Chapter 113: Reports
The group stood just beyond a safe distance for the approaching ship’s landing zone. Robert took the opportunity to seek clarification on what they had managed to cover of Joseph’s story before they were called outside, while Pan kept an ear on the casual conversation happening between the other three humans—a fourth apparently in the process of assisting with medical proceedings within the Den.
She would rather meet them before such was done, but Sahari was the one who authorized it, and it would do no good to override her decision. If nothing else, there was little risk with so many of the pack able to keep an eye on things.
Pan wanted to trust them—she really did—but there was no denying that such risks existed. Perhaps it was her bond telling her to be alert, or the losses they incurred souring her expectations, but she was tired of the violence. Tired of the caution, tired of seeing her pack injured and mournful, and tired of seeing the results of other’s actions weighing on her mate.
For a single moon, they were merry. The fire was pleasant, Tel had been relaxed, and Sunundra proved to be fine company. The change in environment was interesting and novel, and the conversations had been rather entertaining—if a bit...enlightening when her other opted to detail some of activities with their mate.
Then the humorous events faded, and bloodshed replaced such trivial curiosities.
Even this possible boon felt fragile in comparison.
Pan released her tension slightly as Joseph involved her in the conversation for a moment, rubbing her back and playfully scratching at her ears to illustrate a point. What that point was, she wasn’t quite sure, but Robert seemed to find it amusing, and she found the affection satisfying in a way she couldn’t quite place a claw on.
The break in rumination allowed her to take in the comfort he was able to gain from being with his sibling, and overlook the unease beneath it.
Though most of the pack had elected to remain within the den—for the purposes of distancing themselves from the new aliens until their intents had been made clear—and the Heads were assured that they were better off supporting those inside for the time being as well, Pan stayed with Joseph; in part because she had been subtly feeling out the ‘Trilaxin’ in the settlement, and also because her bond was still somewhat on edge about the whole event. If her presence assured him in even the slightest amount, it was worth ignoring her own discomfort with the situation.
He was neither fearful nor hostile towards what would be entering their walls, but he was distrustful of those who he had yet to meet. It was a sad thing for his welcoming demeanour to shift towards ambivalent acceptance, especially to the three humans who stood off to the side of Robert.
At least a certain thought throughout the settlement was set at ease; even when exposed to his own kind, those who had come to rely on his leadership were his first priority, and not even his blood-kin would get between him and his pack.
Though Joseph’s expression was light as he spoke with his sibling, and laughter was a common exchange between the two, there was no hiding the subtle glances towards where Wraiths had set up out of direct view. Armed with AMRs and CARDs, they would be the first to stop anything he deemed a threat.
All without Robert being aware.
There was guilt through the bond at the need for such precautions, but Pan’s hope matched his own, in which they wished all of the preparation was for naught, and nothing but new friends and prosperity awaited them.
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The sound preceded the sight of the craft, but it wasn’t as harsh as she had come to expect. If anything, it was surprisingly soothing to hear in the distance, and was merely somewhat loud once it came into view.
Sharp angles constituted the design, insectoid in inspiration and opulent within the materials afforded for aesthetics. Sweeping curves extended from the body—though they likely served an actual function beyond appearance. Black was chosen to highlight the most aggressive features, a deep red solidifying the look. The bridge gave the impression of an angular head, suggesting that the entire ship could pass as a colossal lifeform, were it not for the mechanical aspects present.
Despite the lack of visible armament, the entire craft seemed to be one giant weapon; even the subtle active shielding around it caused a shimmer as light refracted. It was nothing to the scale of a colony ship or Hunt-class frigate, but it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that such a craft survived long enough to escape those.
An impressed whistle sounded out from Joseph as the ship raised higher to orient itself for landing. “Damn.”
Robert chuckled. “Like it?”
“Made by those centipede guys, right?”
The elder kin raised his brows. “Ji’kril’ex, yeah. Surprised you’d notice.”
“Would anyone else make something like that?”
“You’d be surprised,” he commented, turning his gaze back to the craft. “Got it in an auction.”
The Grand Hunter hummed. “What did you do to it?”
“What didn’t I?”
“...That thing is incredibly illegal, isn’t it?”
Silva, the blue and cream-coloured avian that Pan found herself rather relaxed by—bond or not—layered her wings over her feathery chest, the suit-like clothing she wore fluttering as wind was generated by the thrusters. “Your brother worries me when he wants to.”
Joseph gave a curious glance. “He did something stupid with it, didn’t he?”
Robert held his paws up in defence. “To be fair, someone else did the stupid things. I just did them better.”
The ship roared as it slowed its descent, Pan’s ears flattening to protect her hearing. The grass buckled to its side, eventually fluttering, then returned to its resting upright position as the craft landed, the engines whirring quietly as they spun down.
The visiting kin smiled smugly as the Grand Hunter nodded approvingly. “I present to you The Spirit of Freedom.”
Her bond frowned. “Dad’s mustang. Really?”
Robert shrugged. “Am I wrong?”
“No, and I’m mad that I’m not sure why.”
Pan flicked an ear. “What is a ‘mustang?’”
The two brothers looked at her with a passing interest. “Car.”
When that seemed to be all the answer she was getting for the moment—the siblings returning to their tangent as they waited for the ship to settle—Silva smiled in her odd, avian way. “I’d be happy to explain it later; humans have a fascination with naming things after animals from their planet. Other worlds too, if they’ve been there long enough.”
She nodded thankfully, ears turning towards a hiss of air pressure equalizing. A ramp on the bulkier end of the craft lowered, giving them a partial view inside. Robert stepped forward, gesturing towards it.
“This opens pretty close to medical. Cargo is on the back, crew quarters is the next one forward, then recreation further up, and there’s a few more entrances on the other side that mirror them too.”
“Seems like a lot, doesn’t it?” Joseph queried, observing the ship.
“You’d think so, but this used to be a pleasure cruiser; you need a lot of ways in and out because the first owners kept the sections separate. The guy who had it before me connected them, and I went ahead and streamlined things when we were remodeling.” The male shrugged. “It helps to keep this thing above board for safety regulations, and the fewer reasons they have to look closely at this thing, the better.”
Others appeared at the opening of the ship, a secondary set of doors in the airlock revealing a human and Trilaxin dressed in white coats. One of each descended, the human hesitantly smiling and trying to seem as non-threatening as possible, while the shorter avian seemed bored, assuming her limited experience with Silva was an indicator. Were it not for Joseph’s warning towards Robert’s crew, then Pan may have found it patronizing to be treated like such, but he was every bit as serious about protecting them as he was happy to see his brother—even if he regretted needing to use a threat to make his point.
She knew that the events and lack of rest was getting to him; what he needed right now was a reason to let his guard down. Hopefully, these new people would be such a thing.
“Steve didn’t actually tell us—and apologies if this is self-evident—but do they understand us? We weren’t given any update packets for our translators,” the human began.
As far as Pan could tell, this one seemed to be female, and smaller than the average Lilhun of their sex, while still being a fair bit taller than the Paw. The scent was different from the males around, though not in a way she could particularly place. Her fur was long, pulled to the back and kept to a single point that flowed down her back, while spectacles rested in front of her eyes.
“None needed,” Rob assured, gesturing to the white-furred female and getting her mind away from the curiosity. Taking the motion as a cue for her to speak, Pan bowed, wrapping her tail around Joseph’s leg to ensure the female was aware of whose authority she deferred to. Perhaps a more instinctual motion—she never needed to think about it previously—but it was only proper to make it known.
“I am Pan, Paw of the Grand Hunter. It is a pleasure to meet more of my mate’s kind. I pray your visit will be pleasant, though I hope the inconvenience of only a few of us being able to understand you will not sully this meeting.”
The female’s eyes widened, her paws covering her mouth and choking the shrill excitement that threatened to pierce Pan’s ears. Unlike when Joseph asked her to demonstrate her vocal range, this female lacked the decency to temper her volume. Also unlike that time, this female was enormously ecstatic while producing such a sound.
“Oh! I am so sorry!” she squealed, quickly clearing her throat and exhaling sharply. She extended a paw. “My name is Dr. Jessica Marks, xenobiologist with a sub-specialty in bipedal mammals. My feathery colleague is Dr. Varr, specializing in a wide range of insectoid races. It is perfectly fine if there aren’t many who can speak with us, we’ll figure out a solution together! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Pan glanced at the offered paw, mimicking what her mate had once explained to be a ‘hand-shake,’ and used for introductions as well as agreements. It was a novel experience, but became mildly uncomfortable as the grip shifted from amiable to exploratory, the female mumbling to herself in terms that the Paw had great difficulty parsing. The doctor eventually released her and produced a portable terminal to begin pursuing documents.
“Your structure seems close enough to what I have worked with to not be a problem.” Jessica shook with excitement. “Hopefully, that extends to internals. I can’t wait to start the tests!”
Pan’s ears flattened, her fear and defensive anger stalled by Joseph’s reluctant acceptance of the situation. He looked at her when he noticed her stare, shrugging with a sigh.
“Not anything dangerous, don’t worry. It’s the same boring bullshit every time. They’ll want blood, urine... Basically everything Toril was bothering me for, with the addition of imaging and scans to ‘see’ what’s inside—but these guys actually have the equipment to do something with it.”
The white-furred female nodded her understanding. He was bored more than anything, and there was just a slight mistrust of the ones in front of them—though no more than any new faces around the settlement. He was being wary, but welcoming all the same.
“As well as a full physical,” the human doctor added, smiling as if it was her default state. “Musculature, skeletal, and a complete map of the nervous system are all needed for some of what Samair has come across.”
“The medic in the den?” Joseph asked, his attention gained. The doctor nodded.
“Some wounds have been treated before our arrival, but only to the standard of emergency procedures—quite a few will require surgical intervention, from what we were told.” Jessica put on a more serious expression as she addressed Pan directly. “We need to scan and examine a selection of healthy members of your species so that we can treat you without going in blind. Would you like to volunteer?”
The Paw was about to accept, silently consulting her mate before doing so—Joseph wasn’t pleased by the question, though he also wasn’t against it if she wished—but her affirmative answer died in her throat as a claw fell to the scar hiding underneath her clothing and fur. “I am afraid I am not exactly a prime example of health.”
“What do you—“
“Complicated,” her mate supplied, taking the effort to soften his tone. “She has a genetic abnormality on top of some other things that are a little sensitive for an open venue.”
The doctor flushed, embarrassment evident. “Oh, of course! Sorry, that was unprofessional of me. I really am just too excited...” She put on a serious, yet friendly smile. “Even that information would be valuable, if you were willing to provide it.”
“It’s fine,” Joseph sighed. His eyes shifted to Pan. “Up to you. I’ll go too, so you’re not left alone.”
With little more thought, she nodded, accepting the offer. As long as it would help their pack—and she wouldn’t need to be alone with those that made him uncomfortable—then she was willing to bear it. Jessica’s expression brightened again with the positive answer.
“Of course, he can join as well. Thank you for easing the process, Mr...” The female blinked. “I’m sorry, I never caught your name.”
Joseph snorted, bending over a little as his laughter caught him off guard. He extended a paw as he brought it under control. “Joseph Wright. Brother of your boss, survivor of this planet, owner of more titles than I care to think about, and the one in charge of the fluffy fucks you’ll be helping.”
“And delightfully crass,” Silva added sarcastically, earning a chuckle from both Robert and Pan, as well as a relaxed roll of Joseph’s eyes. The doctor’s, however, widened.
“I...”
The Grand Hunter shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I actually feel more at ease that you’d get wrapped up with your work. From my experience, the ones best at their job are the ones who get excited about it. We have someone like it here, and he’s a little too good at what he does, assuming the explosives were his doing.”
She nodded, shrinking and opting not to speak much more than discussing the events to follow.
An outside clinic would be established and sterilized, then those who wished to supply scans could do so. Once the required amount of information was gathered, their medical team would begin triage, then assist as needed. Everything seemed sufficient to Pan, and Joseph agreed—taking the chance to thank them for considering how daunting it could be for the pack to enclose themselves within the confines of an alien ship, given the circumstances.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Satisfied that things would be proceeding well for the matter, the doctor allowed the avian to step forward, his brown feathers ruffling as he posed himself stiffly.
“Dr. Varr Rawks—yes, I’ve heard the jokes,” he opened tersely. Joseph raised a brow. “I have decades of experience, and little interest in much besides my craft. My conditions are the same as my colleague, and I would appreciate it if we could streamline the process. I’m sure there is more to be done than chatting.”
Robert held up a pleading paw when the Grand Hunter furrowed his brow. “Varr is good at what he does, and is much less...prickly around his patients. He’s done good work and was specifically vetted for this.”
The Trilaxin huffed a warbled note. “I have been stuck inside that ship far longer than I would like. Fans and the like may ease the process, but I would very much prefer me and my staff to feel an actual breeze. The sooner we prepare everything, the sooner we can work under something besides stale atmospheric conditioning.”
“One question,” Joseph interjected, cooling his tone. “How do you plan to placate a species that was bombarded from orbit when they’re scared of you? They’re massive, and more than capable of slicing you in two.”
The doctor’s rough mask crumbled, a sorrowful whistle accompanying his words. “I will do what I can so that they do not feel the need to prove your claim. They were given such weapons through evolution, not malice, yet the Union acted as if such were the case... No one deserves what happened to them, and I have no intention of making their first non-human interactions here a dreadful experience.”
The Grand Hunter waited, humming contemplatively. “I’m supposed to trust you with my daughter? You’re not going to be rough with her, right?”
“I would sooner end my line where I stand,” the avian snapped back. “We are not what the Union has painted us to be; I believe you agree with such sentiment.”
“I do.”
“Then you of all people should understand how giving the utmost care takes precedence in this situation.”
“And Violet?”
“Assuming that is her name, she will be treated the same as any of my other patients,” the doctor confirmed, his brown feathers flaring. “With respect and dignity befitting an intelligent race—not as a mindless weapon or hindrance.”
A tense silence stretched for long moments, though Pan wasn’t worried; Joseph had already decided on his opinion, and made it known with a sharp nod, a smirk showing through.
“Good enough for me. Same as before, though I’ll be there if she wants me. Otherwise, she might want another Atmo there instead. That okay?”
“Her comfort in this process is just as important as the results. Anything to distress her would simply make our reports less reliable, and may only harm the aid I intend to give.”
“Sound’s good,” the Grand Hunter confirmed. “I’ll let them know. When are we expecting everything to go up?”
Varr gave a questioning glance to both Robert and Jessica, the two trading estimates until it was determined that it would happen fairly quickly. Pan was curious about the process, but she conceded that her duty was to ensure that all who may wish to volunteer, could, as well as reassure those who were fearful. Perhaps it was once a laughable task to assign the defect, but nothing felt wrong about telling those under her protection that their help was needed.
Satisfied with the answer, Robert and Joseph exchanged a quick hug and promised to continue their conversation soon, separating as the two went their own ways for the time being.
The elder sibling would be assisting in arranging the clinic, and Joseph had a pack to manage.
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“Then this will be a difficult process,” the First Claw surmised once Willin had finished answering her questions. Her flat expression did little to detract from the sharpness of her eyes as she thought about it. “First and foremost, we require an answer for Demo’s pack.”
“Unfortunately, I do not have a time frame for the length of her inspection. The incursion would likely have delayed the process,” he hedged, unwilling to commit to an answer in any particular direction.
The black-furred female on the display nodded. “I commend you for your diligence in confirming the status of the settlement.”
“It was vital to know the current state of affairs.”
Indeed it was, though he and his crew had nothing to do with dredging the information up. The servants who had requested aid made the detour to thank them again for the assistance, as well as report the demise of their attackers. Truth be told, there was a doubt that much of anything would remain of Grand Hunter Joseph’s pack, but to hear that they had dealt with the assault in its entirety was impressive.
None of this would be told to the First Claw; Willin had no intention of being put in front of a tribunal for misappropriating UM weaponry, nor indirectly arming one who may be the enemy. That said, he didn’t regret doing it in the slightest.
It just felt right at the time.
The First Claw displayed her approval, contemplating her next orders before exhaling. “You will bring her back to her pack. If nothing else, she should have all the information she needs for a somewhat informed decision. With the unknown ship added to the equation, plans have unfortunately changed. I don’t know when exactly they managed to approach without our notice, but they’re there now, and we need to account for that.”
He suppressed the wince. He didn’t want to be involved more than he was, but hopefully, the same male to repel Hasen would ensure that whoever had made their appearance wouldn’t be an issue. If all was as he hoped, then they would be allies, and it would make dealing with them a perplexing situation at worst.
It felt odd to place trust in a known member of the Union, but through all the conversations they had while passing time, Willin couldn’t help but feel that the male held no interest in being harmful—as long as one had no intention of being such towards him or his pack.
“As for Avalon,” she continued, dragging him out of his thoughts, “we will need to speak with Trill.”
“Pardon?”
The First Claw raised a brow. “Your authority permits such arrangements—and I admit, both yourself and Tech have done an admirable job amending a good number of non-ideal terms he presented—but there are some finer details that may require a separate agreement to address. Territory distribution, to start.” She motioned to someone off-screen, prompting a digital scan of the contract to appear on his display and highlighting a section. “The terms here are unclear. Normally, this would be caught and amended. However, the unique circumstances bury it to the point where my crew only barely caught it, and they’re the people whose life's work is this style of task.”
The female smirked—both in amusement, and in frustration. “’The Weighted Scale’ is an apt designation, indeed.”
“To reiterate,” Willin interjected. “Our task is to bring STO Demo back to her pack and receive a decision, as well as...”
“We require you to pay Trill a visit,” she sighed, answering the implied question. “With the warp-spike calibrated away from affecting our systems, Tech should be able to utilize her augments to act as an intermediary between myself and him. Honestly, I am rather impressed she isn’t lost to the Void as is—the ‘spike should have disrupted most of what keeps her alive.”
The dark green-furred male’s eyes darted to the female in question, Tech slowing in her adjustments of the system and turning an ear back. He forced a smile as he directed his focus back to the First Claw. “Tech is a remarkable female, I doubt something as trivial as this would prove much of a hindrance.”
The First Claw laughed, turning heads elsewhere on her bridge. She waved off the curious looks and composed herself, the smile remaining. “Of course, of course. Your high opinion of your crew has been noted. As is your support of the human,” she added slyly, some of the warmth slipping away. “To satisfy the last curiosity I have—as well as for the record—STO Demo four-six-four-nine has shown considerable favour towards this male?”
Willin paused, hesitant to boldly state much of anything. Eventually, he cycled a breath and committed. “Indeed, and I can not say I fault her. Through both his interactions with the Atmo and his people, he has nothing but their best interests in mind. I can not speak for whomever accompanies him via the ship, but I do not see him as a harbinger of malfeasance for Lilhun prosperity.”
The female gave a short hum of acceptance. “Then I expect your first task of returning the Grand Huntress to her pack to be completed shortly.”
“Tech?” he called, getting a subdued turn of the purple-furred female’s head in return. “What would be our estimated travel time, now that everything is fully operational?”
Tech stretched, flicking through reports and status updates. “Everything should cut our trip down to... Well, we can be there and back before moonrise.”
“Quite the difference in speed,” he muttered, gaining an even deeper respect for the female. It was beginning to sound more and more like she was a miracle worker to be able to keep them moving at all. He bowed his head at the display. “It will be completed as soon as possible, First Claw.”
“I expect you to do such, then be ready to consult with Trill on the rise.”
“Of course.”
The black-furred female lowered her voice with a smirk. “You’ve done well, all things considered. Though my station prohibits me from wantonly promising much of anything, your names will be in mind when my reports are filed to the top.”
“Your considerations are already more than enough, First Claw.”
“May the rest of the sun treat you well, Leader. Tech. First Claw of the Smokeless Hunt, out.”
The screen flickered back to its resting state, Tech audibly exhaling. Willin glared at the back of her head—something she was aware of, based on how ardently she refused to turn around.
“How close was it?”
She made a point of bringing up one of her games, giving a poor attempt to seem casual. “What do you mean?”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he pushed the screen to the side. “How close were you to dropping dead because you were too proud to mention you were having trouble?”
“I was fine,” she refuted lazily. “It was just some auxiliary issues.”
“I don’t think vital bodily functions count as ‘auxiliary.’”
Her paws slowed. “Leader, I appreciate you putting in a good word for me, but I am the one who decided what I can take.”
“And I’m the one responsible for the health of my crew—or at least knowing what to put in the report when they die.”
Tech turned in her chair, failing to look upset, and faltering into a sombre lowering of her head. “I’ve experienced the Void once, Leader. Once more is hardly a thing worth worrying about.”
She stood from her station, her expression steeling as she made her way towards the exit, ignoring Willin’s eyes following her. She paused in front of the door as it hissed open. “I’ll get changed and gear up. We have orders now; it would be best not to delay.”
“Tech?”
Her tail held passage open, naught but the appendage still in view. The dark green-furred male took a breath.
“I’m sorry for not noticing, and I hope you feel better now.”
The purple-furred tail slipped out of view, her synthesized voice left behind. “I’m not warming your room.”
He chuckled as the speakers repeated the static sound of passage, closing off the bridge from the rest of the ship.
His gaze wandered to her station, the entertainment program unpaused and running until a ‘failure’ screen appeared.
He supposed that was as close to an acceptance of his apology as he was getting.
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Joseph helped wipe off the gel that was applied during the ultrasound, dampening a cloth and running it over Pan’s fur. It was pretty old tech, but it was portable, and did everything they needed it to for the moment. Dr. Marks was kind enough to assure them that the hysterectomy from her past was performed well, and that there were no complications hidden through the years—not that they expected there to be any. Still, having the knowledge was better than not.
There were a few people who wanted to be of help and get scanned, thankfully. It seemed that the small amount of time dealing with the medic under Rob’s employ had left a favourable expectation of the experience, and Samair seemed nice enough. He was even quick to praise the work done on a male’s ribs—though still insisted the guy be brought on board for surgery. They had done well, but he’d need to be cut open to heal properly.
Harrow went quiet, informing Joseph who made all those incisions that the medic was impressed by. It hurt to be reminded when he had just gotten distracted by other things, but there was a pride in her work that was felt by everyone who could hear it, and that made the process of gathering more volunteers easy.
Jax offered to be scanned, along with Sahari and Nalah. Kelth offered in Mi’low’s stead, and Tersa insisted she go before Toril. Idee was asleep for most of the commotion—her long night of sewing people up taking a lot out of her—but she was on board with it, if it meant that someone could validate her work.
He could see the hesitation in all of them, but it was their Grand Hunter asking for help, so they wouldn’t say no—even if he made it absolutely clear that he wasn’t expecting anything from them. As far as they were concerned, having injured pack members was more harmful to him than whatever non-invasive procedures the ship’s doctors would be to them, so it was a simple equation. Plus, they wanted their friends to get better quickly, too.
It meant that those who weren’t injured—or at least not enough to require the additional assistance—gathered around or in the large canvas tent that was erected in the short time it took to inform the pack of the arrangement. Harrow provided a solely translation-oriented role to support Sahari and Nalah, since her status as a pregnant female meant that the doctors weren’t comfortable so much as looking at her wrong without a full suite of scans from everyone else. It might have been overkill, but he appreciated the respect shown to them. They even agreed to keep the reasoning secret at her request; it was something she wanted to tell everyone when he had gotten back, but... Regardless, the entire process went quite smoothly, letting him relax as Lilhun scans were underway, and Atmo scans would proceed the next day.
He was still very aware of the more nervous members of the ship’s crew, but the Wraiths remained primed to deal with whatever happened, so he couldn’t bring himself to mind much. It didn’t stop him from keeping an eye out, but at least he wasn’t as drained as he had been.
Maybe that caffeine was doing more for him now that he had been clear of it for so long.
“All done,” Joseph announced, patting Pan’s stomach as dry as he could get it. Whatever was left would evaporate sooner or later. She lowered her shirt, smiling mirthlessly at the reminder of why she could never have children shown on the screen of the ultrasound.
“The first time I was shown something similar, I wept for many suns while I recovered in the hospital,” she voiced quietly, eyes falling to her lap where the wires from various monitoring equipment lay. He helped her remove them, silently offering his sympathy in a way that only she would receive. “One would never suspect I would have a kit now, and quite the lovely one, at that.”
“Violet is more than I deserve, at least,” he agreed, pleased by her tone. The confirmation still stung for her, but she took solace in their adoptive Atmo child as much as he did. “How about the other scans, anything interesting there?”
She giggled at his genuine curiosity. He was interested during the procedures as well, but others had begun entering the tent while it was happening. He was busy keeping an ear out for anything going awry, thus not actually paying attention while the doctor explained anything of note to the white-furred female.
Pan shook her head. “It seems that much of their studies on other species will carry over, with the exception of chemicals used to thin or clot our blood.”
“The whole ‘saliva’ thing you guys have going on, yeah,” he drawled, helping her off the heightened examination table. “That extends to yourselves, right?”
“Indeed. The amount they would use for similar purposes for your kind would be insufficient for our own, so they require a short time to prepare the dosages.”
“And other than that, she seems to be in perfect health—as far as we can tell when compared to the other scans, anyway.” Dr. Marks pushed aside the privacy curtain, letting it flow closed behind her. The tablet in her hand looked to have a breakdown of whatever they gathered so far, various sections highlighted hues of green or yellow. She turned it for them to see, pointing to a yellowed line. “Here is the blood issue that she referenced. It isn’t going to be a large consideration, but it is something we need to account for, so it’s coloured.”
Pan and he nodded along as she brought up another file, the name and silhouette obscured. He raised a brow at the privacy measure, but his attention was focused on a red line she indicated with a tapping fingernail.
“This is a problem.”
“What is it?”
The doctor adjusted her coat. “One of the samples we gathered was markedly different. As far as we can tell, there was a long period of chemical ingestion quite a while ago that has hindered a number of hormonal productions.”
“Who—“
“Grand Hunter!”
His eyes snapped to the source of the sound. It wasn’t panicked or urgent, but he wouldn’t be called away for nothing. He gave an apologetic nod to the doctor. “Duty calls. Can this wait?”
Jessica smiled in return, closing the file and bringing up another that looked to be in progress, adjusting her glasses with her knuckle. “Of course. We’re about forty-percent complete, then we can start assessing the injured and go from there—assuming that’s okay with both them and you?”
“If they’re fine with it, I am.”
“Good. You can go take care of whatever came up, we’ll finish here and someone will let you know when we would like to start the assessments.”
The mated pair voiced their understanding, thanking the doctor for her time and respect. The gratitude drew a light blush from the enthusiastic woman, but she reciprocated it with a smile and held the curtain open for them as they left, calling someone else over to sanitize the equipment before the next Lilhun was seen.
They exited the tent, one of the hunters filling in for the injured security meeting them only a few steps from the entrance. They seemed relaxed enough, and a raised brow prompted them to speak.
“Leader is requesting you at the gate. The purple-furred one accompanied him, and Sunundra has already left to meet them.”
Joseph frowned. He didn’t want the UM members to know Rob was around, but they were the ones who supplied weapons at a critical juncture...
He sighed, raising two fingers high and making a small circle a few times, signalling for Tel to stay with them. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“It is my duty, Grand Hunter,” they responded, bowing lightly before leaving to return to their post. He didn’t even flinch at the overtly respectful tone, though did catch Pan’s smile from the corner of his eye.
“Something funny?” he pressed, earning a light giggle from her. The white-furred female wrapped her tail around his wrist, motioning for them to head out. He rolled his eyes as they did, taking their time to enjoy the first signs of a mentally recovering pack.
Quite a few of those who had finished their scans were comparing the experience, a couple boasting about their results before bursting into laughter. Last night had been hell, but the promise of aid had dissolved much of the stress. That didn’t mean there weren't moments of silence and mourning scattered into the interactions, but at least they had a reason beyond just surviving to keep going.
It was something.
Pan wrapped her arm around his, locking down the appendage as she rested her head against it. “You have gotten used to leading a pack.”
He snorted, turning out of view of the medical tent and into the settlement proper. “I got used to everyone’s shit, maybe, but ‘leading’ was never my strong suit. Advising, sure—Rob offered me a position for that—but, no, I was never meant for this sort of thing.”
“I believe differently,” she refuted warmly, closing her eyes to enjoy the contact as they quietly enjoyed the moment of closeness.
With the initial fears abating for now, and hopes of recovery for the injured on his tongue, he let himself enjoy it too.
Unfortunately, the gate came into view too soon, but they couldn’t just wander around together randomly, pretending they got lost—as amusing as it would be. He spotted Sunundra speaking with Tech and Leader, the two soldiers glaring at him until they registered Pan clinging to his arm.
The cautious spike in his mind alerted her, prompting sudden freedom for his limb as she straightened herself up. Joseph took the initiative, calling out as they got close.
“The male of the sun graces us with his presence. What can we do for you?”
Tech opened her muzzle, Leader physically closing it with a paw. The purple-furred female glowered at him, but only lightly pushed him away. The male sighed, giving Sunny a quick glance before addressing the Grand Hunter.
“The ship. Who, why, and how many?”
Joseph blinked, a flicker of movement in his periphery letting him know that Tel opted to break stealth for a better line of sight. He considered playing dumb, but if it wasn’t for their help, he might not have had a pack to return to. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because,” Sunundra interjected, taking a breath. “The United Military has arrived.”