For better or worse, her room on the new ship was similar to the first.

It didn’t have as much space, Ship A giving her so much room she could have floated around on the ceiling if she wanted. Ship B, by contrast, was perfectly panther-sized with a small bed and a dresser to store all her clothes. Not that she had many to begin with. A few tank tops, some shorts, and a wide assortment of sweaters were all she needed. Anything else would get in the way if in a fight, though she did have her white cloak hanging by the bed for a special occasion.

“We're standing here with Captain Mercury, proud member of the AIC and savior to many. Captain, do you have any words to share for the frightened people at home?”

The commander grinned. "It's actually Admiral Mercury, now. And to the people at home, I have only this to say."

He put a hand over his chest, his voice rising as he spoke through the monitor.

“Worry not, dear citizens. These monsters are tough, but they're no match for the AIC. As long as we remain, we will protect and serve every last one of you. And there isn't a force in the cosmos that'll keep us from that.”

He waved his hand as he said this, cheers erupting from the crowd amassed just beyond the camera. Sasha rolled her eyes, picking up the remote the change the channel. It was bad enough the guy took credit for the planet SHE saved. Now he acted like he was some kind of superhero. If she wanted to see that kind of stuff, there were hundreds of other programs she could watch. Though the monitor was still new to her, she'd already found two shows she liked thanks to Cici and Gabriella.

Unfortunately, the downtime was interrupted by the intercom sounding above her head.

“Alright, crew, heads up,” Mr. Xan called. “We’re touching down on Frostum now. Sasha, get your tail in gear.”

She looked out her window, spotting a sphere of white surrounded by asteroids. An icy world as abysmal as it sounded.

According to her commpad, the place was a frozen tundra with Class-G levels of gravity. Originally, it was a barren landscape, but as more travelers stumbled upon it, Frostum started to develop its own cold-empowered ecosystem. Of which Sasha was sure would not include her. Just looking at the clouds of snow as their ship descended gave Sasha the shivers.

But this was where Iris's signals were leading them. And if Iris could handle it, she could too. She braced herself.

Alright, Sasha. Time to go wolf hunting.

She grabbed the nearest sweater and one of the few pairs of jeans she owned.

***

The cold hit her like a truck the minute the hatch opened.

"Holy cripes!"

She grabbed her body, the shivers running through her fur down to the bone. Even her blood felt like it was getting frozen in place. No way anyone managed to live in a place like this. She clung to Mr. Erin.

“Oh my god! My whiskers! I can't feel my whiskers! Mr. Erin, I wanna go home. My fur.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He patted her over the head. “You’ll have to endure it, Sasha. Our space suits are limited. But I’m sure your body will adapt. If worse comes to worse, this place should have some manner of creature we can strip for warmth.”

"Can't you just light a fire with your wand or something?"

"Not without kindling."

"Ugh!"

She pulled away, rubbing her hands together. It didn't help that she felt like a log with the extra gravity on her shoulders. Or that there was a constant hail of snow from above.

As they tracked through the heavy sheets, she felt particles accumulating around her helmet. Even if it kept the elements from reaching her head, the rest of her had to endure the frostbite and nose chills with little more than a small pink sweater. Mr. Erin managed to trek along with his jacket vest, but she had to activate her field just to get a few moments of feeling again.

Goddess, if you're there, please give me some warmth. I swear, I'll never take a hot bath for granted again.

She sneezed, rubbing her nose with a sleeve.

Dangit. Why did Iris have to come here? Why couldn't she go to a sauna or something?

She stared up at the sky, the light of the sun buried under several inches of cloud. Despite having been walking for what felt like hours, she'd spotted no signs of people or fauna. She did see a few round plants that seemed to open up as they passed, but Mr. Erin made sure to pull her away. They all closed up as the duo left.

"Hmm?"

Mr. Erin finally stopped, Sasha halting beside him.

"What the?"

They both stared at the giant source of Iris's signals. After a very long and chilling journey, they were finally face-to-face with their target. A ship. One that laid partially broken in the snow, the command deck clearly visible beyond the broken glass and machinery. As was the entrance to the engineering hold, the rest burrowing into the snow.

Mr. Erin put a hand on her shoulder.

"This doesn't mean anything yet, Sasha," he said.

"Y-yeah. Right."

She looked across the ship's faded silver frame. As she touched the metal, an image appeared before her.

She could see people waddling through the snow, some collapsing in exhaustion. Others were outright crying. They all sported similar uniforms made of hardy brown material, star-shaped logos embalmed across their chests. As the images faded, Sasha scanned across the ship's wreckage, finding the same logo on a broken-off wing jutting from the ground.

“Can you see anything?” Mr. Erin asked.

Sasha nodded, flexing her hand.

“People,” she said. “They looked scared and tired. I think they might have crashed here by accident."

“I see. What about your friend?"

She shook her head. If she could, she'd summon the images again to check, but that wasn't how the visions usually worked.

It was still a mystery why it happened. How when she touched certain objects, she could see events transpiring around them. They always felt so real, like she could reach out and touch the ones she saw. But they never lasted long. And even when she'd told her liaisons about it, neither could tell her why it occurred. She sighed, shoving her hands back in her pockets.

Mr. Erin kneeled over the wreckage, his gaze shifting to the broken wing.

"Any idea what that means?" she asked.

"Probably some civilian company. This place isn't high on the AIC's priority list."

He wiped away the snow, examining the star-shaped symbol more closely. There were faded letters underneath, but they weren't in any language Sasha understood. The weasel finally shook his head, pulling out his commpad.

“C’mon," he said. "We should do a wider investigation. We might learn more about who these people are. And why your friend was with them.”

Sasha nodded. “Right.”

She could still sense Iris’s signals all over the ship. Whatever had happened, the wolf had stuck around for a while. How recently, though, was hard to tell from sensing alone. She pulled out her commpad as well.

“Lead the way, Mr. Erin," she said, following him inside.