The growl echoed again, closer this time, a deep, threatening rumble. SC's scanner chirped frantically, its screen showing several contacts closing in from the rocks above.
Kaelen's head, still throbbing from the crash, cleared instantly. The familiar, cold rush of combat filled him.
It felt more natural than any emotion he had felt in weeks. The general, long dormant, was awakening.
"What are they?" Kaelen asked, his voice low and steady as his eyes scanned the jagged canyon walls.
"Can't get a clear reading. Multiple lifeforms, canine-like, but bigger. Fast," SC replied, his voice tense.
He drew a small, sleek energy pistol from a hidden holster on his boot. "I have one weapon, maybe a dozen shots. Not ideal."
Kaelen had no weapon. Only his training, instincts, and the environment itself. He took in their position in a single glance. The wrecked pod was behind them, offering cover from one direction.
In front was a small, open area littered with crash debris, metal shards, torn wiring, and a fractured support strut, long and sharp like a spear.
The canyon walls were steep but climbable for a creature with claws.
"Get inside the pod," Kaelen ordered, his tone shifting from prisoner to commander.
"Use the doorway as a choke point. Don't fire until you have a clean shot. Aim for the head or center mass."
SC hesitated for a fraction of a second, surprised by Kaelen's sudden authority, and he nodded and moved into the wreckage, holding the pistol steady with both hands.
He was a man of intellect, but he could recognize a superior expert in a deadly field.
Kaelen moved with fluid purpose. He ripped the fractured metal strut from the ground. It was heavy and unbalanced, but its jagged end was lethal. It would have to do.
He was no longer a general with an army; he was a primitive hunter, armed with a crude spear.
The first creature appeared, a dark silhouette against the sickly yellow sky. It was horrifying, a mockery of a wolf.
The size of a pony, with matted rust-colored fur, front legs long and powerful, tipped with black, sickle like claws.
Its eyes glowed faintly, predatory. It snarled, and in response, half a dozen more emerged from the shadows, moving unnervingly silent and fluid.
They didn't charge blindly, but they spread out, circling, testing, their glowing eyes fixed on Kaelen.
They were pack hunters, intelligent and strategic.
Kaelen stood his ground in front of the pod, the metal spear ready.
He made himself the target, drawing attention away from SC.
One beast thrust from the left. Kaelen pivoted, moving with the grace of a dancer, holding the spear as a barrier.
The creature backed off, snarling. It was a test.
As it retreated, another charged from the right. Low and fast, a blur of fur and claws aimed at his legs.
Kaelen's mind was sharp and clear, he didn't meet the charge head-on and at the last second, he sidestepped, letting the creature's momentum carry it past.
As it passed, he swung the jagged metal strut down in a precise arc, driving it deep into the beast's flank.
It yelped in pain and surprise, stumbling, its charge broken.
The pack's cautious approach faltered. Two more lunged at once from different angles. A sharp crack hissed from the pod, and one creature fell, a smoking hole in its skull.
SC was a good shot, but one remained for Kaelen.
He couldn't sidestep this time, he met the charge, planting his feet and angling the spear to absorb the impact.
The beast, weighing several hundred pounds, slammed into him, staggering him back.
Its claws tore at his arm, shredding the thin uniform and drawing blood. Its needle-sharp teeth snapped inches from his face.
Ignoring the pain, Kaelen used the creature's weight and momentum, twisting his body and levering the spear, with a guttural roar, he drove it deeper between its ribs.
The beast shuddered, went limp, and collapsed on top of him.
He shoved it off and scrambled up, his arm burning.
The remaining creatures, seeing three of their own fall in seconds, hesitated.
Their confidence shaken.
They had expected easy prey, not a warrior who fought with machine-like efficiency.
Kaelen didn't give them time to regroup. He let out a fierce yell, not of rage but of challenge, and stepped toward them.
A calculated bluff, a display of dominance.
Wounded and armed with a crude weapon, he radiated absolute, unshakable lethality.
It worked.
The pack leader, a massive beast with a scarred muzzle, let out a low whine. It looked at Kaelen, then at its fallen packmates.
The risk was too great. With a final snarling bark, it retreated into the shadows, the rest following.
Silence returned to the canyon, broken only by Kaelen's heavy breathing.
SC emerged from the pod, pistol still raised, eyes wide. He looked at the dead creatures, at the battered Kaelen, and at the spear in his hand.
He had seen the reports, read the files, but watching Kaelen in action was something else.
The tactical mind, the precise violence, the sheer will to survive, it was all there, raw and unfiltered.
SC lowered his pistol, a slow smile spreading across his face, a genuine admiration.
He had not made a mistake.
He had chosen the right pawn for his game.