Sithrik led us to a fallen down tree. Blackened with soot. She then slithered atop the tree and spoke as she noticed my confusion.

"Look under the tree."

Her voice was laced with eagerness so I did as she said. Looking under the tree I was confused as there was nothing there, but after a few more moments I spotted something.

"Metal?"

*clunk clunk*

I confirmed my suspicion by tapping on the wall of metal.

Sithrik flicked out her tongue before resuming.

"Not only metal. But I can sense air on the other side. It’s a door."

Believing my companion, I closed my eyes and reached out with my telekinesis. Using my Psionics I began to feel across the metal wall to parts I couldn’t see. After a few moments I felt a small divot in the wall. Using my telekinesis I began to pry at the two sides. I strained my mind as the doors did not want to budge but eventually.

"Oh shit." I exclaimed as the dirt below me gave way into a slide and I now found myself in a strange looking corridor with red lighting.

"Apollo, are you ok?" I heard Morrgan ask from above.

"Yeah, I am fine. I think this is a bunker or something... But it doesn’t look like Spartari architecture from my first observation.

A body then took a ride down the dirt slide and joined me, followed by another slithering down.

"Whoa. This place looks trippy."

The walls looked like they were made of the same wood as the burnt tree above us, only touching it revealed it to be cold like metal. The air was full of dust particles as well. Whoever created this place was gone for a long time.

"Apollo this is a perfect base of operations. It’s behind Drakoshi lines and the entrance is too small for Drakoshi to enter. We should continue our scouting then come back here with the rest to plan ahead." Morrgan suggested.

I paused for a moment, looking down the long dark corridor. A part of me wanted to venture further inside now. My brain was screaming at me to go forward. Explore. But right now, I was on a mission.

"Good plan Morrgan. We do as you say. Sithrik. Can I ask you to stay here? Explore the place for me and report when I come back with the others in a few hours?"

Sithrik wrapped partially around my neck. "Of course, I will do anything you ask of me."

I reached down with a smile and patted her head. Sithrik’s braille covered her eyes as I did so, showing she clearly enjoyed the contact before I got myself free.

"Come on then Morrgan, we will be back here later."

...

After watching her husband leave, Sithrik began to explore at his request. So far her time here has been a fun experience. This concept war. It was so much different to hunting. Though the things she used to hunt could cause her a lot more damage than bullets.

She enjoyed learning these new things with her husband. ’Still... Why must that odd smelling male pester us during our alone time? Apollo said he found me attractive. That means he obviously wants me. This would have been our chance. I would have engulfed his little snake and used my powerful body to constrict while inside like the tasty meal it is... Ugh’ The thought left her reproductive organs tingling. Now wasn’t the time to think about it...

Exploring the strange building, Sithrik felt troubled by the total lack of life. This whole planet had been troubling her with the only life being trees and grass. No prey to be found at all. It was quiet. Too quiet.

Of course she knew why, she almost felt her back break on numerous occasions when slithering into dense pockets of gravity, something she had only learned recently about. It made perfect sense to her though, that her mate and lover could defy such a massive all encompassing force. She clearly had perfect standards when it came to finding her king.

Sithrik then began to daydream as she explored. The lewd snake and her daydreams were suddenly cut short after she entered a room and suddenly a series of white lights activated.

She then raised her head to human height and proceeded forward while looking around. The room was large, but not extremely so. Though Sithrik didn’t know too much about technology and the like. Having spent the majority of her two hundred years alive in a jungle, she was a quick learner and having had close proximity to this technology a lot recently. Even if these were nothing like she had seen before she knew what they were.

Weapons.

...

Fifteen hours later, Morrgan and I returned to the rendezvous point. It appeared we were the last ones to make it back. Upon our arrival, the first thing asked was by Nerissa.

"Where is Sithrik?"

I smiled hearing that she cared about her safety. "She is fine, but I’ll get to her whereabouts in a moment. For now, I want to hear everyone’s report. Gabrielle, Tamara. You go first.

The duo looked between one another before Tamara gestured for Gabrielle to speak. "We didn’t find much unfortunately. The south is mostly rocky cliffs and flat terrain. WE did have to take out a small scouting force. We left no trace...

"We threw them off the cliffs. After we killed them of course. No one will be reporting back." Tamara followed up with extra context.

"I see... I suppose that is fine. We still need some time to set up before we can get loud, but you did what you had to do. Good job. Rhapso? Rhea? Your turn."

Rhapso nodded. "We didn’t find too much. A couple of hidey holes for a quick evac, but nothing reliable for multiple fall backs. Rhea spotted some land tracks meaning they have set up a supply chain from the outpost heading north. We will have to deal with that in order to starve the sector of supplies."

Rhea then added. "We also came across four patrols, but we managed to evade them."

I could sense Gabrielle and Tamara giving Rhea a look for saying that, but I ignored it.

"Ok, thank you. Great work you two. Now Ness, Willow? Anything?"

"Nothing. From here to Fort Amberrock. The constant fighting has destroyed pretty much everything. Nothing but charred forests and open plains with a few elevated slopes. Willow and I have set up a few hundred traps however for the next time their forces advance. Though if we do our job, it will take a while for them to stumble into them." Nerissa said calmly.

I then turned to Willow for her to say something, but she just stood there, smiling at me cutely.

"Ok then, not the best news all around, but thankfully Morrgan and I can pull out the win. We entered into some burnt woodlands about forty minutes running from here. Inside we found a bunker, completely buried underground save the entrance we was previously encased in dirt. The bunker is ancient and... It doesn’t look human. The Drakoshi have no way of knowing its there. It’s the perfect location for a base behind enemy lines. Sithrik is there right now, I asked her to stay behind and explore the place so we should be able to find our way around by the time we return there. As for everything else we found east. Morrgan?"

"Yes. Plenty of still standing forests. Mountainous terrain. A few cave systems we didn’t have a chance to explore. We also found water purifier outposts that the Drakoshi were guarding alongside a great amount of scattered ammo dumps."

I smiled and continued as everyone else also began to understand. "The Drakoshi think their mass numbers at the outpost is enough to deter forces from entering their territory. Once again proving how dumb they really are. With this advantage, we can get to their east, destroy their infrastructure alongside anything and any fucker that tries to leave and enter that fortress. So get ready, we are up for an interesting few months.

...

Skipping along deep underground, Onyx felt at home surrounded by the darkness. Her foresight after the battle had gone a little hazy, there was some interference with her power. She didn’t know what, but she knew the location of the source, so she knew it wasn’t another with foresight, just something powerful.

Usually she wouldn’t care, she had gone months without her power recently on that moon, but here Apollo was in relative danger and as his cloak and shield, she had to identify this source of power and either destroy it, eat it or give it to Apollo depending on what it was.

Onyx then swiftly turned into her stalker form as a creature suddenly shrieked at her. It was one of those inferior insects that Apollo had killed the other day, only twice as large.

Onyx stayed still as it charged forward, changing her position at the last moment and slashed down with one of her sword appendages, cutting cleanly through the back of its neck and killing it in a single stroke.

Tasting the blood off her appendage, she nodded her head before returning to her humanoid body. She would eat it later, but for now, behind the corpse of the insect was the source of power.

She tilted her head to the side as she looked upon it curiously.

"What in my universe’s name is that?"