"Hey Oz! Oz, you in here?" Spot called out as he entered the infirmary, Eina and her children in tow. A well dressed ostrich strutted out of an office laboratory and ruffled his feathers, joining them in an immaculately clean room with a row of beds against each wall, complete with diagnostic, monitoring, and emergency surgical tech.

"That is Doctor Oswald to you, young man. Oh my, what have we here? You are not my usual clients, far too cute I daresay."

"Hehe, you're a funny man!"

"Jace!" Eina cried. "I'm so sorry, sir. Please forgive my son."

The ostrich used his lengthy neck to bring his beak right down to Jace's face. "And from where I'm standing all of you furry little creatures are funny looking. But you, madam, you are more than a bit unique."

"Yo, Oz, she doesn't need that shit!" Spot protested hotly. "She risked her life and her kids to get us information about the princess."

"Lady Keiko is alive?" The older man gasped, adjusting his multi focus monocle.

"Alive and well, sir. I'm here at her request," Eina said politely.

"Have your children need of my services, madam?" The doctor offered without reservation.

"Just a check up, Doc. Captain's orders," Spot clarified. "Jace, we're gonna check and make sure you're alright, ok? Then we can play."

"Ok! Those are cool robots!" The young one said, pointing at the robotic arms hanging above the nearest bed. Oswald motioned them to be seated on the cot while Spot placed Jace on the next one over in full view of his mother.

"Now Jace, I want you to be still and listen to what the doctor says. This will be your first check-up, ok? Mommy wants to be sure you're as healthy as can be," she told her son as Spot tried to hide the pity he felt for them all.

"Mmm, ok!" Jace replied easily. With the patient's 'permission' given, Oswald activated the diagnostic tools on the bed and withdrew his stethoscope from his breast pocket. Spot couldn't help a chuckle.

"Don't give me that look, private," the doctor scoffed. "Some of the oldest technology is still the most reliable. Now Jace, I'd like you to breathe in for me please…"

-----

A half hour later Jace left the infirmary with Spot. He and his sister had needed a shower with special shampoo and other treatments to rid themselves of lice, but they were otherwise in good health. Spot had been given a preventative treatment and sent on his way to show Jace some of the palace grounds. Keiko insisted she would stay with her mother, who was now alone with doctor Oswald in his office, which had its own examination table in addition to the technology necessary for genetic sequencing and blood work.

"Miss Eina, I will need to ask you some questions about your medical history and your...augmentations," Oswald said as tactfully as possible. It had been a long time since he'd treated someone like her.

"I understand. Thank you for seeing my children, doctor."

"It is no problem at all, miss. They were delightful patients. Now however, we must focus on you. I understand you come from a very difficult set of circumstances. How many sexual partners have you-"

"I lost the will to keep track after a hundred," she said. Oswald sat back in his chair and nodded quietly.

"Let us...begin there then." Over the next hour and a half the doctor took all manner of skin, fur, blood, and other fluid samples. He examined Eina's body thoroughly, taking extensive notes on the locations that had been altered by the Oro. He was careful with his hands and did his best to explain to her what he was doing with each step, making note whenever she flinched away. Over time it became easier, with Eina eventually convinced that Oswald was not like the men she was familiar with. That the Hippocratic oath of humanity indeed meant something to him.

"Well Eina, the good news is that the diseases you picked up in your former line of work can easily be purged via intravenous antibiotics and antivirals. That's what this particular contraption is all about," he said, pointing to the robotic appendage that had pierced her arm and started an IV. "What concerns me however is...oh good the results are here, let's see...oh. Oh my. Is that...that can't be right. Could it?" The ostrich further adjusted his monocle to ensure he'd read correctly.

"What is it?! Eina asked fearfully, wondering why the doctor had become so worried all of a sudden.

"Eina, did the mnyama that did this to you ever tell you why they chose you?" He asked quietly, looking at her with piercing eyes.

"No. They just told me I was compatible," she whispered, trying to control herself as the room seemed to grow cold. Oz nodded softly, adjusting himself in his chair.

"Indeed. As I'm sure you're aware we all have some small amount of human genetic material within us. For most of the population of Alhamkara that number is somewhere around one to two percent. Much of it dictates brain function and bipedalism, two of the defining traits of our wise guardians. You are special, my dear. You have more."

"What? How much?!" Eina exclaimed as Oswald looked ready to pick up a gun himself.

"Not enough to stop your body from rejecting your implants. Those madmen, culturing and implanting human tissue? Barbaric, sacreligious!"

"Doctor, what's going to happen to me?" Eina demanded, suddenly feeling as though the light green walls and machines were closing in on her. He took her hand and held it gently.

"If I'm successful, nothing untoward," he assured her, hitting a button on the wrist-mounted datapad he wore to keep his hands free. "Commander Octavia, it's Oswald."

"Go ahead doc. Is it one of mine?"

"The woman, sir. I will prepare a full report soon but I need you to authorize two full doses of azure immediately." Silence pervaded as Idris contemplated the request.

"What the hell did they do to her, doc?"

"I do not have time for this, Octavia. Every second wasted is precious. If she doesn't receive a massive boost to her system she will reject her entire visual and reproductive systems at a minimum."

"Did you say reproductive?!" Idris demanded as Eina clapped her hands to her muzzle, feeling icy talons curling around her.

"Commander, now!" The doctor insisted.

"Fine, do it! Full report, my desk tomorrow morning! Fuck those Oro sons of-" Oswald cut off the rest of Octavia's completely justified tirade, moving to a small safe against the wall and presenting his eyes for verification. The cryosafe hissed open and he immediately grabbed two inhalers that contained vibrant, pulsing blue mist.

"Medical grade azure, my lady. Now please, breathe deeply and hold it in." Oswald administered the drug and activated every monitoring device in his possession, tracking everything from her blood pressure and heart rate to her white blood cell count and hormonal activity. "Eina, if the princess had not found you when she did you would have been dead within the week. I will do everything to ensure you live to see your children grow up, so please stay with me. Good, now the second dose. If you feel yourself slipping away just lean back. I've got you. That's it, thank you my dear. Now rest, please."

The ostrich brought up a second control panel for his instruments, quickly hooking himself up to a nutrient and caffeine IV as Eina's eyes fluttered and she fell back onto the examination table. He quickly adjusted it so she was reclining as comfortably as possible before returning to his readouts. Every minute he observed her eyes and the optical nerves within, relieved to see a clearing of internal bleeding as the azure catalysed a fusion of her tissues. "Good, progress. You're a resilient one, my dear. Now let's see if we can get any information on your ovaries," he muttered, directing a powerful imaging device at the woman's abdomen. "By humanity...what did they do to you?"

-----

"You fought well, Jace, but I'd be a piss poor Sekhama if I lost to you," Spot chuckled as he carried the sleeping boy back to the infirmary. A few trees climbed and ponds accidentally dunked in had worn the tyke out at last. It was long after midnight when he returned, finding an unexpected individual waiting for him just outside in the hallway of steel and cold artificial light, the hallmarks of the home of the palace's elite anti-terrorism force.

"I see he finally burned off that coffee," Octavia smiled ruefully.

"Sir, what's going on?"

"I'd like to know that myself. Here."

"What is this? A preliminary report from Oz?" Spot shifted his cheetah shaped baggage to one arm and took the datapad in the other. "Handful of venereal diseases, antibiotics and antivirals, decent vitals otherwise and...wait...that can't be right." Spot's eyes grew wide with shock and hatred as he continued to read. She'd been made an experiment, a living tissue incubator.

"I believe they intended to harvest her if the grafts took. Oz gave her two hits of azure. If she wakes up again she'll live, or so he thinks. She might not. That's a lot of juice," Idris explained coldly with all the detachment of a seasoned warrior. Spot had enough fire in his eyes for both of them.

"When are we going after them?"

"As soon as I hold the press conference that will hopefully convince the other mnyamas to sit this one out. Hell, I doubt most of them even know Oro have gone this far. On the other hand...this screams corporate. It may be worth the risk to go in hot, secure assets, arrest some stuffed shirts who think they own the world by virtue of their bank accounts. One way or another I'm making the call within twenty four hours."

"This is fucked up, sir. If you go in on them I want to be there," the young one volunteered. Idris fixed him with a stern look.

"This isn't a game, Spot. You're not a knight."

"And she's no maiden! I know this is real!" The boy growled. The captain sported a feral grin as he took back his datapad.

"Then get some sleep tomorrow, kid. I've got the information I need now to justify sending these heathens six feet under without a trial. Net services and discount pharmaceuticals my ass. Not even a decent front, just enough to keep the regulars off their back. Make sure your trigger finger is itchy."

"Yes sir, I'll be ready."

"Good." Idris departed for his office as Spot continued into the infirmary, setting Jace down on a bed that his sister had already claimed, unable to remain awake any longer. He covered them both with a blanket before moving to Oswald's office, stopping short of the entry and peering through the small window in the door. Only his hands over his mouth stopped him from screaming. The doctor had Eina hooked up to almost every machine in the room and was slicing open her chest to get at the implants beneath her breasts. Spot thought he might gag as the doctor gently withdrew a blood covered, silicone disc from her body. He looked just as repulsed as Spot felt, setting aside the offending object before injecting the site with various healing and disinfecting agents. When her right chest had been sealed shut with an ultrafine cauterizing laser he moved onto the next one.

Spot tore himself away from the door and tried to stop his body from doing everything at once. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to puke. He wanted to kill. In the end, he settled on walking back to the beds and pushing one up against where those two innocent cubs rested. He wanted to be sure they'd wake up to someone they knew. He tried to forget Eina and what was happening in the next room, praying for sleep to take him. I don't know how you found her, lady Keiko, but damn if it wasn't a moment too soon.

-----

Keiko fell to the floor the moment she entered the 'shrine', completely and utterly drained. The adrenaline of her first kill had long faded, leaving a cold void that sapped her energy and poisoned her mind. When Seth closed and locked the door behind her the sound of night surrounded them. She could faintly hear insects and frogs, as well as the occasional call of a bird or larger beast. It reminded her a bit of the palace. It was enough to get her standing with Seth's help. He'd removed the mask.

"What's done is done, my lady."

"You can say that all you want, but it doesn't feel that way," she lamented. "He begged, Seth. He begged for his life and I still killed him. I'm honestly not sure who or what I am right now."

"You're the princess of Alhamkara, and a damn well trained psionic from what I can tell." Seth wasn't sure exactly what part Keiko didn't like, but she growled menacingly at him before turning and marching to the bathroom without saying another word. He stared after her as the sound of the shower became audible in the small space. "That was...the wrong answer, it would seem."

Seth removed his armor and carefully placed it on its pedestal, unused to having completed a kill with no damage whatsoever. With nothing else to do, he brought up the program in his lens and checked Talon's status. The light was still green and he could see that the cassowary had cut a path through a couple of slums before taking a direct route over the rooftops to a position from where he could observe the front gate of the palace. Argos and Sybela's icons remained offline. He had no messages from the rabbit either.

"Very well...the Oro it is." Seth picked himself up and sat next to the bathroom door, listening to the water and trying not to think about the woman beneath it all. The wall behind him lightened considerably, providing illumination as the rest of the shrine mimicked the dead of night. Articles about partnerships regarding development of generic pharmaceuticals and new frontiers in body enhancement and modification wore thin quickly. Seth and every other experienced player knew it was a front, but fronts existed for a reason. The only thing he bothered to commit to memory was the name of the corporation that partnered with the Oro, Psygenics Ltd. By then Talon had signaled job completed and confirmed the girl had made it into the palace. His marker vanished and the program shut down.

"And it's back to her," Seth muttered as the night replayed in his head. He recalled the cut. He'd gone for the back of the knee first, then the ankle. The ill fated fool had already dropped his pants. Then came her face, and the shot. "Low noise profile, non-elemental discharge, no exit wound. Someone taught the princess the best round for point blank assassinations…" Seth got lost in his own head chasing the implications, only coming back to the present when he realized Keiko had been in the shower for over an hour. He was about to consider her privacy less important than his need to know she hadn't attempted to drown herself when the hissing flow of the water finally stopped. Seth sighed deeply and rested his head against the wall, content to wait a bit longer now that he knew Keiko was still functioning. When she exited the bathroom, clad in her silk nightgown, she didn't seem surprised to see him.

"There aren't any dry towels left," she apologized quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"I'll shower tomorrow morning. Did it wash away?"

"Not really." Keiko checked her lens, it was already three in the morning. "Are we busy tomorrow?"

"Is it we already?" Seth asked curiously. Keiko scoffed and walked past him.

"I don't have the will for your games, Seth. I think I'd just like this night to end."

"Understood," he acknowledged, standing to avail himself of the bathroom. When he returned he found Keiko was already underneath the covers, facing away from him. She'd replaced her ear piercings and they shimmered gently in what little light was left. Not wanting to be presumptuous, Seth walked around the futon, grabbed his pillow, and laid down on the floor opposite her. His eyes had been closed for only a moment when he heard Keiko's voice.

"Seth?" She whispered.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Are you clothed?"

"Yes, my lady," he confirmed softly. A long pause followed as Keiko made up her mind.

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea but...I don't think I'm strong enough to spend tonight alone."

Seth replied in a tone she'd never heard from him before. Until then it had always been business, the voice of a man who killed for credits, or his 'lady Keiko' tone, reverential in a way she found absurd given his profession. "Yeah, you won't find me judging you," he said, almost as if she were Sybela, or maybe Talon or Argos. It had her wondering briefly about the faces behind those names. She waited patiently as Seth replaced the pillow, pulled back the comforter, and settled himself down about a foot from her.

"What was your first kill like?" She finally asked when he looked over at her. He took in the faint glow of her golden eyes, remembering the bloody past.

"It is...not worth discussing, my lady."

"Seth, how can you say that?"

"Because tonight you chose to kill a man you did not have to. In a second you debated the ethics of your proposed deed and decided, voluntarily, to take a life. My first kill was forced upon me, part of the reality of living on the streets. It was pitiful, a fight over scraps of food between boys who would barely be considered men by polite society. I did nothing so noble as saving a woman from a life of debasement."

"Seth…" she pleaded, letting out a small breath as the smooth skin of one of his fingers brushed against the fur of her hand.

"Nobody even paid you," he whispered proudly, looking back at the ceiling and keeping the rest of his body flat and rigid, entirely focused on their minute point of contact, the spark between their fingers. Hearing it from his own mouth just made it ever more clear how different their two worlds were.

"I don't feel like I did a good thing...Seth!" She exclaimed softly as he boldly took her hand in his. Her breathing immediately went shallow, her mind forced to address the fact that he was very much in deliberate and sensual contact with her. To her great surprise he was smiling, still looking up at the ceiling of his little sanctuary.

"This is but the opening act, my lady. Savannah is safely inside the palace, along with two children. Talon confirmed it to me when you were attempting to cleanse yourself. Be patient for now. I don't think the full gravity of what you did tonight will be realized for some time."

Keiko knew his words weren't meant to help, but they didn't hurt either. She'd never have believed consolation from a mercenary anyway. None of that mattered though. What mattered was the heat, the warmth shared between his palm and fingers and the pads of her paw. "Seth...what you're doing right now is probably punishable by death," she whispered.

"Probably?" He couldn't help the smallest of chuckles. He was holding the princess' hand; that demanded at least a bit of self-reflection.

"No man has ever been that insane before."

"Is it helping?" He inquired earnestly.

Her heart fluttered as she answered with the truth. "Yes."

"Alright then."

"I'm not joking, Seth."

"Then let's hope by the time you return to Commander Octavia my kill sheet is long enough he considers a stay of my execution, services rendered to the crown and all that."

"And you shouldn't joke about such things either!" Keiko raised her voice and drove the point home with narrowed eyes. He didn't want to believe it was some form of caring he saw in them. He nodded.

"Ok, lady Keiko. I'm sorry."

"Goodnight Seth," she whispered, leaving him to silently process the fact that the future queen of his nation had wished him goodnight.

"And to you, my lady." She turned away from him to rest on her back, but his hand remained firmly clasped in hers.

-----

"Mr Spot? Mr. Spot?" A tiny hand jostled the young wild dog awake and he opened his eyes to see Eina's two children looking at him, along with lady Keiko's personal handmaiden, a gazelle by the name of Lyria.

"Hey, you doing alright, Jace?" Spot asked, righting himself on the medbay cot and looking around. The bed behind him was cloaked by mobile drapery and he could hear the steady beeping of a heartrate monitor. Doctor Oswald was sleeping in the bed across the way, still clad in the vestments of his profession.

"Can I see my mommy?" Jace asked. "The bird doctor said she needs to sleep but I want to make sure she's ok." Spot looked at Lyria and little Keiko. The young cheetah girl remained silent but he could see she was just as eager as her brother.

"Lyria?" Spot asked. She shook her head.

"I only arrived after the doctor finished his treatment this morning. I wasn't expecting to find these two dears."

Spot heaved a sigh but caved to his own curiosity. He looked at Jace. "No matter what you see, Jace, listen to the beeping, alright? Hear how steady it is? That means your mom is doing ok."

"Uh, alright. Can I see her?" The young cheetah asked again.

"Yeah, come here kid," Spot acquiesced, picking the cheetah up and taking his sister by the hand. They walked slowly around his bed and stood for a moment before Eina's bed. Lyria slowly pulled the covers back.

"Mom!" Keiko shouted. Jace began crying immediately. Spot closed his eyes and shook his head, holding the two children to his body as tightly as he could. He could barely make out Eina's form under the tubes, metal, and bandages. Her chest had been covered with an antiseptic dressing, necessitated by the surgical removal of her implants. Multiple narrow tubes had been inserted into her chest and abdomen, and multiple IVs, including an azure drip, were hooked up to her arms. A mask of some sort covered her face and a breathing tube had been inserted via her mouth as a precaution while Oswald took a much needed nap.

"Lyria, I think you should take them away now. Jace, Keiko, I want you to listen to me," Spot requested softly. "I've seen men in far worse shape than your mother make full recoveries. Some even got shiny new limbs. Oswald is the best doctor I know."

"But what if the bad men come for her again?" Jace sobbed, rubbing his eyes. "Is mommy going to be ok?"

"You remember the big, strong lion from last night?" Spot asked. Jace nodded and wiped his nose on Spot's shoulder. "He and I are going to go do something about them. The two of you are going to stay right here in the palace. They'll never touch you or your mother again. For now go with Lyria, she cares for the princess. The moment your mom wakes up she'll bring you to her," he promised with an imploring look. The gazelle went misty eyed at the mention of Keiko.

"Is it true, Spot? This woman saw lady Keiko?" The gazelle asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"Yes, and she confirmed to the captain that she's alive and unharmed, something about a certain code phrase. I guess they can modify it if she's in trouble. I don't know what she's getting mixed up in out there, but she claims to be ok."

"Oh that girl...always had a rebellious streak, but this?!" Lyria's rant was interrupted by another sniffle from Jace. "Oh look at me. I should be thanking humanity that her majesty is alive."

"The captain said Lady Keiko wants them to tend to the plants?" Spot said, trying to remember everything though the haze of hatred in his head.

"Yes, a couple of adorable street children watering the solar? That does sound like Lady Keiko. Very well, Jace and Keiko please come with me."

"Soon as she's awake. Be brave," Spot promised, petting Jace's head and setting the cheetah cub down. Lyria took the children by the hand and let them out of the infirmary, casting a final glance at the Sekhama as the door slid shut.

"Now this is one of the most important jobs in all the palace," she assured them. "You'll earn your places here in no time, my dears."

Spot watched them go, waiting until the doors closed to bring a hand to his eyes. He looked to the ceiling and felt the tears coming, tears and rage. He could hear Oswald walking up behind him as he turned and rested his hands on the railing of Eina's cot, supporting his lean and muscled frame. "You should still be asleep old man. Thank you...thank you."

"She's not out of the woods yet, pup," the avian lamented, checking his instruments and readouts on the personal computer attached to his wrist.

"How long would she have lived?" Spot asked.

"Your tone makes it clear you don't want to know."

"I don't, Oz. But I need to. I need to know the monster I'm going to fight."

"You know what she is, don't you, Spot?"

"I don't care that she's a whore! I'm street trash too! Shut up and tell me, Oz!" Spot yelped, shaking his head violently as he looked at all the plastic and metal surrounding her body.

"As you wish, Sekhama," Oswald agreed, making clear what he thought of Spot's self-characterization. "The implants in her breasts were full of immunosuppressors. I doubt she had any idea. Without them she'd already be dead. Even with them she wouldn't have survived the month. The azure is brute forcing her native genome as we speak. Hopefully it will render her malleable enough to accept the human tissue they implanted into her. If she recovers…"

"When she recovers!" Spot insisted. Oz didn't humor him.

"If she recovers, I'm not sure exactly what she will be...something between faunum and human. I daresay those corporate vultures would pay millions of credits for this kind of specimen. Even here she will need to be defended."

"Is there anything I can do?" Spot asked defiantly, trying to ignore the images Oz had conjured in his mind. His hands were shaking on the rail of the gurney.

"Kill them, young man. Kill them all dead and come back alive."