[Namek] Defense of the Ancients

[Kaden]

There was a sizeable silence that filled the air between the attacking aliens and the militia warriors. The last thing either of them expected to find was a small force of the invaders. A ghost town? Sure. Tiny village in need of protecting? A definite possibility. Some crazy trap-door-that-leads-underground? Not even in the top ten.

Though Kaden’s preferred method of operation would have been to try and initiate some kind of dialogue with the invaders. While he knew he had the ability to make big explosions to fall back on, his belief that life should be preserved whenever possible had not changed. He understood, somewhere in the recesses of his mind, that he may have to alter his personal definition of “whenever possible,” but that would be at a later point in time. As the four robed invaders raised their arms in unison, his thoughts turned to one thing only.

Before Sophia even had a chance to not-swear, Kaden Dashed into the girl, picking her up as he shot across the ground. Though the village had been relatively small, in order to enter it from any side, one would have to pass between two large, dome-like structures. For Kaden, that meant he was about to crush Sophia against the side of one such structure. A hastily thrown ball of ki removed that as an obstacle.

A tangled mass of limbs sprawled across the floor of what turned out to be a house as the two humans slowed to a stop. Kaden’s body ached in protest to the sudden Dash, but it was a welcome alternative to the eruption that filled the space they had previously occupied. Pulling himself to his feet, Kaden’s eyes lit up with ki as he scanned their surroundings.

The village itself was nestled between two… Kaden wasn’t sure exactly what to call them. Plateaus might have been appropriate; whatever they were, they were a common feature on the many islands that dotted Namek’s watery surface. Regardless of what they were, it meant that the village was naturally walled in by rock on two of its sides. The only entrances, aside from directly above, were lined with large housing structures.

Being as small as the village was, it was easy for Kaden to track the movements of the invaders as they approached, though that made the courier all the more frustrated that he hadn’t noticed them to begin with. Placing a hand to the ground, a Pulse of energy escaped the courier’s body. He could feel the energy spread throughout the landscape around them, his Ki Sense forming a map in his mind. Even without his Sight, his eyes would have lit up.

“Sophia,” the courier spoke in an almost frenzied whisper. “We can go that way.”

“Which way?” the girl asked as she turned her attention to her partner. The ex-priestess had taken it upon herself to watch the entrance Kaden had created so they wouldn’t be surprised a second time. She followed Kaden’s outstretched finger to a doorway behind her. “What’s over there?” she whispered back.

“There’s this, like, series of tunnels that run through that rock. Looks like they go from one end of the village to the other with a bunch of different exits and… stuff.”

“So your plan is to run and hide in some rocks?”

“Well when you put it that way I sound like an idiot,” he paused so that he could shoot the girl an offended look. “I was thinking: they got the drop on us, why don’t we return the favor?”