Zey’s boots crunched on debris and rocks through the clearing her ship had made on landing. Vegetation had already begun springing up from the ashes in places; vibrant green, red and purple growths in the dirt.

She eyed up the S’tor prisoner first - Sh’vetza was the name she’d heard for it. Their wrists were manacled pointing in opposite directions, forcing their arms to cross and making it very tricky to use their hands for anything. They were diminutive by the standards of the other lizard-esque people in the group, and wore simple clothing. A shapeless sackcloth gown underneath a tired grey tabard with black eyes stitched on it in various locations. They kept their eyes trained firmly on the ground in front of them. It was like they were trying to attract as little attention as possible.

Two of the other S’tor soldiers stuck close to this manacled person. They reminded Zey of those ancient Greek warriors with minimal body armour and round metal shields. She wondered if that was so they could travel easier on those horrible screeching monsters. The exception to their armour was the helmet, which appeared to be made from plate metal and covered their entire head.

The last two S’tor soldiers were heavily armoured in a similar way to Esedel, but with less embellishment. They carried a square shield and broad sword on their backs with ease. These bodyguards took the lead as they reached the edge of the clearing, using their massive heft to push through the heavy undergrowth.

It wasn’t long before the sounds of gagging and liquid splattering met Zey’s ears. Without eyes on the source, it was quite a disturbing set of noises.

“Let me go first, Captain.” Ezra stated plainly, pushing in front. His gun wasn’t up, just ready.

Darnell peered over Zey’s head, clutching the heavy beer mug ready to twat anything that moved suddenly.

After a few moments the S’tor broke through to where a stocky pink shape was crouched in his Kriliteran form, and the Humans joined them soon after.

Zey recoiled at Kolvar’s original form, unnerved by the bulging lumps and eyes of various sizes dotted around its squishy pink face.

“What are you? I’ve never seen your kind before.” One of Esedel’s guards asked with a gruff tone of voice, poking Kolvar’s prone with its boot.

“Please, help him up. He is surely unwell. Friend, are you the one who ran from the feast?” Sh’Vetza asked, more kindly. The guards grudgingly complied, bending down to try and haul Kolvar to his feet.

“Ugly fucker isn’t he?” Darnell whispered boozily into Zey’s ear from behind. The Captain swatted him away and moved forward slightly.

“Kerchak?”

[hr]

“Aye, brother. The stream of desperates at our gates has become a torrent. The North lands are becoming more dangerous by the day. I hear more stories of demons that attack caravans at night…But that is besides the point.” 

Esedel lowered her voice, though S’tor weren’t good at not being loud. A nearby observer like Shirik may still be able to eavesdrop if they concentrated.

“How do we address this chaotic cavalcade? Squabbling over a bunch of scrawny ‘Humans’ and a patch of forsaken hillside of no value to anyone… I say we let our new neighbours have it. This thing…” Esedel gestured vaguely towards the Jotunheim.

“...cannot house more than fifty, surely? They won’t need more space than has already been cleared. My Lord has mobilised enough engineers and materials to build a wall across the ridge. Can you do the same for your side? Then these Humans can feel safe in their own kerak and we can be sure both sides have equal access.” 

[hr]

“Get the reactors back online and we can do much more than make alu.” Danny smirked.

“Jo can plug straight into Tamerlane mills and mining modules all the way up to grade 5 if needed. Give me time and a 3D printer and I can jump start an industrial revolution in any shithole city on this rock.”

Varen laughed, stuffing the rest of the fish he’d been given while watching the Captain depart.

“What I'd give for a cold one right now. I reckon we have the parts for a home brew, no?”

Varen shrugged at Vigdis’ last question.

“Pretty shitty. I keep hearing them whining at Cap and XO. They’re going crazy inside, but some still don’t wanna come outside on account of the killer aliens. They don’t like the new work parties either. Have you sorted yours yet? Mine were fokken useless on first shift! Now Cap has got a gun sim set up indoors, its a recipe for disaster in my opinion.”