The female eventually caught a scent that she likes and smelled it through another’s nose to command the rest gather around. She made them spread out even though they were cold and wet. Hunger made them want to fill their bellies. Then they picked up the fresh scent. It vanished again and they later picked it up all over again.
Oliver watched, jumping from tree to tree for higher ground, keeping them in sight, but far enough away they couldn’t see, smell or hear him. The downpour and thunder helped cover his leaps.
In another ten minutes the cubs got a fresh clue after finding a heaping scat pile. They smelled it and from Nova’s teachings knew the droppings were no more than fifteen minutes old. She made a small growl and the cubs followed her command to spread out and to stalk. She though sat down and became unnaturally still. She indeed had command of this new generation.
Eventually one of them dropped to their belly after crawling out from beneath some brush very slowly. Through his eyes and sudden stillness he had found a Viper beginning to dig its way for a new place to ambush prey from below. The black snake more than five meters long was too busy to notice being surrounded, but they couldn’t reach the head and they had only a short window before the Viper buried itself. She sent a command to the others and in a surprising move she got up and ran. She pounced around till finding the prey personally and sunk her needle sharp teeth in the end of the tail to elicit a hiss from the Beast, stopping its burrow.
By the time it turned to strike the attacker she was already gone while the others converged and surrounded it. The Viper licked the air with a forked tongue, but the rains had completely disguised the tiny little predators.
When all the cubs surrounded it she crawled out, making it focus on her. It did and quickly. It went to strike and as it did, ten of them attacked its vulnerable and exposed backside. Little teeth and claws opening wounds in tough scales akin to steel. She dodged, yowling in an adorable way it had Oliver standing above them resisting a laugh. The others followed her lead, trying to confused the venomous beast that could potentially swallow them all whole.
It rolled and curled itself to a tree to not be so exposed.
Too anxious for the kill, she roared and sent them all in. Twenty five cubs, including herself pounced out of the storm, but the Viper was ready.
Before four cubs could be swallowed, four of the full grown adults shot into the area and all bit its striking neck. The Viper’s mouth snapped mere millimeters from several startled faces. Together, the adults four pulled in opposing directions and ripped it apart.
Nova slunk out, eyeing his child to deeply growl and berate her in going for the obvious kill it was ready for and would have lost many of her Pride members for being reckless. Little round ears wilted and she dropped in submission. Oliver stayed out of it. This was how Ligers taught. In all hunts, he was in charge. Losing one member of the Pride is unacceptable. She would have sentenced them to their deaths.
When she mewled and he saw she was scolded properly he gave the grunt that had the cubs go over and eat their fill.
Nova gave a look upwards a moment before Oliver went on a hunt of his own. In moments he tracked down a Mole that had gotten dislodges from the heavy rains and before it knew what happened its head was separated from its body. Oliver cut thick steaks and before he was done five Ligers came out of the shadows to finish the rest.
Two more Beasts were found and made prey to satisfy the entire Pride before returning to Collu right where they had left her. A piece of cape material was put to good use in containing the hearty steaks at Oliver’s hip.
“Finished with the hunt? I was informed you left minimal waste. A good hunter never lets a meal spoil. I’m glad you are not a fool.”
“Don’t say that in front of Renee or you’ll hear no end on how she thinks I’m the biggest fool she knows.” He smirked.
“It is a female’s prerogative to slander their biological Match. I do it to mine constantly and we’ve been paired forty seven thousand of human years.”
“Can’t say I’m looking forward to Renee emasculating me for that long, but I am man enough to let it slide. If I hold it against her she’ll be extra obnoxious in that area. Is it inherited for women to be cruel to their men?”
Collu shrugged he slender shoulder and couldn’t hide the merry color change in her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” She said cryptically.
“Well let’s get back to Zaxit before the cub’s go to sleep on their full stomachs.”
“I am ready.”
Flight out of the fierce storm was easier than entering blind. It was so much better getting out of the mess and look upon the grand spires and arches of the flying city made of gold and other lesser colors. They had to avoid several smaller Creelin ships and flying individuals. Otherwise it was a straight shot back up high into the city’s edge. They had to fly around great buildings and through the populated and clean city to locate the large spiral skyscraper towards the central white tower overlooking the whole city.
They came in and landed on the empty lot where three ships and an empty one floated by the upper area of the building. A private landing pad with an attached bridge to access it. The cubs were grateful to get detached from their armored parents and they were growing more tired by the second so Oliver made way directly for the arched door a hundred meters over the bridge.
On the way he glanced over a shoulder without need for the helmet to find the storm about fifteen minutes from reaching Zaxit which didn’t plan to avoid it. If anything it was moving in its direction. Another look went to the shell of the fighter and it’s open canopy to realize it was perfect to retain water. To negate the need to dump it out later he stretched a hand and telekinetically flipped it upside down. Collu didn’t mention anything, understanding the intention quite clearly.
Using the images Netul implanted in his memory Oliver walked through the large arched entrance to find an empty hall complete with evenly spaced silvery doors. Taking a left towards a spiraling stairwell he and all the others ascended another two levels where a drone shaped like a disembodied eyeball dropped from the top of the archway. Bluish lasers scanned as a security blockade because this level and the two floors above were designated for the highest of military rank.
Apparently they were validated as guests for the metallic device the size of a human head flew right back up into its shelf.
The entire floor belonged to Netul, Callier and their guests. Only they weren’t alone as about fifty Creelin men were quickly found sitting around a spacious lounge area after walking down the hallway. Some continued wearing Zeelin armor while others opted for more casual shirts and pants. Heads turned to their arrival and Netul was first to rise from his seat. “I take it the hunt went well despite the strength of the storm?”
“The cubs learned some valuable lessons for sure. Netul, do you mind if I may use some towels to dry them off? I doubt you want your floors to get wet and muddy?”
“Very astute. Enter that door over there. My bathing stalls are not designed for all at once, but they can accommodate the mass of your Pride.”
“Thank you. I’ll be back soon to meet everyone.” He said to the large room watching him with a range of expressions and eye colors.
The barest of nudges had Nova and the others following their master. Collu asked “May I be of any assistance.” And he was sorely grateful. First in a large tub of clean water went four of the dirtiest cubs. In little time they returned their coats to soft white with faded black stripes. It was difficult of the Liger mothers to allow Collu to bathe their young. The only thing holding them back was Nova and his decision that soon the young would eventually be in her care anyway.
The extra pair of hands halved the work.
Still it took two additional hours to rinse the whole lot before they were able to exit. As they did they noticed the storm had reached the city, but no noise has come through, being blocked by Creelin technology. Still the vast spacing of the window was being bombard
ed by the deluge. Collu eventually looked over to the seated group to say “I take my leave, Beyleez Netul. I will make myself available should you have need of me.”
“You have my thanks, Warden Collu. Have a fair evening.” With his dismissal there was a flash of light and she was gone.
Another look showed the individual number in the room had exploded. Now there was roughly five hundred rather than fifty there were before.
To the side it was clear Netul had brought out plush bedding for the feline guests as the Pride was laying atop grooming themselves or the mothers doing the grooming as the tuckered out cubs were taking a nap. Many of the men weren’t alone anymore as their women had also come to join them. Mainly the women were fascinated by the great cats. By their looks some had never seen one before. Still he crossed the room to say “Sorry for being abrupt earlier. Hello everyone, I’m Oliver.”
“Greetings.” Was the majority reply from them all.
Netul arose again, stop talking with Sparky and Rose to say “Oliver, on this side” he gestured with a slender arm that was corded in deceptive muscular strength to the right side of the seated room. “are all of my sons and their Matches who were able to arrive. And these here are my direct daughters.”
Now he understood the division of the two separate groups staring silently at him. “You’ve been busy. Haven’t you.”
The room began making the strange laughing sound Creelin do with their nostrils between their eyes. None were as loud as Netul himself. “Young Ones, meet my dear friend Oliver.”
“He is nicer than the one called Renee. She punched me in the genitals when I told her she couldn’t see the matriarch right away.”
“Be grateful she didn’t kick or you’d be still in fetal position.” Renee piped up as she was right then coming through a sliding silver door. “I told you to get out of my way so I can see my girlfriend. It was your own fault you didn’t take me seriously.” She looked around. “Netul, can you teleport in another chair for me and Olly?”
He closed his eyes and in a moment a large loveseat appeared in a free space and Renee dropped down to kick her feet up on a footstool. Sleeping in the curve of her arm soundly was Isabella.
“What reason did you have to hit him, Renee? We’re the guests here.”
“Callier was having trouble eating air and he was in my way.” She shrugged as if it was self explanatory. “So I punched him in the balls and stepped over him.”
“Is Callier alright?” He asked while sitting down and bringing out the raw steaks from the pouch made from some of the cape.
His question has the room sober up and be attentive. Renee smiled and bit a raw chunk right off before saying “She’s better. I injected her with a new solution after studying how she feeds on air. My solution opened the pores all over her body so she doesn’t need to even breathe anymore. The baby put some serious strain on her diaphragm. My way was faster than their tech that was still calibrating her needs. So now she’s resting comfortably.”
“Thank you for relieving the burden on my Match.”
Renee wiped her bloodied purple lip. “Thank you for giving me her data. Don’t worry, Creelin anatomy will be kept in my total confidence. I’m just glad she’s finally getting some rest. The baby’s size made it hard to breathe in her sleep. Pregnant sleep apnea. She’d gasp for breath. The kid is sucking a lot of O2 her own body needs. So long as the air in your bedroom circulates she’ll have eating easier till eventually the little bastard is squeezed out.”
“Do not be so vulgar.” Someone said.
“Behave yourself, Malleia.” Netul warned his daughter when Renee offered a challenging grin. “Take not offense to Renee Void’s manners. She merely speaks her mind rather than fit into polite society.”
“Hey! Now you’re offending me.” Renee glared at him.
Netul broke out in a laugh. “You are brusque, offensive and a stubborn child, but if anyone took time to see past your nature they will see as I have that you are a wonderful individual who has already earned my respect and has unbending honor in the service of saving others who you know not whom they are and do not care for praise. You are a kind and tender friend who I would not hesitate to give my life for.” Honor was something Creelin society took deadly serious despite being uptight. His declaration had the filled room go silent.
“Good recovery on that fumble, Netul. Apology accepted.” She said and tore off another bite of meat. “You have anything to drink?”
“Would you like to try a Creelin libation?” Netul offered.
“As long as it is Torruk and not Gavalen. Gavalen makes me hallucinate some really weird shit.” She admitted.
This had the room laughing once again. Netul visibly shook so much his thick segments of pseudo-hair rattled. “Not to worry. I will serve chilled Torruk. It is the favorite drink of my people. Humans though make libations into an art form. I’m quite fond of Scotch, but my stock ran out when my sons raided the cache.”
“Father, I never had it before. I was six galaxies away last week and you permitted me to partake along with my brothers.”
Netul playfully waved him off and got to his feet. “Daughters, go distribute glasses around while I gather the drinks.”
In relatively little time everyone got a large glass of drink. The liquid was a dark amber that had hundreds of small bubbly crystals inside. It was a bit strong, but also had a sweet tang that left a pleasant aftertaste. Though Creelin didn’t have mouths to drink they instead were able to stick a finger in heir glasses to absorb the alcohol right to the blood stream. It made getting to know the family much more pleasant. Solarians drank normally.
Socializing turned out to be rather enjoyable. Most asked Oliver and Renee questions about their lives since most didn’t have the clearance to be allowed full access to their achievements like their father and only he had it because of achieving the pinnacle of the Zeelin military rank. Beyleez. Or a six star general. Which is granted, Oliver learned if the individual lived more than eighty thousand years and upheld the highest honor in battle to engage in over five million successful battles. It was difficult to say the least, especially since in all of the hundreds of trillions of Creelin in the universe there were only two thousand active Beyleez. A significant minimal percentage to such a gross immortal population.
Nevertheless, the initial meeting of Netul’s family was pleasant, but not even half their offspring had arrived. They would arrive in two more days for the events.
By nightfall Renee got to her feet. “I had a long day. Netul, where exactly is our room?”
“Next to mine and Callier’s. Before she fell asleep she had me ask my firstborn daughter to move over after you helped ease her struggle. She wants to keep you close in event something occurs.”
Renee looked to the daughter who was to be the Caliiev, or midwife, and she nodded without appearing to be upset. “That’s generous, but I’m not Callier’s Caliiev.”
“Fear not.” The daughter spoke. “My mother’s condition would have been treated moments ago rather than the mere moments it took you to open her pores hours back. I knew a few Solarian healers, but never have I seen your kind so effectively work on our biology and ease her pregnancy before our own medicines could properly aid her.”
“It was really easy. Surely you all ironed out…”
“We have, but you exceed my own abilities as healer after my mother allowed you to study her. Your mind is solely unique and with your Valek, your healing abilities exceed our technology in this area. I willingly permit you to stay close in event of complication, but I will retain my right as Caliiev to bring my brother from the same womb I once grew inside.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“A moment, Renee.” Netul said as she and Oliver went to stand. “Game Warden Collu informed me you discovered the true reason for the… as you call them, Ligers. How?”
“Simple, I was bored and it was a passing thought. I took a sample from Snowball to find she had minimal an
cestry with Olly.” Snowball lifted her head while allowing her cubs to suckle and knead on her swollen teats. “On Earth humans long ago discovered all life there had a common ancestor. Humans shared DNA with birds, snakes and even trees once upon a time before diverting down different evolutionary paths.
“So I thought ‘What about Olly and Nova? Surely they shared some distant parent and should be similar.’ Boy was I surprised when Nova’s alien DNA had minimal comparison to Olly. Too much of a difference to be natural if indeed Ligers and Solarians evolved on the same world however long ago. The extreme differences made me look deeper into Nova’s biology and I discovered genetic marker sequence tampering so carefully done that it would be overlooked as natural if they didn’t have my suspicion or Solarian deductive reasoning.
“They were too smart for an animal. And no species becomes telepathic without first being socially sentient. The Ligers completely did it in reverse so I broke down the genetic strands hundreds at a time to see how they were born. To my astonishment they were made by using an feline original species, but were given neural enhancement that randomly breeds one smarter than average leader among a group of cubs regardless if the pride’s king is the parent or not. So I began wondering why this is and why they are so unnaturally dependant on a master.
“My conclusion is they were living weapons. I’ve seen the connection Nova has to Olly and how Nova is the fulcrum to the rest of the Pride. So then it got me further thinking why the hell did Solarians create Ligers?
“It was a random thought, I’ll admit, but when we were on Meriddia enjoying the sun and surf, I was fascinated how Olly and the whole Pride, cubs too, moved as if they were Olly’s extension. It was a strong and unbreakable connection like I made with Sparky eleven years ago. And yet Sparky is his own person. I can’t take over his mind and control him.” Sparky could only nod. “How could such smart Ligers be used? It was that random thought I said before.
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