The Bounty Hunter Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Forgotten Warrior landed without incident in the swamps of Naboo. Flik found a relatively stable and dry spot to put her down and they disembarked from the Shistavanen Scout ship.

"So, are you going to tell me everything or am I going to have to shoot you?" Shiba asked, levelling the blaster pistol at the wolfman while his back was turned to her.

An amused growl emitted from his throat as he turned round to face her. He wasn't scared one bit - he knew that if she were going to kill him, she would have shot him in the back while he was turned away from her. When he regarded her expression, however, he discovered how serious she was.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Why you didn't want me to shoot at anything for a start. I mean, are you some kind of Imperial spy, or something? What is the plan to get this guy who killed the Bothan, anyway? Oh, and how much is this bounty?"

"Is that all? Let me get some things straight, doctor. First, I don't have to tell you anything I don't think you need to know. Second, this is my mission. Third, I could have killed you before now and you should think yourself lucky that I haven't; most bounty hunters would have, including the better ones; that's what makes them the best," he snatched the pistol off her as he spoke and gripped her chin in his other hand, his claws digging into her flesh, his lupine eyes and canines uncomfortably close to her face. "My past is none of your business. I have reason to despise the Empire just as much as you do."

He pushed her backwards and Shiba tripped and fell into the shallow water and mud of the swamp behind her. The wolfman snapped off a sharp bark before he stalked back up the boarding ramp.

***

Several minutes later, Flik emerged from a larger hatch than the boarding ramp on the back of a swoop. He used the lowest speed to bring it out of the ship and brought it to a halt several metres from the Forgotten Warrior.

He slid off the swoop and landed with a splash in the shallow, muddy water of the swamp. He trudged through the water and up on to the dry land on which the Forgotten Warrior rested on. Shiba had gotten out of the water and was trying to brush off the mud that had soiled her clothes.

"You expect me to ride on that thing?" she asked.

Flik wrinkled his muzzle. "Beats walking, which you could do if you wanted to - accept I have the map to the place we need to go. Once we get there, I'll tell you what you need to know, all of it."

"Ok, you win, this time. But I'd still like to know why you didn't want me to shoot at anything on the way down."

Flik decided that he owed her that much. "The Forgotten Warrior has a cloaking device that can be used while the ship is in motion. All Shistavanen Scout ships possess them, which is why the Empire outlawed their use. However, they only work once you've come out of hyperspace and you have to make sure that no one's detected you before you initiate the cloak - otherwise it's useless. Of course, there's also the danger of someone crashing into you, which is why you have to avoid busy space lanes."

"Makes sense, I guess. Can I have my pistol back?"

Flik tossed it to her, their earlier argument forgotten. He then took out his comlink to communicate with Lobo.

"Lobo, close up the hatches and activate the cloaking device. Lock everything down and don't let anyone know your presence unless they discover you by accident. I'll let you know when we're coming back."

Lobo complied and the ship disappeared before Shiba's eyes. As he walked back to the waiting swoop, Flik had to wonder if his earlier thoughts about the Alderaanian woman were effecting his judgement.

***

Shiba's clothes and hair soon dried in the wind generated by the high-speed movement of the swoop through the swampland. Water was displaced as they passed over it and they did startle a herd of famba and kadu in their passage through the swamp.

To avoid falling off, Shiba had to cling on to the wolfman as he navigated through the mist. The mist and the close growth of the mangrove trees made visibility poor, and Shiba wondered just how Flik managed to avoid crashing into any of the thick bowels of the trees. She knew that Shistavanens possessed a tapetum lucidium, a reflective layer of cells on the retina of their eyes, that allowed them to see better in the dark than humans, but there was something else at work here too. It just seemed eerie.

They arrived at Theed just in time to see the sun set over the water. In spite of the Empire, it appeared that Theed had changed little since the time of the Old Republic. The Theed Palace was still there, looking as glorious as ever in the distance. The red brick walled arches, the town houses and the splendid flowers and foliage that marked the Naboo's appreciation of nature was still in evident - very much still an organic world, unlike many of the planets that Palpatine's corrupted hand had touched. In many ways, Theed reminded Shiba of the many cities and towns of Alderaan, very much urbanised but with a respect and love of nature and beautiful architecture.

Flik brought the swoop to a halt in the streets at the edge of the city. He turned and said to Shiba, "We walk from here."

Shiba nodded and slid to the ground. Flik pulled out the electronic key that activated the swoop and stood next to her.

"I thought you said that the townships were away from human populations?" Shiba asked.

"Most are, but the one that was built near Theed as since been absorbed into the city, because of it's expansion, but kept apart from the rest of it because it's on an island in the canal waterways, to keep people in. It is, for obvious reasons, as far away from the Theed Palace as it's possible to get."

"So, that's where we're heading now?"

Flik nodded his furry head.

“First, hand me your weapons.”

Shiba looked at him, distrust in her eyes.

“It’s important,” Flik said, producing a large case from a compartment inside the swoop’s side panel. It was just long enough to conceal Chenlambec’s Ryyk blade. “If we are to get past the Stormtroopers, we will need to conceal our weapons,” he explained.

Reluctantly, Shiba handed them over to him and to her surprise, all of their arsenal fitted neatly inside. “It has an electric field that will hide our weapons from detection.”

“Won’t they take it from us anyway?” Shiba asked.

“That’s a risk we have to take, but this will be better for us, believe me.”

Strangely, Shiba found that she did.

It was a thirty-minute walk to the canal docks. In their journey, Shiba noticed that what had seemed like a normal city, was, in fact the wrong impression. Everywhere they went, Flik drew suspicious looks from the inhabitants, because of his species. Shiba herself, was scowled at, but she couldn't tell if that was because she was with the wolfman or because of the clothes she was wearing. There was a distinct aura of fear and mistrust in the city and not just because of the wolfman. This was generated by the numerous squads of Stormtroopers that patrolled the streets of the city. Rarer, was the occasional duo of guards clad in scarlet armour, and their presence sent a shudder down the wolfman's spine, as he remembered an incident long ago involving them. The first squad of Stormtroopers they found forced them to join a group of dejected looking Gungans and other exotics towards the canal.

It was then that Shiba wondered how, when they got the mission completed, just how the hell were they ever going to get back to the ship and off the planet without getting blown to pieces in the process. She stole a glance at her companion and noticed that he was thinking the same thing. What had seemed like a simple job had turned out to be far more dangerous than either of them had ever imagined.

The Bounty Hunter Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shiba stretched out her aching muscles. Flik Sivrak was a hard taskmaster when it came to training, even if had proven quite interesting in the end. She had picked up the basics of Teras Kasi quite well, as she did saundo, a series of exercises that controlled breathing while taking the body through a series of poses that tested the body's balance. She had started to do it while partaking in her studies as they had helped boost her concentration, memory and calming her nerves, something that was useful when taking the stressful examinations. It had also given her body flexibility and strength, which was why she had picked Teras Kasi up so quickly. There was no way she could match the wolfman's weight and power, though.

She needed more practice with weapons, however, in particular blaster pistols and rifles, because of the aim.

They were now on their way to Naboo and Flik had told her to get some rest, something that Shiba was glad to do; there was very little chance of getting rest once the mission started and after working as a doctor, she was quite used to snatching time for rest at any opportunity that presented itself to her.

Before she settled down, she took out the holo of her daughter, Jeana and wondered for the thousandth time since leaving her and her brother behind on Corellia in the care of a friend if she had done the right thing. Her son was still only a baby and she missed them both terribly. But then she thought of the reason why she was doing this; Alderaan deserved justice, her husband, her family and her friends deserved it; the patients deprived of the life saving skills of the Alderaanian trained doctors deserved it. While the Empire existed, her children were far from safe.

She put the holo back into her bag, which contained changes of clothes and some medical supplies – she’d decided on packing those since last time she’d been on board the Forgotten Warrior, she’d found next to nothing that could be used to treat wounds and such, and she’d often wondered just how she’d managed to save the wolfman’s life that way. At one point, she’d even thought she’d lost him as his breathing slowed and his heart rate had been almost undetectable.

Shiba lowered herself on to the bunk that served as a bed; it was little more than a metal board with a pillow and a sheet. The events in the cargo bay ran through her mind in a loop, ending with the kiss. Had that been why she had placed that tracer on the Forgotten Warrior and tracked the wolfman? She didn’t think so.

She turned over on to her side in a bid to chase those thoughts from her mind, but they kept chasing each other around. Sometimes, when an operation had gone badly or on the eve of a critical exam or after one, she’d had nights like this, where her thoughts ran amok, refusing to let her wind down so that she could sleep. Eventually, she knew that she would drop off, even if it took along time to do so.

This is silly, she told herself. There’s nothing real there, just my body reacting to certain stimuli – I’m a doctor, you’d think I should know that!

But she wasn’t a doctor anymore, now she was a bounty hunter, albeit one in training.

Oh for heaven’s sake, woman, you don’t think that he’s thinking about you right now! Besides, it was just a stupid kiss. They don’t always mean something.

Of course, if she had seen the wolfman at that moment, she wouldn’t be trying to convince herself to commit to self-denial.

***

While Shiba was getting some rest, Flik Sivrak was sat in the cockpit, remembering...He stared at the holo of his lost mate, Auoura in his claws. After losing her he swore he would never love again, and that vow had led him to his current occupation in life.

"You can't dwell on the past forever, Shirak," the electronic voice of Lobo issued from the speakers.

"I told you not to call me that anymore. I no longer go by that name," Flik said, annoyed. He didn't want to be reminded of that time, of what he once was, what he had abandoned.

The AI ignored him and continued, "She is gone, now and nothing can bring her back but that is no reason to -"

"Ya think? Now I wished I'd wiped your memory when I meant to - "

As if in answer, Lobo projected a holo of the wolfman and the human woman training in what was the Forgotten Warrior's hold.

Flik shock his furry head and a low growl, the Shistavanen equivalent of laughter issued from his throat. "Not likely, Lobo," he replied, knowing what the AI was getting at. "She's human...besides, even if it was a Shistavanen lupa in there, I wouldn't bother."

"If it's because you'd feel guilty - "

"Faithfulness to Auoura is not what's in question, Lobo, though it is a valid reason - it just won't ever happen."

”You seem to get on well,” the AI commented. Flik watched as the hologram showed him standing close behind Shiba, correcting the angle of her arm in that particular posture of Teras Kasi. It brought a memory of that moment back to his mind, he remembered her feminine scent. His mind’s eye then shifted to the kiss she had planted on him in the cargo hold, rousing emotions he had thought long forgotten.

“There had to be something there to begin with,” Lobo’s electronic voice broke into his thoughts. “Otherwise, why would she follow you even after you’d told her to go?”

“She just wants vengeance on the Empire, Lobo, because it took her husband and destroyed her life.”

“See,” Lobo said, a little too brightly, in that tone that really annoyed Flik. “You have something in common already.”

He’d already seen Auoura dead, he silently reminded himself. Even if he did let that barrier come down, there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again.
He put all the abhorrence he could muster into his voice and hoped that would get though to the AI. “Drop it, Lobo. I don’t want to hear anymore on the subject.”

Lobo shut down the 3D hologram. As the image of Shiba disappeared, he almost regretted his stubbornness. To cover up for that, he said, "You make a lousier dating agency than you do a ship's computer, Lobo, and that's something."

After a few moments of quiet contemplation of his dead mate’s image, Flik rouse from the pilot’s seat, gave a loud yawn and stretched, allowing his finger tips to touch the ceiling of the cockpit. He felt the knotted tension in his back muscles ease out. Maybe it had just been too long since the last time he had spent time with a lupa, he decided, and perhaps he should seek one out when this mission was over.

“Lobo, I’m going to my cabin now. Wake me up a couple of hours before we hit Naboo.”

“Will do,” the AI simply replied.

Flik took a last look at Auoura’s holo and considered taking it with him, but he left it where it was and exited the cockpit.

The route to his cabin passed Shiba’s and at the scent of her, he paused outside the door, wondering if he should go in. Though it was tempting and took a lot of his will power, Flik decided against it, and passed her cabin by.

***

"The human is awake," Lobo announced.

"Good, unlock the door to the cabin after fifteen minutes. We'll be coming out of hyperspace in just over thirty. I need to get my gear sorted."

Part of the reason he was leaving the door locked for that length of time was to make her give up on becoming a bounty hunter and leave; Lobo's pronouncement earlier had made him uncomfortable. The last thing he needed was that kind of distraction. He had gotten Auoura killed, and he wasn't about to go through it again anytime soon if he had any say in it. The observations he'd made of human females throughout his whole life was that the worse you treated them, the more likely it was that they would up and leave.

What he didn't figure on was the fact that Shiba was one stubborn girl and that the more he disregarded her, the more determined she became to be a bounty hunter, so flawed was his logic...

He went down to the hold where he stored the weapons. He chose the usual ones he always carried; the wrist rockets, a vibroblade or two, Chenlambec's Ryyk blade, a very boring (in his opinion) run of the mill blaster pistol and a special weapon that he kept locked away.

All the time he was down there, his thoughts were on Shiba, thoughts that he didn't want to have.

He was on his way back to the cockpit when he bumped into a very irate Shiba Black. "So, I bet you thought that was very funny, then," she yelled at him, unmindful of the weapons he had strapped to him.

Flik tried to look at her with an innocent expression, but failing miserably as there was nothing innocent about the thoughts he'd been having about her in the hold. "I don't do funny," he said, calmly.

"Ok, so you did it just to irritate me, then," Shiba snapped.

"Did what?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't know what she was talking about, but knew perfectly well.

"Locked the door!"

"It's probably Lobo just messing around again. You'd better get your weapons ready and head up to the heavy blaster cannon. We'll be coming out of hyperspace in twelve minutes."

Shiba gave him a mock salute before ducking back into her cabin, making sure that the door stayed open this time to retrieve her weapons. "You'll be needing this," Flik handed her the power pack that was missing from the pistol he had given her earlier.

Shiba glared at him as he continued on his way to the cockpit.

***

"She must like you," Lobo said, on Flik's arrival back in the cockpit.

"More likely that she despises my guts," Flik replied as he sat down in the pilot's chair.

"She wouldn't - "

"Not another word, Lobo," Flik said, as he fastened the crash webbing over his broad chest. "Or I'll disable your voice circuits."

That had the desired effect as Flik turned his attention on to the countdown to reversion into real space.

"On the second we emerge from hyperspace, initiate the cloaking device. I don't want the Imperials to know that we are here," Flik ordered the AI.

Unlike most cloaking devices, the one on the Forgotten Warrior allowed the ship to travel undetected. Most ships with cloaking devices had to stay still, however, to remain undetected, the use of weapons was a no. Flik opened an internal channel to see if Shiba was strapped in the heavy blaster cannon station.

"Are you there, yet?" Flik asked.

"Strapped in and ready to go."

"Just one thing - don't open fire on anything unless I give the order."

Shiba's answer was a rather unlady like snort that said, do I have to take orders from you, now?

Sensing her reluctance, Flik added, "It's important. I'll explain later."

"Is there anything else you've neglected to tell me?"

"Yeah, plenty. All will be revealed in time."

"Why aren't I surprised, Sivrak?"

The Bounty Hunter Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Shiba Black arrived at docking bay 77 at the appointed time. The ship docked there was the strangest she had ever seen and she couldn't recall the name of the ship's type, though she was sure that Chan would have, considering his experience of star ships. She was still none the wiser even after piloting it to the medical facility that had saved Flik’s life. To her surprise, a small laser cannon descended from a concealed panel and swivelled around to face her.

It was at that moment that the Shistavanen bounty hunter, Flik Sivrak, appeared at the top of the ramp and descended slowly. He glanced at the fearful posture of the human woman and then at the laser cannon pointing towards her. He muttered a Shistavanen obscenity under his breath before whipping out the comlink from the pocket of his jacket; Shiba had noticed he had changed into since their last meeting.

"Lobo, stow the cannon. I told you we were having visitors," he spoke into it.

The cannon swivelled round slightly as if it was an eye, regarding him.

"Lobo," the Shistavanen warned in a low voice with a dangerous undertone.

The cannon immediately disappeared back into its hidden panel.

"You must excuse Lobo. He thinks this kind of thing is amusing."

It took Shiba a moment to recover from her shock. Was he doing this deliberately just to spook her?

"Yes, I'm sure," Shiba said, trying to sound like it hadn't scared her one bit, but failing miserably. "I accept your apology."

"Welcome to the Forgotten Warrior, doctor," Flik said. "Now, if you will follow me."

Shiba adjusted the bag on her shoulder and stared sceptically at the wolfman’s back as they walked up the ramp. She wondered if the wolfman suffered from a personality disorder of some kind. She wasn’t an expert on mental disorders but she had worked as an intern in a mental hospital during her studies on Alderaan and so learned to recognise some of the signs that he had been exhibiting.

But then, you had to be a little crazy to be a bounty hunter, didn’t you?

Now that’s a scary thought! A psychotic wolfman bounty hunter, at least twenty times stronger than a man, expert in the art of killing and with deadly weapons at his disposal – who’s the insane one?

“So, where’s Lobo?” Shiba asked, thinking that Lobo was a person.

“This is Lobo,” Flik indicated the ship.

“I thought you said the name of the ship was the Forgotten Warrior?”

“I did. Lobo is the ship’s computer, a semi-sentient artificial intelligence.”

“You mean like a droid?”

“Yes. The Forgotten Warrior is a modified Shistavanen scout ship. There aren’t that many left now, thanks to the Empire. The few that do exist belong to smugglers, bounty hunters, mercenaries, maybe a Rebel or two, but mine is the only one with an AI.”

“It is true, I am a rare specimen,” a self-important electronic sounding voice issued from concealed speakers. Shiba took this to be Lobo.

“So why aren’t there anymore, why is this the only one?”

“The AIs proved to be expensive to produce. Lobo is the prototype and they also found flaws within the AI’s personality matrix. The kind of thing you saw just now.”

“He has also proved to be less efficient than a normal computer, but he has been useful on occasion,” Flik continued. “Now, how about the mission, before Lobo develops a superiority complex.”

“That’s strange,” Shiba said, frowning.

“What is?” Flik asked her.

“Lobo. Has he been here all the time? He never said anything to me when I was taking you to the medical facility. I wasn’t even aware there was anything like him on board.”

Now it was the wolfman’s turn to frown. “Lobo, have you been letting people pilot you unchallenged?” he asked the AI.

“It was only on that one occasion, I assure you. You were badly injured and it seemed like the best chance you had for survival. Mistress Shiba didn’t look like the kind of person who would steal the ship and you did tell me that I was supposed to keep my existence a secret unless the ship was seriously threatened.”

“Mistress Shiba now, is it? Darn AI,” Flik muttered. “I don’t know why I put up with it.”

“You put up with me because I am the most advanced AI ever produced.”

“I put up with you because you came with the ship and I’ve yet to figure out how to wipe you without turning it into scrap metal.”

Shiba had to suppress a smile.

“Ah, Mistress Shiba, don’t mind him, he’s just a mardy bum.”

“Shut up, Lobo.”

By the time they had finished their conversation, they had reached a small lounge area of the ship with a table in the middle of which contained a small console and a holoprojector. On three sides of the table were couches set into the ship’s bulkhead.

Flik rummaged around in the bulkhead cupboards and came out with a set of unappetising looking ration meals and drinks. Though they had all the nutritional content needed, they were deficient on taste and palatability.

“You’d best get this down you – in this business you eat when ever you can even if you aren’t hungry,” Flik said, passing a tray and a drink’s canister to her.

Shiba accepted them without comment – that’s exactly the same philosophy she’d had to adhere to has a doctor as patients usually picked the most unsociable times to be sick.

Flik sat down on the couch across from her and ripped open the seal of his tray and drink respectively. He called up the holoprojector that nestled in the centre of the table.

“Lobo, bring up the files on the Vork Sarnad murder.”

Lobo did bring up a file, only not the one Flik wanted. The Shistavanen’s face creased in a frown. “Lobo –“ he warned. After about a moment or tow, Lobo brought up the correct file. It showed a Bothan male, which through her experience, Shiba guessed to be around twenty-five to thirty years old.

“There is some history behind this one and it will take some time to explain. It all starts around the time of the birth of the Empire, on the planet of Naboo, Palpatine’s homeworld. There are two species that make up the majority of Naboo’s population, the native Gungans and humans, who have settled there. Though distrustful of each other and living apart, for the Gungans are an amphibious species and have their cities underwater, they have, for the most part, lived in peace with each other. That was until the death of Senator Amidala at the beginning of the Empire.

“No one knows for sure who started the troubles. Some say that it was the remnants of the Separatists or that it was the Gungans themselves. Personally, I think that Palpatine himself may have ordered it.

“A group of genetic purists, mostly humans, who wanted to rid the planet of aliens, caused the human population to rise up against the Gungans and any other exotic race on the planet. Palpatine sent troopers to Naboo to install what he termed as peace. The Gungan cities were destroyed and the Gungan themselves, along with other exotics were rounded up and forced to live in townships away from the human populations. After a while, human criminals and the jobless were also forced into them, and anyone who objected to the regime.

“Among the criminals, there included were the purists. Even the Empire, though discriminating against exotics as they are, didn’t agree with their methods. Vork Sarnad became the leader of the resistance against the purists around six months ago. He was murdered by a member of the purists and it is our task to find out who that being was and take him out, for the Empire’s investigation into the incident failed to find the assassin and the resistance contacted me in the hope that I could bring them the justice that should have been done. I would have answered their call sooner, accept that I’ve been indisposed.”

They finished what was left of the meal in silence.

***

"So, what are these for?" Shiba asked, picking up a device that looked like it attached to the wrist. After the briefing, the wolfman had taken her to the cargo hold to go through some basic weapons with her. Upon first entering the cargo bay, she’d noticed a large swoop, similar to a speederbike near the doors, and along one wall were a row of cages that Shiba suspected the wolfman used for hauling prisoners.

He’d walked over to the opposite wall and placed his hand on a sensor that Shiba took to be a DNA reading device and part of what looked to be the bulkhead descended to reveal a host of weapons, some high tech and others which looked like they wouldn’t have been out of place in a slaughter house.

"Those, are wrist rockets and you need to know what you're doing with them so that you don't accidentally blow your arm off," Flik replied. "This is much better for a beginner." He tossed her a small hand pistol. Shiba caught it clumsily and shot him a look.

"I thought you said I had to be careful with these?" she indicated the wrist rockets.

"You do, for aiming them, but that thing’s not loaded. I never keep any weapon of that type loaded when I store it. You never know when someone will try to break in here, especially the bounty hunter you are supposed to be working with. Some, like the Wookiee Chenlambec who brought you here hold honour in the hunt over everything else and wouldn't consider double crossing you if he hadn't been betrayed first. The majority, however, wouldn't think twice about it - the less people they have to split the bounty between, the more they get. But these are usually dumb, anyway, apart from Boba Fett," he gave Shiba a look of scrutiny. "It remains to be seen which category you fall into."

"So the pistol doesn't even have a power pack in it," Shiba guessed.

The wolfman nodded his fur-covered head in affirmation.

"Besides, the wrist rockets take a lot of skill to aim properly."

Shiba absorbed this. It was true, she was unqualified to use most of these weapons in here, what with Alderaan having a ban on weapons. It had been a useless gesture of security, however, when the Death Star turned the planet to dust.

He caught her look of uncertainty. "Don't worry, if you have the knowledge to save life, you also have the knowledge to take it, if need be, doctor."

That is not a very comforting thought.

"My personal preference is the Ryyk blade over there, given to me by Chenlambec after we went on a hunt together. It never runs out of ammo, you can hardly ever miss with it; it is a weapon of honour. But you can't always trust on the guy who's shooting at you to have the same sense of honour, so you too must have surprises in reserve," he handed her a brace of vibroblades.

"There's a but, coming here, I think."

"You can't always rely on physical weapons, doctor. They can break; they can run out of ammo, they can be made useless by electronic fields. For this reason alone, you must always have a weapon in reserve when you don't have one. Have you ever heard of Teras Kasi?"

"I've heard it mentioned a few times, but I've never actually practised it," Shiba replied.

Flik's muzzle creased in an amused grin. "Then, perhaps, doctor, it is time you did."

“Don’t you need to be Force sensitive to be able to do that?” Shiba asked.

The look on the wolfman’s face suggested that he was hiding something from her. “To become a master of it, yes. But you don’t need the Force to learn the basic moves,” with a note of caution in his voice, he added, “The Empire doesn’t take kindly to talk of the Force. You have no knowledge of its existence for your own safety.”

Shiba nodded. “I know talk of it is dangerous.”

The wolfman’s muzzle creased in a snarl. “Then don’t mention it again.”

He took her through a series basic postures in Teras Kasi. When she didn’t get a posture quite right, he methodically put her right with a patience Shiba didn’t know he possessed. Shiba had been tense at first, especially when he went into her personal space to guide her limbs into the right position. His touch, though, wasn’t too intimate and she soon relaxed into it. He made her go through the postures a number of times until she completed them without assistance.

“Good. We’ll go through them together one more time and then we’ll do some basic self-defence with the postures as a guide,” he said.

Shiba nodded. During the practice session, she had noticed a change come over the wolfman and for the first time she saw him as a man, not as an alien bounty hunter. This realisation frightened her a little because she never knew these feelings towards him existed. She also noticed a curious shyness about him that he’d never displayed before.

“Are you going to do this, or are you just going to stand there?” he asked, his voice cutting through her thoughts.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Shiba said, “I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“Well don’t. Such distractions can get you killed,” he said, brusquely.

As they went through the postures one last time, Shiba couldn’t help but steal a glance at him from time to time. She realised that this brutish act he employed was just that; an act. Once they’d passed through the postures, he was calm again.

“Now we’ll spend some time on self-defence,” he said, stripping off the t-shirt he’d been wearing. She noted that the scar on his chest where he’d been injured was still visible, even though the dark brown fur that ran down from under his chin to his belly had started to grow back. Taking his cue, Shiba took off her long-sleeved tunic to reveal the sleeveless top that she wore underneath. She was starting to get quite hot.

Shiba employed the postures that Flik had just taught her as they alternated roles between attacker and defender. She spent more time on the deck at first than she did in succeeding in blocking and countering his moves. In spite of this, she was still enjoying the training, as the same mood that had come over them before settled on them again. Even when she was sore and bruised, he still insisted on her practicing until she made him hit the deck.

“Finally,” Shiba said, wiping the sweat off her forehead, looking down at him.

“That’s good,” he said, panting. “You’ve made progress faster than I thought you would. I think it’s time we called it a day.”

“I think you’re right,” Shiba said, turning her back to retrieve her tunic. Before she knew what was happening, Shiba found herself on the floor with him. As she turned around to glare at him, Flik let out a hearty roar of genuine laughter, which got her laughing too.

“Just one more thing to learn today, doctor,” he said, “Never turn your back on an enemy, even if he looks defeated!”

Shiba leaned forward and kissed him, which took them both by surprise. To cover her shock, and to make him think it was deliberate, Shiba said, “And you, bounty hunter, should be aware that there are more ways to conquer your enemy than by fighting alone.”