A/N: If you do not want the smoot, stop reading at '*****'. But you'll be missing out!
-----
“You want to… sketch me?” Veera repeated, fluffing her feathers inquisitively as Russell evaluated the situation in silence. He rested a hand on her shoulder before shouldering all of their gear and heading out to find a suitable campsite. Veera kept a hold of her spear, clutched loosely in her hand with its tip pointed towards the clouds.
“I’m going to go find us a place all to ourselves. Come over when you’re done here if you like. Or I’ll find you if you want a tour of the camp. Don’t think you’ll have a problem with him, but if the other two say or do anything, shove that spear into their guts,” he instructed with hardly an iota of malice or ill-will in his voice. If anything, the nonchalance in how Veera responded, a smile, nod, and kiss, was what really made Mendes shiver.
“Is that a common occurrence in your village?” Mendes requested hesitantly as he was left with an armed Cauthan holding onto the leash of what was a tame but undoubtedly wild space wolf. It didn’t help that she was actually taller than him. At least there wasn’t a language barrier.
“In my village? No,” Veera replied with nuance, casting her eyes around the landscape. “That doesn’t mean I haven’t done it before. I’ve used one of those too, those pistols you have there. My husband just enjoys being dramatic sometimes.”
Mendes’ hand went to the grip of his sidearm without thinking. “Is that right? To be honest, my squad and I don’t really know much about you or your husband. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to bridge that gap. I don’t want my men getting into needless scraps, and I’m sure you feel the same about him?”
“I am confident in his ability to beat them again, unless they cheat,” Veera countered acidly, shrugging for the human’s benefit. “Perhaps they can challenge him in honorable combat come the harvest festival. I might even contest the one who touched me.”
“You’ll have to forgive me, but for the sake of my squad and the relationship between our peoples I would probably have to stop that sort of contest. Unless you are referring to a trial that doesn’t involve hand to hand combat,” Mendes explained, disheartened but unsurprised to hear there were still hard feelings. He gave silent thanks that Orlova had remained out of trouble, but she had always been good at that.
“Why, because I’m a female?” Veera demanded hotly.
“Yes. And you have a history with Private Lipper. His actions against you are the reason he lost command of this unit and got his jaw broken. I respect that you have had to fight for your people and your life, Ms. Winters, but your honor is unblemished and I cannot see any good that would come of you picking fights with my soldiers.”
“What about the woman?”
“I presume this festival of yours has some manner of structure around sparring? That might be acceptable,” Mendes acknowledged after some thought. Veera carried on.
“Why? Because we’re both female?”
“Yes,” he confirmed politely. They stared at one another for a while. The Cauthan’s expression eventually softened and her feathers laid flat against her head and arms.
“I like you more than the other two,” she allowed. “If he got a hold on me again I would slice him open with my claws or talons. He’s too strong to escape from for someone like me. So I’d probably have to kill him to win.”
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping to avoid. I can’t fault your evaluation,” Mendes confirmed wearily. “Is there any chance you could challenge him to chess or dice? Do your people have board games?”
“What is chess?” Veera wondered. “We have dice but that would be silly. Maybe the archery range would be better. We shoot at targets, not each other.”
“That sounds wonderful,” the Lance Corporal finally smiled. “I would be happy to challenge you myself. I have a bit of bow training under my belt from my basic training days. For now though, I was hoping we could engage in something a bit less violent, like so.”
Veera leaned forward curiously as the human procured a small book from a pouch on his hip. He opened it and showed her its contents. There were many blank pages of some impossibly white and thin hide all bound together in more traditional leather. On other pages she could see that he’d drawn several pictures with her planet as an inspiration in a medium that looked faintly like charcoal. She saw the Twin moons, an aquila, the geothermal springs of the forge, and the ursae’s skull. “You wish to have me model for you? You should ask Alyra!” she laughed. “I can imagine she’d pose for hours for you.”
“Perhaps you can introduce me to this Alyra one day then,” Mendes allowed. “With the Event Horizon gone for now I find myself without much to do, and you have those fur patterns that none of your fellows seem to possess. I assume there’s a story there as well?”
“That story is not for you to hear,” she cut him off swiftly.
“I meant no offense, Veera. I would be happy if you’d consider the sketch though. We all have our jobs to do and I know we didn’t meet in the best of ways, but underneath it all we are all utterly ecstatic to be on a world like this, interacting with its people and its environments. It’s not a stretch to say we all signed up hoping for this kind of once in a lifetime experience. Does he sit still?”
“You want to draw him too?” Veera asked about Fenrir. “That may not be possible if he smells something he wants to investigate, but we can try. I suppose we can consider it a peace offering between us. I tell Russell this often and I’ll tell you too; I don’t like what you and your people are doing here with that Forge, but I cannot deny the good that the others have done for us back at the village. How long will it take?”
Mendes closed his eyes a moment and recalled his place in the grand game that was playing out between Natori, Antoth, Qul’Roth, and the rest of the Event Horizon and the village. “Let’s just find a nice, comfortable spot. You can pause whenever you like.”
“I see, that sounds good. What do you think, Fenrir? Would you like to have your portrait done? Is that the right word?”
“It is. Your grasp of English is rather remarkable,” Mendes complimented her as they began to saunter away from the camp.
“I’ve had excellent teachers,” Veera replied, feeling far more comfortable with Mendes than in the presence of Rex and Lipper. They reminded her of Gael and Rakis with too much muscle.
“Teachers?” the Brazilian wondered if he’d heard her right. Veera nodded.
“Teachers.”
-----
“Can’t say I ever expected to see you posing like that, but it’s looking pretty nice actually,” Russell admitted, peeking over Mendes’ shoulder while Veera sat dignified on a nearby moss-covered rock, the lichens finding enough moisture to survive thanks to the nearby steaming pools. Her hands were clasped one over the other in her lap and her feathers were on grand display, a sight that had Winters smirking affectionately. Fenrir had enjoyed a bit of a snooze at her feet long enough for the Lance Corporal to draw a few lines, but when Russell rejoined them the hyrven decided suddenly it was time to hang out with ‘dad’, pushing himself off the ground and tugging at his leash. Veera allowed him to go and Winters took over. “Sorry, Lance Corporal. Guess the accent piece will have to wait.”
“It’s not like I was planning on selling it or anything, I just wanted to have a reminder of my time here. She’s rather elegant,” he complimented Winters on his wife.
“I can hear you just fine; and it’s rude to speak about someone like that when they’re around!” Veera called from where she remained seated a few feet away. Winters certainly wasn’t about to begrude her a moment to feel special and feminine.
“I had to teach my VI that lesson at one point; that’s where she gets it,” he explained, though his answer earned him only a questioning look from his fellow Jumper. “Not to interrupt, but what’s the story here, Corporal? Bigger picture? No pun intended.”
Mendes nodded his head and chuckled casually, taking stock of Veera’s figure anew. He replied as he sketched a few more lines in pencil. “I’m happy to report that no one was kept in the dark on account of Admiral Kaczynski playing one of his games. We don’t have a mission while the Event Horizon is out of orbit, just to hold position, sir.”
“Go somewhere and wait, the other half of what they train us to do,” Winters muttered. Mendes exhaled through his nose in what passed for a laugh of agreement.
“That just about sums it up. I suppose you could go introduce yourself to the science team, sir. Only thing that’s changed since you were last here is we’ve moved some cables, lights and generators into the first hallway. It was necessary to get detailed scans of whatever that heap of metallic scrap is.”
“The skeleton. Right. Sounds like a plan. Veera, come find me when you’re done or if you get bored,” he suggested.
“Sure thing, darling! How do my feathers look?” she requested, fluffing them for his edification.
“Better than ever. Now come on, boy,” Winters ordered, tugging gently at Fenrir’s leash. “Not sure you can run free just yet with all the Betas around. Let’s go say hi. And you can’t bite anyone, but if you take a chunk out of one of those meatheads I’ll look the other way, got it?”
Fenrir made a small sound that wasn’t quite a growl, an acknowledgement that he understood Winters was speaking to him on account of the ‘dog voice’ that the Jumper reserved just for the growing hyrven. Mendes watched after them with a nervous look on his face, but eventually shook his head and returned to his sketch. “I can’t babysit them forever,” he muttered.
As it turned out, Mendes’ fears were mostly unfounded. Rex and Lipper chose to distance themselves from the action as Winters approached, ranging a ways from the science camp to one of the many grassy knolls that dotted the area. Russell nodded to himself as he watched them go, knowing that they could claim to be conducting ‘recon’ as opposed to simply wanting their own space. As the ranking member of the armed forces on the base, he approved.
The science team, on the other hand, was both captivated by and terrified of Fenrir, who had yet to stop growing since being adopted. Though he was not the largest hyrven Winters had ever seen out in the forests of Mara, he was certainly getting there even at, presumably, the age of just less than one. Io had hypothesized that on account of his steady, wholesome, and plentiful diet in captivity, Fenrir would grow up to represent the right tail of the hyrven weight distribution. He saw no reason to dispute her claim.
“Alright, easy now,” he urged the animal, keeping the leash on a tight hold with only several inches of slack. In order to ease the introductions, he’d brought along a large amount of dried chesko, which he handed out to those who wished to interact with the alien murder puppy. Fenrir did not complain, of course, and he spent the better part of fifteen minutes receiving pets and treats. Winters got to hang around, introduce himself to various scientists, and laugh whenever his dog snapped up a treat in a particularly animated or aggressive fashion. He did feel a bit sorry for the middle-aged woman who let out a most unprofessional squeak around all of her colleagues, but Fenrir remembered his training and did not remove any fingers along with his snacks. So far as Russell was concerned, that was all he could ask for.
Eventually the hyrven tired even of food and affection, tugging at his restraints in an effort to head out on his own for a bit. Russell obliged, allowing him to head out and rub himself all over the crates and prefabricated shelters that made up the camp. With the territory of snacks and pets firmly marked, the beast trotted off over the hills to engage in whatever mischief he could find. Russell glanced over at the two Jumpers who were watching the animal keenly, but Io interrupted him.
‘I am keeping an eye on them,’ she assured her partner. ‘Your armor is actually more difficult to interact with.’
“Mmm, good,” he said quietly, turning his attention to the lead researcher. “In that case, would you mind if I take a look at what you’ve got so far on that pile of metal we found in the atrium?”
"The one with the reactor core. That thing alone is… one could probably spend years studying it," the scientist declared, leading Winters to a durable looking laptop set up on a table in the middle of the sheltered, outdoor area of the compound. The researcher opened up several files as the Jumper looked over his shoulder. “We haven’t moved the objects from their resting place, though we’re hoping to get authorization for that soon. This is what we’ve been working with instead, scans of individual pieces that we’re manipulating digitally.”
Russell and Io watched as the researcher presented them with a three dimensional model of the ancient wreckage. Each piece had been scanned and logged, allowing for individual modeling by the researchers. “Well, want to take a shot at it?” he asked.
‘Perhaps you should review what’s already been done first,’ Io countered, presenting herself on the research computer long enough to explain that she was indeed the AI that Natori had warned them about before vanishing to the privacy of Winters’ armor. He gave the head scientist a courteous nod and walked just outside the compound for a bit of privacy.
“You alright? That’s not like you,” he insisted, concern in his voice. Io ran a flustered hand through her hair and looked imploringly at him.
‘I’m a lifeform based on quantum computing, sir. I suppose even if I were based on the old technology the issue would still be the same,’ she lamented.
“What issue is that?”
‘Pattern recognition,’ Io revealed. Winters cocked a brow. Having known him her entire life, she knew that meant elaborate. ‘How familiar are you with early human efforts to establish genetic phylogenies among unicellular organisms?’
“Io, I drop from orbit and blow things up for a living,” Russell replied with a chuckle. “Maybe you should discuss with Alice instead.”
‘You are intentionally difficult sometimes,’ she shrugged.
“Thanks for putting up with me,” he smiled, she blushed lightly.
‘You don’t need to say such things after everything that’s happened,’ Io explained.
“And you don’t need to feel bad about whatever it is you’re feeling bad about. Which is…?” he prompted her again. Io exhaled and looked down for a moment.
‘Human brains are designed for pattern recognition by millions of years of being prey species. My brain, if you will, is not. I was designed to complement the human mind, I suppose? Insertion and deletion mutations, frame shifts, those things can’t be coded into rules so easily, but the human mind can recognize complementary base pairs innately, shift things back into place. They even turned it into a game back in the day I believe.’
“Let’s just go see what they’ve got for us, alright? If you can’t brute force it, you can’t. No one’s going to think less of you for it,” Russell tried.
‘I blame you,’ Io whispered affectionately. ‘Blame you for making me want to be human so badly.’
“Ok, you can definitely blame me for that. How’s your heart doing? Ready to take a look at our metallic find?”
‘Yes sir, I’m very well. Thank you as always for your concern.’
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
When they returned it was clear the scientists were eagerly awaiting them, likely on account of Io more than anything else. The AI’s fears proved completely unfounded as they were led through simulations of how the metal scrap might fit together. It only took two files and a cursory glance before Winters pounded the table. Io was resting her head against her fingers. “Fucking hell, that’s an ursae.”
“Sir?” the lead researcher questioned.
‘Allow me,’ Io offered, presenting a scan she’d taken of Russell’s trophy and fitting it nicely onto the top of the spinal column. Bent ribs, vertebral braces, and reinforcement for limbs fit together into an eerily familiar form. ‘If I had to reinforce a colossal space bear, that’s probably how I’d do it. See these plates here on the shoulder? Depending on the thickness that might allow for the placement of external armor or weapons.’
“Because they needed to be more deadly?” Russell offered sarcastically as Natalya joined the crowd of Beta Division personnel who were all looking at one another with concerned looks on their faces at talk of space bears. “Fine then, how did it lose its head?”
‘Let me just hop into my time machine and head back ten million years,’ Io joked dryly. ‘Though on that note; excuse me, have you managed to date the site accurately?’
“We approximate seven and a half million years, give or take. A request has already been submitted to Admiral Kaczynski for an expedition to the moons of this planet, where we hypothesize the raw material originated. The alloys themselves are… inscrutable,” the lead researcher explained. “May I ask what an ursae is?”
“This,” Russell said seriously, accessing the relevant files. It was getting easier and easier to watch as time went on. He’d survived, after all, and Io had since stashed away the moments of their primal breakdowns both before and after the fight. By the end of the brief encounter, even Natalya seemed unsettled.
“This bear,” she spoke up. “The one you killed was flesh and bone, yes?”
“Correct. No metal, no tech, and definitely no radioactive core. Watched a pack of hyrven tear its guts out. They were pretty thorough,” Winters added.
“How charming,” the female Jumper scoffed as Mendes and Veera finally rejoined them. The Cauthan was not pleased one bit when Russell shared the possible revelation with them.
“I told you the Forge was no good!” she insisted, tapping a claw against Winters’ chestplate.
“We still need to know,” he replied quietly, trying to soothe her by stroking her paws with his fingers.
“Well that would explain the size of the doors,” Mendes added, looking over the data as Io worked to meld the metallic parts with what they knew about at least one biological sample of the ursae species. The beast Winters had killed was either too large for the equipment, or it was intended for interior use. It wasn’t immediately clear which hypothesis was worse. “I wonder why there isn’t anything for the paws.”
“Trust me, they’re deadly enough without it. So what now?” Russell wondered, fingers to his temple.
‘What is there to do?’ Io replied. ‘Natori and the rest of the crew are off doing their own thing, and unless we head back inside I don’t think we will be able to learn anything else. Is there a reason we haven’t been able to study the metal that makes up the structure?’
“We don’t have anything hot enough to melt it,” one of the scientists explained.
“Of course you don’t,” Veera noted sharply, causing a few of the civilians to glance at one another in discomfort. “You are playing with things you were not meant to understand!”
“You don’t want to know what a metallic ursae skeleton was doing in Kel’s Forge?” Russell asked her as the rest watched with great interest on account of the ‘local perspective’. Veera’s frustration was palpable.
“You don’t know it was an ursae. You didn’t even find a head!”
“Well that is true, but the spine and the structure of the leg joints is pretty spot on. Maybe Kel has an interesting taste in pets,” Russell suggested.
‘Ha ha, very funny,’ Io interjected. Her tone clearly indicated it was not funny in any way, shape or form. Multiple eggheads audibly muttered about Io’s capacity for sarcasm.
“Why do you insist on this?” Veera demanded with controlled anger. Russell shot the research team an apologetic look and gently led his wife away from the compound and towards their tent.
“You know why,” he said quietly, hoping she could tell he understood her perspective. “I’ll protect you.”
“I am devout; I am not the one who needs protecting,” she hissed, her claws finding little purchase against the Aegis. “And why are you still wearing this?!”
Io unbuttoned her uniform halfway within the privacy of Winters’ visor. ‘You’re up, sir.’ He groaned and rubbed his neck.
“Io… not helping.”
“Don’t ignore me, Russell!” Veera yelped. He responded by scooping her effortlessly into a bridal carry. “R-Russell! They can see!”
“And if you continue to be bad, they’ll get to watch the whole show,” he warned, his voice dropping an octave. “I am getting my sister out of this system. I am getting out of this system. And I’m going to bring you and as many of your people who want to come along with me.”
‘Yes!’ Io celebrated the idea enthusiastically with a bottle of bubbly as Winters finished his train of thought.
“But I’m not losing anyone else. That means figuring out exactly what the hell that place is. It’s aimed at the warp point, it has functioning robotic Cauthan inside it, and now we have what I’m almost certain is a radioactive, metallic ursae exo or endo-skeleton.”
“You are so big, stupid, noble, and frustrating,” Veera replied, biting him on the neck and then licking to soothe the skin she almost punctured. She’d gotten quite good at toeing the line over their many cycles together. It was still meant to be a punishment, that time at least. Russell smiled through the pain.
“Yeah, that’s the idea, love. Let’s turn in for the evening.”
-----
“Thantis! I’m so glad you could join me,” Natori called, welcoming the Cauthan scholar to one of the many mining laser batteries along the underbelly of the Event Horizon. “Dr. Dupuis, thank you kindly for escorting him.”
“It is my pleasure, Admiral,” the Frenchman assured him. “Thantis, should you require assistance back to your quarters, do give me a call. Otherwise I look forward to breakfast and a continuation of our discussion tomorrow morning. This Kel fellow of yours is fascinating!”
“Selah and thank you, Gerard. I should be able to follow the signs now. They are plentiful,” the elder replied. “Natori, what is this gargantuan contraption before us?”
“This is a mining laser, my furry friend,” the Admiral responded. “And these fine individuals here are in charge of its maintenance and operation.”
“How do you do?” Thantis offered in his native tongue. The assembled crew members responded with a mix of ‘hello’ and ‘very well’ and even a ‘selah’ from one individual who had clearly been browsing some of the information on the Cauthan that Io had left floating around the ship’s intranet. “So, a mining laser? How is it different from a pickaxe?”
A couple of the midshipmen saw fit to snicker at the comparison, causing Natori to zero in on them. “An excellent question! Would one of you gentlemen care to take a crack at it?”
Thantis smiled sympathetically, though he was not about to apologize. He too was an elder who took some amount of satisfaction from putting young whippersnappers on the spot. One of the women among the group spoke up. “Well, it’s a method of energy transfer, sir. Only in this case the energy is electromagnetic, light specifically. With a pickaxe the energy applied to the substrate is mechanical.”
“Did she say that you use light for the purposes of mining?” Thantis followed up, aghast.
“We do, my friend,” Natori confirmed, withdrawing a tiny laser pointer from his pocket. “The principle is rather simple, honestly. This laser takes light and directs it in a concentrated beam, like so. This is distinct from what the star that lights your planet does, for example. That would be more this sort of light.” To demonstrate, Natori simply activated the light on his tablet. He held up the two light sources against a nearby wall so Thantis could see and then backed up several paces. The light from his tablet quickly diffused and was overwhelmed by the ambient light in the weapon’s bay, whereas the laser remained red, bright, and pinpoint.
“How… strange,” Thantis puzzled as the weapon crew waited anxiously to see if the cat-like alien would suddenly leap at the laser pointer. He did not. Instead he puzzled and puzzled some more, trying to absorb what he’d seen. “How far could you walk before the red light fades?”
“Very, very far,” Natori answered. “Far enough that you would not even be able to see the light from my device here.”
“And Seil, the giver of Life and Light, behaves like your rectangular device there, you say?”
“He does, yes. Almost all natural sources of light do.”
“And, you said that Seil is very far away from Mara, much farther than the Twin Moons?” Thantis asked further. A few of the engineers seemed to be having trouble following the priest’s train of thought, but Natori was undeterred.
“That’s correct Thantis, farther by many many times over,” Natori confirmed.
“Such marvelous power!” the death priest exclaimed. “I must make note of these observations Natori, if you would excuse me. I left my satchel in my quarters.”
“Thantis, I’m recording. Here, let’s make things more official shall we? The Earth date is August 31st, 2051. This is Admiral Natori Kaczynski initiating a recording for Thantis of Mara, Cauthan priest of Kel. Go on my friend, speak freely. Perhaps begin with the subject of your musings?”
Thantis watched as a rough translation of the date was made and presented in Cauthan runic script. He began immediately. “On the subject of Kel, Seil, and the Balance. I have been given great insight into the nature of Kel and Seil in the last day thanks to our human friends and their remarkable technology. I would consider it magic and the work of gods had I not seen the mortality of humanity with my own eyes. Today I have seen the void of Kel, his mighty realm, and for a short time I believed that perhaps Seil was not the mightiest of the gods. But then I learned of lasers!”
Natori and several crewmen laughed heartily, gesturing for the priest to carry on. “Humans can produce light in many ways, large and small. It is magnificent, but when I consider the light given to us by Seil each day, having seen the distance at which he delivers his grace to us, there is no doubt in my mind. For Seil to pierce the void of Kel and warm our cheeks each day and deliver life to our crops, he must truly be the most powerful of the divines. I shall conclude this writing now, as I believe I am holding up the process of mining. Thank you.”
“You have all borne witness to something wonderful,” Natori told his crew with an unexpected weight to his voice. “Now then, a demonstration is in order I believe!”
“Yes sir!” the crew agreed, deploying the mining laser and moving to their various stations. The weapon itself shuddered before moving along metal rails away from them, passing through a force field and entering the vacuum of space. While the crew selected a target from the many asteroids within range, Natori explained the operational dynamic of space mining to Thantis.
“The size of my vessel allows for what I consider to be a more efficient system of mining. Aboard the ship we have refineries and cargo holds aplenty, as well as much larger reserves of power for the lasers. With more powerful lasers we can strip and crack rocks from much farther away.”
“Admiral, target acquired and laser charged. Composition high in ice and organic compounds. This’ll be a bit of a show.”
“Fantastic,” Natori approved, his demeanor like that of a child with a magnifying glass. “My friend, are you ready to see what happens when concentrated light and heat strike a cluster of ice and rock in the vacuum of space?”
“Will it be a danger to us?” Thantis asked wisely.
“Not at all.”
“Then proceed!” the Cauthan requested eagerly, allowing himself to be led to the targeting terminal where a full color feed of the asteroid could be seen. Shortly after the laser’s light appeared on the floating body, jets of heated steam and rock began shooting out of fissures and cracks, breaking apart the surface and ejecting plentiful ‘bite sized’ pieces.
“Up on the bridge many of my personnel are tracking those chunks,” Natori elaborated. The ones with optimal composition and size that remain within an appropriate radius of the ship will be collected by manned and unmanned shuttles once the lasers have stopped firing. They will be returned to specially designed cargo bays where they will be processed and then refined into usable compounds.”
“Sir, the laser is recharged and ready to fire,” a technician reported. Kaczynski swept his arm towards the terminal and the rather prominent, red fire button.
“Can I interest you in momentarily controlling an immense amount of energy and firepower, my Cauthan friend?”
“Sir, are you sure that’s wise?” one of his crew asked quite reasonably.
“Sure is such a strong word,” the Admiral countered. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Was that a hypothetical, sir?” another wondered.
“Of course it was. Thantis?”
“I must admit it is rather tempting,” the elderly Cauthan agreed, adjusting his glasses.
“Superb! Observe, if you will?” Natori led Thantis through a very quick tutorial as the crew of the mining laser looked on nervously. Though the weapon itself was an intricate and dangerous piece of equipment, the UI for its operation was quite simple. Using what amounted to arrow keys, Thantis moved the crosshair for the laser away from the first shot to a secondary location. “And now just press this button here.”
“Kel guide me,” Thantis implored, placing his finger pad on the button reading ‘FIRE’ in large, bold text. The effect was immediate, with vibrations and humming from the laser and its power supply accompanying great visuals on the asteroid itself. As though answering Thantis’ prayer, the asteroid shuddered and broke in two pieces, exposing the interior core as well as generating several small pieces for collection.
“Well what do you know? Talk about beginner’s luck!” a crewmember exclaimed.
“You call it beginner’s luck,” Natori agreed, resting a hand on Thantis’ shoulder. “But perhaps divine guidance is just as accurate. Care for another shot?”
“If your soldiers are amenable,” Thantis demurred, though there was a perceptible excitement in his voice.
“Bet you can’t do it twice, high priest,” one offered a friendly challenge.
“I will have you know that our actual high priest is taller and wider than you. But by the will of Kel I shall ‘do it again’,” Thantis promised. By Kel’s hand, with a new target rock, he did just that.
*****
‘I know this is not the best time, sir, but I really could use a sounding board for a few ideas. Keeping this to myself is going to fry my processors,’ Io spoke up, watching with guilty pleasure as Veera literally rode out her heat atop Russell’s pelvis. Over time the concept of human mating had become more and more appealing to her, likely on account of the delightful sounds her mate made when she used her hips in novel ways.
“Really Io? Now?!” he groaned, throwing his head back as claws pricked his chest. Veera was still miffed at him.
‘Yes, now! For some reason I’m the only one losing my mind over the fact that both ursae and Cauthan were likely present on this planet in technologically advanced forms eons ago! What happened? How did they get here? Who built the forge? Why did they build it, to keep something in or out? What is that skeleton from? Was it an attacker or a defender? Civil war? Outright war? Domestic uprising? Why do ursae need to be even more deadly than they presently are?’
“This is the most dysfunctional family ever,” Winters declared, prompting Veera to drape herself over his torso, run her hand through his hair, and nibble at his ear.
“Shut up and fuck me, Russell.”
‘Do not shut up but keep fucking her,’ Io immediately countered in a stern tone.
“I’ll accept that compromise,” Veera smirked at the AI, only to yelp as Winters extracted himself from under her, reversed their positions, grabbed her by the base of the tail, and finally achieved some amount of calm within the tent as he took her from behind.
“If the two of you are really going to push and pull like this there will be no compromise,” Winters grunted in disbelief, grinning victoriously as Veera melted into their fur blanket and sleeping bags, unable to deny nature’s demands. Rhythm established, Russell finally turned back to Io. “Now what’s this about the ursae? And would you put some clothes on?”
Io, clad in nothing but an emerald babydoll, lace panties, and a very healthy blush, glared at him as she downed another flute of champagne. ‘I think best when almost naked!’
“By all the gods, fine,” Russell allowed, pressing Veera’s head back down onto the furs as she tried to regain some amount of control. “And you stay down. You’ve done enough damage today.”
“I’ll lick your cuts if you keep- oh right there!” Veera affirmed. Russell shook his head vigorously in a vain attempt to multi-task.
“Ursae.”
‘Friend or foe?’ Io posed the question, aiding his sanity in some small amount by folding her legs conservatively under her body and resting against a pile of pillows on a large, comfortable looking mattress. The whole ensemble was done up in an arctic color combination of white, gray and light blue, allowing her lingerie to stand out.
“Let’s just run through the scenarios then, assuming this even is what we think it is and not just something with an uncanny similarity. The skeleton is an attacker, what does that imply?” Winters asked. “For one thing it means that whatever attacked with it eventually reached that room with the terminals and busted wall, though the infrastructure remains intact. That means that was the target and they gained access.”
‘Or it was the terminal point of their ingress and they were stopped, with those droids repairing any damage,’ Io postulated. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you are incredibly sexy when engaged in both sex and science?’
“I have never been engaged in sex and science simultaneously before, so no!” Winters protested, slamming Veera's behind particularly forcefully and eliciting a gasp of shock from her. “Sorry, love.”
“N-no problem, Russell~” she trailed off, melting into a puddle of fur and feathers with each passing moment.
“Defender?” he addressed Io again. She sighed and ran a hand down the side of her abdomen.
‘Same conclusion, except the individual in question died for a different cause. There are far too many unknowns here and I still don’t know what sex feels like,’ the AI groused.
“Can’t help you with that,” he made clear in no uncertain terms. “Different question then; is something being kept in or out of this system?”
“Russell!” Veera suddenly moaned, interrupting them in what he considered to be the best possible way. “How are you still… going?” she panted.
“Because this is the third time today and you’re insatiable when you’re in heat?” he replied matter of factly, delivering a swat to her rear that had her clamping down on him almost painfully.
“You’re mean; you’re a brute!” Veera mewled.
“Says the woman who was clawing my back and chest bloody a little while ago because I ‘deserved something more intense’ today?” he countered, making it clear he felt his vengeance was well deserved. Veera had no words in reply, only deferential moaning as he refused to relent.
‘Mara itself is a rather pristine world, perfect for life. Depending on the state of whatever galactic power we’re dealing with here, the keeping people out hypothesis may have merit. Perhaps this was a garden or experimental world?’ Io allowed before meeting Veera’s lidded eyes. ‘Breathe deeply my dear. While I am sympathetic, you did request this.’
“I know. I really know,” Veera agreed as her tail was given a firm, loving tug.
“That’s possible. I think there would be more stuff like the Forge laying around if the civilization that built it was based here.” Russell added. “I’m sure the Event Horizon’s been looking for other installations since we told them about this one. Looks like they’ve come up empty. On the other hand, I don’t know about you but if the ursae are native to Mara I’d want to keep them in.”
‘That assumes the ursae were not the ones who built that construct in the first place,’ Io replied. ‘As the Beta Jumpers also noted, the doors within the installation are definitely not human or Cauthan sized.’
“Yeah just- fuck,” Winters cussed as not even ancient interstellar civilizations could forestall forever what Veera’s body so desperately yearned for.
“Oh Meylith! Give me your cubs, love,” she whispered, feeling her mate stiffen behind her yet again that night as cool winds blew through the slightly open tent flap to herald the approach of the harvest season. Io blushed crimson and popped out of view, Russell’s moment of climax a bit too much even for her to bear direct witness to as he leaned over Veera’s back and nipped her ear.
“There is no family I’d rather be a part of, either. Love you,” Winters assured her. “Is the fog clearing?”
“It’s been clear for a while now, I just wanted more,” Veera admitted with an embarrassed undulation of her feathers. He could only laugh in disbelief as he finally slipped out of her. Veera knelt on shaking legs and motioned for Winters to do the same, calling out to Io as she began tending to his scrapes and scratches with loving care. “You can return, Io. Thank you.”
‘By the gods of your people, Veera. The pleasure was all mine.’