Light hit my face, I groggily opened my eyes and yawned. The mat below me indicated I was still in the Dracochen Valley. Although one of the mats was empty, the one where Eagle slept. He either got up early or he left one of the two. Probably the latter considering he's literally an alien from another world.
I got up quietly making sure not to wake anybody up. It seemed like the Dracochen didn't feel like waking us up either because it was before the usual time they woke up or it was because they didn't feel like it.
My questions would soon be answered, as the Valley was mostly devoid of life, hinting at the fact few people are up at this time. Although the Sun was rising so that probably was part of the reason why no one was up. I woke up early that's all.
But I was soon met by the blue alien known as Eagle as he was preparing breakfast for the church.
"I see you up early." I said to Eagle.
"I'm not early, this is the time I usually wake up. Well I technically woke up 2 hours ago if you consider my real body since this is just a host for my mind." He said, while cutting through vegetables that were local to the Dracochen, along with some more foreign food. His tail grabbed something from the corner of the kitchen, most likely a knife.
"You know how to cook?" I asked.
"Yes, I lived in the wilderness for six months. What did you expect? Me being a useless member of society?" He said sarcastically. He already finished cutting the ingredients, and began placing them on the pot.
"Also are you even allowed here?" I asked, somewhat scared he was breaking the rules.
"Yes, I am allowed here. I asked that's all you really need to do in life. Just ask and you'll get your answer." He said, turning on the stove and began to cook breakfast for everyone.
"So you said, this body is a host, is that correct?"
"Yes it was engineered to be this way, several decades ago we developed a way to go Faster than Light Travel. Light speed is about going around this world 7 and half times in a second.
But we came across this world with people with less advanced technology than this world but had a connection to their world. Which is where I survived for six months. It was actually more of a recreation of their world since it was on a Space Habitat known as a Bernal Sphere. It is similar to a ball unlike the Cup shaped O'Neill Cylinder. We created these bodies to interact with them at first since we couldn't breathe the air of their world because of the high amount of gasses that are toxic to us more than our body can filter out and had to filter it out from a gas mask.
We got kicked out about 15 years ago, after the corporation that controlled everything on that world got kicked off the world by the Natives so the government took over and apologized. They were even willing to send help to repair the damage they did. Things are fine now today as our people found a new source of energy to help satisfy our demands.
So we were just selling things to them by this point, and just trading, not taking their stuff which the people before us did." He said while eating a loaf full of bread.
"So these bodies don't exactly belong to you then?" I said.
"Not really, we just recreated their body structure. At first and then changed it to be more useful combat wise." He said, taking another bite out of his bread.
"Oh." I said.
`The fact they recreated another race's body structure makes it seem like they have the ability to hide among an entire race without them noticing.` I thought.
"Well I'll be outside just looking around for a bit okay." I said while leaving the kitchen.
"Okay we'll call you when breakfast is ready. At least mine since my diet is completely different from yours!" He said to me, while taking another bite out of his bread.
When I left the kitchen and then the building I decided that looking at the sky was a great way to pass the time since there was nothing much I could do. It was still early in the morning, everybody was either busy or asleep and they probably didn't need help so there wasn't much I could do other than wait.
Although the sky is a precarious thing to look at since it was where Eagle came from and The Wanderer came from, it led her on this goose chase with a thing that all it wants to do is explore, built by curious people who were way more advanced than us.
"Hey Sora, how are you doing?" Reia asked while sitting down next to me
"I'm doing fine, you?" I asked as well.
"Good too. I would like to say. Eagle is weird, like I mean he is an alien and all he seems off like, something about him doesn't belong to him." She said, her face showing a hint of fear.
"Really, you can tell something is off about him?" I asked.
"Well it's like he's being controlled by something else. He moves naturally and all like he's been in that body for his whole life, but something is off. Like his body is too unnaturally modified. Warped to do the will of someone and effectively at it."
"You think it's warped? Like his body."
"Yep, the way he moves is too quiet for my comfort. When we were following Priestess Brismad I had the feeling we were being followed. Whenever I looked around there was no one there following us other than the adventurers that were escorting us." She shivered at the thought of him.
"Breakfast is ready. I'm gonna wake up Rag'nao." Eagle said suddenly looking out the door way.
"Yeah he's creepy." Reai said while we got up and followed him into the dining room. Multiple other people were present such as Priestess Brismad.
The food in question was traditional Dracochen foodstuff such as bread and soup, and a multitude of berries and fruits. Eagle on the other hand had a completely different diet, it seemed to consist of food that looked like it came from another world, there was something that was soup like, along with fruits equally as Alien with everything on his breakfast plate.
"So you aren't going to eat what we eat then?" I asked Eagle, he looked down at me.
"I can't eat your kind of food. My body doesn't like it when I eat the fruits and vegetables of this world, though I can eat grains and yeast and properly digest it without problems occurring." Eagle said, taking a bite out of his fruit, and then his soup.
"I see."
"It's like feeding a dog chocolate. It will die because it can't digest and process some of the ingredients properly." Eagle explained, he then dipped his bread into his soup and took a bite out of it.
"You say you're from another world. So what does it look like?" Surprisingly enough it was Brismad who spoke.
"Well, I've been to 3 worlds outside of my home planet of Earth, which is Venus, a world that has a thick atmosphere which makes the surface too hot to comfortably live on so they have flying cities. Mars is our first off world colony which had thousands of miles of underground cities before it had a breathable atmosphere. Then there is Pandora, one of the first worlds we visited when we gained Faster Than Light tech.
Then there's the space Habitats that I lived on they're too small to be considered planets so they are called habitats since they are large enclosed spaces. I've been on many. There's also the Moons of Planet X, a large Ice Giant, the farthest planet in our system. I explored those and now there's this world we've called Remis Prime." He said while taking another bite of soup dipped bread.
"My… that is crazy." I said no words to express my interests.
"Could you tell us about the world you were born in?" Reia asked, he seemed conflicted to answer but forced himself to.
"Dying." He said, it was the only answer he said.
"Mind elaborating on dying?" Rag'nao asked.
"What I mean by its dying is that its biosphere and its environment is dead. We've made massive efforts to try to restore it but there isn't enough space for nature for our massive population of 12 billion people on the planet. So we're taking as many people off-world into space habitats which are working as planned. I didn't see my first real tree until I was like fifteen." He said, the mood soured at his story.
"So that's what you meant by the ability to destroy and create worlds." Brismad said.
"Greed got us where we are now and I'm more than happy to kill all the people who got us to this point, or I'll probably be not talking to you right now. I'm here because of my will to get away from the shitshow that is Earth, and the military was my ticket out of there."
"I'm sorry." Brismad said.
"Well either way at least we're making strides to make things better." He said finishing his breakfast, before leaving outside to god knows where.
"I can't believe things were bad for him. All of those technological wonders he had and to conjure and yet it was built off of the suffering of millions of people if not billions." Reia said.
"Well anyhow we need to be prepared. The Leaders are making their decision soon." Brismad said, so they all finished their breakfast and went towards the Conference building.
When we arrived the two leaders were present.
"Sir Eagle, we have spoken to the council about your proposal about allowing your people to set up a base of operations in our territory but it will be where we ask you to put it." The Chieftain said.
"The UFE has no problems with that as long as we get what we request we will not care as long as it's able to contain a large base around a tenth of the length of the Dracochen River running down the Valley." Eagle said.
"We'll be fine with its size, but do you need to find a location suitable for its construction?" The Chieftain asked.
"Don't worry we already have numerous locations already spotted. I can show the locations where we can place it and with your approval we'll mark that site for future landing." Eagle said while producing a big tablet of some kind that is transparent through one side but had a blue tint to it. He placed it on the ground and whatever was on the tablet became visible to all of us as it was enlarged, it sort of reminded me of the "Hologram" I found on the debris of The Wanderers landers.
Everyone gasped at its enlargement, except I didn't.
The hologram was in fact a map of the Dracochen Valley, then multiple red dots on the map appeared.
"A map of the Dracochen Valley?" Head Priest Brismad said.
"Correct, as I stated before I want your consent to where we can land our base." Eagle said.
"What's with the red dots?" Reia asked.
"These are the suitable landing locations for our base. It's quite picky where it lands so we had to reduce the locations to where we can land it without breaking it. There's even less locations where you can land it when you factor in places already inhabited." Eagle explained, he then performed a couple of hand gestures over the map which caused it to focus on the few available spots of where they could land.
After both the Chieftain and the Head Priest Brismad overlooked the map a couple of times before quickly speaking to each other and then agreeing on the location on where to land it.
"We would like you to land your base near the Valleys plateau. It's far enough from people that whatever your planning won't bother anybody, nor is it near any places of religious or historical importance. But it's close enough to allow for ease of access between the two of our civilizations." The Chieftain said, "Although my decision is made I do need to talk with the rest of the Dracochen Council to gain their complete approval from the other tribes." The Chieftain said.
"I would like to thank you people for accepting our proposal. Let this be a long fruitful relationship between our two civilizations."Eagle said while holding out his hand for a handshake, the Chieftain took his hand and shook it.
"It is my honor." The Chieftain said, the meeting was over and now a new age for this world begins and I was able to witness its formation.
Eagle later left the building and I ended up following him "Hey Eagle!" I yelled to him after we were out of the building.
"Yes?" He asked, turning around in the process.
"So I'm assuming you'll be leaving soon?" I said to Eagle.
"No, I'm not leaving soon but tomorrow morning they need to get the transport ready and it's half between this world's moon and the World so it needs time to get here, which will be around tomorrow morning. The plane is scheduled to pick me up tomorrow morning." Eagle said.
"I see. So do you have any plans for today since it's only Noon right now?" I asked him.
"Not really, I'm someone who doesn't have much free time on his hands. Do you have an idea?" He asked me.
"Well I was thinking about heading to the River just for a walk you going?" I asked.
"Sure it's been a while I've been to a river that isn't liquid CO2, or any other Gasses, nor a river where I'm not trying to be killed by angry Clan Seperatist. So why not?" He said, his skin going for a lighter tone than his normal Blue skin color.
So we left the Valley mountain side and began our way towards the center of the Dracochen civilization, the cultural capital known as Drastad. When we arrived we were being eyed by many people although it was clear they knew we were here they didn't expect us to come down here.
Although it was clear they were looking at Eagle and less at me, well he was a multi meter tall blue giant that was probably capable of fighting an Ogre head on without a sweat. We went down the town and passed many shops, things were mostly lively until they all noticed Eagle but things seemed mostly fine.
Everyone probably assumed he was a newly discovered race or something so they quickly continued their day. The children on the other hand were more curious as they constantly gawked at him until Eagle suddenly stopped, and yelped.
"AHH!" He yelped, I turned around and found a young Dracochen holding his tail with a large smile on his face although Eagle was not exactly happy about that.
"Please don't pull my tail kid, how would you like it if I pulled your wings. It would hurt so please let go." He asked the kid, who didn't let go only stared at him with unfiltered curiosity.
"Johanne! Let go of the poor man's tail! You know it's disrespectful to grab other people's tails or wings!" Said what I assumed was the kids mother "I'm sorry about my kids antics you know how they are!" She said while pulling her kid away from Eagle.
"No matter what world I'm in I always somehow become the center of attention of children." He said.
"So this is a common occurrence where you go?" I asked.
"Sort of, it just depends where I am though. Well anyhow we're here at the river." He said, so we found a secluded spot and just sat there with our feet in the water enjoying the flow.
"Did you know this was a popular place to go to during the summer for Dracochen?" I said to Eagle.
"Really, well it's somewhat similar to this river on a certain O'Neill Cylinder that is a tourist attraction because it's well known for its mountains, rivers, hot springs, beaches, and ski resorts. It essentially has all the resorts and attractions in one Habitat." He said.
"You've been there before?" I asked.
"Yep, I was sixteen before I joined the military. My Dad, who is in the Navy, his ship was stationed nearby so I was able to go there at a huge discount." He said.
"Really? I can't imagine the place having all those things."
"Well to fully enjoy it you have to go there yourself. When my leave is given I am planning on going there again." Eagle said.
Without thinking I immediately asked "Can I join you?" He was clearly confused at my sudden and unexpected question.
"Well I mean you can, it's just that my superiors are clear on not allowing anyone on the planet offworld, I'll have to ask them about that tho, so maybe?" He said.
My mind went blank at his answer until I was able to form an answer till I realized what I asked him. "I'msorryatthatquestionIdidn'tmeantosuddenlyaskandall- '' till I realized "Huh? So you're saying I can go if your superiors approve of it?" I asked.
"Yes I would be fine with it. I don't really have anyone to go with, I'm single so you can tell where that will go. My family is really busy with their life right now. I'm really the only person who technically has free time. My sister is essentially a wage slave under the RDA my dad as I said is a sailor for the Navy and nearing retirement, my mother passed away a couple of years ago. So yeah I would be happy if you went with me." He said.
"Oh, so I guess if you ever get permission to take me you'll pick me up here in Dracostaf?" I asked.
"Well yeah. This is the only place I can pick you up without arousing suspicion." He said.
"Well, I don't really know you Rune." I said, using his real name instead of his alias.
"Well I say we should use this as an excuse to get to know each other better, Sora." Rune said, I ended up laying on his arm in the process. Although a voice behind us came out of nowhere.
"Sora, what are you doing with Eagle?" Asked Reia, who we didn't notice that was behind us.
"EECK!" I yelped, jerking up getting off of Runes' arms in the process.
"Nothing, we were just talking and I got tired and all." I said, although it was partially a lie and partially true since well we were talking just about things someone wouldn't expect.
"You know you shouldn't just run off like that, we've been looking for you for the past!" She exclaimed.
"Sorry." I said "Well would it be fine for us to wait for The Wander to come." I asked Reia.
"Well that's why I'm here. The Wanderer has arrived at the front entrance of the Dracochen Valley.." Reia said.
"Huh?" I said, then I put my shoes on and began to run to the Valleys main Entrance, surprisingly enough Ru- errr I mean Eagle followed us towards the gate.
"So you want to come and see your creation then Eagle?" Reia asked.
"Well I'm down here might as well just do a check up on it." Eagle said.
"Really, well I'll show the way then!" Reia excitedly said who then sped up Eagle didn't opt to move at a consistent speed next to me.
"How about you slow down for us!" Eagle yelled at Reia.
"Sorry!" She said while stopping to wait for us to catch up to her, when we did she began running.
"Hey how about we not run, it's not like the Wanderer will go anywhere I ordered it to go here to get an aerial view of the place it was how I found the landing zones!" Eagle yelled, Reia then stopped.
"Really? I thought it was just an animal that constantly explored and didn't exactly follow orders?" Reia said.
"I'll explain it when we get there." He said while slowing down Reia did the same. We then made our way towards the front Gate of the Dracochen Canyon. When we arrived it was clear it was very tense for the Dracochen. Rag'noa was trying to grab a sample of The Wanderers material but was stopped by Eagles hand.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He asked his face to change towards a more redder hue than his normal blue skin. Rag'noa slowly turned his face towards an ever angrier Eagle "You know I can crush your face with ease right?" He threatened Rag'noa, who got the message and slowly backed away from The Wanderer and Eagle.
"Sorry." He whispered, while Eagle began checking over The Wanderer for any damage.
"Good you didn't do any damage as expected and you probably ended up damaging your hammer or whatever you were using to do whatever you were doing to my rover." He said, his face returning back to its normal blue color.
"You were going to tell me how The Wanderer works!" Reia yelled at Eagle.
"Sorry, yeah. Alright it's going to take a while so please sit down." He asked, and so he went over the history of The Wanderers, well it was essentially what he told several weeks ago when I first met him.
After he finished his story we all watched him perform a maintenance check on him and also received some vials most likely filled with many things. Probably dirt or something. When he was done he looked over something smaller, probably the wasp that came out of it. It was something he called a drone.
He ended up taking it apart and began cleaning it when he was done he put it back together and put it under The Wanderer which attached the Drone to it and it disappeared in the belly of The Wanderer. Afterwards we went back inside, it was nearing lunch so we ate lunch, he had to prepare his own special lunch, afterwards we ate as the day went on and night eventually fell on the Valley.
It was our last night here and tomorrow morning we'll be leaving just like Rune Lastimosos. So I made sure to sleep well tonight.