to cough. To his shock, he was the only one affected by the horrid smell. The other didn't even seem to notice it, yet he was almost vomiting.

"Do you not smell that?" As they got deeper, Chege couldn't hold it any longer so he turned to his interpreter.

"Smell?" Oyoo wondered if she had misunderstood him. There was no weird smell she could detect, and no matter how deep a breath she took. Asking around in common tongue, none of the others detected anything off. Chege saw them all sniffing the air, and he understood that only he could feel it.

Nevertheless, they walked on in the tunnels. As alert as they were, they didn't detect any threat in or around the nest, but they had to be thorough, so they split up into groups comprising of 5 people each. Chege had Oyoo, Kassam and Kiel with him. The additional fighter in their midst wielded a sword.

Given that this was the power team, they delved deeper into the nest. There was one place they needed to go to ensure that they had secured the nest. It was deep within the nest, and no way around it. However, getting access to it gave one ownership of the nest, based on the magical arrays that had been put in place.

This was why Chege tagged along, and why such a large number came also. They needed all the strong people they could find for this run, and they were sparing none.