Sang the Setari

19. Umbrella

The next few kai were spent combat training, patrolling and watching an increasingly frustrated team of technicians trying to break through the seals on the cone buildings. Ultimately, they decided that it would take a different, more powerful machine to do the job and now we were waiting for a supply tanz to drop it off.

The morning after my very nice dream of Tsee Blackbourne, he had approached me and very reservedly asked if I had any more realistic dreams. I reluctantly admitted to such and after a piercing gaze reminded me to practice visualization before sleep. I was now worried he had sensed that dream.
Therefore, the last couple nights I had been working fervently on those visualization exercises and found it quite jarring being abruptly woken from a sound, dreamless sleep by an urgent command.

"Come to the exit ramp" was all the message from Marc said.

I rubbed my eyes and pushed aside the pod cover. Sleeping in a nanosuit wasn't entirely comfortable, but necessary when in the field for occasions such as this. I met Tsee Blackbourne, Tsee Toma and Marc at the ramp as dawn was breaking over the craggy mountain peaks.

"I couldn't get any sense from Combat Sight, but something just feels off," Marc said to the captains, who must have both just woken at Marc's request, too.

They were about to take turns enhancing to check with Sights when I said, "No birds." All three looked at me questioningly. "It is too quiet. There should be bird song or insects...something making noise, unless a large predator is around," I explained.

Tsee Blackbourne enhanced and quickly pointed east. "She's right. Wake the others. Prepare for incoming. No time to evacuate."

Fear knotted in my stomach as the guys launched into action and the others were called out of sleep. I grabbed a drink and one of the protein bars, then slipped into the restroom as the camp came to life. I came out as the team of technicians were loading into the relative safety of the tanz. It was equipped with some weaponry, but mostly the Setari were needed for a threat like this.

"What about the dhura?" Someone asked.

"It must be far off. Probably hunting at one of the other three villages it is connected to. We can have someone call it from the the communication platform, but whatever this is has to be a massive and is too close to emerging from the Ena for us to sense it from Real-Space," said Tsee Toma.

He had barely finished speaking when it looked as if a seam in the sky was ripped open and out stepped a giant, upside down umbrella with long spider-like legs. My first thought was how Gabriel would have immediately responded to the sight.

Tsee Toma yelled to Tsaile Ramirez who looked like he was about to try and join the fight, "Get into the tanz! Don't use the photon cannons unless you need to. We will lure it away from the ship."

Ramirez protested, "I may be retired Setari, but I can still help. My rating on levitation is still moderately strong and electrokinesis midrange. You need all the help you can get. The last massive I battled that size took six squads to take down."

Six squads! And we had only one and a half...

"Fine. You're with Morgan and Korba, then," Tsee Blackbourne replied pointing to Victor and Silas.

Before joining the second group Victor leaned in and whispered, "This is why we need you. With your enhancement ability we can do this. Remember your training, follow orders...It will be fine, Princess." He pulled away but our eyes stayed locked, the lightning dancing across his.

Those with levitation or telekinesis lifted the rest of us and we flew over the village to draw the Ionoth away from the camp and the technicians hiding in the tanz. The creature was cumbersome, moving slowly on the spindly legs, but mowing down trees and crushing buildings in its path. Blasts of fire, ice and lightning served well in gaining the Ionoth's attention. We landed on a rooftop and Tsee Toma started calling out orders, based on Tsee Blackbourne's assessment that a mixed elemental attack would work.