Story:The Scorching Moon

The Scorching Moon is the fifth story in volume 2 of the Dark Prophecy story arc.

Chapter 1: Meeting the Council
The Batra appeared above the desert world of Delse. The team readied some of their equipment to survive in Delse's harsh environment. Ahrganot put on a hood with long sleeves and pants while the rest of the team would wear much lighter clothes as they could tolerate the environment better than he could.

Sol I Dor said, "The only true spaceport on the planet is the capital Koreska. Take the ship there."

The ship made its way to Koreska. The group immediately noticed the tall, zig-zaggy metal tower, surrounded by several structures that looked like blocks of hardened sand. "What are those? Etah asked, pointing at the sandy structures.

Sol I Dor answered, "Houses, shops, many different buildings. Buildings on Delse are mainly built using hardened sand. Better at keeping the heat and sand out than metal."

The Batra approached Koreska Hall, and, once on the landing pad, the door openned, and Sol I Dor's statement about Delse's heat was revealed to be an understatement. Having grown up in subzero temperatures his entire life, Ahrganot was not used to the intensely hot temperatures. But even in the hotter regions of Ucharpli, it was only dry heat. On Delse, it was muggy and stuffy with humidity. He commented, "So...How is everyone else holding up?"

"We're not much better over here, Ahrganot," Tholker said.

"At least you guys have it easy," Ahrganot said. "The second I remove my hood out here, I go into a heat stroke."

"I guess it's just something you're born into," Sol I Dor answered. Seeing the team practically roasting, Sol I Dor had them granted access to the Hall.

Inside, they could see new-looking statues of many warriors, including one newer-looking statue that several Delsons appeared to be working on. "Every once in a while, the statues have to be replaced. Looks as though they've already replaced the older ones," Sol I Dor explained.

After a while, they entered a large room, with a table in the middle of it. After a few moments, 7 individuals entered the room: a large, quadraped, red-eyed creature with 2 arms arcing over its body, and one grasper protruding from the chest; another quadraped with an upright body, 2 arms, a web-like mouth, 2 horns, and crystalline protrusions sticking out of its back; an older human male; something that looked like a 10 foot long scorpion; a raptor like creature with a bird-like beak paired with large, bug-like mandables and spikes coming out of its wrists; an amphibian with a web-like mouth, 4 arms, 2 of which had hands, but spikes coming from the wrists, the other 2 ending in long, wicked blades; a humanoid with exoskeletal limbs and an insectoid head; and, finally, an old Delson in regal-looking armor.

"Who are these guys?" Tholker asked.

Sol I Dor answered, "The leaders of the races in the Delson Hegemony. While the council is led by the Delson Emperor, and he gets final say in decisions, this council usually makes decisions as a group."

The group approached the council and both Sol I Dor and Galiana bowed respectfully, the others hastily following suit. Finally, after rising, the regally-armored Delson said, "So, you are the Galactic Senate Special Operations Corp. A pleasure to meet you, I assure you, but you have come at a bad time."

"A bad time?" Etah asked, "What do you mean?"

The beak-faced alien said, "We've been gaining news of Karagonus and Besala insurgents on Delson-predominant colonies. The last thing we need is a galactic battleground here..."

"And you have not asked for support of the Senate?" Ahrganot asked.

"We have!" the human said in a gruff voice, "But they're too wrapped up in their own problems to help."

"And now the G-S-S-O-C is here, on our doorstep..." the web-faced crystal-back alien commented, "For a reason, I doubt, is to aid us."

"You're right, sadly," Sol I Dor said, "We're here because we're seeking an artifact of great power here, said to be in the sacred lands."

The Delson laughed. "Krilek Sol I Dor, always hunting down something..." The comment caused Sol I Dor to cringe. "And this artifact is needed why?"

-more to come