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Nadir

Earth transformed into a barren desert.

Your families eradicated.

And you, your fate:

(Camera pans to show a human male smiling unconvincingly __1 while massaging a hideous Lacertan's_ 2_ back under a bright heat lamp.)

You're happy. You're grateful to live.

(Camera pans to show the human's back, covered in deep, unhealed claw-marks. Camera pans further and shows human children being executed by being shot in the head.)

Aren't you?

(Show an image of the Imperial Flag)

Join the Imperial Army and prevent this! Save Earth, save the Galaxy!

1Make sure to get that good human Claw agent to supervise. We must ensure the smile is accurate and I don't trust the actors.

2There's a list of POWs attached. Pick out the ugliest one and have him shipped over drugged.

-Leaked Production Notes on “Imperial Recruitment Drive #134."

A scream broke out over the roar of the Hauler's engines and Dondrae hit the gas before could even tell him that it was coming from the direction of the meet-up site. A shrill, high-pitched shriek, like the ones that come natural to a Vulpeculan.

Beads of sweat started trickling down my brow. If that lizard laid a claw on Yaleen…

I swung my arm back into the flatbed and pulled out my double-barrel and loaded it up with slugs. Even without his body armor, Lazsh's scales were hard and deflected smaller caliber bullets and likely shot as well. A slug would slap him down good though.

“The bullets in that thing armor-piercing?" I asked Dondrae, motioning towards the assault rifle slung around and resting on his lap. It was a stupid question, but I didn't know the model of the rifle and presuming things out on Planet gets you killed.

“Yeah," Dondrae nodded, briefly taking a peek at his gun to make sure it was all in order. “We gonna need it?"

“We might."

I didn't want to need it. I didn't want to use it. You never wanted to on Planet, no matter how much of a badass you make yourself out to be.

But if I had to, I would. I'd turn Lazsh into nothing more than a bad memory.

Tree branches rustled and thumped against the side of the Hauler as we turned away from the field and into a small forest with a tiny, barely noticeable pathway. Dondrae swerved violently to the right, avoiding slamming headfirst into a thick, tall tree with round, bubble-like leaves, an anomaly among the evergreens around it.

Blue scales flashed by between shadows of tree trunks on my right. I readied the shotgun and whispered to Dondrae. From what little I saw of him, Lazsh was pointing a gun at the ground.

“Turn now and move out!"

Dondrae swung the wheel to the right, tires kicking up grass and dirt as the heavy vehicle sharply turned. With a heavy kick to the pedal, the Hauler burst forward into the small meadow and then abruptly slammed to a halt.

There was no time to assess the situation. I flung open the door and jumped out, taking cover behind it and aiming my shotgun at the lizard.

Lazsh stared back at me, eyes as green as leaves, but he kept his gun aimed at the ground. I caught a glimpse of red, dulled by being in the shadows of great trees.

“Stand down!" I hissed to Dondrae. He growled slightly and lowered his rifle, but stayed behind his door.

Yaleen was standing atop another Vulpeculan with solid, brown fur. Two carbon-steel needles were sticking out the stifles of both of his legs and Yaleen had her fancy, golden needler readied on him, ready to give him a few more for his trouble, and was holding a datapad in her other paw, also pointed at her victim. His agonized screams were shrill and hard to listen to without getting the urge to step in and help without even stopping to assess the situation. Unfortunately for him, Yaleen was my ticket out of here.

“Who the fuck is this?" I said, uncocking the shotgun.

“Bandit," Lazsh said simply and without expression, as was normal for him and many Lacertans. He fired back my question at me, surgically removing any normal, human inflection. “Who the fuck is that?"

I peered back. Dondrae was still hunkered down behind the door.

“A new friend," I said, stepped past Lazsh and towards Yaleen.

Yaleen hadn't paid me any attention, she was focused on her captive.

“I know you've seen him!" she shouted, kneeling down and shoving the screen of the datapad against the Vulpeculan's nose. His eyes were shut tight. “Look at him!"

Her captive whimpered something in Vulpeculan. Even without the understanding of the language, it came across as desperate pleading.

Yaleen whipped her paw down and fired the needler with its trademark plink, thunking a bolt into the torso of the Vulpeculan. I plugged my eyes just in time to muffle the tortured scream.

“Speak Regulian or you'll get another one!"

“I...I don't know!" the Vulpeculan bandit gasped with a low rasp to his voice, he was lung-shot. He arched his back and clutched at the bolt sticking out of his gut, trying to pry it free. Pulling it out would increase the bleeding and quicken his death but I didn't say anything. Giving him better medical treatment at this point wouldn't be a mercy, it would be aiding Yaleen's torture.

“Yaleen, Christ! You can't..." I placed my hand on her shoulder and she slapped it away with lightning fast reflexes. I caught a glimpse of her eyes and in contrast to her peeled-back fangs and wrinkled muzzle, her pupils were of a normal size for the day and her eyelids were relaxed. She wasn't angry, this was all very methodical and I thought back to the rumors and stories about the court murders and intrigues that were rife in the Vulpeculan Principalities.

“I saw his eyes flash upon seeing Aldor's green eyes! He's seen him!" she flashed the datapad at me, showing me the picture of her brother once again. “I'm going to make him talk."

“Did you say green eyes?"

We turned to find Dondrae padding up behind us, rifle slung around his shoulder. Since I had changed into my spare set of clothes, he was back in his green fatigues from top to bottom. He scratched the side of his black muzzle with his claws, casually taking his place beside us.

Yaleen's muzzle softened and she sniffed in Dondrae's direction before uttering a small, short noise of approval, similar to a whine but it was clearly not the same thing.

“You know something, Lupiad?"

“Hybrid. My mom was a Sirian and my dad was a Lupiad," he shrugged. Peering down at the injured bandit, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Let me see that."

Yaleen passed Dondrae the datapad and he scanned it, squinting his eyes.

“Looks like him, I think," Dondrae played around with the screen, zooming in on his face. “He related to you?"

“Brother."

“He'd smell similar to you, right?" he stepped towards Yaleen, pressing his large nose against her neck and snuffling. He was just doing it for the job, but I couldn't help but get a little irritated and wished that he'd do it faster. “You've got a unique smell, kind of like..."

Dondrae proceeded to utter a bunch of guttural words in Regulian that we humans, as people with significantly weaker noses than them, have no equivalent words. Imagine trying to describe the color red to a dog, or hell, why not a Sirian? Dondrae tried to explain these words to me afterwards, but I still couldn't make heads or tails of it. Whatever the case, Yaleen ended up agreeing with his scent assessment.

“I know him. My pack had a run-in with his pals. Slippery little prick you're looking for," Dondrae snorted, shooting a wad of spit onto the dirt. “We had a brief alliance on a trek to the Quartz Hills when him and his boys left us in the middle of the night, taking half our supplies in the meantime. Course, if he hadn't done that, we wouldn't have had to double back to Rust and I'd have never met Pawel."

He hesitated, the corner of his jowls frowning and his eyelids lowering, covering up his ice-blue eyes. He was hurting, I could feel it. In his mind, he was probably making the connection that if that hadn't happened, his pack, his friends would still be alive. He told me that he had about a million grievances with them and their methods, but Lupiads and Sirians, of which he was both, liked to have a place to belong.

I placed my hand on his shoulder, rubbing his course, gray fur slowly. He turned his muzzle to face me and his black lips turned up in a tiny smile. It was a sad smile, but it was better than a sad frown.

Yaleen's smile, on the other hand, was so wide it was almost reaching her sharp ears.

“Do you know where they went?" Yaleen asked, rubbing the tip of her chin with a gloved paw.

“Probably went to Quartz Mountain to rob people of their treasures. There's a small outpost near there, they might know more."

“Pawel, I must say, you've brought back a fine specimen," Yaleen smirked with a wink at Dondrae. “Your excursion into Rust was useful, don't you think so, Lazsh?"

“Useful for you. Not for Sirth," he stepped towards us, foot-claws slamming into the ground like pick-axes. “No more distractions."

“Dear Lazsh," Yaleen whispered sultrily. “I'm sure I could convince you in a more intimate environment."

“No."

“I can be very..." she lashed her tail as she stepped forward, boot landing on and snapping one of the bolts in the bandit's legs, prompting a weak scream. Ignoring this, she placed her paw on Lazsh's bare shoulder, running it across the smooth scales and to his face, ending it by poking him on the tip of his nose horn. “…persuasive."

Dondrae interrupted them, motioning towards the bandit on the ground, “You have to do something about him."

Yaleen peered back at him, tilting her head to the side, “I suppose you're right. He's useless now."

Dondrae swallowed, looking down at the wounded Vulpeculan once more, “You can't save him, not with that wound. But we can put him out of his misery," with a sigh, Dondrae nodded at me and I took my Glock out of its holster.

“Don't waste a bullet," Lazsh said suddenly.

Like a raptor pouncing on its prey, Lazsh leaped on top of the downed Vulpeculan. With renewed energy, the Vulpeculan attempted to struggle for his life, biting and clawing at the hard scales of his foe, breaking off a tooth in the process. He was finished though and he had to have known it. Lazsh swiped his claws at the bandit's neck and in one motion, pierced and then ripped out his throat. Blood gushed out, spraying Lazsh's blue scales red, and he stared down at the Vulpeculan with his reptilian, green eyes until the life was snuffed out of him.

“Kurwa!" I cursed, frozen in shock. I'd seen a lot of things on Planet, but I'd never seen anyone do anything like that unless they were desperate and starving. Lazsh was on a different level of danger that we could never hope to match, it was no wonder why Sirth only sent him. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

“Saving bullets," Lazsh hissed, narrowing his eyes at me. He bared his row of fangs, pure white except for one which a droplet of blood from his snout quickly dripped onto. “I'm in charge."

I said nothing. I hate to admit it, but I was scared. Whatever limit Lazsh had to his patience was being tested and I didn't like what I was seeing. I originally thought Lazsh represented Sirth in all ways, but I was starting to think that Sirth might have been preferable in our group, for he wanted me alive at the very least. I thought Lazsh was more inclined to make us fail the expedition and take me back as collateral, but now I felt that Lazsh wouldn't be above killing us all and then reporting it back as an accident, it's not like Sirth would know the truth.

“Dig," Lazsh pointed at me and Dondrae. Dondrae's hackles raised and he looked to me. I shook my head and he calmed down, but growled in irritation.

Yaleen, not knowing when to quit, began to speak and attempted to persuade him once more. Lazsh grabbed her by the throat before she could get the first word out.

“No detours," he hissed, tightening the grip of his claws around her throat. He looked at us and ordered us once again.

“Dig."

It was noon, but the thick canopy of tree branches above us blocked out the sun entirely, casting us in shadow. But we didn't need good light for our job, in fact, it made it easier to work once we dropped the Vulpeculan's body down the dark depths of the hole we dug and began filling it. It was far easier to do this without seeing his eyes staring back at us.

“You weren't lying," Dondrae muttered. In the shadows, his black muzzle was almost invisible, only becoming visible when he spoke and showed off his ivories.

“About what?"

“Your friends being shitty," Dondrae slammed the shovel into the ground with a heavy thunk and stopped working.

“I've never seen them this bad before."

Snorting, Dondrae shook his head and bared his teeth. This was the first time I'd ever seen him show any aggression towards me and it took me off-guard. It was nowhere near as threatening as the Lupiads from before and his muzzle was not wrinkled and his ears were still pointed towards me, but he was angry still.

“I lost a lot today, Pawel," there was a slight growl to his voice. “I lost a lot because it was the right thing to do."

“What are you saying?"

“I didn't let my pack get killed because I wanted to take orders from that psychopath!" his ears flashed back and he picked up the shovel and slammed it into the ground.

“Hey, calm down!" I put my foot forward but it landed on the edge of the hole and I tripped, falling into the hole.

I fell deep enough to be able to touch the bandit's face before Dondrae grabbed me by the arm. I peered back and saw him, his ears and hackles at ease, and gave him my other arm. He pulled me out and helped me to my feet.

Pulling me into an embrace, he buried my face into his chest. His scent was calming, even though we were in a forest the cedar-like musk he had was overwhelming. Rough paw pads brushed against the back of my shaved head and despite the anger he had shown earlier, I felt safe. Safe despite the violence I had just seen. Even the body I had been inches away from seconds ago seemed distance.

“I'm sorry, Pawel. I'm sorry."

I swallowed, “You loved your pack, didn't you?"

“They did horrible things, to you and others, but..."

“I understand."

“You do? I'm glad," Dondrae panted, seemingly in synchronization with his heart which was beating like a jackhammer. “Then you know what we have to do."

“What?"

Dondrae pulled out of our embrace and slapped the butt of the rifle hanging from his shoulder, “We kill that fucking lizard."

My eyes widened. I shook my head nervously, “We can't do that!"

“Why not?"

“He'll kill Yaleen!"

He huffed, clearly not convinced of my plea, “She ain't innocent either. Hell, I'm not even sure if that Vulpy was really a bandit."

“We just..." I swallowed, pondering whether I should tell him the truth or not. “...we just can't!"

“Lets leave them then. As soon as we get the chance, we take the Hauler and leave them," he wrapped his paws around my hands, clutching them tightly and pulling them to his chest. “You and me against the Planet. We'll make our own way, start a scavenging operation out here!"

“The Hauler is owned by Sirth, if I take it..."

“Then we'll leave without it, right now! Head back to Rust with what we've got and take a few jobs there until we get back on our feet and then head somewhere far away. Sirth won't be able to find us, I promise you."

“I..."

“Pawel," he leaned forward, rubbing his muzzle against the side of my cheek. “You've worked alone for a long time, but I've never done that. I need a pack that I can trust and I want you to be a part of it, not them."

“We can't leave Yaleen with her. He'll kill her."

“He'll turn her in for the bounty as soon as he realizes we're gone. She'll be fine, not that she deserves..."

“I need her!"

Dondrae froze with his muzzle still leaning on my cheek. Slowly, he pulled back, whiskers tickling my nose, until he was staring straight at me with his blue eyes, wet nose brushing against the tip of mine. He nervously licked his lips.

“You and her?"

“Not like that!" I shot back. His paws were now gripping my shoulder. I tried to break away, but he wouldn't let me go.

“Tell me the truth, Pawel."

“She has a way off Planet!"

There it was, the truth. It was a spur of the moment decision at the height of my emotions but I had told him and it was still a sign of my trust in him. I wouldn't have told Lazsh, even if he was threatening to skin me alive, but Dondrae now knew.

Dondrae's eyes widened and his head tilted like a confused dog.

“You can't be serious."

“She hasn't shared it with me, but she claims to have a way to get our memories back and get off Planet. Only if we find her brother for her though."

“And you trust her?"

Smiling with a laugh, I replied, “I promised her, if she didn't follow through I'd sell her to the Regulians. Either I get off Planet or I pay off my loan to Sirth."

Dondrae grinned, “Clever."

“And she's done right by me so far. I know what you saw today was fucked up, but she's done right by me, okay? I trust her, I mean, to an extent, but I still trust her."

Dondrae was silent and let me go, turning around and sighing. Leaning against the handle of the shovel, he scratched at his brow.

“I'll need to think about this," he said.

“I owe you that much."

“You're back," Lazsh hissed. Yaleen was on her feet now and sitting on the bed of the Hauler, but Lazsh's emerald eyes flashed at her constantly, keeping an eye on her and implying the reality of his threat. A fire was burning brightly in the center of the meadow, illuminating the area as the sky began to darken.

“We are," I nodded back towards Dondrae, who casually padded behind me, mouth agape in a happy doggy grin. He was doing a good job of hiding his earlier anxieties.

“Buried?" Lazsh asked.

“Yes."

“Good," Lazsh waved his claws towards the fire. “Rest. We leave tomorrow."

Lazsh sat in the flatbed and laid back, pulling Yaleen down with him. It seemed purely non-sexual, not platonic either as that would imply a degree of friendliness, but he wanted us to know that he had her very close by. His claw rubbed against the tip of her chin, very close to her delicate throat.

We've leave tomorrow for the Catacombs. We'd do that and he wouldn't harm her, I didn't trust him much at all now, but the very fact that he hadn't written us all off meant that he was willing to go to the Catacombs.

In the meantime, me and Dondrae attempted to relax, sitting beside each other and letting the warmth of the roaring fire blanket us. Dondrae took off his boots and pushed the black pads of his feet towards the fire.

“So, if we're a pack now, who's the Alpha?" I grabbed the tip of his pointed ears, leaned it towards me and whispered into it.

“The what?"

“The Alpha wolf."

“The what, what?"

“Pack leader."

“Ah," Dondrae grinned proudly. “Well, I'm the Lupiad here..."

“Half-Sirian."

“Still more Lupiad than you!" he laughed, suddenly tackling me and pinning me to the ground. He barked loudly, but happily in my face and began lapping at my face with his tongue, causing me to giggle uncontrollably. “Looks like I'm the...what was it?"

“Alpha."

“The Alpha! So what do I do now?"

“Well, if you don't do a show of might, an upstart like me could try and steal the title back from you!"

Growling threateningly, he bared his teeth, but his happy grin and perked ears gave his true feelings away. Lining up his thighs with my crotch, he began humping fiercely. My cock began to rise and I gasped with pleasure. Planting his paws on my shoulder, he drew his face closer, icy eyes locked with mine in an attempt to intimidate me.

I giggled as I felt his wet nose press against the inside of my ear.

“Now, as we promised..." he whispered.

I wanted him to continue. I had only known him for two days now, but I wanted him. Still, I promised back at the grave and he wouldn't have agreed to come back with me otherwise.

“What can we do about him?"