Who Am I? Part 07
As the group made their way to the council chambers they remained silent. Though they couldn't help taking in the splendor of the lavish halls that led to the chambers main entrance. At the end of the marble tile hall that they had been walking down they stood before an entrance that seemed to span four floors in height with white marble columns supporting a heavy roof. However after looking closer they could see that the entrance was actually a very small room and the façade was created with holographic images.
Tracker placed his palm against a pad hidden on the back of one of the two real columns and a door opened into a large waiting room. Inside they found the door to the council chambers flanked by two guards with riot guns. The herald was pacing nervously and three people, two men and a woman, relaxing in the chairs.
"Who are they?" Tracker growled gesturing toward the humans.
"They claim that the Accordia system belongs to them and they're here to meet with the full council." The herald said as he nervously wrung his hands, "That's why you were called back before you had finished tracking down the escaped prisoners."
"As you can see I've recaptured the prisoners along with the accomplice who helped them escape. Now hurry up and announce us."
Dirk gasped, he felt a buzzing in his head and he thought he could almost hear words. Almost like when he thought the Gods were talking to him. Buck nudged him with his elbow and nodded toward the coyote fur that had been captured with them. The purple gem around his neck was glowing.
"Governor David 'Tracker' Nightspeaker, Chief Security Officer with three prisoners and four guards." The herald yelled as they walked into the room.
The governors, who had been standing around in small groups quickly moved to their seats.
"I'm impressed, it only took you five hours to recapture them. That is a very good time however considering you were the one who let them escape I guess you would have to do something to correct the situation. But then, you are just a fur so it is to be expected that you would be so sloppy as to leave them with an inexperienced guard." Commander Singe said as Tracker sat down.
"Yes it was a good hunt and I guarantee no human could have caught them. And for the record it was a human who was guarding them." Tracker spat back.
Suddenly the chamber doors opened and the herald stumbled into the room. "Begging your pardons Governors but..."
"Drop the pleasantries and announce us already!" an angry female voice yelled.
From their position directly across from the doors the prisoners could see the chamber guards sprawled on the floor.
"It is my honor to present, Commander Trace Dacat of Accordia."
The younger of the two men entered, walked to the head of the table, and stood to the left of the President's chair. Buck moved closer to Dirk as if to hide behind him. Dirk clenched his fists and prepared to attack the human if he even looked at them wrong.
"Lord Prowler Lightstripe, formerly known as Prowler the Homeless One; Commander of the Shadow Runners."
Buck dropped to one knee and pulled Dirk down with him as the man entered. Dirk was surprised to notice that Tracker had also moved to the side of his chair and was down on one knee as the man moved to the right side of the president's chair. Suddenly Dirk gasped as he remembered where he had heard the name before. Only when his teacher had spoken of the man she has referred to him as Prowler the Chosen One.
"President and Grand High Overseer, Dawna Destruction! Know known as Lady Dawna Destiny-Lightstripe!" The page yelled as the woman swept into the room, her black cape fluttering behind her. As she dropped into her throne the herald quickly shut the door. Dirk knew he was just imagining it but he could swear he heard the herald sigh in relief once the door was closed.
"Well, it's good to see that at least three of you know to show me the proper respect." Dawna said as she leaned back and placed her feet up on the council table. She waved them to stand and take their place and Dirk started to rise but both Tracker and Buck refused to move until they saw Prowler nod.
"So Jace, I see you've gotten into a bit of trouble in the short time we've been here. Did you find whatever it was that made you insist on joining us on the mission?" Dawna asked as she motioned the coyote to join her guards.
"As you can well see, it seems that I was drawn here by one of the telegems. However while I was retrieving the gem I was, detained." Jace said as he took up a position next to Trace.
"I see and what of our other team member that was with you?"
"We split up when we reached the central ring. Spike said he had to find out what had really happened to his brother."
Dawna smiled at Buck and nodded as she pressed a button on her headset. "Spike, I believe we've found your missing brother. Please return to the council chambers. As soon as poss..."
There was a loud click and every head in the room turned toward Baron Singe, "Die Traitors of the Imperiam!" he yelled.
In less time then it took to blink Prowler had teleported behind the man and then they had both disappeared.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Dawna yelled as she jumped toward the ceiling. Prowler reappeared in the center of the room above the council chamber. She caught him, or at least what was left of him. The front of his body was a mass of burned armor and flesh. They floated down to the table as though they were in zero gravity. Both Dirk and Governor Dix jumped on the table in an instant. Suddenly the chambers were bathed in blue energy as the light from the plasma bomb reached the station.
"Plasma burns covering at least fifty one percent of his body, vacuum exposure, and shock. The damage is just too severe there's nothing that can be done." The doctor said as she got back down off the table, "I'm sorry."
"He's not in shock!" Dawna yelled as her white gem seemed to burst into flame, "Hold on Rusty is on his way. You just have to hold on until he can get here. He can stabilize you and then we'll get you into the evolver chamber and you'll be fine." Dawna whispered as she carefully removed Prowler's headset by using her gem to turn it immaterial.
Dirk gasped, the skin around Prowler's eyes was intact and though burned it wasn't charred like the exposed skin was. Doctor Dix had been wrong, if his armor had protected him then, Dawna could be right. He pulled a familiar bone tipped syringe from his pouch it was the last dose he possessed but if ever it was needed this was it.
Dawna grabbed the syringe, "That won't work! He's immune, you've got to use Fox Clan sedatives!" She yelled as she grabbed Dirk's medicine pouch, pulled out another needle, and injected the drug into Prowler's neck. "I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." Dawna said as Prowler closed his eyes.
"I hope you haven't killed him with that large a dose! Now, unless you can remove his body armor the same way you removed his headset, get of the way while I try to heal him!" Dirk yelled as he grabbed the green crystal. As he turned back he was surprised to find that Dawna had indeed removed the armor. Dirk had been right the combination of armor and space had saved him. Without the station's atmosphere the plasma bomb had only the Baron's body to feed the reaction.
Dirk placed his hand and the green shard on Prowler's chest. The black gem around his neck suddenly began to glow and this time the buzzing in Dirk's head became a voice.
"Young one, this is a foolish action. You alone do not have the energy to heal Prowler. Instead you must restrict yourself to stabilizing this body until Genesis arrives."
"Who are you?" Dirk whispered.
"I am Reaper, the Kah Har God of Death and Prowler is the person I chose to bond with."
Suddenly Dirk felt hands resting on his shoulders, "Do it, Lord Lightstripe has to live. He is the only one who can stop the evil on Shendria. No matter what happens we'll be together." Buck whispered.
Dirk closed his eyes and concentrated. The crystal shard burst into flames. They quickly enveloped Prowler's body and then progressed up Dirk's arms. Dirk could feel his life draining away then he could feel more energy flowing through his shoulders and down his arms. Then more energy seemed to enter through his wrists, his elbows, and his sides. He could feel life energy coursing through his body. It was like he was a sun gently bathing a planet in life giving light and suddenly he exploded as an even greater energy washed over him. Then everything went dark.
* * *
BEEP . . .
BEEP . . .
BEEP . . .
"Alarm off." Dirk said as he slowly woke from what felt like the most restful sleep he's had in months. As his mind began to clear away the sleep fog he realized that there was something heavy lying across his chest. He slowly moved his hand to the object only to discover it was covered with fur. He opened his eyes to find Buck draped over him.
"Sh, don't wake him. This is the first time he's actually fallen asleep since they brought you here." A female otter said as she put away the heart monitor. "I've told him multiple times that you would be fine. You just needed rest to recover the energy you had lost."
"Where are we?"
"This is the primary infirmary aboard the starship Shadow Runner. Dawna brought you here rather than leaving you on Big Hub since she wasn't in the mood to trust their doctors."
"How is Prowler?" Dirk asked as he tried to sit up.
"Stop that, you may have recovered enough to be awake but you still have a way to go before you can be active. I'm Jen by the way and before you try to argue that you feel fine I'd better let you know that I'm the chief medical officer here so what I say is law."
Dirk grinned and leaned back. Jen may have sounded angry but he could tell that she genuinely cared about her charges.
"As for the barbecue kitty, he's fine. If anything he was in better condition then you were when he arrived. That was either a very noble or very stupid act trying to save him with just a shard of the telegem of life. If Rusty hadn't arrived with his gem you and everyone else that helped you would have died." She said as she moved to her desk and sat down.
Dirk heard a door open and someone enter the room. Jen looked up and rolled her eyes, "Between you and the two rabbits I'm starting to think I must be running some sort of amusement park. However you're in luck since he just woke up. Just don't do anything to upset him."
Dirk watched as a short shadow moved along the privacy curtain. A four-foot tall white fox peaked around the corner and Dirk gasped. For a second he almost believed that his teacher had returned. But as the little fox came into full view he realized that it wasn't his teacher but he was definitely one of her relatives.
"Uh hi, I'm White Fox of the Rolling Hills Tribe of the Fox Clan. Dawna mentioned that she noticed that you had an item that belonged to my mother?" He said as he slowly approached the side of the bed with his head down and his tail slightly tucked between his legs.
Dirk glanced at Jen who was busy typing on her computer. He then lifted his hand and ruffled the fur between the fox's ears. "So you're the Great White Fox. Wilna spoke of you quite often you know."
"How . . . how did you know her?" White Fox asked as he rubbed the red gem that hung around his neck.
"I guess you could say she was my adopted mother. She was also my teacher." Dirk said as he picked up the medicine pouch from the table beside Buck. He pulled out a small red crystal. "She told me that if I ever met you I should show you this."
White Fox's eyes widened and he reached out to touch the shard. As his finger touched the crystal his gem flared and he nearly collapsed. Dirk gasped, as energy seemed to be flowing into him like when he had been healing Prowler. White Fox broke the connection and smiled as tears dripped down his muzzle.
"Thank you, now I know everything that happened. I've attuned the shard so that you can now use it like you do with the green shard. From what I've learned that shard should let you form energy shields with enough practice." White Fox said as he bowed to Dirk. Suddenly he yelped as a webbed hand grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
"What were you thinking? This isn't the time to be exchanging soul fragments with him. If I catch you or any of the others in here again before my patient has fully recovered I'll make you suffer like you can only imagine!" Jen yelled as she picked the fox up and tossed him out the door. "Now I've got to go and check my other patient. When I get back you had better not've moved is that clear?"
Dirk raised his hand, "Yes ma'am, I won't move an inch."
Jen glared at him for half a second and then shook her head and left the infirmary. As the door slid shut Dirk could feel and hear Buck giggling.
"Just how long have you been awake?" Dirk asked as Buck raised his tear-streaked face.
"I woke up about the time that Jen told you not to wake me. It was just safer that I pretended to stay asleep. Otherwise she'd have likely injected me with a sedative when I wasn't looking."
"So I've really been out of it for two days?" Dirk asked as he slid to one side of the bed and then motioned for Buck to join him.
Buck glanced toward the infirmary door and bit his lip.
"Oh come on, what is she going to do sedate you?"
Buck laughed and crawled up on the bed snuggling close to Dirk, "So long as she doesn't make me move I guess that won't be to bad." Buck nuzzled up against Dirk's neck and nibbled on his ear lobe. "I was so afraid that I would loose you."
"Silly bunny, I told you before I'll never leave you."
* * *
Buck leaned back against a tree and read over the pad he had been talking into. It had been nearly two weeks but once again he was back in the park. He sighed as he looked at the six-telegem shards and the wristband they formed. Even though Jen had forbidden visitors each of the Shadow Runner members who had gems slipped in to visit and attune the gems that Dirk possessed. Of course they each insisted that they were actually there to give new shards to Buck. In the end Jen still kicked them all out of the infirmary.
When he finished reading he once again pushed the record button. "So I guess that pretty much explains everything that happened up to the point where Jen kicked us out of the Shadow Runner infirmary. After that Prowler provided us with a nice room to stay in for the remainder of Dirk's recovery. Most of my time was spent explaining the situation on Shendria to Lord Lightstripe, I mean Prowler. Anyway he knew things were bad on Shendria but he insisted if he'd known how bad he would have stopped Lord Dacat sooner. By the time you get this letter things should be about to change." Buck shivered as he remembered the look in Prowler's eyes when he finished telling him about predator superiority. He'd seen that look before and it wasn't a good memory.
"Oh, I nearly forgot to mention Prowler used one of the devices on the ship to remove almost all of my physical scars and even restore the missing tip of my ear. Unfortunately it still won't stand up straight but Dirk insists that it is cute the way it is." Buck brushed his ear to one side and giggled.
"Anyway we've both joined the Shadow Runner organization; though neither one of us stayed with the rest of the group. Instead we returned to Big Hub. Dawna assigned me to be the Shadow Runner representative on the governor's council. That means that I have the final say on just about everything here on the station. Of course I have to send monthly reports on all my decisions back to her but when she isn't putting on a show she's actually really nice. Anyway, for now I'm doing my best to just listen and get a better understanding of how the station has been run up until now." Buck closed his eyes and smiled as the white crystal started to glow. He could feel Dirk approaching through the mental link they now shared.
"One of the first things that we did when we got back to the station was a complete remodel of the plaza area connected to the park. When it is finished it will be our quarters here on the station. We were offered a very nice residence on the inner ring but we both decided that we wanted to be closer to the people of the station. Besides it's closer to where Dirk has set up his infirmary. Now that was something that really ticked off the council. Dirk received not only the memory implants he needed to become a doctor but also a lot of specialized knowledge that the average human wouldn't even bother with. Medical training so that he could specialize in treating furs. He's been working on setting up a free clinic for furs." Buck laughed as he remembered the stunned looks he had received when he overruled the council for the first time. There was no way he was going to let them block Dirk's application to start a free clinic. He tried to explain that sometimes money wasn't everything. In the end he had convinced everyone but Governors Maximus and Dix.
"Being a member of the Shadow Runners also includes a load of benefits. We get free healthcare and education, access to advanced prototype technology, and a sizable income from one of Prowler's front companies as well as from the sizable amount of credits for being a governor. So I guess you could say that we have a pretty sweet deal. Still, I'm setting up a new virtual reality chamber vacation business. With my Shadow Runner discount and the credits I have on hand I believe I can have at least four units online by the end of the month. Unfortunately I've already got a reservation list full for the next year so I'll be adding more units eventually." Buck stopped recording and stared out into space. There was more to say but he wasn't sure if he should.
He sighed and then continued, "Of course there is the down side. Big Hub is a first-line defense of the Liberated Sector if the Imperiam tries to attack. We have the super cannon but that doesn't exactly guarantee that we'll be safe from a full-scale attack. It does have a massive amount of power but if one shot isn't enough it is slow to prepare for a second shot. Of course it would be more dangerous if I'd stayed on the Shadow Runner. I'm still not sure I should even be telling you this since I don't want you to worry about me but then you always believed in the old ways. So this is just an extension of the code that a true Shendrian must be willing to give his own life to protect the Lightstripe Clan."
"Have you finished yet?" Dirk asked as he strolled down the path.
Buck nodded and continued, "I know that both of you will be disappointed that I'm sending you this message rather than coming home in person but someone has to be here to protect the Liberated Sector while Prowler is back there 'kicking Dacat tail' as he put it. I promise that when things have calmed down a bit we'll come to visit. I guess the most important thing I want to tell you is that for the first time since having to leave for university training I feel that I have a place where I belong and I know that I am loved. Your, loving son..."
"Sons." Dirk said as he sat down and rested his head on Buck's shoulder.
Buck smiled, "Your, loving sons Buck and Dirk." He held the pad up and recorded a holographic image of the two of them before connecting the pad to their hyperlink transmitter and sending it back to the Shadow Runner base.
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So ends this tale of the Shadow Runners.