Terveta-Chapter 4: Professor Knetter (Part 2)
He stood in front of another pair of doors that was much bigger and heavier than the first. He rapped on the surface with his knuckle and waited a short while for an answer. He could hear music playing from the other side, a slow, old tone that must have been a big hit back in the fifties. He sighed, irritated by the continued lack of reply. He could care less now that he might be disturbing the professor and nudged the handless doors open with his shoulder.
The music was louder than he had expected, which contributed to the earlier thought that he might not have been heard. He was in the laboratory. Several tables filled with equipment and papers were scattered about the white tiled floor. There were machines of all shapes and sizes that stood between each desk. Wires, cords, and tubes hung from everything, even the ceiling, making it look like a multi-colored web.
Blizzard picked his way through the mess, stepping gingerly over parts and components while softly pushing obstructions that hung down away with his paws. The blue husky went towards the source of the music, concluding that that was where the professor would be. There came a crackling sound and a hum that accompanied the slow melody, and an azure, shimmering light was cast against the wall that lead around to a back room. Blizzard smirked and moved as best he could until he came to the corner and rounded it. His smile grew even brighter as his eyes finally settled on the working scientist.
Professor Dean Knetter was a graying red fox that seemed to always be wearing a lab coat and a pair of glasses on his nose. He was one of the oldest living Terveta; he'd even been there to witness to Blizzard's birth twenty-seven years ago and the ascension of Keisha to the role of leader. He was hunched over a table with a welding helmet obscuring his vision while he struck another arch with his wire feed.
Blizzard grinned and wandered over to where the old fashioned radio was and twisted the knob on the top to turn it off. Right on cue, the old scientist stopped his work with a grumble and shifted to where the Alpha was standing. With the dark visor down, he wasn't able to make out who it was until he flipped the helmet up. He gave a startled jump, but laughed when he saw who it was.
"Blizzard!" He chuckled, laid his equipment down after turning it off, and started to pick his way across the short distance between them with his arms held out. The two embraced tightly, grunting and patting each other on the back. The professor gave a howl when he was squeezed just a bit too roughly. "Not so tight, bub, I'm not as young as I use to be!" he laughed.
Blizzard released him as soon as he heard the complaint. Terveta were mostly known for being super physical compared to normal people around the planet; even females and young were tens of times stronger than normal adult males. But for some reason, Professor Knetter didn't hold any of these traits. He was no stronger or faster than any normal being, but he was convinced that he was Terveta and had several others believing it too. He claimed that his specific trait and ability was his intelligence and uncanny way of being unable to forget a single small detail to anything.
"You are way ahead of schedule, Blizzard," the scientist commented and shifted off to the side to click the radio on but with a lower volume.
The husky shrugged. "The hostiles attacked much faster than we thought so we had to go into action just as quickly."
The fox froze when he heard the words and slowly turned to face him. "Attacked sooner? Are you sure?"
Blizzard nodded. "Yeah, we traced the scent trails and did all the estimating."
Professor Knetter seemed to be lost in thought at this; a blank, calculating expression now adorned his face.
"Dean? Is something wrong?"
The vulpine slowly pulled out of his trance and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You never thought of this as being strange in the least?" he inquired.
Blizzard shook his head and stared at him. "I had other things on my mind at the time. Is it really all that important that they went after prey a few days earlier than what we thought?"