The smooth stones shifted under the boots of Doctor Ramus and Pilot Faust as they approached the crystal clear creek. It had been only five hours and they’d already exhausted their supply of fresh water. The intense heat was sapping the energy right out of the two of them. The doctor had made sure they’d both been drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated but that meant emptying their canteens rather quickly.

Their boots were waterproof so neither of them hesitated to wade into the ankle-high water. The doctor bent over and briefly waved his handheld scanner over the pristine looking flow. He gave a nod to indicate that it was safe to drink, at least as far as he could tell. The scanner picked up no obvious toxins and no malicious bacteria that it was capable of detecting. Of course being so far in the past it was entirely possible that the water was teeming with bacteria that modern medical science had no knowledge of.

“I’ve already got thirty seven specimens and about a dozen DNA samples stored in my scanner’s databank. I say we push on for another half hour or so and then start trekking back.” the doctor commented as he began to fill his canteen in the surprisingly chilly stream.

Faust simply nodded in approval. She’d had a few hours to cool off, if one could call it that in the tremendous heat, and planned on confronting the captain when they returned to the ship. She knew he’d probably had time to calm his own temper over the crash-landing ordeal but she wasn’t so sure of how he’d respond to her little unauthorized excursion. Over the last five hours the doctor had stopped to collect every bug, fungus or plant sample he could get his hands on and with the aid of Faust’s marksmanship they’d used a dart-tracker to profile the DNA of several larger animals as well. The dart-tracker, which fired a projectile half the size of a grain of rice, was usually used to tag a native sentient who wasn’t in a talkative mood and track him or her back to a village or encampment. It performed several other functions however, like DNA profiling and audio recording to allow their translator units to get a head-start on learning the native language.

“How long until Tsankov comes out of the regen chamber?” Faust asked her colleague before splashing a little of the cool water onto her face.

The doctor glanced at the standard issue Service timepiece he was now wearing on his left wrist, he’d almost forgotten about Tsankov. “Shouldn’t be for another eight hours. He should be fine when his cycle completes but I’d prefer to be there just in case he still has any issues.”

That suited the pilot just fine. She’d desperately wanted to get away from the ship for a little while but the unrelenting heat was beginning to take quite a toll on her. She didn’t know a whole lot about Ramus but one thing she did know was that he originally hailed from Alpha Corvis II, a sweltering planet covered in dense jungle and tropical islands. He was no-doubt having a much easier time with the heat than she was. He glanced over and saw her in thought. “Thinking that I’m having an easier time with this climate were you?”

She snapped from her thoughts and looked up at him.

“Well you can put that presumption to rest dear. My home-world may be every bit as hot as it is here but it’s also blessed with 20% less gravity. I’ve never had to deal with Earth-typical gravity and heat like this at the same time. It’s quite exhausting if I must be honest.”

Faust smiled. It was always nice to be reminded that your fellow crew mates were every bit as human, or at least a frail, as you were and that they too had their own difficulties. Or maybe it was just a case of misery loves company. The Service expedition jacket that she was wearing had protected her from scratches by countless thorny plant species, some of them possibly poisonous, and its fabric both insulated in cold weather and breathed during hot but in an effort to relieve her discomfort the pilot decided to remove it. In order to do so she first had to remove the backpack that was carrying much of their equipment. She was careful to place it onto a large stone to keep it from falling into the water despite the fact that it was totally waterproof in its sealed state.

His canteen refilled the doctor touched the small button on the side of the unit that activated the ultra-intense UV sterilization system that was built into it. A moment later the small green light next to the button blinked twice, signaling that the water was now safe to drink. He put the canteen to his lips and took a large sip. “Oh my gods, that’s refreshing like you just wouldn’t believe.” he commented to Faust.

Done with washing the perspiration from her skin and needing to hydrate the pilot reached for her canteen which was strapped to the side of her backpack. She had placed her jacket on top of the pack and had to fumble to move it out of the way to get to the canteen. She did so with outstretched arms and as a rock shifted under her foot she nearly lost her balance and tumbled into the creek.

“You okay?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah I’m fine.” she said as she wiped away some of the water that had splashed up into her face and hair. “Ass is a little wet though.” Emily laughed.

She reached for the canteen again but paused as an unfamiliar sound erupted from the brush about ten meters up the bank. Her eyes went wide as she looked over to the doctor who had a similar expression on his face. So far they’d seen nothing dangerous on their little trek but they knew very well that the local predators were nothing to toy around with, proton blaster or no. Ramus lifted two fingers to his eyes and pointed at the bush where the sound had come from. It was behind Faust and he’d actually seen it rustle at the same time they’d heard the sound. She spun around slowly, her hand gingerly making its way down to the blaster holstered at her side. She kept her gazed fixed but there was nothing there, just a bush. The only sound was the soothing trickle of the stream that filled the air. The doctor and the pilot sat motionless for a moment.

The bush began to rustle again, just a bit at first and then a little more. When the feathered and snarling creature about the size of a large turkey burst forth from it they were both taken by surprise at its speed. Faust nearly fell back into the water again as she fumbled with the safety catch that held her sidearm snugly in its holster. The creature made it to within 2 meters from the pilot before she managed to level her weapon and pull the trigger. The animal recoiled from the shot and fell with a loud splash into the creek. From the size of the splash it was apparent that the creature was quite heavy and solidly built.

This was not the first time that either of the two Honshu crew members had been in danger but it had come so quickly and as such a surprise that they both sat silent for a moment, just staring at each other and listening to the forest. Faust stood slowly from her crouching position and moved over to where the creature was lying against a rock. A slow trickle of blood tinting the downstream water a pinkish-red. She fired off another shot into its body just to make sure that it was dead. That was one lesson the captain had instilled in all of them, when in doubt, keep shooting. Certain that it wasn’t getting up she approached a little closer and could see that while short in stature it was quite muscular and was armed with a deadly row of teeth as well as some pretty formidable looking talons on its bird-like feet.

“This oughtta make a nice sample for your collection Doc.” Emily smiled, a little joviality returning to her demeanor despite being quite shaken up.

“You plan on carrying it back?” the Doctor chuckled. He too appeared to be responding with humor to mask his apprehension.

With no warning whatsoever another of the screeching sounds that the now-dead creature had made came from a nearby bush, then another, then another. The animals that made them popped into view in rapid succession. The doctor and pilot were surrounded on three sides.

“Faust!”

She began to back away, toward the doctor. Her pistol was drawn and aimed squarely at the chest of one of the creatures. She tried to reach for her backpack and jacket with her free hand, never taking her eye off of her target but In a cruel twist of fate that same damned rock shifted again and she slipped backward. The doctor rushed forward and caught her but not before she lost her grip on the raygun and it splashed into the stream. The unit itself was waterproof, so it was recoverable, but as she fell the three beasts began to rush forward. They let out screeches that made no mistake as to their intentions. They were a hunting group and they planned on making a meal out of the two intruders who’d wondered into their territory. Ramus pulled the pilot to her feet. She reached out for her backpack and it was only the doctor’s powerful backwards tug that kept her hand from being snapped off by sharp teeth. The creature’s mouth missed by inches and instead bit directly into her pack.

“Move!” he yelled at her as he tugged once again. She didn’t want to leave the gear behind but there was no choice. In a flash they were out of the stream and running full force into the dense undergrowth of an unfamiliar wilderness. Given the choice they obviously would have wanted to run back towards the ship but they’d had no option other than to go deeper into the forest. As they ran they could hear the three creatures, and what seemed like possibly more of them, shuffling around in the brush all around them. Ramus had studied the habits of many pack hunting animals and knew what they were up to. They were trying to encircle their prey.

“The big tree!” the doctor pointed to a massive old tree of unfamiliar species about 30 meters ahead in a small clearing. He knew full well that the creatures were actually herding them towards the clearing where they’d ambush them but he was hoping they weren’t used to hunting species that could climb as well as apes could.

Sprinting at full force Faust should never have made the mistake of turning her head but when she heard what sounded like one of the beasts nipping at her heels she reacted instinctively and turned to look. There was nothing there but when she turned back she got hit squarely in the face by a branch that Ramus had just pushed aside. Something went into her eye and it hurt terribly but all she could do was clutch it with her right hand and keep running. Just as the doctor had suspected several of the small dinos leaped from bushes as they entered the clearing but he paid them no heed.

“Up!” he grabbed Faust and gave her a firm push to get her started. It never ceased to amaze him the talent human beings showed for climbing when their lives were in danger. The pilot was up in a flash and he quickly followed but not before one of the little bastards jumped and nipped the back of his left leg when he momentarily slipped trying to find purchase on the tree bark which was slick with a type of fungal growth. There was a moment of extreme tension as the two humans looked down and waited to see if the little angry turkey-beasts could climb. They could, but only a meter or so before losing their grip and falling back to the ground. Had the circumstances been different it would have actually been funny watching the one really determined one repeatedly try to climb the tree only to keep falling with a hard thud onto his back. Each time he let out a pained screech and the others almost seemed to mock him with the sounds they made. After about the tenth try, however, he stopped and settled on simply pacing around the tree with the others.

“You okay?” Emily Faust asked the doctor as she helped him settle down on the large branch on which she too was perched.

He groaned as he tore the fabric away from his leg to inspect his wound, “I should be fine,” he winced, “so long as that thing’s bite isn’t septic. What about you?”

Her eye was already swelling up and it was apparent that she was in a fair amount of pain. “I’ll live…hurts like hell though.”

“Did I do that?” he asked.

“Not your fault Doc, I looked back when we were running for our lives and didn’t see you swing the branch out of your way.” she pointed to his leg, “You have anything for that? To clean it I mean.”

The doctor was still wearing his pack. It was of little use however. “No, I’m afraid not. I put my med-kit in your pack, mine’s just full of specimen jars.”

Faust hung her head in despair. “Well, at least you have your canteen.”

He checked it, “Mostly full, that’s good.”

“Should be enough to last until help comes.” she commented.

“My poor dear, I can only imagine how badly you would like to avoid calling the ship and asking for help.”

“My ego is not that big Doctor.” her expression couldn’t hide her embarrassment completely though. She really didn’t want to have to call for help but there was little choice. They’d lost her sidearm and the Doctor had stubbornly refused to carry one of his own. From the looks of the little monsters down below they weren’t going to be leaving any time soon. The doctor, deciding to spare her the embarrassment, fumbled with his tele-wave but looked rather surprised when it didn’t respond. He removed it from his hip and gave it to Faust to inspect. Dead power supply. It’s possible that it had been damaged in the crash and although it had shown a green-light earlier in the morning that it was no longer holding a proper charge.

“Care to do the honors then my dear?” the doctor smiled at his companion.

Emily returned a snide smile and reached for her belt. She tapped the tele-wave and it made the familiar sound indicating that it was active. “Faust to Honshu, do you read?”

Silence. It must not have gotten through. They should be well within range but they’d been in situations before where local magnetic anomalies, solar flares, or other phenomenon had severely limited the range of their tele-wave units. Not to worry though, every tele-wave had a high-gain antenna that allowed the user to extend its range such that communication clear across a planet was possible under ideal circumstances. The doctor watched as the color drained from Emily Faust’s face as she went to extend the antenna.

“What’s wrong?”

“The antenna...”

“Yes?”

“It’s broken off.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You know Ansul,” the captain yelled over the sound of the Martian’s welding torch, “when I said ‘find me something to do’ I didn’t necessarily mean digging a hole by hand out in the melting hot sun.” he said it jovially. He was trying to keep his spirits up, especially around the crewmen who were toiling on the outside of the ship.

Ansul chuckled but didn’t take his eyes off of the work he was doing to patch some minor breeches in the hull. “You and Fizril are the biggest sons-of-bitches on this planet, I figured digging tail fins out would be a breeze for you two.”

The captain couldn’t argue with that, he and the Antarian crewman were definitely the largest and strongest of the crew. There was no way they were going to be able to dig the fins completely out of the Earth that they were submerged in but they would need to be at least partially dug free if the ship was to ever be able to lift. Everyone was working hard. Tarsik believed that his crew was one of the best around and that they were always diligent about their work, but today that rang especially true. Rather than be demoralized by their current situation it seemed as though each crewman was digging deep and putting in the extra effort to get them space-borne again.

Ansul and his men had already repaired the high-gain scanners and after getting the hull totally ship-shape again Ansul had promised to start working on some solar energy collectors to slowly start recharging the ship’s batteries. The captain held out no hopes that it would be enough to build up the charge they needed to fire up the core. That would take decades with solar collectors, but if it could at least provide their daily energy requirements without further depleting the batteries they’d be in good shape. Meanwhile Herschel and a couple of other capable men were having a brainstorming session, trying to figure out ways to lift the nose of the ship so that if they could somehow find the power for the engines that they’d be able to attempt a lift.

“Still no word from Faust or the doctor?” Ansul called down.

“Not a damned thing. I’m going to hand them their asses when they get back here. That is if they don’t get themselves eaten by some space-blasted giant lizard first.”

Ansul could hear the twinge of concern in the captain’s voice. He also knew that despite the concern the captain had every confidence in Emily’s ability to handle herself. “Do you think it could possibly get any hotter?” he yelled to Tarsik.

Tarsik let out a strained chuckle, “I will admit that I’ve been all over creation and very few places have I ever set-boot that were as hot as this blasted place.”

“The temperature will rise this afternoon sir, just before it storms.” Fizril decided to chime in.

“You think that’s going to happen again today?” the captain asked.

“I have seen climates like this, I can’t be certain, but I think it highly likely sir.”

Tarsik simply nodded and went back to digging. Years back he’d won a tracked vehicle in a poker game, it’d had an attachment for digging but at the time he’d not seen it as something useful to have onboard the ship and had traded it for a fourth nega-grav sledge. Doing all of this digging by hand it was a decision he now regretted. Luckily for him Fizril was quite the helper. Being somewhat younger, not chronologically, but in terms of physical maturity than himself the Antarian had a stronger back for the type of work. Tarsik desperately wanted to avoid showing any signs of weakness in front of his men so whenever his back would begin to ache too much he would stop and ask Ansul a question or find some other excuse to pause momentarily. Finally, just when he thought the Antarian would never tire and that he’d have to struggle to keep pace with him all day Fizril stopped and rested his hands atop the handle of the shovel.

“Tired Crewman?”

“Just taking a short break sir, if that is permissible of course.”

Tarsik tried to hide his delight at the opportunity to take a break himself. He attempted to keep a stern and commanding expression on his face despite wanting to crack a smile, “If you feel it’s necessary, of course crewman.”

He dropped his own shovel and turned to the men toiling on and around the ship. “Everyone,” he yelled loudly, “take five. Chef has some refreshments in the loading bay. Cool off, hydrate yourselves and grab a bite to eat. That’s an order.”

Ansul was the only one to hesitate, he informed the captain that he was nearly done and that he’d join them in the shade of the loading bay in just a few minutes. Everyone dropped what they were doing and headed for the relative comfort of the indoors. To conserve power they were only running the ship’s ventilation fans and not the cooling units so it was still terribly hot inside but at least they were out of the sun. Most crewmen took to sitting on the loading ramp, it was the best of both worlds. Shelter from the sun but unlike the interior of the ship there was a slight breeze to be felt. If only the humidity was lower the shade might have provided a little more relief but they were all content to get whatever small amount of comfort they could.

Lunch was simple, ham sandwiches for the humans and other omnivores and a simple salad for the non-carnivorous species. Liquid refreshment came in the form of water with a mild fruit flavoring agent cooled to a nice chill by Chef’s improvised cooling unit, basically a shipping crate full of dry ice with some coiled copper tubing run through it. After helping himself to five or so ham sandwiches the captain strode down the ramp and proceeded to remove his shirt.

The Service uniform top was fantastic for working in the sun. It reflected the heat but allowed air to reach his skin. Still, nothing felt as good as a gentle breeze blowing directly against your skin when you were as hot as he was. Most of the men had long since stripped down to bare essentials, a few of them even making cut-off shorts from some of their own personal trousers. Tarsik would have skewered them for cutting up their Service uniforms.

Poor Ansul had it the worst, not only was he still not at one hundred percent thanks to his close call with the lightning strike but his light fur covering did nothing to protect his sensitive pale Martian skin against such a powerful sun so he had no choice but to stay fully clothed. They’d visited Earth a couple of times during their service together and even in their own century Ansul had always complained that Earth was just too close to the Sun.

It was no surprise to most of the crewmen that Captain Tarsik carried many scars but a few of the new recruits took notice, most notably Fizril.

“You must have seen many battles Captain.”

“What?” Tarsik turned, “Oh, my scars. Yeah I’ve been in a few scrapes. At least I’ve managed to keep my face pretty for the most part.” he chuckled and most of the men joined in.

Fizril’s feline mouth curved up into a grin. “I have heard that you are a formidable fighter sir. It is an honor for one born of the Antarian warrior caste to serve under such a captain.”

Tarsik approached the crewman who was still sitting and gnawing on his sandwich. “Warrior caste? What in space are you doing serving on a Service vessel then?” after he spoke the words he hoped that it had not come off as offensive, it was a genuine question.

Fizril finished chewing and swallowed his last bite before answering. “It pains me to admit this Captain,” he glanced around at the other men who were all looking at him, “but I am what is known as a conscientious objector.”

“An Antarian objector?” Ansul interjected.

“I do not...agree, with many of the choices my people make. There was a time millennia ago when our warrior caste were truly warriors, fighting in the defense of our species. For our homes and our families. It is my opinion that with current politics back home our caste has been reduced to nothing more than political leverage to keep our colony worlds in check. It is highly dishonorable. At least this...” he spread his arms, “is an honest living.”

Tarsik thought about it for a moment. “That’s very courageous of you Fizril. Not just the whole dissenting thing but also having the guts to just come out and say it in front of everyone here.”

“Thank you sir.” he dipped his head in reverence, “Your words honor me.”

Tarsik was beginning to like this cat more and more. Then suddenly he saw an expression appear on Fizril’s face that he’d never seen before. Being a non-human it was hard to read.

“Sir, would you care to participate in a....” he struggled to find the word then gave up, “Hacheska?”

Tarsik turned to Ansul who simply shrugged as he ate his sandwich.

“Forgive.” Fizril spoke again, “I believe there is no word in your language.”

“Wait a minute.” Tarsik snapped, “You’re not using a translator? You actually speak Standard?!”

Most aliens, especially those with anatomy significantly different than that of a human simply spoke their native tongue and it was translated by the listener’s uni-trans. Often it was detectable since the speaker’s mouth and the translated words didn’t match up perfectly but since the captain had seen from a distance, but never spoken to, an Antarian before he simply assumed that the Antarian language matched up decently well with Standard.

“Is that surprising sir?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. I mean, no offense intended of course Crewman. It’s just that most species as different as ours can’t speak each other’s language.”

Crewman Fizril nodded respectfully in acknowledgement. “I have never known a human to speak Antar-tongue. It is possible however, though difficult, for us to reproduce your language.”

“Well hell, I’ve got even more respect for you now Crewman, that’s a lot of hard work just to be able to speak to us without uni-trans.”

“Thank you Captain.”

“So what was that word you were saying? Uni-trans must not have picked it up since the rest of it was in Standard.”

“I believe...” Fizril paused for a moment, “the closest analogue would be....practice fight.”

Ansul laughed and nearly choked on his sandwich.

Tarsik smiled, “Crewman, are you saying that you want to wrestle?”

It was hard to discern but the look on the Antarian’s face appeared to be one of puzzlement. Then a moment later he responded, “Yes, I believe that is what I am proposing Captain. On my world we test our strength against worthy opponents for fun and sport.”

“And you think I’d make a good opponent?”

“I have heard about your travels sir, in fact it is one of the reasons that I sought out the Honshu to serve aboard. If the stories are true then you are indeed a worthy opponent.”

Tarsik had no idea which stories his furry friend had heard and how much they’d been embellished but the fact that the big cat had purposefully tried to get onboard the Honshu to serve under him was an honor. Also if their smiles were any judge the crew looked like they were eager for a little entertainment.

“Now you’re just trying to flatter me Fizril.” he paused for a moment. “Hell, why not?” the captain belted out and his men cheered.

“Hey,” he pointed at Fizril, “no claws though eh?” the men all chuckled and Fizril nodded in agreement.

Tarsik made his way to a position about five meters in front of the ramp. He picked up a nearby wrench and proceeded to draw a large circle into the Earth. He watched as Fizril, still standing at the top of the ramp, raised his ears in an expression of confusion.

“This, Fizril, is how my ancestors fought. They were known as Sumo Warriors. They met inside a circle like this one and used their sheer size and power to force one another out of it. He who remained inside the circle was the victor, he who was forced out, the loser. Understand?”

“Intriguing.” was Fizril’s only response. With that he unbuttoned the work shirt that he was wearing and tossed it to the ground. The Antarian was nowhere near as bulky as the captain, his mass was much leaner, but the muscle he did appear to have looked incredibly toned and Tarsik could only guess at his actual strength. The big cat definitely had more reach than him. Boxing or fighting in any other fashion would have been tricky but he hoped that his sheer bulk would keep him from being too badly embarrassed in front of his men. Fizril, covered from head to toe in a blue-ish grey fur had a little patch of dark grey that ran down his spine and stuck up slightly like a tiny mohawk. He also had a nearly cream colored belly which reminded Tarsik of a standard house cat. He’d never dare say it, however, for fear of offending the crewman. As Fizril strode down the ramp toward the circle Tarsik began stretching.

Ansul climbed up onto a cargo crate and announced, “Combatants take your places.”

Tarsik looked up at his Martian friend with an expression that said “Seriously?” but let him continue.

“Captain Tarsik, Crewman Fizril, please stand at opposing edges of the circle.”

The two did as they were told. All of the men were now sitting on the ramp or on crates so as to be able to see the match happening on the ground below, still in the shade of the Honshu of course. Ansul lifted his hand, “Ready....” he dropped his hand quickly, “Go!”

The two behemoths rushed forward, Tarsik reached out to wrap his arms around the alien but Fizril brought up a fist and connected with the captain’s sternum. This brought him to a screeching halt. He grabbed his chest and gasped for air, Fizril took the opportunity and pounced like a hunting tiger and knocked Tarsik clear out of the ring. A collective “oooh!” rang out from the crowd of gathered crewmen. Ansul burst into laughter and suddenly realized that they hadn’t really laid out the rules for the newcomer.

Fizril gazed up at the crowd with uncertainty. Had he done it wrong? Why was First Officer Ansul laughing? It was so very confusing.

Ansul finally managed to compose himself, “Fizril, I’m afraid we didn’t really explain it to you.”

“I’m sorry was that move not permitted?”

“Absolutely not...” Tarsik muttered as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, “but it’s okay Crewman. We should have explained. Let’s try this again.”

Ansul commanded them back to their starting positions and then proceeded to explain that no blows were to be used, only grappling. Tarsik could see the disappointment on the cat’s face but what he didn’t know was that Fizril actually considered grappling with the surly human to be even more of a challenge than a standard fight. Ansul raised his hand once again and the instant he dropped it Tarsik lurched forward and grabbed the Antarian in a bear-hug. Just as Fizril had worried the human may have been shorter than he was but he also had a lot more mass, and so strong. He felt like the captain was crushing the air out of all four of his lungs. In the blink of an eye it was all over though, Fizril was deposited outside of the ring and the burly captain smiled victoriously.

After catching his breath Fizril spoke, “Is that it?”

“No, best two out of three.” Tarsik replied.

Fizril liked that, two more chances to at least best the captain once. He was already working on strategy and had an idea for the next round. They made their way back to their starting positions and as before Ansul raised his hand and dropped it to signal the match had begun.

Tarsik leapt forward as he had before but this time Fizril ducked low. He realized that his height was working against him and that he needed to lower his center of gravity. He let the captain’s enormous bulk crash into him and then used the combined power of his knees, which bent the opposite way a human’s did, and his tail pushing into the Earth to provide one quick burst of force which sent the captain reeling backwards. Tarsik caught himself just as he was about to step over the line but Fizril was fast, very fast, and once last quick slam sent him stepping backward over the line. The crowd erupted in cheer at Fizril’s victory every bit as much as they had at the captain’s.

Tarsik cracked a huge smile, “That was really good. I never saw that coming. Let’s see if you can do it again though.”

Ansul worked up his best announcer voice, “We’re all tied up, round three is for the win. Place your bets.”

The big human and the defiant cat lined up once again. By this point they both knew each other’s likely moves but they were both smart enough to know that their opponent would change up his strategy for the last match so neither really knew what to expect. The Martian’s hand went up....then down. Both feigned a leap forward but held themselves back. They smiled at each other, recognizing that neither of them was going to let the other use his own forward momentum against him. Instead they circled the ring, each keeping a close eye on every move their opponent made.

“C’mon Fizril. Make your move.”

“With all due respect Captain, you first.”

That last sentence was followed by what Tarsik could only describe as a snarl. He was finally seeing this cat get his fur up. Had he not been staring so intently at Fizril’s face waiting for his expression to give away his next move he would have noticed that the Antarian’s fur literally was standing up. Tired of waiting Tarsik made the first move. He lunged forward and attempted the bear-hug maneuver again but Fizril was too quick, he dodged the attack and tried to shove the human from the ring but Tarsik had anticipated that. He ducked low and Fizril’s arms went right over him. The captain came back up and grabbed tightly onto the big cat’s belt. Now he could just walk him right out of the ring, or so he thought.

Unlike previous opponents Fizril was taller than the captain himself so he couldn’t pick him up off of the ground. Worse still those backwards-bending knees and clawed toes allowed him to push back hard. Taking a page from the captain’s own book Fizril grabbed Tarsik’s belt and strained with all of his might until he had the human off of the ground, if only just. He couldn’t believe how solid the captain was. He tried with all of his might to walk him straight out of the ring but he couldn’t keep the big human off of the ground long enough. As soon as Tarsik’s feet touched the ground again he let go of the Antarian’s belt and switched to a bear-hug around the alien’s chest. That crushing power caused Fizril to release his grip on the captain’s belt and as soon as Tarsik felt the alien fingers release him he dropped down low and grabbed the alien by the thighs and hoisted him into the air. With one quick and unbelievably powerful toss he flung Fizril clear of the ring. The men roared into applause.

Nearly out of breath Tarsik walked over to his fallen opponent and offered him his hand. Fizril accepted and the burly human easily pulled him to his feet. “Crewman, you gave me one hell of a workout. That was really good.”

“I’m pretty tired myself. I had no idea you were that strong sir.”

“Same for you Fizril, I knew that height and reach would be a factor but you’re every bit as strong as you look too. The next time we’re in a situation where we need some extra muscle I won’t hesitate to bring you along.

The Antarian bowed his head slightly in respect. “Thank you captain.”