"Be safe on liberty, Commander."

"Oh don't worry about me, you boys and girls try not to get too bored... and let me know if someone beats my record for Cloaken shot put."

"Sure thing sir."

Jerry strides away from the Dauntless and resists the temptation to whistle as he walks. He'd waited weeks for this. He'd been carefully planning it since before they left Earth.

It was finally time.

Everything he’d worked for. Everything he’d prepared.

In a special bag that blocked all transmissions lay what he considered one of the greatest treasure troves off Earth.

It wasn’t anything as tawdry as normal wealth.

No. It was genetic wealth. The genetic wealth of an entire world.

It had all started when he’d lost Togo, his faithful American Alsatian. He’d had his loyal friend’s genome sequenced and had been looking into what was a painfully expensive, if not outright impossible, process of cloning Togo.

Then the message from the stars had arrived.

It brought back all the wonder he’d had for scifi when he was a boy, watching the original Star Trek on the floor of his Grandfather’s living room. At first he’d wondered if there might not be something out there that could let him clone Togo more easily. Then as he went through the process to apply for what would become the Dauntless project, he realized he wasn't thinking big enough.

Not just one dog. All dogs. And other companions and animals besides. It didn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar. A frivolity perhaps… but it was something that to Jerry, defined humanity. Sending animals through the months of enforced zero g required to escape cruel space would have been beyond cruel, but genetic code could be safely stored on a hard drive.

With his new self granted mandate he'd gone to work.

It had been an expensive project. He'd had to fly across the entire span of the world, even to a remote lab in Siberia. Then to some of the specialist preservation projects, raiding their data for human companions and some choice livestock.

The livestock had been a stroke of genius after hearing that a company out of Washington state was producing cloned beef on a massive scale. If they could clone a dog, surely the aliens could do that better too right? Of course, he’d also realized after the fact humans were going to colonize worlds in the wider galaxy if everything worked out, and had felt damn stupid at coming to the right conclusion from a slightly hairbrained angle.

Still. He’d gotten everything he could data wise to aid in his quest. Veterinary manuals. Guides on the production of certain kinds of meat. The whole nine yards.

Getting the hardened drive that he'd stored numerous species and breeds worth of animals' genetic code on made had been a massive expenditure in and of itself.

But it was all worth it.

It was all paying off.

The files had been easily transferred into a galactic standard media storage tool, he’d even found specialized software for organizing genetic information online, and it had imported the data he had without a hitch. He’d done some initial scouting a few weeks ago, made a phone call or two…

Then he’d let the egg heads do the rest of the heavy lifting. He’d read numerous science and recon reports. He browsed them all every morning with his coffee. As a commander for one of the elite special forces units of the Dauntless, he had plenty of clearance, so it was just a matter of not going off half cocked.

He doubted he'd get guff over this... but not only would this be good for humans, if he did it right, it'd also be his retirement plan once his fresh term of service to what was now the Undaunted, was finished. Jerry shakes his head, remembering what Admiral Cistern had just dropped on all of them. It made sense of course. As a representative he had no power, but now, Admiral Cistern had a nation at his back. Earth had a polity in the wider galaxy. One that was united and stood for all of humanity.

Though amusingly, from what he’d seen of their new recruiting policies humans were going to be a minority in their own stellar nation in no time. Still. If they were willing to serve, and follow the creed of self mastery that Cistern had laid out… well. Why not? The more the merrier, especially when there were barely more than five thousand humans off Earth.

Jerry hopped on a sky bus, and generally tried to keep to himself, using a few tricks for undercover scouting missions body language wise to try and be hard to pick out to start with. Hard on Centris for a man without a literal disguise, but he did what he could.

He'd put on actual cologne and some serious deodorant to keep his pheromones somewhat under control. He didn't want too much attention from the various gorgeous alien women walking around. Not that he was against the idea, but he was a man on a mission, and bringing dogs, cats and other human companions to the wider galaxy meant more to him than getting an alien girlfriend.

He had quite a ways to travel, across half of the city world to a distant spire. It wasn't the closest cloning business on the planet, but it was a boutique specialist in rapid cloning as opposed to the more industrial scale cloning that seemed to be closer to the where the Dauntless was berthed. Plus, it had come recommended to him, and he’d found nothing that struck him as a better option than Ms. Miren’s suggestion.

When he arrives he’s happy to find it’s as upscale as the Rabbis woman had said it was. The main room is slick, clean, almost medical. Lots of smooth lines, white, and chrome. What art and decor there is, is all inspired by DNA... and not everything in the galaxy has a double helix, even a dumb grunt can understand that from the images around.

Jerry looks around, appreciating the decor as the proprietress comes out from the back. His eyebrows raise slightly as he recognizes the lush orange, white and black fur over the jaw dropping curves of a healthy alien woman. A Volpir!

She was sheathed in a gorgeous silk dress with long kimono style sleeves that seemed to give the impression that she had wings. Jerry suspected she’d be gorgeous in just about anything, but the dress pushed her into down right angelic territory. The insanely busty fox woman slinks over to him, delicately placing a jeweled plug in her nose, as she greets him.

Sylindra

It had been a normal day on Centris, which is to say painfully frustrating, incredibly busy but overall very, very profitable. Sylindra’s cloning services were in frequent demand, and her life was in a solid routine that let her live very comfortably on one of the most expensive planets in the galaxy. Why with a little bit more wealth, she’d be able to start properly hunting for a marriage to join. Maybe even have the leverage to be first wife if she could make the right connections, and more importantly, meet the right man!

That thought was plenty to motivate her. She’d always been a take charge kind of woman, ever since she was a kit. She could cooperate… but she had the skills, and the attitude, so why shouldn’t she lead the way forward? And the right man. Her mother had been very serious about instructing her daughters in what they should go about looking for in a potential spouse. She bid her daughters to seek out a true partner. A chance perhaps even for love. A dream? Maybe.

Love was a pipe dream for even some of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the galaxy. A marriage out of reach for so many more. That didn’t deter her in the slightest. Afterall, her cloning business has been a dream once. Living on Centris had been a dream once. She was a woman who accomplished her dreams. Why not dream of being first wife to a man who could love her like something out of a romance novel?

It was a very comfortable plan for the next few years of her life, but sometimes, especially on a world like Centris, change comes at you quickly. Change like a man from a new species of alien she’d heard about on the news just walking off her tri vid projector and through her front door!

Quickly, she fits her nose piece, a special pheromone blocker that helped her control the ‘worst’ nature of her species. Volpir pheromone sensitivity was less famous and more infamous. Syl had always despised that. It was, at best, weak, and to actually force one’s way into a marriage based on that! Some girls on her home world did it intentionally! Disgusting behavior.

"Welcome my dear. My apologies about the nose piece, but I try to be polite with men, my kind... we... have a reputation you see."

"Yes, I've heard that Volpir can be sensitive to pheromones, thank you kindly for your manners, madam...?"

"Sylindra. But you can call me Syl, all the handsome human men I know do."

Just because she didn’t like being a slave to her own biological inclination to imprint on a man didn’t mean she didn’t like the rest of what she was seeing here as she subtly looked the man up and down, trying to keep herself from purring. Mature. In a wonderful way. With such a… Robust, was the word that came to mind. A robust shape.

From the silver in his hair, which appeared to be a sign of aging, the light color of his almost gray eyes, the slight hint of stubble on his chin. She could tell at a glance he had a body chiseled from stone under his thin shirt and light leather jacket. It all added up in such a way that she almost wanted to purr like a Feli or Panseros.

He almost reminded her of a Tret musician she’d had a crush on as a teenager, and this human was certainly making her feel like she was a teenager again. His eyes alone! She suppresses a little shudder, keeping her smile light and cheery as he responds.

"Alright Syl. How many is that by the way? Human men you know I mean."

"Just you so far. So you are... you know, human?"

Jerry nods slowly. "That's right, I'm an officer on the Dauntless, just a soldier, nothing too exciting. Jeremiah Bridger, you can call me Jerry if you like."

Syl nods slowly, she wasn’t one to complain, but she had to admit that she wasn’t entirely sure what would bring him to her. Unless he’d fallen in love with her from afar? She quickly squashes that foolish thought as something that only happened in vids.

"Well I appreciate your custom of course... but what can I do for you?"

"You can clone... just about anything right?"

"Yes, I offer comprehensive cloning services. I mostly do high end meat for discerning "vegan" clients that won't eat meat from living beings. But occasionally we do something a bit more special relating to fertility. All to a higher end clientele as I said. My customers include some of the most senior ambassadors and ministers on the planet, along with major CEOs and the like."

"Yes, the reviews I could find were all absolutely glowing."

Jerry smiles at the vulpine alien and she feels her heart skip a beat or two. He had a crooked half smile that seemed to promise all manner of trouble for her... but the fun kind of trouble that younger women liked to fantasize about... Trouble that seemed pretty damn appealing to Syl at the moment.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I have a business proposition for you."

"Not the type of proposition I was hoping for but do go on."

The response rolled off her tongue before she even knew she’d said it, and she could only pray he took it as a joke, something she played off with a delicate laugh into her hand.

The charming alien man laughs for a moment, a real laugh, clearly taking her statement as a joke and letting her let out the softest sigh of relief.

"I suspect you’ll like this type too. Do you have an office? This conversation will involve some sensitive data that I won't want to share with all of Centris."

“Of course, please follow me!”

Syl quickly leads him into the back, her tail brushing around his ankles. Her Kohb nurse is attending to one of the cloning vats, this one was a special order, eggs for a customer who had gone barren but didn't believe in healing comas.

Nadi’s eyes widen and her jaw drops at the sight of the man.

She notices that Jerry too stops at the sight of the tiny reptilian woman in a nurse’s uniform for a moment, considering her before smiling and continuing to follow in her wake.

"Handle the front Nadi, I'm with a client. Or is potential partner the correct term?"

"Client for now. For sure I'm going to have a commission for you provided you can clone living beings."

"We wouldn't be much of a cloning facility if we couldn’t, but please, step into my office and make yourself comfortable."

Jerry

Her office was a warm, welcoming place, sensible if she also did fertility counseling in here, Jerry thought to himself. That could be a very sensitive subject on a good day. In a galaxy where women were even more obsessed with the concept to the point of having whole religions dedicated to having children, he couldn't begin to imagine what coming up barren would be like if healing comas weren't an option.

As they take their respective seats, he reaches into his bag and pulls out the near bomb proof storage system with its integrated holo display that was loaded with an incredible amount of genetic information. Part of his archiving during the transfer into the Galactic software architecture had been importing the system of icons he’d created to indicate what's what at a glance, GUIs weren't anything special, but his DNA archive was likely the only one with such a feature.

The holo display flashes into being and Jerry reaches out and begins to slowly scroll, displaying row after row of Terran wildlife.

"What are all these?" Her jaw drops slightly as the screen slowly moves through the mass of animals. Clearly impressed at the sheer volume of animals as hundreds of different species or breeds are shown to her.

"Animals from Earth, mostly pets and companion animals. We couldn't bring any with us out of Cruel Space, the extended period of zero gravity would have been horrible for them. So I thought I'd do the next best thing.”

Jerry points to a Siamese Cat icon.

“For example, cats, small feline predators that more or less domesticated themselves... and dogs, like this one over here…”

Jerry scrolls to a Golden Retriever icon, then clicks it to expand the cheerful ‘smiling’ face for Syl to see.

“Dogs are a domesticated form of a pack hunting canine called a wolf. Those are the two big ones, and a lot of people are really missing their presence in our lives in the wider galaxy, me included."

The screen flashes through a variety of images of various types of cat and dog.

"Some of the larger animals aren't much use on Centris, but things like cows are raised for meat. I’ve heard that it’s quite popular to produce just meat with cloning tanks, in fact I believe that’s your specialty. So with your cloning tanks, we could potentially go into business producing Earth meats like beef, the meat of cows..." He displays an image of the animal in question.

"Oh, like a mammalian Lanrak!"

"Right, quite similar save for not being what I understand to be a giant lizard. Beef and other animal meat could be produced in small batches, which would let us set the price however we please really. Personally I think we keep it fair, especially since it'll be made to order. Just like the pets. I even have some very specific DNA samples and data to produce very special meats like "Wagyu".

"What is Wagyu?" Syl cocks her head slightly.

"A very expensive kind of beef back home, it's not just how it's born, it's how it's raised, specifically how the fat marbles on the meat over time, but I have DNA samples and detailed composition notes, images... we should potentially be able to replicate its structure."

"Yes, theoretically that's all quite doable, they wouldn't be able to handle it at a larger production rate, but here I should be able to make it work. What about the others, the companion animals? Or the... these ones here? The big ones. Are they for meat too? They look kind of like the beef ones."

"Well for the companions obviously we'd be producing live animals, made to order to customer specification. No need to keep a breeding stock, though I have enough genetic variation in the various strains that a viable breeding population could be created. Those big ones though... Those are called horses, and they'd be something we'd need to work out how to produce."

"Why's that? Just looking at them compared to the cows, size isn't an issue, we have some larger tanks downstairs."

"It's transit that's the real issue, horses are grazing and herd animals and aren't really suited to city living. My thought with them was that humans could put them to work on our new colony worlds. Or if their services for work aren't needed, we could retain a form of recreation that a lot of our species enjoys. There also might be a call for their meat, but with things like beef on tap, I suspect that will be a very limited request."

"Maybe from galactic customers. Terran delicacies are becoming all the rage, and many carnivores and omnivores delight in trying rare new things."

"Well in that case horse meat has a reputation for almost being sweet. So that might in fact be quite popular."

Sylindra clasps her hands and leans in a bit, showing off some of her cleavage and letting her get a bit closer to Jerry over her desk.

"Alright, I'm on board, but let's skip down to the bottom line shall we? I'm a businesswoman first and foremost after all and I noticed that "us" earlier. No one does something for nothing. What do you want for this boon of genetic material?"

"I want a full partnership, half stake or equity in the company assuming you have no outside investors and haven't given any equity to your nurse. I’m prepared to put up credits as part of my stake if you think this isn’t valuable enough."

"No, I'm the sole owner... but it seems that's going to be changing, no need for extra credits when you’ve essentially bought me a license to print them, especially if human meats catch on here on Centris... you say you're just a soldier?"

"Well to be fair I'm an officer as well, but yes, I was a special kind of soldier called a Marine before the call for the Dauntless's crew came out. I led men then, and I lead men now."

"I see, well I think you'll be an objective boon to my business, even without opening me up to what appears to be a very lucrative market. By the way, you said you had a special commission for me first?"

Jerry's eyes moisten a moment. "Ah... yes. Just before I left Earth, my dog passed away, Togo. He was a majestic old beast, and he lived quite a long time. I don't want a clone of Togo, but rather I'd like to create his daughter."

Jerry manipulates the device for a moment and the image of another breed of dog flashes up, letting Sylindra take a good look at it.

"A gorgeous creature, its tail is almost as lush as mine, what type is that one?"

"The breed is called an American Alsatian, they're bred to resemble wolves, but have the kind of personality and temperament you'd expect from a house pet. Gentle giants."

"Give me the data for the daughter of Togo my dear, this one is on the house. I..." Suddenly something catches Sylindra's eye on the display. "Oh, what's that one?" She waggles a finger at a somewhat familiar orange, black and white coat passing by on the display.

"Oh that one?"

Jerry taps it, and it expands to show a variety of coat variations all modeled on a cartoon version of a very familiar looking four legged animal.

"Vulpes Familiaries, the domesticated red fox. Came out of a Russian program that started around a century ago."

"I don't know what a Russian is, but that looks quite a bit like a Volpir... Now that I think about it, some of these animals, the dogs, are even similar to Lopen! Never mind the cats that could easily double for Felis or Panseros. And these are all beloved companions of humanity?"

"Pretty much. What’s a Panseros?"

"I’ll show you later, but Goddess, no wonder you humans apparently have such strong xenophilic tendencies according to the news, you've been bonding with what look like many species precursors for thousands of years!"

"Some of that’s just a natural consequence of men trapped away from women for what felt like a very long time, and the galactic community embracing humanity, literally and figuratively so readily. That said, there's a lot of art of vulpine women back home actually, some of it from way back in humanity's past, and more recent stuff. In fiction, and in some nation's mythology, fox or half fox women are known to be some of the most beautiful in all the world and heavens, and even serve as messengers for the gods."

Sylindra preens herself a bit before giving him a sultry look. "And how do I stack up to your myths Mr. Bridger?"

"Better than any fantasy I've ever had about a fox woman to be certain."

Syl

That he might have never had a fantasy about a fox woman before was besides the point, and nothing Sylindra cared about really. The way he had said it lit parts of her body on fire, pheromones or no damn pheromones! Sylindra took a deep, steadying breath, resisting pouncing over her desk to… do something! Kiss him! Hold him! Get him to bend her over her desk and- Syl stops, calming herself just a bit. Really though. She couldn’t just let this stand. She could take a lot, but such aggressive flirting from a man even! It was a bit feminine of him, but from Jeremiah she found it very appealing.

Sylindra rose quietly.

“I’m terribly sorry Jerry, can you please excuse me for a moment?”

“Not at all. I’m happy to take all the time in the world with you.”

Syl’s heart flutters again, and she tries to calmly extricate herself from her own office. Really. There was only one thing to do. It was clear as crystal. A brand new plan. All she had to do… was take what was being offered to her with both hands.

She firmly closes the door, and calls out for her assistant.

"Nadi!"

The Kohb nurse sprints over. "Yes ma'am!"

"You're not married, correct?"

The Kohb nods sadly. "Unlikely to be for some time too, my clan's not had much luck in marriage negotiations, and that tends to be how we end up wed. Most men don't seek out Kohbs it seems."

"Well these humans are supposed to be different. Jeremiah has made a significant business proposition. Essentially he'd be a full partner in a new business that's as much a pet store as a cloning service."

The Kohb smiles brightly "Oh! That would be fun! I always liked animals as a girl."

"He said humans love their pets, and we'd likely get very steady business from the humans. Especially as they continue to expand and bring more of their people out of Cruel Space. The only downside is we might need to relocate at some point, but that's an issue for later. I've decided I'm taking his deal."

"Very good ma'am!"

"I've also decided I don't want him as a business partner the normal way. I'm going to close the store, put on some lingerie and I'm getting a husband."

The Volpir vixen pulls the decorative blocker from her nostrils and tosses the piece of embellished gold over her shoulder.

"It's probably part of his plan, it's all in that damned smile of his, I know it! But I don't care, he's handsome, smart, and has an admirable passion for pets and people alike. Once I'm done, I'll convince him to add you to the marriage. The three of us are in this together."

Nadi practically vibrates herself into the air with the brightest, toothiest grin the lizard woman can possibly manage.

"I'll handle everything out here ma'am... or should I call you sister now?"

"Wait till I've sealed the deal. Go get him a beverage and ask him to wait for me for a few moments. I need to freshen up. After that… go home for the night. Tomorrow… I suspect things will be very busy. In all sorts of ways. Especially if we’re going to really seize this market."

“At once ma’am!”

Sylindra strides through a door with a dna scanner lock on it and all but runs upstairs to her apartment, already mentally selecting the lingerie that would best highlight her charms.

“Humans are supposed to like people who are direct with them. Straight shooters. I can do that. Yes. That shouldn’t be an issue at all. I just need to be direct, show him why having me as a wife is even better than just a business partner. Hmmm.”

She needed some serious battle panties for this job. After all, his deal promised to make her a fairly wealthy woman in its own right... It'd be even better if all of their income was going into the same account.

Plus there was that damn smile of his.

Her tail swishes as she hums to herself, deciding if she wants to change her make up at all, when the thought crosses her mind; She might need to get some of her sisters in on this!

"Just you wait Jeremiah, I'm going to make you another offer you wouldn't dream of refusing. Then we're going to make enough money that I can buy us a nice planet to retire on and raise all the kits I'm going to have you rut into me."

The Volpir smiles to herself in the mirror, yes everything was going along swimmingly.