Emergence: Chapter 56

The defeat at New Orbus was not one Xaos expected, nor one he would have predicted. The loss of The Dominion was certainly a set-back, robbing him entirely of his Earth-Scorcher superweapon. The voice in his ear made him grimace; he had to implement the next stage earlier than he'd hoped. He clenched his fist, claws digging in to his scaled palm. Damned Adjeti... The AI never factored in betrayal; machines did not take human nature into account. Xaos smiled, before the voice in his ear pulled his lips back into a resting position.

His escape pod sped into the atmosphere of the desert planet, Rat'hak. The sandy brown dunes stretched out for miles below him, with small pools of water marking towns and villages throughout the arid planet; they were the only viable places to live. From up-high, the dunes were beautiful, but as the pod shot towards the surface, its imperfections were revealed; instead of the smooth beige covering that he'd seen before, he saw that the desert was a myriad of various shades of brown, grey and dark green from sand, rock and small vegetation, which fought against all odds.

The pod landed, landing gear descending with the same pneumatic hiss as the opening door. Beige and silver shapes greeted him; the Hak'i worked metal, stone and sand into their buildings, but this combination never looked good. Hak'i busted past, briefly looking at the pod, before moving on. They always were an ignorant race.

You know what to do.

Xaos grimaced and clutched at his ear as the AI spoke to him again. Grabbing an Inducer from the pod's floor, he turned it over in his hands, feeling the smooth exterior, with the small spiked point at either poles. He shuddered; one of those spikes pierced his brain, he knew and, despite the AI trying to take emotion away, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of fear and repulsion at the idea.

He placed it in a pocket, patting it closed, before patting his other side to check for his pistol; he could never be too sure. While Rat'hak was an ally of Xaos, there could be any number of people wanting to simply end the war. Although the voice in his ear had told him that it can make death mean nothing, Xaos chose to make sure that was unnecessary.

His boots sank into the sand as he left his craft. The door sealed behind with the same hiss it had opened with. Quickly noting where he was in Rat'hak's only city, he made his way to the city's main hub: the Arena.

Hak'i crafters and tradesmen lined the streets, sculpting tools and attempts of art from stone, bone, and skin. Some of the bone and skin Xaos recognised as the native wildlife. Some, usually more expensive, were from another world, presumably smuggled onto the planet. The most expensive ones were what gave the Hak'i their brutal reputation: human. Dyed human skins lined a rail erected in the street, with their bones being sold as clubs or hammers. Xaos looked further, finding scaled skins, belonging to either Scaliman or Xaosian. He recoiled, face twisting in disgust, before the AI caught him, and pulled his features back into a resting position, and moved him away.

You can punish them later; saving this Empire comes first.

Xaos knew that the AI was right, but he found its reassurance bizarre; it felt no emotion, why would it care about Xaos's feelings towards the black-market traders? “Evolving...” Xaos muttered accidentally, the AI paying it no attention as it steered Xaos through the streets, twisting and turning to get through the crowds of Hak'i. Xaos saw one wearing a Xaosian-Skin coat, and reached for his pistol, but the AI stayed his hand. No. Not now. You need the Hak'i. When the Empire is unified, then you can have your revenge.

Xaos put his hand down to his side again and continued to walk. He had to find the Dominort; he, and the rest of the Hak'i, held the key to the next phase of the AI's plan.

The Hak'i have an affinity with the Corlens...