On the Hunt
Silent and invisible. Like a hunter, the small but powerful Radinri cruiser flew low over the wrecked cityscape, as Rysthins Dor'Vool and Guer'Re sought their prey from above. The ship's powerful scanners would detect any humans at the surface--now the hunters had only to wait, as they relaxed in the ship's cockpit.
"Dor'Vool," started Guer'Re, "do you mind if I put on some music? I always like listening to music before a hunt."
"That depends on the music, I suppose," Dor'Vool answered.
"Is Doakram Vithiin alright with you?" asked Guer'Re. Dor'Vool smiled. Vithiin happened to be Dor'Vool's favorite composer.
"That'd be fine." Guer'Re cycled through the ship's control cconsole, finally settling on Vithiin's Third Symphony.
The music began with a solo: an obviously sentient creature wept quietly, begging for mercy. The pleas slowly became faster, louder, and more desperate, until finally they gave way to a scream of pain. The first scream died, and was replaced by two voices screaming together, then four, then eight, then finally a screeching multitude in purest agony. The music crescendoed beautifully, as the screams were joined by sobs and cries. The exquisite sounds of pain floated through the cruiser's cockpit, as the two liontaurs inside savored its beauty. Such music would have been considered unpalatable by humans, but Doakram Vithiin was the Radinri equivalent of Mozart; he had been the undisputed master of his art, and his music was still loved centuries after his death.
"You know," said Guer'Re over the screams, "They say Vithiin was a Convert. He was born a Reptilian from the...Vega system, I think."
"What of it?" asked Dor'Vool.
"Well, I'm just making conversation, mostly. But I think it's interesting that Vithiin wasn't born Radinri, but he makes such amazing music."
"That's true, it is interesting. It's also very rare for a Convert to even become a Doakram."
(There are five castes in Radinri society. Each Radinri's name and, to a lesser extent, coloring, reflected their position in the hierarchy.
At the bottom were the Thess, the slaves and prisoners of war. They were all Converts, and were generally given dull coloring to reflect their status. Above them were the Quara, the wage-earning servants. They, too, were dull-colored, and were mostly Converts, although their were a few native-born Radinri among them. Normally, a Convert would consider themselves lucky if they could ascend to the upper ranks of the Quara, but Vithiin was an exception. He was a member of the Doakram, the Radinri commoners. They consisted of all free Radinri who were not hunters or rulers. They tended to prefer natural tones for their coloring, but no laws barred them from the more elaborate colorings enjoyed by the higher ranks, provided they could afford it. Above them were the Rysthin, the hunters, and above them were the Armak, the rulers. They could have whatever coloring they wanted (using the Radinri's genetic modification technology to make cosmetic changes was quite common).)
The music reached its conclusion, a single drawn-out moan. As soon as it finished, the monitor lit up and a soft alarm warbled, indicating that a target had been spotted. Dor'Vool put the ship into a hover, directly over the humans. There were two of them, sleeping outside in what had, before the invasion, been a public park. It had since become wild and overgrown, and the humans must have thought the trees would shield them from the hunters.
Guer'Re turned to his companion. "Ready for a hunt?" he asked, eagerly.
"Hold on," said Dor'Vool, "there are only two of them, hardly worth killing just yet. Plus, it's midday, and humans aren't naturally nocturnal. So they're probably traveling, hoping to move under cover of darkness. Wherever they're headed, there's bound to be more humans. Perhaps we should just follow, for now."
"I want to HUNT!" roared Guer'Re. "And I know you just got here. You don't know how much fun Humans can be yet."
"They're asleep," countered Dor'Vool. "There's hardly a challenge in killing something in its sleep."
"We've got watches," Guer'Re reminded him, "the transformation will wake them up, and give us an extra challenge. We can even give them a head start."
"I still say it would be more prudent to follow them, but I'm also itching for a kill. Plus, I don't think I've ever transformed sentient prey before. I'd like to see how humans take it. I could go either way."
Written by Zodiac on 04 July 2008
The end (for now)