[TheRaisin]

Here ya go, hot off the presses, Chapter Dos! And BTW, the "Suggestion Box" is now officially open.


Tak was halfway home when it happened: first, a small, intensely bright flash in the sky caught his attention, followed soon after by an enormous BOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!! The tiny red-orange dot began expanding, and the deep reverberating rumble, having tapered off, now began building to an intense roar. Tak watched in awestruck wonder as the blazing fireball became larger and more distinct. He now noticed that, while the bulk of the fireball was swept back in the opposite direction of it's movement, a smaller portion of it was pointed at the ground. It began slowing down more and more until, still red-hot and moving super-fast, it slammed into the planet. Far off in the depths of the jungle, a great cloud of dust and plantlife burst up as if thrown by a shovel. Millions of birds across miles of jungle canopy took flight, and even from this distance Tak could hear the terrified squeaks and yelps and roars of forest creatures fleeing from this unknown disturbance.
Finally, the dust and plants and birds and flying creatures settled once again. Tak stood for a split second on the path leading back to his village. Then, his mind made up, he dropped the kiradani carcass and ran towards the spot where a piece of the heavens had dropped to earth.

Hours later, Tak peeked over the final hillock of upchurned earth and nearly fainted. The great hunk of metal was easily a kilometer long, but the sheer scale made it seem too big to be described in words. The entire surface was like a mirror. It was sleek and streamlined, with a slight outward curve about halfway down it's length, which then tapered back in. At the end furthest from where Tak hid was a great series of bulges, around which the soil had been turned to glass from sheer heat. A series of gargantuan metal beams extended at 45 degree angles from the bottom, each with a domed, hoof-like pod at the end. All manner of machinery and bizarre metallic equipment and boxes were grouped around the huge object, and Tak felt an overpowering magnetic and electrical field emanating from the area-- it was what had guided him so precisely to the spot. But perhaps the strangest part of this menagerie of alien metal were the creatures operating equipment, standing at the glowing boxes, and generally milling about in a very dutiful manner. They were charcoal-black, with red lines running across their bodies like lava-channels against a fresh carpet of basalt. Their heads were bird-like, with long, slightly downward-curving beaks for mouths. They had amber slits for eyes, and at the crown and back of their heads grew long tendrils that curved stiffly down to just above their waists, undulating slightly. Their knees bent in the opposite direction of Tak's own, and were capped with spiky protrusions, as were their triangular shoulders, jutting elbows, horny knuckles and talon-like heels. Everything about them was angular. They had three long, bird-like toes and four-fingered, spiky hands. Tak watched one turn and walk away from one of the glowing boxes and begin speaking with another. He jumped when he realized they were speaking his language, though it was more thought and felt than spoken and heard.
"They're doing fairly well for themselves. They have a recognizable culture and have become omnivorous, even beginning agriculture. They have named themselves the D'naathi."
The other sneered.
"They're primitive. Barely above animals. They still rely on hunting for almost all of their food, and no doubt they'll regress when they find agriculture too hard for them. I estimate they'll be mindless hunters again within twenty cycles*."
"But look at what they've done! They have cities, actual cities! They've achieved flight using little more than raw materials dug out of the ground. I'm sure if we give it another few cycles...."
The larger of the two creatures turned on the other.
"My orders are to determine how to proceed based on the extremely limited information I'm given by workers like you. Your orders are to follow my orders, and if you fail to do so I will personally see to it that you are tortured by the cruelest in the guild until you either die or learn to respect the chain of command. So, for your sake, you'd better cooperate until we can back home and you get to transfer to another mission."
The smaller creature mentally gulped.
"What do you propose we do, then?"
"Well, it's obvious they are stupid and dangerous and should therefore not be allowed to live. I suggest an planet-wide lifesweep. That's the only way to be sure they're all dead."
Several dozen yards away from where Tak listened in shock, a kiradani wandered into the clearing. The commanding creature unclipped a small black device from his belt and turned a dial on it. He calmly aimed it at the unfortunate beast and squeezed his hand. In a flash of light, the right half of the kiradani's torso disintigrated. The hapless beast stared dumbly for a moment at the space where his chest had been a second before, then his entire upper body simply collapsed, and his legs slowly toppled over.
The black-skinned creature strapped the weapon back to his belt and said,
"That's what I'm going to do to the first of these 'D'naathi' I see."
Tak turned and fled, continually looking over his shoulder, terrified he would be chased down by the rock-like aliens.


*cycles=generations; in this case, those of the D'naathi