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The Wolf Hunters

Episode

12

Epilogue

By

Lutrian

ver. 3.00

Three weeks have passed.

The Laeness IV was a bit of an anomaly. With it's spectral class F8 star, it was a rare breed indeed. With a hot Jupiter hugging the star with an orbit of about five days, its migration towards the star during its formation, likely re-imbued the inner system with lighter elements. The system itself had eight planets, and an M dwarf star with an average distance of about 90 AU. Laeness VI, itself was also not the typical habitable planet. With its two large moons, the inner one about a third of the mass of earth's moon, and the outer moon with about two-thirds of Luna's mass, the planet's tides, though not extreme, were not the most predicable. The planet itself had a surface that's mostly ocean, with about 10% land mass. Denitrian meddling about four and a half million years ago, had resulted in the colonization of many Terran land and ocean species. The planet boasted a number of large cities, each built around the larger islands, each with vast complex networks of docks and platforms, some fixed, others floating.

I stood at the railing on a pier, as I took in the view. The sky was a vivid, almost electric blue. The sun appeared about a third smaller than earth's sun, but shone with a bright slightly harsh, whiter, light. In the water below, a group of dark, furred heads bobbed in the saves. Behind me, a large hill rose above the sea, covered in city sprawl. From my pocket, my Mopad beeped.

I drew the small tablet from my pocket, and tapped a button on its screen. "Art here."

"Captain Benson here." said the voice. Liaison officer McKinley has requested that us senior staff meet with him in his office, on the double."

"What's this regarding?" I asked.

"FSA matters, I think," said the captain.

I wasn't sure if this was good or bad. We had only arrived at Laeness IV an hour or so before, and already things were moving fast. Our ship was in queue at the orbital dock. Tomorrow it would be inspected to determine whether it would be worth repairing. I had at least two reporters try to shove video equipment in my face. At least two humans, and one Lutrian gave me strange looks. News had gotten around about our having taken down a ship full of Motrician terrorists. Of course, one person who did try to ask me about it, I corrected him by explaining that the incident was more of a V'Nari attack. I turned and leaded up the dock towards the center of town.

* * * *

"What the hell were you thinking!" yelled McKinley. He was an older man, probably past due with his next regen. Some people have been known to purposely postpone it, as to allow themselves to appear older, often for authoritative reasons. Captain Benson and I, sat in the seats across from McKinley. Carl, Sam, and Karen stood around the desk. Behind me, stood Daryl, Jurrukush, and Nakhara. I had insisted that they came along, since their roles had been extremely important. McKinley went on, "You violated Alchoan airspace to stir up a hornet's nest of mob activity. Then you go on a fools errand to a pirate base on a planet no one has any business setting foot on. Then you end up in a war with a bunch of deranged cats and Animalkind? I should have you arrested. But, I digress." He pushed a large tablet to the middle of his desk. "The amount of data you secured, on multiple fronts is both amazing, and in the case of your feline friends, most troubling."

"I wish we had recovered more from the Dark Dominion mission." I said, "But we didn't have time due to our suits. and a deadline with those stupid cats."

"Not to worry," McKinley nodded. "Our crews were able to recover much of it, and we found the black box of their ship. These guys were fucking creepy. But the real meat came from a tablet owned by your Cortrian friend. We're still analyzing it."

"What's so troubling?" I was concerned by his tone of voice.

"We've known that the V'Nari and Zephenidians have been allies, in fact it's almost common knowledge." He pressed a button on the tablet, which displayed figures and graphs. "Some have known or suspected that the V'Nari have been deeply involved, to the point of having actual control of many aspects of Zephenidian society. It's been theorized that the V'Nari have helped and aided Ichtah Prukak's rise to power. Some of this data appars to confirm it. The V'Nari may have their hands in almost everything in that region of space. The Zephenidians, the Motricians, those are definite. The T'Garsi seem to be just outside their influence, and have been fighting skirmishes with V'Nari and Zephenidian raiders for decades. So far, it looks like the Niquentorians and Ikkorians are not directly involved with the V'Nari, but we know that the V'Nari often trade in stolen Niquentorian technology. That's what we're worried about."

"The Motrician ship was armed with Niquentorian technology," Captain Benson weighed in. "You're saying that this is probably the first of many?"

McKinley nodded. "I'm thinking about recommending that your vessel be considered totaled, and scrapped."

Captain Benson got to his feet. "Why! That's my ship! You can't confiscate it! You have no right!"

"Captain Matthew Benson, sit down! I'm not done."

The captain slowly lowered himself into his seat. "I worked hard to secure and maintain this ship."

"Captain," said McKinley. "You brought two repentant Zephenidians." He looked at Nakhara. "One of whom was a member of the Establishment. You located the Dark Dominion base, with has a ton of intelligence on not only on their own group, but also on at least two other pirate clans. The data from the Motrician ship?" He sighed. "By the time we assess all the bounties and fees, I don't think you're going to care."

I stammered, "Wait, you mean..."

"Your old ship is just a toy, compared to what you'd be able to afford. In fact, right now, I'm making an inquiry with the FSA to see if they'd be willing to give you a N'Chari class light cruiser which was currently being retired."

"Another old junker?" asked Captain Benson.

"The plan is to give it to you as a shell, both it and a KSV-411 skiff." McKinley took the tablet and brought up the schematics of a sleek starship that wouldn't feel out of place in a Star Trek movie. "You can outfit both vessels any way you want. Bridge layout, computer, shields, engines, armament, the works. You'd be limited to civilian tech, though I may try to see what I can swing."

"Ah, ah, you're joking," I sputtered.

"With the shit we fear we're going to be seeing on the horizon, you're going to need it."

* * * *

After the meeting, I walked along a long pier, with Daryl and Jurrukush in tow. "The sunlight's a little harsh," said Daryl. "I'm sure it's not pleasant for Jurrukush, either."

"It's one of those really hot borderline stars." Jurrukush responded. "I don't know what you call them in your language."

"It's an F8-V" I explained, as I watched a couple of dark forms cavorting in the surf, below. On the pier, was mix of dark furred Lutrians, and Humans, with the occasional Zephenidian, strolling and mingling. "This is one of the hottest stars with a habitable planet that I know about. I think there's a couple of F7's, and maybe one F6 somewhere. You do have to watch your UV exposure."

A tall lanky Lutrian ran up to me, and eyed me intently, than looked at Daryl and Jurrukush. "Art! Welcome back."

I thought I recognized him, but his name escaped me. Chakharan names are always difficult to pronounce. I reached my hand to him and ran it through his chest fur. "Thanks. We just got back from nearly getting ourselves killed."

The Chakharan brought his arm around me. "We're planning a large T'chema tonight. You and your friends are welcome to attend. He glanced at Daryl. "Definitely bring the Zephenidian and the cute one."

Daryl blushed. "Ah, ah, Jurrukush should go, I'll ah, I'll?"

"Excuse me," I said to the Lutrian as I stepped free of his embrace and approached Daryl. "Daryl, no! You'll end up sipping a girlie drink at that cafe on the dock over there, watching the waves, and regretting not joining us."

"Ah...." Daryl stammered.

"You're going to be lonely." I continued. "You're going to be generating such a thick cloud of sad, that no one will join you at your table. It's going to really suck."

The Lutrian stepped over to Daryl and put his arms around both him and Jurrukush, causing Daryl to flinch due to his usual nervousness. He brought his face to Daryl's. "Don't be afraid. I will help you. I'm very gentle."

"But...but..." Daryl stuttered.

"Relax," Jurrukush said, as he brought his arm around Daryl. "We're both going."

Daryl sighed, then took several deep breaths. "Okay. Ah, Okay. I need to learn to relax. I will go. I, ah, will go." He turned and gave Jurrukush a kiss on the chin. "Let's go."

* * * *

Daryl's first T'chema ended with his being exhausted after his fifth orgasm in four hours. The morning came, with Daryl having difficulty untangling himself from between three Lutrians. I was laughing hysterically as Daryl's face turned a bright beet red. Daryl stuttered. "I....I," he closed his mouth and lowered his gaze. He whispered. "Thank you. Thank you, both you and Jurrukush for pushing me. I needed that. I'm ah, oh my god."

I laughed again. "I'm glad to see you having an awesome time."

He sat in a sea of deep brown fur, as he reached down and rubbed the flank of one of the otter-aliens. "I, ah, I'm going to look up to you. I don't know what to do half the time, in situations like this. Give me guidance. Tell me, push me. I'm not going to fight you anymore. Thank you."

* * * *

After about a month on Laeness IV, I wandered around the city, with Daryl and Jurrukush. We had spent most of the morning, window shopping. I shared stories about my living near Manhattan, my days of window shopping, and my picking up the occasional prostitute. Of course, I brought up that fateful encounter with the Chakharan diplomat.

The past few weeks involved debriefings every few days. We were still no closer to knowing when or if we'd be granted the ship that McKinley mentioned. Our old ship had not been decommissioned, yet, and mostly served as our sleeping quarters, so we didn't have to rent hotel rooms.

I saw Karen hanging against a railing, looking down at the ocean, seeming distraught. I approached her. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not all right!" she snapped, then sobbed.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Unless you'd rather keep it to yourself."

"I was wrong." She looked up. "My brother. Tim Brooks. He was not killed by Zephenidians. He was not on the ship when it was lost."

"What do you mean?" I remembered when she talked about having lost her brother about ten years before, when the ship he was on was lost, presumably due to a Zephenidian attack.

"An FSA agent called me in and showed me the crew roster that was recovered from that planet. He didn't die ten years ago. He died a couple of months ago. He abandoned us, joined a pirate faction, and turned to a life of crime. I almost fucked things up because of my anger at the Zephenidians. Instead of his being killed by the Zephs, like I thought, he up and left us, joined the Dark Dominion to help turn people into freaks, then was killed when the cats cracked the airlocks. How could I be so stupid."

"I'm sorry, Karen." I tried to console her. "We all jump to conclusions, sometimes."

"Art, there's a strange creature approaching, using a walker." Daryl said, frantically.

I turned, and saw a tall gray-brown furred creature who looked almost like a Lutrian from a distance, but with a bushy tail, and a thick head mane. He used a wheeled walker, much like those used by elderly people before the days of regen, and which are sometimes used by people convalescing after severe injuries. He was accompanied by an unarmed Lutrian guard. The creature lumbered forward and regarded me. He wore a translator headband. "My Chakharan friend said that I could find you here."

I realized who it was. "Khaznar! Khaznar!" I wanted to hug him, but was afraid of the extent of any injuries that might not have healed, yet. I turned to Daryl and Jurrukush. "He's a Cortrian. The one who saved my life."

Daryl was nervous, which was understandable, as he stammered. "You, ah, thank you."

"I'm going to let go of this this....thing," said the Cortrian. "When I do, catch me, in your arms so we can have a proper greeting." The creature slowly stepped aside, then held out his arms. I reached out, and let him fall into my embrace. He was heavy, as his legs were weak and were partially paralyzed. He nuzzled my cheek than licked my nose. It was obvious that someone had helped him fix his breath issues, and it was actually quite pleasant for me to return the kiss. I held him for several minutes. "I'm glad I was able to meet you when I did."

"Why's that," I responded as I continued to hold him, while pressing my nose to his neck.

"Tomorrow I must report to the main hospital for something called regen. I was told I'd be able to walk afterwards, and I won't be in pain anymore. However, it will take a long time, and I don't know when you're leaving this planet."

"We don't have a ship, yet," I responded as I ran my fingers along his back, feeling the soft fur of his mane. "If we do leave before you're out, don't worry. This is kind of a main hub. We'll be back. We come to this system fairly often." After several minutes of holding him close, I helped him back on his walker. "Thank you, friend."

As he struggled on the walker, he said. "I don't blame you for abandoning me in the escape pod. I knew someone else would arrive, and that you'd vouch for me. Thank you, friend." With renewed determination, the Cortrian pushed his walker ahead of him, as he walked by with his Lutrian bodyguard.

Daryl smiled. "I, ah, I like him. He seems ah, like..."

"He's a gentle soul," Jurrukush completed Daryl's thought. "I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of him, once he's healed."