Children of Steel

by John Van Stry

  "Bad hell!" Came Gabe's voice from the doorway. We all turned and saw him and Karen standing there smiling. "He damn near got killed, and not just once, but twice."

  "Well I said it was a bad day! Anyway I'm not sure that the first one really counts, after all I wasn't hurt that bad."

  "Why don't you just tell us what happened and let me be the judge of that?" Asked Kathy with a look of concern.

  "Sure," I started, while Gabe and Karen grabbed some coffee and sat down themselves. "The first time that day, I got shot down. The shuttle I was bringing in took a near miss from a radar guided missile and was pretty badly damaged. There was no way I could bail out, so I had to make a crash landing in a field. Anyway I was pretty lucky and didn't get hurt too badly, mostly just sprains and bruises."

  "And what was the second time?" Kathy wanted to know.

  "The second time was at the parley for terms with their command staff. They decided that they weren't going to accept our terms, which would probably have meant their hanging anyway, and started shooting." I smiled as I remembered that part, "I shot their leader right between the eyes! And got the second in command as well, but I got pretty well shot up myself."

  "He almost bled to death before they could get him out of there," supplied Gabe. "But he saved the Captain's life, and that made a big impression."

  "With the Captain at least," I laughed. "Can't say I'd like to do that again though. Three days in a coma is not my idea of a good time."

  "You were in a coma how long?" asked Kathy surprised.

  "Three days. But then they did have to do a little work, so it may be they kept me under a little longer than I would have been."

  "I don't think I want to know what 'a little work' is!"

  "Well to be honest with you, it was worth it just to kill that bastard!" Kathy, Karen and Terry all flinched at the anger in my voice.

  "Was it really that bad?" asked Karen.

  "Worse," answered Dave, "and Raj lost a brother there too."

  The girls were all shocked at that, so Dave and Gabe told them the whole story. I filled in a few parts, like my escapade at the hospital with Dr. Crenshaw, and I told them that I heard since that my sister was making a full recovery.

  When they had heard the complete story, they were all quiet for a while. I guess the idea of all out combat was a little new to them, I know at the time it was pretty new to me too. I decided to change the subject; it was getting a little too heavy emotionally in here anyway.

  "I see you still have the ring I got you," I said to Kathy as she poured me some more coffee.

  She smiled shyly, "I've gotten quite a few comments on it too. It seems everybody’s guessed just who gave it to me."

  "What about your father?" I asked concerned, after all I didn't want to get her into trouble.

  She snickered, "He started trying to make trouble for me a few months ago, so I tracked down my mother and got my guardianship transferred to her, something I learned about at school. She was more than glad to help, being totally fed up with my dad. Then I had her help me get declared an emancipated minor, not too hard as I was almost legal age at the time anyway."

  "So he can't cause you anymore trouble then?"

  "Nope, and he tried too." she blushed, quite prettily too I might add. "You see, I sent him your picture and told him just how I got the ring in a fit of anger."

  I laughed at that, I could just imagine this faceless man who I had never met, going ballistic over the whole thing. "How much did you tell him?" I asked still laughing.

  "Oh, quite a bit," she replied smiling, "and then I made up a whole bunch more too! Like that you were making me work as a whore in the city, and I was pregnant with your child!" she started laughing then herself.

  I was laughing pretty hard too, and so was everybody else at that point. If he believed that last part, he was really pretty stupid.

  "What's with the whore part?" I asked after we had slowed down a bit, "I didn't even think there were any on this planet."

  "Oh, my dad believes that there are all right. He also believes that all animen are pimps at heart, and that you all lust after human women at every chance!"

  That started us all laughing again; the idea of anybody paying for what was freely available was pretty funny. As for the second part, while some human women were pretty attractive, it seemed that most of the lusting ran in the other direction. It's funny some of the things that people are willing to believe about others. I had to wonder though if I was guilty of the same things myself?

  We decided to get dressed then, and head down to the corner Cafe for breakfast. Actually it was more like lunch now, I though as I looked at the time. I helped Kathy pick up the blankets and pillows, and then waited while she dressed, I just had a pair of shorts, so dressing was a matter of seconds for me.

  Down at the cafe, we grabbed a table by the window and ordered as soon as the waitress came along. I realized how hungry I was and ordered a huge breakfast; both Dave and Gabe did the same. Even the girls had healthy appetites; I guess it had been an active night for all of us.

  We watched the people on the street walk by as we waited for our food to come. It was interesting to watch how they behaved as they passed out front on the side walk. The girls started trying to predict what each of the passerby’s did for a living based on the way they were dressed. It was getting close to the lunch rush, being a workday for most people, and it was interesting to watch the people all dressed up for a day of business.

  "You're not going to be late for classes, are you?" I asked Kathy.

  "I've already missed the one class I have today, so don't worry about it Raj, I'll make it up later."

  "What about you two?" I asked Karen and Terry.

  "Hey, we're senior's now!" said Terry with a grin, "We don't have classes on Fridays anymore. Actually we're graduating in two months, so things are getting easy about now."

  "Really," said Gabe, "I hadn't realized you were that close."

  "Didn't you two talk at all last night?" asked Dave sarcastically.

  "Oh we talked," said Gabe smiling as Karen blushed, "but not in English."

  We all laughed at that one and Karen blushed even deeper, even Gabe looked a little embarrassed after a couple of seconds. I think Dave was right, there was something going on between them. It made me feel kind of sorry for the two of them though, after all, not only were they of different races, but Gabe had a pretty substantial obligation to the company yet and wouldn't be free of that for a long time. Our food came shortly after that, and everybody was quiet as we ate.

  After we had finished breakfast, everybody walked outside and we wandered around town for an hour or two with no particular goal in mind.

  "I hate to say this," I said, "but after being on ship so long with the same people all the time, it's good not to see most of their faces for awhile!"

  "I'll second that!" Declared Dave laughing, "Now if I can just get away from you two, I'll have it made!"

  "So what do you all feel like doing?" asked Terry, pointedly ignoring Dave's quip.

  "I kind of agree with Raj," said Gabe. "I really don't feel like setting foot on company ground for a couple of days at least. Other than that, I guess it's up to you ladies."

  "Well then, how about going to my folks' place?" asked Karen smiling, "Raj and Kathy haven't been there yet, and I think the rest of you enjoyed it last time. So how about it?" she looked around at the rest of us for our reactions.

  I turned to Kathy, "How about it? You want to go check it out?"

  "Sure, why not?" she turned back to Karen, "Sounds okay to us."

  "Us too," said Dave and Terry.

  "Fine, let's head back to the apartment and grab some things first. Then we'll grab a Heli-Taxi or something."

  "I need to run by my dorm and grab a few things," said Kathy. "So we'll meet you there." She grabbed my arm, and we all agreed to meet back at the apartment in an hour.

  "Aren't you afraid people will find out your
little secret?" I teased as we headed for the school's campus.

  "Not since I don't have to worry about my dad anymore," she admitted. "Anyway, I found out it's not such a big thing with most people. As for the others," she smiled, "screw 'em if they can't take a joke."

  I had to laugh at that, "You know on Lyceum we could do it in the hallway of your dorm, and nobody'd say a word. Unless we were blocking the hall of course!"

  She looked at me shocked, "You're kidding!"

  "Nope, I had always thought Leopards were kind of easy going when it came to sex, but after being there I think we're pretty straight laced."

  "Why's that?"

  "I never saw things like group sex, or some of the combinations I ran into there. And everybody's so open about it too."

  "I had heard that it was a pretty wild place," she replied in disbelief, "but in the hallway?"

  "Well it was late, but I did have to step over them."

  She shook her head in disbelief at that. It was a little hard to believe, I admit. If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it myself, especially among humans, who often seem terribly hung up about their bodies.

  17

  We decided to grab a Taxi to save time, getting dropped off at the west end of the Campus, just inside the grounds. We walked to her dorm from there as it was pretty close.

  There really weren't too many people about; a few of those who were however did watch me a little closely. I found I really didn't care for it either.

  "What's the matter with them?" I asked Kathy, "Aren't there any animen students on campus at all?"

  "Not really," she admitted uncomfortably. "This is a Liberal Arts college, and most animen don't seem to have an interest in those kinds of curriculum."

  "I can understand that a little, but what about the law school? I'd think there'd be a lot of interest there."

  "Uh, well to tell you the truth Raj, remember how animen can't sue here?" She asked embarrassed.

  "Yeah, it's like that a lot of places, why?"

  "Well they're not allowed to practice law either." she said quietly.

  "Oh," was about all I could think of to say to that. Ah well, who ever said life was fair anyway? And why should I care, I wasn't about to apply, law was something that humans did anyway. But I did give Kathy a hug the next time somebody stared at us, and then turned and gave them a big toothy grin.

  "What was that for?" asked Kathy after the hug.

  "Oh nothing," I said looking innocently around, "just enjoying the company."

  We made it to her room without incident; it was on the second floor about halfway down the hall. She unlocked the door, opened it a crack and called in, "Meg, you better be decent, I have company."

  "That's okay, I don't mind," I said to Kathy with a smirk.

  "That goes without saying," she laughed. "You guys are all the same, it's Meg I'm warning, not you!"

  I heard a bit of rustling from inside, a giggle or two, and some heavy breathing. "I don't think Meg is alone," I whispered to Kathy.

  "Oh? I don't hear anybody.

  "Trust me," I grinned pointing to my ears, "I know."

  "Let's find out," she said giving me an evil grin and walked in. "Ready or not we're coming in!"

  I followed her inside. The room was roughly a ten by twenty cubicle, with two beds and two desks on opposite sides. There were also two closets that we passed coming in from the door. It wasn't a really large room, but a lot nicer than what I had on ship and of course it had windows too.

  On the bed there were two people who were quickly doing their best to replace what had obviously only just been removed, namely their clothes. I assumed the female was Meg, the male just didn't look like a Meg to me. The bed was also a bit of a mess, but from the scent in the room, I don't think they had gotten very far when we interrupted.

  They were both looking at Kathy with a guilty expression, which turned to surprise when they noticed me. Or maybe I should say shock? At six three, two hundred and sixty pounds now that I had reached my full growth I think I was an impressive sight, at least I hoped so.

  "Close your mouth Meg before you start catching flies," Kathy said sarcastically, then continued in an introductory tone. "Meg, Charley, this is Raj. Raj this is Meg and Charley, who've both obviously decided to get an early start on the weekend!" she said the last with a smile.

  Meg was looking me over with interest, I got the impression she hadn't seen too many Leopards. Charley was also looking me over too, though I don't think he was exactly happy about being interrupted. "Hi, sorry to interrupt," I said diplomatically.

  "Hi," said Meg rising from the bed to shake my hand, "I think I met your brother a few months back, I've never seen a Leopard as large as you before. You are a Leopard right?"

  Maybe I was wrong about her not seeing too many Leopards, "Yes I'm a Leopard." I admitted with a smile, "So you met Sunil?"

  "Yes, Kathy and I met him downtown when he was here," she was still arranging her clothes, which seemed to be rebelling at the attempt. She was about five foot five with red hair and fairly attractive as humans go.

  By this time Charley had gotten up, and shook hands too. He was about six foot, maybe two twenty, and looked to be fairly well muscled himself.

  "Hello," was all he said, giving me an extremely strong grip, and I thought a slightly hostile look. I remembered my manners, warned my temper to behave, and just ignored it.

  "We just stopped off to grab a few things," said Kathy as she went to one of the closets. "You two will both be happy to hear that you'll have the place to yourselves for the weekend."

  "I noticed you weren't in class this morning," replied Meg, "so I didn't expect you back till later."

  "That was obvious," said Kathy smiling.

  I sat down on the bed and looked around the room a bit, Meg was over talking to Kathy now and I decided to talk with Charley and see what he had to say. "So what are you studying?" I asked out of curiosity.

  "Physical Education, I'm on the college's football team," he said with obvious pride, "and plan to go into professional sports when I graduate."

  "What's football?" I asked bewildered, I figured it was some kind of sport, but I don't think I had ever heard of it before.

  "You don't know what Football is?" he asked amazed, "Where are you from anyway?"

  "A place on Earth called Brazil, its part of the American Common market."

  "And you don't know what Football is?" he was still surprised; "It's one of the biggest sports in North America. Anyway its a contact sport that involves moving a ball across a field, you score by crossing your opponent's goal line."

  "Oh, you mean Rugby?" I asked, "I played a little of that when I was younger."

  "No, it's like Rugby, only with somewhat more formalized rules, and a lot more hitting."

  I wondered if I should tell him that the reason they didn't let us play Rugby as we got older was that they were afraid of casualties? I know I sent a few to the hospital and was even sent there myself once. But I did recall something of the sport now that I thought about it.

  "I think I may have heard of it once," I admitted. "You can make a living that way?" I continued surprised.

  "Sure, haven't you ever heard of professional sports?"

  "To be honest, no. The only kinds of competitions I've ever engaged in were fighting ones and they don't pay you for that. Unless you count what I've done in some of the Bars." I added the last with a laugh.

  He looked me over with a critical eye, "You fight competition? I've done a lot of that myself, maybe we could go a few rounds some time."

  "I don't think so," I said apologetically.

  "Hey, just because I'm a football player doesn't mean I'll try to really hurt you."

  I had to smile at that, "That's not what I'm worried about, believe me."

  "What, you think you could hurt me?" He looked incredulous at the thought, "You're not that much bigger than me! I've been up against bigger guys on the field, and I've got a
black belt in Karate. Won a few competitions myself too," he finished indignantly.

  "I've got a fourth degree black belt in Kenpo," I replied quietly. "A third degree black belt in Judo, a third degree black belt in Escrima, and ten years experience. You're just not in my class and probably couldn't hurt me. On the other hand, I would hurt you."

  He seemed to get pretty upset at that, I couldn't understand why either. After all, I was made to be stronger and tougher, so I could survive better and save the company the money of replacing personnel constantly. By now the girls had finished talking, and Kathy had finished getting whatever, so they came back over to where we were sitting.

  "You couldn't hurt me," he replied hotly, "I'm probably as tough as you!"

  Kathy spoke up at this point, "Charley, calm down okay? and Raj, quit teasing him." She turned to Charley then, "Charles, he's a combat soldier okay? He's been trained to fight a lot more than you, it's what he does."

  "And I am engineered," I admitted uncomfortably. "So don't take it so personally, okay? It's not like I had a choice in the matter."

  "Oh, alright," he said mellowing, "but I still don't think you're all that tough," he grumbled.

  I was split between just leaving at that point with Kathy, or showing off first. In all honesty I must admit that I enjoy showing up some people whenever possible, and I wanted to show Charley that I could easily beat him. Maybe it was because I was just a second class citizen and wanted to show up my betters. Maybe it was because I was frustrated with the obvious prejudice I had to deal with constantly. Or maybe it was just because I have a really big ego.

  Anyway, Kathy forestalled my decision by grabbing me and leading me out, saying goodbye, and that we'd better be going or we'd be late.

  "I know you can beat Charley with one hand tied behind your back," she said as we headed down the stairs. "So you don't have to go showing off, okay?"

  "Somebody should tell him about making challenging noises to a Leopard," I growled half heartedly. "That's how we determine respect amongst each other."

  "You fight to determine position?" she asked amazed.

  "When we're younger like myself, yes." I noticed the look of shock on her face. "Oh, it's nothing serious, and it’s sort of formalized, nobody usually gets really hurt or anything."