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Chapter 25. Animal Instincts

Sarah felt like a colonel following two generals through the halls of an underground bunker to join a discussion on battle tactics. The route they took seemed to be the same they followed to the medical room, a feeling that was confirmed for her when they passed the room where the weapon had been set up. A short distance past that room they took a turn down another hall that led them more toward the middle of the ship, then entered a door into a large conference room. A long table curved in a crescent shape was lined with Arfurans facing the far wall which was covered in a large display screen.

"It doesn't look like we've missed anything yet," said Sarah.

"You are correct, the conference has not yet begun," replied Ajagi.

As they approached some empty seats at the table the others turned around to greet them. Storm and Ajagi returned the greetings and Sarah said, "Hello again, everybody."

"Hello Sarah," said Nanida, sitting a few seats away. He then looked at Ajagi and asked, "Why does she remain here still? Her task is complete and she should have transferred home."

"She decided to stay and help through the invasion," said Ajagi. "It is her own free choice."

"She was most insistent to stay," said Storm. "Sarah is fully aware of the danger."

Nanida briefly glanced between the two before looking at Sarah. "Alright. Thank you, Sarah. Please join us." Sarah and her two furry companions sat down in three vacant seats.

As everybody quietly talked between each other, Sarah asked, "Who is everybody here?"

Storm replied, "Everyone is the lead of a specific task on the vehicle or fleet, or is the lead to a division dedicated to a specific task, just as I am the lead for weapons development and usage and Ajagi is the lead of the division for scientific research and medical treatment. These are the divisions that are important for the well being of the crew and the vehicle."

Ajagi added, "As the captain of the vehicle, Nanida coordinates all of our activities and the information we provide to him. He also coordinates that with the activities and information from other vehicles in the fleet. The fleet leader is on another vehicle and will coordinate our collective developments with those of other fleets."

"I understand completely," Sarah said. "I'm familiar with organization like that."

"The rest of the fleet is starting to collect information and will be ready to begin soon, Nanida," said the feathered communications operator who was sitting up in the front next to the display system.

"Thank you, Perfas," said Nanida as he stood to address the entire group and begin hearing each department's preparations. As the head of each division gave their concise summary of operations, Sarah listened and was impressed by the way Nanida quickly made calm and accurate decisions that illustrated the leadership skills he held as captain. When the discussion came around to them, all three contributed to the conversation. Storm described the wormhole weapon, electromagnetic bombs, and other weapon systems that had been developed; Sarah briefly described how the weapon worked, trying not to take up too much time; and Ajagi spoke about the deployment of the electromagnetic bombs, the construction of duplicate wormhole weapons, and other technological advancements.

"We will need to begin training others to operate the weapon as soon as we are able," said Nanida. "Storm, if you become incapacitated you will not be able to use it for our defense. Sarah, I understand your dislike of killing other creatures so I do not expect you to take the place of Storm in that task. The duplicate weapon units are not completed yet so we have not been able to practice their use in a battle situation. Storm, when we are finished here, assemble your team and begin training them. Please also send a visual transmission of that training to the weapons teams of the other vehicles and fleets. They will be able to practice when their weapon units have been assembled."

"I agree, that is most critical," replied Storm. "They have been able to practice with the simulation but it will be far better if they are able to use the real weapon unit and controls."

The discussion continued around to the other end of the table in quick fashion. Sarah leaned over near Storm and Ajagi and whispered, "I like this kind of management. It's not like he's giving orders, but is giving friendly requests that everybody is happy to do."

"We are happy to do it," replied Ajagi. "We also remember the importance of the tasks. For the benefit of everyone the tasks are completed in the best way our abilities allow."

Sarah nodded and watched while the display screen lit up with numerous areas dedicated to each ship as the teleconferencing began. Each ship's captain provided a summary of preparations and sent a screen of data to accompany the spoken words. Sarah was unable to read their text but knew the sort of information it contained. For another hour the meeting progressed with the sharing of vital information and defense strategies between each ship, all coordinated with the rest of the fleets through a fleet command center back on Arfurah. As she listened Sarah continued to feel impressed with the advanced organization of people who essentially lived in holes in the ground.

While listening to the conference, Perfas suddenly became very active at her communications console. "Nanida, I must interrupt," she said. "There is an incoming communication on the standby emergency frequency...it is not us. It is the Kra." Within seconds of each other a flashing border formed around the displays from all the other ships in the fleet, indicating their alert to the same interruption. "I do not know if it is a visual recording or a current transmission...Valraf will repeat the signal from the primary fleet vehicle to the rest of us and the other fleets."

Everybody looked at the screen and after a few moments a large portion in the center was overlaid with a blank display, followed shortly by the most ghastly creature Sarah had ever laid eyes on. Its skin was a nauseating blend of dark shades of green, red, and gray with a texture that looked like chipped rubber with multiple short tentacles sprouting out from various locations. The mouth was at the top of what appeared to be the head with two pairs of eyes below it, and it spoke with a hollow, raspy voice that was difficult for Sarah to understand with the broken, incomplete translation she was hearing. The words she did understand were interspersed with sounds of its native language that went uninterpreted.

"...I...Kragraxa...leader of...Kra," it said. "You...do no...resist Kra...surrender and...Kra generous to...kill you quickly...resist and...Kra feast on...bodies of you...alive. All Kra...vessels destroy...you vessels...Kra commanded...take no...prisoners."

The transmission ended quickly after the Kra leader's sarcastic warning, followed by it repeating. "There was no response to a reply on that frequency, Nanida," said Perfas. "It appears to be a visual recording." The transmission's display was removed from the main screen and replaced by the displays from other ships that it had covered.

"I believe we can all understand the meaning of that message," said Nanida. "We are reminded of the importance of successful defense."

"Why would they send a warning message just to say they're going to destroy us all no matter what?" asked Sarah.

"They want us to fear them and give up without defending ourselves," replied Nanida. "It is also their confidence in the superiority of their species. They believe a warning to notify us of their invasion will not help us stop them, and they will still destroy us easily."

The captains of the ships, fleet leaders, and Arfuran ground command all discussed the message briefly before ending the meeting. When the conference was over, the people from various departments hurried out of the room to resume the tasks with their teams. Storm and Ajagi lingered behind in the room briefly with Sarah. "That was the ugliest creature I've ever seen. And what kind of name is that?" said Sarah before changing her voice to a sarcastic impression. "'I am Kragraxa, evil prince and dark overlord of the woodland fairies. When I say prance, YOU say how high!'" As she laughed at her imitation, Ajagi and Storm looked at each other with no idea what she was talking about.

"Perhaps you can tell us more about your humor later," said Ajagi. "At this time we have much to do."

Sarah's laughter subsided as she replied, "Yes, that'll be fine...I'll tell you later. I was wondering, could the Kra have been listening in on the conference and learning about all of our defenses?"

"No, that is not possible," Ajagi responded. "That method of communication uses a system that requires matched transmitters and receivers between two locations to achieve instant communication without the travel time of a signal transmitted with photon radiation. They are linked in central locations to relay communications between our vehicles and with Arfurah. The Kra do not have any way to create a matching receiver to intercept and decipher our communications. The frequency they used to transmit their visual recording is the same used by an emergency backup system that does use photon radiation. It does not require transmitters and receivers to be matched."

"I see...how were we able to understand what they were saying?" Sarah asked.

Ajagi responded again. "A small number of times in the past when they tried to invade, a transfer system was used to read the information of their consciousness. That also included their language. Tibo and Kalise were able to send us some information about their language as well. It was difficult to interpret their language because of the differences with ours. What we heard was automatically translated by the communication system, and that is the best we are currently able to translate the Kra language. Their brainwave pattern does not come through with the transmission of sound so it is not capable of translating as well as your synthetic body does."

Sarah nodded her understanding. Storm walked over to a small console on the wall and pressed a button. "Weapons team, please meet Storm in perimeter room twenty-nine for immediate weapon training. Weapons team, please come to perimeter room twenty-nine." He then turned to Sarah and said, "We must return to the new weapon to train the rest of my team to use it. Each one who is able to use the system will be able to use one after they are all assembled."

"As I said in the conference," said Ajagi, "I trained them with my team on the use of the magnetic pulse bombs. We all developed a strategy for when to trigger them to discharge. As your team will be training to use the dimension vein weapon, I will assemble my team for the pulse bombs."

"You're sure the electromagnetic bombs won't interfere with the scanning and tracking system?" asked Sarah. "We'll need that to be fully working to target their ships."

"Yes," said Ajagi. "We tested very carefully. All of them are placed at a range beyond any proximity that would affect our systems."

"Ok, good to hear," said Sarah. "Let's get to it, Storm."

Ajagi stepped over to the intercom panel on the wall as the other two moved out of his way and walked toward the door. Just as they were about to reach the door a deafening explosion behind them blasted them forward and knocked them to the ground with a shower of debris pelting them. The noise was instantly followed by the shrieking howl of Ajagi in intense pain.

Sarah looked back. "Ajagi!" she screamed. Ajagi was sprawled out on his back on the floor among debris and twisted metal beams from the wall. A few feet away was the lower half of his left leg, a stream of blood separating it from him with a river of red quickly flowing from the remaining portion of his leg. Behind him was a large hole that clearly showed a path through the hallway, perimeter room, and the outer hull.

Sarah and Storm sprang to their feet and ran over to Ajagi's side. They attempted to help sit him up and comfort his pain but his howls of pain did not stop. "This is Nanida," called out the ship's captain. "The Kra are here and they have fired their weapon into us. The hull is damaged but the energy shield is maintaining our atmosphere. All areas, please report injuries and damages. Weapons team, prepare defenses."

Sarah looked down at her wolf friend, quickly losing blood from his leg. His howling began to weaken as he started gasping for breath. The conference display behind them reactivated with a fresh transmission from the invading ships. "Kra superior...you...resist and...destroy you...now," the unsightly Kra ruler warned.

Sarah looked back at Ajagi as her feelings of sadness and shock were replaced by fury and rage. "They will not win..." she growled. "They will NOT win!" She sprang to her feet and ran toward the door.

Storm started to get up to follow her. "Sarah, we must..." he started to say before being cut off by Sarah as she stopped and looked back.

"No!" she barked back at him. "You help Ajagi. Tie something around his leg to stop the bleeding and do what you can for him first. You know where to find things on this ship but I don't. I can find the weapon." She then disappeared through the door. Storm glanced back at Ajagi, then ran over to one of the seats. He tore his teeth into the fabric covering and yanked off a strip. He returned to Ajagi's side and tightly tied the strip around the end of Ajagi's leg. Ajagi's eyes were half open and he was barely breathing as he looked up at Storm.

"I will be back very soon, friend," said Storm as he jumped to his feet and ran out the door toward the transfer room. As soon as he found an intercom panel in the hallway that wasn't destroyed like the other one he called out, "Medical team to the conference room, immediately. Ajagi is badly injured."

Sarah quickly found the room where the weapon was set up and took her seat in front of it. Ignoring the foreign text on the screen she followed what she remembered seeing before to tap buttons and screen symbols to activate the weapon systems and patch into the ship's tracking system. When the tracking screen came up she saw countless dots ahead of the fleet, more Kra ships than she thought could be possible. She looked over at the visual display of the ship's cameras and could barely make out the image of the Kra ships, each designed to absorb light and be as darkly invisible as possible. Pausing briefly to think she looked around and found the intercom button on the control console. She pressed it and said, "Nanida, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I hear you, Sarah," he responded a moment later.

"I have an idea," she continued. "The Kra seemed to warn they will instantly destroy anybody who fights back. Tell the other captains of the fleet to hold their fire and sit still. Don't shoot back. I have to try something first."

"Alright," Nanida responded. "We will withhold our weapons but if they continue to attack we must try to defend ourselves."

"Understood," Sarah replied. "And transmit the message over the emergency frequency so the Kra can hear it and think we're giving up without a fight. Tell the others the real plan through the secure channels."

Storm ran to the transfer room as quickly as he could, dropping to run faster on all four with vulpine instinct. With the emergency doors already held open he sprinted through each, finding the transfer room and glanced around the room for Ajagi's project. When he saw the pair of units on the far work bench he grabbed them and ran back out the door.

Sarah took the control handles in her hands and quickly worked the display pointer around to a point behind the lead Kra ship. She glanced at the laser power setting to confirm that it was still set at full power, then returned her eyes to the scanning display. She rotated the screen and zoomed it in to show only the first few ships in the Kra formation. She then used the controls to position the wormhole exit right at a trailing ship, and aimed it at the lead ship.

"Here's a little love from Arfurah, you bastards!" Sarah called out at the visual display screen as she pressed the button to discharge the laser. In the instant it took the light to travel from one Kra ship to the other, the lead ship was hit with a blast of light energy more powerful than they had ever expected their shields to withstand. An enormous fireball ripped in through the side of the Kra ship as the structural metals were instantly superheated and liquefied. The entire ship rocked and tilted to one side before its thrusters corrected the rolling motion. A few moments later the Kra ship fired back at the one that had appeared to fire on it. The interstellar duel lasted a few moments until they had destroyed a large portion of each other's ships.

Sarah laughed hysterically as she felt her plan worked. She quickly moved the controls to swing the wormhole exit into position next to another ship, curling her lips back in a fiendish grin as she triggered the laser to discharge again and inflict great amounts of damage.

Storm sprinted through the halls, narrowly avoiding other crew members who were on their way to defensive stations, winding his way back to the conference room. He ran through the doorway and slid to Ajagi's side once more. Ajagi was weakly moaning as he continued to feel the intense pain of his severed leg. Storm lifted Ajagi's leg up slightly and untied the strip of blood-soaked fabric. He pulled back the legging of Ajagi's suit and slid the amputation device over the end. With a press of a button to activate it, the cuff of the device inflated around Ajagi's leg to hold it securely in place. He gently set Ajagi's leg back down as he watched the indicators of the device showing it was beginning to operate as it was designed. He then went over to the rest of Ajagi's leg, pulled the cut pant legging entirely off, and slipped the other amputation device over it. The second device worked the same as the first, activating its systems to contain lost blood and keep it circulating.

He moved back up to Ajagi and caressed his head softly. Ajagi's eyes closed and he stopped moaning as the amputation device activated the neuron disruptor to stop his pain. "Are you still in any pain, Ajagi?" asked Storm.

Ajagi opened his eyes slightly and whispered, "Very little...is my medical team coming?"

"Yes, I called them," said Storm. "Your medical assistance device appears to be working."

"That is good...I will be...fine...they are well trained...they will take care of me," Ajagi said in a soft voice. "Go help Sarah." He paused for a moment and said, "Thank you, Storm."

Without saying a word Storm leaned down and nuzzled Ajagi's whiskers, gave him a quick lick to his muzzle, and got up to run out the door just as the medical team was arriving. He ran through a couple of short hallways and around a corner to find the room containing Sarah and the weapon system. Sarah was fast at work, positioning the wormhole from one place to another and inflicting large blasts of damage to the Kra ships.

"How are you progressing?" asked Storm as he looked at the scanners and monitors.

"We're doing great," said Sarah after a brief pause to fire once more. "They don't know where the bursts of laser energy are coming from because they appear out of nowhere..." She paused again to reposition the wormhole and fire on another Kra ship. "Better yet, I keep making them shoot at each other when I place the wormhole at one ship and fire at another ship."

Storm continued to study the scanner that showed all the virtual ships moving around in a chaotic pattern, trying to find the invisible ship that was shooting at them. "The defensive plan is very successful, then," he said. "Have they attacked any more of our vehicles?"

"No, I haven't seen them do that," replied Sarah. "Since we're not showing any resistance, they are too busy fighting the imaginary ship."

"Very good," Storm responded. "Please continue what you are doing as it is working quite well. I must study their vehicles for a moment." He then sat next to Sarah and tapped a screen symbol to expand the holographic display. He tapped the symbols on that part of the display to bring up additional tools of the scanning system. Storm enabled the system to lock on to each type of Kra ship, differentiated by their apparent size, and perform a thorough sweeping scan of their structure and systems.

"What are you doing?" asked Sarah.

"I am studying their vehicles to find the areas most beneficial for us to damage," said Storm. "I am also looking for the location of their dark matter weapons so we may destroy them first." For several minutes he closely studied the display generated by the scanning system while Sarah continued her attacks on the Kra ships. "I believe I have found their weapons," said Storm before he pointed to a spot on the screen. "Here toward the front of their vehicles...I do not remember this shape from past times I have studied their vehicles. It was not there before now. I see it in their middle and largest vehicles but not the small ones. That must be their weapon."

Sarah glanced over at his display screen. "It's not a shape I would expect but you know their ships better than I do. They are all moving around...you're better at setting this thing to lock on and track. I need you to lock this thing on from one ship to the next with the energy burst aimed at their dark matter weapon. When you do, I'll fire it."

"I understand...that is a good plan," replied Storm. He reached over to take the control and quickly locked the weapon system on a Kra ship, then aligned the laser direction with their dark matter gun. Sarah looked at the basic position adjustments on the screen and saw them automatically sliding around in all directions as the system tracked the movements of the Kra ship and adjusted the wormhole exit point. "Ready," said Storm.

Sarah triggered the wormhole and laser to discharge and sent an explosive blast of energy directly into the bay where the Kra weapon was located. Storm had the system rescan the ship and verified that area of the ship was heavily damaged. "Their weapon is destroyed," he said. "We must work quickly to destroy the weapons in the other ships before they attack us in an attempt to stop the source."

While Storm worked to align the wormhole with the dark matter weapon on another ship, Sarah activated the intercom again. "Nanida, contact the other ship captains on the secure channel. Tell them to reply with, 'I don't know,' when you talk on the emergency channel," she said. "Then call out on the emergency channel asking who is shooting at the Kra. That might help make them think there is some other defensive force out there."

"I will, Sarah," said Nanida. "I agree that it should help confuse them."

"Ready," said Storm. Sarah looked back at the display screens and triggered the weapon to discharge on another Kra ship's dark matter weapon. "It worked again," said Storm. For several minutes he and Sarah continued to destroy the invaders' weapons while the Kra had no idea where the attack was coming from.

Sarah glanced back at the long range scanner and zoomed it out. "Storm, this doesn't look good," she said. "There are thousands of Kra ships and now the ones in the back are moving forward to help the ones in the front. If they attack our fleet there's no way we can hold off that many ships."

"We must continue to damage their vehicles for as long as we are able," Storm replied. "Our vehicles are intact to defend ourselves. It will be better if we damage as many of theirs as possible."

"What are all those blue dots on the screen?" asked Sarah. "Are those the electromagnetic bombs?"

"Yes, they are," Storm replied.

"Let's keep doing what we're doing," said Sarah. "The trailing Kra ships are nearly within the bomb field. Wow...I don't know how far out this shows on the screen...a couple million miles?"

"Yes, I believe that is approximately correct," said Storm after he glanced at the long distance scanner. "We will not be able to detonate those bombs from here." He then pressed the intercom button and said, "Weapons team, please remain ready to signal the magnetic pulse bomb field to detonate when I indicate the proper time."

"We are ready," replied an unnamed voice over the intercom. As the trailing Kra ships moved closer to the bomb field, Storm and Sarah resumed the task of disabling weapons on the various ships.

Nanida returned to the intercom. "Storm, Sarah...we have intercepted a communication among the Kra fleet. Their leader Kragraxa is commanding them to find the source of the attack, and all are responding that they are detecting nothing but fluctuations of gravity. They do not know what is happening."

Sarah placed a diabolical smile on her lips. "Excellent," she said as she looked back at the scanner screen. "Now, Storm," she said. "They're all in range."

Storm quickly activated the intercom again. "Weapons team, detonate the bombs now." While closely watching their screens, after a few moments they saw the blue dots expand into a fading circle in a wave spreading out as fast as the radio signals could travel to activate them. The Kra ships quit moving in directed patterns and continued in slow straight lines, out of control with some ships running into others and causing more damage. Those ships that had not been moving remained motionless unless hit by a moving ship.

"They appear to be disabled," said Storm. "The bursts of magnetic field must have been more than they expected."

"That's perfect...we fried their circuits," said Sarah. "We probably don't have much time before they get things repaired enough to regain control of their ships, and they might have detected that the trigger signal came from this ship." She thought for another moment. "Where are their shield generators? We need to take those out."

Storm replied, "All our information indicates their energy shields are generated by the same source of energy that powers their propulsion system and primary vehicle energy supply. It is located toward the back of the vehicles but it is too far in to be damaged from a pulse of energy from the rear."

Sarah thought for another brief moment. "You can scan the entire structure of their ships, right? Including hallways and such?"

"Yes," replied Storm.

"Get us inside those ships," said Sarah. "We'll hit their power generators from the inside. Start with the ship that was in the lead. That's probably where their king is."

Storm nodded in understanding and turned back to the targeting system. He locked the system on the lead ship and zoomed in on the structural scan. Quickly he manipulated the control to place the exit of the wormhole inside the ship, pointed directly at their power source.

Sarah glanced out the windows along the side of the ship and saw a huge portion of the Kra ships in her field of view, dark except for glowing patches of damage from her laser fire. "Holy crap, some of those ships are as big as cities!" she exclaimed.

"Ready," said Storm. Without taking her eyes away from the window, Sarah pressed the discharge button. One of the ships in the distance suddenly lit up as bright as a star as the back end of the ship exploded from the energy system being ripped apart by the Arfuran laser.

"Wow, that was bright," said Sarah. "What kind of damage did that do?"

"I am scanning again..." said Storm. "A quarter of their vehicle is destroyed. They have no propulsion system or energy generation. We must do the same on the others quickly."

"Let's do it," Sarah said as she returned her eyes to the screens. Storm worked fast to move the target to the inside of another Kra ship, and Sarah fired again as soon as he had it positioned correctly. For several more minutes they went from one ship to the next, destroying power sources, propulsion engines, and any weapons they could spot. "I hope we don't run out of energy for this thing," said Sarah.

"I am confident we will not," replied Storm.

"Storm, Sarah, this is Nanida," the intercom speaker said. "The strategy you are using is very effective. They are receiving severe damage but we must act more quickly to disable their vehicles."

Storm asked, "Do the others in the fleet have their dimension vein weapons completed?"

"No," replied Nanida. "None have reported to have their weapon completed. We began working at the same time they did and our duplicates are not complete either."

"Contact the rest of the fleet," said Storm, "and tell them to spread their distance and begin to use their energy weapons. The Kra vehicles are unable to attack but we do not know how much time it will be until they are able."

Sarah and Storm resumed their individual attacks. Sarah intermittently looked out the side windows and saw the rest of the fleet begin to maneuver out of their linear pattern to form a wall of ships. As they moved they fired what energy weapons they had at the Kra fleet, inflicting additional damage to the already disabled ships. Numerous smaller ships emerged from the large Arfuran ships, quickly flying out among the Kra ships and inflicting damage with their weapons. They targeted any remaining energy cannons they could detect on the surface of the invading ships, firing heavily at any that were able to discharge a shot in the direction of the Arfurans. With no shielding, those ships that were disabled by Sarah and Storm received the greatest amounts of additional damage.

Within minutes a huge majority of the Kra ships were severely damaged and unable to move or fire back. Those with the least damage were still immobile due to the control damage from the electromagnetic bombs. Sarah and Storm noticed the rest of the fleet quit firing and held their positions while the smaller fighter ships retreated outside the area of the Kra ships.

"Nanida," said Storm over the intercom. "What is the condition of our situation?"

After a brief pause of silence, Nanida responded, "All data is being received from scans by us and the rest of the fleet...the Kra vehicles are immobilized...most are losing their atmosphere through hull damage, some more quickly than others. They will die without our help. The fleet leader is attempting to establish communication with them through our emergency channel...Perfas, please connect the transmission with the rest of the vehicle."

After a moment the external viewing screen in front of the pair was blanked and replaced with a split video screen. One half contained the familiar striped face of the fleet leader Bustag. The other half remained black.

"Kra vehicles," said Bustag, "I am Bustag, the head of this fleet of Arfuran vehicles. We have detected your vehicles are damaged, you do not have enough reserve energy for your life support systems, and your breathable atmosphere is being lost. If you will surrender peacefully, we will provide assistance to minimize your loss of life and return you to your home planet."

Several silent seconds passed with no response from the Kra side of the transmission. "Kra vehicles, are you able to hear and understand my message?" Bustag repeated.

A few more seconds of silence passed before a video image crackled through the static on the Kra side of the screen. After the static cleared the screen showed Kragraxa slumped weakly in its throne of a captain's chair, breathing heavily due to the rapidly thinning air. It slowly looked up at the camera, then looked back down at the control panel next to the chair. It pressed a few buttons, causing the panel to pop open, presenting a small square box that emerged from underneath. It opened the hinged box, revealing another button under it.

Kragraxa looked back up at the camera and, through the rough translation given by the communication system, said, "...Kra never...captive... ...Take...no prisoners..." Its appendage moved to press the button and the screen instantly blanked out. Sarah and Storm quickly looked out the window and saw the lead Kra ship explode in an enormous fireball, followed instantly by the others surrounding it. As fast as the radio transmission spread out from the lead ship, the instantaneous wave of self destruction spread throughout the Kra fleet. Sarah got up from her seat and stepped over to the window to see. The last remaining ships were distant bright specks as they destroyed themselves out as far as the eye could see.

Sarah stood there silently with her mouth slightly open in shock as she watched the glowing fireballs quickly run out of oxygen and grow dark. Storm quietly got out of his seat and stepped beside her, watching the pieces of former Kra ships fly past the window or get deflected off the energy shielding.

"They're dead...they're all gone," Sarah said quietly. "Billions, gone...an entire civilization just went dead...from powerful civilization to extinct in maybe a half hour." She paused silently for a moment. "They would have done the same to us, but...they all died, because of me, because of this weapon I created."

Storm placed his arm behind Sarah's back with his hand on her shoulder. "Do not blame yourself for their death," he said. "They chose their life of destruction and killing...they believed they were the only species fit to exist. It is they who chose death rather than peaceful surrender. You did not kill them. They did."

"True," said Sarah. "But...I can't help feeling sad that so many died. It's like I could feel the life energy of all of them...in pain for a moment, and then...extinguished."

"We all share your sadness," Storm replied. "They were beautiful living creatures but their way of life destroyed them. If we could not stop them, I do not know how many more civilizations after ours would be destroyed. Think of those lives you saved."

Sarah sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right." She looked out into space for a few more moments, watching the last fading remnants of incinerated Kra ships cool into darkness, before remembering her friend. "Ajagi...how is he doing?" she asked as she looked at Storm.

"He is safe," said Storm. "He lost much blood and was very weak when I left him. His medical device worked well to stop his blood loss. His medical team is caring for him now."

Sarah quickly turned to the door and headed out of the room with Storm following closely behind. She jogged through the halls the short distance to the conference room where she'd last seen her lupine friend. When they came through the door they found the scattered debris and a large blood stain on the floor, but no Ajagi.

"They must have brought him to the medical treatment room," Storm replied.

"I hope they can save his leg," said Sarah as the two turned back down the hallway.

"They are very well skilled," said Storm. "Ajagi completed their training, and now they will show him what they learned."

Ajagi appeared on an operating table before them when Storm and Sarah slid open the doors to the medical room. The medical team members had already cut away his protection suit and were busy preparing to operate. As they approached his side Sarah looked at his amputation device covering his blood-soaked fur and felt terrible about the condition he was in. She glanced at the remainder of his leg on the table next to him with the other amputation device attached and felt hopeful about the impending surgery when she noticed the toes had a slight involuntary wiggle.

"Ajagi," Sarah said softly as she leaned over him. "Are you awake?"

The light gray wolf opened his eyes slightly as he rolled his head to look at her, then drew the corners of his mouth back in a wide smile. "Yes, I am," he said.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked with concern.

"Yes...I am doing well," Ajagi replied in a soft, tired voice. "The blood replacement... contains a chemical to relieve my pain and make me...sleep for them to work."

Sarah looked up, just past Ajagi, and saw a small pump that was pushing blood through a tube and into the amputation device where it could be returned to his vessels. She couldn't tell if it was donated blood or a synthetic replacement.

"I never thought...that I would be the one to test this device," said Ajagi with his sleepy speech. "I am happy to find that it works."

Sarah smiled at his humble words while she stroked the fur on his head between his ears. "You have an amazing invention there," she said with agreement. Storm continued to stand silently just behind her. He knew he would have time to talk with Ajagi later and felt he should give Sarah her time with him.

"If you are here..." Ajagi continued with his quiet voice, "we must be safe. Have the Kra...been driven back home?"

"We're safe," said Sarah, "but the Kra aren't going home. They're all gone...dead. We defeated them but they destroyed themselves instead of being captured."

Ajagi gazed into her eyes for a moment before clenching his eyes tightly shut. "What a terrible loss of life...a terrible cost for this war to end," he said. "I...thought I wanted their species destroyed...out of revenge for our friends they killed. Now I realize...I just wanted the killing to stop."

Sarah leaned over to hug Ajagi and hold his furry cheek against hers. "I know. That's what we all wanted," she said before raising up from the embrace. "There won't be any more killing. They can't hurt Arfurans or anybody else any more."

"I wish my pain...could take away some of the pain...our friends received from the Kra... Thank you for helping us," Ajagi said. "We will never...forget what you have done for us."

"I'll never forget you, either," said Sarah. She then leaned over and kissed his muzzle, and Ajagi placed a soft lick on her cheek.

"Have a...home...return safe..." Ajagi mumbled as his eyes faded shut.

"He is asleep now," said Storm. "They will be repairing his leg soon."

Sarah caressed the furry wolf face for a moment before turning to leave the room with Storm. "Will he be alright? I mean, will he be able to walk again?" she asked.

"Yes, he should heal very well," Storm replied. "He will need support to carry him until his bone and tissues heal. After ten or fifteen days he will be able to walk unaided."

"Ten or fifteen days? To heal an amputation?" Sarah said with disbelief. "You must have some incredible surgeons. I once twisted my ankle and walked with a limp for two months."

"What is a month?" asked Storm as they wandered the hallways of the ship.

"Let's just say sixty days," Sarah replied.

"Ah...I understand," said Storm.

Just as they turned down the hall with a short distance to the door of the transfer room, the ship-wide intercom activated. "This is Nanida. Please listen, my friends, I must announce a message. Among all the vehicles of the fleet there is minimal damage, few injuries, and no loss of life. To inform those who did not see or hear the event, the Kra were defeated and destroyed themselves. Our short range scanners can find no trace of life or any intact vehicles that may contain surviving Kra. Long range sensors and surveillance probes do not detect any vehicles or movement between here and the Kra planet. Other fleets around the system are continuing to perform their scans, but our scans are finished. This zone is safe and we have been approved to return home." The excitement in Nanida's voice was easily noticeable.

Chapter 26. Going Home

Sarah and Storm instantly heard bursts of howls and cheering echo through the ship's hallways as the rest of the crew celebrated following Nanida's announcement. Sarah let out a squeal of excitement and threw her arms around Storm's neck in a hug which he quickly returned with equal excitement. "You get to go home!" Sarah said ecstatically as she hugged him tight. After a moment she came to a sad realization and released his neck to slide down off of him.

"I guess that means...I have to go home, too," she said.

"Yes...you do," Storm replied with regret, casting his eyes down to the floor. "Now you know we are safe."

"I had been putting it out of my mind. I guess I didn't want to think about leaving," said Sarah. She turned around to slide the door open and the two stepped into the transfer room where her adventure began. "Well, we're safe now. We won't be needing these awful things any more." In a quick motion she pulled open the front fastener of her protection suit, slid it off her shoulders and down to the floor. With a smile she stepped out of it and tossed it against the wall with her foot.

"You are correct," said Storm as he copied her motion to remove his suit, followed by scratching his sides and fluffing his matted fur back up. "The only ones who will need to keep their protection covers on are those who must repair the damaged side of the vehicle. It will not require much time."

Sarah turned to Storm, reached out to take his hands in hers, and looked up into his dark golden eyes. "Storm," she said. "Not counting Ajagi's injury and the battle that just happened, this has been the most wonderful few days of my life. I am so happy that I met you...I'll never forget you either, or the wonderful time we shared on your beautiful planet."

"I feel very much the same way," Storm replied. "I will always remember you as well and I have greatly enjoyed becoming your friend."

Sarah released his hands, stepped closer, and put her arms up around his neck. "Storm...I..."

"Miss Shepherd?"

"What? What was..." Sarah said with shock as she stepped back from Storm and looked around the room.

"Miss Shepherd," the voice said again. Sarah could clearly hear but not see anyone else.

"Oh, no...you have got to be kidding me," Sarah said with rising anger in her voice.

"What is it?" asked Storm. "What do you hear?"

"Berglund!" Sarah replied. "He's in my house, and all my notes for the weapon project are right there. He can't get them!" She quickly turned and stepped over to a seat at the table. "Don't deactivate that transfer system," she said to Storm, pointing to the machine.

"What are you doing?" Storm began to ask.

"I'll come back and let you know when all the information is safe," Sarah said. "Just don't shut down the transfer." Before Storm could say another word Sarah sat back in the chair and forced her eyes to open back home.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked when her eyes opened to find Berglund standing over her. "How did you get in my house?"

"You had a spare in the desk in your office," Berglund said, holding up the small key before placing it on the table.

"Get out of my house," Sarah insisted with increasing aggression in her voice. "I don't care if you're my boss. You have no right to come into my house like that."

"I've been curious about your behavior lately," he said as he turned to meander slowly around the room, virtually ignoring her order. "You've been acting quite strangely these past several days. At first I thought there was a problem when the mail and papers were piling up at your mailbox while your car never left, but that question was answered when it was all retrieved. Taking time off for 'personal matters' doesn't include lounging around the house in your bathrobe. That is what scheduled vacation is for, and right now I have a project that requires your attention."

"What I do in my house is my business," Sarah said angrily. "And what have you been doing, sitting in your car watching me every day? Get out, Berglund."

"Doctor Berg..."

"GET OUT!" Sarah yelled at him.

"You don't seem to understand the terms of your employment, Miss Shepherd," he continued in his pompous tone of voice. "You work for me, you work for my projects. You were instructed to work on ideas for this weapons development grant...although this is hardly the professional work I expect from you." Reaching into his inside pocket he pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it, revealing Sarah's missing first page of notes with weapons ideas and doodles. "Cartoon characters are for Saturday morning, not the workplace."

"Where did you get that?" Sarah asked with shock.

"It was on the floor under your desk," he replied. "As I was curious about your behavior, your office is the first place I looked to find some answers. I thought you were maybe on drugs or something..." He tossed the page on top of her other notes which were still on the coffee table and, apparently, untouched. He then continued his sentence, "...but I see you are working on a project by yourself. Trying for a grant of your own? I don't know what you think your plan is, but as long as you work for me, your ideas are my ideas. I want a summary of your progress and a copy of your notes on my desk first thing in the morning."

Sarah sprung up from her position on the couch with a look of rage in her face. "Get out of my house," she ordered. "You don't own me and you don't own my ideas. You can't have my notes and you won't be getting any weapon ideas out of me. Enough have already died from my ideas and I will not allow any more death from it. Get out!"

Berglund was unfazed as he said, "You must not appreciate the job you have in my department..."

Before he could finish his sentence Sarah grabbed the collars of his suit and pushed hard, knocking him to the floor and landing on top of him with his arms pinned underneath her knees. "You don't seem to appreciate the ability to breathe," she said with escalating volume. "Leave my house NOW or I will bite out your larynx and eat it while you watch! GET OUT!"

Her seething rage and ear piercing volume finally got his attention. "Very well, Miss Shepherd," Berglund said, attempting to retain his composure. "I will go." Sarah pushed hard against him to get up on her feet. He cautiously got up from the floor, straightened his tie, and swiped the wrinkles from his suit jacket. Sarah marched to the door, pulled it open, and pointed at the outdoors.

Berglund strolled to the door and stopped just before leaving. "Don't think this is the end of it, Miss Shepherd," he said. "You've made a very poor choice."

"Out!" she said once more. As soon as Berglund was through the door she slammed it behind him, then watched through the windows as he walked to his car, started it up, and drove off. "I don't trust him," she said to herself. "Not one bit."

She stood there at the window, staring out at the setting sun and thinking about everything that had just transpired, about her doomed career, and what she was going to do about securing the information about the weapon. Even without the technology existing on Earth she didn't want the concept to fall into the hands of anybody who would attempt to create it. With her mind a blur of thoughts being pieced together, she suddenly turned and grabbed the pile of notes.

The fireplace roared to life when Sarah activated the gas valve and ignited the flame. She glanced briefly at her notes--notes that included the wormhole theory she worked so hard to complete--then tossed the stack in the fire on top of the fake logs. She stood there for a few moments watching it burn, relieved that nobody on Earth would ever be able to build such a weapon. As she turned and ran to her bedroom, the top page of the notes slid off the stack and landed on the bricks, turning almost entirely to ash before smoldering out and leaving only part of a corner intact.

In her bedroom Sarah dropped her bathrobe and quickly dressed in some jeans and a T-shirt before putting on a light coat and grabbing her purse. She stopped in the living room, grabbed the spare key off the table, and ran out the door with it locking securely behind her.

Sarah jumped in her car and drove off toward the university as quickly as she could. As she was quite familiar with Berglund's routine she knew he would not be there at that time. She found a parking space close to the door and ran inside to find her office. With a quick search of the drawers and areas around her desk she concluded there were no additional notes or clues to her weapon project or the wormhole theory. She picked up her copy of the DARPA grant paperwork and headed for the door. Before leaving the office she stopped in her tracks, turned around, and grabbed the German Shepherd figurine off the computer monitor.

With a quick run through a few more hallways Sarah arrived at the chemistry lab. There was no sign of Phil, but his current experiment was in full swing. About a half minute later, Phil arrived and was surprised to find her there. "Hi Phil," Sarah said calmly.

"Hi there, Sarah," said Phil. "Where have you been? Nobody's heard from you since Monday and I was getting worried."

"Eh...you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied with a smile. "I had a question for you. I got a prescription for these insomnia pills from my doctor since I've been having trouble sleeping lately. He didn't say much of anything about side effects, so I wanted to ask you again about what they do."

"Well, so much for loyalty during my times of struggle," said Phil, facetiously. "I'm just kidding. Like I said before they work very well, but take no more than one. You'll be out like a light for a good eight hours, and you'll probably feel pretty groggy for a couple more after you wake up. Whatever you do, don't drive your car or run a bulldozer or anything like that until the effects have completely worn off."

"No problem. My bulldozer is in the shop," Sarah replied with a smile.

Phil let out a light laugh. "Also, make sure your house is safe because even if a smoke alarm is right over your bed, it will not wake you up. Your doctor probably didn't mention that an overdose will lead to a coma, since that isn't printed in any of the medical literature."

"Thanks Phil," said Sarah as she got up from his seat. She quick grabbed one side of his face and kissed his cheek on the other side. With a smile she bounded off and said, "Gotta run...give my best to Katie!"

Dumbfounded, Phil called back, "You're welcome, Sarah...I will." As she disappeared through the door softly singing a made up tune, "From Arfurah With Love," Phil cocked his head to the side inquisitively and said to himself, "She's sure in a good mood. 'From Arthur With Love'...maybe she has a new boyfriend?"

Sarah returned home in the same rapid pace as her departure. A woman on a mission, she quickly marched into the house once her car was stopped in the driveway. She was happy to find her door and house were not tampered with and continued with her business. Sitting down at her computer, she fired it up and opened her email program. "Contact information..." she said to herself as she flipped through the pages describing the grant. Finding what she needed, she began to type. "To whom it may concern," she dictated quietly as she typed. Several minutes and paragraphs later, she was finished. "Files attached...done. Next."

"Dear Phil," she quietly said to herself as she began to write her second message. After a couple more minutes of typing she was finished and sent it to her outbox. Next she brought up her word processing program and began to type up a document that was as professional as she could make it. "Done...print," she said aloud as she sent it off to the printer. As soon as it was finished she pulled it off the printer tray, read it over, and signed it. "Almost done," she continued to say to herself as she busily worked.

Sarah then got out of her chair and went to her filing cabinet. Thumbing through the folders she found what she was looking for, pulled it out, and set it on her desk to sign it as well. She sat back down in front of her computer and began to search the internet. "Let's see..." she thought to herself as she typed, searched, and read. "'Drive Disintegrator: Don't just erase, don't just format...disintegrate! Simple yet powerful, this program securely shreds your files or entire hard drive, then chops the shreds into tiny bits of powder. Disk surface is erased, then it begins a continuous cycle of being overwritten with random bits, then formatted, then overwritten, then formatted...the longer it runs the more securely destroyed your data is, and nobody will ever be able to recover the files that were once there. Review: 9 out of 10 'joysticks up.' Free trial, download here."

"That should work," Sarah said as she downloaded the program. While it downloaded she hit the send button on her email program to release the message to their destinations. As soon as the download was finished she ran it. "'Are you sure?' Yes. 'Are you really sure?' Yes. 'Are you ultra-mega-sure? There's no going back after this point.' Yes, just do it already," she said to the screen as she activated the program and began her computer on the path of self destruction. As it ran she picked up her blank notepad and began writing. "Berglund:..." she began.

With her handwritten letter finished, Sarah tore the page off, picked up the other papers from her desk, and went to her living room. She set the letter to Berglund on the small ottoman next to the fireplace and noticed the charred corner of her first page that was still lying on the bricks. "Nothing useful there...that's fine," she thought to herself as she turned around and set the other paperwork on the coffee table. Sarah then went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and returned to the living room.

"It's funny how things work out," she said to herself as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small pills that she'd acquired from Phil's lab. He never noticed the tiny quantity missing from the large bin of pills he had to supply his experiments. Sarah then popped the pills into her mouth, swallowed them down with her glass of water, and set the glass on the coffee table. For a few moments she gazed out the large windows on the front of her house, enjoying the evening sunset and thinking about all the unpredictable events that had taken place. Finally, Sarah pulled off her glasses, folded them to set on the coffee table, eased her head back on the couch pillow, and closed her eyes.

"Storm!" Sarah exclaimed when she saw the tall fox standing next to the large work bench of the transfer room. As he turned around to look at her, she sprung up from her seat, ran toward him, and threw her arms around his neck. Before he could say a word she pulled him close, parted her lips, and pressed them to his in a long, deep, passionate kiss. With her eyes closed she let all the emotion and affection she had been feeling for him flow out through her lips, silently speaking her feelings for him. Storm, taken initially by surprise, closed his eyes as well and returned the kiss to the best of his understanding of how kisses worked.

An eternity of moments passed before Sarah released her lips from his and pulled back from him to speak. "I love you, Storm," she said to him with her emotions continuing to flow freely. "I love you...I love you more than anyone I have ever known. Your heart and mind are so beautiful and pure...I didn't intend to feel this way, but...I am so in love with you."

Storm fell speechless for several seconds before regaining his thoughts enough to speak. "I...love you as well, Sarah," he said finally. "I feel very much the same way...but I felt I should not tell you. I did not want to complicate your visit here, or your return home."

Sarah smiled upon hearing his words and pulled him close to kiss him again. Their shared love was embodied in a kiss more impassioned than the first. When their lips parted, Sarah spoke again. "I have wanted to kiss you for so long," she said, "since the morning we awoke on our trip to Arfurah. I didn't want to say anything that might complicate things either, but I can't help it. Storm...I want to be your mate."

"Sarah," Storm replied, "there is nothing that would make me more happy than that, but..." He paused for a moment. "We are from different worlds and we are so different from each other. I do not understand how you desire me as a mate...I am so different from your species."

"That doesn't matter to me," Sarah replied. "You are as beautiful in body as you are in heart and mind. I can't think of..." Sarah's eyes fell shut and her knees buckled underneath her. She dropped slightly, quickly being supported by Storm's strong arms before regaining control of her body and supporting herself again. "I can't think of anyone who would make a better mate."

"What happened?" asked Storm. "Are you alright, Sarah?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "That was an interesting feeling. It was just something that happened...I can't transfer back now."

"What did you do?" Storm inquired.

"Just something to ensure that nobody back home would be able to bother me," she replied.

Storm said, "Sarah, you must return home. You need to open your eyes."

Sarah smiled, placed another quick kiss on his lips, and said, "You already have opened my eyes."

"You must transfer home, Sarah," Ajagi said.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and looked around Storm's shoulder. "Hello Ajagi, I didn't see you there." Ajagi was positioned on a motorized stool that held him at a height between sitting and standing. His injured leg was securely braced from moving, but appeared to be intact at its full length. "How are you feeling?" she asked before stepping over to give him a hug.

"I am feeling very well," Ajagi replied with his hug in return. "I am sore but our medical team did a superb job in repairing the injury to my leg. I heard what you said to Storm. I understand you are not able to prevent the way you feel about another being because such feelings form naturally. However, you must transfer home. We know what it is like to be away from home. You belong with your own people."

Sarah responded, "Your people have all made me feel so welcome, I had more of a sense of belonging with all of you than I ever have with my own people. Besides, like I said, I can't transfer home. My body is now unable to open its eyes."

"How can that be?" asked Ajagi. "Do you understand the consequences of the inability to transfer back to your world?"

Without saying a word Sarah released her arms from Storm, walked past him and Ajagi, and stopped at the transfer system. She opened the cover that protected the large red switch, pulled the safety pin out of it, then placed her finger on the switch. Looking first at Ajagi, and then gazing at Storm for a moment, she flipped the switch to its opposite direction. "I understand completely," Sarah said. The transfer system flashed several of its indicator lights, activated its holographic screen to display several lines of Arfuran text, then the screen went blank while most of the lights went dark.

"Now...you can never go back," Ajagi said softly.

Sarah walked back over to Storm and wrapped her arms up around his neck again. "I don't want to go back," she said.

"You have known me for such a short time," Storm said. "How do you know I am the mate you truly desire?"

"My heart knows," Sarah replied. "My Dad told me to follow my heart to happiness, and that's exactly what I did. I have been happier with you here than I ever have been back home. There is a love song with words close to, 'I would rather be with you in your world than without you in mine.' Storm, I never want to be without you again. Whenever I see you or think about you, my heart just pounds. When I hear you speak, you leave me breathless. There are at least a hundred love songs I know with words that describe how I feel about you. I want to share my life with you, and be a part of yours. I love you, Storm...I love you."

Ajagi smiled and said to Storm, "I believe she loves you."

Storm smiled as he gazed into Sarah's eyes. "Yes," he replied. "I love you, Sarah. I would be most happy to share my life with you as well. When I spoke of someone who I wished to be my mate but she lived too far away, it is you who I spoke of. It has been difficult to conceal my great sadness as I have thought of never seeing you again. Now...words do not exist to express how happy you have made me."

Sarah's lips showed a smile that displayed her delirious happiness as she kissed him once more. "Let's go home, my love," she said to him.

"We are traveling there now," Storm replied. "We will arrive in less than three tar."

"Wonderful," Sarah replied with a giddy smile. "I can hardly wait."

"Miss Shepherd?" a voice said through her front door after the sound of a knock. "Miss Shepherd, open up." After a pause of silence the voice said again, "Village police, Miss Shepherd, please open the door."

"Can't you kick it in?" asked Berglund, impatiently.

"Only as a last resort, Mr. Berglund," the officer replied.

"Doctor Berglund."

"Um, yeah...doctor," the officer said. "Are you sure you want to be here? Typically you would wait in your car until we have the suspect apprehended, and then you'd approach to positively identify her."

"Yes, I'm quite sure," Berglund replied. "She's a valued employee and I stopped by out of genuine concern to check that she was alright because she hasn't been at work. I used the spare key she entrusted me to keep, and when I entered she attacked me and threatened my life. I want to see her arrested for assault, and I also need to retrieve some important scientific notes for a government project she stole from me."

"I see someone on the sofa...appears to be unconscious," said the second officer as he looked through the window. "Try the door, then force your way in if it's locked."

The first officer turned the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. He cautiously pushed the door open and said, "Police, Miss Shepherd. We have a warrant to enter." When she didn't respond the two officers walked into the living room, followed by Berglund who slowly sauntered through the door. "Miss Shepherd?" the officer called out as he shook her shoulder. "Sarah, wake up. Can you hear me?" he continued.

The second officer standing nearby activated his radio. "Dispatch, this is unit eleven. We need an ambulance, one female, unconscious...Is she alive?...Breathing but we can't wake her."

As the two officers attempted to awaken Sarah, Berglund toured the living room and glanced into her adjacent office through the open door. Unable to find the notes he was looking for, he continued to walk and look around until he found a handwritten note with his name on it.

"Mr. Berglund: You have not earned the privilege of the title 'doctor' and I refuse to ever refer to you that way again. I know you are trying to find my work but you are too late. Look and you will see ashes in the fireplace. You will never steal my work again, and not you or anybody else will ever benefit, or suffer, from the terrible device I created. I learned science to benefit life and humanity, not to destroy it. I have sent a letter to DARPA with a complete copy of all my work on the energy presentation to show that you had nothing to do with its work. With any luck they have already torn up the check for your grant. May the rest of your life be as miserable as you are as a person. Sarah Shepherd."

Berglund looked up from the letter and saw the fireplace littered with ashes. Lying on the bricks, lit up by the flames that were still burning, was a corner of paper with a few partial words, a partial math formula, and a doodle of a fox man looking back at him.

"Did you find your stolen materials, sir?" the first officer asked.

Berglund silently reached over to turn off the gas valve and extinguish the flames. "No," he responded with a sigh. "It's not here."

Phil shut off the lights in his lab before heading over to his office to close up for the evening. He put on his coat and went to shut off his computer when he saw he had a new email from Sarah. Curious, he opened it to read her message.

"Dear Phil, I don't quite know how to say goodbye. I wish I could explain why I did what I did, but like I said before you probably wouldn't believe me. I didn't have any prescription. You probably didn't notice but there are some trineprisol missing from your supply in the lab. I have taken 5 of them. If I haven't been found by the time you read this, I'm sure I will soon. I've left a signed statement next to me declaring that you had nothing to do with my choice to take the pills, and that I want Philip Restin to participate in my medical diagnosis so that you will have the patient data you need for a case study to prove the dangers of the drug. Please don't ever blame yourself because I was able to take some of your pills. I made the choice myself and did it without you knowing. I also know you and Katie have been trying to afford your own house for a while so you could get out of that apartment. With that signed statement I also left the deed to my house, signed over to you. Whether you decide to live there or sell the house and buy a place of your own, I wish you two the best of happiness. You're my closest friend in the world and you have always made my job easier to endure just by being there every day. No matter what happens or where I go, know that I'll never forget your friendship. Love and friendship always, Sarah."

"Oh, no..." Phil said in sad disbelief as he read the letter. "Five pills? Sarah, what did you do?" Immediately he picked up his phone, dialed Sarah's home number from the employee contact list, and had his call answered by a police officer.

"Will this hurt?" asked Sarah as she lay on the large work table.

"No," replied Ajagi. "It will feel no different than when you transferred here."

"Yeah, I know," said Sarah with a smile. "It just seemed like the automatic thing to say."

"Do such procedures in your world cause pain?" Ajagi asked.

"Well, we don't have procedures like this," Sarah replied. "I've just seen a lot of movies where somebody was getting some strange thing done to them, and they always ask if it hurts."

Storm said, "I hope you will tell us more about 'moo vees.' I would also enjoy it to hear the love songs you spoke of. Does the transfer system still retain all her memories, Ajagi?"

"Yes, it does," Ajagi replied. "When Sarah ended the connection she did not shut off the system or cause it to lose the data."

"We will be home in a quarter tar, Love," Storm said. "Would you prefer to wait?"

"No, I think I'd rather do this now," Sarah replied.

"Are you sure you wish to do this?" asked Storm. "I do not require it to love you."

"I've had hours to think about it, and I'm quite sure," Sarah replied.

"It is ready, Sarah," said Ajagi. "You may proceed any time you wish."

Sarah lifted her head up, kissed Storm, laid her head back down, and closed her eyes. Immediately her field of view was replaced with the sight of the blue ceiling in a different location. A moment later, Storm entered her field of view, looking down upon her with loving eyes. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Sarah shifted her eyes slightly to look around and then sat up. She sat silently for a moment, taking in all of her sensations and self perception. She then lifted her arms and hands up in front of her face to look at and inspect them.

"I feel..." Sarah began before pausing. "I feel fine, just a little different. Do you have a mirror?"

"Ajagi, please hand the reflecting plane to me," said Storm. Ajagi took the mirror from a side work counter, passed it to Storm, and Storm handed it to Sarah. Sarah held it out in front of herself, taking many silent seconds to look at herself and inspect her new eyes, her pointed ears, long muzzle, sharp fangs, long white whiskers, and furry face.

Sarah lowered the mirror, looked at Storm and Ajagi, and said, "I feel wonderful! Oh...do I sound strange to you? My mouth feels so different. I'm not sure if I'm making words sound the way I expect."

"You sound fine to me," said Storm.

"This body has the same translation system that your other one had," said Ajagi. "The effects to you will be the same. Your brain will direct your mouth to speak the words of our language while it causes you to hear the words of your language. The difference in shape of mouth may cause a strange sensation for you as you speak. We have not had to deal with this situation before as you are the first being from a different civilization to take a body modeled after one of ours...except for one being from a civilization that communicated with thought and no sound. We had to provide a body with a mouth to speak to us, and he did not know what sensations to expect."

"I guess I'll just have to get used to it, then," said Sarah. "Can the translation part be turned off so that some day I can learn to speak your language?"

Ajagi replied, "Yes. It can be adjusted so you speak and hear the language you desire. That will allow you to hear our words as we speak them and learn how to say them."

"Wonderful," said Sarah. "I want to learn everything about your world, and speaking your language is one of the first things I want to learn." She then set down the mirror and pushed herself off the table. With her first few unsteady steps on her Arfuran feet, Sarah quickly learned how the ground felt under a nonhuman foot. "I guess learning how to walk on these feet will be the first thing to learn," she said, smiling as she looked up at Storm. She looked back down at her furry body, twisting around to see her arms and legs from all sides. She picked up the mirror again to view her back, and looked down at her tail. "That certainly does look different from what I'm used to seeing back there," she said.

"It looks wonderful to me," Storm said with a sly smile.

Sarah looked back at him with her own flattered smile. "You're so sweet," she said before moving closer to him to slide her arms around him and better enjoy his scent with her new nose.

"It appears you already know how to use your tail as well," said Storm, motioning with his head toward her tail. Sarah looked down behind herself to see her new tail was wagging.

"Wow...I didn't even try to make it do that," she said. "It's like I made it wag without even thinking about it, as if by instinct. This body feels very...natural, just like the other one did." With her last few words she remembered her former self lying on the table. She parted from Storm and walked around the table, stopping beside the body she'd been using for the past week.

"This is such a strange feeling, to see myself lying there," Sarah said to her friends. "It's like seeing myself dead."

"That body is not dead," Ajagi responded. "It is in the same state it always was when you transferred away from here. It is similar to being asleep. Its systems are active to maintain it but it has no consciousness to control it."

"What will happen to that body?" Sarah asked.

Ajagi replied, "It will be deconstructed and its materials put back into storage for other uses."

"Can it be stored away intact?" Sarah continued to ask. "I mean, what if I change my mind and would like to go back into that body. Can it be stored away until then? Or would it decompose like any other dead body?"

"The synthetic materials will not decompose," said Ajagi. "Its systems may be shut off so it remains dormant for storage, if that is what you desire."

Sarah replied, "I think I would like that. At least until I'm completely sure this is the body I would like to keep. Until then..." Sarah paused her words, walked over to the transfer system, and flipped the transfer disconnect switch just as she had before. She then walked back over beside Storm and Ajagi, and they looked again at her former body. "You have given me the ability to now see the natural beauty in that body that you did. I just wish I'd been more comfortable in it. This body will help give me more of a fresh start."

"We will be arriving at Arfurah in ten taren, with landing in fifteen," said Nanida's voice over the intercom. "The forward observation room is filling quickly!"

Sarah, Storm, and Ajagi all smiled in happiness. "Shall we go?" asked Sarah.

"I would be very happy to go and watch," said Ajagi. Storm nodded his agreement. The three headed for the door with Storm holding open so Ajagi could roll through, followed immediately by Sarah. A short trip through the hallways soon delivered the three to the observation deck at the front of the ship. Enormous windows provided everyone a beautiful view of the approaching planet as they lined up along the width of the room. Sarah noticed that every other crewmember had finally shed their protection suits, and friends and mates held onto each other with increasing excitement as they got ever closer to home.

Sarah wrapped her arms tightly around Storm and Ajagi, holding her friends close as they completed the mission they'd departed for so long ago. The air in the room seemed to Sarah to be electrically charged from everyone's excited anticipation of returning home. In front of them she could see some of the other ships of the fleet beginning their reentry first. Smoothly and gracefully the ships rolled and pitched up to follow the ground as they continued their descent.

"Where are we going to land?" Sarah asked.

"We will be landing in the large clearing near the research facility," Storm replied. "There are too many vehicles in our fleet for the transport facility to accept at once."

Before they knew it the fleet had the prairie in sight. The midmorning light clearly showed the path to their landing site near the research facility as each ship slowed and carefully got into position to land next to each other. As the nose of the ship rose to a level pitch the view of the ground was replaced by a view of the clear sky, prompting everyone to head for the large bay doors that were under the ship. When the doors opened, the sound of cheers and howls filled the air from neighboring Arfurans who gathered at the prairie to greet the arriving fleet.

Sarah held onto Storm's hand as they walked down the ramp and she set foot on the planet's surface with her new feet for the first time again. Like a tidal wave entering a harbor, thousands of people who came from miles around the area flooded into the prairie to welcome the crew members home with countless hugs, nuzzles, and licks. Sarah felt wonderfully at home as she was greeted numerous times by people who had no idea who she was.

A motion in the sky grabbed Sarah's attention and she quickly pointed upwards for Storm to look. One by one, hundreds of white streaks appeared in the sky as ships from other fleets began to arrive home. All around the planet, millions of ships that had departed so long ago with their crews to join the hundreds of thousands of outposts around the planetary system were finally coming home. In the sky above the prairie, hundreds of ships reentered the atmosphere and left their white trails streaked through the sky as they diverted their course to take their crews to the areas they called home.

A tear of overwhelming happiness came to Sarah's eye when she realized how many had been out there ready to risk their lives to protect their people and their planet. Each ship carried hundreds of Arfurans, billions of people from around the planet safely delivered home. Sarah looked around and saw Nanida riding high above the crowd on Antakiri's shoulders with the most elated smile she'd ever seen on him.

After a moment she thought of Ajagi and started looking around for him. Unable to spot him at first, a few bodies in the crowd parted and she saw him. He was surrounded by his mates who were all holding him tightly, licking him continuously, and sad about his injury but so happily relieved to have him home in one piece.

With the sight of them, all Sarah could do was smile. Turning back around, she got Storm's attention, leapt into the air, and hung onto him with her arms around his neck and her legs supported by his arms as he caught her. Closing her eyes and pulling him close, she kissed him once more, her awareness of the crowd fading and her attention focused completely on him.

After a while of celebrating the crowd began to disperse as friends, families, and mates left for their homes. Hand in hand, Sarah and Storm walked down the familiar path toward their den. "Your people are just beautiful," Sarah said. "I can't imagine a more wonderful welcome."

"Do you mean 'our people?'" Storm said in reply.

"Yes, true," Sarah said with a smile. As they arrived at their den Sarah recalled, "We didn't get your things from the ship. Should we go back?"

"No, it is not necessary," Storm replied. "We may retrieve them tomorrow. I am sure there will be a great celebration today and through the night to keep us busy."

The pair entered their home, hand in hand, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Sarah leaned close to Storm and once more they shared a tender kiss, followed by soft, warm licks.

"On our walk home I noticed you are walking very well on your new feet," Storm said. "Are you getting used to the rest of your body? I hope everything works well for you."

They both sat silently as Sarah looked around the room, studying her eyesight and other senses. "Let's see...everything looks sharp and colors are vivid, so the eyes are good. I also very much enjoy the scent of your fur and the taste of your kisses..." She then looked back at Storm, gazed deeply into his golden eyes with a soft smile, and said, "I can hear your heartbeat."

THE END