Gabatrix: The Shira Maneuver

The song would officially be called "The Fading Light," and it is officially the longest piece of composition, being an entire year-long nonstop. It opened up the thoughts of the Shal'rein people about their universe and its purpose. Astronomers and explorers would be inspired for generations by his work. Ton'Kor would later pass away a month later. His song was still being played during his funeral. It is said that the Shal'rein that worshipped him did not finish the funeral until the melody came to an end almost eleven months later.

What is the Cosmic Melody? It is the music of the universe. By the time my eyepatch on my working eye was removed, I knew the answer to that question. I was able to see again with the story of Ton'Kor in my thoughts. It is the guide of the darkness. We pick up electromagnetic radiation all the time in space. Once it is converted to sound, the melody can be beautiful. It was what was guiding the great composer as well. The pleasant white noise remains in my thoughts. I can look at the stars and listen to their songs. I can look at the black holes and know what they are telling me. I might have had only one eye, but I could now see more than any Shal'rein could. I was able to foretell what was going to happen next. I had terrain and environmental advantage because of this single realization. As the universe eventually goes black, we have nothing to fear as we open our ears and listen......

With that said, there is only so much that I can tell about my story or my people. A war is ongoing, and I know what my plan is going to be. I know my position in the universe and where to guide the others. We must return to reality. The Itreans are at war with one another. The humans have allied with the T'rintar clan, and with this, we have a chance against a more dangerous creature than anything we ever imagine. We bring ourselves away from the opposite side of the galaxy. Once again, the lights return. We must hurry along now as the stars zip past us at phenomenal speeds. We fly past the center of the galaxy as the beach of floating dots runs past us. Everything goes from bright orange and yellow to black as we get past the galactic center. Everything starts to get darker and darker as we begin to see what the humans call "The Aquarius Constellation."

Through here, we zoom in on a single tiny star known as Gliese 849. The single glowing ball of red is an M-Type star. As we get closer and closer, we see two far orbiting gas giants that are far from their parent star. A single planet comes into view as our journey through the cosmos comes to an end. From what I know, you already know of the planet Aphadus. The single world has life on it. It is tidally locked, causing one side to forever point towards its star. This hasn't stopped the planet from having life on it. The humans have made quite a home here.....even though I already attacked it once. In their wisdom, they forgave me and let me serve as an enlisted member of the UHN. I am one of the few Shal'rein that help amongst the humans besides the T'rintar clan allies.

We fly into the atmosphere as we go towards the pole region of Aphadus. This is where the temperatures are just right, with it not being too hot or too cold for them. Here the purple lakes are a common favorable sight. It almost reminds me of my home that I had long given up. Eventually, you see a large dome structure and the capital city that resides next to it. From here, our journey begins......

Chapter 2: September 14^th, 2350

"That is enough about me," Shira said to herself in a calm, emotionless voice.

Staring at the restroom mirror was none other than an anthro shark-like woman. Her slick grayscale skin reflected off the overhead light. Shira was busy checking her hair and her hollowed-out right eye. She fitted the eyepatch over it as the elastic band fit snug on her head and purple hair. She didn't have to look upon the damage that the disease had done to her. Even with her hair blocking it, there were subtle hints that black vein protrusions were going outward from the right eye socket. The combination of the dark purple hair and the eyepatch was more than enough to discourage the wayward individual that would question her ailment.

Shira seemed more than satisfied with the way her hair was set up as she moved it over the eyepatch. The hair would flow downward and over the right side jaw and cheek. In the end, her only working yellow shark-like eye was what she could see from. She monitored any signs of the halted disease on her right side. Her pointed shark-like jaws and snout looked alright to her.

She remarked at her appearance one last time. Her blue and red UHN jumpsuit uniform was more significant than the average human. With her seven-foot-tall frame, the Shal'rein were titans of the Itrean subspecies. Regardless, her eye carefully noted any crevice or crinkle that may show on the uniform itself. Carefully crafted, her attire even had a cut-out portion for her large shark-like tail to swing around without hindrance. Even the boots were painted blue to fit over her digitigrade legs and feet. She looked much like any human being in most aspects. Being from a subspecies of long evolved sharks, Shira knew that she was rather impressive when compared to the human beings of Aphadus.

Of course, there was one inevitable problem that Shira was all too aware of. Even her uniform hinted at the faint outline of a protruding object in her back pocket. She gave no recollection to it and instead simply kept a calm composure to the events that were going to transpire for the day.

"Good enough......" Shira said to herself. With almost no accent in her voice, she swung her tail to see the large fins. She gave a brief nod as her eye spotted a tiny speck of dust on her right shoulder. She used her four-digit fingers to carefully pluck it before tossing it off of her.

The restroom was nothing impressive to it. It was just past lunchtime, and she knew that she had to return to work. She slowly stepped away from the mirror, leaving only her gazing single eye to show her serious side. Impressions were always important, and it was best to always appear as the prim and proper officer even if she was only enlisted. Only a couple people were supposed to know who she truly was, and despite significant efforts to stop it, rumors had spread throughout the military base on Aphadus.

With that, the sliding door of the restroom opened up, and the Shal'rein stepped out into the central passageway. The great dome consisted of numerous hallways and rooms for every military personnel. Shira herself was pretty used to the constant commotion of everyday work. Humans that passed by would always look up at her. She was not dressed up like the Shal'rein that served in the T'rintar clan. If there were any of them, they would be in green, black, and purple armor. She preferred to see her as indomitable. If they feared her, then they feared her. If they were impressed, then they were impressed. She did not care about what they felt about her. It was something that she was always used to.

She began her long trek down the passageway. In reality, Aphadus's military base had a large, almost circular type of hallway. The center portion consisted of areas advocated towards the hangar facility and the top chain of command. Aphadus was not precisely the top-notch base as it should be. It was something that Shira was all too aware of. The damage that she helped incur to it had been long repaired by now.

As she walked, she could see a couple of men that looked up at her as she proceeded past them. Her protruding fin ears were tuned to their direction. She could overhear them as they whispered their questions to one another. Who was she? Why was she wearing a UHN uniform? It was commonplace, but it was something that she knew was part of a long process for humankind itself. She could even recount seeing a Yutilian that was dressed in a UHN uniform as well. The longer the alliance stood, the more likely the humans would start to see Itreans in their day-to-day lives.

For Shira, she did not care either way. She only had one destination as she made a right turn in the hallway. She could overhear the announcements of the day, but it was superficial background chatter. Everything was set in accordance with the day, and she had everything carefully established with the scene of events that were going to transpire. The long walk was something that she was all too used to, and she kept a relaxed composure as she moved. Her tail would never sway, unlike the other Shal'rein. She was meticulous in ensuring that it didn't bother anyone. She knew that her strength was more substantial than anyone that was present, and she was well aware of it.

More people walked by her. One gave her a mean look. It was a human woman. Shira's eye caught her looking at her. She was well aware of the suffering that she brought to the people at the base. Of course, she still didn't care too much. That time, she was their enemy. Any enemy of the Shal'rein clan had to be dealt with appropriately. At this time, the humans were now allies to her instead. Shira always kept this in mind. It was up to the humans to forget about any past grudges.

Shira walked past the woman and didn't give any further thought to the woman. It was like background noise to her as the human whispered her curses to the towering alien.

Instead, the Shal'rein continued her walk as she made a left turn down the passageway. Something did catch her eye. It was both a human woman and an Aksren. This alone was a more curious sight for even Shira not to ignore. She knew immediately that this was an Aksren that was raised in the T'rintar clan. This was hinted at by her red and green spandex-like uniform. Unlike the Aksren clan, the Aksren of the T'rintar were friendly and passionate to everyone. They looked like anthro oviraptors. The other woman who had a dark complexion was in a red and blue marine camouflage uniform. The two were walking together, almost as if they were close in some way. Interestingly, the Aksren woman did not even notice Shira until her close proximity naturally caused her to move a little bit away.

"I am telling you we should go outside and get drunk!" the human woman told her companion in a faint accent. The two walked by Shira as she could see that the Aksren woman was smiling from her small pointed beak. The Shal'rein's face turned lightly towards the two that was enough for her shark-like eye to note their appearances and attributes.

"Hmmm....most interesting....." Shira commented almost quietly to herself. "An Oshunian and an Aksren......most noted indeed."

She remained quiet as she continued her long walk. She could see other UHN staff members. Most of them reacted the same way as they looked up at her. Her fin-like ears could hear their words. As she began to move closer and closer towards the hangar section, she could overhear something that was coming behind her.

"Ah......." Shira calmly reacted. She whispered the words to ensure that no one could hear them. "I believe I am being followed......."

She knew exactly where to go, and she passed by an open door. The foot folly was growing slightly louder. This was not like the other people that were passing by. She was tracking the specific type of boots and shoes that were tapping the ground. She could tell that it was first one individual, and now it had grown to three. She knew that these were not regular staff members trying to get to point A to point B in their day-to-day work. She very briefly smiled as she made another turn to the right. Upon turning, she could tell that the three were in a hurry. She could confirm now that these humans were after her.

Shira briefly smiled as she walked down the long passageway. Unlike the other ones, she could tell this one lead directly to the hangar bay. There was only one sliding door that was between the entrance of the bay and the crossway that she was leaving behind. This area was devoid of personnel except for the people that were closing in behind her. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. She could see a wall panel as she slowed down in her pace upon nearing it.

"There she is......," a male voice came from behind Shira.

"That is as far as you go," another female voice added.

Shira came to a stop. There was no scent of fear on her face as she slowly turned around to face the people that were following her.

She was looking down at the three individuals. Two of them were men, and one of them was a woman. All of them had somewhat bronze complexions that were commonplace for the people of Aphadus. Many of the people in the world had descended from former nations such as India and Pakistan of former Earth. Each person was dressed in the UHN red and blue jumpsuits. It was evident that the man that spoke to her was in the center. In his hand was an M70 pistol that was aimed directly at Shira. The other man was carrying a stun baton in his hand while the woman had a holstered pistol ready to brandish it at a moment's notice.

"Is there a problem?" Shira calmly asked them in her deep voice.

"No accent at all......," the lead man said in an Indian accent.

"Quite interesting to be wearing a UHN uniform, aren't we Shal'rein?" the woman added. "Hey! I think we found her!"

The woman had raised her voice as another person came walking behind Shira from the sliding door. It had opened up as a relatively strong man came out brandishing a sub-machine gun. He had a pale complexion to him and was in a marine camouflage uniform. He was at the ready and had perfect aim at Shira's back and tail.

All four individuals were at a pretty fair distance. They were cautious and meticulous in their actions. Even Shira knew that she was at a slight disadvantage in the situation. However, she remained disinterested.

"Your observations are quite astute," Shira commented in a collected composure to the three in front of her. "May I ask why do you have a gun aimed at me?"

"There is only one Shal'rein that we know that wears a UHN uniform that serves at our military base," the woman replied as she unholstered her pistol. She didn't aim it at Shira but had it at the ready.

"Is your name Shira?" the lead man asked the Shal'rein woman.

"Yes....., but you have not answered my question," Shira replied. "Why do you have a gun aimed at me?"

"For all good reason," the man angrily replied. "It is true that you are her.....we heard the rumors. We know that Fleet Admiral Anaya commissioned you to work for her. You are the one that lead the attack on Aphadus!"

"And your point is?"

The man's face snarled a little bit. Shira could see that the three in front of her displayed looks of anger at her. "Do you know that you killed my friend from that attack!?"

"They let you go......you are a fucking butcher to us," the woman added.

"The events that unfurled were unfortunate," Shira replied to them.

"You can't just reply like that and think that you can get away from that."

"Quite the contrary," the Shal'rein said to them. "It is true. I defected to the UHN after that attack. It was the only action on my part that could be completed with perfection."

"Bullshit," the man replied. "The Fleet Admiral might forgive you, but it doesn't bring back the dead that you killed."

"No, it doesn't," Shira coldly answered.

The man looked at the woman and almost laughed. "So you freely admit that you were responsible for all the deaths that happened here?"

"Yes, I did. Your planetary defenses were inadequate. My forces were freely able to....."

"Shut up!" the woman stomped her foot down. "Dalbir, we should shoot her....."

"It is why we came here," the man replied behind Shira. "It wouldn't take much."

Her tail twitched very slightly to hear the man behind her step back a little bit.

"Hmmm......most interesting," Shira calmly replied. "You decide to outnumber me, but your actions are foolish."

"Oh, and how so, Shal'rein?" the lead man asked her.

"You do realize that I am a member of the UHN? While possession of a firearm is not a crime, to brandish it and point it at any citizen or military staff without probable cause is a felony that can warrant the arrest for all of you. This is not including the fact that the other man holding the baton plans on threatening me with physical violence."

"Yeah? You do realize that there are four of us? We outnumber you, and it's our word against yours."

"Hmmm......indeed you do, but you have also made another grave error. There is not enough of you to stop me in combat."

"Fuck you, Shira!" the man replied behind her. "I have a gun aimed at your back. I can gun you down in a second."

"You are not correct. Even if you all attacked me now, you do not possess enough power in those guns to render me dead. I could still easily kill or seriously harm many of you. You do realize that you are threatening a Shal'rein?"

She turned her head to look upon the marine behind her. Her single yellow eye and pointed snout showed no hesitation of anger or malice towards him, but she kept a fierce gaze that could intimidate most men. Even the marine seemed somewhat taken back.

"Think about your actions very carefully," Shira continued with an almost articulate emotionless tone. "Even with an SS-30 rifle that you hold, it won't do enough to save you as my jaws sink into your throat. If you turn around, I will let this pass," she turned her head back to the three in front of them. "If anything, I admire all of your bravery, but it is misguided and will only lead to more problems in your future."

"Ah.....Dalbir," the man behind Shira continued. "I think I see something that is in her back right pocket."

"Relax and think things through," the Shal'rein said. "Watch very carefully. I am still willing to let this go." Their entire gaze was focused on Shira's right hand as she slowly reached her hand to her back pocket. She was conscientious and slow with her movements as her hand went and pulled out an object. The protrusion that she had was nothing more than a small uncompleted magnum big enough to fit her four fingers.

"She has a gun...." The woman replied.

"Good observation on your part," Shira continued. As their attention was focused on the gun, Shira's left arm had stretched outward and towards the panel. Technically, the gun naturally caused everyone to look at it more. She made sure that the barrel was pointed away from the three and towards the wall.

"They let you have a gun?" the lead man asked.

"No. They confiscated mine when I defected to the UWA months ago."

"You think that is supposed to scare us?"

"It is only there to ensure that I have the means to protect myself."

"It doesn't even look like it is functional," the woman said.

"Oh, I assure you that it does work," Shira answered. "I have one bullet ready to fire."

"Only one?" the lead man asked.

"I only need one."

Shira could see that the three in front of them had hesitated briefly. The man with the stun baton was looking nervously at the other two next to him. The woman was shaking her head as this Dalbir was intent on his actions. The Shal'rein simply kept a calm composure as her hand was away from the panel. For a moment, the Shal'rein could see that despite her efforts to dissuade them, they were still persistent.

"Dalbir.....I don't think this is worth it," the man told the two next to him.

"Don't wuss out on this," the lead man countered. "We know it is her. The UWA let a murderer go and serve amongst us. It's up to us to take care of it."

"I agree," the woman said as she lifted her pistol and aimed it at Shira. "We came here for a purpose. She can't stop us all."

"I, however, disagree with your assessment," Shira answered as she pulled the trigger to her gun.