Chapter Five

I noticed two familiar silhouettes in the nearby jungle, and a low series of bark-like noises. I turned and grabbed Jason's shoulder.

"I see George and Martha in the forest," I said. "You and Menderash have some new Morph-Clones to unload at the dome. Why don't you take Mukky back to home-base, while I go rustle us up some grub?"

"Yeah," he said, looking distracted. He looked at me. "What's your impression of Muk-Luk?"

I was slightly taken aback.

"Um…Why?" I asked.

"I trust your impressions of people. There's something about him that…Bugs me."

"Besides the fact that his armor looks like a giant bug?"

"Yeah, that, partially," Jason said. "But also…Why armor? Is he hiding something? If so, what? And why? He said most species are disturbed by Kelbrid appearances…Why are most species disturbed by it? And what's with the whole 'me owning a planet' thing?"

"I think that last part is just an extension of what Jake said back on earth," I commented. Jason raised an eyebrow. "He said, that the Kelbrid are super respectful of other species territory. I think that after you proved your right to this world, in the eyes of Kelbrid law…That they're just being respectful."

"Okay," Jason said. "But what about the rest of it?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I do think that he's hiding something. But at the same time, I don't think that he's lied to us. He could have let the One shred us back there, but he didn't. He saved our lives. That counts for a lot in my book."

"Fair enough," Jason said. "Hop to it…George and Martha sound hungry."

I stepped away from the others, and focused on one of my favorite morphs since crashing on this planet. Deinonychus. Pack hunters. Like wolves.

But they're built more like the Velociraptors from Jurassic Park. They're essentially that, more or less. Though the coloring is different. But they're a pretty fun morph. Like a wolf in a forest, they know what they're doing and how to hunt.

My snout extended in front of me, as my tail stretched out of my spine. My fingers and toes melted together as my weight shifted forward. My teeth sharpened, turning into tiny daggers in my mouth. My big toe stretched into a deadly Andalite-tail-shaped claw.

My senses came online, and I caught a whiff of George and Martha in the forest. I let out a series of sharp chirps and in a heartbeat the two real Deinonychus were by my side.

(Let's roll,) I said in thought-speech.

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We caught ourselves a nice big fat protoceratops for dinner. Protoceratops were everywhere in the jungle. They appeared to have filled a niche in the ecosystem occupied by wild pigs back on earth.

They breed proficiently and are everywhere. This particular protoceratops though…He was a big one. Almost twice the size of the protos we usually caught. I could tell George and Martha were pleased with themselves too.

We had, somehow, earned the loyalty of these two dinosaurs, when we saved George from a slow death from being trapped underneath a fallen tree. Although we had done it, with the intention of acquiring George and Martha's DNA. But shortly after that, we cemented our relationship with the dinosaurs by feeding them the leftovers of our dinner from the first night here.

Jason figures this is how humans and dogs might have become friends. Either way, the two dinosaurs had been pretty darn loyal to us. They hadn't even protested (much) when we introduced Menderash to them, and allowed Menderash to acquire George's DNA.

George and Martha had gotten used to our odd (by Deinonychus standards) routine. Once dinner was caught, we would take it back to the clone-dome carve it up, Jason and I would take our choice meats, and cook them up on our little makeshift stove, and the Deinonychus would take the leftovers.

I think one of the reasons that George and Martha were so keen on us, is that in the wild, choice cuts of meat included internal organs…Those were the coveted parts of any kill for most wild animals. But humans don't like organs, for the most part…Fois Gras notwithstanding.

So while Jason and I would eat the muscular parts of the dinosaurs we killed…The 'best parts' the organs, would go to the Deinonychus.

So the three of us dragged the proto back to camp, where Jason had already set up the campfire. We had constructed a small makeshift grill to go over the fire. Jason had already tossed a few carrot-like roots that we had discovered about a week ago onto the grill. We dumped the proto next to the fire.

Then I began to strip the creature, carving it up like a thanksgiving turkey. I'll leave it mostly to your imagination, but butchering is messy work. After we had stripped enough meat for me, Jason, Menderash, and even a little extra for the Kelbrid, we left the remains of the dinosaur to be devoured by George and Martha, who were all to eager to do so.

I demorphed and slipped inside the dome to wash my hands. I would be forever grateful that there was at least, running water and a toilet in our camp.

I stepped outside to find Jason casually cooking our dinner.

"You got a big one, this time," He said.

"Little piggy was so fat," I commented "I was surprised that we were the first predators to get him."

"That's what I love about you, Em," He said casually, and my heart flittered. "You're not squeamish."

"I live on a farm, Jason," I said. "Squeamish is for the weak."

"Exactly," he said.

Menderash had suddenly appeared with Muk-Luk.

"Muk-Luk," Menderash said. "Has found an entryway into the second dome. Though obviously, we could not get in, ourselves. An authorized DNA pattern is required."

"We'll check it out later," I said.

"What are you doing?" Muk-Luk said, frowning.

"Cooking dinner," Jason said, checking one of the carrots.

"Cooking?" Muk-Luk said, frowning. "That term is unfamiliar…"

"We use fire," I said. "Heat, to kill potential pathogens and tenderize the food we're going to eat."

"That is meat," Muk-Luk said in surprise. "You…Are carnivores?"

"Humans are actually omnivores," Jason said casually. "We require both vegetable and meat in our diets to be healthy. Most of the local plants, are ones we're not familiar with, so we've been cautious about eating them, but the human digestive system can handle just about any kind of animal meat."

Muk-Luk suddenly seemed relieved, though with a giant green bug-like mechanical suit, who can tell.

"Kelbrid are carnivores too," He said, sounding very relieved indeed. "It is not a fact we share, often. Most sentient species have turned out to be herbivorous. It has made us feel…Awkward."

I thought about that…It was true…Most of the sentient species I had heard of were vegetarians of some kind. Andalites ate grass. Hork-Bajir ate bark. Arn eat tree sap. Even the Yeerks didn't eat meat, they ate Kandrona rays from their sun.

The only carnivorous sentient that I had heard of outside the planet, were the Taxxons. Not exactly a species to brag about.

"That explains the meat thing," I said. Sort of, anyway. But something about it was still off. The Kelbrid were still very mysterious…Still hiding something…And like any good detective…Like Holmes and Poirot, I was determined to figure it out.

"Would you like some?" Jason asked. "Obviously your species doesn't cook it's food, since the concept was unfamiliar to you, but…"

"Yes," Muk-Luk said. "I would very much like to partake, if you are offering. I have not eaten in some cycles."

Jason took a strip of protoceratops meat on a stick, and handed it to the Kelbrid. The Kelbrid took a large bite out of it with the mouth on his armor, and appeared to swallow it.

"Mmmm," he said. "Quite tasty."

He handed the stick back to Jason.

"You don't want any more?" Jason asked in surprise.

"My digestive system operates rather slowly," Muk-Luk said. "This one bite will sustain me for weeks."

Jason blinked.

"Wow," he said. "Remind me not to have you over for a Cajun get-together. A guy who only eats one bite would not be popular."

"I see why you cook your food, as well," Muk-Luk said. "The elimination of pathogens is definitely an admirable goal. Especially given the One. Heat is its only consistent weakness. It hasn't been able to absorb any species that will allow the viral prions to survive intense heat. This is why Kelbrid armor is equipped with high-intensity plasma blasters, like the one I used to save you."

"Makes sense," Jason said. "A lot of pathogens can't take the heat. It's why fevers are one of the body's natural defenses. Body heats up, germs die."

"Does it posses any other weaknesses?" Menderash asked. "Anything we can exploit?"

"It is limited by the number of hosts it has," Muk-Luk said. "And the DNA it has at its disposal. It is not creative. It cannot recombine DNA into new pathways…It can only use the DNA of creatures it has consumed."

"So," I said. "It can only use an ability or power that one of its hosts has, like Hork-Bajir blades, or Andalite stalk-eyes. It can't just make up something new, like, oh…Heat-proof skin."

"Correct," Muk-Luk said. "And thankfully, it has not encountered a creature with Heat-Proof skin, so it remains vulnerable to heat."

"That gives me an idea!" I said, suddenly. "An idea for a trap we can set for the next ship piece that comes down…In, how long, Mendy?"

"A little over fourteen hours," Menderash responded. Erica had given us a timetable for every ship piece due to crash into the planet. Menderash had memorized the timetable, and was keeping track. He might have had a human body, but his mind was still that of an Andalite, and Andalites are natural timekeepers.

"Great!" I said. "Plenty of time to set our trap."