Fate's Encounter

Chapter 15: RAGE

Xai'an stood on the ground as he watched Warark's ship take off under the cloaking. Daruum ended up going with him to make sure the Queen stayed sedated. Her rapid growth was also working the drugs out of her system faster which would be a problem since until you've hit lightspeed you need to be at your control center. Someone had to keep the Queen adequately sedated until then. Daruum offered, leaving only he and Baaul. 

"The oomans are near. They are cloaking their thermals." Baaul growled excitedly. He seemed to think even less of them than Bad Bloods, which was saying something.

Xai'an turned to look into the darkened trees, switching his mask to detect light sources. He saw fifteen of them. This number of oomans wouldn't be a problem for him alone. With Baaul it would be hardly worth getting excited about. 

The fact that they were cloaking their thermals though was unusual. That did somewhat peak his interest. Did that mean they were trying to hunt them?

They were closer now. Close enough for Xai'an to switch over to his night vision and see that they were wearing suits of some sort. It was what blocked their heat from view. They are armed and looking up into the trees. Yes, he thought, they were being hunted.

"They know we are here, Baaul. Be cautious." Xai'an warned as he slowly began to make another noose from the metal twine. The ooman's seemed to be following the first who was looking at a large computer device in his hands. Though he had weapons on him, he was the only one unarmed.

He watched the ooman's point in their direction and it made Xai'an uneasy. Did that device track them? To be sure he reached for his calf, pulling out two small rounded daggers and tossed them, aiming for the last oomans of the group. The blades didn't fly straight ahead. They circled the air around the group and took them out at the sides. The blades being not much larger than his hand easily sliced the oomans in half.

Their screams of panic had them all aiming their weapons behind them and away from him and Baaul. A few even fired which allowed Baaul to begin his slow movements around them.

The male ooman in front screamed at them to stop. He pointed at his computer and motioned ahead toward Xai'an, confirming his suspicions that whatever that ooman had was somehow tracking them. Though it may be a bit behind in it's data if he hadn't realized Baaul had moved. The ooman had to die.

Baaul surprised him by launching his spear straight through the male leading the team, earning them more screams and firing of their weapons at the area where Baaul had been. He hadn't expected the male to be able to figure out anything more complicated than 'point and kill' due to his aggressive temperment.

Xai'an shook his head at the stupid oomans. One inched back toward the tree he was in, not even seeing the noose that he set down there for him. Just like the ooman who had been hunting his mate, this one was taken up quickly and quietly. His hands fell from his weapon the moment his oxygen supply was at risk, giving Xai'an the means to sink his dual wrist blades into the soft stomach. He let the body drop with a thud.

More screams had him looking down to see that Baaul had captured five oomans in his constricting netting, slicing them into little squares of meat. Too bad oomans tasted awful. Too much iron in their blood.

He thought about joining Baaul in the hunt of the ooman's, but he just didn't seem to care much. The idea simply bored him and Baaul seemed like he had it covered. His instincts of needing caution had apparently been an exaggeration. 

More screams were further out. Baaul had given chase to them as they tried to retreat back the way they came. He could hear one of their small communication devices from the dead oomans at his feet shouting, "ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!"