BRRING. BRRING. BRRING.

ERROR IN CRYOGENIC FREEZING PROCESS, PLEASE STANDBY FOR MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO ARRIVE.

FWSSSSH

'What?' Cedric could barely hear in his stupor, but he was positive he was hearing an alarm. His body and eyelids felt indescribably heavy, attempts to move were fruitless.

"Hier, hier! Der human ist hier."

'Was that... german?' Cedric was locked in his own mind, the mental haze and aching pains from being frozen so long kept his mind confused, or at least as much as it could be in his dreary state.

"Oh..."

He felt a rap on the glass, like the palm of a small hand hitting it with slightly more force than was intended.

"Ze human. Herin ist schön. Fir nünt beliv mine eyer"

Whether it be the confusion of mental haze, or simply his misunderstanding of language - the words Cedric heard sounded like an amalgamation of English and German, yet neither. Figuring he was hallucinating, Cedric remained silent and motionless. Well, it wasn't like he could move anyways. He felt surprisingly comfortable now, warm even. Stuck in a semi-tired state, and wishing to doze of. Yet his survival instincts wouldn't let him. He wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep and enjoy the warmth of his current state.

"Lök, herr human."

"Was ist das? Oh. Nü waī."

"We hast der klept, les purte nit."

"Zurück! Hostleüng und purte, ist vãlu!"

He took a deep breath, struggling with comprehending his situation. Clearly, something wasn't right. He could more clearly hear the alarms now, and warning of a cryopod malfunction immediately began to send him into a panic. He could breathe but - was he about to die? What happened? Where's the nurse he talked to a month ago? He could barely open his crusted eyelids, and what he observed sent him into shock. Several furry, short humanoids appeared to be fiddling with the controls of the pod. Was he dreaming? He swore a dream made sense, but the fact he was feeling grounded into reality made him question the conclusion. It felt real, TOO real to be a rather wild lucid dream - he was familiar with lucid dreaming, as they were often one of the greatest sources of stress relief to him after a hard work day.

Now it seems, he's staring at creatures straight out of fantasy. From what he could see, the figure closest to him appeared to be some sort of humanoid dog - sporting trails of white/black fur, similar to an Australian Shephard mixed with at least two other breeds that you'd see at a typical animal shelter. The other figures appeared to be rats, with another appearing to be a... Honey badger? They all walked on two legs, and sported paws with opposable thumbs. He began to shake violently in his pod, attempting to scream and force himself from the confines of the pod. The dog was wearing some sort of lab coat, with the others sporting more tactical equipment.

"Zurück! Zurück! Velantz ze following!"

The rats were clearly on edge. The dog figure seemed to be attempting to call him down, rubbing the door of the pod and speaking in their strange language - but in softer tones. Ironically, as one would speak to a frightened pet.

"Sterud bekt!"

Upon closer inspection, the dog woman appeared to hold a female figure, while the others appeared to be masculine. Upon barking a command, the other furry humanoids took some paces back. It sounded very similar to 'Stand back!' In English. Maybe what they were speaking was indeed a mix of languages? But those kinds of deviations take a culture years to develop, not a month.

"Ëta, ëta. dü ri ok, mine schön ainz."

Cedric could not speak, but continued to attempt to resist the restraints in the pod. He'd get out of this, sooner or later. The badger had noticed, and took a step up to Cedric's thrashing, then narrowed its eyes. It turned to the female.

"Parept... Etz Sprechen... Circa 2234? Impossible. Faring, kantz du sprechen Ancient?"

"Ja, was..."

The woman took a step closer to the glass.

"Nü waī... OK... Do. You. Speak. Ancient?"

'Ancient?' Clearly, she was speaking English. However this group was referring to the language as Ancient. None of this made sense to him. He was speaking English damn it, and he wasn't that old! This emotion of indignation is what finally lent Cedric the energy he needed to speak his first words since... however long it had been.

"I don't speak Ancient, I speak English Damn it! Where am I, who are you? Why-"

Before he could continue, a painful and hoarse cough erupted from his throat - clearing some sort of phlegm into his mask. He took a deep breath, hoping the phlegm wouldn't block his airway.

The dog-like humanoid female's eyes grew wide in surprise. She relayed what was presumably the translation into their language, the responses in their language overwhelmed Cedric's currently fragile mindscape, pure willpower and adrenaline facilitating his ability to stay awake. He shook more violently now, struggling to escape the pod - to no avail. He could try harder, but if he did the IVs keeping him alive may slip out - dooming him to death. All he could realistically do was sit and wait while in his panic, hoping that what this group had in store did not have nefarious intentions. He needed to find Alex, as soon as he got out of his pod that'd be his priority. He needed to regroup with her, than the rest of his platoon.

"Get me out of here! Where's Alex, where's the rest of my platoon?!"

The female attempted to bring her hands up in a non-threatening manner.

"Calm down! Calm down! You'll break the machine!"

"What machine? The cryopod? I'll break it if I have to!"

That last part was a bluff of course, he didn't expect it to work. Bonus points if it did though.

"Stop! If you keep moving like that then-"

More figures came into his field of view, chattering about in their language. More badgers, and what appeared to be a couple of boars in full tactical gear. What he presumed to be the leader, a rather large boar with - a cigar in his mouth? Issued a set of orders to his men.

"Restraud ze Human. Laser machaufen der pöd. Est kraft ist zurükschten, und unknown. Wie dunt kasn hue stärke die human ist! Taket zurük! Schutzen!"

Further orders were issued that Cedric couldn't hear as well, but it looked like they preparing to take more drastic measures to confront him. What was he going to do, ask nicely? There appeared to be only one that could understand him, even then it wasn't one-hundred percent if they were willing to translate correctly or not. For all he knew, his translations could have already been misinterpreted by the group. The badgers and boars begun to bear arms and fangs, their claws closely grasping weapons that Cedric did not recognize. They must be some kind of rifle, but they did not look like any projectile based ones he knew of. Not only that, but the weapons themselves were small. In fact, all the critters looked really small. Why was that? Cedric was still not of right mind to correctly interpret all of the new information that was now assaulting his senses, sending him into even more of a panic. Slowly but surely, as his situation evolved - his capability to hold his wits did the opposite.

"Stop moving!"

With a resounding Ragh! Cedric began to violently thrash about inside the pod. His mind was racing at a pace that he could not understand. What happened? Where's Alex? What time is it? Why was it cold? Why was it warm? Who are these people? What happened? Didn't he think that already? the assault on his brain did not waver, and Cedric began to lose his mind. The shock of waking from cryo, having no information or capability of movement from within the pod, and essentially being deprived of know-how was too much for him to handle. Now, he was just angry. Very, very angry. He knew deep down it wasn't the smart way to act, or the right way. But how was he supposed to react? Just ignore everything and sleep peacefully? Unfortunately, not anymore.

"Please, you must calm down! You're fine, you're okay! Get ahold of yourself!"

The dog's words meant nothing. He didn't know her, she didn't know him. Why should he care? Cedric's display terrified the rats and the badgers, who were now exchanging weary looks with each other. Just what kind of horrible monster have they woken up?

"Laser machaufen der pöd, schnell! Schutzen, schutzen aft!"

One of the boars cautiously stepped forward, and activated a device on his bag. It was a large backpack, connected to it via a thick cable was something akin to a flamethrower. Upon activation, a low whirr resounded as the backpack came to life. The tip of the gun portion of the strange contraption glowed a bright red - a laser. They began to cut away at the door of the pod, with Cedric in it of course. At first, he was terrified. But the comical scene that erupted before him was not only enough to refocus his mind, but also allow him let go a mighty bellow of laughter - all stress melting from his body as a result. The boars it seemed, thought that their grand device would be capable of cutting through the supermaterial of the pod. To Cedric though, it looked a lot more like a very intense laser pointer. The boars stared dumbfounded as their laser cleaned the dirt of the pod, but nothing else. Not even a stream of plasma'd material normally left behind by things like intense lasers. It seems that, they woefully underestimated the strength of the material it was made of. They caught glances at each other, completely confused. The group hustled and bustled about, presumably attempting to come up with a plan to crack the pod open. The dog woman looked to Cedric pleadingly, seemingly thinking that her kindness earned at least some response. He gazed into her pinpoint brown eyes, reminding him of Alex's glowing brown orbs. He also noticed, that he had stopped moving. The group simply looked between the two, as Cedric stared down what he assumed was either the scientist, or archeologist of the group - given the fact she was apparently speaking an 'Ancient' language that nobody else was familiar with. He looked around, only just now getting a good grasp of the environment he was in. It was indeed the ship. Or, part of it. Cedric's eyes grew wide at the realization. He was in a part of the ship that had detached from the rest, almost like a wreckage. Beyond him lay a hellish landscape of rock and stone, the atmosphere barely visible hosting itself to a deep, sanguine red. Iron particulates in the atmosphere, most likely. To that though - where was he exactly? The critters in front of him were not wearing oxygen or atmospheric equipment, so it was safe to say that the atmosphere was safe to breathe - somehow. Strange, he thought. There wasn't a tree in sight. His best chance to get out would most likely be to talk to the only creature that could actually understand him. The gaze the two held lasted a good while, neither party sure what the next move was to be.

"Press the big ass red button on the console."

"The... what on the what?"

"Big ass red button."

Cedric gestured his head in the direction of where he saw a tablet - most likely the control tablet. They could be charged with solar energy, so even if it was out of battery - it could be recharged. Hopefully...

The dog followed his gaze, and spotted the tablet. She pointed to it questioningly, and he nodded. Her compatriots seemed to protest, but she tossed their pleads to the side. She picked it up, and ran her paws along it - confused. She brought it back to the pad, and showed him the black screen.

"It needs to be charged."

"I'm sorry but... We don't know how to power human technology. Nobody does, actually."

"Are you fucking with me?"

"I... have no intention to mate with you..."

"What? no. I - god damn it. Put it in the sun for a couple hours upside down, make sure those black plates are catching the sunlight. It'll work after."

Her ears perked up and alert, as though she had just made a scientific breakthrough.

"You mean, it charges using energy from the sun? That shouldn't be possible. Oh, I knew we'd discover some sort of magic from these ruins but I didn't realize-"

Her tail begun to wag. It was cute, if not off-putting.

"So I just... make this face the sun?"

"The back portion with the plates yes, not the screen. Couple hours will do."

"Uh, hours?"

"Are you -"

Then it dawned on him. Everything up until this point began to make sense, if he applied one unlikely situation. A scenario which, somehow, happened. Said scenario shouldn't be plausible, but it's the only which had a modicum of merit and correlated with what he was seeing. What if he wasn't in the pod for a month... But... Years? How many? It explained the language barrier, the unusual humanoids, the misunderstanding of how technology he dealt with every day worked. It's the only explanation. Somehow, this pod kept him alive for however long it had been. He gazed at the IV in his arms, they were still running. If they had stopped, he'd be dead. He also noticed his body felt heavy, and the extremely loose security straps were now locked tight to his body. His arms felt... Huge. Especially his legs, like the aftermath of an experiment in a certain superhero movie. From skinny, to muscle man. What?

"No fucking way..."

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"I'm sorry, I really don't understand what you are trying to say."

"Don't... Don't worry about it. it's a time slice, like a second."

"How is a time slice related to second place?"

"No like... Ugh. Listen, the planet orbits around the sun right? How long does it take for the planet to rotate on its axis?"

"OH I GET IT. Ok ok, so two Owehrns? It's thirty-six owehrns that make a rotation on this planet."

"Yes... O-verns... Two of those. Wait, no that's not right. A normal rotation is twenty-four uh, Overns? Owehrns? Whatever. You get it."

"Yeah yeah, I can do that."

He had never seen someone so happy to have a conversation before. Given his mental state before the comedy show, it wasn't hard to figure why. Now, he simply had to sit in silence. It seems the rest of the humanoids were satisfied with current events, and now stared at him up and down - taking in every inch of his body. It would be embarrassing, if he wasn't clothed. The dog returned with a pleased look on her muzzle, the tablet sitting a few feet away clothed in the deep red light.

"Okay now what?"

"We wait."

"Oh, oh right. So um. You're a human, huh?"

"Yes? You're a dog... I think."

She recoiled at his terminology.

"Hey, that language is not tolerated! Don't use that word!"

"Dog?"

"Yes! You said it again! Stop saying it."

"But you're... Okay, hound?"

"That's better."

Cedric wore an incredulous look on his face. This entire situation was just... Silly. It was what it was, silly or not this was happening. While he could not fully wrap his head around everything, at least he had an idea. But still. He needed to figure out what happened to everyone else - as well as explaining his muscle growth on the side. He also took the time to get a good understanding of his body. His hair had grown, and he had a beard. he felt shorter, the straps were tight to his body unlike rather loose as they were before, probably because of the growth spurt. Judging by himself, he estimated he had to be the equivalent of about twenty-seven years old now. He was twenty-four, but he certainly no longer looked it. This confirms he was in the pod for far longer than a month. Cryogenic stasis slows down all bodily functions, and as cold as the medical personnel had it in the pods - it slowed bodily function to crawl. Operational enough with the aid from the substance he was hooked up to to ensure his body didn't die, but not so intense that - well, he'd die. He never stopped growing, but even then, that didn't explain why he felt so much shorter and broader than he used to. He was six foot five - a tall guy. Now he was a measly six foot, maybe. So he lost five inches and gained muscle? This was all so strange to him. Before he realized it, his musings put him to sleep. He was awoken by a rap on the glass.

"It's done! It works!"

It was the face of the dog - er, hound he had been talking to before. 'So it wasn't a dream after all.' he thought.

"This technology is incredible, to charge from nothing into something. You really do have magical technology! I can't believe it. Is it mind control? Are you using telekinesis? You have to be."

She... Sounded too stupid to be a scientist, Cedric thought. The lab coat was familiar - and he realized why. It was a tattered version of one of the coats the medical personnel wore over their uniforms when doing medical procedures.

"Why the fuck are you wearing that?"

"Okay, seriously you need to stop using that word I have no idea why you're putting the equivalent of 'mate' in every sentence, but it's creeping me out."

"It's a profanity. Now why are you wearing that coat?"

"I uh, thought it looked nice? Sorry..."

Her ears drooped and she shed the coat, placing it comfortably to the side. She seemed to be wearing a jump suit of some sort, accentuating her modest female features.

"I just found it in a closet and I like it so I wore it. Sorry if I offended you."

"You mean no one else wore it before that?"

"Are you implying I took this off a skeleton?!"

"Yes - wait, skeleton?"

A chilling silence filled the air. The female appeared extremely stressed, realizing what she had just said.

"Wait, no I mean - you know, picked it up off the ground?.."

"God, don't fucking LIE TO ME."

The critters dispersed, visually shaking in place. The whole 'cuteness' act from this hound was also slowly but surely annoying Cedric. It felt horrifically fake, straight out of the many comics and cartoons he was used to watching in his free time. Her personality was identical to some choice characters that were almost always annoying to watch. Most often these interpretations were seen in eastern animation, like the past's Japan and Korea. Western animation produced by the UCSC often featured either grounded or childish characters - difficulty mixing the two created much contention in animation quality over the years. It was like he was talking to a real-life version of one of these characters, in all their glorious annoyance.

"I'm sorry, it just. There's a lot you don't know I guess. Sorry."

"No fucking shit lady, now show me that fucking tablet."

"Okay okay! Here."

She shakily showed him the screen of the tablet - and promptly dropped it.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Is this a fucking joke to you?"

The hound was shaking more now, the other critters took time to pace away further.

"I swear it's not! Please, I'm sorry!"

"Stop saying that, fucking christ you are annoying. Just show me the fucking tablet so I can tell you how to get me out of this thing."

"I'll do it, but you're being really mean right now, you know that? I understand you're really upset but I'm the only one that can understand you and we need to work together on this to get you out, okay?"

Cedric stared for a moment - and nodded. She was right. He agreed that his behavior was unwarranted, but it was hard to not feel anger, sorrow, and wonder all at the same time in his situation. He tried his best to calm down, and be more respectful - despite the difficulty.

"Yeah, fine. Show me the screen."

She flipped the tablet around, showing him the screen.

"Press the large red button there, that says 'Emergency Override'."

She flipped it back around and tapped the screen - but nothing happened.

"Uh... It didn't do anything."

Cedric thought for a moment. The tablets were touch screen, they should work fine. Unless...

"Have one of the rats touch it."

"What did I say earlier? About being nice?!"

"Uh, rodent?"

"Better."

Sure enough, after a small exchange she encouraged one of the rodents to touch the screen - and it work, the emergency override protocol doing its thing.

"How is that possible?" she barked

"Look at my hands. You have paws, the touch screen detects the pads on your - my - uh, human hands, so that accidental touches don't do anything. Rodents like them have similar bone structure in their hands, so I figured they'd have something like pads on their fingertips as well that'd make it work."

"Wow... Such intelligent design!"

"Uh, sure I guess."

"Uh, human? The screen is going crazy, I can't read it fast enough!"

"Quickly, let me see!"

She did as she was told - Cedric quickly scanned the tablet. A resounding number of errors and discrepancy warnings littered the screen of the tablet. Many such errors were not relative to his situation, but in fact it was still helpful. The AI within the programs checks whether or not something like an emergency shut down is actually warranted - based on the percentage of damaged systems and available personnel to handle manual issues. This was to prevent pranksters from activating systems they really had no business messing with. The errors were more than enough to greenlight the emergency release, a few entries stood out. Mostly missing parts, non operational systems, low fuel, a gravity of 4 Gs?!!

The cryo door slammed open, and the tight straps released their grip on his wrists, ankles, and chiseled chest. He still couldn't move. It had to be a side effect of being immobile for however long he was. Rather, he wasn't sure if he could move at all. He thrashed about earlier, but that's just it - it was thrashing. Moving the whole body. Was it possible his bones fused together, or something else more ridiculous? He attempted to move his fingers first - success! It hurt like hell. Cedric let out audible groans of pain as he attempted to move, his body felt like a car that had run out of oil. No lubrication for the soft, cartilage pads between joints responsible for ease of movement. Many conditions in late life such as chronic knee pain, or joint pain in general can be attributed to a wearing down of this cartilage. Cedric wasn't sure if this was the case, since he hadn't actually moved in who knows how long. He may indeed have arthritis, or similar condition as a result of not moving at all while in stasis. Most likely, hopefully, after moving about for a bit the most he'd experience would be fatigue and difficulty breathing from lack of exercise. Cedric continued to move his digits, the pain only went somewhat away - more as a dull ache across his joints now. He felt incredibly tired, and heavy. Somehow, he had also gotten a lot shorter and bulkier with his time in the pod. An effect of gravity, most likely - if the readout was correct. 4 Gs of gravity was the cusp of normal tolerance for humans, and this compression of his joints and the weight from his body producing additional muscle to compensate was the most likely cause of his pain. He tried to walk forward, but as soon as he took his first agonizing step - he crumpled to the ground - holding himself up with his hands and knees - breathing rapidly into his oxygenated mask. It's retractable and gracious slack was a welcome respite. Cedric proceeded to hack and cough, removing his mask to relieve his body of the phlegm built up during his cryo time.

the critters observed him with silence and awe - seeing them now, they were REALLY short. They couldn't have been taller than three or four feet - and that was the tallest one. Their height range was that of a fantasy halfling, for a physical comparison - Their bodies were slim, but humanoid - as if you had covered a very short human in fur - gave them ears, a tail, and replaced their head with a muzzle. It was also strange to him, that the female hound that had been communicating with him had modest breasts. A dog with pronounced breasts standing on two legs is a disturbing thought - but an important one. This meant that they were more human than animal, a mixing of the two. It was a possibility that these animals had humans as a common ancestor, rather than the species that they resemble. Cedric gently pressed the mask back on his face, and painfully stood tall - towering over the humanoid critters, despite apparently losing a whopping five inches of his old height.

"You're huge! Just like all the stories! I really am looking at living, breathing mythology! Oh thank you goddess for this opportunity! Clearly, it was meant to be! Everyone told me I was crazy for learning Ancient in advanced education - but I knew I wasn't! I knew I wasn't!"

The dog girl was overjoyed at the scene, Cedric was not - as he quickly fell back down again, struggling to walk on both legs.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?"

"Do I fucking look okay?"

"Yes?.."

"Jesus christ..."

Cedric once again struggled to stand, to no avail.

"I... Can't stand up."

"What?"

"I can't fucking stand up!"

"Is there anything I can do to help??"

"Sure, you can get your non-english speaking goons to help me stand."

"Uh, sure..."

She barked some orders around here and there. Cedric couldn't determine if she was the leader here, a subject matter expert, or a notable figure. It seemed odd that her, mercenaries? Followed the likes of essentially a girl with half a brain to work with. She was quite kind, which was a welcome engagement - but she also felt... Fake? As if her personality had been molded by media, rather than her experiences. The rats and boars began to gather around him, attempting to assist him in standing. With their numbers, it should have been easy - but it wasn't. Their combined effort did indeed allow Cedric to stand up, but even then most of the effort was from his own muscles - not theirs. They were more like a walking cane, rather than proper supporters. The lack of strength from the cronies surprised him. Of course he was heavier, and the gravity didn't help - but a group like this shouldn't be struggling this much. Come to think of it, they didn't appear to be affected by the planet's gravity. Or if they were, they didn't show it.

The hound girl spoke through gritted canines, "Ugh, you are so. HEAVY."

"Hm? I don't see why - outside of the gravity. Am I really that heavy?"

"Yes. You. are. that. HEAVY..."

"Just get me near a wall or something then."

"Okay."

Their struggle bore fruit, as Cedric was slammed down near a wall - the distance they crossed however, was too far for the oxygen mask to stretch - and he quickly removed it before impact as to not the sever its connection. It retracted back into its holding place with a satisfying Thwip! - and Cedric remained put. Shortly after, Cedric's breathing began to decline - becoming raspy seemingly out of no where.

"What? I.. I can't.. I can't breathe..."

Shortly after stating his, he began to clutch his neck, his body for some reason assuming that would increase airflow. A response derivitive of the universal sign for choking, most likely.

"Air. Need air." he gasped.

"I don't understand, we're surrounded by breathable air!"

she frantically looked around, trying to find some sort of answer to Cedric's dire situation. She happened to glance at the oxygen mask, she didn't know what it was - but she knew it must be important if taking it off did this to him. Being short, there's no way she could reach it on her own. She instructed her fellows to hoist her up, or at least give her a boost. They obeyed, tossing her as high as they could. Had she been a moment slower, she may have missed grabbing the mask - as she sailed down faster than she sailed up. Gravity. The landing made her numb for a second, without a moment to lose she rushed back to Cedric. The cord on the mask wouldn't allow it to travel to far as it needed to - so she pleaded with Cedric to crawl towards her. Adrenaline pumping, he bolted on all fours as fast as he could - the moment he was close enough, she slammed the mask on his face. Cedric sucked in the blissful oxygen from the mask as though he were parched in a desert - and rested for a few moments.

"Even after being freed, I'm still a prisoner."

"I'm sorry, I don't know why you couldn't breathe."

"Not enough oxygen in the atmosphere." He sighed through an oxygen-deprived rasp.

"Oxygen? But that's... That's a poisonous gas!"

"Oxygen? Poisonous?"

Cedric let go of a chuckle. This new world really ceased to amaze.

"In extreme concentrations maybe, but other than that - no oxygen, no life."

The female appeared pensive.

"So it's true, just like the stories. You breathe poisonous gasses... You are immune to normal weapons and... You have super strength"

Cedric rested his back against the cryo chamber, and closed his eyes for a moment - sinking in all the new information.

"What do you mean stories? Also, you haven't told me your name yet."

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?"

Gazed into her pinhole eyes for a moment, wondering if telling her his name really meant anything. He supposed then, that to get trust - you have to give it first.

"Cedric."

"Zedrek?"

"Close enough."

"I'm Faring, a student archeologist. What uh, what do you do? Or, did I guess..."

"I'm a soldier."

"What?"

She backed away from him, her tail no longer slowly wagging as it had been for most of the their conversations

"No, that can't be. You don't even act like a soldier!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"N-no, this isn't right. You can't be. You can't be..."

"I don't understand."

"You're a killer - a murderer! This was a mistake, we've been here too long...

"Welt Nun, was haben wir hier?"

'A different voice?' This voice sounded distinctly german, the translation of which may or may not be accurate to the german Cedric remembered.

"oh nü..."

"Bitte, E pask jure handikrafte tupe anz proujekit, und-"

"Schweigen, Ihr Status als Adliger spielt hier keine Rolle."

The dialogue was alien to Cedric, yet not. It was clear that Faring was speaking a modified version of german, maybe the common language of where he was. The new figure, who he now saw, was another female. A grey wolf, most likely. She wore a black waist coat with a few ribbons on the side, reminiscent of traditional UCSC awards, but with a distinctly Russian dress. Imperialist, by the looks of it. Tan, yellow, and reds adorned the uniform. She wore an officer's cover on her head, with a silver medal in the shape of a gliding eagle. The wolf woman nodded in Cedric's direction.

"Ein lebendiger, atmender Beweis der Mythologie..."

"Uh, what?"

"Ah, er spricht nicht unsere Sprache. Egal, schnapp ihn dir."

Faring looked at the official, then back to Cedric. She then proceeded to place herself between him, and the wolf.

"E conqur der rizzen töt slavischt!"

The wolf's eyes narrowed Faring, surprise and... Honor? Exuding from her gaze. Seemingly satsified, she remarked one last time before beginning to step away.

"Sehr gut. Dies wird über offizielle Kanäle verschickt. Bis dahin gehört das geborgene Bio nun Ihnen."

"What did you just do?"

"You're technically a salvaged organic, so I kind of... Claimed you."

"Fucking what?"

"But because you don't actually belong to anybody or any house, you're in my house now."

"You're house? What do you mean?"

"Well Cedric, to put it plainly. You're kind of... Now enslaved to House Kilik."

"You made me a slave just like that?.."

"Yes. Humans aren't supposed to exist, yet here you are. Since you aren't technically a registered sapient, but are considered a souled organic - you can be claimed. Since you are considered an animal and not a plant, you can be enslaved under salvage rights."

"Oh."

Chapter translations, in order of appearance.

here here, the human is here! - Korellei

This human, he is beautiful. I can't believe my eyes - Korellei

Look, mister human! (respectful way of addressing someone) - Korellei

What is that? Oh, no way - Korellei

We have the package, let's move it - Korellei

Careful! Secure and transport, its valuable! - Korellei

Caution! Caution! Violence is following! - Korellei

Stand back! - Korellei

There, there. you are ok, my beautiful one - Korellei

Wait, it speaks... From [year] 2234? Impossible. Faring, don't you speak fluent Ancient? - Korellei

Restrain the human. Laser open the pod. Its strength is dangerous, and unknown. We don't know how strong the human is! Take caution! shooters! - Korellei

Laser open the pod, quickly! shooters, guns up! - Korellei

Well now, what do we have here? - German

Please, I was just working on a project, and- - Korellei

Keep quiet, your status as a noble doesn't matter here. - German

A living, breathing proof of mythology... - German

Ah, he doesn't speak our language. Whatever, grab him. - German

I claim the right to slavery! - Korellei

Very well. This will be sent via official channels. Until then, the recovered organic is now yours. - German