[center][h1]Bright H'Orion[/h1][/center]
[center][h2](Bright Horizon)[/h2][/center]

	The hum of generators vibrated down the attentive whiskers of Plash Shree as he sat upright against the cold metal wall of the transport ship. He was draped in loose fitting clothes provided by the federation along with seventy other Muni hunters. The trip was long in comparison to the short debate the choice to even come to the aid of the federation. The four voices debated quickly in the forums, cheered and jeered by various individuals, until finally all agreed it was only compassionate to help the federation on their hunt. 

	Now here they were, seventy one fit and abled Muni, ready to track down and hunt for the federation. The Federalists were vague whenever the conversation of the prey came about, and some even seemed to chuckled when the Muni started talking about rituals for the dead prey and feeding the children. If Plash decided to scry these responses deeper he would probably come to understand the giant misunderstanding that this entire endeavor was, either way, Plash already knew that this was definitely going to be interesting.

	He tossed aside the uncertainty of the actual scenario and focused on the lingering touch from Pill Grii, the one who was the most excited to contact the Federation and share the Muni ideals with. A deep knot tied itself in Plash’s stomach however, as something seemed to nag at him and prevent him to enjoy the same optimism as his lover. 

His thoughts were disrupted from a booming voice from the intercom. “All personnel, prepare for Pod Drop. Approaching Drop Point.” An Auru Marine Officer approached the waiting Muni. “Sir, the Drop Pods are prepped and ready for you and the Hunters.” He then turned around to lead the group.

	Plash looked past the Marine at the small portaled doors on the wall, leading to the aforementioned pods. The Muni looked at the marine, his dark jet eyes hiding behind sunglasses, as to keep the light from his sensitive eyes.

	“So I just walk in there or how does this work?”

“Correct. You just step in and we’ll launch you to the planet below. It’s safe and-” The Officer was interrupted suddenly as the ship begun to violently tremble and shake. “Red alert! red alert! The [i]Liberty[i/] is under attack!” 
“Shit, they saw us coming.” He turned his attention to the Muni. “Quickly, get to the Pods!” 

	Plash went to open his mouth in contest but his legs had other things in mind as he shot behind one of the open doors with inhuman speed, quickly followed by the others who shook with stimulation from the vibrations and trembles. Shadows of their eyes shooting back and forth could be made out behind the glasses as their lungs inflated and felt light without the presence of the heavy smog of Pax-Ra, the extra oxygen invigorated their frightened bodies as adrenaline rushed through their veins, peaking as a loud bang rang in deafening explosion of sound. 

Over a Dozen pods had launched from beneath the Transport Vessel, from what they could see, the Muni saw below them a blue orb of a world, one very unlike their home of Pax-Ra, and although distant, they saw the vessel that carried them through the trip under assault from beams of light, as Union ships were on fast approach.

	The pods quickly fell into turbulence, flaring the nerves of the Muni. The pods rattled like crazy as it trekked through the atmosphere as fireballs. The surface of the world replaced the flashes of fire as the landscape quickly grew closer to them. Plash could see a few pods before him glow blue on the bottom, slowing its descent for landing. As his own pod tugged and stalled he assumed his own was going the same. He could feel not only his own heart pounding like a hammer in his throat and ears but the collective hearts of the others on board his pod.

	There was a sudden whir and a loud bang. The pod stated to twist and spiral out of control as it rocketed into a cityscape. The Muni grit his teeth as he was launched from his seat and against the wall. Suddenly a tremendous boom whipped the entire pod around as it grazed the rocky eave of a tall building, sending the vessel sideways into the pavement below. 

	Plash saw blackness behind his eyelids as he laid still on his side in the pod. A few groans slapped him back into consciousness along with the burning pain of his shoulder. His eyes flickered behind his lids, trying to adjust the beams of sunlight blaring into the pod. He leaned up, observing his fellows recover from the crash unharmed through his squinting eyes.

	He traced his fingers around the frame of his sunglasse that laid beside him. Broken. He moaned at the discomfort and stood up, deciding it was about time he got used to the brightness of the world, and clean air. His shoulder protested in anguish as he used his arm to prop himself against the door, only to have it woosh open and throw his unbalanced pose out of the pod.

	He landed in fresh ash, baked from the sun. The Muni’s skin crawled as the nerves protested against the sunlight and heated ground. Plash shot from the ground, holding his shoulder with his right arm, rubbing the bone and thick lean muscle. His eyes could make out the rest of his hunters emerging from safely landed pods, as well as the ragged survivors of his own seemingly unscathed lopsided vessel that. 

From all over, they heard the unsettling sounds of gunfire and loud booms, from above they see a pair of aircraft zoom right past over them. 

	Plash started to wonder if it was a mistake to get out of the pod. As the tremors of explosions shook his whiskers, he then began to wonder, was it a mistake to even come. 

	A stray comment whispered from one of the Muni, but they all heard it, and knew they were all thinking it, “What in love’s name are we hunting.”

They soon hear a rumbling, something big was on its way. From the rubble came a crashing in a large armored vehicle, a Federation APC. A human soldier stepped out from the side door of the vehicle to find the frightened Muni. “Don’t tell me these are the reinforcements..” He said to himself and the other behind him.

“Nah.” Replied the Sergeant behind him. “They’re something different. Colonel told us we’d have some new assets arriving before.” He paused a moment as he attempt to contact the FOB. “Control, some early reinforcements have arrived, they’re gonna need a ride.”

“Afraid I can’t do that Zeta One.” the feminine voice replied. “Things are tied up all to hell back here, you’re gonna have to escort them on foot.”

“Great..” He mumbled to himself, turning to face the squad still waiting in the back. “Change of plans ladies and gents, we’re to accompany the Muni to the Base, need everyone out for the long haul.” A series of loud groans followed. He stepped out to meet with the Muni face to face. “Stick with us and we’ll get you through this alive.” 

	Plash clicked his tongue as the seventy Muni bunched up behind him, a similar fear swept through them, the kind like on Pax-Ra when one of the great carnivorous beasts of the forest floor managed to corner one of them. 

Without protest, or even thinking of questioning the man before him, Plash blinked in understanding and called for his friends to follow him. He didn’t care where to, and his group didn’t either, he could taste it their thoughts and emotions over the dense bitterness of the environment, they just wanted to get out of this hell trap. 

The only calm that kissed the Muni’s mind was the memories of his lover silky skin and the caress of the miasma in his home. He forced these thoughts to stay in his mind as the great vehicle began grinding down the road, with the Muni in trail. 

He could sense it in his skin, the disgruntled men who found them, the aura of death and destruction, the lack of compassion. Worst of all he could taste the despair and anger like bitter soot on his tongue. His pores pricked him and his nostrils burned, this was going to be a long hunt.

For nearly an hour the Muni and Federation Squad traversed the ruined cityscape, trying to find their way around the rubble and wreckage. It seemed they would never found the correct path to the base, hope seemed very dim for the soldiers, it wouldn’t help that they soon came under fire from enemy snipers, as one of the point men suddenly collapsed onto the ground, his fellows rushing to his aide to discover a wide hole in his forehead. “Sniper!” One shouted, before he too fell following another loud bang from a sniper rifle. “Take cover!”

	The Muni scattered, confused at what was going on, a few even froze still, used to the cover of eternal darkness. Others questioned vocally, unsure of what was happening and concerned at the sudden deaths. Plash clicked and sputtered above the sound of the mess while the sniper shots still rang in the back of his head.

	Eventually the Muni ears pricked at Plash’s voice and they quickly dove and scurried into all sorts of cover. The idea of a lead hunter always seemed to have a certain effect on the hunters as the great hive mind like social structure was reborn. Plash himself dove under the vehicle, squeezing between the undercarrage and the gravel. The musky scent of the ground the vehicle emission relaxed him as his eyes widened in the cool darkness.

“If only the rest of this world was like this,” he complained while his mind raced with ideas about what to do. 

His family was in trouble, humans were dropping dead. This whole world was saturated with this gross meaningless death, and he had no idea why. He did however know that he needed to keep his family hunters safe, just as on Pax-Ra when a few would stumble upon creatures of the abyss unknowingly. He had to surrender a piece of his compassion for the life of his family, a sacred act. 

He hummed silently to himself, and his whiskers ticked him as he felt the humming of the other Muni as they prayed for forgiveness. The hunt had began.

The humming grew in intensity, slowly forming into one monotone. Another shot rang through the air and a body hit the ground, a few sprays were shot back in retribution. 

Plash closed his eyes from the light of this world and entered his cool, dark mind, the mind of the predator. Another shot rang through the air, but his ear also heard a pang hit the cement floor of a building in the far distance. A swarm of clicks concluded the others heard it too. 

Like lightning the horde of Muni rushed from their cover, scattering left and right, their eyes closed and sharp transcendent teeth bared in the sunlight. A shot rang out but missed hitting anything of importance. 

The silent predators swarmed at inhuman speeds, as blurred pale figures. The blurry bodies leapt and slammed against the walls of a tall building. Powerful limbs and piercing claws shot the nocturnal creatures up the steep stone, digging their hold into the plaster between bricks. A shot rang out and a smashed face of a Muni fell to the street below. With little recognition the adrenaline powered beasts flooded into the open windows of the building.

Plash could only see pink behind his lids, but he could feel the entire building. Every Muni, every piece of scattered furniture, down to every pebble. He smelt it, the discharge, much like the sulfur of Pax-Ra, and the fear of the prey. 

In a blurred motion he flew through the air, clicking madly as other Muni rushed with him. Their claws found the body of a surprised human holding a rifle. The sniper was thrown to the wall where a wave of claws and teeth pierced and ripped at his major arteries. No scream was sounded as the man’s bones snapped under the immense pressure, and no struggle was made as his body was quickly drained of it’s life sustaining blood. Soon there was only the soft hum of the Muni, as they prayed and sent their love to the mess of flesh that laid before them and those that were lost.


The shots stopped, the soldiers emerged from their hiding spots as they saw no muni in sight, only to suddenly be surprised as the Muni emerged from one of the buildings, all signs point to them killing the Sniper. “Holy shit.” The sergeant muttered. “They got the bastard.”

“Sarge, suddenly I feel more safer around them.”

It was a strange moment, it would be one of victory and cheer, but they stare down the ground, several of their comrades no lying dead. “Jesus…” One muttered to himself. “We’re not gonna make it...are we sarge?”

Before he could even open his mouth, more loud booms could be heard, but these were something different. All the surviving soldiers looked to to cheer awe, something very inspirational. From high above, dozens of drop pods came raining down over the city, followed by several large landing craft, and lastly, a wing of javelin bombers came soaring through the skies, unleashing their devastating load onto the enemy, the reinforcements finally arrived.  This was cause for true celebration, even if they were still outnumbered, their own numbers were replenished, and they had a slight chance in taking the capital city.

[hider= Things to know] 

- Federation forces bolster!
- The Muni taste war, and secure their first victory
- “Sarge, suddenly I feel more safer around them.” <- That grammar!
[/hider]