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Warning: This story contains scenes of extreme violence. Reader discretion is advised.

The Jaws of the Wolf

By

Gregg Abbott

Ver. 4.35

Copyright © 1996, 2016, by Gregg Abbott. This file is for the private use of the Internet patron and cannot be modified or redistributed without written permission from the author.

I

The engine groaned and shuddered, before dying in a grinding wail. "No!" I screamed as I gave the key another turn. The engine strained again, then coughed. Another turn, resulted in naught but a sick buzz. "Could you have died in some place other than the fucking ghetto!" I screamed. It was obvious that this car was dead, having succumbed to the ravages of age and past abuse. From the car's stereo, a song about a "piece of shit car," played from a worn cassette tape, its expletives obfuscated by the honking of various automotive horns. I had recorded the song from the Doctor Demento radio show, nearly two years ago, and now I felt that this tiresome song, somehow, broke my car. A curl of smoke rose from under the vehicle's hood, where it slowly spun in a slow dance, before a breeze sent it dispersing over the street. I turned the key to the off position, which cut off the stereo, then pulled it from the ignition. The ignition key jingled against the other four keys on the key ring, as I shoved them into my pocket.

Dusk shrouded the dingy street in shadow. A smattering of trash spun about, as it was carried along a nearby sidewalk, in an eddy of wind. The buildings were dirty and decrepit, mostly shops and warehouses. Across the street, an alleyway disappeared into a black gloomy void. On the near side of the alley, was a boarded up liquor store, a possible victim of the riots several years before. A meat market was across the alley from the liquor store though it appeared to have been closed down for some time. Further, down the street, was a shady looking service garage, which might have been a chop shop, where stolen automobiles could be dismantled for parts. Graffiti blighted the facades, advertising the local gang presence in large wide, but illegible, spray-painted scribbles.

A black man dressed in a filthy, tattered, heavy coat, and pants which had more holes than pants, slowly staggered down the street. He stopped at a rubbish bin, near a bus bench, and began rummaging for aluminum cans. Three youths, in dark baggy clothing, rushed down the street, and as they passed the transient, one of them shoved him, hard, against the wall, then continued on. The transient staggered, before yelling, in a badly slurred voice, "Fuck you, assholes!" whilst flipping them his middle finger.

This was South Central Los Angeles, possibly Watts, though I was a bit unsure since I was lost. I had worked nearly three hours of overtime, at my job as a paper pusher at a freight transportation firm, in North Hollywood. My drive home was hampered by severe traffic, so I took a detour. Road construction further diverted me, deeper into the run-down neighborhoods. Making matters worse, my car was old, and was beginning to fall apart. I had saved up enough money for the down payment for a new vehicle, but I had been putting this off so I could get as much mileage from this piece of mobile detritus as I could. In hindsight, this was a bad move. Now I had to find a way to get home alive, without being mugged, or worse.

I had never considered myself racist, however I avoided the more impoverished high crime areas like the plague. My family was upper-middle class, and despite what I saw as a dead end office job, I was still upper-middle class as far as the demographics were concerned. I wasn't a college graduate, unless one countered Junior college. My ultimate plans was to, eventually, go to a university so I could move on to bigger and better things.

Despite having grown up near the beach, I had never surfed, and rarely ever swam in the ocean. I was a geek, if any label was put on me. Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Stargate SG-1, were among my favorite television shows. My apartment was a shrine to science fiction, with bookcases full of novels, as well as VHS tapes, most of which I had recorded from the TV. I was still debating whether to buy a DVD player, as I had been putting this off until more titles came out in that format.

The driver-side door handle was loose, and rattled as I jiggled it. There was a trick to opening it, but the exact alignment seemed to vary with each attempt, for no apparent reason. It finally caught, and the door opened with a loud scraping creak. I slowly exited the vehicle, being mindful of my surroundings. The street was deserted, save for the transient who continued to mutter to himself, as he wandered away. My car was a 1983 Honda Civic, abused overused, repainted, tortured, and possibly blown up, but it had served me faithfully and relatively trouble-free for eight years. It was dark gray with several hand-sized areas of bare rust, and was dotted with numerous dents. The hood was bent upward in the middle, leaving several gaps large enough to insert a hand, which resulted in my having to check for cats before starting my car. The windshield, on the passenger's side, had a large crack snaking across it. Almost all the car's damage bad been present when I had bought it for $400. This had turned out to be quite a deal, for the car required little servicing, and ran reliably, until tonight. As I stepped back, and inspected my car, I wondered if this eyesore was even worth repairing.

Police sirens wailed in the distance, giving me the distinct feeling that I was in a place I didn't belong. Looking down, I regarded my teal blue polo shirt, and my dark gray slacks, which made me stand out, like a store employee. My heart pounded, as I fixed my gaze on every shadow, expecting to be ambushed at any moment, by drug dealers, skanky prostitutes, and so-called "gangstas." Fortunately, the street remained deserted. The transient had wandered off looking for more cans, and the gang of youths were nowhere to be seen. A streetlight crackled and flickered, uncertainly, illuminating the dingy alley. On the graffiti-covered stucco wall of the liquor store, nearly fifty feet down the alley, was the familiar blue handset logo of a pay phone. That's my ticket, provided it still worked, I thought as I hurried across the street. As I ran, I fumbled with my wallet, to retrieve the slip of paper which had the phone number for the AAA Auto Club, so I could have my car towed, as well as get a ride out of this nightmare. My license with my name, Kenneth Rudich flashed by as I looked in the plastic card-holder for the folded piece of paper.

"Your wallet or your life, whitey!" shouted a voice behind me. I turned and saw a pair of young African American men in their late teens or early twenties. The youth nearest to me was wearing an unbuttoned baggy leather jacket, with a gray T-shirt, underneath. Light glinted off the stock of a handgun, which protruded from a pocket on his jacket. The other man, who was wearing an old, tattered, black Raiders T-shirt, with its helmet and crossed cutlass logo, brandished a large pistol.

The youth, who was wearing the jacket, approached me, while resting his hand on the stock of his weapon. "We wouldn't mind the keys to your ride as well." He fingered his gun as he stopped ten feet in front of me. "Toss 'em over."

I tried to think of what to say, only managing to utter, "My car is dead."

"We don't fucking care," said the man with the drawn weapon. "Just toss your fuckin' wallet and keys to my friend here, and we all can get going our merry ways."

There wasn't much money in my wallet, and I knew I could cancel my credit and ATM cards once I got home, but it was the annoyance factor of having to make a multitude of phone calls to replace my cards, and drivers license. As for my car, I was probably going to have to junk it, anyways. I might have even given it to these men, had the asked nicely.

While holding my wallet in my left hand, I slowly reached into my front right pocket, and grasped my key ring, which also included the keys to my apartment. I was resigned to losing my wallet, as well as the wreck of my car, but now the prospect of having my apartment get burglarized, if I didn't race home fast enough to change my locks, became foremost in my mind. As I slowly drew the keys from my pocket, the man who had his gun trained on me, shouted, "No sudden moves! Nice and slow!" The other man grasped the stock of his weapon, but didn't draw it. Once the keys were clear of my pocket, I gently tossed them toward the men, where it clattered to the pavement, near the foot of the man who was wearing the jacket. Now. I had to mentally prepare myself to part with my wallet. The youths kept their distance, which relieved me somewhat, since I did not want to end up getting roughed up, or beaten.

This indignity did not sit well with me. I wished I could have pulled a communicator, or touched a comm badge and shouted "Emergency Energize" and left the two criminals staring blankly at the side of the liquor store, like something out of Star Trek. Unfortunately, reality took precedence. I had little choice in this matter. Either I could resist, or mouth-off, and die as bullets ripped through my face and digestive tract, or comply, and possibly still die in a hail of gunfire. It was not too uncommon for a mugger to kill a cooperating victim to eliminate witnesses, especially in the age of three-strikes laws. Of course, had they intended to kill me, why were they still holding me at gunpoint? They could just as easily killed me immediately, then looted my corpse like something out of a role playing game.

A strange rising hum, with a hint of a whine, sounding like a mass of cicadas given a lethal dose of hallucinogens, filled the alleyway. Startled, I glanced around, and behind, hoping that the strange noise was that of an approaching delivery truck, which would have sent the muggers scurrying, despite the fact that no engine I had ever heard, made such a sound. Pale light bathed the alley, causing me to turn back, hoping to see a police cruiser spotlighting the two men. A strange cyan glow enveloped the nearest mugger, extending several feet around him, and above his head. A blaze of light formed about mid-height on the cylindrical glow, then split, with one band moving up toward his head, while the other swept down toward his feet. The whining hum rose in pitch, and volume, as the man became wavy and translucent. Strange blobs of luminous energy flowed over his body, and in the empty space within the glow. The man screamed, his voice reverberating oddly, sounding almost hollow. "What the fuck!" He lunged at me, but struck the inside of the light field, which flashed and rippled, as he fell back onto his posterior. He cried out again, as his ghostly form struggled to its feet while his voice grew less distinct. "What the fuck! Help!" As the bands reached the extent of the glowing cylinder, the mugger became indistinct, then appeared to break up, into the swirl of sparkling motes, within the field. The alleyway was bathed in near daylight, as the light show dazzled me, forcing me to shield my eyes from the luminous onslaught. The bands reversed direction, and converged, as the noise fell in pitch and volume. Oddly, the mugger could still be heard carrying on, though his voice was a faint, hollow echo. "Oh my god, what the fuck! They're, they're...." The bands converged, then faded, leaving the hazy cylindrical glow behind. The noise waned, as the light dissipated, plunging the alley back into darkness.

With my vision still spotty from that twelve-second light show, I began to worry that my fantasy life was beginning to intrude on my perception of reality. I had seen with my own eyes, someone beamed away, like something out of Star Trek. Before I could explore this further in my mind, the man, who was brandishing the gun, regained his composure. He leveled the weapon at me again. "What the fuck did you do to him! You fucking alien Star Trek Mutha fucka! You is dead! Fucking dead meat, whitey Martian fuck!"

Fantasy life, or no, the truth was apparent. There was only one assailant now, a rather agitated paranoid assailant. Whether I had seen a person actually get transported away, or whether this was a figment of my fantasy life, the reality was clear. There was indeed only a single assailant standing in front of me. His face was screwed up in a fit of rage. All I could think to do, was try to play dumb. "Him? There's no one else here."

The thug appeared momentary confused, staring blankly at me, with his gun slowly drooping. After a moment, he abruptly brought his other hand to steady his aim. "Martian fuck, you have five seconds to bring my bro back!" the man screamed. "Now! Now goddammit!"

II

The air took on a slight milky green tinge, as the same strange hum filled my ears. A bright ring of light formed around me at about chest high, split, and began to diverge. Startled, the gang member jumped back and fired. The gunshots sounded oddly distorted as the bullets flashed against the energy field, before ricocheting away. A second, dimmer, ring formed, and split, then a third formed. Everything got weird, and murky, as waves of light spread around me, and swarms of sparks danced about, like bubbles swarming around a scuba diver. The dingy alley, and the mugger, began to dissolve into the haze. I dropped my wallet, extended both arms, and raised my middle fingers in a gesture of defiance, as everything melted into the energy field. There was no sensation of being taken apart molecule by molecule, instead, there was a slight tingle and a sensation of moving downwards, as gravity seemed to ebb. The floor became frictionless, as if I was standing on a thin cushion of air, so I held still to keep from slipping. The blazing rings began to converge, and the sensation changed to an upward motion. An indistinct room sparkled and wavered into view. The bands converged then vanished. As the energy field dissipated, and the hum faded, I felt my sneakers settle on hard floor. The first thing I noticed, was that the air was cool and smelled like the inside of a dog kennel.

I was standing in an alcove, on a ten-foot wide, glossy black disk, which was raised several inches from the floor. The bare metal walls of the alcove were stained and pitted, and were streaked with rust. Ahead, stood a large control console, with two seats on the far side, which faced the alcove. Beyond the console, was a large open doorway, with a corridor beyond. To my left was another open door, which lead into a cargo hold, filled with large crates, and canisters. To my right was a makeshift cage made from metal rods welded to the floor and ceiling, with a latched gate providing access. Like the alcove, the walls, as well as the floor, were also bare metal, heavily pitted, and stained. The ceiling was crisscrossed with exposed conduits, with small light panels providing illumination. There was only one theme here, functionality with little in the way of aesthetics.

Standing at the console were three creatures who looked like bipedal anthropomorphic wolves, though they lacked tails. Their faces were lupine muzzles with whiskers, brown eyes with no white visible, and large pointed ears. They spoke to one another in a harsh, guttural, language which sounded like dogs trying to speak Klingon, as they argued. Their jaws were as large as those of an adult rottweiler, and their prominent canine teeth gleamed, as they spoke. Their bodies were proportioned somewhat human-like, though the arms were slightly longer. Their hands were large, furred, with five digits tipped with sturdy claws. Their bodies were covered in thick, but coarse fur, which was primarily a mottled wolf-gray, with touches of white, brown, and black. Along, their arms, the fur was long, and hung down, like thick arm-manes. Jewelry and medals hung from chains, which were clipped to the strands of fur, under their arms, probably denoting rank, or social status. One of the creatures was nearly seven feet tall, and wore a pair of knee-length, padded leather shorts, and a similarly padded vest with numerous pockets. The other two were shorter, but still a fair bit taller than me, and wore nothing, revealing their penile sheaths, and scrotums. The taller, clothed, wolf stepped behind the console, then turned to talk to the other two creatures. One of the others was slumped against the wall next to the console, with the third one tending to a small bloody wound on its shoulder. The cause of the wound, the young man from the alleyway, lie in a heap on the grimy floor, groaning in agony. He rolled onto his back, revealing a hole, nearly two inches across, burned into this jacket, just under the collar. He screamed, contorted, than muttered a stream of expletives.

The wolf-alien at the console became agitated, first barking at the one tending to the injured individual, then it shouted something at the console. "TahVush Kha Tu Chuthnu!" The wolf-creature fidgeted a bit, then shouted more urgently, "TahVush Kha Tu Chuthnu!" A strange voice issued from a speaker on the console, barking some meaningless gibberish. The creature turned to the other wolf, who was still tending its friend, and barked some orders.

The naked, uninjured, wolf-creature grabbed a long pole, tipped with a short hooked blade, from a wall rack, next to the console. It turned to the injured one, and spoke. The injured alien, slowly and unsteadily, staggered through the door, into the adjoining passage. The alien with the weapon turned to speak to the tall one at the console.

This entire scene was surreal, straight out of a dream, or worse, a nightmare. I stood, half dazed, on the alien transporter pad, wondering if I was, in fact, dead, or dying on the street. This had to be a figment of my oxygen-starved, or bullet-addled brain, because nothing was making sense. I was watching wolf-aliens, who seemed so perfectly anatomically canine, that they even imparted the proper dog scent to the air. They used a transporter type device to bring me aboard, which was a piece of technology I had always hoped to one day see. However, something felt wrong. The ship seemed old and rusty, with a makeshift holding pen in the aliens' transporter room. Worse, the aliens seemed rather indifferent towards their human guests, or captives, as they ignored the man who continued to scream and writhe on the floor.

The creature approached me, brandishing the wicked military scythe with both hands, before thrusting the weapon at me. I held my hands out, palms up, and tried to speak, but only stuttered. "I, I." Starting over, I coughed and cleared my throat. The alien swung its weapon at me. I jumped aside, then backed against the wall of the alcove. I tried to reason with the creature. "My name is Ken Rudich. I--." The creature swing the blade again, grazing my shirt, as I dodged, then I backed out of the alcove. "Stop that! I come in peace!"

The creature didn't speak, but glared at me, before brandishing the hooked spear again, with both hands. My back was pressed against the bars of the makeshift cage, while the creature stood in front of the alcove, thrusting its weapon at me.

"Hey, you brought me here. What gives. I mean you no harm." I raised my hands to show the creature that I was unarmed. The wolf-alien slashed the weapon at me, again, tearing my shirt and painfully nicking my left side. I yelped as I brought my arms down to assume a more defensive stance, as I backed away from the alien, along the side of the cage. "Stop that! Us humans are fragile." I felt my side where I had been slashed, and fingered a deep wet scratch. The wolf-alien circled around me to the gate of the cage, and unfastened a latch. The hinge creaked as the alien pulled the gate open.

It was obvious that the lupine alien intended to force me inside the cage. I glanced into the narrow space behind the bars, and noticed a skinny Asian man, huddling in the far corner, attempting to make himself small. Before I could consider my fate, further, the alien grabbed its weapon in both hands, again, and circled back around, before thrusting and slashing at me. The message was unmistakable, enter the cage, or die. Not wanting to be split open like a cantaloupe, I obliged, as I stepped backwards through the opening, and watched as the alien closed the gate, with a loud clang, then latched it, with a click. As the creature walked, toward the console, I inspected the latch, and saw that there was no obvious lock. Though working the latch would be easy, escape would be nearly impossible, with those creatures around.

The tall alien took its seat at the console and began to work the controls. A low thrum came from the floor, increasing till I could feel a slight vibration, under my feet. The transporter field formed and the rings diverged, accompanied by the familiar rising hum. A faint agonized howl sounded, but it was oddly distorted. My wallet, which was still lying on the pad, dissolved as the rings reached the extent of the chamber. As the rings converged, the scream sounded more distinct. A smoky shimmer formed, and a slumped human figure began to form on the pad, surrounded by leaf litter, and grass, some of which flickered with flame. The figure threw its head up and screamed again, then fell onto its back, as it continued to materialize. The rings met and the fields dissipated, along with the hum and the vibration of the deck. The wolf-scent was obliterated by the smell of a brush fire, and the sickly stench of burning flesh. A middle aged man, wearing a badly burned uniform, and a fireman's helmet, was thrashing about in the alcove, screaming in agony, in a nest of smoldering vegetation.

The alien, at the console, barked something into the communicator panel, then turned and spoke to the other alien, who took a seat at the console, next to him. A low drone sounded from the floor, and slowly rose in volume and pitch. The room, abruptly, lurched, throwing me against the bars of the cage. As I grabbed onto the side of the cage, the floor began to shudder, and the walls creaked. Though I had suspected that I was on a spaceship, now I had no doubt. The shaking continued to intensify, as the engine grew louder. I continued to grip the bars, as I looked back. The Asian man had wedged himself in the far corner, with a look of pure terror on his face. A wailing shriek redirected my attention. The severely injured man, on the transporter pad, contorted with agony, before rolling onto his stomach, then he attempted to prop himself onto his knees and elbows. The floor bucked hard, sending him tumbling out of the alcove, screaming and flailing, as he landed next to the gang member. The shuddering continued for the next several minutes, as I maintained my grip the bars of the cage with both hands. With a final, hard, lurch, the engine noise died to a low, subdued thrum.

_ Why did these aliens bring us aboard, and where are they taking us?_ This question was definitely foremost on my mind. Having seen these aliens' utter indifference to their human guests, or were we prey, fueled my ever increasing sense of dread. They had, pretty much, ignored the injured mugger, and paid no heed, as a severely burned man, slid around on the deck, when they fired their main engines. One of the aliens had slashed me with a scimitar on a stick, causing me to worry about alien tetanus. This was not the gleaming starship I had hoped to, one day visit, nor the sophisticated aliens I hoped to meet, within my lifetime. These creatures were brutes, traveling the galaxy in a rusty scow. These alien wolf-monsters seemed totally uninterested in establishing any kind of communications, despite the fact they were purposely collecting humans. "Why?"

The gang member slowly struggled to his feet, less injured than he appeared, likely saved by his jacket. He looked around, then fixed his gaze on his pistol, which lay under the console. The wolf-alien, who had, earlier, locked me in the cage, grabbed its hooked spear from the floor and walked over to where the man stood. The man ignored the armed alien while eyeing his pistol, likely planning to lunge for it. The wolf-creature calmly grabbed the man by his shoulder, placed the hooked blade at his crotch, then jerked the weapon upward with great force. The man's pants tore loudly, as he screamed. Blood sprayed across the floor, soaking the hapless burn victim. After one more jerk, the hook slid up through the man's abdomen, tearing through flesh, and popping the jacket's buttons. Pink bloody loops of intestine, spilled out onto the floor. I gulped at a wash of bitterness, which bubbled up from my throat, as I tried to look away. After a moment of hyperventilating, I risked a quick glance, and regretted it. The gang member was laying on the floor, still twitching in a pool of blood, while feebly clawing at the wet bulbous mass of stomach, and ropes of bowel, which were strewn around his body. Killed like an animal. Seeing my previous misgivings confirmed, I shivered. This whole situation was beginning to look more like a harvest. _Are we going to be FOOD? _ I turned to the skinny man, who was still huddled in the corner of the cage. He seemed quite young, likely from India, and obviously scared out of his mind. I asked, "Do you know what's going on here?"

The man shook his head, and stammered. "Ah, ah, angrezee nahin, no angreesi, ah. ingris." It was obvious that the man was either unable to speak English, or was too terrified to try.

A scream sounded near the transporter alcove. Both aliens were dragging the poor burned man across the floor, causing extreme torment. The taller wolf, wearing the shorts and vest, grabbed the human's right arm in his teeth, and began to chew, spattering the floor with blood. The man shrieked, like an animal in pure mortal agony. He threw his head back again, and wailed, as the other alien grabbed his left arm in his jaws, and both began to pull him apart. It was like watching a pair of wild dogs dismember a living antelope. "No!" I screamed as I grabbed the bars, and tried, futilely, to wrench them loose. "No, goddammit! Stop this!" The young man had scrambled to his feet, and lunged at the bars as well, shouting in his native language, interspersed with, "Nahin!, no Nahi!" The burned man fell onto his back, screaming and flailing, as both wolf aliens tossed his severed limbs aside. The taller alien grabbed the dying man by the ankles, and dragged him through the door, leaving twin trails of blood, like crimson train tracks.

I felt numb, like I was watching a brutal horror movie, but I could smell the blood, and feel the chill of the air. The remaining alien walked behind the console, and opened a small locker. Inside was a holster, which the alien quickly donned, securing its straps over its shoulder and waist. From the same locker, the creature removed a large gray pistol, and pushed it inside the holster. Now, fully armed, the alien approached the gate of the cage, first staring at me, then at the young man, who retreated back to the far corner. Taking the man's cue, I backed into the opposite corner, hoping to delay the inevitable, though I feared it would only be a brief respite.

As I crouched into the space under the wall's incline, I felt the rough pitted metal. This did seem to be an old ship and probably not well cared for, at least not in this compartment. I traced a nail along a crack. The crack was straight and had other scratch marks around it. Peering at the marks, it was obviously writing, much of which was written in English. Most of the more legible tracings, were etched into the metal, by sharp implements. Faded marker, chipped nail polish, and bits and spots of ball point pen ink, also provided testament to the multitude of people who have been taken by these creatures, and likely brutally killed.

Amelia, E-something. It was hard making it out, as rust nearly obliterated parts of it. "This can't fucking be," I mumbled as I brushed my hand at the pitted metal. It looked like a signature. Amelia E-something which ended in a T?? There was more written above the name, scratched into the wall with the same instrument. I really hoped, whoever wrote that message, got a chance to stab one of the wolf aliens through the eye. After many moments of studying the writing while rubbing the worst of the rust off the wall, I made out the following message.

We crashed on a . . . near . . . .

We survived, but we . . . no fresh water.

A . . . light took us to . . .hell. Wolf men are eating us.

Fred was killed. I'm next. God help us all.

Below the message, was the apparent signature. Amelia E-something-t, Ear-something-t, Earhart! I couldn't vouch for its authenticity, however. But why someone would pull such a prank in this dire situation, totally escaped me. People often speculated about her fate, and this had been featured in numerous science fiction TV shows, and in various conspiracy theories. If this message was authentic, this could mean that she was, indeed, abducted by aliens, though her fate would likely have been far more horrible than anyone could have ever imagined.

A metallic click caused me to nearly jump. I glanced up to see the wolf alien opening the gate, before stepping inside. The creature glared at me, then the other captive, while fingering its gun. I pushed back against the wall, ready to fight for my life. The alien wolf seemed indecisive, and cautious, probably not used to butchering prey, alone. As the creature took another step, and focused its attention on the young Asian man, in the far corner, the man whimpered, and tried to push himself deeper into the corner. With a growl, the alien wolf lunged. The man shrieked, as the alien wolf grabbed him by the arms, with its large clawed hands, than dragged him, kicking and screaming, toward the gate. As I watched in horror, I caught the glint of black metal under the console - the gangster's pistol. I had no way of knowing if the gun was loaded, but any chance to escape would be better than nothing. Going down fighting would likely be far less painful, and far more dignified, then being slaughtered like livestock. My father had taken me shooting at a gun range, a few times, as a child, but I never liked guns. Now, my only hope, lay under a console, with a vicious humanoid dog in the way. I slowly got to my feet, and circled the wolf alien, trying to keep the creature's back toward me. The creature was distracted as the young man struggled and fought for his life. Once I knew that the alien's attention was totally focused on his quarry, I lunged through the gate and dove toward the console. My intention was to perform a roll, like the kind often seen on TV shows, and movies. Instead, I landed hard on my belly, sliding through the pools of blood and viscera. I ducked at the last instant, to avoid hitting my head on the base of the control console, as I slid partially beneath it. A searing, white-hot blast, flashed against the floor, near my elbow, causing a nearby mass of congealed blood, and a loop of intestine, to erupt in a sizzling spatter. I grabbed the pistol, rolled onto my back, and squeezed the trigger. The shots thundered from the gun, as I continued to pump the trigger until the weapon clicked. The creature yelped, then slumped to the floor, its chest and face riddled with a half-dozen bullet holes, each oozing rivulets of deep red blood. The young man collapsed on top of the alien, having been hit in his neck and chest, as well. Anger welled up inside me, and I screamed in rage. "I will fucking kill you all! I'll toss all you mother fuckers out the nearest airlock!" With my ears still ringing from the gunshots, I struggled to my feet, nearly slipping in the pools of blood, then walked to where the man was laying, on the body of the dead alien. He weakly reached a hand toward me. I reached down, and he grasped my hand in his.

He spoke, but I couldn't understand the words, but it seemed to be a blessing of some kind, or his thanking me for ending his nightmare. His mouth formed into a smile as his eyes rolled back into his head, before he released his grip. His body sagged to the floor, with his head resting on the chest of the wolf-alien. Despite his forgiveness, I still felt horrible. I had panicked, and fired blindly, without trying to get a decent aim, first. This was the first time I had fired a gun at something other than a piece of paper, and it ended with an innocent man killed, along with my intended target. As I stood over the man's lifeless body, I looked down at his young face. His eyes were loosely closed, and the color was slowly fading from his skin. He didn't know English, which probably meant he lived in an isolated village. The concept of aliens and starships would have been truly beyond his comprehension.

I sighed, then whispered, "I will avenge us all. I'm sorry for this. My revenge is your revenge." The gang member's torn body was still lying in a pool of his own blood and entrails, near the console. I looked down at him and whispered, "Even you deserve better than this, I will avenge you, too."

I turned back to the fallen wolf-alien, and pried the creature's side-arm from its fingers. The weapon was larger and heavier than the gangster's gun. It appeared to be some kind of laser, phaser, or some other type of exotic energy weapon. The alien weapon had a long stock with a trigger, but no trigger guard. It's body was angular, and the long barrel terminated in several projections around the tip. A slider control on the body of the weapon, was apparently a power level selector. I did not know what the settings meant, but since that was the setting the creature was using to try to kill me, I decided that this setting was adequate. Besides, I had no desire to create a hull breach and end up sniffing space, which wouldn't be a particularly fun way to go.

I hurried out of the doorway into a short, narrow corridor. A similar doorway, across the hall, lead to another cargo hold, filled with crates and boxes. To my right, at the end of the passage, was a ladder, leading down. To my left, the corridor ended at a wall with a large rusty grate at about chest height. I approached the ladder, and peered down at the deck, below. A pair of wolf-aliens walked past, below me, each appearing similar to the others, except that one of them had its arm mane braided. I surmised that the long fur on their arms had similar significance to the hair on the heads of humans, and was likely styled in much the same way. Two more wolf-aliens strode by, below me. Descending the ladder would be suicide, even with the alien pistol I held tight in my grip. I walked back to the vent grate. It was badly rusted, almost crumbling. I reached my hand to the grate, and gave it a push. There was some give, as a small torrent of orange dust cascaded from the metal, but it held. I turned away, and mule-kicked the grate. With a loud clatter and a shower of fine rust, it broke apart, falling to the floor in a mass of twisted scrap. Inspecting the vent, it was dark, and narrow, but didn't seem overly cramped, so I scrambled inside.

III

The air, which blew through the shaft, was cool, and had none of the doggy smell that permeated the rest of this ship. The passage was short, leading to a vertical drop, a mere ten feet or so from the entrance. Glancing down, I noticed a number of molded footholds, resembling ladder rungs, which disappeared into the inky blackness, below. On either side of the rungs were bundles of cables and conduits. I listened intently for any sign of anyone, or anything, but all was quiet, save for a slight rumble, presumably from the ship's engines. No alarms sounded, which meant that for the moment, I was safe.

Despite the confined space, there was ample room for me to turn around, likely required to accommodate larger, bulkier, creatures. I cautiously reached my foot down, into the dark abyss, and felt for a one of the footholds. Once I found purchase, I slowly backed down the rungs, while maintaining my grip on the weapon. As I cautiously felt my way down the shaft, I noticed vague outlines of shapes, as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. Strips of tiny lights ran parallel with the bundles of cables, providing very limited illumination, which made my descent slightly less treacherous.

After descending several feet, my foot swung into empty space. Feeling around with my toes, I found another rung, and I slowly lowered myself to a horizontal tunnel. Feeling an intense sense of dread, I stopped, and thought about the situation. One of the aliens is going to find the mess in the transporter room, and raise the alarm, I thought. _I really should have shoved the gangster's gun into the hand of one of the dead humans, to make it look like a massacre which had been heroically quelled. _ I couldn't go back since it would be far too dangerous. Besides, the gangster's pistol was laying on the floor in the transporter room, where I had discarded it, which might have been enough to throw them off my scent. Still, I knew that I had to fight for every advantage I could, and couldn't afford, even the smallest mistake.

My gut instinct, was to descend further, at least one more level, which I heeded. The lack of alarms seemed hopeful, at first, but as I reached the next horizontal passage, I began to grow increasingly uneasy. Any wolf-alien who entered that room, would have hit the alarm, even if they, later decided that the culprit was one of the dead humans. I worried that any alarms might have been ultrasonic, since these were wolf-evolved aliens. Display screens or word of mouth, might also have been used instead of alarms. I knew I couldn't make assumptions, and time was not on my side.

Looking down the gloomy passage, I felt curiosity take hold. I had to balance expediency with, at least, getting some sense of what I was up against. Besides, I had no plan to speak of, and a plan was something I very desperately needed. I slowly crouched, feeling for the floor of the passage, then pushed myself onto my belly, as I crawled forward.

To either side, were thick bundles of cables and above, were conduits. It was quite dark, though I could still make out some details, and vague shapes, due to the tiny lights which ran along the walls. As I crawled ahead, about twenty feet or so, I came upon a partition which extended into the crawlspace a few inches. At the partition, or junction, the cables entered one side, and emerged on the other side. A slot, along the upper edge of the partition, and a groove around it, suggested that this was where a door could slide in place, to seal the section in the event of a hull breach. Moving past the partition, another few dozen feet, I came upon another junction. Some distance beyond, there was a four-way intersection, then another set of junctions. After passing another intersection, I noticed a faint light, ahead. I cautiously crawled toward the light, which slowly resolved into a grate, as I approached.

The grate was only about 30 inches across, and about two feet high, and was situated high on a wall, near a ceiling. Peering through the slats, I looked down upon a dingy room, with two long metal tables, each flanked with benches. In the middle of the tables, were computer terminals, with small screens. On the far wall, was a large view screen, or window. This room appeared to be a combination dining area and briefing room. My attention returned to the view port, which displayed black void with no visible stars. Strange luminous clouds flowed toward the screen, from the distance. Most of the clouds were cyan, with blue, and occasionally wisps of red, and violet. The clouds streamed past, some forming eddies, and strands. Hyperspace I thought. "We have HYPERSPACE!" I shouted, becoming for a moment, an excited fan boy, before biting my tongue. Excitement had overwhelmed me, and I fought to control myself, fearing that my voice might alert the aliens. Someone, at least, had found a way to propel a ship through some kind of warp or null space, even if the creatures doing so were galactic predators. I felt hopeful, that there was a way for humanity to eventually colonize other planets in other star systems. This also made me painfully aware of my true predicament. I was heading away from earth at a fantastic rate of speed, and the longer that drive drove, the less likely I'd ever see my home, ever, again. This was a marvel of technology, a true wonder that these creatures had in their possession, and now my mission was becoming increasingly clear. I had to destroy or disable it, even if I had to blow myself up in the process.

I backed away from the grate, then turned back into the passageway, while listening intently the sounds of alarms, or signs of pursuit. As I made my way toward the vertical shaft, I thought, Where would I find the hyperdrive? Most of what I've read in novels, or seen on TV, and in movies, suggested that such a drive would likely be on the lowermost deck. I was sure that if I headed in the right general direction, I should be able to bump into it, since a drive capable of ripping a ship across the galaxy at significant faster than light speeds, should be something fairly large, and impossible to miss. Of course, this was merely an assumption on my part. For all I know, it could just be a baseball sized glowing orb located under one of the toilets in a common restroom. _ I cautiously crawled through the passageway, while maintaining my vigilance. So far, nothing. _They ought to have found the bodies by now. I became increasingly concerned that the ship was already on high alert, using alarms I couldn't hear, or employing flashing wall panels located in the corridors.

As far as finding the ship's warp drive, I felt that my first assumption was more reasonable, so I decided to head down. After crawling back through what might have been over a football field length of access tunnels, I reached the vertical shaft. Still clutching the weapon, I clambered onto the rungs, and began my hurried descent. The quiet was broken by the wail of an alarm!

The alarm was fairly loud, like a harsh low siren. I was in trouble, and knew it. Speed was of the essence. I tried to quicken my descent, causing me to lose my grip on the gun, which disappeared into the wall of darkness, below, then clattered, noisily. As I hurried down, I slipped, and lost my footing, nearly falling the last ten feet. The landing was jarring, nearly twisting my ankle as my foot landed on the gun. I reached down to retrieve the weapon, which appeared undamaged, then, looked around to get my bearings. There were a number of tunnels leading from the shaft, at floor level, but they seemed very small and cramped. My intuition, was that these tunnels ran under the engine room's floor, and would be pretty much useless. About eight feet up, was a horizontal duct, which gave me a much better feeling. I climbed a few rungs, and entered the passageway, hoping my instincts were correct.

I held the gun at the ready, in case any of the aliens entered the passage. As I pushed forward, I felt and heard the low thrum of the engine, despite the alarm still wailing in the distance. The passage grew warmer, as I crawled forward. The thrum pulsed, like there was something alive, nearby. The passageway ended at a Y-shaped intersection, with a grate ahead of me. Peering through the grate, the view was blocked by some miscellaneous equipment or machinery. The left passage felt promising, so I shimmied along that tunnel on my belly. The passage began to curve right, as I proceeded. Moving as quickly as I could, I soon came upon another grate, on the right wall. Peering through the grille, I beheld the "Honey Pot."

Beyond the slats of the grille, was a huge room, filling the entire lowermost deck of the vessel. Complex control consoles ran along the walls, with large status monitors full of graphs, diagrams, and scrolling alien text. Most of the room was occupied by an immense tubular object which was nearly the length of a football field, and was a good seven feet thick. Much of the tube was composed of a clear glass-like material, with a luminous blue-green plasma pulsing through it. The tube ran through several large metal stanchion-type structures, which served to anchor it to the deck. Each of these supports were covered with displays, terminals, and control consoles. Coils and other components were visible, through the glass. The room thrummed in time with the plasma flow, as heat bathed my face. If this wasn't the heart of the ship's hyperdrive system, nothing was. Now, how to destroy it without blowing up the entire ship?

A large bipedal wolf stepped in front of the grate, turned its back to me, and checked a display, before poking at a control panel. I watched the creature work for a moment, while I fingered the gun, as my misgivings about actually using it, began to wane. Fuck it, he dies. Carefully, I placed the barrel against a gap between the slats, and took aim. My hand slowly tightened around the trigger. With a strange thwack, a lance of energy tore into the creature's back, setting its fur alight. The creature screamed as it spun around, then collapsed onto the deck, than continued to wail in agony. I was amazed at how little recoil this weapon had, despite how much damage it inflicted.

Now for the drive. I had absolutely no idea what would happen if I destroyed the drive while the ship was in hyperspace. The ship might drop back into normal space. On the other hand, it might phase out of the universe into oblivion, or eat pure antimatter, creating a new Big Bang. Maybe the computers knows how to handle it, if I... I pondered. Cut the fuel, or some other lines powering this machine? From the ceiling, conduits, and cables, snaked to various points on the drive. I took aim at a plump hose, and fired. The beam sliced through the conduit sending a plume of hissing vapor. A flash filled the room, and the vapor exploded, sending a plume of flame swinging through the room. An alien wolf, wielding a pistol, charged into view, but was caught in the face by the torrent of flames, which swept by, as the severed hose whipped around uncontrollably, like a dying snake. The sight was ugly, as the creature's fur ignited, and the skin of its face bubbled, blackened, and shriveled off of its skull. The scream, as the creature clawed at charred bone, sent shivers up my spine.

A new alarm, a harsh buzz-buzz-buzz, sounded, as the pulsing hum from the engine began to slow. There was a lurch, and shudder, as the drive began to emit a falling whine. The plasma stream, inside the engine, began to slow, and dim, changing to a deeper green. There was nothing for me to do, but wait. I was tempted to take more potshots at the hyperdrive, but I felt that this would be unwise. The ship was definitely slowing, so I waited. Several alien wolves charged into view. One of the aliens began to work the nearby console, which sparked, and sputtered. The other two attacked the flames with devices which resembled megaphones mounted to the end of leaf-blowers. As the shaking continued, one of the creatures turned toward the vent, noticed me, then charged. With a squeeze of the weapon's trigger the wolf-alien's face flash-fried to a smoking, charred, mass. The other two creatures turned, glanced at me, then ran in opposite directions.

The shuddering continued for several minutes, as I huddled in the ventilation duct, clutching the weapon. There was a sense of victory. I had killed three of the wolf aliens, four, if I counted the one who burned in the flames. I had damaged the hyperdrive, hopefully forcing the ship out of hyperspace. Now, I had to decide on my next move. The ship rocked and shuddered, much like it did when the main engine was previously engaged. I waited with the alien gun at the ready, as the engine whined, and the plasma inside the tube continued to dim. The severed hose swept past again, spewing a rocket of flame, as it writhed and spun about.

With a lurch, the floor steadied, and the engine noise faded. The alarm continued its harsh buzz. There was a commotion, as a dozen lupine aliens charged into the room on the other side of the hyperdrive. I could only see their legs, as they walked, digitigrade, around the drive. A few moments after they arrived, the plume of flame abruptly stopped, as the fuel supply was cut, and the hose fell limp, and swayed. The creatures barked and yapped angrily as they fanned out in a search pattern.

I took a few breaths, as I craned my neck to get a better view of the front of the engine room. One of the wolf-aliens ducked out from under the front of the drive, wielding a heavy rifle. Don't want to get shot, or eaten, maybe take as many of them, with me, as I can. I felt that the hyperdrive was not damaged seriously enough. "Could I blow it up?" I mumbled to myself, now that the ship was, hopefully, back in real space. I carefully took aim at a nice juicy area where a series of coils were visible under the glass, and fired. The blue-hot beam flared, as it contacted the glass, leaving a minor discoloration. I held the weapon steady as I fired again, and again, before moving it slightly with each shot. The glass held against the assault, though it slowly darkened to a deep caramel-brown. A crack appeared, so I took aim, and fired, tracing the breach with the blue-hot beam. Clawed feet clicked on the metal floor, rapidly growing in volume. There was a flash, and a loud pop, as a torrent of green fire erupted from the glass tube. A gray shape charged in front of the vent. I was torn between continuing my assault on the drive, or retreating back into the passage. "One more shot," I said to myself, as I fired, twice into the gaping wound, blasting several of the coils apart. The wolf turned, as I speared it in the gut with another blast. Howling in agony, the wolf-alien fell backwards. Its head blazed brightly as it contacted the plume of plasma, before the skin melted and shriveled off its skull, which disintegrated in the torrent of luminous death. With a thud, the headless alien body smacked into the deck like a huge side of meat. Arcs of energy jumped from the cables and conduits, as several of the consoles exploded like small bombs. I turned around inside the shaft, then, as quickly as I could, I crawled back through the passageway, toward the main junction. Looking back, I saw no sign of pursuit. It was then, I realized I had dropped the alien weapon.

A blazing light filled the passage, fallowed by a loud thunderous roar. The entire ship heaved and shook, like some giant animal had grabbed it in its jaws and was worrying it. A shock wave blasted through the passage, followed by an intense shrieking roar, as a tornado of wind blasted back towards the engine room. I frantically struggled against the onrushing hurricane, as it dragged me back. My hand found a bundle of cables, which I grabbed for dear life, then brought my other hand up to feel for another handhold. I couldn't remember if I had passed one of those junctions, causing concern that I could wind up on the wrong side of an automated door. Visions of vacuum exposure scenes from various movies made me shudder. I wasn't exactly sure what would happen to me in a vacuum, and I wasn't about to find out. I reached up, again, and felt for another bundle of cables with my free hand. There was a hiss behind me, and the wind abruptly stopped. Looking back, I saw that a hatch had slid across the passage, and sealed the breach. I was safe for now, but for how long?

I retraced my route. The passage was darker, now, since most of the lights were out, and the few which remained flickered uncertainly. Once my hand felt the edge of the passage, I carefully turned and dropped to the bottom of the vertical shaft. Being able to finally stand, I took the opportunity to stretch my legs. The shadows were pitch dark, and danced around, as the lights fluttered. I slowly sagged into a sitting position, with my back against the far corner of the shaft, as I caught my breath. The alarms continued to wail and buzz for a time, before the harsh buzzing alarm abruptly stopped. I listened intently for any sounds of movement, but all was quiet, save for the remaining alarm, which wailed, far above. Of course it was possible, even likely, that they knew where I was, and either had all exits guarded, or sealed, or were planning to flush me into space. The ship should be on full alert, considering the amount of damage I had caused. Is the ship running out of crew? I must have killed nearly twenty of the aliens, both directly, and indirectly. Could everyone be dead? What now? Life support was still working, but for how long? What would I have to eat? "Would I have to resort to eating the crew, and the hu--" I stopped that thought as the horror of what I was about to say, became evident. "Either the survivors are going to kill me, or I will die out here, all alone." I had no idea how far from earth, I was. Will I ever see earth again? This ship will be my tomb. I didn't like this possibility, but it seemed inevitable. Hunting down any remaining crew members, could provide a bit of a diversion, but this would be complicated by the fact that I had lost the gun. _Maybe I can find a new gun? Maybe I can go back to the top level and see if the gang member's weapon is still there, and see if there are more bullets in his jacket. _I had no idea how long I sat in the dark, pondering my fate, since I was never big on wearing wristwatches. Resting my back against the wall, I ran my fingers along a nearby molded metal foothold. There was surprisingly little dust, probably due to the hull breach, I had caused. The wailing alarm abruptly stopped, and the quiet began to close in on me. It _was_like a tomb. It was dark, a bit chilly, and utterly silent.

Why wolf-aliens? I figured aliens could look like anything, but why wolves? It wasn't just their superficial appearance. In the ship's transporter room, I saw two of them naked, and they sported penile sheaths very similar to the sheaths of male dogs, right down to that little tuft of fur on the tips. These creatures even smelled like dogs. Wouldn't aliens be different, that is, maybe they looked like dogs, but smelled like some other random kind of animal? There was another issue. Something I read, some time ago, which described the whole right-handed and left-handed aspect of amino acids and sugars. Alien planets would likely evolve with a different chirality, or handedness of these basic molecules, thus making food from one planet, useless or even poisonous, elsewhere. Though I never did see the wolf-aliens actually eating a human, there was obviously no issue preventing them from chewing, or mauling a human. My mind kept going back to the fact that these aliens looked like wolves, and smelled like wolves. Is it possible that these aliens actually are wolves? Someone else had to have made these creatures. Maybe other aliens genetically engineered Terran wolves to sapience, then sicced them on humanity, just to be assholes?

The ship jolted hard, followed by a strange eerie scraping creak, much like a whale singing in the depths. The sound lasted a good ten seconds or so, then all was quiet again. A few moments later, a low metallic moan filled the ship. Is this what a spaceship sounds like, when the engines are out? Uneven cooling? Or was it the damage I had caused? The silence continued for a while. I could hide here, possibly as long as I wanted, well, until life support failed. A horrible possibility entered my mind. What if they sent a distress call? More wolves, or worse, could arrive, and with that, a much more horrible death. Waiting in this interstellar tomb was not an option.

I slowly rose to my feet, and gazed up into the darkness above. As before, I had no plan, since there was much I didn't know. I knew very little about the alien technologies, so I doubted I could operate, or repair this ship. There was also the surviving crew who would likely eviscerate me, alive, if they caught me. Even if the crew had died, and the ship didn't fall apart, the prospect of eating carrion, both alien wolf, and human, totally horrified me. With all these unknowns, I knew I had to think on my feet, and plan things on the fly.

As I felt in the dark for one of the footholds, to start my ascent, I pondered my next move. The top level would probably be a bad idea. If any crew had survived, there would probably be at least someone there to guard the transporter room, where the initial carnage had begun. I began my climb through the darkness, my footsteps echoing eerily as I ascended. The flickering light proved mildly disorienting, as the shadows shifted and spun. As I stopped for a moment to fight a bout of vertigo, a thought struck me. The galley, which I had seen on my way down, was the most logical place for me to go. It would give me a good vantage point to observe an area of the ship from a reasonably concealed location, and if I chose to exit the duct, the room seemed defensible. I resumed my ascent. After climbing past another horizontal passage, I stopped, and looked down into the abyss, below. I remembered the bottom passage, and the one about eight feet or so above, where I had blown up the ship's engine room. There was the one I had just passed. The nest one must be the one to take. I resumed my climb, and carefully shimmed into the horizontal passageway. Driven onward by curiosity and determination, I crawled as quickly as I could. Though the passage was nearly completely dark, the galley was straight ahead. I felt my way past the junction, and through an intersection. Ahead, there was a small spot of flickering light, which slowly grew brighter, as I scrambled through the passageway. Past another intersection, I could make out the rectangular shape of the exit, which dimmed and brightened at regular intervals. The crawl seemed to take forever, as I pushed myself onward. As I neared the exit, I noticed that the grate was hanging off by its upper-left corner, where it swung back and forth. I stopped several feet from the exit, and peered into the room. The floor was littered with broken glass, and many of the computer terminals on the tables were smashed and destroyed. A spiderweb of cracks covered the lower-right corner of the view screen. The view, outside, was that of inky star-flecked space, with a prominent hazy band of the milky way, visible. The ship was in normal space, and likely dead in the water.

IV

_ "Chuthnu!" It seemed both audible, and in my mind. _"Chuthnu!"

I slowly backed away from the grate, knowing I was not alone.

"Don't be alarmed." It sounded like barking gibberish, like the sounds of a dog or a wolf, somehow turned into some form of speech. Despite the alien language, my brain, was somehow, hearing it in English.

I was caught between wanting to speak to the creature, and wanting to retreat, back into the bowels of the ventilation system. After a moment of deliberation, I decided that there was little harm in speaking to it, as long as I remained in the service duct. "What do you want!" I shouted. "You're not going to eat me! Go away!"

A wolf-alien strode to the back of the galley, in front of the view port, then turned to face the vent. The creature was nearly seven feet tall, with gray fur, with only slight mottling. Like the other wolf aliens, a fringe of fur hung from its arms, with a number of shiny trinkets affixed to the strands. The creature wore a pair of knee length shorts which appeared to be made from some kind of light beige leather, and a padded vest with numerous pockets, made from a similar material. The handles of numerous tools protruded from several of the pockets. A thin black headband was visible around its forehead, running just under its large pointed ears, and secured by another strap, under its chin. The headband secured a two-inch, disk-shaped device to the middle of its forehead. Dangling from its belt, was a black rectangular device, with a couple of red and blue lights, some of which blinked.

The creature seemed familiar, though it might have just been the clothes it wore. As I glanced back toward the depths of the service duct, I was torn between continuing this discourse, or returning to my hiding place, though I feared either option would lead to my death. The fact that the creature spoke to me, with that weird brain translator, and could presumably understand me, gave me an opportunity to air my grievances. Turning back toward the vent grate, I yelled, "Why can I understand you! Why are you fucking with my head! I'm going to kill you all, goddammit!"

"You're doing quite a good job at this, already, ape!" The creature growled. "You've killed about half of us so far. You killed Juchuk in the processing room, and you destroyed the entire engineering deck, killing over fifteen crew members."

I shouted, "So you are the negotiator, to discuss terms for my surrender! I will not surrender!"

"Your species is not supposed to be sentient." barked the creature.

"Says who!" I snapped.

"Says the Establishment of Prukak!" The wolf-alien retorted. "If I am caught speaking to your kind, I'd be euthanized as a..." The alien trailed off, and growled. "Your species is not supposed to be sentient, but obviously you are. Maybe I'm hallucinating, but I doubt it." The creature took a step away from the view port, and waved a hand toward me. "Come out. We don't have much time."

"Time for what?" I did not trust this creature. "Time for dinner? You just want your last meal, before life support fails. I'm not falling for it."

"I understand if you are unwilling to trust me." The creature fidgeted, then motioned toward himself. "Come out. I'm not going to hurt you."

The lupine alien was definitely familiar. As I watched the creature, I became almost certain that this was one of the individuals who was in the transporter room, when I was brought aboard. "You....are." I felt angry, like I wanted to charge at the creature, to kill it with my bare hands. "I saw you fucking kill. I watched you slaughter people."

The wolf-creature looked down at its feet for a moment. "Yes, I, Juchuk and I chewed off the arms of that chuthnu, we transferred up from a brush fire. Many others, I've killed, on previous raids. The hunt, and the predatory instincts, run deep in my species. I became a part of this, because I thought H'Khara Chu, and the Establishment,_desired this from me. This is how I'm supposed to become a part of the Establishment. I'm supposed to hunt, and kill, bringing home the bounties and glory of my hunt. But now, I want to make the _Establishment_pay. I want to personally kill _Hhrff Ukh Pachakh, but I have more pressing matters."

This was a lot for me to digest. There was something about the hunt, and H'Khara Chu, which seemed to translate to "The gods of the hunt." Then, there was this Establishment_thing, which might have been their government. The term "c_huthnu" seemed to be their word for humans, though used in the sense of prey, game, or cattle. I didn't know who Hhrff Ukh Pachakh was, but my assumption was that this was the ship's captain. "Why should I trust you. I watched you eat a man alive!"

_ _ "You have no choice," the wolf spoke urgently. "The alternative is for you to stay in the service ducts. You'd be safe from the rest of my crew, since everyone is rather occupied, at the moment. Unfortunately, this ship is crippled in enemy territory. Weapon fire will shred this ship to scrap. You'll either burn with the ship, or die in space."

My heart pounded as I continued to cower in the service vent, overlooking the galley. I was definitely more afraid now, than I was when I witnessed the carnage in the transporter room, earlier. Maybe it was because I now had to make a decision, with options I felt were equally bad. I had to trust the very creature who had brought me aboard this ship, and who helped another wolf alien tear apart a badly burned man, with his teeth. This very thought caused me to shudder. "Should I trust this creature?" I mumbled to myself. "Do I--"

"We don't have time!" growled the wolf-alien, as he paced in front of the view port. His fur shimmered slightly from the subdued lighting. He stopped, then turned to face me again. His lupine form, silhouetted against the stars, was both striking, and terrifying, made even more so by the glow of his eyes, as he watched me. "I want to get you home. I want to try. Give me a chance."

I wanted to trust this alien wolf creature. As I thought over my options, it became clear that this creature did offer a glimmer of hope. This alien wolf might kill me, or he might simply be unable to help me. I felt that this was better than nothing. I sighed. "Okay, suppose I do go along with you. How would you get me past the other wolf-people, who'd want to eat me?"

The wolf-alien took a step away from the view port, his teeth gleamed slightly as his grinned. "Chuthnu, you've blown a hole the size of large house, through the entire engineering deck. Most of the engineering crew died. The surviving crew is quite busy trying to deal with the fact that the entire engineering deck is hanging out of the hull. The ship is stranded. Our hyperdrive is destroyed. Even our sublight nacelles are crippled. With the diminished crew, tasks have been spread very thin. I don't think anyone will interfere with us."

Though I didn't trust him, the prospect of dying alone in deep space, light years from home, began to seem worse than the prospect of being killed by this creature. "Okay, you win." I kicked the grate, which fell with a loud clatter, then I turned and backed out of the duct. As I slid my feet over the side, and eased myself to the floor, I felt naked, vulnerable, since I was unarmed. The alien stood on the far side of the room in front of the large window, watching me. I turned to face the large lupine creature. "Ah, if you are truly serious about helping me, then let's get this done."

The wolf strode past me, to the large doorway, below the vent. The doors parted, and the creature beckoned me to follow. Pulsing red light filled the corridor. Flames and sparks spat out from the wreckage of a small terminal, near the door. The wolf peered over his shoulder, as I followed about ten feet behind him. "I was the one who brought you here. I wasn't even authorized to do so. I'm." He stopped, and turned to face me. I stopped as well, to maintain distance. "I'm, I'm sorry. I hope you're unhurt. I'll do what I can."

"Why are you helping me.?" I asked. "I'm just a lowly human, ah, chuthnu, dinner, steak, whatever the fuck."

"Dinners don't blow up starships," the wolf responded. "We treated you like a mere animal, and you tore out our guts. Look,chuthnu, I'm not diseased. I'm not going to hurt you." The creature beckoned me, again. "We need to hurry. You need to stay closer to me, or I'd be unable to protect you, if we encountered any surviving crew. Now, I hope there is a working escape pod."

"You still didn't answer my question." I insisted. "Why are you really helping me." We passed an intersection, where part of the floor had buckled upward, into a low mound. The nearby bulkheads were bent and partially twisted. "I did that, as well?"

"Actually, no." he chuffed. "This was from a previous misadventure with a Chakharan cruiser a few years ago." The wolf-alien turned and entered the left-hand corridor. "This way. I'm not going to bite you. We need to hurry. Most of the escape pads on this ship haven't worked in decades."

"Wait?" I asked nervously. "We might not make it off this wreck after all?"

"This is a very old ship. Some parts have been replaced over the years, like weapons, engines, shields, but escape pods were low priority."

"Figures." I sighed. "Sounds like something my people's military might do. 'Yeah, let's replace the guns, the hull and add more gizmos, but we'll keep the old dead lifeboats so a training accident can send a thousand screaming crewmen into the depths.'"

"Our species seem to have much in common." The wolf alien grinned, slightly, showing his fangs.

"Yeah, but at least we don't eat sentient creatures."

"We normally wouldn't, either." The wolf alien beckoned me, again, to follow. "There is a Chakharan combat vessel heading our way, and it may be exiting hyperspace by now. We need to hurry."

I nervously approached the creature, who then turned and proceeded down the corridor, which turned right. On the left wall, were a number of small hatchways about the size and shape of a typical car door, each about eighteen inches off the ground. The far hatchway had a blue glowing button on the panel next to it. "This one appears to be the only working pod in this part of the ship," the wolf-alien said. He pressed the button and the hatch opened up, and outward. The interior of the pod was bathed in a red light, and the air smelled stale and metallic. Inside, the pod resembled that of a small train car, with three pairs of seats which seemed cramped even by my standards. The alien ducked through the hatchway, and waved for me to follow. As I stepped through the door, I had to duck to avoid hitting my head on the numerous overhead panels which covered the ceiling. To my right, was a view port, which was dark, possibly because it was obstructed by the inside of the ship's hull. I reluctantly sat in the front seat, to the right of the wolf-alien. The creature poked at a small control panel, and checked an overhead display. A sick grinding groan filled the pod, then the lights flickered out, plunging everything into darkness. The lights flickered back on, and the sound subsided. "We can't afford to search for another pod. We'll have to risk it."

"Wait!" I protested.

The creature reached under the console, in front of him, and pulled down a large metal handle. The pod lurched to the left, then forward, pushing me into the seat. After ten seconds, the force cut abruptly, causing a sensation of free fall. I gripped the seat to keep myself from floating, as I began to feel nauseous. Peering through the small view port, the stars shone bright and steady in the inky void. A small section of hull plating, with two short beams jutting from it, tumbled past. The view slowly panned around, and centered on a dark, lumpy, tapered, vessel, dotted with running lights, and lit windows. Under the vessel, was a thick cylindrical engine pod, which was angled downward, and at an odd angle. Two additional engines were mounted under the hull, on either side, and appeared intact. A blue-gray cloud of condensation fogged the view. On the lower part of the vessel, just in front of the mangled wreckage of the central engine pod's support pylon, the hull was turn ragged, with half the engineering deck, hanging into space. Part of the translucent tube of the ship's hyperdrive protruded from the mangled wreckage, like an organ from a mortally wounded beast. A searing green plume of flame spewed from the hyperdrive, where it had vaporized part of the engine pod's support pylon. I was in awe at my handiwork, as I watched the engine nacelle slowly twist and sway on its damaged support, like the boom of a wounded crane. "I did that? Damn." A dark gray shape tumbled slowly into view, like a pinata. As it slowly spun past, I glimpsed a lupine face contorted in horror, its gaping maw filled with a pale yellow-green Popsicle of frozen bile. I gulped as my own stomach tried to crawl up my throat. "That's an ugly way to go." As the body drifted by, in its hypnotic dance, a large clawed hand grasped my shoulder, startling me. I turned, and shoved his hand away, resulting in me momentarily failing in the weightlessness. "Hey, stop that!"

The wolf-alien stared intensely at me. "Chuthnu, I must remind you. Had you not taken such drastic action, you would have died with my jaws around your throat."

I gulped again. "You called dibs on me? You were gonna ah..."

The wolf reached under his arm, and unfastened a clip, then removed a small silvery medallion on a short length of chain, and held it toward me. "Take it."

I cautiously reached out and grasped the small, flat, object, which swayed on the end of the chain. The medal depicted the head of a wolf with its ears drawn back, and its jaws agape, showing its fangs. It appeared to be made from silver, though there was no sign of tarnish. Though the medal was embossed to depict the fur texture, with a hole for one of its eyes, it was still fairly smooth, and slightly oily to the touch. "What is this?"

"This is the Jaws of Kha'chu'ahch, the killer, part of the embodiment of the hunt." He released the chain, which drifted and twined behind it, like a thin silver snake. "I earned it when I helped quell a mutiny about three years ago. After a previous successful take from your planet, five of our crew went rogue, and tried to take the ship. They claimed that the creatures we had captured were actually sapient. I tried to get to a weapons' locker, but wound up in a confrontation with the ringleader. After a brutal fight, I was able to crush his throat in my jaws, though I was badly hurt."

I looked back at the shiny flat object. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"I don't deserve it. I don't want it. I blew my first chance to redeem myself, that day."

"But why would I want it?" I grasped the trinket, loosely, in my hand, as the foot long chain slowly swayed in the circulating air.

The wolf-alien watched me, intently. "Consider it a keepsake, for you to remember--"

"I don't want to remember!" I snapped. "I, ah..." As I continued to hold the trinket, a blue-green flicker in the corner of the view port, caught my attention. In the distance, a faint speck streaked against the stars. "What's that?"

"It's them." said the wolf-alien. "The enemy. The enemy who will be your savior."

"I don't understand. More wolves? That other species you mentioned?" The speck was slowly decelerating.

"The ship exited hyperspace, not long ago." the creature said, as he checked a display screen. "They're dumping velocity, matching our relative speed."

I pocketed the medal, mostly to appease the wolf-alien, then I tried to make eye contact with him. He evaded my gaze by staring at one of the monitors, under the view port. "Level with me, goddammit! What's going to happen to me." I longed for home, wanting to return to my old mundane life of freight manifests and logistics tracking. I've never thought of myself as a xenophobe. Under more favorable circumstances, I would have loved to travel the stars. Seeing people being butchered alive, was just too much for me. Traveling with friends through the galaxy, would have been awesome. Instead, I was sharing a confined space with a creature who had slaughtered people alive, as I watched in horror.

"I know you don't trust me," said the wolf-alien. "You'd be a fool to trust me. You asked me a question, earlier. Why am I helping you? Do you want to know the full truth?"

"You said it was because I, ah, I blew up your ship?" I answered sheepishly.

He finally turned to face me. "Partially." He lowered his gaze. "I was betrayed by my own people. They used our own predatory instincts, directing them toward another sentient species. There is a difference between procuring prey for food, and engaging in war. I don't know why my leaders are doing this. I don't care. I'm helping you, so I can finally atone. Don't worry. You won't have me to worry about much longer."

I didn't know what the alien meant by that, but it did sound rather ominous. "What do you mean?" The streak shone brightly as it continued to approach. It flared, revealing an angular swept-winged spaceship, which was less than a third the size of the crippled vessel. Three intense sun-like flares emerged from beneath the smaller ship's nose, and sped toward the wolf-ship. The impact blazed brightly, as a shower of small fragments spread in every direction. The crippled ship spewed a bright yellow-orange beam, which struck and spread across some kind of shield, surrounding the smaller vessel. The other ship retaliated by firing a beam of its own. Its beam was brighter, and where it contacted, it dug a deep glowing tear along the length of the stricken vessel. Geysers of internal atmosphere erupted along the tear, causing the larger ship to list slightly. More specks sailed from the wreckage, likely debris, and more bodies. The small ship strafed past, firing its beam, like a linear cutting torch, this time at the juncture of the central engine pod, cleanly cutting it from its pylon. The nacelle slowly tumbled away, spewing sparks and fuel. The small ship fired its beam again, along the starboard nacelle, spitting it open like an overripe banana.

"I, ah, neglected to mention," said the wolf-creature. "Your little stunt also destroyed our shield generators."

"I could have probably guessed by now."

From the rear of the small warship, came a pair of blinding, blue-hot, torpedoes, which struck the front of the wolf-alien ship. They burned their way inside, before exploding, turning the entire forward and lower portion of the crippled ship into a splintered mass of mangled junk. The smaller vessel slowed to a relative stop beneath the front end of the crippled ship, and waited.

The stricken ship launched a flare-like torpedo of its own at the stationary vessel. The torpedo hit, blazing brightly on impact, rocking the smaller vessel. After listing for a moment, the ship steadied itself. Twin orange beams, and a trio of searing torpedoes sped from the small vessel, and converged into the open belly of the crippled wolf-ship. They blazed brightly on impact, then detonated, splitting the ship's hull apart. Large sections of hull, entire decks and compartments, and masses of twisted metal girder-like structures, spilled out into space. Clouds of expanding atmosphere and fuel created a dense gray fog in the icy cold of space. The escape pod rocked gently from the blast of escaping atmosphere and fuel, followed by the patter of debris.

The wolf-alien allowed himself to rise from his seat. "My job is done. You will be safe now." The creature pulled himself past me. The soft fur of his arms brushed against my face, as he pulled himself along the ceiling. His fur was slightly oily, and had a very mild scent, reminiscent of a well groomed domestic dog. This creature was a killer, though, and I had to keep that fact in mind, but I still felt sorry for him. His own government turned him into a killer. Now, it seemed, all that he was left with, were regrets.

The wolf-alien brought his feet down to the floor, as he righted himself, then turned to face me, again. "Keep the medal. Let me exist as a memory, at the very least."

"What are you saying? Why did you say that your job is done? And the part about existing as a memory?" I scrambled from my seat, and found myself flailing in the weightlessness, as I bumped against the ceiling panels.

The wolf pulled himself to the side hatch, and turned to me, again. "I can't live with what I've done. I blew my first chance to atone. I brought you, and the others aboard to slaughter. I intended to kill you, personally. I was going to toy with you, fight you, than torture you. In the end, I was going to rip out your throat, with my teeth. Your meat would have been stripped from your body, to be frozen, since c_huthnu_ is a rare delicacy among my peoples elite."

I shuddered. "That's horrible!"

"That's why I have to go, now."

"Go where?" My hand found a handhold, which I gripped tightly. "If you're going to space yourself, just....just don't."

"There is no airlock." explained the wolf-alien. "You need to follow my instructions precisely."

A creeping chill filled the pit of my stomach. "What? Goddammit, don't."

"I'm going to vent the pod." The wolf alien reached for the controls on the side of the hatch.

I stammered, "You, you, you're going to expose us to space?"

"Keep breathing, especially exhale. Don't hold your breath," he instructed, as he tapped at the door controls. "There will be a glowing amber button near the hatchway. Hit it once I'm out, and the air stops blowing."

I yelled, "You can't do this!"

"The enemy is actually your friend." He reached his free hand to mine, and gently clasped it, then gripped it firmly. His hairless palm was warm against my skin, and his claws were thick and blunt. He released his grip, and said, "May whatever gods you believe in, guide you. Now, hold onto something, and breathe."

The creature hit the button. With a deafening roar, the hatch opened into blackness. My ears popped, painfully, as air rushed from my mouth and nose. The creature reeled, banged his head, loudly on the doorway, then plunged into the maw of oblivion. As the residual air turned to fog, I grabbed the back of the nearest seat with both hands, as the roar immediately subsided. Stifling silence began to close around me. My heart pounded in my ears as I gasped and choked, feeling, to my horror, that no air moved in my throat. I closed my eyes as they began to feel as if they were going to freeze solid. As I gasped again, I felt a cold bubbling sensation on my tongue, and in my mouth. My skin tingled with cold pinpricks, and my fingers began to grow numb. I opened my eyes to a squint, then launched toward the amber button, screaming silently. The button depressed under my puffy hand. The door silently closed. Pressure began to push against my eardrums, so I instinctively wiggled my jaw to try to equalize it. The pinpricks began to subside, as feeling began to return to my fingers. A soft hiss sounded, which increased in volume, as the cold sensations in my eyes and mouth began to fade. As I gasped, I could feel the comforting sensation of air being drawn into my lungs. I opened my eyes, and looked around, then down at my hands, which appeared slightly red and swollen. Feeling a little tickle under my nose, I rubbed it with my hand, then looked down, and saw that my fingers were covered with blood. As the hiss slowly subsided, I sighed heavily. I eased myself into the seat next to the hatchway, and felt as my body slowly rose, lazily, from the seat cushion. I put my head into my hands as my body came to rest, half wedged between the seats. The wolf-alien was gone. He risked my life to end his, but he wanted me to live. _Why? Why did he go out like that? _ I asked myself. He claimed this was his atonement, but to me, it felt like pure cowardice.

V

Craning my head to glance at the view port, the stars slowly panned to the right, and up. After a moment, the smaller vessel came into view, appearing stationary against the starscape. Several small crimson globules sailed in front of the window, presumably from my nosebleed. A large chunk of hull slowly tumbled by, appearing as a mere shadow against the stars, with the occasional glint from the smaller ship's running lights reflecting from it. I wiped some blood from under my nose, wishing I had a tissue. Other than the nosebleed, and some residual dryness in my eyes, I felt no ill effects from my brief stint in hard vacuum. The small ship slowly slipped off the edge of the view port, as the pod continued its own slow tumble. All was quiet, other than the slight hum of the pod's systems. "Am I gonna die here?" I muttered to myself, expecting the other ship to abandon me.

The pod shuddered softly and creaked, almost as if it was answering my question, then all was quiet again. Barely a moment later, a strange translucent blue-green wall of light formed through the console, causing the pod to lurch. The entire front of the pod, with the view port, broke off, and began to drift away. The rear of the pod was gone, as well, with a similar curved wall of light. Air hissed, and metal screeched and crunched. "No!" I screamed as I grabbed onto the seat, but there was no rush of escaping air. A reverberating hum replaced the sound of tortured metal, as bright light spread and shimmered across the walls of the energy field. The stars wavered and faded from view. Gravity began to assert itself, as a bare metal wall formed where the stars used to be. Glancing at the rear of the pod, a room took shape, as the light waves converged, and vanished. The energy field remained in place for about ten seconds, then faded, along with the hum.

I slowly got to my feet, and cautiously stepped over the wreckage of a bank of controls, which had fallen from the ceiling. Both ends of the pod were gone. The front now looked onto a bare white wall, while the rear opened to the inside of a room with a single free standing console thirty feet away. As I emerged, I looked back upon the mangled remains of a cylindrical spacecraft, which sat on a fifteen foot wide glassy disk. Both ends of the escape pod had been sheared off, at the edge of the disk, like the pod had been caught in a giant, hellish, lathe.

The room's walls were nearly spotless, silvery white, with the occasional rectangular access panel. Behind the console, was a row of lockers, though instead of handles, they had gray square pads. Overhead, light panels provided bright, but diffuse, illumination. The floor resembled glossy faux black marble. The gleaming white console was curved, forming a loose horseshoe around two contoured seats.

The creature, who sat at the console, at the seat to my right, got to its feet, and eyed me intently. The alien was almost as tall as the wolf-creatures, but had a slim, lanky, build. Its face was a short broad muzzle, with slits for nostrils, and dense bushy whiskers. The creature's ears were small and rounded. Its almond-shaped eyes were a deep reddish-brown, with no visible white. The creature's hands had five digits, tipped with blunt claws, but the fingers were slightly webbed. Short, thick fur, of a deep chocolate brown, covered the creature's body. On its chest, and abdomen, the fur was a cream-white. Without speaking, the creature stepped around the console. Its feet were bare, with outspread webbed toes. An eighteen-inch long, tapered, tail, swung behind its legs. The tall, bipedal otter wore a pair of long, gray shorts, with a cutout for its tail, and a vest made of straps, with pockets. A black box similar to what the wolf alien had worn, hung from its belt. A headband, with a securing strap under its chin held a small puck-shaped device to its forehead. The creature snorted and its translator did its work, "Welcome aboard." As she (a feeling that the translator imparted) spoke, I noticed her prominent canine teeth. Though her fangs were a bit smaller than those of the wolf aliens, I was still uneasy.

I mumbled, "Are you going to eat me, too?"

She chortled. "Don't worry. You have nothing to fear from us." She rested her hand on the back of the console, and continued to watch me.

Noting that this creature did resemble a large otter, I felt less apprehensive. "Hmm, you're probably more fish eaters, I'm guessing."

She took a step forward. "Sometimes. We have a varied diet, but it doesn't include sapient species. You're safe."

I sighed. "Thank you." Glancing back, I regarded the mangled wreckage on the transporter pad. That wolf alien, who had rescued me, deserved a better fate. Had I delayed him for a few more minutes, he could have been in the pod, or standing beside me. "There was someone else, the one who saved me. Ah, you probably saw. I didn't space him or anything. He just, ah..."

"I understand, human. I'm sorry about your friend." She continued to watch me, attentively. "I feel partly responsible. We thought they would surrender. Their ship was dead. Limited propulsion except maneuvering thrusters, no shields, no hyperdrive, and no power except for an emergency deuterium reactor. We let our guard down, and they fired, causing some minor damage. By the time I got the targeting scanner working, it was already too late. We tried resuscitating him, but he had been out there too long. Maybe this was for the best. He probably couldn't live with himself."

"Yeah." I sighed again, as I took a few steps toward the transporter console, then looked back at the wreckage. "He was at the controls of his ship's transporter, when I was brought aboard. He, and another, ah, wolf creature, tore another human captive apart. He felt horrible. Told me he wanted to atone, somehow, and took the easy way out." I felt under my nose. Though the bleeding had stopped, the skin beneath my nostrils was still quite sticky. "He vented the air. He...he exposed me to vacuum, causing my nose to bleed, and probably giving me a full body space hickey. Will I be okay?"

The creature studied me with her deep chestnut eyes. "You'll be fine, and you're safe."

Feeling more comfortable with this strange otter alien, I slowly approached the console. "He was so full of shame of himself, and of his entire species." I rested my hand on the smooth white metal, and looked down at my feet. That wolf creature was a killer, but he saved me. He did what he could to bring me here. I really should have stopped him.

"You should mourn his passing, and celebrate what little time you shared with him." She continued watching me, which made me feel almost naked. "You're going to be okay." There was a beep from the control panel. The otter alien stepped behind the console and pressed a button. There was a moment of alien chitchat, which I couldn't make out, other than her reply of "Affirmative."

The deck began to vibrate, slightly, accompanied by a distant rumble, like an engine firing. "Are there other crew members?" I asked.

"Four others," she replied as he sat down in the right-hand seat, as one would face the console. "Two are on the bridge. Our medic is in the infirmary, and our engineer is in the engine room. We're currently putting some distance between us and the debris, before engaging our hyperdrive. You might want to take a seat." She motioned to the empty chair, to her right.

I stepped around the console, and stared at the tan padded seat, which resembled a high-end office chair., though it was secured to the deck. A single post, on the left side, supported the seat's back, leaving enough space for a tail to hang. The otter-alien sat in the other seat, which was identical, save for the seat's back support post, which was on the opposite side.

She swiveled her seat to face me, and smiled, toothily. "Human, I don't bite. Take a seat so you don't get bumped around."

It wasn't that I was afraid of her, not like I was toward the wolf-alien. The otter-alien's supple body gave her a certain femininity, despite the fact that she had no obvious breasts, just the hint of a nipple under her fur. However, her face was a feral muzzle, like that of an otter, though her head had a larger dome to hold a human-sized brain. Her tapered tail further cemented the mystique, I felt from this creature. This wasn't a human with forehead ridges and ornamentation, which so plagued science fiction television and movies. This was a creature who evolved in specific conditions, which resulted in an amphibious mammal, who was, both, very attractive, yet bestial. I forced myself to avert my gaze, fearing that I might have been staring.

Feeling my tacky shirt pulling on my chest hairs, I turned back to face her, again. "Are you sure?" I peered down at my shirt. The entire front was almost completely black with blood, looking like a series of large volcanic islands, on an emerald sea. Crumbly masses of congealed blood and gunk resembled magma. A long horizontal tear cut across my left side, exposing a deep scratch on my skin. "I probably smell like shit."

"In light of what you've been through," she snorted, "you're lucky to be alive, and you're my guest. Sit down, please."

I slowly eased myself into the chair, next to the otter-alien, and studied the control panel. The console was insanely complex, with buttons, indicator lights, and display screens. The alien script on and around the various controls, and on the monitors, disappointed me, since I wanted to learn how this marvel of technology worked. "This is..." I stammered. "Ah, beautiful."

The otter turned to me, and smiled slightly. "I'm glad you have an appreciation of technology." She turned back to the console to check a display, then turned to me, again. "I need to clear the wreckage from the pad, which means." The grinned, showing her small incisors. "You get to see how this thing works."

I giggled. "You're gonna beam the wreckage into space?"

She pressed a few buttons on the console, then moved her finger on one of the screens. "In a manner of speaking, yes." She slid her finger on the display, then tapped her claw on the glass. There was a beep as a red reticle flashed on the screen, then shrank into a tiny set of concentric circles, with a blinking crosshair. "We'll be sending a salvage crew out here in the next few days, to secure and process this wreckage."

"I'm sure, if you told me how this thing works, I'd regret it." I laughed.

She reached for a large recessed button, beneath the targeting screen, then turned back and chortled. "Not at all." She pressed the button. The familiar hum filled the air, as a blue-green energy field formed around the disk. A bright, diverging, wave of light formed around the pod, and spread up the field, as the wreckage began to dissolve into motes of light. The otter explained, "It basically creates a tunnel through a short tract of hyperspace, and uses confinement fields to protect and guide the payload to its destination." The wreckage shimmered, and faded from the transporter disk, and the waves of light converged.

The transporter field remained for almost twenty seconds longer, before it faded from the empty pad, and the hum subsided. "This thing doesn't take you apart, or anything?" I asked.

"No. You're quite whole during the teleport process." she explained. "You're not taken apart, so you are still you on the other end." The pad was completely clear of debris, though a few small pieces of wreckage littered the floor, near the disk. She pressed a button on her console. "Captain Chimmur to bridge, time to get underway." After the unintelligible response from the speaker, she turned to me. "Hold tight."

A flurry of chortling murmur sounded from a speaker, near the door, resembling the sounds a husky might make, when being scratched in the one perfect spot. "Without the translator, wow. No wonder everyone uses those brain box devices."

She grinned. "Might be worth learning, one day."

I laughed. "I still have my hands full, with Spanish, which I kinda need, for my job."

The ship lurched, then shuddered. "We're entering borderspace," the otter explained, "The turbulent transition between our universe and hypserspace. Hold on."

The transition to hyperspace was nearly as rough, as it was with the wolf ship, though the engine was somewhat quieter. I held on to the console, as the ship shuddered, and rocked. After a few minutes of getting used to the turbulence, I turned to the otter alien and asked, "So, what...who are you?"

She frowned, slightly. "A little etiquette lesson. Ask my name, and species. Always ask name first."

"Okay," I said, as I rephrased my question. "What's your name, and species?"

"Better." She smiled, showing the tips of her incisors. "I'm Captain Uchara Chimmur. We call ourselves Chakharans." She paused for a moment, as the shaking continued to intensify. "The few Humans, who know about us, often call us 'Lutrians,' due to our otter-like appearance."

"Captain Uch, ah, Uchara." I knew my pronunciation of her name was barely an approximation, since the otter-alien's mouth structure was very different from mine. "I'm Kenneth, Kenneth Rudich, a, ah Human."

"Ke, Kennezz." Her pronunciation attempt was admirable, and somewhat better than my own attempt to pronounce her name. The otter-alien grinned toothily. "Since you're the only human, here, I'll just call you human, for now. Just call me captain for the time being. We can deal with name pronunciations, later."

"Far enough," I said, as the deck continued to rock, like an ocean vessel in heavy chop. "Why aren't you on the bridge, with the rest of your crew?"

"It's my duty as captain to greet all my guests," the otter explained. "Besides, it's not every day you meet someone who infiltrated and brought down such a notorious vessel, with no training whatsoever, as far as I know." The shaking ended with a sharp lurch, and the turbulence subsided. "What was so special about that ship?" I asked.

"You've crippled a Zephenidian ship called the Kha'Hurakh, a vessel which has been a thorn in our side for at least 70 of your years. It had conducted many raids against your planet. This ship was so successful, that it became the basis of much of the Zephenidian fleet."

"Kha'Hur, what?" I asked.

"_Kha'Hurakh_literally translates to, 'the killer of death.'" explained the otter-alien. It's an old Zephenidian folk tale, about someone who cheats death by killing the Zephenidian version of your grim reaper, but in the process, nearly negates existence itself."

"Nasty!" Recalling the writing, which was scratched on the wall, inside the wolf-alien ship, I felt I needed answers. "Speaking of lore, ah, I found a message scrawled on a wall, inside a holding pen, on that ship. It was signed by a famous aviator, who disappeared about sixty years ago."

The otter turned away, abruptly, then lowered her gaze, her eyes teared up. "Trust me. You don't want to..." She trailed off, then nodded. "Maybe you deserve to know."

My mind jumped to a horrible conclusion. "You're allies with those wolves?"

"No!" she snapped. "Just hear me out. Suppose a large heavily armed ship was to enter your system. Maybe just one ship, or an actual hunter pack. They come out of hyperspace, and rapidly approach your planet. By the time we intercept, they're too close. Any weapons fire, and your people would have a great view of the resulting fireworks show. Every telescope would be trained on this event. Photos of a starship the size of an office building would be all over your media. We can't have that."

"Why not?" I asked. "Let earth see the big bad wolf ship."

The Lutrian chortled. "To continue your little analogy, all your little, ah, piggies are gonna think their house is about to get blown down."

The creature's knowledge of earth culture was both refreshing, and unnerving. "How, ah..."

"What are we supposed to do when we're stuck nearly a thousand light years from home, guarding your little planet? But, to continue, Zephenidian ships approach. If we shoot, your people might see it, and missed ordnance might strike your planet's surface, causing more mayhem. Our hands would be tied. They'd force us to negotiate. They'd demand that we give them a few....apes, in exchange for a peaceful departure. We'd usually give them fugitives and criminals, mostly from parts of your planet with poor record keeping. We'd also give them disaster victims, and those who are trapped where they would die, regardless, and where a recoverable body would be unlikely. So yes, about sixty of your years ago, there was an increasing number of Zephenidian raids on your planet. It's possible, maybe likely, that the person you described, was captured in a raid. We never kept records, and we wiped all ship logs." She grimaced, then growled. "This is wrong. I can't believe, we're letting this extortion continue."

Keeping humans in the dark, by sacrificing random people, to appease an enemy, was what this amounted, to. As I tried to make sense of the full scope of the matter, all I could manage to day, was "Oh dear."

The otter got to her feet, stomped toward the door, then turned to face me, again. "I've always wanted to end this practice. Having spoken to you about this, I now feel, I have to. What we're doing is wrong! We've been sacrificing members of your species, to keep them ignorant about alien life, and especially our activities in your system. We just don't have enough ships to adequately defend your planet. With more, and better, ships, we could force enemies out of hyperspace far enough from your planet, that we could engage them unobserved. We just don't have the resources."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

Non-interference policies, such as the Prime Directive in the Star Trek universe, has always seemed like a good idea to me. However, I knew, as well as having seen this in various episodes and scenarios, how such a policy could be perverted. I never expected that I would experience this, first hand, with earth, and humanity, being the protected culture. Kirk or Picard? Kirk would have blown the Zephenidian ships out of the sky, and not cared if everyone on the ground got to see an eyeful. Picard, on the other hand, would have likely, but reluctantly, proceeded in much the same way these Lutrian aliens had. I looked down into my lap, as I played the scenarios out in my head. "I, ah, I don't really blame you. It's wrong, but I understand."

"Thank you, human," the otter said, as she paced past the door, again.

"Maybe with this Killer of Death thing destroyed, things can return to normal, and you won't have to throw more people to the wolves."

"I wish this was true, but there are several ships that come by from time to time. Humans will still die. And don't tell me, we should just make contact, so your people can help out with the defense. I've already petitioned the Federation council five times with proposals to consider full contact proceedings. All were rejected."

"I'm totally with you, on that one," I said. There was, also, the matter of my own capture. "But, why was I taken. I'm not a fugitive, and I wasn't about to be killed, only mugged."

She stopped, and looked down for a moment. "We employ small drones with optical cloaks, and shipboard scanner systems, to monitor your planet. A cloaked drone was hovering near where you were attacked. The Kha'Hurakh was in orbit, waiting for us to provide the teleport coordinates of likely prey. I gave them the coordinates of the assailants, but they, either accidentally, or purposely, took you instead." She sighed. "I thought, being a little careless, maybe having a witness see someone get teleported, might help to end this practice, once and for all. This will most likely end my career. I'd certainly be reprimanded. There might even be legal repercussions. I think this whole practice, to use a Terran colloquialism, totally sucks." She walked toward the door again, then beckoned me. "Come, Human, I got something to show you." The door slid open, as she stepped through the doorway.

I got to my feet, and followed her through the door, and turned left down a narrow corridor. The corridor terminated into a cockpit-style bridge, with two seats at a wrap-around control panel, and a third, raised, chair in the middle, behind the two seats. Two sleek otter-aliens occupied the forward seats. Most of the space above the console was one vast window, filled with an onrushing cascade of luminous mist, which formed tendrils and eddies, of greens, blues, and violets, in a starless void.

The Lutrian, who sat at the right side of the cockpit, turned to me, and cracked a toothy grin. "After what you've been through, I'd so want to ravish you, but I know you'd probably not be..."

Captain Chimmur rested her right hand on my left shoulder, as she stood beside me. She spoke to the pilot. "Hush, don't make him uncomfortable."

I was taken aback, not fully sure I understood what that Lutrian meant. "Ravish?"

She leaned into me and whispered. "He's propositioning you."

"That's ah," I stammered. "I, ah, don't think I'm into, ah, other species."

The pilot's grin evaporated. "Ah, humans." He slowly turned back to the console, and peered at a status screen.

"That sure came out of left field," I mumbled.

Captain Chimmur whispered, "We are much more open about affection and sexuality. This does intimidate, sometimes frightens, some humans. Even you were a bit intimidated of me, back in the teleport room, and I wasn't even trying to flirt with you."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Her hand felt warm on my shoulder. I suspected she was doing this deliberately to ease me into being more comfortable with her and her species. It was definitely helping, as I didn't flinch as she gently ran her claws along my back, and shoulders. I turned my attention back to the two otters at the console and watched them work. Both looked much like Captain Chimmur, though they appeared slightly taller and more muscular. As far as I could tell, they were male, though they appeared almost as feminine as the captain. As I watched the pilot, who had propositioned me earlier, check a monitor with radiating grid lines sweeping across it, I finally smiled for the first time since my abduction.

VI

The trip back to earth took nearly three hours, in part, due to Uchara Chimmur's insistence on conducting a patrol around the edge of the solar system. My own gut feeling, was that she purposely delayed my homecoming, to ease me out of that nightmare aboard the Zephenidian ship. I learned a lot about the Lutrians, the Zephenidians, as well as aspects of their history, culture, and technology. The Lutrians had a lot of personal stories, which they shared with me. I was surprised at how quickly I got used to their weird mental universal translator devices. These creatures were alien, basically sapient talking otters. But after a short time, they didn't seem so alien, anymore.

"... you'd call it high school," said the Lutrian who sat in the seat at the left side of the cockpit. He turned back to the console to check his instruments for a moment, before turning back to me. "One of my crushes, ultimately, became my primary mate. She works at the Terra Luna facility, working with human expatriates, helping them adjust to life away from earth."

"None of my high school crushes ever went anywhere." I stood in the back of the cockpit next to Captain Uchara, who was seated in the captain's chair. "And I didn't have any same-sex crushes. All girls. Never been into guys. There's someone at work who I'm interested in, but I've yet to ask her out."

A flashing light, and a soft beeping tone, sounded from the console. The Lutrian to my right, glanced at an indicator, then turned off the alarm. "We're entering the inner system."

Captain Uchara said, "Bring us around sunward, and drop us to sublight for our final approach." She turned to me. "You'll want to hold onto something."

The ship shook and rocked as it began its return to normal space. I held onto the back of the captain's chair, to keep my balance. The strange wisps of plasma streamed past, though the stars were visible. Earth, appearing slightly distorted, slowly drew nearer.

As I watched my home slowly grow on the view port, I decided to change the subject. "So, ah, what are you doing out in my star system?" A jolt caused me to tighten my grip on the chair, to steady myself.

The pilot, to the right, turned and smirked. "It's a long story, and you'd probably not believe any of it."

I wasn't sure if he was being evasive, so I asked, "Captain, is this sort of classified?"

Captain Uchara glanced over her shoulder. "Maybe. Maybe a little."

The deck shuddered under my feet, as I continued to grip the sides of the captain's chair. "It's just that nothing seems to make sense to me. The space wolves seemed to have no problems eating humans. I wonder if you guys can eat earth food."

"With a few minor limitations, we can." explained the captain, as she continued to peer over her shoulder.

"Let me guess." I thought about the foods pet owners weren't supposed to feed their dogs. "I guess no chocolate for you."

She chortled loudly. "A simple pill solves that problem."

As the ship shuddered, as it continued to decelerate, I began to wonder if all the books I've read about exobiology were wrong. Like the Zephenidians, these otter-aliens seemed too much like otters, though I was less sure, since I had never been around such creatures. I thought about asking, but I didn't know how to frame such a question. As the features of earth resolved, as it loomed on the view port, I felt that returning to my own world was more important, than prodding some aliens for information, which might result in these creatures becoming reluctant to return me to earth. I was somewhat concerned that this might already be the case. The fact that the ship was still on a heading, straight for earth did reassure me.

With a flash, the hyperspatial energy mists were gone. Earth loomed large on the view port, and was no longer distorted. I gazed at the blue, whites, greens, and browns, as my home slowly grew on the screen. The view slowly veered away, and a small, whitish-gray, pitted, globe panned into view.

"Wait," My heart began to sink. "I'm from that blue thing we were heading for, not that ugly rock."

The Lutrian captain got to her feet, and turned to face me. "I'm sorry. You've seen too much. You know too much. Your return to your planet would interfere with its culture and..."

This definitely killed the mood of the past few hours. "Don't give me that _Star Trek_shit!" I yelled. "My absence will disrupt more lives than if I am returned, and I kept my mouth shut. Even if I did speak, no one would believe a word I said, and would probably lock me up in the funny far. I promise, I won't talk about this to anyone. You even mentioned that you wanted to spread a little 'cultural contamination' yourself so this wolf problem could end."

"We have a base," she continued, "located about a kilometer or so beneath the surface of the far side of your planet's moon, called Terra Luna. It's actually a very nice place. Several Humans make there homes, there."

I sighed and then spoke to the otter who sat at the left side of the console. "I guess I'd be one of those expats your wife would be helping." There was a moment of ambivalence. I could live among the Lutrians, and other species. There would be computers and other technologies, which would beg to be explored. However, I would have to give up everything I knew. I'd be cut off from my friends and family, possibly permanently. The awesome time would quickly turn into loneliness, and a terrible longing for home. "Look, this place sounds tempting. I'd love to see that place, but I belong on earth. I got friends. I got family. I'm not a transient who might be overlooked. There would be missing persons reports, manhunts, possibly arrests of innocent people."

The Lutrian captain walked to the back of the cockpit, then put her hand on my shoulder, and ran her claws along my back. "Human, I like you. It's my fault, you ended up here." She addressed the other two crew members. "What I'm about to do would be rather difficult to explain as an accident. I'm about to violate direct orders. If either of you don't agree with it, I can take it from here, and arrange for you to safely leave the ship."

Both of the aliens at the console, turned, and grinned, showing the tips of their fangs. The one who had propositioned me earlier, said, "We'll get you home, Human. You didn't ask or deserve to be captured by the Zephenidians."

"Thanks," I said, as the view panned back toward earth. I could hear a soft rumble, from the rear of the ship. Soon, I would be back among humans. There would no more Lutrians, no more of those Zephenidian wolf fucks. Teleporters and hyperdrives, would return to the realm of science fiction.

_ _ "Come with me," said the Lutrian captain, rousing me from my train of thought. "The small hyperdrive of this ship limits its teleporter range, and we need to get even closer so I can make sure you're set down unobserved. We have to go in, teleport you down, and leave before we're detected."

"Thanks, everyone," I said to the three otter-aliens. The Captain headed for the door, so I followed. Glancing back, I saw the two Lutrians in the cockpit smiling as they watched me proceed down the corridor to the transporter room. Once through the door, she stepped over to the console, and began working its controls. "Since we're not going to Terra Luna, I think I can divulge a bit of information, which might interest you."

"Okay," I said, as I stood on the other side of the console, facing her.

"The Zephenidian who helped you escape," she said as she seemed lost in thought for a moment. "He's in our infirmary being treated for a concussion, and some minor barotrama."

I was both angry at her earlier deception, but also happy that the Zephenidian had survived. "I, ah, why did you lie to me about his death?"

"Human, go to the pad," she instructed. "Time is short."

As I backed toward the disk, I yelled, "Answer me, please!"

"It was his request. He didn't want to face you. He was scared." She looked back down at the console. "He assumed you would be going to Terra Luna with him, and knew he could hide in the facility, among the small resident Zephenidian population. He planned to eventually seek you out, once he was ready."

I took a deep breath, before saying, "Okay, I think I understand."

"He said he gave you something; one of his old medals."

Realizing that she was, almost certainly, going to confiscate the trinket, I slowly reached into my front pocket and removed the chain, with the wolf-jaw pendent hanging from it. "I guess you won't let me keep this."

"Do keep it," she insisted.

"Wouldn't it be a problem, with it being alien?" I asked, as I held the medal out to her.

"Not at all," she answered. "It's made of steel or titanium, and could easily be tooled by any competent jeweler on your planet."

"Thank you," I said as I returned the trinket to my pocket.

"You might want to burn the stay bits of fur off of it, though," she instructed. "Just to be safe." She peered at a display on the console. "Entering low orbit." Prepare for teleport."

"You know where I was abducted, from?" I asked. "Just beam me to the nearest coastline. I need to take a swim and get this blood off of me." I felt my shirt, which had become crusty and stiff from dried blood, and pieces of flesh. "Shit, I think I'm wearing someone's intestines."

She smirked. "It's your fault. You refused my offer to have your clothes laundered."

"I didn't want to be naked around you guys. But yeah, I should have gotten over it."

She focused her attention on a monitor. "I found a place to set you down. The teleport might be a bit rough?"

"Rough? What do you mean?" I asked as I stepped to the middle of the pad.

She looked up from the console. "There's a couple of moments to spare for a proper goodbye."

"What do you mean by that?" I shifted my weight, nervously.

She got to her feet and hurried around the console and rushed to the pad, throwing her arms around me. I felt her push her nose hard against the side of my neck, as she quietly said, "I'm sorry. My mistake could have killed you. I hope you forgive me, and see any administrative action taken against me, as punishment enough."

Though startled by her abrupt embrace, I made no attempt to push her away. There was a certain kinship I felt toward these creatures. They just didn't seem so alien, anymore. As I buried my face into her chest, I slowly inhaled her scent. There was a very slight canine musk, mixed with a fragrance which smelled very similar to cinnamon. Her fur, though short, had a dense plush feel. As I brought my arms around her to complete the embrace, I expected her thin frame to feel uncomfortably bony. Instead, she was surprisingly muscular. She responded by wetly nibbling the right side of my neck. I didn't recoil from her affection, though I did feel that she was going a bit too far. "I forgive you." I whispered. "And thank you, and ah..." Feeling caked blood and bits of flesh, crumbling into her pelt, I mumbled, "I ah, think I messed up your fur."

She gave me a gentle playful nip on the side of my neck, which startled me, before she released me from her embrace. The floor began to shudder with greater intensity, which was her cue to hurry back to the transporter console, where she sat down. After peering at a display for a few moments, her hand darted to a button. "Bring us in closer!" she shouted into the intercom. "We need to make sure he's set down unobserved." She continued to squint at the screen, while making adjustments. "There's a large life form here, so adjusting the teleport coordinates. Hmm, okay, we're good. It's not human."

"What's going on?" I asked.

She continued to peer at the scanner while working the console. She growled. "That's ugly. Who would do this?"

"Do what?" I asked, as I fought to keep my footing, as the deck heaved.

"You're fine. It's just that some...we're losing our stealth. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" The room shimmered, as a blazing ring of light formed, at about chest high, split, and diverged. As the waves of light spread across my field of vision, the room dissolved into swarms of sparks, as the gravity ebbed. The sound was odd, like a distant hiss or roar, which grew louder, as the light waves slowed and reversed. Indistinct shapes formed, around me. A pool of cyan light, illuminated what appeared to be sand, with a glint of water, and moonlight. The rings converged, and the energy field faded, along with the hum. Sand shifted under my feet, causing me to stumble onto my knees.

I slowly rose to my feet. "I'm home!" I shouted, though my voice was lost in the roar of a large breaking wave. "It's over. I'm home!" Hills rose to the east, dotted with lights from the various homes and street lamps. Over the hills, the sky took on a faint orange hue of the approaching dawn. To the west, a line of pearl formed, as another large wave tumbled into a seething stretch of turbulent foam. The moon shone brightly, over the surf, creating a dance of sparkling light.

A wave crashed into foam, jostling a gray mass. A three-foot long, metal shaft was embedded in the form. From the top of the shaft, a four-foot length of yellow nylon rope, dangled from it, into the swirling sea foam. The gray form bobbed slightly, as another spent wave splashed around it. Curiosity got the better of me, as I quickly rushed out into the surf. As the chilly foamy water rose to my waist, I pushed myself further out, and ducked into an approaching breaker, allowing the surge to wash the worst of the mess from my clothing. It took me several moments for me to realize that the gray mass was a young bottlenose dolphin, maybe five or six feet long, with a spear embedded in its flank. The full horror became apparent, as the dolphin's tail moved feebly. It was caught on a small sand bar, which probably kept it from drowning. The tail jerked, and the fins quivered, before the creature rolled onto its side. "Who would do something like this?" The surge of anger made me want to scream. I wanted to look for the person who shot this dolphin, but knew that this would be futile. The dolphin might have been shot hours ago, and possibly miles away. As I watched the creature's body rock, as another wave washed past, I remembered what my wolfish friend had said. "Our species seem to have much in common."

_ _ My response was clear, "Yes, my friend, we do have much in common. Too much in common."

Epilogue

I saved my document, then closed out of my pirated copy of Microsoft Word, as I mused over the events from ten years ago. I had blown up an alien spaceship, back in August of 1998, and no one would ever know. Thinking about this, sometimes made me giddy. The fact, that I accidentally killed a young man during my escape, did help keep me grounded, though I still felt like a hero character, at times. I kept wanting to talk about the events of that night, but I've always bitten my tongue. I had made a promise to the otter alien, that I'd never speak of this to anyone, and I was not going to let her down.

The only thing anyone would know, was that morning, when I stumbled to my apartment complex at nearly nine in the morning, appearing to have survived being murdered. Without my keys, and wallet, I had to knock on the manager's door, and had to convince her of my identity so she could give me a spare key. Later that day, I had a friend burn my bloody clothing in his barbecue pit, just to be safe.

A few days after my little misadventure, police officers had knocked on my door, and took me in for questioning. There was the disappearance of a young African American man, and his friend had fingered me as a kidnapper. I decided to play dumb, since they would have never believed the truth. A combination of the guy's increasingly fanciful stories, and my full-body space-hickey, had convinced the investigators that the guy was nuts, and that he had assaulted me. The man, ultimately, was railroaded into pleading guilty of second degree murder. I felt that this was very unfair, but there was nothing I could have done, not without risking being charged for the disappearance, as well as breaking my word with Uchara Chimmur.

I stuck with my current job, despite the fact that there was little room for advancement. The coworker who I had fancied; well, she was uninterested, and later left the company. I've had other love interests, since then, but they ultimately went nowhere, as well. My apartment was the same small studio, with its ever expanding shelves of science fiction VHS tapes, DVDs, novels, and memorabilia. I was now debating whether to buy a Blu-ray player, but the thought of my having to re-buy my entire movie library in this new format, made me wince. As for my TV, which was a fairly modern panel, I rarely watched anything, these days, except for Lost and Doctor Who. I avoided the news like the plaque, since the presidential primaries were in full swing.

I did feel a strange longing, though. There were times where I wished I had let the Lutrians take me to the Terra Luna facility. Compared to what I experienced that night, everything else just seemed so mundane. I admit, I became one of those furries, as they call themselves. No one would ever know, that, for one night, I lived the fantasy for real. I sighed as I turned back to my monitor, and clicked on the Firefox web browser shortcut. Once the browser opened, I selected Furaffinity from my bookmarks. Unfortunately, the page timed out, not even displaying its usual mascot image. I sighed again, since the site had been having a lot of problems over the past few weeks.

There was a local furry con, coming up in the next month or two, with its theme being steampunk. Though I've been a fixture at the local science fiction convention scene for decades, I had never attended a furry con. I felt that fursuits, or costumes, which many attendees wore, were a pale imitation of what I had seen, and experienced. Of course, the same could be said for any other science fiction convention, considering I had been on two interstellar space vessels that night. Despite that, I had still continued to attend Loscon every year, without fail, since 1994. I guess it's hard not to feel a bit jaded, with what I had experienced, first hand. I nearly became prey to space wolves, which made it difficult for me to fully accept those into fantasies about being eaten alive. I was propositioned by a giant space otter, and the ship's captain, who was, also, of the same species, did not hold back with being a bit overly affectionate toward me. What was that term for interspecies sex? Was it, Risha-something or other? Furries had the term "yiff" for things of that ilk, a term which was, thankfully, falling out of favor.

This event had effected me profoundly, so much so, that even my friends still bugged me to tell them the "full truth." of what happened, that night. I become more optimistic about humanity's future, believing that great things were on the horizon. My own perception of aesthetics and attraction had broadened, considerably. I no longer considered myself completely heterosexual, though I had yet to have any same-sex experiences. Even concepts such as species, seemed less meaningful to me, as I had become increasingly attracted to non-human characters in movies, animations, and in various artwork. Come to think of it, if those Lutrians, Chakharians, whatever they called themselves, visited, and one of them had propositioned me again, I'd be afraid, but I'd almost certainly be willing, regardless of gender.

Glancing up, a glint of metal caught my attention. I reached for small shelf above my computer desk, and retrieved a flat shiny trinket on a chain, from between two flat DVD jewel cases. The chain rattled as I dragged the medal toward me, nearly dropping it on my desk. The wolf head, with its gaping jaws, and ears drawn back, gleamed as I turned it in my hand. Several tufts of gray fluff were caught in the links of the chain, as I had neglected to burn them away, as Captain Chimmur had instructed. I reminisced about that brave wolf who turned against his own people, to save me. All I had given him, in return, was distrust and fear. That's why he gave this to me. He knew that, if he succeeded, I'd feel guilty at how I had treated him. He made everything else, from my meeting the awesome otter aliens, to my homecoming, possible. A tear slid down my cheek as I desperately wanted to make things up to him. I owed Uchara Chimmur as well, for she likely destroyed her career to get me home. Even her crew put their careers on the line for me, as well. How could I ever make it up to them. _ As I turned the medal in my hand, an idea struck me. _I should get a chain for this, a proper chain so I can wear it around my neck. The wolf-alien wanted me to have the medal, and the otter-alien insisted that I keep it. No longer would I keep this medallion hidden in a stack of DVDs. I would wear it in their honor, in his honor, close to my heart. As I clipped the medal's chain to my shirt, as a temporary measure, I thought back to when Uchara Chimmur mentioned her attempts to petition their council to make official contact with earth. As far as I knew, the Lutrians were still out there, guarding earth from alien attacks. The time would come, when they would, finally, make contact. I hoped I'd still be around when that day comes.