Luskyr withdrew his blade from the body that lay twisted beneath him. The eyes of the creature had gone cold, and the only sign of motion was the steady stream of black fluid that sourced from the fresh wound in its chest. He looked around, searching for another challenger, another of these primitives with such a desire to be flayed quickly and mercilessly. Not to Luskyr's surprise, none appeared.
The guardsmen who encircled their leader were lesser in number now, but the loss they sustained did not appear to dishearten them. Cha'Wyl had died as a result of cowardly tactics, not of failure to give his all in battle. These traps the primitives had set along this street were placed quite cleverly, and though many had been discovered before they could be activated Cha'Wyl, it seemed, was unfortunately fated to miss sight of one buried beneath the remants of some sort of rusted metallic craft. One false step and the brave guardsmen had been impaled upon a metal pole that sprang from below the junk heap. It was sad, but none had time to grieve as it seemed to have been a signal for the small group of primitive warriors to make their strike.
But that strike, like the others they had encountered, was far from successful.
"Guardsmen, continue forward. We will avenge Cha'Wyl, I assure you." The commander took the lead now, providing inspiration for his charges to press on. This day had seen battle, but the combat wasn't the satisfying kind. It was pathetic to see these native creatures mount their attacks with a mindless lack of strategy. They were using ambush tactics, certainly, but were these ambushes the coordinated effort of a larger group? Or were they simply the work of several gangs of bandits, attacking anyone who came along to strip them of valuables?
It took only a few short steps for Luskyr to get his answer. The ground had begun to tremble, not as though from a seismic event but from the pounding of heavy footsteps.
"Encircle," he cried. "Guardsmen, encircle!" They quickly complied, taking positions all around their leader, weapons ready to ventilate any oncoming foe. Each angle appeared to be covered, except for one. With rocky debris flying in all direction the ground erupted. At each side Luskyr watched as massive, hulking beasts burst from below the cracked tarmac, catching the guardsmen in muscular, saliva covered jaws. His eyes widened in both terror and rage as he watched two men under his command literally chomped in halves, their entrails spilling on the dusty earth, painting the ground with viridian fluid.
Luskyr's sword was drawn before the creatures fully breached, and he made an effort to avenge the fallen guardsmen. Pulses of super heated plasma smashed into the thick hides of the monstrosities, but even as gray skin blistered and burned away from the gunfire there was little other effect. His own teeth bared, Luskyr growled as his sword struck down upon the creature, but the edge did not pass through, lodging inside a freshly cut canyon of flesh. He tried to pull the weapon free, but the beast howled in pain and pivoted, yanking the sword from Luskyr's grip, nearly breaking his hand in the process.
"Luskyr to Ch'Toga," his voice was frenzied, panicked, and reasonably so as two more of the creatures erupted from the ground nearby. "Fire ballistic cannon on my position!" He turned to his remaining guardsmen, gesturing for them to run, before doing the same himself.
Three cracks of thunder deafened him, but he did not cover his sensitive ears. There was no time. Just feet behind him the response from the command ship was received. The planet shook as though struck by the hammer of a god. Luskyr and his remaining men were lifted from their feet as the massive shockwave tore everything within a 100 foot radius from the ground. The remaining unbroken windows in nearby buildings shattered, and shards of glass flew like darts over the area. The hulking metal remnants of vehicles tumbled end over end like massive tumbleweeds. And then it happened three more times.
Luskyr awoke a few minutes later, covered in dust and the blue-green blood spilled from himself and his men. In agonizing pain he pushed himself to his knees and looked around the area. There were no other guardsmen to be seen alive, just bodies upon the ground, bent and twisted like toys. The beasts that attacked them were dead as well, but it was a bitter victory. Lifting himself to his feet, Luskyr stumbled forward, nearly taking a fall to the ground again, but he managed to reach the creature that still wore his sword inside of itself. The blade was a twisted mess, useless now.
"Ch'Toga, come in." Moments passed without a response. "Ch'Toga, this is Luskyr. Respond, damn you." There was no sound from his communicator. No static, no garbled voices. Nothing at all. But there was a voice behind him, and to his dismay it was definitely not speaking his native language. Slowly, he turned, though he soon wished he had not. There were a dozen of them, perhaps more, and they all bore the grins of jackals.
Luskyr could not fight, not in his state. Instead, as they descended upon him, he looked to the sky. The ship he had earned from years of service and dedication looked so close, but alas he could not reach it. It was a dire thought at a dire time, but he did not think it for long as a quick strike to his head knocked him out of consciousness.
