Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters, they all belong to Disney. I do not own Halo or any of it characters, that are all belong to 343 Industries.
First Contact Chapter 3
The large black SUV pulled up and stopped a hundred feet behind them. John had paused at the entrance, looked up, and read the sign - Zootopia Police Academy. Then he felt a familiar presence beside him and a moment later her hand was on his. John looked at the Gazelle and she smiled. Thel stopped and turned to the couple.
"That was a good run," Thel said, not even breathing hard.
"Only fifteen miles," she said just a bit winded.
"Your body is in quite good condition," John said matter-of-factly and Maria chuckled.
"John, you just say the sweetest things," she said, batting her eyes at him. "Thank you."
"I see we're still under surveillance," John said, looking back at the black SUV.
"They're about as subtle as ONI," Thel said, also glancing back for a moment.
The Gazelle looked at John and cocked her head.
"Office of Naval Intelligence," he said, remembering.
"Obviously the perfect example of a contradiction in terms," she said deadpan.
One corner of John's mouth crooked up and Thel smiled.
"I and the other Spartans were under their command."
"That's another."
"Miss Gazelle," Thel began, inclining his head, "I wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for us over the last several months."
"Oh, I would've done the same thing any poor alien stranded on our planet," she said innocently. "Of course, I also had an ulterior motive."
She grinned at the Sangheili.
"And that would be?" Thel asked, raising an eyeridge.
"I wanted to get to know you two of course."
The Sangheili smiled again, knowing exactly which of them that she was the more interesting in.
"Ah!" he said and looked at the Spartan, catching his eye.
"I want to thank you too."
"I do miss you," she said, giving his hand a squeeze. "I got used to getting up every morning and seeing you two."
For a moment John thought about his time with her. Maria had helped both he and Thel get started here, going so far as to letting them live with her until recently. Most mornings John would wake early and they would find him just staring out over the city. To him it felt odd seeing an intact living city and not one blasted to rubble with people trying their best to hide and not be killed. For their morning runs she'd taken them via the subway to different parts of the city just to show them around and Maria seemed to know every square inch of Zootopia. He always found those subway rides the most interesting part of each morning's excursion. The animals would eye him and he would return their stares. Most would look away, but a few would just simply talk to him. That was completely new experience for the Spartan! In the previous few weeks with Judy and Nick's help Maria had found a house for them relatively near the police academy.
"We'd better get goin'," she said and started off, leading the way.
Thel looked at him and then they both followed.
The instructor watched as her new recruits reported in and for once they were all here on time. The last three in line were the two aliens and their sponsor. She been given all the information the government had on them or at least she hoped they had. Then wondered why the Gazelle was here with them.
"You're John," she said, looking into his blue eyes.
"Yes, ma'am, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117," he said, standing just a bit straighter.
The Major raised an eyebrow and eyed him. His expression never changed as he returned her stare.
"And you are Thel," she said, turning to the Sangheili.
"Yes, ma'am, I am also known to my people as The Arbiter."
"And you are Major Friedkin," the Gazelle said and smiled, "head instructor here at the police academy."
"Yes," the Polar Bear said, looking at the Gazelle. "Why are you here?"
"To give you a hand," she said and then handed the Major an envelope. She quickly read the contents and then looked at the Gazelle astonished, "as an instructor in unarmed self-defense."
John and Thel were assigned to the same room in the dorms since they were only allowed to be away from the academy on the weekends. After putting away their personal items it was necessary to fill out the usual bureaucratic paperwork and then their training gear had to be issued. Since his body was unlike any of the animals on this planet special accommodations needed to be made for John's equipment. It was a bit easier for Thel since there were other reptilians on this world and all his equipment only needed to be simply scaled up to match his size. Unbeknownst to them Maria paid for these customizations. These things ate up the rest of the first day and Maria met them as they entered the cafeteria for supper. Then she led them to a table where a number of predators were already serving themselves.
"Please help yourselves," she said, indicating the table with several types of fish, chicken, and turkey. "Of course the vegetables are on the regular serving line. I'll be back in a moment." She returned with box with a bow on it and handed it to him. John looked at the Gazelle and she smiled back. "Well, open it!" He did and then held a disk that fit in the palm of his hand. "Put it on the table and touch the center."
"Hi John," Cortana said and smiled as her hologram sprang into existence. "Miss me?"
"Cortana," he said matter-of-factly as everyone gathered around.
"So John, I see you're making new friends," she said as she looked around, finding the Sangheili. "Thel."
"Cortana."
"John," a Fox cadet asked, "who is this?"
"My …" John began.
"Old friend and comrade-in-arms," the AI said and smiled.
"We had a great many experiences together during the war," Thel said and the other cadets turned to look at him.
"War?" the Fox said.
"It was a war between the humans," he said and tapped John's chest, "and the Covenant of which the Sangheili, my species, were a part."
"But you're friends, right?"
"Yes, but it's a long complicated story," Thel said and looked at the others. "Let's eat first and then we'll talk."
Major Friedkin thought she'd get a late supper and get to bed early since tomorrow was the first day of the new class. As she rounded the corner she wondered why only a flickering blue light came from the cafeteria. She opened the door and stopped dead. Being projected on a screen were scenes of war. There hadn't been a war in over a thousand years on their world and what she saw was worse than anything she could ever have imagined. Fascinated she sat to watch.
"This was our battle for Instillation 08," Thel said as the scene changed, "and those Flood Combat Forms."
She watched as John and Thel defeated the Flood around the Control Room and afterward the door opened.
"That's 343 Guilty Spark," Thel said, pointing to the screen, "a forerunner AI."
Then 343 Guilty Spark turned on them and first mortally wounded Sergeant Johnson. The Spartan fought the Forerunner AI in single combat and with Johnson's help was able to destroy the AI. With his last effort Sergeant Johnson gave John Cortana's chip. She activated the instillation and with the Arbiter John was able to get them aboard the 'Forward Unto Dawn.' As the starship was about to enter the Slipstream portal Installation 08 exploded.
"That caused the Slipspace portal to be affected, causing us to arrive here in your solar system," Cortana said and the lights came up."
"And you can't go home," Major Friedkin said, joining the group.
John came to attention soon followed be everyone else. The Major waved them down and then sat herself.
"This world is 201,812 light-years from UNSC space that would take a bit more than 209 years in slipspace to return," Cortana said and then smiled at the surprised expression on the Major's face. "Unfortunately the starship's slipstream engines are damaged beyond repair and even if they weren't John and Thel couldn't stay in cryo that long. So we're to stay, Major Friedkin." She raised an eyebrow and Cortana laughed. "I'm Cortana, John's companion during the war and our starship's artificial intelligence. I currently exist in your world's internet."
"And she's already provided some very interesting technology," the Gazelle said and touched Cortana's miniature holographic projector. "Wait to you see some of the new smart phones, monitors, and computers that'll come out later this year." The Gazelle smiled at the Polar Bear. "Then there's the 'Forward Unto Dawn.'"
"Cortana said the engine was damaged," the Major said.
The Gazelle smiled again.
"The faster than light engine is, but the in-system engines are in perfect working order. And according to her we should be able to manufacture the necessary fuel. Then we could go and do a bit of exploring." She laughed at the look on the Major's face. "But that's for the future."
"Ma'am, if you came for something to eat I believe the serving line is about to close," John said and the Major looked in that direction.
"Thanks," she said and hurried off.
"I'll just show her where the meat is," Maria said and followed.
John and Thel woke at dawn and went for their regular twenty mile run. They returned forty minutes later, showered, dressed, and headed for the cafeteria. Maria was waiting and had breakfast ready for them and the other predators. John enjoyed the cheese, onions, and peppers in the omelet. Then there was oatmeal, pancakes with maple syrup, orange juice, and coffee. He looked into the soft brown eyes across from him and the Gazelle smiled back.
"So it looks like you enjoyed everything," she said and squeezed his hand. "Several times."
"As always."
"I didn't cook all this myself, you know."
"You're a good cook."
"I agree," Thel said.
The Gazelle beamed.
"Thank you."
"You only have ten minutes until orientation," Cortana announced and everyone hurried to finish.
They gathered in the green space near the academy entrance in a circle. Major Friedkin waited for everyone to settle and then began her speech.
"Listen up cadets!" she began and started to walk back and forth before them.
John thought about the last time he was a cadet and smiled inwardly. He'd only been six years old when Dr. Halsey had brought him into the Spartan II project and Chief Mendez began to train them. It was the hardest training regimen that any group of humans had ever endured. He listened to the Major's speech while these thoughts and others went through his mind.
"John," the Major said.
"Ma'am."
"Were you listening?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said and then realized that some of what he was thinking must have shown of his face.
Then he simply repeated everything she'd said verbatim and watched her eyebrows go up. The rest of the morning they were shown around the academy, training areas, and given books for their classroom training. Again Maria met them for lunch and had everything ready.
"I hear that the Major has an interesting afternoon planned for you," the Gazelle said and smiled.
"Should you be telling us?" Thel asked and Maria giggled.
"We'll see."
Again they gathered in the same green space with Major Friedkin standing before them.
"This afternoon we are going for a little run," she said and smiled.
"How far?" someone asked.
"As far as you can go," she said, looking over the cadets. "Come on!"
John caught his friend's eye and the Sangheili smiled back. The Major headed toward the entrance and the rest of the class soon followed. John noticed a new SUV sitting at the entrance. After five miles everyone kept up and John and Thel moved up until they ran directly behind the Polar Bear. By the ten mile mark several of the cadets had fallen out, but John and Thel simply ran at the Major's pace. They came to a river at fifteen miles and turned back, having lost all but three of the other cadets.
The Major felt that she was reaching her limit and looked at the aliens. They didn't even look winded! She took another sip of her sports drink and continued.
"Ma'am, shouldn't we stop and let the others catch up?" a Fox asked, coming up beside her. "Or at least stop to collect the ones who've fallen out."
The Polar Bear turned her head to respond, missing a stone laying her path. She felt the pain in her sole and then her ankle popped as she twisted and began to fall. A moment later strong arms caught her and then lifted her against a hard body. She looked into blue eyes.
"John …"
"Major, I think you may have sprained your ankle."
John carried her to the side of the road and carefully set on the grass. He examined her leg and she winced when he touched it.
"Major, you won't be able to walk back," he said and lifted her back into his arms.
"Damn it," she said and put her arms around his neck, "I forgot my phone!"
None of the cadets were allowed to have their cell phones outside their rooms. John began to run and as the miles passed the cadets who had fallen out rejoined them. Periodically the Major held her squeeze bottle to his lips, forcing him to drink and smiling when she noticed him finally beginning to sweat after they were about halfway back. Thirty minutes later they ran through the academy entrance and the Spartan took her directly to the academy's clinic. The SUV had followed them the entire way without offering them any help, John noted.
The next day John and Thel went through their usual routine and as the previous day were met by a smiling Gazelle when they entered the cafeteria. After the excitement of the day before John hoped today would be a bit more routine, but unfortunately the news had leaked out.
"John," Maria said and he looked into her soft brown eyes, "after breakfast we have an appointment with the commandant." He began to rise. "Please go ahead and finish. We still have twenty minutes."
Smiles spread around the room as his fellow cadets heard the news, knowing for certain that it would be good. As they rose to leave John endured several pats on the back, handshakes, and congratulations. Maria walked beside him and soon they stood before a door marked 'Commandant.' Then he knocked firmly.
"Come!"
John opened the door and the Gazelle followed him in. Seated before the commandant's desk were Major Friedkin and a white furred female feline.
"Cadet John Mendez, thank you for coming," the Commandant said and rose.
John saluted and the Commandant returned it.
"Sir," he said and looked at the seated animals. "Major Friedkin and Madam Mayor."
"John," the Mayor said and stood, "I'm sorry I haven't taken time to meet you before."
There was a blue flash and a hologram of a human female stood beside Maria.
"I'm sure the Mayor was just busy organizing her new government after the election," Cortana said and smiled at the surprised faces. "I'm Cortana, John's friend and companion during the Human/Covenant War."
"She's their starship's artificial intelligence and currently exists in our world's internet," the Major said and shrugged as the Commandant and Mayor turned to stare at her. "I met her last night."
The Major shrugged and the Commandant turned back and stared at Cortana for a moment. Then he looked at John.
"Cadet Mendez, you shall receive a commendation for aiding Major Friedkin after she was injured."
"He carried you …" the Mayor began.
"Over thirteen miles at a run," she said and smiled at the human. "I wanted to thank you too, John."
"Ma'am, you were no problem," he said. "I've carried heavier things over longer distances."
Cortana and Maria both burst out laughing.
"John!" Cortana said and shook her head. "Actually he's not bragging. During the war he did many amazing things, but of course, he was wearing his armor at the time."
The Commandant smiled as he looked around his office and his gaze returned to John.
"Cadet Mendez, you shall also be promoted to Cadet Leader because of your actions yesterday and your previous experience. Cadet 'Vadam will be your second and I'll be meeting with him after this meeting."
"Thank you, sir!" he said and saluted.
He smiled and returned it.
John stood before the Commandant and first received his commendation and then his new rank insignia. He stepped back and then Thel received his. They turned to the gathered cadets, instructors, staff of the academy, and members of the media and received cheers and applause.
"Next Major Friedkin would like to say a few words," the Commandant said.
The Polar Bear walked to the microphone on crunches.
"First, I like to again thank John and all the cadets who've sent me their get well wishes," the Major said and smiled. "Since I am injured I've been assigned some help." A familiar Rabbit and Fox walked across the stage and stood by her side. "Let's welcome Officer Judy Wilde and her partner Officer Nick Wilde." Again cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. "Remember when they give an order it'll be just like it's coming from me." She looked at the Rabbit and smiled. "Judy was my best student," The Rabbit's ears turned pink, "and Nick was my most … uh … interesting."
"You know you love me," he said and raised an eyebrow, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
"Nick!" Judy hissed and poked him in the side.
The volume of laughter doubled and the Major just rolled her eyes.
"It looks like we ought to have an interesting next few months," she said as the laughter continued.
Each morning following breakfast was classroom time and after lunch consisted for the physical part of the cadets' training. Both John and Thel excelled at both although they were relatively new with the language and culture. A few of his classmates and instructors thought John was a bit standoffish, but that wasn't really the case. In the past he simply had never associated socially with either civilians or nonhumans except for Thel and now Maria.
As always that Friday afternoon he and Thel were just finishing up their homework and preparing for their evening's run back to their house when there a knock on the door. Thel opened it and Maria stood there with her hands on her hips.
"May I come in?"
"Of course Miss Gazelle."
"I'd like of talk to you two."
They both sat at their desks and Maria sat on John's bed.
"What are you going to do this weekend?" she asked and John explained. To her it simply sounded what they did everyday at the academy. "Tomorrow night I'm giving a concert in the capital and I'd like you both to come."
Thel looked at his friend.
"We will," Thel said and smiled. "The capital is on the other side of the planet."
"Yea, it's a boring sixteen hour flight."
"With a Pelican dropship we could be there in two hours and thirty-four minutes," John said, doing the calculations in his head. "How many animals are going?"
"Seventy-four," she said and smiled, thinking of the possibilities. "Then there's the stage and all the sound equipment too."
"The 'Forward Unto Dawn' has six dropships aboard," John said and Maria eyes twinkled. "We could put all the animals in one and the equipment in another. There are also several fighters, tanks, and armored personnel carriers too."
John went on to explain about the GA-TL1 Interceptor/Strike Fighter,the F-41 Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter, and the other equipment. Maria laughed.
"Could you bring them all?" she asked. "We could let the animals look at the fighters, maybe ask Cortana if she could give tours of the Pelicans, and give some demonstrations of other equipment."
John took out his disk and tapped it. Cortana appeared and they explained what they needed. The AI chuckled.
The concert didn't start until 8pm, but Gazelle fans had already started gathering at the outdoor amphitheater by 10am. Some fans followed the 'Angel with Horns' from concert to concert and couldn't miss any of it – from the moment her stage went up until the second it was taken down. Unbeknownst to them they were going to get a very special treat. Around 2pm the fans thought they heard distant thunder from the northeast, but the sky was clear and blue with only a few white fluffy clouds in that direction. The sound grew louder by the minute until they could see the cause. The six Pelican drop ships passed over the crowd at three thousand feet and four of them continued and landed on the far side of venture. The other two simply hovered for thirty seconds and slowly settled to the ground. Of course this was all being recorded on a myriad of smart phones and then streamed in real time over the internet.
For the first time in history concert fans actually grew quiet as the engines spun down. Then the ramps on both dropships started to descend and three armored figures strolled out. They stopped ten feet from the crowd and the shortest of the three held out its hands palms up.
"We've traveled a very long way," it said and put its hands of its hips. "Is this were the Gazelle concert is going to be?"
Stunned no one spoke and giggles soon came from the one who spoke. The visor flipped up on the OSDT armor.
"Gazelle!"
"In the flesh!" she said and grinned. "Well at least in armor."
Her fans laughed. Then she took off the specially built helmet and gave the crowd a bow.
"Are they the aliens?" someone asked, pointing at the pair.
"Yes," she said and touched the one in green armor. "This is John," He removed his helmet, "and that's Thel." He did the same. "You must have seen their pictures on the internet."
The crowd laughed again.
"Are you guys really going to be policemen?"
"We're about half way through our training," Thel said.
"I'll bet it's not hard for you."
"It certainly different than training to be a soldier," John said, thinking of his classes. "During the war everyone who wasn't human was the enemy, but I've found this world to be quite different."
He looked at the Gazelle.
"Did you two really live with Gazelle?"
"After we were released from quarantine they had no place to live and I had big place so they moved in with me," Gazelle said and smiled.
"Lucky guys!"
"And they behaved themselves."
"Too bad!" came a female voice.
Maria blushed and the crowd laughed again.
"Anyway, we have to get ready for the show," she said as the first of the strike fighters flew overhead. "There will be tours of those ships starting in half an hour until it gets dark. Have fun! Remember the concert starts at 8!"
With the all this information on the concert going out over streaming services and social media the size of the crowd had doubled twice by noon. By 2pm it exceeded the capacity of the venue and in the next hour later it had doubled again. The animals enjoyed the tours of the drop ships and hourly overflights of the strike fighters. Cortana put the tanks and APCs through their paces too, but not displaying their firepower for obvious reasons.
Maria had informed the government that she and her equipment would be arriving via the 'Forward Unto Dawn's' drop ships and the demonstration flights of the strike fighters. She had neglected to tell them that the 'Forward Unto Dawn' itself would be moved into low orbit of the planet. Needless to say this made some animals in the government nervous since the starship was now close enough to the planet to be seen with the naked eye and passed over the capital every sixty-five minutes. Soon after Maria's phone began to ring.
"So what's the problem?" Judy asked, seeing her best friend stomping toward the stage.
"The government's bitching about the Dawn," she said and rolled her eyes. "It so close to the planet that animals can see it. That's making them nervous! The only animals that are the nervous are the ones in the government. Idiots!"
Then Maria grinned and her eyes twinkled.
"Maria, what are you doing?" she asked, watching the Gazelle beginning to tap on her smartphone.
"Oh nothing," she said and her smile only grew. "Just workin' on my blog."
Judy facepalmed and she heard her friend giggle.
"God, just I hope we don't get arrested."
"Don't worry," she said and looked up for a second, "we have a Spartan."
Judy sighed.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon Judy expected someone or maybe a lot of someones to show up from the government especially after she'd read Maria's blog. Not only did she tell everyone about the starship, but also provided information on its path so animals could be ready to see it as it passed overhead. The Rabbit suspected Cortana had her hand in that. During the three times the 'Forward Unto Dawn' did passed overhead during the concert Maria timed it so she would finished her current song a few minutes beforehand. When it came over the horizon she would point it out and then everyone would watch until it disappeared over the opposite one. Of course no one could've missed the starship since it easily out shown the full moon. She finally relaxed an hour into the concert.
"Havin' a good time?" her Fox asked as he watched her hopping up and down.
"Yes!" she said and hip checked him.
"OK … OK, I'm dancing … I'm dancing," he said and smiled back at his bunny.
The song ended and Gazelle took a break. They sat on their blanket and had a quick snack and drink. Then she felt his arm go around her and her Fox pulled her close.
"Just what do you have in mind?"
"Just wanted to hug my bunny," she said and winked, "but later …"
He whispered in her ear and they both turned pink. Then she giggled and leaned against him.
"Promises … promises," she said and lean up to kiss him.
He chuckled.
"I always keep my promises, don't I?" he said and they both laughed.
"Nick, Judy," came a synthesized voice from behind them.
They both startled and then turned to find John still in his armor.
"John!" Judy said and touched her chest. "You made us jump. How are things goin'?"
"No trouble," he said, scanning the crowd. "All the animals have been well behaved."
"Seeing you in that armor would keep anyone well behaved," Nick said and shrugged. "So how have they acted as you've wondered around?"
"The young ones have been curious and some have even crawled up on my armor," he said and scanned the crowd again. "It seems I make their parents nervous."
"I'm not surprised," Judy said and giggled. "You are just a bit intimidating." He was quiet for a time. "That's just an observation." She saw her reflection in his visor and laughed nervously. Then Judy quickly changed the subject. "Where's Thel? We haven't seen him since the concert started."
"Apparently Miss Gazelle introduced him to a friend of hers and they've been walking around the concert," he said, still scanning the crowd. "I'll send him over when I see him."
"Thanks," Judy said.
John walked back into the crowd just as Gazelle returned and the crowd yelled and clapped. Judy looked at her Fox with a raised eyebrow and he just shrugged.
The concert ended at just before midnight with only three encores. Afterwards Judy and her Fox found Maria asleep on her couch in her dressing room. Then everyone pitched in and by 3:20 all of the equipment had been packed into one of the drop ships. As she'd worked Judy had noticed another animal working at Thel's side. It wasn't tall as he was, but it did bear a vague resemblance to him. She'd known there were reptilians, but had never seen one in the flesh. This must be Maria's friend and most probably female, she thought and smiled. The last passengers to come aboard were a sleeping Gazelle being carried by John.
They lifted ten minutes later and achieved obit thirty minutes after that. Their one drop ship was large enough for both Maria's crew and the entire cadet class. Cortana had another surprise.
"Everyone," Cortana said, appearing at the front of the cabin, "we will be rendezvousing with the 'Forward Unto Dawn' in twenty-two minutes. Sorry that I didn't tell you, but I thought since we were here you might want a tour. Any objections?"
Of course, there were none. Exactly twenty-two minutes later the six Pelican Drop Ships and four Strike Fighters entered the docking bay and touched down. Then a docking tube extended and attached itself to their drop ship. John opened the hatch and Cortana's hologram waited for them at the other end.
"There's food in the cafeteria or if you're not hungry you may find an empty cabin," she said and indicated the direction for each. "Your choice."
About half went to the cafeteria and hour later they found cabins for themselves too. Cortana led Nick and Judy to the captain's cabin.
"See you two in the morning," she said and gave them a wink.
Judy stripped to her underwear and crawled into bed. Her Fox wasn't far behind her. He pulled her close and they were soon asleep. Cortana reappeared back in the cafeteria and found Maria, John, Thel, and Samantha, Maria's friend, still there talking.
"So are you all gonna stay up all night?" Cortana asked and smiled. "Time for bed! Get goin'!"
"Yes, mom!" Maria said and stood.
The others followed and Cortana smiled.
Judy woke early. She slipped out her Fox's arms without waking him and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She wasn't too surprised that the shower wasn't that much different than the one she had a home. How many ways could there be to make a shower, she thought and giggled. Then she slipped out of the cabin to do a little exploring. She'd found a pad computer in the cabin and when it booted up it had an option for the Zootopian language. It was fairly simple to navigate and she soon found a layout of the starship.
The first place she went was the ship's hospital. She'd always been a bit interesting in medicine and wondered how it would be different it would be in a civilization whose technology was several hundred years ahead of theirs. She was surprised that it didn't look that much different than their hospitals. There seemed to be many more different devices and she assumed the greatest advances would be the medicines themselves. Referring to the starship's schematic she next made her way to the computer room.
This, she thought to herself, looked like what computers should look like in the future. The room itself wasn't anywhere near the size of the one at the ZPD. The computers themselves were small while the rest of the room seemed to be taken up by what she guessed was the equipment necessary to keep them cool. She wondered farther back into the room and noticed movement. She rounded a corner and something hovered before the cooling equipment.
"What are you?"
The Huragok surprised, lost its concentration, then turned and seeing the unknown sentient, began to drift upward. Judy unconsciously reached up and a tentacle wrapped around her wrist. She was surprised how strong it was as she pulled it down to eyelevel. Then she got her first good look at it – Six eyes and tentacles! She'd seen and read enough science fiction to know this was a real honest to god alien should look like! John and Thel were aliens too, but this was something very different. Her ears came up and she smiled.
"Can you talk?" she said and reached up to pat its side. "I'm Judy."
The Huragok studied the sentient and gathered a few skin cells. Quick analysis reviled that it was distantly related to humans. It was trying to communicate and the Huragok quickly determined that further study would be necessary and sent a message to the others. It had released her and with her keen hearing heard the alien make several very high pitched sounds. It continued to study her and a few minutes later three more arrived.
"Is this all of you?"
She really didn't expect a response and then an idea came to her.
"Come on," she said and gently took one of its tentacles.
She started toward the door and the others trailed behind. Then she released it and they continued to follow. She was getting a bit hungry and thought by now everyone should be in the cafeteria. When she came through the door she saw Nick speaking to the Spartan. The Huragok drifted in behind her and she watched everyone freeze in surprise except John and Thel.
"I've make some new friends," she said and laughed.
"Do we have to eat with them?" Nick asked, noticing that one beside him continued to stare.
"They're OK," she said and patted her favorite's side. "After all the old scifi movies we watched I thought you liked aliens. What about John and Thel?"
The Spartan and Sangheili looked at him.
"Of course I like them, but the Hu – ra – gok are … so … uh … alien."
The one beside Nick moved closer and touched his fur with a tentacle. He scooted toward his bunny and made a face.
"Judy!"
"He probably only wants a blood sample," she said and giggled.
"Don't say that!" he said now almost in the chair with her. "You might give them ideas!"
Several of the cadets laughed. Unbeknownst to everyone the Huragok were now using the starship's computers to translate their conversations.
"Actually we would like to examine one of each of the new species and of both sexes if possible," a voice said, coming over the loud speakers.
Needless to say everyone was surprised.
"Why did wait to now to reveal yourselves?" Cortana asked, appearing before the Huragok.
"We were on Instillation 008 and knew it would soon be destroyed so we boarded this ship, hoping we could escape. Then we hid after seeing all the destruction you caused." The Huragok looked at John and Thel. Judy patted her friend's side again. "Then we met Judy." She blushed. "Judy wasn't afraid and she seemed to like us." Nick hugged his bunny. "We also have started to make repairs to this ship."
"And you spoofed the internal sensors so I couldn't see you," Cortana stated, starting to examine the computers.
"Yes."
"Can you repair the slipspace drive?" Cortana asked.
"No, it's nothing but a lump of fused metal, but we could build a new one."
"How long would that take?" Judy asked.
"Six months."
"But it would still take 209 years to get back to UNSC space," Cortana said.
"We could build a more advance slipspace dive, but it wouldn't work in this ship."
"Why not?" John asked.
"The stresses would destroy it."
"So you'd need to build a new starship," Cortana said, thinking, "and a shipyard and all the industries to create the equipment and metals for the starship. This entire civilization would have to be advanced four hundred years in a short time."
"We estimate it would take twenty-two years. We would need to build many new Huragok and there are only four of us."
"Build!" Judy said unconsciously.
"Yes, we do not reproduce like you with males and females joining," the Huragok said and Judy blushed again. "Although it does take two of us to build a new Huragok. The new one will have all the knowledge of its 'parents' and we also have the knowledge to build Lifeworkers."
It was the first time Judy had seen Cortana surprised.
"Lifeworkers are …" Judy prompted.
"A type of Huragok specializing in living things and medicine rather than machinery such as we do."
"I didn't think your type of Huragok contained that type of information," Contana said.
"We don't, but we brought a Forerunner database with us."
Cortana actually whistled.
"What do we do now?" Judy asked.
Cortana smiled.
"Now the Huragok and I shall begin to bring your world up to UNSC technological standards to start."
Major Friedkin looked out at the smiling faces of the cadets and shook her head. The entire cadet class had flown to capital in one of the alien landing craft, attended a Gazelle concert, and spent most of Sunday in space onboard the starship. To top it all all of it was broadcast over multiple streaming services in realtime. This morning the Commandant had received a call from the President herself and needless to say the World Government wasn't at all happy!
"Commandant, you wanted to see me?" the Gazelle said and smiled.
"I received a call from the President and …"
"Janet isn't happy."
"Miss Gazelle."
"Sir, I did tell them what we intended, but just I forgot about the starship."
"But you wrote about in your blog!"
"Some bureaucrat called me and tried to order me around like I worked for him or something!" Maria said and snorted.
Cortana appeared in a blue flash.
"Sorry that was my fault," she said and shrugged. "I brought the Dawn into a closer orbit."
"And then you just had to stream everything over the internet."
"When I spoke to Janet …"
"You spoke to the President!" the Commandant interrupted and Maria grinned.
"Of course," she said and chuckled at the Snow Leopard's expression. "I called her about ten minutes ago."
"You have her number!"
"Yes, sir," she said and his phone began to ring. "That's probably Janet right now."
"It is," Cortana said a moment later.
The Commandant first looked at Maria and then Cortana and put the phone to his ear. He listened for a moment and then looked at the two animals.
"Thank you for coming," he whispered, covering the mouthpiece.
As they walked toward the Cafeteria Cortana looked at the Gazelle and smiled.
"What did you say to the President?"
"Well, you know elections are next year."
"You didn't!"
"I just suggested that politics was an interest of mine and thought I might run for office myself at some point in the future."
"Like next year?"
"Maybe."
They both laughed and went to help get lunch ready.
John enjoyed watching Judy run the different obstacle courses representing the twelve ecosystems in Zootopia. This wasn't the first time, but it was still interesting. During the time he and Thel had lived with Maria she at one time of another had taken them to each of them on their daily morning runs. Current he was waiting in line behind the Rabbit at the obstacle course for tundra town. She took off and leapt, landing on the backs and shoulders of the cadets, trying to climb over the ice wall. She certainly was creative, he thought. It was his turn next and he ran, leapt at the lip of the water, caught the top of the wall with one hand, and swung over. He landed easily and kept running, glancing back for a moment and seeing Thel coming over the top using his claws to grip the ice.
He caught up to the diminutive Rabbit and ran beside her.
"This must seem easy compared to what you did to become a Spartan," she said, remembering some of the videos that Cortana had shown her and her Fox. He only looked at her for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "You know this afternoon we begin weapons training."
Judy could swear he was almost smiling.
Secretly 'weapons training' was Major Friedkin favorite part of the course. As she entered firing range she noticed that all her cadets were gathered around the tables setup behind the firing line.
"Cadets," she said and they turned and then parted for her. She looked down at the table covered with unfamiliar weapons and looked to John. "Yours?"
"and Thel's," he said and pointed to a odd shaped piece of metal.
She reached to touch it and Thel intercepted her hand.
"Ma'am, that is a Type-1 Energy Sword," he said, taking his weapon. Then he stepped back and activated it. Every cadet except John unconsciously took a step back. "It is our chief weapon of nobility and my people regard it as holy. It takes a great deal of training to master it."
The Sangheili went through some of the routines used in training with the weapon. The cadets took several more steps back. Thel finished the routine and deactivated it. He placed it back on the table and everyone seemed to give a sigh of relief. The Major looked back to the other weapons and then at John.
"These are UNSC personal infantry weapons," he said and lifted a rifle. "This is The Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine-920 railgun is single shot and fires the," he held up the projectile, "M645 Ferric-Tungsten Projectile. It can penetrate both hard and soft targets and ideally it is to be used against well-armored personnel." He placed it back on the table and lifted the next weapon.
"This is the Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle, also known as the Spartan Laser. It is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, directed energy weapon. The laser is a powerful microsecond-long pulse of energy capable of burning through thick plates of metallic laminates, nanocomposites, or hardened steel."
Then he lifted the next weapon.
"A shotgun," a Nick said and the Spartan glanced at him.
"This is the M90 Close Assault Weapon System. It's a pump-action shotgun and chambered for 8 gauge ammunition with a dual-tubular, non-detachable magazine that can be fed up to twelve shells through a top-mounted elevator. It's extremely devastating at close quarters combat and would be quite useful as a standard SWAT weapon."
John lifted the last weapon – a handgun.
"This is the M6C/SOCOM semi-automatic pistol. It holds twelve rounds and has an integrated sound suppressor and muzzle brake. This handgun is the secondary weapon of the UNSC Special Forces – the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Officer Hopps will demonstrate some of these weapons if you don't mind Major."
From the entrance behind them Judy strolled in wearing full sized ODST armor. Major Friedkin wondered how Judy could wear this armor since it made her over a foot and a half taller.
"The engineers modified this armor perfectly," she said, flipping up the visor. "It feels like I'm wearing a second skin!"
The Major went to the Rabbit's side and began to examine the armor. Then remembering looked at John.
"No problem," she said and smiled. "I'd like to try them myself."
"Judy," he said and indicated the weapons, "your choice."
She chose the shotgun and went to the firing line. Then she loaded it with twelve shells and put on the safety. John put up a target and ran it down the line. Everyone put on their ear protectors. Judy closed the visor and read the information displayed on the inside of the visor. Then she lifted the weapon to her shoulder, flipped off the safety, took aim, and fired. The target simply disappeared in a thousand pieces of fluttering paper. She flipped on the safety and turned with the stock resting on her hip.
"I like it!" she said and her voice boomed out the armor's external speakers.
Nick looked at his bunny and chuckled.
"It's you, Judy."
The rest of the cadets burst into laughter.
After spending the morning trying out the UNSC weapons and then training the cadets on the more mundane weapons used by the ZPD the Major headed to the gym for the afternoon class in unarmed self-defense. Since she was still injured the Major could only give pointers to the cadets. As the instructor the Gazelle first asked if any of the cadets had self-defense or martial arts training and about half raised their hands. She had Judy and Nick take that other half of the class and started then on beginners exercises.
She then proceeded to test their self defense skills with a one-on-one match with the remainder. None of these matches lasted more than a few minutes with the majority ending with a cadet looking up into Maria's smiling face. Toward the end the remaining cadets seemed to be reluctant to enter the ring. John and Thel stayed at the end of the line seemingly to help cadets with pointers as they watched. Maria smiled at the two aliens.
John was quite agile, Maria thought as he dodged her last kick effortlessly. Then she drifted to the right and slid to the floor, trying to entangle her legs in his. He only dodged away again and then attacked. He seemed to be moving even faster – almost a blur. Then she attacked, but he was gone! In that moment her instincts told her that he was behind her and she spun, bringing down her horns.
"Stop!" she cried, backing off. He stood before her seemingly unconcerned. "Sorry I …"
"Reacted instinctively," he said, looking into her brown eyes.
"Yes."
"I expected it."
"Damn it, John!" she said, stepping closer and poking him in the chest. "You're not made of steel! I could've hurt or …"
"I have more experience that you."
"That may be true," she said, still poking him in the chest, "but anyone can make a mistake!"
She thought he was almost smiling and she snorted. Then out of frustration she punched him in the chest hard. A normal person would've been knocked down, but he only gave a slight grunt.
"John, I'm sorry!" she said and hugged him.
Then she felt his large hand patting her back. The others in the gym looked at the couple and smiled.
John finished the last question on the final exam and then read through each question again. When he was positive that he'd answered each question correctly he sent his test to Major Friedkin's pad. He heard it ping and the Polar Bear look down for a moment and then look at him with surprise on her face. She looked at her pad again and then motioned for him join her. Several of the cadets looked up and the Polar Bear glared at them. They quickly returned to their tests.
"John, you do have two more hours to complete this."
He looked up at the clock and then back to her.
"Ma'am, I did take time to recheck my answers."
"It's been only thirty-five minutes!"
"Several of the questions did take a bit of thought."
"But there are two hundred multiple choice and four essay questions!"
"Yes ma'am."
Her made a face and then looked at his test.
"You go back to your seat," she said, not looking up. "I'm going to grade your test!"
"Yes ma'am."
Just as he sat he heard her pad ping again and minute later Thel walked to front of the room. Again several cadets looked up and soon returned to their tests. After speaking to the Major for a couple of minutes he returned to his seat. John looked to his friend and the Sangheili only shrugged. They watched her go through first his test and then Thel's. She again motioned them to join her.
"You both missed the same question."
She eyed them both.
"Which one ma'am?" John asked.
She turned the pad and pointed. They both looked and John looked at his friend.
"Ma'am, 'B' is the correct answer," Thel said and she reread the question.
"Major, he's correct."
"But …" she began and took her pad back. "The key says the answer is 'D'."
"It's still incorrect," Thel said and held his hand out for her pad. "I assume your pad has access to the internet."
"It does," she said and gave it to him.
The Sangheili quickly found the relevant part of the criminal code and returned the pad. She read the part he indicated and sighed. By then all the cadet were watching them.
"Ma'am, look at the date on that section," Thel said.
"It was changed only last month!"
"You did tell us to read the criminal code since it was going to be on the test," Thel said and smiled.
"You read it all!"
"Yes."
"You remembered this!"
"Ma'am, I remember all of it," Thel said and she looked at John.
"I read it too," John said.
"And you remember all of it too."
"Yes ma'am," he said and nodded.
"You two are the most interesting students I've had since …" she said and then cut herself off, thinking of a certain Rabbit and Fox.
Maria and Samantha went to their house to first take them to lunch and then to their graduation. John answered the door already in his uniform.
"Don't you look handsome," Maria said and then hugged him. "Are you two ready?"
Thel came down the stairs and Samantha went to him. They embraced and John felt Maria squeeze his hand. Samantha was from a small group of islands on the other side of the world and like Thel she too was a reptilian. Actually her species was the largest reptile on the planet, but she was still a foot and a half shorter than the Sangheili.
"Well we'd better get goin'," Maria said and the others followed. When they got to the car she handed John the keys. "Why don't you drive?"
He took them, opened the passenger door, and helped her in.
"Thank you John," she said and smiled at the handsome human.
John got in, adjusted the seat, checked the mirrors, fastened his seatbelt, and also made sure the others had fastened theirs too. Then he started the big SUV and let it roll forward and tapped the breaks. He pulled out onto the road and gently slowed and stopped at the next cross street. He looked both ways and continued across.
"You certainly are the conscientious driver," Maria said and winked at the Spartan when he glanced at her. "I feel much safer already. Oh, when you get to the next light you'll need to turn right. The restaurant will be a few miles down also on the right." John stopped at the light and looked at her. "I'll let you know when we get close." He turned and drove the exact speed limit, following all the traffic laws to the letter. "Maybe I ought to have hired you two to be my bodyguard and driver."
"Then which would be which?" Samantha asked and smiled as Maria turned to look at her.
The Gazelle chuckled.
"It'd be a tough choice."
"I seriously doubt that," she said and laid her head on Thel's shoulder.
"Would that be the restaurant?" John asked after about ten minutes.
Maria saw it at least a half mile away.
"You have good eyes."
The parking lot seemed full, but John managed to find an empty spot in the back. They got out and Thel and Samantha walked ahead of them to the entrance. Then the two reptilians abruptly stopped and laughed. John followed their gaze and read the sign – The Predator's Table. Then he looked back at the Gazelle and she only smiled. Taking his hand she led them to the restaurant and of course John opened the door for her. The greeter, a Lion, met them as they entered.
"We have a reservation," Maria said and winked at the Lion, "under the name Gazelle."
She watched recognition dawn in his golden eyes and smiled. They were quickly seated in a private room and menus and a waiter appeared almost instantly. Drink orders were taken and they begun to peruse the menus.
"An interesting restaurant you chose," Thel said and grinned.
"Don't worry I won't go hungry," Maria said and then and chuckled. "There are a few things on here for prey."
Thel and Samantha laughed and John only raised an eyebrow. Lunch was delicious and afterward they had coffee and dessert. Maria had taken her last bite of cake when her ears came up and she turned toward the door.
"Maria, what's wrong?" John said, by now being able to read her quite well.
A moment later they heard a gunshot and then screams. John went to the door and opened it a crack. A Spartan was always knew his surroundings and John had scoped out the building as he entered, finding all the exits, the best firing positions, and places of concealment. He first looked to the direction of the shot and saw nothing. Then her glance back and saw the exit he knew was there. He ducked back in the room and motioned the others to follow. They silently made their way outside and then to the SUV. A moment later he heard the hatch swing up and back door swing open. The Gazelle reached in and opened a concealed compartment in the floorboard.
"John, here's your graduation present," Maria said and handed him a holster and then a pistol. "It fires nonlethal rounds. She reached in again and took out another set. "Here's one for you too, Thel."
Then she took out two more and handed one to Samantha. Everyone checked their pistols and snapped on the safeties.
"You're not police officers," John said, looking into her soft brown eyes.
"And neither are you for about another two hours."
John smiled.
"OK, come on then," he said, turning and starting toward the front of the restaurant. He heard a giggle and then the sound of the others following behind. Just as they came around the corner three animals were backing out the front door. The Wolf with the pistol was hit four times and fell twitching to the ground as the nonlethal darts discharged thousands of volts into his body. The other two wolves turned and saw the four guns aimed at them. Then they dropped their knives and raised their hands.
"Walk towards us and keep your hands up," John commanded and they walked halfway. "Now lay on the ground and keep your hands away from your bodies."
John and Thel holstered their pistols and cuffed the wolves. Then he walked over, checked on the now unconscious wolf, and retrieved his pistol, ejecting the magazine and pulling the slide back until it locked. The first patrol car arrived five minutes later and a Tigress and Wolf stepped out. The Tigress first looked at the three Wolves and then at John and Thel.
"You're not police officers yet!" Fangmeyer said and sighed.
"Someone told me that same thing not long ago," John said and glanced at the Gazelle, "but we were here."
"You should have just called 911."
"I did," Samantha announced and smiled.
Fangmeyer looked at the reptilian and looked at the pistol in John's holster.
"You're not supposed to be armed!"
"These are nonlethal and don't require a carry permit," Maria said and grinned at the Tigress, "but Samantha and I do have them."
They both held up their carry permits.
"You're armed now."
"What's the sense of having a carry permit and not carrying," Maria said and chuckled.
The Tigress rolled her eyes and EMTs drove into the parking lot a moment later. They checked on the unconscious wolf and put him into the back of their ambulance. A few more patrol cars showed up and took control of the crowd, now sensing it was safe and spilling out of the restaurant to gawk. A bit later the detectives showed up and started taking statements from them and then the restaurant's patrons.
"John, the graduation starts in thirty-six minutes," Maria said anxiously and then looked at Fangmeyer.
"We'll get you there," Fangmeyer said and looked at the four of them. "Go get your car and follow us."
It was the first time in the history of the academy that graduates arrived with a police escort. The news of the robbery actually arrived at just about the same time they did due to the officers on scene and the media covering this historic graduation ceremony. John and Thel joined the other graduates with only a few minutes to spare. The ceremony began and the names of the graduates were called and received their badges until only John and Thel remained. Then a certain Gazelle replaced the Mayor at the podium and the crowd applauded. Maria raised a hand and waited until they quieted.
"This day is about the brave animals who volunteered to join the ZPD to protect our city," Maria began and indicated the new ZPD officers. "Everyone remembers Judy's eloquent speech a few years ago on another graduation day." Maria looked at her friend and smiled. "What she said is as true then as it is today. On our way here we stopped for lunch and the restaurant was robbed. John and Thel stopped armed robbers and held them until ZPD officers arrived. These are the type of people we need in the ZPD. John, Thel, please."
Samantha joined Maria and John and Thel soon stood before them. Samantha opened the box, looked up at Thel, and smiled. Then she removed the badge, stood on her tiptoes, and pinned it on his uniform. She hugged him and he returned it. The crowd whistled and cheered. They walked off the stage, leaving Maria and her Spartan. Then she took out his badge, went to him, and pinned it on. She stepped back, smiled devilishly, and threw herself into his arms. He caught her and then she surprised him with a kiss. This was another completely new experience for him and his arms went around the Gazelle. The crowd roared its approval.
A week later John and Thel woke early and went through their usual morning routine. Then they dressed in their uniforms to report for their first day at the ZPD. Of course John drove, driving the exact speed limit and obeying all traffic laws to the letter. He found a spot in the employee parking lot of Precinct One and a Cheetah was the first animal they met. He was just as Judy had described him: tall, sleek, muscular, and handsome.
"O-M-Goodness!" he said, looking up and then coming around the desk. "John, Thel, glad to meet you!"
He put out a hand and John shook it.
"You must be Ben," Thel said and the Cheetah looked up at him, surprised. "Judy described you perfectly."
Ben chuckled.
"Well, I guess you wanta get to roll call," he said and smiled. "The bullpen is over … never mind I'll just show ya. Come on." He turned and they caught up to him. "When get some time I'd like to talk to you. Maybe we could go to lunch sometime. I know all the good places!"
Thel looked at his friend.
"Sure," Thel said and patted the Cheetah's shoulder. "How about next week sometime?"
"Sounds great!" Ben said and pointed to the door. "There it is. Just let me know."
"Thanks Ben," John said and opened the door.
All the animals turned to look at them and all conversation ceased.
"John, Thel!" Judy cried and ran to greet them. "Come on! We saved you a couple of seats!"
"Thank you Judy," John said.
They followed and John recognized several of his recently graduated classmates. He nodded to them and sat beside Judy. Thel sat on the other side next to Nick.
"Are you excided?" Judy asked and giggled. "Chief Bogo will be here soon!"
"Excited," he repeated and looked at the Rabbit. "I think this job will be quite interesting."
Judy looked at him and smiled knowingly.
As promised soon enough Chief Bogo opened the door and strode into the room.
"Attention!"
John stood and the other officers grunted and beat on the tables.
"Alright! Alright! Enough! Shut it!" Bogo shouted and officers quieted and then sat. "We have some new recruits with us this mornin' including our first two aliens. I …" Then he looked into John's hard blue eyes and reconsidered. "Well … uh … I want to welcome all of you."
John heard Judy quiet snort and glanced at the Rabbit. Both he and Thel had heard all about Chief Bogo from Judy and Nick.
"Why thank you, sir," Thel said and smiled.
He looked at the Sangheili and frowned. Bogo thought about saying something else and then again reconsidered. He went over the items on the daily docket and began to hand out assignments until only John and Thel were left. He looked at them and grinned.
"Parking duty."