Project - Prometheus Ch. 18

As they finished with that, they removed the hooks, allowing Natalya to winch the cables back in. Then, they walked over to where the remaining Sentries were finishing with their side of the bridge support struts. Once they had finished, they climbed up and joined their counterparts on that side of the chasm. The whole process awed the Artucian, as they watched it unfold intently.

"Amazing!" Valessa breathed. Harhdok, Khaltani and even Vahltiem couldn't help but agree.

"So, here is why we use the Sentries so extensively. They are proficient in what needs to be done and get it done with minimal fuss or accidents. Had we tried doing this with living beings, it could have been disastrous, and we would likely have lost a few people doing it. This way, we get it done without loss of life," Alex explained.

"Is it... safe to cross?" Khaltani asked.

"We designed the bridge to hold one-hundred metric tons. The bridging vehicle is around sixty tons, so yeah, it will hold. Allow me to show you," Natalya said as she retracted the crane and winch cables.

She then punched in the sequence for the anchoring struts to retract back into the transport and started forward. The treads clanked onto the bridge and squealed briefly before the vehicle continued onward. Squeaks aside, there was virtually no sound from the bridge as the vehicle crossed.

Not even three minutes later, it had crossed over, with the Sentries giving it a wide berth to pass. Once the transport was on the other side, the Artucian believed that the bridge wouldn't give and crossed over. Some on foot, while others crossed on the carts. When everyone had crossed, they all looked around, taking stock of the cluster of ships trapped in the ice.

"OK, everyone spread out and make sure we are the only ones here. Though we found no evidence of another Omega on the other side, I want to be sure we are alone," Alex told them all.

Nodding at the sensible mindset, everyone present started grouping up, while the Sentries set up additional relay beacons and heat lamps. Many Artucian wanted to head towards the giant shadow in the ice, which was the Ark that brought them here. But, they were survivors, and no one survived on Talemkha by being stupid. They obeyed the order the Commodore had given and spread out, looking for signs of life.

Among them, were Zaelina and Khraldar, who were guests of Valessa. Both of whom, wanted to see the Ark for themselves, knowing that it was a part of their history and heritage. They followed along with Valessa, Sohlkris and their honor guard, staying close together.

"You see my son? There it is, the Ark! The very vessel that brought us to Talemkha when we fled the Tsur'Shak! The things we will learn from it will make our lives much easier than they have been!" Zaelina enthused, eager to see her clan and people live better lives. She turned to speak to Khraldar directly and found that he wasn't there!

"Khraldar? Khraldar!" Zaerlina hollered.

"Zaelina, what is it?" Valessa asked, turning around.

"It's Khraldar! He's just vanished!"

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Khraldar hadn't vanished per se, but he just wanted to be away from his stifling mother for a little while. Though he knew that she meant well, he felt that he was being smothered by her. That and he wanted to get a better look at one of the crew of the Perseus. Specifically Shazza, the Tsur'Shak or 'Xuul'khan'.

He was following the black-skinned woman at a distance and was watching her as she moved. The boy didn't know why, but he felt drawn to the woman. Was it the way she moved, the way she carried herself? Or possibly, the way she looked? He couldn't deny that she was beautiful, and that beauty had caught his eye the moment he saw her.

He kept following her, but kept his distance from the woman, not wanting to give himself away. As stealthy as he was, Khraldar was so focused on watching and following Shazza, that he failed to notice the four Artucian shadowing him. Shazza was moving along, directing her quartet of Sentries to scout ahead as she followed behind. Khraldar moved to keep her in sight, and that's when the four men made their move.

They charged the boy when he was keeping his eyes on Shazza, that he almost didn't see them coming. His head turned at the last second and he avoided an axe that would have split his head. Khraldar dodged to the side and danced away from them, but they kept coming at him. He cried out for help, hoping that someone would hear him.

These men, he recognized them! They were Vahltiem's honor guard! As paranoid as his mother had been about the man, it turned out that she was right! The chief of his own clan wanted him dead, because he didn't want to give up his place as chief! He cried out again as he ran and dodged the men's attacks!

His heart hammering, Khraldar kept moving about and dodging as best as he could. They missed every time so far, but he could feel a sinister motive behind their clumsy attacks. He chanced a look behind them and saw what they were doing. These men were driving him to the crevasse! He tried crying out for help but feared that it wouldn't come in time! He would die here, alone and no one would ever know how he died!

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Shazza heard the cry for help and saw a quartet of Artucian men chasing something, or someone down. Without thinking, Shazza rushed to see what was happening. The four men chased that boy, Khraldar, and it looked like they were herding him somewhere. Her mind clicked instantly, fitting the puzzle piece together, and she charged in, howling an ancient Xuul'khani battle cry.

Two of the men turned to see her coming and set themselves, intending to stop her from interfering. What they did not know was Shazza's skills as an assassin, and over her lifetime in service to her Lord, she had killed hundreds. The skills came right back to her as though she had honed them only the day before. She whirled through the air, executing a vicious spinning kick, her heel slamming into the man's face.

The force of the blow was enough to snap the man's neck, killing him instantly. His compatriot was stunned at the force behind Shazza's kick and that cost him dearly. The man's hesitation, allowed Shazza to grab his wrists and twist them viciously, breaking them. He cried out in pain, before Shazza scooped up the weapons he dropped, driving into his heart, killing him almost as quickly as his friend.

Shazza flowed past them before they even hit the ground, going for the remaining two. She caught up to them as they caught Khraldar by his arms. He struggled against them and they would have pushed him over, but Shazza reached them in time to foil their plan.

She jumped through the air, executing a jump kick that sent one man tumbling over into the chasm. She knocked the other man off balance by this motion, who was knocked to the ground by Khraldar fighting back. Without missing a beat, Shazza stomped onto his chest hard, crushing his ribs and puncturing the man's lungs. Khraldar lost his balance as he freed himself from the man's grip and tumbled over the edge.

Shazza reacted and reached out, grabbing the boy's arm. Her grip held him aloft as he thrashed about, but Shazza was trying to calm him down as he panicked. Khraldar hung onto her arm with both hands. As he hung there, Shazza had calmed him down and was trying to pull him up.

Behind her though, Vahltiem had sat there, watching the whole endeavor from the shadows. He had feared that the Tsur'Shak's involvement would spoil his plans, but now everything was coming together nicely! He walked over casually but stepped it up as he saw that Shazza was pulling the boy up.

He then ran as hard as he could and kicked Shazza hard! She groaned in pain at the blow and tried kicking back, but the angle was wrong and she nothing but air! Vahltiem kicked her again, knocking her closer to the edge. He saw that she was resisting, but kicked her once more and this time, she slid over, screaming with the boy.

With a self-satisfied smirk, Vahltiem looked down to his honor guard, as he lay there dying. He looked up at his chief, happy to have done the service asked of him.

"Have I done well?" the man asked.

"Well enough. But I'm sorry, there must be no witnesses," the pudgy man stated.

The look on the man's face went from happiness to horror, as Vahltiem picked up the weakened man and shoved him over into the chasm. He would have screamed, but his lungs were full of his own blood. His panicked face disappeared over into the crevasse below, swallowed by the blackness.

"What the hell just happened?!?" a male voice called from behind him.

Vahltiem turned to see who had just arrived and witnessed the sight of Commodore Tomisic, with his axe, Yggdrasil ignited, walking up to him. Other crew members of the Perseus quickly joined him, all of them brandishing their own weapons. He faced them with his best look of sorrow, doing what he could to convince them of what he was about to say.

"I heard the screams of help and came here as fast as I could. I saw that the Tsur'Shak was doing things to the boy, Khraldar that were... distressing. I sent my honor guard against her, but she cut them down as though they were nothing. I tried to reach the boy, to get him away from her, but I couldn't reach him," Vahltiem began, weaving his tale of deception.

"One of my guards knocked her over, into the crevasse. Alas, she not only took him with her, but the boy, Khraldar too. I couldn't... I couldn't save him..." Vahltiem said as he walked forwards, feigning tears.

Zaelina looked appalled at what he was saying, his ruse fooling her and the other chiefs. The only ones who weren't convinced were the Commodore and his crew. They sat there, trying to focus and make sense of what they'd been told. Korsa looked about ready to say something and Vahltiem had a response prepared for her. They were both interrupted by a single cry, that came out of the darkness.

"Help!"

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I know, I know, I know! I'm evil for leaving this cliffhanger here! But, everyone won't be sitting on this one long, as the next chapter is more than half written! It will follow this one soon, but yeah, cliffhangers can be evil!

Is the voice crying for help Khraldar? Shazza? Or is everyone hearing things? With so much more happening, and other background characters coming to the fore, along with subplots, I always like to mix things up and keep it interesting! Feel free to guess and speculate on who it is and what may or may not happen next!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I 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 with your friends, though your views, ratings and comments are 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!