Disintegration: Chapter 5
A scarlet sun scorched an otherwise arid world.
For Ishtar, it was nothing short of euphoric. The sunlight soothed her chilly scales, and there was something lovely about feeling warm sand sifting between her clawed toes. Her large tail happily swayed in rhythm with her ample hips as she approached a spaceport, where her feet came into contact with cold stone instead.
Soon, a door automatically parted upon sensing her presence. She was greeted by an expansive interior bustling with traffic, much like an airport, with other people moving throughout the vicinity. Despite the sheer number of rynar, the area was orderly and clean. Some were organized into neat lines next to security stations, while others walked to the right side of any open spaces, minimizing potential traffic issues. Ishtar found herself in mild awe at the various glowing electronics, which were powered by erestal crystals, and holographic displays streamed information about ships entering or exiting the atmosphere.
"Mom!"
Ishtar's head perked up. She flicked her tongue from her mouth, simultaneously smelling and tasting the air, allowing her to sense something familiar. It quickly became apparent upon spotting a young rynar woman, who was rapidly moving towards her.
The sight made Ishtar smile. "Vinshu!"
After saying her name, Ishtar spread her arms out. In response, Vinshu's tail rapidly swayed, and it wasn't long before she embraced her mother with a hug. Others watched the two with smiles on their muzzles as they nuzzled each other, and some chortling filled the air once Ishtar gave Vinshu a kiss with a flick of her serpentine tongue. When all was said and done, Ishtar looked down at her daughter. Although she was a bit shorter than her, Vinshu had the same amber-colored eyes complemented by hazel hide and scales, which were glistening between shades of brown and green. What caught Ishtar's attention, however, was her outfit...
It was somewhat minimalistic. Vinshu's shirt exposed her lower belly, making her almost look like a belly dancer, albeit she lacked mammalian features such as a belly button or breasts. Otherwise, most of her clothing was crimson red. This included some silky footwraps that fully revealed her heels and clawed toes, which were adorned with some jewelry matching the rings on her fingers.
"Wait... someone Vinshu's age should not be wearing something like that!" venomously hissed Ishtar. "It is scandalous, to say the least."
At these words, the young woman backed away and blew air from her nostrils. "Bah. Mom, please. Vinshu is legally an adult now!"
"Vinshu Makari may have turned ten year equivalents old recently, but as far as her mother is concerned, she still has the mind of a hatchling despite having the body of an adult."
"Well, she can have her own hatchlings now." said Vinshu as she crossed her arms and swayed her tail. "Therefore, her mother should learn to treat her like a proper adult."
Ishtar narrowed her eyes. "Respect is earned. Not given. The young one will be forced to learn that the hard way if she demands it from others."
"Okay, elder." replied Vinshu as she pointed with a clawed finger. "Would she have her daughter wear something like that instead?"
This brought Ishtar's attention to her own outfit. It was a battle dress uniform with an urban camo pattern, which was mostly black, white, and grey. Her own black footwear partially revealed her toes for the sake of giving her claws plenty of freedom. With a sneer, she glanced between herself and her daughter. "Perhaps. The military would likely do her some good, after all."
Vinshu looked away. "She would not be cut out for something like that."
"That could not be more wrong!" exclaimed the older woman as she placed a hand on her chest. "Ishtar's blood flows through her veins, and her broodline is renowned for its warriors. She would make an excellent addition!"
"Let us not sour the mood with such talk." replied the young rynar as she stared at a nearby clothing outlet, which had plenty of outfits on display. "Perhaps Ishtar can purchase Vinshu some new clothes if her current ones are an issue. She would love something like that!"
Ishtar practically scoffed at these words. "You have always been such a mischievous little hatchling. Perhaps this was all a ploy!"
"Perhaps it was." said Vinshu with a sly smirk as she began walking away. "She needs to entertain herself somehow. Who knows how long it will take for her father and brother to arrive?"
Ultimately, Ishtar wasn't able to issue a retort as the distance between the two grew greater. She unleashed a low-pitched hiss. Nonetheless, she followed her daughter to the clothing outlet, and claws clicked against the ground as the two moved among many others. The first thing she saw was several rynar mannequins and even a few holograms wearing clothing that could be best described as Arabian regarding its aesthetics, making it both practical and fashionable for the arid climate.
As for Vinshu, she beamed up once she saw an emerald green dress that complemented her scales. "How pretty!" Her tail wagged after this exclamation. "Ishtar should get this one for her daughter!" "Why not something more modest?" asked Ishtar as she cocked her head to the side. "Besides, that dress is similar to her current one..."
Vinshu formed a cute little blep. "Because this one enjoys the attention."
"The young one can still get guilty pleasure from male attention with a more traditional outfit." replied Ishtar with a sneer. "That is what the so-called elder prefers. More specifically, why not be both classy and attractive? Especially since those luxury garments and imported goods are such a needless waste of valuable Collective resources..."
"Because that outfit looks cute." replied Vinshu with another flick of her snake-like tongue.
Ishtar made an annoyed huff before rubbing her eyes.
Like a curious hatchling, another spectacle drew Vinshu away. "Oh! They have sweets too!"
True to her words, a small concession stand was giving others an odd sort of snack or dessert. Little creatures resembling insects slightly smaller than humans were coated in a substance similar to sugar or caramel before being placed in a container to be eaten like popcorn. Vinshu made short work of seizing some for herself, and she returned to Ishtar while casually munching on her new food. She did a mix of using her serpentine tongue to constrict and suckle on sweets while her sharp fangs made quick work of others, but she gulped them all down in the end.
"Does mom want some?" asked Vinshu before her tongue lolled from her muzzle, allowing her to do the equivalent of licking her lips.
"She does not!" answered Ishtar with a chortle. "In some ways, her daughter has not changed. Did she take more than she really needed?"
Vinshu made her best pair of puppy dog eyes. "She has refrained from eating all day!"
"Right."
"It is the truth!"
In return, Ishtar made a dismissive hand gesture as she slightly swatted towards her daughter with a clawed hand. "Whatever. These matters are distracting anyway. Perhaps we should find somewhere to sit until they arrive..."
"Alright!" chirped Vinshu.
And so, the youthful woman full of vigor followed the old soldier. They eventually managed to find seats for themselves near a boarding area, where a constant flow of people entered or exited various ships. Time seemed to pass by in a blur as they casually chatted. As the hours flew by, the sun started setting, while the smiles on both of their muzzles gradually transitioned into frowns.
Eventually, Vinshu checked the time on her smart device. "Why are they not here yet?"
"This one does not know." answered Ishtar. She narrowed her eyes at a nearby holographic sign, which displayed the projected arrival and departure times. "It concerns her. The civilian freighter should have arrived already."
"Should something be done?"
"Of course, but allow mommy to take care of this." said Ishtar as she stood up and walked away.
While the woman approached the equivalent of a receptionist area, she spotted two people casually chatting behind a desk. A computer terminal and a large microphone partially concealed their presence. Nonetheless, Ishtar made her presence known by slamming her fists on the desktop, making both receptionists jump a little as their tails jolted up.
One looked at Ishtar with wide eyes. "Uh... can a receptionist help this one with something?"
"Yes." hissed Ishtar between barred fangs. "The son and husband of the woman speaking to you were supposed to arrive a long time ago."
The remaining receptionist cocked his head. "Does the woman recall the specific ship?"
Ishtar answered this question by pulling out her smart device and showing it to the duo. They both tilted their heads in the same direction once they saw crucial information, such as the ship's designation and time of departure.
"Ah." said one of them with their jaw momentarily going agape while the other typed away at the terminal. "Allow us to let someone more knowledgeable than us deal with this potential issue..."
Unbeknown to Ishtar, an AI avatar appeared on their computer screen. It was entirely orange, designed to look like a rynar, and only its head could be seen. Information directly fed to the AI allowed it to search through countless records at a rate impossible to most organics. During this, Ishtar sifted through her smart device, where she saw a myriad of pictures. Most featured her husband, who had green hide and scales. Like all rynar men, he had pointed ridges running along his eyebrows, a feature that Ishtar lacked. Although Ishtar was taller, he had an enormous tail roughly a third longer than hers, while her tail was only half the length of her body.
"This AI has found an issue." said an augmented voice emitting from the computer, forcing Ishtar to look away from the images on her smart device. "The specified civilian freighter issued a distress signal before going missing. For some reason, it began moving towards a restricted solar system, and the situation is currently baffling many others."
"WHAT?!" snarled Ishtar, making the eyes of the receptionists go wide.
There wasn't much they could do to stop the large woman as she forced her way to the front of the computer terminal. The AI disappeared from the computer screen shortly after Ishtar gave it a death-stare. Afterward, she cocked her head to the side upon seeing a mockup of ongoing traffic as ships moved between a variety of Collective systems alongside a bizarre word...
Ishtar exposed her fangs as she turned towards the receptionists. "What in the name of the gods is an Annelid System? Why are Ishtar's son and husband heading towards one?!"
The commotion caught the attention of others present as they stopped what they were doing to stare. Security guards also began heading towards the scene. As for Ishtar, her world started spinning as she closed her eyes and pressed both hands against her head. "This... THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!"
When she opened her eyes, the receptionists were gone. Not to mention the security guards, civilians, and even her daughter. Consequently, her jaw went agape. "Wait... what? Vinshu? Where is she?"
Suddenly, the lights in the facility went out. Although Ishtar could see in the dark, for some bizarre reason, her surroundings appeared to be slowly fading away. The woman began stumbling her way through the area as she made her way to the last known location of her daughter.
"Where did Vinshu go?!"
Ishtar could feel her heart thumping in her chest as her eyes narrowed.
"Please say something!" The woman paused to choke back some tears rapidly forming in her eyes. "Ishtar does not want to be alone again!"
Over time, her surroundings disappeared. Then the battlemaster found herself standing amid a black void where the only company was herself. She frantically looked around in all directions and muttered to herself.
"Everything is so cold..."
Something that felt like electricity surging down her spine and to the tip of her tail made her shudder. Without warning, Ishtar felt the ground beneath her feet dissolving as if it was invisible sand. The moment she looked down was precisely when she started falling, resulting in the woman screaming as tears surged down her muzzle. A bizarre set of sights flashed before her, including snow-dusted corpses next to destroyed vehicles, a pair of catlike and cyan eyes, then a brief glimpse of her missing son with his eyes missing from their sockets. Lastly, an ear-piercing siren caused her to go into a full-blown panic as she swatted claws in all directions.
When Ishtar blinked and opened her eyes once more, she found herself lying on a bed. She jolted upwards while heaving in and out, complete with her tongue sticking out of her muzzle as it momentarily twitched. It took her approximately half a minute to calm down as she held her head in her hands.
"...Not again."
Ishtar internally questioned her sanity when she kept hearing a siren blaring. A quick glance at the room revealed everything was how she left it... except for a bewildered human standing on her desk. She heard Sasha making some faint vocalizations, but without any way of translating them, her barely audible voice came across as complete nonsense if it wasn't interrupted by the sirens. Nonetheless, Ishtar got to her feet and urgently walked to the tent's entrance with a groggy look in her eyes.
When the woman opened the tent flap, a flurry of activity greeted her. Soldiers were scurrying throughout the vicinity with their weapons ready, new rynar troop transports were arriving as they descended from the sky, and vehicles were hovering around the area. She wiped away teardrops still lingering on her face as whatever cold and sad feelings lingering in her heart served as the perfect kindling for a newfound sense of fiery hot rage. Consequently, Ishtar practically growled at some nearby soldiers, who were helping one another with putting on their armor.
"What the hell is happening?"
They stopped they were doing as they looked at her. Ishtar responded with a death stare, and her height advantage over most of them only added onto it. Eventually, an augmented voice emitted from a soldier wearing a helmet. "UTO troop transports are landing on the planet."
That was all the information that Ishtar required as she disappeared back into her tent. The slits of her eyes narrowed once the sirens stopped blaring, but it did little to stop the woman from dragging various pieces of gear from underneath her bed. She ignored a human shouting at her as she began instinctively putting on her armor, albeit it was a complicated process by herself as a heavy chest piece forged from alien alloys overlapped her skin-tight shirt. Soon, she put on her helmet. Augmented reality vision greeted her while a familiar human voice became far more comprehensible.
"-even understand me?!" shouted Sasha as she clenched her fists. "You big, stupid bitch!"
[I can now.] hissed Ishtar while a human voice bellowed from her helmet.
The color practically drained from Sasha's face before she became dead silent.
[Your petty insults only show how powerless you are, Sasha. They do not offend me. As much as I would love to lecture you about your poor and moronic behavior, I have more pressing matters to attend to.] Ishtar paused to strap some armor into place after putting on her boots. [Speaking of which, a worst-case scenario has just occurred, and I'm afraid that it could endanger both you and Suko.]
"Then... what's going on?" asked Sasha while she stumbled back.
Ishtar put on some gauntlets, which had tiny openings for the claws on her hands. [A variety of species too weak to oppose the Rynar Collective by themselves banded into what is known as the United Treaty Organization. They are currently making planetfall. I'm assuming they want to seize this planet and its resources for themselves rather than allowing the rynar to have it.]
"There's even more aliens...?!"
[Correct.] As Sasha reacted with complete bewilderment, Ishtar grabbed a sizable piece of flexible armor designed to cover most of her tail. She was forced to bring her tail to the front of her body before slowly sliding it on, where she simply strapped it into its proper place. [As before, I expect you to take care of Suko during my absence. Any escape attempts will be harshly punished. Ideally, I can also return with supplies and other materials required for humans to survive.]
Sasha looked down from the desk and at the ground, where she saw nothing but darkness. "I'm not sure if I even want to try escaping considering all of this insanity going on."
Last but not least, Ishtar picked up her plasma rifle. [Have I not been a good host?] Before the human could respond, the rynar activated her plasma rifle, and the erestal core within barely lit up the room. [Actually, your answer doesn't matter. You don't exactly have much of a decision in this matter... but we'll talk about that later. It would be for the best if you just accepted your situation.]
Sasha's only response came in the form of crossing her arms.
Meanwhile, Ishtar disabled her translation software. With a flick of her tail, the rynar made sure her armor was secured to it, then she briefly patted down her body with a free hand to make sure she didn't miss anything. She strolled away from Sasha mere moments later, exited the tent, and sealed the flap before leaving it behind.
Her first impulse was to find others within her warpack. Out of the many rynar soldiers swarming the deployment zone, she saw one with distinctive white armor. Rare blue scales visible through the visor of his helmet made it crystal clear who he was. Other soldiers were also assembling before him, including a few familiar faces, such as Specialist Andraste.
"Ensign Deimo!"
Despite Ishtar's shouting, the young officer resumed speaking to the others. While grinding her fangs, the battlemaster filed herself into the ranks, where she swiftly found other members of her warpack awaiting her. They were all neatly lined up with their plasma rifles at the ready. Some thunder roared above them, but it was hard to tell if it was coming from a storm, the vehicles, or rynar ships flying across the skyline.
"...And this unit will be receiving little to no orbital support." hissed Deimo to the soldiers assembled before him. "Additionally, be warned that the humans may actually be able to organize themselves now that they are no longer being relentlessly bombed from orbit. Our Collective can thank the UTO for that. Regarding our own unit, it is being sent to reinforce rynar soldiers attempting to capture materials and information crucial to understanding the alien technology that these primitive humans are using against us. That is all Deimo has to say since time is of the essence. Are there any questions?"
The various rynar either cocked their heads to the left or shook their heads.
"Then everyone knows what to do," continued Deimo, "Move out!"
At his words, the rynar soldiers saluted him. They took one step back and moved out of the formation as they reassembled themselves around their respective pack leaders. Some followed Ishtar like lost puppies as she forced her way towards Deimo with fire in her eyes.
"DEIMO!"
The man in question calmly turned to face her. "Ah. Does the battlemaster have any questions or require anything else? She is now testing Deimo's patience..."
"She does." answered Ishtar. "What exactly is her warpack getting into this time?"
"As he said, the objective is to assist others with recovering unorthodox human weapons." replied Deimo as he blew air from his nostrils.
"And the warpack is doing this while the UTO is making planetfall?" Ishtar only stopped speaking just to scoff. "That is madness. What sort of human weapons are we even talking about?"
Deimo looked to the side. "This one only knows that they are called nukes."
"Nukes...?" repeated Ishtar like a parrot.
"They are apparently some sort of human bombs." explained the officer. "Oddly enough, details about them are mostly classified. Our orders are also very strange, all things considered, but this ensign felt obligated to inform the battlemaster about it anyway considering the circumstances."
"Bah... so be it." hissed Ishtar. "Questioning orders is proving to be a pointless endeavor."
"Indeed."
Without bothering with responding, she led her warpack away and towards an awaiting infantry transport in the distance. More thunder also made itself known as lightning streaked across the sky. Something about the entire situation sent chills down Ishtar's spine as the word 'Nuke' rattled throughout her skull, but she suppressed her thoughts to focus on the task ahead.