Project - Prometheus Ch. 14

Supposedly, as the boy was the son of the last chief, he had a better claim to the clan's leadership than Vahltiem, who was merely an advisor to the last chief. Vahltiem's hostile and snarky behavior was now easily explained, as the boy was a threat to his power base. Alex was amused and happy for the distraction, since there was something about the pompous ass that rubbed him the wrong way and it wasn't just his attitude.

Even though he wasn't a chief yet, the boy was accorded a place of honor among them, with his mother standing for him in an advisory capacity. Valessa had given the boy a proper acknowledgement rite years ago, having known the old chief Gahltur, quite well. He supposedly looked much like his father and far too many chiefs and chieftainesses agreed for his claim to be denied. They had brought with them four honor guard of their own, all women, which Alex thought a bit odd, but said nothing further on the matter.

The Sentries were already locked in and everyone was climbing aboard the ship. Inari had powered up the engines, and they were roaring like caged lions, eager to be let loose. The moment everyone was on the ship and seated, they lifted off and were on their way to the Dead Snows. Some chiefs were having a tough time with flying, as none of them there had ever moved faster than their own two feet could carry them. Alex figured some would suffer a bit of motion sickness before it levelled out.

"Commander, what is our ETA?" he asked, speaking into his wrist comms.

"Less than five minutes, sir. I can already see the first spires in the distance," the Iranian woman replied.

"Very good. Jaesa, can you patch Stanley in please?" Alex asked.

"Yes sir. Patching you in now, standby," the AI replied as she made the necessary connections. "Patched in sir, go ahead."

"Stanley, do you copy?" Alex called out.

"Yes, sir!" the VI stated as he materialized on a nearby holo emitter. After having been introduced to Jaesa, the Assembly were also told about Stanley. After entering into their formal alliance with the Artucian, much information had been exchanged, especially about what and who had been found in the Dead Snows.

"Report in. Anything unusual in the last twelve hours?" the Commodore asked, covering his bases.

"Nothing overly unusual sir. Some omega Tashkuuns have been spotted roaming around the outer edges of the Dead Snows, but they've been keeping their distance. The Sentries are doing their job in keeping them scattered. Other than that, there is nothing new to repor..." Stan said before he was cut off by the rumbling boom of the ship shaking, like they had been shot.

"What the hell is going on?!?" Alex roared as another blast rocked the ship, causing everyone aboard to scream out in terror.

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And that wraps it up for chapter fourteen! A little suspense for everyone, as a now unknown force or assailant has targeted them! For what reason? That answer will have to wait until the next chapter! *chuckles evilly*

Things are progressing at a decent pace and I'm slowly reaching the pace that I want to be at. Hopefully, I won't have to fuss about it for much longer, as things are starting to move along. Unfortunately, I suffer from delays and slowdowns, like all working writers, but hey, what can you do?

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I do hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please rate and comment on my work down below and ask me questions if you wish, as I love hearing from my fans! If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share, though your views, ratings and comments are quite enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!