Chapter Two... Anzifar Terse hadn't expected a call on his day off. But an incident, something out of the ordinary, had occured in Boll Forest, Surkindi province. Not far from Ondo territory. From their south-eastern border. What? Fifty-one years from the war's end, and now this? Pulled from his mate and offspring, not knowing if a war fought and won before his own birth would soon revive. Not knowing if... if he would be one of the first to die. But he swallowed his nervousness, his tremble. Stripped from his casual robes and took on his armor. Held up his weapon. And joined the others like him, instructed to engage transport to Boll Forest, Surkindi province. Not told anything about what he was going to meet. Or if he would end up just meat. That thought made his heartrate monitor ting. ------- Poorva Ents also found herself confronting something she hadn't expected to ever encounter. Something thrilling. A sensor-bird had been tracking what were clearly voices, speaking a language unfamiliar. Or at least what sounded like a language. Handclaws shrouded in protectors, she tapped keys on her board, continued passing her data on to her superiors as she directed that sensor-bird, now in her charge. They'd already sent an investigatory force to Boll Forest. Her job - find more information, keep her bird there, a covert beacon. But so far... so frustrating! Her, one of those feeling the pressure, quills on alert. At least she wasn't like Shish Gellen, so overcome she'd been licking her belly as if about to give birth. Useless. But... Poorva couldn't really blame her. What they....... ....... Ahhhhh! There! There! Finally, an image!... a clear image! Of....... She didn't know what. Her quills fell back, no longer threatening to tear her robe. She'd... never seen what she was presently seeing through her sensor-bird's eyes. They were like no animal she'd ever seen. Fascinating! Either a new species or... ... one of the creatures, the big one with the tufted tail, wasn't in her view any more. Only then did she realize her mistake....... ....... Ahhhhh! Her quills floofed again. She'd been so intent, so fascinated by what she was seeing, she'd failed to realize her sensor-bird had been left clearly visible to these... whatever they....... ....... Ahhhhh! The sensoria flowing through her interface wasn't pleasant. Pressure. Confusion. Fright. Sight and hearing, jumbled. But then... ... "Hello!" Poorva's sharp-inhaled breath didn't pass through her interface, thank Ghoz. But her covered claws worked her keyboard in a rush of shocked excitement. Yes, a bit of fear, a slight tremble, but this... these animals were talking! She'd understood... ... "If anybody's on the other end of this thing..." She could see it's mouth move, the one with the feathers covering its... his?... back. Yes, he was speaking "... don't panic. We're sorry if we're unwanted." This creature grinned! "But we swear... we're housebroken, and we don't bite." Poorva realized her mouth was hanging open. Quickly, eyes bright and voice low, she sent her info onward in a continual feed, from the beginning, then took up recording and sending her own narative, her own report on this newest reveal. This monumental... yes, though they looked like nothing she'd ever seen, not like her own kind, they were obviously not animals. Which meant... Yes, ever since she'd been very little, old enough to read, she'd spent many a night reading stories about Other Beings on Other Worlds. Fiction. And now, she was living one of those stories! ------- Anzifar had a desperate need to pee. His armor, designed to handle such a need, but he hated doing such... doing any bodily function while still dressed. But distracted from his need, signaled their destination was in sight, their transport hover soon and swiftly to land. Be prepared! He'd been prepared for the last hour. Well, not in truth. Because he still knew nothing about what he was being sent to encounter. How could he prepare for the unknown? Why had he ever chosen to join the Gell, to submit himself to military service? Because his grandfather had been a soldier in the war. His father, also military, to honor grandpa for what he'd done. So yes, he'd also followed in his own father's footsteps. Dug his own trench. His own hole. Smell of sweet earth, soil between his claws. But this. No, a soldier, trained and equiped, but never a warrior. Never in battle, his blessing. Or curse. What now? Do his duty. He almost didn't notice his bladder release, only the relief a reminder of what he'd just done. A different kind of duty. But, for some reason, this relief flowed through his whole body. Whatever came, he'd do what had to be done. And hopefully return to his family when it ended. Alive. Not in a body bag. The second signal came, and he went. ------- Speculative fiction. Yes, Poorva Ents, a fan-girl. Her reading, inspiration for her career choice. Work with state-of-the-art tech. Interface with a sensor-animal, and play I Spy! This career choice, the most science-fictiony thing she'd found she had the talent for. But now, she'd been contacted by honest to Ghoz aliens! Her! So she poured her heart and soul into her report, hoping, wishing. She'd always wanted to meet a real alien. Even more so, these particular aliens. They'd released her sensor-bird, unharmed. Already in for the penny, she decided to go for the pound. No, she hadn't thought that exact expression, but similar enough, just with different measures. She continued her feed, continued her narative, hopped her sensor-bird all about, for a good, detailed view. Which wasn't difficult, given these creatures seemed to know what she wanted, posed and moved so her bird could... well, they weren't wearing any clothing, and they certainly weren't shy! The male, most especially. And most remarkable! The male was carrying a very small, very young child... infant... under his remarkable spread of feathers. Feathers blood red with blue tips, Bronze, tan and golden cream fur, with black markings, like claw slashes, on hips and shoulders. Bright emerald eyes. Dark green scales on lower forelimbs, lower legs, and tail's underside. And now! Now, he held out the infant... male, she could see... held the child out, presented to her bird, wide-eyed and... ... "My Love, we have guests." Guests? Again, her inhale, sudden and sharp. Her, speechless. What guests? Surprised, but quite intelligent, it only took Poorva a second or two to realize what that meant.......