A commission for  exatron, the latest in a sci-fi epic with adventure, guns, and sleeve-splitting guns! If you know what I mean~

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Dan Bergstrom ©  exatron
Story © c'est moi &  nocturne

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The red and gold standard of the Leonine Empire flew proudly over the smuggler city of Forivar. There was already talk amongst the Leonine commandos of incorporating the rest of the planet Deletor into the empire, since the de-facto capital had been taken. But far more talk was dedicated to the hulking cheetah, Agent Dan Bergstrom, that now towered over them all; what had once been a weedy cat inseparable from his brothers and sisters in their vast caste was now bigger and stronger than perhaps any one tiger in the empire; an unsettling thought to most of them.

Dan, however, was starting to love it. It was the little things in life, and watching a tiger, who had more often than not played to the jerk jock stereotype in the academy, squirm as he flexed an arm now bigger than the striped cat’s torso was satisfying. All of him was on full display; his tactical armor had burst in his growth spurt for the battle of Forivar, and he was only being kept decent by a stubborn bit of mesh cloth that was truly making a valiant effort to stay encased around his thick obliques.

“Well,” a familiar voice drawled. “Glad to see you got over your skepticism of magic words.”

Dan turned to face an exceedingly muscular fox, who was struggling with the same issues pertaining to clothes as he was, but on a smaller scale. Captain Devoss Vulpes was officially a prisoner of the Leonine commandos, but the cheetah was beginning to warm up to him. If nothing else, he was the only person that could understand the shocking transformation he had gone through. “It’s science, Vulpes. Observe, hypothesize, test, conclusion.”

“Incredible…” Vulpes looked over the ruins, craning his thick neck. His powerful arms had been locked behind him with electrified handcuffs, leaving his thick biceps digging into his wide lats. “I take it there was no chance to save the ruins?” he asked.

Dan shook his head. “Between saving our own hides from experimental warbots and saving what had until today been assumed to be a modern art project, my priorities were pretty clear.”

The ruins had once been a strange, pyramidal shrine, largely ignored by the locals, but now both Dan and Devoss were certain; it had been a monument built by the legendary Palamani, whose homeworld was both of their targets.

“Think of what we could have learned…” Devoss shook his head. “Pity. At least there’s two more on our list… Hohenheim and Janarus. Let’s try not to blow those up, eh?”

“Agent Bergstrom!” a black panther barked. “Front and center!”

Dan arched his brow, looking down at the armored female feline that came marching up to him. He crossed his titanic arms, making his cliff-like chest bulge. “Are you pulling rank on me, Jefe?”

Lieutenant Jefe smirked tightly. “You saved us. And the soldiers of the Leonine Empire are not without gratitude. We picked through Forivar’s shipyards, and we made a, uh… military acquisition.” She gestured her hand to a spaceship that roared over the horizon, then smoothly landed in the main square the commandos were operating in. “It’s not like this craft was legally owned, anyways. Besides, the corvette General Khalan loaned you may just be a bit cramped for you after all this.”

The spacecraft had the marks of a re-purposed freighter; with a large, wide hull and bulky engine blocks lining the back. Its bow was shaped like a trapezoid, and had been fortified with top-line equipment, including an impressive pair of blasters. Most importantly to Dan, however, is that it had a very smart black and blue striped paint job.

“Lieutenant, I…” Dan ran a hand through his hair. “Wow. I’m speechless.” He looked down to her, offering a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

“A momentary reprieve from your smart mouth is all the thanks I need,” Jefe returned.

“You going to name her?” Devoss asked.

The panther arched her brow. “You’re looking awfully casual for a prisoner, Captain.”

“Just asking a friendly question.”

“Virtus. After the Palamani’s legendary capital.” Dan nodded to himself. “Yeah. I think that fits.”

“Then the Virtus it is. Thank you again for your valor, Agent. I’m sure General Khalan will want a full report, and I aim to give you a glowing review. Perhaps you’ll even get the Star of Parafel for this,” Jefe said.

A tiger commando approached, saluting Jefe as the ranking officer. “Ma’am. General Khalan is on the feed. He wants to speak with you immediately.” He glanced nervously up at Devoss and Dan. “Alone.”

The panther sighed. “He’s probably mad about the altar. Don’t worry, Bergstrom. I’ll smooth this over.”

Dan nodded, turning back to his new ship to admire it. Devoss, however, walked closer towards the warbots that had been guarding the altar, and had attempted to destroy the Leonine Commandos and the altar along with it. “Bergstrom? Didn’t you rip off this armor casing?” His arms still bound, he kicked at the kevlar mesh casing, a nearly impervious material to laser fire. It was stamped with the emblem of the Black Meteors Syndicate; a feared mercenary organization that had recently disappeared.

“Yeah? Why?”

“Did you care to see what was underneath the casing?” Devoss tapped a finger against the inner workings of the robot.

Dan knelt beside the fox, and narrowed his eyes. “What the frak?” Before his eyes was the insignia of a roaring lion crowned by stars, the symbol of the Leonine Empire.

“Did the Black Meteors make a habit of stealing top secret Leonine weaponry?” Devoss asked.

“If they did, the military did a damn fine job of covering it up…” Dan spotted Jefe coming back over his mountainous shoulder. “Hey, Lieutenant, do you know anything about this?” Standing to his full height, he frowned. Something was wrong. “You okay?”

The black panther had a troubled look on her face. “I… I’m sorry.” She raised her pistol and the tiger commandos flanking her likewise raised their weapons. “Agent Daniel Bergstrom, for willful neglect and defying direct orders of your commanding officers, you are hereby under arrest and to be tried in a court of martial law, by order of General Khalan of the Imperial Army.”
Dan’s eyes widened before they locked on Jefe. “You can't be serious. After what I just did you're going to draw a weapon on me?” A deep growl rose in his chest, the sound enough to make the tigers tense.

“I don't have a choice, Bergstrom, I have orders directly from the General. Come along quietly and I'll ensure you are treated fairly.” The panther grimaced, her pistol still trained fully on the cheetah, his considerable mass making him an easy target. “Minor jail time. I'm sure that's the worst to expect from all this.”

The cheetah scowled before shaking his head. “I think we both know you're kidding yourself if you honestly think that's what's going to happen. Just stop and think for a moment!”

One of the tiger guards snarled and lifted his rifle, leveling it square at Dan before a loud clang echoed and the big cat stumbled back, blood running from his forehead where one of the chunks of Kevlar from the warbots had struck him.

Jefe whipped her pistol, pointing it directly at Devoss, the hulking fox grinning ruefully as he held up a few more pieces of the Kevlar. “Oh come on, you don't really expect to back a dog into a corner and expect not to get bitten.”

“How did you break out of your restraints?” the Lieutenant demanded.

Devoss smirked, holding his hands up, rolling his beefy biceps. “Little trade secret.”

“I have had more than enough of dealing with you, mutt!” The panther steadied her hand to aim her weapon, but not before a blur of yellow and black surged in front of her.

Dan’s clenched fist slammed headlong into the muzzle of the other tiger guard, as the feline was sent sprawling in a heap several feet away. He was moving almost on pure instinct as his free hand wrapped over Jefe’s shoulder, engulfing it with ease as he lifted her from the ground.

The panther had little time to react as she was hurled bodily through the air. Her impact was far from soft, crashing down atop of wreckage of the warbot with a thud. Groaning, she sat up, trying to snatch at the pistol that had been jarred from her hand by the less than gracious landing. She tried to steady herself, but her head swam considering the force she had hit the bot with.

Dan had little time to contemplate his actions as Devoss grabbed his wrist, yanking on his arm. “Come on, don't just sit there gaping, we have to run or both of us will wind up dead!” The fox groaned as he managed to tug the cheetah forward. “The ship, it's going to be our only way out of here. Unless you like the idea of a life behind bars!”

Dan grunted as he began to run, his monstrous thighs making his gait slightly awkward as he adjusted to their girth. His quads rippled under his tight pelt, threatening to rip what little fabric managed to cling to them. Alarms were going off as guards began to mobilize, but keeping up with a sprinting cheetah, especially one with so much momentum, was no easy task. By the time he reached the ship weapons were already being drawn and aimed.

Devoss struggled to close the gap, the fox puffing a bit as he dove through the ship’s door in time for Dan to slam it shut. “Do you think just maybe you could have cut that a little closer?” the fox growled.

A cacophony of weapons firing raged outside as the cheetah dashed for the ship’s controls. Tapping around on the main panel he groaned as it took what felt like an eternity for the engines to fire. As the ship rose the cheetah slumped back into a seat, rubbing his forehead as his newest acquisition rocketed away from the planet.

“So how likely do you think it is that this is all going to turn out well for us?” Devoss hummed softly as he settled himself into a seat, his broad lats spilling over the arms as he stared at Dan.

Pinching the bridge of his nose the cheetah let out a sigh. “A top secret weapon being used by a mercenary group that was supposedly wiped out and that was guarding one of the shrines that we were sent to secure. To top it off, I save the military personnel with me and still they want to lock me up? I'd say things don't look that stellar for either of us.”

“Hm, I suppose being a spy and assaulting someone from a rival military probably wasn't the best move.” Drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair he glanced out into the void of space..

“So why did you do it? If I had fought alone they would have had their hands full. You probably could have slipped away and stolen the ship. It was the safer choice.” Dan locked his eyes on the canine.

A soft grumble rose from the fox as he did his best not to meet the cheetah’s gaze. “Perhaps, but I still owe you from Delethor.”

“I'm shocked, you went that whole time without being a smartass.” Dan smirked softly, resting his chin against one of his hands.

“Oh, I’m sorry, apparently I’m the only one who thought we didn’t have time to be snide to one another.” The fox crossed his arms, scowling at the feline as his biceps and pecs mashed firmly together. “But if we have the time, believe me, I’m happy to oblige.”

Rolling his eyes Dan sat back and sighed. “Was nice while it lasted. But, look; we’re fugitives wanted by one of the most powerful nations in the galaxy. We need a plan.”

Devoss hummed softly, tapping at his chin. “Seems a bit obvious to me. Two altars left to examine, may as well check them out.”

“What? After everything that just happened you want to go find another altar?”

“It isn't as though you can turn back around at this point. You know Khalan is desperately seeking these altars, so stick it to him and snatch them up out from under him. Find what we both want; the Palamani!” The fox grinned broadly as he shrugged his heavy shoulders. “That was the ultimate goal, wasn't it? To finally put to rest all the naysayers, all the petty scoffs and derision for ‘believing in a fairy tale’, to unearth the greatest find of a generation!” Bouncing his pectoral lazily, Devoss winked as the heavy muscle ground together. “Of course the fringe benefits have been wonderful thus far.”

Dan frowned softly, fingers tapping lightly on the arm of his chair. They were already halfway to their ultimate goal. The fox aldo had a point; it had been grating to have his theories regarding the Palamani disregarded for so long. Finally putting the arguments to rest would be the salvation of his career. Also, he would be lying if more mass didn't tempt him.

“Fine, you have a point. It’d be a waste to stop now and leave all of it in Khalan’s claws,” Dan growled softly before turning to the ship’s controls.

“We don't have a great deal of time before the military begins to come for us. For now we have to decide where to go, Janarus or Hohenheim.”

“I vote for the latter, honestly.” Devoss frowned as he glanced over the controls.

“Any particular reason or just being obstinate?”

The fox lifted an eyebrow. “Well, seeing as the majority of Janarus is frigid tundra and the pair of us are down to our skivvies, I’m far more tempted by a nice, temperate planet like Hohenheim. Unless you'd rather see how much frostbite you can develop.”

“Hohenheim it is, then. You have the coordinates for the altar?” Dan began tapping away, setting a course for the planet.

“I do, it's located on the planet’s southern continent. Should have the location down to within a mile or so…”
The planet Hohenheim was known primarily for its large forests and jungles. It had always been a verdant place, but over the past years the southern continent had gone from being covered in a moderate rain forest to a planetwide jungle. With such a strange and unexplained phenomenon, legends of monsters hidden amongst the dark trees abounded.

The dense vegetation presented another major concern for the duo as Dan brought the ship toward the area the coordinates indicated. “This is insane. The trees are packed more tightly than a ward at the cloning facilities.”

It took several long minutes before a break in the treeline was visible. Bringing the ship down near a wide river, the pair managed to disembark. The jungle surrounding them wasn't just dense, it was a quagmire on its own. Chattering birds and buzzing insects filled the air, drowning out gentle rush of the river echoing.

“Well, at least it’s pretty,” Dan murmured softly as he rested his hands on his thick hips.

“Let's get going, you can admire the scenery later,” Devoss grunted as he began stepping into the vegetation, lifting one thick arm and raking shorts claws against one of the trees. “We’ll need to mark our progress. Last thing I want is to get lost here.”

“Probably the easiest thing I’ve ever agreed with you on.” Dan noted as he began to lumber along behind the fox, his thighs grinding heavily against each other with each step.

As the pair lumbered deeper into the jungle, the trees around them grew taller and thicker, with trunks wider than Dan’s shoulders. The canopy rose dozens of feet above them; the gaps between branches where sunlight filtered down on enormous beds of flowers and moss. In the darker areas enormous mushrooms sat below twisted, exposed roots.

“This place would be a botanist’s dream, there's got to be new species in here.” Dan grinned as he passed a bush of flowers, the blooms vibrant shades of purple and yellow.

“And no telling how many of them might be toxic. I'm just going to go ahead and not touch a thing.” Devoss grunted as he vaulted over a fallen tree trunk, landing with a deep grunt. “We shouldn't be that far from the altar.”

It was only a few moments until the altar came into view. If not for a bit of light shining off some of the gold material it might have been missed. The pyramid structure had been overrun by the trees, moss and vines winding around it, making the green of the building look like little more than more of the jungle. A large swath of pyramid’s side had buckled inward and in the broken section was a tangle of thick roots sinking into the structure. The mass of vegetation was at least as tall as Dan. “Hm… the altar’s blocked off entirely.”

Rolling his boulder-like shoulders the cheetah spread his arms wide, lats flaring out like a pair of wings before he wrapped himself against the roots. Gripping tightly he began to pull, snarling loudly. His biceps bloomed and bit into the wood as his chest forced the roots in front of him to buckle. The vast musculature of his back writhed below his short pelt, tectonic plates shifting as he exerted himself. Both of his titanic thighs surged out as he forced himself to step backward, dragging the roots along with him as his quadriceps forced him to widen his stance. Grunting and groaning loudly Dan’s muzzle was squeezed by his traps until several loud cracks rang out through the air. The hulking cheetah found himself tumbling backward along with the roots, slamming onto the ground. Unfortunately it was the sheer mass of the roots that had kept the altar’s side in place. The gold and green began to cave in, crashing down as the altar shook.

At the front Devoss shouted as he dove away from the pyramid, landing in a heap as the Palamani altar collapsed in on itself. In moments what had once been an archaeological find was little more than a pile of broken stone and metal. The fox stared in anguish. “What did you do?!”
Shuffling toward the fox, Dan rubbed at his shoulder. “There were some roots that had grown into the side of the altar. Looked like a hole had opened up and vegetation just grew into it. It was blocking our path, so I pulled it out.”

“And caused the entire thing to collapse!” Devoss groaned as he rubbed at his temples. “We didn't even have time to extract or examine the structure. It could have easily still been empowered.”

Looking at the lush jungle surrounding them Dan frowned. “I don't think it was. Devoss, the last two times the invocation happened the altars didn't last. The power was expended in one great burst.”

The fox placed his hands on his hips. “Your point?”

“Devoss, you had to notice it, the closer we got to the altar, the thicker the jungle. Hohenheim has always been a verdant planet right? Wasn’t there talk a few years ago after the last exploration of this continent?”

“Yes, something about the jungle spreading at a rapid pace. It's taken over the continent entirely. It was an unprecedented rate of… growth.” Eyes widening Devoss looked from the fallen altar to the trees surrounding them. “The damage to the altar…”

Dan nodded slowly, chin nearly bouncing off the shelf off his chest. “I’d hazard it coincides almost directly with the beginning of the rapid growth. The trees and other vegetation probably siphoned off whatever power the altar had years ago.”

Biting his lip, the fox grimaced before shaking his head and moving back toward the overgrown foliage from whence they came. “Not the first time a priceless find was swallowed by nature.”

Dan began following after, grinning softly. “At least it didn't fall into the wrong hands.”

The trip back to the ship was made easier by the trail that had been left on their wake. Neither spoke much during the trek, too focused on dealing with the final altar. Such rumination only lasted until they broke through the treeline near the ship and the click of a pistol being readied cut through the air.

Standing by the ship was the female panther last seen lying in the broken heap of a warbot. Jefe frowned softly as she leveled her weapon at the pair. “Well, good to see you boys are getting along.”

Dan growled softly and lifted his hands above his head, creating a mountain range of mass. “Dammit, I thought we had more time.” He glared at Jefe. “So, how'd we get so lucky to have you be the one to find us?”

“I volunteered to come check Hohenheim. Your ship hadn't been loaded up with any form of thermal gear to deal with Janarus that this was a safe bet. And you're lucky the brutes sent with me were willing to go diving into the jungle to find you.” Lowering her weapon the panther let out a sigh. “You can put your hands down, the scare was mostly payback for tossing me like a sack of laundry.”

Dan blinked as he let his arms drop. “You're not going to shoot us?”

“I'm not in the habit of shooting people who doesn't deserve it.” Jefe shook her head. “Back on Deletor you pointed out something with one of those Black Meteor warbots. It was tech that had to have been stolen, but I checked some logs on my own. Nothing was ever reported.” Frowning deeply the panther holstered her pistol. “Meaning someone with considerable clout either covered up the thefts, or they weren't stolen at all.”

“You think Khalan sold military weaponry to rogue mercenaries?” Dan lifted an eyebrow. “He's a general, he couldn't possibly need the money.”

“Well considering right after you damaged those bots he wanted to lock you up, it makes sense doesn't it?” Devoss clucked his tongue. “And never underestimate the power of greed. You can always use more money.”

Jefe sighed. “We need to leave then, now. I set the engines of the ship I came here on to have a serious malfunction soon and the tigers that came with should be busy stumbling in the jungle for at least another hour.”

Dan quickly rushed past the panther and onto the ship. “Then let's get out of here before we get shot at.”

A few minutes later the ship began to rise from the jungle before a loud boom caused trees further upriver to shake, smoke rising moments later.

Jefe grimaced as the cheetah and fox stared at her. “Alright, the easiest way to cause a malfunction is to simply have one of the engines to explode.”

“Maybe I could teach you a few things about espionage, Lieutenant. Hopefully they just think you're dead or your sudden disappearance will look a little suspect.” The fox smirked as he shook his head.

“We can deal with that later, Devoss. For now we have to be concerned with Khalan. Why would he even want the altars?” Dan drummed his fingers against a thigh, thumping softly off the swollen quadricep. His shorts had seen better days, more tattered than intact after the trek through the jungle and pulling out load bearing vines.

“If he sold off the warbots then perhaps he’ll try the same with the altar. The power from them is clearly significant.” Jefe stared out into the stars as she hissed. “Imagine troops of soldiers the size of Dr. Bergstrom.”

“It would be a nightmare on the battlefield.” Dan looked over to Devoss. “If Khalan could mass produce soldiers like us, it's not good news if that technology is sold off. Is it even possible?”

The fox furrowed his brow before shrugging. “I couldn't begin to say. This is clearly beyond the realm of our understanding. For all we know he could manage it. Given to the highest bidder it could throw any empire into turmoil. Feline, canine, reptile… it could reignite some serious conflicts and destabilize what limited peace there is.”

The cheetah sighed, turning to his two companions. “If we’re going to beat Khalan to Janarus and stop this, we need to work together. Thoughts?”

The planet Janarus was often times referred to by its colloquial name, ‘That Frigid Chunk of Rock’, mostly due to the fact it was little more than that. It only escaped being recategorized as a planetoid due to it being fairly large. Not much actually lived on it besides some terrestrial behemoths kept warm by their natural mass. It was only by a stroke of luck that the planet had an atmosphere and breathable air, the latter thanks to thriving vegetation capable of sustenance in the cold.

Dan lifted an eyebrow as they approached the planet. “Nothing of the military is even registering. How could we beat them here?”
“I have no idea, they should have gotten here by now.” Jefe shook her head. “Only thing I can think is a full reroute to check Hohenheim.”
The fox hummed before shrugging. “We have the coordinates anyway, we should land and get to work. No military means no interference.”
Bringing down the ship near the coordinates the pair of hulks grimaced. Jefe had managed to pack herself some thermal gear, donning the heavily padded suit. For the boys the best that could be managed was a series of thermal blankets tied around them.

The first steps outside were met with shivers as the trio began darting across the small stretch of bare, frozen ground to a large cave. Thankfully once they made it past the mouth of the cave the icy winds abated. Nestled at the far corner of the cave was the altar, the green and gold casting reflections off sheets of ice on the walls.

Dan let out a heavy sigh of relief. “It's fully intact, that's the first good news we've had today.”

“And the last good news you'll get.” A deep, familiar voice rang out from the cave entrance followed by the sounds of weapons being readied.
The two cats and fox were forced to turn, arms raised, to meet General Khalan. A broad grin had spread across the tiger’s scarred face as he stepped forward, flanked by a full dozen tigers armed with weapons. The white tiger chuckled and shook his head. “After the report from Hohenheim I knew you'd be here soon. A little cloaking to hide the ships and you show us exactly where the altar is. Thank you so much. Soldiers, if any of them so much as move a toe, fire.”

Jefe snarled as the tiger began to walk forward, giving the group a wide berth as he headed for the altar. “You think these men will follow you when they learn you sold empire tech to the Black Meteors?” A grin spread across her face as she looked back toward the soldiers, only to find no sign of reaction.

“Wrong on two parts, Lieutenant. My personal guard are loyal to me, first off. Secondly, I sold nothing to the Black Meteors, they worked directly for me.” Khalan shook his head softly as he stood before the altar. “Cause a little mayhem, keep eyes directed where I want. Makes it much easier to plan a coup, and with this altar and whatever lies at the Palamani homeworld it'll be child’s play to unseat that indolent trash on the throne.”

“You're doing all this just so you can take control of the empire? Are you nuts? What about all the soldiers sacrificed?!” Dan stared at the tiger, jaw dropping.

“Yes, what about all the soldiers sacrificed? All the tigers and panthers, raised from birth to fight war after war, not for the glory of empire or for the good of its people, but for the vanity of lions too weak to take what they want on their own! Emperor Leontis and his pride have crippled the empire, held it back from its true potential. What he calls mercy and chivalry, I call pissing on all the soldiers who died for his glory, just for him to give back planet after planet we conquered.” Khalan roared, throwing down his weapon. “Well no more! The Palamani did not suffer the weak, and I won’t tolerate it, either! Deo Rolani, deo fortitudo, ni me via!” The tiger roared out, the sound echoing through the cave as the scripture on the altar began to glow brightly. Khalan kept chanting, the air almost humming with power before the pyramid erupted in a deafening boom.

Jefe flew back several feet while Dan and Devoss were sent tumbling back on top of one another, ears ringing from the explosion. The cheetah groaned as he shifted around, having to push the bulky fox off him as he sat up. At first he thought the shaking he felt was part of the ringing in his ears until his gaze shifted to the fallen altar, eyes widening.

Khalan had been a brute of a man when Dan had first encountered him, there was no question of that. The monster that stomped forward from the fallen structure could have engulfed the general. Muscle rippled below a paper thin pelt as the tiger took another step. Wicked claws clacked off the cave floor, leading up to calves that outsized the round masses of Dan’s shoulders. The thighs that had reduced Khalan’s thermal gear to little more than shreds of fabric would have looked at home on Hohenheim, quadriceps forcing each other apart and rolling around each other with each slow step, the teardrop shape of the muscle warped by its own mass.

A deeply cut Adonis belt lead up to set of eight abdominals, the divisions between them deep enough a coin could have been lost between them. They were overshadowed by a swollen cliff face formed by Khalan’s chest, a tattoo in the shape of the Black Meteors sigil warped over the valleys of muscle. Even leaning forward the tiger likely wouldn't be able to see past the jutting musculature of his pecs, easily surging out two feet beyond his muzzle, managing a few more inches whenever he breathed. His arms were forced to be held up by his sprawling lats, the wing-like muscles making him look nearly as wide as he was tall even when relaxed. Biceps tensed as he clenched his enormous hands, looking like a small dumpster had been stuffed under his fur. Sitting, framed by traps the threatened to squeeze at his muzzle, was the tiger’s grinning face.
The voice that spilled from those lips was deeper, resonating with power. “Dr. Bergstrom I want to thank you for your help. Now the empire can have what it really needs. A king of true strength.” Throwing back his head the tiger roared, the sound making the cave shake, ice cracking as he smirked.

Dan blanched as he stared up at the titan in front of him, equal parts awe and dismay.

“Run,” Devoss hissed, tugging on the cheetah’s massive arm. “For the love of the gods, run!”

Dan tore his eyes from the towering spectacle, and broke into a sprint, grabbing Jefe’s prone body and throwing her over his wide shoulder.

“Get them!” Khalan roared, the earth shaking as his titanic legs pounded against the frozen ground.

Volleys of laser fire rained down on the three; they weren’t hard targets, and Dan grunted as he felt his fur and flesh singed where he was hit.

“It’s non-lethal? I thought they were trying to kill us!” Devoss grunted, puffing as he tried to keep up.

“Khalan wants us alive. I don’t want to find out why!” the cheetah shouted back, shaking his head. The rain of fire would have struck down weaker men by now, and constantly getting pummelled was beginning to wear him down. With a last burst of strength and willpower, he leapt into his ship’s hold, slamming the airlock closed.

“What now?” Devoss asked, panting as he helped Dan lay Jefe down.

“What do you think?” the cheetah snapped. “We get the frack out of here!” He rushed to the console, the walls of the ship battered by laser fire.
They had just enough time to fire the engines, and the Virtus just escaped Khalan’s clutches.