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Future Sanctuary

Chapter 10 - Moving Day, Time to Take Out the Trash

Jim lifts his head to the night sky and the unfamiliar constellations that shine in the darkness around this new world. The stars are occasionally occluded by the passing of a warship of the Denguard fleet forming up in the air around the Maiden Voyage's crawlers, the whiskers high in their lookouts watching outward for more attacks from the Republic fleet or army. Within the circle of crawlers, and lit by the massive flood lights on the metal constructs, one of the larger Denguard ships lies at rest on the ground and crew members are offloading bundles and boxes of supplies as red furred Menders in their red loincloths rush back and forth between the supplies and the makeshift field hospital. 'Glad to see they brought so much help for the wounded, maybe we won't lose any more of the injured,' he thinks as he watches the bustle below. He casts his glance towards the rows of deceased and closes his eyes as he says a silent and private prayer for the dead.

The tall tan furred female behind him shuffles her feet, "Is there anything more you need Majoi?"

He glances over his shoulder, "No Kilape, I'm fine. I'm going to be up a while yet, why don't you go see if you can assist the menders in the hospital? There are a great number of injured to care for, and you have some knowledge of battlefield healing."

The tall female Rathac bows to him, a flick of a tentacle gracing her brow in a salute, as she leaves the observation deck while Jim returns to his inner thoughts. 'So much has happened since we've landed, and there are miles to go before we sleep.' He thinks of the long trek ahead of them in the days to come, 'Our promised lands are a thousand miles away, but every journey begins with a single step.'

The sound of booted feet on the metal decking behind Jim makes him smile, "Good evening Captain, nice night isn't it."

Captain Long lets a chuckle escape his lips as he smiles, "Ambassador, Jim, you really need to tell me how you can do that so easily of late."

Jim thinks for a moment before he gives a shrug of his shoulders and turns to look upon the Captain, a finger pressed to the side of his nose, "I can identify you by your smell now."

The Captain lifts an arm and sniffs, "My smell, do I stink that much? I take showers regularly."

Jim closes his eyes and shakes his head with a slight grin, "No Captain, you don't understand." He looks the Captain in the eyes and his grin turns to a frown, "I have started being able to identify people I know by their smell. I can hear tiny sounds in a quiet room. On a starlit night I can see almost as well as on a cloudy day. My senses have been enhanced far beyond what they used to be, but in such a subtle way that it hasn't overpowered me yet." The silence on the observation deck hangs in the air for a minute before Jim sighs, "I suspect it's a result of the same miraculous treatment that gave me the Rathac language. I can hear better, identify things by smell, and see clearer in dim light than any normal human. I don't have night vision exactly, but I can see pretty well with just the stars and a bit of moonlight."

The Captain pulls at his lower lip in thought and nods, the smile gone from his lips, "Chief Surgeon Juni thought this might happen. You are adapting more and more to the alien DNA that was spliced with your own. She will be excited to hear her hypothesis appears to be correct. But she doesn't think you'll suffer from any drastic physical changes, you'll still look human. Your DNA is still two-thirds human after all. She doesn't think you'll start growing fur or tentacles that extend from your back, but she suspects there might be other changes." The Captain shakes his head, "But what they might be, she has no idea. This is far beyond our knowledge of medicine."

Jim glances to the small group of Rathac standing at the foot of the wide primary ramp from the command crawler and nods to himself. Yamoti is reading over the dispatches her young brother, Murrrfie, brought with the fleet while Vorga stands nearby, his hand ever on the hilt of his sword as he protects his Commander. "Captain, tell me the truth, is this a blessing or a curse?" he asks quietly.

The older man studies the man he has known and worked beside for so long before they have landed here. Captain Long reaches up to grip Jim's shoulder, "How can you ask that son, it's a blessing and a gift. Your gift has allowed us to communicate with the locals, establish peace between us and one of the most powerful empires on the planet. We've even been given a place to settle and they are providing us such support as we need to forge a mutual alliance."

Jim looks at the pile of dead again, "I just have to wonder, was our coming here such a good thing."

* * *

Yamoti reads over the official letter before giving her brother a sly smile, "So, the High Mother sees fit to appoint you as an ambassador to the humans? You're fortunate to be assigned such an important task little brother." She rolls up the dispatch and slips it into her belt to show to Jim later. "But, I also understand the human techs wish to teach you something of their science. I think this is a good idea, we can both learn much from each other."

Murrrfie returns her smile with the eagerness of youth. "Yes, I can't wait," he glances around the bustle at the rushing humans and Rathac, "but I can see that things are a bit busy right now."

The blue female nods, "Yes, I understand the humans want to start moving towards the territory promised to them by the High Mother." She looks at the ordered chaos around her, "With the Menders here, we can move the injured and care for them." She taps another of the messages she received, "I see the Denguard who came with you is ordered to provide cover and escort for the move, I'm sure the humans will be very appreciative for the assistance. Even with their technology, they are not so many that they can sustain repeated attacks from the Republic. After this latest attack, I fear they will strike again, they have the conscripts to waste as far as they are concerned." She glances at the row of dead, "The number they lost here is a drop in their ocean of warriors."

The bustle of the night is shattered by a human scream from the field hospital and the three Rathac snap their heads towards the makeshift structure. "Vorga!" Yamoti orders with the tone of command strong in her voice and a flick of a tentacle.

The black and red furred warrior is in motion with the single word without seeing the gesture, his booted feet pounding with those of human security teams which are converging on the scene as several Menders scatter from the hospital with panicked sounds. The Honor Lead storms into the tent, his hand tight on the hilt of his sword and a tentacle wrapped around the handle of a shortfang on his hip. The scene that greats him is worse than he expected.

The human guard in the tent has his alien longfang leveled at the center of the commotion and one of the Menders is lying on the floor where he is being examined by another as she tries to seal the long but shallow slash on his arm. One of the bandaged prisoners, a heavily scarred and muscled black furred male, is holding a human female with a short scalpel at her throat and baring his fangs to those confronting him. Seeing the red armored warrior enter the tent he sneers at the Empire warrior and some of the bandages that had covered and obscured his face falls away, "Vorga, I see the humans have allied with the weaklings, their mistake."

Vorga pulls his lips back in a snarl as the leather of his gloves creaks, his hand tightening on his sword as he resists the urge to draw the deadly blade, "I know you, Justamin the Butcher, murderer of children and the helpless. If I'd known you were in here, I would have told the humans to kill you and end your cursed existence before you fouled the air with the air from your lungs. The Spirits have no love for one who slaughters innocents."

The black furred warrior snarls, spittle flying from his mouth as he roars back, "You will tell your new pets to back away, or I kill this little one." He emphasizes his threat by jerking the nurse backwards with the arm around her throat. The black furred male leans in to sniff at the scared woman's neck as he watches Vorga and the rest of the human guards who have surged into the tent, "They are so few, I'm sure a fertile female is a very valuable individual to these creatures. I know they can't shoot me while I hold this female, their weapons are devastating, but the burst would injure her too if not kill her outright."

Vorga sees a bandaged white and red furred warrior slowly get up from his bed behind the adversary. The injured warrior lifts a finger to his lips as he slinks quietly up to Justamin, each bare foot stepping to make no sound.

Vorga keeps his attention on his opponent, "They won't let you leave here with her. They will kill you if you harm her in the smallest way." Vorga gives the tiniest glint of humor, "And they won't make it quick, you'll die begging for death, and when they give it to you, you'll be thankful."

The Republic warrior roars with laughter as one of his tentacles waves around the tent, "These weak things that need weapons to take the weakest of us? They will bow to our will soon enough, we have legions of troops, they are few in number and not all are soldiers. Their secrets will be ours, their weapons will be ours, and then your high bitch will be a whore for my soldiers."

The white and red male takes the opportunity presented by Justamin's gloating to strike like lightning with a burst of energy despite his injuries. His tentacles snap out to encircle and restrain the black furred male's arms as his hands take a grip on the black furred head. Justamin has only a fraction of a second for his eyes to go wide in surprise as he is restrained by the unseen attacker. "DIE!!!" the warrior roars as his hands give a strong yank and there is the loud snapping of Justamin's neck breaking.

The black furred arms go limp in the other's tentacles and the scalpel falls to thunk into the ground. He pulls the arms from around the nurse and she lurches into the arms of one of the human guards. The burned warrior lets the body drop like a sack of seed as he releases his grip on the now cooling corpse. As the corpse falls, two fresh wounds seep bright red blood from his chest where the corpse's tentacle barbs had sunk deep into his flesh during their brief struggle. He drags in deep lungful's of air as he fights the pain in his burns and the fresh wounds which color his white chest red to match his stripes. Despite this he remains standing as he gasps out to Vorga, "I... could not... let him hurt her. The Spirits... showed us the correct path. I... do... not hurt... innocents. Especially... ones who... are so giving." With his final words his eyes roll back in his head and he slumps to a heap on the floor.

With his collapse the room bursts into motion again. The nurse that was held at knife point rushes to check on her fallen rescuer as one of the Menders checks on the cooling corpse. Looking up at Vorga the Mender shakes her head, "He was dead before he hit the floor."

Vorga moves his hand away from the hilt of his sword and tries to relax his muscles from their battle ready state. He waves a tentacle towards the white and red furred male, "See to him, he has honor." His eyes glare at the corpse of Justamin before he spits on the corpse, "That other one would have been dead before I let him leave this tent again. He was a butcher."

* * *

Tabitha checks for a pulse in the neck of the warrior she has been administering to. She sighs with relief to find it strong and steady under her fingers. She glances to the red furred Mender who is checking on the black furred warrior and though she can't understand the growling language, the angle of the corpse's head tells her all she needs to know in a glance.

The Mender turns her attention to her rescuer and one of the security team steps up to rest a hand on Tabitha's shoulder, "Come on Tab. Let them look after your savior, he's got fresh injuries and they know how to heal their own kind better than we do."

She shrugs off the hand and helps the Mender lift the unconscious Rathac back into the bed. "Leave me, I still have work to do, and I'm going to do it."

Paul comes up and waves to the security personnel, "Please, this is still a hospital. The threat is neutralized and we have work to do. Can most of you leave?" He glances at the dead body still on the floor, "And would someone please remove that?" Several of the black clad security team leaves the hospital with polite nods, a pair of them dragging the dead body. Only two remain, bracketing the door, their rifles held in a tactical ready position. Paul turns to the group clustered around the hero of the moment and lightly rests a hand on Tabitha's back, "Tab, you need a break. You've been working flat out for more than fourteen hours."

She shrugs off his hand, "I'm fine."

Paul grips her arm and spins her to face him, "Damnit Tab, you need to at least go splash some water on your face or something." He grips her hands and looks into her eyes with clearly seen concern, "You're shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. You need to rest as much as anyone does."

She stares at the doctor with wide eyes for just a moment before screaming back at him, "I'm fine!"

A furred appendage tugs at her uniform and she snaps her head around to see the Mender tugging at her tunic with a furred tentacle and directing her attention towards the wounded warrior with a nod. She is surprised to see his eyes open and even more surprised as he gulps for air and says in a weak voice, "You... safe." The words come out in guttural English, but they are clearly understandable as English.

Everyone, human and Rathac alike, stops what they are doing and stares at the warrior in shock at hearing him speak the human tongue, but Tab nods, tears coursing down her cheeks, "Yes, thank you." She kneels next to him and takes his limp hand, "How..."

The warrior extends a limp tentacle towards his ear, "Listen..."

She gives him a closed lip smile, "Name?"

The wounded Rathac winces as the Mender touches the second degree burns and applies an ointment to them. Another Mender closes his eyes as his red furred tentacles cover the deep chest wounds and begins to staunch the bleeding. Drawing a couple of deep breaths the white and red furred warrior whispers, "Nisitha..."

Tabitha picks up the towel that had been on his forehead wrings it in a pan of cool water before placing it back on his forehead again while she says, "Pleased to meet you Nisitha, I'm Tabitha Richards. Thank you for saving me."

Paul closes his mouth which had been hanging open since he heard the Rathac speak, "I'll be damned. Just from listening he's learned our language."

* * *

Jim lounges in the living area of his suite with a casually dressed Yamoti and listens to her as she explains the dispatches, "So, Murrrfie will be staying with the human settlement after we leave as both an ambassador and to provide an exchange of knowledge. More for the knowledge I suspect, but he will have two honor guards too assist him in diplomatic matters as well. I know them, and they are senior members of the High Mother's personal guard."

Jim nods and blows across his coffee, "That sounds like a great idea." He sips at a cup of coffee before he continues, "I hear we had a bit of a situation at the hospital? Vorga was involved?"

Yamoti nods as she sighs in a very human way, "Yes, one of the prisoners attacked a Mender and in the confusion took a female hostage with a knife. Vorga says he knew this individual, I knew of him only by name, but that is enough. Justamin the Butcher was one of the more savage generals of the Republic. He believed in terror and harsh methods. When he attacked a town, he would kill everyone; males, females, elders, cubs, it didn't matter. He would take some of the older cubs to be slaves, others to entertain his officers, but he would leave only one individual alive and free, typically a young male who was savagely scared, to spread the word of what he'd done." The blue feline's lips draw back in a snarl, "If I'd of known he was in your hospital, I would have killed him myself."

Jim shrugs, "With all the bandaged prisoners, I doubt anyone would have recognized him. He was probably counting on that. But what about this prisoner who ended the standoff, I understand he not only killed the attacker, but saved the nurse who'd been tending to him?"

Yamoti's muzzle loses the snarl and she nods, "Yes. His name is Nisitha, he was a common foot soldier in their army. Much like Vorga, he is from a bloodline of Menders, but has little to no ability to use the talent. I would gladly offer him a place in our military if he wishes, he showed true honor in ending the confrontation without the spilling of innocent blood." She raises a glass of water and takes a long drink before continuing, "It is always good to find someone with a sense of true honor. I doubt he will join our military though, he would be suspected by most officers due to his background." She looks at her glass in her hand, "It is a shame to waste such talent. Maybe we can hide his origin somehow..."

"What about these rumors I'm hearing? That he spoke in our language."

She tilts her head to the side and nods, "Yes, odd that. He appears to be quite a quick individual who can start to understand a language by just listening to it for long enough. His grasp of the language is still minor, but it is a start that I wish to use to our advantage. I know your people are working on a tool to translate our languages. I think he can be of assistance in this endeavor."

Jim agrees with a smile, "I was thinking the same thing."

There is a chime and Jim looks towards the door, "Come."

At his command the door opens and Kilape enters the room. Her gray clothing is smeared with small red stains from helping in the hospital, but her tan fur is clean. Seeing the Commander in the room she lowers her gaze, "I do not mean to intrude Majoi, but it is late and I know you haven't eaten."

Jim casts a glance at the clock on the wall and raises an eyebrow as the readout shows it is after midnight local time, "I didn't notice how late it was getting. How are things at the hospital?" he asks as he waves for her to take a seat, "First, have a seat. I can tell that injured leg is bothering you again. You've been pushing yourself too hard." He picks up a datapad and places an order for some late food from the smaller kitchen that provides food for the duty personnel working during the long nights on this world.

She settles herself in an empty chair with a soft sigh as she takes the weight off her injured leg. "The Menders say your people did an amazing job to keep so many wounded alive, and all those still breathing are expected to recover." She gives a quick glance at the Commander before looking back to Jim, "The warrior known as Nisitha has been separated from the other prisoners for his own safety. Some are not pleased that he would kill his general, no matter the cause. The human he saved, a Tabitha Richards, has been staying by his bedside and providing as much assistance as she can to the Menders despite the language block. I understand the senior menders of our people have been trying to get her to rest, but she's being stubborn."

Jim nods, "We were just discussing Nisitha, what do you think of him?"

Kilape lowers her ears and frowns, "It is not my place to judge him Majoi. I am not worthy of judging another warrior."

"No," Jim replies, "but I want to know what you think of him. Can we trust him?"

The tan furred female studies the floor for a few moments in silence before answering, "I believe he will do anything he swears on his honor. He seems to be one of those who places honor above all else, even above the commands of his generals. Otherwise, he would never have raised a claw to stop the attacker."

There is another chime from the door and Jim calls out, "Come."

The door opens to show the still armored Vorga and a steward with trays of food. "I apologize for the interruption Ambassador, but I was informed the Commander was with you."

Jim waves him to another of the empty chairs, "Nothing to apologize for Vorga, come and join us for a late meal."

The black and red furred male glances at Yamoti who gives the slightest of nods before waving a tentacle towards an empty chair. As the armored feline seats himself the steward rolls in a cart with several platters of food and serves them.

* * *

Captain Long is enjoying a quiet breakfast before dawn when his comm unit buzzes with a call from the Command Deck, "Yes?"

The voice of the duty officer reports, "Sir, the last of the wounded has been bundled into one of the empty storage holds along with the Menders and supplies. Engineering reports the Engineering Crawler is repaired to eighty-percent and should be able to keep up as long as we aren't redlining the reactors. The rest of the crawlers are all checked out and we're ready to head for our new home."

The Captain lets a smile cross his features as he settles back in his chair with his morning coffee, "Good, what is the ETA?"

"Sir, it's going to be a long trip, we estimate four days before we reach the boarder of the provided lands. The crawlers aren't exactly high speed hoppers," the officer responds.

"Provide an announcement to all hands, and then commence movement." His smile broadens, "We're going home."

"Yes, sir," the officer responds. "Shall we continue as planned with the wreckage of the Maiden's Voyage, sir?"

The Captain looks down at his clasped hands before he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "Are the guns ready?"

"Crawlers seventeen through nineteen have their heavy bombardment cannons unlimbered and ready." The officer on the bridge hesitates, "Sir, no one wants to do this, least of all you. Couldn't we leave her as a monument to our survival?"

The Captain shakes his head, "This has been discussed, and we can't allow anything we left behind to fall into hands which might use it against us." He opens his eyes and stares into the pickup of the comm set, "Once the caravan and our allies are clear of the site, level it."

* * *

Jim stirs in his bed, a comfortably warm furry body cuddling against his back. The tone that woke him from slumber repeats before a voice announces over the PA system, "All crawlers, trail ho! We are moving out for our new home." He can feel the slightest of lurches as the megaton command crawler starts to move on its massive tracks at the slow pace of ten miles per hour.

Kilape stirs and cracks her eyes open at the unfamiliar motion. Lifting her head from the pillow she asks in a sleepy voice, "Majoi?"

"Go back to sleep," he replies with gentle reassurances, turning his head to look at her from the corner of his eye. "It's too early still for the long night we had and we've got a long road ahead of us."

"Yes, Majoi," she responds as she closes her eyes again and settles her head on the soft pillow. Soon her breathing returns to the slow rhythm of sleep once again and a tan furred arm crosses his body to pull its owner tighter to his back.

Jim closes his eyes and thinks about how things have progressed since their arrival on this world. He is surprised to find how comfortable he is with the large tan furred female spooned against him. 'To think, a few days ago this female was trying to kill me. Now she looks to me as a role model and guide,' he muses as he lays there in the darkness of his suite, the crawler rumbling around them. 'Others would have her sleep on the floor, but I can't.' One hand reaches up to pet the furred arm around his waist with a feathery touch, 'I have to admit, she is rather comfortable to cuddle with on a cool night.'

As he feels the edge of sleep coming back to take him into its arms he thinks of the future to be, 'Soon we'll have a new home on this world to call our own. But, I will be returning to the Capital of the Empire soon, I wonder when I'll get a chance to settle down. Maybe start a family, if I can that is.'

He closes his eyes and lets sleep take him once more into its arms while the nineteen remaining crawlers trundle away from the skeleton of metal that brought them here.

* * *

Alpha Captain Gati watches with most of the crew of the Burning Wind as the massive metal constructs begin their travels northward. She turns to the young male stationed by the signal station, "Make signal, fleet to form escort formation."

The young male at the signal snaps a quick salute and attaches the correct series of colored lanterns before hoisting them up the signal mast. He watches as the lights are repeated on the other lodeships of the Denguard Fleet. "Signals answered and the fleet is taking positions Alpha Captain."

The tall blond furred female lets a soft smile cross her lips, "Good. Second-in-command Halki," she says turning to the green and red blotch furred male standing next to her, "you have the helm. Hold the body of the fleet steady with the human vehicles. I understand they are slow, but will not have to stop often. Keep cub flitters out far enough to screen for Republic raiders and ambushes. I don't think we've seen the last of them."

She looks out at the lights of her fleet as they form up to protect the column of human survivors, "I'm going to get some breakfast, I'll be back afterwards. If something pressing happens, don't hesitate to call me."

Halki snaps a crisp salute with a tentacle which is returned by the Alpha Captain as she turns to leave the bridge. She stops and turns as there is a flash from several of the human vehicles which brightens the predawn darkness.

"What in the Spirits..." Gati whispers as she watches the turrets on the rearmost crawlers elevate and erupt with balls of light from their muzzles which arc through the sky to land among the metal skeleton and wreckage of the vessel that brought them here. The balls of blue and white light burst into brilliant explosions and the rumbles roll through the air to shake the very fabric of the Burning Wind.

Halki looks from the burning wreckage to his Alpha Captain, "They are destroying their vessel?"

Gati nods with dawning understanding, "They took all that was usable from their vessel over the last few days, and they leave nothing for the Republic to scavenge for use against them. Any artifact left will be smashed and burned beyond use or understanding." She lets a closed lip smile cross her features, "They are willing to destroy to deny their opponents usable resources. It must have been a hard decision, to destroy something of such power which brought you safely across the void between stars, but I am glad to see they made it."

Halki glances at Gati, "Alpha Captain?"

Gati casts Halki a glance from the corner of her eye, "They aren't doing this to keep their secrets from us, they are already sharing much with us. The High Mother's own son is going to be learning from their alcami while he teaches them some of our own ways." She focuses on the wreckage burning hotter than any fire she has ever seen, "No, they are doing this to keep the Republic, a proven enemy, from learning anything from their wreckage." She watches as the blazing fire seems to erupt in a storm of sparks as the metal shell of the Maiden's Voyage collapses in on itself. "If they can do that to a machine that survived a crash landing after traveling the stars, I would hate to be on the receiving end of such weapons."

Hakli nods with agreement, "Aye, Alpha Captain, it's a good thing they are on our side." He casts a quick glance at her, "I am glad that moron failed to assassinate the Ambassador, or those weapons would have reduced this fleet to shards. Who would have protected the High Mother and her subjects then?"

Gait returns his glance, "The Spirits guide us to do many things, even if we don't understand them at the time. If the Ambassador had not been attacked, he would not have received the blessing that gave him our language. A blessing that both of our peoples have benefited from. But, I both fear what would have happened, and at the same time am glad it did. The benefit has been worth the risk." She pulls her gaze from the destruction as she leaves the bridge, "The helm is yours."

Hakli continues to watch the burning flames of white and blue that dance in the night, "Such powerful weapons. I fear a race which had to make such weapons to fight on their own planet. What will they teach us besides war?"

All characters unless otherwise stated are the intellectual property of Chris Gilman [aka. Goliath Wildcat] Murrrfie © Goliath Thunderstep, Story © Copyright Christopher Gilman 2014 all rights reserved

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