[ IP ] Trilobites

# # # Trilobites 
 
 `` Draguuuns!'' 
 Maple pointed vaguely at the three huge, flat shadows hovering in the distance. Their exact shape was blurred by dust filling the atmosphere. Storms had delayed the Trilobites' by a few days, but apparently they finally had found their way. 
 She almost fell over as her Brakan chuckled, causing his shoulders, her seat, to shake. But he already had his hand at her back, pushing her back upright. Her arms wrapped around his head, she focused on the machines in the distance again. 
 
 `` Are they comin' here?'' 
 Excitement resonated through her voice, a wave of happiness, the sound of sunshine peaking through clouds. 
 
 `` Maybe they are.'' 
 He spoke a bit jerky, as if he had to remember every word first. His rebreather mask distorted the otherwise warm voice with the whistle of one-way valves and humming membranes. 
 
 `` Lem me down!'' 
 With an enthusiastic jump and a little much help from Brakan, she slid down, her worn out black shoes sinking into the warm sand. In an instant she had begun to run. 
 `` Come o'! The Knights gon na be here soon!'' 
 
 The two had been on a hill nearby the main compound, close to the fence. There was an old tree there, or what the drought had left of it. A tarp fixed in its bare, cranked branches gave shade on the hot days. If there were hot days, anyways. Lately, the sand storms had dominated the weather, keeping their little village in a state of everlasting twilight. Even now that the storms had died down for a while, thick clouds kept the sunlight from reaching the ground. 
 
 Brakan drew his gaze from the gnarled old tree and followed the small girl. A brown drab cap shielded her otherwise long, golden hair from the dust that kept creeping into every crack, every chink laying bare to the elements. Her once yellow haz-suit had become a compilation of Maples favourite stickers, most of them portaying dragons, her absolute passion. Brakan had carved her a small wyvern crab to her jubil, which now sat enthroned on the shelf above her cryock. 
 
 The whirring of a servo losing grip lashed through the air and instantly turned into metal grinding on metal. Maple stopped abruptly and turned around, only to watch Brakan flounder. His right hip joint had jammed and belched thin grey smoke, but he somehow had avoided to trip. 
 
 `` It's alright, darling. I'm fine. Just the servo again, I'll get it fixed in no time!'' 
 The rebreather aided his attempt to sound convincing, although not by much. His little girl arched her eyebrows for a moment, tilting her head. Then she nodded approvingly and turned back to playfully jumping towards the concrete bunkers they called their home. The buildings seemed small from outside, as they only rose a bit over a meter above the ground. But they were surprisingly comfortable inside as most of their space reached underground, keeping the inhabitants cool as well as safe. 
 
 Brakan whacked his jammed joint before cautiously limping towards the compound. Fixing the leg would have to wait for a bit. The Knights would arrive in less than two hours and there still was so much to prepare. They had to be ready, a chance like this might not come for another three or more years, as the Trilobites were needed much more at the frontlines. 
 
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 The massive ships hung weightlessly in the skies, slowly drifting through the dusty air. Long needles, probably antennas of some kind, stuck out of the bulky front, which made up about a third of its length. A ribcage of steel beams with thick windows built in between defined the nose and sides, while an array of spikes garnished the ships belly. Towards the back it got thinner, until there was nothing left but a stretched tail waving in the strong winds just beneath the clouds. 
 
 Maples agitation had been washed away by sheer amazement as she watched the gigantic ships fly by. She had been too young when the Trilobites had visited the last time to remember any of it and the stories Barkan had told her had been unable to do them justice. Without any noticable sound, these fortresses of the skies floated by, apparently without any effort despite the winds arising again. 
 
 `` Daad.. why are they not stopping? They are supposed to land here, right?'' 
 Barkan sat on the container they had packed together and sighed, his gloved hand caressing the front of the box. A faint humming came from its bottom, where the charge indicator mercilessly continued to count downwards. The lack of sunshine and the enormous amounts of sand in the last year had decreased the output of the compounds solarpanels immensely. With the emergency generators running on their last drops of fuel, electricity was hard to come by. 
 
 `` Maybe they are on their way to the front, darling. I'm sure they will pick us up once they return.'' 
 The little girl cheered up in an instant, smiling right at Barkans face. 
 
 `` Yes! And when they return, they'll tell us all their stories. About how they slew the Pasragians and their puny Desert Snakes!'' 
 A shrill beep cut through Barkans hearty laughter. His heart sunk to the bottom of his stomach as he turned towards the source of the noise. The energy cells had dropped to their reserves. Time to bring the box back in and start the generators again. He began to stand up, fighting his right leg. Dust trickled down his shoulders as he moved. 
 
 `` It will be so much fun, Dad!'' 
 He smiled under the rebreather and nodded slowly, his eyes locked on the dusty window on the front of the container, hiding any detail of what laid beneath. 
 
 `` Yes, I'm sure it will be, honey.'' 
 He forced himself to smile, reached for the carrying handles. Maple flickered for a moment as Brakan picked up the container, but she stabilized at once. Another nod, a more genuine smile. 
 `` I'm sure it will be the best day ever.'' 
 
 - - - - 
 
 I'm not sure how I ended up with that. But I kinda like how it turned out:3
