‘Hmmm, how interesting.’ Io commented casually.

“This is the third day she’s done this; it’s hardly a new development.” Winters countered, yawning and stretching. His jaw hurt again, a sign his dreams had taken a turn for the worse.

‘Yes that’s true sir but it’s raining today, quite heavily if the sensor reading are correct. I was wondering how the Cauthan stay dry. Perhaps they have umbrellas?’ Io ventured happily.

“Oh boy.” Was all Winters could say as he shoved the pod door open with his forearm. He immediately saw a soaking wet Veera to his left. She was all smiles though.

“Good morning Russell! Felen has seen fit to give us an entire day for the telling of tales!” She beamed widely at him, gesturing at the sky. Winters didn’t know where to start, staring instead at her drenched fur and drooping feathers, weighed down by the rain. She shivered slightly.

“Veera…what are you doing here?” He asked with mild irritation.

“You told me to come find you when my work was complete. Well, as you can see,” She opened her arms and spun around once. “I have no work today!”

“You’re soaked to the bone Veera and your teeth are chattering.” He pointed out the obvious, worry in his voice.

“I…” She glanced down at her talons, looking chastised. “I very much wanted to hear your story Russell.” In spite of himself, Winters found himself chuckling. How could someone be so endearing and exasperating at the same time? Without thought he walked to her, reached out and began scratching lightly behind her ears.

“You’re really something else Veera. But right now you need to get dry. There’s no way in hell this is healthy for you.”

“I- h-hey, what are you doing!” Veera yelped at him, her arms stiffening and her hands balling into fists. She didn’t move though. “Russell…p-please this is…how did y-you know? This feels…really nice.” Her eyes closed and her breathing came more heavily.

‘Sir I can’t believe I’m actually uttering this sequence of words in order but stop petting the Cauthan!’ Io yelled at him. ‘Didn’t you just beat yourself up last night about touching her on the bloody shoulder?! Mein gott! Barbaren!’

As if shocked by an electric current, Winters withdrew his hand quickly. He had the decency to look embarrassed. “Apologies Veera, I don’t know what came over me. I must still be a bit groggy. Seriously though, we have to get you home and warmed up. Now.”

Veera stared at him with lidded eyes. She had no idea what had just happened. All she knew was it felt good, really good. The Russell Winters of yesterday seemed to have been replaced by a touchy feely version of the human. She had decidedly mixed feelings about that. A small gust of wind bit through her fur and into her soaking skin. The chills brought clarity back to her mind as Winters quickly made ready to depart. He had his helmet back on and was shaking his head vigorously, as if to dislodge something from it. “Let’s go Veera.” He beckoned to her. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything to offer to keep you dry, but if you feel your body shutting down let me know immediately, alright? I’ll carry you back.” He was all business now. With her fur made slick by the rain he could see just how thin Veera was. She almost appeared anorexic. “She’s insane, coming out here like this.” He whispered.

‘She’s not sir. But this is quite the occurrence to be sure. You’d not find me trekking miles in the rain just to hear a story.’

“I don’t think I’d find you trekking anywhere.”

‘A thrilling observation sir.’ She dismissed him flippantly. ‘Shall I monitor her vitals?’

“How?”

‘If you remain to her right I might be able to use the B-MASS. It won’t be nearly up to par with what I can monitor for you, but I will be able to detect her body temperature at a minimum.’

“Whatever you can do, please Io. I don’t know what possessed her to do this but we’ve got to get her home.”

‘I think we both know the answer to that question.’ Io stated primly.

Winters growled but said nothing, assuming a position that would allow Io to monitor Veera’s condition. She now had her arms drawn across her torso and was visibly shivering. Hopefully the movement will warm her up somewhat. Winters thought, seeing a small bar come up on his HUD that displayed an estimate of Veera’s core temperature. It stabilized once they reached the tree cover and weren’t being actively rained upon, but it still didn’t look great. His hunger had more than vanished, replaced by concern for his ‘scrawny girl’. The rest of the walk passed by in silence, with Winters constantly checking the gauge on his HUD and worry pitting his stomach. The human felt his mood turning as gray as the clouds above when he considered what was to come. He knew he’d made the promise the night before and knew he’d be unable to deny her after the morning’s shenanigans, but that didn’t make things any easier. His mind wandered back to that day, back to the drop bay and the alarms. Perhaps that had been the dream he’d awakened from. Before he knew it they were through the gates and walking along the back road to Veera’s home. As soon as they were inside Winters took his helmet off and moved to build a fire.

“Are you mad at me?” A small voice came from the doorway. Winters turned and looked at her, thinking that the voice fit the way she looked right now. A small puddle was forming under her feet as she shivered lightly. He shook his head.

“Of course not. But I do wish you’d consider your own health. I would have come to find you.” He began striking the flint, exhaling with relief as the flames came to life. He stood and turned back to Veera. Her leather clothing wasn’t too wet, but she was soaked to the bone beneath it. He began blushing as he grabbed his helmet.

“Where are you going?!” She asked with fear in her voice. “You said…”

“Veera please.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not mad and I’m not leaving. You need to undress, get yourself dried off, and get some food in your belly so your body can replace what you lost trying to keep warm. I’m going to go do some exploring around town. Sound good?”

“Um, yeah ok. Sounds good. Sorry for all this…and thank you.” She trailed off, unsure of what else she could say.

“Don’t worry about it Veera. Stuff like this happens with humans all the time. We’ll look back and laugh about it.” He assured her before leaving. They might have broken the rules of Cauthan intimacy already, but he was certainly not going to hang around and watch her sit naked by the fire. Satisfied that he’d returned her home without any lasting damage, Winters walked off down one of the back alleys he’d seen Veera use before, hoping to get a better feel for the immediate neighborhood.

Eventually Winters emerged onto the main street. He looked left and right, trying to decide where to wander.

‘Sir, perhaps we should attempt to locate the temple of Valta? Your scrawny girl believed that we might learn more about where and what to hunt there. She mentioned the name Ratha.’

“The priestess. Yeah, not a bad idea. Any clue where we should start looking?”

‘Most of the temples are in the middle of the village it seems, so to the left?’ Io suggested in her crisp new accent. After a minute or two of walking they noticed a building that looked a bit like a lodge, with various animals carved into the relief and a sloping roof. ‘That seems a good place to try.’

“Agreed.” Winters nodded and stepped through the opening, which was covered by a thick black fur. It was old but in remarkably good condition. Inside he saw two alternating rows of mounted skulls upon the back wall. There were two stone tables in the middle of the space, similar to the one he’d seen in Thantis’ temple, though these were not nearly as clean. They were stained by what could only be blood from the butchering of animals. “Damn, you need an awful lot to get rock to look like that.” Winters observed to no one in particular, looking at the other walls. To his left he found an array of smoked and preserved meats hanging from the ceiling and resting on beds of leaves or on shelves. “Well I’ll be, they’ve got sausage!” Winters remarked happily. “Damn it, now I’m hungry. Should have had breakfast.”

‘I think you’ll live sir.’

“Appreciated. How much do you think one of those costs?” He gestured to the other side of the room where a variety of animal pelts, leathers, and bones were arrayed before them. There were quivers of arrows as well as an array of tools made of stone, wood, and bone. All told it was a very well stocked building. His HUD flashed once.

‘Sir, if I may draw your attention to the back wall, left side.’

“What’s up Io?”

‘You requested I notify you if I found any evidence of our tree mauler from the other day.’

“Probably an ursae, right? Why?”

‘I believe that is a skull.’ One of them was highlighted for him in yellow. He approached.

“Holy hell, Io. It doesn’t have a lower jaw!” Winters exclaimed, noticing immediately the two mandibles that protruded from either side of the upper jawbone. The tips sported jagged teeth that curled back into the mouth. They did not connect at the front of the snout.

‘Indeed sir. It likely grabs and wounds its prey with those teeth before swallowing it whole. I don’t see much devoted to the act of chewing here, but that sort of geometry would allow for the swallowing of large pieces of prey…or perhaps the whole animal.’

“Well that’s certainly disturbing, to say nothing of the four eye sockets.”

“And that’s just a juvenile.” A confident female voice interrupted them from the doorway on the right side of the room. A Cauthan sporting a dark red coat and clothing made of multiple furs stood resting against the timber, gazing at them with a calculating look. Atop her head sat a crude helmet made of bone. A stone knife with a bone handle hung from the belt at her waist and a longbow graced her back.

“Ratha, I presume?” Winters asked, bowing his head slightly.

“Well well, you know me?” She inquired, not moving from her post.

“My name is Winters, formerly known as the servant of Kel. A pleasure to meet you.” He joked, wondering what sort of woman stood before him. She let out a hearty chuckle.

“Ha! Servant of Kel indeed. Vash always was a bit too zealous for his own good. I get my information from Antoth, human. You’ve driven him quite batty the last couple of days.” She seemed to enjoy informing him of that.

“Wasn’t my intention of course. The man does a good job. And I can’t deny him his duty.”

“No, I suppose one cannot. But what brings you to the temple of Valta?”

“A great many things actually. Veera mentioned I should speak to you about hunting in these woods.” Ratha’s gaze darkened visibly at his words. Io growled.

“Easy girl.” Winters whispered. “I’ll let you jump in if things get chaotic.” He projected again. “For starters though, I wanted to know more about this.” He pointed a thumb at the ursae skull. “You said this was a juvenile. Just how large do they grow?”

“Do all humans have a death wish? Or is it just you?” Ratha asked, walking to stand next to him.

“Can’t say we do normally, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m in the forest after dark quite often. I’d like to know what I’m up against.” Ratha nodded at him, letting a finger slide over her knife handle.

“That’s awfully dangerous for someone without a death wish, as you say. But I suppose it’s true enough there haven’t been many incidents of late. The largest ursae I’ve ever seen was about eighteen feet long. They’re pretty wide beasts too. But that was just a corpse; the thing was old and gray. I don’t think any hunter in the village has seen one alive.”

“They’re that rare?” Winters asked, impressed at Io’s conversion of Cauthan units into imperial measures.

“Maybe, but we do our best to avoid them as well. Hunt during the day, few multi-day excursions, and head south if you can.”

“Wise. Thank you for the information.”

“Let’s get to business then.” Ratha snapped, walking right up to him. She was shorter than Veera, coming up to Winters’ chin, but that didn’t seem to affect her one bit. “You wish to hunt in my woods?”

“Not Valta’s woods?” He asked. Io scoffed at the Cauthan’s bravado.

“Of course they belong to the goddess, human. But she ain’t here right now and someone’s gotta keep order. Short answer is no, not until you’ve proven yourself worthy.”

“And how would I do that, exactly?” Winters shifted his weight to one hip and crossed his arms.

“Present an offering at the temple. If the goddess deems you worthy of her protection, you may hunt. These woods have sustained our village for generations. There is a delicate balance to maintain. Can’t have just anyone wandering out there as they please and scaring away all the chesko.”

“Chesko?” Winters asked. Ratha pointed to another skull on the wall. Io identified it as a likely candidate for the animal they’d seen in the darkness the other day.

“Good source of food, leather, and bone. Bad fur. So, for the most part, they’re what you want to go after. Docile animals, usually travel alone or in small groups. Breed real fast too. Very jumpy so make your first shot count. Not that you’ll be doing that any time soon.” She looked a challenge at him. Winters had had enough.

“What will you do Ratha? Stop me?” He stood to his full height and broadened his shoulders. His voice came low as he accepted her challenge.

‘You tell that wench!’ Io cheered.

“I won’t.” She stared him dead in the eyes and gripped her knife. “But the goddess will. Just ask the mutt, she knows all about that.”

“I would take that back if I were you.” It was Winters’ turn to growl.

“Why, you her handler now? Her father knew the consequences and she suffered for his arrogance. You’ll meet the same fate and she will suffer anew.” Ratha spat at him. Winters saw red.

“What in the blazes does her father have to do with this?!” He yelled.

“Oh…ooooh!” Ratha’s grin turned feral. “You don’t know, do you? Guess the two of you might not be so close after all. So it falls to Ratha to fill you in on the mutt’s dirty secret eh? Well human, I’m sure you’ve noticed she’s not exactly like the rest of us. There’s a reason for that. Her father came back from a hunt one day with a most interesting…catch. A plains woman! Wouldn’t tell a soul about the circumstances, but there he was outside the gates with an enemy female in his clutches. Would have turned her away myself but Antoth was always too bloody soft for his own good. In any case, the goddess was most displeased with this little development.” She smugly insisted.

“How would you know that?” Winters interjected.

“Because as time went on he would come back with less food, would have to range farther than the other hunters. Don’t get me wrong Winters, I’m not as full of myself as I sound. I would never presume to perform the goddesses will, but I cannot deny the reality either. When he had a second mouth to feed, things only got worse. By the time of his last hunt, he had nothing left to offer the goddess before he left. He never returned. That was five years ago. His daughter even came by once or twice asking to go out herself. I denied her. Then she came begging for meat and leather. Foolish little girl had nothing to trade.” Winters drove his fist into the wall with a roar, dislodging one of the larger skulls. It shattered into dry pieces on the floor.

“You heartless bitch!” He ground out. “You would deny a starving girl clothing and food because of her parents?!”

“Why don’t you take a step back hot shot?” Ratha replied coolly. “Don’t get so upset about what you don’t understand.”

“Enlighten me then.” He seethed.

“I follow the ways of Valta, the laws of the forest. Kill or be killed. The weak die and the pack survives, just look at the hyrven. Without the sacrifice of the chesko, the Cauthan, hyrven, and ursae cannot live. We cannot simply take from the goddess’ woods and return nothing to the cycle. We must respect the woods, protect them, and fear them. That little girl wouldn’t have survived a day out there. I saved her ass. As for her…needs…this isn’t a charity house. The hunters provide for the village, and the village provides for the hunters. Last I checked she was still walking around without our help.”

‘Ah, I was wondering if they had guilds. I suppose that answers that question.’ Io remarked. Winters took a deep breath to control his emotions before replying.

“Then allow me to explain something to you in turn, Ratha. Allow me to explain what happens when you stand between a human and his goal.” He snarled. “It doesn’t end well for you. I’ve seen shit that would have you running home to mommy. I’ve killed things that would tear you limb from limb. I’ve survived hellscapes you can’t possibly imagine. So here’s the deal. Your hunters mainly hunt in the south? Fine. I’m not out to ruin their day. I’ll stay away from them. But I will go north. I will hunt. I will kill. And I will take care of that scrawny little mutt if it’s the last damn thing I do on this planet. I will honor your goddess with my deeds. And if she wishes to strike me down, she’s welcome to try; though I believe she will find her instruments lacking.”

“Then I believe we have nothing more to discuss here Winters. I would ask you to leave this house of worship. Should you wish to barter or clean your kills, we will be here.” Ratha dismissed him without fanfare. Winters nodded curtly before turning on his heel and stalking to the door.

“Oh and Ratha,” He called over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about that skull. In fact, you might want to take down a few more. I hear ursae can get pretty large when full grown.” He departed the temple without waiting for her retort.

Veera’s ears twitched and swiveled at the knocking on the frame of her door. “Hey Veera!” She could hear Winters calling from outside. “All good in there?” His uncertain tone was endearing to her. He could be such a boy about certain things.

“Yes Russell, all good as you say. And yes, I am decent. Please come in. How was your exploration?” She inquired.

“Well, I spoke to Ratha. Right prickly bitch she is.” Winters grumbled. Veera looked momentarily shocked but was unable to contain her laughter for long. She had never liked Ratha, but respected her position as priestess. Winters clearly held no such reservations.

“What did she say to you?” Veera managed between peals of laughter.

“Well…she mentioned you and your parents as a…” He scratched his chin trying to find the right word. Veera’s expression became immediately sullen. “Warning, I guess. Said that those who disrespect Valta would meet their end in the forest or some mumbo jumbo like that. I told her to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine, that I’d honor the goddess with deeds.” Winters summarized, not wanting to elaborate any further. “Don’t worry Veera, she’s just got a chip on her shoulder over something. I don’t believe a word she says. When you’re ready, we’ll talk about your father and mother. But today’s my day, yeah?” He looked her in the eyes, wanting her to understand. She nodded back.

“Thank you Russell. I am sorry you had to deal with that unpleasantness.”

“It’s alright. Got some information I needed and broke one of her trophies. Saw that juvenile ursae skull as well. Must be pretty impressive when grown up.”

“So I’m told. I’ve never seen one myself. And wait…you broke one of Ratha’s trophies?!” Veera asked in disbelief. “What happened?” Winters frowned and blushed all at once.

“Let’s just say she said a few things…about you…that I didn’t take kindly to. My fist happened to…interact with the wall on which she’d hung her trophies. One of them didn’t make it.” Veera burst into laughter at his contrite description of events. Her heart swelled at the idea of him defending her.

“Oh my gods, she must have been furious with you! What happened then?” She asked, eager for him to continue.

“Oh nothing much. I just told her to keep the wall open for when I come back with an ursae skull.” He grinned at her, baring his teeth.

“Russell Winters, you will do no such thing!” Veera admonished him, feeling an involuntary twinge of fear.

‘Oooh you’re in trouble now!’ Io stated with glee. ‘She used your full name.’ Winters only shook his head.

“We will see Veera. A kill like that could change our lives. But I have no real plans right now. It was a bit of male bravado, nothing more. Shall we begin?” Winters asked, trying to defuse the situation. Veera still eyed him skeptically, but he knew she wanted to know his story. She eventually nodded at him and fluffed her feathers.

“Would you like some food before we begin?” She offered. “I boiled some eggs last night in the stew. They should be quite delicious.” She indicated a few eggs, still in their shells, sitting next to the fire. Winters nodded, grabbing his canteen and laying it at his side. He looked a question at Veera.

“Do you have a water skin or something?” He’d never seen her carry one.

“No. I usually get enough as I’m working and from the river here.”

“Understood. Would you like one of these?” He held up the metal container. “I’ve got a spare.” Veera’s eyes lit up, but she looked away from him.

“I’m…I’m alright. You’re too kind Russell. I would not want to take one of your few possessions.”

“You’re too noble for your own good Veera. We’re a team, remember? I can’t have you getting dehydrated on me alright? You’ll feel better and be able to work harder. I don’t plan on taking no for an answer here.” She relented under his intense gaze.

“Then I thank you for your kindness. I will treasure it.”

“I hope you’ll use it.” He smiled at her.

“I shall. And I’ll get dirt and grime all over it, just for good measure.” She joked back at him.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about. Here, we can share this for now and I’ll leave it here. My spare is back at my pod. So, out of the fish we’ve got left, which have you enjoyed the most?” Winters asked. Veera contemplated the stack of smoked fish. She grabbed a dark green one from near the top and offered it to him.

“Thanks Veera. Let’s dig in!”

With their hunger sated, Veera came around the fire to sit next to Winters. For a moment they simply sat together, listening to the occasional hissing of raindrops hitting the embers. Veera watched as Winters took a deep breath, centering himself. He looked to her.

“There’s a lot I’m going to have to explain Veera. There is much about this world that you and your people don’t know…couldn’t know. There are things I’m about to tell you that might upset you, might frighten you.” He trailed off, not really knowing how to prepare someone to understand their gods aren’t real.

“I’m a big girl Russell. I will only be upset with you if you lie to me. That you are here, with me, by this fire proves to me that there is much I don’t know about the world; much that I wish to learn. I will not hate you for teaching me.”

“I give you too little credit it seems. My apologies Veera. Io, can you activate B-MASS projection? And I guess you might as well introduce yourself while you’re at it.” Gods I hope this is a good idea. Holding his left wrist level with the ground, he waited as a small orange grid materialized. Veera’s eyes went wide and she reached across him with a single claw extended. When it passed through the image without resistance, she drew back as if burned.

“Russell, what is this? And who is Io?”

‘That would be me.’ The projection warped and shifted until they were staring at a projection of a human woman. She was of slender build and sported a HEL officer’s uniform. Her long hair was tied behind her in a neat bun, with a single lock hanging on the right side of her face. Winters grinned. There was no doubt in his mind.

“Well well Io, I must say you look as beautiful as you sound. I’m impressed.”

‘That’s enough out of you, flatterer.’ The hologram shot a coy look at him before turning to Veera. ‘It is nice to finally make your acquaintance Veera. My name is Io. I am Russell’s VI companion. I have been with him for many months now.’ She stated with satisfaction.

“Uh…hello Io?” Veera ventured, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. “It’s nice to meet you?” Her voice was thick with confusion and trepidation. She looked to Winters as if to say, What the hell is going on here?

“My computer is a bit special Veera.” Winters pointed at his right leg. “When I outfitted myself for this mission I chose to allocate more space in my armor to computing hardware. I’ve increased its ability to perform tasks and calculations. Io here was originally a VI assistant, a pseudo-personality that goes a bit beyond what a standard computer might do. It’s mainly just to add a bit of flair to the otherwise mundane. What you see before you is something different entirely. I…well…” Winters looked up with an embarrassed smile. “I might have made a few unauthorized modifications to her. Those modifications, coupled with the extra power I mentioned before, allowed her to achieve sentience.”

“You don’t mean…” Veera’s eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

‘Yes, in a very real way Russell has created life. Virtual life, but life all the same.’ Io finished for her. Veera simply gaped at the two of them. ‘And no, Veera, he is not a servant of Seil either.’ Winters looked at Veera with the utmost seriousness.

“You alright?”

“I…I think so?”

“Veera, what do you believe the light in the sky of your planet is?”

“You mean Seil?” She asked, confused at the seemingly obvious question.

“Yes, exactly. What do you think Seil actually is? What about Eiur and Auril?”

“I…hrrm. I’ve never really thought about that before.” Veera admitted, running a hand along her crown plumage. “You’re saying you know something about this?”

“I am. Io, show us Veera’s village please, bird’s eye view, and begin pulling back.”

‘Yes sir, combining footage from our descent and data from the Lancer before its destruction. Synthesis complete.’ The image of Io snapped her fingers and was replaced by a top down image of trees, farms, and the village. A small yellow outline showed Veera’s home.

“Recognize this?” Winters asked.

“I do, yes.” Veera breathed softly, feathers shaking now and hair standing on end. She was both enthralled and terrified. “But what does this have to do with the gods?”

“In due time, I promise. Io, halt at continent level.” The view had moved slowly backwards to encompass the entire known area around the village, followed by the plains and northern forests, the desert, and eventually the whole continent. Io placed a green marker to denote Veera’s village.

“What is this Russell?”

“This is what your world looks like Veera, at least one corner of it. This was our view as we crashed from the sky. Take your time.” He sat back, right leg extended, and brought his left elbow to his knee, resting his arm while Veera approached and practically stuck her nose into the projection. After about a minute she looked to Winters.

“Why do I get the feeling this is just the beginning?” She asked with a forced laugh. He tried to look as reassuring as possible.

“Because it is.”