George Atmell

I...did not know what just happened.

That thing with Sel was clearly necromancy. She died and returned to life by some form of assistance. She did say that it was a biological process, but no matter how you looked at it, it was necromancy, so advanced that Sel did not suffer a side effect and even had all her wounds healed as if nothing happened. Well, except maybe shaving off 100 years of her life as she claimed.

However, no matter how you look at it, it may looked like necromancy, but there was no magic involved. There's no mana particles outside of Earth's atmosphere, so necromancy's not going to explain how Sel came back to life. I wanted to ask her, but I doubt she could explain. She was no scientist and had no interest in that field. If I had a comparison, it would be the answer to the question of 'how did Earth people could use magic'. It came as naturally as her revival.

On the other hand, it still felt strange how the myth of a cat possessing nine lives was actually true to a Felinian, a humanoid cat alien race, of all people. I wondered if he started to split her tail when she reached a hundred years old, like that Eastern spirit legend about cat spirits. I might not even be alive to know, especially if Sel really could live for 800 years.

As for the Saukaurs, with the destruction of the base, they managed to deplete a tactical advantage of their enemies. However, they were not going to return to central HQ. Sethis had just called their command that they decided to help the Vyrnians. The Saukauri commander was clearly not happy with this decision, but he relented and officially discharged them.

"So, only 17 of you are left," said the commander with a sigh. "I know you've done a great job and you deserve this, but...so many young hunters dead.... I personally asked them to volunteer to aid this war, but now...I will have to find their parents and tell them everything. I always said that they don't have the experience for war, let alone a true hunt."

"It's never your fault, commander Saar," said Sethis with sympathy in his voice.

"I really hope you can blame me from robbing you from developing your true potentials," said the commander. "This civil war must end, one way or another."

Sethis did not reply. He simply nodded, give what I assumed to be a Saukauri salute, and ended the communication.

He sighed, which came out like a hiss owing to his cobra head. I couldn't tell if it was a sigh of relief or any other kinds of sigh, though I could feel a sense of relief after he and the others were officially discharged.

I approached him and said, "Your commander...he seems to be against this war as much as you are."

Sethis nodded. "Commander Saar was a dissenting voice in the vote agreeing to the use of inexperienced volunteers, or so I heard. He spoke up and was almost declared a traitor, but I heard his own superior prevented this. I owed him my life for his action, but I can't help but wonder what will happen to him now. He could argue that 17 Saukaurs being discharged won't affect the war. I could just fake our deaths on Aurelis Three. That will make things easier for him."

"But you know that it means desertion if anyone ever finds out," I said.

"And I can't risk the lives of what's left of a leaderless company, not after everything we've been through. Don't you agree, George Atmell?"

I gave him a silent nod. Personally, I could not understand this because my experience of a major conflict was when I lost my biological parents when I was 2. I barely remembered them as I was raised by my kind foster parents, a couple that I called father and mother. I was never even involved in a war, or even understand what it meant to lose everyone you hold dear while you survive to see another day. I was simply too young too remember.

Sethis then told the news to the rest of his company. They only gave a rather muted celebration, which Sethis understood. Arcturus, who was standing nearby, heard this exchange and approached the Saukaur.

"Good to know that you're not going to risk yourself again," said Arcturus. "But what are you going to do next?"

"Yeah, about that," he said. "Given that we could risk being drafted again, we decided to help you with your own problems. You saved our lives, so it's time to return the favor."

"If you really want to help, you need to provide for yourself," said Arcturus. "I'll talk to dad about your situation, but don't expect him to just involve you in our affair."

"We'll see," said Sethis. "And from the look of it, we've arrived."

Yes, we did. The Lekan colony was unmistakable and clearly visible from the window on the ship. Vyrn was also visible from here, and Arcturus caught sight of it. I could see his expression was a mix of worry and hope. He was worried that the Trikelians might've found something about their efforts to fight against them, and to unseal the planet and possibly let the main invasion proceeded. I shuddered when I thought how those blob creatures could take over the whole galaxy, especially after remembering what one of them said back in the sealed colony near Orlonel.

But it made me think, especially when I saw Sel's lifeless body surrounded by the others. She was lucky her kind could return back to life eight more times, but what if it was not her. What if it was me? Unlike her, I only had one life. Once I was killed, that's it. No revivals, no regeneration, nothing. Just...death. What happened if I die out here? Arcturus could've returned to Earth and deliver the news, but what if I died alone? Would anyone back on Earth even knew? Zardes and the others...would they think I'm still traveling the stars? Soon, I realized that life was short. A Felinian had many chances, but for a human, one chance was all they had.

Thinking about Sel made me want to return home once and tell everyone that I was alright. Just once was enough. Zardes and Itresil were always worried about my well-being, which was rather ironic given that they were both labeled as demons back on Earth. Not that the label would be wrong, but it gave the wrong impression that they were dangerous and evil while they were simply subterranean. But I liked them. They were the best friends I ever had, and I wanted them to know that I was alright. Man, I wished it's that easy.

We landed on the colony and got out of the ship. Six hours in a cramped ship full of reptilian aliens made it rather stuffy and smell weird, especially with three Saukaur bodies we took to Lekan. They were given a proper burial in space, with their caskets being launched towards the star Arcturus. Their comrades gave them a Saukauri salute. As I stood near them, I could hear Sethis said, "May Ap's wisdom guide you."

The Saukaurs were accepted on Lekan by the Vyrnians that run it. Now that we established a partnership with both Arkari and Orlonel, there were several Vyrnians that originated from the two colonies. One opened a trade shop and set up a credits station, while the other seemed to be healers or researchers.

After all the Saukaurs disembarked, Zarya then helped Arcturus down slowly, knowing the state of his leg. The bleeding had stopped due to Zarya's healing wave, but it did not heal his leg to full functionality. As they walked down the ship, several Vyrnians with a stretcher greeted us. Zarya told them that the colony's medical equipment was not extensive enough to repair Arcturus's leg, but they said that they could plan the surgery there and to stabilize Arcturus, which save time.

Arcturus lay on the stretcher as it levitated and followed the healers. Andrates then came and looked as his son's condition. He seemed worried, which made sense if you're a father.

"I don't want to lose you again, Arc," he said. "I can't lose you again. I broke my promise a long time ago and I have been given a second chance to amend my mistakes. I'm sorry. I did not know the planet was a battle zone."

"Yeah, I know, dad. I know," said Arcturus. "It's fine. We did not know it, either."

"At least you got a very reliable healer with you." He turned towards Zarya. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," replied Zarya. "But to be honest with you, he saved me first."

Andrates smiled as the Vyrnian healers walked away. He then followed close behind.

After making sure that the Saukaurs were provided for, Zarya decided to take Arcturus back to Arkari to heal his tendons. The facility on Lekan, as she suspected, was not extensive enough to give Arcturus a proper healing. The facility on Lekan would help regenerate the lost leg tendon and connect severed nerves so Arcturus could walk normally again after a week's rest.

I wanted to follow Arcturus and Zarya to Arkari, but Zarya felt that it would be fine if it was just the two of them together. Feeling that something was brewing between the two of them, I relented and wished them safe travels. Zarya smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep Arc safe."

I hoped she would. They seemed like a cute couple, but I had a feeling that Arcturus would feel rather awkward, given how he was rather out of date and the age discrepancy between him and Zarya. Look, I know he was around the same biological age as Zarya, give or take 3 years, but let's not forget the fact that he was from the past and he did not time travel. His only consolation was that he was not living through those years, because if that was the case, I bet he would not want anything to do with Zarya. Still, I hoped they were happy. I did not know how Vyrnians found love, but I really hoped Arcturus made it.

As I witnessed the ship taking off, I was turned away from it by someone's comment.

"Well, there goes the couple," he said. The owner of the voice was Astha, who was apparently walking to the hangar as Arcturus and Zarya took off. Now that the danger was over, I could finally have a proper look at the Saukaur and believe me, he looked so unlike his technology level suggested.

It was easier to describe a Saukaur not as a space-faring alien, but as a barbarian instead. Even a Vyrnian, who looked a lot like a wyvern, wore something closer to that of a human, with slight modification to accommodate their arm-wings. Astha, and by extension, the rest of the Saukaurs, wore something like a tribal hunter/tracker, complete with gauntlets, leg guards, and leather belts covering their chest. They did not wear pants. Some wore the more appropriate leather short pants that looked like an underwear, while Astha wore an armored loincloth. His appearance felt like he came from a different pre-space planet, complete with a sword hanging on his side inside its scabbard. To me, his outfit either made him look like a hellhound native warrior or a costumed actor playing the role of a barbarian. While there was simplicity, it simply left a lot of exposed parts. I simply hoped their scales were the reason why they did not cover much of their body.

However, none personified that 'space barbarian' look more than Astha. He came right out of the pages of 'dime novels' they sold in Ternor. I read some of them and to be honest, if pre-historical Earth was anything like the stories, I'd not consider living there. Coincidentally, there was a story about the barbarian hero got himself into trouble with the snake people of Besh-et, which were irredeemably evil. I just hoped the Saukaurs were not like that, especially since Astha seemed to be the personification of that. He was a brash, action-heavy warrior who fought like possessed, completely in contrast with his twin, who was a well-spoken, strategic planner who was open to suggestions. Personally, I preferred identical twins to act that way. Twins who talk and act like they were clones felt so creepy and unnerving.

Of course, that description of his was rather vivid because I unintentionally stared at him. I also found his playful, teasing side when he said, "Like what you see?"

"What? N-no!" I exclaimed, realizing what I had done. "I mean yes! I mean..."

"I'm just playing with you," he said with a hiss, but I knew it was a chuckle. "I teased aliens who I caught staring because apparently some of them said we dressed like strippers."

"You don't look like strippers to me," I said.

"Yeah, we don't. But some Saukaurs are," he said. "Except they don't wear proper armor, just those easy to strip from."

"Really?"

Yeah. What I'm wearing is our traditional hunting armor. My mother gave it to me after my rite of passage. Seth was given the same model. It made sense. We're twins, so we finished our rites together. Got different trophies, though. Some said our rites were rather unique because it was more a competition than a hunting game, but in the end, our trophies helped us become full hunters ready to travel the galaxy collecting trophies. Of course, as you age, you'd want to modify your armor. You're welcome to change the model, just don't throw away the amulet."

"Travel the galaxy? You mean you...visited planets?"

"Most of the times," he said. "Got ten trophies, three more than Seth, before the fighting started. Not a good number if you compare it to prolific hunters of the past, but with things as fucked up as it is, no one's gonna freely hunt and collect trophies while their fellow hunters die without even experiencing a hunt."

"I...well, I never thought a hunting community would actually travel the stars," I said. "I mean..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Astha. "But no. We're not 'true' hunters anymore. We hunt, but it's for a reason. Colonization. However, hunting has always been part of our tradition since the time before we traveled the stars, and I doubt it will be gone by the time I die. The galaxy is still a mysterious, vast place to explore, and there's bound to be a planet out there with a prize to hunt. Don't you agree. George Atmell?"

"I do agree, Astha. But please. George's fine."

Astha had a lot of stories to tell about his hunts. He was rather proud of them, mostly since he hunted to add a prize to his collection, not for survival. He was aware that he was not the best hunters out there, but he knew his limits, and he still valued his life. Of course, his perspective changed a lot after the conflict started.

"Once, you trained yourself to hunt dangerous beasts," I remembered he said with a rather dejected expression. "But now, you trained yourself to kill your fellow hunters."

It left a profound effect on me, knowing that he was forced to take the lives of his own people just to satisfy the whims of the people in charge. I understood because that's what war was, and Earth's wars, while smaller in scale, had the same effect.

I left Astha near the recreational area for him to talk with the rest of the Saukaurs, and also with Sethis. Unlike Astha, Sethis was rather serious and did not seem to like talking. I did not have time to talk to him then, seeing that he was rather busy. Ever since the commander of their unit was killed so early during their skirmish, he had become the group's temporary leader, and he clearly showed that he had that aura of authority. If he wanted, he could become a commander, but I knew he would not want to. Like Astha, he was a young hunter thrown into a life he did not want. While Astha cope by complaining and being sarcastic about it, Sethis seemed to keep it for himself. I wanted to talk to him to know his perspective, but I knew it could wait.

My day, however, was far from over. After the Saukaurs, there was another person who wanted to talk to me. In private.

That person was none other than Kilkaja. I wondered where he went after we reached the Lekan colony. I remembered seeing him with Sel after she returned to life, and he was clearly upset and crying. I had never seen him so emotional before. Unlike with Arcturus and Zarya, however, I did not sense anything between him and Sel. Maybe it's because of them being so different from each other that I did not think it would be possible. Still, if a human and a hellhound could be together (or in my case, a human and a Cait Sith), then anything's possible.

As I walked out of the rec area, I found Kilkaja. He was wearing a different cloak, but the same shorts (or just a different short with identical style). Once he found me, he beckoned me to come closer. I simply complied.

"Hey, Kilkaja," I said, noticing that he looked rather troubled. "You okay?"

"I need to talk to you. In private," he said.

This was so unlike the Nuoevan. I knew he was rather shy and rather apprehensive when trying to talk with someone, but when he said he wanted to talk in private, there was something in his black, featureless eyes that suggested determination. This clearly had something to do with his experience on Aurelis Three. I knew he helped the escape using his psychic powers, and I could see that some of the Saukaurs complimented him. Intrigued, I said, "There's the plaza. We can talk by the fountain."

I could see him rather apprehensive going there, but I did not know that it was where he was being tortured to provide the psychic boost needed for the other Nuoevans. He did not ask me to change the venue, so I only knew about it later.

The plaza was already repaired and returned to its previous state. Even the fountain was working. It felt almost like a romantic hangout if things worked well, but at this moment, it was where Kilkaja wanted to talk about something in private.

Once we sat near the fountain, Kilkaja said, "George...can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I said. "Ask away."

"This may come out rather awkward, but...what do you think of Sel?"

This came out of nowhere. Like I said, I never thought Kilkaja and Sel would be an item. Not only was Kilkaja a Nuoevan and Sel a Felinian, but they also had such different personalities that I did not think it would work. I did not suspect a thing, however, and simply told him what I had in mind.

"Well, I know she's been through a lot," I said. "She was killed once, she had a lot of misfortune in her life, and I know she was traumatized by the Saukaurs in the past. She's also independent and a bit wary of anyone, but she can be a good friend if you know her. Just don't get to her bad side."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. A friend. Why?"

Then, to my surprise back then, he said it.

"Do you think...she'll love me?" asked Kilkaja rather shyly. "Like not as a friend, but...well..."

"You got a crush on her?" I said, rather surprised by this.

"Hey! Keep your voice down!" he said, gesturing me to lower my voice, which I did.

"Sorry," I said, almost whispering.

"Crush?"

"I mean you are in love with her. Romantically."

"W-well, I mean...she's the first person I've ever met to be genuinely kind to me, not out of sympathy. I mean...she was sympathizing, but I felt like it was the other way around. I could feel the wound in her heart. She suffered from it. The suffering fueled me, but it felt more like a drug."

"And you're worried you might get addicted," I said. "If that's the case, you're just a creep."

He did not immediately say anything, possibly to contemplate what I just said. Nuoevans used pain and suffering as a boost to their psychic powers, and the boost could become addictive, much like drugs. The way his kind drew his power led me to say that Nuoevan's are the galaxy's born sadist. Of course, I did not say that to his face. Kilkaja might not interpret that as a joke.

He shook his head and resumed talking.

"I fought against my instinct and uh...sympathized with her. I hugged her, feeling her body on mine. I don't know what I felt then. It was something more powerful than what a suffering could give. It's...well, when her fur rubbed against my body, it felt good. I mean, not just good, it's...good."

"Uh-huh." Somehow, I made a face that made him realize what he had just said. I could not understand Nuoevan expression (understandable, considering that he looked like a furless hare with four eyes and ebony, smooth skin), but I knew from how he acted that he was embarrassed. It's almost like he accidentally revealed what he's into (which he did).

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not a creep!" he said while waving his hands erratically, trying to clear things up.

"Hey, calm down," I said. "It's only the two of us here. No one's going to know."

I knew Kilkaja trusted me, and I knew he would calm down if I told him to. He exhaled and calmed down. I looked around to see if anyone listened in, though I suppose Kilkaja would know if anyone heard what he said.

"Is it strange?" he asked while visibly blushing.

"You just freely admitted your fur fetish to me," I said. "And believe me when I said I heard far weirder things in the Academy. You're pretty tame, considering your circumstances...and your furlessness."

"It's just..." He looked around before he whispered. "I trust you more than anyone else. And besides...this is the first time I, uh..."

His four eyes looked down. I quickly realized what he meant.

"It's a surprise she did not even notice," I said with a chuckle (which earned Kilkaja's glare). "It makes me wonder whether you really got attracted to her because of her fur or because you feel compatible with her."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "But I want to try. So, will you help me? I need to know whether my attraction to her is just because of her fur or because of love."

I couldn't refuse his request. Kilkaja was an empath. Knowing empaths, they could always know the truth of anything, because you could not fake emotions in your heart like you faked it with your face.

"Okay," I said with a smile. "I'll help you."

"Really? You're a lifesaver," he said with a smile.

"Can't refuse a friend," I said, patting his shoulder. "What you need is a little private date. Nothing too complicated. Just...a private moment between the two of you."

Hearing the word 'date' seemed to make Kilkaja nervous. "D-d-date?" he said, stammering the word. "A date with Sel? I-I don't think I'd be ready."

"Hey, relax. It's not an exam or anything," I said. "Just be true to yourself and don't get overboard. You two might hook up after just one date, but who knows? It also depends on her."

"D-depends on her? What if she...what if she...?"

"It's not set in stone, Kilkaja. It's not like you're going to lose everything you got from her just because your first date did not work. Keep it simple, and don't be tense. It's going to be alright."

Kilkaja gulped as I said that. Yeah. I got that feeling too when I took a girl out for a dinner a long time ago. I was so nervous, and that date did not end up with us hooking it up. But we stayed as friends. Last I heard, she was a full-fledged mage assistant in Xici. She did not stay to become a rider.

"So, just stay calm and let it flow," I said. "If you want to feel comfortable, Arcturus and Zarya are on Arkari having their own go."

"They, too?! But, why are you still here, then?"

"Why should I disturb them?"

"Okay, I get it. But...how to start? How to ask her out? I don't even know if I have the courage to say it."

"Just ask her if she want to hang out or go get something to eat. Just don't outright confess to her. She might think you're a creep."

"R-right."

"I got your back, buddy. Since you need a little help, I can give some pointers, so don't worry," I said with a thumbs up.

You know, while Kilkaja was rather nervous about all this, I felt so weird myself. I, a human, just became a wingman for a four-eyed alien about to ask his crush out. I had done this before with a fellow human, but this was the first time an alien asked me about it. I really wanted to know what happened next between him and Sel, and the only way to do that without even remotely being a nuisance was to simply let Kilkaja do his thing. With a little help, of course.

I wanted to take them to Arkari, given that there were more venues to pick there, but I decided that they did not need a romantic place for a date. Knowing Sel, she would not be comfortable in a public place due to her criminal past. So, a private little date would suffice. You did not need a romantic dinner to hit it off. Some girls were just that simple, and fortunately, Sel was one of them.

Sel was in the rec area, somewhere more private than the central area where the Saukaurs were. She did not want to mingle with them, and I completely understood her decision. Even if she was convinced that not all of them were bad, it would take more than that for her to start trusting them again.

As she waited near the big window, I wondered what changed. I always believed that returning to life after death always have a catch. I knew she took a hundred years of her life to return, but I believed that it was not the only catch. Even so, I did not know her good enough to find anything different.

I was willing to help Kilkaja for his first date, but I knew this was something he needed to do for himself and not influenced by me. So, I told him to go and talk to Sel. He nodded, albeit still unsure. Still, he walked towards Sel, and, well...they talked. Like I said, they did not need anything more than a private place to talk to start it off, and it did work.

As I sat nearby, I noticed a change with Kilkaja. He started to become more and more confident as he talked with Sel, who seemed to be easier to talk to than before. She also enjoyed teasing Kilkaja, causing the Nuoevan to look away, embarrassed.

Then, Kilkaja excused himself to order something. Sel used this opportunity to walk to me and said, "I guess I have you to thank for Kaj's confidence."

"Kaj?" I said.

"I just like calling him that. Much simpler than Kilkaja, right? Anyway, I should thank you. You see, I know he likes me more than he let on. He cried when I died and was concerned for me. No one ever have that kind of reaction to someone like me. If I was someone else, I might think that's excessive, but knowing his story made me understand how we're not that much different. We just had different paths."

" Do you think you two's going to work?"

"It could. He had been through a lot. He lost his tail, he suffered great pain from it, he was humiliated and tortured. But, even after all that, he was a kind Nuoevan who's clearly not acting like a Nuoevan at all. My guess is he never had a meaningful attachment before meeting you and me. He clearly chose me, and I accepted."

"Then try not to break his heart, alright?"

"I won't," said Sel. "I know it's just a promise, but I'll try my best. It's also part of my redemption...and a chance to start anew."

She meant it rather literally, given that she had died once, and now she returned back to life. Just then, Kilkaja returned with a set of simple synthesized food that consisted of steak and something that looked like green-colored...potato? Anyway, Sel seemed to enjoy it, and from Kilkaja's expressions, I guess it was a genuine feeling.

I knew my work was done the moment he kissed Sel. I did not want to disturb that tender moment, so I decided to quietly leave them to their own devices and walk away.

From the people I met, I guessed that life outside of Earth was not that different. People got attracted to each other and fell in love, finding a way to heal each other's wounds. They also had differing opinions about war, and they had their own unique cultures that defined them. It was pretty much what Earth people did, and for me, it was a good indication that I did not walk into an excessively foreign place.

However, I would soon realize that there were more things I did not know, and many of them tried to kill you. There were many similar things with Earth, but the dangers were sometimes incomprehensible. The Trikelians fit that incomprehensible danger, especially now.

And soon, we'd find out why they're the most dangerous creature this galaxy would ever face.