This chapter is special in many ways. It pushes the whole story over 100,000 words, is a major step in Kira and Dylan's relationship, and it reveals a few world elements that were probably a mistake to wait so long to reveal. I could end the story right here, I feel it has a suitable endpoint. But I don't want to. So let's just call it the unofficial end to an act.
Editing has been done by... a lot of people. Let's see...
padfootsm
fleetadmtrekie
nochtisdragon
incongruency
Anonymous 'M'
Rotarydragon
Blu3wolf
So seven editing eyes looked this over. Still, if there are any problems, report them and I'll amend them.
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https://www.sofurry.com/view/783304I got a new art commission! It's too big to fit here, though. So go here to see:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14884960/Integration
Part TenThe flashlight shone a dim red light into an open cabinet. The medic stuck a hand in and sifted through the clutter, searching for anything useful. He found a small bottle of ibuprofen and some iodine, and immediately stuffed them into one of the pouches at his waist. The light veered downwards to settle on another cabinet under the sink. He crouched down and dug through it to find a simple red first aid kit. He dragged it out and placed it on top of the sink, quickly poking through it, wanting to see what pitiful bounty he found.
It was a bunch of trivial junk. A band-aid was little good to a woman with a sucking chest wound. He sighed and started to repack the kit. He could wish for more all he wanted, but this was what he had been given to work with. As he stuffed the supplies back into the plastic box his vision started to spin. He shook his head and clutched the sink, focusing on his hands as his vision danced around.
Once it finally settled he pushed off of the sink, shook his head, and finished putting everything back into the kit. He grabbed the whole thing in one hand and picked up his gun, propped against the wall, by its sling and headed back into the hallway. He looked both directions, suddenly wondering what to do now.
He couldn’t think. Something was wrong. Something should have happened, but it hadn’t. Now, he was left disoriented. His head spun again and he stumbled forward to brace himself against the adjacent wall. He wobbled side to side for a few seconds, trying to collect his thoughts. This wasn’t right. He should be somewhere else right now. Why wasn’t he somewhere else?
His eyes widened with realization and the spinning suddenly stopped. It was the dream. He was back. Why? Again? Could he not have a break? The first aid kit started to rattle as his hand trembled. His helmet thumped against the wall once in frustration before he suddenly whirled around and threw the little box into the bathroom, where it smashed apart against the tiled shower wall, spilling its contents inside the bathtub.
The soldier only spent a moment entertaining the idea of waking up before steeling himself. It wasn’t time to wake. This was another chance to save these people and he would be damned if he let the dream win by default. He unslung his shotgun as he turned to head towards the room. One hand pulled back the charging handle to check for a shell in the chamber as he nudged the door open. Satisfied with the loaded weapon, he tossed it onto the dresser.
A glance was all the three civilians received while he unsnapped his helmet and tossed the armor to the floor with a heavy thump before stepping over to the window. As soon as he gazed upon the dark world outside, it all flashed with a burst of lightning followed by a boom of thunder.
The endless forest was back.
It was back. The shadows moving across the pillars of the sky-piercing trees gave it away. He shivered in fear as his hands started to undo the buckles on his vest. He flinched with each snapping clip. The rigging fell from his shoulders and thudded onto the ground.
Lightning lit up the world once more as he started to unbutton his jacket. He saw it standing between a couple of trees, watching him. He didn’t take his eyes off of that spot as he took his jacket off and tossed it aside, leaving him in just an olive colored shirt. He raised his hand and his fingers shakily formed a finger gun as he pointed at where he saw it last. He waited for the storm to flash again. When it did, he saw it again, standing in the same spot. His thumb triggered the mock weapon and he feigned recoil.
Once the light was gone he turned on his heel, pulled the revolver from its thigh holster, and checked the cylinder. He wanted the loaded weapons to give him confidence, but all he felt was that gnawing fear. He ignored that feeling. Fear was what it wanted. Resistance was what angered it. He shoved the pistol back into its holster and grabbed the shotgun off of the dresser before heading for the door.
“Wait,” said the man in the chair. The medic paid him no mind as he kept going, not even glancing to acknowledge him as he entered the hallway and headed for the stairs. As his boots thudded down the steps he heard the man shout, “Let her in!” His voice carried through the house, and it even sounded demanding.
He marched out into the wet darkness, stopping only for a moment to look up at the sky and let the rain wash down his face and skin, left bare and free from his gear. He headed for the forest, but as he reached the edge he suddenly stopped, staring into it. He shook his head and turned back around. He placed himself directly in front of the house and faced the forest.
He quietly waited there for many long minutes. It wanted him to go out there. He wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t going to get what it wanted. Not this time. “Come on!” he screamed into the blackness. “Face me!” He outstretched his arms, gun held in one hand, and beckoned for it to come and get him. “You want them, you have to go through me!”
He received no response. Not even a flash of lightning to reveal it waiting for him. He let his arms fall down to his sides, disappointed. An urge to go into the darkness and get this over with gnawed at him, but he fought it. He couldn’t do that. He had to wait this time. Enough with simply trying to bring this to an end. It was time to truly resist it.
He would wait, and live this nightmare longer. Resigning himself to staying in this dreamscape, he sat down onto the wet ground, knees bent, and laid his weapon across his lap. Sitting in the pouring rain, he watched the forest for far too long. His body shook as he waited, terrified. Each passing moment saw that terror growing more and more. He felt a part of him begging to simply wake up, asking to not live through this, and saying that it was pointless. He buried that part of him. Quitting was what it wanted. It denied him the chance to resist it, as if his resistance wasn’t already pointless.
“Let her in,” he heard, then a moment later he realized he uttered it himself. He looked down at the gun in his lap and watched the rainwater drip off of the front sight. Let her in. If he let her in it could hurt her. It could control her. It could hurt him even more.
His hand squeezed around the barrel of the weapon. What if she could help? She’d want to help. She was stronger than it. She was stronger than him. He lifted the gun out of his lap and placed it butt down in the mud, and stared at it. This thing had failed him time and time again. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. He would never be enough. He couldn’t do this alone.
He wished she was here. She could fight it. She could save these people.
She could protect him.
His forehead pressed against the topside of the gun barrel and he sighed. He needed her. He felt the slight tremors coursing through his body slow to almost nothing as he imagined that white furred wolfess being here. Not as a monster, but his guardian.
The pitter-patter of the rain around him slowed to silence. He lifted his head up and looked around anxiously. It was another change, another shift in the dream. It never stopped raining. The shaking returned as he listened to the silent night. The rumble of thunder and the flash of lighting left the world. The trees stopped their bobbing as the wind ceased its blowing. All he could hear was his shallow breathing and the rattle of his gun as he lifted it up and aimed between his knees toward the forest.
He peered through the sight as he leveled his aim on a dark figure approaching between the thick trunks of the trees. He steeled his grip to stop the rattling and held his breath as his finger stroked the trigger.
As it stepped out of the forest its form took shape, and it stopped. He slowly lifted his cheek off of the stock, his mouth slightly agape, as he looked at it. White fur, blue eyes, and a soft, toothless smile all on an impossibly tall wolfess as she took shape. His gun slowly lowered until the barrel squelched into the wet grass. He let the butt rest in his lap as he placed both of his hands on his knees.
His shaking stopped.
She started to take steps toward him. They were slow and light, as if she was doing her best to not frighten him. He willed his body to relax as his gaze went up and up as she got closer. She stopped a few meters away from him where she lowered herself down into a squat and carefully extended an arm.
A part of him cried that it was a trick; that it was just here to destroy his nerve by using her. But he squashed it. He shoved it to the back of his mind. He had to trust her. Before her hand even touched him his body relaxed and leaned sideways as if he would fall over. The dark pads of her fingers caught him and gently propped him back up. She stroked his side and smiled tenderly down at him, silently telling him it would be okay.
He felt her hand leave him and, for a short moment, he was terrified that she was going to leave. Instead, she shifted as she turned around and smoothly sat herself down next to him. Without even thinking the medic scooted over, closed the distance, and leaned against her hip. Her palm cupped around his side and lightly pressed him against her. Her thumb slowly caressed him as her hand lingered, keeping the medic safely wrapped in its protective warmth.
For the first time, he felt unafraid as he watched the dark forest with her.
Dylan's eyes slowly opened up as he heard Sam's voice yelling across the barracks for them to get up and get their physical training clothes on. The medic rolled onto his back and his palms rubbed at his eyes while a massive smile spread across his face.
–
Kira couldn’t help but notice how this morning was the oddest of switches. Normally, Dylan was rather subdued, at least compared to everyone else, but when she collected him for breakfast at the mess he was happy and energetic. Apparently, he slept very well.
That was great, but of all the days for that to happen, did it have to be the morning after one of their own was hospitalized after a terrible betrayal of trust? There the little human was, looking the best he’d been since he got here, yet the rest of those sitting at the table were the ones in poor spirits, including herself.
The Lupari eyed the depressingly vacant spot next to Dylan, where Cody always sat. Her ears perked up when she heard a growl of frustration come from Yirshan. “That… that conceited, furry hukar! I can’t believe he’d do that!”
That broke the uneasy silence pervading the table. Fahne fluttered her wings, causing the huge appendages to bump into her fellow Arkatian. “You can all say goodbye to alcohol; I’m calling that now.”
There were a couple of groans among the few guardians. A leonine Ralai, Corporal Konis Lurr, shook her head and put her muzzle in her palm. “We’re probably going to get screened with a bunch of new competence exams, too. Some of us could lose our guardianships for this.”
Nahni’s tall ears folded behind his head as he placed his hand on top of his comrade’s own. “Come now, we’d do fine, I’m sure of it.”
Attention shifted to the humans’ table when Dapeng spoke up, “Trikil was drunk, wasn’t he? Surely they can’t punish you for that.” He paused, then looked at Russell and Dylan. “He was drunk, yes?”
Dylan stopped his nibbling on a delicious smelling meat he called ‘bacon’ to say, “His breath could have gotten me hammered, I’m sure of it.” His eyes widened for a moment and before he could put the bacon back in his mouth he glanced up at his guardian. “You know, I forgot to ask. How’d you know we were in trouble?”
The Lupari smiled softly and motioned with her muzzle at Potap. “Him. He came running out of your barracks saying that someone’s hand was blocking the door outside.”
Fahne lowered her head down to them. “You should have seen her. Before the little sergeant could even say half of a sentence she was on her paws and running for the door.”
Yirshan chuckled. “Lucky for Trikil. If I got to him first I probably would’ve disemboweled him.”
Kira rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I wanted to draw blood. But I rather like my rank.”
The red Arkatian scoffed, “I’d gladly go back to private. That animal hurt Cody.”
Further down the table, Hatia called out over the heads of her fellows, “I’d be your superior!”
A look of horror crossed Yirshan’s face. “Maybe not so gladly...” The Jahkatian squawked with laughter from the look on her sergeant’s face.
Kira covered her mouth with a hand to hide her toothy grin. When she managed to get her teeth hidden she brought her gaze back to the humans, specifically Russell and Dylan. “These two here,” she declared loud enough for others at the table to hear. “These two were wrestling with Trikil’s hand when I got there, trying to keep him off of Cody.”
Fahne regarded them both with an impressed look. “Is that so? Both of you? Very nice.”
Russell shrugged. “I had no goddamn idea what to do. Then Dylan here goes and throws himself up against his hand and starts to push against the bastard. It was madly useless but, hell, you see a man standing against something like that… just have to join him, you know?”
Yirshan leaned forward to look past Fahne at him. “Dylan? Really? Are you saying you’re the one that froze?”
The commando hesitated. “I, ah, wouldn’t say froze. I just didn’t know what to do, like I said. As soon as Cody was hurt, Dylan jumped right between the fox’s hands and next thing I know he’s fighting him. Kid’s got brass balls.”
Kira was watching her charge with no small amount of respect when her ears suddenly perked up at Russell’s last line. “I’m sorry, what? What do his metallic balls have to do with anything? Why does he have them?”
Potap suddenly started to cough and choke on his drink, which soon bubbled over into laughter, followed by Dapeng and Russell. Dylan had his head down with his hand in his hair, trying to bite back his own cackling.
The guardians had bemused looks all around, but before anyone could say anything else Hatia suddenly blurted out, “Oh! I know this one! When a human male has done something very brave, they earn the right to wear ceremonial armor on their testicles.”
That earned a renewed round of laughter from the humans, with Dylan falling in with the other three in a bout of hysterics that left them speechless. Half of the people at the table gaped at Hatia and the little aliens. Kira herself couldn’t figure out if the Jahkatian made another slang mistake or not. Testicle armor for heroes sounded so ridiculous it just may have actually been real.
Soon enough, the others joined their smaller comrades in laughter as they wrapped their heads around the silliness of the idea. Hatia’s triumphant look started to turn to confusion when everyone around her began to chortle. “Ah, heh, it is a funny idea, isn’t it?”
Russell managed to get himself under control enough to shout down the table loud enough for her. “Good God, woman! You’re so innocent!”
Hatia canted her head to the side. “Er... why?”
The officer waited for more laughter to die down before he explained, “That’s a ridiculous screw-up. It’s just slang for being brave!”
“So…” Kira cocked her head. “If someone has metal testicles, they’re brave.” She grinned down at them, still managing to keep her teeth hidden. “Amusing. I suppose that makes my charge a brass balled badass, yes?”
“Hah!” Russell clasped the groaning Dylan on the shoulder. “A brass balled badass known as Spade.”
The feel of the group took a turn for the better after that exchange. Shortly after, Yirshan had scarfed down the rest of her meal and got up, declaring she wanted to go see Cody before they had to be anywhere else. Knowing that human, meeting him with a good mood was the best thing for him.
Dylan and Kira decided they’d like to see him as well, so they quickly finished their food. The guardian collected her charge and, with her free hand cupped lightly against him, she jogged out of the mess hall and caught up to to the Arkatian.
Yirshan glanced at the Lupari as she padded up to her side, and then down at the medic. “Hm… you’re a sort of doctor, would they let me see him?”
“He’s not hurt too bad,” he answered, looking up at the sergeant. “Also, you’re going to be his new guardian, so maybe that has some pull.”
Kira anticipated her friend’s reaction and took a step to the side before her wings suddenly opened up and fluttered with delight. “I didn’t even think about that!” A little excited bounce entered her step.
When they reached the hospital, they were asked to wait in the lobby. Someone was already seeing Cody and had requested to be left alone with the soldier. Curiously, Mitchell’s mech was docked at one of the catwalks on one side of the transfer pad. The man himself was leaning against the railing next to his machine, puffing on one of his false cigarettes. He waved at the two sergeants and private when they came in.
Rather than take a seat, Kira decided she’d rather speak to the other sergeant and figure out why they had to wait, as they already had little time left. “Hello Samuel,” the Lupari said as she came to a stop at the transfer pad and let Dylan off. “I don’t suppose you know what’s going on?”
“Yeah.” He took a drag of his cigarette, then stuffed it into chest pocket. “I’m babysitting some civvie bastard looking into last night.”
“Oh…” Yirshan briefly looked at Kira worriedly. “A human civilian then. That… that was fast. I didn’t think they’d get someone here so soon.”
Mitchell scoffed. “You’re telling me. I only found out about him thirty damn minutes ago and now I’m escorting him around.”
“Were there no guardians available?” Kira asked.
“No, there were,” the master sergeant responded, shaking his head. “He just insisted on being escorted by a human mech pilot. I was that unfortunate soul.”
Dylan leaned on the railing right next to him, where he looked inside the open mech as he said, “You don’t sound happy. Is he an asshole?”
“Yep. Demanding, insists on speaking to me in his shitty broken English, and I think a bit of a racist.”
Both of the larger sergeants frowned, but Dylan beat them to speak. “Racist? What, like a xenophobe?” Mitchell nodded. “No kidding? You sure? How the hell would someone like that get work like this already?”
Mitchell waved his hand dismissively. “I said I think. Maybe I’m wrong. Probably am. I met the guy less than an hour ago. He’s probably just upset over the situation. That’s his job.”
“Sure,” Yirshan said. “But what made you think he’s-” She was abruptly cut off by the door into the human sector sliding open, drawing all eyes towards it, and what Kira assumed was the human in question strode out. His skin was dark like a few of the human soldiers, and he was dressed in a black suit that she knew was formal wear for much of the species.
He paused to look at the two massive soldiers, then snapped his attention to his escort. “Who are they?” Then, it sounded like he may have said something about Dylan and a guardian, but his accent was too atrocious for a translator to not simply cast it off as nothing.
Mitchell backed away from the railing and turned to his charge. “Well, sir, these are friends of Cody’s.”
The civilian looked Dylan over for a moment, then said something else about a medic. The said medic stared dumbly at him for a moment, probably trying to interpret what he just said, before slowly nodding. “Yeah… I’m the medic.” He rattled off another line, suddenly looking rather happy, and approached Dylan to shake his hand. The private glanced down at the hand then muttered, nodding at Kira, “Don’t thank me, thank her. She’s the one that saved us.”
They separated hands and the man looked up at Kira, offered her a short bow, then promptly turned and clambered up into Mitchell’s mech. The master sergeant gave them all a helpless look before climbing in himself, and shortly after it closed up; he bid them farewell, and the machine tromped off.
Dylan scratched the back of his head as he watched them leave, then looked up at his two friends. “So, uh… I can barely understand the man and he told me to call him Maduk because I’d just butcher his real name, and I would.”
Yirshan huffed. “Forget about the funny human! Shoo, shoo!” She motioned with her hands towards the door. “Go get Cody!”
The man rolled his eyes, said, “Yes, mom,” and immediately vanished through the portal.
Both sergeants looked at each other with amused smirks. “I do believe he just sarcastically called you mom,” Kira said with a small giggle.
“Yeah… huh, I didn’t know humans said that, too.”
They only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened again and Dylan rolled Cody out onto the transfer pad in a wheelchair. The corporal looked gloomy, but he quickly brightened up when he saw the two guardians. “You! Wolf!” he suddenly cried out. Kira’s ears wilted a tad. He almost sounded angry. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
Her ears shot back up and she smiled with a wagging tail. “I did it more for you rather than your ass, but you’re welcome.”
Yirshan bent her head down and looked his little body up and down with her amber eyes. She didn’t seem to notice Dylan take a few timid steps back, but Kira did. She got closer herself, right next to Yirshan, which seemed to calm him a small amount. “Are you alright?” the Arkatian asked. “It’s still all just bruises?”
“Still just bruises?” He cocked a brow. “If my ribs broke while laying in bed I’d be questioning UTO medical science.”
“Broken bones build character,” she mused. “But really, I’m glad you’re okay. If you had to be shipped home for this, I’d be upset. I’m supposed to be your guardian now.”
His eyes widened with realization. “Oh damn! I didn’t even think about that! Well, don’t squeeze too hard and things will be just dandy.”
She gently nosed at his legs. “I’ll try not to be drunk around you, too.”
He patted her on her nose. “Oh man, look at you making all of these big promises.”
“I didn’t promise anything,” she joked and pulled her muzzle away from him.
“So!” He looked over at Dylan. “Today’s the day about that thirteenth species. I want to be there for that. You should do something that convinces them to let me go.”
Dylan scoffed and grinned at him, “I’m sure the recommendation of a field medic carries a lot of weight.”
“Yeah, see! So get me cleared to leave.”
Kira’s charge shook his head and grabbed the wheelchair from behind. “Yeah, no… I think a better suggestion would be to tie you to your bed.” One hand gently squeezed his friend on the shoulder. “Get some rest, man, heal up. I’ll tell you all about it later. I’m sure they’ll let you out soon, but not now.”
“Soon?” Yirshan asked, excited. “How soon?”
Dylan shrugged. “I think they’ll let him out in a couple days, enough time to catch the last classes.”
“That early?” She squinted at Cody. “Does he actually need that wheelchair?”
“Nope,” the medic answered and spun the chair and Cody around to bring him back. “He just wanted to be wheeled around. Getting carried around all the time is making him lazy.”
Cody snorted and cuffed Dylan on the chest as he was pushed along. “I’m just smart. Uh… sometimes.”
–
Dylan must have missed something; he was expecting another normal class on another species. For all intents and purposes, it was a normal classroom, except it was being held in a room at the aliens’ scale and every human was with their guardian. Even Yirshan had to be here.
He didn’t know what to make of it. So he did what any reasonable person would do. “Kira…” he started as he sat in a little chair on top of the desk she was seated at. He looked back and up at her. She regarded him expectantly, likely anticipating the question. “Why are you here?”
“Because it’s expected that the topic of the class will be uncomfortable for most of you.”
He fixed her with a confused look. “The thirteenth species would make us uncomfortable? How?”
“For what they look like.”
“Oh.” He shifted his gaze forward again. “So big horrible tentacle monsters that wrap their paralyzing tentacles around little things like me and devour them with acidic saliva.”
Kira barked with short laughter and her hand on the desk slid over and petted his side. “Funny little human.” Her finger stopped and the whole hand simply rested right next to him. “We’re required to be here for this, to help keep you all calm. Some of you are bound to get riled up over this.”
“Just keep tacking on that suspense, Kira.” Dylan wracked his brain for what it could be. As requested, he didn’t try searching for it online, so all he had were his guesses. Perhaps it was a species of dumb carnivores that demanded humanity to become a livestock species. He winced at that thought. He couldn’t imagine the UTO allowing something like that in their ranks. A species of monsters just didn’t fit their style. The small speciesist population among the Falashai was already heavily scorned.
Dylan’s eyes widened as a new thought came to him. “Don’t tell me it’s an insect species. Spiders? Don’t let it be hundred foot tall spiders.”
“No, no,” she cooed, and the hand returned to lightly stroking him. “No insect species.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, with Dylan taking guesses that all ended up wrong. He supposed she could have been lying, but didn’t put much stock into that. Eventually he had to stop when Lieutenants Tahsah and Fletcher entered the room, with the human officer in his mech, thumping along behind his guardian.
“Good morning, everyone,” Anacha said to them with a smile. “Now, I’m sure you humans are wondering why we’re doing this in a full-sized room with your guardians. I assure you, it’s all for you. What you’re going to hear and see today will be shocking for you.”
She set up her Yutri at the front desk and interfaced it with the room’s large display, a sort of holographic projector that cast a solid-looking screen across the wall. It showed what must be the banner of the species which was simply a red horizontal flag with a couple of crossed lines that looked almost like they were cut into it, right in the center. That’s all it was. It was wildly simple, but it meant nothing to Dylan.
However, the letters in common right under it did. He mouthed the word ‘Sissach.’ He was certain he read it right when Anache confirmed it aloud, “The Sissach. That is what they call themselves.”
Dylan could almost feel the anticipation in the room. He could see the humans on the other desks leaning forward, waiting for the next slide. It always went with the species name and flag, then a picture of them. Anache closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then transitioned to the next.
The next image showed a couple of lizardly aliens, smiling and dressed in heavy cloth. They were lithe compared to the draconic Arkatians as well as wingless. A series of spines ran down the center of their heads. The male had ridges above its eyes, the female didn’t.
They almost looked the same, but Dylan already knew the difference between the genders. He blanched.
“What the fuck?!” someone cried. “Those are goddamn Rynar!”
The medic swallowed hard. He was right. Those were Rynar. He started to shake.
“No, these are Sissach,” Anache stressed. “They are of the same species of the Rynar, but calling them such is a grievous insult. Please bear with me through this.”
The class’s response was a series of hateful remarks over the Rynar. The officer let the humans vent as she silently stood, waiting for them to calm down. Dylan himself didn’t say anything. Instead he stood up from his seat and turned to his guardian. He looked up at her, met her concerned eyes, then regarded her idle hand. Seeing what he wanted, she flipped her hand over and slid it closer to him, almost bumping into his legs. He dropped himself onto it and when she brought it to her stomach. He pressed his back into it, seeking as much of her comforting presence as he could. Her thumb settled softly onto his lap, where it slowly stroked his chest as his little hands began to pet her fur, both of them silently waiting for the officer to continue her presentation.
Rynar in the UTO. Dylan couldn’t believe it. How did he miss that? Were they hiding them? He squeezed Kira’s thumb fur as it dawned on him. He saw them yesterday. The slim wingless Arkatians weren't dragons at all. They were Sissach.
The humans settled down relatively quickly, but they were all visibly agitated. Anache carried on and set the presentation to start cycling through a collection of images, each one showing these ‘Sissach’ in everyday life, looking just like any other person in the Union. “Today you will be learning about the Sissach and the Rynar. Collectively, they are both the same species, but they are a different people, like you are Russians, Germans, Americans, Chinese, French, Canadians, and British, but all are human. The key difference between them is that the Sissach rejected Rynar philosophy. The name of the species itself depends on which one you ask, as either one would say ‘Rynar’ or ‘Sissach’ respectively, and the others are traitors. Both names are linked to different languages, so take that as you will.”
There was a scoff from Potap, seated on the desk right next to Kira and Dylan’s. “Good luck asking a Rynar anything. You can’t talk to an animal.”
Anache glared at the Russian and softly growled out, “Do not interrupt me, sergeant, unless you have a question or something worthwhile to say.” The man sat straighter in his seat and folded his arms, before nodding curtly. She eyed him for another moment then looked over the rest of the class. “As some of you humans say, this will be a tough pill to swallow.” She paused to see if anyone had any questions, but was met with silence.
She flicked an ear and motioned towards the screen. “Many of the Sissach originate from the war that resulted from the diplomatic collapse with the Rynar. Of the two colonies that UTO forces occupied, one, Kinskaid, had a surprising majority that requested refugee status. The peace talks that ended the war saw Kinskaid forfeited to the alliance, and a new member species was made.”
Dylan watched and listened through the presentation, utterly quiet himself. All the while, Kira gently stroked and kept him calm. A vicious knot was in his stomach. These Sissach, while uncommon, were even in the military. The slides showing the lizards in full UTO powered armor and weaponry sent a chill down his spine. When he imagined a soldier of the Union, the last thing he imagined was one of those monsters in that armor.
He was waiting to hear how the lizards caused issues, how they drove up crime, committed the most murders, and were a blemish on the UTO’s track record. But instead what he got was a lecture on their unbroken loyalty to the alliance. Anacha lead that line of thought into her presentation on the Rynar, where she explained the mentality of both.
It was an entire species of pack minded, violent beasts, was what he was getting out of what she was saying. They all were viciously loyal to whatever it was they believed. Supposedly, they were kind and friendly to their allies, but quick to draw their enemy’s blood. Seeing their foes resist made them furious, but they could be… good. Unless Anacha was lying through her teeth, which Dylan felt she was, even the Rynar could be good to an enemy if they didn’t resist.
“Bullshit!” he found himself yelling and standing up on Kira’s hand. “That’s bullshit!” He stepped down onto the desk and Anache watched him warily. “We didn’t resist! My unit we just… we just wanted to rescue civilians. Evacuate. We never fought them unless it was for our survival! Then they go and… and… fucking butcher innocent people by the goddamn truckload! I watched some… Rynar FUCK break every limb on a young girl! Why would they do that? If they’re good to their enemies then why would they do that? Explain that.”
He felt a lot of eyes on him, both human and guardian, but he didn’t care. He wanted an answer. He wasn’t going to sit here and be told that evil was good. Anache had a deeply sympathetic look in her eyes as a few seconds of silence settled between them. Then, she carefully said, “I have something for you to watch. It’ll answer that question.”
She did something to her Yutri, then the display abruptly changed to some kind of news report. All of the letters and such were not in Common, but something totally alien. In the center of the screen were eleven Rynar, all tied to posts while in the nude. Anache explained, “This was a public broadcast from the Rynar Empire, about two weeks ago.”
Standing in front of the group of tied-up Rynar was one more, wearing what appeared to be an officer’s uniform with a sword on his hip. He looked over each and every one of them before saying, “All eleven of you have been convicted of bringing dishonor to our Great Armed Forces. Some of you sat by and did nothing as soldiers under your command lost themselves and butchered a subdued civilian population and surrendered military forces. Some of you encouraged it. All are guilty. As former leaders in our military, you were expected to demonstrate and show those under you how to conduct themselves. You have failed, and now the rest of us must carry this shame for eternity.” He drew his sword from its scabbard and approached the furthest convicted on the left. It was then that Dylan realized that each one of them was gagged, unable to plead as the leftmost started to desperately thrash in its bindings. “For this,” the sword bearer continued, “You have all been sentenced to die by my hand.” As soon as he finished speaking he pointed his weapon towards the other Rynar’s gut and thrust it in, then dragged it across, cutting a massive gash above the waist, disemboweling him. The Rynar officer didn’t even mind the blood that gushed out onto his uniform as he pulled the weapon free and moved onto the next, as the last was left to die.
As he worked his way through all eleven, Anache explained what, exactly, was happening here, “This was the execution of eleven Rynar officers, from major to a single general, carried out by Grand Admiral Orsach, the very admiral that lead the fleet that attacked Earth. Seven of these officers, including one General Fissesh, were in command of what they called Staging Area Entik. Or,” she looked at Dylan, “as you called it, ‘the Zone.’ Shortly after this, a series of purges were conducted through the lower officer and enlisted ranks that were found to have committed any atrocities on Earth.” She took a deep breath through her nose. “Every species has its monsters, but no species is made of monsters.”
Dylan opened his mouth to say some frustrated remark about the Rynar, but couldn’t muster himself. He’d simply sound like a raving fool trying to justify hatred. Instead he snapped his jaw closed, turned around, and climbed back into his guardian’s hand.
The average human hated the Rynar for invading their home, and the stories that spread about what they did to people stoked the flames. The aliens got that, he was certain. But he lived those stories. His hatred went far deeper than some species-wide spite. How could anyone get that? Was this show, this desperate attempt to seem honorable, supposed to make things better?
The admiral punished the underlings, but who punishes the admiral? He ordered the bombardment in the first place, ordered the attacks, he made it all possible. Where was his comeuppance?
He slowly stroked the fur on Kira’s thumb as Anache blathered on about how the Rynar weren’t the species of pure evil that humans wanted to believe they were, as apparently that was supposed to make the Sissach seem better. He managed to get himself to pay attention by doing what he always did. He shoved the bad down, he stopped thinking about it, and he went on.
She explained the first diplomatic breakdown, how it came from the Rynar and Lupari arguing over a planet for mining. The Rynar didn’t want to share it, and up and raided the mines scattered around. Then they took it as a personal attack when the Lupari retaliated.
“Now hold on a moment,” a human somewhere out of sight said. “How is this supposed to make the Rynar look good?”
Anache canted her head, confused. “Look good? I’m not here to make them look good. I’m here to help you understand them so that you may hopefully understand the Sissach and how they are not the same.” The man didn’t speak further, prompting her to flick an ear in approval as she continued her lecture. “The Rynar reacted that way due to a combination of their devotion to their species and a violent nature. Their attack on the Lupari miners was akin to an animal baring its teeth. They wanted to encourage their perceived foe to leave, and they wanted the planet just to themselves, as sharing it was seen as losing potential resources, and thus costing them potential strength.”
She changed the presentation to a specific image that showed a Sissach and a leopard-like Ralai soldier with their foreheads pressed together. Both were clearly battle-worn, but were enjoying each other’s company, likely grateful that they both survived together. “Now, what makes the Sissach different from the Rynar, is they see beyond their species. They realize that unification with other species is the best way to be stronger. It’s this key difference that separates them.”
She left the image on screen, letting the humans digest it. Dylan eyed it warily, a part of him intrigued, but another part furious that that lizard could wear the uniform of the military he held in such high regard. “Interestingly,” Anache continued, “what makes the Rynar the way they are is what makes the Sissach a very devoted member species. There is hardly any violence and hatred among the Rynar. They’re quick to accept each other, to compromise with one another, and they gladly work together. This carries over to the Sissach, but it expands to encompass everyone they consider within their ‘group,’ as it were. By nature, the average Rynar and Sissach are hateful and violent towards threats to their group, but incredibly good to those within.”
There was potential there for being very good guardians. That was terrifyingly ironic. Dylan scowled and interrupted her. “So neither one likes to work outside their group. Then what would the Rynar have done with us if you guys didn’t intervene?”
That suggestion earned a round of agreement from the other humans and a few vocal claims of genocide waiting to happen. Anache folded her ears and shook her head. “The most likely result would have lead to your subjugation. Normally, the Rynar wouldn’t care for conquering a species; however, by nature of cooperation, the foundation of the UTO, we will always be the stronger power. Acquisition of your nuclear technology and thus weapons is believed to be their reasoning for the attack. Laying claim to you would have strengthened their species.”
“Hah!” Potap scoffed. “That really couldn’t have gone any worse for them.”
Another bout of laughter, this time with a fair few of the guardians, went around the room. Dylan even smirked to himself, and a glance up at Kira showed her doing the same. If Earth was left alone then perhaps nuclear technology would have been left in obscurity. Everyone was happy with that ‘erestal’ mineral that made up modern power for every species except for little old unlucky humanity. Instead, they violently contact a species that evolved without that seemingly fantastical mineral, a species that developed city destroyers the size of an alien’s hand grenade, and ended up pushing them into the welcoming arms of their enemies. It had to go down in their history books as one of the greatest mistakes they ever made.
As good as it was to see a bunch of murderers put down, a part of him felt that beautiful backfire was the true punishment for the species that ruined everything.
He just wished that could make it all better.
–
Today held fewer classes than normal. The Rynar and Sissach lecture for the humans went on for a while, much longer when compared to the lessons for the other species. After that there was just the regular language class, likely more intended to get the humans’ minds off the Sissach than to actually teach them. Kira had just collected Dylan from that class and then they had both gone to their usual bench.
Kira was laid out on her back, looking down between her breasts at her charge as he sat crosslegged on her stomach, slowly rising and falling as she breathed. He was speaking into his Yutri, while it was ear-mounted, with Duntay. “Really, sir, I’m okay. There’s no need to schedule an appointment this evening. Everything’s alright, Cody’s okay… I just need a bit of time to think about the Rynar... um… Sissach.”
As they chatted, Kira’s own Yutri chirped in her pocket. She pulled it out, trying not to disturb Dylan as she did, and projected a text message. It was from Duntay. ‘Is he actually alright?’ it read.
She typed a hasty ‘Yes, he really is doing well.’ She re-pocketed the device and resumed listening to Dylan’s side of the conversation.
“...Yeah, see, you’re busy. I met Maduk and I’m sure he’s going to be a handful.” He snorted at whatever Duntay said back. “Yeah, yeah… we’re all handfuls aren’t we? I’ll see you this weekend, sir.” A couple moments later he ended the call.
He sighed and slumped as soon as he stuffed the Yutri into his pocket. Kira’s finger went to his back, and began to gently run up and down it. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Frustrated…” he muttered with a sigh and leaned backwards against her finger.
“All the Rynar and Sissach stuff, right?”
“Yep…” His eyes lidded when she touched the spot just under the back of his neck.
She smiled at his reaction to her attentions. “Don’t like being told they’re not all monsters?”
His eyes opened up. “Yeah. It just seems like a load of political bullshit.”
Kira canted her head and cocked a brow. “Why?”
“It’s just… just…” He sighed and shook his head. “God dammit… it makes sense, and that’s the hardest part of it all. The worst stories only come from a few places during the war.”
He stopped and sulked rather than explaining himself, prompting Kira to ask, “What do you mean?”
“Every major war has its atrocities. You hear about them because they stand out. But they don’t represent how the rest of the war went, or else they wouldn’t stand out. That’s exactly what happened here. I lived a nice little contained atrocity.” He looked down at her stomach, bobbing back and forth. “Logic says I should just hate those that did it. B-but… I can’t.” He put his face in his hand. “I hate all of them. If I heard in the news tomorrow that some humans detonated a nuke in a Rynar city, I’d cheer.”
Kira softly squealed. “Would humans do that?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Eye for an eye, as they say. A lot of people, even me, wanted to see UTO ships dropping bombs on Rynar worlds. Had a kind of vision of total war. Instead Earth was basically just one great big Kuwait. No huge galaxy spanning war. Just some flare-up.”
“I see… so you want war, then?”
He shook his head. “No. I’d love to tear a Rynar to pieces with a mech, but it’s just not worth it. I’d rather spend my time meeting cool new aliens and stuff.” He glanced up at her with a small grin.
She smirked back at him, but grew serious with her next question. “What about the Sissach? Do you hate them?”
He sighed and fell backwards, sprawling out on her stomach. Her hand simply rested right next to him. “No… no I do not. That’s not going to change a damn thing, though. If I see one, I’d see a Rynar. I’ll try not to hate it as I hide in your fur from sheer terror.”
She giggled at the thought of him diving into the nearest fluffy spot on her body to conceal himself. “I don’t think just fluff would protect you.”
He remained on his back, choosing to stay laying there, not looking at her. “No, but you would. You’ve done it twice now.”
“Of course. I’ll al- er, hold on, twice?” Her head bent to side when he sat up to look at her again.
“You know that nightmare? The stormy night with the three civilians?” She flicked an ear. “I’ve been getting it a lot lately, lucid ones. Yesterday I started to scream in my sleep. Almost punched Russell in the face when they woke me up.” She winced again and her hand shifted, returning to petting him on the back. “Last night I had it again. It was different.” He smiled weakly, looking… grateful, Kira thought. “You were there.” Her ears perked up. “You came walking out of that forest and you just sat your huge ass down next to me and you stood guard with me all night long.” His hand rubbed at his forehead as his eyes started to glisten. “I haven’t slept that good in months.” His other hand rubbed at one of his eyes. He looked at the moisture that came off and muttered, “Aw, um…”
He turned himself around, presenting his back to her, and started to rub at his eyes, obviously trying to hide his crying from her. She growled gently. “Silly human, you can’t hide your emotions from a Lupari.” The hand that was stroking his back formed a cup, then hesitated for a moment. She’d never tried something like this before. She thought about how it may affect him, decided it would be safe, then so very delicately scooped him up off her stomach, which forced him to fall over forward into her palm. She then slowly moved him up towards her head as she rolled over onto her belly.
Kira propped herself up on her elbows. Both of her hands came together, side by side, where she inclined them enough to have her charge roll into the middle, face up at her with flushed cheeks and watery eyes, just as she expected. Her head loomed just above him as she stared down her muzzle at the little human. Her bright blue eyes flicked over his form and her nostrils flared, taking in his scent, to make absolutely sure he was alright.
What she found wasn’t anxiety, sadness, fear, or anger; she saw none of the familiar negative cues she had well familiarized herself with since becoming his guardian. What she sensed instead was what she picked up when Larish expressed his gratitude after the first sims and when he hugged her nose just last night. She found traces of that joy he felt after the last simulation, when Duntay let him stay with her, and when he lost himself in the fun of their outing. She could see he was feeling all of these things. He was happy and grateful, but there was relief there on a level she’d never seen from him before, not even from last night.
It was beautiful to behold.
After many long seconds of silence, she slowly lowered her muzzle, her ears and eyes completely focused on him, watching and listening for any protests to her closeness. Instead, she received the exact opposite, his arms opened up and latched onto the sides of her muzzle as she gently pressed her nose against his tiny body.
He rested his cheek on top of it and she felt him squeeze. “Thank you… thank you. Thank you for listening, for always being there, for protecting me, for your patience, your kindness, everything.” His cheek started to rub against her fur.
Her eyes lidded partway from his little nuzzling, and almost completely on instinct she turned her head and ran the side of her muzzle along his body until he reached her cheek, where she gently returned the affection with her charge practically buried in the soft, dense white fur. “You’re welcome for it all, my friend,” she cooed and pulled him away from her cheek to look back down at him, smiling.
His tears had stopped as his eyes were widened, looking quite surprised. For a moment Kira thought she made a mistake. “That was…” He hesitated, seeming to be fishing for the right words. “Yeah, I think I see why Cody and Andrew like it.” Kira’s tail shot into motion with far too much speed. There was a loud thump and she winced in a little pain after her tail slammed into the backrest of the bench, but she hardly let it affect her as it slowed to a more leisurely, delighted wag. Her reaction received a hearty laugh from her charge.
She growled playfully in return. “Now see what you’ve been missing.” She bent her muzzle downward and pressed the top of it softly against her charge. She felt his little arms wrap around it like before, but now he was so much closer to her eyes, she had to cross them to see him grinning at her.
He canted his head to the side, mirroring what she often did. Her eyes strained to cross even more to look at his hand when it moved up to run his fingers along the short fur between her blue orbs. Her whiskers twitched when she felt his other hand brush through them. “So, I was thinking…”
“Yes?”
“I think the guardians being there for the lizard class wasn’t the original plan.”
She chuckled. “Sensed that, did you? You’re correct. We decided to change it this morning. Between last night and finding out about the Sissach, we figured you all would appreciate our presence.” Kira pulled her muzzle away, freeing the human from being pinned by it. Her nose lingered only his arm’s reach away from his chest. Warm air blew out through her nostrils and washed over him, rustling his uniform.
His eyes darted downward, at her mouth. He regarded it for a moment, causing his guardian to worry that he’d start thinking about her teeth. She suspected he did, but when he looked up again he didn’t seem perturbed. She only barely suppressed her whine of delight at his lack of fear. It didn’t look like he picked up on her worries as he said, “I feel like the ‘you all’ was mostly just me. But… it was appreciated.”
Kira giggled and pressed her nose into his chest. “I could tell. I’m happy I was there to comfort you.”
“You’re too kind, you know that?” He chuckled and hugged her nose like he did the night before, but now pressed against her hand in a way that had Kira almost melting at how adorable she thought he was. “I feel like I owe you a backlog of nuzzling. So… let’s get to it, shall we?”
Thump! The Lupari winced again when her unruly tail whacked the backrest a second time. As before, this had Dylan laughing, and she repaid it now by gently pressing him into her hands with her nose, then eagerly running her muzzle along his front, tickling his face with her whiskers.
As her eyes lidded again from the joy of the affections she laid on him, her mind raced with thoughts of all of the fun, loving things she could do with a little one like him. She practically shook with excitement. She could feel it. She would probably have to ease him into the more playfully affectionate things she imagined, but that was half the fun.
He was a frightened little creature when it came to those her size. That would never go away, she knew. However, together they made her the exception. He understood. Guardian wasn’t just a job title. She was his protector and his friend. She would never hurt him. She wanted to keep him safe, always, and that realization transcended instincts.
She sighed when she gave him a little reprieve from her muzzle. Her nostrils flared, sampling his scent again. He was purely happy, with no trace of fear. She couldn’t get enough of that. This was indeed a unique kind of relationship. Even for the empathy of a Lupari, it was odd. The protective feelings merged with adoration and friendship to create something different from what she had ever felt before.
The hassles of being a guardian, the worries, the issues of having a damaged charge, the extra restrictions and measures put on top of the already regulated life of a soldier… it was all worth it. Just for the feeling she felt now, it was all so very much worth it.
But again, like I said, this is a setting that has giant sapient bipedial canines, vulpines, equines, etc, and they are quite different from what you would find on Earth, so it's not like everything in the setting in grounded in hard reality. 
)
