Missing in Action

Stranded

The young blonde simply sobbed. "I thought I'd lost you..."

Cela smiled softly and rubbed her back. "You almost did. I'm proud of you though. You've done a lot to help these people."

The human shook her head. "No I didn't. Several of them died because i didn't act fast enough to get the perimeter set up... "

"Angel..." She frowned. "You worked as fast as you could. There wasn't anything more you could do. "

"No...I... I could have ordered everyone back to the ship. We could have waited until it was clear until we started working again..."

"Child, you had no way to know what would happen. You did the best you could, with the information you had. Nobody can fault you for that."

"If you say so..." She wiped her face and straightened. "Anyway... I guess I should do my rounds. I'll be back later."

"I'll be waiting, child." She smiled softly as the young human walked off. She was proud of her, for having held the survivors together for as long as she had so far. Now that her people could aid them, things should go a bit easier. The Ulda race had been born on a planet covered with a sentient jungle, and teeming with wildlife. While it would be a mistake to assume that this world would be anything like that of their long lost home world, they had eons of adaptation and experience that the humans did not. But even that would only get them so far if they didn't get help soon. At the very least, they needed to find a source of food for both races. Their supplies would only hold out for so long. As it was, they only had a few days worth left. A handful of days until they all began to starve. Would it be enough time?

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Angel walked out of the ship, looking around at the preparations that were still being made. While most of the Ulda were still recovering from their prolonged sleep, a few had joined the humans in putting up what defenses they could. She doubted that the meager barricades would hold back much, but even the most persistent foe would be slowed if you put enough junk in its path. Although, they'd already had a few run ins with the planets aerial hunters, creatures that were rarely seen until they were already mid dive. Without the mechs, the backbone of the human infantry, they stood little chance out in the open. The best they had been able to do before was race to the ship as fast as they could and hope they weren't snatched up, all the while firing at them with what few firearms they had salvaged. Angel had tasked a few of the engineers with trying to get the ships turrets and even a few mechas back online, or at the very least re-purposing them, but she had no idea how long that would take. Hopefully it'd be soon...

"Angel!" She turned her head as someone shouted her name, a young boy waving her over to a pile of salvage. He was maybe 15 at most, but already he was one of the best minds they had there. And in this war, talent like that wasn't to be wasted because of something like age. The pilot walked over to him."What is it, Marcos?"

The boy grinned, speaking excitedly. "I think I have something we can use! Come on, I'll show you!" Marcos dropped down behind the rather large pile, vanishing from view. The young pilot shook her head and followed, smiling softly. When she walked up to him, he was kneeling down beside a pile of small crystals and chunks of metal. She wasn't sure what all of the metal had come from, but the crystals were fairly obvious.

"You dismantled some of the power cores for the mechs?" Angel frowned a bit at that. Those things were their best bet for survival out here. Marcos, however, just laughed.

"Don't worry. I only dismantled the ones that no longer had pilots." His smile faltered for a second as he thought about what he had just said, but he pushed it aside. "Now then, you already know that these put out a large amount of power when under stress, which is why the Ulda like to be as far away as possible when mining them. And, since they absorb excess energy from say, sunlight heating the metal around them, being shaken, blah blah blah, they're a more reliable source of energy that anything else we have."

The young pilot rubbed her temples. She loved this kid to death, but she really wasn't in the mood for a science lesson. "Yeah, I know. I trained to be a pilot, remember? I kinda had to know what my ship flew on."

"Oh... Heh, right..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "The point is, while the mechs are currently inoperable, their power sources are still good. The issue is simply finding a way to harness that power without needing the software from the suits."

"Go on...." Angel wondered where he was going with this. They had a lot of things they needed, and whatever he had in mind, no matter how insane, had to be better than what they had currently.

"Well, I got to tinkering, and while I can't do much to control it, I found a way to direct the energy using some of the parts that were lying around. You know how a flashlight uses a mirrored surface to focus the stray light from its bulb into the beam?" He grinned.

".... Marcos..... Did you make a fucking light saber?..."

"No.... Well, kinda... I managed to angle the bits of metal just right to focus the energy into a three foot long blade before it dissipates. Kind of like a rapier. It'll cut through most of the materials we have around here." He handed her a small cylinder. "You pull that little switch down with your thumb, it opens the containment unit and the beam shoots out. You close it, and it goes away. Try not to point it at your face when you open it. I don't think we could fix you even if we had a proper hospital."

"Noted..." She carefully aimed it away from her face as she activated it, a yellow beam shooting from the handle. "Whoa.... Okay, I have to hand it to you. This is pretty cool."

The boy grinned, obviously proud of his work. "I know. I'm going to be working on the firearms next. Thankfully the Ulda's bows don't require a power source. Too bad..."

"Too bad us humans can't really use them? Tell me about it. Those girls are stronger than they look." She pushed the switch to shield the crystal, turning the sword 'off.' "Make sure to give at least one of these to everyone. If one of those creatures tries to make a meal of us again, it'll have one hell of a surprise waiting for it."

"Yes Ma'am." He quickly got to work on making more of them. The young pilot smiled and shook her head as she watched, leaving him be after a few moments. She'd ask some of the other engineers to help him. He was talented, but they needed those weapons asap. Things always got worse after dark, and she wanted something a bit more than a few inches of metal to hold off whatever came after them next. With that thought, her expression became more serious. They'd gone from one battleground to another. Only they couldn't simply flee from this one. They'd stand their ground until help came. However long it took.

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The jungle was silent as the sun began to descend, the sky darkening rapidly. Several large fires were lit to illuminate the camp, as well as to fend off the smaller predators. Ulda flanked the doors of the hangar, bowstrings taught as they watched the treeline, others perched upon the remains of the ship to keep an eye on the skies. Those too wounded or with little in the way of training hid within the ruined transport, while the humans able to fight stood guard with the Ulda. As the last ray of light descended past the horizon, a chorus of bloodcurdling screams and howls rose. Eyes glittered like candles in the firelight, strange, twisted beasts pacing just beyond the trees.

As one, the Ulda standing on the ground raised their bows, taking aim. Angel readied her sword, beams of light springing into existence as the weapons were activated. The humans braced themselves, preparing for the coming battle. The howls suddenly died down as the first of the creatures dared to venture past the trees, its razor sharp fangs gleaming dangerously in the firelight as it snarled, eyeing them hungrily. One by one, the pack began to join it, slowly growing bolder as their pray stood motionless. The first of the beasts began to charge, the Ulda released their bowstrings. The air humming as each of the arrows found their mark, stopping their targets in their tracks and even lifting some off of their feet to fly back into the trees.

The battle to survive the night had begun.