Braxton descended into the underground bunker that was the main base camp. Raven was on guard duty at the base of the ladder. She always seemed to work there when Blackjack was on the surface guard rotation. He no longer drew her attention when he showed up most of the time. However, this time he was coming back before he was scheduled to.
"What are you doing back already? Did you get hungry or something?" Raven asked testily.
"I ran into Tritops heading this way with Blood Lizard men. I figured the Major might be interested in that bit of information." Braxton said lazily.
"How far away were they?" Raven asked urgently. It was clear she seemed nervous about this development. Her eyes held a another question. "How does this kid know what Tritops even are?" She had not heard them talked about by anyone in years. They were like the boogie man. Talking about them caused more than one person to have nightmares. Her own mind triggered flashbacks with the mere mention of them.
"I scared them off course forty miles north of here." Braxton replied confidently.
"You can't be serious. Those thugs don't scare easily. If you can't be serious out there, I'll put you in the mines and you can spend your time digging up gems." Raven said icily.
Braxton summoned the six dead bodies. Then he asked "Is this serious enough?"
"Holy hell, you weren't kidding?" She asked incredulously. She didn't wait for a reply. "Major, Ace bought back something you should see."
Braxton heard her message through his comlink. "Nice, that was an unexpected turn of events." He though to himself.
"I'll be right there." Major Blade responded.
It was about five minutes later when Major Blade reach the entry checkpoint where they were waiting. He looked down at the bodies and looked at Braxton. "Come with me for a debrief. Raven get the guard doubled and get another scout headed into the northwest sector. If they see any activity have them return ASAP." He ordered.
Braxton followed he Major to the command tent. "Ok Ace, show me where you were on the map here." He pointed to a large map hanging from his wall.
Braxton looked at the map. He checked the scale on it. Then he checked the data from his UI and pointed forty miles north of the camp. "Right about there." Braxton replied.
"When was this?" Major Blade asked.
"About six and a half hours ago." Braxton stated plainly.
"How did you travel forty miles that fast? Does your combat suit have more skills than you've told me about?" Major Blade questioned.
"I followed a lead I found. I made a trade for a mount." Braxton responded.
"Where did you find a mount?" Major Blade said as he raised his eyebrows.
"I was picked up by some creatures that looked like blue elephants and they took me to a camp. I'm not exactly sure where it was. I used my UI to get back on course after I woke up again." Braxton lied.
"Sounds interesting. How many more were in the pack you fought?" The Major inquired.
"Six more of the Tritops. It was dark and they were running to fast for me to try shooting them." Braxton returned.
"What weapon did you use to kill them?" Major Blade pressed.
"It was a mix. I moved around in the darkness and killed four. I had killed two the day before. I caught one on guard duty with a railgun to the eyeball. Then I killed one with a laser rifle. I injured another one. He doesn't have three horns anymore." Braxton said with a grin.
"So railguns can kill them. That is good info. It's to bad we don't have more of them. Just the weak spot in the eyes?" Major Blade seemed to being running out of questions and was buying time for the next.
"The second one I killed, I hit in the bad of the neck. You know where the head attaches to the body. The chief of the village where I made the trade told me, they have a weak spot in their chest. These ones were wearing these chest plates." Braxton said as he summoned one.
"Do you know who these people were?" Major Blade questioned quickly.
"The chief said they call themselves Hazuls. They are neutral and trade meat for blood. He learned our language from someone he called Blaster. You can't imagine how happy I was when I found that out. Those elephant creatures walked me right up to his door. I was pretty scared to be honest." Braxton informed him.
"Think you can find your way back there? If so, do you think you can acquire more mounts?" The Major quizzed.
"I'm a step ahead of you there. I can most definitely find my way back. I've kinda got my mind on being free to come and go as I see fit. I've laid the groundwork for establishing a trade route between our settlements. I think we can both benefit from the trade. They know me and we get along well." Braxton finally found his moment to turn the tables on this conversation and steer it where he wanted it to go.
"What makes you think I would agree to something like that?" The Major said curtly.
"Because they have something you want desperately. They have a dragon's eye gem. I can get it and all I'm looking to get for it is the freedom to roam as I see fit. If I see anyone dangerous I'll still help the base camp." Braxton stated.
"That actually sounds like a fair trade. With that we can all go home. How long will it take for you to get it?" Major Blade said leaning back.
"Take me off the duty roster and tell Raven not to put me on it anymore. Then I'll be free to work on getting that item for you. Then whatever items I find are mine. Sign a contract with me and we can conclude our agreement." Braxton bartered.
"Raven, come over to the command tent. I need you to draft a contract quickly." Major Blade said into his intercom.
Raven showed up about ten minutes later. She drafted the contract. It didn't make her happy at all. Like a good soldier, she drafted it without asking any questions. Both men signed it and Raven witnessed to document. Then Braxton summoned the gem. "Here you go. One dragon's eye gem."
"You sneaky little shit. I've got to hand it to you that was clever. I'm not even mad. You can go." Major Blade responded. He picked up the gem and went to the science center.
Braxton stood up to leave and Raven hugged him. She grabbed him planted her lips directly on his. "Thanks kid. If that gem gets the portal working, I'll break you off a piece myself."
Braxton's cheeks turned bright red. He quickly recovered and replied coyly. "I'll hold you to that."
"I won't forget. I've been here a long time." Raven said in a teasing manner.
Braxton returned to his bunk. It was not a problem to pull out his cash of gear and sort through stuff. If he had made the agreement before he found the charging station, it would've been better. He needed to use that now. He knew it didn't work underground but, he didn't know where it currently was being kept. That could wait for a while. Jax would probably know the answer to that.
He pulled out one backpack and another vial of blood. He drank the blood then returned the empty vial to his storage. He had one more humanoid blood and the tortoise blood remaining. He unpacked the backpack. The first things he pulled out where ten charged power cells. He wasted no time returning those to his storage. Then he pulled out a metal cylinder. He had no idea what it was and Alpha didn't know what it might be either. He decided to ask Blackjack about that item later. There were a few items that looked like necklaces inside the pack too. They had different charms hanging from them. It wasn't clear why the creature might have been carrying necklaces.
It was confusing. The creatures didn't seem to carry water. The whole water question was of interest to him. He decided to consult Jax about that too. He was the resident butcher as well as the supply Sargent so he might have an idea.
Braxton carried the pack over to the supply tent. It was nothing special, but he could try to use it for a gift. Then ask his questions. Braxton walked into the supply tent. "Hey Jax, I found his backpack. I thought you might want it."
"Let me take a look." Jax replied.
Jax looked the pack over. It looked like he was trying to come up with a use for it. "It's something else to put on the mostly empty shelves. Someone might have a use for it some day. Was there another reason you came by?"
"A couple actually. I need to recharge some energy cells and power crystals. Have they moved the charging station outside yet?" Braxton queried.
"No, we are waiting for a special reinforced building to be constructed for it. What else did you want to know?" Jax asked curiously.
"Well since you do all the butchering and are constantly cutting up creatures, I figured you might be the resident expert on their anatomy around here. Do you know how these creatures get by without water?" Braxton buttered him up, trying to play on his ego.
"You know you came to the right guy. It isn't that the get by without it. Their lungs are different than ours are. They have sacs that hang below their lungs. Their lungs filter water out of the air they breathe. Drinking water isn't necessary for them at all." Jax explained the process happily.
Much to Braxton's chagrin, Jax carried on the lesson for another hour before he was able to extricate himself from the lesson. "Note to self, I think I made a new friend. Stroking his ego isn't the best idea I've ever come up with though." Braxton thought to himself.
He went into the mess hall and grabbed a plate of food. He waited there until Blackjack and White Sparrow arrived.