The Technician's Fight, Draft 1, CH13

“Captain,” the comm officer said, bypassing the usual wait for his acknowledgment. “There’s a fire in officer lodging, it’s—”

“Have Emergency deal with it,” he cut them off, annoyed that a seasoned officer acted like this merited overriding his approving the incoming call.

“They’s on their way, Captain. The fire is in your apartment.”

He disconnected her. “Jer?” he called, by passing his Heart’s waiting system. “Jer, are you alright?”

He rushed out of his office. “Scan for Jeremy,” he ordered.

“Scanning, Captain. He’s not registering,” the male said, dismayed.

“Widen the scan. He might have left and forgot he had something cooking.” Except that ignored the automated shutoff systems to prevent this kind of incident.

“It was a ship wide scan. He’s not registering as being on the ship.”

Maybe he’d gone on the station? Except he wouldn’t do that without asking for an escort, not with the Earthers docked.

“Captain, scan analysis registers a lifeless form in your apartment. It identifies it as Earther.” The pain in the male’s voice accompanied the sorrow in his eyes.

No. He refused it.

Jer wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be dead to something as stupid as burning food. He was halfway to the door.

“Emergency are entering the apartment,” comm called out.

The door opened.

“One of them is demanding to speak to his Alpha.”

He almost said to have them go fuck themselves. He had to see to his Heart. But he was the Alpha first, had to be. More than his Heart depended on him keeping a sense of who he was at all times.

“On broadcast,” he said. He’d remained focused when the Earthers had kidnapped him. He would remain focused now.

“Alpha,” the Emergency female said. “I am hunter Hortines Frotirk Kalila. There is an Earther corpse in your apartment. It is not your Heart.”

His breathing had eased the moment she’d described it as an Earther corpse. His hunters were too aware of his feeling for Jer to be that clinical.

An image appeared as he stepped to the center of the bridge, rapid motion as the tablet was moved to show an Earther male in black clothing, neck clawed open and blood pooled.

“The armor is light,” the hunter said, “designed for easy of motion rather than protection against heavy weapons.”

“Scan for Earthers,” he orders, “and someone find out how they got on my ship!” He called up the feed from the docks. It had to be how they’d boarded, not that he knew how they’d managed it without being seen. His crew and the civilians came and went at all times while docked.

“Scans aren’t registering any Earthers on the—what’s that?”

He was at the scan station. “What’s what?”

“Bringing up the scan,” the officer said. “I need others to confirm what happened.”

In front, a representation of halls appeared, with blue dots moving through them; representing people.

“What am I—” A dot vanished.

“There was someone there, right?” the pilot said. “I didn’t just imagine—”

The dot reappeared on the other side of the intersection.

“They have stealth tech,” Gralgiran announced. “Where are they in relationship to the fire?” the image widened and his and Jer’s apartment highlighted in blue. They were away from the docks.

He set the call to his betas. “This is your Alpha. We have an emergency situation. A pack of Earthers have boarded the ship and taking Jeremy. Gather your hunters and coordinate with scans for where to deploy. Orders are to remove crew and civilians from harm’s way. Do not engage unless there is a danger of them exiting the ship.”

He would deal with them. He set a private link. “Brel, I’m sorry to take you off this hunt, but I need you on the bridge.”

“Already on my way,” she replied. “I figured you’d want in on this.”

*

“Predictive algorithm,” the scan officer said through his comm, “puts their most likely destination within this range.” A section of the deck, highlighted in red. “I have confirmation of their presence here.” A white dot appeared further down the hall he was in, pushing himself as hard as he dared. “Without personnel left in the area, I won’t be able to provide further assistance.”

This was already more than Gralgiran had hoped for. He hadn’t expected Earthers to have scan proof tech. He didn’t know any species with tech that shielded them against scanning.

He’d gained a few packs during his travel, and one hunter who shouldn’t be there.

“We’re going up against Earthers,” Thuruk sel Minial stated. “We need to keep packs back to take over when who’s fighting them gets tired. I’ve been training with Jeremy,” he added when Gralgiran glanced at him. “Earther stamina can’t be underestimated in a fight.”

That justified his presence. “How many packs do we keep back?” A looked told him he had two, twenty hunters against an unknown number of Earthers.

“Without knowing how many we’re going up against, I can’t say,” the hunter replied.

“It’s less than one full pack, Alpha,” a beta said. “There’s only so many people who can move about without being noticed.”

“Then I recommend one pack stays back, with the hunters joining in the fight as needed.”

Thinking back to Jeremy’s run, and how long he could last in bed, Gralgiran called up the location of the other packs. They were taking positions at the edge of the predicted zone. He altered the positions so he could call two more pack to him, and sent the instructions.

“We’ll have two more packs by the time we engage them.” He didn’t let doubt touch his voice. His namesakes wouldn’t deny him this hunt. The counter to the Earther’s stamina in this chase was that they couldn’t know the area had been vacated. They needed to remain cautious, which meant slower progress.

“Still nothing to indicate where they are going, Captain,” the scan officer said. “There are no ships close to us that could catch them when they break through the hull.”

“No ship scans are picking up,” Beta Zorfiel interjected. “If their shuttles designed similar to ours, the plating absorbs scans. Which makes them look like the rest of the nothing around us. The only way to detect them is for something to pass behind them. Not enough traffic to count on that. We’re only going to know where they are when they activate their engines to pick up their pack.”

At which point, Jeremy would be lost.

He was in the most likely hallway, according to the algorithm. The rest, he had to leave to the gods.

One pack joined them. Then he saw motion ahead; someone darting around a corner. With no one from his crew or civilians in this part of the ship, it could only be the Earthers.

He brought them to a stop and looked over the layout. He repositioned the incoming pack to flank the Earthers, with instruction to avoid altercations if possible. He sent the closest pack to the other flank. They’d have to exhaust themselves to reach the battle in time, but hopefully they be able to catch their breaths before they were needed.

Someone peeked around a corner, away, then in their direction.

“Incoming!” the Earther yelled before vanishing around the corner.

“We take them alive,” Gralgiran ordered. “Do what is needed to subdue, but do not kill. They are not escaping the consequences of their actions that way.” This time, someone would pay.

Five Earthers stepped into the hallway. “Remember, when you hit them, don’t stop. They should fall before you get tired. Our job’s to make sure the package reaches its destination.”

“I don’t think they realize we understand Earther,” Beta Zorfiel said. “Package has to be the equivalent to prey. It means at least one of them is out of this fight with your Heart.”

“Coordinate with the other packs to rescue Jer. No death,” he ordered.

“Plenty of suffering, but not death, understood, Alpha.”

“Remember the hunter’s warning,” he said. Unlike the Earthers, he wouldn’t take for granted they hadn’t learned his language. “Otherwise, bring them down.”

The Earthers made it easier on them by rushing forward.

Gralgiran took on the male in the lead, blocking and punching hard. The Earther reacted to the impact, but only by wincing. As light as their armor was, it was enough to negate his strength advantage. He felt the Earther’s punch enough to figure the gloves were reinforced.

After a dozen exchanges, he stepped back, his breathing becoming labored, and the Earther pressed, as he’d instructed the others. Gralgiran went on the defensive, going for minimizing his motion, counting on his natural toughness to take hits that let him catch his breath, but the Earther kept forcing him to maneuver out of blows to his vital areas.

He grew concerned about how well the Earther knew how to fight him when a hunter landed on his opponent, bringing him to the ground and rolling away. Before the Earther was up, another hunter ran by, landing two punches before being out of reach. Another shouldered the Earther, and was out of reach, stopped while a fourth took their turn. Then the first was by him, punching and away.

He looked around while his breath returned, and his hunters were using a variation on this technique with each of the Earthers. Using their larger numbers to give each of them time to attack, then rest.

Once his breathing settled, and with his hunters having these Earthers in hand, he stalked toward the intersection they’d come from. He still had his Heart to—

The Earther flew out of the intersection, hit the far wall, and slumped to the floor. Beta Trojar Dernigarin stalked out of it, with an expression that might promise death, if Gralgiran hadn’t forbidden it. He grabbed the female by the throat and raised her. She remained limp, and he snarled.

A hunter stepped into the hallway, cradling an unconscious Jeremy in her arms. “Alpha,” she greeted him, and offered him his Heart. His face was bloody, the skin broken on his forehead and cheeks, and nose crooked.

“They’re going in cells,” he ordered. “Same node. I want them to see what we’ve done to each of them, and wonder what else is coming.”

“You,” Beta Trojar Dernigarin said, dragging the Earther along as he headed for hunter Thuruk sel Minial. “Have abandoned your position. That isn’t—”

“Leave him be Beta,” Gralgiran said. “He no longer answers to you.”

“Alpha?” the beta asked, uncertainly.

He locked eyes with the ex-hunter. “Betas report to me directly.” He savored Jeremy’s friend fear for a second, then headed to Medical.

Outline section 

No Outline

Addition 

No Additions

No note again.

I’m pretty sure there was an outline for this, but it’s gone.

This is the fallout of the previous chapter, and an attempt as showing the difference between Kelsirians and humans in a fight.

It does raise a question I’m not sure how to address at this time, which is, how to other species fight? What at their advantages and what does that mean for how Kelsirians handle them? There is a stong possibility at least one of them will have higher stamina than Kelsirians, which means dealing with Humans won’t have as much of a learning curve.

Thuruk becoming a Beta here wasn’t quite how I’d planned it(no there was no plan for that, yet. No need anymore) but it was the natural thing to do after he’d yet again, shown the kind of initiative that make him a poor hunter of the line.