This has been a story on my mind for a good while here, and takes another step in showing how some of my other stories tie together ;3

This is based in a universe made by  Hetzer
Please do check his original story out! Integration is a master class in storytelling!

The wonderful artist MDsf made this! They do a lot of amazing work, even animation!  MDsf
Non-Animated version here! https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45992551/

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Fair warning, this story is a war story, not for the faint of heart... Following 3 UAF members as they secure and protect a human town, with less than smart humans.

Fear and panic does terrible things to the mind.

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Rain pelted the Lupari's armored mask, although it was less bothersome than she predicted. Her commander, Klieth, had insisted they take the main roads to travel faster. Yet as she looked to either side of the night-stricken world, a shiver of anxiety fluttered down her spine.

Matrilik never quite had a fascination with alien worlds. Although having been in the UAF for more than a decade now, she had seen quite a few. Many of which were manageable, but this one was grating on her nerves.

From skirting the tiny buildings to the roads, they had to step cautiously around. To constantly having to look down, making sure nobody was sneaking underfoot. Matrilik felt like a mother cautiously walking around a child's fort out of fear of it falling over.

The Lupari had been on many battlefields through the years. But the extreme caution one had to take here added to her reasons for hating this war, the planet, and its occupants. Her commander knew how much she despised this war. Although he still held firm with his subordinate. Every time he would explain the reasonings for peace and help those who could not help themselves. She still felt a spike of frustration digging into her head.

As she walked along, they passed over another minor road. Barely appearing through the haze of rain just before they would step on it. Klieth's visor turned back, its blue eyes flickering over the two in their small squadron.

At first, they had been out on a routine scouting run to get a lay of the land. Flying airships to scout was practically a death sentence in such a heated zone. But the man's willingness to do good had them side-track quite a ways away from their intended path. Carelessly, Matrilik lifted a foot to step over the few meters of concrete, only for her other leg to snag on something.

Matrilik stilted her breath as she glanced down to the road below. Her knee had snapped through wires, tugging a pole down into the street. She grunted and bent down to untangle herself. Klieth glanced back, stopping the other member of their squad. The specialist Jahkatian glanced back as well, stifling a chuckle that her helmetless face couldn't entirely hide.

"We need to keep moving."

Klieth's voice was stern, causing Matrilik to rip the wires and jog to catch up. She was still confused about what they were doing, having already asked several times. Each question would get the same response from her commander. But it still felt like a botched plan nonetheless.

From a Rynar that had recently turned herself into the UAF, they learned of a tiny human town between UAF and Rynar territories. With turmoil striking the Rynar from a serious command incident, there was no telling if the humans would be safe or not. Their goal was to see if the humans could be urged to evacuate.

It struck Matrilik as odd that they hadn't already. She never understood the nostalgia for an area, especially in war. Though she knew Klieth would give some heartfelt speech about it if she questioned. A part of her always loved that about the man. How selflessly he would throw himself at danger if it meant to save others who were too stupid to help themselves.

Just a day before, he was staring down a titanic Rynar, a Battlemaster. She had no helmet and came with a lost UAF member and a human. Instantly she had thrown down her guns and disabled her bulky suit. Taking Rynar prisoners was a dangerous game, as many would hide explosives on them. Tricking their enemy into thinking they would bear the injustice of being a prisoner.

Yet Klieth saw something in the woman, and Matrilik admitted she saw it too. They took her just out of their camp range when the woman was checked over. Every question Klieth flung at her, she responded without a pause, even confirming reports from scouts.

After the questioning, the woman demanded to be executed. Klieth refused, which brought the Rynar to tears. Demanding, from one commanding officer to another, to be killed for her actions, she refused to admit to us at first what it was she had done.

A part of Matrilik wished they had fired on the woman. But Klieth was more brilliant than she ever gave him credit. He had the woman's hefty armor removed and soon took her to the outskirts of the camp almost alone. Just far enough to be out of earshot and close enough so that people could come and help if she attempted anything.

Matrilik didn't know what was said then, and Klieth refused to elaborate. She shuddered, still feeling her blood ice when the enormous Rynar abruptly hugged him, sobbing into his shoulder.

Many would call it reckless, and while she couldn't entirely disagree, she had a better term for it. Heroic. Klieth held the demeanor of a hero of old. A knight in glistening armor, even if the pouring rain stilted the shine.

Matrilik was the only of their paltry group to wear a face-covering helmet. Part of her liked the fact, as her grimace and disdain wouldn't show through. Though when their specialist, Sazha, looked back at her. She could tell the avian knew what she was thinking. The most challenging war battles come in the little places, one's mind.

Sazha's expression changed to a small smile, patting her rifle to try to reassure Matrilik. However, trying to force an evacuation of an entire town would be difficult. Downright impossible in such a heated sector if not for the rain masking their movements.

Eventually, they would spot a giant beacon of light through the haze. Some glass orb sat in a small park. The first thing Matrilik would notice was the fact it had light. Not fires or hastily put together lighting systems, but it seemed the town itself still had power.

Klieth raised his hand as they approached, signaling their small group to stop. Sazha rested her sniper rifle down and turned to look out through the rain. The beacon was both a good and a bad sign. It showed the humans had power but showed a severe lack of understanding. Anyone, everyone, would be able to see that in this rain.

The Jahkatian's eyes scanned across the rain-filled night. Soon Klieth's voice came over their radio as many of the humans near the orb seemed to notice them. Matrilik gripped her rifle but forced herself to stay calm.

"I'll go ahead alone from here... Show these humans we are not a threat... Sazha, do you see anything else? I need to ask the humans to disable their lights. Turn off your suit lights as well."

Matrilik reached up to her neck, turning a small switch. While her helmet display barely showed a difference, it was just enough to show her that her armor's lights had flicked off, making her a dark silhouette in the rain.

"Negative, sir, but we shouldn't stay long here..."

Klieth nodded, his glass helmet flickering its light off before raising his rifle. Soon approaching the giant orb. Matrilik watched as many humans stepped back, clearly afraid of the giant man. However, he would pause as soon as a bright light shined on him. His voice translated into their strange tongue, and soon he reasoned with the humans.

Matrilik could tell this would be a long night...



An hour later, Matrilik took a step to her side in anticipation. The soggy grass below-foot was crushed down under the weight of her armor. Slowly she gripped the rifle in her hand, her eyes glaring through her helmet's visor. The mission was far from standard; they came ill-prepared for the number of humans they had to evacuate.

When they first arrived, the humans had many bright lights across the city, somehow finding a way to keep up a generator complex. That was the first thing Klieth urged them to turn off, as it was acting like a beacon in the pouring rain, luring any would-be attackers to them.

The Lupari shifted her weight uncomfortably, and her attention shifted to see a blue Jahkatian silently checking their large sniper rifle. Sazha hadn't been their first choice for such a close-range engagement. Her titanic rifle was unwieldy in most circumstances, though its power would be unmatched.

The Jahkatian seemed to notice Matrilik's gaze, and her ears craned up while her eyebrows shifted into a curious glance. Her eyes betrayed exhaustion that she tried so hard to hide. They all were tired, but Matrilik offered a small reassuring gesture before speaking up.

"Let's hope the Rynar go past, Sazha. There is no guarantee they will come this way; this is just a precaution..."

Her voice trailed off while she looked at the buildings around them. There were far too many humans to move out before the Rynar would potentially arrive, leaving waiting and watching to be the only option they had. Matrilik spotted many tiny faces gazing up at the giant Lupari, but thankfully Sazha spoke back before their stares could bother her.

"Perhaps..."

The Jahkatian slowly took a pistol from her belt, checking the battery before glancing down its iron sights, soon continuing with a tired sigh.

"Klieth should be back soon. What do you think he told command? That he was taking a walk with his lover?"

Her question hung in the air for a while, Matrilik grinning under her armored mask. Sazha turned her eyes up and examined the Lupari, her eyes flickering while she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief while continuing.

"They still don't know, do they? Keeping such a relationship isn't exactly easy, Matrilik."

It was true that having relations with Klieth could get her in trouble. But she had kept it secret to all but her closest friends. The Jahkatian wouldn't tell on her, and she silently thanked her for it. Only to grin and point accusingly at her with a finger.

"You're just jealous that Klieth and I are getting engaged after this."

Sazha squawked out a laugh, covering her beak with her gloved hand.

"If you two start making heated nights on this tiny planet, I'll get the rest of the squad together, and we'll shave your fur."

The Lupari nodded before shifting her weight again, half-laughing. Despite the hard-handed atmosphere of their situation, she was glad that Sazha was trying to keep the mood cheerful. Matrilik's hand idly reached behind her and locked her rifle to her back, giving herself a sense of safety for the moment. Although as Sazha went back to adjusting her massive rifle, Matrilik walked to the side to try and see if the humans needed assistance with anything, breathing a sigh of relief when Sazha didn't press the matter.

As she popped her head closer into a broken building, Matrilik would land her eyes on a lone human struggling with radio equipment. He tried rearranging the wires with a grunt, only to promptly drop it and curse out.

"Fucking hell..."

Matrilik tilted her head, unsure what the curse would mean. Although he repeated it, slightly louder when he noticed the towering Lupari. After a pause to collect himself, he waved awkwardly.

"Can... I help you?"

The Lupari turned back and shook her head, directing her eyes across his devices.

"Do you have the radios set up yet?"

The man would shrug and point to the busted comms. His eyes trailed across the giant armored head warily.

"I'll have it set up in a little bit here, I think... Are you sure it will connect to your communicators?"

Matrilik nodded, and after a moment, she slipped further away to let the man return to his work, figuring what he was doing was important. Sazha squawked again and pointed to the side. Through the rain, the silhouette of Klieth returning was barely visible, his armor's blue lights being the only valid identifier as to who it was. As he paused and tapped his helmet, he sighed into the communicator.

"Command isn't sure about what we're doing here, but I convinced them to at least let us stay for a few hours or until those Rynar pass."

Klieth knew the risks of showing up underprepared on such short notice but hoped that their actions would either save lives or help human and non-human relations. Matrilik patted her chest to let the man know she was with him, and soon Klieth would walk to Sazha to show a good sniping location just outside of town.

Matrilik's mind thought of the humans' guns, and a shiver ran down her spine. She had only seen these guns fire on rare occasions, but never when she was so close to them. While their small rifles did little more than annoy Rynar, she worried about their explosive ordnance. For their size, they had devastating weaponry, making her wonder how they hadn't destroyed themselves yet.

Gross incompetence and high explosives rarely were a good combination.

Klieth walked off towards the buildings. It was nearly impossible to see through the rain with the town's lights off. Each step of the giants had to be carefully checked. Matrilik watched her commander pause, and his attention flicked down. Curiosity hit her, and soon she glanced below before following after him.

Just a few feet from his armored foot, she could see a tinier human waving up at the man. Matrilik squinted, already telling that the human was young.

"Don't they know better than to bother a soldier?"

She felt her heart sink as she realized she asked that out loud. While her translator wasn't on, it garnered her a stern look from the male Lupari. His attention went from her back to the little girl. Soon he knelt, a smile plastering on his face.

"Did you need something? Aren't you cold?"

The girl was wearing a jacket, but even that was completely soaked in the rain. In her hands, she held a blanket that, while soaked, looked in better condition than most. In the distance, an older woman was calling out for the girl. Klieth raised his hand and motioned the woman over with a smile.

As the woman shakily approached, she quickly took the girl's hand and apologized for her child. Klieth shook his head and smiled again.

"It's quite alright. Are you both ok?"

Matrilik wanted to make a snide comment but held her tongue as the woman paused. Klieth held a saintly amount of patience for humans, even if Matrilik never understood why. But with Klieth happily waiting for a response, Matrilik felt her heart skip a beat at the cute scene, being reminded yet again why she loved the man. Despite not wanting it to, her tail began to wag softly.

He moved down, slowly checking around him before lying lower onto his stomach. Matrilik winced as his tail began to wag, but she knew why he was doing it. Everyone needed a laugh when in war, and even if she didn't like humans, she was glad that he was taking a moment to make one laugh.

With some hesitation, the mother let her daughter go. The little girl almost instantly broke into a quick sprint. Approaching the titanic man with a childish grin on her face. She reached out with barely any hesitation, brushing the man's giant cheek.

After a pause to think, the little girl happily tossed her blanket up. Only barely getting it to land on top of Klieth's snout. The man broke into a broader smile and tilted his head.

"What's this? Don't you need it?"

The little girl happily shook her head and threw her arms up to hug the man's chin. Matrilik changed her attention to the woman who, while terrified, was grinning ear to ear.

"Mommy said it protects me from the monsters! But you need it more than I do! Let it protect you from the monsters until they are gone!"

After another quick hug from the tiny girl, she would run off back to her mother, who shakily waved before shooing the girl off back into one of the damaged apartment buildings. Klieth raised up and slowly took the tiny blanket from his snout. His attention shifted to Matrilik while he still held a wide grin.

"I guess I'm immune to monsters now~."

Matrilik shook her head but found that even her tail was wagging faster. The man smiled and soon pulled out a holographic tag from his neck. It was a standard dog tag, flickering slightly with a small light that shined through the blue plastic. He unhooked the tag for a moment and pierced the blanket with its hook, then tucked it back away with a smile.

"You need to liven up a little, and maybe you'll get immunity too!~"

He joked at the woman and began walking off to make his rounds, leaving Matrilik to stand awkwardly in the rain. To not seem like too much of a fool, she began walking in the other direction. Her mind was now buzzing with thoughts, both confused and reassured.

Her eyes stirred to the side; through the rain, she heard the faint rumbling of the humans' vehicles. Unlike any she had seen, their war machines used relatively small weapons to a terrifyingly potent effect. She noticed a tiny human with his upper body poking out the top of the roaring machine. She gave a nod of acknowledgment to the armored vehicle's spotter, him offering the giant a thumbs up. Matrilik reached back for her rifle before speaking lowly through her radio.

"No sign of Rynar commander, but it seems the Humans are ready. When we heard from them, I wasn't aware they had weapons."

Through her visor, she could barely see Klieth returning to her and spotted Sazha walking off into the distance, soon going prone and readying her rifle. After a moment, the Jahkatian's glowing form would vanish in the rain as she turned off her armor's lights; soon, Matrilik and Klieth did the same.

Having humans so close made her uneasy, careful to check below every few moments, trying not to step on an unfortunate soul accidentally. Matrilik's attention snapped up as Klieth's voice echoed in her ears with a raised hand.

"Humans are staging in some buildings to tell us what they see... Sazha, hold your fire until we need support. Your gun could cause friendly casualties if you are not careful, so watch your fire."

Sazha spoke up on the radio a moment after, sounding uneasy. No doubt just as worried about this high-risk operation.

"Understood, sir, but do we have support coming? We can hold our own, but if a whole Rynar squad shows up..."

Klieth acknowledged her worry with a grunt; Matrilik watched as he fiddled with his rifle. When he spoke again, he tried to be reassuring. His tone caused Matrilik to smile, inadvertently making her tail wag for a moment.

"This is just like the mining facility on Kupali. If we watch each other's back, the Rynar won't know what hit them."

Matrilik rolled her eyes, turning her head down to the rumbling machine a few steps away from her. Its form stood out between the grey concrete buildings with its dark green colors, though she doubted that it could be identified past a few meters in the rain. She spoke out breathlessly as the vehicle's cannon turned to look down through the streets.

"Back then, we didn't have tiny terrors at our feet..."

The comms were silent for a time, leaving Matrilik to remain on high alert. Despite her armor covering her ears, her earpieces helped amplify sounds while dampening louder, more ear-shattering noises. It helped her discern between the rumbling machine, the steps of Klieth, and the rain. Rolling her footsteps to try and dampen any noise, Matrilik watched in awe as a line of humans ran past her. Although they kept their distance, they still got uncomfortably close. She held perfectly still as they passed, breathing a sigh of relief while admiring their courage.

So unprotected compared to her, yet they were still willing to take up arms against an imminent threat. Matrilik's eyes raised as they darted through the buildings, spotting how some struggled with large 'missile launchers.' Edging closer into town, she took hesitant steps between the buildings, promptly checking through her scope to try and spot any Rynar infantry.

Fighting in human towns and cities was difficult without damaging the structures throughout the war. Although during some of the first engagements Matrilik was in, the cities and towns had bustling lights. She was both thankful for the lights being off while also cursing the fact, stopping herself suddenly as she noticed power lines stretching from one building to another in front of her, carefully reaching out to snap the wire. Nestling herself at a large crosswalk section, she poked her head from behind the building with a wary gaze.

Minutes pass in silence, the pouring rain being her only company. Waiting was the most challenging part of any war. The constant feeling of being watched and yet having nothing you could do about it nagged at her mind. Finally, the silence was broken by harsh static-filled human comms. Within days of UAF and humans working side by side, the UAF had retrofitted a way for soldiers to listen in on human transmissions. However, nearly every time, they had static and slurred language.

"... -ox standing by. Are we able t-... -ig bastards to watch where they step?"

Matrilik swirled her eyes and glanced down, seeing a group of humans inside a broken building, no doubt having run up and passed underfoot. Part of the walls had caved inwards from previous battles, but otherwise, it was stable. With a slight smirk, she moved her hand over to nudge the side of the building, scraping the metal against the concrete and causing the humans to flinch. The communicator seemed to realize that another broken transmission came out promptly.

"-e kinda deserved that, bu-... -ou-... -ix spot Rynar on-...-skirts of town. Keep an eye out!"

There was a long pause as the human continued talking and making gestures. Matrilik cocked her head but rolled her eyes at the ineffective human tech. Reaching up to press her outspeaking translator, she lowered her speakers and knelt to talk. Her soft voice repeated back in the strange alien language the humans preferred.

"Fix your communications... Did you say Rynar? Where?"

The men nodded, visibly worried about the giant armored wolf near them. Matrilik leaned back slightly, giving an open hand gesture to apologize for accidentally being threatening. The human finally found his voice, forsaking the radio to call out to her.

"Rynar spotted by Bravo-six on our southern flank, two had broken off from the others! We'll keep an eye out on them, and our Abrams will follow you!"

Relenting back, she stood back up and turned off her outward speakers. Matrilik glanced down with a soft whine as the rumbling machine slowly inched towards her. Figuring that it would be best to go to Klieth, she began walking, wincing every time she had to overstep a deserted civilian vehicle and debris.

Klieth's familiar voice chimed through her headset in a calm tone.

"Two Rynar scouts to our Eastern flank; I have visual but hold your fire. We need to get them fully into town. We can't leave witnesses. Sazha, can you track their movements?"

There was a squawk over the radio as the Jahkatian spotted the duo. Matrilik tapped Klieth's elbow before stepping up beside him.

"We have a boom-box following us now; Bravo-six has spotted more Rynar; in total, there are four."

Klieth glanced back to see the vehicle following, feeling just as uneasy about the machine as Matrilik. His head swiveled to look to his fellow Lupari, giving her a quick nudge before chuckling.

"So you're a bug whisperer now? I could barely understand their static."

Matrilik smiled under her visor while her ears perked up playfully.

"Isn't that name a bit..."

Klieth nodded, although he would shrug and glance down.

"It's fine, I don't think they heard that in their little boom-box."

Matrilik set a hand on his shoulder and happily smiled for a moment. Admiring the man's grin as she knew he was making such crude jokes for her sake.

As they walked, Matrilik forced herself to keep checking down. Paranoia hit her hard with the idea of a human somehow being stuck under rubble that she steps on. The slow rumbling of the boom-box's engine did not help with her now growing anxiety.

She struggled to see through the rain, using her scope to try and spot any towering Rynar through the misty haze. Finally, she hovered her sights over what she thought was a lizardly form but soon recognized it as a broken building, cursing out in frustration as she lowered her rifle. Her attention shifted aside to see a tiny human mimicking her, his binoculars aimed towards the trees to try and spot a lizard.

"Tell me again why we have to have these little nightmares nearby... I feel terrified just to take a step! And we have to deal with Rynar to boot!"

Klieth kept his figure low. The buildings around acted as mere visual cover; as they had learned before, Erestal could burn right through them like paper. While acknowledging Matrilik's worry, he hadn't much to say on the topic, only grunting back to her.

"This is their home, and they have every right to defend it, Matrilik."

Sazha soon squawked out lowly over the radio. Her voice was tense, causing Matrilik and Kleith to stop in unison.

"The Rynar are moving back, regrouping almost. Sir, I think something is wrong here..."

Matrilik cursed under her breath and stepped back, glancing down to be sure the machine was out of the way. As it rumbled past, she breathed a sigh of relief, only to respond warily.

"Why are the Rynar acting so strange? Is their Battlemaster as timid as these troops? They shouldn't hesitate to take the town!"

Klieth paused and glanced back to Matrilik. Something in his eye told her he knew something she didn't. Yet soon, he cursed before looking down the road.

"I think our Rynar friend may have had something to do with that..."

Klieth noticed something was off as well; tapping his communicator, he glanced down. It was then that Matrilik noticed what he was looking towards. The human poking out of the boom-box was talking into his radio, yet they couldn't hear him speaking.

"Maybe they had their fill of fun... Matrilik, can you try to reconnect contact with the humans? It doesn't seem like they hear us, and we aren't hearing them. I'll move ahead to the edge of town and keep an eye out."

Matrilik gave an affirmative before returning to the humans' low-tech comm station, taking a few breaths as she walked again over the war-torn street. As she bent down to try and hand signal, she eventually turned back on her outward speakers. The human's eyes snapped up as he fiddled with tangled wires.

"Are you not connected? Would you mind fixing it quickly? Sazha is keeping visual on the Rynar, but they seem unaware of us... Although they are acting odd. It will only be a matter of time before they catch the scent of one of you if they haven't already."

The human nodded, and soon she heard the broken radio static again. Rolling her eyes in frustration, Matrilik keyed back up on comms with Klieth in an annoyed tone.

"Are the Rynar close? The tinies are getting their broken tech fixed."

She stood up, ignoring the annoyed yells of the humans at her for her comment. Her eyes snapped to a human IFV; a man climbed out from its top, fiddling with his jacket for a small black stick. Hearing no word from Klieth after a minute, she rechecked her comms. After a moment, she glanced down again, seeing that the human was fiddling with a handheld light, illuminating his work as he adjusted the antenna. Matrilik growled out quickly and stepped back from the vehicle.

"Cut that light off!"

The human glanced up to her, giving a thumbs up before turning it off. Matrilik breathed a sigh of relief before calling out on her communications again.

"Klieth? Sir? What's going o-"

She was silenced as a roar of Erestal blasts erupted through the rain. Several shots scorched the earth before her, casting the IFV and its occupants in a slurry of blue plasma. Stooping down, she clutched her rifle and set her armor on full power. Matrilik spotted orange lights through the rain, realizing the Rynar had gotten too close for comfort.

Matrilik kept herself low as she crept through the buildings. Ignoring the panicked human static as they called out positions, focusing solely on finding her mate. As she neared his location, she reached up to press her communicator.

The male Lupari was crouched behind a building, his eyes bolting up as his hands signaled to her. Realizing he was warning her of open comms, she understood the Rynar had somehow tapped into their network. Keeping quiet, she nodded and tapped her rifle, only for the ear-crackling war thunder of heavy human gunfire to erupt behind them.

Matrilik watched in terror as a heavy shell flashed by her vision. The explosion rocked her senses as the shell hit its mark, the broken human radios calling out through her earpiece.

"-ert! Rynar in the town are alert! Cleared for live fire! I repeat, cleared for live fire! Drive these overgrown bastards back!"

Matrilik barely had a chance to think before her muscles moved automatically. Glancing over the building, she saw the orange glows of three Rynar taking cover in the town only a few hundred meters away, one already lying dead from the humans' thundering guns. Raising her rifle, she took several quick shots, growling as her bolts hit her target. But the heat of her blasts faded quickly with help from the rain. Matrilik ducked and fumbled back as blue bursts of heat blasted through her shallow cover.

Klieth shifted to the other end of his building, peeking out to get his bearings, but the Rynar pinned him back with Erestal blasts. Matrilik felt her heart racing as more of the terror-filling shocks of human cannon fire erupted near her. She watched as the boom-box sped past, its canon rearing before another booming quake blew fire from its barrel. A plume of black smoke billowed out as a spiraling shell flew to its mark.

In all the fights she had been in, she never felt as shell-shocked as she had now. The tank raced off behind cover as Erestal blasts marked the ground behind it. Matrilik stole a glance past her cover, seeing that it had indeed hit its target. Another Rynar soldier lay dead in the streets; the shell had utterly blown the Rynar's chestplate apart. Matrilik took quick shots to scare the other Rynar back behind cover.

Klieth flapped his hand around before whipping his finger in the air, signaling that they should flank from either side. Matrilik readied her rifle with a quick nod and stooped low between buildings. Coming across where the Rynar held out, the last surviving two had backed up, leaving their dead comrades in the rain. The sight made her stomach lurch in disgust.

Wherever the humans' weapons had hit, they left a mix of scorched metal and busted armor infused with blood and gore. The chest completely caved inwards in a disgusting and deadly show. Tearing her eyes away from the cold dead expression on one of the Rynar, she took a slow breath and continued, at least grateful the humans understood the UAF was friendly.

"Where did the final two go? Sazha?"

Before Sazha could respond, Matrilik flinched again as another tank blast tore through the rain. Peeking over her cover, she saw yet another Rynar fall clutching its stomach.

Matrilik kept radio silence to try and isolate the last Rynar. She held her place for a moment to catch her breath. The human cannons had left her shell shocked far worse than she had ever been before.

Gripping her rifle, she glanced at the humans in the building next to her. They stood on the sixth story of an apartment building, narrowly at eye level to her. Seeing them just as confused, she paused for a moment to get her bearings, taking slow breaths while her attention turned to the humans beside her. One shouldered a rocket launcher, only for him to abruptly point outside with a yell.

Three blue plasma bolts soared through the rain at her, hitting her square in the chest and knocking the titanic wolf down. The shock of hitting the ground fumbled the humans in the building next to her. But she could hear their alien tongue yelling out.

"Take this, you overgrown bastard!"

She raised her head as a missile flew off, only for it to whizz off past the Rynar and hit a building far in the distance. The explosion rocked her senses as she fumbled to get up, finding her armor had saved her from the Erestal shots.

The Rynar hissed out, its armored hand crashing into the building, knocking one human out onto the ground only a few meters in front of her. Another screamed as the lizard's hand compressed on them, the protected fingers crushing the human instantly, reflecting with a sickening 'snap,' splattering blood on the black glove. At the same time, its boot crashed down to crush the other poor man, his scream ending abruptly with a solid slam of metal on concrete.

Matrilik felt her heart lurch and skid to an abrupt stop. Her eyes went wide as the lizard casually threw away the poor human remains. Despite her helmet, she could smell the blood, the gunpowder from human weapons. Despite her mind screaming her to move, she remained perfectly still as the Rynar hissed.

Just as its rifle raised to fire on the frozen Lupari, a large blast of light flew through the air, going clean through the Rynar's chest and into the ground behind it. The lizard barely could step back as another shot made its mark dead center on its head, knocking the lizard down, dead before it crashed into the ground.

Matrilik felt herself shaking, barely registering Sazha's voice as she called out on the radio.

"Target down, Klieth, check on Matrilik!"

As an armored hand clasped her shoulder, Matrilik screamed out and began to scramble back. Only to meet Klieth's face, his mask off, bearing a sad but reassuring smile.

Soon Klieth's voice would follow, yet his voice wasn't over communications. Her eyes were locked to the red smear on the road before her, the rain washing away what remained of the brave human.

"Hey! Hey..! Calm down... The Rynar are dead..."

Matrilik fumbled over her words but couldn't bear to look at the crimson mess. Klieth offered her a hand, and she stared blankly at it for a moment. Yet after collecting herself, she took it and lifted herself. Her eyes shifted back to the building where the humans had held up. The Rynar had torn through the concrete and grabbed one of the humans with a simple gesture.

Klieth's eyes followed her own before cursing out, keeping his gaze away with a low sigh, patting Matrilik's shoulder to try and snap her back to reality.

"They're gone, Matrilik... Come on... We saved a lot of lives today."

Her eyes turned up to look through the haze, barely seeing the glint of Sazha's sniper. Reaching up, she took off her armored mask, finding herself breathing spastically.

"I'm... Sorry, sir..."

Klieth made eye contact with her, his smile calming her down. After a moment, her breathing returned to normal, once more reminded of why she loved the man. While they kept their romance out of their duty, she reached out and grabbed him, putting her snout against his as she shuddered.

The fellow Lupari held her for a time, patting her back before breaking the hug. While he smiled, he glanced back through town. She slipped her mask back on and took a long breath.

"Let's head back; you going to be alright? Or do you need a minute?"

Matrilik couldn't force words out, finding her throat had locked up. Yet she nodded and motioned off, following Klieth as he keyed up on the radio.

"Area is clear; how are the civilians?"

Matrilik knew he was referring to the humans yet raised an eyebrow as she tapped her helmet.

"Klieth? I think your radio is damaged?"

The man nodded and tapped his earpiece, finding that the skirmish had damaged it. Matrilik kept her guard up as she padded back where the smaller creatures had based up. With reports coming in that blasts had taken out some buildings and vehicles, but none of them significant, there were only a handful of casualties. Sazha's squawking voice echoed back after some moments.

"They are safe, and my guess is this was a break away from the main Rynar group. We can only guess what they wanted to do... Probably wanted some quick 'fun.'"

Letting her guard down, Matrilik tilted her head up to the skies. The rain drizzled over her mask as she took slow and steady breaths. The ringing of human cannons was still replaying in her ears. Despite being a Pre-FTL civilization, their weapons were far more heart-shaking than she could have ever imagined.

Slinging her rifle behind her back, she felt it magnetically lock against her frame. Taking a slow breath once more, she exhaled and found herself shaking in her armor. Such small guns making a significant impact left her speechless.

Yet the sudden brutality she saw shook her to the core more than any guns would. The panicked face of the brave human as he was grabbed, only to be crushed abruptly, without mercy.

The Rynar had won against the human when it grabbed the man. It could have just shot Matrilik and moved on, yet it took its time. Deliberately brutalizing the humans. Matrilik looked at the cheering humans around, congratulating each other despite the horrors they had done and bore witness to.

She watched as Klieth motioned her to head back towards the humans. Her head tilted as he began walking back in town.

"I left my visor out there; I'll be back. Go ahead and phone in an evac for the civilians."

Matrilik nodded and soon approached the humans. Noticing that their cheering slowly died down, she awkwardly gave a wave, only to be surprised when the humans started cheering again, this time for the UAF helping them.

Her tail wagged as she shifted her eyes to the side, noticing a smaller vehicle still rumbling in the distance. While the cannon on it was far smaller, she winced at the thought of it firing and hurting her ears. The human radio had been silent again. Slowly leaning back up, she took a few cautious steps to the radio center. Peeking inside, she watched as the man glanced up, waving at her as if already knowing what she was going to say. She smiled and kept her eyes on him for a time, and soon the man turned his attention to her once more.

After a moment, she tilted her head, turning on her speakers so that her translator could work. Reaching up, she took off her mask, feeling a bit safer for the time being. When she spoke, now without her mask, she could smell a sudden shift in the man's attitude, from a stressed and frustrated scent to that of slight fear. Matrilik leaned back to give the man some room before speaking.

"The area is clear, all four Rynar neutralized. Can you call off your armored vehicles? They are making me a bit nervous..."

The man eyed her before nodding, tossing a rag at her playfully while he got on the radio. Through the rain, she could tell the humans were antsy, some smelling even trigger-happy as if the Rynar they killed weren't enough. Despite their size, she had to give them that they had determination. Soon the human radio piped up, filling her ears with sparse words and a lot of static.

"-nar spotted in town. The coast is cl- -no Rynar in town, the coast i-"

One of the human machines, an IFV, beside her rumbled to life as its cannon reared. The human on top for spotting grabbed a radio and called out.

"Ry-r in town? That's an affirmative, all UAF- r-eat. Turn on your armor's lights."

Matrilik flinched before reaching up to flick on her lights, turning her eyes around to see whatever Rynar they could have seen. Timidly bringing her hand again to her communicator, she called out.

"Sazha? Do you see Rynar? Is Klieth still in town?"

The Jahkatian's voice spoke up as she neared the town, turning her lights on quickly so that she wasn't shot by accident.

"Negative on Rynar. I'll try and wave Klieth down, try to calm the humans."

Matrilik stepped back to the human communicator. Tapping her translator to ensure it was on, she tilted her head.

"Is that a confirmation on Rynar? Our specialist doesn't see any."

The human shook his head and quipped back.

"There shouldn't be any left, but if only this damn thing would work!"

From the radio before him came back a question of potential Rynar positions. Yet when he spoke into it, he stopped after a word and tampered again. Finally fixing the radio, he tried calling out.

Finally, Matrilik had enough of the broken communications. Leaning back, she spotted the small armored car and began taking timid steps towards it with her hands out to try and stop it. The human radio static was back in her earpiece in a split second.

"Tha- negative! N- Rynar in town! Hold you- . . . -ire! No Rynar in to-"

Matrilik's blood ran cold as suddenly a loud blast reverberated from the machine before her. Followed by another, and yet another, three shells in rapid succession. Matrilik jolted back and grabbed her rifle.

Thinking they had spotted another Rynar, she peeked the corner of a building, only for her heart to freeze. In the distance stood a now still silhouette of a Lupari against a building, clutching its stomach.

"-ease fire! Ceasefire! Friendly fire, dammit! Hold your fi..."

Matrilik's heart began to race as she barreled past the humans. Klieth slumped against a now caved-in building. She threw her rifle aside and dropped to her knees. The male Lupari held to his side, cringing in pain as she tried to check him over.

He raised a blood-covered hand, the crimson liquid washing away in the rain as he coughed out.

"Matr... Stop..!"

He coughed again, his body shaking as Matrilik pried his hands from his side. The side of his armor had three low-caliber holes, yet it was clear they pierced his armor as if it was butter. All three wounds spat out his blood at an alarming rate. Matrilik shakily grabbed a cloth from her emergency belt, pushing it on his side as she cried out.

"Klieth! No... No, no, no! S-Sazha call the medi-ship! Call anyone!"

She tried connecting up to the emergency channel, but her attention snapped back to reality as Klieth's quivering hand reached up to grab hers. The man's other hand reached up to wipe his face, then fell away to reveal his pained expression. Each breath he took resulted in a jolt of pain and a cough that quaked his frame.

Matrilik's grey and brown fur was already matting in the rain as her hazel eyes scanned in a frenzy over him. Her panicked voice was sputtering out while trying to soothe her injured mate.

"K-Klieth? Come on, fluffs... E-Everything is going to be fine..! I-I promise! A medical officer should be here any mi-"

Klieth silenced her by pulling the woman close. The man gave a strangely knowing smile, holding her for a long moment as his eyes met hers, speaking out through the pain, shaking his head with a broken laugh.

"D-Don't start lying to me now..."

Slowly the pained Lupari brought his shaking hand up to his neck. Unhooking his dog tag, he whined while checking it over. Thankful that blood didn't splatter the small blanket, he then coughed and looked up to his lover. They were not subordinate and commander, not soldier to soldier at that moment, but lover to lover.

Grabbing her hand with his weak palm, he pushed the tag and blanket into her hands. Forming her fingers around it while a broken smile plastered on his lips.

"This will protect you from the monsters... Remember that..."

Matrilik felt her eyes watering, mixing with the rain that sagged her fur. Her throat lumped up as she attempted to speak, finding her voice had stopped while she fumbled to tears. Klieth made a pained effort to grab her cheek, forcing her attention up to him as he wiped her eyes for her.

"Matrilik..? Stop... I... It... It was an accident..."

He shuddered as the color began draining from his face. Slowly a smile formed on his face as he looked the terrified Lupari over. Matrilik's ears bent back as she shook her head, pushing the cloth tighter against his side as tears streamed down her face.

"N-No! Nothing is an accident! Y-You're going to be fine! Please! Klieth, don't do this to me!"

Matrilik's voice cracked as she began to yell to the man, pleading to him.

"Klieth!? Please don't leave me! Please dammit! You're going to be ok! Look! I can get..."

Klieth fell silent as his hand fell from her cheek, slumping back as his face grew lifeless. His smile dwindled as his eyes twitched closed. Color finally vanished from his face as he sat in a pool of his blood mixed with the still pouring rain. The woman's heart stopped as she whimpered out.

"Klieth..?"

Matrilik held the man tightly as she sobbed over his body. Not caring to notice when humans slowly gathered around. The wolfess cried for minutes on end, clutching the man.

When she tore herself away from his body, she staggered back with a whine. Her eyes were sore and burning from tears. Fumbling her words through a tight throat, Matrilik fell quiet. Suddenly noticing all the humans around her and the now dead man, she watched as they began to pay their respects.

Despite the apparent sadness and guilt the humans held, Matrilik growled. Clutching her hand around the dead Lupari's palm while her lips drew back to show her teeth. Her hand shifted to the side where her rifle rested on the ground.

Many humans stepped back at her show, but Matrilik slowly eased down when she spotted the Jahkatian approaching. Sazha raised her hands and pushed the air, signaling the humans should leave. Slowly taking a knee, Sazha looked between the torn-up woman and her dead mate.

"Matrilik...? Ease down there..."

It was clear Sazha was at a loss for words. However, seeing Matrilik in such a state let her know she needed to calm her down.

"It was an accident... Let go of the gun..."

To this, the Lupari seemed to snap out of her anger. Her growl diminished as she realized she had her off-hand clutching her rifle in a death grip. Letting Sazha take it from her, she watched as the Jahkatian quietly shooed the humans away.

Matrilik only sniffled when she glanced back to Klieth. He always had joked about her getting a field promotion if he was shot. But this was never the way she wanted it...