The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 49

Valparaiso was a lovely coastal city with plenty of wifi, surrounded by several other towns. Covering the perimeter, they finally caught a useful scent. ::Wikolia and Kanuha. They were here recently.::

Aoloa nodded in agreement with Keaka. ::HUDs up. We don't want to get jumped by friends who might not recognize our scents, now.::

They quickly began scouting the area, their HUDs lighting up with the two scents and their strengths. After a while, they added Akela, an older scent, to the mix. It took a while, but they eventually found the path in and out and located where they merged well outside civilization.

::We're going into forests. Eyes up,:: Aoloa warned. They all nodded before Hanale's nose went to ground. He was best at tracking, for some reason. Keaka and Aoloa kept an eye on the trees. Hokulani was monitoring for comms signals outside their own.

Where would I attack us from? It looks like they're not in the national park, but closer to civilization. He noticed some motion above them and added a blue marker to their HUDs. Shortly after that, the trail ended abruptly.

Aoloa analyzed their HUD and readings. They had three blips of motion in the trees, and now had a trail that disappeared. There was no doubt. ::Up.::

They all climbed the nearest trees and set up a spread pattern in the branches. Almost immediately they picked up the scent again and were on the move. ::Their claws are smaller than ours. They may be at the same balance.::

The others nodded acknowledgement. They were reasonably deep into the forest when Hokulani suddenly lit up six comms units in a rough circle around them. They came to an abrupt stop as Hokulani ran through various Friend-Or-Foe protocols while also attempting to get into their comms.

Instead, their HUDs shut down. Aoloa immediately ordered his nanites to disconnect sensory feeds. Shortly after that, Keaka and Hanale gasped, their eyes going wide as they started pawing at their eyes. Hokulani frowned slightly, but didn't react otherwise. Aoloa waited, ears and eyes alert.

Kanuha and Akoni approached from one side, Akela and Pauahi from the other. They were in the branches, carrying spears. Aoloa suppressed a growl, knowing it wouldn't improve the situation. Instead, he carefully said, "It's good to see you alive. I was afraid you'd all be dead when Clarke realized I was still alive."

Kanuha raised a hand to the others and tilted his head, focusing on Aoloa. "Should we know you?"

"As often as I let the pups in while Ailani and Kanoa were mating, yes, you should know me."

Akela and Pauahi glanced at each other in confusion. Aoloa kept is focus on Kanuha instead of the two girls, since they were on Hokulani's side. Kanuha finally replied, "There's only one male who let the mongrels annoy us."

"I felt sorry for them. What can I say?"

"Nothing like you was ever in the colony," Kanuha countered.

"Lopaka and Kawikani saved me. He faked going berserk. He didn't kill me or Hokulani, but that didn't stop our makers from trying to get us back or kill us. Tell Lopaka 'Thank you.'"

Kanuha went silent, frowning. Keaka and Hanale had quieted, but were still clearly incapacitated. Finally, Lopaka appeared, approaching Hokulani carefully. Wikolia was at his side. His eyes shifted rapidly amongst the four of them before settling on Hokulani again. The other five colony members were ready to attack attack at a moment's notice.

Finally, he said, "So it really was you." Hokulani nodded slightly. "You've changed yourselves."

She nodded again before adding, "Aoloa has a talent for working with our nanites. He's unlocked a great deal of potential that was hidden from us."

"It's good to see you alive. Were you followed?"

"Probably, but not directly. We've avoided the Internet since Rio Xingú. You're not easy to track down."

"I'm not meant to be. I wasn't really expecting to see you here. I thought you'd contact me from Illapel."

"It smelled like a trap. It wasn't worth the risk, and you weren't there."

Lopaka simply nodded, then gave her a huge hug. Abruptly, Keaka and Hanale stood, clearly able to see and hear again. Aoloa ordered his nanites to reconnect the comms unit.

Lopaka shifted his attention to Aoloa. "Nice trick with your comms."

"My nanites are no longer connected to it. I knew it was a vulnerability after we subverted the comms of an opposing squad. I never wanted to get caught like that," he replied.

Lopaka nodded. "It's good to see you again, boss."

"You've been a pain in the ass to track down. I couldn't have done it without the training you gave Hokulani."

"She made a few mistakes, but did quite well, overall. We'll have to discuss your... modifications."

"I'm sure you have a few enhancements for our comms, as well."

Lopaka nodded. With that, the rest of the colony stood down, though they looked a bit wary and confused.