13 Degrees of Separation (83 page)

“Hurra,
bold words little one. Do you have the strength to back them?” a snow cat
growled.

“I have
some, but others have more,” Blizzard said, indicating the bears and then the
larger cats. “And we have cunning on our side. We are the hunters, not the
prey. We can do this. Hit them back. Hard. They have only so many,” she said
looking at the elder for support.

“She's
right,” the elder said nodding as all eyes turned to her once more. “A ship can
only carry so many. If we can strike them hard enough they will go someplace
else.”

“Ah, so
simple then! Why didn’t the humans think of this?” the snow lion growled,
glaring at the girls.

“These
are but cubs. Do give them some allowance to grow before putting the weight of
the world on their shoulders,” Pyotr said as he laughed.

“I like
him, he's like a great big teddy bear,” Susan said to Cali. The Neos heard and
snorted. The bear roared in laughter.

“We can
help, that is, if you want us,” Susan whispered.

“Or even
if you don’t,” Cali said, eyes glaring about. More than one predator's ears
flattened at that challenging look. “I am not going to let them kill my family
and get away with it.” Cali said as her hands tightened into fists, her
knuckles were white. “I... no. I won't let it stand. I can't. I won't.” She
stammered.

“Nor
should you young one. I will fight with you,” the elder said, her hand on the
girl's shoulder. “I will fight by your side. It is the honorable thing to do.”
The others stared at the elder.

“Are you
mad?” Bengali asked, eyes wide. The elder's neutrality was legendary. She was
an integral part of keeping the Neos alive. He didn't understand all she did,
but he knew it was vital.

“Some
have called me that,” the elder laughed softly. “I've lived a long life. Long
enough. It's time to return to the world, to take it back.” She said, holding
up her free hand then slowly closing it into a fist.

“I'm with
you grandmother,” Blizzard said with a nod. Her mother nodded as well.

“I too,”
Pyotr said chuckling. “If only to get more vodka. The flow of alcohol must
continue.”

“You old
coot, you're just aching for a good fight,” the elder said teasing him.

“True. I
won't deny it,” Pyotr rumbled. He made a theatrical show of stretching and
cracking his knuckles. Seeing long claws from their believed teddy bear made
the girls blink.

“I was
thinking...” the elder said waving to the ship.

“No
seriously? It will never fly!” Pyotr said shaking his head.

“We shall
see,” the elder said simply.

“What do
you intend to do?” a pale lion asked. He had scars running across his face. He
owed the elder for restoring the sight in the eye that he had thought
permanently blinded. He picked at a tooth when she didn't answer right away.

“I think
we'll take the fight to the enemy. All... the... way...” she said pointing
straight up. Their eyes followed her finger as she pointed. They paused and
looked at her in shock and wonder. She nodded at their unspoken question. Their
eyes widened at that. Pyotr grunted and then nodded. Slowly some of the others
did as well.

ACT II

Chapter 4

“Ah the
young,” the elder observed, watching the attack force move through the late
winter storm. The cover of the storm and the night was doing wonders for their
approach. Also the pirates were still thinking that there were few Neos, all
clustered to the north along the ice shelf following the caribou herds. It was
easy to mistake the life signs of a neo for that of a wild non sapient animal.
After all, that was how their ancestors had won the first AI war. “Such
strength and spirit. Fearless, not knowing death yet risking it in this
endeavor. Thinking one is invincible, that death can't touch you. Sometimes I
wonder,” she said out loud as she shook her head. “Sometimes I'm bitter about
losing my youth to the passing of time. You have to have it to get all the
things that need to be done quickly.”

“You
should be back elder, we can't risk you,” Blizzard whispered.

“No,” she
said firmly. She had no intention of being coddled any longer. The only way to
get the others off their backsides was to lead. It was beginning to show, many
were joining the cause. Begrudgingly, entire packs were coming over. The
priestess was training and organizing them with Pyotr.

“But we
can do this,” Blizzard insisted softly.

“You have
hunted, yes my granddaughter. But not with someone as intelligent as you as the
prey, able to strike back hard if they get wind of you,” the elder warned. She
scented the air, muzzle high. “Nice night for an ambush,” she murmured, lips
curved in a feral smile. Her eyes twinkled wickedly.

“But...”
Blizzard said.

“But me
no buts child,” the elder chided gently. “This must be done and done right,”
she said.

“She's
right daughter, drop it,” the priestess said softly. She knew it was something
grandmother called opening night jitters. They all got it when hunting for the
first time. Eager but unproven, scared of failing, of being seen failing by
their fellows. A lot more than just a meal was riding on this.

Then
again, a lot was riding on each hunt, she realized. They took their lives in
their paws each time they hunted the Mammoth, Elk, Near Deer, Caribou, Moose,
Bison, or other prey. A kick, a stumble, anything could cost a hunter their
lives if they weren't careful. Injury in the hunt could prove just as fatal as
well. For an injured member who couldn't keep up with the pack and couldn't
hunt, decisions had to be made. Non contributing members did not stay members
of the pack for long. Sometimes hard decisions had to be made to keep the pack
healthy and strong.

Blizzard
scowled and glanced at Cali, “The human at least,” she said.

“She's
fine,” the elder said, “we may need her to help with clean up. Besides, she
wants blood. She of all of us deserves it.”

“I want
to help. I know the area,” Cali said firmly. “There's a drainage ditch over
there you can use for cover. We used to use it to keep out of sight when we
played here,” she said.

Blizzard
wasn't ready to give up the argument though. “You two could talk to us on those
things. The machines the um... radios...” she said.

Her
grandmother shook her head and her heart sunk. “No. Better to make this look
worse than it is. If they detect the radios it will be very bad.” The elder
replied.

“Oh. What
about the scanners? Is that what you mean?” Blizzard asked, sounding the
strange word out carefully. She'd learned a lot but still had a long way to go.

Her elder
rumbled a sigh. “Sometimes you have to trust in dumb luck and the enemies short
sightedness. They haven’t been attacked, so they get complacent. No resistance.
Let's see...” she mused.

They
watched as the neo on point got into the building, then heard faint human
screams. A few flashes and muffled shots were heard and then echoing silence.
The Neos flick their ears, trying to get a hint of an alarm but finding none.
They could however hear the gurgle of slowly pumping blood and smell the copper
in it. The attackers had done well so far.

After a
moment the point was out of the building and away. He had been carefully
trained and had stripped the dead of weapons and gear. He didn't carry it far
though, just dropped it in the tree line and kept moving. If it wasn't bugged
or traced they would come back for it later. “Ah. Now we watch for a response,”
the elder said. She had a mission, she'd scented something dark and familiar
and planned to do something about it herself.

She moved
quick for her age, across the open ground and swiftly climbing through a
window. She struck silently, ripping the throat out of a man trying to pull his
pants up. She went to rip the throat out of his partner but noted the human was
bound to the bed. The woman on the bed under the dead male started to scream in
terror but the wolf covered her mouth with a bloody hand.

“Silence
if you know what's good for you,” she growled. The girl blinked, eyes rolling
in fear. One eye was nearly swollen shut. She whimpered softly under the hand
paw, tasting the blood.

The wolf
checked carefully. The girl was indeed tied to the bunk. Her vision could
easily pick up details human vision wouldn't in this light. The girl was naked,
battered and bruised. Raped obviously, but the smell and bruises confirmed it.
And to do that to a teenager. “Bastards,” she muttered. She pulled her bush
knife, not trusting her claws for this task. The girl whimpered at the sight of
it, looking away. Carefully she sawed through the ropes holding the girl's
wrists.

The girl
opened her eye and blinked at her, staring in wonder and growing hope. The
elder snorted softly and then regretted it when she got the cloying scent of
blood, piss, and sex in her nose.

“Untie
your feet and get dressed quickly. Grab what you can. We need to move child,
quick,” she whispered, looking around nervously, not liking the quiet. Damn she
was getting old. She heard a scrape and turned. She was about to throw the
knife but caught the wolf scent and checked her throw.

Blizzard
jumped through the window and then went to the open door. She didn't say
anything as she passed the dead human but glanced at the girl. The girl looked
at her and Blizzard held a finger to her lips. The girl nodded scotching back
away from the door. There was a flushing sound and the light went off in the
bathroom adjacent to their room. The elder knelt near the door. She motioned
for the girl to kneel and to remain silent.

The fat
slovenly man came out hitching his trousers, he smelled of alcohol. “My turn
again huh?” he belched, wiping at his greasy goatee with the back of his hand.
“It's a dirty job but I think I can handle it,” he gloated, eyes gleaming.

The elder
drove the bush knife up through the man's balls, into his guts and then yanked
it out just below the sternum. The fat bastard's eyes widened and his hands
clutched at his guts as they fell out. He fell to his knees with a gurgling
scream of anguish. The pain hadn't set in yet but it was about too, he knew. He
felt something in his hair jerking his head up. His eyes rolled up to see
glittering savagery. A single twist and strike across his throat and he went
down forever.

“That's
two,” the elder said wiping her blade on the guy's pant leg. She wrinkled her
nose as his bowels let loose, she'd forgotten that. Blizzard was staring at
her, she turned away after a moment.

Footfalls
quickly approached making Blizzard turn and growl, ears flat. She leapt, but
the man wasn’t where she thought he was. He dodged, pawing at something on his
hip. A gun she realized with a sinking heart.

Hand paws
reached for his throat. There was a shot and she felt heat and pain in her side
as she tore at the man. They twisted, she twisted away from the pain in her
flank as something hit it. Then there was a deafening bellow and the man went
down.

Her ears
were flat to her head, partially dazed. She shook her head, trying to clear the
ringing sound from it. The damn Terran weapons were loud in a confined space!
One hand went to her burning side, feeling warm wetness there. She looked at
the man, he had a gaping hole through his chest. She looked back, the girl the
elder had freed was holding a pistol.

“Thanks,”
she said simply, flicking her ears.

“Yeah.
That woke them up,” the elder said dryly, “lets go child, time to beat feet.”
She took the gun from the girl's shaking hands and then started tossing gear
out the window. The girl clutched at her fur as the elder tried to sooth her.
Blizzard held her side and tried to help.

The elder
turned, quickly sizing up the wounded wolf. She was injured, but from the look
of it not seriously. The bullet had grazed her flank, in and out, probably not
hitting anything vital though the hydrostatic shock might of done some internal
damage. Neos were tough though, designed to recover from most wounds given time
and proper care. She made the assessment quickly and then came to its logical
conclusion. “Get to the rendezvous point child. You're hurt. Go,” the elder
ordered Blizzard. “Take a handful of the gear and go. Pack the wound first to
keep from leaving a trail,” she told her as Blizzard moved.

Blizzard
hit the bathroom, yanking the first aid kit out and packing the wound. She then
tossed the kit out the window and headed for the rendezvous point. The Elder
tossed one jacket over the naked Terran girl and then threw the other man's
parka out, as well as spare clothes. Carefully she helped the girl out the
window to the ground below.

When all
the gear was gone she ripped the bedding off and dribbled a bit of precious
lighter fluid from her pouch and set the mess ablaze with her ancient marine
corps lighter. On the other side of the window the other hunters had gathered
up the gear and moved off to the drop off and rendezvous points.

Cali
waved to them urgently from the tree line. The Elder checked the corner, making
sure it was clear and then moved. She looked over her shoulder and grinned in
savage delight from the tree line as people from the village came running. With
any kind of luck the pirates would think the escaped rape victim did it all and
that the missing gear had either been looted or had burned in the fire. She
turned, fading with the others into the forest.

Chapter 5

Over the
next week they attacked wandering pirates out hunting or chasing other prey.
They tried to make it look like random animal attacks if they couldn't just
make the bodies and scene disappear completely. Cali and the rape victim Moreta
volunteered to play decoy, the offer was turned down. But it did give the elder
a new idea. She used the captured parkas and gear to lure a few pirates to the
tree line to be picked off.