Mikula awoke slowly; the sounds of a new day working to lift his slumber even as the increase in photons coming through his eyelids registered upon his retinas, prompting increased brain activity.

Of course, Mikula wasn't really aware of these things as he slowly opened his eyes to look up at the underside of the tent's roof. He blinked his eyes a few times as his mind started working again. Soon, he remembered where he was, and what he was doing there.

He pushed himself up in his cot into a sitting position. Looking around, he saw Pavlo sleeping across the narrow space on his own cot. Then he turned around and saw that van Horn had already risen and departed, though a few clothes left out indicated that he intended to return soon.

But then he looked upon Alexis' sleeping form, and Mikula forgot about everything else for the moment. A wide smile spread along his muzzle as he saw how she had curled up, dragging the sheets to wrap around her body. Her tail had drifted out from underneath them, however, and it lay draped over the edge. Overall, the scene was so heartwarming that Mikula couldn't tear himself away from it just yet.

Such a treasure, she is, he thought warmly. Finally, though, he shook his head and turned back to get out of bed. I've got things to do, undoubtedly, even if I don't know what they are, yet. Their assignments were still coming in on a day-to-day basis, as the counter-invasion force settled in.

But he did know that it would be good to take care of personal hygiene. Mikula stood slowly and quietly went to rummage in his footlocker for his old uniform from the day before so that he could wear it to the WCs that the ground forces were sharing with the dropship crews. I just hope that it didn't get too dirty from last night, he worried. But soon the memories came back, and he couldn't help but smile and shrug off his concerns. Alexis was a lot dirtier at dinner in her coveralls.

After a few minutes of searching that went slow due to Mikula's desire to not wake his brother or Alexis, he found his old uniform and a fresh one that he would wear after cleaning up. The fact that he sought it automatically finally entered his head, and he paused. I've gotten so used to being clean every day that I don't even think about the morning routine, he mused as he began to pull on clothes over his body. Strange, how sometimes one doesn't notice change until it's past.

As distracted as he was by his internal monolog, Mikula didn't pay too much attention to where his foot was going. He moved it a bit too quick and it slammed against his footlocker, which elicited a grunt of pain and a muttered curse word; "Cheecoso."

A light, familiar chuckle came from off to his right, and Mikula felt his ears flop down in embarrassment. "You should watch where you're stepping, Mikula."

Mikula turned and smiled at Alexis, who propped herself up a bit in her cot. "I would have, if I wasn't blinded by your stunning image." He returned.

Alexis stuck her tongue out at him. "Surely I cannot be too arresting," she jested back. "After all, I can't look half as bad as you are now."

Mikula chuckled a bit. "Indeed. I am sorry if I woke you."

Alexis shrugged, which sent some of the covers to fall off of her chest. "I'm a 'light sleeper,' as our friends call it," she said the second noun in such a way that Mikula knew she meant the humans. "In fact, I woke up a bit when Earl got up, but since I was so very tired after yesterday, I didn't get up then." She yawned then, displaying rows of teeth. "But I'm better rested now, so..." She turned and pushed herself off of her cot and emulated Mikula in looking for clothes to wear for the trip to the restrooms and the upcoming day. The lupar was thankful that she had at least worn undergarments to bed; otherwise he'd not be able to drag his attention away from her and finish his own clothing needs.

Mikula still found her form distracting, however, and so he worked to focus his attention on the changes he had noted. For instance, those undergarments that keep my brain from melting, he couldn't help thinking, given his age and hormone levels. We've all taken to wearing them, no matter how hard it was for us to get used to them in the first place. He straightened up and ran a clawed hand through his hair to straighten it a bit. Now I can hardly imagine not wearing them, and Alexis is positively enamored with that 'bra' thing.

Just then, he heard footsteps of a familiar cadence walking up towards the tent. Mikula turned to Alexis and whispered to her. "Earl's coming. Are you decent?"

"Yes," she whispered back, and then giggled. "Sorry, just got carried away."

Mikula could understand her small outburst. He, too, felt like he was some kid perpetrating a prank or some sort of forbidden shenanigan.

Then van Horn reached the tent and pulled open the flap slowly. He started a bit and paused when he saw Mikula and Alexis already awake and standing in the middle of the tent. "Well, there's a pleasant surprise," he said with a smile. "I thought that I'd have to wake all of you."

"Well, maybe not us," Mikula replied with a bit of a chuckle. "But Pavlo's been asleep throughout me and Alexis' waking up."

Van Horn's eyes then showed a devilish glint. "Well, shall we help him get up then?" He asked and moved to the foot of Pavlo's cot. Mikula grinned widely, understanding the human's implication. "Indeed," he replied and went to the head of the cot. Both he and van Horn then grabbed the cot and quickly turned it so that Pavlo slid out and fell to the floor in the middle of the tent.

"Oof!" The hapless Pavlo muttered when he hit. "What the hell?" He scrambled halfway up into a crouch before he saw Mikula's wide grin. Turning around, he took in the other three. "You zugerts!"

Van Horn and Mikula laughed, and even Alexis giggled. "Well, brother, if you didn't sleep like a rock, then maybe we wouldn't have to resort to such tactics." Mikula spoke as Pavlo turned and righted his cot, which van Horn helped him with. "Ah, leave him alone, Mikula," the latter said good-naturedly. "Besides, y'all need to get ready for some work today."

"Oh? Anything in particular?" Mikula asked with some interest.

Van Horn nodded. "Yeah. New orders I got from Major Kujira. Since the lupar from the cities are going to be released, he wants most of us out there to help them find some places to wait while they decide what to do with their freedom.

"In addition," he went on after Pavlo started to go through his locker, "I brought up the fact that the locals up in Hercor haven't been out for a while, so a couple of us need to go up there and let them know that it's okay for them to return to their homes in Shulana, or at least tend to their fields."

Mikula and Pavlo nodded, looking at van Horn. But Alexis froze a bit in the middle of buttoning up her uniform's over shirt. The human noticed this, and quickly added, "so I figure that you could help me with that, Mikula, since you'll want to tell your mother and Kanu about Senmar."

Alexis sighed lightly with relief, which went unnoticed by the two lupar in the tent as they smiled at the good fortune of finding their 'lost' brother. "Well, that sounds good," Mikula replied, "But might I ask why should you come? I think I can take care of it myself."

Van Horn shrugged. "Suit yourself. I just wanted to be there in case there were any questions, but I suppose I can give you a small list of things that need to be said."

Mikula's smile died then. "What sort of things?"

Van Horn looked uncomfortable and he scratched his head. "Well, since we're gonna be here a bit, the folks up there in town need to know some things, like how they shouldn't come too close to our camp, for their safety and ours. Or even what they should do if - no, when we're attacked again." He sighed. "Some other, small things too, like how to ask for help if they need it."

Mikula looked almost downtrodden, but he smiled a bit. "Well, sounds like a job, but I'll do it."

"Good," van Horn beamed. "As for you two," he indicated Alexis and Pavlo, "y'all come with me and we'll see about getting those folks out of that pen and into some extra tents that were unpacked last night."

Mikula grunted greetings to the few lupar and gatón that still came down the ramp to watch the humans do their work. They stood carefully distant of the men in battle armor and industrial exoskeletons as they dragged hunks of stone and metal to clear the courtyard, while just beyond the ruined walls, Grenadier 'mechs that had hands were helping the Seabees as they worked to drag parts of destroyed Blakest 'mechs to where the possibly dangerous remains wouldn't pose a threat to the locals or the Republic forces.

Mikula passed the other natives easily, though the looks they gave him now were more suspicious than before. He mentally sighed. I guess it couldn't last. People are going to become a bit wary, what with all the changes. Mikula still pressed on, though, confident that his people and the gatón would listen to their leaders, and he knew that Forbasa, Varner and his mother would be rational.

Still, he nervously fingered the items clipped to his belt, most especially the radio, which would let him relay any problems to the chain of command for a speedier resolution. He had also been given a small noteputer that was loaded up with the Seabees' second, more refined report, which laid out what the Republic officer corps wanted to do around Hercor. It was his job to relay this information so that the leaders of the natives would be informed of what was going on, and even register a complaint if they found something objectionable.

I just hope I don't mess anything up, Mikula thought as he continued up the ramp. Van Horn said that this device was set up to be 'user-friendly,' which means that it should only take some simple commands from me to display the information for everyone.

Although he felt nervous, Mikula was also proud over all the things he had learned, and as well of the trust in which Major Kujira and the other humans were placing in him. I am essentially a kind of herald, he thought, remembering such envoys coming from other cities into Tanzano, occasionally. Usually, that's officers' work, and even then only to be trusted to those with experience. Well, to be fair, I do have this radio, which means that I'm not going to be out of contact, he realized, which deflated his ego a bit. Best keep yourself grounded, Mikula, so that you don't bite off more than you can chew. The latter phrase reminded him that though would be easily recognized in English, in Lupari it held a different meaning. We use it to mean when someone thinks himself bigger than he is, while the humans use it to refer to someone who takes on more than he can handle. Similar, but distinctly unique.

Mikula continued up the ramp, but now his thoughts went on less about what he was going to say than what he had realized. Such similarity... Could that be another one of those peculiar similarities that Earl was referring to when he spoke of our names that time? Suddenly, the lupar realized that van Horn hadn't mentioned anything further about it since they had been on New Honshu. In fact, he seems more and more interested in our old stories, but he seldom likes to speak about what he thinks of them. He resolved that when he got the time, he would ask van Horn on what his thoughts were on the subject. He did promise us that he would inform us, after all, about his theory.

Just then, however, the upper gates to Hercor came into view, and Mikula pressed such speculations into the back of his mind. Work to do. He walked easily up to the open gates and the two sets of guards standing on either side. One of them waved, and Mikula recognized Vilini. "Hello, Mikula."

"Hello, Vilini," he replied. "What's with the heavier guard today?"

The other lupar frowned a bit. "Some people are getting anxious to leave and go back to tending their homes and crops, and so we're trying to keep them from going down and annoying your friends."

Mikula grinned in his usual fashion. "Well, then I have good news. I've come up here to tell the Maegister and Shaman about how people can go back to doing just that."

Vilini's face showed relief at those words. "Good, good. As I've said, people are getting anxious, and it's resulted in more than a few fights."

Mikula frowned a bit. "Well, I'm sure that it will stop as soon as people get to go back to their normal lives."

Vilini shook his head a bit. "What's even normal anymore, I wonder?" He said in a quiet voice, and then looked out over the plains where 'mechs trod on patrol and the towering shapes of dropships dominated the area. "Seems like everything's been turned upside down."

Mikula shrugged. "Well, in reality, there's no such thing as 'normal.' All there is is a way people live their lives to the best of their ability."

Vilini and the other guards gave Mikula a quizzical look. "I suppose," Vilini replied quietly, and then sighed. "Well, in any case, go on in and let my father know that people can leave."

"Sure, but you might want to come along too," Mikula added with a look of unease. "There are some things that people need to be told before they can go down, and you guards would be the best to let them know before they leave town."

Vilini gave Mikula a suspicious look then. "What sort of things?" The latter sighed before replying, "look, why don't you come with? That way you can hear and see for yourself."

Vilini still looked suspicious, but he nodded. "Very well. Wait inside the gates while I send for a relief."

Mikula nodded and he stepped between the ornate gate doors. He paused on the other side when he saw several bundles and even handcarts of belongings and supplies, many with gatón or lupar in attendance. They all looked up as he walked in, and stared openly. Mikula suppressed a shudder at so many eyes looking at him as if he were something stepping out from a legend.

Less legend than nightmare, I suppose, he thought as he stepped over to a corner of the courtyard and waited for Vilini to return. Enough strange things have happened... And they haven't had my perspective, seeing on how Earl's people are different than the Wobbies, how they've gone so much out of their way to help. He sighed. I suppose that I'll have to help them see, so that they can know what I know. But I wonder how I can do that?

A few moments of thinking eventually just gave Mikula a bit of a headache. Let me just concentrate on my duty, then I'll have time to think of such things. He came to this decision just as Vilini came back from near the gate area, having dropped off his sword and armor with his relief. "Alright then, Mikula, let's go."

Mikula nodded. "After you, then," he said and gestured the same. Vilini grunted appreciatively, and he walked off, leaving Mikula to walk behind him. The two walked past the small knots of natives waiting to return to the new town below, and they soon wandered through the narrow streets.

Mikula was surprised at the number of people that still crowded the town. Of course, before everyone from the caravan was down below. Now all are crowded into this small area. No wonder some are willing to risk traveling by the forces they fear simply to get breathing room. Even as he watched, a small scuffle broke out between to male gatón over which was sitting in a particular spot first. Mikula couldn't tell what made the spot so special, but the two youths involved had to be physically separated by their friends. Although dismayed by the needless fight, Mikula couldn't help but feel a bit good that some of the separators were lupar. Seems everyone's beginning to break past old barriers, he mused. But then, they have someone else to hate, don't they? He had taken to reading some of the same items that Alexis was so fascinated in, and he too found out that humanity had a sordid past. Two parties fighting can easily turn on a third party. Our peoples are so similar that I would not be surprised if the same thing is happening here.

That, of course, raised a new question in Mikula's mind; What if they decide it's all humans, and not just the Wobbies? From the looks he was getting from some of the locals, they found even the appearance of one of their own in such foreign garb somewhat unusual, and their looks made Mikula nervously tug at the collar of his uniform's over shirt.

Vilini noticed the looks, as well. "You know, it's probably a good thing you asked me to come. The way people are getting, I wouldn't be surprised if one felt like picking a fight with you."

Mikula tried to sound nonchalant in his answer. "Well, hopefully that's what my visit here will solve, as I said." Although I'm beginning to wish that Earl did come along.

"Well, let's hope so," Vilini replied as they made the final turn to enter the small square in front of the Maegister's house. The area was filled with people that apparently were waiting to see their respective leaders, and Mikula wondered just how long it would take for him to see the Maegister and the Shaman.

But Vilini would have none of that wait. "Come on then," he said after glancing back to make sure Mikula knew that he was being spoken to. "If it's as important as getting the town less crowded, then I'm sure that my father will not mind us cutting in line."

"If you say so," Mikula replied. Vilini just shrugged and turned around to begin the task of picking his way across the square. Mikula followed, garnering more strange looks, though apparently the people here were more tired from waiting, and so their glances were merely of the idly curious type.

Some of those glances turned to irritation or mild anger at seeing the two lupar push their way past other lupar and gatón waiting in line, though no one stood to call them out. I suppose that it's good to be the son of the leader, Mikula thought as he and Vilini squeezed into the front entranceway.

The foyer was surprisingly roomy, and Mikula realized that was due to the two guards in full armor blocking everyone outside. They were apparently a checkpoint to keep the Maegister's house from being overwhelmed, and Mikula felt a sense of relief at being out of the crowds.

"Hello Vil," one of the guards said. "What's this about?"

"What's the matter, Greser, don't recognize the guy who stole the danier from your watch?" Vilini said in an amused voice while gesturing to Mikula.

The guard's eyes opened wider, and then narrowed. "So? Well, he's got some fancy clothes on, then, for a thief."

Mikula felt his fur bristle at the name, but he forced himself to remain calm. He's right, you are a thief, he reminded himself. You stole for a good reason, but it was still stealing, and you can't expect people to automatically forget that.

Vilini waved his hand. "Just settle yourself, Greser. Is there anyone in with the Maegister and Forbasa?"

The guard still looked a bit angered, but he shrugged anyway, preferring to do his duty. "Yes, Priest Heyver from the temple. Something about needing people to help clean up the place, I think."

Vilini grunted and shook his head, and Mikula blinked in surprise. "It's so bad that you can't even keep the temple clean?" He asked incredulously.

The guard looked at him and sneered. "Well, maybe if you hadn't gone gallivanting around with that slut of a gatón, then maybe you could've stayed and helped."

Vilini tried, belatedly, to indicate for the guard to shut up, but it was too late. Mikula felt a rage boil up from nothing, and he practically leapt across the short space at the guard. Using the small but still decent training he had gotten in basic hand-to-hand combat, Mikula managed to deflect the guard's hand as it reached for his sword, and at the same time, grabbed the hapless lupar by the throat with his right hand. With far more force then necessary, Mikula slammed the guard back against the doorjamb and then raised him by the throat so that his feet dangled. It was an impressive feat, since the guard had a breastplate on, but strength often comes to those incensed.

And incensed Mikula was, as he used his left hand to ram a fist into the guard's diaphragm, stunning the muscle there and causing Greser to loose all fight as the air left his lungs.

But Mikula wasn't totally done yet. He moved his face straight into the guard's and with ears laid back, he growled before speaking. "If you ever, and I mean ever speak that way about Alexis again, I will not hesitate to bite or slice off various pieces of your body, leaving your head and torso until the last so that you can feel every single bit of pain." He took his left hand and then used it to grab Greser's ears and yank on them to emphasize, eliciting a breathless yelp. "Then I will do nasty, unspeakable things to your corpse that will make you an outcast even in Tarnugralk. Am I perfectly clear on this, whelp?"

The guard's face showed clean and alarming signs of his distress, as he couldn't breathe with the air knocked out of him and Mikula's hand clutching his neck. Somehow, though, he managed a tiny nod, at which Mikula let go and stepped back. Greser collapsed, making various noises as he tried to suck in air.

A hand alighted on Mikula's shoulder, and he whirled about automatically, bringing his arms up to attack whoever had touched him. However, he soon saw that it was Vilini, and that he and the other guard were simply looking on in surprise.

Mikula dropped his arms and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Sorry."

Vilini changed his stance and crossed his arms, flicking his eyes from the still-collapsed guard to Mikula. "No matter. Greser should not be insulting guests. He learned his lesson now, methinks." With a shrug, Vilini turned and walked down the hallway leading to the Maegister's audience room. Mikula, a bit surprised at the easy acceptance, took a moment to follow, though only after looking behind him to make sure that Greser or the other guard wasn't going to try and come up behind him.

The two managed to go along without further incident, arriving just outside the door to the audience room, where another guard stood. Vilini and this new guard simply exchanged nods, and to Mikula's relief, the guard simply stood at his post, apparently bored with yet another person to see the Maegister.

Then Vilini spoke up. "Herk, why don't you go relieve Greser? I heard he had an unfortunate run in with someone he angered."

The guard's visage broke out in a smile. "Really? Asshole had it coming to him, the way he's been carrying on."

Vilini smiled darkly. "Oh, yes. In any case, relieve him and have him go fetch another guard to take your place here. I'll be staying until that one comes by, so you needn't worry."

Herk nodded. "Alright then, Vil. See ya later." He also nodded to Mikula, who nodded back, and then disappeared down the hallway.

Mikula was a bit puzzled, but then Vilini turned and leaned against the wall, looking at Mikula. "We can wait here with or without him," he said to preempt any question. Mikula simply shrugged and leaned against the opposite wall.

They stood like that for a minute, half-listening to the muted words coming from the door, before Vilini cleared his throat. "So, I take it that some of the rumors, at least, are true?"

Mikula felt his ears go down in embarrassment. "What sort of rumors?" He asked in a bluff.

Vilini shook his head. "After what you did to Greser, I should think that you'd know what I'm talking about." He paused to see if Mikula would deny it. When he didn't, Vilini spoke again. "So, unless you're so sensitive that you're gonna throttle me too, are the rumors true? You do love her?"

Mikula frowned a bit, but nodded his head. "I don't see how it's your business, but yes."

"It became my business when you assaulted a fellow guard," Vilini replied sternly. "Normally, that's a serious offense. However," he paused and scratched behind his ear. "There are bylaws that allow the protection of honor of loved ones from malicious attacks against them while they're absent. Technically, I suppose your action could be relegated as an exercise in using those laws."

Mikula smile a bit. "Thank you."

Vilini shrugged. "Don't thank me. I just want things to go smoothly between the town and those people you're working with, and that won't happen if you're arrested."

Mikula's smile disappeared. "Understood."

Vilini then looked around, and then leaned over towards Mikula, beckoning him closer. Mikula also leaned forward to hear what Vilini had to say. "That was for anyone listening in," he whispered. "In any case, good luck with her." He winked and leaned back.

Mikula smiled again as he, too, leaned back and nodded towards Vilini.

They finished speaking just in time, as they heard people standing up in the next room and movement towards the door. Both only managed to stand erect just before the door opened to let out an elderly lupar dressed in priest's robes. He passed them with a nod to each, and then walked down towards the foyer.

"Herk, send out who's-" Varner spoke as he came to the doorway, but he caught himself as he saw Vilini and Mikula standing there. "Oh. Vilini, Mikula," he nodded to both as he said their names. "Where's Herk?"

"I sent him to relieve Greser after the oaf had an accident." Vilini replied. "In any case, Mikula is here to see you and Forbasa about letting people back into the courtyard and Shulana."

Varner smiled broadly then. "Good, good. But what are you doing here?"

Mikula cleared his throat. "I asked him to come here, Maegister. Before we can start letting people go back to their routines, they need to know a few things." He looked over to Vilini then. "Vil's here since he can tell the guards, who will be in a good position to tell others as they leave."

Varner frowned as he replied. "Well, I wish you would have gone through the normal procedure." He shrugged. "No matter. Both of you come in." With that, he turned and headed back into the room.

Vilini indicated for Mikula to proceed, and waited. Mikula didn't disappoint, and he walked into the room, which hadn't changed since he'd been gone. Shaman Forbasa sat on one couch, and Mikula's own mother sat next to him.

Forbasa and Tiana stood from where they were sitting. "Mikula, how have you been?" Forbasa asked with a broad smile.

Mikula returned the smile. "I have been quite fine, Shaman. Though I've been kept quite busy helping our mutual friends."

"Good. You were always one to get into trouble when you were young," Tiana added with a bemused look on her face. Mikula felt his ears go back in embarrassment as she and the other two elder natives chuckled. Vilini refrained from verbal amusement, but he couldn't help but grin.

"Well, let us all be seated then," Varner said, and they all found seats; Mikula sat in a chair in front of the now-dark fireplace, while Vilini took another chair next to the door. Varner took his usual spot and Tiana and Forbasa sat where they had been before. "So, Mikula," Varner began. "I take it that you bring word from our friends on the plains?"

Mikula nodded. "Aye, Maegister. Major Kujira believes that clean up has proceeded to the point where it's safe for..." He paused as he tried to find a non-insulting way of putting the phrase. "For those not knowing of the threats posed to return to their normal routines."

Varner raised an eyebrow and twitched an ear. "Well, this is good news. People are getting... Irritated, with sitting in such tight quarters for too long."

"So I've seen," Mikula replied with a nod. "Though there are still a few precautions, that those returning to the plains must take to avoid, uh, problems." Not to mention avoid getting shot.

"Oh?" Forbasa spoke up then. "What sort of precautions?"

Mikula reached down to grab the noteputer from his belt, and he brought it up so that he could read from it. "A couple of things." He pressed a few buttons with his free hand to bring up the text. "For one, people returning need to avoid coming near the Republic forces." He looked up from the portable device. "We need to maintain a secure perimeter to keep enemy forces out."

Mikula paused, but no one said anything, so he went on, consulting the noteputer occasionally. "Furthermore, the various scraps of machines and weapons that lie about, while being cleaned up, can pose a hazard. Everyone should avoid them, and if they find anything they've missed, then they should come tell a representative. Which will pretty much be me, Pavlo, Alexis or van Horn, though Alexis is trying to teach some basic language to some of the humans."

"How are we supposed to come tell you when we shouldn't go near you?" Vilini asked with irritation.

Mikula looked over at the guard. "I'm getting to that." He turned and checked his noteputer again. "We're going to have a place where one of us interpreters will be available so that such things can be reported. Not to mention, if any problems develop from the soldiers being, well," he paused and frowned. "Being offensive, or abusing people." He shook his head. "It's not likely to happen, but even the best people can sometimes turn bad, so our friends want to make sure that the guilty parties in any such altercation will be punished fully and reparations made."

This seemed to raise a few eyebrows in surprise. "Well, that's certainly unusual," Varner said. "Armies are not generally known for their politeness to locals."

Mikula raised his own eyebrow. "You'd be surprised at what these people are like."

"Still," Vilini spoke up. "It seems that they are awfully generous for an army that can just take whatever they want."

Mikula turned and gave Vilini a reproving glance. "I've traveled on their ships, visited one of their worlds. Yes, that's right, I said 'worlds.'" He had seen the other four blink almost in unison. "They don't need to take anything from us because they have so much more than us already. They don't need to be here, they don't need to help us. But they are going to, anyway." He sat back a bit. "I think you can give them the benefit of the doubt."

They all sat in silence for a few moments, and then Forbasa cleared his throat and spoke up. "So, Mikula, is there anything else that needs to be said?"

Mikula checked the noteputer again. "A few things." He pressed another button to bring up the map of what the Seabees and Kujira wanted, and he stood up and walked to hand it to Varner. "This is a map showing Hercor, Shulana, and the surrounding area. The places marked in an orange color indicate structures that the Republic wants to put up."

Varner looked suspiciously at the device, but he slowly reached out and took it, looking over the map with an appreciative grunt. "Amazing. This thing even shows our fences in the fields."

Mikula nodded. "The Seabees were quite thorough."

"The who?" Tiana asked, clearly confused. Mikula grimaced slightly, realizing that he had slipped in a word with no Lupari or Gatonese equivalent. Gods, I'm starting to act like Earl! "That's the name of the... The people who will build the things we need," he explained, avoiding using more English terms like 'engineer.'

"'We,' Mikula?" His mother asked with a glint in her eyes. "You're starting to speak like you're one of them."

Mikula blushed a bit, embarrassed at the truth of the matter. "As I've said, I've been with these people for a while." He shrugged. "They're a lot like us. I feel as comfortable around them as I am around all of you."

All four of the others again looked surprised. This time, though, Varner spoke up. "Well, these areas look suitable. What to you two think?" He asked Tiana and Forbasa, handing the noteputer over. Mikula returned to his seat as the other two looked over the map quietly.

Finally, Forbasa looked up. "Unless my esteemed colleague disagrees, I fond no problem." Everyone looked over at Tiana, who shook her head. "No, these are fine. But whatever do they need so much space for?"

"Well, the area to the west of the river will be a landing strip so that they can bring down supplies and base their fighter craft... There..." Mikula saw the blank looks, and again, he had the odd sensation of being in van Horn's shoes. Did Alexis, Pavlo and I give these same looks? No wonder Earl seemed almost pained. "Well, to put it shortly, it will help. A lot." He cleared his throat, realizing that he needed to tell them everything. "However, there is a side affect of that facility."

Forbasa looked up and raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Well, you all heard how loud their ships are when they land," he paused to let the others nod. "Well, it won't be as loud as that, but it will be loud."

Tiana and Forbasa frowned at that. "That doesn't sound too pleasant."

Mikula scratched behind his head. "Well, they can build a wall to block most of the sound, so it won't be too bad. But people will have to get used to it." He shrugged. "It will be far enough away, however, that there won't be any danger, and the sound shouldn't be nearly as bad as the incoming ships. In fact, the lack of noise is one of the reasons that they want to build the runway, since it will let the quieter ships land more often, instead of having those egg-shaped ones take off all the time." Like they will if the strip isn't completed on time. Those supplies have to get down sometime.

Forbasa and Tiana shared a look, and then they turned back to Mikula. "Well, what do you think, Mikula?" His mother asked. "You've been to a place that has this kind of thing, haven't you? Is it terrible?"

Mikula started for a second, surprised that his own mother would ask for advice. She's always been the one to give me advice! He gulped and collected his thoughts. "I would not call it a pleasant place. But it is more than bearable. In fact, you even get used to it after a while. I did, since their military base is as close to that facility as this one will be to Shulana. And that one is a lot busier than this one will be." Hopefully.

At that, both Tiana and Forbasa nodded, and the latter leaned over to hand Mikula the noteputer. "Well, then I don't think we'll have any problems with that."

"Yes," Varner added. "And those other areas north and to the east of Hercor?"

"A firebase and defensive bunkers," Mikula replied naturally, and then saw the blank looks again. "Uhm. Well, the place where most of the forces will reside in is the large area. The smaller areas are places that will allow them to watch out for enemy sneak attacks."

Varner nodded, and then went silent a moment. Finally, he turned to the two people sitting on his right. "Well, Revalo, Tiana, do you two have anything you care to complain about?" When both shook their heads, Varner nodded again and turned to Mikula. "Alright. Your friends can go ahead, then, and do what they need to do. But I do hope you'll keep us appraised if they change anything."

Buoyed up by his success, Mikula nodded. "Oh, certainly. In fact, we can keep in contact, once we get a few spare radios down." To emphasize, he tapped his own radio, still clipped to his belt.

Forbasa blinked. "Actually, we still have that one that Vanhorn gave us to use that time."

Mikula shook his head. "An older model, not enough range, and the batteries are probably dead anyway." He shrugged. "Well, we'll get one up soon enough, anyway. Until then, just send someone down to the base of the ramp and we'll have one of us translators there. At least until we move everything after the base is ready."

Varner and the other two elder natives nodded. "All right, then. Go ahead and tell your friends that they can proceed." And then he stood up, indicating an end to the audience.

Mikula stood with the others and bowed slightly. "Thank you all for your time, then. We'll be sure to keep you updated." With that, he waited for Varner to wave his hand in dismissal, and then turned to head out the door he entered, Vilini standing to follow him out.

Once into the hallway, Vilini closed the door behind him and turned to face Mikula. "Mrs. Farkas was right. You do talk like you're one of them, rather than one of us."

Mikula felt his hackles rise. "They're good friends. And last I checked, we were all on the same side."

"Are we?" Vilini asked. Though it might have appeared to be a challenge, Mikula saw in Vilini's eyes the need to simply know the truth. "Mikula, can you stand there and tell me truthfully that these people mean the best?"

Despite knowing Vilini was only asking to be sure, Mikula couldn't help but let his voice drop to a growl. "I would think that after my friend saved your life, you'd find his people to be worth believing."

Vilini, for his credit, looked pained. "I deserve that." He sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. I just... I just don't know anything about these people, and it unnerves me."

Mikula nodded as he calmed down. "I can see your point. I had the very same suspicions of Earl when he first appeared." He chuckled then. "I even was afraid for him to help with my leg wound."

Vilini smiled a small bit. "Well, hopefully, we'll come to know your friends as you know them. Now," he waved along the hallway. "Why don't you go speak to your friends, while I go and tell the guards about what they should let people know."

"Sounds like a plan," Mikula said and stretched a bit to ease the tension from his shoulders. Maybe I'll even get down there in time to see Senmar relea- His thoughts froze along with his mind. "Damnit!"

"Huh? Something the matter?" Vilini asked, clearly confused.

"I need to speak to my mother again," Mikula replied and turned around to reach for the door. He reached out and grasped the handle before Vilini's hand clamped lightly onto his right forearm. "What's this? What did you forget?" Vilini asked as Mikula turned his head up to meet the guard.

"It's nothing important. Well, not to Hercor, it isn't," Mikula said, stumbling over his words, his features showing embarrassment at his lapse. "Well... I don't know if Kanu has told you anything, but we thought we had lost a brother back in Tanzano."

"He's mentioned it once or twice, yes," Vilini replied, a confused look on his face. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Well, no one in my family actually saw him die, and yesterday, me and Pavlo found him alive in the group of attacking soldiers that were captured."

Vilini's eyes widened in surprise. "You're joking."

Mikula shook his head. "I saw him myself, smelled his scent. If that isn't my brother, then I and everyone else here must be dead and not knowing it yet."

Vilini released Mikula's armor and shook his own head in response. "That's amazing. Well, I guess then you can go in." He smiled then and patted Mikula on the back. "Congratulations, I guess."

Mikula shrugged and returned the smile, though with less width. "Indeed." With that, he opened the door.

Down in the lower courtyard, events were preceding apace. Or so it seemed to van Horn, as the lupar were slowly let out of the razorwire corral, and with the help of the three translators, told where they could go for food and to get their weapons back.

Major Kujira had initially been very reluctant on that item, but van Horn had insisted, arguing that that kind of trust would reinforce the idea that the Republic wasn't there to conquer, but to help. So far, it seemed to be an acceptable risk, as most of the lupar simply went to the extra mess tent that had been flown in last night, along with a couple of extra cooks and supplies from the Rodger Young. Next to the tent sat dozens of the captured lupar, who totaled seventy-six in all.

Van Horn stirred himself from his ruminations as a middle-aged lupar walked towards where he stood, watching the newly-freed soldiers sit and talk about what they were going to do next. He recognized the lupar as the same unit commander that he had spoken to on the first night, and whom Senmar Farkas had identified as one Yurko Reyger. Van Horn nodded at the lupar as the latter approached. "Unit Commander, how can I be of service?"

Reyger frowned, clearly still uncomfortable with the good treatment, as it was much different from what he had expected. "I heard it from your allies at the gate, but I have to make sure I understand this. You are just going to let us go?"

Van Horn simply nodded, which let Reyger continue. "And this after we attacked your friends?" Another nod. "And you'll even help us with supplies so that we can return to our homes?" A final nod, and the lupar shook his head. "I don't understand. This is not only completely different from anything that I've heard of in all my life, but it's nothing like those other invaders act like."

Van Horn sighed, still a bit depressed and angered that his people were still thought of as 'the other invaders.' "Look, you don't really have to understand, right? You can just take the supplies, and the chance, and go home."

Reyger stared at the human, which was brave, considering the lupar didn't know van Horn and that the human had a big height and strength advantage. "So, just like that? You want nothing from us, then?"

Rolling his eyes, van Horn shook his head slightly. "No, nothing at all," he said and sighed. "But, if you feel like it, you can go and sit inside our detention area a little longer if you're afraid of walking home."

Reyger bristled, as van Horn knew he would. "I am not afraid of anything, furless one."

Van Horn smiled at that. "You're either a good liar," the smile disappeared, "or you're a fool who isn't afraid for the men under his command, afraid of losing, or afraid of seeing his home demolished and his family killed."

Those words struck the lupar as if they were a series of physical blows. "Are you threatening me?" He replied with a growl in his voice. Van Horn, however, just shook his head and turned to face to the side, towards the east. "No. There's no need to threat. I'm just pointing out that there's no need to lie or exaggerate." He turned his head to the other then. "So, are you afraid of going back home to face the invaders?"

At that, the lupar paused, and van Horn could see that his pride wrestled with his intellect and compassion. Finally Reyger looked down and replied. "I suppose I am, furless one." He said, looking back up at the human. "Those invaders came and ravaged whole sections of our city, captured many to use as slave labor, and killed any who fought back." He sighed, and looked towards the east as well. "They finally learned how to tell us to cooperate, they told us to fight for them, or many would die." He turned his head in a mirror to van Horn's own position. "If we go back, they'll kill us and our families, too, if they were sincere."

Van Horn smiled a bit, then, surprising the lupar. "What is it, furless one?" He asked in anger. "Do you find our deaths to be amusing?"

Van Horn frowned, and then shook his head. "No, never. I smiled because the Wobbies, as we call those invaders, won't be caring about your failure."

"Oh? And why not?"

Van Horn looked to the east again. "Because, they will be too worried about my people. We've beaten them before," he brought up a hand and clenched it into a fist. "We will do so again."

Reyger looked at the human with renewed interest, and he silently studied van Horn for a while. The latter, however, just turned his head to face east again, staring out towards the forest and the openings that showed where the Blakest 'Mechs had widened the normal trails towards the larger Lupar cities. Wherever we go, we leave our mark. The thought, familiar as it was, couldn't help but repeat itself.

Finally, Reyger cleared his throat. "So, why do you fight these invaders?"

Van Horn continued to stare off into the distance, though this time his eyes became unfocused as he gathered his thoughts. After a moment, he spoke. "We fight them because they are wrong," he said, voice soft. "Their ideas, their methods, their very thoughts... They're all wrong." Van Horn shook his head at that. "The things they've done to your people are nothing compared to what they planned to do..." Van Horn visibly shuddered, which sent a thrill of fear up the back of Reyger. "Such crimes are so large, so beyond the pale, that my own people had to invent new words to describe them. 'Genocide,' 'Mass Murder,' 'Brainwashing,'" he used the English words, but spoke them with the malice that they deserved, "they were to act not so much like men, but as animals."

Silence hung in the air for a moment before van Horn spoke again, his voice filled with sadness. "Their actions would have resulted in the deaths of untold billions, destroyed entire worlds, and sent my entire species hurtling back into the abyss of eternal war." His face now showed a grim visage. "For their actions taken, and the actions we knew they would attempt, we had to fight them, corral them," he clenched his fists again. "And kill them.

"Their kind of behavior is a legacy of ancient wars fought before my people flew amongst the stars. 'Holy War,' 'Jihad,' they cloak their vile betrayal of God and Man in such words, but all it really is, is evil." Van Horn's teeth clenched to match his fists. He then looked at Reyger, and the lupar felt as if the man would have ripped his head off right there had he been one of whom he spoke. "We will do whatever it takes to cleanse our worlds, and yours, of this lasting legacy of hatred and malice. Not because we want to do it, but because we must."

Reyger felt almost as if he were being battered by van Horn's very soul, so strongly had the human spoke. He turned away to face off into the distance, to think of what had been said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that nearly a dozen of his soldiers had managed to creep up on the two, and from their looks, they had heard the last part of the conversation, at least. Temporarily angered that his men would resort to eavesdropping, he turned and gave them all a glare that sent them to scurry back to the main mass of lupar troops. This brought even more looks of interest from the others than existed before, but Reyger didn't care; he turned to face the east again, to mull over van Horn's words.

Finally, after what seemed to be hours, but were in fact only minutes, Reyger spoke up. "And what of us, furless one? What of my people who lie under the grasp of your enemies?"

Van Horn gave the lupar a sidelong look. "As my people say, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'" He turned to face Reyger at that, prompting the lupar to mirror his movement. "If my people's enemy treats your people as their enemies, should we not be friends?"

The lupar stared for a few moments before replying. "Is that why you treat us so? Because you want us as friends?"

Van Horn nodded. "Unlike our common enemy, my people prefer to make friends, to make peace. How can there be friendship and peace if we treat you and your men terribly? How can there be peace if we elicit nothing but a desire for revenge from you?"

Reyger again stared, before he finally sighed and looked off to his side. "Part of my remains suspicious of you, and yet, your words have more truth than I've seen coming from any male's mouth." He turned then, to face obliquely from van Horn to look over his men sitting on the trampled grass of the plains, and towards the town. Turning to keep the lupar within easy viewing, van Horn noticed movement from the top of the town, and he saw groups of people beginning to leave the gates. Mikula must've finished speaking to the Maegister and Forbasa, he mused.

The lupar standing near him then turned to look at van Horn, and the human returned the look out of courtesy. "I saw, from a distance, gatón and lupar working together to defend the town. Then I see such cooperation between you and your people with them, and now they walk out of their gates, seemingly unafraid of your power." Reyger paused and shook his head. "I cannot find fault with your words or your actions. I believe you, now, when you say you'll let us go." He paused a gain, seemingly collecting his thoughts, then looked up to face van Horn. "In the spirit of the friendship you offer us, I ask you if there is any way that we can return the favor?"

Van Horn blinked, surprised at the sudden turnabout. "You don't need to do anything. This is our battle with the Wobbies, the invaders. Your people simply have the misfortune of being in the way." He spoke quietly, and cast his eyes down. "It is we, not you, that needs to prove our friendship."

"But you have," Reyger replied, "you treat us with honor and compassion." He sighed. "If only more of my own kind would act in such a way."

Van Horn smiled softly. "A common lament amongst those of us who know the difference between civilized and to be civilized."

Reyger smiled a bit in return. "I find myself more respectful of your people the more I talk to you. Such wisdom I have only had at the cost of a lifetime of mistakes," he said with a sigh at the end. "And yet you rattle off jewels of thought as if they were but nothing."

Van Horn shook his head. "If I sound as anything more than a simple soldier, than I attribute it to the great men and women of history. If I appear to tall with wisdom, it is merely because I stand on the shoulders of giants."

"Then your people are blessed," Reyger replied. "But to even use such words takes wisdom, and the fact that you even speak to me as an equal, rather than a lord, tells me even more." He sighed and again looked out over his men. "We owe you our lives, and now you offer us friendship. There has to be some way that we can offer you ours." He looked back at van Horn as he finished.

The human stood still for a time, and then sighed. "The only thing that you can do is go home. Go home and tell your families and friends to leave the cites if they can. Sneak out and away from the invaders, from the Wobbies. And know that this crest," he tapped the golden eagle insignia on his shoulder, turning his torso so that Reyger could get a good look, "will represent not hostility, but friendship. Above all, my people only wish to help yours. Let them know that, and our efforts in eliminating the Wobbies will go far smoother than if I have to have a talk like this with every lupar leader we meet." He finished with a smile.

Reyger actually chuckled at that, and then turned serious. "I see what you mean." He looked over towards the east again. "I will tell my men of this, of our words here today. And I will ask them the same as you have asked of me."

Van Horn continued to smile. "Then you trust us as friends?"

Reyger gave him a sidelong glance. "I'd think that you would have seen that I'm convinced."

"I prefer to ask and be sure, than to assume and create misunderstandings," van Horn replied seriously. Reyger nodded and turned fully face the human. "Then let us be clear, in that we want nothing but friendship between our peoples."

Van Horn smiled again. "Agreed," he said, and held out his hand. "This is a greeting by which my people show agreement and friendship," he explained.

Reyger smiled a bit and reached out with his own hand. "A bit of old to start off the new, eh?" He said as they clasped and shook hands. "A nice gesture, methinks," he said as they let go.

"Indeed," van Horn replied. "Let it act as it has before, to bind us by honor and in friendship."

Alexis stood near the three troopers from the Vanquishers who were rolling up the last of the razorwire. Normally, this wouldn't be reason enough for her to wait by, but the humans were wearing their armor to protect them and speed up their cleanup. This made them quite frightening to the gatón and lupar now making their way down Hercor's mount, and so Castellano - current leader of the scout squad as his commander had been promoted to fill the TOE - had managed to get her to be detached to handle anyone who might not take too well to their appearance.

For the moment, though, Alexis was only a few shades short of bored, as she couldn't help her friends, and the first few natives hadn't bothered to do anything more than stare as they walked by on their way to the courtyard's main gate. She recognized most of them, since they were former members of the caravan that had left Kuamket's ruins to travel all this distance, and most seemed to recognize her, from the way they lingered their looks over her. But as of yet, none cared to approach or call out or even wave at Alexis, which made the gatón feel a bit lonely. I know they're probably busy and not a bit intimidated by the armor, but I still feel kind of disappointed that none of them even want to say 'hi.' She sighed at the thought, and turned to look over where Castellano and another in scout armor were wrapping up the last roll of the wire. I can't blame them, I guess. More important things to do than to talk to someone who's standing a bit too close to such strange things to be comfortable. With that thought, Alexis walked a few steps over towards where her human friends were finishing up the process of securing the wire bundle. "So Dan, are you done yet?"

Castellano turned around, as he had stepped back from the completed bundle. "Alexis, you sound like an annoying sister," he replied, though he kept the tone of his voice light with amusement, eliciting a small smile from the gatón. "But in any case, yeah, we're done." He pointed off towards the main gates. "We need to take this stuff through the gap in the wall, so why don't you head out there?"

Alexis turned her head to look, and then turned it back to face Castellano. "Why there? Can't I just follow behind?"

Castellano shook his helmeted head. "We're gonna be taking a while, moving the bundles one by one, so the way we're going won't be safe for a bit. Well, unless you want to be crushed by razorwire..." He let his voice trail off as Alexis shivered. The gatón had been told what the wire could do to flesh, and though she hadn't seen it herself, she wasn't about to test the idea. "No. No, I guess it wouldn't," she said with a small sigh. "Alright then, I suppose it's back to helping Earl, then?"

Castellano nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

Alexis nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you."

"Be seein' ya, Alexis," Castellano replied and turned back to help his teammates to move the large bundles of wire. Alexis just turned and wandered over towards the main gate, wondering what sort of reception the people filing back for Shulana would give her when she got close. I may not be armored like Dan, but my own appearance is... Unusual enough, she mused and touched her flak vest, which she had worn along with her helmet and laser rifle on the insistence of van Horn, who wanted them to follow protocol in such a relatively dangerous situation as carrying the potentially deadly razorwire. The rifle was slung over her back, of course, since she really didn't need it - protocol only insisted on it because it demanded an armed guard to watch the backs of those removing the wire. Since Alexis was the only one not doing anything with the main purpose of their little sojourn, she was told to bring her rifle along with the flak gear.

Now she wondered if that might have been the other reason no one waved at her? Maybe they didn't recognize me... Or perhaps were just too startled by my appearance to bother? She then gave herself a mental shake. Stop it, Alexis. You're not the center of the world. Those people are just tired from all the things that have happened, and not a little eager to get back to their lives.

Still, she wondered if both explanations weren't probably right, as she continued to get looks from those who had to know it was her by now. Well, just press on, she told herself. You still have duty for today, so it's just as well that no one is holding you back with idle chatter.

With that thought, Alexis paused at the gates, which had seemed so impressive months ago, but now looked small and frail when compared to the power of the humans. Part of the pause was to think of that comparison, but also partially to let a lupar family pass through the gate, since they needed the space, what with their burgeoning brood. Alexis couldn't help but smile as the younger pups raced about, laughing in play despite the circumstances.

"Surely 'tis a nice thing to see you smiling," came a familiar voice from behind the gatón. She turned and her smiled got even wider when she recognized the bundle-carrying male who had spoken. "Jahni! How nice to see you."

The male gatón facing her smiled as well. "It has been a time, hasn't it?" He asked, and then looked her over. "You look... Different," he said neutrally, though his eyes still showed some good humor at meeting her. "Change your hairstyle?" He joked.

Alexis chuckled a bit. "Something like that," she said and reached up to take off her helmet. She undid the clasps and took the helm off, careful of her ears, and then looked at Jahni again. "But then, it's not so much the hair as what's on top of it."

"So I see," Jahni replied, impressed a bit at her easy handling of an unusual headgear. Then his countenance turned a bit more serious. "We were all worried about you, you know, when we heard that you had left with the others," he said in a quiet tone.

Alexis frowned a bit, and she felt sadness well up within her. "I didn't want anyone to worry. I didn't even intend to follow along so far." She shook her head as she remembered. "All I was supposed to do was help tie up the guards so that Earl, Mikula, Pavlo and that Kurrnaki could escape with some danier. But then some other guards caught on before we were finished, and I was stuck with them," she finished with a shrug.

Jahni tilted an ear down in a show of disbelief. "So? You couldn't come back after?"

Alexis hesitated. How do I explain? "Well, to avoid capture, they had to ride hard and fast. By the time we could all stop, we were so far that I couldn't go back, not without risking my life or the mission we were on." She sighed. "Not like I wasn't given a choice, even then. Earl- van Horn, that is," she corrected herself, knowing that not everyone knew him entirely by his last name. "He gave me a choice to go on or not." She stood more erect then, feeling proud. "I chose to go forward."

Jahni looked over Alexis anew, as if he hadn't seen her quiet so well until then. "What happened? You act so different from the Alexis I knew."

Just then, Alexis noted a set of familiar faces coming towards where she and Jahni stood next to the gate, and a chill went up her spine. My family... They were far enough away that she had a few minutes, especially as they traveled in the slow-moving line of returning residents, and she wondered what she should do.

Jahni looked over his shoulder to follow her gaze, and he grunted. Turning back, she saw a look of concern come over his face. "Speaking of changes... I know it's not really my business, but might I at least ask what sort of argument you had with your family?"

Alexis looked a Jahni, surprised. "How do you know about that?"

The young gatón looked a bit pained. "Well, it may be nobody's business, really, but in such a small community, everyone hears about it anyway." He said, his ears down a bit in slight embarrassment. "So, might I ask what is it about, at least?"

At one time, Alexis would have rebuffed Jahni, preferring to do things the traditional way and keep arguments 'within the family.' But lately, something had changed within her, something that even she was only just now realizing. Thus, she only spared a glance to her slowly approaching family before speaking to Jahni. "My father and some of his friends that my family were staying with in Hercor... They didn't like what I told them."

Jahni frowned. "Like what?"

"Several things," she temporized. "Things like how I was learning so many new ideas from our human friends," she gestured towards the Republic encampment at that. "And that I didn't want to go back to the way things were." She steeled herself a bit before unclasping her flak vest and moving the right side away to show her uniform. "But mostly, it was this that set him off."

She could tell Jahni's embarrassment deepened a bit, as he looked in the general vicinity of her chest, but he did look to where she tapped a finger from her right hand. When he read the words, Jahni leaned back a bit and brought his head to face Alexis.' "I don't get it, you married someone with the same family name?"

Alexis almost wanted to laugh, but she shook he head instead. "No, Jahni. I'm using my family name, without being married."

Jahni frowned, and then shook his head. "That's bad luck, you know, in-"

"In getting a husband, I know," Alexis countered as she let the vest drop back to rest against her front. "But it doesn't really matter if I'm not looking for a husband right away, you know."

At this, her friend looked even more confused. "I... I suppose. But," he looked around and lowered his voice, "don't you want a bit of luck with... Someone that might be ordinarily out of reach?"

Alexis blinked hard at that. "Wh-what?" She stuttered for a moment, but soon her confusion evaporated and she smiled a bit. "You mean Mikula?"

Jahni smiled a bit in return. "Just about everyone was wondering when you'd realize how happy you seem to be near him."

Alexis' smile faded as she tilted her head back a bit and remembered. "It was... Right after we thought him dead, out there," she gestured towards the river where van Horn's Darter had been finally smashed. "But I was given a second chance when he came back."

Jahni continued to smile, though it lost some of its luster. "So, you see how some luck might help?"

Alexis shook her head, which brought her eyes up enough that she saw her family was almost upon them now. "No, Jahni. It took not good luck, but bad."

Jahni frowned. "What do you mean? How can bad luck help?"

Alexis looked up slightly again, seeing her parents fairly close now. With that she reached down and grasped her uniform where the shirt was tucked into her pants. This will piss you off, father, she thought and tugged at it a bit.

Jahni's expression turned to shock. "Alexis, what're you?"

"Oh, relax Jahni," she said with more calm then she felt. "I'm not going to show you anything really special," she said and pulled first the over shirt, then the undershirt free. From the muttering coming from her left, Alexis could tell that others were noticing too. Finally, she pulled that part of her shirts up just enough to show her side above her hip. "You see those ridges under my fur?"

Jahni had initially started to turn away, but Alexis' voice caught his curiosity, and he looked. The thinner belly fur on the gatón body easily let him visually trace the lengths of her scars. "What... What're those?" He asked.

Alexis let the cloth drop; deciding that showing that much was enough. "That's where I was injured, Jahni. Injured while helping to protect this town." She raised her voice at the last, as her family was now passing by, trying to ignore her. Well, Father's the only one succeeding. Mother stares ahead, but I can see that she's not happy, and Reyato and Shaya keep sneaking glances. She had learned much about noticing her environment, and she catalogued her family's appearance even as she spoke to Jahni.

She paused then, to place her helmet back on her head so that she could use both hands to tuck her clothes back in. But part of her also intended it as a show of her martial abilities. Sine Jahni wasn't speaking with his mouth hanging open, Alexis continued. "I was hurt so bad that I didn't even remember anything until I was almost healed up.

"So as I thought I had lost Mikula, he thought he had lost me," Alexis said as she finished tucking her shirts in. "Through that bad luck, we've made nothing but good memories." She looked up then, facing Jahni in the eyes. "So while I appreciate your efforts to get me to have good luck, I think I'll stick with what's given me happiness so far." She turned and looked out the gates, clearly facing the back of her father. "Instead of what's given me grief over enjoying that happiness."

Jahni took a step back. "I think... I think I must be going now, Alexis." He said quietly. Alexis could see in his eyes that, unlike her father, Jahni wasn't reacting out of pure hatred of fear. I've just given him a lot to think about.

With that, she nodded. "No problem, Jahni. I need to be going, anyway," She said as she clasped her helmet tight under her chin. The crowd's thinned a bit. "After you" She said, and swept her left hand out to indicate that Jahni should go first.

The act was natural to her, having seen it used by human females all the time in the past weeks. It didn't occur to her until she saw Jahni's face and the faces of the few remaining lupar and gatón in line that she acted, again, totally out of convention. Men are supposed to have us go first, right. Well, as Dan says, 'Screw that.'

Jahni, apparently having enough, simply moved off in a fast walk and squeezed himself outside of the gate amongst a family of lupar. Alexis smiled at that, and despite the churning feelings of seeing her family officially ignoring her, she felt good.

Suddenly, she realized why. I took action. But not just any action, an action totally of my choosing. It ran completely contrary to all sorts of conventions amongst my people... But I did do it. She frowned as the last gatón family moved through the gate. Why is that important?

And then she had it, remembering a brief conversation she had had with van Horn during one of his hospital visits. Alexis had just finished watching an entertainment vid, some fanciful story involving thinking machines called 'robots' that tried to take over the lives of humans. She had admitted to being confused over the fiction. "Surely, isn't the life that these machines provide inherently better?" She had asked. "I mean, in that story, they portrayed the 'real world' as a cold, hard place. Why would anyone choose that over a reasonably comfortable life inside that computer?"

The time it took for van Horn to formulate an answer shocked Alexis. He had just sat in the chair for almost five minutes straight before replying. "Alexis... Remember back in that ravine, where I gave you the choice to go on or not?"

Alexis had frowned. "Of course. I was - and still am - honored that you let me have such a choice."

"Even though it led to your being injured, almost killed?" He had asked in reply. Alexis had just gulped, her perspective still too close to the events to speak of it without emotion. "Even with that, I will always treasure it as one of my greatest memories."

"And why is that, Alexis?" He had asked. Not angrily, but not compassionately, almost as if he was one of the fictional machines that had started the discussion.

Alexis had frowned again. "Because, you let me have a choice, you let me make up... My..." With that, she had begun to realize.

Van Horn noticed her face change. "You see now, Alexis?" He had leaned forward then, and his voice rose from neutrality to a tone that was pleading and eager and scholarly all at once. "It's not what life you lead, it's how you lead that life." He sat back then, turning his head to gaze down at the floor with a look that told Alexis that he was not even seeing the room anymore. "Humans desire freedom, Alexis. We crave it, as a man in the desert craves water. "He looked back at her then, and she saw something behind his eyes; something that scared and thrilled her at the same time. "We, as a species, cannot live without freedom. Whenever a power has sought to exert total control over humanity, it has been defeated with such force that none of the attempted controllers survived.

"Freedom is universal. The gift from God Himself to all His creations." He waved to the tri-d then. "The kind of life those people caught by the robots, the machines, it's against freedom. Therefore, it's against God. It's evil."

Alexis had sat back at that, mulling the information over. Van Horn had then sighed, which brought her head about to face him. "But perhaps I grow too incensed..." He mused quietly, at a level that Alexis had been sure that had she not possessed gatón hearing, she wouldn't have noticed. "In any case, though, you do not have absolutes," van Horn had gone on, louder. "Those machines... Well, they preserved the very creatures they had once fought." He shrugged. "And so long as humanity lives, there's always the hope that freedom will bound out again."

"So what are you saying, Earl?" She had asked. "I'm not fully understanding you. First you say that life's evil, then you speak as if the ones perpetrating it are not entirely evil themselves."

Van Horn had then smiled. It was a rueful smile, one reserved for those who have seen a paradox in person, had been trapped by one, and still forced to live it out. "That's exactly what I'm saying Alexis." He shook his head. "Freedom... For all its glory, in spite of its divine origin, is not freely given. It can only be earned by those who fight for it. Sometimes, it's with great armies, and sometimes, it's just a man like that hero in the vid, fighting to free himself from chains of his own creation. Those machines in that story may have been the enslavers, but what truly makes a person a slave is to let yourself believe that you do not deserve freedom, that it's not for you because it's just the way things are."

With that, Alexis opened her eyes, realizing that she had been standing by the gates for some time. The courtyard was now mostly empty, save for native Hercorian lupar who were now checking on their wares in the storehouses, or moving out towards the fields to tend to their neglected crops. Even the sun had shifted in its position so that she now stood in shadow.

But Alexis didn't see that, not entirely. The conversation with van Horn clicked into place, like a part to some jigsaw puzzle. Freedom... It's not just for entire peoples... It's not for any one group. She looked over towards the east, where the dropships of the Republic force rose high into the sky, and the noises of technology melded into one low, constant din. Not just for them... Not just for my village or Hercor... It belongs to all... To individuals.

Alexis realized then why she had felt so good. My people's culture... It's restrictive of freedom to females like me. I feel good because by acting against it, I have freed myself.

Tears started in Alexis' eyes, threatening to crest out of her sockets and to soak her face. Part of the reason, she knew, was because she still mourned the rift in her family. But the other part, the larger part, she thought, it's because I taste freedom... And it's the sweetest thing I've ever known.

Reaching up, Alexis dried her eyes with the cuff of her uniform. Then, with lightness in heart that she had never known before, she turned and walked out the gate of Hercor, and into the light.