"THIS WAY!"

        "DON'T LET 'IM ESCAPE!"

The sound of clumping feet on hard dirt could be heard within the mountain forest.  Dark sky of thunder tore through the peaks as she raced through the trees with the sound of barking villains behind her.  Her breath burned in her throat as sharp as lightning, strafing fast between the trees with fleetest eyes and a dash of green left behind her trace.  She dared not look behind her for the dozen slavering beasts that chased her with glimmering eyes like moray eels in the depths of the sea.  Her clawed feet tramped on twigs and kickjumped off of fallen logs amidst flashing strikes of white that barely illuminated the world around her.

        "AIM FOR THE LEGS!"

        "GET THAT SHIT BACK HERE, NOOOOW!"

She grabbed a low-hanging branch sturdy enough to take her weight, throwing herself upwards by the sheer momentum as she raced into the canopy.  Scratching across the thicker branches she balanced with tense agility from tree to tree as she saw the mountain range scaling up before her.  Guards already stood at the entrance to the tunnels below, she knew that for certain as she lunged towards the cliffside.  The rock was slippery, but she had to try as her fingers clawed at the sheer granite.  She swung out a rope for the first ledge she could see and started to climb with an automatic pace, years of climbing honed into her bones knowing her brief recess in the trees would only delay their search for her a short while.

        "WHERE'S THAT PRICK!?"

        "THE TRACKS STOP HERE!"

        "SPREAD OUT, IF YA FIND THAT BITCH, BEAT 'EM AND DRAG 'EM BACK HERE!"

The mountain was treacherous, her fingers kept slipping when she grabbed the cragged sides between hurling her rope upwards and making short frantic leaps upwards.  Sometimes she slid back, scraping claws upon the rock despite her best efforts to gain traction.  The sky betrayed her with the flash of white as one pursuer spotted a shadow.

        "THERE, ON THE CLIFF!"

        "GET 'EM!"

Despite already having a head start things were not any easier, pulling herself harder and further amidst the shrieking squabbling beasts far below trying to gain purchase on the mountain to chase her.  Soon she managed to reach the top of the small cliff, darting across a small plateau to climb the next set of cliffs.  Higher she went, the pursuers being left behind with their stubby hands frantic in scrabbling the side of the mountain.  Lightning tore through the clouds with fury, an ancient dragon's call for battle that deafened her ears before reaching another flatland of the ridge.  She took one look behind her to see the wide forest and the bridge that lead to a large twisting island of barren rock to see something moving through it.

She could see that damned burning eye, glaring with a cruel visage as it watched the skies before she fled.  Rushing across the mountain steppes, she raced as fast as her heart could take, fearing the sky for the first time in her life as not a place of safety, but one fraught with danger in this part of the world.  One of the beasts had caught up surprisingly quick screaming at her before she turned and fired an arrow from her bow, plunging straight between its glimmering eyes as it fell back down the mountain with a shrieking death.

        "DAMMIT, GET THAT BITCH NOW!"

The fugitive raced between the cragged small peaks, leaping from rock to rock and into a brief valley between with shaking feet.  The rain-slicked ground was treacherous even with her claws but she focused everything on running ahead, trying to find the other side of it.  The beasts were not slow, they would chase the breadth of the land as she heard their shrieks of pursuit, spears and swords and bows shining as they fired upon her.  They were not as good as her, the thunder and rain obscuring things even moreso until she found a coursing river, snaking through the mountain peaks.  She followed it to greener pastures, hoping her luck would change.  Then she saw the waterfall.

The mountains stopped.  There was only one place to go as she peered down towards the mountain pool which showed the telltale glint of treacherous broken rocks like teeth of a giant ready to devour.  She spread her arms open and dove downwards, feeling the wind was with her.  Hard left straight into the waterfall where she found a small cave beneath the rushing waters.  Her grandfather told her there was always a cave behind the waterfall.

        "WHERE'D HE GO?!" cried the voices above the waterfall.

        "Musta fell in the water!"

        "Maybe escaped?!"

        "Impossible, woulda been shot out the sky there's nowhere else to go!"

        "Yeah...let's hope yer right."

        "U-uhhhh...boss?"

        "WHUT?!"

        "Look."

They turned towards the horizon as the creatures gasped in shock.  Something that should not be, something that their former captive could not help but see also through the curtain of water below them.  A ginormous mountain range, far wider than the one they had known and stood upon even now with three looming volcanoes of darkness to the west They shared a moment of confusion beneath the warring sky, their large bat-like ears and stubby bodies transfixed within the scattered light.

        "Wh-...wh-where...where are we?"

        "I uh...I...I dunno.  Is this the boss' doing?"

        "Never said anythin' about it."

        "...tell the guards to keep an eye out for that shit, we gotta get back to base and report this."

        "Y-yes boss."

They started to leave one by one, curious beasts somewhat shook by the sight of a new world as their fugitive peered out to taste the rich flowing water and fill her bottle up fresh.

        "Welp, you sure screwed that one up," she said to herself sitting within the snug cave, "nowhere to run but...to wherever THAT is, that should not even be there like, at all...heh, for once I'm starting to miss seeing that volcano..."

She huddled down into her clothes with a bag for a pillow.  Tonight she was safe, the sounds of the waterfall becoming a lullaby.

        "They are just beautiful," said Addison.

        "Thank you," said Moonclaw curling her body next to three pale oblong shapes, "I admit I am, nervous about being a mother."

        "I'm sure you'll be wonderful, you have Oddclaw's family and also us too!"

        "Hahaha, what can the hairless to help me?"

        "Well, if anyone tries to mess with your kids, we'll murder the shit out of them.  Us humans are rather good at that!"

        "Hahahahahaa, well I do appreciate that."

Jane sat herself down in a light waterproof poncho beneath a partly-cloudy sky over the Hunter's Nest.  Raptors cajoled around the place with biting games and cheerful squawks in their joy at the rain having gone for a while, with Moonclaw's new nest having been stamped around a prime territorial spot somewhere southwest of Oddclaw's family nest.  It was a little farther from the lake than they would have liked, but it was sheltered from two directions by the forest offering lots of cool shade as Barren came over with a hefty chunk of meat.

        "Are the eggs well?" she asked her daughter-in-law.

        "Good and warm," said Moonclaw gladly taking the meat, "thank you for all your help."

        "If any of your children will be like Oddclaw I must warn you they are very different to a normal hunter."

        "Oh?" asked Jane turning her head towards Barren.  "Was Oddclaw different as a child?"

        "Very much so.  A hunter is able to walk within the first cycle but he took at least three!"

        "Hmmmm...when did he first learn to speak?"

        "Why do you want to know?" she said with a leery look and creeping teeth.

        "Well...it's just that Oddclaw seems to have great similarities to my species, so perhaps the way he was as a child is also like that of how our children are."

        "Are you a mother Jane?"

        "No."

        "Then you would not understand."

        "That's true, but I have been responsible for dozens of children in at least forty-three different species.  I helped with births, I helped deliver, I encouraged their development, so I may not have any of my OWN children but I have at least assisted in the birth of many."

        "Hmmm...and why is that?"

        "It was my job," began Jane with hands pressing at her chest, "to help animals live their lives in a safe environment whilst also teaching my people how they lived."

        "Oh, you taught them how to hunt?!"

        "No, how to take CARE of animals, make sure they did not completely die out."

        "Ahhhh...I see, of course if you killed all of them there would be none left and that would mean no more food."

        "Well not FOOD, we have specific animals that we eat, but THESE ones that I looked after we needed to make sure would not die out forever because they were important to the planet.  Everything on this earth eats something, and if one species, even the tiniest bug, is gone forever, the predator that eats that bug will starve and die, and the predator that eats THAT one will die too."

        "One prey is gone forever, that makes other prey gone too."  The mother nodded sagely with fuller understanding.  "I understand now, that is quite an important task."

        "So, would you like to tell me about Oddclaw?"

        "Alright, but only for Moonclaw's sake to be prepared."  Barren sat down and began to think through everything, a short pensive thought with eyes closed and bowing head.  "Well, not being able to walk, he could not mark by himself, so if your child has to relieve himself, you have to take him and he WILL be marking on you."

        "I am used to that anyway," said Moonclaw rolling her eyes, "you all did that to me when I first joined your tribe."

        "Hmhmhahah, ohhhh yes I remember now, anyways, he could not eat solid food so if one of your children has his body, you will need to chew it up and feed him as mush from your mouth, like the flyers do."

        "Really?!  U-urrrrgh-"

        "Hold on, really?!" asked Jane astonished leaning between the two raptors.  "You had to feed him like a bird?"

        "Well yes, his teeth were too weak to eat proper meat."

        "And you only fed him meat?  LIke, always?"

        "That is what hunters eat yes, I thought you were clever Jane."

        "No, you're right, sorry, continue."

        "Aaaanyways, once he was able to start walking, he would try to run eeeeverywhere, so you have to be careful, if he runs towards the lake, or into another nest.  Do not worry about any bites or scratches, my son took those well even if he cried a lot."

        "Awwww he did?" asked Moonclaw with a soft simpering chirr.  "He must have been adorable."

        "He was, hmhmhmhm!"  Barren blushed in remembering like old mothers always did.  "He was a fat little son running around but he did not know how to speak until three cycles so if your child does not start speaking early, do not worry, Oddclaw's father's also had problems speaking."

        "What sort of problems?"

        "Ohhhh just a rather...hmhm, odd way of speaking, it was...it felt like he had not learned to speak from an actual mother, more from a beast not of our tribe."

        "Hmmm..." Moonclaw looked up to the sky with pensive scratching claws to her chin, "Oddclaw does not speak like that."

        "That is because he was raised by us," said Barren with proud aloof nod, "I am sure his father was not raised by a family, when he first came to the tribe he smelled strange, like one of those starbeasts he keeps bringing round."

        "From what you have told me he may well have been a starbeast himself."

        "I would have found that hard to believe but now I am certain he was."

        "Can I ask you about Oddclaw's father?" said Jane politely writing down notes during their banter.

        "You may, but only after I have finished speaking with Moonclaw."

        "Of course, I'll wait."

The old mother nodded with courteous respect as Jane did the same knowing the raptor had to have authority regardless.

Whilst one mother gave advice to another, Oddclaw was receiving similar treatment at the human base with a more active disposition.  Standing in a medium-sized boxing ring, the raptor felt rather silly in a pair of flashy loose shorts and a set of strange plastic covers that had been specially designed to fit his hands and feet comfortably.

        "Why do I have to wear this?" he asked towards the corner.

        "Because of safety," said Thomas Brightman standing outside the ring, "we'd rather not accidentally kill each other."

        "In my family we just learn to bite gently."

        "Well this ain't your family, this is how humans do it.  The gloves feel alright on you Odd?"

        "They feel weird, but I will be fine."

        "Good."  Brightman started walking the length of the rope in front of Oddie and behind his opponent.  Now your opponent has taught you what style you prefer to use so that when you are out in combat you won't be so caught off-guard like previously."

        "I was not off-guard," he said sternly, "I knew what would happen, I was protecting my brother."

        "I understand, but it's better for you to not get stabbed at all, and if you have to throw yourself in front of someone say your wife or children, it'd be much better for you to learn how to fight bare-handed as well as how to disarm them.  Now I've taught you about disarms already so after this match I'll see how well you learned, are you ready Holt?"

        "Yep!" said the Welshman opposite Odd also in boxing gear.  "Normally ah like wrestling folks in my age but ah still remember me savate training."

        "Good.  We had to go through a lot of styles to find one that fit you."

        "You humen have so many ways to punch and kick," said the raptor shrugging nonchalant, "why can't you just punch and kick like everyone does?"

        "Because everyone knows how to do it," said Brightman, "you have to punch and kick in a way they CAN'T expect."

        "Why aren't you teaching 'im then?!" said Jeremy with head turned back to him.  "You got that krav maga shite dontcha?"

        "I am teaching him that, for disarming Holt."

        "Wot, no punch an' kick stuff?!"

        "That's for later.  Now I wanna see you two fight, and when time is up I'll ring the bell.  Are you ready?"  The two nodded and moved into their natural stances.  "FIGHT!"

Jeremy slowly hovered towards Oddie with his fists up like a boxer, the raptor keeping his hands comfortably at chest level and waiting for the first attack.  Holt swung with a roundhouse jab as the raptor dodged with a small swerve feeling his opponent out, watching for the follow up of two jabs and an uppercut that he strafed past and countered with a sidekick to the human's gut.  Holt tightened his stomach muscles in reflex with a partial wince, sucking his breath back to do a spinstriking backfist round to smack Oddclaw hard in the jaw.

Staggering slightly in surprise, the raptor regained his stance as the two turned to each other.  Oddclaw went on the offensive this time, hopping forwards with a straight punch that Holt blocked with his elbows until Oddie kneed him in the stomach.  Pushed back from the sharp blow, Holt countered with a forceful leg sweep by ducking and turning his body fast, but the raptor was quick to leap over and step back for his opponent to recover.  Jeremy charged with a fast and furious combo, left left right, uppercut, roundhouse perfectly making Oddie dodge back far enough with uppercut to come straight into line with the roundhouse.  Stunning his vision briefly the raptor threw his leg out in a turning hard kick, body aligned sharply like a sideways Y to smash his foot into Holt's chest.

The soldier winced thankful that Oddclaw's footguards covered his sharp sickle claw as he came forwards once again, dodging and weaving slightly to throw the raptor off as his mean green eyes watched his friend dance closer.  He feinted with a false jab twice then delivered the real roundhouse, but this time Oddie saw it coming as he ducked and slammed with a rising uppercut straight into Holt's jaw with a dull vibrating force.  Tensing his muscles against the blunted pain he tried to throw an uppercut back for Oddclaw to dodge back before Jeremy slammed his foot forwards in a thrusting kick hard in the raptor's gut, gasping with a sharp wince as he stumbled back towards the ropes.

        "Stop moving backwards!" shouted Thomas.  "Move around him, if you move back you lost the fight, you lose your ground and you let your opponent have more momentum attacking you!"

Taking the general's advice he watched and waited, slowly moving away from the ring periphery to give himself some space.  Holt did not let him have such pleasures as he rushed him to push his back against the ring corner, roaring with a swinging hard haymaker that Oddclaw ducked fast underneath.  He grabbed at the veteran's arm and threw him past his body, turning fast with a double sidekick that smacked against Holt's knee and back sending him fumbling towards the ringpost.  The welshman recovered his breath and rolled his arms turning round to face the raptor as he strafed towards him, hopping slightly with his shoes as he made a daring move in the form of a false spinning hammerfist, bellowing a mighty shout as he swung down hard at Oddclaw's head before using his momentum to make a furious leg sweep.  The raptor panicked and fell with the knocking of shoes against his ankle, but he recovered fast with a handstand and pushed himself fast into the air  to flip his body back upright, instantly using the spring of his feet planting on the floor to swing his leg hard towards Jeremy's face with a cleaving axe kick 

        "AAAAARGH!  FUUUCK!"

        "A-AH, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" cried the raptor with a jump in his heart.

        "NNNNNNGH!"  The soldier staggered back covering his face.  "M'fine, I'M FINE just...NNNNGH fuckin' rugburn!"

        "Rug burn?!"

        "N-never mind jus' keep fightin' ahm good fer it!"  Holt stood back up fully to show he had a thick red blur down the centre of his face where Oddclaw's rubber footguard had scraped hard on the skin.  "Hhheheheh, hheheheheh, yer gonna pay fer that with yer arse tonight mochyn bach."

        "Hahaha, really?!" teased Oddclaw with a smiling swagger.  "You can't even touch me, you won't be touching my arse either!"

        "Enough with the damn pillow talk keep fighting!" barked Thomas.

        "Pffft straight bastards always ruinin' our fun," muttered Holt, "come on mochyn bach, SHOW ME WHATCHA GOT!"

Sensing the sudden burst of testosterone from his opponent, Oddclaw kept his guard up with hands near his face before making a snapkick towards Holt's gut.  The human slammed his arm down against Oddie's knee in a block before headbutting him in the stomach, winding the raptor slightly to grab his shoulders and slamthrust his knee in revenge at Oddclaw's chest.  Gasping with a shriek he countered by hugging Jeremy tight in a clinch and lunged for his neck in a controlling bite attack.  Holt flinched by an instinct even though he knew Oddie would never harm him, but it was enough for the raptor to overpower him as he latched his jaws around the veteran's throat with deep vibrating snarl as they ended up on the floor.  He gave a few swift punches across Holt's head before backing off to stand up and away.

Pushing himself up Jeremy came thundering forwards like a bull as he started to swing with heavy punches, tricking the raptor into swerving beyond his slow brutal swings before surprising him with a turning spinkick to his shoulder that clipped him to the side as he gasped and clutched himself.  Holt took his chance to bumrush him with a low grab around Oddie's waist, lifting him up high before throwing him down onto the canvas with a bestial roar.  Oddclaw groaned from the impact as he watched Holt ready to come down on him with a belly flop before he quickrolled from underneath letting Jeremy bounce on the canvas.

The soldier pushed himself up, sweating hard down his hairy arms as he wiped his chin with the back of his hand before making a lumbering thrustjab to throw the raptor off, before trying another leg sweep that he jumped over and responded to with a flying kick to the side of Holt's head.  Stars burst in his vision as he snarled and huffed, resorting to his wrestling tactics as he retorted with a swinging roundhouse kick then a brief sudden grab to crush the raptor in a bear hug.  Oddclaw heaved in his ches as he tried to bite at Jeremy, but the soldier lifted him high enough that his mouth could not reach him whilst also trapping his arms against his body.  But his legs were still free as he crushed Holt's head between his knees to stun his ears with a dull whine, before wrapping his legs round his neck and smothering his face into his crotch whilst lurching forwards to topple him.  The combined assault of his tightening grip and shutting his nostrils out against his shorts sent the human down with Oddie sitting on his face, though Holt did not exactly protest.

        "ENOUGH!" shouted Thomas.  "We're done for today."

        "Awwww but I was having fun!" cried Oddie.

        "SUU WUZ UHHH!" shouted Holt muffled.

        "You wanna do your own training elsewhere fine," said the general with a handwave, "but only outside of this ring now come on."

Rolling his eyes Oddclaw stood up and off of Jeremy's face to see him smiling with a devilish wink.  He offered a hand to pull the veteran up as they slipped out the ring and went off to the showers sliding hands along each other's bums.

        "NOT IN THE SHOWERS!" shouted Thomas.  "You do that in your rooms or else!"

        "Sour kangaroo," muttered Odd.

        "PFFFFT!" stammered Holt with a sniggering fit.  "Hhhohohahah, hahalright, alright let's wash ourselves up an' then head back to mah room."

        "Is it not OUR room?" replied the raptor with a beaming grin.

        "Welllll ah guess at this point it is."

        "Oh uh Oddclaw, forgot something."  Thomas stopped them before he left the gym.  "Mind if I speak to you in my office after you showered off?  Won't be too long, it's just something I wanna ask you privately."

        "Okay sir."

After cleaning themselves off and putting on his designated shorts, Oddclaw went off to Brightman's office trying not to get all frustratingly excited for the fun he would have with Jeremy afterwards.  The match had left him all hot and bothered with shooting testosterone, but he reserved himself with a calm composure as he entered the furnished office of the Major-General.  It had been sometime since he was last inside it, seeing various photographs and personal books of choice along with a gun cabinet securely locked with a keyhole and keypad in tandem.  Thomas sat amidst all of this behind his varnished desk, his almost-ghoulish complexion staring straight through the raptor, fingers pressed beneath his haughty nostrils.

        "You wanted to speak to me sir?" began Odd.

        "Sit down please."  He waited for Oddclaw to do so.  "Are you doing well?"

        "I...I am yes."  The atmosphere was odd and strangely relaxed sensing he was not in trouble.  "What did you want to talk about?"

        "Well I never got the chance to properly say this and I wanted to talk about this privately."  The general offered his hand forwards in a friendly shake.  "Congratulations on becoming a father."

        "O-oh!  OH!"  Oddclaw shook his hand with a glowing smile.  "Thank you sir!  Was that all you wanted to tell me?"

        "Not exactly.  See, most of us on the base don't have children back home, which was a rather specific requirement for candidates to pass the psychological test.  No regrets or ties back to the old world."

        "Okay."

        "But...I wanted to talk about something, father to father."  Thomas leaned forwards with hands wrapped against each other on his desk.  "You've been wanting to be a father for a long time."

        "Yes sir, it is...it is something I have always wanted for years."

        "Good, good.  I respect that, you are aware of the responsibilities?"

        "My mother has told me many things, and also my brother Fishclaw who has his children too."

        "Excellent.  I wanted to make an offer with you, because I know this is going to come up eventually.  As civilian staff on our base, you are entitled to the same laws as us whenever you are here."

        "Yes sir."

        "And that also means you are entitled to the same benefits, such as maternity leave.  Normally that only applies to women expecting children but due to the nature of your special status, I am going to make a suggestion."  The human commander sat himself up more promptly as his elbows covered two-thirds of his desk like a business mobster.  "When your children are born, hatched, well born basically, you no longer have to come to our base and assist us with any anomalies."

        "What?"  The raptor was surprised leaning back on his seat until it creaked.  "What do you mean?!"

        "I don't want to force you to leave your children just to help us with something that we now comprehend.  Your family is important first and foremost above all other things, so I am giving you full permission to be on maternity leave for the next few years."

        "O-oh...so...you do not need me to be your ambass-sidor?"

        "Oh you are still that, you're our liaison between my tribe and yours, but your children are important."

        "But what if there is something you need me for help?"

        "We will ask you.  But you have no obligation to help us if you are too busy looking after your children."

The American soldier leaned forwards once again almost looming his head across half the desk, his eyes softening in a way Oddclaw had only seen once before.

        "The most important thing a child needs is the love of their parents.  I don't want to take that from them just because we can't solve a problem without you, we are capable.  We have better technology thanks to all these anomalies and you have helped us an immense amount with your courage and honour.  We know that we can count you, but we also understand that family comes first, so I want you to promise me something."

        "Yes?" asked Odd leaning forwards curiously.

        "Don't do something stupid for our sake.  Stay with your family, when they are born just stay with them and never leave them."

        "I will never leave them.  I promised Moonclaw that too."

        "Good."

        "Can I still come see you and all my humen friends?"

        "We can always come to you, see how your kids are doing.  Maybe even give you some help, if you ever worry about what to do raising your kids please ask me."

The voice of Thomas became strangely gentle, reaching his hand forwards in a gesture befitting of comrades as Oddclaw took it.

        "Thank you sir," replied the raptor, "I would love that.  How many children do you have?"

        "Just one, a daughter."

        "What is her name?"

        "Samantha."

        "That is a lovely name.  I do not know what my children will be called."

        "I am sure you'll think of something."  Brightman stood up and walked around his desk to pat Oddclaw on the shoulder.  "You're dismissed, I just wanted to tell you all that."

        "Thank you sir."  The raptor stood up and shook his hand gladly again.  "I hope I can be as good a father as you."

        "Hah...maybe even better, let's hope so."

Oddclaw left his office and went straight to Jeremy's room with a small skip in his step.  Thomas sat back in his chair and rubbed his head before opening one of the drawers with a small key he had.  A picture frame of a young pale girl with curled brown hair next to a darker woman of similar hair, set against the backdrop of London's cityscape from the top of a ferris wheel.

        "Let's hope you're better than I was," he muttered before closing the drawer.

        "Nice to finally see a clear sky huh?!" said Ted checking over the panels.

        "I keep forgetting monsoon season's a thing," replied Elaine piloting the wheel, "no snow, no autumn leaves, it messes me up like...like-"

        "That time your parents moved to Ottawa?"

        "Really, you're bringing that up again?!"

        "I'm just saying it was awkward for both of us!"

        "Well, yes, you're right it was, but please don't use my parents for a simile."

        "Elaine, they're like a Seinfeld episode, I have to it's the law."

The Petrie hovered across the sky carefully skirting past the Skylands and sweeping over the Jaws of the Earth.  Keeping their airspace well clear of the Hunter's Nest, they came into view of the Greatbeast's Spine which was the largest mountain range they had ever seen.  Jane and Andrea could not help but watch from the portholes with fascination at the ancient world below them with Ade and Bose on the other side of the hall doing the same.  The former plague chemists had now donned a new set of clothes despite their insistence in constantly wearing hoods over their pallid violet-beaked faces, with Adenine in a red and yellow smock whilst Ribose wore brown and blue.  The scientist and the therapist however were now decked in beige outfits of kevlar-formed exploring gear reminiscent of a 1920s adventurer.

        "Least we'll make good camouflage in the mountains right?!" said Ade.

        "Why would we need camouflage?" replied Bose.  "We're just scouting for new herbs aren't we?"

        "Well yeah but, still there's gotta be some wild beasts down there, especially if it's from another dimension."

        "Is there like ever gonna be a time we just get some new land that ISN'T full of thugs?"

        "I'm not sure," said Andrea from across the inner deck, "I mean to be fair that island from more than two years back was full of robots."

        "Yeaaaah I guess...ugh..."

        "You alright?"  The ladies turned to see Ribose staggering with a weak step and woozy head.

        "Yeaaah I-i just...HRRK-o-oh god-"

        "Oh dear do you get airsick?" asked Jane.

        "I-i only been on this ship a few times, I always get-hnnnghrrrhhh."

        "You need to lie down then, you didn't have to come."

        "N-no no I...wherever Ade goes I go-uuuugh."

Jane took him back towards the crew quarters, cautiously taking his sleeve as he hiccuped with a shuddering choke as his throat threatened to fill, his stomach churning with the quiet motions of the ship.  Adenine smirked beneath his hood and shook his head.

        "Yanno, we'd never have found out about that back where I came from."

        "Why?" asked Andrea putting her foot against the wall.

        "You know how EXPENSIVE an airship is, let alone to ride one?!  You'd have to be some kinda gold-armoured douche to get in one of those so we just ended up yanno...working underground."

        "Underground?  That doesn't sound fun."

        "Well when you work In a plague doctor's lab making illegal chemical weapons you don't really get much of a look-in on real estate.  Trust me our boss tried, it's really hard to get a sell for a warehouse with 'good ventilation, no neighbours or members of law enforcement in immediate vicinity and must have accessible escape tunnel'."

        "He ACTUALLY asked for that?!"

        "He was not a shrewd customer!" insisted Adenine with hands spread like a preacher.  "Seriously, he was a great alchemist but MAN was he stupid in everything else, if it wasn't for the fact he knew literally every way he could poison you in various degrees of intensifying absolute agony."

        "So why did you even START working for him?" asked Dixon crossing her arms.

        "Oh come on you know how hard it is to find work when you're a scientist?!"  The hooded alchemist kicked at the floor with hands in his pockets slightly shamed with his hindsight.  "I just didn't wanna be stuck cleaning outhouses for the rest of my life."

        "Hah, fair enough, I was lucky to get up all the way to NASA but even that took a lotta boxes to stack at Wal-Mart before I made it there."

        "Nasah?"

        "It's a science group back where I'm from that studies space."

        "Oooooh an astronomer's guild!  Hah, you don't dress like one, not got the flowing robes and such."

        "Well, our astronomers are different."

        "Good cuz I hate those robes, every freaking time you see one the astronomer's always like 'do you like stars' and I'm like 'sure I like stars' and he's all like 'TELL ME WHAT THIS ONE IS HMMM' and they just shove their damn sleeve in your face!"

        "Pfffft...hmhmhahah wow they sound like dicks."

        "They SO ARE I swear the moment they put on those robes it's like they become the smuggest people with fingers up in the air going 'ACTUALLY I think you'll find that's the Armoria star hmhmnyeh!"

        "I know EXACTLY the kinda person you mean," said Andrea with head shaking and her lip curling, "usually they wear fedoras."

        "Whassat?" asked Adenine.

        "It's a type of hat...speaking of, aren't you and Ribose sorta hot in those hoods, you never seem to take 'em off."

        "Ehhhh well it's kinda what we prefer, we like having the hoods on all the time, it's kind of our style!"

        "Alrighty then-WH-WHOOAA!"

The ship viciously lurched to one side in a sudden turn as she stumbled forwards hard with Adenine crumpling to the floor.

        "WH-WHAT THE HECK?!"

Pulling themselves up they stumbled erratically towards the cockpit where Ted and Elaine frantically fought against the wheel.

        "What's happening?!" cried Andrea.

        "S-SOMETHING HIT US!" panicked Ted smacking buttons.  "J-just SHOT at us from the mountains!"

        "Keep it steady!"

        "I'm TRYING!" shouted Elaine vibrating frantically.  "Whatever hit us just shorted out half the board-E-EEEEEEEH!"

Another shocking strike pierced through the ship, sending a warbling sound of dull electrical timbres that blacked out the control panel briefly.  But it was enough to cause the Petrie to lose altitude and start dipping with a jarring sensation that threw everyone forwards.

        "I CAN'T, I CAN'T CONTROL IT!" cried Ted.

        "PULL IT BACK HARDER!" shrieked Elaine through her tousled hair.

        "THE GYRO'S ALL MESSED UP IT CAN'T TELL WHICH WAY IS UP!"

        "...shit, alright we have to land this thing."

        "WHAT?!"

        "JUST AIM FOR THAT PLATEAU OVER THERE-"

        "OHHHHH GOD!"

Another rippling strike of thunderous force tore through one of the engines as the Petrie went into a swan dive towards the mountains.  The two pilots worked together to steer the ship towards a large flat plain in the peaks as the sound of rushing wind and shrieking burning engines rose to a deafening pitch.  Ade grabbed onto Andrea with fright as she grabbed onto the wall support.  The ship rumbled even harder the further down it went, their eyes blurring from vibrations as the screecing roar ceased only when they hit the solid earth with a booming KRNNNCH!

Jane woke up, finding herself outside and splayed out on the ground with the sun beating down upon her face.  She blinked with leery gaze trying to comprehend the past few minutes as she saw Ade and Bose leaning over her.

        "Oh thank god you're alright," said Ribose in blue.

        "Wha...what the hell happened?" she muttered.

        "Something shot us outta the sky," said Adenine in red, "no idea what, looked like some kinda green lightning!"

        "Lightning is not green."

        "Well this one was, ask the pilots if you don't believe me."

Addison slowly pushed herself onto her feet with help from the alchemists tugging her arms up.  Dixon was sitting on a stone nursing a bandaged head wound whilst their three armored guards kept watch around the place with their new laser rifles.  The ship was crumpled into the mountain steppes, a huge gaping black trench laid behind it scarred deep into the rock as the cold winds of the mountain range scattered dust from around them.

        "Least it's a nice clear day," said Jane with a brave face.

        "Don't jinx it," replied Andrea rubbing her head, "god, we must be dealing with something nasty."

        "The lab boys said a green lightning shot hit us."

        "Yeah, it came from other there."

She pointed best as she could to southwest.  Beyond the mountains from their vantage point, they could see a grand forest on a peninsula which connected to a labyrinthine island by means of a sturdy bridge.

        "That island looks man-made," commented Bose, "no way those passages were made naturally."

        "The lightning shot from around there," added Adenine, "you think it was a magic spell or some kinda automaton defence system?"

        "Either way," replied Andrea walking back to lean on the ship, "we're a beacon out here with the smoking ship."

        "What about the base, can we call anyone?"

        "We did, but this is the only ship we currently have, we're still developing some smaller models from Angel Island."

        "What?!" stammered Ribose stomping his feet.  "That was almost three years ago, what the hell you managed to make THIS one!"

        "THIS one was already pre-made and in working order, we just had to change a few panels around to make it work for our species, but the scrap we got from Angel Island's all over the place, it takes ages alone to sift through everything and put down our most essential needs first, the expansion of the base."

        "Uuuugh...well, what about Oddclaw?!"

        "Two reasons," said Jane with said fingers up, "one he is currently looking after his mate for their coming family in a few months, and two he's not going to be able to do much for rescuing if he gets here anyway."

        "Ehhhh I guess.  Hmm...OH, hey look there's some people coming!"

        "What?!"

Andrea signalled the soldiers with a hand gesture indicating they get ready for an attack.  One trooper came forwards with his laser rifle to see a small group of gangly hunchback creatures with floppy ears and piggish snouts wielding a ragged-looking array of swords, clubs and spears.

        "They don't look friendly," said the helmeted guard.

        "Tribal," noted Jane, "so whatever hit us must have been magic."

        "See the way you said that ma'am was TOO casual, isn't this the first time we dealt with magic?"

        "Well now let's not get TOO hasty, they might just be territorial-"

        "AAAAARGHHKHH!"

They turned fast to see one of the other soldiers had been pierced by a projectile through his waist, the third trooper turning to fire at the attacker who fell off the other side of the plateau with a shriek.  Adenine and Ribose hurried over instantly to the wounded guard.

        "What the FUCK?!" shouted Andrea.

        "S-SOMETHIN' SHOT ME WITH AN ARROW!"

        "YOU ARE WEARING KEVLAR, HOW THE FUCK DID AN ARROW GO THROUGH THAT?!"

Ade carefully removed the arrow whilst Bose administered a poultice for cleaning the wound, seeing the weapon was an exceptionally sharp form of mineral.

        "Well, it got through the armour somehow, this must be some real good stone."

        "Get him back in the ship," said Ribose hooking one of the soldier's arms round his neck, "cover us alright?!"

With Jane and Andrea following the two lab assistants as they carried their wounded guard, the remaining two soldiers kept watch as the enemies began pouring in, a fiendish battalion coming from both north and south by skirting around the base of the plateau.  Gunshots rang out across the mountain ridge amidst screams of death from the invading force and roaring clamours from the human survivors, peppering shots of thick red beams that fizzed through the air and burned through flesh sharply.  With the guards flanking either side of the ship's entrance, the enemy was hard pressed to get even close to the vessel which started being pounded by a hail of arrows that rattled the inside with dull thudding sounds.  Jane and Andrea went to the cockpit to check on their pilots whilst Ade and Bose went to the medbay with their patient.

        "GOD, dammit!" cried Ted from the cockpit.  "What the hell's going on out there?!"

        "We're being attacked!" cried Jane.  "What are you two still doing here?!"

        "Keeping the seats warm!" argued Elaine with a flustered headturn.  "also I get sunburnt very easily and I didn't want to risk it, good thing I didn't huh!?"

        "And I hurt my back in the crash," explained her copilot with an oddly exaggerated wince, "tchhhhhyeaaaah I shouldn't move out of this seat a good while 'til I'm sure I'm alright."

        "What can we do?" asked Jane starting to fidget whilst hopping on her feet.

        "We get tooled up," said Andrea putting her hand on the therapist's shoulder, "come on, we need our stuff."

        "U-u-um, um, Andrea-"

        "No time come on!"

Grabbing Addison's hand she dragged her through the hall to the crew quarters where they opened their chests with ID cards to bring out their handguns.  Dixon wasn't fucking around, she had her beretta primed and ready whilst Jane held hers like a cursed object.

        "Jane, relax."

        "I'm sorry but you DO realise we're in a bloody warzone right now?!"

        "That's why they trained us to be as good as privates, no bullshit 'shooting range on sunday after church' crap."

        "How are you so calm?!"

        "How are you NOT calm, you had no problem training a fucking raptor to speak English but THIS is the limit?!"

        "I don't like guns and I HATE using one!"

        "Well tough shit, you shoulda thought of that before signing up to a military project hmm?!"

        "The entire POINT," insisted Jane with a vicious stomp, "was that we came to this time period to study animals and let the MILITARY handle them, trained professionals, not get caught up in a sodding ambush by weird THINGS outside!"

        "Alright, alright just calm down."  Dixon pulled her in for a firm hug to try and soothe her shaking body.  "Just follow my lead okay, I'll take front."

        "Okay...I'm sorry."

        "It's fine."  They pulled back slightly as Jane looked away in embarrassment much to Andrea's amusement.  "What?"

        "N-nothing!"

        "You literally watch animals fuck, what are you embarrassed about?"

        "Let's just focus on not being murdered okay?"

        "Alright, whateeever you say just stick-"

She suddenly swung her keycard towards the door to their quarters to lock them in as she heard the sound of approaching beasts.  Slathering squawks and shrill squeals triumphant seemed to follow them as they searched throughout the place.  Some of them tried to bang on the door of the room they were in as Jane cringed with a muted whimper hugging closely to Dixon, the physicist staying in front of her with handgun raised and ready in case they somehow broke through.  Her gun was modified to shoot a laser-charged feed, glimmering red strips on the handle that indicated its shots allowed at a measly five due to its battery, exchanging its rate of fire for a penetrating shot.  From the other side they soon heard Ade and Bose shouting in panic, shrieking noises and flustering sounds as they were grabbed and carried off to the ship's exit.

        "We have to help them!" gasped Jane.

        "We go out there, and we're dead," argued Dixon.

        "But they need our help!"

        "They're being kidnapped, not killed, we can rescue them later once we regroup like we did with Kevin.  Right now we sit here and wait cuz two guns are nothing against a mobful of arrows."

        "...alright."

Hearing their friends being dragged away in echoing screams wounded Jane deeply.  She sat on the floor with back to the wall and huddled her knees trying not to get upset, shivering from helplessness.  Andrea kept watch on the door, pressing her ear to it and listening for any signs of disturbance.  Once the place sounded empty she beckoned Addison to her feet and opened the door, aiming first thing down the hall.  The smooth purple walls greeted them to nothing as they made their move, sneaking through towards the cargo ramp that acted as an entrance to the ship.

There were still enemies outside that they could hear, but nowhere near the multitude of before.  The human guards that had been fighting them off were now pincushioned corpses, pumped full of arrows as the invading horde had relinquished them of their laser rifles and gleefully testing them out with random potshots at things, fizzing sparks that went piercing into the clouds as both women leered out of the cargo bay.

        "This is bad," muttered Dixon, "alright, we'll have to kill the two with the guns."

        "A-alright," said Jane wiping sweat from her head, "u-um, I'll take the blue one, you take red?"

        "Okay.  Ready?"

        "Nooo?"

        "Set.  GO!"

Andrea came out firing at the first beast she saw with the rifle, clipping it in the shoulder as it roared and stumbled hard before Jane came frantically firing twice and missed twice to alert the rest of the horde.  The enemy turned as a snarling mass of 20 foul beasts altogether, with bat-sized ears and piggish snouts between beady glowing eyes of venomous intent.  A motley group of beasts in loincloths with an array of weapons crafted from iron and wood, most of whom were just under 5 feet but at least five of them were a good 8 feet tall as long lanky thuggish brutes.

        "Okay, now what?!" cried Jane.

        "Shoot more and run back into the ship!"

        "AAAAAH!"

One beast threw a spear towards Jane with surprising accuracy, forcing her to stagger back and fall on her rear with another panicking shot that had her shoot the side of the ship much to the cackling mockery of the tribal horde.

        "HEY!" shouted Dixon.  "YOU WANNA START SOMETHING, WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT?!"

        "A-ANDREA!"

        "What kinda fuckwit shoots down a scouting ship and sends two dozen assholes to come fight the crew, WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE BOSS?!  COME ON, ANSWER ME, IF YOU GUYS GOT ANY BALLS ON YA YOU'LL STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR WEAPONS!"

The mob chuckled filthily as a blue-skinned beast walked towards them, wielding a large iron club as he loomed over them.  His voice was deep and hoarse as he prodded Andrea with his club hard enough to send her over on her back.

        "HAHAAAH hahaha, chisana on'nanoko wa kanojo ga eiyu o enjiru koto ga dekilu to kangaete imasu."  He grabbed her by the scruff of her beige vest and pulled her to his drooping snout.  "Anata dake no koto wa, daidokoro no yoi doleidesu!"

        "Where's our friends?!" she shouted at his face.  "What did you do to Ade and Bose!?"

        "Anata wa sonoyoni hanashi tsudzukeru to, watashi wa anata no kao o sudeni sore yoli mo kuroku-A-AAAAAGH!"

He dropped her suddenly as he pulled his wrist close to his chest, seeing an arrow thrust straight through the flesh before another projectile came shooting fast to wing him in the shoulder.  The beasts looked above to see where the shooter was, a silhouette in the sun with a female voice.

        "Ima wa koseide wanai.  Anata wa hontoni on'nanoko o elabu no ga sukidesu ka?"

Landing between the horde and the women was a strange green bird of anthropomorphic features that stood around 6'5''.  Sturdy pale feet of three claws with an eagle's body and a black thick beak resembling a parrot's, the avian was dressed in a style reminsicent of a sea corsair with shale pantaloons, brown breastplate and blue epaulettes on the shoulders where a fancy-looking bow of azure and gold tints hung from her back.

        "S-SORE, SORE WA SUGOI!" screeched one of the pint-sized archers.

        "Watashi wa rito~u, dikkunozu," she locked the tips of her wings together like fingers to stretch and crack them slightly, "anata ga watashi no sessaku naifu o mitakunakereba, anata ga shozoku suru nojo ni modorimashou."

        "HAH!" barked one of the huger blue beasts with a deep throat.  "Gadian no lynel ga sora o mimamotte iru kagiri, anatahadare mo nigemasen."

        "Watashi wa dasshutsu o keikaku shite imasendeshita. Watashi wa fukushu o keikaku shite ita."

        "Is that Japanese?!" murmured Jane to Dixon.

        "The fuck if I know," she muttered back, "but bird-lady seems to be on our side so grab your gun."

Had they known what they were saying they would have timed for their impending defence better.  The bird-lady in question made a gentle strut, her beaded necklace and earrings gently swishing with her head.

        "[How many of you are there left?]" she asked in their native tongue not expecting an answer.  "[You already got your two alchemists now so what you want these two for?]"

        "[You'll find out,]" nattered one of the black-skinned short goblins, "[we weren't gonna hurt ya on account'a the boss but now you're testing his patience...he might wanna look the other way when we cut yer foot off to send to yer family.]"

        "[UGH again with the feet, do you got a foot fetish or sumthin' huh?!  Cuz YOU'RE always the one to suggest it!]"

        "[NO I'M NOT!]"

        "[You kinda are bro,]" muttered a red cohort beside him.

        "[SHUT UP, I DON'T SEE YOU WITH ANY BRIGHT IDEAS!]"

        "[SHUT IT BOKKALD!]" snorted the tall blue beast as he pulled out the arrow from his arm and stomped forwards with iron club in both hands.  "[You got nowhere to run, you pissed off our boss, the only thing you got going is if you come back without fightin' then maybe I can convince him not to let us hurt ya too much.]"

        "[Oh jeez I'm SOOOOO sorry,]" mewled the bird with sarcastic hands clasped in prayer, "[ohhh this poor little princess throws herself on the mercy of dick-faced ballscratchers like you all WISH you could be!]"

        "[YOU COULDN'T EVEN HIT MY HEAD FROM UP THERE!]"

        "[Ohoho trust me, if I wanted to kill you, you'd have worms eating your guts right about now.]"

        "[I'LL MAKE YOU EAT WORMS BEETLEBREATH!]"

With whirling mace the pig-nosed beast rushed forwards to club the bird's head, who backflipped lithely before pulling a faux-Arabic short sword from her hip, lunging forwards to plunge her blade deep into the thug's abdomen.

        "[GHRRRRK!]"

        "[Say hi to the worms for me,]" said the bird.

        "[GET 'EM!]"

Seeing the small horde charge the winged warrior wrapped an arm around the dying fiend and hurled its corpse towards them to knock two of the smaller boars over.  Another large fiend of blue skin came lumbering with his giant club ready to crush the bird's head who dodged to the side fast.  With a second mighty baseball swing the pork-headed foe roared as the falcon made a dashing cartwheel straight over his club, slashing across the top of his eyes with her short scimitar to blind him with blood.  She backflipped to gain some distance and leapt high upon a rock before making a fuller leap to pull out her bow.

        "[LIGHTS OUT BIG BOY!]"

The arrow went firing straight into one of the beast's eyes with a pulpy burst of red and white, then came the second arrow into the other eye as the beast started to recoil with a roaring anguish.

        "[A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!  AAAAAAGH GODDESS AAAAAARGH!]"

The bird stood watching smugly before one of the smaller pigs pulled out its own shoddy bow and readily fired towards the target.  The wily archer countered with its own arrow and fired one after the other, the first shooting the fiend's arrow straight into the dirt whilst the second plunged deep into the boar's brain.  The falcon made a little dancing spin to intimidate the rest of the small mob with clacking claws.

        "[YEAAAH YOU LIKE THAT, HUH?!  Who's left?!]"

        "LOOK OUT!"

A voice shrilled from behind her as one of the fiends had skirted round in the confusion ready to come down on her head, before a gunshot rung out across the plateau with a burst of blood popping from the creature's stomach.  Andrea stood beside the ship with smoking laser-powered beretta pointed towards the rest of the mob as they backed off in startlement.

        "[NICE!]" said the bird-lady.  "[That's some cute fire rod you got there girl!]"

        "You boys wanna fuck with us you best get ready," said the physicist with action hero stance, "I'll give you one warning and THAT was it so BACK OFF!"

        "DAMN RIGHT!" shouted Jane beside her with a more trembling handgun.  "We can shoot f-faster than you can shoot your arrows!"

        "[Ohoho this is gonna be fun!]" said the falcon motioning with a hand push.  "[Alright you two step back and cover me, I'll handle the horde!]"

        "What's she saying?!" asked Andrea.

        "I think she wants us to move back," said Jane realising her body language, "quick over here!"

        "[RRAAAAAAAARRRGH!]"

One hog-faced runt came charging in with his spear flailing around in a circle above his head, but the bird easily backflipped with bow out in midair and shot straight into the thug's brain as he crumpled to the ground with spear clattering across the ground.  Four more came running towards her with clubs as she ducked below the first, kicked the second hard in the face, stabbed a third behind her in its kidney and spun round to slash the fourth one's throat.

Punk number one tried to crush her head with an overhead swing but the bird sidestepped and spinkicked the enemy's face, turning fast to stab number two in the stomach twice, slamming her foot out behind her to shove number three back who staggered back into Jane.  Flinching in surprise the therapist shrieked and pistol-whipped him into concussion with two cracks to the back of the head.

After dealing with the first punk by a downward stab, one of the taller beasts wielded a laser rifle towards her to fire in a scatter shot towards the bird, forcing her to duck and roll beneath the sweeping gunfire and shoot another arrow from her side jump straight into the gunner's stomach.  Groaning with blood spilling down his loincloth he tried to shoot her again only to find the rifle had emptied its battery and went into recharge mode.

        "[WHUT THE, N-NO, COME ON YOU STUPID THING!]"

He shook it frantically with gritted teeth and slapped it around but his brief lull rewarded him with a straight shot to the chest and throat as Andrea took aim with her last two shots before she had to recharge, slipping back into the cargo bay door.  The falcon saw another mob of five squat beasties with bows ready and primed as she began to dance with a mocking swagger, taptapping her arrow on her bow to taunt them.

        "[Who's first to go down huh, is it you, or maybe you?!]"

        "[JUST SHUT UP BIRDBRAIN!]"

        "[Least I GOT a brain, want me to let some air outta your skull?!]"

        "[SHOOT 'IM!]"

The mob archers fired in a small hailstorm towards the bird as she ducked below two arrows and sliced two more with her sword to bat them away, but the fifth arrow made its mark and grazed her shoulder hard to spill blood down her wing.  She tightened her beak to resist the pain and threw her sword high in the air above them, causing three of them to look up.  The two that didn't received an arrow each, one in the throat and one in the skull simultaneously before she rushed forwards to doublekick a third archer in the face, jumping off her face and grabbing an arrow from a nearby body to stab through the back of a fourth creature's throat and booting the fifth straight towards the path of the falling blade.

But the thrown fiend was surprisingly quick on her feet, grabbing the sword in mid-air and shrieking with a smug cackle to turn and face her opponent.

        "[HAHAAAAAA-GHRRRKH!]"

An arrow to the stomach was the bird's response, wounding the foe before running forth to grab her sword back with an elbow to the face and a wrenching slash from the beast's hand before she spun and sliced its belly wide open with a porous puddle of blood around their feet.  She looked up and saw the other tall thug with the second laser rifle aiming towards her with cautious aim.

        "[EAT THIS YOU BITCH!]"

The falcon grabbed her dying enemy and hurled towards the gunner, his aim slightly shooting off-centre in reaction and barely missing its true target who strafed and pulled two arrows to notch on her bow, firing sideways to send them driving through the gut and stomach.  Despite his roaring anguish he was not done firing as he staggered to the side and fired towards her, forcing her to dodgeroll towards a rock for cover behind it.  The laser burned through the stone but not enough to pierce as she waited for a lull in shooting before peeking out with a swift shot hitting his leg.  But then the final six small fiends came running forwards to swarm her position.

Three however didn't make it, shot down in their tracks by a double firing from both Jane and Andrea as charring flesh sizzled amidst their screams whilst the bird gave a thumbs up to them.  She then made a fingergun with her wing, pointing to them then the enemy before she pointed to herself and up high with invisible bow firing between her hands.

        "Did you get that?" asked Andrea.

        "Yeah, sure did," said Jane, "we keep covering fire whilst she moves up high and shoots from above."

        "Good we're on the same page."

Dixon gave a thumbs up back with Jane towards the falcon as she nodded, waiting for the handguns to start firing again on the four surviving punks that now took shelter behind smaller rocks.  Once they were shooting, the bird made a flying leap from the top of her hiding rock, and jumped with incredible height towards the top of the ship whilst firing in midair at the still-surviving rifleman who tried to shoot her out of the sky, forcing him to take cover from her suppressive shot.

        "[Lemme sing you a ballad for you boys,]" muttered the falcon notching arrows to her bow.  "[Hope you're all ready for THIS!]"

She smiled with an almost cruel gleam in her eyes before launching herself high above the battle scene.  Fluttering upwards in a glide she pulled back her drawstring and plunged two arrows through the first small thug's skull, then spiralled downwards in midair to grab another two arrows to fire at the second, spinning effortlessly into a dive to shoot down the last two.  The last thug was bracing himself to shoot as soon as his laser rifle had recharged and had ducked down behind cover in waiting.  He staggered up and aimed his new weapon to fire, but the bird was not there having dashed around in a half-circle around him the moment she landed.  He saw her briefly from the corner of his eye and the second he tried to turn she rammed his sword through his chest with a heart-piercing stab.  His wrenching bellowed scream signalled the end of the fight as the bird pulled her blade free and wiped it off on the beast's loincloth before walking back to the ladies.

        "[HOO, nice work there girls, saved my feathers for sure a few times right?!  Bokoblins aren't a problem but those moblins are real feisty boys lemme tell ya.]"

        "Thanks for saving us back there," said Andrea holstering her gun and walking forwards with a hand shake, "sorry I don't understand you but I hope uh...well, uh, Jane wanna take this one?"

        "No prob."

The therapist sighed with full relief and shook the bird's hand after Andrea did.  Jane pointed to herself saying her name before pointing to Andrea with her name and lastly pointing to the bird.

        "Jaaaane.  Andreeeaaa.  Hmmmm?"

        "[Oh!  Chihlo.]"  The bird smiled at their basic greeting.  "[Nice to meetcha, so uh...I got a lotta questions but howsabout we get all this cleaned up first and start planning how to save your friends?]"

        "How do we ask her about Ade and Bose?" asked Andrea.

        "Why don't we deal with our guards first," replied Jane with an awkward fiddling of her fingers, "we should...um...sh-should we bury them?"

        "It's only right, if we had any place to bury them but since we're on top of a mountain, I guess we put them on the ship so when our people come we can take them back for full honours."

        "Right."

They went to work, pulling the arrows from the dead soldiers as Chihlo understood to help them with such as well as to keep the arrows for herself as ammunition.  The three women lugged the guards into a side room, as well as the third one that was in medbay that the invaders had mercilessly killed.  All they could do now was wait, and hope that forces would arrive soon.