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Mission: Resurrection

Part one

Chapter one

It had been two decades. That's what the clock read. Two decades, and he didn't even know where they sent him and his team. All he knew was that the team had landed in some kind of ruins on some strange alien planet.

The air on this planet seemed slightly heavier than that which he was accustomed to. The great lion checked his atmospheric pressure meter. The displays where positive for high levels of pure oxygen and ten times the pressure per square inch than that of his native earth. It was no wonder the air felt heavier.

The other hibernation chambers began to unlock. The sounds of hissing began to fill the air as one after another the lids slowly came up revealing the other four members of the team.

"Role call!" The roar of the lion resounded as an echo throughout the decaying ruins.

A husky looking arm gripped the side of one of the chambers and pulled a large white mass of fur out. With a hearty shake the fur settled and the unmistakable form of the polarwolf-bear mechanic was recognizable. "Petty Officer Timber, present." he groggily replied.

A whirl-wind of color zipped out of the next chamber, "Dr. Alireen, awake and well." The sultry voice of a parrot colored sphinx spoke gently. The doctor took a moment to stretch her lethargic bones and muscles.

Six quiet taps in secession followed by a soft clicking sound revealed a cobra headed scorpion creature. "Sir. Erroh." The science technician followed the lead of the doctor.

The lion watched as one by one the three came out of their hibernation to greet the new day on the alien planet. He looked at the last team members' chamber. The youngest in their crew, the 'trail guide' as it were, had still not come out.

With an irritated growl the lion walked over to the chamber. "Ms. Cotnier?"

"Yes General?" came a lofty voice.

The crew members looked around in questioning gazes as they searched the surrounding area for the origin of the voice.

"Up here guys!" The leopard hybrid waved at her fellow teammates with a bird like arm, talons hidden. Her long leopard tail with the feather plume swished about and her ram legs swayed as she straddled a felled support beam. The hybrid jumped down, causing a loud clack of her hooves as they hit against the rock. She brushed a stray lock of black hair behind her ram horns. "Lithra Cotnier, at your service!" she smiled a toothy grin.

The General only grumbled and shook his head, "How long have you been up?" he asked the hybrid.

"Since yesterday. My chamber was designed to let me out early remember? So I could scout the area." She replied as she looked around to the others and waved. "Good to see ya'll awake again."

"Yes it was to release you first, but not that soon. We only just landed yesterday." The General watched the hybrid. "Petty Officer Timber, take a look at her chamber, there may be a malfunction in the system."

"Yes General." PO Timber responded and pulled his kit out of his own chamber then scurried over to Ms. Cotnier's chamber.

Lithra watched as PO Timber hooked up a small handheld computer to the chamber's export outlet. She rolled her eyes and sat on a stone structure next to Dr. Alireen. "With all due respect, I don't think that's necessary sir. We should head out and get some fresh water-"

"With all due respect miss," The General began with a tone of condescension as he spoke to the hybrid, "I will decide what our order of priorities are."

The hybrid shot the General a quick glare, "As you say, sir." She responded.

Dr. Arileen sighed and pulled the youth aside, "If your chamber is malfunctioning it may be something that effected our chambers too. Those chambers where designed to protect us. If something is wrong with them then our lives may be in jeopardy." She said in her gentle voice. The doctor gently stroked the hybrids long black hair. She gave the youth a caring smile. When the hybrid returned the smile the two embraced in a hug. "Fine." Lithra reluctantly said, "I'll abide by the Generals orders. But you've gotta see some of the scenery of this place, it's incredible."

Dr. Arileen chuckled, "Whatever you saw my dear."

The men were huddled around the hybrids hibernation chamber. PO Timber was doing his best to stay calm as Sir. Erroh continually gave his advice on how to do a mechanic's job. The General simply stood back a bit and observed. He put together his team, all but the young hybrid woman, so he trusted them to do their assigned tasks. However he always marveled at PO Timber's tolerance level with Sir Erroh. Even the General's patience was tried by the egotistical science technician's questioning antics. Despite their differences though these three where the best in their respective fields. The General wouldn't have it any other way.

PO Timber sighed and set his computer down, "Sir Erroh, if you do not shut the hell up I swear I'm going to drive my screwdriver through the top of your muzzle through to the soft bottom of your mouth!" He growled, his thick hackles slowly raising his shirt on his back.

The hood of the cobra headed scorpion opened ever so slowly as his face began to redden in utter rage, "Why you disrespecting little punk!" his pincers clicked together as his six legs lifted his body four feet off the ground, making his full height an impressive eight and a half feet tall.

The polarwolf-bear turned fully around and stood up, himself a good seven feet tall, staring into the vibrant orange eyes of the cobra scorpion. Sir Erroh stared right back into the steely dual colored eyes of PO Timber, one blue, one brown. The two stood motionless, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"That is enough!" The General roared as he put himself between the men, pushing them apart. The two men didn't lose eye contact with each other as they answered in unison, "Yes sir." The two slowly backing off and going back to their respective tasks.

Dr. Arileen and Lithra exchanged a quick glance and then went back to watching the three men, "What I wouldn't give for some cheese puffies." Lithra said with a slight chuckle.

Dr. Arileen shared in the laugh, "Indeed. Those two are known to drive each other to the brink, but we are like a family. Dysfunctional yes, but family none the less."

Lithra watched the men again, slight arguments broke out here and there as they toiled on the machinery brought with them for this mission. She took in a deep breath of the alien air, so pure and crisp to her senses. Two decades she had spent in suspended animation. Two decades, her little sister would be thirty-four now. It seemed like just yesterday she was saying her farewells to her family. This mission seemed to fall on her lap. The original trail guide position in this team had suffered a tragic accident while the hibernation units where being tested and calibrated to his personal settings. Since the military that was issuing this mission was in too much a pinch as it was they sought out the next most prominent person to take his place. Lithra's name was at the top of the list. It was her sister's fourteenth birthday when the men in the uniforms came to voluntell Lithra for the mission.

It was a pre-colonization mission. These types of duties didn't come often, and when they did you heeded the command of your military. Her home planet was dying, and a new home had to be found. The last three pre-colonization scouting missions ended disastrously. This time it had to succeed. For everyone's sake. They had only three more decades left before every last life on her home planet would be wiped out.

"Miss Cotnier?" PO Timber looked at the glassy-eyed hybrid,, watching as life was startled back into her florescent green cat eyes.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, getting lost down memory lane. What did you need sir?" Lithra asked.

"Just wanted to let you know that your chamber is fine." The polarwolf-bear said with a grin. He then added in more of a whispered tone, "How did you manage to manipulate the timing unit? Don't deny that you did, I saw you tinkering a little the night before we went in."

Lithra's face began to redden and she took a quick look around, "I saw how the lab tech did it back home. It's probably the only thing I understand in those machines. There's a little red wire that pokes out, tug on it until the clock face pops off. Inside the face are the timing switches. You can manipulate them all you want." She replied

The PO was the one closest to Lithra's age, however he had been with the General the longest, only because he had an act for not getting killed.

PO Timber chuckled, "I'll have to remember that if we ever get stuck in those infernal devices again."

"Alright everyone, lets regroup." The General called.

By this time the little group hadn't wandered too far, but did explore the ruins a little. Once everyone was back where the hibernation chambers were the General continued, "Lithra, you're new, so I don't know how well you are with a weapon. What do you feel most comfortable with?" he asked.

Lithra took a moment to think on it, "A pole."

PO Timber couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean that type of pole snowball." Dr. Arileen hissed at the mechanic.

Sir Erroh only rolled his eyes. The General shot PO Timber a quick glare then turned his attention back to Lithra, "I'm afraid we didn't bring anything like that."

"Alright," The hybrid answered, "Then give me a machete and I'll make one from some of the trees here. There is a vast forest just a stone's throw from here."

The General nodded, "Very well, Sir Erroh, would you be kind enough to grab a machete for the lady? As for all of us, we will stay here until tomorrow. Then we will head out to find a source of water and scout our perimeter. From there we will begin phase one. Alright people, let's get home base set up and secure."

Like a well tuned machine everyone set out to their task without needing any special instruction. They had trained for years to do this mission. Everyone but Lithra who felt terribly out of place.

"Uhh, General, sir? What would you like for me to do?" The hybrid asked.

The General cast an annoyed gaze to the girl, "Make your pole and try not to get in anyone's way."

Sir Erroh handed Lithra a machete and like that she was left to her own devices.

The hybrid snorted her discontent, "Fine." She went to the edge of the ruins, a place she had gone to earlier while everyone was asleep, and used the machete to hack away at a young tree large enough to carve a staff from, and still small that Lithra could see the top.

As the sun of the alien planet began to set everyone regrouped to their respective chambers. PO Timber however lingered outside of his. The General took notice and went over to the polarwolf-bear. "Something wrong son?" He asked.

PO Timber looked at the General, then to the sky, "It's just...weird. The stars are all different, there's two moons out there. It's not home. We're never gonna see home again, are we?"

The General took a long gaze into PO Timber's eyes. He looked up to the alien night sky as well and with a heavy sigh responded, "As much as I would like to go back myself, no. It's starting to hit home with you and I now, it's going to hit home with the others soon too. We need to be strong for this mission Timber, we have to be strong." With that the General left his comrade and retired for the night. PO Timber decided to sleep outside for this night, taking the first watch.