Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 15

"Well, that was surprisingly easy," Rob thought aloud to himself. He expected more resistance to his demand. "Flash Delta Two Alpha, eh? I guess I'd better put the word out," he said as he started punching keys on his cell phone.

The cell phones that both Ron and Rob carry with them are identical to those of every person who served in the original Sea Wolf packs. While they may appear to be a typical "smart" phone with an extended battery pack, they were anything but. These special cell phones are untraceable through cell tower logs, and all data sent and received is encrypted and decrypted on the fly. The phones have the added capability to function as secure walkie-talkies, and the exact location of each one only shows up on each of the other phones though a special locater circuit and hidden low power satellite antenna. When the need arises to switch to higher-power satellite communication through the phone, an object that appears as a functioning L.E.D. flashlight stored in the phone's holster is actually a disguised, extendable satellite antenna that plugs into the phone. All one needs to do in order to use the external antenna, is to twist the base cap so that the plug extends, pull the L.E.D. housing straight out to telescope the antenna, plug it into the phone, and tilt the L.E.D. housing.

The code Ron instructed Lupina to give to Rob was a pre-arranged signal in case something wasn't going right. When Rob got the call from The Center, he assumed that the call would at least be monitored, possibly even recorded, due to Ron's discrete observations from the last time he and Lupina were at The Center. Lupina and Rosie had mentioned that video cameras were nearly everywhere so that the human staffers could observe the G.E.L.F.s at all times. The G.E.L.F.s all knew that they were being watched and found ways to keep from being seen talking when they wanted a private conversation, though the human staffers--with the exception of a certain older woman who was on the janitorial staff--had no idea that their subjects were on to them. The G.E.L.F.s also developed their own speech, which they modeled after the sounds made by their four-footed counterparts, which humans have never been truly able to decipher.

Rob sent out a secure message to the others, giving the coordinates of The Center, as well as the little bit of information on Ron's condition that Lupina was able to relay. Within the space of a few minutes, the former special-ops veterans all sent their acknowledgement of the situation. Rob knew that they would be standing by and ready to assist if needed. One of the guys, "Idling" Dave Idelzhye, sent a private text message back that he had been to the place a week ago with his girlfriend, Lizzie.

"Dave, what the blazes were you doing at The Center...unless 'Lizzie' is...a G.E.L.F.?" Rob wondered aloud. "Hmm, what's the chances of that?" Rob muttered as he tapped a private reply message.

[Rob] "What were *you* there for?"

[Dave] "I'll show you."

Shortly a quiet tone indicated an incoming photo message. As soon Rob saw the image, he nearly dropped his phone. Holding his phone out at arm's length, Dave had taken a quick snapshot of himself passionately kissing his girlfriend--a beautiful, blue-morph[1] female arctic fox G.E.L.F.

It took a fair amount of discussion, but eventually the staff allowed Helga to ride along in the back of the vehicle. She wasn't due to leave The Center for another six months yet, though the behaviorist decided this would be a great opportunity for Helga to interact with someone new. The deciding factor was that Rob was already well acquainted with two G.E.L.F.s, and he got along with both of them. Helga was rather curious about the human she was going to meet after hearing what Lupina and Rosie had said of him. She didn't particularly care for the modified vehicle--it felt more like a cage on wheels instead of a proper passenger vehicle, with the fake windows, the solid metal divider between the front seats and the back, and doors that can only be opened from the outside. The hour or so trip to Dallas was boring, and there was little light in the back where she sat. Helga was thankful that they at least had the air conditioning on in the back of the SUV--the temperature was tolerable, though for someone adapted to a colder environment, it could have been cooler.

When it was near the time for the vehicle from The Center to arrive, Rob called down to the main lobby and told the clerk that he is expecting someone and to buzz him in his room when someone came and asked for him. After he had sent the flash message out, one of their former Sea Wolves pack mates who happened to live in the Dallas area, a man by the name of Jack Heyworth, came to the hotel and met with Rob. They discussed the situation, and Jack agreed to tail the SUV discretely. It was a simple enough thing to do. Jack sat in the main lobby, appeared to read one of the magazines on the table, until someone came in, and asked the front clerk to page Rob's room. Jack then went outside and headed for the parking lot, slipping a high-tech little locator beacon into the rear bumper as he walked behind The Center's vehicle on his way to his own vehicle. The SUV, as Ron had mentioned another time, did not have real rear windows, so there would be a blind spot where Jack could easily attach the little device quickly, with practiced ease. As soon as Rob got the notice that some one was waiting for him at the front desk, Rob sent a simple, one word text message to Jack--"Go."

When Rob walked up to the front desk, the clerk pointed to a younger man waiting in a chair. He was about average height, dressed like someone who worked on an area farm, and spoke with a Texas drawl.

"Mr. Cloud? I'm Ted, Lu asked me to come give ya a ride out to the ranch."

Rob shook Ted's hand though he knew what he said wasn't quite accurate--it was so that it wouldn't give away where he was really from. Whether "Ted" was his real name or not, it didn't really matter. They walked together in silence to the waiting SUV out front.

Just before opening the side door to let Rob in, Ted said, "Hope y'all don't mind but we've got someone taggin' along."

Before Ted had even opened his mouth, Rob already sensed that there was more than one person in the vehicle, with one very different from the other. When Ted opened the door, Rob noted that it was dark inside, and he scented...a cat?

Cautiously entering the vehicle, Rob noted that the layout of the interior was a bit odd for a standard sized SUV. Next to the partition that separated the front two seats from the rest of the passenger compartment was a single rearward facing seat on the left side. The back had one bench seat that faced forward, with a bit of space between it and the rear doors. He saw that a person was sitting in the back on the left, and the scent of cat hair seemed stronger. No sooner than Rob got inside, Ted shut the door, plunging the back of the SUV in near darkness. The only light came from around the edges of the partition. Rob froze in position for a moment as he quickly sized up the situation. Before he could do or say anything, a soft, feminine voice that sounded a bit...different, spoke to him.

"You must be...Rob...may I call you that?" the female voice asked politely.

Rob's eyes were adjusting to the dim light when he heard the engine come to life.

"Yes, and you are?" he asked in return.

"Helga. Please, you should sit," she said, patting the seat softly.

Just as Rob started moving again, the driver put the SUV into gear and pulled away from the hotel's entrance. The effect would have caused a normal person to fall into the seat, but Rob's quick reflexes allowed him to make the transition smoothly. The female who he shared the seat with watched with apparent passive interest, though she carefully noted every move.

Finding the seatbelt, Rob fastened it across him, and settled back for the long ride. The female held her hand out to him in a manner of greeting.

"Pleased to meet you. Your friend's mate...excuse me, mates, I should say, spoke highly of you," Helga said in a voice that Rob found oddly pleasant despite the interesting accent which he couldn't place.

Just as he took hold of Helga's hand, his eyes finally adjusted enough that he could see. The sensation of her furry, somewhat paw-like hand in his, hit him at the same time that he could clearly see the very cat-like face calmly looking at him. Something stirred deep within him that up until now, he thought was long buried and forgotten.

"Nice to meet you, too," Rob said, feeling somewhat odd.

Noting his reluctance, Helga asked, "Do I...make you uncomfortable?"

"Oh, no, not at all, it's just that...," Rob started to say.

"...You weren't expecting me," Helga interjected.

"Correct," Rob said.

"There wasn't time to tell you," Helga said quietly, casting a glance towards the front of the vehicle, her tail twitching a bit nervously.

Rob noted her actions, so he held a finger up to his lips and reached for his cell phone. Clicking on a few menu items and entering a short code, the phone began making a quiet, almost hissing, complex tone pattern that caused Helga's ears to flatten in irritation.

Quietly Rob said, "If there's any kind of listening devices back here, they won't pick up anything but static now."

"That's...a bit irritating," Helga said.

"Yeah, I know," Rob agreed, squinting a little and rubbing his ear. "It works, though." Nodding his head towards the front he asked, "What's the situation with Ron, do you know?"

"I was working out in the exercise room when your friend and two of our kind came in. He got onto the treadmill next to the one I was using and we began talking. I recognized his name when he introduced himself from the books he wrote--they're among my favorites. He introduced me to his mate, Lupina, and she and I started talking while he went on to use the weight machine. A little later we heard the weights fall hard, and saw him bent over holding his sides. I ran ahead to the infirmary while his mates helped him get there. The medical staff began running all sorts of tests on him, and they called one of the head biologists in, Dr. Nemeth," Helga explained.

"Darcy Nemeth...yeah, I know about her," Rob said, recalling some of the information he had found out through his own network of contacts, plus what Ron had dug up on her, along with some interesting tidbits from both Lupina and Rosie.

Helga's tail twitched again and then she continued, "Lupina thought that it might be a good idea if I were to ride along, perhaps to keep you company. Was she wrong to assume that?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Rob said somewhat apologetically. "Just got to thinking about something."

Helga blinked slowly and asked, "You're worried about your friend, correct?"

"Yes," Rob agreed.

Shifting her position to her right and leaning back into the corner, Helga brought her right thigh up onto the seat, crossing her legs by hooking her right foot under her left leg.

"He was awake when we left...but he seems to have wanted to make the humans think he was still asleep from the medications they gave him," Helga said.

"Not surprising," Rob said.

"Why do you say that?" Helga asked.

Somewhat reluctantly, Rob said, "Certain drugs...don't work well on us."

Helga cocked her head slightly to one side and asked, "Do you know a human by the name of...Dave...who was in the military?"

"I know lots of guys by the name of Dave or David," Rob said in a neutral voice.

"Lupina told me that you and your friend...have unusual abilities. The human I mentioned, he has unusual abilities, too. He came to be tested for compatibility with his...'girlfriend'. She's one of us, a G.E.L.F. vixen, by the name of Lizzie. They found out that he's like your friend, Ron...and he is compatible with us. Maybe...you might be as well?" Helga asked.

Rob thought for a moment, and then picked up his phone and pulled up the snapshot that Dave had sent to him earlier.

"Is this the guy?" Rob asked, showing Helga the picture.

She gently took hold of his hand and pulled it a little further away.

"Sorry, I...have a little trouble seeing things real close," she said apologetically.

"Ah, sorry...I guess those biologists didn't give you human eyesight, then. Cats typically have trouble seeing things close up, but they can spot a fly moving some distance away," Rob observed.

Helga cocked her head a little and said, "You understand cats, I take it."

Rob chuckled quietly and said, "Yeah, I kind of like cats...big cats, house cats..."

"...Cat G.E.L.F.s?" she asked hopefully.

Normally, Rob was hesitant to get too involved with a woman, due to having had some very bad experiences in the past, but for some reason--and before he could think of some excuse not to, he surprised himself with the answer.

"Yes."

Rob had shut off the little noise-generating app on his phone and during the rest of the trip to The Center, he and Helga kept the conversation light. When the SUV slowed down, turned off the paved road, and started going down a gravel road, Rob thought that they might be getting close to their destination. After bouncing along for a good fifteen minutes, they slowed down and turned off down another road, which seemed if anything, even more bumpier than the last one. Eventually they came to a halt, and heard the driver say something to someone outside the vehicle, and then they started moving again, although at a slower speed. They didn't seem to go very far before the SUV came to a halt and the driver turned off the engine. Ted, who was sitting on the passenger side up front, got out, and opened up the side door. After being in the darkened back part of the vehicle for about an hour, the late afternoon sunlight was almost painfully bright. Rob let Helga get out first and he followed her out at a respectable interval. As soon as he got out of the vehicle, the little ident circuit in his phone broadcast it's signal and was acquired by the special satellite system, marking his location's coordinates.

Jack had followed the SUV ferrying Rob to The Center from a safe distance to prevent being seen by the driver of the vehicle. Tracking them the whole way, Jack knew from experience not to make the last turn off from the gravel road. A secretive place such as The Center would likely have cameras and various sensors to detect approaching vehicles. He drove on by at a steady speed, not slowing down any, and snapping photos as he went. Looking at the map he brought along, he noted the road and the distance the locator beacon was from the graveled one. At the next intersection of back county roads, he stopped just long enough to jot down some quick notes, before turning and going on around the location of The Center. At every intersection around the loop, he made more notes, including road conditions, bridges, available cover, location of farmhouses, and so forth. Later, after he got back home, he collected his notes, and uploaded them to the rest of the guys. When the three other former members of Sea Wolf / Alpha Pack could arrive in Dallas, they would go in at night and recon the area. Just like old times.

The main compound of The Center is surrounded on four sides by thick scrub and western red cedars, along with taller trees to block the view from casual observance, and an old looking chain-link fence with a few strands of barbwire on top. Every so far around the fence are little partially rusted white signs with fading black letters that say "PRIVATE PROPERTY - KEEP OUT." Beyond the fence, there are more western red cedar trees of varying sizes before coming to an open area surrounded by a smooth, 3-meter tall concrete wall. The main building in the compound looks on the outside like a small, and relatively common "mc mansion" style house--however, inside the building, it is anything but. The ground floor houses offices for the various staff members, while the upper floor contains hotel-like room suites, a kitchen, and other facilities for the staff. Below the building are several large levels that include the labs, dining facilities for the G.E.L.F.s, classrooms, machinery spaces, recreational areas, and in the lowest level...maturation rooms for growing the G.E.L.F.s in artificial wombs. Dormitory-style rooms located on the first level down are used as the living quarters for the G.E.L.F.s until they are ready to "graduate" and join the world's population. All of the buildings located above ground can be accessed from below...this is provided as a means for escape in case of fire or other disaster, as well as a way to quickly get inside to shelter in case of tornadoes...or to hide from spying aircraft.

Ted escorted Rob and Helga into the main building while the driver parked the SUV under what appeared to be a pole barn. Helga stayed relatively close to Rob as the trio went inside. Aside from observing and noting everything he could about the place, Rob also found Helga's presence to be somewhat of a distraction--in a pleasant way, of course. The first thing he had noticed when getting into the SUV with her was the scent of cat hair, but as they traveled together, he also began to notice her personal scent. Rob remembered Ron telling him once in private how Lupina's scent seemed so intoxicating to him. Rob thought that his long time friend was just exaggerating a bit when he told him that...now that he was experiencing it for himself, he understood. Helga's scent is rather intoxicating, and the effect was making her quite desirable in a way he couldn't understand. It was a good thing, though, that with his years of military training and experience, Rob was able to force his attention to remain focused on the situation at hand--there might be a time and a place to pursue more pleasant activities another day, but not here, not now.

Ron suddenly sat bolt upright.

The tech who had come to check the medical monitors and IV bags screamed in surprise, dropping her notepad in the process. Everyone in the room jumped up and came at a run towards the bed where Ron was lying. He sat there, sweating, with a strange look on his face.

"Put me someplace safe," he said, with a hint of a growl to his voice.

The monitors were going nuts with the increased activity they were detecting.

Lupina shouldered her way through the staffers to get to her mate's side.

"I'm here, baby, what's wrong?" she asked feeling very concerned.

Ron looked at her and again said, "Put me someplace safe."

"Safe from what, baby? Nobody's after you!" she implored.

Ron shook his head, and looking around at everyone, said, "Where you will be safe...from me."

The doctor present said firmly, "I want this patient restrained and sedated now!"

"Fool!" Ron growled, "It won't...work! I...need...a...secure...room."

They didn't pay him any heed. Every one of the staffers present, helped to get Ron strapped down to the bed. Lupina and Rosie tried to get them to understand to no avail. As soon as his arms, legs, and chest were firmly strapped down with the heavy leather straps, a strong dose of sedative was administered. The effect of the medication was fleetingly temporary.

*POP! POP!* *POP!* *POP! POP!*

With little effort, Ron broke all five thick leather restraints, pulled out the I.V. needles, yanked the wires off, and hopped out of the bed.

"Get...me...that...room. NOW!!!" he yelled, breathing heavily, and fighting to keep himself under control long enough to make it to someplace that could hopefully hold him. The staffers were shocked and standing there gawking--they had never seen anything like this before.

"Well just don't stand there, ya jerks...DO somethin'!" Rosie shouted.

Lupina got on one side of Ron and put her arm around his, prompting Rosie to do the same on the other side.

"Dr. Nemeth! Where's that secure room at?" Lupina demanded.

"Uh...come with me," she said warily.

Just as they were about to leave the infirmary, two security guards showed up, Tasers in hand.

Ron glared at them with a feral look and said in a low, menacing voice, "The first one who pulls the trigger...dies. Instantly. The second one will die somewhat slower...painfully."

Lupina and Rosie both were quite shocked--they had never heard Ron speak this way to anyone before. The thing was, though, they somehow knew that he was quite capable of carrying out what he said. It wasn't a threat...it was a statement of fact. He would kill both guards...but only if they became "hostiles" in his mind.

Just as they were heading out of the room, Rob and Helga saw them as they came down the hallway to see how Ron was doing.

"Ron!" Rob called out, trying to get his friend's attention.

Lupina and Rosie both turned their heads and saw Rob making his way towards them, but he kept walking.

Rob saw the worried looks on the faces of Lupina and Rosie, and he could sense that something wasn't right.

"MASTER CHIEF!" Rob yelled this time, and the effect was immediate.

Ron instantly froze in his tracks.

Shoving the two security guards aside as if they were nothing more than cardboard cutouts, Rob made his way up to Ron and asked what was going on.

Breathing slowly and deeply, Ron said in a low voice, "It's...starting."

Lupina told Rob, "We're taking him to a room where he shouldn't be able to hurt anything."

Rob nodded his head and added in his mind, "Or anyone."

As long as Lupina, Rosie, and Rob were with him, Ron seemed to become a bit less intense, and his breathing slowed a little.

Rob knew from experience the look in his friend's eyes. He'd seen and experienced it before...they all had. Each of the twenty-four men who volunteered for "Project: Hunter" had all experienced the same thing after the "enhancements" began to take effect. First was the pain as their muscles began to change, then came the fever, followed by the rage, and then the headaches. When the headaches finally went away, the men found that all of their senses were heightened--including a certain mental sensitivity that they never spoke about to anyone, except each other. All twenty-four of the men were constantly aware of each other in ways that they could never fully describe, and it's what made them such a highly effective fighting force. The experiment was not only a success as far as the Pentagon was concerned; it also exceeded the expectations of the scientists performing it. All of the men in the group became stronger, could run faster and further than others, had quicker reflexes, and better senses...however, they also tended to be more aggressive, especially in certain circumstances. It took a lot of training in mental discipline for them to learn how to carefully control and channel that aggression. Each person was different in some aspects, and they all learned that they had gained certain abilities and skills unique from one another...and from those of most humans. Whatever had been done to them before was something quite unique, something that had never been duplicated since, much to the wonder and chagrin of the scientists involved in the project. They tried several more times, though they never were able to achieve the same level of results. It's almost as if the universe had thumbed its nose at them.

Cats are notoriously aloof and independent, choosing things on their own terms. However, cats also seem to be quite perceptive, and Helga was no exception. She watched curiously, while following close to Rob, feeling strangely drawn to be a part of this group.

The room was originally intended to be a storage area when The Center was built, though in the early stages of their work, it was quickly determined that they needed a good, solid place to put an unstable test subject in until it could be decided what to do with it. There was no furniture in the room, only bare concrete floor, walls, and celine. There was one steel door with a small window made from fine wire mesh reinforced bulletproof glass, and a slot for food and beverage to pass through. The only eating utensils that were allowed were paper plates, cups, and a spoon made from silicone rubber. A video camera and a two-way speaker had been added after the room was built to monitor the room's occupant. There was a mattress on the floor, and a "bomb site[2]" toilet in one corner had been added.

"It'll do," Ron said, his voice getting a roughness to it, as he looked around the otherwise bare room.

"We've stayed in worst places," Rob chuckled.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. He turned to Dr. Nemeth and said, "I'll need water, food, a blanket, and...soft classical music. Keep the lights off, too. Don't even think about coming in here until this runs its course."

"How...how long might that take?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'll let you know," he nearly growled.

Dr. Nemeth blanched and took a step back. Ron gave her a smug look and turned to head for the mattress on the floor.

Lupina reached out to him before he got very far and said, "I want to stay with you."

Visibly fighting it now, he shook his head and said, "No...it's...not...safe...for you."

"But baby...," she started to say, but Ron cut her off.

"Rob, get...her...out of...here. Get...everyone...out."

Shrugging off his mate's hand, he plopped down on the mattress and put an arm across his face.

"Come on, Lu, you heard him," Rob said giving a gentle tug on Lupina's arm.

"I'm staying, and you can't make me...Aaak!" she said, never getting to finish her sentence before Rob picked her up and carried her over his shoulder out of the room.

Rosie's jaw dropped when she saw Rob carry Lupina out of the room.

"Rosie! You, too!" Rob called after her.

Sighing, she looked at the door and then back to Ron, lying on the bare mattress. Just then someone brought in a blanket and a pillow, and a large bottle of water. Rosie took the items from the staffer, and cautiously brought them over to Ron.

"Um...here's the stuff you wanted," she said quietly. When Ron responded with only a sound that was half grunt, half growl, she gulped and added, "I-I'll just...put them down...over here."

Rosie carefully set the blanket and pillow on the corner of the mattress, and the water bottle on the floor next to it. She wanted to stay and keep him company just as much as Lupina did, but she thought, "Geez, your scaring me being like this, but...I guess you know what you're doin'."

"Um, I-I guess I'll...be with Lu. Ron? I hope...I hope...you won't stay like this. I love you, big guy...Lu does, too," she said softly.

Ron slid his arm off of his face and looked at her. There was something about his eyes that she thought looked kinda scary...it reminded her of how the wolves looked at her on the deck that one day. But then, slowly, he blinked once. For a moment, his face was calm, like he was just about to take a little nap after chopping a bunch of firewood. Twice he made a kissing gesture with his mouth--once for her, and the second, he did looking towards the door, seeing Lupina looking back at him. The moment of calm didn't last long before "the stare" came back. Rosie gave a little wave with her fingers, and backed out of the room all the way to the hallway. When he was alone in the room, he grabbed the pillow and blanket, and waited for the inevitable.

"How dare you pick me up and carry me out of the room like that!" Lupina fumed when Rob set her back down out in the hallway. She had half a mind to give him the what-for, though Rob held his hands up and shook his head.

I'm sorry, Lupina, but Ron wanted--needed--you out of there. It isn't safe for anyone to be in there with him right now, and I mean anyone," he explained.

"He wouldn't hurt me, he said so!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I know he would never do anything to harm you...under normal circumstances. This isn't normal, though. We've been through this before...and that's all I'll say about it, so don't ask," Rob said.

"The other friend of yours, Dave...this will happen to him, too? And you?" Helga asked quietly.

Everyone looked at her and then to Rob.

"More than likely," Rob said, nodding his head a little.

"Dave...Dave Idelzhye? You know him?" Dr. Nemeth asked incredulously.

"I should, he served under my command; Ron was the unit's senior enlisted," Rob said with a little snort.

"Who's this 'Dave' guy you're yakkin' about?" Rosie asked.

"He is the human who came here last week with a Gen-1 vixen by the name of Lizzie," Helga said calmly.

"Lizzie...Lizzie? That kinda gray-lookin' arctic fox?" Rosie asked scratching and ear.

Rob pulled out his cell phone, pulled up the snapshot, and said, "She's a blue-morph arctic fox," as he showed the picture. Seeing the expression on Dr. Nemeth's face, Rob added, "I've got degrees in Biology and Animal Husbandry, plus another in computers."

Dr. Nemeth's expression changed from one of "how did you know that" to one of surprise.

"We could use someone with those skills," she said.

Rob looked at her and raised an eyebrow just a little, and then said, "Sorry, Dr. Nemeth, I prefer making new life the old-fashioned way. It might take a little longer and the results might be more unpredictable, but in the long run, it's much more rewarding. Besides, procreating in a Petri dish just kind of--diminishes--the experience, don't you think?" At that, Rob turned away and looked through the little window of the door to check on his friend.

"Can ya see anything?" Rosie asked, coming up beside Rob by the door.

"He's just lying there," Rob said. After a moment, he looked down at Rosie and asked, "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Lu's not the only one who loves him," she replied quietly.

Rob put an arm around her shoulder and said, "I know."

After a few seconds, Rosie looked up and asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"

"I think so. He's a survivor, Rosie," Rob said encouragingly.

"Um...if he's compatible with us G.E.L.F.s, and that Dave guy is too, and you three all served together...think maybe you might be, too? You said it's likely that all three of you would go through something like this, so I'm just wondering...," Rosie said.

Rob thought for a moment and then said, "I...don't know."

"You wanna find out while you're here? It didn't take too long when they checked to see if Ron and I could have...kits...," she asked, her voice trailing off when she though she heard a sound come from the room Ron was in.

"What would be the purpose?" Rob asked, wondering what Rosie was getting at.

"Um, well...there's only supposed to be a small handful of humans in the world who are really compatible with us G.E.L.F.s, and Ron's one of them...and so is this Dave guy. What are the chances of two of those humans being in the same small military unit?" she asked.

That got Rob to thinking quickly. Ron is having a similar reaction to these enhancements as all of the twenty-four men did when the military modified them for the Sea Wolf program, and he's compatible with all of the G.E.L.F. females. Ron, like the rest of the men, has always seemed to get along well with animals--better even than with humans, and he's felt a special kinship with wolves and Atka's pack seems to bear that out. His friend seemed to fall surprisingly quick for Lupina, a wolf G.E.L.F.; Dave, on the other hand, has always been wily and crazy in a fun sort of way, and now he's with a female fox G.E.L.F. nearly as quickly as Ron was with Lupina, and he's been found to be compatible, too. As for himself, Rob noted that while he's been closer to animals than he has to humans, one of the animals he's had a fondness for is cats.

"Could this be the reason why I feel so attracted to Helga?" he thought to himself.

Glancing at Rosie, Rob turned and walked back over to Dr. Nemeth with a wild thought in his head.

Looking right at her, he asked bluntly, "Can you test me for this compatibility thing?"

His question surprised Lupina...and everyone else, especially Helga.

"Certainly, we can do that, why do you want to know?" Dr. Nemeth asked.

"Just a hunch. Can we do it now?"

Taking a quick glance at the door to the room Ron is in, she said, "Come with me."

Lupina and Rosie stayed behind to keep near their mate while Rob, Dr. Nemeth, and Helga went off to the GDS-1 lab. The other staffers left, leaving the two security guards in place. The two females leaned against the wall and talked quietly to each other. After about twenty minutes or so, they heard a disturbing yell come from the room their mate is in--it sounded like Ron's voice at first, but then it changed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHaaaAYOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!"

The two security guards turned and looked wide-eyed at the door...their faces blanching at the sound. Lupina and Rosie both knew well the sound his voice changed into.

He howled like a wolf.

Thousands of kilometers away, in a small village on the north slope of Alaska near the Brook's Range, Nunataq suddenly looked up as if he was hearing something a long ways away. After a few moments of being still, his wife asked him what was wrong. Nunataq smiled and said in their native Inupiatun,

"It is beginning."

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[1] http://mysticgardenexotics.webs.com/foxes.htm

[2] Also known as a "Turkish Toilet" http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/Toilets.html