107712-rocios-story-the-dagun-and-the-dawngrazer

== Content ==
			
Previous Chapter: https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/103634-rocios-story-to-farside/
 
Kinda late with this one but you get a long one for your wait!
 
 
Chapter 14: The Dagun and the Dawngrazer
 
*********************************
 
 
All the recruits crowded into the hallway, pushing and shoving to get first glance as the roster of who would be leaving the Alpha base for the first time was posted.
 
Koss elbowed his way to the front of the crowd.
 
"Hey, Marina! Malinea! You're on the board!"
 
"Yes!" Marina jumped for joy and gave her more subdued sister a hug. "We're going patrolling!"
 
"Wow..." Malinea gave a nervous laugh. "Why was I picked? I can barely set a bone."
 
"Pasha and Tahm! You're going!"
 
Tahm grinned. "Of course! I knew I made an impression on them with my previous experience."
 
Koss pushed his way out of the crowd looking upset. "Where's Kam?"
 
Tahm shrugged. "I thought he was... right here?"
 
Kam was livid, walking down the corridor his arms swinging stiffly at his sides. Koss caught up to him and walked backwards ahead of him. "Easy there, brother, I'm sure it's a mistake."
 
"Well they need to fix it! Why aren't I on the roster?" He stopped. "I've worked too hard to be left behind!"
 
Kerreg entered the hall and bellowed. "Everyone on the board get in line! Stop yammerin'! You're not in primary school any more!"
 
The recruits quickly fell in line and stood at attention.
 
"It's time we got you all outfitted and organized into something more than the fuzzy rabble you've been used to. This is FCON, the Free Companies of Nexus, not a children's camping trip!"
 
The silence was broken by a stifled giggle. Kerreg scowled, "I'll knock the laughter right out of you."
 
Koss gave his brother a sad look. "I'm sure it will work out." he said, and then got in with the others.
 
Kerreg continued his yelling as they marched off. "We're going to the weapons storage depot! You're going to meet your Commander! Be sure to look sharp and keep your mouths shut and don't touch anything! I'm keeping an eye on you..."
 
Behind Kam, there was a soft chuckle. Three Granok watched the proceedings with amusement. "Reminds me back when I first met Durek. Poor kids have no idea what they're in for." said a tall stately female. A long handled double bladed axe was d*cupcake*d across her back. Kam hurried to her.
 
"Sergeant!" He saluted. "I should have been on the roster and... and I wasn't! there must have been some mistake!"
 
"Oh? Well, I did the rosters, sonny."
 
"But why? Why didn't you pick me? What did I do wrong?"
 
"You're Irontail. I remember you. I'm Sergeant Axta. This here is Corporal Iscariot and that over there is Liutenant Ekraa. We all sat in on who was picked and who wasn't. And you in particular were mentioned."
 
"I... I was?"
 
Iscariot nodded. "I think the Commander's precise words were," he cleared his throat and imitated Durek's snarl. "We can't send all our officer material out patrolling with the rest of them."
 
Kam's eyes widened. "Officer... me?"
 
Ekraa winked. "It's not official yet... but, congratulations."
 
Axta laughed. "Feel better, sonny?"
 
"I... I can't believe it. Thank you!" He grinned ear to ear. "Koss is going to be so jealous!"
 
* * * * *
 
Far from where the recruits were, in an outbuilding, workers were unloading boxes and boxes of replacement hardware to bolster their network. After leaving the boxes in a server room, they closed the door and locked it.
 
Their voices faded to silence down the hallway.
 
Rocio, as slowly and cautiously as a serpent, uncoiled himself in one of the boxes and gradually reached out with one hand, then another, before finally peeking over the edge of the crate. It was dark, save the blinking lights of the machines. He slipped out of the box and, keeping only an inch off the ground, slithered into a space between the server cabinet and the wall. He scanned the room with his mind and his ears. No one inside, no one in the hall.
 
The General was too tight lipped about FCON’s deployment plans. Given the fact that the Black Hoods operatives would likely be in the same area of operations, it was imperative that they share information to avoid compromising each other’s missions. But Kerreg simply feigned ignorance and stopped accepting Nikolai’s calls. So for his first assignment, Rocio was sent out to take the information by force.
 
Rocio slipped his datachron out of the inside of his dark jacket. Intelligence Operative Galina Kanadov had already outfitted the device with a false ID and password gleaned from some of his work at the start of his mission. Her mechanical voice sounded in his ears. "You're inside?"
 
He grinned. "Yep!"
 
"Hurry and log into the network. I'll be monitoring on my end."
 
Rocio's false ID entered the network with ease. He needed to get high security clearance that was not accessible, except through certain specific IP addresses, which is why he could not hack into the system remotely. Still, he was surprised at how simple it was to get into the Commander's interface and read and even edit plans.
 
Rocio frowned as he began entering long character strings that the system would recognize as coding and sending them to the servers to open them up. They gave in to him way too quickly. Where was the layers of security? Where was the identity verification? Rocio understood how hackers in the ICI worked. They would have a field day with this weak system. He took a bit of time to carefully close any security flaws, by entering a code to have the system request verification at next log in, even as he punched holes in the firewalls. But the fact that he, a fresh recruit, knew more about cybersecurity than FCON was highly worrisome.
 
"It looks like they're heading on the route to the Ikthian base. To meet up with other forces gathering for Operation: Moonshot. Transmitting Data."
 
"Moonshot...?"
 
"Something wrong?"
 
"Cease transmission."
 
Rocio stopped the transmission. Operation Moonshot was Durek's movement against the Ikthian threat. Apparently the fish-men were trying to get ahold of some huge weapon that could potentially wreck Nexus.
 
"This information is incongruous to what we have already gleaned. Durek has enough forces for Moonshot. And he made it clear that Kerreg's target was the Dominion. Download the remaining data to the datachron and bring it."
 
"Yes, ma'am."
 
Once all the secure data was downloaded, he logged off. The false ID was destroyed along with all traces of his access.
 
He slowly opened the door out of the server room. The hall was still empty. He hurried out back to where the shipping crates had been carried. There would be another truck arriving soon. It would serve as his get away vehicle.
 
His ears picked up at the sound of a door opening. He looked behind him. The sound was around the corner he had turned. The only door there was the server room door. He reached in his pocket and activated a small device that patched into the security cameras. He had made sure that they were frozen but he activated one to see. There was an Aurin in the hall. This Aurin had noticed that the server room door was unlocked. He deactivated the camera and and put the device back into his pocket. He leaped up onto a wallshelf then lifted a tile and slid into the dropped ceiling to wait, balancing carefully while crouched on a metal strut. Was it Tahm? It couldn't be. That annoying Aurin was recruited and should be with the others.
 
No one came around the corner for a while, but he was in no hurry. He wanted to see who else was trying to spy on him. Pasha? The thought made him smile. She couldn't sneak up on a passed out Granok.
 
However, when Rocio saw who was following him, his smile disappeared. It was different Aurin, older than Tahm, with very dangerous violet eyes. Rocio slid the tile shut before the Aurin could look up and see him.
 
He slowed his breathing and focused his mind on the person below. He felt the intensity of the Aurin's focus. This one was no amateur. If he found him, Rocio would have to fight to keep from being apprehended. The area behind him ended in a wall but in front there was a way for him to escape both to his right and to his left. Left was toward the exit. Right went back to the server room.
 
He felt the tiles with his toes. They were too flimsy for him to walk on. He wouldn't be able to just walk out of the building while in the ceiling. He looked up.
 
A long wiring conduit was leading back toward the server room. If he could get back to that room, he may be able to sneak behind his hunter, get out of the ceiling and find another route to escape. He slowly slid his back against the wall and stood up. The muscles and tendons in his legs tightened. His tail whipped about as he gauged the distance and trajectory of his leap. He pounced and his hand claws dug into the thick rubber pipe. He pulled his weight up easily and got on top of it.
 
There was a soft thud. Rocio froze.
 
The other Aurin was now in the drop ceiling. He must have heard him move. Rocio had made the jump just in time to escape being seen but the other Aurin was examining the shifted tile and unsheathed long energy claws from the attachments in his wrists. His eyes darted around searching every shadow for him.
 
Then the other Aurin vanished. The Aurin was a stalker. Rocio knew from experience with Thresh how difficult it was for an Esper to fight a Stalker in close quarters. While Thresh never seriously hurt him, the scratches, welts and pricks he left all over his body during training made it clear how many times he could have.
 
Rocio had no stomach to fight this one now. He looked frantically for a way out. In the far distance to his left, toward the HVAC system and the building exit, there was a small ventilation fan behind a grating. Using his mind, Rocio bent one of the fan blades and caused it to spin against the grate. He didn't stop to see if the loud rattle was effective or not. Rocio took off on all fours, sprinting along the pipe toward where it re-entered the server room, but then he heard voices coming from below!
 
While Rocio was hiding from his pursuer, the truck that was supposed to be his ticket out of here had arrived and the men were unloading the cargo in the very room he wanted to escape to. The dropped ceiling space ended in a brick wall in front of him. He could go no further. Dropping down from the ceiling into the hall meant he risked being seen by the workers. But the longer he stayed up in the ceiling the more likely it was that the Stalker would find him and he would get hurt or captured.
 
Or worse.
 
Trapped, Rocio did the only thing he could now. He turned and dashed back the way he came and started heading for the exit. The other Aurin was visible again and examining the damaged fan when Rocio pounced off the conduit and plowed right into his back. They both fell down through the ceiling tiles. All the air left the other Aurin's body in a whoosh when Rocio landed on top of him on the hard floor below.
 
Rocio leaped off him and was prepared to fight but the other Aurin didn't move. Rocio searched for a pulse and was relieved to feel one.
 
Voices were getting rapidly nearer. Rocio dragged the unconscious Aurin behind a trash container and ran off to the back exit, leaving the broken tile debris behind. He jumped into the back of the covered transport truck which was still partially filled with boxes. He shoved a few boxes away from the wall and slid behind them, pulling one crate down over his head. The truck started and began to move, sealing itself as it left the airlocked base hub. Panting more from panic than exhaustion, Rocio contacted Nikolai back at the Black Hoods Camp. "I think it was a trap. There was someone there. I almost got caught."
 
"Did anyone see you?"
 
"No, but...I don't know if my intel is any good."
 
"It may not be, but I'll be the judge of that."
 
The truck wasn't opened until it had entered the airlock at the next hub. All the boxes were removed. But Rocio got away. While levitation was impossible for him on Nexus for more than a few seconds, Farside's lighter gravity made it much easier to float to the ceiling of the truck and toward the hatch door without anyone noticing. He clawed his way on top of the roof and waited a few moments to make sure of which side of the truck was clear. He jumped off the roof, landed and then flipped the space helm over his head.
 
As soon as he got out of the airlock he had to duck into the shadows. Several armed men were hurrying to where he was.
 
"Rocio!" Nikolai snapped in his ear.
 
"I'm getting clear."
 
"I thought you said you weren't seen!"
 
"I wasn't seen. I had to knock that guy out who was trying to catch me."
 
"The wire is full of chatter about a Black Hoods break in."
 
"They're assuming it was us and not the ICI?"
 
Rocio's shocked question was met with silence on the other end. As he made his way back to where they were camped at a hidden location in the shadow of an ancient meteorite, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to sour the relationship between them so badlyHe passed through the airlock and into the movable tent and removed his helmet again.
 
Galina Kanadov was waiting for him. He gave her his datachron.
 
"It's probably full of spyware but let's see what we've got." She gave him a pat on the head and a brief scratch on the ears. "You have good instincts being cautious. That initial data dump you achieved was far more than we had expected."
 
"Thanks!" Before the outbreak of spying on him, Rocio had pretty much free range to everything the base had to offer, after a bit of tricking and lock picking of course. Galina was tasked with most of the encryption as well as hacking in their small unit. She had to deal with FCON meddling and backbiting constantly and today was no exception.
 
Rocio's datachron was indeed full of spyware but also information. He watched her work as separated the valuable from the vacuous.
 
"There were edits to this map. They're not going towards the Ikthian base... Look."
 
He held up the machine to him. The route had changed, while going toward Operation Moonshot at first, The route turned sharply northeast directly towards territory occupied by the Dominion. "That initial map you saw was just a cover both to get us on the wrong track and also to spy on where we are."
 
Nikolai's eyes narrowed to slits. "Just who does he think he's trying to fool? He should know by now that we've got the base monitored at all hours. Did he expect to hide his plans from us?"
 
Rocio frowned, thinking of Pasha. "Some of those new recruits don't know much about fighting. Why would he send them into Dominion territory?"
 
"He's Durek." Another Mordesh, Spartak Runov called down from from the upper floor where he was keeping watch. "He's an idiot."
 
Nikolai cast up a reproachful stare to the ceiling. "I'm not one to agree with that assessment, but they've made it clear since our assignment that our presence was not appreciated. They were expecting us to break in and hack the system. That's why this information was planted."
 
Rocio was dumbfounded. "Yeah but... if they just gave it to us we wouldn't have to break in."
 
"Welcome to Granok Logic 101." was Spartak's snarky reply.
 
"That route is going to take them into a sure conflict." Galina shook her head. "What does he aim with this?"
 
"There must be some reasoning behind it... and why he doesn't want us involved." Nikolai spoke up. "But that's not for us to worry about now. Azhelika just called in. Azhel, you're on speaker and vid." He pressed a key on the group's holo-table.
 
"Are you seeing this?" Azhelika Mager, the scout for their group, was transmitting video from inside Dominion territory. It zoomed in and focused on Sata's Collective on the move. "There's our target."
 
"There's hundreds of them!" Rocio moaned. "How are we supposed to get to Sata?"
 
Galina hissed. "Armed to the teeth, too... Look at her, who does she think she is? The emperor?"
 
Azhelika's voice came through with static. "They're heading toward Exile Territory. This behavior is unusual and it looks like they're looking for a spot to settle down. I'll keep you posted."
 
"Wait, Azhel, can you give us an idea of where they'll settle?"
 
"For a force that big they'll need a flat area not too far from a supplies depot. Probably here." The video cut to a map. A circle was manually scrawled onto it.
 
"That's really close to where Kerreg's going."
 
"We should warn them!" Rocio got up.
 
"No!" Nikolai glared at him. "We're going dark."
 
"But... they don't know..."
 
"It's not our job to worry about Durek. It's going to be tough enough as it is having to camp between an amateur FCON company and a belligerent army of Chuas. You are to speak to no one of this. Do you understand, recruit?"
 
"Yessir."
 
* * * * * * *
 
Koss Flintstrike looked over his shoulder.  They were marching at a ground eating pace and within a few hours their patrol had completely lost sight of the base.  He had never ventured out so far before onto the moon and his heart quickened with excitement, as did his steps. He tread on Marina’s heel. “Hey! Knock it off!” she protested.
 
 
 
“S-sorry!  I was just looking at how far we’ve gotten! And you march too slow!”
 
 
 
“Quiet in the ranks there!” Iscariot’s voice boomed over his head. Koss’s ears flattened.
 
 
 
“Yes sir! Sorry sir!”
 
 
 
Kerreg was a speck in the distance with Axta, leading the way. All in all, they numbered 120, new recruits as well as veterans. 
 
 
 
With them was a human photographer who was taking photos of the group for a story he was writing for the Thayd Journal, an electronic newspaper. Harold Mays raised his camera, trying to capture the essence of the group of young Aurin who had caught his attention. Koss, Marina, and the others were film-fodder. New, eager, and ready for battle, yet, good-looking and likeable. They didn’t seem to notice him snapping shot after shot of their antics.
 
 
 
This was his second assignment embedded with FCON. The first one had not been very exciting: hardly any battles and mostly just procedural patrols around Exile territory in Celestion. But this time he was sure to get the story of his career, following the saga young recruits in their first assignment as fighters!  It was sure to rally more recruitment into FCON and gain himself some recognition.
 
 
 
When the giant vision of planet Nexus lay low in the sky,  Kerreg gave the order to halt.  Axta barked out further orders.  “We camp here.  Technicians! Set up the tents and get the fires going. Corporal Barrentree, get some scouts out to patrol the area! Everyone else, check your arms and be ready for anything!”
 
 
 
The “tents” were massive domes that were attached to their own air supply and provided a pressurized lock to allow the soldiers to remove their space helms so they could eat and rest comfortably.  The Technicians set them up the large scaffolding unfolding out ward and drilling into the ground.  A thick membrane emerged from the scaffolding and made a loud hiss as it was pressurized from within. An indicator light turned green and a tech gave the thumbs up. “We’re good!”
 
 
 
Tahm removed his space helm with relief. “Aaahh! Finally!  I’m so hungry I could eat a kurg.  I don’t think I’ve marched so hard or fast since I got on Nexus!” He pulled off his boot and massaged his feet where several blisters were forming. 
 
 
 
Malinea gave him a sympathetic look. “Let me see…”
 
 
 
“It’s fine really.”
 
 
 
“It’s really not. Those will burst and slow us up.” She pulled a medical kit from her pack and set about wrapping his foot.
 
 
 
When she was done, Tahm flexed his foot and put his weight on it. “Wow, I really don’t feel any pain any more…” he said with amazement.
 
 
 
Marina giggled. “Oh look at Koss’s sad-face!  Bet he wishes he got some blisters!”
 
 
 
Koss blushed and looked away. “Hey!  I uh… “
 
 
 
Pasha joined in. “Hey maybe he’ll chop off an ear so Malinea can bandage it!” She held out both hands as though holding a severed ear. “Oh Malinea, please help me! I’ve lost my poor ear!”
 
 
 
Koss’s face turned a deeper shade of red under his green skin.
 
 
 
Malinea turned and pounced on her friend.  “Oh look here!  You’ve got a bug under your arm!”
 
 
 
Pasha squirmed to get away. “Oooh ahahaha! Stop it!”
 
 
 
Iscariot watched them with long-suffering patience. “Looks like we have a few energetic ones still!  Then let’s put that to good use!  You’re first watch!”
 
 
 
“Oh come on!” The smell of cooking food was just reaching the camp and Tahm’s stomach rumbled loudly.
 
 
 
“You’ll eat after your shift is finished.  On your feet!”
 
 
 
Once everything was set up and the camp was running smoothly, Iscariot went to speak with Kerreg who was setting alone at the edge of a small meteor fall.  “So, how are the kids?”
 
 
 
“The recruits are shaping up very well, though, the new ones need many more miles under their feet before they’ll be accustomed to such hard marches.”
 
 
 
Kerreg gave him a dangerous look. “By the time I’m through with them they’ll be able to march triple that pace. And fight like the demons they’re meant to be.  This was never intended to be a quiet banquet for nannies. They’ll be better off the sooner they realize this. That’s all.”
 
 
 
Iscariot nodded and returned to where the recruits were sitting miserably at their watch posts.  He couldn’t help but smile.  There was no punishment like an empty stomach, the smell of food, and no distractions other than the moonscape.  “Alright you rabble, you’re relieved.”
 
 
 
The response was a few murmured Yessirs as they trudged off to eat.
 
 
 
Iscariot watched them go. They were good soldiers and he would do anything within his power to make sure they became all they could be.
 
 
 
*********
 
 
 
Far from the camp, Corporal Barrentree and his small band of scouts fanned out across the landscape. They were not far from the Ikthian lab now. One scout, an Aurin named Twotree radioed back to him. “Corporal, it looks like there was a band of Explorers not far from here. From the looks of things, their camp got raided.  No blood, no bodies. Must have been captured.”
 
 
 
“Any signs of the Black Hoods?” He radioed back.
 
 
 
“No sir, no sign at all.”
 
 
 
Barrentree frowned.    He was the violet eyed stalker that had been at the site of the break in of the computer system.  He knew the perpetrator of the hack was Rocio; he had smelled him just before he was attacked.  But he decided to keep that information to himself.
 
 
 
Rocio was young but already dangerous.  Barrentree considered himself an experienced hunter. He was a former Consort but had no desire to go back to his matriarchal duties, preferring to track more and more interesting prey.  He considered that night in the server area a challenge to his abilities. 
 
 
 
“The Black Hoods were too interested in our plans to have stayed behind. They’ve got to be around here somewhere.  I’ll find them. Go back and make your report about the explorers.”
 
 
 
“Yessir.” The scout nodded and began to hurry back to the FCON camp when he suddenly got a strange feeling of being watched.  He turned around.  Steamgliders were circling high above but otherwise there was no movement. He shrugged and jogged away.
 
 
 
From the thin shadow a divot in the landscape, Rocio let out a sigh of relief.  Azhelika Mager was returning from Dominion territory. He was tasked to meet up with her and had almost met up with the scout instead and overheard the report. He had seen signs of Ikthians around. This raid must have been recent.
 
 
 
Azhel was still about a half hour out from where he was, so he set about looking through the Explorer camp.  He found a datachron under a crumpled sleeping bag.
 
 
 
“Day 3: We’ve discovered an unidentified Eldan research site, small but could be significant.  Unfortunately close to Dominion territory but undiscovered by them as yet,” read the final entry, entered by a Maxfox Shytail.
 
 
 
He navigated the menu until he found the map. The Eldan research site was farther north than Kerreg’s plans were to take them and put a space between the FCON patrol and the Sata Collective’s likely camp site. If he could somehow get Kerreg to go there instead of their intended route, then perhaps their operation against the Overseer would go on without interference.
 
 
 
His commlink beeped. It was Azhel. “I’m approaching our rendezvous point.” She said.
 
 
 
“Right, I’ll be there to meet you. Be careful, there are Ikthians around.”
 
 
 
Farside had very few places to hide. Between the occasional crater and meteor fall, were large flat expanses that made it difficult to avoid being seen even from a far distance.  But his arms were long and training in tight spaces had given him a habit of galloping on his hands rather than running about upright. With his head covered in his helm, it was easy to mistake him for a skeech or a squirg instead of an Aurin.
 
 
 
He came to an abrupt halt. His commlink was beeping with a distress call. “Who is it?”
 
 
 
“It’s Explorer Maxfox! Please help! I’m… I’m stuck! Someone send help!”
 
 
 
Rocio couldn’t believe his luck.  A plan began to take shape in his head. Perhaps they could avoid a confrontation between the recruits and Sata after all.  “What’s your coordinates?”
 
 
 
“I can’t… I can’t get to it…”
 
 
 
“I’ll triangulate your signal, give me a few minutes.”
 
 
 
“Thank you! It’s just a matter of time before they find me!”
 
 
 
He switched channels. “Azhel, an explorer is in trouble.  We need to help him. It’s important.”
 
 
 
“Right, where are you?”
 
 
“The distress call is southwest of our rendezvous position. There’s hostile Ikthians around from the sound of it.”
 
 
 
“Sounds good to me.”
 
 
 
Rocio blinked with surprise.  “You’re going to fight them?”
 
 
 
“Bones, no!  Just tell me where to aim my scope. I’ll take them out.”
 
 
 
Rocio trotted off to where Maxfox’s signal was last heard.  Thanks to the flat terrain the Ikthians were easy to spot. There were only five of them. He radioed his position to Azhel.  “There’s not many, easy shots.”
 
 
 
“I’m on my way.”
 
 
 
“Maxfox, Are you still there?”
 
 
 
“Yes.” came the whispered reply.
 
 
 
“Just stay still. We’ll get you out.”
 
 
 
“Thank you!”
 
 
 
After about thirty seconds, one of the Ikthians suddenly dropped to the ground, then another. He could hear them screeching in panic. One turned as though to duck for cover but he was struck and fell forward.  The remaining two tried to run but neither of them made it.
 
 
 
“That’s it?”  Azhel could scarcely hide her disappointment.
 
 
 
“I’ll direct the Explorer back to the FCON camp. Our camp is X: 1567 Y: 894.”
 
 
 
“Thanks, godspeed, recruit.”
 
 
 
“Explorer? Where are you?” he called.
 
 
 
A small male Aurin climbed out of a crack in the ground that was made invisible behind a ridge.  He was filthy and trembling.  “You have to help my friends! Please! I don’t want them to be experiments!”
 
 
 
“Calm down.  You were being taken to the lab?”
 
 
 
“Yes!” he sobbed and sniffled. “I managed to escape but…”
 
 
 
“Hey, you’re making a mess under your helmet.  It’ll be okay.” Rocio gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder and the terrified Aurin responded by hugging him.
 
 
 
“Thank you! Thank you!”
 
 
 
“H-hey! Calm down!” Suddenly, Rocio felt a sharp prod in the middle of his back.
 
 
 
“Make a move and it’ll be your last.” Barrentree came out of stealth shaking his head in amusement, pressing the tip of his claws against him. “I knew you’d be around here.” He said, his voice coming through his helmet speakers.
 
 
 
“Back off. This is a rescue… Ouch!”
 
 
 
The stalker prodded him. “Put your hands in the air, thief.”
 
 
 
Maxfox hiccupped with terror as Rocio slowly put his hands over his head. “Wh-what’s going on?”
 
 
 
Barrentree brought Rocio’s hands behind his back and put him in restraints.  “Just catching ourselves some trouble before he can cause any more.  What’s your name?”
 
 
 
“I’m Maxfox Shytail.” He backed away as Barrentree began to pat Rocio down. “H-He doesn’t seem like a bad person, he was trying to help me!”
 
 
 
Barrentree found the Explorer’s device.  “This yours?”
 
 
 
“Yes, but you don’t seem to understand…”
 
 
 
Barrentree shoved Rocio forward. “Start marching! You’re under arrest for espionage.  FCON will help you out, Explorer, not this criminal.”
 
 
 
When they made their way back to the camp, Kerreg met them. “So, where are the rest of those Black Traitors?”
 
 
 
Rocio said nothing.  He met the General’s gaze, his face serene.
 
 
 
Barrentree growled. “Shall we persuade him to speak?”
 
 
 
Kerreg shook his head. “We won’t stoop to their level.  He’ll be prosecuted like the petty spy he is.” He looked over at Maxfox. “Who is this other one?”
 
 
 
“A survivor from the Explorer camp. He requests our assistance in freeing his team.”
 
 
 
Maxfox nodded.  “Please, if you could… I… I don’t want to lose them. They’re my friends.”
 
 
 
“Get some food into him and get all the information you can.  We have to keep marching but I’ll get a group of us for the rescue operation. Place Rocio under guard.”
 
 
 
When morning came along, the sight of an Aurin under arrest created quite a stir among the recruits. Rocio ignored the gawkers, his hands still bound behind him.  Tahm snorted. “Serves him right for sneaking around here like some sort of Draken.”
 
 
 
Koss just looked uncomfortable. “He don’t seem too worried. Or sorry.  You think he’s up to something?”
 
 
 
Tahm shushed him. “Quiet, Iscariot’s comin’.”
 
 
 
The Granok was followed by the Explorer.  “You two, you’ll be coming with us to help rescue the Ikthian captives. We have a good idea where they were taken. But we have to make it there and back to the next camp site which is pretty far away.  Hope your legs are still steady.”
 
 
Tahm stood up. “I’m ready for anything!”
 
 
 
Koss nodded. “Me too!”
 
 
 
Maxfox shifted nervously. “The lab is closer to Dominion territory. We’ll have to be cautious.”
 
 
 
Tahm’s face broke out in a malicious grin. “Fishmen or Dommies, don’t worry. I’ll kill whatever comes at us.”
 
 
 
Rocio watched as the small group was arranged in a column and marched away from the camp.  This was not what he had been hoping for.  He had hoped that the entire group would pull away and help the Explorer. Now they were going into conflict with Sata and with fewer numbers.
 
 
 
He was sitting between two guards, one to his right and one to his left.  They were both armed, but he doubted that they would shoot him.  His mind worked to unlock his handcuffs. His eyes unfocused, mentally picking at the locks and trying to find just the right pressure point.  After a bit the cuffs loosened.  Now for the guards.
 
 
 
Before he could do anything, however, there was a commotion nearby where the troops were beginning to break camp.  A beautiful pure white Aurin was standing on a platform made of crates.  One of the guards laughed, “Ah look, looks like Malinea’s going to pleasure us with a song.” 
 
 
 
Taking the opportunity this presented, Rocio began to wriggle himself free from his restraints.
 
 
 
Malinea smiled and waved at her audience.  “Let’s send our comrades away with a battle song!”
 
 
 
She lifted her voice and sent it out onto the commchannels, trilling as sweetly as an Arborian lark.
 
 
 
A Dagun came to drink
 
Upon a misty morn
 
He came upon a Dawngrazer
 
A mere fortnight from born
 
The Dagun could not think
 
Though his pantry bare
 
Of setting teeth upon a thing
 
So innocent and fair
 
 
 
The restraints fell away from Rocio’s hands.  He stood up slowly then, using the restraints as a club cracked the guard to his left squarely in the back of the head, felling him in a heap.  The other guard looked shocked and Rocio swung hard at his temple laying him out flat. He leaned them against each other as though they had fallen asleep and began eying for an escape route.
 
 
 
The Dagun raised his howl
 
“It is your voice I hear!
 
Declaring war upon me
 
And all that I hold dear!”
 
 
 
Rocio smiled. The singer was good.  He hadn’t heard this particular song before. It was a simple melody, like a children’s song.  He ducked around the camp’s air pump machine and spotted Pasha carrying some dishes back to the kitchen. He stalked behind her and pulled her back with him, covering her mouth with his hand. She looked at him, her eyes filled with terror. "Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"
 
 
 
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He murmured. “I just need you to show me out of here.  We’re not enemies, but I can’t let you keep me here. You’re all in serious danger. If you keep marching on this route, you’re going to die!”
 
 
 
The Dawngrazer replied
 
“I have not said a word
 
It must have been the wind
 
Or another voice you’ve heard.”
 
 
 
Tears were rolling down Pasha’s face but she pointed back behind the double doors of the kitchen.  “There’s the chute out to the incinerator. The maintenance hatch leads to the outside! Please…”
 
 
 
“Shh. It’s fine. Thank you.” Rocio let her go. “I just want you to remember what I said.” He slipped away from the machinery and pushed through the double doors, spotted the chute and the maintenance hatch. He forced it open and slipped though, vacuum of the thin air outside sealing it shut behind him as Malinea’s song continued, her voice rising in a crescendo.
 
 
 
 
 
The Dagun snapped a bark
 
“It may have been another
 
But if it was not you
 
It must have been your mother!”
 
 
 
 
 
Throwing caution to the winds, Rocio ran fullspeed back to where his teammates were hidden and waiting for him.  He never saw the tether mine, only felt the tremendous jerk as it closed about his neck. Were it not for the metal collar of his space helm, the force would have collapsed his windpipe. He fell back choking and clawing at the tether.
 
 
 
 
 
The Dagun slew the Dawngrazer
 
His teeth were sharp and true!
 
“Mercy!” cried the Dawngrazer
 
“I’ve done no harm to you!”
 
 
 
 
 
Barrentree appeared out of stealth, his eyes glinting with a perilous fury. “Did you really think I’d leave you under the watch of those rookie guards?” He reared back and sunk his fist into Rocio’s stomach.
 
 
 
Rocio doubled over and collapsed, struggling to suck air though his open mouth.
 
 
 
“I would have gutted you where you stood. But this is FCON, not Arboria.” 
 
 
 
He heard Rocio moan “Why…?”
 
 
 
“What’s that?” He hauled him up by his collar.
 
 
 
“Let me go….”
 
 
 
Barrentree severed the tether and shrugged. “Get past me.”  His energy blades extended from his wrists.
 
 
 
 
 
Keep this in mind my child!
 
The lesson here is one
 
Any excuse will satisfy
 
The hunger of a Dagun!
 
 
 
 
 
The camp erupted into cheers as the song ended. The ex-Consort sighed and resheathed is claws. “You’ve made me miss my song.”
 
 
Once it was clear that Rocio wouldn’t struggle and give him the pleasure of ending his short life, Barrentree led him back to the FCON campsite.  “You know I wrote that song. So many recruits asking ‘Why did the Dominion attack? What did we do wrong?’  Of course we did nothing wrong.  They were hungry, we were food. We should no longer ask silly Dawngrazer questions. It’s time we became Daguns. Next time you try to escape, I won't go easy on you.”
 
 
 
The FCON troops broke camp. The two guards were disciplined for their inattention and Rocio was placed under the heavier guard of experienced officers. Pasha reported back to Barrentree what Rocio had told her and Barrentree told Kerreg.
 
 
 
“What does he mean by us all dyin’? Was that a threat?” Kerreg bristled.  “What information is the Black Hoods concealing from us?”
 
 
 
“It seemed more like a warning…” Barrentree responded. “The Black Hoods pose no threat to us.”
 
 
 
“They likely know of a Dominion position. I’ll send out a message to Durek. Slag, I can’t believe that old boulder’s instincts about trouble proved true.  We move out!  Double the pace of yesterday’s march!”
 
 
 
Barrentree held out one hand. “Wait, General. Let me and a few of our scouts run ahead first. You don’t know what you’re marching into yet.”
 
 
 
Kerreg nodded. “Very well. But you’d better run fast because we won’t be far behind you.”
 
**************
 
Next Chapter: https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/108242-rocios-story-daggerclaw/	
----