Hi, all! Alashiya: thanks as always for your support. YT and SilverKnight: thanks for the comments. Glad you're both enjoying it. Amychan: thanks for reading!

Here's more. Enjoy.

5. Yazzi Digger

Jack and the two soldiers marched through the massive Tarrenko fortress until they reached a long, wooden corridor. The tall, strapping man on Jack's left was Ipshen Xio (ZHEE-o), and the short, pug-faced man on his right was Ipshen Zip.

Jack tried not to stare too much. The hallway was made entirely of some unidentifiable dark wood, buffed and sealed so it shone. Torches flickered on the walls, lighting up different doors set in the paneling. The gold signs on them said things like "Command" and "Conference." They had reached the center of the fortress.

Everything around here was quite lavish, Jack realized. He wondered how all of this wealth had been acquired so quickly. His thoughts were soon brought back to earth when he slammed into Xio, who had stopped walking. Jack stumbled back. Xio cast him an annoyed glance and knocked on the nearest door. It said "GEN. YAZZI DIGGER."

"Enter," said a gruff alto voice.

Xio opened the door, shooed Jack inside, and closed it.

Jack looked around at the office he had just entered, and felt a slight pang at his new surroundings. The room, like the hallway outside, had wood paneling and soft light that didn't extend very far. Tatami and pillows in various bright colors and patterns littered the floor. All the tables were low. A long scroll was nailed to a nearby wall; three lines of delicately-penned kanji ran down the center. A haiku, Jack realized, and his heart gave a leap. It was unfamiliar but still beautiful.

Asagao ya

Tsurube torarete

Something moved in the darkness; Jack never read the third line. But when the something materialized and came out into the light, the samurai forgot about poetry entirely. His mouth hung open; he stared quite rudely.

General Yazzi Digger was female.

A female what, Jack couldn't quite decide.

Her blood-red Gunzai chest plate was slung haphazardly over her shoulders and revealed a half-buttoned red blouse beneath it. She wore red pants that reminded him strongly of hakama. A curious bone necklace hung across her exposed collar-bone. It looked (on closer inspection) to be made of polished human canines. But Yazzi Digger's face held Jack's attention better than her jewelry, for she was as much a dog as Ari was a cat. Her fur was snow white. Most of it was short, but a considerable bit of it tumbled down her back like a horse's mane. Her eyes were a sickly yellow color. Her wolfish snout twitched, and she licked her long fangs and stared at him.

"Come to me," she commanded. There was something icy and dangerous in her rough voice.

Warily, Jack followed the order. He stood stock still as she wandered around him, surveying him. Finally she stood in front of him and crossed her arms. She looked rather pleased.

"They tell me you are Ipshen Renakalli, the only survivor of Troop 49."

"That is … that is correct, General."

"Please, my dear. Call me Yazzi," she finished, getting far too close and grinning at him.

Jack's eyes went wide, but he didn't falter. "Yazzi," he repeated.

"But not in public, you understand," she cooed.

Jack attempted speech a couple of times, failed, blushed clear through his beard, and stared at the floor. He stayed that way until he heard a huff, retreating footsteps, and the click of a lamp turning on. When he at last looked up, Yazzi was sitting where there had once been darkness at the back of the room. She had settled herself on a fluffy pillow in front of a low table.

"Your report, Ipshen," she said curtly, picking up a pen.

"Yes," said Jack, and he cleared his throat. "We were attacked by a snow beast while attempting to cross the White Mountains. The beast was very powerful. I was the last survivor of the battle, myself wounded when…" He thought fast. "A warrior appeared. He killed the snow beast and ran off before I could thank him. It was all I could do to get to the gate of Tarrenko, and I remember nothing else before waking up in the infirmary."

Yazzi blinked at him. "That's it? Did you even get a good look at the warrior?"

"No, General. It … It was dark. And I was losing quite a bit of blood. It was hard to see, and harder still to concentrate."

"So I gather. And what are your plans now?" She asked, leaning forward on the low table. The movement showed a bit too much of her furry cleavage and Jack looked away.

"Well, since I have no troop, I will request to be transferred. Perhaps…" He steeled himself and kept his promise to Ari. "Perhaps I could be transferred to Troop 50."

He steadied his gaze on Yazzi and waited for her answer, wondering what she would say. As it turned out, her face did most of the talking. At his mention of Troop 50 she seemed to melt. On anyone else, the glazed eyes and silly smile would have been endearing. On her, it was just cause to flee a room.

"Why, what a coincidence, Ipshen! That's one of my troops! And you're in luck. It just so happens that I have one opening left. You simply must join us here at Tarrenko."

The way she said 'opening' made little hairs stand up on the back of Jack's neck. He willed his face to be still and made a stiff bow.

"Thank you, General," he forced out politely. "I will."

She nodded at him with a sly smile, her eyes raking him up and down. Just as he turned to leave he heard her voice behind him.

"I am taking Troop 48 on tonight's mission, Ipshen, so you are spared. But when I call for Troop 50, I expect you to be there."

"As you wish," he said, and strode out.

Once outside the closed door, he met up with Xio and Zip. The two soldiers looked like they were in a great hurry. They practically pounced on him and shoved him on his way. It was apparent that their intentions were friendly, however.

"What did she say?" Xio asked as they made haste down the corridor.

"I have been transferred to Troop 50," Jack said.

"Sweet!" said Zip. "We're in it, too! Hey, that means you have come!"

"Come where?" asked Jack.

Xio snorted. "With us, doofus. We have to sit around all night!"

"I do not understand," Jack said as Xio pulled him into a jog. "Why must we hurry to sit around?"

Zip laughed as he tried to keep pace. "Because no one in their right mind will sit around sober. We need to get there before all the good stuff is gone! Get ADAP!"

"ADAP?" JAck inquired. They were running by now.

"As Drunk As Possible," Xio translated, giving Jack a wondering look. "Hell Renakalli, I know you were injured, but come on!"

Jack just nodded. "I apologize. I am having some … memory problems."

Even as he said this, he was formulating a plan to get out of drinking with these guys. He had more important things to do. Xio and Zip didn't seem to notice his slight reluctance, though. The three of them raced back through hallways and courtyards to reach the main lodge. Xio and Zip were laughing and talking but Jack, rubbing the back of his neck and staring around as he ran, couldn't shake the feeling that he'd somehow been violated just by stepping into Yazzi Digger's office.

TBC

Translations:

Tatami – a type of flat mat which often decorates the floors of traditional Japanese homes.

Kanji – one of the three "alphabets" used in writing Japanese. Reserved for traditional words of Japanese origin; it is pictorial, rather than phonetic writing, and is originally from China. Probably more than you needed to know. LOL

Haiku – traditional Japanese poetry of three lines with the syllable format 5 – 7 – 5. It focuses on the explosive beauty of a moment. Not one word is expendable.

Asagao ya / Tsurube torarete / Mora – i mizu: a Romaji representation of an actual haiku by the famous poet/nun Chiyo-ni (1703 – 1775). The haiku translates as: "Morning glory/ The well-bucket entangled / I ask for water." The poet, seeing that a beautiful morning-glory has wrapped itself around her well-bucket line, goes to a friend to ask for water rather than disturb the flower.

Hakama – A loose, flowing pair of trousers, often worn by Japanese warriors in training.