Off to a Great Start (Adventures!AU Book 1)

Chapter 11: I Hate This Part

My dear and lovely reader, you are now reading the revised version of this chapter! Enjoy the extra worldbuilding, since I barely had any the first time around.

For the new reader, enjoy my Alphian species! I have more information on them over on my tumblr!
https://shadowsstorystuff.tumblr.com/
Just type the tag "Alphian(s)" and it should come up!

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Hunter leaned back against the console and crossed his arms, mirroring me. Crossing one ankle over the other, he began, "You know we are looking for the name and location of a planet that is hidden away in a secret cave in your mountains."

"Aye. The Vault," I said with a nod. "You said somethin' earlier about a group enslavin' a planet?

"Good, you remember. Saves me time," he snorted before continuing, "Standard weapons are useless against 'em. We don't know what they are, or even where they came from. We weren't given a lot of information, but what we do know is they're very powerful and even after one has been shot down it can get back up."

Yeah, that's definitely pretty powerful.

"If they'd just let us go in-" Wrecker began.

Hunter cut him off. "I don't like flying blind into a situation like that. They're organics, not droids, and could have abilities we can't imagine."

"How big is this planet and how many enemies are we talkin'?" I asked.

Tech stepped forward. "It's not a large planet at all, the local population is only about two hundred million. It's a desert planet, so not very kind conditions for human life. Their civilization is quite primitive as well. The invaders, from what information we were given, have around a quarter of that number."

My eyes widened. Four to one and the planet was still losing? "That's some pretty powerful invaders. The hell can they even do?"

"Again, we don't have much to go off of," Hunter said. "But rumor says they shapeshift."

Shapeshift ? A strange chill went down my spine. Almost as if I knew the species they were talking about. What would the odds be that this mystery species is my very own Alphians? "That's a big advantage..." I commented, still half way lost in thought.

Hunter immediately picked up on my tone shift. "You know 'em?"

I shook my head slowly. "Without a specific name, I can't be sure. Plus, with such a big galaxy, there could be many shapeshifter species runnin' about. There's those Clawdite things, right?"

"Yes, but Clawdites can only mimic species they see and cannot add physical mass to their bodies," Tech interjected. "A Clawdite also undergoes great physical pain while shifting. These invaders could not only transform into strange and unknown beasts, but could so so with no sign of physical discomfort. I wish I could have gotten more information on them, but sadly few reports managed to bypass the invaders."

Ain't you just a little xenobiologist . "Is there any more information you can tell me?"

Hunter spoke up. "They glow."

A frown dug into the corners of my mouth. "We talkin' mystical markings or we talkin' organic glowstick?"

A brow raised at my wording but Hunter replied, "Markings."

That's certainly interesting . Still, for it to be my own species is just too cliché. There's no way .

Eyes narrowing as he watched me closely, Hunter added, "It shows up when they use elemental powers."