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Chapter 4

The boat rocked gently in the water as I took off the last tending line, casting us away from the destroyer.

"Bad weather is coming," the boatswain yelled down, a human. "Two hours tops."

"Thank you," Rob yelled back off and turned the single engine to our small boat on. Then we were underway.

It had been a hectic twenty-four hours for me with no time to catch my breath or to ask any questions.

I had been whisked away from the muster grounds and loaded into a car. Rob, the only person I would have felt comfortable talking to, was in a different vehicle leaving me with a single soldier who didn't even look at me once and I doubt he would have had any answers for me anyways.

The drive about an hour long as we went up the coast to the only Cainus Navy port in the country.

It was common knowledge that Cainus didn't have a large navy. The reason why is more of a mystery. Instead, the edges of Cainus territorial waters are heavily mined and the safe zone inside is then adequately patrolled.

At the port, I was put onto a tug boat, again with just a soldier with me and for another hour, I was left to watch as the shore slowly sank away until I could barely see the think line of my home on the horizon. It was there that the tug met up with a navy destroyer.

I had never seen one so close, only ever catching a glimpse of one way off in the distance as it went up and down the coast. I wasn't sure if it was considered a large vessel, but when I was right next to one, it seemed massive with its hull sticking thirty feet out of the water and then a towering superstructure going what had to be another fifty feet past that. The sides were lined with mounted guns of all sizes from machine guns and anti-aircraft batteries to a pair of bouble barreled cannons. One at the front and one at the back.

I had to take a moment to stare before was ushered to climb up a swaying rope netting that was thrown down. I almost fell about half way up.

Once onboard, I was met by a few crewmember who were mostly Cainus, but there were a couple of Lutrians among them. Despite the species, they all looked tired and even maybe a little annoyed.

There were no introductions. A fellow Lutrian told me to follow him and he took me inside where I was thankful that I didn't suffer from claustrophobia. The corridors were cramped and I got growled at a few times by some Cainus as I had to shuffle sideways when walking by. Most just ignored me.

It was like a maze as we went up a flight a stairs only to go down two more and then around more corners than I cared to count. Eventually, we stopped at a room where my tired guide told me to stay out until told otherwise and to get some rest.

From there I was alone. The room was very small. There was a single bed with itchy looking blankets on it, a small night stand and a locker at the foot of the bed which had single change of clothes which was a set of coveralls. To side was a bathroom with a toilet, a sink and very tight shower. All of which were concerningly close together.

I opted to shower, trying to not touch the metal walls that had stains on it which I hoped was from the soap which made my nose hairs curl whenever I caught the strong smell of lye from it.

Just as I had finished drying off and had gotten into the coveralls that smelled disturbingly of a Cainus, my first meal onboard was delivered. I think it was supposed to be Salisbury steak with gravy and mashed potatoes, but maybe not.

That was it. I slept after that, or tried to. Another meal was brought by some unknown time later. It was toast and eggs. Once that was gone, I was told to change back into my original clothes and then I was brought outside again by the same Lutrian who had guided me yesterday. It was then that I saw Rob again for the first time since the grounds. Now we were in the boat, speeding away into a rapidly growing fog.

"Sorry about what I imagine was a pretty confusing last day," Rob said from behind his steering wheel. He kept his gaze forward, even though forward was just a wall of grey. His ears flicked occasionally whenever some water drops kicked up from the moving boat hit them. "We had to move fast. There's a definite rush to get us to Pelitan as soon as possible to get our mission started."

I sat about halfway up the boat. There were no seats of any kind and the ground was wet, so my butt was already soaked through, but years in trenches made sure that a soggy bottom didn't bother me.

"Where were you all yesterday?" I had to almost shout to be heard over the engine that gave off smoke at irregular intervals.

Rob rolled his eyes. "Briefs. Every officer involved seems to think I know how the next few months will go exactly and it's their thoughts that they need to know as well. Ridiculous. Cainus can be some right privileged asses sometimes."

Instinctively, despite being in the ocean with no one around, I looked around to see if anyone had heard what Rob had said. Cainus didn't take well to insults.

Rob must have saw because he grinned and I saw his tail wag ever so slightly, sending a few drops of water flying in every direction. "Relax. It's just us and unless you intend to, no one who's going to snitch because some mean words were said." He then raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uh, no," I said in a voice that wouldn't have convinced me if I had heard it from someone else.

He kept the grin. "We're going to have to trust each other a lot here very soon," he said and maybe he winked. Not sure with the boat starting to jump a bit more as the waves very slowly started to pick up as that promised storm started to head towards us.

"Well, it would be nice to know more about what the plan is going to be," I asked.

A wave came over the side of the boat and I got splashed a bit, getting a quick laugh from Rob.

"Fair enough," he said, cutting his laugh short when I stared daggers at him. "Your cover is pretty simple, in fact it's going to mostly be truths. You served for six years and after the Tereen Blitz, you became fed up with just how shitty the Cainus treated you. You want to work with the Pelitans to liberate your people. Get a better life for them. That sort of thing. I've got some intel that was approved to be leaked, saying that you stole them to earn their trust."

"I guess that is pretty easy," I said and very carefully stood up to move more towards the back of the boat. Partially to try and get away from the few waves that came over to splash me and partially so I wouldn't have to yell. Not that it mattered, Rob cut the speed to help with the waves, making it much easier to hear and be heard.

"They'll drill you for more," Rob said. "We'll have time for me to coach you on how to get through the interrogation they'll throw at you."

"Interrogation?" I felt ice in my veins. I heard the howls of pain coming from rooms with no windows at some of the border outposts. When a soldier was caught trying to sneak into our bases for sabotage or espionage and we were too remote to have the captured prisoner transported away to a proper facility. I had to wash a lot of mechanics tools of blood.

Rob reached over and gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. I fought back the urge to flinch, having to get used to the idea that he wasn't some hard ass Cainus. "Relax. Just questions. You'll have to convince them that you can be trusted. Like I said, I'll coach you on it."

The fog at that point had grown so thick that if there was something in the water a dozen feet in front of us, we wouldn't be able to see it. I wouldn't have, at the very least. I hear both Cainus and Pelitans had very sharp vision.

Rob occasionally looked at a compass and kept us on what must have been a steady course since not once did Rob look concerned about anything, which in turned, helped me feel more at ease. I felt the same anxiety I did when I had first gone to boot camp. That dreaded feeling from not knowing what was coming. I hated it. I didn't sleep more than two hours each night for a week after getting to boot camp. That lack of sleep and the lack of attention that came with it earned me a lot of push up.

"Where are we going, exactly," I asked after I decided the droning sound of the engines was going to drive me crazy along with the cold dampness seeking into my bones. "I imagine we can't exactly just land right on the first Pelitam Beach we come across."

"Right you are," Rob wagged a finger at me. "We're stopping just short of where the mine field begins. There's a treeline there and just past the trees is a game trail that takes us into the mountains and then Pelitan where there will be a Pelitan patrol with orders not to shoot us on sight. It'll be a two day hike, but nothing too crazy."

"Two days, huh." I shivered. "We're not sleeping outdoors are we?"

Pfft. Rob made the noise of incredulity. "No, of course not. I've been doing this job long enough that I've set up hidden caches stocked with supplies and even tents. We'll be fine."

That was assuring enough for me that I went ahead and sat back and watched the fog and somehow even fell asleep despite the cold. I guess i really didn't sleep well that previous night.

It must have been some time later because when I woke up, I could see land again. It was still hard to see, but I could see a vast forrest and the mountains slowly creeping through the fog which was a little less heavy closer to shore. However a light rain had begun to fall.

"Finally awake, huh," Rob said to me as I stretched out my arms and yawned.

"I hope that first tent isn't too far," I said and shivered, hugging myself. "I need to warm up."

"Just a mile inland," Rob replied. "First day's hike is short since it takes so long to get here."

It was another five minutes before Rob beached us on a gravelly shore line and began to track into the woods.

I asked about the boat being left behind and Rob explained to me that another baot crew would come by in a few days and pick the boat up.

"Perks of being a double agent. People coming by to pick up our boat doesn't look too suspicious if someone see it happen," Rob said and led the way as we fought through the dense underbrush.

I could feel small branches tugging at my clothes and scratch my hands and surprised at how therapeutic it felt. Reminded me of long patrols from back in the day. Just me and a few others, slowly making rounds through the woods. Always quiet and peaceful.

"Ah, here we go," Rob exclaimed as we pushed through the brush to a trail that snaked its way deeper into the woods and eventually up the mountains that I could see past the tree canopy.

From there we walked and the going, while not fast, was enough for me to warm up and not shiver as much.

The air was crisp and clean with the smell of pine, leaving me feel more energized and I was almost reluctant to stop when we reached our stop for the night.

I watched with curiosity as Rob uncovered a hole that had been hidden with leaves and branches that was also nestled between several bushes. I never would have seen it.

From inside the hole came out a tent wrapped in a tarp, two blankets, energy bars, some bags and several MREs which we both ravenous dug into. I got a Mac and cheese while Rob chose a stroganoff. It was disgusting, but I didn't care because I was starving by that point. After the meals were done and stowed into air tight bags and the buried a hundred yards away as to not attract wildlife to us, we began on the tent.

It was a very simple thing. A few steel rods with small breaks in them to allow them to bend were fed into channels on the tent itself, creating our shelter.

Rob looked at the tent, or rather looked down at it. "I forgot how small this things was." He scratched behind an ear and then placed his paws on his hips.

It really was very small. Stood maybe two and a half feet off the ground and was maybe seven feet long and four feet wide. It was meant for just one person.

"I guess, it'll have to do," I sighed. It was something and with the rain starting to come down more and more as the day slowly gave way to twilight, it was dry, which mattered most.

"Guess it will," Rob said and then took off his shirt. "We need as much rest as we can and sleeping in wet clothes won't help." He then began to unlace his boots that he put on some time before getting to the ship. The deck hadn't looked very appealing to bare paws when I was there and all the Cainusnon the ship had been wearing boots. He looked over at me, who hadn't even moved, processing what was happening.

I think his tail wagged at that moment and a flush came over my face ever so slightly. I could feel that bit of heat in my ears.

"Wring out your clothes and we can store them in the bags," Rob had one boot off and was working on the other. "They'll be damp, but thats a lot better than soaked through."

I blew a breath out my nose and began working on my own clothes, starting with my shoes that had definitely not been rated for hiking. From there, I took off my own shirt and the slowly worked on my pants, all the while not looking over at Rob.

"Underwear too," Rob said as if guessing my intentions. "Need to keep wet clothes off of us as much as possible. The hike may not be long, but its still safer this way and everything is too wet to make a fire to even try to dry anything."

With that, I slipped off my underwear and shivered as a slight breeze hit me. I then looked up as Rob just finished using one of the two blankets to dry himself off.

He grinned. I was certain the grin was wider than his usual.

"Same rule applies to my fur," he explained. "So, we'll have to share a blanket."

I could see it all and while I had seen similar in military showers thousands of times before, this was not like that at all.

Was I a prude?

"C'mon, it's getting dark and even with my fur, I'm getting cold," Rob said and quickly vanished inside the tent, the last thing I saw was his bare butt and wagging tail vanish inside.

I had no choice but to follow.

It was even more cramped on the inside than it looked like from the outside. Immediately I was brushing against fur, feeling that slight damp fur run along my arm, then the side of my chest and thighs as I crawled inside. The entire time, I tried to keep my bits from touching him or his bits from touching me with limited success, but Rob never said anything about it and so I didn't either.

"Oh, the flap," Rob said and quickly turned around, nearly rubbing my face in his butt and his balls across my chest. He zipped up the tent and then again, turned around with the same effect as before.

I felt so hot from the blushing and was glad that it was already getting dark enough that I doubt even Rob could see.

The remaining dry blanket was large enough to be folded once to act as poor mat and still cover us, but only if we were pressed against each other laying on our backs.

"Get some good rest," Rob said and shifted a little bit and in doing so, rubbed his right side against my left side. I had to admit. His fur was soft.

"Yeah. Full days hike and all," I said back and closed my eyes. It wasn't very comfortable with only a layer of blanket and think tent fabric separating me from the hard ground.

"Let me know if you get too cold," Rob then said and added, "I'm fine with fur, but I don't know how it will be with you. If we need to share more body heat, just say."

The words sunk a bit into my mind slowly, but not wanting to be awkward, I replied, "yeah. Sure." Except that seemed to do the opposite of what I intended.

An arm draped over my chest. It was warm and soft.

I sucked in a breath.

"Turn on your side," Rob said and me being to dazed to do anything else, did just that.

Next thing I knew, we were spooning and I was the little spoon. I could feel everything from his chest moving against my back with each breath to his one leg draped over mine. I couldn't think straight.

"I used to serve as well," Rob spoke, his breath tickling my ear with each word. "Before the whole spy thing. Mostly on the northern border with Alberdan. Really cold winters up there. Cold enough that if me and my squad were on long enough patrols, we'd have to share body heat." He chuckled, the movement rubbing himself on me more. "Crazy. With all this fur and we had to share body heat."

"Yeah. Crazy," I managed to say. So many thoughts on my mind.