Dawn broke over the Hercor plains, washing light over the Republic encampment and the town above. Though the activity of the camp never stopped, it increased now as soldiers woke up to the blaring notes of Reveille.

Inside the command dome, however, van Horn slept behind the holotank control console, his jacket bunched up underneath his head. The two NCOs on duty during the night hadn't minded him when he had explained that his friend had needed some time alone, and so he had gotten an uncomfortable, but acceptable night's sleep on the plastic undercoating that served as a crude floor to keep dirt out of the dome.

A sudden, light kick to his ribs, however, woke him up with a start. He rose right off the deck and had a combat knife unsheathed and at the ready as he used his momentum to roll himself into a crouch.

Standing in front of him was Lieutenant Vickers and behind him, Major Kujira. Van Horn blushed and stood erect, sheathing his knife. "Sorry 'bout that," he said and saluted. "Sirs."

They returned the salute. "Enough of that, Doc," Kujira said bemusedly. "Now, what were you doing sleeping on the floor in my command shelter?"

Van Horn blushed again. "Uh, well. It's kind of a long story..." He rubbed his sore neck and pondered for a second. "Uhm, Alexis, she had some sort of fight with her family, and slept in the tent. I figured she needed to be alone."

Both of the officers nodded, knowing looks on their faces. "Well, so long as you can perform your duties, I don't care if you sleep upside down," Kujira said in an amused tone. Then his face went blank, and his voice turned into that of a commander. "So, Doctor. I understand that your little chat with the prisoners last night went worse and better than you had hoped?"

Van Horn shrugged. "Sort of. I really should have waited until this morning to do any interviews, but at least we have a beginning of an understanding for the locals under the Wobbies' thumb."

Kujira harrumphed, and he walked over to the plotting table, which prompted Vickers and van Horn to follow. The latter noticed that the two noncoms from last night had been replaced with the morning watch, and that these new arrivals had brought a pot of coffee in with them. Must've been unpacked last night, van Horn thought as his stomach growled a bit. Lucky bastards.

The three soon stood around the table, and Kujira placed his noteputer on it. "There's the info you uploaded into the battlenet last night. Now, is there anything else that you'd like to add?"

Van Horn's mind was a bit fuzzy still from waking up, and he blinked. "Uhm... I don't think so... Wait." He shook his head. "There was this one lupar, I asked a guard to keep watch on him."

Kujira nodded. "I was hoping you'd remember that, because my man sure did." He tapped his noteputer. "How come that isn't in here?"

Van Horn frowned. "That was after I had turned my recorder off, after Dan- Err, Corporal Castellano had treated the wounded native." He took in a deep breath, trying to concentrate, despite the alluring smell of coffee. "The lupar that had come up to get my and Captain Tanaka's attention came back out, and thanked us both for actually listening to him, unlike the Wobbies." He smirked a bit, but then that expression faded. "Captain Tanaka left, and I introduced myself to the lupar. His own introduction left me... Suspicious."

"Oh?" Kujira asked with a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

Van Horn reached up to scratch behind his head. "Well, he introduced himself as one 'Senmar Farkas.' I hope you'll recognize the last name."

Kujira nodded. "A relation of your friends?"

"Yes. In fact, if he's telling the truth, he's their sibling... Who was supposedly killed during one of the early Wobbie assaults." Van Horn replied.

At this, both Kujira and Vickers raised an eyebrow. "Well... That is an interesting claim." The former said.

Vickers frowned. "Is it possible, Doc?"

Van Horn tilted his head, confused. "It might be. When I talked to Mikula and his family, they said that a family friend had seen a piece of stone fall on him," van Horn said with a shrug. "But who knows, it might have missed him."

"Or the Wobbies have an informant of some kind, and this is an attempt by them to get an agent in." Kujira said in a monotone.

Van Horn nodded. "Yes sir. That was my initial worry last night, and that's why I had Private-" He paused and frowned. "Well, I honestly can't remember his name now. But I asked him to keep an eye on that lupar."

Vickers nodded. "Good thinking on your feet," he complimented van Horn, and then turned to Kujira. "Well, Major, what do you think?"

Kujira frowned slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. "I am not sure. I frankly don't see how the Wobbies could have found out about this dead relative, known that he was, in fact, a relative of someone tied into our command structure, and find a native trustworthy enough to implement it."

Van Horn nodded again. "Yeah. I kinda thought about this last night... But you can't be too careful."

Kujira nodded. "Oh, certainly. Your order was sound," Kujira said, but then frowned a bit. "However, next time, please inform an officer in the chain of command, so that we can tighten security."

Van Horn blushed slightly and angled his view at the card table, embarrassed at missing that idea. "Yes sir."

Vickers sighed. "So, what do we do about this little problem?"

Van Horn looked up. "Well, we have a simple way of seeing if he is who he says he is."

Kujira blinked. "Of course. His family - alleged family, anyway - is right here."

Van Horn nodded. "Yes sir. I was going to have either of our two lupar friends come and help me with the debriefings today, since a friendly face might help the locals loosen up."

Kujira nodded. "Very well. Get started on that right away. In the meantime," Kujira looked over at the comm. station. "I will have the patrols increased and the garrison at the detention area doubled."

Alexis woke up, her mind a jumble. Images of half-remembered dreams flashed through her mind as she sat up on the cot and gathered in her surroundings. Then her memory came back, and she sighed deeply. It wasn't a dream... Or nightmare, she thought sadly as she stood up and stretched. Then she realized that she was alone in the tent, and wondered where van Horn was.

Might as well go look for him, she thought. She didn't know what else to do, save go look for Mikula. But he's in the town, and I don't want to go there. So she felt over her uniform, making sure that it wasn't in too bad a shape, and then she tried to straighten her hair out a bit.

Alexis managed to get her hair decent, and then she bent over to the small footlocker that the Rodger Young's quartermaster had issued her. She still marveled at how much her new friends strove to help, or even at the fact that they had so much material wealth that they could just assign stuff to her.

Earl says that it's temporary, and as soon as I am no longer helping them, they'll take most of this stuff back, she remembered as she reached into the locker and pulled out a service cap that had also been given to her. Not that I'd mind. I certainly don't need all of this just to be a-

Suddenly, she stopped, half erect and the cap sitting on her head between her triangular ears. What was she going to do now? Alexis turned and sat on the cot as she pondered this. After what happened last night... I can't go back to that, she thought with a mixture of emotions. Not just my family, but also that way of life. What's the point? Spend all my time farming, running a house, when there are so many strange, wonderful things to see? To learn? She shook her head. But then, what else is there?

Then she thought of Mikula, and sighed. I do love him... I know that's not just a product of events and circumstances. And I know he loves me... But what does that mean, in the long run? She thought sadly. Could we really have any sort of future together, when our two races are forever distrusting each other?

She stood up and shook herself a bit to get her fur underneath her clothes to lay more flat, it having been mussed up during the night. But then, who could have thought that lupar and gatón could have cooperated together to form a caravan, and move all this way, and then build a town together? These thoughts gave her a bit of hope as she walked out of the tent and into the sunlight.

Alexis paused in motion and thought as she let her eyes and ears adjust. Quickly, however, she could see around her, and noted the other tents' flaps were open, and their insides empty. The sound of machinery working came from the east, and human voices rang all around.

Alexis heard one set of voices clear, as they sang in concert with each other. Intrigued, she walked away from the command dome and to the end of the tent rows. Once there, she let her ears guide her eyes to the source of the singing.

What she saw was Vickers' Vanquishers being led around by their sergeant on a cadence run. Alexis then remembered that she had seen the human soldiers at NeoTokyo doing the same thing, and then remembered why they were doing it. To stay in peak physical shape. She watched them jog around the perimeter that was marked with standing battlemechs, passing the clan-tech-upgraded Centurion that stood two hundred meters south of the encampment.

Alexis spent a few moments looking at the troopers as they jogged, and she wondered what they did before joining the army? What would they do afterwards? She sighed and turned around, intending to see if van Horn might be in the command shelter. I wonder... What did they do? What did their families do? She decided to ask Dan or John or even Jennifer, if she was feeling better.

Then she reached the dome. At the door, Alexis reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her ID and gave it to the guard to verify. The man scanned it as a matter of routine, and smiled as he handed it back. "You're clear, Miss Hurano."

"Thank You." She said and stepped through the doorway. Inside, she again paused to let her eyes adjust to the different light level. Soon, she made out the room, and saw Lieutenant Vickers, Major Kujira, and two other officers that she didn't recognize standing around the small holotank.

Feeling trepid, but unsure of where else she could go and not be too much underfoot, Alexis walked up slowly. The three men and one woman turned as she approached. Alexis saluted, since she had seen van Horn do it a lot when he was in the presence of these kinds of officers.

The startled looks and smiles she got from the group confused her, but she got a return salute from Kujira. "Specialist Hurano. Is there a problem?" He asked.

Alexis felt her stomach twist. I really have no idea what I'm supposed to do she thought with a tinge of panic. Why didn't I just wait in the tent?

Because that's what father would have you do. The thought hit her, and she paused for a moment, stunned at it. Then Kujira repeated his question, and she blinked. "My apologies. I was looking for Dr. van Horn, since I have no orders for today."

Kujira and the two unknown officers nodded slightly, seemingly approving of her initiative. Vickers didn't nod, but spoke next. "Well, he went up to Hercor to bring back Mikula and Pavlo back down so they can help interrogate the lupar who were with the Blakest army."

Alexis' heart fluttered a bit, hearing that Mikula would be back soon, even if he is going to be busy. "I see. Well, should I go and wait for him somewhere?" She asked, and again the thought of what her father would approve of entered her head, and it made her add something else. "Or, is there a way I can be of help right now?"

Kujira nodded slowly. "Indeed there is." he turned to the woman and indicated her with a hand. "This is Captain Tanaka, my second-in-command," he introduced her, and then turned to face Alexis again. "Since there are only four interpreters between us and your people, we're kind of nervous that some misunderstanding might arise and one of you might not be close enough to help. So I want you to help the good captain to learn some basics of the languages here on this planet."

Alexis saw Tanaka give Kujira a dirty look, which he seemed to ignore. He then continued. "However, she is still working on her 'mech, so she can't be in two places at once. Therefore, I want you to go with Captain Tanaka and try and get her to learn a few words in between her grease-monkeying."

Tanaka gave Kujira another dirty look, and this time the Major deigned to look at her and giver the captain a small smile. Tanaka, however, broke off her look with a sigh. "All right, major, if you want this so bad." She turned to Alexis. "But she'll have to do some grunt work while she's there. After all, I can't be concerned with everything while I'm doing two things at once. I wonder if she's up to it?"

They paused, and Alexis realized that they were giving her a chance to back out. But then, how could I? I already said I wanted to help out in some way, and I won't go back on what I've said. She took in a breath. "That sounds fine to me, Captain."

Kujira and Tanaka nodded. "Very good," the former said. "You'll leave with the captain after she's done with our little planning session here. For now, go get some breakfast in the mess tent."

Alexis nodded. "Yes sir," she said and then, because it felt right, she saluted again. Again, Kujira returned it and Alexis turned about to walk out, not realizing that she had breeched a bit of military code by not waiting to be dismissed. Fortunately, Kujira wasn't too much a stickler for regulations, depending on the circumstances.

Thus, Alexis stepped outside the shelter, and took in a deep breath of fresh morning air as her eyes readjusted to the brighter light outside. As she let out her breath, Alexis felt a bit of weight lift off of her shoulders.

She realized that it was because she had made an important decision without having to consider anyone else's views, and that it was only the second time in her life that she had truly been able to make one. The other time was when we were heading out to catch the kurrnaki, and Earl asked me whether I wanted to go back or not. Now, just as then, she had acted for herself, and it felt good.

Then her stomach growled, and Alexis decided that she would need time to think about her circumstances anyway. I might as well be eating while I do so, she mused and headed off to find the mess tent.

Van Horn walked up the ramp that led to Hercor proper. He knew the upper gates had to be open, because youngsters from the town, lupar and gatón alike, were strung up and down the ramp in little clusters, staring at the new things sitting at their figurative feet. They all gave him wide-eyed looks as he passed by, apparently impressed that any of the men below would bother to walk up to see their town. Occasionally, he would pass a parent either dragging their kid back up to town by their tail, or one heading downwards in a huff looking for said child. They gave him a wide berth as much as possible, and van Horn wondered if any of them even recognized him from when he had been at the town before.

He reached the gates after a time, and saw that they were indeed open. A pair of lupar guard, in their full armor, stood on either side. They had their usual spears, but they didn't even bother to move them as van Horn approached. Instead, they simply nodded a greeting to him and stood at their usual posts.

So, I guess some people do remember me, van Horn thought as he smiled in greeting at both guards and then walked through the ornate gates. On the other side, the upper courtyard was mostly empty, save for a set of guards in armor. They were just sitting, however, at the far side, apparently stationed for extra security, but relying on their comrades up front.

Sloppy, van Horn thought. We'd never have that kind of standing guard like that. He shook his head slightly as he picked an alley that would lead to the Maegister's house, where he knew that, once again, Forbasa and Tiana would be quartered until the locals could go back to their own, new town.

Which ought to be today, van Horn realized. Nothing much in the way of any threats, so far. The Wobbies won't be coming after us too soon, not until they know what's here. He sighed a bit. Well, first thing's first. Get Mikula and Pavlo, get them down to the prisoner compound, and see if that's really their brother. He had already decided to not tell them, since they might become too hopeful and prejudiced if he said anything.

After a bit, he came to the Maegister's house, and saw that it had more than just the Farkas family boarding there. Several lupar and gatón he didn't recognize walked in and out of the two entrances, and he could see a couple more inside the windows upstairs and down. That Varner guy did strike me as a decent sort, van Horn thought as he walked towards the building, making a few last minute adjustments to his gray M.I. uniform.

As he closed with the building, the natives around him straightened up and moved to give him a wide berth. Van Horn sighed mentally, and just walked into the foyer just past the main entrance. Inside, as he expected, he found more locals moving about. One lupar paused near him, and van Horn spoke. "Excuse me, boy, but can you tell me where Tiana Farkas is staying?"

The lupar looked a bit surprised but nodded. "Yes, she's upstairs, to the right, at the end of the hall." He said and nodded his head. "Now, please excuse me."

"Thank you," van Horn said and stood aside so that the lupar could pass. He made his way up the stairs carefully, as they were, of course, a bit smaller than he was used to. He made his way to the top landing, and turned right and walked into the hall.

And he nearly ran into Mikula as he came from the opposite direction. "Oh! Earl, what are you doing here?"

Van Horn smiled a bit. "Well, sorry to bug you, but duty calls." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I need you and Pavlo to come down with me and help with the debriefing of the lupar that we caught helping the Wobbies. Just so that we can be sure that none of them will want to fight us, you know."

Mikula nodded. "Well, we were just about to leave, anyway, as Mother wants us to see what kind of home she has now down in the new town." He shrugged. "But no matter, it can wait."

Van Horn sighed. "The story of the soldier's life. 'It can wait.'"

Mikula chuckled as he turned around. "Indeed. Well, let me get Pavlo and make our excuses to our mother, and we'll be coming along."

Some time later, Alexis grunted as she lifted a piece of myomer and handed it to one of the technicians working with Tanaka. Her hands and lower arms got covered in the red grease that myomers come packed in, but she didn't care at the moment, having to worry about what Tanaka would want her to do next.

She didn't have to wait long. "Alright then, Alexis, what's the phrase for, 'I understand,'" Tanaka asked as she held open a release catch for the two techs as they worked to install the new myomer bundle.

Alexis wiped some of the grease off of her arms. "In Lupari, it's 'Kyo charru.'"

Tanaka nodded. "Kyo charru," she repeated back. "Well, I have to admit, at least this language isn't too hard to learn."

Alexis raised an eyebrow, but waited until the techs had finished and Tanaka could stop straining against the catch. "Why do you say it's not too hard?" Alexis then asked.

Tanaka wiped sweat from her brow before responding. "Because, unlike some languages, this 'Lupari' seems to have the same syntax structure as English," she said as she stood up and stretched her back. "It makes it easier because I don't have to rearrange the order of words in my head."

Alexis nodded. "Yes. The similarity also helped me and my friends learn how to speak English."

Tanaka reached into a toolbox and pulled out a roll of paper towels. She pulled several off of the roll and then tossed the roll to Alexis, who easily grabbed it. "Well, I'm glad that you did. Learning a new language always helps when you're talking to a person who knows it better than you." Tanaka said with a chuckle.

Alexis gave her a wan smile as she pulled off some paper towels and began to wipe the red grease from her arms and hands. "Yes, it does," she said quietly. "So, are you done here?" She asked in a louder voice.

Tanaka looked at the two techs, which were sealing up the actuator joint. "Hope so. We think we finally found the problem in that myomer bundle. Wasn't contracting properly." She shrugged. "So they'll seal it, and then I'll go up and run some tests from the cockpit. Maybe even take him out for a run if it looks good."

Alexis tilted her head and let an ear droop. "'Him?'"

Tanaka grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, it's a thing with us humans. We like to name our equipment sometimes." She turned and indicated the Guillotine IIC. "In this case, I call my ride a 'him' and give it a name."

"Oh?" Alexis was curious now. "What is 'his' name then?" She asked with an amused tone.

Tanaka looked back at Alexis. "The name is 'Ikaiyou.'"

One of the techs, an obvious native of New Honshu, almost choked, and then laughed. Alexis looked from Tanaka to him, and then back to the captain. "Uhm... Is that a joke?"

Tanaka grinned broadly. "It is. But never mind." She went over to the laughing tech and lightly kicked him. "Hey, laughing boy. Are you done yet, or are you going to just going to keep wasting oxygen?"

The tech sat up and cleared his throat. "Sorry captain. We're not quite done, but by the time you get to your cockpit, we'll be ready."

Tanaka nodded. "Well, get to it then." She turned and walked back over to Alexis. "Well, since you're here to teach me a few words, why don't you come up to the cockpit with me? That way you can keep talkin' and I'll have more time to listen."

Alexis shrugged, unsure of the protocol for the moment. "Uhm, alright, I guess," she said unsurely. "So long as I'm not in the way."

Tanaka shrugged. "I'll let you know what not to touch, and where to sit, so you shouldn't be in the way if you listen." She said, and then turned to walks towards the ladder off of the service platform. Alexis quickly moved to follow.

After stepping off the platform, they turned and went to the rear service gantry, which was a fixed part of the 'mech cubicle. There, they boarded a small, cage-type elevator that then lifted them to the top level of the gantry. At the top, Tanaka opened the cage doors and walked out, trailed by Alexis, who looked down over the cubicle, soaking up the view of the entire 'mech bay.

A series of tones sounded from where Tanaka stood next to the back of her 'mech's head, and Alexis turned to see her punching in a series of numbers on a keypad. As she finished, the cockpit door made a clunking noise. Tanaka pulled the door open, and then turned to Alexis. "Wait until I say you can come in, because it's cramped and I need to sit down and unlatch the jump seat first."

Alexis nodded, and Tanaka disappeared into the back of the 'mech's head. The gatón was curious, however, and she walked over to the opening and looked inside.

What she saw amazed her as much as any other technological marvel. Tanaka slowly settled into a command couch that dominated the center of the small space, and in front of it was a bank of controls, consoles, and displays. Above the command couch was a large projection, and Alexis wondered what purpose it served.

Tanaka quickly reached around to her right and leaned out of her seat to open a storage locker. Once it was open, she pulled out a bulky vest and then closed the locker before turning around to sit in her seat. Alexis was puzzled for a second, but before she could ask what Tanaka was doing, the female mechwarrior unbuttoned her uniform overshirt and pulled it off to reveal her chest, which was only covered by a sport bra.

Alexis blushed a bit, intruding as she did on another's modesty, and she turned and walked away from the door.

She heard Tanaka laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry Alexis, I forgot that you don't come from the same culture. You can come back, I'm decent now."

Alexis, still blushing, turned and looked back inside, and she saw Tanaka had settled the bulky vest over her chest and had fastened it up the middle. Tanaka turned at the noise of Alexis' movements, and she gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry again. People where I'm from are a little less fazed over a little skin."

Alexis frowned a bit, unsure of what to say. Finally, she shrugged. "Well, it was nothing too bad. I was just surprised and wanted to respect your privacy."

Tanaka shrugged herself as she reached around to her left and leaned out of her chair again, this time to reach a small panel on that side of the cockpit. "Well, I thank you for respecting that, though you don't have to turn away if you don't care not to." She flipped off a couple of latches and then let down the fold-up jump seat. "You can sit there, by the way, while I run the diagnostics and take this boy out for a spin." Then she remembered something, and then turned to look at Alexis. "Uhm, there is one thing. Could you stand outside for a moment and close the cockpit door?"

Alexis tilted her head quizzically. "Well, alright. But may I ask why?"

Tanaka motioned to the control console with her head. "To start this up, I need to enter a few codes, one of which needs me to speak out loud. It's a private code, and so no one else knows it, thus making sure that only I can operate this 'mech."

Alexis still looked puzzled, but she nodded. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside, then." With that, she reached up and grabbed the cockpit door, and pulled hard. It was much heavier than it looked, and Tanaka frowned. "Wait, I'll help. I forgot you're not as strong."

Alexis shook her head. "It's fine, I can do this." She grunted and pulled harder, and soon the door moved on its oiled hinges. Alexis stepped aside as momentum took over, and the door swung to thump shut.

She breathed heavily at her exertion. I may be small, but I can be strong, too, Alexis thought with a warm feeling of pride in her chest. She did wonder why Tanaka hadn't remembered about her differences; until she remembered that she herself had been treating every human she met like another gatón. I suppose that it only makes sense that they'd return the courteously, which means they'll also forget my physical aspects. Alexis felt good with this thought, and she was a bit puzzled why.

Then the door clunked again, and Tanaka pushed it open from a couching position she had. "All right, you can come in right after I sit down," she said and turned to do just that.

Alexis nodded to her words, and then waited patiently for the captain to again settle herself into the couch. After the human had done so, Alexis trepidly stepped inside the door, moving towards the seat. As Alexis sat down, she was startled when Tanaka stood up abruptly, turned and reached behind to grab the door handle to the cockpit and yank it shut.

Alexis grumbled a bit as Tanaka sat back down. "I could have gotten it again." To which Tanaka shrugged. "I know, but you're a guest, so it would be rude of me not to help," she said and flashed a brief smile, and then went about fastening herself in. Alexis took the cue and reached for the safety straps she knew to be there.

As Alexis had strapped herself in, Tanaka reached up and behind her, into the protrusion that Alexis now realized was a shelf of sorts. Tanaka pulled down a large helmet that encased her entire head, and even rode down onto her shoulders, where the captain latched it to her vest. Alexis watched with fascination as Tanaka went through the typical MechWarrior's startup routine, attaching medical monitoring patches to her upper arms and thighs, and then pulling their connecting wires through loops on her vest and connecting them to her oversized helmet. After that, she connected two plugs, one from her vest and helmet, into two ports on the console to her right.

Alexis marveled at the amount of effort needed to simply pilot the machine. No, not even control it, but just to get ready to do so, she realized as Tanaka then finally flipped a few controls to open a radio channel. "This is Silver One to bay control, reporting ready to begin shakedown."

The radio cackled to life, and Tanaka turned on the cockpit speakers so that Alexis could listen in. "Bay Control to Silver One, this is Technician Riley. Took ya long enough, Captain."

Tanaka shrugged, despite the fact that the other couldn't see her. "Just getting the cobwebs out. I'm sending telemetry over taccom 29." As she spoke, Tanaka typed in a few commands into a console near where Alexis sat, the latter simply staring quietly.

As soon as Tanaka finished, the radio came back on. "Alright then, Captain. We're getting the feed. Everything looks normal on the joint, so go ahead and get that bad boy moving."

Tanaka smirked. "Moving out, Control." She said and then looked to Alexis. "You strapped in good?" Alexis just nodded and Tanaka returned the gesture. "Okay, you might wanna hang onto the seat edge, anyway."

Alexis did so as Tanaka pressed another control, and then gripped two control joysticks on either side of her seat. Alexis felt the machine sway slightly, and she simply watched with great interest as Tanaka moved her left hand onto a throttle control and pressed it forward ever so slightly.

The Guillotine IIC swayed again, but this time, it didn't stop swaying as Tanaka moved the machine gently away from the rear gantry and then down the ramp leading to the plains below.

Alexis couldn't help but twist her head and stare out the canopy of the 'mech as the seventy ton beast moved with far more grace than the gatón could ever imagine it could have.

The cockpit speakers crackled again. "Alright captain, the joint still looks good, Take it up to cruising speed around the perimeter. We've already notified the OOD."

"Roger that. Moving to cruising speed," Tanaka replied with a calm, business-like tone. She pressed forward more on the throttle, and Alexis could feel the thumping of the 'mechs legs increase. The young gatón was jostled with every step, and yet she couldn't take her mind off of the view.

Below, on the plains, she saw the various humans working around their ships, and then one of the armored sentries posted around the immediate area. They all look so small from here! Alexis marveled at the change in scale that she experienced riding in the 'mech.

"So, you're quiet," Tanaka said to Alexis without keying her radio. The latter turned from her view and looked at the human, only to see that she was still looking out the canopy herself. Alexis shook her head a bit. "I'm just so... Amazed." She turned her head and looked out the ferro-glass again. "You sit so high, and command such a powerful machine from here, all by yourself." She sighed, "the idea is staggering. All that power in one person's hands, how do you keep the wrong people from using it?" At the last, Alexis turned to face Tanaka again.

Tanaka frowned a bit, and she slowed the 'mech as if it was herself slowing to ponder the question. Then she sighed and replied. "Alexis... I've read Dr. van Horn's report. I know about your town..." She waited a minute to see what Alexis would say, but meeting silence, she went on. "The answer is, that we can't always keep the wrong people out. It's like every other kind of power... You're always going to find someone who will abuse it. The key is to make it so that anyone who abuses power can be removed from that power."

Alexis nodded, but then paused as another thought hit her. "How do you stop someone with the kind of power you have at your hands, right now?"

Tanaka's face twisted into something that Alexis couldn't recognize too clearly. "That, Miss Hurano, is what my people are doing now, with this counter invasion.

"Basically, Alexis, you have to kill them."

The small group had walked down the ramp rather slowly, as the various children had by this time been thinned out a bit, only to be replaced by adults with an equal amount of curiosity. They slowed van Horn, Mikula and Pavlo simply by being there, presenting a series of jams that only got worse when they turned to stare at the three dressed in their unnaturally gray uniforms.

Mikula shrugged mentally as they threaded through a group at the base of the ramp. At least they're not being ignorant about it, he thought as they moved from the ramp towards the prisoner enclosure. Things could be much worse if they decided not to trust us. He sighed as they rounded the front to the entrance. Fortunately, despite the usual distrust of outsiders, everyone seems to be taking the changes well... But for how long?

Mikula put his thoughts aside as he and the other two closed in on the entrance gate. Already there were two soldiers in Elemental armor this time - guards from the 5th Marauders' infantry compliment - and two naval officers that Mikula didn't recognize. "Earl, who are those two?" Mikula asked of his friend in Lupari.

Van Horn grunted and responded in kind. "They're from Naval Intelligence. They're here to interrogate the Wobbies and get information from them that we might not be able to get from anywhere else." He said and waved the group waiting for them as they walked up, and his voice dropped. "They'll be running the debriefings. You and Pavlo are basically translators, but you can also help guide them to what questions might yield the best results."

Then they reached the group, and the higher-ranked officer - a Captain - nodded to van Horn. "Giving your friends a rundown on us spooks?"

Van Horn blinked a bit, but he regained his composure. "Oh? What makes you think that?"

The captain just smiled. "I wouldn't be a good Intel officer if I didn't notice things."

Van Horn returned the smile. "Indeed. Well, shall I take it that you're briefed on the locals?"

The officer nodded. "Oh, yes. Don't you worry, we know that these folks aren't the enemy, so we'll try not to be too harsh."

Van Horn frowned. "You really are good, aren't you?"

The captain shrugged. "I just read ahead in the script," he said, giving the usual spooks' joke. Van Horn smiled a bit, and then nodded. "Well, let me introduce you. This is Mikula Farkas, and his younger brother, Pavlo." He said, indicating the two lupar.

The captain nodded. "Charmed. I'm Captain Smith, and this is my associate, Commander Black," he said, indicating the other man, who was indeed, black.

Van Horn raised an eyebrow. "You Intel guys don't fuck around, do ya? Cheesy pseudonyms and all." He shrugged. "Alright, well, let's go in then," he said and indicated the enclosure. The two Intel officers nodded and they waited until van Horn turned and led the small group to the first 'gate,' which was swung open by one of the armored troopers. There they waited through the cumbersome process of opening up the inner 'gate' to the main prisoner pen, and then walked out of the entranceway.

The interred lupar had been watching the scene with great interest, given the appearance of the Farkas brothers as apparent friends and allies of the new set of invaders. Van Horn felt a twinge of nervousness run up and down his spine at the sight of all the wolf-like lupar staring at him, but he soon forced it away by sheer force of will. He then turned and faced the other humans. "So, how do you two want this run?"

"By the book," Smith answered with the tiniest of shrugs. "We'll take over a small room inside that barracks building, and then have these folk come in one at a time. We already have our recorders, so-"

A sudden commotion from the group of lupar off by the barracks building caught everyone's attention as a single lupar forced his way through the mass of his fellows. Everyone from outside tensed up, but soon they heard the lupar calling. "Mikula! Pavlo!"

Pavlo was the first to realize who it was. "What? That can't be!"

"Senmar?" Mikula asked, his face displaying shock as he too, remembered the face and sound of his brother.

"Mikula!" Senmar yelled as he crossed the distance and slammed into Mikula, nearly knocking them both to the ground, and madly hugged his brother. "Damnit you zugert! I thought you were dead!"

"We thought you were dead!" Pavlo replied, as Mikula was just in quiet shock. "Jaka told us that you were smashed by falling stone!"

Senmar pushed himself away from Mikula and then reached out and then hugged Pavlo, though not quite with the same fervor as a few seconds ago. "That blind fool? All he saw was a rock land near me, and he ran away!"

Pavlo pulled himself free of his little brother as he replied. "Yes, but we didn't hear from you, and when me and Kanu went to check, your entire company was either dead or had run off! We knew you wouldn't run off, so..." Pavlo's voice trailed off as he implied the obvious.

Senmar, standing back a bit, nodded. "I can see that. I didn't run, no, but I instead joined another company. It was complete chaos in the city- Well, I'm sure you know. Old maid Feena told me that's one of the reasons you guys and mother left Tanzano with half the clan."

Mikula finally shook himself out of his stupor. "Senmar... My Gods, I'm glad to see you." He said, and smiled broadly. "And here I thought that I was going to have to put up with Kanu and Pavlo alone."

Senmar chuckled while Pavlo rolled his eyes. "You? Hell, I thought the same way when we heard that you were missing after those giants attacked your camp." He looked up and down his two brothers as he continued. "How is it that you've survived, and you two are dressed like the invaders?"

Mikula gave his characteristic grin. "It's a long story. And we'll tell it to ya in a bit. Right now, though," his grin disappeared and he turned to look over to where the three humans had withdrawn a few feet and began to confer. "We have a duty to perform, and help translate for our friends."

Senmar frowned. "But... So you are working with these people?"

Mikula just nodded and Pavlo spoke up. "Trust us, they're different from the Wobbies that attacked Tanzano."

"Wobbies?" Senmar looked even more puzzled. Then his face lightened and he shrugged. "No matter. I'm just glad I found you two, and alive to boot!" The young lupar's face then twisted in sudden fear. "What about mother? And Kanu? What about the group that you left in?"

Pavlo shook his head a bit. "Don't worry, they're fine. Mother and Kanu are up in the town, and I'm sure that you'll be able to see them soon."

"Just as soon as we're done here." Van Horn said as he walked up to the trio. "I'm sorry Mikula, Pavlo, but we still need to work."

The three lupar turned to van Horn at his words, and Mikula nodded. "Yes, of course," he then turned to his younger brother. "I'm sorry, Senmar, but a soldier's duty needs to be done."

Senmar still had a look of doubt in his eyes, but he nodded and grinned a bit. "All right then. Can I help, any?"

Van Horn nodded. "Yes. Spread the word amongst your fellows there," he waved to the mass of lupar still watching from a distance, "and let them know that the more they cooperate, the sooner they can be released."

Senmar nodded. "I'll do that then."

Alexis climbed out of the cockpit of the Guillotine IIC, soon followed by Captain Tanaka. The two took a moment to stretch on the catwalk access to the 'mech's head after the short but still somewhat rough ride. "Oooh, aahh." Tanaka mumbled as she worked a kink out of her neck. "Damned old fashioned neurohelmets. I can't wait until we start getting the new stuff after the front-line units are upgraded."

Alexis looked quizzically at Tanaka. "Nu-ro-helmet? What is that?"

Tanaka shrugged as she started for the elevator. "It's that big helmet you saw me wearing. It's protection and necessary to operate a 'mech, but the older models like mine are bulky and heavy. Can leave a crick in your neck if you're not careful." She rubbed the back of her neck as she closed the elevator door when they both were inside. "I guess I wasn't too good on seating it properly this time," she said as she started the elevator moving back down to the deck. "I hurried a bit, thinking all I needed to do was a test run. That'll teach me to not rush things again."

Alexis nodded at Tanaka's words as the car reached the bottom deck and they stepped out. "I see. Might I ask, though, why it's so large? The helmets I've seen everyone else using are much smaller." Alexis spoke as she followed Tanaka over to a central elevator that would take them up into the ship. Though she didn't know where they were going, Alexis didn't know what else to do and so followed along.

Tanaka shrugged as they reached the door to the elevator, and she pressed the call button while she replied. "Well, that 'mech we were in is quite large and heavy. It also stands up on only two legs, so it's inherently unstable as it moves."

"It is?" Alexis asked incredulously. "It didn't seem that way from where I was sitting."

Tanaka smiled a bit as the elevator doors opened. The two had to pause in their conversation as they pressed back against the side of a 'mech cubicle to let out two crewmen carrying a large crate out of the car. They simply nodded to the captain, since to salute would mean dropping their cargo, and moved on, allowing the two females to enter the elevator car.

"Well, it may not look unstable, but that's because of the neurohelmet," Tanaka said as she pressed the button for the bridge, and then paused for a moment to enter her pass code into the number pad next to the deck selection controls. "See, anything that walks on two legs, whether it be 'mechs, humans, or your own people, is unstable."

Alexis shook her head a bit. "I don't feel unsta- whoa." She had to interrupt herself as the elevator started upward with a jerk."

Tanaka chuckled a bit. "See? You had to balance yourself there for a moment. If you were totally stable upright, then you'd not need to do that. But then again, if you were totally stable, you'd be awfully hard to move. Instability is the advantage of bipedal- Excuse me, two-legged creatures such as you or I." Tanaka caught her breath and then went on. "We don't feel unstable because we have advanced stability controls built right into our bodies.

"But 'mechs like my Ikaiyou don't have a complete system. The fine motor control just cannot be completely duplicated by machines, so we wear those neurohelmets, which uses our own sense of balance to help the machines in the 'mech balance it."

Alexis frowned a bit in concentration. "How does it do that?"

Tanaka waved her off as the elevator stopped. "I'll explain in a little bit, Alexis," she said as the doors opened onto the life support deck just below the main bridge, the latter sealed off from the rest of the ship so that a vented atmosphere won't affect the command crew. "I've got some work to do now. But ask me some other time." She said and stepped out into the cramped corridor.

Alexis hesitated at the elevator's threshold. "Should I go somewhere else then? I don't want to be in the way."

Tanaka paused and looked back at the gatón. "Nah, you can tag along. When the ship's on the ground, the bridge ain't so busy, and so it won't matter too much that you're there." She grinned a bit. "Just don't touch anything," she said with a wink.

Alexis returned Tanaka's grin and followed her out of the elevator and through the narrow corridor to the stairs that led to the bridge. Ascending the steps took only a moment, and soon Alexis was looking over the bridge of the Silver Pagoda.

It was different from the bridge of the Roger Young, in that instead of it being a decent-sized box room with remote viewing equipment, it was a cramped circular room with reinforced ferroglass windows providing a 360-degree view out the bow/top of the Confederate-class transport.

Alexis saw Tanaka walk over to the communications console, where her 'mech's tech sat reviewing the data. As Tanaka began her conversation with the man, Alexis took to heart Tanaka's advice to not touch anything, and so she just stepped aside from the top of the access stairs and next to the empty captain's chair in the center of the bridge.

The various controls of the ship were similar to the ones she had seen aboard the Roger Young, and so Alexis wasn't too interested in them, though she was fascinated in the differences. Also interesting to the gatón were to two other crewmen on the bridge, both apparently doing nothing but sitting back and only lazily monitoring their consoles. One was even reading a small paperback book, which struck Alexis as unusual, having gotten used to the taught routine of the Roger Young.

But the view outside of the ship caught her attention the most. To the south, west, and southeast sat the other three dropships of the counter-invasion force. The old LST-class transport was lower than the Silver Pagoda, which interested Alexis, as she seldom had chance to look at another one of the spherical craft from above. Turning her head, Alexis could then see the other Confederate-class transport to the south, its bridge level with her position, but the tinted ferroglass windows let no view of the inside escape. Along the side of the ship's hull Alexis could make out the USAF's diving eagle insignia, along with the sword-and-shield insignia of the National Guard. Some writing was there as well, but Alexis couldn't read it at the distance, and so she turned to look at the fourth ship.

The Apollo-class combined-arms transport stood higher than the Silver Pagoda, and its position blocked the lower courtyard of Hercor from her sight, though the town itself was easily visible. Alexis took a moment to look at the town, which was still higher than the smallish transport she stood in.

Alexis couldn't help but feel a snap of emotions from the night before, but she forced them down through an exercise of willpower. Not here, not now.

"You okay Alexis?" Tanaka's voice intruded on Alexis' internal monolog, and the gatón started a bit. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied as she faced Tanaka. "I was just... Thinking."

Tanaka grunted a bit. "Well, you looked like you had swallowed something nasty there for a minute, and I just wanted to make sure that you didn't eat Bill." The captain said with a wink.

"Bill?" Alexis frowned. "Bill who? Why would I eat anyone?"

The others in the room all chuckled at that, and Tanaka cracked a smile as Alexis blushed a bit. "Bill's the ship's mascot. And I don't think you'd really eat him, I was just joking."

"Mascot? I have not heard this word before." Alexis said, puzzled.

Tanaka's smile slipped off. "Oh, sorry. Well, a mascot is like a figure that represents something else." The human frowned a bit. "That's not a very good description, I guess. But what it means, is that some groups of people, be it a ship's crew, or a city, or a sports team, will often adopt certain creatures, either real or made up, as a representation of their group."

Alexis frowned a bit. "Real or imagined?"

Tanaka sighed and shook her head as the other three it he room chuckled again. "I'm not too good at this. How about I just go show you Bill?" She turned to look at one of the ship's crew on the bridge. "Ensign, where's Bill this time of day, anyway?"

The man sat upright automatically at the use of his rank. "Bill's usually napping in the mess, though with all the activity, I wouldn't be surprised if he's sitting on a 'mech catwalk and enjoying the view."

Tanaka threw up her hands theatrically. "Everyone's against me!" She said in mock exasperation, eliciting smiles from the other humans, and another puzzled look from Alexis. Seeing this, Tanaka shrugged and turned to head down the stairs. "Riley, I'm going down to the Major's command tent. Call me if you find anything buggy in the data." The indicated man nodded as the captain began to disappear down the stairs. "Will do, Captain."

Alexis, still confused, followed Tanaka off of the bridge. Strange how I keep running into some new custom with the humans. Especially as they seem to get weirder every day, she mused, and then smiled as she thought on. Kind of funny, and somehow, comforting. I wonder why that is?

Just as soon as she thought it, another voice popped into Alexis' head. Probably because it shows that they're not some great super beings or gods. They're just people, with their own strange customs, just like you and the lupar. With this thought, Alexis felt less confused and more interested in the strange human customs.

By this time, Alexis and Tanaka had started to ride the elevator down in silence, which prompted Tanaka to look at Alexis. "You're quiet all of a sudden."

Alexis turned and looked up at Tanaka, giving her a small smile. "Just thinking again. I am sorry if I am not the best of company for the moment..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered last night again. "I'm just... A bit distracted."

Tanaka raised an eyebrow. "Well, try not to be too distracted," she said as the elevator reached the 'mech bay deck, and its doors opened. She continued as her and Alexis walked out and towards one of the ramps leading to the outside. "In a war zone, being distracted can get you killed."

Alexis nodded sagely. "Yes, of course." She sighed. "So, what next?"

"Next, we go to the command tent and see what else needs to be done today," Tanaka replied as they walked into the late morning sunlight. They paused in motion to let their eyes adjust, and then carried on. "Also, we need to find you something else to do. Like the old saying goes, 'idle hands are the Devil's workshop.'"

Alexis' face twisted in puzzlement. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that I understand that phrase."

"Oh," Tanaka said as they strode towards the Republic ground encampment. "It means that it's better to keep everyone busy than to goof off."

Alexis didn't reply, and Tanaka just continued on as she led the gatón towards the command shelter. They paused for a second as the roar of the Seabees' special amphibious jeeps grew out of the distance. Two of the distinctly shaped vehicles came around from behind Hercor's rocky mount and raced over towards the encampment, though they slowed to a stop so that an armored sentry could jump over and make sure that it was they.

"Well, they seem in a big hurry," Tanaka commented. "Almost didn't stop in time. Woulda been a bad day for them if that trooper had to open fire."

Alexis shivered at the idea, having heard tales from other gatón in town about the battle the day before. "They would really do that? Even if they're the same people they know?"

Tanaka frowned a bit, and then she turned to walk off. Alexis, surprised, had to rush a bit to catch up so that she could hear the human's reply. "Well, that depends. Maybe not today, since those jeeps have been in plain sight across the river all morning, so there's no possibility of them being switched or coerced by the enemy." She sighed a bit as the two approached the command shelter, "But if they had been gone beyond our sight? Most likely, they'd be shot to ensure that it wasn't a trick."

Alexis felt a bit cold at the reply. "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Not if you consider that this is a war, and in war, you had better be careful." Tanaka replied as the jeeps again started up and raced towards the temporary motor pool, which at the moment had only a single Assault Transport and the four Guardsmen Manta Hovertanks as its only compliment. "Remember what I aid about being careful in such places, Alexis. Because in War, the enemy isn't going to sit back and let you kill them. And sometimes, when you're dealing with a band of psychotic zealots like we are with the Wobbies, you can't ever be too careful."

Alexis didn't have anything to say to that, and so she simply kept following along behind Tanaka as the two of them headed for the command tent. They passed the outermost tents of the small encampment, and soon reached the dome-shaped semi-permanent structure. With only a simple nod to the standing guard, Tanaka stepped through the doorway and inside the structure. Alexis followed, wondering if the guard would challenge her, but not surprised when he didn't.

The interior of the shelter was much as the young gatón remembered it, save that only Major Kujira and the two sensor/communication techs were inside at the moment. The latter simply sat at their consoles and worked, speaking softly into headsets as they helped to coordinate the activities of the Republic forces.

Kujira, however, had ample time to look up from where he had managed to place a 'campaign' chair next to the conventional table, turning it into a makeshift desk. Alexis was puzzled over that, wondering just why the Major would need to do any of the 'paperwork' that van Horn and other humans spoke of so often. Shouldn't he be leading, or devising new tactics like I saw him doing earlier today? She wondered as she followed Tanaka over to where Kujira stood up from his chair.

As she reached the table, Tanaka saluted, and Alexis quickly aped her. Kujira's eyes seemed to flash a bit of amusement at the gatón, but she ignored it as Kujira returned the salutes and dropped his hand, allowing the two females to follow suit. "So, captain, I expect that your mount is fully operational now?" He asked without preamble.

Tanaka nodded. "Yes sir. The joint doesn't show any more problems, and my tech is satisfied with the readouts he got from my test run just a while ago," she replied, her voice having an undertone of eagerness. "My lance is now fully operational, and I request further orders, major."

Kujira raised an eyebrow. "How fortunate that you arrive here now, then. Commander Schmidt radioed in that he and his team have finished their survey," he said, referring to the leader of the Seabee detachment. "He will be here momentarily, from the sounds of the jeeps I heard earlier."

Tanaka tilted her head a bit. "You want me here then?"

"Yes. I want your opinion on whatever the good commander is planning. A difference in perspective is sometimes helpful."

Tanaka only had a chance to nod before the door to the shelter opened and the aforementioned commander walked into the dome, followed by two other construction and engineering specialists. Schmidt was the tallest of the three, though his lithe frame seemed to give lie to his profession and posting. The woman and man who followed behind him seemed more likely to be combat engineers, their muscular bodies seemingly radiating strength, despite the air of quiet contemplation that the trio had about them like a cloak.

Alexis and Tanaka stood back from the table as the three walked up to Kujira and saluted. The latter returned the salute quickly. "So, Commander Schmidt, do you have good news for me?"

Schmidt frowned slightly. "Good, and bad, Major," he said with caution in his voice. He then looked over his shoulder. "Might we move to the holotank? It would help me make my report more easily."

Kujira simply nodded, and he walked from around the table to lead the small group over to the indicated device. Like many such portable devices, the interior of the tank's display area was small, and could only hold two people within its image generation area, which Kujira and Schmidt took up easily. However, the tank had two large entrances, which let the others look on to the images that were created after the other male Seabee sat down at the tank's controls and fed data into them from his noteputer.

Alexis had seen holographics before, and even the advanced holotank technology that let a person stand amidst and manipulate the images, she was still amazed at the display. She thus watched with rapt attention as a holographic display of the plains around Hercor grew up from the floor. Hercor itself, along with Shulana and the Republic encampment and ships were all represented in miniature as well, and Alexis couldn't help but cringe slightly and automatically when Kujira shifted his position and 'stepped' on the image of Hercor.

Then Schmidt began to talk, and Alexis was all ears. "This is a crude demo, as we built the last of it on the ride back here, but since time is of the essence..." He let his voice trail off and turned to gesture at the man sitting at the control console. With that, the map of the area rotated to align itself with the actual orientation of the real land around them. Schmidt then continued. "As you can see from the red area now being shaded in, we've surveyed the area in a one kilometer radius from the town." As he spoke, the area did indeed begin to have a red shading to it. "We've located several geologic anomalies, which we think is related to the town's natural spire-"

Kujira silenced Schmidt with a wave of his hand. "I'm sure this is interesting, Commander, but please do cut to the chase."

The Seabee leader nodded and made another gesture to the tank operator. "In any case, we've found that the best place for a landing strip is not on this east side of the river, but on the west side." The red shading disappeared as a long blue rectangle overlaid the terrain north of Shulana and west of the river. It angled roughly east-west, though it seemed slightly askew from that exact line to Alexis.

Schmidt went on as more blue rectangles next to the runway overlay and east of Hercor appeared. "Support facilities for the airfield will be minimal, of course, but we can make them with minimal impact thanks to the local geology. The other lights to the east of the town represent possible locations for fortified positions." He paused as another shaded area appeared, this one a rough square north of Hercor, on the east side of the river, appeared. "This area here looks to be the best suited for any forward firebase construction. Not only is it closer to the airfield's future location, but it should also present, again, minimal impact to the surrounding terrain and inhabitants."

Kujira grunted slightly. "That river's not an insubstantial obstacle, and Intel from our friends," he paused to glance at Alexis, which prompted everyone else to do so as well. She simply blushed and said nothing as Kujira continued, brining attention back to him and Schmidt again. "The river is supposed to flood in local spring. That may be a few months from now, but I'd rather not gamble on beating the enemy before then."

Schmidt nodded at Kujira's concerns. "Yes, sir. The river is a deterrent, but we feel that we can bridge it easily, again, thanks to local geology. The volcanic nature of the area works to our advantage, as a lava flow covered the area recently- well, geologically speaking." He paused and waited for the tank's operator to initiate the next image group. "In any case, this means we have good, strong bedrock close to the surface, which means that we can drive in some good pylons to anchor a bridge. As for flooding, we took layer samples and found that it appears to be a gentle flood, much like the Nile on Terra." As Schmidt spoke, a red icon representing a low-slung bridge appeared across the river, connecting each side. Then blue shading began to spread from the river and reached three-quarters of the way to the airfield and firebase icons on each side. "From our sampling, we've determined this to be the highest stage twenty-five year flood. As you can see, the main concentrations of construction are untouched, and the bridge, as I've mentioned, will be well founded."

Then the Seabee commander fell silent, and the group around him and Kujira soon followed, as the latter appeared deep in thought. Finally, the black-haired leader looked up. "How long for all of this to be done?"

At this, Schmidt hesitated, and Alexis could see in his eyes that he was thinking hard. "That's one of the more unrefined portions of our report. The airfield, at least, is fairly simple, and it should be done in about two weeks, maximum. The firebase is less certain, as we need to know what you want, sir, in the way of defenses and permanent structures. Hopefully, not more than six weeks.

"As for the bridge, while we are certain that we can make it sturdy, we don't know how long it will take." Schmidt licked his dry lips as he considered further. "The geology appears beneficial, but we've not had too much time nor equipment to study it to make sure. For all we know, we might puncture an empty lava tube."

Kujira's countenance took on a tired air. "Please, Commander, a rough estimate barring unforeseen circumstances?"

Schmidt paused again, briefly, and then replied. "At least four weeks, perhaps six or even eight." He reached up with his arm and rubbed the back of his neck. "However, we do have a couple of pontoon bridge kits in the Cheops, so we can establish a temporary bridge until the permanent one is completed."

Kujira thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. Refine your plans some and give me a more detailed version tonight, and send one up to Captain Ladavic."

Schmidt nodded. "Yes, sir. Might I request that the Cheops be allowed to ground, sir? The sooner they're down, the easier it'll be to conduct better surveys and be ready to move as soon as we've decided on the best course."

Kujira nodded again. "Very well. I'll call Ladavic and have your ship land."

Some time later, van Horn stood just on the inside of the holding pen's entrance, watching the Farkas brothers embrace their younger one last time. The two naval intelligence officers had left already, and they would surely be preparing to depart for the Rodger Young soon, having gathered all the information they could from the lupar.

But that didn't matter to van Horn at the moment, as Mikula finally released his younger brother. "We'll be back soon, Senmar, and we'll see about getting you and everyone out of here," he said.

Senmar smiled a bit, and van Horn was only half-surprised to see a lopsided grin similar to Mikula's pop up on his face. "That would be good." The grin disappeared. "Will you let mother and Kanu know that I'm all right?"

"Of course," Mikula replied with surprise. "You think I'd hide this from her? I would like to live until old age."

The three brothers shared a chuckle at that. "Good. I hope I'll be able to see them soon, and you two, as well. I would especially like to hear on how you've managed to work with these new invaders."

Mikula frowned a bit, but then willfully dismissed the expression. "A long story, and we will be able to tell it soon. But now, we need to go."

"And if you need anything, speak up," Pavlo chimed in. "These people are generous enough if you but ask."

Senmar couldn't help but glance to van Horn, who still stood nearby, before giving a small smile to his brothers. "I'll remember, and maybe old man Reyger will listen." He then sighed. "Or perhaps not. He is still miffed at how easily everyone was captured, even accounting for their weapons." He gestured to the pair of armored guards standing on the other side of the entranceway.

Pavlo grunted. "Well, it's better than going back to the Wobbies, isn't it?"

Senmar nodded a bit. "If you mean the first set of invaders, then yes, I suppose it is." He sighed again. "But what now?"

"Now," Mikula broke in, "we go and help our friend here make the case to let all of you go." He gestured to van Horn briefly. "So we should leave now."

Senmar nodded. "Aye. Give my best to mother."

"As always," Mikula said, and he and Pavlo gave a final wave to their brother as they turned to follow van Horn as he walked into the open entrance 'gate.' They waited in quiet as the guards then opened the outer barrier, and soon they were heading for the command shelter.

Van Horn checked his watch - a programmable watch that could be made to adapt to local planetary rotation cycles - despite the fact that anyone could clearly see the sun descending towards the western horizon. Still like to know the exact time, though, he thought as he read the clock face. "Well, we've been at it all day," he said and turned his head towards the two lupar as they followed him. "If you want, y'all can go and get some food while I dump this info into the computer."

Mikula and Pavlo shared a look, and then turned back to van Horn as the latter halted next to the ruined section of the courtyard's wall. "That's very polite of you. You truly don't mind?"

Van Horn waved them off. "Go, go. I have to do this no matter what, but you two don't have to be present when I go drop this stuff off. So you might as well stuff your faces before I get there and eat a danier's weight in food."

They shared a chuckle. "Alright then, Earl. Hopefully, we'll see you there soon." Mikula said and waved a goodbye, Pavlo simply nodded with his brother's sentiments and followed. Van Horn noted in wry amusement that Pavlo already seemed to be salivating at the prospect of a meal.

The human shook his head and leaned against the wall, its cool stone draining the heat from his back. Van Horn looked over towards the west, and noted that the sun was even lower by now, and still visible even though he couldn't look directly west. This reminded him of Bowman's Planet's seasons, and with autumn and winter coming, the sun would be dipping further south as the hemisphere tilted away.

Van Horn sighed, and then pushed himself off of the wall. Enough dilly-dallying. The sooner I can get this data into the comp, the sooner I can eat. The rumbling of his stomach gave him further impetus to finish with his duty.

His short walk soon ended in front of one of the command shelter's two doorways, and van Horn easily showed his ID to the guard. The woman in the uniform of the 5th Marauders nodded and stood aside after reading his credentials, letting van Horn step into the subtly lit dome.

Inside, his eyes quickly adjusted to take in the room. He noted that the holotank area was a bit crowded with men in Seabee uniforms and Major Kujira. They were involved in their conversation, and so didn't notice van Horn as he walked over to the main C5I console. The operator looked up as he came over. "Got some data for the battlenet, Intel." Van Horn said in response to the tech's unspoken question, and he held up his noteputer and recorder.

The tech nodded and pointed to two data ports. "Go ahead, then. Nothin's happenin' anyway."

Van Horn reached over and plugged his portable devices into the indicated slots. Then he looked at the tech. "Really? It seems like the Major and the Seabees have something going on."

The tech shrugged. "The Seabees finished their survey, and so they've been discussing where to put things, or so I gather."

Van Horn grunted in reply, as he pulled his devices from their slots after a small screen displayed 'Download Complete.' "Well, good. With an airfield we can get those transports down so that we can have some decent food for once."

The tech chuckled. "You're preachin' to the choir, man," he said and checked his console. "Okay, the data got routed to NavInt. That correct?" He asked, making sure that van Horn's data got sent to the location that he had specified into his recorder and noteputer's addressing functions. The latter nodded in reply. "That's exactly where it's supposed to go. Thanks, bud."

"No problem," the tech replied with a small smile. "Have a good 'un."

"You too," van Horn replied as he turned and headed for the door. Soon, he was outside and making a beeline for the mess tent. Damn, I'm hungry.

Alexis sat in the mess tent, eating food that was only a step up from basic field rations. And yet, it tastes as sweet as some of the best banquet food after the work I did today, she mused not unhappily. After her work with Tanaka's 'mech, Alexis had been sent by the latter to help the techs in the Silver Pagoda after the good captain had discovered that Kujira had assigned the gatón to her company for the day. "You might as well keep busy doing something," the asiatic mechwarrior had said to Alexis.

Although Alexis had known hard work before, while being Shaman Forbasa's apprentice, she hadn't quite realized just how much more was required to keep the Republic 'mech company in working order. She had assumed that, with all the machines humans had, that they'd not need to do quite so much lifting and straining, but that's what they - and she- did. She had asked one of the techs why this was so, and the man had given her a strange look. "Well, our arms and legs work, don't they? Like the old sayin' goes, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'"

It took her a bit of time to fully decipher that phrase, afflicted as it was with poor grammar. But Alexis then realized that it meant that, though humans had so many different things, they were still loath to change anything unnecessarily. She had been again struck with the similarities between her people, the lupar, and the humans, but then had little else on her mind other than to finish with her helping to replace a charge coil on a Grizzly's Gauss Rifle.

So deep in thought Alexis was, that she didn't notice someone sitting down at the same, somewhat flimsy table as her. Then with a start, the gatón realized that she wasn't alone and she looked up at the smiling face opposite her.

"Cleaning out the cobwebs?" Dan Castellano asked as he picked up the plastic flatware from his disposable tray.

Alexis blushed. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

Castellano waved a hand. "It's alright, Alexis. I'm not offended. In fact, I can go elsewhere if you want to be alone."

She shook her head. "No, that's alright. I was just surprised."

Castellano nodded as he began to pick at his food. "Well, that can happen. And certainly, you look like you've been through something to think about."

Alexis tilted her head, wondering if van Horn told their common friend about her family problems. "What do you mean?"

Castellano gestured to the coveralls she had been given to wear over her normal duty uniform while working in the 'mech bays. "You got grease all over your clothes, and some in your hair and fur. Looks to me like you were quite busy."

Alexis nodded, a sense of relief filling her heart. "Yes. I was helping Captain Tanaka's technicians work on their machines."

Castellano, who had taken a bite of food, now looked like he wanted to spit it back up. He didn't, however, and he swallowed before speaking. "What's this? We're down here only a little bit, and already those army freaks gotta start grabbin' people to work on their chain gangs?" He asked in a voice that Alexis couldn't place. She frowned and replied, "I didn't think that anything was wrong. Major Kujira posted me there for the day after I asked for something to do."

Castellano seemed to relax a bit. "Ah, I see," he said with a small grin. "Got a bit bored of stayin' in town?"

Alexis felt a bit of a chill run up her spine, but she forced it down. "In a way..." She replied. "Really, though, I just want to be useful."

Castellano chuckled. "Indeed. Once you get some real work done, you don't like to go back."

Alexis frowned again. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been with us a while, trainin' and helpin' out. You've been doing things, workin' hard, and anyone worth his salt, once he's tasted useful work, seldom goes back to a slower pace." Castellano said, a distant look coming over his face. "Not, at least, for some time."

Alexis tilted her head quizzically again, letting an ear flop down. "Oh?" She asked as a thought entered her head. Might be a good time to ask. "So, would you mind if I asked what did you do before becoming a soldier?"

Castellano sat back a bit, surprised at the question. "Well, I don't mind. Just a bit surprised that you'd want to know."

Alexis righted her head. "Well, I'm just... Interested in what your people do when not being soldiers." She leaned back a bit herself. "After all, your lives must be very different from the ones my people live."

Castellano smiled a bit. "Actually, you'd be surprised. Aside from a few things, we live our lives the same way. We work, we look for someone to share our life with and have children and raise them." He shrugged a bit. "I guess our jobs are different. Our technology needs all sorts of people to keep it running, for instance."

Alexis smirked slightly and nodded. "I've seen that, most especially today."

Castellano chuckled. "Well, look on the bright side. Because you've helped, those 'mechs are going to be in better condition than without your help, which means that they're more likely to work right when needed and defeat the bad guys when they come calling."

"I hadn't thought of that," Alexis admitted. "You really think I helped?"

Castellano shrugged. "If they didn't send you away to do something else, than you helped. Techs are professionals, and they won't let anyone be near their work unless they can be helpful."

Alexis felt a bit better about her efforts. Then she remembered he original line if questioning, and pressed on with that. "So, you were a tech before you joined the army?"

"Ha!" Castellano laughed, startling Alexis. The human then looked sheepish as he replied. "I'm sorry, Alexis, but I'm about as mechanically-inclined as a snake," he said with a self-depreciating smile. "No, I joined the M.I. as soon as I came of age. Been in it ever since."

Alexis nodded. "Well, do you ever wonder what you would have done if you hadn't?"

"Well, I'd probably be driving myself into an early grave working for some corporation," Castellano grunted out. "What's with all the questions, Alexis?"

She cast her eyes down a bit. "I'm just curious, that's all. I'm sorry if I offended you."

Castellano shook his head. "You're not offending me, Alexis. It's just that you seem awfully interested in my personal life, and that's kind of unusual."

Alexis sighed and looked up at Castellano. "I'm sorry, Dan. I... Really, I'm just curious about how humans live beyond the military, which is practically all I've seen of your people, save that one trip into NeoTokyo."

Castellano nodded. "I see what you mean. You're curious about humans and our culture, and you know that the military isn't always the best representation of 'normal' life." Alexis nodded to the statement, and Castellano sighed. "Well, I won't lie to you, Alexis. The military gets the best people, so you'll find most of us agreeable.

"But in regular life, there are lots of unscrupulous, uncaring people, even within my own nation." He shook his head slowly. "There's also a lot to worry about. Money, and where to get it. Whether you should change your job, or pursue more education. Lots of things to make your head ache and your hair turn gray." He looked at Alexis then, and smiled. "But in addition, there's lots of good things, and good people too. You just gotta look for them, and not be daunted when life throws you a problem."

Alexis smiled in return. "Such advice I've heard form many sources. I might even believe it someday," she added the last with a wink, prompting a laugh from the trooper.

"I see that you've managed to get Danny boy to laugh," the familiar voice of Jennifer Marks came from behind the gatón, and Alexis turned to see Marks moving over to the side of the small table. "Though it's no hard feat, to be sure. Mind if I join you two?"

Both Castellano and Alexis nodded, and Marks sat down with her own platter of food. "So, why the hyena impersonation, Dan?"

Castellano blushed a bit. "Funny, Jen. Alexis just made a rather witty comment. Pity you missed it in mint condition. Perhaps you'll find it on the collector's market?"

Marks chuckled. "Maybe, but given Alexis' wit, I'd say that another one's coming along soon."

Alexis then blushed at the compliment, though the rest of their conversation went over her head. "I was just asking Dan about what life is like in your culture outside of the military."

Marks raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Thinking about a change of pace, Alexis?"

The gatón felt like a door had opened in her head. No, of course not... Or am I? She realized that part of her was thinking about something other than life near Hercor, near Kuamket or Tanzano, even beyond her world.

Alexis shook her head. "No, I'm just curious," she said, trying to get herself to believe it as well. "After all, one glimpse at NeoTokyo's citizens shows that there's a lot of interesting things to know."

Marks smiled a bit, and her eyes said that she didn't quite take Alexis' statement at full value. "Well, there are some things in regular life that you don't want to know about. But other than that, I can see your point."

Just then, the flap to the tent opened and in walked Mikula and Pavlo. Alexis turned to see who it was, and then smiled as she recognized her friends. "Mikula, Pavlo, over here." She said in a voice that would carry, yet not be too loud.

Mikula turned and smiled broadly when he saw Alexis, and he waved. Pavlo too, waved, though his smile was not quite as large. Then he said something in Mikula's ear and went off for the chow line, while Mikula walked over to the small table where his friends had gathered. "Hello, all," he said as he reached them.

"Hello, Mikula," Marks replied first. "You must be hungry, shouldn't you be gettin' some grub?" Alexis felt a bit ashamed at the words, realizing that she had called Mikula over before the latter could get the meal that Alexis had had.

But Mikula shrugged the question off. "It's no matter. Pavlo offered to get both our meals. Speaking of which, might there be space enough at this table for two more?"

The three sitting nodded, and they began to sit up halfway to move their folding chairs over so that Mikula and Pavlo would have enough space at a table normally made for four. The standing lupar quickly turned and snagged an extra chair from a nearby, unused table, and he sat down next to Alexis. "So, how is everyone?"

"Oh, the usual," Castellano replied with a smile, prompting Marks and Alexis to add in their own half-spoken agreements.

Mikula looked them over, his eyes lingering on Alexis. "Well, Alexis, what were you doing today that got you so messy? I thought you were going to stay in town."

Alexis blushed a bit, and she felt some of her earlier fear about having the information about her family argument spreading rose a bit. "I didn't feel much like staying there. So I spent the night down here and I've been working all day."

"Oh?" He was interested. "Doing what, might I ask?"

Alexis just blushed a bit more, and Castellano replied for her. "She just got finished tellin' me about how she's been working with the 'mech techs for the day."

Marks looked over at the gatón. "Oh, really? Did you tick someone off, Alexis?"

The latter shook her head. "No, I just... I just wanted to be useful, so I went to the command shelter and asked if there was anything I could do to help, besides sitting around."

Marks sat back, looking surprised, while Castellano tried to cover up a grin. "What?" Alexis asked. "What did I do?"

Castellano finally laughed, and Marks cracked a grin. "Alexis, you might as well asked to be used as a target for aiming practice, or as a prop to hold up a table."

Alexis frowned. "I didn't think I was that bad."

Marks shook her head and her face turned contrite. "No, no, Alexis. I'm not saying that you're bad, or anything." Her smile returned. "I'm just saying that asking a superior officer on what you should do is an invitation to nasty, punishment duty."

"Usually," Castellano added in. "But in this case, Major Kujira seems to have been nice enough to not have you thrown to the wo- Ow!" Marks interrupted Castellano's speech with a well-timed elbow to his ribs. "Ixnay annay loboay," she said in a bad attempt at pig latin.

Alexis and Mikula didn't know what had just transpired, but Castellano's reddening face indicated his embarrassment. "Anyway, Alexis, what I meant was that the Major was nice to not give you the sort of crap he'd give another trooper who would know better."

"But you mentioned that the work Alexis was doing was also somehow a punishment." Mikula said in confusion. "Isn't that the sort of work you're talking about?"

Castellano and Marks shared a look, and then the latter turned her head back to explain. "Well, we were joking, mainly. Us in the Mobile Infantry have a rivalry going with our army counterparts, so we make up jokes like it's some sort of punishment to help them."

"Which it can be, at times," Castellano added. "Because of our rivalry, it's a form of punishment duty to be assigned to help the ones we're in the rivalry with."

Mikula nodded. "I see what you mean. Back when I was a soldier for my home city, we had different units that tried to out do each other in their duties. It was often that a threat to be transferred from one such unit to another was made to keep an unruly soldier in line."

Castellano and Marks smiled at that. "That's exactly right, Mikula," the latter replied and turned to Alexis. "So, we were only joking. What you did was important work, no matter which unit benefited."

Alexis smiled broadly at that. "Then I'm glad I was of help." Then her smile died. "But I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow, and you two seem to agree that just walking up and asking for orders isn't the most... Tactful thing to do."

"Well, go see Captain Tanaka tomorrow," Castellano added. "Either you'll be assigned to her unit again, or she'll be able to check for you."

Alexis nodded, but stayed silent, as Pavlo now came up with two trays, and he set one in front of Mikula before sitting down himself. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Everything," Mikula said with his characteristic grin.

"Well, see if I get you any food again!" Pavlo replied in mock indignation, prompting chuckles from the group.

The five chatted and ate the last of their meals for a bit. Castellano and Marks took a cue from Alexis' earlier questions, and they talked about their families and the sorts of jobs one could have outside of the military.

It wasn't long before Castellano looked up and noticed van horn as the latter walked into the tent. He waited quietly for van Horn to get a food platter, and he listened to Marks talking about her sister, the artist, until the good doctor had left the chow line and was looking for a table. "Hey Earl! Over here." He called to his recent friend.

Van Horn looked over, and he smiled as he headed for the table. "Well, I see you two didn't waste time in getting your faces stuffed," he said to Mikula and Pavlo jestingly. "Perhaps we should pay you in food rather than dollars?"

The humans laughed at that, though the natives looked a bit confused. "We're getting paid?" Pavlo asked.

Van Horn hesitated, as he hadn't quite realized what he was saying. "Hmm... I didn't really think about that... But yanno, I think you might be." He grinned a bit. "Lemme ask the computer the next time I'm in the command shelter, and I'll see."

"Well, in the meantime, sit your butt down." Castellano said, and he stood to grab another chair for van Horn. The latter gratefully sat down next to the medic trooper and set his platter down.

"So Earl, what've you been doing all day, then?" Marks asked politely.

Van Horn shrugged and took a bite of food before responding. "I've been out interrogating the captured lupar with these two," he waved his fork over towards Mikula and Pavlo, "and a couple of Grade A spooks from NavInt." He paused to chew and swallow another bite. "Seems to have went good. We'll hopefully be able to let 'em go tomorrow, unless Major Kujira objects, or the spooks find something wrong in the interviews."

"Good," Castellano proclaimed from where he sat back. "Less people we have guarding them, the more we have ready to repel an attack." Marks and van Horn nodded in acclimation.

At this, Pavlo spoke up. "That's good, then, that they'll be released."

"Speaking of which," Mikula added. "Earl, did you know that Senmar was there?"

At his words, Alexis went stiff in surprise, having been told of the assumed-lost brother. But she didn't speak up as van Horn nodded and replied, "Yes, Mikula. I'm sorry I didn't say anything before... It's just that, I wanted to make sure that it was him, and I didn't want you getting your hopes up if he wasn't who he said he was."

Pavlo frowned, but Mikula nodded a bit. "I see." He sighed, and then smiled. "Well, no matter. My brother's alive and that's wonderful news!"

"Hell yes!" Castellano said and he raised his - non-alcoholic - drink up in a toast. "Glad to hear the good news, man!"

"Indeed," Marks added with wide smile. "You guys must be loaded with luck."

Pavlo and Mikula smiled in return. "Well, some of us have had some luck," the former said. "After all, I think I'm the only one who hasn't been terribly injured or thought dead."

The group chuckled at that, and Mikula lightly elbowed his brother. "So far, Pavlo. Just don't be doing anything that will get you to that status."

Pavlo raised his arms in a humanlike gesture. "No worries on that! I'm happy enough to not risk my fur on some of the zugert-brained schemes you've been in on." Mikula stuck his tongue out at Pavlo in reply, and everyone shared a laugh.

A couple of hours later, Alexis found herself sitting on the remains of a stone fence forty meters southwest of the Republic encampment. Like other times in her life, she had felt it necessary to go out and find a place to clear her head and think. Unfortunately, no trees were near enough to the town and encampment for her to think in, but the fields nearby were fairly empty and safe enough, and so she had wandered out after asking van Horn whether it would be okay. "It seems okay, Alexis," he had replied to her query. "Just don't go too far, or else the patrols will try and take you 'prisoner.'" He had smirked at the last.

And so, Alexis had walked out of camp and had been sitting on the partially smashed fence for over a half-hour. The old, low-slung fence had demarcated the line between a field of yusurri stalks - now empty thanks to the time of year - and a field of low-slung forjo plants.

Alexis wasn't looking at the crops, so much, as she was staring out at the plains and the forest beyond, letting her mind slowly but surely sort some things out. Of particular importance was her sudden interest into the lives of her human friends. I'm just curious... Or so I tell myself. But what if... What if Jennifer was right? What if part of me is thinking of something beyond what I have now?

And what do you have now, Alexis? She asked herself and frowned. You've been disowned by your father, haven't kept up with learning your apprenticeship from Forbasa, and you're in the middle of some war.

Even as her mind catalogued the negatives, Alexis found that the positives buoyed up almost uncontrollably. You've got some good friends, Alexis; a voice countered her dark thoughts. An image of Mikula then floated into her mind. And you've got Mikula. He even has the same feelings for you. Forbasa will certainly take you back as an apprentice, disownment or not, and even if he didn't, you could stay on with Mikula's family, or even...

The last part of her thought gave her pause. You can even go back with van Horn and his friends... Back to the gleaming cities of the humans, and find a way there. She shuddered a bit at the implications of the idea. But that means leaving everything behind... And what about Mikula? Do you think that he will honestly follow you about?

Yet, the thought tantalized her. So many things to learn, so many wonderful sights... Alexis remembered one of the art museums in NeoTokyo, most especially its photographic art exhibit. The images of distant and disparate worlds that made even what she had seen of her planet and New Honshu. Images of vast rivers that stretched almost to the horizon, of tall mountains and deep canyons enticed her with their ground level shots. But what had an even greater effect were the planet-wide shots. Views from space of planet-encircling deserts, of huge, tremendous storm patterns, and of the barren surfaces of many a moon.

And Alexis had wanted then to step through the images and visit them all. They were all so beautiful... But even then, I know from seeing pictures of my own planet and lands that van Horn's people took, I know that a picture cannot compare to reality. She sighed deeply as she contemplated the idea of seeing those wonders in person. Imagine the feeling of standing next to a canyon that reaches over a mile down! Or gazing upon the various living wonders that crowd the shores of rivers!

She sighed, and then shook her head. But how would you do it? What could you do to earn the privilege, or at least he money, to travel that far? The world of the humans is a strange one, and as rough as any life here, if your friends are to be trusted in their words.

But of course, she did trust her friends. When have they ever lied to me? Or treated me ill? She sighed. Of course, they have never. Good friends, all of them, and I'm lucky to know them. Alexis felt warm at the thought, despite the subtle chill in the air.

Just then, she heard a snapping sound of someone approaching from behind. With the training she had received, Alexis rolled off the fence and used it to cover her as she drew the sidearm that van Horn insisted she carry when she left the camp.

The person standing a few meters away, however, stood erect, and soon Alexis could make out his features and scent. "Mikula," she said in surprise as she stood. "You shouldn't scare me like that."

Mikula chuckled a bit, though it died when he saw Alexis holstering her small needler pistol. "I see you learned your training pretty good," he observed as he walked forward. "Although I'll admit to feeling a bit of fear at the sight of someone pointing a pistol at me," Mikula said, and then smiled to rob his words of offense.

Alexis shook her head. "You don't have anything to fear from me, Mikula. Ever." She said and sat down on the fence again, facing Mikula.

The latter walked up and sat down next to Alexis. "I know, Alexis, I know." He reached out his left hand and covered Alexis' right with it. "I just surprised you, and I'm glad that you can protect yourself."

Alexis smiled and blushed at the same time. "So, if you didn't want to be shot, why did you come out here?" She asked playfully.

Mikula chuckled. "Well, I noticed that you had left to go thinking, and after a while, I just felt like checking to see if you might want some company." He turned and looked towards the camp. "If you don't want any, that's fine. I'll just go back to the camp."

Alexis shook her head. "No. No, you're welcome here. Mikula." She smiled again. "I'm a bit flattered that you remembered how I like to go out and think."

Mikula looked back at the gatón and returned her smile. "Well, I remember it from those times, back at Kuamket, when you just wandered off, and Soru had to explain your behavior to me." He chuckled slightly. "And then the night that the shamans met, and I went out to find you."

Alexis picked up his left hand and took it in both of hers. "I still remember that night, too. I felt glad that you cared enough to come looking for me, and though my mood at the time might not have shown it, I welcomed your friendly words of encouragement."

Mikula grinned sheepishly. "Thank you. Your happiness means much to me, Alexis, and I'm glad that I helped you feel better, despite my clumsiness."

Alexis chuckled lightly. "I was not too articulate myself," she replied and let go of his hand so she could lean back to rest her arms at her side. "And I think we were both scared of our feelings at the time."

Mikula now chuckled. "You too, eh?" He asked with a wide grin. "At the time, I thought that I was going insane or some-" His face froze, and then melted into shame. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything."

Alexis shook her head and reached out to grab his forearm giving it a reassuring squeeze. "No, Mikula, don't apologize. We were both very confused, and frankly, could you blame us?" She sighed and leaned back again. "The town had been crushed just over a week before, and van Horn with his mysterious gadgets were amazing us at every turn." She smiled a bit, remembering the good parts of their past. "I suppose that we just reached our limits of what could change we could accept." Although she spoke them, Alexis recognized the words from the talk she had had with van Horn the night before. Thank you, Earl, for your help; she silently thanked the absent human.

Mikula sighed. "Still, it's clear now that we both felt for each other then, and even sooner." He paused as Alexis nodded. "But it took you... Being injured..." His voice chocked up, requiring that he take a moment to calm down a bit. "It took you almost leaving me to realize what I felt." Mikula shook his head angrily then. "If only I had been wiser, or sharper in my observations, then maybe..." His voice trailed off.

Alexis sighed again. "Mikula, it's not your fault. I was as confused as you, and just as much in denial until I thought you lost." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around the lupar to hug him tightly, and she purred a bit. "But we know, now, Mikula. We have both been given a second chance." She looked up as Mikula looked down at her head, and their eyes met. "Let's not waste it."

Some time later, the USS Cheops landed to the north of the town and west of the river. But neither the horrendous noise nor brilliant light of its engines distracted them.