Ipino’s burly wolf was enough to burry Phal and Makhtub twice over with room to spare. It was fortunate for them both that he landed in front of them and not directly on them. That blast had scorched his fur and there were areas under the fur that stung; so, there were likely burns and abrasions. The goddess of war looked favorably on him as nothing had been broken; though he doubted he avoided the bruises.

  Ipino turned wolf eyes on the young whelps that were attempting to prove themselves, the lioness appeared wholly displeased to have not been blown up and Phal seemed uncertain how he felt. There was a scent of failure from both. He sneezed to try and clear the smell. Today they learned that the only failure to be ashamed of is the one where nothing is learned. They underestimated their prey and it nearly cost them their lives.

  Micha was likely to have the words to sooth the pups, but that was not his job. His job was to keep Alpha’s pack as whole as possible. He turned his large head to the building the pups had come from. He had no doubt that Alpha was going to come up with a cleaver way to solve this problem. Somehow it was likely to include the pups.

  Alpha touched the wolf’s side and spoke, but he heard nothing. The explosion had been more dangerous than originally thought. He had also taken more damage than first accounted for. To reassure her, Ipino set his large head into her chest and rumbled. He might have considered changing back, but the energy required was too much to shoulder and Alpha needed the wolf’s nose.

  Alpha’s finger tussled his fur and rubbed his neck, then she lifted his head and she looked into his eyes. A single word flashed across her lips.

  “Shift.”

  His body responded immediate. Everything rearranged to fit his human form once more. Naked, he slumped to the ground with a groan. There was not a single place on his body that was not howling its pain at him. Micha looked him in the eyes and he saw emotions he was not willing to dive into, but he was okay with accepting the deep level of care; as long as it remained nebulous.

  Micha brushed her fingers along the side of his face and smiled sadly. He was able to hear, barely, as something was said. She looked up and nodded. She did something he had had never dreamed of and kissed the side of his mouth, than she stood and marched towards the building.

  He cursed. He was too weak to get up. She had known he was out of power and had forced the shift anyway. Now all he was able to do was watch her walk into danger without him.

  Micha

  Micha stood next to the building that housed their target. She doubted they were still in there, but it had to be investigated on the off chance they were still in there. Next to her was Phal and Makhtub. They were angry for a number of reasons; one of which was that she had followed them. She promised to discuss it once they had secured their targets.

  Down a man, Micha considered backing off. There was, however, the risk of finding a way off the planet. A risk she was not willing to take. Enough damage had been done. Too many hurt for what seemed like nothing. Looking back at the Maahes standing over Ipino’s still form, she hesitated for a heart beat.

  Once that moment passed, she was moving up the stairs. “This your hunt,” she declared. “Consider me a little extra oomph to get the job done. We cannot allow this to continue or for them to get away.”

  Security met them at the door. First thing Micha noted was the guards were not native to Centurion Prime. That likely meant this was a diplomatic depot. Not that that mattered, because she was a large dose of ‘move the *&#@ over’ and she was ready to dish it out. There was a limit to excuses.

  “I’m afraid,” one guard held out his hands. “You’ll have to leave.”

  Micha looked at the two with her and arched a brow. Makhtub was the first to respond. “Your clients have violated the treatise and endangered lives they will be taken into custody. You can assist us or join them. It matters little to me.”

  “You cannot prove that anyone in this building did anything to you or anyone.”

  “Actually,” Phal stated. “That is not true. Alpha Bailey has the evidence that the bomb was given to us directly, but that is a discussion for Duke Rthalmanon and Lord Bheers.”

  “If they attempt to flee a hunt will be called that will not end well for your clients,” Makhtub stated. “Never mind the fallout for this hotel.”

  With nothing further to say the trio moved on at a quick jog and got lucky. The very people they were looking for were just leaving the elevator. Spotting the trio’s approach, they attempted to get away and failed miserably. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that Phal enjoyed a little payback and so did his lioness.

  “Get off me,” Duke Glahs Rthalmanon growled imperiously. “You cannot touch me. I am protected by the emperor.”

  “You should have thought of that before handing us a bomb and wounding many,” Phal snapped.

  “I have no idea what you mean,” the duke sneered.

  Micha dangled the remains of the keycard in front of the duke. It was obvious what it was and was still legible enough to see where it came from. The duke had the gall to look bored. Not that it mattered. Micha’s smile was deadly sharp.

  “Welcome to hell. As we speak you ship has been boarded and is being searched. We both know for what. Why is between you and the emperor.”

  Lord Aphram Bheers was whole confused about what was going on. He had been doing business as he normally did, when he ran into the duke. Because the duke is higher in rank Aphram essentially had to do what he was told. When the duke insisted on leaving, he had had a bad feeling turn into an alarm bell.

  That woman stated that she was searching the duke’s ship, but everything… “just what did the duke transfer to my ship?” he muttered.

  “Be quiet,” the duke sneered. “They have nothing.”

  Phal shifted the duke to his other side and considered the lord. It took a moment but he reeled back the memory of Lord Bheers muttering. Looking at his two companions he spoke. “I need to examine a memory it will leave me vulnerable.”

  Micha nodded and gripped the dukes bound arm firmly. She had had no idea of his skills, but was enjoying teaching this young man the ol’ fashion way. The duke was glaring furiously at Lord Bheers. Phal staggered back into reality.

  “They won’t find anything on the duke’s ships. My guess is he bullied the lord into storing all his merchandise aboard the Lord’s ship. Lord Bheers was just muttering about wanting to know what he had been dragged to.”

  Micha kept hold of the duke. “What do you want to do with this knowledge?”

  “Take Lord Bheers to his ship with the others and strip it to find what the duke is hiding.”

  “Go, but remember what you are looking for is dangerous. Also, the duke thought to blow you up.”

  Leading Rthalmanon outside, she spotted Desohta tending to his brother and Medic was seeing to everyone that had been in the square when the bomb went off. Gawd, she was a sap. Here she was thinking she had the best team. Almost lost her grip on the suddenly struggling duke.

  “Heads up,” Micha called out as she shoved the duke at the shifter brothers. “Ipino make sure you have his scent he suddenly decided to struggle on our way over here.”

  Ipino grabbed the man by the front of his expensive silk shirt and hauled him so close they could have kiss. He began scenting the man’s throat, side of the face and hair.

  “She said to be thorough,” Desohta pointed out.

  “Then you smell his junk.”

  “Sure,” Desohta began shifting by removing his shirt. When the shift hit him, it was so rapid it was almost instant. When they had been learning to do partial shifts, she had had them learn to lean of specific abilities gained in an attempt to draw max use of the ability. In this instance the fuller the muzzle in a shift the stronger the sense of smell.

  Shifted fingers reached for his shirt and found and incision that was healing poorly; the smell of rot impossible to miss. The healer in him examined the site of the wound. Calculating possibilities and dismissing all but one. Someone with no experience cut a pocket into the muscle, set something in it then stitched it closed. Whatever it was, was likely the cause of the tissue breaking down.

  “That there is killing you. Whatever you are hiding, is it worth your life?”

  “I do not know of what you speak. That was a knife wound, nothing more.”

  “With that amount of necrotic flesh? You have been done a great disservice…you failed to tell them what was causing this dying flesh. If you are waiting for the emperor to save you, don’t bother. He is restructuring the noble houses. Already executed two houses because they betrayed him.

  “We both know,” Desohta pointed at his brother. “That your sins are just as legion.”

  “You know nothing,” the duke snarled and his body began to seize. The look of horror on the man’s face spoke to there being more than had been said.

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  “Save my daughter’s life and I will tell you everything.”

  Desohta had already shifted back to human form and was setting up to do what needed to be done. He lay the duke down and applied a numbing agent; as soon as there was no sensation he began by opening the cut and found a vial as thick as a slender woman’s pinky finger. Inside were the parasites they were looking for.

  He was going to have ‘some splainin to do,’ whoever had done this thought the duke disposable. The amount of debriding was extensive. He was grateful when Medic joined him. The wolf shifter gave the healer a full rundown on what he had found.

  It had taken two hours and several reapplications of the numbing agent to get the wound clean. The stitched and packed wound was as good as they were able.

  “I leave you alone for five…” Micha snickered until she was shown the vial full of little white grubs. “Speak,”

  Deshota filled her in on everything he had discovered and the attempt to save the duke. He pointed to two piles of debrided skin. Micha was clearly ready to murder someone, if the pretty little pout was something to go by.

  “The duke swore if we saved his daughter, he’d tell us everything,” Ipino added.

  “What do you think?” Micha wondered.

  “I think the duke said no to the wrong person and they got back at him.”

  “Take him back to my ship. Lock him in the spare bedroom until I get there. Its better they think his in bad shape. Let us,” her smile wicked. “See what we can catch.”

  Together, the patient between them, the brothers made it back in record time. Each time her enhanced sense of smell kicked in her system filled with hormones that were risky out in the field. Medic was constantly teasing her about her newly awaken appetites. Sadly, she was starting to agree. As a temporary measure Medic had taught her how to compartmentalize the unwanted sensations until she was able to deal with them safely. He also taught her two pressure points to get her through and mentioned a wise teacher who was better able to help her regain control.

  With a press of one of those pressure points, she walked up to a total stranger and stated. “I need to speak with the leader of the Guardian Force.”

  The Maahes and Miysis that were around her all shuffled their feet; uncomfortably. This must be either a powerful hunter or a total nincompoop. That was kind of exciting. Because the damage had been to their pride, she was likely going to include them in delivery of the noble back to the emperor.

  “The…um,” Miysis began. “The Maahes that protected you from the wall…”

  That had been a huge Maahes.

  “Where was he taken?”

  “He was taken by the healer with pearl scales,” another Maahes explained.

  “Thank you,” Micha started back towards the ship that currently housed all the people she had to see.

  The Maahes she was looking for sat cautiously on the bed as Medic checked him over. She watched the healer tend to each cut as efficiently as always. Yet the Maahes’ manner was what these people expected; gruff and almost a staggering amount of ‘I did not die this day.’ Guess they never got the memo that Klingons were a fantasy race. She wondered if these people would appreciate a good glass of blood wine?

  “Ever had a mug of blood wine?” Micha wondered aloud.

  “Beg your pardon,” the giant Maahes queried. “Were you speaking to me?”

  “I was, yes,” she looked him in the eyes. “It’s made like any wine. I believe that it’s called blood wine because of its deep red colour. I have a recipe and I am told that Centurion is the center of wine trade…but I am getting off topic,” Micha gave a slow shake of the head.

  “For an alpha you are quite small, but you proved more tenacious than I.”

  Micha shrugged. “Might not have shrugged it off if you had not been my buffer. I am Alpha Micha Bailey,” she held out her arm in greeting.

  The warrior clasped Micha’s forearm warmly. “Rakib-Janah

  Malik.

  It is my pleasure to assist you.”

  “Then I have been hunting and my prey was caught, but my prey made itself known to all. Since Centurion Prime was damaged in the hunt, I am offering the guardians the right to join us in facing the emperor.”

  “Agreed, then your healer will be able to ensure I rest,” the words appeared to leave a bad taste in his mouth. With a flick of a finger, he grinned impishly. “We can discuss this blood wine of yours,” he slid off the bed. “Let’s gather our hunters.”

  “First, I had two untested with me. Time to see if it counted.” Micha looked up with clear understanding in her eyes. “The name you gave me, is that how you wish to be greeted?”

  “That name is how I am known.”

  As they made their way to her quarters, she hoped someone there knew where the young pair had gotten to. As the door slid open, she was greeted by Phal. His exuberance was infectious. It had Micha grinning like a fool.

  The young Miysis was regaling everyone with the telling of the hunt and seeing Micha arrive with a guardian spurred the telling once again from the beginning. Phal stood by Micha as he watched.

  “Is it normal for outsiders to be given a true name?”

  Micha looked at the young man beside her and considered her words. “Theirs is not the only culture that believes in true names.”

  Looking pensive, he gave a nod. “We discussed her true name and she decided not to share it with everyone if she is to fight by my side. She asked me to pick a name. I don't know…”

  Micha smiled. “How does she make you feel? What instincts are stirred to life?”

  “I feel like my heart is overflowing. The gift my father gave me was valor he said I would know when to use it. It spurred to life with the first insult tossed at her.”

  “Than what about valorous heart overflowing?” Micha tilted her head. “Than you are always telling her what she does and means to you.”

  Phal nodded solemnly. “I like that.”

  “Qalb Shuja' Malyan,” Micha suggested.

  “Mine is Dam Al-hayat Al-shuja.

  They almost sound the same.”

  “Tell her we are leaving to finish the hunt and will return. That this is her opportunity to decide how serious she is about staying with you…unless you chose to stay?”

  “I told her I was leaving when you did. She is prepared to journey with me.”

  “Makil,” Micha called out. “Need to get your warriors so we can go.”

  Three days later

  Micha stood in the unused Nobles lounge and stared out at deep space. She was certain that somewhere there was someone looking at their galaxy and wondering what kind of life it hosted. It made her wonder what that person might see. She gave a soft laugh at such a notion.

  She was enjoying the silence. Her onship quarters was bursting with people wanting to be regaled by Qalb Shuja' Malyan, who also answers to just Shuja’. She was not lying about sticking with him. The first day out in deep space, he rose for his training and left her sleeping a few feet away. To say she was angry was an understatement.

  Phal promised that he was going to wake her if she was not up.

  Training two was no more complicated than one. So, Micha trained them on weapons neither knew so that they stood at the same start. It proved a wise choice as it allowed Phal to guide his lioness the way she wanted and both were able to improve at a reasonably slow pace.

  She had had to go slow once. The bow Renden had given her was far longer on the top than on the bottom. The weapon held runes that empowered the bow. She must have practiced until her fingers bled and she thought her arm was going to fall off. He had stuck with her, teaching her to not only shoot but shoot from different positions. It was good to remember the man who had gotten her to the place she was at now.

  At the moment they were both shooting the exact same bow. The targeting room was not going to allow rigorous training, but at least it was a start.

  Checking the timer, she moved to the locker and withdrew two rifles; the shotgun and assault rifle. She joined them at the firing line.

  “How are your fingers?”

  “alright, alpha,” Phal supplied.

  She motioned for him to show her. Seeing the forming blisters, she told the pair to grab a pair of gloves each. “It won’t stop the pain but will help.”

  Once they were back, she lifted the shotgun. “This is the SR 3080-C. It holds two rounds without a clip; with a clip the amount varies, but usually settles around twelve to fifteen rounds per clip. It is a mid range rifle that means there is a distance that is best for this rifle and that is zero ft to three hundred and fifty. The sweet spot is around the one hundred feet range. That is where the target is close enough to do serious damage, but also a chance to hit multiple targets. The closer the target the more damage taken.

  “So why is the sweet spot so far?” Micha mused. “Because this rifle is also known as the Crowd Controller. The sweet spot allows the weapon to shine at its best,” the range began launching multiple target papers at her at the same time. She demonstrated the different ranges before handing the rifle to Phal.

  “How do we stand?”

  “Feet shoulder width apart is the standard. Dominant foot forward. More is added to the base as you improve.”

  “How is it for targeting while moving?” requested Shuja'.

  “Practice and find out,” Micha stated. “You will not always have someone to give the answers,” she picked up the second rifle. “This is MR 4792-B. it is a mid to long range rifle. This rifle requires a clip,” she demonstrated by removing the clip. Snapping it back into place she continued. “Clips come in three sizes: fifteen, forty and one hundred. Its firing range is one hundred feet to fifteen hundred feet. The sweet spot is around five hundred feet. It is designed for targeted and sweeping movements. This particular model does not connect to bionic implants. It relies solely on the skill of the wielder.”

  Once more she demonstrated how to fire the weapon at varying ranges. When she turned to her pupils she smiled. “The assault rifle has a wicked kick. Don’t be surprised when the bruises show.”

  With a sweeping motion she stepped back and monitored their progress. At first there was no progress. When the second was nearly as bad she began contemplating how to ground them in the moment.

  “Phal, for every target that gets passed the four fifty mark it will cost you two minutes of spear training.”

  Phal tensed.

  “Shuja' every target that passed the one hundred mark, Phal is injured and you cannot see him for two minute each.”

  Shuja' scrunched her shoulders up for a moment.

  They started with three hundred targets and though they improved, some got through. Phal missed ninety-six or one hundred and ninety-two minutes and Shuja' missed thirty or sixty minutes.

  She reminded them that that many misses might be the loss of someone life. She talked about the line in the sand that changed the fighting style being used. In the flow of battle, it was not always easy to know when to switch to close range combat. They discussed the results together than Shuja' went to get something to eat to pass the time.

  Phal chose to practice with the knife that Shuja' had given him. As it stood it was last line of defence. Micha worked with him teaching him how to work with the blade instead of against it. Micha enjoyed going back to basics. She loved the way it secured her battle readiness. It was something she strove to teach the next generation of warrior.

  Soaked with sweat, Micha called a break. Reaching the bench, she sat down and sighed. Phal joined her. For a moment they sat in silence. Phal had something he wanted to say. She was willing to wait until he was ready,

  “If you didn’t think we were ready, why send us?”

  Micha remained silent for a short time as she considered her response. “It was never about being ready. If it had been you would not have been given the hunt.”

  “But you followed us, like we were novices.”

  “You were novices,” Micha stated. “Well trained, no doubt, but novices all the same. We were there because it was our job to be. We were the just in case card and I give thanks that we were or we’d not be having the conversation.

  “There will be times that you are supervised regardless of skill level. There will also be times you wish there had been back up in place. That’s unfortunately how life goes. As leader’s it’s our job to minimize the dangers to a reasonable level,” Micha accepted the offered towel and frowned. “Where is Shuja'?”

  “Now that you mention it, it has been more than an hour. Maybe she made a friend?”

  Micha gave Phal a flat look. “I’ll go look for her.”

  Ipino stormed through the training room doors, halted, looked around and dashed over to Micha and Phal. “We’ve got a problem,” Ipino stated with a grim face. “Sean got lose by pretending to be unconscious. Someone went into check instead of contacting the healers. She reached the dinner hall in her mad search for you then Shuja' said she knew where you were and led her away. Now we cannot find them.”

  “We split into two teams you and me and Desohta and Phal. With your partial shift the hunt will go faster,” Micha looked at Phal. “Do not allow her to rob you of who you are.”

  Wing rider

  King or ruler

  Valorous heart overflowing

  Valorous life’s blood