When Kaldera woke up she noticed that Dtou-di'nde had not moved at all. She didn't move as she observed the little hybrid, and she noted that the female's breathing was both slow and shallow. She turned her head to get a better look, and the female's eyes snapped open. The breathing stopped, and the scent of fear became very strong. That was when Dtou-di'nde started looking around, and the smell of her fear began to dissipate quickly.

"Come Little One. We need to get dressed so that we may face whatever this day might bring." Kaldera said as she rose from her bed.

Dtou-di'nde moved out of the position she had slept in and got to the floor before looking up at Kaldera.

"Kaldera I… need… make…" The strange sound that followed the female's words caught Kaldera's attention because it was a noise of such complete and utter revulsion that she turned to look and see what had the female so disgusted.

"Other… Takaa call… waste…" Dtou-di'nde continued as she began to stretch the sleep from her limbs.

Kaldera just had to purr in appreciation as she watched the small female stretch like that. Every move, each motion was graceful, slow, and incredibly though unconsciously seductive and sensuous.

'Were any male to see her move like that; he would be trying to breed with her in an instant. That would be something to see.' Kaldera thought in mounting excitement. Then she realized what she was thinking about and even her own level of mounting arousal at the sight of the female's movements.

'Blood of the Gods! This female is even attracting to other females! This will be something that I will need to watch for. If she is even attractive to me, then any male will find it very difficult, if not impossible to resist her.' Kaldera thought sternly as she fought against her rising excitement.

Kaldera couldn't believe that she was actually being aroused in such a way. Not only was this hybrid still a pup… but she was another female! She clamped down firmly on such confusing urges, because being that they were both females, she knew there was no way for either one of them to become pregnant, and that was what breeding was for.

"Come Dtou-di'nde, I will show you where and how you are to make your waste." Kaldera said as she led the way to the waste closet.

Dtou-di'nde followed Kaldera into the waste closet and she was showed how to properly position herself so that everything landed in the receptacle. Once Dtou-di'nde began relieving her bladder, Kaldera tended to her own needs of relief. She emptied her bowels and bladder before she noticed that Dtou-di'nde was still urinating. She shook her head in mild surprise but didn't really think anything of it. She then left the closet to dress herself. She donned her thermal regulating and cloaking mesh, followed by clothing, armor, and then her weapons. Satisfied that she was ready to face any situation that might arise, she noticed that Dtou-di'nde had not emerged from the waste closet. Curious as to why, she went to look.

Deep set amber colored eyes shot wide in surprise when she saw that Dtou-di'nde was still urinating! She glanced at the automated sensors and saw that the system had already flushed four times to dispose of excess fluids. A flashing light was indicating that the healer would soon be summoned due to indications of illness. Kaldera shut that down since she would be taking the female straight to the medical bay once she was dressed. Even so, she was forced to wait while Dtou-di'nde continued to urinate enough for the system to dispose of her fluids seven more times!

Once the female had finally stopped urinating, Kaldera helped her to get dressed and led her to the ship's medical bay. As soon as she entered, she saw that several of her fellow Arbitrators were gathered around three deceased bodies. Two were obviously Male Yautja Warriors with one of them being the bad blood they had been sent to retrieve. His dead corpse would be returned to Yaut to prove his demise and that he had died without the honor of using his self destruct unit. The third body however was… different.

"Ama!"

The sudden shout had come from Dtou-di'nde as she raced forward and embraced the partially dissected body that was laid out on the table. Kaldera watched in shocked silence as the female ran her hands over the body of the female Yautja while trying to get a response.

Dtou-di'nde tried to shake Ama awake but that didn't work because Ama was dead. Somehow she had always known that this was the case, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. Tears ran down her face as she looked down. Then, she glanced at her chest where the Hated Ones had hurt her so badly. If these Others could make her not hurt, maybe… maybe they could make Ama not be dead.

Kaldera saw Dtou-di'nde turn and look up at her with tears running freely down her face. She could see the female breathing hard and raggedly as her mouth worked with no sounds emerging. She didn't need to be an Ancient to know that Dtou-di'nde was being hit hard by grief.

"Kaldera… make… Ama… not… dead…?" Dtou-di'nde asked in hopeful tears.

"I am sorry Little One, but we can not do that." Kaldera answered softly.

"Others… hurt… I… so… Ama… not… dead…?" Dtou-di'nde asked as she pleaded desperately.

"Right now, I am wishing that were possible, but that can not be done either." Kelar said heavily in a soft voice.

Kaldera looked at the Warrior curiously for a split instant before Dtou-di'nde screeched and screamed loudly while she grabbed the body of the female in a tight embrace as she sobbed and made strange noises of obvious grief.

Kelar stepped around the bodies and headed towards the door of the medical room. He motioned for the others to join him as he stepped outside.

"Leave her alone, and let her grieve. I think that's her bearer lying on that table looking as if it's been cut up like a piece of hunted meat." Kelar said disgustedly once the other Arbitrators had joined him outside the medical bay.

"What? What makes you think that's her bearer?" Setg'in asked quickly.

"Genetic markers indicate that the Youngblood male is the dead female's sire. I can't prove anything without a blood or tissue sample, but I think those same genetic markers are probably present in the hybrid to a smaller extent. It means that she is descended from both the female and the Youngblood. We'll need to find out who that Warrior was to identify his Clan and family, and hers at the same time." Kelar replied.

"I'm not sure I understood the second question she asked. Explain it to me." Setg'in said as he looked to the door and the medical bay beyond.

"She wanted to know… to know if we could give Ama's injuries to her, and heal Ama's injuries that way." Kelar answered heavily.

"She must be so accustomed to being in pain that she doesn't care how much it would hurt for those injuries to be inflicted on her." Takaa said quietly.

"Actually, I don't think that's the case here. I think she just wants her bearer back, no matter what she has to endure." Kelar replied quietly.

"That would make sense. As young as she is, she would remember her bearer caring for her, while offering comfort and some protection." Kaldera mused.

"True. Not that she'll need such protection here, because she will not be harmed until the Council of Matriarchs can decide her fate once we return." Setg'in added with a pointed look at the Healer.

"I don't think it's the protection she's after. She is only a pup, who wants her bearer. Given the number of healed incisions on her, she's been separated from her bearer for several years now. A great number of her scars have been stretched by growth which indicates that those dishonorable oomans have been cutting on her since she was much younger." Kelar replied with a shake of his head.

"If she was removed from her bearer's presence by force, then that would be more than enough of a reason for her to crave her bearer's presence. A pup doesn't reason things out as an adult will, and all she understands at the moment, is that her bearer is in there, and unable to protect her." Takaa said musingly.

"That much can easily be seen, but what can we do to help her with her grief?" Setg'in asked pointedly.

"I'm not really certain that there's anything we can do! Ama was killed a long time ago judging from the cellular decay and signs that the corpse has been frozen and thawed a number of times. All indications are that Little One has had to face ooman behavior, which we all know is usually dishonorable, on her own for a very long time. I am certain from the way she is acting that this Ama protected her as much as possible, and that may well be why Ama was killed." Kelar said heavily.

"Well I am not going to allow this to continue! Little One needs to focus on her future and the possibility of becoming a Warrior. The decision of the Matriarchs is out of her claws and ours, so for now we need to prepare her for a future among us." Kaldera growled before she headed into the medical bay.

Kaldera entered the medical room to see Dtou-di'nde embracing the body of the female now known to be Ama. The little hybrid was no longer screaming in her grief, but she was still sobbing and crying. She walked forward and placed her right hand lightly on the female's shoulder.

"Come Dtou-di'nde, there is nothing you or any one else can do to help her now. You, on the other claw, have much to learn. There are things that I will teach you, and things that others will also teach you. The skills and knowledge you can learn will help you in the future." Kaldera stated in a rumbling purr.

Dtou-di'nde heard that rumbling sound and it stirred a great sense of longing in her. Ama had always made that sound when she was scared, or hurt, but now Ama was dead. Kaldera wasn't dead, and she was making that same sound! She didn't know why but she was drawn to it. Before she knew it she had her arms wrapped around Kaldera's legs.

Kaldera unwrapped the girl's arms from around her legs, and lifted her up to hold her properly… the way one was supposed to hold a pup. Almost instantly, the girl's arms were over her shoulders and her face was buried in the base of her neck. Although the limbs were a bit longer than was normal for the girl's age, she had assumed a position of both safety and comfort. Kaldera increased the volume of her purr to help sooth Dtou-di'nde's grief.

As she left the medical room, Kaldera noted that the rest of the gathered Arbitrators immediately followed her. She carried the little hybrid to the ship's cafeteria to get her a morning meal. Knowing that Dtou-di'nde was facing the loss of her bearer and feeling alone, she decided to keep the pup with her for a while. Holding the pup with her right hand, she used her left to prepare a plate heaped with as much food as she could put on it. The day before she had watched in disbelief as this strange pup had eaten more food than any two grown Warriors could handle. This time she fully intended to let the strange pup eat as much as she wanted.

BREAK

Takaa had watched in sheer disbelief as the hybrid pup continued to eat one plate after another. So far nineteen plates of food had been devoured and the pup was showing no signs of slowing down. Curious, he donned his mask and switched spectrums to look at Dtou-di'nde's digestive tract. What he saw was that her stomach was nearly empty. His mandibles went slack in absolute shock. How could her stomach possibly be nearly empty after that much food?

"How is her stomach nearly empty?" Takaa asked in amazement.

"What?!" Kaldera demanded in surprise.

"Her stomach is nearly empty. See for yourself." Takaa repeated.

The Arbitrator watched in silence as the other Arbitrators placed their masks on and looked at Dtou-di'nde's digestive tract. The proof was something they could see just as easily as he had, but the question of how was something else again.

"I'm not even going to try to figure that out using the equipment on a ship. I'll wait until we get back home and use the equipment available there. That's something that will require an in depth analysis, and Dtou-di'nde has been cut open more than enough." Kelar said with a shake of his head as he pulled off his mask.

"I would have to agree with you, Kelar. The one time that I saw her cut open was more than enough for me." Takaa said heavily.

"Well should we keep feeding her?" Kaldera asked doubtfully. "I mean we can see that she's not going to get full, but won't she start getting fat?"

"I would have to say it's very likely. The energy and mass have to be going somewhere!" Kelar answered in vexation.

"Kaldera I… need… make… waste…" Dtou-di'nde said suddenly as she turned around to look at the larger female.

Kaldera was surprised by the request because it was so sudden. Dtou-di'nde had simply stopped eating and turned around in the middle of a piece of meat. She nodded her head and stood up with Dtou-di'nde still in her right arm. She strode over to the waste closet and set Dtou-di'nde down so that she could relieve herself. The little female quickly pulled off the undercloth and moved the loin cloth out of the way before beginning to urinate.

Dtou-di'nde spent a long time urinating! Kaldera had to disable the system that would automatically summon a healer several times, and the little female was still urinating!

"Well I think we can see where all that pauk-de food went!" Kelar said only half jokingly.

"Kaldera, do you know if she's defecated at all, while she's been with you? She didn't during our escape." Takaa asked seriously.

"No… she hasn't. In fact, she spent a very long time urinating this morning when we awoke. It wasn't as much as she's passing now though." Kaldera answered after thinking about it.

"For some reason, she's not defecating at all. Instead she passes everything as a liquid. Is that possible somehow?" Takaa asked curiously.

"I suppose. If her stomach acid is caustic enough to break everything down into a liquid rather quickly, it would explain how she is able to eat so much and urinate so much as well. There wouldn't be any solid waste for her body to process. That would definitely be something to examine once we reach the homeworld and I have access to a full lab." Kelar said thoughtfully.

"Well if her body is breaking everything down into liquids; then most of her intestines will have atrophied to an extent, wouldn't they?" Rafik asked as he looked at Kelar.

"I would think that would be the case. But if that ooman was telling us truly and she is such an odd genetic mix, then that might not be the case." Kelar mused.

"If they are atrophied then her bladder must be making up for that. I can think of nothing else to explain how long she can urinate." Rafik continued as he pondered the mystery before him.

"You could well be right. I suppose that we can check when she emerges after however long it takes her." Kelar agreed.