FSE

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Chapter 3

Imacha was the shortest among the giant aliens, short even for his own species. Thus Hakurr and the two humans in their mechs had to slow down to his pace in the trek towards the crash site. Even so, the 'small' tordenchi walked at over eighteen kilometers per hour, slowed slightly by the muddy terrain. The four Wanderers made good progress through the swamp and the rain had diminished in intensity after the first three hours of travel. It was still completely overcast, the sky a mix of grey and muted green clouds, which cast a somber atmosphere over both the tordenchi and Kendra.

Hakurr and Adam however, seemed to be undeterred by most anything, inclement weather included. They chatted up their own storm as they walked. Adam had his translator currently shut down so he could clearly hear the native words of his ralai friend as he spoke. They were a combination of bass rumbling growls, snarls, and chirps that formed into streams of alien words and sentences. Adam slowly asked Hakurr to repeat himself again and the huge alien did so. Kendra nodded her head in appreciation of Adam's talent as he responded to Hakurr with a different string of growling sounds. She heard Hakurr let out a pleased rumbling sound and his tail flicked behind him quickly, also a display of happiness.

"Correct!" she heard Hakurr exclaim. "You're getting better."

Adam switched the translator back on and said, "Still got a long way to go. It's hard as hell to break down your language into phenomes I can properly decipher and assemble into the appropriate words. Plus, it's not easy to replicate some of the sounds your species can create with my vocal cords. I'm still stuck on the emm-phurrr and mahrr-mhur'maa uses for past tense. Next to impossible to pronounce, but I'm not gonna give up. When I visit your home world buddy, I promise I'm going to speak like a native. No translator needed, just the speakers in my mech."

"Nothing would please me more my friend," said Hakurr. The two tapped their fists together, one atop the other. Hakurr then tried speaking in broken sounding Chinese, "Woooh... yeh... buu-nehng..." He shook his head and growled as he stopped, the ralai frowning. "Gah, your language is far harder than mine," he snarled, letting his translator do the work.

Adam smiled. "Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it. You'll be speaking my language when you come to China with me. The locals will be stunned to see a tiger speaking Chinese!"

Hakurr grumbled, "I'm not a tiger."

Kendra was always very pleased to have Adam on the crew, not just for his skills as a rescue worker and ex-scout in the military. He was also a polyglot. The young man spoke six Terran languages, had a good grasp of the lupari tongue, and was now learning ralai. He was a gifted linguist, a rare thing on earth, now even more impressive out here in the much larger galactic society. She clearly recalled the utter shock on the face of a lupari manager that was trying to give them all a hard time when they had to enter his factory. He was so stunned to hear a human speak his native language that he fell apart under Adam's questioning. It was one of Kendra's favorite moments since she had begun working with all of them.

The four of them passed into an area of denser tree growth, the massive plants looming over one hundred fifty meters tall. Thick vines twisted up their grey bark and drooping thin leaves hung low on the sagging branches. Unfortunately the canopy above them was not thick enough to provide any real shelter from the rain. Imacha chittered to himself in annoyance as he tried to clear off the screen of his yutri for the thousandth time. He tapped at some of the buttons to bring up raised holographic readings. The tordenchi frowned as he did so. Drops passed through the hologram, which caused it to flicker and be disrupted for a moment or two. He raised his other hand up to try and shield the device from the drops of rain. His eyes went wide as he saw the readings presented to him.

"Everyone! Something is coming from that direction!" shouted the tordenchi, his arm extended and pointing.

Words died on Hakurr's and Adam's tongues as all heads turned and looked towards a pair of massive trees with a virtual web of vines stretched between them. Before Hakurr could unsling his canister carbine, a massive bestial form crashed through the vines and hurled itself into the ralai. Hakurr let out a grunt as he was flung back from the impact a good body length then fell to the muddy ground with a splash of mud and brown water. The carbine flew from his half grip and landed twenty meters away.

Adam fumbled to get his rifle ready while Imacha scrambled for cover behind a far tree, pulling his pistol as he moved. Kendra stood there, momentarily in shock at the creature she beheld. It reminded her of a great cat but with a head that resembled a moray eel, and a long whip-like tail behind it. Its body was smooth and slick looking, a glossy grey in color. The creature's forward facing eyes were sunk deep into its skull and they peered out at all present, dull black. Its mouth was a wide gash filled with rows of huge teeth and fangs, some as long as her mech's hand. The quadruped easily stood twenty meters at the shoulder and approximately thirty five meters long, full of lanky muscle and sinew. It released a screeching wail that finally snapped Kendra back to her senses.

Adam raised and fired off a quick round from his rifle at it taking no time to aim. The round ripped across the beast's side, a grazing wound. Before he could fire again the creature lunged toward the mech far faster than even its lean form suggested it could move. With a swipe of its clawed forepaw Adam's rifle was smashed from his grip and he was shoved backwards against a towering tree. The mech slammed against it with a groaning of metal and grinding sound of actuators. The creature opened its mouth so wide is looked as if it could easily engulf the mech's entire head. It snapped its jaws at him, but they narrowly fell short of clamping down as Adam shoved the mech's forearm against the creature's throat and pushed the head back just enough to miss. Its rear legs scrabbled on the ground, pressing its bulk forward against Adam and kept him pinned to the tree.

Kendra's pistol was out and she fired off two rounds at the horrid beast. They sank into its wide side, blue blood spurting from the wounds. Its hide and body were dense and its bones strong and thick. Neither shot seemed to do much to slow the creature down. It turned its head just enough so one of its dead black eyes saw Kendra. The whip tail cracked at her mech, wrapped around the raised arm that held her pistol, and violently yanked sideways. Kendra felt the mech lose its balance, the gyroscopes unable to compensate for so fast and uncontrolled a motion. She also heard the awful sound of something in her mech's shoulder snap and grind. Sparks flew from the mech as it toppled over to the ground, landing on its side with a huge splash. Inside the mech Kendra let out a stream of swears as she tried to stabilize and stop the reflex harness from spinning her around.

The creature turned its full attention back to Adam's mech. He slammed the mech's free fist at the monster's side twice, three times, but it seemed to ignore the pain of the blows. It pushed its head closer and closer, its strength overcoming the mech, the jaws wide open to bite down once more.

"Help!" he cried out. "Someone shoot this damn thing!"

Right before the creature's jaws clamped hold of the mech's head a tremendous roar sounded and Hakurr landed across the beast's back, his legs straddling its narrow body, and his arms wrapped about as much of it as he could reach. It turned its head just enough to see the massive ralai, rage filling Hakurr's eyes. His paws sank into the cold mud as he pulled back with all his might. Claws dug into the monster's side to keep his grip tight as Hakurr lifted the entire creature off the ground and away from his friend.

"Run!" he snarled at Adam as he twisted his body and slammed the squirming monster onto the ground with a loud thudding splash. Hakurr followed it down to the ground, still straddling it. The creature's legs shoved and pushed at the ground, trying to get the leverage it needed to get back up but the ralai's great strength was enough to keep it down for the moment. It turned its head to bite at him, but the metal stud covered knuckles of Hakurr's gauntlet slammed into its mouth. Teeth shattered and flew from its maw and the beast shrieked as it spit up blue blood. Its tail lashed out next and went to wrap around Hakurr's neck but a loud shot was fired from Kendra's pistol. She had switched it to her other hand after she fell and watched with satisfaction as her shot blew off the top eight meters of the monster's tail. More blood spurted from the wound, all across the back of the weather proofer Hakurr wore.

The ralai and the monster wrestled on the ground a few more moments. It managed to rake its lower clawed paws at one of Hakurr's legs and gouged at the armor plate across his shin, then down and into the mesh cloth beneath it. That tore and a splash of red blood was seen by Kendra, running down the ralai's leg. She cursed herself and God and anyone else who was listening for being unwilling to take the shot at it. They moved so much now, thrashing about, that she feared she might shoot her friend. Her worries increased when she saw Hakurr roll onto his back, the monster atop him, however he maneuvered it so its back was to his chest. The creature's legs waved and clawed ineffectively at the air. It released keening wails as Hakurr gripped its maw, fingers pushed past the ruins of its teeth to grip both the top and bottom of it jaws. He let out another roar as he pulled with all his might, forcing the jaws open wider and wider until a gruesome snap and crack sound was heard. The beast let out a piteous whine and blood began to pour from its mouth, the lower jaw dangling like a puppet with its string cut. With another swift wrenching pull, the ralai snapped the creature's thick neck. Its body went limp and Hakurr shoved it off himself, where it landed at his side with a thud.

"Holy... shit," said Adam as he stared wide eyed at his friend. He still leaned back against the tree. He was so transfixed while he watched the ralai and monster fight that he had not thought to leave his spot.

Hakurr panted heavily and tilted his head back to stare at his friend partly upside down while lying on the ground. "Thought I told you to run," he grumbled.

Adam finally moved over to Hakurr and lowered a mech hand down to him. They clasped hands and Adam helped pull him up. "Sorry. Too busy watching you mess up Godzilla, or whatever the hell that was. Oh crap, you're bleeding."

Hakurr glanced down at his wound and nodded. "Yeah," is all he said about the injury.

Kendra slowly got up, her mech whirring in protest. Imacha scrambled over to her to help keep the machine steady. "Thanks. You all right?" she asked him. She tried to move her right arm, but the actuator in it protested badly and more sparks flew from the joint. It barely rose up twenty degrees from her side where it now dangled limply.

"I am unharmed Lieutenant. Thank you. I can help fix that, the damage should not be too severe," said Imacha, gesturing over to the shoulder of her mech.

"Good. First let me check out Hakurr so he doesn't bleed out or anything. That looked nasty."

Adam waved Kendra off, his mech already pulling out a medkit. "Don't worry, I got him. It doesn't look too bad. I know enough to patch this up. You get your arm fixed." Adam then frowned inside his mech. "Hey, Imacha. Thanks a lot for all the help there you know. You could have fired a..."

Hakurr put a hand on the front of the mech's head, as if he were covering up a person's mouth. Though it could not stop the sound from coming from the mech if Adam chose to keep speaking, he stopped anyhow, understanding that his friend wanted him to shut up.

"Don't. He did nothing wrong. We all have our paths to walk. His is one of peace. He's not a killer. I'm here to take those sins on myself so all of you don't have to," rumbled the ralai.

Adam patted his big friend's shoulder. "So, still think he's looking out for you?" he asked with a chuckle as he knelt down to fix up Hakurr's wound.

The ralai dug a finger into his collar and fished out a long silver necklace. A crucifix dangled on the end of it. It was a Christian cross. He raised it up to his mouth and placed a kiss on it, then smiled down at Adam. "Always."

Kendra sat down on the muddy ground so Imacha could begin the repairs on her mech. As he did so the comm flashed on and Neji's face appeared before Kendra. The human woman knew she must look a mess at the moment. Tossed around her cockpit like that in the harness, her short black hair was all over the place right now.

"Home calling Wanderer One, checkup time," Neji said in a sing-song voice. "All good by you? Any problems? I noticed elevated heart rates for all of you for a minute or so."

Kendra glanced over at the injured Hakurr then at the dead beast nearby. She smirked at Neji and said, "Nah, we're all good here. Just admiring some of the local wildlife close up. Pretty breathtaking to be honest."

"Ah, see?! I never get to see anything good in here." The viliti pouted cutely and her big white ears drooped.

"Trust me, you wouldn't have liked it. Hey, you've been going past the normal duration of a shift. Go on and get some rest for four hours. I'll yell if we need you. Don't want you half asleep if we really need the help."

"Thanks. No need to tell me twice. I'm shrubbed."

Kendra's head sank down. "Bushed. It's bushed Neji. Do you screw these up on purpose just to stress me more or what?"

"What? Me? Kendra, I'm hurt. Next thing you're going to be calling me a tail tugger. Hmmph." Neji winked at her and smiled. "Say hi to the others for me. Home out."

The screen went blank and Kendra sighed. One big happy slightly insane family, she thought to herself and smiled as she watched Adam patch up Hakurr.

* * *

Neji stepped out of the cockpit, yawning and stretching. She went up on the tips of her big fluffy toes and arched her back sharply until her spine made little popping sounds. She dropped back down flat on her paws, a silly grin on her face. The viliti plodded along through the ship. When she entered her room she stripped down, showered off, and then slipped into a vastly oversized shirt for sleeping, one she had laid claim to from Hakurr over a year ago because she found it comfortable. Light blue patterns were dyed into her fur down the lengths of her arms and legs, none of it visible when her uniform was on. She smiled at that, thinking of maybe showing them to Adam when they had time off together next.

They got to spend time in that lovely VR setting, seeing the sights of her home world together, able to look each other eye to eye. She found it fascinating. However, there was something else she wanted to try with him; something that could only happen in the VR. The viliti nibbled on the first joint of her pointer finger as she thought about what that could lead to. She didn't want to move too fast, that might scare him away. However, if she took too long he might meet a human. She would rather take the risk and find out sooner than later. Neji never was one to want to wait things out. Though she had her whole life ahead of her, she wanted to live every moment of it as if it was her last.

She climbed onto her bed and stretched out on the thin padding. Her hand fumbled about for the cover and she slid it over her midriff.

"Lights off," she murmured.

The room was immediately plunged into darkness. All she heard was the hum of the Capher's engine, left idling at all times when they were on a mission. To Neji it was a soothing sound and helped her drift off into a dream filled slumber.

Her eyes snapped open. She felt her heart racing; her breath came in short pants as if she had just awakened from a nightmare. Neji's gaze fell on the chronometer that sat upon the night table beside her bed. She had been asleep for two hours. Something was wrong. She could feel it. The viliti tossed her covers aside and sat up in the dark.

"Lights," she said. A moment later they turned on and she squinted as her eyes adjusted to them. Her skin felt like it was crawling, various muscles in her body twitched and spasmed. A sickening feeling crept over her as she went to stand up. Her legs refused to work and she toppled to the floor, barely bringing her hands up to prevent her head from slamming on the deck. She winced in pain as a sharp jolt of it ran through her skull. It was the worst head ache she had ever felt in her life.

"What in the name of Urshii?" she groaned.

Neji slowly pulled herself to her paws, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. Terror replaced her confusion as she moved. Her eyes were wide with fright. She took a lurching step forward, then a second. Her body moved as if she had forgotten how to walk and was desperately trying to find its balance. Her arm shot out and her palm went flat against the near wall to brace herself as she moved. She took another lurching step.

"What's happening to me?!" she shrieked. The viliti thought as hard as she could to stop moving, yet she still did.

Neji lurched forward to where her uniform and standard gear hung on wall mounted hangers. Her hand fumbled across her clothes, knocking them down.

"S-stop... please stop," she whimpered.

Her hand ran across the second peg and yanked her belt off it, then dropped it to the ground. Various gear clattered about and the screen on her yutri cracked as it hit the floor. The viliti's hand ran across the third peg. It slid down the second belt that hung there and to the holster of her pistol. Neji felt her terror rise to a crescendo. Tears flowed from her eyes.

"Who's doing this to me!?" she shrieked. Her voice cracked as she cried out, then she broke down in sobs.

Her hand pulled the pistol out from the holster, fingers sliding along its grip as if they were getting used to its feel and how best to hold it.

"Don't do this... please don't do this... please..."

The first finger found its way to the trigger and rested upon it gently. Her hand rose up slowly as it held the gun.

"This can't be ha-happening. C-can't be real. H-how..."

The gun moved up to the side of her head. The barrel pressed against her temple. Neji's eyes closed. She felt a sudden rush of clarity in that last moment.

"We left the door open," she said softly.

The sound of a single shot fired from a pistol echoed throughout the Capher over and over.