Surefoot 63: Red Flags

She looked to Mreia again, her expression serious. "You asked me why we're helping you. Jhess has been wonderful for my brother and sister. He's been gentle, kind, loving, patient, protective, has saved my family's lives more than once... and he helped me personally, at a time when I was seriously in need of help. We all owe him. Big time. I'll send back Shau, and let you know when we've got Jhess and the others out of detention." In Old Caitian, she ended with, "Wish us luck."

Then she touched her temple again and ordered, "Let's go, Dad."

She offered one final wave as she vanished in a transporter beam.

*

Mirow removed his helmet and commgear and rushed out of the Landing Bay, determined to see his wife as soon as possible-

-Until he ran into a Ferasan, one of several, waiting for him. He took in their strange scents, their weapons, and how they looked at him, and forced down his initial disgust -- and fear -- to offer, "Excuse me-"

"Mr Mirow Mroara-Lnee?" the Ferasan in the centre of the group asked.

He started. "Yes?"

"You are the son of Kami Hrelle, the Starfleet war criminal?"

Mirow bristled, swallowing down his anger at his words but still declaring, "She's no criminal!"

The Ferasan made an amused sound at his response. "Regardless, you are her son. You are required to come with us for questioning about her whereabouts."

"Wha- she's not even on Cait! She's in space, I don't know where-"

The Ferasan grabbed his arm quickly, the others raising their weapons-

"What do you think you're doing?"

All heads turned to Ptera, holding her belly as she marched with as much dignity and authority as she could muster under the circumstances. Mirow's fear at his own safety now vanished, replaced by one for his wife. "Ptera, no! Stay back!"

The Ferasan sneered at her. "Yes, Caitian, stay back, and do not interfere."

Ptera scowled up at him, stabbing a finger. "Release my husband, now!"

"Ptera, please!"

The Ferasan ground his sabreteeth in amusement. "And what will you do if I do not, you mouthy little kussik?"

She drew closer. "Then I'll tell my mother."

That made them laugh.

Until she clarified, "And she'll tell the Ferasan Pridemaster whom she's working with, building ships for your people. Ubar-Sin, I believe his name is, of the Evercrest Fur Pride." She motioned down the direction of the corridor. "Well? Shall I go and have her inform him that you're harassing her bond-son?"

That made the Ferasan bristle, and appear clearly conflicted over being practically scolded by a mere female, while also acknowledging the potential truth behind her warnings. He pointed at Mirow. "His mother and her husband have been reported on Cait! They are-"

"-Of no consequence anymore," Ptera informed them archly. "Under Caitian tradition, Mirow renounced any affiliation with his old clan when we married, and became part of mine, taking our name as his. His mother has had cubs of her own with her new husband, and is a thousand light years away from here, fighting your Dominion masters.

Now, I'm going home, and I expect my husband to take me there. If he's not walking away with me in the next ten seconds, I'll be calling my mother in twenty seconds, and in an hour's time you'll be facing the leader of your people on Cait, and probably counting the last minutes of your life on the fingers of one mangy paw. Your future's up to you."

Ten seconds later, Mirow was walking away with her, his arm around hers, his heart still racing; he had known her long enough to know how steeled she could get, but seeing her stand up to three Ferasans... "That was amazing, Sugartail-"

"Shut up and take me home. I'm on Maternity Leave now. And I don't know if I'll be coming back."

*

Agana Mount Aeroport, Militia Terminal:

Something changed.

Jhess had been in a timeless, chaotic state for the longest time... until he devised a means of time measurement: the healing process of his injuries. For instance he focused on the deep bruises on his right thigh, confirming that a minimum of ten hours had passed from when the Ferasan Pridemaster tormenting him had driven his boot there until now. The easing ache on his ribs confirmed that he had been fed eight hours ago. And the stabbing pain in his kidneys told him that he hadn't tried peeing in about a day... that definitely worried him.

But now something changed. They were changing their routine.

This was it, he decided. He was going to be taken elsewhere, or he was going to be killed. Or taken elsewhere to be killed.

None of those options were appealing.

And so he decided to go down now, fighting, in control of his own destiny.

He had already resigned himself to never seeing his family, or the Hrelles, or any other Caitian again.

So be it. They would all move on after he was gone... and, Mother Willing, drive these bastards off their world.

The door slid open; he leapt up into a crouch, ignoring his pain -- it will all be over soon enough -- and launched himself, claws bared, at the large silhouette filling the doorway.

The silhouette deftly stepped aside, reaching out and grabbing Jhess by his scruff of his furry neck, swinging him around and slamming his naked body into the wall, before pinning him there.

The Ferasan who restrained him leaned in, gnashing his sabreteeth. "Oooh, the broken cat still has some bite in him, does he? Well, too little, too late. I've come for you and the other Militia scum." He drew in even closer and taunted, "Maybe you can sing me a few verses of The Hills of Tau'Maree, or Hnall and His Crooked Tail, while we take you to your just rewards? How about it, Spots?"

Jhess tensed to fight back- until the mention of those song titles, and the nickname he had on the Surefoot, made him freeze.

And catch the scent of the so-called Ferasan holding him in place.

Mother's Cubs... the Ferasan was Esek!

*

Liberty Plaza, Shanos Minor:

Shau had watched with growing excitement as his group converged with others his age and older from the different districts, all of them flowing like a river towards the Plaza, their banners raised high, declaring their rights and liberties, proclamations that have enshrined Shanos Minor as a beacon of civil rights.

It was heady, both their collective scents and their collective sounds of excitement and determination. He looked to his girlfriend Noma, who raised their own banner high, chanting... and he smiled with pleasure at sharing this time with her. This would be something to tell their cubs someday...

Liberty Plaza was a wide hexagonal open meeting place, with white columns at each point, rising up thirty metres, each representing the six original colony ships that had made it to Cait a millennium ago, and representing the Six Inviolable Rights as detailed in the First Affirmation. It was traditionally open to all, to come and meet and speak on any subject, had always been.

Until today. Today, a ring of Constables blocked entry.

"What's going on?" he asked aloud.

"They can't do that!" Noma declared, pushing forward, Shau following, until they reached the perimeter, and the line of black-uniformed adults. "You can't do this!"

One of the Constables raised a gloved paw, and his voice, through an amplifier at his collar. "Go home! Public Assembly has been temporarily suspended under the Protection Act-"

Another student called out, "You can't suspend our rights! What are we without them?"

The Constable glanced at his comrades, and now raised both paws. "Please! Go home! This is an Emergency situation! You will face criminal charges if you do not disperse!"

Shau glanced around nervously, fighting the instinctive desire to obey, unable and unwilling to be meek about it all. They were holding his Dad somewhere, out of contact with the rest of the world! It wasn't fair! And none of what was going on now was fair!

His righteous anger made him shout around him, "They can't arrest us all! Seven Hells, No! We Won't Go!"

His declaration was picked up by Noma and those around him. "SEVEN HELLS, NO! WE WON'T GO! SEVEN HELLS, NO! WE WON'T GO! SEVEN HELLS, NO! WE WON'T GO-"

A series of disruptor blasts made the crowd shriek and drop into crouches, and Shau noticed that even the Constables reacted with alarm- they didn't fire their weapons!

He looked past the Constables to the centre of the Plaza... where six tall, armed Ferasans suddenly stood, one of them holding a wicked-looking black weapon in one paw, aimed into the cloudless blue sky.

The crowd raised wary heads to see the armed Ferasan step forward, the Constables parting like curtains as he sneered at the surrounding crowd, raising his own voice without the need of an amplifier as he paced about, contempt dripping from him. "Oooh, look at the little kittens, trying to roar! Strutting through the streets, chests and tails puffed out! Such mighty warriors!" He and his males laughed at that.

His laughter melted into a sneer. "I am Enam-Bel of the Black Pelt Pride, Second Son to the Master Governor himself! And you Little Kittens need to scurry home! Back to your mothers' teats! Because I have no patience for your mewling!"

He lowered the disruptor to the level of the crowds. "No patience whatsoever."

"Wait!" That came from one of the Constables, a young male from what Shau could see. "You can't threaten them with lethal weapons! They're just cubs! They mean no harm!"

Enam-Bel turned his glare -- and his disruptor -- in the Constable's direction. "And yet, they're still here! Risking death from us! They have no business being here!"

"They have every business," came a new, female voice from the crowds.

The Ferasan turned in that direction. "Who said that? Show yourself!"

Behind Shau, the protestors began to part, as a black-cloaked figured came into view, striding forward almost casually... and when she was close enough, Shau saw that she was human: furless, pale-skinned, blue-eyed, strands of red-honey hair revealed as she threw back the hood, and then shucked off the cloak, revealing black-padded outfit with boots and padded sections on her body... and a sidearm and sword.

Shau recognised her: the human his Dad talked about, Sasha Hrelle... the Kaetini!

She strode up to the edge of the Plaza, anger and determination in her expression, repeating, "They have every business defying your orders. This is our world. Not yours."

Enam-Bel bared his teeth. "An alien! Starfleet scum! Constables! Disarm her! We'll bring her back with us, a prize for my father!"

Shau and the other protestors made noise, as the Constables drew closer to Sasha... and then stopped, as the one who had spoken up before noted the symbol on the hilt of her blade with astonishment. "Is that... is that a Kaetini sword?"

The question sent rumbles through the crowd, continued as Sasha nodded in confirmation.

"B-But- you're human," the Constable observed, eyes wide with wonder.

Sasha replied loudly, in Old Caitian, "I am a Warrior of the Great Mother. I am Her Eyes and I am Her Ears. I am her Teeth and I am her Claws. I am Her Purr, and I am Her Roar. I will defend the Living, and I will avenge the Dead. And I will give my life to protect the Motherworld and her people."

The Caitians' excitement grew as they heard the human speak. Shau knew Old Caitian, having studied it as an Optional course at school, and he knew the Oath from the historical texts given him. It was true, not just legend. Mother's Cubs...

"What are you doing?" Enam-Bel demanded. "Fools! Take her weapons off her!"

The Constables hesitated, before looking back at the Ferasans. "We can't! We can't disarm a Kaetini, can't even touch or impede them! It's one of our oldest laws!"

"A Kaetini?" The Ferasan looked around him. "What the fuck is a Kaetini?"

Sasha stepped closer, looking utterly unafraid. "A Kaetini is a Warrior of the Great Mother, a Protector of Her people..." She indicated the crowds now. "And these cubs, these Constables, all fellow Caitians here, are under my protection."

Enam-Bel stared with abject confusion. "'Fellow'? You- You're no Caitian! Who the fuck are you?"

The human raised her chin. "Oh, I am Caitian. And I'm Lieutenant Sasha Hrelle of Starfleet. I am the Tailless Cub who singlehandedly slaughtered the Black Talon Pride on their own starship. And you mangy, rat-tailed, snaggletoothed kussiks need to scurry home. Back to your mothers' teats. Because I have no patience for your mewling. NO patience whatsoever."

She pointed a gloved finger at them. "Get off our world."

Enam-Bel bared his teeth now. "'Your world'? 'YOUR WORLD'? This is OUR world now! We own it! We own ALL OF YOU! And you'll all die today for your defiance!"

He raised his disruptor to her. "And you'll be the first."

She kept her right arm raised... but twisted her hand to raise her middle finger at the Ferasans.

Enam-Bel snarled and fired.

Or tried to.

Shau and the other students gasped and flinched, but nothing happened. Enam-Bel kept trying, then checked the status of his weapon, before motioning to the other Ferasans, who drew their weapons and tried firing as well. And failed as well.

Sasha lowered her arm. "What's wrong, kussiks? Having performance issues?"

Enam-Bel threw aside his useless weapon and pointed back at her, roaring, "RIP HER APART!"

Two of his males holstered their weapons and charged at her.

Shau almost called out to warn her, despite the sheer needlessness of the action. Everyone knew that Ferasans were genetically superior to Caitians: bigger, stronger, faster. And Caitians were genetically superior to Humans. She had to get away, get away now-

She stepped to her right, shifting onto her right boot and driving her left leg up until the tip of her left boot connected with one Ferasan's groin, doubling him over and making the breath evacuate from his lungs. With fluid ease she then crouched and charged low into the second Ferasan, using his own momentum against him as she flipped him over her -- and drove her boot down onto his muzzle like a hammer, shattering the bones with a sickening sound that could be heard by those closest to the fight.

The other four Ferasans joined the fray.

Sasha drew out her sword, a black blade that reflected the afternoon light as she swung out in wide, smooth vertical and horizontal arcs, pirouetting like a dancer as she sliced open the belly of one, turning her back to him as she impaled the second one through the chest, the tip of the blade appearing from the Ferasan's back.

Shau gasped. He wasn't sure what shocked him more: how easily the blade seemed to penetrate Ferasan flesh and uniform, or how easily the young human, someone seemingly not much older than he was, fought... and killed them.

Before he could think any further on it, the third Ferasan caught a glancing blow across her head, sending her staggering back as Enam-Bel tried to take advantage, raising a paw up, claws exposed-

A sharp sonic shock made everyone yelp, and Enam-Bel cry out and stumble backwards. Shau's gaze moved to the source of the shock: one of the Constables, the one who had protested disarming Sasha, had his Yap, his sonic stun pistol, drawn and aimed in Enam-Bel's direction, his arm shakign as if not believing what he had just done.

The distraction gave Sasha the opportunity to take the left arm off the third Ferasan, making him drop to his knees, shrieking and clutching the stump where she had cut off his limb, before she drove her blade once more into his chest, sending him dead to the ground.

Then there was only Enam-Bel, unable to stand up following the blast he took from the Yap. He was trying to crawl away from the slowly-approaching Sasha, slapping a device on his uniform. "Emergency transport! Emergency transport! BEAM ME AWAY!" Then he looked up at her, terror in his expression. "Please! No! Please don't kill me! PLEASE!"

She stopped in place, never taking her glare from him as she reached for something on her belt. "There. You can beam away now."

Enam-Bel took it. "Emergency Transport! NOW!"

And then he, and the dead and dying Ferasans and their fallen disruptors, vanished.

Shau watched Sasha from behind, her sword still dripping with red-black Ferasan blood, the drops hitting the slate-grey plaza pavement, the only evidence remaining of what had just happened.

Dead. Shau gasped, and he felt the same feeling from everyone around him. He had never seen anyone die before, let alone get killed...

Then Sasha drew her hand down the length of the blade, wiping the blood from it, sheathed the sword and turned around, walking up to the Constable who had intervened. "What's your name?"

The male swallowed, still holding his weapon. "Constable Ssesil... Ma'am."

She nodded. "Thank you for your help just now, Constable Ssesil." She glanced around, saw how many students were recording the encounter on their minicoms. "You and your people need to get these students broken up and heading home right away; the Ferasans will very likely come back looking for someone to blame." As the male nodded and began coordinating with his men, she looked out at the group and announced, "Does anyone know Shau Furore?"

Shau started, swallowed, looking to Noma before raising my paw and answering, "Here! I'm here!"

Sasha looked in his direction. "We've rescued your father and the other prisoners. They've been through the Seven Hells, but they'll recover. Now get home and take care of your mother. Now. Is that understood?"

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you!" he nodded, gratitude filling him up. His Dad was alive, and free!

But then Sasha turned around, seeing the throngs of students and the Constables remaining, her expression taut as she pointed to where the Ferasans had beamed away. "They are not your friends! They are not your benefactors! THEY ARE YOUR ENEMY!

AND THEY ARE NOT INVINCIBLE!"

Then she touched something on her collar and transported away.

*

Capitol Building, First City, M'Mirl Province:

"They are not your friends! They are not your benefactors! THEY ARE YOUR ENEMY! AND THEY ARE NOT INVINCIBLE!"

Master Governor Melem-Adu stood before the huge screen in his Operations Centre, watching the recordings uploaded to the Caitian Cynet from multiple sources present at Liberty Plaza. He watched his offspring publicly declare the Ferasans' ownership of Cait, watched him and his males humiliated by a furless human with a sword. He saw the attempts by his people here to delete the uploads, even as it was being re-uploaded by other sources. "Report!"

One of his aides approached... though not too closely. "We have been unable to trace the transporter beam the human used, or where she might have gone-"

"We know where she's gone," Melem-Adu growled. "With the ones who snuck into Agana Mount in the same city and liberated our Militia prisoners. Why have we not traced the vessel they employed?"

"It... is proving difficult, Master Governor. They employed advanced holographic technology to disguise themselves as our people when they beamed into Agana Mount and freed the prisoners, and had co-opted the local security computers to provide false security-"

He pointed a finger at the image of Sasha. "I want all intelligence on that ape and her associates. Find out if she really was the Tailless Cub who slaughtered the Black Talon Pride in the Abraxas Sector last year-"

"Do you require our assistance?"

Melem-Adu turned to Weyos, standing nearby, as simpering and killable as ever. He forced down his instinctive response to say instead, "No... thank you, Vorta. We can manage this on our own."

Weyos smiled. "Of course you can."

The Ferasan grunted, imagining what Vorta flesh might taste like. Probably sickeningly sweet and disgusting. "Has my Second Son finally arrived?"