August 28, 2342 – Toraani Spaceship, Med-bay (Time Unknown)

Toraani Date Unknown {Present Day}

            Consciousness; was both far and fleeting, his mind knew the reality of the situation but was unable to grasp it before slipping back into darkness.

            Again, consciousness approached, more defined but still shrouded. With it came some of his senses. He felt pain but knew not from where it came, only that with the pain he felt like he was choking. His senses were able to tell him that he was floating and that he was wet before darkness started to descend on his mind again. But, as the darkness surrounded him, one last thought passed through his mind before unconsciousness took him.

            “Where’s… Aurora?”

***********

            A few hours ago the room was quite busy. Everyone who went down to investigate the crash site of the ship they shot down had wanted to ‘help’ bring the alien they found back to their ships medical facility. Though most of them were only there to get a better look at the alien who looked very similar to how they did. Not only did the members who helped bring the alien up take a look at him, half of the crew wanted to take a look including the ship’s Captain; or their version of a ships Captain.

            Now the room was quite, save for the sound the heart monitor made. Though their version of a heart monitor was nothing like those found in a Federation hospital. The heart rate, blood pressure, even mental activity and any other type of information of the patient was displayed on a single holographic screen. This holo screen was actually stretched around a very large tube shaped tank.

            The holo screen showed more than just medical information; it also acted like an X-ray; without the harmful side effects an X-ray could cause someone who was unprotected. It didn’t matter from what direction someone was looking into the tank; they would see a highlighted view of the skeletal structure of whoever was in the tank.

            The front of the tank was made from a plastic; or a plastic like material, that stretched from one side to the other. The holo screen was displayed on; or rather inside of, the five inch thick plastic. The back of the tank was made of solid metal which held mechanical arms and other devices that could move freely within the tank. These devices were used for the treatment of patients. The entire tank was actually built into the side of the wall; along with fourteen others on the same wall. The wall opposite was filled with large beds while the remainder of the room was nearly vacant.

            There were only two people currently in the room. One was a female coyotetuar while the other was the foxtaur that had gone down to inspect the crash site. The coyotetuar was examining the patient inside the tank and was standing directly in front of it.  

            “<Hmm, looks like he was conscious for a few moments Mel>” The coyotetuar said as she examined the holo screen of the tank.

            Only the upper portion of her body was clothed and those clothes were white and looked similar to a lab coat. She had ash gray colored fur while the undercoat was of a lighter gray. She stood around five feet four inches tall and overall looked very athletic. She also had shoulder length sandy blond colored hair and pale blue colored eyes. There was a nametag on her lab coat which read “Sha’ Taua”.

            Mel’ Kilran; who the coyotetuar spoke too, looked at the holo screen that her assistant was observing. She looked over the graphs and nodded in agreement.

            “<It looks like it Sha. Hmm looks like he’s still experiencing pain though. Give him a small dose of the painkillers but not too much, we still don’t know his tolerance levels.>” She told her.

            “<Okay>” Sha said and typed something on another device that was attached to the wall and the tank.

            This tank; which was large enough for one of these taurs, was the only one filled with a strange greenish blue fluid like substance. This substance; which was a little thicker and heavier then water, assisted in healing and was created by the Toraani to greatly increase the healing process as well as fight infections. Rrahkarr; whose clothing had been discarded, was floating within the tank with a mask over his muzzle which had a tube down his throat. Small needles with tubes on them had been inserted into his left arm which fed fluids and the painkillers into his system. There was also a device around his right arm where he had severed it.

            “<There, hopefully that’ll be enough.>” She said as she padded over to another device.

            “<Hopefully>” Mel agreed as she padded up to the tank and looked at Rrahkarr “<Hmm… thinking about it now. We should probably inoculate him.>”

            “<That would be a good idea. He might die from just a common cold of ours, but what about the little one? She’s already been in contact with our environment on this ship and those who were trying to get her to talk.>” She said.

            “<I’ll ask Kiaar’ Vyain if we can put some monitors in that holding room. If anything happens we’d be alerted right away.>” Mel said as she grabbed a handheld device and started typing something on it.

            “<That may be the best way to go for now. Do you know how Ko’ Vat is taking the news of his brother’s death?>” She asked.

            Stopping what she was doing, Mel looked at her and said “<Badly, he’s demanding blood. Even though all of this is technically our fault.>”

            “<True but we were only defending ourselves from a possible threat. Ugh… thirteen O two>” She said looking at one of their clocks; their days being only four hours longer than the Federation standard day. Their mornings lasted fourteen hours before repeating for another fourteen hours. Instead of AM/PM they use SU/SD, indicating the sun is up or the sun is going down.

            “<Why did this have to happen so late at night?>” She pointed out before yawning.

            “<Still, with what we did to him is what those humans have done to several of our ships.>” Mel said and noticed Sha’ Taua yawning. Smiling she added “<Go get some sleep, it’s late. I’ll handle anything that comes up for now. We’ll be back in here tomorrow.>”

            “<Thanks, goodnight.>” She said before leaving.

            After Sha’ Taua left, Mel’ Kilran stared at the medical tank and watched Rrahkarr. After a few moments she said to herself “<I hope you pull through.>” as she started typing something on one of the various machines in the room before turning in as well.

*********

Toraani Spaceship, Room 31- C

([T] 13:10 SD)

            For the past couple of hours after being brought onto the Toraani’s spaceship, Aurora had been kept in this holding room. Of all the strange people who had brought her in here only one stayed. Another that looked like a male fox joined him shortly after and they both kept talking in their language she didn’t understand. The foxtaur was holding a strange device as he talked but she had no clue of what it did. The other was Kiaar’ Vyain; she figured that was his name because the others always said that when talking to him.

            She must have made them mad because the one who had brought in the device started yelling and eventually threw it across the room in her direction before leaving. The look in his eyes as he yelled terrified her, but after he left the one they called Kiaar’ Vyain looked at her with an apologetic look and tone of voice when he talked to her before leaving himself.

            She was curled up on padding that was in the corner of the room. The padding wasn’t rough but was actually very comfortable and soft. There were also pillows at one end because this is what the Toraani slept on. Aurora wasn’t lying down however; she was in the very corner of the room wishing that she could just disappear. It would be a couple hours before she would fall asleep.

********************

August 29, 2342 – Toraani Spaceship, Med-bay

([T] 10:07 SU)

            “<Sorry I’m late!>” Sha’ Taua said with a yawn as she entered the Med-bay.

            “<It’s alright Sha, I just made it in here a few minutes ago myself.>” Mel said from in front of the medical tank Rrahkarr was in.

            Sha walked over to Mel and asked “<So, how’s he holding up?>”

            “<Great actually, if what the machine says is true, he’s been fully healed since a few minutes after I turned in early this morning.>” Mel said.

            “<Really? It takes a few days for wounds like that to heal, even for us.>” Sha’ Taua said in amazement.

            “<I know, but he’s still unconscious though>” Mel said as she looked at the handheld device she had had typed on the previous night. “<Kiaar’ Vyain has already responded. Sha go get the portable monitors, he said to go ahead and set them up.>” Mel added as she went and helped grab the lightweight systems.

**********

September 1, 2342 – Cabin of Kiaar’ Vyain

([T] 1:12 SD)

            After a couple of days of trying to get the little girl to talk; just so their mechanical translators could start to learn her language, Kiaar’ Vyain had decided to leave her alone and wait. He could tell she was frightened and due to that, she wouldn’t talk at all. He sat on his haunches, viewing a holo screen while thinking about what had transpired.

            He thought about how Var’ Dian; the foxtaur who had joined him in questioning the little girl, lost his temper on more than one occasion. He knew that didn’t help the situation and apologized later but the damage had already been done. Kiaar’ Vyain then suggested they wait till the older one in the med-lab awoke. A few days had gone by without him waking up and they were already well underway back to their home. He had a frustrated look on his face as he sighed.

            “<What’s the matter dad?>” A young wolftaur; looking almost exactly like Kiaar’ Vyain, asked.

            “<Nothing Marrik, just a little frustrated.>” Kiaar’ Vyain said.

            Marrik, is an eight year old Toraani wolftaur pup; equivalent to an twelve year old fur or human child; due to Toraani years being longer than that of the Federation standard year. He stood at a total of four feet tall from paws to the tips of his ears and weighed about one hundred and ninety pounds. Just like his father he has black fur and gold colored eyes. He was wearing a simple hunter green vest and a belt around his waist that held a communicator and tracking device in one.

            “<Is it about the two aliens you brought onto the ship?>” Marrik asked.

            Kiaar’ Vyain smiled at his perceptive son “<Yes, I’m frustrated at the fact we can’t get the little girl to speak. We’ve decided to leave her alone for now and wait for the adult to wake up.>”

            “<Why won’t she talk?>” His son asked.

            “<She’s scared of us and after Var’ Dian losing his temper more than once, I’m not sure she’ll say anything.>” Kiaar’ Vyain said.

            “<He knew she was just a little girl and he still lost his temper? >” Marrik asked. Kiaar’ Vyain nodded at his son and shrugged before he turned back to the holo screen. He missed the look Marrik got before he padded out of the room.

            Entering his own room he sat where he stood and took a few moments to think. Smiling and nodding his head he grabbed a few items before leaving the room.

*******

Toraani Spaceship; Just outside Room 31 – C    

([T] 1:28 SD)

            Young Marrik had left his room and headed to the room that Aurora was being held in. He had figured that his father and everyone else were trying to be too direct with the young girl. Figuring they had worn out the ‘Adult’ way of doing things, he was going to try and deal with it on her level; or somewhere close to her level.

            Easing his head around the corner he spotted the guard who was guarding the door to the girl’s room. Smiling and pulling out what looked like a slingshot from a bag he had on his back and what appeared like a metal ball, he took aim down the corridor past the guard.

            Pulling back on the slingshot he let the metal ball fly over the guard. When it smacked the wall it made a loud metallic bang before hitting the floor and rolling away. The guard went on alert and after looking both ways down the corridor, proceeded to investigate the sound.

            Once he was sure the guard wouldn’t catch him, Marrik quickly bound up to the door and released the lock; being that it was only to keep someone from exiting and not entering.

***

            Aurora had been laying there; facing the wall, while softly crying. While they did bring her food and it did taste fairly good, she was scared, bored and lonely. When she heard the door as it started to slide open, she quickly rolled over to face the door and tried her hardest to become one with the wall. Fearing they were going to come back and start yelling at her again. However, the person who entered was not at all what she expected.

            She was staring at him as he entered; watching how his twin tails swayed behind him and how he stood there with a seemingly brazen confidence. She could tell he was not an adult; the way he had hurried in as if he didn’t want to be seen made her think he wasn’t even supposed to be here. She didn’t realize it but her ears were up and her tail wasn’t quite between her legs; unlike when the adults had entered. She was curious as to why he was here and his presence wasn’t like the others; they seemed to want something while he seemed plainly curious.

            He looked over at Aurora as she was looking at him and studied her for a few moments before smiling warmly. She only looked slightly different than he did; besides the fact she walked on two legs and he on four.

            There was a slight smile from her after he smiled but it was not a big one; he figured it was because of what she had gone through with the adults or that she was scared. Looking at her he realized she stood at almost the same height he was. She was only about an inch shorter than his four feet but nowhere near his weight.

            He wondered if she was the same age but he knew he wouldn’t find out for a while. Instead he waved at her with his left hand as his right went to his chest as he spoke “<Hello… my name’s Marrik Tauvyain.>” He smiled after introducing himself.

            She didn’t understand what he said but she guessed with the way he put his hand to his chest that he was telling her his name. She didn’t know which part of what he said was his name until he said a little slower “<Marrik, I’m Marrik.>”

            She remained silent for a few moments as she studied him. With the way she stayed quiet, he thought she wasn’t going to speak to him. Deciding that he wasn’t going to yell like the others, she slowly repeated what she thought his name was “<M-Marrik>?”

            His face lit up in joy and he bounced around a couple times in glee before saying “<She spoke! I actually got her to speak.>”

            She couldn’t help but giggle at the way he was acting; he definitely wasn’t like the others.  When he calmed down he looked at her expectantly and spoke again. She decided that he had asked her what her name was since he had told her his.

            “I… um…” She started to say then stopped and copied what he did; putting her hand to her chest she said “M-my name is Aurora… Aurora M-Morris.”

            “Aurora? ” He repeated slowly to which she shyly nodded. “<Well Aurora, I don’t know if you’ll like any of these…>” He said and sat down on his haunches and pulled off the bag he had on his back. He dug through it and started pulling several things out that looked like toys. “<I have these and a couple entertainment disks. I figured it’d be better than just sitting here with nothing to do.>” He added as he pulled out a miniature holo screen projector and a few small coin-sized disks and smiled.

            Seeing what he pulled out of his bag, she curiously crept forward off the bedding. She crawled towards him till she was about three feet away before sitting and crossing her legs. He went from a sitting position to one where his lower torso was laying down. She shyly reached out to grab one of the toys but kept looking up at him to see if it was alright. He would just smile each time.

            It took her about ten minutes to warm up to him, afterwards they started playing with the toys. While they played Marrik was getting Aurora to speak every so often; even if it was just a word or three. He was using his own translator to get a base knowledge of her language so they could eventually speak. At one point he managed to get her talking a lot. It was two and half hours later when she started to speak he was able to understand a few words of what she said.

            He had a pleasantly surprised look on his face before grabbing his translator. When he brought into view however, he became confused at her reaction; cocking his head to side as he looked at her. Even though the translator was just a small circular shaped object, the moment Aurora had seen it she quickly backed away from him. His confusion only lasted a few moments until he figured out that the adults must have had one out when they were yelling at her.

            “<Maybe she thinks this is something bad>” Marrik thought as he looked at it.

            He looked back at her and got an idea. He opened the device in his paw and started changing the settings on it. Since there were multiple Toraani dialects it took him a little while to find the setting for the language his translator was currently learning. Once he selected it and closed the device he got up and padded slowly over to her.

            Her eyes were glued to the device with fear, he sighed as he knew he called it right; she was afraid of it or possibly she was afraid of being yelled at again, he wasn’t sure. He stopped just a couple feet from her; she was pressed tightly up against the wall just like how she was when he first entered the room. He decided to lie down in front of her; partially to be at eye level with her and also to show he wasn’t going to do anything to her.

            With her having nowhere else to go, he put the translator down next to her; it having to be within one foot of her in order to work. After he set it down he started talking “<Aurora, I don’t know how many words you’ll be able to understand from me but… all this device does is translate a language to that of the user. That is if it knows the users language.>”

            He looked up at her and noticed she was staring at him. Then; slowly, she asked “H-How, how is it I u-understood some of what y-you said?”

            He wasn’t sure what she asked but she must have understood a few words of what he said. He grew thoughtful for a moment before pointing at the translator, then at his head before he mimicked talking. Afterwards he repeated the gestures he made as he said “<This is learning what you say and can help us be able to talk to one another.>”

            She was able to understand exactly what he was trying to tell her, or rather the fact she could understand the words ‘learning’ and ‘talk’ as he pointed at the device, which helped her understand. She nodded her head that she understood and watched as he smiled. He grabbed it and opened it again to switch it back to the dialect he spoke and switch it back to learning mode.

            “Will… will it l-learn how I talk now?” Aurora asked once he closed it and set it next to her.

            He only understood the words ‘learn, talk’ and ‘now’ so he nodded his head and said “<Yeah>”

            Just as she was about to start talking the door to the room opened. Two people; one which appeared to be a jackal while the other looked more like a dingo, entered the room. Both wore a type of armor on their upper torso with a sliver badge attached to a black armband on each arm. They were both part of the ships security team.

            “<Marrik Tauvyain, you are in a restricted area. You’ll come with us now!>” The jackaltaur didn’t quite say but rather ordered.

            Marrik was surprised they were there and wondered how they knew he was here. Then he looked at his communicator and remembered it was also a tracking device. Every five hours the ship does a mandatory scan to see where everyone is. His tracker reported where he was and thus security was sent to collect him.

            He nodded to them as he stood up and turned around. Using his back paw he pushed the translator closer to Aurora without the two from security seeing. He walked up to them and held his head low as he was escorted from the room; leaving behind his translator.

*******

Toraani Spaceship; Security Offices

([T] 3: 40 SD)

            “<Ah, Kiaar’ Vyain. Here to pick up your wayward son?>” A fennec foxtaur asked as Kiaar’ Vyain entered the room.

            “<Sev’ Yain>” He acknowledged before saying “<Where was he? I just got a call out of the blue to come pick him up here.>”           

            “<He was found inside the holding room with the little alien girl.>” Sev’ Yain said before adding “<Some of the others tried to question him on why he was in there but it seems he doesn’t have his translator with him so they were short on answers.>”

            Kiaar’ Vyain grew silent for a moment before asking Sev’ Yain if he’d bring him out. Once he settled everything with security he brought Marrik back to their quarters. Once the door was closed Kiaar’ Vyain looked at his son and asked “<Why were you in there with the alien?>”

            “<Dad, she has a name you know.>” Marrik stated a little heatedly.

            Deciding to see if the hunch he had was correct, Kiaar’ Vyain asked “<And what is her name?>”

            “<It’s… Aurora.>” He said calming down.

            “Aurora?” He asked to which Marrik nodded. “<Where is your translator Marrik?>” Kiaar’ Vyain asked; thinking he already knew.

            “<I… I left it with her.>” Marrik said looking away from his father.

            With a slight smile forming on his muzzle he asked “<So, did my son find a way to get her to speak and show her what that little device does?>”

********

Toraani Spaceship; Holding Room 31 – C

([T] 3: 57 SD)

            Aurora had been talking; saying anything and everything that came to mind, as the translator sat in her paws. She felt silly just talking to the translator but she did so anyway, if just to get rid of the boredom. While she did know more words than others her age she still knew far less than an adult. But if her speaking would help in any way possible, she knew it would be best to just talk. She found herself talking as if she was writing a diary; retelling the events that had happened to her since she and her mother were kidnapped.

            Speaking of her mother reminded her that she would never see her again. This caused her to break down and cry again. She was still softly crying when the door opened again. She looked up at who had entered with tearful eyes and immediately recognized the black furred wolftaur who had just entered. He was the one who was with the foxtaur who yelled at her.

            He slowly stepped up to her with a small smile before lying down in front of her. He easily spotted the translator that was in her paws. He pointed at it before holding out his hand for it. She looked at it for a moment before shyly placing it in his and. As Marrik had before, he opened the device and switched the settings but then brought his translator up to the one Marrik left behind. After pressing a button on the inside of both devices, his let out a small sound before he offered Marrik’s back to her.

            “<So, Aurora is it?>” He asked as a surprised look overcame Aurora’s face. “<My son tells me he was able to make you understand what this device is.>” He added as he held up his own translator.

            Aurora was surprised the moment he started talking. She was able to understand the majority of the words he spoke. After he held up his translator and finished speaking, she shyly asked “Y-Your son… sir?”

            He didn’t doubt what his son told him, but seeing that she not only understood what he said and that he could understand her still surprised him. Smiling he replied “<I am Kiaartin of house Tauvyain, Marrik is my son.>”

            “So you’re M-Marrik’s father?” She asked to which he nodded. After a few moments she looked up into his eyes and pleadingly asked with fresh tears starting to fill her eyes “Please, cant you let m-me see m-my dad?”

            He had an apologetic look on his face as he told her “<I’m sorry but I cannot; at least not right now. There’s a couple reason why; since being brought aboard he has yet to awaken and our medical staff are slowly trying to inoculate both of you so that you won’t get sick or ill from some of our more common sicknesses.>”

            She sat there for a while in silence; save for the occasional sniffle. She understood the simpler words he had used and understood that she couldn’t see her father yet. He waited patiently for her to speak and when she did, she asked with a little hope in her voice “W-When do you t-think he’ll wake up?”

            “<I’m not sure. We have better medical facilities back home that could help but it’ll be a few days before we get there.>” He told her.

            She was hopping she would get to go see her father soon but after hearing this, her hopes were dashed. With a dejected look Aurora said with a sniffle “I… I understand.”

            He felt horrible having to deny her from seeing her father. With a sigh he said “<I know you must be lonely in here. How… how about I find out if Marrik can be allowed to come in here and play with you… or see if we can let you out of here?>”

            Her answer was a slow nod and a hopeful look.