T'sak glanced at the monitors. Within five hours the damage done to the ooman would be repaired but until that time T'sak would put off the thought of what he was going to do with the ooman now that he had him. The dog lay in a corner, occasionally thumping its tail whenever the ooman stirred. Dogs were strange creatures. T'sak waited till he was sure the ooman would not awaken while he was away and then he left his ship. He returned to the place where he had killed the monster and very skillfully he cleaned off one leg, with the claws attached. This he would mount on his wall.

When he returned to the ship he found that the dog had moved. It was now lying in front of the chamber wherein its master lay. The dog whined softly and put one of its paws against the glass. It turned its head toward T'sak as he approached and slunk back into its corner. T'sak watched the dog. Not quite sure what to make of its behavior. He could tell that the animal was worried about the ooman and cared about him. Cared enough to entrust his master's recovery to a total stranger, who wasn't even an ooman.

T'sak scanned the readings he had taken of the ooman. The young hunter was built strongly; his bones still weaker compared to a Yautja but with the proper training that could be overcome. Where muscle failed cunning could win. T'sak shook his head and paced. What was he thinking? Was he even seriously considering, even for a moment, of taking the young ooman and training him as he had his son? The very idea was outrageous if not laughable. The council would mock him. His clan would outlaw him. Or would they? He was, after all, the firstborn of the head of his clan. His father would support any decision he made, even if that decision was adopting the ooman as his son.

T'sak glanced at the ooman who floated in the healing tank. Could this young one replace his son? Could he succeed where his son had failed? Would his First Hunt be the beginning of a great career or his last?

But no. What if the ooman had family? He just couldn't take him. There might be oomans in the village who depended on him, why else would one so young be allowed out to hunt on his own?

T'sak set his scanner on the ooman villages. He would wait and see if anyone came out looking for the injured hunter.

Jake awoke with a mild headache and his eyes blinked a few times before they began to focus. His body felt as though he had been run over again and again by a monster truck. And then he remembered. The water monster, its teeth sinking into him as it grabbed him and dragged him below. After that his memory was fuzzy. He remembered the pain. Water filling his lungs and choking for air.

Jake looked around. It was very dark. Where was he? Had the monster taken him back to its den? He had heard that there were creatures that did that. If they had previously eaten they would wound their prey and drag them back to their den to eat them at a later time. He heard a strange sound and shuddered. Was the creature coming to finish him off? Jake knew it would not be a quick death, nor would it be painless. Then he felt something licking his face and he gasped in surprise.

"Samurai?" His voice cracked and he tried to bring his eyes to focus on his dog and when they finally did he realized that Samurai was not the only thing in the room. Standing behind Samurai, looking down at him, was a very tall creature but Jake realized suddenly that it was an intelligent lifeform for it wore armor. Where the heck was he?

The creature looked at him from behind a mask and tilted its head toward the dog. Cautiously, the creature put a hand out and rested it on Samurai's head. Jake was shocked when his dog wagged his tail at the touch. But he was even more surprised when the creature looked back at him and spoke.

"Suh-moor-i?"

Blinking from shock Jake nodded and finally found his voice. "Yes, that's his name." Did the creature understand him? Jake hoped that it did for he had never taken How-to-Communicate-With-a-Member-of-an-Alien-Species 101 class. He had no idea what to do or what the creature(person) wanted with him.

"What…do…it…mean?"

Well, somebody had taught the fellow English, or maybe, being as advanced looking as it was, it had learned on its own. "It means, more or less, warrior."

The creature threw its head back and barked a strange sound that Jake finally realized was laughter. What was funny?

"You…name…dog…war-your? Ha!" The creature walked to some monitors, still laughing, and Jake slowly sat up to see where he was. He was lying on a metal table in a lab type room. Most likely on the creature's ship.

"Where am I?"

The creature paused and looked back at me. "On…ship. I find…you…I fix…you mend…whole again."

Jake took that to mean that he was healthy and slung his feet to the floor. He winced from the pain that action cost him. Well, his wounds had healed but it seemed he would still be sore for a few days.

"You…rest." The creature said, walking back to him.

"No, I must get back. I don't know how long I've been out but I've got to get back. They'll be worried."

"No…one…was." The creature said and Jake froze.

"What?" The creature placed one of his reptilian hands on Jake's shoulder and Samurai withdrew, getting a feeling that whatever was going on was too deep for a dog to understand.

"I watch…town. No one…come…to…look…for you."

***

T'sak watched the ooman as he took in what he had said. To be told that no one from your own village looked for you when you did not return had to be the saddest thing a hunter could ever here. It meant that they only thought of him as a source to help feed themselves, nothing more.

"How do you know?" The ooman asked and T'sak explained that he had watched the town. Three older hunters had come out and gone hunting and then returned to the village. No one had come looking for him.

T'sak knew, without asking the ooman, that he had no relatives or dependants. Surely if he had they would have sent someone to look for him. The ooman was alone, friendless, on a dangerous planet. T'sak's mind was made up, now, all he had to do was convince the ooman that he would be better off with him.

"Ooman…you come…with me. Give you…home…train you…teach you. Be war-your. Be hunter. Be strong. Be…my son."