Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 155 of 365. Sol standard year]

  Days after of Crash landing/ 4

  Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Escape Capsule # 405

  Galactic Standard Time / After 1600

  Dam’ien

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  As he came closer to the shield, Dam’ien felt his pulse quicken as he moved closer to ‘safety’. He had been trained enough to know the truth. When someone made it closer to home, that was the worst part of the journey. But since he knew that, he knew to be aware of it. His mask was set to see if anything was around him, and thanks to it he knew the location of everything around him. Every single bug, beast, or bird would be on his mask’s screen. But there was nothing as if everything alive was hiding away.

  He had seen a few places like this back home, and each time was different. Once there was a monster that was mutated by a Ruin, another time a ‘pet’ escaped from a Clan’s compound. But each time, there was something that put the food chain out of balance. And this place had to be suffering from the same impact, and that was what this place was waiting for. A new balance for this place. And if the creatures that he had fought were part of that disruption, then he hoped this place calmed down soon.

  He had to admit, that the parts that he brought back would surprise these people. But if his mask was right, then they were good eating. And if they were to gain the power of Aether, these people would help him survive this place.

  This was a situation that if certain groups back home learned what he was trying to do they would kill him. The truth about the last Battle with the Federation wasn't known across the border. The fact that the diplomats never talked had worked in their favor then, but things had changed. The last he had talked to his master, the Emperor had said the time to rejoin the homeworld had come.

  He wanted to believe it, but the other power blocks must have had things to say. He didn’t trust any of them, and most of them knew that. Here and now, he would work for what his master wanted.

  Reaching the shield, he found a hole with a Federationist looking at him. He waved the robot's head and the being disappeared. With a chuckle, he waited for a few moments before a hole opened above him by five feet. With a grin, he ‘Air Dashed’, through the hole moments before it closed. Looking down, he saw the people that he had talked to with another being coming out of a large crater. But more to the point, the one called Duncan was waiting for him.

  Taking in the land around him, he had a feeling there was a reason for the three prisoners that he saw. But that wasn’t important now, what mattered was the Present.

  Landing before the one called Duncan, he felt his mouth grin behind his mask as he laughed a little. “Well met Federation man! I thought that you might leave me out for a while there!”

  “Never! When someone puts themselves in danger to help, Duncan always helps them back!” Duncan said as he looked at Dam’ien

  Dam’ien nodded and felt a little shame, but only for a moment. Then he remembered an old lesson he had gotten once a long time ago. “But only if you don’t need to leave them to protect more people, right?”

  For a moment he thought that the old human would react negatively, but he nodded after a moment. “Well, you did it then?”

  “Doesn’t this tell you that?” Dam’ien said as he held up the robot's head. He cocked his head, looked at Duncan, and chuckled a bit. “But then this thing wasn’t too hard to kill, with help from some enemies.”

  Before anything else could be said, Dam’ien let go of his vector trap. Behind him, the corpses of the Unicorns fell to the ground. As the humans reacted and looked at the bodies, Dam’ien just chuckled and laughed a little.

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  Duncan

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  He looked at the dead bodies as people fell back, some covering their heads. He didn’t. He saw that the Ancient had removed the heads from the creatures and Duncan chuckled. “So these things are the monsters that almost killed my people?”

  “Yes, and the power behind them is something else. Few creatures without the ability to reason would have such a strong Aether ability!” Dam’ien said and Duncan heard the anger in his voice.

  “Aether? Then that’s the word for what fuels extra Abilities? So you all have a name for the Power?” Duncan asked in shock.

  For a moment, he thought that he had misspoken. The way that the Ancient had gone still and looked at him was worrying. Was there a cultural significance to this ‘Aether’?

  But then he heard laughter from Dam’ien as he held his stomach and fell to the ground. For a moment he thought he saw tears going under the mask. “You all name that might The Power?! Why not call water ‘Wet’ while you’re at it!”

  As the others all around them looked at them, Duncan felt a spark of hope. This might be the best thing that could happen to them, someone who knew about this strange Power! If they could learn everything from him, then they might be that much stronger. But as he looked around he saw the other deckhands looking at him with shock and betrayal in their eyes. He had known about the source of the Abilities Jinn and Terra had and had said nothing. The best thing for him to do was put to death all the wrong ideas the others were getting.

  “Well, my people have few warriors who have gained that. And by my people, I mean the Federation. So until we crashed here, I thought it was nothing but rumors around the barrack room.”

  The Ancient looked at Duncan and then chuckled and nodded his head. “It is nothing to be sorry about my friend! The years it took my people to understand it, to give it a term. Well, my people had an advantage on our worlds, so really, you’re doing good I have to say.”

  Duncan looked around and saw a few looks of pride on others' faces. There was something that was about how morale rose when a not-enemy said you’re side was doing well. And this was an Ancient, one of the few societies out there that were more secretive than any of the others. There were stories about them, how they were monsters. They said that the Ancients fought like demons and could become invisible at will. They wielded the elements with their minds and could cause earthquakes. And an Ancient was laughing at what they called the power source of the Abilities Terra gained.

  “Thank you for the food, this should help our supplies a lot,” Duncan said with a slight nod.

  “More than that! This stuff will help improve all your chances of gaining Aether!” Dam’ien declared.

  Duncan stared at him, and then he heard the others all around them gasp. With this, Duncan knew that everyone was going to want some of that meat. Part of him wanted it too, the might they could gain from this might be what they needed to survive. But the fact that this being knew how to awaken that kind of might, was the game changer that he had hoped for.

  “Would you be willing to teach my people how to use this Aethar? Will you be willing to help those who aren’t your own get stronger? No, you are willing. But why?” Duncan asked with a slight glare. Nothing in the stars ever gave away anything for free, and this being was the same. There was a reason or a way this person was going to be getting something out of this, and he didn’t like it at all. Something like this that he couldn’t explain? That was just asking to get taken advantage of.

  The Ancient looked at Duncan and then raised his head a little. Duncan hated that he couldn’t see anything on the Ancient’s face. That Dam’ien’s mask let him have the ultimate poker face.

  “You're right, there is a reason. One I can tell away from these others,” Dam’ien said as he gestured to the people around them.

  Duncan looked at the other Deckhand and scowled, understanding what Dam’ien meant. Looking around, Duncan saw a space between two watch towers to the far right. It would mean trusting the Ancient a little, but he could handle that. And if he was lucky, if the Ancient tried to kill him he might gain this Aether.

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  Dam’ien

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  “Fine. Follow me!” Duncan declared and walked off.

  Dam’ien looked at the screen on his mask and tried to keep from smiling. The fact that Duncan was willing to do this spoke a lot of his character. He just had to hope that he could explain everything to Duncan without giving away more. As far as he knew from the way Duncan reacted, the secret of his people’s origins was still a secret. That meant that he could tell Deccan everything but that, and it would have to be enough.

  Finally, Duncan turned around and looked at Dam’ien with a scowl on his face.

  “So here we are, explain to me why you’re helping us,” Duncan demanded with a scowl.

  As he looked down at Duncan, Dam’ien tried to think about everything. All the problems, all the debates, and the speeches that had been made. There was so much and he had no choice but to condense it to the most basic parts of everything.

  “There are political parties within my home’s territory. Some of them are the heirs of old war leaders from our…… War. They want to make our people more military, make the military more important. I’m not one of them, and the Royal family is against them,” Dam’ien said with a hard edge to his voice.

  Duncan looked at him, and his mouth dropped open in shock. “You gotta be kidding me! That’s one of the reasons you all stay on your side of the border and keep it locked down!?”

  “One of the reasons. Not the most important one. Mostly we keep it closed because of space Ruins just beyond. And drone forces that patrol to a light year out from them. And other secret reasons. But there’s something else,” Dam’ien said as he looked up and away from Duncan.

  “What is it? I know I’m going to hate it but what is it?” Doman asked with a deadpan look and tone.

  My people value the ability to use Aether. It has become the cornerstone to much of our technology and our beliefs,” Dam’ien said and looked at Duncan now. He knew that this last bit was going to be the worst, but he had to say it.

  “And what does that mean? What does it mean to us? My people, my nation?” Duncan asked with a scowl. Then he reared back and then looked at Dam’ien. “And what about that military

  political party? What does all this have to do with them?!”

  “You figured out what I mean? Well done,” Dam’ien said raising his head a little. Only he looked away as he saw the look in Duncan's eyes. The eyes that promised pain if Dam’ien kept not saying what this all meant together. “Very well. That political party? Some of them have spoken about conquest. And there is a faction that thinks that using Aether means that we have souls. They say that anything that can’t do it doesn’t have souls at all.”

  “Have souls!? Do they think the races of the Federation don’t have souls!? And their using that to justify trying to conquer us!?” Duncan demanded with a slight edge to his voice.

  Dam’ien could only shrug as he looked at the Federation Human before he nodded.