Preface

The scene could have been something out of a superhero comic book or a parody of one. In Cheval Jaune’s dôjô, three gi-clad entities stood looking at a Tu’ull AI’s avatar – a four-foot high hologram of an animated bucket full of nuts and bolts. The avatar represented the AI R’Stbkt, now known to humans as ‘Rust Bucket’ or often ‘Rusty.’ Two figures resembling raccoons stood on either side of a five-foot-four-inch, human beauty with long red-gold hair. All four were battle survivors.

Strictly speaking, the Tu’ulls B’Nov – human name Boris, and F’Tale – human name Natasha – had not ‘fought’ in the battle to rescue the crippled ship Tu’ullat 10655, and neither had the human Shellie, aka Fannie –named Pa’Sonn by the Tu’ull. The two Tu’ull and the human woman had been aboard R’Stbkt’s ship when a Sa’arm missile traversed its length, killing several of a rescue party, injuring Shellie, and damaging R’Stbkt’s mobile escape vessel. The subsequent extraction of the wounded and damaged individuals bonded the four. Shellie had named the battle comrades, ‘asshole buddies.’

The close association of Tu’ull and human youngsters of the Harrad experimental colony, and subsequently that of the four asshole buddies, yielded unexpected by-products – discoveries. Some activities, born of combat, were not only tolerated, but the Tu’ull youngsters actually excelled in target shooting, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and other ‘sports’, just so long as the purpose was competition and not harm. So here were the three sweating and one analyzing on the tatami mats in a simulated bamboo-walled dôjô.