Ouroboros Ch. 03

"What did you do?" he asked both curious and hoping to help.

"In the mornings I would,"

"Commodore Boros?" A stranger interjected.

He had to resist the impulse to growl 'WHAT!' instead he asked, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Commodore Boros?" the stranger asked.

"I am."Boros admitted cautiously. His body pulsed with the threat that this wasn't a friendly encounter. He mentally prepared himself to counter anything he could think of that would be thrown at him. Not knowing how he did it, he encompassed Shehong in his defenses. But all of that happened in a split second. The stranger pointed at him.

He felt the impact before he heard the shot. A lance of ice pierced his gut. He was staring up at the sky from where he lay on his back. A woman screamed in rage. The shock of what happened was causing what he was experiencing to be fractured into snapshots of fractions of seconds.

THINK! Boros commanded himself and then reality snapped back in place for him. He was lying on the ground with a hole in his chest. Someone had shot him. From the messy, gaping wound in his stomach he deduced it had been a high caliber round. Shihong had the stranger by his throat and was holding him aloft as his feet scrambled in the air. He needed to find the person who shot him. Were they lining up another shot? At him? At Shihong?

That last thought caused him to yank the veil in his mind down as low as it would go. It wasn't all the way open, but still more than it ever had been. His transformation was completed before he sprung to his feet. The clothes that he had been wearing were mostly shredded and littered the ground around him. A few tatters still clung to his much larger frame.

"Don't kill him." Boros told Shihong in his much deeper voice. "We may have to question him." He pointed to the closest building. "Bring him in there. Get out of the open. It isn't safe." He was thinking more clearly as his predatory mind caught up the the events of the last few seconds. "Find my comm link and the drivers card. Have him call the Admiral and tell him what happened. I'm going to go find the shooter." Boros' growling voice should have been hot with anger but it was a cold thing.

As soon as he finished giving Shihung his instructions he crouched down, operating solely on instinct, and launched himself into the air. After three powerful beats of his wings he was high up over the Officers Exchange complex. He held himself stationary with maintaining flaps as he scanned the area with his enhanced eyes.

There.

Outside of the complex, high up, a few buildings away there was a man with a large rifle lying prone on a landing pad halfway up the building. He was looking through his scope, the rifle pointing directly at Boros. Boros folded his wings and fell just as another shot tore through the air where he had been a fraction of a second before. Using his tail like a rudder Boros faced himself downward and spread his wings again, the leathery appendages snapped open loudly like a crack of thunder as they caught the air. Faster than he could believe, he closed the distance to the shooter who was just now pulling the bolt back to discharge the spent casing and to lock in a new round.

That didn't happen though. One claw tore the weapon from the snipers grip and a second claw grabbed the back of the man's pants and belt as Boros landed on the perch. Without hesitation, Boros leapt back into the air and glided down, in the back of his mind he was surprised that he could carry another person without any noticeable strain, in front of the building he had told Shihong to get to. A crowd had gathered in the area around him, scared and excited voices mingled together until they were incomprehensible.

Boros casually tossed the man he held several feet into the air where he hit the ground with a loud expulsion of breath. Not wanting to make the situation worse, Boros reversed his transformation as he stalked toward where the sniper had landed. By the time he reached him, Boros was once again human in appearance but he was also completely nude.

Shihong raced out of the shop and flew into his arms. She roughly embraced him then pushed him back a step as she examined the flawless skin of his stomach where there had been a ragged hole mere moments ago. "Are you alright? Tell me you're okay!" she demanded.

"I'm alright Shihong. It's alright." he gently soothed at her. "It's going to be alright."

***

Boros had been sitting in the brightly lit room for an hour, both his hands and feet had been shackled. Minutes after he had changed back, the military police had come tearing in. In a surprisingly short amount of time they had found out what had happened, that's when they all turned their weapons on him. Shihong and he had been forced into a car and driven to a building where they had been separated and confined. Boros was trying to be understanding of the humans fears, he and Shihong, at his urging, were going along with what the police were doing. The fact that they had cuffed him bothered Boros a great deal, but for now he would abide it. Thankfully, they had given him clothes, a coarse button down shirt and some trousers. They didn't fit very well, but at least he wasn't naked anymore.

Thankfully, Shihong had been able to raise the driver on the comm link and he promised to relay the message to Admiral Hampton in the brief moments before the had been arrested. Boros made sure that he identified himself as a Commodore and an ambassador to the police he had been taken into custody by. He could tell that the information didn't make them happy one bit. But if it got him out of here soon then that was good enough for him.

The single door of the room opened silently on well oiled tracts and an older man came through. "Commodore." He greeted Boros. "I'm Captain Barkley. I'm sorry for the wait, but there was quite a bit of witness testimony to go through."

"Actually, Captain, I thought it would have been pretty straight forward." Boros replied with very little humor. "I was shot, apprehended the shooter, and cooperated with you."

The Captains lips compressed into thin lines on his face. "I'm sure you can appreciate it is more complicated than that. We take preternaturals who commit a crime very serious here. And you have obviously done so."

"Crime!" Boros rose to his feet.

"SIT DOWN!" the Captain roared at him.

Boros did not sit down. "What crime did I commit?" he demanded. "What law did I break? As far as I can tell, you are the one committing a crime. I never should have been taken into custody after being shot. If anything I should have been taken to a hospital to be sure that my wound had healed without complications, I'm fine by the way, thank you for asking." Boros took a step forward. "Putting that to the side, you have the two people who did commit a crime in custody. You're welcome for that." Boros took another step forward. The Captain's face was beet red with anger. "Oh, you want to put a pin in that too? Fine with me. How about the fact that I am an Ambassador to two different governments? What does that mean, Captain."

"It means shit for all I care." The captain snarled.

"Fuck you. I'm leaving." Boros raised his arms in front of him and jerked them apart, snapping the chain. A shake of each leg shed the shackles similarly. Boros plucked the cuffs from each of his wrists and took another threatening step toward the Captain.

"Where is Shihong?"

The Captain stared at him in horror

Boros repeated his question louder. Before the Captain could answer the door slid open again. This time it was a loud commotion that came through the door followed by Admiral Bill Hampton with a dangerous expression on his face.

"She's fine Boros." Bill told him. "She's with my men right now, actually she's pretty worried about you." Then Bill turned to the Captain. "Just so that we're on the same page, I was watching the whole thing, so don't bother denying it. I even turned back on the recorders so there's a video of you about to piss yourself with fear while committing a high crime."

Suddenly smiling Bill turned back to Boros. "This makes two out of two times."

"What?" Boros asked confused.

"This is only our second time meeting and both times I've found you scaring the shit out of degenerate officers." he became serious. "What would you have done if I hadn't come in just now?"

"I would have made him tell me where Shihong was." Boros looked at the Captain. "You wouldn't have liked it at all."

The captain saw something in Boros' eyes and his face paled making Bill laugh.

"Well, come on. I'll give you a ride to your hangar. Your four transports just arrived. We'll drop this scumbag off at my office on the way."

"Why at your office?" Boros asked.

"After some of the things my men found out about Santos, well, I had some holding cells installed. This asshole can keep Santos company until I have a chance to look into their dealings. But unlike the jail here, I know and trust the men standing guard at my holding cells." Bill explained.

It made sense to Boros, especially considering the atmosphere surrounding the change of command on the base. It was only a couple of minutes until the Admiral, Captain, and Boros entered the front lobby of the police station where Shihong launched herself into his arms and he held her tightly. The new couple held each other for a moment in silence before separating.

Boros slipped his hand in hers and then asked Bill something that had occurred to him. "What happened to the Sniper and his partner."

"They're still here." Bill told him. "They should be fine in their holding cells."

Boros wasn't so sure. "I don't think so." he told the Admiral. "They didn't just set this up on a lark, they were specifically looking for me. The troubling thing is, there are only a handful of people that even know I exist. Until the day before yesterday, for all intents and purposes I didn't. Taking it a step further, the only people who do know, for the most part, are government or military."

Bill mulled that over. "You may be right." Bill turned to the knot of men he'd brought with him. "Carver. Go on ahead and make arrangements for the building next to my office to be converted into a secure holding area. As many cells as you can fit in there. They don't have to be comfortable, you get me?" Carver saluted the Admiral and left. "Lucero, Muniz, go collect the sniper and his associate, we're taking them with us." The two also saluted and moved to carry out their orders.

***

It was only a half hour later when the car they were in pulled up to a hangar and they all got out. "Well, here it is, your new home for the next week or two." Bill gestured grandly to the large area where five gleaming ships were. The Aires class transports were a sight to behold at over two hundred meters long and seventy meters wide. "What do you think?"

Boros couldn't stop staring at them. They were beautiful and predatory. What's more was that they were something he could look at now as proof that this entire thing hadn't been a dream. But when he looked again he realized that there was one more than there should be. "What's that one?" Boros asked pointing.

"Oh, that? That's a new design." Bill told him. "Since we've had contact with a couple of species of aliens so far we figured it would be wise to build something elegant but dangerous if we ever wanted to send a liaison to one of their homeworlds to open real relations. Think about it as a perk of the job." Bill hesitated. "If I would have known high command was going to be gifting you one of those shuttles I wouldn't have authorised the extra supplies to that transport. But since I did..." The unspoken understanding was clear to Boros, and he wondered if he could return the shuttle without making enemies. In the end, Boros shrugged noncommittally.

Bill understood, or thought he did, Boros' reaction. "Why don't we go inside, I have something for you." He took their silence as assent and led the way to the transport that had been specially outfitted. He talked as they walked. "These brand new Aires class ships have all been equipped with the most advanced cutting edge technology the SSA possesses. Some of the newer stuff is an adaptation for some alien tech we traded for a few years ago. It took the guys and girls over at R&D a while to figure out how some of it all worked but once they did, they started integrating it into other systems." he opened a panel on one of the front legs of the landing gear and keyed in a sequence of numbers. There was a hiss above them and a platform lowered from the belly of the transport. "This loading bay is the only entrance or exit for the ship until you initialize the master protocols. It'll take us right into the cargo hold. Aside from the cargo hold the transport has five levels, well, four plus the command level." With a hiss, the loading platform sealed once it was rejoined with the rest of the floor, it's border was clearly outlined in a glowing yellow.

Bill led them through the cargo hold, pointing out different features like a hydraulic lift that could move larger items up through the floor of the next level and eventually their goal, the elevator. "There are ladders front, midship, and aft. But we're going to the command deck and I don't fancy climbing ladders and stairs right now."

The elevator moved surprisingly fast and they rose four floors in seconds. "Here we are." Bill said and started to look around. "This way I think. Sorry, but this is my first time on this make of ship. We're looking for the, yes, here it is." He stopped at a vault like door and opened it. "This, is the bridge."

Boros was shocked. The bridge on the Aires class transport was no joke. It wasn't nearly as large as the one on the Star Cruiser but it seemed much more spacious. There weren't different levels here, just the Captain's chair raised on a small podium. All of the other crescent shaped stations were spread out from that central point. Bill was already moving to the far side of the bridge to a door that boros hadn't noticed before. Looking around he saw another one on the opposite side but instead of investigating, he followed the Admiral.

"Here we are, the Captain's ready room and office." He went in and looked around. The room wasn't small, but it was cozy. There was a bunk against the far wall a desk in the middle, and some couches off to the side. Bill went straight to the desk and started opening drawers. "Here it is!" he said triumphantly holding up what looked like a holopad. "Everything you want to know about the ship is on here, including how to initiate the master protocols. Could you please take care of that Boros? We're going to need the sensor array for you to make use of what I show you."

Boros accepted the pad from bill and looked it over. Except for a few more buttons on it's sides id didn't look much different than a holopad. He started it up like he normally would and instantly saw the difference. The display was far more crisp and the interface wasn't something he was familiar with. It took him a few minutes to figure it out but it turned out to be fairly straight forward. He did however almost drop it when the ship started to speak to him. And a panel on the wall next to the desk slid open.

"Thank you Captain. Please provide a biological sample to confirm." The ship spoke in a decidedly female voice. Boros looked into the newly revealed cubby hole and saw the outline of a palm reader. He placed his hand over it and waited. "Thank you." the ship said. "Commodore Ouroboros."

Out of habit he corrected, "Just Boros, please."

"As you wish Commodore Boros. Would you like to initiate master protocols now?"

"I would, thank you."

"I require a name to complete setup." the ship informed him.

"A name?" Boros asked confused.

"Yes." The ship replied. "I will require a name." It stated

"A name for you or for the ship?" Boros enquired.

"We are one and the same."

This is surreal, Boros thought. He didn't know why he felt this way, but it seemed wrong to him to name the transport before the Star Cruiser. It came to him suddenly with a flash of inspiration. He knew what he was going to name the Star Cruiser and the transport.

"The name is Nyx." Boros told the computer.

"Master protocols are now online. Would you like to add another user?" Nyx asked.

Boros motioned Shihong to come forward. "I would."

"I will require a biological sample."

Shihong followed Boros' example and placed her palm on the reader that had been concealed by the wall panel.

"Thank you user. I have no data on the provider of the sample. What name am I to call you by." Nyx asked.

"I am Shihong."

"Very well, Shihong. Commodore Boros you may find any information about my systems on the ships holopad. Or you may ask me directly."

"Well, that was easy." Bill said dryly. "I remember the days you had to manually input everything at the different stations. Anyway, what I wanted to show you." Bill motioned them to come around the desk as he plugged a storage chip in the consoles reader. After getting a more clear understanding of what you're going to be doing and that you could afford them I thought that this might help.

What Bill was talking about was evidently a catalogue of highly advanced technology that wasn't available to just anyone. As Boros scanned some of the images and descriptions his face broke into a smile. This would make his life much easier.

"I'll leave this with you." Bill told him. "Look through it and just let me know what you're interested in."

Boros nodded. "Thank you, Bill. This is going to help a lot."

"Well, that's what I wanted to show you. I'll see you tomorrow when you call. Just let me know if you need anything else." Bill shook both of their hands. "I'll see myself out. Don't forget to look around." he called back to them, and then he was gone leaving Boros and Shihong alone.

It was a little awkward, the two sneaking glances at each other as they stood there in the ready room. Then Shihong's stomach made a gurgling sound that broke the silence.

She looked at him shyly. "I think you made some mention of dinner?"

Boros grinned at her. Experimentally, he said, "Nyx? Where can we get something to eat?"

"There are two dining facilities on board. The passenger facility is on deck two and the crew facility is on the command deck." Nyx answered in its monotone yet female voice.

"Where is the crew's dining facility located?" Boros asked.

A hologram of the ship appeared over the desk. The layers peeled back until a floor plan of the command deck was all that was left. The dining facility looked to be in the middle of the ship just before the rec room and gym and across from the officers lounge. Between the bridge and the dining facility were two larger areas on either side of the main hallway labeled Captain's Quarters and XO's Quarters. The rest of the six crew quarters were to the rear of the ship behind the rec room and gym. For a transport, the command area at least, was impressively spacious.

"Shall we?" Boros invited offering her his arm, which she took and snuggled up into him. "Let's go see what Bill had stocked for us."

***

Boros was very surprised with not only the kitchen facilities but the sheer variety and volume of foods to choose from. In his cabin in the woods, Boros had loved to cook and had spent a small fortune on some of the best appliances money could buy. These were better by far. After inspecting the stores of fresh preserved food he was optimistic that there wasn't anything he couldn't prepare or didn't have the ingredients for.

He turned back to Shihong, "So, what would you like?" he asked.

She thought for a moment but couldn't decide. "How about you choose? But something quick? I really am hungry."