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The Last Drive

The Desert Hauler was created during the Vulpeculan Pacification Campaign, shortly after their annexation and the end of the Second Lupiad-Sirian War. Designed by Prince Aleph, youngest son of Raljesh I, the Sleeping Emperor and longest reigning Monarch of Regulus by far; the young Prince spent countless hours perfecting the vehicle, adding additional parts while keeping costs down and simplifying the manufacturing.

Upon completing his final design, the Prince was found to be weeping in his workshop. He demanded that a model number not be assigned, for he declared that he had created a vehicle that would not need any upgrades for a thousand years.

Even now, almost three hundred years later, the Desert Hauler is still widely used in the Imperial Military.

-Vehicles of the Regulian Imperial Army

I got up early in the morning, when the leaves were still wet with morning dew and a strange static was in the air; it brought my mind back to the Catacombs and made me wonder if there was a tunnel underneath the meadow we were camped in. We were far from the Catacombs, but there was no telling just how far it reached.

Quietly, I slipped a cigarette from one of the many packs loaded in the back of the Hauler. The smoke was acrid and stale, but the flavor was enough to stir me from sleep's grasp. Normally I would only smoke redweed, as it was something that grew on Planet, but we were quickly reaching a point where we were going to have no more need of cigarettes for bartering.

I couldn't help but think there were things back at my hideout that I needed, that I would miss upon leaving Planet, but I knew it was just a bunch of stuff that would only be useful on Planet. Still, it was home for me and I kind of wished I had the chance to spend a night with Dondrae there.

There was no telling when we'd have another moment to ourselves. The lights of the Imperial Tower were flickering ominously off in the horizon; I was closer to it now than I had ever dared go and all it would take is us running into a disgruntled patrol to have all of our plans ruined. Rashar said he would meet us at a rendezvous point nearby but I had very little reason to trust him.

I wanted to do something for Dondrae, one last thing before we crossed the Rubicon. I began rifling through the canned goods and boxes of MREs, the neurons in my brain firing rapidly as a picture formed in my mind: pizza.

Tomatoes were easy enough to come by. The Regulians and their vassals found tomatoes to be an Earth delicacy and more than a few cans of diced tomatoes made the journey from Earth to my Hauler on Planet. I flicked my cigarette onto the ashes of our firepit, tossed a few pieces of wood on and began stewing the tomatoes over a fresh fire.

Bread was also readily available. I tore open a bag of shelf-stable Regulian flatbread that was partially made from bonemeal. It was not ideal at all for what I had in mind, but it would have to do.

Cheese was where things got difficult. The aliens were all big dairy-eaters, no doubt, but cheese rations were tiny in the MREs and not exactly the kind of cheese you'd put on pizza. More concerning, the cheese spread that came in Regulian MREs had a fat, female Regulian as its logo and only one word above her: cheese. It created an uncomfortable image and none of the Regulians I met on Planet ever gave me a straight answer as to what animal they got the milk from.

When the tomatoes were adequately stewed, I spread it atop the bread, followed by as much of the Regulian cheese spread that I could scrounge up. It looked like a tortilla covered in watery tomatoes and processed cheese. This was a stupid idea, I told myself, but shoved it into a fresh pot and covered it. It's not even going to bake properly, this is stupid.

“Something smells good."

Dondrae's paw planted itself on my shoulder and I turned around, blushing as I saw the shirtless Lupiad-Sirian's gray-furred chest.

I sniffed at the air, catching a whiff of burning cheese. How the hell was it already burning?

“Smells like shit," I muttered, squirming to try and reach the pot, but Dondrae held me in place.

Dondrae's wet nose tapped against my cheek, “I think it smells good."

“You're crazy."

I shuddered as his tongue suddenly licked at my face, “You humans should defer to your master's when it comes to scent."

I laughed and gave him a lick across the mouth in return. Some fur clung to my tongue which I covertly looked away and picked away.

“For example," Dondrae's nose twitched, “it's burning."

“No it's..." a harsh hint of charcoal began to waft through the air. “Oh shit!"

Springing into action, I yanked the pot away from the fire and pulled the lid off, coughing as a bit of smoke filled my lungs. The smoke quickly vanished, revealing a chunk of blackened bread with neon-yellow, thin, watery cheese.

“What is that?" Dondrae asked as his nose began twitching rapidly.

“Pizza, sort of..." I trailed off.

I was about to dispose of it when Dondrae suddenly reached into the pot, heedless of the heat, and pulled out the pizza, blowing and hissing as he passed the hot food between his bare paws until it cooled down. Eventually, he snapped his jaws forward, taking off a huge chunk of the pizza and noisily chewing it with his mouth open in a charming way that only a Lupiad-Sirian could manage.

He tilted up his snout and swallowed. Licking his lips, he stared at me with his one, blue eye and curled up his black lips in a smile.

“It's delicious! How did you make this!?"

“Bullshit!" I said, pulling off a piece away from Dondrae's hand and tossing it in my mouth. The taste was indescribable. It certainly didn't taste anything like pizza, more like a stale tortilla with rotten nacho cheese atop it. I spat out the chunk of food into the fire, gagging violently.

“You're crazy!" Dondrae laughed, taking another bite. “This is the best thing I've eaten on Planet!"

My heart swelled. It was so stupid, I felt stupid, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. I wrapped my arms around my love, laughing as his chest-fur bristled against my nose and eyes. Dondrae quickly returned the hug, a tender gesture that was ruined by the sensation of something hot and slimy slapping against the back of my head.

“Oh shit," Dondrae muttered as he pulled back, letting the pizza slide off my head and onto the ground, “sorry!"

The drive towards the Tower was long and uneventful, though it was often terrifying. The Regulians had picked a very ominous location for the Tower, assuming it hadn't always been here, surrounded by mountains on all sides. It was almost like the lair of some evil warlock and the eternally blinking red lights didn't make it look any more benign.

Rashar gave us directions to navigate the mountains by using a disused maintenance road that was barely wide enough for the Hauler. Most of the time, we were surrounded by sheer rock walls, but a few times, the wheels of the Hauler began dipping off the side of a cliff we were forced to drive by, resulting in more than a few complaints from Aldor, and the others for that matter. I didn't blame them.

As we grew closer we were able to see more movement from the Tower. Ships would occasionally flit out from docks extending from the central column, some heading off to others parts of Planet while others were catapulted further upwards and past the clouds. I must have been there once before, back when I was first taken to Planet. We all must have been, except for Yaleen, of course.

“You okay?" Dondrae whispered to me.

We had parked the Hauler at the rendezvous site, a circular area with a cliff that overlooked the Tower. All around it, a contrast to the chaotic landscape that made up Planet, was a round field of short-green grass, pockmarked by countless tire treads. Armored vehicles patrolled the area along with accompanying foot soldiers. It was almost comical how tight the security was, understandable of course, but still comical as no one on Planet would ever dare get this close to begin with.

Except us, of course.

“I'm fine," I rubbed at my temple, “just got a bit of a headache."

“Same here," Dondrae sighed, twin jets of mist floating out of his nostrils. The air had grown chilly in a short period of time, “I can't believe we're this close."

“Make that three!" Aldor stepped up behind, dramatically floroushing the tail of his duster. His palm was rubbing at where the bridge of his muzzle connected to his forehead. “Can't believe you fools are dragging me along with you..."

After much deliberation, we had decided to untie him. We didn't trust or like him still, but as we were crossing dangerous terrain we felt that it would be too dangerous for him not to be able to use his hands in case of an accident. After showing that he had no intentions of running, we just let him stay like this and he hadn't caused too much trouble yet.

“Had a wonderful dream though!" his green eyes sparkled as he stepped towards the edge of the cliff with a spring in his fluffy, red tail. “I was royalty again! A Prince who stood to inherit the throne from his ailing Father!"

I looked at Dondrae nervously before we both peered back at Yaleen whose tall ears were pointed in our direction, listening carefully to the conversation. I had no idea if it was possible for someone to trigger the mind-wipe's defense mechanism themselves, but Aldor was treading very dangerous grounds here.

“I've had that dream too, almost all the time on Planet, it seems," Dondrae muttered, “maybe something about Planet gives them these kinda dreams."

I shook my head, “I've never had that one, not once."

“Theory discarded," Dondrae shrugged, “guess I've just got a big ego or something!"

Slapping him on the shoulder, I laughed, “That's not the only thing you've got that's big!"

Dondrae growled and wrapped his paws around my waist, lifting me up to his face. I hugged him and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Princess!" our moment was interrupted by Aldor suddenly yapping. “When's your boy-toy supposed to arrive!?"

“Don't call him that!" Yaleen barked back.

“What should I call him then!?" Dondrae put me down as Aldor skipped by, muzzle titled up haughtily. “Your knight in shining armor? Your Prince? Don't bullshit me, vixen, I was watching the entire time! You don't give a shit about him!"

“Step off, Kurwa," I grumbled. He had a point though, I was watching them in the act of love and it looked very one-sided, very unlike what I expected from Yaleen.

Aldor ignored me and rubbed at his crotch, “All you have to do is ask and I'll show you some loving!"

Tired of Aldor acting up once again, I grabbed the tip of his tail and yanked him back. The shriek was ear-shattering and when Aldor turned around, lips pulled back in a snarl, his fur was up on ends, making him look almost as big as Dondrae.

“Don't do that!" he yelped, rubbing his paw along the length of his bush.

“Then behave!" I batted him on the nose with the back of my hand, like he was a disobedient dog. “If you had my Mother, she would have skinned you alive if she heard you talk to women like that!"

Aldor snapped his jaws in my face and I didn't flinch. His nostrils flared as he snorted sharply and turned around, storming off silently. Any attempt at being fierce was ruined by him wincing as the tail of his coat brushed up against his sore, real tail, forcing him to tuck his tail between his legs like a scared animal.

I was about to follow when Yaleen interrupted.

“Leave him be," she muttered. She was keeping herself busy cleaning the barrel of the Nagant rifle.

“You sure about that?" I asked.

Yaleen waved her black paw towards the basin and all the ant-like soldiers and armored vehicles roaming around, “Where's he gonna go?"

I leaned up against the Hauler where Yaleen was sitting, the steel was ice-cold in the chill air, “Point taken."

“Besides, he was not entirely inaccurate..."

I turned to the side to face the Vulpeculan. Her green eyes were staring off into the distance while she cleaned the same part of the gun over and over. Her expression was nonchalant, even her ears and tail were still.

“What do you mean?"

A pained cry rang out through the air and I wasted no time drawing my Glock. Turning around the corner of the Hauler, I spotted Dondrae taking cover behind a thick boulder, taking aim with his rifle but hesitating. It didn't take long for me to do the same.

Leaning up against a brown crag of stone was Aldor. He was completely still, his ears folded back, green eyes wide with fear.

“Quit fucking around!" Dondrae shouted, followed by several curses in Lupus.

Dondrae ducked as a bullet bounced off the boulder. I only got a split-second to see the muzzle flare before I jumped back behind the Hauler.

“What the fuck!?" I screamed. The name, “Aldor," was on the tip of my tongue and I fought hard with myself not to say it.

Aldor said nothing, aside from some throaty, choking noises.

No more shots rang out. Gritting my teeth, I popped out with my sights locked on Aldor. He was still leaning against the rocks and I couldn't see any gun in his paws.

My eyes itched and I could have sworn I saw something move off in the distance…

Fire erupted from Aldor's general area and a shot rang off the hood of the Hauler. I crouched back behind the engine. Something was wrong, I could barely hear the gun firing, not even a light tap until the bullet made impact. Aldor didn't have a suppressed weapon and even then, I'd never heard a gun this quiet at this range, suppressor or not.

“We've gotta do it," Dondrae whispered, mouthing Aldor's name.

“No," I shook my head, “somethings not right."

I swung around the corner and took aim at the rock wall. There was nothing there, just rocks, but something was bothering me. Aldor was bothering me too, his posture was unusual and he was not moving at all, not even when the gun fired.

It was then I noticed something about his neck. The colors around it were distorted, not quite the same cream and red pattern that he normally had and it was almost like there was an outline of something against it. I blinked and finally, I saw the same distortion against the brown rocks.

My Glock rang out with a sharp echo and Aldor stumbled forward onto the ground, gasping for air. The distorted mass behind him though, hit the ground and began to change color until it revealed a scrawny, naked, green, chameleon-like Lacertan, who had a tiny hole in his forehead and was most definitely not breathing.

I ran up to Aldor and grabbed him by the shoulder, helping him to his feet.

“You alright?" I asked.

“T-thank you," Aldor whispered, almost afraid that someone else might hear him.

“Pawel!" Dondrae cried out.

Before I could call back, the sound of gunfire popping off in the distance told me everything I needed to hear. I yanked Aldor by the wrist and ran back to the Hauler, leaving the Lacertan and his remarkably quiet gun.

Yaleen was lying in the back of the Hauler with the scope of her rifle trained down the canyon road we came from. I peered down, spotting several armored Haulers barreling down with little spouts of fire erupting from their guns, the occasional bullet slapping the dirt.

“Lacertans," Yaleen said. “Sirth's gang."

“Kurwa!" I cursed. Aldor was about to say something in response but I cut him off by picking him up and just about tossing him in the flatbed.

“Get in! Get in!" I shouted at Dondrae, who leaped across the front of the Hauler and took his seat in the passenger seat, just as I hopped into the driver's.

I coaxed the truck to life, my eyes constantly peering at the steep road that lead down into the basin. There was no way to do this right and fast at the same time, but we had no choice in the matter.

Gulping, I buckled my seat-belt and Dondrae did the same. We would need it.

I clicked on the radio and spoke with an unseemly calm, “This is Skinbag. Last transmission. Overlooking Regulian Tower. Enemies from behind and nowhere to run. Going to make one last jump. See you in Heaven."

“Hold on!" I ordered to the back as I slammed my foot on the gas.

The Hauler kicked back a barrage of stone and dirt as it rumbled forward. Fear began to make a home in my heart, the road was too narrow for the Hauler. It was probably too narrow even for a motorcycle. There was no way we'd make it down the road, we'd tumble off to the side after a few feet and there would be no surviving that, the jagged rocks surrounding the basin would make sure of that.

Ebi's voice crackled through the radio receiver, distant and garbled, but I understood each word as clear as day, “You can do it! Take those cats down!"

Another voice joined his, it was Dalg, “We'll be on standby for repairs when you return."

I looked into the rear-view mirror. Both Aldor and Yaleen were holding on for dear life. I'd have to do something desperate, but it was our only hope.

“I'm sorry," I whispered before yelling back once again. “Hang on! For the love of God, hang on!"

I turned the wheel, forcing the Hauler to face the edge of the cliff that we had been resting by so nicely earlier. Yaleen and Aldor immediately realized what was going on and started to panic. Dondrae merely took a deep breath and stared forwards.

“I have you and I've had pizza. I'm ready."

I hit the gas once again and within seconds the Hauler leaped off the edge, hurtling off into the abyss. Unsecured boxes flew off from the cargo flat while the two Vulpies held onto the hand rails desperately.

“Don't give up!" another voice broke through the static. It took awhile, but I recognized it as Jack's. He made it back safely.

“Here's to you, Pawel Lis!" I heard the clink of shot glasses as Flint's voice faded out. “We're rooting for you!"

“Steady..." I whispered as I turned the nozzle for the grav-stabilizer, angling the Hauler just a tad downward. The module hissed as our descent slowed slightly.

Peering down out the window, I caught sight of the rocky crags lining the walls of the basin, we were clear of them. Now it was just a matter of landing this thing and surviving.

The grav-stabilizer was not meant for heights like these. It was supposed to be for emergency air-times only and it was beginning to make violent chug-chug-chug sounds. We began to fall faster.

“Work! Work!" I screamed, pressing button and flipping switches. “We've come this far, you and I! What is friendship for!?"

Choking back tears, I flipped the grav-stabilizer off in an attempt to reboot it, but this had the effect of killing the engine. We began hurtling straight towards the ground.

“NO!" I started up the ignition and immediately after hearing the engine rumble once again, I worked the nozzle of the grav-stabilizer until it was hissing and making those awful chugging noises once again. Our speed was dangerous, our angle gradually turning into a nose-dive.

The green grass of the basin was waiting for us. My truck knew where it was going to go.

The awful sound of crunching metal was the last thing I heard before the world went black.

Where was I?

Steel below

Steel atop.

Steel in front.

Steel everywhere.

I can't move.

A voice spoke.

I could not understand.

This was my fault.

The girl with the black hair came into my mind.

I'm sorry.

Really, I'm sorry.

But I couldn't help myself.

Blurred figures approached me.

I saw a pen with a bright light on the end.

Pawel.

The pen approached my head.

Pawel!

No, not Pawel. I think you're mistaken.

Pain in my skull.

And that was it.

“He's waking up!" a familiar voice cried out. It was Dondrae, but where was he? It sounded like he was on the other end of Planet.

My eyes opened slightly and I saw him, he wasn't far away at all. Indeed, he got very close, very fast, when his black muzzle shot forward and began licking at my face.

“What happened?" I asked. I tried to move my hand to wipe some of the Lupiad-Sirian slobber off my face but I couldn't move my arm, something was holding it down.

“Don't move," Dondrae whispered. His arms were wrapped around my head and he was quivering violently.

“What's wrong?"

Gulping dryly, Dondrae spoke, “Can you feel your arms and legs?"

My toes twitched impulsively without any issues. My arms on the other hand, I could feel them, in fact, there was a really nasty itch on my elbow, but I couldn't move them and I wasn't sure why.

“Yeah, but I'm having trouble..."

I caught a glimpse of something metallic past Dondrae's head but my love quickly moved aside to cover it up.

“What's going on? Dondrae?"

A short whine came out of Dondrae's throat.

“Please tell me what's going on."

He brought my head back into his chest, holding me tight. I could feel his heart beating rapidly, “It looks worse than it is, okay? Please don't panic."

“Okay."

“You have to promise me: I don't want you to panic," Dondrae's voice began to go scratchy, “if you start crying…"

Dondrae swallowed and licked at his lips, “...if you start crying, I'm going to laugh at you! Okay!?"

“I'm not going to cry."

Dondrae's eye twitched slightly and with a deep sigh, he shifted to the side and I could finally see what troubled him.

Embracing my lower torso and legs was a pile of twisted metal. It kept me pinned to the ground and unable to move. It would have been completely unrecognizable until I caught a glimpse of a familiar icon against a crumpled piece of sheet metal, the green spiral that was Sirth's logo. I was being held in place by the remains of the Hauler.

My eyes began to water and my lungs began to hurt. No, I was not afraid for myself, I knew I was not paralyzed, and thank God for that. I was crying for the Hauler, my sole, constant companion for my last months on Planet. It had served me better than almost any friend, worked hard to ensure my survival without any complaint, and now it was dead. Truly, it had never been mine and I was not normally the kind of man who would form a kinship with his tool, but now, seeing it in a wreck, something that I had caused…

“There's rain in my eyes," I mumbled.

“I told you not to cry!" Dondrae choked as he wiped the tears escaping my eyes with his paw. “I'm going to laugh at you! I told you!"

“I'd kill to hear some laughter right now."

Dondrae did not laugh.

“Everyone else?" I asked.

“They're fine..." Dondrae trailed off as he glanced towards the right. I was able to crane my neck just enough to catch a glimpse of Yaleen lying on the ground, a piece of metal sticking out of her stomach. My heart skipped when I saw her move slightly. Aldor was nowhere to be seen.

“There's not much time," Dondrae whispered, “Pawel, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you and you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

“What about..." I gasped as a piece of metal chafed against my side, “...before Planet?"

“I don't give a damn!" Dondrae growled. “Nothing could be better than what you've given me! The Regulians can have my memories, I don't need them because I have you! At least-"

“Nobody move! Everyone freeze!"

Dondrae's ears folded back and he slowly began to lie down on his belly next to me, “They'll take care of Yaleen, she's a Princess, don't worry, she'll get out of here. Maybe they'll even let her take her brother home, maybe..."

“Dondrae?"

“If we act nice, maybe they'll just mind-wipe us again," Dondrae's breathing began to grow shallow, “maybe…maybe we can meet again. It might be nice, having a chance to love each other from scratch once again!"

His voice was failing to disguise his fears and that was making me more scared than the approaching marines or the chunk of metal pinning me to the ground.

“No matter what happens, I don't regret anything."

Heavy boots stomped on the dirt next to my head. I heard the click of a Regulian military rifle getting primed.

“These ones, who are they again?" a Regulian spoke, his voice was harsh and authoritative.

“Subjects 161a and 194b," a voice replied, this one was a female Regulian, a private, no doubt.

“Unimportant compared to the Princess, hm?"

“I wouldn't know, sir."

Dondrae suddenly spoke up, “Pawel, I love you!"

“Dispose of them for good," the Officer commanded.

I could feel the barrel of a rifle press up against my temple.

“Pathos!"

The pressure against my temple vanished.

Boots pounded on the ground and soon enough, a tiger-like Regulian with white fur and black stripes shoved his face into my field of vision. He had tiny, round glasses with golden frames. He bared his teeth and began to speak with a heavy growl, “What did you just say, human?"

I smiled, “Pathos."

His paw wrapped around my neck, claws digging into my skin, just enough not to draw blood, “What about him?"

I laughed. I stared out with a tiny chuckle and then gradually worked myself up to a hearty guffaw.

“If I tell you now, you'll just shoot me."

He released his grip on my neck and pushed his glasses up, which had been sliding down his muzzle, “Correct."

Sometimes it was refreshing dealing with Regulians. They were morally troubled, but damned if they wouldn't be honest about whatever horrible thing they intended to do with you.

Such morals were impressed upon the Officers of the military greatly. You could do whatever underhanded tactic you wished against a faceless foe, but as soon as you talked with them, there was a code of honesty to uphold. Dishonest tactics were to be left to the Claw, who would perform them gleefully and without regrets. Keep in mind though, that honest did not mean good, a Regulian Officer could happily tell you that he was going to rain white phosphorus shells on your home and kill everyone you loved and that would not violate their code.

I'm a little surprised that the mind-wipe kept this bit of information in my brain. Perhaps it was a way of encouraging us to defer to Regulian command on Planet, but it also allowed me the chance to manipulate their psychology.

“Got the feeling that you guys would really love to know more about Pathos."

“What makes you say that?"

“Well, we're talking, aren't we?"

The Regulian rumbled. Truthfully, yelling Pathos' name was just a last-ditch effort. I had no idea just how much the Regulians wanted to learn about him.

“So, something tells me that information about him is worth the lives of several prisoners."

“Name your price, human."

I just about said something along the lines of “Freedom and our lives," as if I was some sort of a dramatic poet, but then I remembered I was dealing with a rigid Regulian Officer and they had a nasty habit of taking things literally and within their narrow scope of understanding. A life of roaming Planet freely could be considered freedom by their standards.

“We want off Planet, alive."

The Regulian snorted, “That's not possible."

“Oh, I think it is."

“Correct, it is possible for someone to be taken off Planet," the Regulian cleared his throat, “but it is impossible for any of us to comply with that, not without express orders from the Claw or the Emperor. Would you like us to call in a Claw Agent to have a chat with you?"

I went silent. That would not be an ideal situation. There was no way the Regulian Officer was going to budge on that matter and bringing in the Claw would be extremely bad. They were likely to torture us to death as a way to lighten the mood after a long journey through space.

“Tell you what, human," the Regulian stood up and stepped away from my immobile body, “we're going to take you and your friends back to the Tower, alive and well. We're going to have a nice chat."

A sharp pain shot through my neck. I craned my head to the side just in time to catch an orange paw pulling a syringe out of my neck. The world began to wobble.

“A very nice chat," the Regulian's striped tail twitched, “and once we're done, perhaps we'll let you live."

Once again, my vision went black.