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A Path of Thunder

Part Seven

"Resolutions"

"Feeling a bit overwhelmed here, Commander?"

Darkthunder's body shook violently as the terrorclaw's mind fought back against what his senses feverishly forced it to realize. Closing his eyes as hard as he could, he turned his head away from the eyeridge as he clung to the most irrational and ephemeral possibility that he was seeing visions. The stress of battle had definitely gotten to him, he thought. Perhaps it was just his senses not registering the real images and sounds, and he was staring at a different eyeridge.

Opening his eyes, he slowly turned his head to look once again to where he had seen Arokh standing. He saw the gun still aimed at his head. The eyeridge holding it had not changed.

"You are not being deceived, Darkthunder," Arokh said calmly. "Assuming I am talking to the sentient terrorclaw and not his stupid, primitive self."

With a swift strike, the hunter dispatched the last remnants of resistance in his mind as despair gave way to anger; the former died instantly, killed like so much weak prey under the powerful, toothed jaws of the latter. Words finally coalesced in the terrorclaw's agitated brain, yet it still took several more seconds before they could form in his mouth, loud yet intelligible from the strap holding his jaws together.

Arokh gestured to the domehead behind him to release the strap. Unfortunately, the domehead noticed the terrorclaw eyeing his hand, and quickly moved it away before the archosaur could turn his head to bite it. His jaws clacked loudly as they closed, followed by a loud growl as saliva foamed on the terrorclaw's mouth.

"You were saying?" the eyeridge asked.

"TRAITORS!"_Darkthunder yelled as he turned to look at the newly arrived tormentors. His words came somewhat unintelligible as the terrorclaw pulled his lips upwards, completely exposing his sharp teeth, just as he struggled to keep his stronger primal hunter self from completely dominating him. "You... motherfucking... _BASTARDS! How... how could you... do this!! *RRAARRRR!!* How could you betray not just the Patrol... *UUAAIIEEEKKK!!!* but your own kind!?!"

He continued struggling desperately against his bonds, his legs flailing, toe claws twitching, desperate to find something to tear apart. The stress and frustration wore him down within seconds, and the terrorclaw collapsed, still growling with intense, savage rage as he stared at the three archosaurs. Darkthunder could not care less they were sentient - given the opportunity, he would hunt and kill them to the very end of time and space.

"I believe the answer should be obvious," Arokh said nonchalantly. "For the same reason anyone would do it - money and power."

Darkthunder struggled to keep his words coherent rather than come out as a rather high-pitched screech. "But you swore... your life to serve the Patrol! You gave an oath to defend -!"

"My oath is worth nothing!" the eyeridge said scornfully as he cut off Darkthunder's screams. "Just like the Patrol and the Domains! Both mean something only to idealistic fools like you - blind saurians that cannot see the opportunities that lie in the very worlds you try so hard to defend. You would see all they have to offer, if only you walked a different path."

The terrorclaw breathed easier, even as his anger flared with each breath. "You would... poison your own people... so you can satisfy your personal greed?"

With slow steps, Arokh walked around the slab, keeping his distance from the furious terrorclaw. "Either you eat, or you are eaten. I've had enough of the... domestication that the Domains forced on us. Saurians like you and I used to live by preying and killing on the sick and the weak. We evolved that way! You, of all archosaurs, should know this. Your species continues to hunt and kill for their food. Yet you left the perfect life... just so you could join the Domains? Tell me, Darkthunder. Who spreads the biggest poison around here?"

"I am still a hunter! But my kind... we would never kill a sentient! Not if we can avoid it." The terrorclaw turned his head to look at his tormentors. "But we would not be beyond making an exception for those who would truly deserve it."

The eyeridge shook his head. "Defiance when everything else is lost. How typical. Look at you. Such a magnificent predator, such a lackey of the Domains. Now totally defenseless and about to become a bitch, savagely raped by your mammalian captors."

Darkthunder turned to fix his eyes on the plateback as Sse'kasha stepped in closer and lowered his body, placing his head until it was just outside the striking range of the terrorclaw's jaws. "They surely didn't train you for that at the Academy," he said while smiling with scorn.

The terrorclaw snapped his jaws thrice as he tried futilely to bite Sse'kasha's head, who stepped back, laughing derisively. Darkthunder lowered his head onto the slab; he coughed hard several times while gasping for breath as he tried to push his savage self back inside his primal mind. Keeping his eyes on the plateback, Darkthunder's voice came hoarse and broken as he mustered some strength to speak coherently.

"I recognize you. You are that True Saurian I once heard about." He turned to look back at Arokh. "You are the one, aren't you? The one Ar -" Darkthunder paused, unable to bring himself to speak the eyeridge's name. "The one I heard had a confrontation with Grell."

Sse'kasha laughed. "More than one, actually. Isn't this ironic? That armorback thought so highly of you. He sounded to me like he was a little infatuated, even. Yet you treated him like shit at every opportunity you had. It is too bad that you sent him away when you did, Commander. I was getting ready to fire a grenade right up his tailhole."

Ignoring the laughter and mockery was hard enough without having to consider his own errors. Even if brazen and somewhat careless, Grell was tough and resilient, and had never flinched in the slightest during combat. And his loyalty to the Patrol was definitely not in question. If any of the original team still lived, still putting up a fight, it would most certainly be him. Darkthunder could only hold onto the faintest of hopes that Grell could find in his heart the smallest desire to save the terrorclaw. "Grell will bash your skulls to a pulp when he finds out about this!"

"Don't get your hopes high. He's probably nothing but chunks of meat splattered on a wall by now. And if he's still alive -" The plateback patted his grenade launcher. "I'll make sure he won't stay that way for long."

Even as he considered the possibility that his tormentors were right, the terrorclaw fought to banish the images of carnage and feeling of total despair from his mind. By now, the Tarrakhan must have strong suspicions that something was definitely wrong, and would be readying more dropships, if they were not on their way already.

"You won't be able to get away with this," Darkthunder said, staring again at Arokh. "The Patrol will inevitably think there is something suspicious that you survived two attacks, both claiming the lives of your commanding officer."

"And who said I was going back to the Patrol?" The eyeridge smiled scornfully as he casually ripped one of the Patrol insignias from his armor. "Fuck... I feel relieved that I'll finally be able to leave this charade behind!"

"They'll get you eventually. Your mate and your children -" Just as he spoke the words, Darkthunder realized how pointless they were.

"Ah, yes. What a relief to leave them behind as well. I never wanted any of them at all in my life. I had to keep this pretense of being such a good soldier, devoted to his saurian kind. She certainly was a good lay, even if I really didn't give a shit every time I fucked her. It certainly got harder when she said she was heavy with eggs. That certainly made the pretense more unpleasant. I wanted nothing more than to step on those eggs before they hatched, but our domesticated ways certainly prevented me from such a pleasure."

For most of his life, even as he dedicated his life to the Patrol, Darkthunder had longed for a relationship. To have someone with which he could share a life, in the most meaningful and strongest of friendships. The terrorclaw closed his eyes briefly as he imagined how the eyeridge's family would receive the news that their mate and father abandoned them so callously.

"You lied... to her. To your children. How can you think so little... of it?"

Arokh spat with scorn. "No need to get sentimental, Darkthunder. I'm sure that your friend Zaron will find someone willing to take them in; maybe even love them for real. Meanwhile, I'll finally be able to fuck anyone I want. Let me tell you, once you try a mammalian cunt, you can hardly go for anything else. Then again, it makes no difference to you. You wanted a cock up your ass. And soon, you'll get what you've always wanted." Darkthunder could not help feeling disgusted as Arokh pointed at Turtko. The mammal was still naked, his cock still somewhat hard and eager from desire.

"Too bad my associate here found you very attractive," the eyeridge continued. "You would've suffered very little if I could have just killed you. Just like Prion."

Darkthunder froze as the words reached his ear holes. Images flashed in his mind's eye as the eyeridge's words replayed in his brain, already overloaded from emotions.

In the span of an instant, the primal rage surged once more as it bowled effortlessly over all of Darkthunder's conscious efforts to keep it under control. A loud screech filled the room, prompting two of the sabretooths to hold the terrorclaw's jaws tightly shut as they pressed his skull against the slab.

The eyeridge barely moved as he spoke; his display of emotions was even smaller. "Yes, Commander. I did it. I killed Prion. I certainly don't need to describe his execution. The Patrol already made public all the grisly details."

"You... you... motherfucking... murderer." Worn out by rage and frustration, the terrorclaw's voice was soft and weak, as if the remains of the hunter's strength had finally abandoned him as he ceased his futile struggle against the hands holding him down.

"If it is any consolation, he was calm and collected to the very end, even as I pressed the gun between his eyes. It was almost as if he simply accepted that his path had suddenly come to an abrupt end. The least I could do was make it quick. You can't say I'm a total asshole."

"If you wanted to leave the Domains... why didn't you feign your own fucking death... and spared him instead?" Darkthunder's voice was hoarse and weak, even if still tinged with rage.

Arokh shrugged, as if the thought of the murder was no more relevant than that of killing an insect. "I had no choice. My mammal colleagues still needed inside the Patrol, to provide useful data for their activities. Prion got too nosy; he became suspicious of some of my motives and actions. Killing him made things harder for us, in a way. He and Zaron were very close, and the deathjaw took his death extremely hard. And somehow I got the impression that the stupid General was not completely convinced by my report of the incident."

When he next spoke, the terrorclaw spit his words with contempt. "So why did you not become Commander of the Tarrakhan? You would've been able to carry out your deed with impunity."

"Even if Zaron had no proof to tie me to the crime, he certainly would've put the Tarrakhan under strict surveillance. I assuaged his concerns by refusing the post. As I hoped, he happened to find a good replacement. Even better than I expected. You were so infatuated with me, you assumed I always did everything as you expected."

Turtko moved to stand next to Arokh. "Although you certainly turned out to be too effective of a hunter by constantly disrupting our operations. A few losses I can accept. I can always recruit more lackeys to make up for those that your Patrol killed or captured. But you cost me a great deal of good people and money, far more than I can accept." He began to stroke his cock. "And I'm very eager for you to start settling that debt."

"You better have more lackeys to sacrifice," Darkthunder said with scorn. There are many Patrolsaurs more than willing to add to what we owe you."

The eyeridge shrugged. "That's most certainly inevitable. Although we certainly can get the Patrol off our backs for a short while, once we plant some false information inside. All thanks to you. Who better to take the blame for killing you and Prion than your disgruntled, former Patrolsaur brother?"

Darkthunder's body shook violently as an even stronger bout of rage raced through his body. "I will kill you! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU! Release me, you motherfucking spawn of the First Cataclysm! Give me the chance to feast on your guts in a fair fight!"

Arokh seemed to dismiss the sudden bust of anger with the same casual attitude he had shown with all of the terrorclaw's rants and screams. "And what would be the use? Even if you could kill me, you've already lost." He waved an arm around to signal at the mammals in the room. "They'll still fuck your ass."

The terrorclaw's words became incoherent, even as Darkthunder himself realized it. His words switched to primal screeches, and then briefly back to archosaurian before he screamed in his own terrorclaw language. Not soon after, his throat gave way again, leaving him unable to do anything but to voice his anger in almost inaudible whispers.

"Are you done?" Arokh said, almost mockingly.

"Fuck... you..."

"I feel sorry for you, Commander. There is no need for you to go down like this. Imagine what you could accomplish, if you only switched to our side. Become the best hunter you may have dreamed to be. And kill the most delicious prey, the likes you would never find inside the Domains."

His breath shallow and fast, Darkthunder coughed hard several times before gasping for air. "You still... would do such... for me? A chance... to live?" He coughed even harder. "Ahhh... I... need..."

"What?" The eyeridge drew closer as Darkthunder could barely speak, his breathing irregular and hard.

In an almost infinitesimal instant, the terrorclaw's jaws opened quickly and wide apart, lips pulled and teeth bare. The strike was fast and powerful as Darkthunder lifted his head, aiming for the eyeridge's neck. The latter, however, still reacted on time, and the terrorclaw closed his jaws instead on Arokh's right shoulder.

With a loud roar of anger and pain, the eyeridge immediately grabbed Darkthunder by the neck and began to choke him even as the terrorclaw continued biting with force, still aiming for his intended target. Already exhausted from the ordeal, the smaller saurian released his bite as he coughed and gasped. The terrorclaw screeched with pain as Arokh held on his head with both hands before the eyeridge smashed the terrorclaw's snout against the slab.

And again. Darkthunder screamed, then again as several of his crest feathers were ripped from his skin as Arokh pulled on his crest.

"Hey!" Turtko screamed as he raced to stop Arokh. "What the fuck are you doing!"

Arokh ignored him as he slammed Darkthunder's snout on the slab a third time, then a few more times after before he finally let go.

Darkthunder's screams turned into moans. The taste of eyeridge blood disappeared, drowned by that flowing from his mouth, as most of his teeth broke loose and fell onto the slab.

Turtko groaned as he stared at the bloodied and almost toothless terrorclaw. "Shit! Now look what you've done!"

"He's a reptile," Arokh said, partially growing with anger. "His teeth will grow back. In fact, it's better this way if you want him to suck you now."

Turtko let out a loud snort. "That is not how I intended to break his spirit. At least, not how I would have begun. It sure doesn't make me want to fuck him in such a sorry state."

"So you want him broken, eh? I can help you with that." The eyeridge began to release the straps to his armor and clothes. "So what would be more painful for him than to have his untouched tailhole raped by the one he wanted to mate him first?"

"What?" the nosehorns said as if in disbelief as he tried to get in position to take the terrorclaw's tailhole. "You mean he's still virgin? Shit... I'll take him now no matter how sorry he looks!"

Arokh growled as he kept the nosehorns at bay. "I brought him to you, so you can have him after I am done! Your cock is far thicker than mine; his ass will still feel snug to you." The eyeridge turned to Sse'kasha. "You probably would like to give this shit a piece of your mind. Or your flesh, in this case. So why don't you fuck him hard in his snout? He has no teeth to bite now."

The plateback seemed to contemplate the situation briefly before he too began to undo his armor, even faster than Arokh. He began to stroke his cock, getting it harder. "True Saurians don't fuck other males. But I probably can make an exception for this prick."

Darkthunder let out a pitiful moan of pain and defeat. He was finally done for. There would be no sparing for the horror about to come. The last of his will and strength already exhausted, he forced his primal mind to the front, hoping that the hunter trance could spare his sentient self from most of the humiliation he would endure.

- * - * -

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"For the love of Maia, snouthorn... hurry the fuck up!"

It was all that Grell could do to keep himself from voicing his frustration as he followed closely behind the snoutcrest down a maintenance hallway, deep inside the building's underground levels. Despite his skills at tracking saurians, Grell's sense of smell was not acute enough to find the terrorclaw quickly.

Just like almost every carnivore he had met in the past, Saresh closed his mind partially to some of his senses as he took a deep breath, letting the scents from his surroundings register in his brain. Apparently satisfied that the three soldiers were still safe, the snoutcrest motioned for the other two soldiers to follow him, just as he bent his neck to keep his crests from hitting a large metallic pipe that partially blocked their path.

"This way."

As descendant of hunter stock, Saresh had been quite effective at following Darkthunder's scent. Despite the still strong, residual smell of the explosives from the battle and the myriad scents coming from the buildings, the snoutcrest seemed to keep them on a good path. More than once the scent continued behind impassable doors, yet every time Saresh had found a way to follow it. Although wading through some of the most disgusting filth he had seen while crossing a sewer channel had been almost enough to make Grell retch and vomit. He seriously considered shooting his uniform to burn inside the largest star known to archosaurian kind once this mission were over, so that no other saurian would ever come in close to the filth still clinging to his clothes.

Slowly and carefully, the three soldiers made their way through every obstacle. It was all that Grell could do to avoid getting his larger frame stuck in some of most difficult spots; it was even harder to keep his emotions in check. Even as he knew time was running out to find Darkthunder alive, the Commander would certainly would be lost if the mammals were to discover them.

"Fuck," Grell whispered as he managed to squeeze his armored body through a narrow bend. "I would go on a diet, but there's no way I am giving up a single fiber of muscle in me."

"Really! And do tell; why do you even need to be so obscenely bulky?" The trihorn's voice followed behind him as Garios made it effortlessly through the opening as he followed behind the armorback. "I've yet to see another armorback as tall and hefty as you. There is no way you gained all that muscle naturally."

Saresh turned his head back slightly to address Garios. "Natural or not, he puts all of it to good use. I can vouch for that."

The armorback could not help feel somewhat flustered despite his thoughts firmly entrenched on their rescue mission. "There will be a better time for you to air another episode of my bedtime romps, soldier." He paused for an instant before he turned to address the trihorn behind. "I mean no disrespect to your pain and loss when I say this, Garios. But you probably would bulk up any way you could if you had gone through what I experienced years ago."

The trihorn nodded. "None taken, Sergeant," he said, his voice more subdued. "Where are we, anyway? It seems like we've been going around forever in these damned passageways."

Grell looked around. "We're probably in one of the lower levels of one of these brothels. With the types of performances they stage and catering to every imaginable kink and perversion, they definitely need lots of hardware to run them. Although with the way we've been going around, I seriously doubt we are nowhere close the same building we got in." Grell turned towards Saresh. "Are you still on the trail?"

Taking another strong whiff, the snoutcrest smiled as he nodded emphatically. "Most definitely. It is getting stronger. And check it out ahead, sir. It looks as if this passageway opens up into a wider area."

"Good. I need a little bit more breathing room for a while. These stupid passageways are beginning to make me feel a bit claustrophobic. Hopefully we will find a way to -"

A saurian scream reached their position.

Grell's heartbeat immediately jumped into overdrive. "That sounded like... Darkthunder!"

"It came from ahead and down below!" Saresh said, still talking in hushed tones.

As quickly and quietly as possible, the soldiers raced through the passageway and onto the wider area ahead. Although the ceiling was still somewhat low, it allowed them more room to move about.

Garios pointed to a window overseeing the area below. "Sir!"

The Patrolsaurs positioned themselves carefully around the window, trying to keep the light below from reflecting too much on their bodies and make them conspicuous to anyone who happened to look in their direction.

Down below, a group of ten or so mammals carried a struggling, dark skinned saurian towards a metal slab.

"It's the Commander! He's still alive!"

Grell could hardly keep his voice from breaking up with emotion. "Thank you, sweet Mother Maia! We may still be on time to save him!"

"Where are they taking him? What are they -?" Saresh became silent as the answer became obvious. "Shit! They're going to rape him!"

"Motherfucking bastards!" Garios said angrily through his teeth as he primed his rifle and aimed it at the window. "I'll blast their brains one by one -!"

"No!" Grell pushed the barrel of Garios' rifle away. "There's too many of them! One of those bastards could choose to kill Darkthunder before you could get them all! We need to find a way down."

The trihorn scanned the area quickly. "This room seems to be a dead end. We'll either have to retrace some of our steps and find a way down there, or we jump down through this window."

Looking down the window, Grell roughly calculated the fall at about sixty paces or so. Their combat boots were equipped with air cushions that activated on impact; the design allowed soldiers to avoid injury if they needed to jump down from some heights without injury. However, even their gear had its limits; jumping through the window and to the floor below was beyond what the boots would be able to withstand. "It is too high to jump. We won't be able to get down there safely without using ropes. And as soon as they notice us, those bastards would be firing on anyone trying to come down."

Saresh hissed in anger. "What do we do then? We can't let them use Darkthunder as their fuck toy!"

Clenching his fist several times, Grell growled as he closed his eyes. Memories raced into his mind, to an event that set a younger armorback into a path of crime. He swatted the visions aside as if he were swatting away tiny lizards. "As painful as it looks, we have no recourse. I hope the Commander is strong enough to endure the assault until -"

"Sergeant!" Garios said. "Someone else is coming down below!"

The three soldiers held their weapons at the ready as three figures emerged from the shadows. Three archosaurs.

"It is Arokh!" Saresh said, unable to control his excitement. "He's still alive! And he brought some reinforcements!"

Grell snorted. "No way, that was way too fucking fast. And only two? How did Arokh get a hold of them? He was with Darkthunder's team when -" His breathing turned faster as he recognized the two archosaurs walking behind the eyeridge. "Shit! That's Sse'kasha! And one of his cronies; I remember that domehead from a previous confrontation."

Saresh gasped as the scene continued to play in the room below the three soldiers. "What is Arokh doing? He - he just aimed his gun at the Commander!"

"Fuck me with a thick pipe and no lubricant," Grell said. He battled an irrational desire to become a feral armorback so he could fall down and squash every single one of Darkthunder's tormentors. "The fucking plateback did know this was going to happen! That has to be why Arokh wanted to rip me a new one after I almost assaulted that fucking plateback. It all makes sense now! The two bastards were in collusion all this time." The armorback could not help but direct some of his anger at himself. "And curse me for the idiot I was. I should have gone directly to Darkthunder when Sse'kasha almost spilled the beans that time in the gym."

The snoutcrest let out a soft whine of despair as he held onto his weapon. Grell could notice the snouthorn also had a hard time trying not to shoot the Commander's tormentors. "Sir, we can't let them continue torturing him like this. We need to alert the other soldiers of our location! Perhaps if we activate our emergency locators, we can get the reinforcements to arrive and help the Commander!"

Grell halted him. "No! If you activate that beacon, Arokh will surely pick it up as well! He will know we are up here."

"Then what do we do? We can't let them get away with this!"

Of course not!, Grell wanted to say. Can't you see how hard this is for me as well? It was up to him, however, to keep a cool head and think everything thoroughly. At that moment, he was in charge of the mission, and in more than a symbolic way. With the Commander captured and Arokh obviously in the enemy camp, he was the highest ranked soldier of whatever was left of the original team.

Vak'zhoria and Zarod most certainly had alerted the Tarrakhan by that moment, provided both soldiers managed to stay alive long enough to find a safe spot where they could contact the ship. Even if reinforcements were on the way, the soldiers would have no idea where to locate the Commander, much less rescue him.

It left him with only one possible, risky option.

"You two find a quick way to the outside, and try to contact any Patrolsaurs who may be around. Just ask that they meet with you as quickly as possible; do not say anything about the Commander's situation or his location! We can't risk any mammals picking up the transmission and alerting these bastards. I will stay here and keep track of the situation. If they move, I will try to follow them. And please be safe!"

"Understood, sir!" both soldiers said at unison as they saluted and turned to head back the way they had arrived.

Alone for the time being, the armorback snorted with relief. It had taken increasing restraint to keep his mind from acting irrationally instead of rushing down and try to help the terrorclaw. If it all came to one suicidal move, then he would rather not have the other two soldiers follow him to an almost certain death.

Grell turned away from the window as prepared his weapons, even as he felt his soul squirm with anguish as the terrorclaw screeched in anger. He made a quick inventory of his ammunitions. Having used up most of what he had equipped during the heavy battle, he would need to make excellent use of everything he had left. The armorback released an empty cartridge from the main chamber of his rifle, and slid his last full one in. His hands went to touch the two guns clipped near the small of his back; Grell sighed with some relief to know they were still available. These packed a bigger wallop than his rifle, but their use was extremely limited. They were his last resource.

A sudden roar and scream made him rush to look again to the situation below, just in time to see Arokh seemingly strangling the terrorclaw. He could see a crimson stain on the eyeridge's shoulder. He cursed silently at the terrorclaw's stupidity, even when he thoroughly sympathized with what the terrorclaw must certainly was feeling - the situation could only go downhill from there.

"Arokh! You motherfucker!" the armorback felt like shouting as he saw the eyeridge banging Darkthunder's snout on the slab. Even from high above, he could see the blood and teeth coming out of Darkthunder's snout.

His heart nearly stopped as he saw the eyeridge open the middle part of his jumpsuit, exposing his genitals. The eyeridge's cock hardened. Then, Sse'kasha did the same, positioning himself close to Darkthunder's snout.

"Oh, no. No. Not you, motherfuckers! No no no NO!"

The armorback aimed his rifle, ready to pull the trigger. The words he had told Garios minutes before immediately came back to him. Even if Grell were certain that he could kill the two saurians about to violate the Commander, nothing would stop the rest if they decided to kill Darkthunder before making their escape.

Down below, Arokh aimed his member at Darkthunder's tailhole.

There was no other choice. He needed to get down there. Immediately.

Taking a deep breath, Grell backed up about three paces. He held his rifle tightly against his body with one hand, and held onto his tail with the other to keep it from unbalancing him during the fall. He sent a quick prayer to the good Mother as he backed further away from the window before he made a run for it. The armorback jumped and smashed through the glass.

He waited until his entire body cleared the window before he aimed his rifle at Arokh and fired his first three shots. They all went directly into Arokh's right shoulder, already injured from the terrorclaw's powerful bite. The eyeridge reeled and fell back and onto the floor.

Grell braced himself as the ground came rushing at him. As expected, the impact cushions burst just as he hit the floor hard, sending the remaining force of the impact onto his feet and legs, and up through his spine. Without wasting a second, he began racing towards Darkthunder's location. Right from his first step, the armorback grimaced with pain. He did not stop to think of his injuries or even the severity of them, readying his rifle as he made his run towards the enemy.

Activating the rapid-fire mode, Grell began to fire at all the mammals and remaining saurians around Darkthunder. Some of them lifted their weapons to fire back, but none managed more than that. The armorback instantly targeted on perceived levels of danger. Blood and pieces of bone and brains splattered on the floor, walls and all over the unfortunate terrorclaw as the armorback fired shot after shot, hitting each target several times in deadly, quick succession before he moved onto the next one.

His old criminal instincts began screaming for attention again. The mammals would not have stayed in the room without having posted guards somewhere. Grell turned around just as he heard the frantic screams and footsteps of more mammals. After a quick glance to his rifle, he began to fire indiscriminately around him, aiming for whatever looked like an entrance or passageway. He managed to get three of them before his rifle finally ran out of ammo.

Dropping the rifle, he undid the clips to his guns. Holding one in each hand, he turned around, listening for the sounds of footsteps, and fired as soon as he caught a glimpse of a figure emerging from cover. One went down immediately from a headshot. The other took three shots to the neck before it keeled over. Only a weak moan of pain floated in the air as the echo of his guns firing faded; that also faded quickly as the mammal died, gurgling with his own blood.

Grell kept his guns primed as he walked towards Darkthunder as fast as his injured feet allowed him. He was still some distance away when movement off his right eye caught his attention. He turned to see Sse'kasha coming out from behind the slab, where he had taken cover, and made a quick dash in an attempt to grab hold of a rifle dropped by one of the dead sabretooths.

"Stop!" the armorback commanded. Grell aimed one of his guns at the naked plateback, who froze in place, his right hand less than one pace away from the gun on the floor.

The plateback breathed heavily, frozen in mid-step, his hand still aiming for the gun. He turned his head slightly to look at Grell, scorn and fear mixed in his face.

"You move and you lose it!" Grell said, almost spitting out his words with disgust. The mere sight of the nude plateback revolted him, even more than the filth he had had dragged himself through not long before.

"I will be dead, anyway, once the Patrol puts me on trial!" The plateback's words came tinged with desperation.

"You have only yourself to blame. You chose to walk this path."

Sse'kasha fired back a look of scorn. "And you had to choose the path of a hero. You couldn't give up and die like the others. No... you had to come looking for your precious bitch, didn't you? Rather than try to fuck his brains out, Arokh should had splattered them instead on the ground, like he did with Prion."

Grell spoke calmly, even as he felt the anger rush through each one of his brain cells and down towards his trigger finger. He fought to control the rage at the revelation the plateback had spoken, seemingly casually. Even if true, Grell had to consider the possibility that the plateback had said so only to enrage him, and leave the armorback vulnerable.

The gun clicked as Grell pressed the trigger slightly in. "My cock does not speak here. Only my mind, and with the honor of a true soldier of the Domains."

The plateback looked at the gun, then back at his opponent.

"You still have a choice," Grell continued. "Give the Patrol any information against these mammals that you work for, and you would be in a position to ask for some clemency."

"You know as well as I there won't be any!" Sse'kasha screamed as he gritted his teeth. "I rather take my chances here than get executed by a deathjaw!"

"Then so be it. Your move."

Several heartbeats passed. Sse'kasha's eyes jumped several times between Grell and the gun. Grell tapped the trigger three times and wiggled his gun slightly, as if urging the plateback to make up his mind. Suddenly, Sse'kasha jumped and grabbed the gun in less than a second. Quickly wrapping his hand around the trigger, the plateback aimed his gun at Grell.

One single laser beam flew through the air, followed by a horrific scream.

"I was not talking about your life," Grell said as he walked towards the injured plateback.

The plateback looked in horror below his stomach, as blood flowed out from where his severed genitals used to be, now lying on the floor a couple paces behind him. Holding desperately onto the bleeding crotch, he screamed and wailed madly in pain.

"You motherfucker! Bastard! AAAAAA!!! What have you done!!!"

"That was for wanting to put your junk... where it doesn't fucking belong!" The words came somewhat slurred from the anger.

Grell picked up the rifle where the plateback had dropped it. Wielding it like a club, he hit Sse'kasha hard on the head, silencing the loud, piercing screams as the plateback fell unconscious.

The armorback snorted in disgust as he put down his guns and reached for his personal first aid kit. Pulling out a clamp designed to stem hemorrhages, he applied it to the plateback's crotch to keep him from bleeding to death until the other soldiers could take Sse'kasha back on board the ship for treatment. Even if the thought of wasting medical supplies on the worthless plateback infuriated him, Grell countered it with a mental image of how Sse'kasha's nearly certain execution would transpire. He only hoped the deathjaw would not suffer from serious indigestion after.

After securely binding the plateback's arms and legs, Grell turned towards where Arokh had fallen. With some luck, the bastard had probably bled to death by then; he just could not care any less about the traitor eyeridge.

Only a large pool of blood covered the ground where Arokh had fallen.

"The fuck! I know I hit the bastard!"

More than the attempt to rape the terrorclaw, Grell was infuriated that the eyeridge had managed to escape punishment. Resignation and some relief that the armorback had acted in time to spare Darkthunder from the worst part of the suffering, even as his rescue did little to vindicate the armorback's past, soon replaced his anger. There was once a time where Grell would have found himself either in Arokh's place, savagely tormenting a victim for whom no rescue would ever come. Alternatively, he would be on the sides of the action, fiendishly enjoy watching as an assault took place.

Sighing softly, the armorback slowly began to make his way towards the injured terrorclaw, still lying on the slab, unmoving and apparently unaware to what had happened around him. Grell wondered if the stress had finally broken something in Darkthunder's mind.

The sound of racing footsteps reached his ear holes in time to avoid the large jaws aimed for his neck. With a loud roar, the sharp teeth closed powerfully around the armorback's shoulder.

Grell roared in anger rather than pain. The shoulder pad from his armor took the full brunt of the attack; it spared both flesh and bone from being ripped completely out of his body as the eyeridge jerked his head back, ripping the entire pad as well as part of the jumpsuit underneath.

Arokh moved back three paces. Blood flowed from the wound in his shoulder; his arm also hung somewhat limply. The eyeridge did not seem to notice either condition. His body was tilted slightly forward, arms drawn somewhat close to his body, the eyeridge growled loudly, his voice somewhat shrilling as he eyed the armorback while in a state of partial hunter trance. "You... ruined... everything!"

"Ain't that a bitch, you fucker!" Legs apart and with both feet firmly on the ground, the armorback assumed a fighting position. Behind him, his clubbed tail swung wildly from side to side. "And I thought you said you didn't hunt!"

A hideous, guttural laughter burst from the eyeridge's throat. "And like everyone else... you believed it."

There was no need for the confrontation to end this way, Grell thought. A simple shot between the eyeridge's eyes would end the battle quickly and without further endangering himself. It would also deny the Domains from a chance to put the turncoat where he belonged - on trial for his crimes. Thoughts raced again towards his past, to the deathjaws and other carnivores he had fought in his youth, and even during his first days in the Patrol. The memories filled him with an exhilaration he had not felt in a very long time.

"Bring it on, shit head!" He thumped the floor hard twice with his tail.

Arokh let out a loud roar before he charged towards Grell. The armorback waited until Arokh was almost on top of him before he sidestepped to one side, and twirled as Arokh raced past. The armorback shouted as pain shot through his legs as he put more strain on his feet. In his eagerness to fight, he had completely forgotten about his injuries.

Forget thinking about putting the bastard on trial. Perhaps it was better if he let his guns bring a faster resolution to the fight.

They were down on the floor, next to the unconscious Sse'kasha.

"What is the matter?" Arokh said, his voice still shrilling from his induced hunter trance. "Having problems walking after a jump?"

Grell said nothing. With his injured feet, he would never be able to race towards his guns and still make it on time. There was only one path left open for him.

He slammed his clubbed tail on the floor twice again, challenging the eyeridge.

Once again, Arokh roared and charged.

Holding his ground, Grell waited until Arokh was near enough before twisting his legs again. Gritting his teeth from the intense pain coursing through every nerve, he still turned fast enough to give his tail the necessary momentum. The bony end of his clubbed tail whooshed through the air with immense speed until it hit the eyeridge squarely on the right hip. Grell could hear the eyeridge's bones disintegrate under the forceful impact. Arokh stumbled, managing to walk only two steps before he fell loud and hard onto the floor.

Roaring savagely, the eyeridge flailed, arms and legs lashing wildly at the air around him as Arokh was unable to get up again.

"Shut the fuck up... sir!" Grell said as he hit Arokh again with his tail, this time with far less force and directed to the eyeridge's head, knocking him unconscious.

The armorback breathed fast and deep. He waited several heartbeats, waiting to see if any of the dead around would rise to fight him as well. Satisfied that there were no more apparent challengers, he turned on his emergency locator and walked slowly and painfully towards the terrorclaw.

The black-skinned saurian trembled and snarled, his eyes focused on something inside his mind. He struggled as Grell lifted his torso, yet did not put much more resistance.

"Come on," Grell said as he gently slapped Darkthunder on the snout. "Come on! Come back to me, Darkthunder! Come back to me... my... my _beautiful_terrorclaw!"

Darkthunder growled. Instinctively, his head turned and clamped his jaws hard on the armorback's hand. Grell let out a short yelp of surprise, as the mostly toothless mouth could not bite enough to hurt him, much less bite through the reinforced glove that protected the hand. The armorback tried gently to break his hand free from the bloodied jaws, and groaned with anguish as the terrorclaw's last remaining teeth fell off. Even as Grell knew that new teeth would grow back eventually, the sight still pained his soul.

A full minute went by before something resembling a word burst out of the terrorclaw's throat.

"Grell..."_Darkthunder said with difficulty as his eyes tried to focus on the armorback. _"Is... is that... you?"

"Yes!" Grell said, eyes shining with humidity as he held tightly onto the terrorclaw. "Yes, it's me, Commander!"

A few more seconds passed before Darkthunder's mind cleared as it slowly returned to full sentience. He focused his eyes, filled with dread and anguish, on the armorback's face. "Aahhh... Arokh... did... did he -?"

"No," the armorback said softly as he gently wiped blood off Darkthunder's face. "I stopped him before he could hurt you." The armorback felt his voice nearly breaking up as tears formed in his eyes. "You're safe now. You're safe with me."

The terrorclaw said nothing more as he rested his head on the armored chest of his savior. Grell held him there, gently stroking the back of Darkthunder's head and neck, taking care not to disturb the few remaining feathers.

Even if he wanted to stay there, to savor the emotion of holding the small hunter close to him for hours, Grell knew it was not safe. There were undoubtedly more of those drug runners somewhere in the city, and there was no way to tell if they had plans to regroup in that particular location.

The armorback tensed for an instant. High above, on the level from which he had jumped down, several armored feet raced in a mad dash. Several voices spoke in loud cacophony. It took a few seconds to realize they were speaking in the archosaur language.

"Sergeant! Sergeant Grell!"

"Here!" he shouted with relief as he recognized the voice. "Down here, Garios!"

The trihorn's head popped through the window from which Grell had jumped through earlier. He looked around, apparently shocked at the carnage. "Are you all right, sir!?"

"Yes! Don't worry about me. Call the other teams and have them ready a shuttle. We need to take the Commander to the sick bay."

"Yes, sir!" the trihorn shouted.

"Grell..." His voice breaking, Darkthunder was barely able to form words. Tears welt in the carnivore's eyes as the strong, gloved hands of the navigator gently removed the ropes binding him. "Arokh... he killed... he killed Prion..."

Darkthunder's legs weakened, and the terrorclaw almost tumbled to the floor. Grell pressed the pointy snout gently once more against his armored chest as he held tightly. "He will not hurt or kill anyone else ever again."

The sound of many boots racing towards them grew louder as several Patrolsaurs entered the room with Brakkus in the lead, followed by Vak'zhoria and Kakkuttek, as well as those soldiers who had been with them. Grell exhaled loudly with relief that several in the original team had made it to safety, including the longjaw.

"Commander!" Brakkus shouted. "Sergeant! Are you both all right?"

Grell nodded, still holding Darkthunder close to him, shielding his nude body as much as possible from the other Patrolsaurs. "Is the area secure?"

Vak'zhoria moved to the front and saluted. "Yes, sir! We encountered some slight resistance coming here, but it was neutralized quickly."

The armorback nodded. His voice was calm and firm, like on many other combat situations he had faced in the past. "I want as many soldiers as possible to scour every building, every single place nearby that can hold any more of these bastards. I want all of this mammal scum flushed; I don't care if they are actually innocent or not. Make sure to detain them until they are either cleared or confirmed as an enemy. Try to capture alive anyone who resists, but shoot to kill if you have to. I will also need for a cleanup crew to pick up these bodies."

The armorback frowned as he pointed to the unconscious eyeridge and plateback. "And have someone throw these two piles of shit in the Brig."

Vak'zhoria tilted her frilled head backwards in surprise. "Sir... these are our own crew members."

"I gave you an order. I suggest you do as ordered while they still breathe, or I will personally see that they are cold and dead by the time they make it to the ship."

The female spikefrill nodded and turned to address the other soldiers as she walked away. "You heard the Sergeant! Let's get moving!"

Grell turned to look at Brakkus curiously while still holding onto Darkthunder in a protective manner. "And what the hell are you doing here, sausage neck? I thought you were not cleared to fight."

Brakkus snorted. "I would have kicked Ty-Grich between the legs if he had tried to stop me. You should have seen the reaction inside the Tarrakhan once Vak'zhoria managed to hail us. I swear that all saurians trained in combat tried to cram themselves on any available dropship once they realized we could again be without a ship commander. We piloted all available dropships down here. But from the looks of it, you didn't need any of us to help rescue the Commander."

"We definitely could have used everyone here earlier. Before this bastard and his 'friends' could had taken those good saurians down."

Brakkus turned to look at the still unconscious eyeridge as two soldiers shackled and muzzled him as they prepared to haul him away. "Unbelievable. Who would have thought he was allied with these drug runners?"

"Even worse. You are looking at Prion's murderer."

Brakkus stood motionless for several seconds. He aimed his rifle at the eyeridge as the weapon began to hum in readiness. "Shit, why wait for a fucking tribunal! We can always claim it was in self defense!"

Grell pushed the gun away and looked sternly at the groundthumper as he shook his head. "He needs his day in court."

"What for? You realize he's a goner, anyway! Just the charge of treason alone carries the death sentence!"

Grell nodded. "We evolved sentience for a reason, Brakkus. We cannot renounce to being archosaurs, no matter how much hate we may feel for dregs like him."

Brakkus sighed and lowered his gun; the rifle went silent. "Stop making sense, spike head. I've been itching to kill something ever since I got shot in the head."

"There always will be more of this mammal scum. And I'm afraid I have more bad news for you. You know what this also means?"

"What?"

The armorback grinned widely. "You owe me a hundred denarks."

The groundthumper paused for an instant before flashing an obscene gesture at the armorback. He turned and walked away to join the rest of the soldiers.

Grell laughed softly. He was pleased to see Brakkus acting his usual self again. The armorback certainly had missed pissing off the groundthumper in their usual playful ways.

"What... is so funny?" the terrorclaw said softly, still under the armorback's protective arms while holding onto the larger saurian.

The armorback patted Darkthunder's head. "Remind me to tell you some other time, sir."

Now at ground level, Garios swerved around the groundthumper as he ran towards the armorback. "The shuttle is ready, sir!"

"Excellent. Get a stretcher and two soldiers to take the Commander to it." The armorback grimaced as he took one step forward. "I would do it personally, but it appears that I have my own medical issues to take care of."

The trihorn looked at Grell's feet as he noticed the armorback limping. "You were rather brave, sir. Or stupid." He stopped as he apparently realized what he had just said.

Grell dismissed the trihorn's concerned look. "More like blinded by something else."

"You probably should go in the shuttle as well."

"Later. After I make sure all operations in this planet are proceeding as needed."

"Yes, sir!" The trihorn turned and raced towards the nearest medics.

Grell turned to the terrorclaw. He gently pulled one of the terrorclaw's lips up to look at the injuries. "We need to get you out of here, Darkthunder, before infection sets in your gums. I for sure would miss looking at those pointy teeth jutting out from under your jaws."

Darkthunder growled slightly as Grell tried to get him to walk. "I am... still your Commander. I should take over... this operation." His spoke with some difficulty, most certainly from stress; missing his teeth did not make it any easier to understand him, either.

The armorback groaned from his injured feet as he squatted on the floor. Putting his head below Darkthunder's level, he smiled as he gently tapped the tip of the terrorclaw's snout with one finger as he cocked his head to one side in mock despair. "Now what will it take to prove myself to you, sir?"

Darkthunder said nothing and lowered his snout.

"Exactly," Grell said, still smiling.

Wrapping his arms around the terrorclaw, he effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Darkthunder screeched slightly in protest. His screech died down quickly, replaced with a soft growl and then a gentle purr as he rested his head on the armored chest. He took a deep breath, apparently taking in the scent of his savior.

"Sweet Maia," Grell thought as he walked with slow steps, ignoring completely the pain on his feet. "Make this moment last a bit longer than it should, will you?"

*-*-*

"State your name and rank for the Oath."

The terrorclaw looked into the large trihorn's blue eyes. The large frame of the Archosaur General was imposing, even more as he spoke in an emotionless tone. Like some of the other archosaur species, trihorns never stopped growing, so one could infer from Ketrek's size that the trihorn had been around for a rather considerable number of years.

Aware of the countless eyes on him, Darkthunder stood at attention as he calmly voiced his oath.

"Darkthunder. Commander of the Patrol ship Dak-Tarrakhan. Under Patrol Oath, I avow that everything I will speak in this court is the absolute Truth. I do so willingly and without any ulterior motive other than the serving of justice. I submit my rank and career, to be taken away at any time, if it is ever proved beyond doubt that any or all part of my statements are false. I swear solemnly, as proud citizen of the Archosaur Domains."

The trihorn nodded and waited a couple seconds before he spoke the predetermined words. "Your Oath has been recorded, Commander."

Darkthunder fired a quick glance around the room. Larger than any similar auditoriums he had been in while at the Academy, the one he was in was made him slightly dizzy from its sheer size. Large constructions were simply a given in almost everything around Set-Saktran.

Sometimes called the "unofficial" capital of the Archosaur Domains, it was the largest city in the entire Domains by an immeasurable margin. Even the word "gargantuan", when used to describe its size, seemed like an extreme understatement. Traveling at a about a hundred thousand paces per hour, it would take almost an entire day, measured from one sunup to the next, to travel the full width of it.

There were not heads of government to lead the Domains from that city. Instead, its huge size was due that almost the entire main body of the Archosaur Patrol - from its top officers to the shipyards where every single component from Patrol spaceships were built - had its quarters in the city.

The city made the territory occupied by Darkthunder's pack feel like a small backyard.

Despite its size, countless saurians packed the auditorium beyond its stated capacity. He did not doubt that more archosaurs also stood outside, unable to gain entry for safety reasons. The crowd made him uneasy as well as proud. Once vilified for his species, everyone in the room now certainly admired the terrorclaw for giving every saurian in the room the closure they certainly sought since the news of Prion's murder were disclosed.

Several soldiers, fully decked in full combat armor and holding large assault rifles in their backs, guarded every entrance to the room and around strategic places around the room, with more stationed throughout and outside the building. Such extreme security was most certainly understandable - while the news of Prion's murder had spread extremely fast, news of the murderer's capture most surely had traveled even faster. If anything, the Patrol was certainly determined that its saurians would have the opportunity to witness justice served.

His eyes eventually drifted to a corner to his right. Two large spikefrills, also fully decked in combat armor, flanked a wheelchair occupied by a familiar eyeridge. Hands on his thighs, the carnivore looked completely emotionless as the proceedings continued.

The calm voice of the Archosaur General brought Darkthunder's mind back to the matter at hand. Ketrek now stood in front of the armorback to the left of Darkthunder. "State your name and rank for the Oath."

Darkthunder turned one eye to look at Grell. Clothed in his best uniform, spikes and other exposed bony parts polished, he was also clad with large boots that kept the bones and joints of his feet and lower legs stable while they healed. The boots looked far from comfortable, yet the armorback had not voiced the slightest word or sound of discomfort the whole time he had been in the court. If Darkthunder did not know any better, it would seem as if the armorback considered the unwieldy boots a mark of pride.

The terrorclaw also had medical discomforts to deal with as well. His gums had healed, and new teeth had already begun to grow to replace the ones lost - he was at least a couple weeks away from being able to eat meat again - while his snout sported a splint to keep his fractured bones in place.

The armorback remained motionless as he recited an identical oath to the one Darkthunder had given. "Grell. Sergeant First Class, and Navigator of the Patrol ship Dak-Tarrakhan. Under Patrol Oath, I avow that everything I will speak in this court is the absolute Truth. I do so willingly and without any ulterior motive other than the serving of justice. I submit my rank and career, to be taken away at any time, if it is ever proved beyond doubt that any or all part of my statements are false. I swear solemnly, as proud citizen of the Archosaur Domains."

Ketrek waited the necessary two seconds before he spoke again. "Your Oath has been recorded, Sergeant."

Only the sound of the trihorn's steps filled the room for the time it took Ketrek to walk to where the eyeridge sat. The latter did not move or made a sound as the trihorn turned to face him. Once more, Ketrek spoke with his calm, emotionless voice.

"You have heard the Oaths, Lieutenant Arokh. With them, this court will now begin. The charges against you are numerous - among them, treason against the Archosaur Domains, attempted murder, attempted non-consensual sexual assault, and the murder of Commander Prion."

A loud murmur erupted from the attendants in the stands at the mention of the last charge. Even if they were all completely aware of what the eyeridge was responsible for, they surely felt unable to keep themselves from voicing their contempt as Ketrek recited the last charge against Arokh. Even if the most grievous charge - treason against the Domains - carried the worst sentence, it certainly paled in their minds.

The trihorn waited for the audience to calm down before he addressed Arokh again. "How do you plead?"

The eyeridge did not hesitate or even wavered. Unlike the trihorn, his voice was harsh, full of resentment and contempt. "I plead nothing. I refuse to recognize the authority of this Court or that of any tribunal in the Archosaur Domains."

The response elicited an equally loud murmur from the audience once again.

Ketrek nodded as he signaled the crowd to remain silent. The old trihorn spoke again, still keeping his voice untainted of the slightest trace of any emotion. "May I remind you, Lieutenant, that your very life is dependent on these proceedings? As a citizen and sworn member of the Patrol, it is your duty to answer all questions that the court asks you."

Arokh smiled, displaying a few teeth as he did so. "You know as well as I, Archosaur General, that there will be only one outcome to this trial. So consider this as my unconditional resignation, not only to the Patrol, but as a citizen of the Domains."

An even louder murmur arouse from the saurians seated on the stands. It was as if the eyeridge realized nothing he could say would mitigate the sentence already hovering over him. Prolonging the most certainly inevitable outcome was certainly futile.

"I do not need to inform you of the consequences of such decision. As required by law, I give you now the opportunity to recant your words."

Arokh paused. "I do not fear death, Archosaur General. I will not recant."

Absolute silence fell in the auditorium. For all purposes, the trial was over, as the eyeridge had sealed his fate.

Ketrek nodded to the eyeridge. "Your decision has been recorded." The trihorn walked to the middle of the podium, and turned to address the audience.

"Let it then be announced on this day, fifteenth of the month of Zuria, year 215567, that former citizen Arokh renounced, by his own will, to his rights and citizenship of the Archosaur Domains. As such, for his acts of treason against the Domains, he is sentenced to death without the option of an appeal. Sentence will be carried out swiftly, at a date to be determined in a future proceeding. This phase of the Court is adjourned. All attendants please remain seated for the next phase."

The trihorn motioned for the guards to wheel Arokh away. Just as they started, the eyeridge signaled for them to wait for a brief instant.

"Darkthunder," Arokh called.

Leaving his assigned spot in the podium, the terrorclaw walked slowly towards Arokh. He stopped a few paces away, unwilling to get any closer, but close enough where he would not need to raise his voice and have the audience listen in.

"I only want to congratulate you, Darkthunder," Arokh said softly. "Despite everything, you have given everyone the justice they desperately sought."

Darkthunder looked at the ground slightly. Even at what could be one of the highlights of the terrorclaw's career, Arokh still sought to belittle the moment. What made it worse was the fact that the eyeridge was right. Victory had come only by chance, and some luck.

"This path has ended, eyeridge. There is nothing for us to talk about anymore."

Arokh let out a slight chuckle. "Don't get so caught up being an archosaur like the rest, Commander. You may fail to notice that paths only seem to end. Sometimes you have to walk further through the jungle to find where they continue."

Darkthunder remained silent for a few seconds as he pondered Arokh's words, and promptly dismissed them. "May Maia guide you to a swift end, Arokh."

The eyeridge smiled. "I am not worried about that. Neither should you." He signaled to the guards that he was done. The spikefrills followed after the wheelchair as it headed for the exit. A large double door closed behind them.

Darkthunder walked slowly back to his stand. Emotions raced through his mind, far too numerous and conflicting to even concentrate on a single one. The events leading to this day in court would never be erased from his mind; he could only hope they would fade just enough where the torment would be no more than a nagging reminder of his own faults and accomplishments.

Silence filled the room as again Ketrek addressed the attendants.

"Just as life emerged from the death of the stars that preceded us, so must death follow the lives of those we came to know. Even so, and after the sorrow we may feel, we must also celebrate the life of those which bring us hope."

He turned to look at the terrorclaw. "Commander Darkthunder."

The terrorclaw bowed in respect as the trihorn continued talking.

"Your dedication to the Patrol simply cannot be described by words I or anyone else may speak, but by the numerous accomplishments already heaped upon your name. You have proven yourself a valuable asset to the Patrol and to the entire Archosaur Domains, more than worthy of the trust and faith that our late friend Prion had in you. His soul certainly rests easier, now that you have delivered justice and closure to the Patrol."

A young longcrest made her way to the podium. She carried two neatly folded pieces of red cloth in her arms, presenting them to the trihorn. Taking the one on top, Ketrek unfolded it to reveal a sash, elegantly embroidered with the symbol of the Archosaur Domains in some metallic thread. The terrorclaw could see it was no mere symbolic cloth - its quality and workmanship was exceptional, the kind only the richest archosaurs would pay for.

Ketrek smiled as he presented the sash to the terrorclaw. "It is with utmost pleasure that I present to you this Sash of Honor. May the future bring you further glory as Commander of the Dak-Tarrakhan."

Vigorous applause filled the room as Darkthunder bowed respectfully, allowing Ketrek to outfit him with the sash. Neither loose nor tight, the cloth fit perfectly, complementing his dark skin and uniform.

Darkthunder waited for the applause to quiet down. "Thank you, Archosaur General. However, I speak with my deepest gratitude, when I say that I am certain I would not be standing here today to welcome this honor, had it not been for the selfless actions of Sergeant Grell."

Ketrek smiled at the terrorclaw, and walked to stand before the armorback as the latter bowed. "Sergeant Grell. In the face of certain danger to your superior officer, and knowing that your actions would result in serious injury to your figure, and even possible death, your selfless actions helped in no small way to make this day possible." He paused to grab the other cloth held by the longcrest, equally ornate although larger to accommodate the armorback's larger frame. "It is my pleasure to present you as well with this Sash of Honor."

Grell bowed to receive the award as once again the crowd burst in applause. "Thank you, sir." The armorback seemed puzzled as Ketrek kept looking at him as the trihorn smiled.

"Furthermore, it is also my greatest pleasure and honor, as Archosaur General, to bestow on you today the rank of Second Lieutenant, along with all the duties and responsibilities that such a position requires."

An even stronger applause erupted from the crowd. The armorback stood frozen in place, speechless as Ketrek gently removed the rank insignia from the armorback's uniform and replaced it with a different one.

"T-thank you... sir!" Grell finally said as he saluted, holding it until the trihorn saluted back.

"I should say that several ship Commanders requested individual audiences with you, Lieutenant. They are certainly interested to have such a strong saurian as their First Officer."

It did not take long for Grell to reply, his words strong and unwavering. "I wish to offer my thanks to each one of them, sir. There is only one place where I can best serve the Patrol, and that is to keep my position as Navigator of the Dak-Tarrakhan."

Ketrek nodded and looked at Darkthunder. "Commander?"

Darkthunder bowed to Grell. "It will be a great honor to keep you on board, Lieutenant."

The trihorn turned to address the audience once more. "This Court is now adjourned."

The words were followed immediately by a thunderous applause, along with roars from all the carnivores, and hooting from the longcrests and roundcrests in the room. Even the guards broke their otherwise stoic stance to join the raucous applause. The noise continued for almost three minutes, then quieted down as the spectators began to file out of the hall.

Two figures, however, walked down and towards the podium. A fleetfoot scurried somewhat hastily; Ty-Grich no doubt wanted to make sure Grell was not trying to injure himself any further. The other was a deathjaw; his face thoroughly relaxed and calm even as his body slanted forward slightly while carrying a small package in his right hand.

Darkthunder's attention turned towards Ketrek as the trihorn addressed him and Grell. "Commander. Lieutenant. I'm sure you're both eager to return to your ship and duties. Unfortunately, I will have to order both of you to remain in this city for the next few days. As much as many of us would like to simply move to the penalty stage and get Arokh executed so we can all move on, there are still many depositions and other procedures that you both need to attend. And there is also Sse'kasha's trial six days from now." The trihorn looked at Grell. "You are a strong witness for that one, Lieutenant."

"It will be my pleasure to testify, Archosaur General." The armorback made little effort to conceal how much he was looking forward to that day. He then turned to look rather fastidiously at Ty-Grich, who seemed to pester him with numerous questions as the fleetfoot opened one of the special boots and checked the foot inside.

"Excellent." Ketrek signaled towards the approaching deathjaw. "General Zaron here has a few words for both of you. If you will excuse me, I have matters to attend."

The three saurians saluted their superior. Zaron waited for him to walk away as he exited the room through a door opposite to the stands before he bowed to his subordinates.

"Commander Darkthunder. Lieutenant Grell. Congratulations on your honors, and on a job well done."

"Thank you, sir," both saurians said at unison.

"And my deepest thanks to you, Commander," Zaron said as he again bowed respectfully to his subordinate. "Without your tireless dedication to hunt down these criminals, we probably would have never known the extent that their organization has stretched. We will need to carry out an internal investigation of the entire Patrol if we are to root out this latest threat to the Domains. Once again, you have proved that my wise, old friend Prion's faith in you was absolutely in the right place. There are no words in the archosaur language that would even remotely describe the overwhelming sense of peace you have brought to this old saurian. And now that the prey has been apprehended, I can finally let go of this slight hunter trance I have kept for so long." Growling slowly, the deathjaw turned to stand upright.

The terrorclaw saluted. "You are welcome, sir."

"And you have certainly given anyone still prejudiced against your kind some serious food for thought. Hopefully, their minds will be large enough that they will not choke on it."

Darkthunder could not help but ask a thought in his mind. "Forgive me for my indiscretion, sir. But I cannot help but wonder what will become of Arokh's family."

Zaron shook his head in apparent sadness. "They are completely innocent of everything. I don't believe they need to know the truth. To them, Arokh fell fighting his enemies, and his body is to be disposed in the way the Patrol dictates. Not exactly the truth, but neither it is an outright lie." A loud growl went off in the General's throat. "As for him, he will meet the same fate as anyone accused of treason - death by two deathjaws. I would volunteer for the position, but I'm afraid I would make his death neither swift nor painless. After the cowardly way he killed Prion, and the injuries you both sustained to bring him to justice, I don't think he deserves any mercy from the Domains. But we are archosaurs, first and foremost."

The sound of heavy feet resounded as Grell walked to get closer to Darkthunder. "There is one death I certainly don't regret. The Commander and I have certainly killed our differences."

"Indeed, and that pleases me. Which reminds me; this arrived earlier today for you, Lieutenant."

The deathjaw handed over the package to Grell. The armorback seemed pleased to receive it, even as he shot a slightly concerned look to Zaron after he noticed the seals were broken.

"My apologies, Lieutenant." Zaron said. "I'm afraid that, since it was addressed to you and due to the security of these proceedings, it had to be scanned and opened for inspection to make sure the contents were safe." The deathjaw flashed a sly, slightly toothy smile. "So I will only say... Good luck."

Grell's concern disappeared. He smiled back as he placed the package inside a large pocket in the belt that helped hold his uniform close to his skin. He smiled still as he turned to speak to Darkthunder.

"Well, Commander... I believe we made plans for a chat over some dinner not long ago."

The terrorclaw concurred. "Indeed. Though I think there is little need for it now. Your actions have earned you the respect that I don't think mere words ever could."

"That may be true, but -"

"I mean no disrespect, Lieutenant, but I would like some rest after this, if you don't mind. It has been a long day, and there is still much more to be done tomorrow."

"Now, now, Commander," Zaron said as he moved to stand close to the terrorclaw. "The Lieutenant is right. You can honor him and show your gratitude by accepting his invitation. I can easily have your next deposition rescheduled for a day or two if needed. There are several excellent food and entertainment places not far from here. Any of them would be ideal for the two of you could have your conversation. I'm sure Lieutenant Grell has some significant plans he would like to share with you."

Darkthunder tried to hold all signs of annoyance from becoming clear in his face. "I'm sure he does, sir. But like I said, I need to -"

The General let a soft, rumbling growl and lowered his snout until it was almost touching the terrorclaw's own. The deathjaw's eyes, seemingly small for such a large head, focused intently on Darkthunder. "Do I need to make this an order, Commander?"

"No. Not at all, sir." Darkthunder sighed, slightly miffed.

"Excellent." The deathjaw turned and handed a blue card to Grell. "Take this, Lieutenant. Compliments of the Patrol."

The armorback's eyes went wide as he recognized the item that he now held in his hands. "Whoa! A Patrol expense card! Never thought I would see one of this, much less be given one to use. Thank you, sir."

"The Patrol uses those very sparingly. After what you two accomplished, you deserve it. Choose the best entertainment you can find and enjoy yourselves. Just make sure you don't go overboard or buy something illicit with it. Otherwise, Ketrek may be tempted to have me join Arokh for punishment." The eyeridge saluted again. "I will let you both be. Thanks again, soldiers."

The other two saurians saluted. The armorback waited for the deathjaw to put some distance in between before he smiled again as he pointed to an exit. "I heard about an excellent food place not far from here, Commander. It would be an honor if you could join me."

Darkthunder nodded. "Very well. It doesn't look like Zaron left me much of a choice."

The fleetfoot gazed rather concerned at the armorback. "I hope you are not planning on walking there."

Grell snorted, apparently annoyed. "We are in the center of Set-Saktran, medic. They didn't build this section of the city so people could wheeze by in vehicles. You know absolutely well there is not much in the way of transportation around here."

"All right, all right. I just don't want you putting much strain on your feet. You are lucky that you can still walk with your own legs."

"I had no plans to walk far, Ty-Grich. Now relax, will you? I'm sure there's lots of medical technology briefs for you to read and seminars to attend."

"Very well. Just follow my instructions. Or else I'll take pleasure dragging your sorry tail to the sick bay so I can rip you a new one, like I did with your friend Brakkus."

"Armorbacks only look slow and stupid, medic. Though sometimes we do stupid things as well." Grell smiled and turned towards the terrorclaw as he gestured to the nearest exit. "Shall we, Commander?"

Darkthunder sighed softly as he resigned himself to a possibly unpleasant night. "Lead the way, Sergeant... er, sorry. Lieutenant. Don't say I didn't try to warn you. You may not like having dinner with a terrorclaw."

The armorback laughed as he followed behind the terrorclaw. "After all that we have gone through together, I don't think there's anything that could faze or annoy me."

*-*-*

The shrilling, drunken laughter was beginning to get more than a tad irritating. Downright annoying was more like it, Grell thought.

Just like Saresh, Darkthunder seemed to need only so much liquor before the effects became quite unpleasant. Grell made a mental note to limit the alcohol intake of any future small carnivores that happened to drink with him.

A downright luxurious eatery seemed like the perfect place for both saurians to spend some time. Still wearing their patrol uniforms and sashes, they found no difficulty in getting service, even ahead of other, classier patrons. Waving the blue Patrol card may have had quite a bit to do with it, but Grell was not one to think much of it.

The first drinks arrived with their meals. True to his word, Darkthunder was not much for decorum after the server brought his meal to the table. Still unable to eat hard meat, the terrorclaw had ordered two large eggs delivered to him. Cracking one open, the terrorclaw dipped his snout inside and slurped noisily at the contents.

To say he devoured his meal like a hungry animal would be a huge understatement. The scene caused some to raise eyebrows at the people who otherwise may have had viewed the two Patrolsaurs as anything but ill mannered and noisy.

Even worse, and much to his chagrin, Grell noticed the eggs were not raw, but rather contained a still growing embryo. Darkthunder pulled his head backwards, his snout dripping with the remaining yolk and other equally disgusting contents. Using his jaws, he moved the remains of the embryo in his mouth until it was in a better position for him to swallow it whole. He growled with delight before he began to work on the second egg.

Grell tried not to think much of it as he ate his own meal of leaves and assorted vegetables. Darkthunder was a predator, after all.

That had been a short while ago. Both saurians remained at their table after the meal was over, enjoying the live music that played as they chatted amiably about anything that crossed their minds that they felt comfortable talking about. Drinks continued flowing throughout their conversation. Now almost eight drinks later, the terrorclaw was much closer to being totally incapacitated.

"Grrreeellll," Darkthunder said, laughing as he pronounced the armorback's name in such a manner. "Thanks for... your com-pany. You... certainly are... a good saurian... and friend."

Grell smiled, even as he kept his frustration to himself. "The pleasure is mine, sir. I'm glad to have you with me tonight."

"I... must confess... I was so wrong... about you. I can't... tell you... how sorry I am... for everything I said and did."

"Please, Commander. No need to worry about it anymore. It's all in the past now."

Just like his opportunity to confess his deepest feelings towards the terrorclaw. His hand went to the small box he kept in his belt. Right then, Grell wanted nothing more than to offer its contents to the terrorclaw. In his besotted state, however, Darkthunder would probably not even remember anything the following day, or would misinterpret the gesture.

There is always tomorrow, Grell thought as he tried to remain optimistic.

Darkthunder roared with glee as the server brought two more drinks to their table. He immediately bent forward to grab his, only to have the armorback push him back towards his seat.

"No," Grell said sternly. "You've had enough for today."

"Noooo," Darkthunder screeched. "I can take... a couple more."

"I said, no." The armorback pushed Darkthunder back again and held him there as he took the terrorclaw's drink and gulped it in one swig. Darkthunder growled in a rather pitiful manner as he watched helplessly as his drink disappeared.

"Grrreeehhhkkk!!! Just wait... until we get back to the ship. I'll... have you... work... like you've never... worked before!"

Grell sighed softly. "What is it with you small, lithe carnivores? It only takes a little bit of alcohol, and you are almost ready to pass out. And you get pushy and demanding, to boot."

"Don't know what you're... talking about. I feel good."

"You are not. The last thing I need is for you to get worse. I'm not in a position to carry you in my arms back to your room."

Darkthunder growled with contentment as he rested his head on the muscled chest. "And why not? I was in your arms once... and it felt so gooooood."

Grell sighed as he held the terrorclaw gently with one arm. "I need you to have a clear mind. There is something I've wanted to tell you."

"Really? Oooooo... do tell! I like secrets! It's a secret, right?" Darkthunder squealed with delight.

The armorback sighed softly. He wanted Darkthunder to feel relaxed and comfortable, and be able to reveal his thoughts and desires to the terrorclaw. Yet, for all his preparations and the courage he mustered to get to that moment, the carnivore had unknowingly altered his plans.

"There's something I've been meaning to say for some time," Grell said. Darkthunder had both a sentient and feral side to his brain; he hoped that some part in the terrorclaw's mind that was still alert. "I know it will sound surprising, but... for a very long time, I've carried some feelings towards you."

"Like... wanting to tell me... how much of an idiot... I've been as your Commander? I know you hate me."

"No, no. Far from it." Grell fluffed the feathered crest, now fully restored in all its beauty, even as Darkthunder growled, slightly annoyed. "I don't even know where to start. It's something... something I can't describe in simple words. You've seen me as perhaps a former criminal that you wanted away from your command. I can understand why you would see me that way. But... even then -"

Grell stopped as the terrorclaw lifted his head. Almost immediately, Darkthunder began to gasp and retch; the terrorclaw's meal, along with the numerous drinks he had imbibed, had apparently proved to be an extremely unpleasant combination. Before the armorback could move away, the terrorclaw let loose a stream of steaming vomit across his lap and leg.

_"Rrraaaaahhhh!!!"_Grell shouted, thoroughly disgusted as he swatted pieces of the half-formed embryos from his body. "Darkthunder! Gross!"

The terrorclaw moaned. "Sorry," he said weakly before he let out a second, smaller wave of vomit, this time on himself.

Grell growled as he tried to clean his clothes with a cloth napkin. It proved insufficient, and the armorback got up from his seat. "Stay there!" he said, disgusted. "I need to clean this stinky mess."

Ignoring the curious or disapproving looks from other patrons, the armorback made his way to the nearest restroom. He held his breath as he walked, as the disgusting smell from the vomit threatened to have him heave the contents of his own stomach as well.

"Stupid terrorclaw!" Grell cursed as he cleaned the vomit still clinging on his uniform, including the sash he had received just a few hours before. "What the fuck did I see in that carnivore in the first place! How could I even think that there is anything between him and -"

His elbow bumped against the package Zaron had given him, still in the large pocket in his belt. Grell stopped, and sighed softly, as he realized the mess was not Darkthunder's fault. The terrorclaw had even tried to warn Grell twice about eating with a terrorclaw. After everything that the armorback had risked, it would be a rather petty and immature reason to let the terrorclaw's rather unsavory eating habits get in the way of his feelings.

Getting as much of the disgusting mess out of his uniform as he could, Grell made his slow way back to the table. Darkthunder was still at the table, watching with mild curiosity as a thumbspike cleaned the remains of the disgusting mess from everywhere it had landed.

"My apologies, good saurian," Grell said, feeling some pity for the server. "It is the first time my friend has enjoyed that much alcohol. Obviously he overestimated himself."

"Yeah, sure," the thumbspike said, obviously not pleased at his repulsive task. "It doesn't matter their status or experience. They all do."

Grell nodded. Fishing inside his pockets, he pulled a hundred-denark chip before he tossed it at the server. "Here. Have something for your trouble."

The server's eyes gleamed as he caught a good glimpse at it. His frown disappeared, replaced with a wide smile. "Thank you, sir!"

Grell only nodded as he helped Darkthunder get up on his feet and away from the table. "We're getting out of here, terrorclaw. Do you think you can walk?"

"I... I can," Darkthunder said as he tried to walk alongside the armorback. His large toe claws twitched with each step. "That... was a nice gesture, Grell."

The armorback shrugged. "Well... Let's just say it was a gift from Brakkus."

The night was clear and cool. In the darkness, Grell noticed how everything in the city seemed designed to fit and seamlessly blend onto the surrounding environment. Trees took root between buildings, while a few streams flowed throughout and under bridges, some of them apparently carved from the very rock. Nocturnal wildlife prowled around, some of it apparently no longer afraid of the larger, sentient saurians that walked the streets.

Set-Saktran was certainly one of the greatest achievements of the Archosaur Domains. Grell had never noticed any of it before, despite having visited it twice before. Although it was understandable that he had always missed the sights, given the circumstances around each one of his previous visits. It was hard to admire anything from inside a cell, awaiting sentencing for whatever crime he had had the misfortune that the Patrol had caught him in the act.

"How are we doing here?" he asked as he felt Darkthunder retch and cough once again.

"Awful." It was all Darkthunder could muster to say. The hunter was definitely not in a good shape to walk back to the Patrol's bedrooms, and Grell would not be able to carry him any distance without putting serious strain on his feet. The idea of trying to explain things to Ty-Grich filled him with far more dread than facing a horde of ravenous mammalian drug runners.

Grell noticed a luxury hotel just a short distance down the path. With the Patrol card in his possession, it would be perfect place for them to spend the night and sleep off the alcohol. Perhaps... he would have the chance to do what he had waited for a long time.

He looked at the incapacitated terrorclaw. "Come on, Darkthunder. We are getting you to a bed. Just a few paces more."

The armorback waited anxiously for the time it took to check in for a room, hoping that Darkthunder would not let out another volley of vomit as he continued coughing. Several curious eyes turned to look at the two Patrolsaurs as they made their way to the room. More than once Grell tried to ignore their hushed conversations. Right then, fucking the terrorclaw was definitely not in his list of priorities.

Grell did not pause to admire the view from the room as helped Darkthunder lay down on the bed. Larger and orders of magnitude more comfortable than anything on board the Tarrakhan, it was certainly a good place for saurians to have a pleasant mating. But no one joined the Patrol with the idea that a ship contained large, comfortable beds to have a good fuck.

The armorback was immediately out of his clothing. Standing naked in the room, he turned his attention to the terrorclaw, who had begun to drift into sleep with his clothes on.

Darkthunder opened his eyes slightly, but other than a light growl, he did not protest as Grell stripped him of his clothes. "Now what the hell are you doing, Grell?"

"Getting you out of this uniform," the armorback said as he tugged at the terrorclaw's shirt. He snorted at the pungent smell of the terrorclaw's vomit. "It stinks and needs to be washed."

Darkthunder pouted. "And here I was hoping I could get in bed with such a burly male... that could take me deep and hard in the tail."

Staring at the now naked terrorclaw, Grell remained silent for several heartbeats. The temptation was strong, indeed. The surroundings certainly were conducive to it. The terrorclaw also seemed willing, even if it was the alcohol speaking.

No. Absolutely not. Grell refused to think any more of it as he killed the reaction of his member, already beginning to get hard with desire.

"Perhaps someday. Now you need to sleep off all that booze."

"All right," Darkthunder said, sounding dejected. The terrorclaw purred with delight as Grell lifted his head, then let it rest on a large and soft pillow before the armorback followed by covering Darkthunder in the bed's linens. He spoke a couple unintelligible words before falling asleep almost immediately.

Grell remained silent for a minute, looking at the beautiful hunter before he nuzzled him, and headed for the shower to wash the stench off his body.

"See you in the morning."

*-*-*

Pulling the blanket and wrapping even further with it, the terrorclaw purred contently as he snuggled against the soft pillow while the warm rays of the morning suns began to shine inside the room.

Darkthunder opened his eyes as loud snoring broke his deep sleep. Slowly, he began to look at his surroundings; a slight sense of shock and dread began to take over him as he not only did not recognize where he was, but also had no recollection of how he got there. He lifted and turned his head towards the continuing snoring. A large armorback slept on his stomach, completely naked, on the other side of the large bed.

"Grell?" he said, then again louder when the armorback did not answer. "GRELL!"

The armorback stopped snoring, and opened an eye only halfway to look at the terrorclaw. "Huh? Oh... good morning, sir."

"Where in blazes are we!?" Darkthunder screeched. "Why are you in the same bed as I?" He lifted the sheets to look at his body. "And why the hell are we both naked!?!"

Grell uttered a sleepy response in confusion. Instants later, he was up and completely awake as he jumped out of the bed. "Shit! This is not what it looks like, Commander!"

Darkthunder continued screeching. "Then what am I supposed to think it looks like? Did you -!"

"No!" the armorback said as he shook his head vigorously. "Please give me some credit, sir! I didn't risk my life to save your dignity, just so I could take it while you were drunk!"

"I was not drunk! We were having our dinner, and next thing I know we're both naked inside some... hotel bedroom!" The terrorclaw grimaced as he rubbed his temple. "And now it seems I have a nasty headache on top of this."

"Welcome to the next day hangover," Grell said sarcastically.

"All right... maybe I did have a few drinks. But why did we both end up here?"

"Well, forgive me for thinking it would be a better idea for us to sleep off our drunken stupors someplace closer than to try to make our way back to the Patrol building."

"Then why are we both naked? Where are our uniforms?"

The armorback pointed to a table near the room's entrance. "There. Ready to wear, nicely pressed and clean after you showered both of us with your vomit." Grell snorted loudly. "Besides, had I done something to your tailhole, you certainly would have more pain than a mere hangover to deal with."

Darkthunder stopped dead his screeching. Even as he realized the armorback was most certainly speaking the truth, he could not understand his feeling of disappointment that something else had not transpired. "I... I'm sorry, Grell. I guess I am still a bit jumpy after our last mission."

"No need for apologies, sir." Grell paused; he looked at Darkthunder, concern and anger almost gone from his face. "Could I get you some sweet, hot tea? I already tried the dispenser in the room, and it is excellent."

Darkthunder nodded softly. "Yes. Please."

He looked at Grell's naked, firm back as the navigator walked to prepare the hot brew. The multitude of spikes and hard scales, remnants of ancient pasts that all archosaurs shared, now seemed to work to magnify the overpowering aura of maleness that the armorback exuded. The armorback had built his body not only to fight, but also for strong, bestial sex.

Darkthunder gazed away slightly as the armorback walked back with a cup in each hand. His massive member and heavy ballsack swayed with each step. The terrorclaw was grateful his lower body was still under the sheets.

"Here, sir," Grell said as he handed Darkthunder one of the cups. "Just be careful. It's rather hot."

"Thanks." Darkthunder grabbed the warm, ceramic cup with both hands. "And... just call me Darkthunder, if you please. We're obviously not in official Patrol duties right now."

Grell nodded and sat on the other side of the bed, staring out the window as he sipped his tea. "The view is gorgeous from this room in the morning. Don't you think?"

The terrorclaw only grunted slightly in agreement. He let the aromatic steams from the brew waft to his nostrils for the best part of a minute before he took a sip of the warm drink. "Why did you do it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know what I mean. We hated each other. I treated you almost like garbage. And even when the odds were stacked so highly against you, you thought nothing about risking injury - hell, your very life, even, to save me from such humiliation."

A faint smile formed on the armorback's face. "I guess some armorbacks really are stupid. Sometimes I don't think and just press my luck. As long as it doesn't involve someone placing a sickle claw over part of my anatomy."

"Yes, sorry about that, too." Darkthunder smiled briefly, only to growl with anger at himself. "I don't know how I can forgive myself for the things I said and did."

"Then don't."

"I don't get it. Why shouldn't I?"

"Back in the days when you were still hunting among those of your pack, you most certainly pursued some prey that managed to escape."

"Many times." Darkthunder snorted. "It may have happened while we were in a hunter trance, but the annoyance carried over when we returned to sentience."

"Well... then think that those distasteful memories are just like that prey. Just start the hunt again from the beginning with a different quarry."

Darkthunder stopped for a few seconds to reflect on the words. "You know... for you being an herbivore, what you said makes sense."

Grell took another sip of his tea. "I may be an insufferable jerk, but I have my lucid moments every now and then."

"I see that. But it only proves my point. Don't get me wrong; I will be forever grateful that you placed my well-being over yours. Still, you could have just waited until reinforcements arrived. Arokh and those mammals would have certainly had their way with me by then, but I would have still been alive. I would have survived."

The smile in Grell's face evaporated, leaving an anguished look behind. "You don't survive something like that. Not without feeling messed up."

"And how would you know?" Darkthunder went silent as the armorback's green eyes locked on his, glistening with moisture as the armorback seemed to relive something in his mind. The armorback got up from the bed and walked to the room's balcony to look outside.

"Good Maia... Grell, I... I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Pausing briefly to collect his thoughts, the armorback's voice was rather subdued when he spoke again. "That is because I never told anyone. It was many years ago. I was much younger, had just recently become of adult age, and certainly nowhere close to being the large, obnoxious armorback you have come to known. I began to wander around my city, getting into my first troubles with society. Late at night one day, I came across a group of seven saurians, from several species. They were a small gang I had seen a few times before. They gathered around a fire, laughing and sharing food. I was rather hungry at the time, so I worked up the courage to walk towards them. I offered to join their gang, if only I could have a bit of their food."

The armorback turned to look back at Darkthunder before he lowered his snout. "Their leader was an armorback like me, so I thought he would make me feel welcome. He said he would let me join in, but only if I gave him something of mine first. I flat out refused, and began to walk away. They quickly surrounded me. I tried to fight my way out, but they were too many for me at the time. So the armorback forced himself on me... followed by the other six. They finally left me alone after they had their fill hours later. And I was still hungry. Sometimes, late at night, I can still hear their laughter."

Darkthunder pulled the bed sheets away from himself. He felt torn between going over to hug the armorback, or just let him vent. "I... I'm sorry."

Grell continued, almost as if he either did not hear Darkthunder, or chose to ignore the words of pity. Despite the sad story, the armorback still spoke with almost the usual air of strength that oozed from his muscled body. "That night, I resolved it would never happen again. I trained my muscles to become the largest armorback ever to walk the streets. I became a callous, ruthless gun for hire. Everyone knew nothing good would come out from trying to mess with me. Those who still tried found out the hard way I was not exaggerating. Many of them I killed. The rest I humiliated so horribly, they probably wished I had killed them as well. But even as I hardly think of it anymore, I still couldn't find a way to forgive myself for what I became." He paused to look at Darkthunder. "Until that moment when I risked everything. I guess it was a good thing I was not a hunter, resigned to let that prey escape from me."

Pausing to think, the terrorclaw realized how close his experience had turned to be almost like what Grell experienced. "I can see where you are coming from. But last night I was drunk and defenseless. Didn't you have even the slightest desire to have your way with me?"

"I would lie if I said I didn't. The night before our mission, I found myself in a similar situation with one of our crewmembers. I fucked his ass like there would be no tomorrow. But then again, he was not quite as drunk as you were last night, and quite experienced and willing for some very rough male sex."

The feathered crest flattened against Darkthunder's neck as the terrorclaw became somewhat flustered. "I... don't think I would have minded it... too much. I've had... daydreams sometimes of strong saurians forcing me into rough sex. With me a willing victim, that is."

"So that means every time Bakkun defeated you in Overlord he was indulging your fantasies?"

The tingle of his feathers shooting straight up continued down the terrorclaw's spine. "That... was you!?"

Grell nodded, even as the look on his face seemed to reveal he had mentioned something he should had rather kept for later. "But I didn't realize I had been dominating my own ship commander all those times, until the end of our last run."

Darkthunder tried to sort his emotions, unable to decide whether to feel annoyed or pleased about the whole thing. "What gave me away?"

Grell pointed at the terrorclaw's twitching sickle claws. "I thought it was weird how a spikefrill could pull and curl his inner toes like your avatar was doing. Then it hit me where I had seen it before. And given that there is only one terrorclaw in the whole Patrol, the realization was instant." He shrugged and smiled. "Though I confess the discovery was rather... pleasant."

"Why? Because you found out you had been raping the virtual ass of your superior?"

"Well... somewhat, yes. But... I'm afraid it is... more complicated than just that." The armorback hesitated, visibly uneasy, as if unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "Maybe right now is not the time for it."

"You are the one who asked for some time to talk about ourselves. We certainly seem to have plenty of time right now."

Fists clenched, the armorback turned away from the bed where Darkthunder still sat, his back towards the terrorclaw. He remained like that for the best part of a minute before he appeared to form a decision. Wordlessly, he walked to a small table holding the package that Zaron had handed him the day before. The terrorclaw looked puzzled as Grell walked back towards the terrorclaw, holding the package with both hands.

Darkthunder could not keep from gazing briefly at the massive genitals as Grell squatted on the floor, barely half a pace away from the terrorclaw, his gaze fixed intently onto the terrorclaw's eyes. Still without saying a word, Grell lifted the lid of the box to reveal the contents inside.

His feathers shot upwards as his lower jaw opened wide. Carefully placed together on a soft cloth, two silver bracelets of different sizes rested, gently touching each other. The larger one, and apparently made to fit Grell's wrist, had Darkthunder's name engraved on it in the Archosaurian language glyphs. Conversely, the smaller one, seemingly made to fit Darkthunder's smaller wrist, had Grell's glyphs on it.

Darkthunder recognized their symbolism, even as he never imagined that one day these would be presented to him.

Bracelets of Companionship.

His gaze shifted slowly to the armorback, who smiled slightly even as his eyes glistened with moisture from apparent tears. When he next spoke, Grell's voice came gentler than Darkthunder had ever heard before.

"That day, when you walked into the Bridge of the Tarrakhan for the first time, I thought you were the most beautiful saurian I had ever seen. Yet that vision was shattered when you seemed to reject my presence almost right from that very moment. I thought I understood - you surely knew I had a rather unsavory past, and the sting of rejection was something I've always dealt with inside the Patrol.

"But that did not seem to diminish in any way my initial feelings for you. If anything, it made them stronger. I tried to tell myself that I was just a confused fool, that someone like me just isn't worthy of a magnificent archosaur like you. I tried to keep you away, becoming an even bigger jerk so I could justify the rejection that I thought I deserved. The more I tried, though, the stronger I felt attracted to you. Nothing I could ever do, nothing that you did, would banish my feelings, my desire to hold you gently in my arms."

"Grell..." Darkthunder could say no more, choking on his words like a predator biting more than they could chew.

"I know this is too much, and perhaps too soon. But after I almost lost you... after they almost hurt you... I just can't wait anymore." When he next spoke, the armorback's words came stronger, yet softer and more lovingly. "Darkthunder... would you be... my loving mate and partner?"

Darkthunder did not speak one word as he slowly moved his trembling right claw to grab the larger bracelet. Holding it tightly against his chest, he looked back into the armorback's eyes.

"Grell... what... if it doesn't work out?"

The armorback smiled. "Then I hope you give me the honor to become a very loyal friend that you can turn to whenever you need it."

The terrorclaw looked at the bracelet in his hands. Opening it slowly, he presented it to the armorback. Tears welled in Grell's eyes as he placed his right wrist on the bracelet, and Darkthunder closed it. The terrorclaw released the bracelet, now held firmly around Grell's wrist.

The armorback breathed shallow and fast for several heartbeats before he realized it was his turn. Opening the smaller bracelet, he held it in place. Darkthunder had never seen Grell so nervous; he hardly could keep the bracelet steady as he waited for the terrorclaw to place his wrist on it. Darkthunder extended his arm, and Grell gently closed the second bracelet. The archosaurs looked at each other for an instant before they joined in a tight hug.

"Darkthunder!" Grell said, his voice finally breaking up from emotion. He kissed the long snout of his new partner several times before holding the carnivore's head against his own. The large herbivore sobbed with what could only be extreme elation. "My beautiful terrorclaw! Oh, my sweet Mother... thank you!"

Holding his own tears and emotions, the terrorclaw trilled softly in contentment as he held onto the armorback, taking in his strong scent, feeling the small scutes and bony projections of Grell's rough skin against his own. He felt the ribbed surface of Grell's massive and flaccid cock against his leg.

"Do you want to make love to me now?" Darkthunder finally said, even as he felt a bit embarrassed. "We are naked, and this room looks like it could be a good place."

Looking once again deep into Darkthunder's green eyes, the armorback kissed the tip of the terrorclaw's snout and gently shook his head. "It is indeed a nice room. I think we will certainly enjoy it more if we don't rush it. And besides - I can certainly think of much better places where I can mate you and show my love."

The terrorclaw rested his head on the large shoulder of his now mated partner. He tried to speak, yet the words failed again to form in his snout. He finally gave up; it was not that he needed to voice thoughts already in the armorback's mind.

Each saurian basked in the other's warmth, feeling the other's skin in close contact, listening to the other breathe as the warm light of the suns and the calm sounds of the city filled the room, as they let time pass them by.

*-*-*

"Now look at you," Maleek said as he stared somewhat incredulously at the armorback. "Not only you get a Sash of Honor, but you also get promoted to Second Lieutenant! And both given to you by none other than the Archosaur General himself! I bet you are proud of your accomplishments. You're even wearing your best uniform. I can't recall ever seeing you in this ship wearing anything with sleeves, much less where you would cover your entire arms."

"Yeah, the honors and rank are nice," Grell said casually. He flashed a faint smile as he worked the controls at his console, making sure the _Dak-Tarrakhan_would be ready to depart as scheduled. "I was just following my Patrol duties, after all."

Maleek turned around to address the other saurians in the Bridge. "Did you all hear that? Nice, he says. Not amazing, not great. Just... nice." He turned back to look at Grell. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head as well when you jumped to rescue Darkthunder?"

"Positively. Besides, I can think of even better rewards than a promotion." He turned to address the female thumbspike even as he continued with his preparations for the ship's departure. "By the way, Keana, when Darkthunder addresses the crew for his departure speech, switch on the video feed as well. I'm sure the crew will want to have a look at their new First Officer."

"Sure," she said as she pressed two more buttons on her console. "I still find it hard to believe Arokh had us all for the fools we surely were. To think that Prion's murderer with us all this time." Keana brayed in anger. "At least we won't have his stench around us anymore."

"He will have a few days to think about it before he's executed. Not so for his accomplice Sse'kasha." Grell paused. "Never thought I had a bit of a predator side in me. It was almost as if I could feel what the deathjaw was thinking as she ripped him to bloody pieces."

"That must have been some sight. What I wouldn't give to be one of those lucky deathjaws that will rip Arokh's throat out!"

"I don't," Grell said emotionlessly. "That must be a miserable existence, to live in near constant hunter trance. Denied of your rightful archosaur life just so you can administer justice. I rather be my obnoxious self and piss off all of you."

"Lovely," Maleek interjected. "Too bad you really didn't injure your head as well."

"Commander on the Bridge!" a female groundthumper announced loudly as she entered the Bridge.

All saurians stood at attention. Darkthunder followed almost immediately behind the groundthumper. He was also wearing his sash. "At ease, archosaurs."

"Congratulations on your honors, sir," Keana said.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. My apologies for the slight delay. I had some last minute instructions and recommendations from General Zaron that we had to go through together. I will do my speech now so we can be on our way as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir. You are on."

Darkthunder assumed his usual spot in front of everyone in the Bridge as he began his speech. "Crew of the Dak-Tarrakhan, this is your Commander speaking. Today, we begin a new tour of duty, along with many of our familiar companions, as well as new ones. We must give pause to honor those who left us unwillingly, for they gave their lives to honor this crew, this ship, and our Domains. For others, it will be in your hearts whether you wish to grant forgiveness."

Darkthunder gestured towards the groundthumper. "We are joined today by our new First Officer, First Lieutenant Namura. She left the Dak-Sstahil to be part of this ship's crew, so please give her your respects and friendship when you meet her on board."

"By the way," Maleek said as he turned to whisper to Grell. "I heard Kre'y'nak was extremely pissed after you ordered to have the Sstahil held under suspicions of treason. Good call there."

Grell shrugged as he ignored the sarcasm. "It's not like I don't make mistakes sometimes. Besides, the old spikefrill understood the situation completely after Zaron explained it to him. He was definitely jubilant to hear that Prion's killer was captured. Now shut up. The Commander is still talking."

"Oh, sure, you saved his ass. You're probably his best pal now."

Grell said nothing but smiled slyly.

Darkthunder continued his speech, unaware of the exchange between the two saurians. "- and so we will be heading for the Varratar nebula. After our last tour, General Zaron decided to give us an exploratory mission, so we will map the entire cluster of new stars for potential worlds that may hold resources that our civilization requires. It should be a peaceful mission, but that does not mean we should not be prepared."

The terrorclaw paused. "Before we depart... I have two more announcements to make. Both of a very personal nature. You have known me in the past as a rather aggressive officer, and for that, I want to apologize to every one of you. The past events on Sethria Six have made me reflect on my behavior, and I believe it is time to change. I still will not expect anything less from all of you other than your full potential, but I will try to be more understanding about it, and I hope you give me that chance.

"Second, you already know that Lieutenant Grell saved my life during our last mission. I will never have enough words to express my undying gratitude. His actions also made me understand how badly I have allowed an irrational sense of righteousness and my prejudices to cloud my judgment."

"Here it comes," Grell said softly as he turned his head slightly to look at Maleek while pulling the right sleeve of his shirt, revealing the silver bracelet underneath.

"No. Way!" The plateback's lips moved, even as no sound came from his mouth, as he gazed upon the glyphs on the bracelet. He looked at Darkthunder before looking back at Grell.

The armorback left his station and walked towards the terrorclaw, who continued talking, oblivious to what his subordinate was planning.

" - and so, I wish to announce with immense pleasure that Grell and I have -"

The speech was cut short as Grell bent and, without warning, planted his mouth on the terrorclaw's, forcing it to open as both saurians engaged in a passionate kiss. The gasps in the Bridge gave way to loud cacophony as the emergency communication channels began to flood the Bridge with applause, hooting, and more noises as saurians throughout the ship cheered them on.

Grell held onto the kiss for some time before he released the shocked terrorclaw, who coughed and gasped for air. "Yes, it is what it looks like, crew," the armorback said as he smiled. "The Commander and I not only resolved our differences, but we have also become a mated pair. General Zaron has already blessed our union and made it official. And tonight... we begin our lives together."

More cheers and hoots continued for several seconds, until Darkthunder turned rather annoyed to address the ship, his restored feathered crest upright.

"Aaaahhkkk!!! Everyone out of the emergency channels and back to your stations unless you'd want me to take disciplinary action against all of you!" He turned to look at Grell, still rather miffed, before he stormed towards the command chair. "And that goes for you as well, Lieutenant! Don't think for one second that just because we joined our lives that I will allow you to neglect your work! Now get this ship out of the docking bay and on its way!"

Grell grinned and walked back to his console. "Yes, sir!" he said as the Bridge filled with the soft hum of the impulse engines systems coming to full operational status, followed by the pneumatic hiss as the tethering cables disengaged. "Detaching and retracting cables. Starboard thrusters on; ship is now moving away from station_, five hundred paces per second..."_

*-*-*

Brakkus sat completely nude on the bed as he stared at the room's stark ceiling. He did not speak one word or even shifted his gaze as he listened to the sounds of the armorback packing his few belongings inside a cloth sack. Those would be gone as well, leaving only the sound of his breathing and the soft rumble of the tachyon engines to keep him company.

He tried to rationalize his feelings, even as he knew well the circumstances that had led to that very moment. There would be no one to blame, other than himself for being complacent and ignoring the signals. As painful as it was, though, the outcome was perhaps preferable than outright lying to his best friend.

The groundthumper also would have to endure the cold reality every day. One that, short of transferring to another vessel, he would not be able to walk far from.

The sounds of packing ended.

"Well," Grell said as he stood near the entrance, holding the sack on his right shoulder. "I guess I am ready."

"So... I guess this is the day, then," Brakkus said softly, not shifting his gaze from the ceiling.

The armorback said nothing for several seconds. "I would say it is, yes."

Brakkus was silent for an even longer time. "So I am truly alone now."

"Well... there's really no need for you to be. You are far more outgoing than I'll ever be. There are plenty of people in the ship for you to have a good conversation. Some surely will want to come to our... your room for a... deeper conversation."

"I don't want any of them." Lowering his neck, Brakkus turned to look at Grell. "I want you."

Grell put the sack by the doorway and walked slowly towards the groundthumper. "I asked you many times before. Remember?"

"Yes. But I never thought... you would actually leave."

The armorback snorted softly. "I'm sorry. But I found the love I always wanted. And we will be so happy together."

Staring into Grell's eyes, Brakkus steeled himself to ask a question he very well knew the answer to. "Does he love you?"

Grell nodded softly. "In more ways than I could describe it."

Several seconds passed before Brakkus responded. "That's nice. Good luck, then. To both of you." Grell turned to leave but stopped as Brakkus asked one last question. "Before you go... do you think we could have... one last time together?"

Grell turned and smiled. He walked back towards Brakkus and kissed his snout. "I'm sorry, big boy. Darkthunder and I already took our vows. We belong only to each other now."

The groundthumper waved for Grell to leave. "Then don't let me stop you. He's probably waiting. Give him some hard, deep loving, like you know how."

Grell stopped at the entrance and placed the sack on his right shoulder. "I will. And don't worry. I'm sure there are lots of big fish still in the river for you to catch."

"I'm a hungry, hungry herbivore," Brakkus said, almost inaudibly. "My wish is not for fish."

The emptiness in his soul opened just as the door to the room opened. He watched as Grell stepped outside the room. The tears started flowing almost as soon as the door closed. He felt truly alone now.

His mind had almost healed. The wound in his head was barely more than a small scar he would carry for the rest of his life. And yet, like the other times during his recovery, he wished he had just died the day he was shot.

Minutes passed. Brakkus had zoned out, his mind completely blank. He returned to reality to notice the message indicator flashing in his room communicator. Somebody had been waiting patiently for him to respond.

"Yes?" he said.

"Hello, Brakkus. I was hoping we could talk for a bit."

The groundthumper smiled. Talk about fish in the river, he thought.

*-*-*

Standing naked in front of his room's large window, the terrorclaw looked at the dark cloud of gas and dust some distance away. A bright, yellow star burned bright at its center, two seemingly frozen jets of gas spewing from it, one at each pole. Even if he could not see it, planets of different sizes and compositions most surely were forming inside. It was the birth of a new solar system.

In the background, light for a hundred or so other stars lighted up an even more massive cloud, light-years across. Darkthunder smiled at the symbolism. The navigator had not chosen this location at random. Just like a new system was born, so was their relationship.

He finally realized what Grell had meant about a better place for the two saurians to mate for their first time.

Darkthunder glanced slightly behind him, to the closed door to his room. Mere minutes now separated him from the final moment, when the two saurians would take the last step to join their two lives together. The saurian he was to join his life with would cross that door soon. It would be their sex - their mating- the final, glorious act that would solidify their partnership.

Even as the terrorclaw thought about how many times - and saurians - the armorback had engaged in sex, the notion did not bother him in the slightest. His would be the first time Grell would do so out of love rather than lust.

A soft beep signaled someone was at the door. His heart beat furiously, pumping blood that rushed to his ear holes.

"Come in," the terrorclaw said, holding his breath as he waited.

Five long seconds later, the door opened, and the armorback stepped in. He paused as his eyes certainly began to adjust to the darkness, with only the light from the glowing nebula illuminating the interior to the room.

"Damn," Grell said, fanning his face with a hand. "It sure is hot and humid in here!"

"What?" Darkthunder asked before he realized what had discomforted the armorback. He walked towards the thermostat, quickly adjusting the room's temperature. "Sorry about that. I like to keep my quarters like my home planet."

Grell let out a soft growl of pleasure as the temperature dropped quickly several degrees. "You terrorclaws sure are a peculiar bunch. As much as I love the warmth, I can't imagine myself living in weather like this every day."

"Not every day is like this. It gets cooler during the heavy rain season. It is one reason why we never wear clothes." He looked at the armorback, still clothed in his Patrol uniform. "And you could start by taking yours off as well. I would rather prefer we wore nothing while in here."

The armorback began to disrobe. "Oh, yes, sure. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Other than the climate, I hope you like your new quarters." Darkthunder gestured at the myriad plants around. "I hope you don't mind the vegetation. Plants help me relax."

"No objections from me, sir." The armorback chuckled and shook his head slightly just as he finished taking off the last piece of clothing. "Sorry. A little part of my mind still sees you as just my Commander. I imagine some of the crew will have a hard time thinking of us as a mated pair. I even heard rumors that some are betting our union may not last long."

A slight look of concerned etched on the terrorclaw's face. "And what do you think?"

Grell covered the distance between him and Darkthunder. The terrorclaw felt the thick, muscled arms wrap around him in a gentle but strong, warm embrace. Grell pressed the hard tip of his snout onto the terrorclaw's own, and nuzzled him for a little while before resting his head on top of the feathered crest.

"Let them talk all they want," Grell said. "They are just jealous because I was the one who nabbed such a lovely prey. And Maia sure knows that there is nothing in the galaxy that will make this hunter abandon his quarry."

Darkthunder smiled and turned his snout to look down and way as his crest feathers flattened slightly. His eyes drifted to Grell's crotch. Darkthunder could not keep from letting out a soft whimper. He knew the navigator had a massive set of genitals, having seen Grell naked several times before. Darkthunder never had the slightest thought that such thick member would go up his tailhole for real. Grell held the terrorclaw's muzzle in his hands. Darkthunder trembled, anxiety mixed with fear.

"It won't go in without hurting," Grell said, reading Darkthunder's face with intense clarity. "At least the first few times."

"When I lived with my pack, sometimes I thought that one day I would take a mate. Never did I imagine I would be the one who would be taken." He paused, still slightly concerned. "Will you take me the way you used to mate Brakkus?"

Darkthunder stared into the armorback's eyes; the larger saurian looked back at him reassuringly. Grell nuzzled and kissed the terrorclaw's snout. "Of course not. Well, not unless your body and mind ever want it that way. If there is something I won't do, is hurt you."

The terrorclaw yelped with surprise as he suddenly found himself off the floor and cradled in the massive arms of his armorback lover. Growling with pleasure, he wrapped his arms around the thick neck and rested his head on the massive chest and listened to his lover breathe as Grell carried him gently towards the room's large window. The soft glow of the newborn stars bathed their bodies with their calm light as both took in the wondrous sight.

A few more minutes passed before Grell spoke again. "As the stars are born to provide warmth and life to those who may reside under their light, so does my heart live, under the warmth and light that your love provides."

Closing his eyes tightly, Darkthunder buried face onto the massive chest, unable to hold onto some tears.

"Darkie... is something wrong?"

"No," Darkthunder said very softly. "I was just thinking. You were right, Grell."

"About what?"

Darkthunder gestured at the sight outside their ship. "This... is a much better place for our love."

Neither archosaur exchanged a single word for a while, the terrorclaw still in Grell's arms. They remained in their gentle embrace for some time, relishing each other's warmth as they stared silently into the seemingly frozen view of the nebula.

Turning away from the window, the armorback gently lowered Darkthunder back onto the floor. As they looked into each other's eyes, their mouths opened; without a single word, their muzzles joined in a deep kiss as they held onto each other in a tight embrace. Darkthunder closed his eyes as his tongue searched his lover's, and wrapped around it. He tasted the armorback's breath for the best part of a minute.

He felt Grell's groin pressing against his own. Darkthunder felt his cock rise, not from its own erection, but from Grell's own. The armorback's member hardened, first rubbing against the terrorclaw's balls before it slowly lifted Darkthunder's own cock, arousing the terrorclaw even more.

Grell broke their embrace, and gently guided the terrorclaw to rest with his stomach on the floor. Darkthunder growled softly, feeling anxious as the armorback laid on top of him. He whimpered softly as Grell nuzzled his nape as he gently rubbed Darkthunder's sides and arms.

The passion soon turned too much for Grell, and he could not hold anymore. He stroked his hard, dripping maleness. "I want to be inside you," he whispered gently.

Darkthunder breathed deep, and nodded. "My body is yours to mate, my love."

Grell pressed the tip of his cock against the terrorclaw's tailhole, teasing the entrance. A sudden pang of fear raced through Darkthunder's body, as memories of the assault began to resurface in his mind. He twitched and growled.

"Grell... oh, Maia... please, don't hurt me."

The armorback stopped to nuzzle his partner, still keeping the tip of his cock right at the hunter's tailhole. "Relax. You are safe in my arms. There will be no hurting while I am around."

The carnivore gasped, and began to relax. His resistance began to fade again.

Suddenly, the fat cockhead began to invade the much smaller tailhole. Gasping with shock, Darkthunder tensed as he felt his flesh open further than it ever had, and that was only to let out his bodily wastes. Tears rolled down his snout. He moaned and whimpered as he tried to accommodate the thick rod that had now begun to split his innards wide open.

"Aaaah... aaahh!!! Aaayyhhhkkk!" Darkthunder went rigid at the same time he let out a loud scream that bounced around the room.

"Relax..." Grell said softly even as he grunted from his efforts. "Don't fight it. Just let me... take you gently."

"Ahhh! Maaaiiiaaaa!!!" The terrorclaw gritted his now fully-grown teeth. "By the First Egg... Grrreelll!!! Aah-ahh-aaaaahhhrrr!"

The armorback stopped pushing in, and licked the terrorclaw's snout. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you like that. Stay calm while I pull it out -"

"No..." Darkthunder panted, eyes closed tightly while he forced a smile. "I would not be the ship Commander... if I couldn't take in some pain. I... I can take it... just... go slower... please."

"Are you sure I am not hurting you?" Grell wiped a tear off Darkthunder's face.

"No... no. Just... the feeling of you inside me. I'm sorry... I don't think I'll be able to take all of you..."

"Nothing wrong with that. Someday... you will. Now let me love you." Grell grunted as he pushed his length further inside. The terrorclaw moaned as his resistance finally subsided, and the immense girth and length easily pushed deeper inside. Grell grunted, rumbling with pleasure at the hot flesh pressing tightly against his member.

Withdrawing his member slightly, Grell began to push it back and forth slowly. Darkthunder gasped, enjoying the sensation of the massive meat moving inside him, along with the pain of his tailhole stretched to limits he never expected. The initial pain began to subside, slowly replaced by growing pleasure. His body rocked with each gentle push, but held into position by two strong, thick arms. Darkthunder's own erect member swayed and bounced against his loins and stomach.

Soon the air filled with the scents of their sweat and their mating, the growls of the terrorclaw having his tailhole drilled, and the grunts of the armorback pushing his hard meat inside the tight opening. Pain and pleasure mixed in with the strange, arousing feeling of willingly allowing another male to penetrate him. Darkthunder hissed with delight, his mind overflowing with the sensations as the powerful and gentle armorback took control of his body.

They said nothing, exchanged no words other than noises as their mating continued, slow and tenderly, punctuated only by an occasional hard push of Grell's member deep inside the terrorclaw's body. Grell tensed; soon after, he roared loudly as he climaxed. The terrorclaw growled with pleasure as the armorback's hot seed shot furiously inside him.

Darkthunder whimpered with slight regret that he still was nowhere close to a climax. Grell must have sensed it as well, for one of his hands grabbed the hard terrorclaw cock and began to work it. Slowly at first, then progressively harder and faster.

Darkthunder spurted hard and long, screaming as his body trembled, emptying his seed onto the floor. His orgasm subsided but did not disappear completely; he rode the wave of pleasure as his body relaxed, almost unable to do anything but relish the sensation of Grell's thick cock still filling his guts, massaging the pleasurable spots inside.

Their bodies remained joined even after both had climaxed. Darkthunder felt Grell becoming soft still inside him, cum slowly oozing out of his tailhole, even as the tightness of the terrorclaw's tailhole kept the armorback from sliding out easily.

"I wish... I could be inside you forever," the armorback said.

"Then... don't take it out yet... ride me again, Grell. Make me your bitch."

Grell frowned slightly and pressed a finger to the terrorclaw's snout. "Don't talk like that."

"The way I screamed, they probably heard us outside. It probably won't take much for them to imagine I'm the bitch in this relationship. I wonder if some will wonder how I can lead them when I am submissive in bed."

The armorback grunted. "Stop thinking like that. You are not a cheap whore, used like a mere fuck toy. It doesn't matter how I may mate you. I will always take your body for love, not to abuse you."

Grell rumbled with pleasure as Darkthunder nibbled his chin with just the tip of his sharp teeth. "My tailhole would beg to differ a bit."

"Maybe it needs more armorback cock to learn its lessons." Grell smiled and thrust twice, making the terrorclaw squeal and trill with delight. "As for the crew, let them think whatever the hell they want. I'm sure you won't hesitate to bite their ass like always. Besides, aren't the females of your race just as deadly hunters as the males?'

"You got a point there." Darkthunder trilled again with pleasure. Even half-erect, the armorback filled his innards sending ripples of pleasure. He rested his head on the floor as the herbivore withdrew completely, sucking some cum out of the tailhole with it.

The armorback laid down on his side as he dismounted, drawing Darkthunder next to him. He gently ran a hand over the terrorclaw's skin in a long, extended caress.

"Are you happy?" Grell asked after a couple minutes.

"I could not ask for a better moment and place," Darkthunder said as he looked outside the window and towards the glowing nebula. "What happens now, Grell?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've thought about us, and this ship. Now that we are a mated pair, how can I remain impartial when we are on duty?"

Grell kissed the dark snout. "The same way you've always done. Don't think of me as anything but a soldier like those under your command, even if it means being abusive. Bust my ass in front of everyone whenever you feel I made a big mistake."

Darkthunder smiled and tightened his hug. "As long as you don't bust my real ass when we come back to our room."

Grell laughed. "You say that as if it were a horrible thing."

Sighing with happiness, Darkthunder ran a claw around his partner's massive chest, as if tracing the outlines. He stopped and began to play with one of the golden rings that pierced one of Grell's large nipples.

"A sexually submissive starship commander. Now that's something my pack leaders never prepared me for."

The armorback grabbed one of Darkthunder's feet, and began to toy gently with the sharp claws and toes. "Then walk your own path, my lovely predator. Run towards your future and hunt your prey. I may not be fast enough to catch up with you, but I will be behind you all the way." He nuzzled the terrorclaw's snout. "Now, and forever."

Darkthunder purred with pleasure as Grell nuzzled him. His purring turned into squeals of pleasure as Grell groped his cock and balls. He blushed slightly as his member soon turned hard again with the attention.

"It seems like my little terrorclaw is eager for more. Ready for a second round?"

The terrorclaw smiled as he turned to lie on his stomach and lifted his rump to expose his awaiting tailhole. "As many as you can give, my big archosaur. You already know what goes in there."

Grell roared his eagerness and was about to mount the terrorclaw again when Darkthunder stopped him. "What's wrong?"

Darkthunder remained still for several seconds before he looked back at Grell. "Nothing. I just thought I had heard something."

Opening his jaws, he placed his mouth against that of his lover, and both joined in a passionate, deep kiss. They kept their mouths together even as Grell moved into position behind the terrorclaw, working his hard member into penetrating again the tight tailhole.

Breaking the kiss, Darkthunder roared with delightful pain as his tailhole opened wide again, his innards filled again as the armorback's thick cock penetrated him once more. He snarled as Grell bit his nape, his body rocking with each powerful thrust that pushed the other male's meat further in.

Once again, the air inside the room filled with the scent of their sweat and their sex, their loud growls and breathing from their heavy, intense lovemaking as the two saurians engaged in hot, passionate carnal pleasure under the light of newborn stars.

*-*-*

Keana picked up her pace as she made her way down the hallways. Her next shift would start just a few hours away. She was overdue for some sleep, but her conversation with the two engine room mechanics had certainly taken a very lively and interesting twist; challenging their perceptions with her gaming skills was something she definitely looked forward to do again.

She would certainly not get as much sleep as she would like, if anything at all. With the Tarrakhan stopped nearly one light-year from the nearest star, though, the next shift would definitely be far more peaceful. Even more so, now that the Commander and Grell were taking a short vacation, locked inside their quarters.

Like many others in the ship, she still had some difficulty picturing those two saurians as close friends - that they had become life partners just seemed implausible. Then again, the universe certainly was big enough to hold surprises. Arokh's betrayal had certainly been an appalling revelation.

The thumbspike realized that the path towards her cabin would take her right by Darkthunder's quarters. Right then, the feelings of disappointment surged back to the front of her mind. Up until the beginning of the current tour, she held small hopes that perhaps the terrorclaw had it in his mind to choose a girl whenever he decided to settle in with a partner. Perhaps, with some luck, she would have been the chosen one. To say her hopes had been shattered would be an understatement - her hope had simply gone supernova.

In a way, it seemed like a waste of a good male. She felt somewhat disappointed how everything had turned out. Their commander was also a tailraiser. Not that she had anything against same-sex pairings; the Domains certainly needed all the love and happiness its subjects could find. Someone like Darkthunder, however, certainly needed to pass his genes to a new generation. Not that she would be able to do that, as the Commander and she were from different species.

Keana had just turned around the corner, and into the short hallway in front of the Commander's room, and suddenly bumped against a plateback and a spikefrill.

The hallway was packed.

"The hell!" she said in surprise at finding her path completely blocked. "What is going on here?"

"We are listening in!" the spikefrill whispered as he motioned for Keana to keep her voice down.

"Listening? For what?"

A loud grunt made its way through the wall. Almost immediately, a terrorclaw's muffled scream burst through as well, followed by some whimpers.

"Oh, for Maia's sake!" Keana said in disgust. "Can't you perverts give them some privacy?"

"Quiet!" a female domehead said, slightly annoyed. "They have their privacy. They don't know we are here! After how much Darkthunder busted our asses, it is good to hear that someone is busting his ass for a change. And I mean that literally!"

Another scream came through, much louder this time, followed by several unintelligible words.

"Did he just say something in his terrorclaw language?" the domehead said.

A roundcrest nodded enthusiastically. "He sure did! That one must have hurt!"

"That I know from experience!" a young snoutcrest said as his crest took a deep reddish shade. "Grell must have shoved it all the way in!"

"Unbelievable. Who would have thought our commanding officer would be the one on the receiving end."

"You have to admit," a spikefrill said. "He would make a rather gorgeous bitch."

Keana snorted, and forced her way to the middle of the crowd. Those that refused to move did so immediately after she jabbed their waists with her thumb spikes. "All right, that's enough, you sick perverts! Everyone get out of here or I will have security haul all of you away!"

"Come on, don't ruin our fun!" one of the saurians grumbled.

"Kakkuttek!" the thumbspike said angrily into her wrist communicator. "Send two sentries to the Commander's quarters. We have a minor situation here."

There was no response.

"Kakkuttek, do you copy?"

Again, silence.

"Oohhh!! Why do I always have to deal with stupid, worthless males!" She ignored the curses from the crowd, who began dispersing as she switched the frequency to call other Security personnel.

The nerve of these people!, she thought, among other unsavory things. She resented the lack of respect others seemly had toward their fellow saurians. The very same freedoms that made the Archosaur Domains thrive also brought the worst in some saurians.

The thumbspike remained in the hallway, walking away only after sentries were posted on each end of the hallway leading to the Commander's room. The wait, however, meant she was the sole listener to the armorback's loud grunts and the squeals of pain and pleasure from his now apparent submissive partner.

The words spoken several days ago by the armorback echoed in her skull. Snorting with disgust, she tried furiously to banish the visions of Grell's thick cock pounding the terrorclaw's lithe body. For sure, she definitely would not be able to see Darkthunder under the same light.

Whatever. The Commander had apparently found happiness. That was the only thing that definitely mattered.

Her thoughts shifted to another saurian. She wondered how Brakkus had taken to the news he had lost his fuck buddy to the ship's Commander. It was apparently bad enough to have lost his place in the Bridge; he had been feeling rather dejected even before Grell left him for the terrorclaw. She could not imagine how he was doing now.

Keana noticed several saurians rushing down the adjacent hallways. She even recognized some of those who had been listening to Grell and Darkthunder as they mated.

Curious, she decided to follow, until she noticed that several other saurians had gathered in front of yet another room, once again listening to some loud grunts of saurians having sex.

"Oh, by the First Egg!" Keana shouted, even more disgusted. "What the fuck is wrong with you people! You losers can't get laid yourselves, and you have to get your jollies listening to others doing it?!"

"Someone is mating Brakkus!" a spikefrill said. Keana could not tell whether he was surprised, or mildly annoyed. "We thought this would finally end when Grell moved out!"

From inside the room, the groundthumper's rhythmic grunts and screams mingled with other equally loud growls from another male. These continued for the better part of a minute before they stopped, followed soon after with an even louder bray as the groundthumper apparently climaxed. A loud, guttural growl mingled with the sounds from the groundthumper as the second male joined his partner in a loud orgasm.

"Was that... a longjaw!?" the spikefrill said.

Keana covered her eyes with one hand, shaking her head as she walked away from the dumbfounded crowd.

*-*-*

Darkthunder woke up, startled, hearing the rumbling of possible prey. It took him two seconds to realize he was listening to Grell, snoring blissfully an arm length away to his right.

The terrorclaw smiled. Opening his nostrils wide, he took in the strong scents in the room. The remains of his sweat and that of his companion still clung to his body, as well as the seminal fluids from their hot and heavy mating. He growled with happiness, even as he winced as the slight pangs of pain in his rump reminded him of what had transpired hours before. The armorback had tried to "make up for lost time", pushing that thick male rod as much as possible inside the terrorclaw's tight rump. It would take time, but Darkthunder hoped he would be able to take all of his partner's love.

Pushing away the blanket covering his nude body, he made his way slowly towards the large window. Only the light from several newborn stars illuminated the room and bathed his dark skin with their soft, calm light. There was no end to the sights in the galaxy that made his soul warble with joy. It seemed like a waste that in such a vast universe, he was confined to live in just one galaxy, and even that was limited to only a section of it.

Darkthunder glanced towards his sleeping companion. He made his way back to the cushions on the floor that made up his bed. Lying down, he snuggled against Grell, still in the throes of blissful, deep sleep. The terrorclaw closed his eyes and imagined the looks of his former pack mates if they were to know he was now mated to an herbivore, and a well-endowed male to boot.

He enjoyed that moment of silent, blissful peace. His life would have to resume soon; the duties of the Archosaur Patrol could be paused only for so long. There would be more miscreants to hunt. There would be regions where laws needed to be enforced. The galaxy beckoned, and his heart and mind still raced eagerly towards the worlds that had always called loudly to him. It was a call that he would not ignore.

Darkthunder hoped that the galaxy would not mind if he now directed most of his love and attention to a different body, now shining bright and hot inside his heart.

E N D

©Kaa Bakensobek.