Helping Terra

She could not breathe. Her lungs felt as though they were two plates pushed together with water in between them. As though there was no surfactant to prevent them from sticking together. It hurt, physically hurt to inhale. Scout Tearnyn Aldwin was asphyxiating and she could not figure out why. One minute she and the other two Scouts of Werewolf Unit 10013 were flying through unknown space and then next Tearnyn felt as though she was being squished. She looked in front of her to see Morgana Terran holding her chest as she gasped for air and Yurik Canton clawing his arm rest. She vaguely wondered if this was what drowning felt like.
When she thought she could no longer stand the pressure, the stretching, or the inability to breathe, the shuttle jerked forward. The first intake of air was painful, but the three Scouts could not think long on the fact as their shuttle’s window lit up like a rising sun. The shuttle shook as the instruments started beeping and malfunctioning.
“Morgana?” Tearnyn shouted as the shuttle’s interior started brightening. She pulled her sunglasses out of her vest and put them on.
“A planet’s gravitational field is pulling us in. The systems are down from whatever the hell we just experienced. And I’m losing control!” Morgana gritted out. “Yurik, anything?”
“No. None of the systems are working.” He pressed buttons, flipped switches and did everything he could to get the computer systems to work.
“Do we know where we are?” Tearnyn asked, unable to do anything.
“No.” Morgana replied as she kept her yes on the impending planet. “I can’t hail anyone either. Shit!” She did tried everything she knew but it was all for naught. “We’re going down! Brace yourselves.” The shuttle engulfed in flames at its entry through the different spheres of the planet. The shuttle was built to withstand thousands of degrees, but the crew inside was unsure how this landing would go; all metal crunches with enough force. “Prepare for a harsh landing!”
“What kind of harsh are we talking about?” Tearnyn asked, masses forming through the fiery display for her.
“Land at your own risk kind of harsh. May cause untimely death. Is that my torn off arm in your new stomach orifice?”
“Oh I love those kinds of harsh landings.”
“Good thing you’re decided to ride shuttle Oh Shit We’re All Gunna Die.”
“Oh how I love your sarcasm in the light of all things dangerous.”
“Remember all exits are to your right and left and flight Oh Shit is not liable for any deaths. Enjoy the rest of your flight. Impacted will be in 3…2…1-” Morgana was cut off as her body was whipped forward and the air was once again knocked from her lungs. The shuttle bounced three times before skidding and imbedding itself into the earth of the planet; tail end hanging in the air. The crew inside dangled unconsciously forward in their seats. The cuts and bruises from the harnesses cutting into them, slowly healing. Honestly, it was a miracle none of them had a snapped neck from the whiplash of the bounces, but they all survived in one piece. As they lay there deathly still, Tearnyn’s brain transported her back to when she was 17 and yearning for freedom.
Tearnyn walked hesitantly to the kitchen area she knew her mother was. It was in the middle of the night cycle and she had woken after feeling one of her mother’s nightmares. Dr. Aleara-Rain “Rai” Aldwin, her mother, rarely had nightmares anymore, but when she did they woke up most of the pack. This was such a night, not that Tearnyn had slept much. It was closing in on her 18th birthday and she had still not talked to her parents about her decision. After pacing for a minute or two in her room, she finally walked through the quiet corridors of Myrra and into the kitchen. Her mother smiled tiredly at her. “What are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She looked down.
Rai nodded and beckoned her over, “Come make cookies with me.” It was her go-to activity when she and another pack member could not sleep or had a nightmare. Tearnyn nodded and trotted over to her mother. After hugging her, Tearnyn began cracking eggs into a bowl. “Did I wake you?” Rai was well aware that she woke the others. Werewolves tended to be sensitive to emotions, especially bursts of them.
“Not really.” She replied simply. Rai stared at her daughter a second before nodding and continued measuring out flour. Together, the two women made two dozen cookies, cleaned up, and went to sit in the Den that the pack had set up years earlier. Jayce’s game systems, Rai’s brother not son, still sat near the TV from when the pack first called Myrra home.
“Mum?” Tearnyn quietly began. Rai turned to face her daughter and waited. Tearnyn looked down at her hands and slowly said, “My birthday is coming up,” Rai wanted to laugh because she was fully aware that Tearnyn’s birthday was coming up. “And I was thinking, um I ah um want to um.” Tearnyn’s face scrunched up in frustration. Rai was surprised by Tearnyn’s inability to vocalize what she wanted. Out of all her children, Tearnyn tended to be the bluntest about things. Having grown up with all brothers, her daughter had learned fast to hold her own and say things as they were.
Finally taking a breath, Tearnyn stated, “I want to join a W Unit.”
Rai’s brows rose as she replied, “You already are in one.”
Tearnyn looked at her mom, “You know what I mean. I want to join the military and be part of a different W Unit.”
“Why?” Rai was aware of Tearnyn’s restlessness. She does not need to be a werewolf to notice how unhappy the young girl was. But although she understood Tearnyn’s desire to leave, she wanted to make sure she had thought it through.
“Because I want to see more. I want to be part of a unit that I didn’t grow up in. I love everyone in our pack, but I want to see more than this. I feel too confined, too protected. I want to be normal!”
“Normal?” Rai chuckled.
“Yes, normal. Everywhere we go, everyone knows you and dad and I’m treated like a fu-freaking princess. It’s cool in some ways and I love seeing Uncle Kyle and Sid and cousin Christoph, but it’s not the same. I want to work for my position. I want to see what I can do with others who aren’t Uncle Rory or Aunt Lyla or Uncle Killian.”
“It will be a lot of work and you will be known. Others may try to use you or treat you harsher because you are my daughter.” She stroked her daughter’s cheek comfortingly.
“I know, but I want to try.”
“You are also aware that being in the military means being away from us for seven years, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve never been away that long.”
“I know… It’s something I have to do though. I can’t figure out who I am here. This ‘world’ is too small.”
“Okay, as long as you are aware what being in another W Unit implies.”
“You aren’t mad?” Tearnyn looked at her mom in fear.
“Of course not, it was bound to happen with one of you. Besides,” She opened her arms for Tearnyn who readily pounced in to hug her mom. “You have the same look my brother did. He wanted to see all that he could and he found it in the W Unit he joined. He loved it.”
“Am I really like Uncle Jayce?” She nuzzled her mother’s neck.
“Oh yes. You may have your father’s hair, but you are all my side of the family… excluding the crazy.” Rai wrapped her arms around Tearnyn and held her tight.
“Will dad be mad?” Tearnyn’s voice went quiet again as fear crept into her voice again.
“He’ll be sad, but he won’t be mad. We’ll miss you a lot.” Rai kissed her daughters head.
“I’ll come back.” Tearnyn looked up. “I’ll always come back.”
“You just need some freedom from us?” Rai teased.
Tearnyn pouted, “Yes.” Rai laughed, pulled her daughter closer and hummed a lullaby.
Before the crash, the shuttle’s entrance did not go unseen. The villages and inhabitants of the immediate land looked up in awe as something bright lit up the day’s sky. At first they thought it was a meteor or fallen star, but as the object approached they realized the shape was wrong. Instead of a more circular shape, it was long. The villagers of Green Willow sent out Scouts to investigate the fallen object. They crept through the well known forest and wearily closed in on the shuttle. They waited and listened for any survivors.
Finally, Yurik started moving. He opened his eyes and groaned at the light sensitivity he was experiencing and the pain that throbbed throughout his body. After he had his thoughts organized and did a body check, turned his head to look at the pilot. “Morgana.” He nudged her limp body. “I can hear your heart beat, wake up.” He kept nudging her until she started waking from her forced sleep.
“Stop.” She slurred out. Her eyes blinked a few times until they adjusted to the light. “Fuck that hurt. You okay?” Morgana turned her light green eyes to Yurik.
“I’m hurt, but healing. You?”
“Pain everywhere, but alive. How’s Tear?” Morgana shifted and pushed her long black and red hair out of her face.
“Haven’t woken her yet. I’m going to unbuckle before I try waking her.” He braced his feet on the dashboard and carefully released the buckle. Yurik held on to the harness until he was standing stably and turned his attention to his other partner. The petite women in the back looked so vulnerable while passed out. Looking at her now, a person would never know she was a little ball of solar fire that could bring the largest of men to his knees. He skillfully made his way to where she was and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tear, time to wake up.” Her heart and breathing did not change, he tried again. “Tearnyn, you have to wake up. Come on you.” After shaking her and getting nothing, he unbuckled the harness and caught her. He started checking her when the shuttle shifted, sending the crew tumbled to the floor. Yurik curled protectively around the unconscious woman, falling hard on his right shoulder.
When the shuttle settled, Yurik opened his eyes to find dark glasses looking down at him, “There are people outside.”
“You sure?” He asked a little startled that she had woken up.
“Yes, I can hear their heartbeats.” She pushed herself off of him and offered a hand. “Morgana, you okay?”
“Yeah, although I think I bruised my hip on the last shift.” She limped to the back. “Ready?” Morgana slipped her gun out of her holster and waited for her teammates. Yurik let his nails shift to claws as Tearnyn drew her pistol from her side. The three awkwardly walked out of the shuttle to be greeted by fifteen werewolves.
The three Scouts took up neutral stances when they stopped just outside the shuttle entrance; they were on another pack’s territory. “Hello.” Yurik greeted; the linguist of the group.
The Scout group from the area exchanged looks and one of the older wolves stepped forward. “Ello.” He had a bit of an accent that sounded weird to the newcomers, one they had never heard before. “We are the Green Willow Pack, who are we speaking to?”
“I am Scout Yurik Canton and my two teammates are Scouts Morgana Terran and Tearnyn Aldwin.” He answered formally.
The man looked them over carefully. “You are not from around here. Your transportation device,” His eyes flickered to the shuttle. “It is one I have never seen before. Where are you from Scout Canton?”
“Our main post is on Central Prime. We are werewolves of the Hannigan Pack.”
“Central Prime?” The man gave a confused look. “I have never heard of that city.”
“It is a planet.” Yurik replied carefully, equally confused. Who had not heard of Central Prime?
Realization dawned on the other wolf’s face, “Ah, you are one of them. Come, our Alpha will want to speak with you. My name is Scout Viktor Blade, I hope this will be a pleasant meeting.” The three Scouts looked at each other and when all agreed, Tearnyn lead the way. The Green Willow Scouts surrounded the newcomers, giving no airs of threats but a firm reminder that they were a force to reckon with. Tearnyn, Morgana, and Yurik swept their eyes over everything as they walked through the bright green forests that lead to the village. It was different than the ones they were used to, almost purer than any that had ever experienced. The scents were fresher, the creatures livelier, and the colors had an almost unrealistic liveliness to them.
The three friend’s senses went on high alert as they entered the village. Dozens of wolves watched them as they walked through the streets to the largest building in the middle. None of the wolves drew near, but they watched curiously until the group entered the building. They were greeted by a tall lean white haired woman with wise eyes.
“Who do we have here?” She addressed Scout Viktor while her crystal ocean eyes looked over the three Scouts.
“Scouts Yurik Canton, Morgana Terran, and Tearnyn Aldwin of the Hannigan Pack.” Viktor replied with his eyes lowered.
“Welcome Scouts Canton, Terran, and Aldwin, to the Roik Pack. I am Alpha Sierra Roik of Green Willow Village.” Tearnyn, Yurik, and Morgana immediately lowered their gazes as to not offend the Alpha. “What brings you to my territory?”
After a silent debate, Tearnyn answered, “Our shuttle was pulled in by this planet’s gravitational field. At the time our computers were not working and we crashed.”
“That is unfortunate. Where are you originally from, Scout?”
“I am sorry for my rudeness, I am Scout Tearnyn Aldwin and our post is Central Prime.”
“I have never heard of that city.”
“It is a planet Alpha Roik.”
“Ah.” She smiled knowingly. “You are one of them.”
“One of them?” Tearnyn questioned as her brows scrunched together.
“You travel the stars to sate your curiosity. You did not mean to come here then?”
“To be honest Alpha Roik, we do not know where here is. We were charting an area of unknown space when our shuttle suddenly felt as though we were being crushed and the next thing we knew we were crashing down on the planet.”
“That is strange.” The Alpha stared at the young man and women, believing everything that had been said so far. “Do you have any hypothesis as to why this has occurred?”
“Not really. We had only recently woken up from the crash when we met your Scouts.”
The Alpha had ideas as to what happened, but decided to wait and collect more information on these lost pups. “You three smell… strange. Like false woods. You, Scout Aldwin, in particular.”
The three Scouts exchanged looks, having thought something similar about the wolves here. “I was born and raised on a ship. Very rarely have I been on a planet long enough to have natural scents rub off on me.” Alpha Roik looked surprised at the young woman before her.
“I grew up on a planet made up mostly of sand, for the past six years I have lived on a ship with a real artificial forest.” Yurik replied.
“I am the same as Alpha Canton, although my home world was more a city than anything else.” Morgana answered.
“Curious.” Alpha Roik inhaled deeply and took in all the scents that she could off the three Scouts. “Scout Aldwin, do you mind taking off your glasses?” Werewolves may be part human, but they still read body language like wolves.
“Sorry, I still have some light sensitivity from the crash. I think I have a mild concussion.” Tearnyn slipped off her glasses and placed them back on her vest.
“We can-“ Alpha Roik stopped as she looked into Tearnyn’s eyes. She swiftly walked over to the young woman and stared at her strange eyes. “Your eyes are of the wolf’s.”
Tearnyn tried her best to stay calm, but her instincts spiked at the proximity of the strange Alpha. “They are.”
“I have never personally seen someone with the Alpha and Beta’s eyes when not shifted or even together.”
“Very few have them.”
“Do you know why your eyes are such?”
She did, all werewolves knew. It was a history that was once lost in the Bright-Knight family, but had been unearthed when Rai was kidnapped over a decade earlier. “They are the eyes of the first werewolf family, the Tunglþræll Pack.”
“That family has long since died. A once powerful family they was wiped out and yet here you stand before me to mock me with those eyes?” Her eyes shifted to a liquid silver that burned into Tearnyn.
“The family lived on. But it was passed down through the human bloodline until my brothers and I were born.”
“You lie, everyone knows of the massacre to the Tunglþræll pack.”
“Apparently not all of them died. I would not have these eyes if the pack had fully died out. Only Tunglþræll blood still holds this form of heterochromia iridum. I would say even those bitten by one such as myself would not have this rare trait, but I do not know. It has been centuries since an Alpha was from my bloodline.”
“You speak so sure of yourself for one so young.”
“My parents have made sure I know my family history since my mother never knew much about hers. Besides, when you grow up in werewolf society, you learn of your heritage.”
“I suppose that is true. You will have to tell me of your ancestors, but for now you three must see a healer. I have kept you long enough. Know you are guests here, however should you cause trouble I will not hesitate to protect my pack. Understood?”
“Yes.” The three Scouts replied firmly.
“You are dismissed. I shall speak with you soon.” The Alpha smiled and watched as the Scouts were escorted from the room. The three Scouts felt as though they were on display for the whole village to see. With each step Tearnyn felt more nauseated. Her head hurt and the sun was not helping. Trying to dull down the pain, she put her glasses back on only to have to pause and take deep breaths.
“Tear, you okay?” Morgana was by Tearnyn’s side with a hand on her back..
“Nope.” She replied right before vomiting up bile. Morgana pulled back Tearnyn’s short black and teal hair so it would not get puke in it. Tearnyn remained hunched over until she was sure she would not vomit again. “Ah, sorry.”
“Do not worry, let’s get you to a doctor before your concussion gets worse.” Scout Viktor smiled reassuringly. The party began again towards the small clinic the village had. “Scout Terran, how is your leg?”
Morgana looked up surprised, “Okay. I’ve had worse.” The group made it to the clinic without further pauses. When the doctors and nurses looked the small team over, their prognosis was contusions, some lesions, and a severe concussion for Tearnyn but only a mild one for Yurik. The doctors wanted to keep the three Scouts overnight for observations.