Almost everyone was assembled in the common tent for this staff meeting. Jack had always kept the meetings actual decision-making process limited to his senior officers but he normally allowed them to be open anyway. Today was a sell out. Only the guards were not here. Saiid had arrived first and he was wearing his now famous ears. When Jack ducked into the tent it was his first sight. He just shook his head and got on with the business at hand.

Saiid noticed the reaction and had to comment, "You know, having staff meetings like this definitely makes you the Captain Picard type."

Jack had to think about that one, "Who?"

"You know, Star Trek? The bald headed guy? His style was naturally opposed to the more autocratic managerial style of James Tiberius Kirk. Those are really the only two, you realize."

Jack thought about it some more, "I thought Kirk was the bald headed guy?"

Vitosk rolled his eyes, "Good Lord, are you going to spend all day talking nonsense Jack?"

Sitting down at the table Jack took a quick look around. He was impressed by the turn out today. "All right, meeting number seven hundred and three hundred and two is now called to order. I move that we waive the reading of the minutes from the last meeting. By the way Red, do not take that as a sign that anyone has given up on your snoring disorder."

"Jack can we please!" grumbled Vitosk.

"Vitosk, I'm in command here." Jack waited. Everyone was looking at him. "All right, let's go over what we know about the aliens shall we. Jesus, you people act like you haven't been talking about this for the last two days."

Gary stood up, "If I may?" With a nod from Jack, Gary sat back down and continued, "It is exactly what we suspected. No doubt about it now. We are dealing with two distinct groups here. They have languages so radically different that it was easy to pick up on."

"Tell us how you arrived at this Doctor," said Vitosk as he began eating on a fruit similar to the one that Jack had been given on the first day.

"Well I can't speak their languages as of yet. However, I have made quite a few recordings and gone back over them time and time again. Now the first group, the ones we have been calling the black shirts, as we all know, call themselves Zeat. The other group, the ones comprised of Neanderthal Moe Wu Sapiens, call themselves Assur. The key to picking the languages apart was in the Zeat’s habit of how they name themselves."

Jack’s ears perked up, "You figured out names?"

"A few, yes." Gary started digging through his notes. "Ah, you see the Zeat’s seem to kind of be like the Irish or Scots. You know like adding the O, or the Mac, in front of the name. They add the phrase Ze."

"Does it mean the same thing?" asked McCandles.

"That I don't know. If it does, it seems to have fallen out of use just like back home. They have first and last names just like we do. The one we've been calling Leader. Well his name is, get this, Joe."

No one was laughing. Everyone just looked at Gary like he was crazy. Red finally said what was on everybody's mind. "You telling me we come god knows how many million miles to find an alien named Joe?"

"Phonetically this would appear so. I have not dove into the characters of their script yet. They do have them. I saw some at dinner the other night on that map. In conclusion though, I'm not sure, but, I think it's a safe bet that the Zeat language is kind of like, say, Polish. It's spelled just the way it's pronounced."

"Thanks Gary," said Jack. "All right Pete, your turn."

Pete never stood. He flipped open his note book, "I got a look at one of their rifles. This of course suggests even stronger that our black shirt buddies are military even though they haven’t really carried them around since arriving. Anyway, like I said, it is a rifle. It’s kind of bulky and has an unusually long barrel. I didn't get to fire it but, I'm guessing accuracy out to about six hundred yards. It's a muzzleloader and appeared to have an attachment for a bayonet. I haven't seen one of those yet."

"What about those things that the," Jack looked to Gary for the name.

"Assur," Gary noted.

Jack went on, "That the Assur were pointing at you the other day."

"I haven't see it yet," said Pete. "Those guys haven't been too happy with us as you know."

"Piss off," responded Dee.

"That's enough of that Dee,” Jack scolded. He went on to add “Why don't you tell us what you know."

She grumbled a little under her breath. "Socially, everything we've seen up until now looks nomadic in nature. They seem to have a society based on herding their animals which are mostly those Moe Chickens. They, of course, have horses and those Mammoths."

Harry jumped in, "I wouldn't call them that yet Doctor Brewer."

Jack was fully aware that Harry had gone down there and got a close look at all of the animals. This was a formal meeting however, "Wait your turn Harry. Go on Dee."

"Anyway," Dee got back to her report, "Their dinner customs, from the other night, are typical of nomadic societies back home. Like, say, the pillows they use for sitting. Again that’s typical. It’s easy to pack up and move. The Moe Chicken seems to be used as pack animal, mount, and a food source. It would appear to be fully domesticated. I mean they just let the things run free when they are not in use."

McCandles added, "yeah and all our Tunnel Rats are gone too. Since they showed up I've only had to kill two instead of twenty a day."

"Now, the only other thing we've learned so far," Dee continued, "seems to be that women are not held in high regard here. This seems to be in both groups identified as of right now. The slope heads seem to be far more belligerent about it, however, other than that, their attitudes on life, their gestures, and a lot of the small things don't seem to be that different from ours."

"On the surface," added Vitosk in his normal crass manner.

"Yurgani, we'll get to you in a minute," Jack gave an obvious verbal reprimand. "Harry go ahead."

"Like I was saying. This is going to knock your socks off. Those things down there are not Wooly Mammoths. They're elephants without a doubt. I mean, sure, they have hair and a few other differences but, not enough to take them out of Loxodonta Africana. I would say, if we really pushed it, you got just another breed of elephant really, maybe a subspecies at best? The neatest part of all, though, is the lack of tusks. They don't have any naturally. As far as I can tell they’re born that way."

"Then we have the Moe Chicken. It looks like a Dinosaur, right? Yet there is no question that it is a mammal with one distinct difference. It does lay eggs. I saw one making a nest out there. Their heard has many age groups in it. It would seem that all of the females bind together to raise the children and nurse them. Of course, I would gather, that after a female Chicken is too old to do that, the Vulcans down there have a problem with them running off."

"How do they nurse with a beak?" asked Vitosk.

"I observed them actually fondling the nipple with their heads turned to the side. They then let the milk run down their tongue." Harry went on, "Now, as for the horses. I don't know that much about them really. Julia had a bit more experience with them than me so I..."

Wu went ahead and gave her report since she was on guard duty. Currently Jack was trying to keep her away from Pete, and Pam, as much as possible. Harry read from his notes, "She said that they were no real breed she had ever seen before. They seemed to have characteristics of many breeds known back on Earth. Other than that, they were just normal horses."

Looking at Vitosk, Jack took note that there was a certain flare in his eye when Wu said that. As of Yet Jack couldn't understand why. The Russian did deserve his reputation, every little bit, though. He was a thinker and his ability to assemble a puzzle certainly was second to none. At least it was in Jack’s book. "Yurgani, sum it up for me here."

Vitosk stood and began walking around in between his colleagues as he spoke. "Well as usual you all have missed a great deal. Let's start with their maps."

Pete's eyebrow rose, "It looked very inferior to me."

"Yes, but, that was just the interior. I saw several of their maps while over there. Every one of them shared a certain, unique, signature. The coastline was plainly copied from one map to another. It was every bit as accurate as our maps, where as, the interior drawings were both, individual in nature and apparently only accurate in general terms."

"Then look at their clothing. The buttons of, uh, Joe, and his associates. They were stamped. A clear indication that they indeed have an industrial capacity of some kind. The Assur on the other hand, seem to be the nomadic ones, all the while, they are apparently making a living off the settled peoples of this planet. Their gear seems to be a mix of style and fashions. It also seems to be beyond their capabilities to make themselves. That is right down to their saddles, guns, and even some of their tents."

"Now down to the nuts and bolts. I think they discovered us by accident."

That certainly got Jacks full attention. Up until now he had just figured they were sent out to find him. Maybe someone heard the sonic boom and came to investigate? That would stand to reason why they were military. If the roles were reversed the USA would certainly send out its troops to make first contact with a group of unknowns.

Vitosk went on, "The two that we first saw seemed only interested in their beast. Then they bring this group back a few days later."

"Scouts and a main body," said Pete.

"Main body yes, scouts no. I think they were simply rounding up strays like Wu was talking about. Then you look at their equipment, animals, and baggage. For one thing the elephants do not seem adapted to this climate we are in. I watched them feeding the brutes. They eat a large amount of what I'm calling hay for lack of a better word. It's obvious the feed did not come from here and indeed most of the elephants are just carrying food for the rest of their kind."

The implication of this just occurred to Jack. Coming from a mechanized society he had completely overlooked it. "They can't stay here long, can they?"

"I'm assuming not," replied Vitosk. "I did some rough calculations and I believe they only brought enough animal feed to get them to where they were going. Maybe a short reserve but, never the less, Joe will have to be moving on soon. This would also imply that Joe is a man of some considerable wealth, or importance."

"How do you get that Vitosk?" asked Red.

"Because, this trip of his must be costing a fortune. I'm guessing he hired the Assur to guide him and his party across this desert. That, when he heard about us, he thought we were something else until he got here. Now he realizes that we are worth the time, and more importantly the expense, to get to know. As for what reasons that he thinks this, we have yet to learn."

"So what does this all add up to Yurgani?" asked Jack.

"In terms of our survival. The first is that these are not the people that built the device that destroyed Hermes. That much is obvious."

Pete interrupted, "That was probably Japanese."

"I doubt that as well Colonel Winston," replied Vitosk. "Just remember there are two other habitable planets in this binary system. If we found life on one it is a good bet that Curly and Larry, as you are all so fond of calling them, are just as inhabited as this one. Maybe even more technologically advanced?"

"You have no evidence of that Yurgani," was Dee's only response.

"Well I have some suggestions, I will call them. The map with its incredible coastline can only be the result of two things. The first of which is that they are very good at navigating their seas. That would of course mean that they are somewhat accomplished astronomers as well, and hence, must be aware of Curly and Larry. Our friend Joe, out there, might very well believe that is where we are from. Maybe, and I am speculating here, because they have their own science fiction stories?"

"What's the second?" asked Jack.

"That there is life on the other two worlds and they have been visited here in the past. Maybe they left behind the accurate coastal information with these people after attempting something similar to what we did with them at dinner the other night. Maybe even for the same reasons that we did. Over time the visit was lost in myth and the navigational information watered down. That would leave only stories of these past visits. Again, leaving Joe to either believe that we are from one of these other worlds, or seeking help against them."

"Help against them?" asked Gina.

"Yes. Again pure speculation but perhaps these people were not as nice as we are. Remember our little friend orbiting the gas giant. It is clear that Joe wants to be our benefactor, however. At this point, I am willing to say we need one and that he would be a good choice for now."

That much was true. Over their many meetings, in the past few days, Joe had made many gestures that Jack could only guess at. Finally after going over the map and a game of Pictionary, along with the usual charades, Jack gathered that Joe wanted them to go somewhere. It looked like Joe meant back to where he came from.

Joe also got the idea across that he would be sending an escort with them. The man Joe had in mind was the one that had a helmet that did not actually match the rest. Where most of them had gold plating his was silver. The engravings on the plates were different too. That did not seem to mean much though. From everything Jack had seen as he tried to figure out their rank structure, they all had unique engravings.

Julia came running into the tent, "Jack, it looks like our folks next door are packing up!"

Vitosk bowed his head, "I told you so."

It was hard to think of this man simply as Joe. Jack also had to wonder how accurate Gary's study was. He heard more of these people calling him Zetanulami. Still, Joe sounded simple enough so Jack walked up and nodded as it was the custom they both seemed to agree upon for greetings.

Joe returned the nod and then pointed to the man just behind him on the right. It was indeed the man with the silver plate on his helmet. The man stepped forward and also nodded. Joe made a walking motion with his fingers and then pointed north.

"I understand," said Jack with a smile. He nodded back realizing that his verbal response would go unrecognized. Jack pointed to himself, to the man with the silver helmet, and then made the walking motion with his fingers. Jack finished his “sentence” by pointing to the Southwest and saying, "Zeat."

Vitosk and the others watched from a distance. Vitosk commented, "I certainly hope Jack didn't call him a fruit this time. Of all the people to come to this world first it had to be you Americans."

That drew looks. Gina said what was on everybody‘s mind though, "What's that suppose to mean?"

Vitosk quickly replied, "you can't even speak your own language correctly. When you do speak others you murder it the way you do your own.”

Pam yanked another box of her supplies out of the stack it was in. She popped the lid and took a look at the contents that proved to be mostly bandages. She poured them into a sack. She got ready to repeat the process when Harry came running in, "Pam! Come on I need your help!"

Grabbing her first aid bag Pam went running out of the shuttle bay right behind Harry. They both stopped next to Pete. He was viewing the greatly reduced alien camp. Pam looked around expecting to see something else, "Who's hurt?"

Joey was standing next to Pete. He was greatly excited. Pam was glad to see the two of them getting along like it were old times again. What she was not glad to see was Joey pointing down the hill to the area where the Moe Chickens were herding, "That big Dinosaur thing is."

Pete slapped the boy on the shoulder; "He's going to finish it off Joey, watch!"

Pam watched the same scene with disgust. One of the Assur walked over to a downed, screaming, frantic animal. He used that short stocky gun, with the end that looked like a horn, to blast the poor creature. The sudden flash and the resulting thump made Pam jerk as much as the creature. The cry it made after that cut Pam right down to the bone.

"You guys brought me out here to watch that?"

"NO!" said a very condescending Harry. "We're going down there and grabbing the body. I want to haul it back up here and X ray it."

Pete was still excited, "I think that thing is a shotgun of some type."

Pam turned to leave. Harry grabbed her by the arm, "Come on, you wanted to know about their biology. We're not going to get a better chance."

"I meant them Harry. Not those things."

Dropping his binoculars Pete commented, "Come on Pam. Let's go get it."

She was still not willing to interrupt her packing for this. The pressure was sure on though, "All right, but I'm not staying that long."

Even though it was obvious they were leaving the creature’s carcass, for the tunnel rats, many of the Assur blocked Pete and his party's way. They had obviously figured out what Pete and the others had come for. Now they stood around with their weapons openly displayed. Pete got a good look at them now. They were some sort of muzzle loaders. Pete could not tell if there was a cap that sparked the powder or what. Then he saw one reloading a flash pan that sat atop the barrel.

"Gummani chu, Bak Bak!"

This ugly little Neanderthal had learned the last part from Pete. He must have been in the group that Pete had "talked" with about their mounts several days ago. Pete had already figured he was way in over his head now. He waved to his people behind him, "come on guys. I don't think they want us to have it."

When Pam turned to leave, which was just fine with her, she found that even more of the Assur had gathered behind them. They did not have their weapons displayed but, no doubt, they had them under the robes. Pam began to walk back anyway. She would go right through them. After the first few steps those between her and the camp began exposing the horn looking barrels.

"Do we draw Pete?" asked Harry. His heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. He was breathing rather heavily.

"No," said Pete. He turned around to the one that had spoke. Obviously he was the ringleader of this little crew. Pete pointed at him and then to the dead animal. "Trade."

Pete had made the observation that these people were willing to fight over almost anything amongst themselves. Pete could only guess what their views on outsiders were. He also noticed that everything with these people had a price. If they could not walk then buying their way out seemed the most rational way to end the standoff.

"Gummani," said the Assur holding his hand out. He, and all of his kinsmen for that matter, were far less patient than the Zeats when it came to translating intentions. "Assu aye Gummani chu Bak Bak."

Jack looked across the table at this guy. He had taken his helmet off now. His hair had a reddish tint to it even if the long beard that he wore was mostly gray. He was younger than Joe but not by much. At least it appeared that way to Jack. Their ages were, so far, impossible to deduce.

The Marine pointed to himself, "Jack."

This guy seemed to be far less formal than Joe had been, "Ussar."

"Nice to meet you Ussar," Jack mumbled.

McCandles came rushing into the tent, "Colonel Kelly! It's Colonel Winston sir!"

Jack stood up almost immediately. From the Sergeant Major’s look it was easy to tell this was bad news. Jack‘s first thoughts rushed out of his mouth before he could stop himself, "Oh my god she didn't kill him did she?"

"Huh? Uh, no sir! He and some of the others are surrounded by those slo... Assur down at the alien camp!"

The word “Assur” sparked a flame in Ussar. He jumped up and drew his side arm. It was a four shot pistol with a revolving cylinder style that was similar to a like model back on Earth. The big difference was that it was really big. The slugs in those things had to be near seventy caliber the way Jack had it figured.

At the moment the pistol meant less than the fact that it was obvious that Ussar would be with them on this. Jack could see it in his face. He had five other of his black shirts with him too. Jack nodded to the man, appreciatively, and they ran out with the Sergeant Major to quell this new trouble.

The group of Assur started squeezing the circle tighter. Pete reached for his sidearm and no sooner had he touched it than several of the "shotguns” raised high and pointed right at him. Pete backed off. If he could not get the .45 out then the M-16 slung on his shoulder wasn't going to get halfway down his arm before they blew it off.

Three of the Assur made a sudden rush. Pam gasped when she realized they were lunging for her! They grappled for her limbs counting on numbers and speed to overpower her. Pam was kicking and screaming as they fought to pull her away from her friends. Pete and Harry tried to stop it but were quickly threatened by several more Assur with weapons at the ready. That was when the ones blocking the way to the Moe Chicken stepped aside and the Assur group began to break up.

All movement and noise stopped when a low thud echoed across the dunes. Pete recognized the sound even if no one else did. He jumped to the ground mostly out of instinct. Somebody had fired the mortar! The pitched whine stopped. Pete's head was in the dirt and he was not about to get up and see why. Then there was a puff instead of a bang. That was the sign! Pete jumped up off the dirt and this time his M-16 was charged and ready.

Harry and Joey were stunned by all of this. They had never hit the ground as had Pete. They were still just standing there with their jaws waggling in the breeze. Harry yelled, "What the hell was that?"

"A spotting round, star shell! Man your weapons damn it!"

The sight of the flare slowly floating to the ground had put some kind of fear into the Assur. A good number of them were already running when the Zeats, weapons out and ready, came charging down from the camp. The Sergeant Major was with them and he was carrying the group’s M-60 machinegun. Pete began to sigh in relief.

Pam was left behind. She tossed the bag off of her head and jumped up. She felt along her side and the .45 was still there. She drew it and pointed it at the first slope headed bastard she saw. A hand grabbed the slide before it could fire. Pam was about to hit whoever it was when she realized the hand belonged to Pete.

"It's over Pam! You all right?"

Pam grabbed Pete and hung on for dear life.

Julia stopped at the camp perimeter. She Jumped down in a hole next to Gary and disengaged the safety on her M-16. She tried to make sense out of what she was looking at. The alarm had gone out so fast that she had barely any time to think about it. Then she saw Gary ease up.

Gary raised the barrel of his weapon in the air and stood up. "Looks like it's all over now."

Julia stood up with him and they both watched the mayhem down at the bottom of the small hill. It did seem to be over with, whatever “it” was. The Assur were scattering. The black shirts were lowering their weapons. The Hermes crew was coming back towards the camp.

The Sergeant Major, carrying that huge gun thing, was leading the little party back. Harry and her son were actually bouncing up and down like kids who had just gotten off an amusement park ride. Then there was Pete. He had his arms around Pam? She had a tight grip on him too. Her head on his shoulders! Julia threw her weapon down and stormed off back towards the tents.

Jack slung his weapon when all of his people were safely back in their camp, "What in the hell was that all about Pete?!"

After a long-winded explanation from his subordinate Jack looked down at Pam, “are you ok?”

Pam was still shaking and as white as a sheet, "I'll be all right Jack. Just excuse me while I go figure out where I packed the tranquilizers."

Ussar showed up at the common tent as soon as Alpha Centauri was fully above the horizon. It was empty now that everything was packed up. Jack was about to give word to drop it. He would have already done so had it not been for previous days incident. It made Jack wonder if they were going anywhere with these people. While the Zeats seemed to still be just as friendly and amiable, as ever, no one had heard so much as a peep from the Assur. They were still down there in their own camp but what they were planning was heavy on Jacks mind, and anybodies guess.

After exchanging nods Ussar motioned for Jack to follow. Standing out in all of the fallen alien tents was a single Assur. His hood was already down. Jack was coming to understand that meant something to these people but he had yet to figure out what exactly. When Jack and Ussar walked up to the Neanderthal looking man he simply turned and began walking. Since Ussar followed without great concern, so did Jack.

They walked north and over several dunes until the camps were no longer in sight. Jack and his people often avoided this spot due to the Tunnel Rats. The sand here was loose and deep and those animals thrived in that. While they seemed to be scavengers no one wanted to test that theory and actually sleep on the soft sand. The little round fur balls had long sharp teeth and there was no doubt they could do damage if they attacked in force.

Several other Assur were waiting on them here. There were also two Black Shirts as well. They were armed with their rifles and had fixed them long gleaming bayonets. Jack had noted that when Joe and his party moved on, the soldiers that were left behind quickly began carrying weapons around in the open. That was something that they had not done while the entire party was together. Jack had to wonder what the significance of that was. Like many things about this place, and these people, it bothered him.

There was one particular Assur who seemed to be raising a ruckus with his comrades. Jack still had a hard time telling the Assur apart. He had not gotten a close look at the one Pete had trouble with but, this had to be the same guy. No one said so in a language that Jack could understand but, it was slowly becoming obvious enough to the Marine that this short, loud, and obnoxious Assur had started all of the trouble. He was trying to start trouble now but the big one that led them out here slapped him down. The blow looked to be in response to something that was said but, for whatever reason, it ended all of the noise.

The big one said something aloud to everyone after that. Jack heard a commotion behind him. He looked back and several more Assur's were leading three of their females along. It was only the second time that Jack had actually seen any. These were not clothed like the ones from the other night. In fact they had nothing on at all.

Jack started getting a bad feeling about this. There was work going on over a particular spot that was comprised of mostly loose sand. Jack looked to Ussar for an explanation. The man seemed to think none was required. Even more disturbing was the fact that Ussar remained completely impassive all the way through what followed.

The Assur were polite enough now. At least they were in their own sort of way. The truth was that they said nothing to anyone as they packed the groups gear onto the Moe Elephants. Their silence somehow seemed hostile all by itself. Jack did not worry himself with it for the moment. At least the work was getting done. They would not be abandoning much. What little that was to be left behind had already been buried under the shuttles wreck, not that Jack really expected the few pounds of perishables and electronics to be there if they ever came back. After taking a real good look at the Assur it was apparent to Jack that the Tunnel Rats were not the only scavengers in this desert.

The Assur were scavengers of a more lethal sort too. The morning’s display bothered Jack to no end. He had to tell someone what he saw. He was afraid to tell the entire group. Not knowing what to make of it himself he could only imagine the horror stories that everyone else would come up with. That was with one exception. Jack figured if he had to get it off his chest then Vitosk would be the perfect choice. Besides, the Russian might actually be able to make something from the madness.

Beside the wrecked shuttle, out of sight, Jack related the mornings little demonstration. Vitosk listened without any apparent emotion. He was being his usual rational and calculating self. When Jack finished there was silence. Vitosk did not seem horrified. He was just thinking.

"A fine," said the Russian.

"What? Yurgani, they killed three defenseless females. I would not call capital punishment of three people, who had nothing to do the whole mess, a fine."

Even calling it capital punishment was a stretch. The screams of those women were still haunting Jacks every thought. It was a horrific way to die. They were tied down to stakes and within ten minutes were being torn to pieces by a horde of tunnel rats. What bothered Jack the most was how little it effected his companions. Even Ussar seemed to view it in a distant manner. The only one who complained was the little Assur. His complaints were more of anger than sorrow and that was true even after it was over with. Who were those women and what connection were they to him?

Vitosk simply replied, "I'm not passing moral judgment. You asked for an evaluation. How do you suppose anyone from our society could ever condone what you described? However, I am going to remind you, they are not from our society. Just from the few clues we have of their world, it's obvious that women are not regarded as equals. I have to wonder how far and deep that runs. Is it just the Assur who have this opinion or the entire planet? Maybe this feeling runs in various degrees depending on where you are? We simply don't know as of right now."

"Too much we don't know," and that scared Jack now more than ever. What if they demanded an apology for some slight? Jack was not about to march his women to a sand pile and kill them. Not in that way nor any other. It was a point that Jack would be forced to fight over, should it arise, and that was a prospect that did not excite him. He may outgun these people at present but there was no way he could fight the whole planet. Not that he even wanted too. It was not his job here.

Vitosk was considering other matters, "yes, much we do not know. It brings up the same question that I have been pondering since we first met them."

"Which is?"

"How will it be when the rest of our world finds out about this? If Dee keeps sending her reports it will not be long. Our customs may very well be entirely too different to ever get along peacefully with these people. Not on a long term basis anyway."

"I don't care about that right now Yurgani, and don't you go off on some moral crusade on me either. My job is to make sure you all get home alive. Right now that is as far as this problem goes. Do you understand this?" There was no response, "Yurgani?"

"Yes Jack, no crusades."

"Pete," the voice was very mild and unsure. He stopped packing the horse that would be his. The Zeats had many extra mounts with them and were happily sharing. It was not so happy for Pete. He had never been on one of the things in his life.

"Yes Julia," Pete was also unsure of more than just riding the horse. Julia stepped right up to him, grabbed him by his jacket, and pulled him close. She kissed him for a moment and then backed off. Pete was somewhat surprised,

"What was that all about? I thought you weren't talking to me anymore?"

"I'm sorry Pete. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. It's just real hard for me to explain. I'm not even sure how I feel sometimes. So many emotions and thoughts that I just can‘t make sense of."

For some reason hearing an apology from her seemed strange. Pete might not have thought it but he had felt like he was the one who should be doing the apologizing. He did just that which brought about the obvious question now forming in his mind. "So where do we go from here?"

Julia tossed her arms around him again. She held on tight, "I think... Pete, will you forgive me? I think that just maybe we need to spend some time apart right now. Do you think that's possible?"

"I don't know," he didn't. He thought they had been spending time apart. His feelings for her had not changed in the least little bit. If only he could be exactly sure what those feelings were. Maybe it was not as mutual as he once thought. "I still love you Julia. I'm still ready to stand behind what I said, what I promised. I mean if you want to wait a bit."

"I want to spend some time apart. Pete, when you and me... you know. I had been lonely for a long time. I was scared of committing to anybody and I don‘t even know why. To let somebody get close to me other than Joey. You changed a lot of that for me or, at least, I thought. Dear Pete, it's not you. I'm afraid of me right now."

He didn't want to. Not a single fiber in Pete's body wanted to give this woman up. The military mind that worked in logical fashions took over. It kept pain from seeping in. Pete had become a master of hiding his feelings during the war. Not just from others but himself as well. He addressed more practical realities, "Uh, are you going to make up with Pam too? You know, Julia, she's been really hurt by..."

Julia stepped back and tossed her hand up, "I know Pete. I'll take care of it, all right?"

When Jack stopped two steps to the front of McCandles he came to the position of attention. He saluted and Jack returned it. McCandles remained at attention, "Colonel Sir, I am proud to report that the crew and gear of the USS Hermes are packed and ready to move out. Awaiting your command, sir."

Ussar was standing next to Jack. He had seldom left his side since Joe and the others went their own way. He waited to receive a report from one of his men. The two leaders nodded to each other after that. It had become their universal communication for “yes.” As of yet only gestures of an extreme nature had effectively communicated "No."

"You may give the word Sergeant Major,” commanded Jack.

McCandles ran off to the head of the long train of animals and people. He bent his left arm at the elbow and moved it up and down while shouting with gusto, "MOVE 'EM OUT!"

Saiid was trying to stay on his horse. The beast obviously did not like him. Despite this little problem he was actually having fun. When he heard the Sergeant Major he followed in course with, "Rawhide!"

Gina who was sitting next to him just bowed her head, "God you are such a nerd, Saiid."

Dee, who was on Saiid's other side, looked puzzled, "What in the hell does that mean? Rawhide?"

Jack watched them begin moving. Assur, Zeat, his own people, Elephants, Moe Chickens, and horses were all mixed together in what would probably be the strangest looking road march that Jack would ever participate in. It was then that Jack noted the Assur on foot. Most of them were females who were at least a little more practically dressed for the environment than the ones serving food the other night. They were mostly just tending to the various animals and, in particular, helping guide the elephants along. There were also children running about and the females were keeping track of them as well.

The most amazing part about all of this was how many women and children there were in this group. More than Jack would have ever figured considering he had seen few women, and no children, up until this point. There was also a second group of females. This group stayed separate from the rest. Upon close examination Jack saw why.

They were not Assur. These women were just regular looking human females. Two pack elephants obviously belonged to them exclusively. One had a platform strung along side the beast. There were some children riding on it. Other than on the platform, the Zeat women mostly walked just like their Assur counterparts.

The only horse with that particular group belonged to a Black Shirt who rode along beside them. His weapon was propped up on his hip. The man seemed very alert and quite weary of any Assur that got near. Given this information, Jack began to wonder why it was Ussar had given all of the Hermes crew, the ladies included, a horse. He had done it without protest of any sort. In fact, he had done it without so much as a second thought. Just when Jack thought he had these people figured out they did something else to baffle him!

The clue to this mystery seemed to lie in the horse legs that trotted along on the other side of an elephant. Jack had just thought it was another soldier riding shotgun with the Zeat women. Finally the horse sped up and circled around to where he could see the rider. It was a woman! Jack was not sure but thought that she might be the one who had been looking at him from a distance the other day. She was dressed no differently from the others but just the fact that she rode said something about the pecking order around here. What was so special about her?

Ussar patted Jack on the shoulder. He motioned to their own horses as the last of the elephant train moved out. The dust was already growing thick and it was obviously time to get moving. Jack nodded and took one last look at the dark haired girl on the horse. She was an obvious anomaly with this bunch and one that might very well be worth checking out. Jack put it out of his mind for the moment though. It was time to worry about the other hundred things going on.