"For the last time, Riza, I am NOT joining your bloody harem, or clan or whatever you want to call it! Now can we please get back on topic?" Jacobs said to the Krultathan envoy currently sitting in his office. She had been disembarked for only three days and had spent every opportunity she could find trying to "claim him" for her clan. Between her and Axcizz, he was worried he'd get a colored view of xenos as just a bunch of horny sapients.
"Aww, come on Jacobs. You smell soo good I just can't help it!" Riza touted back, leaning down and poking his nose. The 9-foot tall female received a swat from Jacobs on her paw away from him and a thoroughly unhappy expression.
"Learn to take no for an answer, you lusty cat! We need to focus on our jobs, namely how to boost our respective planet's fighting forces as soon as possible. There's no telling when the Axon will strike back." Jacobs shouted at her, causing her to pause for a minute before looking dejected.
"I..I apologize Ambassador Jacobs. Oh, I know, what if we made a mixed for-"
"NO! Then we wouldn't have a fighting force we'd have a human-erm, sapient resources nightmare with the number of sexual harassment cases that would cause," Jacobs interjected. That was the third time she had tried for a mixed unit force.
"Besides, Aren't you supposed to be taking that medication to block my scent from affecting you?" He continued.
"Ugh, that medication is terrible and dulls my senses. It's no good taking it while working." Riza responded with, a slight wave of her paw to dismiss it, causing Jacobs to sigh and receeded into deep thought again.
Riza was slightly below average height for a Krultathan female at 9-foot-4 and had an artic white coat with black spotting and bright blue eyes. Jacobs didn't think she looked bad, but her personality was atrocious to him. She was too flippant, too airheaded, and too lust-crazed, though apparently, Krultathans couldn't help that last part around humans much. Even though Krultathans could handle Earth conditions, albeit with some difficulty, there had been an embargo on them landing on Earth, now Terra, unless they were on medication whose taking was supervised. Needless to say, few have even applied to do so, let alone have been approved yet. As such most communications were done through video calls, but Riza had insisted on working "face to face", and apparently was skimping on taking her medication.
"Okay, okay, I got it. Our scientists are helping accelerate your tech, right? But Terra was able to actually make a weapon capable of taking down an Axon ship in one hit! So why don't we help manufacture the ship's core, with Terra outfitting them and our fleet with weaponry? See, easy!" Riza exclaimed excitedly.
"Not quite. That "weapon" Was an experimental drone ship, not a weapon. And we can't afford to just make them as ammunition fodder. Besides that, they require human pilots, Krultathan reaction times just aren't as good." Jacobs countered, earning a huff from his Krultathan counterpart.
"Well, I don't see you putting forward any ideas, Human male!" Riza retaliated, earning an irate look from Jacobs.
"And an attitude like that is why you'll never succeed in getting a human male in your little harem."
"It's a clan, not a harem!"
"You fuck whoever you claim, don't think you can sell shit and claim it's gold."
"By the claws, is every human male as infuriating as you?"
"Is every Krultathan female as sex-obsessed as you?"
"You try dealing with a race whose scent puts you into heat with just a whiff and see how calm you can be!"
"If you'd take the medication like you're supposed to, you wouldn't be dealing with that either. Stop acting like a child when our planets are at risk here you stupid, airheaded bimbo!"
"Fine, I will!"
"Please do, and don't come back until you have. Now get out of my office."
"Fine!"
Riza turns to leave, the shouting contest evidently over, though Jacobs could see a slight slumping in her shoulders and a droopiness in her tail and ears, wondering what that meant, but pushing it out of his mind. He had tried being passive for the past 3 days to no avail, he had to put his foot down. Still, he hoped she didn't take it too harshly. Despite her issues, he understood where she was coming from. It wasn't an excuse, however.
Looking back to his datapad, he continued to try and find diplomatic solutions to increase fleet production, sighed, gave up for the moment, and poured himself a shot of whiskey as he looked out the window of his office. The first Birth ship had just arrived and was in the process of repairing the 5th fleet, with its sister ships set to arrive over the next week. Axcizz was with her wife right now, Jacobs learned well enough to not have both her and Riza in his office at the same time. He wasn't sure which was worse, the face that Riza evidently wanted him to herself, or that Axcizz seemed content with "sharing" him. He shuddered and took a sip of his drink, taking his time to finish it before heading back to his desk to finish his work for the day.
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"Our scientists and engineers are working with both your own and the ones from Krultatha to hopefully get us caught up enough to make our resources count. How are your soldiers holding up, Xiixa, can't imagine seeing what happened above Mars have been easy." Mike asked as he sat at the "Bar" in the flagship's officers' mess. He had been invited there to discuss mutual strategizing and resource deployment, but really he thought Xiixa just needed an old soldier to talk to. Well, he says old. In reality, he was only in his 60s and could expect to live to see 160 barring any accidents, while Xiixa was almost 170 already, and still likely had another century or two of life.
"Shit, They're holding up like shit, Michael. The most we have ever seen have been the odd pirate or a small rogue flotilla. Seeing that much death and hopelessness like what happened, morale is low and I can't say I blame them." Xiixa replied as she gulped down a drink called "Salazic turin" a species equivalent of alcohol, he assumed.
"Well, there's likely to be more. These Axon don't seem to be the type to leave well enough alone. How's the Mrs.?" He asked before taking a sip of vodka himself. He was in a "bar" after all.
"Happy I made it out, sad to see 3,000 dead and 10,000 abducted. She's trying to stay positive but I know she's taking it hard. Blaming herself, I think. She knows it wouldn't have made a lick of difference if she had been there or not, but knowing is one thing..."
"War is shit, yeah..." He finished, taking another sip of his drink and pouring some more into his glass. "At least Jacobs gets a break now." He said with a chuckle, causing Xiixa to chirp in amusement as well.
"Yeah... Hilarious that. Can you believe it started because of an offhand comment I made?" Xiixa replied, gulping down another healthy dose of her blue-purple drink.
"I can imagine. Wives are funny that way." Mike said with a soft smile, rubbing the ring he still wore on his left finger. He hadn't taken it off in 15 years, he doubted he ever would.
"You talk like you were in a nest group-err, relationship. Apologies, forgot you humans don't tend to have as many partners as us." She said, eying him with a look of one happy to find a topic away from what they had been discussing.
"I was. For twenty years." He took another taste of his own drink, a bit bigger than the last one.
"Oh, my apologies... If I may ask?" She said in response somberly. Hexat formed tight bonds with those they took the longer they were together, it was one thing they and humans tended to have in common.
"The docs called it Acute Neural Degradation. Not really sure what caused it, some guesses with prions or a previously unknown disease but it's all speculation. 15 years ago, before you ask."
"My condolences, Michael. Losing a nestmate is never easy." Xiixa says as an uncomfortable silence fills the room. They both took their time with their drinks for several moments, neither wishing to break the spell until finally, Mike slams his shot glass down on the table, surprising Xiixa.
"Fuck it, let's have some fun!" Mike said as he stood up, fumbling a bit sluggishly into one of his pockets as Xiixa was left shocked and surprised.
"I'm flattered Admiral Michael but I do not think mating would solve anything," Xiixa said, not having been around humans long enough yet to pick up on the colloquialism.
"What? no. Oh. "fuck" doesn't just mean mating, it can mean a multitude of things. In this instance.." He said, finally pulling out the holopad and pressing something as a loud song started playing over the communications system.
"It means introducing you to the rock classics. This one's the Beastie Boys." He said as he started dancing, rather terribly, to the song. Xiixa started chirping with laughter seeing the predator moving so clumsily but had to admit the effectiveness of lifting her spirits was achieved, and evidently, Mike was enjoying himself too.
"To friends among the stars! and to Hell with those slimy fucks!" He said, raising a glass. This one Xiixa did know, a "toast" the humans called it.
"To friends!" Xiixa repeated, clinking their glasses together before taking a drink.
'Such a weird custom.' She thought but still chirped merrily. Deathworld predators they may be, but these humans, they weren't all that bad.
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"Test 23 of the drive systems failed performance evaluations, I want a thorough exam done on all the systems. Remember this is going on a military ship, it needs to be top of the line AND dependable." Jessie Ryder said to the group of engineers who just tested the Daedelus drive refinements sent by Amelia. Someone had tried to shave on costs somewhere and caused the test to fail stability by 8 percent. Not much at first glance but that was from jsut a 90 second test fire. The longer it ran the higher that number would rise.
"The materials the designs call for, as well as the field design math is proving difficult to find and to apply, Dr. Ryder. We just need some time to-" One of the engineers started.
Petrovsky, one she highly suspected of being behind the unauthorized changes.
"You already have the field design math implemented. Its in the design schematics given to you. As far as the material, cost isn't an issue when our survival is at stake so shut up, stop changing things unnecessarily and do your damn job, Petrovsky. If I find one more unauthorized change, i'll pull whoever did it off the team and have them thrown in military prison for treason. Am I Clear?!"
"Crystal, Dr. Ryder." Petrovsky said through gritted teeth.
"Good, get back to it. Oh and Petrovsky, you're on the coking cleanup."
Petrovsky grimaces as he leaves, and Jess sits down, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Looking over the test results for 15 to 23, something wasn't adding up to her. Just when they chased down one problem, another popped up in a system that previously was fine. At first she just attributed it to Gremlins, but after the last two test, she couldn't help the thought of sabotage entering her mind. 'No one in their right mind though would jeopardize this, everyone knows this is critical to Terra defense.'
Not one to take chances, Jess tapped her office communicator, switching to a secure line she called M.P.I.S. Military Police Investigative Squad. She didn't get the chance to say what she wanted to before Petrovsky walked back into her office, held up a gauss gun, which he shouldn't have had access to, and fired. Jessie's world began to fade to black as she looked down to see her blue shirt and lab coat being stained with her own blood.
"W-Why.." Was all she was able to ask before collapsing.