The Esplin Chronicles: Planet Ondar Chapter 1 Page 4

 The mist parted, unveiling the creature they had come for.

The Lerdethak stood partially concealed in the fog, a colossal mass of flesh and energy. Its form was erratic, similar to an animal caught in perpetual chaos. Its roar echoed across the plain, rattling branches and dislodging shards of crystal leaves. Every soldier present hesitated. Even the Taxxons, driven solely by hunger, hesitated. Visser Thirty-Two did not waver. He strode forward through the mist, each step deliberate, his tail blade swinging languidly behind him. The creature fixed its frenzied gaze upon him. Energy surged in its throat, poised to be unleashed.

He raised one hand, palm facing outward. The Lerdethak shrieked and lunged, but just before its tendrils could ensnare him, The Visser pressed his hand against its heaving side.

The beast halted.

The trance descended instantly, as it always did. The Lerdethak’s frenzy dissipated into stillness, its body trembling as if in shock. The Visser’s demeanor remained unchanged as he leaned in closer, his stalk eyes remaining steady, his mind calculating with icy precision. Within moments, the DNA of the creature, the pattern of its flesh, the blueprint of its existence had been acquired by him. He had claimed it. The beast staggered back as he stepped away. Its eyes blinked, fury already reigniting. But it was no longer significant. Visser Thirty-Two turned away from it, his tail blade slicing effortlessly through the mist.

Around him, controllers murmured silently. To them, he had claimed fire from a deity. To him, it was merely another tool. The retrieval teams moved swiftly, hauling the dazed Lerdethak into a large containment unit. The Visser strode past them, not sparing a glance for the quaking creature. His eyes were already set on the horizon, where the fog parted enough to unveil the outlines of their ships.

The Bug Fighters shone like grotesque beetles. Above them, vast and angular, the Bladeship loomed like a predator. Its metallic prow cleaved the sky in two, its wings bristling with dracon arrays.