13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  The priestess winced. Trust Blizzard to make a mess of things even more. She did like to think with her stomach, she mused to herself. She was right though, “The humans, our human brothers and sisters are bad enough. But these new ones, they come like a plague of locusts and take what they want before they destroy all the rest. We must hit them, hit them fast before they have a chance to settle in.” Blizzard argued.

  “So is that what you propose?” Pyotr rumbled looking at the elderly marine. He spread his mighty paws, “We can kill them when they come. In our woods they are but helpless prey. Unless of course they have vodka,” he said. He looked at the girl. “No offense little one but if it's a choice between you and my cubs...” he shook his mighty head.

  Cali gulped, “None ah... none taken.” she said.

  “Good, got any vodka?” he asked, eyes twinkling. A few ears twitched in humor at that.

  “Um, not on me at this time. I'm um, not old enough. But I'll get you some soon,” Cali said trying to sound dignified.

  “Good,” he rumbled a laugh, others echoed it. The laughter was much needed, cutting the tension. “See?” he asked looking around as the others chuckled, “ask politely and you'll do wonders.”

  “We need to hit them, hit them hard,” Susan said. “Before they come with air ships to strafe your packs. We need to get organized before it's too late. Like it was too late for my family,” she said, voice roughening in grief. Blizzard nodded. The girl's fingers curled in her fur.

  She patted her hand gently and then looked up to the others. “My new pack sister is right. We need to protect our world. As our ancestors did,” she said boldly.

  “Hurra, bold words little one. Do you have the strength to back them?” a snow cat growled.

  “I have some, but others have more,” Blizzard said, indicating the bears and then the larger cats. “And we have cunning on our side. We are the hunters, not the prey. We can do this. Hit them back. Hard. They have only so many,” she said looking at the elder for support.

  “She's right,” the elder said nodding as all eyes turned to her once more. “A ship can only carry so many. If we can strike them hard enough they will go someplace else.”

  “Ah, so simple then! Why didn’t the humans think of this?” the snow lion growled, glaring at the girls.

  “These are but cubs. Do give them some allowance to grow before putting the weight of the world on their shoulders,” Pyotr said as he laughed.

  “I like him, he's like a great big teddy bear,” Susan said to Cali. The Neos heard and snorted. The bear roared in laughter.

  “We can help, that is, if you want us,” Susan whispered.

  “Or even if you don’t,” Cali said, eyes glaring about. More than one predator's ears flattened at that challenging look. “I am not going to let them kill my family and get away with it.” Cali said as her hands tightened into fists, her knuckles were white. “I... no. I won't let it stand. I can't. I won't.” She stammered.

  “Nor should you young one. I will fight with you,” the elder said, her hand on the girl's shoulder. “I will fight by your side. It is the honorable thing to do.” The others stared at the elder.

  “Are you mad?” Bengali asked, eyes wide. The elder's neutrality was legendary. She was an integral part of keeping the Neos alive. He didn't understand all she did, but he knew it was vital.

  “Some have called me that,” the elder laughed softly. “I've lived a long life. Long enough. It's time to return to the world, to take it back.” She said, holding up her free hand then slowly closing it into a fist.

  “I'm with you grandmother,” Blizzard said with a nod. Her mother nodded as well.

  “I too,” Pyotr said chuckling. “If only to get more vodka. The flow of alcohol must continue.”

  “You old coot, you're just aching for a good fight,” the elder said teasing him.

  “True. I won't deny it,” Pyotr rumbled. He made a theatrical show of stretching and cracking his knuckles. Seeing long claws from their believed teddy bear made the girls blink.

  “I was thinking...” the elder said waving to the ship.

  “No seriously? It will never fly!” Pyotr said shaking his head.

  “We shall see,” the elder said simply.

  “What do you intend to do?” a pale lion asked. He had scars running across his face. He owed the elder for restoring the sight in the eye that he had thought permanently blinded. He picked at a tooth when she didn't answer right away.

  “I think we'll take the fight to the enemy. All... the... way...” she said pointing straight up. Their eyes followed her finger as she pointed. They paused and looked at her in shock and wonder. She nodded at their unspoken question. Their eyes widened at that. Pyotr grunted and then nodded. Slowly some of the others did as well.

  ACT II

  Chapter 4

  “Ah the young,” the elder observed, watching the attack force move through the late winter storm. The cover of the storm and the night was doing wonders for their approach. Also the pirates were still thinking that there were few Neos, all clustered to the north along the ice shelf following the caribou herds. It was easy to mistake the life signs of a neo for that of a wild non sapient animal. After all, that was how their ancestors had won the first AI war. “Such strength and spirit. Fearless, not knowing death yet risking it in this endeavor. Thinking one is invincible, that death can't touch you. Sometimes I wonder,” she said out loud as she shook her head. “Sometimes I'm bitter about losing my youth to the passing of time. You have to have it to get all the things that need to be done quickly.”

  “You should be back elder, we can't risk you,” Blizzard whispered.

  “No,” she said firmly. She had no intention of being coddled any longer. The only way to get the others off their backsides was to lead. It was beginning to show, many were joining the cause. Begrudgingly, entire packs were coming over. The priestess was training and organizing them with Pyotr.

  “But we can do this,” Blizzard insisted softly.

  “You have hunted, yes my granddaughter. But not with someone as intelligent as you as the prey, able to strike back hard if they get wind of you,” the elder warned. She scented the air, muzzle high. “Nice night for an ambush,” she murmured, lips curved in a feral smile. Her eyes twinkled wickedly.

  “But...” Blizzard said.

  “But me no buts child,” the elder chided gently. “This must be done and done right,” she said.

  “She's right daughter, drop it,” the priestess said softly. She knew it was something grandmother called opening night jitters. They all got it when hunting for the first time. Eager but unproven, scared of failing, of being seen failing by their fellows. A lot more than just a meal was riding on this.

  Then again, a lot was riding on each hunt, she realized. They took their lives in their paws each time they hunted the Mammoth, Elk, Near Deer, Caribou, Moose, Bison, or other prey. A kick, a stumble, anything could cost a hunter their lives if they weren't careful. Injury in the hunt could prove just as fatal as well. For an injured member who couldn't keep up with the pack and couldn't hunt, decisions had to be made. Non contributing members did not stay members of the pack for long. Sometimes hard decisions had to be made to keep the pack healthy and strong.

  Blizzard scowled and glanced at Cali, “The human at least,” she said.

  “She's fine,” the elder said, “we may need her to help with clean up. Besides, she wants blood. She of all of us deserves it.”

  “I want to help. I know the area,” Cali said firmly. “There's a drainage ditch over there you can use for cover. We used to use it to keep out of sight when we played here,” she said.

  Blizzard wasn't ready to give up the argument though. “You two could talk to us on those things. The machines the um... radios...” she said.

  Her grandmother shook her head and her heart sunk. “No. Better to make this look worse than it is. If they detect the radios it will be very bad.” The elder replied.


  “Oh. What about the scanners? Is that what you mean?” Blizzard asked, sounding the strange word out carefully. She'd learned a lot but still had a long way to go.

  Her elder rumbled a sigh. “Sometimes you have to trust in dumb luck and the enemies short sightedness. They haven’t been attacked, so they get complacent. No resistance. Let's see...” she mused.

  They watched as the neo on point got into the building, then heard faint human screams. A few flashes and muffled shots were heard and then echoing silence. The Neos flick their ears, trying to get a hint of an alarm but finding none. They could however hear the gurgle of slowly pumping blood and smell the copper in it. The attackers had done well so far.

  After a moment the point was out of the building and away. He had been carefully trained and had stripped the dead of weapons and gear. He didn't carry it far though, just dropped it in the tree line and kept moving. If it wasn't bugged or traced they would come back for it later. “Ah. Now we watch for a response,” the elder said. She had a mission, she'd scented something dark and familiar and planned to do something about it herself.

  She moved quick for her age, across the open ground and swiftly climbing through a window. She struck silently, ripping the throat out of a man trying to pull his pants up. She went to rip the throat out of his partner but noted the human was bound to the bed. The woman on the bed under the dead male started to scream in terror but the wolf covered her mouth with a bloody hand.

  “Silence if you know what's good for you,” she growled. The girl blinked, eyes rolling in fear. One eye was nearly swollen shut. She whimpered softly under the hand paw, tasting the blood.

  The wolf checked carefully. The girl was indeed tied to the bunk. Her vision could easily pick up details human vision wouldn't in this light. The girl was naked, battered and bruised. Raped obviously, but the smell and bruises confirmed it. And to do that to a teenager. “Bastards,” she muttered. She pulled her bush knife, not trusting her claws for this task. The girl whimpered at the sight of it, looking away. Carefully she sawed through the ropes holding the girl's wrists.

  The girl opened her eye and blinked at her, staring in wonder and growing hope. The elder snorted softly and then regretted it when she got the cloying scent of blood, piss, and sex in her nose.

  “Untie your feet and get dressed quickly. Grab what you can. We need to move child, quick,” she whispered, looking around nervously, not liking the quiet. Damn she was getting old. She heard a scrape and turned. She was about to throw the knife but caught the wolf scent and checked her throw.

  Blizzard jumped through the window and then went to the open door. She didn't say anything as she passed the dead human but glanced at the girl. The girl looked at her and Blizzard held a finger to her lips. The girl nodded scotching back away from the door. There was a flushing sound and the light went off in the bathroom adjacent to their room. The elder knelt near the door. She motioned for the girl to kneel and to remain silent.

  The fat slovenly man came out hitching his trousers, he smelled of alcohol. “My turn again huh?” he belched, wiping at his greasy goatee with the back of his hand. “It's a dirty job but I think I can handle it,” he gloated, eyes gleaming.

  The elder drove the bush knife up through the man's balls, into his guts and then yanked it out just below the sternum. The fat bastard's eyes widened and his hands clutched at his guts as they fell out. He fell to his knees with a gurgling scream of anguish. The pain hadn't set in yet but it was about too, he knew. He felt something in his hair jerking his head up. His eyes rolled up to see glittering savagery. A single twist and strike across his throat and he went down forever.

  “That's two,” the elder said wiping her blade on the guy's pant leg. She wrinkled her nose as his bowels let loose, she'd forgotten that. Blizzard was staring at her, she turned away after a moment.

  Footfalls quickly approached making Blizzard turn and growl, ears flat. She leapt, but the man wasn’t where she thought he was. He dodged, pawing at something on his hip. A gun she realized with a sinking heart.

  Hand paws reached for his throat. There was a shot and she felt heat and pain in her side as she tore at the man. They twisted, she twisted away from the pain in her flank as something hit it. Then there was a deafening bellow and the man went down.

  Her ears were flat to her head, partially dazed. She shook her head, trying to clear the ringing sound from it. The damn Terran weapons were loud in a confined space! One hand went to her burning side, feeling warm wetness there. She looked at the man, he had a gaping hole through his chest. She looked back, the girl the elder had freed was holding a pistol.

  “Thanks,” she said simply, flicking her ears.

  “Yeah. That woke them up,” the elder said dryly, “lets go child, time to beat feet.” She took the gun from the girl's shaking hands and then started tossing gear out the window. The girl clutched at her fur as the elder tried to sooth her. Blizzard held her side and tried to help.

  The elder turned, quickly sizing up the wounded wolf. She was injured, but from the look of it not seriously. The bullet had grazed her flank, in and out, probably not hitting anything vital though the hydrostatic shock might of done some internal damage. Neos were tough though, designed to recover from most wounds given time and proper care. She made the assessment quickly and then came to its logical conclusion. “Get to the rendezvous point child. You're hurt. Go,” the elder ordered Blizzard. “Take a handful of the gear and go. Pack the wound first to keep from leaving a trail,” she told her as Blizzard moved.

  Blizzard hit the bathroom, yanking the first aid kit out and packing the wound. She then tossed the kit out the window and headed for the rendezvous point. The Elder tossed one jacket over the naked Terran girl and then threw the other man's parka out, as well as spare clothes. Carefully she helped the girl out the window to the ground below.

  When all the gear was gone she ripped the bedding off and dribbled a bit of precious lighter fluid from her pouch and set the mess ablaze with her ancient marine corps lighter. On the other side of the window the other hunters had gathered up the gear and moved off to the drop off and rendezvous points.

  Cali waved to them urgently from the tree line. The Elder checked the corner, making sure it was clear and then moved. She looked over her shoulder and grinned in savage delight from the tree line as people from the village came running. With any kind of luck the pirates would think the escaped rape victim did it all and that the missing gear had either been looted or had burned in the fire. She turned, fading with the others into the forest.

  Chapter 5

  Over the next week they attacked wandering pirates out hunting or chasing other prey. They tried to make it look like random animal attacks if they couldn't just make the bodies and scene disappear completely. Cali and the rape victim Moreta volunteered to play decoy, the offer was turned down. But it did give the elder a new idea. She used the captured parkas and gear to lure a few pirates to the tree line to be picked off.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The Selkies and otters killed a few foolish pirates who were lured onto river ice. A quick scoring of the ice from the underside and when they stepped on it down they went into the drink. If the weight of their clothes and gear didn't sink them an otter or Selkie was usually around to help finish them off. Almost overnight the pirates learned to avoid the ice on lakes and rivers.

  The elder noted the enthusiasm and victories as a two edged sword. She was blooding her people, training them to fight a superior armed opponent, but also teaching them to kill humans. Teaching the humans that there was something dangerous out there. Something to be aware of, something to fear. The pirates began to take steps to counter the growing insurgency, immediately enforcing a buddy system and periodic radio check.

  If Moira noted that she was no longer on the front lines she didn't comment about it. She'd done what she'd set out to do, spur her people to action. Now they were eager for the fight, eager to hit back
and to keep her out of the line of fire. Some were just eager to prove their bravery to potential mates. Ah how they could be so foolish, she thought with a pang. They took foolish risks. Some survived and learned, others were injured, a few killed. But they kept fighting and she was proud of them for that.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The neo chimps and gorillas who had once been citizens were now fleeing into the wild. Many were at first hunted down with contemptuous ease by the pirates. The pirates made a sport of it, hunting them, letting them get just far enough to let them think they were safe and then pouncing on them to force them to run again. The terrible things they did to those who surrendered or were caught were broadcast for all humans to see. But a few, a lucky few primates found themselves picked up by a hunter in the night and hidden in a cave or nearby hide out. Many joined the resistance once they recovered from their initial ordeal.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  James Paterson, the Horathian commodore and commander of the expedition began to react to taking casualties as reports came in. What they had thought would be a cake walk was turning into something else entirely now. It was getting to the point where he couldn't allow his people out of the camps and towns without a heavy over watch. Casualties had shot up twenty percent over the past two months. It was still under what the planners had expected, but he didn't like it.

  “Resistance,” he muttered, realizing it for what it was. Oh they made it look good, made the early encounters look like animal attacks but no polar bear or other animal was interested in taking a gun or supplies. No, it was resistance. And not human resistance either, not from the animal signs. Or not only human, he thought acidly. Neo's had to be involved with them he thought, lip curling in disgust at such a pack. The vermin would be rightfully extinguished, his people would purge them from the records, purifying this world, he vowed. He quickly barked orders to get that done with as soon as possible. With any luck it would enrage the freaks into doing something stupid, thus letting him wipe them out.