*******

An hour earlier

Julia was once again called to the main ship bay for yet another briefing. She figured she was doing another flyby. She was highly surprised to see, among other things, a old diplomacy ship being prepped for launch, a full sized crew, and Isthus at the head of it all. She slowly approached him. "You...you called for me sir?" she said softly.
He looked at her with one of his piercing gazed. "Julia...you're late."
"I...I'm sorry sir." She bowed her head.
He smirked. "But I'm willing to forgive it. Especially on this great day."
She quirked a brow. "What do you mean sir?"
He said nothing and turned to the crowd that was gathered. Everybody fell quiet almost instantly. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is time. We have gathered enough information on the human race. They will be more than a pushover for us." He looked over to Julia. "Your mission will be commanded by Sergeant Julia. Since we have so few troops and no way to replenish them, your mission will be to recruit some humans to be our shock troopers."
There was an angry hiss from the masses. "Why mussst thisss one lead the tasssk force?" an angry serpentine voice demanded.
"Julia has been one of the biggest supporting factors in our campaign so far," Isthus growled. "She knows the planet and knows what she's doing. Don't argue with me." His response was an angry, though complacent hiss.
Julia looked at Isthus. "S...sir! Me? Lead this? Are you sure?"
Isthus gave her something she had rarely seen, a warm look. "I trust that you can handle it." He smiled and walked away, his hands behind his back. Julia watched him go and turned to the many expectant faces staring at her.
"Um...I'm not exactly sure how we're going to work this. I guess this means all aboard so we can make our way down there. I...I guess we'll figure out what we're doing on the way there."

*******

"...The CIA refuses to divulge any details of the strange ships that have appeared in the skies above the city," the television blared as the image switched to what appeared to be a barge flying through the skies.
"Holy shit," the forty year old woman watching the set said as she leaned forward. "That's huge." She picked up a phone, turned it on and punched in a number. She put it up to her ear and waited. "Hey, Lynn...it's Kari. I'm out of the bet. It isn't a stunt by Hollywood. That's too big to be-"
The doorbell rang.
She groaned. "Who's making me get up now?" She stood up and started towards the front door. "Damn government, I bet. They're probably coming to 'evacuate' me." She gripped the doorknob. "They thing a girl like myself can't protect herself." She turned it and flung the door open. "I told you, I don't-" She fell silent as soon as she saw Vu and a blond haired stranger standing there. "Uh....Lynn? I'll call you back." She turned it off. "You're Tobias' friend, right?"
"Yes ma'am," Vu responded.
"Where have you been for the last six months? First it was Tobias, then you and the girl..." She looked at the blond stranger. "And who's this?"
"Terry, ma'am," he said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet the mother of Lo-" He stopped himself. "Tobias."
She quirked a brow. "Anywho, how is he? Is he back from wherever he is?"
"No," Vu said. "He'll be back in nine months."
"Wait a moment," the TV blared. "Something's happening."
Terry looked over at it. "A TV...I haven't seen one of these in ages."
Kari laughed. "Well, don't bother with that. Everything's covering these strange mass sightings over the city."
Terry looked at Vu. "You don't think he'd have the balls to attack?"
"No," Vu responded. "He's not that stupid." He looked at Kari, who had a dumbfounded look on her face. "Can we come in? We'd be glad to explain it to you."
"Of course...come in." She stepped aside, allowing them to enter.

They sat themselves on the floor, right in front of the TV. "It seems that the ships are deploying some sort of pods. One of them is....it's....it's landing right ahead of us. Quickly, somebody get a camera down there!" The shot started to jump as the camera man moved closer.
"What is he doing?" Terry asked in a fit of musing.
"Would you two like something to drink?" Kari asked.
"Yeah," Vu responded. "Thanks."
"Thank you, ma'am." She smiled and headed off to go fetch them drinks. He studied the screen carefully. "I think I remember those...."
"What are you talking about?" Vu said.
"The pods. I think those where how the delegates got from the ship to the ground. The ships were to big to land except at starports, and the ride from them to the conference areas were usually too long to be comfortable."
"It's worthless as a dropship. If the pods were to open up and expel firing troops, they'd be neutralized the next time."
"Here ya go," Kari said, handing them both a can of Sprite.
"Holy shit," Terry said. He fumbled with it before finally popping the top. "Actual soda..." He took a sip. "Oh my...it's so good to be back..."
"What's with him?" Kari asked Vu.
Vu looked at Terry. "Can you start the explanation?"
He stopped drinking and looked at her. "Of course. Miss Zakhary, please sit down." She did, sitting just outside their reach. "Do you recall...oh...about five years..." He shook his head. "I'm on Earth time again...uh...ten years ago...a story in the news about an archeologist out in China suddenly disappearing?" She nodded. "Well, I was there. As a matter of fact, I was that guy."
"Yeah...the archeologist was named Terry. What happened?"
He reached into his trench coat and pulled out his amulet. "I found this. it was activated and I was sent away."
"Away?"
He looked at Vu, who nodded. "Please don't be afraid when you see this, Miss Zakhary." He gave the amulet a squeeze. The image of his wolven half, that of Terry of the Viper's Sting, appeared.
"Holy shit!" Kari got up and backed away.
"Don't panic," Terry said. "I'm a good guy."
"Holy shit!" Vu interrupted. "Look!" The three turned their attention to the television. The pods had opened up. A tall, lethal looking tigress stepped out of it and looked around.
"There are more?!" Kari asked.
"Yes. But, unlike me, these are natural."
"Natural?"
"This is only an illusion. A really good illusion."
Vu cleared his throat. "Anywho, Terry has been amongst a sect of their kind for the last ten human years. When Tobias disappeared, he was sent to a second sect, the Pack. They accepted him readily as a prophesy."
"Are those...those the Pack?"
"No," Terry said. "Those are Raiders. They're the bad guys."
"Oh."
"Tobias helped to defeat and remove from the planet the very powerful head of the Raiders, Isthus. He's come here to wreak havoc and exact his revenge on the human race."
"And how does this affect me?" Kari asked.
"Before we returned to this planet," Vu said. "Tobias gave us strict orders to find and bring you down to our base for safety purposes."
"Oh...okay. I'll go get the rest of the family and-"
"Um..."
She looked at Vu. "What do you mean 'um'?"
"Tobias...said just you..."
"Oh bullshit...he probably meant-"
"No," Terry said. "He said specifically 'you and only you'."
"But...but why? I know he never liked the rest of the family, but-"
"He said that he knew that you guys could easily handle them," Terry lied. "But he just wants you down there to be sure he has at least one grandparent for his kids."
"Kids?!"
Vu chuckled nervously. "You know, when he decides to have them!"
"Oh...oh good." She smiled. "Well, let me get my shoes on."

*******

The camera crew for ABC 7 sat anxiously where they were, watching this large, egg shaped thing that had fallen from the ship above. "Wh-what the hell is that?" the camera man said, barely able to keep the camera sitting on his shoulder steady.
"Why you asking me?" the reporter snapped back. "It's looks like a fuckin' egg!"
"Hey, cool the language," the guys back at the studio told him over his ear piece. "We don't wanna upset the censors."
"Oh right...sorry..."
The pod suddenly opened, pouring out smoke of some sort. They all watched silently as a tall, lethal looking tigress stepped out and looked around. "Damn it," she muttered. "Nothing's of use here." She looked at the camera crew and remained still.
"What does she want?" the camera man asked.
"Eh...I dunno," the reporter responded. "Shall we go up and...erm...interview her?"
"Beats sitting here doing nothing but gawking." They got up and started to move. The tigress took a step back into the pod. "Hey, don't go. We're friendly." The tigress ignored him and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. The pod took off and the ship started to move away.
"Well...there's something that you don't see every day..."

"Sly, pass the ball here!" The football went flying through the air. The caller, a tall blond boy, leaped up and caught it. "Got it!" He started to run. However, he failed to see the huge spanish guy standing in front of him, and bounced off with a groan. The rest of the opposing team piled on top of him.
"Third and six," someone said. "One more shot, guys."
"Bah! Shove it up your ass."
"What you tellin' me boy?" A small fight broke out. Fists went flying, feet connected with heads, and blood spilled. But it all stopped when the ominous shadow of the ship that had been "terrorizing" down town Manhattan appeared. They all looked up. Some were in the right mind enough to run like heck. Most of them, however, remained. An egg shaped pod dropped from the ship, slamming into the ground. They jumped back. The pod opened with a flourish of smoke and out stepped Julia.
She looked around. "Damn it! Not even a decent sign of civilization," she muttered.
"What the hell is that?" someone said abruptly. That caught Julia's attention. She looked towards the group.
"I betcha it has something to do with that loser Tobias disappearing," another said.
Tobias? Julia asked herself. Isn't that Lone Wolf's real name? She looked the humans over and smirked. If they know Lone Wolf, maybe I can use them to my advantage...
"What are you smirking at?" One of the football players, a short, skinny, dorky looking boy, stepped forward.
"And they're spunky too," Julia said coyly. She was already formulating a plan. "Well, I should expect that from a creature such as yourself influenced by the outlaw."
"Outlaw?" The kid peered over his coke bottle glasses. "What are you talking about?"
"You spoke of someone named Tobias. What is his full name?"
"Tobias Zakhary."
It's him! she thought gleefully. They know him!
"What was this Tobias like?"
"Ah, easy pickings," someone blurted out from the back. "Used to pick on him constantly in the seventh and eighth grades."
"Really?" She rubbed her chin for added effect. "Doesn't sound like the Star Killer to me..."
"Star Killer?" the unofficial spokesman of the group asked. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, don't you know? Oh wait...you probably wouldn't, since you aren't part of the interstellar community." She stretched a bit. "The one you know as Tobias Zakhary is nothing more than an outlaw. He's destroyed three stars in outer galaxies already. We tracked him down to here in the hopes that we'd stop him from destroying anything else."
"Well, you're too late. He's been missing for two years now."
"Two years?"
Damn they move slowly...
"Yeah. He disappeared mysteriously." The boy chuckled. "Guess that backs up your story."
"Ah..." She looked skyward. "This planet seems tainted somehow...I can feel it." She muttered a curse. "He must have been warping this world." She looked at the group. "Maybe you guys can help."
A bunch of eyebrows quirked.
"Our scans show that the planet has been tainted, mainly your kind. We want to cleanse it. But we don't have enough people to help your kind." She thought. "Hold on a second." She stepped into the pod and fiddled about with some worthless piece of machinery. "According to my scanners, you people haven't been affected." She looked at them. "Perhaps you could help us start the cleansing."
The group looked amongst themselves. They got into a quick discussion. Eventually, the spokesperson appeared from the fray. "That Zakhary bastard did this to us? Well, we'll help undo it. We'll gladly join your cause."
She smiled. "Great. A transport will be down shortly to pick you up." She stepped into the pod. "See you in a bit." The pod closed and rocketed upward. "I can't believe that worked!" she said gleefully as she went back to the ship.

*******

The three stepped out of the transport. "This is what my son's been up to?" Kari asked, looking around.
"No," Terry said. "This, apparently, is the latest Pack technology."
"Where are we exactly?"
"About fifteen miles off the east coast," Shivana answered. "On the sea floor. But, of course, that's just a rough estimate."
Kari smiled. "Thanks. I needed to know that." She noticed a figure standing behind her. "Who's that?"
Terry chuckled. "It's okay..." He went over and plucked Mallory from her hiding place. "Miss Zakhary, this is my girl, Mallory."
Kari looked at her. "Is that an illusion too?"
Mallory blushed nervously. "No..." she said. "I'm real."
Kari started to back up. "Like...like the ones we saw on TV?"
"Wait...wait..." Vu said, trying to calm her down. "This is one of us. She's a good guy." He looked at Mallory. "This is Lone Wolf's mother. Show a little respect!" He winked knowingly at her.
"Oh....she is?" Mallory stepped up to her and bowed her head, falling to one knee. "It is an honor to meet the one who raised such a fine warrior."
"Warrior?" Kari asked quizzically. "Lone Wolf? I...I don't understand..."
"Your son, Miss Zakhary, is an excellent warrior," Sara responded. "He has fought gloriously in many battles."
Kari jumped back behind Terry. "Who's that?!"
"I am Sara, a computer generated artificial intelligence." A screen nearby turned white. A face slowly formed in the emptiness. "I will help you to understand anything you need help with."
"I...I..." Kari cowered behind Terry.
"This is all too much for her," Vu said. "Perhaps she should get some sleep, maybe relax a little."
"Yes..." Kari said a bit jaggedly. "Yes...sleep will do me good...yes..."
"A third bedroom has been established," Sara said. "She should use that..."
"Right," Terry said. He offered her his hand. "Shall I show you to your room?"
"Yeah." She took it and allowed herself to be led off into the base.

*******

"Excellent," Isthus purred. "Our first batch of recruits, and they're more than willing to hunt down and kill Tobias." He leaned back in his seat. "You have done well, ensign - or should I say Sergeant?"
Julia chuckled. "Glad to have been of service to you, sir," she responded.
He quirked a brow. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, sorry sir. It's just that I've never heard you purr like that before."
He laughed.
"Or laugh." She smiled. "This is a side of you I don't think anyone's ever seen before, sir. If I may say so, I like it."
"Thank you Sergeant," he said thoughtfully. "Keep me posted."
"All right sir. Julia out." The screen clicked off.

Isthus stood up and looked out of the window in his office. His flag ship was still in orbit over the Earth, waiting patiently for the completion of the star base in three Earth days. Once that was done, he could easily wage his war on the humans. And to make matters even better, other humans were willing to do it for him. "This is too sweet," he muttered to himself. "I'll have this planet conquered in a matter of weeks, provided the resistance is what we expect, of course." He laughed whole heartedly. "This, Isthus, is your greatest feat yet. It may not be total conquest of the Pack, but it's a good consolation prize." He laughed again.

*******