Dead Star Dockyards

"Tss!" Donovan's head snapped towards the sound of air rushing through someone's teeth, a signal meant to grab attention over distance without alerting the local wildlife. Supposedly it mimicked a seedling falling onto leaves, so it couldn't be used too frequently outside of autumn.

The tracker of attention waved a hand over his face like he was wiping it off with a rag, the placed both to either side of his head with thumbs touching his temples, mimicking antlers. He clenched and opened them once before bumping his fists in front of him and pointing in a direction, then held up three fingers and tapped them to an upright forearm. He finished by crossing his forearms, drawing an imaginary bow, and beating his sternum.

Titanyana responded by tapping a finger to her forehead and pointing it at him.

"What did that mean?" He kept his voice as low as possible whilst still making a sound. Titanyana would be able to hear him with those ears of hers regardless.

"Um . . ." Titanyana lodged the shaft of her spear into her elbow, preparing to play an impromptu game of charades.

"Force remains undetected." - Waving hand over face.

"One hart." - Mimicked antlers.

"A second hart." - Clenched then reopened her hands.

"Fighting each other." - Bumping fists.

"That way." - Pointed finger.

"Three hundred paces." - Held up three fingers.

"Ambush from large tree." - Tapped fingers to upright forearm, leaving her hand open.

"Force in position." - Crossed forearms.

"Will attack on arrow launch." - Mimicked bow.

"Commence when ready." - Beating sternum.

"Seen and confirmed, proceed as normal." - Finger to forehead, then point.

"So he said - 'Our party is undetected. Two harts are fighting each other three hundred paces that way. Launch ambush from a large tree with a bow when you are ready, force is in position and ready to begin.'? No indication of distance from ambush position to target?"

"Mmm, he means the tree we should ambush from is three hundred paces that way, but it's not that much different. I assume they selected a position a normal archer could land an arrow from." Returning the spear to a more active position, Titanyana made a few gestures to their entourage. "Quiet now, it's time to hunt."

- - - - -

Donovan knew little of ground operations, less about squad level tactics, and almost nothing about how they played out with such archaic weaponry. He understood them on a theoretical level, capable of identifying advantageous positions and formations with relative ease, however he did not know all of the auxiliary information necessary to participate in such a context.

How did they communicate? How did they move? How did they determine their formation? How did they know where to position themselves? How would they know when to start? Experience and training were the only answers to those questions, they always were, so Donovan committed himself to memorizing as much information as possible while approaching their target.

For example, Donovan rapidly discovered that moving silently through a forest environment was simultaneously much easier and much more difficult than he would have assumed. The part he imagined difficult - avoiding a sharp noise - was quite easy. Simply avoiding dried out leaves and branches was enough to make his movements inaudible to himself, raw dirt and exposed roots would accept his weight without the crunching or thunking he had imagined from his limited consumption of media. The difficult part was walking 'properly'.

There would inevitably be points in time where the standard stride would make noise, even slowing down to delay the application of pressure or landing with a flat foot to spread it evenly would inevitably cause some ruffling. Instead, he needed to walk a completely different way - striding toe to heel instead of heel to toe. The difference was immediately apparent upon his first attempt, however performing the walk was akin to starting a task with his left hand when he would normally do so with his right, requiring an immense amount of focus on both his form and foot position to prevent a fuckup.

clack

Antlers clashing could be heard well before either Brist became visible, sounding similar to wooden practice swords smacking against each other. Qualitative differences were noted, such as the tinkling of what he thought might be different prongs on the antlers coming into contact with each other, further building on the incomplete image Titanyana painted for him.

CRACK

A much more solid sounding clash rang out as he spotted motion amidst the trunks. It was just the tail of another in their party waiting in ambush, however it indicated to Donovan they weren't far off. In fact he thought he could see the tree the scout had been referring to - way thicker than any in its immediate vicinity.

tap tap tap

Titanyana swatted Donovan's shoulder to grab his attention, holding a finger over her lips to signal silence. After a second of eye contact, she pointed to his quiver and held up two fingers, then held out her hand. Donovan obliged, removing a pair as silently as possible and gingerly placing the shafts on her palm. Nodding, she pointed down and mimed a nocking motion - she wanted him to get his bow ready now.

Dutifully obliging, Donovan immediately realized moving was going to be even more awkward. Movement with the bow wasn't something he practiced much, certainly not with this method of walking, so he started making little mistakes. Nothing major, mostly little bounces of the arrow on his bow or a miniscule crunch of soil under his feet, but they made enough noise to induce a nervous cringe. Could the Brists hear him over the racket they were making? Probably not, however those moving in formation with him certainly could and the impression was unlikely to be a good one.

Titanyana raised an open hand from her position a few paces ahead of him. The tree in question sat atop a minor ridge in the forest topography, so he still could not get a visual on their quarry despite the apparent closeness. Evidently he needed to express caution on his approach though.

The clash of antlers heralded the approach signal from Titanyana, a few moments after which she resumed the halt signal. Donovan could only assume their position was withing visual or auditory range, the assumption becoming certainty as he drew closer. A flurry of movement preceded every clash, just barely visible through the foliage. Antlers, more akin to that of a moose than a deer in terms of thickness, flailing back and forth as the Brists built momentum. Reaching the tree and gluing himself to the side of it, Donovan waited for a signal from Titanyana to move out into the open.

To call the Brists huge would be . . . a bit of an overstatement. Large though they may be, they did not possess the same absurd proportions as the fauna on Nectar. They weren't small, certainly not a size Donovan wanted to wrestle with, just well within the realm of 'reason' for large animals.

'How are those deer?'

Donovan mouthed his question to Titanyana, taking care not to cause a smack or other such sound with his lips and tongue. They had antlers, yes, and the leg to torso proportions kind of matched, however the physical appearance was far from anything Donovan would consider 'deer'-like. If anything they were closer to bears. Lanky, antlered bears.

Further inspection revealed a greater degree of divergence to Titanyana's reference animal of choice - such as a bony armored forehead, tusks, hare-like ears, a thick tail, and a coat of fur better suited to the arctic than a temperate forest - however Donovan couldn't bring himself to blame her for such a comparison. She didn't know much about Terran creatures to begin with, how was she supposed to describe this unholy amalgamation of moose, bear, boar, rabbit, kangaroo and pachycephalosaur? Donovan barely knew half of those himself!

CRACK

The sudden impact brought Donovan back to his senses. Now was the time to judge the distance and take aim, not come up with a description for these alien beasts. He would attack when they next stood up on their hind legs in preparation for a clash. Donovan couldn't confirm the limits of their agility getting out of such a position, but the upright and extended target profile combined with the act of exposing the torso would make landing a debilitating shot much more likely. Easier to hit the lungs or stomach without having to go through its legs or rump first.

Shuffling his feet into position, Donovan took aim without drawing. The dueling beasts were a bit closer than he thought they would have been, battering each other behind lock antlers with their unnaturally long forepaws in a clearing about thirty meters away. There was a small brook running just before them - the bubbling of water through rocks and woodland detritus likely played a part in covering his approach - and a thicket of some sort of berry bush behind them. Wondering if the fight started over food rather than territory, he focused in on his target.

The Brists were clashing at a slight angle to him, both of their flanks clearly exposed as their arms extended in front of them. The one exposing more chest and stomach than back would be his target, the spine and thick back muscles would serve as a backstop rather than armor if he was unluck enough to hit it.

Rattling their antlers together as they disengaged, Donovan drew his bow. Holding at full draw would drain him of his stamina, but if Titanyana only expected three arrows from him the effect on his performance would be negligible. He would rather tire himself out than miss the moment of opportunity. A few seconds of grunting and heaving from the beasts followed as they caught their breath, half a minute at most, before one of the Brists shifted their weight onto their back legs. Back legs crouched and tail pressed firmly against the ground as the front legs pushed its torse above the tripod.

The second followed briefly after, rising to meet the challenge. This was not the time to let loose, though. They were still rising to their fullest extent, leveraging both leg and tail muscles to propel them upwards while their front legs tucked close to their chests, sort of like a boxer. Only once they approached their apex would those arms extend up beyond their heads, exposing their vitals to direct fire.

thwick

Donovan lost sight of the first arrow, tearing his eyes away from the target to ensure he properly received the next arrow from Titanyana.

thwick

The second arrow landed a little lower than his point of aim, nailing the Brist in the thigh. Still a hit, but not an effective one.

thwick

The third hit squarely in the side of the other Brist's chest, Donovan having shifted targets to 'spread the love', though the depth of penetration was unclear at this distance. His assessment was that ensuring a debilitating injury or kill would be difficult with his level of skill, and that it would be easier for the hunting party to handle two Brists with an injury or two a piece than one Brist with heavier injuries and a fresh one.

CRACK twick

Donovan did not know when the hunting party would enter his cone of fire, but at the very least he knew there weren't any Nekh behind the creatures so as to give them a way out. He would take advantage of the shock caused by unanticipated pain and the daze of a clash to land further arrows until the threat of injuring friendlies was realized.

thwick thwick

Chancing a loss in efficacy by holding a second arrow between his fingers, Donovan sought to increase his rate of fire. One for each, alternating between the creatures.

thwick thwick

Shoulder, rump. Annoying injuries, though depth of penetration was still unclear.

thwick thwick tink

The first hit the foreleg of the first Brist, while the second bounced off the antlers. Both turned to face the threat, the one with arrows protruding from its legs stumbled in pursuit of the other, which had roared its frustration after deflecting with its antlers before charging at Donovan. With this, he had been provided a priority target.

thwick

A miss. The long legs of the Brist made it's body bob a lot more than Donovan anticipated in its berserk rush towards him, more of a gallop or trot than a run. No mistake should be made of the speed though, it was sprinting faster than Donovan or even Mercedes could, and it was going uphill.

thwick tock

The next arrow lodged itself firmly in the Brist's forehead. Evidently the bone was not exposed as he first thought, probably covered by a layer of thick skin and cartilage, but the result was the same regardless of material - no penetration.

Only now, once he needed to consider when to get behind the tree, did the hunting party engage. Leno and Titanyana darted between him and the beast, keeping the points of their spears angled up at it while stabbing the rears into the forest dirt. They kept their bodies to the outside of their impromptu spear wall, prepared to abandon them and get out of the way should the Brist continue.

The purpose of this maneuver was not to kill the Brist, which would be a welcome outcome, but to rob it of all momentum. The Nekh were nimbler than the Brist, a group capable of weaving around its lumbering movements with minimal risk whilst whittling it down with stabs to the side and rear, however they stood no chance against the sheer mass it possessed.

Sliding to a halt, the Brist shunted its head to deflect the tips of the spears with its antlers. Leno and Titanyana disengaged, maintaining a looser grip on the spears to avoid getting tangled while splitting apart. Just like a deer, the limbs had limited lateral mobility, meaning it was relatively safe to be on the sides. It also meant the Brist had to make a decision on which direction it wanted to attack, leaving its opposite vulnerable.

"YAH!" Leno yelled as he struck, the Brist having chosen Titanyana as its target. The sound combined with the pain to reacquire its attention.

"HAH!" Titanyana and another Nekh then stabbed it from the other side once again. The wounds weren't particularly deep, to have the spear lodge itself into the Brist's body would leave one without a weapon, but they would add up. Blood loss and fatigue would kill it if a vital blow didn't.

"YAH!" Yet another of their party poked the Brist in the rear as the closer elements of the party hustled closer, having taken Leno's position while he recovered his stance.

The Brist performed a full body turn about, buying itself some space with the threat of both antler and tail. It was surrounded, the encirclement becoming more and more solid as time passed.

"GRAOAOAOAOAOAOA!!!"

"HAH!" A feint drew its attention.

"YAH!" A stab to the rear.

"GRAH!" A juke to the face.

"RAH!" Another stab.

As the hopeless beast performed yet another turn about to buy space, Donovan marveled at the movements of the hunting party. Seven people formed a circle centered around the Brist's head, backing up as it turned to face them and closing as it turned away, providing each and every person a direct line of sight to the danger. Everyone else stood in various positions beyond this circle, whooping and yelling at the beast as well as swapping in as the inner circle grew tired or were knocked off balance while dodging. This let the active circle maintain a steady tempo of feints, stabs, and shouts whilst the Brist was overwhelmed by numbers.