

### The

### Helavite War

Star Traveler Series - Vol. I

Theresa Snyder

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 1990 and 2003 Theresa Snyder

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or part without the written permission from the author. Exceptions made to reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

Cover Design by Julia Art.

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

### ALSO BY THERESA SNYDER

The Star Traveler Series

The Helavite War - Vol. I

The Heirs of Henu - Vol. II

Old Friends/New Enemies - Vol. III

The Malefactors - Vol. IV

Cataclysm - Vol. V

A Mear Sleight of Hand - Vol. VI

The Farloft Chronicles

James & the Dragon - Vol. I

Kingdom of the Last Dragons - Vol. II

Dragon Deception - Vol. III

Too Many Dragons - Vol. IV

Three and a Half Dragons - Vol. V

The Twin Cities Series

Shiting in The Realms

Non-Fiction

We 3

Learn more at

www.TheresaSnyder.Blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Author's Note

About The Author

### Dedication

To Bill Cameron,

who made it possible for me

to share with all of you

Newsletter

I hope you enjoy this book.

If you would like to know about my latest releases, sigh up for my newsletter and receive a free Novella which takes place in the missing four years of this novel.

Body Bags and Other Dark Places

# Chapter 1

Many long years ago pivotal events occurred remembered by few modern historians.

There lived a Henu...

He was the last of his kind...

The end of a dying race...

His name was Arr...

Arr could not remember the time when his people were many. He could only remember back to when there were two, he and his brother Nor.

Nor told him wonderful stories of how the planet was peopled by hordes of Henu. His words drew pictures for Arr of forest communities where the Henu lived as gatherers, peacefully in their homes in the trees - homes that had laughing children and warm fires. Nor told of his memories of their mother and father, of the chilled nights when they would lie round the fire, snuggled deep in mounds of soft, fat cushions, listening to their father tell stories of his dealings as a trader with the galactic convoy.

Arr's father was the backbone of the Henu colony. He was the trader of all the spices and herbs that the people gathered. He, like his father and his father's father before him, piloted the communal ship to the far corners of the galaxy, selling the goods and buying whatever the people of the planet needed. Being the older of the two boys, one day the position would be Nor's; then eventually Arr's.

However, none of this came to be. Arr and his brother's world ended the day _The Others_ came. The day it happened there was no time to ask themselves where _The Others_ came from or what they wanted—there was only chaos and death. Three days later, when _The Others_ left the planet, the two brothers were the only ones still alive.

Arr could just barely remember those three days. They were like a dream. They were still pictures in his mind like the drawings in the sand that they made in the summer, by the Crystal Lake. He heard his mother screaming to get to the trees for safety, his father calling his name right before he disappeared, in a cloud of dust. The Henu were all fleeing to the trees. The trees were on fire and the screams - he could still hear the horrible screams in his nightmares. Arr tried to go to his father and he would have died in the arch of the blast ray with him if it were not for Nor holding him back in the tall reeds by the water's edge. Three of the most important days of his life and that was all he could remember except for the numbing cold of the water as they crouched there waiting for _The Others_ to leave.

That was fourteen flowerings ago. Today he said goodbye to Nor for the last time.

It was a silly accident. They'd been stuck on the planet ever since _The Others_ destroyed or stole everything, including their father's ship. They fled from the burnt forest and the smell of death to the opposite side of the tall mountains to the east. It was warmer there. The brothers took to wearing lighter clothing and sandals instead of the smooth knee high boots of their youth. Nor stepped on a thorn from a casha bush, when he tried to remove it the tip broke off. It was not long after that, that the foot began to swell and turned bad. Nor tried to remember all the herbs that his mother would have used, but so much was forgotten. He was only eight flowerings old when they lost their parents.

Arr thought back as he sat watching Nor's funeral pyre engulfed in flames. It took Nor only five days to die. The last two he was delirious with fever. He talked of times long ago and called for their mother. Now Arr was alone, the last of the Henu.

He could not imagine living without Nor. Nor taught him all he knew; all that was important in the world. Nor was brother, father and mother to him. He sat silently, as the flames licked at the clear blue spring sky. When there was nothing left but a pile of ashes, he cradled his head in his hands and cried until he could cry no longer. Then he gathered a few things together and headed back to where it all started, to the trees by the lake.

The journey was shorter than he remembered it as a child, at Nor's heels. Then, it took what seemed like months to get to their new home. Now it took just eight days of dedicated hiking. Arr crested the small hills to the east of the forest about mid-morning. He somehow thought it would still look like that picture in his mind, all burnt and dead, but it was alive. The forest came back from its scorching. It was alive and green and beautiful again. He saw the lake to his right at the foot of the hills, still sparkling and crystal clear. As he made his way down into the valley, walking beneath the trees, he saw no signs that the Henu lived or died there. All was cleansed with the passage of time.

Since leaving the burnt forest his brother and he took to ground dwelling. Now, Arr had an uncontrollable urge to climb and climb high. His sandals were useless in the trees. He kicked them off and shinnied up the trunk using the natural handholds of knots and burls on its surface. He made a mental note to construct a pair of soft climbing boots as Nor taught him in the eventuality that they should return to the forest.

It was always Nor's plan to return home, but Arr was so reluctant that Nor put the deed off until a later time in the hope that his younger brother's memories might fade. In a way, this trip to the forest was really in memory of Nor.

When Arr climbed to the highest branch, in the largest tree he could find, he found that he was home. The smell of the forest, still damp from the morning dew, the sway of the branches, the rustle of the leaves in the gentle breeze, were all so familiar to him. It all seemed so right.

He wished fervently that he had not delayed his brother from this trip....

He wished they had come back years ago....

He wished he was not alone....

Arr spent several days camped by the lake. Each night he would climb a different tree and let the gentle sway of the branches in the evening breeze lull him to sleep. Before long he made the decision in which tree he was to build his home. The branches of one of the trees overlooking the lake were perfect. The tree lay open like a hand. In that palm he built his home. The wood from smaller trees made the walls. The reeds, still growing by the water's edge, made a waterproof roof. It was late spring by the time the house in the tree was completed.

# Chapter 2

Jake Harcourt established orbit around the planet. He was a mercenary, the son of a mercenary. Jake had just come from ' _One Hell of a Battle_ ,' if you asked him. It had been on a small God forsaken planet in the Nubula System that was nothing more than a rock. The crunch came because the rock was almost solid galnon crystals. A very sought after item \- worth your mother's weight in gold - and that's what Jake liked, the shiny stuff. Not that he didn't like the adventure of a good fight, but he found since he turned thirty-nine a few weeks ago some of the fun had gone out of the battles. Jake was finding more aches and pains after each confrontation. That's how he felt today, full of aches and even though he showered three times he still felt gritty from that dirty little planet. He wanted to see some green, relax for a few days and nurse his bad leg from that Arcanian pig sticker. He checked his father's log for the closest planet that was habitable, with a lot of green, where he could buy some fresh grub from the friendlies. His dad kept a detailed log of all the planets he visited and all the people he met in his forty odd years of mercenary work. The entry for this planet he was orbiting sounded like the ticket.

Met a trader today on Rigil Four. Name of Raa.

Nice robust chap with unusual bright, blue cat eyes.

Says his home is Sector 124, Section A10,

Star Line 43/68/15/44, in the Nigula System.

Sounds like a sweet place for R & R.

Forested, tree dwellers.

He says the welcome mat is always out.

Jake threw a few things in his pack. He tossed the pack in the planet pod for the trip down and called to Kay-o, a pet dar-dolf, something like a cross between a wolf and a bear. Jake picked up Kay-o as a prize in a game of chance, about two years ago. He had been trying to teach him manners ever since. The dar-dolf did not take well to discipline and he had very sharp teeth. However, even though he had a habit of chewing up Jake's best gloves every time he got a new pair, Kay-o was a loyal companion and a real scrapper in a fight. He'd saved Jake's bacon more than once.

Kay-o planted himself confidently in the pilot's seat as though he intended to fly the pod himself.

"Come!" Jake patted the passenger seat invitingly.

Kay-o settled down in a half lying position in the pilot's seat, the sheer bulk of his massive, hairy body spilling over the edges of the chair. Even in this simi-reclining position he was still tall enough to be able to see out the front viewport. Jake thought for sure he detected a slight glint in the dar-dolf's eyes.

"Kay-o! Come!" Jake commanded, in what he hoped was a more forceful tone. He followed the command with a tug on the dar-dolf's stout harness.

Kay-o's eyes narrowed to slits and he emitted a deep rumbling growl.

Jake removed one of his gloves from its place tucked under his belt and tossed it into the passenger seat. Kay-o obediently hopped over grabbing Jake's glove triumphantly in his paws. The mercenary thought he saw a sparkle of mischief in the beast's eyes as he tore into the leather of the new glove with his huge canines.

"Enjoy it while you can," he muttered to Kay-o. "I swear that's the last one you get." Jake took his own position in the pilot's seat and powered up the thrusters for the descent to the planet's surface.

When Jake got within scanner range he started looking for the settlement. There was none. Lots of green, but no people. His father's log was never wrong. Something must have happened. Jake decided to land and investigate. There was nothing he loved more than solving a good mystery.

He set the planet pod down on the shore of a crystal blue lake at the edge of a grove of trees. The planet might not be inhabited, but it was a lovely place for a good rest. He and Kay-o piled out of the pod to start their reconnaissance.

They found a tree dwelling almost immediately. There had been no effort made to conceal it. Jake was walking around the trunk of the tree wondering how to announce himself when everything happened at once.

He saw a young man, hardly more than a boy, step through the bushes at the edge of the stand of trees. He was tall and slender. He wore britches and a loose fitting tunic of tan, with knee high boots of a soft fawn color. The kid was holding a knife in one hand, a bunch of reeds in the other. He had been gathering, not hunting. The boy was startled to see someone at his home. He stood transfixed, rigid in surprise, at the edge of the clearing under the trees. All of these details plus his beautiful, blue cat eyes, that stared out of an otherwise human looking face, Jake took in the few brief seconds before Kay-o sprung out of nowhere to attack the boy. The dar-dolf's sheer power and weight took the boy by surprise. His knees buckled and he was knocked to the ground. Kay-o saw the knife as a weapon. He went for the boy's throat, his teeth sinking savagely into the kid's shoulder. The boy screamed in pain and took a valiant stab at the dar-dolf, the knife glancing off the chain-mail coat Kay-o wore. This action reinforced the dar-dolf's feelings that this alien being was hostile. Kay-o went in for the kill.

"Le-go!" Jake screamed. "Le-go! Back!" He hollered, as he tugged violently at Kay-o's harness. "Down!"

Jake's commands to Kay-o were interspersed with kicks and curses. Eventually, he had to physically pull the raging dar-dolf off the boy and leave him lying there bleeding while he secured Kay-o in the planet pod. The dar-dolf had gotten his taste of blood. He was all for finishing the job. Flushed with anger, Jake dragged the snarling beast back to the pod. He couldn't be too angry with Kay-o. On Titan III there was a similar situation, but the guy in the bushes was an armed Adruvian and Kay-o's actions then saved Jake's life. After all, Kay-o was only a dumb dar-dolf. Sometimes, he had a hard time distinguishing friend from foe.

By the time Jake made it back to the boy the lad was lying in a pool of blood, ashen colored and cool to the touch, but still alive. He had grabbed the first aid box from the planet pod. The mercenary went to work with that cool professionalism that only came from experience on the battlefield, many battlefields.

He'd seen a lot worse injuries. This kid looked strong and healthy enough. If an infection didn't set in from the dar-dolf's filthy bite, he'd be okay. Even if an infection did develop, Jake had some antibiotics he'd saved for an emergency and in his opinion half killing a friendly was an emergency. Jake kept expecting someone else to show up while he was dressing the kid's shoulder. He was working on an explanation so they wouldn't lynch him, but no one came. Either they were out gathering and hadn't heard the commotion, though Jake thought that unlikely, or there wasn't anyone but this boy here as his instruments had shown.

Once the kid's wounds were bandaged Jake decided to get him into the house in the tree. He had no difficulty slinging the unconscious lad over his shoulder. Jake's body weight was probably twice the boy's. And, he had another four to six inches of height on the boy, too. It was the climb up that hurt. His leg still bothered him when he stressed it.

He laid the boy on a pallet in the corner, covered him with a blanket of some unusual cloth and then started to look around.

It was a simple place, but more than adequate. There were rush mats on the floor and over the windows. These were pulled back for the morning air and light. There was a pit carved in the middle of the wood floor, lined with clay and used as a fireplace, and there were cushions beside it made of the same unusual material as the blanket. The utensils on the low floor table by the fire pit, one wooden bowl, one wooden cup, indicated that Jake's guess was right, this boy was alone.

Now that the emergency was over, Jake was starved. A reaction he often experienced after a crisis situation. He began to check the place for edibles. There were a group of storage baskets at the back of the room and he scrounged through them as quietly as possible in order not to disturb the slumbering boy. There was something that looked like a black potato, but smelled like an onion, something that looked like a cross between a carrot and a turnip, and some purple ball shaped objects that definitely were the potatoes of this planet. He juggled his assortment of vegetables in a loose embrace to the fire pit. Well, all he needed was some meat and he could make a decent stew. He checked to make sure the boy was still sleeping soundly, then descended to go hunt.

When Jake returned to the planet pod he found Kay-o had calmed down enough to let him out for a run. The beast was curled up in the pilot's seat, glove between his paws, snoozing.

At the edge of the lake, he washed the boy's blood from the dar-dolf's face, than commanded him to ' _Seek_.' This was a universal command. It could result in Kay-o flushing out rabbits, quail, the enemy, or another friendly. But, Jake didn't have much fear that another accident would occur. He was relatively sure the only inhabitant of the planet was safe up a tree.

What had happened here? By signs that Jake was very familiar with he could tell that there had been a battle maybe ten to fifteen years ago. He ran his hand over the tree trunks where they were blaster scorched. He scuffed his boot across the laser dimples in the ground from ship to ground firing. Had they all been killed by some invading force? As hardened as Jake was it made him shiver to think that Kay-o almost killed the last of a race. Earthlings were very destructive in the past. Many species came to an end at their hands. Now they were almost fanatics about the preservation of diminishing civilizations. Even though Jake was basically a hired gun the thought that he was almost a party to, and the cause of a whole culture's demise, made him sick to his stomach. He'd have to make sure the boy was well enough to take care of himself, before he moved on.

# Chapter 3

Arr was dreaming again. The same nightmare he always had, trees on fire, Henu screams, _The Others_ disintegrating his people as they fled. However, this time when _The Other_ looked his direction he looked very different, and then a ferocious beast appeared over him holding him down. He was desperately struggling to keep the beast from biting his face off. Arr woke up in a cold sweat with his head and heart pounding. At first he didn't know where he was. He ran trembling fingers through sweat dampened hair trying to get his bearings. His home with Nor had not been here. When he heard the breeze whispering through the trees it all came back to him and his heart slowed to a normal beat. He heard a movement by the fire pit and angled his head to look. There was a man squatting by the fire, stirring something in a pot. It was the man in his dream. He was the largest man Arr had ever seen, both tall and very broad across his shoulders. He was dressed in a black, tight fitting suit that looked like a second skin and he wore boots and a cap of the same color. His hair was brown with grey at the temples and his dark beard was flecked with grey and red. He wore a weapon on his right thigh and had one glove tucked in his belt.

Whatever he was cooking smelled familiar and yet different in some way. With the smell came the realization to Arr that he was very hungry. He had started gathering early, without a morning meal, wanting to repair the leak his roof developed during the previous evening's light spring rain. By the slant of the sun through the tree house window he could tell it was late afternoon.

The man rose stiffly from his squat and rubbed his left leg as though it pained him. It was at this very moment that Arr's stomach growled. It growled so loudly that the man looked up and grinned. "Was that your stomach? I thought Kay-o had learned to climb trees."

The man spoke an odd tongue, but it, like the smell, was also somehow familiar. Nor told him some members of the trader family were very adept at learning new tongues quickly. He said their father spoke several. Perhaps Arr was remembering back to his father's stories and one that was about this race of beings.

The man was talking again as he spooned out some of the delicious smelling concoction in his pot.

"I'm really sorry Kay-o took a piece out of you. I'd say he was sorry too, but he's a dar-dolf. They're never sorry!"

He came over with a slight limp to his step and assisted Arr up into a sitting position against the wall. He handed him the bowl and went back to the fire to fill the cup for himself. All the while he rattled on in a tongue only now beginning to form words in Arr's head.

Jake ladled out some stew for himself, grabbed a cushion from beside the fire and turned to go back to sit with the boy. Even after what the kid went through he didn't seem afraid. Instead he sat there propped up against the wall looking at Jake with those curious blue cat eyes. Jake wondered if those kinds of eyes gave you a different outlook on the world.

Jake flopped down on the pillow on the floor, only wincing slightly when his leg connected with the hard wood.

"The name's Jake, Jake Harcourt." He shifted himself into a more comfortable position. "I really am sorry about Kay-o giving you such a fit, but he's trained as a Protect dar-dolf. He saw that knife you were carrying as a weapon."

He thought the boy was listening to him, but just not talking. It was hard to tell. The kid was so intent on shoveling in Jake's stew.

"What's your name?" Jake pointed a finger at the boy's chest.

There was no response.

"Me.... Jake...." Jake pointed a finger at himself. "You?" He asked again pointing at the lad. The kid just buried his face deeper in his bowl. "Well, listen to me. I sound like dialogue out of a B-Rated vid." Jake said, with a bemused smile.

Still no response. It was a bit unnerving. Jake talked even more when he was nervous than when he was calm, so that meant he was talking non-stop.

When he handed the boy his bowl he noticed what looked like a tattoo on the palm of his right hand. He started to comment on it, just to have something to talk about, but thought better. So far the only reaction to Jake that the boy had was to devour his stew.

Jake was telling him about the battle over the galnon crystals. He got to the reason for coming to this particular planet, when he quoted from memory his father's log entry about the trader Raa. The boy's head popped up from his stew.

"Raa? My father was Raa!!" He said very clearly.

Jake was more than surprised. He thought from the reactions he was getting that the kid might be deaf and certainly didn't speak English.

"So, you do speak English." And he was the son of the trader Jake's father had met. Jake always seemed to be bumping into people his father knew.

"Speak more English." Arr said in excitement.

Arr was listening to Jake's every word as he satisfied his hunger. He found, to his delight, that his mind processed the man named Jake's language as he spoke. He literally learned by ear. Once the word was spoken it was cataloged and there for instant retrieval. Learning like this was an exciting experience and he wondered why Nor did not tell him how wonderful it was.

Jake kept talking and Arr kept asking questions, sometimes stumbling over a sentence, as if he was missing a word and searching for the right one. Jake was beginning to catch on. As he asked questions himself, he realized that the kid only spoke words that he himself previously uttered. The boy had a mind like a computer processing the data as it came in, rearranging it to suit the situation and spitting it out again. It was like he was some kind of savant.

The next few days passed quickly for both Jake and Arr. Arr was desperate to hear and learn this new language of Jake's. As for the mercenary, he'd never had such a rapt audience. He talked endlessly about his adventures through space. He honestly had to admit that it was a relief when the kid fell asleep then he could rest his voice for awhile. During one of these rest periods, in the second day, Jake took Kay-o back up to the cruiser. Being left alone, the dar-dolf would probably trash the ship, but when Arr got well enough to get out of the tree house, Jake didn't want another episode like the last. He wanted an opportunity to conduct a controlled introduction between the two.

Arr steadily got better each day. He seemed to be free of any infection, which was a lucky stroke Jake thought. The kid's vocabulary also improved with every passing hour. Soon the two could carry on a full blown conversation without much need for sign language.

Arr was starved for companionship. He told Jake everything he could remember about the battle, the Henu and Nor. He told Jake some of Raa's stories, as Nor told him, and was delighted to find that Jake knew a couple of the characters from the tales.

Arr liked Jake the minute he set eyes on him. He was like Nor who told him all those fabulous stories when he was growing up. From what he could remember, and piece together from Nor's tales, Jake was very much like their father too. Nor told him that Raa was taller than all other Henu, he was very outgoing, and entertained all at the Henu gatherings by recounting his many travels as a trader among the aliens of the galaxy.

Jake felt protective and responsible for his new friend. He couldn't imagine himself facing a life alone on a planet no matter how beautiful and idyllic this one seemed to be. He admired Arr's quick mastery of English and wished he could do as well with Henu. At first, Arr was under the impression that if he could learn English just by listening Jake should be able to learn Henu the same way. He was disappointed when he found that acquiring a language so easily, seemed to be a Henu trait only, not indigenous to humans.

By the end of the week Jake felt it was time to get his ground legs back. He had begun to sway when he walked from being up a tree too long.

*****

"He's not down there. I put him back up on the ship." Jake reassured Arr once more.

Arr still looked slightly distrustful as he surveyed the ground below for signs of Kay-o.

"I promise its safe." Jake shinned down the tree and whistled shrilly for the dar-dolf. "See.... No Kay-o." Jake held his hands up, palms open as though he were a magician proving there was nothing up his sleeves.

With the absence of the dar-dolf proven Arr descended slowly of his own accord. When the kid got to the ground he made straight for the water. He pulled off his clothes at the edge and dove in swimming like a fish across the lake and back again. When he got back to where he had started he pulled up a reed with a bulb on the end, peeled the bulb and crushed it between his hands. The bulb had a milky substance in it that when it contacted the water and was rubbed between the hands created a kind of soapy froth. That's how Arr used it. He sudsed up his whole body standing at the water's edge, and then he dove back in for a rinse. When he came out to offer Jake a piece of the root Jake couldn't help but admire this unique life form.

He was a creature that spoke decent English after only one week of listening to a human. In the same time he had healed sufficiently enough from a dar-dolf bite to swim a lake probably a quarter of a mile across. He stood there offering Jake the bulb/soap. He really was a beautiful specimen. His whole body was covered with a fine hair that shone red/gold in the sun. There was not an ounce of fat on him. He was all muscle and those bright, blue cat eyes held both mystery and mischievousness in their depths. On top of all this he was just nice to be around. Jake had almost killed him yet even when Arr knew enough English to berate Jake, he didn't. He only asked what Kay-o was and why he had attacked him. The loss of this civilization was such a waste.

Jake took the makeshift soap, shucked off his clothes, and had a refreshing bath at the water's edge. Jake wasn't much of a swimmer, in fact he'd almost drowned once when he was a kid. To this day, he didn't like his water in any larger quantity then a bathtub full.

When they were both dried by the sun they put their clothes back on. Arr headed off to gather some goods for a meal and Jake tagged along. Every object they passed had to be named out loud by Jake for Arr's continuing language lesson.

They picked berries and dug roots for about a half hour. When Arr began to look tired Jake encouraged him to sit down in the shade of a tree.

The boy took what looked like an apple from his gathering sack, cut it in half and handed Jake part. As Jake took the fruit he once again noticed the tattoo in Arr's right palm and this time he felt comfortable enough with the boy to ask about it. With very little difficulty, for lack of the correct words, Jake got the full story.

"My people are all matched at birth with a mate. The male and female are both tattooed with their lineage. Mine reads, 'Arr son of Raa, Mate to Mya.' There is a ...." Arr faltered, looking for a word that was missing. "A gathering, but more." He cocked his head looking at Jake with those inquiring cat eyes.

"A party?" Jake supplied. Being around Arr now, as his vocabulary was expanding, was like playing a continual game of charades. "Or a festival?"

"What is the difference?" Arr asked.

"A party is a number of people gathered together to celebrate something. A festival is usually an annual gathering or celebration." Jake explained, hoping he had gotten it right. He was learning that defining words correctly was somewhat difficult at times.

"There is a festival at the time of flowers," Arr went on, now in possession of the needed word, "that when you reach your eighteenth flowering, you are allowed to join in the...." The kid paused again searching for the right word. When he couldn't come up with it he rose to his feet, grabbed an imaginary partner and danced sensually to a tune only he could hear in his head.

"A dance in the spring," Jake supplied. He was pleased with himself that he was getting so good at this game.

"A festival in the spring," Arr went on, as he returned to his seat under the tree, "that when you reach your eighteenth flowering, you are allowed to join in the dance."

Jake knew now that a flowering was a yearly count.

"All the dance people wear masks. As they dance they look for the other's tattoo until they find a match. When the matching left hand of the female is found they remove their masks as a sign of acceptance of this mate. Then they go to the trees to build their home and start a family." Arr's eyes glowed with the remembered tales of his brother about the celebration and the joyous unions that came out of it. Then he looked down at the tattoo in his open palm. "There was a Mya, daughter of Kel, Mate to Arr." When he looked up there were tears in his eyes. "She was younger than me by a year. I know which one she was.

"All children between two and four flowerings were kept by the lake. They were watched by females that had lost their mates. Mya was one of these children. I had turned four, so I was free to play with my brother. When _The Others_ came, she was with the rest of the children by the lake. Three days later when The Others left they were dead like everyone else except Nor and me." Arr tossed the core to his apple into the bushes by the tree and rose to his feet. "This would have been my spring to dance with Mya," he said poignantly. Without further conversation he turned and headed back to the house in the tree with Jake following in his footsteps.

# Chapter 4

One day flowed easily into the next. Jake's leg was getting a good rest. Arr had prepared a poultice that soothed the ache in it considerably. The boy's shoulder was as good as well, ah... the recuperative powers of the young, Jake thought. The only thing left to show where Kay-o bit him was a thin line on his shoulder where the fine red/gold hair didn't grow anymore.

It had been three weeks, now. Jake knew he must make a trip up to the cruiser to check on Kay-o. Not only would the dar-dolf be lonely and need a good run, but Jake estimated his automatic feeder was probably low. If it ran out there would be no ship to come back to. A hungry dar-dolf was worse than all the destructive power of a Phase III Plasma Laser set on high.

Arr left the tree early as usual. Jake found him washing his hands at the water's edge. He was the cleanest critter he'd ever met.

"I'm going up to my ship," Jake said, briskly.

The boy's reaction took Jake by surprise. The kid rose from his squat, turned and walked away, without a word. Jake watched him go with eyebrows raised. He pulled his cap off, smoothed his rumpled, dark hair and put the hat back on. This mannerism was a habit he had when he was baffled by something, as though smoothing his hair would make it easier to think.

"Oh well, back in an hour or two," he mumbled to himself.

# Chapter 5

Arr had been preparing himself for this. He knew Jake would move on. He'd heard Jake's stories. He knew what kind of life he led. Arr wished he'd had the courage to ask him if he could go with him. It would be so lonely here again. He thought back to the time after Nor died and before Jake came. He took to talking to himself, the trees, even the lake. He felt he would go crazy if left alone, but he could not ask Jake to take him. He had already decided that. Jake was a fighter. Arr didn't know anything of fighting. Jake could pilot a cruiser. Arr knew nothing of technology. Jake had traveled throughout the galaxies. Arr knew only this small piece of dirt. Arr could not burden Jake with such a useless, stupid being. Arr would go if asked, but he had not been asked.

Even though he only knew Jake a short time he had a desire to cry as he did by Nor's grave. Cry not only for the loss of friendship, but for what felt like family loss again. The young Henu had bonded with Jake. Now Jake was leaving.

Arr heard the blast of the planet pod's thrusters, turned and saw the small ship lift off. He collapsed at the edge of the grove of trees, watching it vanish into the sky. Arr sat staring with water rimmed eyes at where the planet pod had been. Jake was gone.

# Chapter 6

The condition of the cruiser was worse than Jake could ever have imagined. The only thing left untouched was the metal hull of the ship. It took all the restraint he had to keep from drawing his blaster and dusting the beast. The big bozo was bouncing around like a puppy, he was so happy to see Jake. If Jake hadn't planted his feet squarely the oaf would have pushed him over.

Jake spent the next four hours cleaning house. Kay-o followed him around like a shadow. Luckily most of the damage was repairable. All the seat cushions would need to be replaced. It would be a hard ride to the nearest Refitting Station. The dar-dolf had obviously thought they were edible when his food ran low. The only serious damage was to the communications system which appeared to be trashed beyond any repair Jake could muster. Kay-o must have picked the portion of the viewport containing the communications panel to sit and watch for his master's return.

Jake loaded the last of the garbage he'd cleaned up into the disintegrator. When Kay-o crawled in after it he was sorely tempted, but he pulled the big lug out before he latched the door and hit the switch. He tossed a few odd things in the planet pod and called to Kay-o to get in. They headed back down to the surface. It would be good to have a bath in the lake, Jake thought. He'd even settle for a cup of that herb stuff Arr fed him in place of coffee.

Jake brought the pod down within a few feet of where it had set before he left. He hopped out to go find Arr. He wanted to properly introduce his new friend to his wayward companion. He only got a few yards from the ship when Arr came running from the grove. The kid tackled him like he was a fumbled ball on the first yard line. When he pried himself loose he was surprised to see tears in Arr's eyes.

"What?" he asked.

Arr just shook his head and looked at the ground.

"You thought I left you? Think again cat eyes. You and me, we're pals. What would I do without you to talk to? You're the best audience I've ever had."

Jake gave the kid an affectionate shove on the shoulder, turned and walked back toward the planet pod. Arr heard him say as he went, "Come on, if you're leaving with us when we go you and Kay-o gotta make friends."

# Chapter 7

The dar-dolf had on a metal harness. The harness was attached to a chain. The chain was attached to a gun mount on the planet pod and the pod was rocking with each of Kay-o's lunges. Jake thought he had better get them acquainted fast before the damn beast broke a landing prod off the ship.

Jake knew he had one major advantage in the task. This particular dar-dolf would do anything for a treat. He was one of the biggest munch mouth's Jake had ever seen. It just so happened Kay-o didn't find the stash aboard the cruiser of his favorite treat, Red Raspberry Goo Chews. These were a sickening sweet, stick to your teeth confection, which Jake happened to find repulsive himself though they were made for human consumption.

Jake gave Arr a handful of the candy. He placed the boy a few feet in front of the snarling dar-dolf.

"Now, every time he growls at you just toss him a piece."

A bag and a half of Goo Chews and an hour later the dar-dolf was eating out of Arr's hand. Good thing the enemy didn't know the secret to Kay-o's heart.

"Now remember, Kay-o is a working dar-dolf. He's not a pet. You go makin' him a pet and he'll become a pansy. You can exercise him, I'll show you how, but don't play with him. If he rough houses with you make sure you come out on top or he'll take to pushing you around. He has to know you're boss. You lose control of a dar-dolf and you've got trouble with a capital 'T'".

"Yes Jake." Arr patted Kay-o on the head and slipped him another treat. Kay-o slobbered all over his hand then nuzzled his palm for more.

"That's all," Arr said, as he showed his empty palms to the dar-dolf.

Jake released Kay-o and without any more Goo Chews to hold his attention he wandered off to wreak havoc on the countryside.

Jake figured it was about time to teach Arr how to use a weapon a little more lethal than a foraging knife. He went to the cockpit of the pod and brought out the extra blaster he'd brought down from the cruiser. He was a firm believer that a person should know a gun and its potential thoroughly before ever firing it. This credo had been ingrained in him by his father.

Jake proceeded to show Arr the peculiarities of a Class II Blaster. The Class II wasn't as powerful as a Class III, but it was a damn sight lighter and a lot easier to use. He demonstrated the three power settings on some innocent bushes, switched it back to low, and then handed it over to Arr.

*****

The weapon felt warm in his hand. Arr held it tightly so he would not drop it. The gun was very heavy. Arr hadn't really understood Jake's introduction to the blaster. Things like laser power and radiant levels made little sense to his less than technical mind, but he was impressed by Jake's demonstration. After Jake set up a target a few yards away he gave Arr the okay to open fire.

*****

The kid was a darn good shot. Sure, the first few blasts went wild. They had a tree limb almost fall on their heads. More than a few fish in the lake got boiled, but after he got the feel of it he was right on target at least three out of four tries. Must be those eyes helping him out, Jake thought. If he practiced every day for a month or so and if Jake taught him some evasive maneuvers, he'd be able to hold his own in a good skirmish. Course shooting at a tree stump was quite a bit different from shooting at another being. Why, when Arr first found out Jake was feeding him meat in those stews while he was healing, he almost choked. The kid was a vegetarian, never killed anything. It didn't take him long to come around though. The boy liked the taste of meat. He took to hunting like a Tuldavian Swamp Lizard took to mud trapping. Jake decided Arr would do fine. The mercenary would just have to bring him along slow. The kid had a lot of catching up to get to Jake's time line.

# Chapter 8

Jake stepped out on the small platform in front of the tree house. The leaves crunched beneath his feet. The morning air had a smell of fall in it. Where had the time gone? How long had he been here? Four maybe five months, or was it more like six? The time passed so fast for him. Teaching the boy had become Jake's pet project.

After Arr learned how to use the blaster to Jake's satisfaction the mercenary started teaching him hand-to-hand combat. The kid was a great one for fighting with what was at hand, picking up rocks and sticks to throw. Jake kept reminding Arr he had a blaster strapped to his leg, to use it, that was what it was for. If Jake ever succeeded in grabbing the Henu he would have been able to break him in two. The kid was built real slight. However, getting your hands on him was the trick. Arr was fast, agile beyond even making a comparison to humans. Jake would try to surprise the boy in mock attacks, but he only got the best of him once when they were in the tree house and Arr didn't have enough room to maneuver.

When the hand-to-hand combat grew old Jake thought it was time to introduce Arr to space travel. Jake wanted another look at that communication panel without a companion starved dar-dolf looking over his shoulder. Landing at a Refitting Station would be difficult if they had no way to get clearance.

Jake strapped Arr in the passenger seat of the pod. Strapping in wasn't really necessary, the pod had its own gravity, but he didn't know what the reaction would be of a person that had never been in space. It turned out for the best. If Arr hadn't been belted in Jake would have needed to scrape him off the ceiling. When the boy finally calmed down he rode the remainder of the trip white knuckled to the cruiser. Jake could hear his teeth grinding with each change in velocity or direction. Later, the kid tried to cover for his loss of control by saying he was surprised. That wasn't surprise Jake saw. It was pure panic.

On board ship Jake introduced the computer to Arr. He gave it orders to accept Secondary Level Commands from the boy in an emergency. The kid wanted to know where the female was hiding. Even after Jake explained that the voice was a computer Arr kept looking suspiciously in all the bulk head doorways and under the furniture. Jake finally sat him down at a terminal. He told the computer to read him the English dictionary and left them to check on the communication panel. Now Arr spoke better English then Jake.

Jake looked at the golden leaves just out of reach above his head. There was really no reason to stay any longer. He had done the best he could to prepare the kid for his world. It was going to be a shock no matter how long he kept talking; trying to get the boy to visualize what it was like. They might as well leave before winter set in.

# Chapter 9

Arr gazed out the rear viewport of the cruiser. Jake announced they were leaving yesterday. Today, Arr was watching his home planet grow smaller by the moment as they pulled away headed to the Refitting Station.

They would have left yesterday if Jake had his way, but Arr needed time to adjust to the idea. The planet was all he really knew for certain. However, his bond with Jake won. Here he was aboard the ship headed into space.

The trip up in the planet pod was a little less traumatic this time. The last time when Jake started to strap him in his seat he had an almost uncontrollable urge to hit Jake and run for the trees. He had never been restrained before. He succeeded in talking himself back into a calmer frame of mind by reminding himself that he trusted Jake. He knew Jake would do nothing to hurt him. All the same, it was a horrible experience that Arr was not looked forward to repeating today. This time, he told Jake he didn't need to be belted in. When Jake started to argue with him, Arr growled. Arr had never growled at him before. To growl was considered juvenile in Henu society for an adult, but it was a last resort to make the point clear. He wasn't going to be bound, again. He still felt uncomfortable during the flight, as though the walls of the pod were closing in, but he survived. He was happy to find once again that being on the larger cruiser didn't seem to bother him at all. Arr was just coming to the realization that it was the size of the space he was in that made the difference, not space travel.

He took one last look at the diminishing planet. Arr had the fleeting thought he would miss the snow. There was no snow on the east side of the mountains where Nor and Arr made their home, but Nor's stories of playing in it kept it fresh in their minds. The snow was one of the few things he was looking forward to when he made the move back to the forest after Nor's death. He would miss seeing the snow.

"You all right?" Jake called to him from the pilot platform.

"Fine." Arr answered, coming forward to take the seat next to Jake's looking out the front viewport.

There were so many stars up here. Jake explained on their last trip to the cruiser that most of them were other little planets similar to Arr's. Some were not as hospitable, some were uninhabited, some were nothing more than rock, but they all were large land masses not just dots of light in the sky. Arr tried to remember Raa's stories. They had more meaning now that he was in space himself. He wished he had listened more attentively to Nor. At the time it didn't seem important. Nor repeated himself so much that Arr learned to listen with only half an ear. Now he wondered if he had certain facts straight or if the tales were all jumbled in his head. Well, he would just have to make stories of his own to tell.

# Chapter 10

Jake had forgotten how comfortable his own bed was. He rolled over, snuggled down further in his pillow and thought back to the events of Arr's first day in space.

The trip started out badly. He was used to Kay-o growling at him. The dar-dolf was a short tempered beast, but when Arr growled at him it caught him totally off guard.

Jake took a look at the onboard time line to get reoriented. He had been on the planet three and a half months. In that time, Jake started to think of the boy as a friend, almost like a younger brother. He admired the differences in the lad, but since Arr had taken to speaking English so well the fact that he was Henu and not human mostly stayed in the back of Jake's mind. It was only when he did something as un-human as growling, that it came back to Jake full force this was an alien being. The remainder of the flight up to the cruiser was tense. Once onboard Arr seemed to relax and Jake thought maybe the kid was claustrophobic. One thing he knew for sure he wouldn't ever try to strap him in again.

Arr was still fascinated by the computer. With the boy talking to it Jake had more free time to get the cruiser back into good running order. Sure, the Refitting Station could do everything he was doing and more, but he liked to keep his hand in so he had a feel for how she was running.

They took their meals on the pilot platform, today. Arr wanted to know all about the stars they passed. If Jake didn't have a story for a particular one, he made one up. He loved to pull the kid's leg. It was only just lately that Arr started to catch on. Jake read somewhere that when you understood a culture's sense of humor it was an indication that you spoke the language well.

They would be two weeks getting to the Refitting Station that should give Arr time to adjust. Jake thought tomorrow he would show the kid some movies in the lounge. It was going to be a long ride and video viewing would educate as well as entertain. Jake would have to clear the room out. He hardly ever used it for viewing. Mostly he kept his extra weapons stashed there.

Jake decided he liked having a sidekick. He and his dad had worked together for several years until his death. Jake had been alone a long while unless you counted Kay-o. It was good to have someone to talk with again. He had been by himself too long.

# Chapter 11

About half way through their two week journey Arr felt the cruiser slow. He emerged from the viewing room squinting in the bright light of the hall. Jake was headed toward him with a broad grin on his face.

"Come on, we're going shopping." He struck Arr amiably on the shoulder and continued on down the corridor to the pod bay.

Jake put the Calpernia in orbit around a small planet he stopped at a few times before for supplies. The kid needed a full outfitting. Kay-o had taken to chewing his gloves again recently and Arr appeared restless. This would give them all an opportunity to stretch their legs. Jake loaded everybody in the pod and they headed down.

They landed on the outskirts of town and hiked in to give the dar-dolf a good run. Arr was quiet. He didn't ask any questions, but he wasn't missing a thing. He was soaking up the landscape and the passing people like a sponge. As for the inhabitants of the planet they were used to aliens in their space. After all, the place was a Trading Post.

Jake checked Kay-o into a cage at the Registrar's Office. He handed over his blaster and Arr's. If a port town was run right, like this one was, you checked in and left all lethal weapons at the gate.

"I don't feed dar-dolfs," the Registrar commented with a curl of his lip.

"I just fed him," Jake assured the registrar. "We'll make a point to be back by his next feeding time." No one other than a fool would mess with a dar-dolf that they didn't know firsthand. The Registrar gave them a claim chit and they headed off into town.

Jake loved the hustle and bustle of a settlement. All the different sights of a Trading Post were like a quenching drink of purified water after a rough day on the battleground. Most of these towns had a variety of settlers from many different backgrounds. There was always a mingling of smells from the different culinary cultures. He loved the aroma of the bread baking, the meat roasting, and the smell of hard liquor that wafted from the bars as they passed.

A drink was what Jake wanted - a cool glass of good aged whiskey. He couldn't remember the last time he had something stronger then that herb stuff Arr made. It would be interesting to see the kid's reaction to liquor.

# Chapter 12

Arr was so anxious to escape the confines of the pod when it landed that he hardly noticed the faint smell in the air. However, the closer they got to the town the more unbearable the odor became. Every so often Arr would get a whiff of something that smelled good, food cooking or a female's scent as one passed, but then a breeze from the direction of the settlement would overpower it.

It didn't seem to bother Jake. He was walking along smiling and nodding to people they passed, even speaking occasionally.

The town literally reeked. By the time they reached it Arr felt physically ill. He was having a hard time concentrating on what was going on around him. Things and people he might have found fascinating were missed because of how awful he felt.

Now, Jake had dragged him into a dark room full of loud people. The place smelled stale and burnt, with an underlying odor of warm bodies. Arr was going to vomit if he didn't get out, _Now_! He turned to run and collided with a being at least a head taller than Jake. The thing grabbed him and lifted him off the floor. It wouldn't let him go. It was talking a language unknown to Arr. It's warm, odorous breath, punctuated with spit, spilled over his face. Arr pulled his gathering knife from his boot, held it to the being's throat and demanded, "Let me pass!!"

# Chapter 13

If it had not been for Jake's fast action Arr might have been killed.

Jake observed the two armed Guardians sitting by the door as they came in the bar. He nodded at them amiably. These were part of the police force of the town, no-nonsense peacekeepers.

One minute Arr was by his side as he was expounding the virtues of liquor to the kid. The next minute he was bolting for the door. When Arr pulled his knife on the Walhmite the Guardians came instantly to their feet. Jake had the fleeting realization that he'd missed disarming Arr of his knife. His having the weapon broke major laws in this society. His use of the knife could get him executed.

Jake moved swiftly to Arr's back. He delivered a glancing blow that knocked Arr unconscious. Jake disarmed him before the Guardians could even draw their weapons.

The next hour was spent in the detention compound with Jake trying to smooth it over with the police while Arr was in the facilities puking his guts out. The Guardians were not unreasonable. In fact, they were quite lenient. They only banned Jake and Arr from ever stopping at this Trade Post again. They were escorted to the Registrar's Office to pick up their weapons, Kay-o, and then taken to their ship. The Guardians waited to make sure their pod lifted off safely.

Jake took his hat off, smoothed his hair and put it back on in that mannerism that had become so familiar to Arr.

"Well, I guess shopping will have to wait." He said in a frustrated tone, as he pointed the pod back toward the cruiser.

# Chapter 14

Arr was lying on his bunk aboard ship. The room had stopped spinning and his stomach had finally settled down.

Jake came in and leaned against the bulkhead, arms folded across his chest.

"Okay, what was that all about?"

Arr swung his feet around and came to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. The action made his head swim again. "I felt sick."

"That's no excuse. Pulling a knife on a Walhmite is like attacking a grizzly bear with a toothpick," Jake stated quite matter-of-factly. "I thought I taught you better."

"He wouldn't let me go," the kid said, in a sulking manner. "His breath smelled terrible. In fact the whole place reeked," Arr said, as if it made the whole thing understandable and justified his actions.

Jake shook his head wearily, turned and left the room to go back to work. He had been checking the contacts on one of the mobile gun turrets aboard the ship before he stopped for their adventure on the planet. He did his best thinking while his hands were occupied and he had a lot of thinking to do.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, Jake thought. If the kid couldn't stand the smell of a sweet little place like Trade Post #1313, what would he do with a place that really stunk?

What if he'd been stuck on Gligula like Jake was two years ago? Even he had a hard time dealing with the smell of the ankle deep slime that covered three fourths of that little pigsty. He had to fight in it for almost a solid week. Or what if Arr had been on Tila III when Jake had to work with that squad of mercenaries from Dorrinia? They all smelled like they'd never taken a bath and probably hadn't. No, if Arr was so sensitive to smells he'd never make it in Jake's world. What to do now was the question. He'd grown used to having the boy around. He would honestly miss him.

*****

Arr came around the corner silently. He stood looking down on Jake's back as he sat in the turret. Jake rotated the turret to grab a tool and came face to face with a kneeling Arr.

"I was talking to the computer," Arr said, displaying an impish grin.

Jake waited for the kid to continue.

"NOSE PLUGS: A pair of objects used to stop up the nose. Prevents the being using them from smelling objectionable or harmful odors," Arr quoted.

Jake smiled back. "We'll just have to find you a pair, won't we?"

# Chapter 15

Jake pulled into one of the many bays at the Refitting Station. He stopped just long enough at Outpost #45 to pick up a spacer suit and a pair of nose plugs for Arr. He wasn't going to take any chances. This time he was going to get his drink.

Arr didn't want to wear the plugs. He tried using them the last couple of days aboard ship. He said they were uncomfortable, looked funny and made his food tasteless.

Jake stuffed the plugs in the pocket of the kid's new suit. "If there is another episode like the one at Trade Post #1313 I will personally take my blaster to you," he threatened, half teasingly. "There is no checking of weapons at a Refitting Station."

Jake closed Kay-o in the bathroom of the cruiser with a sink full of water and a tub of food. He hung a sign on the door:

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! DAR-DOLF!!!!

He and Arr stopped just long enough with the technicians for Jake to tell them what he wanted done and also to pick out a new color for the ship's upholstery. They decided on a forest green.

The technicians had a close look at Arr, discreetly of course. They learned quickly not to stare at an alien, many took offense to it. Jake smiled to himself. Arr was something new. An alien they'd never seen before. He was a true rarity for these guys who thought they had seen it all. Arr was really impressive in the red spacer suit Jake bought him. Any other guy wouldn't be caught dead in it, just too flashy, but Arr looked like he was made for it with that red/gold hair of his.

When they got into the main part of the space station Arr took a tentative sniff, then a deep breath. "It doesn't stink!" He informed Jake with a pleasant smile.

"I'm certainly glad of that." Jake said in a relieved tone. "It's probably due to the air purification and recycling system of the station. It operates like ours on the cruiser except on a much larger scale." Jake explained.

Jake strolled along nodding and speaking to those he knew from previous layovers here. He was headed to a bar he remembered down Corridor 6, when he saw Timothy O'Malley coming toward them. As soon as Tim caught sight of Jake it was a non-stop conversation, interspersed with resounding slaps on the back and loud guffaws of laughter. Anyone would have had a hard time keeping track much less an alien that only five months ago had spoken not a word of English.

"This is my new Partner, Arr," Jake introduced, as they ducked into the Corridor 6 Bar.

He told a bit of Arr's background to Tim. After that it was as if Arr was part of the bulkhead except for ordering him a very foul tasting and bad smelling drink. Arr really didn't mind. It gave him time to observe his surroundings without Jake's constant narrative. Timothy was telling Jake about the latest on the Helavites. They were a gang of planet pirates who came on a planet, stripped it of all it was worth and then moved on to the next. They sold their goods illegally in black markets that constantly changed their location so the authorities couldn't catch up with their activity and shut them down. The traders usually knew where these markets were located but didn't let on for fear of retaliation on their own planet.

"The pirates just dusted Pita last month. They vanished into space as usual without a trace." Tim tossed back another shot of scotch. The Helavites were always big news. He moved on to the topic of the day. "As soon as my ship is refitted I'm on my way to a sweet little battle. Pays handsomely to the victor. It's goin' to be one of those, _go in show'em your stuff_ and get out. _Piece of cake_ , easy money." Tim assured Jake with one of his winning smiles, his eyes bright with excitement. "You and your new partner are more'n welcome. The winnin' side could always use another good mercenary." Tim knew Jake was one of the best. He'd helped train him along with his father.

Jake got more information on location and special equipment needed. "I'll check with the technicians and see if they can have my cruiser ready in time." Jake shook Tim's hand as the big man rose to go.

"I hope it works out. We haven't worked together for a while. It'd be like old times. Mercenary work with you isn't like working with some of these young kids comin' into the business lately. You can't count on 'em under fire." Tim took his leave and went to recruit some more men at the end of the bar.

Jake huffed into his drink and glanced over at Arr. "Do I look old to you?"

"No, you look experienced," Arr replied. Arr was playing with words again.

"You should have someone to train you as a politician. I really think it's your true calling," Jake said, with a smile. "Finish your drink. I want to show you something."

They strolled along from corridor to corridor. The station was much bigger than it looked from the outside floating along beside it in the cruiser. They just started down Corridor M when Jake stopped at a door labeled "ARBORETUM".

"This is it!" Jake broke the light ray on the threshold. The large double doors came open with a swoosh.

Arr couldn't remember ever having seen anything so beautiful. It was breathtaking.

"It's a duplicate of a tropical rain forest," Jake said, with pleasure brimming over each word. He obviously was impressed with the place as much as he knew Arr would be. "We used to have some very large ones on my planet. They were decimated down to only a few thousand acres. Before that happened some smart people with pull got some of the plants and wild life shipped into space. Now through the plants and animals natural regeneration almost all Refitting Stations have one of these arboretums. We all use them to relax in an environment that is more conducive to man and not so prefab."

Jake led the way into the forest, Arr close at his heels, with the sound of waterfalls, bird and small animal calls, and Jake's continuous running narrative falling on his ears.

# Chapter 16

Jake and Arr were at Refitting Station Terrell four days. Jake and Tim spent most of the time in the bar planning for the little skirmish as they took to calling it. Occasionally they would break long enough to check the status of their ships' repairs. There was no need to push the refitting crews. They worked round the clock shifts so they could get the cruisers through and the bays empty for others coming in all the time. They were paid by the job, not by the hour.

The second day when Jake and Arr were checking on the progress of the communications system repair aboard ship one of the technicians invited Arr to join her for dinner. She was a human like Jake with chestnut colored hair. She wore it in one long plait that hung half way down her back. She had a melodic voice, large round brown eyes and she smelled good. Arr looked to Jake for guidance in this new development, but Jake just smiled and told him to go along. He'd take care of the ship.

The rest of Arr's stay aboard the station was a delightful blur. He found to his joy that the female named Carrie wanted to spend all her free time with him. After dinner the first night Carrie asked Arr if he had seen the rain forest. When he replied in the affirmative she asked him if he liked it. He did his best to express his wonder of its beauty. That led her to asking if he would like to see her favorite spot in it.

She led him to a remote corner of the forest. In fact it was so far back in the trees and undergrowth that you could see patches of the outside bulkhead through the tangled vines running up the wall. There was a cool, clear pool fed by a trickling spill of water over a jumble of moss covered rocks.

"How about a swim?" Carrie suggested invitingly.

Arr hadn't been swimming since they left the planet. The pool looked cool and appealing. He started to shed his clothes.

Carrie smiled sweetly at this innocent, uninhibited action and dropped her own suit.

The water was refreshing. He had not felt this good since leaving his home. This female was as wonderful as this place. When they finished their swim and lay naked on the grass at the pool's edge, she reached over and ran her hand across the fine red/gold hair of Arr's chest.

"You're beautiful," she uttered softly, with a tone of awe in her voice. He really was a magnificent creature, not only in looks, but in actions as well. He seemed totally free from civilization's moral inhibitions, yet he possessed his own inner rules, these included gentleness and truth.

He took her hand in his and nuzzled his lips against the palm where her tattoo would have been had she been Henu. "You should have been a Henu. You would have been admired by all the finest of my people".

She leaned down and kissed his chest.

Her touch was unsettling. When he turned face down in order to give himself time to think about what his actions should be she started rubbing his back. All the uncertainties fled his mind. He reveled with each stroke of her hand.

He was gentle with her as they made love even though she excited his body as it had never been excited before.

Nor and Arr talked about mating. Since neither had ever done it, it was all only speculation. The act was better than Arr or Nor ever imagined in their wildest dreams.

Now, Arr stood once more at the rear viewport. He watched as Refitting Station Terrell receded to a mere dot in space. Arr and Carrie had a lingering parting broken only by Jake's threat to leave Arr behind if he didn't _get a move on_. When the boy came aboard ship Jake elbowed him in the ribs. He said, 'Love'um and leave'um, I always say.' Arr didn't really understand. He only knew that parting from the female was painful. Even the excitement of the coming adventure did not seem to ease it.

# Chapter 17

In spite of his thermal suit Jake was freezing. The snow was over the top of his boots most of the time. Occasionally he had to fight through waist deep drifts.

He and Arr were taking turns breaking trail. Kay-o had given up. The dar-dolf started out at a run, dropped to a trot, now he was bringing up the rear at a lumbering walk. His hair was so heavily caked with ice that he could hardly keep up. Jake was glad he remembered the dar-dolf's boots or the poor beast's feet would have been frozen by now.

Why were they out in this? How could you fight an enemy you couldn't see? When he got hold of the guy who said this would be a 'piece of cake,' he intended to strangle him.

Jake came to a halt. Arr advanced slowly up behind him.

"You want me to lead for awhile?" He volunteered.

"No! I want a blistering cup of coffee and a hot bath," Jake snarled into his re-breather mask. Even above the howl of the wind Arr could hear Jake's teeth chattering.

Jake petulantly put a gloved hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you. I'm just so damn cold." He turned resolutely to lead on.

They had broken up into teams to do the mop-up work after the initial battle. Jake was pleased with Arr's performance. Even in the clumsy thermal suit he executed himself admirably. The kid was going to be good - maybe as good as Jake himself someday.

The enemy was not an organized group. When the mercenaries knocked the starch out of them they broke up and ran. Tim was right about that. All the team had to do was show them their stuff. But, now it was like guerilla warfare. Jake hated to take the fresh kid into something like this on his first mission. On top of that they had to deal with this miserable weather. There was no telling where the enemy was hiding just waiting to ambush you. In this storm it was hard to see even ten feet in front of you.

Jake came to another abrupt halt. He was having a hard time with his mask fogging up. It was just too damn cold.

Arr plowed his way up behind him. He clapped Jake on the shoulder to get his attention over the howling gale. "Let's stop for a moment. There's a notch in the outcrop over there." He pointed to a small crevasse to their right.

Jake couldn't see the outcrop Arr spoke of, but he had learned in the short time on the Henu planet that the boy's eyesight was considerably better than his at night. He took the kid's word for what he saw and assumed his eyes were better in adverse weather conditions as well.

"Good idea," Jake replied. "We can't see anything until it clears a bit anyway."

Arr led the way deftly clearing a trail the width of his own body, which was not quite wide enough for Jake or Kay-o.

Jake found to his relief that the crevice was large enough to protect the three of them from the biting wind. He pulled Kay-o up close and told Arr to huddle up for warmth. The snow fall and wind were already covering their tracks. They'd be safe here even if the inhabitants of the planet moved around in this weather, which he doubted. Yeah, he thought, they'd be fine as long as they didn't freeze.

Jake tapped Arr's mask to get his attention. "How you doing kid?"

"Okay and you?" Arr looked with concern up through Jake's fogged face shield.

"Cold, I think my suit has a leak." His teeth were chattering so violently that Arr could hardly understand him.

Arr unexpectedly started to unzip his suit.

"What are you doing?" Jake screamed above the roar of the wind, as he leaned over frantically trying to stop him. "It must be 60 below out here!"

Arr huddled closer to Jake. "Come closer to me," he ordered.

When Jake moved in Arr removed his gloves much to the mercenary's chagrin. He put them up to Jake's face under his mask. Jake's surprise showed as a broad smile broke across his pink cheeks. They were warm, toasty in fact. The thermal suit couldn't be working that good.

"Take your gloves off and put your hands in my suit." Arr began to unzip the suit again. When Jake hesitated Arr frowned at him. "Come on, I don't bite, I only growl and you're cold. Your beard's even frozen." To prove his point, Arr reached under the re-breather and broke a piece off in his hand. "See? Now do as I say!"

Jake stuck his arms around Arr inside his suit. Arr moved in even closer and put his arms around Jake trying to give him the most body warmth. Kay-o curled up at Arr's back. The kid was warm, but Jake knew with all this cold around him, his suit half unzipped, he wouldn't stay that way long. The feeling was so comforting though his teeth almost ceased to jar in his head. His hands were finally beginning to warm, when a shiver went through Arr. Jake started to pull his hands free with the intention of zipping the kid's suit back up, but the boy pinned his arms to his sides with his own.

"It's all right. Just wait a minute." Arr coached patiently.

Jake felt a vibration around Arr's rib cage and then heard an audible purring. Immediately the surface temperature of the kid's skin went up ten degrees. Jake just sat staring dumb founded at his new companion. Kay-o cuddled closer to the source of the heat.

"All Henu over the age of five are able to warm themselves by purring. When Nor and I were trapped in the water's edge when _The Others_ came he kept me from dying of the cold by hugging me and purring," Arr said, softly purring beneath each word.

Within a few minutes Jake drifted off into one of those light dozes that men who are accustom to being under fire for long periods of time, can muster easily. Should he need to move into action he would be ready, but he was just so comfortable and warm. He hadn't been this content since they hit this chunk of ice two days ago. Arr soon followed his example and fell into a fitful sleep.

*****

It was snowing back on his home planet. Arr was delighted by the fall of flakes almost as big as your palm. He stopped by the lake and reached down for a hand full of snow. He crushed it into a ball and lamented the fact that there was no one here to play with. All at once the snow came alive. People all dressed in white rose up out of it and started to shoot at him. They weren't using blasters. They had some primitive weapon that didn't stun or disintegrate, but blew big gaping bloody holes in your flesh. He started to run toward the trees, but before he could get there one of the white people shot him in the leg. He crumpled down on all fours and screamed in pain. The enemy advanced. When he looked up from the wound in his leg he was looking into the man's face. The man leveled his weapon at Arr's head.

Arr woke in a cold sweat to Jake holding his blaster in one hand and his other covering Arr's mouth under his mask. He motioned for Arr to remain still and silent. Then he disappeared with Kay-o into the dusk, down the length of the crevasse.

It had stopped snowing and the wind had died down to a mere breeze. Arr strained to hear something, anything. The only sounds were those of his own frantically beating heart. When there was a movement a distance to his right, he clutched his blaster tightly and came to attention. Kay-o came out of the gloom with Jake at his heels.

"Come on kid," Jake called. "I ran into Tim out there. I guess we missed all the action. They found their last stronghold. We're out of here." He came up to Arr and patted him on the chest. "Hell of a hot water bottle you got there."

Arr zipped up his suit and started the long trudge back to the ship behind Jake. As he plodded along through the knee deep drifts he wondered why he ever looked forward to seeing snow. He didn't care if he ever set foot in it again.

# Chapter 18

Jake plotted a course toward Outpost #68. Outposts were a floating version of the planet bound Trading Posts. They were great places for the latest information on what was happening in their small piece of space. Jake received more than one job tip from talking to an Outpost bartender. If they didn't find anything interesting at Outpost #68, they would just skip to the next and so on until something presented itself. Jake was in no hurry. He'd squirreled away enough shiny stuff to last him a lifetime. After his dad was killed Jake dealt with the crisis by burying himself in his work.

Arr TOOK to prowling the ship at night. Jake figured he was having nightmares over his first battle. The mercenary tried to approach him one night, but the kid was reluctant to talk. Jake told him there was no reason to be ashamed of his feelings; even Jake had bad dreams now and then. It came with the territory.

The boy needed some time to adjust. Jake decided he wouldn't take another job for a while. Let the kid rest and hope the demons passed.

# Chapter 19

Arr was thankful for the rest at Outpost #68. He was having a hard time coming to grips with what he had done on the ice planet. His waking thoughts were stuck on the scene of the battle. When he fell asleep he had the old familiar dream of the Henu massacre, but this time he played two parts in it. He was still that little boy in the reeds by the lake. However, when _The Other_ looked at him he was looking into his own grown up face. He was the invading force. Jake asked him if he wanted to talk. Jake sensed something was wrong, but Arr wasn't ready. He was trying to think it out for himself.

It seemed so senseless to Arr. The battle was over the possession of the snow and ice itself. Where Arr grew up there was plenty of water to drink, irrigate and swim in. Such was not the case throughout the rest of the galaxy he was told. All minerals were very precious and water was scarce. One part of the little planet wanted to set up a purifying plant and market their water to the other planets in their space. The other part of the populous wanted to keep it as it was and always had been. The latter lost through the efforts of the mercenaries of which Arr was now one.

What made the mercenaries any different from the Helavite pirates? Arr wasn't sure they had a right to decide which was the best course for that planet and its people. If he kept thinking along these lines he would desert Jake and go home. But he didn't.

There was another part of him that said thirsty people had a right to drink and others whose planet abounded in natural resources should share. Jake had been fighting battles like this all his life. Jake was a good man. Jake wouldn't do anything he didn't feel was right.

And so the internal battle raged on.

# Chapter 20

Jake thought he found the perfect assignment for him and Arr to take next. He heard from a trader who was passing through that the planet he fought on just seven months ago in the Nubula System established a processing plant for the galnon crystals. They needed a security team to do light duty, checking the workers for pilfering from the plant. No killing required - plush duty and good money. He hated to say 'a piece of cake,' after the last episode, but it really did sound like just the ticket.

Jake spoke to Tim via his new and improved communications system about the kid's sleepless nights. Tim quoted that ancient anecdote, 'If the horse throws you, you get right back on.' Tim advised putting Arr straight back into the most heated battle Jake could find. Don't let him think about what he did. Keep him busy. But Tim didn't know the kid like he did. Jake felt the slow approach was best. A few quiet months at Galnon Station #41 and he'd work it all out for himself.

When Jake contacted the station superintendent the guy was elated. Jake's reputation preceded him. The Super never thought he'd get someone of Jake's caliber for the job. He met Jake's price with no questions asked.

Jake's announcement earlier in the evening that they were leaving tomorrow was met with silence. It wasn't until he explained that it was a security team position and cushy duty that Arr relaxed and started to ask questions.

There wasn't much to tell. The plant itself was usually flown in, pre-assembled or close to it, along with the living quarters for the management staff and employees. The equipment, workers, worker's families and supplies followed close behind. They would all stay until the last of the galnon crystals were found. Then they would pack up and move on to the next planet.

The Super figured it would take about six months to finish the job at Galnon Station #41. Jake and Arr were hired for the duration.

# Chapter 21

Arr sat in the shade with his back against his and Jake's cubical. The climate control system inside was on the fritz again. It had been broken down or hardly running ever since they arrived almost a month ago. He left Jake softly snoring on his bunk across the room to go outside. Arr came to the conclusion that Jake could sleep anywhere, any time.

It wasn't much better out here except you didn't have to listen to the ventilation system cough and groan and it wasn't so confining. Jake brought them to a truly miserable planet.

Arr looked out over the terrain. It was solid rock. Nothing grew here, not a tree, not a bush, not even a single blade of grass. The planet was between its two suns thirty of its thirty hours a day. The temperature never fell below 120 degrees. Arr's lips were cracked. He was always hot and sticky. His nose was so dried up he felt he would probably never get his sense of smell back, but then again, maybe there was an advantage in that if applied to the thought of being Jake's partner. There was no water on this piece of rock. All water flown in by The Company was rationed like everything else.

The mining company commissary sold all the items it felt were needed for survival in this forsaken place. Every man, woman and child was issued ration tickets for food, water, clothing etc., each week. Each ticket was labeled for a particular item and a quantity. If you used up your ration tickets you went without. The Company determined exactly what was needed for sustaining their workers at a particular performance level. They also determined how much could conceivably be brought in versus making a decent profit for the mining enterprise. Transfer, trading or sale of your tickets to another, other than a family member, was strictly prohibited. Enforcing this last rule was one of Arr and Jake's duties as security for the station along with preventing pilfering from the planet of the precious galnon crystals.

Arr couldn't see how people lived like this all their lives. He talked to some of the workers. They said these were normal conditions when working for The Company. Galnon only formed in certain kinds of rock. The rock was almost always found on planets like this one. The workers traveled as families, children and all. Arr felt sorry for the kids. There was no place to play. No shade trees to climb, no lakes to swim in, no grass to lie on. Due to their environment they were unusual children, quiet and thoughtful. Mostly they read and drew pictures of things they had only seen in books.

There was a family of Darills at the station whose daughter took a shine to Arr almost the moment he arrived. She was as dark as Arr was light. She had dark hair, eyes and skin. Her name was Neena and she was a mute from birth. She spoke to him with large expressive brown eyes that reminded him of Carrie's, but Neena was only six years old.

The child followed him around like a young dar-dolf. She never tired of putting her arm or leg next to his and comparing the color as she stroked the short soft hair. When her mother would scold her for bothering the security guard she would apologize to him in some sign language he was just beginning to understand than she would skip off as though she was living the life of a princess. She was a very special child. The one child allowed a worker family.

The whistle on top of the processing plant blew the rising call. The actions of everyone on the planet were governed by the whistles. There were whistles for rising, meals, breaks and quitting time. There were emergency whistles for when the drills hit a lethal gas deposit and there were whistles for cave-ins.

Arr rose to his feet, pulling his damp shorts and short sleeve shirt, the uniform of the security team, off his sweaty skin. There would be no bath this morning. The water used for bathing came from a recycling system used at the mine. What they bathed in was the water used for the mining process after the crystals went through it. Enough for a bath only accumulated every three days or so. After going through the recycling plant it wasn't clean, in fact it was just this side of mud. A little more water, a little less dirt. The only reason the community was allowed to use it for bathing was it wasn't good for anything else. A person was usually cleaner before they got into it. But it was cool from being underground and it washed the stink off.

Arr heard a skipping sound to his left. He knew before he turned it would be Neena. The child never walked anywhere. She always had the energy to skip even in this unbearable heat.

She had a piece of paper in her hand and presented it to Arr as soon as she reached him. It was a picture she had drawn. A picture of him. She was not a child prodigy with incredible artistic ability, but Arr knew it was him at once. The clue was the red and yellow pencils she used for the hair on his arms and legs.

"This is good Neena. It looks just like me." He winked at the child. She smiled and hung her head bashfully. He offered it back, but she refused. It was obviously a gift. "Thank you. I will hang it in my room." Arr said proudly.

She signed a goodbye and skipped off toward home and breakfast.

Arr went inside to have a bite to eat as well. Jake was busy preparing his morning meal. Arr nodded in his direction on his way to the refrigeration unit. It was just too hot to make idle conversation.

Neither of them had had anything hot to eat in weeks. They both preferred something out of the refrigeration unit or at least room temperature. Arr reverted to being a vegetarian again. Jake took to eating cold processed meat which the Henu found only slightly less than completely repulsive. Arr complained that it was like eating it raw.

Arr got a can of fruit from the refrigeration unit and a glass of water from the water cooler. They purchased their water in large glass jugs that were delivered to the station in heavy crates of two dozen each. He would be glad when the supply ship arrived in two days. All the fresh fruit and vegetables ran out over a week ago. He'd been eating this canned stuff ever since. He was looking forward to a meal that didn't taste like so much mush. He longed for something that crunched when you bit into it.

Kay-o rubbed against Arr's leg and he reached over to pat him. The dar-dolf was really odd looking without his fur. Jake shaved him so he might cope better with the heat. Kay-o went back to eating the last of his ration of Jake's leftovers plus his allotment of food they brought with them on the ship. Jake said that if he knew the extent of the conditions on the planet he wouldn't have taken the job or if he had he would have come better prepared with a fully stocked pantry. As it was, they already depleted their extra stores aboard ship including all the Red Raspberry Goo Chews.

# Chapter 22

Jake sat in the Super's office listening to him quote declining production levels and rising expense figures. Arr and he had been at the station for two months.

"The galnon deposit is already on the wane. With luck, we could get it to last another two months, but definitely not four." The Super mopped his brow with his ever present handkerchief. Not only was it unbearably hot, but he hated the duty of telling Jake the bad news. Mercenaries were unpredictable. He hoped Jake would take this well.

The Super progressed to the complimentary part of the meeting hoping to pave the way for the bad news to follow. "You and your partner are doing a fine job on security for the processing plant."

Jake just waited for the other shoe to fall, and it did.

"However, The Company will not be needing your services for as long as the contract has stated."

The Super rushed on to get in the little alternative he thought might be needed to keep Jake calm when he realized the extensive loss of pay they would receive. "Unless you would like to relocate with the workers to the next job site? Of course The Company will give you severance pay, but it will not be the full agreed on contract price." The Super apologized.

He had no idea that Jake looked on this news as a reprieve from what felt like a jail sentence that he and Arr were serving on this planet.

"I understand completely. I know when the time comes for The Company to pay us off that they will be more than generous." Jake could be diplomatic when there was a need.

The Super sighed in relief. He stood to shake Jake's hand and end the meeting.

Jake pulled up his sun goggles from around his neck as he stepped outside. He wanted to tell Arr the good news. He didn't have to hunt him. He knew where he would be, with the family of Darills.

Arr learned their language as easily as he did English but the little girl's sign language was a lot harder for him. He so wanted to understand what she said to him. She was like his shadow since he learned her language and started telling her stories of his childhood and home. She was desperate to communicate with him too. Arr's wall in the cubical was covered with pictures she drew for him. Most of them of him at the places he told her about the tree house, the lake, gathering reeds. Neena's mother said the only thing the child wanted last month when the supply ship arrived was a picture book dictionary so she could see what Arr spoke of. It was the worst case of puppy love Jake had ever seen.

The adult Darills were patient with Arr's constant intrusions. Jake thought they were pleased that Arr took an interest in Neena. That he didn't ignore her as the other worker families did. This was an odd community. The children were quiet and thoughtful. They spent long hours telling each other stories, drawing and reading. They had to be quiet due to the heat. The Darills were different. They came from an environment much hotter than most of their fellow workers and adapted to this well. They functioned normally at a higher temperature while the rest of the population had to stay in cooler buildings as much as possible. The Darills were great workers for the galnon mines, but there were few who left their home planet. Jake heard they were poor space travelers.

Jake knocked at the Darill's door looking for Arr.

"Come in Officer Harcourt." Dicor, the father, invited.

It was the one day a week when the processing and mining plant shut down. The whole family was home. Jake found Arr down on his belly on the floor drawing pictures with Neena. He was talking like he was born a Darill rather than a Henu.

"Can I offer you a drink?" Dicor asked.

"No thanks, I only came for my wayward partner." Jake knew it was close to supply ship time. Everyone was getting low even on water.

"I'm almost done, Jake." Arr said over his shoulder in English then fast fell back into Darill with Neena.

Jake and Dicor sat and talked as Kaill, Neena's mother prepared the mid-day meal. Most of the conversation was about the eagerly anticipated arrival of the supply ship. The ship came every thirty days. They were all looking forward to fresh fruit and vegetables. Kaill apologized for the lack of variety, but told Jake and Arr they were welcome to share the family's meal if they would like. Jake and Arr declined politely. This close to the coming of the ship food was tight. They didn't want the Darills to come up short. Besides, Jake wanted to tell Arr the good news and he couldn't do it in front of the Darills. After all, it would mean they would have to be moving on soon.

Outside Jake turned a sober expression on Arr. "I talked to the Super this morning and extended our contract for another six months." Jake said with as close to a straight face as he could muster.

If looks could have killed Jake would have died on the spot. If Jake could only have kept a straight face he would have had the kid. But he couldn't keep from smiling.

"What? What did the Super really say?" Arr's eyes glinted with excitement.

"In two months, maybe less, we're out of here." Jake crowed triumphantly.

Arr grabbed his partner in a big bear hug.

# Chapter 23

Arr's elation at the news that they would be able to leave this horrible place was dampened by the failure of the supply ship to arrive. It was now two days late. Stores were running very low for everyone. The commissary was totally depleted except for one case of water. The Super put Arr and Jake on rotating shifts guarding the crate. Each of the two dozen households were required to conduct an inventory of all their stores, including water. It was found that if they were careful the water, including the crate in the commissary, would last about fifteen days. Yesterday they instituted water rationing even beyond the normal.

"It's only six days round trip to Henu. There's plenty of water there." Arr brushed at his sweat stained face with the back of his hand. He formulated this idea during his shift guarding the water, when Jake showed up to relieve him it all tumbled out. "The supply ship might show up while we're gone. Then again, it might not show up at all."

Jake's thoughts were along the same lines. He didn't know what happened to the ship, but he didn't like the looks of it. He went earlier today to the Super and suggested almost the same thing Arr just did. The Super was reluctant. He was afraid that if the security team left there would be uncontrolled riots. Jake convinced him there would be more than riots if they didn't leave, there would be deaths. Work at the plant already suspended until arrival of the supply ship and more water.

"My thoughts exactly." Jake affirmed with a nod of his head. "We'll leave tonight."

Later that evening Jake and Arr loaded every container they could find aboard Jake's ship and took off to the Henu planet.

# Chapter 24

They made the Henu planet in record time, 70.35 hours. Jake spent most of that time at the controls trying to get top performance out of the Calpernia. She could fly herself, but Jake could fly her better.

They all three made the first trip down in the pod. The moment the pod's doors released when they landed they all ran for the lake. Jake and Arr took time only to remove their blasters before diving in clothes and all. It was the most delicious feeling they ever experienced. They both lay in the edge of the water where their bodies turned it silty from their many galnon crystal water baths. The lake had infinitesimal fragments of galnon floating in it now that glistened as they sank to the bottom. Kay-o was lying flat on his stomach in the knee deep water lapping up the cool lake as though he would drink it dry. When the joy of being wet and cool again subsided, Jake rose and walked to the grass at the edge of the lake, sitting to pull off his boots.

"Come on you two lay-abouts. Time to get back to work!" He yanked off a boot dumping the excess water out on the lawn. "Come on...." He gave Arr an accusing glare when the boy failed to rise from the refreshingly cool waters.

Arr splashed at Kay-o sending the tiny iridescent green minnows, nibbling at the bubbles in his fine hair, scurrying away in fright. The big dar-dolf looked up startled.

"Come...." There was a mischievous glance of conspiracy that ran from the boy to the dar-dolf and back again. Jake was ringing the water from his hat and didn't see it coming.

Kay-o and Arr both emerged seemingly obedient from the lake only to descend on Jake in a mock attack. For a moment all the mercenary saw was fur, red/gold hair and water.

"Enough! I yield!" Jake pleaded for mercy between laughs.

His two attackers relented, but only after shaking themselves, sending sparklets of water flying everywhere particularly aimed in Jake's direction.

When the two calmed down sufficiently Jake gave the orders for the day.

"I'll take you back up to the ship where you can help me load and unload the containers of water. That way there'll be more room in the pod for the water." Jake picked up his hat from the edge of the lake where Kay-o tossed it earlier in play and wrung it out once more.

The work of loading, unloading, filling, reloading and unloading again took most of the day. By the time they were finished both of them were exhausted. Jake took very little time for sleep on the way to the planet. They both piled into the pod for one last trip to the surface, one more swim, and to pick up Kay-o.

"Let's spend the night, Jake." Arr suggested. He was concerned about Jake. He looked dead on his feet. "You won't be any good to us if you collapse." Arr couldn't fly the ship well enough to get them back to the station as swiftly as Jake brought them.

When Kay-o failed to respond to his master's whistles and calls Jake gave in to Arr's suggestion. The dar-dolf was no doubt out hunting fresh meat. They could leave him, he'd be safe enough here while they finished the stay at the station. However, they did have fifteen days and Jake had to admit he was beat. They climbed up in the tree house for one of the best rests of their life.

On board Jake's ship the communication system answering response light was blinking. A message had come in and it was being stored for retrieval by the crew. It was from the Super at Galnon Station #41. It was short and desperate.

They opened the crate in the commissary.

It was mislabeled.

It contained flour, not water!

Please hurry! People were starting to die.

# Chapter 25

The next morning Kay-o woke them with his huge booming calls.

They both came sleepily down the tree and headed straight for the lake. They indulged themselves in a real bath this time.

When they finished Arr got his gathering bag from the tree house. They went to get breakfast before leaving. As they were gathering they got the idea that it would be great to take back extra for the people. They would be like the prodigal sons returned if they not only brought water, but also fresh fruit and vegetables. It wouldn't take much time to gather a couple dozen of everything that was in season. Then they would be on their way.

Four hours later the three were back on board reading the transmission from the station. Jake had the ship headed back at full speed within moments.

# Chapter 26

69.85 hours later they established orbit once more above the Galnon Station. Jake and Arr agreed to the same arrangement they made at Arr's home planet. Arr would stay on board and help load while Jake shuttled the water down in the pod.

"Don't worry if I don't return right away from delivering the first load." Jake shoved in the last container the little pod could hold. It was practically bulging at the seams. "I hope there'll be someone in fair enough condition to help me unload and distribute, but if there isn't I'll have to do it himself." He climbed in the pod. "I might even have to administer it." He warned before closing the hatch.

They had tried to raise someone at the station ever since they received the news from the Super, but with no luck.

*****

It was going to be nasty, Jake thought. No one even came to meet the little pod. He hefted a large jug of water over each shoulder and headed for the nearest cubical.

The first people he found were dead. There was evidence they tried drinking the water used to process the galnon crystals. It was like drinking water with ground glass in it. They died a horrible death. The next group he found was too weak to hold their heads up. He gave them as much water as he safely could. He left the jug in hopes they would revive enough to drink more on their own. He did the same with the next house and the next until he ran out of jugs.

*****

"I need you more on the other end than here." Jake stumbled slightly with exhaustion from the heat and exertion, as he pulled himself from the pod. "I'll keep shuttling the water down. You'll have to administer it."

"How bad is it?" Arr asked, as he helped Jake reload the pod to capacity.

Jake shook his head. "Bad - real bad. Brace yourself kid, I haven't found any children alive."

Neena! She was all he could think about on the ride down in the pod. Arr cringed inside. What if something had happened to her? But the Darills were used to a hot climate, he kept telling himself. She would be all right. She had to be all right. But could any living being survive without water for four days in such heat?

The moment the pod set down he jumped out and swung a jug over one shoulder. In spite of the temperature he ran for the Darills home.

# Chapter 27

They cremated the dead. The Super and Neena were among them. There was no time for mourning. Jake found out from one of the workers that the Super contacted The Company the day Jake and Arr left. They were sending a replacement supply ship. It would arrive in two weeks from the date of contact. The next four days Jake and Arr felt like beasts of burden. Jake found some salt and soda in one of the houses. He put the 'mislabeled water' to good use. He felt like a short order cook making pancakes by the dozens to feed the hungry workers. The fruit was disbursed in limited quantities. They didn't want anyone to get sick. Everyone needed to keep all the body fluid they could.

When the supply ship arrived with a substitute medical staff on board they found that Jake and Arr had not lost a single patient since their return. The regular medical staff, which were nursed with the rest of the workers, were very complimentary of Jake and Arr's heroic efforts.

"We came across the original supply ship floating loose in space." The captain of the replacement vessel sat over a cup of coffee filling in Jake and Arr. "All the crew was dead. The stores were gone. The ship totally stripped. I got that itchy feeling I get when the Helavites are around. Sure looked like their work to me."

"Damn them!" Jake slammed his fist into the table.

Arr didn't join in the conversation. His thoughts were elsewhere.

# Chapter 28

Jake woke up to the sound of Arr weeping softly. He was sitting on the edge of his bunk with his head cradled in his hands. Kay-o was awake too and he huddled at Arr's feet with his head in Arr's lap.

It wasn't fair. But then again, who said life was fair. A boy sees his parents killed. He lives to see his brother die in his arms and now an innocent child, that touched places in his soul that he could not fathom, had died.

Jake rose wearily coming to the boy's side. He sat down by Arr and put his arm around him. Arr turned into the embrace burying his face in Jake's shoulder and sobbed. His pain was almost palatable.

Arr's words were muffled as he spoke into Jake's chest. Still he was sure he heard them correctly. "I want to kill all Helavites!"

"You and every other decent person in this galaxy, kid." Jake squeezed Arr's shoulder affectionately. "One day someone will tie a can to their tail. We'll find out where their hideout is and we'll all go after them."

Arr looked up wiping at his tear stained cheeks. "So many people and Neena. No one should have to die like that."

Jake saw his opportunity to make a point he wanted to for months with the kid. Somehow he felt ever since the ice planet that he needed to justify his actions to the boy for being a mercenary. He never felt this way before. Jake figured he was who he was. If you didn't like it, then tough! However, the kid's opinion of him was somehow more important than the rest. He knew that Arr looked up to him. He felt that esteem had fallen a bit after his first battle.

"No one should have to go without something as basic as water," Jake explained. "That's the reason I fight. Maybe one time it's for water rights. Last time it was for the galnon crystals here. The crystals could have been used for blasters or something even more lethal, but because I fought they're being mined for industrial purposes. Everything has a price and someone that will pay that price to have you fight for it. I try really hard to be on the side I feel is right."

Arr looked down and brushed his tears from the dar-dolf's head. "I understand now Jake."

Jake gave him a squeeze around the shoulders. "You think you can go back to sleep?"

Arr nodded and lay back down on his bed. Jake pulled the sheet up over him. Kay-o put his head on the edge of the bunk and that was how Jake found them in the morning.

*****

The original crew of the station never went back to work. A new Super and ship full of workers arrived two weeks later. The original crew was taken back to The Company headquarters for a rest.

The loss of all the children in the small colony was a devastating blow.

Jake and Arr took their severance pay, bonus pay and the heartfelt thanks of all. They loaded the few possessions they brought down to the planet's surface and headed toward Arr's home world for a little R&R.

# Chapter 29

The month long rest on the Henu planet did them all a world of good. Arr was smiling once again. Kay-o's hair grew back to a decent length. They all recovered from their ordeal at Galnon Station #41. Jake came back from a trip up to the cruiser one day to announce that they were on the move again.

He played back a message picked up by the communications system from a man he had known almost all his life. Someone he worked for in the past, Andrew Daily. Andrew was a friend of Jake's dad.

"Daily is one of the richest men there is in the solar system, maybe several solar systems," Jake explained to Arr, as they shuttled up to the ship in the pod. Arr had confided in Jake that riding in the small craft was much more bearable if Jake kept up one of his running commentaries. "He even bought a planet - named it Madelor after the only woman he ever loved, his wife Madeline." Jake banked the pod for entry into the bay.

Arr was clenching the arms of the seat so tightly that his hands were beginning to ache. He tried to concentrate on his friend's narrative.

"She died twenty years ago in the outbreak of the Naruvian Flu. A lot of good people died the first year before the doctors developed a serum." The little pod decelerated coming to a smooth landing in the bay. "Madeline left Andrew with a three year old daughter named Sarah. The two of them plus servants and Sarah's menagerie live on Madelor."

Arr crawled out of the pod. He always felt like kissing the ground each time he made the trip safely. He envied the fact that Jake took all space travel in his stride. Speed and flight excited him rather than frightening him. Arr wondered if he would ever get used to it.

"Andrew's spoiled Sarah rotten indulging her every whim including her collection of animals. Last time I saw the Daily's was right after I got Kay-o. By the time I left Sarah had her father convinced she couldn't live without a dar-dolf of her own." Jake shook his head, turning a droll grimace on Arr. "She's incorrigible, but I cut her a lot of slack 'cause I like Andrew."

They both made for the pilot platform. Jake gave the computer the coordinates.

"Daily didn't say what he wanted, only to come as soon as possible! It was AN EMERGENCY! There's a window at Outpost #26 that we can use to skip from this galaxy to the next. We can be there in three days."

"A window?" Arr cocked his head questioningly. The windows he was familiar with were in buildings and ships.

It was a long time since Jake came up with a word his young friend didn't know. "It's a tube through space that gets you there a whole lot faster."

The look on Arr's face was still one of puzzlement.

"Just wait. You'll see." Jake sent a message to Andrew telling him they were on their way.

*****

On arrival at Madelor they were escorted by a servant to Andrew's study. The building was like nothing Arr had ever seen before. It exuded wealth. Jake enjoyed watching Arr out of the corner of his eye as the kid tried to take it all in. He was ogling like a little boy at his first alien circus.

"Jake," Andrew greeted him with a warm handshake at the door to the study. "I was so relieved you could come."

"This is my new partner, Arr of the Henu," Jake introduced.

Andrew nodded in nonchalance. "Can I offer you a drink?" He moved to the large assemblage of bottles and glasses on the far wall.

"Thanks, I'd love one." Jake knew Andrew kept a private reserve of expensive imported Canadian whiskey. "Arr?" Jake asked.

Arr was gazing up at the painted ceiling in wonder. Cherubs and unicorns glided across a landscape of vibrant blues and greens. Arr shook his head in the negative.

Andrew handed Jake his drink and turned to Arr. "Perhaps you would like to wait outside." It was not an offer it was a dismissal.

Arr started to rise. Jake threw out a restraining hand. "He stays," Jake stated flatly. His tone brooked no argument.

"I just thought he might be more comfortable outside....," Andrew commented with disdain.

Jake knew that Andrew would have finished his sentence with '....with the other animals,' if he thought he could have gotten away with it. Jake was surprised at himself for never noticing before that Andrew held a prejudice toward aliens.

"He's my partner, as I told you when I introduced him," Jake said bluntly. "If this is a business call he has a right to hear. If it's a social call, I would hope you would show him the respect you would show me after all our years of friendship."

"Of course Jake, I'm sorry if I offended you," Andrew said, to Jake rather than Arr.

Jake didn't miss the slight, but let it pass. He and Andrew went back a long way.

"So, what is it business or social?" Jake removed his restraining hand from Arr's arm. The kid hadn't caught the insult until Jake stood up for him. Andrew was a billionaire, but Arr was the rich one in personality.

"Sarah has vanished." Andrew said without preamble. "She disappeared five days ago. The first day I brought in additional security teams with dogs, but they turned up nothing. The second day I called you." Andrew sat down, rolling his glass in his hand from side to side. It was a habit Jake was familiar with in Andrew when he was upset, but trying to hide it.

Jake shifted forward in his seat. Of all the things he thought he'd hear this was not one of them. Andrew had security everywhere. "Have there been any ransom demands?"

"Not a single one." Andrew sat holding his drink for something to do with his hands rather than put it down on the table next to him. He sipped at it absentmindedly.

"Any of the staff have a grudge against you?" Jake doubted this last, but it was a routine question to ask in such a case. Jake's father always said that once Andrew Daily got hold of an employee they were his for life. He was known for treating his people well. He always paid Jake in gold and up front for his services.

Andrew rubbed his brow in weariness. "Not that I know of." He straightened his shoulders resolutely. "I want her found. I don't care how much it cost! You can name the ticket." He finished off his drink with a single slug.

"We can discuss payment later, first step is for us to make a sweep of the grounds, the whole planet if need be. I also want to speak with the staff. Find out where Sarah was seen last, also where she was supposedly headed when she disappeared." Jake rose placing his untouched glass on the table beside him. "We'll do our best, Andrew."

Jake, Arr and Kay-o started their search for clues.

# Chapter 30

Sarah was taken by Hydras. Jake found the telltale pattern of their unusual landing craft in the grass behind the tall hedge that surrounded the grounds. It was all very clear to Jake now and in his opinion almost hopeless. The Hydra were a race of slavers. They dealt mostly in the sale of women and children to households of other alien cultures for servants and bed partners. Their landing crafts constantly surveyed planets for possible victims. The ships were small, silent running and very quick. They probably snatched her before she knew what hit her much less had time enough to scream. The Hydra usually kept a home ship at a central location. Once it was full from the deliveries of the smaller landing craft they took the load back to a base to be sorted according to looks and talents. Then they distributed their captives to the far corners of the universe for sale to the highest bidder. Jake didn't hold out much hope for a rescue, but he told Andrew he'd try. They were back on the ship within an hour headed out.

Jake heard a rumor several months ago, on Outpost #45. Some trader thought he saw a Hydra landing craft close to a planet in this section of the sector. It was very flimsy information to go on. However, it was all that Jake had at the moment. If there was a landing craft, then the home ship couldn't be too far away. The landing crafts were definitely short distance vehicles. If they could just find a home ship to follow to their base, he'd be happy. What he'd do after that he had no idea. That would come if they found it.

"What are Hydra?" Arr asked one night, as they sat on the pilot platform surveying the stars.

"First off, Hydra isn't their real name. No one has ever escaped them except into slavery. They say, the Hydra's language can't be learned. So no one knows their real name." Jake stretched and yawned, eliciting a reaction yawn from Arr. "Way back, before my time some slave who used to be a teacher compared them to the mythological beast Hydra. It stuck. The things don't have multiple heads like the Greek monster, but they do resemble snakes or more accurately lizards on two legs." Jake frowned as he remembered the few he saw in the slave markets of the Rigil system. "They live and work in planets that have caves. Strong light hurts their eyes. When they're above ground they have to wear sun goggles."

Kay-o rolled over on Arr's feet for a tummy rub. The dar-dolf had accepted the boy fully over the last few months. Arr leaned over obligingly. "Will we be able to handle a whole base operation?" Kay-o expressed his delight with the rub by rumbling his pleasure deeply in his throat.

"I believe so." Jake fleetingly considered reprimanding Arr for spoiling the dar-dolf, but thought better of it. It had been months since the beast needed to be bribed with a glove. He followed Arr's orders well. "We have one thing in our favor if we find the base. It'll be a small operation. The Hydra are such ill tempered brutes that if you get too many in one spot at a time a battle breaks out. So, they travel and deal their trade in small bands of fifteen or twenty."

# Chapter 31

Arr thought he was lost. He couldn't get his bearing in these dark tunnels. Jake told him not to mark the walls. Sure you could follow your marks out, but the Hydra could follow your marks to you just as well.

Through some grand stroke of luck, Jake found the home ship. They followed it to the base. Jake thought it was better to wait for the home ship to unload her cargo, take her fighting force and go before he and Arr went in.

They found the mouth of the cave hours ago and killed the sentry. They followed the dimly lit cave several hundred yards to where it split into two tunnels, there they divided up. Jake tried to send Kay-o with Arr. Arr said, he'd be okay. These beings had such a foul odor to him that they would never be able to sneak up on him. Jake might need Kay-o to be his nose.

Arr's tunnel split several times since then. He tried to always bear right. If the tunnels connected at some main room or hall Jake and he might run back together. This maneuver was Jake's order. Arr had been doing his best to follow it.

He was standing at another junction in the tunnels when he caught a faint whiff of a Hydra. The air was still in here. He couldn't tell how close the thing was. He pointed his blaster down the tunnel he thought the smell was coming from, backed around the corner into the other tunnel and into the very strong scent of a Hydra. The beast was on him before he could even fire his blaster. It was another sentry just lying in wait at its post. It knocked the gun out of his hand, making some sort of hideous cry. It was a cry for help. Arr heard the slithering approach of two more Hydras from the adjoining tunnel. There was no room to move in the confines of the cave. Arr struggled, but three against one were good odds for the Hydras. They beat him into submission.

They dragged him several hundred more yards down the left tunnel into a large cavern. Arr surveyed the area. The walls of the cavern were lined with cages. Most of them were full of captives, the majority being humanoid, huddled as far from the Hydras as possible. In the middle of the room was a table. To the right was a bed of hot coals in a large cauldron over a fire. Next to the cauldron was a big stone block, next to it a rack with pairs of metal shackles hanging from it. There were four more Hydras at various duties about the chamber. One that was larger than the rest turned toward Arr and the three Hydras with him. By the looks of it this big one was the boss. He came to stand defiantly in front of Arr. The dank smell of him was almost over powering to Arr's sensitive sense of smell. He ordered the two Hydras that were holding Arr to turn him around. He obviously didn't recognize Arr's species and was trying to determine the possible value of such a creature. When they loosened their grip on Arr he slipped free. He pulled his knife from his boot and darted forward with the intention of capturing the leader. The leader was not only big but he struck with great speed. Arr was not caught totally off guard. He cut a deep slice on the leaders forearm before it came down knocking the wind out of him. The other Hydras piled on him. The leader was shouting orders as he licked at his wound. Jake was right, their language was incomprehensible. They dragged Arr over to the stone with the intention of putting shackles on him.

*****

The Hydras thought they captured a beast instead of the humanoid, which he was. The thing fought wildly. It growled and bit when they tried to put the shackles on it. They finally had to beat it senseless before it would submit to being bound. They threw it in one of the empty cages. They didn't want it to injure any of their other cargo.

# Chapter 32

Jake's tunnel came to an abrupt end. He back tracked with Kay-o to the junction where he and Arr split up.

"Seek!" He ordered. The dar-dolf, with head hung low, headed off down the tunnel.

They went several hundred yards and took several right turns when they came to another junction. The ruff of fur around Kay-o's neck bristled. He turned left. Jake started to follow when his foot struck something. It wasn't a rock; it had a metallic ring to it. He gave Kay-o the signal to wait as he reached down for the object and came up with Arr's blaster. Even if the Hydras used blasters there was no mistaking this one was Arr's. When Jake shone his pin light on it he could see the red grip. Last month on the Henu planet Arr used some homemade dye to color the grip on the weapon red to match his suit. Jake had ribbed him unmercifully.

Jake gave Kay-o the hand signal to move behind him and stay there. He didn't want the dar-dolf stumbling into a nest of Hydras. They crept slowly down the tunnel until they were able to hear movement. Jake signaled to Kay-o to crawl and they edged forward cautiously.

He could just see around an outcrop of rock into the cavern. There were seven Hydras. Cages filled with captives lined the walls. He could see Sarah. She was in a cage across the room. His view of the rest of the room was blocked by the outcrop. Jake only hoped the other side of the room contained cages also and that Arr was in one of these. He did not know the type of weapons the enemy carried. He knew he couldn't use his blaster in such tight quarters without risking injury to the captives. He'd have to formulate a different plan rather than just going in and dusting all the Hydras.

His motion for Kay-o to backup was met by resistance from the dar-dolf. Kay-o could smell the enemy and perhaps Arr too. He wanted to go in. Jake finally had to give him a boot to get him moving back up the tunnel to the outside.

Jake needed to do something that would get both the Hydras and their captives out in the open. He decided a controlled fire would be just the thing. He piled green brush to the side of the cave entrance and positioned the pod's exhaust so it would blow the smoke down the tunnels. He started the fire, started the engines of the pod and sat back to wait for the exiting masses.

His wait was not a long one. The captives came out first driven forward by the Hydras. When the prisoners were out of harm's way and the Hydras broke through the smoke, Jake opened fire. The battle was more like a turkey shoot. The Hydras were disoriented having just come from the dark cave. Jake killed six before he even stopped to count. When there was no sign of the seventh he edged down the small cliff that surrounded and hid the entrance to the tunnels. The seventh one must have escaped back into the cavern.

Jake was practically bowled over by Sarah when she recognized him.

"Did you see my partner?" Jake asked, as he extricated himself from her grasp. "He's a young man. Big, blue cat eyes." He said describing Arr. "Red/gold hair."

"When the smoke came they took all of us out except him. They left him in his cage. He's still in there." Sarah said in an aggrieved tone.

Jake caught sight of pilot's wings on one of the captives. "Can you start shuttling the people up to the cruiser? I've got to go in for my partner."

"Gladly," she said with a mock salute and a winning smile.

*****

The leader of the Hydras sensed the deception when there was no fire only smoke. When he heard his comrades dying he realized that the being they left behind in the cage was not alone. The Hydra retreated back to the cavern.

*****

Jake and Kay-o moved slowly through the smoke filled tunnels. When they reached the cave, the Hydra and Arr were waiting.

The Hydra had strung Arr up by his shackle chain from the ceiling. The kid hung with his feet about a foot off the floor. He had obviously struggled. The shackles cut deep into his wrists. Blood oozed down his arms almost to the elbow. He had a gash on his forehead above the left eye. The blood dripped down his face and off his chin. The left eye was swollen shut. His nose was bloodied and his lip was cut. He was unconscious.

The Hydra was waiting for Jake. It had two weapons of a type Jake had never seen before. One was trained on him and one on Arr. The weapon looked like a metal stick with a flat tip on it. There was a grip with buttons and Jake didn't have to wait long for a demonstration. The Hydra stuck the weapon up to Arr's side and squeezed the grip. Arr screamed and writhed in pain. Without removing the weapon he pointed at Jake, he hit another button on the weapon he had pointed at Arr and shot at the cauldron. The cauldron and a big portion of the rock floor beneath it disappeared. He put the stick back to Arr's side. The Hydra motioned for Jake to clear the way. The demonstration was over. He would kill the boy if Jake did not let him pass.

Jake wished to God he left Kay-o outside with the captives. He could have attacked the Hydra as it emerged from the tunnel. Unfortunately, Kay-o took the lead when they came back in. Now he was further in the cavern then Jake was.

Jake motioned for Kay-o to move to one side to let the Hydra pass. The leader grabbed Arr around the waist eliciting a groan from Arr and a growl from Kay-o. The Hydra stuck his weapon under Arr's chin, then he raised the other stick he had pointed at Jake to disintegrate the chain above Arr's head. Arr slumped loosely in the Hydra's powerful grip. The thing grinned mockingly as it passed Jake at the cavern entrance. It proceeded to back its way out the tunnel. Jake and Kay-o were close behind.

*****

The pilot had just landed. She was about ready to take another load on for the cruiser when she saw the Hydra backing out of the cave's mouth. Her instincts and good training snapped her to attention. She aimed and fired the pod guns at the Hydra.

Jake saw the Hydra's head explode. Arr slipped safely from its grasp. The reflexes of the Hydra did not have a chance to squeeze the weapon. Thank God!

# Chapter 33

Arr awoke in his cabin aboard the cruiser. He had the fleeting thought that maybe it was a bad dream, but the ache in his head told him differently. He started to lift his hand to touch it. With difficulty he raised his inordinately heavy arm only to see the shackles on his wrists. A hand came out of nowhere to grab his arm.

"You're gonna be all right kid," a familiar voice said soothingly.

Arr couldn't see anyone sitting at his side. In fact, he only now realized he couldn't see out of his left eye. He angled his head for a better look coming face to face with a concerned Jake.

"Take them off, please," Arr pleaded holding his hands up.

"They would have been off three days ago if I'd had my way. The only thing I've got strong enough to do the job would take your hand off with them." Jake managed to bandage the bleeding wrists beneath the shackles. He gave Arr's upper arm an affectionate squeeze. "We'll reach Daily's in another 72 hours. He'll be able to round something up to take them off you and Sarah both."

"She was there?" Arr tried to raise his head. The effort sent a pain so intense through it that he thought he'd pass out.

Jake saw the grimace of agony cross the boy's battered face. "None of that now." He coached patting Arr's shoulder. He wrung out a cloth from a bowl by the bed, placing it on the kid's brow. "Yep, she was with them! We were lucky this time." He leaned forward checking the bandages on Arr's face. "You hungry?"

"No. Just tired." Arr's eyes fluttered shut and Jake heard a deep sigh as he fell off to sleep again.

"Fine. You just rest." Jake placed Arr's hands on his chest and pulled the covers up under his chin. He was glad the kid regained consciousness. He didn't mind saying he was worried. Arr took a good beating. He should have known the kid would bounce back after the way he observed his seemingly miraculous healing from Kay-o's bite.

Another three days and Andrew would have Sarah back and all the rest of the throng of people crowded aboard his ship could get back to their homes. When Jake sent a message earlier to Andrew that he had Sarah and would bring her home as soon as possible, Andrew offered to help. He would assist by notifying the captive's relatives and arranging their transportation home from Madelor. He wanted Jake to come straight home with his beloved Sarah.

Jake rose from Arr's bedside, turning to go check on his passengers. Sarah was standing in the doorway.

"He speaks," she said in almost respectful awe.

"Better English than you or me any day." Jake took her by the arm guiding her out into the corridor. The kid needed as much rest as he could get.

"I didn't know what he was when they dragged him in the cavern. He was dressed like a spacer, but didn't talk. When they started to put the shackles on him he was like an animal, absolutely vicious." Sarah craned her neck to see past Jake's bulk to the fascinating alien.

"He doesn't like being bound. Kind of a free spirit," Jake said, as he propelled his curious ward farther down the hall back to her place with the other passengers.

# Chapter 34

The next three days Sarah quizzed Jake endlessly about Arr, his people, his home planet and how Jake met him. By the time they made Madelor Jake was tired of the girl and her infernal drilling.

Andrew was as good as his word. He arranged for the other captives. Most of their families were either waiting for them or transportation was arranged. It took just a little less than two hours to sort everyone out and put them on their way.

Jake believed Arr would even have felt that it was worth it all after seeing the greeting between father and daughter. Andrew invited Jake to join them at dinner that night. Jake explained Arr was injured, though he was on the mend he didn't feel he should leave him alone. Andrew continued to press Jake to join them in their little celebration. Finally, the mercenary relented. He took the factory worker Andrew summoned to remove everyone's shackles up to the ship to relieve Arr of his. He saw that the kid was fed and comfortable. He continued to fuss around until Arr called him a doting dar-dolf mother and threw him out.

The meal was delicious. During dinner Sarah caught Jake up on the condition of the newest acquisitions to her menagerie. While she was away the servants did well taking care of them. This subject brought her to her favorite, Arr. She was anxious to know how he was faring.

"Fine," Jake answered icily, searching desperately through his mind for a subject to take them away from this over explored topic.

Andrew leaned forward in his chair. "Sarah has spoken of little else, but this Arr of yours since her return. I do feel he has even taken precedence over her adventure with the Hydras." He smiled affably, as he held out his glass for the servant to refill. "She tells me he speaks English. He didn't speak when he was here."

"If you remember correctly you didn't give him much of a chance." Jake accepted the refill of his glass as well.

"Well perhaps.... She tells me he can be quite vicious," Andrew continued, sipping judiciously at his wine.

"He is as civilized as I am. She was speaking of an extraordinary set of circumstances," Jake said a bit defensively.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now that I have my lovely daughter back," Andrew winked at Sarah seated next to him, "I would not want to buy her something that might hurt her." He pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

"I don't think I heard you right," Jake snorted in disbelief. His brow wrinkled into a frown. "You didn't just say you were offering to _Buy_ Arr, did you?"

"I can assure you I will make you a fair offer." The ever present servant leaned forward offering Andrew a light. He accepted inhaling deeply, then exhaling through his nose in a relaxed fashion. "Sarah tells me he is one of a kind. I know that alone will raise his value."

Jake planted his shaking hands on the table and pushed himself to his feet. He was so angry he couldn't speak. The gall of this man. Arr had almost got himself killed helping rescue the man's 'beloved daughter' and he wanted to buy him like just another animal for Sarah's menagerie.

Jake set his jaw, turned a steely glare on Andrew, and said the only thing he could get out without cursing, "He's not for sale."

Andrew looked at the control Jake was mustering to keep from doing God only knew what. Well, he had told Sarah he would try. He was not going to risk alienating Jake. He was too valuable. Jake had proven that once again.

"Very well, if you should change your mind, you know Sarah would make him very comfortable here and the price would be right."

"If you will excuse me, I should be getting back to my ship." Without waiting for leave, Jake headed for the door.

Sarah ran after him and caught his arm. He turned and his piercing look made her drop his arm and think twice about making a further plea for Arr.

"I should have left you with the Hydras," Jake said through clenched teeth.

# Chapter 35

It happened around this time every year. Jake received an urgent summons to a battle. He knew there wasn't going to be any confrontation, but he always played along. It was really an invitation to a surprise birthday party. His surprise birthday party to be exact!

His dad always made a big deal of birthdays. He said they were the only day that was really, truly yours. He always got all his fellow mercenaries together and threw Jake a party at one of the Outposts.

The first year after Jake's dad's death he was pretty low. He received a communication to come to Outpost #4 for a possible job with good money and low risk. When he arrived all the gang was there. Tim took over for Jake's dad. He arranged it all. Jake remembered it fondly as one of the best days of his life.

Now every year an urgent message would demand his immediate attention at some Outpost about this time of year. He would go to find them all waiting for him with their broad silly grins and rude gag gifts. He would always act surprised. They would always act like they believed him. It truly was a day to look forward to all year long.

This year though, Tim screwed up. He called Jake to Outpost #37 for an urgent battle on Gligula. Jake was there less than two years ago and cleaned up that mess permanently. Course, Tim didn't know that or had forgotten. Otherwise, he would have picked a different planet for the trick. All the same, Jake would act surprised and Arr could get his first glimpse of a pure earth tradition.

He asked Arr when his birthday was when he told Arr the story of these 'Surprise' parties. The kid said he didn't know the date. They all celebrated their birthdays together at the Spring Festival. Dates were not important to the Henu culture.

Jake pointed the cruiser toward Outpost #37 with great anticipation.

# Chapter 36

They had been lying in this slime for the last two days. Even with his nose plugs Arr could hardly stand it. He swore he thought he could taste it when he breathed through his mouth. There really was a call for a battle on Gligula. Jake cleaned it up and then the factory came in to process this slime into a gas that when mixed with un-breathable air, made it breathable. They hadn't felt the need for a security team, or any kind of protection for that matter.

The Narnon just re-grouped, re-equipped and moved back in eight days ago. They brought reinforcements, Tuldavian Swamp Lizards. The big suckers were busy building their mud traps just below the surface of the slime all over the place. It was like a damn mine field. If you fell into one that was unoccupied you went in at least to your waist and needed someone's help to get out or you would be permanently stuck and eventually lizard bait. If you had the misfortune to fall into an occupied one you didn't get out, or at least your bottom half didn't.

Jake hadn't wanted to bring the kid to this so soon after the episode with the Hydras. Sure he was healed up as good as new. The kid had incredible recuperative powers. Jake hoped they would have another short rest before going into action again. He wasn't trying to kid himself. He was looking forward to the rest too. Hell, he thought, this was going to be a birthday party.

Tim O'Malley, Dusty Wilson and Watts had joined them. Tim said as soon as they got the place back to ship shape they'd have one hell of a party to make up for lost time. After all, it was Jake's Big Four-O.

The factory had shut down, the staff evacuated, until the planet was secure again. The mercenaries moved into the plant, but the operation was really a guerilla affair, go out kill some Narnon and hopefully some lizards, then retreat to the factory to regroup. The Narnon were not very bright, just fighting machines. They didn't even want the planet or its useable slime. They were a force like the mercenaries, hired by another interested party who wanted the little planet and its multitude of green ooze. They were limited in number. That's why they added the lizards to their forces. They thought this time they might have a chance to win.

# Chapter 37

Arr, Jake and Tim sat around the space heater in the factory lounge. At least there was a shower here. Once their watch was over they could wash off the green slime that seemed to ooze into every crease and pore of their bodies. Dusty and Watts were on look out. The other three were just finishing their coffee before turning in.

Arr was just sitting and listening. As usual when you got Jake and Tim together that was the only alternative you had, listening. Tim was a big man, though not as big as Jake. He had flaming red hair and always talked as though he thought you were hard of hearing. He seemed always to be smiling and quoting old sayings from earth's past. Most didn't make sense to Arr. Tim said if you had to explain them it took all the punch out. Arr liked Tim even if he didn't seem to speak English at times.

Dusty and Watts were old friends of Jake's too. Dusty was built like a dar-dolf with two legs. He didn't talk much, but that could have been the company he was keeping. Jake said he was one of the best men in a hand to hand combat he ever saw. Jake saw him take on as many as five guys at once and win. He carried a thinly shaped, razor sharp knife. Dusty told Arr it was really made for filleting fish but, he added with a wicked grin, 'I find it useful for filleting other things too.'

Watts was a large black man. Jake told Arr that Watts wasn't his real name. He killed a man once in a bar, at a Trading Post. He managed to get past the Guardians and escaped. He had to change his name as a consequence and chose a name from earth's 20th century history. Jake said he was the kind of man you wanted on your side.

Tim had just given Jake a tantalizing clue to his birthday present when Watts came running in with Dusty close behind.

"They're making a run on us," he shouted, just before the factory exploded and everything went dark.

Arr struggled from under the debris. He saw the Narnon coming over the top of the rubble toward the survivors. He raised his blaster and killed two before scrambling for cover behind a wall, which was still partially upright. Tim was already there. He was sitting with his back against the wall just before the explosion. Dusty was obviously dead. The Narnon stepped over his body coming in. Watts was behind a metal locker that was tipped over. Arr didn't see any sign of Jake.

"Have you seen Jake?" he asked Tim, as he scanned the debris frantically for any sign of his friend.

"Not since the Big Bang!" Tim exchanged rapid fire with the Narnon, bringing one down in a wail of pain.

There were eight of them. They advanced past the place where the mercenaries had all been sitting, to press their excellent odds advantage against the three. There was nowhere to escape! The only way was through the opening made by the Narnon. The Narnon knew they had won this time. They advanced further.

All at once, Jake rose up out of the rubble behind the invading force and opened fire. They were caught totally off guard and between the mercenary forces. They didn't have a chance. The incident was over in a matter of minutes.

After the rough night at the factory, the Narnon, as Tim said, 'Tucked their tails and ran.' The worst part of the job was the clean up. The Tuldavian Swamp Lizards were left behind in the Narnon's rush to retreat. All the lizards had to be found and liquidated. You couldn't have a factory slime collector lose a leg or two. Jake and Tim devised a way to drag the slime. When the lizards were lured up to the bait they became so much 'swamp slime.'

When the factory staff returned they said they would take care of shipping Dusty's body to his kin. Usually a mercenary was buried where he fell, but the four of them agreed that Dusty deserved better than Gligula.

# Chapter 38

Jake's birthday was wonderful. Arr had never experienced so much warmth and friendship before. He wasn't the only one who loved Jake. He was lucky Jake chose him as a partner.

The best part of the celebration was when they brought in the cake. It looked to Arr like a round building with several floors each one smaller than the one below it. They put forty candles on it and it was studded with Red Raspberry Goo Chews. Tim found out about Jake's wayward dar-dolf's addiction, during one of his rare quiet periods when Arr told him about how he made friends with the beast.

Tim's gift was a brand new Magnum Class (MC) Blaster with a new light weight scope attached. It was not the usual gag gift and it was very warmly received by Jake. All the other gifts were rude and obnoxious, but fun.

Arr waited until they returned to the cruiser before he gave Jake his present. Jake thought the festivities were over and he was ready for a good night's rest. He had too much to drink. Oh well, you only had a birthday once a year and a fortieth one only once in a lifetime.

"I couldn't think of anything as funny as your friends' gifts," Arr said, as he stirred restlessly in the doorway to Jake's cabin.

Jake came up to Arr smiling down on the boy, he put his hand on the Henu's shoulder. "That's okay. I don't think I could stand another gag gift."

Arr pulled a piece of rolled paper tied with a ribbon from behind his back. "Happy birthday, Jake." He was a bit embarrassed that it was so small. He handed it to Jake and retreated briskly, walking back to his own cabin.

When Jake unrolled the sheet it was one of Neena's pictures. The only one Arr kept out of the dozens she drew. Arr's favorite. The Henu in the picture smiled back at him from under a tree by the lake.

# Chapter 39

"You're under arrest for the murder of Bola Terga of the planet Athos."

They were Galactic Officers all dressed in their blue with gold braid. Jake could see six of them, behind him and Arr, in the mirror above the bar.

Jake took the gamble and lost. If he were by himself he would try fighting his way out, but the kid was with him. Jake had his own code of ethics and pulling a friend into a fight, maybe getting them killed, was against the rules when that friend wasn't given all the information and the choice up front. Jake didn't bother to explain to Arr that he was taking a risk coming here. He convinced himself that after over fifteen years the incident on Rigil Four would be forgotten. He was sure no one would recognize him with a beard. After all, he only took the chance because of an emergency.

It wasn't often that Jake underestimated his opponent. How the Guardians got a whiff of his presence on the planet, God only knew, but they were tenacious. They probably were following them all day. Probably took his prints off the prod he picked up at the repair shop.

Jake turned slowly around. "I believe you've made a mistake gentlemen." He raised his hands to show that he had no intention of going for his blaster.

"You are Jake Harcourt of the cruiser Calpernia, are you not?" The leader of the six asked.

"Yes." Jake gave Arr a gentle nudge, to put him out of the line of fire.

"Then there has been no mistake," the lieutenant stated. "If you'll just hand over your blaster and come quietly no one will get hurt."

Jake slowly removed his blaster from its holder and gave it to the officer.

The GO leader indicated with a head movement for one of his men to cuff their prisoner. When the man took the cuffs off of his belt and headed toward Jake, Arr started to go for his blaster and a low rumble emanated from Kay-o.

"Don't!" Jake protested forcefully to the two. "This is my business! You stay out of it. Go find Tim. Tell him what happened."

The officer locked the cuffs securely. They hustled Jake quickly out of the bar. Arr and Kay-o trailed along like lost puppies.

As they pushed Jake into a transport craft he called back over his shoulder, "Take care of yourself, kid."

# Chapter 40

Arr paced the pilot platform in agitation. He had been waiting four days. He called Tim as Jake instructed the moment he arrived back on board the Calpernia. Tim advised him to 'Sit tight and stay out of trouble,' until he got there. Arr glanced at the onboard time line for what seemed like the umpteenth time. By his best calculations Tim should arrive sometime tomorrow morning.

Arr went down to the planet's surface at least a half dozen times to try to see Jake, but the Galactic Officers refused to allow him any visitors. Arr did everything he could to get them to change their minds, short of blasting his way in, which Jake and Tim both forbid.

Arr had experienced very little rest in the last four days. He spent his time wearily prowling the corridors of the ship day and night. Only when he was too exhausted to lift his head did he fall into a troubled sleep. He had a lot of time to think, a lot of time to remember.

He was with Jake five years now. He had been with Jake through five Christmas', five birthdays and nineteen missions. He battled everything from Andruvians to Hydras to Basha'a. He had been kicked, stomped on, bitten, beaten and shot at. He lost count of all the beings he shot at, much less killed. He fought to secure everything from slime, used to make air breathable, to quillanium, the strongest metal known used for the hulls of space vessels. He endured extremes in heat and cold, thirst and exhaustion, and.... he saw wonderful, truly marvelous things. Things that he never guessed existed in his wildest imagination. He met some incredibly diverse people and shared their traditions and celebrations. And, he had Jake through it all.

Arr sat down in exhaustion in his co-pilot seat. Kay-o came to lie at his feet.

Jake was family now. He was the father Arr lost at the early age of four. He was the brother he buried on the Henu planet. He was teacher and mentor. He would never leave Jake. To leave Jake was to leave part of himself behind. These last four days would have been totally unbearable except that he kept telling himself it would be over soon. Tim would get here and straighten it all out. Jake killed before, they all had, but Jake was not a murderer. Tim would somehow make it all right. Jake said Tim could 'Talk a Darill into buying a sand box.'

It was night aboard the ship. Jake set it up for a twenty four hour cycle of lighting changes. The temperature dropped 15 degrees, also due to Jake's settings. He said you slept better in a cooler room. Arr slid down out of his chair on the pilot platform to the floor by Kay-o. He hugged the dar-dolf, softly purring.

"It's going to be all right," he said, as much to reassure himself as Kay-o.

# Chapter 41

Tim parked his cruiser in orbit next to Jake's. He pulled his pod into the extra bay on Jake's ship exactly 104.32 hours from departure. He made record time. He hopped through two space windows and three solar systems to get here.

Arr was waiting when he crawled out of the pod. He'd never seen the kid like this. He'd seen him sick, hurt and exhausted, but this was different. It was like his best friend and his mother had died on the same day. He looked as though he hadn't slept much in the last four and a half days and the sleeping he'd done must have been in his clothes. Arr once tried to tell Tim how he was bound to Jake, but it didn't make much sense to him. This must be the result of being separated. So, this was Henu bonding. He'd have to get Jake sprung as much for the kid's sake as for Jake's.

"Got a cup of coffee, kid? It's been a long trip," Tim asked, as he pulled himself wearily from the pod.

"Sure, in the mess." Arr acknowledged leading that direction.

"I'm glad you're here Tim." Arr poured Tim a cup. "They won't let me see Jake. I don't even know if he's all right."

"Oh, Jake'll be fine. He's probably doin' less worrying than you and he's the one accused of murder." Tim noticed that Arr's hand shook as he finished pouring. "How long has it been since you ate?"

"I don't remember. It's not important." Arr sat down dejectedly across from Tim.

"It sure as hell is important," Tim bellowed in his usual blustery manner. "If I'm going to get Jake out of this jam I'm going to need all the help I can get. I don't need you folding on me in a crunch."\

Tim rose heartily from his chair. He started to rummage about the mess for a meal for the kid. He remembered the Henu liked greens so he piled a plate full of the 'Rabbit food,' as he called it.

"What were you and Jake doing in this solar system?" Tim asked, as he sat the over flowing plate in front of Arr.

"We broke a landing prod on the pod at the last job. Jake attached it, but he couldn't get it to retract. We came here for parts." Arr looked at the plate of food with disgust. He wasn't the least bit hungry.

Tim picked up a carrot and thrust it at the young Henu testily. "Eat!"

Arr obediently gnawed at the veggies.

Tim picked up his cup and stood frowning into its depths. "Why didn't he just go on to a Refitting Station instead of stoppin' here?"

"It was on the way to the next job he had lined up. The Refitting Station was out of the way," Arr said, in an irritated tone. The problem was to get them out of here, not how they got here.

"Of all the stupid," Tim muttered under his breath, as he collapsed back into his chair. "All for a landing prod. The idiot!"

"What are you talking about?" Arr's voice rose in angry stress.

"Jake knows he's dead meat in this solar system, kid." Tim paused and then asked, "Did he ever tell you how his dad was killed?"

"No!" Arr answered in blunt exasperation. He wished just once Tim could get from here to there quickly. "What happened?"

"Well, it's a long story," Tim started.

Arr could see his desire for a swift answer was not to be.

Tim procured a carrot from Arr's plate and leaned back in his chair. As he crunched away he told the Harcourt family saga.

"Jake's dad, Taylor, was my best friend. I would have been with him when he was killed, maybe even died with him like Jake almost did, except that I'd gotten laid up on Alturous III with a pretty good wound of my own from a tangle with a Slugg Rat. Nasty beasts!

"Taylor had a younger brother, Jake's Uncle Charlie. The Harcourt's had been mercenaries for generations, but Charlie was different. He was the black sheep of the family. He wanted a wife and kids. He wanted to come home every night, put up his feet and read the newspaper. He wanted to help the kids with their homework and listen to what the missus had done all day. So with Taylor's blessing, but not his full understanding, Charlie went to work in the everyday world." Tim rocked his chair back on its two hind legs as he warmed to his story.

"Charlie wasn't much older than you at the time. He hired on as a clerk in the shippin' room of an import/export business. The company lost shipments on a regular basis due to high-jackers and poor routing through areas that were in turmoil due to wars or skirmishes between planets. We mercenaries knew where all the trouble was. Charlie's connections with us proved useful. We kept him on the QT. He started routing the merchandise around the problem areas. He proved himself invaluable to the company. He got the wagons through. It wasn't long before the big guys at the top noticed him." Tim finished his carrot and leaned forward for another.

"Charlie rose rapidly in the company. When he'd learned all the ropes, he started his own import/export. He hadn't had time for a family, but he went home to the same place every night. He put his feet up and read the paper. I guess you should consider yourself pretty lucky if half your dreams come true, huh?" He pointed the stub of his rabbit food at Arr for emphasis.

"Well, Charlie's company was doing real well. I guess it must have been about fifteen years ago, he hired a man named Hughes to help with the business. Mostly the bookkeeping as I understood it. What Charlie didn't see was this Hughes guy was crooked as a snake. Charlie never was a very good judge of character. He would have made a lousy mercenary.

"Well anyway, after about a year Charlie caught Hughes dippin' his hand in the till. He was not only skimmin' the books, but he had a scam set up with a guy named Bola Terga. Bola was in the black market. Pretty high up. He'd bring stolen goods to Hughes. Hughes would sell them through Charlie's company usually at an inflated rate. Clear profit. The guy was makin' money hand over fist." Tim leaned forward once more and prodded a finger at the contents of Arr's plate. Not finding anything to his liking he crossed his arms over his chest and rocked his chair leisurely back again.

"Charlie always was too soft. Instead of havin' the guy arrested or at least cannin' him he told him he'd give him a chance to pay off the money he'd stolen. He would let him continue working for him if he'd sever his connections with this black market dude.

"But I guess Charlie thought better of it that night when he got home and put his feet up cause he sent a message to Taylor that he needed to talk to him as soon as possible about somethin' real important.

"Taylor received Charlie's message one mornin' and the next afternoon he got the message that Charlie's warehouse had burned to the ground with Charlie in it."

Tim stood up and went to the refrigeration unit.

"Got anything in here besides rabbit food?" He asked, as he rummaged through. "Ah, some of Jake's homemade stew."

"That stuff's at least a week old." Arr warned.

"That's okay Jake's stew gets better with age. I'll just nuke it to kill the bugs." Tim popped it into the microwave. When it buzzed he grabbed a fork and sat back down at the table with it.

Arr was dying to hear the rest of the story. Jake talked about his missions all the time. He often spoke of all the women he'd met and the places he'd been, but never about himself or his family. Not that he wouldn't have told Arr if he had asked, but Arr didn't think he should. Jake never volunteered the information. He wished Tim would get on with the story. However, there was no hurrying the big man.

After Tim had consumed half the bowl of stew Arr could contain himself no longer. "So what happened?"

"Well, Taylor and Jake started to snoop around as soon as the funeral was over." Tim waved the fork around with emphasis. "They found a diary Charlie had kept at his place. Guess all his mercenary genes weren't dead. It was kind of like a ship's log. The entry on the day before Charlie's death said 'Talked to Hughes about the deficiencies in the books this p.m.'

"So Taylor and Jake put two and two together and went to pay a call on Hughes. You see Hughes hadn't left town even though he had been responsible for Charlie gettin' torched. He hadn't done the deed himself, not the type. He'd told Bola. Bola and his men had shut Charlie up for good. Now the plan was that Hughes would play the loyal employee, buy out the company over a period of time and continue his business with Bola on a much larger scale.

"But Taylor and Jake didn't know this goin' in. They thought the problem ended with Hughes. They went in to try and scare Hughes. They told him they had found copies of the doctored books at Charlie's house. They were going to turn them in to the authorities unless Hughes told them all he knew. What they didn't know was Hughes was dealing from both sides of the deck. Hughes acted real scared and ended up trying to cut a deal with the Harcourt's. He told them all about Bola. He offered him up on a platter. Hughes was to set up Bola later that week, when he made his next delivery.

"The guys just weren't thinkin' straight. They bought the little weasel's line of goods hook, line and sinker. Jake told me later that he and Taylor wondered about being double crossed, but decided that Hughes didn't have the guts to do it."

Tim paused to swig down the last of his coffee and get another cup.

"This story has more twists than a country road." Tim eased back down in his chair. "So the next night after dinner, on the way back to Charlie's, the Harcourt's were ambushed. Hughes hadn't let his coattail hit him twice before he'd been on the horn to Bola. Bola brought five thugs. They surprised our boys. It was real nasty. Bola hadn't wanted to use blasters; thought the flare would draw attention. So, all his men were carrying knives. Taylor and Jake were totally unsuspecting. Taylor was dead before he hit the ground. Jake put up a good fight, but was cut up real bad. So bad that they thought he was dead too.

"Now here comes the real twist! What Bola didn't know was that Hughes was out to take over his action as well as Charlie's. He wanted the whole ball of wax. The five guys with Bola had been paid off. They turned on Bola and slit his throat from ear to ear. Then three took off while two stayed behind to turn in this phony story of being attacked by these 'mercenaries' out for their pocket change. They said, they tried to fight them off, but the Harcourt's had killed one of them before they got the better of the two. When they found out Jake wasn't quite dead, they concocted the rest about Jake being the one to have killed Bola. Hughes had to get Jake out of the way. If the authorities would oblige him all the better.

"When I showed up much later, Jake was still in the hospital and accused of murder.

"Two weeks later when they went to transfer him to the prison infirmary I appropriated him." Tim grinned smugly. "It took him about six months to fully recover. By then Hughes was long gone. Vanished like smoke in a high wind.

"From the description Hughes gave Taylor and Jake, Jake said it was Bola who killed his dad. I never have had much of a stomach for revenge. Jake wasn't even out of his twenty's yet. I didn't want him to turn into some vigilante killer. So I advised him to let sleeping dogs lie. There was a whole lot of space out there. He'd just have to avoid that particular piece of space. He was young and not fully recovered yet so he agreed."

Tim gave a scornful snort. "All of what I have been tellin' you happened right here in this solar system. Jake knew he was still wanted for murder here. He should've stayed clear. He's gotten too big for his own britches. Thinks he's invincible. Been listenin' to you blow his horn too much, I think. When we spring him I'm goin' to give him a good talkin' to." Tim's acid tone brooked no argument.

*****

Tim figured there were two ways to get Jake out of jail, the legal and the illegal way. He'd try for the former, but settle for the latter if need be.

He had pretty well guessed what this was going to be all about before he arrived. He accomplished some preliminary work on route. He sent word out that he wanted to talk to this guy named Hughes. He never sought revenge, but he kept track of the 'little slime ball' all these years just in case something like this happened.

Hank, a fellow mercenary, was checking up on the 'snake' to see if he was still where Tim heard he was last.

The GO wouldn't let Tim see Jake either. Twenty four hours after Tim arrived the authorities extradited Jake from Rigil One to Rigil Four for trial. The two cruisers and their occupants followed establishing orbit around Rigil Four.

Tim was pleased that Jake had trained the Henu. The kid took orders well. Tim knew if he wasn't so disciplined he would have gone in before Tim arrived and tried to break Jake out. Whatever he told the kid to do, he did. Arr was looking better. He had a couple of good night's sleep and started eating on a regular basis. So when the word came that Hank located Hughes Tim left word with the authorities to tell Jake they would be back. He took Arr to pick up the 'little weasel.'

# Chapter 42

The last ten years were good to Hughes. The seven years immediately following Taylor's death and Jake's escape he moved around and changed his name repeatedly. He had to admit he was scared of what the mercenaries would do. They were not known for their forgiving natures. During that five year period if he found himself alone on a dark street and heard foot falls to his rear he usually broke out in a cold sweat before he realized that it was just a show girl or some late night drunk. But when five years went by and there seemed to be no pursuit, he began to relax.

He had an opportunity to hire on with a large company as the manager of the bookkeeping department. With fake letters of reference and in the name of Gordon Holland, he got the job. He figured he did enough lying low among a whole pool of bookkeepers. He was ready to apply his skills again.

It was however, much better than he could have hoped. The company just lost its president and major shareholder. The old man died of a heart condition. His interests passed to his only child, a daughter named Harriet Caruthers. Harriet was an intelligent, good looking, single woman in her early forty's. She was also very lonely. She spent her whole life taking care of her father. When she inherited his fortune she decided to start taking care of herself.

It was so easy for Hughes/Gordon. He started by making sure he was always the one to take her the monthly reports or any other correspondence that needed her attention. Soon she was asking him to sit in on board meetings. He always agreed with all the 'brilliant ideas' she presented in these male dominated meetings. One thing led to another. Pretty soon it was lunch in the park to discuss her latest ideas before she tried them on the board. She was so very lonely and Hughes/Gordon could be so very charming. She fell for him uncontrollably.

Hughes/Gordon's salary kept creeping up to such a degree that he had no desire to skim from the books for fear he would spoil a good thing. The 'bennies' that came with dating the boss were unbelievable. He had company transportation not only to and from work, but at his disposal twenty four hours a day. He was given expensive jewelry and fine clothes. Harriet wanted him to look nice when he acted as her host when she entertained her friends. He was treated as a pampered pet. He easily relaxed into his role as kept man.

The years drifted by lazily. He was comfortable, but not really happy. He couldn't give up anything as lucrative as this sweet deal, but he did wish Harriet was more his type. She was so skinny. He liked his women more rounded, well padded. He had been with Harriet three years when he started to play around with other women. He still acted the devoted suitor with Harriet. He was still in hopes that she might marry him and set him up for life legally, but he just had to find someone more his type. Someone to drink beer with instead of Muldavian liqueur. Someone with whom he could be himself. He found that woman in Suzan. He didn't meet her at one of Harriet's teas or stuffy dinner parties. He met her at a bar on the way home one night. She was his idea of a female. She was cushy in just the right places and had a laugh that tinkled like bells. She never told him to change his tie because it didn't match his shirt or correct his English, or correct anything for that matter. They started a relationship on the side. They celebrated their five years anniversary the night he found the will.

He got up out of Harriet's bed and stumbled downstairs in the dark, to look for some aspirin. It had been a stressful day. There was a problem at work that took way too much time to resolve. That and his celebration with Suzan made him late for Harriet's dinner party. She spent the evening passing him dirty looks every time she caught his eye. This was a very important party for her. A fundraiser for a charity she served on as a board member.

He looked through the bathroom cabinets then the kitchen drawers. Finally he resorted to the desk drawers in the study for the aspirin. That's when he found the copy of the Will. Harriet had just executed it the week before. It left everything to him! Everything! The company, the stock, the house, everything! He couldn't believe it! All his patience had paid off. He eased back in his chair. He realized that his headache was gone. Now all he needed to do was get rid of the big headache upstairs. He would make it look like an accident.

Hughes/Gordon still retained some of his connections with the black market. He acquired a poison that, taken in small quantities, ate holes in the muscles of the heart. It left no trace behind. Harriet would appear to have died as her father, of heart trouble. He wouldn't leave the job to be bungled this time by some fool. He would do it himself over a period of time, perhaps as much as six months. Then he would have everything. He started administering the poison within a week of finding the Will.

# Chapter 43

Jake sat in his cell aboard the transport vessel. Injustice had been swift. It took the court only two days to convict him of murder and sentence him to life on a penal planet.

With civilization so spread out these days someone accused of a crime didn't always get to face their accusers. In this case, they used holographic image depositions that were taken by the authorities at the time of the incident. The holographic images were computer generated and programmed to respond as the person who made them initially would have based on their testimony. There was a flaw in this system. If the person was lying the holographic image just continued to lie. Jake didn't have a chance.

The guard walked by the cell door. "Another hour and you're history, Harcourt." He thumped the bars with his club maliciously before moving on down the row.

Delightful people they have in this place Jake thought. He wondered how the company would be when he arrived at his destination.

All mercenaries knew about penal colonies even though no one ever successfully escaped from one. Their air space was marked in bright red on all maps. You had to avoid their area or risk annihilation. All penal planets were protected and guarded by a drone ship piloted by androids. They spoke an unbreakable binary code type language. The ship and its crew were programmed to destroy anything larger than 10' x 3' x 3' that entered their air space. That was the size of the capsule they used to shoot the prisoners from the ship to the surface of the planet. It was just big enough for the man and his kit.

On Jake's way here he was introduced to the contents of the kit by a viewing the guards presented in his cell. It consisted of a tent, a thermal blanket and five days ration of food and water. The tape also showed you the capsule and assured you that it was thoroughly tested for safety. The thing was shot down like a probe to the planet's surface. A parachute opened when it entered the planet's atmosphere. The capsule opened on impact with the ground. Jake heard that many prisoners committed suicide before they ever left the transport vessel. Now he knew why. The ride down didn't look like it was going to be much fun.

Jake had to admit he was scared. He would have felt a lot better if he'd looked out in the courtroom yesterday to see Arr and Tim. There had been no word from them since they left. If they were here now, following this ship, they might be planning to intercept the capsule when it was launched or overpower the transport vessel with his and Tim's cruisers. Even though the Galactic ship was heavily armed they might have a chance with both mercenary vessels. Jake prayed that was the case because he knew that once he was left on the planet there would be no escape.

Jake felt the cruiser come to a stop. It would have parked just outside the range of the drone vessel's guns. The guard came back with his detachment of five men. They removed Jake from his cell and walked him to the launch bay on the ship. The capsule was lying open on the platform. As they approached it Jake thought to himself it looked a lot like a coffin. He stepped up to it, than hesitated. Three of the guards drew their weapons. Jake had the fleeting thought that it might be better to be dusted then submit to this ride and life on a penal planet. Almost in the same moment that part of him that always fought back, no matter how tough the situation, kicked in.

He stepped into the capsule and lay down. He had a moment when they first closed the lid that he thought he couldn't breathe, but it passed. He swore if he ever got out of this he would have more understanding and sympathy for Arr each time they went somewhere in the pod.

Jake felt the launch and the force of speed as he accelerated toward the planet's surface. Even though the capsule was made of quillanium the heat as he passed through the outer atmosphere of the planet was suffocating. He realized as the temperature started to drop and the capsule seemed to drift rather than speed forward that he was entering the inner atmosphere. Tim and Arr were not there waiting for the launch as he hoped. He would now be a permanent resident of Penal Planet #18.

On impact Jake heard the latches on the capsule lid release. Though he was disoriented from the ride, and the not so soft landing, he reached up to lift the lid and get out.

The lid was yanked out of his hands. He was blinded by the bright sun light as hands reached in and grabbed him. They lifted him out and shoved him to one side. He stood bent over with his hands on his knees trying to regain his balance and orientation. When his eyes adjusted and he got his breath back, he straightened up to see a scene that at once frightened and fascinated him.

There were perhaps a half dozen starved, ill clad men fighting over the contents of his kit. Some of them carried homemade weapons of sharpened sticks or rocks attached to wood handles with vines to make clubs. It was a free for all - everyman for themselves. Before Jake could intervene the water was spilled, the tent and blanket discarded and the food devoured.

Jake was to learn in the weeks to come that the other prisoners saw his capsule's trail in the sky and were lying in wait for him. They were all starving. Some had already died. The whole planet was infested with a plague of locusts. The few crops the inmates were cultivating were eaten by the insects. This in itself would not have been bad, but the locusts ate everything in their path. The forest and its usual bounty were devastated.

If there was an atmospheric change the drone ship and its crew would have registered it and made the appropriate report to command headquarters. A swarm of locusts however, did not register on their sensors so eventually the ship and its crew would be guarding a dead planet. Starving was going to be a horrible way to die. Jake wished he'd had second thoughts about taking that dusting before coming down.

# Chapter 44

Arr had been sitting here listening to the binary chatter between the drone and its android crew for almost a month now. Tim and he were too late. Too late for Hughes and too late for Jake.

It took them eight long days to get to Hughes. He was dead when they finally arrived. There was a woman who was arrested for his murder. The unofficial word on the streets was a story of betrayal. The lady, Harriet Caruthers, was an heiress who was tricked by Hughes into willing him everything. But the last few weeks she questioned changes in his routine and put an investigator on his tail. She found he was being unfaithful. She was a desperate woman. If she couldn't have him no one else could. She poisoned him. Harriet felt remorse later. He was the only man she ever loved. She turned herself in the day before Tim and Arr arrived. Hughes had ruined one more life, but he would not ruin another thanks to Harriet Caruthers.

Without Hughes testimony Tim knew they were in major trouble. They needed to return to Rigil Four before the trial was over and there weren't any options left.

They were too late the second time. Jake was convicted, sentenced to life, and transported to Penal Planet #18. Tim tried everything. He got the best attorney money could buy. They attempted to appeal Jake's case. The court found no new evidence and Tim's testimony was dismissed as hearsay. The appeal never even made it to court.

Tim told Arr the facts about penal planets. He tried to get the boy to accept the hard truths of the situation. Jake was gone. He watched the kid deteriorate before his eyes. Tim thought he would stop eating and sleeping again, but he didn't. He continued to take Tim's orders, but emotionally he became a shell of his former self.

One morning Arr informed Tim he was going to Penal Planet #18. He took Jake's cruiser out of orbit within the hour and Tim tagged along.

They sat for a week just out of the range of the drones guns. The Henu was listless. For hours he did nothing, but sit and listen to the drone and its crew's sub-space chatter.

Tim was restless. Over the years he found that the best medicine for a hopeless problem was action and plenty of it! Get your mind off your troubles. So, when an opportunity for a job came across the system he accepted. He spent three days, all the time he had, trying to convince Arr to go with him. He couldn't just leave the kid. Jake would never have forgiven him. He owed it to Jake to look after the boy. But Arr wouldn't budge. When Tim tried to force him both, Arr and Kay-o turned on him. He finally took to his own ship and headed toward the awaiting battle by himself. That was almost three weeks ago.

Arr was sure if he heard enough of the drone and its crew's language he could learn it, but they spoke so little. Arr kept the communications system tuned into them twenty four hours a day. He recorded it all so he could play back what little he had over and over again. Finally it was someone else's death that saved Jake's life.

It was a small cruiser and it drifted into the drone's air space. Maybe it was on auto pilot and had not been programmed around the red zone. Maybe the pilot saw Jake's craft and assumed he was in a safe area. Arr didn't have a chance to warn them. It was destroyed within moments. The drone ship and its crew came to life; there was a flurry of chatter, then silence again as soon as the ship exploded. In those few moments Arr got what he needed. He went to work establishing a hook up between the drone ship's computer and Jake's. From the first day aboard the Calpernia Arr started to learn the workings of the computer. When the link was established he did a very simple thing he reprogrammed the drone and its crew to accept something as large as a pod to land on the planet's surface. He got Kay-o into the pod and filled his pocket with Red Raspberry Goo Chews. He would need Kay-o to obey him without question on this trip.

# Chapter 45

The place was a disaster. The landscape was devastated. Arr had never seen anything like it. Every bush, tree and the ground itself was stripped of anything living, anything green. Arr tossed Kay-o a fist full of Goo Chews and commanded him to guard the pod. The dar-dolf settled down obediently in the pilot's seat. Arr went to search for Jake.

He found the first dead body within the hour. Within the next four hours he found a dozen more. They all appeared to have starved. He found evidence of them having eaten bark off the trees, something that looked like pine needle soup, even the leather of their boots. His hopes for Jake were fading with every step he took.

He found Jake in the sixth hour of his search. He was in a cave by a small lake. He was alive, but just barely. Jake was a skeleton of his former self. Arr had no trouble picking him up and carrying him to the landing pod. He had probably lost fifty to sixty pounds.

When Arr arrived at the pod Kay-o wasn't sure he should let Arr bring the bundle of rags he was carrying aboard until he scented Jake. Then it took all the rest of the Goo Chews to calm him down enough to get back into the pod for lift off.

Back on board the cruiser Arr reset the computer aboard the drone. He would leave no evidence that anyone ever escaped. When the GO found out about the inhabitants of the planet, if they ever did, they would think Jake died among them.

Arr set course for his home planet. Then went to see what he could do for Jake.

# Chapter 46

Tim received a message from Arr apologizing for his actions at their last parting and begging him to come to the Henu planet. No reason given just coordinates. Tim figured he owed it to the kid. He made the last five years of Jake's freedom happy. Jake couldn't have had a more loyal partner. He was glad to hear that the kid obviously gave up his vigil at the penal planet and went home for some R&R. Maybe he was ready to join up with Tim. Tim decided on the way that he'd be happy to take Arr on.

Arr and Kay-o met Tim's pod when it set down beside Jake's at the lake's edge.

"Lovely little place you got here." Tim greeted warmly. "You look...."

"Jake's alive and I have him here," Arr interrupted Tim's speech just as he was going to say that the kid looked the best he'd seen him in a long time.

Tim stood rooted to the ground. Jake here? It wasn't possible.

Arr led the stunned mercenary toward the tree house. "He was really bad when I first sent for you. He's better now."

"But how?" Tim asked, almost at a loss for words for the first time in his life.

"I'll tell you later after you see him. He heard your pod. He's waiting to talk with you. Go on up. I'll gather our meal while you two are visiting."

Tim awkwardly climbed up to the tree house, his large body not built for agile climbing. Jake was lying on a pallet by the fire. If he was looking better Tim wondered what in heaven he'd looked like before. He was nothing but skin and bones. His beard was gone. The bones on his face stuck out to such a degree that he looked like a skeleton.

Jake could see the shock on Tim's face at the sight of his condition. He peered out from hollow eyes and with a mischievous grin on his face said in a hoarse voice, "I look different without my beard, huh?"

Tim sat for a half hour while he listened to Jake tell about the ordeal he went through. He attributed his salvation to three things. He was the last put on the planet and therefore the strongest, he decided if the locusts ate everything he had a right to eat them, and Arr finally came.

Jake told Tim the amazing story of Arr's breaking of the drone ship's crew's binary code and about the rescue that he thought would never come.

Arr returned a short time later with the fixings for supper. "That's enough for now," he ordered. "Get some rest before supper." The young Henu pulled the covers up over Jake's frail frame.

Jake drifted off into a restful sleep. Tim moved to the fireside and sat watching Arr prepare a stew.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to at the penal planet?" Tim's tone was slightly reproachful. "I feel like I deserted him."

"Don't. I didn't know if I could do it. I just knew I had to try." Arr paused, his eyes misting over. "I thought he would die the first few days. That's why I sent you the message. He kept talking in his delirium about you and his father."

When the stew was ready Arr gently woke Jake, pulled him to a sitting position up against his chest and helped Jake feed himself. The weak man made valiant efforts to hit his mouth, but his hand shook uncontrollably. Each time he'd miss Arr would wipe him off with a rag he kept close at hand. Jake saw the pained look on Tim's face. He smiled reassuringly.

"You think this is bad you should have seen me when I couldn't even swallow, drooled down my chin. That's the reason he shaved the beard off, got tired of cleaning it." Jake teased.

"That's not so and you know it," Arr reprimanded. "He had lice in it. I would have shaved his head too, but he stopped me." Arr smoothed a stray curl back off Jake's forehead and out of his eyes.

Jake may have been a shadow of the man he was, but he was in good spirits and in excellent hands. In time he'd recover to the man he once was.

Tim stayed on for about a week. He found it horribly painful to watch Jake. It reminded him of the recovery time after Taylor's death, which brought back too many painful memories. When a job came up he jumped at it and told Jake and Arr he'd be back after it was settled.

# Chapter 47

Jake steadily improved. As summer turned to fall and fall to winter he regained his strength and weight. With his beard grown back, his body fleshing out again, he began to look like the old Jake.

Tim visited often and always came bearing gifts, tidbits he thought Jake would find appetizing, Goo Chews for Kay-o and usually some exotic fruit or vegetable for Arr.

On Tim's last visit in the late fall he tried to convince them to join him on a job, but Jake decided against it. It wasn't that he didn't think he was up to it. He was feeling good by then. But, he and Arr had spent a lot of time talking. He had little strength to do anything else. Arr and Jake had become even closer through the ordeal of Jake's recovery. When someone feeds you, gives you baths because you haven't the strength to do it yourself, in short, does everything for you, it creates a bond that is beyond words to express.

Arr told Jake about Nor's stories of the snow, then about his horrible nightmares after their first battle on the ice planet. Jake wanted to do something for Arr. He would help Arr chase these particular demons away for good. They would stay until the first snow.

Last night there was a smell in the air, a crispness that you could feel. Jake said it felt like snow. They awakened to a light dusting of the white stuff. By mid-morning the flakes were as large as the palm of your hand. Jake had never seen anything so beautiful.

By mid-afternoon there was enough of an accumulation to play in it. They built a snowman with Goo Chews for eyes, nose and mouth. They made a mistake using the candies for buttons. Kay-o got a whiff of them and the snowman was knocked down and relieved of his adornments. Jake started a snowball fight. He was winning until Arr thought to put Goo Chews in his balls. Jake couldn't handle the onslaught of snow and a rampaging dar-dolf. Arr had the idea of using Kay-o as a sled dog later in the afternoon, but by then they had run out of bribery material. Instead they built a fire under the shelter of a tree to dry themselves.

In the evening the temperature dropped to such a degree that the three moved up to the warmth of the Calpernia. Their stay on the Henu planet came to a natural end with the move to the ship. When Tim arrived the next day the three were ready to accompany him on his next mission.

# Chapter 48

Mother Ships are the largest known vessels in the universe. They are the brain child of a group called The Order. Their crews alone number close to four hundred. Their whole compliment could go as high as twenty five hundred. They are the heaviest armed ships in existence. They are peacekeepers. When a Mother Ship enters a solar system it usually accomplished that feat.

However, fighting is not their main function. They are research vessels. They have the best equipped labs, the finest scientists and doctors available. When they move into a solar system the planets use the ship's facilities to augment their own. Problems that have a planet bound scientist or doctor baffled for days, weeks, maybe even months, can usually be solved in a matter of hours aboard the Mother Ships. There are ten Mother Ships. Margaret O'Connor was Chief Medical Officer aboard the one named the St. Mary.

Dr. O'Connor was a remarkable woman. She was not only brilliant, but also a true humanitarian. She studied with all the top physicians in her field and left them all behind. She joined the St. Mary's crew because it was the only position that could challenge her mind. Among her other duties as Chief Medical Officer she was in charge of the study of new life forms. Her specialty was the rare and exotic.

She was a woman of just over forty years of age. Margaret liked to jokingly tell people she was born the height she was, 5' 10" in her stocking feet. She had strawberry blond hair, milk white skin and large, blue, inquiring eyes.

Her father was in the Earth Forces. Her mother dragged the family from pillar to post following him on his many assignments. It was no wonder that Margaret liked strong, forceful men.

# Chapter 49

The job Tim needed their help for was a 'cake walk' as Tim put it. Not having been on a mission in over six months it was a good easy break back into working life for Jake and Arr. Tim hadn't really needed help just company. They escorted and protected an ambassador from his home planet to a meeting and back again. Jake and Arr just tagged along for the ride.

They passed the Mother Ship on the way back to the Henu planet to pick up the Calpernia. Jake thought it would be fun to show Arr the better side of space travel. Besides, Jake lost two teeth from his ordeal on Penal Planet #18. He could get new ones implanted on the St. Mary. They'd have a nice visit. Maybe pick up some useful news as well.

"You'll never get any useful information from the St. Mary. When she moves into a solar system everyone is on their best behavior." Tim snorted in disdain.

Tim had 'other fish to fry.' Now that the boys were on the mend he pointed his cruiser in the opposite direction for an Outpost that always had juicy information.

# Chapter 50

The Mother Ship was impressive from the air.

"There are only ten of them in existence." Jake explained, as he placed the Calpernia in dock while waiting for clearance to bring the pod aboard the huge ship. "They each have a particular territory assigned to them. They're research and aid vessels, but don't let that fool you they have incredible fire power."

The ship dwarfed anything Arr had seen previously.

"The working part of the ship is that thick disc shaped part at the base." Jake pointed. "That contains the engines, life support systems, labs, bridge, and crew quarters."

Jake could see the base was not what was holding his friends rapt attention. It was the dome on the top of the disc that fascinated Arr.

"Isn't it incredible? It's totally impregnable even though it's translucent." Even Jake was impressed by one of these floating cities.

Under the dome Arr could make out a buzzing metropolis - a whole city visible to all the cruisers that surrounded the ship like bees around a queen.

Jake received clearance for them to board. They left Kay-o on the Calpernia, took the pod and headed down for Arr's introduction to city life.

The city was wondrous. Fountains and art work everywhere. Such a variety of beings. Jake explained that anyone could hire on to a Mother Ship the catch was that the ship was limited in living space so they were very choosey about who they accepted. You had to have something they needed.

Jake couldn't get an appointment for his teeth until the afternoon. So, they wandered the streets and had a bite to eat in a small cafe with open air seating. Most of the places Jake took Arr they always fought non-humans. He was the only accepted alien. Here every other being was an alien. He was so busy gawking that Jake had to remind him to eat before it got cold.

*****

Jake was getting a kick out of watching Arr. Those big, blue cat eyes of his were bugged out so far you could have knocked them off with a stick.

Jake figured he'd leave Arr in the Imaging Chamber while he was at the dentist. He took Arr down into the base ship and introduced him to the holograph operators. They went through the usual spiel they did for the tourists. They told Arr they could recreate, by his instructions, any place he would care to experience. They demonstrated by creating a Muldavian sunset one of the most spectacular sights in the known universe. Jake and Arr stood in a mountain vineyard overlooking a valley as the sun sank below the horizon. The sky with its strata cirrus clouds went through a riot of colors, breathtaking swirls and stripes of rainbow hues. When the demo was completed the operators asked what Arr's request would be. Arr was like a kid in a candy store. He wanted to see all the places his father spoke of, also the ones Jake told him about.

"Keep an eye on the kid for me fellas, while I'm at the dentist." Jake slipped them the required ingot of gold for their services plus an additional one for their troubles. They were used to such requests, but not such a large tip. They both smiled pleasantly.

When he picked Arr up two hours later the operators said he gave them quite a work out. He managed to see and experience fourteen different holographic scenes.

The kid was usually on the quiet side, but all during dinner and back aboard the cruiser that night he rattled on like Tim. Jake found it all very amusing. He was pleased he could finally do something for the kid after all Arr did for him in the past few months.

In the morning Arr begged for a return trip to the St. Mary. There were just a few more images he wanted to see in the Imaging Chamber and he promised Tim he would get Jake in for a full physical. Jake was dragging his feet. Arr thought a physical must be very painful because Jake didn't even act like this before they went into a battle where they knew they would be out numbered. He wouldn't have forced the issue, but Tim thought it was very important for Jake to go. He made Arr promise he would see that he did. Arr finally struck a bargain over breakfast with Jake. He would go for a physical too, if Jake would.

*****

Jake knew the kid wouldn't give up. He'd given his word to Tim and Jake never knew Arr to lie or break a promise. Besides, he thought it might be a good idea to have a base medical graph of Arr in case he was ever badly injured. His insides might be different from humans and it could come in handy for the doctors.

# Chapter 51

Margaret was sitting at her desk piled high with files when one of her physician's assistants poked his head in the door.

"I have an alien for a physical that hasn't been cataloged, doctor." The excitement could easily be detected in the young man's voice.

Ah, it was moments like these that she lived for. She hadn't seen a new species in over eleven months - almost a year. The Mother Ships all pooled their computer data so even if they were new to you they were old hat to someone else. This one would be new to everyone. She loved a challenge. Margaret jumped up from her seat, straightened her lab coat and picked up her scanner from the desk top.

The assistant opened the door to the examination room for the doctor. "No need for an auto-translator. He speaks perfect English."

"Hello." Margaret walked up to Arr and extended her hand. "My name is Dr. Margaret O'Connor. I'm Chief Medical Officer aboard the St. Mary."

Arr extended his hand, but did not immediately speak. He was wondering what he did wrong to warrant the doctor getting his superior. They were only talking. He answered all the questions to the best of his knowledge. The doctor even asked him if he could point out his planet on a space chart. He did as he was asked even though he couldn't imagine what the location of his planet had to do with what he understood as a scanning of his physical body.

The assistant filled the silence. "This is Arr, Dr. O'Connor. He is a Henu from a planet in the Nigula System."

"Well, Arr," Margaret began in a friendly tone, trying to put her patient at ease, "We haven't had the opportunity to meet a Henu before. What brings you in? Are you ill?"

"No, I'm fine. My friend wouldn't come unless I did and he needed a physical."

Margaret turned to her assistant. "Find out who's examining the other Henu. We will want to compare data." Two, this was a rare find.

Arr smiled and caught the assistant's arm as he turned to leave. "He's not Henu. He's a human named Jake Harcourt. I'm the only Henu."

Margaret couldn't believe what she heard. She asked for clarification. "You're the only one here or the only one anywhere?"

"The only one anywhere. I am the last of my people."

Margaret could feel her adrenaline rise. This got better and better. Not only a new species, but one of a kind.

# Chapter 52

Jake had been sitting in the waiting room for at least a half hour. He had his physical, paid the bill and even went to the bathroom yet there was no sign of Arr.

Oh well, he probably just got a slow tech. Jake's stomach growled. He gave thought to where they'd go for dinner when the blood suckers got finished with Arr.

# Chapter 53

"Will it hurt?" Arr asked with one eyebrow raised questioningly as Margaret stood impatiently holding the eye dropper in her hand.

This was the third time she was asked this question. She took a breath and tried to put herself in the young man's place. He told her that he had never seen a doctor before. This must be a strange and frightening experience for him. Don't talk down to him she told herself he'll resent you and possibly bolt before you have all the data you need. Remember, he is here of his own free will. He could leave anytime.

"No Arr, I just want to look at your eyes. The drops dilate the pupil so I can see in."

She hadn't hurt him yet. Arr decided to trust her further and tipped his head back obediently as instructed, just as Jake poked his head in the door.

"Aren't you finished yet? I'm starved. My stomach thinks my throat is cut." Jake said indignantly, as he stepped into the room.

"This is my friend, Jake." Arr introduced. "This is Dr. O'Connor the Chief Medical Officer," he continued politely to Jake.

"Well doc, I know you're finding my partner real interesting, but there's nothing wrong with him and we got places to go and people to see. Just give him his shots and a base medical graph for our ship's files and we'll be on our way."

"I don't think giving him a battery of inoculations would be wise. We haven't determined if he is allergic to anything." Dr. O'Connor put on her best bedside manner.

"Well, aren't you the lucky one. No shots. Personally I feel like a Bull's Eye after target practice." Jake rubbed his arm. "So doc, if you'll just give us his graph we'll be on our way." Jake waved Arr off the table. "Come on kid. Chow's waiting."

Margaret put a restraining hand on Arr's shoulder as he moved to obey Jake's instructions. "Could you wait here for just a moment Arr? I want to speak with Mr. Harcourt."

As she moved briskly past Jake at the door he caught a light whiff of her very pleasant lemon scent.

She stood in the hall waiting for him to close the door. She was really quite lovely. Jake figured when that coil of hair on her head was let down it probably reached close to her waist. She began to lecture shortly after he closed the door. Jake called his attention back from her good looks to what she was saying.

".... and a base graph will do no one any good if they don't have the backup information to go with it. What is it that is so pressing that you can't give me another hour or so?" Margaret asked, unable to keep from sounding scornful.

"Dinner," Jake answered, turning on his charm. "Why don't you join Arr and me? We'll talk about your extra tests and perhaps we can delay our departure."

# Chapter 54

Margaret was a delightful dinner guest. She was intelligent and witty. She was a good conversationalist, but balanced it well by being a good listener. Jake was quite taken with her.

Toward the end of dinner Jake turned his attention from their lovely dinner guest to Arr.

"You mind letting Margaret do some additional tests?" Jake wasn't going to force the kid into anything even for a beautiful woman, but he promised her he'd ask.

"No, not if that's what you want." Arr looked at Jake for assurance.

Jake could see the apprehension in Margaret's eyes as she waited for his answer. "I think it would be a good idea." Jake graced Margaret with a roguish grin.

"It won't hurt will it?" Arr asked. He thought sure there must be something they missed doing to him today that did hurt or Jake wouldn't have fussed so about taking a physical.

"I promise it won't." Margaret now had the task of reassuring the young Henu though she thought she could probably tell him she was going to pull his toe nails out one by one with pliers and he'd submit to it because Jake said 'he thought it was a good idea.' Jake had a winning personality. She wasn't sure that she wouldn't end up taking orders from him herself if she was around him long enough.

After dinner they strolled around the park in the city square. It was a lovely night. Good company, good food and prospects of her name in numerous medical journals filled Margaret's thoughts. Her mind was racing, trying to put in some orderly fashion the tests she would run in the morning on Arr when he commented that the sky looked like the night they spent in the bunker on Alta III last year.

"Alta III has been off limits to visitors for years," Margaret said with authority. "What were you doing there?"

"We were just resting between jobs. It's really a lovely planet if you stay out of the inhabitant's way."

Jake cringed; bracing himself for the next question he knew was poised on Margaret's tongue.

"What kind of jobs, Arr?" she asked with interest.

"Fighting. We're mercenaries." The young Henu announced in total innocence.

Well, there she goes, Jake thought. Women either loved the idea of dating an adventurer or they hated it. He thought Margaret was probably the latter. He had been side stepping the subject all evening with success. Now Arr blew it in a few random comments. He would have to clue the kid in on the finer art of wooing women.

"Mercenaries? My father was with the Earth Forces." Margaret commented with her own innocent expression.

Well, you called that one wrong Jake, old boy. It had rolled off her like water off a duck's back. Maybe there was hope for the evening after all.

# Chapter 55

It was late afternoon and Margaret was hunched over studying Arr's open medical file on her desk. She chewed absentmindedly on the end of her pencil.

The last three days were like a wonderful dream for her. She spent her working hours with Arr, her leisure hours with Jake. Margaret really couldn't say which she enjoyed more.

Arr was an incredible being. Usually three days with an alien was sufficient for basic cataloging, but Arr was a real find. Every time she thought she was finished she'd discover some new angle to pursue.

Margaret scanned one of the test charts. The pencil traveled from her mouth to beat a light tattoo on the desk top. She narrowed her eyes behind her reading glasses in concentration at the outcome of the tests.

The first day was spent testing his senses. They were very unique. He possessed enhanced night vision much like the domestic cats at home and his hearing and smell were very astute.

Jake's first night alone with Margaret he told her about the incident on the ice planet with Arr and his purring.

The next day that phenomenon was explored.

She asked Arr late in the day where he learned to speak English. He tried to explain to her how he learned. She couldn't believe it. She was fluent in French and asked him if he spoke it. When he replied negatively she pulled a volume of French poetry from the shelf behind her desk and began to read aloud. Within fifty pages Arr could converse in French. His mind was like a computer when it came to languages. He was truly remarkable.

Margaret leaned back in her chair pushing her glasses up on the top of her head. She continued to toy with the errant pencil between her fingers.

The hours with Jake were just as rewarding. He was everything she ever wanted in a man. He was strong and forceful yet intelligent and witty as well. He was also gentle and tender with the ones he loved and he loved the Henu. That's what was going to make what she felt she must tell him tonight so hard.

The pencil splintered in half with a resounding crack in Margaret's unrelenting grip.

# Chapter 56

Jake hadn't raised his voice, but he was no longer sitting by her on the couch. He had stood up and walked a few steps away. He was trying very hard to stay in control.

"I've only scratched the surface Jake. Arr has so much to offer and if something were to happen to him it would be lost forever. He should be studied." Margaret's tone had an almost pleading quality to it.

"I can't believe this. What are you saying? You want to keep him like a lab animal?" Jake's voice rose in anger.

"You know better than that Jake. He would have a good life here. The things we can learn from him as far as language concepts alone are staggering. We won't learn anything from him if you get him killed!" It came out much too harsh. Jake looked as though she had slapped him.

"He's a good fighter and I take care of him." Jake was talking through his teeth. His fists clenched and unclenched at his side as he tried to reign in his temper.

Margaret could see how difficult this was for Jake. She pushed forward trying to make him see the logic of her idea. "You can't be there all the time. He would be safe here. Have you ever asked him what he wants? He comes from a gentle people. If you left him here he might even take a human wife. His anatomy is capable of it."

"Right! Then you'd have a little half breed to study. You could write some paper that could make you rich and famous," Jake spit out as, quivering with rage, he stalked toward the door.

"You're being unfair Jake." Margaret was seeing the only relationship she ever really wanted crumble before her eyes. She rushed to him placing a consoling hand on his arm. "Please at least consider what I've said."

"I think I'd better go," he said testily.

Jake was gone before she could think of anymore points to strengthen her argument.

# Chapter 57

Arr heard the pod come into the bay on the cruiser. He and Kay-o were having a late night snack in the mess.

Jake came in and went straight for the cabinet where he kept his bottle of whiskey. He brought a glass and the bottle to the table.

"You're home early," Arr said, as he took another bite of his carrot. He tossed a Goo Chew to Kay-o, which the dar-dolf caught expertly on the fly.

Jake shrugged and downed a double shot. "You ever think of doing anything besides being a mercenary, Arr?"

"No. That's what we do."

"I mean, if I wasn't around. Would you do something different?" Jake persisted.

"Have I done something wrong Jake?" Arr sounded upset.

"No, kid. Not at all. I was just thinking out loud." Jake poured himself another double shot.

# Chapter 58

The Calpernia left the St. Mary's air space the next morning. Jake was morose. His usual playful battering of Arr and Kay-o was absent. When Arr asked if he should send a message to Margaret that they were leaving, Jake growled, 'Do whatever you like.'

Arr came to the logical conclusion that Jake and Margaret had fought. He didn't however realize it was about him. He re-analyzed the conversation of the night before and decided Margaret must have asked Jake to quit the life of a mercenary. Arr would have volunteered to quit. He liked the quiet times they spent on the Henu planet. He would like to have explored the St. Mary further, but he knew the quiet life was not for Jake and he would never, ever leave Jake.

*****

Jake felt betrayed. He had known Margaret only a short time, but in her he truly felt he found the woman to share the rest of his life. She was perfect in every way. They were like soul mates that found each other finally after a lifetime of searching.

Why did she make him choose between Arr and her? Couldn't she see that she was tearing him apart? He could not conceive of leaving Arr behind. Being without him now would be like operating with one arm tied behind his back. It would be like losing the brother he never had. The thought was incomprehensible after all they had been through together.

Sometime during their conversation Margaret suggested Jake stay too. Jake pointed out that a Mother Ship didn't have much call for mercenaries. Margaret's suggestion that he might change professions was met with laughter and the query, 'What else could I do?' She had no answer.

At the same time Jake could hear Margaret's words ringing in his head. 'He'll be safe...., he's the last of his kind...., he has so much to offer....' He had never really given thought to the fact that he put Arr in danger of losing his life time after time. It was what Jake did. It was his job. It was natural that it should be Arr's as well.

The kid was good. He came through the last three missions without a scratch. In fact, the only time he ever got really hurt was in the encounter with the Hydra and he was green then, just new at the game. He could take care of himself now and Jake would keep a careful eye on him as he always did.

So it went on. All the way to Outpost #26 Jake talked to himself in circles that always came back to the basic fact that he deeply cared for the Henu and didn't wish to part from him.

# Chapter 59

Margaret wasn't herself for weeks after the Calpernia left. She berated herself unmercifully. She handled it all wrong. She should have thought it out more thoroughly. If she played her cards right, she could have kept Jake and Arr here for months. She knew Jake held the same feelings for her as she did for him. If she hadn't been so demanding. If she hadn't made it seem like an ultimatum. If... If... If...

The Henu was so rare. So unusual. Her scientific side took over her good sense. Ever since she found out that Jake and Arr were mercenaries she thought of little else. The fact that Jake risked his own life was bad enough, but the fact that he risked losing something so precious as the only living example of a species preyed on her mind.

# Chapter 60

Jake didn't realize it, but he was taking out his anger in his work. In the two months since he parted from Margaret they had been on three very difficult missions.

Jake was always a fierce fighter, but lately he had become reckless. Arr was worried about him. The Henu went so far as to contact Tim for his opinion.

"The girl must really be 'a piece of work' for her to affect Jake like that." Tim's message appeared typed on the sub-space monitor; he was too far away for a direct audio line. "Jake had a similar period after his father's death," the message went on. "I spent some sleepless nights worrying about him. It didn't do any good. It's just the way Jake works things out."

Tim's sub-space messages were as lengthy as his conversation when you were with him. However, this time Arr was interested in his every word.

"Hang in there kid and watch your own back. Don't let Jake pull you into something you know is wrong. You been with him long enough now to know when you're in over your head," Tim advised, still not allowing Arr enough time to type in any response.

"I'll meet up with you at Outpost #12 in three months for Jake's annual 'Surprise' birthday party. If he hasn't worked things out by then I'll have a 'heart to heart' talk with him."

Arr thanked him and Tim signed off. The Henu wiped the screen of the monitor clean. All he needed was Jake to come by and find out he was talking to Tim behind his back. Jake would be furious.

Arr didn't know if they'd last another three months. Each time they went into battle he wondered if he'd see Jake alive at the end of the day. Arr took to hanging back close to Jake instead of taking off on his own or with Kay-o. He wanted to be close if Jake should get himself in over his head. Jake didn't seem to notice where Arr was during the fighting. He was like a crazed man.

*****

Jake felt like he was going to explode. This was worse than when he lost his dad. That was final. There was an end to it. There was nothing he could do to change it. The situation with Margaret was still unresolved. Sure he said 'NO!' and left, but he couldn't get her off his mind. The more he thought about what she said, the more it began to make sense, as much as he hated to admit it.

Lately, they encountered in some pretty hairy missions. Arr took to staying very close to him. He didn't say anything about it. The kid was probably frightened. Anyway, having him close made it easier to protect him if something should happen.

This morning he accepted a job on Nulian. He didn't even care what it was about - just grabbed at the chance to bury his troubled mind in physical action.

# Chapter 61

Nulian was forested like the Henu planet and behind every third tree lurked a Drifit. Jake and Arr had been hustling for days to clear out the last of the enemy. Jake was wounded in the initial battle to re-secure the factory. The Drifit's were using a weapon Jake called a 'burner.' They were lethal like any other weapon. Beyond that, if it didn't kill you, a wound sustained from one was extremely painful. The weapon shot an intense ray of burning white heat. It could burn through almost anything. Even something as thick as a tree wasn't great protection from them. The shot Jake took went right threw the fleshy part of his upper arm. Arr wanted to stop then. He told Jake they should retire to the ship. Arr wanted to contact Tim or Hank to come and help them mop up. Jake said the two of them could handle it. He wasn't shot in his gun arm. Jake promised the entrepreneur who hired them that they'd have the factory back and on line in two weeks. They had already been here over a week. They didn't have time to wait for Tim or Hank to show up.

Jake peeked out around the side of the rock they were hiding behind. A burner blast just missed his head. "You cover me. I'm going to see if I can get up around behind him." He crouched down ready to bolt for the next rock to their right.

Against Arr's better judgment he proceeded to give Jake cover.

Jake made a dash for the next outcrop. He got three fourths of the way there before the Drifit burned him in the leg. He went down like a stone. The next shot would kill him if Arr didn't act fast.

"Protect." Arr ordered Kay-o, as he stepped out of the cover of the rock to shield the dar-dolf as he went for Jake.

His blaster grew warm in his hand as he ran firing across the small clearing between the rocks, crouched low to make less of a target. Kay-o grabbed hold of Jake's flight suit and dragged him to safety. At that moment, the Drifit stepped out from behind his tree. Arr took a glancing hit from the enemy's burner to his face. The pain was so intense he almost dropped his blaster. Somehow Arr managed to stay up right returning fire and dusting the Drifit. He made it clumsily to the rock with Jake and Kay-o.

Jake didn't see Arr get burned. He was doing his best to help Kay-o drag him to cover. Arr fell to his knees at Jake's side behind the rock. Jake cursed as he tried to stop the blood flowing from his leg. Arr endeavored to get his eyes focused, so he could get the things out of the aid pack at his waist to help Jake.

Jake had his head down and without looking up he growled reprovingly, "You almost got Kay-o killed. What did you think you were doing?"

At that point Jake noticed blood dripping onto his hands from above. He looked up into Arr's face. The kid had a horrible burner gash across his right cheek. The flesh was laid open to the bone. A little more to the left and the burner would have gone right through his head and killed him.

"I'm sorry Jake. I did what I thought was best." His eyes started to puddle up with tears at Jake's reprimand. He was having difficulty speaking. His face was already beginning to swell due to the trauma.

Jake grabbed for the gauze that Arr had finally located in his pack and was about to apply to Jake's leg.

"Gimmie that!" Jake tore it from his hand with a roughness born of anxiety. He pressed it to the kid's face his own wound forgotten for the moment. "Damn it all! What have I gotten us into?"

Arr eased back against the rock beside Jake. He felt like his face had fallen off. He could taste blood and his ears were ringing.

Jake finished bandaging the kid's face, then stanched the flow of blood from his own leg. They'd have to make it back to the pod and the ship before Arr went into shock. He already looked pale and Jake had to admit he'd felt better.

"Think you can give me a hand walking if I keep us on the right track, kid?" Jake asked, more for a test to see if Arr was still conscious. He was lying with his head back against the rock, his eyes closed.

"I think so," Arr answered, as he opened his eyes. The blue cat eye on the right had a circle of blood just under the surface that was growing as Jake looked at it.

Jake grabbed Kay-o's metal harness. "Pull," he ordered. With Kay-o's help he got to his feet. He reached down and took Arr's hand. "Come on, kid. Let's go home."

# Chapter 62

Somehow they made it to the pod without being further molested by Drifits. Jake got them back to the ship, but that was where his strength ran out. He lost a lot of blood. Arr managed to stop the bleeding, but not before Jake passed out.

Arr didn't make it back to his own cabin after he took care of Jake. He slid off the edge of Jake's bunk to sit on the floor where he fell into an exhausted painful sleep.

When Jake woke up nine hours later that was where he found him - in a huddled little ball, on the floor beside his bunk. Jake's leg felt like a Tuldavian Swamp Lizard had gotten hold of it, but it didn't even compare with Arr's face when Jake rolled him over to pick him up.

The whole face was disfigured by massive swelling. His right eye was swollen totally shut. The left eye was just a slit. When Jake moved him to the bed he whimpered softly in his sleep and reached for his face. Jake caught his hand soothing him gently.

This kind of injury was beyond anything he could handle. Jake made his way to the bridge. He had the computer locate the St. Mary. She had been moving too and she wasn't far away. Jake set the auto-controls for her coordinates then went to see what he could do to make the two of them more comfortable until they reached help.

# Chapter 63

The medical facilities aboard the St. Mary were superior to anything else in the universe. Even so, they almost lost the Henu. By the time Jake and Arr reached the Mother Ship the infection had spread from Arr's face wound throughout his whole body.

Jake refused to leave Arr's side. Margaret had a bed brought in and put it next to Arr's ordering Jake to rest. His leg was not infected and with the wonders of modern medicine it was as good as new in a few days.

One of the first nights, as Jake and Margaret sat vigil by Arr's bedside; Jake told Margaret about his ordeal on the penal planet and his recovery under Arr's care. She had not said, she had told him so, when he brought in a half dead Henu to her for nursing. However, he saw the tears well up in her eyes when she first removed the gauze from his face. Jake was impressed at how hard she labored to save Arr's life and repair his face. He wanted her to understand how he felt about Arr. Why he did not take her sage advice when she gave it. Jake never imagined the kid would get hurt protecting him. It was a factor he had not figured into his equation of keeping Arr safe.

Margaret understood. She saw the pain in Jake's face. She could feel him suffering for what he felt could have been prevented if he possessed the foresight at the time of his original decision.

The two had long quiet talks now about Arr to discuss what would be best for him.

Jake would wait until Arr was fully recovered. Then he would move on. There was no place for him on the St. Mary. Margaret acknowledged this, but added that he could come to visit as often as he liked. She would look forward to his visits as much as Arr.

Margaret explained some of the research she would like to do with Arr's assistance. She talked about the prospect of investigating all Arr could remember of the cultural aspects of the Henu people. If there was enough material perhaps a book could be written to preserve the history of his culture. She wanted to study his language abilities further. She was anxious to see if his skills could be taught or if they were totally inherited. And, there was always the chance he would find a mate. It would be fascinating to see if his offspring inherited his unique talents or if they were dormant genes, unable to pass to the child.

Every so often Margaret would have to curb her enthusiasm. She was gaining an incredible research subject, but Jake was losing so much he couldn't put it in words.

# Chapter 64

Arr's recovery was slow however, over the period of perhaps a month, due to Margaret's expert skills; he returned to his old self. Unlike the old wound on his shoulder that Jake nursed years ago, through Margaret's superior healing skills the vicious gash on his face left no scar. He came close to losing his right eye, but she saved that as well. The only evidence that he was ever injured was a red speck in his right eye that Margaret said would fade eventually.

At Margaret's suggestion Jake did not tell Arr he was planning to leave. She said it would be too hard on the Henu. They should wait until he was fully recovered before telling him.

The month of Arr's convalescence was both difficult and exhilarating for Margaret. Jake's passion ran high on his return to her and the news that Arr would recover relieved him of the guilt he felt. He truly loved Margaret and she loved him equally in return. She only wished she could keep him here with her. She envisioned her future life as a series of episodes, loving visits from Jake divided by periods of quiet research with Arr.

# Chapter 65

Jake picked a quiet time to say goodbye to Arr.

They all returned to the hospital after dinner out and a trip to the Imaging Chamber, Arr's favorite pastime. With the space so limited on the St. Mary, Arr roomed at the hospital during his convalescence. Jake divided his time between Margaret's and the cruiser.

Jake told Margaret, earlier in the day, that he would make the break tonight. He was getting more restless each day trying to put off parting from Arr. It would have to be tonight. It would have to be final. Oh, maybe much later he could make regular visits as Margaret suggested. But he knew at first it would be too difficult for all of them if he kept dropping in and out of their lives. He knew down deep too that each time he returned he would want to take Arr with him when he left. No, it was better to make a clean break put an end to this part of his life and move on as he did after his father's death.

"I think I'll get some tea. You two want anything?" Margaret made the excuse in order to leave the two alone to talk. She was feeling shaky herself. After all, she was losing Jake too.

"Coffee, please." Jake smiled conspiringly.

Arr shook his head as he continued to rattle on about the images they'd seen in the chamber. He didn't know it at the time, but it was Jake's farewell gift. Jake gave the operators instructions for some of the true wonders of the universe to duplicate for the three of them. He paid the operators handsomely and gave them enough gold to keep Arr in holographic images for a lifetime. Margaret would tell him about the gift after Jake left.

"I'm going up to the ship tonight, Arr," Jake said, when Arr took a breather from his dissertation on the evening's show. He turned his back on the Henu doing his best to maintain control. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Arr didn't understand the tone in Jake's voice or his poor choice of words. "Margaret said today that I'm as good as new. I'm ready when you are."

Jake set his jaw and turned to face a task far worse for him then engaging any enemy. "You're not going." He couldn't watch the kid's reaction. He dropped his eyes studying some unseen speck on the floor.

Arr had always felt subordinate to Jake. They were friends, but Jake was the one who knew everything. Jake was the one who gave the orders. Arr obeyed, but he would not obey this one.

"Do you intend to leave me here?" Arr asked scornfully as he studied his companion.

"I've given it a lot of thought. It's for the best." Jake still did not look up.

"No!" Arr sprung to his feet advancing on Jake.

Jake hoped it wouldn't come to this. It was going to be hard enough as it was without a fight too. Jake acted as though he did not hear Arr. He continued with the speech he rehearsed in his head over and over the past few days.

"I've left your share of the gold in a safe deposit box at the Federation Bank in town. Here's the key." He dangled a key on a long chain in front of Arr. When Arr made no move to take it Jake tossed it on the bed. "You're pretty well set for life. Margaret managed to get you accepted as a resident. She found you a real nice place not far from here." Jake was trying to get through the speech before Arr said more. He didn't make it.

"Don't leave me, Jake." Arr begged.

Jake looked into Arr's water rimmed eyes like the first time he left him on the Henu planet. It all came flooding back - all the memories.

Arr didn't understand. All of this was so sudden. All he could think was he must have done something terribly wrong. Maybe it was almost getting Kay-o killed, or maybe Jake decided after all this time that he was too much trouble.

"I know I screwed up on Nulian, but I'll do better. Please don't leave me Jake." Arr pleaded.

"You didn't screw up, Arr." Jake wanted to put his hand on the kid's shoulder and comfort him, but he knew it would only make it worse for them both. "I've just been thinking you'll be safe here."

"I don't want to be safe! I want to be with you," Arr protested.

This wasn't working. More than anything in his life Jake wished he wasn't standing here right now. He was going to have to get tough. The kid was used to taking orders. He'd just make it final.

Margaret returned with the drinks on a tray. As she sat down on the bench outside the door to Arr's room, she could hear every word.

"Well, you can't come. I'm tired of babysitting you. It's been five years and you can't even keep your head down," Jake said, through clenched teeth.

"Please," Arr whispered, as tears rolled down his face.

"And look at you!" Jake hurried on before he lost his resolve. "Crying like a baby. You're a grown man, Arr. Act like one. Don't come where you're not wanted!"

Jake's attack on him was more than Arr could endure; he crumpled before Jake's eyes and ran from the room.

Jake collapsed on the edge of the bed, his hands shaking. He ran his fingers through his rumpled hair then leaned over and cradling his head in his hands.

Margaret came in, sitting down beside him. She put her comforting arms around him. She felt his shoulders shake as he let a deeply buried sob escape.

"Are you going to be all right? Maybe we should talk about this some more. Maybe there's an alternative we haven't explored." She couldn't bear to see him hurting like this.

"No, doctor," Jake said, in a soft voice. "It's best this way. Both patients will live. It will just take a little more recovery time than anticipated." He took her hand at his shoulder and kissed the palm. "I'd better go."

The Calpernia left less than an hour later.

# Chapter 66

When Arr did not return to the hospital by the next morning Margaret knew just where to look for him. She headed straight for the Imaging Chamber.

Arr was there as she expected. He had the operators duplicate his home planet. She recognized the image from the night before with Jake and Arr.

"It's lovely here." She sat down by Arr at the base of a tree overlooking the lake.

Arr did not reply. He sat staring into the distance.

"He really loves you Arr." She put her hand gently on his.

"Then why did he leave me?" Arr looked up at her, tears rolling down both cheeks.

"He did what he thought was best."

# Chapter 67

Margaret stroked Arr's forehead as he lay on the couch in the corner of her office at the lab. Jake left just over a month ago. The change in the Henu was dramatic and frightening.

Arr was listless and non-communicative. He didn't eat unless directly ordered. He slept very little and when he did sleep it was restless. He often awoke startled, breathing hard.

He never took to the quarters Margaret found him. Instead, he stayed at the hospital or in the Imaging Chamber. He started lying on the couch in her study almost all day long. She found him in the chamber today in the middle of one of Jake's surprise birthday parties that he had the operators conjure up from a drive Jake left behind. He was just sitting staring at Jake's image as it wandered from friend to friend making wise cracks and taking playful jibs from his fellow mercenaries. Margaret begged the Henu to come back to the lab with her. He obeyed reluctantly.

She stroked his long hair. It was no longer shiny. The red/gold luster had gone dull. It felt gummy to the touch. His eyes stared out vacantly at some unseen image. She rose from her position by Arr and went back to sit at her desk.

She had been trying to locate Jake for over a week now. She was very afraid that the Henu would die if he did not return. Jake however, seemed to have disappeared. Margaret was desperate. She didn't know what to do. This was beyond her medical capabilities.

She and Jake did what they thought was best for Arr. They were so terribly wrong. Margaret could not have anticipated this reaction. A human child left behind by its parents might miss them, but given affection by another the child adjusted and continued to grow. Arr's reaction to the loss of Jake was not like a human child's. It was more like the reaction of an animal at the loss of its master. No matter how much Margaret begged, pleaded and tried to explain that Jake was not gone for good, Arr's attitude did not change. If Jake did not want him he did not care if he lived.

Margaret put her reading glasses back on to study the patient's chart in front of her. Arr sighed deeply and closed his eyes. She looked up from her work at him, removing her glasses. She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't be responsible for the death of a whole species. If Arr died it would be her fault. She _had_ to locate Jake.

# Chapter 68

For once, Jake didn't feel like fighting. He didn't want to kill anyone except maybe himself. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Arr's shock and pain at being told he was not wanted. There were so many times in the last six weeks that he wanted to turn the cruiser around and go back for the boy. But then he'd see Arr as he was on Nulian after the burner blast and he'd regain his resolve. He wished he hadn't needed to be so hard on him, but he knew if he wasn't Arr would follow him. The kid had enough money in that safe deposit box on the St. Mary to buy his own cruiser and he just might have, if Jake hadn't made it final.

The kid would be all right. Margaret was a good woman, one of the best. She'd take care of him. Jake was confident Arr would live a long happy life.

Jake turned off the audio on his communications system. He didn't want any interruptions. He and Kay-o went to the Henu planet after leaving Arr. Jake spent restful times there in the past. He thought it would be a good place to gather his thoughts and decide what direction to pursue next. It was not a wise choice. It was a place too full of memories. Kay-o spent much of the time there searching for Arr. He was confused. The dar-dolf thought for sure Arr must be somewhere close. He was always within the sound of the beasts call for the past five years. Kay-o called, but Arr never answered. After a week on the planet Jake packed up and headed for Outpost #43.

The last five weeks, they had been drifting from Outpost to Outpost. Jake heard about numerous job opportunities. He passed on all of them. His heart just wasn't in it.

Yesterday, Jake checked his sub-space messages for the first time since leaving the St. Mary. The first message was the annual call to his surprise birthday party. He shut the system down again to consider. Half of him wished he could ignore it. The other half thought it might lift his spirits. He headed the cruiser toward Outpost #12.

# Chapter 69

"You did what?" Tim bellowed at the top of his voice.

"I left Arr on the St. Mary," Jake said shushing the big man, as he pulled him into an empty adjoining room.

"How long ago?" Tim was more than a little irritated.

"About seven weeks." Jake really didn't want to talk about this. He came here to try to forget, not drag it all up again.

"Why'd you do a fool thing like that?" Tim was badgering him as the other guests were pouring their first drinks and talking among themselves.

"I thought it was for the best Tim. He's the only one of his kind. I almost got him killed on Nulian. He was trying to save my life and got burned really bad." Jake took a swig of the whiskey in his hand. For the first time in his life it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Arr told me you were taking too many chances," Tim mumbled under his breath.

"When did he talk to you?" Jake asked in surprise.

"About three months ago. He said you had a fight with some doctor on the St. Mary. It made you careless. He was worried about you. Did you see her again when you took Arr back?" Tim asked in a caustic tone.

"She took care of him. She's going to work with Arr. She thinks he's very special." Jake was feeling as though Tim had his head on a block and was just waiting to whack it off.

"So that's it. Is she the one who convinced you to leave Arr behind?" Tim was raising his voice again. "What'd she want to do, put him under her microscope and analyze him? I can't believe you'd let some broad give you orders."

"It wasn't like that at all. Margaret is a wonderful person," Jake came to Margaret's defense.

Tim calmed a bit, but it was not in him to apologize. "Have you talked to Arr since you left?"

"No. I thought it would be easier on the kid if I made a clean break of it." Jake hunched his shoulders and sank into the depths of the closest chair.

"You got a lot to learn Jake." Tim eased into the chair across from him. "You didn't see that kid when you were in jail and on the penal planet, I did. You don't know how attached he is to you."

"I've missed him too Tim, but I can't be responsible for his death. I couldn't take that." Jake was looking down in his whiskey glass.

"I think you should call Margaret. Just check and see how he is." Tim reached across the distance that separated them and patted Jake's hand soothingly. "Do it for me, will ya?"

# Chapter 70

Jake contacted the St. Mary via sub-space communication. Margaret sent an urgent return message; "Have been trying to locate you for weeks. Arr needs you. Come quickly, please!" Jake checked the sub-space messages he had been ignoring since leaving the St. Mary as he raced back toward Arr and Margaret. Every other one was from Margaret describing Arr's deteriorating condition and begging him to return.

Jake entered the St. Mary's air space 96.30 hours later. He and Tim plotted the fastest route they could find.

When he arrived at the hospital Margaret was waiting. She alerted the operations deck that Jake was coming. She asked to be informed immediately upon his arrival.

"I'm so thankful you contacted me," Margaret said, as she and Jake proceeded through the main doors of the hospital on the way to her lab. "I never would have thought to look for you in the Hartin System."

Margaret drew Jake into an empty hospital room. It was important to get Jake to Arr as soon as possible, but she wanted to prepare him for the shock she was sure he would experience when he saw the young Henu. She had to make him understand that neither one of them could have possibly anticipated this reaction from Arr. She didn't want him blaming himself for Arr's condition. She pulled Jake to a seat by her on the edge of the bed.

"I want you to know before you see Arr that I believe he will recover provided you will take him back. His reaction to your leaving him was unprecedented by anything I have ever experienced. He seemed to have given up the will to live. I did everything I could. He didn't respond to me. He needs you." Margaret smiled at Jake. She felt weary to the bone from the tension of the past few weeks, but so happy now that he was back.

"I know. Tim was the one who sent me back. He said the kid was lost without me when I was on Penal Planet #18. I guess I was so out of it when he picked me up that I didn't notice." Jake squeezed her hand lovingly as he drank in her features, her smell, her total presence.

Margaret kissed Jake on the cheek and taking his hand rose from the bed. "It is so good to have you back."

They went down the hall into Margaret's study. Arr was lying on the couch in the corner asleep. He had lost weight, and his hair was dull and lifeless. Jake walked quietly up to the couch and reached down to stroke his head. There was no response. He kneeled down.

"Arr? It's Jake." He smoothed his hand over the young Henu's hair again.

Arr stirred and opened his eyes. Jake stroked his cheek as Arr leaned affectionately into his hand.

He lifted Arr's head, sat down and lowered it gently onto his lap. Jake's voice broke with emotion as he wiped the tears that were trickling down Arr's cheek. "It's going to be all right. I'm here now. I'm not ever going to leave you again."

The young Henu burrowed his head into Jake's leg and softly purred.

# Chapter 71

Andrew Daily lost his last three shipments of quillanium, crew and all. He decided with his next shipment he would use his vast resources to locate the thieves.

Andrew placed an undetectable homing device disguised as just another piece of ore in the carton. He had the ship followed by one of his security crews in a small fast cruiser. They were to keep a discreet distance from the freighter and not interfere. There were provisions made for the crew of the freighter to abandon ship at the last moment. The security team would follow the ore shipment with its homing device to the location of the thieves' hideout. They would then return with the coordinates to Andrew.

Andrew's plan went off without a hitch - the thieves were found - their location mapped. He sent a sub-space message to Jake for his assistance in rectifying this problem.

# Chapter 72

Jake made a trip up to the Calpernia to check on Kay-o and found the message from Andrew. He immediately contacted him for the details.

This was just what Arr needed. For once Tim was right. Jake needed to get Arr into a battle. The kid was getting better each day, but he still appeared apprehensive when Jake left him. Even a trip to the cruiser to check on the dar-dolf was met with a long face and a plea to go along. Margaret wasn't giving him a clean bill of health yet, but it would take them at least a month to get to Andrew. A month on board ship would be good for the kid. He needed some time alone with Jake. Some time to get his bearings again. No amount of Jake's telling him he was needed would be half as good as Jake really needing him to back him up in a battle.

Though Margaret saw Jake's point she did not take the news of their departure well. She wasn't sure Arr was up to a battle. The shine had returned to his hair, but he was still under weight and overly tired after exerting himself.

Jake said she'd just have to trust him on this one. Margaret gave in.

She knew she made the right decision when she saw Arr's reaction to the news of their departure. It was the best he looked since Jake returned.

The three of them spent their last night together. Dinner and a trip to the Imaging Chamber were the main agendas of the evening. Margaret and Jake wanted to spend some time alone together, but it wasn't possible. Arr was stuck to Jake like glue. Late in the evening in the chamber, under a Muldavian sunset, Arr fell asleep with his head in Margaret's lap. She smoothed the now glossy hair back from his brow.

"You don't mind sharing me this last night, do you?" Jake moved in closer, draping his arm over her shoulders and squeezing her tenderly to him.

"Only a little." Margaret leaned into his embrace, planting a kiss on his cheek than lowered her head to rest lightly on his shoulder.

Jake looked off into the distance at the brilliance of the sunset. "I know I'm a mercenary and always will be. I know you're a dedicated physician and always will be. I don't know how it will work, but I want you to marry me, Margaret."

Margaret lifted her head from Jake's shoulder. She looked deep into his eyes. "We'll figure it out somehow. Just come back to me."

Later that night, when they said their goodbyes Margaret hugged and kissed both Jake and Arr. She gave them both the same whispered instruction, 'Take care of each other.'

# Chapter 73

Arr was on his third bowl of Jake's homemade stew. The month long trip to Madelor was like an elixir to the Henu. Physically and emotionally he was as good as new.

Jake took some time to explain to Arr his feelings for Margaret. He also made it very clear to the kid that he was to be included in all the plans Margaret and he made. Jake would never break the promise he made on his return to Arr. He would never leave him again.

They stopped just long enough at Andrew's to get the full rundown on the situation and the coordinates of the thief's home base. Jake told Andrew they would check it out and get back to him within a week.

"This is a lot better than I remembered it." Arr put the last spoonful in his mouth.

"You keep eating like that and I'll have to get you your own cruiser so there'll be room for Kay-o and me aboard the Calpernia," Jake said with a teasing grin.

The computer interrupted Arr's reply. "Calpernia will be slowing, per pilot instructions, due to proximity to target in ten minutes."

Jake headed for the pilot platform followed closely by Arr and Kay-o. The minute Jake looked out the front viewport he brought the cruiser to a screaming halt and what he hoped was a nonchalant reverse. The space directly in their path was full of cruisers in a variety of shapes and sizes. This was a huge operation. Jake maneuvered the Calpernia behind a small moon not too distant from all the activity.

It didn't seem as though anyone noticed the Calpernia. Jake sighed deeply in relief. He thought he was giving himself plenty of room when he programmed the coordinates into the computer, but he was not told how large this operation was. The area looked like a refitting station; it had so many cruisers around it. Jake couldn't get an accurate count from the peeks they got around the edge of the moon, but there must have been at least forty. Whoever these guys were they had stolen crafts from practically every civilized society known to Jake. This wasn't something Arr and he could take care of on their own. They would need heavy reinforcements. This would require an air battle as well as a later ground confrontation. This was the big time.

# Chapter 74

If Jake had pursued his reconnaissance just one step further, if he intercepted a vehicle or went down to the planet's surface, he may have had second thoughts of pursuing this mission at all. Andrew Daily had done what no man was ever able to do before he'd managed to 'tie a can to the tail of the Helavites.'

This planet was their home base, their colony, their nest.

The Helavites were a society of alien's millenniums old. They perhaps were here before any other beings developed. They were predators, preying on all other forms of life without exception and they were infinitely successful at what they did.

Theirs was a unique life form, well suited for survival of the species. They were relatively alike in size and shape except for the color of their shells.

On an average they stood approximately six feet tall. They were humanoid in form in the sense that they stood upright on two legs, but they possessed four arms. The Helavites bodies were encased in an armored shell. One plate covered the chest and abdomen; the other ran up their back from the butt to the back of the head. The head could be retracted and the rear shell pulled down over the head leaving only a slit for the eyes. In this posture there were few things in the universe that could present any threat to them. The shell could withstand a direct hit from a blaster. If an arm was lost in battle they could continue fighting with the other three or two or one. It was reported, though not verified, that when one lost a leg it could drop to the remaining appendages and still be mobile enough to flee its assailant. This however was not often the case. The Helavites were fierce fighters and rarely retreated.

The only place vulnerable enough to hit on a Helavite to stop its advance was under the arms where the front and rear shells missed meeting by maybe as much as six inches in an adult male. The males could be spotted by the bright iridescent green of their shells. The females were a dull shade of brown. Both the genders possessed the same dedication to destroying their enemy in battle.

In addition to their remarkable shell they possessed segmented eyes which gave them excellent peripheral vision. They also had antennas on the top of their head which were used for low frequency communication among themselves. This gave them a marked advantage in battle. This form of communication could be used similar to headsets on humans, but could cover a much wider range. The Helavites normal audible communication was a series of clicks, pops and something that sounded like their jaws grinding together. These particular sounds the human vocal cords were incapable of duplicating.

The Helavites lived in large colonies. Their usual homes were a series of tunnels underground with the entrance made of material stolen from another culture. The entrance could be as simple as concrete blocks or as strong as quillanium ore. They built with the materials they had. They were an industrious, resourceful society.

What they stole but couldn't use they sold in their floating black markets.

It was their tradition to take slaves from the species they conquered. The habit was not known among the other civilized populations of the universe because the Helavites never left anyone behind alive to tell. They used these slaves in the tending of their crops. The Helavites grew what they could not steal. When not working in the fields these slaves were kept in a separate group of tunnels by the entrance to the fields. They were guarded by perhaps half a dozen Helavites. The colony had a large population of slaves.

# Chapter 75

Upon Jake and Arr's return to Andrew Jake sent out a coded message to all mercenaries to gather their forces at Madelor. Tim was the first to arrive.

Tim kept advising caution. He felt they needed to do further reconnaissance. He wanted Jake, Arr and him to go in for a closer look before they dragged all the guys into it. An operation that big wasn't going to go anywhere fast. Tim's reservations were based on something Jake said, as an offhand comment, when Tim first arrived. Jake said they hadn't heard any space chatter between the vehicles surrounding the planet, just static, a series of pops and clicks. Arr said it sounded too uniform for regular static, sounded more like something used to disguise their conversations. It just didn't sound right to Tim. Why would they safeguard being overheard when they thought they were in air space that was theirs alone? They'd made no effort to conceal their physical presence. He didn't want to say anything until he was sure, but he toured the black market once years ago when he was young and the noise the Helavites made was hard to forget.

Eventually, Tim won. The three left Andrew to greet the rest of the mercenaries as they trickled in and took Tim's faster cruiser to check out the area further.

They circled around from the back this time and came in behind the planet unnoticed. The three made a very cramped ride to the surface of the planet in Tim's pod. Remembering his trip in the capsule, Jake apologized to Arr.

The sensors aboard the cruiser pin pointed the main population. They took the pod down far enough away that they hoped they could sneak up to the main force and have a look. Tim stopped them before they left the pod.

"Be real careful," he warned in a hushed voice.

Tim was usually cautious, that was what kept him alive in such a dangerous field of work for this long, but Jake thought he seemed overly so today. "What are you worried about Tim?"

"I got a bad feeling about this. Just be careful." With that warning he crawled out of the pod and headed for the closest cover.

Tim took the left flank, Jake the center and Arr the right. They were making good progress when all of a sudden Tim came to an abrupt halt. He motioned for Jake and Arr to get down. When Jake peeked up over the rock he was hiding behind, he saw the hard green shell. There was no mistaking, even though he'd never seen one first hand, he was staring at the back of a Helavite. So this was what Tim was pussy footing around. Now his suspicions were confirmed.

Jake didn't notice that Arr froze in his tracks and stood transfixed. He was directly in the path of the bug if it should turn, and it did turn. Jake caught sight of the gap between the back and front shell just as the Helavite drew a bead on Arr with its blaster. Jake fired. The bug collapsed in the dirt.

"Wake up kid," he hissed through his teeth at Arr. "That one almost took your head off."

Arr snapped out of his trance and scurried quickly to Jake's side.

"We've bit off a pretty big chunk to chew this time," Jake said to Arr, as he scanned the area for more bugs.

"I was afraid of this." Tim said, as he joined them behind the rocky outcrop. "When you said, you didn't hear any space chatter it just wasn't natural. They're Helavites! We've found their nest at last."

Arr just kept staring at the Helavite. "They're _The Others_ ," he finally said in a stunned voice.

Tim and Jake both looked at him in shock.

"You mean the ones who attacked your planet?" Jake asked.

Arr nodded.

Jake looked once more at the dead Helavite, "Well, looks like it's payback time."

# Chapter 76

On the return to Madelor Tim and Jake agreed that the GO should be brought in on this mission. Mercenaries and the authorities of the universe didn't always see eye to eye, but there was too much universe and too few officials so the Galactic authorities usually turned the other cheek where the mercenaries were concerned. They left them alone. There was no precedent in history for the two groups ever having worked together. However, they would need all the fire power they could get to eradicate the Helavites. History was about to be made.

The gathering of the troops at Madelor had to be done secretly. Nothing of the coming operation could leak out.

Andrew brought in all his security teams. Jake got a good turn out from his request for the mercenaries. Close to fifty mercenaries showed up with their cruisers to pull into orbit around Madelor and await instructions. The Galactic Officials arrived shortly after being summoned by Andrew. They brought four large ships and eight short range fighters. When they received the news that it was the Helavites they would be fighting, they sent word for a half dozen more ships and a dozen more fighters.

Two months after the initial sighting of the Helavites stronghold the forces of the universe moved against them.

# Chapter 77

They couldn't have won the air war against the Helavites, were it not for Arr. He could not duplicate the bug's language, but he could understand it. Where the Helavites always had the advantage against their prey because of their unique language, it failed them this time. After listening to their clicks and grinding for a relatively short time, Arr could predict their every move for the invading fleet.

The mercenaries were the ones chosen to go in first for the ground warfare. They were well known for their ability to function on their own. In a battle like this there would be little time for orders to pass down the official chain of command. They needed men who could think for themselves and act accordingly.

The Helavites were stuck on the planet now. All their cruisers were destroyed. Getting them routed out was going to be a major achievement. Most of them ran underground and the ones that were still fighting were almost impossible to kill. Their vulnerability was so low due to their shells; it was pure luck if you could get off a good shot at that gap in their armor.

The mercenary forces fought for three full days before the rest of the combined galactic forces were brought in to help route out the Helavite's concentrated below ground. The question was how to get to the ones that were underground. A direct assault would only succeed in getting men killed. They needed something to flush the bugs to the surface. A strategy meeting was called aboard the Galactic Cruiser, GC 40.

A small group of battle weary, but determined officers and men stood around the projected holo-vid replica of the Helavite planet. The reinforced underground chambers of the enemy were pinpointed by red on the surface of the three dimensional holo-vid.

"Why not flush them out with fire?" Arr suggested, thinking of Jake's numerous retellings of how he forced the Hydra from their lair years ago. This time there would be no worry about hostages or prisoners they could just burn the bugs out.

Jake leaned forward placing his hands on the edge of the platform that projected the image they were studying. "Better yet, how about laser burn?" Jake glanced around the room at the few remaining leaders left. Admiral Soltau of the Galactic Forces nodded solemnly as he too studied the image closer with Jake's suggestion in mind, his bushy, grey eyebrows knitting together in concentration.

Jake turned painfully on a very sore leg. He took a fall the second day of action while trying to avoid a Helavite's attack. It irritated that old Arcanian injury from years ago. "Andrew? Are your trade vessels still equipped with those solar disks for emergency power use?"

"Yes." Andrew was not a military man, nor was he known for his physical capabilities, but the sheer number of personnel under his command allowed him a place in history among these other beings battling this ultimate of foes.

"Good! We could detach the solar disks from Andrew's vessels and position them on the planet's surface." Jake removed his hat, running fingers through sweat dampened hair. "If we position them just right we could direct the combined power of all the remaining ship's lasers on the first disk, and with some help from your statistical team Admiral, to determine the correct alignment," Jake said glancing the Commander's direction, "we could bounce the beam from disk to disk enabling us to shoot a beam down each tunnel. I assure you those we didn't kill with the blast itself would come to the surface pronto!"

"Excuse me, sir?" The Senior Science Officer of the ground forces, Captain Tregg, spoke up. He was grimy from the battle on the planet's surface and his head wore a bloody bandage from some hastily dressed wound. "I happened to have an opportunity to see the terra firma up close." There was a general chuckle around the room, releasing days of tension and prompted by the knowledge that Captain Tregg's current appearance could not have been generated by an air battle alone.

"Go on Captain," the Admiral urged as the merriment died down.

"The soil down there has a very high sand content. You put that much laser power on it and it may melt, sealing the burrows shut."

"Show me a visual 'Geochem' of the soil," the Admiral ordered. The insigne programmer at the table moved quickly to produce the display.

A colored graph appeared floating beside the image of the planet showing the chemical composition of the soil. Silica was the highest registering element.

"Then we seal up the mouths of the tunnels and wait for them to burrow to the top, where we pick them off as they surface with the hand held flame throwers and whatever else we can get our hands on that will do the job." Jake glanced around the room for approval of his plan, there being no dissension, the meeting was adjourned and all returned to the work at hand.

*****

The Helavites never made it to the surface to battle further with the combined forces. The intense heat generated by the lasers, magnified by the solar discs, melted the soil into a bubbling mass. It incased the Helavites forever in a glassy tomb.

The mop up was slow. The Galactic Officials insisted on all the Helavite bodies being cremated and the planet thoroughly searched for possible hideouts. The officials wanted to be certain the bugs didn't return. Arr wandered down toward the fields with Jake to check for signs of life. The toll among the mercenaries was high. Over half their forces had died. Luckily Tim, Jake, Arr and Kay-o were among the survivors.

Arr looked out over the fields wistfully. "The crops are ready for harvest. It's a shame they'll go to waste".

"Funny, I never thought of the Helavites as farmers." Jake reached over and snapped off the top of a stalk. As he studied it his gaze traveled down to the ground. There was a footprint in the soft dirt at the edge of the field. Not the unique print of a Helavite or the waffled tread of a spacer's boot, but a sandaled foot. Not far from it was the bare foot print of a humanoid.

Jake called Kay-o to his side. "Seek," he commanded, as he pointed to the foot prints.

Arr and Jake followed at a distance as Kay-o skirted the edge of the field. He came to a halt at the far corner going down on his belly and waiting for his two masters to catch up. Kay-o found their objective. There was another burrow. It had been totally missed. There was no fortification around the entrance. It was just a hole in the ground with a pair of Helavite antennae sticking out of it listening for sounds of life.

Jake tapped Arr's shoulder and pointed at the ground. The soft dirt was covered with footprints all headed toward the mouth of the burrow. The Helavites had other beings working their fields. They had hostages after all.

Arr motioned to Jake that he was going to try to get around behind the Helavite sentry at the mouth of the tunnel. Jake nodded his approval.

It took Arr almost three quarters of an hour to silently circle the fields back the way Jake and he came to get behind the Helavite. When he was in place close enough to lunge forward onto the sentry Jake moved noisily from his hiding place to draw the bug out. The head of the Helavite came up for a better look. Arr dove in and grasped the Helavite around the neck. The head retracted and the shell closed down over it. Arr struggled to get a grip as he dangled over the mouth of the burrow. He had his gathering knife in his hand. As the Helavite started to backup into the tunnel Arr sank the knife up to its hilt into one of its large segmented eyes. Under Arr's weight the Helavite and Arr tumbled head long into the tunnel.

Jake and Kay-o rushed to the mouth of the burrow when they saw Arr drop out of sight. They were ready to follow when Arr poked his head up and motioned to them to be silent. He could hear more Helavites below.

*****

Jake could hardly see. He couldn't hear anything in the tunnels and he kept bumping into Kay-o. He considered turning back, but thought that if the other Helavites found the sentry dead, they might kill their prisoners before he and Arr could return with help. He would have to depend on Arr's highly tuned senses to get them through this time.

Arr was moving ahead slowly down the tunnel. He could hear at least three more Helavites directly in front of them. When he came to a bend in the burrow he stopped. He signaled to Jake that they were just around the corner.

Jake heard the now familiar clicks and pops as they got closer. Though his eyes had adjusted to the dim light he still couldn't see well. He hoped the hostages were safe out of harm's way so he could use the flame thrower he was carrying on the bugs.

Jake signaled that he was ready and they stepped around the corner to do battle with the Helavites. The three Helavites were directly in front of a huge cage full of prisoners in a large open cavern lit by torches. Use of the flame thrower was impossible. Blasters were going to be pretty much useless as well in these close quarters. The Helavites were armed with short electrified whips that they obviously used to drive the slaves. The bugs recognized the protection of the slaves. They placed themselves squarely in front of the cage. Jake dropped his flame thrower, which left him virtually defenseless against an enemy that had proven it was almost invincible. This was going to be a hand to hand combat of the first order.

Arr made one of those swift Henu moves to his right. When one of the Helavites made a grab for him he feinted back to his left and got behind the bug. He intended to do this one in like the one at the mouth of the burrow. He jumped on its back taking a stab at its eyes with his knife. The blow glanced right off the heavy armored hood as it pulled it down tighter over its head. The Helavite maliciously backed up into the bars of the cage and began to crush Arr with the weight of its body.

The other two Helavites had Jake and Kay-o busy with their whips. Jake took a couple of harsh blows from those nasty weapons. He was trying to avoid another when he saw Arr being crushed by the Helavite. He ran right into the arms of the bug holding Arr. When it grasped him he shoved his blaster between the beast's shell plates and fired. The Helavite turned to dust beneath its shell. Jake and Arr found themselves facing each other as the empty shell dropped to the floor. The remaining two Helavites pressed the attack.

Jake tried to lead the bugs away from Arr until the kid could catch his breath. It didn't work.

Kay-o almost succeeded in severing one of the bug's legs. He was being dragged by the Helavite toward Arr. The other Helavite advanced on Jake with its whip.

By the time the Helavite got to Arr he was on his feet again ready to fight. The kid was too fast for the bug with Kay-o in tow, when it struck at Arr it missed. Arr side stepped it and came down hard with his knife on one of the Helavite's arms. The arm dropped off, green liquid oozed out the severed stump. At that moment Kay-o succeeded in tearing the leg off. The bug fell to the floor on the four remaining appendages. Arr jumped on its back, shoved his blaster between the shells as Jake did and the bug disintegrated leaving Arr sitting on its empty shell.

Jake was beaten into a corner. He was pinned down by the onslaught of the last Helavite and its whip. Kay-o moved into position to get a grip on the bug. This one was more shrewd then the others. It wasn't giving up its prey especially not to a dar-dolf. When Kay-o darted in the Helavite grasped Kay-o by the harness with two of its arms. It lifted the dar-dolf up in the air as Kay-o snarled and bit. The bug flung the dar-dolf across the room as though he were a puppy. Kay-o hit the cage and was knocked unconscious by the impact. The Helavite seemed to have never turned its attention away from Jake. It continued with its whipping onslaught on its cornered enemy.

Arr picked up one of the whips from the dead Helavites and advanced on the last bug. The whip did nothing to the bug attacking Jake except get its attention. The Helavite turned from Jake, who was on his knees in the corner, and advanced toward Arr. The first bite from the bug's whip stung Arr's shoulder. The next hit his leg bringing him down on one knee. The Helavite could smell victory.

Kay-o came out of nowhere. The force of his blow knocked the Helavite off its feet. Arr scrambled quickly on to its back. He reached for his blaster, but it had been knocked from its holster when he fell to the floor a moment earlier. He grasped his gathering knife from the top of his boot and sunk it into the visor slit at the bug's eyes. The Helavite collapsed dead beneath him.

Arr went to Jake's side as he rose slowly from the floor. He had several bad burns on his body, but a big grin on his face.

"We did it kid." He clasped Arr by the shoulders. For the moment the slaves were forgotten as the two experienced the joy of just being alive. They heeded Margaret's words. They took care of each other.

A movement behind them in the cage brought them back from their self congratulations.

Jake went to the wall and threw the switch to open the cage door.

There were perhaps fifty to seventy-five slaves of perhaps half that many species. They were all fitted with metal collars and they all looked ill fed, ill clothed and scared.

When none of them made a move to come out of the cage Arr stepped forward and entered their prison. He walked quietly among them and said in as many different languages as he knew that they were safe now. That no one would hurt them again. Some of the slaves began to trickle out past Jake and up the tunnel to the surface. They weren't very vocal. Jake imagined that was due to living with the Helavites, but the men shook his and Arr's hand. More than a few of the women kissed Jake on the cheek.

Arr was surrounded by slaves when he felt a touch on his back. He turned to find himself looking into a pair of big, blue cat eyes. He pulled his stunned gaze away from the first pair and came to rest on another pair. _Henu_! Maybe ten or twelve Henu, all about his age, stood staring at Arr with big, silly grins on their faces.

" _JAKE_!" Arr called joyously. " _MY PEOPLE_!! _MY PEOPLE ARE HERE_!!"

# Chapter 78

Once again the Henu planet would be populated.

The Henu that Jake and Arr rescued from the Helavites were some of the grown children who were by the lake the day the Helavites attacked twenty years ago. They, like Arr, thought the rest of their people were killed. They gave up any hope of rescue. There were seven females and five males. Among the females Arr found his mate, Mya. It was as though everything was finally right with the world.

"I thought you told me she died in the Helavite attack on your planet," Jake questioned Arr, after he introduced Mya.

"I thought she had," Arr replied. "But, when I think back on it I don't remember Nor and I actually looking over any of the dead. I just remember how frightened I was and the cold of the lake, and then the long walk to our new home over the east hills. Maybe Nor just told me they were all dead."

"I'm happy for you that he was wrong," Jake said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

The mop up of the planet came to an end shortly after the finding of the slaves. The GO began to transport the slaves to their respective planets. Jake volunteered to take the Henu home.

Jake was swept into the reunion of his partner and friend with his people. He was fascinated by what he took for granted in dealing with Arr. He assumed that all Henu were like Arr. He was very mistaken. The most evident thing was they were not all red/gold in color like Arr. Mya was a soft faun color with dark chestnut tips to the hair on her body. The others ranged in color from one with black hair with grey tips, a handsome male, to a female that was truly all red. In fact no two were completely alike in coloring. Because they were captured as a group they retained what little of their language they learned before being taken prisoners. Arr set immediately to teaching them the rest of their language plus English. They however, did not possess the abilities that Arr did in learning new tongues. His adeptness of picking up new languages seemed to be a gift solely his own.

The trip back was strained at first. The Henu were beaten so long that they cowed like mistreated dogs. It would take a lot of gentle care and understanding to get them back on their feet again. Arr spent all his time talking with them. He intended only to provide comfort and teach them their language. He didn't realize he was building his own legend. The more they heard his voice and his stories the more he became a hero in their eyes. Something bigger than mortal Henu.

Arr fell into the role of leader. He was more experienced than any of the other Henu.

He was the oldest.

He was their savior.

*****

With Arr's finding of Mya he grew up right before Jake's eyes. Physically the contrast made him appear older. Mya was small and delicate, quiet and gentle. The joy of being rescued and finding her mate was evident in every action she made. Jake caught her eyes following Arr about the room often. He noticed the love that was already starting to grow in them for his friend and companion.

They made a short detour on the way home. They stopped at the St. Mary to see if Jake could convince Margaret to give up her position on the ship and come make a study of a full colony of Henu. He need not have been worried about her answer. Margaret resigned and packed within three days for the move to her life with Jake. With her savings she arranged for a well equipped lab to be delivered to the planet plus prefab living quarters. She told Jake, 'Living in a tree is asking too much.'

Jake made her no promises, but he said he would do his best to stay put as long as possible. In any case, he promised to come back to her always.

Margaret and Mya became friends almost at first sight. Mya pressed Arr to teach her English so she could communicate with the humans. Margaret even joined in playing part-time teacher to all the Henu. The sooner they could communicate the better her studies would be.

After the Henu got the smell of the Helavites washed off Kay-o was more than willing to make friends. The hands full of Red Raspberry Goo Chews that Arr handed out reinforced the dar-dolf's immediate love for all the Henu. Jake could see that it was going to be very hard to keep Kay-o a working dar-dolf. He was fast becoming the pampered pet of the Henu population.

# Chapter 79

The day Jake shuttled them all down to the planet was exhilarating. The first order of the day was a swim in the lake for everyone. Then the group split up for the first time in their lives. They went to explore their old world. Arr took Mya to his tree house to get her approval. Jake and Margaret scouted out the best place to put the prefab when it arrived the next week. The others drifted around singly or in couples. The Henu never mated while among the Helavites. They did not want to bring children into that horrible life. There were other couples among the group that had matching tattoos. Now that they were free it was natural to match up and explore together.

It was early fall on the little planet and the nights were cool. Jake offered to take them back up to the ship when it came nightfall. They all politely refused. They had their purrs to keep them warm.

"Stay with Mya and me tonight," Arr invited Margaret and Jake to share his home.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," Jake whispered confidentially to Arr as he drew him to one side.

"We would enjoy the company." Arr grasp Jake's shoulder and leaned closed to speak for his ear alone. "Besides, we can't act as mates until after the Spring Festival. I'm afraid it will have to be a Fall Festival instead this year." Arr smiled at his friend. "I can't wait till spring."

The next few days were spent building tree houses. Jake and Margaret helped the one single female, Lal, build her home. When the building was completed there were plans made for the dance. They all knew of the dance. Some could vaguely remember watching in their youth, but no one could remember it in detail. So a new dance was invented. Lal appointed herself as drummer. She created a slow sensuous beat that the feet could not resist. Everyone spent a full day, in secret, constructing their masks. Many a bird was caught, plucked of a few feathers and then released. Many dyes were made; even a few Goo Chews were applied before the job was completed.

Jake and Margaret prepared and brought down a meal from the cruiser the evening of the Festival. The Henu added their gatherings to it. Arr was already teaching them what to gather among all the other duties he acquired.

The feast was joyous - the dance heady. Margaret and Jake were just barely able to resist joining in the celebration, so when Mya urged them to, they too got caught up in the ritual of the Spring mating dance. As the night wore on the Henu found their mates behind the masks and they quietly retired to their houses in the trees. Margaret and Jake retired to the ship.

A peaceful hush fell over the small Henu planet.

The Henu were home at last!

THE END

*****

Watch for the continuing adventures of the Star Travelers

in the upcoming volume entitled

### The Heirs of Henu

# Author's Note

Thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoyed this adventure in the Star Travelers Series.

Please consider leaving a review on Smashwords to help other readers find the story.

# About The Author

I spent my childhood - dreaming of interesting characters, aliens and other worlds.

The internet, and the kindness of a friend, has made it possible for me to share my worlds with you. Come along. Strap on your breather and your blaster. Write a note to the ones you love and tell them you will keep in touch. We are off on an adventure to explore the worlds beyond our galaxy.

Learn more at

www.TheresaSnyderAuthor.com

