A/N: Here's chapter twenty-two, the threats of the third year begin to emerge! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rimworld

There was a pesky spring rain out, dampening (no pun intended) the spirits of the typical outside workers. Aside from that, however, in a rare moment, things were relatively peaceful.

At least the new year was providing them with a constant workflow, one that worked too, despite the recent calamities the faction faced. Cadmus was the lead builder, but as there wasn't much to build recently, he had been mining instead. Most recently, he had finally started working on some art. Hopefully, some of it would sell and they could get more silver. Phoebe was still the resident chef, cooking meals for them each day and night. It was no secret that she hated her job, but it needed to be done. The effect it had on her day-to-day activities was unknown, as she seemed very withdrawn and quiet compared to the first year of their arrival. She had become even more aloof ever since she coldly rejected Paramedic's proposal. Genevieve on the other hand, kept researching as she always did, unstoppable and unflappable in finding new ways to make life easier for them all.

With one hand, Toni was much slower at growing, but she attacked it head on. Though she was fearful as to what her activities were going to consist of in the winter. She usually crafted, either that or follow through on that promise of making art, but with one hand, doing either task would take a while. Meowski was still stonecutting, the same job she had since she had joined the faction. She used to milk or shear the muffalo, but Pharaoh is too young to be sheared, and couldn't produce milk. Jack often constructed with Cadmus, but when there was nothing to build, he hunted, or he played as a backup cleaner.

While there were no prisoners to reason with or animals to tame, Addy typically cut trees down. The wood would be used for future sculptures. Redfields was there famed nightly cleaner, who kept the base spotless with his efforts. And Paramedic, while he used to cook, now gardened with Toni, to balance out the fact that she was missing a hand. It was hard to tell how his mood was as well, he seemed nearly as silent as Phoebe was after all the drama that unfolded a few days ago.

Then there were the two new (or not so new, anymore) recruits. Légua assisted Phoebe with cooking, or else there would be no way for Phoebe to cook for the entire base by herself. And Rego largely made clothes, and when no one needed a new outfit, there was stonecutting to fall back on. Who knew, Rego was most likely going to start making guns once Genevieve was finished with her work with that.

Cadmus watched the outside rain with a bored look on his face. It was really coming down. He thought he should take a break from his art. He wanted his first sculpture ever made (not to mention the first sculpture ever made) to be a grand one, but that had its own weaknesses. It took days to work on. If he wasn't going to show results, then a lot of people were going to get mad at him.

"Why so glum, chum?" He heard a voice behind him.

"Jack?" He asked, "Yeah, it's gotta be Jack. No sane person would use that phrase."

Jack slugged him in the arm, "Take it back."

He rolled his eyes, then he looked ahead again, "Not sure how this rain is affecting my art."

"Yeah, it's been raining for days now." He said, "I was gonna go do something outside, but…it's raining…so I don't want to get too wet."

"If it's quick, I can help you."

"I was gonna go around and harvest all the healroot."

"What? But…but the healroot hasn't grown up yet. Nothing has." He was beyond confused. Did Jack hit his head or something? It was early spring, the crops were probably nothing but buds right now.

"No, no. Wild healroot." Jack said, "I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but there's some wild healroot growing all over the place. Berry bushes too." He said, "Though…maybe they didn't grow up fully yet. Wanna take a look outside with me?"

"We'll get soaked."

"Yup."

"Damn it, Jack." He growled, then he smiled, "Count me in."

The two of them headed outside, getting pelted by raindrops. Pharaoh sensed the excitement and ran outside with them, mooing as the trio went outside.

Part of him was surprised. Things were coming a long way in the colony. They had lived longer here than he ever expected, hell, one could argue that they were thriving. And they could only go up from here. The more members they got, the more work they could get done.

Was he sad that they were there for over two years now? Yes, but, things weren't really that bad anymore. For someone who got married and then divorced, he could have had it worse. What worried him was how much longer they were going to stay here.

How many more years would pass by? Would he be old, wizened, gray hair? Would he be middle-aged? Would it happen in a quadrum or two? What if they were stuck here forever, would he hate it, would he be bitter?

He looked at the muffalo calf, doing its best to keep up, and he decided that he could've been worse off.

"Huh…" Jack said, "Doesn't seem to be any full-grown healroot…or raspberries anywhere…well that sucks…"

"I'm gonna freaking kill you."

"Aw…come on, you wouldn't kill old Jack…would ya?" He asked, ruffled a hand through Cadmus's wild hair, which at this point, was barely standing up, because of how heavy the rain was falling. "Whoa…" His eyes widened, "Why didn't you tell me there were boomalopes out here?"

Cadmus blinked, "But…they explode when they die…there's no point…"

"You let me worry about that." Jack winked, getting his shotgun out, "I know a life hack or two about these things."

Cadmus was puzzled, was Jack going to blow himself up?

Jack started hunting one of the nearby boomalope. After just a few shots, the large herbivore blew up. Cadmus expected a large fiery doom for them all.

But then he felt like an idiot because it was raining.

Jack laughed, "See?" He asked, "All you gotta do is hunt boomalopes in the rain!" He started hunting for the next one.

Cadmus laughed and laughed. Any little sparks or flames that the boomalopes produced were quickly put out with the rain. Bam! Boom! Bam! Boom! Cadmus fell on the ground laughing, at Jack's brave hunting job.

Cadmus returned inside, heading through the halls, "Jeez…I'm gonna be freaking waterlogged all night now…" He said, heading to the dining hall to pick up a snack.

As usual, in the dining hall, he saw a smattering of people. In this case it was Genevieve, Addy, and Phoebe, all taking a break to either eat or relax. But what really caught Cadmus's attention was the big cat in the middle of the room.

"Uh…" He paused, pointing at it, "The hell is that?"

"Oh, while you and Jack were out…there was a trader." Genevieve said, getting down to the cougar's level and hugging it, "I bought this."

"Where were you anyway?" Phoebe asked.

"Long story." Cadmus said, "Let's just say that we'll have a lot of food now." He sat down at one of the tables, "So…so that thing's tame? It's safe?"

"Very safe, I assure you." Genevieve said, squeezing the cougar a bit more, "Isn't that right, missy?" The cougar gave a quiet meow and nuzzled Genevieve quite a bit, rubbing its face around everywhere.

"Hmm." He said. He had to admit, whatever it took to purchase it, having a guard cougar sounded like the best thing in the world. They were really rounding out their forces here quite nicely.

"I have to say, Genevieve, I'm quite jealous." Addy smiled, "Maybe next time I should try and buy a new pet myself. Pinky and Cassidy always love new friends."

"I'm sure this one and Lady will get along just fine." Genevieve said, finally giving the cougar room to breathe.

A shrieking call was heard. The four of them all flinched, "Damn it." Cadmus sprang up, "I didn't even get to eat."

"Who could it be this time?" Phoebe asked.

"Sounds…tribal…might be the Confederation of Guaban again…" He said, looking at Genevieve and Addy, "You two stay here, Phoebe and I will gather who we can and we'll go out." He said, "Unless you want to take that new kitty there for a spin."

Genevieve shook her head, "She hasn't been trained yet. I'll hold back for now."

He nodded, he and Phoebe running through the halls as fast as they could. Suddenly Cadmus's eyes bulged out, "Shit!"

"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.

"Jack…I left him out there to hunt…he's down by the south of the base…if too many of them attack him at once, he'll be a sitting duck! We gotta hurry!"

The rain was still pouring as they exited the base. Cadmus was able to gather up Toni, Meowski, and Redfields, in addition to himself and Phoebe, but he had no idea how this was going to play out. The pestering rain was really slowing them down, and considering that no one could really see two feet in front of them, it made for a chancy game when it came to shooting.

Jack was already on the ground by the time they got there, with at least five arrows sticking out of his chest, blood all over him. The culprits seemed to be three tribespeople, two men and one girl. One of the men sported a large shotgun wound all over his torso, suggesting that Jack got at least one good shot off before he surrendered to the pain of that many arrows thrusting through him.

Cadmus scowled, seeing them attack Jack while he was down, "So that's how the great Confederation of Guaban works, huh? Kills people while they're down, like vultures?" He smirked, "I guess I could relate to that." He assaulted the nearest guy, hoping that he could keep them away from Jack, hoping also that there was still hope for Jack.

The tribesman was nearly sliced to bloody ribbons. He flew back, coughing up blood, as he aimed his arrow at Cadmus. All three raiders aimed at him, but he held his arms out, expecting to bear the brunt of the attack.

The rain was not playing in their favor, and they missed. Cadmus kept slashing at the maimed man before him, trying to get rid of him. Toni and Meowski meanwhile fenced in the other two tribespeople. This freed up Phoebe and Redfields to shoot from afar.

Toni faced the girl, slashing through her with her sword. The girl tried to attack back with her fist, but Toni dodged it easily.

Meowski clubbed the remaining bowman, and the bowman punched her back. The two of them traded blows for quite a while.

Cadmus sent his opponent's head rolling rather quickly with one swift slash to the neck, he turned at the others' progress. "Hey! One of you! Take Jack back to the hospital! See if he can get patched up!"

Redfields gave a hurried nod, slinging Jack up over his shoulders and running off with him.

He looked back ahead, it was for Jack. Besides, four versus two was still in their favor, after all.

Meowski grit her teeth as she clubbed the bowman for the umpteenth time. She would get hit back, but gradually, it would be her battle. She had a limestone club, and the bewildered bowman had his fists.

Of course, none of this mattered anyway. Because Phoebe scored a headshot, and blasted the tribesman's brains out. He collapsed on the ground.

This left only one tribesperson left, the young woman. However, she was quickly knocked back by another deadly sword slash from Toni. Meowski headed for Toni's aid, clubbing the girl on the head and knocking her out cold. She was unconscious, but alive.

Cadmus walked over to the lone survivor, throwing her over his shoulder, "Alright, let's get back inside."

"Jeez…man…you scared us all half to death…" Cadmus said.

"I know…I'm sorry…" Jack said, practically covered in green bandages from head to toe. The initial pain had faded in the ensuing days, to the point where soon Jack would be able to take all his bandages off. He and Cadmus were sitting in the grass, watching the quickly approaching sunset. Légua and Redfields were standing behind them.

"You should really get back in the hospital, you'll heal quicker."

"Hey, this is the first time the rain's stopped in I don't know how long." He argued, "I'm gonna enjoy the fresh air, and the view."

He shrugged, "I guess." He said, then he looked behind himself, "Hey, where did Redfields go?"

"Hmm?" Légua asked, looking to her side, "That's strange…he was right beside me a few seconds ago…"

"Maybe he went to take a leak or something." Cadmus faced ahead, "Jeez…but seriously…if you died to a bunch of arrows, that'd be pretty lame."

"Bullshit! If I died like that, it'd be pretty cool!" Jack said.

"You're the only other builder I've got. Don't you dare go dying on me."

Redfields came back, holding a cool cup of red berry juice, "Try this." He handed it to Légua.

Légua smiled, "Thank you." She took the glass, drinking a portion of it, "Mmm…wow…this…this tastes amazing!"

"I figured it'd be a little different than what you're used to."

"Uh-huh. We usually make juice from raspberries. So…this must be—"

"Strawberry." Redfields grinned, "Best I've ever tasted, too."

"Oh yeah, Toni really knows what she's doing out there." Cadmus said, "And Phoebe's the one who usually makes it into juice."

"I like it." Légua said, "I'll have to have her teach me."

Cadmus looked up, the night sky was beginning to show the stars, as the sun had finally made its exit, "You guys hear anything about the new prisoner?"

"Addy said her name was Termite or something like that." Jack said.

"Termite, huh?" He asked, "Interesting name…I guess. Hopefully she won't cause too many problems…"

"If she's from the Confederation of Guaban, perhaps I could talk to her." Légua volunteered.

"I don't know about that, Légua…Addy's the best talker we have."

"But I might be able to speak with her on a deeper level. I may be able to connect with her more."

"Hmm…" He said, then he gave a shrug, "If you wanna try it, then give it a whirl. Run it by Genevieve and Addy first…recruiting people isn't really my neck of the woods."

"Okay, I will."

Cadmus looked at Jack, "We'll have to build another spare bedroom, I'm guessing Termite will take up the spare we already have." He said, "On second thought…I could just do it alone…you need time to recover…"

"I'll try not to be laid up for too long."

"Take your time."

A door opening and shutting was heard, as Paramedic joined the four of them. He looked around, his eyes lost and solemn. He took a deep sigh, sitting next to Cadmus.

"Haven't seen you in a while, pal." Cadmus said.

Paramedic glared at the grass and dirt, "She…she left me behind…in the dirt…she…she dumped me…"

"Yup."

"Why? Why did she leave me?"

"Does it to everyone."

"Yes…yes…it appears she does…"

He looked ahead, seeing Pinky and Cassidy, they were running around and playing. Pharaoh was running around too, trying to keep up with the huskies, even though it was a futile race, "The way I see it, you got two options." He said, "Give up and burnout, or…hold out hope…"

"Hold out…hold out hope?" He repeated, "God…I haven't felt this useless or afraid since my days as a soldier."

"You were a soldier?" Redfields and Jack asked at once.

He nodded, "A medical soldier. It was my job to patch people up, on the spot, in the field. I just…" He chuckled dryly, "Followed the blood, chaos, and body parts to my next target. I was one of the best field medics the service ever had."

"The medics in my corps were always friendly and professional." Jack said, "They really knew what they were doing. Every time someone was knocked down, they picked us back up again." He said, "That's how it's always been. My father, my father's father….my entire lineage. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the medics."

"The king made medical assistance a priority, in my days as his right hand." Redfields said, "Huh…didn't know there were so many accomplished soldiers right in front of my eyes."

"I was one too." Cadmus said, when everyone looked at him, he sheepishly added, "Kinda. A warrior…commander…captain…that's what I was doing before this big mess. I was a warrior in space. People either knew me by my looks or by my axe…"

"It's promising life, serving justice for others, and guaranteeing their freedom." Jack said.

"Well, I'm a bit younger than most of you guys." Cadmus chuckled, "I hope I'm still around to enjoy it like you." He said, and everyone laughed.

"I had no idea you were a warrior." Légua looked at Redfields, "Did you do your people proud?"

"I sure hope so." Redfields said, "The last battle we ever had was a stalemate…I was the only survivor…"

"Goodness…I'm…I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have—"

"It's no trouble. In fact." He smiled, "It was a tribe who saved me. I would have been dead otherwise."

"Really?"

He nodded, "It's how I got my name, Redfields."

"You're right…it does sound like something we would come up with. I like it very much, it's strong, resilient. It fits you very much."

A grunt or two was heard, as two large lumbering herbivores made their way to where the other animals were playing.

"Holy crap…" Jack's eyes went wide, and Redfields jumped back like a cat, "Dromedaries?"

"Hmm?" Cadmus asked, seeing a pair of camels indifferently look around, occasionally grazing.

"But what the hell are they doing here? They live in the desert, not the forest…"

"Maybe they're lost." Paramedic said quietly, "They seem to have been tamed by humans before, given how calm and relaxed they are around us."

Redfields nervously peeked out, hiding behind Légua. She turned her head, trying to see what was behind her, but Redfields avoided her eyesight.

"I'll be damned…" Cadmus said, standing up and smiling, "Lost huskies are one thing…but…but this…ha, this is amazing!" He said, "We just got two freaking camels to join us! That's awesome!"

A/N: I had a lot of interesting animals join the colony in my first file, between the dromedaries and the cougar. This might be it for a little while now, I'm not sure when I'll post again, it may be tomorrow, or a few weeks, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading!