FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“This is not a drill. Please evacuate to the nearest pod bay immediately. Repeat: this is not a drill. Please evacuate to the nearest pod bay immediately. This ship will not survive re-entry intact."

The corridors were filled with the sound of panicked footsteps as people rushed to get to where they were needed. R'kan pulled his sister into a tight embrace.

“You know I have to stay and make sure everyone gets off safely. It's my duty as a member of the Rag'id. I will meet you on this planet, Earth I think it is. It's supposed to be a beautiful place, inhabited by sentient life even."

“Please Faya, promise me you'll make it down there alive," R'kan begged.

“Hey," Faya hushed him, lifting his chin gently. “You let me worry about that. I'm counting on you to make sure our species get along, okay? You think you can do that for me little bro?" R'kan nodded.

“Just promise me. Please! Promise me I'll see you again. I don't think I could live without you."

“Faya! Get that pod off this damn ship! Move it Rag'id!" a disembodied voice ordered. Faya pushed away, grasping his shoulders tightly.

“No matter what happens, be strong R'kan. You're all grown up now… mum and dad would be so proud to see you now…" R'kan tried desperately to reel her back in, to keep her from leaving, but his older sister proved stronger. She was swept away from his grabbing arms by a bustle of activity, and he barely caught sight of her flashing a reassuring smile before the heavy pod door began closing, sealing them apart.

“Faya? Faya!"

“Faya!" R'kan cried, bolting upright, covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Instantly, Daniel tripped over as he tried to spin around faster than his injured leg would allow, ending up on his ass, gritting his teeth at the jarring pain caused to his leg.

“Calm down man!" Daniel snapped. Then more calmly: “It was just a dream. No fire here. See? Even the campfire's out."

“That's not… should you really be trying to walk around on your own?" R'kan diverted him, realising he really didn't want to get into the last time he saw his only living relative. Worse was the fact that he came to the conclusion that Daniel's actions had coincided with what was happening in his dream; Daniel having to pry himself from R'kan's arms in order to leave, just like Faya had done. He wondered if Daniel's actions had in fact triggered the memory, but shook it off as the human began answering his question.

“I'll be fine for short distances, like, from room to room and stuff. It's tiring, and painful, but I'll be damned if I have to get someone to carry me everywhere. The more independent I am, the stronger I'll be." R'kan noticed now that Daniel was somehow fully clothed and had his saddlebag slung over his shoulder. That human was quick. He had also managed to haul himself up off the floor and started to pick his way towards the door at a painfully slow pace. He had to stick to the walls for support, and took a few short breaths between each hop.

“Are you sure you don't want any help?" R'kan asked, increasingly worried.

“If you want to help, stop staring at me like I'm a freak in a circus or something. Just… find something to do." R'kan raised an eye ridge at the unsuspecting man's back. Poor choice of words, human, he said in his head. Silently, R'kan crept up behind Daniel, then in one, continuous motion, swept him off his feet and into his muscular arms.

“Hey!" Daniel cried. “What do you think you're doing jackass?"

“Exactly what you told me to: I found something to do. So, where are we going?"

“Very funny," Daniel muttered un-amusedly. He wasn't trying to hide his sarcasm even the slightest bit. “Now put me down. I mean it."

“You can't go your entire life refusing help from people," R'kan sighed. “Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of strength. Putting your pride before your life, that is a weakness; that is the sort of thinking that will get you killed in the middle of a war like this one."

“You think this is about my pride?" Daniel spat. “Look at me; I'm crippled. Broken. Can't even cross a fucking room without stopping to take a breath every two seconds. Give me one thing that I should be prideful about."

“Well, you have a kind heart." Daniel's expression softened slightly. “And there's a very handsome young man hiding behind those tired eyes. You're peaceful, determined, independent and definitely not quick to judge. And I'm a complete stranger, I'm sure there's many aspects of you I've never seen before. The others clearly respect you, and I doubt it's just because of what I've mentioned." R'kan saw Daniel was looking away regretfully, and concluded that the human had been pacified for now.

“I'll tell you where I want to go if you tell me what your dream was about," Daniel proposed suddenly. R'kan was taken aback, but nodded after considering it for a few seconds. Maybe this was what he needed; to talk about it. He had been rambling on about how refusing help was a weakness, and here he was, being a hypocrite and keeping his feelings to himself.

“How about… no secrets between us, and you call me every time you want to go somewhere." Daniel waggled his finger at the Lahzid in a chiding manner, but had a wane grin on his face.

“Ah, ah! You can't catch me out with small-print like that. 'No secrets between us' implies that I have to tell you all my secrets too."

“Okay, you got me there. Alright, I agree to your terms; I'll tell you my story once we get to this mysterious destination of yours."

“There's an office behind administration in the foyer," Daniel informed him. “That's where we're going." R'kan followed his directions, passing the rest of the building's occupants on his way, all performing tasks with varying degrees of importance. Such as Harry, who was cutting up some logs to more manageable pieces with a fire axe, contrasting with Caitlin, who was platting, un-platting, then re-platting her hair. R'kan reached the designated room and raised his eye ridges at the sight.

The room wasn't messy per se, just cluttered. An enormous desk held dozens of slips of paper and various scraps of wiring, computers and other technological knick-knacks, along with stationary, crumbs, scrawled sticky notes and most obviously, the computer, equipped with a keyboard, mouse and monitor of completely different brands. The computer was at the centre of the curved desk, as was a black swivel chair, nestled neatly in-between two sets of drawers that were built into the desk. R'kan put Daniel down in this chair, and found the human smiling gratefully at him, before rummaging through the drawers.

He first placed down one 9V battery, then another. Then he procured two short-range, civilian walkie-talkies, one of which was severely beaten up and held together by duct tape. Daniel inserted the batteries, then handed the less-damaged one to R'kan. “It's not waterproof and won't work long-range, about a kilometre at the absolute maximum. I'll call you on it any time I need you. Now for your part of the deal."

R'kan removed a box of blank paper from the only other chair in the room and lowered himself onto it. He sighed as he wondered just where to start.

“First of all, I suppose it's best to mention it was less a dream than a memory; something I've been trying to forget about lest it tear apart my will to go on. You know how I mentioned that species hunting us? Yeah, they left us alone for about five centuries. Clever bastards had a plan. Now sentient, we began advancing at a rapid pace, building cities and technology while forgetting they ever existed. The Wulvan became something of a myth. Until they came back. With our cities acting as massive beacons for their scanners, they swept down from the skies and resumed hunting us. What they didn't count on is that we fought back, and we fought hard. Our top scientists were kept underground, reverse-engineering Wulvan technology. Eventually, we constructed decent orbital defence platforms capable of repelling their ships. But we knew it wouldn't last, so we sent away hundreds of ships, mostly civilians with few military personnel to escort them. By the time the Wulvan discovered this, it was too late. The only Lahzids left on our planet were military, and they kept the Wulvan at bay long enough to give us a head start. As soon as they began losing ground, they detonated the planet, wiping almost every single Wulvan ship out of existence.

In our culture, the soldiers sacrifice everything for the good of the civilians, which is why very few military personnel were accepted – nay, wanted to be accepted – onto those ships. That's also why it's very likely all of the soldiers on our ship perished when it crashed into your sun. You see, a single Wulvan patrol caught us on our way out, and our ship's navigation systems were obliterated. We were sent wildly off-course without the ability to land our ship, so we had to abandon it. Onto your planet; Earth."

Daniel's face wore an expression of horror and realisation.

“Oh god… the bombs… the orbital strike… They didn't… they…" as much as he tried, he couldn't formulate a coherent sentence.

“Yes Daniel, they were escape pods. Filled to the brim with civilians, women and children, unable to control which buildings they were demolishing upon impact, unable to prevent the anti-air missiles your people flung at them. All the soldiers on board our ship made sure that every civilian made it to one, including Sergeant Faya Huurdiin, my sister. I had to watch her leave, retreat back into the doomed ship, knowing that she would be the last one out if she even got the opportunity. For all I know, the ship was well out of range before she could find a life pod. Maybe there were none left. Chances are, the Wulvan just took the last of what I had left and hurled it into a flaming ball of gas." R'kan's slumped form was blinking away the tears that threatened to spill, staring at the floor as if it held the answers to his problems.

“Do… do you hate humans? For what we did?" Daniel asked softly.

“Some do, but they're stupid, and unwilling to see their fault in the matter. But we're all civilians here Daniel, none of us know the first thing about any of this. Some say your kind was unnecessarily violent, others argue that maybe you're like us, and you've been invaded before. But me, I know ignorance was the thing that started this war. We had no way of knowing you'd react as you did, and you had no way of knowing that we weren't attacking you. We showed up, started destroying cities with our pods without even attempting communication beforehand. I can see how that may have seemed aggressive. We want peace Daniel, but your kind is very stubborn and refuses to listen. I don't blame you, but you must understand that if our kind perishes, there will be none to tell of the Wulvan's cruelty. If our species goes extinct, the Wulvan will move on to the next. Eventually they'll wipe out your kind too. So if your species is destined to die, should it not be by our hand, so that we may rebuild from your ashes and prepare, so we can put a stop to the Wulvan threat once and for all?"

Daniel nodded. He understood that well.

“Have you killed people before?" he whispered. R'kan could sense a fearful shake in the human's voice, and wanted desperately to tell the human no, he would never do that.

But then he'd be a liar. And lies were the downfall of trust.

“Yes," he answered simply. Daniel gulped, avoiding eye contact.

“Do I even want to know how many?"

“Three. I've been counting. It's scary how easy it gets after the first time. Private Jeremy Rye. He was paralysed from the neck down and slowly bleeding out. He begged me to end it, to finish him so he could move on to a better place. I tried to be as calm and gentle as possible, but when that chest stops moving and all you're left with is a mangled corpse, everything changes. I thought I'd never stop crying, sitting in the middle of a street next to the corpse of a human. But then I did. I got up, took his armour, his gun, and moved on. Just like that. The next time, I hesitated, just before I pulled the trigger. If I hadn't, I would have gotten him right in the heart; instant death. But I did. That delay was the difference between dying within seconds and dying within hours. The third time, I didn't even think about it. I can't even remember the person's face, or even what gender they were. But I will always remember Jeremy. I will never erase his face from my mind."

R'kan took a deep breath and rocked slightly on his chair. “Killing, that's easy. Justifying it, not so much. But hardest of all, is not killing. In the heat of the moment, when blood lust and adrenaline overtake your mind, it's hard to remember who your enemy is. Your enemy is your reflection; a scared young man or woman, a civilian with a little training, fighting for what they believe is right. It's easy to kill them, but hard to live with your decision to do so."

Daniel leaned over and hugged R'kan as comfortably as he could manage.

“If it makes a difference, I'm glad you're here. There are very few humans I know that come even close to being as good a person as you, after everything you've been through." Daniel pulled away, blushing lightly. “Anyway, uh, I… you know, I'll give you a shout if I need anything."

“Yeah. Uh, see you soon then." R'kan awkwardly left the room, feeling like he should have said something a bit less generic, but shook it off and decided to go for a walk while Daniel did whatever he was doing.

Daniel was in fact pulling the covering off his computer and searching it for the plugs he was looking for. He produced some cables from his bag and began plugging them in various places.

“One of these hard drives has gotta have an operating system…" He tried booting the computer from the first hard drive. Nothing. He tried the second one, and was greeted by the image of an apple with a single bite taken out of it. “Seriously? If there's a god out there, they really like to screw with me. A decent operating system, please." He went through two more operating systems, until he finally came across a loading screen which had four squares arranged like a flag. Or a window. “Alright, just have to find the login for this thing then I'll…" The computer snapped off, its screen black.

Daniel glanced down at the bulky box which it was plugged into; sighing when he saw the light was off. “Damn, solar panel wasn't working, and I just drained all of the stored power." He plucked his walkie-talkie off his desk and placed his thumb on the talk button. “Luckily, I have a big strong lizard who can fix it for me."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

R'kan had barely been walking for a minute before his way was blocked. He knew the blond-haired male was Fred, but the girl… Lauren was it? Yes, he'd heard that name used on her before. R'kan eyed them suspiciously. These two were also the ones who opposed his presence here the most.

“Greetings," he tried to start a conversation, but was shot down by the aggressive glares from the two. He sighed. “You're going to try fight me, aren't you? You know this won't end well, for any of us."

Rather than reply, Lauren produced her crowbar and Fred a piece of metal pipe. R'kan, unarmed, raised his fists to shield his face and chest. With a grunt of rage, Lauren swung first, going directly for a blow to the head. R'kan blocked it with his forearm, ignoring the jarring pain, and smacked her wrist hard enough to force her to let go of her weapon. She cried out in pain and stepped back as Fred tried to take advantage of the distraction. A second before Fred's pipe connected, R'kan ducked and hooked his foot around Fred's ankle, tugging forward and effectively removing Fred's feet from beneath him before leaping back onto his own feet, just in time to catch Lauren's punch and counter by smacking her in the chest with his open palm.

Winded, Lauren stumbled back and panted, trying to regain her breath. “Please, stay down," R'kan urged as Fred hauled himself onto his feet. “I don't want to fight you." Fred twirled his pipe in his hand and gave an ugly grin.

“Damn right you don't, 'cause I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS!" He charged forward, and simultaneously, R'kan was grabbed from behind by Lauren, who held her crowbar around his neck in an assisted headlock. Fred was about ready to cave the Lahzid's head in with the pipe, so R'kan grabbed the crowbar and yanked down with all his might, managing to fling Lauren up and over his back, sending her sailing into Fred. R'kan tossed the crowbar aside and fled to the gym, hoping to find Mack, Pete, Caitlin or anybody who would tell these two to stand down.

He burst inside, and was mortified to find the room empty. And now he was cornered. His walkie-talkie buzzed.

“Hey R'kan, it's Daniel. I hope you're not too busy, but I could use a hand with a solar panel on the roof…"

“Daniel!" R'kan cried once he managed to retrieve his device from his vest. “I'm being –" He was cut off as the walkie-talkie was knocked from his hand, battery flying out and sliding across the floor as it hit the ground. R'kan's head whipped back just in time to get a faceful of steel piping, the force bloodying his muzzle and making him land on his ass, stunned.

“That's right ya scaly bastard!" Fred mocked him triumphantly. Now on the ground, R'kan couldn't help himself as the merciless attackers jumped on him. Fred was pinning him down now, and somewhere in his haze the pipe had swapped hands. Lauren was now pounding his face with it, rattling his teeth and making his skull vibrate with every blow. His hands went up, trying desperately to block anything, but Fred was quick to knock them away, not that he could actually see what he was doing with his vision blurred and his mind numbed by the ruthless strikes. He had a killer headache and couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears. His world was quickly descending into a red haze of pain… but somewhere in his bruised brain, he knew it wouldn't last much longer. No, he'd be dead before too long.

Then change. The pain stopped, a blurry figure sweeping past his vision. And suddenly clarity. Blood spraying in the air. Fred's limp body crashing into the wall. A long rebar pole whirred in front of him, crashing right into Lauren's stomach. From the corner of R'kan's sight, a grey blur came flying, slamming both themselves and Lauren into the ground. The figure then pounded a single fist into Lauren's face repeatedly until she stopped writhing. R'kan saw Fred stumble to his feet just as his hearing was returning, just in time to hear the thunderous crack as the figure produced a rifle – which R'kan was acutely aware belonged to him – and promptly fired it at Frank. All movement in the room stopped, bar R'kan's saviour's heavy breathing.

R'kan blinked to clear his vision and managed to push himself up onto his elbows. The figure's head turned towards him, but by now R'kan could make out the attire and knew who it was.

“Fuck Daniel! You fucking shot me! Fucking… fuck ow! Shit! Jesus Christ, what the hell's wrong with you? Fuck…"

“Shut up… you know you deserved it. I could have killed you if I wanted to," Daniel informed him, climbing the wall next to him until he was standing, using his length of rebar as a crutch of sorts.

“Christ… what the hell happened here? We heard gunfire." Mack was now standing in the doorway, the rest of the group behind him, staring at the carnage. Stacy shoved past them and quickly checked Lauren, then Fred, shaking her head and muttering obscenities. “Daniel?" Mack demanded, still wanting his question answered.

“Those two assholes were beating R'kan to death with a metal pipe. They were unscathed and he had blood all over his face, so I think it's pretty obvious who started this fight."

“But you didn't see it," Jerry pointed out. “He set it up! The Demon's trying to make itself look like the victim to earn our trust!"

“You did this to them?" Stacy demanded, both angry and dumbfounded. “I'm sorry Daniel, but I find that kind of hard to believe. I mean, look at Lauren's face! It's almost bloody caved in!" Daniel pulled up his sleeve, revealing he had a band of thick metal wrapped around his hand, like knuckle dusters. “Shit, are you nuts? You could have killed them!"

“Could have, but did not. Arrogance, as annoying a trait as it is, is not punishable by death. Murder, however, is. So you better keep a close eye on these jackasses or next time I won't aim for the shoulder, Fred."

“Can't you see that this is what he wants? He's trying to tear us apart!" Fred pleaded.

“No Fred, you are the only one doing that," Daniel growled, taking a troubled step towards him. Mack put an arm out to halt his progress.

“Okay, okay. Let's all just calm down. We have no proof of exactly what happened here, so let's just make sure whatever it was, it doesn't happen again, okay? Daniel, don't let R'kan out of your sight. If these two come near him, give me a call and I'll deal with them. Copasetic?"

Daniel and Fred nodded, knowing that Mack's words were wise ones.

“Is that effective immediately, or can R'kan fix my solar panel first?" Daniel asked, before glancing back at his blood-soaked Lizahn friend. “Actually, never mind. Could you please do it Mack?"

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel found himself absently dabbing the last of the purple blood off R'kan's bruised face in his little office, the soft hum of his now-running computer the only sound in the room. Mack had found that the prior night's storm had knocked loose a cable which connected the panel to the junction box in Daniel's room.

“You gonna be okay?" Daniel questioned, eyeing the Lahzid with concern written all over his face. R'kan nodded.

“Yeah, I just need to rest." Daniel nodded back, releasing the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

“Okay, just don't die on me, alright? I need you for more than just carrying me around." R'kan almost worked up the energy to ask the human what else he would require, but found he was lacking in that department. Energy. Easy enough to get back – just a quick nap and snack when he woke up, and he'd feel good as new. Daniel watched him fall asleep, made sure he kept breathing, then went back to work.

He shuffled through the papers that were sprawled on his desk until he found the one he needed. There was a list of user names and passwords he'd found around the building. He had written down which hard drives they applied to also, and so it was a simple matter to type it in and get going. He was connected to the internet via several Data Sticks, seeing as Ethernet was down, but the communication satellites which offered data to mobiles and Data Sticks were still running perfectly fine. Now that everything was in place, Daniel plucked a sticky note from its place on the computer's case and typed in the server address.

The site was simple. In the top left corner it had the letters UNDF, and in the very centre it had a login box. It was an emergency site that had been created along with the United Nations Defence Force in response to the Lahzids' arrival. This was every army on Earth combined into one, united in order to destroy their common enemy. Daniel read the sticky note and used the login written upon it to access the tactical data on the site. He downloaded the frequency tuner tool, then disconnected his Data Sticks so there was no way for his information to be broadcasted anywhere, just in case. He opened the tool, and found two main radio frequencies, each highly encrypted and featuring several sub-frequencies. He opened the public channel of the first frequency, and listened to the automated message.

“This is the UNDF. All civilians are to evacuate the city and make their way south towards one of our military outposts. You will then be sent to a safe location. This message will now repeat. This is the UNDF…"

Daniel disconnected and tried the second frequency's unencrypted channel. Static. Then a whisper.

“No, someone just entered the channel; I'm sure of it. It has to be him! A human would already be on their own channel by now." Another muffled voice in the background. “Well yeah, the humans are still listening in. But those guys are always there, scanning the frequencies, trying to find anything they can use against us. Why do you think I've been neglecting to mention our location? Or R'kan's location for that matter. All I'm gonna say is: R'kan, if that is you, find the Lahzid Battlenet Frequency Fourteen. The password is your sister's name." Then the line went dead.

Daniel immediately found a frequency labelled 'Lahzid Battlenet Frequency Fourteen' and typed 'Faya' into the encryption key area. The channel opened, displaying how many people were connected and a line which wavered every time somebody talked. Daniel fetched his microphone and adjusted his headset. “R'kan!" the voice from before greeted excitedly. “Thank goodness you –"

“Look, let's start this on the right foot. I'm not R'kan," Daniel cut in. There was a gasp on the other end, and Daniel sensed that he was seconds away from being kicked off the channel. “But! He's right behind me. Alive, free and relatively unharmed."

“Relatively?" the voice repeated hysterically. “What did you do to him you sadistic bastard? I'll –"

“I didn't to anything to him," Daniel assured him. “He got beaten pretty badly by a couple of cowardly humans. Pacifistic idiot refused to hit back. Look, I want to bring him back to you. If you just give me a location –"

“Oh no you don't," the other interrupted. “When do you think I was born? Yesterday? Even if I was, I would be no stranger to the deceit of humans. This stinks of a trap."

“If I get R'kan on the line, will you tell him?"

“While you listen in? No thanks."

“Please!" Daniel begged. “The others will find out I've got this computer working, and they'll want to go to the human base north of here! If R'kan doesn't leave now, he'll never get another chance. He'll get taken to the UNDF and then… god knows what happens to him." Daniel's face was buried in his desk at this point, and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

“It's okay Daniel," R'kan assured him. “I will find my own way. Or they'll find me. That was pretty much my plan before I met you anyway."

“R'kan! How do you like your eggs?"

“Uh, he's asking you how you like your eggs?" Daniel reported confusedly, seeing as his headphones made sure he was the only one who could hear the other end.

“Poached," R'kan replied.

“Shit, you guys are actually friends?" From this comment, Daniel concluded that this was some kind of safe word.

“His name is Alph, by the way," R'kan told Daniel. “He and I set up a safe word thing, if either of us ever got captured. Poached means I'm in friendly hands. Scrambled means neutral or unsure, and fried means hostile. Would you mind if we popped out for a sec? I could really do with a snack."

“Gotcha covered buddy," Daniel replied with a smirk. He threw open one of the drawers next to him and R'kan took a peek inside. Three 'Mega Oats – Triple Choc Flavour' muesli bars, four packets of beef jerky – original, teriyaki and pepper flavoured, an unopened box of cheddar-flavoured crackers and a half-eaten 'Whittaker's Creamy Milk' chocolate bar.

“Wow, that's uh… quite the collection. I'll be honest with you, that beef jerky really has my eye." Daniel retrieved three of the four packets, one of each flavour, and held them splayed out like a deck of cards.

“Pick one. Seriously, I don't mind. I mean, I pretty much only have today to eat all this stuff, seeing as the military probably won't like having it around. Not that we're going to take anything but the bare necessities when we head out anyway." R'kan glanced towards the drawer, and took note that Original was the flavour Daniel had two of. Maybe that was his favourite flavour? R'kan tapped the Original packet being offered to him, trusting Daniel's taste. “Heh, good choice. That's my favourite flavour too."

R'kan grinned, glad that he'd make a good detective, and tore into the packet, chewing thoughtfully on the titbits within. Dried meat. Tasty dried meat, probably because of the high salt content, but hey, the packet said it was 99% fat free, so…

R'kan shrugged at his own internal monologue and resolved to just enjoy the tasty treats. Daniel hopped over to R'kan's chair and sat down, allowing the Lahzid to take the pilot seat and put the headphones on. He glanced back to double-check his human was okay, and saw him happily munching away at one of the muesli bars. Satisfied, R'kan turned his attention to the radio.

“Alright Alph, give me some directions. I'm coming home."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours and a quick meal later, Daniel pulled away from his final hug and pressed a bulky object into R'kan's hand. It was his walkie-talkie, battery back in place and secured with twice as much duct tape as before.

“Keep it, please," Daniel told him. R'kan nodded and handed Daniel his walkie-talkie.

“I didn't think you'd fix my one in time," he explained, “so I took your one. Sorry, guess I should've asked first. Heh." R'kan scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly, then turned, accepted his rifle back from Pete gratefully, then marched out into the dreary streets.

“Thank god for that," Fred muttered sourly, itching under the bandage wrapped around his shoulder. “Can't believe you shot me over some tool you knew for a day that we'll never see again." Daniel slipped his walkie-talkie into his pocket stealthily and smiled knowingly.

“Yeah. Never," he agreed. The group sat in silence, and Daniel just stared out the window at where R'kan's back had faded into the misty day, leaning against the doorframe. In another five minutes, a jeep would arrive to pick them up. Then they'd be evacuated, and probably part ways.

But it was not to be. War has its way of being unpredictable, surprising even veterans and commanders. Just when you think you had everything all figured out, war would charge in and rip your plans to shreds with some new turn of events.

This turn of events was not when the jeep got stuck in a puddle of mud and arrived at the outpost a few minutes late.

Nor was it when the doctors told Daniel the experimental drug had destroyed his ability to heal his right leg without artificial chemical stimulation.

Nor was it that the very same doctors confirmed that Daniel had severely damaged Lauren's ability to identify shapes and colours.

No, war decided to throw in a quarantine zone because of suspected Demon activity. Nobody entered or left the region until the UNDF gave the all-clear. Anyone who attempted to do so without permission from at least a general would be shot on sight. The insignificant group of nine civilians had no such permission.

And so, Daniel found himself sitting in yet another concrete room within the concrete complex of the concrete outpost. This was to be his quarters for the duration of his stay. And considering his leg and lack of R'kan, he was going to be spending a lot of time there in the damp, cold, grey, concrete room. He had a desk, a chair, a small dresser and a bed. On his desk he had his computer and all of his papers, stacked in a neat pile. He had been given the title 'Junior Civilian Technician' on account of his expertise, having managed to build a computer and repair walkie-talkies, GPS's and other gadgets, so he occasionally got visits from soldiers with a broken this, or a malfunctioning that, could you fix it please?

He sighed as he swung his feet over the side of the bed, having lain there for about an hour anticipating his long stay in this concrete cage. He felt imprisoned by his own injuries already; he couldn't imagine how he was going to feel at the end of a three month stay. It was night now, but he couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the cold, the loneliness, or the crushing sense of hopelessness – he couldn't tell. He was so emotionally shaken at that moment he didn't care. And he'd gotten some pretty enraged looks from Lauren too, so there was another thing he had to worry about.

His radio crackled, startling him slightly. He picked it up and flicked it, scowling at the half-broken piece of technology. Then a steady stream of static fed through, until:

“Hey Daniel, you there?" came a friendly voice in hushed tones.

“R'kan!" Daniel cried. “I didn't expect to hear from you so soon! Where are you? What are you doing?"

“I heard about the quarantine zone thing. Tough break huh? I'm actually in a tree right now, looking at the outpost you're in. A bit close for comfort – you really weren't kidding about the range of these things – but I reckon it's worth the risk. Anyway, I decided to drop by and see how you were holding up. What did the doctors have to say about your leg?"

“It's screwed. It won't heal on its own anymore and they don't have anything powerful enough to heal it for me. How about you? Happy to see all your friends again?"

“Yeah. It's kinda rough though. I mean, it's great seeing everyone again, but there's no rest for the wicked. It's right back to 'these men are relying on you to defend them valiantly Corporal R'kan'. It really wears you down. I mean, if I die in battle, that sucks. But if the men and women under my command die… I'm the one who's responsible for that. Those people trusted me with their lives, and I let them down. Never join the military Daniel." R'kan chuckled tiredly at his own comment. “Anyway, I should probably head back about now if I wanna catch some Z's, so I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

“Something tells me it'll be the highlight of my day. Good night R'kan."

“Good night Daniel." The line reverted back to static, which gradually faded away into silence as R'kan went out of range. Daniel sighed and placed the walkie-talkie on the dresser next to his bed, then he curled up, hugging his blanket tightly around himself, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. At least he had a friend to keep him company now, and a very peculiar one at that. Maybe things wouldn't be that bad after all…