Chapter 434

Deep Space – The Scout Ship

... In the darkened vessel, Diana reached to take Selina’s hand. “Now we wait,” she unconsciously whispered.

Although it was only a few minutes, to Diana and Selina, it seemed like hours. Selina, annoyed at herself, still felt she should whisper and even hold her breath when the aliens passed by. Space is a vacuum and does not transmit sounds, she lectured herself, but the feeling would not go away. On their screen, one of the beams from the nearest search vessel seemed to hesitate as it swept by the scout, but maybe it was only their imagination.

Diana was just as nervous as the little genius, and after the aliens finally passed by, apparently oblivious to the scout’s presence, the Clan Queen let out a long sigh. “What is the matter with them?” she groused. “Why all the searching? They obviously can’t detect us even when they’re close, yet they continue to search. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Selina, realizing how tense she had become, and embarrassed, tried to relax. “My Queen, as we have already discussed, the only logical reason for them to be so insistent in their searches is that they are, at least, reasonably certain they are being watched.”

“But...” Diana started, then after a moment said again, “It just doesn’t make sense. If they became suspicious enough to search the asteroid belt, then why did they quit before they reached the area where the scout was hiding? Our team reported that they probably would have been found if the search had continued, because the search vessel was heading almost directly toward them. Yet the search was apparently called off. Ah, darnit, this searching does not make sense. First, they appeared all but lackadaisical with the first search, but since they have begun to move, they have intensified their efforts. It seems that it should be the other way around. It’s a lot harder to hide out here in open space compared to the asteroid belt.”

“Or perhaps it is the reverse. They realize that they have a much better chance of finding us out here and have intensified their searches accordingly,” Selina reasoned.

“Yeah, that’s possible, too,” Diana agreed. “But it’s almost as if there is someone new in charge over there. Remember, I live with an Alpha. The alpha of alphas. He never does anything partway – never. Sometimes, I could just pull his hair out when he does some of the things he does, but he seldom has to do anything over. It’s always right the first time. I just feel ... Crap, this whole thing is beginning to scare me. They almost caught us just now. If our stealth had not been as great as it is, they would have. Selina, we have to remain on our toes – all the time. I’m beginning to feel that there is someone, or something, over there that is extremely intelligent.”

Selina couldn’t stop a slight shiver. Hoping that Diana hadn’t noticed, the little genius said, “You are beginning to scare me, My Queen.”

“Good. That makes two of us. I am very much afraid that monstrous ship wouldn’t bother to ask questions before firing on us should we be discovered. We need to be very, very careful.”

Selina motioned to her screen as the last of the search vessels entered the alien ship. “It appears that they have completed their search.”

“AI,” Diana spoke to the scout’s computer, “as before, when the aliens warp out, maintain our vigilance at maximum range. There is always the possibility that they have a detector similar to ours.”

“Affirmative, Commander, but if I might point out, because of our diminutive size compared to that of the alien ship, it should be very difficult for their technology to detect our much weaker warp signature, especially while their much more massive drive is operating.”

“Well, that would be good if it holds true, but ... assumptions frequently bring about trouble. We will remain at the edge of our detection range, and hopefully make it as difficult to be discovered as possible under the circumstances. As my husband has said, they need to be fat dumb and happy when they reach Earth.”

“Commander, I do not...” the AI began.

“AI, make damn sure we aren’t detected.”

“Affirmative, Commander.” Then a moment later, the AI continued, “The aliens’ generators are building to warp.”

“Give the aliens time to be near our limit of detection, then match their speed and follow, but this time, let’s stay well to their starboard side.”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

“Starboard?” Selina teased.

“Well, we’re in a vessel, so we should use nautical terms, right?” Diana replied as they both chuckled – while the AI wondered why they were amused at the perfectly logical statement.

The Prison Planet

Morales awoke to the sound of steadily falling rain. It didn’t seem to be coming down as hard as it was when he went to sleep, but it appeared to be steady and the day was doubtlessly going to be dark and dreary.

After turning the light on, he dressed while Junior waited impatiently. As soon as Morales’ shirt was on, and even before it was buttoned, Junior tried for the human’s shoulder. This time, the chick made it. “Hey, Big Guy, you’re getting better at that,” he told the chick as it snuggled into his neck. “Or,” Morales teased, “is it because you have a bit more incentive now?”

Of course, the chick couldn’t answer, but Morales thought that fear of the new wolf might have made the difference, because Junior was now standing on the human’s shirt collar plastered against his neck.

Stopping near the two wolves as they lay side by side, Morales addressed his partner. “Lobo, tell your friend that the chickens are not to be killed and eaten. I won’t accept one mistake. If she even starts toward them, shut her down.”

Lobo immediately turned to the other wolf, and again touched her with his muzzle. It never occurred to Morales to wonder if Lobo understood him, and the man was just as confident that Lobo had communicated with the female.

After making a pot of coffee, Morales, with cup in hand, put the bars down and walked partway through the entranceway to stand looking outside. There was a ground fog that was apparently caused by the cooler rain contacting the warmer earth. Whatever the reason, a thick fog hugged the contour of the hillside, completely obscuring the stream that, from the much louder sound, had markedly increased in volume overnight.

“Shit,” he grumbled as he checked the cloud-laden sky. “Those clouds are so low they look like they’re almost touching the ground. Dammit, I wanted to get more of that sugar cane in before winter, but that might not happen for a while.”

By the time he had finished his coffee, the rain had slackened somewhat. Back inside, he rinsed the cup and put it up, donned his rain gear and turned to Lobo. “The rain has slowed for the moment. You and your friend might want to get your morning business done before it picks up again.”

By the time Morales, carrying his shovel, stepped into the drizzle, Lobo and the female were already outside, and ... she hadn’t even growled at him this morning.

Just as Morales finished, pulled his pants up and had grabbed his shovel, the bottom seemed to fall out of the clouds, only now the rain was accompanied by a cold wind. As he picked up his bow and crossbow before starting back to the cave, “I am going to build me a damn toilet,” he grumped. “I don’t care what has to be put off, but damned if I’m going to shit in the rain and snow.” But, even as he passed the partially completed rock wall, he knew that he would have to put off his toilet a while longer.

Still grumbling about having to do his business in the rain, he hung up his gear and stood watching the female as she hopped on three legs over to Lobo’s bucket to get a drink of water. I wonder if the foot is worse, or she has just decided not to get the bandage muddy. I guess I should look at the injury, but I’m going to wait until after breakfast. Crap, I should have brought up more meat last night. Oh, well. We have plenty, he thought as he started for the ice cave to get bacon and steaks for breakfast.

There hadn’t been any eggs this morning, so he brought back extra deer steaks, a big slab of bacon and a big roast. While the meat was thawing, he set about peeling potatoes. With all the potatoes they ate, he was glad that someone had thought to put a peeler in the supplies. I used to have to watch what I ate, but now I just eat until I’m full here on 2214. Of course, there’s no junk food, and I do miss that, but then again, I could never afford the steaks I eat here, and certainly not the prime cuts we often have. As usual, he talked to Lobo as if he could understand everything. “How about your girlfriend?” he asked Lobo. “Does she like the cooked meat she had last night?”

Lobo grinned back at him. “Well, I’m gonna try to have a little extra food on her plate for a while so she can fill out some. That okay with you?”

Lobo touched the female before he turned back to Morales to give him another grin.

Morales, as he frequently did, cut up one of the onions and stirred it into the skillet of sliced potatoes before putting them on the fire.

While the food was cooking, he took down a handsaw and cut the female wolf’s board down to the same general size as Lobo’s. “I don’t have time to sand it smooth before breakfast, so tell her to watch out for splinters. I’ll get some sand and a piece of hide to smooth it up after we eat,” he told his friend.

This morning, Morales tried to pretend he wasn’t worried about the new wolf’s response. With a plate piled high with potatoes, bacon and a deer steak, he picked up her board and tried to walk over as casually as possible. She looked up as he neared and quietly growled a warning, but he ignored her, put the board down a few feet away and raked her food onto it.

Lobo again touched her with his muzzle and the growling stopped. Morales noticed that the latex sock over the bandage had very little mud on it, which made him wonder yet again if the wound was worse, causing her to hold the foot up as she walked, or was she intelligent enough to try to keep the foot clean. He had tried to convey the message to Lobo, but he had no idea if Lobo had understood, let alone whether he had managed to communicate Morales’ message about keeping the wound clean.

Morales hadn’t been brave enough to put the board close enough for the female to eat without her having to move a few feet. As soon as he turned away, she stood and hobbled over. Although she ate rapidly, there wasn’t the gobbling of last night.

After filling a plate for Lobo, Morales returned to put the food on his friend’s eating board before addressing the new wolf. “Ah,” he said in a jovial manner, “you’re just hungry this morning, and not starving like last night, huh,” he told her.

She turned her eyes toward him, still wary, but didn’t growl. She did continue to watch him as she hurriedly ate. Laughing, Morales stood looking at her. “Just think, not only is the meat cooked, but there’s no hair or hide to have to eat with the good stuff.”

Morales didn’t know whether she preferred raw to cooked meat, but it hadn’t taken Lobo long before it was obvious he preferred his meat cooked. Not that he would turn down raw.

When they had all eaten, including the chickens, Morales brought out the medical case. As he approached with it, the female began growling – this time, louder.

“Oh, so you know what’s going to happen, huh?” Then catching Lobo’s eye. “I need to check that foot, and I damn sure need both my hands to survive, so how about having your chat with her.”

Morales, trusting his partner, came to his knees directly in front of the new wolf. Growling louder, she began to stand, but in a flash, Lobo was there with his own growl and touch. The female growled again and Lobo answered with a louder one as he hovered over her. There was a pause, then whining as she settled to her belly while Morales slowly reached for her foot.

He had hoped that working on the foot would be less stressful this morning, but her foot, and more accurately, his hand, was very close to that mouthful of awful teeth. Trying to ignore them, he concentrated on getting hold of the top of the latex sock. That accomplished, he began to roll the sock downward. A moment later, he unconsciously sighed as the latex slipped free of the bandaged foot.