Zeno

<p>Zeno approached Archimedes. Archimedes turned back to look at the leader. They did not greet each other but rather stood in silence watching the vast expanse. 
"It doesn't make sense? does it?" asked Zeno. 
"What?" asked Archimedes who seemed a bit irritated. 
"All of this," said Zeno pointing at the galaxy. 
"Does it need to?" asked Archimedes. 
Zeno laughed.
"That is the first time anyone has made any sense in a very long time. The only thing that makes sense for me right now is to protect my family. To protect our livelihood," said Archimedes.
"And I'm ready to do anything for that," said Archimedes in a stern voice. 
"Anything?" asked Zeno.
"Anything," replied Archimedes confidently. 
"Look here son," said Zeno. "Sometimes it is better to run away than face imminent death." 
"Only cowards run uncle, and I'm not a coward," replied a naive and courageous Archimedes.
"No," replied Zeno. "Only cowards run to their death. The brave ones dare to live."
"Are you suggesting me and my family to run."
Why dont you suggest that we all run away, the whole settlement," asked Archimedes. 
"Yes, that is precisely what I intend for it to happen," said Zeno. 
"Uncle, I never took you such a coward," replied Archimedes. 
"A coward," laughed Zeno. "You do not know anything son, you are just a kid . You do not know what it is to fight," said Zeno. 
"I know what it is to fight," replied Archimedes.
"No you do not. You do not know what it is to fight death everyday. You know nothing about winning abd certainly nothing about losing," said Zeno. 
"What makes you so sure uncle, that the barbarians will attack us and not us at them," asked Archimedes. 
"Archimedes," said Zeno. 
"Oh , they will be here, they will attack us in droves," replied Zeno. 
"I have been alive far too long to not know this," said Zeno. Archimedes stood silent. 
"And kid," said Zeno putting his hand over the shoulder of Archimedes. 
"There are wars that we fight and there are wars that we run away from. And this war we run away from," said Zeno.
"We are after all the Marakese," said Zeno jolting the shoulders of Archimedes. 
"We know when to run and this is how our race has survived for so long. We may not be the most intelligent nor the strongest, but we are very practical and this is the reason we have outlived the other races who were much more superior than us."
"You take so much pride in the fact that we are good at running," said Archimedes. 
He made mistake of talking down his uncle and his race. "We have been cowards for too long and that makes my blood boil," he said
 Zeno knew better to not reply to him anymore.


Sergery

Sergey finally reached the shores of the planet. He immediately went and stood very close to the waves that washed his legs now and then. Why did I not land in this planet at the beginning, thought Sergey, and precisely found out that the planet closely resembled his home planet earth. Sergey looked around. Romanov has been complaining about the need for another planet much like ours and looks like he is in luck, concluded Sergey. He took his device out which started to beep without intervals. In these waters, Sergey seemed doubtful about the whole affair now. Did I come all this way for a bloody mistake, Sergey stamped his feet on the water splashing it all over his clothes. As he turned around, he saw someone coming in his direction. The person approaching him was coming in much faster than a normal person. He even seemed large in size . Could it be my twin. Sergey smiled at his own sense of humor as he drew his gun from the slinger. The man approached him without any apprehension. He was least bothered about the gunslinging Russian. 
"Hello, hello," the approaching man called out in a alien tongue. Sergey immediately put a device on his collar. 
"Hello, hello," greeted Sergey in Marakese. Sergey was still pointing his gun at the Strongman. 
"Do not worry," said the Marakese. 
"I mean no harm, I'm just a patrol. I obviously cannot trust you," said Sergey still having his hands on the trigger. "You can be at ease, I mean no harm, I'm from the nearby village," said the strongman. 
"We are fishers, common fishers," he said. 
"You certainly do not look like fishers," said Sergey. 
"You look like what we call the Vikings," said Sergey . 
"Vikings?" asked the Marakese. 
"Yes, the Vikings back from home. Well, they lived a long time ago, a breed of warriors," said Sergey. 
"We are not Vikings," replied the strongman.
"No, of course you are not, but you do resemble one," replied Sergey. 
"Okay, now I understand," replied the strongman. 
"Ok, good," said Sergey. 
"Now listen carefully," he told the strongman. 
"The thing I came here searching for is actually not here. I was deceived by this stupid device," said Sergey holding the device up. 
"So now i return back to my planet the exact way I had come," said Sergey.
"I do you understand," he tried to confirm the point he was making to the strongman. There was no response from the strongman. 
"I repeat, do you understand," he asked the strongman again. The Strongman looked to his left, I understand he said with a grin on his face. 
"Good," said Sergey removing the device from his neck. 
"This is choking me," he said grinning back at the Strongman. 
Just then a poisonous dart from afar drifted to hit the neck of Sergey rendering him unconscious within a matter of seconds. 
The giant Russian thumped the ground.</p>