(Fallon)

"What can you tell me about the moon?" Miiora asks me my watch cycle is over and I am lying in my bunk sorting through the administrative garbage the fleet sends us.

"Ever do any cold weather training back in the U.E.C?" I ask without even glancing up from my PDP.

"Yes. in the Frozen north on Eques it gets to -10 of your degrees there."

"Well picture the frozen north in the really shitty part of the year. outside of the tundra belt of the equator that would be considered a heat wave on new Svalbard. most of the moon is a sheet of ice ten miles thick at the poles. we have one big town down there and sixty-four terraformers they are all along the equator like a girdle. we've got this strip of tundra worked out but you are still talking about three hundred kilometer winds in the cold season. even the heaters in our armor won't keep us alive long enough to walk from one atmo-exchanger to the next. you wanna stay real close to that fusion plant at the terraformer." I explain to my alien charge.

===============================================================
(Fallon)

Camp frostbite is a cluster of Ferro-concrete domes hugging a hill side. It is next to the main terraforming hub on new Svalbard, right in the center of the habitable tundra belt carved out along the equator by a century of relentless terraforming. Of course habitable on new Svalbard means not instantly fatal to exposed personnel. When the ramp of the dropship lowers onto the landing pad of camp frostbites airfield a polar gale sweeps through the cargo hold instantly.

A chilly welcome to one of the most inhospitable places humanity has ever settled. To a man and woman, all the troopers in the hold lower the visors of our helmets. The Ex-slaves are wrapped in thermal blankets so they don't, When we step out I see a welcoming committee on the landing pad a gaggle of Civilians holding blankets and thermal containers that I assume are full of food. I step out onto the concrete which to my surprise is not covered in snow like my previous visits to new Svalbard.

Behind me, Miiora stops at the bottom of the ramp and then takes a slow, graceful and deliberate step onto the tarmac. She scrapes the surface of the concrete with one of the claws on her three-toed foot a few times and walks over to where I am standing.

"First steps onto a Human controlled world, I am slightly Overwhelmed." she says as one of the civilians an elderly woman in a cold weather suit, takes a step forward and puts a blanket around her. I have to stop myself from threatening the elderly woman because for a second I forgot that Miiora is a guest, not a POW. However this knowledge does not stop me from holding my arm out and stopping the woman from pressing a thermal container into Miioras hands. I tip the top and make sure it is food before nodding my head and allowing the woman who is probably someone's grandmother to give the reptile the stew. Miiora looks so utterly perplexed by what is happening that i let out a low chuckle.

The silent mob of Welcoming and sympathetic civilians immediately grows hostile as one of the Dragonflies opens its cargo bay and the first UEC POW steps out. To say that they are unwelcome would be a gross understatement. Things are being thrown at them mostly ice and snow and the soldiers who are not escorting former slaves inside must keep the Civilians from outright attacking the POWs. One kid maybe sixteen breaks through the clustered marines and TA troopers somehow and is about to slug one of the smug looking Pony kids in the face.

When he is picked up bodily and we see the towering form of Durge holding the Kid around the chest. His large frame is draped in many blankets and I look around to see that most of the huge eight-foot arachnids have a few blankets draped over them. I have seen what Durge can do with those fangs of his and I am not keen on seeing him use them on a kid. But instead, he Lowers the child to the side of one of his legs and holds him by the shoulder.

"They are not worthy of your anger, Young human." he says his multifaceted eyes fixed on the kid. The kid looks at Durge for a second before looking back to the UEC POWS and spitting on the ground at their hooves and walking away.

"That kids going places." I hear Forbes say to my left.

"Shut up you wisky-tango piece of shit."

=========================================================

(Miiora)

I walk into the Human colony of new Longerbien and am greeted by smiles and friendly waves. Avery fallon stays close to my side with his rifle slung across his back, the place we are going is a tailor because Fallon brought up that if I was going to stay I would have to get clothes that would not have makeshift holes in them. saying that he didn't want to ruin fleet issue pants every time I showered, meaning that he took time out of his day to cut the tail hole into my pants.

As we walk to the building my tail taps the ice covered ground making my back shoot up in shock and almost drop the warm urn in my hands. I see that the NAC is much different than the UEC the UEC buildings are overly engineered with a kind of rustic feel and gaudy appearance. The NAC buildings on this moon are almost bunker-like in appearance and I wonder why. I glance to my right and see that a building has pockmarks in it from gunfire from guns much larger or more powerful than the ones the UEC uses. Fallon must have seen me glancing because he answers my unspoken question.

"Eighty years ago the task force 230.7 tried to take the colonies supplies of food and water. The TA troopers who were assigned to the task force because of their rebellious nature and familiarity with dealing with civilian riots were sent in to take the stuff and refused. The TA took all four of the SI dragonflies and eventually there was a firefight in the city. The TA is more used to this than the SI so the marines received a prompt and thorough ass kicking.

Before the Indianapolis and her skipper threatened to start delivering kinetic strikes to camp frostbite and nuke the task force CO the Midway if we didn't stop shooting at each other. The Fleet and Marines limped back to frostbite with their tails between their legs and the TA won. And eventually, the TA and the Indianapolis were the first people in history to destroy a Lanky ship. They decided to not fix the holes as a kind of memorial there is an official memorial of the people who fought in the battle of hope I can show you if you want when we are done." Avery Fallon says pointing out more pockmarks and buying me something to eat at a vendor.

"I would like that."

"I just hope If I die out here they put me in a nice place like this. How do your people dead with death? my kind just shoot you into space or incinerate you to save space." he says

"My people honor our dead by burying them in large egg shaped containers. on the egg we write the deeds the person accomplished in life as well as any dreams or hopes they would share. In hopes that the life that is reborn will experience some of those dreams." I explain.

"That sounds a lot better than what we do."

================================================

(Fallon)

We make it back to Camp Frostbite a few hours later and I am crammed to the gunnels with at least 3 bags of shit that Miiora decided to buy on top of the Thermal container. I am a Combat controller I call down nukes, kinetic strikes, and Strike packages with my radio after dropping in with ballistic drop pods. I am not supposed to be doing this kind of shit. But I would feel like a real asshole if I abandoned Miiora alone on this frozen shithole, nevermind my court martial that would surely follow. We pass a domed play area for kids and I am surprised to see that the Tymerian and Kleese kids are getting along very well with human kids There's another group of kids playing with the others but I have never seen that kind of alien before they look like a kind of crab thing.

"Miiora what are those?" I ask gesturing to one of the kids as we pass by the Playground."

"A Miralos. they are oooo-ooone ooof..." she begins as we pass the guard post to the Base.

"Miiora are you alright?"

"Yees ii am..." she starts before going limp and falling against me almost knocking me over.

Five hours, and one stop to the local doctor later I glance up and see her sitting at the small table trying to hide that she is eating something probably one of the sandwiches I spied her snatching from the chow hall like a criminal. Or the stew that nice old lady gave her. The U.E.C must really fuck up their slaves if Miiora thinks anyone would care or stop her from having a soy bologna sandwich.

The way she ate the first one when Forbes and I took her to get something to eat makes me think it is one of the best things she has ever eaten. The ship Atmo regulator cycles as I glance back at my PDP to get info on where we are going next only for a shift in her movement catches my eye, I look up in time to see her let out a kind of shiver and what I can only assume is a sneeze.

=================================================================

(Miiora)

I am about to take another bite of this stew when a mass of blue and green lands on the table just after I move my smuggled food under the table. I look at it and see it is a blanket, Avery Fallon must have seen my shiver. Because when I look up I see his face leaning out from behind his datapad with an eyebrow raised and a quizzical look.

"Cold?"

"slightly yes. I am sorry My species can not regulate our body temperature as well as humans so we are susceptible to sudden temperature change so when your temperature changes turned on..."

"You don't have to apologize Miiora, you could have just told me or someone and we would have gotten you a thermal blanket or some heated armor or something. And for god sake you don't have to hide your food." he says before he or I can say anything the door slides open to reveal Forbes who looks at the two of us before a second before speaking.

"Hey mail sync from the colony." He says making Avery Fallon jump out of bed and start heading for the door before he stops and looks at me.

"You wanna come Miiora?"

"I would indeed." I say and get up

"Bring your blanket if you want, the Atmo might refresh again."

"Anything good?" Fallon says as I enter the makeshift common area on the flight deck. The SI troopers have set up because this is where mail is usually sent first. Looking around I see other former Kleese and Tymerian slaves mixed in with the Human soldiers.

"What are you doing here fleet?" An SI trooper says before another speaks up.

"Fallon was with me in the Riot on Cadia last year he's good."

"Walt! Trombley! Sorry sarge nothing but letters no extra armor, no new radio. just another five dozen letters from fucken school kids and shit."

"Oh my god. listen to this" I hear Forbes say bringing something up on his Datapad.

"Dear mister army man..." Forbes begins

"Army? fuck that." Fallon says finding me a chair.

"I am proud that you are being brave and defending our home against the UEC. They are bad and I am glad you are going to catch them and punish them...."Forbes continues.

"She's a good writer." a marine says

"I am glad that you are so brave and I pray for you." Forbes finishes.

"Hey, listen to this shit right here! Or maybe you will be able to come home without having to fight...." A female marine begins giving a disgusted face.

"Bullshit."

"Fuck that!"

"peace is always better than war and it would be nice if no one would be hurt." the Female marine finishes.

"That is some fucken hippy communist shit right there. Where the fuck is this weak-ass child from?" Fallon asks

"Vermont!"

"That's Frederick Waterstone Berber from 2780 spencer rd Chevy chase, Maryland."

"what's a burber?" I ask Fallon.

"Someone who lives in the suburbs on earth outside of the Public residence Clusters or PRCs." He answers

"Dear Frederick! Thank you for your nice letter. But I am actually an SI marine who was born to kill,..." Fallon begins

"Hoorah"

"Whereas you have obviously mistaken me for some sort of wine-sipping communist Dick-suck..." he continues earning laughs from the soldiers in the room, and I can even see one or two of the Zaltule chuckle as Fallon slowly paces up the deck giving his speech a smile never leaving his face.

"And although peace probably appeals to tree loving bisexuals like you and your parents, I happen to be a Death-Dealing, Blood Crazed warrior who wakes up every day just hoping for the chance to dismember my enemies and defile their civilizations..." Fallon stopped where he began at the same stack of crates i am sitting at and looks up like he sees something.

"Piece sucks a hairy asshole Freddie, war is the motherfucking answer.”

“Hell ya.”

“But thanks for writing anyway.”

“Man every motherfucker in this ship is just waiting for packages of dip, smokes, ripped fuel, Ripp it, porn, batteries, hash chunks, snacks, and a dirty ass jerk off letter from Suzie rotten-crotch. Except for Forbes over here who actually thinks his mail order visor is gonna come in before we step off. But no all we get is this happy day fucking horseshit from miss cuntlips, fourth-grade class. Can you fucking believe this shit?” Fallon says earning laughs from the assembled soldiers.

Author's Notes:

what do you think? are you ready for the next story arc?