Nizhoni's Tale

This chapter is rated PG for intense situations.

Flight

Angus wasn’t sure how long he held and petted Rory. Long enough for her to cry out some of her pain and relax into him. The two toned priority signal chimed over his comm.
“Angus,” he answered it, with a growl.
“Director Trellan is calling an emergency meeting in 2 minutes.”
“Alright, I’ll be right there.” Angus closed the link and turned his attention back to the Fox.
“Rory lass, I have to go. Will ye be alright?”
“Yes,” Rory answered, climbing down out of his lap. “I’ll be fine, go on. And Angus…thank you.”

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“Alright gentlemen, this is the situation,” Trellan said to the holographic assembly. “The ship I sent to carry a dispatch to the company managed to passively scan our visitor. This “Scout ship” is actually a Heavy Cruiser with an unknown number of troop transports in tow. It seems pretty plain that our pirate raid was just the set up for a Krazig take over of the planet. If we had arrived on time, we would have found them sitting here pretty as you please. Unfortunately, our presence has thrown a monkey wrench into their plans and that puts us in a sticky situation. We know too much now. Anyone think they can afford to just let us leave?”
No one spoke up.
“I didn’t think so and I can’t afford to take the chance. Our handful of escorts are no matches for a Heavy Cruiser so we need to get away before they are too close to stop us. Under Article 27 of the company rules, I am ordering an immediate evacuation of all company personnel. Given the time crunch, I’m instructing there be no evacuation of equipment. I recommend you sabotage the plants as much as possible.”

“What about the Foxes?” One of the supervisors asked.
“As the Director my hands are tied, company directives strictly forbid the transportation of refugees without the prior approval of the company.”
“Company directives be damned!” Angus spoke up. “Any of the wee Foxes left here are as good as dead. They’ll cement their claim on the planet with the wee Foxes blood and ye know it.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Angus,” another supervisor said. “As long as some of the Foxes are left they can’t negate all the company and Imperial claims. I for one will not leave people facing genocide behind if I have anything to say about it.”

“I understand. Johnson,” Trellan said, looking at the chief accountant. “As I understand it, we can’t take refugees but we can take passengers on a space available basis. Since you don’t have ‘time’ to look up the current rates for me, I’m going to guess that the going rate is .1 credits. That sound right to you?”
“Not being able to look it up, sir, that sounds about right to me,” Johnson said with a smile.
“Very good, and if they can’t pay that, take it out of my account. I will also remind everyone, under the conditions of my emergency directive, if you happen move any equipment or cargo outside the ship while preparing for take off, you are not allowed to put it back on board.”
He left unsaid that he had just given them clearance to make as much ‘space available’ as possible for extra passengers.

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Rory looked up at the night sky, at the stars that twinkled there. This was most likely the last time she would ever see them from here. She wondered what her life would be like out there among the stars. She and Hunter used to do this. But tomorrow she would find out, without Hunter by her side. Though he, her family, and the rest of the people from the village would live on in her heart and memories, none of them would be going anywhere anymore. Somewhere, though, if there was such a place as Heaven, they would be together again, and Candy would cook them a feast.

But for now, Rory was on her own. She had to grow up and be responsible for her life from this point on. And, there was the distinct possibility that she carried Hunter's kit growing within her. Oh how she hoped it was so! But, at the same time, the thought was more than a little frightening. Where would she go? What would she do? How would she manage to take care of herself and a child? She made a mental note to go back through the ruins of the village in the morning and gather all the baby clothing that was salvageable. Hunter's child would need them.

"Rory, lass," Argus called, "you need to come have something to eat." He had spent enough time among the Foxes to have known the village teens since they were younger than wee Raney. It was he, in fact, who had given Rory her first sketchpad. So as he stood there watching her stargaze, he could read the expressions that flitted across her face. Wonder. Curiosity. Sorrow. Joy. Fear. Determination.

Curiously, her hands had slid down to cover her belly when the brief flash of joy had crossed her face. Then he remembered what she had confided to him just a few hours ago as she picked through the rubble of her family's home. She and Hunter. Married. Angus gave a sad smile and called to her to come eat. If she was pregnant with Hunter's child, they both needed the nutrition. If she wasn't, she needed it anyway.

As she followed Angus into the ship and down the corridor to the galley, they passed several of the crew. One of them, Joe Loneeagle, followed them to the table, and as she ate, he explained that he had stowed her box of things (her salvaged items) in an unused bunkroom near Angus' and left a couple of blankets on the bed for her. She thanked him.

After thinking for a few minutes, she looked up at Angus and Joe and said, "I will never forget my family and friends but the Rory who lived here was a child. I am no longer a child. I can't afford to be. Rory is my past. The future I will have is not the future I had planned. I need a new name for my new future. Will you help me find one?"

A great discussion followed Rory's words. At some point or another, all the members of the mining crew had attempted to talk her out of changing her name. When they finally realized that she would not be dissuaded, they began suggesting names. Some were odd, some were ugly, some were ridiculous, but most of all, none of them suited her. When Angus noticed that Rory was nodding off at her corner of the table, during a heated debate over the merits of the names: Killiki and Furbelina and Nalalinis, he told the guys to shut up and sent her off bed.

Joe Loneeagle was up to greet the suns the next morning, as was his routine. Angus, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, stepped out of the ship in time to hear Joe murmur, "Nizhoni," as he gazed at the spectacularly colored sky.
"What did you say?" Angus asked.
"It's a word in the language of some of my ancestors. 'Nizhoni.' It means beautiful. It seems to fit the sky this morning."
“I was always told that the sky was this color on the morning I was born. That is why I was named for the sunrise." Rory told them as she walked out to stand with them.

Angus observed that the sky and her fur blended seamlessly, as he spoke, "Joe was just telling me that he has the perfect name for you. It's from his ancestors."
"Really? What is it, Joe?" she asked.
"Nizhoni. It describes this sky."

As she watched her last dawn on her home world, the newly named Nizhoni thought to herself how fitting it was that both times she'd started a new life, at birth and today, she'd been named at dawn, for the dawn.

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The tawnee birds scattered as a klaxon sounded from the ship behind them. Angus’ comm. beeped.
“Signal from the Director. All ships are to lift as soon as possible.”
“Damn,” Angus said as they all ran for the personnel hatch.

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A heavy vibration could be felt through the deck plates as the ship pulled away from the planet at the maneuver engine’s maximum thrust. Angus looked over the pilot’s shoulder.
“Where are our guests?” He asked.
“There,” the pilot said, pointing to a two icons on the scanner. “Looks like only two of them. They must have left their slower units behind to try and trap us on the ground.”
“Aye. Are we going to make it?”
“It will be close. I’m going to jump right on the mark. Better let ‘em know in the back. Its going to be a rough translation.”

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Nizhoni hardly noticed the announcement to strap in. She sat in the common lounge watching the only home she had ever known growing smaller and smaller. Loneeagle reached over and secured her harness.

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“Running up Jump engines,” the pilot said, to no one in particular.
“Missile Warning! Missile Warning!” The ship’s AI called out as red blinking icons appeared on the scanner.
“Goddaminitalltohell! I just need a few more minutes.” The pilot yelled, again at no one in particular.

“Escort Leader to Escorts. Deploy countermeasures now.” The voice over the comm. channel seemed almost unnaturally calm. “Escort Leader to all ships. Have your gunners execute point defense programs now.”

Dull thuds could be felt in the deck plates as the ship’s gunnery emplacements fired counter-missiles that raced out to meet the incoming death and lasers powered up for the last ditch attempt to stop the missiles that they failed to. Whether they lived or died in the next few moments, boiled down to whose cybernetic missile brains were better and the roll of the dice.

Explosions appeared on the scanner as the counter-missiles engaged. A cheer went up as two of the incoming missiles disappeared. More explosions, as laser cannons reached out to take their toll. A buzzer sounded and star field spun as the AI’s evasion program kicked in trying to lose the lock of the three remaining missiles. Two missiles followed the decoys and exploded clear of the fleet. The third lost lock and went shooting off into space in search of a target.

“That was close.” Angus said.
“More missiles incoming,” the Pilot said. “I’ve set the system to jump as soon as we hit the line.”

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Nizhoni gripped the arms of her chair as she watched the computer generated display on the screen. Some of the other Foxes and humans in the room whimpered as the dance of missiles, counter-missiles and lasers began again. Flashes filled the screen as missiles detonated.

Nizhoni’s sensitive Fox ears heard a new sound, like some high pitched whine, growing in strength from the direction of the engine rooms. There was a bright flash on the screen and she felt as if the universe dropped out from under her. She heard high pitched voices screaming all around her as her stomach, in protest, emptied itself of her last meal, and the world went dark around her.