Chapter 4

In a bunker deep below the war department in a small office a grizzly sat behind an old steel desk chewing on a cigar. His uniform sported five stars on the epaulets of each shoulder. Brigadier General Duncan Woodland. Commander of the northern forces, decorated war hero, he had a chest full of meddles to prove it, Now in command of the War department's Black Opps devision, Sky Hammer. Studying the tactical maps on his desk and cross referencing them with the Intel reports made him all the more frustrated. Coordinating clandestine support of the dissident factions in the south as well as monitoring the Midland Intel network of covert operatives. Useful as it may be, it wasn't wading through the ranks of dead Southerners, the smell of clingfire heavy in the air, ah, the good old days. The report that was to come across his desk would threaten the balance of power in the tr-contantal region.

#

Sitting in the commissary, a cup of coffee in his paws long since gone cold, Ron and Sheri sat in silence, having a hard time warping his mind around what he had just witnessed back in the lab.

"Sheri, I don't know where to begin. It looked, _ They _ looked like images from my darkest nightmares. I honestly don't Know how R & D can possibly be of any help with this." Ron said, taking a swig of his coffee and making a face realizing it was cold. "What _ are _they... What were they.. I can't tell what kind of furs they were. how ?..." Ron said feeling at a complete loss.

"We have a Vixen, a Wolf, and an Otter. At least that's what they were, when they had brought them in." Sheri said, shaking her head. "We got them 3 days ago when the Northern Latitude Medical Center Shipped them over. All three were admitted with high fevers, Traditional cooling methods proved... Ineffective. All three went into convulsions. They then induced Cryogenic Hypothermia. Risky, but they felt they were running out of options. They then packed them into Haz-Mat Containment units, they shipped them over to us. Being the leading facility for Bio-Medical research, they felt we were their last hope. The frightening thing is, the Cryonics only brought their temperature down to near normal. We installed them in the level 5 bio-lab and over the next three days... well you've seen the result."

# #

A one eyed weasel, a scar running across his face dressed in a black uniform rapped on his commanders door. "Enter!" The General growled.

The weasel snapped to attention before the desk.

"Report" The bear ordered.

"Sir, The genie has escaped the bottle.."

#

"Case 11750, Male, Ursa Arctics, approximately 25 summers, Cause of death..." the Hyena paused to consult the death certificate. "Cause of death, unknown: Radiation poisoning suspected." He said reaching over to test that theory, and came away with a pawfull of white fur.

"Interesting." he said.

#

"911! my wife has just collapsed!"

The panicking Skunk yelled into the paw set of the phone. his bride crumpled in a boneless heap halfway to the bed.

"What? 176 East Maple, Please hurry she's burning up!"

The wail of sirens could be heard in the distance.

End of Chapter 4