Chapter 7: Making a Home - Part 1

I stood with Alex and watched as Jade accepted her certification. She grinned as she walked away from Doctor Edilson, the head of the Vet school. It had been six years since the shuttle had crashed and she was as stunning as her sister. We had saved everything we could and finally it was time to start our lives.

I grinned as Momma moved forward to press against me before I turned for the door. It was only an hour after the morning storm ended so we were still on schedule. Twenty men and twenty two women were waiting with over thirty dwarf dragons. There were a couple of dozen mini leopards, another couple of dozen mini dragons, a couple of whole flocks of bird bats and six leaf leopards (Momma's cubs from both her litters).

Mom and dad caught up and mom took Jade's hand, "top of your class."

Jade grinned, "well I have more study animals."

Alex laughed, "guess who is my first patient for birth implant removal?"

Mom grinned as dad chuckled and I gestured to the small crowd of our companions, "time to go."

We had accepted a huge settlement from the company that flew the shuttle that crashed. We used it to buy a large chunk of land on the equator. It was beside an ocean with trees over six hundred meters tall. The men and women going with us had selected land to settle there as well. The mini leopards trotted ahead with Alexander leading the way.

We climbed up to the huge landing platform and waiting crowd. There were four large transports waiting to start one of the largest projects since the planet was settled. We were going to build platforms and parking pads all the way to our property. Fifty platforms over fifty thousand kilometers.

We had planned this in detail over the last six years and already had all the pods and material ready. Each site would get four pods dropped with everything we needed. The schedule was a little flexible but we had planned to place one platform a day for fifty days. My brothers and Peter grinned before turning to climb into their transport.

Our companions went through the open hatch to our transport and I gestured to let dad and mom go first. I glanced back to see Mr Davis walking toward me quickly with his daughter. I held out my hand, "thank you for the help."

He grinned as he shook my hand, "I will see you in two months."

I grinned and looked at Tara and she embraced me, "be careful."

I gave her a squeeze, "I expect you in a month."

She nodded, "we already have the science team selected."

I glanced at Momma as she rubbed Tara and I let her go before turning, "lets go Momma."

She was a lot more comfortable flying now and leaped into the doorway. I waited while Alex and Jade said their goodbyes and followed them into the transport. I smiled when I saw Griffin Junior cuddled up against Momma. He was Hunter and Griffin's son and hatched six months before Griffin died in his sleep.

He might be two now but Momma had always been his comforter and protector. I pulled a pregnant Hunter onto my lap as I sat between Alex and Jade, "How did the physicians exam go Alex?"

She grinned as she let Gloria crawl onto her, "a lot easier than I thought."

Jade held Mr and Mrs Mini with the pouch of their eggs, "some of the thermal scans of home show animals we do not have data on."

Mom cleared her throat, "we expected to see new animals."

Jade grinned, "to bad we could not get good reads on the ground."

We talked all the way until the word was passed back. I stood and moved to Momma and started fitting her into the huge anti grav harness. She was eager once I started to do that, for an animal without wings she loved to free fall in the harness. My mini leopards waited for their turn, I had ten now that Alexander and Jacob had found mates.

I slipped my vest and harness on before my pack. I checked Jade and Alex and they smiled tolerantly. I moved to the rear door as it began to open. Four men would stay and then jump with the pod when it was pushed out. The transport hovered and I heard the yell from the copilot before jumping. Momma and my other companions went with me.

I dialed up the anti gravs for all the harnesses and glanced around quickly to see Tiger, Leo and Peter with their groups. I went through the leaves and slipped through a few light vines as I started looking for a branch to land on. Princess and Hunter were already below me waiting with Junior gliding beside Momma.

All the mini dragons were already on smaller branches when I landed and started around and down. The pod was floating slowly when I reached the branches we had planned to use. Alex and Jade split off with mom and started watching as I hung my pack and moved to help place our pod on temporary branches.

It took us four hours to cut branches and put the beams together along with moving the four pods around and into place and put on the grates. All that and we only had a couple of packs of wolfapes. We had ten people in our pod including mom and dad. I took the girls hunting and grinned when Momma trotted ahead with Junior, Hunter and Princess flanking her.

Alex slipped up to hug me as Momma chased peacocks off the branch and the three dragons caught them. Jade and Alex along with mom brought spring fruit back using their bird bats. When we returned to the pod our game bags were full. The four new transports were on the parking platforms and everyone was on the top of pods cooking.

That set the pattern except once every two weeks when we took a day off. A month later we set up the platforms and pods before going hunting. Dad and mom were resting with a few of the others. It was just Alex, Jade and I hunting and Momma stayed with us as the dragons and mini leopards foraged.

I touched Jade when she started past me and squatted, "Hunter?"

Jade knelt and followed my look as Alex knelt with Momma, "what is it?"

Hunter landed and I caressed her cheek before turning her head, "mock attack."

It was something I had taught her for the shows and classes I had given. She looked before leaping into the air and flying towards what looked like a huge bird bat nest under a branch across from us. Alex hissed as I pulled my pistol, a four meter king lizard leaped to the nest and Hunter banked and flew back.

There was a shot and the lizard dropped and I looked at Alex. She lowered her rifle, "if it was there the bird bats are dead."

Jade nodded but I stood, "maybe but I have never seen a nest that large."

Jade frowned, "the opening is larger too."

I glanced around, "Momma? Guard."

She knew what that meant and looked around as I left Jade and Alex. The mini dragons stayed around me as I climbed up and went around to the branch above the nest. I glanced at Alexander and his mate when he appeared out of the leaves from the side branches, "watch for me?"

He chirped as he looked around with his mate crouching beside him. I used a thick vine to climb down and look at the nest. I shook my head when I saw the king lizard had started to dig into the nest but not broken through. I used another vine and looked into the nest and froze before moving slowly, "JADE!"

Inside were six bird bats babies but larger than I had ever seen them. I looked across at her as she looked at me worriedly, "I need an empty pack."

She nodded and touched Momma before starting to follow me with her sister behind her. I wrapped my leg around the closest vine before breaking open one side of the nest opening. The babies moved away as they began crying out but I continued until I was able to enter. I backed out and looked at Hunter and Princess clinging to other vines.

I shook my head and glanced up as Jade slipped down a vine and held out the empty pack, "bird bats?"

I smiled as I started back into the nest, "cousins."

It was difficult to open the bag one handed and then I reached for the first baby. It squawked as I caught it and struggled to put it in the pack. I had to hold the pack closed as I caught each one and then tied it before backing out. I slipped it onto my shoulder and started working my way to the side and then followed Jade up.

I knelt on the branch and let Jade and Alex peer into the pack. The giant bird bats were not brown like the small ones, they were dark green. I closed the pack and stood, "we have cages back at the pod where you can get a better look."

Jade grinned, "those babies were bigger than adult bird bats."

I nodded off to one side, "and if I did not know better I would say that was an old earth monkey."

Jade turned and Alex pointed, "Gloria seek."

Her dragon was above and sitting on a branch but leaped as she spread her wings. Jade leaned against me, "alive Gloria!"

I snorted but the dragon neatly caught the small monkey in her front claws, one holding its neck like a kitten. When she landed it was on her back legs and Alex slipped a pair of gloves on before reaching for the monkey. The body was a light green with dark green strips like a tiger. I knelt with Jade and watched as they examined it.

It had retractable claws on its hands and feet as well as long canine teeth, it also had a long prehensile tail. Unlike the earth monkeys it had cat slit eyes. Alex shook her head, "I do not think it would be safe to put it in a pack or..."

Jade grinned and turned me before pulling a thin fiber bag out of a side pocket of the pack. She worked the bag around and Alex finally let it go. Jade yanked the bag up before closing the opening and tying it. I stood and looked at Momma, "back to mom."

She looked around before turning and heading out the branch. I looked around to make sure all the mini leopards were with us as I started to follow her. Jade stopped me long enough to tie the bag to the back of my pack, "led on mule."

Alex laughed and I grinned as I started off after Momma who was waiting, "just you wait."

Right before we reached the pod we saw adult giant bird bats. Jade stopped to watch, take notes and a few vid images. Mom was grinning with the others when we walked into the cage on top of the pods. That was something we had added for safety. My mother gestured, "did you see the giant bird bat?"

Momma accepted a blood fruit from her and went to sit by the door next to the stairs. Jade grinned, "Firehawk has six babies and a tiger monkey."