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Who Am I?

Tales from the Kah Har Galaxy

A Tale of the Shadow Runners

By Prowl-Ar Nightiger

BEEP . . .

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Big Hub station slowly drifted at the outer edges of a blue star system. At it's center was a nearly solid ice planetoid. It had taken a thousand years to get the station to the system and another hundred to release the remains of its former ice hub. With all the causeways and anchor beams in place the station, with its new ice core, was ready to power up its Freem engines to return to its proper location in deep space. Of course it had been ready to move three hundred years earlier but with the Imperiam ban on the use of Freem engines all the inhabitants could do was wait and enjoy the radiation that was slowly breaking down the station's shields.

BEEP . . .

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However, the Imperiam's primary system of control, their jump net, had been disrupted and the station's crew declared that the station was once again an independent port. Though they were still, technically, being controlled by the local Imperiam troops plans were in motion to return to a fully independent station. For the first time, as far as the station's records showed, since it had been built it would be traveling to a star system for reasons other then replenishing the ice hub.

BEEP . . .

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The station's new home would be deep in the Tra'Est Sector. An area the pirates, smugglers, and free traders had begun to refer to as the Liberated Zone. In less then two months Big Hub would move into the outer orbit of the sun Accordana.

BEEP . . .

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"Alarm off." A young male tenor voice moaned.

BEEP . . .

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"I said alarm off!"

BEEP . . BEEP . .

BEEP . . BEEP . .

"Daca! Computer, I said . . ." The young man faltered when he opened his eyes and found that the sound wasn't coming from an alarm clock but from a heart monitor.

"Dr. Benson, I think Eight has woken up." A young man said as he moved into the patient's line of sight.

"Really? Well then, I suggest you get him out of my infirmary." An old man said as he walked up next to the bed and began disconnecting the machines.

"Yes sir. Don't worry about him he's just upset that I was right for once." The young man said as he smiled and walked away.

Eight turned his head to watch the man as he walked to a cabinet and pulled out a pair of light blue scrubs. He quickly returned and laid them across the bed. Eight wrinkled his nose slightly, the scrubs smelled of the man who had put them on the bed, a musky wild smell that seemed out of place in the antiseptic infirmary.

"I know it isn't much but they're better than the gown. So, what is your name? It would be nice if I could call you something other than number Eight." The man said as he started assisting the doctor.

"It's . . . I don't know! I don't know who I am! How can I not know who I am!"

"I suggest you calm down. You're not going to be staying here even if you do have a relapse. I'll chemically induce death and dump you out the airlock like I had planned to do a month ago." Dr. Benson said as he finished removing the various tubes, "Considering the massive head trauma he came in here with, the loss of his memory isn't surprising. From here on out he's your problem just get his worthless furry hide out of my infirmary. I only hope you can find his master so you can get back some of the money you've lost because of him."

"What does he mean?" Eight asked.

"Don't worry about it. My name is Dirk by the way."

"Well, it sounds as though I owe you my life. I'd introduce myself but it seems you know more about me than I know about myself." Eight said as he slowly swung his large furry feet out of the bed, "Um, I know this is going to seem like a strange question but what am I?"

Dirk suppressed a laugh and Eight stared at his feet. He ran his hands over his cheeks and up to his long ears. One stood tall and alert but the other drooped down the side of his face and ended abruptly at cheek level in a ragged cut. He slowly stood up and Dirk looked him over as though trying to make a decision as to what species Eight might be.

Eight's fur was light gray and might even be called silver in natural lighting. The end of his good ear was black like his hands and feet. He had a mask of white fur that formed a perfect heart shape point on the bridge of his nose. His chest fur was pure white and ran all the way down between his thighs. His tail was black on top and snowy underneath like a bright white arrowhead directing ones attention from his cute butt to his even cuter lower back.

Dirk quickly looked away as he realized that he had been staring. Then he turned bright red as he realized what he'd been thinking. He heard Dr. Benson's low chuckle from across the room.

"You know Dirk, if you can't find that fur's owner you could always claim that he has been abandoned and take over ownership yourself. At least then you might get something out of all the money you've spent keeping him alive."

Dirk wanted so badly to tell Benson where he could shove his perverted thoughts, except for two problems. First he still had a month to go in his internship before he could apply for the final memory implants that would allow him to become a fully licensed doctor. And second as much as he hated to admit it a split second before Benson mentioned it, the same thought had crossed his mind.

"So?" Eight asked as he finished pulling on the scrubs and turned around.

"Oh yeah, you're a rabbit. I can't give you any idea as to which planet you might be from though."

"That's all right, at least now I know what I am and that is at least a place to start." Eight said as he stretched. He winced a bit at the stiffness in his limbs but otherwise he seemed to be all right.

Dirk shook his head; "I knew you were special when you were first brought in."

Eight looked at Dirk and cocked an eyebrow.

"That is . . . I mean when they brought you in you were in bad shape but you were fighting for life like no one I've ever seen before. You had multiple wounds that would have killed most people if they'd only suffered one of them. Then, after only a couple of weeks you were nearly healed. And now after a month and a half in a coma you wake up and you're moving around as though you'd just woken up from a nap."

"Get used to it kid, some species can bounce back faster than humans but it doesn't make them better then us. Now hurry up and get out. I've already lost enough business because of him."

"Like anyone who was bleeding would decide to bleed to death just because you had a fur in here." Dirk said as he motioned Eight to follow him toward the door.

"What was that?"

"I'll be back in an hour to finish my shift."

"I'm still docking you half a day's credits."

"An hour and a half then, if you're taking half a day then I'm going to at least get lunch for once."

"Whatever, it'll probably take the cleaning crew that long to get this room back up to the antiseptic standards that it should be at."

"So Eight, now that you know what you are shall we move on to where you are?" Dirk asked as they walked down a white corridor with a pastel green carpet.

"That sounds good to me."

"This is Big Hub Station. Some say it got its name from the ice planet at its core." Dirk said as he came to a stop at a small plaza with a window looking out at a sheer wall of bluish white ice, "Normally the central hub is filled with grand caverns, arcades, lavish apartments, and anything else a person could imagine. Unfortunately, every couple thousand year spans the station has to discard the inner hub since it becomes too fragile from the constant carving."

"Sounds fun, I guess."

"Yeah, but it'll be a couple more generations before the core is even close to that level of habitation again. Right now the only ones over there are the cutters." Dirk said, as they turned right and continued down the large slightly curving plaza. "This is the innermost of three habitation rings. The inner ring is divided into four sections, medical, political, judicial, and elite residential. Basically the only people that come this far in are either sick, criminals, or those who have to take care of them."

Eight nodded.

Dirk silently chided himself for being disappointed that Eight hadn't laughed at his joke. How was he supposed to realize that it was a joke to begin with? They turned left into a corridor that was six stories high and nearly as wide. They walked along the side of the corridor until they reached a pair of airlock doors.

"At one time travel between the hub and the three rings was unrestricted but that was long before my time." Dirk said as he pulled out his identity card and inserted it into the slot but the door remained closed. He sighed and removed his card. He then pushed a button on the touch pad and looked directly into the camera mounted above it.

"State your business." A voice buzzed from a small speaker.

"I'm medical intern Dirk, and I'm escorting this patient back to his quarters in the central ring."

"Please insert his identity card into the reader."

"He doesn't have his card."

"Then have him place his palm on the scanner." Dirk gestured to Eight who pressed his palm against the scanner.

"Just a moment while we process. Ah, here it is, Central ring section eight, pod eight, room eight."

The rabbit smiled as he realized why everyone was calling Eight.

"Oh! You mean sleeping furry actually woke up? Damn, I bet Ol' Doc Benson is happy to get him out of there. We still haven't received any word from an owner. Are you willing to take temporary ownership with the option of permanent possession?"

Dirk bit his lip and glanced over at Eight, "Yes."

"Very well, slide your card into the reader slot and then press your palm against the scanner for confirmation." Dirk hung his head but did as he was told.

"Very good, I've forwarded copies of the papers to your tube and his room. Oh my, his room has an account with a substantial amount of credits in it. With this much cred I'd say his owner must be dead not to have closed it out. If it isn't claimed in the next day or two it will be automatically transferred into your name. When Benson hears about this he's likely to hack up one of his own lungs."

"As opposed to just hacking up his patient's lungs and other internal organs?"

"I didn't hear that, even if it is true. You're cleared to move from the inner ring to the central ring."

The doors slid open and the two of them continued through the tube that connected the inner ring to the central ring.

"The central ring is larger and contains the middle class residences and businesses. Most of the station's legal business takes place in that ring. The outer ring is what some refer to as the 'fun ring' but it is only fun if you are in the business of getting hurt. There's no law out there and anyone who doesn't have to go there doesn't." Dirk sighed and slowed down, "Listen Eight, I have something that I have to tell you but I don't think you're going to like it. Even if you don't understand what I'm talking about it isn't a nice subject."

Eight was a bit concerned but he trusted Dirk. After all the young man had saved his life, "Well if I don't understand I'll keep asking questions until I do."

"You may have noticed that some people don't like furs. I say furs because that is the most common reference; but what it really means is non-humans. The Imperiam, that's the government that currently has control of the galaxy, has made it illegal for any fur to be free. So you must have had a master, which would be a human that owned you as if you were his property. And as terrible as that is it seems that person was either killed or he threw you away after you were injured. Otherwise he would have come to collect you."

"So if I don't have a master what does that mean?"

"Well, for right now I've agreed to be your master. I didn't really want to be your master though."

"I guess I just don't understand what it means to have a master." Eight said as he flipped his dangling ear to one side and stared at Dirk.

"It means that you have no rights. If your master told you to kill yourself, then you'd have to kill yourself and the only punishment that your master would receive would be a fine for getting the carpet bloody. It means that your master could do anything he wanted to you and you couldn't stop him."

Eight stopped and stared at the floor, "So it's possible that I was injured by my master?"

"Come on, we have to keep moving. We're not allowed to stop while we're in the passageway between rings. And yes, it is entirely possible that your master is responsible. However I don't think that's the case. You have a credit account and a room that has been registered to you. Those facts tell me that you had a very good master." Dirk said as he grabbed Eight's arm to get him moving down the corridor again.

"You said you didn't want to be my master. Is there something wrong with me?" Eight asked. He wasn't sure why but water started leaking from his eyes.

"No, there isn't anything wrong with you! I don't want to be your master because I don't think it is right for one person to own another. I'd rather be your friend then your master."

"Oh." Eight felt like something had broke inside his chest. Warmth seemed to be spreading through his body but at the same time it felt good.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure, I think so." Eight smiled and pulled Dirk into a hug, "If I have to have a master then I'm glad it will be you."

Dirk stood in shock for a moment and then wrapped his arms around the rabbit returning the hug. His mind drifted as he enjoyed the feeling of Eight's fur against his cheek and neck. He quickly broke the hug as he realized that he was actually becoming aroused by the contact.

"Uh, we'd better keep moving. I really can't afford the fine for loitering in here." He said as he turned and nearly sprinted toward the doors leading to the central ring.

As the doors closed behind them Dirk studied a faded map next to the air lock, "Let's see, we need to drop down ninety one levels and then take the central transport train to your section. No wait, this is section eight. We just have to take the lift down to your floor."

Eight wasn't listening; he was staring at the hundreds of people moving back and forth down a corridor twice as large as the one connecting the two rings. He noticed there were a few furs. Some were wearing fancy clothing with jeweled collars while others had only their fur and a simple collar connected to a leash held by a human, presumably their master. Some were carrying heavy bags or boxes. The only thing that they all had in common was that they all hung their heads and their eyes had a dull dead look.

Eight felt like crying again, "Is it possible that my injuries weren't the cause of my memory loss? Could it be possible that I just don't want to remember?" he mumbled to himself.

"Come on, the lifts are right over here." Dirk said as he tapped Eight's shoulder.

Eight turned and followed Dirk. However he refused to hang his head like the other furs. As the lift began to descend, Eight grabbed Dirk in fright.

"Now come on it isn't that bad. Trust me, the lifts are perfectly safe." Dirk said as he put his arm around Eight to comfort him.

When the lift stopped and the doors opened a fat woman in a orange dress with ugly purple flowers gasped at the sight, "Well I never, such a disgusting display, you should be ashamed of yourself allowing your pet to act that way." She scolded before turning to enter another lift.

Eight quickly released Dirk and blushed to the point that his ears nearly glowed red.

"Come along Snookums. I really should have known better then to come down here. Even if there is less commotion, the depravity is enough to make any decent person sick."

Snookums, a young female snow leopard who had smiled and winked at them while her master was berating them, rolled her eyes and made a gagging motion before smiling at them again and quickly following her master.

Dirk waited until the Old Bat's lift doors closed before he broke out laughing, "Disgusting display? Hah, that's rich coming from someone who actually thought that dress is decent. And did you see Snookums? I bet that cat has more brains in the tip of her tail then her master has in her entire body."

"Did I do something wrong?" Eight asked as they started across another large corridor.

"Only in that woman's sick mind. Don't worry about it, you didn't hear me complaining did you?"

"Well, no."

"So here we are Section eight, pod eight."

Eight looked up at the pod. It looked like a large stone building with windows on each of the eight levels.

"Since you don't have an ID card . . ."

Eight put his hand up against the scanner and the door opened.

"You're a quick learner." Dirk said as they entered.

"It isn't hard when I don't have very many memories to begin with."

"What is it with you and the number eight?" Dirk asked, as he looked at the pod directory and discovered that Eight's room was on the eighth floor.

"Well it makes things easy to remember."

Dirk laughed as they climbed the stairs to the top floor and walked down the hall to room eight, "Well this is it. Do you mind if I come in? I mean, I've never been to this area, since I've been saving my credits I didn't want to waste them on an upscale place like this."

Eight stopped in his tracks, if he understood correctly; he didn't have a choice but to allow Dirk inside. But Dirk had asked if he could come in. Could he refuse? If he did would Dirk punish him or would he understand and leave. Did he want Dirk to leave?

"Is something wrong?" Dirk asked as Eight stared at the door.

"No, it's just that there is a lot that could be beyond this door. True I could find out who I am, where I came from, and who I belong too. But do I really want to know those things? From what I've seen I may be better off not knowing."

Dirk wiped his eyes. "No it is better knowing those things even if they aren't all good."

Eight sighed and put his palm against the scanner. The door swung inwards.

Dirk gasped as they walked in, "It looks like a public lavatory!"

The room had eight doors running along the left side with another door facing the entryway on a larger stall at the back. On the right just inside the door was a combination drinks and snacks machine with a row of four sinks under four mirrors.

Dirk walked to the back of the room and walked around the end of the wall on the right. Seconds later he returned, "Back there is a towel dispensing machine, a condom machine, and shower stalls lining the back of this wall." He said pointing at the wall lined with sinks, "And from the look of things all but one of them are real water showers. It isn't exactly what I was expecting but it really is a step up from where I'm living."

"This is where I live?" Eight asked as he looked around.

Dirk gestured at the stalls, "I'd say that one of these is your room. And considering everything I've seen so far I'm betting this one is yours." He said as he walked up to one of the stalls.

It had a large number "8" printed in black above a palm scanner and a card reader. A simple gold bar curved out of the left-hand side of the door. Eight grasped the handle and pressed his palm against the scanner there was a faint click and Eight pulled the door open. The room was approximately five-foot wide and ten-foot deep. On the back wall there was a keypad and eight black rectangles surrounded by light yellow tiles. However the primary feature of the room was a white toilet.

"My Gods, it is a rest room."

"I can't live here, something must be wrong!" Eight said as he fell to his knees.

"Just a moment" Dirk said as he noticed a small "7" etched on the back of the toilet. He stepped into the room and leaned over the toilet and pressed the seven key on the touch pad. Suddenly the toilet descended into the floor and a section of tile slid out of the back wall and locked into place above it leaving the room completely empty. After looking at the shapes on the back wall Dirk pressed the eight button and was nearly knocked off his feet as a bed extended out followed by a small nightstand.

"See it isn't that bad." Dirk said as two metal poles rose up from the floor to support the end of the bed.

Eight stood up and entered the room.

"You have your own toilet, room to move around, and plenty of storage space." Dirk pressed number one and a drawer slid out. Inside were several envelopes and a small book. Dirk took out the book and smiled, "You even have a complete users manual here so that you'll be able to figure out how everything works." As Dirk handed Eight the book he glanced at his watch, "Oh shit! I'm going to be late! Listen, I have tomorrow off so I'll come back and a give you a better tour of this ring. You'd better stay here until then. I'm not sure what the rules are on furries moving about the station on their own. Damn, I wish I could stay and help you settle in." Dirk said. He felt like crying. He didn't want to just leave Eight here on his own but he couldn't be late back to work either.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't worry, I'll wait right here until you return. I don't want to get you into any trouble." Eight said as he sat down on the bed. He opened the book and gasped.

"What is it?" Dirk asked, torn between running to the snack machine to get something to eat and wanting to know what had disturbed Eight.

"I may have forgotten who I am, but I can read!" He said as he looked up at Dirk. He almost laughed at the look on Dirks face, "Don't worry, I'll be right here when you get back. While you're gone maybe I'll get to know a little more about myself and we'll have more to talk about."

Dirk nodded as he closed the door. Eight pulled the envelopes out of box one and then closed it. One was his new ID card along with his copy of Dirk's ownership papers, three were advertisements for eating establishments, and the last contained a small metal key. Eight looked at it in wonder for a minute and then slid it back into the envelope. He opened the drawer of his nightstand and was about to toss the mail inside when he noticed that there was already something in the drawer.

"What is this?" he asked as he pulled it out and dropped the letters inside. As he closed the drawer the light began to dim for the night rotation. He quickly spun around and hit the two key on the pad and another one of the rectangles extended and a soft light filled the room as the main lights went out.

"Wow, I guess I have been here before." He mumbled as he realized that he'd activated the light on reflex without even knowing what he was doing. He looked at the object he had pulled out of the drawer. It looked like a book, he turned it over and imprinted on the cover in bold white letters was the name, Whiteheart "Buck" Briarspike. He slowly opened it up and inside was a picture of an older couple and a younger bunny. The older male was a fox with silver fur. The woman was a black rabbit with a white patch on her forehead. The younger male rabbit was mostly brown with tan splotches and a tuft of white hair. Written in the lower right hand corner was the message: "Good luck and remember we love you, Mom, Dad, and Spike."

Buck closed the picture and hugged it to his chest. With this one item he knew his name and that he had a family that loved him. And somehow he also knew that they were still alive and free. He curled up and cried himself to sleep clutching the picture to his chest and wearing Dirk's scrubs as pajamas.