The Wolves Ch. 031

[Hand-to-hand combat in the mornings and afternoons, and firearms in the evenings.]

[Why hand-to-hand and not melee weapons?]

[You'll probably be trained with swords fairly soon, but anything more than that will wait until we get back to Scyftan space. Thomas recommended a very good instructor to train you, but the man is a hermit and will likely not leave the planet he lives on.]

[The way you're describing it, he's Yoda and I'm Luke,] I said as I stepped into the elevator.

[What? Oh, you're talking about Star Wars. Yes, I imagine it is something like that,] she said with a chuckle. [I don't think you'll have to swing from vines and navigate a swamp while someone rides on your back, though.]

[That's good. Swamps suck,] I replied as I left the elevator, drawing another laugh out of her. I teleported to the quarantine ward and was surprised to see someone else.

[I just arrived and someone is here. I'll talk to you in the morning.]

[It's probably Tamara Ridley. She has to sign off on animals being taken out of the quarantine ward,] she explained. [See you in the morning.]

The woman didn't turn around, but suddenly a small reptilian animal appeared from behind the counter she was standing behind. It scurried towards me, stopping when it got within three feet or so. I knelt down and reached out to it when the woman stopped me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Rajeni doesn't like strangers and she can kill you with a single bite."

Nothing would have caused me to pull my hand back than hearing that something was highly venomous. The small animal stared me down for another ten seconds or so before the woman whistled. The whistle wasn't very loud, nor very long, but it caused the reptile to turn around and run back towards her. As I watched, it ran up her body before sitting on her left shoulder.

"Can I help you?" she asked once she had finished what she was doing and turned around.

"What is she?" I asked, gesturing to the lizard on her shoulder.

"A Sarteran lizard. They're found deep within Confederation space and are hunted for their venom. I rescued this little one's mother hundreds of years ago, and I've been breeding them since."

"You're not worried about her biting anyone?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "I'm working with her to make her less hostile, but I carry several doses of an anti-venom I developed, just in case."

"Oh. Anyways, I'm here for Vixa. I was told her seventy-two hours in quarantine would be up soon and I'd be able to take her up to the main base."

"Vixa?" she asked before realization dawned on her. She quickly knelt. "My apologies, sire."

"Ugh. I really wish people would stop doing that. Get up!" I barked.

She stood back up but I interrupted her before she could start talking.

"The next few words out of your mouth had better not be 'sire' or 'milord', or anything like that," I warned.

"No, sir. I had heard about your dislike for those, as well as people kneeling. I wasn't thinking."

"Sorry for biting your head off. It's been a long day and I just want to get Vixa and then get some sleep."

"I understand. There is still about ten minutes to go, but it's close enough. You can go get Vixa and bring her up to your room. Someone will be up there with a litter box, bed, and a couple of dishes shortly."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I do have a bone to pick with you, but it can wait until tomorrow when you're more alert. Gabriel told me you wanted to meet with me, so we'll get into it then. The meeting is at 13:00, by the way. Make sure you're not late."

I nodded, wondering what she could be mad about, but turned and walked towards the room Vixa was in. I opened the door and she had teleported to my feet before I could say anything. Her tails were going absolutely nuts and she was sitting there staring up at me.

"You can leave now. Ready to go?"

She let out a loud excited bark and began teleporting around me. Before I could turn and see her, there was a pop and she was already gone.

I heard a laugh behind me "It looks like she is very sick of that room," Tamara said.

There was another pop and then silence. I turned around and saw that Vixa had teleported over to Tamara, who had knelt down and was scratching Vixa's head. She gave Vixa's head a final scratch and then stood back up and looked at me.

"If she doesn't eat, or has any other issues, let me know. I'm one of the only vets around here, so I can take a look."

"I will. Thank you for looking after her."

"My pleasure, she's an absolute doll."

"C'mon Vixa!" I said, turning around and heading out of the ward. There was another teleport and she fell in line beside me. After we were clear of the room, I Blinked forward and she did the same. It didn't take very long for the two of us to make it to the elevator, with us teleporting short distances every few seconds, with longer breaks every dozen or so Blinks.

I hit the button for the elevator, with the doors opening right away. Vixa followed me in, and we were soon ascending to the main level of the base. Once there, we continued our little game of teleporting until we arrived at my room. Vixa ran inside as soon as the door opened and began exploring everything. She sniffed around the main room first before checking out the bathroom, followed by the closet. When she was done exploring, there was a pop and she appeared in the middle of the bed.

I laughed and was going to join her when there was a knock. I turned around and opened where I was greeted by a young woman who looked very much like Tamara. She was wheeling a cart that had a number of objects on it.

"Hi, I'm Bria. My mom asked me to bring these up for you."

"Tamara is your mom? You're really fast! Vixa and I only just got here a few minutes ago, and we teleported all the way."

"The power of portals," she replied with a laugh.

"Ah, makes sense. Come in. I'm sure you've met Vixa."

She nodded as she wheeled the cart in. "I played with her whenever I had some free time. I don't think she'll be nearly as bored now, though. There is a lot more room in here, and she'll be able to roam this level of the base."

"I know that teleporting out of rooms is possible, but how will she get back in?"

"Rooms can be set up to allow certain people, or animals to teleport in or out. I believe Vixa has already been added to the whitelist, but you may want to make sure. The little book on your nightstand there will have all the details," she said, pointing at the manual I had looked at to set my alarm the night before.

"I really need to take a look at that manual in some more depth."

She nodded, "Well, my mom said that you're tired so I shouldn't take up much of your time. Where would you like everything set up?"

I shrugged. "I don't have a preference. What do you recommend?"

"The litter box in the bathroom, definitely. The bed and the dishes can be anywhere, though. She didn't seem to be a messy eater, but I have some mats that can be placed under the food and water dishes to avoid any messes on the carpet. As for the bed? I'm not sure she'll use it, but how about just putting it beside your bed, or at the foot of it?"

"Works for me. How about putting the food and water in that corner there?" I asked, pointing to the only vacant corner in the room.

"That works. I'll set up the litter box and then help you with the dishes. How about putting the mat down and then setting the two feeders on it? I'll show you how they work in a minute."

I nodded and she went to work. She carried the litter box in one hand, and a bag of litter over her shoulder while I wheeled the cart over to the corner and put down the rubbery waterproof mat. The feeders she was talking about looked like expensive ones with a display and everything, but were different than any I had seen. The food feeder had four different hoppers, while the water feeder had slots for what looked like three water jugs.

The water jugs on the cart weren't the normal ones you see on a watercooler, but they were still eight litres or so. Bria came out of the bathroom with the empty litter bag crumpled up in her hand and deposited it on the cart before grabbing two of the water jugs and carrying them over. I went over and grabbed the third while she placed them on the feeder.

"Phenidae have needs that can't be filled by giving them regular food and water," she explained. "One of these jugs contains water, while the other two contain various vitamins and minerals that would be in her regular diet if she was living in the wild on Nedovis. The water jug will drain faster so there will be a new one delivered every week or so, while the smaller jugs will be replaced every three months. The food contains more vitamins and minerals, and comes in four different flavors that Phenidae have shown a preference for. They do get bored of the same food day after day, so that is why there are four different hoppers. The food she is given will always be random, so if one gets low enough, the feeder will let you know so you can refill it. I'll be leaving a bag of each type with you, so you can refill it as needed. Additional bags of food will be delivered every two weeks, as needed. Any questions?"

"What's with all the buttons and displays on both of them?"

"The water feeder just displays the level of water, vitamins or minerals in each jug, and the buttons are just there to get updated readings. The food feeder is more complicated. I'll leave a manual for you, but I'll set it up now. The food feeder will deposit food in her bowl three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. What time do you get up in the morning?"

"06:30 or 7:00. It's been the former, lately."

"Alright, that's when I'll set the first feeding," she said, hitting buttons on the feeder. She stood up after a minute or so, and turned back towards me.

"I set the timers to put food in her bowl at 06:30, 12:30 and 18:30. If you look at the display, you'll see that it is showing 06:30 with a little arrow beside it, which indicates when the next feeding is. On the other side, it also shows the levels of each hopper, so you can take a glance and fill one if it needs it. All four of them are showing empty, but that's because we haven't filled them yet," she finished as she went over and grabbed two of the food bags off the cart.

She dropped them at her feet and then took a knife out of her storage, cutting a slot in the top of each and then setting the knife down on the cart. After that, she picked one of the bags up and began emptying it into one of the hoppers.

"Each bag is color coded for the slot it goes in," she explained. "People were having trouble remembering which hopper was which, so we made it a lot easier."

She quickly unloaded the two food bags before turning to the cart and gathering two more, before turning back and emptying those just as quickly. When each hopper was full, she closed the lids and crumpled up three of the bags, dropping them into the one she didn't crumple up.

"Phenidae are notorious food thieves, so you need somewhere to put these where she can't get to them," she said, gesturing to the four bags still on the cart.

"I have some chests in my closet, but they're all full of weapons and other equipment. Other than that, I don't think I have anywhere to put them."

"Alright, it should be fine for tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow with a locker you can place in your closet. When activated, it emits a field of energy that Phenidae can't teleport through, which will keep her from getting at the bags."

I nodded, struggling to keep my eyes open, and Bria seemed to recognize that fact.

"Alright, everything is set. If you have any issues you can let either my mom or myself know and we'll get sorted. I'll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep."

"Thanks for the help," I said with a big yawn.

"No problem. Bye, Vixa!" she said, wheeling the cart back out of the room.

Vixa yipped and I closed the door behind Bria before turning around and walking towards my bed.

"Alarm set 08:00. Lights off," I said before collapsing on my bed.

The last thing I heard before sleep claimed me was a chime signaling the alarm was now set for 08:00.