Alexander Tomisic could do nothing but gape at the sheer volume of ships that lay entombed within the ice. Craft of various designs from many species stuck out of the landscape, like the icy fingers of corpses. There had to be dozens of vessels, possibly even hundreds. Alex could only imagine what sort of fate that the crews had met, if any had survived the crash.
"Are you ladies seeing this?" he called out over the comm line.
"Affirmative sir! I guess that the Dead Snows is a fitting name for this place," Kasumi responded, her voice barely above a whisper. Alex couldn't fault her for the sense of awe and dread she was likely feeling. He felt it himself and he was beyond terrified of the implications, if they hadn't been found by the Darkstrider. Clearing his head of the dark thoughts, he focused back on the task at hand.
"Have you spotted our landing zone yet?" he queried Inari, who was busy keeping the ship clear of anything that might hit it.
"Yes sir, it's right there," she pointed as she navigated her way over to the semi open area. "Might want to get everyone ready. Looks like we have guests."
Alex squinted through the viewport to see what exactly she was talking about. Sure enough, he spotted what exactly it was that she was talking about. Lounging about in the clearing, was a small pack of what seemed to be wolf-like creatures. At this distance, he couldn't make out any discernable features. But he could tell that they had spotted the Hermes and were glaring at it hungrily.
"Luminia, I need you up here in the cockpit for a moment," he ordered. Seconds later, Lumi appeared at his shoulder with a questioning look on her face.
"What are those things?"
Lumi looked in the direction he pointed and looked carefully. In a few moments, the dawn of recognition lit up her face, and she spoke her reply.
"Sahr'coun hounds. They are vicious pack hunters that will hunt down and eat anything they come across. Hard to shake when they have your scent and their bite is strong enough to break an arm."
"Any weaknesses?" Alex wondered.
"They startle easy and if you prove to be... mightier, they often run. They are brave against small prey, but cower against larger beasts, even when they have the numbers. If you were to bring your weapons to bear, they would be frightened off easily," she stated.
"If they scare easily, why aren't they scattering right now?" he asked.
"They have seen us coming and are more curious than afraid," Lumi told the captain simply. "When they see us coming out, they will probably attack us, thinking us an easy meal for them."
"Well then, let's make them think otherwise, shall we?" Alex chuckled as he headed back into the hold. Lumi giggled softly as she followed him, picking up her father's sword as she went. She saw that the ladies had wasted no time in getting themselves ready for battle. Each woman was back in her combat armor, each one of them looking both fearsome and... attractive.
She found it strange that something so dangerous could also rouse her like that. Luminia breathed in careful and measured breaths, calming herself for the battle ahead. She turned and saw Alex walk over to the hulking mass of steel and titanium that was his battle suit. Lumi wondered what it was like to fight in such a machine. It must have been wondrous, to have such power at their fingertips.
Though she supposed that such a machine was useless, unless its wielder had a good measure of skill. She'd seen young men and women of her clan cut down, but not because of the weapons they bore. It was because they lacked the skill needed to use them correctly. That was a lesson she'd learned the hard way and why both her parents had been adamant she learn how to defend herself properly.
It had been sheer luck that the Yahk'shurt had overtaken her all those weeks ago. She was hunting a lone Tashkuun beast that was barely a yearling when she'd accidentally stepped over into their lands. They closed in around her in secret and she didn't know they surrounded her until it was too late. They walked up to her, thinking she'd surrender, but that's when she unleashed her combat skills upon them.
Luminia had brought down at least five of their warriors in the ensuing melee. She had sent at least three to the Darklands before they overpowered her. She half expected them to kill her as they made her kneel in front of them. They might have done more to her, and she was mentally preparing herself for it, until Chief Dahr'khash had shown up, ordering them to restrain themselves. She knew then he intended to be the one to take her himself or let one of his sadistic sons have their way with her.
Still, the fact they had listened to their chief was surprising, something which she was very thankful for. Shaking herself loose of the memory, she looked around herself and smiled. She was among friends now, powerful ones, which would hopefully help her and her people in bringing peace back to their world.
Luminia heard the engine's pitch decrease, and she felt her stomach lurch upwards for a moment. She could tell that they were descending by this motion as it had the last couple of times she'd been aboard the Hermes. As the drop continued, Lumi noted that everyone present had geared up, making themselves ready for battle.
Alex was locking the final plates of his suit into place before donning his helmet once again. He moved to the rear of the dropship, cocking his heavy machine gun, Stormbreaker. The rest of the crew had followed suit with their own weapons as did the four Artucian who her mother had sent. She eased her father's sword in its sheath, waiting for the ship to land.
Moments later, she felt the rough vibration and shift of gravity as the Hermes touched down. The ship rattled for a few moments before finally settling down as the engines whined down to a loud drone. After a few more seconds, the noise cut completely as rear ramp cracked open and crunched into the snow and ice.
Alex was the first one outside, hefting his weapon and pointing it outwards. Kasumi and Priya stepped out to his right while Natalya and Taal'ani fanned out to his left. Korsa brought up the rear, her blade broken down into four, with one in each hand. Lumi was right behind her, with her own people following along.
The immediate area was deserted, the hounds having scattered when they realized that they'd likely be crushed by the landing ship. She saw that several of them were peeking out from some icy outcroppings nearby. A rather large hound, the Alpha by her guess, ventured forward, snarling the whole while. It barked in challenge as though trying to goad someone from the group into attacking.
Everyone held their ground though, waiting for the dogs to make the first move. One of the other hounds further back shot out, barking and baring its teeth in challenge. It charged straight for Alex, thinking it could bring the massive armored man down by charging and lunging for his head. Almost lazily, Alex aimed his weapon and fired, ice and snow flying through the air, as the bullets peppered the rushing beast.
Its howl of rage turned into whimpers and yelps of pain as each round hit home. The force of each shot punched through its hide as though it was made of paper. Purple blood stained the snow in wide splatter patterns with the passing of each bullet. The shots were enough to stop the hound as it tripped and fell to the snow, severely wounded.
The whole thing took mere seconds to happen, but the result was enough to cow the rest of the hounds. The Alpha, seeing one of its pack mates humbled and dying, glared hatefully at Alex and the rest of the interlopers that had dared to tread on its turf. When everyone levelled their weapons at it though, it turned tail and fled, running as fast as it could. The rest of the pack followed suit, not wanting to be around to deal with beings of such strength.
The Captain walked forward to the fallen hound, putting up his weapon as he approached. Its legs kicked out, as though it was trying to run, but lacked the ability to pick itself up. With its lifeblood spilling out onto the ground, it was clear that it was dying and in a great deal of pain. Alex knelt next to it and opened his helmet so that his face was visible.
"You had to try to prove yourself, didn't you?" he said to the dog as it lay there whimpering. Reaching to the compartment where he kept his knife, Captain Tomisic drew it out and holding the beast steady, drove the blade into its heart. It died instantly, its pain ended and struggle over. Alex then used his mechanized hand to close its eyes, in a gesture of respect. He cleaned his weapon before sheathing it and standing, turning to face the rest of his companions.
"Well, now that that business is settled, where exactly is this ship you wanted to show to us Luminia?" he asked. Lumi took a few moments to get her bearings before turning and pointing to the massive wreck right behind him.
"There! That's the ship I wanted to show you!"
Everyone turned to face the wreck that Lumi was pointing to and it was massive. Nowhere near the size of the Perseus, but still a considerable vessel, easily a dreadnought class. The design was of human origin as everything looked familiar to the humans who were standing there. Inari had come out of the cockpit to get a better look at the ship.
"Mystery after mystery keeps popping up," Inari said aloud, staring.
"What was that Commander?"
"This whole jump has been one big mystery after another sir. This was a Magellan class ship, modeled after the Prometheus vessels, but what is it doing here?" she wondered.
"Magellan class?" Kasumi asked in puzzlement.
"It was a new initiative, started and largely funded by the Farmer's Consortium. They constructed three ships and sent them out into unknown space over one hundred years ago. The aim was to find viable, life bearing worlds, hoping to establish new human colonies and possibly, our own corner of the galaxy. That was the idea and hope anyways," Nats explained to her lovers.
"You said there were three of these ships made?" Alex asked, curious.
"Yes sir. The Polo, the Columbus and the DeChamplain. They sent all three into space that hadn't been explored, opposite from Xuul'khani territory. Communications failed not long after their launch and we have no idea what happened to them. At least now, we know the fate of one," Natalya said.
"Indeed. Luminia, is there anything inside the ship we should be wary of?" Alex asked her.
