The Martial Unity

When -o—o-o opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a dimly lit ceiling of the web. The fabric was woven together to form a stable structure that acted more like it was made up of metal than it was something as soft and malleable as web fluid, entirely unwavering. The homoarachnoid felt pain throbbing across its entire body. The exteriors of its body were the sharper pain of torn flesh, while its interiors were subject to a duller pain. A specific odor hung in the air, an odor associated with a specific kind of web associated with a specific tribe of homoarachnoids. He could smell it over his body, binding him protectively and medically. The web served as a cast and covered his gravest wounds. It also informed him of where he was. CLICK CLICK “You’re. Awake.” -o—o-o turned to spot a familiar figure. The female homoarachnoid weaved webs about an elevated platform, binding a body. A human body. A man who looked to be in his thirties. A Martial Master who had been captured upon entry into Planet Amadeus III with the volleys that the homoarachnoids had launched towards them. The female homoarachnoid bound his body to the table, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to move, all while preparing for what she was going to do next. She spared -o—o-o a glance and an expression of disdain. “You. Went. And. Charged. Against. The. Invaders. Without. A. Plan. Without. Information. And. You. Paid. The. Price.”

The wounded, male homoarachnoid slowly began to remember what had happened as his memories surfaced back in his mind. He had been fighting against the young female alien with the universe in her eyes. It didn’t appear to be a common trait of their species, based on the other specimens that -o—o-o had fought. He knew that she was special. She was somehow able to take him on despite being patently inferior when it came to the raw energy output in her entire body. This was despite the fact that other members of her species couldn’t take him on, despite possessing much greater output than she did. -o—o-o didn’t know too much about what these alien creatures were or where they came from, but he knew that that young female was a special specimen. He intuitively felt that she possessed power that no ordinary lifeform was supposed to possess, like she was fundamentally of a different plane of power, merely dipping her toes in the world of lesser beings. CLICK CLICK CLICK “It. Was. Worth.” -o—o-o insisted with a hint of pain in his clicking. “I. Found. Something. Special.” Oo—o- didn’t believe him, of course. She simply huffed at him with a hint of derision. CLICK CLICK CLICK

“Countless. Have. Fallen. Because. Of. You.”

Her accusatory tone weighed on him. Regardless of whether he thought it was worth it or not, it was true that the many homoarachnoids that he had ultimately rallied had perished in battle against the outsiders. And yet, could he truly be blamed?

When he thought about the… entity that they faced. The entity that wiped them all out with red blood, he couldn’t imagine how the outcome might have gone in any other direction. The simple reality was that they were outclassed by the outsiders. The aliens were strong. There was no doubt about that. Although -o—o-o hadn’t sensed too many entities that were on par with him in combat, the fact that they had tremendous powerhouses like the one that wiped them all out was proof that they were dealing with species and civilizations that were more powerful than they had expected.

-o—o-o couldn’t help but grow curious. Where did these creatures come from? How were they so powerful in combat despite not possessing a large amount of high-grade infected matter in their body. These questions bore on the male homoarachnoid as he considered the mysteries of the outsiders. Their technology was certainly high, but it was not high enough that it completely blew their mind. They had seen greater alien technology among others that they encountered and even fought with. However, what they hadn’t seen was an alien civilization with the kind of infantry power as these outsiders.

CLICK CLICK CLICK “I. Have. Obtained. Some. Answers,” Oo—o- remarked, as if having expected the confusion of -o—o-o, gesturing towards the human that she had captured. “This. One. Is. Knowledgeable.”

-o—o-o turned towards the captured human Martial Master with a curious expression as he studied the human from head to toe. It was a grotesque and bizarre sight for both homoarachnoids to see just how strange the lower body of the creature was. As if someone had taken the upper half of a homoarachnoid and had simply attached to appendages to the creature. CLICK CLICK CLICK

“What. Have. You. Been. Able. To. Learn. From. It?” -o—o-o asked with a curious tone as he struggled to sit up with all the wounds that his body had endured. Oo—o- didn’t immediately respond, instead moving to the Martial Master’s head, tapping it. “This. One’s. Cognitive. Apparatus. Is. Similar. To. Ours. Despite. Independent. Evolution. Some. Substances. Loosen. Resistance. Am. Able. To. Intoxicate.”

With some experimentation, she had managed to essentially lower inhibition by finding organic chemicals that altered the state of mind of the alien specimen. CLICK CLICK CLICK

“After. That. I. Simply. Hooked. Head. Up. To. Electromagnetic. Sensor. Web. Array. To. Pick. Up. Brain. Waves,” she informed him. “And. Managed. To. Decode. Thoughts. Learn. Truth. And. Secrets. About. The. Aliens.”

-o—o-o grew enthusiastic at how much progress that Oo—o- had managed to make, the simple reality was that the fact that she had managed to already begun to decipher the thoughts of an alien specimen was a huge accomplishment when it came to achieving an intelligence breakthrough of their enemies.

Perhaps he could learn more about the young female alien that he had fought. CLICK CLICK CLICK

“They. Call. Themselves. Humans,” she began, summarizing what she managed to learn from the alien specimen. “And. They. Come. From…”

She immediately reached for a star map engraved on top of a sheet of woven web that served as paper. The star map featured what the humans called the Strehegeld Star System, where this planet, Planet Amadeus III, was present. She pointed at a marked perimeter of human space two star systems away. CLICK CLICK CLICK

“This. Is. Where. They. Came. From. This. Is. Their. Territory.”