Norfair Part III

It was Ridley's turn to sleep and the Lieutenant was keeping watch. For a while she felt like everything was calm, but that didn't last. The intense quiet was so loud she could feel it vibrating in her exoskeleton. She was filled with worry, but didn't want to wake Ridley up.
In the distance, a bird chirped. The Lieutenant almost fired her gun, but restrained herself in time.
It was so, so, quiet.
Ridley rolled over to warm his other side. The noise seemed to echo endlessly through the caverns. The Lieutenant wanted to cover her earholes, but such an action would not have been productive let alone wise. Besides, if Ridley saw her do it, he'd no doubt ridicule her for it.
She found herself standing utterly still and entirely absorbed in the silence for at least four more hours. Just when the Lieutenant thought she might lose her mind, Ridley got to his feet and stretched himself, catlike.
He'd already started walking by the time the Lieutenant could grab all of her gear and put her backpack on. She ran to get back to him.
Ridley froze. "Hear that?"
The Lieutenant shook her head, then she noticed that without moving his head, Ridley had shifted his gaze skyward. The Lieutenant did the same.
From the cieling dropped a great, ebony, creature, perhaps one hundred and fifty times the size of Ridley. At least, that what it seemed like.
The Security Chief rolled to the side and the Lieutenant jumped back and fired two dead-on shots to the face of the attacker. He seemed somewhat unfazed.
Ridley spun with great speed, whipping his tail like a spear and spitting plasma between strikes. The Lieutenant had never seen her commanding officer in a close range combat situation before, and she was in awe.
"Go for the sternum," Ridley snarled. He reached out and grabbed the assialant's neck, then twisted him around so the Lieutenant had a clear shot at his chest. She fired eight rounds, all of which hit their mark, before he snaked his way out of Ridley's improvied head lock.
Ridley made some screeching sounds and pinned the attacker. The Lieutenant could not get a clear shot.

"Why are you here?" the attacker asked Ridley angrily as they tussled.
"Doesn't matter!" Ridley left a gash on his enemy's wing.
The attacker kicked Ridley off and flared his wings in a primal show of power.
"Hold your fire," Ridley told his Lieutenant in her own language. She looked bewildered, obviously because she couldn't understand Zebesian.
"You brought a meal with you?" Asked the bigger male, shooting a sideways look at the Pirate.
Ridley hissed angrily, but admitted, "Maybe."
The two Norfairians continued to pace in circles, holding eye contact.
"You should know the laws, child," said the bigger male finally.
The Security chief snarled. "You should not have attacked me, old man! I was simply passing through!"
"Perhaps you should have asked my permission first!"
"Perhaps you should have stayed out of my way!"
For a moment, the two roared in a competetive manner to see who could make the most noise. Ridley was losing, so he ended it. "Just let us through."
"Say please," taunted the bigger male.
"Please," Ridley conceded defeat.

The Lieutenant had to assume they were speaking, because their noises sounded something like words.
She was amazed when the two settled into sitting positions and hostilities seemed to die down. She made a few assumptions at this point. First, she could assume that she was in no immediate danger, but also that she was not wanted in the conversation. She put the safety back on her gun and slung it over her shoulder.
Next, she figured that it would be wise to pretend she understood what was being said. This would hopefully gain her some respect form the bigger male. It was a trick she'd learned in the academy. It often worked.

"Does the rat-thing speak Zebesian?"
"No, she does not."
"She is listening very intently."
Ridley shot his Lieutenant a backwards glance, then turned back to the Bigger Male in time for the interrogation to continue.
"What are you doing back here in Norfair, Star-Traveler?"
"I came to see how many of our people remain."
"I can't answer that, unfortunately. I know for sure of only four- including myself and yourself. You ought to head east out of my territory if you want to meet the other two I know of."
Ridley forced himself to say, "Thank you."
"Just keep out of my territory next time, Star-Traveler."

The Lieutenant was not surprised when RIdley got up and started to walk away. SHe'd felt the intensity of the conversation dying out slowly, and now it was finished. She waited patiently for Ridley to translate.
Finally, after more walking (the Lieutenant was quite sure that the plating on her feet would wear out at this rate) Ridley said, "He was quite pleased to be rid of us. Aparently there are at least two others in this direction, so we keep walking.
"Judging by his size, I think he was maybe thrice my age, but I can't be sure."
The Lieutenant was smarter than to ask Ridley how old he was. She guessed somewhere around fifty.