A/N: In this chapter, Zeb is going to experience something that will shake him to the core of his soul. He will be getting the upper hand on the alien hunters with defeating the last of the younger ones. Soon it will be Zeb versus the hunter leader...Warning for a bit of graphic violence

Chapter 9 Loss of a Friend

Zeb built more booby traps around the area knowing the hunters would be back. He was beginning to feel better and the nasty cut on his right thigh was starting to heal. However, he was still losing weight even though he had a fairly steady diet of meat and a root he found growing near the temple ruins. He tried some of the fruits and they upset his stomach so he just stuck to the meat and roots. Ashla still stayed by his side and she was showing signs that she was close to her delivery time.

"Could be any day now, right girl?" Zeb asked cradling the animal on his lap. She just nuzzled his bearded chin and gave him a sloppy kiss right on the mouth.

"Yuck!" he grumbled, "Ashla! That was uncalled for!"

The furry animal just purred and nuzzled closer, with Zeb feeling the life inside her moving. Feeling better, he decided to go down to the river to bathe realizing he smelled worse than ever. Ashla crawled off his lap and followed him down to the water. Taking inventory of his surroundings, Zeb walked down to the side of the river and started to remove his worn chest and back armor.

"Sheesh!" he grumbled seeing the condition of it, "They'd drum me out of the Honor Guard if I looked like this!"

Ashla in reply, nuzzled his leg and shook her head as if offended by the smell.

"Okay, girl, I can take a hint. I do need a bath!"

After setting the armor down on the grass, he slid out of his loincloth, then removed the makeshift bandages on his two leg wounds and the one on his side. He chose to keep the splints on his arm since the fracture was still tender. The Lasat waded into the shallow part near where the raft was tied up. He squatted down to splash water on his face with his left arm and then waded out farther grimacing a bit at the cool water hitting the cuts. The pain didn't last long and he leaned back to float on his back, sighing as the water soaked into his fur. Ashla waded out and swam to where he was at and he lifted her onto his chest.

"Should you be swimming in your condition?"

She just licked his face making him laugh. Hearing him laugh made her lick his face more, getting him to giggle like a child. Finally he had to stop and catch his breath. After splashing around for a few more minutes, Zeb got out of the water and layed out in the sun so his fur could dry off. He checked the cuts on his legs and side seeing they were doing okay and he rebandaged them. The splint, even though wet, was still in place and he didn't bother to replace the wood pieces. Zeb tried to move the limb a little bit and even though it still hurt alot, he knew it was healing and hopefully would be as good as new.

"Well, Ashla," he said to his furry companion, "I guess I wear the splint a little longer. Lucky I'm a Lasat and heal a little faster than a human would with a broken arm. Karabast, thing still smarts!"

He went over to stretch out on the grass again to rest and fell asleep. While he slept, Ashla went back into the temple ruins and to her nest she had built. The furry creature began to pant and lick at her lower regions where the fur parted to reveal bright pink skin, her birth canal. The area began to pulsate and she layed down as the birth began...

Zeb woke up to a strange mewling sound and it was coming from inside the ruins. Still naked, he walked back inside and let his pointed ears guide him to the mewling sound. When he found the source, he smiled and a chuckle escaped him.

"Ashla, you're a mama!" he said squatting down to see the newborn, "You have a little kit that looks just like you!"

The newborn made a little squeeky sound and then began to suckle for nourishment, making Zeb smile more.

"Guess I'm an uncle now!"

He sat down and reached over to pet Ashla and her kit, the adult animal letting him. After watching the new little family, Zeb got back up to walk outside to check on his traps again, getting a feeling that the hunters weren't too far away. He walked the parimeter of the temple his pointed ears listening for any sign of the aliens. Zeb got to work stretching some vine strands to make a bow and arrow combo. Without the full use of his right arm, Zeb used his left arm and left foot to make the primitive weapon and made sure that the vine strands didn't snap when he strung it on the wooden bow. Earlier, he had made some arrows out of small branches and sharpened the ends to a fine point, using the razor sharp alien knives. Standing up he tried it out and to his delight, the handmade arrow went deep into a tree.

"Hah!" he said a crooked grin on his face, "Not bad if I say so myself!"

A grunting made him turn and he saw Ashla walk out.

"Hey? Where's your kit?"

Ashla, as if she understood him, turned to look back into the temple entrance.

"Oh, taking a nap, eh? That's good. I'm just making us more weapons if those kriffin' hunters decide to come around again."

The furry animal crawled onto his lap and nuzzled into a ball to fall asleep. Zeb looked down at her and smiled, and remembered that he was still naked and gently as not to disturb Ashla, he got up, set her on the ground and walked over to where his loincloth and armor lay on the ground near the water. After getting redressed, the Lasat went back to finish with the bow and arrows, finishing with placing them in a quiver he made out of dried tree bark. Ashla still lay sleeping and with the quiver over his left shoulder, he carried the animal back inside the temple.

Yawning, Zeb carried Ashla over to her nest setting her down near her newborn. Realizing how fatigued he still was, Zeb stretched out on his own makeshift bed to try and have a nap. He no sooner closed his eyes when his ears perked up to a sound from outside.

The hunters were back.

Snarling, Zeb got up, pet Ashla and her kit on their heads, and walked out to confront the aliens. The Lasat grabbed the bow and arrows and a spear he hung over his back. He activated the wrist knives and took on the stance of a veteran of the Lasan High Honor Guard.

"Back for more, eh boys?" he said his deep voice in a menacing tone.

The two hunters took on battle stances of their own. With a roar, the younger alien charged Zeb and lashed out with it's own wrist knives. The Lasat easily dodged the attack and lashed out getting the bigger creature across the right leg. It cried out in pain and went after Zeb again but missed.

"Getting sloppy, are we?" Zeb asked his mouth in a grin of sarcasm, "Well, here I am! Come and get me!"

The hunter let out a roar at being taunted and activated the shoulder cannon, firing it and narrowly missing Zeb's head. He felt the fur singe from the close shot.

"Hah! Missed me!"

Roaring louder, the hunter attacked again, but this time it went after Zeb with just the wrist knives and it's bare hands. Again, the Lasat dodged the blows and climbed onto the big boulder.

"Hey, ugly! Come and get me!"

The alien roared and shot the cannon point blank at the boulder. Zeb's eyes widened and he leaped free before the rock splintered into a million pieces, the shards peppering Zeb like a million little knives.

"Karabast!" he cried out feeling many pinpricks of pain over his neck, chest and torso. He looked down seeing the dark blood seeping from the wounds. Getting wounded, just made Zeb madder and he renewed his assault.

Little to his knowledge, Ashla had come out of the temple to help protect her big furry friend. She no sooner left the entrance, when the younger hunter spotted her. With a sound almost like a laugh, the hunter aimed it's shoulder cannon at Ashla and fired, hitting the animal in the abdomen. She let out a cry that made Zeb turn to see her get shot.

"ASHLA!" he screamed and ran to her side.

From the size of the wound and the amount of blood flowing from it, Zeb knew the wound was a fatal one and she wouldn't live much longer. Tears blurring his vision, he cradled the animal in his arms and then looked up to see the younger hunter laughing, the lead hunter standing off to the side as if waiting for the fatal blow.

Zeb's big green eyes narrowed in anger and he felt a rage building up in him, the likes he had never felt before. His body began to tremble as he stood up to take out the monster who had killed his little companion. His Lasat features curled into a snarl, his fangs bared, Zeb glanced over to his left and saw the stick and vine combination that would let loose one of his more dangerous booby traps: a large tree branch with sharp sticks placed in spots to make them deadly projectiles. With a swift back kick of his left leg, Zeb activated the trap and he prayed it would work.

It did.

The log came crashing down at the hunter and smacked it dead center in the stomach and upper torso, the sharp sticks doing their damage. The force of the hit threw the creature into some bushes where it slowly got up bleeding from many deep puncture wounds. It hissed in pain, staggering to it's feet. Growling, it was more determined than ever to defeat it's prey. The lead hunter had started at seeing the log trap hit the younger one with such violence and it backed up.

Zeb seeing the creature was weakening from blood loss, charged and head-butted it in the chest knocking it to the ground, the force of the hit dislodging it's helmet from it's head. Zeb frowned seeing the alien features and he grabbed the creature's head with his muscular legs. The alien hissed in anger trying to break free but it was growing weaker.

"You killed Ashla!" Zeb cried out as he squeezed the creature's neck between his knees , his right leg throbbing with pain. The Lasat was too angry and filled with grief to notice and kept squeezing seeing the yellow eyes widening with fear and beginning to bulge out. Seeing that made Zeb squeeze harder the sound of breaking bones overpowering the creature's gasps for air. Zeb growled and with his left hand, took ahold of the dreadlock "hair" and pulled upward, the creature's gasps growing in volume, and the eyes popped out of their sockets, trailing green blood and sinew.

"This...is...for...Ashla!" Zeb cried out as he yanked upward on the dreadlocks, a sickening crack and rending sounding as the hunter's head was torn from it's body, the weird green blood gushing everywhere. Panting heavily, Zeb stood up, threw his head back to let out a loud cry of triumph and then threw the head towards the lead hunter, the creature in a state of shock at the level of violence it had just witnessed.

"Now, it's just you and me," the Lasat grumbled as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.

The taller and bigger creature began to back up and Zeb noticed it was approaching his most lethal trap, the deep hole with many sharp sticks at the bottom. With a cry of fear, the creature fell backwards into the hole and let out a scream as several sticks pierced it's right leg. Hissing in pain, it pulled the sticks free and leaped out of the hole to Zeb's surprise. He stood ready to battle the bigger hunter but it activated it's camophlage and vanished.

Panting more, Zeb fell to his knees until he heard a pain-filled whimper coming from Ashla. He turned his head seeing that his furry little friend was still clinging to life.

"Ashla," he whispered and crawled over to cradle her in his arms not caring if the blood was staining his fur. She managed a weak lick to his bearded chin, shuddered, and then breathed her last. Tears streaming down his furry cheeks, Zeb hugged the body of his companion closer as the sobs started...

After crying for several hours, Zeb got up, Ashla's body now cold in his arms. He walked over to where the boulder once stood and prepared a final resting place for the small animal that had been the only friend he had on this kriff forsaken planet. He made her a shallow grave and covered it with pieces of rock. After finishing his task, Zeb put a spear as a marker to show where his friend was buried.

"Ashla, I'm so sorry, girl. You deserve a better resting place than this," he said wiping the tears away, "They'll pay for what they did! If I die trying, I'm going to kill the last hunter! Ashla, I promise you this on my honor as a Lasat!"

A mewling from inside the temple took him away from the thoughts of vengence. It was Ashla's newborn. Sniffling, Zeb walked back in and went over to the shredded blanket nest seeing the tiny miniature of Ashla moving around trying to find it's mother.

"Oh, little kit," Zeb said as he sat down petting the tiny creature on it's head, "Your mama's...dead. You're stuck with your Uncle Zeb, and I don't have any idea how to care for you!"

The baby cried more, making Zeb's eyes tear up. He picked it up and cradled the tiny creature to his chest, hoping to calm it down. The newborn nuzzled up to his neck and began to purr softly. Thinking it was asleep, Zeb sat it back down on the blankets and not feeling his touch it began to mew again louder.

"Hey, little kit," he whispered carrying the baby back to his own bed and sat down, "I can't feed you. I...uh...don't have..."

The newborn nuzzled against his torso and began to doze off, comforted by the beating of the Lasat's heart. Looking down at the miniature of Ashla made him feel sad and the tears started again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stroked the furry ears of black and white fur, "I couldn't save your mother, but I did get the one who killed her. Ripped the kriffin' thing's head off! I swear I'm gonna kill the lead hunter. It's the only one left! It's wounded after falling into the big hole trap."

He looked down to see that the newborn creature had fallen asleep cuddled up in the crook of his arm. Smiling through his tears, Zeb layed down, the baby not stirring. He didn't fall asleep, but kept stroking the infant's ears and head, the soft fur soothing to his frazzled nerves. A wave of sadness hit as he looked down at the slumbering newborn and the tears spilled from his green eyes and he let them fall.

"Hey, little kit, I'll never let anyone ever hurt you, like they hurt your mama. I'm here to protect you no matter what. I promise on my honor as a former captain of the Lasan Honor Guard, I will protect you, and Captain Garazeb Orrelios never goes back on his promises..."