Colony Wars 5: Tales of the Galaxy

The Hidden Power of the Infernal Depths

7th Rotation of En'sip,

El'en phase – 1st Galactic step

Age of Honour

The Infernal Depths

G'arr Colony

Chemach

Epsilon Point

"Now!" De'jup shouted with all the hot air left in his lungs.

The beast of the infernal depths had come out of nowhere. Yet after many rotations in exile beneath G'arr, the largest of all the Chemachie colonies, De'jup and his companion Rag'nalep had become proficient at dealing with the monsters. The large mole like creatures which De'jup had named Kali's because of their burning hot star shaped noses with little claws on each tendril, roamed the infernal depths alone, or sometimes in pairs. The big Kali, with its exposed socket-less skull, and its dirty black fur fuzzed up on end, as the creature tried to make itself big and imposing. The blind beast drooled from its gaping mouth, steaming hot saliva dripped round its big gnashing teeth and an angry growl escaped its throat as it prepared to lunge at De'jup.

BANG!

A loud sound came from nearby, as Rag'nalep used his makeshift stone weapon to pop open a fungal gas pod. The pods were ever filling with the hot moisture and steam that boiled from the planet's magma filled mantle. The noise was so loud in the echoing caverns that it not only scared the Kali but confused the blind beast too. De'jup would have been deafened too, if it was not for the thick slimy mucus that he had packed his ear holes with to protect them from the explosive noises. The Kali backed off and swung its pointed head back and forth, as its sensitive ears curled down to try to stop the ringing sound reverberating around its dense skull.

De'jup saw this as his opportunity to strike. Being a disgraced, blue-scaled guard had meant that even in exile he had been allowed to keep his Talib. A Talib was a warrior's weapon, a long spear with a razor-sharp point at one end, and three sharp curved blades at the other. Jumping toward the bewildered beast on his soft quick feet, De'jup dodged under the Kali's clawed paw and rolled under the beast's head. He struck upwards with all his might, slicing the triple bladed spearhead into the Kali's throat, and pulling it roughly across its neck. This action spilled its blood, cut its veins, and collapsed the mole's airways in one single swift motion.

De'jup scampered back away from the Kali as it sunk to the ground in a wet gurgling, bloody mess. De'jup collapsed onto the rocky floor, shaking off the creatures odd red blood from his arms and body. He sucked in more of the hot heavy air, cursing his lack of stamina and lost strength that the infernal depths had sapped from him over the course of his exile. He had never been this weak when he lived up in the cool caves of the colony above...

"You got him good" said Rag'nalep, "and we'll not starve for a few more rotations."

De'jup made a face. He hated the taste of the Kali's red meat, and the hot-blooded hairy monster was so difficult to shave and skin. He would give anything for a nice juicy Skeeva grub that he could sink his teeth into and suck out the insect's beautiful juices.

Holding his clawed hand out, Rag'nalep offered to help De'jup stand. Gripping his soft bronze scaled hand firmly, he let the smaller Chemachie pull him up onto his unsteady feet. Rag'nalep looked up and down at his companion's body which was still spotted with globules of the Kali's hot blood. Running his hands over De'jup's scales and brushing off the blood splatters he smiled at him, appraising his cleaning technique.