The Shin with the spear leapt with his spear pulled back and thrusting forward to skewer Mako.

  Mako pulled his sidearm. He caught the spear with his left hand pushing it away from him. The attacker landed in front of Mako looking confused that the spear wasn’t in the right place. Mako reflexively brought his coilgun up under the chin of the attacker and fired. The back of the attacker’s head blasted over Sigroth and the other spearfighter to his right.

  They threw up their arms too late in an effort to ward off the splatter of reptilian brain matter. Mako heard more cracks of firing weapons.

  “Cease fire! Cease fire!” Mako yelled. He backed up holding his gun on Sigroth.

  “You have made a grave error by attacking us!” The leader roared.

  “Attacking you?” Mako was flabbergasted. “Your...,” Mako almost said man. “Your fighter attacked us.”

  “You threatened to enslave me!” Sigroth snarled.

  Mako was pretty sure the only thing holding this guy back was certain death. “No. I did not.”

  “You asked if I wanted to be a slave!” Sigrtoh countered.

  “I asked if you would want to be a slave.” Mako repeated.

  Sigroth narrowed their eyes again.

  Mako heard Cerdiwen speak up. “Perhaps it’s a translation issue. Try to be more specific. Would Sigroth CHOOSE to be a slave.”

  “Of course, I would not choose to be a slave!” The reptilian screeched.

  “Did they choose to be slaves?” Mako pointed to the captives.

  “Yes. If they do not turn over 10 members of their tribe a month they will be exterminated.” Sigroth responded like this was obvious.

  “That is not a choice. That is extortion.”

  “I tire of your nonsense words” Sigroth growled.

  “Let me put it this way. What if I said you had to become a slave, or I would kill you? What would you choose?”

  “Death!” he declared defiantly.

  “And if you said no, I would wipe out your whole family?”

  “You could not!”

  “We wiped out four of your people before you even knew what happened.” Mako lowered his voice spoke slowly. “These are the weakest of our weapons. We could level a city in minutes. Not just kill every single person in the city. But also turn every structure to rubble as well.”

  Sigroth’s mouth opened and closed.

  “Do you choose to become a slave?”

  “Lies! Your colony will be smashed. Your people will be killed or enslaved as well.” Sigroth raged.

  Mako glanced at the other spearfighter. “Drop your weapon and move over there.” Mako indicated with his head.

  The fighter considered for a moment then dropped his spear and moved over.

  “Boomer, if he gets twitchy, shoot him.”

  Boomer indicated for the spearfighter to move over some 5 meters away. “Get down on the ground. Face down. Arms spread out.”

  The fighter looked like they would resist for a second but looked at Sigroth and complied.

  Mako glared at Sigroth. “Drop the sword.”

  Sigroth looked at the sword that was still in his hand. It was a moment too long. Mako shot his hand.

  Sigroth hissed and grabbed his hand with the other one.

  Mako’s blood was boiling now. His own rage filled him faster than he had expected. This group was forcing the Dwellers to hand over 10 people a month for slaves and food and resources. Whatever that meant. They knew full well the Dwellers didn’t have a choice. How did that process go for the dwellers? A lottery? Turning over the aged? How did they choose ten of their family to go into slavery. Might makes right, huh? He wanted to tear Sigroth apart with his bare hands. But Sigroth was only a cog in the machine.

  “Answer the question, Sigroth. Do you choose to be a slave? Or do you want your city to be obliterated?”

  “I, uh, I don’t, uh” the reptilian stuttered.

  “Answer the question!” Mako roared. And took a step forward. “Do. You. Choose. To. Be. A. Slave?

  “Yes” Sigroth responded quietly but still glaring up at the human.

  “Do you choose to be food?” Mako demanded.

  Sigroth appeared broken a moment ago. Now his mouth gaped. “What?”

  “Do you choose to be food? Just like you make them choose to be food?”

  “I guess I do.” Sigroth muttered looking at the ground. He was shaking. Was it fear? Anger? Some of both?

  “What does it mean to use them as resources?” Mako asked.

  Sigroth looked up. Their mouth opened and closed a few times. “Their bones are rich in metal. The meat is not very good. We mostly feed the meat to other animals and slaves that need to eat meat. The bones are incinerated to recover the metal.”

  Mako heard several gasps and curses behind him. He wanted to shoot this fucker in the head. Yet, Sigroth was probably more of a symptom of the problem than a cause.

  “And If I say you can go. Do you still choose to be a slave?” Mako asked.

  “I don’t understand.” Sigroth looked at Mako.

  “If I say, you are free to go. Are you going to remain slave?”

  “No. Clearly, I would not.” Sigroth stated.

  “But you CHOSE to be a slave, right? You chose to be food. I could probably make a nice set of boots out of your skin.” Mako asserted.

  Sigroth sat stunned.

  “So let me spell it out for you. You chose to be a slave in order to avoid violence. To prevent the death of you or possibly your whole city. Right? Be a slave or lose everything you care about.”

  Sigroth continued to stare.

  “Answer me! Is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me, Sigroth. Is that truly a choice? Or is that being forced to obey under penalty of death or worse?”

  “It is force.” He muttered after a moment.

  “That is extortion, Sigroth.” Mako glared at them with disgust. “Who would you choose to die in your family? In your city? You made them fucking choose who to send to die. 10 of them every month!”

  “It was many more.” One of the Dwellers spoke up.

  “What do mean?” Mako asked the Dweller.

  “There are many tribes. Well, fewer now. Only 13 tribes remain. Each had to provide 10 every month.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “130 every month?” Mako said astonished. “You fucking monsters!”

  Mako moved forward and before thinking pounded his left fist into the face mask. Sigroth was knocked back and fell to the ground.

  “Uh uh.” Boomer said to the other one on the ground who started to move.

  Sigroth looked up at Mako towering over them. The face mask was dented and mangled on one side. The leader held up a four fingered hand to ward off any further action.

  Mako growled. “Turn over and lay face down.”

  Sigroth immediately complied.

  Mako indicated for Riff to cover Sigroth.

  Congratulations!

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Spear Adept. (Level 22)

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Spear Adept. (Level 24)

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Spear Adept. (Level 18)

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Spear Adept. (Level 20)

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Spear Adept. (Level 25)

  You defeated a Shing’rigsi Squad Leader. (Level 34)

  Since this action was completed by a party, irragen points will be divided among the party.

  Irragen points awarded!

  Quest Updated!

  Release The Kraken - Acquire sufficient experience to surpass the threshold to fully engage the PHENO system. (87% Complete)

  Mako heard some muttering about how close several of them were to unlocking the PHENOsystem.

  Mako noted as he walked over to Ceridwen that the PHENOsystem gave them IP for defeating some of the Shins even without killing them. He was frustrated at having lost his temper. “What do we do with them?”

  Ceridwen shook her head. “If this is what we have to look forward to...maybe we are going about this the wrong way. Are we landing in the middle of an interspecies war?”

  Achilles spoke on the comm. “It does appear that way.”

  “Certainly, there are other places we can set up the colony. It is a whole planet.” Merlin added.

  “And we leave the Dwellers to their fate?” Mako asked. “I don’t know that I’m ok with that. I mean...” Mako paced a moment flexing his hands and grinding his teeth. He couldn't think straight. "I don't fucking know what I mean."

  “Do you propose we go to war with these Shing’risgi? That certainly feels a lot like the type of colonization we want to avoid.” Merlin added.

  “I don’t think we can answer that right here or now.” Achilles said, “right now, we need to decide what to do next.”

  “We should, at least get some intel out of the reptiles.” Hardtack added.

  “And then what? Kill them? Let them go?” Mako asked. "This is the problem. We are falling into shit, and I don't know that we should stop ourselves. I came here to get away from the type of people that think they can do whatever they want simply because they are strong enough that no one will tell them no. If we turn our backs on it, it feels like we are just complicit. The 'might makes right' crowd always win when people don't stand up to them."

  “I think killing is off the table.” Ceridwen said. “At least until there is no other choice. I think that goes for everything else. We shouldn't make any decisions until we have know for certain what we are dealing with. I'll agree that it looks bad now. But for all we know there is a solution on the horizon we just don't know about.”

  “Ok,” Mako felt like he was getting a handle on himself a little more. He was still incredibly disillusioned by the idea that they traveled so far from Earth only to be thrust into conflict again so quickly. He sighed. “Let’s separate the Shins, restrain them and interrogate them. Boomer and Riff, stay on your targets. If they do anything to attack or escape, shoot them.

  “Zerk and Faeleanx, take a look at the Dwellers and see what it will take to get the collars off them. Howie, cover them in case any of them become hostile. Harpy, keep a lookout to make sure nothing sneaks up on us. Ceridwen, let’s go ask some questions.”

  The Colonists didn’t carry anything with them to restrain the Shins. They would just have to be careful. Riff and Mako grabbed an arm on each side of Sigroth. They lifted him and carried him back toward the treeline. They set him down with his back against a tree. The humans were still very aware of the natural and armor-based weapons the reptilian leader had on them.

  “Sigroth,” Mako looked down at them, “We humans are not interested in slaves. Nor are we going to stand by and allow another species to be abused and exploited. We also do not want war, but we have lots of practice and we are very good at it.”

  Mako knew he was blustering here a bit. Not only were humans far from monolithic in their values, most of the personnel of the colony were not familiar nor suited for war. Perhaps 10% of the total colony might be in a position to immediately take part in a war and another 20% could be activated quickly. Mako suspected those numbers would be far short of what a local force could muster. Even with what appeared to be significant technological superiority over the local forces, it did not look good for the colony’s chances of being victorious in a ground war.

  “So, we are in a bit of a dilemma here. We don't want a war. And we don’t want the Dwellers to continue to be harvested. What do you think? Any chance of an agreement between my people and yours.”

  “I am one of the lowest in our army. Merely a step ahead of a basic soldier. But I know my people. If you try to stop us from taking what we claim is rightfully ours, there will be no safe place for you here. We have ended cities and races. We dominate all that we see. It is in our very name. Unless you destroy Tedexa Goran, you cannot win. Even then, others will come and seek vengeance. This is a crucial place for our empire, and we are building a forward station to expand into this world. Our empire will not let it go.” Sigroth spoke levelly and seemingly without boast.

  Mako considered the words. He wanted more pertinent information. “Where is Tedexa Goran?”

  Sigroth stared for a moment and then their shoulders didn’t shrug but pulled back and their neck stretched out a little. Nevertheless, Mako felt it was likely the same as a shrug. They spoke. “I suppose you could easily find it. It is 15km west and northwest of here. Following this road will lead you to it.”

  “Checking satellite imaging.” Skeet said.

  “What is the population there?” Mako asked.

  After a moment, Sigroth answered. “About 20,000. Half of that is military personnel.”

  Mako’s eyes widened a little. Sigroth appeared to understand or interpret the expression.

  “As I said, it is a forward station for expansion into this world.” They repeated.

  “Mako, I don’t see anything in that area. I see roads that seem to converge but no city.” Skeet said.

  “We don’t see a city where you said it was.” Mako told Sigroth.

  It was their turn for eyes to widen before they seemed to speculate an understanding. “Tell your scryer that it is underground in this world.”

  “Dispatching drones.” Skeet replied. "Scryer, huh?"

  “Well, I appreciate your cooperation. Any suggestions about where we go from here? I can’t let you take the Dwellers.” Mako noted the collars were being opened now. “I also suspect that no matter how the story is told we will be held responsible for the death of your spear adepts.” Mako nodded at the bodies that were lined up in a row. He didn’t think anyone would go for killing them outright. He certainly didn’t. Yet, they can’t let them go and inform the city that a new threat exists. Taking them captive seemed like a terrible idea.

  Sigroth made that shrugging motion again.

  Mako decided to go talk to the Dwellers maybe there would be some information that would help there. He turned to Riff. “Keep an eye on him.” Mako indicated to Ceridwen to follow and made his way over to the Dwellers.

  “Greetings.” The one who spoke earlier said. He placed his hands together in front of him a triangle shape and bowed his head slightly, “I am Roh’Ovi, I am the elder of this group. Thank you for your help. But I am afraid that this outcome may be worse for us.”

  Ceridwen squealed ever so lightly and covered her mouth. The mannerisms of the Dweller were endearing if not outright adorable. The way he spoke his name was exactly how you’d imagine a goat speaking on Earth. His voice was not exactly high pitched but light and reedy.

  Roh’Ovi was just over a meter tall. He had black fur with grey streaks over his body and there and elaborate red, white, and yellow, knotting of string on his left horn. He wore a simple vest and loose-fitting pants that sort of resembled harem pants.

  It was interesting to note that the dwellers, as far as he could tell, were male and female. In truth, he had to admit it seemed to be male and female. He wasn’t able to determine that with the Shins. They all seemed the same and from his senses he couldn’t tell if they were male or female.

  Mako bowed back. “I am Mako Nagata. This is Ceridwen. I am afraid you may be correct about the situation. Perhaps you can tell me from your perspective how you expect the response by your people and the Shing’risgi will go.”

  “My tribe will be very concerned. We have never seen anyone return to the tribe after being taken. The fact that some the Shing’risgi have been killed will also be of concern. The Shing’risgi will most assuredly respond with greater force.”

  Mako nodded. “I agree. I think at this point the best thing is for this group to ‘disappear’. You should go back to the tribe, and we’ll get rid of the bodies and figure out what to do with the captives.”

  “Will you kill them?” Roh’Ovi asked.

  “I would prefer not to. I feel somewhat limited in my options.” Mako stated flatly. “I don’t suppose you have any insight?”

  “We have very limited interaction with them. They come, they take our people, and they leave. Any noncompliance is met with overwhelming force.”

  “Ok. Well, do you need an escort back to the tower?” Mako inquired.

  “While it might be nice, I think we will be fine without it. Are you coming to see us later?”

  “Yes, I have need of the tower.” Mako responded.

  Roh’Ovi tilted but seemed to decide it wasn’t worth asking now. “Very well. Thank you for your consideration. I have never heard anyone say the things you have said here today. These worlds have always been ruled by might and magic alone.”

  “Excuse me, did you say worlds?” Ceridwen stepped closer.

  “Yes.” Roh’Ovi appeared confused. “How do you not know? I guess it’s possible. Our own ancestors crossed over into this world without realizing it but now the way is blocked by Tedexa Goran.”

  Mako suddenly realized what Sigroth said earlier. They were planning an expansion into this WORLD. What is going on? “Are you saying there is some way into another world?”

  “It is known as the Great Portal.” Roh’Ovi started to recite as if it were a long-known story.” The denizens of this realm transcended to a higher realm, no longer tethered to their earthly abode. As recounted in our ancient tales, this world lay desolate and parched. Eons ago, an ancient deity was unsatisfied that this world lay fallow. It created the portal so that the abundance might flow from that world to this one.”

  "Huh, we got a two-fer" Jhakass said.