Chapter 47

Red Buttes Wilderness
Oregon/California border

"Okay, you can't tell me that you have to stay quiet any more, not out here," Morgan said over the headset as the helo make its way over the mountain ridges. They were flying 'low and slow' as the pilot put it, keeping them off of radar systems. For what, Morgan didn't know, given that they were flying over the US.

Hotch shook his head and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"All right, Here's the briefing. Upon genetic testing, Doctor Spencer Reid with the BAU was found to be 'extraterrestrial by birth' according to the folks at the lab. His family came here as refugees at the beginning of their war and never disclosed his origins."

"I knew it." Morgan said. "I knew it. I told you ten years ago that boy was not human."

Hotch ignored this. "The alien government asked that he be given leave to train offworld with them, and we've been asked to be his support team." He gave them a brief rundown of what had happened with the Quadranians and Luke and Reid, and they listened carefully to all of it. They all knew not to ask if he was serious. They'd all seen the videos of the landing, and they'd all watched the news as the aliens set up a spaceport on Governor's Island.

"So basically, we're going out to learn how to work with him now? With these new powers he's supposed to be developing?" Morgan asked.

"In a nutshell, yes. The Quadranian queen seems personally interested in him. Morgan, I'm going to need you to be my second profiler on this team. We need a profile on the queen, and on the people which means learning as much as we can about their culture. I'm going to be working with you. It'll be the first actual profile of an alien."

"Sounds like fun."

"McMillan, you're weapons. I want you to learn everything you can from everyone you can about anything you can. I want to know about ship weapons, personal weapons, and everything in between. And I want you ready to train the rest of us as soon as possible. We don't want to get into a shooting war, but what we have on these people says that they finish what gets started."

"You got it, boss," McMillan answered.

"Radcliffe, you're tech. Figure out how to access their equipment, and learn how it works. When we're back on planet, I want to be able to interface as much as they'll let us, and if you find out how to access beyond what they let us, that's a bonus."

"All right," McMillan said.

"You expecting trouble, boss?" McMillan asked.

"These people have already been through an interstellar war, and they came out on top, so I'm not taking any chances. Right now, though, our focus is on keeping Reid as safe as we can. The other side is out to get him here, and when we come back, he's going to be target number one. We have limited time to learn what we need to."

"Fair enough."

"Okay, folks, LZ's coming up in about five minutes," the pilot announced over the headsets.

The landing zone was a small clearing in the middle of a valley surrounded by forested mountains. There was nothing to mark this particular clearing as special, and nothing in the surrounding area that would say that anything out of the ordinary was going to be going down here, but nevertheless, the pilot landed cautiously and kept the blades spinning once he'd touched down.

"I have orders that another helo is coming to get you, but I've got the radio up and I'll be in range for the next thirty minutes if something goes wrong," the pilot said as the rest of the team was pulling their stuff out of the craft.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Hotch answered. "Thanks for the lift."

Once all their stuff was unloaded, Hotch closed the cargo door and stepped back to watch the helicopter lift off the ground. Once it was out of sight, he turned back to the others.

"Okay, looks like we've got a walk. About a mile and a half to the lake down that way."

They didn't waste any time getting their things shouldered, piling the duffels on top of the packs and shrugging the whole bundle onto their backs. The hike didn't leave much wind for talking, so the four traveled in silence from the clearing into the forest.

Hotch could see Morgan and McMillan on high alert, their heads moving every way, watching the trees. Radcliffe seemed more relaxed, but even he was conscious of the way the forest obscured things around them. Every so often, Hotch swore that he could hear sounds that they weren't making, and he would stop and look around, and the others did the same, but there was no sign of anyone or anything tracking them.

"Ever get the feeling that you're being watched?" Radcliffe asked.

"Cougar?" Morgan asked. "They like the woods out here."

"I'm thinking something with more brains," McMillan said, her hand on her sidearm.

"Well we're almost there," Hotch said. "Come on. Just keep an eye out."

Another few minutes of walking brought them to another clearing, just where Hotch knew that it would be. This clearing was different, though. The forest surrounded a small lake, and the trees were clear all the way around, giving the team a good view of the lake itself. Standing on the other side of the lake was a small figure, about the size of a child. But most children weren't covered in fur with high, perked ears on top of their head and long, thin tails stretching out behind them.

The figure stood silently, eyes catching the light of the sun while the wind rustled through the feathers woven into its grey striped fur on one side. It didn't move, and it didn't speak.

"What the hell is that?" McMillan asked. "It doesn't look like a cougar."

"That's a Mrr'tani," Hotch answered, keeping an eye on the figure. He didn't want to get closer to it, not just yet, not given the way that it was watching them.

"I heard about them at the Bureau, but they don't come out of the island much," Radcliffe said, peering across the lake at the figure. "Brass thinks they're camera shy."

"Given that Alvez says a lot of them are the equivalent of special forces, I don't think I buy that they're hermits."

The Mrr'tani across the lake finally moved, and Hotch let out a sigh of relief as it beckoned them closer. The relief was short-lived, though, when three more Mrr'tani emerged from the forest behind the team.

McMillan was the first to react, a half second faster than Morgan, but both drew their weapons and turned to face the new Mrr'tani, reactions fueled by adrenaline and instinct.

"Hold it!" Morgan shouted, almost echoing McMillan's shout.

"Hold your fire!" Hotch shouted over them, his heart pounding while his head filled with reams of paperwork that would be needed if they shot one of the visitors. How much paperwork would it take to say that you started a galactic war?

"Would have killed you many ticks back, if wanted," the first hissed, ears back and hand on the hilt of one of their plasma swords. The one speaking was larger than the one across the lake, and though Hotch could hear the words translated through the device that he'd been given, he could see the look of confusion and fear on McMillan's face, and the cautious regard on Morgan's.

"Humans need be more observant," the second growled. This one was small and lithe, with stripes in its fur. The voice from this one was more gentle, but still had a threatening tone to it. The translators did a decent job of conveying the tone with the words..

"They're not going to hurt us," he called to the others. "Put your guns down."

"Wise human," the first said as its ears came back up.

Morgan and McMillan holstered their weapons and relaxed at least a little. The team didn't take their eyes off the Mrr'tani, though now that the crisis was passed, it was with more curiosity than caution.

For their part, the Mrr'tani hung the hilts of their blades on the thin belts that they wore. With a start, Hotch realized that the belts really were all they wore. Fur apparently did a good job of covering. He was quick to recover from the realization, though.

"I'm Aaron Hotchner," he said to the first one, "and this is my team. Audrey McMillan, Derek Morgan and Jason Radcliffe." Did Mrr'tani understand English, or were they wearing translators, too?

"Am Strong Hands," the first one said, then looked first to the right at the smaller striped one. "Is Silent Stalker."

Silent Stalker bowed at the introduction, her eyes twinkling. At least now Hotch could tell the difference between him and her, at least from this close.

"Is Broken Bark," Strong Hands continued, turning to the third one.

Broken Bark was as tall as Hotch, but as stout as Morgan, and he was the only one who hadn't picked up a weapon. From the perked ears and the amused expression that was clearly readable on his face, he thought the whole thing was entertaining. But he bowed the same as Silent Stalker.

"Come, Aaron Hotchner," Strong Hands said, gesturing across the lake.

"Was this a part of the plan, boss?" McMillan asked.

"I think the plan just went out the window," Hotch answered.

"Guess it's time for a new plan, then," Morgan said as the team followed along behind Strong Hands.

Hotch watched the way that they moved, curiosity overtaking the fear of the unknown that was threatening to push its way to the fore. It wasn't every day that he ran across a bunch of aliens in the forest, after all. The Mrr'tani moved in flowing and graceful lines, and even after only a moment or two, he could see their personalities expressing themselves in their stride. Where Strong Hands was direct and quick, Silent Stalker was graceful and slower, her steps making not a sound on the loam that covered the outskirts of the clearing. Broken Bark lumbered and kept his eyes on the humans, his face clearly showing a curiosity that matched Hotch's.

When they reached the other side of the lake, the first Mrr'tani was still there waiting for them, her sharp eyes never leaving their path around the lake. This one was smaller than the rest, and closer up, Hotch could see that the feathers woven into her fur were there to cover a scar that looked like a burn that covered a good deal of the right side of her body. In the fur on the left side of her neck, there were small, iridescent pearl beads woven in.

"Am Dream Catcher," she said when they came close enough to hear her. Her voice was soft and soothing, moreso than any human's. When she spoke, Hotch felt something behind the words that made him want to relax. It made him feel safe. And that feeling alone raised an alarm. Looking at Morgan, Hotch could tell that he'd felt it, too. Morgan was looking back at him with a frown and a shake of his head. McMillan was eyeing Dream Catcher closely, but Radcliffe didn't seem to register a threat at all.

"Am Frr'a'narr'ah of Jungle clan," Dream Catcher said. "Will not harm you. Keeper is eager to see you."

"Frr'a'narr'ah?" Radcliffe asked, butchering the pronunciation. "What is that?"

Dream Catcher and the other Mrr'tani laughed at the attempt to say the word, but even the laugh came with another feeling of good humor and calm.

"What are you doing to us?" McMillan demanded.

"Am not doing anything with intention," Dream Catcher answered. "Keeper has seen that you may not be mind-blind as most humans. You feel the touch of the Memory. Do not fear, is not malice. Mrr'tani have given bond that Aaron Hotchner and his companions be protected as Mrr'tani."

"I guess that's a good thing, sir," Radcliffe said, turning back to look at Hotch.

"Come," Dream Catcher said, gesturing to the beginning of the forest. "Shuttle arrives in less than a turn. Will be soon, but now you come rest with us. Have food, water, shade. Keeper will say what you need to know when she arrives."

"What do you think, Hotch?" Morgan asked, coming close enough to speak quietly.

"I think this is why we came all the way out here. Let's go."


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Note: This chapter guest written by my lovely wife The Blind Tigress