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On the Rim, Ch 24, 25, and 26: Myra, Grizz, and Kyrta

2020 copyright comidacomida

Myra spent most of her days prepping tons of ready-made meals that could be heated up quickly for breakfast and dinner; since lunch wasn't a major event for the group most folks just walked into the food storage area and grabbed bags of berries or mixed raw vegetables she liked to prepare for quick snacks. Since the Relegra team seemed inclined to take regular trips out into the wild, the Rhino also focused some of her cook time on dehydrated, ready-to-eat meals that could be consumed with just the addition of water.

Missy, the group's resident survivalist had built a collection of simple traps that were used to catch some fresh water shellfish that made their home in a large lake nearby and the addition of some primitive-but-still-effective fishing poles meant that she was able to add a variety of dishes to the menu, both for proper meals, and as an alternative food for those packing it for a journey; she even found some time to dry some fish jerky.

One talent she'd acquired from working with some of the tribesmen from Planet A was a food preparation technology that went unused by Humans for generations, and that was one she'd learned well enough to put it to occasional use: pemmican. The combination of grains, proteins and fats could be condensed into thick bars that lasted for months without any refrigeration or preservatives and, although the Overseer said that such precautions weren't needed, the Rhino always believed in 'better safe than sorry'.

Due to her love of cooking and dedicated work ethic, the Group Under the Mountain, as many of the local LLCs had taken to calling them, had stored up quite a reasonable amount of prepared food. Despite all of her activity, however, the multiple foragers outnumbered her and, even once they started helping with skinning and butchering their kills, Myra continued to fall behind once the fish and shellfish started rolling in. It wasn't a really a problem in her mind, but apparently Overseer Simpson liked efficient work flow, and ended up joining her part time in the kitchen.

The two ladies together managed to make a great dent in the raw foods and, after some careful planning, the Overseer set aside a portion of the freezer specifically for meats that were going to be traded. The hunters had been so thorough in hunting that more than a few kinds of undesirable meat were piling up; few of the people within the group really wanted to try rat burgers despite how good Myra prepared them, so the rat meat was added to the food set aside to be traded, or turned into kibble for Roscoe and Desiree.

Ultimately, with the Overseer's help, Myra was able to get back into a rhythm that almost helped her keep up with the hunting and gathering. Since Ms. Simpson couldn't spare much time in the kitchen on any regular basis she recruited Duct-Tape to help out occasionally. Still, the Fox was overburdened with a lot of tasks so he usually only helped prepare meals for dinner, and that left a space at the large work station.

Only once the Overseer opened up an ask to the group did a volunteer step forward; apparently Dr. Zimmerman enjoyed cooking and, since he wasn't allowed to risk harming his hands with any heavy duty, he volunteered to help out Myra when he wasn't needed in the medical bay. There were no objections, and so Doc became her ad hoc kitchen assistant. He wasn't at all as bad as some she'd had, but he had plenty to learn. Fortunately, the Human learned quickly.

By the third day working with her, Myra could trust Doc to handle most any basic recipe; his attention to detail as admirable and he followed recipes with the same precision as he handled a patient. She was able to focus on the complex dishes and the process of packaging them for storage while he produced pot after pot of simple meal components; together they accomplished enough to keep them steadily ahead of the raw foods coming in, and that was a good thing as far as Myra was concerned.

Two days after she complimented Dr. Zimmerman and officially called him her favorite sous chef, the peace and quiet of the kitchen routine was disturbed by a special request from Missy. The Lynx joined them early afternoon and, despite waiting patiently for Myra's attention, her presence was felt prominently-- that, and her wolf sniffing around; the Rhino never really liked pets in the kitchen. Wiping her massive paws off on a bath towel she used as a dish towel, the big chef turned to the feline. "Help you with something, Missy?"

The young woman was all smiles. "I was in the freezer and I noticed that there are some really great fatty fish steaks you haven't broken down yet."

The comment could have come across as an accusation that the Rhino was lazy, but the tone didn't suggest that. Myra had several dishes on the stove and wanted to get back to them so she urged the Lynx to get to the point. "And?"

Missy dumped a large sack down onto the floor. "I found a whole patch of wild rice... any chance you're good at making sushi?"

The Rhino did, in fact, know how to make sushi, but she hadn't had the chance to do so in years. Also, it didn't help that the folks at her prior base did't really care for it. Whether it was the good news or the Lynx's infectious smile, Myra couldn't help but do the same. "I can... and I will. Did the Overseer give the go-ahead?"

The petite feline smirked, leaning back against the doorway as she lowered a paw to pat her wolf on the head. "I told her I wanted to throw a party for everyone, and I told her I'd be asking you to prepare something for the occasion. She said it'd be fine."

There was something almost humorous in the way Missy slowly enunciated the word 'prepare', especially considering how many kinds of sushi included raw fish. Myra didn't know if the Lynx had chosen the word specifically but she was content to think it was ironic humor. Nodding, the Rhino woman turned back to the stove. "Fine. Leave the rice. Take the wolf. I'll have everything ready to go by dinner."

The meal was prepared on time and Myra didn't even need Doc's help to do it. When everyone came together as a whole the Rhino had a full spread of many different kinds of sushi laid out with four varieties of fish, two shellfish, and eel; she also made one with just egg and one entirely out of vegetables. Although Missy hadn't asked, Myra had also made a few side dishes in case some folk didn't care for sushi.

The party went well with a lot of socialization. The newest members of the settlement had done a fine job of integrating and everyone seemed to welcome them the same as any other. It hadn't been that long ago that Myra had also been a new addition to the group and she felt the reaffirming sense that she'd chosen her new home well. True, not everyone got along, and there were definitely arguments, but she had no doubt that the people that made up The Group Under the Mountain were a cohesive bunch.

As dinner came and went, Missy organized some games; some of them were silly but most of them were fun, and they were all designed to help everyone get to know one another more. Myra had already figured most of it out: the Overseer kept everyone at a distance, the Captain was obsessed with his job; Missy and Grizz had a thing going; Leo was just as disinterested in contributing as he was back with the LLC; Claw was a well-meaning asshole; and the two newest additions would integrate into their motley crew without event.

Unfortunately, the party ended abruptly with a loud boom and a vibration ran through the ground strong enough for it to shake. The lights in the cave system flickered, and the sudden silence that followed was almost enough to make the Rhino's ears ache. The first to respond was the Overseer. "Captain-- put together a group and find out what that was."

Missy quickly added "It sounded like an impact... some place close by."

Captain Archie motioned to Grizz and Missy as well as Claw and Leo. "You two... you two-- gather up your gear."

The Overseer, who appeared a little flustered, quickly added "Duct-Tape. Cole. Lizzy. Kurta-- follow along and provide support."

Myra remained behind, looking over dishes that needed cleaning, and worrying about what lay waiting for her new friends.

* * * * *

Despite how much Grizz trusted Misty, every time she went out on a sortie with him he worried for her safety. Heading off into the jungle at the edge of the valley at night was so much worse however, especially since they didn't have the slightest idea of what waited for them out in the darkness. The Corp-sec armor that he and the Captain wore had head lamps attached but the rest anyone had to go on were the lights attached to their respective PCDs, and those weren't anywhere near as helpful.

Captain Archie kept everyone close together and had Grizz facing forward to the left while the Dog took forward-right; everyone else used what light they had available to provide as much illumination around them as they could. They took it slow, choosing caution, and so they made poor time crossing the two hundred something meters to where a section of the trees had been blasted apart, leaving a shallow but wide crater, with a large metallic tube sticking out of the center.

The structure was easily the size of a drop shuttle and was almost perfectly smooth, all except for several seams placed evenly around its circumference; there was no way it was a naturally occurring object. As the group neared it, Captain Archie came to a stop and immediately began to provided orders. He started, Grizz noticed, based on perceived combat skill. "Grizz... you're here with me. Missy, you and Duct-Tape circle right-- I want you under cover the whole time."

Everyone nodded and Grizz offered his usual "Copy that."

Next, the Captain turned to the remaining members of the team that the Overseer had assigned them. "Cole-- I know you've been out here with us before, and I want you to do the same god damn thing. You take Lizzy and Kurta and get back behind the rocks there-- you're second string. I only want you firing if we come back past you, and we're not doing that unless I order a retreat. Got it?"

Cole nodded numbly. "Yes, Cap'n."

The Dog gave the young Stallion a pat on the shoulder. "Good. If it comes to it, we'll run back a ways and set up another defense, then I'll call for you and you come past us. It's a guarded retreat, so, if there IS a threat, we can always have a fighting force facing them. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Y-yeah, Cap'n. I think so."

The Captain nodded to the laborer before looking around at the rest of the group. "Good... any questions?"

Kurta splayed her arms wide. "What are me and Lizzy using for weapons?"

The Dog nodded to Grizz, who he'd instructed to bring extra weapons. The Bear tossed the Cytkus a rifle and the NHH got a pistol. Kurta shot the Bear a dirty look. "Is this because I'm a woman, or because I'm not a 'real Human'?"

Forestalling any further argument, Lizzy reached over and snatched the pistol from her, handing Kurta the rifle. The Cytkus inquired "There. Good?"

The NHH turned the gun around, turned on the battery connector, hit the pulse charge, flipped the fire mechanism over to burst, and primed the weapon-- the motions weren't as fluid as a trained security officer might manage, but it was evident that she knew her firearms. "Yeah... better."

Grizz was ready to question that information when, suddenly, a pulse round flew overhead. Everyone dove to the ground as the plan quickly dissolved in favor of finding cover. A number of shouts were all but drowned out as several more rapid fire shots flew over Grizz's head, but he distinctly heard Leo roar "It's more of those bots!"

Beside the Bear, Captain Artie was the first to his feet, combat rifle planted firmly against his shoulder, and he began firing. A few moments later and Grizz heard the sound of Missy's smg joining in on the fight. A few pistol rounds echoed out amidst the chaos and then Grizz was up too, using the minimal cover provided by a nearby fallen tree as he took aim and started firing at the numerous synthetic enemies trying to advance on their position.

A well-placed shot from Captain Archie took down the robot in the lead, but two others continued rushing toward them; Grizz noticed that, unlike the first one the group had fought, the ones that they faced anew had much longer legs, and those legs helped them ascend the slope and out of the crater with an uncanny amount of speed. He managed to pick one of the two off before the final one was suddenly upon them.

It sprang over the lip of the crater and was on Captain Archie in an instant, the pulse rifle attached to its right arm going ignored as a pair of razor-sharp plastisteel blades slid out of two grooves in its left forearm. The Dog was ready for melee combat, but the blades caught him by surprise, and he turned aside at the last minute to avoid being stabbed through the chest. Regardless, the spurs caught him on the shoulder and tore right through his armor. Grizz was there to help in an instant. "Cap'n!"

The bot turned to intercept his charge, but Grizz used the butt of his rifle and gave it a quick blow to the head, knocking it off balance so he could reach out and grab it by its wrists. It spun around, kicking at him with one of its legs, but the Bear blocked it with his knee, then brought his own foot up to place against its sternum. With a powerful tug, Grizz tore its bladed arm free and then, using it like a club, brought its own blades down on its head. The thing stopped fighting and collapsed then and there.

Pausing only long enough to see that Captain Archie, though injured, was not in danger of death, the Bear picked up his rifle and turned back toward the crater, ready to engage the rest of their foes. He watched as Leo's careful aim finished what appeared to have been a lengthy disassembling of one of the robots, while Missy downed another with copious amount of blaster fire. A robot near the lip of the crater appeared to have been torn apart by melee combat, leaving Grizz to assume that Claw had also been busy, leaving a pair still fighting back near the metal tube from which they'd emerged.

The Bear had just brought his charge rifle to bear on the remaining two when Claw leapt down on them from atop the tube and drove his two plastisteel prosthetic claws into the heads of each of the final robots. Their unmoving forms collapsed to the ground, at which point the Badger raised up one metallic arm with circuitry clasped in his digits, proclaiming "Clear!"

Combat had ended in less than a minute, and Grizz accentuated his vision being clear of foes by shouting out a decisive "Clear!"

A cry from the other side of the crater was from Missy. "Clear!"

Leo's voice acknowledged the confirmation. "Clear here too!"

Captain Archie, who was still holding the wound on his shoulder grunted, leaning back against the bounder near him as he called "Everyone form up. On me."

When everyone came together, the Captain turned toward Grizz. "Claw, Leo-- you're staying to protect Cole and Duct-Tape... you two, go ahead and disassemble this... thing. We're going to bring back what we can and figure out what these are."

Claw interjected "They look like the one we killed back at the crash site of that last piece of the Venture we saw."

Captain Archie nodded "Right. Salvage what's available from this troop transport thing and everyone else, grab a chassis or two from the bots and bring em back with us. Grizz... you're with me. Claw, you're in charge here."

Grizz brought his commanding officer back to base and, once those left behind saw that the security team made it back safe the tension slowly began to ease. Doc took the Captain off of the Corporal's paws and led the Dog away to the med bay while the Overseer asked the Bear where everyone else was. Once he provided her with what was apparently an acceptable answer she dismissed him and headed off in the same direction the other two had gone.

More than happy enough to call it a night, Grizz went to find Missy. In most circumstances in such a lop-sided victory against unknowable odds the Bear would normally have felt frisky but, that night he only felt relief. He squeezed the Lynx close to him tightly, and fell asleep with her in his arms, thankful on so many levels that the mystery they'd encountered hadn't turned out even worse than what they faced.

* * * * *

Kurta Cacoltre was unable to do anything about what she was, but she strove to have control over WHO she was. The vast majority of society had labeled her as a Neo-Human Hybrid, or NHH for short, and that little, unspectacular title colored most interactions and affected every single opportunity, relationship, and danger she'd faced growing up. Unlike the vast majority of NHH that came into existence, she actually made it to adulthood, but not without a variety of setbacks and sacrifices.

She spent the first ten years of her in what she assumed was relative normalcy; she had an enormous play room, a comfortable bedroom, and all of the toys she could ask for. In fact, whenever she wanted something-- anything, the scientist who created her got it for her. Life was good, and to her, the scientist was 'Daddy'. What she didn't realize at the time, however, was that his interest in her was not filial-- she was something else entirely.

Created as a wild experiment by a rebel geneticist who had been ostracized and outcast from a core system university, Kurta had been a tool-- a weapon for him to use against those who challenged his genius. He made countless recordings of her; what she thought of as 'play time' were social and cognitive experiments. What she considered medical check ups were biological sample collections and record-keeping. What she ultimately came to realize was that even his hugs had secondary purposes.

By the time she reached her early teens, the scientist had made enough of a name for himself and presented the scientific community enough proof of her existence and his experiments that they decided to act. Every time he sent data it was with a different server through a different relay but, after enough thumbing his nose via those transfers he ran out of options and eventually reused some of them; by the time he used the same pathway three times it was enough for the enforcement division to figure out where his secret facility was located.

The strike was sudden and fierce, but, due to a stroke of luck, Kurta had been outside playing when the cleaning crew arrived. She hid quickly, watching as they systematically laid waste to the entire facility, including the scientist. What shook her even more drastically was when they pulled out ten other girls-- ones she kenw nothing about, and wasn't even aware of their existence. At that point, after overhearing the men talk about the site being clean, she didn't stick around.

The closest settlement on the relatively empty planet was over ten miles away, but she didn't know that at the time. Traveling more than forty kilometers, she never forgot the trek across the wasteland, hiding anywhere she could whenever she heard the slightest sound of anyone and anything. When she finally did arrive at the outpost days later she did so in horrible condition, but her frizzled and tangled hair saved her from anyone noticing her head frills... at first.

The outpost security team brought her to the system administrator, a kindly old man named Kurt, who lived alone with his wife Rita. By the point she was left with them, Kurta was too tired to care and, as they bathed her, they discovered what she was. Surprisingly, rather than turning her over to the authorities right away, they hid her from them. She owed the Cacotres her life, and the quality in the next eight years of her life.

The old couple's kids had left years before Kurta had showed up, and out of the three of them, only one bothered to keep in contact, but none visited. The two spoiled her rotten and, for a time, life was good again. She prospered under their care and, for the first time, she experienced love without ulterior motives. They home schooled her, and kept her hidden from everyone else except for occasional moments when they'd prepare her for a day out; she'd always have a hat on to hide her frills and, as she grew and her eyes changed color and appearance they'd put sun glasses on her, claiming that she had a light sensitivity.

Things had come a long way since she lived with the Cacoltres and whenever she thought back to those times she was both simultaneously happy, and depressed. Although they were getting on in their years, her surrogate parents died before their time had come; mistakes had been made, and Kurta's secret hadn't remained unknown forever. The cleaning crew came while she was at school and neither Kurt nor Rita were willing to tell them anything. Rita had sent Kurtra a coded warning on her PCD that the family had worked out months before, and the NHH knew to run... which she did. She learned weeks later that the scorched earth policy against NHHs also extended to those who harbored them.

Those thoughts and more went through her mind as she helped disassemble one of the several robotic combatants the security team had brought back to the cave system. It was strange in a way for her to encounter what looked, at least superficially, like artificial intelligence put forth toward a military application-- NHH were considered illegal enough for buildings to be razed and families to be eliminated, but if the command council of the core systems heard about an independently operating AI on a rim world... well... she didn't know WHAT would happen, but she wouldn't put it past them to have some kind of weapon that would likely destroy the entirety of Planet A.

She pushed that thought out of her mind as she tuned in on the conversations around her. The Overseer and Duct-Tape were among those also taking the robots apart. In addition was a well-built Stallion who not only worked quickly, but his methodical movements identified that there was more to him than brute strength; next to him was Ben, a Wolf Gen who was probably the only person in the room quieter than him or, even Kurta for that matter. She had long-since decided that she liked them both.

While the majority of the disassemblers were just trying to get the chassis opened and inner workings exposed, Ben and Duct-Tape were working on salvaging the important component parts. The Overseer spent her time moving between the differen groups, but also left often to check on the other activities going on around the base; according to the plan for the day there were quite a few.

From what Kyra understood, Dr. Zimmerman had spent the morning tending to Captain Archibald's battle wound. According to the Overseer the Dog had returned to duty and the good doctor had been in the kitchen ever since, playing assistant chef to the group's cook. The security team and anyone else available was working to establish combat fortifications at the entrance to the valley. Kurta couldn't argue with that plan.

Work finally slowed as evening rolled around. The Overseer had left them mid-afternoon to look in on the defenses but came back to tell the salvagers to conclude their work for the day. Kurta went to her private room to clean up before dinner and, when she came out, she saw that the dinner table was strangely empty. That was when she heard the sound of talking outside. Ever-careful to remain in the background so as to avoid attention, the NHH slid up to the entrance and eavesdropped on a discussion the Overseer was having with some newcomers.

From what Kurta gathered, a friendly tribe stopped in to do some basic trading. Whatever deal they'd reached was already completed, but they'd stayed long enough to 'chat'. Word of the Group Under the Hill had spread and with enough detail that one of the tribes recognized the Relegra symbol. According to the visitors, a slaver tribe not far from the base was in possession of a slave with a uniform that had the Relegra symbol on it-- another survivor of the attack on their ship!

The visitors left shortly thereafter and, as the members of the group outside slowly funneled in, Kurta asked the first person she could: Captain Archibald "If they're a slave, are we going to go save them?"

The Dog offered a one-shouldered shrug (apparently his other one was still sore). "That's up to the Overseer, but I imagine we will."

Ms. Simpson was two people back, but, as she walked through the door she confirmed the Dog's suspicion. "I'll send a team, yes... but you're staying here until you've recovered."

The Captain grunted. "Doc cleared me for duty."

Doctor Zimmerman emerged from the adjoining med-bay, joining everyone at the table while clarifying "LIGHT duty, Cap'n."

The Overseer sat down and looked right at Grizz. "Corporal... do you feel comfortable leading this military action?"

The Bear gave a succinct nod. "Yes, Ma'am."

Ms. Simpson was all business, even while everyone else started serving themselves up from the food Myra brought in from the kitchen. "Leo, Claw, and Duct-Tape will go with you. Andre said that he thinks there may be at least five of them, so I'm looking for more volunteers. at least three."

Kurta wasn't the least bit surprised when Missy volunteered, but Lizzy surprised her. The Cytkus' comment explained it all. "You helped me save Kurta, so the least I can do is help free someone else."

All of Kurta's life she'd learned not to speak up, to stick in the shadows, and not to draw attention to herself. Her impression of life was apparently changing. Raising her hand, she announced "I'll go too."