Chapter 2

"Is everything in order?" Lord Iago asked the shadowy figure on the screen.
He was sitting in his private office on the bridge of the Vengeance. The person on the screen was his special source.
"Yes, everything is in place, my lord." The person answered.
"Any suspicions of your person?" He inquired again.
"Little to none. Only the royal bodyguard seems to suspect me, but she is not a problem. If she threatens me, she will die quickly." The answer came.
"Excellent. Our E.T.A. is 5 hours, stay sharp. Iago out." He said and closed the connection.

He leaned back in his chair, allowing himself to relax for a moment.
Yes, he would give those rabbits what they deserve. He smiled.
But quickly his smile faded as his eyes shifted to the digigraph on his desk. It showed his children, with him between then. Happy.
No, he hasn't been happy since then, but his plan would get him the revenge that he had the right for.
He got up and went through the doorway to the bridge of the Vengeance.

A lieutenant gave him a nod of acknowledgement. Just the way he likes it. There is no need for such formalities as salutes. Besides, he didn't want his people to salute everything that moves.
"Mr. Mats, what is our exact E.T.A.?" He asked the lieutenant.
"4 hours and 45 minutes , sir." He answered quickly.
"Good. Is every system operational? I don't want to drop in there and then notice that the weapons are not functional."

"Every system has been triple tested and is functioning at 100% efficiency, sir." The man said, sounding sure of his words.
"Good, very good." Lord Iago answered and turned to look at the cold vacuum of space. Feeling the same coldness in his heart.

* * *

DrJones woke up slowly as the automatic wake up system rang the alarm clock. The bell being a soothing tone that slowly woke him up.
Finally, he slapped the off button with his palm and opened his eyes. It was still dark in the room, but small beams of sun streamed through the dimmed window. It's opacity nearly at full.
He turned onto his back and lay there for a moment, then he sat up, rubbing his eyes with his hands.
Something felt different about his face. He guessed he needed another slight trimming of facial fur.
He swung his legs to the side of the bed and got up. Another odd feeling came over him as he realized he got up much too easily. He felt too light, or maybe he was just well rested.
He shuffled to the bathroom to wash up. He opened the cupboard to grab his toothpaste and then closed the cupboard door.
He took a look at himself in the mirror and his eyes went wide as he gasped.
The reflection staring at him wasn't his face. He quickly rubbed his face to see if it is his vision playing tricks on him. It was him who changed. He slowly calmed down, and looked at the mirror again. He knew this face...from a long time ago...someone whom he cared for.
He looked down and saw that not only his face but the whole body was different, it was female.
He was surprised again, he never morphed is his sleep. He could only morph when he was conscious. Sleep is a form of unconsciousness.
Then he noticed the flame-red hair that he had. And the emerald green eyes. He knew into whom he morphed into.

Jessica.

But why? He never morphed in his sleep. Much less into a female. He was starting to doubt his control over his powers. Maybe it was a message? But from whom? How could someone control his....He slapped his forehead as he realized what is going on. Jessica was alive! Nobody but her knew his abilities that well, mainly because she had the same abilities.
When she died, her body vanished and her life energies flew into him. He never thought about it that it was her last attempt at saving herself. But now he knew. She was in him, and she was alive.

So she morphed him into herself to let him know she is there. But what next? How will he communicate with her?

He morphed back into himself and quickly finished washing up. He put on some clothes and made something to eat. Then he cleaned up and sat down at the table in the main room. He sat there, trying to concentrate.
Come on, Jess, if you're there, let me know...say something...do something....

Fifteen minutes later he was frustrated. Nothing. She didn't respond.

Either I can't communicate with her, or she's....No, she is still there, I must try to reach her. Let her know.

He thought for a moment and then remembered something that would help him show Jessica that he knew what is going on. Provided she could see things. He dismissed that doubt. If she can morph his body, she should be able to see through his eyes as well.

He walked up to the bedside table and opened the only drawer that was there. He took out a ring, with a sparkling green emerald set in it. He looked at the emerald and memories washed over him again.

---

She was laying on the green grass in one of the many forests on Carrotus. She was asleep.
I approached her and wanted to wake her up, but she suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed me by my shoulders and placing one foot on my stomach she flipped me over.
Before I could say anything she was on top of me, pinning me down. In another situation I would have been embarrassed, but we considered each other as brother and sister, so it was just plain fun.

I decided to get to the point. I reached down into my pocket and pulled out a silver ring, with a sparkling green emerald set into it.

"I wanted to give you this, as a token of our long time friendship. I've got a similar one " I said as I held the ring up and lifted my other paw to show a similar ring with a deep blue emerald in it.

She looked her ring, almost cross eyeing because I held it in front of her nose.
She took it and looked at it closer. Then she looked down at me again and smiled.
"Thank you. This is quite special...where did you get it?" She asked.
"I made it myself...It took me about a month to do it right, it's hard to carve it right you know." I said.
"Wow...you sure put your heart into it. Thanks, I really appreciate it." She answered again, stepping off me and pulling me up.
I looked at her and smiled.
"Hey, I love you a whole bunch, sis." I said, winking.
She knew I meant every word, except the sis part.

We were in love with each other a long time ago...but as we came to Carrotus and were changed into rabbits, our affection for each other changed too. We became very close friends, almost like brother and sister.

She seemed to think about it too, and gave me a hug. I though I saw a tear in her eye...but I didn't do anything to remove it, she rarely cried, and every tear is special.
---

Now I held the ring in my paw. Then I slipped it onto my finger.

I didn't wear my ring, it reminded me of her loss too much.

But now...
I reached into the drawer again and took out my ring. I slipped it on the my left paw's finger. Then I held up both paws. I had Jessica's ring on my right paw, and my ring on my left paw.

He closed the drawer and went outside. It was time to go to see Lori.
The door slid shut behind him and looked again at the rings. He sighed. There will be some explaining to do when he will see Lori.

He took a few steps toward the trees in front of his apartment, then jumped up into the air. Morphing into a small airplane, he took off toward the skies. He made sure to cloak himself and to reduce the noise his jet engine made as much as possible.
The trip would wear him out, but he knew it was worth it. A smile would be on his face if he had one.


* * *

Ma'Kir was in the training room. While punching a sand filled bag, he thought some things over.

He had no doubt in his master's intentions. No one had. When he was just a child, a orphan, living on the streets of the city of Iove. He was lucky, lucky that Lord Iago had found him, and took him in. Since then, Ma'Kir had never let his savior down. He knew he wouldn't survive long on the streets, being the smallest kid there. He considered Lord Iago his father, though he never brought that matter up, now wanting to hurt the older man's feelings. The loss of his children was already deep enough of a scar in Iago's soul.

Ma'Kir stopped punching for a second, and sighed, a little out of breath. He kept himself in prime condition. In times like these he needs to be alert, and besides, women seem to like his appearance. Yes, women, that is another matter. He knew many females liked him. Though only attracted to his physical appearance, none cared about him. He never let any of them enjoy his company. He always found an excuse or dismissed them when he could.
But lately, he saw one woman of incredible beauty; she accompanied Lord Iago a few months ago. He saw her training in these rooms. Iago said she was to be some covert operative. He never mentioned her name, but Ma'Kir took the liberty of finding that out himself, and he learned her name was Milya.

He sighed again, what a beautiful name that is. And so was she. He had been getting these feelings. Feelings that were alien to him at first, but as time progressed he knew what they meant. Then as he became friends with her, she was transferred out of the facility. He never heard a word from her again. Again, he searched into the databases, but found nothing, save for a brief reference of Milya getting special training. He wondered what that would be.

He hoped this mission will be over quickly, he wanted to go search for her, he felt that it was his duty to do so. But his duty to Lord Iago came first. Business before pleasure, Iago always said.
He would have to get this job done really soon.

He punched the bag, hard, tearing a hole in it. The sand spilled out onto the ground. Ma'Kir turned and went to the showers.

* * *

The limousine hovered swiftly and silently over the landscape toward the Carrotus Military Forces base. Though the base was primarily used for military matters, this time it was slightly decorated with a red carpet.

The biggest object in the midst of the crowd was medium sized space yacht, the Scepter.
It was a medium sized craft. Equipped with the latest engines and the latest stealth technology, plus some special weaponry. This is the ship that the now former Queen decided to use to go on her well-deserved retirement.
The location was hidden, not even Jazz or Eva knew where she was going.

As the limousine slowed and landed, the crowd shifted aside to make room.
The limousines engines shut off with a silent whine. And the driver got out, and opened the door for the Queen.
She stepped out, her movements smooth and fast, unexpected for a woman of her size and age.

She looked over the crowd; Jazz and his wife were there, as well as his brother Spaz. Lori wasn't here, as she couldn't attend.
But she didn't mind, she said her goodbyes to Lori last night.

Walking toward the yacht's ramp, she saw her daughter crying. Although she already said her goodbyes to everyone, she moved off the carpet, toward her daughter and gave her a long warm hug. Eva looked at her with her tear filled eyes, and smiled.
"Goodbye mother...May the Ancestors watch over you." Eva said quietly.
The Queen smiled and gave Jazz and Spaz a nod, then turned and walked up the ramp.

She looked over the rest of the crowd, recognizing some good friends. She gave some of them a nod and a smile.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the last bit of the air of this planet, which was her home for many years. She let it out.

Yes. She was ready. Ready to rest, to forget her worries.

It was time to leave Carrotus.

She turned and walked into the yacht. The ramp closed behind her. The ship slowly rose on its hover pads and drifted a few meters into the air. Then it began a slow ascent into the atmosphere. Finally, when it was far enough, it ignited its main engines and sped away into space. Once there, it jumped into hyperspace with one swift motion.

* * *

The stealth ship dropped Lori off in front of the enemy base. Clothed completely in black, Lori quickly ran toward the nearest bush, to hide herself. She lay down on her stomach and took out her binoculars. Soon, she spotted two guards standing on duty near the gate and another pair on the other side.
This was not going to be easy. She needed to get out a whole prototype tank out of there. And do it quickly, before the enemy will override the tank's security and use it to their purposes.
A gate approach was out of the question, the other pair of guards would notice if something were wrong with the ones in front of the gate and definitely come with their guns blazing.

Looking higher she saw her way in. Through the guard tower. She would climb up the tower and get in through there. The fortress was shaped like a rectangle, with one gate, a small central building and four lookout towers on each corner.
It was time to move.

She got up and ran toward the corner guard tower. She placed the gripping claws on her feet and paws and started to climb the wall. She paused from time to time to listen if anybody had noticed her.
Hearing nothing but the wind occasionally blowing, she continued her climb.

When she got to the top, she stopped. And reached into one pocket of her black outfit. She withdrew a small ball. She pressed her thumb on one side of the ball and threw the ball up into the air. The ball hovered in the air and moved up. She reached into her pocket again and took out a small lens, which she positioned before her eye. Through the lens she saw what the ball saw. The ball was actually a mechanical eye, fitted with miniscule hoverpads which allowed it to hover in the air.

Looking through the lens, she saw that the guard was asleep. She took immediate advantage of this situation and climbed up into the tower with one quick move. She landed silently and quickly shot the guard with a stun needle. This man will remain asleep for another few hours.

She looked down onto the main building. And she saw two more guards near the entrance to the building.
Seeing no other way to distract their attention, she took a rain type grenade. This grenade split into several chunks in midair automatically or by remote, allowing a greater range of damage. It also made a perfect distraction.
She folded out a portable grenade launcher and locked the grenade into place. She made sure the angle and power rating was set right, and squeezed the trigger.
The grenade sailed out of the tube and began it's fall down toward the area between the gate and the building, where the guards were.

One of the guards noticed the object in the air and pointed into the air, but the loud explosion the grenade made when it split apart deafened his words, and again, when the ten pieces of it impacted into the ground, hurling the guards backwards and knocking them out.
Meanwhile, Lori jumped off the guard tower. Usually, the jump would kill her, as the tower was twenty meters high, but she was fitted with special hover pad boots, which slowed her fall.
She landed gracefully on the ground and dashed toward the thick door of the main building. She placed a charge on it and distanced herself from it as she detonated the charge, ripping a hole in the door.
She threw a stun grenade inside the building. And, putting on a breath mask, ran into the building, she quickly spotted the sleek black stealth tank, standing among various equipment. She quickly tossed some magnetic explosives among the machinery, to make sure it would not be used again, should it contain any information. She would trigger those on the way out.
One of the guards and scientists inside the building still staggered on their feet, but soon dropped as the stun gas did its job.

Running around the tank, she watched carefully for any hidden guards or traps. Finding none, she climbed onto the machine and popped the hatch.

Lori was about to toss another grenade into the tank, to make sure any stowaway's didn't surprise her, but a someone was quicker than her and shot at her. The blaster bolt struck her in her face. It was mostly stopped by the mask's visor, which was melting, but her eyes were ruined.
She felt herself drop backwards, tumbling off the tank and landing hard on the ground. She heard something snap.
Realizing she was blind, and fighting the shock and pain, she tried to get up, but she couldn't move. She tried to move her legs, but a stabbing pain in her back told her she snapped her spine. She heard somebody jumping off the tank's hull, and moving over towards her.

She reached with her paws to her hips to activate the self destruct mechanism that would explode her tool belt, talking her and whomever was approaching with the explosion. But her opponent wasted no time and opened fire again in full fastfire mode. She felt her body jerk around, but she felt no pain. Everything went black and silent.





Then something started hissing, and then a slit of bright light blinded Lori.


Lori undid the straps that held her in place as the simulation chamber opened. She took off the helmet that projected the sight & sound and let it dangle on its wires from the ceiling. She stepped off the platform and stepped out of the spherical simulation chamber. She saw others stepping out of similar chambers as well.

She was frustrated and disappointed in herself. How could she not think of opening the tank hatch from the other side, she would never be taken by surprise that way. She will have to be more careful next time.

One of her friends walked up to her, a quite special girl, blue and white tiger striped fur.

"How did it go?" She asked.
"I got wasted when I opened the tank hatch." Lori answered with an calm voice.
"Wow, you got far too I see. I got...um...squashed. There was a driver in the tank. I guess he managed to override the tank's lockup."

A moment of relief swept over her as that reminded her once again that she did very well after all. She just needed to pay more attention, and speed up her reflexes.

She smiled at her friend and they stopped at an intersection that led to separate locker rooms.

"See you at the briefing, Julie." Lori said.
Julie giggled, "Yeah, I can't wait...I wonder what comments we'll get this time."
"I hope it doesn't take too long...I have a visitor soon." Lori smiled.
"Is it that mysterious boyfriend of yours?" Julie asked.
"Yup, that's him allright." Lori grinned.
Julie grinned back. Lori was sure she'd want to hear every detail later on.
"Don't worry, you'll get the full report, ma'am." Lori said in a mocking tone.
"You'd better, private." Julie said with a wink as she headed of toward her locker.

Lori smiled and headed for the showers.