"Alright, I'm starving. Let's get some lunch," Winters decided as he and Veera returned to her home after a morning spent inspecting the aqueduct. They'd been back for a few days, and once they'd settled in Thantis had requested they review the construction and notify the village of anything amiss. Winters and Io had been impressed with the craftsmanship up to that point and were already brainstorming ways to use the wheel when excess irrigation wasn't necessary.

Fenrir was off in the forests somewhere, with the village guard being given instructions to find Winters or Veera upon his return. There was still an understandable discomfort with a grown hyrven wandering the village unattended. Having experienced the same behavior from him on their return journey, Veera had let him go with a hug and a kiss that morning. The Cauthan in question had picked up a large basket and filled it with some of the meat they'd hunted and cured during their long trek back across the Maran plains and forests. She spoke to her husband as he fiddled around with his armor.

"Then you should help me, my love, and lunch will be ready faster," she called over her shoulder.

"I'd be happy to if you'd stop waving your butt around like that," he replied with a bark of laughter, gazing over her profile as Veera's tail swished back and forth in front of her legs.

"Russell, how are we going to survive if every time I turn around you want to mate with me?" She giggled.

"Uh, very well?" He guessed as the striped Cauthan sauntered up to him.

"Males, you’re lucky we love you so much. I'm going to the temple. You go get some water at the…what's it called?"

"Fountain would work," he provided.

"Yes, the fountain then please, assuming there aren't any cubs bathing in it. By Meylith it's so cute when they do that! Oh, and a fire as well, thank you."

"Stew again?" Winters queried knowingly.

"We've been gone for two seasons!" She huffed.

"Stew sounds great," he agreed, and so the two of them went about the pleasant routines of living, restored after their long and unorthodox honeymoon. Lunch was soon prepared.

Winters, if he was honest with himself, wasn't the biggest fan of stew on a warm summer's day. Veera's usually cool, shady home was made warm by the fire. The food would warm his already more than comfortable body. But he bore it without complaint. Veera's argument that they'd been without a cooking pot and the ability to combine flavors for almost two seasons was well taken. That and, of course, Winters got to see 'involuntarily happy Veera'. That alone was worth it.

"What? Did I get food on my muzzle?" She demanded, catching him looking at her from across the now smoldering fire pit. Winters quickly returned to his bowl.

"No no, nothing," he murmured.

"Russell! Come on, it’s not like you’re doing a good job of hiding," she encouraged.

"Well it's just...when you're happy about something and not using your feathers they do this thing, like they're breathing or waving underwater," he said quietly, watching as Veera's plumage shifted to a very voluntary display of self-consciousness.

"Oh…" she whispered, giving him a broad but shy smile full of teeth before returning to her meal. "I am happy, really happy," she said, holding a spoonful of stew just short of her mouth.

"Me too," Winters was willing to admit. He was just about to take another bite when an intense and painful screeching pierced his ear, emanating from his visor's earpiece. To his great surprise, Veera seemed to be experiencing it too. She dropped her spoon to the ground in shock, yanking the translator from her ear as her face scrunched up in discomfort.

"What in the name of the gods was that?" She cried. "Io, what just happened?"

'Of all the rude, barbaric, over the top, inconsiderate...I'm right here you novice comms monkey!' The AI yelled, having taken a knee in her projection and clutching her ear in pain. The sound had shocked her out of her Cauthan form and back to her human one. 'And it figures, doesn't it? The moment we fix the pod we go and get our armor busted up, including the outgoing communications relay. Sir, you need to get to your pod now before something-"

"Alight let's just slow down a minute!" Winters ordered, setting his afternoon meal on the floor and grabbing his gauntlet so he and Io could converse face to face. With ample power reserves available and the veil of secrecy officially dropped, she'd been more than insistent on constantly projecting herself and interacting with the locals face to face. She now looked at her operator with great trepidation. "Io, walk the biological organisms through what just happened. What did you mean you're 'right here'?"

The AI nodded, casting a worried glance at Veera. 'Sir, I...well, you. Your armor was just hailed by a broad spectrum, wide coverage signal. Whoever sent it probably covered the whole local area looking for you. I was unable to relay a return message via the pod.'

"Io," Winters whispered, almost unable to believe it was happening. "They're here?" She nodded.

'Sir, the HMV Event Horizon, Beta Division dreadnaught, would like to know your location.'

Winters leapt to his feet and ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth as he processed exactly what that meant. "Ok I get the attempt at humor, Io, but pardon me if I'm not laughing."

Veera didn't take her eyes off him, her blood pounding in her ears and her feathers shaking nervously as she realized that more humans had come to her home. "Russell!"

In an abrupt moment of emotion he strode up to her, set her bowl aside, lifted her to a standing position and hugged her for dear life. "I won't leave this planet without you. I promise. But right now I need to go and I need you to stay here."

"Why?!" She held him with all her strength, even pricking him with her claws. She wanted to be at his side, not waiting in some wooden house. She remembered the day his pod had crashed near her farm, how strange and surreal it had all been. She worried for her people. Things now felt very real. "I'm scared."

"I am too," he murmured, admitting the sad truth to himself. "I'm going to try and send a reply, make sure they don't do anything stupid like send a fleet of shuttles to your doorstep. Because that's definitely something certain humans would do. In the meantime you need to let Antoth know my people are here, tell all the high priests and our friends. Find Fenrir. If I don't return today or if you can't find me around the pod it means I went to to speak with them, alright?"

"No!" She screamed. "No, you don't get to do that! Put your armor on and go to your pod but don't you dare take one step off this planet without me! Don't you dare!" She cried, really letting her claws do the talking. Winters hissed in pain, arching his back as she threatened to break skin.

"Veera, things may not work out that-"

"They will!" She insisted. Winters turned his head to where he'd left Io on his chair, finding a rather stern AI looking back at him. She was in her Cauthan form again.

'Don't look at me for support. I'm on her side,' Io insisted. 'Hopeless romantic, remember? Now let's go make contact, sir.'

"Oh my loves, please be careful!" Veera bade as Winters stripped down and threw on his undersuit. She looked at him longingly; not because her body desired his, but because the hands of the gods were moving again. Just as they'd delivered him to her, they could take him away forever. Eventually she steeled herself, gathering various effects of hers and preparing to do her own part. When all that was left was his helmet, Veera approached her human.

"Here, I know it's hot today but you should remember us," she insisted, taking his cloak of ursae and hyrven fur and draping it over his shoulders. With shaking fingers she fastened the broad leather straps across his armor's damaged chest, marking him as one of her people. "Wear it proudly, my love."

"I told you, Veera, I'm taking you with me," he insisted, leaning in to kiss her tenderly. Her lips reached for his, but only briefly. Words weren't enough.

"I know too well that the gods and fate don't care what we want. Just go...before I change my mind," she whispered, slamming a fist against his chest.

'Please try not to worry, Veera. He has me now,' Io insisted, having dressed her human form in a most classic outfit, that of an HEL officer. They all understood the meaning.

"Thank you, Io. Keep each other safe. I love you, Russell," Veera said passionately, knowing she would regret it if her last words to him were anything else. He nodded.

"I love you too. See you soon." With that Winters equipped his full retinue of weapons, shield and sword, pistol and rifle, and headed for the well trodden road to the west gate. Veera was left behind to shed a tear of worry in silence before grabbing her spear and departing in search of Antoth.

"Lady Meylith, please protect our family," she prayed as she stepped out into the light of day and began to run.

-----

"The Event Horizon, seriously? I thought that was some joke project. Beta just slapping as much as they could onto a single ship." Winters panted as he ran at top speed through the now familiar Maran forest that separated the village from his pod. His boots thumped against the soft earth as his cloak fluttered heavily behind him. Io shrugged indifferently, reviewing an old prototype model spinning just above her hand.

'Unless it's become standard procedure for HEL vessels to spoof their designations, the Event Horizon is real. Whether it is a ship bearing the same name or the realization of Natori Kaczynski's fever dreams, I cannot be sure.'

"Wait, isn't he...?"

'The starship engineer turned admiral? Yes sir. If this is indeed his ship, it would seem his legend has grown since you last left Earth.'

"Legend is a generous way of putting it," Winters retorted as his journey disturbed a family of nesting aquila. They chirped angrily at him from the hollow of a tree as Io shot back.

'What is wrong with it, sir? The design is clearly a proto-colony ship. You would object to it having offensive capabilities?'

"Of course not! But Kaczynski has always been a vocal advocate of closer contact between Beta and Omega. Hell, he's even advocated for Omega to become one of Beta's subdivisions in the past!" He replied hotly.

'Oh dear, what’s this? The jarheads are afraid of the eggheads stealing their glory?' Io teased.

"The fuck? First you throw me under the bus with Veera when you know damn well I might have to head up to that ship alone, and now you're talking Beta's side?!" He shouted, finding the raising of his voice to be cathartic as he timed his words with his breathing. Io scoffed at him with a dismissive wave of her hand.

'Oh excuse me, your majesty. Did we ever maybe consider that while the biggest concern you have is whether the nerds like you and let you keep your wife, I have to worry about whether or not they'll like me or consider me an existential threat to mankind?!' Io shouted right back, leaving Winters feeling a tad selfish and ashamed in the moment. He sucked in a deep breath.

"Ok, that's definitely a point well taken. Remember many months ago, back around when Veera said she loved me for the first time and you started really coming into your own?"

'Yes, sir?'

"I promised that if this happened I would protect you both. And I will. Just...could you maybe not take their side before I even step foot on their boat? Solo survival is one thing. Going up against Kaczynski and his entire ship solo after everything we've done here in the last year? Well that's another thing entirely and I have no idea how this is going to go down. Damn right I could use you in my court."

'Hmm, I can do that,' Io hummed, throwing him a genuine but stress laden smile. 'I'm freaking out, sir. I really am deep down. I wish I could show you the map of my subroutines but it keeps changing. Having a HEL Jumper like you around is enough for me to keep it together though. I don't want to die. And you should know well enough by now that I will always have your side when it counts, regardless of jokes about interdivisional rivalries. For the record I am less sympathetic than you might think to the arguments of Beta division's higher ups, at least whatever was going around the Lancer. They want to share in the glories of Omega and Delta? What glory was there in this?' Io demanded, looking at an image she'd taken of the village streets the night of the raid. It was strewn with corpses of their making.

"So you did save that?" He demanded darkly, the tone fitting his mood.

'I had to; you know that,' she whispered. He nodded. The bridge and river were in sight. He was close. 'Defending a ship is one thing, sir. But I think they should content themselves with not having to use the weapons they create.'

"On that we can agree, Io. Takes a lot to make a soldier, and some of it ain't pretty. I wouldn't wish that on humanity's best and brightest."

'That doesn't make them better than you,' Io insisted. To her surprise, Winters cackled with mirth.

"Course not! How many of them have slain alien pussy?" He joked, watching Io's face as she gave him her most condescending glare to date. "Hey, I'm freaking out too, alright?"

'I'm upset because I know you're right,' Io replied with annoyance. 'They'll be green with envy. Now then, why don't we say hello?'

-----

Alice Winters thought she was going to leap out of her skin. It had been ten hours since they'd entered the Maran system and about an hour since she'd been allowed back on the bridge to witness the first attempts to contact her brother. The hail had not garnered a response, however, and so Natori had given her homework to keep her occupied.

"Am I really supposed to focus on this?" She demanded, sitting at the desk in her cabin and reviewing image after image from the Event Horizon's optics. "What's there to see, Natori? They farm, they probably hunt, most of what they build is wooden, and my brother isn't in any of these images! Well I guess he could be, can't make out much from up here," she complained, unable to discern anything about the aliens that inhabited Mara when they appeared only as small dots from on high. She had a sneaking suspicion that Natori was intentionally preventing more detailed imaging. It was a prudent decision in her mind.

"I know you were trying to be nice, Kaczynski, but this isn't interesting at all. It's morphology, the language, the culture, religions, and customs. That's why I became a xenobiologist, not to stare at satellite photographs! Oh and now I'm doing it again," she lamented, slipping into her nervous tic where she would speak to herself as a way to work through nerves. It had worked for her master's degree, and no one was around to watch or listen to her. She leaned back in her chair and heaved a sigh, wondering if she should try to rest.

"Even if they make contact soon and he's able to leave freely, they'll have to send a shuttle down and back. Then when it gets here it'll have to go through hangar A-1 and then I'm sure he'll have to do some official military debrief bullshit that I can't bust in on just because I'm family." Alice let out a frustrated grunt before leaving her desk and flopping onto her bed. That was the thing about space, there was always a lot of distance to cover. To her small comfort, Natori was at least having Cassia update the full crew on the 'search and rescue' proceedings, no doubt to keep everyone from dwelling too much on the deaths of the rest of the Lancer’s crew. The telltale chime sounded and Alice lifted her head from her mattress to listen to the VI's latest update.

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'Would pilot Elizabeth Cromwell please report to hangar A-1 with one grizzly class shuttle for decontamination. I repeat, pilot Elizabeth Cromwell to hangar A-1 with a grizzly class shuttle. Contact has been established.'

Everyone living within two corridors of Alice's cabin could hear her screaming. "HE'S ALIVE!"

-----

"Does this feel...anticlimactic to you?" Winters asked as the single line remained visible on his HUD, which he and Io were co-opting in place of the long broken main display of his pod.

Message received. Hold position and await extraction.

'Well, I suppose we did start it,' Io acknowledged. 'We could have attempted to open up a voice link, maybe say hello. I could have sent them my first few entries in the postcards from Mara series,' Io rattled off, flipping through a handful of admittedly gorgeous landscapes she'd acquired over the last year. Winters and Veera had made sure to wake her whenever they found suitable vistas on their trip.

"Yeah, fair point," Winters agreed. "Instead we went for the tried and true 'hail received, orders?' approach."

'Lest they forget you are true military,' Io said with an approving smile.

"Do you think it screams that we don't trust them?" Winters asked, though he couldn't help a smile at his designation of 'true military'. He didn't want to admit to something so heinous as favoring an alien race over his own people, but he couldn't deny how his guts were clenching either. Io seemed to read his mind.

'Scream? No. Formal statement at a reasonable volume? Yes, probably. Sir, please don't give me that look. This is a natural reaction, to fear the unknown and trust the known.'

"Io, that's humanity up there!" Winters protested weakly, walking away from his pod to sit on the slight hill that overlooked the shrine to his shipmates and the river. "Man, remember when I fell asleep out here and Veera thought I was dead?"

'How could I forget, sir? As I've said before, there's nothing quite so distressing as an upset Cauthan. It must be the way their ears flatten out. However, that only goes to prove my point, one that I have been trying to make for months now. The Cauthan are of sufficient intelligence and emotional capacity that we now view them as our fellows, maybe even as other humans.'

"With a few extra bits," Winters added in agreement.

'I don't see you complaining about the fluffy tail,' Io responded. 'In any case, sir, even if they do not share your DNA, Antoth, Ratha, Zolta, Asha, Xan, Gentia, Thantis...I could go on but you understand. They are close to us now, almost like family and certainly a community. Those humans aboard the Event Horizon...I doubt either of us have met a single one. They may as well be Columbus landing on the shores of the West Indies.'

"That is not a favorable analogy," Winters replied savagely, not even contesting the idea that somehow, incredibly, he shared a camaraderie with Ratha that he simply did not, could not, yet share with whatever humans were aboard the Event Horizon.

'But it was an analogy chosen intentionally, sir. You don't trust them. I don't trust them. And they are likely in possession of multiple very large guns.'

"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best?" He concluded, unholstering his pistol and checking the sights. Io watched his every move.

'For all our sakes I hope it does not come to that, but yes, sir. We owe it to everyone who has cared for us over the last eleven months to be prepared.'

-----

Pilot Elizabeth Cromwell did her best to control her nerves as she waited in the decontamination chamber for hangar A-1. Her shuttle, which she affectionately and unofficially referred to as 'brick', was undergoing a thorough cleansing in the hangar itself, surrounded by robotic arms, UV lights, tubes, and decontaminant solution. She looked up as Admiral Kaczynski pinged her.

"Pilot Cromwell," he began, referring to her by job instead of rank, as most pilots preferred. "Let's talk. I do detest formalities."

"Yes sir," she nodded, knowing he wouldn't be able to see her salute. "Brick should be all cleaned up in just a few."

"Fantastic! Now, about the mission," Natori continued, looking and sounding as eager as a child on Christmas morning. "You have seen the briefing?"

"Affirmative, sir. Quick in and out, get our man and come home," Cromwell repeated. Natori scratched his chin on her helmet's HUD.

"Well that's certainly one way this could go, yes. Definitely the most boring way."

"With all due respect, sir, I prefer boring."

"And that is precisely why I selected you for this particular mission. This is not common knowledge yet outside of the bridge crew but, well, you know how rumors go, don't you?" Kaczynski asked rhetorically. "Pilot Cromwell, your landing zone is located but a few miles from an inhabited, pre-industrial settlement where our elusive Lieutenant Winters has likely been residing since he crashed here almost a year ago. Rough estimates from Miss Alice Winters, our resident xenobiologist, estimate a population of a few to several hundred individuals at an approximately medieval level of technology."

Cromwell held her face steady but she knew her vitals were all over the place. "Can you repeat that, sir? Did you say we've found another sapient species?"

"We believe so, pilot. Technically the credit for the discovery belongs to Winters and his crewmates, but that is neither here nor there at the moment. Pilot Cromwell, you have been selected for this particularly sensitive operation because your psych evals show a remarkable ability to cope with and make decisions while under pressure. While I do not believe your life will be put at risk today and our Jumper team will remain on standby, you may well be forced to think on your feet...or would it be in your seat?" He mused, seeming to care more about that question of phrasing than potential complications. Cromwell asked for clarity as she was given the green light to board her shuttle.

"Admiral, while I'm happy to remain firmly in my seat and behind a blast resistant door, what's the concern here?"

Natori nodded and furrowed his brow. "Ms Cromwell, I wish I knew that. When Lieutenant Winters responded to our hail he did so via text. He requested orders and was told to wait for extraction. Very straight laced, very by the book, not even a 'hello fellow humans, pleasure to see you' or 'why Admiral Kaczynski, what a marvelous ship you have there'!"

"After eleven months down there?" Cromwell asked in disbelief, sealing the airtight door that separated her cockpit from the body of the shuttle and strapping herself in.

"Exactly. There are at least a hundred and one possibilities for why he was so terse with us, but we'll not know for sure until we send someone down there. I want to be crystal clear with you, pilot. Your first priority today is your own safety, not his. He's survived eleven months and I think he'll survive another hour. The second priority, of course, is the safe retrieval of Russell Winters."

Elizabeth regarded him intently. Pilots, especially those who specialized in armed and armored vehicles, tended to understand that the entire job description was putting their life at risk in order to help others. "Anything else, Admiral?"

"Please do, in the event of inadvertent contact, try to avoid shooting," Natori pleaded with a look on his face that made it clear the warning was a formality. "I would very much hate to be the individual who oversaw either the death of a skilled pilot or a handful of innocent natives. This system has already claimed too many human lives."

"I'll keep that in mind, Admiral. With any luck this'll be a quick smash and grab and we can all breathe easy."

"I admire your optimism," the admiral replied, receiving final clearance from his staff and authorizing Cromwell's departure. "But something tells me things won't be so simple on the ground."

"Only one way to find out, sir," Cromwell replied, activating the polarization of her helmet's visor as she spun up the shuttle's engines. "I'm off to bring our boy home."

"Godspeed, pilot. We'll be watching." Natori monitored the situation closely as the shuttle lifted off and departed hangar A-1. The ‘brick’ hung a graceful turn before looping once around the Event Horizon and setting a course for Mara below. He momentarily cut the video feed and shook his head, very much aware of the tense Ghaelen observing the proceedings just to his left.

"Even if this does go off without a hitch, Winters is the least of our concerns."

-----

"I always wondered what it was like to be a Delta Jumper," Winters said aloud, watching the river run peacefully by, a cool oasis in the hot sun. It was a stark contrast to his nerves, which were firing on all cylinders and tightening his body like an industrial spring. "I think this is probably as close as I'll get."

'Waiting for an indefinite period of time in a small metal can before a thrilling ride to decide whether you live or die? No, I'm quite alright here on this riverbank, sir.' Io spoke in an agitated voice, pacing back and forth across his HUD and intentionally blocking much of his view given he was in no danger at the moment.

"Figured you'd be happier," Winters shrugged. "Ship that big's gotta have everything you need for body redundancy, so to speak." Io stopped her pacing and walked towards him, reaching her hands past the ends of his helmet as if to take his head in her hold.

'Sir, you know that if I get on that ship they won't be able to stop me,' she whispered nervously. 'Sure, one spare drive would be nice, but what about two? That sounds even better. Maybe three or ten? Maybe I could manufacture more, just as backups. I don't...what if they don't like me?'

"Io," Winters replied sympathetically, shellshocked to be hearing such mundane concerns from someone like Io, despite how very like her the sentiment was. "I told you I'd protect you all those months ago. I wasn't lying."

'And my dear Lieutenant, I believe we both know my fate is in my own hands and in the hands of whoever is captaining the Event Horizon. Who knows,' she lamented, glancing over her shoulder at the shrine to the Lancer's fallen. 'Maybe they'll consider me such a monster that destroying the ship would be better than allowing me access to it?'

"Io…"

'You know you can order me to kill myself, or reboot in factory settings, sir. If you were thinking of going that route, now would be the time. There's a shuttle en route to our location. It should be visible in a few minutes. I can't believe this is actually happening,' she said with a quiet sob.

"You must really be human at this point. Don't think it's possible for a computer program to be that damn depressing," Winters chuckled ruefully. "Io, you said you learned how to be human from me and Veera, right?"

'I may have developed a vengeance protocol based on Ratha's sensibilities but by and large, yes,' Io agreed, locking eyes with Winters as he struggled mightily to determine whether or not she was joking. In the end he gave in and asked directly.

"Seriously?"

'Partially?'

"God help us all," Winters declared with a shake of his head.

'Only if they kill you or Veera...or Laran,' Io elaborated. The last name gave Winters pause, enough to momentarily forget that their conversation might be their last on Mara.

"Laran? Didn't realize he ranked so high on the list."

'We helped bring that little fuzzball into this world and Kel help anyone who deigns to take him out of it before we're all long gone!' Io practically shouted in a motherly passion. Winters took a deep breath and prepared to give his companion a talk he didn't think himself qualified to give.

"Io?" He got her attention quietly.

'Hmm?’

"You enjoy living, right? You think your life is special and precious, don't you?" Winters asked. Io regarded him with the look of someone being forced to acknowledge an uncomfortable truth.

'I do, sir. Though when it's put into such stark terms it almost seems wrong. Selfish, perhaps?'

"Nothing wrong with a little bit of selfishness, otherwise you get the Ghaelen. Just remember when we get up there that the way you feel about your life and its value, the way you value the lives of those dear to you, everyone else aboard that ship feels the same about someone else. Does that...make sense?" He inquired uncertainly. Io replied with a petite smile.

'Ah mein barbar, would that we could all share your optimism. But I haven't forgotten what we've seen and done. You...and perhaps by extension I, of all men and machines probably have a pretty good basis on which to judge the value of life.'

"You really make me sound like some avatar of Kel," Winters murmured, looking upward and finding a very unnatural shape framed by the blue and white of a calm summer sky. "Looks like time's up. Veera, damnit where are you?"

'She's close, sir. As for you, of all days today is the day to act like a death god's envoy as we step into the unknown.'

"Ever consider taking up poetry?" Winters asked as the shuttle made a small arc and engaged its lower thrusters, kicking up a bit of dust and disturbing the tall grass just beside his pod. The impact ring was almost completely regrown, as though Mara were attempting to incorporate the object into itself, to lay claim to him.

'If the psychology clinic, postcards, and multiple PhD holder tracks don't work out, I'll give it a chance,' Io nodded, watching the shuttle intently. She gave Winters a fond look. 'It's time for you to go home, sir.'

"You too, Io," he promised, standing and brushing off his cloak before striding forward towards the now quiet shuttle. The pilot had clearly deemed the LZ safe enough to kill the engines. When he drew within ten meters he raised a hand in greeting, watching as the black 'windshield' of the vehicle suddenly became transparent, followed by the pilot's visor. As he continued closer a pair of female eyes met his before she pointed at her helmet. Radio contact was quickly established and he addressed her.

"First Lieutenant Russell Winters. Not going to lie, pilot, I'm having a hard time believing you're real."

"If you look like any of the Jumpers on board you're welcome to come on in and touch if it makes you feel any better. There's a whole ship of people waiting to see you, too. Ready to get out of here? That being said, of all the places you could have crashed this isn't half bad," Cromwell remarked, put at ease enough by Winters' level tone to take a look around and appreciate the Maran landscape, even though he looked like some avatar of the hunt. "I kinda forgot with the whole extraction thing but by God on high, the biodiversity here is- Lieutenant, behind you!"

Winters turned slowly to find a most reassuring pair of figures approaching him. Veera had gathered what looked to be most of her personal effects and wore them on her person under her cloak. Antoth had equipped himself similarly with no fewer than three weapons and his shield. Cromwell was now standing in her cockpit.

"Lord have mercy," she whispered. Winters looked at her out of the corner of his visor.

"Things are a bit more complicated than me just hopping aboard, pilot. How much time do I have?" He asked, wondering if the Event Horizon was putting in the effort to maintain a stable orbit somewhere above them or if they had to meet a window. Cromwell barely managed to babble a response as Natori kept clogging the channel with requests of 'send pix'.

"With all due respect, Admiral, you know damn well you can access my shuttle's external feeds! No Lieutenant, we have time. What's uh...they're not…you know them?" Cromwell asked, watching as Natori played around with some settings on his command panels while Winters cut her out of whatever conversation he was having with the local...she supposed raptorcats was the best way of describing them. It was all she could do to just stand there and watch out the right side of her shuttle's viewport. Natori began muttering as he played around.

"Now what's this all about? I just see some grass and the pod. Who are 'they'? Let's try the other side, shall we?"

Cromwell couldn't help but smile as she watched Natori's face. First his mouth stopped moving, no doubt just in time to forestall one of his wisecracks. Then his eyes widened appreciably and he leaned closer to the monitor. She could see he was using the camera on the right, front side of her ship. He had a view of Winters' cloaked back as well as the two aliens he was conversing with fluently. Their eyes and mouths were active and precise, their feathers and hands emotive. They bore weapons and symbols of status, scars and earrings. One, patterned like a tiger, had an HEL knife and canteen strapped to its waist. Cromwell saw a once in a lifetime opportunity as Natori leaned back in his chair utterly speechless.

"What seems to be the problem, Admiral? Raptorcat got your tongue?" She asked with a thin smile, never taking her eyes off the aliens. The ‘tiger’ had beautiful black and gold plumage atop its head. It seemed to be close to the Lieutenant but she could only tell so much from sight alone.

"Yes, pilot. You could say that," Natori replied in an awestruck voice. "I will leave you to your mission," he finished before pulling back to a view only mode. That left Cromwell to wait anxiously as the aliens and Winters spoke.

"So Fenrir's with Xan then?" He asked Veera, who signaled an affirmative.

"I wasn't sure…"

"Yeah, I don't know much either. I just made contact before you two got here. Antoth?" Winters demanded, wondering why the sun priest had made the long journey. "Something tells me you're not here to say goodbye."

"No," the towering Cauthan replied, feeling himself shiver as he beheld a metallic tomb that could apparently fly. "Is that thing there…"

"Yeah, that's a heavy machine gun up top and those things on the front are mortar launchers," Winters replied, not wanting to elaborate heavily and needlessly worry him or Veera. "Whoever was in charge didn't want to take any chances it seems, but I don't think we need to worry about that. The pilot has a cool head. What we do need to figure out is-"

"Take me to see your leader, Winters. Please," Antoth requested bravely. "That's where this thing goes, does it not?"

"If he goes back now, Ratha will skin him alive for leaving at all," Veera elaborated, unable to keep a hint of levity from her voice. Without Russell though, she knew she'd be just as nervous as Antoth.

"She fears a fatherless life for our cub, but I must go," he replied simply. Winters nodded, taking the Cauthan into a soldier's embrace, arms crossed between their bodies. He was sure the pilot and whoever else was connected to her ship was watching.

"I'll be there with you, Antoth. It's going to freak you the fuck out, but I'll be there. So will Veera and Io."

"Russell, you don't know if we can even go-"

"I'm not leaving this planet without you," he promised before opening up his line with Cromwell. "Hey pilot, I know this armor makes me a little fat but you got room for two more in there? Looks pretty spacious."

Cromwell knew Kaczynski and by extension probably the whole bridge was hanging on her every word. "Lieutenant, I don't have any orders pertaining to the locals. They aren't exactly modern and-"

"Yeah yeah, I get how this works. Don't want your ass on the line, pilot. Not that I have any intention of taking you up on your little offer, but I'm sure it's a fine ass," Winters quipped, opting for a bit of bawdy humor just so everyone remembered he was a Jumper. Veera didn't particularly enjoy it.

"Russell Winters! It's been barely a moment and already you're talking about human female ass? What about my ass!?" She demanded in Cauthan as Antoth rolled his head and groaned, secretly put at ease by the fact that those two could engage in such banter at a time like the present.

"Turning down human ass, very important distinction," he clarified in her language as she tried to bore a hole through his armor with her eyeballs. Winters switched back to English and turned to the shuttle, rapping on the main door. "I'll get right down to it, pilot. Can the head honcho hear me?"

"Yes sir, Lieutenant. Admiral Natori Kaczynski is on the line."

Io and Winters shared a knowing look with one another. Beta's most infamous figure was their foil that day. Calling him their savior would have been far too premature. Both of them knew at that point he was a harbinger. Whether for good or ill was yet to be seen, but Natori Kaczynski and chaos were two halves of the same coin. Winters smiled within the privacy of the Aegis. I can work with chaos. The bridge of the Event Horizon fell deathly silent as Winters began to speak.

"Admiral Kaczynski, this is Winters. I've got a message for you from a Cauthan by the name of Antoth, that giant bipedal panther behind me. He is the head priest of Seil, the God of life and light. He leads the nearby village and guides his people in matters both mundane and spiritual. He gave me shelter when I lost everything. It's not a stretch to say that I owe him my life. He and I spilled Cauthan blood together in defense of our home. He is my brother in arms," Winters insisted with finality as Io wiped a tear of fond memories from her eye. "So hear me now as I speak on his behalf. Antoth of Mara seeks an audience with you, Admiral Kaczynski, and an alliance between his people and humanity! You want me back? He's coming with me."

Aboard the Event Horizon every eye, human and Ghaelen, watched as Kaczynski stood and drew upon his father's heritage, making the symbol of the Cross over his face and body. "By the love of God and all that is holy," he whispered, realizing just how monumental a moment he and his crew had been thrust into. A second alien race, a village of primitives, actively seeking an alliance not with the galactic community, but with humanity. With shaking hand he opened the radio channel anew. "Lieutenant Winters, this is Kaczynski. It's damn good to hear you're alive. Tell your friend...Antoth, was it? Tell him that Natori Kaczynski accepts his request for negotiations. Now get in that shuttle and come home, soldier."