by Chris Hechtl
The schnauzer didn't say anything but his ears twitched and then he held up a one-fingered salute to the dog.
“See what I mean?” the Great Dane asked cheerfully.
“Right,” Jethro drawled, shaking his head. He headed up the stairs to the building's massive entrance.
<(>~^~<(>
“Is nutrition becoming a problem, Eddy?” Moira asked, looking at the medic. The arctic fox shook his head. “But it's going to become one sometime in the future?” He nodded.
“I was afraid of that.”
“The population explosion is the reason,” Hypatia stated. “The good news is we're starting farming and ranching again. But trying to ranch elk and mammoth isn't something we can train for,” she said simply.
“We need an agricultural specialist,” Bengali stated with a flick of his ears. “We also need a bit more training with people and homes,” he said, eying the educational secretary. The wolf cocked her head his way. “I'm serious. It's a bit more complicated than teaching them to lift the toilet seat.”
“Or use the toilet at all,” Iab, the secretary of information agreed with a snort.
“Yes. Several families didn't understand the concept of a stove. Even the black iron ones we've got in the newer homes. They can get the idea of the chimney … if someone explains how to open the flue for them.”
“Among other things. Running water is an issue,” Pyotr rumbled, scratching at an ear.
“You can take the Neo out of the wild, but not the reverse, eh?” Jake asked from his screen. The others looked at the lone human in the cabinet and then chuffed in amusement.
Pyotr shrugged. “Hygiene is new to all of us. Who said it? The one about teaching an old neo tricks?”
“No, it's just proper hygiene is all,” Blizzard stated, eying the grizzly. “And medicine is a bit more than pouring rotgut down your gullet and into the wound.”
“A waste if you ask me,” Pyotr grumbled.
“What, the booze to drink?” she asked, cocking an ear to her. She already knew his answer.
“No, in the wound. Best to drink it,” the bear rumbled, eyes gleaming with good humor. She snorted at him.
“We've got enough food to sustain the population as it is now. But it's trending upwards.”
“So losing some of our best and brightest to the military may be a double-edged sword. And don't get me started on engineering projects. Why couldn't they have sent in some spacebees? We could use their help building dams and other infrastructure projects!” Bengali grumbled.
“True,” Blizzard grumbled. A few of the other cabinet members nodded.
“We take what we can get,” Moira stated, flicking her ears. “At least it was free.”
“Ahem, when they take our best ….”
“It's volunteer,” Blizzard said, looking at her mother to shut her up. “We all stepped up.”
“True but ….”
“So, in addition to an agricultural expert, we need to find someone else into technology, someone to handle what, trade?” Moira asked. Many of the heads nodded. “Okay. We'll look into all three.”
“Trade with New Texas would be great. I'd love one of their bison,” Pyotr rumbled, patting his ample belly.
“You could eat a whole one all by your lonesome,” Iab teased. The chimp snorted as the bear started to answer then shrugged. The others chuffed or chuckled at his discomfort.
“Maybe when I was younger. Now I have to watch my cholesterol,” the bear said, sending a jab to the medic Eddy. Eddy snorted and flicked his ears as the others chuckled again.
“We need to work on sending people to college. I mean to Antigua or Pyrax, whichever we can work out a deal for,” Hypetia stated, looking at Vince the finance secretary.
“I don't even know how much it costs,” the white Neogorilla stated, shaking his massive head. He looked like a yeti with his long fur and blue eyes. “And don't we have enough of a mess at home right now? Stuff to deal with like the Dane fallout?”
“So you're telling me we can't do both?” Hypetia asked.
“I'm working on it. But I need information. I can't just send a bunch of people with a blank check you know. It doesn't work that way,” he growled. She nodded.
“Okay, I think we've got a couple things to work on. Poll your people, see what they can turn up. I'd prefer that we stick to in-house if possible, but if we have to bring in outside help, so be it,” Moira stated.
“Who'd want to come here?” Bengali asked with a sniff.
“Someone who wants a fresh start and a challenge. Once we get the basics worked out, we'll work on the terraforming and other projects,” Moira stated. The others stared at her for a long moment, dumbstruck by her vision. She flicked her ears.
“You're dreaming,” Eddy said quietly. “But I like that dream.”
“Me too,” Hypatia murmured. She bowed slightly to Moira. The others did various head bobs as well.
“To see that,” Pyotr murmured. “I am old, but even to see it started once again … a worthy goal.”
“I'm older than you are, you old fart. I plan to see it finished,” Moira vowed. The others flicked their ears and then nodded once more.
“To the future,” the wolf said, holding her tea cup up. Her descendants were quick to follow, but then the others did as well.
“To the future,” they echoed.
<(>~^~<(>
Shanti was one disgusted cat. Her elder brother Sabu had been trying to fix her up ever since he'd settled down. She'd thought he'd recently given up but apparently no such luck on that score. He'd just been diverted or laid low. He'd tried to fix her up on a blind date with some shmuck who'd come into town. Sabu may have thought he cleaned up good but Shanti had other ideas. She eyed him severely. He flicked his ears, trying to see the humor in the situation.
“Come on, sis; it's one date. That's all.”
“You owe him something?”
“No.”
“Then you date him!”
“I'm not the one he's interested in. Give him a chance!” he said, fighting his own rising anger. It was natural for him to get annoyed, and her going into estrus was a distraction. He could smell it more and more every month.
She shook her head. “Are you kidding me? One, he's too close to the bloodline. Two, he's disgusting.”
Sabu rolled his eyes. “He threw up a hairball. He was nervous about meeting you and kept grooming himself. And he ate that chili for lunch.”
Shanti scowled and turned away stiffly. “I don't care. He's what, half my age?”
“Does that really matter?” Sabu asked, cocking one ear at her. “There aren't a lot of us going around you know, lady.”
“Not until your cubs are old enough you mean or the other cubs.”
“And who just brought up breeding so close to the bloodlines I wonder?”
“Oh shut up,” she growled, taking a swipe at him, only half in play. She was furious for setting her up like that. Asking her to meet him for dinner and then bail with that … that male! She was a Neo Snow Leopard not a common house cat! Nor was she some party favor her brother could hand out to his buddies!
“Calm down, you need to settle down. Your biological clock ….”
“Don't say it,” she snarl spat at him, blue eyes flashing dangerously as her ears went back and her hackles rose.
“Okay okay, don't get all pissy with me, gal,” he said, backing off as she growled. “Calm down, Shanti. You are making a scene. You need to get ….”
“Don't even say I need to get control of my hormones! I'm fine!” She snarled with a rising voice, turning to lick her shoulder. Her fur was on end; she could feel the urge to rip her brother's throat out. How dare he!
“Well, you could have fooled me,” he said quietly, shaking his head.
She turned to look at him after she let her fur settle. “Okay, here's the kicker, he's part change and a domestic spotted mix. He's half my size!” She shook her head severely. She wasn't sure what t
he big deal was, why everyone was into breeding like rabbits all of a sudden. And why they had to stick their noses in her love life. She'd made the one comment about being envious of his and Lisami's mating and she would never hear the end of it apparently.
“Okay, I'll give you that. But ….”
She held up a finger. “Don't. Don't even go there. Don't you dare say we're all the same size lying down!” She looked at him severely, ears flat.
He took her stance and expression in and saw she wasn't going to give any ground so he gave up. “Well, maybe the Marines have someone suitable.”
“I doubt it. I doubt it very much.” She shook her head. “I heard they are all dogs or humans so there. No fixing me up with anyone. And if there is a cat, leave me alone. I'll decide if he sinks or swims on my own.”
“You always do, sis,” Sabu said with a sigh.
She eyed him severely. “Damn right I do. Don't you have a job to do?”
He looked about him and then flicked his ears. She was two years younger than him, he was her senior in the service yet she still had to boss him around. “Yeah, I thought I was neglecting something,” he said sounding sarcastic. “We have to meet this Marine you know. He's supposed to join us on the convoy.”
“Is he a neo? You know how I hate to smell wet dog for the entire week,” Shanti said in disgust.
“Your problem.”
She turned on him. “Oh, you aren't serious!”
“Yeah. I'm stuck minding the store, orders from the main office. So you and the medics get to play chaperone.”
“Just my luck. I bet he's a hack who's never been in the bush,” she said shaking her head. She heard a sneeze at the door and turned to it.
“Ah, that's probably him,” Sabu said, cocking an ear.
“Did someone say Marine?” Rah demanded, coming out on all fours. Her siblings eyed her with disapproval so she rose sheepishly onto her hind legs. “Sorry,” she muttered.
She was the baby of the family, and Sabu doted on her. Shanti did too, but not when her brother was around to notice. They had taken over the raising of their cub sister after their mother had been killed by the pirates during a strafing run. That had been their turning point; their rage at seeing their mother helplessly cut down had spurred them to action and vengeance.
There was another sneeze. “Aren't you going to get that?” Sabu asked.
“Sure, why not,” Shanti sighed, turning the knob and yanking the door open. The wind picked up at that time and brought her the scent of clothes but oddly no animal or human scent. But a form was there in the doorway anyway, a black furry shape dressed in a Marine digicam uniform. A feline form she realized.
“Gunny McClintock?” Sabu asked, leaning over to look around his sister. He blinked in surprise at the sight of the black panther. “Oh … my,” he said softly with a trace of amusement in his voice.
“Am I missing something?” Rah asked, coming closer. Her eyes went wide when she saw him. “Wow!”
“Hewwo,” Jethro rubbed at his itching nose. His sinuses felt like they were ready to explode, and he didn't know why. His eyes were watering too. “Sowwy. Don't knoow wha' cum over me all of a sudden,” he said.
“Catch a cold?” Sabu asked sympathetically, stepping back. Whatever the other cat had, he didn't want to catch it. There was no telling what a neo could bring in to a population. More than once over the centuries, the Neos had been hammered by something as simple as a cold. Only White Wolf's intervention had turned the tide of each epidemic.
“No,” Jethro rubbed his nose furiously but couldn't stop the building sneeze. He turned in time to sneeze again. “Sorry,” he said miserably. What a way to make a first impression he thought! And with leopards of all people. He shook his head.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“Are you sure you're not sick?” Sabu asked.
He waved a hand in front of his face and demanded to know why Bast was trying to blow his head off under his breath. She just flicked her ears at him.
“What was that?” Sabu asked. “Sorry, didn't catch it.
“Nothing. Allergies I guess,” Jethro said, straightening up as his head started to clear. He stood and took a careful inhalation. When he didn't sneeze, he nodded. “Got it covered.”
Sabu poked his sister, then ran a tail in front of her eyes. She batted it away in irritation. “Haven't been groundside before?” Shanti finally asked, turning away in disgust.
“Not in a couple of months. I was on Agnosta recently. Some pollen in the air here or something else must be effecting me,” Jethro said. He nodded as she stepped aside and then entered. He had his kit bag with him. “Gunnery Sergeant Jethro McClintock of the Anvil cat clan. Captain White Wolf said I should ride with you and get a lay of the land. Sort of show the flag and then report back with her with some ideas on how we can help.”
“Sure thing, Gunny,” Sabu said with a grin.
“Stellar,” Rah said, hazel eyes wide and earnest. Sabu turned to smile at her. She was back to being an eager cub once more.
“Sorry, um, I'm Ranger Sabu. This is my sister Shanti and our younger sister Rah.” He rested a hand paw on her head but she angrily batted it away, ever aware of their audience. He chuffed in amusement then used his tail tip to poke her in the ear when she wasn't looking. She batted at that too, growling softly. “Shanti is a Militia Ranger and also a Mountie like I am; we sort of do double duty. Rah is our apprentice deputy until she's old enough to pass the quals next year.” He flicked his tail out of his sister's grasp then swiped it under her chin. She pretended to snap at it before subsiding.
“I could pass them now but you won't let me,” the younger snow leopard complained, looking at her elder siblings in disgust.
“Zip it. Go check the inventory.”
“Ah blast it, I did it yesterday …,” Rah sighed dejectedly. “Can't I stay for a bit? I want to know more about the Marines!”
“What do you want to know?” Jethro asked. He was aware he was on a recruiting mission.
“Where do I sign up is the easiest I guess,” Rah replied with a shrug as she turned back to him. Shanti felt a trace of alarm and something else. An emotion, a soft growl slipped from her lips making her brother look at her. “And how old I have to be,” Rah said when her elder sister turned a glare on her. She hunched her shoulders, ears out with the most pathetic expression on her face. “Hey sis, don't be that way. You know I've wanted this ….”
“For a whole month or two. Wow. Before that it was Army, and before that it was a fire fighter.”
“Okay, so I'm exploring my options,” Rah said defensively. “I'm still growing.”
“And not mature enough to know what you want to do obviously. And what you should be doing,” she said severely, crossing her arms to put more emphasis on her point.
“I'm going, I'm going,” Rah said, kicking her foot out and then letting out a long suffering sigh.
“She's got a bit of maturing to do,” Sabu said after Rah had left.
“The corps can do that for her,” Jethro said automatically. “It did for me in many ways,” he said then stopped when Shanti eyed him with slitted eyes. Apparently that wasn't what they wanted to hear. He could kick himself as his memory rapidly replayed the conversation. It was obvious from her body language that Shanti didn't want her sister to get into dangerous things or at least not yet. He didn't have any siblings but in a way he could sympathize.
“Save the pitch. I don't need to hear it. Nor do I want you around my little sister. Grab your gear and meet me at the truck. I've got to get mine,” she said in disgust.
Sabu's tail in her path stopped her up short. “Jealous?” Sabu asked her softly in her ear as she started to brush the tail aside.
“No,” she snarled, ears going back as she walked off. She did take a sidelong look at the panther over her shoulder when she was sure he wasn't looking. But Sabu was, much to her annoyance. He just smirked at her.
She stomped off. He
r brother watched her go and then took his wide brimmed hat off the coat rack. “You are going to have a long trip. You have my sympathies. Now is not a good, um … time,” he said with a shrug.
“Yeah, lucky me,” Jethro muttered, shaking his head. What have the powers that be gotten him into now? Apparently nothing good.
Chapter 16
Jethro traveled with a convoy that was doing a circuit of towns, small villages, and farms. They would be bringing the law and medicine to outlying communities that lacked such services on a daily basis. There were four vehicles, one of them a bus outfitted as a mobile hospital. Each of the trucks was festooned with gear, ropes, winches, and cargo to be delivered. Apparently they delivered the mail as well.
He wondered why they didn't travel separately; some of the vehicles could move faster. That thought died when they had their first breakdown less than a hundred kilometers from the capital. It was minor. A nut had snapped on the steering arm of the point truck, but Toby had been in the rear vehicle, not the truck. If he hadn't been around to fix it, they would have had a long cold walk back to civilization.
What they were doing was a critical chore he realized, one that they seemed up for. In the convoy was a small medical team, bush mechanic, Scotty, and the snow leopard Mountie/Ranger. Shanti had been in the lead truck and had snarled the entire time Toby had been fixing her rig.
It was obvious to Jethro that Shanti wanted nothing to do with him. For the most part she ignored him or gave him the silent treatment. He had to admit she was attractive—also surprisingly, almost pure blood. Not that it mattered much to him, but she did look good and moved with lithe grace and agility in the bush as well as around the equipment. She was a bit more tentative around the equipment he could tell, but she'd grown familiar with it over some exposure time. Enough to not be fearful around it.
At their first stop, he watched the crews set up. Kids came from all over the place, some excited, some nervous. They obviously didn't like the threat of an immunization shot, but the sweet treat that came afterward they liked.
Jethro noted a few people checking him out while also warily watching Shanti. She seemed to do the rounds, nodding politely to people in passing. “She's on duty.”