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Forest of the Amazons

Czarreynard

Pilot's Log > Astrological Calendar: 07.20.2220 >Location: Uncharted Sector of Borealis Galaxy > Subject: Merchant Marine Mikhail Fokine

To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure how to exactly tell this story. The parts I haven't already forgotten are fuzzy and growing dim, but I will do the best I can. My name is Mikhail, and I am a wolf-morph. I'm not terribly strong or smart. I like to think that what has happened to me happened because it was my destiny, or something. Maybe that's just an excuse to avoid the fact that I did some stupid things in my life, I'm not sure. I'll leave it up for you to decide.

Before all this, I lived a pretty lonely life. My job was to transport goods from station to station for the Federation Army in my small cargo ship. Normally, I transported stupid things like soft-drinks and potato chips, luxuries that hardly seemed necessary on multi-billion dollar military installations.

Life was pretty uninteresting for me. I lived on a colony with countless others, having to make long trips across the Borealis system. I didn't really have any friends, never mind a significant other. How could I? I was always on the move, the military's errand boy. But it put bread on the table and a roof over my head, so I dealt with it.

I was feeling pretty miserable at the time, possibly from all the alcohol I had poured down my throat. Not totally sure what made me turn to drink. Now that I think of it, it was probably because I was separated from my parents during some of the Inter-Planetary Wars when I was a young teenager and no one ever came looking for me. I didn't have the money to get an advanced education, so I signed up for the merchant marines to keep myself nourished.

I'll try to tell things from as far back as I can remember, but no promises. I think it was around Christmas time, considering that there was a lot of celebrating going on inside the colonies around the time I left. I never partook in any festivities, because I had no one to spend them with. Sleep was pretty much the day's activity when I wasn't working or eating.

I was in the middle of a great sleep when my phone rang noisily. I tried to open my eyes, but my muscles just didn't want to listen to my brain, as if they had been left out in the rain to rust. Eventually, on the sixth and final ring, I picked it up, already knowing who it was. I didn't have any personal contacts, so it was probably the dispatcher.

"Mikhail?" barked an angry middle-aged man from the other end "you busy?"

I groaned. He was asking me to make a delivery. "No, I was in the middle of great dream. I dreamt about coming into work on a Saturday," I said sarcastically.

My boss, the stupid sloth that he was, answered, "Well! Then have I got a surprise for you! The new Intergalactic Federation Outpost just finished being furnished and all the military bigwigs are showing up to inspect the joint. But, they're dangerously short on party supplies. I called Mark, Stacy and Jared, but they said they're all out celebrating. You wouldn't happen to engaged in anything today, would you?"

SHIT! He did want me to come into work! I gave a poisonous answer, "I was thinking of destroying my liver later, does that count?"

He gave a chuckle, "Ha ha! Hey, listen. If you can come into work today, I'll make it worth your while. When you get back, how about I take you to that skin bar that just opened up downtown?"

The idea of hanging out with my boss made me want to vomit, but I wasn't in the mood to get fired, so I answered politely, "Sounds good. I'll be there soon."

"Good to hear it, I'll have the ship loaded when you get here. See you soon, kid."

"Alright, bye." I hung up before adding, "Prick..."

After I pulled some clothes on and tried some coffee to get rid of my hangover, I hopped on my motorcycle and got down to the pier. The motorcycle, however cool it may sound, was not cool whatsoever. The thing was small enough to be a toy scooter for a little kid. The engine had no power at all and it made the worst sounds and gave off the worst smell. It got me from A to B, but barely. A Big Wheel would have been more practical. In fact, fossil fueled engines are rare these days, but I don't have the time or money to go buy a lithium battery bike.

When I got to the docks, my hangover hadn't really cleared up, and I was kind of pissed off that I had to make a trek across the stars (get it, a star trek? XD) so that a bunch of military meatheads could have plenty of napkins and wine coolers. Needless to say, that's pretty sad.

When I approached the dock our fleet worked out of, my boss spotted me and walked over.

"Thanks for showing up, kid. Don't forget, when you get back, we're going to Mama Lupe's for some tail!"

I smiled. It was an act. If I wanted to go see strippers, I'd do it on my own time. It was bad enough I had to take orders from this guy.

He handed me the keys and I hopped in the ship. It wasn't very big, but small enough to be manned by a solo pilot. I engaged the thrusters, coasted into the airlock and waited patiently for the depressurization cycle. Once that was done, the blast door opened, and I was free to roam the black vacuum of space.

I flipped on some loud music. I tried counting backwards from one hundred. Nothing seemed to fill the boredom that had set in. Although our ships are capable of incredible speeds, trips between colonies can take hours, days if you plan to go from Earth to the frontier.

Then it hit me; just go back to sleep. The ship did have an autopilot program, but pilots were discouraged from using it. The ships were old and their computers were collecting dust in their CPUs. Plus, a computer doesn't know when it makes a mistake. A sentient mind, however, does. Therefore, pilots are encouraged to always use manual controls. Fuck that.

Seriously! I was on a midnight-run, without alcohol, on a holiday, with a hangover, for a guy I hated, without alcohol, on a decrepit old frigate...without alcohol!

It was a pretty simple navigation pattern to this new base and odds were that I wasn't going to be able to stay awake for the whole trip. Besides, if I was a little off course when I woke up, I could always make the adjustments. Without a second thought, I set the coordinates on the computer and turned on the autopilot. Now all I had to do was wake up before I got there so that I wouldn't look like a damn fool.

Settling back into my seat, I closed my eyes and tried to rest. That hangover must've been a little stronger than I remember, because I conked out seconds after.

This is the part where I start spraying that "fate" bullshit at you. It wasn't fate or destiny or coincidence; I was just being plain stupid. I fell asleep at controls I knew I should have been managingbut didn't. It changed my life forever. But then again, maybe acting stupid at that moment in time wasn't the stupidest thing I ever done after all. I know that sounds confusing, but I'll explain in a little while.

"DANGER! DANGER! GRAVITATIONAL FIELD DETECTED! DANGER! DANGER!" the ship's computer blared a warning, jolting me out of my sound sleep with the extreme increase in decibel level. It took me a few seconds to realize what exactly what was going on. In front of me, loomed a gigantic planet, totally green across it surface...and I was headed straight for it!

I glanced down at the computer to find my current coordinates. They didn't look anything like the ones I had put in earlier. Damn! The autopilot had failed! I was totally off course! All of a sudden, the whole ship shuddered. The lights dimmed for a moment and I heard the ship whine as its fuselage creaked. The planet was pulling the ship in like a drain sucks in a toy boat.

I did the first thing I could think of. Firing the reverse thrusters, I hoped to get enough momentum to escape the gravitational pull. The engines spurred and coughed, straining to meet the demands I was placing on them. Shit!

Then, the ship's lights dimmed again, this time, for good. The engines spun to zero RPMs. The lights on the dash all went dark. I was dead in the water. There was nothing I could do; I just sat there, helpless. With my power out, I couldn't even send out a distress signal. Desperately, I tried to reboot the computer and reignite the engines. No good.

Sweat dripped down my face. It was getting warmer. I quickly figured out why. The ship was entering the planet's atmosphere. My heart sank. I was going to die. The ships that the merchant-marines piloted were not designed to go from planet to planet. They were only designed to transport goods from colony to colony, which have no atmospheres. The ship's hull just wasn't built with the intention of racing toward planets at intense vectors.

At the moment, I realized that I would like nothing better than a beer. I still smile when I remember that little anecdote. By now, you've probably guessed that I didn't die in atmospheric reentry. Nevertheless, I'll tell you what happened.

The vehicle was, by now, growing very hot. Some of the plastic on the dash started to bubble from the heat. Rubber insulation started to melt as the air around it grew hotter and hotter. I barely noticed the change; I was too consumed with the size of the planet I was approaching. I couldn't see any satellites, nor did I see anything that looked like a border colony. That settled it; I was going to have to land on the planet. I figured that, if I was going to land anywhere, it would have to be close to civilization. If I survived, then I could get myself some medical attention. If I didn't, then at least my body would probably be found. I shuddered at the thought of my obituary being broadcast on my home colony's newsreel.

I heard more creaks; the hull was starting to buckle. I was praying for it to hold and I'm not even religious. The whole ship shook, nearly throwing me out of my chair and into a bulkhead. I thought back to all those ads on TV about how wearing your seatbelt in your car was important and laughed. I strapped myself into the captain's chair and steeled myself for entry.

By now, flames were streaking over the ship as it entered the planet's surrounding gases. I was plummeting towards the ground at a frightening rate, but the odometer wasn't working, so I'll never know just how fast. It almost looked as if the planet was rising to meet me, not the other way around.

Although the power was out, I remembered something that I had read in the ship's manual. There was an emergency engine cut-off flap used to slow the ship down to avoid collisions with other ships and stations. Because I was in a gravity field, it wouldn't stop the ship completely, but it would, at least, slow me down enough to ensure I would not liquefy upon reaching the surface.

I still looked for cities or anything that looked like the work of sentient beings, but to no avail. It was all forests and lakes. If no one was living here, did that mean there wasn't any oxygen? If I managed to survive the impact, would I die of suffocation? I guess I was just going to have to wait to find out.

The heat got more and more intense. I was afraid that I would catch fire before reaching the ground. But the ship, although pieces of it had already begun to burn up and fall away, held together miraculously. All of a sudden, the glass on the dash broke. Instead of it being sucked out into vacuum, frigid air rushed in. I held my breath for a few seconds, unsure whether or not it was breathable. I took my hand away from my mouth and waited a few seconds. Sure enough, precious oxygen found its way into my lungs.

As nice as that was, I was still plummeting toward the unknown planet. I could make out trees individually now, so I could tell I was coming in hot. Fortunately for me, the ship's rear engine flap was shunted into place, causing it to pan out as I approached the ground. With only several hundred feet to go, the ship began to whine again, protesting from the wild ride. Something broke, as I heard a sickening shriek from steel peeling itself off the fuselage.

The air got warmer as I got closer to the ground. Trees swayed in the gentle breeze. It all looked so peaceful. It was about to become the total opposite. With a firm pull, I seized the emergency flap control back into locking position. A grate enveloped behind the ship to make it less aerodynamic and slow it down. The ship's speed slowed, but not nearly as low as I would've liked. The hull scraped over the tops of the pine tress, making a racket. The weight of the vehicle broke several tree limbs, tossing me around in my seat like crazy. Branches and leaves flew into the cockpit as I entered the tree line.

Then, the ship and I hit the ground...hard. Soil was deposited into the cockpit as the nose of the ship buried itself into the ground. The momentum must've been intense, because the ship just didn't want to seem to stop. A huge pine tree loomed just a few yards ahead. The ship, full steam ahead, rammed into it full force, but couldn't quite knock it over.

The ship did succeed, however, in flipping over from the sudden stop. Because I was strapped in, I became inverted on the ceiling.

The ship croaked one more time before coming to a rest after one hell of a roller-coaster ride. I gave a huge sigh of relief. I survived the crash and the planet was capable of sustaining life. Score two for me.

And score about a billion for the laws of physics. I wasn't out of the woods yet. I smelled something acrid coming from the back of the ship. Apparently, when the ship had sailed through the trees, a branch opened the fuel line and also ripped some of the wiring loose. The fuel our ships carry is highly combustible. Therefore, it is susceptible to electricity.

The engines had caught fire.

To make matters worse, the cargo was paper goods and wine coolers. Great, more fuel for the fire. I unbuckled the seat-belt, determined not to let this ship be my tomb. As soon as I released the buckle, however, I fell to the ceiling, which was now the floor. I fell on my arm, which hurt like hell. I got up with some difficulty and crawled out of the cockpit window. Unfortunately, I cut my hand on some of the broken glass. But I was glad to be out of that deathtrap to say the least. Tired and out of breath, I watch the ship burn along with the cargo it stored.

Too bad I couldn't salvage anything. The wine coolers would've at least kept me alive for a few days to say the least. All the radio equipment was electronic and wired to the ship's computer, so that was out too. We never packed first aid kits onto the ships because we'd never really thought we would need such a thing. I guess that's why I flunked out of Boy Scouts.

The ship continued to burn until the roof collapsed and the whole thing came crashing down upon itself. I was awful lucky to have gotten out of that thing alive. Well, rest in pieces old gal.

I inspected myself to make sure that nothing was broken. Aside from the cut on my hand from the glass, I couldn't feel any broken bones. No other cuts, no burns, nothing. Of course, there was also the possibility that my internal organs had taken damage from the impact and I was now bleeding internally, but I preferred not to think about it.

It was then that I got to take a good look at my surroundings. I had landed in a large pine forest. It was thickly wooded and I couldn't see well past a few hundred yards before the trees obscured the horizon. It was like that in all directions. No roads, no buildings. It was complete and total wilderness.

I decided to stay with the ship. You're supposed to stay put when you're lost, right? It would at the very least keep me warm for the time being. Maybe my boss would notice that I didn't come back and send a search party. The ship did have a battery-operated homing beacon, but it was only supposed to be used for small distances. If I got out of this alive, I made a promise to go to that skin bar with him someday.

Suddenly, I started feeling scared and lonely, which was weird. Normally, I don't care for company, but after surviving a near-death experience like that, it was only natural to try and confide in someone. Surviving the crash had kept my mind off the fact that I was completely isolated. I huddled near the flaming pile of scrap, exhausted from the landing. It really tired me out, because before I knew it, I was asleep again.

When I woke up, it was dark. The sun had set behind a few mountains in the distance, leaving the valley I had crashed in cold and bleak. The fire inside the ship had gone out, leaving me without light or heat. Although my species has fur, we usually groom it to make it look fashionable. The problem with this practice is that it cuts our fur's ability to keep our bodies warm by half.

I tried to keep my mind off the cold by walking around. If anything could get my body temperature up, it was burning some calories from the beer belly that I was slowly acquiring. After walking around for awhile, I noticed that it just kept getting darker and darker, colder and colder. I could scarcely see ten yards ahead of me.

All the mounting problems were putting my bladder to the test, so I decided to relieve myself on a tree nearby. While I was doing so, I noticed that it was incredibly quiet. If the planet had oxygen and water, it was almost a certainty that it would have life, right? Maybe not sentient, but hell at least like, a bird, or something. To my surprise, I got an answer right away. I heard something move in the forest. My head whipped around, trying to locate its source. Living in society for so long has watered down wolf-abilities, so my senses of smell and hearing aren't very useful anymore. Whatever it was, it seemed to be gone now.

I assumed whatever it was probably wouldn't be anything to worry about, so I zipped up my pants and walked over to the ship again. It may have been a burnt out piled of crap, but it was all I had. On my walk back to the ship however, I heard the noise again. I quickly identified that the noises were footsteps, close together, so whatever was making them was fast.

I circled again, in search of what it was. Maybe it was a rabbit? I hoped it was a rabbit. I thought I saw a flash of silver dart by, but it might have just been my imagination. I stared out to that one spot of the woods for a few seconds, trying to see if that flash would dart by again. It didn't. So, I turned back around and...

Found myself starting backing into a pair of steeped blue eyes.

I yelped and fell onto my ass, surprised as hell. Whatever it was, it was too hard to see in the dark. All I saw were those blue eyes, cutting into me like daggers. Whatever it was, it sure wasn't something to be messed with. Instinct kicked in, I got up and started to run away. A cowardly move, I know. Amazingly, I managed to make myself look like more of an idiot. I slipped on pine needles all over the place, loosing traction and barely getting anywhere fast. Every couple of seconds, I tried to look back to see if the blue eyes were following me. Come to think of it, running fast through a thicket and not paying attention to where I was going was probably not the smartest move. (But, as I said before, I'm kind of dumb.)

Next thing I knew, I looked forward just in time to my face on a collision course with a low-hanging branch. I slammed into it. It's like how in action movies one of the bad guy's cronies gets clotheslined by a pipe or something and gets knocked flat on his ass. That's EXACTLY what happened to me. Not only that, there happened to be a small rock sticking out of the ground exactly upon the spot where I slipped.

This knocked me out cold. I heard footsteps slowly approaching, rustling the pine needles. Whoever the blue eyes belonged to, they obviously didn't need to rush. I wasn't going anywhere. I can remember preparing to be kicked in the gut or feel teeth cutting through my neck, but it never came. I only remember a shadowy face drifting in front of my eyes. My vision was too glassy for me to make out who it was, but at the time, I really didn't care. All I wanted to do was let it end. I felt numb as I slipped into unconsciousness.

Apparently, the universe was insistent upon making me wake up to scary situations. For the third time that day (I really have to idea how much time passed between being knocked out and waking up, so let's assume it was within the period of twenty-four hours) I woke up to a disturbance. To be honest, I half expected to be home, in my crummy apartment. But my apartment this was not.

I was in a hut of some kind, sprawled across a warm bed. The blankets and pillow were all tanned hides and furs, providing me with warmth and comfort. The mattress was actually stretched out deerskin filled with cottonseed and then sown together. On the far wall, there was a chimney and a bed of coals that warmed the room up quite nicely.

I had been stripped down to my boxers; my other clothes were sprawled out near the glistening coals in an attempt to dry them out. The hand I cut getting out of the ship had a bandage on it, too, and a small strip of damp cloth hung upon my forehead. Apparently, whoever had brought me here, was trying to keep me alive. That brought on a very positive feeling.

Nice though it was, my head hurt like hell. I tried getting up, but my legs protested. With some difficulty, I managed to swing them around and stand up on the hut's floor. The floor was lined with pine needles, obviously used as carpeting. Whoever built this place knew what they were doing. I wasn't going to wait for them to show up to tell them that, however. Spotting another skin suspended from the hut's side, I realized that it was the door-flap. I made my way over to it, nearly loosing my balance several times. I threw open the door flap, but realized I could go no farther. To my surprise, the ground was about fifty feet below me.

The hut was actually hallowed out inside a huge pine tree! There was a small ladder chiseled into the tree's side, but I decided that I had better not try and climb down. My balance was already shot; there was no need to go about testing it.

As if to discourage me further, I looked out across the forest thicket to see a robed figure standing a few hundred feet away. It walked upright, so it must have been sentient. In one hand, it held a small sack, in the other, a pail of water. Curiously, I watch the figure make a line for the base of the tree. I was betting that this thing was the keeper of this abode. Whoever this place belonged to, they were approaching quickly.

I decided to go back inside before it saw me. Best not to let this thing know I was bent on escaping. I let the door-flap go and hustled over to the bed on the floor. I covered myself with the blankets as best I could and pretended to be asleep. Just in time, too.

I heard the door flap open again and someone entered. Whoever it was, they didn't seem to have noticed I had just been nosing around. The cloaked figure put the pail on a nearby stand and placed the sack on a makeshift cutting board near the coal fire.

I watched intently through the corner of one eye, so I could close it if the figure turned around. I watched as two black furred paws emerged from the cloak and the creature suspended them over the hot coals in attempt to warm itself. Apparently, it could feel the cold, too. At least it wasn't a monster or something. Then, the figure stood up. (And I'll never forget this part) Slowly, the creature pulled the hood back and let the garment fall to the floor.

Disrobed, there stood the most magnificent creature I had ever laid eyes on. It was a black vixen. She had her back to me, so she obviously did not see me ogling her. Her fur was black as ash and her hair followed suit. Her body was athletic, but not terribly bulky, either. Her muscles were toned slightly, but her body still remained sleek and lustrous. A tail of black fur danced back and forth behind her supple waist. It almost looked as if she had dipped her tail in paint, as the tip was white as freshly fallen snow.

She wore what looked like tanned leather bikini top, obviously a homemade article. To cover her netherquarters, a loin cloth hung about her waist, keeping her decent from both anterior and posterior view. Her long black mane was braided into a ponytail with colorful rope and each of her white-tipped ears contained an earring.

God, she knocked me out with that tush of hers.

I watched her work as she unlashed the tie on the sack and took out several branches of various species. She stripped them of their leaves and, with a pestle, began to grind them up on the cutting board. She brandished a knife and began to slice up a peculiar looking blue fruit about the size of a softball. The vixen did this to several other fruits before pausing.

She went to retrieve the water pail. As she picked it up and spun about, she noticed me with my eyes open. Then, I noticed something peculiar. She had the prettiest pair of deep blue eyes I had ever seen. So she had been the one in the forest last night!

Worried she might be angry with my peeking, I snapped them tightly shut. But the vixen seemed to pay no mind. Instead, she continued on with her work. I opened my eyes again; glad that observing her had no negative consequences. I studied her as she reached for several gourds that rested on a shelf. She poured water into each. Then, she began to tap the fruit slices, wringing them out and allowing their nectar-rich juice to spill into the gourds. With her fingers, she sprinkled the herbs into each cup.

I realized slowly that she was making drinks of some kind. But as soon as I figured it out, she disposed of my hypothesis. With a slender hand, she reached into her lovely head of hair and proceeded to pull out a hair. Why she did that, I wasn't sure. She then placed the hair into the gourd on the right. In my culture, adding hair to any kind of meal was pretty disgusting. I remembered how I found a pubic hair in a cheeseburger I ordered once and laughed to myself silently. This was at least a little more sanitary.

But then she surprised me again. She turned to face me and saw me lying there on the bed with a frightened look in my eyes. The vixen gave me a warm smile and approached me slowly and cautiously. She did this, I assume, to show that she meant me no harm. When she was close enough to touch me, she reached into my hair and pulled out a single strand. She smiled at me again and then proceeded back to the cutting table. She inserted my hair into the gourd on the left. Whatever she was planning, it was a mystery to me.

Now, with two gourds filled with this mysterious fruit juice, she proceeded over to me. She sat down, Indian-style, on the floor near me. Slowly, she placed the one with her hair in it by me, while she kept the one with my hair. She wanted me to drink this strange elixir, I could deduce that much.

Apparently, she either couldn't speak or didn't want to; because she demonstrated what she wanted me to do by placing her own cup at her lips. I was reluctant to drink it, but I decided that I better not give her any reason to be upset with me. I took the cup into my hand and brought it up to my mouth. Before I drank, I looked at her one more time to see her nodding, coaxing me into continuing. I braced myself and inverted the cup, allowing its contents to spill past my lips.

It didn't taste terribly great. I could feel seeds and pulp pass over my tongue as I drank it down. It was like drinking cough medicine almost, but without the euphoria of colors that hits you if you drink too much. My tongue curled with displeasure, but the vixen smiled as I consumed her concoction, so that gave me all the incentive I needed. When the last of it was gone, I set the cup down on the floor.

Seeing that the vixen had set down her cup as well, I saw her smiling at me again. "Sorry about the taste, I tried throwing some fruit in there to spice it up, but that didn't seem to help much. Good to see that the charm works, tough."

I sat there, stunned. She spoke! And with such intelligent speech! I have to admit I was at a loss for words. "You...speak English?" It was all I could manage.

She shook her head, tossing about that lovely hair, "No, I am speaking Amazonian. I only appear to be speaking your language. That is why I gave you a charm. It allows us to communicate regardless of language or dialect. Sorry for taking some of your hair, but the spell requires that I take samples from both parties."

Okay, whoa. Back up for a sec. Amazonian? Charm? Spell? Was this girl some kind of magician or something? "Amazon? You mean, like that tribe of female warriors from legend?"

She nodded, "The very same. Only we were not so legendary. My tribe ruled this forest with our bows and swords for many decades. But that was long ago. I am not in the mood to discuss years gone by. You and I are in the here and now; let us talk more of that."

So she didn't want to discuss the past. I didn't either, too many bad memories to endure. Wanting to stimulate the conversation, I asked humbly, "If I may, why were you following me last night? You nearly scared me to death!"

She looked away from me, diverting those lovely blue eyes. "I am sorry for frightening you. You see, I witnessed you fly in on that big metal bird. To be honest, I was just curious. No one ever comes to these parts, and I thought you might be a threat, so I surveyed you for a few hours. Seeing as all you did was sleep and pee, I surmised that you couldn't be too dangerous. But, then you ran when you saw me and hit your head. So I brought you here, to my den, so that I could nurse you back to health."

I felt ashamed for questioning her. "No, I should be the one who's sorry. Thank you for tending to my wounds."

She smiled at the gratuity, "Do not mention it. I am Sika, by the way. Sika of the Four Winds. I am a huntress and archer extraordinaire. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

I considered that. Sika. A lovely name. "I'm Mikhail, very good to meet you."

"If you don't mind my asking, what was that big metal bird you had with you? I've never seen such a vessel."

Sika sure was a curious woman. But, I figured that her comprehension of interstellar travel technology was non-existent, so I tried breaking it down into the simplest way I could manage, "I am a...merchant...of sorts. The big metal bird' is what I used to get from village to village across the galaxy. But, the bird' is old and unwieldy, so I crashed here, on this planet."

Her eyes sparkled. I imagined that astronomy was not something her tribe specialized in. How could a person, confined to one land, comprehend the fact that elsewhere, people like her are exploring the galaxy?

"Fascinating," she said conclusively "I knew that you would turn out to be interesting."

Oh! A compliment! And coming from such a beautiful lady, it meant all the more. For once, I felt appreciated. I may have been a lost cause back with my own kind, but here, with Sika, I was admired. That felt good. It almost made the idea of returning home...fade away.

There weren't any girls like her at home. And she looked at me with such longing eyes, as if I were some friend who had come back after years of separation. My heart began to pound in my chest. I think that I was falling in love.

I tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. If I had to be stranded on an uncharted planet, I was being stranded in style, in a cozy cabin with a beautiful woman.

As if she had read my mind, Sika decided to ask me about my predicament. "Your vessel, it looks damaged beyond repair. How will you get home?"

I felt a little hurt when I heard that. Being in her presence had made the reality of my entrapment was a little less serious. She had kind of burst my bubble. Not only that, by the tone of her question, it sounded like I was being a burden. Truth be told, I really didn't know how I was going to get home at all.

Slowly, I formed my answer: "I haven't really thought about it, yet. I'm really off the beaten path; this planet isn't on any of the navigation charts we use. I suppose that someone might find me eventually, but if they do, it could be years from now." My own words scared me as the finality of the desertion set in.

Sika pondered that for a moment. I thought I saw her smirk, but I wasn't sure. "Then you are stuck here?"

"It looks that way."

"I see."

For a moment, I tried to put myself in Sika's moccasins. If I were a huntress who had to hunt and kill for my food, would I really want to be babysitting an injured man who obviously was not equipped to fend for himself? I liked Sika, but I did not want to extend my welcome to its limits, that seemed rude. God knows, I hate it when people do it to me.

"I won't trouble you much longer. If you could teach me how to hunt and build lodging, I will be able to support myself."

The ebony-furred girl stood up and shook her head. "You shall do no such thing! You are more than welcome in my home. Please, stay and rest. Once you have healed properly, we will be much stronger together than we would be individually."

My heart fluttered! She wanted me to stay!

"But, aren't Amazons supposed to live apart from males?" I didn't do this to fight her, nor to deny her suggestion. I was just curious about who she was. I hadn't noticed signs of any other Amazons around, so I assumed Sika was either a loner or maybe a sentry for the village.

She smiled. "You have read your storybooks, I will give you that. It is true, long ago, the Amazons were forbidden to dwell with males. Once a year, the tribe would find a pack of barbarian males, who lived beyond the mountains and use them to propagate the race. If any of our huntresses bore sons, we sent them away into the wilderness to be raised by their barbarian fathers. Other than one week of mating season, our lives were to be totally separate from men."

She walked away from me and looked into the coal fire, "But...then, there was the war..."

"War?" I mimicked, eager to learn more.

She closed her eyes and gave a sigh; it must've been a painful tale to tell. "Long ago, when I was still little, life was peaceful. We were numerous and well-fed, friends to all and pregnant with joy. But, one day, Bathsheba, one of our tribe's greatest hunters was denied the chieftainship because she was declared too brash. A barbarian man named Quetzal told her that she was the strongest in the tribe and that she should rule. He did this only so she would favor him once she seized power. But he did not expect Bathsheba to take things so seriously. She was willing to go through rather...dire methods to assure everyone that she was the strongest. That made the others angry.

"From an early age, we are taught that it is the woman on your left and the woman on your right that make you strong, not yourself. Bathsheba spoiled that ideal. Soon, the huntresses began to bicker amongst themselves over who was the strongest maiden. Their quarrel proved inconclusive, so they asked the barbarian tribes who they thought was the strongest maiden.

"The barbarians, being males, had no answer to give. Rather, they themselves began to fight over who was the strongest amongst their ranks. Soon, fathers were drowning their sons and mothers strangled their sisters, all in attempt to prove that they were strong.

"Amid the senseless bloodbath, I simply picked up my bow and walked out into the forest. I built this lodge and kept myself alive through hunting beasts of the land. Mother Earth provides me with all I need. Now, she has even given me a companion."

She looked back at me and smiled, giving me an affectionate look. So she was all alone? Did she confide in me?

"So, you are the last of the Amazons?"

"It would seem to be that way, yes."

The thought of it was scary, being the only living person on the planet, without family or even friends. I suddenly understood why Sika was taking such good care of me, she was just lonely. If I died, she'd be all alone again. I thought back to a movie I saw about a guy who gets deserted on an island and befriends a volleyball in order to keep himself from feeling lonely. Isolation tends to make people appreciative of others. But I still had questions.

"Surely you cannot be completely alone, right? I mean, what about the barbarians?"

Sika shook her head. "I'm afraid that there are no longer any barbarian tribesmen left. You see, the people of these lands were so fueled by bloodlust, their minds became cloudy. Fathers, paranoid that their sons would someday rise to overthrow them, had their kin slain. Without a new generation of fertile males to bed the Amazonian maidens, they had no way to propagate either tribe."

Wow, this planet had really been through hell.

"I see, so, even though your tribes lived separately, you were totally dependent on each other," even I could piece together how crucial sex was on this planet.

"Precisely, my guest, you are smarter than you let on. My mother, before she was killed by her sister, my aunt, she told me something. Man needs woman, woman needs man'. I can only assume that my father and she were close. So, I decided that if I ever met a man, that I would stand with him. We were taught that we lived apart from men because they were inferior to us. But we failed to realize how much we really needed them..."

Whoa. Was I the man she spoke of so highly? I hoped so.

She sat next to me on the bed, looking me over with those bright blue eyes. Sika looked at me longingly; I could tell that she had been waiting for someone like me to show up for a long time now.

"Would you care for something to eat, Mikhail?"

I hadn't even thought about food since I left the colony. My fur clung tightly to my abdomen, not because I was in good shape, but because my body was resorting to using fat calories. I put my paw over my stomach and felt it rumble. Sika needed no further answer.

"I shall prepare a meal for you and I. Rest while I cook. Do you like shellfish? I caught two crabs in the stream today."

I could've kissed her. Beautiful, smart, athletic and tasteful! What a gal Sika was turning out to be.

"I love shellfish, and I don't use the word love' a lot, believe me."

But Sika frowned at my reply, "What did you say?"

"I love shellfish."

"Love? I'm not familiar with that word. The charm sometimes fails to translate words that aren't found in both languages. What is love'?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was supposed to teach this girl what love meant? How? Then again, it would be rude not to at least try, so I gave it my best shot.

"Love is that feeling you have when...when you feel like...umm, how should I say it? It's kind of like...no, that doesn't sound right..." I trailed off when I noticed her eyeing me with concentration.

"Go on," she demanded.

Finally, I settled on something. "Love is when you would sacrifice everything for one person. Even your own life, if it comes to that. I guess you could say it's the opposite of selfishness."

She giggled, "And you have those feelings for cooked crab?"

She got me. "No, what I meant by that was that I really enjoy shellfish, that's all."

"I think I see your point," said the night-furred girl.

The room sank into silence. The little vocabulary lesson put a bit of a damper on our conversation. Even when I'm the only guy around, I still seem to make myself look like a total idiot. I watched Sika cook over the coals, taking in the smell of a delicious crab meat. It was almost painful to not have her near me anymore. I hoped that the crabs would cook fast, I wanted to eat, and I wanted to talk more with Sika.

When the cooking was done, she wrapped the crab in a leaf so that it wouldn't burn my hand. She sat next to me and we began to chow down. But, the black vixen was silent; I could tell she was thinking about something serious.

"Mikhail? May I ask you another question?"

I swallowed a delicious morsel of crab meat before giving her the go ahead, "Of course, Sika. I'll try to answer it better than the last one."

She laughed and then proceeded to ask it. "I've been thinking about what you said about love'. I think we actually do have something for that in my language. It is called The Soulbinding'. Because men and women are kept separate here, affection is not possible to openly show. In fact, if a maiden is caught with a male outside mating season they can both be put to death. When the women of my tribe coupled with the males in their beds, it is said that they underwent a feeling of absolutely bliss for one another. I believe that this and what you referred to earlier are one in the same. Does that make sense?"

"It does. But love' in my language usually refers to more than just the physical experiences, like sex. Love is supposed to be practiced all the time, not just in bed."

"Oh, I see the difference now, thank you, Mikhail."

I was glad to have answered her question, but I felt like I left her wanting. My answer did not seem to satisfy her hunger for knowledge. And I was about to find out why.

"Mikhail, do you love...me?"

I coughed on some crab meat when she said that. With a great deal of surprise, I looked her in the face. Her magnificent blue eyes were growing watery. She wanted to know. I was scared to answer. But slowly, I told her how I felt.

"I do, Sika. I really think I do."

The next thing I knew, I was being embraced by the vixen with all her might. I put my arms around her, too. I was beginning to think that she loved me back. She almost immediately confirmed it.

"Mikhail, will you stay here with me...and be mine?"

I paused. I had to think clearly. What did I want? The possibility could along someday, someday soon, that I would be rescued. I began to question my rescue myself. If I was found, did I want to be taken home? If I did, would I offer Sika the chance to come with me? I needed to choose my next words carefully. If I said yes, I would probably never be able to go back to my normal life. If I said no, I would break Sika's heart forever.

"Sika..." I trailed off again, scarcely knowing what I was going to say next.

"Yes, love'? What is it you wish to say?"

In reality, I was stalling for time. Time to think. I pondered all the things I could gain, all the things I could lose. Wait, what did I have to lose? A crummy job and a smelly apartment? There were no friends or family waiting for me back home. There was my boss, but he didn't fit into either category. There was no nostalgic feeling tearing at my heartstrings, there was only Sika. I slowly came to the realization that...I wanted to be with Sika...forever.

"Yes, Sika. I will. I will stay here and love you, always."

She held me even tighter. It felt great to be close to her. Her warm chest clung to mine. Her tail gently wrapped around me, as if she was trying to draw my body into hers. Through her touch, I realized how lonely she must have really been. And I'm sure she appreciated the fact that I had decided to stay with her.

"Thank you, Mikhail. I thank you with all my heart."

"Sika, you are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever met. There's no point in me going home now, now that I've had a taste of perfection."

She beamed. "Why, thank you, young wolf. I have never had the chance to meet many barbarians, but I am confident that you are the most handsome."

I laughed, "So I am a barbarian now?"

"You know what I meant, you silly man!"

We both laughed. It was good to hear such a beautiful woman give such a jovial laugh. I was finding more and more things I liked about Sika. She was perfect in every way, a majestic, untamed beauty. Even better, she wanted me! If any other male had landed here beside me, would her reaction be the same? I imagined not, because I imagine anyone else in their right mind would want to get back to civilization.

All this cuddling was making my mind swim with excitement. I looked at Sika with the same longing look she had done. I had never been so appreciated in my entire life. So, I decided that it was time to seal the deal. I leaned forward and kissed her.

To my eternal delight, she kissed back, hard. She locked with me in a delightful embrace. Surprisingly, she took it further than I ever would have imagined. Sika pushed her long tongue into my muzzle and began to tease my own tongue. I heard her give a murr as our tongues danced about, curling around one another. When it was apparent that both of us were running out of oxygen, we broke it.

"I must say, that was quite exciting! It is well that the man Mother Earth has sent me is a good kisser, no?"

I chuckled. "You are pretty good at kissing, yourself, Sika."

I looked to the door flap and noticed that it was nighttime. The sun beams that had come through the door earlier were now gone. Although it was a heated den, I could feel the chill of night creep in. Apparently, my shivering was discovered quickly by the black vixen.

"Are you cold, dear? With those flimsy garments and your short fur, you must not be used to the cold. Never fear, I will make you some new clothing soon. A new pair of hunter's leggings, perhaps? And a vest, too? If you are going to be a hunter, you must dress like one."

Wow. Sika's talents seemed limitless. I wasn't crazy about the idea of wearing anything that didn't include polyester, but she was right, my clothes wouldn't protect me here.

"You make your own clothes?"

She nodded, "I do. Even though I am alone here, it is not proper for a lady to go about naked. Although all Amazons are warriors and hunters first, that is not to say that we do not have our own professions. My mother was a seamstress before she was killed. She taught me how to weave blankets and make hunting and ritual garb. Often, my work was given to the barbarians as gestures. I was going to become a prodigy leatherworker. I even made what I am wearing right now. Do you like it?"

She struck a pose, showing off for me. The leather top and the loin cloth almost looked natural, as if they were part of her body because of how well they showed off her curves. My face reddened, watching Sika parade herself in front of me was quite the site. Finally, I managed to overcome my embarrassment and say something:

"They...uhh...leave little to the imagination."

"Mikhail, I have an idea," said my witty vixen.

"Oh really? Let me hear it."

She gave me a hungry, seductive look. "If you show me how love' works, how about I show you how The Soulbinding works?"

"Sounds like a plan. Who goes first?"

She put a finger on my chest and playfully twirled my chest hairs. "It is rude for a hostess to go before her guest. Please, teach me about this feeling you preach of."

Surprisingly, I already had an answer ready. "Sika, before I came here, I didn't really know where my life was going, but I always appreciated having a roof to sleep under and a bed to sleep in, food to eat and clothes to wear. Food is easily bought instead of killed. If I got sick, I could easily be revived through our medicine. If I wanted to get somewhere, I wouldn't ever have to walk. If I wanted my clothes washed, I wouldn't have to go to a river to do it. If I was bored, I could read a book or play games.

"Despite all that, I wasn't happy. Remember what I said about how love is the opposite of selfishness? Well, I've decided that I'm never going back to my world. I'll give it all up, just for you. Sure, life might be easier back there, but it is nowhere near as meaningful as life is here. So, that is my gift to you, Sika, I will forever be your loyal companion. Through better or worse, we're a team now, you and I."

The significance of my own words shocked me. I felt like I was asking Sika to marry me. "Do you understand how love works now, hon? Can you feel it, here, in your heart?"

I put my hand over her chest, showing her how deep the feeling of love can be. Before I got an answer, Sika had locked with me in another deep kiss. This one was slow and passionate, as Sika was truly amazed by what I had just said. She put her arms around me and held me tight. When we broke the kiss, she whispered in my ear, sobbing.

"Thank you, Mikhail. Thank you for all you have given up for my sake. You are a good man and I am confident that you will make an even better partner in life. I too, love you. I as well will make a sacrifice for you. I will now give to you all that I have left. I will now show you the SoulBinding."

She and I fell into the bed into each other's arms and...

Well, I won't go into anymore details, as you probably could see what was coming from a mile away. That night, Sika and I fell deeply in love with one another. We showed each other that we were willing to give our lives for one another if we had to.

So, I live here now. And despite how life is tougher, it makes more sense to me. Sika and I are madly in love. On sunny days we go bathing in the stream and lay naked on the river bank and let the sun dry us off. When it rains, we stay inside all day and make love to one another. When we get hungry, we hunt and when we get tired, we sleep. When we feel the need to please one another, we...well, you get the idea.

She teaches me how to hunt and fish, how to sew clothes and temper blades, sharpen arrows and make bows. She shows me what things are good to eat and what animals are the tastiest. She shows me how to climb trees and where the best fruits grow. I am slowly reprogramming myself, deleting the old and learning anew.

So, Sika is now my wife. There is no other woman I would rather have filling that position. Apparently, the rite of passage to take an Amazon as your mate here is to spend one night in her house and eat one meal with her. Without realizing it, we did both of those and thus, became betrothed to one another. We decided to start treating our relationship like a marriage, so in the event that I do get rescued someday, we will make the decision to stay or go together. But I can't imagine going back. It would be too hard for Sika to try and adapt to that kind of world. Besides, we are happy here, and we are about to start raising a family.

Oh! That's right! I forgot to tell you, Sika is pregnant. We're expecting a youngling very soon. If it is a girl, then she is going to be named after Sika's mother, Menshii. If it is a boy, we are going to name him "Unico" which means "He who Unites" in Sika's language. Why? Well, he is going to be the first MALE Amazon. That's right, no more divisions. If Sika and I do wind up rebuilding the Amazonian population, males and females are to live together, side by side. It is what Menshii would have wanted. As my mother-in-law, I owe it to her. We are slowly planning how we are going to create a new world here, in the Forest of The Amazons. Hopefully, we can rebuild some of what was lost in the war.

So, that's my story. It isn't terrible interesting or important, but its mine. No, scratch that. It's OURS. What I really didn't expect to come out of all this is that I was rescued. Not from Sika, but by Sika. Sika rescued me from a life that was already lined with misery and despair. She took me in and made me her husband. I am forever indebted to Sika, for all she has done for me. For the first time in my life, I have a purpose; to make Sika (and our future children) happy. There is no greater purpose than that.

I'm going to end the story here, because the other chapters of my life have not yet been written. I can tell you one thing that's for sure: Life is definitely not going to be boring from here on out. Sika is going to make sure of that.

END TRANSMISSION