The Nagatok Raid
This story and all the characters within it are the copyright of the author.
THE NAGATOK RAID
1
Sergeant Jasdik Norgata took no enjoyment from his trip to Nagatok's main military base with his fellow reservists over rough and damaged roads that had been made worse by the previous night's rain. He had joined the reserves only at the insistence of his older brother, who had joined when he was young, and out of a sense of patriotism since his government had helped him finance his family's move to this near idyllic world on the Soriss Union's frontier. At the time it did not seem like a bad idea, but his unexpected call up had pulled him away from them and his and his brother who had been wounded in the fiascos in the Earth and in the Mendall star systems which included the return of Dorzeli Primes to the quadrant for the first time in a century.
He thought the situation had to have truly gotten bad if they had to call him and his three companions in to take the place of more experienced soldiers who had been sent off world to participate in the war.
He had earlier complained aloud about why their superiors had not sent an aircraft to pick him and the others up instead of the light armored vehicle they were in. The driver responded that he suspected that his superiors probably did not want to waste such assets on lowly foot soldiers.
His attention was distracted from the uncomfortable ride by his communicator when a priority transmission activated it. All four soldiers were stunned to hear that their destination was under attack. Just as the identity of the attackers was about to be revealed the transmission was cut off. The driver cursed and brought the vehicle to an abrupt halt.
Jasdik looked through the windshield and saw the cause; a large tree had blocked the road. He found this strange since the storm had not been that windy and that all of the trees that surrounded them were still standing. With no way around it they left their heavier weapons and got out to and see if they could move it off the road so that they could go help with the defense of the base.
A feeling of dread came over Jasdik when he saw strange markings on the large tree's trunk. They almost looked as if they had been made by giant claws. Also, as hard as he looked, he could not find from where the tree had fallen. A loud crash from their rear caused all four of the soldiers to spin around.
Ancient fears welled up within all of them when they saw what stood next to their overturned vehicle; an adult Dorzeli-Ki that towered to almost five times their tallest member: a creature that had brought fear into the hearts of every member of the Soriss race ever since the last two wars with the Kroon Empire during which they devastated every colony and home world that they attacked and left few, if any, survivors.
They stood frozen for several seconds as they awaited its attack, which it was poised and ready for, but when Jasdik saw that it seemed hesitant, almost confused, its eyes darted from soldier to soldier, he devised a plan to keep it so. He hand signaled the others to split up and distract it so that at least one of them could get back to their damaged vehicle and retrieve one of their heavy weapons, but before he could complete his communication of his strategy one of his fellow soldiers turned and ran. This caused the Dorzeli to come out of its apparent trance and attack with a speed Jasdik did not think was possible for a creature so huge.
It dove forward and killed the two that were closest to him with a broad swipe of its claws.
Stunned by the swiftness of the attack he paused long enough to notice the driver attempt to distract the creature by yelling obscenities at it. That was when he spotted an opening between the creature's legs.
He ran as fast as he could just as it leapt toward the driver.
He was almost to the car when he was knocked into the side of the wreckage when one of the monster's twin tails.
Unhurt, he tried to right himself for another attempt. That was when he heard a muffled scream.
He looked up and gasped in horror when he saw why the driver's cries had been cut off so fast when the Dorzeli turned to face him; two still very active legs hung from the Dorzeli's distended jaws. Two mighty gulps later they disappeared.
He could not tear his eyes away from the spectacle of watching the lump that was the driver's body descend down the creature's throat and into its torso. This was when he noticed that its uniform, that matched its brown on tan coloration in everyway, had symbols that matched the markings of the Earth-Mendall Alliance and not the Kroon Empire, as he would have expected.
Jasdik pressed himself as hard as he could against the side of the vehicle when the creature fixed its eyes upon him and his terror escalated when it took the remains of the other two soldiers striped them and proceeded to take large bites out of them, swallowing the chunks of flesh to add to the swelling in its belly. Within minutes all that was left of his comrades was their blood on its face and claws. The moment it finished cleaning itself off it moved toward him.
Jasdik wanted to scream but found that he had no voice for it. Instead he pressed himself against what was left of the troop carrier and prayed that the creature before him was no longer hungry. His hopes seemed well founded when the large Dorzeli-Ki stopped and squatted down and said, "I will not harm you if you cooperate."
Jasdik was not amazed that it had a translator on its person, but he wondered why he had been spared the fate of the others. All the data on them indicated that they almost never took prisoners and the few they did capture were never seen again.
It next asked, "You're Squad Leader Norgata?" It licked its lips as if the answer would determine if it would add the soldier to its already very full belly.
Stunned by the creature's knowledge of who he was he found his voice and stuttered; "Y-yes I am." He saw the beast, which he determined to be a male, smile upon hearing his answer.
Jasdik, thinking that his time had come, closed his eyes and began an ancient chant. A loud impact on the ground in front of him broke his concentration along with a deep growl; "I'll not allow you to kill yourself after what I've gone through to find you."
He opened his eyes and saw that its claw-equipped hand had slammed into the ground in front of him with so much force that it left a deep imprint. He also saw something strange about the creature's eyes. It was that that gave him the boldness to ask, "H-how do you know my name?"
He was caught off guard by the answer; "From your village."
Jasdik panicked. Was his family and brother alright? He feared that this monster or others of its kind may have already killed everyone.
His heart rate escalated when the Dorzeli brought its face down to within centimeters of his. The creature inhaled deeply then backed away with a smile on its face.
"Your scent and rank tells me that you're the one." It pointed a thumb claw to its chest. "My code name is Thorn." Thorn looked at the wreckage of the vehicle and in a low voice said, "I'm glad you were not one of the others."
Jasdik managed to croak out, "Why?"
"My group landed on this planet to raid a military installation, but our intelligence was faulty, your village was placed where we believed the base should've been. When the others wanted to slay your people out of frustration I stopped them by blocking their line of fire."
Thorn noted the look of surprise on Jasdik's face and grinned without exposing his teeth. "Yes, I know that was not normal behavior for a Dorzeli; I was raised by members of another race that found me after my parents died in a crash landing on their planet. Their culture does not believe in the slaying of civilians during war, whether as for food or personal enjoyment, so I didn't know of my race's habits until I was reunited with them"
His expression turned back to one of deadly seriousness. "Because of this my mate, who lead's our group, understood how I felt and agreed to spare them on one condition." Thorn sat up to his full height as if to emphasize his next point. "If anyone alerted the military to our presence they would return and kill everyone without mercy. They left me to ensure their threat would be carried out." Thorn's eyes locked on his prisoner and he leaned toward him. "But someone there did transmit a message and my team was ambushed."
Jasdik tried to back away, but was snatched from the ground and brought up to the angry Dorzeli's face. "I compared the transmission's code to your people's database and discovered it was yours."
"Th-that's impossible!" shouted Jasdik. "I wasn't..." he then went silent.
Thorn smiled. "I see from your reaction that it may be someone close to you: a relative perhaps?" Jasdik looked away. Thorn used an index claw to redirect his face back toward his. "Luckily for your people they survived the battle, but they're now on their way back to your village." What Jasdik heard next smashed all he had learned of the Dorzeli since he was young. "I believe that if I can discover who sent it and deliver him or her to the others when they return they'll spare everyone else, including your family."
Jasdik became suspicious and said, "No Dorzeli I've ever heard of has tried to spare one of us unless..."
Thorn saw his eyes widen in recognition of one of the other purpose his people often used Jasdik's for. "You'll be glad to know that I don't do that sort of thing; as I told you I was not raised as a Dorzeli; that's why I want to spare them.
"You have my promise that only that individual will suffer." Jasdik, still in shock by the unexpected offer, hesitated to respond. Thorn mistook this for intransigence, looked deeply into his eyes and growled, "It must be this way or everyone dies, including your entire family. Do you want their deaths and over a hundred and twenty others on your conscience?"
For any other individual the answer would probably have been obvious, but, he assumed that his family and village would be destroyed no matter what he did or said, if they weren't already dead, and that he would soon join them, so he did the last thing he thought he could accomplish against such a creature; he surprised Thorn by successfully launching a kick to his lower jaw.
Thorn growled, opened his mouth to its widest and brought it over Jasdik's head. A second later he repositioned his jaws and, instead of biting the helpless soldier in half, closed his mouth onto the Soriss' right shoulder.
Jasdik screamed out in pain then fell silent. Thorn opened his mouth as the body in his hand went limp and the wounds sealed with very little loss of blood.
"That was close," he thought with initial relief, "I almost lost it again, but..."
He sighed and put Jasdik into his uniform's large belly pouch which had been made tight by his recent meal and hoped that he had not used too much venom. He also prayed that its effects could be reversed before the Soriss' transformation started and cause him to have another Dorzeli male to worry about. He turned and ran back toward the village.
2
Twenty hours earlier:
Any other ship would have taken almost the full two months that was allotted to them for the journey to the Kroon Empire's council world, but with its superior speed the Pressat would have taken less than two weeks if was not that both Feih Desslat and the Alliance's Supreme commander Jason Monroe-Talbot had decided to put the extra time to good use by attacking several targets of opportunity along the way.
The first two were easy enough, an unescorted cargo ship and a small orbiting outpost above a gas giant. Neither saw them coming, thus, no distress calls were made. It was the make up of their next objective that had Lieutenant Matthew Thorn worried.
Feih had noticed her mate's lack of reaction to her advances on the night before their arrival and decided to help him get over his fears once and for all.
She sat up in their bed, lifted and turned him so that their faces met and in a stern tone told him that, "You did well with your first kill so this should be easier because they'll be able to fight back."
He looked into her eyes; "It's not the soldiers I am worried about Feih, it's the civilians. I don't think I can bring myself to kill them in cold blood."
She thought for a moment and then admitted, "I've never been in this situation before either, but when I remember all of my people that they have slaughtered, including my parents and sister, I feel that I'll have no problem in killing any of them." She placed a hand on his neck and caressed him. He felt very a pleasant and familiar shiver run throughout his body. "I've picked out a purely military target from the Kroon database so we should not have to deal with any non-military personnel." She kissed him in a very un-Dorzeli like manner, directly on the front of his snout, and then added.,"And just in case we run into any do as I said I'll do; think about all the civilians they killed when they invaded earth."
He thought about it for a moment before he told her, "I'll try." She seemed to accept his word on the matter at the time.
The next day, after the Pressat's unique stealth system had helped them avoid the two Soriss cruisers that were guarding the outer regions of the system, Jason had all of the members of the raiding party gathered in the main cargo hold for a final briefing. They, like Matt and Feih, were surprised to find that both he and Freerah had assumed the physical appearance and size of Dorzeli-Ki.
Once everyone had settled in he explained why. "As you know the Kroon Empire has an uneasy peace with the Soriss Union. Because of this our official status will be of an Alliance commando force with exiled Dorzeli-Ki volunteers. This is because Freerah and I, being Dorzeli-Primes and official representatives of the Empire, are forbidden to take direct action against Soriss forces outside our home range, which includes Earth, Mendall and, for now, Klavar Two. A violation of this law could result in retaliatory actions against our home worlds."
Matt could not believe his ears: that Jason was risking an attack by the Kroon just to satisfy Feih or his own battle lust, or, he feared, hunger. He also thought back to what Jason had told him about the habits of some of the member races of the Kroon Empire and shuddered at the thought of beings like himself swarming over the Earth and satisfying their base instincts; humanity would be extinct in less than a year.
He thought about adding his voice to the others questioning their commander's judgment when, without any sign of anger, he shouted, "Please, I understand your misgivings about what I've said, but, with our present forms, we should be able to avoid detection by the Soriss, especially if we act the way Dorzeli usually did when their ancestors invaded Soriss colonies." He glanced in Matt's direction during the brief pause as if to make it clear that he would be the target of the next sentence. "I know this will be distasteful for some, but it'll be necessary to maintain our cover." He turned back to the general audience. "All non-Dorzeli will be allowed to withdraw to a safe distance should such an opportunity arise." He looked the audience over and asked, "Any other questions?" Once he was sure none were forthcoming he ordered the landing party to 'suit up' and motioned for all the Dorzeli to meet with him privately.
As soon as they were gathered around him he looked directly at Matt and spoke in Dorzel. "I meant it when I said to behave according to our instincts. I want no one to hold back because I don't want any possible survivors to inform their government of their suspicions; that information might get back to the Kroon council."
"Don't worry," said Feih without looking at Matt, "I can assure you that we'll do whatever is necessary."
Matt asked, "What about the civilians?" Feih looked as if she wanted to gut him; his previous night's performance had been far from satisfactory.
Jason stepped up to him and, with restrained anger, said, "The Soriss practice total war or have you forgotten that they targeted civilians when they invaded earth?" He did not wait for an answer, "On this mission we'll do no better." He grabbed Matt's throat with his right hand and hissed, "Be sure to remember that." He released him, turned and walked to the cargo hold's transporter pad.
Matt felt his throat and looked at Feih. She too was angry over his question, but he could also tell that she was worried when she left him and joined Jason along with her brother Daihas.
His sister tried to console him, "I know how hard this will be for you, but you have to do this if this mission is to be successful."
He stared at her then remembered what she did when she killed the pilot of the Soriss warmech back on Dessla: she had licked the blood from her claws and had enjoyed it.
"When did you..."
She glanced at the others before she used her implant to tell him; "Soon after Jason changed me in order for me to try and find you once I was dropped off on Dessla."
"You've told me that but..."
"The Soriss were too powerful and fought both the fleet and Jason off. Then one of their ships got behind our lines and destroyed a light cruiser as we retreated."
Matt's ears drooped. "I saw the explosion."
He felt and saw Sarah's anger build, "Jason managed to disable that ship and towed it back to Mendall were we boarded it." Matt saw her become upset. "I was so angry at losing a chance to find you that...by the time we were finished there were no survivors." She looked away from him. "It took me more than a week to recover. That's why I wasn't there when he found you." An alarm sounded for their entry into orbit. She continued to talk to him as they walked toward the matter transceiver. "But after that I felt that the next time would be easier for me; it should be for you too."
He stopped and looked down at the floor. "That's what I'm worried about Sarah. I don't ever want it to become easy."
She took hold of his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. "Listen Matt; you're a trained soldier and killer. You're also now a Dorzeli; there's no difference except for planet of origin and, maybe, the methods we use." She released him and stepped back, "Just do as I did, let yourself go and allow your instincts take over, or remind yourself what made you decide to take out Grahdal." She smiled and winked at him. "It also doesn't hurt to be a little hungry either."
Despite her joke he could sense that she had her own doubts about what she had become and the acts she had committed, but he also knew she was right. He could never go back to the way he was before he left earth. He had a mate who he loved very much and a son on the way. He resolved to go through with whatever they asked of him no matter how he personally felt about it.
"Okay Sarah, I'll follow your advice. Let's go before Jason yells at us."
Sarah smiled escorted him towards the others.
Jason was busy handing out weapons similar to the one Matt had used during the final battle on Dessla, converted anti-ship particle beam cannons with a Vulcan cannon attached to its underside, when Feih noticed his and Sarah's approach. The concerned look on her face disappeared when he kissed her and said, "I'll do whatever is necessary to complete this mission."
Feih returned his kiss and lead him onto the platform in preparation to be transmitted via a static wormhole down onto the surface of the planet. None of them knew at that time what would be waiting for them would put their resolve and instincts to the ultimate test.
3
Matt had been running at near full speed ever since his capture of Jasdik. His Dorzeli body was engineered for such stresses and the three Soriss soldiers he had devoured provided him with the energy he needed to maintain the high rate of speed that was required to get back to the village before the others, but he had used so much energy in the pursuit of his prisoner that he feared that, by the time he returned to the village, his survival instincts might force him to carry out Feih's orders. That was why he dared not increase his size in order to cover more ground to get back to where he had started any faster.
His predicament caused him to think back to how easily he had dealt with Jasdik's fellow soldiers. Six days ago he could not have imagined that he could have taken all three soldiers in the manner he had after having had some difficulty with one back on Dessla. But, as Feih had once told him and with what his sister had revealed to him back on the Pressat, like Earth's Komodo Dragons, a Dorzeli could consume a significant percentage of their body weight at one sitting. He hoped that his very efficient metabolism, over four times that of a human's, could carry him long enough to complete his self imposed task before he would have to feed again.
He was also disturbed that he had enjoyed making his prisoner watch him devour his comrades, especially when he swallowed the last living one whole. He tried to convince himself that it was the hunger he had felt after his multi kilometer pursuit of his quarry and the narcotic effect that Soriss' blood had on all Dorzeli that had caused him to behave as he did, not his new hunter killer instincts.
He halted his high speed pace to rest against a tree and thought, "How can I ever walk among humans in either form and have them feel safe around me after what I've done?" This and how his attempt to save the villagers might actually result in him behaving as Feih and Jason had wanted weighed heavily upon him.
He checked on the time and assumed that if the others were moving half as fast as he was he would only have only slightly more than an hour once he arrived back at the village to find out who alerted the Soriss military to their presence. He resumed his run and thought back to the screw up that had caused his present predicament.
Soon after they had arrived on the surface they realized that something was seriously wrong: where a military installation should have been the scouts found a small undefended Soriss village. Jason was livid and compared Kroon military intelligence to the age-old earth stereotype. Seconds later all hell broke loose.
Daihas, who was out on point, was discovered by a female Soriss who had approached his position from downwind. He ran after her when she fled to raise the alarm and caught her but was subsequently seen by several more Soriss civilians who also ran to raise the alarm. With the situation deteriorating around them Jason ordered that the village be taken with as few casualties as possible and that from that point on Feih would assume command as had been originally agreed. Luckily the local population was small and, being near the time of their midday meal, they were easy to round up; only a few had to be stunned.
Gathered into the central square a quick census was taken and compared to the records from the village's central data core. It was discovered that all but one was present. The Mendall officer that had hacked the Soriss system informed Feih that he was a soldier that had left less than an hour ago on a military ground transport. Satisfied that their presence had not been detected by the Soriss military she ordered that his family be brought before her.
They were separated from the main body of the group after the same officer read their names aloud: "They are of the family Norgata. The father, Jasdik, is the one not present. The other male with the injured leg is his older brother, Paredt, on medical leave from the military. The female's name is Nasha, and her children..."
He was cut off when the male, who had a minor limp, broke free of his guards and charged at the Dorzeli closest to him. Matt had the misfortune to be that one. When he grabbed Paredt the Soriss pulled out a concealed knife.
Matt knocked the blade to away and growled, "Are you so eager to die?"
The defiant Soriss declared, "If it would protect my brother's family; yes!"
His attitude reminded Matt of the first and so far only Soriss he had devoured. This memory, combined with his scent and the pain in his hand, were all that were needed to cause his anger to flare to dangerous levels. He opened his mouth and brought the Soriss closer.
Both children and their mother became hysterical and many others turned away.
Feih looked at the children and absentmindedly felt her abdomen with one of her hands. Jason and Freerah looked at each other then to Feih.
"Thorn!" The tone of command in his mate's voice caused Matt to stop with the Soriss within centimeters of his front teeth.
He blinked twice, closed his mouth and turned his head toward her; his face was a mixture of anger, confusion and relief. She walked up to him and looked at the frightened gathering.
"I've decided to let all of you live, but," her next words come out in a low growl, "If any of you try to or manage to contact your forces we will return and kill everyone."
Matt was shocked by this turn of events, but he was also reluctant to put Paredt down. There was something about the wounded soldier...but when she ordered him to he returned him to his sibling's family without hesitation. Then, with help from the other Alliance forces, they herded the villagers into the central meeting hall.
Feih ordered Matt to destroy the village's communications center, a task he took great pleasure in as it allowed him to release the anger he felt at almost losing control. He had just finished reducing the two-story building to rubble when he was informed of what had been done.
"We've sealed them in their meeting hall: Jason and Freerah reverted themselves part way and welded the doors and windows shut. We'll release them when we get back."
She prevented him from following the others when they prepared to move out to their true target; "I want you to stay nearby in case they violate my conditions; carry out my threat, whether we make it back or not." She stared directly into his eyes and bared her sharp canines when she said. "I don't care if you eat them or blow the building with your gun."
He gave her the only answer he could; "That won't be a problem." He felt if she did not come back alive he would not be able to restrain himself. "
Several electronic surveillance units were setup around the village and a small base camp from which he could monitor any possible communications or escape attempts before they left. Feih then gave Matt the remote receiver and issued one last order; "Maintain radio silence. I'll contact you after we destroy the base." She leaned in kissed him.
He wished her and the others good luck and took up station before the monitoring station.
4
Matt panted heavily and felt faint when he arrived back at his small base camp. The instruments still flashed their alert to unauthorized communications, but showed no new transmissions or other activities. He thought back to the point in time when he first realized that the signal had been sent.
He had decided to go on a short patrol of the area around the village after an hour of boredom and called up a map that had been downloaded from the Soriss database and found the road that the one missing individual was on and that it led to the very same base the others were going to attack and felt some sadness at the possibility of the Soriss' wife becoming a widow because of their actions. His train of thought was broken by the alarms from the sensors.
Matt's implant received data that a military transmission had originated in the village and when he checked the individual's code he was stunned. It matched that of the missing soldier!
He did not want to carry out Feih's orders: to kill everyone because of the sin of an individual that was not even there. After a few moments of thought he came up with a plan: if he could find the guilty party and present him or her to Feih he might prevent a massacre. All he had to do was to find the missing soldier so that he could point out the individual that could have faked his code.
He went to the highest hilltop that overlooked the valley and used the map to relocate the road that the vehicle used to return to the base. Just as he found it he got a message from Feih that he had hoped he would never hear.
"We've been ambushed just north of the target. You know what to do." His anxiety increased when he heard word "ambush" and gunfire and explosions in the background.
He heard someone in the background curse and mention something about warmechs after which he received a visual signal; dual Cherrodon shields protected everyone from incoming fire while in the distance he saw several humanoid machines that were as big as houses move toward them; the military base was to their rear. The view then switched back to the group and showed them returning fire with everything they had.
"We're going to make it out of this alive," yelled Jason, "And no one is going to be left behind"
Two blue beams lashed out at one of the mechs and it exploded. Seconds later he lost the signal.
With the evidence that they would survive to return and unleash their fury upon the village he knew that it was imperative that he located Jasdik.
He scanned the valley and hoped that the winding course of the road through the hilly terrain had slowed the vehicle down enough so that he could catch it, but when he saw no sign of it he decided to use the downloaded map to help him intercept it. But there was only one way he knew of to do this with the head start the vehicle already had. He concentrated on what had to be done and let his Dorzeli hunting instincts take over. He did not notice that Feih's betrothal necklace's single Azure jewel had begun to glow.
Within seconds he and his battle suit attained the same size he had from that first night with Feih's family and was at three times his normal top speed (to match his new size). He overcame any obstacle in his path with ease and moved in a straight line toward his target with a determination of a predator after his chosen prey.
His only fear was what would happen once he caught the vehicle. His new size had a much higher nutritional demand than his normal form and he would have to replenish the loss of what he had built up from the plentiful stores aboard the Pressat once he did and there was only one way he could do that. He made the hard decision that would help him accomplish his goal and continued on.
Fifteen minutes later an almost sinister smile came to his face when he saw his slow moving target from the top of a ridge that hung over the rain damaged road. He returned to his normal size in the hope of reducing his hunger (it did not), grabbed and uprooted a nearby tree and ran to a bend in the road that led to a straight section that went over a nearby hill where he dropped it in a position that he hoped would look natural and force the vehicle to stop then hid his still sizable frame in a nearby gulley just before his trap.
He watched with nervous anticipation the light armored transport car come to a halt some distance away from the tree. His heart raced when all four of the individuals got out and investigated his blockade. He waited until the last soldier was as far away as possible before he jumped up onto the road and overturned their vehicle so that no one could get away if they somehow got by him.
Matt was conflicted when they turned and faced him. The smell of their fear and his gnawing hunger urged him to attack, but he had to hold back and decide which one was Jasdik; which one to spare. His eyes darted form one soldier to the other until he saw the name tag on his quarry's uniform. Then one of them made a move to run.
Whether it was the possibility of the existence of heavy weapons in the vehicle or base instinct he lashed out at the two of the three soldiers with the claws of his right hand with fatal results. Then his attention was drawn to the loud shouts from the other. He leapt forward and grabbed him as his original target ran between his legs. Without looking his snapped one of his tails and struck the runner with just enough force to knock him from his feet. Then he opened his mouth to its widest and brought it down upon the one in his hand.
Matt's recollection of what happened ended with a severe bout of dizziness. "No," he shouted in panic, "this can't be happening now, not when I'm so close. I'm not ready..." he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
He awoke seconds later and stared up into the face of a nude and very angry Jasdik Norgata. He was also stunned to find himself in his human form.
Jasdik reached down and grabbed him by the throat with both of his hands and snarled, "You're a human?"
Matt growled, threw him off and transformed into his Dorzeli form, lunged forward, pinned the frightened Soriss to the ground and positioned his open mouth above his throat; but something deep inside of him, much more basic than his original purpose for capturing the Jasdik, kept him from following through. He closed his mouth and backed away from his intended victim who was somewhat less than half his size.
Puzzled as to why he had been spared a second time Jasdik looked at Matt and said, "You-you should have killed me: my people will when they find out what you've done." He looked around at the amber tinted surroundings. "Where are we? It looks like the forest near my home but it's different." He looked his captor over. "And why are you so small?"
"You're in a virtual reality that exists inside my mind," Matt paused, then, in a low voice, said, "Where I'm this size so that I can make you mine." He saw the horror in Jasdik's eyes and added, "But I won't do that. All I want is what I've already told you: the identity of the individual that warned your base."
Jasdik looked down and backed away. "I-I don't believe you."
Matt could feel himself become erect and knew he only had a short time before the feelings that he had so far succeeded to suppress would overwhelm him. He had to do something soon before...he reached down seized Jasdik by his shoulders and lifted him up so that they were face to face.
His voice had lost some of its edge when he said, "I'm sorry that I lied to you about my origins, but I did tell you the truth when I said that I did not know the full consequences of becoming a Dorzeli until I confronted one of your people after I was given this form." He dipped his head. "I wished I didn't have to do what I did then or what I did to your friends, but I couldn't help myself and I don't want to do it to your village"
Jasdik seemed to him to believe what he had just been told until he voiced his ture feelings on what had occurred; "They weren't my friends, but they were of my people and I won't ever forgive you for what you did to them or tell you what you want to know." His body trembled in matt's grasp and he looked down at his feet. "I'm no traitor; so do what you want with me."
Matt growled. "I told you I'm not..." He stopped when he felt something stir within him, something that he thought he could suppress. Was Jasdik right about what he expected to occur?
"I-I..." Jasdik looked away. "I still can't believe that a human would allow himself to be changed into..." He looked back and was startled to find that Matt's anger had returned.
He bared his teeth and growled, "Your expeditionary force destroyed over a dozen towns, two cities and killed my mate's relatives before we stopped them." He brought his prisoner close to his mouth. "The only reason you're alive and that I'm attempting to save your people is because I AM human." Matt saw Jasdik begin to say something and snarled, "And I don't care what you've been told about human history; we're not all the same."
He placed Jasdik back on his feet but kept their faces close. "As far as my transformation is concerned: I wanted this because I fell in love with my mate first." A toothy grin appeared on his face, "And I'm not the only one." He backed a short distance away. "My sister has also been changed; unlike your people all humans can be changed and, as you've seen, I have the same deadly potential as any natural borne Dorzeli." He sat up to allow Jasdik to absorb what he said and kept his grin.
"If that's true then it's over for my people." His gaze had lowered as he spoke and an expression of fear appeared on his face.
Matt realized what his eyes were focused on and tried to reiterate his earlier statement. "I told you before I..." He found that the feelings that were welling up within him would not allow him to continue. He closed his mouth and thought, "Is this what Feih felt for me?"
He looked his prisoner over and, from deep down within his being, he began to feel good about their situation and what his instincts were about to make him do. It also seemed that Jasdik knew what was about to happen and that there would be no escape; he did not struggle and closed his eyes when Matt lowered his head toward him and stuck out his tongue. He stopped when he received a second strange sensation, as if he was in some form of danger.
He released his prisoner when he remembered what had happened when he and Feih were interrupted in a similar situation and willed himself awake.
His eyes shot open and, in one smooth motion, he stood up, grabbed and swept his rifle across the entire camp and sniffed the air. He detected no significant change, but he felt the same sense of, if not danger, of not being alone. But with the absence of any evidence of a physical presence he relaxed and checked the time. He was startled to find that the others should have already arrived. Because his "dream" had manifested itself in the real world and because he had to be careful of Jasdik's body he experienced some discomfort when he walk-ran from the camp toward the village in the hope that he was not too late.
5
Matt's loins had calmed down by the time he re-entered the village, but he was troubled by what he was beginning to feel for the Soriss when he found himself caressing Jadik's body against his abdomen through his battle suit when he began to stir, as well as what would happen if he released him back to his people. He would either be killed or he would slaughter all but his closest family in order to fuel his development into a Dorzeli-Ki. He hoped that the rumor that Jason or Freerah could undo the changes that had already started in Jasdik's system was true and undid the flap of his suit's pouch, gently pulled the soldier out and placed him on the ground.
Jasdik woke up and was greeted with the site of Matt standing over him. This time he realized that his surroundings were real and darted his head around as if to find an escape route.
Matt dissuaded him from that course of action when he growled, "If you run everyone is dies."
Jasdik began to shake as if he was about to have a nervous breakdown.
Matt knew that he had to tell him the truth if he had any hope of getting any cooperation from him. Then it dawned on him that it could work to his advantage. "My people and the Dorzeli have developed a way to reverse the process in case any humans were accidentally bitten, but you'll only get it if you tell me who could've contacted your forces, otherwise you'll be mine to do with as I please." Matt smiled and showed off his teeth as if to confirm Jasdik's original fears, that a transformed Soriss would be a Dorzeli's loyal companion in both body and soul for their entire life.
Jasdik was horrified; "Let you kill one of my people so that I can stay normal?"
Matt did not like what he meant by "normal" but kept his anger in check; "And so that the rest of your fellow villagers will live? Yes."
He could see that his prisoner was still torn between his duty as a soldier and his love for his family so he decided to help make up his mind.
Matt walked over to the main door of the building that housed the villagers, bent down, grabbed its edges with his claws, tore them loose from their frame and tossed them aside. Many of the civilians who witnessed this act of raw power tried to withdraw further into the building and some screamed in panic.
He returned to his previous position next to Jasdik, un-shouldered his weapon, initiated its pre-charge chamber, aimed it at the entranceway then looked at his prisoner to make sure he heard its high-pitched whine build until full power had been attained.
He used the link he had with jasdik to tell him; "You know that I don't want to do this, but if you don't tell me what I want to know I'll have no choice but to kill everyone." Matt looked down his weapon's sights and wrapped a clawed finger around the trigger.
Jasdik's desperate plea for his captor to stop was cut off by a shout of a familiar voice from the entrance. A grin that appeared on Matt's face when he saw who it was that had shouted his former prisoner's name.
When the Soriss turned and spotted that individual he started to respond with a warning to stay back, but was cut off by that same person.
"No little brother," he yelled as he limped toward them. "It's over for me."
Matt smiled broadened with the realization that his original suspicions were correct, now if he could only pull off the final part of his plan...
Paredt saw his expression, stopped and, with an air of defiance, said, "Yes monster, I'm the one that warned our base of your attack, but I was obviously too late." He stopped, looked at the ground and shook his head. "When I received no reply from them I realized they were all dead and that I had put my brother's family and this whole village in danger for nothing."
Jasdik ran to his older brother and, almost in tears, grabbed his shoulders. "No, you mustn't do this. If I loose you I'll never be able to face our parents."
Paredt noticed the bite marks through his uniform, glanced at Matt then pushed his brother away. "Don't be a fool Jas'. Our government's propaganda on the Dorzeli is obviously flawed." He motioned back to the meeting hall with his right arm. "I've been telling the others to prepare for death all this time yet this one," he pointed at Matt, "continues to try too spare them by allowing me to give myself up to him. That is not an act of a cruel, bloodthirsty beast."
Jasdik disagreement was vehement, "You weren't there to see how he killed the others."
Matt said nothing to refute his words and felt uneasy.
Paredt gave his brother a stern stare when he asked, "You did you try to defend yourselves?"
A wave of shame came over Jasdik. "We tried, but he was too fast for us."
Paredt sighed and shook his head in resignation. "I thought as much." He looked back at his brother. "You did your duty as soldiers," he turned back to Matt, "and I must now do mine for putting everyone in danger and falsifying your code on my personal communicator."
"He must have an implanted transceiver too!" thought Matt. "That's the only way he could have gotten a message out with all their other communication devices destroyed or disabled."
Paredt scanned the area around them and waved his hand as to cover the entire scene around them. "I just hope that they're as forgiving as your new 'friend'."
Matt did not need to turn his head to see that Feih and the others had arrived; he had scented them some minutes earlier. "They've probably heard everything" he thought, but when he heard nothing over his communicator from them he became puzzled as to why this was so.
He tried to reassure the Soriss, "I believe they'll honor my request."
"Yes," replied Paredt who looked around him a second time. "I can see that they're making no threatening moves toward us."
Matt finally turned his head and found Jason and Freerah back in their Dorzeli-Ki forms and that Feih and the others were spread out around the square. He also saw that they were looking at him with what he believed to be approval of his actions. He was relieved, but very confused.
Paredt walked over to and stopped in front of Matt. "I believe you have a duty to perform."
He lowered his gun just enough so that it pointed directly at the Soriss' head and hissed, "Strip down first."
Paredt smiled and followed his orders. "I see that you've had some experience with our soldiers; you'll definitely survive this conflict." When he had disrobed down to his under garments Matt shouldered his weapon and reached for him.
Jasdik tried to run to his brother's aide, but was blocked by Feih who ran in front of him. This caused Matt to stop until she reassured him over their link that she would not harm anyone unless they tried to interfere.
He retreated to his wife who tried to shield the eyes of their children who screamed for their uncle. Matt ignored them, grabbed hold of Paredt and lifted him from the ground.
"Before you do this, may I ask you one last question?" Matt stopped and nodded yes. "Are you Jason Monroe-Talbot?"
Stunned by this question he hesitated before he answered, "No. Why do you ask?"
"Your behavior was what I would have expected from a transformed human." He closed his eyes and sighed, "You may proceed."
Before he could Feih walked over and kissed him. Matt's eyes widened and he smiled when she backed away and winked at him. He licked his lips and looked back down at the Soriss in his grip, brought him up to his mouth and bit into his shoulder. Paredt gritted his teeth from the initial pain then fell limp.
Matt released him and licked at the wounds he had inflicted then opened his mouth to its widest. Most of the Soriss who had not turned away from what they thought would have been a gory scene were puzzled at how red Matt's mouth, tongue and teeth had become from such a small amount of blood. That handful who continued to watch, including Jasdik, saw Matt take in Paredt's body in up to his waist then raised his head to the sky and swallow.
Jasdik watched in both horror and amazement as his brother's body was drawn down into Matt's throat until his feet disappeared between the Dorzeli's lips.
Matt swallowed hard three times which drew Paredt's body into his chest. He gave off a sigh of satisfaction then looked at Jasdik and grinned. Contrary to his earlier attitudes Matt had taken pleasure in the task of devouring the one that had almost caused his mate to come to harm, but he had one more thing to do.
He concentrated and reopened the link they had shared a few hours before but was stopped from communicating with him when Feih grabbed his arm and said, "We have to get off this planet now; they were able to call back the cruisers before we destroyed their base and the militia from the closest town is on its way here."
He looked to her then Jason who gave him a slight nod. He returned his gaze Jasdik. "You have my promise that your brother will be taken care of once we're back on our ship." He then transferred to him what he had gone through with Feih.
The Soriss opened mouth then closed it; "I understand."
Jason's Mendallian friend and confidant, Captain Yurex Creduta and two human Alliance soldiers with red crosses on their right arms walked toward Jasdik. He became fearful until Matt, who had been signaled to do so, said, "They have the antidote to my venom and its effects."
Jasdik had seen how his fellow villagers had stared at the wound on his shoulder and decided to let them give him the injection. Seconds later they were done.
Feih signaled the others to leave and started to walk towards the edge of the village where the Pressat had set up a yellow glowing transporter portal. Matt, still a bit confused, breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the swell Paredt's body made in his belly and had turned to follow her when a female voice shouted shouted, "Why did you let us live?"
Feih turned and marched by Matt toward the person who had shouted the question: Jasdik's wife. He turned to try and get her to stopped but saw that she had stopped just within her strike distance.
Her answer surprised everyone, "Your mate's brother's communication was what we needed to bring out your people's new mecha so that our forces would know what they would be up against in the future."
She stared at her as if to dare her to ask another question but it was Jasdik who spoke, "But how did you survive? Those were the most powerful war machines we've ever developed."
She frowned, brought her rifle to bear on an empty building and fired. It exploded, and sent burning debris onto the street next to the meeting hall. She swung her gun to point at him. The anger in her voice was unmistakable when she asked, "Do you have any other questions?" He looked away from her. "Good. Do not test me any further. I am not as patient as my mate." She lowered her weapon. "You should also thank him for allowing you to stay with your family in your current form."
Shamed by that fact he bowed and said, "Thank you."
She smiled, turned and walked by Matt without looking at him.
He stared at her in stunned silence and tried to come to grips with what she had just done and his entire experience on Nagatok. He took one last look back and saw astonishment on Jasdik's face and a faint glow in the ultraviolet range fade from his body. He glanced at Jason and saw a similar glow fade from his eyes and horns.
Jasdik also looked at Jason as if he had just received a separate message from him. Jason smiled then followed the others. Still confused over what just happened Matt jogged after him.
Their departure was greeted with a collective sigh of relief from the villagers of which some, with the knowledge of the danger he could soon represent, moved to restrain Jasdik. Before his wife could complain he told her, "Don't worry, I'll be alright." He looked at Matt just as he disappeared into the portal.
6
Matt had managed to keep his anger in check ever since his return to the Pressat, but when he thought and re-thought about the near silent treatment he was subjected to until he was back on board the ship and the events that followed he handed over the control of his station to the mixed Mendall and human crew in the auxiliary bridge and left to get some real answers from either Feih or Jason. He failed to notice that his sister, who had seen how upset he was, sent a secured communication from her console. When he left the bridge and she brought her full attention to the ship's sensors her lower jaw dropped.
Matt was intercepted in the outer corridor by Jason who had resumed his Dorzeli Prime form; his wings were stretched from wall to wall so that the path to the crew quarters was blocked.
Ears laid back Matt snarled, "Why did you and Feih make me do that to Paredt?"
Surprised by the level of anger he heard in his voice Jason tried to calm him down. "I know you had a hard time regurgitating him but it had to be done. We needed whatever information he had on their new war machines that we did not gain from the battle." He half grinned. "I have to admit that it was Feih's idea for you to do what you did to instill fear in the Soriss instead of just knocking him out, but at least she was able to slip you that Stangin extract so that he was safe until we came back on board."
Matt's anger grew at the confirmation that Feih had been behind that part of the plan. He stared Jason in his eyes and growled, "Please get out of my way sir."
Jason, with a slight movement of his head, indicated a side corridor, "I know that you've been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours so why don't we both go to the mess hall get something to relax you and discuss what happened back on Nagatok."
He reached for Matt's shoulder, but stopped when the second human he had transformed into a Dorzeli curled his lips back and growled, "Move the hell out of my way so I may go talk to my wife, sir."
Jason frowned, withdrew his hand, folded his wings and stepped aside when he saw that Matt's betrothal jewel had begun to glow with the increase of his anger.
Matt calmed a bit and walked past his commander but before he could get out of range Jason said, "You must believe me that we did what we thought was right under the circumstances. But despite everything that's happened, I'm proud of how you handled yourself and stayed calm through everything yesterday."
Matt hesitated for a second, said, "Thank you," then continued on his way without looking back.
Jason locked out his angry subordinate's receiver and transmitted a warning to the entire crew; "This is a safety alert. Clear corridors A and B, sections one through ten of ALL personnel. No exceptions."
Done with that duty he checked in with the auxiliary bridge. Yurex answered his hail, "What was that all about?"
"I think Matt and Feih are going to have their first fight and I don't want anyone to get between them; he's right on the edge if you know what I mean." He changed into his human form then asked, "Do we still have our shadows following us?"
"Yes, and they're closing fast."
"Damn!" He ran to the auxiliary bridge with the hope that he could salvage at least this part of the mission.
Matt was so intent on getting an explanation from Feih that he failed to notice that security force fields had been placed over their entrances to the other living quarters he passed on the habitation level as he made his to their quarters.
He found Feih on their special couch with her back to him when he entered their assigned suite; her hands were folded under her chin with her attention focused on the image on their main monitor.
He ignored the exterior view it displayed, walked around the large Dorzeli-Ki sized piece of furniture and confronted her; "Why didn't anyone tell me that Paredt was working for us and why did you make me take such a dangerous chance with him?"
She was so caught off guard by the intensity of her mate's anger that she hesitated to respond. This only caused him to get angrier; "First you and Jason want me to act more 'like a Dorzeli' and slaughter every Soriss I come across. Then, when I'm finally ready to carry out your orders to the letter you two stop me." He took a step toward her. "It's as if I've been manipulated by the two of you ever since he changed me..." Matt froze in mid sentence when Feih turned off the monitor, stood up and faced him; her claws were at the ready and she had the same intense expression on her face that she had when she fought Jason for control of the ship two weeks earlier.
He thought, "She thinks I'm challenging her!" and tried to act submissive, but found that his anger and new instincts had made it difficult to do so.
"Matthew," she growled, "I know you really don't want to go through with this, so please calm down." He could tell, no, literally smell that she was fighting the urge to attack him, probably as much as he was fighting his.
He concentrated hard and brought himself down to a manageable level of mild irritation.
Feih heard his heart rate decrease and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the glow from the jewel she had given to him to seal their union fade back to it's normal luster. "That's better. Now please sit down."
He slid his tails into the tail slot in the back of the couch and sat at its far end without taking his eyes from her. She tried not to frown at this sign of fear from him and mirrored his actions at the opposite end and dipped her head low.
"I'm sorry for what we've put you through, but, as Jason said during the mission briefing, we had to maintain our reputation at all costs and I didn't find out about Paredt until after we left you." She looked up, "He assumed that you wouldn't kill the villagers and Freerah's spy before we returned." She smiled at his shock at over this new fact. "She explained that she used part of her time away from Jason to find others like Lasteri so that we could better anticipate their attacks; he, like Lasteri, didn't believe in this war."
Matt had almost lost any trace of anger then he thought about what happened back on Nagatok. "That still doesn't explain why you stopped me from killing Paredt when he attacked me after we entered the village or why you slipped me that Stangin extract so I wouldn't digest him." When he looked at her he sensed that she was having some difficulty trying to put her answer into words. "Please take your time Feih. I'm no longer in that much of a hurry."
She half smiled at him then explained that; "It was when I first saw those Soriss children; it was the first time that I'd seen the young of any species other than my own." She closed her eyes and placed her left hand on her abdomen, "I-I couldn't bring myself to kill them or their parents." She reopened her eyes and smiled. "I was glad that Jason and Freerah had a plan that took that decision out of my claws. Plus I wanted you to experience what I had done to you back on Dessla to let you know that you could do it too."
He sighed. "I have to admit that it did feel good. Even giving him back up wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm just glad I did that before we 'bonded'."
"Like you did with his brother?" She smiled when he stared at her and seemed unable to answer.
"I...we didn't have time. At least his people won't kill him now that Jason's reversed the process." When he saw her become worried he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Jason only suspended his and Paredt's transformations; Jasdik's won't restart until you come into contact with him again and his bother can never return to his people now that he's supposed to be dead so it's up to you if he becomes a part of our family."
He grumbled, "Another thing Jason didn't tell me about; now I'll have to do with him what I have to do with Daihas what I almost did with his brother." He sighed, "At least it's I'll ever see him again and his people won't be able to detect anything in him."
She was about to grin at the fact that Matt seemed to care about the Soriss until he said, "I wished Jason didn't have to put you and the others in so much danger by attacking that base; I saw how powerful those mechs were..."
He saw her become slightly nervous and was abut to ask why but was stopped when she started first, "You weren't there to see what he and Freerah did; they wiped out that base and all of their mechs in less than two minutes." She looked downward again. "He's so powerful; I was a fool to challenge him back on Dessla. He...he could've..." She stopped when she felt his hand caress her face. She looked up startled that he had managed to get so close to her without her notice.
He grinned. "I don't think he would've harmed you because I think he still likes you." He was puzzled that she had not smiled in response to his reminder of her previous infatuation with the Alliance's leader.
"That may be true but," she took her eyes from him, looked back to and turned on the monitor, "it looks like it may no longer matter."
Puzzled, he turned, looked at the screen and saw three objects that caused him to drop his lower jaw for, up until that moment, he had only seen their configuration on starship recognition charts: Kroon super destroyers.
"They came into visual range a minute before you arrived."
Worried about what this could mean he asked, "How did they find us?"
She turned and looked at him and he saw something he had never seen on her face; defeat. "They must've intercepted the Soriss' distress call and used their long range scanners to find out that Jason and Freerah were operating on the planet illegally." She closed her eyes and her ears drooped, "We'll have no chance before the council now."
Matt was disheartened as much as she was; Jason had promised her that he would petition the Kroon them to rescind the exile of the Dorzeli-An and Ki's (and their descendents) that had tried to take it over soon after she was born in a political coup d'etat and later exiled to Dessla. His illegal attack on the Soriss colony would make his negotiations harder if not impossible.
He slid closer and took her hands in his. She smiled then said, "None of us thought that you would've been so ingenious as to find out who actually sent that warning and when I saw that you were willing to invoke our threat by killing Paredt I knew you'd do almost anything to please me. But I also stopped you because I didn't want you feel any more guilt over killing him or get in trouble with Jason and Freerah."
Matt frowned. "That's just the problem. I felt almost no guilt after I killed the others and I wanted so much to...I almost disobeyed you."
She could not help but smile. "That only means that you are becoming more accustomed to your Dorzeli instincts. This has also showed me that you were able to use your humanity to resist them." She laughed. "Maybe it's starting to become contagious; in the past Daihas never would have let the female he caught live."
Matt tried to smile with her and hoped that in some way she was right, but feared that he may have lost any humanity he had left back on the planet. "I'm sorry if I sounded angry at you when I came in, but I thought that you and Jason were playing me for a fool down there."
"No," corrected Feih as she moved closer to him, "I should apologize to you for the way I treated you up until we first left village." She grinned and Matt wanted to relax but her question caught him off guard, "So, did you have any fun with him?"
"No. I didn't." He thought for a second about what he was about to do just before he woke up then added, "Although near the end I..." He grew silent blushed under his thin facial fur.
Feih nodded. "That's a natural reaction in that situation and luckily for him you were the one that refused to do it, not the other way around." He gave her a questioning look. "Dorzeli tend not to take rejection to well, but you would've not been in the same danger had you refused me; humans aren't Soriss." Their conversation was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach.
Feih laughed and cocked her head so that one of her ears pointed toward his torso. "You've must've used a lot of energy to get back to that village before us." She turned, reached over the left side of the couch with her right hand to a nearby table. It returned with a large bar of a dark brown solid which she laid in his lap. "Try this. Jason said he had it made up just for just such an occasion."
Matt took it from her, sniffed it then took a bite. It had been so long since he had tasted it that it took him completely by surprise; "Chocolate?"
"That's what he said it would taste like." She retrieved another large bar for herself. "He said these would have all the nutrients we would need for short term energy needs." After they had finished off their respective pieces she said, "I've never tasted anything like this before in my life, and some of its side effects are very...interesting." She smiled and caressed his chest with her free hand.
He asked, "Do you have anymore?"
She retrieved another bar, broke it in half and gave one piece to him, but a ship wide alert interrupted his consumption of it.
Jason, in his human form, appeared on their monitor and he looked happy about something. "To all crew members: there is some good news that I'd like to pass along to you."
The screen flickered and he was replaced by a video that was already in progress that revealed a green, very draconian face that Matt recognized as Primir of the Klavan, "...what we observed occur on Nagatok should've been bad news for you, but your actions revealed evidence that the Soriss have violated several articles of our treaty with them by their development of banned weapons systems. That and their invasion of our colony and your people's subsequent liberation of it should mitigate any violations you may have committed. To return the favor we'll escort you the rest of the way to Kralken Four. All I ask in return is that you slow down; our engines are starting to overheat: Primir out." He smiled just before the edited recording ended.
Jason came back on but before he could say anything a large brown-coated tongue licked over the entire left side of his face. He stuttered, "I-I have to go now. It seems that Freerah wants to discuss our current good fortune with me."
They saw the tongue lick him again, this time with so much force that he almost fell over. His whole body glowed with a blue aura just before he signed off.
Feih was overjoyed at the news. "It looks like the odds are moving back in our favor. It's up to how the council interprets their laws now."
Matt fed her the chocolate and agreed; "I think that you're right. The Klavan were about as friendly as your people when we liberated them." She gave him a questioning stare. There was no hint of deception or nervousness in his voice when he said; "It wasn't me who found that out; I didn't even make it down to the surface. It was an advance scout that got shot down over their colony. Primir hid her from the Soriss before the fleet arrived." He closed his eyes for a moment then reopened them and smiled. "And she's on board. That should be an interesting reunion if the stories I've heard about what happened between them are true."
Feih grinned, stood up and ordered the monitor turned off. "We better get some rest. This day has taken a lot out of me." A sly smile was on her face when she looked at him. "Unless..."
He smiled, stood up and moved away from the couch when she seemed to agree with him.
She also stood up, pressed a button on the couch's left arm rest and stood off to its side. Within sixty seconds it unfolded into a bed suitable for up to four adult Dorzeli-Ki. This caused him to comment that, "They must have had some very liberal sleeping arrangements back when this ship was built."
Feih's response was a little more serious. "Some of our leaders were able to win multiple mates once they had positions of power." She lifted her left eyebrow and looked at him. "Don't get any ideas (at least not yet)."
He reassured her that, "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a firm believer in monogamy."
She grinned and let her suit fall to the floor to reveal her body in all its voluptuous glory. "That's why I chose you Matt; you're so different than any of the other males that I've ever met." They sat on the bed and when they moved next to each other she gave him a tight hug. "I guess it was your humanity that attracted me to you, among other things."
"And it was your beauty and compassion that attracted me to you, among other things." He gave her large right breast a gentle squeeze and kissed her. They both experienced the same wonder sensations he had always felt when they finished with a full embrace.
When they separated she said, "I've decided to stop trying to change you into some ideal Dorzeli warrior. I don't care if you never kill another Soriss, I'll always love you."
"That's all right Feih. I was a warrior before I met you and will be for the rest of my life as a human or a Dorzeli. What happened today only made me realize my full potential." He nuzzled her along the left side of her face. "And as long as I have your love nothing you do will ever make me ever regret my staying with you."
He took off his betrothal necklace, rolled her onto her back and laid it down on the small table where the remaining super jumbo sized chocolate bars were and resumed their mutual embrace and ordered the lights to dim.
Feih gasped in surprise then said, "T-that was faster than usual."
Her excellent night vision, aided by the dim glow from the blue jewel, allowed her to see the smile that was on his face just before he said, "Well, you know what Soriss blood does to me and I've been holding back ever since you returned the village."
She moaned in pleasure as he proceeded to show her how much he loved her.
EPILOGUE
Hands tied behind his back in a chair in the village's infirmary and with over half a dozen beam weapons trained on him, Jasdik awaited the results of the test that would determine whether he lived or died. After over thirty minutes the commander from one of the cruisers walked in and announced; "Our doctor only found traces of Dorzeli neurotoxin but sign of Dorzeli nanites within you so you're free to go." She smiled and showed off her cat-like teeth.
He was set free and received an apology from her after which he told her that he understood the precautions she had to employ. Seconds later he was reunited with his family who was just outside the building where many military and civilians gave him their condolences for the loss of his brother.
He looked up into the clear night sky and told them; "I'll always be proud of his sacrifice." He pulled his wife close and felt another sensation besides relief and their mutual love: disappointment and a longing that he knew he would never lose; to be with an enemy being that had spared him his village and, secretly, his brother who he hoped to see again after he returned the favor to the one responsible, no matter what form he may have.