Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil-Human Partnership Program Participant

Date [standardized human time]: August 25th, 2136. Midday

"Ahem"

My eyes snapped open as I flung myself against the opposite wall. Somehow, that stars-cursed, silent human opened the door without either of us knowing. Paralyzed with fear, I could hear Maeve stutter through an explanation, "W-We, uh- I-It’s not-"

"Please come in." The man did not yell, but his voice rumbled through my snout and down the hall. With myself frozen in place, Maeve reached out to take my paw and guide me inside. "Have a seat, please." The man gestured to two seats in front of a wide desk.

The desk was a shared workspace; the human took his seat on the left, while a male Venlil remained seated on the right. "I'm Barry, and this is Borven," Borven flicked a welcome, "we are the liaisons for the exposure program. Do you know why we have called you here?"

Maeve spoke up while I was busy hyperventilating, "I can assume, sirs, but I would like to hear it from you, if you please," Maeve had assumed a… posture that I haven't seen from her before. She sat tall, while also making herself smaller; her eyes wide with unbreaking contact to the man at the desk. She must have been terrified.

Borven spoke up this time, "We noticed that you were one of the first pairs to leave the mess hall after news of the attack, before the incident involving ensign Baudelaire. We are wondering if you have any additional information you would like to share?"

Maeve and I sat in silence for a moment, both of us expecting a very different conversation. Finding my voice, I answered, "N-No sir. Maeve made the call to leave after the notice. I asked later, and she told me that such terrible news may cause a fight, so she brought us to safety."

"Is that right, Maeve?" Barry asked, letting his voice amplify his presence.

Maeve nodded nervously, then added, "We stopped in the hallway, and we saw a patrol going to the Mess, that's all we know."

"Do you have anyone to corroborate your account?" Barry enquired.

"No, sir. Valek and I tend to keep to ourselves, but I can give you the times we left and entered our room, and that would match with camera records." Maeve's posture relaxed. It seems this was a routine investigation of the commotion we heard as we left.

"I would appreciate that, Maeve," Barry spoke while Borven typed at their station, "you should be receiving a report template to your pad in a moment, please fill that out and submit it as soon as you can, including the times you mentioned. Besides that, you are excused; we apologize for taking your time."

"Thank you, sirs." Maeve got up to move, but I saw an opportunity,

"Maeve." I whispered, motioning for her to sit back down. Nervously, she followed, and I motioned for her to continue. "Valek and I would…" She looked to me for encouragement, so I tried a human smile, which she returned in kind, "We would like to continue the program."

The two men waited, Barry glancing between us, one eyebrow raised. Borven flicked his tail expectantly.

"Indefinitely." I added.

Barry tried to hide a smirk, but Borven was more surprised, "We could hardly keep you from continuing contact. What are you asking?"

Getting Maeve's attention, I held out my paw for hers, and she reciprocated. "I would like to host Maeve at my home on Venlil Prime, if she would join me."

Barry broke into a wide grin, behind which a mischievous cackle creaked through his teeth.

"Sun-scorched sonuva…" Borven mumbled and handed a pawful of colored steel rounds to Barry, which I later learned were poker chips.

"Don't worry Borven, you'll win one eventually." Barry jibed while adding the chips to a drawer, audibly clinking against his previous winnings. "Look, no one needs to talk about why you two want to move in together, it's none of our business. But there has been talk of a 3rd step: Integration." I perked up at that! So it is possible! "I'm going to give you the contact to the Lead Empathy Scientist on the station. They will have access to your test results and get the ball rolling." Barry finished, before handing a note to Maeve.

Borven interjected, "Valek? Are you sure you want to do this? Best case scenario, your request is approved, and now Maeve lives among strangers who fear her, on a world that exhausts her, unable to eat something her body demands. This is not an easy road! And that's totally ignoring the fact that we don't know what Maeve is capable of! You could be in real danger!"

That wasn't fair, they didn't know her! My ears back, I was about to tell them off, but Maeve squeezed my paw. She would speak for herself, "Strangers are friends yet to be made. As to the gravity, you're right there will be an adjustment period, but humans are exceptionally adaptable. As for food, I have greatly enjoyed Venlil cuisine while on the station, but if there are any nutrients I'm missing, humans have developed supplements for everything we need; technically a human could live on pills alone. I think this is worth trying, and I would be thrilled if I were the first, or the last; just as long as it happens."

My mane and scruff swelled with pride at her words; my ears swiveled to Borven, "I know exactly what Maeve is capable of. Yes, I'm sure."

Borven's body language was a combination of disappointment with a healthy dose of 'not my herd to lead' before he motioned that we were excused.

Once we were back in the corridor, we could finally breathe easy; catching each other's eye, we started giggling at the fear that brought us here, but I was glad to talk to someone about us staying together. Walking down the hall, I apologized for springing the idea of hosting on her, but Maeve was glad of my invitation, and was herself struggling to ask if I would welcome her. We both bloomed in our own way, thinking about life on the farm.

“While we are up here we should check on the lead scientist; the position is admin so it should be on this floor, too.” Maeve checked her pad and found the contact information.

Hello, my name is Maeve, Barry gave me your contact. I was wondering if we could talk about what he called the next step, Integration?

We decided to wander while we waited for a response, Maeve busying herself with the incident report. This section of the station was decidedly not of Venlil make. Hard lines and right angles made full use of every centimeter. Tough cloth ran the length of the corridor, only emphasizing the oppressive silence. Every few meters was another door, many but not all accompanied by placards. And the far distance curved to one side, hinting at the circular structure of the station. After several minutes, Maeve’s pad pinged a response.

Hello, Maeve! Barry told me about you two. We are looking for volunteers for a test program, so this is great news. I see you have already completed the Empathy test, with very good results. I would like to talk in more detail. Can you meet me in Suite 4182?

On our way.

At this point we had just passed 4082, so we were on the other half of the ring. Having finished her report, Maeve caught my eye, “I’ll race you there!” and she took off in a sprint. Finding my grip on the carpet, I bounded forward, quickly overtaking her, while we giggled at the game. I had passed 4118 before my legs started burning, and I heard pounding steps behind me. Maeve was quickly gaining on me, and I tried to push for more, but my well had run dry. My heart pounding and breath heavy, I slowed to a stop, and Maeve came to a slow trot beside me. A glowing smile from cheek to cheek.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"You look barely winded! How far can a human run??"

"Me personally? I've done a few 5k's, and had fun; that's, uh, 5 kilometers. But some humans specialize, and can run for hundreds, even low thousands of klicks, over several days."

"What!?" I exclaimed between labored breaths, "Why!?"

"That's actually a fun one! I'll tell you another time. C'mon, we can catch our breath before getting there."

With our slower pace, it took several more minutes before reaching the Lead Scientist's office, but we had thankfully caught our breath by then. Stepping inside, we were greeted by a diminutive bright white Venlil, the tip of her ears only reaching my chest, and equally small in all other respects. Her yellow eyes, bright as a sunbeam, shined through the dimly lit room.

"Hello!" She called excitedly, "I'm Professor Tarva ; no relation. You must be Valek," I flipped my ears in acknowledgement, "and Maeve!" Who returned a timid hello, "oh don't be scared! I know I'm a little more energetic than the average Venlil. Please forgive the lighting, I'm none too fond of brightness. So! What's this about Integration?"

Her office was smaller than Barry and Borven’s, but her size made it proportional, though the abundance of rolling stepstools and cushions was a notable difference. She offered us the only two chairs in front of her human-sized desk, which she nimbly climbed and occupied a cushion atop it.

Having spent no small amount of our recovery walk agonizing over how to best present our case, I spoke first. "We feel that our friendship sets a golden example for Human and Venlil relations, and I would like to host Maeve in my home on Venlil Prime."

Ears back, tail tuft wagging, Tarva didn't like that. "Ooo, a human in civilian lodging on VP? And you're from…" she shifted some papers to her side, "the Grove? Buncha farmers out there, they won't like it. Why do you think this is worth risking an incident?"

I spoke up quickly. I've had this conversation before, it was just like haggling our starberries; though I've never had to haggle for freedoms before. "Whatever risk exists, I believe it is less than the value gained by early scientific information of a Human and Venlil living together."

I had barely finished my sentence before Tarva had another flaw in my argument ready, "We already have Human and Venlil cohabitating on bases and in the Gubernatorial Complex. Why shouldn't we put you there?"

"You have humans living apart from Venlil. They don't see our culture, eat our food, talk to our people. Letting Maeve live in a real home in a real town will show us how Humans can integrate into Venlil society."

"And why would we need to integrate? Humans are weapons of war against the Arxur, nothing more, nothing less. Why would we need them on VP, especially once we win?"

I had never seen a Venlil like this before. She couldn't have predator disease, she doesn't have that… off feeling. But every moment of this -- this -- interrogation has been an attack!

But I refused to back down, this will work. "It's no secret that the Exposure program has been a glowing success. I personally know a dozen Venlil on Bleat that have every wish to continue contact. Humans will integrate with Venlil, which means we need to be prepared. Maeve and I can be the litmus test."

Tarva was clearly enjoying this, so she went for the throat, "Then why should we choose You? If the Program is such a success, we would be swimming in requests just like yours! Why should we choose You over the hypothetical Them?"

My breath caught in my throat. It hadn't occurred to me there would be so much demand for this, but she had a point. Based on what I've seen on Bleat and in the Forums, more than half of the Venlil that participated want to keep contact, and I'm sure we couldn't be the only ones to stay friends or more.

"Because," Maeve spoke up from beside me, barely a whimper, "you've already decided who your early subjects are. And Valek and I are on the short list."

Tarva squealed with undisguised glee, her tail thrashing behind her, "There she is! You've got a sharp one, Valek! How did you know?"

Maeve took a deep breath before answering, "Barry and Borven already knew about… us; they made a wager based on what we said. It sounded like they were betting who invited who, and Valek was the one who asked to host me. I'm betting you have a long list of Venlil wanting to serve with human soldiers, and a shorter list of Venlil going to earth. But those Venlil were invited by their Human partner. If there is a list of a Venlil inviting a Human to Venlil Prime, I think we are the only name." By now Maeve was leaning on the armrest of her chair, this exchange clearly exhausted her.

"The only name invited to a rural town. We actually have a healthy pawful that would live in the larger cities, with larger off-world populations, but you're the only ones in such a small town. There will be conditions, of course, and the locals will not be kind. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

I looked at Maeve. She was so tired, but she still looked at me with all the love her eyes could carry, and I could feel myself blooming under the weight of it. We nodded together, then answered "Yes." as one.

"Fantastic!" Tarva declared with the same unbridled enthusiasm she has held for this entire meeting. "You're on the next resupply back to VP. Shouldn't be more than a couple sleeps. Hope you enjoyed the station, cuz you're going home!"

‐‐‐

On our return back to the room, Maeve fell forward onto the bottom bunk with an exhausted sigh, all of her energy sucked out by the surprise interrogation. Believing she needed comfort, I sat next to her on the bed and, remembering she mentioned back pain being common among humans, brushed my paw between her shoulders. My remembrance was rewarded by a contented hum I could feel reverberating through her ribcage.

Maeve rolled over beneath my hand, taking it in hers. She held my paw close to herself, pressing the pads and moving the fingers. I winced when she encouraged a claw from its sheath, at which she quickly loosened her grip. After seeing I did not pull away, she pulled my paw to her face and pressed her lips against the offending claw. The predatory action caused my ears to flutter, whether from fear or not I couldn't tell.

She played with my hand idly, before asking, "How do Venlil… show affection?"

After thinking for a moment, I answered, "Our tails do most of the talking, but where no words exist, they tend to find each other. We also enjoy grooming each other," taking her hand in my paw, I ran the tip of my tongue over the top of her hand, "And many times nuzzling," placing that same hand to my snout, and continued, "is seen as very intimate."

Her free hand brought my other paw up to her face, and she rested her cheek against it. She gently brushed my snout, before following my jaw and drifting down my neck, winding her fingers through my wool, then stroking the skin hot with passion beneath. "Humans," she croaked, as if not ready to speak. Clearing her throat, she began again, "Humans like to use parts of our bodies that are sensitive, like our hands, but also our lips, and…" She took my paw in hers and I felt a soft wetness on my center pad, sending another shiver through me, "We tend to bathe ourselves in the sensation of our lover; touch, sight, scent, and even taste. And… I'm worried that most of it will be frightening to you."

I moved to lie with her, supporting myself on my elbow. Taking her hand in my paw, I spoke gently, "Maeve… you constantly surprise me, in the most wonderful ways, and I am always excited to be surprised by you. But I won't fear you. You've taught me that what we are, is what we choose; not what we feel. And even if I feel the need to run, I will choose to come back to you. Every time."

Maeve reached out to me, and I to her, and we entangled ourselves in each other. I could feel my bloom deepening as she pressed her lips to my velvet, and I could see her color rising as my paw traced her side.

"And what do your senses tell you, Maeve?"

Licking her lips, she whispered, "I can see you're enjoying this as much as I am. I can feel your softness, and warmth. I can hear your heart along with mine. I can smell your excitement, as thick as stew. And taste…" she inhaled sharply, pressing her forehead against my crown, as her hands moved to my waist, "I'm excited to find out."