Author's Note: I just want to lend out my thanks to the folks who were willing to spend a piece of their free time to write down a review for my story. It is great to know that there are those who like my writing. However, to anyone who has not reviewed this yet, but are considering it: Your opinions and constructive feedback mean a great deal to me, and is essential in assuring that this story won't become a bloated pile of worthless doggie-doo. Please take the time to comment, and I will try my best in writing as I always try to do with those comments in mind.

CHAPTER FOUR

In the humongous, unknown world that is the universe, there are few who are willing to venture into the unknown, worried about the potential dangers and such that could bring catastrophe upon civilization. It is because of this fear of the unknown that planetary armies form the Scout Units. These brave souls are truly the few and the proud, for they put their lives on the line without second thought, braving the cold depths of space and exploring the unforgiving, uncharted terrains of far-away planets with only their wits to keep them alive, save for their MPSDs.

It is because of this that the title for the first article of the Doctrine of Scout Units is emphasized greatly: Always expect the unexpected.

Those words had obviously been forgotten by Pathie Zimbogous, for he did not expect to be dodging laser-beam fire from a far-off, camouflaged sentry, nor did he expect any hostile resistance to begin with. In fact, had the initial laser blast not missed his head by an inch, he would've been the victim of a very nasty Buzz cut, minus the usual $12 fee.

After what seemed like an eternity, the albino scout finally dove behind the cover of a few large rocks, his heart racing and his lungs hyperventilating. His face twisted into a combination of fear, shock, and utter bewilderment. He cautiously lifted himself up to peek over the rock, only to throw himself back down to elude the retaliatory assault of concentrated light.

The scout cursed under his breath. "Jeez-Laweez! I almost got burnt to a crisp out there! Computer, where the heck did those laser blasts come from?!"

The disc's display produced a diagram showing pink lines, drawn from the red center point to the far-off cluster of dots. "According to the trajectories, the laser beams originated from the mass of Estroxilium-46."

Hmmm…this planet must consider this chemical valuable, as well. Pathie thought. Strange, I thought my race was the only one to harness Estrox energy. Not that it matters: I've got to incapacitate whatever's operating that laser, before this planet brings up any more vicious surprises!

He barked a command to the MPSD: "Computer, activate the Defense Shield!"

The disc's display retreated back under the cover of its self-morphing, plastic material. A flow of tiny, red particles numbering in the thousands emitted from the top of the MPSD. They stayed close to Pathie's body, orbiting around him like tiny fairies, until they reached a self-designated point on a section of his frame. Once they were all in place, they instantly surrounded the scout in a skin-tight grid of blood red, glowing energy, giving him the visual similarity of a character straight from Tron.

This shield may not protect against physical attacks, but it should be ample protection from that laser. The scout thought.

Here goes nothing!

With iron determination, Pathie Zimbogous jumped over the rocks that protected him and sprinted towards the sentry. He was greeted with more shots of the volatile laser, but they ricocheted harmlessly off the scout's defense, scattering into the sky like fireflies on caffeine. Closer and Closer he came to his target, now without fear, as the blasts of the sentry frantically kicked into high gear, their distinctive "zap" as chronic as the roar of a minigun.

And when the scout was only yards away from his objective, he dove forward, zoomed through the air like a peregrine falcon, and tackled the sentry with the full brunt of his military strength.

"EEEEEEEEK!"

Just as soon as the scout and his assailant impacted into the earth did the sentry let out a blood-curdling scream, causing Pathie's head to shake like a maraca from the sheer amplitude of its cry. His head lurched back from the shockwave of the shriek, as he pinned down his mysterious adversary with his energy-augmented body, with no intention of losing his hold.

AGH! What kind of creature screams with such power?! Thought Pathie, as he tightened his grip around what he assumed to be the sentry's arms.

The creature was supposedly a bit weak, for it did not take long for Pathie to recover from the tactical disorientation. The arms were pinned down without trouble, and the creature's legs kicked around harmlessly, since Pathie's shins were resting upon its main body. The scout was now able to look at its head…but there was little to see, since most of it was covered by the planet's natural earth.

The creature was obviously quite distressed, for it began to wail in a high-pitched, feminine voice, in a tongue of which the albino scout had no knowledge: "Get off of me, you fiend! Doo-Doo Brain! Get away from me! What did we ever DO to you, you…you…you MONSTER?! Why can't you leave us ALONE!?!"

It did not surprise Pathie that his attacker would probably shout (he assumed) derogatory comments at him. The creature had most likely wanted him dead, anyway. Understandable, since he did frighten off a whole city's worth of inhabitants. But the white soldier was ill-prepared for what came into his vision:

The creature opened up two light patches of skin and revealed two large pearls of white and blue, complemented with a deep-black center. They stared into the scout's own eyes, their fiery combination of fear and hatred burrowing deep into his unsuspecting soul. Its gaze fixated upon him for what seemed to be an eternity, until they closed again tightly, the creature now sobbing greatly, its tears mixing with the dirt on its face as they trickled off to the side.

The occurrence sent an eerie feeling of familiarity through his skin. Goosebumps proliferated throughout his flesh, the smooth, microscopic hills multiplying like rabbits. Those eyes…those large, blue eyes…I've seen them somewhere before. But…that would mean- NO! That's impossible! There's no way…is there?

There's only one way to find out.

Keeping an eye on his disabled attacker, he slowly reached for his MPSD and tapped the top of the disc. The red particles surrounding his right hand broke off from its grid and slowly receded back to their home. Now the scout could feel the warm, soft flesh of his aggressor, a sensation that was disturbingly recognizable. He traced his hand to the point where the creature's hand would be. As he did so, the creature's eyes followed the scout's hand like it was poisonous cobra slithering against its body. 

Instead of seeing the common bundle of fingers, he saw something even more recognizable: A round, fingerless stump.

My god…our hands are precisely identical! But there's one thing I haven't checked yet…

Pathie Zimbogous lifted the same hand from the stump and slowly placed it on the sentry's face. It gasped suddenly in fright and closed its eyes tightly, expecting the coup de grace of Pathie's assault. Instead, the scout wiped away the grime and soot that masked the face of the tear-riddled assailant…

…and immediately recoiled away in indescribable shock.

SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL! That's not an alien! That's a girl!! A pretty-faced, blue-eyed girl! The computer didn't pick up sources of Estrox: It picked up a life form of my own race!

I've been fighting against my own species! The species I'm trying to SAVE! How the bloody devil did she end up HERE!? WHY is she here?! And how come, in the entire blasted universe, she ATTACKED me?!

Pathie looked once more at the sad, struggling figure of the young female: Even now, she was dragging her nearly limp body away from the scout, whimpering to herself like an injured canine.

She thought I was going to kill her, the poor thing. He realized, as his stomach wound up into an empty sickening of guilt. She must've somehow evacuated from the planet to cure herself with the Estrox here, and saw me as a potential carrier of the disease. That would explain why the MPSD detected such a high concentration of Estrox: She must've taken too much of the chemical into her system. Now she's as weak as a tiny insect! Well, a tiny insect with laser vision, but still…She must be afraid of everything now. I would be too, if I lost most of my natural defenses.

The girl's not going to survive much longer in her current condition. She needs medical attention. But how am I going to give it to her? She's already quite distressed just by my presence alone! The only way she'll be calm is if I…

His stomach wound up even tighter.

Well, this is just dandy now, isn't it? He thought bitterly.

Pathie brought his MPSD close to his mouth, and quietly, regretfully spoke a disheartening order:

"Computer, activate…the tranquilizer needle."

The red particles surrounding his left forearm disappeared into the plastic disc. Moments later, the MPSD slowly created an opening aligned with the scout's arm. Then, with the loud snap similar to a switchblade, a long, thin, hypodermic needle forcefully protruded out of the hole, its length extending a bit farther than his hand. Extending from a device as strange as the MPSD, the needle looked less like a medical tool administered by a friendly doctor and more like a sharp, merciless weapon wielded by a homicidal maniac.

The sound alone was enough to make the survivor gasp in horror, but when she saw the needle itself, the girl was absolutely petrified.

Pathie approached the young girl cautiously, trying to lessen her discomfort with consoling, reassuring words. "Please don't be afraid, young miss. I'm just going to give you some medicine to help make you feel better. I'm not an enemy. I'm a friend. Everything's going to be ok."

His words were spoken in vain, for the young lady became hysterical as the presence of the long, ominous needle came ever closer to her. "No! Don't come closer! Stay away from me! Get back! Get back! GET BACK!"

ZAP!

Lasers emitted from the girl's two blue eyes, their pretty but dangerous columns of light homing in upon Pathie's exposed right hand. The scout cried out in pain, and pressed the hand close to his body, his teeth gritting vigorously.

Blast it! I almost forgot about those lasers!

The scout dashed towards the frightened girl with the agility and speed of a pursuing cheetah. She tried to fire her lasers once more, but she became powerless to do so when the scout quickly flipped her over upon her stomach and pinned the side of her face to the ground, the rest of her body also pinned down by Pathie's own in the process.

The survivor lost all sense of control. She kicked around her feet and waved her arms like mad, desperate to escape from the scout's strong grasp and the inevitable suffering of the needle waiting to puncture her sensitive skin. She repeatedly cried out "NO!" many times, every time sounding more agonized and terrified than the last, as her eyes literally flowed with salty tears; but the scout's strength was much greater her own. Even if his shield couldn't protect him from her legs and arms, they were simply too weak to cause any damage.

Using his left shin, the white soldier pinned the girl's left arm into position. He positioned the needle inches away from her flesh. With his stomach wrenching and his eyes ready to tear, the scout slowly began to close the gap between the two of them, being careful as to not make the survivor's grief any greater than it already was.

The girl, totally helpless, let out one, last, pitiful cry: "BLOSSOM! BUTTERCUP! HELP ME!"

I know that you are frightened, young miss, The scout thought solemnly, but you leave me with no other-

"YEAAAAARGH!"

The scout's thoughts were shattered like glass when a booming, blood-thirsty war cry violently broke the silence of the ghost town.

"What the- AGH!"

Pathie's body was brutally slammed by two flying streaks of energy, their intense power paralyzing his frame. His body tumbled through the air like an abandoned plush and plummeted onto the unforgiving rocks that had once protected him. They broke apart like a flimsy fortress of cards, and the scout lay in a pile of newly-formed gravel, his head throbbing like the bass of a techno-dance beat.

As the white soldier tried to regain his bearings, he realized that there was a sharp, intense pain within his right arm. He lifted his head up to look at the source: To his lack of surprise, the tranquilizer needle was implanted right through his energy shielding and deep into the said arm, the dosage already flowing into his system.

"Blast…it…" muttered Pathie. And then everything faded to black.