Kyle added, “Did you already know aliens were out here?”
“Yes,” Rhys replied, “but only recently.”
“You’re kidding!” Kyle slapped the table. “We’re not the first.”
“Technically, no.” Rhys shrugged. “But you did make this find.” He gestured to the cube. “Do you know what that is?”
“We didn’t have a chance to study it,” Lysa said. “And all our tools are gone.”
Three more people entered. One, a TCN officer with black hair, dark eyes. He wore the captain’s insignia. They’d only spoken to him through the comm at that point so it was good to see him in person.
The next was a shorter man with white-gold hair and teal eyes. Other than those striking features, he looked just like them. The fact he wasn’t wearing a TCN uniform made it fairly obvious he had to be an alien though Kyle held on to skepticism. He could have been an eccentric with contacts.
The final individual was a woman with vibrant red hair. Her eyes were mint-green. They practically glowed. He couldn’t place her age nor the man like her but they couldn’t have been much over thirty… possibly in their mid to late twenties. Neither of them immediately spoke. Instead, the TCN officer stepped forward.
“I’m Captain Titus Barnes.” They all shook hands. “This is Griel Pas Dain and Niva Lon Tilas. They are Prytins… aliens by our standards.”
Kyle stood, swallowing hard as he extended his hand to them. “It’s a real honor to meet you. I’ve… we’ve spent our lives looking for signs of you. Anything to indicate you existed.”
“Looks like you succeeded,” Griel replied. He shook his hand. “We’ve been studying you for a long time. It seems you’ve stumbled on an ancient Kahl site.”
“This cube.” Niva stepped forward. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She waved a device over it. “The dense outer shell is protecting the inside from my scanner.”
“So you don’t know what it is?” Lysa asked. “It’s not… from your culture?”
“No.” Griel shook his head. “You encountered the Kahl. We can tell you more about them later but suffice to say, they’re the most dangerous thing in the universe right now. And if they sent that ship to secure this, it’s important.”
“So what do we do with it?” Titus asked. “Do you have people that can figure it out?”
“That’ll be our jobs,” Griel replied. He gestured to Kyle and Lysa. “You both survived some pretty ridiculous odds. I’m guessing you’d rather not sit the rest of this out. Am I correct in that assessment? There would be no shame in suggesting we drop you off at the nearest colonial headquarters.”
“Truth is,” Titus jumped in, “I’ve looked over your records. You can handle yourselves and depending on what our examination of that cube uncovers, we could use your expertise. I don’t have anyone with your training aboard.”
Lysa stood. “If you’re not forcing me out, then I’m staying with our find. We lost everything for it and I’ll be damned if I’m ready to walk away.”
“Me too.” Kyle joined her. “We’re ready to do our part. To learn about the… the Prytins. The Kahl. Everything. Thank you for not being like the regular military and kicking us out.”
“Rhys,” Titus turned to the Commander, “add these two to the roster. I’ll prepare a report for high command.” He gestured to Griel, “am I to believe we’ll be sticking together at this point?”
Griel nodded. “I think your performance will pull General Renz back into the field. And when he comes to get his revenge, I’ll be there to put him down. So I won’t be leaving your side for a while, captain. The Brekka and the Triton will figure out what this device is together and when we do, maybe it’ll turn the tide of this war.”
“Agreed.” Titus clapped his hands. “Let’s secure that cube and let you two get some food and rest. I think you’ve more than earned it. Feel free to reach out when you’re up and about for a tour of the ship. We’ve got plenty to talk about and catch you up on. I hope you’re ready, because you’ve stepped into a brand-new world.”
Yeah, I get that. Kyle turned to Lysa. “Are you?”
Lysa nodded. “More than.”
***
Milna took a punch to the face, allowing the momentum to throw her against the flexible tethered wall of the small arena. A roar from the crowd echoed in the warehouse. Blood flowed freely from her nose, coating her lips. She could taste the gore, spitting some on the dusty floor as her opponent grabbed her shoulders.
As she came away from the wall, she jammed her elbow into her attacker’s gut, knocking the wind out of them. The blow also loosened their grip enough for her to shake free. Spinning in place, she landed a left and right hook in rapid succession, cracking them on the cheeks.
The man swayed, stumbling away with his hand raised defensively. Coarse sand worked its way between her toes as she poised to go after him, flexing the muscles in her legs. They wore cloth wraps around their groins and over their shoulders, forming a harness of sorts that provided them both with some upper body modesty.
Blood coated the white fabric on each of them, navy splatters from their previous opponents. The arena’s pitted men and women against one another for a variety of reasons, anything from misunderstandings to outright personal arguments to those in need of money. Milna entered under the pretense of desperation, to get out of a debt.
One that might land in her a prison camp if she didn’t work it off quickly. Hence the excuse for hand-to-hand combat… the kind they’d all been trained for during their time in the military. The background of a Kahl made them all dangerous on some level, though the elder
