The Cold Wind (Ch 05 - 07)
#7 of The Cold Wind 1
Chapters 5 - 7
Chapter Five
Pointing a talon at a spot on one of the small view-screens, Crater leaned over and yelled at Slash-To-Kill who was wrestling with the controls of their cramped vessel through the howling chaos of their meteoric descent. "This location is promising. There appears to be a medium-sized human settlement nearby that should be suitable for reconnoitering." Slash-To-Kill merely grunted to acknowledge the suggestion and continued to guide the shuttle through the rapidly thickening atmosphere, a massive fiery plume of super-heated plasma building up around and trailing behind them. He was attempting to keep to a flight-path that would roughly mimic a natural meteoric entry, the idea being that it would throw off any human systems monitoring for potential alien vessel activity. Not that he believed the humans were capable of such things; when speaking privately with Stares-Into-Space, the senior engineer had very few complimentary things to say about the state of human technological development. He was also silently fuming at their pack-leader, who had insisted that they take the smallest shuttle the Victorious-Hunting was equipped with; a tiny, antiquated vessel barely capable of holding the four of them and with a singularity generator only just powerful enough to propel them. The generator was so underpowered it had no extra capacity to provide a stabilized, artificially generated gravitational field and Slash-To-Kill loathed free-fall - it tended to make him violently ill. Shortly before leaving, he had reluctantly approached the flaky medic for something to suppress nausea. They plummeted through a high cloud layer and could see the lights of the human settlement far below surrounded by dark mountainous terrain through the armored cockpit windows. Slash-To-Kill briefly swung his head around and spoke to the other two warriors, lying in support webbing at the rear of the shuttle. "This mountain range will provide a secure location to land, although it will require a fair distance to travel by foot." He returned his attention back to the controls. "Prepare for braking. This will be rough. Firing retro-thrusters now...HRRRRK!" All hell broke loose when the retro-rockets fired, slamming them all forward in their support webbing from massive deceleration G-forces powerful enough to reduce a mere human into a shattered bag of broken bones. Even the powerfully built Vanguard were surprised by the ferocity. Slash-To-Kill roared while gripping the control console like grim death, vowing to eviscerate the engineer responsible for calibrating the thruster output once he discovered who it was. The others merely gritted their teeth and clung to the support webbing for dear life while the shuttle's speed rapidly reduced. The superstructure of the small vessel creaked and groaned alarmingly, but held together, eventually slowing to a more reasonable speed while the retro-rockets continued to reduce their velocity. The massive plume of ionized plasma from their re-entry had dissipated and Slash-To-Kill realized that they were now quite visible as something other than a natural meteor and thus vulnerable. Savagely swiping at the retro-rocket cut-off control, he felt his stomach lurch when they dropped like a stone toward the ground, only a kilometer or so underneath them. Ignoring the pained groans around him, he briefly fired the retro-rockets again before they impacted the ground at several hundred kilometers per hour and managed to land them with only a slight bump amidst massive clouds of dust and smoke from the scorched vegetation. Other than an occasional loud ping and creak from the rapidly cooling hull, everything was suddenly quiet. The shuttle occupants all looked at each other in the dim lighting from the various control consoles. Looking rather battered and bruised, Tusker groaned loudly and swore while untangling himself from the support webbing, accidentally elbowing Fleet-Of-Foot in the side of the head. The older warrior hissed at him in annoyance. "Where did you learn to pilot like that, hrrr? I have been in smoother crash landings," Tusker grumbled while he hunted around for his shock-lance. He located it wedged under the bracing for the pilot's support webbing and tugged at it. The weapon wouldn't budge; the rough maneuvers had jammed it in solid. Fleet-Of-Foot ducked out of the way and scrambled to get the hatch open while the younger warrior braced his feet against the webbing bracing and pulled. The shock-lance sprang free, sending Tusker flailing backward with a surprised yell, hitting the rear bulkhead with a meaty sounding «thud». Crater and Slash-To-Kill quickly spun around, staring curiously at the fuming young warrior while he painfully picked himself up off the deck and straightened his skinsuit self-consciously. Tusker glared when he pushed past Fleet-Of-Foot who was doubled over with laughter. "Not. One. Word," he growled venomously_._ The others swiftly gathered up their gear and joined the young warrior outside the shuttle. Crater sniffed and snorted suspiciously for several seconds. "This place smells...unpleasant. Hrrr, air pressure is lower than I expected, as is the gravity." He pulled out a small datapad and tapped away on it for a few seconds. "We should limit our first excursion to no more than a few hours as per the medic's instructions." Slash-To-Kill secured the shuttle's hatch, quickly going over the outside of the vessel and looking for signs of damage. Other than a few scorch-marks where the superheated atmosphere had slipped through weak points in the shielding, the vessel appeared to be undamaged. Before exiting the shuttle, he had briefly activated the sensors, checking for any signs their arrival had been noticed by the humans. But there was no activity for many kilometers and no aerial activity for many hundred. Satisfied, he joined the others and they headed towards a ridge outlined against the horizon by the faint glow from the distant human settlement. Stopping occasionally, they gathered small samples, which were packed away for later examination. Due to the lower than normal gravity they made good time and it was only a few minutes until they came to a wide, dual-laned road heading toward the settlement. Fleet-Of-Foot led the way through the scrub beside the road until they could see lights from the human dwellings in the distance. When they reached a point where the scrub cover no longer continued, he halted and turned to the engineer expectantly. Crater pulled out his datapad and studied the screen for a few moments. "There are a few scattered dwellings in about 500 meters. Larger structures about a kilometer past those. Given the diurnal nature of these humans, I suggest we head for the larger structures further in. These closer dwellings are likely to be occupied. Wait!" He quickly motioned for them to duck back into cover when two distant points of light appeared on the road, approaching them. From their concealed position, they watched while one of the peculiar human transport vehicles approached. A large, box-like vehicle on many wheels roared past, festooned with white, orange and red lights resembling some sort of strange, bioluminescent deep-sea creature. They wrinkled their noses from the wake of dust and acrid smelling exhaust the vehicle had kicked up when it sped past. "Hydrocarbon fuel, hrrr? How quaint," Crater muttered, standing up and watching the vehicle disappear from sight, his professional curiosity piqued. "Internal combustion power-source, mechanical linkages, OW!" "Enough," Slash-To-Kill rumbled, ignoring the aggrieved look the engineer gave him while he rubbed the back of his head where the warrior had smacked him with the back of one of his hands. "Restrain your curiosity, engineer. If we have time enough for that later, maybe then you can indulge your interests." Sticking to the undergrowth, they made their way into the town, keeping quite a distance away from the dwellings. One of them had a rather noisy domesticated animal the natives called a 'dog' that had noticed the presence of the nearby Vanguard. After the animal's noisy call had roused the occupants in the dwelling, they wanted to avoid a second occurrence. Fleet-Of-Foot had wanted to quickly dash in and take out the noisy animal with extreme prejudice, however Slash-To-Kill had over-ruled him. They were cautiously picking their way through an area of densely packed urban dwellings when another animal, quite different from the dog they had encountered previously, approached them making a strange sort of «mewling» noise. Small and furry, with a fairly long tail, it began brushing the side of its head in what appeared to be an affectionate manner against the business end of the shock-lance that Slash-To-Kill pointed at it. The warrior glanced at the others, nonplussed. Tusker hunkered down on his haunches and held two of his hands out toward the creature, which came trotting over to him, sniffing at him cautiously for a couple of seconds before the warrior gently picked it up and held it in his arms. It purred loudly and nuzzled at his snout when he tried to study it closely. "Hrrr, cute," he rumbled softly and held it to his chest with a dopey smile cracking his craggy face. He began a deep, rumbling purr of his own which appeared to startle the small animal briefly. It quickly got over the shock and curled up against him, occasionally rubbing its head affectionately against his large pectoral muscles. "Domestic Feline. A creature the humans commonly refer to as a 'cat'," Crater looked up from his datapad at the creature in Tusker's arms. "I wonder what it tastes like," he said, approaching the warrior and holding out a hand toward him expectantly. "Hrrr! I will not permit you to consume this creature," Tusker stood up quickly and turned away from him, jaws parted in a silent snarl. "Besides which, Two-Talon specifically mentioned for us to avoid eating anything we located here." "Just a single mouthful. What possible harm could it do -" "Tusker! Release the animal immediately. Crater, you will heed the medic's instructions is that understood? We depart, now." Slash-To-Kill indicated for Fleet-Of-Foot to take the lead. Tusker hunkered down and released the cat which appeared to be reluctant to depart, still purring and rubbing against his ankles with adorable little 'Mrrrreow!' noises. Carefully stepping over it he hurried after the other Vanguard as they lumbered toward the taller structures near the middle of the settlement. Fleet-Of-Foot halted in front of an expansive window of what appeared to be a commercial building and looked curiously at the garish display inside. Several human statues wearing impractical appearing and somewhat skimpy clothing stood in various poses, surrounded by all manner of peculiar items. "This looks intriguing. Ideally, we should obtain entry without activating any alarm systems," he rumbled, looking expectantly at Crater. The engineer, meanwhile, was busy while inside a small box with glass windows, cutting open a strange looking piece of machinery inside with a small laser-cutter. Pulling bits of cabling and circuitry from the machine, he accidentally dislodged a small box from inside, which fell to the ground, noisily spilling a handful of small, metal disks all over the ground. Pocketing the cutter, Crater leaned over and grabbed a handful of the disks. He lumbered over to the warrior and offered them to him. Fleet-Of-Foot took them and looked them over before dropping them into a pocket for later study. After studying the human-sized hatch for a moment, Crater pulled out his datapad and held it against the small electronic keypad lock beside the hatch-handle. There was a quiet click and he pushed the hatch open, stuck his head through and searched around the dark interior before he cautiously entered the darkened building. Making certain they hadn't been observed, the three warriors ducked through the hatch and stared, wide-eyed at the interior of the building. There were shelves upon shelves of small, rectangular packages with garish and mostly naked humans displayed on them. Several free-standing racks were stacked with bunches of thin, flexible material, bound on one edge that were also lavishly decorated with naked humans in various obviously strained poses. Crater narrowed his eyes and snatched one of the bunches from a rack, leafing through it and pausing every now and then to huff in surprise at some of the contents. "This is what the humans call a 'magazine', I believe," he muttered. "Hrrr? Magazines are for weapons, not information." Crater raised his head and glared at Tusker. "I am merely attempting to disseminate information into your ungrateful skull. Do not blame me for the inadequacies in the language of these ridiculous aliens!" Opening one of the other, smaller packages, Slash-To-Kill pulled out a silvery disk and turned it over in his talons for a few moments before pulling out his datapad. Activating its translation routines, he pointed it at the packaging and studied the readout. "'Hot Cum-Gargling Sluts 3: Return of the Tadpole-Milkshake', hrrr? Perhaps these are reproductive guides...I was unaware these humans had sex organs located in what appears to be their throats." Crater blinked and gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug. He turned and picked up a small rubbery, cylindrical object off the counter he was standing beside but swiftly dropped it and took a step back in alarm when it buzzed into life in his hand. Tusker whipped around at hearing the noise and jabbed at the thing flopping around on the floor with his shock-lance. The device burst into flames when the shock-lance discharged on it and continued to jump around for a few more seconds before it shuddered into stillness with a strangled wheezing noise. "Hrrr...beyond weird," he rumbled, eyeing up the smoldering wreckage warily. They wandered around the building for several minutes while studying the many and varied items they discovered until Slash-To-Kill indicated that they needed to leave. Before departing, Tusker grabbed a handful of the magazines and silvery disks that he'd discovered in a small sectioned off section of the room and shoved them into his satchel. The material in that section appeared to be what he thought were mostly naked male humans interacting with each other. It appeared that the curious aliens also participated in same-sex pairings. With a smile, he thought of Two-Talon's reaction when he presented him with the unusual gifts... After exiting the building they wandered over to a large fenced-off yard on the other side of the road. It was full of the strange looking vehicles the natives deployed for transportation. Scaling the tall fence without difficulty they approached one of the vehicles and stood around it, looking it over. "These humans must be tiny. How do you gain access to the cabin, hrrr?" Tusker asked, bending down and peering through the glass at the cramped-looking interior. Crater, standing beside the warrior, shrugged and pulled at one of the handles on the hatch which broke off in his hand with a loud screech of tearing metal. "Hrrr, must be a defective mechanism," he chuffed quietly, looking sheepishly at the scowling warrior next to him. The hatch swung open slightly after the handle was ripped out, so they each took turns examining the interior. Crater ran his scanner over the interior of the vehicle and began pulling the manual control console apart. It was mostly primitive electronics and an awful lot of mechanical linkages. "If this level of technology is any indication then I do not believe these humans are much of a threat." After looking over the vehicle for some time, he stood back with a confused look. "I am forced to conclude that this vehicle appears to have no weaponry equipped," he rumbled, clearly disappointed. "You would do well to remember that these are likely civilian vehicles. We have yet to see any evidence of their military capabilities," Slash-To-Kill admonished the engineer, before leaping up onto the roof of the vehicle, which buckled slightly under his weight. He looked around the rest of the yard from his perch, then hunkered down to address the others. "We are wasting valuable time. I believe we require a more efficient method of obtaining information about this world. It is possible these humans have some variation of a library; I do not believe they are advanced enough to possess purely networked data stores." "I concur," Crater snapped his jaw shut with a loud «crack». Turning, he bounded over to the fence and rapidly clambered up it and paused near the top to look back at the others. "Humans are diurnal animals and we do not have sufficient hours of darkness remaining at our current rate of progress. Are you coming or not, hrrr?" Slash-To-Kill regarded Crater sourly and snorted; the engineer had the audacity to lecture him on their wasting time? One of these days he was going to teach that Ancestor-cursed engineer a lesson in humility...
Chapter Six
Meanwhile back on the Victorious-Hunting, Two-Talon looked up from his workstation console in the medical section when the holographic indicator above the intercom flashed for attention. "Two-Talon. I respond. What is it you require, hrrr?" he rumbled somewhat distractedly while returning his attention to the read-outs being transmitted from the scanners trained on the human planet. "Swift-Death. I command. Report to me immediately. We have revised mission objectives. Communication terminated." Blinking, he stared at the now inactive intercom. 'That is peculiar,' he thought to himself. He knew that communication to far-flung exploration or military vessels was extremely rare, not to mention potentially dangerous. It required automated relay buoys to be sent through sub-space to the location of the mission, increasing the chances of exposing any covert missions such as this one. While it was unlikely these particular aliens would be able to intercept or actually understand if they did intercept any signals sent from Vanguard communications systems, they were relying on secrecy for this mission. The aliens were not supposed to know the Vanguard even existed. Swift-Death ponderously swung his head around when the medic entered the bridge and padded over towards him. He eyed Two-Talon speculatively, suspecting the reaction to what he was about to say would be not be greeted well. "This is going to complicate things somewhat," he admitted. "We have received instructions from the colony Elders to capture some of these aliens for further study and interrogation." Two-Talon didn't disappoint him. "What?! This mission is ill-equipped to handle alien captives! This was supposed to be an exploratory mission, was it not? We have insufficient qualitative data on their biology, or psychology to handle live specimens. Conditions on this vessel are not conducive to keeping humans alive for extended periods of time either. I do not believe the Elders have even considered this thoroughly..." Two-Talon spluttered to a halt and blinked at Swift-Death in confusion. With a calculating look Swift-Death handed him a datapad with the orders he'd received. "Hrrr, the strong lead the weak. And so the Elders lead us. Our instructions are clear, no matter our personal feelings; this is the Vanguard way - as I should not have to remind you. They have requested the aliens alive, so you shall make suitable arrangements for their containment and survival. Convert one of the disused storage areas. Stares-Into-Space will assist you once repairs to the sub-space breach drive are complete." Two-Talon looked over the Elders' instructions for a few moments, before resignedly handing back the datapad. "Very well. You realize this is not an advisable course of action we are undertaking, hrrr? I am unwilling to make any promises about keeping these aliens alive." He splayed all four of his arms out behind him in a gesture of defiance and stared hard at Swift-Death. "I am a medic, not a xeno-biologist. I was unsuccessful in keeping Beryllium fur-rats alive when I was younger and you know how easy they are to keep as pets; yet they all died on me. What makes you think I will fare any better with humans, hrrr?" he snorted derisively and turned, storming off the bridge and back toward the medical section. Swift-Death stared wide-eyed at the departing medic's back before checking himself and huffing with amusement. Who knew the uppity medic had a sense of humor? A dry sense of humor, true, but a sense of humor nonetheless. Forgiving the medic for his blatant show of disrespect this once he strode over to the communications console and activated it.
Chapter Seven
When they cautiously walked deeper into the built-up commercial district of the human settlement, the Vanguard landing party began to see a bit more life, even at this late hour. On several occasions they had to rapidly seek out a secure location when a vehicle or human on foot approached their position. Slash-To-Kill observed a large group of humans heading toward them and warned the others while they were still some distance away. Crater spotted a large, imposing structure nearby made out of some sort of stonework with impressive, fluted columns at its entrance.
"This building should provide suitable concealment. I am intrigued by its appearance as it does not resemble any of the other structures we have observed so far." Crater loped up the many stairs leading to the entrance, the others not far behind. The engineer made short work of the hatch lock and quickly neutralized the primitive electronic alarm system once inside. Spotting what appeared to be some sort of computer terminal by a far wall, he lumbered over to the device and studied it with a practiced eye. The others spread out to investigate the building, which had several different levels, many of which were packed with various displays in large, glass boxes. Large, ornate carvings and illustrations adorned most of the wall and ceiling spaces, lending the building a somewhat oppressive feeling. Most Vanguard structures were purely utilitarian and they had little understanding of the concept of art. If the Vanguard liked the look of something they would store images of it in their own personal databank - why hang a static image on a wall? And as for moving images, that would just be distracting. The concept of 'antiques' was also something equally foreign to them. Why keep something old when something new was usually more efficient or better constructed? Tusker was wandering around down a darkened corridor which opened out into a rather large room, with more of the glass display cases scattered around the edges. However, it wasn't the display cases that caught his eye. In the middle of the room and dramatically lit by small spotlights from underneath was the mounted skeleton of a massive creature, two or three times his height and many times his length. He fell instantly in lust with the creature for, whatever it was, it was reptilian and utterly gorgeous. On a small plinth beside the large concrete pad on which it was mounted, was an illustration of what it must have appeared like when it was alive. It had two pitifully short, stunted little arms, but that body...and those massively muscled thighs. Not to mention a tail that went all the way up. Although it only had two eyes, the rest of its face was stunningly beautiful. A mouthful of teeth the size of Vanguard horns and craggy features that would make the most attractive Vanguard pale in comparison. Quite unable to take his eyes off the magnificent creature, Tusker activated the communications function of his datapad. "Hrrr, it is imperative for you to observe what I have discovered," he breathed into the datapad, his voice filled with awe. "Track me to this location." Swiftly converging from three different directions, the other Vanguard sprinted into the room but stopped short when they saw what had completely captivated Tusker's attention. Slowly approaching him, they all clustered around the plinth. Having difficulty tearing his eyes away, Crater consulted his own datapad. "The primitive computer near the entrance contained a certain amount of useful data regarding the purpose of this structure," he rumbled quietly. "It is called a museum and contains much historical and cultural information. The humans use it as a form of entertainment and education. It is not the library you seek, however it may still be useful for our purposes." He stared up again with awe at the fossilized skeletal remains. "What is this magnificent, beautiful creature, hrrr?" Tusker reached up to the cold stone of the fossilized skull, barely able to reach it with his extended talons even stretched out like he was. The other two warriors had spread out and were examining the contents of the display cases around the edges of the room. Many more fossilized pieces of different reptilian species were in the displays, along with information regarding their history and illustrations of what the humans believed they appeared like when they were still alive. Crater reluctantly returned his attention to his datapad and quickly tapped away. "This is a dinosaur. The humans call it a 'Tyrannosaurus Rex', which they translate as_'Terrible Lizard'." "Hrrr, terribly _attractive is what it is," Tusker was by now sporting a noticeable bulge underneath his skinsuit where his genital pouch was located. Embarrassed, Crater edged away slightly and hissed with annoyance when the young warrior wiped some of the copious drool from his lower jaw and shook it off, some of it ending up splattered across the screen on his datapad, dripping off in long, slimy strings. "Hrrr, obtain a room, you two," he growled before backing away to study some of the other exhibits in the room. Finally tearing his gaze away, Tusker wandered around the other display cases while occasionally casting a lust-filled glance back toward the T-Rex skeleton. He was about to depart when Fleet-Of-Foot approached him and dragged him over to an illustration he'd discovered near the room exit. It was an illustration depicting two dinosaurs mating. Although pornography wasn't a concept that Vanguard were familiar with, the unintentionally erotic image only encouraged the bulge in Tusker's skinsuit to grow. "Hrrr, thought you might appreciate that you little deviant," Fleet-Of-Foot sneered and left the younger warrior to it. He stopped at the exit and swung his head around and huffed with derisive laughter. "I will be certain to communicate with your bond-mate about exactly the type of unfaithful little spawnling you are." Tusker deliberately ignored the older warrior and continued to search around the room before silently padding over to the plinth beside the skeleton. Crater was still standing there with his back to him, tapping away into his datapad while casting occasional glances at the information on the plinth while he modified the language database. Suppressing a toothy grin, he decided that if the others could have their fun at his expense... He grabbed Crater from behind with all four arms and began grinding himself up against the startled engineer's rump and tail. "Hrrr! What are you doing?!" Crater hissed, while struggling to free himself from the young warrior's grasp. His eyes widened in horror when he felt the bulge rubbing against his rump. "You are bond-mated! And I am not like...like that!" "Like what, hrrr_?_ You do not desire a bit of fun?" he teased, licking the engineer's neck in a suggestive manner. "Not like you! And HRRR! Not with you, either!" Crater grunted, finally managing to break free from Tusker's grasp. He bolted from the room, not looking back. Tusker leaned against the plinth, huffing long and loud with laughter while his erection subsided. He didn't consider Crater in the least attractive but the release of tension by taking out his frustrations on someone weaker was wonderful. At a more leisurely pace he followed the engineer from the room, casting one last, longing glance back at the dramatically lit T-Rex skeleton. A few minutes later he located the engineer camped out beside the mostly disassembled remains of a large, glass-fronted cabinet full of small, colorfully decorated packages. The engineer quickly got to his feet and began backing away, nervously. Tusker laughed again, which just made Crater frown in annoyance. "Relax, engineer. I was not being serious. I am no more interested in you than you are interested in me." Changing the subject he gestured toward the cabinet with one hand. "Have you ascertained the purpose of this machine, hrrr?" Although still not completely convinced at his sincerity, Crater stopped backing away at least. "Indeed. It is a human foodstuff dispensing machine. From what I can gather you put these things," he held out a handful of the small, metallic disks similar to the ones he'd obtained from another machine-in-a-box an hour or so earlier, "into the machine. You then choose one of the items and the machine delivers your selection to you." The warrior reached out and grabbed a couple of the small food packages from the opened cabinet, then ripped one of them open with a razor-sharp talon. He took a tentative sniff at the contents and frowned. A slightly cloying, sweet smell emanated from the packet. He tipped some of the contents into his hand and studied them. They resembled small, brightly colored, medicinal tablets. Crater hissed with sharply indrawn breath when Tusker tipped his head back and then emptied the remaining contents of the packet into his mouth and chewed noisily. "Your bond-mate specifically instructed us not to do that, warrior! I do not believe that is a wise course of action..." His voice trailed off when he saw movement further down the corridor behind the warrior. He quickly checked his datapad and saw that Slash-To-Kill and Fleet-Of-Foot were in a completely different section of the building. Chewing noisily on the crunchy little bits of human food it took Tusker several long moments to notice Crater's alarmed look. In one smooth movement he quickly spun around, grabbed his shock-lance from its sheath strapped to his back, and crouched down into a defensive posture. Eyes narrowed, he stared down the corridor toward the intruder. The intruder shone a bright beam of light in their direction, making both Vanguard blink and shade their eyes. "Stop right there! Who're you and what're you doing?" Security Guard (graveyard-shift) Edward McNally called out nervously, not quite able to make out clearly what he was shining his torch at. When he stepped closer he blinked a few times, not believing what his eyes were showing him. What appeared to be two startled demons were standing beside a mostly-gutted snack vending-machine. One of them was pointing what looked like a blunt-ended spear at him. Edward hadn't heard any alarms going off but had been alerted to the sound of muffled voices coming from the dinosaur exhibit, so he'd trotted off to investigate. The museum was often full of strange noises at night, most of them with innocuous sources. He'd figured it might have just been some animatronic exhibit being activated by a malfunction. It had happened before, scaring the living shit out of him on those several earlier occasions. Demons? Nah, most likely two punk-ass kids pulling some sort of prank after having hidden out in the toilets until everyone had left, Edward decided, regaining some confidence. And what stupid costumes. Why go to all the bother with costumes just to break into a museum? "Drop whatever you're carrying! And for god's sake, take off those costumes. I've called the cops and they should be here soon." When Tusker growled and stepped forward brandishing his shock-lance, Edward took a step backward and raised his taser with shaking hands; his supervisor wouldn't let him carry a gun, realizing Edward would just end up accidentally shooting some priceless exhibit with it. "Stop!" he yelled, nerves making his voice several octaves higher than normal. "I've got a taser and I'm not afraid to use it!" "Oh by the Revered Ancestors! Swift-Death is going to eviscerate us," Crater whined, quickly pocketing his laser-cutter and backing away slowly. "We were not supposed to have any contact with the humans!" Melted chocolate dripped down between the gaps in the teeth on Tusker's lower jaw while he contemplated his next move. The weapon the human was pointing at him didn't look particularly dangerous and he picked up a peculiar smell emanating from the human; an alien scent that he was still able to instinctively recognize as fear. Having made his decision he flicked the power control on his shock-lance to its lowest setting with a talon, then lunged forward and slightly to one side while jabbing at the human with it as he slid past. (Graveyard-shift) Security Guard Edward McNally didn't stand a chance. One moment the intruder was standing several metres away and hissing at him. The next, there was a loud «crack» and he discovered himself flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Whatever the thing was it had moved with lightning speed, faster than some kid in a costume had any right to move. Everything turned black and faded out even before he hit a wall and slid bonelessly to the floor, unconscious, with his torch and taser clattering uselessly to the polished marble floor. Tusker kicked the discarded weapon out of reach and cautiously approached the motionless human, extending the shock-lance and poking him roughly with it. The human's body jerked from the electricity coursing through it, but didn't otherwise respond. Satisfied, he turned and lumbered back toward Crater who just stared at him incredulously. "We should probably depart this building as a precaution in case the creature has alerted others." Regaining his wits, Crater snapped his jaw shut loudly and loped away down the corridor, back toward the entrance. Pausing by the wrecked vending-machine Tusker grabbed a few random packets of snacks and shoved them into his satchel before he secured his shock-lance and loped after the fleeing engineer. Although cloyingly sweet and sticky, some of the human food actually appeared to be quite palatable he thought, licking melted chocolate from his chops with his long, black, forked tongue while he loped along. Slash-To-Kill and Fleet-Of-Foot watched the other two suspiciously when they arrived back at the museum's main entrance. "I heard raised voices. Is there something you are wishing to communicate to me, hrrr?" Fleet-Of-Foot asked, alternating his gaze between the young warrior and the engineer. "There is nothing to communicate. Crater and I disagreed over the best method of dismantling one of the human food dispersal machines," Tusker rumbled while staring intently at Crater, silently willing him to keep his jaws shut. "This is the truth, hrrr?" Wilting under the older warrior's piercing gaze, Crater snapped his jaw shut uncertainly. "Indeed. I was attempting to avoid unnecessary damage to the delicate mechanisms inside." Fleet-Of-Foot took a couple of steps forward until he was looming over the now clearly intimidated engineer. "Both Slash-To-Kill and I distinctly heard a shock-lance discharging. Care to revise your story, hrrr?" Tusker quickly broke in before the cowering engineer dropped both of them into a massive, steaming pit of Rank-Beast excrement from which there would be no escape."My method of dismantling the machine was more efficient," he gloated, reaching back with one of his rear arms to stroke the shock-lance strapped to his back. When Fleet-Of-Foot swung his head around to look at Slash-To-Kill, the other warrior's expression was one of resigned exasperation and he gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug. Fleet-Of-Foot stepped back away from Crater, apparently satisfied with the explanation. "There is a time and a location," he warned Tusker wearily. "I swear by the Ancestors, you two are worse than feral spawnlings." Slash-To-Kill was reaching for the handle for the hatch to leave when his datapad chimed urgently for attention, indicating an incoming communication. He halted and pulled the jangling device from the skinsuit pocket where he had sequestered it. Activating the heavily encrypted communications function, he regarded the device warily; it was not normal protocol to break communication silence on a recon mission like this. "Slash-To-Kill. I respond." "Swift-Death. I command. There has been an alteration to your mission objectives. We have new instructions from the colony Elders." All four Vanguard looked up at each other, surprised. The pack-leader continued speaking while not bothering to disguise the look of annoyance on his face that was still quite obvious despite the diminutive image size on the datapad's small screen. "You are to acquire at least two human specimens then return to the Victorious-Hunting for immediate departure from this system." "Hrrr?! That is extremely ill-advised. Surely -" The pack-leader quickly cut him off. "We do not question the Elders! And you do not question me, either. Your revised mission parameters are understood, hrrr?" "Understood." 'Accidentally' covering the datapad's small optical pick-up with a taloned finger, Slash-To-Kill exchanged a knowing look with Fleet-Of-Foot. Removing his finger, he was about to shut down the communications link when the pack-leader spoke again. "You will return them to this vessel alive, Slash-To-Kill. While the Elders may be inclined to show you mercy should you fail, I will not. Transmission terminated." Slash-To-Kill regarded the now blank screen thoughtfully for several moments. There had been many times that he'd dismissed the pack-leader as being simplistic and not worthy of the command he'd been given. It made his scales bristle with indignation at being subordinate to someone he regarded as inferior. He snapped his jaw shut softly and snorted. Perhaps Swift-Death was more shrewd than he'd given him credit for being; the pack-leader certainly had read his unspoken intentions well enough. "Very well. You heard our pack-leader." He turned his gaze to the engineer. "Options, hrrr?" he barked. Crater blinked at him nonplussed for several moments before he scrambled for his own datapad, a bulkier and much more powerful device than the warrior's. "There are no human life-signs in this structure," he lied through his teeth while ignoring the small flashing signal which indicated otherwise. He deactivated the datapad and quickly stowed it in one of the many large pockets adorning his skinsuit. "Hrrr and the humans we observed earlier were traveling in large packs. The structures in this section of the settlement appear to be commercial or industrial, not residential -" "Cut to the chase, engineer!" Flustered, Crater thought quickly. "We did pass one of the large human battle arenas, near the edge of this commercial district. Scans indicated scattered human life-signs inside. The location is isolated from the residential areas and therefore may provide the best, hrrr, hunting grounds, for our requirements." "Hrrr, maybe there is a decent warrior spirit concealed under that pathetic engineer exterior after all," Fleet-Of-Foot huffed with amusement and gave Crater a hearty congratulatory whack on the back which sent the smaller Vanguard staggering forward from the blow. Even Tusker snapped his jaw shut in agreement, impressed. One devious engineer! "It is decided then. We go," Slash-To-Kill barged through the hatch, leading the way.
* * *
Inside the trailer and sparsely lit by the pale moonlight now slanting in through the windows, Tainui lay chest down on the bed, head to one side and snoring softly. Andrej gingerly propped himself up on one elbow with his his head resting on his hand, careful not to wake him. He ran his eyes over the curves and shadows that played across the sleeping Maori's back while he breathed. Both the oh-so wonderful ache in his ass and the taste on his lips was a pleasant reminder to Andrej of the time they'd spent abusing the trailer's suspension. Not to mention the many and varied new stains on the bed sheets, across the pillows, on the curtains, up the walls... Cracking a weary and satisfied smile, he shook his head while congratulating himself for having the balls to finally follow through on one of his hare-brained schemes. He had been fully expecting Tainui to reject and push him away when he'd approached him earlier that night. When he'd occasionally caught the Maori watching him during their practices and concerts, he'd felt quite strongly that it wasn't a shallow, hungry look. Unlike the vacant, ravenous stare that so many of the fans had... It was what prompted him to finally take the plunge and confront him. To his delight, he'd discovered someone that he felt comfortable talking with and who actually appeared interested in him for something other than his fame. 'Careful, man,' he cautioned himself with a pout. 'Don't go reading too much into this just yet...' Tainui had been a considerate lover, making certain that he wasn't being too rough or moving too fast. Andrej licked his lips. The icing on the cake was Tainui's killer body. He'd enjoyed tracing all over it with his hands, lips, tongue... Although he wasn't a virgin, Andrej had only ever been with one other guy before. He lay down again, looking at Tainui lying there in the moonlight and his thoughts turned back to that one night, a few months earlier...
* * *
They'd been touring through Prague when the crushing loneliness and desperation had gotten the better of him. Although he would normally have just gone and spoken with his friend and fellow band-mate Liz when things became too much for him to handle alone, she was busy partying it up with the guys. So that night in his hotel room he'd dressed in a concealing hoodie, grabbed a backpack with a few bits and pieces and managed to give his handlers the slip. Walking through the bustling night-time crowds, he succeeded in becoming just another faceless person in the crowd. Eventually, he managed to wander off the beaten track and had discovered himself in a seedier part of the city. Dodging the skanky looking whores and drug-dealers hanging around in doorways and alleys, he tried to find his way back to his hotel but ended getting completely lost. Giving up on trying to find his way back by himself, he approached a lone young guy leaning against the low stone wall of a bridge over a large river. It had turned out that the guy wasn't a local, but was instead a tourist visiting from London. As luck would have it however he was staying in a hotel not far from his own. Introducing himself as Steve Sharlin, he'd offered to show Andrej the way back, an offer to which he gratefully accepted. While they walked, they talked about life, the universe and everything. However Andrej was careful not to let slip his identity; he introduced himself only as 'Andrew'. Steve was a few years older than him and had just recently been demobbed by the Army. He was traveling around some of the places where he'd been posted while enlisted, but this time around as a civilian, to experience a bit more of the culture. When they arrived back at the hotel, Steve had asked if he was interested in having a drink with him and Andrej had accepted. So they sat at the bar for a while and talked some more. Despite his earlier funk Andrej found himself enjoying the experience of talking with this guy, being able to forget about everything else, if only for a few hours. It was getting late when Steve surprised him by shyly enquiring if Andrej wanted to return to his room with him. Swallowing nervously Andrej had accepted the offer while staring back into Steve's attractive brown eyes... A million fluttering butterflies slugged it out in his stomach when they stepped into the lift together. Steve had been a gentle and patient lover, never pushing and happy to let Andrej take things at his own pace. In the darkness of the hotel room he'd been able to hide the tears of mixed pain and surrender that poured down his face when another man took him for the first time. Although Andrej had been a bit clumsy when returning the favor some time later, Steve had taken it stoically, only crying out at the end when Andrej rammed him hard when he erupted before collapsing onto Steve's sweating back. When the distant horizon began to glow with subdued reds and oranges of the approaching dawn Andrej had slipped from the bed and got dressed while being careful not to wake the gentle man who had treated him with such consideration. Rummaging around inside his bag for a bit of paper to write a quick note on, he'd found instead a copy of his band's latest album. Slipping out the CD sleeve, he wrote a short, but heartfelt message on it, signing it with his real name. After laying the CD on the pillow, he'd walked around to Steve's side of the bed and knelt down, staring into his face. Brushing away a lock of hair from the man's forehead, he leaned over and gave him a soft kiss before getting to his feet and slinking out the door. The streets were almost deserted while he slowly ambled back to his own hotel. The experience had been everything he thought it would...exciting, scary, wonderful... But now for some reason he couldn't help but feel empty, lost and horribly ashamed. Unable to face his own feelings, Andrej wasn't certain that he would have been able to look Steve in the eye when he woke; instead he had chose to flee. When Steve woke later that morning he rolled over and reached out, expecting to find 'Andrew' lying next to him. His heart sinking, he realized the attractive young guy had left sometime during the night while he was asleep. He quickly leaped out of bed and sorted through his belongings, half expecting to have been robbed blind while he slept but discovered nothing missing. Scratching his head while he looked around the room, he spotted the CD lying on a pillow. Picking it up, he saw that it was the latest album by a popular new group that he quite liked and opened the cover. Inside, he found the note scrawled on the sleeve and quickly read it, his eyebrows steadily rising with each sentence he read. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he compared the photo of the lead singer with his memory of 'Andrew'. There was no doubt in his mind. The beautiful young man he'd made love with was one of the most famous and talked about people in the magazines and on TV at the moment. Although he'd lied about his name, Steve was fairly certain everything else 'Andrew' had told him when they had been talking had been the truth; he had really poured out his heart during their conversation. He stared, numbly, at the picture on the CD sleeve, feeling a mixture of sadness and sympathy - Andrej was a very tortured young man. Later that day after their flight had lifted off from the airport and circled over Prague before setting course Andrej stared down at the city with a sad smile. Liz saw the expression on his face and leaned over, touching him softly on the shoulder. "Everything alright, lil' bro?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just feeling a little tired. Didn't sleep much last night..." He hesitated and looked away from her, awash with conflicting emotions and a little lost for words. "So I noticed. You weren't in your room when I came to get you for the party." Her voice softened when she saw him wince. "Andrej, look it's okay...you know you can trust me, right?" Liz looked around quickly to make sure they were not being overheard. Their other two band-mates were busy sweet-talking a couple of the star-struck stewardesses as they had the rest of the business class section to themselves. She turned back to him and lowered her hand until it was resting on his forearm and squeezed it gently. It was her turn to smile sadly. "So. Who was he?" Andrej snapped his head around and snatched his arm away, staring at her, eyes wide with alarm. "What?!_How...no. You can't..." he spluttered into silence, turning pale and his heart began thundering in his ears. He was trapped in his seat against the cabin bulkhead, with nowhere to run. How the fuck did she find out?! Liz released her seat-belt and leaned over to him, her voice low. "C'mon baby, relax...It's _me! I've known since I first met you. It's okay - no one else knows. And no one else is gonna find out, either. You have my word." "How...?" "Girls just know this stuff, silly!" she said, punching him lightly on the arm to try and reassure him a little. Despite himself Andrej relaxed slightly and regained a bit of color when he blushed. "Witch! So, you've got a bag full of voodoo dolls hidden in your trailer somewhere then?" "As it happens," she smiled at him and reached for his arm again. "And stop trying to change the subject. Something happened last night, I can see it in your face. Something big, that's got you upset. And you know how much I care for my lil' bro, so you're gonna tell me, okay? Now, spill." Sighing, he nodded and closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I managed to slip out of the hotel last night and go for a bit of a walk. Ended up getting lost down near the river somewhere, so I stopped and asked this guy for directions -" "Was he cute?" Liz interrupted in a conspiratorial whisper, almost bouncing in her seat with girlish enthusiasm. "Here I am, sharing my deepest, darkest secrets. Pouring out my heart to you and all you wanna know is, is he cute?" Andrej frowned at her for a few moments. It didn't take long for Liz's infectious, excited smile to break down his defenses however and he laughed softly, rolling his eyes. "Alright. Yes, he was cute. Anyway, he was staying at a hotel not far from ours, so he offered to show me the way back -" "What's his name?" "Are you going to keep interrupting me or am I going to have to gag you with something?" he growled playfully while threatening her with a cushion he'd grabbed from the seat pocket in front of him. With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes she shook her head and mimed zipping up her mouth. "His name was Steve. A 24 year old ex-Army boy -" he stopped momentarily, shaking his finger at her when it appeared that she was about to pipe up again. "Yeah, yeah, I know - an older man. Oooooh, the scandal. He was visiting from London." "Coooooool," she breathed. "How exotic. So, when are you gonna see him again? Did you give him your email or your number? Can I meet him? Is he gonna come to one of our UK concerts..." her voice trailed off when she saw the smile fade from his face. Pouting, she leaned her head against his shoulder and squeezed his arm again. "Oh, baby... What happened? Did he hurt you?" Andrej sighed, feeling suddenly miserable while reliving the events in his mind. "No...nothing like that. Actually, I probably hurt him. I ran out before he woke up. Left him a note telling him how I felt, but..." he stopped and squeezed his eyes shut from the shame. "I'm a coward." "It was your first time, wasn't it?" Her sudden, intuitive question caught him off-guard and he stared at her with a blush on his cheeks. "First...? No, of course not -" he stopped when she frowned at him, completely unconvinced. Turning away, he stared out the window while avoiding the accusatory expression on her face. "Yes," he finally admitted quietly. Liz sighed and stroked his arm gently. "Look, I could go on about how what you're feeling right now is normal - and it is normal, dammit," she nudged him meaningfully. "And that you'll get over it, blah, blah, bullshit. But the fact is, that's not gonna make it right in your head. It just takes time. There is nothing to be ashamed of about who and what you are, alright?" Andrej nodded, head full of conflicting emotions while he watched the clouds go sailing past through the jet's window. "Godammit Andrej, look at me when I'm nagging at you!" She grabbed his chin and twisted it around until he was facing her again. She squished his cheeks together while he stared wide-eyed at her, attempting to nod. She grinned at him, amused at the funny expression this made on his face. "That's better. Running out on poor Steve like that in the middle of the night was not very polite, but I'm certain he'll survive. Now, I have one question for you: Did you enjoy it?" "What? No, I didn't enjoy running out on him -" "No, you dumb-ass! I mean did you enjoy the S-E-X?" Liz arched an eyebrow at him and sat back in her seat with her arms crossed, waiting impatiently for his answer. Andrej blushed bright red and he shrunk down in his seat. "Yes," he mumbled. "Sorry, what was that? Thought I heard someone say they might have enjoyed it. Nah, I must be mistaken. Sex is supposed to be horrible, painful and bad." She reached over and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt, pulling him so that they were nose to nose and glared at him. "Don't think I heard you right; what did you say, again?" This time he laughed and gave her a quick kiss on the nose. "Yes! Alright? Yes, I enjoyed it. Happy now, witch?" Liz released him and sat back in her seat with a satisfied grunt, rubbing at the wet patch on her nose. "Happy now." "Liz?" "Mmm-hmm?" He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently. "Thanks." "Anything for you, lil' bro. You know that." She glanced over where the two stewardesses were still fawning over their other band-mates, Luke and Dillon. "I'd just avoid saying anything to those two," she nodded. "Or that fuck-wit manager of ours. They wouldn't understand."
* * *
Back in the present day, his bladder reminded him that it needed attention. Andrej slipped out of bed and grabbed some clothes from the heap on the floor, ending up in a pair of his own jeans and Tainui's t-shirt. Taking a deep sniff of it, he smiled before padding quietly over to the door, where he stopped and looked back at the sleeping Maori; there would be no running away in the middle of the night this time. He would definitely be back.
Stepping down onto the cold, wet grass he looked over to the toilet block on the other side of the field and scowled, freshly aggravated with their cheap-ass manager for not hiring trailers with built-in toilets. He vowed there would be words spoken about this the next chance he got. Instead, he walked toward one of the equipment transport trucks near the fence-line and relieved himself against one of the tyres. He could hear the faint bass thump of music coming from Liz's trailer parked on the other side of the trucks. Smiling, he realized she must be partying it up with the boys. And no doubt some groupies they'd managed to rope in. «CRACK!» Andrej jumped, accidentally splashing his foot from the shock of the sudden noise, loud against the silence of the night. It sounded like someone had stepped on a stick or branch in the scrub near the fence line. Zipping up his fly, he shook his foot in annoyance and stared out toward the source of the noise. There was no sign of any movement and no further noise. After a few moments, he shrugged. Probably just some stray animal or security guard, he figured. He turned and was walking back toward his trailer when he heard the loud rustling of something large and heavy moving quickly through the scrub. Alarmed, he turned around and then abruptly stumbled in shock, eyes wide and mouth gaping open. His mind simply refused to process what he was seeing; three large creatures had burst out of the scrub and were rapidly closing in on his position. Instinctively he turned and sprinted back toward his trailer, which now felt like it was kilometers away... Tainui, meanwhile, found himself shivering when he blearily opened one eye and looked around. Andrej was nowhere to be seen. Rolling over, he slowly sat up, rubbing at his eyes and spotted the partially open trailer door. The icy draft of air flowing through the gap was what had woken him. He got out of bed and yawned while scratching at his crotch before rummaging through the clothes on the floor, finally snagging his trackies. Not bothering with his (now missing) t-shirt, he picked his way over to the trailer door and pushed it open, leaning out into the night to try and spot his missing lover. He quickly spotted Andrej sprinting toward him in the moonlight and smiled while stepping down onto the grass to meet him. But there was something very, very wrong. Andrej didn't look pleased to see him - he looked utterly terrified. Hearing heavy foot-falls, he looked past the boy and saw three large, menacing shapes close behind and moving with inhuman speed. He took a step forward, confused at what he was seeing. It took only moments before Andrej reached him, yelling, "Lock the door, Tai! For the love of god lock the door!" Reacting without thinking, Tainui grabbed him and flung him headlong into the trailer heedless of any injury he might cause. In what felt like slow-motion, he twisted around and was about to step into the trailer himself when the pursuers hit him like a ton of bricks, smashing him into the side of the trailer. Vision blurred, he staggered, trying to raise his arms to defend himself when there was a bright white flash, a spear of agonizing pain that locked all his muscles rigid, and a loud scream. With a detached part of his mind he realized the scream was his own as his consciousness faded and everything went black. Stunned, Andrej looked up from his prone position on the floor to see two of the creatures smashing Tainui into the side of the trailer, before one of them viciously jabbed him with a staff that it was carrying. There was a bright flash which blinded him and he heard the Maori cry out in pain before he fell unmoving to the ground. "Tai, no!" he yelled while scrambling to his feet, his first instinct to get to the Maori despite the obvious threat. The third creature reached into the trailer with inhumanly long arms and grabbed him, effortlessly hauling him through the door and holding him in the air. Andrej screamed when its sharp claws tore into his flesh, the noise making the creature recoil. It abruptly dropped him and stabbed at him with the staff weapon. Searing agony shot through his body, but the pain was mercifully cut short when he also lost consciousness.
* * *
"These humans are more fragile than they appear," Tusker rumbled while shaking the alien blood from the talons on one of his hands. He watched while dark stains rapidly spread on the clothing of the one he'd plucked from inside the metal-clad dwelling where his talons had pierced its flesh. "Enough talking, we have an immediate requirement to move swiftly. The noise these humans made may alert the others." Slash-To-Kill crouched down and roughly poked the larger, darker colored human. It didn't respond. He casually picked up the limp body and tossed it to Fleet-Of-Foot, watching when one of its limbs twisted at an odd angle and made a snapping sound as the other warrior snatched it out of the air; he must have damaged it when it was being subdued. "Take this one. Tusker, take the other. We depart this location, immediately." Draping the limp bodies over their shoulders, Fleet-Of-Foot and Tusker followed Slash-To-Kill at a fast lope across the field and away from the human vehicles. They paused at the gate where they had first broken through. The body of the human who had been guarding the gate was still smoldering gently when they arrived. Slash-To-Kill had conveniently 'forgotten' to dial down the power setting of his shock-lance when the human had confronted them with its small hand-held projectile weapon. Crater was waiting in the shadows near the first commercial building they had explored. He had four large sacks sitting on the ground beside him and hefted them when the others approached. When Slash-To-Kill gave him a questioning look he gave the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug. "I thought it would be expedient to acquire supplies for the humans. I am unsure whether their bodies are capable of processing our food." "Hrrr, you impress me further, engineer. I will be submitting a favorable report on our return." "That would be appreciated. However, I suggest we vacate this location. Hrrr, I may have inadvertently triggered one of their alarm systems while obtaining the supplies." Crater shifted nervously from foot to foot, staring down the road toward a distant flashing orange light outside a large, single-level building. When the warrior rounded on him, suddenly furious, he took several frightened, involuntary steps back until the wall behind him prevented further retreat. "You worthless gutter-slug! Perhaps I spoke too soon," Slash-To-Kill snarled at him. "Hrrr, if we did not require your services on the Victorious-Hunting I would be abandoning your mutilated corpse for the humans to dissect! We depart immediately. Double-time it. Move out!" He watched the others sprint off ahead of him, but remained where he was for several moments, looking around. There were more flashing lights converging toward the looted supplies building. Lights were also flicking on around the human battle arena where they had acquired the humans; it was definitely time to leave. On the way back to the shuttle he made the decision to make a slight detour. When the family in one isolated house arose the following morning, they were alerted to a problem by the scream of one of their children when she went out to feed the animals. The parents came running, but quickly stopped short when they reached the kennels. Their daughter was standing amidst several congealed pools of blood, holding the shredded remains of a leash and collar. The scattered, bloody remains spread over the ground around her more closely resembled ground beef, than anything remotely canine.