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Future Sanctuary

Chapter 11: Arrival and Departure

The massive crawler leading the convoy of similar mobile metal mountains crests the ridge and rewards the crew stationed on the commend deck with a view of the valley which is to be the new home of the humans on this world. Before their eyes a rich river valley stretches out to the far horizon with lush green foliage and the unfamiliar forms of wild alien animals racing in the distance and stopping to drink from the river. Thomas Johnson, the commander of the crawler, turns to the communications station and lets some of his excitement slip into his voice as he commands, "Radio the command crawler, Land ho! We have spotted our destination, and it is glorious."

The communication officer responds, "Aye, sir!"

The rest of the crew on the command deck of the crawler erupts into cheers as the words are repeated across the airwaves. Several embrace while others give solid smacks on their comrades' backs. As their cheers echo down the corridors of the massive vehicle, other voices are raised in celebration.

The Commander points out an area on the viewscreens, "Helm, head for that large flat area next to the main river. It looks big enough to park the entire convoy with room to spare."

"Aye, sir!" the helmsman responds as his hands flash over the touchplates and he guides the massive tracks of the crawler towards the indicated area.

* * *

In the command crawler Captain Long and Ambassador Ward smile silently as the rest of the crew join other crews throughout the convoy in celebrating the end of their trip being in sight. The three Rathac on the bridge watch the confusion around them with wary glances. Their feline features express uncertainty with lowered ears and nervous twitches of tails and shoulder tentacles as well as furtive glances at the noise and gyrations of the humans around them. The black and red furred Vorga rests a hand on the hilt of his sword and his shoulder tentacles express in readiness for battle, unsure what the commotion is all about.

Yamoti notices the reaction of her Honor Lead to the noise and chaos around them and taps Ambassador Jim Ward on the shoulder with one of her own blue furred tentacles as she uses the other to hold Vorga's blade in its scabbard. "This is a celebration?" she asks in her deep, purring language.

The Ambassador bows his head slightly to Commander Yamoti and smiles with closed lips as he speaks in the same feline language, "Yes, Commander Yamoti. We have word the first crawler has seen into the valley, and the initial report is that it is better than we had hoped for." He bows to her again, lower this time, "The High Mother has truly honored us."

Yamoti returns the bow of respect and signals her Honor Lead to stand down with a calming gesture. Vorga forces his muscles to relax and lets the hilt of his blade drop from his fingers while Kilape looks at the cheering humans with a half-smile of her own. The mood in the compartment is infectious despite the species barrier and she can feel a sense of their excitement.

Vorga looks at her from the corner of his eye and his own lips curl up in a smile of agreement, his head nodding the slightest bit in silent agreement.

* * *

Deep in the bowels of the command crawler two men dressed in full battle gear with face plates lowered to hide their identities march towards the brig. Their combat boots stamp on the metal decking, eliciting an ominous thud with each heavy step in the almost silent corridor. Nearly everyone on the crawler in gathered in the observation bays to view the lands some natives have permitted them to settle.

The guard behind the checkpoint desk looks up from his cameras with shock at the two armored and armed individuals, "What's going on? There's no transfers scheduled for today."

The two visored figures glance at each other before one snatches up his sidearm in a flash of movement and fires two stun rounds into the chest of the security officer who slumps in his seat without a chance to react.

As the shooter holsters his sidearm he orders, "Get him out of there now. The AI will..."

He is cut off as red lights start to strobe in all corridors of the massive crawler while a mechanical voice says, "Alert! Alert! Weapon discharge in engineering! All security teams report to main engineering!"

The second man tilts his head at the leader who smirks, "Just a little re-programing, but we only have about ten minutes before they find out the truth and start searching the entire crawler for who fired those shots. We need to be out of here and in the hanger before they find out where we really are." He flips the pulse-rifle from his back and activates the capacitor to bring the weapon to life and sliding the setting to lethal.

"What are you doing? You said no one would be killed."

The leader looks at his accomplice, "Then hurry up so we won't have to shoot anyone else. Because I'm not sure they won't be so kind to us if they find us."

The second individual starts to bypass the lockout on the console caused by the alarm and with a high pitched whine the energy field blocking off the only occupied cell disengages.

The man lying on the bunk sits up and smirks at the other two, "About damn time. Those alien lovers have had me locked in here for days."

The leader snarls and throws a pack at him, "You're lucky we're doing this at all Gregory. You jeopardized everything with your reckless assault on that cat fucker, Jim Ward. I should leave you here to rot while the rest of us make good our escape as planned."

"Hey now," the other armored figure speaks up, "we don't know Jim is doing that, we just know he's been taken in by their lies. Gregory has impulse control issues, you know that. He almost failed the psych test given to all security personnel, but Jim Ward decided to give him a chance since he was only borderline, not failed. I think that show of faith in a fellow human at least deserves some respect."

The leader snarls, "Yeah, he owes everything to Ward. We should have left him here with his cat fucker buddy." He snaps his fingers at Gregory, "You have one minute to get ready, and then we're leaving with or without you."

* * *

On the bridge of the command crawler the crew is no longer celebrating as they respond to the alarms, "Repeat, the security team reports no signs of hostiles in engineering. They are sweeping the crawler to determine the source of the firing that set off the alarms."

Jim leans over one of the consoles, "Can we do a check on the system. Someone must have tampered with the system to divert the security team that way."

The tech at the console taps frantically at her controls, "We can sir, but that will take the entire system offline while we find the issue. It will hamper the search efforts while the teams are still sweeping for the unknown perpetrators."

Jim looks over at the Captain who is studying the reports on his screen as the various security teams sweep the crawler, "Still no reports of where that fire came from, but team six just reported unusual activity in the hanger. Did we have a group of hoppers ready to do a survey and someone forgot to tell me?"

The science officer, one of the few remaining geologists alive frowns, "No, sir. We've got good orbital pictures of the area and ground penetrating radar will do a much better job of mineral surveying than from the sky."

Jim grabs his helmet from the console and slams it on, "I'll check on it Captain, the security teams are busy searching for the point of conflict still."

Captain Long calls out, "Jim, you're not the head of security anymore, you're an ambassador."

Jim smirks as he backs into the command lift, "Sir, I was born to be a guardian, ambassador is just my day job." He holds up a hand as the Rathac try to follow him, "Wait here. There is an incident going on and I need to look into it. You'll be safe here, if something goes wrong, I don't want you in the crossfire."

Yamoti and Vorga enter the lift anyway and flank Jim while Kilape takes up her subservient position behind her Majoi. "You forget Ambassador Ward, we are warriors," the tall blue furred female says as a tentacle reaches down and releases the clip on a hand-fang holster.

Jim starts to protest but stops himself and shakes his head. "I know I can't talk you out of this, and I bet Kilape needs to come because she is my student. But if the shooting starts, get behind cover. Your armor is good, but not that good. You saw what happened to the Republic's warriors at the blasts from our weapons."

Yamoti and Vorga nod in understanding and the Honor Lead steps in front of Yamoti to shield her with his body if necessary.

Jim's comm-unit comes to life with Captain Long's voice, "Jim, they found the source. It looks like we've got a jail break. Someone shot the officer on duty in the brig with two stun blasts and freed Gregory Ivan. Teams are sweeping the crawler for them. Current suspicion is that they're heading for the hanger bay and the teams are on their way. Be careful in there."

As the lift reaches the hanger bay the doors open on a busy scene as several hoppers are being prepped for takeoff by ground crews. He glances around, noticing most of the people helping prep the hoppers are not normal hanger personnel. He spots the deck-boss going over a checklist to one side of the bustle. "Keith, what's going on here with all the commotion," he asks as he walks over, the Rathac in close support behind him. "The bridge says we're not expecting to launch any surveys. We've already got good orbital maps from satellites."

Petty Officer Keith Sanders snaps off a quick salute, "Sir, I don't know. Orders are all filed with the Captain's signature." He hands the checklist over to Jim and frowns, "I thought it a bit odd myself, but everything appears to be in order."

Jim flips through the pages on the clipboard as he lowers his voice, "Then can you explain why Gregory Ivan just walked onto your hanger deck carrying a pulse rifle?"

The deck-boss turns in shock as the three armored individuals who just walked into the hanger deck raise their guns and open fire in the direction of Jim and the Rathac. The three Rathac take cover as they had been warned to while Jim tackles Keith to the deck as blaster bolts sizzle through the air over them as he shouts to the rest of the hanger bay, "Take cover!"

Several others in the hanger bay pull pulse pistols and shoot those around them with stun bolts. Cries of surprise and pain fill the air while a tinge of ozone tickles the nose from the energy weapons. He isn't surprised to identify the bolts flying in their direction not being the low powered stun bolts, but full power blaster bolts that might even punch through his armor.

Jim pulls his own pistol and flips off the safety as he crouches behind a stack of crates, "Bridge, this is the hanger bay, we're under attack!" He listens for a response and frowns at the static in his comm-unit, "Damn, they've got us jammed!"

A series of bolts scald the blast resistant crates he is crouching behind as he blindly shoves his pistol over the edge and returns fire blindly. He looks back to find Yamoti and Vorga peeking from their cover with their projectile weapons cracking out with bright flashes as the tiny needles of lodestone are accelerated to a small fraction of the speed of light in a fraction of a second.

He sees Kilape come charging from behind her cover roaring and running at him, her fangs and claws bared and her eyes focusing beyond him. He turns in time to see a muzzle shift from him to the closing and enraged Rathac charging the weapon's owner who was about to shoot Jim from a flanking position. Time slows for Jim as his pistol seems to rise far too slow while he watches the muzzle of the pulse rifle flash and the eye searing bolt of energy seems to briefly connect the muzzle and Kilape's stomach. His weapon finally raised he screams a primal roar of his own as he squeezes the trigger and doesn't even wait long enough to see the stun bolt kill the shooter as it strikes him cleanly in his right eye.

Kilape skids to a halt ten feet from Jim, a hand clutching the cauterized wound in her guts as she curls up in pain, her teeth clenched and ears pinned to her head as she tries to hold in the roar of agony. Jim knows just from the brightness of the flash the bolt was set to high power and the wound is likely to be deadly if he can't end the fight quickly and get her to the Menders. He is relieved slightly to see Vorga darting from cover to cover to reach the wounded Kilape as Keith pulls her into cover next to him.

Returning his attention to the battle he is surprised at the slow pace of the world around him as he feels his heart pumping adrenaline through his body to enhance his perceptions. He recognizes the strange feeling from his room, when his senses seemed to be heightened to a level that was beyond anything human. Drawing a second pistol he leaps from cover and runs towards those still firing towards him and his allies. The bolts of energy filling the air seem to move far slower than he knows them to be moving as he ducks, flips, and dodges from cover to cover as bolts impact the cover and decking around him. Before anyone can react fully to his actions three more of the attackers are down with stun rounds causing their muscles to twitch.

He watches three of the heavy cargo hoppers sealing their hatches as the three armored figures that had started everything reach the closest hopper and the engines come up to full power with a loud whine. Several of the shooters are running for the hoppers as they lift and are knocked back by the wash of their thrusters as they accelerate from the hanger bay. "NOOOO!" he shouts as he fires bolt after bolt at the fleeing hoppers as several more armored security officers join him and kneel to open fire at the quickly diminishing flyers with their fully powered pulse rifles.

One of the security team rests a hand on Jim's shoulder which he shoves off as he drops his smoking pistols to the deck and runs back to kneel next to Kilape as Vorga works to stabilize her. "Kilape?!" he shouts as her face is slack and he searches for a pulse at her neck. He finds a pulse, but it is weak and thready under his fingers. "No damnit!" he shouts while raising his comm-unit to shout into it, "Trauma team to hanger bay now! Now do you hear me, NOW!" he shouts without realizing that the comm-unit on his wrist was hit by a glancing blaster bolt and is half slagged.

Again hands try to pull him from the scene and he shoves them off as he watches Vorga working frantically. He sees the black and red furred male extend one of his tentacles and a wicked claw extend from the end which he uses to slash his arm where he removed his gauntlet. Letting his blood drip on the burned wound he starts to chant something in words that Jim can't translate. Not because he can't understand them, his mind just tells him there is no human equivalent.

A voice in his ear makes him pause, "Vorga is doing what he can, let him."

Jim turns slowly to see Yamoti leaning over him and with firm hands she pulls him out of the way so that a medic from one of the security teams kneels and starts pulling out medical insturments. "Come Jim, you are not a Mender, step back and let those who are Menders fight her current battle. This is not one which can be won by blade and fang."

Jim lets himself get pulled from Kilape and a few minutes later three red furred Menders are escorted at a run into the chamber. The human medic observes as the Menders kneel and take over the treatment from Vorga who collapses into the arms of one of the Menders. Jim recognizes her from the formal dinner they had attended with the High Mother. It's Kiya, Vorga's betrothed, now wearing only the red loincloth of a Mender as she holds her future mate and tries to help him recover after pushing his very limited skills so hard.

One of the Menders slashes his own arm and lets the blood drip into the wound while the other female places both her hands and tentacles around the charred wound. "Her heart is failing," says the medic with a voice too calm for Jim who struggles against the strong grip of Yamoti. The medic taps a few keys on the device strapped to his right hand, "CLEAR!" At his shout the other security pull the Menders away as the medic leans over and ripping open off her charred tunic he places the device over her heart and there is a thump as Kilape's body jerks in convulsions. "We have a beat, continue," he says as he withdraws his hand and the officers let the Menders return to their interrupted work.

The male Mender presses a hand over Kilape's heart and nods as he reads her heartbeat, "It is stronger, but she's not safe yet." The female nods in agreement and takes his bleeding arm and holds it over the wound again before returning to her meditation of healing.

Jim turns towards a group of armored figures as familiar voices intrude on his senses, "Yes, sir. We have twenty-six people missing." The private is making his report to Chief Jenson. "Current suspicion is they all absconded with the three stolen hoppers. Another sixteen have been arrested, three more are dead from stun blasts that hit vital areas."

"Our casualties?" the Chief asks.

"Forty-seven stunned, a couple of scrapes and bruises, but the only critical is the Rathac," the private reports to a tilt of his head towards the commotion around the wounded felinoid.

The Chief nods and orders the private, "Get those sixteen in the brig, separate cells. I want double security on duty in the brig until further notice. We will not have a repeat of this incident again."

The private snaps a salute and receives one in return before running off to carry out his orders. The Chief steps next to Jim and gives him a polite nod, "God above, I'm sorry Jim. I don't know how this happened, but it looks like we just had a mutiny."

Jim nods silently as he returns his attention to the action around Kilape. The two Menders that were working on the tan felinoid now sit slumped back, supporting each other and panting for breath. The male lifts his gaze to Jim, "Ambassador, she should live, but she will need to be monitored for the next several segments until we can sure she is stable." He shakes his head, "These weapons are so unnatural, the damage they do is extensive and she was hit in a very serious location."

Jim nods, "Chief, would you have Kilape moved to the emergency ward with the other Rathac so the Menders can keep an eye on her."

Chief Jenson nods, "Certainly Ambassador." He makes a few quick hand gestures and two of the security team standing around start putting together a mobile stretcher to carry the oversized alien feline.

Yamoti kneels next to Vorga and Kiya, the red furred female looks up at the blue furred commander, "He is weak Commander, but he will recover. He pushed himself too hard. It could have killed him. He will need time to recover."

Yamoti nods and pats the young Mender on the hand where it cradles the armored form of Vorga against her slim form. "Do not worry child, he will have as much rest as he needs. I think he is the only reason we didn't lose one of our numbers today. He knows the Mender code, all life is precious, even that of a Kilape."

Kiya nods and buries her face in the sweaty hair of her future mate, "I'll take care of him Commander."

Yamoti stands and catches the eyes of Jim on their quiet exchange. Jim gives her a bow of respect, "I wish to thank you for the efforts of Vorga. Though Kilape she is, she didn't deserve to die having just learned that personal sacrifice for someone else is one of the highest acts of devotion one can give."

Yamoti nods with agreement, "Jim, do you think those who left will be a problem?"

Jim looks towards the still gaping hanger doors, "I don't know, but I know I will never forgive them. If they had just waiting they could have left without all this violence after we settled and people setup homesteads." He looks around the hanger bay and its current disarray, "Now, we need to clear this up and be ready for what is to come, no matter what it is."

* * *

On the bridge the sensor tech watches the three hoppers fly off into the unclaimed wilderness north of the Republic. "They're off the screens, sir," she tells Captain Long who still sits in his command chair and frowns as the leans forward supporting his chin in his intertwined fingers.

Sitting upright the Captain presses a button on his armrest, "As of this date, those who left the command crawler taking three hoppers and unknown quantity of supplies are designated pirates. Their hostile actions against fellow crew of the Maiden's Voyage have labeled them thus. AI, draft that into a formal order and distribute it on all the information channels."

The AI responds, "Yes, Captain."

Captain Long looks around the command deck of the crawler, "Does anyone disagree with this decision? You may speak freely without fear of punishment."

The crew look at each other before the senior officer on the bridge addresses the Captain, "Sir, I think we would all like to stand them up in front fo a firing squad for what they did. They have demonstrated clearly enough that they are hostile to us and our new allies."

Captain Long nods with a small smile, "Let the order stand then."

All characters unless otherwise stated are the intellectual property of Chris Gilman [aka. Goliath Wildcat] Story © Copyright Christopher Gilman 2014 all rights reserved tell me what you think