FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next morning, an unknown figure came in. Poking its head into the shelter the person paused with a sudden startled inhalation. The thin early morning light just barely revealed the figures before it, but also revealed the objective. Gathering its wits about itself, the intruder passed through the curtain. The light introduced by this person's passage fell on the slumbering Serena just as she stirred and cracked open an eye. Her pain filled screams awoke everyone else as the NVGs she was wearing amplified the sunlight streaming in.

"I can't see! I can't see! I'm blind!"

The irritated soldier that was looking for his gear didn't spare her much sympathy. Trying to pull the goggles off her head he got them entangled in her hair instead, producing even more pained cries.

"Give me those! It serves you right for walking off with something like that."

"Aaaaah! I can't see! Stop yanking on my head!"

Spooked into wakefulness, the three dragons in the new home reared their heads up seeking the cause of their wakening. Alarmed by the weaving heads, each larger than his entire body, the soldier stumbled out of the shelter and fled back to relative safety. His teammates must have been watching his search as a distant roar of laughter could be heard as he ran from the sleep addled creatures.

Kim yawned widely, stretching her neck out with a popping noise. Well, at least it was not you waking us this time. She nudged at Tom's head where he had laid it down on her back and then kissed (licked) the crown of his head. He rumbled wordlessly and raised scales on his spine to fill the air with the scent of his appreciation.

The tiny voices of her children could be heard, asking to be let out. Uncoiling herself, she straightened her tail to remove the scaly wall keeping her twins safely against her side.

She addressed them, "Can yuuu two get dressed aaand eat by yourselves?"

"Uh huh!"

"On your way to the house can you please take Serena with yuuu? Sheee might have gonee blind."

"Not completely blind." Serena said, turning her head to look at everyone out of the corner of her eye. "I just can't look straight at anyone... Will that go away? Please tell me that will go away..."

"It should, ask the medic up there to look yuuu over. And, Serena? Make sure yuuu ask next time before you take something like what'sss dangling off your head. Yuuu might not realize the kind of trouble the soldiersss get in for losing that ssstuf."

Reaching out blindly with her hands to feel her way out of the shelter Serena just mumbled an "Uhuh" as Luke grabbed her hand and led her away with Lucy.

As they left, Tom poked his head out through the curtain and surveyed his yard suspiciously. Doubling his neck back he told his wife his findings: They are not back... I am going to find them!

No, you are not. Kim tersely replied.

Yes!

No!

Yes!

No!

Giving up on the futile argument, Tom heaved himself to his feet and stormed out of the shelter. As his hips passed through the curtain, Kim launched herself outside and tackled him. Eight thousand kilograms of hissing husband and wife went rolling across the yard and into the trees. The soldiers on the back patio of the house looked up from their packing and then went back to getting ready for departure. This was a circus they'd seen before.

In the shelter, Brian remained, wondering why half of his body felt cold. He curled his head backwards, upside down, to look and saw the problem, his tail was outside. Undoing the preternatural bend in his neck he murmured thoughtfully; His tail, I wonder how long it took the others to get used to the idea? He was so long he hadn't even noticed that 14 meters of himself was outside. Trying to raise himself to his own paws, he found himself unable. Instead he found himself in the untenable position of having his hips in the air with tail arcing to lay on the ground far behind him. Grumbling in discontent, his hind legs began to walk backward through the curtain, dragging the rest of his body along. The sound of his scales scuffing across the floor filled the enclosure. Thumper just looked on with an impenetrable expression. Thumper cracked his eye open from his position in the corner, before shutting it again and sighing tiredly.

Thumper got up from its bed and went outside, leaving its elder behind. Passing through the curtain, it sat and watched impassively. Brian was still struggling to raise himself completely off the ground. In the woods, there came several crashing sounds as three trees fell. Multiple small creatures ran from the forest and, upon seeing more like the ones destroying their homes, fled in a new direction.

Distantly, a sound like a faint chopping could be heard intermittently. As soon as this faintest of whispers was heard, the tumult in the woods ceased. As the trees rustled, two black scaled heads poked above the canopy with ears spread wide and snouts pointed to the southwest. In the distance a trio of black dots could be seen growing larger as they neared. After a moment of watching and listening, the heads disappeared. A few minutes later, just as the sound was heard by the humans, Kim and Tom reemerged from the tree line. Both of them still arguing in loud strident chirps, to meet the replacements for Ulysses' team.

Why do you keep staring at me when I am relieving myself?

Because it fucking looks weird! Why do you hold your tail so high?

Shut up! You do it too.

Well, obviously because I do not want to smear shit, or whatever, all over the underside of my tail! Plus, I cannot watch myself do it, so I do not know what it looks like. Plus, I know that it pisses you off. I do not know why you even bother though, you always stink afterwards anyway.

How is anything that you just described normal?

We are married shit tail, and before, during, and after that we served together. The abnormal thing is that you still feel offended by it. Shit tail.

I do not smell like shit! Tom's confidence in his non-odorant state was shaken and he attempted to surreptitiously sniff himself. Finding nothing more than the usual dry smell of his scales. Which he raised to signal his great annoyance when Kim began cackling at his own doubt.

He pushed her over with his shoulder, where she lay curling into a ball in paroxysms of laughter. Flicking his head skyward, he stalked away from her with indignation writ large all over his snout.

The miffed husband sat down beside the patio and looked down to watch, with his tail tip lazily flicking left and right, the soldiers as they finished their packing. Off to the side, and sitting on a patio chair, was Serena. She was currently wearing a pair of darkly tinted sunglasses and presumably looking at the house. If the direction her head was pointed was indicative of that at any rate.

Tom craned his head over the others and tried to nudge her companionably to ask her how she was doing. Instead, knocking her and the chair over with a startled wail. The soldiers looked up again at the head and neck looming over them, and the medic gave an exasperated exclamation. Serena settled the glasses back over her closed eyes and then waved him off instead. Reaching out with her hand, she felt around a bit before it landed on the tree trunk that constituted one of Tom's legs and pat it.

"Don't worry, he told me that I should be good in a day or two."

"Well, you'rrr missing out on watching your companion making a fool of himself."

In the middle of the yard, Brian still had had no further luck in figuring out his body. Neither Tom, Serena, nor Kim, could figure out if he was always this clumsy. Or if he just couldn't get the hang of having four legs. Whatever the case may have been, he was currently on his right side with his wings stretched above him and spinning in circles as his legs kicked.

Kim heaved herself up, snickering not so quietly, and went to ask him what the fuck he was doing.

"What the fuck rrr you doing?"

"Nnnnnothingssseeeemsss right. I... Wait...His left rear foot twitched. "Which foot just moved?" He asked the bemused Kim.

"Yuuuur left hind."

"Ooooo."

"Oh? Oh what? Weee just helped yuu through all this yesterday! Have you forgotten?

His eye spun to look at her with an irritated gleam. Oh, yeah. The whole hour or two I spent learning a new body after being human for 55 years? You mean that lesson?

She nipped his left haunch. "Wheere did you just feel that?

"Myassss." He grunted

She stepped on his tail. "Where do you feel..."

My neck! He shrilled loudly

"No, you fool." She said impatiently. "That'sss yuur tail! Yuuu have more than one part of yurrr spine sticking out of your torsooo now. Get it ssstraight. What about here?" She laid her tail on his outstretched wings.

That feels weird. I do not think I vvveeever felt that body partbeforeeee."

"Yuuu really are a damn fool! You didn't have fucking wingsss before!"

She sat down and scratched her nose against her shoulder while trying to think how to teach the egghead his own body. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the watching Thumper. She snarled, and at the speed of thought, her tail passed through its translucent form and cratered the ground.

"How can I help you Kim?"

"Yuuu can fucking die! But if we can't haveee that pleasure. You can make a mirror big enough for Brian to use."

"Say please."

If it were possible, Kim's head would have exploded. Right then, and right there. As it was, she was reduced to a quivering mass of rage which couldn't fit two syllables together if she had wanted to. Instead she began spitting in violent, staccato bursts as her green eyes glowed with fury.

Tom, watching the saliva fly, didn't know which would amuse him more. Her rabidly twitching scales shooting off like porcupine quills, or waiting to see if she'd get so angry that she'd lay one of their eggs.

Thumper limped out of the shelter, and a squeal of static erupted from some communication gear in one of the pelican cases. Thumper glanced at Thumper and then turned its attention to Brian. From all over the grounds, grains of material began to flow from the soil and congeal right in front him. When there was a blob about half a meter across, it flattened and then stretched until a wafer thin disc 10 meters in diameter stuck out of the ground before Brian.

Thumper lay down between the enraged female and his 'offspring' to keep them apart and shut his eyes again. Before Kim could complete whatever lesson she obviously had in mind, or calm her insensible rage, the distant helicopters noted earlier finally arrived. Kim moved to sit next to her husband as the others watched from where they were sitting or lying.

Overhead, three Chinooks arrayed in a triangular formation moved to set down one after the other. The first two discharged a platoon of soldiers each along with several tri-walls that were unceremoniously kicked off the birds. The third landed and shut down its engines while the soldiers swarmed inside to unload the full cargo hold. As soon as this was accomplished the soldiers fell into formation behind the idle helicopter.

Tom and Kim rolled an incredulous eye to look at each other and made ostentatious gagging noises, 'One of those units' they both thought. A figure planted itself in front of the formations and began to address them. After speaking to them at great length the commander dismissed them, sending the soldiers scurrying to their tasks. Turning towards the house, the figure approached with three others.

Ulysses went over to meet with them before they reached the house. Ostensibly, to brief them on the current situation. After salutes were rendered back and forth, the briefing commenced when several hand gestures were made towards the house, Kim and Tom, the western horizon, and Brian and the two Thumpers. After another interlude and a few more hand gestures, salutes were traded again and Ulysses approached. The wedded mates watched this exchange and couldn't help but note the grim look on Ulysses face as he approached them.

"First off, Kim, Tom, I want you two to kindly remember that these are just regular National Guard soldiers just following orders..."

"What fresh hell is aaaabout to fall upon usss?"

Ulysses raised his hands and dropped them helplessly. "They have been ordered to treat you as threats to national security. Their orders are to confine you under guard." He raised his hand to sheepishly rub the back of his head. "Those were kind of my orders too. I just exercised commander's discretion on how to keep tabs on you. This one, Captain Robert Sparrow, is an infantry officer in charge of a company of MPs. As you can see he only brought two of his platoons with him. He is going to..."

"Place you under confinement for the duration of my and my company's assignment. Which is indefinite. I am placing you under house arrest effective immediately. You will identify yourselves one by one to my 1st Sergeant to be photographed and marked. If you understand, nod your heads." This command was shouted in slow, enunciated tones, as if they would not understand anymore. Very likely, that is what he had expected.

"Yuuu have been at OUR home for fifteen seconds and you are already pissing us off. What right do yuu have to come onto our property and act thisss way?"

Startled, the Captain and his subordinates took several steps backwards, whispering to each other. "They can talk?"

Ulysses interrupted their harried conference. "Captain, what have you been told about these two, and others like them?"

"That the creatures formerly known as..."

By the time he had finished saying 'creatures' Kim and Tom had lost any and all interest in interaction with the commander or his unit. Unfortunately, that would set the standard for relations between the two groups for the foreseeable future.

Kim just got up and wandered back to the watching Brian, who was still laying on his side. Tom went to the shelter, grabbing the curtain in his mouth he opened the shelter to the day and then went to speak to Thumper. The incensed newcomers were shouting directions at them that went unheeded.

"You will come back and present yourselves for identification! 1st Sergeant Thompson! If they do not obey, you will escort them to their shelter at gunpoint and hold them under armed guard! Lieutenant Drexel, you will find their children, Luke and Lucy Schwarzkopf, and take them to be transferred to the local authorities! They have no place in what is, as of now, a detention facility of the United States Federal Government."

That got the parent's attention, with both of their heads whipping towards the Captain shouting these orders. Ulysses gave up all hope of placating the two and hastily vacated the area around the newcomers. With enormous, ground eating strides, Tom and Kim were next to each other with bristling scales and mantled wings right in front of the new commander. He and the soldiers next to him froze for a moment before the 1SG shouted an order. "If they make one more movement towards us, open fire!"

Tom snatched up the 1SG while Kim grabbed the CPT, folds forming in the thick hide on the bottoms of their feet serving to hold the relatively small bodies. Holding them up to their eyes, to make sure they had their attention for what they were about to tell them. As weapons were aimed, NCOs standing amongst the men began shouting at them to check fire, concern for hitting their leaders countermanding the order to fire. Kim spoke for the both of them.

"Listen to meee, and listen carefully. Theee only thing keeping you alive right now isss my respect for my brothers in the military. Do not ever, ever, misunderstand the dynamic between usss. Yuuu have your orders to watch usss. Then that is what you shall do. You will watch uss, as we come, as we go, as we continue to live our lives unimpeded by your dictates. My... Our children are not to go anywhere. If you have them removed from our sight, from our care. You, yuuuuu Captain, will be the one held responsible for what happens next." They both shook their hostages, make their helmeted heads rattle back and forth. "Do weee have an understanding?"

With implacable fire burning in his eyes, the commander responded. "Your actions and ultimatums will be reported for what they are. Hostile intent against your lawfully appointed custodians."

Kim set the CPT down, and lowered her head to flatly deliver the last words she would ever say to him. "Never speak to me again."

"I order you to..."

Curling her claws to make a fist, she gently rapped his chest plate with a knuckle of her balled foot, sending him flying backwards two meters into the soldiers behind him. Tom extended his leg out, and opened his paw to drop the 1SG on top of his commander, knocking them to the ground once more.

Struggling to their feet, the two leaders looked wrathfully up at the heads of their supposed charges. Spinning on his heel the commander began barking orders. "1stplatoon, secure this site. I want two 50s on the roof of the house, with fields of fire covering the shelter. Begin construction of security positions around the perimeter. 2nd platoon, set up our camp in that field. Move!"

Resettling his wings, Tom stalked off to resume his conversation with Thumper. Kim remained where she was for the time being, almost panting in her suppressed anger. Ulysses attempted to calm her by reminding her of her breathing exercises. When that failed, he tried to coax out of her a promise not to kill any of his replacements. The closest thing to agreeing with that she would come were these ominous words; "That depends ooon them."

He sighed, and promised her that he would make his own report on what happened that day. Leaving her to return to her lessons with Brian, he went to address the incoming replacement commander one last time.

"You have made your duty exponentially harder by coming in here and trying to strong arm them into compliance. Captain, you may have endangered the lives of your men with your belligerence."

"Sir." The CPT almost sneered. "I have my orders, and you are not in my chain of command. I will perform my duties as I see fit and without fail. That you have chosen to coddle these... creatures... for the sole reason that you believe they were once people that you served with is not my affair."

"My report will reflect your ill-conceived notions in the execution of your duties, as well as my evaluation that your blatantly hostile attitude have placed the safety of your soldiers in jeopardy."

"And mine will reflect my observations that you have abandoned your duties, and ignored your orders. Sir."

Ulysses made a savage gesture with his hand, dismissing the ears listening in, and led Captain Sparrow away. Where the discussion continued in increasingly loud shouts.

"You dare speak to me of dereliction of duty, when by your own actions you have betrayed the duty that you have in ensuring the wellbeing of your soldiers?"

"I will perform my actions as I have been ordered. If my soldiers are harmed in the performance of those duties, then those responsible will face the consequences."

"A sequence of events that you have guaranteed by coming here and treating two decorated veterans as prisoners in their own home!"

"I see no veterans here, just two animals that claim to be so."

"Stop calling them fucking animals. Am I fucking clear captain? They are citizens of the United States, and veterans of two foreign wars! They have committed no crimes, and done nothing to warrant your antagonism. You will give them the respect that they deserve!"

"They were, citizens, and veterans. I don't know what those two things sitting behind you are, or what they claim to be."

"You are out of line captain, I would trust those two with my life well before I would ever place that same trust in yourself. The overbearing manner in which you have introduced yourself to what could be a very easy assignment shows how little sense you have!"

"Sense enough to understand how to control prisoners! Sense enough to know how to control disobedient wildlife!"

"You have made a grave mistake weekend warrior. Do not look for your time in command to be long."

"I will explain myself to those that I am obligated to. Which precludes you. Sir."

"You do not know who I am yet, but you will captain, you will. You are dismissed."

"Sir." Sparrow saluted, and walked off almost purple in rage. Ulysses rubbed his eyes in irritation. In truth he was worried. Kim had never been the most stable of people, and since her change he knew even less about how she would react. Tom used to be her calming hand, but with the threat of their children being taken from their custody that was no longer a guarantee. Not like he would act any differently if someone threatened to take away his family, if he had one, to, take away. Sighing resignedly, he strode off to collect Kim and Tom.

Once they were both before him, he drew in a breath to begin. But before he could even start, Tom interrupted him.

"Weee heard every word." He flapped his ears. "Theeese aren't just for decoration. I heard a squirrel drop out of aaah tree at fifty metersss once. "

Ulysses pinched his nose, so much for that hope. "Someone like that wasn't chosen for this assignment by chance. There is someone higher up the chain that thinks the same about you and others like you. It is very likely that they sent an asshole like Captain Sparrow here to be purposefully hostile."

"If it'ssss a fight they want, it's aaaa war they'll get." Kim snarled.

"Kim, please, just listen to me. That is obviously what someone hopes to get out of this. Something that they can spin to their advantage. Like you two killing a National Guard officer. Or more accurately, what the two of you have become, killing a National Guard officer. Don't you see? This has 'set up' written all over it. Let me look into it. Can you keep each other from killing anyone for a week?"

"We can promise nothing. We will crush them if they attempt toooo remove our kids." The usually easy going Tom declared. Kim gave an emphatic bob of her head. That comment proving the validity of all of Ulysses' worst fears.

"Jesus fucking Christ you two!" He exclaimed in exasperation. "I'm trying to help you both, and to do that, I need a little give from your end. I need one week... Can you restrain yourselves that long?"

Tom and Kim put their foreheads together and hissed, trilled, and warbled to each other for several minutes. After their incomprehensible conversation completed they turned to Ulysses and bobbed their heads in agreement. Ulysses was afraid to ask, but had to anyway.

"I didn't understand a damn thing you just said to each other. Should I know about any of it?"

"Nooone will be killed."

"That's it? That's all you have after ten minutes of squeaking at each other?"

"Nooone will be killed. But weee think weee know a few ways to end a career or two." Kim stated, with a sly glance at certain other uniform wearing individuals at her home. As sly as eyes and a head the size of hers could be said to do anything slyly.

Finally he was forced to acknowledge one of his impatient, homesick soldiers waiting to tell him that they were ready to leave. Ulysses looked up to the two comrades in arms that he had watched over for the past six weeks, and said his goodbyes. Lowering their heads each in turn for Ulysses to give them a hug of their enormous snouts. Patting them on the jowls, he promised them that they would hear from him in one week, even if he had to come in person to deliver the message. They looked on as he and the remainder of his soldiers loaded into the starting Chinook. As it lifted off and circled once over their home, each raised a wing arm and waved farewell for now.

As soon as the helicopter flew out of sight, the happy, enthusiastic sendoff they'd given their friend and ally was dropped for a much grimmer look.

Turning away from the departure of their friend, they looked upon something that they had to sit back on their haunches and assimilate for a moment. Soldiers swarmed across their land setting up reinforced positions every 120 degrees in a circle with their home and new shelter in the center. On top of their home, they were both enraged to see, a pair of M2A1s being set up. One on the roof of their house, the other on the sloping roof of their garage. Neither could they not help but notice, that the muzzles of both heavy machine guns were pointed at where they had slept last night. The pair had already known that 5.56x45 could not penetrate the scales and hide that passed as their skin nowadays. But something that had originally been designed as an anti-aircraft weapon? They were understandably less than keen to test their mettle against what was effectively point blank range. Darkly, Tom realized, that before this was all over they may have to find out.

As this platoon busily set up what seemed to be a much more serious security posture. The other platoon set up a handful of commonplace modular tents for habitation in the pasture that had been abandoned after their change. Overall, this was evident of a much more permanent habitation. In the midst of these busy ant like endeavors, another squad was attempting to corral the two Thumpers. Nor just them either, not far away from the two aliens were Brian and Serena, the latter of which was shouting at the soldiers who yelled back just as vehemently.

"What are you doing? Do you know who we are? We were invited by Alex Schwarzkopf to document the behaviors of Tom and Kim! We are not prisoners, we are professors at Colorado State University!"

"You are free to go Serena Willow, but whoever, or whatever, that thing next to you is, will be confined here at this detention facility until further notice."

"IIIIiiiiiaaaaam BrianCeeeyyyyan. Weeee have doneeeenothing tooowarrant yuuuractionsss."

"Record the fact sergeant, that the creature has identified itself as Brian Cyan. Once confirmed, ensure that it is documented that Brian Cyan is deceased." Captain Sparrow directed.

"Deceased? What the hell are you talking about?" Serena asked, incredulously.

"Whomever these creatures once were, the fact remains, that they are no longer human. Therefore, they are no longer who they once were. They are no longer entitled to any, any, rights or freedoms as established by law. As an animal, that, thing, is nothing more than a danger to others. It will remain here. Do you understand me, Professor Willow?"

"No, I cannot, and will not understand! What are you trying to tell me? What, in your narrow view of consciousness, is the final determining factor in what constitutes self? That the shape of the vessel determines the shape of its contents? What branch of philosophy have you studied? Joseph Stalin's, Adolph Hitler's? I'm black, I don't look like you, am I an animal too? That is the logical conclusion of your asinine thought process! Would it help you assuage your conscious over treating me like shit if I glued another thumb on the back of my hand?"

"No! It's about... You know what? Fuck this, I owe you no explanations." Turning to his first sergeant, the commander made it clear he had had enough. "Get her the fuck out of my AO."

Others in the clearing immediately made it known that they had had enough as well. A shadow fell over the bickering group. A very long shadow, making the others look up at the previously unnoticed looming dragons. Neither of them said anything, they just stood there with their bodies gently rocking side to side as their tails lashed behind them. Captain Sparrow and his cohort were the first to break. Because after all, how could you win a staring contest with a lizard that has eyes bigger than your head?

"What?" He snapped.

Tom answered for them both. "Serena isss a guest in OUR homeeee. Yuuu are not. Get yuuur fucking weaponssss off the roof of our home."

"Absolutely not."

Kim had moved off to remove them herself before he had gotten halfway through the word 'absolutely'. But Tom's tail arrested her movement for the moment.

"Iiii demand to see yuur orders captain."

"You are in no position to demand anything."

"Yuuu are on private property. Martial law ended five weeksss ago. I will say again, Iiii demand tooo seeee yurr ordersss."

Sneering, he reached into a pouch on his kit and threw a folded piece of paper on the ground. "Can you even read, animal?"

Tom ignored him, instead asking Serena to unfold the paper and place it back on the ground for him. After doing this she waited beside his head as he turned it to focus one eye on the document. A few minutes later, he asked her to flip it over and he finished reading it. Kim had made her own reading at the same time and snorted distastefully.

"It isss as I suspected." Tom said as he finished. "Yuurrr orders say nothing about treating us as prisoners. What right dooo yu think you have in acting thiss way?"

Snatching the copy of his orders up off the ground, he put it away before replying. "My orders, since you must know, are to secure this area. That means securing the animals that are running loose here."

"Stop. Fucking. Calling. Ussss. Animals."

"You are not human. Therefor you are animals, and as animals you have no rights. Not under law, and certainly not in my own assessment."

"What aaaa narrow view. Sssserena is right, yuuur ideology is flawed."

"I wouldn't take advice from a fucking horse, and I'm not going to take it from something that belongs in a child's fucking storybook. Now if you're done mouthing off to your superiors. Stay were you are for identification. Other than tattoo dragon here that's snarling at me like a rabid dog, I still don't know which of you claims to be which, and honestly I don't care. But I do know that there are supposed to be two more of you. Where the fuck are they, and who the fuck gave them permission to leave?"

His only answer was the narrowed glare of the two he was addressing.

"1st Sergeant, contact local authorities. Find out if, where, and when they were last seen. 2ndLieutenant Becker, document their identities, and ask them who they think they were." He stalked off trailed by his 1SG, with the acidic gaze of Tom and Kim following him into a newly erected command tent. Tom, sitting down where he stood, looked down on the butter bar and specialist that approached him a little diffidently.

"Can you please hold still for the camera? DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME?"

"Ssstop fucking doing that. I'm not an animal like yuuur commander thinks."

---

Captain Sparrow blew through the entry flap and took his helmet off to throw at the far end of the tent. Much to the bewilderment of the three soldiers inside setting up some commo gear. Their top entered after the CO and spared a quick look at them.

"You three, be somewhere else. Don't come back until we tell you to. Spread the word." The three scattered to be somewhere else.

Sitting down, the NCO took off his helmet and put it on the table next to him. "Rob, why are you trying to provoke those two out there? You saw what they did to us when we first got here. I felt like one of my kid's Lego figures when they picked us up."

Pacing back and forth, the Captain grimaced and stuck his hand beneath his plate carrier to rub his chest at the reminder. "A display that just further confirms how dangerous they are."

"Which again begs the question, if they are so dangerous, why you want to provoke them."

Grimacing again at the discomfort in his chest. "I don't like the fact that an alien species has shoved their agenda down our throats. I don't like the fact that we are being told that we are a bunch of fuck ups that can't manage our own affairs. And I don't like that a number of humans around the world have been replaced with those things."

"You're afraid, and so you hide it with anger and hostility."

"You're telling me you that you're not?"

"I don't know about you, but I don't go out of my way to poke creatures the size of houses to see how much patience they have."

"Creatures, you just said so yourself, nothing more."

The NCO jumped to his feet. "We don't know that Rob! You know that they are being researched, examined, probed, and scanned in ways I didn't know possible. Every test, every psychological exam, comes back the same way. They themselves believe they are still the same. Not a single one has ever given the least indication that this is a fate that they had sought for themselves."

"So they say."

"You've seen the videos. Can you imagine what it felt like for these people? To feel your body ripped apart by what amounts to magic in our eyes? You've seen the same videos I have! People screaming, begging, for relief that doesn't come. And then, when they are done howling until blood flies from their mouths, they have to face a new hell. To awaken to find a world that wants to turn its back on them! What happened to them could have happened to any of us! We still don't know why these people were chosen. The fact that they aren't running around eating other people is everything I need to know that these individuals are still mentally stable after such a horror."

"They are, others aren't."

1SG Thompson made a dismissive wave of his hand. "That one never once communicated, nor gave the least sign that it had any intelligence whatsoever."

"Enough! We've been given our orders. It has been made clear to me, and I agree, what is expected of us here."

"Just what did they tell you at the Pentagon Rob? You've been acting strangely ever since you got back. Why would they summon an Idaho National Guard company commander across the country to the puzzle palace?"

"I was chosen because I agree that these aliens, or whatever they are, must be stopped."

"At what cost?"

"At the cost of whatever it fucking takes! A little blood now, will save oceans of it later!"

"You mean the blood of those fucking kids out there?"

"It's big picture time Alan. Now get on the phone and find out where those other two things went."

Thompson stood up, but before he left to summon the others back in, he made one last comment. "After twelve years, I thought I knew you Rob." Leaving, he heard a crash behind him as Sparrow flipped over a table in rage.

---

Just as 1SG Thompson left the tent he was treated to the sight of Kim, or what he supposed was Kim Schwarzkopf based upon the silver ink on her shoulders, leaning on the roof of her house and plucking the emplaced machine guns off. Holding the heavy weapons and tripods jumbled in her paw like matchsticks she turned and flicked them into the woods with careless ease. The breaking of a great many branches followed by a pair of heavy thuds reached his ears, making him sigh in vexation. He waved the three over that he dismissed earlier and they reentered the tent to finish their work. Trudging back up to the house, he went to tell the terrified soldiers on the roof to go into the woods and find their equipment.

Once done with her version of disarmament, Kim turned to look at the specialist that was still bleating something about taking her picture. She paused for 2.3 seconds for the kid to take the damn picture and then returned to Brian for his delayed lesson. As she came around his body to see his eyes she was piqued to see that he had, against all odds, fallen asleep while everything around him went to shit. Striding up to him, she kicked his left rear leg with a front foot.

Snorting himself awake, he tilted his head off the ground to lay an eye on who had awoken him. Spotting Kim, he set his head back down. I do not see any blood on you, so I suppose you have not killed anyone. Has everyone calmed down yet?

Kim's tail hammered the ground with such force that her rear legs jumped into the air.

I see.

Serena stood up from the chair she was watching everything from next to Brian's head and placed a hand on the side of it for a moment. After a few minutes of thought, Kim cleared her throat with a seismic rumble to gain her attention.

"Sssserena, I have a favor to ask of yuu."

"Anything, Kim."

"Iiii obviously cccan't reach into my house anymore. Can yuuu look after my kidsss until Alex returns? Pleaseeee stay in there with them until weeee know how this is going to play out. If that Lieutenant is in there trying to take them, or comes for them later. Start yelling for meee, and I'll peel my house open like a tin can to stop it. Alsooo, can you start toooo look up contact information for newsss reporters in the area?"

"I'm guessing you have a plan?"

Kim's response was a smirk that would put the fear of god into anyone that was averse to the sight of teeth that were 30 centimeters long.

"You got it Kim. I'll look after them just like my own."

"Thank yuuu, Serena."

She reached up to pat her lowered neck, and then walked up to the house, still a little unsteady with her singed retinas.

Kim curled her head around to look at the observing Brian. "Now, which of yuur legss did I kick?"

---

Tom looked down at Thumper as it sat next to Thumper and caustically bit out a reprimand of the creature's lack of involvement in everything that had just happened.

"Aaaand not once this morning did you deign to consider helping usss?"

"You and Kim seem to have it well under control."

Tom looked down at some soldiers that were yelling and waving, trying to get their attention for who knows what. As soon as they saw him look their way, they pointed their peashooters at him and began pantomiming that they wanted him in the shelter. Snorting derisively, he rejoined the two Thumpers in flat out ignoring them.

"What game arrre you playing now Thumper?"

"I, as well as my ancestor, have told you time and again, that we are not here to solve all your woes. But, given your importance, we will step in if lethal intent is expressed here in this particular situation. However, it will behoove the two of you to find your own solution to this untenable posture."

"Isss this more of your esoteric madness about preparing us for some ill-defined and opaque future career?"

"Yes."

"Aarrre yuu going to tell us what that is yet?"

"No. But if you would bother to pay attention to what I do, and do not, provide assistance on, you should be able to generate some iota of an inkling as to what that is."

"I think I liked the other Thumper more than yuuu. Why the fuck are yuuu two even different at all? Aren't yuuu computer programs?"

"Analogizing us with your 'computer programs' is a gross oversimplification. You are an individual, and so is Kim. Just as I, as Thumper, am different from Thumper."

"For fuck's sake. One of you should change your name. I am starting to get a crushing headache.

"That is not possible. Children of the egg do not get 'headaches' as you conceive them."

Tom growled in irritation, but before he could snap at the subtle antagonism, Thumper opened his eyes to intervene. Tom's head jerked back at the sight of the characteristics his eyes had taken on.

"Just call me Prometheus from now on." The changed, one time omniscient computer said. Once where its eyes were a solid unbroken gold, he now had eyes with white sclera and golden irises. But to call his irises gold did not really do him justice either. It was actually difficult for Tom to give just one label to the chromatic shifting that was occurring in the creature's eyes. From one second to the next, arcs of a prismatic array of alternating colors flashed across his pupil in a mesmerizing display. It was only with great difficulty that Tom tore his fascinated gaze away.

"Yuur eyes. I have a hard time even looking at them. What haaapened?"

Instead of answering, Prometheus grunted listlessly and shut his eyes again after successfully defusing another brewing storm with distraction. Tom looked at Thumper with an inquisitive tilt to his head.

"He's been marked. Do you think this is the first time that this has happened?"

Tom's head rocked back at that revelation and then turned to stare off into the distance ruminatively.