Cowboy uses the down time to make sure everyone is rested. Those not off-duty are drilled with CQB training and defensive position combat. The grunt makes sure no one is bored as there is always something do while waiting for the alien horde to attack. Chance favors the prepared.

Cowboy watches the wherren warriors go through their IA drills and CQB training. They've learned a lot in a short amount of time. Not content to rely on their tribal-born combat skills, Cowboy's had them divide up into squads and fireteams of 4 or 8 wherren to learn how to move and fight as teams, not packs, and not individuals.

As Cowboy handles the wherren training, Davis is handing out another part of a complete breakfast - the truth.

Quote:

"Good morning," Hale quips as he's escorted into the comm room. "Thank you for bringing us up here. You know how I enjoy you talking at me, especially when I haven't even had time to finish chewing my breakfast." Shenest rolls her eyes at Hale.

"What are we all doing here?" the shaman asks Davis. "You look angry."

Davis "taps" on the holodisplay for the vox system, and queues up the Sheen video. "I've got something for you all to see," he says, a grim tone to his voice. He nods to Swims-the-Black, motioning him to keep an eye on the Shaman, make sure he doesn't do anything rash. "Watch closely, Hale, Shenest, Shaman. You're about to learn a lot." He flicks his index finger through the play button.

There is confusion at first when the two humans and the shaman see the minutiae of brass casings and the tattered, empty village. Shenest starts making connections almost immediately, but she maintains a scientist's calm. For her, This is a puzzle to be solved, not a war crime. Hale has to be shown a SCAR round before he accepts that they're different from what the Sheen video displays.

The video shows the trinkets found in the pyre and the shaman confirms what Davis had suspected. "They... killed their shaman?"
Swims nods. "Davis called that village. The Imperials have that shaman's vox, his talisman."

"...And.... so they Chose the village, or at least you want us to think that," Shenest says. "It would explain why the village is vacant very nicely." Just about then, the video feed cuts to the mass grave and Shenest shuts up. It's new data for her to take in, and she manages not to show all that much emotion, but the problem is that she can't arrive at a sane conclusion. As for Hale and the shaman, there's as much confusion on Hale's face as there is anger on the shaman's. Amazingly, the shaman does not lash out. His fur coruscates as if on fire, but he does not move.

"Someone tell me why my people are dead," he signs in small, shaking movements.

"They pretended to be Narsai, used copies of our weapons, probably dressed in copies of our clothes, and killed their Shaman, probably their chief and elders," Davis says. "They then came back, told the village they were Chosen, and used that to fill them with rage and lies. When your people arrived, they told them that they were with us, fired a few shots...and let them take care of the rest." Davis looks up at Hale, disgust on his face. "Isn't that right, Hale?"

Hale shoots Davis back a look composed of confusion, victimization, and hate. Like why do you always pick on me? "How the fuck should I know!?" he shouts. "I wasn't there! I don't know why they'd do that! Not to the villagers!"

Davis jumps to his feet. "This is what the Imperium does, Hale! World after world, this is how the story plays out, every single fucking time!" He takes a step forward. "I saw the look in your eyes before, Arketta saw it too. You know this is true, you know this isn't some isolated incident. You know this is what they do. What did you see, Hale?"

"You still think I SAW something?" Hale spits back. "They give you reasons for why you pull your trigger on a crowd, or you make them later when you can't sleep. But even if you don't agree with them, they have reasons. I can't see any reason for this. They're not making an example. They never meant for anyone to see this. They weren't fighting back. They weren't-"

"I do not care for this human's conjecture," the shaman growls. "You have shown what happened to the other village, but I do not yet know why MY people lie dead on wet open ground to be eaten by animals. Why the women and children and parents of the warriors here are dead by wherren hands."

Shenest raises her hands slightly. "I think I do, actually. The wherren from 481 must have learned that your wherren were from 815, and had met you Narsai'i in person. Those villagers were evidence refuting whatever killings these Imperials were trying to put on the Narsai'i. Removing them from the picture is... logical. Logistically. Politically. Possibly also as a test for their indoctrinat-gurk!"

Davis runs over to the Shaman when he wraps his claws around Shenest's neck. Swims joins him in trying to pry the Wherren's big hand off of the Keeper. "Shaman, she has done nothing to your village! Save your anger for those who have wronged you!" He looks at Hale. "Help me get his hands off her!"

Swims was prepared for the shaman to react to the mass grave footage. He thought the shaman was angry, sure - everyone in the comm room could see it - but he didn't know the old wherren could turn it up to eleven. "My people are not some insane test!!!" the shaman wails. Shenest lets out a weak squeal as her eyes bug out. Davis can't budge the wherren. Swims manages to get his fellow alien in a loose hold and pulls him back against the comm console. Shenest and Davis come with them in a chaotic pile. Now, Hale doesn't like Shenest. He knocked out her teeth earlier in the week. However, she's human, and Hale can't stand by while she gets strangled by some alien, even if he's got legitimate grievances. The Rav-Turai lets out a growled curse and, with a surprising competence born from days of observing Davis and the other Homeworlders' equipment, yanks Davis' sidearm from its holster.

"Let her go!" he shouts.

Davis puts himself between Hale and the Shaman, hands in the air. "Hey! Hale, let's not make this any worse than it already is. Enough Wherren have died today, right?"

"We didn't kill your people!" Hale ignores Davis' words, but backs up against the far wall. "It's not us you want! Put her down!"

It could be the gun, it could be Swims-the-Black getting a good hold on the shaman. Whatever the reason, the old wherren drops Shenest to the floor. The Keeper falls forward and is content to cough a bunch. The shaman, on the other hand, is anything but content. He is, however, firmly held by Swims for the moment.

"Mistake!" the shaman cries, unable to fully sign. "Told Hiigra mistake! People alive if you not here!"
Davis doesn't move. Nothing he could say to the Shaman could possibly help what he's feeling right now. What can I say? 'It was for a good cause'? 'They didn't die in vain'?

Swims can't fully articulate either, what with keeping the shaman in a neck seal. "Kill right people. These wrong people. Control yourself. Survive battle. Tell all wherren. Tell all wherren. Revenge through them." The shaman's fur dies a bit, like hot coals instead of a raging fire.

Davis remains facing Hale and the gun. "Swims-the-Black, are we okay back there?"
The shaman growls, "Yes. I okay." Swims starts to let him go and the shaman pushes him off the rest of the way.

"Hale!" Shenest finally manages to choke out. "Thank the Emperor! We can contact-"

"Stay down, Keeper," Hale growls. Shenest is as surprised as anyone.

"What? You can't be-"

"I said stay down! Nobody move!" Hale reiterates.

"Hale, you've seen what happened here," Davis says. "And whatever you had to do before, it's tearing you apart-"

"- and you know what I'm capable of, so don't fuck with me!" Hale shouts.

"You're right," Davis says. "No more games, no more fancy talk, Hale. You know the truth, now. You can see it." He lowers his hands. "I just have one question for you, Hale. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to tell him the truth!" Hale shouts at Davis, indicating the shaman. "You poor naive animals! Don't you get it? Humans lie to you! The Imperium lies to you! Davis lies to you! They're all just using you! Stay the fuck back!" Hale tells the group. His eyes have gone a little wild. "Everybody wants something - your "gods" want slaves, Davis' people want allies - you have to ask yourself what do you want? If you really want freedom, do you really think you'll get it by choosing any side but your own!? You whore yourselves out for the shit my people throw away! Maybe Davis' deal gets you better shit, but you're still whores!"

It probably wasn't Hale's original intention to end up as the crazy man with hostages. He falters a little bit in his monologue before reiterating his threats with another round of "let's point Davis' gun at everyone in turn."

"The only way you can be free is if we - humans - stay out." Hale growls, "Because no matter what anyone tells you, we are the same. We have good people and we have bad people and we have lots of dumbshits in between but the one thing you can count on is this: if it comes down to you or us, we will always pick us." Davis looks to Swims-the-Black when Hale says that. He sees the sting of Hale's truth in his friend's fur, but Swims doesn't waver. "Not always," Swims says. nodding to Davis.

"And how long is he going to live, huh?" Hale asks the shaman. "Is there a world full of Davises who just breed little smart-mouthed grinning altruistic mindfucking bastards!? No! Because we are the same, and we put our Davises where they can't make any trouble! Davis! Look me in the eyes and tell me, after your people come through that Gateway and 'free' Whiirr, and build your fucking schools and hospitals and laboratories, and you block the orbital Gateways so the Imperials can't bomb you... what happens if the wherren want you to leave? Can you truly say that your people would just up and leave their investment?"

Davis can't help but smile. "Trust me, Hale, we just got done with that exact same problem on Narsai. Yes, if the Wherren want us to leave, and they're safe from the Imperium like you said, we will leave them alone. This is not an investment, these are a people." He slowly reaches for his vox. "Let me show you something." He pushes a few buttons, and a holo starts. It's a proclamation from the GRHDI, approved by their subcommittee on civil rights for sentient xenoforms. It's in whiirrsign and Imperial audio with English subtitles, and proclaims that all wherren either on their homeworld or in Imperial territories are recognized as free under the United Nations. "This is what we're doing. As far as we're concerned, they can do whatever they want. This isn't about getting resources or investing in soldiers, Hale. We're setting them free."

Hale shakes his head. "I believe you, the problem is that unless you are Emperor of Narsai there are a lot of people who I don't believe. Fuck," he curses, "I just wanted you to drop Shenest," he says to the shaman. "Why did you bring me up here, anyway? Why show me that video feed?" Hale asks Davis next.

"Because it was something you needed to see," Davis says. "Just like Shenest and the Shaman needed to see it. It's something everyone needs to see. But you should see it before the people down there do, so you can decide what to do when that happens. Because Hale, you can help us. They don't trust me, but they will listen to you. And when the fuckers that are out there come here, you can help us defend them. You may not think of them as your people anymore, but they're still people, and we're willing to lay our lives down defending them. What about you?"

"I'm on my own side now," Hale states.

Davis smiles. "Okay then, Hale. You're still stuck here with us for the next...four days. How about working with us until we can get you out of here, and then you can decide what to do then?"

"Yeah, okay," Hale says, clearly running through his meager options in his head. Can't survive on Whiirr alone. Can't fight everyone. Prisoners don't trust me.

"And if we follow through on our promises to the Wherren, would you consider working with us after this?" Davis asks.

"I want your word - the same word you gave the wherren - that I'm released as of now. Nobody's going to attack me, and I have free run of the camp. If something happens to me, the wherren will know you don't have the power to follow through on your promises to them."

"Sure," Davis says. "I mean, you're responsible for whatever it is that you do, but yeah, you want to take care of yourself, you can take care of yourself. I'll even get you your armor and weapons. Is it okay if we still look out for you as part of the camp itself?" he asks with a grin.

"I've got your word?" Hale confirms.

"You have my word, Hale," Davis says. "You want it, you got it."

Hale visibly relaxes. He puts Davis' sidearm down on the comm console and heads for the stairwell door. Swims gives Davis a look like are we really letting him go?

Davis shrugs. "Oh, Hale? You want your armor before or after we have the big showing for the rest of the camp? We could really use your help there."

Hale looks at Davis. "It's not my armor."

Davis nods. "It's dangerous out there. You want one of ours?"

"I'll be fine. You gave your word." Hale walks out.

---

"Well, can I have his armor?" Shenest asks.

After Shenest leaves and the shaman calms down a bit, Davis decides it's best to tell Hiigra the bad news now and be up-front with the chief. So, with a cautious smile to his two wherren friends, Davis calls up Hiigra. He taps his fingers on the console nervously as he waits for Hiigra to pick up.

The holo flickers and jumps, showing a closeup of Hiigra's face peering at the tiny Imperial doodad. When Davis appears in turn, the chief pulls the vox back from his face, startled. "We are still on our way to the neighbors of our neighbors, so I have little news for you. They... might be more difficult to convince at first, but it matters little. We can come back later with other chiefs if these say no."

"Hiigra, you should take a seat," Davis says. "We have news from the group you sent to the south."

"Ah... that has an ominous tone to it. What has happened?" Hiigra asks.

Davis starts and stops a few times before he manages to get it out. "The Imperials got there before they arrived. They have convinced the villagers there that we are blasphemous, and that your villagers are evil." Davis swallows hard. "They're dead, Hiigra. The Imperials ordered them to kill them all. A few are unaccounted for, but we've only encountered one."

"RAAAAGH!" The holo feed blurs with motion. Davis can make out tree branches before there's a wooden thok and the feed cuts out. A few minutes stretch into a few more, but the (now scratchy and static) holofeed resumes. "Tell me, Davis, what are you going to do about this?"

"Kill the bastards," Davis says. It feels good to say it. "We have an emplaced position, and we know they're coming here. We will wait here, and when they come, we will kill them all."

Hiigra sits, the vox held idly in his hand. "I am too far north to return, and would only be bringing more elders, women, and children to be slaughtered. How can I continue, though? Even now I question the wisdom of this, although I have no choice. They are gone."

The shaman moves up from beside Davis. "Long have you heeded my counsel, Hiigra. Your tribe has given much to these Narsai-tribespeople, and much has been taken. The first night they arrived, I was convinced they would bring ruin from the false gods... and they have. But you were the one who told me that what they offer is greater than the cost. You must continue your quest, or we have given all of this in vain."

Hiigra growls, trapped, set on the only course of action available to him. "Very well. I have failed my tribe, but I may yet save my people."

Davis slams his hand down on the table. "No! Hiigra, you have failed no one. No one could have known that they were walking into a trap. You have done everything you could to protect your tribe. If you are looking for someone to blame, blame the Imperial bastards who treat your people as expendable, but do not blame yourself. As for saving your people, that is why you must continue. What happened here is but a taste of what life is like for your kind off-world. They are counting on you and me to strike a blow that they cannot, Hiigra. Defeating the Imperium here is but the first step towards freedom for all Wherren."

"Send me your ghost-pictures, so that I may decide if they can help or hinder my arguments to the neighboring chiefs."

"Done," Davis says, and starts the upload. "They used their 'godhood' to influence them with lies. I cannot think of a more powerful argument against the Imperium's false religion."

Hiigra nods. "I have a long way to travel, and many thoughts to consider. I will leave you now-"

"Wait, please, chief," Swims interrupts. "Davis must tell your warriors here at camp what the Imperium has done, and he would rather us all not have to debase ourselves with the murder of innocents. What I am trying to say, Hiigra, is that we fear rabid chaos here when the warriors learn what has happened. If you could record a message for them, something advocating patience...?"

"Saving their rage for those who deserve it," Davis adds.

Hiigra humphs., but needs no further prompting. "Warriors! Braves! Davis has shown you what our enemies are capable of, but do not attack those humans you have in captivity. They are weak, toothless, soft things not worthy of your spears. Save your energy for our real foes, and to them, I say show the same mercies they showed our people! Kill them all, and leave them where they fall so their broken bones and empty shells show what happens when warriors need their gods no longer!"

"Thank you, Hiigra," Davis says. "Stay safe, and we will tell you when we have avenged the deaths of your people."

"Happy hunting," Hiigra says, and voxes off.

Davis looks over to Swims and the Shaman. "Well, I suppose we should get ready to start that riot," he says.

It's just before lunch by the time the team gets their plan together for telling the camp what happened to the 815 villagers. The wherren easily go along and form up by squad in the clearing that was once the manta landing field and is now the firing range. The Imperials are a little nervous when they're led outside and told to group up next to the dome alongside three dozen hairy aliens. Except for Cowboy, who remains on guard in one of the northern foxholes, and Hale, who's disappeared into the underground bunker with a week's worth of autochef food and a desire to be left alone, the team stands guard around the Imperial prisoners. Semo and Zaef are directly between the wherren and the prisoners, and it's clear they're there for the prisoners' protection. Angel climbs up on some of the crates stacked up around Hab Three, while Davis and the shaman climb onto crates that serve as podiums.

It's clear something different is in store today, and it's written in the shaman's fur and movements that it's not rainbows and sunshine.

Luis is as nervous as the Wherren or the prisoners, though he has some idea of what's coming. That's what's scary, he thinks. Davis, work your magic. All the same, he's keeping a hand near the kauka.

Zaef is currently in the unenviable position of standing directly between the prisoners and the wherren. He's sure that there will be some commotion. He just hopes it's not a big one; Zaef has gotten along with most of the wherren here, and while he's pretty pissed at the slaughter, he knows that killing the prisoners won't help. Killing never helps, no matter how cathartic it might sometimes feel.

(this space reserved for Hugh's possible thoughts)

Davis looks over the Imperials. The six surviving Turai have unconsciously moved to the outside of the group of Keepers and orbital survivors. They're not looking to Davis and the shaman so much as watching the humans guarding them and the wherren who shuffle nervously in anticipation on the other side of the 10-15 feet separating the two groups.

Zaef considers how many times he's had to cross 15 feet to kill a gunman with his sword. As he recalls, he's done it quite a number of times.

Davis rubs his hands together and addresses the crowd. "We received a video that I think you all need to see. It's about the group of women, children and elders that Hiigra, the chief of this Wherren tribe, sent south of here to find a safe shelter while we build the gateway. Please, think before you do anything in reaction this, and that goes for both Imperials and Wherren here." The shaman doesn't add to Davis' introduction; instead, he translates into whiirsign so that Davis can speak in Imperial. It's clearly uncomfortable for him, but it gives him something to do besides stand there and relive it again.

Once the Shaman finishes, Davis taps on the screen of his vox, which is hooked into the large holoprojector from the recreation area, and starts the video. He puts his hand on the Shaman's shoulder for support, and watches the crowd, trying to gauge the reactions of the Turai, the Keepers, the Wherren, and most of all, the orbital survivors. He has a feeling that watching a similar atrocity to the one they survived committed by their own people will hit closer than they expect.

Davis sees confusion from just about everyone at first. That's to be expected. There's murmurs from the wherren first, starting with the squad that recently lost people to the surprise attack in the jungle, upon seeing the evidence that 481's shaman was killed. Most of the Imperials take the first section of the video in stride. Their confusion stems more from the time spent debating brass casings rather than the reasons why their people would deem it necessary to kill wherren. Shenest is as a stone, but she hardly showed anything when the video was fresh. She's looking at it to see if she missed anything.

Whispers now, from the orbital survivors.
"Why are they showing us this?"
"Which village is this, again?"
"What did they do?"
"Their Sheen recorded these holos..."

Two of the Turai share a knowing look. They move back a little bit as the video cuts to the part where the Sheen discover the bodies. Davis sees shock play across one, two, five of the Imperials - that guy's one of the Turai. Three of Hale's quadmates don't register shock; dark smiles contort their faces, as if they're watching payback. Two more cross their arms, distance themselves through body language. Davis gets a range of reactions from the Keepers, true horror through impassive observation all the way to Hoei's face, lost in thought. Plotting. Seeing what the Khiraba did to the wherren seems to seal the deal for Zakpabo. The wild eyes come back, and he starts looking for escape.

"No, no, no, I told you! I told you all!"
"I don't get it, why'd they kill those wherren. Who are they again?"

"That was... unnecessary." The last is from Kosai. She shakes her head, and moves a step away from the "original" camp Turai. She gently moves the one Turai survivor (who had both his hands removed, from the Sheen ambush) with her.

It looks like Hoei and the three Turai most unaffected by the footage are about to try something antagonistic and ill-advised when the wherren finally register what's happened. A horrifying wailing scream erupts from several warriors (from his perch atop Hab Three, Angel figures eight have just lost it), and their uncontrollable rage finds the closest Imperials.

The only upside to this shitstorm is that the wherren are so angry they've forgotten all about their rifles. The eight berserk aliens charge the Imperial prisoners, intending on tearing them limb from limb. Davis anticipated the unrest, and is prepared, with Hiigra's message of "saving rage for the true enemy" queued up and ready to go. He cuts the Sheen holo and readies Hiigra's message.

"Your chief demands your attention!" he barks as loud as he can, and starts the video, cranking the volume all the way up.

All it does it provide an ironic soundtrack.

Zaef times it and throws himself into the first wherren to cross the short distance to the Imperials. The berserker's got one foot off the ground in a dead run, and Zaef knocks him on his hairy ass. His swords come out next, and Zaef sweeps them in a wide arc to ward off two more wherren. He sidesteps right as a fourth comes for him instead and leads the wherren off the two Turai.

Meanwhile, Semo reluctantly draws his sword and interposes himself between the wherren and prisoners. He jukes right and left, countering the wherren and shoving them back. They redouble their efforts, paying no heed to their chief's message of patience. One wherren almost dodges past the Samoan, but Semo throws a vicious elbow that reels the alien back. A second gets past Semo's guard and delivers a bone-crushing backhand. Semo's head whips round but, like Gandalf, he still keeps his attacker at bay by kicking the wherren as he spins.

Hugh sees the wall of wherren hit his team. Amazingly, Zaef and Semo hold them off, but they can't keep it up forever. Flashbangs would just take everyone out, cause complete chaos. Besides, after someone's flashbanged, they get wrestled to the ground, and Hugh's not about to try wrestling eight wherren.

"Hold them back!" Hugh shouts in Whirr. Keep it simple, stupid, he thinks. It's not shouted just for the wherren; Arketta starts to move in too, but she wastes precious seconds securing her rifle (although it's not wasted if it stops some Imperial from grabbing it). Over a dozen wherren - it's a little chaotic to count them right now - jump into what is truly a riot at this point. They're grabbing and shouting and trying to take down their brethren. From Angel's perch or Cowboy's foxhole, the visible emotions create this orange and red nimbus of alien hair. It's like watching a fire.

A few of the Turai and Hoei aren't content with a fire. They want an explosion. One Turai shouts "I'll send you to meet your fucking family! Bring it!" He charges into the furball and Angel spots a glint of metal appear in his hand. He gets at least one hit on someone, because there's blood now. A second Turai just lets out a battle cry and joins his comrade. Maybe out of solidarity, maybe just because there's a riot. And the worst part is, the wherren who ARE in control are slowly but successfully wrestling down their friends. They've got three or four down on the ground already. Then the second Turai shivs one of the wherren trying to help. The handful of punctures are much deeper than the flesh wounds the initial Imperial scored on his victim, and the alien falls back in shock. Three wherren who haven't been able to wrangle their crazed friends see the shanking go down and let their charges go just as a third Turai kicks one of the downed wherren in the face.

Zaef sees Turai coming in from behind, but he's busy keeping the wherren from killing the fools. He doesn't have enough time to stop the shivs from shanking two wherren, but he's quick to respond. Before the Imperials can even pull their jagged debris pieces and sharpened light-pens back, Zaef flashes his blades completely through one Turai's right hand. His hand, still clutching the shiv, hits the ground and quickly disappears from sight. Zaef's not done; he spins around and takes off the second assailant's left hand, then disarms his weapon with a vicious upswing. The whittled stylus spins free along with three loose fingers. The third Turai, content with only kicking a wherren, dodges back out of the Bloodwraith's reach.

Hoei's not charging in - he's shouting. "What you see in that holo is the price paid for betraying the Emperor! Even now, with our forces scattered, justice is served! You, your families, your tribe, anyone who's even heard of the Narsai will die! You brought this on yourselves! You forged the blade - we wield the knife, bitches!"

The rash Keeper's tirade hits home for some of the wherren who haven't yet chosen a course of action. They look to the holo of their chief, to Davis, to Hugh, to their friends and enemies and allies wrestling in a pile. Then they look at Hoei and take a few steps towards the brawl.

"We shall see, false god!"
"I say we grease that rat son of a bitch right now!"
"YEEEAAAAHHH!!!"

These wherren unsling their rifles, but don't do anything yet. They don't do anything because Angel has had enough of Hoei and decides that the merciful thing (for everyone) would be to take the Keeper's kneecap out of his leg and spread it over the clearing.

One rifle report later, and Hoei is down and screaming incoherently. One of the refugees vomits. It looks like Zakpabo was about to bolt for the forest until the shooting made him think twice. Zak correctly figures bullets can run faster than he can, and so he stays put with the other prisoners.

Hoei serves as an example that the team is okay with shooting prisoners who want to cause trouble, but there's still a Turai willing to brawl and four crazed wherren who are willing to oblige him. Their only problem is that Semo Putupu is also willing to oblige them. Semo passes his sword to his off hand and lays into one wherren with a vicious haymaker. The wherren stumbles and falls down, where he's tackled by his more rational comrades. The sergeant doesn't stop there. He lays into a second berserk warrior with an almost identical punch. The wherren hits the dirt, wondering what just happened... and that's when Luis throws himself onto the wherren and gets the alien in a neck seal before the hairy brute can continue his rampage.

This is all happening over the course of a handful of seconds. At this point, the third Turai's just kicked one downed wherren and has dodged back, out of Zaef's reach - and right into Semo's. Out of pure martial reflex, the Turai throws a hastily-blocked punch. Mistake. Semo grabs the Imperial's leading arm, kicks his knee in, dislocates his shoulder, and throws him by his dislocated arm face-first into the dome wall. The Imperial's skull leaves blood on the wall as he hits the ground in a heap. That guy might be dead.

The few Turai who were smart enough not to charge a group of angry wherren are wavering. Their instinct now is to go after Semo and Zaef for what they just did to their friends, but their duty is still to their fellow Imperials, the Keepers and survivors who can't defend themselves if one of the wherren gets past the furry blockade. Then Angel shoots Hoei and the Turai figure they'll just hang back and protect their civilians. Arketta backs Angel up from the ground. She uncatches her rifle (after just securing it to help with the wherren) and steps to the prisoners, covering them with her XM-10.

Swims, on the other hand, follows Semo's lead. He reminds one of the crazy wherren that they had rifles all along by grabbing the brave's SCAR, pulling back and twisting to stop the wherren from advancing on the prisoners. The rifle sling snaps under the pressure and Swims just uses it as a club. There's a sick crack and the berserk wherren hits the dirt, unconscious and bleeding from his head.

Davis leaps off the crate he's standing on, leaving Hiigra's message on a loop. He runs right into the middle of the fight, draws his sidearm and fires half a clip of .45 ACP into the air. He ends up face to snout with the last berserk wherren, who's somewhat surprised by the sudden gunfire and appearance of yet another human impeding his righteous and justified vengeance. The four wherren warriors who tackle their crazy comrade push him from "somewhat surprised" all the way to "what the fuck just hit me and why can't I move anymore?"

"ENOUGH!" Davis shouts. "ENOUGH!" he repeats in whiirsign. "Don't you see, this is what they want!" Davis grunts, pointing at Hoei and the three attacking Turai. "They want you acting like animals, acting on fear and rage, because that's what they think you are! Dumb animals, fit to be slaves! Prove them wrong! Listen to your chief! Hiigra knows, he told you to be strong and save your anger for those that deserve it, those that killed your families! You are all better than this! Act like it!"

Davis turns to Hoei, and continues in Imperial. "And you, you cowardly piece of shit! How dare you taunt their pain and suffering! These brave Wherren men and women have just lost wives, husbands, parents, children to your 'saviors' in the jungle, and you taunt them for it?" He changes his focus to the Imperial prisoners as a whole. "Now do you see who you are oppressing? These are not beasts, these are people, sentient beings that feel the same pain and suffering that you all do! Look at what your 'saviors' are capable of, what your Imperium will do to unarmed, innocent men, women and children! Look at what has happened here, and think about it for once, as human fucking beings, not just blind citizens of the Imperium!"

Davis coughs, and holsters his pistol. "For fuck's sake..."

The cries and whimpered mewlings of Hoei, the two maimed Turai, and the prison-shanked wherren punctuate Davis' speech. Many of the subdued wherren have traded rage for grief, much like their shaman did when he first saw the video feeds. The team can tell that there are some warriors who simply will not be able to handle guarding prisoners after this, but the wherren are all getting over their initial shock. As for the prisoners, you're seeing some nods from a few of the refugees, maybe a few Keepers. Shenest checks Hoei's leg and makes sure he's not bleeding to death. He probably will, but not right away. Not before the Turai who's lost one hand and most of his fingers. He's just spraying a bigger and bigger puddle of blood around on the dark soil.

"Yes," Kosai says as she slowly walks over to the Turai that Semo nearly brained on the dome wall. "Look at what has happened here," she says, motioning to her maimed countrymen. She checks her fellow soldier and pronounces, "His skull is fractured but he's breathing."

"Sorry, Captain," Semo says. "Next time I'll try to pull my punches."

One of the refugees (Davis remembers her breaking down in tears when Varna shot himself) cries out, "Assholes!" She does a pretty good job of implying everyone in the camp. "We're the ones suffering here! I sit at a cogitator! I'm not a soldier, or... or terrorist, or... a god!"

"Yeah!" shouts Zakpabo. "We didn't do anything wrong! Why even have us out here with them if you knew they'd go crazy?!" he points at the wherren.

"This has been... enlightening... for all of us," another woman speaks up. Luis knows she's the medicae from the orbital, one of the Imperials who brought out medkits after the initial ambush. "Let's wait to place blame until after people aren't bleeding to death, okay?"

Most of the prisoners just take in what they just witnessed without outward comment. Any who still consider the wherren beasts or animals are smart enough not to brag about it, and any who might be truly moved are likely wrestling with their thoughts... and they're smart enough not to brag about that either.

Luis steps up in response to the medicea's words, "If everyone's going to calm down, that's what I'm here for. Can we clear some workspace?"

Luis notes with some irony that the Turai missing his hands is the same guy that Zaef maimed in the jungle a night or two before. He must have wanted to try out a new pair. The Imperial that Semo took down would probably be in a coma for years if it wasn't for the kauka artifact's power. The two wounded wherren are bandaged up and given medication for the pain. One's probably suffering a minor concussion, while the other one should be kept to light duty-

BAMF!

A faint orange paint haze disturbs the jungle to the south, interrupting Luis' instructions about how much medication to take. If you focus and listen, you can make out an increase in the rustling in the undergrowth from that direction. Maybe half the prisoners are back in the dome at this point (including the three treated Turai). The rest are still outside. They're grouped tightly in a short column snaking around the dome wall, being guarded by Swims, Arketta, Semo, Zaef, and the two squads of wherren that managed to keep their shit together. They jumped to it when Hugh called, and he feels comfortable with them still watching the prisoners.

Hoei's still bleeding where he fell.

Cowboy sees the paint bomb go off and keys his radio.

"We've got contact! Everyone to their positions! Condition One."

Davis immediately stops taking down the holoprojector when he hears the paint bomb go off, and grabs his rifle. "Shit," he says, and runs towards Hoei. "Get them inside, now!" he yells to Arketta. "Semo, I need cover! Luis, get the Wherren inside!" He slings his rifle over his back and loops his arms underneath Hoei's armpits. "This is going to hurt," he says, and starts dragging Hoei towards the dome entrance.

Hugh snaps up his rifle and looks to "his" team of Wherren.

"Come with me!" he shouts, and leads them to their foxhole.

Zaef growls when he hears the claymore go off. He sees Davis trying to drag the particularly dumb Keeper towards the dome and goes to help.

"Gupta Khari was right. There is no such thing as good luck."

Hoei's delirious murmurs turn to screams once again when Davis starts dragging him. They redouble as Zaef reaches Davis and grabs Hoei's legs. Semo backs up with them, XM-25 trained on the forest, as the two humans quickly carry the maimed third into the dome. Semo stays at the doorway and scans the north side of the treeline for any flanking attempts.

The most recalcitrant prisoners are already horribly wounded, so Arketta doesn't run into problems as she ushers the other 30 or so Imperials into the dome at gunpoint. Hugh's team breaks off with him and sprint to their foxholes. Mola slides down next to Cowboy, who's got his eyes on the orange swath of jungle, looking for movement.

---

"Got anything useful?" Samal Manus asks Vilos.

The dropchief shakes his head and holds up the vox receiving video feed from their advance force. "Nothing but orange now."

"Vidas fuckin' Lam, how many of those paint things do they have?" Manus curses, sparing a glance at the bright orange wherren who made it back after their moderately successful skirmish the day before.

---

Luis helps the concussed and shanked wherren to Hab Two. He sees Hoei disappear into the dome after the rest of the prisoners, but Zaef has a kauka as well and he's in there with Hoei.

Hoei screams himself hoarse as Zaef powers the kauka over his ruined leg. The alien healing devices work better when the operator has detailed knowledge of the damage. Zaef's no doctor, and it's not HIS knee, so like Kosai and her throat, Hoei's knee is probably going to take longer than normal to heal. That's fine with Zaef; Hoei's a dick.

Cowboy can't tell if anything's approaching the camp. There's the rustling, and a scattering that could be a retreat, or could be spooked animals. Hugh, on the other hand, spots an orange wherren silhouetted in the treeline. He must have been hit with the paint and then stayed there, using the orange splatter to camouflage himself against the painted flora. This wherren is staying very still, but as Hugh peers at the intruder, the alien seems to realize his cover's blown. He gets up quickly and starts to run for it. As he does, Hugh's eyes are drawn to two more wherren hunkered down in bushes. Or is it four? Maybe it's just one, and those others are cast shadows from the canopy above. At any rate, Hugh's pretty sure there are others who made it through the paint mines, and are just watching the camp. They don't think they've been spotted, although their friend turning tail is probably a good warning sign.

admiralducksauce wrote:

This wherren is staying very still, but as Hugh peers at the intruder, the alien seems to realize his cover's blown. He gets up quickly and starts to run for it. As he does, Hugh's eyes are drawn to two more wherren hunkered down in bushes. Or is it four? Maybe it's just one, and those others are cast shadows from the canopy above. At any rate, Hugh's pretty sure there are others who made it through the paint mines, and are just watching the camp. They don't think they've been spotted, although their friend turning tail is probably a good warning sign.

Cowboy quietly keys his radio, staring down his scope at the treeline.

"Captain Verrill...Sir. Are we planning on ever shooting any of these scouts? I'd hate think with every raiding party they gain knowledge without any casualties or penalty for doing so."

"License to scare them, Cowboy," Hugh radios back. "Gimme one smoke on them, then we'll see what they do. Oh, and no need to aim away from them. This lesson plan includes a little...negative reinforcement."

Zaef's scowl intensifies as the Keeper screams. "Walk it off, you pussy." He turns to Davis. "He'll be out of commission for a while. I'll head for my foxhole now, let me know if it(points to Hoei) gives you any more trouble.

Zaef unslings his Tenner and heads outside, pissed as hell and ready toblow some heads off.