A SPARTAN'S WAR

For'mya and Eirene were racing side by side down the ridge, almost identical in size and color. Their powerful hind muscles propelled them at great speed, so fast that they were closing on a group of five creatures who had managed to get around behind them and were chasing the slowest members of the Processing Group that were running for the Landing Zone. For'mya quickly spied the running figures of three females and two male elves who were trying to keep them between them.

Mother! Eirene screamed out within Mindvoice.

I see them! For'mya barked.

We will not reach them in time! Eirene rasped as her paws dug harder into the ground trying to go faster.

Faster Eirene! Shift just before we reach them and use your weapons! For'mya shouted out as she dug her paws in harder and moved faster.

Even as they ran they were witness to two of the creatures dragging down two elven females from behind. Even though they struggled and screamed trying to beat the creatures off, Eirene and For'mya watched in horror as the bone plates on both creatures lifted, exposing those small teeth and tongue like appendages. Those tongue appendages shot out amazingly fast and plunged into the open mouths of the two females. The creatures faces drew close as their tongues bulged the necks of the women as they were shoved deep into their throats. Filled with horror and anger For'mya began shifting even as those tongues began to move and For'mya could see bulges constrict the female's throats as if something was being pumped into their stomachs. They were nearly inert now, quivering as the creatures continued to plunge those tongues into their throats. Her eyes detected two creatures bring down one of the males in front of them, but For'mya was already committed.

For'mya and Eirene were shifting before they even came to complete stops. As she took her elven form, For'mya was reaching for her K14. When she got within three feet she lifted the weapon and fired four times point blank into the creatures head. The impact of the rounds tossed the creatures off the elven female, its tongue appendage whipping out from between her lips as his body flew back. For'mya pumped three more rounds into the disgusting animal before dropping beside the elf female who was holding her throat and gasping for air.

Eirene shifted back and simply stepped up to the creature atop the female and grabbed its head in anger. She twisted violently, using all of her inbred elven and wolf strength and the creatures neck could be heard popping in the forest. Eirene wrenched even harder, yanking its body off the elven female, its own teeth biting through its tongue in place. Eirene didn't hesitate or watch as the body flew to the side and she bent over the elf female and grabbed the slimy appendage, tearing it out of the elf's mouth and throat and hearing her gasp for air and begin coughing.

"Mother!" Eirene screamed out as she helped the female get to her feet. "We have to help them!"

For'mya looked up and saw the last creature had caught the third female elf. "Get her to the Landing Zone Eirene!" For'mya barked back.

"Mother… the others are…"

"Your father and mother will save the others!" For'mya snapped as she bent down and began to haul the elf female to her unsteady feet.

Eirene's eyes shifted and grew wide as she saw the massive black shape racing towards them through the trees. Eirene had seen her MedwanGai in wolf form before on the ARC ROYAL during their lessons, his majestic size and power always captivating to her and Fedor. She had never seen him in his wolf form and moving as he was now however. His speed was unlike anything she had ever seen, his massive paws propelling him forward but seemingly never touching the ground. His raven black fur was glossy and shiny with health and even now she could see the riveting muscles bunched and tightly corded within his chest and hind quarters as he ran. With a howl of savagery the likes of which she had never witnessed Martin fell on the two creatures that had brought the man down. One was about to stab his tongue forward into the man's throat when a four inch wide paw smashed across his reptilian face and black, razor like claws removed the lower half of his head in a single swipe. His tongue appendage included. Eirene watched with adoring love as her MedwanGai skidded to a stop, turned instantly using his bushy tail, reared up on his hind legs and shifted back to his human form.

The second creature hissed evilly at her father and leaped towards him. Eirene stared in unabashed awe as her father simply stood there and reached out with his hand, freezing the creature in mid-leap within the grips of his Etheric power.

"These are my people motherfucker!" Martin screamed in anger, spittle flying from his lips. "And you can't have them!"

Martin's left hand rose and a shimmering psychic diamond appeared instantly. He then launched the psychic diamond from only sixteen inches away from the creatures face, its tongue flapping wildly in the air between them trying to reach her father. The psychic diamond struck the creature just below its large eyes and blew its head into oblivion. With a simple wave of his hand Martin tossed the creature aside and released it from its Etheric prison. The body sailed through the air to smash against a large tree as he knelt next to the elf male. Another flash of movement and Eirene saw a smaller raven wolf leap through the air and land upon the fifth creature who had injected its tongue appendage into the last female's throat. Aricia Leonidas was just as capable and even faster when in wolf form. She was the largest of Martin's Queens when she was a wolf, now easily a hundred and sixty pounds of muscle and teeth. Aricia was also the most feral and unforgiving of her mothers when she wanted to be Eirene knew.

And that was right now.

She tore open the creature's chest with her talons without hesitation, hearing it howl and begin to rise. As it did Aricia slashed down with her right paw and severed the creature's tongue from its mouth, drawing even more howls of agony. She leaped away to land and then shifted into her human form, the psychic knife exploding from her clenched right fist. She didn't hesitate and stepped up to the dazed creature and drove the psychic knife into its skull until her knuckles met its skin. She twisted her fist and Eirene watched the creature's body go rigid as Aricia solidified the psychic knife in the monster's head. She yanked her arm free quickly, leaving a gaping and smoking hole in the skull of the misshapen monstrosity, spit on the body of the creature and turned immediately to the elven female.

Martin had pulled the man to his feet and turned to For'mya and Eirene as they rushed up with their two elven females. "Get to the loading area!" He shouted. "Take them! Go!" He screamed. "I'll cover the rear!" He looked at the elf man and handed him his A4. "Go with them and cover them."

The man nodded quickly. "Thank… thank you Milord!" He gasped as his hands tightened on the weapon.

"From now on, all of us go armed!" Martin told him and the man nodded.

"That seems to be the prudent course of action sire." He stated breathing heavy in a combination of fear and adrenalin.

"Get moving! Go!" Martin spoke as his eyes turned and he found Aricia some hundred meters distant.

Daniel, Fedor and the others were right behind us Beloved! She snapped out in Mindvoice.

Saaraurano… have Anja check them when they get back! Martin told her. Something about these fucking things has me worried.

Aricia nodded. I saw it as well.

I'll wait for Danny and the others. Go.

Aricia didn't question him and helped the elf female to her feet and began heading back to the Landing Zone.

Martin looked into the distance and saw more wolf shapes moving nimbly towards him. He began moving towards them. "C'mon Fedor my boy." He whispered as he shifted back into wolf form and began to sprint.

Iama was in trouble and she knew it.

The creature had stunned her when he leaped upon her, her head banging into the ground with enough force to bring stars to her eyes. She had enough presence of mind to role onto her back and then she saw the foul monster on top of her, its mouth opening and she saw the tongue appendage. Her green eyes grew wide and her hands snapped up to try and hold the creature back by its shoulders as she realized what the disgusting beast wanted to do.

"No!" She screamed. "No!"

The beast used its hands to slam down on her arms, the pain shooting through her limbs and she could only withstand two blows before her arms gave out and she screamed in pain. With a roar of approval the beast reared back its head and its tongue shot forward with dazzling speed.

"NO!" Iama screamed knowing what was coming and suddenly unable to act. Iama did not want to be assaulted by this beast. This putrid monster. She had suffered too much in her life to reach this point. Been tossed aside so casually by so many. Tolerated too many foul monsters of her own species that had forced themselves on her for her to accept some reptile looking beast to have her. Iama also didn't believe she was going to survive this encounter or have the strength to fight for long so she did the only thing she could think of. With a last surge of strength she heaved upwards with her hips trying to throw the creature off in the hopes that she could free herself enough o begin running.

That is when she heard the savage growl and she saw him.

A flash of dark blond fur and corded muscles, and then a silver/white flash of light and Fedor Leonidas was there. Only one thing popped into her mind at that moment and that was he had come back for her. Iama watched with wide green eyes as Fedor's hand snatched out and caught the creatures tongue centimeters before it would have plunged down Iama's throat. With a savage cry of anger Fedor ripped upwards and the tongue tore free from its roots, showering both of them with white pasty blood. As the creatures roared in pain Fedor grabbed its head in his large hands and physically ripped him off Iama before tossing him several meters away. The creature was fast as it righted itself and landed on its feet, its bloody mouth opening again to let out a screech of rage. Iama watched with awe then as Fedor Leonidas reached up to the strange bandolier he wore across his body and suddenly a slim and lethal looking knife was in his hand. In that same instant Fedor's arm snapped out with blinding speed and the knife covered the distance to the creature in the blink of an eye, striking it in the eyeball. The force of the thrown knife flipped the creature over backwards, landing on its belly.

Fedor turned and was reaching for Iama. "Time to go!" He screamed.

Iama's mind cleared instantly at the tone of his voice and she was scrambling to her feet. "My pad!" She cried out. "I dropped my pad!"

Fedor looked at her and even in the midst of the blood and gore all around them Iama shivered as those beautiful wolf eyes fell on her. "You are not worth losing over some fucking data pad!" He screamed at her grabbing her arm. "Let's go!" He pushed her towards the evac point. "Go!"

Iama, still surprised at his actions, broke into a run just as Fedor looked down and saw a glint of metal. He reached down and snatched the data pad from under the dusting of dirt beneath where she had been laying and rose back up to see three creatures sprinting after Iama. With a howl of rage he shifted once more and was sprinting after Iama. He closed quickly on the closest creature, taking note that Iama had unwrapped her tail from around her waist as this allowed her to move with incredible speed and agility. He leaped, his right front paw smashing into the head of the closest creature and crushing his skull with a sickening sound. As his paws hit the ground again he was running, digging his paws in lightly, propelling himself with his hind legs just as his MedwanGai had taught him and Eirene. His wolf eyes were mindful of everything around him as he came up on the second creature and jumped once more, stopping only long enough to drive the monster to the ground and rake his hind claws across its back. He didn't break stride as the creature howled and squirmed on the ground.

Iama knew the creature was just behind her and it would be upon her before she could get to the safe area. With a burst of determination and anger for a reason she didn't understand, she whirled around to face the monster just as it leaped to fall upon her. Iama's tail snapped up and with vicious precision it wrapped around the creature's arm and wrenched to the side, slamming the smaller beast to the ground beside her. Iama fell on the monster with a scream of rage, pummeling it with her fists. Iama'Juturi was not weak by any means, she was a Kavalian after all, and her blows were incredibly painful and the fourth one shattered the creatures jaw and one side of its face. As she raised her arm to land another blow, Fedor was shifting in front of her while still running. His powerful arm reached out and snatched her up as he ran by without breaking his strike or slowing down. Iama was only five foot four and barely over a hundred pounds while Fedor Leonidas was easily six foot one and two hundred plus pounds. As she felt his arm close around her waist, Iama instantly released her tail from around the creature's and let Fedor's momentum carry her back. With all the grace of her feline nature, she scrambled up and over his back and her feet came down on the ground beside him in a running motion. What she didn't realize was that she had not released his hand in the entire motion and she gripped it tightly even as they ran.

Fedor let his nose guide them, his MedwanGai's strong mint smell easily pulling him forward. In seconds he saw his father in the treeline, his eyes watching them and waving his arm frantically as he stood beside his Uncle Danny. In another fifty meters they were beside him and they skidded to a halt.

"What the fuck!" Martin screamed at him. "You stop to sight see boy!"

"No time to scold him now!" Danny barked. "Let's di di mau! Like right fucking now!"

They looked behind Fedor and saw more of the creatures running through the timber towards them.

"Sibfla! Move!" Martin shouted grabbing Fedor and shoving him toward the Landing Zone.

Fedor looked behind them as well and saw what had to be dozens of the creatures closing on them. "Shit!" He exclaimed pulling Iama with him as they began to run again.

"There!" Aricia screamed from the rear of the STRIKER's ramp as she saw them running across the huge clearing where they had set up the Loading Zone. Aricia's azure blue eyes grew wide when she saw dozens of those creatures burst out of the treeline just behind them. "Pablo! Now!" She screamed.

"Got it!" His voice filled her implant. "G.O.D. is on station!"

Aricia looked up into the sky at the sound of a heavy gun report and she saw the remote guided gun platform move into sight. The Guided Ordnance Delivery platform was mounted with a mini fifty caliber cannon and atmospheric thrusters. The God Gun Platform as it had been named was the result of a tinkering job by Julie and Collin in their off time. It was only two meters tall and one meter long but it was a devastating piece of armament. There were three of them on each STRIKER and everyone could operate them easily, Pablo just seemed to have a special knack for it. Aricia watched with satisfaction as Pablo brought the God Platform low to the ground, barely above the heads of her beloved Martin and the others and the mini chain cannon began to spit concentrated death, mowing down the foul creatures in droves as they burst from the treeline.

Aricia turned back towards the cockpit. "Endy! For'mya! Take off now!" She shouted, though her implant transferred the directive in a more subdued tone.

The surge of the engines told Aricia they had heard her and the STRIKER began to rise slowly off the ground just as Fedor and Iama reached the edge of the ramp. He scooped her up and literally tossed her the last five feet and she landed nimbly on the ramp just in front of him. Martin and Danny jumped off the ground as the STRIKER got to three meters height and they landed on the ramp easily just as Endy fed more power into the engines and they began to rise further. Iama stumbled forward as Fedor turned to look at his MedwanGai and Uncle. His eyes grew wide as two of the creatures landed on the ramp. They both screeched loudly, causing Martin and Danny to turn with Fedor, all of them pulling K12 KMs. One creature sent his tongue shooting out towards Martin.

Martin's hand moved faster than could be followed and he grabbed onto the slimy tongue appendage before it got close to his mouth.

"Get off my fucking ride asshole!" Martin screamed before pulling the trigger. Danny and Fedor joined him and the two creatures were perforated with at least nine rounds apiece, their bodies flailing madly as the ramp continued to rise and tossed them about. Both fell dead, their pasty white blood staining the deck.

"They even smell bad!" Danny snarled.

"Kick their carcasses off my ship!" Martin growled as he reloaded his K12. "Endy… get us to five thousand feet and we'll do an in-flight recovery of Torma and Isheeni over the water."

"Will do!" Endith's voice echoed in his ear implant. "Hell of a morning Skipper!"

"You got that right." Martin answered. "Pablo… have God follow us out over the water and we'll recover it then.

"Already moving bossman." Pablo's voice answered.

"Wait!" Anja called out as she moved back to the rear with them. "Don't kick them out!" She barked. "Make sure they are fucking dead and then bag them Danny! Intact!"

Martin looked at her as she came up. "Red?"

"They injected several of our people with those tongue things lover and I want their bodies. I want their carcasses as base variables to make sure I find out if we are going to have problems." Anja said.

"They ok?" Martin asked looking at the three elf females that had those tongues shoved down their throats. They were sitting on a bench; all of them still in shock had what had just happened.

Anja nodded her head. "They seem to be right now. I'm quarantining them when we get back aboard. I've already contacted Duewa to set it up. Just to be sure."

Martin nodded and looked at Danny. "Do it!"

Anja turned to Fedor. "Take your armor off." She ordered.

Fedor met her eyes. "Mother… they did not stick their tongue down my throat." He said.

"You were shot igord!" Anja popped. "Take your armor off! I want to make sure nothing else besides your head is broken."

Fedor grinned and saw his sister and mother moving towards them. Eirene didn't hesitate and walked right up to her brother and slugged him in the chest. "Reckless fool!" She yelled at him. "What were you thinking going back?"

Fedor glanced quickly to where Iama was now sitting on a bench and one of the medics was running a medical scanner over her. He turned back to his sister. "I… I had to go back." He said. Eirene saw where his eyes went and she moved closer to him.

For'mya picked up on this right away and her dark eyes went to Martin. His gaze touched hers and he gave her a slight nod. For'mya took Fedor's arm then. "Let's get your armor off." She stated.

"Mother… I can do it myself." He complained.

For'mya met his gaze. "Just like you follow orders right?" She spoke sternly. "Your sister and I will make sure this time. Dnom is not happy with you either! You better talk to him before we reach the ARC ROYAL."

Martin watched For'mya draw him to the side with Eirene and he stepped back to where Danny and Tony were rolling one of the creature's bodies over next to a body bag. "Danny?" He said softly.

Dan looked up from where he was squatting. "He saved my life fervon. He saved Iama by going back for her." Danny told him knowing what Martin wanted to hear.

"You can smell why he went back for her." Martin said.

Danny nodded. "Yeah… but what matters is he didn't hesitate. He tried to make contact and they shot him Martin. He's got ice in his veins Marty. Cool under fire no matter what. Sort of like your ugly ass, he's just better looking."

Tony grunted. "Seems that runs in the family." He spoke with a grin.

Danny looked over at Fedor. "You think he realizes why he went back for her?"

Martin shook his head. "I don't think he has a clue." He answered. "I'll talk to him when we get back to the ship. Res and Arrarn had the same issue… and I'll need to let him know what's going on inside him."

Danny nodded his head. "He done good Martin. He done real good. Eirene too. A lot better than most rookie's first time out."

Martin looked back to where For'mya and Eirene were fawning over Fedor now and he nodded his head. "It's only the beginning." He said turning back to them. He motioned to the dead creatures. "Cut that fuckers head off. Same with his partner. I don't want them waking up anytime soon. Anja can yell at me later."

"Can we watch?" Tony asked with a smile.

Danny laughed. "It's always fun to watch Red chew you out. She does it so well."

Martin couldn't help but laugh now as the adrenalin began to bleed off now that they were safe. He had some things to do when they returned and he needed to talk to Wayonn about them.