"And that makes fifty six," Maddison counted like an insufferably bored child.

"I really wish you would stop that," sighed Niezen, "as long as I can still see it doesn't matter and there's no way anyone is going out there to clean bugs off the bloody spotlights while it's dark," he barked.

"Sorry, just trying to keep my mind occupied," shrugged Maddison.

"I know the feeling, don't worry we're almost there. Should be just a few hours into the daylight when we arrive," Niezen confirmed whilst checking navigation, "you should get some sleep, I'm fine here."

"You sure?" she checked in, looking closely at the redness in his eyes.

"I'm fine, do me a favour though and check the forward drone please," he requested with his gaze locked forward.

"Ok," Maddison jumped back to the next station. "What am I looking for exactly?" she asked childishly.

"Select its icon up on the top left there," he instructed still facing forward.

"The green or yellow one?" Maddison enquired, but instead of an answer Niezen gently brought the Behemoth to a full stop. He leapt from the controls to investigate.

"One just changed colour, is that bad, what does it mean?" she asked confused by his actions.

"Only just now?" he checked.

"Yes, they were both green a few seconds ago. So what does it mean?" Maddison asked again with less patience in her voice.

"Something has triggered a motion sensor. Might just be a harmless animal but I'm not taking any chances," replied Niezen as he began to finger the screen frantically. Niezen pulled the second drone from the rear and sent it forward with the first to sweep the entire area in greater detail. The screen was split into two live feeds of infrared. "There!" Niezen zoomed in on the figure, "it looks dead and half eaten," he mumbled.

"Maybe someone was having lunch and heard us coming?" guessed Maddison.

"Certainly looks that way. There doesn't seem to be anything around now. I can just make out some tracks, but they head off in another direction away from our path," noted Niezen, "let's proceed. Are you still going to bed?" Niezen chuckled.

"Ha! After this no way, I'm wide awake now," she stated in earnest though rather obnoxiously, "I think I'll count some more bugs and see where that gets me."

An alarm sounded and both drone icons turned orange, interrupting their laughter. Niezen swung back to the screen, "shit! We've got inbound, over a dozen, fifty meters and closing," he barked.

Maddison panicked grabbing Niezen by his collar, "what are they?" she shrieked.

"I'll have a visual in a few seconds, just stay calm we're in a mobile fortress here, we'll be okay." Niezen sat Maddison down and returned his focus to the infrared images, "there's one, you're the biologist, what is it?"

"Xenobiologist!" corrected Maddison raising her hand. She squinted at the screen trying to make out the chromatic image. The creatures were fast, now less than twenty meters away. "They look like some kind of dogs maybe, no wait, they look more like Hyenas. Can you tell how big they are?"

"Roughly a meter at the shoulder, definitely wouldn't want to mess with them in these numbers on foot," he admitted fearfully.

"So what now?" asked Maddison anxiously, "we are safe in here right?" she begged desperately hoping to be reassured.

"Well in all fairness I don't know what these things are capable of, what if they spit acid that's able to dissolve our armour?" he shrugged.

Maddison scowled at Niezen knowing full well he was merely trying to bait her. But then again, this was a completely unknown species, an inhabitant of an alien world. The capabilities of this new species were yet to be assessed and potentially they could be anything.

Niezen shifted seats and brought the main turret online. Maddison composed herself and did her best to suppress her angst, "are you just going to shoot them all?"

"Of course not," Niezen rolled his eyes, annoyed he had to explain himself, "I'll fire a few warning shots and hopefully scare them off."

The heavy round sang out into the night digging a small ditch, large enough for one to lose footing or sprain an ankle with. Unfortunately the creatures weren't deterred, instead they began to howl as they closed in. Niezen let out a breath slowly as he took aim. He hit the closest target, it was cut in two with a flash of red mist and the halves were sent flying. The others froze in their tracks sniffing at the air, Niezen sat back hoping his gambit had paid off but the creatures made a new shrieking sound and continued their approach sprinting. Niezen fired four more rounds cutting down three before they got too close and too low for the turret to line up.

Felix and the others had woken and now stood with Maddison as Niezen removed the turret's targeting visor, "I got four but there's twice as many still out there," he advised them.

"How far away from the Drusai camp are we?" asked Felix suppressing a yawn.

"About four hours, but we stopped to greet some locals," sighed Niezen.

"I see, are they still out there?" asked Felix as he sat himself down.

One of the Troopers moved to check the drone station, "I count ten still out there Sir, they're circling us," informed the Trooper.

"They must be able to smell us in here," added Maddison, "day light isn't too far off, assuming they're nocturnal they may lose interest and leave when the new day dawns."

"I'd rather not waste any more time or ammo," clarified Niezen, "we're going to press on, I doubt those buggers can keep up with us at top speed," said Niezen as he sat back down to drive.

Maddison approved wholeheartedly, she felt relieved that they would attempt to outrun them rather than shoot the rest of the creatures. As the Behemoth gained speed the creatures kept up, running along side barking and yapping. Felix and Maddison locked eyes just as they felt the Behemoth bounce up on one side slightly.

"Stupid bloody thing!" swore Niezen drawing everyone's attention, "went straight under the tyres."

"We're pulling away Sir," added the Trooper manning the drone station.

"Good," confessed Niezen nervously, "I'm almost at top speed here."

They pressed on without pause as the new day's light broke through the clouds. Approaching the final coordinates the drones were sent ahead to locate the tribe. As agreed, the Drusai had remained where Felix had parted from them. The stained Behemoth slowly rolled up to the camp.

First outside was Felix, he walked toward the Drusai with his arms wide. One of the Drusai approached him, it held a fist out for Felix to bump with his own.

"You taught him that didn't you?" asked Maddison shaking her head disapprovingly. Felix turned around with a pretentious grin.

"Lucky guess, he is a he. This is Argus. His father is Argai, the leader of this tribe." Felix affirmed with his chin up.

"Are there many other tribes?" asked Niezen who had found his way to Felix's side then held his own fist out for Argus. The Drusai looked him up and down for a moment then bumped his fist also.

"There are others but I'm not sure how many," admitted Felix.

"So can we look around?" Maddison asked as she had slipped into a mode of anthropology with a slight hint of child-like wonder.

"You can, but first we should go greet Argai," stated Felix.

Niezen instructed the Troopers to remain with the behemoth, while he and Felix met with Argai. Maddison also tagged along, but it quickly became apparent to her that her role would be strictly as an observer. Maddison wasn't much for military strategy, also her curiosity would see her stop to poke everything she encountered as she mumbled to herself in bewilderment.

Argus led them to an older Drusai sitting alone by a fire, his skin was much darker and appeared more loose in places. He stood to greet them with open arms and Felix repeated the gesture.

"Guys, this is Argai, he's in charge here," Felix announced as he turned back to Argai with his arms still open. "Gorra."

"Den Gorra!" came the reply from Argai before he sat back down.

"Hello, welcome, how's your father? Well, pretty much," Felix translated for Maddison and Niezen, as they both nodded and said hello to Argai.

Felix took a seat next to Argai who placed his large hand on Felix's knee. Felix nodded to a question only he had heard as Argai gestured toward Niezen.
"He asked if you're our leader," advised Felix.

"Ah right," Niezen responded softly, he looked Argai in the eye and gave a fierce nod. "Does he know we wish to ask for help Felix?"

"Of course, but we didn't go into any detail. I explained that I wasn't our leader so then it falls on you to ask for help," explained Felix.

"Okay, that makes sense, well how do I say that?" shrugged Niezen.

"Let's bring him up to speed first, just give me a moment," assured Felix. Niezen approved and Felix looked to Argai. Still physically connected and without a sound the two spoke. Knowing only a few Drusai words, the only way for Felix to communicate such a large amount of information quickly was by allowing Argai access to his mind, to peer unhindered into his memories.

Felix took a deep breath and with his eyes closed he exhaled slowly, attempting to calm his mind. He thought back to his life on Gaia, about the Titans and their task of finding a new home. His thoughts progressed to their journey to the Drusai planet and the search for resources. Maddison watched on feeling uneasy as Felix's face shifted to show signs of discomfort. He winced and cringed as his thoughts turned to the despicable Major Sova. He relived the images in his mind's eye of the Dunak being slaughtered indiscriminately and left wasted to rot. The hailstorm as they were fired at whilst they tried to escape the Hyperion. All the while the Major's face constantly reappeared as a ghoulish entity leering from the shadows, haunting Felix's memories. Finally, Felix focused on the last memory he wished to share with Argai, his thoughts of Yuji being betrayed and killed in cold-blood at the hands of Chance. Argai felt as Felix grew uneasy, Felix's heart-rate was elevated, he began to feel light-headed. Argai felt he had seen more than enough and did not wish to cause Felix any further discomfort so he removed his hand, severing their mental connection instantly. With their minds no longer intertwined Felix opened his eyes and shuddered as his eyes struggled to gain focus.

"Are you alright?" asked Maddison as she jumped up to Felix's aid.

"Yeah I'll be fine," winced Felix as he waved her away, "I just haven't pushed it that far before. It made my head ache," he added rubbing his forehead. "Niezen, I'm not really sure what words to use or even if they have an equivalent for what we need to ask, so I want you to let him into your mind," explained Felix.

"So just let him touch me, is that all I have to do?" Niezen asked cautiously.

"There's more to it than that. You need to focus, really concentrate on what you want him to see. I've shown him who we are and how we got here but you will need to show him want we want of them," elaborated Felix as the colour began to return to his face.

"What like think about us in a battle?" Niezen asked sceptically.

"Kind of, try to focus more on the Drusai fighting along side us, working together to retake the ship and saving their world from being taken over and desecrated," explained Felix. Niezen started to get the general idea and nodded as Felix continued, "they need to understand that if we fail to take that ship, their entire race will be wiped out or enslaved."

"Alright, I think I got it," mumbled Niezen as he stood and walked over to swap seats with Felix. Niezen looked to Argai and gestured to offer his leg. Argai reached out and the bond was established instantly. Niezen went stiff as his mind and body panicked in reaction to the bizarre sensation. It took him a moment to harmonise as his breathing became steady and his muscles started to relax.

Felix and Maddison watched on in silence for a few minutes as they waited. Finally Niezen opened his eyes as he felt a drip on his hand. He looked down to find a single drop of blood then wiped his nose.

Maddison lurched from her seat to check him. Niezen wiped his face and held his hand up. "I'm ok. My head bloody hurts but I'll live," he grinned causing her to hesitate.

Maddison bit her lip, "I don't want you two doing that for so long, we have no idea what it might be doing to our brains physically or psychologically for that matter. Niezen you look like you were about to have an aneurysm," she warned but Niezen chuckled. "It's not funny, have the Medic check you out as soon as we're done here," she snapped.

"Yes mother," Niezen murmured under his breath, but he instantly regretted his remark as Maddison stared daggers at him. "Alright alright I will," he agreed holding his hands up as though he were at gun point. Felix and Argai both laughed only for Felix to be silenced in the same fashion.

Argai's laugh deepened to a slow bellow. He stood and offered his hand to Niezen. Niezen grinned as he stood, lifting his gaze to look Argai in the eye and they shook hands. Meanwhile Niezen pondered if this symbolic gesture transcended their two races or if Argai had merely adopted it from seeing their memories. Despite their appearance and lack of sophisticated technology the Drusai were clearly an intelligent and compassionate race.

Felix stayed with Argai as Maddison escorted Niezen back to the Behemoth for a once over by the Medic. Argai was confident that he understood what his new friends wanted of him, he stood up and stretched then made a loud pulsing whistle sound. Within seconds twenty two Drusai carrying spears had arrived and formed a curved line before him. Argai split them in half and dismissed one of the groups. Puzzled Felix looked at him, Argai reached out to explain. Having received the message Felix nodded to confirm he understood.

"Just a few ruptured capillaries in the sinuses, everything around your brain looks fine," said the Medic as he peered into Niezen's head with a portable med-scanner. "Your BP is a tad high but nothing alarming, I declare you fit for duty Sir," advised the Medic as he proceeded to pack away his field-kit.

"Great thanks," Niezen replied while returning to his feet, "time to go see how the negotiations are fairing without me." He stepped out of the Behemoth to find a very satisfied looking Felix standing with Argai, accompanied by eleven proud Drusai hunters.

"Excellent," beamed Niezen, presuming the negotiations continued well in his absence, "Felix can we have a word?" he asked whilst waving him over. Felix lifted his brow on the way over waiting for the rest of the statement. "Is this all of them?" Niezen whispered as his gaze scanned the line up.

"Well no, but it's all they can spare," admitted Felix almost defensively, "they do still need to hunt and protect themselves," he added in a huff.

"I suppose that's right," sighed Niezen less than enthusiastically, "but I was kinda hoping for more. It was a tad optimistic but I was hoping we could amass enough forces to intimidate them into turning over the ship," Niezen looked back at the gathered hunters. "I guess it was a long shot, not that I don't appreciate any and all assistance the Drusai can provide us," he stammered to add.

Felix smirked as he shrugged, waiting for desperation to form upon Niezen's face, "I suppose we'll just have to ask some other tribes to pitch in too."

Niezen's eyes widened, "oh? So how many other tribes are nearby?"

"Not many. And they are small like this one. Our best bet, I think, is to head South," advised Felix. "Argai told me of a larger tribe to the South that has a permanent settlement."

"How large is it?" Niezen enquired struggling to contain his excitement.

"Hard to say. But Argai implied that it's the largest tribe he knows of," replied Felix.

"I see. So permanent, do they have some sort of agricultural set-up going there?" Niezen questioned as he began to imagine hundreds possibly thousands of Drusai living in one place.

"No no, I'm led to believe it's a coastal settlement and they acquire much of their food from the sea," Felix explained as he turned his face trying to remember what Argai had shown him. "The thing is, the majority of Drusai tribes are small like this one and relocate frequently following the migration patterns of the animals they're hunting."

"So the most logical course of action would be to head for the largest concentration," stated Niezen confidently.

"Precisely," nodded Felix.

"So when do we leave?" Niezen asked with a hint of excitement as he attempted fruitlessly to compose himself.

"I thought you were in charge," Felix replied as cynically as he could muster. Niezen rolled his eyes but remained silent.

Maddison then stepped outside to find the new recruits standing by. She was quite impressed by their domineering stature but was in no way intimidated. Maddison understood what it meant to have such useful allies for their cause, "they really are quite imposing," she admitted quietly to her friends.

"I'm hoping that fact will be our edge, along with their swift skills of course," confided Niezen.

"Personally, I think we have completely lucked out even finding these guys," divulged Felix stating the obvious to which his comrades both grinned and nodded.

"So what now boys?" Maddison enquired as she held her hands out. Felix looked at Niezen hinting that it was a good time for him to re-assume command.

"We head South, apparently there's a larger tribe there for us to conscript from," Niezen declared proudly. "Hopefully they are willing to help us and with their numbers, we may just stand a chance of retaking the Hyperion."

Felix slapped Niezen on the back, "well said Buddy."

"Let's head back to camp and get everyone organised, then we're all heading South." declared Niezen, Felix raised an eyebrow but before he could ask Niezen was already answering his question. "I dare say we will stand a better chance of them joining us if they could see our entire force. I imagine they wouldn't be very impressed by just the five of us traipsing in."

"Agreed," nodded Felix.

Argai was promptly informed that they very graciously accepted his proposal to travel to the tribe in the South. The humans boarded their Behemoth and headed off following the marching Drusai. Despite having more than enough room to sit atop the vehicle the Drusai declined, preferring instead to run.