Starscape

One

Maki held her head low to the sand, her left eye closed as she peered through the scope of her rifle. Her ears twitched as she squinted at the glint of bright silver in the distance. Through her scope she could see somewhat of the creature, lying low in the dunes of the desert. It was a an ebony color with plating all over it, dull white from overuse, and she could barely see the flash of it's brilliant red eyes, scanning over the landscape in search of something. Her finger itched on the trigger as the beast made it's way closer, it's head inches from the sand as it smelled for what she could only assume to be metal.

All around her was sand for miles, dotted with pieces of rubble or the remains of a crashed ship. The air was dry and tasteless, empty and almost dry of oxygen. What remained of an old city was crumbling in the distance, a shell of it's former glory as it was being consumed by the sand. Very few buildings stood, husks flaking away slowly like sentinels standing in the heat of the desert. The only thing that survived here were metal, lifeless and wild beasts that had only one urge, to kill.

The Cerven paused in the sand, it's snake-like tail wavering as it looked down, shaking it's head. The moment it began tossing sand out of the way she tensed; lining up her shot for it's head. Her ears flattened against her head as she sucked in a breath and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out from the small scrap of human trash she had been hiding behind, and the monster screeched from the shot. She quickly pulled back the bolt and reloaded another bullet into the slot, making sure the glowing dot in her scope matched up with it's neck as she pulled the trigger again, the monster flinching for a second before twitching and falling backwards. She pulled away from her scope and pushed herself up, her ears perking up as she scanned for any other people in search of what she had.

Maki picked up her sniper with both hands and slung the leather strap around her chest, standing up. She vaulted over the discarded material and slid down the large hill, sand flowing downwards and breaking her fall. She would have to move quickly, if anyone heard that shot they would be moving her direction. She was a bit unnerved about the people in these parts, usually they didn't speak Teien and thought that popping a cap in her head was easier than having a conversation. It didn't help that she was on the edge of one of the old cities, usually the buildings were populated by more Cerven, or worse.

Maki dashed behind a large jutting piece of building, partially concealed as it poked from the sand. She saw a few pieces of rubble in front of her but for the most of the distance it was in the open. She bit her lip and got into a crouch, throwing her hood further over her face as she sucked in a breath. In a matter of seconds she had broken out into a dash, her sandy brown cloak flying up behind her. Little bursts of sand came from her feet up as she ran madly. Her tail flicked as she saw the next piece of cover, a group of rocks jutting from the sand. She skidded to a stop behind it, taking a second to catch her breath. A gust of wind blew her dark grey hair from her face as she felt for her probe, pulling it from her belt. It was a small sphere that shimmered blue in the bright sunlight, the name Leuanne etched into the side in Teien. She gripped it tightly in her hand and looked forward, the dead body of the robot still twitching.

She then burst into a gallop, grasping the probe as hard as she could. Her footprints in the sand quickly disappeared as the wind shifted the grains over it, leaving no trace of her presence. She held her body low as she burst forward, leaping over the wing of an old discarded ship. A few metallic creations that resembled a mix of a crab and a wasp skittered from underneath it, clicking their metal mandibles as they fled.

She neared the site where the beast had been digging and readied her hand to throw the probe, clenching her teeth and loosening her shoulder. Maki held her breath and launched it from her hand, the small orb landing close to the place where she had shot down the robot. The probe clicked internally for a few seconds before abruptly opening and shifting into what looked like a centipede, except made of metal. It crawled deftly to the site, where it then disappeared into the hole the monster was digging in. The sound of a few grains of sand shifting was everything she heard for the next few seconds. She slid behind the nearest cover, a large slab of some airship's hull. Covering her ears, she crouched low and closed her brown eyes.