CHAPTER 8: Inuyasha's Greed and the Gang's Starvation

Author's Note: this chapter is just after the final showdown with Chimera (see "Loose Ends" by Evl5011). Inuyasha & co. (with KOUGA) come back! (YAY!!!!)

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER . . .

They were starving. Actually, starving isn't the most accurate word here. How about… "Famished". Hmmm. There's a better word.

They were famished. Kagome, Sango, Mirouku, Kouga, Inuyasha, Shippo –– wait a minute. Inuyasha wasn't famished OR starving! If it hadn't been for him, none of them would have been starving! They were too far into unknown territory to go to a nearby village to restock, and they were on their way to investigate Inuyasha's flying saucer that he claimed to have seen almost a month earlier. He only remembered it now because the weapons and explosives that Chimera had at his disposal reminded him of his encounter with the flying thing that blasted through Yura's web so long ago.

"So tell me again, dogturd," Kouga spat. "Why the hell did you eat all of the FOOD?!?" Kouga was really giving Inuyasha the heat for his crime. Kouga had his wolf pack on the hunt right now, but they hadn't had any success. Inuyasha almost wished that Kagome would 'sit' him so hard that he'd pass out, so he wouldn't have to listen to Kouga's voice.

"Kouga, could you PLEASE stop talking about food?" Shippo whined softly. "We're already hungry enough as it is." The little fox demon had already collapsed twice from hunger, so Inuyasha was carrying him.

"Just a little longer," panted Sango. "Just a little farther." They were following a freshwater creek to the top of a mountain so they could get their bearings and locate the nearest village, where they could restock their supplies. She looked at the next overhanging boulder with disdain. Each boulder and outcropping meant one more slope before the top. Sango looked around herself, as though there would be comfort in the environment. On the bright side, the forest that they were passing through provided shade from the relentless sun. The cool breeze from the waterfall was refreshing, the sound of the water splashing on the pool calming for the soul. So, they had stopped for a drink. But a drink of water will never make up for a steaming plate of hot rice, not to mention a whole meal.

Mirouku, the monk, was sitting on his knees, meditating at the water's edge. It was a very peaceful scene. Shippo was down on his belly, lapping up as much water as he could. If not for his unusually pale complexion, he might have been cute.

Kagome was refilling the canteens with Kouga, while Inuyasha had his whole head under the water, as if he was looking for fish. Maybe he was. Kagome was not interested in fishing here because the water was so shallow that anyone could tell that the fish were way too small to be useful in any way: they were the size of well fed minnows (about the size of your pointer-finger).

When Kagome and Kouga finished refilling the canteens, they were ready to go.

"Miss Kagome," called Mirouku, who was still sitting in meditation. "Why not just send two of us ahead to the top of the mountain. Then they can come back to tell us what they saw."

"Good idea," Kagome replied. "You and …" she paused as she made her decision. "…Kouga. You two can go to the top and have a look around."

About half an hour later, they were there. And they were not alone.

MEANWHILE, AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN . . .

Lieutenant Simmons' patrol, consisting of herself, Lt. (j.g.) Sven ch'Shree, Ensign Walter "Walt" McKaskey, Ensign Sherri Hampton, Ensign Fredrick "Freddy" Schrew (sounds like 'shrew'), and Crewman (1ST Class) Sean "Sharpie" Sharppe were playing it cool, having a fireside cookout for lunch, instead of doing their patrol duty. The captain had not been too harsh when he made his rounds, keeping everyone on their toes, but he had been warning everyone that something or someone was coming; his instincts said so. The scary part was that his instincts tended to be right.

This time seemed different, though. It had been a little over nine weeks since they arrived in this solar system, and four weeks since they crashed. Nothing had happened since then, and no one had come by. Anyway, the guys liked to hang out together during off time. Sometimes they'd go to ten-forward, or someone's quarters, or the holodeck. But this time, they considered themselves lucky: it was nigh a rare occasion that they had a chance to get together planetside. Even the best holo-programs were not nearly as good as the real thing. Their picnic cookout on top of a mountain was the perfect evidence if they ever needed to make a case of the issue. Their campfire was blazing nicely, and the food was turning out better than they had expected. Their orders were to remain on guard duty for the next six hours, making sure no one came anywhere near the remains of the Columbia until they were safe on the other side of the Federation border. Of course, after the first four days of humdrum guard-duty, they were lulled into a false sense of security. They still had their phaser rifles with them, because that's SOP for security teams, but those were lying five feet away at the foot of a nearby tree. An observer would only be able to tell that they were guarding the saucer because they wore camouflage outfits.

None of them had expected to see anyone other than themselves.

KOUGA . . .

When Kouga reached a spot where he could see the other side of the mountain, he couldn't believe his eyes. Mirouku was right behind him, but Kouga forgot he was even there. They were both gaping at the huge, saucer lying in the valley below them.

"Oh my gosh," mumbled Kouga. This thing was bigger than anything he'd ever seen before in his whole life! It spanned the width of the valley, and was neatly wedged into the opposing mountainsides of the valley about 100 feet below! Mirouku and Kouga were speechless at the sight of it. The saucer was easily as wide as the length of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier including the flight deck (a nuclear carrier has a 4-acre flight deck positioned 6 or 7 stories above the ocean surface. RESOURCE: http:www.navy.mil)!

All of these thoughts and sights were forgotten when the delicious smell of roasting shishkabob came wafting downwind right to them.