Fiction Home - More by Corry Vrecken - More in Action and Aventure - More Halloween Challenge 2007 entries

In the grey coldness of the predawn air, her back pressed against the wall of the tent, Corry curled into as tight a ball as she could and hid beneath her cot, quivering with fear.

It's just a bad dream. It didn't really happen. They don't exist!

The mantra repeated over and over. She whispered it inside her head, not daring to speak out loud for fear someone would hear.

The night had been one long horrifying dream, but she was safe if they didn't find her. If she stayed hidden, perhaps in the daylight the evil leave. That's the way it always happened in the stories. The evil left at dawn.

But when the fingers of dawn turned the tent walls to red and then gold she stayed hidden, not daring to risk coming out, even though she felt the evil depart. She drew her legs up hard against her chest, wrapping her hands around her ankles and hiding her face in her knees.

Hudson's call made her head jerk upright.

"Colonel! Are you there?"

The door flap to the tent moved and she called out, her voice hoarse, "I'm here. But don't come in! I'm.. I'm not dressed."

"Thank goodness you're alright." Hudson breathed, speaking through the flap. "When you didn't show up for roll call we thought you'd been taken too."

"Taken?!"

"It's Colonel Fortis. He's missing."

* * * * *

Nick looked up from the pile of flimsies on his camp desk as the outer flap opened. It was only two hours since dawn and already the air inside the tent was hot and stale.

"Ah, Corry. There you are. Listen, I've got enough problems right now, I don't need a medic barging in here, complaining that my officers are being uncooperative. Just let the Corpsman change the dressing on your arm and ... gods, Corry! You look awful." He stood and waved her to the stool across from his desk. "Sit down before you fall down."

Nick quickly catalogued her untidy uniform, deathly pale face and eyes widened with either disbelief or horror - or both.

"Sit there, I'll have the sergeant call the medic."

"No!" She grabbed the arm of his tunic and yanked him to a stop, then pulled her hand back from him as if burned. "I'm sorry, sir! It's just... Miles...." Her voice caught.

This he understood. The last week on Crecibn IIa had been trying enough, with negotiations strained between the three tribes claiming the local Stargate. Corry's assessment hadn't taken long. The DHD needed a tuning crystal and repairs to several of the sequence dedicators. However, each tribe refused to allow the repairs unless they were proclaimed the sole owner of the gate, following up their insistence with bloodshed.

The RS negotiation team had done its best, but threats against them had come from all sides. Nick was once again glad that he had decided to bring in the twenty man Relief Team by shuttle and not through the Stargate like the original four man Contact Team.

That team had now been missing for ten days with no sign of which tribe might be holding them. Scans were inconclusive - their gear had been bartered back and forth among the tribes before Nick and his officers and men had hit the atmosphere.

The sudden disappearance of Miles Fortis was the first threat made real, and everyone was feeling it.

"Just calm down, Corry. I've got three patrols out. We'll find him."

"You don't understand, sir." Corry winced and didn't meet his eyes. "I...last night...I killed him."

* * * * *

"Let me get this straight."

The command tent was more crowded now, the air fouler and hotter than ever, but this wasn't a discussion to be had out in the open. Matt Hudson and Corpsman Marshvin sat along one wall. Rin Archaeon stood guard just inside the tent flap, his face unreadable. Corry sat despondently on the camp stool, unmoving as Nick paced back and forth along the small strip of beaten grass down the center of the tent.

"You say that last night, when the moon rose, you changed into some type of an animal. Then you attacked Colonel Fortis in his tent?"

"Not just an animal, sir." Corry swallowed hard and glanced up to the only other Tau'ri in the tent. Hudson's face was a mask of disbelief. She swallowed again. "It's called a werewolf, sir. Don't you have them on Alderaan?"

"Had." Nick correctly automatically, still pacing. "And no, we didn't make a habit of people changing into animal form. This is insane."

"Yes, sir." She agreed, her voice quieted by despair . "It's completely insane. Werewolves are only stories on Earth, but every culture - every one of them, sir - has the stories." Her head drooped. "I never believed they existed until now."

"Well, I DON'T believe it." Nick snapped. "As of this moment I'm putting you under the care of Corpsman Marshvin. You're to go with him and let him take care of you - sedate you if necessary, do you understand? This has got to be poison from that thing that bit you. It's making you hallucinate."

Corry bolted off her chair, pulled up her sleeve and turned her forearm to him. The skin, which yesterday was lacerated and bruised, was now clear of any mark, healthy and unbroken.

"Is this a hallucination? Did I wake up in my tent this morning, huddled naked in a corner because of a hallucination? My clothes lying on the ground, shredded!" She shuddered and burst out, "I could taste his blood, sir! I still had some smeared on my face!"

Hudson spoke for the first time. "You say that after you realized you were a wolf you headed for Fortis' tent?"

"No." Corry slumped back into her chair, drained. "Not at first. I came here, to the Admiral's tent, first; but there were too many people, so I went to Miles. I thought he could help me. But he took one look at me... I'd slipped into his tent as quietly as I could. I was avoiding the guards, you see. In that form, it was so easy. They didn't even seem to hear me, let alone see me. And...I guess I startled him."

Hudson snorted, "I'll say."

"He threw his helmet at me and dived for his blaster. I reacted on instinct! I was in the air, leaping for his throat before I could stop myself! It took over!" She buried her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to. Please believe me. He was my friend."

"Where's the body?" Hudson asked quietly.

"I don't know." She stared at the trampled grass floor of the tent. "I must have dragged it off."

She jumped as his hand touched her shoulder.

"Colonel, I don't know what is going on, but I do know that you didn't kill him. I saw him myself last night. He came out of his tent, blazing mad, holding a bloody towel to his neck. He said that an animal had attacked him and run off. We called out the guards, but didn't find any sign of an animal, not even tracks."

Marshvin nodded, encouraging the signs of hope the lit in Corry's eyes. "I took care of the wound myself, Colonel. He was very much alive. We sent him to bed soon after."

Hudson patted her shoulder again as she began crying then backed off self consciously.

"Better now?" Nick asked after she had quieted.

"Yes sir." Corry nodded shakily, dashing the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. It's just... I thought I had..."

He waved this away and looked over the gathered faces.

"We still have a problem. Two now, it seems." He tapped one finger against his temple, willing the headache not to form. "Fortis is still missing. And perhaps worse .... Matt, what exactly did Miles say attacked him?"

Hudson grimaced. "He said it as a wolf, sir. A big one." He looked over at Corry, whose eyes were once again going wide. "A big golden wolf, sir."

"Has Crecibn any creatures that might be mistaken for wolves, Lieutenant?"

"No sir. Those Meadow Loapers are as close as I've seen, and they're more like greyhounds. I haven't seen anything like a wolf, sir."

Nick picked up his cup of now tepid stimtea, swirled the dregs around and ordered, "Tell me these stories. Stories of how a man turns into a wolf."

* * * * *

The shuttle's engines whined up to pitch quickly, as if eager to leave the planet. On board, Nick's hands easily floated over the controls. Beside him, with the copilot's chair swiveled backwards to face the cabin, Rin strapped himself in.

"Are you sure we want to do this?" The Sergeant asked as he checked the power settings on his blaster.

"I'd rather know now than wait for moonrise." Nick answered, his attention focused on pre-flight. "If the Tau'ri stories hold true for this planet the full moon triggers the change. And since we have three moons running around, we'll have about twenty days of uninterrupted lycanthropy on our hands."

There was a groan from the main cabin. Corry sat cross legged on the deck, positioned as far from the cockpit as possible, wearing shorts and a tank top. She reached up to adjust the loose collar around her neck, but Rin raised his blaster.

"Don't touch that, ma'am. Please."

Corry sighed and nodded, making the chain that fastened her collar to the wall clatter.

"Twenty days?" She shivered. "Can't you just sedate me until we leave?"

"I don't think that would be a medically sound idea, Corry." Nick said.

"Neither is ripping people's throats out." She muttered back.

"I'm still not convinced that you did anything of the sort - or attempted it." The engines keyed up as the shuttle lifted. "We'll find out in a few minutes. Once we clear the horizon you'll have a good view of the current full moon. We'll know, one way or the other."

The next few moments were spent in silence as the shuttle lifted slowly through the wavering heat of the noon day. Nick stole a glance backward. Corry was breathing hard, obviously scared, but trying not to show it. Rin's hands were steady, but his finger was white against the trigger guard.

"Only if you absolutely have to, Sergeant." Nick said, his voice low.

"Yes, sir."

The shuttle sped toward the horizon, quickly entering twilight, and Nick slowed forward motion to nearly a standstill.

"We don't want to make this change too sudden. We'll let the moon come up on its own."

The chain clattered and Rin gasped, bringing the muzzle of his weapon to bear. Nick began to turn, but Corry yelled out, "It's happening. Don't watch! Please!"

Nick quickly faced forward. Framed in the view port, one of Crecibn's moons rose above the horizon, huge and full. The darkening cobalt sky turned the view port into a indistinct mirror, and he could just make out a shadowy form in the cabin behind him. The figure suddenly writhed and Corry screamed.

"Mors' bastards!" Rin swore. He hadn't taken his eyes off the target for a moment.

Corry's cry quickly turned into a whimper, and then a low growl. Nick whipped around in time to see a huge golden wolf rip off the last shreds of clothing with its teeth.

"Mors' bastards." Rin repeated, his eyes huge. "I've never seen anything like...that must have hurt... STOP!" His finger tightened on the trigger.

The wolf had finished with the clothing and now struggled against the chain.

"Colonel, if you can understand me, stop now or I'll shoot!"

The wolf's shoulders bunched and it snarled, throwing itself across the cabin. The chain popped free from the wall, skittering across the deck, and the wolf turned to face the cockpit with fangs bared.

Nick was on his feet, "Corry!"

The wolf stopped, snarled again and seemed to sneeze.

Rin's finger tightened on the trigger. "If it jumps..." he warned.

"Corry! Can you understand me?" Nick stepped forward, hand outstretched.

Rin cried, "Sir! Get out of the way!"

The wolf sneezed again, and tilted its head to one side, triangular ears twitching. It watched the two men for several moments then let out a yip! One paw swiped at its muzzle and it yipped again. Then the animal sank down onto its belly and crawled forward, stopping with its muzzle flat on the deck between its front paws, directly at Nick's feet. It turned large hazel eyes up to the men and whimpered.

"I don't believe it." Nick whispered.

* * * * *

On the way back to camp both men kept their eyes straight ahead out the front view screen. Rin had found a blanket in the med supplies and they left it on the deck for Corry's use. From the sounds they both knew when she finished changing back.

"That didn't sound quite as painful this time." Nick ventured when she appeared behind them, the blanket fastened under her arms like a sarong.

"Actually it doesn't really hurt. It's just, well...startling."

"That's good news." He shook his head, trying to get the revelations to settle. "Could you understand me?"

"Not at first. I was too disoriented." Corry shrugged, but stopped before she lost her only clothing. "I understood your tone, and your... well, your smell. Oh heck, I can't describe it. The worst part was that I didn't know how to let you know it was still me inside and not just an animal. I tried to speak. That didn't work." She blush crept up her cheeks. "If either of you ever tell ANYONE that I groveled...!"

A boyish grin crossed Rin's face. "Don't worry Colonel, I don't think anyone would believe that you learned to obey."

Nick snorted a laugh but Corry didn't join in.

"Just kidding, Colonel." Rin apologized. "Colonel?"

Corry's eyes were unfocused. "He's close. Stop!"

Nick killed the shuttle's forward movement.

"It's Miles. I can feel him." she whispered. "Oh heavens... he's a werewolf too."

* * * * *

Nick and Rin stood on the ramp of the shuttle, watching Corry wade into the deep meadow grass.

"This might not be a good idea. We can come back with reinforcements, maybe even a net." Nick suggested. The grass was too deep for his liking. Lots of things could creep up on you in grass like that. He powered up the carbine just in case.

"Let me try, sir." She asked. "If I could sense him in my human form, he'll have no problem at all sensing me."

"Why is he still a wolf?" Rin asked. "It's daylight!"

"Maybe he didn't switch back at dawn." Corry shrugged. "I wanted to become human again, wanted to desperately, and so I changed as soon as the sun rose. But maybe if you don't want to change..."

"What if you want to change into a wolf?" Nick asked. "Do you need the moon to trigger it?"

Corry looked perplexed. "All the stories say that the rising full moon forces the change. I don't know if you can will it to happen."

"How about giving it a try?"

Corry nodded slowly, took a deep breath and looked out into the long grass, where she could sense Miles' presence.

She concentrated.

She wished.

She held her breath.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe you don't really want to." Rin suggested helpfully.

She looked at him and chuckled. "You're right. You know why? Because you're watching! Turn around, Sergeant."

Rin grumbled. "I already saw it once." When they turned back the blanket was lying in a heap on grass and the golden wolf sat beside it, her pink tongue peeping out between her white teeth.

"I think she was laughing." Rin said as they watched her vanish into the grass.

Nick strode out to gather up the blanket. "Let's get back to camp. They can meet us there."

* * * * *

The golden wolf lopped easily through the meadow grass. The clean sharp scent and the feeling of the blades sliding along her flanks was the essence of summer and freedom. She almost hated to stop, but a deep purplish scent rose from a raised area near the trees and she knew who she would find there.

Sunning himself in the warm dust at the top of the rise lay an enormous silverback wolf. His ruff was almost a mane, and black guard hairs ran down his spine, giving his muscular shoulders and flank a lean look. The wolf sat up as she approached, and its eyes sparkled.

Well now, that's a pretty bitch.

The golden wolf stopped, and her head tilted to one side automatically, listening for the voice that she'd heard in her mind.

It's almost as if she understands.

I do understand. And don't you ever call me a bitch again, Miles Fortis!

The silverback dodged backwards in surprise, then sniffed.

Corry?! How did you get here? How did you become one of us?

The golden wolf sat carefully, wrapping her tail around her paws. I'm afraid I'm the reason you're in this mess. I'm sorry Miles, I didn't mean to infect you. I must have gotten it from that pesky otter-thing that bit me when we were setting up camp. I was the wolf who attacked you in your tent. I truly am sorry.

Sorry? What for? For giving me the greatest gift ever? Look at this body! Do you know how wonderful it feels? The silverback strutted across the rise. I haven't felt this good in ages! No cybernetics. No pains. Just a marvelously fit body! Have you run through the grass this morning? Have you chased those little rabbit-like things? I haven't had this much fun in years! I could kiss you for this! Instead, I'll show you – follow me!

The silverback was gone in a flash, and the golden wolf followed. They ran along game paths and cut through long grasses meadows, splashing across streams. All around them the world was ablaze with scents and sounds.

Little by little the silverback pulled ahead, its massive muscles and longer legs outpacing even the sleek speed of the golden wolf. He laughed as the kilometers sped by. This was freedom such as he'd never known!

The long cliff edge loomed ahead and he followed it, weaving among boulders until he found the prefect spot. The afternoon sun was merely dappled spots of light under the copse of trees. He took the prime spot, a flat smooth stone at the edge of the cliff. Below, the valley was a parade of colors and scents as animals and beings went about their lives.

The golden wolf arrived soon after. When you got too far ahead, I couldn't talk to you. She panted as she stretched out beside him, relaxing on the cool grass and worrying a burr from her leg with her front teeth. There seems to be a range limit.

The silverback mentally nodded, but his attention was focused on the valley below.

All of this is ours. We are the masters here. He thought contentedly. There is nothing that can stand against us. Not against two of us. Have you felt the power of your muscles? We are more than the animals we appear. Together we can rule this whole land.

Corry stared at him and rose to her feet. Miles, we aren't staying here. We need to go back to camp.

The silverback's head lowered and it looked at the golden wolf with narrowed eyes.

Why should I? Why should I give up all of this for a pieced together body? Why should I lose these senses? Can't you hear birds flying or smell the colors? What could possibly induce me to leave this?

He turned his back on her, surveying the broad plains and lakes below.

You're not a wolf, Miles Fortis, you're a man. You have to remember that. You have to retain your identity!

This can be my identity. There is nothing more incredible than this.

The golden wolf looked back across the long stretches of green. At this distance she could not sense the camp on top of the hill. How could she possibly convince Miles to leave the breathtaking display below? To give it up and become human again?

Finally she thought gently. Duty. We have a duty.

She turned tail and ran back through the meadow.

Miles let her go. She would be back soon enough. One werewolf could live here quite comfortably, but with two, they would live as kings, feared and honored.

He shook his ruff back, growling as her thought echoed in his head. Duty.

Who was she to lecture him on duty!? He'd given his whole life to duty. He'd given his body also. She didn't know how it felt when the change had taken him. How the metal replacements had fallen away from his arm and even his head. How it felt to be whole and perfect again.

He glanced back across the meadow. Her scent still lingered, but the rose gold color of her presence was fading, and he could barely sense her at the edge of his mind.

She was a fool! Duty...

With a growl he leaped away, following her track. He was a fool too. Why did she have to say that word?!

He followed, keeping her just at the far reach of his range all the way back to the camp.

* * * * *

A long clear howl cut through the sky, and Rin ran to the edge of the bluff. Below, on a boulder near the river a lone wolf stood, watching.

"Just one." Rin murmured. "Too bad. We could sure use Colonel Fortis about now." He grabbed one of the two bundles of clothing that he had prepared, but just then a huge silver grey wolf entered the clearing.

He added the second bundle and shouldered his rifle, calling to the nearest sentry. "Cover me, I'm going down!"

The presence of the wolves should have put him at ease, but he still checked around the clearing before he tossed the bundles behind two banks of bushes, and he stayed sharp as they changed.

Corry emerged from one clump of bushes, trying to brush her golden hair back with her fingers. "Thanks Rin. That could have been awkward." She looked up the hill and took a long breath. "Fear. Determination. Anger? It smells of... " She shook herself and asked carefully. "Are they afraid of us, Rin?"

Miles appeared, pulling on his boots.

"No, it's not that." Rin said grimly. "The Farstikn warriors brought back the First Contact team this afternoon. In a cart. Just their heads."

* * * * *

The mood in the Command tent was black indeed. Nick listened as the scouts gave their final reports, then he dismissed them and turned to his officers.

"I don't mind telling you, if I had a cap ship here..." His anger was just under control. A tight, furious control that Miles and Corry could smell like the black scent of burning cordite. "We're going to retrieve the negotiating team then we're going to leave this rock."

He strode to the large map and stabbed a finger at the Grwbna village. "They were meeting here yesterday."

A cry from the guard halted the planning and he was out of the tent before anyone else. From the east a group of warriors approached, escorting the negotiating team. Everyone held their breath, counting as the team came into sight, then the entire camp let out a breath of relief. There were all three RS members, lead by Captain Brasn, all safe and alive.

Even before the team had arrived at the base of the hill, Nick was giving orders for the camp to pack up.

"But quietly." He said. "And not until the Grwbna warriors are out of sight." We don't want to let them know we're leaving.

The first scream caught them all off guard. Brasn fell with a spear through his spine, and the camp came alive. It took several minutes to determine that the Grwbna had been joined by others. Hudson and his squad were already running at full tilt to the base of the hill and the two remaining negotiators when the trap was sprung.

Blaster fire met spears and arrows in midair.

Corry was sighting her rifle on the moving grasses, where her new senses revealed a warrior's pungent scent, when suddenly the odor of malice made her gasp. Miles' head jerked around at the same moment, and he jump up from behind a sheltering log and ran toward the shuttle.

They got there too late. Tribal warriors ran out of the open ramp, pursued by noxious smoke. Miles cut down two of them with his blaster fire, then vaulted into the burning ship. Corry stopped for a moment, searching, but her nose told her that the guards were dead before she found them. She ran to join Miles when the first explosion ripped the hull of the shuttle open. A streak of powerful silver and black leaped from the ramp just as the second explosion sent spiraling clouds of black smoke out across them.

Their heightened sense of smell was their undoing, and girl and wolf ran back from the wreck, gagging at the fumes. In clear air once more, Corry called the wolf and ran a hand over his shoulder. The fur was blackened and bloody.

"Change!" Corry yelled through the din of fire and battle. "Change back, Miles! I healed when I changed!"

The silverback shimmered and seemed to turn inside out. Corry winced, looking away, and then the sounds were human as Miles cursed in three languages. The wound was still there, a deep gash and burn on his bare back.

"It didn't work." He growled.

"Go back to wolf. Maybe it's that change." Corry cried. She turned away this time and avoided the stomach churning sight.

A deep growl raised the hackles on her neck, and she tried to pull the change upon her. As she concentrated the silverback sailed over her head, taking the oncoming warrior head on, the wolf's fangs ripping out the man's throat with ease. The warrior thrashed about, drowning in his own blood, his head barely attached, and the werewolf watched passively, his long tongue licking the gore from his lips.

When it was over, the silverback paced to Corry's side, watching over her as she lost what little food remained in her belly.

Together they walked back to the command tent, neither of them looked back.

* * * * *

The tally was shocking.

Of the twenty man relief team, there were now only eleven left. The survivors moved in pairs through the deepening shadows, pulling anything usable out of the smoking remains of tents. Fire arrows had done the tribal warriors' work very effectively.

The three negotiators had been slaughtered, and Hudson's squad had been almost wiped out. Even now Marshvin was working over Matt and Lobacca, trying to save at least their lives if not their limbs.

Corry tore her attention away from the pain that seeped out of the unburned tent where they wounded lay, and tried to focus on Nick's words.

"With the shuttle gone, we need to survive at least three days before relief arrives. And that will only happen if Ashleigh picks up our signal immediately. Worst case, we'll be here until the mission closure date. If we're not back they'll come find out why, but that would be eight more days."

"We can't survive another attack like that, sir." Rin offered soberly. "They outnumbered us three to one."

"We can survive. We must."

Miles interjected, "If we pull all of our fortifications to this spot..."

Corry was no longer listening. The waves of pain were pounding at her from the tent

* * * * *

Hudson's hands dug into the sheets and he nearly bit his tongue off as another wave of pain threatened to send him over the edge. He could tell from Marshvin's carefully neutral look that the new wasn't good, but he'd be damned if he was going to die screaming.

In the next cot over he could hear Lobacca strained to breathe, gulping down draughts of air. Marshvin poured another liter of water over the Ishi Tib's wounds then stood up helplessly.

What a way to die, Hudson thought.

Someone touched his face and he opened his eyes to see Corry kneeling beside the cot.

"All the supplies were destroyed." Marshvin's voice was centered roughly three kilometers away. "I can't give them anything for the pain."

"Matt?" Corry brushed his hair back from his sweat slicked forehead. "Can you hear me?" He blinked the salt out of his eyes and nodded slowly. Her voice was closer, only about a klick down the road.

"Matt, I can help you. I don't know what it will mean in the long run, but it can save your life now. Do you want me to help you?"

Marshvin's face loomed over her shoulder, his features shocked. "You can't do that to him!"

"You can't do anything for him, but I can!" Corry growled. She looked into Hudson's eyes, stroking his forehead. "I'll only do it if you want me to."

"Do it." Hudson croaked.

She nodded and stepped to the rear of the tent, unfastening her jumpsuit. "Don't look!" She warned.

Miles burst into the tent as the golden wolf padded to Hudson's side.

"I felt you change." He yelled. "What do you think you are doing?!"

Hudson painfully laid a bloodied hand on the wolf's head and tried to speak but no words came out. He stared up at Miles as he fell back, his breath rattling in his throat.

"If you're going to do it, do it quickly!" Marshvin cried, but the golden wolf had already struck, biting quickly into the fleshy part of Hudson's hand. The wolf whimpered and laid its muzzle on Hudson's chest.

Nothing happened.

"It's not moonrise." Nick explained from the doorway. "He's going to have to will it to happen."

Miles pushed Marshvin aside and grabbed Hudson by the shoulders, shaking him into semi-consciousness. "Want it! Do you hear me! Think of life. Think of power and freedom. Whatever it takes, you have to change!"

"He's never done it. He doesn't know how." Nick said hollowly. A leaden weight settled in his chest as he watched Hudson slip away.

Suddenly the golden wolf and Miles both jerked around. Miles raced out of the tent and the golden wolf sat back and howled. Hudson's body jerked, his back arching and he cried out in pain. The cot suddenly became a confusion of limbs and twisting blankets.

Marshvin rushed forward and pulled the blanket aside to reveal a sleek black timber wolf with a white blaze on his chest. The timber wolf leaped from the cot and rushed out the door, headed for the rising moon.

The golden wolf turned to follow, but Lobacca's voice stopped her.

"Alright, I'll do it. But I hope you don't like seafood too much." He hissed in pain and tried to sit up. The golden wolf scampered to his side and quickly nipped at his offered hand.

The change was different this time. It took several minutes and Lobacca's face had lost its look of determination. He sank back, shivering with the pain of his injuries.

"He's not Tau'ri." Nick shook his head. "Maybe it only works for those who have the legends."

The golden wolf yipped and everyone turned in time to see a thick muscular tail slither off Lobacca's cot.

From under the other cot a long green reptilian form emerged. Corry's wolf brain immediately thought Crocodile! and she backed up against the tent wall, her ruff raised and a snarl on her lips.

Whatever Lobacca had become was native to Tibrin, and not to Earth. The long flat head opened to reveal an impressive set of razor sharp teeth in viselike jaws. Four eyes swiveled to look around the tent, two in front and two in the rear, and the creature hissed as Nick and Marshvin rushed aside to give it a way out.

He stopped as the light of the moon glanced dully off his scales. Below the bluff, the river was a silver path and he lunged for it, speeding down the trail. His tail whipped back and forth as he went and an errant swipe destroying a crate that happened to be in the way. The monster stopped and looked back, an expression of chagrin crossing its features, but then it ran on ignoring cries of shock from the sentries.

Seven humans and three huge wolves stood on the brow of the hill and watched the creature flop happily into the water below.

* * * * *

"That's the answer, sir. It's the only answer." Rin urged, following Nick as the Admiral searched for undamaged items in the wreck of the Command tent. A small bonfire crackled outside, sending sparks floating up into the night sky.

The wolves sat at the edge of the firelight, watching the discussion with interest.

Things had changed in the last hour. The comms equipment had been found, shattered and burned. Even if Corry had thumbs and a full tool kit, she wouldn't have been able to repair it.

"We can't survive eight days like this, sir. But we can survive like that." Rin gestured to the werewolves.

"You've made your point." Nick picked up a cracked datapad, sighed and tossed it out onto the fire in an attempt to wipe any remaining data. "But there are two problems with your plan."

He sat down and rubbed a weary hand over his face.

"First, none of the rest of us are Tau'ri. You saw what happened to Lobacca. Who knows what we might turn into. Do you know?"

Rin shook his head. "I don't. But it would be worth the risk, sir."

"Oh, would it? You saw what happened when we took Corry up in the shuttle. Do you want to turn into a monster every time we fly past some system that happens to have a full moon? What kind of a life would that be?"

The younger man leaned forward eagerly. "I have a theory about that, sir. I think the change is tied to this specific planet's lunar patterns. The infection evolved here under these moons. It may not ever work the same elsewhere. We could be just fine."

"That's one HUGE supposition, mister!"

"Yes, sir. But even if I'm wrong, we'd have all of the New Republic's resources to find us a cure."

Nick barked a laugh. "Lab rats? For the rest of our lives?"

Rin sounded chagrined. "Well, then, maybe just Rogue Squadron's resources."

The black timber wolf looked at the other two ultra-canine forms beside him.

I think Corry should bite them. She's good at it.

Now, there's gratitude for you. The golden wolf sniffed. I'll have you know, you tasted like burnt steak. And Lobacca - squid. Not fresh, either, mind you!

The silverback started to reply, but paused, nose to the air.

Warriors! He growled.

All three wolves sat back and let out a bay in unison, a primal hunting cry of a animal that had never evolved on Crecibn.

Nick and Rin ran to the barricades as the three monsters streaked passed, headed down the hill. Screams erupted form the river before they got half way, and a horde of muddy warriors ran off through the moonlit grasses, a huge slithering reptile close on their heels.

Half an hour later, Lobacca returned to his place in the cool mud of the stream, an oddly satisfied look on his face.

The werewolves remained on patrol that night, pacing the perimeter of the compacted camp, and returning to the river every few hours to communicate with Lobacca.

* * * * *

As dawn approached, Corry slunk to one of the tents and dragged a few pieces of unburned uniform behind a crate. After the change she dressed in what almost passed for a uniform and staggered over to the fire to find something to eat.

"I thought the change would heal you."

Nick walked up behind her, handing her a canteen.

"It heals you to become a werewolf, but it doesn't fill your stomach." She tore open the seal on a protein stick and chewed between yawns. "It certainly doesn't make up for lost sleep."

"So, it's not a panacea." He sighed and ran a smoke-grimed hand through his short hair. "I rather hoped Rin was on to something."

Corry made a face at the taste of the water from the river. She knew who lived in it now, and she wasn't entirely happy about not having a purifier handy.

"You were right in everything you said to him, sir. But you left out one important thing."

"What's that?"

Corry eyed the rest of her protein stick then put it aside.

"When you change, when you take the form of the beast, you have to fight the way the beast does. That means, no blasters, no vibroblades. Nothing remotely impersonal." She shuddered. "It means gutting a creature with your claws or ripping their life out with your teeth. I'm not sure if the men would be able to do that. I'm pretty sure that I can't."

Nick looked at her compassionately. "You haven't had to kill in that form yet?"

Corry shook her head. "I'm not sure I can fend for myself as a werewolf. I think even rabbits are going to be safe."

* * * * *

Toward noon, Hudson in his timber wolf form, on long range patrol, scented the approaching battle. For each of the eleven Rogues, there were six heavily armed warriors closing on the camp.

"You'll have no chance at all, sir." He said, gasping from his long run and sudden change. "You have about thirty minutes until they reach the river. Then you won't have the luxury to choose anymore. And since we can't wait for a full moon, you'll need all the time you can to force the change the first time."

Nick looked around at the six humans that were left.

"This is a decision you each have to make on your own. There's no guarantee what form you'll take, or what will happen to you if we survive. But it's a chance at survival. At least a chance."

He stood. "I am going to risk it, myself. There is no shame in anyone who wants to remain human. We'll all do our best to protect you no matter what you decide."

Rin stepped forward immediately, but the rest looked unsure.

* * * * *

If a wolf could look shy, then the golden wolf did. She gingerly took the Admiral's hand in her mouth, but couldn't bring herself to bite him.

"Corry, do you want him to die?" Hudson yelled.

The golden wolf whimpered then crunched down, sending Nick dancing in pain. "Thanks." He gritted out through clenched teeth, wrapping a rag around his now bloody hand.

Rin didn't look quite as excited following that show, but Corry nipped him easily and he walked away rubbing the bloody punctures in satisfaction.

Three of remaining five refused the offer, and then there were only 15 minutes left.

Barricades were reset; weapons, from blasters to rocks, were checked; food stores were buried away from the fighting - and still Nick, Rin and the rest had not been able to make themselves change. No pep talks or urging seemed to help. They all wanted to change, but none of them knew how.

Cries from the river signaled the final approach. Lobacca fought valiantly but was soon overwhelmed and swam toward the edges of the attacking army to pick off stragglers.

Fire arrows rained down on the RS team, but Nick refused to send the werewolves off to face such overwhelming odds. Two more team members were cut down before Miles ignored orders, jumped the barricade and tore into the first wave of attackers. Screams and cries plotted his progress, and within moments Matt leaped to join him, breaking bones with his strong jaws and ripping out any muscles that were not protected by armor.

Corry wove around Nick and Rin's legs, whining at them to change.

"It's no good!" Rin finally yelled at her. "It doesn't work on someone from Ammuud!"

As if on cue, a fire arrow zipped through the barricades and buried itself in Rin's thigh. He fell screaming to the ground, pawing at the arrow. Then suddenly he had paws and claws – and fangs. An Ammuudian Shora Beast sprang from behind the barricade, its icy grey and blue stripes a perfect disguise on the snow fields of Ammuud, but strangely at odds with the green meadows of Crecibn.

Joy radiated off the lithe body as it turned in circles, orienting itself.

Corry had never seen an actual sabre-toothed tiger, but this came close enough. Rin leaped into the battle, roaring and slashing.

Nick stared in fascination at the change, but quickly resumed firing into the mass of attackers. He shook his head when Corry pawed at him.

"I don't know how." He cried. "I'm sorry."

Three warriors rushed the barricade. One died as he ran headlong onto Nick's blaster, but he took that weapon with him as they crashed to the ground. Another pounced on Nick from behind, his arm plunging to bury a blade in Nick's back.

Golden fur flashed by as Corry leaped, jaws crunching on the arm. She flipped the warrior head over heals, breaking his shoulder with a twist of her neck. Nick appeared at her side and the knife meant for him found a sheath in the warrior's throat.

You still haven't changed! Corry mentally yelled at him, as he turned to face the next warrior.

Taking her life in her hands, Corry rushed forward and sank her teeth into the seat of Nick's pants.

"Yooooowwwwww!" Nick roared. The warrior screamed as the man before him turned inside out. Nick landed on all fours, glowing yellow eyes trained on the frozen warrior. His tail twitched as the change left him, and once again a feared black Manka Cat, the extinct panther of Alderaan, existed in the universe.

With a roar of anger, the cat disemboweled the warrior and then turned to find the golden wolf. But wolves aren't stupid and this one had run toward the battle, figuring it was a much safer place to be at the moment.

* * * * *

Five days later

Two well guarded shuttles sat at the foot of the hill where the ruins of the RS camp still sent occasional wisps of smoke into the morning sky.

"No sign of anyone, Captain." The marine lieutenant looked sadly over the grounds. "It must have been quite a battle."

Aboard Ashleigh, Leeana Tabanne glowered. "Nick Fel would never go down easily. Make sure you check everything within two kilometers of the camp, Lieutenant. Then make another pass, ten kilometers out."

"Aye, ma'am." The Lieutenant picked up his binocs. "Wait. Movement in the grass." He waved a squad toward the west side of the bluff, and they were just in time to witness the change.

Tall grasses swayed with the passage of large, fleet creatures; tails lashing and muscles rippling in the morning sun. As the creatures reached the river bank they suddenly stood upright, striding forward on two legs and wearing the tattered remnants of uniforms.

"We've got them, Captain! They're here!"