Page 4 of Xeda

"I gotta go," Ophilia said. "See you later." She walked out into the open, leaving Kendra in the shadow of the tunnel. The heat of the sun burned as she approached.

Before she could say hello, Rick handed her a stunner. Ophilia looked down at it, confused.

"Hendrik wants you following as they move the fighter."

Ophilia's brow furrowed. "I thought we were moving the new animals. Why do I have to—"

"They can wait," Rick cut her off. "I'll see to them."

"Okay...but what's with the stunner?"

"You're gonna stun the bastard I got showing up, that's what." Ophilia turned around to see Hendrik's red pudgy face and beady black eyes staring at her. His beard was unshaven, and his hair was unkempt. His stomach bulged out of his pants, and his shirt was drenched in sweat.

"What?" Ophilia said, stunned.

"Like this." Hendrik grabbed the stunner from her hand and turned it on. He jabbed it at the arm of one of his apprentices who screamed out in pain, dropping to their knees. He waved it in her face. "Got that?"

From nearby, she heard laughter. Cristan and Drake, their cousins, and a few of their bodyguards were laughing.

He shoved the stunner back in her hands. Before she could tell him 'hell no,' the wind picked up, and the hum of a ship drowned out any sound.

Ophilia looked up and saw the large cargo ship slowly descending. She backed away and covered her eyes as dust stung her arms.

There was a low droning boom as the ship released a group of thrusters and carefully set itself onto the landing pad. The crew positioned themselves accordingly as the ship powered down.

The bay doors opened, and immediately, cargo began to roll out with the help of both crew and cratebots. Ophilia stayed behind with Rick and the others waiting their turn. Large carriers like expensive groundcars, furniture, and machinery were brought out first and taken to the house through the tunnelways. Then came sets of boxes filled with anything and everything from dinnerware to foodstock to new clothes and jewelry. Spring was here, so there were new decorations, seeds, fertilizers, and flower arrangements for the gardens. Then came the weapons. Ophilia could tell by the markings on each box where they were headed. The next went to the armory, then the guardhouse. Then came the packages of bluum mostly in drop form which was all the rage currently. Even some of the house staff shifted impatiently as they eyed those boxes passing by. Many would be looking to make a trade. There were the pharmaceuticals next and the human-designed drugs like blue snow, but those didn't hit the way bluum did and so were less sought after.

When they got everything that wasn't alive off the ship, at last came "the poor bastards" as Rick called them. The creatures were stuck inside metal crates with nothing more than vents for air, only kept alive by the drugs they pumped inside.

The crocodile came first. Its long box was placed to one side, not out of the sun, Ophilia noted, hoping it didn't cook inside its crate. The whip-tailed canine followed right after. The crack of its tail against the side of the metal cage made those near it flinch. Hastily, they set the animals aside for Rick to take later as they all rushed in together to bring out the last piece of cargo.

Ophilia watched each guardsman draw their guns, inching closer to the door. Hendrik took out another stunner and turned it on. His apprentices did the same. Ophilia refused to turn on hers, and thankfully Hendrik didn't scold her. He started for the giant crate being rolled out, and the others followed.

"Get around it," he called. "I want men on every side."

The several groups of guards around the ship moved in and flanked each side, guns aimed at the cage. Ophilia didn't understand the extra need for security. They never had this many men needed for transporting a fighter that she could remember. Tajia only had maybe five soldiers walking alongside his cage, with Hendrik and his old trainees watching closely. Many of the other fighters had fewer. What was so special about this one?

As the cage was set on a ground carrier, Ophilia tried to peek inside and thought she caught the shine of a pair of red eyes. She shivered as the carrier began to move.

"Hold up!" barked Mason, the family's head bodyguard, a hulking mountain of a man. The carrier halted. Cristan and Drake came forward with their cousins, grinning wildly from ear to ear. Mason put out his arm to halt them from stepping too close. "Just there, Master Drake, Cristan."

They leaned in, trying to peer through the narrow vents. "Can't hardly see it," Drake said. "Is it alive?"

"I saw movement, just there!" pointed one of the cousins.

Cristan craned his neck and then frowned. "Drake, see if you can see anything from that hole there. I thought I caught something." Drake inched a little closer, leaning forward. As he did, Cristan shoved him, and Drake went sprawling forward, bracing himself with his hands.

As he collided with the cage, there was a violent hiss from within, and the cage jolted to one side as if something huge had thrown itself at the side of the wall. Drake screamed as did a few of his cousins. He pushed himself away and stumbled, falling on his back. The cage shook violently again, and there was a guttural growl. A few of the staff yelped out in surprise, and the soldiers tightened the hold on their guns.

"Back off, back off!" Hendrik cried.

Cristan, laughing, tugged his brother to his feet and backed away. His brother's face was ashen. "Little piss-ant. Stop shaking. It can't get out of there," Cristan teased.

Metal groaned as the cage rattled. Some didn't look so sure.

"Let's move," Hendrik called. The carrier lurched onward, and like some ominous military parade, they moved on with it, out of the landing dock and through the tunnels toward the training grounds.

Ophilia kept up on one side, eyeing the cage from a few feet away. Her mind turned over who could possibly be inside to warrant such safety measures. Not a lygin, surely, perhaps another grex but, hell, they had so many of those already, and none sparked this much unease in the others.

---