Using the data we gathered from the bridge of the Kryllian ship we manage to locate a small encampment of the surviving crew the sad fact s that there are fewer than 50 of the original crew left as far as we can tell. It's now late in the evening and we wasted a lot of time going through there ship but it appears it's time well spent. A quick flyby reveals automated defenses and at least one gun drone. We land nearby and approach with extreme caution so as not to provoke their massive sentry. A small campfire glows brightly in the center of several escape pods each serving as shelter for the surviving crew. Nearby is a generator transceiver, and water purifier. This group is well equipped to survive for some time. They have rations enough for months and all the tools necessary to carve out a life here if need be. like a mini-colony of sorts. IN a more hostile environment they would probably be screwed after a few months but in this land of abundance not so much. Of course most of the life we've encountered is incredibly hostile so life would be a challenge to be sure. A male kryllian officer steps out to greet us and as he does I note that of all the 47 crew here he is the only male and under any other circumstances I'd say he was a lucky guy but he might not think so right now. The crew looks clean, well nourished and appear to be in their right minds. I approach the male ready to draw my pistil on a moment's notice. behind me Aini, Shadawar, and Caewon spread out taking strategic positions a fact that does not go unnoticed by the Kryllian crew.
"Hello, my name is obsidian mask and I have been sent to locate Captain Drizna by High Crona Hirzhak. We are here to rescue you and your crew-mates."
"I'm commander Nabrin. It's a pity you could not have come sooner, so many of us were taken."
"Taken? By whom, or what?"
"The primitives that inhabit this planet thought us to be some kind of evil demonic creatures and acted accordingly , we had them out gunned but we're not allowed to interfere in their natural development so we could only stun them while they were outright killing us. Their wounded would revive unharmed in a matter of hours and we would be left with dead crewmen. We couldn't fight a war of attrition.' eventually they began raiding our camps, after the first couple of years it wasn't to hard to deal with but the became emboldened with each successful raid. eventually we had to seclude the women in camps like this with our best resources due to the savage nature of these primitives. A male would be killed but with a female they would do...other things."
"I see, um...did you say two years?"
"Yessir we've been here for four years altogether and we had just assumed everyone thought us lost."
"You guys have only been gone a few weeks at best."
"That's not possible sir we've kept perfect track of the days and the hours. We've been here 4 years 18 days and seven hours."
"Time must flow differently here Captain."
Shadawar adds, and I can 't escape the logic of his statement. Immediately I contact the Sable and fill them in one the apparent time difference, and have Sabrina keep track of both times so we are on calendar when we return.
For myself, Aini, and Caewon time differences mean very little but for these mortals this is a huge deal.
"Okay Nabrin, we'll need to know where the other camps are and where the rest of your crew have been taken. We'll arrange for you crew to be taken aboard our ship and return home s soon as we have every survivor on board."
I call down the Wraith and have my crew begin evacuating the survivors, as Commander Nabrin is about to board he turns to me and asks:
"What will you do about the natives here if they resist? We're rescuing your crew no matter what, I'll try not to harm any of them but I am not beholden to your non-interference policies...I'm not IGFW so I don't have to hold back, but I choose to because I'm not the bad guy. If I can spare lives I will but not at the expense of those I came here to protect."
"I don't agree with your decision but I can respect and in a way even admire it Captain. Good luck."
It'll take some time to get to each camp site and teleport each up to the wraith even so she's got limited cargo capacity so ther'll be several trips to the Sable to transfer the survivors. We'll remain in the shuttle for the time being. I send Aini, Shadawar and Fred back to the Sable with the crew and have them help with whatever repairs and departure preparations they can. Caewon, and Dr. Omega will remain on the planet with me. The Doctor claims he speak 7,00 languages which I have to admit is a lot by anyone's standards I use a translator myself it speaks over one million languages but it might help. As the Wraith departs Dr. Omega approaches me with a somewhat grim look on his face.
"What's up doc? (I always wanted to say that to a doctor.) Is there a problem?"
"As a matter of fact there is. I heard what you told that officer and you may not understand this but you cannot kill these people."
"Doc, I have no intention of going in there guns blazin" and a firin, but I have no intention of letting them kill any survivors we find."
"I understand but you have to know in their eyes we're the invaders" "Good point Doctor but the invaders want to leave, so we need to let them know that. Hopefully they're graceful winners. If this is gonna be too much for you to handle good sir, you can wait in the shuttle. Unless of course you have a better way to handle this in which case I'm all ears."
"Actually, I had thought..."
Ever say something you were pretty sure you were gonna regret, I think I just did that.