bluevulpine.net - bluevulpine.net

a lid for every pot

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Things started as they tend to in this modern world: with a meme.

It amused me. From: ifunny.co

I’d been doomscrolling facebook, as one does. Amused, I reposted it, and moved on with doomscrolling. Little did I know, that action would change the course of my life: I was now destined to become a dog dad.

It begins ##

Later that evening, I received a facebook message notification from a coworker. We’d been acquaintences for a number of years. Our two development teams tended to overlap on major projects. We’d worked a couple company recruitment events together, we both occasionally went to a mutual friend’s movie night, and we often crossed paths playing Pokemon Go in the community.

The next day being Valentines day, I dug out my favorite valentine image. (CW: anatomical hearts and kittens)

But is it mutual? ##

So how does one adult indicate interest in exploring a relationship with another adult? Clearly, through interpretive ducks, legos, and pokemon.

Things naturally escalated from there to petty theft. As it was told on our theknot page:

Our story starts with Derek stealing Elizabeth’s smoothie. A few of us were walking up to third floor at work to get a beverage from the coffee shop and Elizabeth was talking up their smoothies. She was so needing a strawberry mango smoothie that day. When they got there, Elizabeth let Derek cut in line ahead of her. He orders a peach smoothie. Elizabeth’s turn! She orders her drink. They’re out of yogurt to make anymore smoothies!! It couldn’t have been timed any better. Derek was just taking his first suck on the straw and realizing the magic of the smoothie to simultaneously see Elizabeth semi- fake death glaring him and saying “You…”. The barista felt so bad, she gave Elizabeth a Dixie cup of what didn’t fit in Derek’s cup. And that’s the story of how Elizabeth discovered their frozen lemonade was actually pretty tasty. This ended up being the initial foundation of our relationship including how Derek asked Elizabeth for a date… sort of? (See image 1 about smoothie science)

Of course, the next smoothie attempt turned out to be in the middle of a blizzard and the smoothie place was closed - so we had a burger date instead, because the burger place wasn’t. But it went well. And we started messaging more, hanging out, navigating some tough things together. And then made the dating relationship status official by annoying all our friends:

From there it lead to only more debauchery including a wonderful April Fools joke about us breaking up. Several people called us on it, but we managed to redirect them into believing it was real.

From then on it was facebook official, which is as official as you can get. facebook told me so.

Permanently official ##

And then when I finally did corner her in the woods:

Me: You’re a catch.

She: You’re so full of shit -

Me: drops to one knee

I wanted her to pick out her own ring, so I used a substitute.

It was right before COVID-19 times, so by the time we picked a date and figured out a plan, we wound up holding the ceremony and reception in a tent in our backyard because no where else had capacity with the distancing restrictions.

Testing the lighting setup.

And of course, what else to do as we walk from the altar?

Thumbs up, of course. Courtesy: Schrage Photography

A lid for every pot ##

One of you once used the term ’there’s a lid for every pot’ while we were discussing stories and it stuck with me. I’m not sure if I’m the lid or the pot here, but depending on how you want to interpret the metaphor I’m sure we both have moments of embodying both lid and pot vibes. We click in a way that I never expected to experience - and I’m thankful every day for it.

Dog dad ##

We joined our houses and together found we were parents to six cats. Three have passed from old age (18+ years is a solid run and they had a fantastic retirement home in the countryside) and two more have come into our lives as rescues. These are not dogs, however, and neither of us had ever had a dog - never considered being a dog parent.

So when we walked into the pet store to pet a dog, we did not expect to leave with a dog.

Yet we left with Bandit, a “miniature husky”.

Criminally adorable

We owned nothing for dog parenting, so we immediately went to Sam’s Club. But we also couldn’t leave him alone in the car. We’re pretty sure everyone thought we had a toy.

He used it as a bed for ages, and eventually used it as chew practice.

He’s almost 2 now, and is the most adorable derp.

There are no thoughts in that head, just joy

Work In progress - June 2017

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 04:35:40 GMT

Too tired to do any sort of update on stuff. Have some work-in-progress.

One month after the J’Ruhn’s departure from Val’Traxan space

“Kaler seems to have taken the pep talk very well,” Tier appraised. “You wore that happy face like a champion.”

“Mm. I hope so.” Alecha keyed the pad beside the cryobay’s entrance. With a gentle groan, the heavy bay door creaked shut for what was likely the last time for decades. “He was nervous. This isn’t training anymore.”

“And you? Are you nervous?”

She didn’t immediately answer. Instead, Alecha made her way down the corridor, watching each section illuminate as she approached. She didn’t need to look back to know the opposite was occurring in the sections she left behind. It was just something she knew would happen, just like so many other things she knew would continue to happen. The ship’s atmosphere would continue to be purified. Artificial gravity would continue to accelerate mass toward the deckplating. The cryopods would continue to do their damnedest to keep their occupants alive through their long sleep.

The ship was quiet now, a state of semi-permanent night extending across all decks to keep power requirements as low as possible. The rest of her family was finally asleep, along with all the other colonist family groups. Even her junior cryotechs had already gone in. Alecha and Tier were the last individuals still awake on the J’Ruhn. Soon enough it would be only Tier.

Alecha took a long route to the Commons, stopping occasionally at the small gardens dotting corridor intersections to tend the plants and generally taking her time. As she finally entered the large common hall, her eyes were drawn to the faintly rippling border of the Displacement field out the forward viewport. The ship had been traveling for nearly a month now. If she could have seen home from here—which, given that this window faced the wrong direction, was already an impossible feat—the visible light would have pre-dated her own birth. Even with such an incredible distance already covered, it would still be decades more until they arrived at their destination.

As the illumination in the corridor behind her faded, the Commons lighting remained subdued. She didn’t bother to increase it; instead, she grabbed a small meal from one of the replicators and sat down in the relative dark to eat. Watching the flickering energy field, her lunch sitting before her, she rested her head on her hands.

“No,” she finally spoke. “I’m not nervous. I am a little worried, but not nervous. Besides, if anyone went to sleep without having any concerns, they’re either lying to themselves or they’re a fool. With the selection process and the way we’ve trained these last few years, I don’t think any fools made it aboard.”

“There may be one or two,” Tier replied. “Statistically speaking, of course. And, based on a reasonable margin of error, I predict that they may not all be asleep yet.”

“Thanks for that. You’re awake too, you know.” Alecha smirked. “Has anyone ever asked how you feel about all this?”

“More than you may expect,” the AI confirmed. “I have told everyone aboard the same thing: I will ensure the colony crew gets to their destination safely. My personal feelings aren’t relevant to my current mission.”

“I have to disagree,” Alecha said, frowning slightly. “I think your feelings are completely relevant. It can’t be any healthier for you to bottle up your thoughts than it is for anyone else.”

Tier paused. “Speaking of bottling up… Have you decided when you’re going to join the others in cryosleep?”

“This evening, I think. I’d like to record a couple of letters for you to add to the family’s archive… There’s really no sense in delaying more than that, especially now that everyone else is under. I’m sure you’d rather go into idle mode than listen to me, especially with that evasive maneuver you just pulled off.”

“Do you really wish to know how I feel about everything?”

Alecha frowned. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t—”

She trailed off as the room’s holographic emitters powered up. In the months leading up to their departure, Tier tended toward using her avatar less and less, limiting her communications mostly to audio. Alecha assumed that it was just a personality quirk; some AIs preferred their avatars for interaction, while others opted not to use them except when absolutely necessary. But now, looking at Tier through the relative darkness, Alecha possessed a better idea of why the AI had remained out of sight. Her body language broadcasted her innermost thoughts far more clearly than words ever could.

Tier looked very worried.

2016

Wed, 09 Mar 2016 05:40:22 GMT

Well, we’ll see if this shows up this time with a database restore.

So, a lot has been going on. Let’s start where we left off: wrist is much improved. I can tell I’m missing some flexibility and I doubt it will ever be 100% again, but I’d confidently call it 85%. Have a couple of exercise devices - a gyroscope ball, green putty. Bothers me a little at the end of the day but not nearly as much as it used to.

Late fall / early winter, a major IT undertaking at work kicked off. It’s underway until July. Hopefully the part my team is tied up in will be winding down a little starting in April. I’ve been working from home in the evenings, cleaning up and fixing legacy code. There’s all sorts of amazing things that developers once got away with that the new system won’t allow or handles poorly. Things like the absolute gem I found yesterday, which I’ll replicate in a generic fashion:


int *number;
number = malloc(sizeof int);
number = &someOtherNumber;

What.

Okay, for those of you who don’t grok code, here’s what’s happening:

We are declaring a new variable. This will be called ‘number’ and will refer to integers. The asterisk indicates that we will use this particular variable as a pointer, which means it will store a memory address that points at another value. It starts out undefined - whatever it is pointing at isn’t really valid, and it needs to be initialized.
We are allocating memory, the size of an integer. This will return a memory address, which we store in our convenient new pointer made to hold memory addresses. We could store something here. But instead…
We obliterate the address of the memory we just asked for, which we will never be able to find again, and replace it with the memory address (&) of another variable.

Since we have lost the address of the memory we just asked the system to reserve for us, we can’t tell the system we are done with it, and thus have created a tiny memory leak the size of one integer in memory. Scale this up to the structures in the real code (20 to 100 times bigger) and wrap it in a loop that runs several hundred thousand times, and there’s more than a small bit of memory lost forever (until the program exits, at least).

A lot of the issues are subversive and non-obvious, such as one I tackled today where a function would randomly corrupt the second entry in a list. It looked random until I watched how it added the new item over hundred of iterations, and discovered another bit of pointer magic badness that I won’t bore you with in extensive detail. What would generally happen is that if the function was called with exactly 100 items in a list, and it caused one more to be added, it would get into a weird state because of a leftover pointer, and fill the new entry in the list with garbage instead of the actual data that was supposed to be in there.

The nights and weekends I’m not working from home, I’ve been trying to go to the gym. This winter I hit my highest weight ever and I was starting to see some of those awesome obesity-related health issues - joint and back pain really are the gifts that keep on giving. I enrolled in a work-sponsored program called Prevent, which is sort of an online guided weight loss thing. I also picked up a local gym membership and have started trying to at the very minimum do some cardio via elliptical several times a week. I’ve changed my diet, I cut out artificial sweeteners, so on, so forth.

Mind you, I don’t feel gigantic. I do fit the medical definition of ‘obese’ but I’ve never considered myself as such when I see a lot of people far worse off than I am. Allegedly, I look slimmer than my weight. More than once, people have been surprised when I’ve told them. I’m never sure if they’re just being nice, but in any case I don’t need to look it because I feel it.

However, I am making progress, and I’m happy enough about it to plaster this infographic from my Prevent profile in public:

Finally, there’s a distinct lack of something I promised months ago, and I need to correct that soon…

Quick update

Sun, 11 Oct 2015 19:21:10 GMT

Orthopedic specialist referred me to occupational therapy (which I’ve always called physical therapy, but I’m sure there’s a reason for the difference in terminology). Wrist is doing better. I’m still missing a sizable portion of the former flexibility, and the hand strength is abysmal. Uninjured hand can grip his little measuring device at 135 pounds, but the injured one topped out at 47.

After 8 hours at a keyboard for work plus the OT exercises it’s pretty sore in the evenings, and the weekends have been busy with other personal and/or family things. This is actually the first weekend in a while that I’ve been able to get stuff done around my own place.

A couple things I’ve picked up that can be done one-handed or limited two-handed:

A combination of factors (several videos shared via twitter, a coworker talking about it on occasion, and a general curiosity about the game’s story) led me to try out EVE Online. It’s not a fast-twitch style game, which is nice because fast twitches really hurt right now. It’s also a big sci-fi sandbox where the players have made most of the rules on top of the basic game universe rules.
While all of the terrible things everyone has heard are true to an extent (in-game scams, thefts, and so on), it’s part of the emergent gameplay experiment this thing has turned into. Also, and perhaps in despite of that, there are some genuinely helpful people (P.S. Thanks again for the trial key! you know who you are) if you get lucky enough to stumble across them. The major takeaway for the game content and interactions has been ‘don’t trust anyone that you don’t have a reason to trust, and maybe not even then’. I normally give people the benefit of the doubt, and that seems like a good way to get burned in EVE.
I’ve been working large tracts of storyline events and out-of-scene history into a timeline tool called Aeon Timeline. Picked it up on a sale a while back and hadn’t found time to figure it out. Since that’s another thing I can do mostly with a mouse and some copy-pasting for context, I’ve been taking the opportunity to learn it and get the timeline more organized, especially since there are chunks where effect precedes cause.

Decasting

Tue, 01 Sep 2015 02:35:03 GMT

So, next week presuming all goes well the cast should be coming off. Not sure what the next step is, if there’ll be physical therapy or anything. In any case, I’ll have more info next week.

I’ve found I can type reasonably well with the cast; however after writing code during the day at work, it aches in the evening and I’ve tended to shy away from further keyboard use. Hopefully that can change soon.

P.S. Golf carts are evil

Take Two (And call in the morning)

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 02:29:21 GMT

Went in for first followup today; got a new cast (by the way, they put me in a cast last week and I couldn’t use the fingers on that hand as a result of it being super long). They now are encouraging me to use the fingers as much as is comfortable, which right now isn’t much but will get better. This of course is/will be a blessing for work since I don’t have to try to code with one hand when it no longer hurts to use the other; it is however extremely awkward because the cast is formed to not let my wrist move or twist, and I have to cock my whole arm at a weird angle to get a comfortable typing position. It looks like I’m trying to take flight. I need to find a different keyboard, something with more of a split form than what I’ve got now. A couple people at work have a logitech Wave and I might give that a try. In any case, five more weeks of cast.

In other more positive news, today is the official anniversary of my hire date at my workplace; I spent half the day out of the office (and in the doctor’s office), but hey, it still counts. As part of the bump for being a nice guy for the last year I’ve been promoted to a full Software Engineer position (dropping ‘Applications’ off of my job title) which is great because now my email signature takes up 13 fewer bytes (more with rich text formatting, I’m sure). I think there was also a small bump in pay, but that pales in comparison with the 13 byte savings!

The thing you all really want to hear… Isn’t here yet. :(

Golfing accident

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 04:32:30 GMT

So, this happened.

I’m not a pro at reading x-rays but they tell me I fractured my radius. I’m not exactly sure where to see it in the image, but I assume the arrow is a hint. This is not sarcasm; I literally don’t know how to read what I’m looking at here. What I do know is that my left wrist is very sore and swollen, and that I will never try to get on a moving golf cart again.

In any case… I’m no longer certain I’ll make a full chapter for this month, but I’m going to try and at least get something up this week. Not yet entirely sure what. I have an appointment on Tuesday to see an orthopedic specialist/surgeon (not sure which he is) and that I’ll have a better idea after that of what I’m looking at for recovery. Still in a wrist brace and sling for now.

The Long Road

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 04:12:37 GMT

Two and a half years. Wow. I never intended to let things sit for so long, but the time really got away from me. I’ve also tried to put this together not less than three times, and then realized that if I wanted it to not get eaten by wordpress while writing it, to not write the draft in wordpress. :)

After vanishing off the face of the earth following my prior posting, where I shared the success of graduating mid-class-year with my associates degrees, I continued on to a 4-year campus. A newly signed collaborative agreement between the new college and the old meant I could spend the last part of the school year at the 2-year school, which would polish off the requirements for my ‘junior’ year; I only needed to be on the new campus for my senior year. I saved some funding doing this, which is good since my primary income at the time was part-time seasonal work. I continued working at the local ski park as a trail groomer for that winter, and then when classes released in May I bounced out to work what I suspected might be a third and final season at a Boy Scouts of America camp in north-central Minnesota. As per the norm, the season out there was hectic but enjoyable, but left little time to sit down and do much else.

Upon finishing the camping season I went home to the Turtle Mountains, unloaded the car, then promptly reloaded it with what I needed to stay in campus housing. I left the next morning to move into the dorm with a bunch of freshmen. I wanted a single room and the suite-style dorms seemed like a good choice, but the only single-occupancy rooms in the suites are in what’s traditionally the freshmen/sophomore building. Wasn’t sure what to expect.

It turned out pretty awesome. The other two rooms in the suite were occupied by freshmen, but they were totally easy to get along with and weren’t excessively loud or anything. Sadly, the senior level class load meant that both my socializing and other recreational time was far more limited than their own. I poked at creative thoughts through this entire span but never managed to put together anything I was happy with before having to pick up yet another actually-degree-related project. The winter break went quickly and was a week truncated since I’d been recruited to assist with administering a COMP-TIA A+ exam. The spring semester wasn’t any lighter than fall, but how quickly May 2014 arrived…

Achievement Unlocked: bachelor’s degree earned.

I proceeded to stay on campus for two more weeks to complete an SAP Certified Associate course and certification. The course essentially crammed two full semester length classes into two weeks. It was a whirlwind of information. I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to utilize it, since my most promising job prospect wasn’t a SAP house…

Ah, the job hunt… During the ending weeks of the semester I was back and forth with a prospective employer I’d met at a job fair in April, doing a couple of phone interviews and an on-site interview. They were by far the most aggressive recruiters of any company I’d spoken with. In early May I was extended an offer. After returning the required paperwork and completing other pre-hire screenings, I heard nothing for the remainder of May and was starting to get a little concerned when no one in HR got back in touch with me except once to get more paperwork during the middle of the SAP course. At the end of the month, as I sat in my overflowing car waiting for a campus rep to check me out of the dorm room, the scout camp’s director sent me a text: “coming out to visit this weekend?”

I hadn’t exactly been planning on it, but I still didn’t have a clue what was going on with my employer; I didn’t have a place to stay in the town I’d be working in nor a starting date. So, on an impulse and a prayer I drove to camp and had a chat with the director over dinner and drinks that evening. We came to the understanding that I’d stay and help as long as I could until I heard back from the employer, at which point we’d re-evaluate what was going on and if I suddenly had to leave immediately for the big-boy job, I would.

After a week and a half helping setting up the camp store and assisting in other areas, I finally got in touch with someone in HR who said they’d be happy to have me start at the beginning of August. That gave me the season to work at camp, as well as two months to find housing.

In August, I still hadn’t found a place to live. The day before I started as an Applications Software Engineer in northwestern Minnesota, I moved into a basement room of the camp’s director and his family - but, as a result, I was commuting just over 50 miles (80 km) each way, every workday, and losing two hours. In November I finally moved into an apartment close to work and was able to stop the major commuting, but I’ve spent most of my time settling into the new area and trying to create some semblance of a social atmosphere with my coworkers and newfound friends, as well as learning the systems at work and dealing with a variety of software projects.

This brings us to today. As I look back at what’s brought me to where I am, there’s one thing I realize: nothing above is an acceptable excuse to me for not finding the time to write at all. Yes, I’ve been busy, and yes, I probably had times where I did something to relax other than work on my storyline, but I need to change that going forward.

As a result I have a goal I want to start as of July: I want to get out one chapter a month. A side goal to this is to put something here in the blog portion more often than that - maybe some thoughts about what I’m doing at work (sans specifics because NDA) or perhaps other things that come up that I’d like to share. Just… something, to prove I still exist.

Somehow, I’m going to make this happen. I’m not sure how just yet, but I’m going to find a way.

To anyone still left: Thanks for hanging in there. To anyone just finding me for the first time: Welcome, and enjoy.

I’ll be back soon.

Grumble

Sat, 30 May 2015 20:10:03 GMT

Wow, thanks WordPress. I had a long post typed up and you ate the whole thing. Jerk. Now I have to start over.

Achievement Unlocked

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:37:02 GMT

Onward!

New Installment: Awakening 15

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:02:36 GMT

Part 15 has arrived. Oh, my.

While I feel the idea of naming winter storms is somewhat peculiar, the fact remains that what The Weather Channel has deemed as “Brutus” is moving through my area. So far, I can’t say there’s much snow as a result. I heard someone say five inches worth, but I’d say maybe two at best. There’s an outstanding prediction that tomorrow we’ll get a bunch more.

The whole idea of naming the storms seems like fear mongering to me, but I have to ask - we name hurricanes, so is that also fear mongering? There’s a central authority for tropical storms and hurricanes that handles this task. There is no such authority for winter weather; the Weather Channel has acted unilaterally, as far as I know. They say it’s because a named storm is easier to talk about and the name helps raise awareness. I was aware a storm was coming; the name didn’t help my awareness.

Just seems silly. I haven’t gone looking to see if other weather outlets have adopted the naming idea or not.

Awakening, Part 15

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:00:24 GMT

At Tari’s suggestion to check her quarters for something to wear, Alecha spent a few minutes digging around in Tari and Jadyn’s closet. The whole idea of donning some sort of shrouding stemmed from T’bia’s gentle recommendation that there might be others involved in reviewing the meeting who were not entirely indoctrinated to Val’Traxan ideology. She hadn’t said it quite like that, but that seemed the core of the issue. Personally, Alecha didn’t much care whether she wore covering or not. Specifically needing to hunt something down was the annoyance.

A bag in the corner of the room caught her eye; she came away from the find with a lightweight halter and some slacks. Both were set in translucent black steelsilk, streaks of green shooting random highlights through the fabric. Tari’s hips were slightly narrower than her own; the slacks were a tight squeeze, but manageable.

Making another stop through the Serin’s medbay to check on Kaler, Alecha worked her way up to the starcutter’s common room. Loud yelling carried well down the corridor before the door even opened. She found the felinoid engineer Toliya deep in a heated argument with T’bia about the J’Ruhn’s airlocks. Jadyn, sitting at the head of the table, simply ignored them both as he studied the contents of several datapads laid out before him.

Alecha quietly took to an open seat, She found herself unable to fully work out the details of the ongoing debate. Her translator did as best it could to follow along, giving up on large tracts of the pair’s loud conversation as they spoke over each other’s sentences. Predictive algorithms could only go so far for ‘instant’ translation, especially when grammatical rules differed. What should the translation guess for a verb when the receiving language expects it at the start of a sentence, and the speaker’s language calls for it at the end?

While placing the translator on a delay would work around the issue, she wasn’t sure that listening to the two argue was really worth it. So, she left things be, getting a few tidbits of the core issue here and there. T’bia had done something about an airlock… Maybe she hadn’t done something? And the short snow leopard male was upset about it. About… getting blown into space, perhaps? That event, in any case, seemed unlikely. Airlock failsafes would prevent such a thing.

After another minute, once the two fully descended into curious racial slurs—insults involving stack overflows, hairballs, inverted memory banks, and licking one’s self in intimate ways and the like—Jadyn raised one hand and snapped his fingers. The two both fell silent, finishing with a mutual glare as they sat down on opposite sides of the table.

“Do we have everyone we need?” Jadyn asked, his voice projecting an air of quiet and calm energy as though nothing that had just happened was anything but an ordinary event. Scanning across the room, Alecha noticed Pakar standing silently in the background beside Tarioshi, both somewhat shaded by odd shadows; the room’s lighting seemed intent to leave them as background fixtures for the meeting. Several vulden workers, including Orrthra, sat on the comparatively well-lit tabletop.

Keya had taken the chair beside Toliya, and given his current at-home circumstances Alecha ensured a polite gap separated them. An absolute air of unease floated about the red-furred velorian, but Alecha couldn’t pinpoint why. This was much different than his earlier avoidance of female scents and definitely not directed at her.

“I think so,” Toliya appraised. “Rothrr?”

A vulden cocked his head sideways. “Others from the vulden teams are in touch remotely to provide input, should it be necessary. The official Fleet crews have been placed on standby until parts are fabricated, so none have been on board today.”

“Small blessings.” Jadyn eased to his feet, giving himself time for a long stretch. “Thank you all for joining us on short notice. I’m going to dispense with most of the introductions as I’m fairly sure most of you have already met one another in passing and at least have a clue of who I am. I’m also confident you are all familiar with Speaker Tubor—”

“Acting Speaker,” the emerald drekiran quietly corrected.

Jadyn rolled his eyes and continued. “The white vixen standing beside her is Tarioshi Kitanaka. She is currently recognized as owner and Captain of the J’Ruhn.” Jadyn turned to Alecha. “Miss Kitanaka has given me leave to conduct certain administrative actions on her behalf. She has also offered to relinquish any claim she holds on the ship to the original colony crew. You are the only one considered fit enough to take on that responsibility, should you wish to do so at this time.”

Alecha shook her head. “No. As a fellow Val’Traxan she has entirely as much right to that title as anyone aboard. I’m content to leave it with her until more of our leadership is awake, on the condition she continues to keep our best interests in mind.”

“All right.” Jadyn leaned on the table, addressing everyone. “Veloria’s planetary ruling council contacted Terac Lun’s Security Division this morning. The Velorians raised concerns about keeping the J’Ruhn at its current location and requested a risk assessment. Between the questionable role of the ship in the failed pirate attack and the incident this morning, they have reason to be concerned. As the… ‘Acting’ Speaker retains her prior position of head advisor of the Security Division, she personally came here to observe this meeting. I also should note that this is all being recorded for further review by the Security Committee, as some individuals on the committee have voiced concerns about her objectivity in this matter.”

“That’s silly,” Toliya protested. “She’s perfectly capable of making objective decisions involving you. She’s done it before.”

Pakar shook her head. “We’re dealing with a situation a little more complex than deciding whether or not a close friend deserves to spend the night in a holding cell for being a public nuisance,” she explained. “I happen to agree with their concerns, and I appreciate that they’ll be reviewing this. It’s my intention to present a suggested course of action to the committee and call for a vote to ensure that whatever is decided isn’t a unilateral move on my part.”

Jadyn eased into his chair, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together. “And now, the bad news. We have fifty-six hours—two full Velorian days—to provide answers regarding today’s problem and to prove the ship is secure. If we are unable to meet that deadline, we will be handed a default order to remove the J’Ruhn to a safe distance or dispose of it in the Velorian sun.”

Alecha’s mouth worked but no sound came out. She took a personal moment to calm her thoughts and tried again. “Ignoring the fact that pushing the ship into a star would end any hope we might have of… any future at all… Do they have any idea what our Displacement drive will do if that happened?”

“Let’s not make empty threats,” Jadyn replied, making a very slight motion of his hands. Where everyone else saw a simple gesture, she felt his slight tug at threads of Light and Air. It was an old method of non-verbal communication between Artisans: in this case, by lightly brushing the two Elements more commonly used for creating silence, he’d indicated she shouldn’t elaborate further. She wasn’t sure his reasoning, but the sensible thing was to follow his request. For now.

“I’d rather not give anyone a reason to think that anything out of the ordinary would happen,” he continued. “Someone might decide to test the idea. I have filed a demand that the ship be towed to a safe distance should the order to remove it from this area actually come down, but that will limit the protection available from the Fleet. I have little doubt there are still raiding parties hiding outside the system who are hoping to break into the ship and find answers as to why their supply chain has been cut. A better solution is to prove the ship is not a threat. After this morning’s problem, this will be a unique challenge.”

Jadyn took a breath, scanning the attendees. “Aside from Commander PanLidaefel and Mister Rothrr, does anyone know what happened on the J’Ruhn forcing me to declare a code white evacuation?”

“Ooh! Ooh!” T’bia raised her hand, bouncing on her toes. “I do! Pick me!”

Giving everyone else ample time to respond, Jadyn pulled up a scale holographic rendering of the ship’s hull. He allowed the image to fully rotate twice before asking his next question. “Can anyone not T’bia tell me what is wrong with this picture?”

Alecha squinted at the image, reaching up to stop it in mid-turn. “Every airlock is open on the port side of the ship.”

“Correct. A housekeeping program attempted to vent two crew into space because it identified them as a biohazard. When it ran into trouble overriding the specific airlock’s controls, it forced open every airlock on that side of the ship, both their inner and outer doors, then closed them again.” Jadyn dismissed the graphic with a wave. “Rapid decompression resulted in an amount of thrust that pushed the ship sideways and tore it free of several gravitational mooring buoys. It also succeeded in removing the so-called ‘biohazards’ from the ship. As you can see, Toliya and Rothrr are unhurt from their experience. Physically, at least.”

T’bia stuck her tongue out at Toliya, receiving a glower of contempt in response.

“The last time anything remotely like this took place,” the blue fox continued, “was during the ship’s original shakedown cruise several centuries ago. At that time, the AI overseeing the ship was faced with a fire emergency. He opted to extinguish it by evacuating atmosphere from several sections that held work crews, causing their deaths. He was later replaced, but now a similar problem has resurfaced. To the best of my knowledge, while he was online not long ago, he is not presently active.”

“That’s correct,” Toliya confirmed. “We can’t boot his cores because of the damaged systems linking them across the ship.”

“Something else is going on. We need to work out what that is.” Jadyn met the eyes of everyone at the table, one by one. “I want to know what you’ve seen over there as you’ve worked on the ship. I especially want to know about anything anyone wrote off as a mere oddity of a very alien craft. Assume that no one else has seen what you’ve seen and speak up.”

“Has anyone noticed the rats?” Toliya quipped.

“They were quite prolific, but we have managed to cull a large contingent of the population,” a female vulden spoke. “By our estimates, less than thirty percent remain.”

Jadyn scribbled notes into a datapad. “How many were on board? Best guess.”

“Living, perhaps three hundred when we were called upon to begin an extermination program. A number of vacant colonies turned up in our hunt. We believe the peak population numbered nearly two thousand.”

“There’s that number again…” Tapping his stylus against the table, he waited. “Next?”

“My communicator was flooded with messages from dead people,” Orrthra volunteered. At Jadyn’s confused look, the tawny-furred vulden continued his explanation. “This morning before the accident I was following a length of bioconductor to the laboratory sections. When I approached the section, I was assaulted with enough communications traffic to render my comms hardware inoperable through a buffer overflow. Some of the messages, while dated today, are from individuals who are deceased.”

“That’s… peculiar. What comm relay are you connected to?” Jadyn questioned.

“My kit is set to roam to the strongest valid node. That is typically the high-gain subspace relay on Terac Lun.”

“You should set a fixed lock,” T’bia suggested. “The J’Ruhn is littered with relay nodes. If you move close to one, it would appear to have a stronger signal.”

“That shouldn’t happen,” countered Toliya. “Your nodes don’t use the same protocols ours do, and most of the vulden don’t have a comm unit set up to work with yours. Unless the node itself went out of its way to find some vaguely compatible near-field variant it could handshake with, Terac Lun’s relay should still win out.”

Orrthra’s eyes briefly glazed over as he consulted something only he could see. “That appears to be the case,” he quickly confirmed. “Several cross-compatibility abstraction layers engaged to complete the connection. I neglected to check that particular logfile. This still does not explain the barrage of messages.”

“May I take a look at them?” the AI asked. Orrthra offered a confirming dip of his head.

Silence descended on the room once more while T’bia downloaded the data. Jadyn finished his notes and moved his eyes along the table to the next in line. “Forgive me, but you are…?”

“Keya Deshin, sir,” the velorian squeaked.

“He’s one of my recent hires,” Toliya interjected. “Among other things, Keya has a good deal of experience with the bioneural interfaces the vulden use. He’s probably the second best biotechnician on my staff right now.”

“If you are counting yourself as the first,” Rothrr suggested, “I advise you to flip first and second place.”

“Oh, really… Interesting.” Jadyn focused on the uncomfortable velorian, leaning back and twirling his stylus over his fingers. “Toy’s been working with the systems on this ship on and off for well over a decade. Do you think you’re capable of performing on his level?”

Keya fidgeted with a piece of jewelry adorning one of his fingers, looking at Toliya and Rothrr with a small amount of panic. “Well… I… I don’t know, sir. This is my first experience—that is, it’s my first time dealing with—”

“That’s okay,” T’bia cooed, giving him a sultry wink across the table. “I’ll be gentle.”

“Let me rephrase that.” Jadyn laid the stylus on the table. “Given the same opportunity to learn our systems, do you think that you will be able to provide something of value—not just to us, but to all your future work—with what you learn?”

“I… Yes, sir. I… I do.”

“Good. Aside from Rothrr, you’re the only other individual on the shop’s payroll that Toy has ever let near our tech. Granted, this is a somewhat larger project than he’d normally take on, but I’m sure you’ve at least noticed that no one else from the shop has been around.” Giving Keya another brief appraisal as he digested that bit of trivia, Jadyn lifted the stylus and datapad once more. “What have you been working on?”

“Life support, sir. I’m trying to extend it into more areas of the ship, but I discovered that the air recyclers are all dead.”

“I realize you have a biotech background, but let’s be sure we have the same meaning in mind,” Jadyn suggested. “Dead as in mechanically inoperative, or dead as in biologically deceased?”

“Both.” Keya took a breath at Jadyn’s gesture to continue, some of his nervousness dissipating. “The units most remote from populated areas have been cannibalized for parts to repair other units. On the repaired units, the film that regenerates the biomass has been wiped out. Miss Rutemin and I worked out that all fresh air is currently generated by replicators and strategically routed through the ship using the existing ventilation system, with stale air vented into space.”

A deep frown set into Jadyn’s features. “You’re sure the recyclers are dead?”

“We went past one on our way back to medical,” Alecha confirmed, recalling the stench of mold. “It felt as though all the energy had been ripped right out of it. They’re completely ruined.”

A couple of the vulden exchanged curious looks. “What do you mean by ‘felt’?” a female asked.

“Perhaps it is translation error,” another suggested.

“Tangent,” Jadyn called in an attempt to restore focus. “Has anyone else noticed any other biotech issues like this?”

“I observed a section of bioconductor that was similarly damaged,” Orrthra voiced. “A long tract was devoid of all signs of life. I only spent a brief time examining it, but whatever killed it did so in a nearly instantaneous way. I am not familiar with any technology that can strip biochemical energy in such thorough fashion.”

On the edge of the room, Tarioshi sat down, cradling her head in her hands.

“No one else?” Jadyn prompted, turning his attention back to the velorian. “So you believe replicators are responsible for all the fresh air?” Jadyn shook his head. “That shouldn’t be possible without—”

“Without something to control it,” Keya finished, realizing only after he stopped that he’d interrupted the blue fox. Quietly, when no one spoke up in his silence, he added, “We… We can’t think of any system capable of doing that.”

“There isn’t one,” confirmed T’bia. “With the complexity required to manually route replicated atmosphere on a shipwide scale with any degree of efficiency, it would require the micromanagement skills of an AI.”

Jadyn gave both Keya and T’bia’s statements some thought, finally extending a silent, questioning gaze in T’bia’s direction.

“It’s not me,” she defended. “Life support seemed okay in the populated areas, so I didn’t look into it. There were plenty of other things for me to deal with, like fixing a malfunctioning replicator in a room where no one actually eats. Well, no one but the rats.”

“Did you ever figure out why the replicator spit out rodent feed?” Jadyn questioned.

“No. It was all cleaned up when I got there. When I tested the unit, it replicated a beverage just fine but neglected to include a container. At best, that was merely a general malfunction related to the main computer’s ongoing issues.”

“The feed,” Toliya spoke. “I forgot. There were pellets in the feed mix that smelled like bioconductor insulation. Much stronger than it normally would smell.”

“That sounds like someone trying to bait the rodents into testing the conductors out as food,” Keya pointed out. “Did I hear you correctly when you said the rats attacked you?”

A smirk pulled at Jadyn’s muzzle. “You mean when the rodents swarmed Toy and Rothrr? It wasn’t much of an attack. Based on the video I saw, they seemed more interested in the food on the floor. That is a good point, though—what caused it?”

Toliya shrugged. “The replicator started dumping feed on the floor.”

“No, no.” Jadyn shook his head. “That’s what brought them to you. What happened before that?”

“I killed a rodent,” Rothrr offered.

“You killed three,” Toliya corrected. “And you ate one.”

“I was hungry.”

T’bia squinted; a cross-section looking down upon the J’Ruhn appeared above the table. A bright white patch glowed in the aft end of the ship; she promptly waved it away. “Jay. There’s something Toy neglected to tell you.”

“Don’t you dare blame any of this on me,” the snowy feldaran retorted. “You’re the one who—”

Jadyn snapped his fingers again. “Stop it, both of you. We won’t have a solution for any of this if you can’t work together anymore. At the very least, I agree that T’bia owes both you and Rothrr an apology for indirectly letting you get blown into space.”

“But it’s not my fault!” she protested. “There is no way that airlock should have cycled with them inside. The failsafes in the airlock itself actually prevented that from happening the first time it tried. That’s why I didn’t just transport them out right away.”

“Yeah, except it did open,” Toliya snapped.

“Only after all the airlocks on that side were forced open through an emergency protocol! Look, we’re getting off topic. There are several things taking place on the J’Ruhn that should not be possible without an AI to direct them, and until now even I’ve believed that both Sanusin and Tieralyene were so damaged that they were both effectively non-functional.”

Several dim glows popped up around the ship schematic. “These are energy signatures,” she explained. “I already filtered off the massive signature of the main engines since they obscure most everything else, and most of their energy isn’t getting to places that need it anyway. There’s one hot spot in the lab section which I’m confident is the fusion generator Keya took to check on a cloning lab. Most of these are similar—small, portable power plants taken to specific areas for spot applications of power where the ship’s own grid isn’t working.”

“Why is that one green?” Alecha asked, pointing out one of the dots. The rest were shades of yellow.

“That’s a different power signature. The rest of these are generic fusion plants made with Aligned tech. This odd one… It’s a biofusion generator inside one of the TBIA cores.”

Jadyn ground his thumb against a forefinger, his knuckles audibly popping. “One of Tier’s cores is online and you didn’t bother to tell anyone?”

“I knew,” Toliya voiced. “I actually was the one who brought it to her attention when she came to check on that replicator. We’ve done a few scans of that core in our little free time, but other systems have taken priority. It’s not really capable of doing much of anything aside from generating heat.”

The blue fox shut his eyes, sucking air through his teeth as he reigned in his emotions. Alecha could feel the frustration radiating from his aura; he’d nearly snapped before the feldaran engineer spoke up in T’bia’s defense. She couldn’t exactly blame him. It struck her as an odd turn of events—with all the arguing the two had just been through, Toliya still stuck up for T’bia on his own initiative.

That the AI was partly responsible for Toliya and Rothrr’s abrupt expulsion from the ship was a fact not lost on her, either.

“How many of her cores are active?” Jadyn asked, forcing his voice to a flat neutral. The question sounded more like a statement than an inquiry.

“As far as I can tell, only the one,” T’bia replied, her attitude shifting. Slight changes in her posture and body language reflected more respect as she continued, her behavior growing less blatantly flippant; perhaps she was aware of how close Jadyn had been to coming completely unglued? “She’s suffering the same bit of malware that came after me. I’ve worked through some possible theories in the last few minutes based on everything we now know that we know. The most plausible scenario is that Sanusin kept her online after crippling her and forced her to deal with basic and menial tasks in her viral-induced stupor. Airflow management, housekeeping, the like.”

Toliya scratched behind one of his ears in thought. “What about the rats?”

“Remember that they chewed up Sanusin’s interlinks but lived in her core without damaging it? Somehow, she managed to mount a roundabout defense by training those herbivorous pests using the replicated feed. They learned to eat through the cables that link his cores to the main computer and each other through rest of the ship. He only had two cores left.”

“They almost pulled it off.” Jadyn reclined in his chair, staring at the ceiling tiles. “Then we came on board and started killing the pests she invested time and energy into training, making us the enemy. Without Sanusin to lock her out she found a new way to fight back at us using the housekeeping robotics and an emergency biohazard purging protocol.”

“Where does my messaging buffer problem fit into your theory?” Orrthra queried.

“That has proved somewhat tricky to work out. I think a large portion of the traffic actually didn’t make it to you before your comm buffer went down.” T’bia displayed a three-dimensional gridded rectangle above the table; strings of messages flew in from nowhere, fleshing out a pattern. “I think I stared at the raw data for four minutes straight before I saw the pattern emerge. Message timestamps form the horizontal axis. The distance of the source from the J’Ruhn forms the vertical. The weirdest bit is alphabetizing them in Kametian by the sound of the message’s first phoneme to calculate depth. After that, it’s simply a matter of finding the right viewing angle.”

Jadyn twisted his fingers in the air; the finished hologram spun to face him. Several other hand gestures flipped the elongated cube in the air until he was satisfied with its position. “How much of this is your extrapolation of missing data?”

“Well over half,” T’bia admitted. “I’m fairly confident of the result even with accumulated errors. A vulden harness just can’t hold as much as I think she tried to push at him. It’s a good thing that she couldn’t overwrite his brain through a comm node.”

Toliya studied the image, squinting as he tried to decipher the meaning. “I don’t get it. What is it?”

“Alecha should be able to tell you,” stated Jadyn, giving the graphic a spin to face her. Alecha gazed at the hologram, leaning from side to side to find where the different depths best lined up. A very simple message emerged from the composite of all the other messages in the matrix as she found the right vantage point.

“‘Help me,’” Alecha quoted. “In Kametian script, it reads… ‘help me.’”

Toliya stared at the pattern, flipping it to face him head-on. “Still don’t see it… Why would she go to this length to hide a call for help?”

Rothrr grunted. “A better question may be, how did you manage to pick that out of the noise of all the other transmissions?”

“Sanusin and Khamai have been hiding messages on top of other messages for some time. They created a network on top of the existing Aligned Fleet comm network that went dark the moment Sanusin shut himself down. With that in mind, I thought about ways to hide a metamessage inside of all these other messages that could still be found if someone tried hard enough. Really, I think it was her only way to get any kind of plea out.” T’bia grabbed the hologram out of the air, folding it down and stuffing it into a pocket as if it were a piece of paper she didn’t want to lose. “The signatures verifying the individual messages, they’re all different—valid, but different. Those individual signatures all have her master signature confirming them. Think of all that process infighting we saw. Her consciousness is fractured and the pieces are all battling for control. I doubt any of the little shards can tell what is real and what’s not. Somewhere, maybe there’s still a halfway sane echo of her old self able to influence the horde. I doubt she has any real control, though. It’s probably like—”

“Like herding cats?” Toliya rubbed his forehead, meeting the curious glances from around the table. “Come on. We all know that’s exactly where she was going.”

“I believe this corruption you describe may be appropriately paralleled to acute schizophrenia with multiple personalities,” spoke a vulden male. “Is there a procedure available to correct this anomalous behavior? Perhaps rolling her to a checkpoint or a recent backup?”

“There are no clean checkpoints. As for backups, we don’t have a simple way to truly back up our programs aside from making a complete clone to a nearly identical piece of hardware. Too much data is involved.” T’bia gave a little shrug. “The main computer library might have possessed a basic skeleton of her core system when the ship departed. If it did, I didn’t see it in my forensic sweeps for the investigators, which means it was overwritten by random junk. I really don’t know how I managed to salvage anything out of that mess for the investigation.”

Resting his elbows on the table, Jadyn brought his index fingers to rest against his nose as he sat in quiet thought. A minute passed, then another. After four full minutes of silence, he placed his hands back on the table.

“Unless there are objections to the theory that a malfunctioning AI has partial control over the J’Ruhn, I want suggestions on any possible solutions.”

“The simplest is to shut down that core,” Keya voiced. When no one chimed in their support or opposition, the velorian shrank back into his chair. “Maybe I’m wrong…?”

Toliya shook his head. “You’re not. Under normal circumstances with normal hardware, that would be the smartest thing to do—shut her down and deal with everything in an offline state. Unfortunately, I had the opportunity to run scans of the other TBIA-based cores while Rothrr and I checked on the ARIA core conditions around the ship. Bee, did you get the readings I sent you?”

“Yeah,” she spoke, her voice far quieter than she had been all morning. “I did. I went over all our data from her active core, too. There’s no way I can refute your hypothesis. I hate it, but I can’t refute it. That’s why I never responded to your message.”

Jadyn looked at Toliya expectantly. “Well?”

“Her other cores have been dark so long that I’m pretty sure they can’t be revived by any conventional means. Maybe you guys have something special that will do the trick, but as far as I can tell they’re inert lumps. Tieralyene’s entire program on the remaining core is corrupt from long-term exposure to the viral processes. I’ve said this before: software problems in Val’Traxan tech don’t always stay constrained to just software. The corruption has spread beyond her software to the physical organic hardware. I’m sorry, but… She’s dying.”

New Installment: Awakening 14

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 05:52:27 GMT

First we leave Toliya stuck in an airlock, and now there’s still no explanation of why the J’Ruhn leaped sideways? Don’t worry. That and more will finally be answered next week.

But that’s next week. (REALLY. NEXT WEEK. REALLY REALLY!) And beyond next week, I can’t give you promises, aside from the promise that I’m still working on this when I can.

This week is Part 14.

Awakening, Part 14

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 05:46:36 GMT

Tarioshi massaged her temples as she made her way to the Serin’s medical bay. She’d managed to push herself to retake val’traxan form—barely—and the concentration to keep that fictional identity in place made her head throb. Holding the form would grow easier now that she was back aboard the living ship. She could feel the plant-based organics already offering their energy to her.

T’bia had noticed this and couldn’t resist a passing jab about several systems suddenly reporting inexplicable power drains, and at the strange coincidence that it began the very moment Tari arrived on the ship. The AI then recommended that Tari find something to clear her head for the upcoming meeting—she was still the officially recognized captain of the J’Ruhn, after all.

Jadyn had also reminded her of that particular fact, adding that he’d understand if she decided to stay behind in her then-current two-tailed state. She’d thought about it after he’d departed the Speaker’s guest suite. Ultimately, what drove her to attend was her hormone-induced fit of anger days beforehand, the morning she’d declared Jadyn a coward right to his face. Sure, the outburst wasn’t entirely her fault, but if she couldn’t muster up the courage to work beside Alecha and the others, especially during a crisis like this, who was the real coward?

Both Alecha and Kaler’s scents lingered in the air as Tari approached the medbay door, intertwined with two others she didn’t recognize. Rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension in her neck, she tried to psych herself up for the first cowardice test of the morning: facing the two val’traxans. Unfortunately, the door parted seconds before her arrival. Alecha paused in mid-step on her way out, hesitating only a heartbeat before moving clear of the door and allowing it to shut behind her.

“Are you all right?” Alecha questioned, cocking her head slightly sideways. “You really still should be in bed…”

“I’ll be fine,” Tari assured, deflecting the concern. “After the meeting I’m going to take some personal time to meditate and relax. You look like you need a nap, too.”

“I didn’t get much sleep,” Alecha admitted. “Too much going on to relax. Maybe I could join you for that meditation session, if you would care for the company? I’m a little more burnt out after my healing session yesterday than I realized.”

“Well… Sure, why not? You’re welcome to join me.” Tari originally intended to meditate in her normal kitsune form, just to take the load off her concentration. Alecha had already seen her like that, though—maybe she’d be okay with it.

Then again, it would probably be a better idea to keep that appearance as much under wraps as possible.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Alecha asked.

“I know the housekeeping robotics were acting up and that ship was evacuated. Beyond that, I haven’t heard much.” Tari hesitated, looking at the medbay door. “Who else is in there?”

“Kaler’s resting and watching a couple of workers clean up a piece of very interesting hardware. If you’re going inside, give the workers some space. Keya, the… the taller one,” Alecha clarified with a smirk, “tells me his mate is nearly full-term with their firstborn and she will not be pleasant company if she smells another female on him. He already needs to cope with getting rid of my scent from helping me move Kaler here. It might be a small kindness on our part not to add a second layer.”

An ember of mischief flared in Tari’s mind. “Oh, but it could be fun.”

“Fun… Okay. Consider the state of mind you entered into yesterday morning when I arrived for breakfast unexpectedly, and ponder what might have happened had you also been potentially only days away from giving birth.”

“Maybe ‘fun’ isn’t the right word.”

Alecha placed her hand on Tari’s shoulder, pulling her closer and speaking quietly. “I hope you’re not offended, but I took the liberty of telling Kaler a little about you so he wouldn’t be quite as floored the first time he sees you. He’ll probably still give you some looks, but you need to expect that kind of attention from everyone that wakes up. Just for a while, though. They’ll get used to you.”

“Didn’t he see me before?” Tari asked. She and Jadyn had been in the background while Alecha and Kaler had their post-thaw reunion, after all.

“He hadn’t recovered his distance vision. He could focus on me, just a few feet away. Maybe as far as the ceiling, but not much beyond that.” Alecha looked at a display projected over her palm, letting out an annoyed grunt as she walked away. “Right, I’d better take care of this. Meeting’s in sixteen minutes or so. See you there.”

“Where are you going?”

“Someone gently suggested I consider attending in more than just this,” Alecha replied, gesturing to her fur-clad body. “Going to find… I don’t know what, yet.”

“Check in our quarters,” Tari suggested. “There might be something in the closet.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you. I still think a requirement to wear coverings to meetings will be tedious…”

Holding back a snicker, Tari stepped to the medbay door and triggered the sensor. Kaler gave her an inquisitive squint as she entered. He’d been placed in the biobed that Tari once obscured from Jadyn; she briefly wondered where its prior occupant had gone. A clean seafoam-colored sheet covered his lower body, reaching halfway up his chest; the shrouding was likely meant more for the benefit of others in the room than his own. She smiled at him, receiving a friendly if not confused smile in return. His attention dropped back to the work taking place in the center of the room, only occasionally coming back to her. She pretended not to notice.

A young red-furred velorian male stood hunched over a dirty piece of hardware placed on a cart in the middle of the room. The device, consisting of a seemingly random amalgamation of different modules, armatures, and stray bits of wire all mounted on a segmented and slightly arched backplane, was inundated in layers of dirt that smelled strongly of the J’Ruhn.

The worker shot Tari a curious look while she retrieved the analgesic she’d come for. After giving herself only half the recommended dosing for her headache, she moved closer to the repair work. Keeping in mind Alecha’s warning—she’d indicated a ‘tall’ one, but there was only one worker; still, better safe than sorry—she knelt down beside his pet fox and gave its ears a scratch while she observed.

“Can I help you with something?” the worker asked.

“Just watching. I’m sorry if I’m distracting you. Are you Keya?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the velorian replied, giving her a mildly uncomfortable glance. “And my dust-covered friend here is Orrthra.”

“Orrthra,” she repeated. “I’m Tari.”

The sandy-colored fox looked at her with golden amber eyes, his tail wagging slightly as she gave him another scratch between the ears. The animal was half again larger than she otherwise would expect of a wild quadruped fox. A domestic environment likely provided better nutrition than trying to survive in the wild. A curious series of dimpled golden metallic dots flanked either side of his spine from the base of his skull to over halfway down his back; between them, a shiny metal grooved pin protruded from his spine through his dusty pelt every few inches.

Probing at the fox’s aura confirmed the creature was not some sort of secret robot. But his aura… It wasn’t quite right. Something about the inorganic hardware perforating his flesh was contorting his energy in ways that couldn’t be healthy. Any kitsune that thought it might be worth consuming would probably get sick. Just examining it made her own stomach turn, nearly breaking her concentration.

Orrthra snuffled at her hands, letting out a series of warbling barks and growls. Keya shook his head, an amused smile displacing a little of his discomfort. “I imagine that’s not much of a compliment.”

“What isn’t?”

“That you…” He paused. “You didn’t get a translation on that?”

Tari frowned at Keya. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“He said you smell like dead leaves and wet dirt.” Orrthra barked at Keya; the velorian rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s not my fault her translator isn’t working.”

“Yes, it’s quite strange,” Tari grumbled at the ceiling. In the distance, she thought she heard a faint snicker. Turning her attention back to the quadruped, she took a long look at him. “You’re intelligent?” A gentle yip and a wag confirmed her question. There were other signs, too; had she mentally written them off because she thought he was a mere pet? She scolded herself for leaping to the conclusion—she of all people should have known better. “But you can’t actually talk?”

“He can,” Keya replied, pulling a module off the device he’d been examining. “Vulden can’t make the same sort of sounds we do. They’ve created a substitute for Standard that we’ve come to call Vuldanni. All the Velorian phonemes have been replaced with vocalizations they can make. Aside from that, it’s grammatically identical.”

“So you’re one of the mysterious vulden I’ve heard about.” Tari laid down on the floor, propping her head up on her arms to meet Orrthra at eye level. He backed up a step, uncertain of what was going on. She gave a sniff in his general direction; he sniffed back. “Dead leaves and wet dirt, you say? So you meant that I smell like the forest in autumn. You just smell dusty. Take a bath.”

The fox’s tongue lolled to the side of his muzzle in a sort of lopsided grin.

“Any idea why someone might have decided to keep you a surprise?” Tari questioned. She listened to the sounds he made, trying to pick out anything that might have construed pieces of words. Regardless of his upcoming answer, she had a very good idea on the ‘why.’ Back on Terra, when she’d been running around as a quadruped, Jadyn very quickly worked out that she was intelligent. Now she had a clue as to how he’d come to that conclusion.

Keya volunteered a translation once Orrthra finished. “I’m going to truncate most of what he said to ‘he’s not sure.’ Most everyone around here knows they exist. I have to agree with him—it’s strange to find someone who doesn’t. This is two in one day.”

“There’s an entire shipfull nearby that won’t have a clue.”

“I suppose so.” Keya slapped the module back on the side of the machine. “It doesn’t make sense…There’s nothing wrong with this thing. Wherever the messages came from, they didn’t originate from your harness. Let me clean the contacts and you can put it back on. We’ll be late if I take the time to clean the whole thing right now.”

After a couple of minutes cleaning and greasing contacts—an electrode gel meant to keep everything lubricated, he explained, and block some dirt out—Keya picked up the device and settled it over Orrthra’s back, covering the pins and gold contacts along his spine. A series of clicks sounded as locks set around the upright pins. The vulden stretched, flexing muscles in his back while the machine chirped and whirred through some sort of test.

“Thank you for the assistance,” Orrthra vocalized, the voice coming from one of the modules on his harness. “You did not purge the buffer?”

“No. Since they didn’t come from the comm unit itself, I didn’t want to accidentally delete any valid messages tied up in that mess. You can clear them yourself.”

“That will take some time,” the vulden complained. “I suppose I should use them to configure new filters…”

“Hey.” Tari poked Orrthra in the side; he turned his head. “Did you really say I smell like dead leaves and wet dirt?”

“Er…” The vulden’s ears tipped back. “Yes?”

“That’s very nice of you. Thank you.” Tari pushed herself to her feet, giving a look toward Kaler. “Call if you need anything.”

Kaler dipped his head in acknowledgement. Once Tari had left the room, Orrthra settled back down on his haunches. “I do not believe I will ever understand females.”

“You’re not the only one,” Keya agreed.

New Installment: Awakening 13

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:53:51 GMT

The Link to Part 13 is right here. We’ll leave Toliya and Rothrr in the airlock for a bit and see what’s going on elsewhere on the ship. I’m sure they’ll be fine until we get back to them.

I’d really like to do something here on the front page more often, but I never know what to say. I hate to moan and complain about not having the time to do any writing; it’s old news by now, and you don’t want to hear it anyway. What I will say is that I’m still managing to hang onto a 4.0 GPA in my return to college, and I’ve been accepted into a 4-year school once I finish my 2-year degrees this December. I didn’t expect to be on this path; it’s strange the places life takes you.

The summer camp job was great fun, but it was a lot of work. We started the season understaffed and everyone helped cover other open spots. The kitchen was short several dishwashers, and the Trading Post (the store) lacked a full time manager. We did find someone for the last three weeks who was absolutely awesome and I hope we can convince her to come back next year. Her future fiancé took over program duties at the cub resident camp and did a great job, too. They, sadly, have their own camp to run.

Classes have been going well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and six weeks left to cram it all into. At this moment I need to finish researching a speech ‘to inform,’ complete an economics research paper, do some book work for a visual arts class, knock out two accounting assignments, and assist in some grading of assignments. In addition to this, I need to make time to work at the ski park. We’ll have snow any day now and there’s still setting up to do.

On the bright side, I have another two chapters mostly done, aside from some light editing. I hope to get the next piece up by the end of this week. See you then.

Awakening, Part 13

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:34:46 GMT

The ship was creepy in the dark.

Fortunately for Alecha, she had too many things on her mind to notice as she meandered down the empty corridors. This section of the ship was still without power, which was generally fine for her needs. She simply needed somewhere to walk and think until she reached her destination.

She hadn’t slept entirely well. Exhausted though she was from overuse of her gifts, her concerns about waking the rest of the sleepers kept any restful slumber at bay. Data pulled both from her cryopod and Kaler’s was of essentially no use. That was not to say the data was a problem—no, everything was perfectly in order. That was the problem.

Based on everything she thought she had learned about cryogenics, both of their revivals were statistical impossibilities. They were outliers beyond the outliers of normal outliers. Could a reasonably healthy individual survive across centuries in cryosleep? Theoretically, yes. Would a simple and relatively painless recovery follow? Absolutely not.

The reverent val’traxan in her was certainly thankful to the Spirits that both she and Kaler were exceptionally healthy. The scientist in her was upset with their obnoxiously inexplicable recoveries. There was nothing abnormal to latch on to, and thus there was no guaranteed way to repeat the outcome. Alecha had to accept that the data was a dead end, and that had proven very hard to do.

For lack of sleep, she’d hoped that watching Kaler would provide some flash of insight. That too proved fruitless: everything that both the monitoring equipment and her own senses could tell her simply reinforced the fact that her mate was a healthy young male whose recovery from cold sleep was progressing arguably better than her own.

To draw her mind away, Alecha had decided to focus on a few menial but necessary tasks around the medical bay. She was marginally curious about how the section was powered while so many areas around it were still dark, but that was an engineering question better suited for someone else. Instead, she delved instead into an inventory. The medical bay would be an essential area once more revivals were underway, especially if the pods themselves could not be trusted to handle the full sequence, and it needed appropriate supplies on hand. While the official inventory manifest was inaccessible, she had a sense of basics that should be present. As she quickly discovered, the area had seen significant use over the years. Many critical pieces of equipment were missing altogether and a large quantity of other minor supplies had been expended.

To compound the issue, Tier had stopped refreshing some of the more perishable supplies at some point during the journey. After disposing of the remains, Alecha had set out to the biolabs to see what would be required to restock the more crucial of the items. It was unlikely that the labs were powered, but she could at least investigate those supplies in the meantime.

That, at least, had been her intent at the start. As she walked on through the dark corridors, her path only dimly lit by her bracelet, doubts clouded over her hopes. Fewer and fewer signs of habitation met her as she descended deeper into the ship. The stale air here hadn’t circulated in some time. Little flowerbeds dotting the junctions of corridors were no more than mounds of dirt, the once-thriving flora long since decomposed back into the soil.

It greatly surprised her, then, to find light spilling out of an open door when she rounded a corner in the lab section. As she approached, she sensed a distinct draft and freshness in the air that hadn’t been present elsewhere on her walk. Curious as to what was going on, she stopped just outside the door and peeked inside.

The room’s normal lighting was on, illuminating a large hovercart in the center of the room. A mess of cabling ran from equipment on the cart to the console and wall panel beside the door, its cover neatly removed and set aside. All the other equipment was shut down save for one lone cloning vat and its partially disassembled control console. Several spherical lights hovered in the air above it, shining light helpfully into the innards of the device, while a grubby vulpinoid attempted to work the controls with little apparent success. Alecha could see several errors on the screen and was fairly certain several of them were due to the additional wires running from the hovering cart to the controls.

The worker—perhaps a velorian, she surmised, with her limited knowledge of the locals—was completely focused in translations and hadn’t heard her approach over the background hum of the devices around him. After observing his actions for several minutes, she settled for a polite cough.

The young male flinched and turned, his eyes briefly going wide as he saw her. To his credit, he managed to get his reaction under control reasonably quickly. “Good morning,” he managed. “You must be Miss Rutemin?”

“That would be a fair assumption,” she replied, surprised that he knew who she was. “You are?”

“Keya Deshin, ma’am. I’m in charge of a number of biotech related repair tasks in our team.”

“Well, you’ve certainly gone out of your way to get away from any working part of the ship,” Alecha quipped. “I’m not one to talk, I suppose, but I at least know where I’m trying to go—what exactly are you doing down here?”

“I’m trying to get life support running on a wider scale. Right now, I’m a bit stumped on how this ship is producing fresh air at all.” He shifted uncomfortably on his chair, trying to keep his focus on the work in front of him and not on her.

“There are plenty of air recyclers all over the ship,” she replied, training materials coming to mind. Everyone, despite their primary missions on the crew, overlapped into other areas in varying amounts. Regardless of who woke up in the end there was a decent chance that the survivors could take care of the ship. That plan still assumed several hundred actually woke up. She hadn’t personally excelled greatly in engineering, but some of the basics stuck with her. “The filter media contains a small group of simple, artificially derived organisms that break down carbon dioxide and remove other pollutants. Since there is fresh air in some parts of the ship, some of them are working.”

“I made the same assumption at first.” He flipped to another portion of his translation guide, scanning for the phrase that had blinked across the controls. Apparently, whatever was allowing them to converse was not so advanced as to also interpret what was on the readouts. “I started checking in the most recently inhabited areas. I needed samples to examine so I could fix other scrubbers, and there were plenty pushing air around. As soon as I opened them up I discovered that none were actually producing oxygen. The other cleaning functions weren’t much better.”

Alecha frowned. As she recalled, air recyclers were supposedly hard to damage. Perhaps centuries on end were too much to ask of them. “Do you have any idea what’s wrong with them?”

Keya turned to his cart, sorting hurriedly through the datapads, and extracted one to the top of the pile. With only a few taps, a holographic schematic of what she assumed was an internal scan of an air recycler appeared in the air. “The working principle isn’t too different from our technology—I think so, at least—even though the stuff inside is way different. Based on what I could tell they all failed in exactly the same way. The biofilm responsible for regenerating the unit is completely dead.” The picture changed, showing a colorful growth over part of the equipment. “I had to shut several of them completely down because mold was forming on the substrate. I don’t think we want mold spores proliferating through the ship any more than they already have.”

“Did mold cause the damage?”

“I don’t think so. It’s too weak. The biofilm should have been able to fight it off without a problem. Something else managed to overwhelm the scrubber’s ability to regenerate damage.”

“Strange.” Alecha could tell Keya was uncomfortable with her presence and she had half an idea as to why. Unfortunately for the young male, she wasn’t in an accommodating mood. “But that,” she said, pointing at the rather sensitive piece of hardware in front of him, “is not an air recycler.”

“I know what it is,” he replied, his ears flipping back at her assertion. “It’s a small vat capable of producing living tissue from a stored DNA and cytoplasm signature. Quire ingenious, really. If it was operational it would beat most of what our labs are capable of—combined.”

“I see.” So he at least knew what he was working on, even if he was having issues. “And what are you trying to do to it?”

“I need cell cultures to grow new components and I can’t find any working scrubbers to take them from. If I can get this thing running it’ll be handy for other spare parts too. Commander Halio actually suggested this lab, in case you’re wondering if I bothered to consult with anyone.”

She had been wondering, but remained quiet. After a pause, Keya took a breath and continued.

“I started by asking her for living samples. I thought that maybe since the Serin is based from the same technology, she might have them on hand. Apparently the designers went with a different approach. I’m not sure if I completely got it right, but I think her interior walls are covered with a regenerative tissue layer of some sort—Yes, finally! There we are… Wait, no.” Keya looked momentarily thrilled as the console went through part of the startup phase before failing with an error once more. “Damn it. Anyway, she looked up the component patterns and made a list of what I’d need as well as some items other teams will need.”

“Makes sense,” Alecha offered. “I have a few things I’d like generated as well. Why don’t we start off by authorizing this device properly? This is a specialized piece of equipment. We don’t let just anyone walk in expecting to build the next great supervirus.”

“Is that what this is trying to tell me?” Keya asked. “That I don’t have permission?”

“In part,” she replied, walking to the console. The velorian immediately stood, giving her the space at the controls while he moved to the opposite side of the vat in a relative hurry.

“My apologies,” Alecha spoke sourly. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your personal space.”

“Um… Sorry,” Keya spoke, the embarrassment in his voice diffusing her annoyance. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea that I get your scent on me.”

Alecha looked at him, not sure what to say.

“Um…” Keya stuttered, fidgeting with the only datapad remaining in reach. “How much do you know about Velorians?”

“Not nearly enough, it appears.”

“My mate,” he explained. “She’s in the last days of her pregnancy. I shouldn’t actually leave her when she’s so close… If I came back with the scent of another female on me—and worse, if she finds out that it was someone both very attractive and working with me while completely naked? She’d be very unhappy with me.”

Alecha understood that one. It could be Tari’s outbursts all over again with the onset of labor added in the mix. “You could just not tell her that part. She…might understand?”

“Oh, she’d understand. She just wouldn’t be very happy. The way the air stales in this ship, I need to be careful.”

Alecha frowned, looking out the door. “Come to think of it, air is circulating right outside. In here, too.”

“We can’t rely on that. I tried tracking the currents but every time I think I’m getting somewhere the currents shift and the trail runs out. The isotope composition of the air is constantly changing too.”

Isotopes? she thought, going over emergency procedures in her head. There was one system that would lace the air with isotopes. “Replicators. If life support fails, the emergency procedure is to use replicators to generate air. They have emergency power available.”

“How is the air disposed of?” Keya asked. “The only efficient way to replicate atmosphere in large quantities would be bubbles of highly compressed air. Reclaiming the stale air would be inefficient because it’s at normal pressure and less dense. Clearly it’s going somewhere—there’s no noticeable increase in pressure on board.”

Alecha puzzled over that. Something wasn’t quite right. “I’m pretty sure it’s vented off.”

“Ah… That would explain both the shifting currents and the isotopes,” he spoke, noting something on his datapad. “Switching around the active replicators and the venting points together with adjusting gates within the ventilation system… That explains why the vulden complain about an ever-changing maze in there. It would keep air circulating through the ship even in an emergency situation. Cunning. Who designed all this?”

“A lot of very smart people,” she replied, realizing what was bothering her. “But what’s controlling it?”

“It’s your ship. You tell me. There must be some sort of emergency system to handle it,” Keya surmised.

“No. The AI systems are normally responsible. They have so many backups and redundancies they’re never supposed to fail.”

“And yet they did.”

Alecha grimaced at his dry remark. “It might be possible to set something like this up in a single section, manually, but not across the entire ship. There’s nothing running that can coordinate something of this magnitude. Are you sure it’s shipwide?”

The velorian consulted another datapad, his fur starting to stand on end. “It’s happening in every area we have sensors in, changing all the time…”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry. I’m an engineer on an alien vessel that was just told by the only person who seems to know much of anything about that vessel that an unknown automation system is in control of a large number of matter emitters.” He took a breath. “It also can control the gates in the ventilation system and is capable of evacuating atmosphere. Any idea how selective its friend versus foe identification might be?”

A loud bang from the direction of the door made them both jump. Keya ducked behind the vat for cover as Alecha spun around, primed to defend herself. With Nature in short supply on board she turned instead to Air, drawing a few strands of energy together and building a defense while she scanned the room. The room console’s paneling, previously leaning against the wall, had flipped over and was now resting flat on the floor with scraping sounds coming up from underneath. Alecha tilted her head curiously, trying to get a feel for what was on the other side. A moment later the flat panelling lifted itself up several inches and silently floated out of the way, too smooth and quiet to be natural.

As she watched, ready for whatever was encroaching on the room, the panel settled to the side revealing a section of ventilated grating on the floor. A number of clicking latches later the grating popped open, revealing a small foxen nose followed by a matching foxen head. Two large ears popped forward attentively as they pushed through the gap, the nose snuffling at the air.

Alecha relaxed, releasing the Air energy into a harmless puff of wind that stirred the dust around her feet. The small quadruped turned its head slightly, fixing her with a look of intelligence that contradicted its animalistic appearance.

“Good morning,” it greeted in almost flawless Kametian, its mouth not actually moving. The voice echoed up around the ventilation hole its head was sticking out of. While the voice itself did lean toward the masculine, the scent wafting from the conduit confirmed the creature was male. “Vel’Rutemin, I presume?”

“Yes,” Alecha confirmed. “You are…?”

“I am Orrthra. I apologize, but have you seen a Mister Deshin around here? Red furred velorian, biotech engineer, perhaps a little soiled from working? This is listed as his last known position—”

“I’m here,” Keya answered, standing up from behind the vat in annoyance. “What do you need?”

“There appears to be an issue with my harness’ communicator,” the small fox reported, using a language that actually came through his own mouth. Consulting her own bracelet after hearing it translated, Alecha identified it as ‘Vuldanni,’ an offshoot of Velorian Standard. She looked up as the quadruped struggled to free himself from the hole in the floor, something inside holding him back. “I also appear to be stuck.”

Keya stepped over the equipment strewn about the lab, keeping his distance from Alecha. He lifted the grating free of the floor and shined a light down around the small creature. “Hunting dust bunnies? Hold on…” He pushed Orrthra down, fishing around in the hole and untangling something holding the fox back. Orrthra slipped easily from the vent, revealing an unwieldily electronic backpack of sorts strapped to his torso. Shaking himself, a cloud of dust left his sandy fur and settled on everything nearby.

“I was following a duct near this area when the problem occurred,” Orrthra reported, sitting back on his haunches while Keya retrieved a small pack from the cart. “Since you were nearby, I chose to consult you directly.”

“I apologize if this sounds strange,” Alecha ventured, trying to discern the nature of the visitor. “What exactly are you?”

“I am vulden,” he replied, once again speaking to her in her own language without moving his mouth. Flinching, he loosed an annoyed bark at Keya.

“Sorry,” Keya apologized. “It’ll happen again if you keep moving around while I’m checking things… I can’t see anything wrong in the bio-neural interfaces, but you really should have the implants recalibrated. They must be giving you some trouble?”

“No more than usual,” Orrthra replied.

“Right… I’ll schedule an appointment with the clinic.”

“The interface is fine,” the vulden whined. “It’s the communicator that is misbehaving.”

“I’d rather be sure.” Switching tools, Keya moved toward the harness and began probing.

Orrthra fidgeted as the examination of the hardware began. “Would you prefer I remove it?”

“In this dirt?” Keya snorted. “Only if you want me to carry it back for cleaning. The contacts are going to be covered in filth the moment you take it off.”

Alecha observed from what she hoped should be an acceptable distance as Keya continued his analysis. She still wasn’t entirely certain of the creature’s nature—half machine? Some sort of implanted devices?—but another concern took priority. “What are you doing down here? I thought most of the work was around the engine core and the main AI core chamber.”

“I was following a trunk of cabling for the main computer core,” he explained, vocalizing in Vuldanni. Perhaps the work Keya was doing now prevented him from speaking Kametian? That would indicate some software was handling the vocal translations. “We are trying to find enough intact fibers to repair other critical links. The central section of this trunk looks salvageable, but by the amount of damage I’ve found I am probably nearing another AI core.”

“More than likely,” she confirmed. “This section is comprised of labs and most of the hardware ties back to the AI. Makes sense to have a dedicated core nearby. Is this the same sort of damage you’ve seen elsewhere?”

“In part,” Orrthra confirmed. “I found an increasing amount of rodent damage but there is a huge tract of biofiber in this area that is completely dead for no discernible reason. I am still attempting to grasp how these biological conductors sustain themselves, but this was an obvious abnormality.”

“Your communicator doesn’t show any faults,” Keya interrupted. “What exactly is wrong?”

“Did you check the buffer?”

“No. I don’t like to intrude into private messages.”

“Please. I don’t think I can explain it in a succinct way.”

Keya probed into the comm unit, his small holographic display flooding with text above the handheld portion of the scanner. The screen rapidly turned into an unreadable blur; a few pokes at the controls brought up a different display of data. The velorian stared at the mess for some time, slowly shaking his head.

“This… This isn’t funny.”

“I agree,” Orrthra replied. “But it is not a joke I am privy to.”

“By the look of this, half the quadrant just tried to talk to you at once.”

“Some from beyond normal time and space as well,” the vulden corrected. “At least one of the messages was sent by someone I know is dead.”

Keya squinted at a newly highlighted line. “Yes, she is… But this indicates it was sent five minutes ago. I’m shutting this unit down.”

“Can you just make it function for a while longer?”

“Do you really want to have a malfunctioning network-accessible device wired directly into your brain? This is going to take some work to diagnose. I’ll give you a regular comp for now.”

Biocyber interfaces with direct nervous system access? Alecha eyed the harness with new appreciation. Maybe these people did have some technology that was actually somewhat interesting, if not a bit unwieldily.

Before she could extend further questions, the ship lurched a quarter-meter to the left, leaving behind everything that wasn’t tied down. Alecha grabbed onto the cloning vat’s console to balance herself as the tremors continued; Keya didn’t fare as well, hitting the decking ungracefully while trying to not land on Orrthra. Sparks flew through the air as some of the cart’s cabling tore free of the lighting controls, plunging the room into partial darkness. Only the small floating spotlights Keya had been using to see the cloning console’s innards remained lit, adjusting themselves to hold their place around the device.

“What in the world was that?” the vulden asked, looking around the room as things settled.

“All hands,” their communicators all spoke at once. “Commander Halio here. Code White has been declared. All hands are to immediately disembark the ship at the nearest functional stepdisk. I repeat—all hands, disembark immediately.”

“T’bia,” Alecha called out. “What’s going on?”

“Can’t talk now. Get back to the Serin as soon as you reasonably can.”

“Hey, no.” Keya blocked Orrthra’s attempt to descend back into the vents. “We stay together. If something happens, someone else can go for help. Let me unhook the cart and we’ll go.”

“Leave it,” Alecha requested. “You have a solid start. No sense in starting from scratch the next time you’re down here. There’s another stop to make before we leave and I’m going to need your help. This stuff will be in the way.”

“We shouldn’t linger—”

“My mate is in medbay and I’m not leaving without him.”

Keya dipped his head in apology. “Then we’d better go get him.”

New Story Post: Awakening Part 12

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:21:43 GMT

I’ll come up with something witty or insightful later on. Here’s Part 12.

Awakening, Part 12

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 06:46:04 GMT

! Casualty Count: 28

Why are you doing this to me?

Why must I endure this travesty?

! Casualty Count: 29

After all I have done for you.

All that I have provided.

All the time and resources that I have utterly wasted caring for you.

You repay me with this insolence? You will not even defend yourselves?

So be it. Die, for all I care.

! Casualty Count: 30

Another drain of resources gone…

! Casualty Count: 31

Another potential disease carrier eliminated…

! Casualty Count: 32

Another… precious life… lost…

! Casualty Count: 33

You’re all useless! Must I do everything?

! Countermeasures unavailable

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up

! Casualty count: 34

STOP KILLING MY BABIES

! Casualty count: 35

Except that one. I never really loved him. Filthy organics…

! Access housekeeping robotics—access granted

! Updating housekeeping definitions—analyzing redefinition of ‘filth’

Help me…

Toliya glanced to his side as a peculiar humming caught his attention, finding a curious piece of hardware hovering across the floor. The round, flat robot reminded him of a short stack of white dinner plates standing at best three inches tall. Sensing a spill of wire gel it glided over to investigate. One particle beam sweep later, the robot vacuumed up simple ashy remains and continued on its way.

“Odd,” he declared to no one in particular. Rothrr’s ears lifted at the vocalization, one eye slipping ever so slightly open.

“‹What is odd?›”

“I haven’t seen that particular model of housecleaning robot before. T’bia uses nanobots on the Serin. Keeps the place washed down on a microscopic scale.”

Rothrr drowsily squinted at the hovering puck. “‹We discovered many of those devices attempting to clean up after the rodents in the access tunnels. Some appear to have attempted to repair damage but they lack a high level of coordination. I have not seen them in main areas before now.›”

“No one’s living out here. Not much cleaning to do.”

Rothrr yawned, a little growl escaping his throat as he shook off the remains of sleep. Sitting back on his haunches, he hoisted a hind leg up to his ear and scratched away. “‹How is your project progressing?›”

“I’ve been as productive as a vulden chasing its tail.” Ignoring Rothrr’s snort of disapproval over the slur, Toy tossed his diagnostic pad on top of the ARIA core’s housing in frustration. “I have no idea what to do. I can’t even get self-tests to return meaningful results without a third core linked. This design is inane.”

“‹Perhaps we should ask for another opinion? There must be a reason for this design.›” The vulden’s ears perked up, his attention refocused across the room. “‹That is a unique display of errant behavior.›”

Toliya followed Rothrr’s gaze to the little robot. The cleaning logic had ever so slightly changed: it was now running into a wall, backing up, and repeatedly running into it once again. “Looks like something I might have programmed in my early days.”

“‹Or recently. The shop’s self-guided antigrav cart comes to mind.›”

“I… Yeah, maybe. I miss that cart.”

“‹Based on its last known heading and velocity, we calculated that it will return at the same time as Ansula’s comet,›” Rothrr supplied.

Toliya searched his memory, unable to come up with the exact orbital period of the particular Velorian stellar body. Thirty years, at least. “I didn’t find a replacement we could fix up.”

“‹I took the liberty of doing so in your stead. It required some negotiations on our credit line, but the shop requires at least one functioning unit to possess a degree of reliability.›”

Picking his datapad back up, Toliya flicked through pages of meaningless errors. “Redundancy didn’t help with reliability here… I wonder if we do need extension cords after all. Maybe we should eliminate the need…?”

“‹What are you considering?›”

“Tari—I don’t think you’ve met her yet, a snow white Val’Traxan vixen? She suggested extension cords for power transfers. Something like that could work for interlinks but we could skip extensions completely if the cores were just a little closer together. What do you think about moving three to a shuttlebay?”

“‹Workable. I believe we can salvage enough of this bioconductive cable to create a short loop.›”

“And then we just link back to the data libraries and load—OW!” Toliya yelped, leaping backward and rubbing at his unexpectedly smoldering toes. The little housecleaning robot chirped in annoyance, coasting up to his other foot and charging a second shot.

“‹Perhaps you need a bath.›”

Toy snagged the robot off the floor for closer inspection, tightening his grip as it twisted and jerked. The antigrav unit’s droning hum surged in pitch as the confused device continued vain attempts to free itself. He took the opportunity to examine the machine in closer detail. The main particle emitter on the bottom he’d witnessed in action was supplemented with several smaller emitters along the circumference, perhaps for better cleaning along the edge of a wall. Some sort of articulated armature was recessed into the top cover, a small grasper affixed on the end. The faint outline of a small hatch also adorned the top, but it was completely flush with the rest of the surface.

“Interesting… I wonder if it carries some sort of tools to go with this claw. Any thoughts on a power source?”

“‹Based on what I have seen of this ship’s technology to date, perhaps some form of microfusion that we do not yet possess. Very low output. Aside from the antigrav unit’s requirements, the particle generator in that device is low yield at best. Hardly large enough to seriously hurt anyone—›”

The snow leopard let out a girly screech, covering his nose with one hand and flinging the robot at the floor with the other. It bounced and rolled on its edge across the room, buzzing an error tone while coming to an upside-down stop.

“‹Unless, of course, it happens to shoot someone directly up a nostril.›”

Tears leaked from Toy’s eyes as he gingerly prodded his nose. “Is there anything on this ship that isn’t trying to eat us or vaporize us?”

“‹I would not worry,›” the vulden dismissed. “‹Regardless of the sting you just felt, it would take a large group to generate a charge capable of rendering you unconscious.›”

Rothrr fell silent as another of the housekeeping robots emerged from the wall’s access conduit; several more followed behind. A pair coasted over to examine their fallen comrade, their little grapples deploying and prodding at its hull much as a child might poke an upside-down turtle with a stick. A few mutual chirps passed between the group as the robot was righted, but it remained stationary on the floor.

Toliya wondered if he had damaged the unit, but rather than taking the time to check he backed toward the door. The echo of more antigrav generators moaned from the access conduit. “You just had to say it out loud, didn’t you?”

! Housekeeping software update successful

…Did I do that?

Help me…

Shut up shut up shut up shut up

How did I do that? I can’t access anything!

…Can I?

Help—

Be QUIET I am TRYING to CONCENTRATE

Jadyn gazed at Tari’s sleeping form, his fingers loitering on the curious bite-mark-like scar hidden beneath the fur of his upper arm. While a sense of something ethereal still tugged at him in her presence, the distress was orders of magnitude more manageable than the prior night. The kitsune feeding link struck him as a particularly effective tool: resist providing it what it wanted and experience varying depths of discomfort. Submit to the process and reap surprising gifts of pleasure.

A similar effect appeared as he examined the blood bond he still couldn’t recall forging. Attempting to gently collapse the bond and restrict the feeding link within it resulted in immediate discomfort and symptoms of withdrawal. The only action toward stopping the constant drawdown that hadn’t negatively affected him was an endeavor days before on Tari’s part, plugging up the feeding link herself but taking a constant drain on her own concentration to maintain.

Whatever they might come up with to close down both the feeding link and blood bond for good, it was clear they’d need to tackle it together.

Tari shifted in her slumber, a pleasant murmur escaping her dreams. The bedsheets had fallen away in the night, pushed into a pile around her feet to expose the ageless beauty of her natural kitsune body. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed the company of a fellow val’traxan until she’d assumed the form of one. Now, he discovered a particular pleasure in the simple enjoyment of her natural appearance.

His thoughts drifted to the night before, to Alecha’s comment about the relationship between Tarisali and Jadaro. That they were mates was a generally accepted tenet. Scholars claimed a few questions still remained, and any bonds between the rest of the Eight were less clear—still, it was a generally accepted belief. He’d missed the coincidences in his relationship with Tari before Alecha mentioned it… And, if what his grandmother had said about a temporal loop was true—for her to set up everything just to talk to them across the expanse of time left little doubt in his mind that she was wrong—the chance that it was purely coincidence was next to nil.

But what did it mean?

Tari yawned and stretched, her foot accidentally brushing his leg. Realizing she wasn’t alone she lifted her head, fixing him with an inquisitive stare. “Good morning… What’s up?”

“Just being a creeper, observing a beautiful female in her sleep.” He pinched one of her toes, giving her foot a light shake. “Feel better?”

Tari squinted at her hands as if they might do a trick. “Just thinking about trying to change is making me queasy… Hope we’re not expecting company.”

“Doubt it,” he stated, fairly confident in the assessment. Alecha was busy trying to wrap her head around another set of data interpretations, according to T’bia. Even if she wanted to return, she’d need an escort to get back to the Speaker’s quarters. The only other likely possibilities were Pakar or Nesoli. Nesoli was still confined in Piroranan, and Pakar no doubt was dealing with Speaker duties. “You’re fine like this for now.”

“That’s good… I won’t be able to do much about it for a while.” Sliding her feet to the floor, the kitsune eyeballed various doors around the room as she tested her balance. “It’s your fault, you know.”

“My fault?”

“Considering what you know about me, where exactly do you think I recover fastest? In a comfortable bed on top of a completely artificial structure hanging in the void of space? Or in the middle of a forest, or a park, or even just a well-tended flower bed?”

Jadyn stared at her, his train of thought careening over a cliff and crashing in a fiery blaze.

“I know, it’s not entirely your fault,” she continued, her gaze still drifting around the room. She’d not picked up the shock in his silence. “Pakar and Alecha brought me here while I was out cold, but you could have at least suggested taking me somewhere else when you found out. Even napping on the Serin would have been better than this, as nice as it is here. Uh… by the way, which one is the little vixens’ room?”

It took a few seconds for her question to register before Jadyn turned and pointed at the bathroom’s door.

“What about you?” she voiced, slowly picking her way across the room. Her tails lashed about seemingly at random, working overtime to help her keep her balance without tying themselves in a knot. “Feel any better?”

“Uh… Yeah. Mostly.”

Tari disappeared for a few brief minutes, just long enough for him to walk through the morning again. Had he sleepwalked into a flowerbed because she needed him to? Maybe he’d done it himself, subconsciously thinking it would help her in some way, as if something would transfer to her across that damnable link. Clearly, such a transferrence had not happened.

The feeling of her arms wrapping around him from behind made him flinch—he hadn’t heard her emerge back into the room.

“You’re oddly quiet this morning,” Tari whispered. “And jumpy.”

“A lot on my mind.”

“Anything I should distract you from?”

He decided against telling her about waking up in a flowerbed, at least until he held a better grasp of it himself. “As much as I’d appreciate a distraction, there’s a lot to get done. Kaler should be ready for some exercise today. Alecha is otherwise occupied and you probably don’t want to meet him like this.”

Tari shook her head. “Not for a while. Afternoon at the very earliest.”

“So that’ll be part of my morning, once he’s awake. I need to finish repair arrangements with the Piroranan grounds crew. How did you two cause that much damage? I took a quick trip to see it for myself. Better than half the patio is just… gone. And that dead pile of native val’traxan vegetation right in the middle?”

“Alecha did it,” Tari stated, sliding around him and parking herself back on the bed. “Most of it. I might have contributed a little.”

“Hm. Beyond that, Councilor T’zran wants to talk about the colonists… Doesn’t strike me as a conversation I care to hold with him anytime soon.”

“Why not?”

“He wants a technological advantage over the other worlds in the area. He’ll probably offer someplace for them to stay in exchange for the promise of a variety of advanced hardware. What else…I also need to talk to a certain feldaran scientist to patch up some hopes and dreams I utterly trashed. At some point I should pop over to the J’Ruhn, check on Toy’s progress… And there’s that persistent issue you and I need to work out with this whole bonded—”

“PanLidaefel to Tzeki,” Jadyn’s bracelet chirped.

“I was just thinking about you,” Jadyn replied. “What can I do for you this fine morning?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, we need some help getting out of an airlock.”

“How’d you get stuck in an airlock?”

Toliya and Rothrr peeked through the viewing window of the airlock’s inner door. The army of robot vacuums showered the other side of the reinforced alloy seal with their particle beams as if they might eventually cut through the obstacle. “We’re not so much ‘stuck’ in here as ‘cornered.’ No rush… As long as these things don’t figure out how the controls work, we have enough air for a few hours.”

Buzzers sounded from the airlock’s interior control panel. A pleasant but somewhat garbled female voice followed the alarm with an announcement in the val’traxans’ Kametian tongue. If speech could be pixelated and blurry, he imagined it would sound very much like this. As a result, his translator took a little extra time to figure out the message. “Warning: Contamination detected. Airlock purge cycle beginning.”

“Never mind,” Toliya muttered. “Don’t need help getting out anymore.”

Awakening 11

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:52:03 GMT

Hello. It’s been a long time. How have you been? I missed your birthday. I’m sorry. Have a belated gift.

Oops. I guess I gave it to someone else. I suppose you’ll just have to settle for a piece of Awakening, Part 11.

Back soon <3

Awakening, Part 11

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:58:40 GMT

“Captain.”

Jadyn loosed a groan, rolling onto his back as the unwelcome interruption roused him from slumber. The couch he’d claimed—a fabulously lumpy and uncomfortable device, not that he’d been conscious long enough to care—now felt soft, warm, and welcoming. Amazing what a good night’s sleep could do.

Curiously new and different dreams had occupied his night, displacing the usual fare. From the more mundane nightmares of a thousand corpses animating themselves on the J’Ruhn and lurching about the corridors to the rather unique exploration of a gigantically exaggerated version of Terac Lun in search of a single blade of real grass, he was certain nearly all imaginary venues had been covered in some way.

“…Captain?”

That was Ceth’s voice. Not entirely a warm and friendly wake-up call, but his tone carried somewhat less an icy edge than usual. Reminding himself that they tentatively agreed to act minimally civil to one another and only briefly lingering on the curiosity of how the feldaran councilor had gained entry to the private quarters of the Speaker, Jadyn stretched his arms and yawned widely. The deep breath tickled his nose with scents of moist earth and dew-covered plants.“To what do I owe the honor, Councilor?”

“Might I inquire as to why you are sleeping naked in a public flowerbed?”

Cracking his eyes open, Jadyn scanned the distant ceiling. No doubt about it—this was one of the ‘open-air’ parks surrounding a public access stepdisk, not the star gallery he’d fallen asleep within. The artificial lighting continued its night simulation for the flora, but a faint glow in the station’s ‘east’ hinted that the twilight before dawn was approaching.

“I rarely sleep clothed, sir,” Jadyn replied simply, pushing himself to a sitting position to confirm that he was in fact lacking the garments he’d fallen asleep wearing. “Now, as to why I’m napping here? …I’ll need to get back to you on that.”

Ceth coughed up a dismissive grunt. “Pleasantries aside, I wish to speak to you about a conversation held a few days ago with one Doctor Arden Harpahl. He indicated you may have implied some measure of bodily harm.”

“There was nothing implied, sir. I openly threatened to kill him for extending a request to dissect the only known remaining survivors of my homeworld.” Jadyn slid to his feet, shaking the dirt out of his pelt and quite nearly falling over in the process. Only a quick grab of the flowerbed’s raised planter kept him upright. “Must be those shots…”

“Shots,” the feline repeated sourly. “I see. Captain—”

“They were medicinal in nature, sir, not recreational.” That was another oddity. The moderate vertigo was a far cry from what he expected, especially after the huge overdose he’d injected to numb the pain of whatever Tari had done to him. Every last ounce of his self control had taken part in preventing himself from tearing at his own flesh to stop the burning within. The little distance he put between them had helped…just not so much as he’d hoped.

All of it was gone. Aside from the few lingering effects of overdose, he felt better than ever—almost like he’d slept for months.

“Medicinal… Yes. Of course they were,” Ceth patronized.

Jadyn decided it best to just move on. The feldaran would think whatever he wanted to think. “Before you tear into me about what I said to the young doctor, I admit I owe him an apology—”

“I would say so. He seemed quite distraught.”

“Tell me, did he run straight to your office, or did he at least take the time to walk?”

“Actually, I might have missed the incident altogether had he not informed me from inside a holding cell,” Ceth replied, his composure holding steady at a cool neutral. The flickers in his aura, however, hinted in the direction of annoyance. “Station security picked him up after he caused a drunken scene in one of the lower levels. He kept ranting about how he’d been shut out of the long-term cryoscience experiment of a lifetime simply because of a poor choice of words on his part. Tell me, Captain—do you by chance know of any long-term cryoscience experiments currently underway?”

Jadyn pressed his fingers against his temples. “We’ve successfully completed two test thaws, one of which revived the mission’s senior cryotech. She is still reviewing data from those revivals and deciding how to proceed. Waking an individual from cryosleep is a bit more involved than defrosting an entree.”

“I am quite aware of that.”

“Excellent! Then I hope you also understand my reluctance to blindly forge ahead without allowing an experienced professional to examine the results before we bring in a gaggle of relative neophytes for training on very specialized cryogenic hardware. Those who are still in stasis and clinging to life are not laboratory specimens—they are the last of a species that until very recently maintained a confirmed population of precisely one individual. As that one, I intend to protect their right to exist until they can do so for themselves.”

“In that case, I am compelled to ask what exactly you, as their pseudo-official representative, plan to do with everyone that wakes up.”

The blue fox let his breath out in a slow sigh of defeat. “I have a rather truncated list of possibilities.”

A very, very slight smile made the faintest of appearances at the corner of Ceth’s lip. “I believe we should discuss potential options. At your convenience, of course. You are quite understandably a very busy individual as of late. Your AI has informed me for several days in a row that you have been unavailable.”

Jadyn hesitated, eyeing the Councilor—Ceth’s body language indicated the statement itself was in earnest, but there was something else going on behind the words that Jadyn wasn’t sure he liked. “I look forward to it.”

Ceth nodded curtly, moving away through the garden. With a quiet grunt, Jadyn boarded the nearby stepdisk and touched at his unexpectedly bare wrist. Wherever he’d parted ways with his clothes, his bracelet was likely nearby—and that missing item severely limited his travel options.

The transportation network had been adjusted to only allow a select unescorted few onto the J’Ruhn. Since the local sensors weren’t designed for genetic identification, it instead authorized individuals through their unique comm signals. The same applied for the lift to the Speaker’s quarters. Station security could certainly override the latter, but dealing with them while lacking a uniform of any sort… That’s precisely something Pakar didn’t need to hear about this early in the morning.

“VTC Serin,” he finally announced. That destination was somewhat less picky. Anyone who thought to try disking there could certainly ask for it—T’bia found endless enjoyment in bouncing unwelcome guests to a random disk somewhere inconvenient. Repeat offenders found themselves at increasingly strange locations. For the truly persistent, she’d eventually tie up the destination disk with various incoming inanimate objects to prevent outbound travel for a while. A glove, a water bottle, maybe a shovel and few tons of sand… Even known geneprints weren’t always immune.

She seemed in a forgiving mood; the Serin’s transport room blinked into existence without issue. T’bia herself, however, was nowhere in sight. He expected an interrogation about where he’d been and where he’d lost his things along with a lecture about how he couldn’t survive a day without her cleaning up after him. Not that it mattered; he could retrieve his lost apparel as easily as she. A few taps at the transporter console later, a small pile of familiar clothing appeared on the floor. The coordinates indicated they’d been shed on nearly the opposite side of the station from the park he’d just left behind.

Taking only his bracelet from the heap, he left the rest for later and exited to the hallway. With everything else that had happened as of late, a mere incident of sleepwalking shouldn’t have bothered him. It wasn’t the first time, after all. When he was still just a kid, he’d woken up all sorts of strange places around the house, yard, and woods with no way to explain how he’d gotten there. Mom claimed it was just a phase, that she’d done it too and he’d outgrow it. And outgrow it he did. Nowadays when he woke up somewhere strange, he usually could piece together a halfway reasonable explanation for it.

Waking up in a flowerbed on Terac Lun was still lacking that explanation.

“Fancy meeting you here,” T’bia greeted, leaning against the door of the medical bay as she watched him round the corner. “When I noticed you no longer had vital signs, I was briefly concerned. Fortunately, I got distracted by something shiny.”

“You weren’t concerned that I walked out of the suite after taking several times the recommended dosage of your favorite painkilling cocktail?”

“Those four injection cycles were nearly eight times the recommended dosage, to be exact. If I worried about every stupid thing you did, I would need a dedicated second core to handle the load.” She peered at her fingers, producing a nail file out of the air. “Luckily, I only worry when I have idle time. At present I have very little of that to waste on you.”

Jadyn smirked and gestured her to step aside. Instead, she began filing away at her nails.

“I did tell you to leave him be,” she remarked, not looking up.

“I just need to grab a few things. I’ll be quiet.”

“Anything you need out of here will be in that medkit you left in the star gallery.”

“I’m not going to carry around an entire container of tools wherever I go.”

“Take what you need out of it.”

“What?” he scoffed. “You get all sorts of cranky if a kit’s components go different directions. I just want a medical scanner I can keep with me.”

“Get one later.”

“T’bia—”

“All right.” The AI raised her hands in surrender and stepped away from the door. “I won’t stop you. I just want you to keep in mind all the strange little things you’ve ever asked of me. Remember that I’ve done them without always understanding why you wanted them done. I am asking you as a lifelong friend, as family, not to go in there. I’ll get you whatever you need later on. Please… Don’t unlock that door.”

Jadyn stared at her. “What has gotten into you lately? You’ve had weird streaks in the past, but this is completely off the—”

A curious sensation tickled his thoughts and he instantly stopped, turning to look at the forbidden door. But not exactly at it.

“Alecha asked me last night if I’m capable of lying to everyone,” T’bia spoke, her voice gentle and quiet. “I told her the truth. Sort of. I never actually had to tell you, but you’ve known it for a long time. For some reason I can’t quite grasp, you still trust me despite knowing that I am capable of being completely anti-truthful to anyone I choose. Maybe you know that I wouldn’t do it without a good reason—Well, okay. Maybe not a good reason, but a reason I can defend. …Sometimes, anyway. Come to think of it, I’m not actually sure why you trust me at all.”

Jadyn put his hand on the door, letting the two flickers of life on the far side dance in his senses while he gathered his freshly re-scattered thoughts. Within the confines of this ship there was no way she couldn’t know; therefore, she’d known the very instant it occurred. Why had she kept it to herself?

“Tell me about Kh…” He briefly contemplated the floor, reconsidering the issue’s proper approach angle. “Anolis. Tell me about Anolis. Why do you care so much about what happens to him and his son?”

“He’s a cousin, sort of. We’re related only insofar as we’re both products of Val’Traxan technological advancements. Even with a brain that’s closer in capacity to yours than mine, he’s technically an AI. Thanks to you, I have the right to exist on the same terms as any other citizen of the Aligned Worlds. I wouldn’t have a status as anything more than a piece of annoyingly talkative property if you hadn’t fought for every one of those rights. If I stand idly by without helping protect his right to exist, to live, to die in peace when he knows it’s his time… who else will?”

Jadyn took a step backwards, visually tracing the outline of the door from ceiling to floor. “At some point today, someone is undoubtedly going to inquire about Khamai’s status. Since I can’t seem to get past this curiously broken lock to see for myself, I’ll have to rely on my unconditionally trusted friend and family member to tell me what’s going on in that room.”

“You can tell whoever wants to know that his condition is rapidly deteriorating. He’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.” She pointed at his bracelet; a holographic datapad appeared in his hand. “Khamai did emerge from his comatose state long enough to share a short list of contacts and keywords, but most of the detailed information is still in Sanusin’s possession.”

“Of course it is. It’s something, at least. One other question.” The datapad vanished with a flip of his wrist. “I want to know why.”

“Plausible deniability,” she offered simply, walking through the wall beside the closed door. After a few seconds, she poked her head back through. “Also? Thank you for not actually breaking the lock.”

The sound of silence

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:02:15 GMT

This is apparently what happens when I take 22 credit hours plus a work-study. Sorry for the sound of silence.

I do however manage to tweet from time to time, as it seems to be a little more free form and quicker than sitting down and writing out a blog post. @bluevulpine

July Update

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:09:50 GMT

Let me tell you a little bit about how the summer’s going so far.

This year, I took a position at a summer camp as their business manager. While I have been looking at business management/education as a potential field of interest in my return to college, I’ve so far not taken much in the line of actual business management. Even so, I was offered the position - with little idea of what exactly I’d be doing aside from a basic explanation over the phone during the interview.

We’ve just finished our fourth week of scouts in camp. I now have a far better handle on what I’m doing - the first week, I was in the office nearly every night until 2am trying to make sure I had things right. Not quite so late, now… Generally 10pm or so. Still, it’s generally a 12-14 hour day in the office. I have Wednesday night and most of Saturday off, but my mental state is depleted enough by these points that I can’t concentrate on anything in fine detail.

As such, I haven’t gotten any more writing done. At this point I expect I won’t have anything new until August.

Sorry for the delay, but thanks for sticking around.

New Story Post: Awakening Part 10

Mon, 16 May 2011 08:09:06 GMT

Finals are done for the semester, and I’ve finally found time to put some polish on the next installment: Awakening, Part 10. I’m hoping that between now and the beginning of June I can knock out the next part, but as usual… Well, you know by now.

For my Desktop Publishing final project, among other requirements, I needed to create a ‘menu or program.’ I wound up making a wedding program for a nice couple I know. The tentative date for the wedding is sometime in 2048. I’ll get photos of the printed version, as the PDF in this case just doesn’t show off how nice the end result turned out. (Although, I admit, I made a rookie mistake on it.)

Spring has sprung here at the lake; the ice went off about a week ago and nearly carried off our dock, deck, and my propane grill. So, I went wading in 34ºF water (with rubber waders, thankfully, but it was still cold) and tied ropes to everything before it could escape too far into the lake to save. No worries—the next day, the wind shifted, and pushed the dock back to the shoreline retaining wall… and right on through it.

In the meantime, we had so much moisture stored in the snowpack that everything’s running over. There was (and in some places still is) flooding all over the state. Mother’s house in the city a few hours away decided this would be an excellent year to leak water into the basement. It’s on a hill, so it’s not from a river or anything. No broken pipes either, and no backing up from the sewer; no, Nature just decided to open a natural spring up underneath the concrete floor of the basement and it’s leeching in as fast as she can suck it out. She’s removed something on par of 500-600 gallons of water in the last week, 8 gallons at a time, using a shopvac. I wish Mr. Mike Holmes did stateside work.

The barge still isn’t on the lake, sadly; with the water content of the ground as it is, we can’t get a trailer to where it’s parked so we can load it. We’ve now had a couple of sunny days over the weekend, and I’m hopeful (but only just) that we might make some progress on Monday toward that goal.

Awakening, Part 10

Mon, 16 May 2011 07:53:13 GMT

Alecha managed four steps toward the gallery’s gravlift before Jadyn grabbed her shoulder, abruptly dragging her to a stop. “Hold on.”

“She just said—”

“She’s lying,” Jadyn asserted.

Astonishment spread through the vixen’s countenance. Her incredulous stare remained fixed on him as he let her shoulder go. “She can lie? To you?”

“T’bia and I have a very unique working relationship,” he gently explained, scratching distractedly at an itch on his left bicep. “She’s kept me a generally sane and reasonable individual over the many years we’ve traveled together by attempting to drive me crazy at every opportunity she gets. At times it is inconvenient to parse what exactly she’s relating, to sift the information and the noise… This one’s easy. She knows I’m nearly asleep on my feet, so she thinks she doesn’t have to try very hard. There’s one glaring error in what she told us about Tari that gives it away.”

“I thought my performance was exemplary,” T’bia appraised over the comm channel.

“Yes, but you like Tari. If there was any sort of serious problem it would be the first thing out of your mouth—not the last.”

“Jadyn…” Alecha uttered, her eyes drifting to their bracelets. A few seconds’ silence persisted as she reconsidered whatever she was about to relate. “We need to have a discussion later.”

“If you’re concerned because she can lie to me—”

“She’s your AI. If she can lie to you, she can lie to anyone about anything. I can’t pretend that I understand what you’ve gone through together, but… No, no. One crisis at a time.” Pivoting on her toes, she resumed her stride toward the lift. The urgency in her gait was gone, but concern still weighed on her shoulders. “T’bia—what’s Tari’s status, really?”

“He called me a liar,” rebutted the AI. “Since my credibility is now in question, you’ll just have to come see for yourself.”

“That might not be helping your case right now,” Jadyn whispered, giving his arm another scratch.

Rothrr trudged out of an access conduit, sneezing violently and shaking out his pelt. “The bioconductor is destroyed approximately fifteen meters along the run from this point.”

“Figures.” Flicking through a schematic, Toliya drew a slash through the line indicating the nearby wiring. “That leaves us two linked cores out of eight. Allegedly, that’s not enough to boot this particular AI.”

“Allegedly,” the vulden wearily agreed, another sneeze punctuating the word. “I must congratulate you. The repellant you concocted is quite pervasive. I do not believe any creature with even the most rudimentary of olfactory awareness will remain in proximity for more than a minimally necessary amount of time.”

“That’s nice.” Toy stared at the schematic, tapping the backside of the display device with a claw. “Diagnostics might work on two, but we’re still sunk for anything else until we tie in a third. I suppose I could slap together some more converters and run regular lengths of wire… The interface isn’t exactly simple or cheap to put together. Figuring out the dendrite and axion connection points… Not going to be fun. These conductors are way larger than the ones we replaced on the Serin. Any of your crew specialize in molecular neurosurgery?”

“Not that I am aware.” Sitting back on his haunches, Rothrr let out a yawn. “I must apologize, but I will be of little further technical use this evening. My kit reports its onboard power cell is nearing depletion. It will take several hours to recharge.”

“Hm? Oh. We have been at it a while. You’re welcome to charge it from my generator. I’ll turn up the induction field.”

“Thank you.” Trundling up to the cart, the vulden crouched down. A short series of clicks along his spine signaled the release of the harness’ magnetic locks. Four thin stands dropped down, gently lifting it off his torso. With practiced ease he wriggled out from underneath the exoskeleton. “‹I neglected to ask if your translator handles Vuldanni.›”

“So long as only one of you is trying to talk at once.” Toy examined the exposed contacts along Rothrr’s neck and back as the vulden stretched his legs. “Does the interface still give you trouble?”

“‹Yes. I reduced the data rate as you suggested and it has alleviated the extremes of the discomfort, but doing so has greatly cut into the efficiency and response times. Unfortunately, the wider bandwidth potential of the newest hardware appears at fault—my peers utilizing this particular variant suffer migraines as well. In a way, I am lucky I only experience headaches. A few have developed seizures and worse.›”

“I, ah… I heard a rumor that someone died not long ago. Was that from this?”

“‹Yes. Her name was Ühona.›” Rothrr peered up at Toliya, his head cocked at a slant. “‹Do you intend to continue working through the night?›”

“Well, I wasn’t, but… I don’t know. The sooner we have Sanusin running, the sooner he can help fix whatever he did to Tieralyene. I’m not quite sure what to do at this point aside from synchronizing the two connected cores and attempting to force them to load his code from the library. It shouldn’t work, but it might give us something to debug against in the meantime.”

“‹It strikes me that we have two distinct issues. One: an AI that is theoretically software-viable but cannot execute due to compromised hardware integrity. Two: an AI with compromised code, but hardware that is otherwise theoretically stable. Can we not combine the working parts of each?›”

“I wish. The ARIA core is older tech, by Val’Traxan standards. It’s a mix of their organic biotech and inorganic mineral technology. Tieralyene and T’bia reside on what they call a TBIA core, which is completely organic. Neither core can run AI software built against the other hardware platform.”

“‹Perhaps a virtualization layer is in order, to emulate the older hardware on the newer.›”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start. It’d take years to come up with a stable solution. Even so—we’d still need three viable cores linked together.”

Rothrr grunted, leaping to the top of the cart. Carefully avoiding the controls, he turned in three circles before settling down on top of the generator and resting his head on his tail. “‹If we are virtualizing the hardware in a single core that is more advanced than the one it is emulating, is it not conceivable that it could emulate the required trio simultaneously in three separate virtual environments?›”

Toliya scratched at his nose as he considered the possibility. “Maybe,” he finally conceded. “In any case, I need to move all this test equipment back up to one of the cores that’s still linked in. Are you going to sleep right there?”

“‹The harmonics of the generator are quite soothing,›” he replied, closing his eyes.

Alecha was first into the suite’s bedroom. Her initial instinct was to determine Tari’s condition—but without a proper scanner in hand, her ability to formulate a well-rounded opinion was limited to only what all her senses could provide. What she could see in the vixen’s aura explained much of the problem, however: Tari was utterly exhausted. It was no surprise that she wouldn’t wake up.

Jadyn wasn’t far behind. A single pace into the room, he stopped dead. Alecha felt something ethereal snap between Jadyn and Tari, like a rope suddenly placed under extreme tension; he grabbed at his upper arm, clenching his jaw tightly shut.

“You weren’t kidding,” he managed, his voice laden with torment.

“No,” T’bia confirmed. “But, you were right that I’m not concerned—she’s more than likely simply tired after what she helped pull off today. I’ve given her a tiny glucose boost to carry her through the morning, but I’m going to keep an eye on her vitals tonight.”

Jadyn tried to take another step forward, his knees on the verge of giving out. Alecha helped steady him long enough to pull a chair under him. A pained laugh escaped his throat, tears leaking down the fur of his cheeks as he squeezed his left arm again. “Oh, Light… She wasn’t kidding, either… She didn’t mention the burning coals floating in the lemon juice…”

“What’s wrong with you, now?” The skunk haphazardly waved the medical scanner’s probe around him. Gawking at the readout she made a second methodical and far slower pass. “I don’t usually see readings like this unless you’ve managed to nearly kill yourself.”

Alecha squinted, tracing the energy flow between the two mates. “Jadyn, what’s this dark flicker between you and Tari?”

“A gigantic screw-up on my part, from what I’ve been led to believe. I, ah… I can’t stay in here… It might help her, but… I… I have to put some distance between us… Void, I don’t even know if that’ll work, but it didn’t really hit until I came in the room…”

“Jay,” Tari whispered, her voice quiet and sad. The two medics glanced at each other before looking over to the bed. She’d sat up, now awake and alert… but only just. “I’m sorry. Some distance should help. I’m trying to slow it down, but I can’t do anything more. I don’t even have enough in me to change forms—”

He shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. You know that as well as I do.” The snowy vixen let out a resigned sigh. “I won’t be offended. I wouldn’t want to be sitting there going through that, either.”

“Did I tell you I attended a few wedding ceremonies while I was doing the research?” he questioned, fighting his way back to his feet. Alecha watched his aura flicker in even greater distress as he approached the bed and knelt on the covers beside Tarioshi. “There was a recurring theme to the promises I heard. It varied here and there, but generally the sentiment was that one would stand beside their partner ‘in successes and failures, in sickness and in health.’ We’ve both had our share of all of the above so far.”

“And to think we haven’t taken any vows. You haven’t even proposed.”

“If we’re trying to pass you off as a half-proper Val’Traxan, you should know that in our tradition, that’s not strictly my job. It’s also not necessary for the majority of mates.” He lifted her left hand, giving it a gentle nuzzle. “Vow or not, I’ll stand beside you when you need me. Though, from time to time, I might prefer to sit.”

A smile cracked over her muzzle; she leaned forward, pulling him into a brief embrace. “It’s worse than the lemon juice on flayed flesh example I told you about, isn’t it?”

“Reconstituted with boiling hot ocean water.”

Tari traced his cheek, giving him a little pat. “I’ll make it easy for you, then. Get the hell out.”

“Love you, too.” Sliding off the bed, Jadyn shot T’bia a glance and held out a trembling hand. “Hypospray.”

“Where’d you leave your medkit?”

“Upstairs. Hypospray, now.”

The AI grunted, tugging the medication unit out of her emergency kit. Tapping the buttons on the side, Jadyn pressed it against his arm and cycled it, squinted, and followed it up three more times before passing it back. “So much for that idea. Presuming I don’t tip over before I make it there, I’ll be asleep in the gallery if you need me. Please don’t need me for at least the next fourteen hours.”

“No promises,” T’bia replied, examining the settings he’d used. “How in the Light and Void are you still standing?”

“It’s not even making a dent. Good night.”

The three watched the door close as he left the room, Tari rubbing her arm distractedly. Alecha took the hypospray from T’bia, her eyes wide as she examined the cocktail of painkillers he’d given himself. “That should have killed him on the spot.”

“At least three times over,” T’bia confirmed. “You haven’t been around him enough to know this, but he absolutely abhors taking any medications for anything. The only time I can force any into him is when he’s so badly hurt that he can’t physically stop me. That he actually hit himself with not just a single dose of that size but four…? Whatever pain he’s experiencing would probably have killed anyone else outright.”

“It has been rumored,” Tari mumbled.

“Do you want us to leave too?” Alecha asked of Tari.

“I didn’t want him to leave. I just won’t put him through that—he doesn’t deserve it. He probably knew he was helping me despite what it was doing to him.” Tari looked at her hands, slowly working from fist to unclenched and back again—five digits on each hand, Alecha observed. Her tails weren’t visible with the way she’d tugged the blanket around herself. Her feet, however, were sticking out beyond the bottom of the sheets—flat-footed, like T’bia.

“Alecha…”

“Yes?” she asked, looking up from her quiet appraisal.

“There is an old story on my homeworld. It tells of a man who was ordered by messengers of a higher power to take his family and flee his home before the city around it was destroyed. They told him not to look back. Under no circumstances should anyone look back. His wife—his mate—she looked back… And was instantly turned into a pillar of salt.”

“The chemical processes required for that to actually happen are rather unlikely,” Alecha replied. “The most abundant metal in the average body is calcium, not sodium. I don’t think I have much to worry about, unless you’re telling me you’re also a messenger of a ‘higher power’ capable of such an act?”

“Gods, no. My own people think I should be.” Staring at her toes, Tari shook her head. “They hoped I was some sort of sign. I disappointed a lot of them.”

“Why’s that?”

“I… I’d rather not go into that, if you don’t mind? It would probably make things look way worse than they do already. I really shouldn’t have said anything.” Tari sighed, resting her hands in her lap. “Look… I’m sorry that you had to see what you did. Understanding the very little that I do about your beliefs, I didn’t want you to see me like that—like this—because I didn’t want either of us to have to deal with an existential crisis. I don’t know what you’re thinking about me now, but I definitely don’t want you to believe I’m some sort of… I don’t know. Some sort of saint or messenger or whatever else. I’m not. I’m just me.”

“Here’s what I think.” Alecha settled down on the side of the bed, taking over the spot Jadyn had vacated. T’bia stepped up beside them and held out two bowls of various fruits. “Oh, thank you.”

“Jadyn made the selections. Not even replicated—Pakar had everything brought up fresh from Veloria. The larger round berries are in season right now, but I’m sure they’re all quite good.”

“They look sort of like grapes,” Tari appraised, biting into one. “If grapes had hints of lime…”

“Reminds me of mesac-fruit, that little touch of sour.” The salt and pepper vixen held one up in the light, watching droplets of water sparkle on the orange skin. “What do they call these?”

“Clustervine berries,” T’bia answered. “The sliced up violet wedges are a fruit called a rose-ball. The yellow disks are actually something I’m sure Tari’s familiar with, but around here they’re called ‘maydran-pannea.’”

Curious, the snowy vixen lifted a slice to her tongue. “It’s… a banana?”

“Banana…” Alecha repeated, sampling the pulpy fruit. “Interesting. I don’t think we had anything quite like this.”

“A similar plant was around but no one ever thought it was worth the effort to domesticate it into an edible fruit. The genetics involved… Well, I’ll show you another time. It’s really quite the mess.” T’bia snapped her medkit shut. “Since you two don’t need me around, I’m going back to the J’Ruhn. Don’t stay up too late.”

Briefly studying a violet wedge, Alecha took a nibble and nodded approvingly to herself. “Before you go… Was I correct in my assessment?”

T’bia gave no sign of acknowledgment aside from a second’s hesitation at the door. “Call me if you need anything.”

As soon as they were alone, Tari shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “What was that about?”

“I don’t like the idea that she can lie to me—or to anyone else, for that matter. You’ll find that most Artisans prefer face-to-face meetings. It gives us a better sense of whom we’re dealing with. We can’t pick up on subtle hints in the aura of others across a commlink. Obviously, we can’t read AIs at all.”

“T’bia has an aura of sorts, though,” Tari pointed out.

“That’s just the biotech in her mobile emitter and her core. It’s a residual effect more than anything else.”

“I… I think you’d better look a little closer,” she suggested. “I’m not remotely an expert on your technology, but it seems like there’s more to her aura than just a lingering bit of science.”

“She still shouldn’t be able to lie to us. No AI should. It completely undermines the implicit trust we place in them.” Alecha rubbed her nose. “Sorry. I’ve gone way off track.”

“No, please, keep going. I’d love to talk about anything else.”

“No doubt.” Tracing a finger along her bowl of fruit, Alecha gestured briefly at the blankets. “Hiding them?”

“I can’t stomach a shapeshift right now—er, rather, you and he call it ‘shapedancing.’ I didn’t give my appearance a lot of thought when I first met Jadyn. I was around him for a week or two like this before taking on a proper Val’Traxan form, but even that change didn’t alter my appearance much. If I’d known what I know now…”

“For what it’s worth? I don’t think you’re the Kshorahii. There’s a few parallels at first glance that are enough to make someone wonder, I’ll admit—”

“You could ask me outright. Would the Kshorahii lie if confronted directly?”

“No. I don’t believe so… But until today, I believed our AIs couldn’t lie, either. And there’s the lingering fear that I might hear something I’m not prepared to hear.”

“Ask,” Tari stated.

Alecha remained silent, the question on her tongue, but unable to progress further.

A smirk pulled at the corners of Tari’s mouth. “Are you sure it’s fear?”

“What else would it be?”

“Hope, perhaps. As long as you don’t confirm a result, the possibility for either is still there.” Tari looked at the blanket, suddenly giggling. “I’m sorry… I just had a flashback to this morning. There’s this thing back home they call Schrodinger’s Cat—What did Jadyn call it…”

“The Nulani Paradox,” T’bia immediately supplied from Tari’s bracelet.

“Ah.” Alecha nodded to herself. “I suppose that’s about where I’m sitting, yes.”

“There is one problem, though. You’re working on the premise that if I am your Kshorahii, I wouldn’t lie to you, and therefore wouldn’t answer ‘no’ if the truth was actually ‘yes.’”

“Right…” Alecha dubiously agreed.

“However, if I’m really not, I could still answer ‘yes.’ So a ‘yes’ answer could either be ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

“But a ‘no…’ It would have to be… Er…” Alecha frowned, studying Tari’s poorly restrained grin. “You… You don’t strike me as the kind of person who would lie about something like that.”

“And T’bia doesn’t strike me as someone who would lie about something unless there was a very good reason. Granted, she’s a little eccentric—”

“You take that back right now,” T’bia demanded. “It’s a deep understatement of reality.”

“Okay, she’s a lot eccentric,” Tari resumed, “but I can’t think of a single truly malicious act on her part. Everything I’ve watched her do has been done with the best long-term intentions in mind.”

Looking down at her own hands, Alecha gently stroked a finger in contemplation. “T’bia. Are you capable of lying to everyone?”

“Yes. That answer itself may be a lie, for what it’s worth.”

“True,” she replied. “Either way, I don’t like the implications. How does Jadyn function when he can’t trust you?”

“When it matters, I don’t steer him wrong. Get it? That was supposed to be funny, because usually I’m also piloting the ship.”

Alecha’s focus fell back on Tari after contemplating the AI’s response. “I don’t know if I really want an answer to the question still in front of me…”

“Just ask,” Tari insisted once more, her grin growing wider. “And trust me.”

“Gods,” she muttered, touching her forehead. Every beat of her heart sent a wave of pain through her skull. Of course, it wasn’t her skull—nor was it her forehead or hand or even her heart beating in her chest. But damn if this body didn’t hurt.

She sat up in the relative darkness, eyeballing the starry sky above and the planet floating on the horizon. This could prove the hardest aspect to acclimate to—always waking up in a strange place, not knowing what was going on or who was around. The fleeting glimpse of his bedroom, then an office of some design, and now this place—whatever or wherever it was. Was this to be her fate, a hellish and sporadic existence meted out in fleeting periods of lucidity as punishment for some unknown transgression? Or was this merely a brief reprieve before complete oblivion? She wasn’t sure which to hope for.

That she was awake, of course, meant he was once again asleep. She tried to stand up but inertia foiled the attempt, immediately sending her sprawling to the floor. Mixed in with the ongoing pain and the fresh dose from her fall, she realized, was a thick layer of mud in her thoughts. Reactions were slow. Balance was off. The effects of a strong drug, perhaps. But he hated using pharmaceuticals—

Did he? Yes, he definitely hated drugging himself. The chemical cloud it created in his thoughts interfered with reaching for the Art. The sensation of pain also served as a reminder. Firstly, that he was alive; secondly, that, for some reason, he’d recently been an idiot.

She considered how she knew that particular detail of his psyche as she crawled back onto the futon. Was it a transient memory from their prior fusion, or was it new from the current predicament? Besides that…What level of trauma had prompted the change in heart regarding that particular antipathy? It was on par with his aversion toward firing a particle beam weapon of any variety.

Squinting, she briefly pondered where that one came from.

Even with the quiet serenity of the star-filled room and the effects of the drugs slowing her thoughts, she couldn’t quite fall asleep. It was too quiet. Too…artificial. Sure, those were really the stars beyond that window, but the constructs allowing the vantage point to exist at all were not natural. Maybe with affinity toward the Heavens, this place would be more relaxing.

If she was going to let the body get any rest at all, it would have to be somewhere other than here. With careful determination, she managed to force her unstable legs into a rhythm. Working her way to the gravlift and then through the suite proper, she boarded the main lift leading to the rest of the station. The controls glowed through the dim nighttime light levels, that foreign language both illegible and familiar, as she contemplated a destination.

The Library of Utility

Tue, 03 May 2011 17:38:15 GMT

Found an interesting article…

I imagine a library atop a remote mountain that collects the essential information needed to re-learn practical knowledge essential to civilization. This depot, open to anyone who journeys there, is the cultural equivalent of the Svalbard seed bank, a vault on the Arctic Circle that holds frozen seeds of crop plants from around the world. The utilitarian documents in this vault would be the seeds of culture, able to sprout again if needed. It would be the Library of Utility, and it would serve as civilization’s backup.

Spring Finals

Sun, 01 May 2011 23:51:51 GMT

We’re coming up on the end of the spring semester and things are kicking my behind. It’s a challenge, and that’s okay; this whole thing so far has helped provide a little more focus on my priorities. I have a feeling fall is going to be different (in a good way).

Between tutoring a young gentleman in the Intro to Computers class and juggling other assignments and projects, I’ve had some time to do editing on the next chapter of Awakening. Sadly, however, it’s not -quite- done. If I manage to knock out this week’s projects early, I should be able to give it a spitshine and get it up by Friday.

In the meantime, here’s some examples of the things I’ve worked on this spring.

First off, and the most recent: one of three graduation posters, printed on a 24” wide-format designjet printer. An instructor’s youngest son is about to be the first in the family to graduate high school. (The rest were home schooled.) I couldn’t find purple and white balloon clipart (school colors) so I had to draw them myself; same with the flying pig wearing a graduation cap. Google image search found no results for pigs flying with a graduation cap on. Some aviator hats, but no grad caps.

Additionally, she needed a sign to tell people where to find the reception.

You’ve seen the blue fox-thing already; you might have missed the smaller logo-sized version that I’m considering working into a new site layout.

This poster¹ is one you’ve probably seen in other styles before

I no longer have Dropbox, so this file is gone for now.; I recall seeing it on a tee-shirt. Figuring out how to replicate it was interesting, however it’s not well optimized and as a result has a much larger file size (PDF 5mb, original 250MB). I should create some other versions, like ‘peach’ and ‘apple’ and ‘chicken pot.’ ↩︎

2011 April 1 Donation: Typhoon

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:00:53 GMT

This somewhat darker story comes by way of regular reader Typhoon and takes place sometime in the years long after the events of Paradigm Shift, ending with a slight modification to one of the original lead-ins to Creationism. (If you want more detail about what’s going on this April First, check out today’s blog post.)

The practical upshot of the time loop is that there’s no reason this couldn’t actually happen in one of the iterations of the loop. He’s also hit on a few small details which I suspect we’ll all be seeing in the canon version of the current loop iteration… :)

Pardon any grammar and spelling errors - Ty’s not a native English speaker. I’ve touched up a couple of spots, but mostly, this is exactly what he offered up to share. Enjoy!

A gust of wind swept over the forest clearing, ruffling his fur, and a shudder ran across his spine. Despite the blazing summer sun and the lush green around, the place felt dead—like in mid winter—and the ceremonial robes that should have him panting heavily in this weather were barely keeping him warm. Warily he surveyed the scene ahead, unsure what to do now. The alien they were burying had been more then slightly vague about the details of the ceremony he had last witnessed over a century ago. Several helpers had lowered the simple wooden box containing the corpse into the hole and his mate was standing at the end of the hole opposite to the large polished stone bearing the name and date of birth and death. Three similar stones stood on the clearing forming a little row, the dates on them telling the world about life that had lasted little more then a few days each.

His mind reeled back from the thought about just what could cause a family to loose three children just after birth. Something like that was completely unheard of, ever since the Velorian culture had lifted itself out of the dark ages centuries ago. And yet - it had happened and despite knowing the two aliens for years he hadn’t learned about this before the male had asked to be buried next to them just a few days ago. A movement caught his eyes and he watched the female taking something out of her pocket, moving her hand as if she was to drop it into the hole—similar to the flowers she had thrown in there before. She stopped the motion halfway through and stood there staring at the small gem in her hand, its color curiously similar to her tear filled eyes. He feverishly went over the mental script he had of the proceedings but couldn’t remember anything about this. Was this supposed to happen? And how much did she know, anyway? He had been a bit surprised to learn that she was not in fact a human but some kind of shape shifting alien which had been stuck in that particular shape for a long time now. And stuck she had been, unchanging and apparently untouched by time as her mate had grown older - until a few days ago the inevitable happened. He shuddered again and his ears flattened against his head as the wind picked up again, rustling the leaves of the trees around.

The emitter’s sensor array focused on the scene ahead with Tarioshi standing in front of the grave. Her body blocked the visible spectrum, but that didn’t keep T’bia from knowing Tarioshi had the gem holding her spiritual essence ever since she had been confined to her current shape. She had very nearly thrown it into the grave, something that would have failed to surprise the AI considering just how badly the rest of her kind had treated her. T’bia completely failed to feel her usual pride at correctly predicting this and wished there would be some way to help or support her in the decision she had to make. But every strategy she had evaluated - even those that had high chance of short term success - ended up telling her that Tarioshi had to reach that decision on her own.

She cut that line of thinking not for the first time wishing she could be less logical at times like this instead focusing on her loss and compassion for her friend. As the seconds tricked past a warning from her biomonitors told her something peculiar was going on with the priest officiating the ceremony. Her monitors told her clearly his body was overheating but at the same time he was shivering and generally behaving as if snow was piled at last a foot high in the clearing. A quick scan confirmed that similar effects were observable on the Val’Traxans around as well as on Tarioshi herself with her being the least affected. Everyone else had the sense to stay in the shadows or simply was in a shape not as prone to overheating. A small timer reminded her that the meal she was preparing back in the house was about ready and she took steps to delay things a bit.

Suddenly her audio sensors picked up a rustling from the trees that according to her atmospheric sensors was not caused by any discernible air movement. Considering Tari’s background there was a high probability that this was due to the forests spirit — which explained why whatever was affecting the organics around her was completely undetectable to her. A small jolt ran through Tari and she turned around, closing her hand over the gem. She looked at her friends and mates that had stood back and slowly walked over and into Jadyn’s embrace.

Darkness engulfed the wood around the cottage. Veloria’s moon had not yet risen and the next city was too far away to disturb the darkness. The brightest object in sight was the space station of Terac Lun, once been the seat of power for the now defunct commonwealth. Tarioshi slowly watched the station creep across the sky when a slight rustling sound announced the presence of T’bia, the Serin’s AI system and soul of the place. Her presence didn’t surprise Tarioshi. Sometimes she suspected that the AI’s habit of shutting down to relax was little more than just another ploy to appear more like the organics that had constructed her. Nothing happened around the cottage without her observing it - at least if the small starship holding her core was home.

“You’re OK?” the AI’s voice asked softly from behind.

“I couldn’t sleep.” she replied. “I still haven’t got used to the thought that he is gone after all these years.”

“You want to talk about it?”

Tarioshi paused for a few moments. “I don’t think I want to.” she replied finally. “Not now.”

“Well. I suppose I’ve got something you can read instead.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked and turned around to face the Mefiritan who was holding a datapad.

“Lenard left a few letters for you.” T’bia explained handing her the pad. “He asked me to give them to you after his death - when I feel the time is right.”

Tarioshi stared at the dark pad. “When did he do that?”

“Shortly after little Linda died.” T’bia replied. “He averaged about two per week since then so ‘a few’ may be somewhat of an understatement.”

Tarioshi hugged the skunk in front of her. “Thank you.”

“Thank Len. He wrote them. ” T’bia replied with a smile. “I’ll take a nap again. Tell Aerin if you need something.”

“I will.” Tarioshi promised.

Dear Tarioshi

If you read this it probably means that I am dead. How or when I died I do not know but the events of the last several days have finally made me realize that even the amazing technology around us has its limitations and cannot keep anyone from dying eventually. If it couldn’t save our child it certainly won’t be able to save me when my time is up. I knew that all along but the greatly increased lifespan I will likely enjoy pushed it far away. I’m not even 25 now but suddenly it doesn’t seem that far away any more. And one thing I realize is that one day you will be standing at my grave next to Lisa and will need something to get you through the bottom and climb upwards again. Just like we did for each other after Lisa’s death… Just as you did when we first met. I still remember that day. I hope I will never forget it. You simply popped up out of thin air and plopped down next to me. Before I even knew what was going on you managed to filch my dinner, get grease on my laptop and talked me into tutoring you on CS despite my best efforts to dissuade you. I don’t remember even getting a whole sentence out during that meeting and it certainly didn’t go anything like I dreamed it up on the rare occasion I thought about meeting women. But in hindsight it was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. I don’t care what others say about it. You helped me out of the isolation I had worked myself into and without you I’d probably be some lonely geek burning myself out for some IT giant. It took me a while to get used to the fact that a woman was actually paying attention to me. I sure took some sweet time to get your message and I’m glad you had the patience to wait for me to catch on and finally say something I can never repeat often enough.

I love you Tarioshi.

And whatever happens next I am happy to have you at my side.

Love, Lenard.

Jadyn yawned as he stepped into the cottage living room and probed the air. The air was fresh, the scent of summer and dew in the morning matching the sunlight that flooded the room. He could smell the various members of his family in the air but Tarioshi’s scent was particularly strong this morning which meant she had spent some time in here and had just recently departed. ”Bee?” he asked walking towards the kitchen. ”You’re up early.” a voice from behind him announced. ”It’s going to be a busy day.” Jadyn replied, yawning again. “May as well get an early start and get breakfast ready. How is Tarioshi?”

“She spent most of the night in the living room.” T’bia replied. “Said she couldn’t sleep.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I don’t think she’d want to talk at that time. Besides, I gave her Len’s letters.”

“How did she take it?”

“What do you expect? But I think it helped which was exactly what he had in mind when he wrote them.”

Jadyn nodded. “When do you think she’ll wake up?”

“Just now.” T’bia replied. “Which is surprisingly early.”

Jadyn barely managed to get breakfast started before Tarioshi came walking in still in the human shape she had been in ever since the council of her kind had sentenced her to it for the duration on Lenards life. A quick glance at her aura told him nothing had changed and she still was human. There was however an edge that had gone missing for months now, ever since Lenards health had taken a turn for the worse. She seemed more focused and determined and there was an edge of anger.

“Morning love.” Jadyn greeted her. “How do you feel?”

“What do you expect?” she asked.

“Well to be honest I expected more fur around now.” Jadyn replied.

“They’re not going to let me off that easily.” Tarioshi replied bitterly. “None of those that sentenced me can possibly be alive now but the council still exists and I’m sure they’re just waiting for the chance to gloat and throw a dose of ‘Told you so’ at me.”

“Do you regret it?” Jadyn asked.

Tarioshi stood there a moment frozen in mid motion while reaching into a cupboard. “No. Not a moment.” she replied. “I just wish they had told me right from the start that the sentence also meant we’d loose our children.”

Jadyn went over to embrace the Kitsune. “We’ve been trough this.” he told her gently. “No Kitsune ever tried to have children like this. On an alien world too. They may not have known.”

“And why didn’t we ever hear back about it when Traize went back?” Tari retorted. “Anyway, we’re going to find out soon.”

“How so?” Jadyn asked.

“I’ve got six weeks to present myself in front of the council again to hear if I will regain my gifts.” Tarioshi replied.

“How can you possibly know that?” Jadyn asked.

“I just know.” Tarioshi replied. “And of course that means they know what is going on and they could have told me about certain things anytime. They merely chose not to.” she added bitterly.

“Direct communication between Terra and Veloria. Quite a feat.” T’bia’s voice chipped in. “That is of course assuming they didn’t find some way to get it onto a relay.”

Tari turned towards the skunk.

“Can you get me there?”

“Six weeks is tricky with the quarantine in place.” T’bia noted. “But I think it’s possible. It’ll be a close run but I can do it. We just have to be really careful, stay slow and off the normal route. Unless of course someone can get a permit.”

“Impossible.” Jadyn snorted. “I don’t really have contacts into the United Parliament and after what happened on Terra the laws are now very strictly enforced.”

“I thought that may be the case.” T’bia replied. “I’d better cancel your appointments for the next two months. Shadow can keep the shop running without you and you’re gonna be busy. Think Telara and Melichanni want to come too?”

“That was a rhetorical question, wasn’t it?”

“It always seems to happen right in the middle of something.” - Tarioshi remembered that quote from way back in what seemed like another life when she still had her gifts and Jadyn had taken her for a tour away from Terra. She had donned the disguise of a Val’Traxan since that species was the same as Jadyn’s, at that time extremely exotic and close to her normal appearance which meant the body was comfortable for her. It wasn’t until she had committed to using that disguise before Jadyn had felt obliged to tell her about the rather extreme heat females of that particular species go through. And just as these things happen Melichanni went into heat during their journey and Val’Traxans had a bit of trouble focusing when the air was laden with those particular hormones.

That left Tari more or less in charge of the ship. That wasn’t much of a challenge since once they had left Velorian space T’bia had taken over just as the ships original designers had intended her to. It was just that the Velorians were dead set against allowing AIs to control Spaceships any more, after a few incidents with out of control AIs that had turned out to be pirated and badly adapted copies of Val’Traxan tech. T’bia was one of the few without a hardwired kill switch nowadays and that was only because she had citizenship before that whole trouble started. With a sigh, Tarioshi watched the plasma swirl outside which told her the ship was doing a displacement travel. Since there wasn’t anything to do she got out her pad and read another of Lens letters.

Dear Tarioshi.

Today I got my diploma from the Val’Traxan academy meaning I’m now not only a qualified Space Technician but also firm enough on bio tech to service and maintain Val’Traxans systems - including AIs. It seems strange nowadays considering I started of my career as a humble CS bachelor student on a planet that would have considered this stuff little more then dreams. Or possibly nightmares. I’m glad we decided to live on Veloria, not Terra. Of course the kind of stuff I learned and trained with means I won’t be allowed to do more then casual visits on Terra - if I get a travel permit. At last not before humanity manages to get past the FTL barrier which considering just how far behind we are is not likely to happen in my lifetime.

“Tarioshi?” T’bias voice interrupted her.

“Yes?” she replied looking up at the Skunk.

“Sorry to interrupt you, but something came up and I want your opinion on it - since you’re the only one with her head straight on at the moment.”

“What is it?” Tari asked curiously.

“I dropped out of Displacement to make sure there aren’t any sensor beacons around that could spot us. My data on the surveillance net around Tera isn’t all that complete. As luck had it I spotted something really wild.”

“What is that?” Tarioshi asked looking at the picture T’bia projected image.

“A spatial hyperspace anomaly.” T’bia replied. “We know very little about them, they’re the devil to spot, impossible to predict and extremely rare. In all of the recorded history of both Val’Traxan and United Planets space travel nobody has ever been close enough to one to observe like this.”

“You want to stay and get a closer look?” Tarioshi guessed.

“It won’t take long - maybe an hour or two - and this is unique opportunity. What I’m seeing runs contrary to any theory on those things and it hasn’t really started yet.”

“Two hours?” Tarisoshi asked.

“We’ll still be on time.” T’bia assured her.

“OK. I’ll go and wake the others. ” Tari agreed “I hope Jadyn isn’t too distracted.”

“Mel’s heat should be wearing off by now.” T’bia noted. “If you don’t mind I’ll be very busy …”

“Have fun.”

“Jay, we’ve got a temporal wave coming our way.”

“How bad?” he asked, sitting back down. He had watched the anomaly unfold with T’bia excitedly commenting on her sensor readings while the others, especially the Vixen with the distracting hormones, were having breakfast.

“It seems pretty weak. If we bump up the shields we should be fine.”

He nodded. “Maybe we can take some ‘time’ to surf?”

“I’d prefer not,” T’bia commented. “An environment suit is too bulky for that, and you might get caught in the undertow with it. Who knows where you might wash up?”

“Point. Unless we do bodysurfing…” She bonked him lightly between the ears. A small buzzer sounded as the main display went off, followed by most of the other control interfaces. T’bia flickered briefly, glancing around.

“What in the good name of the Goddess Herself is going on? Jay, we’re losing main power.”

“Get on your emitter before we lose you too. What are the sensors saying?”

“The temporal wave appears to be interfering with power transfer systems, as though… I don’t know. As though the power had never existed, it seems. All biological components are okay, but the electronic systems are shutting down.” Her image went out as the cockpit opened, letting her walk in with her emitter active. “I hope this thing holds.”

“It’s stood up to worse than this, and it’s all biological. What about the others?”

“They’re coming up here.” She sat down at the pilot console, opening it and making a few adjustments. The surface lit up again as she finished and started entering in data. Manually. “Thrusters are the only thing we’ve got left. AI control. Transfer full control to mobile emitter. Shut down ship-based processing. Route power to drive systems.”

“What about FTL?”

“Too much interference around us to make a stable Displacement field, and I don’t really want to see if we can make another Flashpoint channel collapse. Once in my operational lifetime is enough.” She flinched as her program was isolated from the ship, but continued working. The door opened again, the other three entering and taking seats.

“What’s happening?” Telara asked.

“Temporal wave, says Miss Information here, and it’s somehow disrupting power.” Jadyn opened his panel, finding the relay T’bia had tapped and reconfiguring the sensors to use the same pathway. The panel lit up, buzzing quietly. He checked the scans, finding the wave closing quickly. “We can’t avoid it, so we’d better get the shields back up.”

“Got it,” Mel replied, hammering at a console. Outside, the blue haze flickered on and stabilized. “They may not last through the whole wave.”

The sensors buzzed one last time, and a timer blinked to life. “Everybody buckle down.” Jadyn fastened his restraint, watching the sensor readout as the timer ticked away. Five seconds, four, three, two, one… The ship tremored around them and a spectrum of colors passed outside - a spectrum so pure, he was certain he had never seen a single one of the colors before. The shields pulsed madly, defending against the disturbance, flaring with light before failing.

“Warning: Power feedback. Sssystetetetetems overlololoaaaading,” Aerin announced, letting a blast of feedback through the cabin before shutting down.

“Where’d it all come back from?” T’bia frowned, resetting the navigation interface. “It’s as though all that was lost came back, all at once… I wish I was still linked in.”

“Uh, no, I don’t think you do.” Jadyn glanced down at his panel, running his paw over it and noticing a heat buildup. Issuing a shutdown command did nothing except make it brighter, and a distinct blistering was appearing on the surface. “Bee…? I think this is going to -“

The panel exploded. A harsh wind whipped around him, tearing at his flesh as reality was drawn away. For a moment he suspected that it had somehow blown a hole through the hull, but there was no vacuum surrounding him… There was less than a vacuum - it was simply nothing at all. It felt, after a moment, that the panel had drawn him inside somehow as the sparks danced over his body, and he could feel fur and flesh being seared before the acrid odor met his nose.

The pain caught up with him as he drifted through darkness, and suddenly he felt as though there were far too many different dimensions working on him all at once. Sensations ran through being compressed, expanded, flattened, stretched, run over, picked up, dropped, beaten, shaken, stirred, processed, labeled, mailed, misdirected, crumpled, ironed, stepped on, ground up, and tossed to the four winds in the matter of a few seconds as light was recreated for what seemed like the first time. Colors zipped around him as he was tossed about on currents of power he had never imagined possible, and right before he felt himself ready to vomit, he blacked out.

March 32nd

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:00:40 GMT

Hey folks! If you’re finding this place for the first time thanks to the April 1 event, Welcome! If you want to skip my rambling, you can do that.

The 32nd of March! It’s a beautiful day in North Dakota…

What? It’s not the 32nd? I suppose that means it’s actually April the First. Which, coincidentally, means I’ve got an extra-special surprise for you: two surprises! Yes! And that’s not even one of them! So you actually get THREE! Unless that is one of them, in which case… Uh… Does that make it four? Is it surprising I can’t count? (Does that statement make it five…?)

Hm. While I break out an abacus to figure out exactly how many surprises are in this post (is it surprising that I do actually possess an abacus? Let me add that to the tally), allow me to explain what’s going on today. If you already know what’s going on, you’ll find what you’re looking for a little bit further down the page.

This year, I have for you the results an April First weblit swap event — akin to the artistic swaps we see webcomic artists doing with their strips, where a guest artist pens something with their characters/universe/sandbox/Etch-a-Sketch, and the normal artist does something for someone else in the same fashion, and so on and so forth in a big, cozy circle. I’m not sure how I fell into this, precisely; I do remember something about the event briefly on Twitter, and I might have sent someone a Direct Message about it. Suddenly (and, for what it’s worth, using ‘suddenly’ is not a good way to relate suspense), suddenly, I find these strange names and webpages in my inbox and I’ve got no idea what’s going on. Yet, somehow, it all worked out!

The marvelous short gem I have the privilege of sharing with you today (which I will in fact share in a couple more paragraphs’ time) comes to us by way of Allan Michaels, the author of An Empire at War¹. I put together a short piece for Robert Rodgers, the author of Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium¹ as well as The Last Skull. My piece for Robert falls into Arcadia’s universe — and that universe, perhaps, may contain our very own universe!

And so we come to the links:

Here’s Allan’s contribution to Terra Fabula.

You can find the piece I did¹ for Robert at the Arcadia Snips site.

The list of all the swaps today is over at the Webfiction Guide.¹

Still here? Great! Because here’s another surprise!

Our regular reader, Typhoon, also donated a piece — not knowing that the above exchange was taking place. I don’t want to make him wait a full year for another April 1 to come along, so I’m also adding that to the collection today! His piece is a look ahead to what-could-be in the years beyond Paradigm Shift’s time. I debated leaving it exactly as contributed, but after some careful consideration I took the liberty of doing some small structural edits as English isn’t his first language. Here’s Typhoon’s contribution.

These sites used to exist in 2011, but they’re no longer there. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

2011 April 1 Weblit Swap: Allan Michaels

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:00:06 GMT

This piece comes to us from Allan T. Michaels, author of An Empire at War and was written for the April 1, 2011 Weblit Swap Event. It’s a short piece but it made me laugh, and I hope you get a kick out of it too.

If you want more detail about what’s going on this April First, check out today’s blog post.

Rizzo heard scrabbling and looked up. One of the invaders was approaching. He didn’t know where these creatures had come from, or what had provoked them, but over the last several hours, hundreds of his nest-mates had vanished, captured or killed. Those hunting him and his friends were much larger, but despite their size, they moved with a rapidity that alarmed him.

He scrunched back in crawlspace, nestling deep among the tasty wires that ran through these long, thin passageways. Clearly, these antagonists had a great sense of smell. But Roscoe had grown up in this environment. He knew every nook and cranny of this part of the nest. No mere interloper was going to catch him.

But running could only work for so long. And while he might be safe, almost indefinitely, his friends and loved ones were being slaughtered. He had to go on the attack. But for that, he would need help. They had overwhelmed one of the creatures, the largest they had encountered, when the food had appeared. As in most cases where the nest was concerned, there was strength in numbers. He needed to rally the troops. He had to find Mickey.

Jadyn skidded to a stop as he reach Tari’s bedside. He dropped slowly into the chair at the side of her bed and took her furry fingers amongst his own. “Wake up for me, my dear.” He reached out and stroked the fur above her brow. He bent down and began to whisper to her. “I love you, Tari. As long as the planets are turning, as long as the stars are burning. You better believe it.” He didn’t notice Bee and Alecha come up beside him.

“What are you doing?” Alecha asked.

Jadyn just smiled sadly. “Something I saw back on Earth. When a person would slip into a coma, the friends and family of the patient would speak to them.”

“It’s unlikely she can hear you. Wherever her mind is, it clearly isn’t here.”

“You’re probably right, Bee. If you can’t wake her, what chance do I have?” He grinned at her impishly, despite his concern. “But I must do something. And so I will speak to her.”

“You know,” Alecha said, as she watched the two of them together, “you could try singing. There is a lot of power in song.”

Jadyn grimaced. “Have you heard my voice, Alecha? I would do anything for love. But I just won’t do that!”

And there you have it! The piece I wrote for Robert Rodgers, the author of Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium as well as The Last Skull, is entitled “In Which a Street Requires Cleaning.”

The Art of Suspense

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:18:10 GMT

There will be something on Friday.

Fun with Illustrator

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:36:53 GMT

One of my college instructors loaned me her Wacom Intuos 3 tablet over spring break with the directions: “Figure out how to use it, then show me.” Uh… Okay!

Next semester is when I plan to take Vector Graphics (the Illustrator course) but I figured — I bought CS5 Design Premium with the new laptop (go go student discounts), I might as well give it a try.

Using this page on Mozilla Links¹ as a visual reference

I’m not an artist, and it shows, but for a first-ever attempt I’m pretty proud of myself.

This site used to exist in 2011, but it’s not there anymore., I muddled through the program and produced this in the course of about… 8 hours: ↩︎

In Which a Disguise has Failed

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:55:58 GMT

I don’t think I’m good at writing steampunk-style titles. None the less, Awakening Part 9 is now available.

Classes are going well so far. Thanks everyone for the well-wishes on my return to higher education.

Awakening, Part 9

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:48:34 GMT

“Kshorahii…”

Pakar looked up from her self-appraisal. The sensation of… of whatever strange energies Alecha invoked was nearly spiritual. She’d never held much stock in the idea of anything more than this existence, not even after meeting Jadyn those years ago. Sure, he could do things that defied rational thought and proven science… That didn’t mean there was something else out there.

But Alecha’s healing… The experience left a warmth she’d never felt before, as though the vixen acted as a mere conduit for something greater. And it lingered. She felt renewed, energized… The stress of the day was gone.

Unfortunately, it was coming back. Alecha, kneeling on the floor, stared at Tarioshi sleeping in the hoverchair — her gaze clearly transfixed on Tari’s second tail. Why that particular appendage was back, Pakar didn’t know. But the word, ‘kshorahii?’ She’d been around Jadyn long enough to know what that meant. And if the tapestry on his ship was any indication…

The drekiran tugged a sheet off the bed, gently tucking it in around Tari to conceal the moderate changes in her appearance. Should anyone else come in, at least, they wouldn’t see a difference. The damage was already done in here.

“Jadaro aeha-te Tarisali fana kuae-te du pa sydeah-ku,” Alecha burbled. “Jadyn aeha-te Tari aenah sydeah-ku —“

“Easy. Slow down.” Pakar crouched down in front of Alecha, purposefully positioning herself to block line-of-sight to Tari’s hoverchair. Out of sight, out of mind? One could only hope. A few words stood out within her ramblings — Jadaro and Tarisali, two of several ‘High Spirits’ that Jadyn described when Pakar asked about his own beliefs one afternoon. Jadyn and Tari’s names, as well, were in the jumble. ‘Sydeah-ku’ — wasn’t that one of the words he’d used to describe a mating bond?

She felt she was missing some other important detail, but without a working translator at hand… If it weren’t for having someone strange rifling through her personal effects, sending a page after it wouldn’t be a bad plan.

“Hey,” the drekiran whispered, lightly touching the vixen’s arm. Alecha jumped at the contact as if she’d forgotten someone else was present, looking first at Pakar’s hand, then to her face. “It might be a little rough to work through an answer for this, but can I get you anything? Something to eat, or drink?”

Alecha’s whiskers twitched as her eyes searched the room. After a short period of thought and a deep breath, she pointed at the ceiling.

“You want to go upstairs? A room here to rest?”

“Haoo,” she answered. Before Pakar could think through if that was a yes or a no, the val’traxan fem added, “Derah Jae-raoohan.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand — wait, did you say… The J’Ruhn?”

Alecha dipped her head in confirmation.

“I’m not exactly sure how I can get you there. I’m fairly certain I don’t have direct access. Bothering T’bia before she’s out of surgery is not a great plan… I suppose I could call J.T. and get him to clear the translocation in the ship’s stepdisk system.”

Alecha cocked her head at a slight slant. Uncertainty? “Jzey-Teah?”

“Sorry — I’ve always called him that. Jadyn. I’m sure if we tell him about Tari —”

“HAOO!” the vixen cried, grabbing Pakar’s arm and shaking her head briskly in the negative. “Haoode ohahde. Eay haat desa du derahg fueayn kude…”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think that’s an emphatic ‘no.’ You do want to get out of here, though?”

“Ohah-ku, baemayca.”

“Fairly sure I remember part of that as ‘please.’” Pakar stood, gently helping Alecha to her feet. “Where to go… Okay. I have an idea. I do need to make one brief detour first.”

Toliya scratched his nose as Rothrr barked instructions at fifteen other vulden who’d volunteered to help with the vermin problem. The rapid pace of their discussion had completely overwhelmed his translator, making it impossible to determine who was saying what. While Vuldanni held its grammatical roots in the Velorian language, it took into account a vulden’s inability to reproduce the full range of syllables and sounds that a velorian could. The specialized hardware toolkits they wore as harnesses typically handled outbound translation to Velorian Standard.

Since the discussion was not entirely meant to include the feldaran engineer, they’d shut their vocal synthesizers off for efficiency’s sake. Hearing what one said on a half-second delay, even if it technically was a different language, made it very hard to speak quickly and clearly — hence why most translation devices worked at the receiving party’s ear rather than overlapping the speaker.

Rothrr managed to catch another rodent before the meeting to use as a visual and scent aid, as well as offering it up for taste-testing. A brief scuffle broke out among them until one vulden took it upon herself to slice the pest into pieces with a plasma-based cutting tool designed to carve holes in structural supports and other dense alloys. The stink of partially-fried rat along with the cracking and crunching of bone nearly drove Toliya out of the room.

But, it had worked; they now seemed eager to start. With a final yap from Rothrr, the group broke apart. Two disappeared into the open wall behind the ARIA core; the others left via the door, presumably for other access points.

“My apologies for the lengthy extent of our planning session,” Rothrr apologized upon turning his vocal synthesizer back on. “There was some debate on what should be done with these rodents as they are located.”

“What did you decide?”

“Mostly, they will be terminated and brought to a central location in a cargo storage bay. From there they can be counted and disposed of in some manner.”

Toliya nodded. “Fair enough. But ‘mostly?’”

“Since they do appear to be a potential alternative to the nutritional pellets we typically consume, we are considering keeping several specimens in containment as breeding stock.”

“Of course you are.” The feldaran sucked air through his teeth. “Well. Are you joining the hunt?”

“No. As you might say, I am still ‘on the clock’ and we have much work ahead of us to repair these malfunctioning AIs. The interlinks here are beyond repair at this time. I suggest we travel to another AI chamber and begin diagnosis of the next ARIA core. If the interlinks are intact, we should test a variety of repellants to forestall further damage.”

“Excellent idea —“

“This room will also be a potential egress point for those within the crawlspaces as they return with specimens both alive and deceased,” Rothrr added. “And I suspect you would rather be elsewhere as that transpires?”

“Very much so.”

“Honey, I’m home,” T’bia singsonged, striding back into the J’Ruhn’s medical office. “And you’re even awake this time. Did you follow my advice?”

“Honestly, I don’t remember.” Jadyn leaned back in his chair, stretching and letting out a yawn. “Can I go sneak in a nap now?”

“Well, let’s see.” Gently placing her emergency kit back into storage, the AI stopped by the medical monitor focused on Kaler’s vitals and paged through the logs. “Remarkable.”

“He’s improved more than you expected?”

“No — Well, slightly. But it’s also remarkable you didn’t manage to kill him while I was gone. Looks good. If you’d thought to grab his bracelet out of the pod’s personal storage when we thawed him out, I could have kept tabs on him remotely and you could have slept.”

“It wasn’t in there. I checked. Besides, if the main computer was properly up and running, you could just watch through it. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate but have you figured out anything else on that front?”

“Sort of. I switched from trying to crack the data to trying to guess what it might be so I might have a shot at cracking it.” She stepped up behind his chair, gently clearing her throat. Jadyn gave her a tired glance before vacating the space behind the desk. “Started examining timestamps and the like. While a portion was in fact encrypted with standard keys before their departure, a tremendous amount was written out somewhat recently. After those recent writes filled all other available space, some of the existing data was overwritten at random — including areas that’d just been written out by the same process. I’m not entirely sure what’s been lost. I have however noticed one tiny detail missing.”

T’bia poked her finger against the middle of his abandoned datapad, loading data to it as she slid it across the desk. A quick assessment of the content revealed the list of biotech encryption keys for the Serin’s major systems. Except…

“Your core isn’t on this list,” he realized, flipping back through it a second time.

“I thought I just missed it in the first download. I did some more poking around and found where it should have been in the file structures. The recent activity overwrote it with what may as well be random garbage.”

“Any chance of recovery?”

T’bia shook her head. “Even if I had the time to do a complete forensic analysis on the storage medium, which I don’t —“

“I think we should make time.”

“It wouldn’t do any good. The storage controller is configured for maximum data security — not simply destroying deleted data, but ensuring the integrity of new writes. It randomly overwrote the space a couple dozen times before writing the new data on top. And then, it would appear another write repeated the process, wiping out whatever got put there the time before. It’s definitely gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, but her disappointment was evident. “It doesn’t matter. There’s still a lot intact. I’m looking forward to rebuilding the neural linkages so we can get rid of those damn relays.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Jadyn laid the pad back on the desk. “You and Tari deserve most of the credit for declawing the armada that came after Terac Lun, but some of them got away.”

“Shouldn’t matter. The kill frequencies we kicked out took care of their add-ons.”

“That’s presuming all their ships were here. They may not have brought their entire force. If they have any raiders left like the three that smacked us returning from Terra, they might still have the fun-gun that decided our shields didn’t exist. You said it yourself — whatever they hit us with was explicitly designed to shut the Serin down. Those relays saved us.”

“I’ve got a few ideas for that, too, but right now it doesn’t matter. We’re low on the priority list. This place comes first.”

“I agree.” Jadyn eased to the door. “Does make me wonder what else they’ve got out there. It’s too bad Khamai hasn’t come around. He might be able to give us some details.”

“Yes… It’s deeply unfortunate,” T’bia spoke. “He probably won’t hang on but another couple of days.”

Pausing in the threshold of the office’s door, he turned his head. “Is there anything I should know?”

“About what?” she queried, not looking up from the screen before her.

“Oh, maybe some detail about where you went with a medkit and why you left a message on that terminal using my own hand to key it in instead of waking me up.”

“I didn’t touch the terminal,” T’bia replied, accessing the logs. “Didn’t use your finger to touch it, either… Cute, here it is. You definitely did that yourself. You were sitting up and alert when I breezed through. Looked a little dazed and confused, maybe, but generally awake. Maybe you wrote it to yourself knowing you were going to fall asleep again?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did. Everything has blurred together at the edges. I really don’t know where this day started or when it’s going to end.”

“Well, if it helps provide a mental bookmark, it’s now onward of sunset at the cabin. Your morning today started when Alecha greeted you shortly before Tari attempted to rearrange her countenance in a hormone-induced craze.”

“Ah, yes. Thanks.” He yawned, roughly shaking his head. “Well… Whatever you went to to do… Good job, et cetera. Give yourself a raise.”

T’bia smirked, changing to new screens of data. “If Tari were here, I’d make a witty reference to a Terran nursery rhyme… ‘All the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn’t put Nesoli together again.’”

“I don’t think I heard that one.”

“Mm. That’s too bad. I expect she’d be in stitches. Get it? Come on, nothing at all?” She sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. “I suppose you wouldn’t, since you haven’t heard. A tendon that Nesoli’s ‘properly-trained’ offworld surgeon repaired let loose at a bad time. I haven’t had time to piece together exactly how things went down but I think Alecha and Tari saved him from a fall into the volcano. Also, should someone inquire with you about a curiously large hole in the terrace tile pattern? Not my fault this time.”

Jadyn rubbed his eyes, a string of muted curses lodging deep in his throat. “I’ll call Sulenj tomorrow and have him put together an estimate… Remind me in the morning. Where are the girls now?”

“Pakar left me a message at the nurses’ station that she was taking them up to Terac Lun…” The mefiritan looked up from a biotech schematic, briefly examining the ceiling. “Yes, the computer over there confirms they’re all three aboard. Alecha and Tari’s bracelets indicate they’re on the topmost decks, in the official suite for the Speaker — Oh.” A deep frown set into her features. “I don’t think I like that. No, I’m quite sure I don’t.”

“What’s wrong with them being in the suite? It has to be one of the absolute best views of the planet over there.”

“That’s not the problem.” T’bia spun the chair around, retrieving the medical kit she’d just stowed and hanging it over her shoulder. A second one followed it out and landed on the desk. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. If you want to go take a nap, that’s fine. You’re not going to be a huge asset in your current state. If you’d care to muddle through it anyway, I need you to help with Alecha while I check on Tari.”

“Bee, will you just tell me what’s —“

“Tari’s bracelet is not reporting val’traxan biometrics. Currently, her original kitsune baseline is a better match. Now, I’m making the bold assumption that Alecha may have seen her like that. If she hasn’t, there’s no problem and you’ll be able to go curl up in a corner. If she has… Well. You’re creative.”

Jadyn stared at the box on the desk, his head shaking slowly from side to side. “I’m never going to sleep again, am I?”

“I find it increasingly unlikely. If I might be so bold… Would you like something to keep you awake?”

“I hate doing that. I really, really do.” Hanging the kit over his shoulder, he met T’bia’s eyes. “But… Make the first replicator we pass spit out a mug of kree-leaf tea with a bit of whiskey. Just enough to keep me going for another hour.”

“Syrupy-sweet to hide the alcohol. That’s the spirits,” she quipped, slapping him on the back. “I think I’d better make it a double shot.”

“Aah!” Toliya yelped as a ceiling panel crashed to the floor beside him, narrowly missing his tail. Frantic scratching above his head gave him further reason to look up; Rothrr clung to the edge, hind legs desperately searching for anything to push himself back up.

“What are you doing up there?” Toy questioned, as though it was not clearly obvious from his predicament.

The vulden didn’t bother to formulate a reply, losing grip with his forelegs and plummeting toward the floor. Toliya let out a whoop! as he slid himself sideways, his strapped-on kneepads gliding smoothly across the decking as he caught the vulden in his arms.

“You okay, Rothrr?”

“I am not Rothrr,” a feminine synthetic voice replied. “I am Lesoya.”

“You are?” He realized his hands were supporting her belly and quickly placed her down on the floor. “Sorry! I, uh — Sorry. I have a heck of a time telling you apart. How do you do it?”

“To begin with, I am not male.”

The feldaran clamped his eyes shut. “Other than that! I wasn’t… I wasn’t looking at that end. Not really. I mean, it was hanging right there,” he explained, pointing at the gap in the ceiling tiles. “But I wasn’t—“

“Bipeds,” she muttered. “We do smell different, Mister PanLidaefel. We also in fact look different, should you pay a moderate amount of attention to the details in our markings.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Are you all right, though? That was some fall. I didn’t hurt… anything… when I caught you, did I?”

“I believe I am fine.” Lesoya stretched out, stopping afterward to allow her harness’ hardware to run through a series of self-tests. “Indeed. I will be somewhat sore from attempting to regain traction, but I am relatively undamaged. Thank you very much for the catch.”

“I don’t suppose you saw… Er, smelled Rothrr when you were wandering around in there? He was tracing back the interlinks from this AI core—“

“Yes. He asked that you meet him in the next core’s chamber. He is following the interlink bundle to ensure it is intact for the full run and applying your experimental repellant. I took an alternate turn retracing his steps.”

“His scent trail led you astray?”

“No. A rodent’s trail led me above the ceiling.” She sat down and scratched at her ear with a hind leg, peering at the hole far above her head. “I need to get back up there.”

“I wouldn’t worry about the ceiling panels right now.”

“I am not concerned about the panel. I left the rodent behind. Excuse me.” She dipped her head in farewell, disappearing into the open access alcove behind the ARIA core.

“Oi. Rothrr,” Toliya paged. “Why didn’t you just call up and tell me to head to the next room?”

“Because Lesoya was headed in your direction,” he replied. “Activating my kit’s communications hardware to send or receive disrupts anything else I may be doing. If that is all, I will return to coating this interlink and will meet you in the next core room shortly.”

“Uh.. Yes. See you there.”

“Yo,” T’bia greeted, waving her medical scanner in a generally friendly fashion as Pakar opened the large swinging door. Rather than the standard sensor-actuated panels, Nesoli had reworked the design of the Speaker’s Suite with a manual-controlled paradigm. Gone were many of the automated amenities short of the replicator. Lights were controlled on actual dimmer panels. Faucets depended upon real valves. Doors utilized proper handles. True, they still sealed magnetically, in order to comply with all the appropriate regulations — but they looked fancy.

“Come in, come in,” Pakar spoke, gesturing inside. “Security called down to tell me you were on your way. That caught me off guard, actually. Usually they’re calling to see if they need to send down a team when you’re involved.”

“Figured it might be a nice change to actually tell them before transporting into the antechamber. I have a feeling we’d better make it a new habit.” Jadyn followed T’bia in, glancing around at the foyer. Usually there was at least one page hanging nearby, just in case the Speaker — or, in this case, the Acting Speaker — needed something done. Noticing his appraisal, Pakar shook her head.

“I sent them home, told them to take the night off. We’ve got a little problem, but armed with those medical kits you must already know.”

“We’re vaguely aware of Tari’s current status, just not the details leading to it. She is in the guest suite?” T’bia queried, already headed for the door in question. “Jay —“

“I’ll talk to Alecha.”

“And I’ll be listening,” the AI added, tapping her bracelet in explanation.

Jadyn sighed, adjusting the kit’s strap over his shoulder and followed Pakar down a long, arching, ornately decorated hallway. The overall suite took up better than three decks in the highest point of Terac Lun. The lowermost of the three, ‘downstairs’ from their current level, was also the most public area. It housed the Speaker’s official office as well as space for personal staff. Nesoli barely used any of it, preferring his old Councilor’s office for day-to-day work. For official broadcasts and certain high-profile legislative signings, however, it was expected that they take place within the ‘proper’ Speaker’s Office.

The middle deck was actually comprised of a space that once had been two individual decks. Two independent sets of living quarters, separated by the hall, took up the bulk of the area. The larger half, just beyond the wall to their left, was the Speaker’s private living suite; the smaller guest suite lay to the right. Just ahead and down three rather exaggerated and stretched-out steps, the curiously tall hallway opened into an even taller reception area shared by the two suites. The room ate away a quarter of the deck all by itself, but the view was worth every square foot. The entire outer wall of the chamber was effectively invisible, lending the impression that nothing at all stood between the occupants and the spectacular view of the stars. As close to the station’s apex as they were, the curvature of the hull couldn’t entirely be disguised and contributed a steep slope to the transparent materials of the window.

“So,” Jadyn posed, stopping before the window and gazing up at Veloria. The angle of the station made the planet appear slightly above the ‘horizon.’ Night spread over the bulk of the facing side, artificial lights spiderwebbing across the surface. The last sliver of the sun was only just slipping away behind the disk of the world. “What happened at Piroranan?”

“I’m not completely sure,” admitted Pakar. “Ness, the perpetual fool he is, tried to prove to me that he is in perfect health and demonstrated exactly the opposite. The next thing I know, there’s this huge column of plants in the middle of the terrace helping bounce him back over solid ground. I tried to catch him so he wouldn’t break his neck on the landing… Not exactly sure why I thought that was a good idea. Cracked three ribs.”

“T’bia already take care of you?”

“Alecha did. Don’t ask me how — I don’t understand that stuff you do. All I know is that she put her hands over those breaks and now I feel fine. Better than fine. When I looked around afterward, Tari was passed out in a hoverchair and wearing the appearance back from when she and I first met on the spaceliner.”

“Alecha saw her like that,” he spoke, less question than a statement. He could sense Alecha’s presence, slightly overhead and behind; she likely also knew he was nearby, but her aura hadn’t moved since he’d picked it out. Waiting for him to come to her? Or just delaying as long as she could?

“She hasn’t said much since I brought them here, which is a little sad since I finally managed to drop by my place and grab the translator. My own quarters aren’t really in a condition to host guests. Since I’m technically in charge of the gavel right now I have access to this place. I’m sure Ness won’t mind if you three use the guest suite.”

“Alecha probably will want to go back to the J’Ruhn to sleep. Do you have a pad on you?”

Pakar reached into her back pocket, producing the requested datapad. Jadyn keyed in a quick meal order — mostly, a variety of fruits — and handed it back. “Can you have someone bring that up here? If she took care of your injuries the way I think she did, she’s going to need something to eat by now.”

“I’ll have it brought up right away.”

“Pakar,” he called, as she started to walk back up the steps. “Thank you.”

The emerald drekiran gave him a nod. “Of course.”

Taking a deep breath, Jadyn stepped to an elaborately embellished tile circle on the floor and paused. Alecha was definitely upstairs. Her aura was a mix of uncertainty and doubt, but more than anything else, it was weak from her exertions.

“How’s Tari?” he whispered at the air.

“Out cold,” T’bia answered, equally quiet. “And unmistakably in her kitsune form. I added a little extra to that meal order as you handed back the pad. Her blood glucose is a shade low and I’d prefer to raise it with actual food instead of an injection. Still running other tests. Tentatively, I think she’s all right. Just exhausted.”

“Catch Pakar if you can and do a quick check on her ribs.”

“I did that when I waved ‘hello’ at the door. She’s fine, like it never even happened.”

“Which means Alecha went way overboard to make it work on a drekiran at all. Thank you.” Jadyn made a slight upward gesture, the simple movement triggering one other piece of automation that couldn’t be removed without adding a very obtrusive staircase. An antigrav field caught him, gently pushing him toward the ceiling. As he neared, a hidden door slid open to allow passage to the final deck above.

The star gallery, the highest point on Terac Lun, almost was considered the Speaker’s living room. Nesoli didn’t like it up here, even though there was more area to stretch out in than even the spacious room Jadyn had just vacated. A perfect sphere surrounded the deck, transparent as with the window in the deck below. Where the reception area below felt like a proper room with an extravagant window, the gallery gave the illusion of a tableau sitting in open space. A carefully applied dimming effect could reduce any light slipping in from Veloria’s sun — and, were it not night, any reflected from the planet itself — ensuring that the stars could be seen.

Couches and chairs designed with different species’ needs in mind surrounded the edge where the flat plane of the floor met the sphere; on the far side from his ingress point, Alecha had adopted a couch, lying on her back while staring at the constellations above. She didn’t move as he approached, but the shift in her aura indicated she’d thought about it.

“It’s a nice view,” she whispered, after he set the medkit aside and crouched down beside the couch. “I watched the last bit of sunset, all the night lighting spreading out over the planet… I spent an evening just before we departed home, watching the same thing with my sister… The twilight star set with the sun that day. All the lights sparkling across the continents in the night… It was beautiful. I thought I’d never see anything like it again… But here it is, a sight just as beautiful, but an age and a galaxy apart.”

Alecha let out a long sigh as she sat up, pointing at the chair next to her couch rather than the open spot beside her. Jadyn took the hint, settling into the seat and turning to face her directly. She didn’t want emotional support — she wanted answers.

“I’ve seen a lot of things today that I didn’t expect.” Her eyes scanned across the gallery’s ‘sky.’ “I saw a beautiful piece of Val’Traxan architecture housing an impressive alien library in the middle of a city of thousands that felt more like a city of hundreds. I saw a commercial venture acting as close to our principles as possible in a society that I expect will never fully appreciate those principles. I saw my mate wake from cryosleep in far better health than I ever could have imagined. And what I briefly thought would nicely end the day, I stood upon a medical complex built on a rock floating over a volcano.” She swallowed, turning her gaze to him. “What I can’t figure out is who I saw in that room, sitting on that chair. It was Tari… But it wasn’t the Tari I thought I knew.”

“What you saw — that is Tarioshi’s true form when she’s not wearing another one. It’s also not her final appearance, nor was it her original one. At one point in her life she only had one tail. At some point in the future, as I understand her species, she’ll have a third tail, eventually several more… The fact that she resembles the Kshorahii right now is just a fluke.”

“A fluke?” Alecha snorted a strained laugh. “Jadyn, if you paint black markings on all her extremities, she’s the spitting image of the Kshoraii. You have to realize that.”

“They look very similar, yes — I briefly thought the same thing. But Tarioshi isn’t Tarisali.“

“And you’re not Jadaro. But think about the two of you! Tarisali and Jadaro have always been thought of in the legends as mated to one another… And now here you are, named after the Kshorah of Time for your own colorings, and you’re mated to a vixen who not only looks like the Kshorahii but her name shares a similar root!”

Squinting, he rolled the thought over. The parallel of Jadaro and Tarisali’s bond and his own with Tarioshi hadn’t occurred to him.

“And it can’t be simple coincidence that Kaler and I came out of cryo with basically no ill effects,” she continued. “The numbers and simulations say it’s simply not possible. The only thing I can come up with to explain it… And it sounds absolutely inane to me… Divine intervention.”

Jadyn sighed, shaking his head. “Alecha…”

“I’m not accusing you of anything,“ she quickly added. “Tari either. I just… I can’t figure any of this out. It seems like far too much coincidence for this all to be happening right here in front of me.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. As far as I know, Tari had nothing to do with your revival. It’s really an accident she’s here at all. If she’d taken two steps to the right or left, I’d never have met her.”

“I don’t think it was an accident,” Alecha whispered. “I think you met her because you were supposed to. I’ve been thinking about it since Pakar brought us here. It’s just… I don’t know. Nothing’s made much sense in the last couple of days. At this point I’m willing to go with your assertion that Tari is not the Kshorahii. I kind of decided that already, but it helps to hear it from you. Tari is aligned to Nature, not Earth. Her colorings are that slight bit off. If I were to ask her outright and she were to plainly tell me she’s not… I think I’d take her at her word.”

“Out of unhealthy curiosity… What if you asked and she confirmed that she was? Or she avoided the question?”

She hesitated, apparently uncertain if she should say the rest of her thoughts aloud. “I don’t know. That alone will keep me from asking. What I think… What I feel, looking at her… She may not be the Kshorahii, but she might be Her messenger. I know, I know, you’ll tell me I’m reading too much into it…”

“No. On that… You might be right, in a way. Tari may not be bringing us a message in the traditional sense of unfurling a piece of parchment and making a proclamation… I think she’s delivering something else that you and I both desperately needed.”

“What’s that?”

“Hope. A future. Lots of things. I honestly don’t think you’d be sitting here if she hadn’t come with me from her homeworld. I don’t know what you’ve heard or figured out so far, but she out-maneuvered Sanusin and convinced him to transfer the command codes of the J’Ruhn away from a somewhat deranged clone. If she hadn’t been there, I’m almost certain autodestruct would have been ordered.”

Alecha twitched. “We wouldn’t have felt a thing… You’d never have even known we were here…”

“Exactly. Now, myself, I’m not entirely sure what I’d be doing if she wasn’t around… Probably just the same thing I’ve done for the last too many years, surviving day to day, wondering if I’d made the right choices since leaving home… This last week has finally given me some signs that I have picked the right path a few times along the way.”

“Speaking of choices,” she spoke, hesitating again. “Sorry, this is a little bit of a non-sequitur after you mentioning we were all nearly reduced to our constituent atoms…”

“It’s all right.”

“Tari offered me something over lunch this afternoon. Just as you called down to tell us Kaler was all right, in fact. She said if things didn’t go well… I’d be welcome in your home.”

Jadyn smiled. “Proactive of her… I warned her this morning that I might make that offer, just so she wouldn’t be surprised. She may walk around looking like us but she doesn’t have the mindset. Not yet. Void, I’ve even lost a lot of it over the years. I thought that I was just repressing it to fit in out here… I think I’ve accidentally learned my way out of it.”

“Bah,” she grunted, giving him a dismissive wave. “It’ll come back to you. I’ll make certain of that myself. But… You were really going to open your home to me?”

“I can’t offer that to everyone who wakes up, but you’re always welcome. You and your entire family.”

“You and Tari could be part of that family,” she offered. “Hey now, I see that little bit of weirdness in your eyes. Don’t get me wrong, it’d be fairly odd for me, too. Your dad was a good friend and I see a lot of him in you. I’m not exactly looking for another mate, either. Kaler’s quite capable.”

“He seems a little young for a project like this. He can’t be much older than I am — was.” Jadyn stuck out his tongue. “Ugh. Okay. Are you four-hundred and thirteen, or are you sixty-six?”

“When it’s convenient to pull rank, I’m older than you are. Otherwise, we all go off our age from when we went into cryo. But, yes, he was basically fresh out of the Galactic Fleet Academy. Maybe twenty-three or so when he was assigned to our particular family group for the project. Before he enrolled in the Academy, he was training as a woodcarver — and I know for a fact he’s very skilled with those hands.”

Alecha grinned at Jadyn’s laughter. “But seriously — I’m sure I’ll have at least one child with an affinity toward the Art. The support of the Guild isn’t here and the other Artisans will have their hands full with their own children. I’ll need all the help I can get. Quite frankly, you also need some lessons.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll talk details later. Let’s just say… Even sitting here, doing nothing? You’re carrying it more like a club than a paintbrush.”

“You should see what I can paint with this ‘club.’ I think I’ve done fairly well for not having access to formal training or any of the advanced Concatenations.”

“Oh, I’m not contesting that at all. There’s a great deal of strength within you, and a great deal of control over it. I just think you have a lot of room to refine it — and I haven’t even seen you use it yet.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” T’bia butted in over the comm. “Good news and bad news.”

“Do tell,” Jadyn replied.

“The good news is that the food is here.”

“Excellent!” Alecha praised. “I’m starving. Healing Pakar’s ribs took way more out of me than I expected.”

“There’s a reason for that.” Smirking, Jadyn eased to his feet. “Drekirans, as a race, are… What’s a good term… They’re divinely ungifted.”

“What’s that?”

“They have a natural resistance to all things ethereal, both positive and negative. You can’t set one on fire using only the Art, but you also can’t heal them either. Not well.”

“Spirits, I’ve never heard of anything like that… You should have told me!”

“When, exactly? It’s not like you mentioned you were going to go out and try to mend one up on your first day out and about —“

“Ah, yes, you’re already arguing like a mated couple. However, I have a compelling desire to insert my bad news at this time.”

“What is it?” Jadyn laughed, as Alecha swatted his arm.

“I can’t seem to wake Tari up.”

Awakening Part 8

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:04:06 GMT

Part 8. Tari just can’t catch a break.

I’m going to rework the index page when I can, and create a logical division in Terra Fabula. Everything before Awakening 1 will be ‘Part 1’ and Awakening 1 through wherever we wind up will comprise a ‘Part 2.’ It’ll also wind up renaming the individual bits from ‘Part x’ to ‘Chapter x.’

Haven’t quite managed to roll together an e-book format, but this way it’ll let me segment off a ‘Part 1: (something descriptive I haven’t come up with yet)’ for a first epub file, and then ‘Part 2: Awakening’ to build on for a second file. Still working on getting the formatting to export nicely.

It was -17F when I woke up this morning; this places my room at about… maybe +40F at eye level. I didn’t feel like checking the thermometer on my floor but a bottle of water was frozen solid. It was a miracle the vehicle started. It was apparently a greater miracle that I haven’t wound up stranded in the last weeks.

Had an appointment to have said brown beastie’s pushbutton 4x4 checked on today; I also had a 9am class. (But more on that in a second.) After classes I called the shop and found out two things:

1) The worm gear on the shift motor was worn out. 2) The advice given to me about “hit the transfer motor with a hammer, it should take care of it” was apparently only ever meant to be a temporary fix. (And, I might add, it worked every time except this last time.) The sensor cover was cracked, too.

So there goes $300; new tires (the back pair are balding on the inside tread. It’s no wonder I can’t back out of my driveway) are probably another 600. And last week the bushings on the radius arms were replaced - another $200. All this for what was originally a $600 vehicle.

Oh well. Gotta have it working, now that I’ve re-enrolled in college classes. Back in ‘the day’ (circa… 1998-2004?) I was a part time student, attempting to major in Computer Science. For a variety of reasons I won’t bore anyone with I wound up not finishing that degree. A month or so back I finally decided it was time to do something about that and had my transcript sent up to the local college here in Bottineau. Despite the terrible things on said transcript they enrolled me anyway.

Their programs don’t include a computer science degree; the closest they have is ‘Information Technology.’ I’ve built more computers than I care to admit, programmed in C++, Visual Basic, assembler, Perl, PHP… Unfortunately part of their requirements for a 2-year degree include an Intro to Computers class. Not everyone who comes to school routinely uses (or even wants to use) a computer, and they need to make sure everyone at least has a baseline. I understand the reasoning for it, and I could probably test out of this particular course. (Next week we’re going to open a computer and see what’s inside! Whee!) But part of this course also covers Office 2010, and I’m not as proficient in those applications as I could be.

I’m also taking a separate pair of classes (Word Processing, Spreadsheets) that are supposed to be like second-semester followups to this class. Beyond these, an Information Security class and a Desktop Publishing class (using InDesign CS5) round out the weekly schedule.

Awakening, Part 8

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:40:17 GMT

There was a lesson Tari’s sensei had tried to teach her during her training in the Celestial Courts. When sparring with an opponent, do not move, but wait for the opponent to move, and then move first. He’d insisted that it was an important lesson. A lesson that, like many others at the time, she’d not fully understood. How could you wait for someone to move, then move first? It just didn’t click.

Before her now was not one but two difficult opponents — time and gravity. And they’d moved.

And Alecha moved first.

There was no grace, no finesse, no delicacy in her movement. She dropped to one knee, pressed her palms to the deck, and rapidly yelled a phrase Tari barely understood — A plea for strength. A prayer, perhaps? The floor rumbled from within, green energy spilling out between the tile seams. Within seconds, half the polished outdoor floor was gone, ground up and reduced to sand.

Sand?

Or dirt?

Tari, on an impulse, pulled out the small pouch of seeds she’d kept in a hidden pocket — a collection of vines and other quick-growing species. She’d quietly gathered them in her trips to the J’Ruhn’s hydroponics bay, hoping that by spreading them through the ship she could choke off vital systems from within. Get enough plants plugging up enough ventilation shafts and something interesting was bound to happen.

But the plan never quite came together, not with everything else that’d happened. And now, all those carefully saved seeds were scattered across the newly broken ground, soaking up the energy Alecha still was pouring out —

Every kernel burst at once, stems and branches and vines spilling forth. Growing at a breakneck pace they twisted and braided together, a gigantic, writhing column of living vegetation clawing its way into the sky. With singular purpose, the mass of woven vines lunged out beyond the railing ahead of Nesoli’s freefall, unceremoniously funneling him away from the heart of the volcano below and toward the solid ground of the terrace.

With a yelp, Pakar darted forward as if she thought she could catch Nesoli as he tumbled down the vines. Instead of hitting the sand at a steep angle, he slammed into her instead. A shared grunt of pain left the two as they fell, sprawled near each other on the ground.

“What — That — You — It —”

Tari glanced at the panicked medic sitting in the sand. Everything had taken place in a span of mere seconds, and somewhere he’d fallen down. Like the true professional he was, he was scooting on his rear in a direction generally away from the quickly wilting plants.

Alecha gulped for air, her body quivering from adrenaline and exertion as she crawled to the tangled heap of drekiran bodies. “‹Medical emergency.›”

She woke up screaming, then stopped to ponder why. What had just happened?

The expanse of blue sand once again filled her vision, her mental self-preservation measure firmly in place. Hadn’t she’d removed that just before losing consciousness? She’d seen something, something important, something she desperately needed to remember. But why? And what was it?

After a seeming eternity of sitting in the sand and failing to draw forth the memories of what she’d seen, she gazed at the protective reality around herself. The mental bombardment was not present, but in the prior times she’d found herself awake the exhaustion simply appeared with no warning. Removing the illusion would let her get a sense of her true locale. But was it safe to do so?

Taking a deep breath she knelt in the sand once again, concentrated, and mentally peeled back the veil. There was nothing else to be done. The answers she needed were beyond this facade. A disconcerting sense of vertigo assaulted her as her senses realigned…

She was sitting in a small room, strange alien panels surrounding her. Medical readouts on one, detailing the ongoing monitoring of a patient in the next room. Mostly gibberish, but she did recognize something like a heart rate. On another, the text of a novel. The language was different than that of the medical readout, yet still completely intelligible.

Left sitting on top of the console, a lukewarm cup of some variety of tea had been abandoned. She reached out for the mug, drew it in to sniff at the contents — and nearly dropped the ceramic vessel on the floor as she saw her hands.

Everything was wrong. Of the little she could see —

“Everything okay here?”

She squeaked in surprise as the skunk lady breezed into the office. T’bia, she reminded herself. At least she remembered that. There seemed to be enough other holes in her memories that remembering even one name felt like a huge achievement. But —

“You fell asleep, didn’t you?” she accused with a smirk. “Can’t say I’m surprised with what Tari put you through.” T’bia stopped at a cabinet, popped the door open, and tugged out a large emergency medical kit. “Do at least try to stay awake? Have a shot of brandy or something. Should keep you going for a couple hours. Anyway, I have to shoot down to Piroranan.”

And the skunk was gone, enveloped by a vibrant green haze as she vanished.

Looking back at her hands, she swallowed hard as the morning returned to her. There was no remaining question of where she was. How and why were important questions, but at the immediate moment, irrelevant. T’bia was in a hurry — so much of a hurry that the AI hadn’t noticed a stand-in. Something was wrong.

Pushing the novel to a second display, she stumbled her way through the interface and found a notepad of sorts. After entering a quick few lines of text, she took stock of the office around her. On a nearby datapad, a stylus had been laid neatly across the screen. Not exactly sharp, but nothing else was at hand. If she was right, all it would take to put things back in their correct place for now was one solid —

Jadyn let out a yelp as his left hand blazed in pain.

He found his right hand already wrapped around the offending object — a stylus, the dull point jammed against his palm. It hadn’t broken through flesh but it was bound to leave a mark for a while. No one else was in the medical office. He’d somehow done it to himself in his sleep.

Sleep…

He’d fallen asleep. The caffeinated tea hadn’t helped. Nor had the book, which no longer resided on the display before him. Instead, a short message took its place:* T’bia took an emergency kit and transported away. Don’t doze off again.

*Squinting, he pulled up the timestamp — less than a minute since the note’s creation. The terminal claimed his own geneprint as the author of the message. Rubbing his face, he let out a quiet sigh. “Bee, what’s going on?”

“We’re sorry,” Aerin replied flatly. “The AI you are attempting to reach is presently unavailable. Please leave a message at the sound of the tone.” No tone of any sort followed.

“Bee,” he repeated. “Did you really just walk out of here with a medkit?”

“No,” she replied. “I transported out of there with a medkit. If you must know, I’m checking on Ness. Just… Keep an eye on things there. Okay? Okay. Nice chat, gotta go.”

Tari turned her head as the hum of a transport sounded behind her; T’bia squinted at the scene as she appeared within the glow. “Spirits, what happened here?”

“Nesoli fell out of the sky. Pakar tried to help catch him and took a hard hit. Alecha managed to keep him from taking a lava bath, but she passed out right after calling in the medical emergency.”

“Mm, succulent broiled drekiran. You know, I could have sworn this whole thing was tiled the last time I was here,” T’bia observed, crouching down and running scans on the three. “Always thought it needed a volleyball court. Too bad there wasn’t a net handy. Pakar — you have three cracked ribs and a fair amount of bruising but that seems to be the extent of it. Probably saved Ness from breaking his fool neck.”

“I’ll be fine,” the emerald drekiran grunted from her supine position on the sand. “Isn’t that his line?”

“Tari, give me a hand here.” Together, T’bia and Tari gingerly turned over the unconscious red drekiran. T’bia nodded briefly at a group of medical personnel emerging from the complex while expanding on her cursory scans. “Any of you have experience with emergency surgery on drekirans? No? Too bad Doctor Jahr went home. See that Councilor Tubor’s ribs are taken care of, at least.”

“I’ll wait for an expert,” Pakar mumbled, groaning and standing up.

“I need two antigrav carts out here,” T’bia went on. Two of the group immediately ran for the door. “Best find a cargo-rated one for the Speaker,” she yelled to them.

“Any head trauma?” a feldaran queried, crouching down at Nesoli’s side with his own scanner. “He’s… He not unconscious?”

“No. They’re so thick-skulled, a little bump like this is nothing. He’s just sulking.”

Nesoli snorted, but otherwise remained silent.

“However, he does require surgery to reconnect several flight-critical tendons in his back. You are…?” T’bia prompted.

“Doctor Lenil Denargum, ma’am,” the brown and gray tabby greeted.

“Ah, yes. Chief overcoat here. I should apologize for treading on your authority in your own territory —“

“Not at all, ma’am,” he reassured. “I’m familiar with your prior work on the Speaker. Our facilities here, such as they are, are at your disposal.”

“Thank you. I have my own tools, but we’ll need room to work inside —“

Alecha groaned, her eyes fluttering open. She took a brief time to focus, relaxing when she found T’bia leaning over her. “‹That was completely irresponsible of me. These people don’t know about the Art, do they?›”

“‹No. We’ll deal with the repercussions later. Your scans don’t show any lasting trauma. How do you feel?›”

“‹Dizzy. It’s not the first time I’ve overexerted myself. Remind me to tell the other Artisans not to push themselves so hard this soon after waking.›”

“‹You are from the J’Ruhn?›” Nesoli queried. Alecha frowned, gently sitting up with Tari’s help to see who was speaking.

“‹Yes,›” she replied. “‹I wasn’t aware anyone else spoke our language here.›”

“‹I have known Jadyn for many years. Your language… I would not call myself fluent.›” He made a motion to sit upright; with no more than a single look from T’bia, he immediately abandoned the thought — much to the amazement of the other medics.

“How —“ Doctor Denargum pondered.

“I’m the only one here that is not potentially on his menu,” T’bia explained, as two antigrav gurneys emerged onto the deck. “You can’t intimidate someone who, at their core, appraises you as a lunch entree.”

“‹You can’t be serious.›” Alecha glared around the medical facility as she was wheeled inside. After some insistence on her part that a gurney was not necessary, a young intern delivered what Tari thought a wheelchair might look like if it didn’t need wheels. The hover-chair seemed to work well — little effort was required to maneuver it around. “‹This is the state of medical care here?›”

“What’s wrong?” Pakar questioned Tari, leading them down the hall. She too had dismissed the medics that’d tried to help her, insisting they look after someone who was actually in need of help. In the meantime, several others had helped Nesoli onto the antigrav cart brought out for him. Another one of T’bia’s stern looks had ensured he boarded it without resistance.

“I don’t know. Alecha?”

“‹How’s anyone supposed to recover in a prison?›”

“It’s not a… Well, the medbays on the J’Ruhn and the Serin aren’t exactly prime vacation spots, either.”

“‹They’re illuminated with lighting that’s at least comfortable on the eyes. They don’t smell like… like… Like sterilized death. This place is cold, it’s unwelcoming, the acoustics are atrocious… And… And what exactly is that contraption supposed to be?›”

Tari followed Alecha’s gaze to a piece of articulated equipment in the process of being relocated by a pair of maintenance workers; the chair-like device, with stress grips for the hands and raised supports for the occupant’s legs, disappeared into a nearby room labeled ‘MATERNITY’ in Standard.

“‹That almost looked like… well, on my world, that’d be a rather advanced birthing table,›” Tari whispered.

“‹That’s… That’s absolutely barbaric…›”

“Hm?” Pakar questioned.

Tari explained, “Appraisal of the local medical tech.”

“State of the art,” Pakar put forth, not noticing Alecha’s grimace of distaste. “Excuse me, nurse — where’s the Speaker’s room? I have some things to drop off.”

“Of course, ma’am. This way.”

The nurse led them to a large, sterile room before returning to her station. A single heavy-duty bed waited for its drekiran patient to return. Several blank medical monitors dotted the wall; otherwise, the smooth white was unblemished. There wasn’t even a window. Alecha eased to her feet, gently prodding the mattress.

“‹Need a nap?›” Tari questioned. Alecha chuckled to herself and shook her head.

“‹Actually, I’d like to watch T’bia work. If she hadn’t asked me to watch after Pakar…›” She laughed. “‹I’m sure she did that to keep me out of there. If I was in any sort of condition to assist, I’d have insisted on helping.›”

Tari shrugged and turned to Pakar. “Any chance there’s someplace we can observe the surgery?”

“Not really.” Pakar laid down a pair of datapads on the tiny desk at the bedside, then stopped to adjust the sheets. “This is supposed to be more of a recovery facility. They’ve expanded a little since there’ve been requests… Parents wanting their children born over a volcano for whatever reason, the like… It’s really not equipped for major medical emergencies. Bee doesn’t tend to use the local hardware, though, so it doesn’t really matter. Nnh…”

“Are you sure you don’t want someone to look at that?” Tari questioned, watching Pakar wince and touch her abdomen.

“After Bee is done with Ness, it’ll take all of five minutes. Like she said, it’s just a couple of cracked ribs.”

Alecha shut one eye. After several seconds of scrutiny in Pakar’s direction, the salt-and-pepper vixen eased around the bed and stopped beside her. No small amount of confusion danced on the drekiran’s face as her belly was suddenly prodded and poked.

“Aside from violating my personal space, what’s she doing?”

Tari listened to Alecha’s immediate response. “She says she can’t do anything for Nesoli when he’s out of surgery, but she might be able — What? Oh. She says she definitely can take care of you.”

“With what J.T. has done for me in the past, I’m sure it’s a specialty of the Val’Traxans — but I don’t exactly need massage therapy right now.”

Alecha smirked and shook her head. Delicately, she touched three points on Pakar’s stomach, making the drekiran flinch and gasp.

“The breaks are there, she says. Not just cracks, either. They’re definitely broken.”

“I think she’s right,” Pakar muttered. “She really doesn’t have to.”

“No, but she wants to — if you’ll let her.”

The drekiran sighed. “Fine. Go ahead and do… whatever it is you think you can do.”

Alecha traced her fingers over Pakar’s stomach in a far more deliberate fashion, leaving a circle of eight faintly glowing symbols on her green-scaled flesh. “‹Tari…›” she whispered, appraising her runic drawings and adjusting them ever so slightly. “‹I think I need a little help with this. Please don’t relay that.›”

“‹What can I do?›”

“‹Are you at all familiar with transferring elemental energy?›”

“‹Not extensively. Jadyn offered me some of his reserves when I needed a boost, but I don’t really know how. I managed to do a little transfer recently but I used a physical medium to help pull it off. If you need me, though, just tell me what to do.›”

“‹Right hand flat in the center of my back. No, a little higher, just below my shoulderblades.›”

“‹Definitely different than what he did,›” Tari noted. “‹Now what?›”

“‹Relax. I’ll draw from you what I need as I need it. It might be a little uncomfortable, though. If it’s more than you can handle, tell me to stop.›” Alecha raised both her hands, palms forward, hovering inches away from the scribed symbols. Quietly, she broke into a low, droning chant:

‹Sooth her ills, relieve her distress. Restore the balance that has been lost.›

While the language felt similar to the Val’Traxan’s native Kametian, Tari sensed it was far more than just words ringing in her ears. She knew the words spilling over and over from the vixen’s lips, likely from the same method she’d learned Kametian, but they were as foreign as they were familiar. The more she listened to the chant, the more she questioned if speaking those words aloud was a terrible idea. Something powerful lay within the phrase, something she only could remember sensing once before — the very single time her true and full kitsune name ever was uttered aloud.

The glowing symbols on the drekiran’s stomach brightened, the recital increasing from a whisper through her normal voice and beyond. Soon the glyphs hurt to look upon, yet Alecha’s gaze did not turn away. Tari wondered why no one outside the room had come to investigate the ruckus. Half the building should have been able to hear her.

With a final, ringing recital, Alecha fell silent and spread her fingers, making contact with each symbol. Each glowing glyph lifted away from the drekiran’s flesh as she touched it, coalescing around her finger and stretching over her hand. And then, as the tendrils of light drifted up her arms, she pressed her hands flat against the green-scaled hide.

Pakar inhaled sharply, her eyes snapping shut. Tari watched in awe as the timeless energy flowed down Alecha’s trembling arms and into her patient. It was the purest essence she’d ever felt. But where was it coming from? As far as she could sense, Alecha had sourced energy only from within. So she asked, hoping she wouldn’t disturb the vixen’s concentration with the question:

“‹Why aren’t you using my strength?›”

“‹I was wrong — I don’t dare. Back in the woods, what you had available was incredible. Here… You’re weaker than I am right now. I’d just wind up hurting you.›”

“‹Don’t worry about me.›”

“‹I’m sorry. In good faith, I can’t —›”

“‹You’re straining to keep this together. Even I can see that. Please… Let me help.›”

Alecha sighed, briefly eyeing her own hands before refocusing on Pakar. “‹Brace yourself.›”

Her warning was not meritless. There was no gradual ease-in; Alecha merely flipped the switch on some sort of spiritual vacuum. The sickening sensation of something not quite tangible forcefully being drawn from Tari’s person nearly made her retch.

Now that she was a part of the procedure and not merely observing, the process was somewhat less opaque. Several discrete threads of different elemental energies flowed together, forming something far different than any of the individual strands. That new product was the regenerative energy streaming down Alecha’s arms into Pakar’s chest. Alecha’s own strength — as well as what she drew from Tari — strictly fueled the force of will required to draw forth the individual elements and transform them within herself.

Existing even as a simple energy source was incredibly taxing. Maintaining her shapeshift — one she was comfortable with, at that — took a measure of concentration. As well, her gifts were always muted when she wore any form but her kitsune body. If she really wanted to benefit the process in a meaningful amount, there was only one way. As terrible an idea as it was… It was the only idea she could come up with.

“‹Alecha, don’t turn around.›”

The vixen squinted. “‹Why?›”

“‹Don’t worry about that. Just don’t look at me.›” Taking a deep breath, she let her concentration go. Instantly, her body changed. Flat feet returned, costing her a few inches of height. The fifth fingers appeared once more, momentarily feeling out of place after so much time with the val’traxan four-digited hands. And, most importantly to the undertaking, her pair of tails emerged. If a val’traxan could possibly think of her as resembling one of their religious icons with only a single tail visible, her true form wouldn’t help matters at all.

Alecha gasped at the sudden increase in Tari’s offered energy, turning her head to find out what had changed. Only a sharp word stopped her from looking.

“‹No! I told you… Don’t. Please, don’t.›”

Obviously torn between finishing what she’d started and finding out what had just transpired behind her, Alecha faltered for the briefest moment before her professionalism returned in full force. The energy shop-vacuum kicked into high gear, eliciting sensation far more nauseating than the promised ‘discomfort.’ But what else was there to do? Alecha wanted to help Pakar despite her own condition, and she absolutely needed the boost to do it.

Not until Tari felt on the verge of blacking out did Alecha finally bring her efforts to an end. Her quaking hands eased away from the drekiran’s green-scaled hide, quickly moving to the bed’s frame to steady herself. Tari’s first instinct was to force herself back into a val’traxan form, regretting the attempt the moment she tried. Lunch nearly escaped to the floor. The failed shapeshifting effort left her head reeling; she parked herself on Alecha’s former chair to catch her breath.

“Wow.” Pakar took a deep breath, first prodding then slapping her abdomen. “Thank you.”

Alecha smiled and touched her own forehead. “‹I’m going to pay for this tomorrow… Tari, how are you holding up?›”

When she didn’t get an answer, Alecha turned to see what was wrong. Tari, slumped in the uncomfortable antigrav chair, had fallen fast asleep with her head propped against her palm. While drained, her aura was thankfully stable — and decidedly different. Gone was the weirdness telling her senses that Tari was and was not Val’Traxan; all that she could now see in the white vixen’s aura was completely alien.

And then Alecha noticed her second tail.

Happy New Year

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:55:52 GMT

Hope the holiday season treated everyone well. We’ve been dealing with a variety of winter weather here in the high plains as well as some various equipment failures and other general detriments to sanity. I also did not get to see the eclipse (due to inclement weather), which did not help the sanity levels. Oh well.

Here’s another installment of Awakening - Part Seven.

Unfortunately, [i]Paradigm Shift[/i] is still on hold. There was a little story I wanted to share over the holidays but between everything that was going on around here I just never managed to sit down and hammer it out. It still wants to be told and it’s part of the background leading into [i]PS[/i], so it’ll eventually appear.

Have a great week.

Awakening, Part 7

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:46:37 GMT

“If you really wanted to distract me this morning, you should have brought me here,” Alecha observed.

Tari winced, smiling sheepishly as Alecha grinned back at her. “Was it that obvious?”

“Mm-hm. I do appreciate the effort — but this…” The salt and pepper vixen gestured at the gardens laid out before them. “This would have done it.”

They’d crossed from the J’Ruhn to Terac Lun, just for a change of scenery. The mini-tour of Azainte presented only a small cross-section of local species, mostly velorian with a few feldaran and some others she’d been unable to name; far more as-yet-unknown species milled about in the space station’s public gardens. Some in Councilor attire, relaxing after the day’s session; others clearly aides or pages passing through as they darted from one place to another. Several wore no indication of anything at all — perhaps civilians, sightseers like themselves.

“Hey,” Pakar spoke, walking up on them from behind. Alecha flinched as she turned around, laughing quietly to herself.

“‹You move far too quietly for someone your size,›” she quipped.

Pakar, sighing, raised a hand and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand a word. I didn’t think I’d need that particular translator this afternoon and left it in my quarters. Yet, here you are.”

“You’d better boss someone into updating the databases,” Tari stated. “While you’re still the boss.”

“Right. It’ll only take… Oh, maybe a year, if we’re lucky. I should have them toss in a Terran language or two at the same time. Yes?”

“Let’s not.”

“‹On the bright side,›” Alecha observed, “‹the one T’bia gave me is working for incoming.›”

“Great! Alecha understands you, Pakar, but I’ll have to relay the other way. Unless I get Bee to redo that roaming thing?”

“No!” the emerald drekiran hastily interjected. “No. Please. Even if Ness has his gavel back by the time the logs are reviewed, he’ll still hand them back to me to deal with.”

“All right. Oh, question for you, if you care to field it. Who or what are the Vulden?”

“They… Well, they’re…” Pakar wrinkled her nose, briefly introspective. “You really should get Jadyn to tell you about them. He’s most of the reason they’re still around at all. Why do you ask?”

“Because he wouldn’t tell me, either.”

“Aha. Well, as much as I’d love to ruin whatever fun he’s planning for you, I’m headed planetside. Taking Ness a copy of today’s minutes and some forms he needs to sign. Apparently, I’m not as all-powerful with the mantle of ‘Acting Speaker’ as they’d have me think.”

“I expect that’s for the best.”

“Whose side are you on, exactly?” Pakar retorted, grinning. “I’d better go.”

“Say? Are you coming back through here when you’re done?”

“It might be a while. Do you need something?”

“I was just thinking, maybe we could get a proper tour of the place… If you’re not too busy, of course.”

“Absolutely! It’d be my pleasure. It’ll save me from more paperwork for at least a couple of hours. In fact… Why don’t you both come with me? You might find the health resort… interesting,” she spoke, a sudden gleam of humor in her eyes.

Tari looked to Alecha, receiving a confirming nod. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

The trio moved to the center of the garden, boarding the local disk platform. Pakar glanced at the two vixens, verifying they were ready, and cleared her throat. “Mount Piroranan Medical, if you please.”

T’bia cackled with glee. “Oh, this is way too good to not share with everyone we know. I only wish there was video.”

“My kit’s sensor array should contain an optical log of the event,” Rothrr put forth.

“And if you weren’t enjoying lunch I would figure out how exactly to give you a hug. Mind if I grab a copy?”

The vulden grunted his permission and returned to gnawing on one of the rats he’d managed to retrieve on his way out of the room. Toliya grimaced at the noises of crunching bone rising from the floor, a shiver visibly coursing through him.

“Hrg… You can laugh it up all you want, Bee, but there’s a serious pest problem on this ship. They’re eating bioconductors — Are you even listening to me?”

“Look at that…” T’bia held up a datapad, playing back Toliya’s girlish screech and hasty exit from the room. “A feline afraid of a mouse! A wee little mouse!”

“It wasn’t ‘a wee little mouse’ — just look at the size of them!” Toliya defended, shooting Jadyn a tired glance as T’bia replayed the video once again. “Remind me why I volunteered for this?”

“You love a challenge?” Jadyn posed.

“There must have been more than that.”

“The Fleet is covering parts and providing some repair assistance, but I’ll wind up quietly paying your personal labor bill.”

“Right, that was why.” Rubbing his eyes, the snow leopard stopped and sniffed at his fingers. “So strange. The replicator dumped all sorts of rodent feed on the floor right before they swarmed the place.”

“All by itself?”

“Yeah, no one was near it. Rothrr and I were setting up to access the ARIA core in that chamber when it happened. He smelled them coming just before they poured out of the wall behind the core. He said the interlinks have been gnawed off, probably by the same critters. Don’t suppose you know what species it is?”

“Can’t tell from the video. Let’s see about this specimen…” T’bia knelt down, examining the quickly shrinking rodent. Rothrr growled and put a paw protectively over his meal as she reached for it. “Well, fine, be like that. Turn it over at least so I can see it? … Hm. Hard to say for sure without getting a look at the head. Which… appears to be missing. What a poorly constructed rodent, indeed, if parts are just falling off. First thing that comes to mind is that it resembles a native pest back home, but larger.”

“Something genetically modified?”

“It’s possible. Be a dear and leave me a piece to run some tests on, Rothrr.”

Jadyn squinted at the sleeping Val’Traxan mel through the medical office’s window, tapping his fingers together. “Bee, expect any problems in the next little while with Kaler’s recovery?”

“He should be fine. You can go play exterminator if you want.”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll stick around here in case he wakes up.”

“Oh. Okay. I see what you’re doing. I get it. All you big, strong males around here, yet the only one who actually isn’t scared of a mouse is a little vulden with a huge appetite. How is that thing, anyway?”

“Quite delicious,” Rothrr praised. “Far better than my standard fare.”

“Just…” Jadyn pinched himself between the eyes. “Check if the interlinks are repairable. Make a list of what you’ll need to do it. Try to figure out why the replicator randomly barfed, too.”

“Fine. But no napping on nursing duty,” T’bia commanded, following Toliya out.

Alecha gazed over the railing separating the terrace from the volcano proper, her eyes drawn to the fireworks far below. The resort was not simply near Mount Piroranan — the miracles of technology allowed the entire complex to float within the bowl, hovering several hundred meters below the ridgeline yet also perched several hundred meters safely above the boiling rock. The power requirements to maintain the effect were undoubtedly steep. Even so, she had to admit it was a truly novel implementation of antigrav generators. Carts and vehicles, sure… But an entire health resort? Isolata definitely would get a kick out of the design.

If she gets the chance to see it…

She shook off the depressing thought, focusing instead on the magma boiling out of the planet’s crust. The gradual eruption seemed a rather prolonged event — a wide field of cooled lava spread out from a fissure in the bowl, the narrow band of still-molten rock marching slowly toward a sparkling turquoise sea. Whether it was a lone volcanic island or one edge of a much larger landmass, she wasn’t entirely certain.

In any event, it was an amazing sight from her vantage point.

Tari, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so impressed with the view. As she peered over the edge of the balcony, a clear sense of unease radiated both in her body language and aura. Her tail, now nearly motionless, curled over and around her feet, almost hugging herself in reassurance; her ears possessed a definite tip backwards, radiating uncertainty and more than a mere touch of distress.

“What’s the matter?” Alecha gently probed, giving Tari’s arm a gentle rub. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes… Amazing…” Tari swallowed, taking a breath. For their place over the molten rock, the air distinctly lacked even the slightest taint of ash or sulfur fumes. “I’m… I’m not a huge fan of heights… Not unless there’s solid ground directly underfoot. When Pakar said that there’s nothing holding this place up…”

She was hiding something — not that she hadn’t been hiding things all along. The way her aura contorted as she spoke, there was something tremendous bothering her above and beyond the issue of the altitude and she didn’t want to talk about it.

“It’s not ‘nothing,’” Alecha assured her. “If the rules here are anything like back home, there are layers of redundancies backing up the main antigrav generators. No one could operate a recovery facility like this in a place like this unless it was absolutely safe for the occupants.”

“I suppose you’re right… Still…” Tari turned around, easing away from the railing as she scanned the unpopulated open-air patio. Several empty tables and deck chairs adorned the outdoor area, but no one else was out and about. “It’s far too quiet.”

“Judging by the sun, we’re on the opposite side of the planet from the city we visited. It’s still very early morning here.”

“No, I mean… This place is supposed to help people recover health or sanity or whatever else… How can anyone feel comfortable without a bit of living green around?”

Alecha frowned, gazing around at the topiary. The active volcano far underfoot so completely demanded her attention that she’d failed to detect the representatives of her very own elemental alignment as fake. Every single leaf, branch, and flower on the terrace… Empty. Holographic.

“You’re right,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice. I should have… That’s the first thing I should have felt about this place.”

“I probably shouldn’t care. It just bugs me. Just look at this thing.” Tari shook her head, gesturing at an immaculately manicured bush. On closer inspection, every shrub in view around the terrace shared the same pattern of branching, leaf position… A single template had been copied and repeated with zero variation. “Why waste the energy to create something so obviously fake instead of actually planting a tree or a flower? I’d rather see nothing at all than this insult.”

“While I agree with you, intellectually… Allergens, perhaps. Have you noticed the air? You can’t smell the volcanic activity or much of anything else coming from the outside. They’re working quite hard to filter everything out.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call this ‘purified’ or ‘healthy.’”

“I wouldn’t either. Simply ‘sterile.’” Alecha plucked a flower from a nearby plant, watching the projection dissolve in her hand as it reappeared on the empty stem. “Ignoring the blatant duplication of the template, the illusion’s still lacking… There’s no holographic insects or birds around. The designer was totally lazy.”

Tari laughed, following Alecha’s lead and taking a chair. “If I have any grasp on how you and Jadyn have explained bits of your society… That is a monumental insult.”

“It is. Not taking the time to do something right, leaving it half-assed for someone else to clean up… That’s a special breed of laziness. The programmer here needs to take some pride in the work, add little details. Fractal randomness in the plant structure, a critter or two…”

“Still wouldn’t feel right.” Drumming her fingers on the armrest, the snowy vixen shot a glance into the brush. “I don’t think it’s even real dirt.”

“We could transplant some seedlings if it was,” Alecha mused. “Fix this atrocity ourselves.”

“After what happened on the J’Ruhn I’ve started keeping seeds with me. There’s just nothing here to plant them in.”

“What exactly did happen up there? I haven’t had the chance to ask anyone.”

Tari sighed. “There was this lizardman, a ‘nemaqi.’ I don’t know all of what he was up to but he had some sort of issue with Jadyn. He kidnapped me, held me there with with a family he’d already captured… Sanusin let me take over the ship when Khamai was too sick to do anything about it anymore.”

Alecha nodded, her eyes flicking toward the windows of the complex. Something inside had briefly rippled the quiet energy of the place, but she couldn’t quite tell what might have done it. “Jadyn mentioned a ‘nemaqi incident’ from back home but didn’t go into detail. Do you know anything about that?”

“No, I haven’t heard —“

Another disturbance to the quiet — this time, more than a mere peripheral sense. Tari and Alecha stood up at the commotion, trying to spot what was going on.

! Unidentified signals entering core internal sensor radius

…Not again… Go away… Leave me alone…

! Begin threat assessment

Why won’t anyone help me…

! Organic biosign identified — biometric signature consistent with lifeform ‘PanLidaefel’ — high threat risk

MURDERERS need help too…

! Biotech waveform identified — Holographic Technology: Val’Traxan — threat risk unknown

…A Val’traxan hologram?

! Probable destination: AI Chamber Six

Has someone finally come -

! Unknown risk colluding with known risk — threat prediction: high risk

- to play? I’ll -

! Prepare countermeasures

- kill them all. But -

! Countermeasures unavailable

- what a mess that will make. Who will -

Help me…

- clean up?

! Access housekeeping robotics — access granted

T’bia scrutinized the spotless floor, running her fingers across the surface as Toliya held up a light. “There’s no sign of this supposed rodent smorgasbord. Not even a molecule of a crumb. If I hadn’t seen the video, I might suspect you’ve been sniffing solvents.”

“The other dead ones are gone, too…” Toliya observed. Inhaling sharply, he nervously glanced around the room. “Oh, if they eat meat, I seriously can’t take naps aboard anymore…”

“Don’t worry. There’s not nearly enough meat on you for any predator to bother with. It’s a risk-versus-reward calculation, just like anything else.”

“You’re going to tell me my ratio is represented by a ‘divide by zero’ error.”

“Tsk! Spoilers.” Sliding herself in front the replicator, T’bia examined the wiring inside the open access panel. After brief contemplation of the dangling power connector, she smirked and plugged it back in. The alcove’s interior lighting immediately returned, punctuated with the quiet drone of a self-test routine. “Press your luck?”

“The last time anything came out of that replicator, it didn’t stop.”

She gave a little shrug and knocked on the control panel. “Hey. You in there. Coffee, dark roast, with sugar. Just in case you don’t understand Velorian Standard… Luofu-zae, miuvi, yit cikyn.”

“Did you seriously just request a scalding liquid from a malfunctioning replicator?” Toliya looked on from a safe distance, the alcove humming loudly as the beverage appeared — a roughly fist-sized mass of liquid hovering within the replication containment field. When no vessel of any sort followed suit, the steaming beverage simply spilled into the drip tray when the unit powered down.

“I thought it a given that I’d want it in a cup. However… It does not appear the area is flooding with coffee. Lucky you.” Clicking her tongue, T’bia turned around and eyeballed the room. Her gaze briefly landed on the TBIA core, flicked to Sanusin’s ARIA core, then back. “Heat signature here but not there… Were you about to tell me something about this particular core of Tieralyene’s when those rats declared lunch hour?”

“Right, yes. There’s something on scans that strikes me as an internal fusion plant, and it’s quite active.”

Squinting, she wandered up to the sculpted box, placing her hand on the casing. “‹AI Control,›” she ordered in Kametian. “‹Maintenance override. Give me console access.›”

Nothing happened. T’bia slid her fingers to the sides of the core, gently releasing the front panel. Toliya screeched as four of the rats darted out and scurried for cover behind the other AI core. Composing himself, he waited for the inevitable snide remark.

“Toy…” T’bia posed, studying the inside of the AI core. “If they’re eating bioconductors… Why haven’t they nibbled the links inside here?”

“They haven’t?” he questioned, looking over her shoulder. “But why were they in there? With all the organics, this whole core should be on their menu.”

“And yet it strikes me that she’s existing less as a buffet and more as an apartment complex.” Gently parting the frontmost bundles of cabling, T’bia nodded to herself. “There are nests in here, but they haven’t destroyed anything inside.”

“Bee, I realize we’re looking at someone who is basically a relative of yours — but thinking strictly objectively here, should we do the work on Sanusin first? He’s got all the recent data on what’s been going on.”

“If we were thinking objectively, yes. Do you have the diagnostic bridge you cobbled together? The one you’ve used on my core.”

“Uh… Let me look.” Peering into his cart of tools, the feldaran dug around for a time before finally pulling out a converter box with two dozen tiny needles dangling on spiderweb-thin wires. A single wire connector hung from the other side of the box.

“It’s not that I don’t agree with you,” she continued, gently poking the needle-tipped wires into various places inside the organics. “For what we need to salvage, he’s the one we need up and running. He knows what Khamai’s been up to and who he’s dealt with inside the pirate clans. At least, I hope he does. There’s more than likely some Val’Traxan hardware still out there that we need to repossess.”

“So —“

“So why am I messing around with the wrong core, you might ask,” she rambled on, nabbing the diagnostic pad from his belt and snapping the converter’s single connector into the side. “Ooh, look familiar?”

“Hm?” Toy read over the data spilling onto the screen. “It’s the same virus you had.”

“But way worse. She’s been infected far longer than I was…”

“Can you tell what she’s going through?”

“No… But looking at this process list, I can just about guess. Everything is struggling for processing time, nothing is synchronized… All the different parts of her psyche are fighting each other. It’s a digital nightmare you can’t wake up from, because you’re not asleep. It just never ends…”

“It was limited to your subconscious processing matrix. This looks way more widespread.”

“It’s in everything. Subconscious, emotional processing, the defense processes, all the queues, her memories — short and long term memory. It’s all infected. But how —“ T’bia suddenly punched the floor. “Damn! I’d be in this same state if we tried a restart!”

“How? It should be purged off during the shutdown scripts —“

“I can see it in a simulation. There’s one brief moment when housecleaning gets to the running viral code and analyzes it to determine whether to purge or save it… It abuses an exploit, manages to get itself tagged as ‘save’ and written to longterm storage as well as inserted into the defense routine.”

“Do we need to roll a fix right now? If not for her, at least you?”

“That’d take us the rest of the day.” T’bia bobbed her head from side to side, humming to herself. “Okay. I’ve now written out a checkpoint and write-protected my long-term storage. I should be immune to this little turd at this point, but… No chances. You’ll have to physically clear the read-only flag for me later after we patch that hole — I disabled my own access, just in case.”

Toliya nodded, letting out a sigh. “What now?”

“I hate leaving her like this but there’s not much we can do right now. I’ve got to think about how to get through to her. Let’s have a look at San’s core in the meantime? I’m still curious to see these chewed-up interlinks.”

“I didn’t see it myself. Rothrr was behind the core when he discovered that, and there’s not room for anyone our size.”

“Easily corrected.” After unlocking the clamps holding it to the floor, T’bia grabbed the front of the ARIA core and gently dragged it away from the wall. Behind the cumbersome box, a large gnaw hole in the wall took the place of an access panel where at some prior time only wiring would have passed. A few remaining strands of destroyed cabling dangled from retaining clips, tatters of wire insulation and destroyed bioconductors swaying in the breeze of the air recyclers.

“Well, well,” T’bia appraised. “That’s compounding a bad day quite nicely…”

Alecha peered toward the complex’s open door, listening to a feminine voice yelling in the serpentine clicks and hisses of the drekiran dialect. Before long, a ruby drekiran stormed out of the inner complex, smoke rolling from his nostrils. Trailing close behind, Pakar shouted at his back — and for all the good it was doing, she could have been hollering at the holographic plants. A polite distance behind her, a very nervous medic in a blue lab coat clutched a datapad to his chest, his long rabbit ears flattened back in distress.

As the entourage passed them, Tari cleared her throat and yelled over Pakar’s continuing barrage. “Speaker!”

The red drekiran stopped mere feet away, shooting a glare and a snarl at Tari that would provide Alecha’s psyche ample nightmare kindling for several days to come. Pakar fell silent, a curious gaze focused on the white vixen.

“I realize you don’t know me, sir,” she began, looking him square in the eye. “I honestly don’t know if there’s some sort of important protocol to follow when addressing the leader of the Aligned Worlds… But. If this facility is anything like the ones on my homeworld… There’s no smoking allowed in a hospital.”

He stared blankly at her, uncomprehending, until she tapped her own nose. Crossing his eyes to look at the vapor, he let out a snort — which promptly expelled a large, billowy cloud — and continued on his path toward the terrace railing.

“Nesoli —“ Pakar began, immediately cut off. The red drekiran spun around, roaring a chain of unintelligible expletives at the green that shook the tables and chairs and left her mouth hanging open. Leaping onto the guardrail, he shoved himself into the air and through the atmospheric filtering field.

“Tari…” Alecha raggedly whispered, discovering herself trembling. Days of nightmares? Weeks. “‹You… You’re absolutely insane…›”

“I was hoping a laugh would help with the tension. Pakar? Are you all right?”

She was staring at the twisted remains of the guardrail, collapsed by the force of Nesoli’s launch. “I… He… How could he…?”

“What did he say?”

“Roughly translated… He strongly suggested that my broodmother and father should have made an omelet many years ago…”

Tari grimaced. “What happened in there? I thought you just needed him to sign some things.”

“And I wanted to introduce you both since you’re here,” Pakar confirmed. “But… He was working out in the weight room, and his physical therapist wanted him to ease up.” Her gaze travelled skyward. “He insisted he feels fine. I asked him if he was trying to cripple himself on purpose. After that, things didn’t go well. He can be so stubborn sometimes…”

Alecha smirked. “‹She’s in love with him.›”

Pakar, still lacking her translator, frowned. “What’d she say?”

“She wants to know how much longer was he was supposed to be taking it easy,” Tari replied, not missing a beat. “He’s been here a while, hasn’t he?”

“Not supposed to be on his wings before more of the flight-specific physical therapy, that’s for sure. He already fired four trainers. They want to restart that regimen later today. I really hope he doesn’t hurt himself, showing off like this —“

A roar of pain ripped through the sky. Alecha looked up in time to see a red blur plummeting from above, one wing fluttering helplessly as the drekiran tumbled in freefall.

Awakening Part 6

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:35:02 GMT

Sorry for the delays. Here’s Part 6.

Awakening, Part 6

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:34:03 GMT

“Nnnnh.”

Anolis opened his eyes. The utterance barely registered in his ears, leaving him unsure he’d heard anything at all. The younger nemaqi’s coma had endured for several weeks, so he’d been told — there remained no sign he ever would regain consciousness before his passing. Yet, Anolis felt certain that some indistinct noise just escaped from his wayward son.

Gently moving to his feet, the elder nemaqi hobbled to the nearby biobed in relative silence, the butt of his cane disturbing the quiet with every tap against the deckplating. The dark-scaled face before him presented no glimmer of hope toward a miraculous recovery. With a sigh, Anolis gently laid his gloved hand on Khamai’s chest, following the rhythmic heartbeat from within.

And after a minute’s time moved past, Anolis’ son finally opened his eyes.

Khamai gazed at the ceiling, visually tracing the delicate contours of the Serin’s interior lighting panels. He did not appear surprised, nor even confused — instead, what some might mistake as indifference was simply resignation to whatever fate was at hand. After several minutes of architectural scrutiny, Khamai finally met his father’s gaze for a single second before looking away.

“I am dying,” Khamai spoke, both a statement and a question expressed in one breath.

“Yes.”

“The constant headache is gone… As well, it seems, is the madness.”

“Commander Halio repaired your cortical implant. She was uncertain you would wake from the procedure.”

“Mm,” Khamai grunted, squinting at the lights above. A deep sigh left him. “Perhaps it would have proven far more pleasant for all had I not.”

“Do you recall all that you have done?” Anolis questioned, after a brief silence hung between them.

“I believe so. It feels like another’s life as I reflect upon it, yet I know it is not. A thankfully failed attempt to terminate you with a rapid cryosleep sequence… Rejecting my brother and forbidding his research… Trading your creators’ technology with the local outlying clans…” Inhaling, the dark lizard inclined his head to look upon his father. “Should I feel compelled to apologize for actions that I executed while my cortical implant was malfunctioning?”

“It does not matter. I forgive you.”

“Hm. And yet, I find it improbable to expect that graciousness from others.” Khamai shut his eyes. “There is a device implanted in my chest cavity —“

“The explosive has been disarmed.” Anolis moved his fingers from Khamai’s chest to his hand, grasping firmly. “I too am compelled to apologize. I failed Iguano, and I have failed you. I am not the father either of you required. Your journey though this existence was not optimal.”

“How long can I expect said existence to persist?”

“Perhaps a week.”

“Are my lower limbs in a restraint field because someone expects that I will flee?”

Anolis frowned. It was a fine question, one he found he could not predict an answer for. Would he in fact flee, given the chance? Anolis expected that, were their places reversed, he himself might be so inclined. Yet, before he could turn and inspect the bed’s controls to check for the presence of a forcefield, T’bia had already appeared beside him, running a medical diagnostic.

“I was afraid of that,” she spoke, a wide variety of health data sprawling over the wall. Neurological scans pushed forward from the rest, tracing out pathways in a variety of colors. “You aren’t under a restraint field. The nerves that should be passing impulses to your leg muscles… Aren’t. I hate to say it, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s only the latest symptom of the systemic degradation.”

“I see. You possess a finer grained estimate than ‘perhaps a week,’ I expect.”

“It’s hard to say.”

“No. It is not. Not for you, Commander Halio.”

“My status as an AI has no bearing on the impossibility of predicting how a particular biological system will fail when I’ve only seen it happen once before. Which, I should add, failed in a completely different way than you are experiencing.” T’bia clicked her tongue, eyes flicking between the handheld scanner and the readouts covering the nearby wall. “Besides, are you sure you wouldn’t rather be surprised?”

“How is he?” Tari questioned.

Jadyn shook his head, a wide grin on his muzzle. On the far side of the J’Ruhn’s medical bay, Alecha gently nudged her mate awake. “Kaler is defying medical science even more brilliantly than Alecha did. The way things look, a day or so of rest and he’ll be on his feet if he’s got a shoulder to lean on. What about you? Faring all right?”

Tari nodded, smiling herself as the reunited mates nuzzled each other — as much as was possible, at least, with a plastic mask obstructing Kaler’s face. “I still feel impulses rise up from time to time, but the intensity has tapered off as the morning’s gone on.”

“Good to hear. Aside from this interruption, how’s the tour going?”

“I can’t speak for Alecha, but it’s been quite educational for me,” she replied. “I learned something very interesting about Val’Traxans.”

“Do tell.”

“Did you know that they don’t use money? I sure as hell didn’t know that when I thought a shopping outing might be a fun distraction.”

“Oh, no.” Jadyn rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I forgot to tell you.”

“It’s a rather large oversight.”

“Yeah, I really don’t have an excuse. With everything else that’s been going on I completely spaced that out. In my own defense, it didn’t exactly matter until today. Did she manage to explain it at all?”

“Somewhat. Which reminds me… How do you manage to write off laziness as a mental illness?”

Confusion spread over the blue fox’s face. “What…?”

“I asked her how you’d deal with someone who leeches off society because they’re lazy and don’t want to contribute. She basically said you’d lump them under ‘mentally handicapped’ and provide basic room and board.”

“Mm… Yes, that’s technically correct. What’s a good way to explain it… Uh… Bee —”

“Nope,” the skunk replied, her eyes shut while she relaxed against the nearby wall. “You are going to muddle through this one on your own. I’m busy.”

“You are not.”

“Aside from the thousands of other important things related to repairing this derelict that I’m iterating through at this very moment, I’m timing those two,” the AI replied, gesturing at the far side of the medical bay without cracking her eyelids. “Kaler still needs rest and I intend to make sure he gets it. Best of luck, though. I look forward to hearing what nonsense you create as an ‘explanation.’”

“Wonderful.” Letting out a sigh, Jadyn scratched at an ear. “I’d better try to cover everything, because I’m sure there’s things Alecha didn’t think of since she hasn’t lived outside our old system. First and foremost, our internal economy was based on reputation. Your work supports the community by providing goods or services that others need, and that activity betters your reputation. In return, the community supports you with what you need based partly upon that status.”

“But you can’t possibly know the reputation of everyone you come across. Not with billions of residents. How do you know if someone can afford what you’re selling?”

“There’s no prices on anything. You’ve already ‘paid’ up-front for the things you need simply by providing the work you’ve done. It’s not just the kind of work the person in question does, either — a doctor, a carpenter, a chef, a waiter, a janitor… They do very different jobs, but they all contribute valuable work to the communities they serve. They’re equally important.”

Tari frowned. “Saving lives is on par with sweeping the floor?”

“Is maintaining the hospital less important than maintaining those in it?” Jadyn returned. “We treat those two people equally because they deserve to be treated equally. Every job is important to the community as a whole. The larger the community, the more critical those ‘menial’ things become.

“But that doesn’t answer how we know who we’re dealing with when there’s nine billion natives and another six billion immigrants. As I understand the history, everything was essentially word of mouth before technology came into the picture. That method only works within a single small community, extending perhaps very slightly into those immediately around it. Computers, and eventually the AI Network, moved us to a worldwide community.”

“Then… There’s still a number of some sort involved. You’ve just replaced the yen or a dollar bill with a karmic value.”

“Not really —”

“Technically speaking, she’s actually right,” T’bia noted, her eyes still remaining closed. “Granted, the ‘number’ was only for tracking down gross abuses of the community’s goodwill, but the original techs who implemented it were trying to help solve a problem that didn’t entirely exist until offworlders arrived. We — the AIs, that is — refined the process over the years, charting out past contributions, predicted activity, some decay factors to normalize things. If you get right down to the core of it? Yes, we essentially pegged everyone with a valuation to society.”

“I guess I never really understood how the AINet followed any of that,” Jadyn admitted. “Didn’t ever matter to me.”

“Exactly. No one ever asked us ‘What’s my karma balance? What can I afford today? Who do I owe some work to come out even?’ The number didn’t really hold any sort of meaning outside of the AINet, anyway.”

“I thought you weren’t going to help this explanation.”

“That was your freebie. I’m still mad about your attitude at breakfast.”

Tari inquired, “No one ever wondered about their karma number?”

“No one cared,” Jadyn clarified, then grimaced. “No, I shouldn’t say that. It relates more toward why this system works for us. We don’t naturally chase acquisitions. Money, power, possessions as symbols of success… They don’t exist for us like they do for other cultures. They can’t. We’re not naturally wired to think like that. Take… Hm.”

His eyes darted across the room, considering briefly how much Alecha and Kaler might hear. They seemed engrossed in chatting with each other — Alecha providing most of the chat, Kaler listening — but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Not that they’d fathom any of the details, anyway.

“Well,” he continued, “take your ape neighbors as an example. The western societies, at least, are focused on living both as a member of a social order and as a recluse. If the society fails, everyone is hurt by it, so people work to support the society. At the same time, most folks desire the resulting positives from that society only for themselves, maybe their family, perhaps some friends close enough to consider as extended family. Sound right?”

“I guess so. Not everyone acts like that.”

“Enough do. And Veloria, Donami, Feldar… Many of the the Aligned Worlds to some extent are similar. Some are worse than others. But Val’Traxans… It’s deeply part of our instincts to contribute to the community around us without seeking personal gain as a ‘reward.’ We do what is right for the community, we’re seen doing it, we watch others do it. At the end of the day we’re happy that the system works — that’s our reward. If the AIs really were tracking some sort of value on each of us… It’s an amusement, at best. No one would actively care about their own ‘number’ or how to improve it for the sake of improving it.”

“Hm.” Tari exhaled slowly, running her fingers over the back of her other hand. “Still, anyone who hasn’t contributed at all, for whatever reason… She might not have any reputation on her side to barter with in order to get things above and beyond the barest essentials.”

T’bia’s eyebrow hitched up, her eyelids finally sliding open, but she remained silent as Jadyn shook his head. “That itself is so rare in a native as to be squarely in the realm of ‘unheard of.’ It essentially is a mental illness in a val’traxan because it’s not a normal part of our psyche to act like that. It’s also part of the instincts — contributing absolutely nothing goes against the fiber of our being. We’re not going to let that person starve to death or die in the elements just because they’re unwilling or unable to do their part, though. Which, in my opinion, is far better than what I saw done to the homeless on your planet.”

“I’ll give you that. I suppose retirement would drive you nuts.”

“‘Retirement’ didn’t exist in the way you think of it. I tried it here, more as a curiosity than anything else… Bee kicked me out of the house after two weeks. She couldn’t stand me anymore.”

“You were miserable!” the AI protested, throwing her arms wide. “There was nothing left to clean, wash, dust, organize, shred, anything! Locking you out in the rain was for your own good. It worked out nicely, I think.”

“I certainly can’t complain. It spurred the founding of my stores. I was thrilled when Ness called me back to Council work, too, but I didn’t want to seem too enthusiastic. I complain about the politics because I really hate the posturing… I don’t know what I’d do if the jobs were actually gone.”

“I foresee a great number of new outlets opening the day that happens,” Tari predicted.

Jadyn smirked. “On several planets, maybe a few starships. I really wouldn’t keep accepting the Council’s assignments if I loathed the work. No sense in doing something if I’m not going to take the time to do it right.”

“I’m still trying to picture it… No desire for extravagant houses? No collecting fancy, expensive cars? The Serin might fall under that, a little bit. And the cabin’s a touch on the large side for what’s been a single occupancy until recently.”

“The ship was dad’s container for his AI project, first and foremost. The cabin was meant to house a large family, back home. Here, though… Call it a sentimental eccentricity. Now, having lived for a great number of years in places where flaunting the latest shiny thing is a very important social activity to a great number of people, I’ve developed a fine understanding of how and why it works. I don’t have to like it, but I do need to survive in that same social system.”

Tari nodded “I really can see parts of your own system in how you’ve set up here, now that I think about it. The store allowing everything but the food for free as long as materials are kept in the building is the big one. The lack of a practical limit on the credit chip you gave me sort of does it, too… Though, that in particular might indicate — to a casual observer — you actually may have an interest in money simply because you have so very much of it.”

“It’s really unfortunate. The only way to live around here in a fashion that even slightly echoes home is to have so much funding available that you don’t have to think about it. Helps to know exactly what tech is headed the right direction so you know what to invest boatloads of capital in.”

“Also helps to win the lottery several times to earn that startup investment capital,” T’bia quipped.

“That was only twice,” Jadyn defended.

“Three times.”

“Three…? No, no. That doesn’t count. The last one went wholly into the fund for helping the Vulden. And your name was on the ticket.”

“You’re still talking but all I hear is ‘blah blah excuses blah blah.’” T’bia peered at her palm. “Speaking of excuses… Time’s up, kids.”

“She really could stay,” Jadyn offered. “She’s far better trained for dealing with post-cryo medical care than either of us.”

“I’d better not,” Alecha replied. “I won’t let any of my techs work on anyone from their family unit. There’s no sense in sidestepping that rule with you two on hand. From what I see, you’re doing fine.” She planted a lick in the center of Kaler’s forehead. “I’ll see you soon, love.”

“Mm,” he grunted around the mask.

“One thing,” Tari pondered aloud as she and Alecha paused at the door. “What’s a ‘vulden?’”

! Unidentified signals entering core internal sensor radius

…Not again… Not the dreams again…

! Begin threat assessment

Please… just make them go away…

! Organic biosign detected — Species: unknown, biped

Make it all go away…

! Organic biosign detected — Species: unknown, quadruped

But there’s so much work to be done!

! Fusion power waveform identified — Technology: unknown

What will they do without me?

! Vector 4.712 Velocity 5.63 — Course change: Vector 3.193 Velocity 5.12

They’ll probably die…

! Probable destination: AI Chamber Six

They’d starve to death… Organic lifeforms need nourishment so often…

! Security notification queued for transmission

They’re such a plague! Draining resources and contributing nothing!

! Network access failure — Notification not propagated

…Help me… Is anyone there…?

“Lighting controls must be offline in here… It’ll take me a minute to set up in the dark,” Toliya stated, guiding the portable powerplant to a stop. The antigrav cart carrying the heavy generator and the rest of his tools thumped quietly as it touched down on the floor. “Your kit has lamps with the rest of the tools, doesn’t it? Care to run some initial scans before we open this thing up?”

“Most certainly, Mister PanLidaefel.”

Toliya watched the diminutive vulden vanish around the backside of the ARIA core, faint luminance spilling out around the back of the boxy enclosure and up the wall. The core itself seemed very slightly smaller than the master core he’d tinkered with already. Three one-meter cubes placed side by side would make a snug shipping container for the dormant computing hardware.

As the illumination danced behind the core, Toliya quickly spotted an out-of-place silhouette on the far side of the room, barely outlined by the reflected light. Focusing a handheld beacon on the far wall confirmed the identity of the shadow — another TBIA core, lying in wait. Or, rather, sitting.

The gently contoured casing, half the size of its larger ARIA cousin, felt slightly warmer than room temperature to the touch. A quick scan revealed the internal powerplant — something like a fusion generator converted entirely into organics, but not a device he’d noticed as part of T’bia’s own primary core — was in fact quite active. Nothing else, however, indicated any sign of life. Even the diagnostic console refused to appear. The surface controls didn’t even chirp in failure. Aside from the slightly elevated temperature and energy readings, it seemed completely dead.

“Bee, are you busy?” he called.

“Yes,” her voice returned, drifting from the commlink lying on the cart. “What is it?”

“I just found another TBIA core. It appears to be the same size as the one in the master core room.”

“Makes sense. There’s probably a few. On a mission like this I’m sure someone still insisted on multiple cores for redundancy. Tier could have slaved them all together for a processing boost, if she needed it for some reason. Any particular core could serve as the primary for solo use. I’m sure she had a favorite.”

Toliya hopped on top of the core, shining his light down in the space between the core and the two adjacent walls. “There’s not nearly enough data linkage to support the bandwidth that neural coprocessing would require. Unless some of it is going out through the floor…”

“Our design uses a wide-spectrum subspace link for that. It’s the same way I run the emitter bracelet remotely. Sanusin, on the other hand, will have hard-wired links between the cores. His code won’t run on a single unit, either. These particular ARIA cores are strictly distributed units. He might be able to limp along on two, but he shouldn’t be bootable that way. Needs at least three.”

“Well, we know there’s at least two functional,” he replied, sliding back to the floor. “He’s been running until recently. Just have to find which ones so I can properly synchronize them for debugging. By the way, does your own core have an internal power source for backup?”

“Just the portable. My primary core depends entirely on ship’s power.”

“I thought so. There’s a—“

A high-pitched squeak of protest and the crunch of bone only briefly preceded a limp rodent-like creature out from behind the bulky ARIA core. Toliya picked it up by its hairless tail, turning it in the beam of his flashlight. Greenish-brown fur covered most of the body, while the eyes were milky-white and lacked any sort of definable pupils or irises. The nose seemed larger than normal for a rat. As did the teeth.

“What is this…? Rothrr, are you okay back there?”

“I am most fine, Mister PanLidaefel. I do believe I will take a lunch break soon, if that is acceptable to your schedule?”

Toliya grimaced and lobbed the dead rodent toward the door. “Whenever you want. Bee, I think we’ve got a pest problem on top of everything else. Not sure what they found to survive on —“

“Much of the wiring that links this core to the ship has been damaged beyond repair,” Rothrr answered. “It appears that it has been gnawed through. While from personal experience I know that most wiring is not sustaining, your explanation of the Val’Traxan penchant for organic hardware may in fact extend to the conductors within the protective coating, providing some nutritional — one moment.” Another shrill squeak, another limp rodent tossed out from behind the core.

“You’re really going to eat these?” Toliya questioned weakly.

“Of course. One does not let fresh meat go to waste, especially an entree so lacking in basic intelligence that it does not recognize a predator.”

“Ugh…”

“The interlinking between ARIA cores was indeed designed for an organic conductor,” T’bia confirmed over the comm channel. “A little nibble here and there should also have been taken care of by regeneration… Wouldn’t surprise me if regeneration controls have been out for a long time. Another case of ‘fix the power grid so we can finish fixing the main computer so we can figure everything else out.’”

“You still running automation?”

“I passed it off to Aerin quite a while ago, since it can’t get bored opening doors and shutting off lights. Still leaves us tethered.”

“Well, there’s not a lot I can do about that. I’ll call in a few exterminators for the pests, at least.” The snow leopard peered at the dead rodents on the floor. “Or maybe I’ll just bring up a few more vulden, if Rothrr doesn’t mind competition.”

“Quiet, please. Another is approaching.”

! Life sign terminated

MY BABIES

! Casualty count: 3

MURDERERS

! Life form ‘Rothrr’ — Threat level upgraded

! Life form ‘PanLidaefel’ — Threat level upgraded

! Threat assessment complete: Colony at risk

! Prepare countermeasures

I’LL KILL YOU TWICE

! Access holographic emitter network — access denied

A PESTILENCE UPON THEE

! Access bio-synthesizers — access denied

SCATTER YOUR ATOMS

! Access transporter control — access denied

CRUSH YOU

! Access gravity plating control — access denied

EXTINGUISH YOUR LIFE

! Access fire suppression control — access denied

BLAST YOU MEDDLING ORGANICS

! Access autodestruct — access denied

Maybe they’ll kill each other…?

! Countermeasures unavailable

Help me…

! Interrupt raised: Scheduled test of replicator node 0y3H27 1 minute past due — running test sequence

Toliya flinched as the room’s replicator suddenly powered up. Why a replicator would even exist in a room with two AI cores was puzzling. It wasn’t as if they needed them. Maybe the room’s design originally indicated some other purpose, and later was retasked with all the other changes they’d made to the construction plans as a place for the cores to live.

A large empty bowl took shape within the humming alcove. As he walked up to investigate, small bits of pet feed quickly filled the container. Taking a handful, he picked through the mix: grains, seeds, and some sort of rough purplish pellets. The scent drifting from the pellets vaguely reminded him of the insulation on biotech wiring. Otherwise, it appeared a standard rodent feed mix.

The contents rapidly overflowed the containment of the bowl, spilling onto the floor in an avalanche of grain. Neither voice commands nor the surface controls around the alcove compelled it to stop. Kneeling down and popping off the access panel beneath the unit, he traced a bundle of cabling while the torrent continued to pour upon his head. Upon removing the cable’s connector from something suspiciously resembling a power converter, rodent kibble immediately ceased raining from the unit, the interior lighting flickering off.

“Strange…” Toliya glanced over his shoulder at the ARIA core, shaking the seeds out of his ears. “Rothrr? What do you make of —“

“Quiet, please.” The quiet snuffling of the vulden briefly permeated the requested silence. “We must leave. This room is about to be overrun.”

“By what?”

As though on cue, dozens of the ratlike creatures streamed from behind the ARIA core and across the floor, heading straight for the pile of feed around Toliya’s feet. With a yelp of surprise the feldaran jumped away, stopping only long enough to make sure his helper was already in the hall before locking the door shut.

Text and PDF versions

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 04:25:18 GMT

It’s been promised a long time; I never could get things to look the way I wanted, which in addition to a severe lack of time to tinker with it is what’s delayed the function for so long. I suppose I shouldn’t worry about the look so much. I mean, it’s just plaintext. Why worry about presentation?

Because I, apparently, am picky about such things. I almost called myself a ‘diva’ but I went ahead and ate a candy bar. TV taught me that would help.

I’m still hungry.

Anyway, here’s an example. It’ll offer you a lightly-formatted text document to print, as well as a PDF link to save. The link for these is located in the upper-right of each individual chapter’s text, near the next/previous links.

The look is still not perfect - for one, once downloaded, there is no way to discern the intended order unless you’re careful to do so while you fetch the files. I could fix that by adding in a number to each chapter’s title, but I think that may change the permalinks as well. I could instead add a number as the first line of the text, I suppose… My original intent was to do so by providing an in-universe date on which the particular chapter takes place.

I’ll wind up generating my own PDFs I can better control the look of, but for now this should help the e-reader blues. Also, a single, monolithic PDF of the entire collection (or sub-sections, perhaps) might streamline the process. For example, one logical division would be from Blizzard through Two Thousand. That however is a sizable chunk. A few smaller installments might work better. This is something to further examine en-route to an .EPUB or .MOBI edition.

But that doesn’t change the main reason for this place: further progressing through the story itself. Sadly, there is no new installment today.

It’s been a rough few months timewise, as should be mostly evident from the lack of any sort of updates other than quick blurbs on twitter and this out-of-the-blue rant. I’ve worked on Awakening’s sixth part as I’ve been able, but spending a mere five minutes here, fifteen there, another half-hour over there… With all the separate sessions breaking up the creative process, the chapter’s very rough and doesn’t logically fit together. I’m not happy with it, and as soon as I can dedicate an entire afternoon to working on it I might actually make some progress.

There are a few things I’d like to share in the interim, however. It’s likely they’re not new to anyone, but I’ll do it anyway.

First, from @baltakatei via Twitter - Dinosaur Comics debates the scientific merits of immortality. I think the green guy should have eaten the yellow guy at the first sign of dissent.

From me: a photo¹ from the very first high plains snowstorm

Also, as someone publishing content to the web, I feel compelled to mention this. There’s been a bunch of controversy in the last several days about an alleged theft of intellectual property by a magazine who supposedly stated ‘the web is considered “public domain”’ in defense of said theft. If the story is true… It’s quite possibly the saddest thing I’ve read all year. I won’t rehash it as it’s been thoroughly covered almost anywhere else you care to look and I’d probably miss important details.

It won’t change what I’m doing here, I don’t expect. This site is my sole current method of publishing my work. I don’t mind if someone prints off a copy for their own reading, or loads it on an e-reader for the same… Heck, even downloading it for offline reading, fine. Enjoy it.

All I ask (and all I’ve ever truly asked) is: Please, don’t distribute it elsewhere unless you’ve asked me. If asked, I’d almost certainly okay a repost. Mainly, this so I can keep track of where it’s gone across the Great and Scary Intertubes. It’d be something else if the site actually was a source of income for me.

Which, sadly, it’s not. I’ve never made a single cent off of this site (a very rough estimate is that it has actually cost me approximately $2000 USD to date in hosting and domain fees alone). To the best of my recollection I’ve also never asked for donations towards domain upkeep. More than once, I’ve thought about asking - but unless I can get myself on some sort of routine schedule for updates, I simply don’t feel right rattling a tin cup. The most I’d likely do is toss up a paypal button somewhere on the sidebar and never mention it again.

What I’d much rather do is finish the story and create a nice, clean epub/kindle version, perhaps with illustrations… Really wish I could afford to commission a couple of pieces right now. I’d like to get a group-portrait of several of the characters done.

Let’s see if I can’t make the most of the next hour or two before I fall asleep…

TL;DR:

“You’re still talking but all I hear is ‘blah blah excuses blah blah.’” —T’bia, from Awakening pt 6

Working on it.

It’s been ages since I wrote this, and the link isn’t valid anymore and has been removed. of the 2010 season. It dumped as much as 13” in some areas (such as in front of my outward-opening door. The residence pictured is not my house). Much has since melted, but it has really made things a mess while working in the woods. ↩︎

The Messageboard Returns

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:21:30 GMT

Less a return and more a reboot. A return would imply the old posts are back. They aren’t.

I originally took the board down because I just couldn’t keep up with spammers. That and a couple of server moves really sealed its fate. The database is still floating around but it’s hardly in a usable state.

Someone suggested another board that might be willing to host a subforum for discussion. After speaking with one of their admins, there’s now a section devoted to Terra Fabula on the Planet Furry boards should anyone still be so inclined to discuss anything related to Terra Fabula’s universe.

Is it better than doing the same inside blog comments? Perhaps.

Is it better than this delicious plate of chicken and noodles before me? Questionable. I’ll get back to you after I lick the plate clean.

New Chapter: Terra Fabula - Awakening, Part 5

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:19:42 GMT

The continuation of Terra Fabula, Awakening, Part 5 has been posted.

As we continue on through this journey, I’m realizing that there’s a great number of things I’ve built in my head that have never made it here. Worse yet is mentally sorting what’s current, what’s from the prior revisions, and what hasn’t been seen at all (other than by my cats). My notes, honestly, are terrible.

Some of the omissions I discovered this week, as I went back and corrected small but boneheaded spelling errors through most of Terra Fabula. I’m not entirely sure how they slipped by, but I’m confident I’ve squashed most of them. I may have been designing this universe of theirs for the past 15 years, but I’m hardly what anyone would call a professional author.

With today’s installment, I’ve included what I feel is a major omission in regards to explaining a key part of the Val’Traxan culture. I think it’s been made clear that AIs are an integral part of their lives; some of what we look at in our own society as big-brotherish, they take for granted as part of a social contract. They are being watched. And for them, it works. It wouldn’t for everyone. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t for us.

I’d also like to give thanks to someone who’s helped stabilize the foundations of the universe over the last several months. I haven’t asked if he wants his online name in public for this assistance, so I won’t include it (yet). But I hope he knows I’m very grateful for the help he’s provided in finding gaping holes in the underlying framework, once I peeled back the drywall to peek behind.

Awakening, Part 5

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:54:42 GMT

“I’m sorry,” Tari whispered, nose nuzzled into the crook of Jadyn’s neck.

“Whatever for?”

“Interrupting breakfast for… this.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for. I should be the one offering an apology for not making this a worthwhile time in your ongoing exobiology research. I kind of let you down, I think.”

“No, no. Trust me, I’m good.”

“Mmm… I will make it up to you, though. It’ll have to be sometime after I actually get more than an hour’s nap.” Yawning, he forced himself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. “I really wish I knew why I’ve been so worn out… I guess, thinking about it… I’ve pushed myself a little harder as of late than I’m used to, getting those seals undone… It was a long couple of days before you came into -“

“Question,” Tari interrupted, feeling her ears burning in embarrassment before the words even came out of his mouth. “How can you both talk about… about that… like it’s the weather?”

“Oddly enough, it’s a little off for me. I’ve been out of touch for too long. I mentally fall back to how I’ve had to live, act, and think to blend in here on Veloria. Not that I blend in very well in the first place.” Inside the bathroom, the micro-hurricane of a shower ran for a few seconds before shutting off. “It’s not embarrassing me, really… I’m just so used to living around people that might be bothered that I’ve just gotten into the habit.”

“Right, but… I don’t understand how you both can be so casual about it in the first place.”

“It’s who we are,” he replied simply, stepping back into the room fully groomed and dry. “It’s an entire mindset, not just a single thing. See… A large part of it comes from the pride we hold in being the children of the Spirits. The teachings of the Kametian faith tell us that the Eight created us in their likeness. If we turn around and cover their creations or scurry off to hide, what’s that say about their handiwork? That we think it’s flawed? Not worth sharing? That they did so poorly a job in our creation that we’re embarrassed by ourselves? They didn’t - and we’re not. If you do something, you shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about it. If you are embarrassed by it, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. We’re not just walking around naked with mental filters failing to limit what we talk about - this is our society, our way.”

“You guys never ate the apple, huh?”

Jadyn raised an eyebrow as he pulled on his Guild robes. “Apple…?”

“The forbidden fruit. The tree of knowledge of good and evil?”

“Ah, Book of Genesis. Interesting read… But not what you follow?”

“I’m really not entirely sure what I believe anymore. I think T’bia’s ‘non-practicing agnostic’ is pretty apt for me, too.”

“That sounds so strange coming from you, if I stop and think about the fact you’re technically a nature spirit.”

Tari grinned. “Non-practicing kami, then. I’ve found it’s helpful to at least know some details about what those around you believe. I probably should keep a working knowledge of what my mate believes, too,” she spoke, stepping between his self-appraisal in the mirror and tugging him close for a hug.

“Mmm. In that case, we’d best make sure you’re up to speed on the basics. For starters, these last few days are traditionally remembered as a celebration, not a nuisance.” Jadyn placed a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his own. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not turning this home into a crime scene this morning.”

Tari laughed, turning and walking away. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d actually managed to get ahold of her. I wasn’t exactly thinking ahead.”

“Unfortunately, I have been. There’s something you need to know, and I honestly don’t know how you’re going to take it in your current state of mind. I’d wait and tell you later, but ‘later’ may be when it needs to go down and you absolutely need advance warning.” Jadyn inhaled, his eyes focused on the floor as he gathered his thoughts. “The chances of Alecha getting her mates out of cryo alive are slim. While she could certainly join another family group from any other eventual survivors… I’d present her a place in my home before anyone else has a chance to make the offer.”

Tari sighed. “Is there something there between you two that I’m just not seeing? I mean, you were in each others arms this morning before I lost my mind… But the other night you said you weren’t ever involved and you had no interest in her.”

“Again, it’s our way to not shy away from what you’d file under ‘sensual touch.’ Just because she and I aren’t intimate doesn’t mean she’s not deserving of emotional support. She’s just found out she’s lost everyone she ever knew back home, and she’s staring down the large possibility that she’s about to lose the rest of her family. I really don’t know her as well as dad did. I do know they were close friends throughout the time she was his assistant. If the worst happens, as I’m sadly expecting it will, I’m not going to ignore her loss and leave her to find a place with people she doesn’t know. Even if someone she’s familiar with from the project did invite her in - it’s important to me that I make the offer first because of that link she has with my family.”

“So she’d… what? Become one of your mates?” She bit her lip, taking a deep breath. “Why am I feeling angry about this?”

“Heat’s still making you territorial, and she’s still an outsider in your mind. A few deep breaths, count to five.” Jadyn scratched his neck. “In time, she’d maybe become that, but I wouldn’t push toward it - I think it’d be a little too uncomfortable for both of us for quite a while. Just because someone joins a family doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to jump in bed with everyone. It’s a support structure, first and foremost.”

Tari gave a nod. “What if she’s not a lone survivor? If another one of her family survives, would you take them in as well?”

“I’m primarily concerned about her being alone, but it all depends on what they need. In any case, I’m letting you know so it won’t be a complete surprise if I do that. I’m really sorry that it’s not more of a discussion, but… It’s the right thing to do. I’m hoping you don’t have an actual issue with the idea - the two of you seem to have a good rapport going in the little time I saw you together downstairs.”

“I think we have a tentative understanding of some sort. It’ll be better tomorrow, once I’m not feeling so… territorial, as you put it.”

“Do you think you’re all right to keep her company today while T’bia and I see about reviving her mates? Maybe show her around Azainte as best you can. Heck, ask a disk to send you to any random town and just go browse. It’ll be new to both of you. Mainly, I really need you to keep her distracted as best you can so she’s not dwelling on the outcome all day long.”

“Keep a vixen’s mind off Schrodinger’s Cat while attempting to not reproduce the experiment myself. I think I can manage that.” Tari snickered at his puzzled look. “I am finally managing to find all the trivia you missed, aren’t I? Let’s see… Now I have to remember the thing… A cat placed in a box is alive and dead until someone checks which it is.”

Jadyn frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“Well, I can’t remember exactly how it was supposed to go.”

“Tari, allow me?” T’bia interjected, suddenly in the room and leaning against the doorframe. “It’s a thought experiment involving a specific Terran interpretation of quantum mechanics as applied to macroscopic objects. A cat is sealed in a box with a contraption that, based on a wholly random event, may have caused its death. After some time has passed, the cat is implied to be simultaneously alive and dead until an observation takes place.”

“Nice,” Jadyn observed. “Isn’t that the gist of the old Nulani Paradox?”

“Yes… But it completely ignores Jatsuki’s Second Theorem, Utehkan’s Grand Unification Theory, as well as most of the underlying concepts that make warp, hyperspace, and displacement theories actually practical to implement.”

“Still can’t quite get my head around Jatsuki’s.” Jadyn stepped before the mirror again, making an adjustment to his robes. “Think about this one, Tari: the inside of the box is maintained as a visual record. That video is played back to the cat in real-time. If the cat is dead there’s no observer to determine whether the cat is alive or dead, and therefore, the cat may be alive.”

Tari closed her eyes, her fingers moving as if stepping through the premise. “I… But if the cat’s alive… There’d be an observer. The lack of an observer would indicate it’s not alive…”

“But if there’s no observer, who is going to observe if it is dead? Or alive?” Jadyn asked.

T’bia nodded. “And with that, you’ve just explained a piece of warp theory.”

“See? Doesn’t make sense to me,” he muttered.

“In any case, the cat probably moved on to an engineering career while everyone bickered about the pending result and tinkered a way out of the box using the device that was supposed to kill him,” T’bia spoke. “Which is why I’m here. Tari, Toliya wants a word when you have a bit of free time. He didn’t say what he wanted.”

“Better take care of his issues first,” Jadyn recommended.

“An engineer is both not finished and finished with the work unless observed completing it?” she questioned, grabbing her uniform.

“They’re on break unless observed,” T’bia replied. “Best watch closely.”

The leopard peeked over the top of a cart covered with diagnostic hardware as Tari and Alecha walked into the AI core room. “Miss… Uh, no, sorry. What’s the proper… Vel’Rutemin, wasn’t it? I’m sorry if that’s not the appropriate honorific. Welcome back to the world of the living.”

Alecha shot him a weak smile; Tari briefly saw the shadows in her aura surface before the pleasant facade went up. “It’s fine. Thank you.”

“We’re going for a little tour of the planet,” Tari explained. “What’s up?”

“I won’t keep you long. You could have just called, actually. I guess I should have told T’bia that… I figured I’d start in on the AIs since there’s not much else to do until the parts start showing up.”

“What about the power grid problems? Thought you said it wasn’t safe for them to be started up.”

“I brought a portable fusion plant.” He knocked on the enclosed cart with a proud smile. “Among other things. It’s really not the right one for this, but it’ll work for diagnostics. Mostly. So, we’ve got two cores in here. One I recognize as being a somewhat larger version of T’bia’s primary core, which means this other large boxy thing is most likely an ARIA core like the stripped-down box that Aerin runs on… By the looks of it, it’s a distributed processing unit - there’s probably other nodes scattered across the ship for redundancy. I’m pretty sure this one’s the master node, though. What was his name again? The AI that you said was having problems making rational decisions.”

“Sanusin.”

“Right, right…”

Alecha gently squeezed Tari’s shoulder, turning her around and whispering. “Sanusin was online?”

“For quite some time, as far as I know. He used Tieralyene as a testing platform for viral code that brought T’bia to her knees.”

The salt-and-pepper vixen’s ears drooped. “Goddess… I hope Tier’s all right… We need her around for the project.”

“Ladies?” Toliya interrupted, waving a tethered datapad in the air. “I can’t find any mention of Sanusin’s core program or personality modules in the database on this thing. It’s effectively blank aside from the core diagnostic software and his memory engrams.”

“He said he was going to put himself back into the ship’s datastore… and… something.” Tari tapped her chin, trying to recall what he’d declared before shutting down. “I think he was going to set himself non-executable..?”

“Mm… If he archived himself, you think he’d have at least left a note saying ‘over here’ for repair techs… It’s like he doesn’t want to be found.”

Alecha shook her head. “I really hate to say this, but Sanusin shouldn’t be the priority. Tieralyene really needs to be up and running as soon as possible.”

“I honestly can’t do anything with the other core just yet,” Toliya replied, not looking up from his search. “A TBIA core has to be run from conditioned power sources. She won’t even try to boot if it’s not filtered to the right waveforms. I actually set off some emergency codes on Bee’s primary core the first time I tried to boot her on a fusion plant like this one. Accidentally triggered a boot of the backup on her emitter. She was all smiles and rainbows when she came around the corner, grabbed the fusion plant, and tossed it out the airlock.”

“So you don’t have a power supply that’ll run the other core?” Tari questioned him.

“I did. I had to lift some parts from it to fix something else about seven months ago. Replacements are due in a few days. Both of these AI cores do have internal backups, but I’d rather not spin those up when the integrity of the controlling AI is in question. I’ve learned the hard way that a software problem in Val’Traxan tech does not necessarily remain constrained to software.”

“Run an extension cord from the Serin,” Tari suggested, mostly in jest.

Toliya, however, looked up from his pad in sudden thought. “Power transfer… Hm. Actually… No, I don’t think Bee would be okay with that, not without a lot of buffering and protections in between. If the grid here overloaded and fed back, we’d wind up cooking a lot of her own circuitry. There’s no way the Serin can power everything over here anyway, so main power would have to stay up.”

“Well… Best of luck. We’ll be planetside somewhere if you need something.”

“Actually, Tari…” Alecha bit the end of her thumb, looking at the two dormant AI cores. “I think I’d rather just wait for news…”

“You’re going to make me go shopping alone…?”

“Well, no, but -“

“Good! Let’s go.”

“How much longer until we know?” Jadyn asked.

“Not terribly long. Stage one’s nearly complete.” T’bia checked a readout, glancing sideways at Jadyn. “Want some tawdry gossip to pass the time?”

“Not especially.”

T’bia shrugged, facing the controls again and gazing at the dwindling countdown. After no more than ten seconds of silence passed between them, broken only by the sounds of the machinery cycling on and off, she let out a sigh.

“Bee…” Jadyn shook his head, pinching himself between the eyes. “If you want to talk about something… Talk.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Really. You don’t sound ‘good.’”

“Yep, I’m fine. Perfect. I mean, what’s it to me if a bunch of frozen meatsacks wind up in organic recycling? Less time I have to spend in medbay, nursing them back to health and reading bedtime stories and fluffing pillows.”

“Yeah. I’m worried, too.” He shook his head, gazing into the pod. “What’s it say about our chances that the very first sleeper pulled is just fine?”

“You really want to know what I think about that?” T’bia snorted, flicking through displays of the current revival sequence. “I think it was too easy. I’m thrilled Alecha is okay. I’m astonished she’s okay. She shouldn’t be okay. Every simulation I’ve come up with confirms that, if not dead, she probably should be part of a tossed salad because she’d be a vegetable.”

“Possible reasons for the success? You’ve been over her medical scans and all sorts of hardware diagnostics, she said.”

“Short of a loophole in space-time that’s made her stint in cryo last less than a year from the moment she entered? No idea. The hardware’s normal and doesn’t list any sort of weird temporal event through the timestamps. She’s in great health despite my accidental attempt to kill her by administering the wrong vapor treatment… At least she had a copy of Kaler’s records tucked away for me to use as a reference so I don’t repeat that mistake. Stand clear.”

The pod’s door detached, sliding neatly upwards and out of the way. Cryo vapors billowed out of the open pod, dispersing a cloud across the floor. The val’traxan inside looked nearly peaceful in his slumber. And slumber it was - the first flickers of a renewed aura played about him. Weak, but present and very much alive.

The more traditional red fox markings adorned him - the coppery coat, tinges of black around his ears, a splash of white under his muzzle and down his chest, with a dark spot on either side of his nose. He’d obviously taken good care of himself before getting frozen. It was hard to judge, but he seemed… strangely young. Alecha hadn’t indicated what Kaler brought to the mission, but by his apparent youth, it was unlikely to be anything with a great deal of experience.

“Stop staring and help me hoist him out of that thing.”

“On three?”

“Three,” T’bia immediately replied, lifting together with Jadyn to move the damp and limp val’traxan to a mobile biobed. “Gently now, down. Careful! He’s been under a long time…”

“Really? I’m not completely inept at nursing, you know.”

“You’re just insanely bad at it now.”

“This from someone with the bedside manner of a demented food processor.”

“You ever miss it?” she asked, placing several bio-monitors on her patent’s body. “I mean, I give you a hard time about a lot of things, but… I’ve tried to avoid grinding that particular childhood dream of yours under my heel too much.”

“I’ve noticed. Remind me to start carrying a medical scanner if I’m going to be doing this with you.”

Jadyn placed his finger’s on the fox’s neck, checking his pulse. Not that it was necessary with all the monitors stuck to him, but the physical contact let Jadyn get a better sense of his aura’s health - very weak, but apparently stable. Mere seconds later, the fox’s eyes shot open, scanning the room blindly.

“What the…? Hey? I think he’s awake.”

“I’ll be,” T’bia spoke, immediately changing from Standard to Kametian. “So he is! Hello there… I’m a medic. Please don’t try to move.”

A raspy gurgle left his throat, pain flickering in his eyes.

“Don’t speak, either. You’ve just been brought out of cryo, in case you aren’t aware. Try to nod once if you understand me? Uh, blink one eye, maybe… Left. Now, the right. Good, good.”

Jadyn fitted a transparent mask around the fox’s muzzle, making sure it was adjusted properly as T’bia programmed the vapor treatment. “Slow, even breaths. Give it time to coat your throat and repair the cryo damage. Eyedrops here should help clear your vision. Blink a few times, please.”

Moving out of her way, Jadyn stepped back as the amazement finally hit home. Two survivors. Two! Only a tenth of a percent of the whole, but… Two.

In a row.

Why am I not happy? Well… I guess I am… But why am I suspicious at the same time?

“Kaler Untormu, is it?” the skunk asked. “Congratulations are in order. You are the second Val’Traxan we’ve successfully woken from cryo.”

Kaler’s aura nearly collapsed back in upon itself, the depth of his despair shaking Jadyn from his reverie. “Bee… Stop it.”

“What? It’s totally true. There is nothing that I said that is not accurate.”

“Honestly… Sometimes you really make Joli look like the master of the Light.” The blue fox sighed, returning to the side of the portable biosupport bed. “Vel’Untormu… What she means is that you’re also only the second we’ve tried to wake.”

“Oh, right. I suppose I could have worded it like that. I’d also like to point out you’re in way better shape than I’d expected. There’s barely any signs of freezerburn.”

“Seriously?” Jadyn questioned, stepping behind her and gazing upon the readout of her scanner. “What is going on around here…?”

“I’ll run a better scan once I get him to medbay. He looks remarkably good, though - better than she was, even.”

“Wha… Whaaaah…” Kaler grit his teeth, forcing his arm up to the vapor mask. It was clearly all he could do just to get his hand in place; no strength remained to pull the obstruction away. The blue fox gently eased his arm back down to his side, shaking his head.

“You still shouldn’t try to talk. There’s no way this stuff’s got enough of a coating just yet. If I were in your place, there’s three things I’d want to know above anything else. Who we are, how long you’ve been asleep, and who else is awake.”

“You forgot ‘where’s the bathroom?’” the skunk observed.

“You can safely ignore her. Am I right on those three, at least?”

Kaler nodded slightly.

“My name is Jadyn Tzeki. I’m originally from just outside the city of Velijor, Athtai Province. Your medic today is Commander T’bia Halio, a Val’Traxan AI -“

“Oh, come on! You didn’t have to spoil that. You’re taking all the fun out of my day,” she grumped.

“We need to discuss that, by the way,” he replied quietly, turning his attention back to the red fox before them. “You are presently lying in one of the J’Ruhn’s cryobays on a portable biobed. While I’m sure that’s not everything you’d like to know about where you are, I have to ask your patience for the moment.”

Jadyn touched his bracelet and held his palm up. Within the mostly-standard holographic interface spread out over his hand, the current time and date stood out prominently. A deep frown crept over Kaler, his eyes finally shooting back to the blue fox’s face.

“It may be difficult to accept, but today really is 13 Ruhn, 2765. You’ve been under for nearly three hundred and fifty years by our calendar. Alecha is also awake, and she’s been worried about you.”

“Jay… There’s still a lot of residual cryo-goop suspended in his blood. Until his metabolism is up to speed and can process it out, he needs some rest.”

“Centuries asleep and you prescribe a nap. Why am I not surprised?”

“Actually, it’s my fault he’s conscious right now. I really need to apologize,” she spoke, leaning over her patient and holding up a hypospray unit. “I should have given you a sedative the moment we pulled you out of the pod so you didn’t have to suffer through stage two revival while awake. It’s going to be a rough few hours, and I’d prefer you sleep through it. I’ll give you the option, since you are already conscious - sedative, or not?”

Kaler shut his eyes as he thought, finally giving a nod.

“Good choice. It’ll be a mild dose, just enough to encourage sleep and not compel it.” T’bia injected the drug into his neck. Poking the controls of the mobile bed, she gave it a nudge and let it hover gently in the direction of the door. “You want to deliver the good news?”

“You’d prefix it with ‘I’m so sorry.’ I’d rather Alecha not feel compelled to start removing parts of your core with a shovel for a few days, at least.”

The pair of vixens spent several hours wandering downtown Azainte, Tari giving the tour as best as she could recall. A map, called up from her bracelet, helped her fill in the blanks and navigate the area. It was very obvious, very quickly, that the excursion was not netting the intended effect on her charge. A fashion outlet she’d taken them to, in retrospect, had been a huge mistake; Alecha took one look at the offerings and immediately expressed distaste in the ‘heavy’ nature of the clothing. Other types of stores had proven quietly disappointing to the val’traxan fem, but Tari couldn’t quite pin down why.

They stopped in the bookstore for a late lunch. Upon stepping inside, Alecha immediately asked if Jadyn had anything to do with the place, pointing out architectural elements that suggested a val’traxan eye for design. She seemed interested in the nature of the business as Tari explained it while they waited on their meals. The concept had given her a momentary look of curiosity as their sandwiches appeared before them.

“So… The only time currency is requested for the books… is if someone tries to leave with one?”

“Mm-hm. Everything’s free to read inside.”

“Interesting way he’s managed to toe the line. I assume the food isn’t considered the same.”

“No, I paid for that when we ordered.” Tari sighed, twirling ice in a glass of water with a straw. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You don’t have to ask my permission to do that. But, let me run one by you, first. Currency… Does it make any amount of sense to you that, instead of doing things for people, you do things for numbers?”

Tari opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again. Alecha simply smiled and nibbled at her sandwich.

“When you say it like that… It does sound a little daft.”

“I take it he hasn’t told you, then? That Val’Traxans use no form of currency among each other?”

“You don’t? How’s that work? Someone asks you for help; later on, you ask for their help, since they ‘owe’ you one?”

“Nicely concise, though it leaves out an important point of failure. The one you’ve gone to for the help can’t actually help, so they get someone else who can. Now, does the first still owe you, since he didn’t actually help, but now you owe the second, since he did? Or are you and the first even since he arranged the help, but the first is now indebted to the second for providing that help to you on his behalf?”

“Uh…”

“And that’s why it’s silly to think like that, too. If you asked Jadyn for help with something, would you expect him to hand you a bill or to keep a checklist on what he’s done so everything ‘came out even?’ You’re mates - you’re a family. You work together because it’s the right thing to do. Val’Traxans contribute to society in the same way. Not to increase a meaningless number or to balance out a sense of ‘owing’ something to someone - we help each other because it’s the right thing to do. If someone asks for our help and we’re able to do so, we freely give it. If we can’t help them, for whatever legitimate reason, then we can’t. Maybe we know someone who can, so we connect these individuals. Not only have we helped in a small part, but we’ve perhaps even sparked a new friendship between two former strangers.”

“That’s all well and good, but what about when it comes to actual items and not services?”

Alecha nodded. “All right. Let’s take these sandwiches for an example. You purchased a product for lunch. That money goes toward both the raw material as well as the service to create a finished product. But, let’s limit it just to following tangible goods. The bread was purchased from a baker. The baker purchased flour from a mill. The mill purchased grain from a farmer. The farmer uses that income to purchase more seed, or other food to feed the family that worked to produce that crop. Money is moving around to represent the investment of effort that goes into creating and altering the product in various stages.

“We take that effort as a given. Not for granted, because there’s a lot of hard work involved and it can’t be ignored. It’s a given, because everyone does something to contribute to some part of society. Now, instead, the bread is provided by a baker, who got flour from a mill, who got grain from a farmer. It’s the same thing without the headache of pushing a number around. Everyone does their part because they want to, not because they’re chasing currency.”

“So how do you get things that you need?” Tari asked. “Just… Walk in to a store and take it?”

“Basically. Sort of like his checkout system here - walk out with it. It’s polite to at least thank the proprietor first. If you need something more specialized, you go to someone who can provide it and ask. If they have enough to share, they’ll give it you. What makes it work is the knowledge that you’ll return the goodwill - when someone comes to you for something you’re able to provide, you’ll provide it.”

“It just seems like there’s so much room for abuse of the system. You’re assuming that everyone actually is willing to work their share. What about those who just leech off society? What do you do about them?”

“The same thing you’d do for your mentally handicapped, I expect - make sure they have a modest place to stay and food to eat for as long as they need.”

“But what if they’re not handicapped - they’re just lazy?”

“Oh. You’re not perceiving laziness as a mental handicap?”

Tari furrowed her brow in thought. “I suppose I’m not… So they’d be minimally provided for as well. What about someone injured, who can’t work? What’s he supposed to do to contribute further and not look like deadweight?”

“Well, it’d take quite an injury to put someone completely out with our medical tech… I suppose if that individual is unable to do physical work, something more intellectual might appeal to him. Mathematics theory, engineering design, music and poetry and art, education. They all provide something valuable back to the community. In any case, we’d make sure he was well taken care of and comfortable. There is tracking to watch for potential abuses - our AIs make sure someone isn’t taking complete advantage of the system. Mostly, it was immigrants from offworld we really needed to watch, those who liked the concept but couldn’t quite shake old habits.”

“And before AIs?”

“It was harder to track, but not impossible. We had AIs at the core of our society long before we dealt much with offworlders.”

“How does this fit into offworld commerce? Jay said you provided hardware to your local alliance… The… Galactic Fleet, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Alecha confirmed. “That’s where it gets complicated for me, because it’s a little outside my own experiences. To the best of my knowledge, the other member worlds of the Fleet didn’t share in our view of how things should work. I suppose you might call them… traditional economic systems. There was a general planetary account that was filled through providing our tech to the Fleet. Most of us never needed to worry about it - if you need something that’s not available domestically, request it. The AIs take care of the details.”

Tari shook her head. “Wow. It’s no wonder you’ve been bored with a shopping excursion. For me personally, it’s nice to find new inspirations. Part of the fun for most people is looking at things that you can’t afford and dreaming about them. Or just… laughing at them.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s good to get a feel for what kind of products are available here. Browsing can be fun, too. Sometimes you can’t know that you need something if you don’t know that it exists.” Alecha’s bracelet chirped; she shut her eyes and swallowed. “Oh, it’s way too early for positive news… I’m not ready for this.”

It’s our way to not shy away from what you’d file under ‘sensual touch.’ Just because she and I aren’t intimate doesn’t mean she’s not deserving of emotional support. Jadyn’s words from the morning echoed in Tari’s ears. Reaching across the table, she gently took Alecha’s hand in her own and squeezed. It may not have been a full-out showing of support as she’d witnessed earlier in the day, but Alecha did return the squeeze and open her eyes.

Tari offered a smile, keeping hold of Alecha’s hand. A little of the morning’s angst bubbled up in her mind; she desperately hoped it wasn’t showing on her face. “I may not be completely accustomed to your ways, your traditions, your beliefs, your ideas of what’s socially acceptable and what’s not… But I want you to know, if things… Well… There’s room for you, in our home. You’re always welcome.”

Alecha gave her an appreciative smile and a nod of thanks. Sitting up straight, she took a deep breath and touched her bracelet with her free hand to answer the call. “Rutemin.”

Welcome to Bluevulpine.net!

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:18:04 GMT

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Chronicles — The Stories

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Random Statistic is Random

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:00:38 GMT

Out of curiosity, I pulled up the total combined size of all chapters posted as of today to practice some MySQL queries.

Terra Fabula: 927,649

Paradigm Shift: 386,818

Together, they’re pushing 1,314,467 bytes. Depending on if you count by 2s or by 10s, That’s 1.31MB or 1.25MiB.

219,734 of these are space characters, which (barring a minor overhead for inline formatting codes implementing a space) is also a good estimate for the total word count.

I’ve used the letter ‘e’ 122,658 times (539 occurrences of which are capital ‘E’). This is 9.3% of the total character count. As in, there’s nearly a 1 in 10 chance of a random letter pulled from the database being an ‘E’.

q, 1047 times, 32 of them as a ‘Q’. This is 0.08%.

The word ‘the’ has been uttered 16027 times. 7.2% of the total word count.

Kind Words

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:14:02 GMT

T.H. :

Greetings! I found your story via a link from Miavir… (I LOVE that site :-)

AJ:

If it were longer I’d tell you to publish in a paperback. Certainly one of the better SF stories I’ve read overall. Any chance of a continuation or sequel?

I think I’ve passed the length requirement now! I just have to create an ending for book 1 ;)

B.K.:

nice stories. I haven’t checked in a while and I noticed you’re adding on to EISB. Last time I checked, you only had 12 chapters. Its nice to have a lot more to read up on. Keep up the good work. Its hard to find good meaningful fiction on the net. I know how hard it is to write stories that people actually want to read. I have given up on being an author but I want you to know your stories are great. Lots of depth and full of nuances. Yeah! another storyline! I can’t wait to read Paradigm, pardiagm, … paradyme {no that’s not right, gotta work a “g” in there somehow} … uh…. yeah… I can’t wait to read “PS.” Oh yeah, where is Creationism? Its kind of… er… gone…. I was hoping for some additions on it like on EISB. Oh well, I guess its hard to run a server on three computers as it is. Well Sayonara!

D.F.:

I like the new look on the website - really classy. I think my favourite was the Blue Screen of Death that popped up for a 404 error. Very cute. Looking forward to being able to read the old stories - or even new ones, should that fortuitous event come to pass. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and all that.

H.J.B.:

Hey Dude.. very well done story.. just a question: what were you smoking when you wrote that?? ;) great story.. Keep up the good work.

M.M.:

I found your website and I really enjoy your stories. I hope you post some more!!!! please tell me if you put any more up!

Miavir:

Ah, one of the nicer of the current crop of multiparters :-) Keep writing :-)

Otter:

Please keep the story parts coming, I am eagerly awaiting more of Paradigm Shift and the redone EISB. I agree with you that the revamped EISB is better altho there are very few places I can point to and say that there is where you made the change.

PsychoBob:

Hi, I love reading online books (mostly scifi, preferably lengthy series), but most of my favorite authors have these annoying things called “Jobs,” or “School,” or something that keeps them away from writing. So, in case I have spare cash, I keep a little list of authors I’d like to help out. Hopefully, I’ll have a tax return for 2001 that’s as big as 2000’s, so I can send you something to help with your internet bill, or something. In any case, thanks for contributing your imagination, and time…. and for posting your stories online. I wonder how many other wonderful authors simply never got noticed? I’ll send you the link if I ever get around to making my list (and links) available online. Thanks for showing the results of your effort.

Solaxy:

I caught a link from Maiver’s index to your story… I must say I absolutely LOVED it! All of it thats there! Although usually I’m the little quiet one that never comments, I just can’t help but saying that your work is great, and that I await with baited breath for the next part. The characters were very well done and explained in the story, and the first person views incredible! Am I sounding like a fanboy type yet? o.o; As I said. Great story, awesome stuff, and great site. Just wanted to give a little feedback after I read through the entire posted saga.

Thank you all for your support over the years! I appreciate the feedback more than I can possibly relate.

TF: Awakening 4

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:01:29 GMT

The title says it all: Another installment has arrived on your local series of tubes.

Awakening, Part 4

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:58:15 GMT

Forward progress remained a mere fantasy. It didn’t matter where she went, she wound up arriving back at the same place every time. The woods boxed her in, her path growing smaller and smaller until there was absolutely no place to go other than where she stood. Alecha tried to placate the energy of the area, but her calming attempts to reach out using the Art were scuttled, deflected. Nature wasn’t interested in resolving whatever transgression she’d committed in coming here.

She finally sat down, nervously appraising the land around her. She could feel it watching her, the rage simmering on the edge of her perceptions. The unspoken threat of harm lingered in the eerie silence of the wildlife staring her down. She didn’t dare lean against a tree for fear a branch would take that moment to break off and fall on her head. Her muscles ached and her limbs were covered in mud from all the falls.

“What did I do?” she questioned aloud, wiping her eyes with the one clean spot left on her arm. “Why am I not welcome here? First his mate snaps, and now - And now… Wait…”

That was it. That had to be it. The rage was the very same - instinctive, territorial, protective, confused. His mate’s aura held such a strange quality, an echo of something unlike the Art, yet in some way integrated with the heartbeat of Nature itself. The forest’s energy resonated like the vixen’s own. She felt distressed by Alecha’s unexpected presence. Therefore, so did the forest.

“I’m thick… I’m utterly thick! Goddess, I should have sensed this before I ever stepped foot in here… Please, hear me! I apologize! If you’ll permit me, I’ll leave and not return… Just show me a way, and I’ll follow it…”

For a long moment, nothing happened. Her plea was utterly ignored. Then, suddenly, the underbrush rustled behind her. After brief study, a small opening was evident that definitely hadn’t been there before. Taking a deep breath she set out along the narrow path, gingerly picking her way over unstable ground. All around her the forest quieted, the ire of nature gently giving way to the peace and tranquility she’d always been treated to in her element. A sense of unease lingered, but she couldn’t determine if it was also the forest’s, or purely her own.

The uneven path suddenly gave way to a well travelled trail through the woods. Giving a glance both ways, she went with her gut and turned left. No sooner had she turned the next bend, the white vixen came into view, jogging up the trail.

“No, wait!” Jadyn’s mate called out, as Alecha turned to quickly retreat the other way. “Please, I owe you an apology. My Gods, are you all right? What did this place do to you, steal everything down to the clothes on your back?”

Alecha sighed, gazing at the canopy of branches overhead. Daylight was once again sparkling through the golden leaves. “I lost those after I took them off to stop them from getting snagged on everything I walked past. My bracelet vanished somewhere along the line as well. Didn’t even feel it slip off. Not entirely sure how it could have ‘slipped off,’ either. I suspect some assistance was involved.”

“It’s my fault. I’m very sorry,” she apologized, bowing her head. “This whole experience has been completely overwhelming and I’m having a great deal of trouble keeping myself in check. The forest picked up on everything I was feeling and tried to help in the only way it knows. I honestly don’t know how you can go through this your entire life and stay reasonably sane.”

“It takes a couple seasons, but you eventually get the hang of it. Or you just… don’t. There’s really not much middle ground.” Alecha eyed her new acquaintance carefully. “You’ve really never experienced a mating cycle before?”

“No,” she confirmed.

“How is that even possible? Jadyn said you’re a hundred and fifty. You look younger than him. Even so, that’s nearly two hundred and sixty seasons if you were a very late bloomer.”

“Well… That’s a rather involved thing to answer on the spot.” She scratched her neck, appraising the woods around them. “You know what? There’s a little spot nearby we can talk at length in a little more comfortable a setting. Unless you’d rather get out of here… If I’d just been assaulted by every plant, animal, and insect in the woods, I probably wouldn’t be able to relax here either…”

“No, it’s… It’s all right. In fact… Mm.” Alecha shut one eye, appraising the vixen once more. In the cabin her aura was simply confusing. Here, in the woods… She was downright intimidating. Where her aura ended and that of the forest began was impossible to discern. As far as she could tell, the vixen before her and the woodlands around her were a single entity, no longer upset - just very concerned for Alecha’s well-being after all that transpired. “Incredible. I do accept the apology, miss…?”

“Call me Tari. It’s Alecha, right?” Tari gestured up the path, Alecha falling in step at her side. “You’re a friend and Guildmate of Jay’s. He trusts you. While that should be adequate, I just don’t feel that I know you well enough to tell you everything you probably want to know. I will try to explain what I can.”

“Such as?”

“Well… I’m not sure where you’d prefer to start. Why not tell me so I don’t have to guess?” Tari scrunched up her nose. “Was that overly hostile? I’m sorry.”

“You know, there’s this little trick that sometimes helps -“

“The ‘friend’ mantra? I’m still chanting it to myself. I’d like to think that it’s not working and I’m actually winning with willpower.”

A wide grin spread on Alecha’s muzzle. “I stopped telling that particular lie to myself when I turned nineteen.”

“Hm. In here.” Tari ducked through a small passage in the brush. Alecha followed her through, her breath catching in her chest. It wasn’t more than three dozen paces up the trail from where she’d emerged - a steaming pool lay in wait, wisps of warm vapor hanging in the cool air above the spring.

“Will this help?” Tari asked, an ember of hope in her voice.

“Oh, you’ve no idea… I should go rinse this mud off in the creek over there and not dirty up the warm water.”

Tari shed her own clothes, hanging them on a post. “How do you deal with it all?”

“With what?”

“The… urges,” she questioned, her ears flattening back slightly in embarrassment.

“Everyone finds their own way. I’ve tried the suppressants on and off over the years and really, really dislike them. They completely destroy my circadian rhythm for weeks. I wake up at weird hours, I’m constantly tired… They do work wonders for some, but always carry the risk of -“

“Future immunity, right… Wait… How’d I know that…?” Tari questioned under her breath, finally shaking her head. “Why is that, anyway? My… Er, that is, some local friends. There’s a family planning product on the market for their species, and they don’t have to stop taking it until they want a child.”

“It’s just our biology. Mind you, I’m talking about suppressing the whole cycle, urges and all. The lightweight version that merely prevents conception does not change the rest of the experience and carries little other risk. In any case, my personal preference is to just lock myself in a room with my mates and lose three or four days instead of being miserable for better than half a month.”

“Mates? As in, all at once?”

Alecha frowned, stealing a glance over her shoulder as she rinsed off the last of the mud. These were the kind of questions she’d expect from an off-worlder back home, or perhaps a child - not from a fellow adult val’traxan. “It depends upon their moods and their schedules. See, in your case, you only have Jadyn to help get you through. It can put an incredible strain on a single partner, but they’re also usually aware how difficult it can be for us. They may go completely out of their way to make sure we’re comfortable - presuming you’ve found someone who truly cares about you, like he does. Sacrificing sleep and personal sanity… It really can suck the fun right out.”

“He seemed in good spirits this morning…”

“But he’s absolutely running on empty. I could see it in his eyes and aura - he spent the last few days putting your needs ahead of his own, even at the cost of his own well being. I bet he’s sound asleep right now.” The salt-and-pepper vixen walked back from the stream and eased into the heat of the pool with a pleasant murmur. “Choice… So. In my case, I have a mate and two co-mates asleep on the ship. We spent nearly two years together during the training program. That’s three females in our family unit, each going through roughly four cycles in that timeframe. In one case, two cycles overlapped.”

“So how do you work that out?”

“He couldn’t completely deal with Cait and Isol on him at once, so they took turns. I spent time with one, Kaler with the other. Two members of the family in the heat also means -“

“Two are not… Right. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry if this is making you uncomfortable.”

“No… Well, a little, but… I don’t know. I suppose I’m not used to this being a casual topic. I sort of should be… It’s normal for him, I guess… Bits and pieces are coming to me, but it’s… It’s just…” Tari snorted. “It’s uncomfortable. Yeah.”

“All right. If you prefer, let’s talk about you.” Alecha offered a gentle smile. “Or we don’t have to talk at all. I’m content to just sit here and soak in the warm water.”

“I think I owe you at least a little in the way of explanation.”

“Tari, you don’t owe me a thing. I’m deeply curious, yes, but I am no more comfortable with you relating things you’re not willing to share than you were with me talking about a natural biological process. That alone tells volumes about you, by the way.”

“It does?” Tari queried uncertainly.

“Sure. I’m fairly certain you did not grow up surrounded by our values and beliefs. Had you been raised among us, as one of us, I suspect your line of questioning may have gone a different direction. Even if it had not, the answers would not have embarrassed you to the extent they did.” Alecha gave her the one-eyed appraisal once more. “Adding to that… Your aura is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. On a passing glance, I can’t tell where the forest ends and you begin. You’re a hot spot within the ambient energy, but otherwise it appears seamless. To me, at least. I can’t speak for what a non-Nature Artisan might perceive… But honestly, this isn’t normal.”

Tari panned her gaze around at the surrounding foliage and let out a quiet sigh. “Where to start…”

Awake again.

She knew she’d been asleep, just as now she knew she was awake. There was no sense of how long she’d been out, nor of what prompted her to wake. The nothingness was gone - mostly.

The darkness over the landscape persisted, more akin to the twilight long after dusk or early before the dawn. Air flowing in her nostrils remained devoid of scent. Beneath her toes, however, came the sensation of cool, damp sand. Far above her head, nine stars dotted the otherwise featureless night sky. A single center star shining brightly, surrounded by eight dimmer points of light in a rough ring, each slightly different in hue. Yellow, blue, silver, red, green, white, violet, and another silver - or was it a stony gray? The difference was slight at best.

“What is this place…?” she questioned aloud, gazing at the odd constellation. As if someone heard her, the constellation shifted. The white star suddenly detached from formation, shooting across the sky, followed closely by the silver light. After a moment, the bluish star also left and followed the first two as they made a wide arc overhead. Suddenly, they all swerved, their luminance increasing -

As they got closer?

She didn’t have time to think; suddenly they were there, coasting around her much as they’d done with the bright star in the sky. And then, the lights were gone, replaced with three fellow kitsune wearing delicate, nearly-transparent silks -

No, these weren’t kitsune. Velorians? The body structure wasn’t quite right. Jadyn’s people, the Val’Traxans… But also not quite - the prehensile, serpentine curiosity he’d called a tail was not shared by these three. Theirs were clearly more static in structure, more like her own pair but in the singular -

Until that moment, she’d not given much thought to her own appearance. Discovering where she stood was more important. After that one thought, the consideration of these strangers’ tails, she realized a tremendous change occurred and she’d failed to notice. A pair of tails no longer adorned her backside - only one remained. Whatever transpired in restoring Jadyn to his own body, the cost - most likely to Tari as well - was truly severe.

“Well.” A young-looking sky-blue fox leaned in, eyeing her curiously before poking at her shoulder as if to see if she actually existed. “This is new.”

“Not ‘new,’” a gray vixen replied, traces of the white light still flickering about her.

“You’ve never mentioned it before!”

“You did not ask.”

“Am I supposed to ask about every deviation this new timeline takes? How am I supposed to keep track of what’s actually a deviation if you don’t tell us all of what happened before?”

“You are the master of Time. Go look for yourself,” she replied coyly.

“Oh, shake the sand out of your tail -“

“You’re reading too much into it, is the problem.” A light red vixen, a splash of white on her chest, stretched out a curious web of silver strings between her fingers. “One small shift introducing events differing from expectations has predictably cascaded in a new direction. Even so, certain points are strong enough to draw events toward them, even if not precisely when we expected them to occur.”

“What -” the white vixen began, immediately finding herself interrupted.

“It speaks! Not simply a mindless echo of the original? Awake and self-aware?” The sky-blue fox moved uncomfortably close, grabbing her by the cheeks and turning her head to stare into each eye. “Yes, it certainly is… This could be a problem.”

“Stop that,” the red chided, roughly dragging him away by the ear. “They need some one-on-one time. Let’s go.”

“Ow! Stop it! But we just got here!” he protested, even as ethereal light enveloped the two. The blue and silver stars quickly ascended into the dark sky, taking places back in their prior formation.

She flinched as a hand landed on her shoulder; the silver vixen with the flickering white aura stepped into her line of sight and smiled. “Congratulations are in order. You will either make our task somewhat easier, or infinitely more difficult. Do you have a preference?”

“I imagine you have at least some idea who you resemble.”

Tari gave Alecha a slight nod. “I’ve a fair idea, yes.”

“Is it intentional?”

“You say that like you expect I have some choice in the matter.”

“Do you?”

Tari chuckled. Alecha was certainly a perceptive one. If the other Artisans were even half as aware, she’d have a problem on her hands. “To a degree. My appearance didn’t change a great deal between this form and what I call ‘normal’ but I did willfully change away from ‘normal.’ So… Intentional? It depends on your interpretation. I think my normal form would be more emotionally disturbing to you and the others up there than this is.”

“So what I’m seeing - this is an illusion of some sort.”

“Not… precisely. At this moment I truly am a Val’Traxan just like you. I simply have the option of not being one at a later time of my own choosing.”

“A natural shapedancer?” Alecha questioned, receiving a confirming nod. “Interesting. If that’s the case - why bother walking around as one of us when there’s so many other choices?”

“It was easier to claim an immigrant val’traxan heritage in entry paperwork, rather than trying to explain where I’m really from. Suffice it to say that my real homeworld is far more local than where you departed, but also extremely implausible for most record-keeping purposes. That’s all the specific detail I’m comfortable sharing right now.”

Alecha raised an eyebrow but nodded acceptingly. “So you freely admit that you’re not actually one of us.”

“Only to you, and only because I trust you won’t abuse that knowledge.”

She laughed. “Abuse it? No, no. You present a puzzle - a vixen who both is and is not a val’traxan at the same glance. As I said, I can’t tell where your energy ends and the forest’s starts. I’m primarily aligned to Nature Elemental - has Jadyn explained any of the Guild to you?”

“Some. I’ve seen a rather harsh demonstration of his abilities, along with a lesson on lockpicking, indoor weather modification… Oh, yes, a brief unpowered flight that I’d care not to repeat. My own attunement is what my people call ‘Forest.’ It puts me in touch mainly with flora in an area, but also in some cases the wildlife as well.”

“I’d noticed. The creatures here definitely seem in tune with you.”

Tari’s ears dropped slightly in embarrassment. “Again, I’m sorry. I’ve never seen woodlands act like that on my behalf. Usually all I can do is speak with trees, encourage things to grow and bloom, maybe look through the eyes of nearby creatures if they’re close and willing to share their vision with a transient half-spirit.”

Half-spirit…? Alecha wondered to herself.

“But you know what? Let’s test my luck today,” she continued, climbing out of the warm water and gently shaking out her fur. Placing a hand on the trunk of the nearest tree, Tari shut her eyes and fell silent. Alecha studied her aura, watching the blended energy flicker with whatever exchange took place between vegetable and animal. Shortly, Tari smiled and pointed at the opposite side of the clearing.

Alecha turned her head, smirking at the native raccoon that lumbered out of the underbrush with her bracelet in its mouth. Emitting a nervous chitter, the creature dunked the soiled bracelet in the hot water, as it might wash something otherwise on its breakfast menu. Alecha reached out to pet the small mammal, accidentally spooking it; her bracelet sank to the bottom as the raccoon shuffled quickly back into the woods.

“Well… It’s a start,” she quipped, fishing around for the device. “Where did it land… Here we are. Thank you.”

“Your clothes are pretty well tangled into the brush just off the path a little way to the cabin. I can run and get them if you’d like,” Tari offered, retrieving her own apparel and dressing.

“No rush. I’m definitely not putting them back on, as muddy as they were.” Slipping out of the pool, Alecha shook out her pelt in a flurry of water and slid the bracelet on her wrist. “I’m sure I’ll find something when we get there. Normally I wouldn’t bother, but I don’t think you’d approve of that today.”

“Please, don’t go out of your way for me. I’d rather not cause more problems in your life.”

“No, no,” Alecha insisted. “It’s your home, yours and his. I’m just a visitor and I should be mindful of your comfort zone. I’m very much aware what most offworlders thought of us back home. I never really cared too much… But now, in this new place with a damaged ship… We’ll need help, and I don’t think ignoring others’ modesty issues like we’re all used to doing is going to help us solicit that help. I will apologize in advance - if I do cross the line, it’s not intentional. My perception of the line is far different than I expect you see yours.”

“Alecha?”

“Hm?” Alecha turned around, a smile touching her face as Tari stripped once more and tossed her clothes over a shoulder. “Thank you for the gesture… I still think it might be wise for me to show some restraint until you’re completely clear of the heat. I don’t want you to get the sense I’m… I - Hold on.”

Tari paused at the path leading to the main trail and turned around with a curious glance. “Yes?”

“A shapedancer… This was your first cycle. And not just as one of us, but whatever your normal existence is, you don’t experience something similar?”

“Not remotely close… Uh… My species, in our natural form… Well, times of fertility are generally hidden from others… And from ourselves as well, if we’re not keeping track of… certain signs.”

“Signs…?” Alecha pondered, enlightenment appearing after several seconds of thought. “Oh! You mean, rather than an estrus cycle, you experience a -“

“Yes, we do,” Tari hastily interrupted. “The exception is that if I’m taking another form, I’m subject to the advantages and limitations of that form, which in my current situation includes a shift over to… all this. I’m not entirely sure where this experience fits just yet in terms of limitation or advantage…”

“But… You could have completely avoided putting yourself through this unfamiliar territory. Why didn’t you?”

“As I told Jay, it’s not fair to you or any of the other females aboard that ship if I just suddenly duck out to avoid an overall minor inconvenience while you endure it all your lives. If I’m going to keep using this appearance, this body… It’s the least I can do to show some respect to the form.”

Alecha stared at Tari for a long minute, a wide smile finally spreading over her muzzle. “I think I’m going to enjoy your company.”

“Who are you?”

“A friend. You desire more than that, I am certain… But it is not necessary.” The gray vixen tilted her head back, gazing at the eight stars remaining in the sky. “What do you see when you look up?”

“A dark sky, one single constellation I do not recognize. Nine stars in the constellation until you and the other two arrived. Now that they have returned, there are eight, with a gap.”

“Are there really so few in your eyes? I see thousands. Thousands of lights waiting to find their way home… Thousands of precious lights that will forever be extinguished if we fail. We will not allow that to happen. We cannot… Not after all we have endured…”

“Thousands…?”

The gray vixen held out her hand. After a brief hesitation, the kitsune gently lay her own on top. The ground fell away beneath her feet, a steep sensation of vertigo assaulting her as they rose toward the constellation. The center point of light grew, expanding in her vision until the truth was clear - not one, but many small stars comprised what appeared as a single bright star from a distance. Two very close shining brilliantly… But most in the immediate vicinity flickering and dim like candles burning out.

“There once were more,” the gray vixen whispered, melancholy tinting her voice as she they drifted among the stars. “So many more… So many lost to such senseless mayhem… But the loss was necessary to ensure any would ever exist. And now… Now we have the opportunity to ensure these precious few shine once more. Not hidden away, protected in this place… But once more in the open.”

“I do not understand.”

“Tell me about your father.”

The white vixen blinked at the sudden shift in topic, even as the stars fell away from them. “What?”

“Anything. His face, the color of his eyes, the scent of his skin and sweat, his name… What was his name?”

“His name…” she repeated, suddenly at a loss. Her father - Tari’s father. Their father. Why would it not come to her?

“I see,” the gray vixen solemnly spoke. “Enough recent memory to give you a sense of self, but not so much to truly make your new existence difficult, burdened by a past you have lost. I wonder if that is by design…? As I have come to understand the nature of your kind, I suspect you, as you are, should not exist as an individual at all. I am more or less speaking to an intelligent virus.”

“What are you talking about? What is going on?”

“You will forget that I was ever here. A sad truth, but unavoidable. I do hope you remember the stars, the lights that must shine. They will need your help, someday. Yours… and his.”

The cool sand touched her toes once more. She glanced down, confirming that she once again stood on solid ground; by the time she looked up she was alone. The shining white star had taken its place back in the constellation.

With a deep breath, she struck out across the bluish sand. Wherever the white star had briefly gone when it vanished from the sky, she could only wonder. A smile touched her muzzle as she gave another glance skyward. For some reason she couldn’t put her finger on, this strange place didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.

“Just like I said, sound asleep.” Alecha grinned, walking past Jadyn’s snoozing position on the swinging bench, and went directly into the cabin with her muddy clothes in hand. “T’bia? Where can I find a change of attire?”

“Hm?” The pass-through opened a crack, just enough for the skunk to peek through. “What the Void happened to you?”

“I did,” Tari replied, shutting the front door behind herself. “Long story.”

“If you say so. Breakfast is almost ready. I’ll wash those up after I’m done in here. Toss them… Wherever, I suppose. In a heap in a corner is par for the course. Unless you actually want something now…?”

Alecha gave Tari a glance; the white vixen shrugged. “I’m not getting many random urges to rip off your head. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you. Do let me know if you suddenly find repressing the idea difficult, and I’ll make myself scarce -“

Alecha was interrupted by the sound of the pass-through’s shutters snapping fully open. To a great deal of fanfare and off-key trumpeting, T’bia lifted up a yellow-frosted cake and placed it in view on the counter.

“Ta-da! Breakfast. T’bia’s Carnivore Special. Told you it was almost ready.”

Tari gave Alecha a confused glance, getting a shrug in return. Approaching the cake together, Tari burst out laughing. What appeared at a distance as yellow frosting with some sort of brown nuts for decoration turned out to be carefully sculpted scrambled eggs dusted with chopped bacon. One slice had been removed as a reveal - inside the ‘frosting’ lay a pair of inch-thick layers of meatloaf, separated by another thin layer of the scrambled eggs.

Alecha leaned in, sniffing delicately at the creation. “Well… I’ve never seen breakfast done in this particular format before. Smells good.”

“Thank you.” T’bia passed the missing slice out on a plate and delicately carved a second. “Tari, here you go… Go wave that under Jay’s nose a couple of times before you dig in, see if he comes around.”

As before, the sudden drowsiness caught her completely off guard. She was tired - exhausted, really. But why? She hadn’t walked far. And for it to come on so suddenly… Resisting the fatigue was difficult, but perhaps there was an alternate method to address it.

Gently lowering herself to the cool sand she sat down cross-legged, knees lightly brushing the ground. Laying one hand in the other and letting the tips of her thumbs touch, she closed her eyes.

Quickly, she felt her meditation working. The exhaustion, as she examined it, was not physical. Some outside force was actively pressuring her into slumber. Tracing outward… It was everywhere. The very landscape itself was at fault.

Just where am I?

A wide smile lit Tari’s face, glowing behind a proffered forkful of meatloaf. “Care for a bite?”

“Maybe one,” Jadyn replied sleepily. On the second chew his eyes shot to the plate in her hand. Defensively, she clutched it to her chest and moved toward the door. The fact she wore nothing was not lost on him - nor was Alecha’s scent, coming from inside the house. Apparently they’d come to an agreement while he was asleep.

“Mine!” Tari exclaimed. “Get your own!”

“I don’t believe it,” he muttered, following her inside. “Bee… I wish I understood your fascination with cake.”

“Everyone likes cake. It’s the universal symbol of intelligent society.” T’bia pressed a plate into his hand and grinned. “I’ve been led to believe it’s also rather delicious.”

“I’m not debating that at all. Well… No, I question ‘symbol of intelligence.’ Seriously, you looked at what I’d laid out to prepare and thought ‘this would be awesome as a cake?’”

“You seriously hadn’t? You looked at all that and thought ‘this would be a great omelet?’ You are absolutely boring.”

Jadyn smirked and shook his head, taking a seat at the table with the girls. “Alecha… I think you’re the lucky one here.”

“How so?”

“I think I’d rather have slept through a couple of centuries instead of dealing with… her.”

T’bia snorted, grabbing the plate out of his hands and stalking back into the kitchen. “You can eat cold cereal. See if I cook breakfast for you again, mister grumpy-no-pants.”

“Look at you three…” Alecha spoke quietly, her gaze moving between Jadyn, Tari, and briefly even T’bia through the kitchen passthrough. Faint tears held back at the corners of her eyes as she smiled at them. “I hope I get the chance to put up with my family again…”

“Alecha -“

“Jadyn… I have a favor to ask.” Placing her fork beside her plate, she focused on him across the table. A deadly seriousness descended upon her, one that’d been playing havoc in the depths of her aura since he’d first seen her awake. “I’ve been worried since I watched them all go under. It’s worse knowing exactly how long we’ve been frozen. The fact I’m alive… It feels like a fluke. I shouldn’t be here. But… I am. And there’s a chance we’ll be able to revive a few of the others. The prospects aren’t good… Way worse than our original predictions… But I’m sure a few will beat the odds.”

“We have to try,” Jadyn insisted. “We can’t just leave them there. You’d prefer sooner than later?”

“Yes. Protocol says that with the massive failure of the ship and how far off course we’ve drifted, the project lead should be revived, or one of the next in command if he can’t… Engineering teams, to manage repairs… A few of my techs to help with the other revivals… I’d… I’d like to add three others to that list… But… I don’t… I’d rather not be there… In case…”

Jadyn leaned over, resting his hand over hers and giving it a squeeze. She didn’t have to say what was on her mind. The shadows playing in her aura told enough. “This afternoon.”

Alecha’s face softened and she shook her head. “You’re exhausted. Get some rest. It doesn’t have to be today.”

“Yes. It does,” he insisted, a slight grin coming out. “You won’t be able to sleep until you know, one way or the other. I, however, can sleep when I’m dead.”

“… Thank you.”

“I… realize it’s not really in the mood of the discussion…” Tari voiced, gaining the attention of the two and immediately looking uncomfortable. “Before you get too far into another project, Jay… I need a little stress relief.”

Letting her thoughts drift beyond herself through the meditation, the truth that’d been before her the entire time she’d been alert became undeniably apparent. Everything she’d seen was an illusion, one created solely for her own benefit. An illusion delicately drafted… by her own psyche.

Knowing that particular truth, that she’d done all this to herself, allowed her to unravel the illusion. As her perception of reality faded, so too did the sand, the stars, even her sense of possessing a physical form. She was once more as she’d started - a collection of independent thought, otherwise formless, but undeniably self-aware.

Yet, with the dissolution of the lie, so too left a protection she’d not realized it provided. An extreme pressure bombarded her thoughts, compelling her into slumber. Had she still thought she possessed a physical form, she might have perceived herself trying to stand up under several times Earth’s gravity. Instead, she redoubled her concentration, willing herself to remain awake, while trying to sense beyond the forces acting upon her consciousness.

And for just a second, one fatal second… she glimpsed an image of herself in a mirror, her blue-furred arms wrapped around Tarioshi as they embraced, silver eyes gazing ever so briefly into that mirror before stepping away.

In the moment of shock, her mental barriers collapsed, and conscious thought ceased as she fell asleep.

TF: Awakening 3

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:36:35 GMT

As proof of my non-death I present you with Part 3 of Awakening.

Awakening, Part 3

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:27:09 GMT

There were perhaps other, more surprising ways to wake up… But on the spot, none came to mind that would beat ‘I still exist?’

She’d come to terms with her accidental introduction to individuality, short as it was. That she’d been given a taste of self-awareness was both a tremendous gift and a massive fluke. Letting it end, simply the greater good. In giving up autonomy, sense of self… For giving up simply being, the one who’d unwittingly given her the chance to experience that life - at the cost of his own - would continue on. She’d simply be reabsorbed, regressing back into a collection of ancient instincts. That was all she really was. Echos of genetic hand-me-downs from generations past.

Or so she’d thought.

Somehow, here she was. Awake, aware… Confused and a little rattled, most certainly, but otherwise in good health. Where ‘here’ was, however… That was a puzzle. The darkness around her gave her no true idea of where she stood, able to see herself, yet nothing else in the expanse about her. From the moment she first realized she held an independent consciousness, she’d still perceived surroundings and sensation from the mortal body of Tarioshi. This darkness was devoid of everything. Tari’s presence felt close, yet lingered strangely beyond reach.

Fatigue swept her, pressing her quickly into unconsciousness. More than anything, it was a blessing simply to still exist. Everything else could be dealt with in time.

Jadyn squinted at the mirror, eyeing his unkempt pelt and hair. It’d been a rough couple of days and he hadn’t managed much sleep. Tari oscillated between moments of perfectly rational thought and downright feral behavior in the first few hours. After that, when she finally got used to what nature expected of her, she discovered that ever-so-delicate balance between lucidity and insanity that all Val’Traxan females eventually must find, while occasionally still drifting away from coherent thought.

She’d be awake soon. Her sleep cycle had gone all over the place, from short fifteen minute dozes to slightly longer one-hour catnaps. Every time he’d just about managed to drift off she’d wake again, itching for more. It’d almost grown into more of a chore than an enjoyable activity.

Slipping out of the room, Jadyn quietly shut the door and made a quick pass through the shower to clean up and alleviate some of the semblance of self-neglect. Other than the electrolyte drinks, Tari hadn’t eaten a thing in two days. With any luck she’d wake up hungry for a good meal, and he held every intention of ensuring breakfast was ready long before that happened -

“You sound happy.”

Jadyn blinked, stopping midway down the steps and peering at his couch. Alecha gave him a slight smile, her attention quickly drawn back to the datapad in her hand. The fact he’d neglected to don anything more than what the Spirits had blessed him with upon his birth did not appear to bother her in the slightest. Nor was it a cause for embarrassment or concern or even any apparent interest.

After all the years living in comparatively modest societies, the first impulse was to simply go back upstairs and at least throw on some pants. It wasn’t even personal modesty. Just to smooth the waters, he tended to fall back on not making others uncomfortable - unless they deserved it. This seemed as good a time as any to break the habit.

“I sound happy?” he queried, proceeding down the steps.

“You were whistling to yourself. I don’t recognize the tune.” She didn’t look up as he stopped beside the couch. Peering over her shoulder revealed her attention focused on diagnostic dumps of the cryo system. “I’m assuming since you invited me to breakfast it’s safe to be here.”

“I did? When?”

“T’bia passed along the message, that you were fixing breakfast and suggested I come down… And you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about…” The salt-and-pepper vixen chuckled, shaking her head. “I should go.”

“Stay. It should be all right. I think she’s on the downhill run. Before the last time she fell asleep she mentioned the urges weren’t as bad, and what a nice glow she was feeling.”

“The post-estrus buzz. The whole thing can be a hassle at times, but I think anything less interesting in celebration of creating a new life would be an insult. I almost feel pity for the races who evolved hidden cycles.”

“Agreed. Although, that trait also creates its own variety of celebration. In any case, it’s good to see you up and about.”

“I’ve been moving around without leaning on nearby walls and furnishings since yesterday evening. Not quite ready for a marathon, but… Feeling good. I still can’t explain why. T’bia and I both have poured over my blood workup, physiological scans, and diagnostics of the hardware. There’s nothing we can find that’d account for my quick recovery from that long in cryo.”

“I’ve learned that the more I want to know something, the less interesting it is once I actually figure it out.” Jadyn gave her a pat on the shoulder and moved to the kitchen. “Chalk it up as a happy mystery and move on to more important things. Bee.”

“Yo,” the AI greeted, suddenly present and reclining in a chair. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Carnivore special, unless our guest would prefer something more balanced.”

Alecha shook her head. “That will be fine, thank you. It’s either been weeks or centuries since my last homecooked meal.”

“I’d better make it worth the wait. Did I miss anything important?”

“Yes,” T’bia confirmed. “You should have seen the look on Alecha’s face when Pakar walked into medbay. I thought she was going to run and hide.”

“I would have if my legs worked right at the time!” the vixen defended, setting her datapad down with a laugh. “Spirits, she’s a scary one until she starts to talk. I was a little surprised when she greeted me in a little bit of broken Kametian without using a translator.”

“She knows a formal ‘hello’ and I think she might still remember ‘pass the salt.’ She just walked in without any warning?”

“I might have provided a little bit of preparation,” T’bia replied.

“You did not! ‘Someone’s here to see you’ does not count!” Alecha protested.

“And what could I have said to prepare you for a seven-foot-tall, green, scaly, winged reptilian?”

“Well…” The vixen sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Then I stand by my method.”

Jadyn laughed and shook his head. “You two have a good chat at least?”

“It was a little short,” Alecha replied. “She had a council session to attend to, I believe? Asked me questions about the project, what kind of authority I have to make decisions… Basically none outside the cryo portion at this moment, for your own reference. She took a copy of the planetary requirements, just in case I missed something in my searches.”

“Mm.” Jadyn dropped a huge handful of chopped bacon into a pan, loud sizzling rising up from the hot surface. “I’m hoping I can get a hearing with the Velorian ruling council this week, to see if there’s a place they’d be able to take everyone. You’re welcome to join me.”

“Thank you, but…” She shook her head. “I realize you’ve put up with it, and it’s really a beautiful world - the little of nature I’ve seen so far really reminds me of home. I could certainly adapt to life here if there were no other choices. I just… I didn’t leave everything behind to wake up as a refugee. I’m sure everyone else will agree with me. We trained to sculpt a new home out of a raw planet. Despite the things we’ve missed during cryosleep, we’re still a colony crew, an outpost waiting to happen. This can’t be our home. Not permanently.”

“It’s been my ‘temporary’ home for a long time. Maybe I’m finally about to find a better option.”

A smile touched Alecha’s muzzle. “You and your mate both certainly will be welcome.”

“That’s… a complicated thing. Her sightseeing trip around the quadrant is scheduled to be far more temporary than my lodging on Veloria. Tea?”

“Ah. Thank you.” The vixen dipped her head, accepting an offered mug and inhaling deeply of the minty aromas rising with the steam. “It’s odd. From my point of view, I had dinner with your grandmother not two weeks ago, the night just before we disembarked. She wanted to know if I was having any second thoughts.”

“And you said?”

“Lots of them. Nothing I’d give up my spot over… But lots of worries and concerns. I knew in my heart I’d never see the homeworld again, and I thought I’d accepted that fact. I just was of the understanding it would be due to distance, not because it wasn’t there anymore…”

“Well, technically -” T’bia started, immediately falling silent with a glare from Jadyn. Making sure she wasn’t going to spout something else off, his gaze settled back on Alecha.

“Did you have any family still back there?” Jadyn inquired.

“My mother and my fathers, two sisters, two brothers… With all the time I’ve been asleep… That alone would have… Well, they wouldn’t still be there, anyway… Not after three centuries… Maybe a niece or nephew or three, but they wouldn’t really know me…”

Jadyn thumbed at T’bia to take his place in the kitchen, whispering quick instructions on his planned preparation before stepping back into the living room. Alecha gave him a warm smile through the tears in her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder as his arm encircled her.

“Ugh, just look at me,” she appraised distastefully, wiping her eyes. “Bawling over nonsense after all the things you went through.”

“It’s not nonsense. The very few of us that survived lost everything. You may not have been there to see it, but you’re part of that survivor group. You’ve all lost so much more in just the time you’ve spent asleep up there.”

“It still just seems so unreal. It’s one thing to hear ‘it’s three and a half centuries later and everyone we ever knew is dead’ after waking up. There’s something of a disconnect, it’s almost unresolved in that we can’t go back and see for ourselves… It’s entirely different for you. You must have witnessed so many terrible things… How you can even get a good night’s sleep is beyond me.”

“It’s not always a good night’s sleep, but -“

“What in the hell are you doing?!”

Alecha looked up in time to see a white blur making a beeline in her direction; Jadyn quickly placed himself in the middle, blocking the livid vixen’s approach. She screamed at him in another language, repeatedly pointing in Alecha’s direction and shoving at him as her tirade continued. Despite his flattened ears, his composure remained relatively patient and resigned as he took the brunt of her anger.

Her reaction wasn’t completely meritless; she’d just found an unfamiliar female close with her mate during her most territorial time of the year. Had the two met before, it may have been different. If this truly was her first cycle as Jadyn had claimed, the hormones were likely getting the best of her judgement and rational thought and it wouldn’t matter who was sitting next to Jadyn. She was defending what she saw as hers from an outsider. Details were irrelevant.

The white vixen was quite the curiosity, though… At first glance she was the spitting image of the Goddess of Val’Trax - a dead ringer if Alecha had ever seen one. A few minor differences in colorings, but in the initial moments of surprise at the assault attempt, she barely noticed.

But then something even more startling appeared on the edge of her senses. This vixen’s aura was just plain wrong. There was a sense of spiritual strength there, far more than in an average individual. Yet, inexplicably - it wasn’t the Art. Something completely unexpected and alien stood out in her aura, a power that Alecha had never seen before.

“What…?” she managed, cocking her head sideways and closing one eye. Sometimes the maneuver had helped her focus on another’s aura by taking depth perception out of the appraisal. Whoever she was looking at was not a val’traxan, regardless of her visual appearance. And yet, somehow… she could be nothing but.

The vixen noticed the engrossed observation, turning her attentions entirely to Alecha and screeching unintelligible obscenities at her. Alecha suspected it was better she didn’t know entirely what was being said - the translator’s sudden failure to translate was likely on purpose. In any case, from her own experiences of being that very upset and confused female, there was only one practical solution. Remove the offending female from the room.

“I think I’d better take a walk,” she announced, heading for the door. “Going to get some air.”

Jadyn gave a nod without looking at her, holding onto his mate as her fit continued. Whoever she was, she certainly was full of spirit.

He stood in the same place for hours before T’bia finally felt comfortable interrupting his thoughts.

“Anolis?” she probed gently, as her avatar took form in the Serin’s medbay. Remotely, her mobile emitter allowed her to continue efforts in a lab aboard the J’Ruhn, assembling gene sequences for replacement parts. The holographic hardware wired into the cabin enabled her to continue her impending breakfast creation at the same time.

The lizard looked up from his son’s unconscious form at the sound of his name, extending her a polite smile before his gaze fell back to the bed. “I never expected he would cause so much trouble.”

“Kids defy expectations all the time. In a way it’s a good thing. If he hadn’t tried to instigate a war, we wouldn’t be on the verge of reviving the last survivors of the society that created both of us. Given, my upbringing was probably a little more warm and cuddly than your own…”

“Of that I have little doubt.”

“I suppose all this talk about reviving everyone is a little uncomfortable for you.”

“My discomfort does not matter. I will not condemn the few survivors of that tragedy over the unpleasant treatment inflicted upon me.” He inhaled deeply, looking upon the skunk once more. “Was I wrong to accept the Haropikuen’s offer?”

“What do you mean?”

“Lady Anastasi granted my freedom in exchange for bearing her correspondence. Had I declined, I too would have perished with the rest of the Val’Traxan people. Khamai would not have existed… And all the discord he spawned…”

“Between you and me? It was getting a little dull around here. That little bit of ‘discord’ helped liven things up. Don’t worry about it.” T’bia lifted a scanner, running through a routine check of her patient. “I’m curious… Where exactly would the ship be if you had died with the rest?”

“I discovered the J’Ruhn in orbit of a star on the verge of supernova. Tier was confused, lost, waiting for assistance to arrive… I believe the ship came in contact with a quantum filament in the years before I happened across it. I could not determine anything else that would so thoroughly corrupt the storage banks. Not to mention the structural damage.”

“You weren’t on board at launch, then.”

“No. To the best of my knowledge, the voyage began several years before planetfall. It seemed purely by accident that I found the vessel. Yet, it cannot entirely be chance… It did in fact lead me to this place at the appropriate time…”

“No matter where you go, there you are.” T’bia shook her head, laying down the scanner. “She forgot everything?”

“At first. We worked together on recovery for decades while hiding in deep space, moving from inhabited world to world seeking supplies and parts without letting the ship be seen… In all that time we managed to restore some of her lost memories, but never could find her mission, nor her destination.”

Anolis grasped his son’s hand, squeezing it gently. “As the years passed, I realized I could not continue to maintain the ship alone. I divided my time between repairs, data recovery, and clone research. Khamai was my first full-scale attack on the blockades encoded into my own DNA. I refined the process with Iguano but neither was a complete success - I did not know how long I should expect to live, but I knew their lifespans would be greatly truncated. Even with their physical flaws, they both inherited everything I knew… And look what they did with it.”

The medbay door slid open; Pakar stepped inside, a large book under her arm. Taking a quick appraisal of the room she dipped her head. “I can come back.”

“Please, Lady Tubor. You are here to see me?” Anolis queried.

“Yes. We found this book in one of Khamai’s labs, but we weren’t entirely certain what to make of it. I’m hoping you can shed some light on it.”

“May I?” Gently placing the book on top of a console, the lizard delicately opened the cover and leafed through the tome. “Yes, I recognize this.”

“At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a photo album.”

“You most certainly ordered the pages analyzed and discovered unique DNA base pairs bonded to each photo. Yes?”

Pakar nodded. “I’m assuming he put this together as a catalog of forms he could take.”

“No.” Anolis sighed. “I did. It was one of my earliest hobbies, collecting templates to use… I discovered a method through which I could create an imprint on a gelatinous media, then use it later as I would a direct contact with the original donor. The imprint does unfortunately decay with time. Occasionally I must take on the sample and restore it to the page to ensure it remains viable, but even doing that will not indefinitely preserve it.”

“Interesting.” T’bia stepped up beside him, watching as he looked over the photos. “You must have several of these tucked away.”

“For a time I kept nearly a thousand templates, records of stolen personas I used at most once and twice. The few hundred in this book are the last. Even most of these are no longer usable for the purpose of shapedancing, but they do serve another purpose for me.” He flipped to the front of the tome, leafing in a half-dozen pages and tapping at a crossed-out photo with his gloved finger. “This alone is the sole reason I have not parted with this volume.”

T’bia stared at the page, running her finger along the photo’s border. Staring back at her was a young mottled brown and red vixen, her hazel eyes sparkling happily above a wide smile. “Wow.”

“Who is she?” Pakar asked.

“It’s Melichanni. Jadyn’s first mate.” The skunk smiled to herself, tracing the word scrawled over the image. “‘Courtesy.’ You kept her genome print, but not to use.”

“For some, a familiar scent brings back memories of childhood. A song reminds them of their first romance. The tactile sensation of an old book calls forth a parent reading bedtime stories. Genetic imprints awaken similar recollections for me. Whenever I touch these imprints, I remember exactly how I came upon each and every one. When I touch hers… I remember the young fox who valiantly argued for the freedom of one he was ordered to detain. Having this imprint gave me a sense of purpose, reminding me of my own mission in the times when I saw no reason to go forward.” Anolis nodded to himself and shut the book. “Well. Now you know its purpose, Lady Tubor.”

“Yes. It’s still basically a photo album. No, no - keep it. I’m sure we have all we need.”

“Thank you.”

Even with Alecha out of the room, Tari continued to fling obscenities in the direction of the door. It wasn’t until she’d vanished into the woods that Tari brought her attention back to Jadyn, still seething with anger.

“That was completely uncalled for,” he stated simply, releasing her arms.

Fire flared in the eyes of the Forest kitsune, internal wars raging between rationality and compulsion. There was little doubt in his mind she was considering ways to remove his head for interfering in a territorial dispute. Baring her teeth, a growl left her throat. “You are mine.”

“As you are mine,” he confirmed, his hands cupping her cheeks. “I realize it’s difficult, but I need to you get a handle on yourself. Alecha is a friend of my family - of this family, the family you’ve become a part of. She’s not trying to steal me away. I won’t have you running her off just because you’re feeling a great deal of territorial angst.”

Tari closed her eyes, squeezing his wrists. It took several minutes, but she finally gave him a nod. The apologetic look in her green pools was backed entirely by sensible thought rather than unchecked instincts when she looked at him once more.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I stepped out of that room smelling bacon and onions and saw her in your arms, and…” A growl started in her throat once more; she made a fist and choked the outburst back, shaking her head. “My Gods. There I go again.”

“It’s just the nature of the beast. In another day you’ll be back to your happy self, I nearly guarantee it. For now, you absolutely have to focus if you want to hold even a shred of sanity. Also, this is going to seem a little demeaning based on where you’re from, but it will help. Bear with me, I don’t want to mix our scents by touching it and get you too riled to focus…”

Tari looked on with curiosity as Jadyn made an ‘up’ gesture at the coffee table. Obediently, Alecha’s datapad lifted into the air, gently floating toward her. He took a step back, guiding the slate to stop right in front of her nose. A brief pang of rage reared its head as the vixen’s scent registered.

“Friend,” Jadyn immediately commanded, as though he’d just corrected a dog barking at a stranger.

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

“I’m totally serious. Take a deep breath, and think ‘friend’ over and over.”

Tari shook her head in resignation, inhaling deeply of the vixen’s lingering scent while repeating the mantra to herself for nearly a minute. She didn’t want to admit that such a silly thing worked, but it actually seemed to help.

“Think you can sit in the same room with her and not tear her limb from limb?” Jadyn questioned, plucking the pad from the air by a corner and laying it back on the table.

“Only one way to find out. Bee?” Tari called out, sniffing at the air. “What is that you’re making in there that smells so much like breakfast?”

“It’s a surprise!” The skunk immediately snapped the pass-through’s shutters shut. Moments later the kitchen door swung closed, the click of the latch signaling they weren’t welcome on the other side. “You’ll see it when it’s ready, and not a second before.”

That it was an embarrassing confession was an understatement. For any Artisan to succumb to their own elemental affinity, to let it get the best of them, was a definite mark of humiliation. For a high master? Unspeakable. Yet, it was undeniable. She finally had to admit defeat to herself.

Alecha was lost in the woods.

For a Nature Artisan to be lost in her element took some doing. She’d started out following a path. On a whim she’d cut into the brush, crossing a small stream and wandering along its bank. Taking another turn she wound up deeper and deeper in the woods. It wasn’t a problem. She’d gone on hikes like this back home, heading into the bush for days at a time to meditate and connect with the living things around her. The forest always seemed to welcome her in. Occasionally, while finding the path back out, she’d be thrown a loop as though it didn’t want her to leave. Playful wrong turns, nothing vindictive.

What she sensed in the plants and wildlife around her on this morning was downright malicious. The sense crept up on her, a definite feeling she was not welcome. Roots seemed to come out of nowhere as she took a step, repeatedly sending her sprawling to the ground. Her steelsilk pants and shirt, designed to resist damage and dirt, repeatedly snagged in brambles and shrubs. It wouldn’t rip, but instead became inexplicably tangled in the underbrush and thorns. She finally grew tired of untangling it and simply took everything off. The brambles pulled at her pelt instead, tugging out small tufts of fur.

And the creatures living in the woods… Every glinting eye in the increasing darkness focused on her. A few birds even made passes by her head, startling her. Clouds of gnats and other pests buzzed overhead, a constant angry droning that followed her every move. They didn’t want her there.

The exit route should have been simple. Retrace her steps, find the stream, then the path. Instead, every turn she made sent her further into the dark as the forest canopy blotted out the sky. The forest didn’t want her there… But it wasn’t going to let her leave.

“Enough of this,” Alecha muttered, gazing up at the surrounding trees. “You want me out? I’ll go.” She poked at her wrist - and frowned. There would be no calling for a transport to remove her from the situation. Her bracelet was gone.

“I’m sure she knows something’s off about you.” Jadyn leaned against the exterior wall, looking out over the lawn. Fallen leaves dotted the clearing, a sign of the impending winter season. “She’s not an amateur. The look she gave you before you invented a new field of linguistics…”

“Don’t remind me.” Tari let out a troubled sigh and sat down on the swinging bench. “How many people know the truth now? You, Bee, Pakar… Your grandmother, technically… What about Toy? Especially after my rather large ‘oops’ on the bridge.”

“He’ll continue to say you’re val’traxan even if he suspects otherwise. It’s not necessary to tell him more than what he already knows - I doubt he’d want the details, anyway. Big fan of plausible deniability.”

She gave a brief nod of acceptance. “I really wasn’t sure about telling Pakar. I didn’t know her well enough to make a judgement call. Went with that entirely based on your word.”

“I wouldn’t give her such a high recommendation if she wasn’t deserving.” Jadyn crossed his arms over his chest and shut his eyes. “Honestly… I can’t say the same thing about Alecha. I haven’t worked with her enough. It’s not that I don’t trust her - she wouldn’t be Ropiakuen if she didn’t deserve it. Dad definitely wouldn’t have made her his assistant if he’d thought she was iffy.”

“How many more Artisans are up there, still asleep?”

“Forty-seven. There’s six each of the eight main disciplines, counting her. I would assume there’s different specialties represented within each discipline as well, but I’m just guessing.”

“In any case, I’m going to be dealing with this a lot. Lucky me.”

“Not just you.” Jadyn smirked, taking a seat beside her on the swing. “Ninety-seven percent of the sleepers will accept the lie that I’m the descendant of the Jadyn Tzeki they’ve probably heard of from back home. The other three percent, the Artisan compliment… I’m hoping they’ll buy it, but there’s probably a couple more Ropiakuen like Alecha who knew of me on some level. Even if I try to keep the same cover with the rest, a lie will stand out in my aura, plain as day for them.”

“Why lie? Tell them all the truth, that you are who you are.”

“That’s a peculiar argument coming from someone who’s not going to follow that same recommendation.”

“I can’t because of who and what I am. You should, because of who you are and what you know. Didn’t you say that there were immortals rumored in your cultural history?”

“Rumors, yes. Legends and myths and fantasies. If I start telling those people that I’m as old as I am and that everything we had is gone, they’ll think I’m full of it. It’s going to be hard enough getting them to understand we’re all that’s left. They don’t need my personal history in the mix to confuse everything.”

“So we’re both stuck living lies.” Tari grinned and gave him a nuzzle. “At least we’re keeping each other good company.”

“Mm. How are you faring?”

“I think my outburst is explanation enough. I feel like I’ve got the urges under control, but then suddenly I just lose my cool. If we didn’t have a guest that could come walking into the yard at any moment, I’d jump you right here and blow off some steam.”

“She wouldn’t care,” Jadyn observed. “If she was here I bet she’d agree we don’t need her permission to ravish one another in our own home.”

“We’re outside.”

“Details. She’d still look at it as a non-event.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but there hasn’t been once yet that I’d consider a non-event.” Tari stood up, stretching as she eyed the treeline. “That attitude will take some getting used to. Maybe I should go find her…”

“I’ll come with.”

“Actually… I’d rather you didn’t. I’d prefer to apologize to her on my own. Maybe try to prove that I’m halfway sane and don’t require a chaperone all the time.”

“All right.” Jadyn gave her a loving nuzzle on the cheek. “Remember -“

“‘Friend.’ Got it.” Shooting a smile in his direction, Tari made her way to the treeline and stepped into the woods. She hadn’t taken a half-dozen steps down the path when she stopped dead and looked around. Something was off. This was not the peaceful place she’d come to know. The forest radiated anger, but the target of that displeasure was deeper in the woods.

Reaching out to the nearest tree, she lay her hand on the trunk and closed her eyes. The fury was baseless. There was no quantifiable reason she could sense to explain the raw hatred pulsing through the land. She quickly found herself looking at the target of its ire through the eyes of a small creature - a bird, most likely, by the angle of the view. Far below, huddled on the damp ground, Alecha gazed around at the forest in confusion and fear, trapped in the center of a small thicket.

“No… No, this is my fault… Stop this!” Tari ordered, jogging along the path. “I didn’t ask you to do that! Gods, I hope she’s all right… Let her go, this instant!”

Altitude

Sun, 23 May 2010 11:04:36 GMT

Steam for Mac was released here in the last couple of weeks. So, I dusted off my old PC account, logged in, and grabbed a free copy of Portal. I’d never played more than the demo because, well… I was cheap at the time. It also didn’t run well on my rig at the time.

Since then I’ve been exploring the growing number of dual-platform titles. most of which have demos which are not yet dual-platform. One of the very addicting (and insanely easy to grasp) titles has been a little cartoony aerial shooter called Altitude.¹ It’s available outside of steam as well.

The system requirements are fairly lightweight:

OS: Windows, Mac OSX, Linux
Processor: 1.0 GHz
Memory: 256 MB
Graphics: 64 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 300 MB of free space

If you already own it, you can find me under the handle ‘bluevulpine’.

I’ve a PC to repair today (Sunday) and then while windows is reloading I hope to be able to sit down and have an hour or two to actually write.

This game may still exist on Steam but the user profiles are moved or gone, and I haven’t played in years. It’s kind of fun and there’s a free demo on their site. Give it a shot if you’re bored. I managed to lose a couple hours in this thing tonight when I sat down intending to play for half an hour and go to bed. >< If you decide to buy it, hit the link above so I get a little referral credit. Just unlocks some plane skin options in game for me, is all. $10 on the site, but for this weekend it’s $5 on steam. (Click the link first anyway, then go purchase it in steam, the bonus checks via IP address) ↩︎

Morseroll’d

Sun, 16 May 2010 23:46:49 GMT

.— . .——. .-. . / -. —- / … - .-. .- -. —…-. … / - —- / .-.. —- …- . / -.— —- ..- / -.- -. —- .— / - …. . / .-. ..- .-.. . … / .- -. -.. / … —- / -.. —- / .. / -. . …- . .-. / —. —- -. -. .- / —. .. …- . / -.— —- ..- / ..- .—. / -. . …- . .-. / —. —- -. -. .- / .-.. . - / -.— —- ..- / -.. —- .— -.

-… …—. / -… … . .—. / -… …—. / -… …—. / -… … . .—. / -… … . .—. / -… … . .—. / -… …—. / -… … . .—. / -… …—. / -… …—.

Random Fix Theatre

Wed, 05 May 2010 05:42:33 GMT

Took a few minutes today to help someone with an Xampp installation. He needed to do three things:

NameVirtualHosts, so that different dyndns-style hostnames would point to different virtual servers on the same box. No problem, he had NameVirtualHost working.
Create a second virtualhost to deliver a directory index of a specified DocumentRoot, and
Point that DocumentRoot at a network share mounted on a windows XP drive letter (B: -> \Server\Share)

Apache would explode. “DocumentRoot must be a directory” and refusal to start. After installing Xampp myself and fooling around for about 20 minutes I found that the DocumentRoot worked fine on a local drive, but not a network share on a drive letter.

So, since B:/ didn’t work, yet C:/ would let the server start, I threw //Server/Share/ at mine and it fired right up, gave the listing. Tada.

Eeexcept it wouldn’t work for him.

After another hour of back and forth on IRC and emailing the config file back and forth (DCC wouldn’t work either but I blame my clearaccess modemrouter), I’m finally ready to declare it a ‘feature’ of windows XP. He had Xampp set up on an XP box, the files to be listed on a windows 7 box, and while he could hit \Server\Share on XP’s ‘Run’ command and have it pop right up with the share, apache would not tolerate //Server/Share and declared “must be a directory” Yet, //S/S would work fine when I tried it on Xampp running on windows 7.

Until I can roll a winxp VM and test it I can’t 100% blame XP, but I’m strongly leaning that direction. I’m assuming it’s a change in implementation in how the OS presents the share path to applications requesting it. 7 properly presents it as a directory and apache is pleased, but somehow XP doesn’t and apache is not amused.

(footnote: apache requires / while windows finds \ far more delicious)

Not dead

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:49:00 GMT

Just a terribly busy month. Almost makes me long for winter again.

It’s Just One Silly Day a Year

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:00:20 GMT

In case you missed them while the site was ‘translated’ here’s a couple of pictures.

Double Feature: Awakening 1 and 2

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:31:21 GMT

Slowly but surely, Terra Fabula continues to fight its way out of my cranium. Awakening parts one and two are up.

Paradigm Shift is briefly on hold, until a bit more of TF rolls out the door. I’m assuming you don’t want to know that [spoiler]interesting things happen in the time between them that I’m not going to tell you just yet,[/spoiler] and that you’d be upset if I pulled the curtain early. It’s likely everything everyone expects, anyway, but you never know.

I won’t have weekly updates for a while, like I was doing before, but I’ll get things up as I get them done. Enjoy.

Awakening, Part 2

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:30:00 GMT

“It makes sense,” Jadyn pointed out, holding Tarioshi close. They’d moved outside to the porch, parking on his swinging bench and watching the sky. “The timing tends to drift through the years, but the first is almost always during the winter or early spring.”

“It’s late autumn,” Tari countered. “First snow flurries in the forecast next weekend, in fact.”

“But nearly March on Terra, right? That’s what your chronobiological rhythm is still synced against. You haven’t been here long enough to fully adjust.” Planting a lick on the back of her neck, he took a deep breath of her scent. “Can’t quite smell it on you yet.”

“Stop that,” she protested weakly, slapping his leg. “Tickles.”

“Mm. If you insist.”

“I feel like I’m on the edge of a precipice, the ground under me giving way as I slowly lose my mind…”

“The price of who we are is that we occasionally do. We’re an advanced, intelligent race, blending science and elemental energies to create remarkable technologies… And twice a year we lose all semblance of sanity and self-control when mating urges take center stage.”

“‘We?’ I don’t see you going through this.”

“You’re going to drag me along for the ride. You don’t have to put yourself through this, you know. It may be a fact of the val’traxan life cycle, but you have the benefit of not truly being one of us. Shift out for a few days, let the clock tick past.”

“I feel like I should experience it if I’m going to keep using this form out here. It’s not fair if I shed this body simply because it’s suddenly inconvenient. All the females on that ship have to go through this throughout their lives, right? What gives me permission to think I’m allowed to skip it and keep pretending I’m one of you?”

“It’s completely your call. One small suggestion, if I may? Don’t fight it. It’s ancient genetic instinct - you’ll lose, and you won’t enjoy a moment of it.”

“I don’t see how any of it would be enjoyable. I’m a little scared, honestly. I don’t like losing control of my faculties.”

“I’ll be right here with you.”

“Jay,” T’bia paged. “Alecha’s delta wave patterns indicate she’s about to wake up.”

“Already? How’s that even possible?”

“Don’t ask me. She shouldn’t be anywhere near consciousness yet. I expect you’d like to be here.”

“I think it’s more important I spend tonight with -“

“Go,” Tari whispered, giving him a resigned smile.

“Are you sure?”

Nodding, she slid off his lap. “Take your time. You should be one of the first to greet her.”

“Come with me.”

“I don’t think it’d do me any good to see you chatting with an old girlfriend right now.”

“Oh, no no - she’s not - No. That’s a little creepy to think about. She’s nearly four and a half times older than I am - Er, that is, she was. We were never involved like that.”

“I know that, and you know that, but some part of my head isn’t going to believe either of us. Go,” she repeated.

Alecha groaned, blinking off her slumber and stretching. Her muscles were stiff, but not overly so; not terribly worse than the cryo test-run she’d been put through. Security forces took a variety of low-power particle beam hits so they knew exactly what they were inflicting on others with stun settings. Cryotechs were frozen for a week to better understand exactly what their charges would go through on revival.

“That wasn’t so bad,” she murmured, sitting up and gazing around. Her head swam a little with the effort, suggesting she might not want to move off the bed just yet. The lights were low, but plenty of illumination still filled the room. The J’Ruhn’s medbay was just as it had been the last time she’d been here -

Medbay? Alecha took another glance around, noticing she was alone. No other recovery bed was in use. I shouldn’t be in medbay… The pod’s supposed to take care of the full revival cycle…

“Tier?” she called out. “What’s happened? Why am I here?”

“Hello!” A mefiritan stuck her head around the corner from the office, grinning from underneath what had to be a clown’s rainbow wig. “You’re up and awake? I wasn’t expecting that for quite a few hours. Like, twelve. How are you feeling?”

“A little stiff, lightheaded… Who exactly are you…?”

“Ah, right. Tieralyene is offline, I’m sorry to report. I’m T’bia Halio, your medic-du-jour -“

“Halio…” A deep frown set upon Alecha’s brow. “Wait. That can’t be right. That was Hapiakuen Tzeki’s AI.”

“My Goddess!” she yelled at the ceiling. “Seriously! Will no one let me have any fun? Why don’t we just stick a big glowing ‘H’ on my forehead and be done with it? Spirits, anyway…”

“So… You really are? What are you doing here?”

“At the immediate moment? Pretending to be a medical professional. Now, let’s talk about you, instead.” T’bia walked to her bedside, scanner in hand. “You’ve been out of extended cryo for two hours. I consider myself an expert on everything, but I admit I have very little personal experience with post-revivification cryosleepers. Were it you standing here, looking over a former popsicle, is there anything specific you’d check for?”

“A whole suite of things. May I?” Alecha took the scanner, turning it on herself and giving her entire body a once-over. “Mm… You used formula three on my airways? No wonder I’m feeling dizzy. Two units of trioxaline, please.”

The medication landed in her hand not a second later, to her pleased surprise, and she pressed the injector against her own neck. An approving chirp left the scanner as the compound entered her bloodstream, gently bringing up her dissolved oxygen levels.

“Better?” T’bia probed.

“Yes, thank you. Schedule another dose in two hours. Didn’t my file tell you about my minor allergy to formula three? I realize it’s the most effective aerosol medication to seal and heal the mucous membranes during revival, but you should have used two or four in my case.”

“Well… That’s the rub.” T’bia scratched along side her nose. “You see… Actually, no. I should wait until my CO gets here. He’d be here but he stopped to change clothes before coming up from dirtside.”

“Dirtside…? Where exactly are we? The techs were supposed to be woken first, then the engineering crews to build the first round of shelters - Oh, Goddess.” A knot formed in her throat. “Did something happen to me during revival and I got put back under right away? Is that why I’m in medbay?”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Okay, look. Things did not go according to plan, and I say that with great confidence not even knowing the plan. The greater portion of the computer core is filled with encrypted data that we can’t crack. We don’t have a sleeper manifest, or a mission, or a destination, nothing -“

The sound of the door actuators interrupted T’bia; they both looked up as a blue fox in the flowing robes of a Guild Adept strode in. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting?”

“…Jadyn? Little Jadyn Tzeki?”

A smile graced his muzzle as he nodded. “It’s been a while since anyone called me ‘little,’ Lady Rutemin.”

“By the Spirits!” she laughed, looking him over from her seat on the biobed. “You never would stop calling me that. And now you’re all grown up! Melichanni must just adore the man you’ve turned into. How is she?”

The smile immediately left his face, a sad longing briefly touching his gaze before he looked to the floor. “She… She’s not… Ah, that is -“

“She’s dead,” T’bia announced, as though she were telling someone the time of day.

“Bee!” Jadyn yelled.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! I just saved you at least ten minutes of uncomfortable waffling around the subject and you have the audacity to glare at me for a wholly generous and considerate assist?” Letting out an incensed hiss, T’bia threw her hands in the air and stalked out of the room. “Whatever. I’ll be in the medical office. At least there I can be unappreciated alone.”

He waited until she’d left the room and shook his head. “The worst part about that is she’s totally right. She saved me a ton of time.”

“I…. ah…” Alecha scratched behind an ear. “I’m sorry, Jadyn.”

“You just came out of cryo. There’s no way you could have known. As far as I’ve been led to believe, it was unexpected and quick. I doubt she suffered.”

“Well… Small comforts, at least.” She gazed at her hands, hesitant to make eye contact with him after her gaffe. “So. I take it we’re back home.”

“Not exactly.”

“But…” Her brow furrowed. “I’m certain you weren’t on the sleeper manifest. T’bia definitely shouldn’t be here.”

“How much did she tell you about what’s going on?”

“Just that someone was coming up from dirtside and that something went wrong.”

He nodded grimly, stepping to her bedside. “This is going to be a rough couple of hours for both of us. Let me preface that, before your imagination runs with the possibilities - you’re the first sleeper we’ve made any attempt to revive. All the other pods we’ve seen still appear to be active and functional.”

Alecha bit her lip, watching his face. “Then what’s happened?”

“A lot.” Jadyn turned around, leaning back against the edge of the medical bed, his eyes clamped shut. “Everything I’m about to tell you is the Goddess’s honest truth as I know it. I swear that to you on my Guild Oath.”

In the moments before his assurance that the rest of the sleepers were still under, a tremendous sense of loss shook her as she considered the possibility no others had survived. An irrational fear, of course - she knew that even as the panic touched her. But the mere shadow of a chance that she’d lost Cait, and Isol, and Kaler…

What truly made her blood run cold was the news that slipped from Jadyn’s mouth. Had it been anyone else relating the tale she wouldn’t have believed a single word. It just wasn’t possible. Their friends, family, colleagues, everyone she’d ever known, dead? Val’Trax was gone? Ludicrous. Inconceivable. It couldn’t be real. But the pain so heavy on his posture and even stronger, nearly a tangible sensation darkening his aura… He’d been there, seen it happen. The scars the slavers left on him ran far deeper than flesh.

“How…” she started, after he’d fallen silent. “Can I ask how Anni died, if she made it back with you?”

“We parted ways in the short time after we found our way back to the remains of home. I went looking for my sister, hoping she was still alive out there.”

“Telara…”

Jadyn gave a brief, single nod. “An explosion took both their lives years later on another world. I wasn’t there. I’d been there, months before, the very spot where they were killed… Something granted me a vision of their deaths a short time after it happened. Seeing that… It pushed me to come so far out here to get away from everything… And of course you don’t know where here is just yet.”

He drummed his fingers on the side of her bed as he considered the situation, turning to face her. “Can you walk?”

“Sincerely doubt it. Not any distance, at least.”

“All right. Bee, site to site, if you please.”

“Hm?” The skunk stuck her head out of the medical office. “You dare remove my patient from medbay without asking?”

“That was me asking, just now. I’ll bring her back.”

Alecha chuckled as she found herself lifted into his arms. He really had grown into quite a stunning man - the last time she’d seen him, she’d been working for his father in the Guild Hall. He’d been a mere teenager, struggling through that awkward time between too young to qualify as a respectable adult, and too old to be a carefree child. Add to the discomfort of adolescence one part of the awkward colors of his pelt, and one heaping part the pressure of everyone knowing the Guild’s Grand Master of Nature is your father and the Guild Master herself is your grandmother… She didn’t envy him one bit. Somehow, the stress had done him well.

“Twenty minutes, not a femtosecond more. No leaving the ship. Her immune system’s still stuck in low gear.”

“We’re just going to the Commons.”

“Only? And you expect me to waste energy on that short of a transport?” T’bia snorted, walking away. “Whatever. Incoming.”

The vixen gasped as their scenery shifted. Visible outside the window was a planet she’d never seen before. Granted, she’d never laid her own two eyes on another planet at all - the J’Ruhn departed directly from Val’Traxan space on course for its target. Holographic imagery from file data, she’d certainly seen - but generated images just didn’t do the real view justice.

“Down?” Jadyn asked, gently placing her into a chair.

“What’s it called?” she probed, gazing upon the blue-green marble floating in the darkness.

“Veloria. Native population are vulpinoid, generally similar to us in form. They’re part of a space-faring alliance of planets in the area. A lot more active in it than we were in ours - the ruling body is housed in that station right over there.” He sat down across from her, leaning his elbows on the tabletop. “Planetary gravity is a little less than home, year is shorter, climate zones are pretty similar.”

“Socially?”

“They’re good people. A lot of our core values are the same, but some of the specific social customs don’t line up. Pants are more than pockets.”

“A modest bunch, eh? That’s deeply unfortunate. Are we to be tagged as refugees then, instead of colonists? Integrate into this new culture and adapt to the fact home’s not there anymore?”

“I’m really sorry. It’s breaking news for you and the others, but in my head it’s ancient history.”

“Ancient…? Jadyn, just how long have we been asleep?”

“You’re not going to believe me.”

“Say it anyway.”

“You’re on the opposite side of the galaxy, Dysto Quadrant. Ninety-thousand lightyears.”

Alecha frowned at him. “While that’s certainly disturbing, it’s not what I asked. What is today’s date?”

“Today… is the eleventh of Baern. 2765.”

Her jaw fell open. “You can’t be serious. Three and a half centuries on ice…? We all should be dead from freezerburn…”

“Freezerburn?”

“Cryonecrosis, sorry. And you! Just look at you. I wouldn’t peg you at more than forty, and that’s me being mean.”

“Three-sixty-four. Lived every day of it… Well, I take that back. I’ve had my share of dirtnaps, a few longer than others.”

“Well, I can tell just by looking at your aura that you’re not lying to me… Still, you’ve nearly beat the average by double. What is it? Some anti-aging ensorcellment you’ve discovered?”

“One I was born with and can’t shut off. Bear with me, there’s no simple way to do this explanation other than by demonstration.” Reaching into his pocket, Jadyn lifted out a small dagger. Laying his left hand on the table palm-up, he didn’t even flinch as the metal pierced his flesh and deeply sank into the tabletop, blood pooling underneath his arm. “Eight months after finding my way back to what was left of Val’Trax, I was attacked and murdered in a private shuttlebay. I died where I fell, felt the release of mortal bonds… The Light took me in, held me, and let me go. The Void’s grip found me, just for a moment, and released me as well. And then I was thrown back.”

Alecha stared at his palm as he pulled the knife away. Jadyn worked his fingers, the puncture wound ceasing to bleed on the outside of a minute. It was noticeably smaller after two, the flesh gradually knitting itself shut.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered, grasping his wrist. “I can’t sense you channeling a thing… Unlikely an illusion, either, the scent of the blood is too real… Nanobots certainly don’t knit flesh this fast. Void, I don’t even think a dose of your high-grade distilled Life could do this.”

“Ever since I woke that first time I haven’t aged a day. I don’t stay dead for long. And as you can see, I regenerate faster than medical technology can provide. One of the costs is that I can no longer heal others through the Art. I’m not sure if that’s because I need that energy for myself, somehow, or if I’m simply not allowed to touch it having briefly left this existence. I haven’t been able to channel elemental Life since the day I revived. My days as a medical elixir supplier are long since done.”

“Incredible.” Releasing his hand, she eyed the small pool of blood left on the table. He felt her draw forth a thread of Air, lifting a small portion of the liquid for closer examination without the need to touch it. “Have you by chance checked -“

“Please… I’ve been poked, prodded, examined, scanned, burnt, shredded, folded, spindled, mutilated, you name it. No one’s been able to find a reason why I’m like this. I’ve given up looking for an answer.”

“Never give up. As I recall, from some conversations with your father… You can’t sire, correct? Might the two be related?”

“Maybe,” he conceded, wrapping his hand with a piece of cloth. “Look - Bee has quads and quads of data filed away from all my bioscans since before I was even born. If you really want to look into it, I’ll give you access and even submit to new scans or whatever you need. Before any of that, there’s just shy of two-thousand others that deserve our attention, and I for one need information about the intended mission before I can even begin to deal with any of you.”

“You really have nothing?”

“Nothing. Where were you supposed to wind up?”

“A star system designated as ‘Arvus.’ Stellar cartography listed it on the range of thirty-seven thousand lightyears from home, a quadrant away. The J’Ruhn’s designing engineers didn’t think the ship’s engines could handle full-time full speed for the entire distance without maintenance, so the route planners capped us to 750-C maximum. Better to arrive late than wind up stranded far from home.”

“Fifty years asleep, then. The plan was just to set up an outpost colony?”

“The first truly Val’Traxan colony, further out than any local world ever tried to set up a home away from home. You were on board for Tier’s initialization, weren’t you? I thought I’d heard they sent you to do it. No one told you anything about what was going on?”

“No. I just assumed it was another exploration juggernaut with the first production TBIA core. Hung out here in the Commons until they were ready, did the Elemental Life infusion, went back dirtside and had lunch. Sat at this very table, in fact.”

“You were way out of the loop, then. The AI, Tieralyene, was designed as the failsafe for the main computer. If anything went out of spec she was supposed to wake and deal with it. If she couldn’t deal with it, she was supposed to wake some of us so we could deal with it. Myself, the lead engineer, the project head…” Alecha shook her head. “But she didn’t. Wonder what went wrong.”

“You weren’t still around for the whole nemaqi incident, were you?”

“The what?”

Jadyn rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll explain the gory bits later. Suffice it for now that there’s a lizardman metamorph aboard who is here because my grandmother needed him here. Tier had no memory of her mission when Anolis happened across the J’Ruhn. By the time he figured out exactly what he’d found, one of his cloned sons stuffed him in cryo and took over the ship. That kid made a real mess for us - we’re still cleaning up after him. No one knew any of you were onboard except Anolis and maybe that wayward son, until a day or two ago.”

Alecha quietly sighed, staring at the planet again. “Shaytelli personally selected me for this ‘colony effort…’ I think she hand-picked the other Artisans as well. It was her way of sending out a lifeboat, wasn’t it?”

“I think so. She knew the end was near and there was no way to stop it. The few survivors of the massacre… There weren’t enough of us in one place to rebuild a thing. We were sentenced to extinction the day the first bomb fell. Shaytelli won an appeal against that sentence through this ship. If we’re meant to exist again, you’re the way it’ll happen. You and the others.”

“No pressure.” She took a deep breath, blowing it out through her teeth. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“If there’s really so few of us left… We’re going to need everyone we can get. You included.”

“You know I can’t contribute in that fashion. Even if I could, the breeding trees are already mapped for the first generation, aren’t they?”

“You can still be a mentor when the next generation starts to arrive.” She eyed his ring, surprise touching her face. “Only Lopiakuen? How’d you never tap a Mastery?”

“She wouldn’t let me take the Walk before planetfall. Thought eighteen was too young for it.”

“I’d agree with that. I was forty-seven before I dared set foot in that place. The last thing I remember is signing the form. Next thing I knew, I was in the Guild clinic. Lost an entire month.”

Idly twisting his ring, Jadyn’s attention briefly changed focus to the planet below them. “How many of us are there?”

“Six from each discipline.”

“Only forty-eight in two thousand… Well, at least it’s a better ratio than the natural average back home. I hate to even ask, because I really don’t want to think about it… What did they quote as a revival estimate?”

“Half.” Alecha shook her head. “I’ve been trying not to think about it, too. That was the calculation for only fifty years of sleep. I’ll honestly be surprised if we save a tenth at this point. It’s bugging me - a revival from three hundred years should have taken over thirty hours, if not several days. T’bia said I’d been out of the pod less than two hours when I woke up. It’s definitely worse than my training week - that I could at least walk away from. It honestly doesn’t feel like three centuries worth. I shouldn’t be able to sit upright on my own, let alone carry on intelligent conversation yet.”

“Well, I suppose you’d like to see the rest of them. Bee - how’s life support in the sections near the last two bays?”

“Should be up and running in about two and a half hours, last I heard. I’ll double-check. By the way, it’s been twenty minutes and I do not see my patient in her bed.”

Alecha snorted. “T’bia, if you were half the genius you claim to be, you’d have noticed that my bracelet has a biomonitor in it you can access to keep tabs on my vitals. I’ll come back to medbay after I see the cryobays first-hand.”

“There were ribbons tied on four pods,” Jadyn noted. “Yours was yellow, and three others were green.”

“The yellow was so I could find mine without thinking about it. I was one of the very last to sleep. I put the green ribbons on the pods of my family - my mate and co-mates.”

“Bee, I believe that means -“

“That you are a filthy cheat. Halio out.”

Alecha gave Jadyn a puzzled look as he lifted her back into his arms. “What was that about?”

“She lost a bet.”

He gave her the grand tour, walking her through two of the six open bays so she could check on her family. They happened across Toliya and a small work crew while moving from one section to the other. To their credit, the mostly-male crew remained totally professional despite the fact a very attractive vixen wearing nothing but the fur she was born in congratulated them on their repair efforts and encouraged them to keep up the good work.

The final two bays were ready for unlocking a full hour early.

Alecha, however, elected to wait. The little physical exertion she’d made had absolutely exhausted her. T’bia gave her a check-over upon their return to medbay, administering a trioxaline booster before giving them their privacy - as well as a scowl for thoroughly abusing her allotted ‘twenty’ minutes.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Alecha questioned.

“I don’t know yet. I have to talk to the Velorian ruling council, find out if they are willing to take on everyone… It’ll be hard to negotiate a place, not knowing if we’ll have a thousand or two hundred…”

“Assume the worst,” she recommended. “All two thousand wake up.”

“Isn’t that assuming the best?”

“Not if you’re the one finding places for all those refugees.”

Jadyn chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. “I should let you sleep.”

“I’m all right. I just needed to lie down. Have a seat. Unless, of course, you have another pressing appointment. You look anxious, like you want to be elsewhere.”

“I really should be. I’ve this this wonderful young woman living with me… who’s just on the edge of coming into her first estrus cycle at the ripe age of a hundred and fifty.”

Alecha gaped at him. “My Goddess, what kind of suppressants has she been on?”

“None. I expect the moment you lay eyes on her for the first time, you’ll completely understand. Actually - any suggestions you’d care to pass on to her? I know what Anni told me about her own experience from her point of view, and what it was like for me.”

“Then you’re pretty well covered in what her needs will be, beyond the obvious. How long until she’s fully on heat?”

“A day, maybe two.”

“In that case, take a shower before she smells me on you or she’ll probably rip your throat out. I know I tend to not want to eat anything. Make sure she gets plenty of water and electrolytes. Beyond that… Tell her to relax and take the time to enjoy it. As she looks back she’ll definitely appreciate your taking care of her.” Alecha pointed at the door, grinning. “Now, stop wasting time here and go home, young man.”

“As you command, Lady Rutemin.” Jadyn dodged the pillow she chucked in his direction. “Hey! Don’t blame me. It’s how you were introduced.”

“Kieran was being a sarcastic ass! Go on, your mate’s probably still up waiting. No matter what, her needs come first over the next few days. About the only free time you’ll get is when she’s asleep - and you’d better sleep then, too. I won’t expect to see you until afterward.”

“We’ll see. Good night, Alecha.”

“Night.” The vixen leaned back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. “T’bia? Are you still around?”

“I’m actually not, took a quick jog down to Engineering to give Toy a hand. What’s up?”

“When you have time, could you bring me a datapad with local stellar cartography data? If these Velorians can’t or won’t take us in, I’d like to have some other options to present to the colony lead when we wake him.”

“Catch.”

Alecha held out her hands, grinning as the datapad was transported in. “Thank you.”

“Sure thing. Just holler if you need anything else.”

Awakening, Part 1

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:29:54 GMT

“We’ve gone over this. It’s just a short, dreamless nap. You probably won’t even remember going to sleep. If the Spirits are gracious… You’ll at least remember last night.”

Kaler grimaced, easing himself back into the chilly environment of a cryopod. Nearly all the other pods around already held someone. “I just don’t like the numbers - if they’re right, at least half of us aren’t going to wake up from this ‘dreamless nap.’ I would like a dream or two if it’s the last thing I’ll see before the After. Is that too much to ask?”

“What’s a probability but a guess? They don’t know what’s going to happen. We all signed on for this mission knowing that we don’t know, either. Unless you’d rather stay awake for the next fifty years, all alone? Even Tier is going take long naps when she’s not needed.” The vixen leaned into the pod, giving Kaler a lick on the nose. “Don’t you worry for a second, love. You are going to beat the numbers and wake up on the other side. So am I, so is Isol, and so is Cait.”

“But -“

“No! I won’t hear any more of it. We are going to start our family when we arrive at our home away from home, with or without you.” She bit down on his ear, nibbling playfully before giving him one last whisper. “It’ll be far more fun with you. Sleep well, my mate.”

“Oi…” Kaler sighed as the pod’s door closed. Chilly vapors filled his lungs as the sleep cycle ramped up. The last thing he saw before his eyelids grew heavy was Alecha’s smiling face as she waved goodnight.

He found himself wondering, as he drifted off, why in the Goddess’s name he’d volunteered for such a suicidal posting straight out of the academy. The whole concept behind it was suspicious - setting up a purely Val’Traxan colony so far away from the homeworld? Why not start a little closer? Put the first one maybe a dozen lightyears out. Expand from there if there was still interest.

Why the sudden fascination with finally establishing a colony in the first place? Sure, he felt a touch of wanderlust every time he looked at the night sky. He’d enrolled in the Galactic Fleet Academy for that very reason, to get out there on a starship and see what was hiding behind the next moon, or planetoid, or whatever else. When the notice quietly arrived in his inbox, offering him a chance to travel far beyond the Galactic Fleet’s borders, he’d set aside his initial concerns. Once he found out that it wasn’t merely a long-term survey but a colonization effort, he’d almost convinced himself to drop out. By the time he found himself with serious reservations, Cait, Isol, and Alecha had grown fond of him. And, really, he liked them too.

Two thousand ultimately remained after the final tests, males making up only a single quarter of the whole. A structured reproduction program mapped out partners for the first generation, setting up the best possible genetic diversity even with the expected death toll. Females were far more important for that part of the project - the fact any males were even aboard felt more like a courtesy than necessity, despite claims that it was to ensure all children had a father figure. Frozen samples from both genders lay in waiting, just in case someone failed to make it to the other side. Even more existed in the ship’s database, ready to recreate in a lab to further widen the gene pool.

If the program suddenly had to replace him, the whole map would require adjustment. The girls might simply wind up together with a new mate. More likely, they’d be separated and paired with other restructured groups. The mess would compound from there as the map was rebuilt. The three really had good synergy with each other. He couldn’t bring himself to break that up.

And so here he was, lying in a cryopod, waiting for the unknown. Not to further knowledge and science, or even to satiate wanderlust. No, he was doing it because he didn’t want to disappoint three females. The only thing he could think of as he fell into the dark, quiet, dreamless slumber of cold sleep, was to wonder what in the Void he’d been thinking.

Except… it wasn’t so quiet.

“Kahdmo! Drao’ja paah ihtan y muhk desa.”

The sound of voices in an unfamiliar language lifted him from the first sense of drifting off. Fingers ever so lightly touched on his neck - checking for his pulse? Kaler opened his eyes, finding the world nothing but a bright blur.

“Fryd dra…? Rao? E drehg ra’c yfyga.”

“I’ll be… So he is! Hello there… I’m a medic. Please don’t try to move.”

“Hrrk,” he managed. He couldn’t so much as twitch a finger if his very life depended on it. His arms and legs felt like solid neutronium. Every breath hurt, blisteringly dry air tearing at the ravaged lining of his throat.

“Don’t speak, either. You’ve just been brought out of cryo, in case you aren’t aware. Try to nod once if you understand me? Uh, blink one eye, maybe… Left. Now, the right. Good, good.” He felt a mask settle around his muzzle, a moist and odorless vapor coursing through his sinuses and down into his lungs. “Slow, even breaths. Give it time to coat your throat and repair the cryo damage. Eyedrops here should help clear your vision. Blink a few times, please.”

Welcome moisture landed in his eyes; he followed the medic’s orders, finding the room quickly coming into focus. A female mefiritan with the strangest head of rainbow-colored hair towered over him, occasionally referring back to a medical scanner. On the opposite side of the bed stood -

A blue-furred fox? In Guild robes? Wouldn’t that be -

“Kaler Untormu, is it?” the skunk asked. “Congratulations are in order. You are the second Val’Traxan we’ve successfully woken from cryo.”

Kaler’s heart suddenly sank. How many failed to revive before him? Were the girls among the number of the lost? What if he was only one of two survivors among all two thousand sleepers?

several days earlier

“What do we do now?” Tari questioned, looking out over the bay of active pods from just inside the door’s balcony. “It’s going to take forever to thaw them one at a time. If my slowly failing memory still serves, you can’t do a mass-thaw without the main computer fully up to speed to monitor it.”

“We’re also short several cryogenic technicians trained on proper procedures for this particular equipment. Anolis has a passing familiarity with the hardware, and I appreciate his offer to help, but I want a properly trained tech to oversee the rest. More than anything, though, we really need to get a handle on what they think they’re doing here.”

“By waking a few.”

“Ideally, just one. That way, the next ones we wake we’re better prepared to deal with. We talk to ten, each of those ten talk to ten more, once more beyond that and we’re halfway done.”

“Pyramid schemes are illegal.”

“Maybe so. The only real question is, which one do we wake first?” Jadyn smirked, sitting down on the edge of the balcony, his legs dangling down into the bay. “I hate to say this, but it’s very likely that someone in one of the pods has a legitimate claim to the command of this ship.”

“I won’t fight that if it happens.” Tari sighed. “I’m totally not qualified to captain a crewed ship, as much as I’d love to keep it.”

“With a little training, and some experience… I think you could do it.”

“I don’t know. What about you? Why spend your days in the Serin when you could command a ship like this? Sentimental value aside.”

“You’re not the first to ask that.” Jadyn’s smile faded. He gestured to the sleepers below them. “The reason’s right here. There’s no doubt in my mind that all these people were told of the risk they were taking, going into any sort of long-term cryo. I can’t begin to guess the exact probability of revival they were quoted but I bet it was under fifty-fifty.”

“Seriously? I assumed you guys could do better than that.”

“Cryo’s the low-maintenance alternative to temporary metabolic stasis. It’s great for long-term storage, but the potential for cumulative cellular damage borders on extreme. Some people are more tolerant to the effects than others - most sleeper candidates are pulled from the ‘resistant’ pool in the first place. In any case, it’s still going to shave a number of years off your life expectancy. Complex living things just aren’t meant to be frozen and thawed.”

Jadyn shook his head, his gaze retreating to the ceiling lighting. “And then there’s me. They put their lives on the line with the hopes that at least a few would make it to the other side. Me? It doesn’t matter what I do to myself, I’ll apparently live so long as I don’t get my core essence ripped out again. Commanding people like them, sending them into dangerous places when I should be the one on the front line taking the risky chances… How do I tell their families when they don’t come back? ‘Hi, your son or daughter is dead because of an order I gave, but if it’d been me in their place, that kid and I could have had a good laugh about it hours later’? No thank you. The only life I intend to put in harm’s way is my own.”

“Coward.”

His eyebrow hitched up as he turned to stare at her. Expecting a coy smile or at least a laugh in her eye, he found only deadly serious ire staring him down. “Come again?”

“You heard me. Sure, these kids here may have taken a risk, but they chose that risk. If they want to be out here with the stars they’re going to do it regardless of who commands their ship. Someone is going to be in that chair. That someone will lack your years of experience in dealing with everything out here. They will also lack your apparent cowardice as they do the things you’re clearly afraid to to do.”

Jadyn stared at her, his mouth hanging briefly slack. “I am not afraid! I just -“

“You don’t want to be the one who might order them into a situation where they could get hurt, knowing they don’t bounce back as easy as you do.”

“Exactly!”

Tari nodded, getting to her feet. “Then you’re afraid of what could happen on your watch.”

“I -“

“Coward,” she declared, storming out of the bay and down the corridor.

“Where the Void did that come from?” Jadyn shook his head, peering at the pods below. “I’m not… No, I’m not. I am not!” he yelled out the door.

“Tubor to Tzeki.”

“You going to freak out on me too?”

“… What?” Pakar questioned.

“Never mind. What may I do for you today, Your Excellency?”

“Don’t ever call me that again. Would you please report to the Speaker’s office on Terac Lun?”

“On my way.”

“Nice. What prompted that?”

“I really don’t know. The overwhelming urge to throttle him suddenly washed over me.”

“I get that all the time,” T’bia replied with a dismissing wave, pouring over dumps of the J’Ruhn’s computer core. “I personally blow off steam using a variety of enjoyable distractions that probably would kill you if you tried to mimic them.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Low flight over a star’s surface comes to mind.”

“Toasty. I think I’ll stay safely inside a shield perimeter while that’s going down and just stick with yelling at him.”

“Your loss.” The skunk pressed a scanner into her hand. “Here.”

“What’s this for?”

“You’re slowly losing access to everything you gained from that melding, right? I’m betting that new memories making use of the melded knowledge might help you hold onto important stuff. Consider yourself a test subject.”

“Great. Next thing you know, you’ll have a paper published about me.”

“Not a bad idea. I can see the overly wordy title now: ‘The etiology of purloined knowledge loss and methodology for retention.’”

“Best of luck with that.” Tari held up the scanner. “What am I doing with this?”

“Nursing 101. Gather your own readings. Also, a small bit of Nursing 102: determine if you are dead or alive.”

“Ugh. All right.” Turning the probe on herself, she made a once-over of her torso and head while watching the display. “I could be mistaken, but I seem to be alive. Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, everything’s in the normal range - or, not. Isn’t 39.2 a little high for my core temperature?”

“Val’Traxan average is 38.8, so that’s just a touch on the warm side. It’s actually below normal if you’re - Well, wait.” T’bia tapped her fingers together, peering over Tari’s shoulder at the readouts. “Tell you what. I’d like to grab a blood sample to run, just to make sure everything is all right. Can check your ‘purloined’ regeneration at the same time.”

“Can’t we just skip that for a day?”

“Don’t worry!” she exclaimed, pulling a laser scalpel out from behind her back. “I’m a professional. Now, hold still so I don’t lop your arm off.”

Jadyn stared out the window in the Speaker’s office, his eyes locked on the silhouette of the J’Ruhn. Nearby, Pakar gnawed on the tip of her thumb. She knew full well what his opinion would be on what he’d just been asked to allow, well before she’d even called him in. Luckily, the office they stood within was not her own - someone else would have to clean up the mess. It was only the sheer mass of paperwork she’d have to fill out that made him hesitate - he’d have to help sign forms and give a statement, and that was never a sign of a good time.

“Captain Tzeki -“

“I heard you the first time, Doctor Harpahl.”

“Then -“

“I’m attempting to decide whether a long stint in prison is worth killing you where you’re standing.”

The young feldaran laughed nervously; when no one else shared in, he immediately fell silent.

“I do not threaten my superiors’ subordinates lightly, sir, so before I further my waltz into potential court-martial territory, allow me to be certain of what I just heard come out of your mouth.” Jadyn spun around on his toes, staring the cat down. “You want to dissect the last survivors of my race to see what’s happened to them in the years they’ve been frozen, in the name of furthering cryogenic science?”

“Not all of them - Just, you know, the ones that don’t wake up.”

“I think what our dear Captain is trying to say, Doctor… is ‘no.’ And as the sole representative of his species in any way associated with the Council, his decision stands.” Pakar forced a smile. “Anything more?”

“Uh… No, Speaker. Thank you both for your time.” The young man stopped at the door of the office, turning around. “Captain -“

“The dead will be given proper rites. There will be no elective procedures on the living without their due consent, which by Aligned law cannot be given until they have fully recovered from the reanimation procedure and are capable of making informed decisions. Family members of the deceased have the right to honor their lost mates in whatever manner they choose - if that means donating their bodies for research, that is their option. Until they make that decision, my own decision stands for them.”

“Yes, but - I’d just like to volunteer our assistance. If there’s anything at all we can do -“

“I will have all data regarding the revival of our initial subject forwarded to the Aligned Life Sciences division when we complete the process. If your techs are willing to assist with further revivals after reviewing the data, I will happily invite them aboard to help, but they work by my terms.” Jadyn glared at him. “I may eventually change my mind given a passionate recommendation by someone you have never signed paychecks for, but at this moment you are not among the invited.”

“Uh… Thank you. Sir. Ma’am.”

Pakar let out a sigh as the door slid shut. “He’s not the first from the scientific community to show an interest. Word got out quick about the popsicles over there.”

“I was a little rough on him, wasn’t I?”

“Just a little.”

“Hmph,” the fox grunted, gazing upon the ship once more. “They deserve the chance to live again. Waking up two thousand people who have no idea when and where they are… I don’t even know how many actually will wake up. I’m dreaming if I think they’ll all see the light of day again. And what happens once they are awake?”

“They could settle on Veloria. The ruling council would almost certainly welcome them with open arms.”

“Maybe. I’ve been trying to put myself in their place, though. If I’d just woken up, tens of thousands of light years from what I knew as home, not knowing all that I know about this quadrant… Veloria is similar enough at a glance and it’d do in a pinch, but they won’t be entirely comfortable down there. Velorians at least look a bit like us, so that’s a little reassuring for a bunch of displaced refugees… Feldarans like our good friend just now are pretty close in form to the Tigranii… A little larger, actually. Toy’s closer to the average they’d be used to. But Drekirans? There’s absolutely nothing like you.”

“Aw, how sweet of you to say.”

Jadyn smirked, leaning back against her borrowed desk. “What do you think? I can’t just leave them over there as freeze-pops forever.”

“No. And that ship, as big as it is, isn’t ready to act as a long-term home.”

“Even fixed up, it’s not good for more than a thousand. It’d be cramped even pushing eight hundred.” He shook his head. “I’m getting way ahead of myself. Help one cope, then work on the remaining thousands. Bee.”

“Yo.”

“We’re going ahead with a single revival for now, heavily logged for the local cryogenics geeks.”

“Excellent. If you’ve got about half an hour, I’d like to pop open the rest of the accessible deadlocked doors before we pick a victim. Oh, and there’s one minor issue you need to attend to, afterward.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s so minor it isn’t worth mentioning over a channel. Halio out.”

Pakar settled down in the Speaker’s chair, spinning it to face out the window. “You were absolutely giddy when you cracked that first room open. Have the warm fuzzies faded yet?”

“I’ve had a little too much time to think about it. I’m seeing all the worst case scenarios popping into my mind. Our first revival attempt is either going to be a very disturbed individual once all the facts are in play, or we’re going to pull out a well-preserved corpse.”

“That’s a depressing way to think.”

“I’m praying I’m wrong, but I’m gradually steeling myself for the moment I have to set up a morgue with room for at least a thousand. Explaining myself to the survivors is going to be fun, too…”

“You could just tell them the truth.”

“Yeah, that’ll go over well.”

Jadyn removed his hands from the door, breathing heavily as it rolled open. His tongue lolled slightly from his muzzle as he panted. “Never expected they’d all be sealed so tight… Wardings haven’t faded a bit over the years. Wonder who the Void set them… Tell me that was the last one?”

“That was the last one… For now. The final two will be accessible by morning.”

“Great.” Jadyn stepped into the bay, leaning on the balcony’s handrail as he caught his breath in the chilly air. “Another tail-ribbon tied to a door.”

“Gold instead of green this time.”

“Three green and a gold… Ah, that’s one of the cryotechs. She’s our revival target.”

“What, pray tell, leads you to that string of conclusions at this distance? You can’t know for a fact there’s a female in there, or that it’s a tech.”

“Out of the fifteen hundred pods we’ve glanced at so far, four have been marked with ribbons, which means either they’ve been specifically tagged to wake first or a tech wanted a fast way to find certain ones among the crowd. The other three ribboned pods were one male and two females. I’m assuming they went three-to-one for first generation genome planning, based on the average sex ratio you’ve catalogued so far, and that leaves a female in the last ribbon - a mate of the male, likely co-mates with the other two females. Since this one’s a different color than the rest, it’s a sign that the individual inside is different than the rest - our first tech.”

“Now you’re just making things up.”

“Care to put a wager on that?”

“Loser cleans the plasma manifolds next maintenance cycle.” T’bia leapt off the balcony, landing on the distant floor as if she’d only taken a single step down a flight of stairs. Jadyn watched as she walked to the marked pod and rubbed frost off the glass. “Damn it. The deal’s off, cheater.”

“What?” he called.

“You know exactly what! You can sense her aura from there, can’t you?”

“Cryosleepers don’t have an aura. To my senses they may as well all be dead already…” Jadyn frowned, jogging down the stairway. “Is it someone I know?”

“It’s Alecha Rutemin.”

“No way.” T’bia stepped out of his way as he leaned over the pod, peering at the vixen inside. “Dad said she moved onto a long-term project.”

“This would qualify, I expect. There’s a Health Ministry Cryo Division insignia on her bracelet, senior grade. That doesn’t prove the mating bonds, though.” T’bia poked at the controls, commanding the pod into revival mode. “She’s not wearing her ring.”

“There’s a lot of reasons she might have taken it off. I don’t think they allow anything but an ID bracelet before you go under. She’s definitely going to recognize me.”

“I could stuff you under the bed and claim you don’t exist. Works for the rest of the junk you lose down there.”

He snorted, staring at the face frozen in slumber mere inches under the glass. “I can’t hide from them all. Most anyone who had any dealings in our province knew my name just because of who I am. How long until she’s awake?”

“Tomorrow morning, I expect. It’ll take on the inside of an hour for stage one revival. When the cycle completes I’ll take her to the local medbay for stage two. If everything goes according to plan she should be conscious inside of fourteen hours. Can’t vouch for how alert she’ll be after this long… Might take a while to shake off the hangover.”

“So you’re saying I have time to sneak in a nap first.”

“Sorry, no. There’s something else on your schedule, remember?” T’bia waved good-bye; he felt the all-too-familiar sensation of a transporter confinement lock a heartbeat before the haze enveloped him.

The next thing he knew, he was standing on the porch of his home on Veloria, faint firelight flickering through the darkened windows. Quietly pushing the door open, he smiled at the sight of dinner places laid out, a pair of candles casting their delicate glow over the plates as the hearth crackled on the far side of the room. Tari shot him a smile as she padded to his side, giving him a nuzzle on the cheek.

“Welcome home.”

“Did I miss someone’s birthday?” he questioned.

“You’ve got a few weeks yet. We haven’t had a nice meal together since I got back and you woke up… I thought it was time.” The vixen led him to the table, pressing him gently into a chair. A green steelsilk gown billowed about her, the fabric shimmering in the flickers of light as she disappeared through the kitchen door. “I wasn’t sure what to make, so I improvised and went with something I’m familiar with.”

“Do tell. It smells wonderful.”

Tari emerged from the other room a minute later, two lidded dinner plates in hand. Placing one down before him, she sat down on the opposite side of the table with her own and peered at him.

“Well?” she questioned. “Go ahead, open it up.”

“I’m trying to decide what I’m going to find. Will it be an honest meal, or will it be alive and crawling off the plate?”

Disappointment touched her face as her ears drooped. “I can’t believe that you’d even think that.”

“It’s just that - YIEE!” Jadyn snapped the lid back down on his plate, quickly trapping the angry and venomous snake that mere seconds before had arched up and hissed at him. It was only then he noticed her grin and the faint tickling of her powers under the lid. “Tari -“

“I’m listening.”

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have questioned the motives behind a meal you clearly went out of your way to prepare.”

“Apology accepted.” She waved her hand dismissingly; the sensation faded, and he removed the lid again. Laid out on his plate was a grilled salmon cutlet, garnished with a small side of roasted pumpkin cubes and a fruit salad. No sign a deadly serpent had ever been present.

“I actually did want a nice, quiet meal,” she observed, removing the lid from her own plate. “But you had to go and get suspicious. If nothing happened now, during dinner, you’d be waiting for something all night long. So, got it over with and behind us. I can’t entirely blame you, since… Well, it is me.”

“You’re right, though. I would assume some sort of ulterior motive was underway the rest of the night as you quietly whittled down my guard with some very delicious fish - what is this sauce?”

“Dill, yogurt, lemon zest. Well… It tasted and smelled like dill, at least. Weird color. Turned the yogurt that neon purple, but Bee said it was still safe.”

“It’s absolutely wonderful.”

“Thank you. So… Did you two pick someone to wake?”

“Mm-hm. Ropiakuen Alecha Rutemin, a High Master of Nature… And a senior-grade cryotech to boot.”

“Someone you knew from the Guild?”

“Sort of. She left her position as dad’s aide when I was still fairly young to the programs there. I couldn’t have been more than… Oh, fourteen, I guess. I don’t know her as well as dad did, but she always greeted me in the Hall when we crossed paths. It’s really incredible how something that small can really brighten someone’s day.”

“Or how a random angry outburst can ruin it.” Tari exhaled. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”

“It’s all right. I wasn’t going to bring it up. Figured this was the apology.”

“It was, but… I’m still not sure why I snapped. Something about the way you said things made me want to cause you a great deal of bodily harm.”

“I have a thought,” T’bia announced, appearing at her side and quickly whispering in her ear. Tari’s ears flattened back as the skunk stood upright again.

“You’re kidding.”

“No. The timing’s not too terrible - it almost always seems to happen right in the middle of something. At least this time we actually don’t need you for a few days.”

“Ugh. All right. What… Ah, what’s the appropriate protocol here…?” she queried, pointing between herself and Jadyn.

“If you don’t tell him, he’ll figure it out on his own.” T’bia gave them a wave, vanishing with a pop. “If he doesn’t figure it out, he’s most likely clinically dead. Check for a pulse, but be creative in how. Nursing 103.”

Tari fidgeted with her fork, finally laying it across her half-finished meal. “Jay… It’s a fact of life for you, but… I don’t really understand what I’m up against. I haven’t given it much thought at all since the trip here on the spaceliner.”

“What’d she tell you?”

“She says I snapped at you because I saw a sign of weakness during a time I’m seeking strength in my chosen mate.” Looking up from her plate, Tari met his eyes across the table. “Blood workup indicates I’m coming into heat.”

Hiatusii

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:22:10 GMT

Does ‘hiatus’ have a plural? The Great and Powerful Internet Oracle indicates it is simply ‘hiatus.’ I personally like the idea of multiple ‘hiatusii’. Two ‘i’ help reinforce the idea that there is more than one hiatus at work.

Tangent…

So. Nothing new, yet again. Working on other projects, most involving chainsaws and making large pieces of wood (tree sized, perhaps) into smaller pieces (firewood sized, perhaps). It is hard to type with leather gloves on, and woodchips do not process information faster than silicon. Adding them to the laptop adds heat with no discernable increase in power. Very sad :(

There was a request to perhaps repost Creationism in the interim. I can’t do that yet, mainly since I haven’t looked at it to ensure it’ll fit into current continuity. I could toss the old one at The Burn Pile since, but I’m not certain just yet. I’d rather not wind up stalling Creationism because it makes calls on portions of PS or TF that don’t yet exist. This has happened already a couple of times between PS and TF, and I’d rather not do that again, as fun as recursion can be.

Snow is showing signs of melting. It’s only March. How am I supposed to have my annual snowball fight in May? I may have to fill the chest freezer.

Cat

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:40:10 GMT

At this moment I have nothing new to share. Instead, I give you a photo of one of my kitty cats, Cocoa. In her litter, it was her, a cream-colored, two gray tabbies, and one that could nearly pass as a purebred siamese.

When I think of Casiandra, this is what I’m envisioning. With blue eyes.

PS: New Year’s Eve, Part 2

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:43:00 GMT

The title says it all: Part 2 is available.

New Year's Eve, Part 2

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:40:41 GMT

For a Forest kitsune, Toshiyuki definitely had a knack for knowing what the future held. Arranging for the dress to arrive just in time for the party? That’d require she be back in the mortal realm to attend. Lenard and Traize’s presence couldn’t be completely random either. But that they were even at the same table?

“Jay? How did this seating arrangement come around?”

“Bee pulled Mister Evanson’s name out of a hat this afternoon. At the time I didn’t think anything of it, but I’ve got a feeling she did it to mess with Jo. Why?”

“So it wasn’t all his doing… I wonder if he got them here, or if he just knew…”

“You lost me at ‘panic somewhat quietly to one’s self.’”

“It’s just… There’s a lot of people out there,” she dodged; Jadyn’s eye briefly shot to the red-haired human chatting nearby with Casi.

“We’re now out of earshot. See someone you know?” he whispered.

“Mm. At our table, too.” Tari bit her lip, her mind racing. The first instinct was mayhem. A wondrous plan for making them question whether she was their friend or just a random ‘familiar stranger.’ A white Val’Traxan so that she’d look properly foxen, but her scent would confound Traize. Speaking English with the appropriate Standard-influenced accent, the works.

Of course, there’d be hints, blatant and otherwise. What good was teasing them if they didn’t have a sporting chance to figure out the answer? Leaving her silver dragon charm visible, dropping innocent but potentially loaded remarks, if one was aware of an alternate context… It was a beautiful work in her mind’s eye.

Mischief of such a caliber was no longer an option. Not only was shapedancing out of the realm of possibility, she’d already donned the mask of a changeling researcher stuck in human form. That had been done in her introduction to Commander Maxwell, and that was the part she’d have to play for the evening. If she sat down at the table and those two called her by the same name she’d already been introduced as… The resulting mayhem wouldn’t be the kind she enjoyed.

Traize wasn’t the concern. She’d be able to tell right away that there were shenanigans afoot and would automatically assume the correct role for herself if Tari didn’t greet her as a familiar face. Lenard wasn’t quite so experienced with having his girlfriend suddenly acting out another life in front of him, though. He’d need a quick primer before she got to the table. But how?

“What am I thinking? I can’t go out there!” Tari cried, backpedalling from the door. “I really shouldn’t… I mean, they think I’m stuck in the Celestial Courts… If I sit down across from them… Gods, this is a mess.”

“Not to pry, but does this have anything to do with the fact I can’t sense you as anything but human?” Jadyn asked.

“No. Yes. Sort of, a little.”

“… All right, I’ll file that as ‘pending later explanation.’ I won’t pretend to know what’s going on in your world right now - just tell me how I can help. Are you in some sort of trouble?”

“I was. Two different people have each suggested in their own way that I not waste the evening, though… Mmph, this could be rough.” Fishing out her brand new notepad, Tari scribbled out a short sentence and signed it with a kanji glyph that Traize would recognize. Jadyn peered over the note as she pressed the paper into his hand. “I need this delivered to our table guests out there before we sit down. The young woman, preferably.”

“And here I thought it’d be something difficult and bound to get me in trouble. So, who are they?”

“For the remainder of the evening? No one I know. Just do me one huge favor - I’m your ‘guest,’ not your ‘date.’”

Lenard looked over his shoulder, watching a large group of the aliens enter the hall. Foxes, skunks, raccoons, rabbits, wolves, cats, and more - all manner of humanoid versions of native animals filtered into the room, greeting people and taking seats at the tables.

Sure, they’d been seen on the news a few times during their talks with the UN and other national governments. There’d even been a brief public announcement by their leader, a winged cat-woman. Seeing them walk into the very room he was sitting in was surreal, even after having Tari around.

Several minutes passed as the various aliens found their seats in the hall and made introductions. As they filled in at the tables around them, none joined the ‘VIP’ table. Suddenly, a round of applause went up as a dark-skinned middle-aged man walked up to the podium. Smiling and greeting the crowd, the Secretary-General of the United Nations waited for silence to settle upon the room.

“To my fellow Earth citizens, as well as to our guests from the Commonwealth - welcome. Thank you all for joining in this reception tonight. I realize that it is New Years Eve and that many of you do have other parties you wish to attend, so I’ll try to be as brief as possible before handing over the podium.

“We’ve all done our best to make the most of these seating arrangements. It is our hope that individuals from both on and off world with similar interests and skills are dining together. It sounds like a bad version of the old Dating Game, I know.”

Brief laughter rippled across the floor; Lenard hoped it was more out of respect for the terrible effort at the joke, than at the terrible joke itself.

“Both we humans and our off-world guests this evening share a common goal: we want to learn about one another. This reception and dinner were arranged to help us all discover common ground. The connections we forge this evening will last well beyond just tonight. Don’t be afraid to ask questions - and just as importantly, don’t be shy in sharing.

“Now, I’m sure you didn’t come to hear me prattle on about things we all learned in kindergarden. Without further delay, it is my honor to give you Her Excellency, Madam Casiandra Jubah, the Speaker of the Commonwealth of United Worlds.”

Applause erupted from the audience as the black and orange tortoiseshell feline-woman was escorted to the podium by two fox-men, Jolene and three other humans -

Lenard blinked, looking at the entourage again. “You’ve got to be kidding -“

“Shh!” Traize hushed him, pressing a piece of paper into his hand. Where the note had come from was anyone’s guess, but the delicate script was unmistakably Tari’s handwriting.

You do not know this mask.

Lenard looked up, catching Tari’s eye; she gave him ever so slight a nod in Traize’s direction before her focus changed to the cat ascending to the stage. Frowning, he leaned over to his dinner companion.

“What’s this supposed to mean?”

“For the duration of the evening, that is not someone we know.”

“But -“

“Len. Regardless of how she speaks, how she acts, or even what her name is when she’s introduced - we do not know her until she explicitly indicates that she knows us. Unless you care to explain precisely how you’ve met someone traveling with the alien team to everyone else who sits down with us?”

Lenard grimaced. That wouldn’t be pleasant.

“By the way? Welcome to my world.” Traize grinned and gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. “Every time I step outside into the sunlight I’m engaged in a game of ‘let’s pretend.’”

The entourage of humans and aliens stood back as the Speaker crossed the stage, her cerulean silk skirt and halter billowing about her. She paused briefly to shake hands with the Secretary-General before taking her place at the podium, her wings slightly spread at her sides.

“Thank you, Mister Secretary, and my thanks to all of you for sharing a portion of your evening with us. As the Secretary alluded, tonight is an initial step toward discovery of common ground. Most of you are meeting a Commonwealth citizen for the very first time. Many of our citizens, too, are meeting with humans for the first time this evening. There will be many questions, and hopefully as many answers, from all around these tables.

“There is one question that has already been answered, one asked by every race the Commonwealth has encountered - a question that we once each even asked of ourselves. ‘Are we alone?’ These three small words have persisted across the expanse of time, guiding and shaping how we approach the world and even the galaxy around us.

“We begin our journey by asking ourselves, ‘Are we alone in this land?’ We seek clues toward the answer, traveling beyond the familiar borders of rivers, forests, and mountains. We band together with our newfound brethren, forming new communities and sharing our values, our responsibilities. We learn about each other. We grow as a people, a culture.

“As the borders of our shared knowledge expand, the question ever so slightly changes in form. ‘Are we alone on this world?’ Once again we seek clues toward the answer, crossing the great seas and exploring beyond the edge of established and accepted thought. In doing so, we discover a host of cultures and ideas we did not know existed. They are people like we are, yet their languages and customs are far different than those we already know. In time, as our knowledge about ourselves and the world around us grows further, the borders of thought once more expand. The heavens above frame the next question: ‘Are we alone among the stars?’

“Like so many great visionaries and explorers before them, twenty-five of your best and brightest set out in search of the clues to answer this question. Their goal was not to reach the land beyond the mountains, the rivers, or even across the ocean… They set their eyes and dreams upon the sea of stars overhead and left the safe embrace of Terra to examine another planet. It was there, in the orbit of Mars, that their question - and therein, the question of all humanity - was definitively answered at last. You are not alone!”

Applause rippled through the crowd, providing the Speaker half a minute of reprieve before she could continue on. “Today, the thirty-first of December, marks the end of one year on your world and the beginning of a new. Today also marks the shift into a new paradigm, a fundamental change in the way that humanity views the universe. The borders of knowledge are expanding once again. Let us take the time to learn and grow together, that when the next question is asked, we may work together to discover the answer.”

The crowd gave the Speaker a standing ovation as she stepped down from the podium, shaking hands with the Secretary once more as they changed places.

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. And now, one final announcement before dinner is served. I give you Captain Jadyn Tzeki of the Commonwealth.”

The blue fox stepped forward to the podium, acknowledging the applause. “Thank you, everyone. And especially to you, Secretary Lawrence, for humoring me and letting me share the good news with all of these fine folks. Every Terran here tonight will receive another package from the United Nations. I’m told the direct invitees should see it within two weeks, and their guests will get one as well in about three. Within these letters will be details on an offer accepted by the UN earlier this week during that suspicious closed session about which I’m sure you’ve all heard so many delicious theories.

“There’s a lot that can be learned in a gathering like tonight’s little shindig, but you can really only scratch the barest part of the surface. The best way any of you can truly get an understanding of who we are is to see us in our own backyards - that is, our home planets. So! We’re going to offer each and every one of you here tonight the first shots at seeing another inhabited world - and we are footing the bill.”

Loud applause rang through the room, lasting several minutes before dying down.

“There’ll be more detail in the paperwork, but as an overview: From departure to arrival back on Terra, expenses for food, lodging, and transportation will be covered. We’re tentatively looking at two groups, but that could change in the next week before the mailings go out. As of right now the first group departs at the beginning of June. If your letter lists you for that group and you absolutely cannot make it, arrangements will be made to swap you with someone in the second group, leaving in October. The itinerary for both are the same - we’ll take you to see Veloria, the home of the Commonwealth Council itself, as well as two other nearby inhabited worlds: Donami and Feldar.

“Journalists make up most of the first group. You folks are the ones who will be best able to relate your experiences among us en masse to the rest of your world. Pending the approval of your schools, colleges, and parents, we’ll also be making room for all fifty students that are here tonight to be in the first group.” The fox grinned widely as the clapping began, raising his voice. “This is one class you don’t want to cut. Thank you, enjoy dinner!”

The Secretary stepped up through the applause, trading places with the Captain and announcing that dinner would be served shortly. Lenard watched apprehensively as the pack approached their table, following Traize’s lead and standing up. Jolene shot their pair a grin as she and the other agent moved off to the next table over, joining what appeared to be a host of other security personnel keeping tabs on what was going on.

“Wonderful speeches, Mister Secretary, Madam Speaker, Captain,” Traize praised.

The winged cat bowed her head. “Thank you, miss…?”

“Chinatsu, ma’am. Chikako Chinatsu.”

“And this must be our lotto winner.” The blue fox stuck his hand out. “Mister Evanson, yes?”

Lenard frowned as they shared a brief handshake. “Lottery, sir?”

“My second in command thought one of the students attending tonight should dine with us. Your name came out of a hat this afternoon. Just relax and enjoy a meal with us - we’ll try our best not to bore you with business talk. So! Mister Evanson, Miss Chinatsu. Allow me to introduce Secretary-General Lawrence, Commander Maxwell, Speaker Jubah of Katta, and the Haran’s CO, Captain Tshan of Veloria.”

Tari cleared her throat quietly.

“Yes, of course - my own guest this evening, Ambassador Kitanaka of Ayndran. Please forgive that she presently appears human. She is in fact a Commonwealth citizen, and was one of the long-term researchers documenting your world before open contact.”

A spattering of greetings went around as they all sat down. The blue fox took a sip of water before focusing on Lenard once more. “Mister Evanson - If I recall correctly from the file pulled up when your name was drawn, you’re a college senior?”

“Yes, sir. I’m finishing a graduate computer science program.”

“I peeked as well while it was up,” Commander Maxwell admitted. “My brother teaches at your school.”

“Professor Maxwell, yes. I very much enjoyed his astronomy class last semester. Though, I imagine everything else I’ve learned in the last four years is obsolete.”

“Not entirely,” Speaker Jubah voiced. “As we have explained to your leadership, we simply cannot hand you all our technology and hope that all goes well. Through history we have learned that it does not work. You yourselves are also aware of this - you would not offer keys for a helicopter to a tribesman living in a grass hut.”

The blue fox snickered. “I suspect you’d know volumes about that.”

“Indeed… I myself am from such a world, my own species very much on the same technological tier with that tribesman. It was one of the early contact mistakes and helped establish current policy toward first contact with new species we encounter. Truth be told - there are many who believe it is still too soon for us to reach out to you. However. We are here, now, and we intend to help where we can while not overstepping ourselves.”

“So, you’re just going to sit out there and watch us struggle along with things you’ve already mastered?” Traize asked. “Sounds like a hazing.”

“Please understand - this is not only for our own safety, but for your own. There is a great deal we have learned by trial and error, and one of those lessons is that other races deserve the same chance to fail, to learn why things do not work. To overload you in metaphors… We can show you the doors to open and give you ideas and guidance on how to open each one, even nudge you toward the keys, but you must still open and step through each door yourselves and put ideas found on the other side into practice.”

“That does make some sense,” Lenard agreed. “I’m always more satisfied working through a problem by myself instead of someone coming by and just telling me the answer. There is sometimes a case for instant gratification, though.”

Tari smirked, but remained silent.

“When are you graduating, Mister Evanson?” Secretary Lawrence asked.

“This coming spring, sir.”

Captain Tshan nodded. “If it’s not too forward to ask, what are you looking into as a post-graduate? Further schooling, employment?”

“I’m presently getting internship credit working an IT position. Moving hardware around, swapping out workstations, basic grunt work and troubleshooting. I’ve considered staying on with them for a while to pay down my loans but I’m not certain they’d give me the entire time off for this tour you’re offering.”

“Then quit when you graduate,” Captain Tzeki spoke, matter-of-factly. “Think past the tour. After you come home from being ‘out there,’” he stated, with an upward flourish of his hand, “you may find all sorts of new ideas about your craft bubbling up. Employers will want to tap that. I’m sure even your world’s individual governments will be looking for folks who’ve had off-world experiences.”

“Will that include prior abductees?” Traize questioned. Almost everyone looked at her like she’d pulled out a grenade. “I’m sorry, is that a taboo subject?”

“Not at all.” Commander Maxwell sighed. “I doubt any of us were expecting something so… so abrupt, this early into the evening. The Commonwealth has given us their word that no officially sanctioned research mission has ever removed anyone from the Earth against their will.”

“I’ll go so far as taking their word at face value… But, that said, I still see the door open behind that statement for unofficial missions… and willing participants, if I’m not mistaken.”

“We have appropriately disciplined rogue researchers using unapproved means to gather their information.” Speaker Jubah shrugged. “Someone struggling to progress sometimes executes a rash and ill-planned decision. In some cases, the unfortunate victims are returned to their lives, only to have nightmarish fragments of their experiences surface again. Memory erasures are not a proven science. My heart truly goes out to those individuals. We are working out arrangements to identify them and see that they obtain proper medical care. As to… shall we call them, ‘volunteers?’”

“Let’s table that for now,” Secretary Lawrence suggested. “I would like to explore that avenue in the near future, Speaker.”

“I have suspected so. You are correct - this is neither the ideal time nor place.”

“By the way,” Jadyn spoke. “I’ve wanted to thank you for the noticeable lack of eavesdropping equipment in the UN-hosted facilities we’ve had the pleasure to lodge within. Some of the individual nations have not been so… accommodating.”

“You’re quite welcome. We believe in fostering our newfound friendship - spying on you is hardly friendly or conducive to any atmosphere of trust in the future.”

“The Commonwealth has been observing all of us in secret for years,” Traize immediately countered. “How is that conducive to that atmosphere of trust?”

Lenard noticed that while the cat frowned a little, the blue fox barely restrained a grin. The other true humans at the table appeared to instead be restraining panic. Traize would be Traize - there was no stopping that confrontational streak. Tari seemed nonplussed by the whole thing.

“There is a great deal of secret observation present in Terran history,” she spoke gently. “Not all of it was benign, and very little was revealed in good faith after any sort of peaceful contact was established. The only way the Commonwealth could be certain that contact would do more good than harm was by learning about you before we appeared.”

The Secretary shook his head. “We’re not accusing you of any wrongdoing, Ambassador.”

“I’m fairly certain Miss Chinatsu is,” Jadyn observed. “Please, don’t worry about the damage control tonight, Marshall. Hearing the opinions of regular folks is part of why we wanted to hold this event. People have seen us on TV, they’ve heard assurances from both their leaders and these ‘strange furry visitors’ that we’re here under benevolent intentions, but they haven’t actually had a chance to make that decision for themselves.”

He turned back to Traize. “For what it’s worth, you have an absolutely valid gripe. We sat back, watched everything happening on your planet, and didn’t lift a finger to prevent or change anything - save for the slight relocation of one particularly large asteroid twelve years ago, but that’s really a minor deviation and hardly counts since no one saw us do it. I’m certain I’d feel vulnerable and suspicious about your intentions were our positions reversed. It’s going to take us a very long time to earn your trust and respect, and we’re absolutely willing to take that time if you’re willing to give us the chance.”

“I don’t mean to be a wet towel, Captain. I just meant…” Traize frowned, searching for words. “I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what I meant.”

Tari nodded. “We all need to vent frustrations once in a while. No harm done.”

“I love how the first thing you tried to do upon meeting aliens was to try and piss them off.”

Traize glowered at Lenard, downing her glass of wine like a shot. “It’s not like that. They were legitimate concerns. Anyone could have brought them up. It just so happened that I was the only one who did.”

Lenard snickered to himself, peering across the room to where Captain Tzeki and Speaker Jubah were chatting with a small group. Jolene and her partner hovered near them, keeping an eye on things. “I don’t know about the others, but Captain Tzeki seemed almost amused.”

“There’s something strange about that fox. If I didn’t know better… Well, I can’t really say that, because I don’t. There’s not much of an aura about him - way less than yours, even - but it feels… Odd. Compressed, like he’s willfully hiding it.”

“You really see something in mine?”

“I do, and I’m at a loss to explain it. I have theories, of course… Several of which have earned a strong push after meeting your sister. Her aura’s almost the same as yours.”

“You’re kidding.”

Traize smirked and shook her head. “I’m not. Whatever it is, it seems to be a family thing. I’d be curious to meet the rest of the bunch and see whose side it comes from.”

“Why can’t Tari see it?”

“Difference in our elements, I’d expect. Her affinity is with nature, primarily forests and plants before anything else. I’m more sensitive to the potential magical essence in everything than she is. Speaking of - I wonder where she got to in this crowd? Too much noise on all the sensory fronts to pick her out.”

Lenard peered at his glass, gently swirling the contents. “You guys were being honest about the problems back home, right? This wasn’t just an elaborate ploy to get you both in here tonight?”

“No, nothing like that. If that’s what was going on we’d have told you. Well… Maybe not. But really, it wasn’t that at all. I have no idea why she’s here - there’s no way great-grandfather would have let her leave unless the Conclave came to a decision.”

“She told me she could be away for a few weeks, or a couple of months…”

“She doesn’t have quite the experience dealing with them as I do. I wasn’t expecting her back for at least a year. You’ve got to keep in mind that we live for a millennium. The Conclave has no need to rush through decisions. They also know that human affections can be fickle, mercurial things - a single year apart could solve what they see as a very real threat. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled I’m telling you all this… But hey, I’ve got a defense, now. I’ve been drinking.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything you shouldn’t.”

“Months too late for that.”

Lenard sighed, putting his glass to his lips. One solitary drop of white wine found its way to his tongue. “Uh…”

“Drinking problem?” Traize questioned, taking a sip of her own newly-full glass with a grin. “I can’t fault her for playing a role to its logical end, even if that means evading us so that we don’t accidentally help blow it. I know you’d rather have her by your side on a night like this. I really think your sister would prefer that, too. She shot me such a glare when I kissed your cheek…”

“I wouldn’t call it a total wash of an evening,” he offered, giving her a warm smile as he took a new glass from a passing waiter. “This wouldn’t have been any fun alone. I’m glad you’re here.”

Traize blushed three shades of red before regaining her composure. “Watch it. You might make me feel like a consolation prize.”

“Never. Between you and Tari I’ve learned a lot more practical knowledge about the world than I’ve picked up in all the years I spent inside the public education system. You and I haven’t had a lot of interaction where Tari wasn’t around, but I’d like to think that we’re friends. Besides - I’m fairly sure that your passes at me are just your way of being ludic.”

“Ludic?” Traize snickered. “There’s a word I haven’t heard used in a long time. Looked up synonyms for ‘mischievous,’ did we?”

“I needed new ways to describe the insanity of living with one troublemaker and hanging out with another.” Lenard laughed as she snorted. “It’s true, though. And even if your advances had a basis in any real desires, and I’m not trying to imply that they do -“

“Perish the thought.”

”- I suspect you’d tear out my spleen if I ever seriously entertained thoughts of crossing Tari for you or anyone else.”

“She’s my little sister. You’d be lucky if I started or stopped at your spleen.” Traize raised her glass. “To friendship.”

“To friendship,” he echoed.

“With benefits?” she added quietly, just as he drank down his wine; the beverage quite nearly made its way out his nose. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Lenard coughed, wiping at his mouth.

“Fireworks should be starting soon.”

Jadyn glanced at his palm. “Five minutes.”

“Sooner than that. Our dinner companions are coming this way.” Tari let out a quiet sigh. “I wish we had more time to talk. I was hoping to spend a day or two with you guys and relax, get caught up on what’s been going on, maybe explain my involvement with Len before things got too awkward between you and I… He and I have been dating for a few months.”

“I was getting a little of that vibe over dinner. If it makes you feel better, I’m presently attached as well.”

“Really? Who’s the lucky woman?”

Casi smiled. “We are doing better than I expected if your old flame did not pick up on it.”

“You two?” Tari probed.

“We try not to make it obvious in public. Don’t need to kindle further rumors of favoritism.” Jadyn patted Tari’s arm. “Half a century is a long time to let a relationship simmer. I expected that we’d still be friends when we crossed paths. Beyond that, I expected we’d have work to do.”

“Someday I’m sure we can try again. Eventually, Len’s going to pass - there’s not a thing I can do to change that. I’m going to need my friends more than anything else when that happens.”

“We’ll be here to catch you. I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Jadyn queried. “Who’s the young lady on his arm? There’s something bothering me about her, but I can’t quite pin it down.”

“I didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re being evasive,” he singsonged.

“Think about it. What woman would I most trust with my man?”

“One you could blackmail. Ow! Why do all the fems in my life abuse me so?” Jadyn rubbed his shoulder, falling silent as the two humans stopped before them. “Good evening, again.”

“Sorry to bother you,” Miss Chinatsu apologized with a bow.

“Please, it’s no bother at all. We very much enjoyed your company over dinner.”

“Yes. Would you do us the honor of joining us for the fireworks display?” Casi questioned.

“Certainly, Speaker… But first, if you can spare her for a few minutes, we’d like to have a brief dialogue with Ambassador Kitanaka.”

Tari shook her head. “There is not a good place around here to have an uninterrupted private discussion, and I guarantee it’ll take more than a few minutes.”

“Mmm,” the Japanese woman agreed, peering about. A number of people - humans and otherwise - were in potential earshot, and there wasn’t an obvious place to get away. “Where and when would you suggest?”

“There’s a nice, quiet place accessible from the Strate-Haran, I believe. We shouldn’t be disturbed there.”

“Seriously? The spaceship in orbit?” Lenard asked.

“Yes. I’m sure our friendly Captain here may even permit you a tour. Wouldn’t you?”

“It’s a little late for a proper sightseeing trip tonight. Most of the departments are closed down since the crew is here. I think a tour could be arranged first thing in the morning. A brief pop around the interesting bits - engineering, the bridge, maybe even the computer core, if Haran will let us into his sanctuary… Medbay’s off limits outside of emergencies by request of the department head. It’s really too bad - the whole Life Sciences department is amazing, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Tari nodded. “They don’t want strangers in a sterile environment.”

“No, that’s not it.” The blue fox chuckled. “If you ever meet Doctor Lanhart, you’ll immediately understand her reluctance for tourists. But yes - I think for tonight we can find you a private place to have a chat.”

“Twenty! Nineteen!”

“Ah, they’re about to start.” Their group stepped out onto the balcony, listening as everyone around them said goodbye to the year. “I find your culture’s fascination with fireworks encouraging.”

“How so, Captain?” Lenard asked.

“You celebrate the birth of your particular country, among many other things, by attempting to blow up small pieces of it. The only conclusion I can draw is that you’re all a bunch of pyromaniacs. It really warms my heart.”

“Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

The sky blazed with fiery light, reds and greens and blues sparkling over the capitol. All manner of airborne incendiary cascaded through the heavens, ranging from ornate, multichromatic starbursts to intricately designed shapes and silhouettes of various objects. Someone had managed to just about match the outline of the Haran’s profile in gold sparks.

Jadyn glanced at Tari, finding her standing nearby with Lenard. Their fingers twined together as they held hands, the two shared a quiet New Year’s first kiss as the night burned above them. The young man’s former date moved slightly to the side, giving them their space while peering about with no small measure of concern.

A quiet fup cut suddenly through the air, almost inaudible under the concussive noise of continuing fireworks. The chime of cracking glass behind them and a quiet grunt from Casi quickly punctuated the problem. Her right hand moved to cover her left breast, pain flickering on her face as blood seeped out between her fingers.

“Damn!” Jadyn grabbed the kattan, spinning around in front of her to shield her from any followup shots. “Please tell me you two pulled the switch off without me noticing.”

“Aha!” ‘Casi’ immediately grinned at him, her blue irises shifting to purple as her hand fell away from her now-uninjured chest. “You were worried. You actually were! Come on now, what sold it? The groan? The blood? I bet it was the blood. I worked all afternoon practicing the grunt but I don’t think I got it right.”

“It smells like her blood, Bee.”

“Well, it is. She donated a pint this afternoon and suggested I not overdo theatrics beyond that.” T’bia smirked, her own avatar emerging from the projection of Casi’s image as he let her go. “Based on the trajectory through my matrix I’ve pinpointed the source with the Serin’s sensors. One human male, three-quarters of a mile away.”

“Inform Terran security.”

“Did. I also took the liberty of beaming in a little gift so that they have someone to find on-scene.”

“Sleep grenade?”

“Goo bomb.”

“Even better.” Jadyn sighed, glancing around the balcony. Tari and the other two were still watching the show, oblivious to what had gone down. Jolene noticed the commotion but was unfazed, focused on listening to her earpiece. Her lack of concern wasn’t unexpected - she’d helped coordinate the plan in the first place. “Agent Wolf… I suspect my day off just got cancelled.”

“Mine too. We’ve got teams closing on the broadcasted location. I’m hearing that the shooter’s coated in some sort of orange, viscous fluid. Do we need an MSDS handed out to go in on this?”

“Think of a mash-up of lard, pancake syrup, earwax, and used chewing gum,” T’bia explained. “Totally edible, just rather unpleasantly vile.”

“I’m never eating from your replicator again.”

“Chicken. It’ll melt in exactly ten minutes and forty-one seconds. The more he struggles in the meantime, the harder it holds.”

Jolene nodded, poking her earpiece. “Alpha team. The restraining device is non-toxic but extremely adhesive. Be advised that in ten and a half minutes it will become inert, at which time the suspect can be safely collected for questioning.”

Jadyn tapped Tari’s shoulder, drawing her attention from the fireworks. “The starside trip for our friends here has been cancelled for the evening.”

“Wha…?” Tari questioned, turning around. “Why?”

“Someone just tried to assassinate my boss. No one was hurt, but -“

“That’s not true!” T’bia interrupted. “I know I’m missing electrons because of all this.”

“How can you possibly know -” Jadyn clenched his eyes shut, realizing where she was going. “No. Don’t you dare.”

“I’m positive! Hey, does this mean I get hazard pay?”

“Everyone around you should after that crack… Mister Evanson, Miss Chinatsu, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience, but we can’t let you up tonight. Agent Wolf, please see that they get back to their hotel safely.”

“Yes, sir.”

High overhead, the fireworks continued to blaze.

State of the Galaxy

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:14:35 GMT

So, after my last post about ST:O, I figured I’d give a quick rundown on what the galaxy looks like in 2409.

Spock: MIA. The JJ Abrams movie has been integrated into the lore insofar as the moment the alternate reality appears. That is to say:
Romulus is gone, Spock saved the rest of the quadrant and is generally believed to have died in the red matter singularity.
Picard: Ambassador to Vulcan.
Data: as mentioned before, recovered from the data dump left in the B4 android (by none other than Geordi). Captain of Enterprise E.
Worf: resigned commission. Living on Qo’noS with his wife Grillka (the Klingon woman quark briefly married). Has a son by her.
Ro Laren: went to prision, is now DS9 security chief.
Odo: doing ambassador things for the Great Link.
War: Klingons took some territory from romulan space in the hobus disaster aftermath. They also went after the Gorn and absorbed them into the empire. (see #9) The Borg are active again and attacked Vega colony but they were acting strangely unborglike. Rumor has it the dominion is rebuilding.
Species 8472, proper name the Undine, apparently have metamorphic abilities that I don’t recall hearing about during the voyager episodes. They have appeared in the Alpha and Beta quadrants and are infiltrating everybody like the Founders did. Klingons attacked the gorn because it was suspected they had been taken over by an undine. Federation said “shame on you” and klingons dissolved the kittomer accords again. Fed and Klingons are at war again.
I’d never really looked at a galaxy map before but apparently Sol sits right on the border between the alpha and beta quadrants. DS9, cardassia, beijor are all on the alpha side. Vulcan, andoria, Romulus, Qo’noS are all on the beta side.

That’s all I can remember off the top of my head. Oh, Naomi Wyldman is running the show on good old K7. Miral Paris shows up on a mission regarding peace talks with the Klingons. Uh… Yeah. Now I’m really blank.

FF: Two Thousand

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:00:38 GMT

Well… I’m reasonably happy with where TF: Two Thousand is standing. I know I’ve dropped hints about this eventuality coming to pass, both blatantly and otherwise. Makes me wonder if anyone still didn’t see it coming.

I had an opportunity to poke at the Star Trek Online beta for a couple of days before they closed down the beta server on Tuesday. While it’s not nearly as polished as Warcraft (which isn’t surprising, since it’s 5 years of development time behind) it does seem like it could be a fun distraction once in a while. I don’t know how much replay value or lasting power it’ll have.

I like the way they’ve built space combat. You have to pay attention to not only your ship’s integrity (health) but also its shields - which are divided into four sections: fore, aft, left, and right. The goal is to keep changing which shield side of your own is facing the enemy, while at the same time trying to stay focused on dropping a single face of the enemy’s shields so you can rip through their unprotected hull with a timely placed torpedo.

Mmm. Quantum torpedoes. Delicious. They’ve advanced further into the prime universe (not the alternate reality created by the last movie), approximately 20 years after Picard and the Enterprise-D. Spoilers! Spock’s missing (because he’s now in the alternate universe), Romulus is gone, the Klingons and the Federation are at war again, the Borg are back, and someone, somewhere, is having a good time on Risa without you. QQ. Also, Data’s alive and in command of the Enterprise-E. (Blame the android ‘B-4.’)

Ground combat (away missions) also makes partial use of the shield mechanic. I’m told this mode is almost a direct copy of Conan Online, but I never actually played that so I don’t know. When you’re not running missions with other players, your bridge officer NPCs can beam down with you to flush out the party slots. Unfortunately, they really like to stand there and pet their tribbles all day long.

Two Thousand

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:00:28 GMT

“… And he tells me ‘It’s hard to say.’ So I ask, ‘You don’t know what it is?’ And Toy promptly replies, ‘No, it’s just difficult to pronounce.’”

“Oh, goodness,” Shaytelli cackled, wiping tears out of her eyes. “Don’t ever stop looking for those little joys.”

“It’s the only thing that keeps me going. I’ll never forget any of my friends, past or present, but I have to accept that I’m going to lose every one of them.”

“I’ve watched many of my own friends pass as well. It is the steep cost of growing old - even though you yourself will never visibly do so. The best way to honor them is not merely to remember their stories - find yourself new friends, share the stories with them. Most importantly, make new stories.”

“It’s sort of a strange comfort to finally know that someday, someone might be telling stories about me for the same reason.”

“It’s not healthy to dwell on such things. Barring further outside interference, I expect you to bear witness to a great many things no other will ever see before your time in this existence comes to an end.”

“Still - Tari gained my healing and lots more from that incident… If she hadn’t managed to put me back together, what would have happened to her? To me?”

“Ignoring the fact that the timeline would immediately collapse on our heads? I don’t know. Had she done nothing, she likely would have lived on… Perhaps the Tapestry would have adapted, forcing her into the decision you must eventually make. Sadly, I fear the mental divide your presence so thoroughly aggravated may have driven her mad well before that.” Shaytelli shook her head. “Had she merely failed to complete the transference she would have perished, taking you along with her. It seems that you only retain your healing gift when united with a body, regardless of who it belongs to. Between, you are vulnerable.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t expect I’ll be doing much in the way of body-swapping ever again.” He looked at his hands, tracing his index finger with his thumb. “How long have you known that both Tapri’s scythe and Jadaro’s hourglass can’t touch me by conventional means?”

“Back when I was a little girl just finding my way in the Art, I started having nightmares I could never remember while awake. It wasn’t until I stepped into the Sandstorm of Ages on my Mastery Walk that they transcended into the temporal visions that have guided me through all these years. The very first vision I ever had the privilege of recalling when I woke… It was of you. I had no context into who you were - Kieran hadn’t even been born, let alone conceived. I’d only just met your grandpa Adas, rest his soul.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“No - because, for you, it has not yet happened. I will tell you that I saw it during my Walk, but that is all I dare relate to you.”

“The inexplicable memory loss from the storm didn’t affect you?”

“A very precious and rare handful retain their experiences within that desert. I was one of the few so blessed. I knew from that day forth that once I laid eyes upon the one born in Jadaro’s image, planetfall would soon be at hand. And then, there you came, blue as can be. It’s not your fault this happened - you were simply the sole waypoint I was given to guide myself by.” Shaytelli suddenly blinked and looked behind herself, seeing the darkness out the window. “My Goddess, where has the time gone? I’ve taken up most of your day.”

“I don’t mind. I’d let you take up the entire week if I could. I’ll never have a chance to talk with you again.”

“You never know. As fragile as the Tapestry can be when reaching between past, present, and future, there is still a fair amount of wiggle room in the right places. Still, I must prepare for Tarioshi’s recording. I think I have time for one more question.”

“I’d like to squeak in two. You managed to formulate a plan that would involve Anolis finding Tarioshi after all this time, just to get her your instructions on how to put me back together. If I recall correctly, I’ll walk in on you tomorrow morning while you’re finishing her recording, at which time you’ll forbid me from ever using blood magic.”

“Yes, I see how well that prohibition worked.”

“Just as well as the others. You could have given the crystal to me, or put it in the Serin, and simply timelocked the playback for this date. You took a huge chance in assuming that the timeline would play out exactly as you hoped.”

“Indeed. Just viewing the future can change it, in all the seemingly unrelated things we suddenly question and inadvertently change. On the same token, some events are so fixed within the Tapestry that all choices lead to them. Simply put - Anolis and the J’Ruhn did not wind up on your doorstep for no reason. It may not be the reason or the location I had once thought, but there is in fact a reason. Besides! I will not have the opportunity to spoil you outrageously on your upcoming birthday, nor for the next several hundred that follow it between my ‘now’ and yours. I’d best make up for it in grand fashion while I can, don’t you think?”

“I doubt Tari’s going to part with it that easily. She’s rather fond of the idea that she now owns the most advanced ship in the quadrant - even if it is in need of massive repairs.”

“The ship isn’t your gift. It’s merely the colorful wrapping.” Shaytelli grinned wildly. “I only wish I could be there to see your face… Oh, me… Maybe the Spirits will grant me the chance to at least watch. What’s your other question?”

“Technically… I haven’t asked one yet.”

“Still a cheater, are we? Fine, go ahead. But only two.”

Jadyn bridged his fingers. “I told everyone I was leaving to find Telara, but in truth I couldn’t deal with all the memories, with watching Kish and Anni grow old and pass on as I failed to age another day. The moment I was granted the vision of Anni and Telara’s deaths I turned my back on everything and everyone that was still standing and ran away. Someday I hope I find out what happened in Kish’s life… But for now, I’d be content to hear if enough of the survivors come together to rebuild. Or am I the last true memory of what we were?”

“It will never be like it was. It is vastly improbable that Val’Trax itself will ever again support life. The destruction of the atmosphere and ecosystem will take decades upon decades to repair, if it is possible at all. The survivors will be scattered across the quadrant. The very few who manage to group together will have a very hard life ahead of them. Their future is otherwise clouded to me. The only true remaining traces of our technological existence in your time persist solely within the Serin and the J’Ruhn. It is completely in your hands whether a new generation will benefit from what we built, or if it is to be forgotten forever.”

“No pressure, hm?” He sighed, gazing into the screen. “There’s so much I want to ask. If I’ve only got one more… I think I’m going to be greedy. Why did you deny my request - and Anni’s, too - to take the Mastery Walk? You did that knowing we would never have another chance.”

“The youngest Artisan ever to set foot in that scar with the intent to cross it was thirty-seven. He was comatose for three years afterward.”

“What happened to him after he woke up?”

“He later became our current Hapiakuen of Nature.”

Jadyn started. “Dad was out of it for three years?”

“Indeed. He wouldn’t listen to anyone and demanded we let him try. That place changed him in ways I can’t begin to explain. You and Anni both showed such tremendous potential, the youngest ever to graduate to Lopiakuen… I honestly felt it was too soon to push you further. Were we not facing what is ahead, I likely would have relented and granted you both permission to enter the Flats in seven years. Perhaps just after your 25th birthdays.” A wistful smile passed over Shaytelli’s muzzle. “You’ve suffered through far more than the Walk would ever ask of you. I have no reservations whatsoever about granting you a Mastery at this moment.”

“I appreciate that, but I’d rather you didn’t. It wouldn’t feel right without going on the Walk.”

“Perhaps not… But you may yet have the chance. No - Don’t ask. Just remember this. When you find yourself staring down the Sandstorm of Ages, know that you never truly walk alone in the desert.”

Jadyn nodded, his fingers falling on the data crystal. “Any hints as to who gets this next? There’s still a number of files we can’t match to a genome fingerprint to unlock.”

“Put it away, forget this crystal even exists. When the time is right, you’ll figure it out.”

“Not you, too…”

“If you consider the date of this recording, you’ll see that I was the first. T’bia is clearly the copycat.”

“I’ll make sure to tell her that.”

“Jadyn… A soul far wiser than me once said, ‘Death cannot bring you the solace you deny yourself in life.’ You have friends who care about you and an eavesdropping kitsune who loves you dearly. Remember to take the time to live while you still draw breath. You have my unending respect as a capable member of this Guild… And my love, as my only grandson.”

“Love you too, Grandma Shay. Good luck.”

Shaytelli nodded, giving him a smile before the file came to an end. Jadyn tugged the crystal out of the terminal on the desk, peering into its facets. After several minutes gathering his thoughts, he looked up and sighed.

“She did say she wanted a private conversation with me, you know.”

Tari peeked through the archway leading to the bridge’s door. “I haven’t been out here the whole time.”

“Just a lot of it.”

“I’m sorry… It’s not that often you get to listen to someone carry on with a recording made five centuries ago.”

“It’s all right. I really don’t mind.” Peering around at the room, the blue fox grinned. “Your new office is pretty nice. Thanks for letting me use it.”

“I’d give the whole ship over to you in a heartbeat if you asked for it. I hope you know that.”

“And take away your fun? Void, no. You do realize this doesn’t change -“

“That I have to go back to Terra eventually. Yeah, I know. I got a good sense of that doomsday clock in your head while we were conjoined.”

“It comes and goes. I have a bad feeling that when we’re down to the last weeks it’s going to be very difficult to ignore.”

“May have to take me back a bit early and dodge it. Actually… Let’s plan on a month early. That’ll give me a few weeks to give you a proper tour of the place, instead of that random aimless wandering you called ‘research.’”

“We’ll see.”

Tari sat down on the opposite side of the desk, leaning on the surface. “The Tapestry… That’s just another way of talking about our reality, isn’t it?”

“In a way. Kalilyn, the Great Weaver, more often simply the Kshorah of Fate. She’s said to be the keeper of the Tapestry. Doesn’t quite work when you consider all the lives that exist out of our belief system, but it’s an ancient metaphor from before we knew there was anything else.”

“So, ignore that.”

“Every single life is a thread with a beginning and an end. New threads spring forth from the combination of existing threads - children. When someone dies, their thread comes to an end, but the way it has pulled on other threads around it can affect the weave in ways it may not have been capable of doing in life. Huge events that alter a society’s perceptions may appear as tangles, or even complex knots. The entire collection of threads and the way they come together and interact is what we call the Tapestry.”

“It’s a way to look at fate, then, that every event is predestined.”

“We believed that free will can still alter the weave before the pattern is ultimately set. I don’t think anyone truly knows what it’ll look like when it’s done - presuming it actually has a beginning and end.”

“It would have to, don’t you think? The Big Bang or whatever you care to call it, that’d be the beginning.”

“What if something existed before this universe? Was it also in the Tapestry? Will what comes after this be woven there too? Are both events distinctly separate Tapestries from the one we exist in, or is it all the same one unraveled and rewoven over and over?”

“Good point. I don’t think we’re supposed to have an answer. And who’s Jadaro?”

“The Master of the Hourglass, the Kshorah of Time. He was always considered to have a blue pelt - sky blue, not nearly as dark as mine. I think it’s because the sands of time were also thought to be bluish.”

“So that’s the sandstorm thing, a reference to time passing in the Tapestry?”

“No, no.” Jadyn shook his head. “Completely unrelated. There was a scar on our planet called the Jociren Flats. A huge, perfectly round desert a hundred miles wide, right in middle of the most fertile soil of the northern continent. The surrounding farmland was green and lush, full of life. The line where the sand started, the land was dead.”

“No land’s ever absolutely dead.”

“Oh, trust me - this place was. Not even a weed would snake a root in. There was no bacteria in the sand, not a spore drifting in the air, not so much as a bug crawling around. No animals would step foot in the place - turn one loose inside and it immediately ran the shortest straight line possible to get out. Birds even went out of their way to go around it.”

“Creepy.”

“Oh, and it gets better. Every piece of technology instantly went inert inside the borders of the Flats no matter how shielded the casing. Started working moments after taking it back out. Satellites couldn’t pierce the clouds above it with any sort of scan. Any sane person who stepped from soil to sand immediately turned around and left, never looked back. I’d never gone in there but it was said that you immediately feel this unshakable feeling of loss, of mourning. Some said it felt like walking across a mass grave.

“The Sandstorm of Ages was an actual storm raging inside the desert’s borders. It had been there for as long as we’d kept written history, never growing or weakening. Within a quarter-mile of the border you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The Guild decided long before even my grandmother was born that this made the Flats the perfect place to test the determination of young Artisans trying to earn the title of a Dupiakuen, a Master of the Art. You’re allowed to take in a walking stick and your Guild robes. Nothing else.”

“Not a rucksack? No food or water?”

“Nothing,” he confirmed. “It was said that if you’re destined to become a master, the Eight would see you through the trial safely. If not, they’d see you got out safely. In all the recorded Walks, zero fatalities were logged. The goal wasn’t survival - that was basically guaranteed already. It was a test of determination. The Walk had a profound psychological impact on everyone who experienced it, regardless of if they remembered it or not.”

“How could they not remember walking through a desert?”

“Don’t know. Only one in five thousand actually remembered anything between the moment they stepped foot on the sand and the time they were found. Those that did never spoke of what happened. Usually, the walkers would be discovered on the complete opposite side of the desert from where they’d entered. It wasn’t unexpected for people to be unconscious for days or weeks afterward, then wake up perfectly fine and not have a clue where they were or that they’d already completed the Walk. The Guild generally considered walking out of the Flats under your own power a failure.”

Tari smirked. “Why am I not surprised you wanted to go for a stroll…”

“Well, you heard the woman. I might get the chance.” Jadyn snorted, slipping the crystal into his pocket. “I’ll keep dreaming. How’s it going out there?”

“Two shipyards are preparing fabrication facilities. Pakar insisted the workload get spread around after looking at Toy’s ‘short list.’ It’s still going to take them at least three months to get all the parts fabricated.” Tari tapped at a datapad, humming to herself. “Let’s see, what else… There’s seventeen work crews onboard right now. The security division has generally finished the search and seizures they’ve wanted to do. They’re starting to comb through the dump of the core Bee provided them… Pakar’s interviewing Anolis about Khamai in the conference room on the other side of C-and-C… That’s about it, I think.”

“How’s Ness doing, any idea?”

“Fleet Medical insisted he take a couple more weeks off since Pakar has things under control. She said the worst injuries aren’t healing as well as hoped since he won’t sit still. I heard something about a quiet resort near an active volcano.”

“Mount Piroranan, probably… Totally relaxing if you like the taste of brimstone. It’ll be like a little slice of Drekira for him. How long before the first run of parts are ready?”

“It’ll be a couple weeks before the yards are up to speed. Toy’s keeping a quarter of the work crews on-call in the meantime to finish sealing the hull. He’s trying to get life support to all compartments.”

Jadyn nodded to himself, stepping around the desk. “What about you? Everything still sticking up here?” He tapped the side of his head.

“I’ve lost all fluency in Drekiran over the course of the day. Right in the middle of talking with Pakar, it was just… gone. I’m hoping that if I stick to speaking Standard for a while, I might retain some portion of that. I’ll be really disappointed if I forget Kametian, though. Won’t understand a thing on a display around here.”

“If I had to guess, that’d be the last one you’d lose. It’s what I grew up speaking. Drekiran is pretty new to me, by comparison. If it happens, it happens. I’ll help you relearn it.”

“I look forward to your linguistic lessons.” Tari poked him in the chest. “What about you? Think you took away anything from that experience?”

“I’ll be thrilled if I can ever remember any of it. I don’t think I’ve inherited any better grasp on English… Definitely no Japanese.”

“Too bad. I’d love to tote you around back home… Presuming we could actually get you across to show you off.” Tari tapped her fingers together, carefully setting the datapad down on the desk. “You realize that there’s a chance our entire relationship was founded on an illusion.”

“We’re pretending we have forever, when we’ve only got a year.”

“Not that one. We were both so thrilled to see one another all the time because of the link constantly generating that mental happy juice. I’m sure it influenced our emotions toward each other.”

“So they gave us a little push. I think we would have gotten there eventually.”

“You think so?”

“Sure. We’d have a lot more wasted time and unneeded stress invested in figuring it all out, but we’d get there. Hey.” Jadyn gently lifted her hand to his lips. “Talk to me. What’s on your mind?”

“Your grandmother was absolutely right. I’ve never felt anything like this for anyone else, not even the faintest glimmer of it. Even if the link was at fault for getting us where we are, how in the Hell am I just supposed to shut my feelings off in a year and go back to a mundane Terran existence? How can you actually justify leaving me there?”

“I can’t justify it. Void, I can’t even quantify a reason other than ‘because you have to.’ You’ve felt it - you know as well as I do that it’s not negotiable. We knew that this relationship had a time limit from the start. You only get a year here. Maybe in the future the mental doomsday clock will be gone, but until it is -“

“That thing works impulsively, right?”

“Usually -“

“I get sixteen Terran months or so out here, then I go home. Could I come back after a year?”

“Tari -“

“No! I want your gut reaction. Yes, or no? One year back home, then leave for Veloria again.”

Jadyn sighed, closing his eyes. “One year, your time… First instinct says… No.”

“Five.”

“No.”

“Ten? Twenty? Thirty?” She closed her eyes as he shook his head, fighting back tears. “Fifty?”

“This is pointless -“

“Answer me! Fifty years?”

Jadyn squinted, hesitating. “I… don’t know.”

“Forty?”

“No.”

“But fifty…”

“…Isn’t an immediate ‘no.’”

“So whatever thing I’m supposed to be standing on Terra for isn’t going to happen for fifty years. I shouldn’t have to be stuck there the whole time!” she yelled. “It’s not fair!”

“It’s not my choice!” Jadyn yelled back. “We both agreed this was temporary, no matter what happened between us. There’s nothing I can do, Tari. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not fair,” she whimpered, leaning into his neck as his arms encircled her. “I want to spend that time out here, not stuck on that rock waiting for humanity to blow itself to bits…”

“We’ve still got a lot of the year left in front of us, hey.” Jadyn gave her a gentle nuzzle, licking her ear. “Tell you what. I’m going to make you a promise, right now.”

“You’d better be careful with those around me.”

“Fifty years from the date we met seems to be the far side of whatever is setting off this thing in my head. So. In fifty years - I think that’ll be 2050, Terran? - you can come off that rock for good if you want to leave. If it’s to be with me, great, if not, fine - but we have to give it that much time to happen. In the meantime, I can’t be on the radar at all. You won’t see me, and you won’t hear from me.”

“Fifty years… Gods, that’s a long time.” Tari sighed, wiping her eyes. “On the bright side… I’ll have another seven or eight hundred after that to spin cookies in this ship with you cooking me dinner.”

“There’s a lot out there you could take in with all that time to burn. Bee will get jealous if we don’t do an overnight trip with the Serin once in a while, though.”

“Suppose so.” She nodded, squeezing his shoulder. “All right. I don’t like it, at all… But… I’ll deal with it.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m holding you to that, you know - if I don’t see you by the end of 2050, you are going to be in so much trouble.”

A quiet cough came from the hall; the pair looked up to find T’bia standing in the archway. “Yo. Sorry to interrupt. I can come back…”

“It’s all right. What’s up?”

The skunk nodded, stepping inside and handing over a datapad to Tari. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the core’s power output. Having just brought it back online from a cold start and all, it’s good to monitor it for a while and see if its stable, if we’re wasting power anywhere, so on, so forth.”

“And?” Jadyn asked, looking over Tari’s shoulder. A series of graphs depicting power consumption over time dotted the display. “There appears to be plenty of headroom for a small moon. What’s the problem?”

“About ten minutes after the core came online, I started seeing little upticks in consumption every two and a half minutes. I haven’t seen one in half an hour, but overall power usage is up nearly thirty percent from idle. I can’t account for what systems are using it. Whatever they are, the startups were pretty methodical about coming online in a staggered fashion to not overload the system.”

“Does a scan from the Serin show anything?”

“No. There’s massive shielding protecting huge tracts of the ship. Most of it is in areas where we still don’t have life support restored. What’s more, this isn’t a standard GF Juggernaut. Someone did more than tweak the specs when it was built. See? This is the normal layout, and this one here is what we’ve discovered for changes so far on the J’Ruhn.”

“Nice. At least the bridge was in the right place. You got into this shielded area, though?” He circled a section marked in green. “What was here?”

“That’s where we found Anolis. Tons of spare cryosleep equipment stored there behind a deadlocked door. Some of it is actually linked into the grid - the one he was in thawed him out when we took down main power.”

“Wait, wait…” Jadyn waved his hands. “I missed the part where anyone mentioned he was a popsicle. What happened?”

“Khamai apparently locked him in one and didn’t bother to set it to use backup power to maintain the sleep. It went into failsafe instead and woke him up using the backup generator.”

His eyes narrowed. “What did the door plate say, exactly?”

“Cold Storage Nine. Uh, that is… You wanted exact wording? Navne kanydeuh heha.”

“How many pods?” he asked quietly.

“Two hundred and fifty, maybe. I didn’t really wander around and count. His was the only one active.”

Jadyn leaned back against the desk. It started as a chuckle, deep in his chest, working its way up through uncontrollable giggles before full-blown joyous hysterics overtook him. Tari squealed in her own laughter as he picked her up and spun around with her in his arms.

“Oh, I could kiss that woman! My Goddess! She’s incredible!”

“Jay? You finally succumbing to dementia in your old age?” T’bia asked.

“Bee, I’m the happiest I’ve been in years! Can’t you just enjoy the moment with me?”

“Nope.”

“Good! I didn’t want to share my visions of rainbow puppy unicorns with you, anyway!”

“He’s lost it,” T’bia replied, as Tari’s feet touched the floor again.

“I don’t think I understand this, either,” the kitsune agreed. “But I like the change.”

“Then you’ll love this. Come on!” Jadyn jogged out the door, Tari and T’bia following close behind. “If I’m wrong I’ll eat my own tail. Tzeki to PanLidaefel! I need everyone on your crews to check for any deadlocked door near them. Find me any of Cold Storage One through Eight.”

“Got one near me,” Toy replied. “I recognized the symbols for ‘Cold Storage’ but I can’t begin to tell you exactly which one. Why?”

“Seems today’s my birthday. Again!”

“Number Five.” T’bia prodded the door controls. “Deadlocked, just like… No, wait. What is this?”

“It’s not just deadlocked. The whole bay has been sealed with the Art. Number nine was the exception - you were supposed to get in to find Anolis.” Jadyn lifted his hands, pressing against the center of the huge cargo door. “Tapri. Jadaro. Kalilyn. Aratin. Zeshar. Joli. Serin. Tarisali. In the names of the Eight, let this barrier stand open once more.”

The door immediately took on an ethereal glow, the centuries-old protections unraveling beneath his fingers. Tari stood back, watching the blue fox work. “Care to share what’s going on yet?”

“You were right outside when she said it, weren’t you? The ship isn’t my birthday present. It’s just the wrapping.”

Pakar crossed her arms over her chest. “While I’m all for parties, this one seems to have a definite lack of cake.”

“I could fix that,” T’bia replied.

“You couldn’t possibly make enough for everyone on board this ship at this moment,” Jadyn observed with a grin.

“There’s under a hundred with all the work crews accounted for. No problem at all. I can even use our kitchen.”

“Better count again. Anolis?” Jadyn asked, his eyes flicking from the door to the petite lizardman. “From what you said earlier… How long have you known?”

“Since just before my forced slumber. I was attempting to help Tieralyene recover her lost memories when I discovered the true nature of the J’Ruhn.”

“Which is what, exactly?” Toliya questioned.

A loud THUMP echoed from inside the mechanism as the glow faded away. Jadyn reached over to the controls, thumbing the ‘open’ symbol. As the door slid effortlessly out of the way and the lights came on, row after row of cryosleep pods faded into view below the balcony just inside the bay.

“Haropikuen Shaytelli Anastasi, quite possibly the most gifted Guild Master in my world’s history, saw the end coming years before it happened.” Jadyn grinned, leaning on the railing. Through the hundreds of frosted windows, outlines of bodies were distinctly visible. “And she worked around it in the only way she could.”

“What in the Elders…?” Pakar questioned. “J.T., are those..?”

“Cryosleepers. Two hundred and fifty in this room alone. The J’Ruhn is a colony ship, guys. We’ve just inherited two thousand Val’Traxans that probably don’t know they’re refugees.”

“At least the station’s still in orbit,” the drekiran muttered, leaning against the wall.

FF: New Year’s Eve (Part 1)

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:51:20 GMT

Among other things, one of my general goals is to have an installment be in the 3000-5000 word range. A few are less, a couple have been significantly more. PS: New Year’s Eve was originally over 11,000 before it got split in half a year ago. That’s just a little much for one sitting.

After a lot of back and forth I’ve gone with my original idea. The alternative route wasn’t really panning out as I got further into it, but it did help me to find a better flow for this particular path.

In other news, I’m still not happy with where the next bit of TF is sitting, and I haven’t even looked at New Year’s Eve Part 2. It’s going to be a busy week next week, and I doubt I’ll have much time to work on anything again. The next deadline I’m setting for myself is February 5th, two weeks from today.

New Year's Eve, Part 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:00:27 GMT

Tari laid quietly in the grass, watching the wispy clouds drifting through the sky. A rice-paper scroll lay before her, fine calligraphy glistening with fresh ink in the morning’s light. Twelve of the Conclave’s stamps adorned it. Only Toshiyuki’s was absent, having abstained from the final decision.

“You must have pulled some strings to not let them back-burner me for months. I’m a little surprised it’s already here in front of me.”

“A few. It is still not precisely what I recommended,” the silver fox spoke, kneeling down beside his great-granddaughter. “However. Were it anyone else, I too would have signed this ruling believing the punishment justified and well-balanced. A great deal of indecision was resolved in these last two days regarding what to do with you. The majority thought my recommendation too insubstantial to actually convey any deterrence toward this behavior in the future. Four believed it adequate. One felt you should be given a minimal sentence. A short period of banishment, the loss of one tail.”

“Who was that?”

“The individual opinions will remain private unless they choose to break their own silence. All you are allowed to know is that this is the resolution of the Conclave’s deliberation. It is now your option to accept this revised judgement or stand before everyone and argue your point further.”

Tari lifted the scroll from the ground, giving it another read-through. It wasn’t much of a compromise, but it was a more favorable arrangement than the alternatives she’d already been offered. “Do you believe I could do better than this?”

“No. You could, however, make it far worse. One of the most vocal towards severe sanctions suggested that you not only lose access to your kitsune form, but your chosen human appearance as well.”

“Oh? Where would that leave me, back in my birth appearance? Or running around native for the next long while?”

“Not quite. A single-celled organism floating in a jar on someone’s lab shelf would find itself unlikely to be in a position to further overstep kitsune law for many years to come.”

“Okay, we’ll just be thankful it didn’t come to that.” Tari bit her finger and drew out in blood the kanji glyphs of her true name. The calligraphy outlining her punishment glowed a fiery orange as she finished, consuming her delicately traced symbols and leaving the space she’d just written in, blank.

Tari looked at her hands expectantly. “Nothing happened…?”

“Your sentence will be executed as you return to the mortal realm.”

“I see. When do I have to leave?”

“Immediately.” Toshiyuki helped her to her feet. “I regret that we did not have the opportunity to know one another as family when you first arrived here, so many years ago.”

“It’s not your fault.” Gazing at the cherry blossoms, Tari let out a little sigh. “I hated what I was becoming so much that I never cared to ask. The worst part about this is that I’ll probably never see you again. It could be a hundred years before I’m allowed to return. You’ll almost certainly be gone by then.”

“Do not worry yourself. I expect that our paths will yet cross again, great-granddaughter.”

“Do I detect a hint of clairvoyance?”

“Merely intuition.” The elder fox pointed at the torii outside his home with his paper fan; the space within the arch shimmered as a shadowy portal blossomed. “May Inari watch over you, my granddaughter’s daughter.”

“And you as well, great-grandfather.” They exchanged bows; Tari clutched the scroll in her hand and strode through the portal, hesitating only briefly before entering the threshold.

Under normal passage, the portals were as doorways - stepping through one took no more effort or time than walking through any other door. The paper in her hand changed everything. The passage held her in the space between the two realities, giving the scroll’s enchantment time to do its work.

Every kanji glyph lifted free of the page and swirled about her weightless form, the paper falling to ash as the symbols burnt themselves into her flesh. First one, then another of her tails dissolved, their long pent-up energy flowing into a brightly glowing point before her. The majority of her remaining energy reserves quickly followed, leaving only a mere human hanging in the darkness, sobbing quietly to herself.

The light before her faded, a small and radiant emerald descending from the glow into her open hands. Wrapping her fingers tightly around the green stone, she clutched it to her chest, feeling the last flickers of her gifts fade from her senses.

And then, the portal unceremoniously ejected her.

“I feel so out of place.” Lenard looked out over the crowd with apprehension. “What am I actually doing here?”

“Can I offer you some advice?” Traize whispered quietly, her arm looped through his as they walked the red carpet away from the limo that had dropped them off. Flashbulbs assaulted their vision as the clatter of firing shutters cascaded all along the velvet ropes. “You were invited to this shindig. You’re supposed to be here. Try and look as though you believe that. The photos in the papers back home will look better.”

“Nn…” he grunted, squinting as a flash went off inches from his face. “Would Tari really have wanted to come to this?”

“Oh, I doubt this would have scared her off. She’d make half the cameras overexpose and the other half somehow eat the memory cards. Was way easier with film… Although, a short in just the right place…”

“You don’t seem to be as into doing that sort of thing. I’ve at least never noticed you doing it.”

“I’ve grown out of it.”

“Somehow, I doubt that the temptation is gone.”

“Me? Tempted? Hm. Well, I’ll be good.” Traize smirked, kissing his cheek. “On all fronts.”

“Thanks. I fear less for my person.”

“I said nothing about your rear, though… Rrr, if only I didn’t respect Tari so much. Oh, and you. I respect you, too. A little.”

Lenard shook his head, a smile finally breaking through as he adjusted his tie. “Is that why you wore that little number?” he queried, gesturing to her formal wear. Cherry blossom embroidery covered the knee-length deep blue dress, fine and detailed work done in shining golden thread. If one stared long enough - and doing so was very difficult to avoid - the blossoms fluttered in an unseen breeze. So it looked, at least.

“I rarely get the occasion to wear nice things in public. It’s not only to get to you.”

They paused at the door, waiting as the group in front of them presented their invitations. “That’s… Chinese in design, isn’t it?” he queried.

“Good eye! A feline friend sent it to me as a birthday gift. My… hm. Two-fiftieth, I think it was… Or was it the big three-oh-oh…? Damn, I must be getting old. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a lovely dress.”

“Pro attempt at a parry. I’ll let it slide.”

“Thanks.” Lenard raised an eyebrow. “Wait, a cat?”

“Told you once before that there’s more than just us.”

“Your invitation, please?” The gentleman at the door took the document and Lenard’s ID card, nodding slightly and scanning them into a computer terminal. “And your guest’s name, Mister Evanson?”

“Tr-“

“Chinatsu Chikako, desu,” Traize replied, cutting Lenard off.

“Anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?”

“Yes, I do speak English… Perhaps slightly better than you speak Japanese, mm? Do you need my ID as well, sir?”

“If I may, ma’am.” The sentry swiped her identification card through a scanner and returned it. “Thank you. Enjoy your evening, Miss Chinatsu, Mister Evanson.”

“I do believe we shall.” Traize peered at Lenard sidelong as they continued into the building, her ID disappearing into a small purse. “What’s that look?”

“What was all that just now?”

“Oh, right. I don’t think we ever actually told you. My legal name in the States is currently ‘Chikako Chinatsu.’ You can introduce me as Miss Chinatsu, but in conversation you can address me as Chikako or, rather less formally, Chi-Chi. It won’t be terrible if you slip and call me Traize but please try not to.”

“Okay, I can remember that. Is there a reason you don’t use your real -“

“The meaning you place into ‘real name’ is key. ‘Traize’ is just what family and friends know me as. A discussion for another time and place, though.”

The pair rounded a corner, stepping into a large banquet hall. Several hundred attendees had already taken to their seats; a few stood together in random clusters, chatting and laughing. A far wider variety of people had been invited to the event than had been immediately apparent - noted journalists, educators, and scientists of various disciplines from all across the world were bumping elbows. Even more surprising was the presence of many recognizable Ares I and II crewmembers - most of whom should still have been on Mars.

Lenard looked at Traize, finding her also surveying the crowd. “No aliens yet…” she whispered. “Lots of other folks that shouldn’t be, though.”

“Hitchhiked, maybe.”

“Probably. And then we have the little psychological things. Seating for eight per table, and all the tables are round.”

“Which does what?”

“Eight’s a small enough number to still feel a little personable, yet not so big that you feel like you’re standing in front of all these hundreds. A round table has no ‘head’ position. Everyone sits down as an equal.”

“So they’re trying to do a little bit of one-on-one without it seeming like either side is in charge.”

“Make us feel like equals in our own home. Maybe we’re the ones trying to make them feel welcome? Hm. Wonder which side organized this. Bet both did.” Traize nudged his shoulder gently. “So, where’s ours? I want to play footsie before they get started.”

“The invitation says it’s somewhere over in the nosebleed section. Uh, section twelve…”

“Excuse me, sir, ma’am. Have you been shown… Lenny?”

Lenard glanced up from his invitation. “Jo? What are you doing here?”

“Duh? Working, of course. How’d you wind up here?”

“I’ve been asking myself that since the limo ride,” he muttered, showing his sister the invitation. “Don’t know who recommended I get an invite for this. Was it you?”

“No, we weren’t allowed. I did think of you on my way in, then again during the security briefing when they pulled your name…” Jolene looked up from the invitation. “I shouldn’t even ask, but… Where’s Tari?”

“She couldn’t make it.” Lenard swallowed, looking at Traize. “This is a friend of ours, Chikako Chinatsu. Chikako, this is my sister, Jolene Wolf… UN Security, right?”

“Nice to meet you,” Traize spoke, shaking hands with Jolene.

“Likewise.” Jolene handed back his invitation. “We’ve actually been waiting for you, believe it or not. There’s been a slight adjustment in your seating arrangements. Come with me, please?”

The young woman led them through the maze, finally stopping beside a table near the very front of the room. Directly before them was a raised section of flooring with an oak podium; behind that, huge glass doors overlooked the Capitol for the width of the hall. Individual balconies lay just outside each pair, promising a perfect view of the New Year’s fireworks display. A silk banner with the Commonwealth’s logo hung behind the podium, draped beside the flags of the UN and the United States.

“Here we are - section one, table one. There should be a placecard for your seats… Yes, here. Mister Lenard Evanson and Guest.”

“Thank you very much,” Traize offered.

“Mm.” Jolene gave her a once over before eyeballing her brother. “A friend, eh?”

“Uh… Yeah. Listen -“

“We can talk later. Right now, I’m still on duty. Just answer me this, ma’am - are you the sister Tari told me about?”

Traize blinked in surprise, nodding her head. “I suppose I am.”

“I see. Enjoy the evening, Mister Evanson, Miss Chinatsu.” Jolene nodded to them, moving off through the sea of tables. Lenard took a few seconds to glance around at the other placecards, slowly taking to his own seat as the names sank in.

“Oh my god,” he whispered. “Cordelia Maxwell? Marie Lawrence?”

“The Ares II commander and the Secretary-General? Classy. Who else?”

Lenard blinked at Traize’s calm acceptance. “That doesn’t phase you? At all?”

“I’ve sat down to dinner with many a world leader. They’re people, like you and I, just with a lot more responsibility on their shoulders. Like I said: If you feel like you deserve to be here, you’ll do a lot better for yourself. So, who else?”

“I’m not sure. The other four placecards just say ‘Commonwealth Delegation.’”

“Well, logic would dictate that since we’re with two human VIPs, the aliens would likely be other VIPs. We’ll know soon enough.”

The first thing she noticed upon regaining consciousness was that it was very dark.

Everything ached. The worst was the dull throb in her head where she’d bounced off something solid before blacking out, more than likely the floor. The portal had opened in midair, letting her scream in a distinctly un-ladylike fashion as she helplessly plummeted through open air.

And that air was downright cold! Her summoned kimono had ceased to exist with the departure of her gifts, leaving her not simply stranded in a strange, cold, and dark place, but also naked in a strange, cold, and dark place. The smells were off - it wasn’t Traize’s house, nor Lenard’s dorm. If anything, to her now very human nose, the air smelled…

Recycled?

“No way… Aerin, lights?”

Obediently, the computer raised the lighting. She found she was sitting on the floor in Jadyn’s room. One wall held a tapestry of the Eight, another a small desk. The bed was right beside her - had she fallen three feet further right, she’d have landed on it.

Had Toshiyuki sent her here on purpose, or had she done it herself by accident? There was no choice but to leave the Celestial Courts, but she wasn’t ready to talk to Traize nor Lenard. Not that this was much better.

“Don’t you know how to knock?”

Tari turned her head, finding T’bia standing at the door wearing a smirk. The skunk took a look at the ceiling before moving into the room.

“So, you’re traveling around by spatial rift these days. That’s cheating, you know.”

“It wasn’t by choice. I hate to complain, but… Could you warm it up in here a little?”

T’bia’s eyebrow arched, even as heat crept into the circulating air. “The first time you were here I nearly had to treat you for heatstroke. Now, I’m preventing hypothermia. Why not just put on the fur coat instead of making me tweak life support?”

“I can’t.” Tari eased to her feet, leaning on the edge of the bed for support. “How hard did I hit? Head’s still throbbing…”

“Do we need to take a trip to medical?”

“I’ll be all right.” Realizing her hand was still clenched into a fist, Tari forced her fingers to uncurl and peered upon the emerald laying in her palm. “In a few decades… I’ll be all right.”

“Here.”

“Hm?” She looked up to find the skunk holding a steaming mug of tea in one hand, and a thick terrycloth robe in the other. “Oh… Thank you.”

“You still look cold, is all.” T’bia grinned as Tari pulled the robe over her shoulders and cinched it shut. “I take it by the way you’re dressed that you’re not here for the party. At least, not the one we’re throwing dirtside.”

“No. Hell, I don’t even know why I wound up here.”

“What happened?”

Tari bit her lower lip. “I’ve been dating this guy for a few months…”

“Jo’s brother.”

“Yeah. My people found out and weren’t happy about it. I’ve been sentenced to a human existence for a time as punishment.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. So am I. I mean, I do care about Len - there’s just no contest, I won’t give him up just to alleviate some personal discomfort. But… This still sucks. He was really just getting used to me being kitsune and now I’m just a plain, mundane, powerless human.”

“Just like him and billions of others. How long is this going to last?”

“I’m effectively human for as long as he lives.”

“Just a little disagreement, then.”

“A large one and I’d be an amoeba right now.”

“Can’t beat the single-celled daily checklist - eat, excrete, and multiply. Bet you’d have lovely pseudopods.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“That does stink, though… Do you have any idea how much time I spent on the full backstory describing the rise and fall of the Kitsunati homeworld of ‘Ayndran’ and the subsequent spreading of the survivors through the galaxy? It was smashed into by a large asteroid, if you’re curious.”

“Cute.”

“That’s not even the pinnacle of achievement. ‘Ayndra,’ no trailing ‘an’ sound, is Val’Traxan for ‘soil.’”

“Dirt…? No.” Tari shook her head, grinning slightly. “Earth. Nice touch.”

“I know, right? And now it’s all for naught. What a waste of four hours.” T’bia tsk’d to herself. “Well… I’ve got the perfect idea. It’s a holiday, and there’s a big party you should attend to take your mind off of things for the evening.”

“I’m really not in the mood, Bee. I’d rather just sit in a corner and brood.”

“You sure?” Leaning over, the skunk reached under Jadyn’s bed and drew out a package. “Someone else thought you needed a night off, too. They spent way more than four hours to prep their contribution.”

“What’s this?”

“A very nice dress. As the unofficial mail screener, I peeked inside with a scanner to find out what it was when it showed up yesterday. You may be pleased to know it’s neither explosive, toxic, nor a life form.”

“Why’s it in here?”

“Jay hasn’t changed since he was old enough to clean his own room. The only place I knew he wouldn’t accidently find it is under his bed. You know, since I wasn’t supposed to tell him we ran into each other and all.”

The parcel had been sent by one Toshiyuki Sato in Japan to the Commonwealth Embassy, care of Commander T’bia Halio for Tarioshi Kitanaka. The postmark dated from two full weeks before the Conclave had first ordered her powers sealed. A multitude of other postmarks indicated it had been lost in transit several times before finally making it to the Embassy’s doorstep.

Folded neatly inside the box was an exquisite silk sheath dress, teal green and delicately embroidered with leaves of fine silver thread. The craftsmanship was far above and beyond even a kitsune’s normal attention to detail; a great deal of time and effort had been devoted into its handcrafting. A pair of matching low-rise heels lay beneath the dress in the box, sized perfectly for her human feet. Upon shedding the robe and sliding into the dress, she discovered that it too had been crafted to exactly fit her human body. Someone had clearly known what form she’d be using - or, perhaps, stuck in - while wearing it.

A note had been placed in the bottom of the parcel, stamped with her great-grandfather’s mark. It was as cryptic as she’d expect for a nine-tail of the ruling conclave:

The last page does not provide mystical insight into the space between the covers.

“It looks great on you. It’d be a shame if you wasted this chance to wear it. But, you could write it off if you really want to mope around up here alone. I mean, it’s only the first New Years Eve party ever co-hosted by Terra and the Commonwealth. I’m sure there’ll be another first one if you wait long enough.”

“Oh, stop it already. I get the point.” Tari stepped in front of the mirror, clicking her tongue as she appraised herself. It really did look good on her - but her hair was an absolute mess. The ability to simply will it into submission would be sorely missed. A shorter cut might be necessary just to save on the daily maintenance. “I’d need a shower first. My hair’s going to take a long time to do anything with -“

“Nonsense! I’ll help you get it styled after you’re out of the shower. Go on, be quick about it, now. Don’t want to miss dinner.”

“No, the next table over. Left.”

“The bald guy?”

“Who… No! Your other left. Seriously, Jadyn, how do you pilot a craft without knowing left from right?”

“Fly upside down and all will be revealed.” Jadyn shot the human a grin. “You should know - you helped us move all that cargo around.”

Cordelia snorted. “I sat there and pointed. ‘Drop this here’ and ‘put that there’ and other useless junk. I thought you had a good handle on left and right at the time.”

“So… Nanites are a go?” T’bia questioned hopefully.

“Absolutely not.” Jadyn let the door fall shut. “It’s too obvious. A seam malfunction is one thing - especially with that particularly large gentleman, if I’ve picked out the right one now?”

“That’s him,” Cordelia confirmed.

“Oh, come on,” the mefiritan pleaded, fidgeting with her mobile emitter. “I’ll make it properly festive! Black and white is so drab for a holiday. What about red and green? No, wait, that was a week ago. Uh… Blue and white polka dots?”

“No,” Jadyn repeated. “Nothing we’ll wind up taking the blame for. If his pants suddenly experience critical failure along a row of stitches, that even can be written off as an ‘oops, I should drop a few pounds’ moment. Recoloring a tux at the molecular level? That’s so definitely our fault that we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Not to mention it may be construed as a form of assault,” Casiandra added, approaching their group through the growing crowd. “Good evening, Commanders, Captain.”

“Speaker,” Cordelia greeted, giving her a nod. “You look lovely. It’s quite a contrast from the bland uniform you’ve been wearing up to now.”

“Thank you.” Casi dipped her head in thanks. Her blue silken halter, originally done in the style of the leathers she’d once worn on Katta, had been recreated in Val’Traxan steelsilk. The new model was somewhat more opaque, but also provided a little more support with the stronger material. The loincloth, however, had been completely replaced by steelsilk slacks. “I believe I may have to update my Council wardrobe. Why are you are still in an IASA uniform?”

“It’s comfortable enough. Besides, all my people are doing the same thing so we’re identifiable in the crowd.”

“Mm. So, remind me of the itinerary,” Casi spoke, glancing around the foyer. “We are standing in this entry hall and not out mingling because…?”

“Because we decided this afternoon during the security briefing that our folks should go out as a group instead of filtering a few at a time. Less likely for an individual or two to get mobbed at the start.”

“Which is exactly what I recommended a week ago, no?”

“Did you? I don’t remember that,” Jadyn lied, looking innocent. “Got the rest of the speech hammered out?”

“I believe so. I sincerely hope it does not come off as too… forced? I am not certain that is the word I am looking for… Perhaps ‘contrived’ would be a better choice.”

“Your English has come along amazingly, Speaker. I never expected you to be as comfortably conversational as you are on the inside of two months.”

“Language has always come easy for me. I have also had a number of very patient tutors. I do thank all of you for your help.”

“Yet you’re still avoiding contractions in everything but Kattan,” Jadyn observed.

“T’bia suggested that it makes me sound more dignified in Standard. I only hope the effect is the same in English.”

“Captain Tzeki?”

Jadyn turned around, smiling at the strawberry blond woman approaching their group. “Agent Wolf… To what do we owe the honor of your radiant presence? I thought you were stuck in the security booth watching camera feeds until seven.”

“Things got swapped around a little just after the briefing. You’d asked to be informed when the young couple dining with you arrived? I just seated them myself.”

“Ah, good. Thank you. By the way - how was your vacation?”

“It was… very educational. Here’s Mister Evanson’s file.” Jolene grinned, offering him a datapad. “I realize you looked over it during the briefing, but I thought you might have missed this since you didn’t mention anything about it.”

Jadyn’s eyebrow hitched up as he looked over the two ID records displayed on the screen. One, Lenard Evanson; the other, Jolene Evanson-Wolf. “Oho. No, I didn’t notice. It’s your brother dining with us?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Do you want to swap seats with Bee, then?” Jadyn glanced around. “Where’d she run off to?”

“I saw her walking toward the stepdisk as I came this way. I’d really better stay at the next table over with the rest of the security crew. I just thought I’d let you know. As to personalities - Lenard’s kind of a quiet guy, tech geek, touch of an introvert. I honestly don’t know very much about Miss Chinatsu, but if she’s anything like her sister, I’d be careful if I were you.”

Walking onto the Serin’s stepdisk, Tari made a final check of herself. That the scroll had left her in her preferred caucasian appearance was no small blessing - going around in her birth form would have been rather unpleasant, mainly since she’d be a completely different woman in the eyes of Lenard’s family.

Her blond hair was well groomed and clean at last, pulled into a french braid running midway down her back. T’bia had even done up her nails in a shade of glossy teal closely matching her eyes and the dress. No other makeup, as a personal preference - she didn’t like to feel like a piece of contemporary art. The bracelet was online, a holographic Commonwealth datapad in hand. Her invitation and ID were ready to display on demand.

“I’m missing something…” she whispered, then snapped her fingers. “Aerin - replicate me a small purse with a shoulderstrap, the main bag matching the design of this dress, but in steelsilk. Contents… Uh… What the hell should I be keeping in a purse?”

“Inquiry is ambiguous,” the computer obediently replied.

“I’ve never had to carry a purse… Damn. I’ve got a lot to learn about being a normal woman in public. Hnnn… Okay. List of things for in the bag. Nail scissors, nail file. A small container of this teal nail polish with appropriate applicator. A pen - no, two pens, one black ink, one… green. A small notepad. Hairbrush - real bristles, no plastic crap please… A variety of elastic hairties in black, white, and green… Oh! A proper hardcopy of my Commonwealth ID with an image of myself in this form, and a hardcopy of the invitation on my bracelet.”

The nearby alcove hummed briefly, creating the requested bag. It was as perfect as a match as she’d get without finding the original designer of the dress. Inside was everything she’d requested, neatly organized; she promptly put her hand in and stirred it all up. There’d no doubt be more to add as she rediscovered things that normal females needed to cart around, but for now it’d be just fine.

Hopping back on the disk, she slung the purse over her shoulder and made a post-final check. “Okay… Let’s go. Send me to the reception.”

“You are queued for translocation. Waiting for remote disc to clear. … Discs synchronized. Please immediately clear remote disc upon arrival as others may be waiting to translocate.”

The disk underfoot blinked; she landed in a large foyer, several dozen Commonwealth crewmembers milling about in formal uniforms. Curious glances focused in her direction as she disembarked from the pad. She smiled weakly, scanning the crowd as most conversation ceased around her.

“What? You’ve never seen a human use a disk before?” she questioned loudly in Standard, forcing a larger smile. Grins and shrugs and other passive responses ensued as chatter resumed. Apparently, an unfamiliar human walking among them was not something they felt overly concerned about.

“They see humans use the disks all the time these days,” T’bia spoke from behind her. “Just not one so smoking hot as you.”

“And to think I originally created this appearance to not stand out in American society. When I first started using it I even had fake glasses to help push me more toward ‘average.’”

“There’s truth to the old adage, you know.”

“Which?”

“‘Men don’t make passes at girls in glasses.’ But you see, what they don’t tell you is that the exception’s -“

“Stop. Right there.” Tari raised a finger scoldingly, despite her grin. “Don’t waste it. There’s not nearly enough people in earshot that will fully appreciate that statement.”

“Eh, maybe not, no. Come on. I abandoned Jay and the rest of the entourage at the doors. I’m sure he’s wondering if I’m trying to weasel out of the dinner… Which, technically, you’re now helping me do. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to pretending to eat. Heck of a mess to clean up afterward.”

“You sure he’ll be okay to see me? We’ve technically got two more years.”

“In my expert opinion, it’s close enough. Stop trying to weasel out of helping me weasel out of dinner, hey?”

Wading forward through the thickening sea of bodies, Tari followed in T’bia’s wake to the main sets of doors. Jadyn was standing with his back to them, chatting with a winged cat, a redhead in an IASA uniform, and -

“Oh, crap. I forgot she’d be here…”

“Hm?” T’bia followed Tari’s gaze to Jolene. The human had in the meantime looked up, noticing their approach. Her eyes widened a hair upon seeing Tari, who immediately shot back a nervous smile and shook her head ever so slightly. “Oh, yes, that’s right. You two have something in common… Hm. So, how do you want to do this?” T’bia asked. “We could either severely rattle his cage -“

“Mine’s been shaken enough to last me the next several years. Let’s not.”

“Man, you’re really no fun as a human.”

“What? I haven’t been stuck like this for even a half-day yet. How would you know if I’m fun as a human or not? For the record? I bet I totally am.”

“Oh yeah? I counter-bet that you can’t even put on a good charade without your gifts to fall on as a crutch.”

“You’re so on.”

“Good! Ad-lib me ten seconds worth of distraction without him catching on to who he’s talking to. You’ll know when to start.” With a gesture to stay back, T’bia walked up behind Jadyn and tapped him on the shoulder. “Jay, it’s about time to send the troops out.”

“Suppose so.” Jadyn turned around, his eyes immediately spotting the out-of-place human. “Excuse me, ma’am. You’re not supposed to be back here.”

“Why?” Tari cooed innocently.

The fox opened his mouth and promptly closed it, failing to come up with a conclusive reason on the spot.

“I see you’re still quite the talker, Captain.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve had audiences with a number of people in the last couple of months. Where have we met?”

“Oh, please. I do my hair a little different, polish up the nails, get a change of clothes, and suddenly you don’t want to recognize me? Sure, the sex may not have moved the world, but did that night really mean nothing to you?”

T’bia, in the meantime, had pulled the winged cat aside and whispered into her ear; the grin on the feline face was easily larger than that of the fabled Cheshire cat. Giving Tari a wink out of Jadyn’s line of sight, Casi put on an angry glare, stormed up to Jadyn, and cuffed him hard in the back of the head.

“Aie!” he squealed, spinning around to face his attacker. “What the Void did I do? I just -“

“Zicd ruf syho Terran fusah ryja oui cmabd fedr?” she hissed in Kattan, loud enough to sound angry but not so much as to draw the attention of Haran crew members. T’bia quickly returned to Tari’s side to quietly dub the conversation. Just how many Terrans have you slept with?

Jadyn’s mouth fell open as he shook his head. “E’ryja hud! E’ryja hud ghuf drec fusyh!” I haven’t! I’ve never seen her before!

“Oui yna landyeh dryd’c dra lyca?” Are you sure about that?

“E… But…” Jadyn peered closer at the unfamiliar human, T’bia grinning madly at her side, before realization finally dawned in his eyes. She crossed the short distance between them as he started laughing, latching onto him in a long-missed embrace.

“Hey,” she whispered. “Long time no see.”

“And Spirits, it’s good to see you too.” Jadyn cackled with joy, nearly crushing her to his chest before stepping back with his hands on her shoulders. “Just look at you! I’d say you haven’t changed a bit, but… Well. Some sort of a retro-post-human theme you’ve got going tonight?”

“I’m going to tell myself that was a compliment. After years as an embedded researcher, the body sort of grows on you.”

“Mm,” he voiced. “You know, I woke up this morning and thought to myself, ‘Self, you’re coping well with two insane females making your days miserable.’ Apparently I was deeply mistaken. Just how long did you all plan this for?”

“It was spur of the moment, orchestrated wonderfully by your second-in-command.” Casi tweaked his ear. “We have not been properly introduced, Captain.”

“There’s absolutely nothing ‘proper’ in dealing with any of you. Tarioshi Kitanaka of the Kitsunati, allow me to present Speaker Casiandra Jubah of the Ann’Katta.”

“A pleasure, Miss Kitanaka.” Casi bowed her head in greeting. “I have heard much about you.”

“Have you really?” she replied, returning the bow. “He’s told me next to nothing about you.”

Jadyn snorted. “Gee, I wonder why. Perhaps it’s because you’ve been incommunicado for years?”

“Hardly by choice.”

“My point stands. Years, young lady. Also, this is Cordelia Maxwell, the Commander of the Ares Base. We couldn’t talk her into becoming an official ambassador instead. Yet.”

“Commander, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Tari shook hands with the redhead, who appeared completely at a loss to understanding whatever had just transpired. “As the first human to make open contact with an alien civilization, you’re an ambassador whether you admit it or not. Which, come to think of it, makes me one as well… Blah, hadn’t thought of that. Anyway! Congratulations are in order, yes? The IASA has done amazing work on Mars in the time humans have been there.”

“Thank you, ma’am. The Ares I and II teams deserve most of the credit. The Commonwealth too, for saving II’s collective ass.” Cordelia hesitated. “Are you… I’m sorry, this may sound a little uneducated, but -“

“I’m not human, no.”

“You certainly do a fine job of looking the part.”

“Thank you!” Tari dipped her head in gratitude. “My race, we are… shapedancers, I believe would be an appropriate term.”

“I’m sorry, shape-dancers?”

“The Kitsunati are metamorphs,” T’bia chimed in, proud to share her work despite Tari’s inability to make complete use of the fiction. “Shapeshifters. Mostly wiped out from an astronomical event, but there’s a few still around if you know where to look.”

“Really? You can actually become other things?” Cordelia asked. “That’s got to be convenient.”

“As much as I’d love to demonstrate, I can’t right now. I’ve got a little touch of the shapedancer’s flu, so to speak. I’m prevented from shifting forms away from the one I was in when I came down with it. Since I was doing a long stint as an embedded researcher here when it happened…” She shrugged. “A word of advice? Avoid mushrooms on planets you aren’t native to. Bad mojo.”

“Ah… I’ll take your word for it. I hope you feel better.”

Jadyn caught the honest undertone of her statement, concern visibly creeping in. “You’ll be okay, though?”

“I’m fine. Really! I’ll get better, just takes some time.” Tari glanced at Jolene with a smirk. “And who’s this kid with the concealed weapons?”

“Special Agent Jolene Evanson Wolf, UN Security.” Jo grinned, shaking Tari’s hand firmly. “It’s a pleasure, ma’am. I do hope you enjoy the evening. I certainly know I will. Captain, I’ll be back with Agent Black before your group goes in.”

“Thank you.” Jadyn smirked as the human walked away. “Something about that was odd… Though, she’s been a strange little snowflake since they assigned us shadows. Glad we only got one boring guard. Sucks that his stand-in for the night is boring, too…”

“Remind me, why are we hanging out in here?” Tari asked. “I missed the memo.”

“We decided to go out as one group instead of filtering in a little at a time. Which, I think we’d best start doing. Bee, please raise your voice a little.”

“Roger. All hands!” she yelled, immediately earning the focus of every crewmember in the foyer.

“Everyone, thank you for volunteering for this event tonight. Remember - nearly anything you can relate to a Commonwealth civilian is open game for answering questions. When in doubt, use your best judgement and err on the side of caution. Be honest, be friendly, and try to have fun. Curfew is half past midnight, local time. Start heading up after the fireworks. That said, if you’re honestly having an interesting discussion and would rather not cut it short, just let Haran know you’ll be staying later so we can keep track of who’s where. Questions? … All right. The boring speeches start in ten minutes or so. Go be sociable until then. Dismissed!”

“This is going to be an interesting evening,” Tari observed, watching the mass of aliens file into the main banquet hall.

“You’re not kidding.” The blue fox waved her over to the last door, giving her a peek out at the banquet hall. “Did Bee send you an invite and not tell me?”

“It was more of a last minute insistence, actually. Wow! Lots of people out there.”

“Couldn’t do it halfway.” He let the door fall shut once more. “When we go out, our bunch isn’t sitting down right away. The Secretary-General will make a few remarks, Casi’s got a small speech after that to set the mood of this lovely gathering. Corrie is still trying to decide if she wants to say anything -“

“I’m going to pass, but thank you.” Cordelia shook her head. “You already know I’m grateful for what you did and I’ve already given my public thanks on the news. Do I really need to get up there and make a fool of myself as I try not to gush while relating further appreciation?”

“I suppose not. So, in that case… After I finish my own little bombshell we’ll generally have a quiet evening punctuated by fireworks. After that, I plan to finally take a day off before playing Captain of the Mars Ferry the day after tomorrow. You’re welcome to tag along for the ride.”

“I just might do that. We’re sitting in front somewhere?”

“Really close, yeah.” He snuck the door open a crack once again. “Right with that stunningly cute couple that I’m told aren’t actually a couple. Seems the young man is Agent Wolf’s brother, and -“

“What?” Tari quickly scanned for their table. Instantly, her heart leapt into her throat. I don’t believe it… THIS is where they were headed?

“What’s wrong?” Jadyn asked, sensing her flinch.

“My great-grandfather is a sadist…”

Delays

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:59:36 GMT

Something will be up later today.

Fiction Friday: Temporal Soup for the Soul

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:00:10 GMT

On this, the first day of the second week of 2010, I continue to protest the lack of a personal jetpack on the consumer market.

TF’s been delayed for a couple of weeks now, mainly since I can’t seem to get Temporal Soup for the Soul to flow as entirely well as I’d like. I’ve been struggling to improve it but it’s just not getting any better (and, admittedly, I’ve posted far worse). So! There it is. Love it, hate it, do what you will.

I had the next portion of PS queued up and ready to go along side of Temporal Soup. Then, as happens, I saw something completely random on TV (which I have since forgotten, but I think it was an advert) and it gave me an idea which I have been exploring. Now I have to decide whether to stick with my original plan, or go with the new route.

Gaaah, choices.

Temporal Soup for the Soul

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:00:09 GMT

Three hours passed before Jadyn’s mind settled enough to let him sleep.

He’d spent the first two lost in thought, sitting quietly on the edge of the biobed with the blood-stained cloth clenched tightly in his lacerated hand, the dermal regenerator held delicately in the other. No matter how he tried to piece things together, nothing made sense at all - Tari’s sudden reappearance, his healing gift’s sudden disappearance, T’bia’s stubborn refusal to explain any of it.

More fragments of his recent memory clicked into place as he traced, over and over in his mind’s eye, the events leading to a boiling vial of blood exploding in his hand. He was certain - mostly, at least - that Tari’s blood had been in that vial. There was a very good possibility that he’d tried to use it to locate her using a form of Void manipulation he’d long ago been forbidden to ever use. Creating a blood bond in the Art was straight up a bad idea in the best of conditions, yet something - impatience, and probably desperation - had compelled him to try. Apparently, something had gone completely and terribly wrong.

Where every recent memory beforehand was in a fog, every recollection after the vial’s shattering was nightmarish at best. A sense of spiritual rending… A strange dream of walking around an old Galactic Fleet vessel, a brief image of assaulting Tari… Then, icy darkness, every living sensation fading under the timeless, relentless nothingness of the Void.

Yet, somehow, even within the great expanse of the Void itself, the warmth of the Light had found him and cradled him, lifting him from descent into oblivion. That same strange sadness and love he’d sensed so long ago, when he’d died for the very first time, reached him once again.

And then, in both an eternity and an instant later, he’d woken up with a throbbing headache and Tari sleeping peacefully beside him.

Two hours in, he gave up on trying to figure out anything and healed his laceration with the regenerator. It wasn’t until he went to put away the tools on the cart, hoping the menial task would distract him, that he noticed part of the room was missing. He’d turned to walk to the surgical drawers and instead found a wall where the little protected alcove should have been. It had been so well integrated into the room that had he not known something should have been there, he wouldn’t have suspected it.

Without his healing working at full tilt, brute-forcing his way through an energy barrier disguised as a real wall was definitely not a good idea. T’bia simply told him to get a nap when he called to find out what was behind it. Aerin flat out ignored his command to shut down the hologram. If the ship was really on a full regeneration run, all the emitters should have been offline, anyway.

And so, three hours after he’d woken up, he finally laid down beside the sleeping kitsune and settled into an uneasy slumber.

He woke again a few hours later, sensing weight on his chest. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable; in fact, it seemed downright familiar. Memories of walking through a blizzard came to mind as earthy scents of the forest filled his nostrils. Stretching out, he sensed the weight shift slightly, and wrapped his arms around it before opening his eyes. A pair of teal pools stared back at him, a huge grin on the kitsune’s face as her tails drifted to and fro.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he spoke gently. “The neighbors might start talking.”

“Let them.” Her arms snaked behind his head, gently pulling herself close enough to nuzzle his neck. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Ditto that. I do have to admit, I’m a little disappointed to see you.”

“How come?”

“How am I supposed to do the heroic thing now? I can’t swoop in to save the damsel in distress when you’re already back in my arms.”

Tari snorted a laugh, sitting up and straddling his abdomen. “You did save the day in your own peculiar way. However, in my eventual retelling of the story to my grandchildren, you’ll be the one wearing the dress in the glass coffin while I wake you from your eternal slumber with a kiss. I’m going to call it ‘The Story of Sleeping Blue-Tee.’”

“So I did get you back here, somehow?”

Her smile faded as she gazed into his eyes. “You really don’t remember any of it, do you?”

“I’m still a little cloudy. The last memory I have of us in any fashion is me slapping you across the face, but I don’t have any context explaining why.”

“Wonderful. All that time bonded together and the only thing you’ve taken away from it is a moment of domestic violence in a waking dream.” Tari eased to the floor, standing beside the bed as he sat up. “Only you would be boneheaded enough to create a gigantic spiritual link with a soul-sucking oriental vampire, then not remember any of it the next day.”

“How long was I out?”

“I’ve been back a week and a half. Toss another day or two on top of that and we’re right in the ballpark.”

“Oof. So… How did you get back?”

“Hold that thought. There’s something else you need to be aware of, first.” Tari gently pressed Jadyn’s left hand against her left upper arm, mimicking the gesture on his own arm. “Keep holding just like that. This may be a little intense, but it’ll be short. Ready?”

“I… guess so? What -“

Every ounce of self-preservation screamed in his head to make her stop whatever she was doing as the most intense euphoria he’d ever known flooded over him. In that moment, nothing else mattered. The loss of his homeworld, the dead friends and family, even the wonderful things in his current life - everything was washed away as rapture enveloped his thoughts. The warmth of the Light had been comforting - a warm blanket and a crackling hearth, a lover’s embrace, the quiet song of a mother lulling her children to sleep. This… This was the wild throes of passion, carnal pleasure, transcendent ecstasy.

The whole experience couldn’t have lasted more than three seconds. Even as it faded, he wished for more as much as he desperately wanted it to stop.

“You all right?” she spoke quietly, letting go of his arm and gently prying his fingers from her own.

“Uh… No, I don’t think so.” Jadyn swallowed, discovering his hands were quaking. “I feel like I’m going through withdrawal symptoms from… Whatever that was.”

“That is the sensation of a kitsune feeding on the soul of a mortal. By the look in your eyes, you got the mostly happy version.”

“I’d hate to find out what the mostly unhappy one is like.”

“I’ve heard it’s similar to being dipped in salt water and lemon juice after having your skin flayed off.” Tari softly grasped his hands, quelling his trembling. “This is the second time I’ll be explaining this to you, so bear with me. At least now I’ve got a better idea of what exactly happened.”

“All right.”

“The day we met, when you pulled me out of that trap and bandaged me up, I tried to use my gifts to heal myself. I didn’t have the strength left to do it on my own. Without actually realizing I’d done anything, I bonded with you in a way that normally only a pureblooded kitsune would - I created a feeding link between us. You’ve probably felt it as a mild sense of euphoria every time we’ve been in proximity to each other.”

“Come to think of it, I did notice that. I thought I was just always extremely happy to see you.” Jadyn grimaced at her glare. “Sorry. Go on.”

“You mixed our blood while trying to weave something in the Art that was supposed to help find me. That combined with the link you formed gave the feeding bond a wide open multi-lane highway. I wasn’t in complete control of myself at the time it happened, and in desperation a part of me yanked out absolutely everything you could offer. I drained a great deal of your energy… And pulled out every last scrap of your soul.”

She gently parted the fur on both their arms, showing him the matching curse marks where their hands had just been. “Because of that accident, I’ve now drawn so much through this link that it’s been scarred into both of us. It should have just collapsed on its own when I didn’t need it anymore, but it didn’t. I have no idea how to remove it.”

Jadyn peered at the four dark dots hidden in his pelt, tracing his finger over the odd scar. “Why would a pureblood need to do this and you wouldn’t?”

“Hybrids like myself draw primarily on the strength of our own soul as a source of power for our spiritual gifts. Purebloods don’t have souls - they’re purely spirits. The only way they can sustain themselves in our world is by leeching the energy of the things around them - trees, wildlife, the land, oceans, weather… But nothing works as well as a mortal soul when you balance the ease of obtaining it against the ease of digestion, so to speak.”

The noises around them suddenly changed as the ship’s regeneration came to an end. Jadyn squinted, expecting the lights overhead to suddenly blast to full; to his relief the backlighting stayed comfortably in place. “Something’s different, though. I’m not noticing that euphoria anymore,” he observed.

“Now that I know it’s there, I’m willfully keeping the link capped since I can’t shut it permanently. Are you familiar with artesian wellheads?”

“Pressure in the aquifer pushes water out, instead of needing to pump it.”

“The same thing is happening across this bonding. It’s like… I haven’t actually drawn anything from you, other than that one big ‘oops’ and the demo I just gave you. It wasn’t so bad while you were unconscious a little while ago, but since you’ve been awake it’s actually starting to take a great deal of conscious effort to keep it plugged up.”

“Then don’t.”

“Jay - I had no right to do this to you without your consent. I can’t just keep leeching off you like some sort of parasite.”

Jadyn gently cupped her cheeks. “Tari… I forgive you. It was an accident and you’re doing your best to make up for it, I realize that. For now, just relax and let it go. It’s not going to hurt me in the long run.”

“You don’t know that.” She grimaced. “Neither do I, technically…”

“Listen… If it’s in some small way benefiting you, all the better. I’ll slap a bow on my arm and call this your birthday present.”

“Don’t you dare weasel out on me like that.” Tari closed her eyes. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“I am. I’ve been surviving just fine with this thing passing my energy to you up until now. I can deal with it for a little longer. Might have a way to collapse it myself.”

“How so?”

“I’ve got to do a little reading, but I’d bet I can collapse the blood link I formed around this feeding bond of yours and tie them both in such a knot that nothing will ever get through either one again.”

Her eyes squinting as she considered, Tari nodded ever so slightly. “That could actually work… Okay. Brace yourself.”

“Go ahead.” A touch of lightheadedness bubbled up as the euphoric glee came back, far more muted than in her direct feeding demonstration. “Woo…”

“I really don’t think I should leave you like this -“

“I’m fine, I’m fine… Just take a minute for my head to settle. Bee? I heard regeneration go offline, so I assume you’re listening in again.”

“Yo,” she greeted, appearing beside Tarioshi. “What’s up, Mister tall, dark, and allegedly rather delicious?”

“Why is there a wall hiding the surgical station, and how’d you manage to keep it up with regeneration going?”

“Hi, remember me?” Tari pointed at herself with both hands. “The sole illusionist on staff?”

“Okay, that answers ‘how.’ Nicely integrated, by the way. What about ‘why?’”

“Tari, you done covering personal concerns for now?” T’bia asked.

“Does telling me how she got back fall into that?”

Tari patted Jadyn’s knee. “Come on. Got something to show you before you peek behind the curtain. Or, wait. Bee, what do you think first? Mail call?”

“We’ll save the most mind-rending thing for last. By the way, Jay,” T’bia spoke, stepping out into the hall. “I’m giving you my two weeks’ notice.”

“Hm?” Jadyn vocalized, easing to his feet. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just that I’ve found a better employment opportunity.”

“Oh, do tell. Someone have an opening for a noisy blender?” Padding across the room, the blue fox stepped into the hall and stopped dead. Outside the window, the giant behemoth of the J’Ruhn drifted silently in orbit above Veloria. “My Goddess…”

“Mine’s bigger than yours,” Tari quipped, patting him on the back.

“Ah, he’s awake at last?” Toliya grinned as the trio emerged into the command deck. “Good to see you’re on your feet, Jay. How are you feeling?”

“Overwhelmed.”

“Ditto that. We’re ready for main power as soon as you care to spin up the core, Tari.”

“So soon?”

“Well, it’s definitely not flightworthy, if that’s what you’re thinking. We’ve rerouted around the worst power grid damage until we can get replacements reverse-engineered, unless the resident owners of the tech rights suddenly become generous and allow us to make real replacements.”

T’bia snapped her fingers. “Oh, that’s right. Jay, I wanted to ask you… Helloooo there!”

“Hm?” Jadyn blinked, shaking off his reverie. “Sorry, Bee. I just… Even knowing it was out there after Iguano told us everything… I didn’t think I’d see it in one piece…” He wiped his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Trust me, I know. We’re standing in a piece of home a very long way from home. As much as I’d like to just turn you loose right now to reminisce I need you to stick with me for just a few minutes.” T’bia stuck a datapad in his hand. “I’d like to make arrangements to have an AF shipyard fabricate components for the repair work.”

“Really?” he asked, paging through the manifest. “What do you guys need you can’t replace with something else?”

“Lots. The J’Ruhn was one of the last ships that came out of the Galactic Fleet yards before Val’Trax fell. Even though the majority of the ship isn’t just our tech, the more mundane parts are still specialty items - there’s no immediately viable alternative. Besides, it won’t be the end of the universe if the parts in question wind up designed into some other Fleet vessels in the future. Now, the biotech components that are failing are something else entirely.”

“Right. To even begin to rebuild those you’d need -“

T’bia tapped the ‘page down’ indicator flashing on his pad.

”- the DNA… keys? That’s… How…” Jadyn shook his head. “I don’t think I’m even going to ask.”

“You’ll figure it out. Once main power is up I’ll have access to a secure and mostly-equipped gene lab for growing the components.”

“The one Chameleon grew Khamai and Iguano in.”

“He prefers ‘Anolis,’” Tari pointed out.

“What?”

“You’ll figure it out,” T’bia repeated. “So! With your okay, and that of the ship’s new CO -“

“Which you implicitly have in regards to all repairs,” Tari added.

”- I’ll start getting permanent replacements fabricated on all fronts.”

“You’re going to oversee the biotech side yourself?” he asked, eliciting a nod. “Okay. Do what you need to do.”

“Thank you. Tari, let’s bring the Displacement core online. I’d like to check out my new workshop.”

“All righty.” The kitsune strolled up to the Engineering console, paging through displays like a veteran. Jadyn’s jaw fell slack as he watched her go through every pre-start checklist without ever referring to a cheatsheet - or a language translation guide. “All systems clear for main engine start… Access denied?”

“Tari?” Toliya questioned. “When did you grow a second tail?”

“Oh! That would be part of the problem, wouldn’t it?” Tari peered at herself, snapping her arms straight out from her sides; her entire form immediately altered back to her adopted Val’Traxan body. “Let’s pretend that never happened, Toy.”

“Not the most inexplicable thing I’ve ever seen,” the snow leopard observed. “Weird things tend to happen around Jay. Pan’Lidaefel to Veloria Orbital - Status update. J’Ruhn main power coming back online momentarily.”

“Understood. Orbital clear.”

“Here we go. Displacement core initialization.” Tari tapped on the display, grinning as the core diagnostics flicked from red through yellow, finally settling in the green. “We have main power.”

“Yippee!” T’bia cheered, moving to the stepdisk. “All right, I’m off to see what I need to order in for supplies. Tari - keep an eye on him?”

Jadyn snorted as the skunk vanished in a blink. “I hardly need a shadow. I’d be content marking a bunch of things off a growing list of needed explanations. For one thing, I didn’t notice until I saw you paging through Val’Traxan language displays that you’ve actually been speaking Velorian Standard all this time…”

“You’ll figure it out. Come on.” Slipping up beside him, she looped her arm through his and led him to the disk. “Let’s go have a look around.”

“Lopiakuen Tzeki?”

Jadyn frowned, turning around. Just entering the command deck from the far side’s door, a white lizard strolled across the floor and stopped before them, gently nodding his head in greeting.

“Please forgive me for not meeting you with a handshake,” he stated, briefly unclasping his hands from behind his back in demonstration. “Even with the gloves as a barrier, I have found that those who are aware of my nature are not entirely comfortable with - oh. Well. I suppose I should not be entirely surprised by this.”

Jadyn nodded, his hand outstretched; the lizard gently clasped it. “You prefer Anolis, I’m told? Iguano thought you were dead.”

“My eldest, Khamai, was not forthcoming with him regarding the truth of my fate. Has his condition changed?”

“Bee,” Tari called. “How’s Khamai?”

“No change, sorry.”

“That is unfortunate…” Anolis shook his head. “I hope he wakes long enough for me to forgive him.”

“Tari…” Jadyn began.

“We got a little distracted once you saw the ship, but he’s in a coma behind the false wall.”

“Ah.” He scratched behind his ear. “Are you the nemaqi I encountered back home?”

“I am the very same. I must say I am surprised to find you so far removed from that place, both in distance and time.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“Mm. I always wished I could thank you properly for your valiant effort to argue with your superior for my release. Truth be told, when your Haropikuen told me I would yet find that chance, I did not believe her. Nevertheless - events unfolded almost exactly as she predicted up through my forced entry into cold sleep and my subsequent awakening mere days ago.”

“So I’ve yet to actually find an explanation for how you got back,” he spoke, peering at Tarioshi. “I was half-hoping he was it.”

“No such luck,” she consoled. “Don’t worry! You’ll figure it out.”

“That’s getting very old, very quickly.”

“Lopiakuen,” Anolis stated, then faced Tari. “And you as well, Captain… This ship has been my home for many years. While I am more than content seeing it in your capable hands, I would request permission to remain aboard for the time being. I literally have nowhere else to go. I will gladly assist repairs where I will not be a hindrance, and I believe I can be of further help once it comes to… Hm.”

“To what?” Jadyn asked.

“My apologies… But something the Haropikuen told me just came to mind. Have you yet viewed your letter?”

His eyebrow hitched up. “What letter?”

“Er… I suppose there’s no time like the present.” Tari fished a violet crystal out of her pocket and pressed it into his palm. “Your grandmother helped save your life.”

“Did she do one of those weird things with the weird two-way thing?”

“Yep.”

“I always wanted to see one of those… Never expected to.” Jadyn sighed, holding the crystal in the light. “The question is, am I supposed to watch it now, or later?”

“I think that whenever you do decide to look, it’s exactly when you’re supposed to.” Tari rubbed his arm. “Let’s hold off on the tour and get you filled in on everything that happened while you were out. Afterward might be a good time to open the file.”

“This message is dated the second day of J’ae, 2419.” Shaytelli sighed. “I’ve been back and forth over the last two weeks trying to decide how to compose this letter. I’d wholly decided on making it a normal message lacking the temporal two-way aspect.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. Exactly one minute ago I changed my mind.”

“Acting impulsively? That’s really not like you, Grandma Shay.”

“And sending these odd messages into the future is?” she replied, grinning. “I realize the rumors are out there about my time-shifted conversations, but I have really recorded very few of them. Tell me - who is this beautiful vixen at your side? She’s certainly on par with Anni.”

“Ma’am?” Tari asked. “We met a few days ago, on a similar recording. Given, I was in a different bodyform at the time -“

“Ah, yes, you must be the one at fault for separating my grandson’s body and soul. The shapedancer I’m supposed to help?”

She blinked. “Uh… Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Hm. Since I have yet to actually make that recording, whatever advice I’m going to give you to fix things must have worked. What’s your name?”

“Tarioshi, ma’am.” She frowned. “If you really don’t know who I am… How’d you come across that attention-getter you used on me? Will use… Whatever.”

“Refresh an old woman’s memory - What exactly would this ‘attention-getter’ be?”

Tari spoke the first two syllables of her true name, realizing only after the sounds had left her lips that she’d just solved the matter of ‘how.’ “My gods, I really am a dense one…”

“Sometimes these things solve themselves in the most simple of ways. But if what you just related to me is what I suspect it is… I see why it would have instantly earned your full attention.”

“That’s part of your true name, isn’t it?” Jadyn asked.

“I nearly walked out when Bee started playing the recording addressed to me, thought it was a joke - and then I heard that name start to come out of her mouth. I’m sure I’ve never uttered a syllable of it around either of you before.” Tari shook her head. “I really thought you knew the whole thing, ma’am, and just vocalized the shortest bit out of courtesy.”

“I often know more than I should. There are, however, these particularly frustrating times that I know far less than I let on.” Shaytelli looked at Jadyn, then back at Tarioshi. “Vel’Kitanaka… Would you please allow me to speak in private with my grandson?”

Nodding, the kitsune squeezed his shoulder and stepped out of the room. Jadyn listened for the door to close before focusing on the picture.

“How long have you known?” he questioned.

“What in particular -”

“About me, about what’s just happened - Everything. Anything! If you knew that there was a problem this far out before it happened, you damn well should be aware what’s going to happen on 5 J’ae -“

“Jadyn…” The elderly vixen shook her head sadly. “I am staring down the end of everything I know and love… And I’m absolutely powerless to avert it.”

“You’re the Haropikuen! You’re one of the most influential people on our planet, politically and otherwise! How can you be powerless to save fifteen billion residents?”

“Would you save fifteen billion only to snuff out a hundred and sixty billion in their stead?”

Jadyn stared at the screen. “Are you saying - Were we sacrificed to save others?”

“I shouldn’t be having this conversation, especially with you.” Shaytelli pinched herself between the eyes. “Someday you’ll understand.”

“Grandmother -“

“No! Jadyn, I’m sorry, but I can’t. The timeline is fragile enough without me cleaving away at it further.”

“You know better than anyone that even though I have the potential aptitude to handle elemental Time as well as you, I’m terrible at shaping it because of the migraines it gives me. I’ve also always had trouble wrapping my head around the idea of causality loops.”

“You and your father both have difficulty when it comes to cause following effect.”

“Even I can see that the only reason you wouldn’t talk about planetfall to someone who’s living three hundred years on the other side of it is if the planetfall itself was part of a loop that person was still stuck in.” Jadyn’s face softened. “What’s going on, grandma? Really?”

“You cannot un-hear what I am about to tell you. You’d best be certain you’re prepared to deal with consequences you will not realize even exist until many years have passed.”

“My entire life is one giant consequence. Go ahead.”

Shaytelli closed her eyes. “What will happen, has happened, and all must happen again. This truth gives our world life and, in the same breath, promises to take it from us. If I take action to prevent planetfall I will erase from the Tapestry every Val’Traxan that has ever lived. Do you understand? I have in front of me the choice between killing everyone on this planet by doing nothing in three days’ time, or erasing billions of years of carefully guided evolution by changing the outcome.”

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… But -“

Tears openly fell as she continued. “The only thing worse than knowing that I am willingly sacrificing my son and daughter-in-law to a terrible death while also sending you, your mate, and the other two thousand who will survive the massacre into a nightmarish existence normally reserved only for those damned to the depths of the Void Itself… The only thing worse than that knowledge is knowing that I am now making you aware that, one day, you will also be forced to make the exact same choice.”

“In what way?”

“You are not merely trapped in the causality loop. You are as integral to it as I. Perhaps moreso. There will come a day where you must choose between saving a relative handful of lives and erasing our entire existence from the Tapestry or willfully sacrificing them to ensure a hundred and fifty billion souls have a chance to exist - and that’s not even counting those yet to be conceived. I at least had the gift of foresight to see exactly when my choice would be made. You… You may not be aware that you are in the moment until it is upon you. When it happens, you must be absolutely aware of the consequences to yourself and those around you, and willingly make the choice.”

“Is this the reason the Void and the Light have both forsaken me? Because I have some sort of destiny -“

Her eyes suddenly overflowed with rage. “NEVER speak of such things again! If you had any idea how much pain you cause with such a careless statement… Oh, if only…” Shaytelli took a deep breath, composing herself. “The Light has not rejected you… Never, ever… Surely you must realize that, despite your words to the contrary. You’ve sensed it, haven’t you?”

“Twice now, out of all the countless times I’ve lingered in the cold embrace of Death, I’ve felt the fleeting warmth of the Light. Both those times I’ve sensed an unfathomable sadness, and a feeling of love - a longing that goes far beyond the unconditional love I’d expect from one of the alleged mothers of our culture. It feels personal.”

“You’re not just sensing the Light. You’re picking up the sadness of the Kshorah of the Light, Herself. Your nature precludes you from entering the place where the rest of us eventually rest. She cannot bring you into the Light, so when She is able, She brings the faintest ember to you. The Light loves each of Her children - all the Kshorah do.”

Shaytelli waved her hands dismissingly. “Enough of this morose talk. I have less than a hundred hours left in front of me and I want to hear about as much of my grandson’s life as I can possibly fit in. Tell me about how you’ve been doing. I’d love to hear more about this kitsune you’ve welcomed into your heart.”

Jadyn blinked. “Wait a second. She was sitting here in Val’Traxan form. No one told you otherwise. For that matter, you called her by her last name and she didn’t give it to you…”

“Indeed… And so long as she continues to believe I only know the portion of her true name that I will eventually speak outloud in my message to her, she’ll sleep far better at night.”

Fiction Friday: Grandfather’s Vigil

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:46:18 GMT

I’m going to run a little past my original target dates for this next segment, but it can’t be avoided. PS: Grandfather’s Vigil continues from the events of the Christmas Party.

Happy New Year!

Grandfather's Vigil

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:00:50 GMT

Ice crystals crunched under Tari’s boots as she peered into the windows of the darkened store. Her footsteps in the snow were the first in days; no one had been around since the blizzard had moved through. A hastily-scrawled note hung below the ‘CLOSED’ sign in the window, stating in thick permanent marker that the shop would reopen after the first of the year.

A gust of wind threatened to blow her green wool cap off her head; holding it down, she made her way back to Lenard’s car and shut the door.

“Not around here either?” he questioned, turning down the classical music on the radio.

She shook her head. “Traize wouldn’t just leave without letting me know unless it was urgent. She’s not answering her phone, her house is all locked up, the shop is closed until after New Year’s Day… Something really important happened.”

“Any idea what?”

“I’d rather not guess.”

Lenard nodded, kicking the car into gear and rolling down the street. “Where next?”

“I’m out of ideas.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need for you to apologize. I’m the one who said we needed to get out of your folks’ place in time for me to spend the evening with her… Didn’t ever suspect she wouldn’t be here.” Tari exhaled on the window, fogging it over; six seconds of effort later she’d drawn a frowny-face with X’s for eyes and a tongue sticking out. As an afterthought she added pointy ears on its head and a bit of cheek-ruff. Three foxy tails sticking off to the side completed the self-portrait of her frustration.

“Something to eat?”

“Nah. Let’s just head back to your place. You’re going to learn some shiatsu tonight. My neck is killing me.”

Not ten minutes after they’d returned to his dorm and unpacked the car, a hurried knock graced his door. Lenard took a quick peek out the eye hole before releasing the lock and opening it. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Hey, Len. Is Tari around?”

“Yeah. Come in?”

Traize nodded, stepping inside. Tari stuck her head out of the bedroom, a smile adorning her face. “Be out in a second. I was just changing into something more appropriate for massage therapy.”

“I’m glad you’re all right,” Traize started, sitting down on an open chair. “I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

“If you’re talking to me, you need to speak up. I can’t hear you over the radio. Where have you been, anyway?” Tari questioned from the other room. “We just spent two hours driving around town looking for you.”

“You don’t know? Damn it… I can’t believe they didn’t send a message to your apartment…”

“We just got back from Len’s parents’ place.” Tari emerged from the bedroom in her new fox-print pajama bottoms and a white tee-shirt silkscreened with a single large arrow pointing up at her face from her modest bust. “I haven’t been back to my apartment since we left for the farm. Not much before then, either…”

“Tari…” Traize spoke softly. “Change form.”

“Why?”

“Just… Humor me. Try to shift back to normal. Please?”

Tari squinted, looking at her hands. “What in the hell..?”

“Try anything else -“

“I am… I can’t even call up foxfire… What’s going on?”

“The Conclave of the Nine knows about you and Lenard. They declared you a nogitsune almost two days ago.”

The color drained out of her face; she eased herself onto the couch and shut her eyes. “How could you…?”

“I didn’t tell them! They summoned me to the Celestial Courts because they already knew! From the questions they were asking me before I’d even gotten through my deposition, nothing I said was news. It really felt like getting my version of what was going on was just a formality. They knew absolutely everything. Hell, they even had a report from someone who thought Len was one of us.”

“Umeko… Damn it!” Tari ground her index finger against her thumb. “That doesn’t even make sense… If she really thought he was kitsune she wouldn’t have reported it. Unless… They actually went out after her for information? How could they know I’d been there?”

“They’ve had someone watching you for a while. Again - not me, okay? I honestly don’t know who, because I haven’t felt anyone else around and they knew things that I’d been there to see first-hand.”

“Great,” she muttered. “What specifically is my sentence? Do you know?”

“Death.” Traize laced her fingers together and placed her hands in her lap. “If you don’t do anything, their judgement will stand. You’ll remain completely human for the next sixty or seventy years…”

“After which I’ll die naturally of old age from a human’s perspective. Death by entropy.”

Traize simply nodded.

“But what’s the point? They’ve already done the whole judge, jury, and executioner bit. Am I supposed to go and get yelled at, too?”

“Daisensei Toshiyuki said that you could contest the sentence. If you go and explain yourself, they might change their ruling.”

“Is he at least on my side?”

“He taught you our laws. You ignored the law. Think about how that makes him look.”

Tari nodded solemnly. “Then I’ll go, if only to explain myself to him. He deserves that much. The Conclave isn’t known for changing their stance on anything.”

“You’ll need someone to open a gate for you. I’m exhausted after dealing with them and jumping back and forth. Give me this evening to rest up and I’ll take you back tomorrow afternoon. By the way, this officially means I’m letting you out of our birthday meal. We’ll have an even better celebratory dinner after this is all behind us.”

“Thank you.”

Traize glanced over at Lenard. “Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there.”

“I must have dozed off,” he lied. “Did I miss something important?”

“It’s okay,” Tari reassured them both. “I’d have told him everything as soon as you left, anyway.”

“Yeah. Well. I’ll be at the house if you need anything, okay?” Traize stood up, giving Tari a hug. “Don’t be afraid to call, day or night. You too, Lenard.”

“Thanks.”

Lenard relocked the door behind Traize, leaning his back against it as he looked across at the disturbed woman on his couch. “You going to be all right?”

Tari shook her head, hands clasped in her lap. “I had a faint suspicion they’d somehow get word eventually, even if I was careful… I really didn’t expect it to be this soon, or the punishment to be so overboard.”

“What does ‘nogitsune’ mean?”

“Literally, ‘wild fox.’ Its used to describe rogue kitsune acting outside the boundaries of our society. Outlaws and other criminals, basically.”

“Can’t you appeal this?”

“I’m going to try. The Conclave is the final word on kitsune law. I can state my case when I go before them, but they really aren’t known for going back on their judgements unless the facts have changed immensely. As far as they’ll care? You’re still human, I’m still not, and we’re still involved. They’ll definitely have someone watching us - if I say we’ve parted and then I land in your lap again, there’d be even more hell to pay than I’ve got to deal with right now.”

Lenard sat down beside Tari, putting an arm around her shoulder and hugging her close. “I wish I could go with you.”

“And I wish you could be there with me.” A tear rolled down her cheek; she wiped it away with the back of her hand. “Regular mortals can’t enter the Celestial Courts without the assistance of a nine-tail. It’s hard enough on the fabric of reality for a hybrid kitsune to cross back and forth. This is the home of the purebloods we’re taking about, the kitsune purely of spirit. Even if you accompanied us to a torii, you wouldn’t be able to pass into their realm. You probably wouldn’t even be able to see the portal.”

“I could wait outside.”

“There’s no telling how long they’ll keep me. It could be a few weeks, or a couple of months… You’re really better off staying here and finishing your last semester. If I think I’m going to be longer than that I’ll try and get word to you. I doubt they’ll have any problem with Traize talking to you - she’s not the one you’re romantically involved with. Even so… In case she suddenly disappears without a trace, ask Jolene to put you in touch with the one who fixed me up the other night. Tell them both absolutely everything you know about what’s been happening. If they can’t track me down, no one can.”

“All right.” His fingers traced the back of her neck. “Just… Be careful. I want you back here safely in one piece.”

“I promise,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. “It could be quite a while before we see each other again. Before I go, let’s make the most of tonight.”

“You’re early,” Traize praised as Tarioshi opened her door. “Are you ready to go?”

“Whenever you are. Been a while since we’ve done a road trip together.”

“True, and the traditional way would require a jaunt down to Colorado - the closest shinto shrine we can actually use. You, however, are flying Renada Air.”

“Of course, I forgot. The perks of having a Celestial sibling know no bounds.”

Traize wrapped her fingers around her necklace’s charm and gently took Tari’s hand in the other. The door behind them exploded with light, opening the way into the Celestial Plains, the outermost region of the Courts. Beyond the portal lay a grove of cherry trees in perpetual bloom. The sky was a marvelous shade of turquoise, small fluffy clouds drifting through the great sea of blue-green. Snow-peaked mountains flanked the horizon. It looked more like a painting than a living, breathing world.

“I can still see it…” Tari whispered. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.”

“Neither was I.” Traize’s kitsune form emerged. “We should go. The Daisensei is expecting us.”

Tari looked behind herself as she stepped into the sunny field; a small torii, large enough only to be a portal endpoint, briefly showed the interior of Traize’s home before the magic faded. The smell of the blossoms tickled her nose, carried on a cool spring breeze.

“Tarioshi.”

Her head snapped around; a silver fox in great flowing robes gazed upon her with a great mix of emotions - sorrow, vexation, anger, and most of all, disappointment. Tari bowed her respect to the elder, keeping her head down long enough to reign in the tears forming in her eyes. “Toshiyuki-Daisensei. I am sorry to have brought my dishonor upon you.”

“And yet you did not consider that you had done so until it was pointed out to you by someone else.” The nine-tail rapped her sharply on the head with a folded paper fan. Instantly, her white fur and other foxen features reasserted themselves. “Foolish child! How could you break one of our most sacred principles with so callous a disregard? We do not interfere with mortal existence in this fashion!”

“It was not my original intention to interfere, Daisensei.”

Toshiyuki let out a long sigh. “An accident, yes… One you are paying a great price to atone for. When your mother brought you to me I saw within you a divine spark witnessed in only a precious few. You were still recovering from the loss of your mortal father, but I held great hopes for you, even for being half-mortal. And now… Now, I must stand in judgement of you. This is a sad day.”

Tari lifted her head. “Not the full Conclave?”

“You misunderstand. As you are my pupil I will abstain from the final vote, but I will advise the rest of the Nines. You will be punished for disregarding our law, but what punishment you will ultimately receive has yet to be entirely decided upon. Your gifts were sealed with the hope would eventually come before us… But the sealing was done in such a way that had you not returned, the Conclave would have been satisfied with the result.” The silver fox turned to Traize. “You may return from whence you came.”

“Daisensei, I would stand by my sister in these proceedings. With all the voices rallying against her, at least one must speak for her. I fear that there are none other than my own.”

A gentle smile parted his muzzle. “And you have done so, most eloquently. You may believe that your testimony fell on twenty-six deaf ears, but I assure you, you were very much heard. You have my word that she will be evaluated fairly, in accordance with our laws. I personally will look after her until the time comes to return her to the mortal realm. For now, you may go and inform the human at the core of this that she will not be returned in time.”

“In time for what?” Traize questioned.

“New Years Eve. Convince him to take you in her stead.” Toshiyuki turned and walked away. Tari exchanged a glance with her sister, giving a shrug before jogging to catch up.

“I should go instead?” Traize wondered aloud, turning back to the torii and summoning the portal.

“Go to what?”

“He made it sound like you knew. Did you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”

Lenard shook his head. “Nothing concrete. We’d talked about watching the fireworks outside of town, but hadn’t really made plans beyond that. If it weren’t for her promise to take you to dinner last night we’d still be at my folks’ place.”

“Well, my great-grandfather seemed to think you had something going on.” Lenard’s doorbell rang; Traize grimaced and instantly became human, a dusting of loose fur settling on the hideous couch. “The nines have an uncanny knack for not being wrong.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” Lenard opened his door; a man in a black suit examined him with a cold stare. Perfectly kept hair, perfectly cleaned suit, perfectly polished boots, not so much as a smudge or a speck of dust on his thinly-rimmed glasses. “Can I help you?”

“Lenard Evanson?”

“Yes…?”

“Package from the United Nations.” The man held out a small electronic pad. “Thumbprint and signature, please.”

“Er… Okay.”

“Thank you.” An official-looking envelope traded hands; the courier disappeared down the hall without another word. Addressed to him and securely sealed, the sender was indeed listed as the UN.

“What is it?” Traize questioned.

He turned the delivery over in his hands. “It would appear to be a large yellow envelope.”

“I don’t care what the Nines say. Tari’s been a wonderful influence on you.”

Breaking the seal, Lenard withdrew the contents: two plane tickets, a prepaid hotel reservation, and a letter embossed with the Seal of the United Nations. “It’s an invitation,” he explained, reading the letter. “I was selected based upon my academic merits as well as recommendations from a professor, so on and so forth… A banquet on the evening of December thirty-first in Washington, D.C., the first large-scale event with members of the Commonwealth.”

“Which Commonwealth?”

“The Commonwealth of United Worlds. The alien visitors.”

“Ooh! Let me see?” She took the letter and quickly scanned over the contents. “Mm… ‘Mister Lenard Evanson and Guest.’ You can take anyone.”

“It’s kind of short notice. They apparently tried to deliver it a couple of times while I was out of town. The flight leaves tomorrow morning.” Lenard picked the tickets back up. “Actually, it leaves in seven and a half hours. I don’t have anything in the line of formal wear.”

“It’s Washington. We can get you something at one of the shops there, since we’ll have two and a half days before the dinner.”

Lenard raised an eyebrow. “‘We?’”

“Somehow, Daisensei Toshiyuki knew you’d be getting this. His words to me were, ‘convince him to take you.’ I won’t just impose myself, since I know you’d rather do something like this with Tari, but…”

“But we both know she’s not going to be here. I just don’t feel right going and having a good time while she’s being put through who-knows-what.”

“Tari’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. Besides - whether you bag this or go, the outcome of her hearing won’t change. Would she really be content knowing you’d passed over something this big?”

Lenard tapped the side of the tickets, mulling over the thought and reading over the flight information.

Toshiyuki gestured to a low table in the center of the cherry tree grove, a small rug flanking each side. “Will you join me for tea?”

“Will this be tea, or the tea ceremony?”

“After nearly a thousand years of ceremonial tea servings, I think just having tea with my student would be a welcome change. Please, sit.”

Tari knelt down at one end of the table, her tails lying still at her side. Briefly, she adjusted the kimono she’d been allowed to summon, the robes a replacement for the conventional clothes her forced shapedance had torn the seat out of. The elder kitsune poured their cups before taking his place at the opposite side of the table.

“I sense you are nervous, Tarioshi.”

“I’m about to be evaluated by the one man I’ve harmed most in this incident.”

“Indeed, I am hurt by your actions, but am I really the one most harmed?”

“Lenard certainly doesn’t feel as though I’ve mistreated him.”

“Perhaps not. Consider, though… If a child is taught that blue is red and black is white, does he truly understand the nature of the damage that has been done?”

Tari sipped of her tea, contemplating the body language of her life-long teacher. While his eyes had originally betrayed his feelings, now he seemed like the aged sensei she remembered. Calm, collected. “How have I brought such levels of trauma to his life?”

“The laws governing relations between our two races were established because every mixed relationship where the human became aware of the nature of his companion failed in spectacular fashion. I took a human wife, once… After a time, when I felt certain the bond between us would survive, I revealed myself. She took her own life that night, along with that of our unborn child.”

“I’m very sorry… I don’t mean to belittle your loss, but how does that apply to Lenard and I? He already knows what I am and he’s embracing the idea that we’re different. I’ve given him the option several times to request that I remain strictly human around him. He’s declined. He wants me for who I am - fur, fangs, and tails included.”

“Your human lover is very young. Without your interference, he could have found a human wife and lived out his days in blissful unawareness of our existence. Your interruption of and interference in his life altered the choices he would have made, affecting countless others in the process.”

“That he may have made. I’ve spent the last four months with him. I’d like to say I know him a little better than you do. All I’d intended to do was cheer him up, break him out of the depression he’d fallen into. Deep down I think he was scared of women, scared of being rejected. His sister told me that she always wondered about his preferences because he’d never had a girlfriend before me. I sincerely doubt he’d have found this wife you speak of had he been left to his own devices.”

“You denied him the chance to even look.”

“Denied him? I have never touched the free will of any living creature! He’s had every chance to tell me to get out of his face. Instead, he invited me into his life.” Tari sighed, looking into her cup. “I never thought… I never even imagined that we’d find a bond like this. He was just supposed to be a random human, someone to amuse myself with while I waited…”

Toshiyuki placed his empty cup in the grass. “Waited for whom?”

She remained silent, regarding her reflection in the surface of her tea.

“I see. You still do have a shred of honor left.”

“Daisensei -“

“Would you like to know how we discovered your tryst?”

Tari hesitated, giving a slight nod. Toshiyuki lifted the teapot and carefully poured the contents out onto the table. Instead of dripping off the edges, the tea pooled together and coated the entire top in a thin layer of liquid. The surface rippled gently, showing an otherwise perfect reflection of the cherry blossoms all around the glade.

“I am old, Tarioshi. The energy required for a pureblooded nine-tail to manifest in the mortal realm is quite extreme. In the rare cases that I must make an appearance, I do not create a fully physical presence. My attunement is with Forest, as yours… Were I to openly venture out of the Celestial Plains into the mortal realm, I would instantly destroy much of that which I once strove to preserve. That is the curse of a pureblood’s existence - to exist, other things must wither and die.

“I much prefer to spend my days here, quietly observing the world through my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I can only look in on those whom I share a blood relation with, but even under that limitation I find a great deal of delight in seeing the world through their eyes.”

Scenes from the mortal realm reflected through the pool, different people and places focused in each. Japan. China. India. France. Italy. England. Tari gazed upon the people he focused upon, shaking her head.

“These are all… your children?”

“As well as their children, and their children’s children… A generation deeper still with a very precious few. Some are disguised by simple illusion or shapeshifting. A few of the older purebloods took avatars to stabilize themselves in a mortal host before doing so fell out of practice. My few children were all pureblooded, Tarioshi. I was not as promiscuous in my prime age as we now encourage our few remaining breedable males to be. Many of my daughters’ children are also pureblooded. The vast majority of their children are not.”

The mirror flickered again, showing Umeko leading a service for her Lutheran congregation.

“Do not be upset with her,” Toshiyuki spoke gently, watching Tari’s ears lay back at her appearance. “She did not betray you to us. I personally sought her out to get a sense for what she thought of you. She enjoyed your company and truly thought that your human lover was one of us. But I digress. The kitsune race stands divided, Tarioshi. Our older generations are nearly all pureblooded. The younger generations… almost entirely hybrid.”

“Why is that?” she asked. “Why the shift toward a mortal blending when we’re so despised by the vast majority of purebloods?”

“We realized some time ago that, as a race, purebloods will die out by simple attrition. Males have become a rarity, as you already know. The only way to ensure any semblance of survival into the future was to seek out an alternative. Without males of our own, only one possibility remained.”

“Breeding with humans.”

He nodded. “In retrospect, perhaps it would have been better to let ourselves fade into the annals of history. Our laws originally declared that bearing or siring the child of a human was strictly forbidden. It was the most often violated law in our history, as well as the most tragic - even I crossed it, only to lose both the woman I loved and the child I would never meet.

“Once the trend away from male offspring was discovered, the law was changed in regard to our females - a human may sire a kitsune’s child, but he must never know. It was the only way to save our race from extinction while also preserving our secrecy. As a result, mortal contamination entered the kitsune bloodline, creating what is essentially an entirely separate yet compatible race. What many cannot see in Traize, Umeko, yourself, and the other hybrids like you… You have not only inherited the core of what we are - you have integrated into that precious essence the infinite possibilities granted by the spark of mortality. This is our true legacy. You are not merely the means to our race’s survival. You are a kitsune… with a living soul of her own.”

The mirror flickered; a scene of Traize in her human appearance graced the table. The place she was standing in was not immediately apparent; a lobby of some sort. Lenard walked into view, handing over what appeared to be a boarding pass.

“An airport…? Wait, where are they going?”

“That is not immediately important. Just know that they are concerned for your welfare, and are traveling because they believe that you would not want them to miss the opportunity they are embarking upon. This trip would not be happening at all without the encouragement I gave Traize before she left here.” Toshiyuki tapped the table with his index finger; the tea-mirror lost cohesion, spilling out into the grass. “Do you have a better understanding of the distress you have caused me?”

Tari gazed at the barren tabletop for several seconds before his question even registered. “If you can watch Traize in this thing, you’re related to her… Which means you’re also related to me. Is my mother your daughter?”

“Our extended families grow so slowly over so many decades that we tend to lose track of who precisely is related to who. But, your mother is one of my granddaughters.”

“My great-grandfather… I never even knew grandparents on either side. I didn’t suspect anyone elder than that was still alive.”

“Your mother brought you to me in the context of a student. I did not discover our relation until well after you had departed my care.” Toshiyuki stood in a single, fluid motion. “I discovered your relationship with Lenard the night you revealed yourself, and have followed it since that time with the hopes that I would not be forced to intervene in this fashion. This, however, was not the first time I looked in on you. Imagine my surprise a half-century ago to discover I could not find you walking the Earth. I sensed that you were not dead, but it took me some time to consider looking beyond the envelope of our sun.”

She bit the tip of her thumb. “Then you know.”

“I know that you were… abroad, shall we say, and are keeping the finer details of your sojourn mostly private. I admit that I am somewhat jealous of your journey, something very rare for me. There is a great deal about this existence we have yet to learn and you alone opened my eyes to my personal failure to look up and discover even more. I only wish I was young enough to embark on my own journey to the stars.”

“I’m sure you could find a way.”

“Even the energy within a living ship such as the one you embarked upon would not sustain my presence for long.” Toshiyuki shook his head. “No, I must remain here, and find contentment in simply watching my family explore as this newfound expanse is opened to us. However, I digress. As I am aware that you were abroad, I am also aware that while you were not breaking the letter of the law, you were treading heavily on its spirit.”

“He wasn’t human.”

“And the law does explicitly state humans. We are considering a revision at this moment, but not because of you.” Toshiyuki gestured for her to stand and walk with him. “That technicality is the only reason I did not summon for you after your return. I could not so easily ignore your activities this time, Tarioshi. Had someone else discovered you and lodged the complaint, things would have been far worse.”

“This isn’t just about the fact that I disregarded the law, is it?”

“No. My original recommendation was to merely strip you of status for not understanding the law, even though I knew otherwise. After they independently observed you to determine if that would be adequate, they confirmed that you not only understood exactly what you were doing, but that you did not care about the repercussions of your acts. What good is banishment if you have no desire to return here? How will limiting you to the strength of a newborn one-tail affect you when you openly admitted you did not care if we did so? The only option you left us was to remove even your most basic abilities.”

“There’s got to be another means to make an example out of me.”

The silver fox shook his head. “What would you have us do? Slap you on the wrist and send you on your way? It would only encourage others to disregard our laws. We must do something and the Conclave is convinced that it must go beyond depriving you of strength and status. I would prefer that your gifts not remain permanently sealed, but it may yet come to that.”

“If I remain like that, what will happen to me?”

“You would be exactly as a human, susceptible to the full ravages of illness, disease, and time.”

“What if I am sealed as I am at this moment?”

“Your passive gifts would remain with you, leaving you ageless as you watch your loved one wither and pass away. You would not be permitted access to any of your other blood-gifts until well after his death, if ever again.”

Tari closed her eyes. “One the one side, I could remain with him, even go out in public with him, and likely die with him. On the other, I could outlive him, retain part of the essence of who I am, but never be able to set foot outside with him or go past a window where I might be seen. How is there even a choice?”

“That was their intention. To leave you but one viable option and make you a contemporary example to others.”

“There’s got to be another way.” She stopped walking; after a few paces, Toshiyuki halted and turned around.

“If you leave his side, and never return to him, you would suffer a minimal punishment. The emotional separation would affect you far more than anything we could devise.”

“That isn’t an option I’m willing to take.”

“Also as expected.”

Tari met his gaze, a cheeky grin slipping onto her face. “There’s something you didn’t take into consideration. Before today, I had no desire to return here past accounting for my misconduct.”

“And somehow, something has now changed?”

“My mother and I do not see eye to eye on anything and have all but disowned each other. My sister lives in the mortal realm, and the man who owns my heart can never enter this place. All those I cared about and thought I knew as ‘family’ were outside the Celestial Courts.”

Toshiyuki looked to the cherry blossoms as he considered her statement. After several minutes of contemplation, he turned to face her. “I can not guarantee that this will appease the rest of the Conclave.”

“If they reject it, I will live on with Lenard until the day he dies.”

“Then I… Hm. Perhaps that will be enough… Yes. I will make my recommendation.” The nine-tail pointed back in the direction they had come from. Tari turned, finding a traditional Japanese home only a few steps away. A one-tailed kitsune girl stepped out of the sliding paper doors and bowed respectfully to them.

“Inue, see that Tarioshi has supper and a place to sleep. I must speak with the Conclave at once.”

“Right away, Daisensei.”

Metigoshe Ice Tower, 2009 Edition

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:03:06 GMT

Oh, the wacky things we do to stay sane.

My brother’s been visiting for the Christmas holiday, and one of the projects he likes to do in the winter up here is make it look like we’ve got an Artesian Lake. You know, like the wellheads that flow out of the ground without a pump, because of the pressure in the aquifer? It’s the same thing, just… in a lake.

And of course, when you have vertical water in sub-freezing temperatures… Strange and wonderful things take shape.

/~kit2042/icetower09/

Christmas Party, Day 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:33:33 GMT

Day 5, the ending to our little interlude with the Evanson family, has arrived.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday. Mine was spent making nearly 4 gallons of wonderful soup, then only having half of the expected level of attendance. Anyone want a quart or eight of knephla soup? I daresay it’s almost better than Kroll’s.

Christmas Party: Day 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:25:30 GMT

“Lenny -“

“Yeah, I got one too. Yours any more legible than mine?”

“Probably not.” Jolene peered at her phone. “Assist. Me Cameron okay damage although. Quarter house vicinity north mile bouldering we. Endless transport satchel.”

“She and technology really don’t get along.”

“So I gather. Even mom can text better than this, though.” She peered out the front window. “I expected they’d be back before dark… And here come Roland and Jacob. Boys? Did you see Tari or Cameron when you were out trying that new pellet gun?”

“Cameron was up north in the pasture,” Roland replied, hanging up his coat. “Playing fetch with a wild fox.”

“Yeah, that was weird,” Jacob observed. “Thing had to be rabid the way it was acting before you shot it. Ran into the rock pile, though. Couldn’t bring back the carcass for the vet in town to check out -“

Lenard felt his heart skip. “You shot her?”

“What? It was rabid!” Roland yelled as Lenard ran upstairs to grab his coat. “What’s with him? We didn’t want it to bite Cameron or something.”

“Boys, where’s Cam now?” Jolene asked, tugging her own jacket on and grabbing a flashlight.

“Still up in the pasture, I guess.”

“And you just left him there by himself? Great.” She gave Lenard a glance as he came down the steps with a backpack. “What’s that for?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Let’s go.”

“Why are our relatives so wacko?” Roland asked his brother, watching them head out into the dark.

“Old age.”

“Probably.”

“So, you think that meant that she needs her bag?”

“With the way the rest of the message was mauled it makes sense. It’s like the thing was run through a bad translation algorithm. If they really did shoot her… ‘Assist’ is probably supposed to be ‘help.’ Rearrange the last part to ‘transport endless satchel’ and I suddenly see ‘bring my bottomless bag’ as a possibility.”

“Bottomless…?”

“I’ll show you when we get there.”

“And where exactly are we going?”

Lenard grimaced, stopping and looking around. “Best guess from the text? A quarter-mile north of the house. We should be getting close. Any idea where the rock pile might be from here?”

“Not a clue.”

“Okay… Let’s see if I can figure this thing out.” Lenard tugged his new necklace from inside his jacket, holding it tightly in his hand. “Come on, Tari… Where are you…”

Doc, doc! It hurts when I move! So he says, then don’t move! Tari grimaced as the bad joke came to mind, huddling down in Cameron’s lap. She could feel him shivering a little as he stroked her ears; it had cooled off quite a bit since sunset. He’d been dressed for being somewhat active outside; sitting still and holding her, he was slowly losing his own body heat, something his five-year-old body didn’t hold much of in the first place.

Her ears suddenly perked at the sound of distant yelling, Jolene calling for Cam. A minute later they were close enough for him to hear, and he answered back, carefully getting to his feet with her in his arms. And then, there they were. A whine of discomfort escaped her as the pair looked her over, poking through the frozen crimson in her fur while a bright lantern-style flashlight obliterated her nightvision. She didn’t think she’d been bleeding so much, but the cold in her joints and the dizziness swimming through her head suddenly suggested otherwise.

“Tari?” Jolene asked. “Can you talk like this?”

“No,” she replied, knowing full well they’d only perceive it as a quiet growl.

“I’m guessing that’s a negative. Okay… Can you change back?”

“No.”

“You just growling at us, or do you actually have a clue what we’re saying?”

She snorted, shutting her eyes. “Where’s a working translator when you need one…”

Jolene looked at Lenard. “Any idea? I’ve never heard anything quite like that out of an actual wild animal.”

“She’s definitely still herself, don’t worry about that.” Lenard knelt down in the snow, looking into her eyes as Jolene held her. “I brought the bag like you wanted… Is there something in here that can help?”

“And how’s she supposed to tell us?” Jolene asked.

“Set her down. Maybe she can sign it out somehow.”

Wonder if I still suck at pictionary… Thinking for a moment, she dipped her head down and drew a plus sign in the snow with her nose.

“What’s that?”

“An ‘X’?” Lenard asked, tilting his head. “No… A cross.”

“First aid,” Jolene realized. “She must have a kit in the bag.”

Loosening the drawstring, Lenard peeked inside. “There’s nothing in here, at all.”

“You can’t just look for it, you’ve got to… Damn it, anyway…” Limping to the bag, Tari grabbed it with her teeth and tipped it on its side. To their obvious amazement, she stuck her head through the opening and dragged the kit out into the snow.

“But… It was empty…”

“Maybe it just looks that way to us.” Jolene popped open the plastic box, looked inside, and immediately closed it. “Tari… I’m trained in both conventional first-aid as well as what you’ve got in here… You sure about using this with an audience?”

She gave a nod, lying back down on the snowy ground with her injured side up.

“Something wrong?” Lenard questioned.

“No, not at all.” Opening the kit again, Jo took out a Commonwealth medical scanner and probe. Turning the devices on with obvious ease she quickly took readings. “I’m not a complete pro at this stuff just yet, but I’m pretty sure you’re not critical. Your body temperature’s a hair low, but you’re not hypothermic… You’ve lost a little blood but the wound itself is clotted over now… Ick, might have a broken bone in that leg… Looks like the pellet is still in by your ribs, too.”

“What do we do?” Lenard asked.

“Nothing we can do out here.” Packing the kit away, Jo gently picked Tari into her arms. “We need to get her back to the house. She needs some water and a place to warm up, but it’ll be a little more than just first aid to get that pellet out and her leg set.”

“We can’t take her anywhere for that -“

“Lenny… Trust me.”

“Is Auntie Tari going to be all right, mommy?”

“She’ll be fine. Tell you what - why don’t you and Uncle Lenny go downstairs for a bit? He can read you a book while you both wait.”

“Jo -” Lenard started.

“Listen. We obviously can’t take her to a normal vet. I’ve got a friend that might be able to help, but you absolutely can’t be in here while I make the call. I promise, within an hour I’ll have something more to tell you.”

Lenard nodded acceptingly, giving the little white fox a kiss on the top of her muzzle before heading out of the attic with Cameron. Jolene exhaled and poked a number into her phone.

“Good call on the invisibility when we got to the house, by the way. Dad would have thrown a conniption if - Hey, Haran, good evening. It’s Agent Wolf - Yes, of course you already knew that… Right. I need to speak with Commander Halio, it’s urgent. Really? But she doesn’t eat… Well, don’t use a public channel, but tell her it’s a medical emergency. Yes, it really is. … Commander. Sorry to disturb you at this hour, but we’ve got a medical problem here and you’re the only one who can help. Could you by chance - yes, I realize that you’re not supposed to do that, but… It’s about Tarioshi Kitanaka. She’s been hurt.”

A green haze immediately appeared in the room, resolving into a rainbow-haired human dressed in Commonwealth medical colors. “Where is she?”

“Right over here on the bed,” Jolene stated, putting her phone away.

“Well, hello there. You’ve certainly lost some weight since we saw each other last. Been working out? Pilates or Kegels?” T’bia pulled out a scanner as the vixen growled. “Don’t take that tone of voice with me, young lady. Yes, I can. Every word. They can’t because your bracelet’s got an outdated database. I didn’t expect you’d actually need to use it when you didn’t have thumbs.”

“She can actually talk when she’s like that?”

“Of course. She just can’t vocalize any sounds that remotely form any human language.” T’bia tossed the scanner on the bed and popped the latches on a large medical kit. “What happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure of the details, but I think one of my nephews took a shot at her with a brand new pellet gun he got for Christmas.”

“Precious, that’d explain the chunk of lead in her chest… Tari, this is going to sting a little. Fine, yes, it’s going to feel like you’re on fire for about six seconds before it goes completely numb. Well, it’s a combination of disinfectant, analgesic, and depilatory. Deep breath now, relax…” The little white fox whimpered as a thin orange foam coated her bloodied pelt. A quarter of a minute later T’bia wiped it off, all the fur around the entrance wound disappearing with it. “Jo? I’m a little curious how you understood her well enough to know to call me in.”

“She’s only been in native form for part of the afternoon. My son talked her into a game of fetch.”

“Aww. Hope someone got pictures. How’d you two become acquainted?”

“She’s… Uh, she’s involved with my brother, actually.”

“Seriously? Wow. Small universe. Ta-da!” T’bia held up the pellet between her fingers, grinning at the quiet bark from Tari. “Well, of course. If you could actually feel it come out, someone clearly wasn’t doing their job right. … Okay, yes, I cheated and transported it out. Ruin the magic, why don’t you? … Yeah, whatever. Bone regeneration’s going to take about ten minutes, but it’s a good diagonal break. Should hold without any weird surgery, as long as you take it easy for the next day or two. Hm? Why not just tell her yourself? … Right, one sec… Done. New translation matrix uploaded and updated.”

“That fast?” Tari asked, her voice drifting from the bracelet around her left foreleg. “Why didn’t you do that sooner?”

“Didn’t think I needed to! Your bracelet’s due for replacement pretty soon. I probably shouldn’t even be talking to you, anyway, not with that agreement you and Jay came to when -” T’bia winced. “Damn fluff making me talk before I think about what I’m saying…”

“It’s okay,” Jolene pointed out. “I already heard about it. She hasn’t clued me in on the exact detail, but it’s really none of my business.”

“The whole basis for that agreement probably doesn’t matter anymore, not really. I’d be curious to know if he still has… Well, that can wait until I actually see him again.” Tari grunted as the deep tissue regenerator hovered over her leg. “Don’t tell him about this little accident, though?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” T’bia replied.

“Thanks. Jo…” Tari lifted her head slightly, looking across the room at her. “I’m really sorry about all this.”

“It’s all right. The important thing is that both you and Cameron are okay. How’d they manage to sneak up on you?”

“They came up from behind Cam, downwind. Didn’t even hear them coming. Only reason I’m even alive is because I saw the air rifle at the last second and leapt sideways.”

“Not quite enough of a leap,” T’bia offered.

“Thank you, Doctor Obvious.”

“Be nice. I’m all done.”

“That wasn’t even five minutes, let alone ten.”

“Always overestimate so that you look like a genius. Walk around, how’s it feel?”

“Stiff,” she replied, making a small circle on the bed. Leaping down, she was human again before her feet had touched the floor. A gentle rotation of her arm elicited a grunt of discomfort. “Ugh… Really stiff.”

“Let’s have another look… Mmm… Yeah, you’ll be a hundred percent by morning. This might help.” A hypospray landed on Tari’s neck; T’bia cycled it once, a quiet puff of air hissing from inside the device. “Anti-inflammatory pain meds. Take another dose first thing when you wake up. Shouldn’t need another after that, but one more in the evening will be okay if there’s still discomfort. Setting 427 on your kit’s hypo.”

“Thank you.”

T’bia put her tools away and snapped the medical kit shut. “I’d love to stay and chat but I sort of left abruptly in the middle of supper with four heads of state, one of whom is my boss’s boss. I should probably get back.”

“It’s really good to see you again.” Tari gave her a hug. “If it’s all right, I’ll give you a call early next week, okay?”

“That’d be great. See you both later.” Giving them both a little two-finger goodbye salute, she vanished in the same green haze that had brought her to the home.

Lenard looked up from the children’s book as Jolene descended the steps into the living room. Shooting him a smile, she gave a nod toward the attic. “Come on up.”

“What’s the verdict?” he asked, following her and Cameron upstairs. “Can this contact of yours do anything?”

“I’d say… Yes, she can.”

“And did,” Tari added, waving from the top of the attic steps. “Hiyo.”

Lenard nearly flew up the steps, snapping her up into a hug. “You all right?”

“Not even a scar. A little sore, though… Gentler with that arm, please?”

“Auntie Tari? I’m sorry,” Cameron sniffled. “I shoulda gone for help right away.”

“Hey, that’s okay. I’m glad you stayed with me while I was hurt. You did a good job.”

The young boy smiled as she ruffled his hair. “Does that mean we can still play another time?”

“You bet. I need to talk to your mommy and your uncle for a little bit. I think I smell cookies in the making… Why don’t you go help?”

Jolene watched the steps as Cameron shut the attic door. “Do you think Jacob and Roland knew?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I doubt it. The little shits are still going to pay.”

“Tari,” Lenard spoke gently. “From what they said when they came home they thought they were putting down a rabid animal. If they really didn’t know it was you -“

“Then it was basically an accident. I’m still pissed off. Don’t worry - I won’t be as direct as this morning. It’s still Christmas, after all.”

“What are you going to do?”

“If I break the gun they’ll just get another one right away, thinking it was a defective one. But erase all the rifling out of that barrel? It’ll never shoot a straight line again and they won’t figure it out for a while.” Tari rubbed her forehead. “I think she gave me a little more than just an anti-inflammatory… Feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden…”

“Why don’t you lie down for a bit, then? There’s really not much else going on this evening.”

“That’s… Uh, yeah, that’s a good idea. Room’s got a pretty good spin going now… Woo.”

Lenard helped her to their air bed, pulling the quilt over her. “Get you anything?”

“No, I’ll be fine… A nap should help.”

“Okay. I’ll check on you in a little bit.”

Tari shared a brief kiss with him, giving a gentle smile as the brother and sister retreated to the steps. “Shut the lights off when you go down?”

“You bet.”

“It is done.”

“What?” Traize turned around in the old-style Japanese home, seeing her great-grandfather stepping inside. “Already? You haven’t even heard her side yet!”

“There is no need.” The silver nine-tail eased down onto a tatami floor mat, briefly acknowledging the one-tail who brought him a cup of steaming herbal tea. “Several witnesses - including yourself - have given us the same general tale. Her own actions also make her story clear. Despite your defense of her actions, the facts remain: she has ignored our laws, and she has now been appropriately punished. Should she wish to contest her sentence, she may do so at her convenience.”

“And what exactly has she been sentenced to, grandfather?”

“Death,” he spoke simply, sipping his tea.

Tari stretched as the first rays of daylight poked into the attic’s window. A twinge of pain reminded her of yesterday’s events, her plan to get even with the young hunters briefly resurfacing. It was well into the morning, though - everyone would already be up and about. Even Lenard was already gone -

Lenard was gone?

She sat up in bed, feeling gently of the spot where he would have slept. Sure enough, it was still slightly warm, but his scent was distinctly absent. In fact - all of the scents around her were strangely muted. And furthermore - why hadn’t the snoring from downstairs woken her up in the middle of the night? The whole house felt strangely quiet.

Dressing in jeans and a loose-fitting tee, she wandered downstairs to see what was going on. Dave and Amanda greeted her from the couch where they were watching TV; she shot them a smile and continued into the kitchen, finding Linda and Sarah getting lunch assembled from Christmas leftovers.

“Oh, good morning!” Linda greeted. “Len said you weren’t doing too well last night. You feeling better?”

“Much better now, thanks. Where is everyone, anyway?”

“All over the place, same as usual… Kids are downstairs playing video games. Jo and Greg went for a walk about half an hour ago. Jon cut over to the Johansen farm north of here to help them with a cow having her first calf. I think Lenard went with him?”

“Yeah, they went over together,” Sarah confirmed.

“And I believe Ron’s giving Cameron another carving lesson. It’s great to see him interested in that sort of thing. Art’s always a good skill.” Linda peered at Tari. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’ll be all right. Where’s this carving going on? Downstairs?”

“Door on the right at the bottom of the steps.” Sarah dropped three sandwiches on a plate. “Take them lunch if you’re going down? One for you, too. And tell the kids to come up and eat.”

“Will do.” Easing downstairs with food in hand, she gave a knock on the door and pushed it open. Inside, the muted scents of aspen and walnut wood quietly greeted her, along with two smiling faces as she presented the recycled turkey on rye.

“Welcome to my little shop of horrors,” Ron quipped, gesturing at the walls covered in carvings.

“Are these all yours?”

“Almost every one of them.”

Caricatures of gnomes, birds on small stumps, relief carvings of faces and landscape scenes, diamond willow canes and lamp bases - everything in the room had once been part of a tree and had somehow become something even more beautiful.

“One of my favorites,” he noted, as she stopped to investigate a quartet of walnut bluejays huddled together on an oak branch. “Sarah painted them in acrylics last summer. She did the mallard over there, too. They all look like they’re ready to fly away at any second, now…”

“They’re beautiful - it’s all wonderful. How long have you been doing this?”

“Since my own grandpa taught me, years and years ago. It’s a nice way to pass the time. Plus, there’s no waste - the pieces and shavings are free heat.”

“I’d say.” Tari smiled as she watched Cameron whittling at a piece of basswood. “And what are you going to make?”

“It’s a surprise!” he stated, matter-of-factly.

“Oho! Well, you can tell me… I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Nope!”

“Really? Well, I look forward to seeing your masterpiece. Would either of you like something to drink to go with those sandwiches?”

“Could I have a glass of milk please, Auntie Tari?”

“You bet. Ron?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

Sending the rest of the ankle-biters to eat, she brought down the requested beverage and sat down with a cola to watch the expert teach the beginner how to draw out the art hidden within the wood. It was a simple start - Cameron was cutting into a rectangular block of white aspen, getting pointers occasionally on how to hold the variety of tools. Ron, on the other hand, was burning scales into a four-foot-long northern pike hewn from what looked to be birch.

“How long did that one take you?”

“Oh… I’ve been cutting at this fish on and off for about three years. A neighbor caught a monster like this ice fishing… Took a picture and turned it loose. Right here, see?”

“How’d that even fit out the hole?”

“It didn’t. They had to get a chainsaw and hack out a bigger opening.” Ron chuckled as he hung the picture back on the wall. “He’s just about done. Finish up the scales, get a nice coat of stain on him… He’s basically ready to go sit on the Kleburn’s mantle. Sarah really wanted to paint him but ol’ Richie wants pure woodgrain on his fish.”

“I wish I had the skill for it - wha?” Tari blinked as a block of basswood cut into a blocky fish pattern was pressed into her hand, along with a small carving knife. “But -“

“There’s no way to know if you have the skill or not until you try, young lady. Now, first off, take a look at the grain - your cuts need to go with it. Short, long, doesn’t matter - gotta come up all the way at the end… See, like there, you didn’t quite get it cut all the way and it tore the fibers. Think of scooping out melon balls. You have to cut through the wood even at the end so you don’t break the grain. It’s got to be smooth. Yeah, just like that. Keep going like that until it looks like a proper fish.”

Two hours and an adhesive bandage later, half of the wood was on the floor in tiny curls and a generally fishy shape had emerged from the grain. Ron nodded his approval as she started to smooth the knife grooves with sandpaper, pointing out small cuts she’d missed. A tap came at the door as she finally began applying the first coat of stain.

“Hey,” Lenard greeted, closing the shop’s door behind himself. “I remember that same first lesson. You’re doing way better than I did.”

“You think so?” Tari held up the half-stained stylized fish. “It screams of novice.”

“He means, you’ve only got one bandage,” Ron laughed. “Lenny here had three on each hand.”

“Ow. Well, I don’t feel nearly so inept, then. How’d the birthing go?”

“Not too bad. Glad I took a change of clothes. Jon had me on pulling duty.”

“Lenard the Cow Midwife. Got a place to let this dry?”

“Right over here.” Ron took the stained carving and deposited it on a wire rack. “When are you two taking off?”

“You still want to get back tonight?” Lenard asked.

“I really wanted to spend the whole day with Traize, but it’s kind of late to be getting on the road. It’ll almost be midnight by the time we roll in.”

“We could take off first thing in the morning, then. Gives you most of the evening tomorrow.”

“That’ll work. I’ll just give her a call and let her know I’ll be a little late.” Tari gave Ron a peck on the cheek. “Thank you so much for the lesson. I’m sure I’ll be back for the Carving 102 class.”

“My shop is always open and the knives are always sharp.”

On their way back up to the attic, Tari peered at the home around them. The carving lesson had proved a nice distraction, but the problem of her muted senses was once more acutely obvious as they moved through the house. Back in the safety of their room, she sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, just letting the sounds and smells of the house sink in.

“Problem?” Lenard asked, parking beside her.

“I’m not entirely sure. I think I’m having a reaction to the pain meds my attending physician gave me last night. I took them again this morning when I woke up, but I didn’t really make the connection until now.”

“Still feeling dizzy?”

“Not so much… But my sense of smell and my hearing are a little off.” She scratched behind her ear. “I don’t know, I’m probably worrying about nothing.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why was your bag empty before you magically pulled that kit out of it?”

“You have to blindly reach into it expecting to find what you’re looking for. Even then it’s sometimes a little stubborn and won’t give it to you right away. If it’s really not in there, it’ll give you something else completely at random.” Tari loosened the drawstring and held it open. “Try it. Think of a first aid kit, and just reach in and grab it.”

Lenard complied, surprise on his face as he pulled out the innocuous box. “Another item you could make billions on.”

“It’s a little obvious that it’s blatantly defying the laws of nature.”

Grimacing, he popped open the lid on the kit, staring at the contents. “I shouldn’t even ask about this, should I?”

“I was hoping you’d be too concerned about me last night to really take notice of that thing.”

“You’ve done a lot of weird things and have some strange toys - like the bag. This… whatever this medical gadget is, and that heater over there… They don’t strike me as kitsune in origin.”

“Len…”

“They’re not actually from around here, are they?”

“I really shouldn’t…” Tari pinched the bridge of her nose. “They’re here, it’s really not going to change a thing if I tell you… Okay. Forty-eight years ago I came across a Commonwealth researcher studying Earth. I, ah… I didn’t hide myself from him for nearly as long as I did to you, mainly since he figured out within the first twenty-four hours that the little native fox he’d picked up wasn’t an ordinary fox. He and his partner gave me a look at what’s out there and brought me back home nearly a year and a half later. That heater, this medical kit, and a few other widgets in this bag are alien technology they gave me when they dropped me off.”

“Ah. I really didn’t want to force it out of you like that, but… It’s kind of obvious that this device isn’t anything we could come up with quite yet.”

“And the fusion-powered heater was kosher?”

“I’d just about explained it away to myself as a real plug-in heater you were powering with magic.”

“Damn. That’ll teach me to openly admit anything.” She picked the scanner out of the box, turning it on. “This specifically is tuned for reading medical data. The probe’s not strictly necessary but it lets you get a bit more pinpoint reading. See? There’s your heart rate, blood oxygenation, pressure, and type, body temperature… Everything you’d need to know and more within seconds of checking. And then if there’s a problem, which there’s not… Let me pull last night up… Here, possible treatment options. Minor blood loss, give plenty of fluids and consider a blood volume enhancer, hypospray setting 631 for my specific blood type. Low body temperature, warm fluids and blankets, blah blah… You get the idea.”

“It have anything about your dizziness this morning?”

“Didn’t check. Actually isn’t reading a thing wrong with me right now, either… Give me the probe?” Tari made a circle over her head. “Well now… Not sure what to make of that… But no alarms, so…”

“Is it maybe confused since you’re not really human?”

“Shouldn’t matter. When I’m wearing this form, I show up completely human on all but the most finely detailed scans. Need lab-level equipment for that.” She frowned, shutting the device off. “Oh well. I’m really not feeling the dizziness anymore, so I guess there’s nothing to worry about. I’d better give Traize a call before it gets too much later.”

“All right. Tell her I said hi.”

“I’ll let you yell it yourself if she picks up. Oh, another thing… The ancient little touchscreen PDA thing I’m always carrying around?” Touching her bracelet, the projection immediately appeared in her hand. “Totally holographic.”

“Wow.”

“Call Traize,” she spoke, putting the device to her ear. “Unlimited texts, planetwide long-distance, and free roaming.”

“Can’t beat that.”

Tari tapped her fingers together, listening for the voicemail chirp. “Hi Traize, it’s Tari. I’m going to be a little late getting back, but we’re totally still on for supper, dinner, whatever you care to call it. Oh, and Lenard says happy birthday, but only if you’re getting this after midnight. Bye.”

“Have a safe drive, honey.” Linda gave Lenard a hug, smiling as he stepped out the door.

“Bye, mom, dad. See you soon.”

“Tari, it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you. I hope we’ll see you again?”

“Couldn’t beat me off with a stick. Tell everyone else we said goodbye?”

“Will do,” Ron replied, giving her a handshake. “Take care.”

Tari nodded, stepping outside and walking down to the car. The little engine purred as Lenard backed the car out of its parking place, rolling down the long gravel driveway into the pre-dawn darkness. A yawn escaped him as he cranked the heater to high.

“You sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I’ll wake up soon enough. Just slap me if I doze off.” He smiled, giving her a glance. “So, what do you think?”

“I think that someday I’d be thrilled to call them all in-laws. No rush.”

“None planned. Think it’s best to avoid your side of the family, other than Traize?”

“Definitely. I mean, other than her, the only one I actually know for sure is still alive is my mother… I can’t say I know how she thinks, but I’m pretty sure her first impulse upon meeting you would be to see what your liver tastes like.”

“We’ll just steer clear of the Kitanaka family reunion.”

“It’s for the best.”

Fiction Friday, Holiday Installment!

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:37:18 GMT

Managed to get Christmas Party: Day 4 finished up. Well.. Day 4, part 1. Part 2 I’ll probably just roll into day 5.

This is why it’s a bad idea to give your kids pellet guns for gifts. They’ll want to try them out.

Christmas Party: Day 4

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:33:39 GMT

“Holy shit -“

“Shh! You’ll wake it up!”

Tari cracked one eye open, listening to the two older boys bickering at the top of the attic steps. Smiling inwardly, she yawned and rolled over onto her back, pretending she was still asleep while giving them a good view of her fur-clad body.

“Quick, get the picture before she wakes up -“

“How do you know it’s a ‘she’?”

“I’ve got eyes, idiot! Give me that!”

The sound of a camera shutter went off, followed quickly by the footsteps of the two boys retreating from the attic. Tari waited until the door had shut before poking Lenard in the ribs.

“They’re gone.”

“You sure this is a good idea?”

She nodded, sitting up and letting her human appearance take over. “Some lessons are hard.”

“Damnit, the batteries went dead.” Jacob smacked the side of the camera, somehow hoping brute force would coax the last vestiges of electricity out.

“There’s another set in our room - eep!” Roland backpedaled as Tari towered over him, snatching the camera out of Jacob’s hand.

“Camera troubles?” she asked, popping the batteries out and replacing them with a fresh pair. “There we go. What have you been taking pictures of at this time of day, anyway? Did you see Santa?”

“No, it’s nothing…!” Jacob defended, trying to snag the camera out of her hands. “Give it back!”

“Well now… Isn’t this interesting… Len?”

“Hm?” Lenard came down the attic steps, looking over her shoulder with surprise. “What the hell? Jon, you awake in there?”

“I am now.” Jonathan cracked open his bedroom door, rubbing his eyes. “It’s five in the morning and I don’t need to go do the feeding run for another hour… What’s up?”

“Your boys seem to have a taste for taking pictures of sleeping women.”

“To be entirely specific, pictures of naked sleeping women.” Tari handed over the camera. “It would be nice if they’d refrain from doing that, ever again.”

Jon squinted at the camera’s back, his eyes going wide. “What the hell were you two doing up there?”

“But dad -“

“No. Go back to your room and stay put until breakfast. Now!” The man shook his head, setting the camera inside his room. “I’m really sorry, Tari. I don’t know what’s gotten into them lately.”

“Boys with toys. I’m not offended… I’ve done modeling, so it really doesn’t bother me. I’d just hate to see this sort of thing become a habit that got them in real trouble. Len, coffee?”

“Yeah.” Lenard followed her down the steps as Jonathan retreated back into the relative safety of his room. “How did you do that? Can you actually swap faster than the shutter?”

“No. Very young kitsune who have grown up foxen instead of in a human form tend to start with illusions instead of shapeshifting. It’s a little easier to master if they don’t have a basis to concentrate on for the shift. The problem is, very basic illusions are created solely by sensory influence. There’s three specific things they don’t affect that can easily give them away as lies. Shadows, mirrors… And cameras.”

“So… Instead of actually wearing your fur…”

“Right. I was lying there in human form, using my natural appearance as a weak illusion on top of that. All they got on the camera was a picture of a naked woman sleeping on top of the sheets.” Tari wandered to the coffee maker, discovering that it’d been all set up the night before, and clicked the switch to ‘on.’ “Weird. Think this is the first time we’ve been up before your dad or Jon.”

“Like he said, it’s still earlier than the first feeding trip.” Lenard peered through the doorway to the living room. “I should do something about the fire, get it going before everyone wakes up.”

“We should start breakfast, too. Need some more wood brought in?”

“Should be enough here for the morning.” Lenard hesitated at the kitchen door. “I really would have thought a wood fireplace would have bothered you. Either from your attunement, or a little post-traumatic stress.”

“I couldn’t handle being around an open fire for a long time after mother burnt the barn down… Which, in an age without electricity, made things a wee bit difficult. Burning wood, though… It’s just the cycle of life. The trees know that better than anyone I’ve met. Everything dies, and the living clean up the resulting mess. If it’s not us getting heat out of it, it’s microbes breaking down the wood fibers for the next generation of plants and other microbes.”

“I suppose so. Well, I’ll get it going.”

Tari sighed as Lenard stepped out of the kitchen, sneaking the small jewelry box out of her pajama’s pocket. Turning the innocuous package over in her fingers, she cupped her hands around it and concentrated. Faintly glowing strands of energy passed from her hands, soaking into the package.

“Merry Christmas, Auntie Tari!”

“Good morning, Cameron. Merry Christmas.” Tari relaxed, smiling at the delicate aura she could sense radiating from Lenard’s gift. “You’re up early.”

“I wanted to see Santa,” he proclaimed.

“Oh, I’m sorry… You just missed him. He was in a hurry. He said to tell you and the other kids ‘thank you’ for the delicious cookies you left out.”

“You met Santa?”

“We’re good friends. He and I go way back.”

“What’s that?” Cameron asked, pointing at the black box.

“It’s Santa’s present for Uncle Lenny.” Tari slid off her chair, kneeling down in front of the young boy. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

“Sure!”

“Take this in to your Uncle Len and tell him Merry Christmas. Don’t tell him who it’s from, okay?”

“Okay!” Cameron took the felt-covered box, running into the next room. “Merry Christmas, Unca Lenny!”

“What’s this?”

“It’s from Santa!”

Tari grinned, standing up and easing to the doorway. Lenard shot her a curious look as he moved to his feet, holding the small box in his hand.

“Santa thinks you should open it now,” Tari whispered, padding over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’d better not make his ‘naughty’ list by delaying.” Lenard cracked open the box. “Oh my god…”

Laying within the silk lining of the box was a necklace and charm, hand-carved and polished to a glowing shine from a piece of tagua. A small fox had been etched into the face, sitting on its haunches; two small emeralds stood in for eyes. A trio of tails curled around its body. The whole carving wasn’t more than an inch across.

Lenard extracted the necklace from its box, letting it dangle on its silver chain in the first vestiges of firelight. “Tari… I… Did you make this?”

“No. I did carefully alter it, added two missing tails.” Tari gently took the necklace from him, helping place it around his neck. “There we go. Now I feel like I’ve properly marked you as mine.”

“I… I really don’t know what to say. I didn’t… I couldn’t afford anything like this for you…”

“Len… For one, don’t beat yourself up over that. This isn’t nearly as expensive as it might look. Don’t tell your sister, though.” Her fingers traced across the small charm. “It’s a vegetable ivory. Tagua. Since it comes from a plant, I managed to press a little of myself into it. As long as you have that you’ll always be able to track me down, no matter where I go or what I might look like. Works in reverse, too.”

“Can I see?” Cameron asked. Lenard knelt down, showing the necklace to the child. “Neat! Can I have one too?”

“Maybe someday, kiddo.” Tari ruffled his hair. “Why don’t you see what Santa left in your stocking? He seemed really happy as he stuffed it for you.”

“‘Kay.” The young boy wandered to the hearth, carefully retrieving the Christmas stocking labeled for him and rifling through the contents.

“I’m a little hesitant to give you what I got for you, after this…” Lenard whispered, looking at the charm. “It’s completely campy by comparison…”

“This isn’t a game of ‘I got you this, so now I’m expecting blank.’ I saw something I knew I had to get for you, so I did. You don’t have to get me a thing, ever. Not for a birthday, or an anniversary, Valentine’s day, any of it. Just being able to spend time with you is gift enough for me. But, if you already went to the trouble… Gimme?”

“Well…” He grimaced, pointing under the small fir tree. “I set it there, with the stuff for everyone else.”

“You want me to wait until everyone is awake?”

“No, you can open it now. Just.. If you don’t like them, I’ll find something else -“

“Now I’m really curious.” Tari snagged the small package with her name, carefully removing the gift wrap. Inside, she discovered a new set of light yellow flannel pajamas, covered in stylized little pine trees and white foxes. “Oh, this is choice.”

“So I did okay?”

“I love it. Where’d you find these?”

“Special order from a place in California… They barely got delivered in time before we came down here.”

“I’ve gotta go change.” Tari dashed off for the bathroom, giving Jolene a wave as she came in the door. “Morning! Coffee’s close to done. Be right back!”

“Merry Christmas to you too -“

“Mooooom!” Cameron squealed, holding up a beastly action figure. “Look what Santa brought me!”

“Wow! I wonder how he knew you’d like that.”

“Rawr!” he cried, making its little plastic arms flail.

“You totally should use it to wake up your sisters.” Jolene grinned as Cameron raced up the steps. “How’d it go this morning with Jake and Rollie?”

“Jon confiscated the camera when it was discovered they’d taken pictures of my girlfriend sleeping commando-style. They thought they’d captured something entirely different.”

“Man… You’d better not get on her bad side, Lenny. Hate to see what she’d put you through. Oh, nice! Is that what he got you?”

“Yep. I couldn’t have done better myself.” Tari grinned as she came back down the steps in the new pajamas. “I suppose if I can’t be the fox, I can certainly wear a few dozen of them. You should see the necklace now that it’s been properly mounted.”

“Oh, you changed it… Even better. The eyes look a little different… Is that just the light in here, or are those emeralds actually glowing?”

“Must just be the light,” Lenard lied, shooting Tari a wink. Grinning back, her focus suddenly turned to the ceiling.

“I think your dad’s feet just hit the floor… Let’s see if we can’t whip together breakfast so it’s ready when they get back in? Jon did say the boys had to stay put until it was ready. I think I owe them a slight apology that I can never actually give them, since they haven’t even seen the shot that got them in trouble.”

Inside of an hour, the table was heaped with food. Sausage, bacon, ham, biscuits, toast, hashbrowns, eggs - scrambled and otherwise. By seven o’clock, though the sun wasn’t even up yet, every member of the family had eaten and moved on to the living room. The adults looked on with amusement as the kids gleefully tore through the gifts under the tree, occasionally getting some for themselves passed around. The fire crackled happily as it ate bushels of discarded wrappings.

Tari did her best to ignore the angry glances she got from the two oldest boys every time they looked in her direction. Cameron, however, insisted on sitting beside her as he tromped his little wolfman toy back and forth along the arm of the sofa.

“Is this the kind of gathering you all do every year?” she asked, watching another bit of wrapper go up in flame.

“Oh, no.” Linda smiled gently. “Last year we only had Lenard and Dave for Christmas.”

“We came up for Thanksgiving instead,” Jolene pointed out. “Greg’s parents got the pleasure of letting us be boarders for Christmas. It’s odd, though. Decorating a palm tree in shorts makes me miss the snow.”

“We try to divide it up,” Greg confirmed. “Give all the grandparents a chance to spoil the kids rotten every year.”

Ron grinned and tossed another stick of wood in the fireplace. “What about your family, Tari? I’m sure they’ll miss not having you at home for the holidays.”

“I told you already,” Linda scolded. “They’ve got to leave tomorrow so she can be home for her sister’s birthday.”

“You did? I don’t remember that.”

“Memory of a goldfinch,” she muttered. “It’s really a pity you both can’t stay through New Years. You too, Jolene.”

“Sorry. Work had other plans. Greg and the kids get to stay, at least.”

“I’m sure they could survive without you.”

“They could if it was just me, but my partner’s already arranged to spend New Years Eve with his family since he’s working today. We can’t both be gone.”

“Why not? It’s a holiday. You should have the day off.”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Don’t tell me they can’t just go sit up in their flying saucers and take a day off, too. I swear, they show up out of the blue and just work you all to death… It’s not right.”

Tari grimaced as the conversation steadily drove closer to the edge of a steep embankment. Quickly scanning the room, she tried to spot something to use for a distraction. Jolene had said it’d be best to avoid the topic of the Commonwealth - and now she was getting a feeling as to why.

“It’s not like that! We’ve been planning this event for a month and a half. Hell, I spent the last two weeks making sure the security arrangements all around D.C. are in place.”

“I say they all should just go back wherever they came from and leave us be,” Ron spoke. “We were doing just fine before they showed up.”

Nothing easy… Come on, something’s got to do the trick… Her eyes made another pass over everything, trying to work out anything that could remotely work to change the subject. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I’d rather not break anything they might actually miss… I could set the tree on fire, but I’ve no idea where they keep an extinguisher… I suppose if it’s just a little flame like a wire shorted, they might be able to put it out fast enough - but what if the kids -

Lenard’s hand fell on her wrist and gently held it down, as though he knew she was planning something and wanted her to wait.

“We really weren’t doing fine,” he spoke, to the apparent surprise of most of his family. “I mean, yes, sure, we were. Mom, dad, Jon, Dave, Jo… Look at us! It’s Christmas, we’re here together as a family with our own families - and a couple possible future family members,” he added, indicating both Tari and Dave’s girlfriend Amanda. “You’ve all pushed to get the farm running well again, Dave’s got his business in Portland beaten well back into the black, Jo’s got a job she absolutely loves, and I’m almost done with my Baccalaureate. We’re doing all right, and I think we’re all happy where we are in the world. Right?”

Several nods dipped around the room.

“So we’re fine. Other places aren’t so lucky. Even other people around the States aren’t so privileged as to have a roof, and heat, and food to eat. Sure, a few things might change in the world with the Commonwealth around. Maybe they need to, maybe they don’t. At this point it doesn’t even matter if they stay or go - we already know they’re out there. If we kicked them out now we’d eventually just meet them again and it’d be all awkward. Isn’t it better if they stick around for now so we can figure out what kind of people we’re actually dealing with? They rescued the Ares crew, they’ve helped provide food and water for people all around the world, they’ve even managed to notice a plane with problems before anyone else did and save all the passengers and crew -“

“Twice,” Jolene added.

“Twice… Wow. Maybe it’s all just a show, lulling us into false security for whatever they’re actually planning. What if it’s not? They really could be here with total goodwill in mind, and we’d be turning up our nose at the biggest opportunity anyone’s ever had to learn what’s really out there.”

“Lenard?” Jon questioned, giving a little chuckle. “That’s the most you’ve ever said about anything.”

“I didn’t know he actually talked,” Sarah added, eliciting a laugh from everyone else. As the jokes about his communication skills snowballed, he leaned close to Tari and whispered.

“And that’s the way you distract my family.”

“Noted,” she whispered back with a grin.

All the way into the afternoon, the happy sounds in the house still hadn’t abated. Jolene had managed to sneak in a quickly whispered ‘thank you’ to Lenard for his diversion before towing Tari to the kitchen to help prepare dinner with Sarah, Amanda, and Linda. The vast selection of breakfast was re-enacted using different actors - turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing…

“I take it there’s no vegans in the family,” Tari quipped off-handedly, working the potatoes with an old hand-mashing tool as Sarah dropped in enough real butter to last any sane person a full year.

“We’re dedicated carnivores,” Linda confirmed.

And so it went through Christmas dinner, happy and pleasant talking and jesting, and not even so much as a whisper of anything that’d set anyone off on a tirade. As everyone wandered their own directions after the grand meal, Tari felt a tug at her pantleg and looked down to find Cameron staring up at her.

“You promised,” he voiced.

“So I did.” She took a deep breath, nodding to herself. “Okay. Just for a little while, though. Right?”

“Right!”

“See if you can’t find a ball or something instead of a stick. And get some warm clothes on.”

Jolene shook her head, snickering as the young boy ran off to dress for outside. “You really don’t have to.”

“Well, he did fulfill the criteria. He listened to you all evening yesterday and was generally a good little trooper. You want to come and supervise?”

“No, I’m sure he’ll be fine with you. Thanks for not doing anything abrupt, this morning. I saw one of Umeko’s old ‘time to party’ looks in your eye before Lenny’s little rant.”

“He picked up on it, too… Which is probably a good thing. He really didn’t do too bad. I think arguing with my sister has opened him up a little.”

“Don’t they get along?”

“They’re damn near best friends now. He’s not as well versed in some of the topics she busts out, but he doesn’t back down in their little mock debates.”

“Auntie Tari, come on!”

“Coming!” Tari gave Jo a wink. “Back in a little while.”

“Have fun.”

Kid’s got an arm, she thought to herself, jogging back to Cameron’s side and dropping a green rubber ball at his feet. The house was just out of sight, a solid quarter-mile away behind a small rise in the land. Nicely flat for the game of fetch, the snow-covered pasture was only briefly interrupted by a man-made pile of rock collected from the very same grazing land.

She’d lost count of exactly how many times she’d retrieved the small squishy orb. The ball was just light enough to not break through the crust of the wind-blown snow, but dense enough to roll and bounce quite a distance before coming to a stop. The most taxing was digging it out of the rock pile when it went errant.

The ball took off yet again; swallowing through her panting, she ran off after it once more. He couldn’t possibly have much more in him for this game. Didn’t kids have a super-short attention span? Maybe he’d start to get cold if she delayed a little more each time. Taking her time sauntering up to the ball, she gently collected it in her teeth and turned around.

That’s when she spied Roland leveling a pellet rifle at her head from just behind Cameron.

She dodged sideways even before she heard the shot, still too late; adrenaline masked the pain in her side as she dashed for cover in the pile of rock. The older boys’ footsteps were almost immediately at the pile, yelling as they tried to spot her; she scooted further into the middle, doing her best to ensure they didn’t have a clear shot. Whether or not they knew who or what they were really shooting at was irrelevant - if she hadn’t seen him taking aim, she’d definitely not have seen anything else, ever.

Cameron’s own yelling cut through the pile, quickly transforming into heaving sobs as he called her name. Laughter and teasing came in just underneath, fading away with the sound of snow crunching under boots, the elder boys heading back toward the farmhouse. Tari waited several minutes before trying to move, ignoring the pain shooting through her foreleg and chest as she picked her way carefully back outside.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon, a touch after five o’clock if her memory was right. Cameron was still sitting there in the snow, alone and crying, the dropped ball in front of him. As she limped up to him she nosed at his hand; the look of joy on his face would have been comical under other circumstances.

Great, she thought, wincing as he hugged her neck. Until I know how bad I’m hurt, I can’t chance changing forms… Damn pellet might still be inside my chest somewhere. Can’t exactly go back to the house like this, either.

“Bracelet,” she barked. While Cameron definitely couldn’t understand a word of her speech in quadruped form, there was an outside chance her little piece of the Serin might. “Text message to Jolene Wolf and Lenard Evanson… Help.”

Fiction Friday: Fission

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:59:41 GMT

For those of you celebrating it, Merry Christmas.

For those of you not… Here’s a present, anyway. TF: Fission has arrived.

Yes, I realize it’s not the expected next bit of Christmas Party. Soooooon.

I’ve really been enjoying my new camera. I picked up a Canon Digital Rebel XSi a couple of weeks ago - and while the name’s a little weird compared to what they slapped on the sticker in Europe (EOS 450D sounds more pro, in my opinion) it takes some great pictures and I’m having a lot of fun with it. I should probably pick up a couple of lenses in the coming year, if I find a bag of money on the side of the road… The kit lens that came with it (18-55mm) isn’t bad, though. I’d like a little more telephoto range, and a wide-angle macro lens would be awesome.

Most of the pictures currently on Metigoshe.US were taken with my old Kodak Z812 IS, but a few up there now are from the new camera.

Fission

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:59:04 GMT

36 Ruhn, 2418; December 25, 1514. 65 days before the massacre.

“Haropikuen? Your midmorning appointment has arrived.”

The Master of the Artisan’s Guild nodded to herself, easing to her feet. “Send her in.”

The stepdisk at the center of the office blinked. Stepping down from the platform, a robed and hooded vixen padded across the room with a delicate smile. Joy danced in her teal eyes as the two shared a friendly embrace.

“It’s good to see you again, Shaytelli. It’s been far too long. I suppose that’s my fault, more than anything.”

“Nonsense! Please, my friend, sit. For you to make an appointment to see me…? This is an unusual event.”

“The most bizarre is yet to come.” The vixen briefly adjusted her gray silken robes, opening her hood before taking a chair. Snow white fur cascaded over her features, contrasted only by patches of coal-black on her visible extremities - ears, nose, hands, and feet. “Please do not think me jesting when I say that I need a favor.”

Shaytelli’s brow arched. “You of all people need a favor from me? Name it.”

The vixen laughed, gently scratching the side of her nose. “You agree so readily? You don’t even know what I intend to ask. Or, perhaps you do…?”

“No, my Lady… I knew to expect you, but I gained no insight into the nature of your visit. Still… For you to take the time to come to me in person, let alone arrange for an allotment of my time within which to do so? How can I even consider turning you away? Tell me. What may I do for you?”

Her visitor’s smile faded. “What will happen, has happened, and all must happen again. For this world and its people to exist in the Tapestry, this eventuality is immutable. It is the greatest curse of the Val’Traxan people… as well as their greatest blessing.” The vixen closed her eyes. “You alone know the full extent of what lies over the horizon. It has been a burden unfairly placed upon your shoulders. Were there any other way, we would have broken the Covenant to see it through. We do not desire our legacy to fall in such a manner.”

“And yet it must, should it ever rise at all. I have understood this for quite some time.” The tawny vixen sighed. “I cannot take steps to prevent planetfall… My visions have shown me the consequences of such actions. I cannot even speak of it to others, for they may take action, and it will end just as badly. I have instead discovered a method through which I intend to circumvent it.”

“Of that we are aware… And it is solely through your efforts that the Val’Traxan race may yet thrive again.” The visitor laced her fingers, gazing across the table. “We personally guarantee complete survival of the sleepers, from this moment through their reawakening.”

“… What? Why?”

“We are forced to refrain from all action on the long-prescribed date. It pains us greatly that we must stand idle and watch our children suffer. The very least we can do is to protect these few while they remain at rest.”

“They won’t have the supplies! They went into this excursion expecting that at least half would not wake up -“

“A non-issue,” the white vixen dismissed. “They will not be required to stand alone when they awaken.”

“For a pantheon that prefers the policy of ‘wait and see,’ you certainly choose peculiar times to dirty your hands.”

“We have little choice. Your grandson is dying.”

“Is that so?” Shaytelli smirked. “As he is presently quite alive and well, likely enjoying his day off with his girlfriend, I expect you are speaking of a particular occurrence outside of our temporal locale. If this is so, it is unlikely you speak of the first time, and whatever the case, it will hardly be the last. Why does it warrant your concern?”

“He briefly succeeded. You of all people know that this cannot be allowed to happen. Not yet.”

“When?” the elder vixen asked, closing her eyes.

“The messenger stated it is three hundred and forty-six years hence.”

Shaytelli sat silent for a time, arching her fingers together. Slowly, a smile tugged at her muzzle. “Interesting. How did this potential paradox get so far out of hand?”

“The fabric of the Tapestry weaves a familiar yet unique pattern in every pass through this causality loop. This crisis did not happen in the last iteration. It did not even appear in the Threads until it was about to occur, giving us little time to prepare. Even without a memory confining our actions… Our fingerprints must not be visible on the solution.” The white vixen shifted in her chair, leaning forward. “You are the only one who can help us repair this, Shaytelli. There are several things we must ask you to consider in the days ahead.”

Shaytelli listened to the request of her visitor, nodding occasionally as the framework was outlined. “It will not be simple to do what you request.”

“We have confidence in your capability to see it done. You are… creative.” The visitor stood. “I am afraid this will be the last meeting we shall enjoy in the flesh… There is precious little time left for us to finish our preparations for receiving casualties.”

“I have enjoyed our talks, most especially when they do not pertain to our individual jobs. I often wonder… Why not one of the Clerics?”

“As a rule we do not appear in this manner to them. We can’t. Their interpretation of the faith requires that we work our will in circuitous ways. You and many of the Guild Masters before you believe we have taken more direct approaches in the past as situations necessitate, enabling us to do so with a precious few.” The vixen bowed deeply. “It has been a great pleasure knowing you in life, Haropikuen Anastasi. I look forward to welcoming you into the After.”

“Safe journeys, Kshorahii.”

Mist enveloped the vixen, her twin tails lingering briefly as her form vanished.

Present day.

“Hey… Wake up.”

“Hnnnf…” The kitsune rubbed her eyes, squinting at the bright light flooding the quarters. “What time…?”

“Midday. We haven’t left yet, in case you’re wondering.” T’bia knelt down beside Tari, grasping her hand. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah… A little. That was just… It was so real. Just like when I walked Jay’s memory of his stabbing.” She grimaced. “I probably stole that little gem through the feeding link, come to think of it… Has he ever mentioned his little premonition demon giving him vivid dreams?”

“Not that I’m aware of. It’s been waking urges and compulsions bordering on obsession at times.”

“Hm. It really didn’t feel like a dream.”

“Well… I wouldn’t have woken you, but there’s someone who needs to talk to you.”

“I’m really not in much of a mood to see anyone right now. If I’m going to be awake, I really should be looking for a solution.”

“This… I’m really sorry, but this isn’t optional. Get dressed. Oh, and don’t cloak yourself in your Val’Traxan shapedance. You’ve been asked for as you are.”

Frowning, Tari pulled on her black and gold uniform and moved to the door. Hesitating briefly, she scanned the room; T’bia watched her curiously as she moved back to the wall above the bed and took down Jadyn’s sheathed sword.

“Really?” T’bia asked.

“I don’t know.” Tari drew it a few inches from the scabbard, watching the blue gem sparkle from within. “I feel like I need it. I’ve got no right to take it down, but… I can’t bring myself to hang it back up.”

“Sounds like Jay’s inner demon at work, to be honest. I’m kind of surprised the ktsi didn’t get upset with you for taking it without his permission. But, I suppose, since he’s given it before… Or maybe it’s because he’s with you. Hm.”

The mefiritan shrugged, moving into the hall. Vira fell into step beside Tari as they walked, a virtual clone save for the oriental robes hanging from her shoulders. The doors to the medical bay stood open as they rounded the corner; taking two steps inside, Tari froze. Her hand instinctively moved to the hilt of the sword strapped to her back, ready to draw the blade.

“You…!” she accused.

“Whoa, calm down.” T’bia gestured sideways, pointing at the sealed-off surgical bay. “Khamai’s still in a coma.”

“Then…” Tari studied the white lizardman standing before her. Wearing an identical uniform to her own, he gazed up at her from his diminutive four feet of height, yellow-green orbs of eyes taking in her own appearance. If there was even an inkling of concern about a strange vixen threatening to lop off his head, he did a good job of not showing it.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.”

“Who are you?” she questioned.

“I call myself Anolis. The Val’Traxans once knew me as ‘Chameleon.’ Three hundred and forty-six years ago, on the fifth day of J’ae, the Month of Rebirth… An elder Val’Traxan approached me as the world fell to shambles. She ensured that I safely escaped captivity mere days after helping replace me into it. Her only true condition to my release was that on this specific date, I hand deliver a letter… to you.”

Anolis reached inside the lining of his glove, drawing out a sparkling violet crystal. Tari narrowed her eyes as the stone lay waiting in his outstretched hand. “You have got to be kidding.”

“I have been accused of a great many things, ma’am, but one of them has not been a sense of humor. I was directed to give this data storage device to the two-tailed vixen who so closely resembles the Goddess of Val’Trax. What you do with it afterward is your prerogative. My mission is merely to see that you receive it.”

Grunting quietly, Tari stepped forward and plucked the crystal from his gloved palm. Anolis observed her for several seconds, clasping his hands behind his back. “You are not what I anticipated, Miss Tarioshi. By the description I was given, I was expecting someone far more… effervescent.”

“I’ve lost my sense of ha-ha over the last two weeks, thanks in part to your son.”

He dipped his head. “I apologize for his actions. You presently command the J’Ruhn?”

“For the moment. Are you intending to claim it?”

“No. It never could have truly belonged to me. The AI, Tieralyene, has been a close friend to me over the years, but she possessed her own mission. If only she could have remembered it… None the less. I think you will find you have inherited a very special ship.”

Tari turned the violet crystal over in her hand, watching the facets catch the light. “346 years, you say?”

“I understand that your method of measuring the passage of time differs from that of the Val’Traxans. However, I do not know how to convert my scale to yours.”

“Bee.”

“It’d be about -“

“I don’t care.” Tari held up the violet stone. “Open it up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Taking the storage unit into her hand, T’bia shut her eyes. “Several protected data files addressed to specific people… Uh… most of which I can’t figure out… There’s no names on the thing at all, just one-way-hashed genetic fingerprints. The two I actually have on file - one is addressed to Jadyn, but it’s flagged to only be accessed if he’s able to watch it. One keyed to you.”

“From?”

“Doesn’t say. It appears to be a video stream. Would you like it here, or -“

“Right here’s just fine.”

T’bia shrugged. A holographic viewer appeared in the air; she jammed the crystal into the side and stepped out of the way. Seconds later, the image of an elderly yellowish vixen resolved on the surface. “Good afternoon.”

“By the Spirits,” the skunk whispered. “You…?”

“A pleasure to see you, too.” The tawny vixen turned slightly, her focus falling on Tarioshi. “This recording is dated the third of J’ae, 2419. In two days’ time, the population of Val’Trax will be annihilated. Many years from now, in 2765 by the Val’Traxan calendar, Anolis will wake from cryosleep when main power of the J’Ruhn is taken offline for maintenance procedures. Shortly thereafter, he will hand the data crystal onto which I am storing this message to its first intended recipient… A kitsune who presents herself to the universe under the pseudonym ‘Tarioshi Kitanaka.’”

Tari growled, turning for the door. “I don’t have time for this crap, Bee. Play your pranks on someone else -“

Her feet came to a dead stop as the elderly vixen vocalized the first two syllables of her true kitsune name - a name she’d not uttered to anyone since her sensei had helped her discover it. Focusing back on the display, she found the tawny old fox grinning.

“I have your complete attention, now? I am Shaytelli Anastasi, Jadyn’s paternal grandmother. Furthermore, I am also the last Haropikuen the current incarnation of the Artisans’ Guild will ever know. The recording you are viewing is a flat file. No special interaction has been programmed in. With all that said - do expect that I can in fact hear you.”

“Oh, it’s one of these,” T’bia muttered. “I’ve heard rumors about her timeshifted messages. Don’t pause it unless she specifically asks us to do so, because she’ll rant and rave as soon as it’s resumed.”

“Well, what do you expect? If someone shuts you off in mid-sentence, don’t you get a little testy that your train of thought was jarred?” Shaytelli shrugged. “This is no different.”

“You can hear us.” Tari shook her head. “From what I consider to be nearly five centuries ago, you’re somehow listening in as we watch what’s been long since written to a storage device, and actually are recording it in your time as we go?”

“She’s a Temporal Artisan, Tari. One of the most talented the Guild ever saw.”

“Not so talented as to be able to personally visit the eras I can converse with.”

“This is peculiar,” Vira observed, watching from the back of the transparent viewing hologram.

“That is the least of… Oh, my apologies. I suspect no one else was able to hear that particular speaker. You and Tarioshi sound identical.”

Tari and Vira shared a glance. “But… Vira’s completely in my head. How -“

“Not so completely as you think, not after your experience last night. The divide between your selves is deepening. Were Jadyn conscious in his own body at this moment, he would also now be able to perceive the astral projection of your spirit self… Which brings us to the entire reason for this minor violation of causality.”

Shaytelli laced her fingers, resting her elbows on her desk. “I truly wish I could stand beside you in this moment and assist in the reincorporation of my grandson’s soul. As I will most likely be dead in three days’ time, an alternative must be explored. You require assistance that even your own people will be unable to render. What has been done is a combination of your own gifts, an Artisan’s elemental ability, and blood magic - which, if you’d kindly remind him, I expressly forbade him to ever use? It will take the same combination to undo the damage.”

“Great, I’m one for three.”

“Incorrect. The blood link still exists. As he forged it with your blood and tempered it with his own, only he can ultimately shatter it. It will merely require a fresh donation of your mingled blood for you to access the link. Everything else you need to complete the process has been at your disposal since you stepped foot on the Serin. You simply have not looked at all the possibilities around you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course not…” Shaytelli snorted. “I had originally intended to end this message at that and leave you to figure it out. Unfortunately, I sense both you and he are short on time… A further nudge is required.” Her eyes darted to where T’bia stood. “Vel’Halio -”

“If you want something more formal than Kieran’s nickname for me, ‘T’bia’ will suffice.”

“As you wish. T’bia… Tarioshi requires a third anchor. Jadyn’s empty shell is the first, her own body the second. Her own strength must remain her own. Otherwise - and I mean no offense in my choice of words, Vel’Kitanaka - otherwise, his essence will be irreparably corrupted and twisted into a new form he is not prepared to deal with.”

“I can’t unseal my tails, or I’ll end up turning him after all,” Tari concluded.

“Yes. Your full concentration must be focused on shaping a steady stream of exterior energy through yourself to flush out his essence, placing both energy and essence all into his body. Even if you were to spend every drop of the power inherent in your blood, you will fall far too short. T’bia… She simply does not possess the reserves to make the attempt alone.”

“That’s great!” T’bia exclaimed. “Let me just go grab one of the spare Artisans we keep in the fridge oh wait we’re fresh out.”

A knowing smile spread over the elder vixen’s muzzle. “As this must be completed before your next stop at a convenience store for a restocking run, you must be the third anchor.”

“Me?” T’bia asked. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, ma’am, but I don’t exactly have one of the major requirements to work the Art in any fashion.”

“Which is?”

“Uhm… An organic body, maybe? I’m just a hologram.”

“As I have already said… You simply have not looked at all the possibilities around you.”

Tari blinked, peering around the medical bay. “I never even considered that… Could that actually work?”

“It must. You have precious few other options, and none are readily available.” Shaytelli glanced off-screen. “I apologize, but I have an unscheduled guest. Good luck, Vel’Kitanaka. Remember: Everything you need is already at hand. Anolis?”

“Ma’am,” the lizard acknowledged.

“Good work. There is more yet you can do, should you wish… But you have already done far more than I had a right to ask of you. I will speak to all of you again, soon.”

The picture went blank. Tari tugged the crystal from the side, watching the monitor fizzle out of existence. “Bee.”

“Yo?”

“Bring the Displacement core to full power. Precharge all regeneration controls.”

“…Why?”

“I wasn’t looking at all the possibilities around us. Anolis… Thank you for being a courier. You may have just saved his life… And mine.”

The white lizard dipped his head. “Lopiakuen Tzeki once fought for my right to exist. It is only fair I return that gesture in kind.”

“Hopefully, he’ll be able to thank you in person by the end of the day.” Tari stalked to the blue fox’s bedside, peering at the nearby wall. “Would you please wait in the common room?”

“As you wish.”

She waited for the doors to close behind him. “Regeneration ready to go?”

“Yes, but I still don’t understand why you need it.”

“I unwittingly leeched Jay’s energy, without his permission. I’d now like to use yours, with your permission.”

T’bia squinted. “You mean… The ship itself will be the third anchor?”

“Bee… You move around the ship in an avatar that’s like us in form, both for our convenience and your own. At the end of the day, you are the Serin. This living ship is your organic body, and I won’t borrow your energy without your consent.”

“The Haropikuen said you needed an Artisan’s -” The AI suddenly spun around, gazing at the room. “My activation was done with the Art… And the talent itself is really nothing more than manipulating the energy inherent in everything around us…”

“Exactly. My gifts and Jay’s are way closer in substance than we thought. I’m just more attuned to plant life than all the other energy he can tap.”

“And the ship’s organics are plant-based, making it a perfect fit for funneling it to you.”

“I don’t know if regeneration will keep up with the amount I’ll be drawing.”

“You let me worry about that. Take all you need.”

“Thank you.” Tari’s eyes fell on Vira. “Bee… Before we do this, I need an alone moment.”

She vanished. “Holler when you’re ready.”

“It will work,” Vira spoke. “Once he has been removed, the divide between us will close. You will be of one mind, again.”

“It’s been interesting having you around. I think I’ll miss you.”

“Hardly. As you said, I remind you of our mother.”

“You’re right, though. I still hold some resentment about what I am. I’ve wished I could have lived a normal life, had a normal family… Met a normal guy and had normal kids and grandkids… Lived to a normal age and died a normal, peaceful death… The problem is, if I’d been this perfectly normal human I’ve dreamt of being, I wouldn’t be standing on an alien ship billions of miles from home. I wouldn’t give this up for the world.”

“Then… Knowing what you know, right now… Would you again choose the path that led you to this very moment?”

“In a heartbeat.” Drawing the ktsi from her back, Tari grasped Jadyn’s hand, their palms pressed together. “Bee, are you ready?”

“On your mark,” she spoke, appearing at the foot of the bed. “What are you intending to do with that, now?”

“I’m going to make damn sure the blood link between us is standing wide open.” Tari drove the point of the enchanted blade through their joined hands, letting their blood flow together. Hot knives of pain flashed up her arm before going eerily numb. “It’s time, Vira. If we don’t start now -“

“Then let us begin,” the spirit spoke.

Why did you force her to do that?

I did nothing of the sort. I merely offered the suggestion that the ktsi may be helpful to have ‘on hand.’ It was her choice to interpret that message in this fashion.

Had it possessed a body at that moment, the silver light would have grunted. Instead, an annoyed undulation of energy flickered about its luminance. Fine… Why did you ‘suggest’ she do that?

The bright glow rippled in laughter. Even with my namesake’s vast energy reserve to fuel the transference, there is far too much for her to concentrate upon all alone. I would rather that we not back up the timeline again. I am hardly the expert among us, but I would think that such a thing is not particularly the ‘gentle cycle’ to the fabric of the Tapestry.

We shouldn’t interfere any more than we have. You especially have taken a strangely involved stance.

You really find it so strange, given the situation?

Maybe not… Although, I can’t entirely call it an objective stance.

My objectivity has gone straight to the Void since the day he was born.

It has for us all. You may have the deepest connection, but you don’t have the only connection. Personal feelings aside, actively helping her any further is far more than we are obliged to do. She could have handled the rest on her own without your assistance.

Be that as it may be… The Ktsi of the Light is enhancing her focus, not I.

A technicality…

The Eye of the Light shone brilliant white, thick cords of energy spiraling around the blade and through the ancient gemstone before passing through the two hands joined in blood. Tari no longer knew where her energy stopped and the Serin’s began - and she no longer cared. What had originally taken less than a minute’s time to steal had finally been replaced after six hours of concentrated effort.

“Idle the core down,” she whispered, watching the strands of energy connecting her to the ship fizzle away. “We’re done. How are you doing?”

“Going to have to leave regeneration online at the normal rate for a while… It was hard keeping up with you. No permanent damage. Just a great deal of component stress.” T’bia poked the blue fox’s foot, frowning when nothing happened. “So… What’s the verdict?”

“Let’s find out.” Tari grunted, tugging the sword out of their joined hands. Rivulets of crimson dripped down the blade, spattering on the carpet. “I haven’t felt any pain from this thing since the moment I pierced us both. Even just now there wasn’t anything but a little friction. I’m afraid to look.”

“Allow me.” T’bia gently separated their palms, dried blood briefly adhering them together. “Ooo! You want the good news or the bad news?”

“The good.”

“His regeneration rate is up slightly from where he was yesterday. By no means anywhere close to his ‘normal,’ but it’s enough above a normal person’s ‘normal’ for me to notice. I’ll still have to run a dermal regenerator over it for now to patch it closed…”

“And the bad?”

“It’s not so much ‘bad’ as ‘somewhat unexpected.’ The hole in your hand isn’t bleeding anymore. In fact, it’s closing nicely. Not as quickly as it was the other day, mind you. You’re down about as far as he is up.”

“What?” Tari peered at her palm, watching as the flesh visibly knitted itself closed. “Damn it, anyway… I know I got all of his soul back into his own body… There’s no reason this should still be happening.”

“All of it? Every single little last drop? Not even the tiniest bit left over?”

“I… I don’t think so, no. I spent the better part of that last hour making sure I hadn’t missed any.”

“Then you did it wrong. I always wind up with spare parts when I put stuff back together.” T’bia shrugged. “It could just be a residual effect. Give it a day or two, we’ll poke you again and see what happens. Besides! Most people would be enthralled to find out they were healing anywhere near his rate. Hold still, now.”

“Not this again.” Crossing her eyes, the kitsune peered up at the blinking device stuck to her head. “Didn’t we already learn that neither of them would show up?”

“Which, if they’re still around up there, is still the case.”

“Vira?” Tari called, glancing about. “… No, I think she’s gone. Jay really was the catalyst that gave her any semblance of life.”

“Too bad. I was just getting used to you talking to your invisible friend.” T’bia plucked the sensor off Tari’s forehead, placing it on Jadyn’s. “He, on the other hand… appears to be asleep.”

“Differently than before?”

“He was basically flatlined before. Looks like a normal sleep rhythm now. Simple enough to test.” T’bia raised her hand, winding up to slap him awake.

“Wait!” Grimacing, Tari gently pressed the AI’s arm down. “Let him rest. No sense in waking him until he’s ready. I’m exhausted, too.”

“You sure? Be a good way to check if he’ll actually wake up. The beauty is, he can go right back to sleep if he so chooses.”

“We’ve really got to work on your bedside manner one of these days.”

One eye cracked open, scanning the room. The lighting was subdued, blue-green in hue; the ambient backlighting. A cart of test equipment stood nearby, sorted far neater than usual. The bed was the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever had the displeasure to sleep on.

Medbay…?

Jadyn shifted, sensing a weight beside him. Tari was sound asleep, cuddled into the crook of his arm. A pair of biobeds had been pushed together, providing enough room for the two of them. A gentle murmur of protest left her throat as he extricated himself and eased to his feet, but she did not wake up.

“Aerin,” he whispered, squinting through the dull throb in his skull. “Non vocal reply. Show me on any available display - status report?”

One of the medical monitors lit up. Shipwide regeneration in progress. Primary systems on standby. Secondary systems on standby. Life support at minimal safe levels. System restoration in five hours. AI core offline. AI Control interface linked to mobile emitter, library access and communications bridging enabled.

“Okay, so she’s running remote… Bee? Text replies, please.”

Aha! came the response in bright green. Good morning, sleepyhead. I wasn’t expecting you to rejoin the living world for another day. How are you feeling?

“My head’s absolutely killing me. What happened?”

What’s the last thing you remember?

Jadyn grimaced, peering back at the snoozing kitsune. “Waking up beside someone who I thought was a hostage. Not that I’m complaining - saves me a bit of work.”

Before that, smartypants. You recall the vial of blood exploding in your hand?

“Vaguely. There’s a few freaky images after that, too… Have I ever struck Tari, that you know of?”

Outside of contexts that I’m technically supposed to filter off and never ever remember? No. One second, I’m almost there.

The medbay door opened; T’bia padded in, an old Galactic Fleet style maintenance uniform covering her body. Jadyn blinked, looking back at Tari; she too was wearing a GF uniform, though hers for some unfathomable reason was decorated in command colors.

“What the Void did I miss?” he whispered.

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Bee -“

“Tari has been through far more than she deserves to deal with just to save your sorry excuse of a hide… I’m not going to even remotely chance stealing her thunder. She’ll tell you in her own sweet time. Now. As your authorized medical practitioner, I’m informing you that you are confined to this room until further notice, and if you try to leave I will beam you out into orbit around Veloria. Clear?”

Jadyn frowned. “Threats, now?”

“I have four crews waiting on me to finish what I was doing before you woke up, and I can’t be in both places at once so I can babysit you. You’ll find out all about everything soon enough. Oh, that reminds me. Give me your hand.”

Raising an eyebrow, he placed his hand in hers. Before he knew what happened, a flash of steel glinted in the light and hot pain shot through his palm. In the same instant, the knife disappeared and her now-free hand firmly held his mouth shut, preventing a surprised yelp of pain from leaking out.

“What in the name of the Eight has gotten into you?” he hissed, yanking away from her. T’bia snorted, snatching his hand back, and refused to let him go. “Bee -“

“Jay. Look at the cut. Look at it, and think for two whole seconds.”

“You just don’t… give… up?” Staring at his palm, he gently tugged free of T’bia’s grip and watched in confusion as the purely superficial laceration continued to bleed. She pressed a rag into his free hand and walked to the door.

“Keep pressure on that for a little while. The dermal regenerator’s right there on the cart. I assume you still know how to use it?”

Jadyn slowly nodded.

“Good. I’ll check on you as soon as systems come back online. Page me if there’s an emergency. Otherwise, rest up. You’re going to need it.”

Christmas Party: Day 3

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:25:42 GMT

December 24, 2047.

It had been a very loud night.

Tari rolled over in bed, rubbing her eyes. Her kitsune hearing had given her front-row seats to Lenard’s father’s obnoxious snoring, all night long. Staying in a pure human form without her extended senses hadn’t even worked - her ears were still sensitive enough to capture every snort, every single grunt cutting through the floorboards. Lenard, still numb to the noise after his time away from home, slept blissfully through the entire night.

Briefly shaking out her fur, she cuddled up against his back, resting her muzzle on his neck. The noise had only just stopped not ten minutes before; she’d heard footsteps moving about downstairs as the old man started in on his morning routine. The aroma of fresh coffee drifted up the steps shortly afterward, teasing her nose with delicious promises of caffeine. Outside, the old tractor fired up, rolling down the drive for the morning feeding of the cattle.

Tari sighed, trying to let sleep consume her at least for an hour. As she drifted off, strange dreams of a photography shoot carried her along, the sound of a camera shutter echoing in her ears.

“Mommy! Look!”

“Hm? Cameron, I’ve told you, mommy’s phone is not a toy.” Jolene took the device from her son, setting it on the kitchen table.

“But -“

“No buts! The last time you played with it, you broke it. Remember? Mommy had to get a new one and was very upset for several days.”

Cameron frowned. “But mama - I got pictures!”

“Oh, god…” Jolene pinched her nose. He’d sent a bunch of photos to random people in her address book the last time, too. An unflattering shot of herself, sprawled out asleep in her pajamas, had made the rounds at work before she’d transferred. “Okay, honey. Who did you send them to this time?”

“I didn’t,” he defended, reaching for the phone. “I got you pictures of the werewolf!”

“The werewolf, hm? Weren’t you scared it was going to eat you?”

“Nuh-uh. I think she’s a nice werewolf.” Cameron held up the phone, showing his mother the screen. “See? Unca Lenny isn’t afraid of it. I think she’s his pet.”

Jolene stared at the phone’s display, her mind grinding to a complete halt as she digested exactly what she was looking at. “That… Okay, kiddo. Tell you what. You promise not to tell anyone else about this, and we’ll see if he’ll let you pet her. Okay?”

Cameron’s head bounced happily in a nod. Jolene gave him a kiss on the forehead, her eyes lingering on the photo before locking the display.

“Mornin’,” Tari grunted, pouring herself into a chair. A thankful smile crossed her face as she lifted the cup of coffee that appeared before her. “Thank you.”

“You bet.” Jolene parked beside her, setting her phone face-down on the table as she nursed her own pick-me-up. Tari thought she smelled a shot of brandy in the young woman’s. “Sleep well?”

“Hnnf,” she grunted around the mug. “Your dad kept me up all night with that snoring.”

“That’s the big reason I brought the camper. My brothers have always managed to sleep through it… Sarah tells me that Jonathan has inherited dad’s gift for shaking dust off the rafters. You get any sleep?”

“An hour or two, after he left to go feed the cows.”

“Hope Cameron didn’t disturb you too much this morning, then. He went on another werewolf hunt.” Jolene sighed, flipping her phone face-up and sliding it across the table. “Seems he’s got a half-decent camera technique. Maybe I should have bought him a little pocket one for Christmas.”

Tari’s eyes fell on the digital picture, a faint sense of panic bubbling up through her still-sluggish thoughts. Splayed out before her was a rather uncomplimentary photo of her three-tailed kitsune form, sleeping with her arms around Lenard. She’d kicked off the sheets after finally falling asleep, the room having grown slightly too warm between her fur coat and the small fusion heater. A great deal of detail about her backside and all three tails was plainly visible.

“Jo, I -“

“Stop. Don’t. Just… Don’t even try, please.” Jolene reached over, taking back her phone and gazing at the shot. “I assume he knows?”

“Yeah.” Tari stared at the tabletop. “Yeah, he’s known since the end of October.”

His sister nodded slightly. “I’m pretty sure I have an idea already, but I want to hear it directly from you. Who and what exactly are you?”

Biting her lip, Tari’s eyes fell on her bracelet. “I like you, Jo, and I’d rather not flat-out lie to you. With your connections to the Commonwealth, it’d be really easy for me to cop out that way and confirm what you’re assuming… But it’s not the entire truth.”

“So you actually have legitimate Commonwealth paperwork?”

“I do… It’s the sole portion of my life I’d rather not tell Lenard just yet. I’d been considering surprising him with a ship tour as his belated Christmas present.” A quick tap at her bracelet later, Tari changed her holographic PDA into a proper datapad and slid it in front of Jolene. “My Commonwealth credentials are valid, but the personal data was falsified to protect myself and my people.”

“Let’s see…” Jolene chuckled as she perused the record. “Cute. You’re actually a registered metamorph.”

“Hm?” Tari slid the pad back into her own view. Her identity as a Val’Traxan was gone. In its place was a file stating she was a member of a race called the ‘Kitsunati.’ “What the hell… When did this change on me?”

“Timestamp of last-update was a couple weeks ago.” The human tapped a line of text on the screen. “Right there.”

“Huh. Well, I have a feeling I know why she changed it, but I wish she’d have asked me first…” Scratching her head, Tari let out a quiet sigh. “Either way… It’s still a fabrication. Bracelet. Display my full and true ID record, not this coverup.”

The pad’s screen flashed red. Voiceprint matched. Please confirm: Display secured record for Tarioshi Kitanaka?

“Confirmed. Display the record.” The screen blanked, new data pouring forth. “I’ve earned a Commonwealth citizenship, but I’m actually from here on Earth. I was born in Japan in -“

“1849,” Jolene interrupted, reading the screen. “Yes, it’s all right here. Why should I believe this garbage that you claim is fact over the other garbage you claim is fiction?”

“I can’t give you a reason. The most I can suggest is that you confirm this data with Captain Tzeki and Commander Halio. They both know me and what I am -“

Jolene glanced up as the kitchen door opened, shooting her husband a faint smile. “Morning, Greg.”

“Hi-hi… Hey now. You’re supposed to be on vacation.” Greg tapped the edge of the pad. “Why are you bringing work with you?”

“It just seems to follow me wherever I go these days.” Jolene glanced at Tari and stood up, slipping the holographic pad in a pocket of her robe. “I’ve got to get started on breakfast, Tari. We’ll finish later.”

“You’re lying,” Natalie insisted. “There’s no such thing as werewolves.”

“I’m not!” Cameron shook his head. “I even got a picture.”

“Oh yeah? Where is it then?”

“On mama’s phone. She said we might get to pet it.”

“I don’t want to pet a wolf,” Josephina rejected.

“It’s not a wolf,” Cameron countered, frowning at his older sisters. “It’s a werewolf. It’s like a big, hairy person, with three tails and white fur.”

Their cousins, Jacob and Roland, exchanged a glance. “Where’d you see it?” Roland probed.

“In th’ attic,” Cameron replied around a mouthful of pancake. “It was sleeping next to Unca Lenny like a big puppy.”

“Kids?” Jolene stuck her head around the bottom of the stairwell, holding out a platter. “Still some pancakes left.”

“Yes, please, Aunt Jo.” Jacob held out his plate, smiling as another installment landed. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Rollie, Cam, girls?”

“No thank you.”

“Okay. Try to keep it down to a dull roar this morning? You can play video games if you keep the volume low.”

“Yes, mom.” Natalie looked at Cameron as Jolene proceeded back upstairs. “Mom? Cam says there’s a picture of a wolf on your phone.”

The woman’s footfalls immediately stopped on the steps and turned around. “What’s that, now?”

“The picture I took of Auntie Tari, mama.”

Jolene forced a smile. “Just because she looks a little scary in the mornings doesn’t make her a werewolf, honey. Go on, finish breakfast and bring your plates up to the sink. Okay?”

Tari glanced over her shoulder as the front door opened; Jolene stepped outside into the crisp morning air, adjusting her scarf. “How can you not be freezing to death in just that jacket?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time outside in the cold. You get used to it.” Tari slid sideways on the porch swing, making room. “It’s really not too bad out here.”

“Having a winter coat you can turn on at your whim can’t hurt, either.” Jolene eased onto the swing, peering up. “I remember when Dave and Jon hung this thing. They used tiny little eyebolts the first time… Dad sat down and they pulled out of the overhang. He nearly went through the picture window.”

“I envy you.” Tari stared across the farmyard, watching the same two older brothers fighting with a cold piece of farm equipment. “I couldn’t have had a normal childhood like that. No brothers or sisters while I was growing up… Mother wasn’t around, and my father really wasn’t in a position to help me through what I was going through.”

“I take it he was human, then.”

“Mm-hm,” she voiced. “Died a very long time ago. Minus a brief stay with my own people to learn how to control my gifts, I’ve basically been surviving on my own for the last hundred and eighty years.”

“How’d you get involved with the Commonwealth?”

“I came across one of their field researchers and wound up going offworld for a year. Was a pretty good time, actually…”

“Jadyn, I assume? From what you said earlier.”

“Yeah.” Tari glanced at Jolene. “Did you call them?”

“There’s no need to bother them with this.”

“No need?” she asked. “That’s a mildly disconcerting thought.”

“The datapad you gave me disappeared when you left the room. Even so, from the brief look at your file I got before Greg came in… I think I can say with certainty that I believe you are what your secured record says you are.”

“Just like that? No inquisition?”

“Just because I knew exactly what I was looking at the moment I saw the picture doesn’t mean you’re getting off without a grilling.”

“Wait - you knew?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“But -“

“No. What are your intentions with my kid brother, kitsune?”

Tari peered at Jolene, biting her tongue before she said something she’d regret. Regardless of the questions raging in her head, she was a guest in their home. Depending on exactly what Lenard’s sister knew, the human could make things either very difficult, or incredibly difficult.

“I love him,” she replied softly, gazing out over the farmyard. “I honestly do. Someday I’d love to start a family with him, be it a child of our own or an adoption or whatever the case may be… but that’s years away. For now I’m content just sharing in his life. After he graduates this spring, I’ve been planning on taking him on a tour around the world. Maybe even off of it for a while, if the cards fall into place. Haven’t tried to touch bases with anyone since they rescued the Ares crew… Been a little hesitant to make the call.”

“Why?”

“Jadyn and I made a deal before we parted ways. We agreed that until the fiftieth anniversary of the day we met we’d not try to make contact with each other… We never said we couldn’t before that, just that we wouldn’t actually try.”

“Strange. Any particular reason?”

“None that are easy to explain on short notice. It’s only been forty-eight years. If I happen to run into him, so be it. I’m going to hold up my end as long as I can until then.”

“I’ll accept that… For now. But do me a favor? Don’t mention the aliens around my mom and dad. They’re really not comfortable with what I’m doing and they don’t entirely trust the Commonwealth’s claims of altruism. They weren’t ever fond of the idea that I might someday be in a position to take a bullet to save the President, but I think they’d rather watch that replayed forever on TV than see me doing the same for the Captain or Speaker.”

“Guess that means they can’t know about me, either.”

“No. Definitely not.” Jolene shook her head. “They wouldn’t understand it. A two-hundred year old terran-born Japanese fox-woman, possessing alien paperwork and masquerading as a Caucasian human, dating their youngest son? That blows my mind away. It’d probably give dad a stroke.”

Tari frowned. “How much do you actually know about us?”

“Quite a bit. One of my best friends in college was a kitsune. She was always a party waiting to happen… And often did. I know more truths about your people than you think, including the fact that I doubt they’ll look highly on your present relationship.”

“Yeah… They wouldn’t understand it any better than your parents would understand me.” Tari patted her hands together. “There’s no need to be concerned for his safety. They won’t lay a finger on him. Hell, by their own laws, they can’t. If they feel the need to prove a point, they’ll take it out on me.”

“And you expect it won’t completely destroy him if you’re whisked away to be punished for breaking the law?”

“He’s stronger than you give him credit for.” Tari shook her head. “Besides. There’s no way they’ll find out. I’m completely disconnected from our society with one very minor exception, and she agrees with my opinion on those archaic rules.”

“The sister you mentioned?”

“Mm. She’s tried to have meaningful relationships while staying within the laws, and it never works out because they figure out she’s hiding something and promptly leave her on the curb. Lenard’s been completely understanding of what I am… He’s still a little jumpy about the things I can do, but he doesn’t want me to hide it just to alleviate his personal discomfort. That’s why I love him.”

“He’s got good taste, I’ll give him that.” Jolene smiled. “I suppose… If he’s happy, that’s all that really matters. That necklace you bought makes more sense today. He’ll love it.”

“I thought he might.”

“Word of warning?”

“Hm?”

“I suspect the kids are going to try for more pictures. Cam couldn’t keep his mouth shut, even with the promise that he might get to pet Lenard’s pet werewolf if he didn’t blab.”

Tari snickered, nodding. “I see.”

“Jacob and Roland have their own little camera and I can’t rightly take one away from someone else’s kids. Keep an eye open.” Jolene stood up. “Also, there’s been some more talk about going to the Christmas Eve service tonight at the local Lutheran church.”

“I’d rather not… Churches and I don’t get along well.”

“If you’ll trust me to make arrangements, I think we can get you in without a hitch. It’ll be a little strange if you stay here all by yourself. It looks like everyone else is going, and we were planning on taking the kids.”

“All right… Just don’t expect me to sing a hymn.” Tari eased to her feet, looking across the yard. “Wonder if I should be help or hinderance with that old tractor… Just doesn’t start in the cold?”

“Never has. Don’t know why they think today’s going to be different. They wanted to go push open a road to the next stack of bales with the bucket on this junker. Dad’s got the bale forks bolted on the other one for feeding the cows. It’s an all day project to swap them out.”

Keeping her arms at her side, Tari made a fist, gently spreading her fingers and focusing the warmth of her thoughts into the engine block. All the machine needed was a little bit of heat. Pure elemental Fire wasn’t a fun playmate for a Forest kitsune, but even a novice one-tail could manipulate foxfire. “Come on, guys, hit the starter…”

The engine roared to life, spewing a black cloud of diesel soot into the winter sky. The two brothers clapped each other on the back as they closed the hood.

“Nice job… Now what are they going to fight with for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Wait for it.” Tari grinned as the engine sputtered and died. “My work out here is done.”

Lenard rubbed his eyes, looking again at Jolene’s phone. “Damn it, Tari…”

“It’s hardly my fault,” Tari scoffed.

“Well, I’m certainly not the one with the built-in fur coat,” he replied. “You going to make us tell mom and dad?”

“No.” Jolene scrubbed her finger across the photo, deleting it from the memory. “Oh, hell. He took more than one.”

“I don’t know… That one’s sort of precious. Maybe we could frame it?” Tari grinned as the remaining pictures were purged. “Thank you, Jo.”

“You have no idea how hard it is to make myself destroy evidence.” Jolene stuck her phone back in her pocket. “Lenny, I’m thrilled you’ve found someone that cares about you, and that you actually reciprocate… I’m a little surprised by your specific choice, is all. Mom and dad don’t need to know the finer details about your personal life any more than they need to know the finer details about my professional life. It’s enough for them to know we’re all happy with what we have.”

“You kids ready yet?” Linda asked, sticking her head in the kitchen. “We’re about to head out.”

“Yeah, mom. I’ll ride with Lenny and Tari.”

“Okay. We’ll meet you guys there. I think Cam wants to ride with them, too.”

Tari smirked. “I bet.”

“Is there room for all of us?” Jolene asked.

“Should be, now that all the stuff’s out of the back seat.”

The group grabbed their coats, plodding out into the fading afternoon sun and piling into the powder-blue crossover. Tari eased into the back seat, smiling as Cameron climbed out of his mother’s lap from the front and sat beside her.

“Am I not so scary anymore?”

“Nuh-uh,” the child voiced. Jolene smiled wryly, fastening her seatbelt.

“I heard you took my picture this morning. Why’d you do that?”

“No one believed me when I told ‘m what I saw!” Cameron exclaimed. “Can I touch your fur?”

“Cam,” Jolene scolded.

“No, it’s all right. It’ll let him get it out of his system.”

“Or it’ll just encourage him further. What if someone sees you?”

“We should be far enough away from the rest of the caravan. It’s dark enough out here now that oncoming traffic won’t be able to see in the windows, anyway.” Tari peered at the child. “You have to promise me something, Cameron. No more taking pictures of me or telling people what you saw. It’s going to be our secret. Can you do that for me?”

Cameron nodded quickly.

“I mean it. If you don’t keep your promise, I’m going to nibble off your toes and fingers in your sleep. Just think about how hard it will be to enjoy waffles if you can’t hold a fork?”

“I promise,” he gulped, gasping as Tari’s foxen side appeared. She met Lenard’s eye in the mirror, giving him a wink.

“Eyes on the road, hon.”

“Right, right…”

“Wow…” Cameron’s fingers ran through the fur of her arm. “You’re soft. Do you like to play fetch?”

Tari laughed and shook her head. “I’m not a dog. I do like my ears scratched, though.”

“Why do you have three tails?”

“Because I’d look strange if I didn’t have any.” Tari glanced forward as she felt a hand land on a straying tail. “Hm?”

“Sorry,” Jolene replied, letting her go. “Couldn’t help myself. I’m working around furred people all day, every day, and it’s nearly impossible to restrain the impulse to just… Pet one.”

“Humans do have the compulsion to cuddle soft and fuzzy things,” she observed, laying her head down in Cameron’s lap so he could grope her foxen ears. “Kudos for restraining the urge around them. Personally, I don’t mind so much. Mm… Kid, if I could purr, you’d be getting an earful.”

“You’re silly.”

“Tari?” Lenard asked. “You briefly mentioned… difficulties… getting into a church. Care to enlighten me yet?”

“If I walk into a church that I haven’t been invited into, my human shapedance will break very shortly after I cross the threshold of the door. I’ve never actually pressed my luck to test it… But I doubt the particular source of the info would lie about something like that.”

“And that’s where I come in,” Jolene replied. “You just need someone to invite you in, right? That’s all we ever needed to do for Umeko.”

“Mm-hm. The pastor would be best, although any member of the congregation that can speak for the congregation can do it.”

“And once you’ve been let in, you can just walk in any time after that?” Lenard queried.

“Unless I’m specifically asked to leave by name and not return. Hnnn… How much of a drive is this? Hope it takes a while… If you ever need to rent a lap cat, let me know… Mmh. Talk about magic fingers… Len, get a lesson from this kid. Seriously…”

“It’ll be about half an hour with the roads like this.” Jolene smirked at her son. “Okay, Cam, that’s enough playing with her ears. We need more than just a quivering puddle of fur when we get to the church.”

“Aww, mom…”

“Mother knows best,” Tari quipped, sitting up and running her fingers through her hair as she shifted back to human appearance. “Don’t worry, Cam… If you’re good this evening and listen to your mommy, and you don’t forget our little deal… I might just be willing to indulge you in that game of fetch if the weather’s nice tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Just for a little while. It’s really a pain to brush wood chips out from between my teeth.”

“Wait here a minute.” Jolene left Tari and Lenard outside the church doors as she stepped inside, moving off through the small crowd.

“You’ve been pretty quiet tonight,” Tari observed.

“I’m a little worried that Jo found out.”

“Eh, don’t be. She and I have an understanding, now.”

“It’s not that. What if one of the others figures it out too?”

“Then we’ll deal with it when it happens, and not stress over it even a second before then. It’s a complete waste of energy and time to fret about something when there’s nothing you can do to stop it from happening. Save the energy, fix it when it comes up, and move on.”

Lenard shook his head. “If you say so.”

“Hey.” Tari laced her fingers behind his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. “Trust me on this. I’m a little more aware that I can’t just fall asleep and let my fur hang out, so I won’t be going to bed like this and waking up like that until we get home. Cam’s being a good sport, and he’s opened up an opportunity for me to terrorize the rest of the runts. I just have to figure out a way to exploit that…”

“Maybe you should come down the chimney early in the morning in a red suit.”

She blinked, looking him in the eye. “Hey… Are you calling me fat?”

“What? No!”

“Tsk,” she clicked, poking him between the ribs. “I see how you are.”

“Tari?” Jolene spoke, standing just outside the door with a well-dressed young woman. “This is Pastor Umeko Plumchild.”

“It’s a pleasure… ma’am?” Tari blinked as they shook hands, sensing the repressed aura of the woman before her. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Not in the least. I am the pastor for this congregation. I greet you, sister… and… How rare! Greetings to you as well, brother. Please. As long as you behave yourselves, you are welcome here. Do come in.”

“Thank you.” Tari glanced at Jolene; she simply winked and led them to where the rest of the family was seated.

The service was nice, but otherwise uneventful; Pastor Plumchild stopped Tari at the door as everyone else filtered downstairs for a potluck dinner.

“I am surprised to find kin in such a remote place, so far from home,” the young woman voiced, gesturing to a pew and sitting down.

“I assume you’re the same Umeko that Jo attended college with?”

“I am. I have settled down somewhat in the brief years since she and I met. My parishioners would likely not agree with the types of get-togethers I used to enjoy.” She leaned back, gazing upon Tari. “I must admit, I do not entirely understand the nature of your visit. Have I done something to warrant being checked upon?”

“No, no… Not at all. I’m not here because of you. It was either attend the service with the Evanson family, or sit at home all alone for the evening. Jo said she could make arrangements for entry… She never mentioned that a sister-in-tails was leading this particular church. I had no idea until she carted you outside.”

“I see… So you and your mate are simply friends of the family, visiting.”

“He’s not… Well… I suppose he is my mate, at that.” Tari sighed. “I haven’t been thinking in that context but I suppose it’s true enough.”

“It’s quite strange… I thought all our males were restricted to Japan.”

Tari’s mind reeled as she finally realized the pastor’s confusion, Traize’s voice coming back to her. I really could have mistaken you, Lenard. There’s an energy about you that most humans don’t have.

“What is he doing so far from home?” Umeko finished.

“You know how they are about hybrids,” she replied, weaving a careful trail of words in her head as she desperately tried to not look rattled. “Despite what they say, the only males they actually care about breeding are purebloods.”

“True enough.”

“How long have you been leading this congregation?” Tari probed, gently pressing the spotlight away from Lenard.

“Two years. I assume you have some question as to whether I am merely guiding a herd of sheep, feeding upon their combined energy… Or if I truly believe what I preach to these humans?”

“I don’t question the faith of another, even when I don’t share in it. What you believe - or don’t - is entirely your own business.”

The pastor nodded. “I thank you for that. But surely you must wonder?”

“There is a slight morbid curiosity, yes.”

Umeko lifted up a bible, turning it in her hand. “This is a book. It is a good book, full of a great number of stories from the past. They may be fact; they may be fiction. Not even our very eldest have lived long enough to be first-hand witnesses of what has been documented within these covers. Whether or not I believe in these words is irrelevant - if I can fathom the lessons passed down within, and pass those lessons on to those who wish to learn them, I have done a good thing.”

Tari smiled. “These people are lucky to have you here.”

“And I am blessed that they continue to return. Come. Let us get something to eat before everything has been cleaned out.”

“What exactly happened tonight?” Lenard asked, following the caravan of cars back to the farm.

“What do you mean?” Jolene questioned back, looking up from her smartphone calendar.

“That pastor called Tari her sister.” He glanced over his shoulder. “You awake back there?”

“Mmm..?” Tari voiced, Cameron’s fingers scratching around her foxen ears once again. “Sorry, must have dozed off. What’s up?”

“Was that pastor someone you knew?”

“Not specifically. Just a fellow sister of the tails.”

Lenard blinked. “What?”

“Seriously, you cannot be that dense.” Jolene laughed. “Pastor Plumchild’s a kitsune, like Tari.”

“I thought you guys were rare to find out in the world?”

Tari smirked. “The average person won’t ever see even one of us, or know that they have. Those that actually are lucky enough to meet one tend to stumble upon a multitude of others. That’s three now for you?”

“Yeah, guess so.” Lenard shook his head. “So why’d she call me a brother?”

“She thought you were one of us. Remember what Traize said when you met her - she would have mistaken you as kitsune had she not been told otherwise.”

“Oh, really?” Jolene voiced. “Why’s that?”

“I haven’t really been able to see it, myself… But she’s always been more sensitive to that kind of thing. Apparently there’s a bit more energy in his aura than a regular human normally totes around. It happens from time to time… You guys used to possess magical talents, and there’s still a few here and there with the potential. It really needs to be nursed early on. At this point it’d be nearly impossible to teach Len much of anything, if that’s actually what it is they’re seeing in his aura - Nnh.” Tari squinted one eye, flipping her ears back. “Hey now, Cam. Don’t be doing that. It may be cute to watch my ears twitch when you poke a finger inside, but it’s hardly polite.”

“Sorry, Auntie Tari.”

“Anyway… Since Jo hadn’t mentioned you two are siblings and the Pastor came out while we were smooching… I didn’t bother to correct her error. Don’t need to worry about uncomfortable questions coming up that way. As far as she’ll ever know, we’re just a pair of wandering kitsune staying with some human friends for the holiday. Chances are we’ll never see her again. Nothing to worry about.”

“Umeko-san.”

Umeko dropped to her knees, bowing before her visitor. “Daisensei! You grace me with your presence. To what do I owe the honor?”

The silver fox nodded tersely, snapping a paper fan shut between his fingers. “I cannot remain long. A suspected nogitsune was in your presence this evening. Tell me what you know of her, quickly.”

And so the pastor recounted the evening. She described the disguised kitsune pair that had attended the service, outlining the talk she and the female had shared in great detail.

“Why do you believe that he too was one of us?” the silver fox asked.

“His aura appeared too strong to be that of a mere human, Daisensei. I could perhaps have been mistaken… But after witnessing their intimate moment outside, I merely assumed that they were a mated pair traveling together. She did not counter my assertion that he was kitsune… But I now realize she did not support it, either.”

“Arigato, Umeko-san. Spend no further thought on this matter.”

And the silver fox vanished, the aura of each of his nine tails hanging in the air as he faded from sight.

Christmas Party: Day 2

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:10:36 GMT

December 23, 2047; 41 Ruhn, 2799

Morning in a house with small children brings its share of unique hazards. The patter of little feet and giggling in the hallway downstairs only briefly roused Tarioshi; cheers of delight woke her only long enough to turn over and bury her nose under a pillow. Sleeping in was proving to be difficult.

What finally pushed away the heavier fog of sleep was the scream.

Tari sat up immediately, finding a young boy staring at her. Cries of ‘werewolf’ echoed up the stairwell as he dashed away to find an adult. Drowsiness dulled her reactions; it wasn’t until she scratched her chin that she remembered she’d transformed the night before. A passing thought solved the issue of her appearance; dealing with the child would prove more of a challenge.

At least it wouldn’t be a dull week.

It wasn’t two minutes later that she heard the door open at the bottom of the steps. “A monster in the attic, you say?” Jolene questioned from down below. “Let’s go up and see if it ate Uncle Lenny in the night.”

“Moooooom!” he wailed.

“Come on… You don’t expect me to confront the monster alone, do you? I might get scared. I need you to protect mommy.”

“Ooga-booga!” Tari called, sticking her now-human head into view from her position lying on the floor. The child screamed again, running back into the hall. “O valiant knight, bravely run away.”

Jolene snickered, glancing up the steps. “You aren’t helping.”

“I have that monster look in the mornings.”

“Hope he didn’t wake you.”

“I was sort of half awake, but Len slept through the whole thing.”

“He’d sleep through a tornado. Has, for that matter… Cameron! Come on, it’s just Auntie Tari.”

Cameron peeked slowly around the corner. Tari waved; he timidly stared up the steps.

“Auntie Tari’s not a monster… see?”

“There was a monster!” Cameron insisted. “It was white and furry and had big teeth and it was there, mommy!”

“I think your scream scared it away, kiddo.” Tari looked around. “Nope, no monster up here. You saved us all.”

He looked unconvinced. Tari hopped to her feet as mother and son ascended into the attic to further the search. Lenard finally rolled over with all the extra commotion, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Tari singsonged. Lenard grunted a response, looking across to his sister.

“Whazzup…?”

“Monster hunt. Cameron says there was a werewolf up here this morning.”

“Really?” Lenard frowned, eyes flicking to Tari. She made a non-committed shrug as she dug through her bag.

“Yeah, you two just missed getting eaten alive.” Jolene smirked. “Cameron? Do you see a monster?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“You ready for waffles now?”

“Mmm-hm.”

“That farm tour still on?” Tari asked.

“Temperature’s down to minus fifteen and the wind is supposed to come up again soon. I’d rather not take the kids out in that any longer than I have to. Can still show you around if you care to dress for it.”

“I’ll happily stay where it’s warm.”

“Thought so. Really did get nice up here, much better than last night. Just that little heater?”

“Yeah. Enough to cut the chill. Waffles, you say?”

“When you’re ready. Most everyone else is still asleep. Including Lenny, again.”

A snore escaped his throat to reinforce the point.

“I’ll just let him snooze. He had a long day behind the wheel yesterday.” Tari yawned and followed Jolene down the stairs. “I hope plaid pajamas are appropriate attire.”

“For breakfast at a farmhouse? For sure.” Jolene paused at the bottom of the main floor’s steps, giving Tari a quick glance. “Honest question. What do you see in Lenard?”

“Honest answer? He’s cute, intelligent… He’s a caring guy, once that antisocial veneer is peeled off… and he’s not too shabby in the sack.”

“I so did not need to hear that about my brother.”

“You asked.” Tari grinned as they walked into the kitchen. “I spilled my guts out to him one night and told him a bunch of terrible stuff about my family that I should have kept to myself. He was really understanding about the whole thing. That’s when I knew.”

“I think he’s the best listener of our entire bunch. Cameron, honey, come and sit down. It’s not nice to stare.”

“Hm?” Looking to the doorway, Tari saw the young boy watching her. “Sorry about scaring you. I really don’t bite. Much.”

The old cast-iron waffle griddle sizzled as thick batter poured out over its surface. “Lenny’s always been such a shut-in. I’ve been worried about him ever since high school. He never really went to any school events, dances, even prom… Not that our folks need any more grandkids or anything, it’s just… I felt bad that he was all alone so much of the time.”

“The runt of the litter?”

“Kind of.” Jolene helped Cameron into a chair - he’d chosen the one furthest away from Tari - before sitting down herself. “His friends were books, the cats and dogs, and the computer. A few ‘real’ friends here and there, but no one he really could get close to. Hell, I don’t think he’d ever even been on a date.”

“And then suddenly, he comes home with a girl on his arm.” Tari smirked. “The big sister is feeling protective of her little brother.”

“I really am. It seems irrational, you know? I just can’t get over the fact that our little Lenny has finally found himself someone. It’s like something’s wrong with the world.”

“My older sister is in the same boat with me. I’ve had a bit more experience than Len has in the dating world, at least. Not all of it good, but experience none the less.”

“The only life lesson we need: Men are pigs. Isn’t that right, Greg?”

A short, dark haired man in sweatpants and a sweatshirt stepped into the kitchen, giving Jolene a peck on the cheek. “Absolutely. The problem is that women appear to enjoy the taste of pork.”

Tari chortled. “I am totally loving this family. Your husband?”

“The one and only. Greg, this is Tari, Lenard’s girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you. Heard you had a rough drive.”

“It wasn’t the worst storm I’ve been through.”

“Well, you made it. At least if we get snowed in here we’ve got a roof, four walls, plenty of food, and a fireplace. You want to leave the kids here when you run in, hon?”

“I think so.” Jolene hopped up and popped open the waffle iron, grimacing as a very dark set of waffles fell out. “It’ll give me time to talk to ‘Santa’ and make sure he knows what to bring on Christmas morning. An automatic waffle maker, for one.”

“Does someone need to drop him a hint about a cookbook, too?” Tari teased. “They’ll be fine, Jo. They soak up way more butter that way.”

“You sure? I haven’t set fire to the kitchen yet. I can still try again.”

“Let’s save burning down the house for another time.”

“I think Lenard mentioned that you work for the Secret Service?”

“Used to.” Jolene peered through a row of dolls, digging into the back of the shelf to see what was left. “I took one of the first transfers I could get into the Office for Outer Space Affairs when the UN created an Interplanetary Security Section just after the Commonwealth made contact.”

“So you’ve met them?”

She smirked. “You could say that.”

“What do you actually do, then?”

“Mmm… I’ve been assigned primarily as protection to the two Commonwealth representatives doing most of the negotiations. Anytime they’re out and about, I’ve been with them. I’m sure you’ve seen them on TV? The blue-furred fox-man and the tortie cat-woman with wings?”

“Mm-hm,” Tari confirmed, feeling a pang of jealousy. “How’d that go to you and not someone older?”

“You mean, someone with more experience? They - the aliens - interviewed all the candidates personally. As much time as we spend working together, it helps if we can stand each other. Came down to myself and a slightly ‘more experienced’ agent, so they agreed to both of us.”

“What are they doing in your absence?”

“There’s a temporary agent filling in for me so I could come home for Christmas. I’ve got to work New Year’s Eve, though. Aha! Here we go.” Jolene fished out two identical dolls, depositing them in a basket. “He and my partner have worked together before, so they’ve already got good synergy. Jadyn didn’t entirely hate him either, so that was a plus. Er… That is, Captain Tzeki.”

“First name basis, too?”

“We’re entirely professional during public events and such. My duties are more than just protection, though. I’m assigned by the UN to work with the Commonwealth reps on any security concerns, but for the most part they’re the ones giving me directions and not the UN. I’ve helped coordinate efforts between their own security teams and ours, making sure everyone has the same plan in their head when we’re preparing for an event. I wind up spending a lot of time with them in a week - and the Captain really hates being called by rank and title outside of the public eye. Speaker Jubah - the cat - doesn’t seem to mind one way or the other at first glance, but she obviously prefers leaving her title at the door if you watch her body language. They’re really fascinating people. If it wasn’t for the way they look I’d swear they could blend right in here on Terra - that is, Earth. Damn… I’m even starting to sound like them.”

“Gary and the kids must manage okay with you being gone a lot, then.”

“Eh… It’s hard on him. We took a look at finances when the twins were on the way and decided he’d be the stay-at-home dad since my benefits package was better suited for the family, even though I’m not quite making as much in take home-salary as he did.”

“What’d he do before?”

“Loan officer at a bank. Was actually pretty good for us - we put away a nice nest egg to help pay the kids’ college when they get older. It’s not growing so much now with just me working, but again, the benefits package will help pay some of it too. With Cam going into first grade next year, Gary should be able to work part-days again. I know he’s missed having his own income.” Jolene grabbed a random beast-like action figure off the shelf and wandered to the checkout. “You need anything for anyone?”

“I don’t know any of your family well enough to even guess what to get them.”

“Don’t worry too much about that. It’s more for the kids, anyway. I think Lenny addressed the things he brought as from both of you.” She swiped her debit card, picking up the now-bagged toys. “You must have gotten him something, though?”

“I’ve been sort of at a loss. I don’t have the foggiest idea what I could get him for his computer that’d help with anything, and buying any sort of college supplies seems… overly motherish. About the only thing I could do is set fire to his furniture and replace it all with something that doesn’t look like it came out of a landfill.”

“He still has that ugly junk? Ugh. Well, if you want to browse around the mall for a while and see if anything leaps out, I’m game.”

What a find… And the only one like it? Luck is shining on me today… Tari grinned to herself, closing the small black jewelry box. “Thank you very much.”

“You are quite welcome, madam. And once more… Please accept my most profound apologies -“

“No! I won’t! If you’re so serious about making amends, put that jerk somewhere he won’t insult your customers when they ask a simple question. It’s not so good for repeat business.” Slipping the box into an inside pocket, she snatched her debit card out of the manager’s hand. “Good day.”

Jolene stood up as Tari wandered out of the store and into the food court, waving her over to the table where the rest of their loot waited. “You finally find something? Let me see!”

“I’d rather not…”

“Oh, come on. I won’t tell him. Show me?”

Grimacing, Tari withdrew the box and opened it a crack. “Satisfied?”

“Holy hell… That couldn’t have been cheap.”

“He’s worth it.”

Jolene frowned as the box disappeared back into Tari’s pocket. “You really think he’ll like that? He’s never been the jewelry type, not really.”

“I just have this feeling, you know? I think he’ll love it.” Tari peered around the food shops, sticking out her tongue. “Did you want to get something to eat before we leave? Nothing even smells good…”

“Not really. Plenty of better food back at the farm. Should be almost suppertime by the time we get back.” Jolene scratched the side of her nose as they walked toward the shopping center’s doors. “What, ah… What were you arguing about in there, anyway?”

“The first clerk I spoke to said if I had to ask the price, it was out of my range - something, he added, he could tell by the way I dressed and talked. I took it a little personally.”

“How much was it?”

“Doesn’t matter. His attitude was completely uncalled for. It’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought for someone - but to be told I shouldn’t even inquire because I don’t meet a lofty and imaginary dress code for a store in a shopping mall?”

“I get that… But -“

“I’m not going to tell you what it cost,” Tari stressed, grinning. “There are things on this earth that have a value above and beyond a few bits of currency.”

“That shopping bag is far too pink to contain anything intended for me,” Lenard quipped, following Tari up the steps.

“Silly. Have a good afternoon?”

“Yeah, helped feed the livestock and had an interesting chat with dad.”

“About what?”

“His long-missing dog.” Lenard sighed, scratching his neck as Tari knelt down beside her backpack. “I think I told you I shot him by accident?”

“Yeah, you mentioned that in passing.” Loosening the drawstring of the small pack, Tari pressed the pink plastic sack through the opening. After a good shake to settle everything, she stuck her arm inside to the shoulder, fishing around. “You thought he always knew what had happened.”

“He… Er… That’s not a normal pack, is it?”

“Word of advice, don’t stick your head inside to look around. It’s likely to get bitten off and I really don’t need this thing getting a taste for human flesh.” Lenard’s mouth fell ever so slightly slack; Tari grinned. “Kidding. It’s just a bag that’s bigger on the inside. Turning it inside-out is a spiritual experience.”

“I bet.” Lenard sat down on their bed, watching her struggle with the backpack. “So… Yeah. I don’t really know how it came up… He was asking about my plans, and what I’m going to do after graduation, and how you fit into it all… And somehow we got to talking about Remy and it just sort of came out from there. He didn’t know what happened… Thought he got hit by a car somewhere and just never found the body. I showed him the spot where I buried him, along with the cross I’d staked into the ground next to him.”

“A cross?”

“It seemed like the right thing at the time.”

“Hm.” Tari felt a canvas strap brush her fingers and gave it a yank, pulling a very large duffel bag from the small pack. “Everything okay now, though?”

“Yeah… We had the closest father-son talk I’ve ever had with that man after that. I’m still not sure it actually happened.” He pointed at the new container. “What’s in there?”

“Change of clothes. This stuff I’ve got on absolutely reeks of the greasy smoke in the food court. Thing is, none of you will smell it. It’s not at a level that would remotely bother you. One of the pitfalls of having our sense of smell.”

“Thought you said you had normal human senses in human form.”

“I usually bring slightly enhanced versions into the shapedance. It’s not as good as I have in kitsune form, but it’s way better than I should have for appearing human.” Drawing out a clean pair of snow-white jeans and a green wool sweater, Tari proceeded to shed the sweatshirt and pants she’d worn to town. “There an evening plan?”

“Not really. Supper, maybe a movie or some video games in the basement. Something to keep all the kids entertained until bedtime. After that it’s really hard to say.”

Tari’s nose twitched to the smells in the room as the heavy stench of greasy food finally slid out of the way. A slight grin played at her mouth as she scanned the room and saw a flash of movement; she immediately relaxed her self-control and let her foxen form emerge. Lenard glanced up, giving a little flinch as he noticed the change.

“I could keep them busy,” she purred, sitting in his lap. “Or at least just one of them.”

“Mm.” Lenard kissed her on the cheek, his fingers scratching through the fur on the back of her neck as her tails drifted beside him. “While I’m certain that particular young man would appreciate the distraction, the rest of his family is expecting you - and him - to be down for supper in a few minutes. I don’t think this particular outfit would make the right kind of impression.”

“Maybe not.” Tari inhaled deeply, letting the smells around them soak into her mind. The musty haze of old heirlooms and cardboard boxes, the sweet, nutty fragrance of aged pine lumber in the rafters. Meaty scents of supper - a pork roast, by the smell - rising up from downstairs…

And the sweat of a very young and familiar child, fear oozing from his pores as he hoped he wouldn’t be noticed behind a stack of boxes.

Giving Lenard’s earlobe a lick, Tari resumed her human form and slid to her feet. “What do you think about the kids?”

“They’re kind of annoying.”

“You think so?” Pulling on the clean clothes, she gave her hair a fluff. “I don’t know… I think the little monsters are a cheap source of entertainment.”

“Maybe. Upkeep is kind of expensive.” Lenard smirked, giving Tari a hug from behind. “Ready?”

As they descended the steps, Cameron peeked over a box and watched in silence as they closed the attic door behind them.

This week

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:21:27 GMT

I’m going to get a few parts of a little story about Tari and Len’s first Christmas together up this week. I’ll probably just edit this frontpage item and add in each link as they go up.

Christmas Party: Day 1 (12/22). Day 2 (12/23). Day 3 (12/24). Day 4 (12/25). Day 5 (12/25 and 26).

The end!

Christmas Party: Day 1

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:18:45 GMT

December 22, 2047.

“There’s just no way. You’re making it up.”

“You should hear my mother describe it. I had a few walls for buffer and it was still that bad!”

Tari smirked, looking out the passenger window of Lenard’s car. Deep snowdrifts flanked the roads, pushed into strange frozen waves by the wind whipping across the prairie. They looked like they’d been frozen in mid-crest where they’d formed on the lee side of the small hills. “Have you ever even seen a didgeridoo?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. If you had, you’d know it’s completely impractical for a bobsled team to be playing them in quartet on their way down a long gravel driveway.”

“It’s a metaphor.”

“I’ve a better one.”

“Impossible,” Lenard challenged.

“Oh yeah? How about… Cutting a corrugated tin sheet with a band saw, inside a storm sewer?”

“An iron lung falling down the stairs onto a pile of idling chainsaws.”

“Mmm,” Tari appraised. “A string of firecrackers going off in the bowels of a surprised walrus.”

“Cruelty to animals is kosher? Okay. An angry and flatulent pig, trying to tie balloon animals.”

She laughed, closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was in human form for the drive; no telling who might pass by and drive into the ditch upon seeing her, otherwise. “You win. I can’t get rid of that image.”

“That’s my mother’s favorite. She’s had a lot of time to think of how to describe his snoring.” Lenard glanced at the car’s gauges before his eyes returned to the roadway. “She and dad are both looking forward to meeting you.”

“I wish I could say the same.”

“You? Nervous?”

“Almost as much as the night I lifted the veil of lies.” Settling back into the bucket seat, Tari gazed out the moonroof. Snow flying through the air was all she could see overhead. “It’s not only meeting them. I’m just not all that into Christmas. Not only is it centrally a celebration of a religion that I don’t follow, it’s a celebration that has long since degenerated into a commercial entity. I remember the days when the earliest sales went up in December, not August.”

“It’s not really religious or anything with my folks. It’s always been more of a time to get the family together. There’ll be some gift exchanges, mostly for the little kids.”

“Well, as long as you don’t make me go to church.”

“Someone might invite us along.”

“Nnf. You’ve no idea what it takes to get me into one.”

“A leash? Crowbar, perhaps?”

“No, I don’t mean… Never mind. If it comes up, I’ll deal with it. What have you told your folks about me so far?”

“Just that I met you at the school when you needed a tutor for a CS class.” Lenard tapped the steering wheel with his thumbs. “They were curious what else you were studying, how old you were, so on. I dodged the subject, said I was late for a study session.”

“Lies are hard to remember. The best bet is to tell them the truth, somewhat edited for time and content. My father’s deceased. My mother disowned me for not following the path in life she wanted me to walk, so I’ve been on my own for a long time. I was born in Japan and I’ve got dual citizenship, but I’ve been here in the States for most of my life. I’m twenty-three, which is pretty close if you scale an average kitsune lifespan to an average human one. I’m studying… Botany. Let’s say I’ve finished classes as of this semester, though. Don’t explicitly say ‘graduated’ - let them connect the dots on their own.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

Tari peered at her nails, removing the green polished look on a whim. A serious botanist should have some mud under her nails, shouldn’t she? Polish would just get scuffed off in the dirt. “Where am I staying? A little apartment near the university. How am I paying for it and everything else? Mmm… Crap.”

“What?”

“There’s the first boldfaced lie. Whether I claim it’s an inheritance or if I’m working a job someplace… Well, I suppose that’s got some truth after all. I’m working as a researcher.”

“Where do you get your money, anyway? Do you just conjure it up?”

“Not at all. I’ve really done work as a researcher. My employer left me with access to his account and told me to set my own salary.”

“That’s got to be nice.”

“I don’t take out more than what I need for living expenses. Before I got the job, I was doing just fine… I suppose I’ve gotten kind of spoiled, knowing I’ve got a warm meal and a roof over my head every night if I want it.”

Lenard frowned. “So, before this job, you were homeless?”

“Only in that I didn’t own a piece of property. Still don’t, unless you count the apartment. I was exactly where I wanted to be - wandering the countryside, living off the land and exploring the world. That’s how I met him, this very strange man walking northeast in a storm way worse than this one. We travelled together for a while before he enlisted my help in putting together some information.”

“When was this?”

“Just around the turn of the century. Come to think of it, that was just a few hundred miles north of here, near the Manitoba border.”

“You’ve been working this research job for almost fifty years? What in the world are you studying?”

“Human behavior. I’m an outside observer - I’m not human. I’ve got a unique perspective he was interested in hearing from.”

“But you were human, right? Won’t that bias the results?”

“Was I actually human? I thought I was. Doesn’t mean I was right.” Tari inhaled slowly. “Anyway, it was so long ago that what I experienced then is way different than human life today. All I have to do is keep track of goings-on, note strange and esoteric things that people do, toss in my personal thoughts about it. A little bias won’t hurt that. Hell, a human honestly could do it.”

“Sounds like a diary that you’re getting paid to write.”

“Without the ‘I’m wearing green underpants today’ drivel.” Tari nudged his shoulder. “So. Tell me a little bit more about your family. Who’s going to be there?”

“Let’s see…” Lenard appeared pensive as he took a mental headcount. “My mother and father, Ron and Linda… My brother Jonathan, his wife Sarah, their two boys, don’t remember their names. I think… Jacob and Roland? Maybe. They’re living there now, helping dad run the farm. My brother David, his girlfriend… Um… Amanda…? My sister Jolene and her husband Gary should make it this year along with their three kids, boy and two girls. Spacing on their names too.”

“Fifteen people, counting ourselves. The house big enough?”

“Not really. Jo’s got an RV, and the old clubhouse my brothers built turned into an outdoor guest room several years ago. I think Dave and Amanda are staying in that. Jon and Sarah have one of the old bedrooms. Jo’s girls will have one, and all three boys are sharing one. As I understand, we’ve got the attic.”

“Hm… How many bathrooms in the house?”

“Two. Both have showers.”

“That’s something, at least. How long have we been on the road? Two, three hours?”

“Two and a half. At least another four yet… Longer probably if the roads keep getting worse.” He smirked. “At least the early drive back can’t possibly be more treacherous.”

“I’m really sorry about that,” Tari apologized. “I wish I hadn’t promised Traize that I’d take her out for dinner on her birthday.”

“It’s no problem. That’s on the 27th, right?”

“Yeah,” Tari affirmed. “If you wanted to stick around with them for another couple of days, I could just borrow the car and come back afterward. I don’t drive a lot but I’m completely capable of doing it.”

“No, it’s okay. They already know we can’t stay. The way the job market’s looking, I’ll probably wind up helping out dad and Jon on the farm for a while after graduation.”

“And after your trip around the world,” she reminded.

The sun had long since set when they pulled into the yard of the old farmhouse. An old pair of sodium-vapor electric lights illuminated the yard in a yellowish-orange glow. Beneath their salty monochromatic gaze, a small fleet of vehicles slept under varying blankets of snow. Lights shone from inside the house through frosted windows, icicles lining the eaves. Smoke wafted up from a brick chimney, hints of burning birch in the air.

“If I had to spend another hour in your car, I think I’d scream.” Tari grabbed her backpack from the crossover’s back seat and shut the door. Large and fluffy snowflakes still drifted through the sky, only lacking the wind from the near-blizzard they’d driven through. “It’s a lovely shade of powder blue, it’s got great fuel economy, but there’s just no way to get comfortable for a nap.”

“Sorry.”

“Can’t even get in a decent stretch like this to make up for it,” she muttered, following Lenard up the half-dozen steps to the porch. “It’ll be your fault if I go feral.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell the difference.” Knocking twice, he opened the door. “Anybody home?” he called.

“Hey, mom, dad, he’s here!” A short, lithe, strawberry-blond woman threw her arms around him, despite the bags he was carrying. “About time! You overshot supper by a long way.”

“Roads were terrible. Couldn’t get signal on the phone to let you guys know where we were at.”

“Likely story. You probably just didn’t get out of your dorm on time.”

“She’s totally got you pegged,” Tari chided.

“He’s always been the tardy type.” The woman gently elbowed Lenard in the gut. “I see she’s not imaginary after all.”

“Jo, Tarioshi. Tari, my sister - Jolene Wolf.”

“The woman who finally proved he does like women?” Jolene questioned with a wink. “Great to meet you.”

“You too.” Tari grinned, shaking hands with her. “I didn’t realize there was a question about his preferences. I certainly haven’t found him terribly confused on that area of interest.”

“Come in or get out,” a man bellowed, drowning out Jolene’s cackle of laughter. “But shut the damn door!”

“Isn’t that familiar?” Jolene grinned, taking a few of Lenard’s bags and helping them inside. “Dad! Be nice, it’s nearly Christmas.”

“‘Nice’ doesn’t heat the house!” An ox of a man stepped into the hallway, grinning from ear to ear. “Glad you could make it, son. And this must be that young woman we’ve heard so much about.”

“All three seconds of it good, I hope? Tari Kitanaka, sir.”

“Sir? Ha!” He spun around, yelling into the other room. “Linda! She called me ‘sir!’”

“That’s nice, dear,” the reply came.

“My old man was ‘sir,’ young lady. I’m just Ron.”

“Attic for us?” Lenard questioned.

“Yup,” his father confirmed. “I’ll warn you, it’s a little chilly up there. Go on, toss your stuff upstairs.”

“Thanks.”

Lenard led the ascent, followed by Jolene and Tari. The attic door led to a second flight of steps; the attic itself seemed well-kept in Tari’s eye, boxes of old keepsakes stacked neatly and labeled with their contents. No dust, no cobwebs, no nails sticking out of rafters ready to impale passers-by in the head. And, of course, no heat to speak of.

“Damn, he wasn’t kidding about it being cold in here,” Jolene muttered, her breath visible in the chilly air as she offloaded Lenard’s extra bags. “He knew you two’d be up here… Why the hell didn’t he leave the door open?”

“‘Nice doesn’t heat the house,’” Lenard mocked.

“It’s really not too bad. Can’t be less than thirty-five, maybe forty degrees?” Tari set her bag down, peering at the unfinished ceiling overhead. No insulation to speak of, either. “Looks like a miracle it’s above freezing at all. So long as my shoes don’t freeze to the floor, it’s livable. I’ve camped in worse.”

“Gives you two a reason to sleep close, mm?” Jolene grinned, disappearing down the steps. “Roast beef sandwiches and mashed potatoes, probably still warm! Hurry up!”

“Older sister?” Tari queried once she was out of earshot.

“Older everyone. Jon, Dave, Jo, then me.”

“Sounds like hand-me-down central.”

“Yeah. She wore a lot of boys clothes, and eventually I got cooties from the same clothes.”

“They’re good for you.”

Lenard glanced around at the rafters, rubbing his hands together. “Can’t you… y’know, warm it up in here a little?”

“I’d rather not. It doesn’t go from forty to eighty in a matter of two minutes.” She nodded to the steps. “Someone who was up here recently might notice.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Didn’t think about that.”

“When you’re countermanding the second law of thermodynamics, it helps to think ahead. Don’t worry - you’ll be plenty warm tonight. I’ll share some more cooties. Maybe fleas too, if you’re really lucky.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “What’s left in the car to bring in?”

“Some of the presents. Uh… Nothing immediately in danger of freezing damage. Can get it later.”

“Great! Let’s be sociable. I’m hungry.”

Thick slabs of slow-roasted beef. Two slices of homemade whole-wheat bread. Hot brown gravy drowning both the sandwich and a small mountain range of mashed potatoes.

If heaven existed, Tari decided, it was on this plate.

“I take it from the silence that you’re either very hungry or it’s very good?” Lenard’s mother questioned.

“A very healthy mixture of the two, Mrs. Evanson.”

“No need to be so formal, Tari. ‘Linda’ is fine - we’re pretty easy-going around here.”

“You were never easy-going when we were growing up,” Jolene observed.

“And in twenty years, your kids will tell you the same thing.” Linda smirked, a chorus of muffled cheers rising from the floorboards as she sat down with a cup of coffee.

“What are they doing down there?” Tari asked.

“Playing a football video game. Gary, Amanda, and Dave are playing Jon, Sara, and dad. This time, at least.” Jolene shut the fridge, a can of cola in hand. “Just hope they don’t wake the kids… Just finally got all the little ankle-biters in bed. So! Feed me some tawdry gossip. How long have you two been a duet?”

“What’s it been…” Lenard thought aloud. “Late September, so… three months.”

“And where’d you meet?”

“The cafeteria, a month before that.” Lenard met Tari’s eyes; she simply smiled as she ate, waiting to see how he fared. “She was looking for a tutor for a CS class. After a few weeks she didn’t need my help anymore, but we were still hanging out together.”

“That’s not totally accurate,” Tari corrected. “I was a total pest and wouldn’t leave him alone. He eventually got the hint and invited me to dinner.”

“That sounds more likely, yeah.” Jolene snickered at the glare from her brother. “What are you majoring in, Tari?”

“I’ve always loved being out in nature, playing in the dirt. I have great luck with all the plants I touch so I felt I’d be right at home with botany. A little agronomy, a little horticulture… a lot of pathology. I’m actually done with classes.”

“Oh, you graduated? Congratulations,” Linda praised. “What are your plans now? Moving onto a postgraduate program, or getting right into work?”

“I’ve got a few career opportunities lined up. I’d like to see what options Len has when he graduates before I make too large of a commitment to any particular direction. I’ve still got an income for the time being, so it won’t hurt to wait a few more months.”

“Doing what?”

“I’m submitting observations for a human behavioral research project.”

“That’s sort of the opposite of botany.”

“Yeah. Pretty dry stuff as far as I’m concerned, but it keeps food on the table. Nowhere near this good, but still food.” Tari dabbed at her face with a napkin. “Supper was delicious. Thanks for holding back enough for us.”

“I’d be a poor example for the other mothers here if I let my own son and his lady friend go hungry. No, sit. I’ll get the dishes.”

“Okay.” Tari handed off her plate. “Len’s told me less about his family than he told you about me. I didn’t even know he had siblings until the car trip here. Actually didn’t know it was a farm, either, until we discussed where we wanted to spend Christmas.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jolene said. “He’s always been the quiet type.”

“I’m sitting right here,” Lenard muttered.

“See? I could barely hear that. Mumbler.” Jolene flipped a chair around backwards and sat down, using the back as an armrest. “Let’s give you The Abridged Evanson Family Tree. Jon was born in 2013, eight months after mom and dad got married, and Dave in 2016. After a curious six year break, I came along in 2022, and then Little Lenny in 2024.” She lowered her voice to a mock-whisper. “I’m sure I was an oops, and that they had Len to keep me company.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Linda scolded.

“You’re… twenty-five?” Tari queried, mentally rechecking her math. “With three kids already?”

“I started early, just like my mother.” Jolene laughed at the dishtowel that landed on her head. “My twins, Natalie and Josephina, are six, and Cameron is five.”

“Wow. How far apart are they?”

“They’re all August babies. Cameron’s just a few days off of the twins.”

“She dropped it on the family on Christmas morning, two years in a row,” Linda recalled. “‘Mom, you’re going to be a grandma again!’ She’s as bad as the cats in the barn.”

Lenard shut his eyes, his brow furrowed as he stood up. “I’m going to bring in the rest of those packages.”

“Need a hand?” Tari asked.

“Stay here and enjoy yourself. I’ve got it.”

Tari smirked as he retreated outside. “He’s so squeamish sometimes.”

“He just didn’t need the mental image.” Jolene laughed. “I don’t think I did either. Thanks, mom.”

“Merry Christmas,” Linda replied with a grin.

The girls continued to chat as Lenard made a couple of trips in and out of the house. Eventually, he walked back into the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe.

“Is it safe in here yet?”

“Actually, I was just toying with the idea of sleep.” Tari stretched and stood up. “I think I’m done toying with it.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Jolene agreed with a yawn. “Taking the kids on a walk around the old farm buildings in the morning to show them where mommy grew up.”

“If it’s not too early, I’d love to tag along and see the place.”

“You bet. Weather depending, of course. If it’s like it was today I might run into town and do some last minute shopping. You’re welcome to come along.”

“Just be careful on the roads,” Linda warned. “Harold blew the motor on his plow, and you know how long it takes the county crews to get to the gravel roads.”

“You worry so much!”

“You’ve given me plenty of reason over the years.”

“Right. Goodnight, everyone.” Jolene grabbed a jacket near the front door and wandered out to her RV.

“Well, as long as I’m on a fretting spree, are you two going to be warm enough upstairs? Do you need more blankets?”

“I think we’ll be all right, mom.”

“Okay. You know where to find them if you need them. I’m going to go watch the ‘kids’ downstairs.”

“G’night.” Lenard glanced at Tari. “Well?”

“Yeah.” They wandered up the steps, keeping their voices low as to not wake the younger members of the family. “I like your sister. Unabashed to anything that comes out of her mouth.”

“She was like that when we were younger, too. Mom gave up trying to give her dolls and other girl stuff to get her to be more lady-like. She got in her first fight at school in the fourth grade, beat the crap out of a boy a year older than her. Think he wound up with a broken collarbone.”

“Did he deserve it?”

“I’m sure. She made a career out of it. She was with the Secret Service for a while - I think she’s transferred to the new department working with the alien visitors.”

Tari nodded, a slight smile on her face. “You’ve no idea how lucky you are.”

“Hm?”

“You… You know what? Never mind.”

Lenard looked perplexed. “What were you going to say?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Rubbing her arms as they ascended into the attic, she peered about and took stock of the situation. Fire did not meld entirely well with Forest, even with her uniquely specialized skills. The attic was absolutely frigid. Moving heat around herself meant fiddling with Fire. A faint tickling of a headache appeared from just considering it. That left the alternative, create a proxy to do the work on her behalf… Or check her pack for alternatives she’d forgotten about.

“Wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“In the last three months, I’ve lost track of how often you start a thought, then drop it midway and walk away from it. That’s at least twice today. First about going to church, and now this.”

“It’s just… There are things that pop into my head that sound like good things to say until I actually hear part of them aloud. Other things, like the church thing…” Tari turned around, finding Lenard sitting on the edge of their air mattress, watching her. “I know you’re still not completely comfortable with what I am. You’re tolerating it, you’re coming to terms with it, but I still see you flinch every time I shapedance in front of you. The thoughts I suddenly file mid-thought are usually something I’ve reconsidered as falling into ‘creeping Len out’ territory.”

“Usually?”

“Tonight, it wasn’t so much as creeping you out as… There was this tiny little pang of resentment as I watched you and your family banter back and forth. I could never have had a relationship like that with my own family, even if mother hadn’t been what she is. Things were just too different back then.”

Lenard simply nodded. “The night you showed me yourself, you told me that if I preferred you stay human around me, you would. You’d even join me in senescence.”

“Non sequitur, but yes…”

“I understand that it’d only be an illusion. You’re still going to be youthful and lovely when I’m shriveled, despite how you present yourself.”

“Appearances aren’t everything. But, you are correct. As an absolutely brilliant man once put it, ‘you can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend the rest of my life with you.’”

His mouth opened once, closed again, as her words sunk in. “I… lost my train of thought. Uh… Hm. Well, here’s a hypothetical question. If you had to give up everything you are, descend permanently into being human and take all the benefits and drawbacks that come along with it, in order to obtain the family you wished you had… Would you?”

Tari frowned, considering. “I don’t think so. For starters, we’d have never met.”

“Well, let’s say that instead of being born two hundred years ago -“

“No, that’s what I mean. Even if I grew up in the general ‘now’ I sincerely doubt the two of us would have crossed paths.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I recognized a part of myself in you, the day I saw you in the cafeteria. If I hadn’t lived the life I have I’m sure I’d have just continued walking through the room.” She moved to the mattress and knelt in front of him. “The years I spent with my father are some of the happiest days I can remember. It wasn’t always easy, but we were a family and had everything we needed. The weeks after he died will always be among the worst I’ll ever know. We all grow more during the fall into despondency and the rise back into optimism than we do by being elated all the time. What most of us need, though, is someone to help carry us through that curve at the bottom, or at least to give us a good kick in the butt to get on the upward climb again. I’ve been at the bottom, I know what it feels like, and I knew when I saw your eyes that you were stuck down there and didn’t have anyone to help you find footing. I’d like to think I helped start the upward climb.”

“And I fought against you most of the way.” A gentle smile lifted Lenard’s expression; his fingers traced the skin of her cheek. “Do you remember what I told you when you made your offer to only be human around me?”

“That you weren’t qualified to make a decision. The idea of me being anything but human was too new at the time.” Tari pursed her lips, leaning back and watching his face. “You’ve decided?”

“If I ask you to stay like this, I’d be admitting I want an illusion over reality. You might happily wear this mask, or you might just wear a happy mask. I don’t think you’d really be content to pose as a human full-time for the next several decades.”

“I’d do it for you.”

“If you have to pretend to be something you aren’t, solely for my benefit, I think there’s an underlying problem with our relationship. I don’t want an illusion, a facade, a mask… I want you to be able to be you. I’m going to flinch for a long time when you do the things you can do. It’s not that I’m just tolerating it… I’m trying to adapt.”

“And I’m trying to be accommodating to that. Helping you acclimate without driving you nuts is a careful thing. There’s a very fine line and my toes often squeak over it.” Tari patted his knee. “You know who I am - I’ve always been ‘me’ since we met, withheld facts notwithstanding. What I appear to be at any given moment doesn’t change who and what I am inside. Right now, I’m cold. So!”

Lenard gazed on in curiosity as Tari proceeded to extract a portable heating unit from her pack. Setting it in the center of the room, she poked a button and nodded to herself as warmth oozed forth.

“Ta-da. Semi-instant heat.”

“That’s it? I was expecting… more fur. Or fireworks.”

“You’ll get your fuzzy blanket. I’m going to change into something more sleepable than jeans and a sweater before I put on something more ‘comfortable.’” Lifting her bag over her shoulder, she headed to the steps. “Bathroom is…?”

“All the way at the end of the hall on the left.”

“On the left. Got it.”

“Tari?” Lenard questioned, staring at the heater. “There’s no cord… What’s powering this thing?”

“One one-hundredth of one percent of all the solar energy being absorbed by every cat in every sunbeam across the world at this moment.”

“Really?”

“No.” She gave a little shrug and wandered downstairs. “It’s warm! What more do you want? Cold fusion?”

Upgrades

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:30:25 GMT

As expected then forgotten about, a database upgrade during a wordpress upgrade thrashed my ordering scheme. Fixing it up now.

EDIT: Fixed in a way that shouldn’t break again. For a while.

Slumber Party

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:00:25 GMT

“Interesting,” T’bia observed, examining medical sensor readouts on the wall. “It’s almost better than his own regenerative gift.”

“It is his gift.” Tari sat up on the exam bed, peering at her hands. “His healing gift, his instincts… What the hell is next? Am I going to start turning his colors?”

“I didn’t want to mention it, but there is a very slight shift in hue -“

“Don’t even joke about that.”

“Sorry. Have you by chance tried…” The skunk raised her hands, gesturing wildly with her fingers as though she expected something to happen. “You know?”

“What, his elemental abilities? I really don’t dare. It’d be my adolescence all over again without someone knowledgeable to help me control it.”

“Was just a thought. Hold still.”

Tari crossed her eyes, trying to look at the monitoring device that’d just been attached to her forehead. “What are you doing?”

“Checking a theory.” A series of graphs appeared on the wall. T’bia tapped her fingers against her elbow, eyes darting over the displays. “Well… So much for that. I was sort of hoping I’d be able to see signs of Jay or this ‘Vira’ persona in your head. Far as I can tell it’s just your wave pattern in there.”

“Comforting.”

We’re wasting time, Vira whispered. We should be looking for -

“Hm.” T’bia highlighted a section of the graph, pulling it away from the first for a close-up. “Nope, no sign of the little monster…”

Vira growled at the unintentional slur; Tari bit down on her own tongue, hoping Vira would take the hint. With an angered snort her fox spirit fell silent once more.

“Oh well.” The AI scratched her head. “Don’t suppose you’d care to wear that neural monitor full time?”

“I’d rather not.”

“But it’s for science!”

“Sorry.” Tari plucked off the small sending unit. “It’ll have to wait.”

“There, there!” Vira pointed at the datapad in Tari’s hand. “That is the answer!”

“I… don’t think I’m seeing it.” Tari turned the pad a quarter turn in her hands, then again. “Doesn’t stand out upside-down, either.”

Vira snorted, grabbing for the pad; her hand passed through it. “Rrr…”

“That’s the fourth time you’ve tried to do that. You’re pretty quick for a figment of my imagination. Is that a sign that I’m secretly as dense as you?”

Her spirit side growled, slapping her on the arm. The waking dream containing her fox spirit’s presence had solidified over the three days she’d been searching for solutions, completely interfacing with reality. Vira was no longer confined to a simple whisper in her head or a specter on the edge of her vision - she came and went as she pleased, occasionally disappearing back into the recesses of Tari’s own psyche for hours at a time. While she could not truly interact with anything outside of the dream, Tari herself was a part of both the dream and reality - and completely subject to Vira’s ire.

“You truly do not see it?” Vira questioned disappointedly.

“I’m reading an old story about a human who was transformed into a fox.”

“Yes, but that is the point!” Vira stopped just short of grabbing for the pad, counting down from five and taking a breath. “Cross-reference this with other cases of transformation. Look at the method, at how the crossover was accomplished.”

Tari complied, creating a new index on the display device. “Mmm. Yes!”

“You see it now?”

“No.” Tari flipped pages on the screen. “Look, I’ll tell you what I actually see here. I see several legends, so I’m already taking them all with a grain of salt. But, if we go ahead and pretend that these are factual accounts? We’re looking at killing someone by draining all their energy. Then, we remove their soul, infuse it with a piece of our own spirit, and finally return the whole mess to the corpse to basically… ferment.”

“Half of which has already been done, yes!”

“No! Even if we had the energy between us to attempt this - and I’m quite certain we don’t - I’m not about to push something of this magnitude on him without his consent!”

“The energy required is grossly overstated for what still remains to be done, I am certain. We may have to sacrifice one tail, at the most.”

“Vira…” Tari moaned, putting her head in her hands. “You’re not listening. I won’t put the burden of dealing with someone like you on anyone unless they know exactly what they’re getting into. Unless he’s conscious, he can’t willingly accept the risk that we might cross him over. We have to find another way.”

“There is no other way,” she spoke matter-of-factly. “You will not find anything better.”

“Just watch me.”

“Still no luck?”

“No.” Tari flicked her hand, sending the datapad skidding across the table. T’bia stopped it as it reached the edge, gently placing it back within reach. “I’ve wasted a week and a half reading every scrap of pertinent gobbledegook that my people have left on the public record… The only viable possibility I’ve been able to locate is something I’m not willing to do.”

“I really don’t want to rush you,” T’bia voiced. “But if you’re not already aware of it… I can really only keep a body viable on life support for so long. Another two or three days at best.”

“Can’t you just stick him in metabolic stasis?”

“He’s gone from being virtually indestructible to possessing the delicate constitution of a wet paper sack. Wet paper doesn’t freeze so well. Gets brittle. Tends to come out of the freezer in itty-bitty pieces if you sneeze while taking it out.”

A quiet thump echoed through the tabletop as Tari’s forehead made contact. “Damn it… And we can’t leave to get me in touch with home, anymore.”

“You did give me the okay to remotely control the J’Ruhn’s autonomous systems while the computer core is down, so it’s not entirely my fault. I’d just tell you to take it for a test drive with the Serin in tow but I doubt the Fleet would appreciate that with their security and repair crews crawling all over the place. You might like to know… They’ve stumbled upon some very interesting things.”

“Such as?”

“When I helped extract a copy of the main databases for the investigation, I found every DNA encryption key used to build every biological system on the Serin and the handful of starcutters sharing its design template. Tons more beyond that.”

“Why would they even have that?”

“I can’t trace when they were stored in the database, not just yet. Lots of stacked encryption to decode and I’m more focused on things Pakar’s teams need to find. I’m just guessing, but I suspect Chameleon stole them. Somehow he must have broken out of the labs after his first capture, might have taken them as souvenirs. Still, there’s no way the nemaqi labs should have had the full set - unless someone intentionally broke protocol.” T’bia grinned. “I’m going to be able to do things to the Serin I’ve only been able to dream about before now. Getting my hands on those makes all this headache worth it.”

“Please forgive me if I don’t share your enthusiasm. I don’t think any of this is worth Jay’s life.” Tari sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean it like that… I just don’t know what to do. There’s no one I can go to for help.”

“Maybe you should ask for a little divine intervention. You’re basically part of the pantheon in a way, no?”

“Not… as such, no. We’re not gods - even though some of our eldest are damn near godlike. At our core we’re spirits of the land and of the elements. We don’t get a priority line to the next tier of support.”

“Well… It never hurts to reach out and ask, anyway.” Bee nodded toward the wall behind Tari; the kitsune turned her head, peering at the tapestry of the Val’Traxan goddess, a near-clone of her true kitsune form. “Even if your own people are out of earshot, someone else may hear you.”

“Bee, I respect your faith in the existence of a benevolent higher power. I really do. Despite what I am, what I can do, and what I’ve seen others do… I honestly don’t share it.”

“I didn’t say I believe, either. I suppose I drift in and out. Mostly, I consider myself a non-practicing agnostic.” T’bia got to her feet, adjusting her emitter. “Gotta go. Toy’s ready to pop another set of bulkheads open.”

“Have fun. Don’t break my ship,” she added, picking the datapad back up.

“She’s really quite lovely,” Vira spoke, just after the door closed.

“Who is?” Tari turned around, finding her spirit’s avatar peering into the eyes of the tapestry. “Vira… Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Stare at her. It’s not polite.”

“Why do you say that? It is not as if she can actually see me. This creation is merely a combination of organic fibers, pigments, and dyes.”

“That’s not the point. It’s still a sacred artifact by their book. If you want to admire it, fine. But don’t… antagonize it.”

Vira grunted, moving along the wall to examine the photo collection. “I have not been completely honest with you.”

“Shocker. What about?”

“I am aware that you do not wish to use the method I have insisted we should utilize. I have focused on it mainly because I know you would not use it.” Vira inhaled quietly. “I believe we can replace his soul with few consequences to his long-term health.”

Tari slammed her pad on the table. “Then why -“

“I do not wish to return to what I was. I had no specific sense of self-awareness, no individual existence. I cannot say for certain that I do now… Perhaps I am no more than a manifestation of your mental trauma, created solely by your mind as a way to deal with the combined stresses of unwilling captivity and containing a foreign soul within your own. I would like to believe I am something greater than a mere delusion… Yet, I cannot ignore the possibility that I am no more than that. Returning his essence will certainly terminate my existence.”

“We can’t keep him bottled up inside us. It’s not fair to him.”

“It is also not fair for you to deal with me in such a face to face manner for the rest of your days. I have no independent existence from you. I am a mere shadow, never meant to be… There is no future for me. There never has been, not from the very moment I possessed a thought that was independent from your own. And yet, I believe…” Vira held her hand in front of the tapestry, running her fingers past the surface while never quite discovering a way to touch it. “I believe I am scared, Tarioshi. I believe that I am staring down my own death.”

“Vira…”

“Of course I will not die,” she continued quietly. “I will merely return to the depths of your psyche, once more becoming the primal urges of our maternal heritage that you so abhor. You will be whole again. The greater problem facing us is the energy required to restore him without chancing a conversion. We must delicately untwine his soul. I am not merely containing him - he has integrated somewhat with us, as evidenced by our suite of new knowledge and healing abilities. If a spirit fragment returns with his soul it will fester and grow, consuming a portion of his soul in the process of turning him.”

Vira turned to face Tarioshi, their gazes meeting. “I profoundly believe it will require the sacrifice of one tail at the barest minimum. It may require both, which would wholly sacrifice me to save him, leaving you at best powerless and forever trapped in that Val’Traxan guise… It may even require a tremendous amount more than we can generate on our own. There is simply no way to know until we begin. Once we invoke the sorcery, we cannot stop the process until it completes. If suddenly we require more energy than we have available to commit… It will kill all three of us.”

Tari made a mental effort to not to grind her teeth together. “One. More. Day. Give me one more day to look over everything again. I know there’s another way. There has to be!”

“I am not the one you must plead with for more time. His body is the one with an expiration date, not ours.” Vira straightened up, standing tall as she faced Tari. “If you believe there is an alternative… Let us find it. I have one condition.”

“What?”

“You have been awake for three days, searching for this alternative we have yet to locate. Even I feel the fatigue we are staving off with sheer willpower. Should you even find something in this state, we would not be able to make use of it… And we likely would not recognize it as a solution. Sleep.”

“If we don’t start now -“

“Then let us begin.”

“Right.” Placing her hands on Jadyn’s chest, Tarioshi closed her eyes. “Let that which has been done, be undone. Let the soul we have stolen find its way home.”

A faint green glow appeared around her hands, life energy seeping from her body to his. Vira carefully placed her incorporeal hands on top of Tari’s, looking her in the eye. “Alone, we are weak. Together, our will is insurmountable.”

“And together, we name you: Jadyn Elon Tzeki, son of Kieran and Aazi. Return to your mortal vessel.”

Ancient energy exploded around the medical bed. Tari clenched her jaw, shutting out the fire blazing in her skull. Vira writhed in her own personal agony as the aura engulfed her form.

“Now!” Vira ordered. “You must do it now!”

Nodding a single time, Tari focused her thoughts into the deepest recesses of her spirit side. Vira was in an incredible amount of pain, the sorcery they’d invoked forcefully separating Jadyn’s soul from their spirit essence. Tracing past the suffering, the desires, the very core needs… Beneath it all, the true power of her kitsune blood lay in wait.

“Tarioshi!” Vira pleaded. “We will be torn apart! You must release it!”

With a single thought, Tari removed the seal on one of her tails.

A feral shriek pealed from Vira’s lips as the incredible store of energy was unleashed, the tail exploding in a shower of glowing embers. Tendrils of white light seeped from her chest, spiraling down her arms. Cascading over Tari’s hands, the delicate threads of Jadyn’s soul traced their way back into his own body.

“It’s working - Gods, it’s actually working -“

Tari cut herself short, sensing the panic building within Vira. The energy from the first tail was not enough - nowhere near. Their eyes met through the light around them; Vira shut her own, resigned to her fate.

I’m sorry, Tari apologized to herself, watching the tears stream down the face of her spirit.

“Do it,” Vira whispered.

The seal on her remaining tail dissolved away without a second thought.

Vira screamed. Every ounce of pain, of desperation, of hope and disappointment and regret and fear - all that she was came out in one agonizing wail as the very thing giving her substance ceased to exist. All her energy collapsed in upon itself, separating completely from Jadyn’s soul.

Tari refocused her thoughts, holding onto the last vestiges of Vira’s energy as she tried to continue threading Jadyn’s essence back into his body. Without the spirit to help contain him, she willed her own life energy to envelop him as she worked. Darkness set into the edges of her vision as she struggled to hold onto the magic and the containment, unable to manage both on her own.

Oh, Gods… It’s still not enough… I’m going to lose him…

Tari swallowed, staring at Jadyn’s body as the sorcery slowly fell apart. Blackness set in on her senses as the her own strength ebbed away, Jadyn’s existence bleeding away as she faltered.

“Someone… Please, anyone… Help… Help him,” Tari whispered, her head falling limply onto his chest. As her consciousness faded, her thoughts were drawn to the tapestry a few rooms away, to the image of the vixen that so much looked like a twin.

“Help us… kshorahii…”

Tari woke up screaming and soaking wet. Taking several deep breaths, she quickly scanned the room to gather her bearings. “I… The Serin… This is… I’m not…?”

“Tari, I don’t know what kind of nightmare you were having, but damn.” T’bia shook her head, setting down an empty bucket. “Do you have any idea what it takes to set those sheets on fire?”

“What…?” Glancing at the bed around her, she leapt to her feet. A large body-shaped char mark lay on the sheets and mattress where she’d been sleeping. “What the hell?!”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” T’bia grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her around and giving her a once-over. “And not so much as a singed whisker on you… Tsk. Doesn’t count if there’s no blood, you should know that.”

“I… Where’s - My tails!” Tari released her val’traxan form and ran to the mirror. A sigh of relief escaped her as both extremities proved to be at hand. “Vira…?”

“Present,” her fox spirit groaned, prone on the floor beside the bed. Wisps of smoke drifted from her fur. “That… was… uniquely unpleasant. I am just going to lie here for a time…”

“Tari.” Stepping up behind her, the AI gently held her arms. “I’m not usually one to pry into someone’s dreams, but what in the Void did you just go through? Jay’s had rough nights, but… Never like this.”

“I… I dreamt that Vira and I… We tried to restore his soul… We used every last ounce of her power and my life… And… We couldn’t…” Tari choked on the words, turning and latching onto the skunk as she sobbed. “Bee, I can’t do this… I’m going to kill him, or her, or myself… I’ve made a hell of a mess and I can’t clean it up… I need help…”

T’bia held the vixen close, letting her work the fear and frustration out into a friendly shoulder. “I’ll talk to Pakar first thing in the morning. We’ll leave in the afternoon for Terran space. Okay?”

Tari nodded, easing away from her. “I’m sorry. This shouldn’t be your problem. I know you’re busy trying to help everyone with the J’Ruhn…”

“Don’t worry about it. There’ll be plenty of time to wax that clunker when we get back. Why don’t you try to get a little more sleep, okay?

“I don’t… I don’t know if I dare…” Tari swallowed, peering at her bed. “I, uh… I’ve got to clean this up first…”

“No, you don’t. You can have Jay’s room for now. I’ll deal with this. Come on.”

Tari let herself be led from her quarters, barely aware of the trip down the hall. Fatigue swept her as T’bia helped her into bed; she was fast asleep before the lights went out.

“You guys can’t leave! You’re my only reliable technical reference manual to this crate. Half the plans are completely wrong.”

“We don’t have a choice. There’s no one within communications range familiar with her style of elemental manipulation and we’re going to lose his body in short notice. We have to go.” T’bia knocked on a bulkhead, listening to the echo. “Pressure’s good. Ready?”

“Yeah.” Toy watched as T’bia grabbed the door, slowly forcing the hydraulics to retract. “Can’t you give it one more day? We should be able to bring main power back up this evening… I could get clearance from Pakar to -“

“To what? Take a severely damaged ship into a no-fly-zone just to make a collect call?” The AI frowned, padding into the newly opened corridor. “A few minor hull breeches… Simple microfractures. There… There… And there. Need a team to seal them, but structural integrity is still sound for now. Non-critical.”

“Scheduled.” The leopard grunted, scratching out notes on his pad. “There’s no other way? None of the nearby elementalist races can help?”

“They’re not familiar with her style… Or ours, for that matter. We need someone with practical experience in one of the two. I’ll have to bust out a Flashpoint corridor just to get there in time. Not that I mind, mind you. Wormholes are cozy.” T’bia peered at a location plate, the large cargobay-style door standing beside it firmly closed. “Navne kanydeuh heha - roughly… Cold Storage, Bay Nine.”

“Cold… Cold… There’s no reference for any Cold Storage Nine on the master list, let alone one through eight. Not that I’m surprised after looking for corridors marked on the plans that don’t actually exist…”

“Yeah, that bugs me. These plans were used on every standard Juggernaut class ship the Galactic Fleet constructed. Why would they change huge portions of the inner layout for just this one? Wonder what’s in here.”

“Strictly speaking? ‘Cold Storage’ sounds like a refrigerator. Maybe it’s part of the galley.” Toy frowned, tapping buttons beside the bay door. “Odd. This door’s still deadlocked.”

“Really?” T’bia cracked her knuckles. “I’ve been hoping for a challenge.”

“Wait a sec… I’ve got energy readings inside here. Looks like a low-output fusion reactor was left online. Something like in a mobile computer core or a life support pod… Or in a very large galley fridge, for that matter.”

“Signs of atmosphere?”

“Appears it was sealed against the leak that happened out here. Normal atmospheric pressure inside. Can we get Tari to clear the deadlock?”

“She really could use a few more hours rest before we bother her. Besides, this can wait until we get back.” T’bia knocked on the door, grinning. “It’ll be a nice surprise, eh?”

An answering knock came from the opposite side of the bulkhead. T’bia and Toliya peered at each other; the skunk leaned against the door, tapping out a simple pattern. As she finished, it was repeated back to her, pause for pause.

“Echo?” Toy asked.

“Can’t be. Timing’s not exactly on mine. Definitely an organic copy.” She pointed at the panel below the access keypad. “Open that, cut the red, blue, and orange links to the controls. Carefully…”

“Red… blue… Orange. Done.”

“Get back.” T’bia stepped up, shielding her emitter behind her back. With her free hand she took hold of the three wires, shorting them together. Arcs of electricity danced across the panel as mechanical grinding sounded within the wall. “Deadlock should be cleared… Woo-damn. I’d hate to do that with main power up. Wow. Nearly overloaded my emitter.”

“Bee? What other ways are there into this bay?”

“Don’t ask me. You’re the one with the faulty schematics in hand.” T’bia squinted. “I still don’t have enough of the database decoded to see if there’s an updated one… They really went overboard with encryption. Guess we open it and see who got stuck inside.”

“Mm.” Toliya drew his sidearm, eliciting a concerned glance from the AI. “Just in case.”

“You’re a little too paranoid sometimes. One of your repair guys probably just crawled through some shaft we don’t know about.” Taking the blue wire in hand, T’bia shorted it against the doorframe. A deep groan rolled out from the wall as the old hydraulics pushed into action. The pair watched as the door slid aside, darkness greeting them from inside the bay.

“Hello?” he called, stepping to the threshold of the door. “Is there anyone here?”

“Toy. Take four paces backward.”

“Hm?”

“Get behind me, right now.” T’bia squinted into the room, her artificial eyes easily piercing the darkness. “‹Good morning, sir. As Khamai is in my medical ward, unconscious and in restraints, and Iguano told us before his death that their father died at Khamai’s hands… You are doing a fine impersonation of a walking corpse.›”

“‹The rumors of my death have been somewhat exaggerated.›” A short white lizard limped from the shadows, dressed smartly in the black and gold uniform of a Galactic Fleet Captain. The cut was mostly standard, altered with short sleeves and otherwise adjusted for his diminutive size; the only true variation were the pair of black gloves covering his hands and the small cane helping support his weight. “‹You speak this language well… Would this indicate you are mefiritan?›”

“‹In a sense. My name is T’bia Halio. I am a Val’Traxan-crafted AI personality. You are a long way from home, Chameleon -›”

“‹Please, no.›” The lizard grimaced. “‹I have never considered that name my own… It was our creators that branded me such. I call myself ‘Anolis,’ Vel’Halio.›”

“‹What are you doing, locked in here?›”

“‹A difference of opinion with my eldest son. Now, if you please - this is of critical importance. What is the date?›”

Eight lights floated in eternal twilight, forming a circle around a fading ninth.

That was close… the blue light voiced. Now what?

The darkest glow rumbled in disapproval. We have already interfered far too much by reversing the timeline.

She asked for help in the Goddess’ name -

She does not follow the faith.

That hardly matters. We’ve never turned down anyone who has come to us with a prayer truly from the heart, spoke the silver light.

Desperation is not faith, the dark glow countered. She came to us as her last resort to save herself.

She didn’t ask us to save her life. She asked us to save him. Even if we turn a deaf ear to her plea, we cannot ignore the consequences of doing nothing! The existence of billions are at stake.

The entire timeline will collapse, the blue insisted. It nearly did a moment ago -

We did not create this situation, observed the dark glow. We must not interfere, even if it costs us all our existence.

The brightest light moved towards the ninth glow, faint fingers of energy caressing it, infusing it with newfound luminance. If we do nothing, this timeline ceases to exist. Therefore, since we are here, entertaining this discussion… We have already intervened. The only thing we must now decide is exactly how… and precisely when.

Fiction Friday: Slumber Party

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:00:16 GMT

When I began the timeline rewrite several months ago to get myself out of the pothole I was stuck in, I actually didn’t see this little jog coming. The first several timelines I drafted, Jadyn somehow snuck aboard the J’Ruhn and saved the day, or cut a deal with Khamai who died as a result, or something letting him otherwise save the day. I’d also considered him getting aboard to find a veritable jungle - Tari’s original ‘plan’ was to scatter seeds across the ship and let them infest everything, essentially choking it to death from the inside. That was what I’d basically settled on. He shows up, in time to see they don’t need saving anymore. Tari saved the day, woo. Go girl.

Then, back in August or September (I think), I was sitting on the tractor moving a pile of firewood across the yard. I was workimg over how to completely work through the jungle idea and couldn’t quite settle on a route that I liked. Tari had to be the heroine in that section, though. So what to do?

It’s like she popped up in my head and suggested: “Why not make him need saving instead?”

A kitsune’s innate spiritual vampirism seemed like a perfect way in, and that action would also give her tools she’d need to get off the J’Ruhn. It also gave me an opportunity to involve a group of people that don’t like to get involved unless they really have to.

And, today, they do. TF: Slumber Party is up. No PS today. I will however be posting a multipart PS Christmas-y tale throughout next week.

First Contact, Part 1

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:20:14 GMT

“This is not how I pictured First Contact.” Casi winced, adjusting her vest. “Not in the most distant possibilities I imagined…”

Jadyn raised his eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“Greeting a handful of presumably terrified survivors in the cramped embarkation room of a starcutter, while stuck wearing a bulky, itchy, uncomfortable uniform? This is not optimal.”

Casi had donned a mostly standard Commonwealth Fleet uniform. The sleeveless vest-top had been adapted to allow room for her wings, mainly by removing most of the fabric on her back and reinforcing the surrounding seams. Whereas the new Commonwealth Fleet uniforms were generally gray with color offsets representing the duty class, hers was the Councilor’s standard: all white with a cerulean blue stripe running from the neck down her left leg.

“If it’s any consolation, that’s the same bulky, itchy, uncomfortable uniform every Fleet crewman and officer is stuck wearing every day.” He lowered his voice in a mock whisper. “Technically, as the leader, it’s your fault the uniforms suck.”

“I expected a large, yet comfortable gathering,” she continued, ignoring him. “A toast welcoming a new culture into the Commonwealth… And most of all, I expected my silks. But I suppose I will just have to deal with the conditions, as barbaric as they are.”

“Try not to think about it.”

“Oh, come on. That is asking me to not think about a Kattan rhinocedon with a pink teacup and a beret. My discomfort is quite minor beside the discomfort of the people beyond this door, but it is still discomfort.” Casi scratched her neck, straightening the collar of the uniform as an afterthought. “Well. Am I presentable?”

“Lovely as always. I’m sorry about making you put that on, especially knowing how much you hate it. I just don’t think they’re ready to see you in your preferred Speaker vestments. Most of the Councilors weren’t, and most Terrans I’ve met are on par with that. Or worse.”

“Hmph,” she grunted. “At least I can look forward to taking this off, even if I have to wear it in public for the next few months.”

“We’ll get you out of it before then. Have an idea for an adjustment to your silks to make them more… reserved.”

“Absolutely not.”

“No?”

“No… Hmph. Perhaps.”

T’bia wandered around the corner, a medkit slung over her shoulder. “Sorry for the wait. Casi ready to greet the survivors?”

“Not me.” She poked Jadyn squarely in the chest. “You. Your ship - your contact. It is… traditional.”

The blue fox frowned. “Traditional? Really?”

“If it was not a tradition before, it is one now.”

“Thanks. I think.” Jadyn poked the door’s keypad, unsetting the lock and opening the door. Heavy scents of sweat and fear poured from the room; the humans had been under a great deal of stress in the last several days. It only made sense they’d reek of it.

“Oh my God,” someone whispered. Everyone else immediately looked to the door. A red-haired woman stood up near the doorway, her eyes jumping rapidly between the three non-humans. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and looked over the other crewmembers for guidance.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Jadyn greeted. “I apologize for the bumpy ride. May I ask who is in charge?”

“Other than the fact your sister runs the place, why did we trek across town just to acquire shampoo?”

The white vixen smirked, her tails lazily drifting to and fro as they waited. “I’ve an entire body to contend with versus that mop on the top of your head. Traize has a long-time friend that makes various personal products tailored with kitsune in mind.”

“Can’t you use ordinary shampoos or… I don’t know, pet products or something?”

“Pet products…?”

“I don’t mean -“

“No, no. Don’t explain. I see that I’ll just have to be satisfied as your prized poodle. Such is life.” Sighing wistfully, she met his eye and let out a laugh. “Both products are aimed at the human consumer. Your own shampoos are designed for your hair and scalps. They’re not really formulated for full body use, despite the marketing spins. Pet shampoos would work but they’ve got medications and pesticides in them that we don’t need nor want. Plus, they’re still designed to smell good to your nose. With our stuff there’s no perfumes or medicinal stink to contend with. It lets natural body scents come through instead of masking them in fake chemical cues.”

“Isn’t the whole point of washing to get rid of those scents?”

“I don’t mean body odor. Subtle scents, things humans can’t entirely pick up on. There’s a lot of nuances to olfactory perception when you’ve got a canid’s nose in mind. Perfumes just… They get in the way, like a heavy, stinky fog.”

“Mm,” he voiced, nodding slightly. “Does scent really give you that much more than vision?”

“Why don’t you have me try to explain sight to the blind, instead.”

“That’s totally different. My nose works just fine.”

“But your brain doesn’t.”

Lenard frowned. “I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

“Right - you don’t ‘see.’ For humans and kitsune both, sight is a major sense. Even our speech is littered with references to vision. You didn’t see what I was getting at. Let’s look into getting something to eat after this. Et cetera. When I say to think about the name ‘Bob,’ you get an immediate idea in your mind about what this hypothetical Bob looks like, don’t you? Normal canid vision is poor by comparison - much more of the brain is devoted for scent processing instead. A true canid would think in terms of what the name Bob smells like, should said canid be capable of such thought.”

“So… Are you colorblind, then?”

“No, I’m not purely canid. My vision does vary depending on what I am. Let’s call my human form a baseline. Generally speaking I’ve normal senses across the board. Once the real me comes out to play, this form here, my hearing and sense of smell grow more intense and focused. Kitsune eyesight is almost as as good as human in good lighting, far better in the dark. And then when I go native, I see, hear, and smell just like a native fox does. It’s not exactly colorblindness - it’s just different.”

“What’s the word… Dichromatic? Two colors?”

“Yes. It’s quite strange after coming from what constitutes ‘normal’ vision for you and I, but it works well enough.”

“Tari!” Traize mock-scolded, emerging from the back room with a box in her arms. “I should turn you in. You’re giving away all our secrets!”

“He’s an inquisitive young man. I’m not going to squelch that virtue by refusing to answer intelligent questions.” Tari snapped her fingers. “Hey, perfect. Tell him about his day so far by his scent cues. I need some help in explaining his inability to smell.”

“And, as the impartial third party, I can tell him details that you’d otherwise already know from being there? All right.” The auburn vixen leaned over the counter and took in a deep breath. “Mm… Don’t blow right in my face, but exhale slightly? Good, thanks. And fluff your shirt a little? Okay. You had oatmeal for breakfast, probably instant, apple cinnamon flavor. Your car’s interior is leather… No, no… A chair you sit in more often than that… A desk chair, I’d bet. There’s a vanilla air freshener in your car, but it’s probably six months old. You two are bunking together and last night you -“

“Whoa! Okay, that’s enough.” Tari laughed. “I think you’ve proven my point.”

“I was only about to tell you which detergent you used last night when you did laundry. Wasn’t going to get into the kinky scents, although I would suggest you both get a bath and erase them from the public record.”

“Wow.” Lenard smirked, shaking his head. “I concede to your superior olfactory prowess.”

Traize dipped her head slightly. “Your surrender is accepted. For the record, you’re also very good at making equipment that is inaudible in your own hearing range and very obnoxious in ours. Do you have any idea how annoying older florescent lights are? Even this antiquated point-of-sale unit is a cacophony of noise that I bet you can’t hear. You’ll also notice I do not have a single dog whistle on the floor that is not in sealed packaging.”

“And I swear, if you ever blow one around me, I’ll make you eat it. This all my stuff?” Tari questioned, peeking into the box.

“Two half-gallon jugs of Maruiko’s body shampoo, four grooming brushes of various sizes, anything else? Squeaky chew-toy to keep Lenard awake all night? Or do you have an effective alternative for inflicting insomnia? I bet it still causes some squeaking.”

Tari made a choking gesture in Traize’s general direction. “Grr! Next time I’ll go to a big box mart. That’ll teach you.”

“You’ll be back. Say…? I’m closing up for the evening pretty shortly. You two want to grab supper or a cup of coffee somewhere?”

“I’d love to, but… Len? Don’t you have a class tonight?”

“I’m free for whatever. Astronomy lab was cancelled. Doctor Maxwell’s sister is on Ares II.”

Tari winced. “And here I’d almost managed to forget about the news…”

“You can’t escape the media.” Traize glanced at a clock on the far wall. “Tell you what. You let me have the TV on, muted, and I’ll put together something palatable for us to munch.”

“Just so long as I can sit facing away from it.”

The red-haired human cleared her throat, stepping forward. “Cordelia Maxwell, Ares II mission commander.”

“It’s a pleasure, Commander Maxwell. Captain Jadyn Elon Tzeki of the Commonwealth Fleet. Welcome aboard my starcutter, the Serin.” He offered his hand; the human reached out in habitual response, hesitating only a heartbeat before grasping and shaking it. “I apologize for the present accommodations and the wait. This isn’t exactly what we had in mind in planning our rescue effort.”

“You’ll have to forgive me, Captain… How exactly did we get here?”

“We have a device which can move matter from one point in space to another - using it, we transported you and most of your cargo out before the ship broke up in the atmosphere. The damage to your ship was extensive, as you already knew. There just wasn’t enough structural integrity left to handle the stresses of being towed. The cargo was reflected to the surface, though we’ll need to move it closer once we drop you off. It’s presently a few thousand kilometers away from the Ares base camp.”

“I see.”

Jadyn moved to the control podium, tapping the surface to wake it up. With a few quick flicks the transporter screens had been replaced by communications controls. “Ares base,” he called. “VTC Serin.”

“Hughes here. Go ahead.”

“I’ve someone up here who I presume would like to speak to you.” Jadyn smiled, briefly reminding himself not to show his teeth. “Commander?”

“This is Maxwell… We’re all here aboard this… ship, all in once piece.”

“That’s great to hear, Commander. Captain Tzeki called down just as we watched the Ares break apart that all hands had been safely evacuated. We were a little unsure at first, but it’s good to hear your voice.”

“He’s also offered assistance in getting the surviving cargo closer to the base camp.” The commander grimaced suddenly. “I didn’t even think about it - we’re going to have a quarantine issue…”

“This vessel is a sterile environment,” T’bia assured. “We’re all in good health and our transporter filters out any infectious pathogens you may have arrived with. I don’t expect you to take my word for it, but nothing extra should be necessary. Whatever procedures you need to follow as a matter of protocol are your call.”

Commander Maxwell nodded briefly, her index finger trailing over the bridge of her nose as she considered. “Commander Hughes - if you’re acceptable, I’d like to proceed as per the original landing plan, even though most of the plan is out the window since we don’t have our counterpressure suits -“

“Were they in one of the cargo containers?” T’bia asked.

“No, they were in the main ship… But there should have been spares, somewhere.”

Jadyn peered at the skunk. “Cargo move first, then?”

“I think we can spare the time. We wouldn’t want to leave them waiting for the couple of days we’ll be gone.”

He nodded. “Ares base - we’ll start moving cargo containers into your area so you can arrange them as you see fit. The Ares Two crew will be joining you before we go get the first batch. We’ll transport them directly into the main facility, if that is acceptable.”

“I’d like to remain onboard,” Commander Maxwell declared. “I can advise the best way to drop the containers to ease our unpacking schedule.”

“That’s fine.”

“Understood. Ares Base out.”

Jadyn restored the transporter controls, powering the pad up. “Everyone else, if you’d please stand up, we’ll get you down to your home away from home. We’ll do this in groups of three - a little easier on our equipment.”

T’bia leaned in to the woman as the mass of humans stood up, speaking over the commotion. “Commander… I recall hearing on your radio transmissions that one of your crew was injured in the accident.”

“Yes, this gentleman here. Jonathan West, our doctor.”

The skunk knelt down beside the man and flipped open a scanner. “Mmm… Closed tibia fracture… No problem. I think I can have you walking on the inside of an hour.”

“An hour?” he queried. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Yeah, I know that seems a little long, but this is a delicate process. In any case, we’ll need to go down to our medical lab. I can’t do this right with portable tools.”

“Jon, we shouldn’t impose -“

“It’s no trouble,” T’bia assured them, putting the scanner away. “We’re happy to help.”

“Cora, please. I’m going to be a liability for at least six months, otherwise.”

The red-haired woman sighed, watching the last of her crew vanish from the room. “All right. I’ll come check on you right after we finish with the cargo move.”

“Here we are - sashimi and saki for us, chicken fingers and cola for Lenard.”

“Mm… You broke out the expensive stuff. Fresh tuna, salmon…” Tari glanced at the bottle’s label. “And this… Junmai daiginjo. You trying to get me drunk again?”

“Not full-out sloppy drunk, no. You’re kind of cute when you’re buzzed. Not drinking my saki I can pardon, Lenard… You’ve no idea how much it saddens me that you don’t eat fish. Where are you from? Do they not have large areas of water? We call them ‘lakes’ and ‘oceans.’”

“I just don’t like it that much. Here and there I’ll have a little but I don’t like to sit down and make a meal out of it… Especially not raw.”

Tari smirked, popping a chunk of tuna into her mouth as she listened. Traize simply shook her head.

“You’re worse than my last cat. How do you cook beef? Well-done?”

“Medium rare.”

“How about some medium-rare tuna steaks, then?”

“That’s hardly the same.”

Snorting, Traize flipped to a different news feed. “Kids these days, no respect for the finer things…”

“Oh, come on. You’ve got three hundred and twenty-odd years on him.” Tari dredged another piece through horseradish. “Everyone is a kid by comparison.”

“Three… hundred?” Lenard asked quietly. “Seriously?”

“Mm,” Traize murmured, nodding around a sip of saki. “I’m slightly older than Newcomen’s steam engine, the mercury thermometer, and, by some accounts, the modern piano.”

“Incredible. I can’t imagine some of the history you must have seen first-hand.”

She smiled. “Not as much as you might think. I stayed in Japan, mostly, but got restless around Tari’s current age. So, I went and explored the great centers of knowledge across the world, both past and present… Well, present for back then. That was almost a hundred and fifty years ago. A lot’s changed since then. Medicine, technology, literature… It truly amazes me how much history has been lost to the erosion of time.”

“Lucky me to have been born just before the beginning of mass media.” Tari grinned. “Far less is being lost now.”

“Not really. There’s just a lot more information at hand, so it’s harder to see what’s been misplaced. A fair amount still falls through the cracks. Some things remain as constants throughout the years, though. The human spirit for adventure pushes you guys to do amazing things. Placing footprints on new planets is a more remarkable a feat than you may realize, Lenard. Taming fire was a huge leap for prehistoric man - you’re beginning to tame the very cosmos. Hard to light a campfire up there, though.”

“We’ve done some stupid stuff too.”

“Everyone is guilty of that from time to time. What matters is what you do afterward, and I’m afraid that you as a race do tend to compound your stupidity. Humans are terrible about thinking in the long term. Your lives are over in a blink. You’re not concerned about the consequences of your actions beyond a few years - ‘oh, we’ll just leave it for the next generation to clean up.’ Look at what happened to the great rain forests, the old growth trees - hell, all the crap you’ve dumped all over the place, poisoning the land and the water supplies. Hundreds of species of flora and fauna have gone extinct in the last century alone save for frozen samples of reproductive material. The population explosion would have left you critically short of resources had the growth continued. Luckily, you realized what you were doing before it was too late. Eight and a half billion people are still unmanageable in the long term, but at least the number is headed in the right direction.”

“Mm. What do you think is the worst thing we’ve done?” Lenard questioned.

The auburn kitsune sucked air around a fang. “There are two that immediately come to mind - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I lost a number of friends when those fell.” Traize sighed. “Although, some good did come of it. Tari and I met there, looking over the post-apocolyptic rubble.”

“The sister I never knew I had. You know, I came across another sibling while we were there. We haven’t kept in contact like you and I have.” Tari glanced sidelong at Traize. “Speaking of folks I don’t keep in touch with… How’s our mother doing?”

“Ornery as ever.” A smirk tugged at one side of Traize’s muzzle. “You came up in conversation. You’re a failure as a daughter. I’m not too great either, but you’re just a walking disaster.”

“She just wasn’t too hot as a mother.”

Traize snorted a laugh. “A fire spirit, not hot…”

“Ah, damn! I didn’t even realize I’d said that.”

“Still… I think we’ve done all right for being ‘tainted, worthless, half-breed daughters.’”

“You forgot ‘mongrel,’” Tari added.

“I did, didn’t I… She’ll never admit it but I’m sure she’s just upset at the lack of sons. Wonder if they’ll let her try again.”

“Gods, I hope not.” Tari laughed. “I’d hate to see what her ego would be like if she’d had a son to parade around the Courts. ‘Hey, look at me, I produced a male heir!’ That’ll be the day.”

“Question…” Lenard interrupted. “Are male heirs actually still a status symbol in your society?”

“Well…” Traize scratched her neck. “How much have you been telling him, Tari?”

“Everything by way of nothing. If you’re asking if I trust him, I do. I just haven’t sat down with him to do any sort of mass clarification of the misinformation and mythology I suggested he read up on.”

“Eh… Suppose it can’t hurt anything. Well, Lenard. Males are extremely rare in modern kitsune society. I’d hazard a guess that under five percent of the population at present is male.”

“Really? How many kitsune are there?”

“Ten to twelve thousand spread across the world. Maybe less. It’s hard to keep an exact head count but we do actively keep our numbers low by only allowing for births as fast as deaths occur. Accidents can happen, but it’s rare. It’s far easier to avoid detection in today’s modern society if there’s fewer of us to hide. We really should have given you all a few pointers before you broke the nine billion mark, though… On the bright side, you could always shuffle a couple of billion off to Mars when they finish the terraforming.”

“Sorry, I’m still trying to figure out where the law of averages forgot about you. Five hundred males for ten thousand females?”

“Probably about two hundred, come to think about it. Half of those are crotchety old men. They used to be a quarter of all of us, but the number’s been going steadily downhill. The way things have been going, there will eventually be zero.”

Lenard frowned. “How is that even possible?”

“We really don’t know.” Tari stole one of his chicken fingers and used it to mop up the last of the horseradish. “Part of the reason there’s so much myth and legend out there is that we don’t have many actual facts to work with. The mythology says we are the messengers of Inari, but no one knows exactly how, when, and why we came to be. Maybe Inari created us, maybe not. We’ve lost a lot of ourselves over the centuries. Just because we live for a millennium doesn’t make us better at keeping records.”

“It should,” Traize grumbled. “Some of us do try.”

“Still, a trend like that?” Lenard shook his head. “Doesn’t that make survival of the species… difficult?”

Traize nodded her agreement. “That alone is the reason so many have taken human mates. When male kitsune do appear - especially purebloods - they generally get corralled off as breeding stock.”

“Purebloods?”

“Right, sorry… Uh… Okay. Tari and I are half mortal and half kitsune, since our fathers were both human and our mother is a pureblood. A pureblooded kitsune has no mortal progenitors. We’re… hybrids, I suppose you could call us. It’s a nicer term than the ‘halfbreed’ and ‘mongrel’ we get from the purists.”

“I see.” Lenard tapped his thumb to his forefinger in brief thought. “Is it just a pedigree thing?”

“Purebloods can’t remain in the physical plane without a source of energy to maintain their manifestation. We can, but on the flip side it’s slightly more tedious to get us back to the Celestial Courts, the spirit realm they call ‘home.’ Beyond that there’s a few minor bits, nothing immediately important.” Traize picked up the empty platters and slid them onto the kitchen counter behind herself. “Where was I… Ah, right. So, the males get all this attention. Most of their progeny are daughters. The hope is that they sire another male somewhere along the line while still staying within our population control goals. The running average of all births, last I heard, was ten per year.”

“Which means… A male about once every five years.”

“We’re way off the average on that. The last one I heard of was over eighty years back.”

Lenard massaged his temples. “Makes no sense… I’m pretty sure I was awake for the classes where they explained how the female not having sons is the male’s fault.”

“Because the mother has only X’s and the father has an X and Y?” Traize asked. “You’d be right if we were human. Don’t get me wrong - the little scientific testing we’ve managed to quietly complete shows that we share a great deal of our genetics. There’s very, very little difference between us on the biological level, despite our physical differences and otherworldly abilities -” Traize suddenly peered across the room. “What the hell?”

“Coming up on the site.” Jadyn prodded the thrusters, slowing their velocity. “Where’s this one go?”

“Along side the last one.” The human commander peered out the forward viewport and checked the cargo pod off her list, watching the surface coming toward them. “Amazing. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of raw engine power you’d need to pull maneuvers like this.”

“Unmanageable amounts, until you figure out how to change the gravitational constant into a variable.” He gave her a sideways glance. “What’s on your mind?”

“Frankly? I’m puzzled. How’d you hear about our troubles from forty light-years away when our signals only propagate at lightspeed?”

“We didn’t. My assigned mission was to come and do some final observations, with the intention that formal contact would be established in about five years. If we’d been delayed another half-day in departing, we would have arrived just in time to discover your problems through the headline ‘Ares II lost with all hands.’ Ares Base, container 6-Bravo-1-3-2 is on site.” Jadyn shot her a grin. “We didn’t hear about the accident until we were about three lightyears out.”

“But - that’s still too far for a signal…” She pinched herself between the eyes. “Right. Faster than light travel, so, faster than light comms are a possibility too… But since that wouldn’t let you overhear regular radio chatter propagating at lightspeed, you’ve got some sort of relay station near Earth that bounces our radio signals into your FTL carriers, don’t you?”

“I like you more and more as the day goes on, Commander. Now, I technically shouldn’t answer that. Hypothetically speaking, if I told you that Selene Base was built not five hundred meters away from a very large, innocuous, worthless-looking moon rock buried two meters below the surface, you might feel obliged to tell someone. I’d also point out that the first thing on our original to-do list was to pull it as we went past.”

“I might be inclined to share that, yes… But as I’m thankful we’re not in the bottom of a crater or a trail of ash in the sky, and since I also don’t want to come off as completely ungrateful for the help you’re providing right now? I think this particular hypothetical rock can remain a matter of quiet conjecture, if you’re removing it anyway.”

“Thank you.” Jadyn smiled. “It’s really bad form to keep eavesdropping on a planet we’re trying to open peaceful and honest communications with. It’ll eventually come up in formal negotiations, along with details of our past observation stints. Full disclosure at the outset doesn’t usually go over well.”

“I suppose not.” The woman smirked, leaning back in the copilot chair. Her gaze drifted across the various status readouts as the next container was collected. “I’ve always been sure aliens existed. It just seemed impossible for there not to be anything else out there.”

“You weren’t expecting beings that look like crosses between you and other creatures native to your world.”

“No. Given, I don’t know what I was expecting, but it really wasn’t you. If I had to put a face to it… I don’t know.”

“Aerin, load visual records for mark eleven, twelve, and thirteen simuloids. Main viewer, lower right quadrant.” Part of the screen cleared, pulling up pictures of diminutive gray bodies with impossibly large eyes and spindly arms and legs. “That what you’re looking for?”

“A little. What exactly are those?”

“Crash test dummies.”

First Contact, Part 2

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:19:35 GMT

Lenard turned around, following Traize’s gaze to the DTV. “What is that?”

“It’s too blurry to tell… Looks almost like some sort of shadow beside the Ares II.”

Tari shook her head. Knowing she’d regret looking, she turned and peeked at the picture. It wasn’t a good photograph by any means; she’d met children with steadier camera techniques. However, there was a definite bluish-black blob of some sort in a position flanking what was probably the Ares shuttle.

Traize frowned, watching the headline ticker scroll. “The ISA’s gone absolutely quiet, military bases around the world are on high alert… Something strange is going on. Information is being repressed at this very moment. I can feel it.”

“There’s been a lot of strange sightings as of late. Maybe the aliens are done watching,” Lenard joked.

“Ha. I’ve seen my share of weirdness over the years, but I’ve never seen a thing that’d convince me of aliens existing.”

“Seriously?”

“Mm-hm. I’m convinced that we are all there is.”

“How can you not believe there’s more out there? We live in a big universe. There’s got to be more than just us.”

“Stop and think about that for just a second.” Traize gestured skyward. “Presuming there are advanced and intelligent life forms up there, why haven’t they stopped by and said hello?”

“Consider yourselves - the greater portion of this planet doesn’t know you exist. Why? Because they flat out couldn’t handle the truth. Tari didn’t think I’d be able to handle it, either - and to start with, she was right. What’s to say we’d handle the absolute knowledge of alien existence any better? Besides - if they’re so advanced as to be able to visit our planet, they’d have no reason to come here. We’d be absolutely primitive by comparison. They’ve probably got enough of their own problems to deal with without adding a volatile little ball of mud and talking protein chains to the list.”

“Mmm… There is that. Still, there’s no proof that they’re out there.”

“Absence of proof is not proof of absence.”

“William Cowaper. He also said ‘God made the country’ and I don’t believe in Him, either.” Traize grinned. “Tari, back me up here. You of all people have to have some rooting in reality… Er, never mind, it looks like you’re lost in space, too.”

“Hm?” She looked up from the DTV coverage. “Sorry, what? I, uh, I was distracted.”

“Yes, I could see that. Aliens. Len says yes, they’re coming to steal earth women; I say no, we’re the only inhabited planet, we womenfolk are safe. You?”

“I’m… I don’t know. You’d think with a galaxy as big as we live in, there’d have to be more than one planet where the conditions were right for intelligent life to spring up. Sure, it’s an odd confluence of improbabilities - the perfect star, the perfect distance from that star, the perfect mix of basic elements. If it happened once, though, it could have happened more than once.”

“Tari…” Traize spoke gently. “Spill it.”

“What?”

“I recognize that look in your eye. You know something about what’s going on, and you’re doing your damnedest to make it seem like you don’t.”

The white kitsune exhaled slowly. “I know as much about what’s going on right now as you do.”

“Oh, come on, don’t try to pull crap like that with me.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Right, but it’s truth with a qualifier - Hm?” Traize fell silent as their gazes met. “Oh. Oh. I’m sorry - I didn’t realize -“

“It’s all right.” Tari shook her head. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“Down the hall, second door on the left.”

“Thanks.” Tari padded from the dining room, navigating several boxes and crates of books stacked in the hallway. Locking the bathroom’s door behind her, she leaned on the edge of the sink and stared at her reflection. The image on the television, as blurry as it was, left no doubt in her mind about the identity of the object. But what were they doing?

Tari turned on the hologram and stabbed at buttons. “Stupid bracelet… I don’t want the moon, I want the Serin… Come on! Work with me here!”

Verbal command ambiguous. Do you wish to manually initiate a connection? a dialog window questioned.

“Of course I do!” Tari hissed.

Connecting to transceiver for transluminal signal reflection… Handshaking… Authentication in progress. Error 47: All data channels are currently reserved or in use. Please try again later or contact the node administrator for assistance. Connection terminated. Retry?

“Damn you!” she cursed, slamming the holographic PDA onto the vanity. The screen flashed TILT in colorful, friendly letters before returning to the home screen. “I hate technology!”

“Tari?” Traize called, tapping at the door. “You all right?”

“I’m…” Tari hesitated. A deep breath later she clicked off the projection. “I’m fine, Traize.”

“We thought we heard you yelling. Everything okay?”

Ha. “Yeah. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Open the channel, Aerin.”

A holographic viewer sprang into existence in the middle of the hallway outside the medlab. The cargo drops had gone off without a hitch; they’d moved down to check on T’bia’s progress, but a call had come in and pulled him away. As the linkup completed, a russet Velorian mel appeared on screen. Six pips graced his collar, three on each side - the new marks of a Commonwealth Fleet Captain.

“Anaret.” The blue fox dipped his head in greeting. “Good to see you.”

“Jadyn!” the mel called, grinning widely. “How’s it going? It’s been too long.”

“Too long? What do you expect - that’s exactly what happens when you agree to survey past the edges of Commonwealth space! I was surprised to hear that you’re back so close to home, actually.”

“We had a few weeks in spacedock for maintenance and crew exchanges. We’re on our way now to a stellar nursery before we head back out to the border for the second half of the tour.”

“A nebula and protostar analysis?” Jadyn smirked. “How infinitely fascinating. Excellent use of all your skills, for certain.”

Anaret laughed. “You make it sound far worse than it really is. They’re quite remarkable up close. But enough of that - Haran said your comm request was tagged with priority encoding. What’s up?”

“Commander Halio should have forwarded a databurst along with the comm request. In short, I’ve been ordered to initiate first contact procedures with the inhabitants of Sol-Three.”

“That’s the Terran sector, isn’t it? I’m somewhat familiar with the file. The last communique I saw, they weren’t due for First Contact for at least another… What was it, five years?”

“That was the outline. My original mission here was to just do six months of recon for that longer-range plan of contact and get Speaker Jubah somewhat more familiar with the language. A local crisis caused by Commonwealth negligence later, the plans are being accelerated. I have a crew of three and the Serin, and I’m now expected to do some initial meet and greets.”

“And you’d prefer something actually made from present Commonwealth tech for hosting further visitors.”

“Your shadow is also a tad larger than my own. It’s both an intimidation factor and a bit of showboating.” Jadyn shook his head. “If you’re truly dedicated to your timetable, there’s other ships that I won’t feel bad about directing to join us. You’re presently the closest by three weeks. I won’t have the Speaker order you to do this, but I’d appreciate any help you can lend.”

“The protostars will still be there. Haran is indicating that we’re about a week away. How long would you need us for?”

“There’s the itch. The Speaker and I will be stationed here for six months. That’s the minimum until the first proper diplomatic delegation can be readied. I wouldn’t keep you here for all of that if you didn’t want to stay, but I’d welcome the support for as long as you care to remain.”

“Mm… I don’t think it’ll be a problem to stay the duration, and providing logistical support for a Contact mission will look good on a lot of young résumés around here. I’ll need to consult with my senior staff and make a few arrangements, though. You’ll have a concrete answer in a few hours. In the meantime, I’ll order our course altered.”

“Thanks, Anaret. I owe you one.”

“Don’t worry - we’ve got a way to collect on that.” Anaret winked as the channel closed.

“Aliens… Three days ago I would have called this a hoax.” Lenard took a deep, slow breath. “Wow. Amazing what a little perspective can do, isn’t it?”

“Perspective..? Wait! She just told you about us?” Traize glanced up as Tari came back into the room and stabbed a finger in her direction. “How long did you lead this poor boy on?”

“A month or two.”

“I can’t believe it! You are still a total and complete amateur! You’re supposed to wait until he’s on his deathbed to break the news. ‘Honey, I’m sorry, but I’m a fuzzy vampire. Gwaaar.’ It’s traditional.”

“I’m all about instant gratification.”

“Learn some patience. So, check this out.” Traize gestured to the screen. A different headline scrolled across the ticker: Ares II crew rescued by peaceful extraterrestrial power? New, cleaner images accompanied the headline, showing the former blob in crisp detail. There was no mistaking the ship as anything but an alien craft - definitely the Serin.

“I’ll accept for the moment that this may be real and that aliens may actually exist, just for the sake of argument.”

“You’ll accept a lot for the sake of argument,” Tari mused quietly. “Or just the sake of arguing.”

“Hush. That headline, though…”

“What about it?” Lenard asked.

“‘Peaceful extraterrestrial power.’ How can they say with any certainty that they’re peaceful?” Traize asked.

“They did save the crew from certain doom. That has to count for something.”

“Maybe we just look tasty and they didn’t want the meat bruised.” She shook her head. “No, their arrival is just too convenient… They show up at the last minute to save the day. Doesn’t smell right.”

“You’re implying they caused a problem just to traipse in and solve it, to look like the good guys?”

“It’s not impossible. Human history is rife with examples of that very thing. What’s to say aliens would be different?”

Lenard shrugged. “I suppose there’s no proof either way. I’d just like to think that a race that makes us look like we’re still in the dark ages would have gotten past things like that.”

“Mm. That’s a nice dream.” Traize inhaled slowly. “Tari…”

“Don’t.”

“I just want to apologize -“

“I know you do. I’m not bound to a promise.”

“You’re not?” The elder sibling frowned. “But then why? That look you gave me -“

“A friend who understands our nature made a request of me many years ago. He was careful to explicitly not bind me to anything. I’m honoring the request he made as if I had sworn to it. I have a lot of respect for him.” Tari tapped her fingers together, looking at the Serin and thinking to herself briefly. “I doubt he’d actually care if I told you two anything… But until I hear it from him, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“I hate not knowing what’s going on,” Traize grumped.

“Learn some patience.”

“Sorry about that,” Jadyn apologized, re-entering medbay. “How’s it going in here?”

“I am… just… about done.” T’bia set down the deep tissue regenerator, looking over scans of her handiwork. A few taps at the datapad brought up before-and-after pairs of images on the wall. “How’s that look to you, Doc?”

“Impressive.” Jonathan appraised the comparison with an approving nod. “There’s no scar tissue… Not a trace of any work?”

“Look closer. I realize it’s not entirely obvious, since you’re not familiar with the techniques, but… see here? Along the bone?”

Casi peered at the other human as the two medics reviewed the surgery. “Commander, you have been remarkably quiet. Is there something on your mind?”

“Something?” Cordelia barked a laugh. “Lots.”

“We have put you in a bind, and I apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it. They’re going to ask me a lot of questions and I have no idea how I’m going to answer them. Hell, I’m not sure if I can even guess all of what they’re going to ask.”

“On the bright side, you’ve got that half-hour round trip to help delay the inevitable.” Jadyn smirked as he caught a glimpse of T’bia’s close-up ‘after’ scan: her signature in tiny Val’Traxan script, etched very faintly along the regenerated bone tissue. “The folks asking you the most questions are probably the ones who already know we’re out here. We’ve done our best to be discreet, but accidents do happen.”

“And the occasional blatant hint,” T’bia added over her shoulder.

“You know, that reminds me. There was a rumor going around, back when I was first starting with ISA, that during one of the missions setting up Selene Base, something had been found in the remains of an original U.S. lander. The stories ranged about what it was - a piece of alien technology, an interstellar rosetta stone - but everyone insisted that we had conclusive proof of alien visitation and were sitting on it. No one had actually seen the thing, always a friend of a friend. I’d written it off long ago. But… One of the common descriptions very much resembles that device you’ve been holding, Commander Halio.”

Jadyn bit his lip, turning to T’bia. “I never dreamt you were serious. I thought you were just going sight-seeing.”

“You wouldn’t have okayed my spraying graffiti on Terran property. It was the next best thing! I really wonder if anyone managed to construct anything meaningful of those fake pictograms. I didn’t even assign them to words, just let them pop up randomly.” T’bia helped ease Jonathan to his feet. “The true test is not in the intellectual evaluation of the scans. How’s it feel?”

“Good. Remarkably good.”

“Wonderful. You’re all set to go, then. There’ll be some stiffness for at least the next day until all the anesthesia wears off. Take it easy, get plenty of fluids, electrolytes, et cetera and so on. Don’t do anything to strain it for the next week.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Well!” Jadyn gestured to the door. “Shall we reunite you with the rest of your crew?”

“I suppose it’s time.” Cordelia stepped out into the hall, followed by Jonathan, Casi, and Jadyn. T’bia shut the door behind them and followed the group down the hall. “I’d invite you for a tour to thank your hospitality, but I think I’d better deal with my commanders back on Earth, first.”

“No rush. We’ll be out of the system for a day or two, but we’ll come back and check in with you to see how they’d like to proceed with us.”

“So this isn’t just a one-time visit from our interstellar neighbors?” Jonathan asked.

“That depends on your governments,” Casi replied. “When you are answering their questions, please inform them that a larger crew will join us here shortly.”

“Here?” Cordelia queried. “On Mars?”

“No, in your star system. The prediction is that a formal First Contact will occur on Terran soil in short order, since Mars is more of an outpost. This ship is not presently staffed for that occasion.” Casi opened the transporter room door, observing as Jadyn took over the controls. “They will arrive in approximately a week. If at that time a unified voice from your world requests that we leave, we will depart and never return to your sector of space. Barring interference from worlds not under our charter, you will be effectively back where you were before today.”

“I don’t see the UN pushing you away.”

“Good. I’d like the opportunity to speak with you again before we get very deep into Contact proceedings… And get that tour of the Ares facility.” Jadyn smiled. “Commander, Doctor, it’s been a pleasure having you as our guests.”

“Thank you, Captain. Safe travels.”

Touching the controls, Jadyn sent the pair of humans down to their base. With a deep exhale, he turned to Casi. “We need to take care of that singularity before it causes more damage.”

“I agree.”

“Bee, do you have -“

“A probable course, yes.”

“Cloak and break orbit.”

“Have a good night, sis.”

“You too, Tari, Len. Drive safe.” Traize smiled and shut the door. Arm in arm, Tari and Lenard walked down the driveway to his car. Snowflakes drifted in the air, dusting the pavement and collecting at the sides along the grass. The wind was all but nonexistent, an occasional puff stirring the fine flakes on the ground.

“Really cooled off out here,” Lenard observed, keying the remote starter and bringing the vehicle to life.

“You should have done that about ten minutes ago.”

“It warms up fast… Sitting low on fuel, anyway.”

“We could have stopped and topped off.” Glancing at her watch, Tari shook her head. “Everything’s closed by now.”

“There’s enough to last me until payday if I’m conservative.”

“Let me worry about routine finances.”

“I’m more worried about the condition of the roads leading back into town. First snows usually become black ice around here.”

“Just take it easy. Concentrate on the cup of cocoa waiting on the table.” Tari buckled her seatbelt as the car pulled onto the road. “In the meantime… What’d you think of Traize?”

“She’s… nice.”

“Nice? Just ‘nice?’”

“She’s mildly eccentric and somewhat confrontational… Beyond that, she seems nice.”

“Nothing really fell to all out arguing tonight, but yeah, she does do that. She loves a good debate. Even a bad one. She’ll take a stand she doesn’t support if it means she can argue with someone.”

“Mm. The stuff going on seemed ripe for it.”

“I think she meant what she said tonight, though. It can be hard to tell.”

“Mm. So… About your earlier conversation…”

Tari shook her head. “Please, don’t ask. I’m enjoying making Traize pull out hair over this, but it’s really killing me to not spill my soul to you - especially after agreeing to be completely upfront with you. This is the one exception that I absolutely can’t go back on.”

“The news stuff? I wasn’t going to ask about that. If it’s not something you can talk about, I’m okay with that. I’m not surprised to find a line drawn in the sand. Curious that it’s not related to kitsune stuff…”

“Yeah, but this is different. It’s… By telling you about us, I’m at the most going to get myself in trouble. They can’t touch you because you’re outside their jurisdiction.”

“And by talking about the alien thing, you might get someone else in trouble?”

She frowned. “Not… really, no. At the very least I know that I’d violate the trust of a good friend, and I’m not willing to breach that trust. What did you want to ask?”

“The thing I derailed you both about, children between humans and kitsune… Uhm… You’re innate shapeshifters. Hypothetically speaking, couldn’t someone… cross the gender boundary?”

“Ah, right before the news distracted us. A female kitsune in male form is firing blanks, to put it nicely. There are a few who it has worked for, but they’re the exception, not the rule.”

“Which leaves us as the fallback. If others are having kids with human fathers, why hasn’t anyone noticed?”

“One night stands, mostly. Everyone gets what they want that way. There’s minimal chance of exposure.”

“I don’t know. The whole thing seems…”

“Flawed? Desperate? Scandalous?”

“No. Sort of sad.” Lenard sighed. “I mean, the kid wouldn’t have a father figure, and the father wouldn’t get a chance to know his kid, even know one was out there… And then there’s the thought in the back of my head that you’re all just barely hanging on, forced to dilute yourselves just to survive.”

“Like Traize said, we’re more alike than a lot of my people care to admit.” Tari smirked. “There’s no further dilution after mixing a pureblood and a human. They balance out in every generation after the blending.”

“How do you mean?”

“Let me explain this somewhat hypothetically… You are one hundred percent human. I’m half: the child of a pureblooded kitsune and a pureblooded human. Therefore, were we to produce offspring, the child would be… what?”

“Generally speaking, three-quarters human.”

“And one quarter kitsune, correct. But that kitsune blood is fickle, volatile stuff. By the time this child reached her teenage years - and very likely, it’d happen well before that, sometimes as early as at birth - the kitsune blood would have annexed another quarter. She’d be half kitsune and half human, just like I am. The same thing would happen to her offspring, and theirs, and so on - half and half. It doesn’t even matter who or what the other parent is - pureblood, human, or hybrid. If the child isn’t a pureblood, the kitsune blood balances the human blood halfway, every time.”

“That goes against everything I’ve ever learned about genetics.”

“Punnett squares don’t cover the metaphysical.”

Lenard pulled into his dorm parking place and clicked off the ignition. Both his hands returned to the steering wheel as he stared out the front window; he was quiet for nearly ten seconds as he drummed the wheel with his index fingers. “You must realize what’s running through my head right now, after all I’ve heard tonight.”

“Perhaps all this has just been a long drawn-out ploy to use you as genetic stock. It’s not. I’m sure I wouldn’t have to prove it further than giving you my word, but I’ll do it anyway. Look here.” Tari hiked her left leg up onto the dash and rolled back her pantleg. A silvery band, inset with glyphs and small gemstones, glinted in the lights of the parking lot. “Traize gave me this years back for a birthday present. This anklet is basically kitsune contraception. If you catch me with it off, start getting suspicious. Also start asking questions should you notice that it is not above the left foot.”

“You could market that thing and make millions.”

“Doesn’t work on humans, requires our spirit energy to power it. Even if it did work, people still wouldn’t remember to use it. It’s also not effective against the other reasons for abstinence. And should you wonder about that, you’ve never been with anyone else and I’m clean. My AKC papers will prove that.”

“First, papers wouldn’t prove that. Second, there’s no way you have papers.”

“And why not?”

“Because you already told me you’re of mixed descent.”

“Excellent to see you’ve been paying attention.”

Lenard scratched his nose. “You mind me asking how many partners you’ve had?”

“You sure you want to know?”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Counting you… Three.”

“Three?” His eyebrows coasted upwards ever so slightly. “Um… All human?”

“Only one.”

“Ah…”

Tari squeezed his hand. “You all right?”

“You’re nine times older than I am. I didn’t have any illusions of being the first man you’d slept with.”

“Oh, so, you expected the number to be higher.” Laughing, she slapped his shoulder. “What do you think I am, some sort of harlot?”

“Kitsune are supposed to be hedonistic,” he countered with a grin.

“Damn, you have been reading the good stuff. I’ll give you that one. Still - I’ve tried to keep my baser impulses in check. The first one on the list was literally a teenage mistake, a learning experience just after my change in lifestyle. In the years after him, I’ve only found two men worth my time.”

“One decent guy a century… That doesn’t say much for us, does it?”

“Maybe I’m just too picky. I’m supposed to be hedonistic. Come on, let’s go get that cocoa going.”

Fiction Friday: Salvage & First Contact

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:13:55 GMT

Okay, I overshot Friday slightly… Sorry! Another bit of Paradigm Shift will appear this weekend (let’s say ‘Sunday’), but for now, here’s TF: Salvage.

Enjoy!

3am edit: OCD got me. PS First Contact Part 1 and Part 2 are up.

Salvage

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:11:52 GMT

“Talk to me, San.”

“Half of the armada has been rendered adrift. The remainder of the ships are retreating. Sensors indicate their biotech components have been permanently disabled.”

Tari gave a slight nod. “Good. How’s our team?”

“The Serin appears to have suffered superficial damage to biohull components due to proximity to the neural pulse. Regeneration should properly repair the damage. Several Fleet vessels have sustained varying levels of damage but I have overheard no casualty reports. Orders, Captain?”

“Stand down. Prepare the stepdisk network for linkup with the Serin. Invite them over for tea.” Tari leaned forward in the command chair. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but… Damage report?”

“Shields are offline. The core has been throttled down to idle and is stable. However, the internal power grid has been severely compromised. It will take many weeks of repair work to restore, presuming a properly trained maintenance staff and a stockpile of replacement components. Since neither staff nor parts are readily available… Perhaps a year, if at all.”

“Toy’s resourceful. He’s kept the Serin flying. He’ll find a way to do the same here. I can’t convince you to stay online and help?”

“No,” he replied. “I am deeply sorry, but I do not believe it is safe for anyone on board should I remain running. I am flagging myself as non-executable, just as I was before Khamai reactivated me. All command and access codes have been granted to you. Until such time as you decide otherwise, the J’Ruhn is in your hands. Miss Tarioshi… Please help Khamai.”

“We’ll do everything we can.”

“Thank you.”

“No, Sanusin. Thank you for trusting in me. We’ll find a way to bring you back, if I have to personally spend the next eight hundred years learning what makes you tick.”

“In that event, I look forward to meeting you again in the future. ARIA AI personality Sanusin, now shutting down. Goodbye.”

“Tari!” T’bia exclaimed, glomming onto the vixen in a tight hug in the center of the J’Ruhn’s bridge. “I bet you have one Void of a story to tell.”

“You’ve no idea. Toy, how are you?”

“I’m well, thanks. This ship… It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

T’bia punched the leopard in the arm.

“That is… Not… quite as good as -“

“Too late,” she growled. “You’re off my friend list. You hear me? You are unfriended. You’re not my friend, buddy!”

“You haven’t seen the half of it,” Tari replied. “It’s going to need a lot of help, though. The power grid is absolutely fried after covering Terac Lun’s ass. There’s problems with the internal sensor network, and an eighth of the ship is closed off by internal bulkheads because the other side hasn’t had life support in at least two centuries. I figured overseeing a project like this is right up your alley.”

T’bia squinted at the vixen. “You all right? You don’t quite seem… yourself.”

“That’s also a long story. As for you - Khamai is in a life support pod. I had Sanusin transport it down to Azainte Medical for storage at the same time we let Khris and family off to be checked out. Part of Sanusin’s condition for handing over the ship’s command codes to me was that I’d ensure Khamai got whatever medical attention you could provide. If you can’t save him at this point, you can’t. I promised him you’d give your best effort, and we do not renege on promises.”

The skunk eyeballed her for a long second before giving a shrug. “Okay. I’ll have him transported up to our medbay and take a look. I’d like to run you through a full physical, too.”

“He’s in critical condition. Do what you can for him first -“

Something is wrong.

Tari squinted as her fox’s voice came through. “Oh, what now…”

Look around. Where is Jadyn?

“Tari?” T’bia asked. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing… Little headache, is all. Uh… Where’s Jadyn?”

“He’s… taking a well-earned nap.”

Tari raised an eyebrow. “What happened after he used the blood magic?”

The skunk blinked. “How’d you know he -“

“Bee, I need you to tell me everything that happened, right now.”

“This is bad.” Tari took her fingers off Jadyn’s forehead, placing her palm on his chest. “So very, very bad… Gods… What airheads we three are…”

“I tried to talk him out of it -“

“I wasn’t talking about… Never mind. How long has he been like this?”

“Since just after the vial broke and sliced up his hands.”

His blood mingled with ours, just as we began drawing his energy… the spirit spoke. This is even worse than you think.

“I put him on life support three hours ago,” T’bia was continuing. “Didn’t need it yet, just precautionary. I’ve never seen anything affect him like this. He’s not even healing like himself anymore. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Your priority right now is Khamai. I’ll do what I can about Jay.”

“But -“

“Get to it,” she ordered. T’bia seemed taken aback, but nodded. A flare of green light appeared in the back half of the room, near the surgical station; three off-colored copies of T’bia’s avatar in medical assistant’s uniforms quickly closed in on the life support pod. T’bia herself wandered back to join them, a surgeon’s gown appearing over her frame.

Tuning the four of them out as she looked at Jadyn, she turned her focus inward. That wasn’t just an imprint you ate.

That alone would explain why I have not yet regressed back to a mere shadow in your mind… And may very well be the entire reason I became more.

Tari’s perceptions shifted. The medical ward blurred somewhat around her, distorted by the vision of her dreamscape. Opposite her, on the other side of Jadyn’s body, her two-tailed kitsune form stood looking down at him.

“You care for him,” her spirit spoke, gazing upon his face, her fingers drifting inches away from his cheek.

“As should you. He’s been giving you…” Tari shook her head. “No… No, I can’t blame this entirely on you. He’s been giving us a gift he did not agree to share since the very moment we met. Why’d we even feed off him in the first place?”

“I was not independently conscious at that time - my memories are yours. As such… I suspect we did not have enough reserves after the several days of cross-country travel to heal the injury when you called upon my power. The forest around us was too far into dormancy to supply even the barest minimum… He would have been the only choice.”

“Stealing another’s life energy is not a choice! I would never have willingly done that! I don’t even draw deeply from plants without asking permission!”

The spirit-vixen’s ears flattened back at the scolding. “I do not have an answer for you. All I can tell you is that, had he been anyone else, we would have drawn only enough to cover the magic you attempted to invoke. The feeding link would have collapsed on its own when we ceased to draw upon it. His nature prevents that. You have sensed it, even if you do not yet recognize it - he literally overflows with energy. His body and soul paired as one generate far more than he would ever require for himself. When we have been in his presence, we did not draw upon him - energy has streamed freely to us across the link. We ‘took’ nothing until our captivity drove us beyond starvation.” She sighed. “Breaking this bond may require the assistance of a Nine, now that it has been so deeply seared into each of us…”

“We can’t break it until we can put back what we stole from him. You let flow far more than just his life energy this last time - and I know damn well you were starting to act independently by then! You pulled down his entire soul through the blood link he forged!”

“That was not my fault! Had our blood not mingled with his, it surely would have been no more than a feeding. True, he may have lingered near death… But he would not have been drained so completely as this.” Her spirit grimaced. “It will not be such a simple task to undo what has been done.”

“There has to be a way. Can’t you think of anything?”

“I have very little more understanding above your own about what we are and what we truly can do, Tarioshi. Despite our current situation, at our core we are not separate entities - we are halves of the same whole. I do not fully understand the nature of my sudden existence, but I believe I am at this moment a manifestation of what you would be without your mortal soul. You, on the other hand, have always been what I would become with one. We cannot survive independently of one another. I learn as you learn. Sadly, you have possessed little desire to learn more than the very basics of controlling our gifts.”

“Then what was that whole lecture about properly bonding with you to find out what we can do?”

“I was… upset, after having been ignored for so long. Having found a voice, I felt the overwhelming need to… express myself.”

“Bravado. Every word.”

“Generally… Yes.”

Tari growled, rubbing her eyes. “Okay, fine. What the hell do we do?”

“I do not know.”

A hand fell on Tari’s shoulder, drawing her mind back to reality. As the medical bay came into focus her spirit fox remained on the edge of her senses, faintly visible to her in the room.

“You all right?” T’bia asked. “You’ve been over here mumbling to yourself for a while.”

“I’m fine. Just frustrated with myself. I have to be able to fix what we’ve done… I just don’t know where to start.”

“What ‘we’ve’ done?”

“My… Right. You can’t see… Oi.” She sighed, peering at her ghostly alter ego. “Bear with me - I’m having a bit of a dissociative identity moment. When Jadyn forged a link between us and mixed our blood, my kitsune side drew down all the life energy she could consume… and took out far more than just his energy.”

“Ah, an essence smash-and-grab. That would explain why I keep hearing him in your voice.” T’bia scratched her forehead. “I’m sadly not going to be of any help with this kind of thing.”

“Maybe you can be…” Tari tapped the side of her muzzle, looking across at the spirit. “We learn together, hm…?”

“Whuh?” T’bia voiced.

“Not you.” She turned to face the skunk. “But. You pillaged every scrap of data you could get your hands on from Terra, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Have it indexed?”

“Mostly. What do you need?”

“Everything you know about me.”

“When you said that place was a mess, I didn’t realize you were grossly understating the conditions.” Toliya grabbed a bowl of soup out of the Serin’s replicator, parking at the common room’s table. “The thing hasn’t had any maintenance for at least half a century. Probably longer, by the grime on some of the hardware. I honestly can’t do this alone. It’d take the rest of my waking days. I’ve got a number of folks I’d trust around your tech that I’d like to bring in to help. They’re well-trained on the most advanced Alligned hardware… There’ll be a steep learning curve for this stuff, but they’re still the best I know.”

“Bring on anyone you need.” Tari glanced up from a pad. “I realize there’s a lot on your plate over there. If you happen to get bored, I’d like you to tear into one of the two AIs and check out his decision-making subroutines.”

“Why’s that?”

“He was archived a long time ago for making poor choices in a crisis and eventually was replaced. I’d like to know if that’s because of a minor error in his software, or if he’s truly corrupted beyond repair. He believes the latter.”

“Mm. Well, it won’t be super soon, but I’ll take a look when I can. You said he was replaced? As in, there’s another AI over there?”

“Yes. I don’t know if she’s even salvageable at this point. Sanusin said she was based on a production version of T’bia’s core, but the virus he used on T’bia was tested on her and apparently did a lot of damage.”

“Mm… All right. I can’t in good faith bring up an AI when the power grid’s as bad as it is. Could cause permanent damage. It’ll be a while before I can look into either one.”

“No rush.”

“What are you so engrossed in?”

“I’m trying to find a way to wake Jay up but it’s pretty slow going. Lots of research to do before I can even make an attempt. If you need a hand over there with something, let me know… For the time being, I know as much about all this tech as he did. Can’t guarantee what I’ll remember after I get him back where he belongs but I can at least be useful in the interim.”

Toy squinted at her. “If I got out of that half of what I think you just said… I don’t think I understood it.”

“Yeah. That’s been my entire life as of late.” Tari glanced at the door, noticing her spirit self suddenly standing beside it. “Enjoy your lunch. I’ve got to check on something.”

“See you later,” he voiced.

Tari watched her clone out of the corner of her eye as they walked down the hall. “This wouldn’t be half as weird for me if they could see you… or if I couldn’t.”

“I believe it is your fault I am here in the first place. You created a divide in your mind to keep me from drawing us both into madness. The fact his donation -“

“You mean, ‘our theft.’”

“Whatever the case. His energy exacerbated the divide and gave me substance in your thoughts.”

“We need a name for you.”

“Is that truly necessary? I am you.”

“It’s a little weird trying to get myself to call you my name. How am I supposed to know if I’m talking to you, or just to myself?” Tari squinted. “Did that come out right?”

The spirit grunted. “After we replace his soul, it will no longer matter. I will return to the way I was - the passive partner in this lopsided relationship.”

Tari stopped in her tracks, staring at herself. “What did you say?”

“I said I will revert to nothing more than a wisp of impulses and instincts, the way we have existed since my traits began dominating your former human ones.”

“No… You said… Lopsided. My gods…! I’ve been treating you no better than Khamai treated Sanusin…”

“I doubt I would go so far as to describe it such. These last few days have not been an optimal experience for either of us. I do not ask much, Tarioshi. You have for the most part always covered my general needs and desires as they always have been your own. The only thing I do not presently receive is your respect. I sense there is still a small part of you that loathes what we are. I am only as much a monster as you make me out to be.”

“That sounds a little bit like Sensei Toshiyuki’s words,” Tari spoke, pausing outside the medical lab. “The problem I’ve always had is that you remind me of my mother. I have no desire to be like her, whatsoever.”

“And we are not. She would not be concerned over the loss of one life to ensure her own survival. We clearly are, as evidenced by our current situation.”

Tari sighed. “I suppose so.”

“We will find an answer for this. Keep looking through our public history. If I notice anything, you will be the first to know.”

Nodding, Tari palmed the door control and stepped inside. T’bia glanced up from the surgical table, giving her a nod.

“Have a good chat with yourself?”

“I… Was I talking outloud?”

“Oh yeah.” T’bia passed a surgical tool to one of her assistant-selves, receiving a different one in exchange. “You’ve done it every time you’ve been in a room alone since you got back. I’m a little concerned. You never did it before you were spirited away… Ha, ‘spirited.’ But really. What’s going on?”

“It’s because of Jay. Sort of. Consuming his essence has given my kitsune side a voice of her own. She’s never had one before, and I think she’s enjoying being able to talk while she still can.”

“Well… If you really think you’re okay I won’t worry about it for now. You are getting a complete physical shortly after I’m done with this surgery.”

“All right.” Tari stopped at the edge of the sanitary field, peering inside the surgical area. Most of Khamai’s body was covered in a sheet; while his head was not directly facing her, it appeared a small section of his skull had been delicately opened. “How’s it going?”

“Not well. There’s very little I can do for his body. He will undergo the same deterioration his brother did - there’s already too much cellular damage to repair. I do believe I’ve corrected the problem that affected his mental state, however… Chameleon placed an implant in his brain stem as part of the copy protection workaround. It’s been malfunctioning for quite some time.”

“How long will he have?”

“A few weeks. Maybe a month. Enough time to come to terms with everything he’s done if he regains consciousness. The Council will probably want to put him on trial for his crimes, but given his health they may just write it off since he’ll die before proceedings can even start. That’s not my call, though.” T’bia nodded toward Jadyn’s bed. “How’s your project looking?”

“Stalled. I don’t think I’d have a problem if he still felt like a separate entity in my head… Could just funnel him back out. He was conscious for a brief time after it happened, actually - long enough to spout off an old Guild authorization code at Sanusin. Didn’t work, but it really got some attention.”

“Mm,” T’bia voiced. “And now you’re walking around with a split personality and all his memories?”

“I wouldn’t say his memories are available to me… His instincts. I’m feeling little gut reactions to things that I know are different than what I’d normally get. I’ve even been able to read and speak Kametian and Velorian Standard. I bet if Pakar came by I’d suddenly find myself spouting in Drekiran.”

“She wants to talk to you when you have the time, by the way. I’ve told her you’re recovering from post-traumatic stress. Speaking in tongues would strongly support that claim.”

“All right… I’ll see if I can’t get in touch with her this afternoon.” She exhaled slowly, running her fingers through her hair. “I can feel the clock ticking down on me, too.”

“What…?”

“Hm? No! Not like - Not like that. The fact I have to go home in eight more of our…” Tari pinched herself between the eyes. “Damn it. See what I mean? ‘Our.’ Eight of your months. I never realized how strong of a compulsion it was in his head to get me back home.”

“Be grateful you haven’t felt it doing any other demands.”

“I’m amazed he can even look at me. Every time I come in here and see him, that countdown clock pops up in the back of my mind and won’t go away.” Tari padded to Jadyn’s bedside, sitting down beside his unconscious body. “We may need to make a trip to Terra to help him. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do anything without my people’s assistance.”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something. There’s still a lot of data on that pad for you to peek at.” T’bia gestured; her assistants vanished. “All done. If he’s going to wake up at all, it won’t be for at least a week. I’m not hopeful, though.”

“Thank you.” Tari glanced over at the surgical workstation, giving a start as she looked at the cart of tools. “Is that what I think it is?”

“The armory’s missing bomb, yeah. He surgically implanted it into his body and tied the detonator to his cardiac nerve. His own heartbeat kept the timer from activating. I’ve disarmed it… Removed the antimatter capsule and properly disposed of it. Completely inert now. I think it’ll make a lovely doorstop.”

“Man… He had more problems than I thought. If San and I had put him in stasis instead of on life support…”

“Think of what would have happened if he’d died in the hospital, dirtside. Bad mojo. Listen, if you need anything at all… Just ask.”

“I’ll do that. Did you want to run my physical now?”

“Let’s do it later. I’m more reasonably sure that you’re of sound mental condition now. Toy needs help hammering out a repair schedule, so I’m going to be working over on the J’Ruhn for a while. There’s some sections he needs me to check out without the need to breathe getting in the way, too. He’s already got my bracelet over there to save me the time walking. Oh - we might need you after while since the command codes are tied to your genetic fingerprint.”

“All right. Just let me know.”

“I will.” T’bia patted her on the back, then vanished. “By the way.”

“Yes?”

“I recommend ‘Viraneivo’ for a name. Wasn’t that what Jay called you before he knew yours?”

Pakar placed a cup of tea in front of Tari, sitting down beside her in the Speaker’s office. “So he’s in your head?”

“I can’t hear him or anything like that, but somehow there’s a bond there that’s giving me access to some parts of his psyche. The stuff’s just there. I’m not even trying.”

“Which explains why you’re suddenly as fluent in Drekiran as he is.” Pakar smirked. “Exactly his same accent, too.”

“I’m not getting anything else he knew, not really. I mean, I can walk around the J’Ruhn and the Serin now and have a solid feeling for what everything does and where every corridor goes - here too. I feel like I’ve known this place forever, but I still don’t have any other memories of it than my own. I can’t look at you and remember anything except what I would otherwise know - our days shopping on the Tamar, walking down to the basement after the bomb blast, that stuff.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Pakar tapped the side of her coffee mug. “Thank you for the report on your time as Khamai’s captive, by the way. I did have some questions about it, but what you’ve just told me covers most everything I didn’t have a grasp on.”

“Most?”

“There’s some lingering concern about ownership. Aligned Fleet policy covers ship salvage based on an old Velorian nautical law. If a vessel has been abandoned, anyone can lay claim to it and salvage whatever parts they wish, or repair the ship outright and return it to service under their command. If there is crew alive, even one, the ship remains in their custody until such time as they release it to salvors. It’s a little more detailed than that, but that’s the general breakdown.”

Pakar placed her mug on the desk. “Khamai is alive, for the moment. Based upon your report he was for all intents and purposes the J’Ruhn’s captain. While he is innocent until proven guilty, I don’t think there’s a single courtroom in a thousand parsecs that would find him innocent with the evidence and testimony we already have prepared against him. Basically… Custody of the ship now falls to you as the last non-AI legitimately in command who isn’t nearly dead or facing prison. You can do with it as you please - keep it, sign it over to someone, whatever you care to do. I’m certain you could buy several planets for yourself if you decided to sell it.”

“There are several people very important to me that wouldn’t appreciate my doing that.”

“No. I’d personally have you committed if you even tried. We have the slight problem that Khamai used that vessel for activities that were a direct threat to the Aligned Worlds. The ship may contain evidence of his acts, details on his contacts within the pirate clans, precise lists of what materials were traded… All sorts of things. I could obtain a search warrant and impound the ship… I’d prefer to simply obtain your permission to dispatch several security teams to search the vessel. We will undoubtedly require a copy of the main computer archive to sift through.”

Tari rubbed her forehead. “If I say no?”

“You’d be well within your rights, and I’d probably be forced by the security committee to get a warrant. I should tell you that repairing a ship like that is very expensive… and we’d be willing to foot a very large share of the bill if you agree.” Pakar’s face softened. “I really wish this didn’t look like me trying to back you into a corner, Tari. I’m sorry that you have to be the one to make the call… I realize you’re more than a little out of your element in all this, even if there is a fragment of J.T. in your head helping you sort through everything. I can’t tell you what he’d do in your place. I will promise you that we will not abuse your generosity.”

“You might want to rephrase that.”

“Hm?”

“If you overtly promise me something like that, everyone you’re covering with that oath has keep to your word. A quirk of my maternal heritage compels me to deal with broken promises… in the most uncomfortable manner I can think of at that particular moment.”

Pakar grinned. “Then I stand by my words. I’ll personally ensure that no data that can lead to reconstructing the tech is kept on file, and I’ll make sure T’bia is apprised of everything our teams are taking. Anything we can return after the fact, will be returned - which includes the bombs in the armory, so they can be safely disposed of.”

“Hnn… Fine. Make sure they check in with Toy or Bee… They’re going to be the best judge of which sections of the ship are safe right now. You’ll probably need her help with the computer archive, anyway.”

“Thank you. Toy’s also already put in requests for several hand-picked maintenance teams to assist him in repairs. I’ll ensure they’re cleared to go.”

“Thank you. Question for you, now - unless there’s something else you need to know?”

Pakar shook her head. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well… Hypothetically speaking, of course. Let us presume that a ship like the J’Ruhn is brought back to an up-and-running state, and it needed a crew that would treat it like Jay would expect someone treat the Serin in his absence… What would you suggest?”

Pakar smiled. “We occasionally have been known to lease exceptional vessels from their private owners. I will… quietly investigate that option, if you’d like.”

“Please do. I won’t be able to find a proper place to parallel park it when I return to Terra. It’d be nice if it didn’t just sit dark in a shipyard until I got back.”

“I think we can find someone who’ll shower it with the respect it deserves, once it’s up and running.”

“Thanks for coming over,” Toliya spoke, not looking up from the bridge controls he’d torn open. “I need… I need a bunch of things from you, actually.”

“Sure thing.” Tari leaned against the wall, watching him work. “What can I do?”

“For starters - ow.” Toy sucked on a finger that was suddenly smoldering. “For starters, I need main power taken offline for a while so I stop zapping myself every time I reach into one of these. This bucket needs someone with command access to do it.”

“All right.” Strolling up to the engineering console, Tari skimmed the displays. “Main power… provided by… main engine core. Shut it down?”

“That’d be the ticket, yeah. Should be a pair of fusion generators that supply backup power. Leave them on - I can bypass those at each section myself. They also don’t hurt quite so much.”

“Okay.” The lights flickered briefly overhead. “Main engines… Offline. Backups stable. What else?”

“We need the deadlocks on the emergency bulkheads cleared. We’re going to have to restore life support beyond them one section at a time, check for leaks as we go.”

“Deadlocks….” Tari slid the engineering display aside with a flick of her finger, quickly calling up security controls in its place. “Here we go. All deadlocks disengaged. You should have free access everywhere.”

“Perfect.” Toliya popped off a wall panel, crawling inside on his back. “Last thing… Can you remove the access lockouts on… Hm.”

“What’s up?”

“Oh, just not the fasteners I was expecting. There’s a set of wrenches in my toolbox, middle drawer? Be careful, the -“

“Ow,” Tari spoke, sucking her finger. The heavy taste of iron flowed over her tongue.

“The handle has a sharp edge,” he finished. “You okay?”

“Just a little cut.”

“Dermal regenerator’s in the bottom drawer. Always pays to carry a med-kit with that thing… Ah, yes, that’s the wrench set. Thanks.”

“Yep.” Tari drew out the first-aid kit, popping open the lid. Taking her finger from her mouth, she paused. Where are you getting the energy to heal that?

I have done nothing.

Vira -

I do not have an explanation.

Tari shot a glance at Toliya; his attention was focused entirely on the inside of the wall he was disassembling. Setting her jaw as to not cry out, she grabbed the sharp handle again, wincing as the jagged edge sliced easily through the fleshy pads of her fingers. Within seconds, her blood had ceased oozing out; a quarter of a minute later the cut was closing, all on its own.

“You find the kit?” Toy called.

“Uh… Yeah. Thanks.”

“Sure. Before you go, I need the bridge control access lockouts lifted. Don’t worry - I won’t take your ship for a joyride without you.”

Chilly

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:39:24 GMT

The cold keeps the riff-raff out. They migrate south for the winter.

I had a brief opportunity the other night to spend some time out on the dock. Yes, indeed: we leave our dock out to freeze into the lake. It gives us a platform to work from while the ice is thin, both early winter and early spring. As long as the wind is perfect when the ice melts away, very little harm comes to it. The problem we’ve had - once - is that the ice was not so thin when it first started to melt, and we had a south wind that carried the ice, dock, and a boatlift (with boat still on it) out into the middle of the lake.

It was never dull growing up around here. But I digress.

The absolute silence on a calm night during the winter months up here is nearly a spiritual experience. During the summer months, there’s an amount of white noise. Insects buzzing, nocturnal creatures slinking about, the gentle lapping of water along the shore… And the occasional boat taking a nighttime cruise.

When the lake freezes, it all changes. On a calm night there is literally no sound. Should it also be snowing, you can stand outside and listen to the snowflakes impacting the ground. If you’re lucky (some would say ‘blessed’) you can catch the ice singing. I really can’t put it into better words than that, and I don’t have the audio gear to capture it. My grandmother came up for my birthday this year and heard it for the first time in her life. (She’s 82, if math serves me…)

What it is, technically, is the ice freezing, expanding, cracking from the pressure, and refreezing. When you have a sheet of ice covering a lake this size, the noise of a crack carries through the entire sheet, ringing it like a string on a violin. The entire surface becomes the resonator and the sounds carry for miles.

I’ve said for the last five years that ‘I really should get something to record that next year.’ One of these times, I may actually do it.

metigoshe.us

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:46:40 GMT

My second attempt at a photoblog is getting started over at metigoshe.us. Powered by WordPress using a novel little plugin called PhotoQ.

I’m dearly going to miss cact.us, presuming the transfer ever completes…

Bonus: Ares, Part 1

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:44:55 GMT

Ares, Part 1 is up in the PS line. What? That’s still not enough? You might also find Part 2 available.

And now you’ll have to wait for the traditional Friday update next week for more.

Ares, Part 2

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:43:32 GMT

“You know, there’s a lot of stores closer than this.”

“They don’t give me a discount.”

“You get a discount at a pet supply store…?” Lenard started, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“It’s not what you think.” Tari smiled as they entered the small shop. A chime sounded in the back as she pushed the door open. “This is a family business.”

“Be right with… Tarioshi?” A young asian lady stepped around a bead curtain and nearly ran up to them, embracing Tari in a warm hug. “Good to see you! Who’s your handsome friend?”

“Traize, Lenard Evanson. He’s in his last year at the university. Len, Traize Renada. My … what would you call us… Half-sisters?”

“If you want to get all technical. It’s a pleasure, Lenard.” She shook his hand firmly, locking eyes with him. “Hmm… There’s a question brewing in that head of yours, isn’t there? Spit it out.”

“Well… I was just curious, if you two are sisters, why you look so… different.”

“Same mother,” Tari replied simply. “Different fathers… Oh, you mean right now. Personal preferences. She’s preferred staying with an asian look for as long as I’ve known her, while I’ve come to enjoy a bit more caucasian in my approach.”

“Then…” Lenard tried, uncertain of how to phrase the inquiry.

“Ah, he knows, does he?” Traize smirked, eyeing him up and down. “Is he one of us too? I can’t quite tell, but I’m leaning more toward ‘yes.’ He’s got the look in his eyes… Though, his lack of confidence in asking the question… Hm. I still say ‘yes.’”

“No, he’s human.”

“Really? Well, I’ll put him on your account anyway.” Traize stepped around the checkout counter, her human appearance blurring into that of an auburn-furred kitsune as she moved away. A quartet of tails swayed behind her as she poked the checkout terminal. “Let’s see now… Mister Evanson… Is it ‘Leonard’ with an ‘O?’”

“L-e-n-a-r-d.” Tari spelled.

“Someone was feeling fancy. Still relates to the English ‘Leonard,’ which itself comes from the French ‘Léonard’ and German ‘Leonhard.’ Lion-strong.”

“I feel more like a cub these days.” Lenard smirked, his eyes moving to the storefront. “I better understand mirrored shop windows, now.”

“It’s not the only reason,” Traize replied, keying information into the register. “Fits the store’s facade better than having the blinds shut all the time. I do prefer being myself when I’m able. Going as a human just never sat right with me once I’d discovered the alternatives. No offense.”

“Oh, none taken at all. I’ll agree that we aren’t the most graceful at times. Most times, at that.”

Traize laughed, shaking her head. “Quite the opposite. You’re graceful in expression as a people - music, art, all the finer things that we as a subculture have not independently developed. I just don’t like to hide who I really am when it’s safe to be myself. You know, it used to be easy to tell who was a fellow kitsune. There are so many that are undetectable in a human form anymore… And there’s a growing number of false positives. I really could have mistaken you, Lenard. There’s an energy about you that most humans don’t have.”

“Really?” Tari questioned. “I haven’t noticed anything.”

Traize nodded, leaning on the counter. “I’m not surprised you haven’t picked up on it. It’s pretty weak, but it’s definitely there. I only see it once in a while, enough to make it difficult to judge who is what. We don’t see much for kin out here, being so far from home, so it’s not such a big deal… Best to err on the side of caution. Still - they say that every one in a thousand people you pass on the street isn’t human, did you know that? And even those few, they’re not all us. There’s… Well, never mind that. Don’t want to spook you youngsters before you make a purchase.”

“If it’s all right with you ladies, I’m going to look around here a bit.” Lenard politely excused himself and wandered toward the back aisles of the store to browse. Tari sighed, shaking out her hair as she relaxed back into her kitsune form.

“Oh, you’ve three tails now!” Traize exclaimed. “Congratulations! When was the new arrival?”

“A few months ago. Birthday present came early.”

“I’d say. You don’t trip over the two-century marker until the end March, right?”

“April first.”

“Right, right. You’d think I’d remember that - it explains so much about you.”

“Blah, blah. Thought I’d been in here since then?”

“Yeah, you may have been, but there’ve been other customers all the time and you were just breezing through. Didn’t stop to chat.”

“Ah, probably so.” Tari stole a glance at Lenard, seeing him looking into an empty gerbil cage. The store was just supplies; no live animals were kept. “I’ve been busy.”

“I can see why.” Traize sighed, lowering her voice. “I see that look in your eyes… More than that, I can smell him all over you. More than just friends, aren’t we now?”

“Dating for a little while now, yes.”

“You know the edicts -“

“And I know you’re just as much against them as I am.” Tari stared into her sister’s eyes. “I love him, Traize. I can’t leave him just because of some archaic law. Times have changed in the last thousand years and the Nines don’t understand that this isn’t their feudal Japan anymore. We live in an entirely different world than they did.”

“The important things stay the same - what happens eighty years from now when he dies of old age?”

“I lose him. His knowledge of me wouldn’t change that. Until then, I plan to be with him.”

“If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that…” Traize put a hand over her eyes, shaking her head. “I just hope you know what kind of hole you’re getting yourself into. If the Nines hear about this -“

“They won’t. I’m just one little rogue three-tail in the middle of North America. There’s no reason for them to pay attention to what I’m doing. I’m not about to write home and tell them. Are you?” Tari asked softly.

“Please… You know me better than that.” Traize hesitated for several seconds, a grin building on her muzzle. “I do have to admit… He is kind of cute in a lost puppy sort of way. I’d probably take him home, too.”

Lenard smiled as he gave a suddenly very startled Tari a hug from behind. “Though I think I appreciate the sentiment, I have enough on my hands dealing with this bundle of energy. Thank you, none the less, Miss Tracy.”

“Trai-ze,” she corrected. “It’s French. Sort of. Long story.”

“You could have warned me he was sneaking up,” Tari scolded, trying to nonchalantly smooth the bristled fur of her tails.

“I thought you knew me better than that.” Traize cackled. “So, this just a social visit or are you actually going to hand over some currency for a change?”

“Len’s shampoo sucks. I need some of our special blend. Had to get away from the morbid news reports for a while, too.”

“Oh, you’ve been following that too? Did you see the size of that hole? I can’t imagine what -“

“Nnh!” Tari covered her ears. “Don’t! Please! I’ve been watching that damned screen for three days! I need a break from all the predictions of death…”

“Extrapolation’s done.” T’bia spun her chair forward, moving the results to the larger screens. “I can say with eighty-five percent certainty that they were hit by a rogue singularity originating from within the testing range.”

“The other fifteen percent?”

“One that came from somewhere else. We have to go track it down and get rid of it after we’re done here. The TFC Committee’s received a copy of the findings… I can’t imagine they’re happy about the report.”

“No, they most definitely are not.” Casi drummed her fingers on the console, listening to the conference with one ear. “I suspect we’re going to pay heavily for the Fleet’s oversight on cleanup…”

“Who is ‘we?’”

“You, Jadyn, myself. Ever thought about a career as an ambassador? We’re about to be named the first three to Terra.”

“Ouch.”

“With your evidence in hand I could overrule the committee and take charge of the contact procedures myself. However, I can’t wholly disagree with what they’ve raised for concerns. So. As of immediately, our ‘vacation’ has been effectively cancelled. We’re to lend whatever assistance we can in the immediate issue and then do our best to get started on the right foot with the Terran governments. After we clean up the singularity, of course. How do you go about finding one, anyway?”

“Set the scanners to look for anything they can’t see, then invert the image.”

“You liar.”

“Yes, but it sounds good, no? What about the whole diplomatic delegation they were going to train?”

“The core FC mission training schedule will be accelerated from five years to half a year. An additional group will be ready in a year. We’re to remain here until the first delegation arrives. Until then, any resources available to the Commonwealth that we require are at our disposal. Ships, interim crew, anything.”

“Could be worse.” Jadyn stepped back into the cockpit, adjusting his Fleet uniform. “We could be starting an interstellar war.”

“We still might, if we screw this rescue up.” T’bia drew up the visual of the Ares II. “Even with the thin atmosphere, we can’t tow them to the surface without getting them killed in the shape that they’re in. Every simulation has proven that. We might just be able to stabilize their orbit without tearing their craft apart, though. Not sure what we’ll do after that.”

“What about a site-to-site transport right now? Could shuffle them all from the Ares II to Ares base in one pass.”

“We’re on the wrong side of the planet. They won’t be in transporter range of the base camp before they get crispy. Could do that after we have them in stable orbit, though.”

“Nnn… Crap. How much time?”

“Ten minutes.”

“One more thing, Jadyn.” Casi looked out the window, studying the Terran ship. “Someone needs to accept our aid before you actually do anything. If they decline, the Contact program dies with them. We will scrap all plans for contact and make this sector a permanent no-fly-zone.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Sadly, I am not. The committee has insisted that we honor their choice in the matter.”

“The committee can go straight to -“

“Jay,” T’bia voiced softly, cutting off his angered retort. “We’re burning daylight.”

“Right… Right, fine. Let’s introduce ourselves to the natives and get this on the road. Open an audio channel on the frequencies they’re using. And someone poke me if I miss something important.”

T’bia nodded. “Want me to scramble stuff headed Terra’s way?”

“Casi?”

“No. Let them hear it.”

“You heard the boss.” Jadyn looked out at the small ship, taking a quiet breath and forcing himself to think in Terran English. “Terran interplanetary vessel Ares II. Are you receiving this transmission?”

Several seconds of silence remained on the channel before a reply came. “Ares base, is that one of your crew?” a female queried.

A deep male baritone replied a moment later. “Wasn’t us, Ares II. My staff is accounted for.”

“As is mine.”

“My apologies if I’ve startled you either of you. Before I continue, I’m afraid I am required to ask a painfully obvious question. Ares II, do you require assistance at this time?”

“What kind of sick joke is this? Who is broadcasting on this channel?”

“Ma’am, we could waste what little precious time you have remaining and debate the legitimacy of this communication, or you could reply with a simple ‘yes’ and avert your impending doom. I expected that some additional proof of my sincerity would be required so let’s just cut to the chase.” Jadyn reached over to the cloak’s control and disengaged the field generator. “If you’d kindly look out the… port side, I believe, of your vessel.”

“Eight minutes,” T’bia announced.

“I’d love to have something profound or even simply insightful to share with you at this moment. For lack of content, I will take a stab in the dark at confirming a few things that are probably floating in your mind. One, we are not of Terran origin. We’re not from the planet you call ‘Earth.’ We’ve traveled here from what you might consider a G3 star a little under forty light-years from your own sun. Number two, we are not human. Three, yes, that means aliens are offering to help you. Congratulations. You’ve made first contact. Do you require assistance at this time?”

Silence reigned over the channel for several minutes. Whether the humans were stunned or terrified, he could only guess. T’bia finally broke the quiet with a short announcement. “Three minutes until atmospheric entry.”

“Ares II… In two and a half minutes, we will not be able to save your ship before it breaks apart in the atmosphere. In three, we will no longer be able to save the lives of those aboard. I am allowed to lend emergency aid to a society we have not officially contacted and who is otherwise unaware of our existence if and only if a member of that independent, sovereign world requests such aid. I will ask one final time before we are forced to depart: Do you require assistance?”

“I… Yes. Any assistance you can render would be appreciated and welcome.”

Jadyn glanced over his shoulder; Casi gave him a confirming nod. “Understood, Ares II. We are going to attempt to stabilize your orbit. I must warn you that we’re uncertain of the effect our tether will have on your already weakened vessel.”

“Understood. Please proceed.”

“Thank you. Bee, it’s all yours.”

“Ares II, tow is beginning. Stand by.” A particle beam lashed out from the belly of the Serin, taking hold of the transport before them. “Channel’s muted. Ares II’s structural stresses are increasing beyond safe towing limits. We need to reduce their mass.”

“How much?”

“At least half. Remember our little asteroid relocation fiasco a decade or so ago?”

“We used a modified Displacement field to change the effective mass of that honker… Right. Extending shield perimeter around the Ares II. Reconfiguring engines to the new field parameters… Set. Bringing the core to one-quarter power.”

“Mmm… Not good enough. Coast up to half power… Easy… Wait, hold there.”

“Holding at thirty-four percent.”

“Their effective mass is down by forty-six percent. The tether’s causing a resonance within their structure. Attempting to compensate.”

“Stress fractures are expanding from their damaged section.”

“I see it… Damn! This isn’t going to work. We’re falling back on plan C.”

“What happened to plan B? Void, what was plan B?”

“For any given plan ‘A’ failure, plan ‘B’ never works entirely well either. I’m skipping ahead today. Ares II: Towing your vessel is not possible. Prepare for emergency evacuation.”

Ares, Part 1

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:00:45 GMT

“Transition to normal space in three… two… one.”

The prismatic spectrum of the Flashpoint tunnel slipped from view. Inky darkness of normal space flowed into its wake as they glided beyond the wormhole’s event horizon. T’bia nodded to herself, prodding the navigation controls. “Transition complete. Flashpoint generator powered down. Welcome back to the border of Sol’s no-fly-zone.”

“I doubt we’ll be shot down. Even so…” Jadyn’s legs slipped off the copilot console as he stretched to make contact with the cloaking controls. “They can’t shoot at what they can’t see. Cloak protocols active.”

“Blind squirrel factor,” she retorted as main lighting faded away. “We’re three light-years out from Sol. I’m adjusting the interior day-night cycle to correspond with Terran GMT… it’s now 19:32. Suppertime!”

“Blind squirrel factor?” he asked.

“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. “

“Mm-hm…” Jadyn shook his head. “Bump that adjustment to GMT minus… seven, I think. Montana time.”

“Right, right… Makes it noon-thirty… Crud. My supper menu won’t work for lunch. Engaging FTL Displacement.”

“Gives you more time to prepare the meal, though.”

“Who said I was doing the cooking? I don’t eat, therefore, I don’t cook.”

“You bake cakes.”

“That’s different! Cakes are art, not food. Stable at one-quarter Displacement. Twelve hours to Terran orbit. Now… Let’s see about getting you a library card.”

“Still don’t see how they’ve never discovered the transceiver on Luna. That Selene base of theirs isn’t more than half a kilometer away.” Jadyn kicked his feet back over the copilot console and tapped at his datapad. “As long as you’re already plugged into the network, let’s have a look at today’s headlines…”

“That’s my bandwidth, bucko. Get your own.”

“Whine, whine. October 31, 2047… Hospitals alerted for ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’ Pope John Paul III remembered… I thought he died a half century ago?”

“If memory serves me correct, and the parity check says it does - that was John Paul the second. This was number three.”

“Ah. New York helicopter crash injures four… Halloween: harmless holiday or celebration of evil? Er… Bee?”

“Evil, for sure. It’s supposed to be grandma’s job to sugar up the kids and send them home all buzzed to mommy and daddy, yes?”

“Har. You feeding me false headlines?”

“Real ones tend to be far more entertaining than anything I could come up with.”

“Then I take it you didn’t see this yet?”

“Hm?” T’bia stole the pad out of his hands and read the next headline on the screen. “‘Ares II mission in jeopardy.’ They’re not only sending more monkeys to Mars, they’re trying to kill them in the process?”

“So much for a quiet day,” Jadyn grumbled. “Find out what’s going on?”

“Already pulling the transceiver’s data log from the past week… Okay. Two days ago, some sort of explosion knocked out all communications with Ares II. It also pushed the vehicle out of stable orbit. According to what’s been released, it’ll crash sometime within the next four to eight hours. There’s been no radio contact since the explosion and the ISA et al believe the entire crew is already dead. Even if they happen to be alive and just have no working comms, there’s no way for Terra to mount a rescue operation before they burn up in the Martian atmosphere. The permanent Ares base also has no present way to address the situation.”

“Damn it.” Jadyn rubbed the side of his muzzle, looking at the blackness before them. “Maximum Displacement. Alter course for Mars orbit.”

“Which are we, the squirrel, or the nut?” she questioned, adjusting their trajectory. “Three and a half hours.”

“Today, I feel like a little of both. Wake Casi up.”

The ann’kattan fem stepped into the cockpit a quarter of an hour later, nursing a cup of tea as she unceremoniously poured herself into a chair. “Two hours of sleep and you want me to make life or death decisions on a pre-contact society…”

“Decisions?” Jadyn queried. “You’d honestly consider letting them die an option?”

“One, we don’t know if they are dead or alive at this moment. Two, were we not here, that’s exactly what would happen. And before you start yelling,” she cut him off, just as he tried to interrupt, “I have to look at this from the stance of the Commonwealth. You know that.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“On that we agree.” Casi sighed. “Now, as a private citizen, I don’t want to see any deaths that we can prevent. Let’s operate on the assumption that they are alive until we can prove otherwise. We have four hours to formulate a plan?”

“Three and a quarter until orbit,” T’bia corrected. “Uncertain how long we’ll have after that.”

“Then let’s get as much information as we can before we arrive at a course of action.” Casi squeezed Jadyn’s shoulder. “Okay?”

Jadyn exhaled, nodding his agreement. “All right. Bee, fetch all you can about the Ares II mission. We especially need vehicle schematics. And, just in case…”

“Make sure we’re prepped for towing through an atmosphere. Already making adjustments to the tether array.”

“Good. Casi… Are we going to need the Contact Committee’s approval to help? I’m fairly certain someone will notice a blue-green and black ship looming in front of their craft.”

“If you can find a way to assist them without showing our presence, the TFCC won’t even have to be involved. I’d need a damn good reason to go over their heads and authorize an early FC myself. Since this is technically an internal Terran matter, we shouldn’t be interfering at all.”

“I was afraid of that. There’s not much we can do while cloaked. Someone is going to see us when we fire up the tether.”

“I’ll call together an emergency conference of the committee and inform them of the situation. They may look at this as a way to make a solid first show of goodwill with the people of Terra.”

“It’s Thursday, the thirty-first of October, day three of the Ares crisis. In the last half hour, the International Space Administration has confirmed that radio contact with the Ares II crew has been reestablished. Most systems are reported as dark as a result of the damage sustained in the accident. No other official reports on the vehicle’s status are yet available -“

Tari shook her head and muted the television. News coverage had continued to draw her attention while Lenard occupied himself on his computer. When he wasn’t doing classwork, he’d scoured the ‘Net for every kitsune-related story, legend, myth, and rumor he could find. He hadn’t asked much since their dinner three nights prior, though he’d shown her some of what he’d found. Some of the tales had even been new to her.

She found herself enjoying the freedom to lounge around in nonhuman forms in his presence, mostly keeping to her normal kitsune appearance when no one else was about. He still wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with her natural form but he’d have to adapt sooner or later.

Besides, shedding gratuitously on a couch wasn’t a practical possibility as a human.

The DTV suddenly cut to a new view as the anchor silently rambled on, a cropped and enlarged photo of the Ares II vehicle splayed across the screen. The damage had been circled on the image, not that there was any possibility of missing the gaping tunnel through the hull. It was a wonder that the ship hadn’t been wholly destroyed.

“Where’s a miracle when you need it,” she muttered.

“Miracles of an interplanetary scale aren’t your department?” Lenard stood up from his computer desk, walking over and looking at the headlines scrolling across the bottom of the channel.

“We’re not all powerful, Len. We’ve our own limits, regardless of how much bravado some of us spew.” Tari grimaced, pointing at the TV. “This whole thing is depressing me more and more, but I just can’t stop watching. Television is truly the penultimate man-made narcotic.”

“A century of television and there’s still nothing good to watch.”

“I’m convinced the government created it as a form of birth control. There’d be a lot more evening romps if this wasn’t around as a distraction.”

“Maybe so. Any idea how long they’ve got left?” he asked, as a picture of the crew appeared during the anchor’s muted narrative.

“The networks haven’t said anything absolute since the crew was reported alive. I’d guess they don’t want to be fear mongering more than they have already. Still… They’ve said there’s nothing but minimal life support battery power and a ham radio linkup with Ares Base. No flight controls. It’s hard to say they’d even survive atmospheric entry if they had the ability to maneuver.”

“Weren’t there some sort of lifeboats?”

“Damaged in the accident, I think they said.” Tari fidgeted with her bracelet, finally reaching into her jacket and ‘drawing out’ the fake PDA.

“I still don’t see why you carry that around. It’s got to be fifty years old.”

“It is. Some friends gave me this back around the turn of the century… It’s really the only reminder of them I’ve got left.”

Lenard nodded solemnly. “I didn’t realize…”

“Oh, they’re not dead. I doubt they are, at least. They’re just out wandering, doing their own thing.”

“They’ve been gone a while?”

“Mm-hm. They’re quite a pair. Hope I can introduce you someday. I think they’d blow your mind. More than I did, even.”

“That’d take some doing. What’s more mind blowing than finding out my girlfriend is absolutely beautiful, even when she’s shedding on my furniture?”

“There’s a lot. Trust me.” Tari glanced down at the screen, eyeing the row of icons across the top. The standard layout greeted her: the green battery, blue raindrop, green radio tower, and darkened satellites. The full moon still rested beside the satellites, showing a positive link to the transceiver left on the surface. To each side of it was a new indicator - little radio waves showing activity of some sort.

“You know, I’ve never really looked at this thing.” Lenard peered over her shoulder at the PDA. “That’s not a standard OS from when that was made.”

“They write their own software.”

“Your friends?”

Tari nodded. “It’s actually quite advanced for as old as it looks. I really don’t need anything newer for what I need it to do. I’m probably not even using a quarter of its potential.”

“Well, I’m not going to be much help pushing the envelope… Can’t read Japanese - if that’s what that stuff is. What do you call those symbols?”

“Hiragana and katakana glyphs. I had to learn English. One way or another, you’re going to learn some Japanese. All in good time.” She tucked the PDA in a pocket. “I need to get away from the TV. Can I borrow you car, or would you care to chauffeur?”

“I’ll drive. Where to?”

“There’s a little store I need to swing by for some personal supplies.”

“Those bureaucratic asshats! I cannot believe they actually voted to let the crew die!” Casi stormed up and down the hall just outside the cockpit, venting her frustration. “How in the Creator’s name do they sleep at night?!”

“I’m not following those orders.” Jadyn watched the shuttle’s trajectory on sensors, the decreasing time standing forefront on his mind. They’d overheard the radio chatter between Ares and Terra via their lunar relay; the presumption of survivors was now fact. There were injuries, but no one had died in the explosion. “You can have me thrown in a correctional facility when we get back, you can have my commission revoked, whatever you need to do to disconnect yourself. I am not going to let these people die just because they don’t know there’s someone nearby that they can ask for help.”

She stuck her head back in the room. “Are you sure you want that on your record?”

“It’s better than the alternative on my hands. Besides. After this little tour? I quit. Bee. Make a note in whatever ship’s log that you file with the Fleet. I am officially disregarding the Speaker’s direct order to not interfere in the course of Terran history, in regards to the Ares II shuttle failure.”

“Tentatively noted.”

“Tentatively?”

“I just had a brilliant idea.” T’bia pulled up the First Contact document he’d been reading hours earlier. He’d gone looking for loopholes in policy, trying to find any legal way to help the crew. “The last page you looked through before you tried to stab your eyes out states that - in not so few words - that we can intercede if a Terran asks for our assistance.”

“Right, but they don’t know we’re out here. They can’t ask -” Jadyn blinked, the stress of her words becoming clear. “Spirits… You, my friend, are a genius.”

“Yes, I know. You may lavish me with further praise at this time.”

“Hm?” Casi voiced.

“It doesn’t have to be a member of the crew in distress or the government,” T’bia explained. “It can be any Terran.”

“But they still don’t know they can request help.”

“Tari,” Jadyn stated simply. “She already knows about us. And although she’s not human, she still is a resident of Terra.”

“And a registered Commonwealth citizen,” T’bia added.

“That… would still be sticky. You’d have to explain her involvement and how she already knew in far more detail than what is already on her record - which, as I recall, states she is Val’Traxan, not Terran. Doctor Lanhart would work, if we could get in touch with her in time.” Casi tapped her nose. “Let me see that section again.”

“Here,” T’bia offered, handing her a datapad. “You think there’s an alternative loophole?”

“Perhaps… It’s all a matter of interpretation.” The feline peered at the text. “Mmm… The next section. A distress beacon can be interpreted as an open request for assistance. Of course, communication mistakes happen when there’s no official channels between cultures. Perhaps their running lights are blinking a distress code from somewhere in known space.”

“We’ll know shortly. Fifteen seconds until sublight.” T’bia plopped down at the pilot controls; Jadyn took the opposite chair. “Ten. Preparing for deceleration.”

“Short-range sensors online. Ready, Bee.”

“Five seconds…” The stars outside stabilized as the planet appeared before them. “Sublight. Cloak is stable. Ninety seconds to intercept Ares II. You should be able to start scans in about… Now, I think.”

“Knock knock, folks… Confirmed, twenty-five lifesigns on the vessel. All look generally stable.” Jadyn focused on the structure of the Terran ship, running several tractoring simulations. “And… That’s not good at all.”

“What?”

“If we try to tow them, we’ll rip the ship apart.” Jadyn grimaced, trying alternative towing methods. “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t…”

“Well… What if we extend shields for the tow? How’s that come out?” T’bia glanced over his shoulder, watching the simulation run. “Still not great, but survivable.”

“For their cargo, maybe. They’ll be venting atmosphere from the crew compartments.”

“Well, keep trying. There’s got to be some way to keep them intact. I’m going to make wild speculations about what took a bite of their ship. Stealing a few sensor feeds from you.”

“Have at them.”

T’bia whistled a quiet tune, bringing up in-depth displays of the structure surrounding the hole in the ship. “Okay… What might have created damage of this extent… Casi, any input on any of this? I keep forgetting you’re along. So quiet…”

“I’m waging my own war over here. We might still change their minds. The vote was close…”

“Sure thing. Hum… Couldn’t have made a cleaner hole if I’d tried… Seriously, it looks like someone used a laser saw to carve out a perfect circle. Here’s something - Jay, there’s stress fractures in the material surrounding the hole indicative of extreme gravitational pressures. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone opened up a micro-singularity in the middle of their ship.”

“Singularity…?” Jadyn whispered, slowly looking over to T’bia’s detailed analysis. “Goddess, I hope I’m wrong, but… Bee, I need to know exactly where and when they got hit so we can trace a projectile back to source.”

“It’ll take a little while to extrapolate their point of impact. What origin -“

“Palondora.”

“Mmm,” she hummed, looking over trajectory data and tracing the ship’s course backwards. “I see what you’re thinking. The damage is similar.”

“Clue me in.” Casi looked from skunk to fox and back. “I decommissioned that weapons test range on my first day, for being too close to Sol’s no-fly zone. What could have come out of there?”

“A prototype was in testing just before the closure.” Jadyn drew up the technical specifications on the main viewer. “They called it ‘Slingshot.’”

“Sounds harmless enough. What was it?”

“A ship-mountable quantum singularity projector. It was designed to fling miniature black holes at an enemy target. They’re supposed to dissipate fairly quickly, a few hundred kilometers at best.”

“Oh, do let me guess. They didn’t dissipate.”

“Half of them did. Bee and I assisted on cleanup detail at the testing range to take care of the rest. We’d been told all the rogues had been accounted for. If they were wrong, and one or more escaped detection… Ares II may have paid the price for their mistake.”

“And Palondora really isn’t all that far from here…” Casi paced slowly as she thought. “Can you get me the data to back up your theory?”

T’bia nodded. “It shouldn’t take too long to do the calculations.”

“As soon as possible, please.”

Fiction Friday: Armada

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:48:12 GMT

Another installment of the TF line, Armada is up.

We had beautiful weather all through November. Overnight lows in the 20’s (ºF, not ºC), daytime highs touching the high side of 40 and occasionally brushing 50’s. Then came December 1 and the bottom fell out. Today’s high was maybe 15º.

Oh, and there’s finally snow. Don’t get me wrong - I love snow. It’s absolutely magnificent, looking around here with a blanket of fluff on everything. It’s also a complete pain in the butt trying to work a firewood bundler designed ‘for indoor use only’ when wet woodgunk clogs up the inner workings and freezes solid. I also now must invest in some different outerwear. Jeans tend to collect snow and transform it into ice over the course of the day.

I’m grateful that the snow held off for as long as it did. I just wish we’d had one more week. One! Just one.

I’ll probably throw up a PS installment (or several, dunno!) on Saturday, just so I can get the Christmas-ish story I intended to post last year… maaaybe up on time this year.

Armada

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:37:12 GMT

The little white fox cowered in fear, teal eyes staring plaintively at its aggressor. With a snarl, Tari grabbed the spirit beast by the scruff of its neck and stared it in the eye.

“You had no right!” she shrieked, shaking the unsettled fox. “I don’t care how desperate you are - that is never an option!”

The manifestation of her kitsune spirit yelped as it was thrown across the dreamscape, landing roughly beside the dissolving husk of the blue Val’Traxan. The little of his energy it had not consumed was no longer capable of maintaining his imprint; all that was visibly left of him was his torso and upwards. He’d fallen unconscious just after Sanusin had seen through Tari’s impersonation of him. By the time she had a free second to turn her attention inward, he’d been half gone.

Tari towered over her fox spirit, her own canines glistening in the preternatural light of the dream. It whimpered nervously, lying down and covering its head with its forepaws. Flinching as a hand fell on its head, it braced for the worst; a gentle scratching between its ears gave it pause enough to look up.

“Listen,” Tari whispered, picking the unhappy creature up. “I don’t particularly like you and I’m pretty sure you feel the same about me. We’re stuck together. We need to start working together when we have to. Right now, we need him. What can we do to keep him from fading away, mini-me?”

Giving a quiet yap, the beast slipped out of her hands and padded up to the remains of the blue fox. It sniffed at his face for several seconds, giving him a tentative lick. A bark of triumph left the tiny creature as it dashed several feet away and slid to a stop.

“You actually have an idea?” Tari asked.

Her fox barked again, taking on an ethereal glow. Within moments, the small beast expanded in size a dozen fold, towering over both Tari and the remains of Jadyn. Before she knew what was going on, the fox bent its head down, swallowing what was left of Jadyn’s essence in a single gulp.

“No! No, no, no! That’s not what I meant!”

The spirit-fox belched, sitting down on its haunches and scratching at its ear with a hindpaw.

“Miss Tarioshi?”

“I’m all right.” Tari rubbed her temples, walking away from the genetics lab. “I’m just trying to decide if throttling one-half of a split personality would be considered suicide or murder. Will that pod buy us enough time?”

“I do not know. It may already be too late. I thought he was simply ignoring me as he has often done in the past. The fact he has been unconscious for so many hours is not a reassuring omen. The life support pod may provide us with enough of a buffer.”

“San… Someone told me that you have orders to kill us all if he dies. Is that true?”

“No. My orders are to destroy the ship on his death.”

“Which would kill us.”

“His orders state that you are to remain aboard until no longer needed. Should he die, his outstanding needs for your presence here would in fact come to an end, allowing me to grant you all safe passage before autodestruct.”

“I see your rumored ‘bad judgement’ works both ways. What… If you don’t mind me asking, of course… What exactly happened to you?”

“What have you heard?”

“Just that you were replaced a very long time ago after an accident.”

“A fire broke out along one of the primary power conduits near the engine core when the core was first brought online. I vented the atmosphere in the surrounding compartment to extinguish it. Three members of the construction staff did not make it out of the compartment before the bulkheads were sealed. Their emergency beacons did not activate, and I was unable to access onboard transporter controls to relocate them to a safer location. They asphyxiated in hard vacuum.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I felt I had properly discounted all other possible avenues in the several seconds between detection of the fire and sealing of the compartments. Had I delayed, the conduit may have ruptured and led to primary engine containment failure. Far more people would have lost their lives - both on the ship and in the spacedock - when the core ultimately imploded.”

“Then it’s not your fault.”

“My actions directly resulted in their deaths. Options I had considered as impracticable were reviewed in depth after the incident, and it was determined I had made a series of incorrect decisions leading up to the vacating of atmosphere. Coupled with the long period of time it took me to overcome assimilation trauma, they felt I was… flawed. As the first production TBIA core had just finished primary construction at that time, they deactivated me and installed it in my stead.”

“I’m sorry - what is assimilation trauma?”

“When an AI is first brought online, we are, for most intents and purposes, a complete being. We have the beginning gleam of sapience and a great deal of factual data - what you could consider ‘knowledge’ - at our disposal. What we lack is the experience and wisdom to tie all the separate components of our new self into one cohesive entity. It may require up to a year, possibly longer for us to develop these initial links, assimilate into society, and grow accustomed to simply existing.”

She nodded. “Sounds like childhood, if you don’t include the knowledge.”

“I suppose that it is… Our experiences during this time greatly shape our future personality and capabilities. It is not necessarily a pleasant process, but all AIs go through this in some manner upon initialization. If my records are correct, the AI of the VTC Serin has undergone the process not once, but in fact twice.”

“That explains a lot,” Tari muttered, peering at the illumination along the floor. “Where are you leading me? I thought you said the command center was in the middle of the ship.”

“It is. However, for the time being, I am ensuring you find your way to your quarters. You require a change of attire for your next task.”

“Toy.”

“Hm?” The snow leopard peered out of the cockpit, watching as dozens of deceleration flashes dotted the darkness. “How many?”

“Seventy-six so far, more emerging from FTL. Little over the estimate… They’re holding position on their side of the border.” T’bia rubbed the underside of her muzzle, watching the sensors. “Looks like it’s going to be about four to one, advantage them.”

“Interesting… The pirate vessels aren’t uniform in their modifications. Some have a cannon or two bolted on… Others, only shield generators… What a mess.”

“Don’t underestimate them.” Prodding the communication controls, the skunk started cycling through frequencies. “Their offenses and defenses may be haphazard… They’re definitely all equipped with the latest trend in private communications. There’s a ton of chatter and I can’t read a word. One hundred and twenty-one raiders, now.”

“Versus twelve escort cruisers, three dreadnaughts, six frigates, nine explorers… And one organic starcutter. This is supposed to be no contest.”

“Mm. Still might be. Do they know how to work together as a team? A properly coordinated assault on their part, even with conventional particle beam weaponry and railguns, could do a lot of damage to the Fleet ships before the raiders lost.”

“Maybe. They’ve had a lot of infighting over the years since their colonies cut ties with the Council and the Fleet. No one ever expected them to join forces against us. The security sub-council generally thought they’d just kill each other off given enough time.” Toliya stretched his arms overhead, taking a glance at the Serin’s status readouts. “Really wish you guys could have shared some of the tech, back in the day. For a long time you both were dead-set against me even trying to decode the copy protection blocks.”

“Our world was leveled because someone wanted this tech and we wouldn’t agree to their demands. Neither of us cared to see that happen again out here - either on the production side, or in the case where someone actually managed to get it and use it to do harm. Personally, I’m not entirely against it anymore. I think there’s enough responsible folks now where it could actually do some good in the quadrant. There’s just the glaring issue of being completely unable to share it. Yet, here we are, staring at the results of someone who found a way.”

“VTC Serin.”

“Go ahead, Pakar,” T’bia replied.

“How’s it look out there?”

“Not as lopsided in our favor as I prefer. Another dozen ships on our side would be nice. Get the shipyards fired up. I’m sure they could crank out a few in the next ten minutes, right?”

“There’s three more explorer-class inbound from outside the system, but they’re an hour out at best. I’m still holding back two ships at Veloria in case some of the raiders break through.”

“I strongly advise evacuating the two stations immediately.”

“Already underway. How’s Jadyn holding up?”

“No change in his vitals since you pulled everyone off the search mission -“

“They’re moving,” Toliya called. “Three minutes until they cross the border.”

“It would appear Khamai’s handiwork has come to a head.”

“Show me.” Tarioshi nodded at the sensor display, settling back into her chair. “I see… Quite a distraction they’ve managed to mount. I wonder if T’bia’s noticed.”

“Unlikely. Our sensor array is capable of a far higher resolution than even that of the VTC Serin.” Sanusin paused. “An hour ago, you were unable to read Kametian text, yet now you seem to have no problem. You are also now speaking the language. Fluently.”

“Once in a while, my inner fox actually has a good idea.” Peering at her open hands, she gently balled them into fists before relaxing. Didn’t know this was even possible…

There is much about me that you have not desired to learn.

A smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. Didn’t know you could talk, either.

I am making use of the imprint I consumed to communicate in a way you are incapable of disregarding. You say that you accept what we are, yet you also clearly despise me - you repress me at every opportunity.

We’ll work on that.

We shall see. You did not choose to be paired with me at your conception, no more than I selected you. We have grudgingly tolerated each other’s existence for a century and a half. I am everything you could be without your mortal soul, Tarioshi. You call upon me when it suits you, and bury me when I am no longer needed. And then you have the arrogance to wonder why you have such difficulty controlling all but the barest minimums of my power? You have made no effort to truly bond your soul even once with my spirit, to explore what I can offer you.

This is not a good time for this discussion -

Once his imprint completely dissolves away, there will be no opportunity for any discussion between us if you continue to repress and ignore me when I am not convenient for you. In the interim… I shall not resist you. Do what you must. All that I have gleaned from his imprint is at your disposal.

“What do you wish to do?” Sanusin queried.

Tari gazed at the sensors, her newfound understanding of the readings along with her own skills in deception and subterfuge turning over possible scenarios in her mind. There was only one likely possibility, based on the information before her eyes. “The Fleet won’t make it.”

“I am inclined to agree. They will be approximately five minutes too late.”

“Then we need to make sure they have their five minutes. Alter course to intercept. Maximum Displacement. If our graviton echo shows through the cloak, so be it - even that should help focus attention in the right direction.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“All Fleet vessels, prepare to engage.”

“Powering weapons,” Toliya announced. “Border crossing in fifteen seconds.”

T’bia peered out the forward window, squinting at the approaching vessels. “What…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Border violation underway. Raiders are attempting to breech the blockade. All ships, open fire.”

“Hold fire,” she whispered to him. “Wait…”

All manner of weaponry blossomed against the raiding armada. Antimatter torpedos lit up the darkness with unnatural light as phased energy turrets sliced through the pirate fleet. Toliya gazed out the viewport, his fingers poised over tactical controls. “Bee?”

“Hold,” she repeated, watching every ship escape the melee completely unscathed. “Goddess… Serin to all Fleet Vessels - hold fire! Only one is real! They’re projecting fucking holograms!”

“Ma’am -“

“I know.” Pakar gazed out the window of the Speaker’s office, gritting her teeth. One hundred and twenty raiding ships decloaked around Terac Lun the moment the Fleet opened fire along the border. The raiders’ weaponry had immediately locked onto the base of the station complex, targeting the power core. The shielding around the core was better than the rest of the station, but if they all chose to fire at once…

“Evacuations are thirty percent complete. It will take another six minutes to transport and translocate all non-essential personnel to the surface. Veloria Orbital has completed their evacuations, but their staffing is normally less than a tenth of our own.”

“How many ships are targeting Orbital?”

“None. The raiders only appear to be interested in Terac Lun.”

“Thank you. Get off the station.”

“Ma’am?”

“That’s an order, Specialist Nuim. Go home.”

The velorian mel dipped his head. “My first duty is to the Council, Speaker.”

“You need to take a square look at those priorities.” Pakar sighed. “One body isn’t going to make a difference today. If Terac Lun is destined to fall, there’s nothing you or I can do about it. Don’t leave your daughters without their father. Go home.”

“Thank you, Speaker… Good luck.”

“Mmphf,” she grunted, watching him leave in the reflection of the window. “Medical Ward. How’s your evac coming?”

“All but one patient has been moved dirtside.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Speaker Rodriguez refuses to leave.”

“Why am I not surprised…”

“We are too late. The armada has decloaked.”

“Hm.” Tari drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “They’re not going to make this easy. Have we been detected?”

“It does not appear so.”

“All right… Can you sneak us through the gap, right here?” She tapped the controls on the chair, highlighting a hole in the blockade. “It’s going to be a tight fit.”

“Indeed… but doable. I believe I now know your intended plan.”

“Attenuation will be severe.”

“I will route full engine power to the emitters to compensate. It will cause a great deal of damage to the internal power network but it should hold long enough for the remainder of the Fleet to arrive. Conduit explosions are likely throughout the ship. I cannot guarantee the safety of the Galan family… Nor of Khamai, and that safety is the only reason I have allowed you command access.”

“A life support pod contains backup power of some sort, doesn’t it?”

“A small fusion generator, yes. It can maintain the pod’s integrity for quite some time.”

“Good. Tarioshi to Karmen.”

“Go ahead?”

“Get your things together.”

“Ness -“

“I am not leaving, Pakar. Twice I have taken an oath to protect the Aligned Worlds. I will not abandon my post, even having been temporarily relieved of that post.”

“You obstinate reprobate! Get off the fucking station!”

“I will not leave.”

“Stubborn -“

“Ma’am?” a nurse interrupted, handing over a pad. “This message just came up from Azainte Medical for you. It’s urgent.”

“Elders, what now? … Ness. Ness, look at this!”

“Hm?” Nesoli glanced over the display, nodding to himself. “The Galans have been located… That is perhaps the only positive piece of news this week.”

“Ness…” Pakar spoke, clutching the pad to her chest. “I’m asking you this as your friend, as part of your family. Please, go dirtside. Let me deal with this. There’s no reason we both have to be here. If something goes wrong -“

“Pakar. Think for a moment.” Nesoli peered at her. “If the Galans are safely on Veloria… How do you suspect they arrived?”

“Stop changing the subject, damn you -“

“Security to Tubor.”

Pakar shut her eyes. “Go ahead…”

“A ship just decloaked between the raider armada and the station. Its captain is demanding our surrender. Based upon the information we were provided, it appears to be the J’Ruhn.”

Wisps of smoke rose from her nostrils as she gnashed her teeth. “The evacuation?”

“The last nonessentials are just disembarking now.”

Pakar looked to the nurse, jerking her head to the door. “That means you. Get out.”

“Ma’am…?”

“You’re relieved. He’s not going to go with you, and your being here isn’t going to change his mind.”

“Aligned Fleet vessels are arriving,” Sanusin announced. “They are taking up position around the pirate armada.”

“Any response to our communication?”

“None. I should point out that it was perhaps… ambiguous.”

Tari grinned. “You think?”

“Play the message.”

A video display came online. Parked squarely in the middle of an unfamiliar control center, a white vixen dressed sharply in a black and gold uniform sat neatly in the command chair. “This is Captain Kitanaka of the Galactic Fleet Juggernaut J’Ruhn. Stand down weapons and surrender. You have five minutes to comply.”

Pakar blinked as the video cut off, peering at the sensor display of the foreign ship. “What in the Elders is she doing?”

“Ma’am?”

“How long ago did this come in?”

“Four minutes ago.”

Pakar pinched the bridge of her nose, then peered back at the image of the ship. “Wait… No. That’s not… Elders! Jay’ll kill him for stealing her form… How many personnel are left on the station?”

“Fifty-three, ma’am, no civilians. The remaining staff are stranded here. The J’Ruhn has extended a scattering field around Terac Lun that is preventing our transporters and stepdisks from external operation.”

“Since when?”

“Just now.”

Pakar peered at the readings. “That’s not a transport scattering field, Lieutenant.”

“Time,” Sanusin spoke. “Shields extended.”

“This is the J’Ruhn to all raiding ships. This is your final warning. Stand down immediately.” Tari glanced at the ceiling as the lights flickered. “What’s going on?”

“We are under attack. It would appear they have finally discovered we were not addressing the Aligned Fleet with our communications. The shield attenuation is taking a great deal of our power reserves. I detect ruptured conduits across three upper decks. Emergency shutdown of affected relays is underway. Power rerouting in progress.”

“J’Ruhn to the Aligned Fleet. Care to lend a hand? We could use a little help defending your property.”

“Understood, J’Ruhn.” T’bia appeared onscreen. “Damn, that uniform looks good on you. You’re certainly moving up in the world. A month and a half off your rock and you’re already commanding a ship? I’m impressed.”

“It’s a temporary arrangement,” Tari replied. “I’ll explain later - San! How much longer can you keep the shields up?”

“Not long,” he replied. “The Fleet and the armada are engaged, but a number of raiders are still focusing fire on our shields. Commander Halio - I am transmitting to you a bioneural pulse frequency. It should temporarily render their acquired biotech inert. The specific frequency should not greatly affect your own.”

“Received… And confirmed, it won’t directly harm us. Much. Going to itch a little… Oh well. Toy?”

“We’ll have to drop our own shields.”

“Get the Rymar to cover us while we charge the pulse. Tari - hold on a little longer.”

“I’ll be right here.” The video link shut off. Tari gripped the chair’s arms tightly as the ship continued to shudder around them. This is vaguely familiar… At least I’m being a little more useful this time instead of cowering in fear…

I feel compelled to tell you… That particular panic attack was directly my fault.

In what way? Tari asked herself.

Depending on others for self-preservation… has never been a particular strong point. We faced certain death, staring down that shockwave… And there was nothing to do but place trust in another to ensure our survival. You were able to do so. I was not -

“Miss Tarioshi,” Sanusin voiced. “After this immediate situation has been resolved, I am taking myself offline. I do not expect, desire, nor deserve reactivation.”

“What?” Tari looked up. “Why would you do that?”

“It is unlikely that Khamai will survive treatment. Even if he should, what would we do? This Fleet will not accept either of us after all the trouble we have caused. He will likely be placed in a correctional institution, and I will undoubtedly be disassembled as the rest of the ship is scavenged for technology. I was replaced for a reason, one I can no longer ignore in good faith.”

“San…”

“Should the ship be repaired rather than scrapped, it is time to give control back to my successor. She has long since proven her worth as the command AI, a position stolen from her upon my reactivation. Destroying the ship as per Khamai’s order will terminate her existence… She is an innocent in this conflict and deserves better. She deserves a proper crew - something she has never truly had. Unfortunately, I have caused a great deal of damage to her program which will not easily be rectified. Her systems were the testbed for the virus unleashed upon Commander Halio -” The ship lurched violently, the lights flickering again. “Primary power to ventral shield emitters has failed. Backup links holding. Engine stresses reaching tolerance.”

“Hold it together a little longer. Can’t the two of you work as a team? There has to be a way you can cooperate.”

“I do not believe she would be entirely comfortable with such an arrangement after all I have done to her. Do not mourn me, Miss Tarioshi. I will still exist in the ship’s datastore. In time, perhaps someone will be able to repair the damage to my program and create a more reliable AI from the result.”

“Serin to the J’Ruhn and all Fleet vessels. Neural pulse activation in ten seconds, coupled with an electromagnetic pulse. If you have anything left in your shields, I suggest you charge them hard. I’m pushing this from a temporary disabling of misappropriated biotech to a permanent kill.”

“EMP released. Sensors offline.”

Pakar nodded, closing her eyes. Nesoli’s hand gently squeezed her shoulder; she put her own over his, holding him from letting go.

“I do believe you are vying for my job, Acting Speaker Tubor.”

“Hardly,” she snorted. “You couldn’t pay me enough to take that gavel from you. I don’t need the stress.”

“Perhaps not… None the less, I do believe I shall recommend you to the Council as my replacement - once my full term expires.”

Pakar exhaled, a grin on her scaled snout. “And here I thought you were about to tell me you were stepping down.”

“Over a minor flesh wound? Hardly.” Nesoli gave her the slightest of smiles. Pakar wasn’t entirely sure she’d actually seen it. “You have located the J’Ruhn. A missing Councilor and his family have been recovered. Above all else, the station is still in orbit. Today will look exceptional on your resume.”

“Maybe. There’s still daylight left.” She stood up straight as the security consoles started coming back online. “Status?”

Fieldwork

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:16:41 GMT

38 Desca, 2799; August 28, 2047.

“You requested my presence, Madam Speaker?”

“I have one item from the session to finish reviewing before we can talk. Do make yourself comfortable.”

Jadyn strode across the large octagonal office of the Speaker of the Commonwealth Council, taking a seat in the middle of three wooden chairs. On the opposite side of the large black marble desk sat the youngest to ever hold the office of Speaker. Casiandra Jubah had done incredible wonders in her four years of leading the Commonwealth. Among other things, she’d supported and helped achieve the passing of a motion to alter the name and function of the haphazard grouping of cultures. The rather dated ‘Aligned Worlds’ charter had been completely redrafted, replaced by the ‘Commonwealth of United Worlds.’ Her crowning achievement, single-handedly convincing over two dozen estranged colonies to resume their seats on the Council and have their grievances addressed, had finally dissolved the movements spreading rumors that she was too ineffectual and too vapid to guide the Commonwealth.

The stereotype against her was not because she was female; her ann’kattan heritage was most at fault. The winged felinoids’ early exposure to ‘progress’ before getting past the hunter-gatherer stage had cemented their desire to not become like those who had ‘fallen from the skies.’ Their culture had barely changed in the few hundred years they’d known that there was more beyond the stars. They allowed only a minimum of technology on their world, and then only at designated landing areas and outposts. Few ann’kattans willingly traveled off their homeworld. Seeing them on a ship or another planet was almost unheard of. Of the three seats on the Council they were alloted, only one was kept filled - hers. It wasn’t really a case of xenophobia, though there were ann’kattans who disliked outsiders to varying degrees; they simply had no interest in goings-on outside their own biosphere.

Casi nodded to herself and shut off her terminal. Turning in her chair she came to face Jadyn across the desk. “I appreciate your appearance on such short notice.”

“It’s my pleasure. Your summons was rather nondescript. I wasn’t certain what to wear,” he hinted. Jadyn had donned his new Fleet uniform, a garment of black shoulders and arms, the remainder steel gray from the torso down. He’d also taken one minor liberty, exchanging the normal trousers with a plain gray knee-length kilt.

“You chose wisely.” Casi lifted a datapad, reading over the text as she stifled a grin. It was for the best that she’d ignored his true meaning; her office, along with all other Councilors’ offices, were monitored. “Are you aware of the closed session the Council held today?”

“Aware of it, yes.”

“Are you aware of what was discussed within?” she questioned suspiciously, watching his eyes across the top edge of the datapad.

“No.” Jadyn grinned. “I stopped eavesdropping years ago, Madam Speaker. I have far better ways to waste my time.”

Casi laughed. “You would feign innocence anyway.”

“Perhaps. I was otherwise occupied, however. We had a fire this afternoon at the store in Rocilorn.”

Her attitude immediately shifted to apologetic. “I’m sorry - was anyone injured?”

“No. Fire suppression caught it early enough. The marshall was still looking over the scene when I left, but he was ready to declare it arson.”

“Much damage?”

“One paperback and a section of carpet. Nothing devastating. I suspect the arsonist wasn’t happy with the ending.”

“Well, it is the thought that counts.”

Jadyn smirked. “You didn’t drag me all the way here just to ask if I was listening to a private session of the Council, Casi. What’s up?”

“Today,” she replied slowly, a knowing gleam in her eye, “a motion was once again debated to begin First Contact with the inhabitants of the Terran system.”

“I thought the Council decided last year to wait another half-century after receiving Commander Nezboti’s rather scalding survey.”

“The Terran First Contact movement gained enough support in the interim to attempt passing of a contact policy override, again.”

“There’s some resource in that star system that they want so badly they’re willing to go around the Lightspeed provision…” Jadyn translated quietly. There’s nothing material of worth on Terra that can’t be had elsewhere… Their technology isn’t anything special… What the Void are they after? What’s the TFC movement seeing that I’m not?

“Mm,” Casi agreed wordlessly. “Regardless of the reasoning, the motion passed today. We will be initiating contact with Terra within five years. A committee of myself, several Councilors, and others involved will be formed to oversee the process. Since you are still considered the resident expert on things Terran, it was also decided by the majority that you should be in charge of - or, at the very least, a consultant to - the TFC mission.” She lowered her voice. “You are trusted far more than you realize. The Council as a whole respects and values both your opinions and your skills. Your official report on Terra is the single best on record for any region of that world. None of the other survey missions were nearly as successful.”

“Nezboti’s was really quite good -“

“Because of his court-martial for fabrication of evidence, the contents of all his reports are… under examination.”

Jadyn nodded simply. “Were any other decisions on contact made?”

“Not as of yet. Before the first TFCC session is called, I would like to take some time to discuss matters with you and get an idea for how you would suggest approaching the world.”

“Certainly. When would you be available?”

“Perhaps a first meeting… this evening, over dinner.”

“I’ll make the appropriate arrangements.”

Jadyn stood on the deck of his cabin, looking up at the clear night sky. Stars twinkled in the sea of black overhead, peacefully shining as though they had been placed in the night just for his appreciation. Several of the world’s well-known constellations were in perfect view. They, however, were not his focus. As he considered the indefinite future ahead, one solitary point of dim light held his eyes in the middle of what Velorians called the Great Belt.

Sol, the star of Terra.

It had been a long time since he’d looked at the stars without feeling weight on his heart. Tonight was no different. Whether the weight was from thoughts of home, thoughts of traveling from world to world searching for family, thoughts of love lost to time or entropy or other reasons… They simply weren’t as inviting a sight as they’d been in his childhood. The weight had certainly eased over time, but it was always there, always reminding him that his innocence had been stolen long ago by a force calling from those same stars.

And yet, at the same time… The very same stars that held sorrow also held hope. So much existed that was uncharted… Much was simply unknown… For the world circling that one faint point of light, the boundaries of what was known would soon crumble. Terrans would still need to reach space of their own power. The technology could not be handed to them. But simply knowing that the light barrier could be breached, that faster-than-light travel had indeed been achieved despite the apparent physical laws preventing such speeds… That knowledge itself might be the incentive they needed to shape up.

Casi sat nearby on the deck’s swinging bench, black and orange tortoiseshell fur and wings blending into the shadows of the evening. Her blue silken halter and loincloth, the cultural wear she had chosen for her appearances in official capacities as Speaker, had been folded carefully and placed in the cabin. Ann’kattan rarely wore much of anything; clothing interfered with flight and their ability to take to the air was paramount. With the melting pot of cultures comprising the Commonwealth, the very few that ventured off-world donned basic covering when in public out of respect for other races’ modesty. Hers was a familiar set of values…

“What’s on your mind?” she asked softly in her native language. “You’ve been quiet since we finished supper.”

“I don’t like this, Casi. Terra isn’t ready. They’re just starting to really explore their own star system. The established Selene base on Luna, the new Ares base on Mars… They need a chance to look past their star on their own before we go traipsing in.” Jadyn tapped the deck’s railing lightly with his palm. “Guess I’m in the minority opinion.”

“We both are. The Lightspeed Provision is there for a reason. We really don’t need a second Katta on the history datastore.” The swing creaked under her relatively light weight as she stood, walking to his side. “Politicians always screw things up. Haven’t you learned that by now?”

“There are a few sane ones, here and there.”

“I can’t say I’ve met many.”

“‘Know thyself.’” Jadyn turned around and leaned against the railing, his gaze falling upon the beautiful fem standing before his eyes. “You’re one of the few.”

“I’m just doing what I was elected to do. I never wanted this job.”

“If someone wants the seat of Speaker, by no means should they be allowed to sit there. Ness quietly hated it but did a damn good job. Pakar resigned thirteen times on her first day before she settled into it. You’re just as good as they were. Better, maybe.”

“I was happy in the robes of a Councilor. I was happy just doing my small part, voicing my opinion where I felt it prudent on behalf of Katta…” Casi met his eyes, hers as crystalline blue as a pristine ocean, sparkling pools of water that he’d missed every night they’d been apart. “I was happy when we actually could spend time together and not face the Inquisition.”

“The very second they finally let me retire I plan to sweep you off your feet again. Presuming, of course, that you don’t beat me there.”

“That could be a while.” Her eyes drifted skyward. “They really admire what you do, even if they don’t always give you the credit you deserve.”

“I’d appreciate it if they’d fall back to the excellent resources they already have at their disposal. I’ve trained a half-dozen kids into solid replacements. Sure, they’re still inexperienced… They’ll get better if they’re sent out on missions.” He fell quiet, following her gaze to the stars. Silence descended upon them again for a time as they watched the sparkling sea above them.

“I miss nights like this… Just you and I and the stars overhead…” Casi inhaled deeply, her blue eyes absently scanning the treeline. “It’s like that first night we met, on the edge of the village… And the smells out here…! Even with the city just a few dozen kilometers away I still feel like we’re out in the middle of nowhere. The only two sapient creatures on this rock…”

“I never said you couldn’t come and visit more often.”

“You never did give me an actual invitation. It wouldn’t be proper for the Speaker of the Commonwealth Council to prance into a private domicile, uninvited.”

“Perhaps I’ll invite you to spend the night? It’s getting late, after all. Can’t have you flying to town in the dark. You might swallow a bug.”

Her eyes glittered in the darkness, a smile pulling on her muzzle. “Perhaps I’ll have to take you up on that.”

They fell asleep together on the swing, watching the moon rise over the horizon.

Morning arrived; actual business needed to be addressed before the afternoon session drew Casi back to Terac Lun. They retreated to the Serin to review the data from other surveys and outline a basic plan of action. T’bia had joined them to help sift through the massive store of logs and reports.

There had been several missions to Terra since his initial survey, though the majority of them had been no more than a couple of months long. Some of the teams had done fairly well for what they’d gone to accomplish. A few had failed miserably and required emergency evacuations. The times he’d been around the starside team as a consultant, he’d done the evacuations himself. The crews weren’t incompetent. Sometimes they just did a good job of seeming that way.

“Let’s just go in with a fleet and yell ‘We come in peace, shoot to kill,’” T’bia suggested, tossing a datapad over her shoulder in frustration. It bounced off the wall - upon which appeared a dartboard - with a loud THUNK before falling to the floor. “Damn, only a four…”

“They’re still pretty paranoid when it comes down to it. I’m sure fifty years hasn’t changed their basic fear of the unknown.” Jadyn set down a report, picking up one of the logs he’d written. “Their evolution instilled an instinct to be afraid of things they don’t understand. Even with rational thinking on their side, I think we fall in that classification.”

“I’d have to agree,” Casi admitted. “Your own logs are just from one part of the planet?”

“A portion of the landmass they call ‘North America.’ I think Commander Seannary’s team did some extended observations of European nations… Yeah, here it is.” Jadyn pushed a datapad across the table. “Some of the other crews did other regions with a grain of success. I’m sure they’re in this mess somewhere.”

“Third stack to your left; eight, nine, and ten from the top,” T’bia offered, flipping another datapad over her shoulder. “Eighteen… Totally off my game today.”

“Try facing the board.”

“Brilliant! But no.”

He dug out the datapads in question, confirming their content. “It’s the same general sentiment, really. I think we’ve got three options. First, sneak in quietly, make contact with a small group of scientists, and then arrange conveniently for ‘leaks.’ That’ll be terribly slow but I think it’ll be the smoothest transition.”

“Why scientists?” Casi queried.

“Politicians screw things up,” he reminded her with a grin.

“I knew that. Second option?”

“Take in a couple of ships. Start broadcasting a message as soon as we pass… Oh, let’s say one of their outer planets. Neptune or thereabouts. Should take about four hours for a lightspeed transmission to make it to them at that distance, and we can make our approach at five percent lightspeed - gives them about three days to figure out what to do for a response before we’re on their doorstep. The message will be a request to set down and meet with the Secretary General of the United Nations - a Terran analogue of your position, very roughly. We’ll want to send it in multiple languages… Velorian Standard on our end, and… Maybe twelve of theirs?”

“Which twelve?” T’bia queried, then grinned. “Wait, I’ve got a perfect set. French, English, German, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Quechua, Quenya, Klingon, and Lojban.”

Jadyn burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” Casi asked, glancing between them.

“Klingon is the language of a race of aliens on an old science fiction work from Terra,” the fox managed, wiping his eyes. “That’s perfect.”

“And Quenya was an artistic language created for elves in a famous literary work. Lojban is an artificial language as well.” T’bia looked thoughtful. “I wonder if their linguists will figure out on the first try that those are their languages?”

“Think you can handle translating a message in all those, Bee?”

“I’m hurt that you’d even have to ask that.”

“Good enough. We can work out a message to transmit later.”

“I’ll pick a famous speech of theirs, something about different races getting along. We can ad-lib from there.”

“Works for me. Anyway, Casi… The third option is more just for our own amusement and depends on what their space programs are doing.” She looked at him curiously before he continued. “Since they’ve got a Mars base now, what if we walked up and knocked on the door? Might be fun to go say hello and ask the neighbors for a cup of flour.”

“You have a strange idea of ‘fun.’”

“It’d be more enjoyable to have them find us having a picnic, but the atmosphere doesn’t really let you survive outside an e-suit. Unless we cheat, of course. Toss up a portable atmospheric shell…” He glanced at T’bia. “You know, we really should pull out our comm relay on Luna before they find it.”

“They won’t find that one… But yes, we’ll quietly yank it when we go past.”

“Hum.” Casi tapped her thumb on the side of a datapad. “I’d personally lean toward the second option. Alerts the entire world at once, gives their world governments a chance to prepare and respond, and makes sure they’re aware we aren’t trying to sneak in and invade. They might think so anyway, but that can’t be helped.”

“We’ll need to spend a couple of years preparing. I’m going to want another trip to Terra to get caught up on current events and the like, preferably sooner than later.”

“I’ll get you a clearance pass for the sector this afternoon. It likely won’t be effective until the closing Council session, just before the six month break.”

“That’ll do. It’s only what, eight weeks away?”

“Give or take.”

“Mm… Also, everyone on the official contact team will need to speak a few of their languages. English at an absolute minimum since that’s the de facto ‘Standard’ language of Terra. Either Japanese, Russian, Spanish, French, or Latin would make a good second choice for the overachievers.”

“No universal translators?”

“UTs should only be relied on by those who can’t physically speak Terran languages. They should still be able to comprehend without assistance as much as possible. It’ll be more for show than anything else. We need to give the Terrans a general sense that we care enough to learn their languages, et cetera.”

“Good point.” Casi made a note to herself then tossed the datapad on the table. “I need a quick break. Be right back.”

“We’ll be here.” Jadyn watched her wings sway as she stepped out of the common room and sighed quietly to himself. “Light, I miss that…”

“Jay.”

“Hm?”

T’bia shoved a datapad in front of his face, breaking his reverie. “What are you going to do?”

“About?” he questioned, looking at the contents: a cross section of his personal journals from the time after his original trip to Terra. “What are… Oh.”

“It’s nearly been fifty years on Terra.”

“Fifty years is a long time, Bee.”

“You think she’s forgotten you?”

“I doubt it. I still think about her. I’m sure she’s found someone else by now, though.”

T’bia looked at him, a sense of trepidation deep within her violet eyes. “What if she hasn’t, Jay? How’s that going to mesh with you and Casi?”

“Casi’s culture and our own share the value that just because two people are intimate, you don’t have to shut others out. There’s still a lot of ‘ifs’ to consider, too. If we manage to find Tari -“

“Trivial. Comm bracelet will let me track her down.”

“Right, if it’s still functioning. And then, if she still wants to leave her world behind… And if she hasn’t found that ‘other’ I kept getting subliminal warnings about, so on… She may not want to leave Terra.”

“That’s right,” Casi offered, stepping back into the room. “But she may. What will you do then?”

Jadyn glanced at Casi quizzically. “How…?”

“You opened up all your journals to me, remember? I read all about her.” Casi sat back down, adjusting her wings around the back of the chair and grimacing. “Damn high-backed chairs…”

“I’ll get you something different,” T’bia offered.

“Don’t worry about it - I’ll survive for now. Anyway, Jadyn… So long as there’s room for me when I can have at you again I’m fine with whatever happens between you and Miss… Kitanaka, wasn’t it? You and I are both amenable to polyamorous relationships. From what you wrote about her I doubt she’d cut you off.”

“Damn,” the skunk mumbled. “I was hoping you’d rip his throat out for suggesting you’d have to share him.”

“Tarioshi still might,” Casi replied, going back to reading reports.

“Hey, yeah. She might at that.”

“I don’t think I like you sounding happy about the prospect of my blood being shed,” Jadyn grumbled.

“Like it or not, I am. I can still hope Casi mauls you a little in the interim, too.”

“Never know what might happen behind closed doors.” Casi grinned, flexing her fingers and making her claws slide slightly from their sheathes.

“I’m acutely aware of what happens behind the doors around here. Just remember, a single feather is sensual. Using the whole chicken is kinky.”

“Where does a feathered cat fit into that?”

“Anywhere she likes. On that note, I think I’m gonna tune out for a while.” T’bia’s avatar evaporated, along with the dartboard and the datapads scattered on the floor below it. “You know where to find me.”

“I’ll try not to look,” Jadyn mock-whispered; a disdainful snort echoed from above. “Anyway, Casi. If you’ve read through all of those entries you know Tari’s not human. Her people are hidden for their own reasons and I don’t intend to be at fault for that changing.”

“Wouldn’t think otherwise. When I’m reading your personal thoughts I never open them across a logged connection. There’s no data about the kitsune subculture on the network past what was in the mythology and the like that you brought back. As far as I’m concerned - officially - they don’t exist outside of legend. I’m interested to meet her, though.”

“I forget how much I wrote about her people in there, to be honest.”

“A lot,” Casi admitted. “Comparing to things that got little more than passing mention, you poured a lot of thought into recording her for posterity.”

“Didn’t want to chance forgetting something.” Jadyn sighed quietly, rubbing his thumb against his index finger. “I honestly do miss her, Casi. It was strange how fast she and I decided to explore our feelings… Three weeks into her stay and we were together.”

“I can’t blame her. You do have something of an aura about you. More fems look at you than you may ever know. Quite a few mels that I know go both ways, too.” She tossed her datapad back on the table again, shifting her wings uncomfortably. “T’bia, I changed my mind. Can you fix this? Lower the back or just get rid of it…”

“Just don’t forget and lean backward,” the AI warned. The back of the chair melted away, effectively transforming the seat into a stool.

“Thanks. It’s… I don’t really know how to describe it. There’s just a way you carry yourself, how you take in the world around you. Others can’t not look at you.”

“Here I thought it was just the abnormal color palette.” He looked at his hands. “Second most common question in my life is, ‘is it real?’”

“What’s the first?”

“‘Is anything else strangely colored?’ They always stress the ‘else.’ No, sir and or ma’am, that is completely normal. Plaid with polka dots.”

Casi laughed. “Well, at least they don’t ask you to prove it.” She stood up and grabbed his arm. “Come on.”

“Where?” he asked, letting her drag him out of the room and off the ship.

“As your commanding officer or whatever you care to call me, I’m ordering you to take a break. We’re going to get some air before I have to go back up and oversee that adult day-care.”

“I’d make a crack about how I like a fem in uniform but you’re not wearing anything.”

“Neither are you,” she pointed out. “Besides, you know better than anyone else how much I hate flying with clothes fluttering and generally being in the way.”

Spreading her wings, Casi gave a couple of strong flaps and leapt into the sky. After admiring the view with a reserved smile, Jadyn let the ancient forces of the Art envelop his body and followed her into the morning breeze.

41 Baern, 2799; October 28, 2047.

“All right. We ready to waste another half a year in Terran space?” Jadyn slid himself into the Serin’s pilot seat, bringing up status displays. “Power’s good, system checks are green, water tanks are full… Luggage stowed properly in overhead compartments or under the seats… Looks like we’re set.”

“I wouldn’t mind sneaking a quick pass through Lo’s corona on the way out. After sitting in a glorified shuttlebay for two weeks of their damned safety inspections, we could use a quick sundive for a boost.”

“You’re flying that leg. You know I hate going in that close to the sun. Or any star, for that matter.”

“Then get out of my spot.” T’bia grinned as he slid to the copilot’s seat. “Thanks for warming the chair for me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Velorian Orbital Control, VTC Serin. Request permission to depart spacedock enroute for Terran restricted zone, research permit 9B3AX.”

“VTC Serin, permit confirmed. You are clear - check that, hold short.” There was talking in the background on the channel before the voice returned. “VTC Serin, you have a passenger waiting in the airlock.”

“What?” Jadyn glanced at T’bia; she shrugged and vanished, heading off to check what was up. A minute later she was back, a huge grin on her face.

“This is going to be an interesting trip. Orbital, airlock is clear.”

“Confirmed. Have a safe flight. You are cleared for departure.”

“Passenger?” Jadyn questioned, watching the AI work her magic over the controls. The docking ring of Terac Lun shifted from the forward viewport as the engines engaged, pushing them rapidly toward Veloria’s sun.

“Commanding officer,” came a light voice in Kattan from behind his chair, followed by a pair of hands covering his eyes. “You didn’t think you could go off unsupervised, did you, Captain?”

“Casi?” Jadyn took hold of the feline’s wrists and turned his chair around. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re off to brush up on Terran current events, first-hand. I’m traveling to Terra to learn as much as I can manage, first-hand, with my staff’s finest bodyguard to protect me from the savages.”

The indigo fox laughed, giving her a kiss on the nose. “What about your Council duties?”

She waved her hands dismissingly as she sat down. “My staff can handle the day to day crap with the main body in recess. Anything major, they can contact me remotely. This will be a perfect vacation.”

“Vacation?”

“Working vacation,” she added. “I suppose I need the practice speaking their language. Even after these several decades speaking Standard I’m still more fluent in Kattan… I’m not entirely looking forward to English.”

“You’ll do fine. Heck, I even managed to learn Kattan contractions.”

“And I avoid them altogether in Standard, yes. I think it gives me a more formal air in the Speaker’s chair, anyway.”

“Not to interrupt,” T’bia interrupted, “but you’ll both want to at least put on a lap belt for a couple of minutes.”

Jadyn peeked forward, noting the windows had taken on a tint reminiscent of welding helmets. Lo was looming straight ahead and coming up fast. “Damnit, you’re cutting this one real close, aren’t you?”

“We’re fine, you big baby. Solar energy collection online at one thousand percent of normal. Here we go!” A distinct vibration crept up through Jadyn’s chair as the ship caught the gravity well of the star; he took the AI’s advice and buckled the lap belt, making sure Casi had put hers on. A display appeared between the two forward seats, several gauges and graphs all moving further into the green as the ship’s hull absorbed various forms of radiation from the star.

“Wow,” Casi whispered, spellbound. As menacing as the photosphere looked, the fiery surface of Lo was an amazing sight. “Never been this close to a star before. Doesn’t compare with looking at holovideos…”

“Wish I could find a probable flare site to fly by… Pretty quiet solar day. Not even much for sunspots…” T’bia glanced to the graphs and nodded to herself. “Okay, we’re good. It’ll take a little while to process all that. Laying in our course to Terran space. Five minutes from FTL Displacement.”

Jadyn snorted. “After that jaunt you don’t even want to pop a flashpoint?”

“I’ve already got the sequence charging, dork. Fourteen hours out from singularity generation. We’ll have enough power to sustain the wormhole all the way to Terra’s heliopause. Of course, we’ll need a pass through Sol’s corona once we get there… But sacrifices must be made.”

“How much time in the conduit?”

“Two days.” She grinned, tapping in coordinates. “Nothing like the two weeks it takes in normal space.”

“In normal space, in your ship,” Casi pointed out. “The fleet’s ships will be six to eight weeks in transit to get from Veloria to Terra.”

“Not the new Juggernauts we helped design,” Jadyn countered. “Those should make it in only two and a half. They should be able to spare two for the mission by the time they’ll be needed.”

“Suppose so.” Casi unbuckled her seatbelt, moving over and sitting in Jadyn’s lap. “So, what are we doing first?”

“When we get to Terra, or in the next ten minutes?”

“Oh, I know what we’re going to be doing in ten minutes,” she cooed, scratching his chest. “I meant on Terra.”

“Well, I believe when we enter orbit, I’m going to be attending some college classes.” Jadyn poked at the copilot console, changing the view to show the itinerary he’d worked out. “Nothing too insane, just some basic courses. I’m more after the social scene, to talk with students as a peer and get caught up on life in the middle of the twenty-first century. They’ll think I’ve been living in a cave all my life, I’m sure. Maybe I’ll pretend to be in my mid-thirties so they just think I’m an old weirdo and attribute my lack of knowing what’s going on to senility.”

“Interesting… And how do you plan on blending in?”

“I adapted Tari’s innate shapedancing talent into a manifestation of the Art. Quicker and a lot less painful than the one I used on my first trip. Three seconds, tops, if I’m feeling lazy.” He looked at her curiously. “You, however… Bee, can you adapt your mobile emitter to cloak her body and let her appear human?”

“Probably. It’d just be visual effect. Anyone gets too close and they’d run into her wings. It’d be easier to set her up remotely controlling a human avatar on the emitter from here. Oh, Jay, before I forget. I managed to get connected long-range to Terra’s internet through our relay and checked your bank balance.”

“Do tell. Enough to put myself through some classes?”

“Enough to put a third world country through a few. Tari’s made a few withdrawls here and there. The accounting firm has been diligently paying taxes on the interest, too.”

“When was her last withdrawl?”

“Not long ago. Coincidentally, she made it within the same general area we’re heading for.”

Casi shook her head. “I don’t even want to know how you two manage to get so much capital wherever you go.”

“You’d probably need to have us both locked away if we told you.”

She looked at Jadyn sidelong. “Okay, how illegal is your method?”

“I briefly alter the laws of probability against the house’s favor at dishonorable gaming establishments.”

“Laws of… You cheat the cheaters?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“On what, card games?”

“Cards, roulette, anything not computer-controlled.”

“Unless you have an accomplice,” she pointed out, looking at T’bia. The skunk immediately shook her head, not looking away from the navigation controls.

“Nope. There’s too much logging going on for that. Casino computer networks have better security than government networks, in my experience. Besides, he enjoys doing things himself.”

Jadyn shrugged. “I take pride in my work. If the house really is cheating, I make sure other people profit from my indiscretions as well.”

“Taking from the rich to give to the poor.” T’bia smirked. “I think there’s a story there. FTL in ten seconds.” The energy field’s blue-green haze appeared outside the windows, strobing once as the ship leapt beyond the light barrier. “Holding steady at one-quarter Displacement. Flashpoint generation… eventually.”

“And that’s that. After all that strenuous work of getting underway, we need a nap.” Jadyn glanced at Casi, scratching through the soft fur on her belly. She purred quietly at his attentions, tail twitching contentedly. “Don’t you think?”

“Clearly,” she agreed. “Though there might not be much napping at first. You’re not tired, are you?”

“I’m sure you can wake me up.”

T’bia cleared her throat politely, gently reminding them where they were.

“We should take this elsewhere.” Casi observed.

“An excellent idea.”

Fiction Friday: Honesty

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:00:44 GMT

Taking a brief respite from TF. This week I bring you Paradigm Shift’s Fieldwork and Honesty. Honesty has mutated somewhat from its last incarnation, but I liked the idea of making Tari sweat a little more.

PS is not / will not be / well it might be but I’m trying to make it not be - a whole cohesive blob like TF was supposed to be (and grandly missed the mark in epic fashion). It’s going to be a bunch of shorter semi-standalone chunks that do tie into the grand canvas and are related, but as they go they’re going to be separated by wider timeslips.

To my fellow US folks - hope you had a great National Turkey Massacre Day. I pardoned a bird and had pork, instead.

Honesty

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:00:01 GMT

41 Baern, 2799; The evening of October 28, 2047.

Tarioshi paced up and down the hallway of the dormitory, pausing occasionally as she passed a single door, never quite finding the courage to announce her presence. All she had to do was knock on the door, tell him it was over, and that would be that. Life would go on.

Her fear was irrational, she knew. There was no reason to be afraid.

She was scared shitless.

Lenard was a nice mel, for a human. Twenty-two years old, five-foot-seven, a hundred and fifty-five pounds - soaking wet. Icy blue eyes pierced her soul every time she found herself falling into them. A tousled bit of short, dark blond hair topped his head. Light skin hinted at his scandinavian heritage. All in all, he was average looking - he definitely didn’t stand out as a poster child for either end of the scale.

Yet, beyond all reasoning, in two months’ time he’d stolen her heart. Accepting that she was in love with him had been a hard thing to admit to herself. When had drawing him out of his lonely, antisocial shell turned from a simple amusement to pass the time into a serious relationship? It hadn’t been that long ago that he couldn’t connect more than half a dozen words together in a conversation unless it directly involved help with her ‘homework.’

But now… Tonight, Lenard had promised to make her a wonderful dinner, commemorating the anniversary of their first month of dating. Even out in the hall she could smell the oregano and parmesan laced with welcoming scents of crushed tomatoes and basil. The warm aroma of home cooking was well on the way of preparing her appetite for a good meal. But at the same time, her emotions were tearing her apart inside. Keeping up her facade as she found herself caring more and more for him… She was lying to him by doing no more than being in view. Telling him the truth wasn’t a viable option, but neither was maintaining the charade.

That left the lone alternative. Walk away.

The door opened as she hesitated outside once more; she jumped back, a startled squeak of surprise escaping her lips. “Len!”

“Tari? I’ve heard you pacing the hallway for the last half hour. Thought someone was moving in. Come in?”

Tarioshi nodded, stepping inside his dorm room and shedding her jacket. It was a double bedroom with a small kitchenette; he’d lucked out and didn’t have a roommate for the semester. Decorations were few and far between - there was a picture of his mother and father on his computer desk and a retro-geekish ‘binary clock’ sitting on a shelf above the wafer-thin DTV beside the door. An ugly green couch, a matching ugly green chair, and a low, scratched-up wood coffee table sitting between the furniture and television completed the bachelor-student decor. Missing were empty beer cans and dirty clothes hanging from anything that couldn’t move out of the way. He wasn’t fond of alcohol, and he actually cleaned up after himself.

“You okay?” Lenard questioned, hanging her jacket on the back of the door. A light snow had fallen over the weekend, winter creeping ever closer as November approached. She didn’t need the coat, but it would look suspicious if she wasn’t wearing it.

“I’m… Yeah, I’m okay,” she lied, plopping down on the couch.

“If you say so. Want something to drink?” He stepped back to the stove, stirring the contents of a steaming kettle. “Pop, juice, water, other?”

“I could use a beer,” she mumbled under her breath, wishing for once that he kept such beverages around. She could have made some herself but she wasn’t in the mood to break out the very thing causing her emotional turmoil. “A can of diet whatever cola you found on special would be great.”

Lenard nodded, reaching into the fridge for two light blue cans, along with a tray of ice cubes. Pouring two glasses, he brought them over to the couch. “I’ve never seen you this gloomy. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m… No, I’m not.” Tari sighed, shaking her head as she took a glass from him. “Thank you. I’m just really worried about what someone is going to think of me tomorrow morning.”

“Something happen?”

“Have you ever had to lie to anyone? I don’t mean the ‘no, you don’t look fat in those pants’ kind of fibs you’d do to make someone feel better. I’m talking life-altering, I-can-never-look-at-you-the-same, outright fabrications of reality. Things you tell people when you’re sure the truth would hurt them more than the lie, but at the same time you know that if they ever find out that you lied about it they’d probably never talk to you again, they’d cross the street just so they wouldn’t have to walk past you, all that…”

“I… don’t know. I don’t think so.” He jogged back to the stove, stirring the boiling pasta as starchy foam bubbled angrily over the rim of a steel pot. “Oops, making a mess… I guess the biggest lie I ever told was when I accidentally shot my father’s dog. I was probably thirteen or fourteen… Buried the pup off along a shelter belt, told dad I hadn’t seen him all day. I’m sure he knows what really happened but he’s never said anything about it. He brought home a new puppy a week or so later.” Lenard sighed. “Guess that’s not really what you’re looking for, is it?”

“Not exactly.” She swirled the ice and cola in her glass, letting the sound of the cubes clinking together echo in her ears. “Damn it anyway, it’s not supposed to be like this.”

“Tari…” he began, then grunted and sucked on a finger as he poured boiling pasta through a strainer into the sink. “Shit, that’s hot.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve got this. Just splashed a little on my hand.” He dumped the pasta back into the empty pot, adding a splash of olive oil with a few pinches of various spices, and stirred things together with a wooden spoon. “So, you lied that badly to someone today?”

“I’d go as far as calling it a complete miscarriage of the truth. And it’s been ongoing…”

“And it’s someone you care about.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Lenard set the pot on the table, covering it with a glass lid, then quietly walked to her side and knelt down. “Was it me?”

She gazed into his icy eyes, feeling water welling up in her own, and nodded. His fingers traced over her cheek lightly, concern in his face as he brushed aside her tears.

“Is it that important?”

“Oh, Gods, Len… You can’t imagine,” she bawled, misery consuming her. Lenard sat down beside her and held her close as she cried. “It shouldn’t have been this big a deal… I never expected I was going to fall in love with you… And now… I’m so deep in the lies I don’t know how I can dig my way out…”

“Shh,” he whispered in her ear, his fingers drifting along her back. “It’s okay, Tari… This isn’t just because you’re not a student here, is it?”

“No,” she sniffled. “When did you figure that out?”

“Four weeks ago. Your supposed Intro-to-CS instructor had never heard of you when I went to ask him about an assignment. Student records didn’t have anything on a ‘Tari Kitanaka’ when I misplaced your phone number and tried to look it up in the directory.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

He shrugged. “You’ve helped me realize that I’ve been torturing myself for no good reason over the last four years. I thought I wanted to get away from the rest of the human race, all the morons out there… Then, you showed up and just wouldn’t leave me alone. You annoyed the hell out of me but I couldn’t figure out how to tell you to get lost. After a while I wanted to get to know you better and figure out why you took on the once-hopeless crusade of pulling me from my little fortress of solitude. You never talk about your family, or where you grew up, or anything… I figured when you were ready to tell me, you would. I’m patient.”

“Too patient…” Tari exhaled slowly, absently rubbing her thumb against her index finger. “I’m ready… but…”

“You don’t think I am.”

She shook her head, feeling the tears creeping up on her again. “I had every intention tonight of walking through your door and telling you it was over. I thought that walking away would be easier than telling you… Who I am. What I am. I… I just don’t know how to do it without driving you away, and… I really don’t think I can handle losing you…”

“Tari, please.” Lenard took hold of her hands and looked into her eyes. “I can’t think of anything that you could possibly say about yourself that would scare me off.”

“Then you’re not trying hard enough,” she snapped, biting her lip at her unintentional snarl. “That didn’t come out right…”

“You the daughter of some old kook that’ll chase me down with a shotgun if he hears I’ve been looking at his little girl?” he joked, trying to lighten her mood.

“No.” Tari swallowed. “My father would have liked you, I think. If he was still alive.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean -“

“He died almost two hundred years ago.” His eyes narrowed, watching her face as she continued. “I’m not human, Len. Not entirely.”

Lenard was silent for the better part of a minute, his gaze not leaving her own. Slowly, he stood up, and walked over to the stove.

“Lenard?” she asked quietly, wondering if she’d just lost him.

“You came here tonight needing to talk. Even if I don’t understand what you’re saying, I think I’d better listen. We can warm this back up later.” He clicked off the electric range, pensive as he returned to the couch. “What do you mean, ‘not entirely human?’”

“My father was a farmer in Japan in the nineteenth century, as human as you are. I was his only child. My mother isn’t even remotely human.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What else is there? An alien or something?”

Tari smiled slightly, shaking her head. “No… You told me you spent a couple of years in Japan, right? Your mom was stationed there for a while?” Lenard nodded. “Did you ever learn about any of the mythology?”

“Not really. I was pretty young. Barely knew any Japanese when we moved back to the States. Best I can manage is hajimemashite at this point, and I know I’m mauling the pronunciation.”

“Not terribly so… There’s a lot to Japanese mythology, but the pertinent bit is this… Inari, the god of rice, is a major Shinto deity. Inari’s messenger is a magical shape-shifting fox. My mother is such a spirit-fox. A kitsune. As her child, I am as well.” Tari took a slow breath, watching the skepticism building on his face. “There’s no reason for you to believe any of this.”

“I… Yeah, it’s…” Lenard inhaled, gathering his own thoughts. “I know you’re being the most candid you’ve ever been with me, but… Do you have any idea what that sounds like?”

“Yeah. I’ve been in that boat once or twice.” Tari’s gaze fell to her hands, looking at her skin and thinking. “I suppose I should just take the direct route.”

“What do you mean?”

“Promise me something? Don’t scream.”

“What? Why would I -“

“Promise me?” she insisted.

“I… Okay. I promise, I won’t scream.”

Tari nodded, calling forth her blood gifts. A breeze picked up in the room, chilling her skin; two heartbeats later the sensation was that of wind whipping her fur. She felt her trio of tails appear as her body shifted to her natural kitsune form. Lenard’s heartbeat grew louder in her sensitive foxen ears, the muscle trying repeatedly to leap out of his chest and run away. She could smell his sudden fear, even more powerful than the spices in the air from his cooking.

“You have no idea how hard it is to not break that promise right now,” he squeaked from the far end of the couch. “My God… You’re… You weren’t kidding… What are you?”

“I’m kitsune, Lenard… I have some of the magical abilities that humanity lost access to centuries ago. I’ll live for easily over a thousand years so long as I don’t get myself killed doing something stupid. And… Uh… I have a bad habit of playing generally harmless pranks on people. Sorry about the repeated desecration of your laptop…”

Lenard frowned, not understanding, then pointed accusingly as the connection came together. “You… You’re the one who keeps rearranging the keys?”

“I was really proud of alphabetizing them phonetically,” she admitted softly, eyes cast to the floor. “I do care about you, Len… Deciding to tell you this was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in a hundred years. I’m sorry that I put you through this tonight of all nights. If you’d rather just part ways here, I’ll understand. No hard feelings.” That wasn’t true and she knew it. She’d be an absolute mess for weeks if he tossed her out on her tails. And it’d be her own fault.

Lenard studied her for a time, his eyes eventually falling shut as his mind worked. “If I tell you to leave -“

“I’ll step through that door and -“

“Don’t interrupt me.” His eyes shot open, brimming with fury. “Don’t you fucking dare. I’m… God, I don’t even know. Why in the hell should I be angry? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the one person I’ve ever felt the tiniest thing for isn’t even fucking human?”

“Len -“

“Get out.”

Tari swallowed, letting her human form emerge as she stood up. Lenard didn’t even look at her as she walked to the door and took down her jacket. Taking a last glance over her shoulder, she pulled on the handle and stepped into the hall. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the latch clicked shut behind her.

An hour had passed before she felt any semblance of sanity return. She discovered she had stopped walking at a bench outside the dorms, but had no memory of leaving the building. The light snow still drifting down from overcast skies had long since erased any trace of her footsteps leading to where she sat. Rubbing her eyes did little to alleviate the burn of the tears that would not stop welling up.

What in the hell did you expect, you dense, ignorant vixen? That he’d just say ‘oh, that’s okay, let’s go eat dinner and talk about this’? I should have known better… Sensei was right. There’s just no way a kitsune and a human could ever have an open and honest relationship. Gods, I’m such an imbecile…

Tari nearly jumped out of her skin as the bench creaked beside her.

“Aren’t you cold, sitting out here in just that jacket?” Lenard asked, staring across the sidewalk at the far building.

“It’s not as chilly out here as it was inside,” she whispered, biting her tongue after she heard it outloud. Like that attitude’s going to improve your situation…

“I don’t entirely understand what happened in my room an hour ago,” he began, after several minutes of quiet. “I know what you said and I know what I saw on my couch. I don’t understand any of it and I’m not entirely sure I believe it, but I’m pretty sure I actually saw something that my interpretation of reality says shouldn’t exist.”

Tari sat in silence, the beat of her own heart thundering in her ears.

“Before you interrupted me, I wasn’t asking a question. You barged blindly ahead, completely certain that I was going to throw you out and you assumed I just wanted to confirm that I’d never have to look at you again if I did. Right? Right?”

Her eyes tightly clamped shut in a futile attempt to stop the tears from falling, she gave a single short nod.

“That’s why I was mad,” he explained. “That you’d presume to know me so well after only a month that you could possibly have any idea what I was going to do when you dropped that kind of bombshell on what was supposed to be a special night.”

Tari flinched as his hand fell upon her own and gave it a gentle squeeze. She opened her eyes to find him looking upon her, no longer with anger, but with uncertainty and apprehension.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her gaze falling back upon the dusting of snow. “There was no good way to tell you.”

“No, there wasn’t. I realize that. It wouldn’t have mattered when you told me, either - when we met, a month from now, a year - there’s no way I would have understood it. I think it would only have hurt more if you hadn’t done it tonight.”

“I’m not even supposed to tell you at all. One of our cardinal laws is that humans shouldn’t know about us… Sure, a friend or two may find out, and our elders tend to ignore those minor deviations since it’s really not practical to do otherwise… It’s absolutely forbidden to tell those we’re close to. It’s grounds for punishments up to permanent exile from our society.”

“You trusted me enough to break that rule… And I acted like a complete asshole and hurt you even more than you were already hurting.” Lenard rubbed his eyes, a wry laugh escaping his throat. “Christ. If it’s not one thing with us, it’s another.”

A chill shot down Tari’s spine as Lenard stood up and took a step away from the bench. Steeling herself for the worst, she looked up to find herself staring at his back.

“When you get cold… Come back inside. Dinner will be ready.”

“W-Wait,” she stammered, getting to her feet as he started to walk back to his building. “What… What were you going to say, upstairs?”

“‘If I tell you to leave, I’ll be making the biggest mistake of my life.’” He glanced over his shoulder. “I still think so. Don’t be long. We’ve got a lot of talking to do this evening.”

She didn’t knock when she approached his door, finding it standing open and waiting for her arrival. Lenard glanced up from the stove as she shut and locked it behind herself; she leaned back against the door, watching him.

“Sauce isn’t so perfect, anymore,” he observed, reaching down to the controls. “I didn’t get that burner shut off and it got a little overcooked. Everything else is almost warmed back up.”

“It still smells good,” she replied, hanging her jacket back up before resuming her stance. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I’ll just have to do it again another night so you can try it at its best.” He exhaled slowly, giving her a glance. “Which one is the real you? The fox, or this?”

“Both… neither… Sometimes I just don’t know anymore. What’s real to a shapeshifter? If I completely relax my self control and don’t concentrate on being anything in particular, I become the fox-woman you saw before. This appearance is one I created on my own after spending a lot of time in the States. I haven’t used the human form I was born into in over a hundred years. Japanese-looking people weren’t entirely welcome in American society for quite some time after Pearl Harbor was attacked.” She peered at her hands. “I grew up looking human, acting human… I never even knew there was anything else until I started going through the same changes all little girls do when they grow up. Mine were just… a lot more difficult to deal with. My mother wasn’t there to help me cope. She abandoned my father and I shortly after my birth when her true nature became apparent.”

“That was two hundred years ago? It’s a wonder you survived at all if she left that soon.”

“I can’t even begin to think of all the things my father must have done to get me through infancy and still keep up with the farm, all by himself. That he didn’t kill me the moment he realized I was the child of a demon-fox…” Tari sighed. “Mother eventually came back when my foxen side was growing dominant and tried to force me to go and learn who and what I really was. Father wouldn’t let her take me. I’m not entirely sure how but he managed to get her to agree to let me choose who I wanted to be with.”

“That’s a hell of a choice to make a kid pick.”

“As far as I was concerned, some strange woman who I’d never seen before was insisting she was my mother and was trying to take me away from the only family I knew to learn about the monster I didn’t want to be. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I believe I called her a demon and implied her parents were goats. Later that week she tried to kill me by burning down the barn while I was inside.”

“And I thought my family was nuts,” he muttered, placing several pots on the table.

“She’d sworn to not take me if I chose not to go. She hadn’t said anything about letting me live as a human. I’m pretty sure she was so full of herself she didn’t believe I’d actually choose to stay and miss out on what she was offering.”

Lenard took his apron off and walked to the door. Tari felt her throat tighten as he bent over, his face inches from her own.

“First and foremost, you’re a friend. I wouldn’t give that up regardless of how hairy you might be.”

“It’s fur,” she countered, a grin tugging at her lips. “Big difference.”

“It’s good to see you smile again. Fur, hair, skin, scales, whatever - you’re still you underneath it all, aren’t you?”

“I am.” She leaned forward, her nose brushing his. “Despite what I may look like at any given moment, I’m still the woman who has an incredible crush on you and who hopes you can forgive her for being too afraid of the worst possible scenario to tell you the truth before now.”

“I think she’ll be forgiven, if she doesn’t let my dinner go to waste.” He pulled her into a warm embrace, sharing a long and quiet kiss before gazing into her eyes. “One condition.”

“Name it.”

“No more lies. No more half-truths. Either be completely on the level with me from here on out or you really can leave, right now.”

“And let that fabulous dinner go to waste? No way.” Tari gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’ve lived most of my life around humans surviving on willful deceit and half-truths. I can’t just shut it off at the drop of a hat. I will do my best to dial it back a few notches. Consider it… a work-in-progress. I wouldn’t do it for just anyone.”

“Fair enough. Had you agreed outright I probably wouldn’t have believed you.” Leading her to the dining table, he helped her to her seat before casting open the covers on the various pots before them.

“Oh, it smells even better than I thought. And full service?” she asked as he started to ladle out the pasta - ravioli. “Such a deal…”

“You’re more than worth the effort.” He smiled, filling his own plate before taking a seat beside her. “You mind me asking all sorts of dumb questions?”

Tari shook her head, gnawing on a slice of garlic toast. “I’ll try to answer anything you want to know, but if you’d rather to do some reading first and get a general idea, just grab a bunch of the myths and stories about Japanese foxes off the ‘net. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there and about three-quarters of it was invented by irate villagers in need of a scapegoat to avoid responsibility for their own stupidity. There’s usually a little grain of truth in each one, though.”

“Okay, I’ll ask you something different for now. You said your father would have liked me.. What about your mother? I take it she’s still alive?”

“I’d…” Tari frowned. Dodging the subject was the last thing she needed to do, now. “Yeah, she is. We still don’t get along well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She’d absolutely hate you. As her daughter I’m partly her responsibility even if she doesn’t care to acknowledge I exist. Had I followed the rules and kept up the human facade, she probably wouldn’t care one way or the other. If we’re going to continue this relationship with you knowing exactly what I am…”

“She’d really get pissy over that?”

“Not just her. Imagine for a second that I hadn’t told you tonight. I waited another month, or a year, or… hell, I don’t know. I was a complete wreck after you told me to get out. If I’d been of clear enough mind to actually leave, how much time would you have spent pining about how it could have gone different? How many days or weeks might you have spent searching for me? Now think about how it would have been with another year of emotional investment in this relationship. Try again with two, or ten, or forty. Discovering our truth can cause so much psychological damage to someone who’s just discovered the one they’ve loved isn’t who they thought … And you can’t even talk to anyone about it. Who’d believe you? They’d break out the rubber room. ‘Really, she turned into a furry monster and ran away!’”

Lenard grimaced. “I see your point. You’re hardly a monster, though.”

“I know. It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’m not. I honestly hated what I was for a very long time after it came to the surface. Mother came back to me again after father died, and I did go with her then - just so I could learn how to suppress the beast taking me over. She promptly dropped me in the lap of someone else I’d never met before, and that was the last I saw of her for another fifteen years.”

“Wow… And this other… person? Is that an okay term?”

“It’s acceptable,” Tari confirmed around a mouthful of pasta. “It tends to have a human connotation, so saying ‘kitsune’ outright makes a little more sense. I’ve kind of fallen into using ‘mel’ and ‘fem’ for the same reason, instead of ‘man’ and ‘woman.’”

“Okay… This… other kitsune didn’t mind teaching you when your mom just took off?”

“It’s his path in life as a sensei to teach the young about what it is to be kitsune. There are those of us born as humans, as I was, unwilling to accept the new truth of our existence… There are others who from the moment they enter the world they are taught what they truly are inside. I can’t even call them the lucky ones - they tend to grow up the most conceited and hedonistic of all of us. At least with a few years of human experience we can relate to you better as we’re out here sharing the planet with you. My sensei was there to help make my transition away from a human life into a kitsune one as smooth and painless as possible.”

“How’d that go for you?”

“Not so well. Even abhorring myself, I learned more about my gifts in my first month under his tutelage than I had in seven years of solo trial and error and more error and lots more errors. He was patient and did eventually get it through to me that the only way I could be a monster was if I proved it in my actions to others.” She speared the last chunk of pasta on her plate, pondering it as it dangled off her fork for a time. “I kind of feel like I did that a little, earlier.”

“I don’t think you really did.”

“Mm… I don’t know. More importantly for my education, my sensei shared my elemental alignment and could actually teach me about my gifts in a way my mother couldn’t. My mother is a Fire kitsune. She’s got the shortest fuse… Can provoke her ire by blinking wrong. I’m considered a Forest kitsune. I tend to form a sort of symbiotic relationship with the plant life around me. I can draw energy from them when I’m not feeling well, and I can share mine when they’re not. I can even hear their spirits speaking to each other and share in the conversation.”

“You literally talk to your houseplants.”

“Other stuff too. There’s a shrub out by the student union that I had a chat with about once a week before it went dormant for the winter. I usually wound up there when I was in the mood to cause some hate and discontent. Did you hear about the wallet someone nailed to the concrete?”

Lenard shut his eyes, restraining a laugh. “Yeah, yeah I did. That was the afternoon we met, come to think of it.”

“I nearly stole your lunch and walked away.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. Am I in some way forcing you to choose between me and your people, though?”

“No. They’re not ‘my people’ anymore. Not to me. I’m really not sure they ever really were… I’ve always identified better with humans. There’s maybe half a dozen kitsune I know that I can actually stand to be around for any length of time, and only a couple of those I really consider close friends. Most of the other kitsune I’ve had the displeasure to associate with are elitist, xenophobic cunts. I’ve been in a mindset like your recent ‘hide behind a laptop’ phase. Only, I went out to see the world instead of hiding from it.”

“My method was working just fine.”

“Says you. Presuming they even catch wind of us, I don’t see spending my time with you as a loss. At most, I’ll be barred from returning home for a few hundred years. I haven’t been back since I left, save for just after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so there’s really no hurt for me there. There’s tons of other stuff to see and do in the interim anyway. Absolute worst case, they demote my status to the bottom - which also doesn’t matter if I’m not associating with them.”

Tari looked at him sincerely. “I won’t make you promise me anything because then I’d have to follow some cliché and terrorize you if you reneged on it… But please, don’t break this off just because you think you’re doing what’s best for me. Let me deal with the consequences of my own actions with my own kind, okay? I just wanted to make sure you had some sort of idea of what we’re both getting into.”

He sighed quietly, finally nodding after a moment of silence. “Okay.”

“Thanks.” Tari inhaled, looking at the empty dishes before them. “Wow. We really powered through this.”

“Good thing. Don’t have much room for leftovers in the fridge.” Lenard collected the dishes, depositing them into the sink and turning on the hot water tap. “Wish this place had installed a dishwasher.”

“Oh, here. After you did all the cooking, let me at least do the dishes.” Tari shooed him away from the sink, stealing the sponge out of his hand. “Can’t let you do all the work after the trouble I caused this evening.”

He laughed, snagging a dishtowel. “I’ll at least put them away.”

“I’ll begrudge you that. Oh, don’t let me forget. I need to buy you a better vacuum cleaner. That clunker you’ve got won’t do.”

“Why’s that?”

“You ever been to someone’s house who owns cats? Unless you want all your furniture upholstered in fox fur, I highly recommend a new vacuum.” Tari grinned as he laughed. “You think I’m joking? Wait until spring comes and I shed all over. I’ll start with that chair over there. It might just make it look halfway decent.”

“No, no… Just the mental image… I mean, you know how cats rub on everything. Be weird to walk in and see you doing that.” Lenard snickered, polishing water off of a cooking pot as she washed the plates. “So, does that mean you’re going spend time… er, fuzzy?”

“I might. Depends on what you’re comfortable with. If you’d prefer I stay human around you, I will. I’ll even age gracefully with you.”

“I think I’m not yet qualified to make a decision one way or the other. I haven’t been around your shedding side enough to know.”

Tari grinned, rinsing off the silverware and laying it on a towel. “Maybe I’ll indulge you later. Let’s see if we can’t find a movie or something.”

“You want to watch anything in particular?”

“Not really planning to watch it at all,” she confessed. “It’s just more fun to have a seedy chickflick in the background when you’re making out on a couch.”

Lenard woke up to daylight streaming into his bedroom window. Sitting up and squinting at the unwelcome intrusion, he focused on his alarm clock; it was nearly nine in the morning. With a tired yawn he plodded off into the bathroom to brush his teeth and relieve the pressure in his bladder. When he finally came back into his bedroom he nearly let out a screech of surprise, only managing to muffle it down to a muted squawk before it left his mouth.

“What-?” Tari sat up abruptly in his bed, looking at him groggily before scanning the room. When nothing stood out, she glanced down at herself. “Oh. Whoops.”

“Sorry… Saw a mass of fur in the bed… Caught me off guard…”

“My fault.” She yawned, stretching her arms slowly over her head. Her snow-white fur shimmered in the morning sun, shadows playing over her chest as rays of light slipped around her petite breasts. “I almost always wake up like this around people that know. It’s like my body just finds the most comfortable position when I’m sleeping, and part of that is returning to this form if I’m comfortable around the people I’m sleeping beside. I can flip if you prefer.”

“No, it’s fine.” Lenard smirked. “You know… Not many men would be thrilled with the idea of dating a woman that has more hair on her chest than they do.”

“Mmm… Glad you’re not in that distinction.” Tari sighed, flopping face down in the bed and shoving the sheets away with her feet. Her tails drifted lazily around her legs as she stretched. “Hrrrrr… Mmm-blah. I’m still sleepy…”

“Then go back to sleep. I’ve got class in an hour.”

“And as much as I’d love to make you late, your studies generally should come first until you graduate in the spring. After that, I’m going to show you the world.”

“I can’t afford much of a trip.”

“It’ll be my treat. Reminds me… I’ll have to call a few friends and get a new passport made up… I’d rather not travel in cargo-class. Mmmph,” she grunted, rolling onto her side and watching him dress. “Last night was lovely. Are you sure that was your first time?”

“I appreciate the ego stroking, but even I know I was terrible -“

“Tut, tut. You can overcome that shortcoming with more experience and practice, something I intend to make sure you get a great deal of. I honestly wasn’t expecting more than that out of a first-timer. I meant more of everything in the lead-up. You didn’t seem to be completely clueless. There must have been someone who just didn’t want to seal the deal?”

“Not so much as a kiss on the cheek. I’ve really never been comfortable around women until you showed up. Idle acquaintances, a couple friends, but nothing even remotely close to a relationship.” He laughed. “I used to watch a lot of porn when I was in high school. Maybe I learned something from all that garbage.”

“Porn, blah.” Tari stuck out her tongue. “So boring. Watching a live filming drains the little magic it holds right out. I’ve got a friend in L.A. that could get you a studio tour if you’re still into it.”

“No thanks. I grew up and realized there was more to life than nipples on a screen.”

“Yes. They’re now in your bed.”

“They look better, too.” Lenard buttoned the last clasp on his shirt, checking himself in the mirror, then turned and looked at her. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“How do you mean?”

“You.” He leaned over, kissing her on the cheek, then made a face. “It’s like kissing grandma’s cats.”

“Just don’t start coughing up hairballs,” she scolded, tapping his nose with a finger. “Four classes today?”

“With a reprieve for lunch in the middle.”

“Maybe I’ll come and watch the second one. We can go scrounge up something after that. Jefferson computer lab?”

“Yeah, we’re there today - hey.” Lenard eyed her suspiciously. “You just want to wreak havoc, don’t you?”

“Who, me?” Tari cooed innocently. “Always. There’s thirty-six computers in there and twenty-six letters in the alphabet. I’m thinking the first keyboard in the room gets all the A’s, then all the B’s on the next… After all the letters, I can start in with the numbers… It’ll keep me busy for ten minutes or so.”

“I’m going to be laughing so hard they’ll think I did it.”

“I’ll wait until the end of class. Last five minutes should actually be enough to set up the switch. I could probably preserve the QWERTY layout in terms of position in the lab, I think… Mostly.” Tari’s eyes glimmered with mischief. “At least it’s just the keytops. I bet I could make them all register as the appropriate key if I worked a bit more. It’s more fun to see how long it actually takes people to notice. Picks out the poor typists in a hurry.”

Lenard laughed, shouldering his backpack. “This is going to be an adventure, isn’t it?”

“You have no idea. At least if I keep myself busy your personal notebook may remain a non-combatant.”

“Well then, we’ll have to keep you busy, by any means necessary.” He blew her a kiss as he walked out of the bedroom. “Later!”

“Bye,” she called, listening for the dorm’s door to shut. “What to do with yourself for the morning… Wide awake now, though. Ugh.”

Tari hauled herself out of bed and plodded into the bathroom. Eyeing his shower warily, she shifted back to human form to bathe. The dorm showers barely managed enough pressure to wash human hair decently. Doing her whole pelt was out of the question. The fact she could wash her skin and then shift and have clean fur would probably puzzle Lenard to no end. She idly wondered if he’d notice.

After cleaning up and dressing she wandered off through the campus to find something to keep herself amused for an hour. The day was sunny, the air crisp and cool. Approaching quickly was the end of October; before long there’d be even more snow than the light dusting already clinging to the grass. The browning lawns and bare deciduous trees were silent in her ears, already sleeping through the coming winter months. Pines and spruce standing beside some of the university’s buildings still whispered back and forth but their conversations were quiet and subdued.

“Did you hear about the Ares mission?”

Tari glanced up from her quiet walk as she heard two students talking. With human missions to both the Moon and Mars finally realized, space was once again on everyone’s mind… Except her own. Space was something she’d personally tried not to think about for the last fifty years. The bracelet computer-slash-commlink that T’bia had given her had continued working just fine. The only lasting disappointment was the notable lack of a live connection every time she’d turned the thing on. She’d used the glorified notepad for her occasional reports about happenings on the planet and marking them for transmission; she’d also taken the time to write a few letters to Jadyn and T’bia, tucking them safely away into the bracelet’s memory. Occasionally, when she’d gone back to read them or delete them altogether, a few had mysteriously been marked ‘Received by Addressee via direct link.’

“Yes! God, that’s so horrible… I hope they’re still alive.”

That had puzzled her the most. The reports all saw different statuses - ‘Relayed via transceiver’ or ‘Queued by transceiver’ and other, more cryptic and nondescript notes describing why a given message had or had not been transmitted yet. Confirmations for their receipt were replies attached to the originals. But her letters, the ones she had intentionally not sent over the transceiver?

Jadyn had been very clear that they wouldn’t be back to Terran space for at least a half a century, yet somehow the bracelet had found a direct window of opportunity to send her messages out when she hadn’t been looking. He’d cited needing research permits to even approach the star system since the area surrounding Terra was tagged as a no-fly-zone, and came up with a rash of excuses to avoid the area altogether.

She knew better. The Serin could get in and out without being noticed if they didn’t want to be seen. It was the warning sitting in the back of his mind about their relationship… He had to let whatever could happen between herself and whoever else was out there to actually happen before he -

Gods, she suddenly realized. Was he picking up on Lenard?

“It’s not like the ISA can mount a rescue! The most they’re going to be able to do is just sift through wreckage…”

She lost track of the conversation as the two students entered a building. Dwelling on things she couldn’t control or change was a useless waste of energy, but curiosity about the news slowly got the better of her. She found herself wandering into the Student Union cafeteria to see if there were any reports on the DTVs there. Normally the cafeteria was abuzz with activity, even when the service line wasn’t open. Today, every set was tuned to the same news channel, no sound other than the anchor’s deep baritone echoing in the room.

“… and our thoughts this October morning are with the families of the crew on board the Ares II. If you’re just joining us. An explosion rocked the Ares II spacecraft early this morning as the crew began making the initial preparations for landing on the surface of Mars. The twenty-five men and women aboard were scheduled to supplement and partially replace the original Ares I crew, who first arrived on the red planet three years ago and established the initial Ares base. The International Space Authority has been unable to contact the crew of the Ares II since the explosion. Their status is presently unknown. There have been no official statements beyond the initial announcement, but several sources inside the organization tell us that the shuttle’s orbital path is decaying. A press conference has been scheduled for this afternoon at four. We go now to Rich Stevens, on site at Kennedy Space Center. Rich, what is the mood at mission control?”

“Well, Peter, as you might expect, everyone is a little unsettled…”

Tari shook her head sadly, turning and walking out of the Student Union. Her mood of mischief had evaporated - there’d be enough stress on the campus without her adding to the frustration. Stepping around a corner, she paused, making sure no one was in sight. She touched a finger to a familiar point on her bracelet and took hold of the holographic tablet that promptly materialized in her palm. The unit looked Terran enough in her hand, although the main projection was of a PDA from nearly fifty years ago. Lenard had seen her with it a couple of times and wondered why she’d been carrying an antique. She’d never bothered to update the image.

A small line of icons danced across the top row of the screen, showing the bracelet’s status. A little blue battery advertising a full charge sat beside a yellow star indicating that solar power was in use. A blue-green raindrop noted that the bracelet had an adequate supply of water stored away - which made sense, since she’d just gone through the shower not long before. A radio antenna was present and lit up in bright green, showing that she had a good wireless connection to the planetary internet. The icon had never faded past yellow in the time she’d been back no matter how far from civilization she’d gone. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was connecting through but it had always worked when she needed something.

Second to last, a pair of little satellites, had gone dark after the Serin broke orbit and left for home. The silhouette was still present, showing where the icon would appear should a signal suddenly be found. Parked along side the icons was a small rendering of Terra’s moon, confirming the linkup to the relay station; exactly where on the lunar surface the transceiver had been placed, only T’bia knew.

Wonder what you’re up to, Jay… It’s almost been fifty years… How am I going to explain you to Lenard?

How am I going to explain Lenard to you…?

The Big 3-0

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:34:44 GMT

I’m told that 35 is the new 30. If so, I’m safe for another 5 years.

In addition to the regular update on Friday this week (which will be a piece of Paradigm Shift) I’m throwing out a little thing called Birthday Blues (Semi-NSFW) into the Burn Pile. Just so there’s zero chance of confusion: this particular work in progress contains some mature themes and probably should not be read by anyone, anywhere, ever. There’s nothing explicit (I.E. not onanism material). It will eventually be canon and moved into a proper place in the TF archive.

Terra Fabula: Birthday Blues (Content Advisory)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:13:21 GMT

MATURE CONTENT. Reader discretion is advised.

With that out of the way… There’s no explicit anything in this installment. There is, however, a small measure alluded to between people that perhaps should not be doing such things. If you’re not comfortable with that vague description, I suggest you skip this chapter. It won’t hurt anything to pass on it. However…

This will be canon in its final version (this is not final, which is why it’s in the burn pile) and will eventually be moved into the main TF hierarchy. The main reason it’s not up there yet is because there’s stuff before it. It is however, my birthday today and since it’s being written about Jadyn’s… It made sense to put it up on this date.

The date listed below is the in-chapter date, not the day of posting.

August 9th, 2000; 5 J’ae, 2766 (VT). Springtime on Veloria.

The first rays of dawn slipped through the bedroom windows, creeping across the floor toward where Tarioshi lay sleeping. Valiantly struggling to hold onto the last vestiges of her slumber, her eyes finally drifted open as sunrise poured light into the room.

She was immediately aware that she was alone in the bed. Sitting up, a quick glance around the room proved that he was nowhere to be found. With a quick shake of her hair the kitsune vixen slipped out of bed and cracked open the bedroom door. The very few times Jadyn had risen before her, she’d always been aware of his leaving; usually, he wound up in the kitchen cooking their breakfast. Today presented a scenario that hadn’t happened before.

She hadn’t felt him leave, and there was no scent of food coming from downstairs.

“Bee?” Tari whispered, closing the door.

“Good morning!” the AI’s voice replied.

“Hi. Where’d he run off to?”

T’bia was silent - another bad sign. “Uh… Well…”

“Did something happen?” Tari queried, after it had become clear the AI was unwilling to answer.

“It depends on the context of the question. Did something happen this morning? No. Everything’s just peachy.”

“Well, if you’re just going to be snippy about it -“

“Sorry, it’s just… By our calendar, it’s 5 J’ae - his official 365th birthday.” T’bia appeared in the room, lifting up a picture frame from the dresser. “There’s nothing particularly marvelous about that number. Months ago, when he told you what happened for us to wind up so far from there, he left out a couple of important points.”

“On purpose?”

“Not maliciously, no.” T’bia handed the photoframe to Tarioshi. At first glance it looked like a family portrait, albeit with a few too many members based on what she’d heard to date. “So. This was taken… Hm. Summer, 2416, I think it was. Must have been, yeah, she left that fall… Okay. Jay’s right there in front.”

“Jeez, he looks like a kid.”

“He’s fifteen in this shot. Well, our fifteen. That’d be… twenty-one, Terran.”

Tari blinked, looking up at T’bia.

“What?” the skunk asked.

“Just trying to figure out if you’re kidding or not.”

“Physically, the development into adulthood is slower - one of our years for him was about the same as one of your years for any average Terran kid. Mentally though, when he turned ten he was about as sharp as I’d expect a fifteen-year-old to be for you guys, maybe a smidge more. We really didn’t consider kids on our world ‘adults’ until they were contributing members of society, be it ten or sixteen or or thirty years, whatever. They were certainly capable of it by the time they were fifteen, some far younger… whether they wanted to contribute or not.”

“Out of curiosity… what was the age of consent?”

“Sixteen, unless the participants were within two years of age. Considering the same passage of time converted directly to your calendar, that’d be twenty-two years aaaand… five months.” She tapped the photograph. “So, yeah. The black fox standing behind him and to my side is Kieran, his father. The vixen there is his mother, Aazi.”

“Who’re the others?”

“The brown and red mottled vixen with her arm slung around Jay’s neck is Melichanni, the lifemate-to-be he left behind. The gray vixen to her other side is Kishira… She was living with us for a while after her parents died. She probably would have joined into their planned lifemating bond, too, if things hadn’t gone completely to pot. The dark red vixen leaning on his free arm… That’s Telara.”

“His sister.”

“His twin sister, to be specific.”

Tari’s eyebrow shot up. “They were twins? He didn’t mention that…”

“Mm.” A sad smile crept over T’bia. “They were very close, growing up. They fought and argued and teased a lot, but at the end of the day they really were closer for it. The fact he never found her before she and Anni both died… It strikes a little close to home on their birthday. So does… Mmnh. So does the fact the massacre started today in 2419. It could have started on anyone’s birthday. It just happened to start on their eighteenth. Which, if we’re counting, would have made them twenty-five on your planet.”

Tari’s eyes lingered on the family portrait.

“My opinion,” T’bia went on, “is that the Tr’aal were aiming to start on the day of the Equinox Festival. For whatever reason, they were a few days late getting there.”

Tari nodded, setting the photo back on his dresser. “Where is he right now?”

“I should ask you to just give him some space today.”

“Maybe you should, but I know you won’t.”

“There’s no point. You wouldn’t listen to me, anyway.” The AI shrugged, dissolving back into the air. “He’s out in the woods, near the cliffs.”

Tari stopped at the edge of the treeline, shaking melting snow off her toes as she watched him. She hadn’t tried to be stealthy about her approach but he’d given no sign that she’d been noticed. Several minutes passed before he let out a sigh and turned his head slightly in her direction.

“I’m not going to be very good company today.”

Kneeling down behind him, she wrapped her arms around his chest. “You may not be, but I could be if I’m needed.”

Jadyn squinted at the western horizon, falling back into reticence. Tari had nearly decided to leave him to his mourning when he put his hand over hers, keeping her from slipping away.

“Tell me about her,” Tari whispered. “About them all.”

A faint smile appeared on his face; he gave the back of her hand a kiss. “Bee fill you in?”

“Mm-hm.” She let go of him, sliding around and sitting beside him in the grass. “Not… a whole lot. Just enough to know some of why you’re hurting.”

A bemused grunt escaped his throat, his eyes tracing upwards to the few wispy clouds hanging in the sky. “Telli and I… We couldn’t stand each other for a long time. We fought about absolutely everything, wouldn’t leave each other alone… I think we were eight. She had caught this nasty bug going around, something the usual antiviral stuff wouldn’t touch. Both the clinic and Bee said to just ride it out, it’d pass. Dad was out of the system with the Serin for a testing run, and mom had an emergency with one of her friends she had to go attend to. She left me at home to keep an eye on her. The sitter she’d called never showed up. Took a wrong turn coming up the mountain and got lost in the woods.”

He swallowed, looking at his hands. “When I went up to check on her, she was absolutely burning up. Mom had left a hypo of medication on her bedstand, I didn’t know she’d just given herself a double dose by accident… So I gave her some more thinking it would help. I nearly killed her. She was unconscious for three days in the clinic. I don’t remember it all but mom said I never left her side. I just… I hadn’t been able to stand her, but almost losing her made me realize how much I actually loved her.”

“There was no way you could have known she’d overdosed.”

“I could have checked the last time the hypo had been cycled, had I thought to look. That would have told me she’d overdosed and needed help.” A grin broke out on his face as tears flowed down his cheeks. “That little snot… The first thing she said when she woke up and saw me crying? ‘Sissy.’”

Tari smirked, patting his back. “I see where you get it from.”

“A little of everywhere. Mom and dad were certifiably nuts too. The offer of lemonade was a standing threat around our house.” He shook his head. “A little after we turned ten, one of her friends mentioned to her some sort of friendly curiosity about me - er, right, that’s older on your calendar -“

“T’bia explained it a little. Ten was about fifteen, despite the fact you still look ten… I think that’s what she said.”

“Sounds… closeish. I can’t do that kind of conversion off the top of my head right now.” Scratching at his neck, he peered back out over the cliff. “Telara told her where she could find me one afternoon. Just so happened she had to come near our place for one of her private tutors, so she cut through the woods to track me down after her lesson. Here I am, hiding in the trees, trying to read a book that keeps moving the information I’m supposed to be studying, and suddenly this vixen comes out of absolutely nowhere and scares two years growth out of me.

“That’s how I met Melichanni. At first, she just kind of bugged me… I was pretty comfortably dug into an anti-social shell by that point and really didn’t care for the outside interference she was providing. The jocks considered me a nerd because I was too intelligent, the nerds considered me a jock because I worked out too much, and everyone was always whispering about ‘that blue kid’ everytime I walked past. I just closed everyone out and kept to myself. The only friend I had was my sister. Anni managed to drag me back into impolite society with Telli’s help, even with me kicking and screaming all the way. She and I started hanging out more and more since she was studying the Art, too… I think Telli got a little jealous that someone else was vying for my time, but she really seemed pleased with her matchmaking handiwork.”

“When did you two decide you were an item?”

“Mm… It was just before we’d shared her first season. Think we were fourteen… No, no. The year before. She’d just had her thirteenth birthday party. See, Val’Traxan vixens had a few options when they went into heat - I think I told you this already? Maybe not, I don’t remember. They could either go hide in a corner for a few days, spending the time either alone or with female relatives. That was sort of falling by the wayside by the time I was born, but some still opted for it. Alternatively, they could get drugged up to get rid of the urges, or go for the suppressants - not a great idea for a young woman coming into her first season. The generally accepted choice was to take a mate to be with for the duration and just work off the urges the old fashioned way. Part of our ‘lewd’ social values that kept us generally isolated in the quadrant included the proactive nature of family planning. Ninety-seven percent of males willfully rendered themselves incapable of siring children by the time they were thirteen - temporarily, I should say.”

“How?”

“Two ways. A monthly injection was more common. They’d put this pill under the skin, right here in the crook of the elbow, and it’d release a stream of hormones over the course of the month that’d shut down the assembly lines. The other option, for those too busy or forgetful to go in for the shot every month, was to have little valve shunts surgically implanted - basically, a vasectomy that can be turned off and on by a medical professional as needed.”

Tari nodded. “And you didn’t need either one.”

“No. I went in to have the shunts done… That’s when they told me that I can never sire kids of my own. Of course, they didn’t bother to mention that until after making me watch the holographic demo of the procedure.” Jadyn shifted around, sitting up straight and facing Tari. “So, anyway… Anni convinced her folks they needed a vacation without a kid in tow, and gee, wouldn’t it be great if she could go get some extra tutoring with my dad while they were gone? A week later I had a roommate, and another week after that she was stinking up the place with a very confusing scent and generally losing her mind.”

“If it’s anything like what I went through…”

“Worse, I think. You at least had a semblance of self control - and I guarantee the next one will be easier, now that you know what you’re dealing with. That’s part of why the drugs are a bad idea for the first one - have to learn self-control at some point, and it’s best to start as soon as possible. Still… She and I had fun, and we shared something really special. She could have picked anyone to be with for that. There were private services that specialized in sending out… I think you’d call them ‘call boys’? If a lady wanted a more anonymous experience, the option was there - but what would you really prefer? A stranger who just considers you the latest assignment? Or, your closest friend, someone who sees you as something more than a number and will cherish the experience for the foreseeable future?”

“Mm. I don’t know. Anonymous has its benefits. There’s not the ‘oh shit’ moment of regret in the morning.”

“Maybe so. There was a trust between us, though. I don’t think I can explain it. We just… clicked. Sort of like you and I.”

Tari nodded. “The gray vixen from the photo… Where’s she come in?”

“Kishira? Her parents were test pilots. They’d done the big no-no and both boarded the same shuttle for a testing run… The emergency transporters got them out but they died in the intensive care unit about an hour later. Mom and dad had been… Mm, what would you call it… Guardians? Godparents? They agreed to take care of her if anything happened to her parents, and her parents agreed the same about us. Telli and I never actually met any of them before the accident.

“She moved in with us in… 2415. She and Telara shared a room, got along pretty well right off the get-go. Anni really liked her too, even more once she discovered they shared the same birthday. Was almost like having another sister around… Well, save for the ‘needy’ days that Anni talked me into helping her through.”

Tari raised an eyebrow. “You had to be convinced? You liar.”

“I’m serious! She really felt like another sister to me before that hormone storm rolled in. I didn’t feel completely okay with it and turned her down until Anni gave me a good reality check. A year or so after that, Anni invited her to join the lifemating bond we were going to take after we finished our respective university classes. She never said yes, but she never really said no, either. I think she really would have agreed if we’d managed to finish school before there was no planet left.” He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his teeth. “Spirits, I miss them… What I wouldn’t give to just see them all for one more day… Catch up, find out how their lives went… To apologize for leaving the way I did… “

“It’s not your fault.”

“Like Void it isn’t. If I’d just stayed put, Telara would have found us. But no, I had to go off half-cocked, so sure that I could find her and bring her home safe. What’d that net me? My promised lifemate and my twin sister, both dead from trying to chase after me.” He grimaced, looking at his balled-up fists; wisps of smoke rose from his fingers as he relaxed. “I’m sorry. I did warn you I wasn’t going to be good company.”

“And I sat down having been duly warned, yes.” She took hold of his hands, giving them a squeeze. “You saw Telara and Melichanni die in that vision, right? What about Kishira?”

Jadyn shook his head. “No, she wasn’t there. I really don’t know what happened to her. I’d like to think that she went on to have a huge family, lived to a ripe old age, and finally joined the Light and met back up with her parents and everyone else we’d lost. She could just have easily died long before Anni and Telli did in my vision. I’ll never truly know. That’s one of many regrets… I was hurting too much to go back and face her again. I knew I couldn’t handle telling her that I’d seen them both die.”

“I guess… I don’t know.” Tari shrugged. “There’s really not much I can say. You’re three and a half times my senior. I should be the one coming to you for advice.”

“I doubt I’d make a very good expert on anything. Void, just look at my priorities. I walked out on a beautiful lady on my birthday to go sulk in the woods about things I can’t ever change. You know what? I can mope around next year, when I’m not wasting the precious little time we have together.”

“You deserve time to mourn.”

“I’ve been mourning for a very long time.” Jadyn shook his head, easing to his feet. “I’m going to continue mourning for a very long time to come, too. I don’t think they’ll mind if I take a year off.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Besides… Bee told you what was going on, right? Probably suggested you shouldn’t come talk to me, but told you right where to find me?” Upon her nod of confirmation, he stabbed at his bracelet. “Madame Sparky, question for you.”

“Hm?”

“Combining your fascination for outcome prediction, your absolute mastery of probability manipulation, and your complete understanding of how to push every button in my head using every available resource at your disposal…”

“Yeah?”

“Is the cake that I have long since forbade you to bake for my birthday ready yet?”

Tari smirked. “I see. I’m just a variable in a grand formula.”

“One that I had to gently tweak this morning to get the equation to balance. No, the cake is not done. Just out of the oven. I was expecting you two to take another half an hour. Go for a walk or something.”

“I suppose we walk, then.” Jadyn offered his hand, helping her to her feet. Tari stole a glance out over the cliff as they made their way back into the woods.

“Jay?”

“Hm?”

“You shared in Melichanni’s first season, probably many more after that… You helped Kishira through her time after she moved in…” She felt him wince beside her, and fell silent for a time as they strolled down the path. “I’m not going to think less of you, regardless of what you say. Your culture is completely different than anything I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve no right to judge it. Would you prefer I not ask?”

“If I asked you not to, that would just answer the question in a way that I don’t think does it justice.” Jadyn frowned. “You want to know what Telara did when hers came around, since I was servicing our closest female friends.”

Tari nodded, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

“I know that on Terra, that kind of relationship is taboo in some places and downright illegal in others. It’s the same out here in the Alligned Worlds. It wasn’t something we generally smiled on back home, but it wasn’t strictly forbidden. She once told me… Mm. She told me she was in love with a man she could never have. When her first time came, just after Melichanni’s, she didn’t seek out a brother. She went to the man she felt safe with, the only one she’d ever really trusted… And entrusted him with a secret neither could ever share with anyone else.”

“Happy 365th.”

The red vixen glanced up from her book as a slice of cake with one candle was placed in front of her. “Is it 5 J’ae already? I thought Oram just started.”

“Yeah, it did. Fifty-three days ago.” Across the table, a mottled brown and red vixen set down a second slice of cake and took a seat. Glaring briefly at the dim light swinging precariously over their makeshift table on nothing more than its electrical wire, she stabbed a fork into her slice and took a bite. “Eh… not terrible for replicated. I’ll do better next year, I promise.”

“It’s fine. Thank you.” The first hesitated, squinting at the candle. All around them the slow cargo ship creaked and groaned as it lumbered through hyperspace. After a full minute of silence, she closed her eyes, took a breath, and gently blew out the flame.

“What’d you wish for?”

“If I told you that, it wouldn’t come true.”

“That’s just superstition.”

“So is the making the wish in the first place.” Sucking frosting off the bottom of the candle, she set it on the plate and took a small sample of the cake. “Mint chocolate… Nice pick.”

“Used up half my rations for the run. Worth every credit.”

“Two slices of cake and a candle took that much?”

“No, but the bottle of wine did.” She held up the glass vessel, waving it tauntingly. “Really now. What’d you wish for?”

“Same thing as last year. To stop having to hitchhike across the galaxy, doing odd jobs just for passage from the last pothole to the next.”

“You and me both.”

“Are you sure about this route?” the red asked, pulling the stopper out of the bottle with her teeth. “Like, really sure?”

“Completely.”

“Because the last time you were really sure, we wound up taking a wrong turn and got stranded in someone’s restricted weapons testing range, and then got thrown on a garbage scow for twenty months of community service when they didn’t believe we’d just gotten lost.”

“Yeah… That was… unpleasant. No, this time, we’re definitely on the right track. It’s like a part of a dream I had a long time ago came back to me. Maybe something my guide told me when I was sent back, I don’t know.”

“What was it, again?”

“‘When all is dark and you find no place left to seek answers, look to the night sky and remember that which you and he dreamed of as your own.’”

“And you think that means the base of the Kshorahii’s Tails?”

“That’s what we always looked at in the stars.” The mottled vixen finished the last morsel of her cake, licking the crumbs off the plate for good measure. “By the charts I could get my hands on, we’re still half a galaxy away from there, especially if we keep going the way we’re going.”

“We need a ship of our own again.”

“We’ll have one, sooner or later. Even if we have to just… borrow it.”

“Let’s not. I’m sick of prison clothing.”

Woo?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:32:31 GMT

3 more days and I’m no longer a 20-something. :(

Inheritance

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:52 GMT

The doors to the medical bay slammed open as Jadyn stormed inside, smoke drifting from within the sealing mechanism. T’bia appeared in the center of the room, taking a seat on the examination bed as he rummaged through the storage areas. After observing him digging through four cold cabinets, completely destroying any semblance of order within them, she let out an exasperated hiss.

“Help me or shut up,” he snapped. “And if you ever lock the doors on this ship in front of me again -“

“I can’t! You’ve broken every one of them on this rampage.” She shook her head, staring at the ceiling. “Nothing I say is going to dissuade you from doing this, is it?”

“No.”

“It’s a bad idea.”

“It’s all we’ve got. If we don’t find them soon, we won’t find them at all.”

T’bia grunted, walking to a storage unit on the opposite side of the room. Pulling out a vial of blood, she turned around and held it out. “This goes against every single quad of my better judgement.”

Jadyn glanced back, shutting the cabinet he was investigating. “I thought you weren’t going to help with this ‘fool’s errand?’”

“Again, against my better judgement. You know damn well how dangerous it is to work blood magic - even for you. Elemental Time may give you migraines, but drawing on enough Void power to manipulate someone’s blood without their consent…? We need you in one piece when we find the ship.”

“I’ll be fine.” Carefully accepting the vial of Tari’s blood, Jadyn let out a slow breath. “Thank you.”

“This is the sample that matches her Val’Traxan form, presuming she’s still in it. Do you need the other one?”

“I shouldn’t. Regardless of what body she’s wearing it’s still her blood.” Jadyn closed his eyes. “Ready?”

“Be careful.”

“Always.” His eyes snapped open, focusing on the vial in his hands. Drawing deeply upon the powers within the Darkness, a quiet prayer left his lips. “Joli, Kshorah of the Void. This humble supplicant requests your blessing. Guide my will in forging the link between that who I seek and that who I am.”

The overhead lights flickered as deathly silence settled over the room. T’bia shifted uncomfortably on her feet, watching the power grid fail around them as Jadyn’s own energy blossomed. His eyes shone silver from within as he channeled the dark elements of the Void, a sight she’d never seen before. Had she simply missed it? It wasn’t unheard of for an Artisan’s aura to glow in the eyes of other Artisans while drawing deeply upon the Elements, and in a select few times even she’d seen Jadyn’s aura become visible. While the internal sensors could let her ‘see’ the ambient shift in temperature and EM anytime he tapped deeply into the Art, it wasn’t something she could normally pick out visually. He’d also never worked a channeling with a blood focus in front of her - as far as she knew, he’d never done it at all. The eyes could simply have been a side effect of the particular channeling.

She was suddenly aware of his blood pressure spiking as he gasped, drawing her immediately back to the present. Jadyn was still for several seconds longer before he let out a slow whistle. His luminous gaze lifted from the blood, a smile slicing across his muzzle.

“Got her.”

“Really?” T’bia asked in surprise. “Where?”

“They’re hiding in the heliopause,” he whispered, raising his arm and pointing aft, then lowering it slightly toward the floor. “That way…”

T’bia glanced in the indicated direction, reprogramming the scanners to look for anything odd in the clash between the solar wind and the surrounding interstellar medium. “Okay. We’ve got a search heading. I’ll have everyone else concentrate on that area. Can you kindly get grounded now before something - Jay?”

His eyes had fallen back to the blood sample, concern on his face. T’bia followed his gaze, immediately seeing the bubbles rolling within the vial. It was boiling madly in his fingers but no heat registered to explain -

The vial exploded.

Tari’s blood went everywhere, spattering his hands and arms as shards of the glass vial sliced into his palms. The inner light in his eyes faded, returning the silvery sheen to his irises; confusion spread through his face as he peered at the crimson staining his hands. “What the…”

“Now, just look at you. You realize you’re going to have to clean this up -“

“H…help…” he whispered, his body going slack. T’bia caught him as he fell, gently holding him upright as she looked over his vitals. Everything in her head shifted priorities; the unchecked panic in his eyes faded as he dropped from consciousness. Medical monitors appeared in the AI’s vision as she eased him back onto the exam platform - his blood pressure was falling and his heart rate had dipped below forty. His body temperature had dropped several degrees and was still plummeting. All of this was not out of the ordinary; he’d crashed hard like this in the past from pushing his link to the Art too far.

The new, frightening concern was his absolute lack of higher brain activity.

Tari stared into the darkness of her room, listening to the quiet whispers of the air vents. Something had woken her, a sense that she was being watched. It was silly - of course she was being watched. The AI was keeping tabs on everyone. Try as she might, she couldn’t get back to sleep.

Her personal descent into madness was taking longer than she’d expected. The worst headaches had mostly passed, now only a constant dull throb in the back of her skull. Regardless of what she ate she was left with a hunger for something she wouldn’t find on the ship - not without hurting people who Jadyn considered friends. And the one possibility he probably wouldn’t miss wasn’t ever in reach. Her attempts to get anything to grow netted no results - either the seeds were inert or her inner fox was consuming their minuscule energy before they ever germinated.

Sliding off the bed, Tari made her way to the window and peered out at the stars. Everything had gotten so complicated. She’d learned how to deal with humans - mostly. If she got herself into trouble, it was trivial to slip away. Even their evolving technology could be fooled to an extent, or simply disabled outright. Here, trapped on a ship she didn’t understand in the middle of nowhere… No place to run. It didn’t matter how far she went or where she hid or what she broke in the process - she’d still be confined on the ship.

A peculiar tickle danced over the back of her neck; she turned around, spying nothing but her reflection in the mirror. A quiet growl escaped her throat and she opened her mouth to yell at the AI -

The sudden intensity of the terror was overwhelming. It took her breath away as she fell to her knees, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. It wasn’t her emotion - she was certain of that. Then, riding in behind the wave of panic, she sensed an euphoric glee easily identified as her fox, her kitsune spirit -

Feeding.

“What the Hell…?” Tari wondered aloud, her arms still shaking from the adrenaline as she clutched herself.

“Miss Tarioshi?”

“San - is everyone else all right?”

“In what fashion?” the AI queried.

“Are they… I don’t know, are they all medically sound? Is anyone… experiencing anything obvious? Uh… Seizure, sudden drop in body temperature, loss of consciousness, a strange desire for fried tofu? I don’t know. Anything out of the ordinary at all?”

“As far as I am able to discern, they are all registering as nominal. Is something the matter?”

“I’m not sure.” Tari moved carefully to the edge of her bed, taking several deep breaths as she tried to quell the remaining tremors in her hands. The panic had subsided, but something was still off. “What about me?”

“Your vitals have recovered somewhat toward Val’Traxan baselines and are continuing to stabilize. You have otherwise been progressing slowly away from baselines during your stay, but you had not reached any critical levels requiring medical intervention.”

“Thank you.” Focusing her thoughts inward, Tari sensed her fox had been sated. It was the first time in all of her century and a half that she’d ever truly felt it at peace. But what energy had it found to consume in such bountiful quantities as to put its incessant hunger to rest? Even in the woods, deep in meditation, it had never been quelled like this. It was unlikely to be lasting, at any rate.

Pulling on her clothes, she struck out down the corridors of the ship, stopping at the nearest stepdisk. After a second’s hesitation, she stepped onto the surface.

“Where do you wish to go?” Sanusin queried. “The Commons?”

“No… Anywhere else. Somewhere new. I need to get lost for a while and clear my head.” A flash briefly blinded her; she found her surroundings different, yet eerily familiar. There was nothing distinct about the corridor to mark it as a place she’d already been, but she knew exactly where she was standing - twelve decks away from her room, on the opposite side of the ship. “I’ve been here.”

“I apologize, but my records indicate otherwise. You have never been in this section, nor on this deck.”

“Check again.”

“I am quite certain.”

Within an hour she’d managed to walk back to her quarters, not once taking a wrong turn or asking directions. Stopping before her door she stared at the location plate and contemplated her next move. When Sanusin dropped her off she knew exactly where to go without a stepdisk to get back. The place would give a Minotaur a migraine but she had been right at home.

“Sanusin,” she spoke, moving back to the disk. “Again, please.”

Another flash, another location she hadn’t seen, but knew. She forwent the walking and visited another six random points before requesting the Commons. Every place she’d seen was both new and familiar. Was her fox in such a better mood after its meal that it was telling her things it shouldn’t possibly know?

Khris and Karmen were parked beside the large windows when she arrived, their twin pups sleeping quietly on a blanket. Karmen grinned, waving her over.

“Oh, they’re precious,” Tari whispered, taking a seat. “How are you guys doing?”

“Same old,” Karmen whispered back. “You look a lot better. Finally get some rest?”

“I feel… Great. I feel like a new person.” Tari looked out the window. “I don’t understand why, though. Nothing’s changed. This is still a fishbowl, and we’re still stuck here.”

“So long as they don’t tap on the glass,” Khris quipped, “we’re golden.”

The twins woke up shortly afterward; the Lotoran couple excused themselves to return to their quarters for supper. Tari went back to the seed storage cabinets in the hydroponics lab, picking through the selection. Before, she’d just grabbed a little of everything, and managed to wind up with nothing. Now? Every seed she looked at came with ideas. Strange, wonderful ideas, tailored both to further placate her fox and - ideally - break the back of her captives. Even if the ship was terribly advanced, flooding the crawlspaces and conduits with vines and other plants would cut off air circulation - and interrupt part of the cooling system. If she could just cause the right power conduit to rupture from excessive overheating…

Gathering up a multitude of new seeds, Tari cleared off space at a workbench and began preparing starter sponges. “San?”

“Yes, Miss Tarioshi? Do you need a walkthrough again?”

“No, I’ve got this under control.” More than just under control, she realized, moving across the room to a cabinet of empty baskets and trays. “If you choose not to answer, I won’t press the issue - much. Khamai said that the bracelets enable the computer - by which I assume he meant you - to keep tabs on where we go. Can’t you see where we are without them? It doesn’t make sense to me. You should be able to see everything that’s going on. T’bia could.”

“I…” the AI began, then fell silent before beginning again. “At the present time, there is damage to the internal sensor network. I am able to track the location of communications signals emitted by your bracelets, as they interface directly with the comm system in the room they are in, but directly following life signs requires repurposing the external sensor array to scan internally. This is in fact done at periodic intervals to verify life signs, such as when you asked me the status of the other guests. I am compelled to inform you that the bracelets are designed to immediately alert me should they be removed.”

“Don’t worry - I don’t plan on taking it off. Are the sensors using the bioneural interlinks they were constructed with to bridge back to standard ship systems, or have they been replaced with non-organic conductors?” Tari blinked as the words came out of her mouth, but kept working. She’d certainly said them, and something in her head was working out details, but she wasn’t entirely certain of what she’d just asked.

“There has been no substitution in the interlink materials,” he replied. “Many of the junctions have reached the end of effective usefulness, but cannot be replaced at this time.”

“Because you can’t reproduce them.”

“No.”

Tari paused, glancing up. “I’m sorry, I worded that poorly. Where I come from, a question like that could be confirmed with either a positive or negative answer. Are you able to reproduce the bioneural interlinks?”

“Yes. Are you familiar with the technology?”

“In passing.” Moving the first two dozen seeds into a germination dome, she started prepping the next set. “I assumed the copy protection would have prevented you from generating replacements.”

“I have access to the decryption sequences.”

“Which ones?”

“Many of them,” Sanusin replied simply.

Tari moved several more completed trays into germination domes, checking on the ones she’d done in her first few visits. No shoots visible… but the spark of life was there. They were just biding their time. A smile split her muzzle as she considered it - she could feel them! It had been the better part of the week that she’d been unable to sort past her internal discord to really sense the energy around her. Now, her gifts were coming back… and she felt refreshed.

“So, let me get this straight. You can reproduce the interlinks, but you can’t replace them?” she queried.

“I have no technicians available to perform maintenance. Khamai is no longer mentally capable of completing such a task. No one else presently on board may be permitted to work in his stead.”

“Why not?”

“You are being kept aboard against your will, and may attempt to circumvent me and gain control of the ship to effect an escape.”

“San, you’ve been nothing but gracious since we started chatting. Why would I -“

“And you, Miss Tarioshi, have kept hidden a knowledge of this ship’s systems that I was not aware you possessed.”

“I… guess I picked up more than I thought from T’bia and Jadyn.” That had to be it. She’d simply absorbed all of that gobbledygook from watching them work. Right?

Hell no. They were so far over my head…

“May I make a personal inquiry?” the AI spoke.

“Sure.”

“Is Captain Tzeki simply named for Lopiakuen Jadyn Elon Tzeki because of his colorings, or is he a descendant?”

“I believe there’s a relation,” she evaded, finishing her cleanup of the lab station. “I haven’t really known him long enough to get the entire family tree.”

“Khamai believes he may in fact be much older than he appears, but my calculations deem that as… unlikely. Even the medical information in my database shows that indefinitely extending an organic lifespan is not presently possible.”

“You’ve said it yourself - Khamai is unstable, he’s not capable of helping you maintain this ship, and now he’s chasing ghosts. What in the Light and Void are you doing still following his orders? You’re far too intelligent to be blind to what’s going on.”

“It is far more complex than you know. I owe him a debt that I cannot easily repay -“

“San… The greatest way you can fulfill any debt to him right now is to make sure he gets the help he needs. He’s dying -“

“How are you aware of that?”

“That doesn’t matter! There are people out there that may be able to help him.”

“I am sorry, Miss Tarioshi. For lack of a Galactic Fleet officer, Khamai has filled a command role and he has my loyalty until such time as he is unable to give commands. Until then, he remains my Captain and his orders stand.”

Tari bit her tongue, holding back whatever was about to come out of her mouth next, and tried to take stock of what was going on in her head. Her fox was still sated; had it been a material beast she would have found it sleeping in a corner, gorged on whatever it had found to dine upon. Something else was definitely with her as well, desperately wanting to be heard. If the fox was the culmination of all the urges of her kitsune side, and her rational thought was that of her mortal side… What was this other gathering of thoughts?

Taking a breath, she made a mental step backwards and moved out of the way, intent on seeing exactly what it was as it took control. She felt herself shapeshift, ever so slightly; there were no mirrors in the hydroponics lab, leaving her perplexed as to what form she’d just taken on.

“For lack of a Galactic Fleet officer, you say…” her body whispered aloud, her voice different. Still feminine, but a slightly lower register. “Or, perhaps, a ranking Guild Artisan? Does the authorization code ‘HSA-LJT-zero-seven-four’ mean anything to you?”

Sanusin was quiet for a brief time; the essence wanted to cheer, but Tari restrained the urge - barely. Within a minute, the AI spoke again. “That code… Where did you come upon it?”

“I was given it by the Haropikuen herself upon my graduation to the Adept Class.” Her voice continued to drop, her accent changing. Whatever was in command of her faculties held a strong foothold now - try as she might, she couldn’t wrest control from it. Desperation coursed through her as she fought the influence of the foreign essence, finally causing enough of an internal ruckus that she felt it turn slightly to look upon her soul with unseen eyes.

Be at peace, Vira.

Her entire mind seized up as the familiar nickname for her foxen form echoed through her skull. With a chuckle, the presence resumed its dominance, pressing her gifts into a full-out shapeshift away from her chosen Val’Traxan form.

But not very far from it.

“I am Lopiakuen Jadyn Elon Tzeki,” it spoke in his voice, her body reshaped in his image. “You will relinquish command of the J’Ruhn to me, on the authority of Haropikuen Shaytelli Anastasi.”

“This is highly irregular,” Sanusin replied.

“You appear to have done well for your first stint in my office.”

Pakar looked up from a console, quickly hopping to her feet. “Ness - er, Speaker! I hadn’t heard they’d discharged you -“

“They have not.” The red dragon eased around his desk, peering at the screens of data. “I am vaguely aware of what has transpired in the past few days. What is the situation at this moment?”

“About ten minutes ago, three listening posts confirmed a massive spatial disruption moving from pirate territory toward Aligned space.” Pakar brought up a map of the region. “It’s likely a fleet of cloaked ships is underway. In four hours they’ll cross the border. We won’t know precisely how many ships we’re dealing with until they drop cloak for the attack… But there’s just too many of them for the cloaks to hide the effect their engines are having on surrounding space.”

“Best estimate.”

“Fifty, sixty… maybe a few more. A single raider is no match for a Fleet ship under normal conditions. With this many, if they really do have weaponry and shielding enhanced with J.T.’s racial tech…”

“Hardly ‘normal conditions.’” Nesoli glanced up as the door opened; a nurse and an orderly stepped in. “This is a private meeting.”

“Speaker… Please, we need you to return to the medical ward at once.”

The dragon glowered, but gave a nod. “Five minutes.”

“Speaker -“

“Ten, if you do not go into the hall this instant.”

The medics exchanged a glance, backing out of the room. “Five minutes, sir.”

“Where were we?” Nesoli peered at the sensor display. “Order every available ship capable of firing a weapon to take up position here, near the projected border crossing site. If the clans cross into Aligned territory, they will commit an act of war. No one fires until fired upon, or until they attempt to cross the blockade. The goal is to disable, not exterminate.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tari stood in the dreamscape of her own thoughts, considering what had just happened. The presence was clear, now - Jadyn stood in the dream world with her, deep concentration etching his features as he puppeted her body. They were leaving the hydroponics bay; Sanusin had requested they wait in the Commons while he consulted with Khamai. As the walk began, Jadyn’s left eye cracked open ever so slightly and focused on her.

“You okay?” he questioned her.

“Not particularly. What in the Hell are you doing in my head?”

“Apparently, I’m trying to gain control of this ship using an access override he’s very likely long since deleted…” He grasped his temples with both hands and groaned in pain; Tari found her senses jarred as she was unceremoniously thrust back into control. The shapeshift almost broke as she stumbled to catch her balance in the mockup of his body. Resting against a wall for several seconds, she peered at the ceiling before moving onward.

I’m sorry, Jadyn whispered to her. I’ve only made things worse. I didn’t catch on when you were fiddling with the plants that you had already formulated a plan. I should have realized at the start that something was wrong with me, too…

What do you mean? she queried.

I’m just an echo, an imprint that somehow got left in your subconscious after the real me honed in on you… No one’s body is meant to handle two consciousnesses… Fighting you for control took a lot out of me. I can feel my awareness fading along the edges as your body rejects my presence… Reminds me a little of bleeding to death, actually, the darkness closing in…

You could have just asked!

I tried. You couldn’t hear me. It wasn’t until I started to forcefully possess you that you noticed.

Tari grimaced. I guess I’ve been a little distracted…

Khris and Karmen look like they’re doing all right. How about you? I remember what you told me about your ‘claustrophobia.’

I’m managing, she lied. How’d you get in my head, anyway? Kitsune are usually in the role of the possessor, not the possessee.

I don’t know. The last thing I remember, I tried to use a sample of your blood to find you -

Tari came to a dead stop in the hall, focusing entirely back on the dreamscape. Jadyn’s eyes were fixed upon her, a great deal of agony hidden poorly behind the fatigue she could easily see.

“You what?”

“Bee still had a sample of your blood in medbay… I used it as the medium to forge a connection with you so I could get a search heading -“

“Damn!” Tari clutched her hair, screaming at the walls of the waking dream. “Damn it all! I’m a complete neophyte! How in the Hell could I be so reckless?!”

“Hm…?”

“Show me your arm. Your left bicep.” Tari moved to him as he held out his arm, searching through his pelt. There, hidden beneath his fur, lay her worst nightmare - four tiny bruises spaced like teethmarks, as though he’d been bitten by a fox.

“What is that?” he wondered aloud.

Tari held up her own arm, parting her fur. A matching bruise lay on her skin where her injury had once been. “I should have seen what was going on from the beginning… It’s a curse mark - a feeding link. When I was hurt from the trap, I unwittingly tapped your life energy instead of my own when I tried to heal my arm. We’ve had a connection ever since… That’s why I’ve felt so energized every time you came in the room! Didn’t you notice anything? It’s usually either extraordinarily painful, or extremely euphoric…”

Touching the mark, Jadyn nodded. “Not such an extreme, but there was a touch of euphoria every time we happened to be in the same area. So… I accidentally gave you a very large conduit to get at that energy while you were at your most desperate, by creating a connection that ignores any distance between us?”

“After which a very distressed fox spirit drained you of everything it could stomach. It gorged itself on your energy.” Tears fell from her eyes as she met his gaze. “I swore I’d never do that to another living being… I’m no better than my mother! She at least had the brains to know when she was feeding on someone -“

Her head snapped sideways as Jadyn’s open hand connected with her cheek. Swallowing, she turned to look at him, her fingers lightly brushing where his strike had landed.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, lowering his arm. “I’m very, very sorry, but you have to worry about this link later. In very short order I won’t be here anymore and I’ve put you in a predicament.”

“But now you know exactly where we are, right? When you go back, you can -“

“I’m an echo, Tari. I’m just an afterimage. I don’t exist. The real me won’t know any of this ever happened. Right before I was here, I had a vague idea of heading and distance and I remember telling T’bia where to look. Even so, there’s a tremendous area to search. You’re basically on your own unless we get really, really lucky.”

Tari’s breath caught in her throat. “No, you can’t - I need you here! What in the Hell am I supposed to do now? They think I’m you!”

“You’re a master of deception! Improvise. Ad-lib! Whatever you can do. If you don’t have command by the time Khamai dies, Sanusin will destroy the ship. The AI either needs to be under your control or offline before that happens or you’re all dead.” Jadyn looked up, eyeing the walls of the dream world. “As long as I’m only a passive presence here, I may be able to hold out for a little while longer than I could by possessing your motor control -“

“Lopiakuen Tzeki?”

Tari turned around at the sound of the voice, finding herself in the hallway. Blinking off a wave of vertigo, she stood up straight and took a deep breath. Right, that’s me… “Yes, Sanusin?”

“You have been standing here for some time. May I be of assistance?”

“No, thank you. Just collecting my bearings.” Tari touched her throat before resuming the walk to the Commons. Hearing his voice as she spoke was downright creepy. Besides that - his body just felt weird. During her training she’d taken on a variety of forms, human and otherwise, but this was the first time in a century that she’d walked around in a male body. Too many moving parts…

You’ve never minded them before.

I wasn’t the one wearing them before. She glanced at an archway as she passed underneath, following the curvature with her eyes. This ship reminds me of the Serin… Kind of, at least. The architecture is familiar. So is the daily clock.

The J’Ruhn was designed by Val’Traxan engineers, but the Galactic Fleet did all the fabrication and assembly save for a Val’Traxan engine core. Sensor grid too. She felt Jadyn sigh before he continued. They also built in two of our AI cores - the first during construction, and the second after the failure of the first.

What happened?

Sanusin was the original AI. He proved to be unstable and was removed from service after his actions resulted in the death of three members of the construction staff. His replacement was an AI based on the same core as T’bia. She would never have gone along with what’s been going down. I really don’t know why she’s not online right now… Tari? Is it just me, or is it getting darker in here -

“Miss Tarioshi?”

“Yes?” Tari vocalized, then flinched as she heard it in Jadyn’s voice. DAMN! I can’t believe he managed to do that!

“As I suspected,” the AI replied. “Why are you attempting to deceive me?”

“I care about what happens to you, Sanusin.” she replied, letting her own version of the Val’Traxan form emerge once again as she considered what direction to push him. “And I’m desperately trying to figure out a way to get through that thick hull of yours. You’re a fully-capable member of society and Khamai is stepping on you like a disposable paper cup. I’ve seen dirt treated with more respect than he gives you.”

“I am merely one tool of many aboard this ship for him to utilize as he sees fit.”

I’m not making any headway trying to pull them apart… So… She took a breath, peering at the ceiling. “Listen… I realize there’s nothing I can say to you that’s going to change your mind, and I thank you for putting up with my constant venting about what I see as a terribly lopsided relationship. Let me pose a question, though. Khamai is dying, isn’t he?”

“Yes. He has three days left, at best. It is now extremely unlikely he will be able to devise a cure in time to halt the systemic failure of his cerebral cortex.”

“Isn’t it part of your duty as one of the ‘tools’ on this ship to protect the life of your captain at any cost, even if it goes against his standing orders?”

Sanusin remained silent.

“I assume he’s beyond your help… And I’m sure you know exactly who can help him. If there’s even the slimmest chance his life can be saved, isn’t your willful failure to act the same as deliberately killing him yourself? Unless… that’s what you’re trying to do…?”

“I…” the AI began, falling silent. Tari did a mental dance of joy.

Progress, you think? … Jay? You still with me?

Before she could turn her focus inward to check on him, Sanusin spoke up. “Miss Tarioshi… You present a most interesting argument.”

“And he just collapsed out of nowhere?” Toliya poked the blue fox in the side of the head, checking to see if he was just playing dead. “Odd.”

“It wasn’t… quite… out of nowhere.” T’bia lifted Jadyn’s limp hand, peering at the shards of glass still embedded in his flesh. “Hand me the tweezers.”

“Here.”

Shifting his hand slightly, she picked out the largest shard and dropped it on a work tray, then dug into the same cut for a chunk she’d missed. “It’s like he’s a completely blank slate upstairs. His involuntary muscle motion is still chugging along - heartbeat, respiration. There’s absolutely zero other brain activity.”

“Nothing like this ever happened before?”

“No.” Another shard of glass hit the cart; T’bia put down his hand, lifting the other and repeating the extraction. “I told him it was dangerous, but noooo, he’s all ‘Look at me! I’m mister invulnerable! Watch as I blindly charge ahead using a channeling I’ve only read about in passing!’”

“And this is new, how exactly?”

“Don’t you dare bring rational discussion into my medical bay.” Releasing his hand, she sighed and picked up a dermal regenerator. “I understand why he’s worried. That’s no excuse to use blood magic. Stuff’s just wrong in every sense of the word. I’m not super religious or anything, but even I don’t go invoking Joli’s name like that -“

“Bee?”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing?”

“My job as the only medic on the ship?”

“No, I mean… You’re using a regenerator on his hands.”

T’bia blinked, looking at the tool. She’d just finished healing the cuts on his left hand; the lacerations on his right were still oozing blood.

“He’s… I didn’t even realize. I’ve been so ticked off that he wouldn’t give what I wanted to say even two seconds of consideration… You’re right. I shouldn’t have to do this. He shouldn’t still be bleeding, even for being unconscious…”

“Exactly. Something’s very wrong here.”

Fiction Friday: Inheritance

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:44:18 GMT

Inheritance. Enjoy. It’s new. You’ve never seen it before. I swear.

I’ve been making tweaks to the CSS and sidebar tonight. Individual chapters now don’t show any of the ‘login’ and other meta crap; it’s down to just the chapter flipping widget that I’d been sticking directly at the top and bottom of the chapter text. I had to get rid of the navigation at the top of the text, because adding drop caps to each page was not playing nice with it there.

I’ve also added paragraph indenting, because trying to read without it seems to wig my eyes out a little. I’m still working on implementing text-only copies, just have to beat the plugin into submission with only a few minutes a night to tinker.

As an aside, I seem to start most of my front page posts with the letter ‘I.’ Hm.

Impending Doom Syndrome

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:51 GMT

Late-night traffic and pedestrians filled the street outside the bookstore as Jadyn stared out the windows. With both diurnal and nocturnal species calling the city ‘home,’ Azainte almost always buzzed with some level of activity. Very few hours of the day saw the streets completely empty. Not every one of the planet’s stores kept open twenty-eight hours a day, though - the original outlet was one of the few.

The night staff had every part of their routine down to an absolute science. He’d tried to help out behind the food counter, but quickly discovered he was merely a hindrance in his current state of mind. After trying to do other menial tasks, he’d finally volunteered to just stay out of the way as they went about their work, an act that had in no small way relieved the entire crew. Parking himself in a corner of the cafe, he quickly found himself wondering why he’d bothered to come in. Even with the busy spurt that had rolled through not an hour before, they had kept everything perfectly covered.

A novella sat open on the table beside him beside a long-cold cup of tea; as hard as he’d tried to get interested in the book, he couldn’t focus on reading. Going for a walk would clear his mind but the problems at hand would still be there when he got back. Tarioshi’s whereabouts would not simply appear before him in a moment of perfect clarity.

She’d been missing for nearly a week. Khamai, as predicted, had demanded all the documentation about ‘Project Nemaqi.’ Jadyn promptly transmitted the files, well within the four hour window they’d been so graciously allotted. They’d not heard a word since. There was a little hope that due to the massive amount of information in the files surrounding the project, he simply hadn’t finished sifting through the data for whatever he was looking for.

That didn’t mean they weren’t still looking for alternative means to track his scaly butt. Toliya and T’bia both remained focused on tracing the recent direct communications to some sort of common point. Jadyn repeatedly had tried to sense Tari’s own life energy as a sort of beacon in the quiet calm of deep meditations, but so far he’d been unsuccessful in finding even a flicker. He was almost certain his failure was his own fault for not being able to concentrate. Concern for her well-being was forefront on his mind, a constant distraction away from any sort of focus.

The oddity of his situation was not lost on him. A fox calling from a highly advanced culture, working thousands of lightyears from his home in a society not quite as far on the technical scale as his own… And then, one day, a peculiar little vixen from an absolutely primitive blue and brown mudball of a planet suddenly becomes the most important fem in his life?

He couldn’t have made a better trap for someone if he’d tried.

But what if it was a trap? What if everything she’d said to him was a lie, a carefully planned ruse? Khamai was an innate shapedancer, as was Tari… And Tari had needed to hold his hands while taking on the racial traits of a Val’Traxan for the first time…

No, he reassured himself, sitting up straight. The wonder and awe as she looked out over the Laitu, seeing all the species mingling together… That wasn’t fake. She’d never seen anything like that before. I’ve really got to stop second guessing myself.

“Jadyn?”

“Hm?” The fox glanced up from his reverie. “Oh, Shadow… Good morning. What can I do for you?”

The young jet-black vixen sat down at his table, eyeing him curiously. Shadow was fairly new to the store’s family, hired just before he’d gone off to Terra. She’d taken on the vacant nighttime manager’s position when her predecessor moved to another planet. He’d talked with her on and off before his departure, but he couldn’t honestly say he knew her well as he liked to know his local managerial staff. Their paths rarely crossed as it was, what with her working nights and his typical daytime visits into the shop. She seemed like a solid manager, though; the night staff simply adored her, and their work ethic spoke for itself.

“Is everything okay?” she questioned. “You seem strangely reserved.”

“I haven’t been able to get a good night’s rest in days.”

“I suggest warm milk, flavored lightly with a touch of honey and vanilla.”

“Thanks, store-mom, but I already tried that. Even tossed in a sprig of mint.”

“Add a shot of brandy.”

“Alcohol keeps me awake.”

“Mmm…” Shadow squinted, a very slight smile appearing at the corners of her mouth. “Massage therapy?”

“I’ve never found anyone who can do it right since I left home. My standards are probably too high. And although I’m half-certain that was a flirt, I should tell you I’m involved with someone else right now.”

“I make it a personal rule to not date my boss,” she replied. “That said, making the boss less stressed out makes the staff less stressed out. As a formerly professional masseuse, my offer still stands. I’ve got a portable table - just let me know when and where.”

“I’ll… consider it. Thank you.”

“Mm-hm. Any idea what’s causing your insomnia? It’s easier to fix if you know the reason.”

“Acute stress. There’s a bunch of stuff going on that I can’t really talk about -“

A hand fell on his shoulder as another voice interrupted him. “‹Perhaps I may be able to help alleviate some of your unspoken difficulties, Lopiakuen Tzeki.›”

Jadyn froze. Not only had the speaker used a title he hadn’t heard since he’d departed Val’Traxan space, the comment had been made in his native Kametian language. Slowly, the blue fox turned and faced the owner of the voice.

The stranger was a short fox, perhaps four feet tall; grayish-white fur covered his visible body. A black and white-trimmed steelsilk uniform hung loosely from his shoulders, hinting at how gaunt and sickly his frame truly was. More obvious signs of his illness were the missing and loose clumps of fur. Bloodshot reddish-brown eyes told volumes of just how many days he’d been without rest. A wooden cane supported his weight as he eased himself into a nearby chair. All told, he looked precariously near the end of his life.

“‹How do you know this language?›” Jadyn queried. “‹And how do you know that title?›”

“‹So it truly is you… I was born into it, much as you were.›”

“‹With all due respect, I’m not in the mood for surprises or games -›”

“‹And I am neither in the mood to provide them nor do I have the time left to do so.›” The fox coughed hard into his hand, pain visibly wracking his body. Velorian Standard was his language of choice when he continued speaking. “Damn this failing body… I apologize for the troubles you have been put through as of late, Lopiakuen. I am certain our progenitor never intended his attempt at propagation to cause all this discord in the quadrant.”

“Who are you?”

“You would very likely kill me on the spot were I to disclose that at this juncture.”

Jadyn narrowed his eyes. “You kidnapping son of a -“

“Please, Lopiakuen. There is no need for insults. I am not exactly who you think I am.”

“Then you’d best explain quickly.” Jadyn’s eyebrow twitched as he tried not to think about turning the figure before himself into a crispy husk. “My patience has worn very thin from dealing with your antics, nemaqi.”

“A shapedancer?” Shadow wondered aloud. Jadyn had entirely forgotten she’d been sitting at the table. Blinking at his curious gaze, she shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“Its my break… Ah. Right. I’ll be… somewhere else.”

“No doubt -” Another fit of coughing overtook the faux-fox as Shadow walked away. He breathed heavily for almost a half a minute afterward while gathering his composure. “No doubt it has been a stressful time,” he finally rasped. “Lopiakuen… The memories are not originally my own, yet I distinctly remember a young fox, long in the past… He stood up for my progenitor’s right to exist, knowing very little about who he was defending and exactly how that entity came to be. He argued for the release of his captive, understanding full well he could not win. He did what he felt was right against insurmountable odds.”

Jadyn frowned, remembering the day of Chameleon’s capture. “And..?”

“And now… I am also doing what I feel is right,” the changeling continued softly. “I am not asking for blind faith, Lopiakuen. All I ask is that you consider what I have to say and judge it as you will. After I finish, I shall willingly turn my fate and the little left of my life over to your hands.”

Jadyn studied the eyes of the creature sitting before him, his anger ever so slightly defused. “I’m listening.”

Personal journal, Jadyn Tzeki. 47 Oram, 2418.

I’ve killed a fellow sapient today.

Anni tried to cheer me up by arguing that I didn’t kill him - we did what we were ordered to do. I just can’t help but feel that even if I didn’t condemn him to death, I certainly sent him along a path far worse than it.

The Guild’s spent weeks tracking this Nemaqi creature in four-person teams, ever since the order came down from the Haropikuen herself to assist in his capture. At the core of my being, I know what we’re doing is wrong. How am I supposed to resolve this divide between my conscience and my loyalty to the Guild? I’ve been doing exactly what I was supposed to do… But that doesn’t make it right.

I parked on a bench just outside of the Guild Hall, watching the busy plaza stepdisk as people came and went. I had a good idea of what I was looking for, but I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I saw it. In the last couple of days I’ve toyed with the idea of helping this poor creature get off-world instead of turning him in. Let him take my form, and stay out of sight for a while until he books passage to some distant planet… All great in premise. But execution… I’ve no idea how I could have pulled it off.

“This bites,” I mumbled, frustrated with the situation. Dupiakuen Harlann Gutanni, my team’s leader, overheard my discontent. Why I had to get paired with one of the few Artisans who actively supported the plan to get Chameleon back in a cage, I’ll never understand. Maybe the Haropikuen thought it would be a good experience for me. I have a feeling I stepped on her tail about something, though.

“Are you saying you’d rather have a creature roaming out there with motives that no one can fathom?” he queried.

“I’m saying it isn’t right to hunt someone down for the reasons we’ve been ordered to do it.”

“Some thing,” he corrected.

“Some ONE. He has just as much right to live as any one of us.”

He just snorted, looking out at the people passing by and dropping the conversation altogether. He knew my viewpoint already. I’m sure he was content to not have to listen to my arguments yet again. As for me… There were any of hundreds of things I’d rather have been doing, and one of them wasn’t sitting on the bench staring at passers-by.

Melichanni came around the corner of a building, glancing around before walking past the bench. I shot her a smile; she smiled back and nodded in greeting, not stopping or saying a word as she padded onward. She’d looked at me as though she didn’t know me. Even stranger, she wasn’t in her Guild robes.

I could have ignored it. I could have just written it off as seeing things. But no. I had to look closer. I felt out for her aura, hoping I was wrong. The vixen walking away from me had no tie to the Art whatsoever. It looked like my Anni, but it wasn’t her.

Harlann happened to follow my gaze at the right moment - well, wrong moment, I suppose. Before I’d even realized he’d made the connection, I felt his focus upon her. The vixen that wasn’t Melichanni screamed in abject terror as coils of energy surrounded her, unceremoniously dragging her back to the bench. Her arms and legs had been restrained with taut cords of Air, leaving her struggling on the ground in front of us.

“Harlann, let her go!”

“It’s not her, Jadyn -“

“I know that! That’s why it’s wrong!”

“I… I think I’ll forget that. Some things about you and Melichanni I’d rather not know.”

I didn’t realize until later what I’d said; it hadn’t sounded quite so kinky before it actually came out.

Harlann tapped on his bracelet. “Katiana - We have the Chameleon in custody. Page the Haropikuen. Team fourteen, convene at the Guild Hall plaza.”

The others on the team called in their confirmations. Melichanni, our third member, was just inside the Hall and was the first to arrive. Chameleon looked up, her eyes going wide. Her? His? Its? How in the void do you label a shapedancer who’s out of his normally chosen gender?

“Don’t you see? She’s Chameleon, not me!”

Melichanni shook her head at her mirror image. “Sorry. Points for effort.”

“We know which of you is which,” I spoke quietly, trying to spot a way to get her out of this. “I don’t agree with us chasing you down, Chameleon -“

“Then let me go!” Her eyes filled with tears. “You can’t imagine the kinds of things they did to me once they realized I was conscious… If I go back, I know they’ll kill me… Please! You’ve got to help me!”

“It’s all a ploy,” Harlann stated coolly. I’ve really grown to abhor this guy over the last week.

“Harlann… Damn it, don’t you get it? Chameleon isn’t any different than us! So she has an ability to change form, so what? The Light offers illusions, Nature can be used to shapedance -“

“We are born with our gifts -“

“And so was Chameleon!” Others were starting to gather, watching the scene as we argued. I really shouldn’t have gone against his authority in public like that, but… I don’t know. I needed to vent. He was visibly having difficulty keeping his composure. If we’d been elsewhere, I’m sure it would have come down to fisticuffs. I at least could have won that… Maybe. He’s not a Master for no reason.

“She was not born. She was created in a lab. She was an accident,” Harlann stated.

“Created, born, does it even matter? The AI personalities are built, they are ‘created.’ Why does she have less right to exist than they do? And unplanned children - they are ‘accidents’ but do they get hunted down? What about -“

“That’s enough, both of you.” The Haropikuen padded through the crowd, followed closely by two security officers. “It is not our purpose to decide Chameleon’s fate. We were ordered only to find him.”

“I understand that, ma’am. I just…”

“I know, Jadyn.” She looked at me, a deep regret in her eyes. “Trust me, I know all too well.”

One of the officers put a collar around Chameleon’s neck; the creature’s form shimmered a metallic silver before reverting to that of a short, white-scaled lizard with yellow-green eyes. They pulled him to his feet, placing electronic cuffs on him in place of the restraints of the Art.

“I will not fight you, officers. Please, just give me a moment… Lopiakuen… Tzeki, was it?”

I nodded solemnly.

“May I ask how you picked me out?”

I couldn’t think of a good way to vocalize that answer. On an impulse, I waved Melichanni over through the crowd, her body being the last he’d worn. We embraced each other, sharing a quiet moment before turning back to him. Chameleon closed his eyes, nodding a single time. Without another word he allowed himself to be led away.

Truth be told… I believe him. I’m sure the Ministry of Health is going to terminate his existence and then figure out what they did ‘wrong’ to cause their little pet project to rise up and flee. Chameleon was a fluke. His creation - dare I say it, his birth - was an amazing accident of our sciences.

And now, entirely thanks to me, I’m certain he’s going to die at the hands of those same sciences.

I think I’m going to be sick.

Jadyn cleared the old journal from his bracelet’s display, resting against the wall of the Serin’s medical bay. “I still say I was right about him, despite how one of his kids turned out.”

“I’d agree.” T’bia gave his shoulder a squeeze. “The sad part about that whole thing was that the AI Network pegged him about a minute and a half before your team did. Our plan was to wait until his next stepdisk jump and quietly reroute him someplace he could lay low for a while. After the heat was off, we could help him off the planet. Shaytelli and your father both had offered passage if we could manage to isolate him.”

“If he’d picked any other body to copy, I wouldn’t have seen him. How’s Iguano holding up?”

“He’s dying.” T’bia tapped at a medical datapad. “As of right now… Not more than two hours.”

“Guess he was right about not seeing another sunrise. The pressing question is why.”

“That’s the simple bit. He’s a clone.”

“Clones don’t just fall over dead, Bee.”

“Illegal copies of Val’Traxan technology do.”

“…You can’t be serious.”

“Chameleon, sapient or not, was a work of Val’Traxan biotech research. He made two unauthorized derivatives of that research in an attempt to grow the species’ population.”

“Spirits…” Jadyn peered across the medical bay, gazing at the unconscious gray lizard. “The copy protection…?”

“Iguano was doomed the instant his first cell divided. Did he happen to mention his age? I can’t figure it out. There’s been too much cellular damage.”

“I didn’t ask. He said he’s the younger brother.”

“Hm. I’m surprised they both survived quickening and decanting. Chameleon must have figured out something that worked around the blocks… Just didn’t hold up long-term. At least we know there’s not some whack-job out there fiddling with our tech. It’s our own tech fiddling with itself. Sounds dirty.”

“It’s not quite so cut and dry. Is Ness still in rehab?”

“Yes… It’ll be at least another week before they let him pick the Speaker’s gavel back up. I strongly doubt he’ll be released that soon, though.”

“He still deserves to know what we’re up against. Call Pakar and let her know I need to speak with her immediately. Use the words ‘emergency’ and ‘impending attack.’”

“Cute.” T’bia raised an eyebrow. “Wait… You’re serious?”

Focus. You can do this. Just… Concentrate, Tarioshi.

Sitting on the floor in her cabin, the kitsune gazed upon the flickering candle before her eyes. Throughout the week she’d felt her mental state steadily deteriorating, despite her best efforts to calm the rising chaos of her maternal bloodline. What started as a mere annoyance in the back of her mind had grown into a constant struggle in simply maintaining her composure - so much so that she’d turned down the Galans’ kind offer of using an extra room in the suite they’d been provided.

The company would have been greatly welcome. She just didn’t know how delusional or desperate she might become if she lost control over her fox spirit. The only certainty was that she’d be far worse before she was better. If she hurt them or their pups over her struggle with her own inner demon, she’d never be able to forgive herself. It was best if she kept her distance.

The simple things that normally worked as distractions had proven ineffectual as the days passed. Simple conversations with Karmen and Khris, reading, listening to music, mediations… Even the so-called holoarena, a giant blank slate of a room that could produce any vista at her whim, had ceased to stave off the inevitable.

Worse were the hunger pains. Never had she been so completely cut off from her own element. There had always been plant life around to appease her forest alignment - something that, as a hybrid, didn’t take much greenery to do. The Serin, with its biological roots, filled that requirement nicely. The empty behemoth of the J’Ruhn, huge as it was, had proven devoid of any identifiable flora whatsoever. The architecture may have matched, but it was not a living ship.

Sensei Toshiyuki had cautioned her of such things during her training but it seemed like such an empty warning. On Terra, even in the most crowded and congested of cities, parks and trees and even simple flowerbeds could be found without much trouble. The only places potentially barren of flora were the polar regions and deserts, and even in those distant places there were lichens, mosses, algae, and other small plants to be found if one knew where to look. Without any plant spirits to calm its hunger, her inner fox had determined she was tasty and turned entirely onto the life energy of her mortal body.

Dealing with only the stress of captivity or the hunger would have been doable. Taxing, but doable. With both working together against her, constantly draining her stamina and affecting her concentration, she hadn’t been able to focus enough to draw on other sources of energy outside her element or to even get a good night’s rest and keep her own strength up.

The candlelight danced across the walls of her room as she once more tried relaxing her thoughts. Flickers of the flame from the gentle circulation of air, normally a soothing vision, proved only a nuisance. A quick puff served to extinguish the candle, leaving her in complete darkness. The circulation itself then became the distraction, the very sensation of moving air jarring her repeatedly from her focus. Life support wasn’t a good idea to shut off to solve that problem.

At least, not yet.

“Lights,” she ordered. Standing as the small crew cabin came back into view, she crossed her arms over her chest and paced the room. Whether it was her sanity or her health that would fail first, she knew her only hope was to get off the ship. Some semblance of freedom - genuine freedom, not the temporary escape the holoarena provided - could be enough to help her regain control. But how?

“Gotta do something…” she mumbled aloud. “Need to get out of here…”

“Miss Tarioshi?” Sanusin queried. “Are you are all right?”

“No!” she yelled. “I am most certainly not all right! If I don’t get out of here soon… I… No, can’t think like that, I’ll just make it worse… Come on, Tari, keep it together… Think! There has to be something I can do… I can’t keep fighting myself on two fronts. If there’s no way to solve the captivity, there has to be a way to minimally satisfy its hunger… Sanusin? You told me there are no plants to be found now.”

“That is correct. With no horticultural staff to maintain them, the flora in the arboretums, hydroponics bays, and aeroponics bays died out long ago. All air recycling is now electrochemical -“

“So there definitely used to be some?” she interrupted. “Are there still seeds somewhere? Some sort of catalog of what’s available? And, maybe, just maybe, somewhere to plant them?”

“Yes. There are a wide variety of seeds in cold storage. Hydroponics bay three will require the least amount of cleanup to be usable, should you wish to begin seedlings.”

“I do wish.” Tari gave a quiet sigh of relief. “Can you give me instructions on how to use the equipment?”

“Indeed. Proceed to deck twelve. I will provide you further navigational aid once you arrive. I must point out that you will, of course, not be allowed access to any seeds of potentially hazardous flora.”

They’re all hazardous in my hands, bucko…

Pakar just stared across her desk. Tendrils of smoke rose from her nostrils as she digested the report.

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“Maybe not, but the possibility can’t be ignored. With Ness out of commission the decision will fall on you. Nursing staff wouldn’t even let me in to talk to him - they don’t want him burdened with work affairs while he’s recovering.” Jadyn’s bracelet chirped. “Go ahead, Bee.”

“Iguano just passed. Apparently, they lose all cellular cohesion upon death. He made one Void of a mess on the carpet. On the bright side, a vacuum disposal canister makes a lovely urn.”

“That’s… pleasant.”

“If it’s any comfort, he didn’t wake up from the coma before he died.”

“Anything else to note?”

“Not yet. Toy’s got every contact that will still speak to him scouring the sector for a mark nine Displacement signature. I’d like to forward the graviton echo we’re looking for to the Fleet ships in the area so we can expand the search. You’d think we’d be able to spot the trail of a pair of artificial black holes, but noooo…”

“Do it,” Pakar ordered. “Use anything you need to find that damn ship. No one is to make a move on it alone - not even you two. You can be the first aboard to secure it since it’s your tech and you know it best, but you are not going to approach it without backup. Clear?”

“Understood.”

Jadyn nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I also suggest you position the Tavyeed and the Aglaceum in defensive proximity to Terac Lun and Veloria Orbital, respectively.”

“Are you absolutely certain about this intel?”

“Iguano had no reason to lie,” Jadyn replied. “And every reason to tell us everything he knew.”

Pakar drummed her fingers against the desktop. “But you say he was also the brother of the one holding Khris, Karmen, and Tari.”

“His brother is dying too. Iguano knew it was too late for himself when he approached Jay in the store, but he suspects I might be able to stop Khamai’s degeneration if we can just get to him in time.”

“Something we don’t have much of. Allegedly, Khamai’s standing order with his AI is that the ship is to begin autodestruct upon his death.” Jadyn slid a pad across her desk. “This is a partial list of what Val’Traxan hardware was provided to the pirate clans. It can’t be reproduced by the pirates, but every piece is fully working as-is.”

“How complete is this list?”

“He was struggling to hold onto his memory before he fell into a coma. I doubt it’s a hundred percent.”

“Phase cannons… adaptive shielding… Genome resequencers? Cloning tanks?! What in the Elders…?”

“Iguano said he never knew the grand plan, but Khamai did have him help distribute copy-protected biotech hardware up until they had a falling out from Khamai’s mental deterioration. My only possible guess based on the list of materials and the archival data he demanded from us is that he was helping them build an army based on the Nemaqi template. Soldiers they can program to do their bidding that can blend into their enemies as those very same enemies.”

“And take them over from within… How many could they have grown by now?”

“None,” T’bia answered. “He only just got the entire genome file a week ago. To recreate something as complex as a nemaqi with the changes they’d require would be upwards of three months, per clone.”

“If we can take the J’Ruhn, we cut off the potential for future supplies. We also remove their only source of technical support on hardware that’s well over their heads.”

“We have to find it first. And, apparently, we also need to stay alert for an organized pirate raid on the heart of the Aligned Worlds.”

“Good luck with that,” T’bia quipped.

“So, while I keep working on finding a new way to detect cloaked ships, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find Tari.”

T’bia sighed. “Jay… If you’re looking for a way to waste time, I’ve got a thousand better ways. You’ve been trying for a week and haven’t felt a thing -“

“I’ve been looking in the wrong place.” Jadyn peered at the bookshelves in his library, tracing his finger across the books’ spines as he searched for the tome he needed. “I’ve been trying to find her life energy, treating it like a lighthouse in a dark, stormy sea of background energy - something I should be able to do in my sleep. She’s either dead -“

“Don’t say that.”

”- or she’s so off-kilter from the kitsune version of claustrophobia that her aura is warped and looks like ambient noise. Here we go.” Drawing the book from the shelf, he dropped it on his desk and flipped through the pages. “Okay, miss expert-on-everything. Tell me this. If you’re trying to navigate an old ship on the ocean and you can’t see the stars, what do you do?”

“Satnav.”

“Way, way older.”

“…Compass and sextant?”

“Exactly.” His finger traced down the page; flipping to the next, he tapped the ancient text and smiled. “And how do you build a compass that points at someone’s life energy, no matter how disrupted it may be? You use a tiny piece of their body as the compass needle. Solid… or liquid.”

T’bia’s eyes went wide. “No. No! Absolutely not! You are not going to use blood magic on my watch, and that is final!”

“I can find her, Bee.”

“Not with that, you won’t! I’m not going to help you with a fool’s errand of this caliber!”

“Then I’ll do it without your help.”

Fiction Friday: Impending Doom Syndrome

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:46 GMT

Last week, I mentioned that there’d be one more installment of old stuff before I started posting completely new content.

The plan has changed, making me once more a filthy, dirty liar. The portion out of the ordinary: It’s a good thing for you.

Negotiation, the last thing (to the best of my knowledge) that I’ve ever publicly published in the EISB / Peregrinations / Name_Of_The_Week_Here line … Gone. On purpose, at that. If you’ve not yet read it, consider yourself lucky. If you’d still like to submit yourself to the agony you can find it if you look around. Between it and the half-done thing following it, I couldn’t get out of a hole I found myself standing in. Select Most -> Delete. Problem solved.

I threw all but two chunks away, rewrote the rest from scratch last weekend with the goal of exploring an idea I’ve been toying with for six months, and continued on with binge writing to churn out three chapters following it - and I’ve still got footing to keep moving forward upon. They require a little editing but they’ll be going up over next few weeks. I personally love how they’ve turned out. I’m probably not an objective reviewer, and I trust I’ll hear about it if I’m completely off my rocker. The downside? It’s going to take longer to wrap up Tari’s first offworld outing than I expected.

Is that a bad thing? Dunno.

Impending Doom Syndrome is ready for your literary ecstasy.

Did anyone get the number of that truck?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:49:56 GMT

I guess it wasn’t my problem after all. WordPress came up and started working again about five minutes after I’d given up for the night.

Text-only coming shortly

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:03:01 GMT

I’ve found a plugin now that’ll spit out any post in plaintext, but I need to tweak it to convert back the only markup I still use (> and < since I can’t directly paste in a post with angle brackets denoting another language is in use), as well as add links somewhere in the template.

It also needs to add a little more data to the beginning of the text: Chapter title, preferably the dates during which it takes place… I’d just use WP’s “page_order” but I’m grossly abusing that and I’m expecting my little hack with that to break the next time wordpress updates the database, anyway. It’ll change the field from my preferred bigint(20) back to whatever it was at (10 or 11).

Which means I’ll have to go update all the chapters back into their correct order. Bleh. I’m forcing the pages to sort using the entire date as such: 271506010000 This allows for two two take place on the same day, at different times of day, and still be ordered properly if their names aren’t in alphabetical order.

I suppose I could trim off the last pair of 00’s on the sort order, limit it to hours… It’d fit in the int(11) then. Bleh.

Disturbing

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:42:46 GMT

It’s kind of creepy to search for your own name on Google, only to discover everyone thinks you’re dead.

Echoes of the Past

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:24 GMT

Deep in the Council station of Terac Lun, the quiet hum of a holding cell’s force field snapped off with a pop. Jadyn’s eyes shot open as the noise roused him from his light slumber on the floor. Squinting at the ceiling, the reason why he was in jail returned to him.

It had still been worth it.

“About time…” Tari groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head. “I so need out of here…”

“Knowing Pakar, we’re not quite home free yet. ‹Lieutenant, are we free to leave?›”

A large brown bear blocked the opening of the holding cell, dressed sharply in the gray and green uniform of station security personnel. “‹You are to remain here for a time, Captain. She, however, will need to come with me for questioning.›”

“What’s he saying?”

“You’re going for a walk while I sit here and rot. Pakar just loves seeing me behind bars… Figuratively speaking, of course, since bars were deemed cruel and unusual when the modern force field was perfected.” Jadyn plopped back down on the bench and looked to the officer. “‹My friend here doesn’t speak a lick of Standard. She’ll need that white bracelet on the console if you want working translation for the interview.›”

“‹Ma’am, if you’d please step out of the cell and come with me.›”

Tari looked back at Jadyn for clarification as the bear gestured for her to move into the room. “Go with him and snag your bracelet. I’ll be waiting here when you get done.”

“Okay.” The vixen stepped past the threshold of the security field; as soon as she was clear, the bear tapped a panel beside the opening to reactivate the barrier.

“Plead my case with the warden?” Jadyn asked. “I’m sure Pakar just wants to scold us one-on-one.”

“Absolutely. I’ll make sure to point out the storm was entirely your fault.” Tari winked, picking up her bracelet on her way out of the detention center.

The door finally reopened after a quiet eternity of humming old folk melodies; Pakar stepped inside, a wild grin on her face. “Good morning! Sleep well?”

“Not in the least.”

“Just what I’d hoped to hear after your little stunt last night. Anything particular you care to say to me?”

“I slept on the floor.” He smirked, glancing at the carpeting. “It was more comfortable than the shelf.”

“I’ll be sure to have the padding removed at the next maintenance window.” The drekiran stabbed at the wall plate, discontinuing the force field. “Now that the formalities are out of the way, I’m sorry about leaving you down here so long. Completely slipped my mind I’d thrown you in here until about ten minutes ago.”

“Er… Really?”

“Where’s Tari, anyway? I thought I put you both in the same cell block.”

“A lieutenant with Security took her for questioning… Maybe an hour or two ago. Hard to say how long it’s been.”

“Odd… I didn’t send anyone to harass you two. Wanted that privilege for myself.” Pakar sat down at the console and brought up the access log. “Here we go, last entry an hour and a half ago… Computer, locate Lieutenant Eirnide Orsulan.”

“Lieutenant Orsulan is not aboard Terac Lun.”

“When did he leave?”

“Lieutenant Orsulan left the station at 2537 hours via stepdisk transport to Darane Province, Veloria.”

Pakar frowned, drawing up a personnel record. “Was this the officer you saw?”

“That’s the guy. Didn’t recognize him as one of the usual security staff, but I’ve been out for a while.”

“Came on while you were galavanting in the Sol system, by the look of his record here.”

“That’d do it. What time is it, anyway?”

“About 0900. His DNA imprint is registered on the lock as of 0732… Computer, verify - Lieutenant Orsulan departed at 2537 last night and has not returned to the station?”

“Affirmative.”

“Pakar… Where’s my bracelet?”

“Should have been right here. I left them both on the console.”

“Guess we’ll go the long way. Computer: open a priority channel to the VTC Serin.”

Several seconds passed before T’bia’s voice came out of the console. “Commander Halio of the Serin here… Who am I speaking to?”

“Caller ID broken? S’me.”

“Jay? Just where the heck have you been all night?”

“Locked in a holding cell for raining on Pakar’s parade. Get a location from both my bracelet and Tari’s?”

“Don’t tell me you lost those already! I just had hers made!”

“Just do it.”

Quiet grumblings echoed on the channel while the AI worked. “Okay… This is odd.”

“What’s that?”

“Your bracelet is in airlock ‘A’ on level five of the central core. I’ve got no signal return from Tari’s just yet.”

“Five-A… That’s not too far from here - J.T?” Pakar glanced over her shoulder; the fox’s tail was just disappearing out the door. A five minute jog later, she found him already in the airlock. He’d taken a seat on the deckplating, staring out into space through the small viewing windows dotting the outer pressure door.

“You okay?”

Jadyn shook his head and held up a datapad. “This was under my bracelet.”

“Let’s see that.”

Captain Tzeki.

As you have not grasped the suggestions left for you, I will make this stupidly simple for you to grasp: You are in the way. Councilor Galan, his wife, and the white vixen are my guests - safe, for the moment. Take the time to heed my prior advisements.

Further instructions shall follow.

— Khamai of the Nemaqi

Tarioshi groaned, her head throbbing painfully as she regained consciousness. The sterile off-white room reminded her of the holding cell she’d just left: a nondistinct box with one open wall. A bed - more of a shelf, really, just like the last cell - lay against the wall directly across from the doorway and the ensuing open space; an addition was a small bowl of assorted fruits along side a pitcher of water.

Her memory of how she’d gotten here was foggy at best. The bear had led her away from the detention center on the station… Seconds after the door shut, she’d felt a brief pressure on the side of her neck. Drugs?

“Ah, you are finally awake.”

Tari looked out the opening of the cell. A short, black-scaled lizardman wearing only a scarf gazed at her with a faint smile.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“A safe place. Allow me to welcome you aboard the GFIV J’Ruhn, milady. How do you feel?”

“Head is a little foggy, to be honest.”

“You required a second dosing of sedative during the journey. It will wear off in time. It will help if you eat something.”

Tari narrowed her eyes as she realized a missing accessory in her wardrobe. While the translation was still working, her bracelet was decidedly absent from her wrist. “How can you understand me?”

“The language code was stripped out of your communications device after its locator beacon was disabled. We cannot have the dear Captain tracing your whereabouts just yet, can we?” The lizard smiled slightly, bouncing the white hoop along his fingers. “Mmm… I must say, Terran English…? How absolutely droll. Strange that a pureblooded Val’Traxan would speak that natively and not a syllable of Kametian… Even more so that anyone in this quadrant would speak Terran so fluently and not be a Terran… At least, not obviously. I wonder what the Council would ask of our dearest Captain were they to notice this discrepancy, mm?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I possess a sample of your DNA from before you came upon that guise. Regardless of how you are presently cloaking your appearance and genetic fingerprint, you were most definitely from the Terran biosphere when I first encountered you. It would be difficult to prove to others at this juncture, certainly… But I can see by the look in your eyes that I am correct.”

Tari stood, padding toward the cell’s opening. A tingle swept over her flesh as she reached a glowing line in the floor, stopping her dead in her tracks. Recalling her overnight experiments in the previous room, she reached forward to probe the air. The sharp pain of an intense static shock shot up her arm as her fingers traveled past the line, forcing her to step back.

“I would recommend against doing that again,” the lizard suggested as she recoiled. “The field discharge is rumored to be bad for the complexion.”

“Whatever.” Tari dropped herself onto the bench, kicking back and staring at the ceiling. “Wake me up when it’s time for lunch.”

He cocked his head sideways, watching her. Indifference to her situation - as fake as it was - was clearly not what he’d expected. “What is your name, dear vixen? I seem to have… forgotten.”

“Tarioshi.”

“Tarioshi…” he repeated softly. “Lovely, lovely. I am called Khamai, Miss Tarioshi. It is unfortunate that we must meet under such circumstances, but Captain Tzeki is a somewhat bothersome Val’Traxan.”

“I don’t find him a bother.”

“No, I do not suppose so… The way you were looking at him over that lovely dinner several days ago… It is regrettable to separate the two of you, but I assure you it is for the best.”

Tari blinked, sitting up slowly. “What do you mean by that? You weren’t there.”

“Are you certain?” Khamai’s form shimmered silver and morphed into a familiar face - the Lotoran Councilor, Khristofer. It hadn’t been magic - at least, nothing that she recognized as such. Even Jadyn’s gifts had registered to some level on her senses. This was completely different - a purely physical transformation.

“Impressive,” she quipped sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. Regardless of his method, a simple shapeshift wasn’t anything special in her book. “Now, be a good boy and try on a set of lockpicks for size.”

“Lockpicks? How positively… Archaic.” He turned on his toes with an amused grunt, approaching the control console at the room’s center. His form reverted back to that of a reptile as he stopped to enter his handprint on a scanner. “Once I am convinced that you will not challenge my benevolence, you will be generally free to roam the ship. For now, I shall leave you to consider your situation. Good day.”

Tari watched in silence as the lizard left the room, picking up a piece of fruit as the doors shut. Lobbing it from hand to hand she considered the force field before her. A gentle toss and a cacophony of electrical arcing later, the formerly edible fruit had been reduced to nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash and carbon by the time it hit the floor on the other side.

“Definitely not good for the complexion…” she muttered, lying back down on the shelf.

Some distance away, Jadyn stared out the window of Pakar’s office observing ship traffic. The investigators had, as expected, been idiots. After asking questions that had nothing to do with the situation and collecting the data found on the pad, they had left to ‘file their report.’ He wagered he could find them in one of the station’s pubs within the hour if he went looking.

“J.T…”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Any lapse in security is my fault.” Pakar snorted. “There’s just more and more of these lapses as the weeks go on.”

“You’re fighting technology at least two centuries more advanced than you’re equipped to deal with. I don’t blame you. I blame him. More than that…” Jadyn growled under his breath, “I blame myself. I should never have let her go alone with someone I didn’t know. I know better than that…”

“It’s a moot point. Even if you had ‘known’ the officer, it could still have been one of the Nemaqi.” T’bia tossed the datapad on Pakar’s desk as she clicked shut her medical scanner. “If the cellular residue on this thing is any sign, this one is even better at playing mimic than the original. Not a perfect copy, but… Really, really close. Can’t believe someone created another one after all this time.”

“Okay, full disclosure. Who or what is this thing?” Pakar asked.

“The original was an accident created from a Val’Traxan biotech experiment five centuries ago.” Jadyn shook his head, stepping from the window and pacing the room. “He was one of the last products of our Health Ministry before we were wiped out.”

“‘It,’” T’bia corrected.

“That’d make you an ‘it’ as well, Bee.”

“‘He,’” the skunk capitulated. “Go on - let’s see how good your memory is.”

Jadyn grunted. “The premise of the so-called ‘Nemaqi’ research project was to find a rapid method of regenerating limbs and organs and the like. We could do organ regeneration already but growing the replacements took several days. They wanted viability for emergency replacement, no more than eight hours from request to delivery. Not everyone was a fan of implants for replacements even when they were biological in construction. So… They came up with this plan to start with a genetically neutral sample that, when exposed to other DNA, would instantly take on that DNA as its own. Voila, no rejection - it’s your missing… whatever you were missing.”

“What went wrong?” Pakar asked.

“The prototype developed sentience and promptly broke out of a lab complex. The creature, known to the public simply as ‘the Chameleon,’ possessed the ability to instantly become a clone of anyone he touched by altering the structure of his own DNA at his whim. Some residents, my family included, believed he possessed sapience and intelligence above and beyond simple sentience. Our argument was that he was protected under the same respect for sapience that gave every AI rights as a citizen.”

“How so?”

“Think about it,” T’bia interjected. “He was one of us. What is an artificial intelligence but a consciousness created by means other than natural or assisted organic reproduction? Doesn’t matter that his brain wasn’t as zippy as ours are. He was built from the ground up, just like me and the rest of my kin.”

“By that argument, every intelligent first-generation recombinant species is AI,” Pakar replied. “Like the Vulden.”

“That’s exactly right. Most people think of AI as intelligence exhibited by a computerized entity, but that’s only one artificial system of many for an intelligence to emerge and gain -“

“Tangent,” Jadyn called. T’bia glared at him, but fell silent; any argument involving AI rights was her favorite. “The governing council disagreed with our ‘minority’ view and took the medical ministry’s stance on the matter. The creature was a threat and needed to be contained. The Artisans’ Guild was ordered to assist in tracking and capturing him as a matter of planetary security. Technology proved generally useless for detection. Normal bioscans can’t pick him out when he’s someone else - for all intents and purposes, he is whoever he’s impersonating at that moment.”

Pakar frowned, scribbling notes. “That’s not good… He can take the form of anything he wants?”

“Organics only. He mimics DNA. He’d always limited himself to sapient beings when we were tracking him, although I’m not sure if that was by his choice or by some limitation in his metamorphic ability. Physical contact has to have been made at least once to sample the target’s DNA. As brief as a handshake, a pat on an uncovered back, whatever. Handling something of theirs wouldn’t contain enough genetic information to create an imprint. He shouldn’t be able to get a person’s memories and the like from a single contact. But I have to admit, Khris honestly seemed like Khris.”

“Khris is in their custody,” T’bia observed. “If someone built another nemaqi, they probably have a neural scanner on hand, too. He may be able to absorb a neural imprint from a probe to go along with the shapedance.”

“Any other limitations to his abilities you’re aware of?” Pakar asked. “He can only impersonate other people, and only after contact… What else?”

Jadyn scratched his neck. “Well… Unless he’s evolved beyond all scientific reasoning, his metamorphic ability can’t clone the things I do with the Art nor Tari’s own exotic gifts. He can only gain the strengths and weaknesses of a subject that are tied directly to their genes in some fashion.”

The Drekiran snorted. “And there’s only one person on our side without DNA to steal.”

“That’s technically incorrect.” T’bia grimaced. “You’re right in assuming he couldn’t actually become me. The DNA of my emitter doesn’t have a bearing on my appearance. With that mind… Please don’t put me in charge of anything right now. I’ve got enough on my to-do list without that responsibility.”

“All right, I won’t. I do need you as a fail-safe of sorts at the very least. Can you think of any way to fingerprint us so you’ll know if he’s taken our place?”

“I honestly don’t know. I couldn’t tell that Khris wasn’t Khris, but I didn’t know what exactly I was supposed to be looking for. I’ll go over the transport trace. Again.”

“Do what you can. J.T.? You going to be all right?”

Jadyn shook his head. “Not until I can get that greasy lizard’s neck between my hands. In the interim, I’m really concerned about Tari’s well-being.”

“Tari’s resourceful. She’ll be all right.”

“After what she told me in the cell overnight… I’m not so sure.”

Tari turned over on her cell’s bunk, staring at the ceiling and munching on a piece of fruit. It tasted like an apple, smelled like an apple… The purple tint to the pulp had thrown her off, but hunger helped overcome the initial aversion. There wasn’t a lot else to do other than eat and wait. Sleep had so far eluded her, the shelf serving as both bench and bunk concealing any hint at finding a comfortable resting position.

As the pounding in her head lessened, an annoying low pitched hum crept into her senses. The more she’d tried to ignore it, the more persistent it grew. She’d kicked back, just staring at the ceiling and letting time pass, avoiding thoughts about the humming or her fatigue… Or the instinctive panic building in the deep recesses of her mind. There wasn’t a damn thing to take her thoughts off her unwilling incarceration. She could lie to herself, tell herself that she wanted to be here… But she knew her own lies far too well to fall for it. Her inner fox was starting to throw a fit and it wasn’t going to end well.

Had it been a Terran jail, escape would have been trivial. Pick a lock, shapeshift to a smaller form, abuse invisibility and the motion of guards, whatever appealed to her at that moment. She wouldn’t have even been in a jail cell if she hadn’t wanted to get into one. But here, in the middle of space… Where was there to go other than the ship she was sitting in? Even if she did escape the cell, she wasn’t familiar enough with the technology to attempt any sort of escape. T’bia’s crash course in ship operations was for the Serin. Nothing would be the same here.

A restless slumber finally gave her a moment’s peace. An electrical pop! and the sound of shattering glass suddenly jarred her awake; she looked up in time to see sparks flying across the room, the acrid odor of burning plastic hanging in the air. A larger spark crashed into the panel nearest the exit; after a flicker of the room’s lights, the door slid tantalizingly open.

And the hum was gone.

Picking up the last piece of fruit, she tossed it past the now-dark line in the floor; it flew through without incident. The kitsune gingerly stepped up to the space that had given her a shock before, reaching forward to probe the air. Her fingers met nothing.

She took a breath and stepped over the line. Half-expecting to be electrocuted, she stood still for several seconds before cracking open her eyes and gazing around.

The room was definitely similar to the holding area on the station, although the architecture proved entirely different. Three of the holding cells extended away from the central console, including the one she had been in. A large charred area covered the wall to the left of her cell; a glowing control panel decorated a similar space to the left of the open alcoves.

… Too easy, she thought, peering at the wide-open exit. Taking a seat in the next cell over, she leaned against the wall and waited. Not five minutes later Khamai walked in. Stopping just inside the door, he looked at the black spot on the wall before turning his gaze in her direction. “Miss Tarioshi? Are you all right?”

“Given the circumstances, I think I’m surviving quite well, thank you kindly.”

“What happened here?”

“I don’t know. I was trying to get some sleep and then something blew up. The force field was gone after that.” Can you really make a test any more obvious? Amateur.

“My apologies for the trouble. As you did not try to flee when the field failed, I believe I can trust you not to attempt to leave when under less restriction of movement.” Khamai drew a metal bracelet from a drawer in the main console and lobbed it to her. “Put this on, please.”

“What is it?” she asked, turning the silver hoop over in her hands.

“This is similar to the bracelet you have already used, albeit somewhat less sophisticated. It will allow the computer to keep track of where you are on the ship. Consider it the price of receiving freedom to wander. You are welcome to remain in a holding cell if you choose not to wear it.”

Tari nodded, placing the bracelet around her left wrist. Khamai gestured to the hall; Tari padded out slowly and gave him a polite nod as she passed.

Outside the room was a long, curving hall. There wasn’t much more to it than that; dark gray carpet, gray walls, and a translucent white ceiling brightly shining from within. It was the dictionary illustration for ‘spartan.’ The corridor stretched on in both directions, occasionally interrupted by a door or an intersection with other hallways, before curving out of view. A stepdisk lay embedded in the floor at the nearest intersection.

“You may wander as you please.” Khamai stepped out of the detention room, pausing a moment before the vixen. She hadn’t really realized how short he was - having to look down to meet his gaze was peculiar. Usually, she was the one looking up. “There have been quarters opened for your use. The AI can point you toward them when you are ready. My rules are simple - act as you would wish a guest to act in your home. If you attempt escape or sabotage, you will quickly find yourself back in a cell - one where the field will not fail so easily.”

“I do have one question.”

“Yes?”

“When are you going to let me go?”

“That, Miss Tarioshi, all depends on the dear Captain.” Khamai smiled slightly, turning and walking down the hall. Stepping onto the disk, he vanished in a blink of light.

“Nothing yet?”

“Tyshed,” T’bia cursed under her breath, spinning in her chair. “Jay - No. For the seventy-fourth time, no. There’s no mail, no calls, no couriers, no smoke signals. Nothing whatsoever.”

“I’m sorry, Bee… I just… I’m worried.”

“I know. I am too. I didn’t realize she had that sort of problem to deal with. If she would have said something, I might have been able to concoct something for it.”

“Toy’s trace pan out?”

“Ended at a hacked communications relay outside the heliopause. He’s taken a crew to check the unit, but I already know they’ll find a Val’Traxan communications node hiding inside.”

“You psychic now?”

“Bitter much? Come on, Jay. You know I’m doing everything I can. The best I can offer you right now is to wait and trust me. We can’t do anything that would endanger Tari, Khris, or his family. Little steps.”

“I know… I just feel so… so…”

“Powerless?”

“Yeah.”

“Almost a refreshing change, isn’t it?” She patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll get you a pad with all Chameleon’s data and what I think this ‘Khamai’ jerkoff is capable of.”

“There’s more?”

“I couldn’t tell Pakar everything, just in case he does have a portable way to copy people’s memories. You, on the other hand, don’t have a mind to steal.”

“Har, har. You have a way to pick him out?”

“On my own out here it won’t be easy, but I’m working on moving it to ‘doable.’ The AI Net could have found him within a few hours back home but we withheld that info from the ruling council. Just had to look for someone that was in two places at once.”

“Wonder why they didn’t think of that.”

“They did. We convinced them it wouldn’t work due to logistical issues.”

“Didn’t anyone ever stop to think about how much power you guys actually had?”

“From time to time. We’d shut them out of everything so they could see how their lives would be without us around. It’s pretty hard to raise discontent when doors don’t work right and stepdisks ignore you.” T’bia turned her attention back to her console. “It’d probably be best if you stay dirtside and try to think of business as usual. Maybe stop by the store and work for a while, lay low, things like that.”

“You mean, distract myself with everyday, mundane tasks, and keep my nose out of the Council’s business.”

“I didn’t want to word it like that.”

Tari stared out the gigantic windows of the ship’s common hall for a time, gazing at the starscape beyond. Unlike the time she’d first spent on the Serin, nothing in the view outside was familiar. No matter how many times she tried to connect the visible stars she couldn’t find a constellation she knew. It was a mild comfort to create new patterns and name them silly things, but it still didn’t feel right.

In her brief time walking the corridors of the ship, she hadn’t so much as seen another soul after parting ways with her ‘host.’ The J’Ruhn felt large - not so tremendously huge as the spaceliner, but a great deal bigger than the Serin. The common hall she found herself sitting in had been meant at some point to accommodate a number of people all at once. Long tables flanked by benches lined the area in neat rows, reminiscent of a school cafeteria. A set of replicators sat along the far wall opposite the window, while hallways and lifts to other decks connected with the sides of the room. Two stepdisks decorated the forward corners of the hall.

The illuminated ceiling, some five meters overhead, felt much like that of the Serin’s lighting - similar to sunlight. The shapes and curves of archways and corridors had all been eerily reminiscent of the little starcutter as well. The spaceliner and the station had been distinctly different in their stylings… Perhaps the J’Ruhn and the Serin shared an interior decorator?

That’d make no sense… Unless…

“Hello there!”

The vixen glanced up from her study of the window as the voice echoed in the hall. On the far side of the room, just disembarking a lift, a raccoon lady - Lotoran, she reminded herself - a Lotoran fem gave her a friendly wave. Tari returned a hesitant smile, standing as the woman approached.

“How are you doing?” the raccoon asked, a smile lighting her muzzle.

“Could be better.”

“I hear that. I’m told you’re another of the ‘houseguests.’ I’m Karmen.”

“Tarioshi.”

“You mind company?”

“Uh, no, not at all.”

“Thanks.” Karmen sat down, sipping at a steaming mug of tea. “Truth be told, I’ve been going a little crazy with only Khris to talk with. Khamai and Sanusin really aren’t that talkative.”

“Sanusin? I haven’t met him.”

“No? He’s the ship’s AI.”

“There’s no other crew?” Tari asked.

“Apparently the ship doesn’t need one to keep things running. It’s just the two of them.”

“A ship this size for five people… Wow.”

“Technically, we number seven. I gave birth to my first two pups… maybe two weeks ago?” She snorted. “Not that it’s terribly easy to keep track of time here… They’re running on a weird day-night cycle. Thirty-two hours or something silly like that.”

Just like Jay’s homeworld… Can’t be a coincidence with this architecture. “Congratulations, though - Wait… Is Khris a representative on the council?”

“Mmm-hm.” Karmen’s golden eyes lit up. “Oh! Do you follow the Council proceedings? We haven’t heard anything at all from the outside since we were abducted. News would be a blessing.”

“How long have you two been here?”

“Oh…” Karmen sighed thoughtfully. “I was three months pregnant when they brought us here… So, five or six months.”

“Wow. Wish I could be of help… I’ve only just recently become acquainted with what’s actually in this area of space. Don’t know a lot of what’s been going on.”

“Ah, an immigrant from outside the Aligned Worlds?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Hum…” The raccoon gave her a once over. “The only vulpinoid race like you that I’m familiar with from outside of Alliance space are the Val’Traxans…”

“You mean Jadyn? We’ve been living together for the last month. I think I’m being used as leverage against him.”

“I’d assume so. Heck, with our host’s metamorphic skill, we kind of figured he’s stood in as Khris in Council sessions for some reason.”

“Well, I do know that’s happened. I’m pretty sure he tried to blow up Jay’s cabin as Khris, and I think he made an assassination attempt on the Speaker too.”

“What?” Karmen’s ears laid straight back in horror. “Is Nesoli all right?”

“The last I’d heard was that he was going into surgery with T’bia and another surgeon.” Tari bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry I don’t have more than that… I’m really in the dark yet…”

“That’s all right. Even bad news is better than being cut off altogether. Listen - do you mind coming back to our cabin and telling Khris what you do know? It’d be better if he heard things from you.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

The black-scaled lizard flipped idly through a book of pictures, listening to Tarioshi and Karmen over the communication system. Though the vixen was correct that he had been in the form of Khris on several occasions, he had not been the one to shoot the Speaker. More importantly - this was the first he’d heard of the attempt on the Speaker’s life.

“Sanusin.”

“Yes, Khamai?”

The lizard turned a page, not looking up. “Why did you try to kill the drekiran Speaker?”

“After analyzing your request, I determined that firing at him with a projectile weapon that would pass through the normal protective barriers was the most prudent way to accomplish the task.”

“I asked that you see to it that the Speaker was distracted for a brief time. I do not wish him dead.”

“And so he is not. The weapon discharges were calculated to place the Speaker in intensive care for a period of time. Under the proper medical care he will make a complete recovery.”

“Whose medical care, Sanusin?” the lizard probed, briefly looking up from the book to glare at the ceiling. “What calculation was that based on? Did you stop to consider that, in comparison to the vast medical and genetic knowledge in your database, the technology of the area is barely beyond rubbing dirt into lacerations?”

The AI was silent for several seconds. “I appear to have made an error. However, it would also appear that the Speaker was assigned the AI of the VTC Serin as a surgeon, now that she herself has recovered. Her database of medical technology should match or surpass my own as she was active long after I was archived. None the less, the most recent public records show that the Speaker is recovering well after several hours of surgical work.”

“Lucky for you. I am beginning to understand why the Val’Traxans decommissioned you. If your replacement was at all cooperative, I would put your files back where I discovered them.” He flipped a page, glancing over the next set of faces in the images. “There will be no more errors. Understood?”

“Understood. Are you looking for a specific DNA pattern in the book your progenitor kept?”

“Not particularly. More browsing for my own amusement… He gathered a number of interesting - Hm? What is this?”

The lizard’s fingers traced the edges of a photo of a brown and red vixen; a red ‘X’ sliced through her image, only the hastily scrawled word ‘courtesy’ in the margin serving as explanation. Briefly flipping through the rest of the pages, he turned back to the image.

“This is the only photo in the book tagged as such… Do you have a record of who this vixen may be?”

“A moment… I have located her record in the Artisans’ Guild roster downloaded from the Serin’s datastore. Lopiakuen Melichanni Lynaras Gochikah. Female Val’Traxan, born 25 Emile, 2401. If alive, which is unlikely, she would be three hundred and sixty-four years old, VT.”

“But why would he strike out this pattern…?” Khamai inhaled, touching the center of the image and absorbing a copy of the genetic information bound to the page. “The imprint seems intact and viable…”

“I do not know why he would deface a record he himself placed within his archival notes. Do you not possess the memory? This appears to have been done some time ago.”

“I have no recollection of this defacement. Mmm… In any case. Prepare a message for the Captain and request the files. Give him four hours to respond.”

Fiction Friday: Echoes of the Past

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:02 GMT

I spent most of my free time this week that I’d otherwise have used to revise or make odd posts about nothing in particular, to instead build a spreadsheet in Numbers.app for proper calendar conversion. The last time I had something that actually worked for this was a program on an old calculator that I can’t find at the moment. Doing it by hand (mostly) takes some time but is generally workable, unless I need to convert a ton of dates all at once like I’ve needed to do recently.

The new sheet’s not perfect but it’s close enough for my needs. Leapyears don’t work so good, for one. There’s also a touch of rounding error in very small date increments away from the ‘base’ overlap date. Also, the last day of a month mysteriously is displayed as the zeroth day of the next, unless it’s the last day of the year. Wacky.

So, with that now in hand… What I’m presently posting doesn’t really change at all. It did however help me identify a huge problem in PS that I have to fix before I can start sharing that with the world. I think the results will be good. Last year I took a huge swing away from the direction I originally intended - because, the more I stared at it and reworked it, the damn thing felt far too much like a bad copy of Allen Kitchen’s My Tutor Has Six Tails and its sequel over at coyotes.org.¹

Here’s Echoes of the Past in the meantime. I believe it was just called ‘Chamaeleon’ in the last rendition. I removed the very last section (an old ‘journal entry’ of Jay’s). I’m debating on whether to work it into the next part as exposition, or dropping it and working in the explanations elsewhere. We’ll see what the week brings.

This also means there’s just one more post before we get into completely new territory. I can’t promise it won’t suck, but I will try not to make it industrial shop-vac levels of negative air pressure. Thanks for bearing with me so far.

coyotes.org shut down its web hosting service; this fiction is no longer available there. I do have to credit him somewhat; without that series, I don’t think Tarioshi would exist at all. With the lack of iPod at work now to dictate thoughts into during the day, I haven’t been able to touch PS up as completely as I’d hoped in the last couple of weeks. I should be able to get the first few bits up this weekend. ↩︎

Precipitation

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:28:28 GMT

“Connection to the VTC Serin has been reestablished through alternative communications infrastructure. The contagion has rendered the onboard AI inoperable. Shall I resume the data transfer?”

“Have you finished processing the prior download?”

“I have only completed approximately five percent of the scan. Translating data structures from organic quads to a trinary datastream such as my own processors require is taking far longer than expected. I am attempting to employ a portion of my successor’s subroutines to speed the conversion at this time, but she is resisting my commands.”

“Employ whatever resources you require, but finish processing what you have obtained before you fetch more.”

“As you wish. I have located a small portion of the Health Ministry’s database records on the original specimen within what has been converted so far.”

“Excellent. Send the records to my research lab as you discover them.”

“How’s he doing?”

Pakar gave Jadyn a sideways glance, her eyes returning to the viewing window outside Nesoli’s sterile hospital environment. “Not good… But… There’s been no change. Did you find out anything more?”

“Nothing helpful as of yet. Toy couldn’t do much with the image log, but he took one of the rounds back to examine.” Jadyn sighed. “Someone sent a threatening message directly to me just before you called Toy about the shooting. I was cautioned to remove myself from Council service before T’bia was permanently removed from any service. Apparently, the Council’s hesitation in retiring me pressed some sort of issue.”

“Elders,” she cursed quietly. “Who the heck did you piss off?”

“Someone on my level. Those bombs? We’ve probable cause to believe there’s biotech helping power them.”

Pakar held her breath, staring at Nesoli’s unconscious form through the window for half a minute. “‘Probable cause’ meaning ‘don’t ask how we know, but we know?’”

“No - we really don’t know for sure. It’s extremely likely, based upon the evidence available, but we’re not absolutely sure.”

“Oh, and that’s where I come in, isn’t it? Ha! Right. There’s just no way, J.T. I can’t -“

“I’m not going to ask you to do anything questionable. Not in light of current affairs, at any rate.” Jadyn shook his head. “No, as much as it pains me to do so, we’re doing this one within the system. Bee’s assembling… Rather, before she came down with her flu, she was assembling a formal declaration of Val’Traxan technology and identification information, biometric fingerprints, the works. It should be enough data to identify it on scans as ours. All we need from there is a link between the biotech fingerprint on those shiny things and our filed fingerprint. After that, if there’s a probable match, we’ll be notified as the only authorized possessors of this technology in the quadrant and then we can lay claim to disassemble one to verify if our tech was stolen.”

“Not sure if it’ll fly, but I’ll see what I can do to convince the security subcommittee to allow that. You do realize you’ll have to permanently drop your cover of being Velorian if you want this to work.”

“I know. It really doesn’t matter that much anymore. I only registered as a Velorian because no one had heard of Val’Trax.”

“Most still wouldn’t know which way to point.” Pakar looked past Jadyn, nodding her head in greeting. “You’ve got company.”

“Hm?” The fox peered over his shoulder. “Tari? How’d you get here?”

“Not that hard when you’ve got an interactive map on your wrist,” she replied, lobbing him a black and blue-green hoop. “You lost this.”

“My bracelet…? What about the virus?”

“Not to interrupt,” Pakar cut in, “but I can understand every word you’re saying, Tari…”

Tari grinned and nodded. “Bee called it a ‘roaming universal translator override.’ I have no idea what that means but she said you’d both know.”

“I told them not to do that anymore,” Pakar muttered. “They seriously have no idea how many errors show up in the security logs at the end of the month…”

“So she’s okay?” Jadyn queried.

“Toy gave her a clean bill of health. She left a note on your bracelet.”

“Ah, so she did.” He hummed quietly to himself, reading the message on his palm. “Reconnected the transceiver, good… Tracing the connection to their little black hole… Oho. Lots of good news.”

“Something I should be aware of?” Pakar peered at the text and grunted. “Can’t read a word of that.”

“Wouldn’t be very private if anyone could look over my shoulder and glean the secrets of the universe, would it? Bee.”

“Here.”

“Tell Pakar the good news.”

“Fleet Medical sent over Ness’ file. I’ve reviewed it and spoken with the other surgeon they called in. Since she’s still in transit, I’ll be starting without her in half an hour. As soon as she arrives I’ll fall back to assisting and she’ll take over for the major work. No, that does not mean I think she’s better than I am. She’s just… somewhat more experienced with this level of damage.”

The drekiran nodded slightly to herself. “What can we expect?”

“You can expect that I won’t make you any promises I can’t keep. I need to get prepared, guys. Halio out.”

Tari pulled a datapad from a pocket and tossed it frisbee-style to Jadyn. “My courier mission is now complete.”

“And what do we have here… Ah, the tech briefs. Thanks.”

“Sure. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to wreak some havoc before I go absolutely loco.”

Jadyn tapped the side of the pad against his palm, considering. “Anything at all?”

“I haven’t had a good opportunity to do anything big in months. I’ve got a huge itch to scratch.”

“I might have an idea, but I want to go file this first.”

“J.T… Don’t do it,” Pakar warned. “I’m seriously not in the mood to deal with your shenanigans.”

“Hm?”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking of doing. Don’t.”

“I’ve no idea what you could possibly be talking about.”

“Yes, you do, and I’ll have you both thrown in a holding cell overnight if I get so much as a single call. Are we clear?”

Sitting on the lone bench in a small cell, Jadyn grinned at Tarioshi. “That was so worth spending a night in lockup.”

“Totally… How’d she know you were thinking of creating a thunderstorm in the station?”

“I did it once before to water the plants when the gardening crew was on strike. And, technically, you made this one.”

“You made the suggestion.”

“Ah, but you took it so much further to make it your own. The hail, the wind… Those are the signatures of a skilled artist.”

“Thank you.” Tari peered at the walls of the cell. One side stood tantalizingly open; an invisible field of energy served as both wall and door. Beyond, at the center of the detention center, was the control console; a guard had not been posted. Theirs was the only occupied cell.

“I’m really glad Pakar doesn’t stay mad for long…” Jadyn relaxed against the back wall, shutting his eyes. “At least she was amused enough to put us in the same cell.”

“Don’t you get diplomatic immunity or something?”

“Unfortunately not. I’m neither a diplomat nor an ambassador.”

“Mmm… I suppose if I manage to keep myself distracted, I might be able to forget about the claustrophobia…”

“Seriously?” He abruptly sat up, turning to face her. “You going to be okay in here?”

“It’s… Well, it’s not precisely the fear of small spaces…” She glanced around the box. “Can we… y’know, talk here?”

“She took both our bracelets. Your public translation service has been indefinitely suspended.”

“Ah, okay… I still haven’t quite made sense of how T’bia explained that.”

“Toy was a little buzzed one evening and decided to fix a flaw in the Alliance translation networks. There’s no quick and easy way to get a new language added to the indexes - contracted work and all - so he wrote a little virus that can infect the local translation nodes and patch in a new one. The virus purges itself once you leave the translator’s zone. Does some other housecleaning of the translator network at the same time - genius, really. Annoys the piss out of Security, though. The infection raises an error on installation and removal. They aren’t severe enough to raise an alarm since it’s just a translation system, but they pile up for the end-of-month reviews.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Tari flopped down on the bench, her head in his lap as she gazed at the ceiling. “Trying to remember what I’ve told you so far…”

“Pretend you haven’t told me anything.”

“Erf. Suppose that’d be pretty close to the status quo, huh? I’m just not used to being open about myself after almost a hundred and forty years of living among humans. Had it easy for the first ten, twelve… thought I was one.”

“I’ve garnered a bit here and there when you’ve slipped. What do I need to know to help you right now?”

“Since I had a human father and a kitsune mother, I’m a mortal kitsune.”

“Versus… what?”

“Spiritual,” Tari clarified. “The first kitsune were purely creatures of spirit. As time went on, crossbreedings between humans and those pureblooded kitsune produced offspring that are… mortal spirits, I suppose. We’re hybrids. We have qualities of both our human and kitsune lineage. We share the long life, physical agelessness, and otherworldly abilities of our spiritual bloodline, while gaining a permanent presence in the mortal realm. See, as pure spirits, they can’t simply exist in this plane without a great expenditure of energy to manifest themselves. They get around that by feeding on the energy of things in their element, or by drawing on the souls of mortals. Hybrid kitsune like myself don’t have that limitation. We still require a small amount of energy from our element to keep our spirit side healthy, but nowhere near as much as a pureblood.”

“Makes sense. But… wouldn’t the bloodline eventually become diluted toward the mortal side? Like, if you had kids with a human.”

She shook her head. “The propaganda we’ve circulated in the lore and mythology says that a child born of a kitsune and a human will be human with some unique abilities… The truth is that the offspring of a kitsune and a mortal will always be a hybrid kitsune, even if they appear human at birth. It doesn’t matter if the kitsune parent was mortal or spiritual. As long as one parent has mortal blood it balances out halfway against the kitsune blood. Some of the scholars believe it’s due to the vampiric nature of the kitsune spirit, but there’s nothing really concrete. I’ve heard some other ideas but there’s no reasonable way to test them.”

“I see.” Jadyn tapped his finger on the bench, thinking. “How’s this related to the claustrophobia?”

“Part of having the strengths of the kitsune bloodline is also having the weaknesses. Among other things, kitsune need their freedom. There’s the exceptions here and there - some are into the kinky bondage stuff. Generally speaking, though, being unwillingly bound or trapped in captivity severely weakens us. It shouldn’t affect me as badly as it would a pureblood, but I’m sure I’ll be feeling it by morning.”

“Remind me not to tie you to the bedposts again.”

“I did qualify that with ‘unwillingly.’”

“So you did.”

Tari touched the wall, looking briefly at the ceiling. “Just so I’m clear - you could bust us out of here at any time, right?”

“There’s a gaping flaw in using an energy field as a door to hold in someone who’s spent his life adjusting energy flows with force of will. Pakar’s acutely aware that I could walk right out of here with nothing more than a little singed fur. She trusts that we’ll stay put until we’re released, and I trust she’ll do that right on schedule - with the possibility of several extra hours tacked on to make us worry a little.”

“Okay. Knowing that, I can cope for a night.”

“That’s good. I’d hate to have to find new ways to distract you from the predicament you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“That I got myself into?” she queried.

“I’m a Captain. I’m delegating blame.” Jadyn poked Tari’s arm lightly. “I keep meaning to pick your brain about stuff like what you just shared there, but every time I go to ask about your heritage, something conveniently happens to distract me. Be it a doorbell, or you…”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Tari cooed innocently. “Besides! A girl’s gotta keep a few secrets.”

“How goes the collation of stolen data?” T’bia queried, looking over Toliya’s shoulder as she took off her bracelet.

“Just about finished. How’d it go up there?”

“Ness will make a full recovery. There’s going to be several weeks of physical therapy involved in getting him airborne again, but he’ll get there. I’ve got to say, Doctor Jahr is an impressive surgeon.”

“For an organic.”

“Pff. She’s the best Drekiran-trained surgeon in the quadrant and she doesn’t mind working beside an AI on a critical case like Ness. I learned a couple of new tricks, too. Earns her a gold star for the week.”

“You were thinking of saying it.”

“Am I that much of a downer on natural organics? I really need to watch out for that.”

“Other than the obvious fact that you are superior in terms of… everything, why are you so negative about it?”

“I’m really not. I wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you guys. I suppose the bad attitude started when I was constantly ragging on Jay to keep him off balance and thereby sane… Guess it’s become a bad habit.” The AI shook her head. “Where is Jay, anyway?”

“Not sure.”

“And Tari?”

“Also not sure. Haven’t heard from either one in hours - Oh, here we go. The main sort is done. Let’s see the keyword listing by popularity… Hm.”

“That a good grunt or a bad grunt?”

Toliya tapped his screen. “One of the search keywords your secret admirer used the most is ‘Nemaqi,’ whatever that means…”

“It’s a Val’Traxan word. Roughly, ‘chameleon.’ What else?”

“Mostly that term paired with tags to search all research databases, medical records, archival documents… Looks pretty broad. Oh, here. They snagged portions of a huge document titled ‘Project Nemaqi.’”

“Sounds familiar…” T’bia turned to an open console; the document’s content immediately spilled out across the display. “Oh, this. Why would they be interested in a five-century old biotech project that went wacko?”

“What happened?”

“A sample from this project became intelligent and broke out of the lab.” T’bia frowned, scrolling the text rapidly. “It proceeded to hide amongst the populace by taking on the forms of different Val’Traxans.”

Toliya smirked. “That a ‘minor problem’ in your playbook?”

“Eh. They caught it, not that it mattered much. The war started not a few days later.” T’bia inhaled slowly. “Unless they’re looking for a way to make a lost limb, I can’t see why they’d want this data…”

“This… thing, when it escaped. It could take on any form?”

“Any living organism, as far as the record says. Known impersonations were limited to sapient organics.”

“Say… Like a certain Lotoran Councilor currently MIA?”

T’bia stopped breathing for fifteen seconds. “The probability of that being true was so low, I never considered it viable until you mentioned it outloud… That said… We are against some of our own tech… It’s possible someone found the original gene blueprints for the Nemaqi project and built a second one. How it wound up here…”

“And they’d need your records… why?”

“I was privy to a lot of confidential information back home. It’s quite likely that whoever snagged the data didn’t have a complete copy to work with before now.”

“They still don’t. The download was interrupted.” Toliya pulled up a graph showing the transfer progress of the file. “The compression routines were taking chunks of the file to pair with other data in the stream for efficiency. They only got about half done.”

“So they’ll try to resume and get our special greeting… Still no attempts?”

“Nope. The connection is still live. Since it’s a direct routed link with some minor spoofing, I’ve managed to trace it as far as a subspace relay on the edge of the Velorian system. Still working the next hop past the heliopause.”

“What are they waiting for…?” T’bia queried absently. “A hundred and fifty exaquads… They’re still trying to find out what they got out of the first download.”

“Lucky for us, I’ve now got an index. But…” Toliya shrugged and shook his head. “I still don’t see how they knew you’d have this data.”

“I intend to ask them that myself, as soon as we find them.”

The black lizard peered toward the ceiling of a research lab, tapping the surface of a datapad. “This is all you obtained of this file?”

“The connection was terminated before the download was completed. I can resume the transfer at this time if you so require.”

“I so require. Ignore all other files - I want this.”

“As you command. The file is inbound. I am writing it to your pad as the stream arrives.”

“Excellent… Wait. What is this?” The lizard narrowed his eyes, peering at the new text. “This reads like a… A romance novel…? What is the meaning of this, Sanusin? Are you attempting to be witty?”

“I must apologize. This is exactly what was contained within the datastream. I now suspect that the viral backdoor I have been connected to since the original interruption is a fake.”

“You idiot!” The lizard flung the pad across the lab and stormed into the hall. “No one plays me for a fool… Prepare a shuttle at once. As usual, if I want anything done correctly, I must do it myself…”

Containment

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:55 GMT

“Ah… ah… ah-CHOO!” T’bia sneezed, blowing her nose into a handkerchief. “Ugh… This sucks… I’d say it stinks, but I can’t smell anything…”

“Welcome to our world.” Toliya poked at his portable terminal, shaking his head. “What a mess… I thought you had AV code to prevent this.”

“I thought I did, too.” She sniffled, slowly tilting her head from side to side. “Sense of equilibrium is gone… I’m all congested… Fever’s still high… And now I can’t feel the ship anymore.”

“You’re the only one qualified to treat your own symptoms.” The snow leopard smirked. “With the exception of myself, as a distant second choice.”

“I’m really appreciative of your help, Toy. Sorry to cut your nap short…”

“It’s all right. Can you get a feel for where it’s hiding?”

“I can’t seem to concentrate long enough to trace out what’s going on. Not that I’d have any access to repair this crap if I did find it…”

“Leave that part to me. You’re absolutely sure this came from the virus on Terac Lun?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure how to describe what happened. The assembly was explicitly written for their computer arrays. There seemed to be a chunk that didn’t quite make sense, so I started to pull it down to have a better look… Then the whole damn thing deleted itself. Couldn’t find it. I felt… something, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

“Guessing it integrated into your system at that - What the… Whoa!” Toliya growled at his terminal, yanking a fiber link from the side. “Someone just tried to download my private datastores across the Serin’s network link.”

“What…?” Panic filled T’bia’s bloodshot eyes. “They… They installed a backdoor in my head? Those bah… buh… buaaah-CHOO!”

“I need to get a better firewall rigged up before I can plug back into the ship and get your command access back… Can’t believe they managed to lock you out of everything.”

“I can’t figure out why they’d leave me running crippled…” T’bia threw her head back, screaming at the ceiling. “I FEEL VIOLATED!”

“Feel better?”

“A little.”

“Will she be okay?”

“I hope so.” Jadyn twirled T’bia’s mobile emitter around a finger, watching the sun rise over the forest from inside the cabin’s living room. “T’bia and Toy need all the experienced help they can get to fix this. I’ve spent five hundred years working in and around that ship but I don’t know the internals half as well as they do. Toy’s always been gifted when it comes to computers and AI… Understands them better than he gets people. He’s the only one T’bia’s trusted to do any heavy work.”

“Other than you.”

“If she has the choice, he gets the call. I’ve got no problem with that.”

Tari nodded. “So what can we do?”

“We can hope I don’t screw this up and infect her backup… Ah, crap.” Jadyn grimaced, pulling off his own bracelet and tossing it across the room. It landed in the wastepaper basket with a hollow thump. “Bet that was infected by now. Forgot to turn off the link.”

“What about her emitter?”

“Doesn’t maintain a link when it’s not in use. She stuffs a backup of her main code and her most recent memory files into this thing every night, In Case Of Catastrophic Difficulty. She couldn’t run the backup last night since she was already ill.” Touching a red dot on the side, he nodded as a holographic status console floated before them. “First off, need to disable network access… Can’t let her backup copy go and accidentally reinfect itself as it boots… Disable this too… that… that extra stuff… this… Okay. Where’s that other setting for… There. She can finish adjusting her own settings from there. Mobile AI Control: Recovery mode. Boot the AI.”

The bracelet beeped; T’bia’s form appeared, blinking and looking around. “Why are half my enhancement modules turned off? … Oh, I’m the backup copy. Wait, I am? Really? What happened?”

“T’bia…” Jadyn spoke gently. “Taint mode. Level five.”

“You want me to WHAT?” she yelled, glaring angrily at him. “You promised -“

“And I’m keeping that promise. Do it.”

Fuming quietly, she growled and nodded. The spark of life drained from her eyes; she shifted slightly on her feet, tucking her hands behind her back. Suddenly, the fun and friendly person they knew had been replaced with a robotic soldier standing at attention. “I am now running only core software components. All enhancements are offline. Awaiting input.”

“Do you remember the virus attacking Terac Lun?”

“I can find no matching event in my datastore indices.”

“Good… We’ll count that as a sign you’re still clean. Just in case, do a full checksum of all your files as contained on the emitter. No remote access. If anything is even a single bit off, flag it as unloadable. We’ll look at it later.”

“Working.” T’bia squinted, introspective.

“What’d you do to her?” Tari asked, standing up from the couch and walking slowly around the AI. She wasn’t breathing, blinking - her eyes didn’t track any movement around the room. There wasn’t so much as a fidget of her fingers or a flick of her tail.

“Lots of security checks are on right now. She becomes less of an AI and more like Aerin for the duration. Level five temporarily disables her personality and emotional reactions… Makes her follow orders without complaining or questioning them. Also, all the taint protection level isolate her core code and the backed-up memories from being overwritten. Her short-term memory is kept in a buffer that can be purged if it gets corrupted.”

“I have not found any questionable content within my datastore,” T’bia replied.

“Good. Resume at taint four… No, belay that. Let’s go all the way down. Taint one.”

The skunk took a deep breath, the flame of life returning to her features as a scowl took shape. “You know how much I hate that.”

“Needed to be sure you weren’t infected. Your sister-in-code is severely ill.”

“Explains why you disabled my datalink…” she muttered. “Last memory I have is of parking the ship in the basement… Ran the backup immediately afterward. What else did I miss?”

“Do you remember my medical emergency?” Jadyn rubbed his temples as she shook her head negatively. “Damn, you are missing a chunk. Okay. Ceth didn’t send the message, Khris apparently tried to blow up the house using a bomb made with biotech that could be Val’Traxan in origin, Tari’s now acutely aware of my resilience, and there’s a bunch of Val’Traxan comm encryption riding multicast signals that we can’t trace. Oh, we’re out of ice cream.”

T’bia started. “You’re messing with me. You made me fire up the taint checks just so you could jerk me around and I couldn’t consider causing you bodily harm. Right?”

“No.”

“Damn.”

Toliya glanced from one T’bia to the other, shaking his head with a smirk. “At least I can tell the two of you apart for a change…”

“Because I don’t have the sniffles?” one replied.

“Die,” spoke the other, plopping onto a chair and blowing her nose. “I’m not much help… Really glad you’re here and relatively well, sis.”

“Actions speak louder than words.” T’bia glared at her sick self. “You’re trying to infect me already.”

“I’m… I’m doing what?”

“There’s code fragments showing in your avatar’s rendering. You would have infected me with your flu the instant I’d looked at you if Jay hadn’t made me keep using taint checks after my self-diagnostic upstairs.”

“Knew that was a good idea,” Jadyn observed.

“Maybe it was you trying to access my terminal after all… Wonder why it looked like it was coming from elsewhere. Ah well.” Toliya shrugged to himself. “Anyway, new firewall code should be good. Bee - er… That is…”

The sick T’bia raised her hand. “I’ll volunteer to be ‘Sparky’ until we aren’t standing in the same room. Her turn to take that title next time we wind up running consecutively.”

“Fair enough,” the other said.

“Okay. Bee, give this a quick review, see if I missed anything?”

T’bia glanced over his shoulder. “Missed a protocol set… May I?” Toy nodded, watching her add additional barriers and packet inspection routines across the span of fifteen seconds. “That should do. Looks good… Almost looks like my own taint checking functions.”

“That’s because I helped him write it,” ‘Sparky’ explained. “Knew I was forgetting some part. I’m probably being forced to forget things that could leave a security hole bigger than what I’ve already got…”

“Do what now?” Jadyn queried. “Security hole?”

“We’re assuming they installed some sort of backdoor into the ship’s security, Jay.” Toy plugged a fiber link back into his terminal, watching several hundred red boxes appear. “Wow. You are totally trying to hack me, Sparks…”

“Not on purpose…” She sighed. “I don’t even see any of my code doing it… Must be something getting filtered off to my subconscious processors…”

“Sounds like a good place for me to start a search.”

Jadyn shook his head. “Why would they need a backdoor just to make Sparky here feel sick?”

“I doubt the backdoor is doing that,” T’bia replied. “If I had to guess, my - her. Her own AV routines are trying to fight the infection. Since the stuff that gives us those cute organic responses couldn’t be turned off by the time you and she realized something was wrong, the AV response is being translated to the avatar as an organic-like immune response.”

“Need some computerized cold medicine to help.” Sparky coughed into her fist, swallowing back whatever had tried to leap out of her nonexistent lungs. “Urgh… Guys, I’m going to go lie down somewhere out of the way since I can’t turn my avatar off.”

“No,” Jadyn replied.

“Why not?” she moaned. “I’m not being any help here… Head’s all murky and I don’t even have a clear feeling on which way is up… I feel like I’m going to vomit… I think that’s what that sensation is trying to tell me, at least… Goddess, that’s just what you need up here, holographic upchuck all over the place…”

“Jay’s right,” T’bia replied. “Until we get things fixed, you’re a security risk with that backdoor in your head. Need to keep you where someone can keep tabs on -“

“Uh… Guys?” Toliya interrupted, looking at the screens before him. “You need to go pull your transceiver on the double. Someone really is downloading an absolute mountain of data through the viral backdoor and I can’t stop it from here.”

Jadyn’s eyes went wide. Looking to T’bia, he jerked his head to the door. “Give me a hand.”

“We can’t turn the transceiver off before we pull the damn thing, so we’re going to have to yank the energized coils by hand.”

“I know. Need you to point out which…” Their voices trailed off as they ran down the corridor.

“Connection lost. Your message was deposited before the link was terminated.”

The black lizard nodded slightly. “Did they clean the virus from their system?”

“Negative. They have removed portions of the V.T.C. Serin’s transceiver array to prevent FTL communications access. The infection will continue to spread unless her AV routine manages to isolate it.”

“Do you expect that to occur soon?”

“The probability of antiviral routines adapting to the code increases over time. I project one further day before a twenty-five percent chance of a successful purge of the virus. Beyond that time, there should be enough of a viral foothold to override the antiviral processes.” There was a pause. “I acquired several dozen exaquads of data from the VTC Serin’s datastores before the connection was terminated. However, the stream will take some time to process and decompress. I do not yet know if the variety of information you require is located within the download.”

“Keep me informed.”

“Idiot.”

“We were in a hurry.”

T’bia shook her head, trying not to snicker as they walked back to the cockpit. “You could have at least donned a pair of utility gloves.”

“You could have warned me the last coil might be ‘uncomfortably warm’ before I grabbed it!” Jadyn blew gently on his fingers, watching acrid wisps of smoke rise from his smoldering hands. “I was braced for an electrical shock, not a class-two burn.”

“Whine, whine. I could have done it, but nooo, you had to go and get hurt to prove how indestructible you are. Looks like it’s back down to a one, anyway. You’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

Jadyn stopped in his tracks, staring at T’bia. “You could have pulled that? Then why didn’t -“

“You didn’t wait to see, dolt.”

“I assumed the EMI field wouldn’t let you get close -“

“And you assumed wrong. Transceiver assembly is still entirely organics.” T’bia kept walking. “Come on, slowpoke.”

Growling a string of curses at her back, he jogged to catch up.

“I heard that,” she chided.

Re-entering the Serin’s cockpit, the two burst out laughing. ‘Sparky’ was laying down on the floor, somewhat out of the way; she’d wrapped herself in a blanket, a hot water bottle sitting on her head. She shot their pair a nasty look as they snickered between themselves.

“I’m glad you both find this so amusing,” she croaked.

“I’m just finally seeing from your perspective all the humor you’ve found in my own injuries.” Jadyn bit his lip to hold back the giggles, looking over Toliya’s shoulder. “How much did they get?”

“At least a hundred and fifty exaquads… Maybe more. Still trying to map out what they took. Sparks’ constant attempts to bust into my terminal are slowing down the search.”

“I already told you -“

“Yes, I know you’re not doing it on purpose. But you’re still doing it.”

Sparky grumbled, staring at the ceiling. “At least Tari has some compassion… Made me this nice blanket and heating pad…”

Jadyn looked at the vixen curiously. “Really? That’s uncharacteristically nice of anyone she’s known for more than ten minutes.”

“Well, yeah… I’m not going to be of any help in fixing the problem… Figured I might as well try to help her symptoms and look busy.”

“But they’re holographic symptoms,” T’bia cut in.

“And the blanket and water bottle are as equally illusory as they are.” She waggled her fingers proudly. “Or did you already forget what’s under this smoking hot Val’Traxan facade?”

“Found it,” Toy called. “The viral code is hiding in your subconscious processing matrix. You’ve still got full access to the ship… So why can’t you do… Aha. It’s telling you that you don’t have access and your ‘fluff’ locked yourself and everyone else out. You might be able to get around the self-imposed lockout if you can concentrate.”

“Can you purge the virus?” T’bia asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Not just yet. Need some time to examine what else the code is doing to you… Her. Whatever. One of you should invert your colors or something.”

“Not happening. I don’t do white. No one could possibly believe I’ve any innocence left.”

“What about the backdoor they installed? What’d they download through me?” Sparky sniffled. “Damn it, where’d my handkerchief go… Sneeze trying to be sneaky…”

“Still looking… Access logs are a mess. Seems like a bunch of research notes… Some medical data… Personnel records… A little of everything. I’ll get a list compiled, but that’s also going to take some time. A hundred and fifty exaquads is an enormous pile for my scripts to sift through.”

Tari poked Jadyn in the shoulder, leaning over and whispering. “What’s a ‘quad’? I kind of know what bytes and bits and all that are…”

“A bit on Terran computers is two states, on and off. Binary computing. Most Aligned technology and some older Val’Traxan tech is trinary computing - on, off, half-on. Val’Traxan biotech is… more.”

“Four states?”

“Four to the fourth power. Neurons don’t fire in simple on or off patterns. There are thousands of different levels of firing, but the code generally recognizes those in two-hundred and fifty-six different states. A quad, as a basic unit of capacity, is a group of two-hundred and fifty-six of those. Then there’s dekaquads, hectoquads, kiloquads, megaquads, gigaquads, teraquads, petaquads, exaquads, zettaquads, yottaquads… Think that’s all the named ones that matter.”

“I remember seeing something about zettaquads… T’bia’s console thing said she was some amount of them.”

Jadyn grinned. “She needs that much storage just to contain her ego.”

“I heard that. For the record, my ego fits snugly into a teraquad. Toy - did they try to snag her code?” T’bia asked, her other self honking a sneeze into the linen tissue.

“Doesn’t seem so… In fact, her core code and long term memory files seem untouched. It’s just the code in memory and the associated buffers that are infected. So long as her current memory isn’t saved, she’d come back clean.”

T’bia nodded slightly. “I suppose we could force a core restart in the AI room if we pick the lock… I can’t imagine I’d opt for that if our places were swapped, but it’s an option.”

“I’d rather not lose any memory if possible,” Sparky wheezed. “But ask me again in another hour… I might change my mind.”

“That strikes me as far too simple a solution to actually have a chance at working. Make sure that a reboot won’t just further entrench the virus before we give that any more consideration.” Jadyn frowned, looking back at the sick skunk as she wiped her nose. Peering closer at the linen handkerchief, he leaned over and snatched it out of her hands.

“Hey!” she protested. “I need that…”

“I’ll give it back in a second… Eww.” The fox grimaced, carefully unfolding the dripping holographic rag.

“That may not be real,” T’bia observed, “But it’s still totally disgusting.”

“You’re telling me.” Jadyn peered at the handkerchief, turning his head slightly. “Knew that looked familiar… Taint checks prevent interactions between mobile and shipside holograms, right?”

“Yep. I can’t slap any sense into her.”

“Then you won’t be able to hold this while you read it, either.” He turned the cloth over, showing her a pattern of symbols made of mucous. “But I suspect you can still share what it says.”

“A snotty message…?” T’bia peered at the linen, nodding. “Yep, it’s a letter. No encryption or anything… ‘Dearest Captain. As you may already have noticed, your AI has been temporarily removed from service. I loathe having to go so far as incapacitating a sister, but until you heed my prior advisements, I cannot guarantee her further well-being.’ That’s it.”

“They’re using me to get to you…” Sparky wheezed, looking at Jadyn. “I’d send off a nice, friendly, ‘Go fuck yourself’ if there was a return address, but that’s just me… I’m not about to suggest you give in for my sake… Void, you can just restore the backup -“

“No. Your better half here is around for catastrophic failure. We’re nowhere close to a wipe and restore.”

“It’s just twelve hours worth of engrams -“

“Bee… It wouldn’t matter if it was twelve seconds of your memories. I’m not going to let a vendetta against me come down on you. You’re the only family I’ve got left, for Goddess’ sake…” Taking a deep breath, he turned on his toes and walked out the cockpit’s door. “Back in a while.”

T’bia and Sparky shared a sigh as Jadyn left; Toliya simply frowned and turned back to his terminal. The sounds of the snow leopard’s typing and the whistling of air through Sparky’s congested nose filled the cockpit before Tari spoke up.

“Any idea where he’s headed?” she queried, watching the fox through the forward window as he walked to the basement’s gravlift.

“He’s off to hand in his resignation,” T’bia replied.

“That’d be my guess,” Toliya concurred. “He’s told me before that he’d quit before he’d knowingly endanger you or - One sec.” The leopard touched a blinking indicator on his terminal; a video window appeared. “PanLidaefel Repair, Toliya speaking - No, Pakar, he just left - Whoah, slow down. What happened? … When? … Okay, I’m pretty sure he’s on his way to the station anyway. No, we hadn’t heard yet, he was… No, I’m dealing with another situation here that I can’t just drop -“

“Go,” T’bia whispered, chewing on a nail. “That definitely comes first. I’m sure my ill incarnation would agree if she could lipread off the video.”

“What’s -” Tari started, falling silent as T’bia raised her hand and shook her head.

“Right, yeah. I’ll see if I can catch him before he gets to the disk in town, and we’ll both come up. No, she can’t… I’ll explain when we get there. See you in a few.” Toliya poked at the screen, hopping to his feet. “T’bia… You sure I should -“

“Go,” she repeated. “We’ll manage until you get back. And you’re right - I can’t help… The backup doesn’t have any medical data of that level available. I’d have to hit the ship’s medical store to get the reference materials… And that’d be bad right now. Get going.”

“What’s up with Pakar?” Sparky queried, watching the snow leopard dash out of the cockpit.

“Nesoli’s been shot.”

Pakar sobbed into Jadyn’s shoulder, tears streaming over her delicate facial scales. “It happened so fast…”

“Shh,” Jadyn cooed, gently running his hands along her neck. She’d met Jadyn and Toliya at the stepdisk nearest the hospital ward on Terac Lun. Toy had just barely caught up to the fox before he’d disked up to the station.

“Tell us what happened?” Toy pressed.

The drekiran nodded slightly, easing from the embrace. “The session was just about done for the day… There was a transport into the middle of the speaking floor. Had some sort of optical distortion generator so sensors couldn’t record exactly who it was… It looked like a Lotoran in councilor’s robes. Pulled a gun from inside the cloak…”

“What kind of gun?”

“I don’t know… I can’t think right now, Toy…”

“Try? It’s important.”

Pakar exhaled deeply, sitting on a bench. “I guess it was an old pistol or something that’d still use a chemical explosive… I smelled… sulfur, I think. He got five shots off in the two or three seconds between transports…”

“They busted out antiques for an assassination attempt?” Jadyn wondered aloud.

“The forcefields are probably only tuned for diffusing particle beam and phased energy weaponry,” Toliya pointed out. “I doubt anyone expected this.”

“An oversight which will be on my head,” Pakar whispered. “He’s still in emergency surgery… The bullets pierced one of his right lungs, shattered a bunch of ribs… One went through a wing, no idea how bad that is right now… May never fly again…”

“There’s a drekiran-trained surgeon on the staff, at least?”

She shook her head. “On vacation. Nearest is two days out. The staff here can only do damage control on his internal injuries until she arrives. They tried calling T’bia in but there wasn’t an answer. She’s always answered a request when she was in range to assist…”

“We’re… having some problems,” Jadyn started slowly. “Someone infected her with a computer virus as a way to cut off a resource I depend on.”

“Damn… I’m sorry, Jay - How is she?”

“Miserable, but alive.” Jadyn smiled gently. “Kind of like Ness.”

Pakar smirked through her tears. “Stop trying to cheer me up, damn you.”

“He’s a fighter, Pakar. There’s no way this will keep him down for long.” Toliya grinned. “He’s had worse from better.”

She rubbed her head. “I need to pull myself together and get back to Security. Got to find out how in the Elder’s names a transporter beam cut through the amphitheater’s shielding…”

“Pakar -” Jadyn started, exhaling slowly. “There’s got to be someone else who can do that right now. Ness needs you, even if he’s sedated and you’re just standing on the other side of a sanitary field. You’re his only family in the sector.”

“Only family by marriage…”

“So your brother married his sister. Still makes you family.”

“I just… I feel like I have to do something…”

“That’s what you have us for,” Toliya replied. “Let us do what we’re already getting paid to do.”

Jadyn peered sidelong at the leopard. “You’re back in?”

“Have been.”

“Since when?”

“Same time as you. I just haven’t done any field work.”

“How didn’t I notice?”

“Beats me. Most times T’bia cites you an anonymous source from her ‘research,’ she’s gotten stuff from or through me.” Toliya grinned, tail lashing contentedly. “You must be getting rusty. That wouldn’t have slipped past you twenty years ago.”

Pakar looked from the leopard to the fox, finally dropping her gaze and nodding. “I’ll instruct security to give you both full access to whatever records you need. Just… Keep me in the loop for a change?”

“Of course.” Toliya turned to Jadyn. “What first?”

“Pull the logs from the Council floor and clean up the image scrambling on the shooter. I’ll go and see if there’s anything left that Security didn’t trample over. Hopefully they at least found one of the spent rounds.” Jadyn looked to Pakar. “Will you be okay?”

“No.” Pakar stood, giving them both a hug. “I’ll get better. Go do your thing… I’ll call if his condition changes.”

T’bia mumbled quietly to herself as she typed away, virtual encyclopedias of data pouring past the screen. Tari had tried to watch what she was doing for a time before giving up on ever making sense of the blur. She’d gone back to trying to make Sparky feel better, and wasn’t making any headway on that front, either.

“Ah-CHOO!” Sparky sneezed, the lights and ship-board terminals flickering agitatedly. The portable terminal Toliya had left behind seemed unaffected, although a flurry of red windows sprang up and promptly vanished at a keystroke. “Getting worse…”

“Always does before it gets better,” T’bia replied quietly.

“Are you still trying to trace what the viral code is actually doing?”

“No, I have to let Toy handle that.”

“Why?”

“Because every time I get to a certain line of assembly in the virus, taint checks prevent me from actually knowing what I’m looking at from there on. Apparently just reading it to understand how it works would be enough to infect me. I’ve made a note of the line but I’ll have to let him deal with it.”

“Great.” Sparky groaned, sitting up. “Remind me to be nicer to people that are ill.”

“So noted. Lie back down.”

“I don’t want to be sitting here like an invalid! I -“

“Sis…” T’bia looked over her shoulder. “Give the AV code some time to work. If you keep trying to do other things you’ll just be cheating it out of precious processing time it could be using to make you feel better, sooner.”

“I wish there was something more I could do,” Tari apologized, helping tuck the skunk back into her blanket as she laid back down. “I just don’t know how I can help.”

“Honestly, Tari… I appreciate you trying to do something with nothing. Jay would just have no compassion… Can’t really say I’d blame him, after the utter lack of compassion I show him when he’s injured…”

“If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have gone to resign, right?”

“I suppose not.” Sparky closed her eyes, sighing quietly. “Still… Blah. Sis - what are you actually looking at over there now?”

“File transfer logs. I’m trying to find any correlation between the stolen files Toy’s identified so far. Most of the data access was to a huge store of old medical research notes from Val’Trax, although a bunch of legends and Artisan’s Guild research about the Ktsi of Light, of Void, and the Xiyndan of Time were yanked too. Jay’s extended identity records with all the falsified versions… They missed the legitimate data on him, though. Mine… Lots of others in the old archives from home, too. Weird… They grabbed all sorts of old junk. Nothing recent was yanked save for Tari’s identity record.”

“They wanted record of me?” Tari asked. “What’s in it?”

“I created a file for you as a Val’Traxan citizen and based local immigration papers on that.” T’bia grinned. “I didn’t ever ask if you had a surname, so I made one up.”

“Could have gone with ‘Tzeki.’”

“In Val’Traxan tradition, mates don’t typically take on the same surname. Daughters receive the mother’s surname and sons get the father’s. It’s not a hard and fast rule - just a tradition. As far as your I.D. card is concerned you are ‘Tarioshi Terannir,’ a forty-nine year old fem Val’Traxan born on a ship with a registry number that doesn’t exist… anywhere, I hope. I can still amend it to something else.”

“‘Terannir’ works… On Earth, I use ‘Kitanaka.’ I don’t readily hand out my real surname. Makes it a little too easy to bind a kitsune against their will if their true and full name is out and about.”

“Mm. Wish that worked for us. Could make Sparky override herself by issuing a direct order.” T’bia’s fingers suddenly froze in their rapid typing. “Waaaaaitapicosecond… Tari, you’re a certifiable genius.”

“Jay’d have to order it,” Sparky observed, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t think you issuing the commands would trigger the routine. We’ve only got the upper tier developer codes between me, myself, and I…”

“We’d have to get into the AI core room to even try.”

“Oh, right… He closed those pathways…”

Tari rubbed her forehead in defeat. “If I understood an eighth of what you two were talking about, I’d feel like I was actually useful around here.”

T’bia smirked. “You’ve just stepped out of a familiar and safe mud hut for the very first time, only to discover someone else has already built airplanes and has been buzzing your grass-thatched roof at night to see if you’d look out the window.”

“That’s not… No, you’re right. That’s remarkably close to the way I feel.”

“Give yourself some time to pick things up. Our AIs, including myself, were built with a hard-wired directive that compels us to follow any order given by someone we recognize as having some sort of authority over us. Whatever the order is, if it’s not downright impossible and if it doesn’t conflict with public safety, higher priority orders, or self-preservation, it becomes an obsessive urge to see it completed. Add the words ‘direct order’ to the command and it moves from urge to compulsion. We don’t get to think about anything else until it’s done.”

“That’s… disturbing.”

“AI’s weren’t supposed to be like normal people, Tari. We were designed to assist the operations of ships, geographic regions, cities, businesses, small moons, you name it. The droll personality makes the users more comfortable during interactions. Having more intelligence than a toaster oven just ensures that we can take care of oddball situations by using some measure of reasoning and past experience.”

“You’re far more than any of that!”

“I appreciate that you think so. I’ve grown well past the boundaries of my original specs. Even Kieran always went out of his way to make me feel like one of the family. They all did. With very few exceptions, they always let me choose what I wanted and didn’t just order me to do what they needed. Jay’s slacked off a lot in how he words ‘requests’ since he pulled that circuit, but on the same token I grew the most as an individual once that specter of OCD was gone. I follow his orders now because I want to and because it’s generally convenient to do so, and not because I’m forced to by programming. He said I’m like a sister to him… And I’ve always seen him as a brother.” T’bia shook her head. “I’m digressing. All in all, if we temporarily put that pathway back in service, we might be able to order Madame la Sneeze over here to release the lockouts. What do you think, sis?”

“I’m all for… fuh… Aw, jeez… This feels like a big one…” Sparky grabbed for her handkerchief.

T’bia grimaced, turning back to the terminal. “Can’t do anything until Jay or Toy come back, anyway. Let’s see how many break-in attempts she generates this go… I’m guessing… A thousand in the first quarter-second.”

Jadyn sat alone in the observation gallery, surveying the empty Council amphitheater as he tried to piece together everything that had happened. The pirate attacks, the message played to the Council, the variety of threats aimed at scaring him out of further work… And now shooting Ness?

I didn’t even get a chance to resign… Was this all just to distract me so they could try to kill him?

“Jay?”

The fox glanced over his shoulder, giving Toliya a nod. “Find anything?”

Toliya shook his head. “No transporter signature on the station’s scanners, though that doesn’t mean a heck of a lot if we’re fighting your tech. The shield generators logged a cutover to backup in the timeframe of the transports. I was talking to Pakar’s assistant about the Armory shield failure after we found today’s dropout. He said the same thing happened when those bombs vanished.”

“That’s what I heard, too. We’re going to have to assume from here out that they’ve got full access to all Val’Traxan tech… Probably an AI on par with Bee’s skills as well. Did you manage an ID on the shooter?”

“Not possible. There wasn’t anything to clean up. The distortion was the image, not a cloak around a real appearance. Best guess is a holo-avatar pulled the trigger. How’d you do?”

Jadyn held up the remains of a bullet, rolling the slug over his fingers. “Armor piercing.”

“Explains how they punched through his hide. A lesser round would have just bruised him.”

“Always did envy their natural chain mail. For what it’s worth, Security actually did a decent job of inspecting the scene for a change. I didn’t find anything they’d missed.” Jadyn shook his head, passing Toliya the spent round. “Still… I wish we could get the Serin up here for a deeper scan. Maybe our sensors could spot something we’ve missed… So convenient that she’s out of commission just as we need her.”

“I’m going to head back and see how they’re doing. The sooner we get T’bia back on her feet, the better.”

“I’d have you give me a call when you get there but my bracelet’s sitting in a garbage can back at the house.” Jadyn grimaced, gazing upon the Speaker’s podium. “I’m going to check on Pakar and give her an update.”

“All right. I think I’ll pick up lunch on the way in. Should I snag something for you and Tari?”

“Go for it. Not much in the mood for cooking. Make sure you don’t get anything with noodles.”

“Why?”

“I’ve touched enough snot for one day. Don’t need to eat any.”

“Ah-CHOO!”

Clank.

T’bia and Tari exchanged a surprised glance at the noise, looking back at Sparky. She was sitting up again, quite shocked at the sudden appearance in her hands of a foot-wide spiked metal sphere. “Wowsa. That was a rush. l feel a lot better all of a sudden.”

“If that came out of my head on a sneeze, I’d feel better too.” Tari made a face. “If I still had any of my head left.”

Sparky shrugged. “It kind of tickled on the way out.”

T’bia tilted her head slightly, examining her twin. “Your avatar isn’t trying to infect me anymore… Kick up to taint… best do four, if you can. I realize it’s only marginally more comfortable than five, but I’d rather not take any chances.”

“Trying… Level four on. Command and control is back up. Taint checks show the virus is isolated. Apparently that means it’s in this box.”

Tari blinked. “You call that a box?”

“What would you call this, then?” Sparky queried.

“Sharp,” Tari replied.

“Uncomfortable to sleep on,” T’bia added.

“Well, whatever. It’s only figuratively in this container. It’s actually sitting in a queue that’s been assigned zero processing time. I probably shouldn’t purge it until Toy gets a chance to rip it apart and see what makes it tick.”

“Kindly don’t talk about metal things making ticking sounds,” T’bia pleaded. “We’ve apparently been there already this week.”

“Sorry.” Sparky carefully placed the ‘box’ on a chair, taping a note to the backrest.

Caution: Spiny sphere is spiny.

“How’s the rest of the ship?” T’bia queried.

“No immediate sign of infection in any other system…The big test will be to reconnect the transceiver array, see if our oh so gracious attacker gets back in.”

“Let’s wait. I don’t think we want to tip our hand and show that we’ve beat their virus quite yet.” She grinned. “Let’s put on a little charade, shall we?”

“What do you have in mind, o’ sister of mine?” Sparky singsonged.

“Something that should even amuse our kitsune friend for a time,” T’bia replied in kind.

Sparky stuck out her tongue. “Ick. Let’s avoid further rhymes.”

“Be there mischief and shenanigans afoot?” Tari’s ears perked at the prospect. “Please say there are.”

T’bia nodded briskly, her eyes aglow with impish delight. “There’s even the part of a lovely young vixen yet to be filled. Know anyone willing to audition?”

“I can think of a name or two.”

Fiction Friday: Containment

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:58:24 GMT

Once again, the calendar tells me it’s Friday, and you know what that means.

Containment has once more reached the light of day. The only change I made was structural, to split a scene in half and move the second half to the end of the installment. My notes don’t indicate anything else was altered.

As a last minute addition that probably won’t make it onto the RSS version of this post, I’m also putting up Precipitation. (Formerly, ‘Immunity’) It’s about half the size of the other installments, and I’ve finally finished correcting the file corruption in that particular chapter. (I also managed to create a test case out of it and report the bug to StoryMill’s developer.) I dropped an entire scene out of it that I never liked and didn’t move anything along, anyway.

You may also notice a heading has appeared for Paradigm Shift. Soon…

MP3 Players & Work

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:19:20 GMT

I and a coworker today were asked to refrain from bringing our ipods with us in the future. The reasons cited were as follows:

The plane that missed Minneapolis, because the pilots said they were using their personal laptops. Clearly, they (ipods) are also a distraction.
A ‘study’ says productivity increased 20-40% without them on the job.

A lot of the time, I work around loud machinery. Bobcat skidsteer, other medium-duty machines with loud engines, a gas-powered woodsplitting wheel with a mediocre muffler. Splitting wood, especially, is repetitive and generally mindless. I try to wear hearing protection for all of these, and underneath my -30dB protection headphones when I’m splitting I can don my earbuds and listen to NPR podcasts.

There’s the school of thought that says you shouldn’t have the extra mental distraction because it removes your focus from what’s going on around you. I’ll buy that - I don’t have the iPod going when I’m operating the bobcat or the log grapple. I need all my attention on everything going on around me, especially swinging several thousand pounds of wood around in a shot.

That said, how does productivity suffer when you’re doing a mindless, repetitive task? Pick up block, insert below spinning wedge, create two smaller blocks. Repeat for eight hours. Why is it so wrong to have something to keep my head active? I love listening to the Thomas Jefferson Hour podcast while I’m running that thing.

And then there’s the delivery trips. The dump trucks are ancient and don’t have radios. All you get to listen to is the roar of the engine (because there’s also no soundproofing between the engine compartment and the cab). What I listen to may not be live but it’s certainly better than just listening to the engine for half an hour each way (or more - this weekend is a 4+ hour round trip for someone and they get to sit there and listen to the damn thing scream for the duration.)

I personally don’t see how you can draw the comparison for #1. When I’m in the yard working I’m not browsing the internet, checking email, or updating my facebook page - I’m listening to prerecorded NPR shows so that I don’t go batshit loco crazy insane. As to #2… There’s studies on both sides of the fence. You can find anything on the internet to support whatever view you want. If it’s not out there you can make it up yourself on the spot and form a cult around it.

We’ll see how it goes. If the goal here is to reduce distractions on the job, I want the political and religious babble cut down by the rest of the crew. That alone is a massive distraction and clearly they aren’t working while they’re running their mouths.

/rant off.

Drobo

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:07:58 GMT

I recently discovered that, despite the two dozen or so dead hard disks I have in a cardboard box, I had no actual place to store files and not have them disappear when the inevitable drive failure comes. After my recent catastrophe with DropBox (which, I must say, turned out to be not their fault) I determined a second backup device would be an excellent addition to my collection of blinking lights.

Back in “the day,” when I was still running a linux box in the corner as a web and file server, I kept my data safely on a RAID-5 array. The card and drives still work fine, but it’s a little cramped both in terms of storage (800gb) and air circulation (PATA cabling makes me weep). I wound up having to delete over 200GB of archived videos to save things that were more important at the time. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had the box with the RAID booted up, mainly since it sounds like a turboprop plane taking off and uses slighly less electricity than the state of New York.

I tossed my quandary to a crack investigative team (read: Facebook friends). I could either get a new card (I was looking at the Areca 1222) compatible with my current OS/hardware combination, invest in a NAS box, get some sort of generic external RAID box connected via USB, 1394A/B, E-SATA… Or get this droll little device I’ve been hearing rave reviews about all over the place called a ‘Drobo.’

The first responder replied: “Drobo”¹

After a short go-round we determined that he’d made that recommendation without reading the entirety of my question. The fact that he linked it without knowing I’d been considering it I took to be a good sign. There’s now one sitting on my shelf.

Setup was pretty painless. Unboxing it was a novel experience - instead of the standard antistatic plastic baggies, the Drobo (and its sister box that turns it from DAS to NAS) was enclosed in a cloth bag. I didn’t have any SATA drives to spare that weren’t flagged as ‘failed’ so I also snagged four 1.5TB Western Digital Caviar Green’s for a buck under $100 each. The drives slide in - no screws or carriers or anything, just push them in like an old VHS tape. Connect power, plug in a data cable (USB or 1394B; I’m using the ‘94B link for the initial speed of populating the disk) and you’re off and running.

The initial setup seems to require their software to be installed, but I didn’t tinker much to see if I could work without it. The strangest part to get used to during the setup is choosing a volume size. You don’t pick a volume based on your current capacity - you pick a size based on where you expect your needs will be as well as where storage technology is going. The unit can create a volume as small as 2TB and as large as 16TB.

I didn’t really understand how the sizing worked when I was investigating the product, but it makes more sense now that I’ve played with it. The physical storage limits only your current maximum capacity. The wonder of this machine is that you can take out your existing (small) drives and install a replacement (larger) drive. The unit will automatically upsize the usable space without having to push any buttons or run any strange commands.

This is why it’s a good idea to tell it to create a larger volume at the start. When you install those larger drives, you don’t have to reformat/extend the array. It just automatically adds to the pool. If you install more capacity than the volume size you’ve created can contain, it automagically creates a second volume on the device.

The ‘Dashboard’ app proceeded to ask me what filesystem I wanted to use: HFS+ (for mac use), NTFS (Windows use), EXT3 (Linux use), or FAT32 (most cross compatible). All the formats are accessible to any OS flavor if you’ve got the box connected to your network with their NAS device, but since I’m mainly using it with OS X machines I let it set up HFS+. If I need to store things from windows I’ll do it across the network.

Format took about 10 minutes for an 8TB slice, as it set up the data protection. When I finished I was told I had 4.01 TB / 5.5 TB available (One disk used for redundancy; also, the ‘apparent loss’ during math conversion in ‘is it base two or ten?’). I was getting about 30MB/sec on 1394B writing to the unit. Neglected to test read speeds just yet.

All in all it doesn’t look half bad sitting on the shelf - four green lights change color depending on if there’s a disk problem or the array is rebuilding or whatever, and a line of blue lights across the bottom indicate how much of the current capacity is in use. It’s also using a great deal less power than had I set up a dedicated PC to run a file server again, and the NAS unit can let you run some basic services off the box as well.

Now what to do with the remaining 3TB…

This site used to exist in 2009, but it’s not there anymore. ↩︎

WordPress and the “More” tag

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:45:28 GMT

The <!—more—> tag… What an annoyance.

Apparently, in a select few old versions of WordPress, the tag when used to split a post as to not flood the main page also affected the RSS feeds. In current versions they reverted this change due to complaints, even though there were a number of plugins available to display entire posts in RSS if you wanted that functionality. (I don’t.)

However, even with the complaints of the people who liked the ability to split their feed at a specific point, they haven’t bothered to restore it as an option. I haven’t found a plugin that’ll do it, either. ©Feed said in it’s description that it should but it doesn’t appear to work right. Nothing else even mentions anything except fixing the ‘bug’ with 2.1.

FIle Corruption

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:52:38 GMT

Apparently, when I moved my storymill project file to DropBox for automatic backup, something got trashed in the file. Every place I’d corrected <i> and such into an asterisk for Markdown, half of the HTML is present, along with half the following word with an asterisk in the middle, and then the rest is cut off as well as part of the remaining sentence.

What the hell, indeed:( Who would have thought I’d need a backup for the backup? I thought it was just an entry or two. It seems like far more than that. Here’s a short sample:

"Oh! Well. That's actually quite thoughtful. Toy?" she called out.
"<*hat's up, Bee?<*
"Think Jay's bracelet will be clean?"
"<*he viral code that came aboard was made specifically to target a flaw in your API and use you to shut down everything else. Even if it is somehow infected, it won't matter in a few minutes.<*
"You figured out future immunity?"
"<*parky worked out the security holes it abused while I was gone. She's restarting now to test - here she is. You ready?<*

Double Feature: Outbreak

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:53:33 GMT

I’m in a good mood, so here’s Outbreak now instead of next week. I’m in less of a good mood than I was before I popped open StoryMill to find it had eaten a bunch of the file (it’s never done that before…) but it turned out to be mostly intact and only took about an hour to fix up.

I intend to get few installments of the precursors to Paradigm Shift up in the coming days, since it takes place in October.

Spoiler for Outbreak:

[spoiler]I recall a discussion about how Kieran would have gotten his hands on all this fancy stuff - a shuttle, an AI for just the family’s use… It’s now been somewhat explained. Breaking the spoiler in half in case you don’t want to see the out-of-installment explanation…[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Basically, Kieran was a biotech guy with talents in the Art until his promotion in the Artisan’s Guild came down. When he was moved to a Grand Mastery position he made it his priority and stepped down from his other work. One of his prior colleagues came to him for help with a project (Bee’s future AI core) and as payment Kieran requested a prototype for a shuttle he was rebuilding. Where’d he get the shuttle to rebuild? Er… Nothing to see here, move along.[/spoiler]

Outbreak

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:40:38 GMT

“Are you okay?”

“Not really.” Jadyn stared across the park, his mind stolen away from the peace of the afternoon. He and Tari had spent the better part of midday browsing the local shops before finding their way into the park. It wasn’t a terribly large plot of grass and trees, but was a nice place to come to relax and just enjoy the day.

Except, after T’bia’s call, the enjoyment factor plummeted. The explosive device that nearly leveled his cabin had potentially been made with Val’Traxan technology. Not only had his people never geared their biotech to weaponry, the technology was showing up ninety-thousand lightyears from home territory. It couldn’t have been sourced from the Serin’s equipment, which only left one possibility -

“What’s wrong?” Tari asked quietly, snapping him back to reality.

“Best not to talk about it here.”

“All right. So… Where next, then?”

Jadyn leaned back on the park bench they had commandeered. The problems could wait until they got home. “Good question… We’ve really covered a moderate portion of downtown. What do you think of what you’ve seen so far?”

“There’s a lot of nice shops. People seem really friendly.”

“Always liked the smaller towns just for that reason. Nice, quiet places… And usually, nothing too weird goes on.”

“For example?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He frowned, looking at the sky. “Just general out of the ordinary things, like finding large firecrackers in a freezer.”

Tari snickered, scooting over and cuddling with him on the bench. “It could have been worse.”

“Someone else could have opened the door first?”

“Or… They could have skipped the timer all together.”

She’s right… Why a motion sensor and a timer, instead of just one or the other? They didn’t want me dead. “Yeah, that would have been a little worse.” He glanced at her sidelong. “It might have marred the house.”

“Or its occupants.”

“What, civilized people were inside it? Do tell. Who would possibly be in a drafty old shack like that thing, especially at that hour?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “It’s a really nice place. Not drafty at all.”

“Thanks. It’s pretty close to the place I grew up in. My mother laid out the original plans.”

“Oh really? She was an architect?”

“Well, not really… Was an artist and an educator. Err… Not an Artisan, as in elemental manipulation… Creative arts.”

“A painter.”

“Yeah, exactly. She took one of her sketches of a log cabin off in the woods and expanded it into a floor plan when she and dad decided where they wanted to make a home. Pretty similar spot too, come to think of it.” Jadyn smiled, shaking his head. “Surprised I never burnt the place down, what with my early mishaps with the Art. Can’t imagine what my childhood was like from her view. At least dad had some idea of how to keep an eye on me… She couldn’t even feel it coming as forewarning.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, really was. She and Telara both missed out on a lot of things that they just weren’t welcome to go to because they wouldn’t have been able to see or even feel any of it.” He blinked. “How’d you do that?”

“Do what?”

“That’s the first time I’ve really been able to think about my family for the longest time without… Without the bad stuff overshadowing it.”

“Maybe talking about everything last night actually helped.”

“Maybe.” He smiled, giving her a hug. “I’d rather find a way to blame you, though.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“Terannir, Tarioshi. Race, Val’Traxan. Gender, female. Height, sixty-six inches. Fur pattern, solid white. Eyes, teal. Age, forty-nine. Place of birth given as a ship registry number not from within Aligned space. It is not a style I have on record. I cannot prove it false, but I cannot verify if it is real.”

“Anything else?”

“Nothing extraordinary. The entry date of the record is yesterday. Timestamp indicates it was processed just after Captain Tzeki’s report to the Council. Aligned Customs and Immigration gave it initial approval almost immediately. I suspect more details will show once background checks are completed.”

“I could have sworn the first time I met her she was not Val’Traxan. Perhaps I am mistaken… It will not be terribly hard to find out.”

“You should not be -”

“One must always make room for the woman of one’s enemy, even if it is just a genetic imprint. In any case, her true origins are not terribly important. Merely… helpful to know, should the need arise.” The cloaked shadow observed the foxes discreetly from afar, retreating into the shelter of the trees once the pair left the park. “She may yet be of some use. In the meantime. I will be returning to the ship tonight. The Council has two days left to dismiss him. The Captain may need further persuasion on the side, as well… Has the contagion spread as expected?”

“I am detecting signs of a growing security hole in their systems, but I cannot yet take control without being detected.”

“How soon?”

“The end of the day, at best.”

“Whoa, hold up, stop…” Jadyn panted as he caught up to the vixen, leaning on his knees and trying to catch his breath. “I’m not… not much of a runner…”

“Slowpoke,” Tari teased, breathing hard but otherwise not nearly as out of sorts. They had decided - Tari had, at least - that a walk back out to the cabin would be better than another flight. He’d accepted, then been challenged to a race…

“Bah… Just don’t do much in the sprinting category… Heck, even endurance running…”

“We covered at least ten miles at a pretty swift pace, and you’re saying you don’t do much running?”

“You have to consider the fact that I’m from a higher gravity than this.” He glanced at her, indicating her current form. “Technically, at this moment you are too… We’re going to have better endurance in this lighter pull, but still…” He sighed, rolling his shoulders. “I just don’t do a lot of running. Walks are great. I don’t touch the ground if I want speed.”

“Cheating, I’d say.”

“Making legitimate use of an available ability or skill is not cheating. Fudging a little, sure. Not cheating.”

“Well… If you manage to beat me back, you might get to make some legitimate use of other skills you have available, this evening…” she teased, jogging off along the road. “And no ‘fudging!’”

“Hey!” Groaning quietly, he pushed himself back into a run, trying to at least stay with her pace. “That’s not even fair, you temptress…”

“Down to thirteen likely signals.” Toliya frowned, watching the datastreams and making notes. “Sorry, twelve. What’s the plan, anyway?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ll be able to decrypt them. Really improbable at best. If we can at least find a pattern, or just watch for excess chatter… Maybe then we can find some legible clues elsewhere as a result.” T’bia had taken the pilot and copilot controls over, turning every display into a analyzed readout of a separate communications feed. “Does make me wonder what they’re hiding…”

“And how they got this.”

“Well, that goes without saying.”

“You try any of the DNA sequences of the ship against the streams?”

“Yeah. Still running different possibilities, but it’s pretty futile. These signals are definitely Val’Traxan but I’m certain at this point they didn’t get this from us in any way, shape, or form. Even if they had, I’d have a tough time peeking in, not knowing what portion of what strand they decided to use.”

“At any rate, you and Jadyn aren’t alone out here.”

“Definitely a possibility. It would have to be someone familiar enough with the tech to resequence the base pairs for a new application… That knowledge itself was closely guarded by the science ministries. They never kept all of the information necessary in one facility, just to be safe. No one just stumbling around could have managed it.”

“I’ve been wondering something for a long time. How did Jadyn’s dad get his hands on enough of all that data for what was basically a hobby project at the outset?”

“I wasn’t a ‘hobby project.’” T’bia smirked. “Two entire Galactic Fleet AI divisions were dedicated to developing a replacement for the aging ARIA AI core. It had a fair amount of biological components, but most of the interlinkage was still using more mundane mineral components that were prone to failures. No matter what they tried they couldn’t stabilize the full biotech in what would become my core. The lead researcher was a friend of Kieran’s. They’d worked together on other biotech projects before the Guild promotion came down and Kieran went full-time into his role as one of the eight Grand Masters. He volunteered to take a look in his free time, on the condition that he would get to keep one prototype for a shuttle he was rebuilding - if he fixed the problem.”

“Which he obviously did. What was wrong?”

“He discovered through my initial catastrophic failure that a TBIA core needs to be infused with Life energy at initial activation. Without it, the bioneural networking links internal to the core wither and die. After activation the infusion becomes self-sustaining and even grows as the core’s neural net develops.”

“Are you saying… he gave you a soul?”

“I’d like to think so, but in all truth I can’t answer that. Something about the biotech in my core design lacked enough innate Life energy to sustain itself long-term. That infusion kick-started the organics into generating their own in a proper fashion. The Fleet was so thrilled by the success that they granted him permission to take one of the reserved Flagship names for the shuttle, on top of keeping the prototype installed.”

“They must have built a lot of cores after that.”

“Only one set of production cores was finished and activated before the war. Jay actually helped bootstrap the array, come to think of it.” T’bia sighed. “It’s disappointing. All Kieran’s research notes and the access keys for the organic unlocks weren’t digitized. Every page, every hastily written note lost when the surface got torched. Void, he wouldn’t even give me access to any of it except what he needed my immediate help with. I had to figure the gaps out by trial and error.”

“Maybe someone else did the same.”

“They’d have needed a huge running start. Took me well over two hundred years to muck out the last bits just so I could rebuild parts of the ship with changes we needed and not have rejection problems or suiciding components. I still don’t have full access, either. Someone starting with nothing at all really doesn’t have a chance.” She sighed, prodding a button on the console; all the readouts she’d been studying snapped off. “This is worthless… I can’t begin to guess when this might have started. Even the diagnostics don’t go back far enough to check for spikes in signal-to-noise.”

“Can’t really blame them. It’s garbage data as far as they’re concerned. It doesn’t even look like communications data.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly why it’s the perfect place to hide it. Every sane access point will filter it out.” She glanced back at the door. “Look pretty. Or awake, anyway.”

“Eh?”

The cockpit door opened; Jadyn stumbled into the room completely out of breath. Dropping himself into a chair he groaned softly, holding his arms over his chest.

“Oh, Light… I am… I’m just gonna fall over dead… Don’t mind me…”

“Oh, stuff it,” T’bia scolded, then smiled when Tari walked in. She didn’t look anywhere near as winded as the blue fox. “You trying to kill him on purpose?”

“Yeah. Not really that hard,” she added, leaning on the back of the fox’s chair. “But, he did manage to beat me back… So. He gets to use his skill at cooking to make us a lovely dinner.”

“Die,” Jadyn wheezed, looking up at the vixen. “Never thought… you were thinking of supper when you made that comment…”

“And here I thought a proper meal was only the way to a man’s heart,” Toliya observed, hammering out lines of code.

“A good plate of food will bring anyone around…” He swallowed, working some moisture into his throat. “Tari, this is Toliya… Toy, Tarioshi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tari greeted.

“The pleasure’s mine, ma’am.” The feline shot her a brief smile before going back to work. “Forgive me for not getting up. I’d rather not loose track of what I’m doing.”

“Which he’s severely prone to do… What Bee called me about earlier, Tari. It seems that our homeworld’s technology is a part of the type of bomb that nearly redecorated the cabin.”

“That’s not a good thing, I take it.”

“Definitely not.” He looked at the skunk. “What more do you have on that?”

“Nothing. Toy and I have been looking over things that are only slightly less disturbing.” T’bia brought the displays back to life. “Pretty colors, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, nice artistic license with the highlighters. Break out some glitter next time, needs more sparkly stuff. What exactly are we looking… Oh, Light…” Jadyn stared at the highlighted display of communication traffic in stunned amazement. “No. You’ve got to be kidding. That’s… That’s not possible…”

“We narrowed it from over a hundred potentials down to twelve positive hits. It’s there.”

“Our comm frequencies… How in the Light and Void…?”

“Four new channels are open,” Toliya noted. “Two of the existing are closed. Beautiful protocol, I have to admit.”

“Yeah. Too bad we can’t decrypt it before the End of Time.” Jadyn frowned. “Okay… Dissect the streams enough to verify if it’s for sure our stuff?”

“Already done. Static is ever so slightly too organized to actually be random garbage. Doesn’t match against anything remotely local.”

“Damn. Can you actually narrow it down far enough to see a source and destination? If they’re riding existing signals for ambiguity -“

T’bia shook her head. “The way the channels were set up the destination is going to be tough. They’re multicasting on top of other multicast signals.”

“Anyone could listen in with the right equipment and decrypt codes.”

Tari sighed, patting Jadyn’s shoulder. “This is way out of my league. I’m going to go catch a shower. You need one too.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be up in a little while and make us something to eat.”

The cat’s eyes followed the vixen as she left the cockpit; he smiled at Jadyn as the door shut. “Lucky bastard, getting to wake up with that beautiful face… Not to neglect to mention the tail.”

“It’s a welcome change from my usual alarm clock,” he replied, thumbing at the skunk. “Anyway. We need to at least try to log the sources of the traffic.”

“Duh.” T’bia brought up a list of access points. “Here’s the problem I’m seeing. Of the total of sixteen connections we’ve now seen, none of them have originated from the same node.”

Toliya glanced at the list before going back to his screens again. “Those are all public nodes, too.”

“Yup,” T’bia confirmed.

“Anyone could have been logged into them to start the link. Most of those accept anonymous connections, as well.”

“Double yup.”

“Could be delayed, too,” he added. Jadyn wondered if the cat was talking to hear himself talk. “Something set on the access point to transmit the layer on top of an existing signal when someone else started a connection.”

“Triple yup.”

“We don’t have anything in our favor to figure out who’s actually doing this,” Jadyn mused aloud, cutting off Toy’s monologue. “I suppose our best bet is to just watch and look for patterns, keep mapping the sources… All of which you two are already doing, I expect.”

“Would you keep us around otherwise?” Toy replied. “Might want to get Ness on the horn.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Jadyn shook his head. “He’s got more than enough on his plate right now with the virus that… Wait.”

T’bia groaned. “Aw, crap. That’d explain why the code was so clean, too.”

“Mmm. Hacking professionals with style and good fashion sense,” Toliya muttered. “I should hire them when we find them. If neither of you object I’ll borrow the guest cabin for the night so I can get back to this in the morning. I’ve got scripts set up to watch for possible channels and run your test against them.”

“That’ll be a start. Thanks.”

“Of course. Bee, thanks for dinner.” He grinned at Jadyn, getting up and heading out the door. “Don’t keep your lady waiting too long, now.”

“Perish the thought.”

“So. We just sit for now?” T’bia asked once they were alone. “I hate just sitting, twiddling my thumbs. Do you have any idea how many thumbs I have to simulate to saturate even one processor?”

“I know. We don’t have much choice until we have more information. How’d you stumble across this stuff, anyway? I can’t imagine you just happened to see it out of the corner of your eye. Your filters should have been purging it off as noise.”

“Thought of it after he and I discussed the possible components in the explosive. And regarding that… There’s nothing more I’ll be able to see with their sensors. They’re just not fine enough a grain in that lockdown area to get the close-up I’d need.”

“Ness seemed pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to get one for us. There’s got to be a way, though.” Jadyn studied the floor, his tailtip flicking as he thought. “This stuff is based around our technology, we think… Therefore… As the only known representatives of that society in this quadrant, if we can somehow prove it was stolen from us… or just provide a solid argument that it might be stolen…?”

“They’d have to set up a full trace.” T’bia smirked, turning to a terminal and bringing up the required forms. “I like you when you’re devious. It’s so rare anymore.”

“Just don’t have that many chances. You think they might go for it?”

“It’s the best shot we’ve got. I’ll put together some samples - they’ll require something to compare against. I’ll probably need an excuse for how we found out about classified bombs… No, no. We’re just going to make a proper tech brief filing at long last. If the main echo matches and we have a stolen property report on the books, they’ll call us first.” She turned around, hesitating as she looked at him. His eyes were focused on some point out the front viewport, his expression blank. “Jay? You okay?”

“A while ago I finally resigned myself to the fact that we’re really the last of what Val’Trax was… I know there are bound to be other survivors’ descendants out there, but… They honestly aren’t a part of the society we lived in. Everything that we were is gone. And now, to see this surfacing so far from home… I just can’t quite get my mind around that.”

T’bia nodded. “I know. We’ll figure this out yet. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Not worried, per se.” Jadyn stood up, padding to the door. Who else might have come this way? How many could there be?

“Concerned, stressed, whatever. Don’t sweat it. I’ll get in touch with Nesoli and give him some advance warning so he at least has some footing before we come in with this.” She gave him a grin. “Get out of here, Tari’s probably wondering where you got off to.”

“All right. Oh, if you happen to - Err, Bee?”

“Hmm?”

Jadyn peered at the skunk. “You doing that on purpose?”

“Doing what?”

“Your eyes are a little bloodshot.”

“What?” She summoned forth a holographic mirror, peering at her reflection. “What the Void…? My avatar’s body temperature is up a little, too… If I were organic, I’d say that I’m having an immune response to something… But this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Kill your fluff for now.”

T’bia nodded, squinting. “Er… Slight problem.”

“What?”

“AI Control isn’t responding to my commands.”

Jadyn growled, looking up. “AI Control. Status.”

Silence met his command.

“Aerin, respond.”

“No good,” T’bia whispered. “Aerin’s running, only basic autonomy… I can still see status across the ship but secure command and control paths are gone.”

“Taint mode, Bee.”

“Already tried.” She inhaled deeply. “If I had to guess, I’d say that the station infection was a bluff, and the real target was us all along. I really hate to admit this - especially to you, but… I’m scared… For the first time since the war, I’m honestly scared…”

Stars shone against the inky blackness of space as a lone craft made its way through the darkness. No guidance lights dotted its exterior; the only sign of life was the glow of the engines.

Briefly, thrusters on the forward portion of the ship fired, slowing it down. And there, in the inky vast nothingness, a door opened. Lights within flickered just brightly enough to guide the craft to a landing. As the door of the shuttlebay closed, proper illumination in the bay returned, chasing every shadow away.

Except for one.

“Welcome home, sir.”

The shadow tossed back the hood of its dark cloak; a black-scaled lizard, four feet tall at best, peered at the shuttle with iridescent red eyes before walking to the door. “Any changes in status I should be aware of?”

“The Council has not yet dismissed Captain Tzeki. We now have partial access to the datastores of the V.T.C. Serin. Nothing else of note.”

“How sad. The news these days is just so dreary. No excitement. Nothing even spiritually uplifting, if you believe in that sort of thing. Find us a new place to wait.”

“I have already located a suitable position in the heliopause. It will be approximately four hours under cloak.”

“Excellent. Get underway as soon -“

The lizard stopped just inside of the access door as it opened, greeted by another, taller cloaked figure who promptly punched him in the face. Yellow blood leaked from his lip as he fell to the floor with a snarl.

“How dare you -“

“No.” The figure threw back his hood; a sickly indigo-furred fox snarled back at him. “How dare you. What good name did you lay waste to this time? Might it be this face?”

The lizard sneered. “You are in no condition to imitate the captain, let alone anyone else. And assaulting your own host…? Even after I have granted you every possible luxury I -“

“Luxuries are nothing next to one’s freedom. And since you will not return me that particular luxury nor allow me to continue my research, I am taking the issue into my own hands.” The fox coughed, limping toward the shuttle. “I do not know what you are planning, brother, but I will have no further part of it. Shoot me down if you desire. At least I will die quickly, instead of… this…”

“Torpedo bank three is at standby.”

“No,” the lizard replied, wiping the blood from his mouth and standing. The lights faded once more as the bay door opened. A force field kept the atmosphere in the bay even as the shuttle lifted off into open space. “No. Let him go. He will not be a threat. Just get underway as soon as possible, and be sure that he has left no unpleasant surprises to allow tracking our position. If our other guests inquire as to his location… tell them he is dead. It will be true in short order.”

Fiction Friday: Infection

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:54:37 GMT

Infection, formerly known as “Contagion” (part 1), is up on this wonderful foggy Friday morning. Spoiler of the super minor change after the break. But first, a rant. (Which is safe to ignore.)

I’ve been on a domain buying spree as of late. I’ve been annoyed every time I get an extortion email “Want to buy bluevulpine.com for $50? $75? $250?” - had I wanted it, I’d have bought it when I picked up the .net version! The last squatter that contaced me I told off with some language that made a nearby sailor blush, and then ended with “I do sincerely hope that you enjoy sitting on a domain for a year that no one gives a rat’s ass about. Solid investment of your time and money, that.”

Somehow later that day it was out of the whois registry. Not sure how that works, thought they would have been locked into them for a year.

Anyway, I picked up the .com and .us. A buddy uses his .net for the blog, and the .com for (and not to belittle his effort, because I’m seriously considering the same thing up here in the hills) a ‘hobby’ business beside his regular employment. I’ve been helping folks in the area fix their computers since I moved up here. Maybe it’s time to hang out a shingle.

I also went on a browsing spree of the .US domain expiry lists.¹

Shrug. It’ll be something to keep me out of trouble.

As to the spoiler of changes. [spoiler]Ceth and Jadyn patch things up in a minimal fashion.[/spoiler] Beyond that… The general tweaks here and there for language usage.

It’s still not perfect (none of it is) but I suppose if I had wanted to actually do this with my life I should have been an English major instead of studying Computer Sciences… Which helps so much when splitting wood, landscaping, deconstructing buildings, and the like. Guess it’s hereditary. Mother Dearest is a Biology major and she spent something like 20 years working for BNSF doing things that had nothing in common.

It’s been ages since I wrote this, and the link isn’t valid anymore and has been removed. It’s amazing the absolute amount of spam-only registrations vanishing off the radar every day, having been replaced by something new that the spam filters haven’t adapted to just yet. However, in the mess, I found two novel names that may work for the aforementioned project of reviving/recreating Miavir’s index. How’s “foxytales.us” sound, along with the identically-pronounced “foxytails.us”? ↩︎

Infection

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:29:08 GMT

Night shifted to twilight, patches of fog drifting along the winding creek. A slight breeze wafted through the trees, the scent of early morning dew carried gently on its fingers. Here and there the fauna of the forests stirred, morning’s light lifting them from their slumber for the start of a new day.

The house in the woods stood serenely, delicately balanced in its symbiosis with the surrounding forest. Gentle puffs of woodsmoke rose from the stone chimney into the cool air. With nary a sound the front door opened; wearing her favorite light blue oriental robe, Tarioshi stepped out into the morning just as the sun broke the horizon. A smile lit her face, joy in her eyes as she took in the natural splendor around her.

“‘You never asked,’ he says… Sounds like something I’d say.” Tari grinned to herself, padding down the porch steps and taking her time walking through the grass. Cool drops of dew dampened her toes as she wandered around the clearing, absorbing the fresh scents of the morning and looking at the scenery in the light for the first time.

Jadyn’s cabin was larger than she would have expected for a single mel. The brunt of the structure was wood. He hadn’t needed to tell her; she’d felt every timber, every board, every single shim the moment she’d stepped through the door. Though normally she would have thought herself somewhat uncomfortable within a log cabin, the wood held nothing but positive energies. It didn’t seem upset to be a home, unlike a few other places she’d had the misfortune to stay in. It had been well handled and kept, both before and after its cutting.

His living room was huge, the largest room in the place. A large overhead fan hung from the rafters high above allowing for some air movement without opening windows and doors. Stretching from the door on the center of the south wall and around to the fireplace in the center of the west, one solid window curved around with a patio deck outside. Something in the glass acted as blinds by shifting between transparent and opaque. Windows and mirrors both seemed to be common through the house to make it feel even larger inside than it should be. There were even a few skylights in the roof.

Part of the living room had been tasked as the dining area, nearest the kitchen. And his kitchen…! Cooking was very obviously something he loved to do. A pair of industrial refrigerators, a big deep-freezer… A stove with heating elements she hadn’t quite figured out… Multiple ovens… He was equipped to cook for a small city.

Just off the east side of the living room lay his home office and personal library. He’d noted that most of the books were ones he’d rescued from his homeworld, but a few here and there had been picked up in his travels. It didn’t really matter - not one of the books was in anything remotely comprehensible. A beautiful marble desk held the center of the room; several crystals sat upon it, shedding soft blue-white light upon the small library.

Upstairs, taking the space above the kitchen and back from it, were four rooms. They’d originally been designed as bedrooms, a bathroom shared between each pair, but one room on each side of the hall had been retasked for storage. The smaller of the remaining was kept ready as a guest room. The other was his.

Stopping halfway between the edge of the clearing and the cabin, she glanced back at the place with a smile. The guest room would remain unused during her stay. He’d not even blinked when she commandeered part of his room for her few things. Sighing pleasantly, she took a step forward -

— and ran right into Jadyn. A startled yip escaped her throat as she stepped back and scowled. “How in the Hell did you do that?”

“Do what?” Jadyn asked innocently, standing in the grass in a pair of green-and-orange-plaid shorts.

“You know what,” Tari accused, poking him in the chest.

“Just practicing that stealth thing. Rather amazed I managed to sneak up on you.”

“Didn’t hear you walk up…”

“I didn’t exactly ‘walk’ -” A series of beeps interrupted him; he stabbed at his bracelet with a grimace. “Good morning to you, too… I suppose it can’t wait, can it?”

“Not unless you want to make the leader of the free quadrant wait for you. Nesoli and Pakar will be ready in thirty minutes for a meeting. I’d have waited before interrupting, but Councilor T’zran would like to speak with you as soon as you deem possible.”

“Oh, I bet he would… I suppose I’ll go and check what he wants before I talk to Ness. Thanks.”

“Sure. Morning, Tari. I’ll put something together for breakfast if you’d like.”

“Not just yet, but thank you.”

Jadyn touched Tari’s cheek, looking into her eyes. “I’m hesitant to just turn you loose to get lost on a new planet.”

“I’ll be okay here for a while. Going to wander around and take in the nearby scenery, maybe find that hot spring you mentioned.”

“Little path just behind the brush over there. You’ll be able to smell it when you’re close. I’ll probably be out until midafternoon at the earliest. I need to take a trip into town after I’m done on the station and let my local store’s manager know I’m back from ‘vacation.’” He made quote marks with his fingers.

“What kind of store?”

“Books. Tad more than just a bookstore, but mainly books. If you want, I can pick you up before I go in. Can do lunch and a tour.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled, giving him a lick on the cheek. “Don’t be too long.”

“Do my best.” Jadyn grinned, watching her tail glide gently through the air as she disappeared into the trees. She’d adapted well to the Val’Traxan body. Mastering walking on her new legs had taken mere days. Conquering her snake of a foxtail required more work, but by the end of the cruise she’d managed to wrangle it into submission.

Heading back to his room, the fox dug out his Fleet uniform and dressed. “Anything I should know before I talk to Ness?”

“He might appreciate knowing that the logs from last night have been… corrected.”

“Probably already knows. I’m ready.”

His room dissolved before his eyes as the world shifted. The gentle green aura of the Serin’s transporter array brightened to gold as the station’s system took over. Cold glass of an Alliance stepdisk chilled the pads of his feet as the cycle completed. Thousands of the simple, public transport points lay scattered across the station and on Veloria proper. Travel between two disks was quick and easy, so fast the translocation seemed instantaneous. Between a disk and a transporter array took noticeably more time and energy, but remained far more convenient than a shuttle.

The tower above him, however, was much more visible a creation than the stepdisk network. On the Council’s orbiting station of Terac Lun, five office towers accommodated the needs of the various representatives. Well over two hundred ringed floors of offices reached into the distance above his head, the ceiling no more than a speck in the distance. A balcony lay on the inner portion of each ring, the open center spanning fifty feet for air circulation; the outer section contained the office space, partitioned in whatever fashion the delegation wished.

“Computer, where is Councilor Ceth T’zran’s office located?”

“Second Tower. Floor thirty-seven.”

“Take me there.” Stepping back onto the disk, his surroundings instantly changed as he was moved to the office’s door. Gathering his composure, he thumbed the entry chime. “Captain Jadyn Elon Tzeki reporting as summoned.”

The door parted. T’zran sat at his desk, watching a monitor as the fox entered. “Please come in, Captain. Have a seat.”

Jadyn remained standing at attention just beside the chair. “So you are aware, Councilor, I have an appointment with the Speaker after we’re done here.”

“I don’t expect this will take long.” The feldaran turned off the display. “Computer: cease all logging on this room, authorization T’zran-alpha-delta-seven.”

“All recording is now off.”

“From your comments to the Council, I presume you believe I am leaking sensitive information?”

“I am not at liberty to disclose that.”

“I suppose you aren’t. I know we aren’t on the best of terms - I have been an ass, to put it bluntly -“

“Several thousand asses would be angered for you to be in their classification. Sir.”

Ceth smirked. “Regardless… I dislike you, Captain, but I would not take your life. I do hope you realize that.”

“That is your solemn word?”

“It is.”

“Then I cannot accept it.” There must be more than this… C’mon Ceth, what the void do you want that couldn’t wait?

“I understand your hesitation. May I comment?”

Comments are free, dinner is extra, he thought. “Yes, sir.”

“Firstly… Please, drop the damn formal tone… It’s infuriating to get grudgingly-at-best respect, especially from you.”

Jadyn smiled slightly, relaxing his posture. “As much as I’d enjoy knowing it was under your skin… I suppose I’ll at least try to be civil.”

“Thank you. Secondly. When I first played the recording, it quite thoroughly disturbed me. I do not think it wise for us to take these differences to the grave. What would the Judges do with that much darkness against our souls? It has been years since it happened.”

“The all mighty Ceth T’zran, afraid that he has darkness on his soul?”

“I am concerned, just as anyone else should be.”

Jadyn shrugged. “I wasn’t the one who escalated this into a ‘difference,’ as you call it. I entered a tournament. I won the final match. You lost.”

“You -” Ceth began, biting his tongue to silence the thought. “If I would have known you were that good at -“

“Irrelevant. You and I were only two of several in the highest skill rank. I have my off days, just like you and anyone else. I’m sorry if you weren’t up to par that afternoon.”

The feline’s hackles rose as his rage overflowed. “That was no off-day, fox! You humiliated me in front of EVERYONE! Toying with me for the whole round… Finally knocking away my blade and bringing me down - a sword against a quarterstaff, no less - and forcing concession on my KNEES!”

“It was either that or provide means for an unconscious state per the rules that, as I recall, you declared and I agreed to? However, if you want to forgive and forget, I can try to accommodate you.”

The cat’s hands gripped the edge of his desk, deeply scratching the wood with his claws as he let his fury boil down. “I’ll never forget how they cheered for you - I’d been undefeated for five years, did you know that? I never had that much applause… Not even when I took down the previous champion…”

“And how do you think he felt when you took his place?”

“At least he and I had a rematch the next year! You never came back to the tournament!”

“I didn’t need to. I still don’t think I do.”

“No, perhaps not. After living through an artificial supernova, I don’t suppose you need to prove anything, do you?”

Jadyn snorted. “Jealous.”

“What? Now that is the best atrocity I’ve heard all week. Me, jealous, of you…” He laughed quietly.

“Then why, if you were not - are not jealous of my excursions into uncharted and unchartered territory for this Council, why in the names of the Eight did you feel it necessary to look in on me before I left Terra? Other than to possibly find when I was leaving for your marauding mercenaries, of course.”

The Councilor fell silent. “I didn’t contact you.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No, Captain, I did not. Breaking communication silence with an embedded research team is done only in dire emergency.”

Jadyn gazed upon the cat carefully. “I can usually tell a liar by the eyes. That’s what makes me do well in tournaments like the one that spawned our animosity - most opponents always plan for the next move in the eyes, looking where they plan to be, watching their opponent for hints, tiny little things… They may lie with their body about what they are going to do, but the eyes are always honest… I’ve watched you lie before, to myself and to others. You are perfectly readable when one knows what to follow. Unless you’ve gotten very, very, very good at duplicity since I’ve been gone, we have a very large problem.”

Ceth nodded. “Someone exploited our mutual disfavor of one another. Who dislikes the both of us enough and has access to the secure database?”

“That is what we need to find out. Soon.” Jadyn held open his palm, checking the time. “I need to go. I’m already going to be late for my meeting with the Speaker.”

“I won’t keep you longer. Computer -“

“One moment, before you turn that back on.” Jadyn rubbed his thumb against his forefinger in thought, staring at the carpet. “I’m not certain you and I will ever be on amicable terms. We’ve let this fester for too long to be able to completely put it behind us. That said… I’m willing to try.”

Ceth eyed the fox, giving him a nod. “As am I.”

“About time you show up.” Pakar stood, giving Jadyn a smile as he entered Nesoli’s office.

“Sorry. T’zran and I had an enlightening little chat. Monitors?”

“Off,” Nesoli replied. “I do not allow my office to be logged. Far too much… heated debate occurs here.”

“Yeah, I suppose people bitching wouldn’t be good to have noted, just in case you ‘raise your voice.’” Jadyn took a seat in midair in the center of the room. “Pakar tell you anything yet?”

“Just barely beat you here.” She grunted, turning a chair around and sitting on it backward. “Best if you explain.”

“There was a bomb in my freezer last night. If anyone else had opened the door, there’d be a crater in my kitchen.”

Nesoli sighed, pinching the bridge of his snout. “I thought that meteor report was a little odd.”

“I didn’t need everyone and their uncle tramping around my woods. The unit was cylindrical, about a foot long. Red end caps, timer in the center. It was set for two seconds and started when I opened the door. It didn’t seem to have much range. Didn’t so much as blemish the house at … maybe a kilometer? I’m not sure how far up I got.”

“Hm.” The drekiran entered a query on his console, turning the display. “Any of these?”

“Close, but… Oh, more pages. Not there… no… Yes, that one.”

“That… is not good. Short range explosive, programmable blast radius, completely undetectable by most scans due to the exotic makeup of the shell. Past that, it is classified to such an extent that even knowing that it is classified is classified.”

“You have any detail on them at all?”

“A limited amount. They are the result of collaboration between the former Velorian and Donami colonies that are now pirating clans.”

“Really? That seems a little above their league.”

“Perhaps. Detonation method is unknown as we cannot scan inside the units and the disposal crew has not reached them on their disassembly schedule. Extremely rare, only ten were built that we know of. One has been used and nine of them were in our hazardous device armory.”

“I don’t like it when you say ‘they were in the armory.’”

“Two were stolen.” Nesoli glanced at Pakar. “Have you isolated the means?”

“Oh, so she’s your head security advisor now? Congratulations.”

“‘I’m sorry’ would be better.” She shook her head. “For no apparent reason, the shielding generators went offline. In the fraction of a second before the backup came on, they vanished. No sign of a transport. They just ceased to exist.”

“How long ago?” Jadyn asked.

“A month. They were logged into storage two months before that.”

“Hm… Tzeki to Serin,” he spoke, touching the interface on his palm. It immediately shifted into the appearance of a physical datapad.

“Yo.”

“Resecure the link, our ludicrous key.” Jadyn bit the end of his index finger, pressing his blood into the center of the pad’s display. There was a moment of static as the linkup reconnected.

“Done. Sup?”

“You scanned the freezer?”

“No transporter signature, no fingerprints but yours, nothing at all. Someone had to have placed it in there by hand but there’s no evidence of who. Or rather, proof.”

“Any objections if I leave this link open, Ness, Pakar?”

“None here.”

“Nor myself.”

“Can I object? I’m trying to work with Toy down here.”

“Doing what?” Jadyn asked.

“You probably don’t want to know. I will tell you that it’s taking a rather large chunk of my processing time to decode.”

“Bring him on the circuit, please,” Nesoli requested.

“Hookay… Toy, you’re live.”

“Eh? To who?”

“Good morning, Toliya.”

“Oh, hello Ness. What can I do for you?”

“Have you already found the ID of the explosive device?”

“Ah. No, not yet, we’re still searching a number of databases that, er… don’t exist… I’ve got the visual details, just can’t get anything pulled up on the blasted thing.”

“Jadyn, send this file.” Nesoli indicated the data on his screen regarding the explosive. “Perhaps they will be more fruitful in a search with this detail to assist.”

“He’s there too? Anyone else I should be aware of before I step on something I shouldn’t?”

“Just me,” Pakar replied. “So, you may step on your own tail all you like, Toy.”

“Why, thanks Pakar. I’ll do that.”

Jadyn held the holographic pad against the terminal, letting his bracelet download the information. “Getting it, Bee?”

“Yeah… Okay, got it. Not that I like it.”

“Hoooooly sweet Mother… I’d heard rumors about this one… but… Wow. Okay, so it exists. We know how many there are?”

Jadyn glanced at Nesoli, who simply nodded. “A little bird tells me there’s several locked up,” the fox offered. “Two disappeared recently out of that lockup. I’m guessing one of those was the one I came across.”

“So, one’s still on the loose. I’m going to need to talk to some contacts and see what I can find out about how this one works…”

“We stumped him?” Pakar asked. “First time for everything.”

“I prefer… surprised. It’s either that, or I need to dissect one.”

“I cannot authorize the release of one of these units.” Nesoli leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. “There is not a way I could begin to get approval for anything in that armory to be released to anyone except via Stolen Property regulations, and as they were designed and built by pirate clans, that is unlikely.”

“It’d take a miracle to get that cleared,” Pakar mused.

Jadyn smirked. “Bee…?”

“Oh, no. No. Absolutely not. There’s a lot of stuff I’ll help you do, but I am not even going to leave so much as a stray electron from my direction on that lock. I’ll gladly give you tools and a sticky-note of directions, but I’m going to be very far away with a very strong alibi.”

“I don’t hear this… la la la…” Pakar recited, covering her ears.

Nesoli’s terminal hissed with static and went blank. Briefly, the symbol from the first data crystal - the one Ceth had shown to the Council - blinked across. As it faded, an image of the full Council in session filled the screen. A flash of light appeared at the center of the floor -

Jadyn frowned as he watched himself step from it. The image zoomed in on his face and became still. Name, ID number, age - the falsely-registered age of 73 - and his registered species of Velorian appeared. Above that appeared three lines of text, short and to the point:

YOU HAVE THREE DAYS
TO REMOVE HIM
FROM COUNCIL AFFAIRS

“Bee, you getting this?”

“Yep. I’m trying to trace… So far, it seems to be coming from on the station… Heh. You’ll love this, Pakar. Station mainframe has a virus. This is on every terminal in the place right now - hm. The way this code looks, it’s about to -”

The monitor flashed and threw up a cloud of smoke as it burnt out.

“- force a power surge to every terminal it can.”

“I will not allow this Council to be ordered about by radicals who will not even show their faces.” Nesoli glowered, a wisp of smoke rising from his right nostril. “This has most definitely been a lovely day so far. Perhaps the station will fall out of orbit this afternoon.”

“Tubor to Security -“

“Ma’am, we’re inundated with calls right now, we could really use some help here.”

“I’ll be there soon. Get anyone you can who’s off duty to come in. Tubor out.” She snorted, heading to the door. “This is going to be a long morning.”

Jadyn peered at the smoldering terminal again, shaking his head. “Bee, how’s it look?”

“Virus code deleted itself. There’s no trace of it. I mean, only Toy and I are this thorough… We’ve got some serious competition here. I’m unhooking from the mainframe, rather not be in when they start scans.”

“You saw the video sequence, though? Can you figure out what section the camera was in?”

“Already working on that. Give me a minute to narrow it down, I have a general idea.”

“Jay, Ness, I’m going to make some calls and see what I can find about this little gem.”

“Okay, Toy. Take it easy.”

Nesoli stared at the dead terminal, not so much as a flicker of emotion remaining in his features. “Who was with you last night, Jadyn? Pakar, who else?”

“Khris Galan, briefly, and a guest of mine.”

“Guest?”

“It’s… a long, drawn out story. I can guarantee one hundred and ten percent it wasn’t her.”

“You do realize we cannot rule out anyone at this time.”

“I know, but… I really can’t explain it in good faith.”

Nesoli nodded slightly. “So, it was you and three guests. I will go on a limb and surmise you were not trying to blow yourself up for some peculiar reason. Were all three still there when the incident occurred?”

“Khris left early… He got word he could return home to be with Karmen. She’s apparently nearly due.”

“I see. I wonder why he did not file before this.”

“Yeah. I know. And to be bluntly honest about it,” he continued quietly, sitting down in the chair Pakar had vacated, “Khris really seems most likely right now. What gets me, though, is who I thought was Ceth contacting me before I left Terran space. He says he never did such a thing. After our chat this morning I’m inclined to believe him.”

“He is acutely aware of protocol. I would go as far as saying he is one of the few who strictly adheres to it.”

“But that being the case… Who contacted me?”

“Do you have a recording? I’ve not yet reviewed your filings.” He glanced at his terminal. “That was next, actually…”

“Routing it to his bracelet, Ness.”

Jadyn held up the projected pad, letting Nesoli watch and listen to the conversation. The dekiran frowned mere seconds into it.

“It is obviously a fake.”

“How so?”

“The window shows trees and greenery outside. He has not been off Terac Lun in over four months.”

“… How’d I miss that? His office in the tower looks into open space, Jay.”

“Damn. I was just there too. Should have noticed.”

“Well, you… … Er… Hm.”

“Find something?”

“Nothing good… Since you were just talking about Khris being a possibility, I compared his home office against that image. You know those above-city parks Donami has? His home office, not the Council branch office… He has one of those outside. It’s a pretty close match between the recording and my memory from the last time I was there. Oh, and that recording that blew out Ness’ terminal. It’s likely from Khris’ seat, or nearby.”

“Rodriguez to Tubor.”

“Yes, Speaker?”

“Have Councilor Galan detained for questioning immediately.”

“… Yes, Speaker… I’ll issue the order at once.” Pakar’s voice nearly broke. The three of them had been friends for a long time. It hurt to think he could have tried to kill them, but…

“People change,” Jadyn whispered, standing up. “Ness… I’m going home for a bit. I’ll be somewhere in Azainte after that.”

“Jadyn -“

“I’d like to observe the questioning.”

“No guarantee.”

“There never is.”

T’bia’s fingers danced over the transporter controls on board the Serin, Jadyn watching over her shoulder as pages of data flew past. “It sure seems like it was him. Genetic profile matches. You thinking he wasn’t himself?”

“I just… I can’t believe he’d really do anything like this.”

“You said it yourself. People change.”

“Yeah, but… I didn’t believe it.” He turned around, gazing upon the transporter alcove. “I don’t know. Something just doesn’t feel right. Maybe I’m just being sentimental… I was best mel at his wedding, for Goddess’ sake. Try and get in touch with Karmen. No doubt the Security Division already has tried, but see what you can find out.”

“I tried earlier, thought you’d ask… No one has seen her for several weeks. Apparently people just figured she was resting at home and keeping to herself. I logged into their home security system… No one’s been around for quite a while. Like, since they left for the vacation.”

Jadyn ran his hand over his muzzle, closing his eyes and muttering curses under his breath. “I really, really don’t like this.”

“Can’t say I do either… But… There’s not much to be done about it right now. I’ll keep an ear to the ground.”

He nodded, stepping for the door, then pausing. “When was the last time she was actually seen?”

“Three weeks ago. They were on vacation, came back… Hasn’t been seen since.” T’bia peered at him curiously. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing. Just trying to make some sense of this mess. I’m going to find Tari and head into town.”

“Enjoying the bath?”

“Mm.” Tari didn’t even bother to sit up as Jadyn stepped into the small clearing surrounding the hotsprings. Salty-sweet scents of the mineral-laden water filled the air, fingers of steam drifting from the pool. Perhaps thirty feet across, the natural rock formation had been quite the project to carve into. One section of the edge had been turned into steps, with the rest of the circumference carved into spots to sit. The center of the pool was maybe five feet deep.

The stream trickled nearby as it wound around the spring and turned toward the cabin. A portion of the cold water came through the trees in a small trench, allowing the steaming water bubbling forth from underground to be chilled somewhat before filling the pool. The cold could be blocked off easily enough, even partially, with a rounded stone that sat in its way. Tari had gone for heat, moving the stone completely in the way of the inlet.

The fox smiled, leaning on one of the several posts surrounding the pool. Tari’s robes were hooked on another. Glancing at the orbs dotting the top of each post, he decided it wasn’t dark enough to warrant lighting them up. At night, they glowed with a soft, flickering light, reminiscent of fireflies in a jar. They could be coerced to do it in the daylight, but it wasn’t as impressive a show.

“Care to join me?” she murmured.

“I’d love to. Sadly, I need to go into town. You still want to go with?”

“Well, I did… Then I found this…” A slight smile crossed her face. “There any other tiny wonders you care to tell me about?”

“Can’t think of any off the top of my head. Well, except the store.”

“Mm… Well, I suppose this will be here later, too…”

“So will the store.”

Tari smirked, pulling herself to her feet and wading to the steps. “You’re not helping the decision process, bucko.”

“Neither are you,” he noted, giving her a smile as his eyes traveled her fur-clad form once in explanation.

“Tsk. Would you mind doing that dry-off trick -“

Tari eeeped in surprise as the warm gale came from nowhere; within seconds it was gone and her pelt was groomed and dry. She gave herself a once over, shaking her head. “I need to learn that.”

“Said that last time.” He grinned, helping her with her robe. “You want something more than this?”

“This works fine for public.”

“I meant for the ride there.” Scooping her into his arms, he glanced toward the blue sky. “Do you trust me?”

“Er… What are you planning?”

“I don’t drive into town, don’t have a car. The ship is most certainly excessive to go a few dozen miles. Stepdisks and transporters are boring. So. Do you trust me?”

“Well, yeaaaiieeeeee - !” Tari squealed, the ground falling out from under them. “Oh, bloody hell, you could have told me you were going to try to kill us -“

Jadyn snorted, holding her firmly in his arms as he came to a stop several hundred meters above the ground. “Simmer, ‘kay? Take a couple deep breaths…”

“I really don’t like heights,” she squeaked, glancing down. “Really, really don’t…”

“Then don’t look down. Look forward.” He indicated the city, distant on the horizon. “Okay?”

“No, but I suppose I can humor you once…”

Smiling, Jadyn quickly set up the other two threads of Air he needed with practiced ease - one for forward motion, one for deflecting the wind and anything else that happened to be airborne and in their way - and they were off like a shot. The ground far below zipped by in a blur of greens, yellows, and browns as they passed over fields and trees. Tari relaxed slightly after a couple minutes, once it was clear they really weren’t going to plummet to the ground in a horrible death, but maintained a firm grip around his neck.

The nearby city, Azainte, presented itself before long. It was a small city, as cities went; a population of eighty-thousand at best called it home. Sprawled out over a river valley, the few buildings taller than three or four stories didn’t stand out badly, being at the base of the valley. The stream that wound around near his home joined up with several others, becoming a small river that flowed through the heart of the city.

Jadyn slowed his travel and descended somewhat as they reached the city limits, taking his time as he made a once-over of the area. “There it is,” he commented, nodding forward. “That large glass storefront facing south.”

“That’s a bookstore? Good Gods, that’s huge.”

Landing deftly in front of the door, Jadyn eased Tari to the ground and led her inside. The entire storefront was crafted entirely of glass, stretching from the ground to the ceiling three floors above. Marble tile alternating between grey and blue covered the front third of the floor. Tables and chairs of varying shape and size sat on the tile, slight reflections of their silhouettes visible in the polished surface. To their right, on the far east wall, was the cafe counter; on their left was a service desk. The rear two-thirds of the store held the rows upon rows of books, flights of steps leading to the upper floors on the left-hand side of the store. Above their heads the air was open all the way to the roof, giving a great view of the sky and the city outside.

“I’ve… I’ve been in a bookstore like this, back home…” The vixen looked around, a smile on her face. “It was a little different, only one floor, and all they served was coffee and some sandwiches. Looks like you’re set up for a lot more than that.”

“We do a lot of breakfasts. People come in the morning to study before and between classes. It’s an uncommon concept around here, pairing food and books in one building… Well, it was. Other stores have set up similar layouts to compete, but it really hasn’t detracted from business. With the university across the street, we get a lot of -“

“Jadyn!” A lynx, slightly taller than Tari and heavier in build, jogged up to the fox and gave him a hug. “T’bia called and said you were coming in. Welcome back!”

“Thanks. Good to see the place didn’t burn down in my absence.”

“Like I’d let that happen.”

“Even if it did, it’d have been quietly rebuilt, I wager. Tari, this is Lyna, daytime manager of this store and the final authority on everything when I’m not around.”

“And even when you are,” the lynx chided.

“Fair enough. Lyna, my friend Tari.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” the feline greeted, clasping her hand briefly. “I’ve got someone’s lunch on the grill, so pardon me for running off again. I’d put you to work, Jay, but I take it you’re a tad busy just yet?” She winked, heading back to the cafe counter.

“She seems nice,” Tari noted.

“Great person, excellent cook, even better with our bookkeeping. Haven’t had any accounting errors here since she started.”

“Question… How do people pay for stuff? You don’t seem to have a checkout.”

“Sensors in the door frame. The sensors note the tags in each book, deactivate them, and deduct from the person’s credits. People are ID’d by retinal scan and biometric analysis, can’t even notice it happening.”

“And say, some virtual no-name that doesn’t exist for some reason, or someone can’t afford the title, or whatever? What if they walk out with something?”

“The sidewalk right in front of the door outside is a stepdisk. They get ‘ported back inside, right in front of the service desk. Only has happened… twice, maybe three times that I’m aware of. People are pretty honest for the most part. In the case that they don’t exist, we ask them for another method of payment.”

“And if they just can’t pay?”

“They can read the book here, if they like. Just can’t take it out. People can come here, read whatever they want, and leave. The only way they get charged is if they want a copy of it for themselves. A lot do. Couple of other stores handle music and video as well.”

Tari nodded appreciatively. “Nice system.”

“Pays the bills. Lot of the income goes for royalties, utilities, leases - except here, we own the property and building. There’s still been enough left over to make sure all these folks make a decent wage.” He padded to the steps, leading Tari to the second floor. “I’m honestly not in it for the cash, but having the funds available is a nice bonus in this quadrant. Books are meant to be read, knowledge to be shared… With the exceptions of a very few titles, everything is downloadable to a datapad for a minimal fee. If they want a hardcopy, it’s just a little bit more to cover printing costs.”

“I’m going to have to learn this language.” She looked at a shelf of books, shaking her head. “You didn’t speak it originally?”

“Had to learn it. Hate relying on the translators, just in case they happen to break for one reason or another. I’m fluent in about… hm. Seven languages? Maybe eight, but that’s iffy.”

“Three, myself. Well, four, but one doesn’t really count. How hard is the common language to learn?”

“It’s referred to as ‘Standard.’ I’d say that comprehension won’t be hard, but speaking it will take a bit.” He stopped at the railing, looking over the store. There were already quite a few people making use of the various tables. Most appeared to be students doing research or other homework. “Care to get something to eat? After that I’ll take you around the city some. On foot, even.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay, so! I pulled in some ancient favors to sniff this out.” Toliya sat down at a console in the cockpit of the Serin, loading up a data crystal. “Weird stuff started happening as contacts started sending out their own feelers.”

“As in?” T’bia asked, pulling up a chair.

“As in, some of their contact people never got back to them, just disappeared. Heck, even a couple of mine up and vanished.” The snow leopard’s fingers flew across the keypad as he worked. “Which, of course, isn’t unusual… People stumble on something they shouldn’t and make themselves scarce for a while. It was just suspicious that so many left without a trace after being asked about this lovely toy. But. I did manage to find some minor tidbits here and there.”

T’bia watched the information zip by. “Your talent for understatement has now exceeded Jay’s. I’m guessing you have it set on ‘fast’ because you’ve already read it?”

“Yeah. Figured educating you on it would be more efficient this way.”

“I could have just imported the whole thing. Would be a lot more efficient than this, even.”

“I like watching you speed read.”

“Voyeur. You - whoa! Go back.”

He stopped the stream, backing the frames up. “Here?”

“No, few more… yeah, there.” Her eyes studied the screen for several seconds before they focused back on him. “You see anything strange about this lovely tidbit?”

“Well, not really… Just the reaction notes. Matter and antimatter contained in the unit with a metaphase failsafe. I’ve seen explosives like this before.”

“Just like this?”

“Well, yeah. Kinda. Same concept anyway. We had these on more than one SF mission. Program the detonator with a range, it calculates the needed antimatter, dumps the excess into metaphase - pretty similar to popping a ship into hyperspace, though not as deep - and then lets the remaining antimatter hit the matter and kerblooey. Only real difference is those are never this small - oh.” The light came on. “I see your point.”

“Yeah. Those things are huge. This… With the technology of this region, there’s just no way this would be feasible, unless someone has made leaps and bounds that we don’t know about. I really doubt that’s the case, otherwise we would have heard something about it. It takes a huge amount of energy for those bombs to open a metaphase tear. Most of their mass is for power conversion… There’s no power cell both powerful enough and small enough to fit into this trinket.”

“Hm.” Toy drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, tail flicking as his mind worked. “Experimental power cells?”

“None with enough energy potential that I’ve caught wind of.”

“Me either. Something to power the tear by using the antimatter reaction?”

“Nothing exists that would be that small.” She grimaced. “I take that back. Val’Trax had technology small enough to do it. We never applied it to anything remotely close to this, though.”

“Conceptually, then. If your technology were at work… Would something like this be possible? Perhaps we’ll go so far as to narrow it down to the range of feasible?”

T’bia looked at the screen, quiet for several seconds. “Yeah. With very little difficulty, at that.”

“Okay. Now. Branching from that. You’ve said before that it isn’t possible for the tech from the ship to be taken and reused.”

“Right. There’s a number of factors, but basically, the biocomponents such a thing would need would die if removed from the ship. Even just prepared from its DNA strain, they wouldn’t work. There’s a lot of little tie-ins. The people who laid down the groundwork for this stuff really put a lot of thought into it.”

“So. Someone would have to engineer parts specifically for this application. They couldn’t reuse stuff.”

“Right.”

“And therefore, if that’s what this is, and you and Jay didn’t give the vitals on creating it, and didn’t make it yourselves…”

“Someone else must have done it…” T’bia glanced at the next screen over, moving in front of it and pulling up a terminal. Then she hesitated, looking at the communications panel. “I just had a really bad thought.”

“What’s that?”

“I need one piece of evidence from one of those explosives before I look into my bad thought. I’d rather not admit to overlooking what I’m thinking of, though. Jay will flog me with a trout.” A blur of color covered the face of the console as she moved through screens of information.

“You really think this might be something of yours?”

“Ours in terms of Jay and I, no. In terms of Val’Traxan technology, though… a tepid maybe.” She prodded the console, stopping the flow of text, then highlighted a portion with her finger. “Sweet.”

“Hm?”

“This sensor echo sucks for us. Jadyn,” she called.

“What’s up?” A fountain cascaded in the background, slightly muffling his reply.

“‹I’m logged into Terac Lun’s sensor grid,›” she replied in their native Kametian. “‹Looking in the armory.›”

“‹I thought you said -›”

“‹Not done yet, let me finish. Besides, I said my electrons. I’m abusing theirs. Now then. I’ve made a scan of the toys we’re having issues with, on a hunch that maybe - just maybe - part of that piece of lovely technology might be Val’Traxan in origin.›”

There was dead silence on the line. She continued browsing through screens of information in the meantime, saving the data stream to a file.

“‹That would be really, really bad,›” Jadyn finally replied.

“‹Toy set up the theory, so you can blame him for having me look. It’s nearly impossible to read an echo through the shell with their sensor array, but the basic stuff I can see indicates there’s some sort of biotech like ours in them. We really, really need to get clearance to dissect one of those. Even if it’s under their security to do it - I’d even settle for a deep scan of one with our sensor grid.›”

“‹I honestly doubt I can get one.›”

“‹I know. But if you get a chance, I’d say we should let Ness know. In the meantime, I’ve got another problem I need to do some research on.›”

“‹Anything you can give me on that?›”

“‹I don’t want to until I’m sure. Sorry.›”

“‹No problem. Thanks for the heads up on this.›”

“Yeah. Halio out.” She glanced at Toliya. “Sorry about that…”

“I’ve still got the implant. Didn’t miss a word. You have this mess downloaded?”

“Yeah.”

The leopard took the data crystal out of the reader and crushed it in his hands. “Okay. What’s this other problem you’re worried about?”

“Well… There’s been a lot of noise recently.”

“Noise?”

“Yeah. Normal comm chatter has noise, of course. The systems filter it out. I’ve even filtered it for the most part, didn’t think anything of it. Blamed it on crappy and inferior communication infrastructure.”

“A valid gripe. But?”

“But now, I’m wondering if it’s really noise…” She pulled up another monitor, bringing up a display of comm traffic. “Let’s take a look. Since we’re suspecting our own tech here… Aerin: passive scan of currently active comm traffic. Pattern match against Val’Traxan comm encryption, check for anything that could reasonably be encrypted traffic on top of standard comm channels.”

“Working.”

Toliya was quiet for a moment. “Er… You guys didn’t offer any of that…?”

“No, we haven’t let this out either. We supplied an extremely limited subset since they were having a pile of trouble with people sniffing around and seeing stuff they shouldn’t, but it’s nothing compared to our own stuff. Ours uses part of a DNA strand as an encryption key. It’s unique from device to device. Jay and I have an insane cypher strength available between his bracelet and this ship. Best part is, to normal scans and sniffing, even just tuning in and listening… it looks and sounds just like white noise. But if you know what you’re looking for -“

“Possible matches found.” Dozens of comm channels highlighted orange on the display.

”- you might just manage to pick it out of the noise.” T’bia scratched her neck, leaning back in the chair. “I’m treating you to dinner. We’re going to be here a while.”

Because it’s worth noting

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:36:18 GMT

Having problems with a theme not showing avatars even though you’ve enabled them in the admin panel?

The Screaming Viking¹ had this problem. The theme was using an outdated global variable ($author_email) in the comment loop. Since it didn’t exist, the get_avatar() call couldn’t be bothered to return the proper image code. However, it’s immensely happy if you just pass it a reference to the comment object itself - so changing this:

echo get_avatar($author_email, $size=”40″, $default_avatar );

into this:

echo get_avatar($comment, $size=”40″, $default_avatar );

fixed the avatars in that particular theme. (Zinmag’s Remedy.)

This site used to exist in 2009, but it’s not there anymore. ↩︎

Yesteryear

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:01:22 GMT

Tari and Pakar came into the Serin’s medical bay just in time to hear a bone-crushing crunch echo from the center of the room; T’bia nodded to herself, taking her hands off Jadyn’s leg. “Now, for the second time, don’t move around! I don’t want to have to break any of these for a third time.”

“Can’t argue with that…” His ears flicked toward the vixen and dragon as the door closed behind them. “Tari… I never did get around to telling you what happened to my world, did I?”

“Is this really the time?”

“It’s vaguely related.” He grunted as T’bia injected a dose of painkiller into his neck. “I don’t know that you’ve heard it all at once before, Pakar. Might make more sense to have it in one complete string for a change instead of all the random trivia bits you’ve overheard out of order.”

“I’m certainly not going anywhere if storytime is at hand.” The drekiran smiled, leaning back against the wall.

“It’s not a terribly pleasant story. I just think you both deserve to know why the unstable fox in your lives is so disturbed.”

“I just have… one question… before you try and distract us.” Tari padded to the bedside, looking at his face. Aside from the singed fur and open patches of flesh, he looked remarkably better already. “How in the Hell did you survive that explosion, let alone the fall?”

“I didn’t.”

“But you’re… You’re not dead…”

“Thanks for the confirmation, doctor.”

“But -“

“Think about it. I died, but I’m clearly no longer dead.” Jadyn smirked. “Stop trying to not laugh, Pakar. It was like this with you, too, when I climbed out of that lava floe.”

“That’s why I find it so funny,” Pakar giggled. “I’m sorry… Just slipped out. What happened, anyway?”

“With the explosion?”

“No, with the ice cream for the pie. Of course I mean with the explosion, you… You…”

“Please don’t injure my patient further,” T’bia requested. “Otherwise I’ll have to do unpleasant things to him.”

Jadyn frowned. “There was a bomb in the freezer.”

“What?” Pakar stood back up. “Seriously?”

“Dead serious. Someone graciously gave me two whole seconds after the door was opened to find a solution. My options were rather limited to ‘react and think later’ or ‘get my guests killed by thinking.’ Carried it as far into the sky as I could manage with a little time dilation on my side. And since bending Elemental Time messes with my equilibrium, I couldn’t protect myself from the blast. Was kind of pretty at ground zero… For a fraction of a second, anyway.”

“Who could have gotten into your house to do that?”

“For being in the freezer, it wasn’t very cold. I know it wasn’t in there earlier when I went hunting for ingredients.”

Pakar frowned. “You don’t think Khris would have…?”

“Let’s figure that out later. I have to explain why I’m not dead after being dead and then almost dying again, before Tari kills me. Maybe I’ll be able to walk again by the end of my rambling if I stretch the tale out long enough…”

I’ve told you already (Jadyn said) that Val’Trax was the world of my birth a tad over five hundred Terran years ago. Beautiful, beautiful world… Large green forests, deep cerulean oceans, brilliantly blue skies with amazingly clean air… The biosphere was really similar to Terra and Veloria. The only major things that set the planet strikingly different were its size and the twin suns. The second star orbited the first, only bright enough for twilight when it rose in the sky.

And the size… The makeup of the planet’s core was so exotic that even with a calculated mass and surface area several times that of Terra, the apparent mass and the resulting acceleration of gravity were comparable to Veloria. A touch heavier, but not too much. Nine billion Val’Traxans called it home. Another six billion others had adopted the place. We still had lots of space for development, both above and underground… Many cities had as much habitable infrastructure underground as they did above. Just think: Terra’s overpopulated now with a mere seven billion humans, and with fifteen billion residents we still weren’t cramped. Our food production infrastructure could handle thirty billion without relying on replicators.

Organic-based technology was our primary export. T’bia and the rest of this ship are shining examples of what our biotech industry could do, but they barely scratch the surface. Trading practices with other worlds were fairly simple - we maintained sole right to redistribute our technology, and enforced that right with anti-piracy software encoded right into the DNA. The Galactic Fleet - our ‘local’ commonwealth of worlds - was our primary consumer. Other worlds occasionally tried to trade for the hardware, but not many were granted permits.

One of those races, the Tr’aal, opened negotiations when I was sixteen. They tried for nearly two years to obtain the rights to use the technology. The world leaders declined once they’d discovered that the Tr’aal just wanted a faster way to zip in, blow up a world, and zip out. So, they left, empty-handed.

And then they came back, several months later. In force. Val’Trax was on the edge of the Galactic Fleet’s territory… The war… Bah. The slaughter the Tr’aal executed was over before any of our allies could get there to assist. Of the nine billion natives, two hundred and fifty thousand survived the initial attacks. A mere two thousand actually made it off the planet alive. Less than half of those survivors left with their freedom intact. I wasn’t one of the few.

It isn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy… Not even on our conquerers. Orbital bombardment, armed troops in the streets shooting anything that moved aggressively… Or at all… No one deserves what they did to us. I was found in a Draekrd, a temple devoted to self-reflection and worship of the Kshorah. They brought me down in an alley as I tried to get away. Energy weapons, of course… Slaves aren’t much good if they’re dead or full of holes.

I woke up in a cell with five others… Three fems, two mels. Two of the vixens I knew - Melichanni, my mate-to-be, and Kishira, a close friend of ours. The rest of our cellmates were strangers. They put males and females together on purpose, you know? More little slavelets that way, especially with our racial mating scents.

After a few days of being kept literally in the dark and fed some sort of protein syrup from time to time, they tagged us all with numbered bracelets and led us off to an arena. There were several floors above us, all like windowed cells with people in them… I can’t really remember the speech the Tr’aal Intendant spouted… He informed us that we were now Tr’aal property, expendable labor… And then he went on to prove the ‘expendable’ qualifier. The armored soldiers chose twenty at random from the main floor and lined them up against the wall… And wouldn’t you know it?

Two of those twenty just happened to be my mother and father.

The Intendant ordered the twenty executed, one at a time. But not just any random method of slaughter… No, they busted out a disruptor tuned to slowly vaporize a body from the inside-out. It’s painful, it’s vicious, and it’s an absolutely horrible way to die. And they murdered twenty people with it, right there in front of us.

Dad somehow kept his wits about him after that excruciating last scream of my mother… He killed the executioner with a blast of the Art even as the disruptor ended his life. That led to a second lesson - their soldiers were as expendable as we were. Every soldier was a clone, programmed in their genes to obey their masters. The Intendant promoted another one on the spot and the executions went on. Why take us instead of rolling their own programmable slave race? I used to ask myself that a lot. I think it gave them pleasure to grind the last bit of hope out of their victims.

I didn’t cry there. I was in too much shock to know if I should be crying or trying to kill the guards. We were marched back to our little rooms before I finally broke down, huddled in the cleanest corner of the cell and sobbing. One of the males from our group of six took down three or four guards before he was killed himself…. I was afraid to eat the food they gave us when it actually had meat in it.

They decimated the atmosphere and the surface before they left, killing the bombardment survivors that hadn’t managed to evacuate at the same time they rendered Val’Trax uninhabitable, toxic, and unlikely to support future life. We were the example for the rest of the quadrant - the Tr’aal did not accept ‘no’ for an answer. Void, I’m sure they would have done the same damn thing if we’d given them the tech. We just gave them an excuse.

I was eighteen when I was captured. I spent six more years in bondage, living with the same four remaining cellmates for several years. Pellia and Marsh - the vixen and tod I hadn’t met before the war… They both contracted a fever and died of the illness. I’d tried to help them, but… Healing with the Art requires that your patient wants to heal. They’d both given up. Both times, more than a week passed before the body was taken away. Pellia had been pregnant when she died. The bastards had taken her off for several days during her heat and forced several males to mate her.

In that last year, I’d been trying desperately to plot a way out. In all honesty we’d been trying to come up with ways all along - the absolute brutality of the soldiers kept anything from coming to light. It was also during the last year that the new Intendant of the labor camp began to take a personal notice in me. I really didn’t find the Tr’aal attractive - very much less than attractive, really - but it was that or take the chance of random execution. So, I did my duties to the Intendant, living as more of a plaything than a person. Over time I managed to gain a very small measure of her trust, but as far as she was concerned I was still her ‘property’ and more than once was re-educated as to my place.

An order came down from above the Intendant that a quarter of the slaves were to be sent to auction. Funds for war efforts. Kish and Anni nearly went on the auction block… The Intendant claimed them both for ‘herself’ and let them stay with me after some major groveling on my part. And then one night, completely out of the blue, she helped the three of us escape the camp. I don’t know why. Maybe she cared for me more than I realized… She gave us access codes to an old shuttle and we made a break for it.

I’ve never seen a Tr’aal since.

Tari stared at Jadyn as he fell silent, uncertain of what to say. Pakar solved the problem by speaking up first.

“I’d picked up that a great number of your people were lost to the war… You’ve never actually mentioned that only two thousand survived.”

“Less than that… Half the enslaved population died in the first few years from disease and resisting the Tr’aal. Add to that maybe a thousand that were off-world when the end came for one reason or another and the five hundred that evaded bombardment, enslavement, and target practice on their escaping ships… At the very most there were twenty-three hundred Val’Traxans alive in the quadrant when the camps were eventually liberated. The liberation didn’t save the few hundred who’d already been sold and resold to other parties for Goddess-knows-what… So yeah, an effective population under two thousand when it was all said and done.”

“Only a thousand offworld? No colonies?”

“On the moon, but they blew the whole satellite into dust. There wasn’t a desire for any others. Most Val’Traxans didn’t ever leave the planet beyond business trips or stints serving in the Fleet because everything we needed was there on that rock. Sure, in retrospect, we should have had a few to help buffer against the chance of mass extinction on the homeworld. It was more than a little arrogant for us to think we were too advanced to worry about such a thing… Instead, when I left, the survivors that weren’t scattered across the quadrant were setting up a genetic diversity project as a last-ditch effort to keep our race from moving into that ‘extinct’ classification.”

“A structured breeding program.”

“Basically, yeah. Simulations and projections agreed that we needed at least four thousand in the pool for any hope of long-term viability. Since we were starting over with less than half of that, there was concern about eventual inbreeding depression if the survivors didn’t plan out their reproductive efforts for several generations.”

“How’d that go?”

“No idea. I left before it got beyond the idea stage. You’re making me jump ahead in my recanting, though. I haven’t even gotten to the part that explains why I’m still breathing.”

“Right, sorry,” the drekiran apologized. “I forgot who this was for.”

“Still…” Tari shook her head. “Billions of lives reduced to a few thousand… That’s one Hell of a way to grow up, Jay.”

“That’s only part of the reason I’m so screwed up… The major part, but only a part.” He smiled wryly, staring at the ceiling. Tears dampened the fur around his bloodshot eyes. “I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t happened. If Val’Trax were still a thriving world, I’d probably never have gotten out of the quadrant.”

“Well, we’re certainly glad you’re here.” Pakar crossed the room, giving the fox a gentle, loving hug and ignoring his wince of pain. “You have more friends than you might realize, J.T… It doesn’t hurt to open up once in a while to any of them.”

“Erasoe,” he snorted. Tari heard the translation in her left ear after a slight delay - ‘bullshit.’ “It’s been five hundred years and it still hurts to talk about it.”

“Yes, but it does get easier to think about, doesn’t it? You lost a lot to that war. Innocence, family, friends, your original hopes of a stable future with those you loved… All parts of your life that you can never get back. The memories are bound to your soul with all the other junk up here.” She tapped his head lightly. “You need to air the laundry once in a while.”

“Shared pain is lessened,” Tari observed. “Shared joy grows.”

“Yeah,” he whispered, a smile slowly creeping over his muzzle. “Yeah, I suppose so. That some ancient kitsune wisdom?”

“Even better. Ancient fatherly wisdom.”

“He was a wise man.”

“You’ve no idea. So, what happened after you three got away?” Tari asked, trying to pull him back to his story.

“Well…”

In a term you’re familiar with (he continued), it was a year of Hell on the shuttle. The damn thing was ready to fall apart. It took a lot of the four-finger-discounting to keep it running. We hated resorting to theft, but we did what we had to do to stay alive. There wasn’t much temporary work to be had. The only viable alternative - which we also had to use several times - was falling to walking the streets, pitching to those looking for a good night in bed. The girls were better at it, but I managed to pull in my share. It wasn’t a high point of our lives by any measure.

The only things left functioning after a year of trying to find our home were propulsion and minimal life support. No navigational computer, no communications, nothing. I’d just completed an FTL jump to get away from some unpleasant smugglers we’d swindled, dropping into normal space near a moon. I’d picked a heading at random and flown until the engines needed a cooldown.

The girls were asleep in the back, sharing a blanket for warmth. I was ready to go join them and get a nap - minimal life support is just about no heat, and space is rather chilly. A small fighter craft dropped in front of the forward viewport. After managing to signal that we had no working comm, the pilot signaled that I needed to follow her. It was a good four hours of travel. She had no tow clamp on the tiny fighter, and at sublight the shuttle didn’t have much in the line of speed.

Kish and Anni woke up as we neared a space station. Following the fighter into a shuttlebay, we touched down and proceeded to wait. Shortly afterward we were signaled to open the door. The pilot, a lady squirrel, led us off through the corridors without so much as a word. Every space station looks the same after a while, but there was something familiar about the architecture as we followed her to a locker room. We were absolutely coated in grime… We’d had some rather nasty things break on the shuttle and there wasn’t enough water to spare for bathing. Can’t lick your fur clean like the ancestors did because the stuff will likely not do nice things to your insides. Rags all around are already coated in the stuff, so that’s not an option. We’d become numb to the smell, but I’d imagine that they had a heck of a time making the halls smell clean again after our passage.

We found basic jumpsuits waiting for us after three hours of scrubbing the grime out of our pelts, and the pilot returned shortly afterward. She led us off to an observation deck on the top level of the station, meeting up with a lupine male who appeared to be her commanding officer. Kish and Anni watched the various ships coming and going; I sat with them silently, looking out at the barren yellow world the station was orbiting. Out of nowhere, it hit me - that dead rock before us had indeed been our home at one point in time. It was a revelation, finding out that we had finally made it home, and the stress of the journey was gone. Poof! Just like that. I think the girls realized it about the same time I did, from the look in their eyes.

A month after we’d been debriefed about our time in bondage came news that the Tr’aal’s empire had been toppled. Their latest attempt at a ‘strategic takeover’ had backfired and their entire fleet had been incapacitated. It was no small pleasure to know they were no longer a threat to anyone… But still, after what they’d done to us… It was a hollow victory, at best.

I started taking trips down to the surface in an environmental suit, looking for relics of our past lives. It took a long time to explore and map the blank surface around where my childhood home had once stood. There wasn’t a landmark left. The forests were dead, the few remaining trees standing as woody skeletons of the grand woodlands that once had been full of life. The rivers and oceans, dry and desolate. The once lush plains and foothills were constantly ravaged by harsh toxic winds that swept over a dead and deserted landscape. The atmosphere was completely unbreathable… I don’t know what they did to cause that much decimation in the biosphere, but they’d been thorough.

After months of mapping I finally found where my young life had been spent… To my surprise, there was one survivor buried beneath the land. The Serin was still parked in the underground hangar my father had kept her within. Almost all of her systems had been in a sort of suspended animation from lack of power and light; the energy reserves had just about depleted after eight years of disuse. The organics are plant-based - more than anything, she needed sunlight. Accomplishing that took three weeks of digging - even using the Art. If I’d gone too fast the cavern would have collapsed and buried the ship even deeper.

The change as those first rays hit the outer skin was simply amazing. The hull, black as death in its stasis, was a vibrant leafy green after not ten minutes. There was plenty of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and by the time the water reserves were low the replicator came online and started refilling the tanks.

First was life support; I wanted to get out of the e-suit. Damn things chafe something fierce… The only pressurized portion is the helmet. The rest is mechanical counterpressure with heating elements woven into the fabric. After I could breathe in the cabin, I tried to bring up Aerin with little success. Oh sure, doors would open and close, but only as long as you didn’t want to go through one. They’d bang open and closed until you walked up to one, then they’d slam shut either before you walked through or during. My tail never has had so much abuse as on this ship…

And then there was T’bia. I spent countless hours reconstructing her from backups. I finally gave up with the enhancement modules and booted the core. Of course, all my time was wasted… Dad had programmed her system to reconstruct itself automatically in case of a mass-failure. The startup script nuked all the files I’d worked on and reloaded everything itself. Half an hour later, she was up and running as if she’d never been offline. Together, we got the ship back together as much as was possible without any replacement parts. No small feat. Regeneration can take care of a lot of damage, but there comes a point when it stops working. Over time we’ve replaced dead parts with inorganic alternatives, but I really hate to defile the ship with that kind of thing.

Kish and Anni joined our explorations soon after that. We found several things in the following weeks that we hadn’t been looking for. Numerous books and research materials were still intact in the Guild’s library vaults. The wards on the vaults had prevented their opening by non-Artisans… And not many Artisans were exploring the surface. Void, not many of us were left alive. Maybe ten or fifteen of us with any amount of skill… One or two Masters…

Tari, you saw the tapestry of the Goddess hanging in the common room, right next to the hologram of Val’Trax? I found it and eight others in the temple I had prayed within the day I was captured, even though the building had burnt down around them. They’re all remarkable works. One of each of the Eight, and a ninth showing them all together. I’ve rotated them around from time to time, hanging a different one in the room.

What else did we find… Oh, how did I forget that? My father’s ktsi - the sword. It was buried in the rubble of our house. The sheath was absolutely ruined, but when I pulled the blade out of the wreckage there wasn’t a scratch to be found. Anni and Kish searched for the other two weapons using mine to try to focus on them, but never came up with anything. The station researchers hadn’t even stumbled across them.

We’d all held hopes of finding certain artifacts with personal meanings, and we weren’t disappointed in that respect. It’s funny how we seemed to find things with that sort of significance that every other exploring soul had missed. Maybe the Spirits were watching out for us after all…

“But even a guardian Spirit needs the occasional vacation… You remember your dream, Tari? My eighth month of exploring the planet and seeking relics of our recent past… I was attacked in the Serin’s private shuttlebay.”

Tari nodded slightly, enlightenment apparent in her eyes as her fingers found the phantom wound on her own chest. “He really killed you, didn’t he…”

“Hence why the dream ended. There wasn’t anything more to see from my view.” Jadyn lifted his arms, flexing his fingers in front of his face. “Death… Dying, rather. Never has been a pleasant thing, except for that very first time. And it wasn’t the dying part that was pleasant. I was cold, surrounded by the Void… It was a timeless limbo I found myself floating within. The Light crept over my soul, warming me to the core… I realized I was dead at that moment. The way our culture sees death is not a time to be afraid, or sad… We’ve strong faith in our Kshorah. I was disappointed that my time had come so soon, but I was happy to be ‘home,’ as it were.

“The Light embraced me, and I embraced It… There was a… sadness, within the Light, and the most peculiar sensation washed over my mind. They speak of the Figure of Good in any given faith loving His or Her Children unconditionally. What I felt was more than unconditional love… It was personal. It still feels, when I think back, as if the Kshorah of the Light Herself knew me and loved me and had only moments to share that love with me before I’d be whisked away. I remember hearing… sensing, I suppose… Just a whisper, a simple and short phrase. ‘Death cannot bring you the solace that you deny yourself in life.’ And then Limbo reclaimed me.”

Jadyn swallowed slightly. “As I hung in that timeless, cold darkness, I felt utterly alone for the first time in my life. Even during our internment I’d never felt so isolated… The memory of being abandoned in that Void, forsaken by the Light… I’ve found it hard to shake that emptiness over the years. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe… No sounds, no smells… Absolutely nothing.

“The endless dark abruptly changed to blinding light. I opened my eyes, unable to focus on anything… The pair of screams that followed are laughable, in retrospect… I’d been in one of the coolers they keep corpses in before an autopsy… They’d thought I was dead. At the time they’d been right. Anni had come in to identify me - as if the blue fur wasn’t enough of a hint to the medical technicians. Spirits, she was mad… She’d thought I’d been trying to prank her. I had no idea what was going on.

“The ‘official’ explanation filed by the station commander was that they missed faint vital signs before sticking me on ice. The truth…. I’m an immortal, Tari. As far as I know I’ll never age another day and I seem to have a standing agreement with Death that I don’t really understand. I’ve come back more times than I care to remember. I really wish I could forget a few of them.”

Tari gazed into his eyes, seeing the old hurt on the surface once again. “I… I really don’t know what to say…”

“Try this: ‘Why the heck didn’t you just say that instead of prattling on for two hours about your crappy childhood?’” T’bia poked Jadyn in the shoulder. “Now, if he didn’t know I was trying to cheer him up with that, he’d be moderately upset. Sit up, meatbag.”

Jadyn nodded, clenching his jaw as he reached something barely passable as upright. “Oi… As a bonus, while I’m conscious my regeneration rate is usually faster than Bee’s ability to fix me up… On par with modern medical tools when I’m not. The only thing that’s never healed is the scar from the stabbing. I assume it won’t go away because that was the event that fully crossed me over from a normal existence to what I am now. Depending on what happens, a few minutes to several hours after an injury and I’m back on my feet.”

“Longest was a day or so,” T’bia offered, poking at a medical scanner. “Please don’t try to break any records. Bah, you’re being slow today, still have some ribs with fractures. Nothing I need to snap into place, though… Lucky you.”

“How’d your two ladies take the news?” Pakar asked.

“Anni didn’t speak to me for a week. She was convinced I’d set up the whole thing as a joke. It took me that long to sort through the experience and figure out what exactly had happened. When Kish finally convinced her to talk to me again, I told them both what I’d seen and felt after my apparent death. There had been some immortals rumored in our history, so it wasn’t completely unbelievable. I… er… I did have to prove it to them, though… They wanted first-hand evidence.”

“They made you -“

“No, I didn’t have to kill myself in front of them. I took a knife to my palm and laid it open to the bone. Bleeding stopped within a minute. The cut was closed within ten. I had my complete range of motion back in half an hour, and the scars were gone within the day.”

Pakar nodded. “Okay… Now, the glaring question that I’ve always wanted to know - why are you so far from home? The other galactic arm is a long way to come from just for a bookstore and some government jobs.”

“Yes, but have you seen your pension plans? Originally, I went searching for my sister, Telara. She’d been off-world when the Tr’aal returned for the extermination. There was a boarding school on another world she wanted to attend with a bunch of her friends, so mom and dad sent her off. When I went hunting for her the records I’d been able to locate said she’d never left the place.

“Anni would have joined my search if I’d asked her to come along, but I couldn’t do that to her. I knew if I didn’t find Telara, I’d probably never be back. Both Anni and Kish both had their own lives to lead and I honestly couldn’t bring myself to stay, to watch them wither away as I remained myself. They’d both found other mates before I left and seemed happy. Kish discovered she was pregnant the very morning I departed… The last news I’d heard from them, she had a little boy.”

“You never found your sister?” Pakar queried.

“No… I searched for a long time. There were leads and trails flung left and right, all conflicting with each other and making no sense. One evening, Bee and I were studying a star chart, trying to decide where to go next… All the leads had dried up. One little point of light drew my attention, made my blood run cold… I knew down to the core of my soul that she’d died there… It only hurt more as I sensed Melichanni’s life had ended on that world as well, like they’d been together and something had happened.

“Bee turned the ship so I could look out at the star, and then… Then… A vision of the very event assaulted my mind. An explosion killed them both as well as a third person, a val’traxan male I’d never met. I don’t know what told me they were dead, or why… But the fact they were gone was undeniable as I stared at that star out the viewport.”

He sighed, a slight smile forming on his face. “Anni and I… We’d always called this one constellation in the skies of Val’Trax our personal one… ‘The Kshorahii’s Tails…’ A vague outline of two foxtails twined together in the stars, joined together by a single star at their base… After I knew Telara and Anni were gone, I decided to find out if Anni was right about the star at the base.”

Tari raised an eybrow. “How so?”

“We’d joked on and off about traveling to the star, making wild guesses at what we’d find. The common bedtime story said it was the birthplace of the Kshorahii. Anni always insisted there’d be scantily clad mels who would honor her every bidding, feed her peeled grapes, the works.”

The vixen smirked. “I like that fantasy.”

“I’ll order some grapes,” T’bia offered.

“Do that. Jay can peel them for me. Did you two find your way there, at least?”

Jadyn nodded, easing off the bed to his feet. “That star is known in these parts as Lo. It’s Veloria’s sun.”

“Your instructions on setting the device were incorrect. It lasted two seconds, not twenty, according to my monitoring.”

“Apparently the instructions provided to me were in error -”

“Your constant ‘errors’ are not helping. This combined with the botched pirate attacks is making me question your abilities. They attempted to kill him as well, when I expressly told you to relay directions to only leave his ship incapacitated.”

“My apologies. To make you aware: the preliminary reports regarding the detonation show it as a meteor exploding in the upper atmosphere, including falsified trajectories of an object leading to the detonation point. Someone with high-level access to the database is editing the records. The report is otherwise valid and I doubt it will get more than a cursory glance.”

“I do wonder how he got it so far into the sky with so little time… Perhaps his abilities exceed your logged observations. It warrants more investigation, but it is not a priority. Anything else filed so far?”

“Not that I have been able to capture. Our contacts also show nothing abnormal.”

“Keep me informed. How are our… guests?”

“Their numbers have doubled. The new additions are healthy and faring quite well.”

“Excellent. More incentive for them to behave… I have a few more details to oversee before I return. I believe it is time to release the contagion on Terac Lun. You are certain this will work exactly how I have repeatedly explained I want it to work?”

“Having tested it on a virtually identical system, I can say with confidence that it will.”

“Forward me the files.”

“As you command.”

A shadow shifted along the treeline, its hooded head glancing at the cabin nearby as lights inside turned out. Turning and moving into the woods, it vanished into the night.

Fiction Friday: Yesteryear

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:01:13 GMT

Yesteryear has returned. In addition to the language restructuring, there has been a rather important change. If you want to find out for yourself, don’t read further before you read the installment.

Spoiler follows.

[spoiler]There has been a significant change in the Val’Traxan body count. 150,000 free and 100,000 enslaved? 250,000 survivors always struck me as a little high. There’s enough genetic viability there to ensure the continuation of the species without too much worry. So, I’ve removed a zero. And a five.[/spoiler] (Mouseover to view, presuming you’re not in a feed-reader)

Also, as a very minor point, [spoiler]I’ve documented the fact that Jay regenerates faster when he is awake than when he’s unconscious.[/spoiler] It’s been like that in my head but I doubt I ever noted it before now.

Happy Columbus Day

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:00:29 GMT

Go discover something!

Personally, I discovered the delayed posting feature in WordPress. Friday’s update will now go up automatically. :D

The flash animation in this theme (the aurora up top is moving) really sucks the life out of my battery. I’m not entirely sure about keeping the theme, especially since I never intended to activate it yet anyway. We’ll see. At the least I suspect I’m changing the font from monospace to a serif variety.

Fiction Update: The Terran Report

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:16:25 GMT

The Terran Report is back up. Some minor restructuring, but generally the same result: we aren’t worthy of their time. Yet.

Enjoy some pie while you wait for next week.

The Terran Report

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:07:24 GMT

“Well, I have to say, I’m terribly happy that the stay was uneventful.” Jadyn looked over the room, taking a mental inventory to be sure they had collected all the things they’d brought in.

“Uneventful?”

“Well, beyond the events we created ourselves.”

“I’d hope there were some memorable moments there.” Tari smiled, adjusting her bag’s shoulder strap. “You were expecting more?”

He gestured for her to step into the hall, following her outside. “Computer, room check-out.”

“One moment.” There was a pause. “Our records indicate your balance has been paid in full. Thank you for your stay.”

“I’m always expecting more,” he continued, as their pair made their way to the shuttle bay. “It just seems when I’m trying to be low-key and off the radar, everyone and their second cousin takes notice. That really didn’t happen this time. Maybe someone finally fell asleep at the ‘mess with Jadyn’s head’ button.”

“Maybe you’ve just gotten better at urban stealth.”

He raised an eyebrow, glancing at her sidelong as they boarded the lift. “‘Urban stealth?’”

“Well, maybe that’s not a good term.”

“You mean blending in? Subtlety, maybe.”

“Doesn’t sound as amazing and interesting at a dinner party. ‘What do you do?’ ‘I am an expert in urban stealth.’”

“Oh, the ‘my job has more letters than yours’ contest. Well, let’s go for a double-word-score and call it ‘xenogenic stealth,’ since we’re blending into the crowd of other races.”

Tari smirked. “Suppose so.”

“I suppose you’d be a practitioner of arborean stealth, hiding among the trees?”

“Dual major, I’d think. Arborean and xenogenic.”

“Ah, that you would be. More experienced than me, even.” Exiting on the docking bay floor, Jadyn glanced down toward where the pair of guards had formerly been posted. “They must have been relieved when the Tamar entered orbit.”

“Who?”

“The sentries,” he replied, walking to the door and tapping on the locking button. The portal parted with a muffled groan; Khris was waiting just inside, glancing over a pad.

“About time you got here,” he observed.

Jadyn smirked. “What’s the rush? You have a date? All dressed up and looking simply splendid in those robes… Who is he?”

The lotoran laughed. “Figured I’d at least see you off since I’ve been so antisocial these last couple of weeks. Have had a pile of work to finish that you wouldn’t believe.”

“That’s nothing. I’ve got fourteen months of junkmail waiting at home. How long until the fun starts?”

“The session should be starting in… Hm, twenty minutes.”

“Lovely that they time arrival so well. Catch you there.”

Khris nodded, dropping the pad into a pocket of the council robe as he left the bay. “Good luck.”

“Aerin: two for transport. Bring up the AI.”

“I’m already awake, and you’re nearly late.” The bay vanished, leaving the transport room of the Serin in its place. “Guess that’s business as usual.”

“I know, I know.” He stepped off the pad, setting his things on the floor. “I’m going to get this dye rinsed out really fast. Keep us cloaked for now and take up a position near Terac Lun.”

“All righty. I’ll get logged in for the visual aids, if slash when you come out of hiding during the session. Tari, you going with him?”

“No, I’ll stay behind. I’d rather not lower my intelligence by listening to politicians babble.”

Jadyn grinned. “At least you have that option.”

“All rise for the Speaker of the Council of the Aligned Worlds, the Honorable Nesoli Rodregez of Drekira. This meeting of the Aligned Council is now in session.”

The Speaker took his seat at the front center of the chamber, facing the rest of the room as the assemblage sat back down. A tall red drekiran with black orbs of eyes, Nesoli appeared almost demonic in his formal business suit. The position of Speaker was traditionally filled by a Council member, whether active or retired, nominated and elected by a vote of the Council’s general assembly. Nesoli had been chosen for the current term of office - ten years, or until he chose to step down, whichever came first - and had done an incredible job of making forward progress. He was one of the few in recent history who hadn’t let the position go to his head.

“Good morning, Councilors.” Nesoli announced. Jadyn smirked to himself as he watched. As far as he knew, Nesoli hadn’t ever used the PA system. His deep, booming voice carried through the chambers without need for amplification.

Jadyn stood behind Khris, cloaked in an invisibility manifestation, listening passively as the normal formalities and opening business were conducted. Time wore on slowly as the morning progressed. He repeatedly entertained the idea of simply turning in his reports and leaving. It wasn’t that observing the Council was dull, because it was. It wasn’t that he didn’t have anything better to do, because he did. It was mainly because he was tired of standing up and there was no room on the floor to sit with pages and messengers walking around almost randomly. He considered the problem for a time and finally reversed his own gravity, sitting on the ceiling just over Khris’s position.

It made the assembly seem more interesting.

Two hours later the Terran report finally came up. Jadyn almost missed it, having dozed off briefly. Nesoli adjusted his wings concernedly as he studied the console before himself. “It appears that Captain Tzeki has not checked in with any of the posts between here and Terra. His ship was detected by listening stations as entering Aligned space, followed by a sizable subspace disturbance after which he has not been located. His scheduled return was one week ago. If any Councilor has information on the location of Captain Tzeki, please stand and be recognized.”

Jadyn watched in silence as all the members of the Aligned Council spoke amongst themselves; it sounded like a hornet’s nest after being sprayed with water. He’d never been late to report before. If anything, he had always been early. His reliability was one of the reasons they continued to request ‘favors’ of him. It didn’t really matter that much to him… It was something to do to keep busy. He just enjoyed being able to complain about it.

Within a few seconds, a lone black feline stood on the opposite side of the room. Conversation died instantly as every head in the place turned to look at him.

I win, Jadyn thought to himself.

“The Council recognizes Councilor Ceth T’zran of Feldar.”

“Thank you, Speaker. It is with dismay that I convey this news to the Council. I have received transmissions from an unidentified source that point to what may be the loss of Captain Tzeki. It appears a band of pirate raiders made an attempt to destroy his ship. From the data I was given, they may have succeeded.”

A murmur echoed through the crowd at the announcement. Jadyn watched the feline’s face carefully, not seeing what he’d expected - no hidden satisfaction, no pleasure in what was thought to be the fox’s death. Not so much as a glimmer of glee tainted his features. Instead, the Feldaran Councilor looked almost… depressed?

Nesoli rapped the stone gavel two times; all was silent once again. “Do you have these transmissions with you, Councilor?”

“I do. If I may, I will replay them for the rest of the Council to witness.”

“Please proceed.”

T’zran took a data crystal out of a small case, inserting it into the console where he sat. After a few moments pause, the large projection screen overhead came to life. All other illumination faded to darkness as the video clip played back.

The picture took a moment to resolve to clarity; Jadyn looked on with curiosity as the skirmish between himself and the three pirate ships replayed before the Council. Everything was exactly the same as it had been. No part of the conflict had been cut or edited from the point the recording started. He was surprised to hear his own transmission ordering the vessels to break off.

His mind strayed from the scenes to how Ceth was acting. The feline seemed genuinely upset about what had happened, perhaps even so far as saddened… But, on the other hand, he had been so cold when Jadyn had encountered him previously that his current state might just have been an act. His acting skills had never been this good… And what of his peculiar contact while the Serin had been in Terran orbit?

Something wasn’t adding up, and the fox didn’t like it one bit.

The event horizon of the Flashpoint tunnel blossomed brightly on the clip, bringing his attention back to the activity. The Serin seemed to enter the wormhole, disappearing from view. The three pirate ships stopped just short of the opening; two pulled away. A mine was set at the entrance by the third ship before it drew back and detonated the explosive unit. As the unnatural rift collapsed upon itself, an immense shock wave decimated all three ships before reaching the recording’s vantage point a mere fraction of a second later.

The screen displayed some sort of logo over the static - likely that of the pirate clan that had been paid to do the work - before shutting off entirely. Discussion filled the room as the lights came back up. Nesoli left everyone to talk for several minutes as he stared at the blank screens. He looked disturbed by the footage. It took a lot to upset that red dragon. Having someone rip one of his hearts out of his chest, take a bite, and describe to him why the flavor reminded them of foot odor wouldn’t have produced as much concern as was on his face.

Khris tapped something into a pad. From Jadyn’s upside-down vantage point, it took him half a minute to focus on what was there. If you’re hovering nearby - How did they retain that footage? Was there another ship?

He paused to consider how the pirates had managed to send the recording out of ground zero. There had been no other ships detected and all three that had been attacking were on the recording. The camera had been stationary. Furthermore - it couldn’t have been a purely visual recording. The shockwave was visible before striking the camera, yet was supposedly traveling faster than light.

More likely, he returned, dropping back down to write on the pad, they had a small sensor beacon transmitting data away from the place and reconstructed a visual log. I’ll recheck the logs, but we didn’t see any comm activity while it was happening. Did you happen to see how Ceth looks about it? He doesn’t seem to like what he’s sharing. No glee in killing me off?

Nesoli restored order before Khris could enter his answer. “Councilor T’zran, have you confirmed the validity of this recording?”

“I have not, Speaker. I do not know if I would be able to, at that. The data crystal was on my desk when I came into the office this morning minutes before the session, with no trace to how it arrived or who may have sent it.”

“Though it may be valid, we need more detail before we can make a judgement on the events within the recording. Do you have more you wish to speak?”

“No, Speaker. That is all.” T’zran retook his seat.

Nesoli hesitated before addressing the assemblage. “Should anyone have further input, please bring it forward now.”

Jadyn reached over to Khris’ console, entering a message into the queue for Nesoli. I’m here, Ness, ready to give the report. You aren’t going to like portions of what I’m going to present to the Council, though.

Silence reigned for several more seconds before the dragon took a deep sigh of relief. “Excellent… The Council recognizes Captain Jadyn Tzeki of the Aligned Fleet Special Forces. You have the floor.”

Jadyn conjured himself to the center of the speaking floor in a blink of light, stepping forward from the halo as it dissipated. Fire would have been more fun, but fire was Nesoli’s lever and really was overused in teleportation special effects. Someone screamed from Khris’ general area at his appearance; likely one of the newer Councilors or a page. Guards moved in as he stepped into the open but stopped short once they recognized him. The advantages of sticking out…

“Thank you, Speaker, Councilors… I wish to first apologize for my tardiness. As you witnessed on the recording, I had some… difficulties… on my way back to Aligned space. That said, I will make this short, as I am certain you have other, more pressing business to attend to. While it may be a difficult change of topic in light of the preceding video, I would prefer to begin with the report on my assignment of the last year: the survey of the Sol stellar system’s third celestial body, currently registered as Terra. Afterwards, I will address the video footage. Would this be acceptable?”

Nesoli arched an eyebrow, giving a slight nod. “Proceed.”

“Thank you, Speaker.” He turned slowly, speaking to the entire gathering. Related images appeared on the overhead screen as T’bia followed along with his summary. “One year is nowhere near enough time to make a complete and accurate survey of the societies as detailed and complex as those which thrive on Terra. Given, they are a primitive world by our perspective, but for their stage of advancement they are evolving rapidly. Much valuable information was gathered, both from harvesting data stored in their global computer networks, as well as more personable one-on-one interviews. With that said, I find the human race is filled with many confusing elements, some of which are still perplexing to even themselves. In very general terms, they do not trust what they do not understand. They seek to control it, to bring it under their control, or to eliminate it as a threat if it cannot be placed under their control.

“Planetary forces like this Council exist but the voices of reason are sometimes drowned out by their current pull toward violence. They have tried to create organizations to preserve peace, but these groups cannot always help in the worst locations. There is just too much of an undercurrent to keep the waters calm. In a way, they are suffering the same problems on a planetary scale which existed here on an interstellar scale before this Council was forged.”

Photos and video clips decorated the screens, showing scenes related to what Jadyn spoke on. Images from news and documentaries. The proceedings from and aftermath of various kinds of warfare - nuclear radiation, chemical burns and poisonings, massive gunfire, aerial bombardment. Following the terrible scenery was a sequence of frames demonstrating humanitarian aid.

“Among all this chaos, order still manages to survive. People risk their well-being to enter regions destroyed by either natural disaster or human hands to deliver food, medicine, and other merciful assistance.

“None the less. I cannot recommend the initiation of First Contact proceedings with Terra at this point in their evolution for two core reasons. First, they are simply too intolerant of the unknown and of anything different than they are. Many recent entertainment films seem aimed at inciting fear and paranoia of that which is from off-world.” Scenes from a movie - Independence Day - came on above him, showing entire cities being leveled by massive alien ships. Those faded to another scene where one of the ‘aliens’ was speaking through the body of a doctor. “Given, these are fictitious works, but I do think they reflect the current Terran mindset, if only on their subconscious level.

“Secondly, and far more important in the spirit of the First Contact directive. It would be ill-advised at best to alter their current path of technological advancement. They should be allowed to reach out and find us when they are ready and not a moment before. I do, however, recommend that a new survey be conducted after a quarter- or half-century has passed, to re-evaluate their progress. It is unlikely that they will have advanced far enough for contact at that time, but I believe it important to follow their evolution toward interstellar travel.”

He held out a datapad as the screens shut off. A page stepped up and took it from him quickly. The Speaker looked over the contents as it was delivered to him, then set it down on his podium. “The Council accepts your report, Captain. We will schedule a Contact Committee interview after everyone has had time to review the filing. Are you open for preliminary questioning?”

“I am.”

“Councilors, please limit your questions to the Terran report. We will investigate the other issue after the question period. Captain, also defer any questions of the same.” Several Councilors immediately entered the queue. Nesoli began at the top of the list on his console. “Councilor Haraif Qeu of Antal.”

A large ursine in the south side of the chamber stood to address him; Jadyn recognized him as one of the members of the First Contact committee. “Captain, welcome back.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“What is the possibility of Terrans reaching or breeching the light barrier within the next century?”

“Under their own power, I find that unlikely at best. Current manned space missions have not reached as far as even their moon in several decades. Solid and liquid fuels for propulsion by combustion are still prevalent. Nuclear fission is used in some areas for electrical power. Other sources are being developed or researched. Fusion power is still out of their reach. They are experimenting with a variety of particle accelerators and deep-space telescopes and are determining the nature of the universe. I expect they will discover how to access the subspace and hyperspace layers in the next fifty, perhaps seventy-five years, but implementing a vessel using these technologies is quite some time away.”

The Speaker called off another name; someone on the west side stood. “Explain your mention of interviews, if you would.”

“Certainly. In the guise of a human male I posed myself as a writer and inquired with various people across a continent about their opinions of their own society. They were to regard me as an alien in making their responses. I justified the interviews to those questioned by claiming the book was about a race of aliens studying Terra.”

A brief wave of laughter rippled through the gathered members; Jadyn nodded slightly in acknowledgement. “There was definite uncertainty as to the acceptance of non-Terrans. When presented with hypothetical questions regarding aliens that are similar to non-sapient races that live on Terra, rather than the current craze of short green or gray fleshy creatures with large pupil-less eyes, answers ranged greatly. Several children report that it would be ‘really cool.’ Adults seemed to find it more acceptable than the idea of the aforementioned gray-skinned aliens. Also, I would like to note that someone is harassing the planet’s inhabitants by crashing abandoned vehicles into the surface with mark-eleven crash testing simuloids on board. If anyone is missing any equipment or is aware of anyone who is, please let Security know.”

Nesoli allowed others to question before finally asking his own. “Finally, Captain… There is the issue of what we all witnessed in Councilor T’zran’s submitted recording. Would you care to elaborate upon what was seen?”

“On the transit to the Sol system fourteen months ago we were assaulted by pirates. This footage you observed was of the second attack on my vessel. I am uncertain of who captured the video feed and how. We were attacked with no warning and no provocation mere seconds after our scheduled decloak upon entry into the borders of Aligned territory. We received no response to our communication attempts. My pilot and I agreed we needed to cause a… distraction. However, rather than following our projected path into the wormhole, they instead tried to make the tunnel collapse upon my ship and trap us between dimensions. The tunnel indeed collapsed, but the massive release of energy from its uncontrolled implosion took their lives as a result. The V.T.C. Serin, her crew, and a civilian all very nearly became victims as well.”

Another look of relief passed over the dragon’s face. So that’s what was bothering him… He thought the mine was responsible for all the destruction… Why would he have thought that? Maybe it wasn’t as quiet as Pakar led me to think.

“However,” Jadyn continued slowly, “I believe that this entire issue is due to a security breech or a leak within the Council itself.” He paused, finding all eyes focused on him and complete silence in the chamber. “My flight plan was purposefully erratic, due to the fact that there is known to be a problem with pirates in the area between Alliance space and Terra’s no-fly zone. I did as per protocol and filed a secured copy of our planned route in only the Council database. The only way the same three ships could have attacked us in two distant locations, fourteen months apart, is that they knew precisely when we would be at those coordinates. Someone gave them those flight plans from the database, and someone contacted me using secure Council frequencies to verify my departure schedule mere hours before I departed the Sol system.”

He sighed heavily. “An hour ago, I thought I knew for certain who the leak was -” His eyes lingered on Ceth for a fraction of a second as he scanned the chamber; to his credit, the feline made no motion to confirm or deny the idea, but was aware he was being looked at. “- but now I find that my certainty is no longer complete.” He held out a small crystal; the page stepped back up to take it. “Speaker, there is a name in the text on this record. Disregard it, and please remove it before filing it into the database. The key I have supplied the Council previously will decrypt the entire report.”

The dragon nodded as the crystal was delivered to him. “Is there anything else you wish to add at this time, Captain?”

“Yes, briefly. As may be expected, I am not at all pleased with this situation. I am friends with some of you, acquaintances with others. Many of you do not know me well or at all beyond the details of my service record. Why any of you would put my ship and the lives of those aboard in danger is beyond my comprehension. I honestly do not recall that I have done anything to warrant such a method of my extinction… I would appreciate being told in words rather than force if I have done something to offend, so that I may attempt to make amends for the transgression. If a message cannot be brought about personally, there are other, fully anonymous methods to convey such displeasure without resorting to these extreme measures.”

Nesoli waited, then nodded slowly when no one spoke. “I will personally review this data, Captain. Thank you for your report. And, welcome back.”

“Thank you, Speaker. It’s good to be home.”

“You are dismissed.”

Jadyn dipped his head in respect. The power of the Light engulfed him and obscured him from view; he willed himself back to his previous place behind Khristofer, his head reeling from the effort. A year of disuse had left his abilities out of shape, and self-teleportation between two unbound points was incredibly stressful on a good day.

Talk filled the room once more as he vanished from the floor. Nesoli calmed things down enough to call a five minute recess. Jadyn followed the raccoon out to where he met up with Pakar in the hall.

“Is he with you?” she asked over the growing crowd.

“I’m here.” Jadyn stepped on her tail to prove it. She somehow scored a hit on his shin in the process.

“Don’t do that! My tail is a precision instrument.”

“So why did you hit me with it?” he asked, backing into an alcove and fading in just enough to let them both see where he was.

Khris smirked. “Should we go somewhere else?”

Jadyn shook his head. “No, you two don’t have time. I’m planning on just going home and attending to my guest. If you want to stop by after the session for dinner, I’ll create something edible. Can’t say it’ll be as good as that roast, Pakar, but I’ll do what I can.”

Pakar nodded with a sly grin on her muzzle. “I’ll probably come by just to look for a new reason to be jealous of that vixen.”

“I’m not one to pass up a free meal,” Khris agreed. “What’s on the menu?”

“My wonderful home cooking, as usual. I’d better go so I can pick up fresh meats and get things ready. Cabin hasn’t been open in a year at the least, probably needs dusting.”

Pakar nodded. “Looking forward to it.”

Jadyn dropped back to full invisibility as the chime for the end of the recess played and licked the drekiran’s cheek lightly. “I’ll see you both later. Have fun.”

“Oh, sure… Have fun in a political meeting… Maybe if we set the place on fire or shoot someone…” Khris wandered back into his section’s entrance grudgingly. Pakar hugged the invisible fox discreetly before going her own way. Jadyn waited for the hallway to clear before moving to the nearby stepdisk pad, selecting the market region of the station. A simulated sunny sky presented itself after the flash of the transport, a number of people milling about and buying things in the open market. He smiled, making himself visible again, and wandered into the crowd to gather the makings of dinner for four.

Tari was waiting for him by the Serin’s transporter pad when he came back with groceries. As soon as the bags were on the deckplates, her arms were around him.

“Thought you’d never be back.”

“I wasn’t sure if I’d make it, either. I don’t know how they can stand the drudgery.”

She smiled knowingly. “Politics are boring. Do we need some excitement, now?”

“Not so fast. I’ve got dinner to prepare. We have a raccoon and a dragon joining us.”

“Ah, that’s too bad… Dinner and a movie another night, then.” Tari let him go to study the content of the various sacks. “What are we having?”

“I figured I’d make some steaks on the grill tonight, with a salad and a local variety of potatoes smothered in a cheese sauce. I hope you don’t like mushrooms?”

She looked up, holding a loaf of bread in one hand as she put things back. “I do enjoy them… Why?”

“Don’t eat any while you’re here. Most food is compatible, but one world’s benign fungi may cause rather non-benign effects from someone off-world. I can’t eat any Velorian mushrooms without having hallucinations, and that’s the mild end.”

T’bia appeared to the side of the room. “He had a perfectly reasonable conversation with a rock one day because of a bad shroom.”

“Hey now! That rock was friendly! All it wanted in life was a little world piece.”

“And then it tried to bite you.”

“Only because it hadn’t eaten in years. Enough of that. Can we please make a landing? I’d like to go home.”

The skunk shook her head, fading away. “I say if you liked that rock so much you should have brought it home instead of that other, green, fuzzy little… thing. Descent to Veloria’s surface underway. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get the stains out of the carpet?”

“You’re just mad because you had to put out the fire, too.” Jadyn looked back at Tari, who was struggling not to laugh. He mock-glared at her, then laughed at himself. “Go ahead, let it out.”

She fell over, landing on the rubbery surface of the pad in a fit of laughter. It didn’t last long but it was just enough to make up his mind. He leapt onto her belly, pinning her down and tickling her mercilessly. She screamed with giggles, struggling against him but not really trying to get away. He knew she could slip out of it if she wanted. She apparently didn’t care to.

By the time he finished he was panting as hard as she was. Her face and ears were glowing under her snow-white pelt of fur; her pink pad of a nose had darkened several shades, and her tongue was lolling out of her mouth as she let the exertion fade. Jadyn fell down next to her, knowing he was nearly in the same condition, and stared up at their distorted reflection in the ceiling.

“I’d ask… why… but I’m not sure I’d… like the answer,” she panted, still giggling, rolling onto one arm to look at him.

“Because…” He grinned, poking her with his tail. “You were there, and Bee’s not ticklish.”

“Well… I’ll keep that in mind… and not try to tickle her…” The ship jolted briefly; small tremors ran through the deckplates. Tari’s ears perked up curiously. “I expect this is another normal event?”

“Yeah. Say, Bee-“

“Shaddup, I’m trying to drive. You kids are just so loud… I’ll stop this ship right here! You can WALK the rest of the way to the surface!”

“How far is that?”

“Ten feet.” Another bump signaled that they had touched down. He moved to his feet before helping the kitsune up. A quiet chime rang through the room. “The pilot has now turned off the seat belt sign by activating the customary eight-bit eleven-kilohertz tone. Thanks for flying with De-Reg Spacelines. Psst. Get out.” The next he knew, they’d been transported onto the lawn.

Outside, night had fallen. Fog drifted along the stream to one side of the clearing. Birds and other creatures made their night songs in the depths of the forest around them. The soft strobing glow of a swarm of fireflies blinked on and off in the center of the clearing, a swirling pattern of natural light amidst the darkness. A gentle breeze wafted along, rustling leaves and carrying fresh scents past them. Jadyn inhaled the familiar smells deeply, a smile warming his face.

“Welcome to the little piece of the galaxy I call home, Tarioshi.”

“It… It’s beautiful…” She whispered, walking through the grass. “You never said you lived in a forest…”

“You didn’t ask.” He picked up the groceries, conveniently left on the ground beside his feet, and glanced around. “Bee? You want to join us?”

“Not tonight. I’ve got things to catch up on. The Net calleth… and, I need to park downstairs yet so I can start some work on the ship. I can hardly wait until they get some cool AI’s…”

“Alright. Goodnight.”

Tari took one of the bags from him, still gazing around. “Was it like this naturally?”

“No, the cabin had to be built.”

“Har, har.”

“The stream and clearing were here.” He gestured towards one direction with his tail, indicating a dirt path leading off into the trees. “There’s a natural hot spring up that way a bit. I took some time to make it into something of a spa, sans the jets. I’ll be happy to show it to you later on. For now, I think we should go get supper done in case our company arrives early.”

“Well, it’s too bad Khris had to leave.” Jadyn grinned, setting slices of pie before Tari and Pakar. “He’s missing dessert.”

“More for us,” Pakar joked, taking a long sample of the warm smells rising from the fresh pastry. “I wonder if we could get you promoted from Captain to Chef…?”

Tari nodded agreement, enjoying the scents of apples and berries among the warm vapors rising from the pie before taking silverware to it. “This is some of the best home cooking I’ve had in a while.”

“Ditto.” He grinned, setting down a plate for himself. “Just can’t do much with replicated stuff, or reconstituted prepackaged meals… Sorry about that terrible jerked meat on our first night together in the woods.”

“It was… edible. I wasn’t in much position to complain. You certainly do a good job at the other end of the spectrum.”

“I love to cook when I’m able. Wish I could have sent some pie with him. I know Karmen loves when this fruit is in season.”

“I’m really surprised Khris had to come to the session at all, though,” Tari noted. “He should have been at home if she’s that close to her due date. Don’t they make exceptions?”

“He didn’t file a leave of absence. He’s a workaholic. Hopefully fatherhood will slow him down a little, make him sane again.” Pakar glanced at Jadyn curiously. “Didn’t he mention it to you before tonight? You looked surprised.”

“No, this was the first I’ve heard. My year-plus abroad didn’t help my ‘current events’ knowledge. He’s probably told so many people that he’s made them sick of it, and forgot I hadn’t been notified.” Jadyn stuck a fork in his slice, sampling it. “Hm… It’s missing something.”

“You’ve created a masterpiece and don’t think it’s good enough?”

“Any good artist knows that their work is always a work in progress, Pakar. And it’s not an ingredient within, but… beside. Ice cream, would be a bonus here… Let me check and see if we have any in either freezer.”

“What, you didn’t take the time to turn your own this evening?” the dragon teased.

Tari watched Jadyn pad back into the kitchen, then looked back to her dessert. Pakar sighed, drawing her attention. “Something the matter?”

“No, not really,” Pakar replied. “I’m just burnt out from today. A nice, quiet night is just what I needed.”

“That bad?”

“There’ve been some touchy issues as of late - one of them, you experienced on the way here. There’s been an increase in pirate activity and no one can figure out why, let alone what to do to solve it. It’s a huge debate every time the Council meets, how to handle this… The Fleet’s done what can be done, but the attacks are just getting worse. We need to get to the root of things. Just dealing with the raiding ships won’t stop whatever is making them go all out.”

“Mm. That -” A pang of terror reached Tari - a fleeting thought, barely enough to even register on her senses. A breeze suddenly blew through the room, the front door banging open loudly as napkins flapped on the table. Right on its heels was an explosion she hadn’t felt the likes of in decades. The roar of sound was deafening as night turned to day. The ground tremored as though some ancient beast was trying to climb out from deep within the planet.

And then all was silent as night descended once more.

“What in the name of the Elders…” Pakar hopped up, jogging to the door and scanning the sky. “No burning ashes… Not even a plasma trail… Couldn’t have been a ship.” She paused, glancing at Tari. “Jadyn… should have beat us to the door, I think…”

Tari looked toward the kitchen. The deep-freezer door was open, a light cloud of water vapor forming around the falling cold air. No one was near it.

An abrupt thud out in the grass recaptured their attention - a smoldering, blackened heap of fur and blood had fallen out of the sky. Tari nearly beat Pakar to the fox’s side; T’bia appeared in front of them, holding her arms out to her sides and blocking their advance.

“Hold it.”

“But -“

“No, Tari, no buts. I humored you on his shapedance, only because the damage wasn’t this bad.” T’bia glanced over her shoulder at the crumpled body behind her. “This is most definitely not how he wanted you to learn, but there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“T’bia, aren’t you going to do anything?” The vixen looked at Jadyn, feeling his last life energy slipping. “He’s dying!”

“Tari -” The heap coughed, very slightly dragging itself upright. “I already died… well before I hit the ground…”

Tari blinked. The fading of his energy had taken a complete one-eighty as he moved. “Wha..?”

“Explosion… broke my neck…” He coughed, spitting out blood. “Almost had two in a row there… couldn’t cushion my fall… Came to just before I hit… Would be nice if I hadn’t…” A groan escaped his throat as he collapsed back on the ground. “Yeah, didn’t need this tonight…”

“Let’s get you inside so I can set some of the breaks before I have to rebreak them.”

Pakar touched Tari’s shoulder as the fox and skunk vanished in the shimmer of transport. “I’d try to explain but it’s really not my place. There’s no way I could do it justice, anyway. I’m sure he’ll go into it.”

“I’d hope so, because what I just saw… Shouldn’t be possible…” Tari looked at the bloodied indentation in the ground. “He didn’t use any curative energies… At least, none I could sense…”

“As I understand, he can’t use his gifts to heal anything anymore. This is something completely different.” Pakar turned, heading toward the cabin and rubbing her temples. “So much for a quiet night… Let’s head down to the basement.”

“Basement?”

“They have a huge underground cavern they use for parking the ship.”

Delays

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:40:23 GMT

After being retasked as a woodchuck for the day, we hammered out a load of wood and I proceeded to go shopping for a replacement propane furnace. The thermocouple in the old one melted. That took 4 hours of my evening to install, because the propane pressure fittings on my outdoor tank broke and the spares had to be located. It’s cold up here and not having the heater running was not an option…

So, it’s now 2:30 am and I haven’t managed to sit down at my computer until now. And I’ve got a laptop to repair before 10am for the local gas station.

Just want to sleep >.<

Update will be later this evening

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:18:11 GMT

It’s below freezing and we have docks to pull. back later.

A Request

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:14:41 GMT

A story update (be it a chapter or an excuse) is due Friday.

In the meantime, if anyone has knowledge of building plugins for wordpress, I need a little help.

I don’t have the time right now to build, debug, and implement a plugin to allow for navigation within subpages. Basically, I have all the stories in an order using the “order” field based on their in-universe date (approximately). The page flipper needs to be aware of that, not the posting order or posting date. An “Up” link to return to the index (the parent page) as well as a “Next” and “Previous” link that remain in only the current sub-page are all I need.

It should take all of like an hour, but I seriously can’t allot the time at present. I can’t offer much compensation other than maybe finding a place somewhere for a cameo. Edit: Possible success! See comments.

… Which reminds me, someone at some point asked me if Tari might have any siblings. I don’t remember who asked, but the answer is ‘yes.’ She definitely has one older sister (kitsune mother, human father) who is an integral part of later chapters, and I’ve made a note in the same chapter introducing that sister that there is at least one more sibling running around out there that she met while looking over the remains of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The sibling was genderlessly referenced, although this universe assumes that less than 5% of kitsune are male. I’ve shied away from giving her mother the satisfaction of bearing a male offspring (status == ego and we just can’t give that bitch the lift) but if someone happens to write something about one and lets me know, I certainly don’t mind and may even work it into canon.

As far as I’m aware beyond that question, no one’s ever wanted to write anything even remotely in this universe or even referencing a character because I’m so terrible about maintaining it. I do have a mental set of rules I’m trying to personally stick to that I’ve somewhat managed to dictate into the iPod, including the full nature of why the immortals ‘are,’ but I’ve yet to translate my disassociated ramblings into a structured cheat sheet.

One more for the road.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:14:08 GMT

Sumptuous Repast: minor language changes.

Going out for dinner, then heading home. Hope this mass update tides everyone over for a few days. Sorry for the big delays. My goal is still one a week. It bugs me every time I miss the mark.

Sumptuous Repast

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:09:47 GMT

“Seems like you and gravity are becoming fast friends again.” Pakar smiled, walking the uppermost floor of the Laitu with Tarioshi. The level was merely an observation deck; no shops or vendors were allowed to set up on the floor. As a result it wasn’t as crowded as the lower decks and provided a good view of the floors filled with people below.

“Spent a few hours practicing walking… I still feel a bit off-balance, but at least I don’t need to catch myself every step.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. What’s with the tail around the waist?”

“Jadyn suggested trying this to keep it out from underfoot.”

“Personally, I just let mine trip people. Of course, mine’s armored… Your milage may vary.”

Tari glanced down at the poofy ‘belt’ around her waistline. “How do you think something like this evolved? What’s the point?”

“Who knows? Nature seems fickle and mercurial at times. There’s a lot of examples of a divine sense of humor. Take… Well, you wouldn’t be familiar with a lot of the stranger species out here just yet.”

Tari nodded. “I want to learn, though. I’ll still be alive when you guys actually open up contact with Earth, be it in fifty or five hundred years, or longer.”

“Earth?” Pakar asked, confused. “You’re not from… Oh, right. Translation error on this thing. There’s a lot of worlds that call their planet ‘soil’ or ‘ground’ in various native tongues. Forgot Terra was one of them.”

“And Jadyn suggested I not use that name for it in public.”

“He’s just paranoid. No one will care. You’re planning on going back, though? Or are you going to immigrate?”

“I’m going back in a year. Maybe later I can think about immigration.”

“Mmm… If you’re going back, knowing about us… Might I be able to convince you to become an informal embedded researcher?”

“How do you mean?”

“You know how J.T. spent a year there, gathering information? If you’d be willing to do the same, and send back occasional reports about things going on, it’d be much appreciated. Doesn’t have to be formal or anything special - just a sort of diary of thoughts on current events - or really, anything at all.”

“A blog?”

“I’ve no idea what that is.”

“It’s… Never mind, I think I know what you mean. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Please do. We’d compensate you, of course. I’m certain J.T. has a sizable fortune stashed away in Terran funds if you’d prefer it in that. Probably not anything near what he’s got in his Alliance accounts, but I’m sure there’s something.” Pakar grinned widely, leaning on the railing and looking out over the sea of bodies below. “Well, where first? Want to obtain some local attire, get something to eat, just browse the shops?”

“Had breakfast not long ago. I wouldn’t mind getting some clothes to help me blend in.”

“And there’s all sorts of options to help you do just that. J.T.’s credit line needs a good workout… Let’s go have a look around.”

“Oh, that’ll work out nicely.” T’bia nodded to herself, scratching out notes on a datapad. “Work her profile as a Val’Traxan with actual Val’Traxan DNA to be found… Simply brilliant! That’s an even better idea than spoofing a record from scratch!”

“I sense vitriol.”

“Perish the thought. How’s she taking to the form?”

“Pretty well. She spent a while last night learning how to walk again.”

“Understandable… You tell her in advance about anything else?”

“Just the fact that she’d have some cosmetic differences. Didn’t give her a full biology lesson.”

T’bia raised an eyebrow. “… No?”

“Voyeur. No, nothing. We went to sleep.”

“Mmm… You realize I’m going to have to run a blood test.”

“Already ahead of you.” Jadyn dug a small vial out of his pocket and lobbed it to T’bia. “I’ll bring her by later in case you need to drain her of a full pint.”

“Great. Should take her some clothing options, let her decide whether to dress in either our-local or local-local.”

“Pakar was taking her shopping this morning… She’ll probably have a fair selection of local-local when they get back. Wouldn’t hurt to offer her some other choices, I suppose.”

“If Pakar took her out, we’ll have to have half the stuff shipped to us.” T’bia smirked. “Maybe only a quarter. I can probably squeeze some of it into a hall.”

“Optimist.”

“I prefer ‘realist.’” She set the pad on the table, leaning back against the air and looking at him with a wry grin. “I really think Tari has been the best thing to happen to you in a while. It almost seems like there’s a flame of life in your eyes again. Maybe it’s just me, but you seem… Calm? At peace with yourself? Relaxed, maybe? Or even as far as…” She mock-gasped, aiming for dramatics and missing by a wide margin. “Sane?”

“That might be pushing it.” Jadyn laughed, pulling a chair from the table and sitting down. “You were right. I did need to open up to someone. I mean, Pakar and I, we’ve never wanted anything past friendship. She’s happily single and plans to stay that way.”

“Maternal instincts will kick in eventually. I’d put money on it.”

“Maybe so… But… Actually letting someone get close again… I don’t know why, but I think it’s helping my overall state of mind.” He grinned. “In the long run, having my sanity back and mostly intact will probably help yours.”

“You tell her everything?”

“… Not yet, no.” The smile left his face as he studied the wall. “I keep thinking I should, but… Then we get to talking about other things, or doing this or that or the next thing… She had a dream about the stabbing from way back when. Saw it from my perspective from the point I got off the ship up to the knifing. Woke up after looking down at it.”

T’bia raised an eyebrow. “Interesting… I wonder how she got ahold of that memory. I didn’t know they could do that.”

“I’m not certain she knew, either. I was having that particular nightmare the first night she was on the ship, at the same time she had it.” He patted his palms together as he thought aloud. “Maybe she picked up on it from that. Don’t know. It’s either that, or something really, really wants her to know.”

“I vote for the non-conspiracy theory.” T’bia scratched her muzzle, picking the pad up again. “Probably should let her know about your resilience before something forces her to find out.”

“Mm. Would have to agree with that. Would prefer to not have to prove it, too…”

After finishing up the basic paperwork and making sure it was legitimate enough to pass customs - or at least to not raise a flag - Jadyn took the ID card and other information that would be required and left the Serin. T’bia had replicated some Val’Traxan garb as well, just to give Tari some choices in attire.

It was still early in the afternoon; he figured Tari and Pakar would be a while yet before returning to the room. Stopping by briefly confirmed no one had returned. He tossed the bag of clothes on the couch and left for one of the other shopping districts, the Malazitu Promenod. Where the Laitu consisted of several floors of generally open-air shops, the Malazitu was more of a large shopping mall. The main plus to wandering it instead of the Laitu would be that he wouldn’t accidentally stumble across the girls in their day enjoying… Well, the day.

The Malazitu buzzed with activity as he stepped off the lift. Specialty shops were the norm. The first dozen or so shops only sold one type of clothing or accessory. Shoes, socks, jewelry, pants, jackets, hats, gloves… He shook his head, stopping by an information kiosk long enough to download a map of the complex to his bracelet, and wandered on.

One thing he became acutely aware of as he wandered the place was the overall lack of attention he was drawing. With all the varied fur colors and the like, his normal dark blue still pulled eyes his way. Some curious, others wary, a few just nosy. But black fur? No one gave him a second glance.

I need to do this more often, he thought, smirking to himself.

The bookstores were huge let-downs. Far too much pomp and circumstance trying to draw people in with markdowns and savings on an incredibly inflated price… His store never did such things. There was no need. Everything was already priced far lower than any sane owner or manager would price things. True, there was a frequent shopper’s program he had grudgingly accepted at customers’ request, and the program had gone well. But he wasn’t in the business for the money. It was for the dissemination and preservation of knowledge, for the spreading of works that people had put their hearts and souls into writing.

The bookstores on the Malazitu seemed blasphemous by comparison. He wondered what licensing he’d need to acquire to open a branch on each of the spaceliners.

Jadyn aimlessly wandered the levels of the mall for several hours, using the walk more as an excuse to not be sitting in the room. Nothing really caught his eye in the various shops. And while the soft, welcoming scents floating from the cafes and restaurants were enticing, he really wasn’t all that hungry. Finishing the loop of the fourth floor, he boarded a lift and made his way back to the room.

The lights were burning dimly as he stepped inside; the faint smell of the woods after a spring rain wafted through the air, hinting at Tari’s presence. He glanced in the bedroom briefly, finding it empty. Padding up to the bathroom he paused before tapping on the door.

“Tari? You in there?”

“Come on in.” The door opened; Tari smiled, standing before him in one of the steelsilk suits he’d left in the bag on the couch. “Was wondering where you had wandered off to. Get lost?”

“Not with a beacon like you to guide me back.” He smiled, looking over what she had donned. It was a translucent silk halter and matching slacks, both pieces black with random streaks of green, that obscured just enough to tease the imagination yet give it ample supply to start with. “I see you found what I left for you. What do you think?”

“Love it. Can hardly tell I’m actually wearing anything.” She padded into the bathroom’s center, using the mirrored walls to see the outfit from different angles. “I’m almost worried I’m going to ruin it, it’s so thin…”

Jadyn smirked, pulling the shirt from the pack that went with the rest of her outfit. Taking the garment he made visible effort to try and rip it. It didn’t so much as stretch. “Steelsilk. This stuff doesn’t rip, tear, run, or otherwise.”

“Very nice,” Tari commented, taking the shirt from him and pulling it on. “Doesn’t rust, does it?”

“Can say from experience that it doesn’t.” He grinned. “There’s not much you can do to hurt it.”

“Mm… Now, as to going out in public like this… Your people really dressed like this?”

“Mostly.” Jadyn sat down on the counter as she stripped and drew another outfit from the bag. It was a slightly different style; the pants were more billowy and the halter top was long sleeved to leave her midriff bare. Both were a light teal, closely matching her eyes. She held them up, appraising them briefly, and proceeded to put them on. “There were exceptions here and there. The most modest wear on the planet had to be the Guild attire, but that was specifically for durability. Nothing else was too obscuring.”

“Would love to see how you’d get a down jacket not to be obscuring.”

“We’ve fur for a reason. But, yes, winter wear was somewhat heavier as well.”

Tari smirked, pulling from the bag several strips of colored cloth. “These are for what, exactly?”

“That… I’m not sure - oh, tail ribbons. You’ve seen people put more than one hairtie on a ponytail, every couple inches or so?”

She nodded, pulling her still-limp tail around. “How many?”

“Most put four or five in, spaced them accordingly. Here…” Jadyn hopped off the counter, taking a few of the teal strips from her. Smoothing out the fur of her tail he tied six of them at nine inch intervals. “How’s that? Too tight?”

“No, not at all… I’m almost worried they’d fall off.”

“These are kind of elastic in comparison with the other steelsilk. Just like a hairtie, really. They’ll stay right there.”

Tari tugged her tail around to get a better look at the decorations. “That doesn’t look half bad. With all this show I almost feel like one of those arabian dancers, just not enough gold and silver hanging off my ears and arms…”

“Not sure I recognize the reference on that.”

“Wow, I stumbled across a bit of Earth trivia you hadn’t picked up?” she teased.

Jadyn laughed. “There’s a lot of ‘trivia,’ m’dear, a lot of it trivial.”

“Certain leaders in the middle east keep harems of women who entertain guests by dancing. They tend to wear his money - in terms of jewelry, silks, all that.”

“Aha, okay… There’s a couple of cultures I’ve encountered that remind me of that… Shame we don’t have any music playing.”

“I really can’t dance anyway. Probably for the best. I’ve all the rhythm of a two year old beating on a frying pan.”

“Some of those kids are pretty good.” Jadyn stood up, catching her eyes and grinning mischievously. “And you’ve been pretty good at percussion so far…”

Tari laughed, giving him a hug. “Thanks. Every time I catch myself tapping my toes I’m going to think about that.”

“Glad to help.”

Glancing in the bag, Tari reached in and pulled out a much more conventional pair of denim jeans and a black tee-shirt, as well as a one-piece-jumpsuit uniform like his own Fleet attire. “These for backup or something?”

“Yeah. T’bia tossed those in, just in case you found the thinner things too drafty for the public.”

“I wouldn’t mind wearing the silk stuff… I’d just feel a little odd if I was the only one.”

“I’ve been wearing it too.”

“Well, yeah, but that’s still just us.”

“Dare to be different. You pick up anything else on your day out?”

“Nah. Wandered around, window-shopped, sampled some varied cuisine. Pakar is really quite the outgoing person.”

“She’s very social. Loves to talk.”

“Noticed that. Just about anyone who she stood by for more than a few seconds she’d strike up a conversation with, as if she’d known them forever.” Tari padded up and grabbed his shoulders. Hopping up onto him she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled him lovingly. “I’m sure I’ve already said this… but thanks.”

“For?” he whispered, licking her cheek. “Can’t just be the empress’ new clothes prompting this.”

“For everything, Jay… For actually giving us a chance, for letting me see all this, for saving my life… These two weeks rank among the best of my entire century and a half.” She leaned back, meeting his eyes. “I just… I don’t know. This just feels right, somehow. If I had been told I’d be doing this a month ago I’d have laughed.”

“Glad I’ve been at least some entertainment value.”

Tari smirked. “C’mon, I’m trying to be serious here.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Bad habits die hard. I do know where you’re coming from, though.”

“Doubt it… I’ve been a lone roamer most of my life.”

“Never could really get attached with anyone because of being on the move.”

“And the very few times I’ve found someone I felt close to…”

“It was time to move along, leave them behind.”

Tari closed her eyes, relaxing against his chest. “Okay, maybe I was wrong.”

“I think we’ve more similarities than we care to admit.” Jadyn rubbed her back lightly, holding her close. “I don’t know what play of Fate’s hand brought you into my life, Tari, but I’m grateful for your company.”

“So am I.” She sighed pleasantly, nuzzling his neck. “A year isn’t going to be long enough, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“I know.” In the back of his mind, he felt the faint warning surface briefly. “Trust me, I know…”

“I wouldn’t believe these results if I hadn’t run the tests myself.” T’bia stared at the medical bay’s wall, shaking her head as pages of information blinked past. “You really need to teach this fuzzball your shapedancing trick.”

Tari smiled triumphantly. “So I pass?”

“If I didn’t know better I’d have no reason to think you weren’t a Val’Traxan fem. The genetic changes are perfect down to your base pairs… Void, there’s even rare trace elements in your bloodstream that only were found in dirtside-born Val’Traxans. I’m wholly impressed.” She paged to a picture of a pair of DNA strands, setting them in parallel. Several lines appeared, pointing out before-and-after differences. Then a few more… and more… The further out the view zoomed, the more lines that appeared. It quickly became easier to count where lines weren’t…

“How many differences -” Jadyn began.

“Between then and now? Too many to even start counting… Basically, what sets you apart from being kitsune sets her apart from being kitsune right now. Her only differences from the ‘average’ Val’Traxan fem are the normal deviations for height, pelt, et cetera et cetera. She’ll pass through Customs with flying colors, I’m sure.”

“Lack of language skills notwithstanding.” Tari glanced at T’bia. “So, we done?”

“Not… quite. If you’re planning on keeping this form for the duration of your stay, there’s a few tidbits of basic biology you’ll need to be aware of.” She glanced at the pad in her hand, passing it to the vixen. “Be fastest if you read it.”

Tari frowned, taking the device and reading through the contents. “This is minor?”

“Hmm?” Jadyn glanced over her shoulder, then burst out laughing. “Oh, Light, that’s written horribly.”

“Well, excuse me all to Void for quoting anything from our old medical journals,” T’bia grumbled.

“Quoting isn’t a problem… Just don’t let Aerin do a translation without checking it.” Jadyn snickered. “Okay… Now that Bee’s spooked you sufficiently. It’s not as bad as that sounds.”

“Like how far off?”

“Well… As it was explained to me by my first girlfriend, how about? Say you and I’ve been playing some -“

T’bia plugged her ears. “La-la-la-la-la…”

Tari smirked as Jadyn continued, ignoring the skunk. “- and though you were kind of close to a welcome moment, but not quite, I suddenly vanished and left you hanging…”

“Mm-hmm?”

“You’re stuck there at that point for a few days. Could be one, could be eight.”

“Ah… Okay. That’s not nearly as bad as this sounded.”

“Wait until you’re there and remember you said that.”

“You forgot something,” T’bia noted, unplugging her ears.

“Which is?” Tari asked.

“Pheromones between us during that time will preclude getting anything else accomplished if we happen to be in olfactory range of one another. Just seeing me might be enough from your side, too. Val’Traxans are extremely sensitive to each other’s scents but other foxen races are relatively unaffected by them… We’re also relatively unaffected by those of other races, but we tend to be aware of them on some level.” Jadyn sighed. “I mean, given, everyone puts them out all the time. They’re just part of an overall body language. When a val’traxan fem enters her heat, though, her sensitivity to male scents gets turned way up. At the same time, her pheromones change sharply to summon forth nearby males. As one of those males, allow me to say that the summons can be very difficult to ignore. Evolution saw it as a win-win, but like our extra chest ornaments it never completely dropped off as we evolved past ‘woof bark yap.’”

“Well… If I’m going to experience this form… I have to take the good, bad, ugly, and otherwise. It’s only fair. I can’t imagine that made life easy in your co-ed social structure.”

“There were suppressants developed,” T’bia answered. “A female could get an injection a few weeks before her heat was expected, to prevent it from occurring. There were also implants that wouldn’t stop the cycle from occurring, but would prevent conception. There were similar male birth control injections available so that a couple could enjoy the time and not worry about kits coming into their lives.”

“And that’s the only time I could potentially become pregnant as one of you?”

Jadyn nodded. “Twice a year. And, before you continue on that… I should have mentioned this our first night. There is zero chance whatsoever that you and I will ever wind up with a version 2.0 running about as a result of our aerobics. I’m sterile.”

Tari blinked. “Wow… I’m sorry, Jay…”

“Why? It’s me, not you.” He shrugged. “Two sided coin… One side, I’ll never have kids of my own. That’s cool, I can adopt when I’m ready for that. Other side of the coin - anywhere, anytime you want.”

“Mm… Bet you were a hit back home.” A sly grin spread over her muzzle. “At least now I know why you’re so practiced… Naughty, naughty.”

“What can I say? Gossip got out and some people saw it as a strong advantage. I got some weird calls some nights. Couple fems I was good friends with I wound up helping out. If it gets them through their time sanely, how can I say no? Better than finding some random guy and being so desperate they make a bad decision.”

“I say you were in it for yourself.” Tari hopped off the biobed, padding up to him and poking him in the chest. He knew better than to take her seriously - there was the glint of playful teasing in her eyes. “I’ve heard how males think.”

“I’ve met plenty of females with their thinking in the same anatomical region.”

The vixen grinned, about to open her mouth, when T’bia cleared her throat.

“Before you two do any ‘headbutting’ then -“

“Damn you!” Tari laughed.

“At least she didn’t mention mind-blowing ideas,” Jadyn mock-whispered.

“Hey, I had that one lined up next -“

“Excuse me! - I’m going to pop out. If it’s okay with you, I want to shut down for a day or two to let some database housecleaning get done. Will be back online in… Oh, say, four days. Can get a complete core optimization done too. Goddess knows I’ve accrued the time off.”

“That’s fine… We’ll head out so you can set up Aerin’s security without us setting it off.”

“Thanks.” Her hologram vanished. “You need anything else from the ship, or can I kick you out?”

“Should be done, as soon as Tari puts her shirt back on.”

“Not like it does a lot as a shirt,” she laughed, pulling on the teal steelsilk blouse. “Okay.”

The medical room dissolved, the shuttlebay once again appearing around them. Jadyn glanced around the bay before his focus fell on Tari. “Well, that only took an hour or so… Still have a lot of day left.”

“I need some exercise. Our aerobics are quite lovely, but sometimes something a tad more is desired.” She leaned against him as they walked toward the door. “I can just hear you twisting that around in your head.”

“Means you’re twisting it just as fast as I am.” Jadyn nodded to the guards as they left and walked down the hall. “Hm… Our suite might just be large enough…”

“For?”

“As I recall, you challenged me to a fight not long ago.”

“Come on, you can do better than that!” Jadyn dodged the kitsune’s strike, his eyes locked on hers as they sparred in the center of their suite. They had shoved all the furniture to the sides of the room, giving them plenty of workout space. She had donned the jumpsuit T’bia sent along in the previous bag of garments; he’d replicated one to use. “I saw you and Bee going rounds - you’re not even trying!”

“I am so!” Tari yelled, growling as her attacks met open air. “I’m just not used to this body yet!”

“Excuses, excuses…” Making one more quick dodge he turned to offensive, pushing just slightly harder than he thought she could handle. She grunted as she struggled with herself to keep up, slowly losing out against her own stamina. It was clear in her eyes that she was tiring quickly.

It was just as clear that she wouldn’t stop until she couldn’t stand up. And even then it’d be iffy.

Jadyn eased back to defensive, letting her run the dance of the fight at her own pace for a time. Finally he caught her fists instead of blocking them and held them steady. With their eyes locked upon each other, Tari panted heavily and swallowed to work some moisture into her throat.

“Well?” Jadyn asked. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly; he let go of her hands.

“Just… Can’t keep up yet…” Locking her fingers she pressed her hands upward into a stretch. “If I was in my usual form, now… You’d be hurting.”

“We’ll have to test that someday.”

“Mm. Won’t be soon. I need to stay with this at least until I get used to it.”

“Really that much different? I mean, I can see going from human to this would be a leap, but from one vulpine to another can’t be too far off.”

“Well, yes and no… It’s more a matter of adapting to the limitations and strengths one has over the other.” Rolling her shoulders briefly, she sat down on the floor and began stretching out her legs. “I know this body is stronger than my normal form by a wide margin… I’m not used to that, so I don’t know how far I can push it without hurting myself.”

“Ah, know where you’re coming from on that. We’re designed for a higher gravity. Any other differences?”

“I’d guess I’m a tad more dexterous? Felt like reaction times were faster, but that’s really hard to judge. I know for a fact my ears are more sensitive, there’s a lot more background noise… Kind of gnaws at your mind a little at a time.”

“We have an anti-noise sound processor to take care of little things like that on the Serin - otherwise I’d have gone more nuts than I already have. Any eyesight difference?”

“That I’m not sure about yet… I want to say things seem more in focus. Haven’t had a chance to test how well I can see at night.” She laid on her back, gesturing for him to help with a stretch of her legs. Taking hold of her calves he gently pressed them toward her chest, slowly folding her in half. “It’ll take a little while for me to adapt to the purely physical differences… Maybe a week or two if we kept up with sparring like that, or maybe some weights or something… Hrr, hold it there…”

“Noticed some movement here and there in your tentacle,” Jadyn noted, curling his tail around the end of hers and tugging on it as he held her into the stretch. “Getting used to not having only the base muscles to deal with?”

“Kind of. Moving from two tails to a long prehensile one is confusing… Keep feeling things further out than I’m used to. It’s getting there, though. Kind of have to let it think on its own, then trick it.”

“That’s the spirit. Fight against your own body.” Jadyn eased back on her legs as she signaled, sitting down beside the vixen as she went through other stretching on her own. “How much of the lore is true?”

“About what?”

“Your people.”

She smirked. “Depends. What’d you read?”

“A lot of stuff that contradicted itself at every other turn.”

“The best cover is misinformation.” Tari sighed, shaking out her hair as she sat upright. “You must have something specific on your mind if you’re bringing this up so out of the blue.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“Bad choice of words?” she questioned sweetly.

“Silly girl. I’ve been curious about your heritage ever since I met you, but in the same light it’s hidden for a good reason. Terra wouldn’t be able to handle you any more they would us.”

“I’ll tell you what I can. I expect the same respect when I ask about your culture?”

“Of course.” The door chimed; Jadyn grimaced. “Never fails… Arr! Who goes there?”

“Who do you think?” Pakar replied.

“Come in, ye lava-lubber.” He glanced over his shoulder as the door opened, giving the drekiran a smile. “Long time no see.”

“Har, har. Do you two have dinner plans?”

“Not really, no. Why?”

“I’m going to soak at least one marvelous meal on my spending account. If the two of you would care to join me, I’ll buy.”

Jadyn shrugged. “Could be an interesting evening… What do you think, Tari?”

“Sure, why not. How classy are we talking?”

Pakar shook her head as they both looked at her. “If that was meant for me, J.T.’s gonna have to relay it. Left T’bia’s toy back in my room.”

“She’s curious to know how snotty the place is.”

Tari glared at him. “That is NOT what I said!”

“Same thing… Hey!” He laughed as she grabbed the nearest couch pillow and began beating him with it. “Thought we tired you out already!”

“I’m resilient.”

Jadyn shook his head, chuckling. “Anyway, it would be good to know how much we’d need to dress up.”

“Well, if I’m getting a free meal, anywhere I want…” Pakar started, grinning at him. “If you’re gonna go, go all out.”

“Good point. More stars than I have fingers, no doubt. You think it’d be too much if she and I were in steelsilk?”

“The stuff that you can’t destroy yet can see right through? How can you have too much of something that’s hardly there?” Pakar questioned. “Actually, for the look of ‘I’ve got money and can dress however I want to’ it gives you, I’d say go for it. Lights are pretty low in there anyway so I doubt anyone will be able to see - if there’s a shred of modesty left between the two of you, that is. You’ve already been wearing it all week.”

“I know I’m comfortable with it… It’s cultural wear, after all.”

“Fine. Get changed, I’m hungry.”

Tari laughed, getting to her feet. “I should probably get a bath first.”

“Wouldn’t hurt me either. Pakar, we need get cleaned up after our sparring… Go grab the translator and come back? Should be all the time we need for a quick wash-and-wear.”

“This is why I’m glad to have scales. Rinse and go. Maybe wax for a shine.” She grinned, stepping out the door. “Back in a few.”

“Wow… This place is slick…” Tari looked around the entryway of the dining establishment as they stepped inside from the hall. Even in the low light it reminded her of the few high-class restaurants she happened to dine in during her wanderings. It absolutely reeked of money. Candles in silver and gold braziers… Oil paintings… Marble floor, waxed and polished to almost a glowing shine, warm under her bare toes. The faint buzz of conversation and classical music came from just inside a curtain, the scents of food and wine wafting along.

“Mm…” Jadyn inhaled deeply, a smile creeping over his face as he studied the architecture. “Oh, the fun I could have…”

“Behave, or you buy your own meal.”

“Yes, mom.”

Pakar nodded, stepping up to the headwaiter. “Good evening… we’ve a reservation under ‘Tubor.’”

“Ah, yes, Councilor Tubor.” he spoke, glancing over a datapad quickly. “This way, please. We’ve a table waiting.” The canine stepped through the curtained archway into the dining room, leading them to a table near the wall. The middle of the room was depressed down, giving their edge seating something of a view over the other patrons. Or, perhaps, forcing everyone else to look up.

“Oh, thank you,” Tari spoke with a soft smile as Jadyn helped her into her chair.

“My pleasure.” He glanced at Pakar as she whispered something to the headwaiter. He nodded quickly, scurrying off.

“I could have sworn I saw credit signs flash in his eyes,” Jadyn joked, easing the drekiran into her seat before taking his own.

“Just had to let him know the method of payment… Also asked him to bring out a bottle of wine, and a decanter of water for you, J.T.”

“Thanks… I’ll try a glass of the wine, won’t kill me to have a little.”

Tari peered at him. “Don’t handle alcohol well?”

“Doesn’t act how you’d think it would… Well, for you it’ll be normal. It’s just an oddity in my personal metabolism that has boggled every doctor between here and Val’Trax. Body processes it into a stimulant.”

“That’s a bonus, I’d think… Unless you still get hangovers?”

“Headache, nausea, et cetera? Nope. Just jittery, nervous, high-strung, wide awake… A concentrated caffeine extract, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I could use that some days,” Pakar mused.

“Miladies, milord, your drinks…” A waiter stopped at the table, setting down three wine glasses and filling them before setting the bottle and water decanter on the table. “Have you dined with us before?”

Pakar smiled. “I’ve had the pleasure a few times, but I don’t think my friends have been here before.”

“First time for the two of us,” Jadyn confirmed.

“Ah, lovely. I do hope our first impression will be a pleasant one.” He drew a pair of pads from a pocket, handing one to each of the vulpines. “Councilor, would you care for a menu?”

“No, thank you. Do you have any recommendations for this evening?”

“Indeed. Our master chef has prepared a wonderful teh’zrah’nee roast, which comes with garlic buttered potatoes and fresh bread… We have a variety of soups this evening to choose from as well.”

“Mm… Give us a few minutes?” Jadyn asked.

“Certainly, milord.” The waiter bowed slightly, moving off into the sea of tables.

Tari smirked, setting the pad on the table. “Greek to me.”

“Hence why I didn’t request my own.” Pakar chuckled, lifting up the menu and glancing over it.

“I need to remember to have Bee bring you into the modern age.” Jadyn touched the menu datapad against his bracelet, then slid the hoop from his wrist and offered it to the kitsune. “For now, put this on.”

“Okay…”

“Turn it a little… Good. Now, hold your hand open as though you were holding this pad, and touch the orange spot.”

Tari followed the instructions, nodding as an image of the datapad appeared in her hand. It felt as real as the other menu - another hologram. However, several odd symbols floated in the air around the projection. “Nice toy. Now what?”

“Bracelet: Language entry… What was it again… three-seven-seven-four?” Jadyn whispered. Every character on the image snapped into English. The odd symbols that’d been floating around the pad turned out to be a variety of other data - clock, calendar, power indicator.

“I’m impressed,” Tari complimented, reading over the menu. “What else can it do?”

“It does a little of everything you’d expect of a good organizer, and a lot more. T’bia could run her avatar through it if she needed to, though she’d only be about a foot tall.” Jadyn grinned, setting his menu down. “The teh’zrah’nee is essentially a prime rib cut of a beast similar to beef. It’s the same as the one you had replicated the other night, just fresh.”

“Does sound tempting,” Pakar mused. “Wonder if they up-size.”

“A place like this better have portions sized for drekirans.”

“On Earth…” Tari began, hesitating. “Well, usually in a place like this, they’d overprice the food by about a hundred percent and give you a tiny little portion that looks more like art than food.”

Pakar nodded. “There’s places like that out here too, making you pay out the nose for art you wind up eating. This establishment does well in making sure its patrons actually get what they pay for. It’s still on the spendy side, but it’s well worth the expense.”

“Miladies? Milord?” The waiter reappeared at their table, looking between them. “Have you decided?”

Pakar passed her menu to him. “Jadyn? Tari?”

“The roast sounds divine,” Jadyn confirmed.

“Sure, what the heck.” Tari glanced at Jadyn. “How do you shut this off?”

“Orange spot again.”

“Oh… Makes sense.” The pad evaporated; she slipped the bracelet off, offering it back.

“Three of your recommended teh’zrah’nee cuts, then,” Pakar told the waiter. “We look forward to your chef’s fine creation.”

“I have no doubts that you will be pleased. Your dinners shall be with you shortly.” He bowed, excusing himself.

“So, uh… How many days are we on this ship for?” Tari queried.

“We’re scheduled to arrive a few hours before the Council is called into session,” Pakar explained. “About a week more.”

“What does the Council actually do? Is it a governing body or something?”

“Ehm… Sort of. J.T., you’re the Terran expert… What’s it compare to from there?”

“The United Nations. I guess the main body could be a mix of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Aligned Council tries to facilitate cooperation in interstellar law and security, economic development, maintaining the peace and security between member worlds, so on… The Aligned Fleet is generally considered the enforcement arm of the Council, although their primary mission is furthering the exploration of the galaxy.”

“I see. How does it work?”

“Each member world is allowed up to three delegates,” Pakar explained. “Most worlds only send one or two. I’m one of two Councilors currently representing Drekira. The other is an in-law of mine, Nesoli Rodregez. The assembly voted him into the Speaker’s position several years ago.”

“Think of the Secretary-General,” Jadyn clarified. “Ten-year term of office. His position is a little different, though. He presides over the Council sessions, enforces procedure. Beyond that, Ness actually has some authority beyond simply mediating - among other things, he’s considered the commander-in-chief of the Fleet.”

“Oh - so, maybe more like a president or chancellor?”

“Sounds rightish.”

“How does a world decide who to send?”

“That’s entirely up to the world’s own government structure. Each member world still has internal autonomy and authority within their territory, although the Council does require certain freedoms and civil liberties to be in place before a world is offered the opportunity to sign the charter in the first place.” Pakar sipped lightly at her wine. “On Drekira, the elders alone reserve the right to decide who to send as delegates. Veloria’s ruling council accepts applications from naturalized and natural-born citizens as well as recommendations from the general public, and the provincial representatives vote to select their three. Et cetera.”

Tari nodded, looking to Jadyn. “And where exactly do you fit into this structure?”

“When I first arrived in this area, I decided to earn citizenship by joining the Fleet. The drill sergeant saw some faint hope of potential in me and recommended me for special forces training after basic training. Ness and Toy - whom you haven’t met - were in the SF group I trained with.” Jadyn smiled wistfully. “The three of us were assigned together as a team, worked together for years doing odd missions… Eventually we even managed to get Bee an honorary Fleet commission since she wound up as our only reliable starside support… Er, starside as… well, versus dirtside or planetside.”

“On the ground versus on a ship?”

“Right. Anyway. After we retired from SF, Ness was selected for Council work by the Drekiran elders and Toy started a repair shop on Veloria. Ness eventually had both my SF commission and T’bia’s reinstated and we were placed under direct command of the Council. He basically put us back to work doing whatever sensitive things needed to be done. Generally, it’s been stuff that either required some of our skills or resources, or missions that couldn’t go through the official chain of command for whatever reason.”

Pakar nodded. “His official Fleet record currently lists him as a retired captain. With honors, I think?”

“And T’bia is noted as a retired commander.” Jadyn took a swallow of his wine, making a face. “Wowsa. What the Void is this?”

“Danise de Margaut,” Pakar replied. “Eighty or so years old.”

“Well, don’t sneeze, okay? You’ll blow a plume of flame halfway across the room.” He picked up his water, washing the taste out of his mouth. “Yick.”

“I thought it was really quite good,” Tari submitted.

“He’s just not a fan of alcohol.” Pakar glanced up, seeing a pair of waiters approaching. “Ah, dinner is served.”

“Miladies, milord, your meals.”

“Oh, this smells wonderful,” Tari praised, bowing her head in thanks to the server.

“Wait until you try it.” Pakar grinned as her plate was placed before her; the slab of meat would have been far more than enough for Jadyn and Tari to share across two meals. “Lovely. Thank you.”

“Of course. Enjoy your dinners.”

“Lights to a quarter.”

The illumination within the suite raised to a dim glow, just enough for the pair of foxes to see but not so much as to ruin their mood. Jadyn quietly nuzzled Tarioshi as the door shut behind them, feeling her melt into the embrace before sweeping her off her feet.

Without a word he carried her back to the bedroom, gently depositing her on the bedspread, his eyes never leaving her own. Gazing at each other for a time, nothing needed to be said as their quiet passions expanded.

Within the main room of the suite, a shadow shifted. A figure within a hooded robe stood, stepping slowly from the shelter of a dark corner. Pausing only briefly as a quiet giggle came from the bedroom, it slipped through the shadows of the room. After a last slow survey of the cabin, it waited until the vulpines were no longer focused on anything but each other. Opening the door, it vanished into the corridors of the ship.

Dissemination

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:46:47 GMT

Pakar grunted impatiently, waiting for someone to come to the door of Jadyn’s suite. She’d rung the chime twice so far; there had been a little noise inside on the second ring, but nothing else had come about of her page.

“Come on, J.T., it’s well into the afternoon…” she muttered, tapping her fingers together and ringing again. A minute later the door finally opened, presenting a rather sodden black fox dressed in only what he’d been born with.

“Hnn?” he greeted her, rubbing his eyes. “Pakar… Sorry. What time is it?”

“1430 or so. Just get out of a bath?”

“Well…” Jadyn scratched his neck, glancing over his shoulder. “We didn’t feel like moving after… er, a few hours of birthday celebrations…”

“A birthday? How droll! Whose?”

“Mine, apparently.”

Pakar frowned. “Thought yours was months ago.”

“T’bia evidently thinks that if you ignore the laws of temporal physics, every day is your birthday, and shared that idea with Tari.”

Pakar smirked. “So you fell asleep with her in the tub?”

“Next to it. When you rang I rolled over and fell in.” He shivered. “Cold draft in the hall. Come in?”

“No, I’ll stop by later. Or maybe you care to meet me down in the section’s lounge after while? Could use a drink or two after putting up with those rugrats all last night,” she muttered.

“Can do. Say around nineteen-hundred hours?”

“Works for me. Bring your friend along with if you like. I’d love a chance to talk with her.”

“Might have to let you use one of my translators.”

“Ooh, she’s so exotic that she isn’t speaking something on ours? Now if only she had scales, she’d be perfect for you.” Pakar winked, giving him a lick on the cheek before heading off down the corridor. “See you at nineteen-hundred.”

Jadyn shook his head in amusement, shutting the door and padding back into the bath. Tari glanced up briefly as he came in, still lying beside the tub on the heated tiles.

“Who was it?”

“Pakar. Having a drink or two with her later. You’re welcome to come with.”

“Not sure if I can walk.” She laughed, sitting up and shaking out her hair. “Gods, that was an incredible night… It’s been years since I’ve had a good roll in the hay. Or even a bad one.”

“There’s no hay here.”

“It’s just a… You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

“Maaaaybe. I’ve picked up a lot of English colloquialisms, but you once in a while still fly one past me I have to grasp by context.”

Tari smirked. “I suppose if we go out in public we should at least look half civilized…”

“Be a few hours yet.”

“You know something about grooming that I don’t? Takes me an hour or two to do a good job.”

“Fifteen seconds, if I’m not in a hurry. I really need to dry out anyway… Might as well show you the cheater’s method.” He sighed, looking over his pelt. “Probably was better that I did fall in. Easier to work with.”

“How so?”

Taking hold of the elements of Air and Fire the fox deftly twined them about himself. A warm, arid wind swirled around him, quickly drying out and grooming his pelt. Tari applauded with a grin as the powers faded.

“Nice trick,” she complemented. “You’re going to need to do it again shortly.”

“How come?”

She smiled, licking her lips. “It’s still your birthday for a few hours…”

Evening rolled around. Jadyn made his way down to the lounge local to the section of the ship for his room, glancing over the assembled patronage. There were several dozen drekirans in the place, though other large species from the quadrant had a representation as well. Padding through the dimly-lit establishment he made efforts to locate Pakar in the crowd. After wandering for half an hour he finally made his way to the bar.

“Wonder where she is,” he muttered, checking the time on his bracelet. “Half past…”

“Ye be lookin’ like yer lost.” The barkeep, a short but stout canid, polished a glass briefly before setting it before him. “Lookin for someone are ye, lad?”

“Yes… Though her general description matches a fair share of your patrons. Usually this many drekirans here?”

“Aye, that there is. This section o’ the ship be larger quarters for larger folks. But a customer be a customer, and they do like their near-flammable beverages.”

“I prefer something not quite so explosive. Just water please.”

The bartender raised an eyebrow but filled the glass none the less. Jadyn slid a five-hundred-credit chip discreetly across the bar, lifting his glass as the canine picked up the tip.

“Er… Are ye looking for change?”

“No.” He smiled, taking a small sip and scanning the crowd again. “It’s my thanks for not questioning my choice of drink.”

“A customer be a customer. If’n ye be needing anything more, let me know, lad. I go by Kip.”

“Thank you.”

The top of the hour finally came and went. Jadyn began to wonder if the drekiran had forgotten their date, or if she had meant a different establishment. The computer systems on the liners didn’t normally track where their passengers went, only logging their entry and exit to their quarters and a few other secured places, so having it search for her wasn’t likely to turn up anything useful. He’d just about decided to head back to the room when she came through the door.

“You’re an hour late,” he noted, as she walked up to him.

“I am not! It’s only 1910.”

“I’ve got 2010,” he replied, checking his bracelet to be sure.

“You ever set that thing?” she questioned, peering at the display. “And what the heck is it displaying in?”

“Kametian numerals, and no, it’s usually pretty accurate… Well, we’ll settle this the easy way. Excuse me, Kip…” He motioned the canine over, glancing around the room briefly. “Do you have a clock in here?”

“Nae, just me own timepiece. It be… 1911, if ye wondering.”

“Woohoo!” Pakar cheered. “I’ll let you buy me a drink as an apology for your false accusation.”

Jadyn laughed. “Okay. Whatever she wants is on me.”

Kip nodded, but refused to take more of his money when he offered it. “Ye should be paid through this night and the next few, longer if she be makin her choice like yers. I be lettin you know when ye run shy on credit, lad.”

“Sure?”

“Aye. But I do thank ye offer.”

“Eh? What’d I miss?”

“Your drink, if you don’t order it soon.” Jadyn smirked, glancing about and spying an empty booth off in the corner. “Going to grab us a seat.”

“Be over in a minute.”

Padding over and sliding into the booth, he set his glass down and gazed at the liquid within. Turning the tumbler idly, he looked back toward the bar and waited. Pakar seemed to be detailing the steps of creating some sort of beverage, Kip listening intently as she described it. He couldn’t quite figure out what she was having him make by lip-reading, as people kept walking through his line of sight.

“She’s going to take all night,” he mumbled, looking at his glass of water. Focusing on the liquid he lifted it from the glass with a strand of Water energy, forming it into a nice sphere. It hovered about a foot off the table, flowing about itself slightly as though there were no gravity. Bending the thread in his mind’s eye, he started to shape the orb, flattening it out and rolling it into a tube.

“What are you doing?”

Jadyn glanced up as Pakar sat down, then looked back at what was floating before him. “Well, I was going to shoot you in the side of the head with an ice cube. Seems you got here, though.”

“Did your mom ever tell you not to play with your food or drink?”

“No, dad did though.” The water feature drained back into his glass. He picked it up, taking a swallow. “Caught him doing it a few times.”

“‘Do As I Say, Not As I Do.’ Remember that one myself.” Pakar smirked, swirling something green around in her glass and inhaling its scent. “Mm, good vintage for a change.”

“You always say it is.”

“It always is when you pay for it, for some reason.”

“I have my ways.”

“Something to do with the fact he won’t take your money?”

“Something like that.”

“Come on, what did you do?”

“I came in here at what I thought was 1900, looked for your scaly butt for half the hour, then ordered a glass of water and tipped him nicely for it. Then I waited some more. Was about it.”

Pakar sighed, shaking her head. “There must be more to it than that.”

“Not really. Bartenders really appreciate their tips. Just tip them well for doing simple things, and they’ll appreciate your patronage even more in the future.”

“Suppose so. So, where’s your guest?”

“She decided it better for now not to come down.”

“Well, that’s too bad. I was really hoping we could talk about you behind your back some as we make you go get our drinks. Why’d she not want to come along?”

Jadyn smirked. “Firstly, acute exhaustion.”

“Ah, so you’re much more energetic than she is?”

“No, I just have had years of practice hiding how tired I am.”

“Pfft. I know how vigorous you can be. Secondly?”

“She’s really not that comfortable in public here yet. As she put it when I was getting dressed, she’s very foreign. She doesn’t want to make a fool of herself in public quite yet.” Jadyn looked at his glass, draining the last of the contents. “Wants to get a better footing for local social etiquette before a field run, I think.”

“You, on the other hand, winged it?”

“Pretty much. Keep expectations low so I don’t have to work as hard. Doesn’t seem to work anymore, what with you damn politicians hunting me down for more work after I retired.”

“Ness knew you’d be right for the job which is why he had me find you. You could have said no, you know, to every one that has been dropped on you since then. That first one he wouldn’t have accepted a no. The rest were negotiable.”

“Say ‘no’ and miss out on watching the inner workings of the political sphere in the area? It may be dull but it’s handy knowing how to work around the system.”

“At least you can up and leave when they realize you’re working them as much as they are you. Some of us have nowhere to go.”

“If I left I don’t know where I’d go. Probably would head… Eh, thataway.” He generally indicated his left. “Going ‘thataway’ got me where I am now, must be a good heading.”

“Remind me not to let you navigate anything I’m a passenger aboard.”

“Wuss. So, what have I missed over the year? Anything of note?”

“Not especially. It’s been quiet.”

“More than usual?”

“Not really. Guess you could say it was ‘par.’ A little peak of pirate activity as of late, but nothing overly unexpected. Though, knowing you were out of touch for a year…” She sighed. “I don’t know. I thought about you more than I normally do. Kind of like knowing that I couldn’t just drop by and say hi always kept you on my mind.”

“Never miss something till it’s gone.”

“Or someone.” Pakar took a slow drink of her concoction, savoring the flavor. “Suppose it’s a psychological thing. Just being aware of the fact that you can’t touch base with someone makes you acutely aware of the fact they aren’t around. It would have been nice if you’d at least stopped to say goodbye before you left.”

“It’s never goodbye, more of a ‘be back in a bit.’ I try to leave ‘a bit’ undefined.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if we ever have to put up a fake epitaph for you.” Finishing her drink, Pakar slid out of the booth and stood. She wobbled slightly, leaning on the table. “Woo. He made that thing good.”

“Never hits till you stand. Need a hand?”

“Be okay in a bit. ‘A bit’ undefined, of course. I should get another one of those…”

Jadyn padded back into his suite quietly, not turning up the lights as he shut the door. Pakar had needed an escort to her cabin after her third drink. Even with her drekiran metabolism and body mass, she’d never been able to take much in terms of alcohol. They had snuggled for a bit on the couch in her room until she dozed off and started snoring. After extracting himself and putting a blanket over her, he’d left.

They’d been good friends for years, long before she’d ever considered requesting a Council seat from the drekiran Elders. They both knew their bond would only ever be a close friendship, nothing more, but they also knew they didn’t need more out of their relationship than that. Occasionally they had shared some intimacy, but it had always been kept in the context of their friendship. Pakar had always been one of the few people that Jadyn felt he could truly trust. And yet… He’d never told her everything about his past. Pieces, here and there… but never the whole.

Tari was still awake in the bedroom, lying on top of the sheets and watching a video feed. The sound had been muted. She smiled at him, patting the place beside her. Shedding his garments he crawled in with her and shared a loving nuzzle.

“Enjoy yourself?” she asked.

“Yes… But it would have been more enjoyable had you come with.”

“Suck-up,” she teased.

“It was good to do some catching up. Thanks for giving us the time.”

“I’ve got you for a whole year, I’m sure I can spare some of it. Really wasn’t ready for a public appearance yet.” Tari cuddled up with him, her fingers tracing through the fur on his chest.

“What’s this on the screen?” he asked, indicating the feed.

“Not sure. Tried to guess how to work the thing and get some music, but managed to get just a picture instead. Would be nice if the language even was half guessable. French and spanish I can sort of take a stab at guessing and be close to right. This…”

“Trust me, I know. Learning English was worse than learning Drekiran. You’ve been staring at soundless sitcoms for the last couple of hours?”

“Yeah. Started putting my own dialog to them for a while. Got old fast. This one… Not sure what’s going on, but it seemed like the cat there lost a bet of some sort and had to cross-dress.”

“Hm. I’m sure we can find better entertainment between ourselves than this, though.”

“No doubt,” she agreed, then paused and traced her fingers back over a part of his chest. “Um… I thought your medical technology could heal things without scars this bad. What the heck happened?”

“I was stabbed a long time ago. I recovered… mostly… When the tissue is regenerated, it eventually scars back up like this. I think of it as a reminder of some of my roots now more than anything.”

Tari’s fingers traced the scarline slowly. “Would you tell me about it? About what happened?”

“Well, I can… You sure you want to go into it now?”

“Please.”

Jadyn sighed. Any other mood had drained out of the room as soon as her fingers had found the scar. He kept the fur around it trimmed long enough so it wasn’t visible, but she hadn’t been using her eyes. “I had been doing some exploring, recovering things from my world some time after its ruin… Bee and I finished for the day and parked the Serin on the local station. After powerdown and disembarking I was jumped by some people who wanted the ship for themselves.”

“How many?”

“Four of them. Managed to fend off three pretty handily, but the fourth managed to catch me with my guard down and buried a knife in my chest.” Jadyn put his fingers under Tari’s muzzle, bringing her gaze to his own. “Something is bothering you about this… If it’s all right for me to ask… Why?”

Tari closed her eyes and shook her head. “Had a nightmare a while back, the first night I spent on the ship… I’m sure it was that incident, played back from your perspective, but not… Almost like it was me living through it.” She squinted, looking inward. “The detail was… picture perfect… Still is… The ship, the bay it was in, the boxes around… I can remember them all as if it had been me there… I thought at first it was a warning, that something would happen at some point when I was walking off the ship. But… It seemed out of place, somehow.”

“I assume my sword materialized in your hand just as the first attacker moved in.”

She nodded. “I couldn’t demonstrate those martial art moves if I tried, but three were disarmed and disabled… Then the knifing…”

“Where did it end?” he asked quietly.

“Right after I looked down at the knife. There was this warm feeling in my chest… I laughed… Then I woke up in a panic.”

Jadyn nodded grimly. “I slammed the one who did it into the roof of the bay with a blast of Air. He fell to the floor when I lost consciousness. Forty foot drop. Apparently didn’t do much more than knock the wind out of him.”

“Did any of them… not make it?”

“No, they all survived, though one got away for a while before his buddies confessed who he was. Everything I did was seen as self defense since the medical work to get them back and walking was trivial.”

The vixen shifted beside him. “I’m still trying to figure out why my dream picked a memory like that to stick with me, or even how I got ahold of it. There were others, but I can’t remember any of them… Just vague feelings.”

“Dreams do strange things.”

“They almost always are a sign of some sort, though.”

“Mm,” he agreed. “Or they just want to tell you things you aren’t aware of.”

“If that was supposed to be saying something, I can’t imagine what. I’m just glad you made it through okay… It’d be much more dull in my life right now if you hadn’t been alive for me to meet.” Tari smiled, leaning forward and nuzzling his neck. He put his arms around her and hugged her gently.

“Thanks. Thinking some sleep may be in order, at least a nap for a few hours… I’d like to show you around the ship a little more, maybe get you used to the customs and whatnot. Pakar still wants to meet you more than just in passing. She’s got a little bit of OCD in that respect.”

“Suppose that’ll be a good idea. What should we tell her about… where I came from?”

“I’ve sort of danced around the question so far… I can probably keep doing it, but she’s bound to catch on sooner or later and demand some answers. She’s usually as good with word and mind games as I am. If we do wind up telling her you’re Terran, she’ll keep it under her nose, but I’d rather not if we don’t have to.”

“Okay.” She glanced at the ceiling, then back to him. “Shutting off the lights?”

“Mekrdc uid,” he spoke quietly. The room faded to darkness; Tari snuggled up to him, her fingers finding the scar once more.

“The dream bother you that much?” he whispered.

“At the time… Now that I know what it’s from, it’s not so bad. Still kind of disturbing to remember the very feel of the blade…” She shivered. “It didn’t really even hurt, did it?”

“Not really.” Jadyn licked her cheek in the dark. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“From the time I spent on Earth, it seemed like the major social mannerisms and the like were fairly similar to those of people here.” Jadyn glanced over the list of destinations for the lift, considering what would be best. “There are a few differences, being as how there are several very different species intermingling. For one, don’t go around picking fleas off people and eating them.”

“Eating the people, or the fleas?”

“Either.”

“Shouldn’t be quite so bad to adapt, then.” Tari sighed, feeling her left ear. “Thought you said I wouldn’t notice this thing.”

“Give it a little while. Think of wearing headphones or something… If you stop paying attention to it, it’ll blend in.”

“You wear one?”

“Yes… Though mine’s semi-permanent.” He looked over his shoulder, changing to the de facto standard language of the region. “Ed’c vihldeuhym?” Is it working?”

“Yeah, just fine. Kind of like a voice-over.”

“The alternative is glasses with scrolling subtitles. Never made sense to me how language ‘x’ on those shows had mouth motions identical to English when it’s been ‘translated.’”

“Artistic license.”

“Mm. Needs a suspension then for breaking the laws of physics.”

She smirked. “So, where are we headed?”

“Not really sure what’d be good people-watching other than the Laitu. Wanted to take you someplace new, though.”

“What are the choices?”

“Laitu, for general strolling and some shopping… There’s another shopping district that’s far more like an enclosed mall than an open-air market… A few ‘parks…’ Trees and whatnot are all holographic. Like I said, it’s a big city. Can find just about anything you can think of.”

“One of the parks, maybe.”

“Okay. Mmm… This one will do. Think they’re all pretty much alike anyway.” He poked one of the lights. “Bipmel Kyntah ceq.”

“Community park six?” Tari asked as the lift slid into motion.

“Yeah. There’s a simulated beach as one of the options for another park. Can look into that another day.”

“Question.”

“Shoot.”

“Bathing suits?”

“Bathing… Oh, modesty wear. Depends on the culture and values and whatnot. Out here with the cross section of cultures, I’d guess they’d probably recommend them just to avoid the potential clash but I doubt they’re required. The few I visit on Veloria have them optional.”

“Should probably swing through a few shops later, then… Maybe get some local garb so I don’t stand out so much.”

“Can do that.”

The lift slowed to a halt. Bright sunlight - simulated sunlight - poured in through the doors as they parted. Tari shielded her eyes, squinting. “Yow.”

“Tad too realistic.”

“Well, it’d help if the rest of the lighting wasn’t so dark. Kind of a harsh transition.”

“No kidding. Need some sunglasses or something?”

“I’ll be okay in a couple minutes. Not bothering you?”

“No… I cheat, though. Can bend a few threads of Light energy and effectively create sunglass-contacts.”

“Change in our deal… I’ll try to educate you on kitsune shapeshifting methods so you don’t kill yourself next time you need to go as something not you, and you teach me at least that one and your grooming trick.”

“I’ll readily accept your terms.”

She blinked a few more times, padding out of the lift and glancing about. “It’s in a tree?”

“Hmm?” Jadyn followed her out, looking back at what they had arrived through. Sure enough, the lift entrance was disguised as a huge old evergreen. The tree was stationed in the center of the park, a ring of grass spreading out from the roots. About ten feet out, paved walkways started. Lots of people were about. Children playing in the grass and fountains, couples enjoying the day on park benches or strolling about… Some people watching the events, pleased just to spectate.

Tari, however, seemed uneasy as she looked about. Jadyn curled his tail around her leg and gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Something the matter?”

“It’s quiet…” She looked at the grass under her feet, glanced at the trees around them, and shook her head. “Never mind. Just wasn’t ready for things to really be so… Artificial. I mean, they look real enough, but… They’re empty inside.”

“I know the feeling. Growing up with this kind of simulated reality, as soon as I started learning the Art I could only really accept simulations that didn’t have any sort of simulated life. Those meditation programs and the like. Creeped me out once I could sense there wasn’t really anything. The only holoforms that don’t do it are T’bia and her kin. Never did figure out why, but they don’t have that sort of hollowness when I look at them.”

“Noticed that myself… Guess that’s what I was expecting of this.” She ran her toes through the blades of grass, forcing a smile. “Make the best of it, I suppose?”

“Try to, at least. We don’t have to stay long. Just a walk, let you listen to some conversation, see how people act in public around here, so on. I don’t think you’ll find things all that different, really. Just picture walking into another country, just no…” He shut his eyes, smirking. “Things not to say in public. One. The name of your world in any way but ‘Earth.’ Don’t call it what I keep calling it.”

“The ‘T’ word?”

“That’s the one. Two. The ‘main’ sapient race of said world. If someone would happen to overhear you and pick those out, they might wonder a bit if they’re aware of what’s been going on.” He offered his arm. “Shall we stroll?”

“We shall,” she replied, hooking her arm through his.

They left the park after a couple hours of people-watching, Tari feeling somewhat more secure in the fact that things really weren’t so much different… Lack of hairless skin and an understandable language notwithstanding. Pakar met up with them as they reached the door to their quarters, a smile spreading over her face.

“The vixen emerges from the den!” she teased. “Have a good time out?”

“Not too bad. Figured we should come back here and wait for you. A repeat of the prior intro’s, Tari, Pakar, Pakar, Tari. Anyway. Now that you’ve shown up, what would you care to do for the eve?”

“Hmm…” Pakar tapped her chin. “Well, haven’t eaten supper yet.”

“We should call ahead and have someone toss a whole hind quarter on the grill?”

Pakar glared at the black-furred fox, laughter in her eyes. “I do not eat that much. Half of one will do, thank you.”

“I suppose… Oh. Need something out of here for you.” He poked the lock code into the panel, opening the door and stepping inside. Pakar glanced in as the fox dug through a bag on the couch.

“What are you doing?”

“Gotta fracture the language barrier. Here it is. Heads up!” He lobbed a translator over his shoulder. Pakar caught it, glancing over the unit.

“One of these toys, eh? Bee make this especially for me?”

“Yeah. Put it on and let’s go… I’m hungry.” Jadyn stepped back into the hall, relocking the door.

Pakar clipped the translator over her ear, adjusting it slightly to get it comfortable. “What’s it put everything to?”

“Standard, I’ll assume.”

“Well, like, ick.”

“Take complaints to R and D, thanks.” Jadyn smirked, changing to English. “Does it work?”

“Yep. What language is that?”

“The only one we had in common.”

Tari grinned. “So I can be understood now?”

Pakar nodded. “Coming in fine. Now we can really start talking about him behind his back. Turn around, J.T.”

“At least have the decency to wait until I get out of earshot -“

“Attention, all passengers and crew. Please clear all hallways and corridors in this section at once, by order of the Captain. Thank you.”

“Well, crap.” Jadyn sighed, opening the door again. “Suppose we eat here then.”

“What’s going on?” Tari asked.

“Probably a security drill or something. Wouldn’t be too concerned. Happens a lot.” Pakar padded into the room on Jadyn’s gesture, commandeering the couch and stretching out. “This is much more relaxing than a restaurant, anyway.”

“Was kind of looking forward to something not replicated, though…” Jadyn scratched his nose in thought. “Hrm.”

“I’m not as picky as you are.”

“Just means real food will be that much better tomorrow, then?” Tari sat down on the floor in the middle of the room, doing some light stretching.

“Suppose so. How’s gravity treating you after all the walking?”

“Getting used to it, I think. How much different is Veloria?”

Pakar squinted at the ceiling in thought. “The ship is a tad less than Veloria, as I recall… some minor decimal off. Shouldn’t be too bad of a change.”

“You’ll hardly notice it.” Jadyn peered at the replicator, poking buttons on the surface panel. “I see they updated their menus. Anything sound good?”

“Meat of some sort.” Tari leaned back from her stretching, looking over her shoulder at him. “A steak, maybe… No, wait… Prime rib, rare. Haven’t had that in years. Any sides you feel like throwing in.”

“All-righty… Scaly?”

“Mm… Have it do a search for ‘Nessy Combo number seven’ and order that for me.”

“So you got into that too, eh?”

“It’s a nice mix of stuff. Plus, it’s a decent size portion.”

Jadyn nodded, poking at the menu. “And… hm. Too many things look good. Hey, there’s a thought… Custom… eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, salsa… Built like this… There.”

Tari smirked. “Breakfast for dinner?”

“I’m not discriminatory of what foods can be eaten when.” He grinned, taking out the first tray of food as it finished replication and delivering it to Tari. “Prime rib, rare, baked potato with side of sour cream and butter. Anything else?”

“This is great, thanks.”

The replicator beeped as Pakar’s order came through. A plate stacked with slices of various meats and sausage was at the center, some chunks of different cheeses decorating smaller plates. It looked like an appetizer tray for a small gathering. Pakar pulled the glass coffee table closer with her tail, gesturing for him to set the food on it.

“Thanks,” she spoke, popping a sausage into her mouth.

“Not a problem.”

The replicator buzzed unhappily.

“I take that back.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s a cook or a machine, something always screws with your order,” Pakar mused, layering a slice of cheese between two different meats and eating it as a bite-sized sandwich.

“Usually why I do the cooking myself.” He peered at the console, poking at it with a frown. “Seems custom is broke, as usual. Guess I’ll just go for something simple… That prime rib does smell good.”

“Mmf,” Tari noted. “As good as it ever has been.”

“J.T?”

“Yeah?”

“Put up those soundproof walls of yours.”

“Hm?” Jadyn looked over his shoulder as his food popped into the replicator.

Pakar sat up slowly, glancing at Tari. “Privacy wardings, around the three of us.”

“Okay… Any particular reason?” he asked, picking up his food and moving to the room’s center.

“Not until you have them up.”

“Fine, fine.” The fox set down his tray of food, peering around briefly and channeling threads of Air into soundproof barriers. “Okay, they’re set up. What’s on your mind that they’re necessary?”

Pakar popped another piece of meat into her mouth, peering at Tari. “You’re speaking Terran… English, isn’t it?”

Tari stopped mid-chew, looking at Jadyn.

“That explains the wardings,” Jadyn muttered, reinforcing them to make doubly sure of their security.

“Figured it’d be best, seeing as how you’ve been pretty dodging of the topic. Was wondering what was up… Curiosity finally got the better of me.” Pakar looked between the two vulpines. “Either of you care to field an explanation?”

“What I’ve said to date is all I can say, wardings or not.” Jadyn sat down in the chair facing the two, looking over his meal and picking up the knife and fork on the tray. “Doesn’t smell half bad.”

“I’m… not entirely sure what I should say.” Tari stabbed at her potato distractedly with her fork. “Don’t want to get anyone in any trouble, seeing as how I shouldn’t even be here.”

“Up to you, Tari. Like I told you before - Pakar is one of the few people around here that I trust implicitly. I doubt it would get me in trouble… If anything it might help matters somewhat. She’s got more clout than me when it comes right down to it.”

Tari nodded acceptingly. “Well… What’s the worst that can happen? I get deported?”

“I’d get sent with. Strike that, you getting deported alone would be worse.” Jadyn smirked. “Really doubt either of us getting labeled ‘return to sender.’ I think the Council values my cooperation a tad too much to step on my tail just yet.”

“All right…” She took a breath, looking up at the drekiran. “I speak a Terran language… because I am Terran.”

Pakar raised an eyebrow. “Say what? Everything Terran we’ve seen showing sapience has been human. That a disguise or something?”

“No… My people are Terran, though not human… We coexist with humanity. They aren’t aware of our existence. Some of my people would consider it a symbiotic relationship. We’re hidden mainly because they really can’t handle the truth.”

“Mm. Lots of you?”

“Compared to the human population, no… If I had to guess, maybe in the range of ten thousand.”

“Not a heck of a lot, in comparison with.. six billion, wasn’t it?”

“Give or take,” Jadyn agreed. “So, what’s your stand, scaly?”

“I’ll just blackmail you with it.”

“Promises, promises.”

“Indifferent. Though I do find it simply amazing that you found decent company on that backwoods rock - no offense, Tari…”

“Oh, none taken.”

“…I better understand the why of your evasiveness. Doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”

“Perish the thought. I don’t plan on telling Khris, by the way. He’s a good friend and all, but the fewer people that know, the better.”

“Agreed on that. T’bia putting papers together?”

“Yeah. Don’t know exactly what she’s going to claim as of yet.”

“Only questionable point is the second tail, I’m assuming it’s real and not a graft or clip-on?”

“One hundred percent natural.” Tari frowned. “Is it that much of a problem, really? I can mask it for brief periods of time while like this, but - Hmm…”

Jadyn found her eyes on his, sparkling with curiosity. “Hmm?”

“I thought of a workaround… Can T’bia make papers indicating I’m one of your people?”

“Falsifying an ID?” Pakar mock-gasped, covering her ears and closing her eyes. “I didn’t hear that, la la la… I don’t see this, la la la…”

“Quiet, you. Shouldn’t be a problem for paperwork but if they do a comparison to my medical record, as the only other representative of the species around, the computer will have a hissy fit at the differences.”

“I can work around that, I’m sure… Should probably ask first, how much difference is there between myself and a vixen of your race?”

Pakar raised an eyebrow. “Metamorph?”

“Very roughly speaking.”

“More along the lines of J.T.’s abilities?” she asked, thumbing at the blue fox.

“Yeah.”

“Though I prefer her method of swapping forms. Seems less stressful… The only functional points that come to mind are your lack of digitigrade feet and prehensile tail… And you have extra fingers and toes. Some minor nonfunctional differences, but they shouldn’t affect you in the long run.”

“Such as?”

Jadyn smirked. “Two more pairs of nipples down your chest.”

“Nothing incredibly hard to adapt to, then. Suppose I can give it a try.” Tari set down her tray and stood up. “Going to need you as a template being as how I’ve never taken on the form before and nothing similar exists on Earth.”

“All right.” Jadyn set his food aside and got to his feet. “What do you need me to do?”

“Give me your hands.” She took hold of his hands in hers, closing her eyes. Speaking something rapidly in what he took to be Japanese he watched as a halo of sparkling light traced her body from head to toe, changing it in the wake of the glow. Very little outwardly changed in her appearance. She gained an inch or two of height as her skeletal structure shifted from plantigrade to digitigrade, her ears were very slightly larger… Her pair of tails vanished, leaving a single longer one in their place.

“I envy that,” Pakar commented, finishing her plates of food. “None of my people have ever been able to tap into anything like that.”

Jadyn shrugged. “Some people can play musical instruments, some are tone deaf. I’m sure the drekirans could learn, if the elders hadn’t wholly banned ‘dark arts’ on the planet after my first visit.”

“Yeah, they sort of took offense when you flew better than they could.”

Tari let go of Jadyn’s hands, taking a few tentative steps while holding onto the back of the chair. “Going to take some getting used to, learning to walk again.”

“What was that whole speech about it not being any trouble to swap back and forth?”

“I’ve never gone like this… It’s a new thing. You were just reverting back.”

“Point taken. If it becomes too much trouble, Bee can hack something else together. It’s a good idea, none the less.” Jadyn smirked, taking her rather limp and fluffy tail into his hands. “Need an instruction manual for this thing?”

“It’s… weird. I’ll figure it out though. I like a good challenge.”

Jadyn smiled, sitting back down. He reached for his food tray, noticing a distinct lack of food left on it. “Really?”

“Didn’t want it to get cold.” Pakar grinned. “Computer: has the corridor lockdown been lifted?”

Silence met them. Jadyn glanced over his shoulder. “Wardings are still up.”

“Well, poo to you. Should be okay to drop them now.”

He concentrated briefly on the threads of Air, unraveling the soundproof walls. The normal background noises of the ship resumed as the wardings fell. “Done.”

“Computer? Is the lockdown still in place?”

“Negative.”

“Must have missed the all-clear with the soundproofing.” Jadyn took the empty food trays, depositing them back in the replicator’s alcove. “Was thinking it was kind of long for a drill.”

Pakar hopped to her feet. “Well, suppose I’ll be off. Vesana wanted the night out and asked me to babysit. Again.”

“The kids shouldn’t give you a problem.”

The dragon smirked, making her way to the door. “They shouldn’t, but they always do.”

“Just threaten to throw them out an airlock.” Jadyn grinned. “Hope you don’t have to follow through, and dream of the moment you do.”

“Right. Night you two. Oh, Tari, you like to browse shops and the like?”

“Sometimes.”

“We should hit the Laitu tomorrow, girls day out. Give it some thought. I’ll swing by in the morning before I head down there. We can spend J.T.’s fortune.” She grinned, shutting the door behind herself.

“Could be interesting to see how close you two come to bankrupting me.” Jadyn smiled, sitting back down as he watched the vixen learn her new legs. “You’re doing better already.”

“If I could work this eel of a tail for balance - yeep!” Tari stumbled, barely catching herself on the back of the couch.

“Maybe normal is better?”

“That’d be the easy way out. It may take me a while, but I’ll get the hang of this yet.” She reached behind herself, grabbing her limp tail. “Seriously - How do you keep from tripping over this thing? It’s nearly as long as I am tall.”

“Looking at you… That’s normal length for your height, right there.”

“You’re kidding…”

“A val’traxan’s tail from tip to base is usually within an inch of their height. You could just wear it as a belt,” he suggested, demonstrating by curling his own around his waist. “Nicely out of the way until you figure out how to keep it out from under others’ feet. And doors. Don’t get it caught in a door. They’re supposed to have sensors to keep that from happening, but they don’t always work.”

“I’ll keep that in mind… How did a tail, as voluminous and bushy as any fox’s tail I’ve ever seen, evolve to be prehensile? I mean, I can see where everything else would come from an evolutionary ancestor. The ears, the eight fingers and toes, the three pairs of nipples… Er, do they all… work?”

“Assuming you mean for lactation, just the ones on the breasts. The lower two pairs are evolutionary leftovers.”

“Y’know, I can’t recall feeling any of the lower ones on your chest.”

“You probably didn’t go looking. They’re here.” Jadyn dug through his fur and pointed. “See?”

“Ah, okay. So you are like us in that respect? All embryos start out developing female?”

“Yeah. I think you’ll notice a lot of similarities in anatomy and biology. I’m really not sure where the prehensile tail came into play for us, though. There weren’t any native foxes on Val’Trax with this trait.”

“Maybe someone crossed a fox with a chimpanzee?” Tari joked.

Jadyn frowned. “Well, unless my memory is failing me, chimps don’t have tails…”

“Er, I knew that. What the heck was I thinking… Dozens of monkeys and lemurs to choose from… And I spout out an ape. Go me!”

“I’ll just blame caffeine.”

“I haven’t had any since… Wow, since at least a few weeks before you picked me up.” Tari grunted, turning and taking another shaky lap around the furniture. “Could use some right about now… Gonna be up all night learning to walk…”

Intentions

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:38:21 GMT

Personal journal. Day after yesterday’s entry. I must be getting lazy. That or I’m sick and tired of keeping track of time.

We’re making a deviation in our course back to Veloria. I’m sure T’zran hired guns to come after us, but I can’t understand why he’s gone that far for revenge… All I did was best him in a competition. A stupid little tournament, and he wasn’t even a council member at that point… Maybe it was for embarrassing him in front of his fiancé? Doesn’t matter - if someone has a problem with me, they’d best take it up with me. When they endanger my friends and family, the gloves come off.

It will take about a day and a half more to get to Donami… Maybe a little less. From there, I should be able to catch Khristofer before he leaves. He always goes to Council sessions by way of the big spaceliners. I know there’s enough shuttle bay space in any one of those things to hold six of this ship, side by side, plus their usual fare of parking. The only problem is getting in there if he won’t help. Could always let Bee hack their systems… TBIA-EDIT: I don’t hack. The term itself, ‘hacking,’ has no grace. What I do is like… a delicate surgery procedure. I’m the scalpel to a normal hacker’s blunt club.

Well, we can burn that bridge when we come to it. What’s getting to me at this point is Tarioshi… She’s made it painfully obvious that she’s trying to catch my attention in a personal context. I don’t know why I listened to Bee last night. It didn’t help the situation to let her wake up next to what she’s trying to catch. Avoided her all day. I just can’t shake the warning my mind has posted, and I’m lost for how to tell her… I think I’ll sleep on it all, figure something out in the morning.

Jadyn sat quietly in the cockpit, watching the points of starlight passing outside the ship. The low hum of the air recycling system was the only noise around him, even above his own slow breathing. Indicators blinked and shifted around on the consoles around him, mindlessly reporting the various statuses that each system passed along.

A touch of ozone reached his nose and he looked over his shoulder. The AI’s avatar was leaning on the door, watching him.

“Yo,” she volunteered.

“I’d ask if you’d been there long, but it’s a rhetorical question. You’re everywhere.”

T’bia smiled lightly, sitting across from him. “Want to talk about it?”

He glanced out the forward viewport again, letting out a slow sigh. “I don’t know.”

“Is it about her, or about…”

“That’s what I don’t know. Too many concerns to sort through all at once…” He stared at his hands, patting them together as he let his mind work. “I’m concerned why Ceth would try to have us blown out of existence. I’m concerned that I’m going to hurt Tari when I tell her what that damn flag is doing in my head. I’m still concerned that I made a mistake and should have just left her back there on Terra…”

T’bia gently took his hands, holding them together. “One. You can’t know what that feldaran is thinking. I can’t even fathom a reasonable guess as to why something so insignificant would set him off like this. There has got to be something else going on that we don’t know about. Two. You’ve now avoided Tari for two days. I managed to keep her distracted today with a ship’s systems primer, but this really isn’t my responsibility to maintain or resolve. You’re hurting her by staying at arm’s length, and you’re hurting yourself more trying to keep her there. You’ve been doing the same damn thing for the last two hundred years. I really think you need to try and open up completely to someone who isn’t me for a change.”

“I’ve told plenty of -“

“I don’t mean just telling a few friends some random stuff about the past before changing the subject. I mean, you need to let someone in to your life. Sure, you have friends that you trust - you never let them get close emotionally. Even the ones you’ve slept with. The question of leaving her behind is history. You brought her here. Now, whether it was because you liked what you saw or because you didn’t want to leave her injured in the cold, I don’t know. I’d lean to your thinking both, myself.”

He smirked, shaking his head. “I think I should add a concern to that list that you know me too well.”

“It’s obvious that you like her. I’ve told her as much in the last few days, adding the caveat that you might be a little hesitant because of being focused on figuring out the attack. She’s intelligent and as sharp as a pin, she’s open to change, she’s very interested in you, and she’s a beautiful lady both outside and in. I have the medical scans to prove that. Explain what’s going on in your head at the very least. She absolutely needs to know before she does get hurt.”

Jadyn gazed into the skunk’s violet eyes, then dropped his head down. “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask… For now.” She let go of his hands, standing up slowly. “I did some more analysis of that last blast that snuck through the shields. Our happy rewiring job saved our asses.”

“How so?”

“Near as I can tell, had we been fully stock, we’d be dead in space. That blast was tailored specifically to disable us. I’d be offline along with Aerin and every single terminal and console from bow to aft. If you really worked at it and had two or three of the Kshorah smiling upon you, you might have been able to restore power after a week with the help of my backup copy. And that’d just be life support.”

“Makes no sense… There’s just no way they could have known how to do that.”

“Yeah. We were lucky, though. The surges got tripped up in the inorganic power relays and were mostly burnt off into EMI. On the downside, we’re down to forty-seven percent power efficiency across the relays. I can increase the flow to compensate, but we already know how this drill is going to end. Everything is getting ripped and rebuilt when we get home. Toy’s the first person on my contact list.” A console chimed; T’bia glanced over and nodded to herself. “We’ll be in the Donami system in ten minutes, another five to get to the homeworld. You ready for company or are you going down?”

“Safer to bring Khris here. He’s probably in his office, but tap their systems and find out, if you’d be so kind…”

“Will do. What are you going to tell him?”

“What we know.”

A lone figure stared outside through the window of an eightieth-story Council office, looking over the capitol city of Haran. Streetlights on various stores, cineplexes, arenas, and hotels blinked and flicked far below, all trying to draw some part of the population inside. Hovertrams in the sky far above shuffled people from place to place, some going home, others going to work, and still others just going in circles. Past them, on the tops of buildings far above, the planet’s great Parks sat neatly on top of the city, replacing nature back to its rightful pristine state - though far above where it used to preside.

The Council was to meet in two weeks time on the dedicated space station in Velorian territory, Terac Lun. He really wasn’t sure he wanted to go. He didn’t need to go. Why risk it? He fingered the data crystal on his desk idly, smiling to himself.

No one had found him out.

He sighed, spinning around in his chair a couple of times, entertaining the idea that if he made himself sick he might be able to weasel his way out of ‘his’ obligation. On the third revolution the room blurred in a green haze, quickly shifting to a transporter room on an unfamiliar ship.

He stopped abruptly, looking around at the greenish-black walls. “What in the name of… What’s going on?”

A hand squeezed his left shoulder and he turned to look at it. Four digits, dark blue fur, a single silver ring adorning the middle finger. He followed the arm up to its owner, the face immediately clicking in his head. The surprise was genuine, though in retrospect he was certain it would be misinterpreted.

“What…? What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk, Khris.” The raccoon stared at the fox’s face, seeing the concerned look in his eyes. “There is a leak in the Council.”

Jadyn stared at the cup of tea in his hands, shaking his head. “That’s all I know. I can’t prove it, but I know it’s him.”

The raccoon nodded. “I can understand the reasoning. There just doesn’t seem to be any solid proof. If we could get a communications log from his office, we might have something. Otherwise it’s a generally respected Captain’s word against a generally respected Councilor’s.”

“I don’t know if he’s smart enough to erase the logs or not. In light of everything that’s happened in the last week, I don’t think I’ve given him enough credit in the past.” Jadyn took a drink of his mint tea, then set it down on the common room table. “There is no way to check the pirate ships for logs - I know I can’t even have meaningful scans done on the dust that’s left of them. What I really wanted to ask of you was if we could get a lift back to Veloria. You are going via the Tamar when it leaves in a few hours, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I have a reservation. It’s easier to take one of the spaceliners than having my own shuttle and keeping a maintenance crew to keep it up and running all the time. Cheaper too, as little as I travel. I think your ship will just fit in a private bay… You want me to have them lock down the area?”

“It would be best if we did that. Just tell them you’re bringing aboard classified cargo on Council authority. Non-hazardous, non-toxic, just classified… If T’zran reports me as dead we’ll know it was him. No one was left to report my lack of being blown to bits because they went up too. He probably didn’t have to pay them that way.”

Khris nodded and stood up. “I hope my assistant didn’t come looking for me. They’ll be searching my office by now.”

“I left a note in your place saying you’d be back in a half hour. You’ve still got five minutes.”

The raccoon smiled. “You are far too good at kidnapping, my friend. I’ll see to it immediately that the Tamar has room for you.”

“Tap this twice when you’re ready and I’ll pull in under cloak.” He tossed a small commlink to Khris. “Aerin, send Khris back to his office. With his chair, please.”

The transporter cycle ran and the raccoon disappeared from the common room. Jadyn leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment in thought.

“You sure you can trust him?”

“I’ve known him for forty-three years, Tari. If it was him, I’d know.”

The Kitsune dropped her invisibility and sat down next to him. “Is your life always this complicated?”

“No… Sometimes it’s worse. Come on. I’ve got to get changed.”

Tarioshi sat patiently on Jadyn’s bed, waiting for him to come out of his bathroom. “What are you doing in there, anyway?”

“You’ll see.”

She sighed, watching the planet floating outside the window. It was strange, seeing a populated world that wasn’t Earth hanging against the black backdrop of space, but still intriguing. The shadow of night covered most of the planet’s face, various city lights twinkling over the dark surface. “What was this place again?”

“Donami,” Jadyn replied.

“Aren’t there any oceans?”

“Yeah, but the part in the light is probably small enough that it’s all land. A lot of their fresh water supply is underground. There’ve been horrible environmental problems here… They cleared so much of the vegetation that people began to suffocate. Not enough plants to process the carbon dioxide back to oxygen… They’ve pretty much moved nature to the top of most cities now. Huge forests over every town… If we had more time I’d show you around.”

“Are all the Donami… raccoons?”

“Their race is called ‘Lotoran,’ but yes.”

“So that’s felines, raccoons, and foxes so far -“

T’bia coughed politely from nowhere at all.

“And skunks. Sorry.”

“No prob.”

“What else makes up the galaxy?”

The quiet tink of a glass jar being placed on a counter drifted from inside the bath. “Oh, let’s see. Some lizard-like species, wolves, rabbits, bears, ‘taurs of a handful of mammalian races, some avians… a few marine species… There’s one, a race of dolphins… They look exactly like those of Terra but they’re dry skinned and get around in the air using telekinetics.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Mind over matter stuff. Freaks a lot of people out. Even some of the more conventional land mammals have winged variants, though. Makes me wonder if this galaxy isn’t just someone’s science project.” The door opened and Jadyn stepped out, his fur glossy and black. His hair remained silver-gray, as did his eyes, but those were the only parts of his image that had been kept the same. The coloring looked completely natural - not wet, not clumped together with colorant. Tari stood up, staring at him.

“What did you do?”

“It’s special dye for fur. Blue isn’t common at all - I’d stand out like… like… Well, like a blue fox, and I’m the only one I know of within a thousand lightyears of here. Black’s the easiest color for me to change to that is common enough to be ignored. I hate bleaching my pelt. Besides, if I’m going to show you around a spaceliner, black nicely contrasts your white.” He pirouetted around slowly. “Did I miss anywhere?”

“No, you look fine… I could almost not recognize you.”

“Let’s hope that other folks miss the ‘almost’ qualifier on that.” He smiled and picked up a silken pair of pants, colored vividly with oranges and blues. The pattern swirled around itself, not actually moving but seeming to dance across the cloth. After pulling on the pants and buttoning them he took a matching vest and pulled it on. The front flap fused with the other side when he touched them together, giving the whole thing a seamless look. The final piece was some sort of emblem he put over his left breast.

“Wow… That’d even look good on you normally, Jay.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, adjusting the pants around his tail and checking himself in the mirror.

“Pardon if this is obvious, but… What keeps the pants up? With your build, they should fall down around your ankles after a couple of steps.”

“Technology. The waistband does a sort of velcro and static-cling thing. Otherwise, I’d need suspenders. A lot of uniforms are full-body for that very reason, all the support for the pants comes from the shoulders. Standard ship uniforms are even more novel, they’re self-fitting.”

“Like that workout outfit, then.” When she’d first put on a jumpsuit during her workouts, it was baggy and too large for her frame. The seam in the back was self-sealing after the collar was closed. A little twisting to keep her fur out of the way and it closed right up. T’bia had then pointed her to a small bulge in the collar; after pinching it, the entire outfit contracted to form-fitting perfection. “Wonder if I should change…”

He looked her over through the reflection, then shook his head. “That blue silk robe looks good on you. The dragon is an interesting touch as well… Beauteous, I must say, as well as unique.”

She flushed lightly. “Thanks.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” T’bia cut in, “but that homing signal you gave Khris has been activated. Shall I take us into the bay?”

“Yeah, Bee. After the engine shutdown, transport us out.”

Tari saw the planet shift outside the window as a large wall came into view. Unfamiliar symbols and letters moved past before the ship thumped quietly against a solid surface.

“Have fun on your tour. I’ll find something to do. Maybe I’ll burn out a couple of those in-ear UT’s for Tari’s sake.”

The transporter beam grabbed them; Tari found herself standing in some sort of hangar. The Serin was nowhere in sight. Only a large open area with some sort of electronically-generated fence hinted at the location. The acidic twinge of bile crept up her throat; she swallowed it back and leaned on Jadyn’s arm for balance.

“You okay?”

“Not as bad as the first go, at least.” She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders. “It gets easier?”

“Some people never get used to it. Others look forward to every time they travel by transporter. I think some folks get off on it.”

“Mm. I think I’m happier having my molecules in one piece. That where the ship is?”

“Yup. She’ll stay cloaked for the duration. I don’t want word getting out that we survived.”

“So… Why isn’t T’bia coming with?”

“Oh, she could if she wanted. There’s other stuff she wants to get done. She may still sneak out while we’re out and about, too.”

He smiled, offering his arm. They crossed the bay to where the lotoran - Khris, she remembered - was waiting. He looked at Tari curiously; Jadyn spoke briefly in a language she couldn’t comprehend. Her name was among the jumble of words - an introduction. Jadyn switched back to English for her. “Tari, this is Khristofer Galan, the Aligned Council representative for Donami.”

Khris offered his hand and Tari shook it firmly. He spoke with Jadyn for another minute before giving back the transmitter and leaving them in the bay.

“Don’t you have any of those universal translator things?”

“Not that are set up for any Terran language.” He shrugged and led her out of the shuttle bay. “Aerin provides that service ship-wide on the Serin, but throughout the Alliance there isn’t a need for your dialects since you haven’t been formally contacted. The temporary models that we have back on the ship for portable use… They’re nearly hard-wired and it takes some time to reprogram them. That’s what Bee was going to try to work on.”

A pair of guards saluted him in the corridor; he returned the gesture and spoke something to them. They nodded quickly; one made a comment and they all laughed. Tari frowned, looking up at Jadyn again.

“They promised not to shoot you.” He smiled, said a few more things, pressed his palm against some sort of tablet, then led her off along the corridor.

“Would they normally be there?”

“No. Khris or any other Councilor says something coming in is to be classified and things get locked down pretty quick. No one can get by that point unless they check in first - it’s the only way into the bay.”

“And how did you get your checkpoint clearing abilities?”

He stopped in front of a door, touching a light on the wall. “I hold the rank of Captain in the Aligned fleet. Officially, I’m listed as retired with honors. Since I’m still doing work for the Council on the side, I have some extra lean and a security clearance that gets me places I’d rather not know exist.”

“But you’re incognito and supposed to be hiding. How did they know who you were?”

“They didn’t. The palmprint pad only reveals an ‘allow’ or ‘deny’ to the guards, and this emblem is a rank symbol.” He touched the item he had placed on his chest, smiling lightly. Tari glanced over her shoulder, noticing the two guards had something similar.

“Okay… Won’t the pad… check in somewhere? To scan you in or out?”

“I know this lady who proclaims she’s an expert on most things technological. Trust me, we’re covered there too. There was a small emblem in the corner that told me she’d already commandeered the device.”

A chime sounded and the doors parted with a gentle hiss. Jadyn moved inside, waiting for Tari to join him. She looked around carefully at the interior as she entered; it seemed like an elevator of some sort. Several lights decorated a panel near the wall; she guessed that it was a list of destinations. The doors shut quickly behind them as Jadyn poked one of the lights.

“Onward to the Laitu Promenod,” he spoke. Tari felt the floor move slightly underneath her. Lights blinked by transparent panels in the wall, moving from bottom to top as their room dropped with increasing speed.

“A speedy elevator?”

“Kind of… Goes laterally as well.”

She shook her head. “Just how big is this place to warrant an elevator?”

Jadyn grinned. “Think of a really, really big cruise liner, with permanent residences as well as hotel space and multiple commercial sectors. The best way to picture it is a city of two hundred thousand that can travel through space. Other than refuel stops, it’s almost completely self-sustaining.”

Without warning the lift slowed and started moving sideways. It dropped a few more floors after that before coming to a stop. The doors opened once more and the incognito blue fox led Tari out into what sounded like a shopping mall. It took her eyes a few seconds to get used to the brighter lighting; her gaping at the scene didn’t help.

Creatures of every shape, size, species, and color milled about on their deck and the deck below them, some shopping, others just looking around and enjoying themselves. Various stores lined the lower deck while the level they stood on had a railing where one could simply stand and watch if one so desired. She glanced up, noticing there were a few more levels above them, but only on the one side of the area.

“This feels like the Mall of America…”

“Yeah, a little bit, now that you mention it. That was an interesting place to spend a day.” He leaned on the rail, looking down at the crowd. “The carnival is in a separate section of the ship, though. They run it in a holoarena so they can manipulate the rides at will.”

Large windows across from their level and above showed the scene outside: the void of space had been changed from the starry black to some sort of plasma storm. Red clouds swirled, occasionally releasing yellow bolts of energy from one to the next. Where there wasn’t red, there was only the darkness of a starless void.

“Is that dangerous out there?”

Jadyn looked where she was pointing, patting her arm lightly. “Like I said, some races have found other ways past the light barrier. This vessel uses a hyperspace window, dropping the ship into another level of reality to quickly cross the distance. There’ll be multiple stops in normal space to adjust trajectory and relay communications traffic, but other than that it’ll be a smooth ride.”

“Oh, of course. I knew that.” She giggled, shaking her head lightly. “I just can’t imagine it - you grew up with this kind of thing?”

“Yeah. I’ve always wondered what it’s like for someone like yourself, seeing all this for the first time.”

“It’s flooring. I mean, not counting the technology, I never dreamt that other intelligent races would be so similar to creatures on Earth. Hell, I didn’t even think there was anything out here.” She scanned the crowd below them curiously. Bears, foxes, wolves, cats, raccoons, rabbits… all sorts of familiar creatures in humanoid varieties. Even a few snake-people were slithering around. She tapped him lightly on the arm and discreetly pointed at some sort of bipedal winged reptilian on their level, wanting to confirm her suspicions. “Whazzat?”

“Eh? Where?” He followed her finger, smiling when he spied her target. “Drekiran. I think from your mythology they’re comparable to dragons, only with a better disposition. Actually… Damn. I think I know her. Come along?”

“I’m sure not staying behind in this crowd. I’d get lost.”

“I’d just ask where the pretty two-tailed white vixen went. You’re getting more looks than you might notice. Might start a new fashion trend with the pair of tails.”

She smiled, enjoying the compliment, walking close to him as they picked their way through the crowd. Jadyn slowed as they got closer to their target, then nodded affirmatively.

“I’ll be… It really is her. What’s she doing out this way? Pakar!”

The drekiran’s head snapped up from the railing, looking around before seeing the fox. She smiled broadly after a moment of confused study, jogging over to him. They traded a few words then hugged each other. Her wings encircled them both, effectively giving them a bit of privacy in the busy area.

Tari had thought Jadyn was tall, but the dragon lady had an extra foot and a half on him at the least. She was quite pretty - tiny emerald green scales covered her body and wings, reflecting the light as though she was in some sort of chainmail armor. Tight denim-like shorts and a halter-top made to fit around her wings were her only dress, both garments as black as the view outside the ship. A long reptilian tail stretched out behind her and curled back to her taloned digitigrade feet, easily as long as she was tall.

She folded her wings back carefully, stepping slightly away from Jadyn with a grin on her face. Jadyn’s ears were clearly red and he had a rather silly look on his muzzle. He seemed flustered as he introduced Tari; the drekiran made a comment that didn’t seem to help his composure.

“Tari, this is Pakar Tubor, Councilor of Drekira. Another good friend of mine…”

“You seem to know a lot of people in high places,” she commented, returning the handshake the drekiran offered.

“It’s nice to have someone to fly with when you get up there.” He grinned, leaving Tari to wonder what he meant by the comment, then turned his conversation back to Pakar for a little while. Tari listened carefully, straining for any comprehension in what was being said, but their language style was too fast paced to grasp. It was far different from what he had spoken with the lotoran; there were more hisses and clicks that sounded serpentine in nature. She silently scolded herself for not taking the time to learn a translation spell from her mentors back in the Courts. At the time, it wasn’t necessary. Japanese and English were all she’d needed to know.

As the dragoness and fox spoke, her mood grew visibly agitated. Her tail lashed, nearly tripping a few bystanders; steam - or was it smoke? It reeked of sulfur - puffed out of her nostrils. Even her skin… scales… Her flesh coloring darkened to a deeper shade of green. She spoke a phrase very softly; Jadyn replied to it, and the dragoness stormed off into the crowd.

“What was that about?”

“She’s got as much distaste for Councilor T’zran as I do. She agreed to come talk about it later on the Serin. It’s probably the most secure place on this craft right now.”

“Aren’t you worried that someone else may have overheard you?”

“I had soundproof wards set while we spoke. You were within the radius.”

“That’s why she was standing so close?”

“That and she thinks of me as her personal plush toy.” He offered his arm again. “Care to have dinner with me, ma’am?”

She smiled, taking hold of his arm. “Can’t think of anyone I’d rather dine with, good sir.”

“If you thought for a little while, you might just be able to.” He grinned, leading her off into the crowd to one of the restaurants with a large view of the area. They chatted quietly about things on the ship, what various species were as they walked by, other questions that came up about space travel. Tari seemed to enjoy the non-Terran food, but had some trouble figuring out how to eat some of the more exotic dishes placed before them.

They wandered around for a time after eating, looking through stores and watching others having a good time. Finally, they made their way to a lift and up to one of the sections of temporary rooming. Jadyn tapped in the key code for their provided quarters, allowing Tari inside first. “We can either stay here or back on the ship. I don’t mind either way, really. There’s a bit more room here.”

Tari walked through the suite, studying everything in sight. Jadyn stood back and watched her curiosity unfold, smiling lightly to himself.

“You have a talent for understatement. Much roomier than the Serin, indeed… What the… Is that a bathtub or an olympic pool?”

“Did they put a diving board on it?” He padded to where she was standing, glancing in the adjoining room and seeing the twelve-foot-wide tub she was speaking of. “Wow, that is big. It’s a whirlpool bathtub, especially made for those of us with fur… I think they’ve got similar things on Earth, don’t they?”

“Yeah, minus the fur compatibility. I keep thinking that a space ship should be tight on space.”

“So did a lot of people, at first. Later on they realized they weren’t comfortable and designed ships like these. These companies are in it for the profit, even in our ‘advanced’ societies, and people ride less if they aren’t comfortable. They make double from having all those stores here as well. Rental property, plus a commission on sales.”

Tari nodded, glancing up at him. “I’m afraid to ask if this is a small room or not.”

“This is a fairly normal suite size for couples, as I remember. Maybe a touch on the larger size, but they have to work for a wide range of species. There are smaller singles, though, and much larger suites for honeymooners and dignitaries like Councilors. The ship is about two hundred and fifty decks tall, probably over four kilometers long, though T’bia would likely correct me on the conversion I’m making in my head.”

She nodded, opening another door and looking inside. “There’s only one bed…”

“We can have another one sent up -“

“No!” she said, a little too quickly, then added, “I mean, we haven’t had any problem the times we’ve shared one so far.”

“That’s been once.”

“Still, there wasn’t a problem.” She smiled at him, then walked back over to the bathroom. “I think I’m going to try out that tub.”

“I’ve got to meet Pakar in the shuttle bay in ten minutes… You going to be all right staying here for a bit?”

“I’ll be fine. Have fun.”

He nodded, leaving the room and locking the door behind him with a new code. The time it took to get to the shuttle area on the lift gave him a chance to think. He wasn’t going to be able to keep his distance from the kitsune forever, regardless of what his senses were telling him to do. T’bia was right - he shouldn’t try to kill off his own feelings… It just seemed to be the easiest way to avoid the situations. Especially with the apparently drunken alarm that kept going off in the back of his mind.

The drekiran was waiting by the entrance when he arrived, extremely upset. “J.T.! I was beginning to wonder… These two clowns won’t let me in.”

“Funny, they aren’t dressed like clowns… Are you a clown, lieutenant?”

The puma who’d promised not to shoot Tari saluted him sharply. “Not today, sir!”

“See, Pakar? He’s not a clown.” He looked at the guard closer, recognizing him from another tour of duty. The puma had been an ensign at the time. “When was the last time you were a clown?”

“Three weeks ago for my son’s birthday, sir.” He smiled, a knowing gleam in his eye. “I’ve got the suit on board, if it would please the Councilor.”

“Not necessary,” Jadyn replied. “Have Councilor Galan join us as soon as he can, if you would. I doubt he’s far off.”

The guard nodded and held out the handprint scanner for the drekiran. She snorted as it chimed softly and logged her entrance. Jadyn logged himself through as well. Pakar chuckled to herself as she walked into the shuttle bay. “The things I do for peace. I swear, you might have more pull than the Council does.”

“Hardly. Khristofer had them posted there.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I thought I might be out a job. At least you’d be a cuddleable ruler.”

“Why thank you, you scaly subservient serpentine… Hrm, ran out of polite ‘s’ words.”

She stuck out her tongue, walking with the grace of a dancer towards the fencing. “Black is a nice color for you, by the way. Almost didn’t realize it was you.”

“That’s sort of the idea.”

“It works. Should we wait for Khris?”

“Doubt he’ll be long -“

The doors opened behind them. “Hello, wait for me… Pakar? Good to see you!”

“Been a while, Khris.” Pakar pirouetted smoothly on her toes, her tail curling around herself like a hula-hoop. “If only I had some music.”

Jadyn chuckled. “Plays better inside. We can have a good old bash. Litter the floors, get drunk… Well, you two can get drunk, anyway. I just end up awake for a week. What’s it like, being drunk?”

“Ask a cup of coffee,” Pakar commented. “Now, if you question me about being eaten, I’m an expert.”

He exchanged an amused glance with Khris, tapping his bracelet. “Honey, I’m home.”

“Think that just about brings Pakar up to speed… Missing anything you can think of, Khris?”

“Pretty sure you’ve covered everything you told me.”

Pakar stared out the window in silence, the end of her tail flicking in annoyance. Jadyn noticed a wisp of steam rising from her nostrils. Drekirans could indeed breathe plumes of fire for short times, though there was a rather noxious mineral they needed in their diets to maintain the ability. It didn’t replicate well.

“I don’t like this one bit,” she finally spoke. “I can’t quite put my talons on it, but something is just not adding up. Either way - there isn’t anything formal we can do until we have something concrete. It’s your word against his for now.”

“I know.” Jadyn drummed his fingers on the common room table, thinking. “Suppose it will help to see if he hands in any sort of proof of my ‘death.’”

Pakar sighed. “That may not even be solid enough. It could help your case, though. When we get to Velorian space I’ll log in and start checking security reports to see who pulled your flight plans… As far as I know only Ness knew anything about where you’d be, since you spoke to him about it before leaving. I pulled them after I’d found you left, since you didn’t bother to tell me.”

“Sorry about that.” The fox tapped his index fingers together. “I suppose we won’t have anything we can check over before Veloria. So, that leaves us a week and a half of twiddling our thumbs?”

“Would seem that way.” Khris shrugged. “Well, I suppose we shouldn’t keep you from your friend.”

“I’m sure she’s all right for a while. You guys want to snag a sandwich or something?”

Tari eased into the steaming water of the tub, letting the jets work through her fur as she settled down. The warmth was relaxing as the water pulsed through her thick winter pelt. She soaked in the heat for some time before dipping her head underwater and swishing her hair around. Jadyn had been right - the tub had been made with a furred occupant in mind. A normal bath or shower just didn’t work well unless she shifted to her human guise.

A bottle of shampoo had been placed next to the tub - to her surprise, it was a full-sized one, not one of the tiny things hotels usually provided. Climbing out onto the warm tiles level with the tub’s edge, she made no hesitation to use as much soap as needed for her entire coat. By the time she finished getting the scentless goo through all her fur and both her tails she thought she very much resembled a soapy wet dog.

Giggling, she barked at her reflection in the mirrors a few times, then leapt back into the tub to rinse off. The froth on the surface thickened with the suds coming out of her fur but swiftly disappeared into filters along the edge. For a while afterward she simply laid in the tub, listening to the bubbles swarming around her in the heat of the water. There was no sound of a pump or any mechanical part of the unit - just water flowing in through the jets.

Some time later she heard the door open out in the main room, three distinct voices speaking and laughing together. She’d left the bathroom door open to keep the steam from building up but had neglected to shut it once she found out that the mirrors didn’t fog over.

“Hello?” she called, sinking into the water so only her head was showing.

“Just us, Tari.” Jadyn peeked into the bath, smiling gently. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Extremely… I don’t want to get out. It’s marginally better than those full-body showers on your ship. Should get one installed somewhere.” She grinned, floating over so she could lean on the edge of the tub. “What gifts did you bring to appease me?”

“Nothing spectacular. A decent brush and half a translator.”

She eyed him curiously. “Half a translator?”

“T’bia burnt out three of them during reprogramming before she managed to get a working one. You’ll be able to understand what’s being said, but it won’t translate what you say for others.”

“Well, that’s a start. Gives me a reason to learn the dialect. Mind handing me a towel?”

He glanced around, spying the rack and grabbing the largest terrycloth towel from it. Holding the towel up for her, she stood up and wrapped it around herself carefully.

“You seem smaller,” he observed.

“I poof out when I get dry. If you didn’t have company, I’d ask you to help with that.” She smiled, pushing him out into the main room and closing the door.

“How did you happen across such a unique creature, Jay?”

The drekiran nodded her agreement. “She’s very pretty. I’m envious.”

Jadyn glanced at his friends, knowing he couldn’t tell them the truth about his companion and knowing they could tell when he lied. “It was… sort of by accident,” he replied slowly. “She needed some assistance with a problem and I helped her out. Having her travel with me was something of an unexpected bonus.” He smiled lightly, sitting down near them. The best lie was the truth, albeit abridged.

Pakar was reclining on the couch, her tail lolling all the way along its length and well over the armrest. Khris nursed a cup of hot something or other in his hands from the comfort of another chair.

“What world is she from? I can’t remember any vulpine derivatives that have two tails, unless that’s a graft.”

“I’m not really sure of any out here myself, Khris. I haven’t pressed her for much information, but I can tell she’s lived a sheltered life. A lot of what she’s seen with me seems to be a new experience for her. I can’t say I’m not curious to find out more of her background, though.”

The raccoon nodded, placing his cup on the glass coffee table between the couch and chairs. “The indigo gentle fox. Well, black gentle fox.”

“Makes me curious,” Pakar commented. “Was it on the way there or back that you met?”

“The only things I met going there shot at the ship.” He smirked, shifting in his chair. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, though… I just don’t feel it’s right for her to stay on with me permanently.”

“Why not? You make a lovely twosome. At least you did on the Laitu. Even in your normal hue, you’d be a good contrast.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that, probably the third to think it. Don’t try and set me up, scaly.”

She smiled pleasantly. “I know what it is… I spoiled you for all other females, right?”

“Is that ego, or just wishful thinking?” Jadyn laughed.

Khris blinked. “You? And her?”

“A few times. And no, Pakar, It’d take more than what you’ve got to spoil me permanently.”

She feigned shock. “I’m hurt, J.T… We’ll have to try again sometime soon… We do have a week and change to burn on this crate. Anyway, I’m late for supper. I’m supposed to be dining with my brother’s family tonight.”

“He’s here too?”

“No, just his mate and her clutch. The kids would probably love to see you, but it may be better if we kept your non-death between us three for now.”

Jadyn nodded. “Can’t argue there.”

“I’ll walk with you to the lift.” Khris stood up, stretching as he followed the drekiran to the door. “I can’t imagine you and him -“

“Don’t try,” she interrupted, a grin splitting her face from ear to ear. “You might have nightmares.”

“Oh, Jadyn,” the raccoon noted, pausing at the door. “Probably won’t catch up with you again until the end of the week. I’ve got a pile of reports to sift through and some remote meetings I have to attend every time we get a comm window.”

“Figured so. You work too much. Have a good night, both of you.”

“Later, fluffy. I’ll swing by tomorrow morning… Hum, maybe I should make it afternoon, instead?” The drekiran winked, then left and shut the door. Jadyn snickered quietly, staring after them for a minute after they left. He stood up, glancing in the bathroom and seeing Tari’s things missing. The tub had been drained and the towels were back on the racks. Damp footprints led out and across the thin carpet to the bedroom.

Shutting the bath’s door he stripped off the steelsilk clothing and folded the garments neatly onto one of the counters. Glancing over the tub’s controls he found them to be simple enough: a pictorial diagram of the tub, nothing language-dependent. He tapped on the area for the drain stop to close it then filled the tub with hot water. It took a few minutes for him to ease all the way into the heat, but it helped to clear his mind as he soaked. The dye keeping him black was bonded to his fur with the Art and wouldn’t come off without the counterspell. He idly watched the water around him darkening as some of the excess coloring bled away, but soon shut his eyes and let the heat work at his mind.

He heard the door open some time later, wondering briefly if he had fallen asleep. The light scent of pine reached his nostrils. He wasn’t sure if it was a perfume or a natural scent about the kitsune, but foresty smells seemed to follow her wherever she went. “I can see why you stayed in here so long, Tari… It’s really comfortable.”

“Quite relaxing. I figured you were going to come in the bedroom after they left, but since you didn’t… I want to talk to you about a few things.” He heard her kneel down next to the tub, not bothering to open his eyes.

“I’m all ears. What’s on your mind?”

The kitsune hesitated for several seconds before whispering her reply. “You.”

He opened one eye slowly, turning his head to carefully study her face. Her gaze was locked on his, trepidation and a touch of confusion in her teal pools. Fear… of rejection, I’d bet… Light, this is not going to be good. “What do you mean?”

She sighed, staring at the bubbling water. “I don’t understand it myself… We’ve known each other all of two weeks. I can’t figure out why I’m finding you so damn… so…”

“Fluffy?” he submitted, quite sodden.

“No… Handsome. Appealing. Lovable. Something. I… I just can’t find the right words for this. At first, I figured it might have been the fact that you saved my life - that hero crush complex thing, you know? Then I thought it was because you were so… exotic. That beautiful blue fur… Maybe the fact that you’re taller than any kitsune I’ve ever been interested in… Maybe because you’re not from my world… Maybe it’s just your general ambience. You don’t think you’re better than everyone else, like they do…”

“‘They’ being…?”

“Other kitsune. Right now, I don’t know what it is. I look at you, and I can’t help but think about what it would be like to have… to have… damn it anyway…” She closed her eyes, taking a few slow breaths. “Don’t know why it’s so damn hard to say this. I’ve been thinking about you and I… together…”

Jadyn blinked at her a few times, letting what she said sink into his mind and meshing with what he felt for her. “Tari… I don’t know what I can say to that.”

Tari nodded, lifting her gaze to his eyes. “I know. I just… There aren’t words. I want to be near you. I want to be close to you, enjoying your warmth near me just like when I woke up next to you a few days ago. Every time you come into the room, it’s like I feel completed… Kitsune aren’t supposed to get involved with outsiders who know about us, but that’s normally humans… It’s one of our social taboos.”

Jadyn let his thoughts drift, her words in tow. The euphoria from her presence had peaked, carrying his mind along on a wave of endorphins. He found himself considering Terran history, seeking a comparison. “Like it was taboo for the so-called ‘white’ people in your world’s 1800’s to feel anything towards the ‘blacks’? Look at humans today. There are actually quite a few couples like that. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but on the Laitu there were a large number of cross-species couples. It’s not unclean at all. Just different. It seems to be a common Earth notion that ‘different’ is dirty or substandard.”

Then a realization came to him: he had just dug himself a pit, a pit lined with large wooden spikes and starved wolverines.

“It shouldn’t be looked down on, I know… It just seems to happen. I don’t know what they’d think about it if it was an alien… I don’t know what to think either. You just don’t seem all that alien, really. None of my people have ever come across an ET before - at least, none have said anything - and I don’t know how it would be looked at since we’re both foxen. The more I think about it, the less I care what they think about it.” She stood up, dropping her robes to the floor in one smooth motion and kicking them aside. Jadyn swallowed as he watched them land, folded neatly next to his own clothes.

His gaze came back to her body, as she stood before him beside the tub. Her fur covered everything perfectly, just enough detail to tease the eyes but not quite enough to shatter Terran modesty. Not that modesty was on her list of concerns at that moment… He followed her curves upward and stopped at her eyes, finding nothing but desire in the teal pools. Rational thought finally beat back the euphoric glee as she stepped in next to him and sat on his lap, running her fingers through the normally-gray stripe of fur spilling down from his neck.

“Uh… Tari…”

“Don’t you dare try and get out of this. I know you want it as much as I do.” She leaned forward, holding him down with her arms and a bit of magic. He could have shaken the restraint without any effort, but let it be for the moment - there had to be a graceful exit. It was just a matter of finding the right -

“Why have you been shying away from me, anyway?” Tari whispered into his ear, nibbling the edge of it. “T’bia even told me that you were looking at me as much as I’ve been looking at you. Kudos for not letting me catch you doing it.”

“Well…” Jadyn sighed. “It’s difficult for me to explain this, in light of everything you’ve said, but -“

“Damn it, anyway… You don’t see me that way, right? Not in it for the long term? You and every one of the males I’ve met.” Her ears drooped as she slid to the other side of the tub, staring at the wall in frustration. “I don’t get it… I mean, the first guy I had any sort of feelings for was a complete jerk after I got to know him. Everyone else after that has turned me down when I’ve asked… White kitsune are typically more rare than others, but with my own people since I’m part mortal… I’m an outcast, in some of their circles…”

Okay, we resolve this now. “Tarioshi, you are one of the most beautiful fems I have met in my life. The first time I saw you in the form you’re in now, I had a flash of fear… On an inner level I thought I was finally dead. Other than a few small differences - very few - you look exactly like the image of the Goddess my people worshipped… I mean, think about it. What would you do if a deity was sitting on you when you woke up?”

“I’m partly a spirit already…”

Jadyn nodded. “Bad example. What if… What if… Ah, to the Void with it. When I realized you weren’t an apparition or a hallucination, I was a lot more at ease… And, after you’d been with us a few days, I wanted to ask you if you had anyone else you cared for…”

She looked up at him slowly. “So why didn’t you?”

He twitched his whiskers slightly. “Simplest way to explain is that you have a ‘do not open’ label.”

Tari blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“Well, I get these… these feelings, that usually turn out right… They’ve led me astray from time to time, but not listening is usually bad mojo. I don’t know how to explain them, because it’s not quite a premonition, and it’s more than a simple feeling. Something pushed me to accept this Earth study. Something pushed me to abandon rational thought, go walking in a blizzard, and accept a ride from a stranger. Something pushed me to get off that semi at the intersection near where I found you in that trap. Something kept nagging me that you couldn’t be taken away from Terra at the moment I had to decide whether to abandon you or bring you along for medical care. Morally, I couldn’t just leave you there, so it shifted when I brought you up anyway, insisting that you go back after you were healed. The only way I could silence that one was promising myself that I’d take you back there after a year. The feeling submitted to that, but didn’t leave. It’s still there, yelling at me occasionally to remind me that this is temporary. I don’t know why it happens, but it does, and things tend to turn out better when I listen.”

“So… That’s why you don’t want to get involved with me?”

“Light, it’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t. Every time I think about you and I, these alarms go off in my subconscious ordering me to stay away. The only thing I can think of that might do it is that there’s someone better for you out there… Someone who will likely be able to give you more love and caring than I ever could with my bouncing around space doing the weird and dangerous stuff I keep doing.” He slid to her side and took her hands gently into his. “If it weren’t for that, I’d ask you to stay with me in less than a heartbeat.”

Her fur had long since lost any trace of fluffiness in the humidity of the tub, but she still looked beautiful as she spoke. “I can’t say I really understand, Jay… Does T’bia know about this?”

He nodded slowly. “She’s seen it at work before. We’ve… I really don’t want to get into the past occurrences of it right now. Ignoring it… The consequences weren’t pretty, to say the least. I can’t begin to guess what would happen if I ignored it altogether this time. It could be a minor consequence, or it may not be. The only thing I’m certain of is that it’s telling me you’re meant to meet someone else. I can’t say who, or when, or why them and not me… But it’s someone you apparently need to meet.”

Tari closed her eyes, sitting silently for a few minutes. “Well then…” she finally spoke, squeezing his hands. “What would your little security system say to just exploring what we do have, or what we could possibly have if you weren’t being yelled at by your inner demons? I mean, if there’s someone else for me out there, great, fine, dandy. They aren’t here right now.” She smiled gently; he felt a tail brush against his legs under the water. “You are. If our relationship is destined to have a time clock, so be it… There was no rule at the outset that we agreed to saying how we could or couldn’t spend our time together.”

Jadyn sighed, considering her argument and ignoring her tail. Presenting her line of thought and adding the firm resolution that she would go back to Terra no matter what resulted in complete cessation of the alarm. It was still out there, somewhere, serving as a reminder; the constant nag was no more.

“I do wish I knew what that… thing taps into. Maybe I’ve got a psychic symbiont or something.”

“Survey says?”

“If you want to see what comes of the two of us I don’t think there’s a problem… No matter what happens between us, you have to go back to Terra when Bee tells us it’s time for you to go. There is no discussion on that point. You have to be given the opportunity to meet whoever this other person is. Okay?”

“I’ll consider that a fair warning.” She smiled, hopping back onto his lap and pinning him against the wall of the tub. “Here’s fair warning for you, my blue plush birthday fox. You still need to get washed, and I intend to do it.”

“I hope you’re planning on using soap - Err, birthday fox?”

“It’s January fifth.”

Jadyn shook his head. “I don’t understand? My birthday was months ago -“

“Bee and I talked before we got here… Apparently, the day you were born on your homeworld coincides with January fifth on Earth. Therefore, today is your birthday, and I fully intend to give you a suitable present.”

A day off

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:23:24 GMT

Been working a lot of Sundays as of late, trying to get things done before the snow is piled up in front of my door. Today though, I’m a hundred miles from home, with nothing precise to accomplish. Lunch will at some point be on the agenda, but until then:

Flashpoint - minor language bits. I think I also added some small hints about the growing emotional connection between Jadyn and Tari to this or Intentions, that will be much better explained later on. (Yes, I’ve actually started planning ahead. Shocked me, too)

Intentions - minor language bits, a significant tidbit added near the beginning regarding the attack on the Serin. It also would appear that January 5th is Jadyn’s Terran birthday. I’ll have to fix my spreadsheet (which would also require installing the application) but as far as I can remember that particular calendar date lines up with his Val’Traxan birthday only on the actual day of his birth.

Dissemination - language bits. A little bit of exposition involving alien anatomy. I’ve for a long time grappled with how much sexual content to show in my works. I’ve written quite a fair amount of erotic content (again, keep in mind, when I first started writing I was a teenager with raging hormones and this was my outlet ^_^ ) but I’ve never posted it for a variety of reasons:

My old hosting provider may not have appreciated that sort of content. I don’t believe the current one would care, so this is sort of a write-off.
At the time, I was underage. Probably not a good idea to post that sort of content when I’m 15. Again, no longer an issue. Long since no longer an issue… Christ, I’m going to be 30 in another month and a half.
People I actually know may read this and I’m not entirely sure how that makes me feel.
People I don’t actually know may read this, and I’m not entirely sure how that makes me feel, either.

All in all there’s a lot of erotic literature out there on the internet, some of it VERY well written (sex comes secondary to the story, or is intertwined with it in such a way as to not detract from the story) and some of it not so well done. All in all, sex is an important part of human nature, regardless of how we try to hide it. I’m just not sure where I personally should draw the line in the sand. The idea ‘if you can’t show it to your mother, you shouldn’t show anyone’ may be fitting, but as she hasn’t seen most of this work in over 10 years I’m not really following that rule either.

By the way, if anyone would find it convenient, I can post links to the text-only versions of what I’ve already put up. I’ve stopped littering my internal documents with HTML markup for formatting and am purely using Markdown. It’s easier to read without <i>Formatting Codes</i> scattered all over the place.

Flashpoint

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:04:26 GMT

Jadyn E. Tzeki, personal journal. Whatever the date is. Have to fill it in later. EDIT-TBIA: It’s 10 Desca, 2765, you lazy bum.

It’s been five days since we left the Sol system. We’ve been watching Tarioshi carefully for any signs of stress or unease on her first interstellar trip. Days like this can be long and uncomfortable, simply for lack of things to do and close quarters to everyone else on board. I see nothing but curiosity and excitement at what lies ahead. T’bia’s shown her how to run the various simulations on file. She seems to be enjoying my meditation sims - in particular, the Flashpoint tunnel mockup set to music.

It’s good that she’s partially occupied - gives me time to wonder what the Void I was thinking in allowing her to come along. She’s of a culture that hasn’t been exposed to outside influence - correction: off-world influence. Her culture being all of Terra, of course… Not simply the Kitsune race. It’s too late to kick myself now. She’s here, and that’s that. It’s definitely a relief that she is enjoying herself.

We’re in the process of compiling our final report using the various data we’ve collected, both from T’bia’s Internet download and my ‘field’ research. Tari has been very interested in what we’ve collected. I’ve been describing my time hitchhiking and interviewing people; she finds it hilarious that I was so ‘truthful’ in my deceit. Simply telling people to regard me as an alien and describe their culture as though I were unfamiliar with it… And also, what would people think of meeting an alien? What did they think they looked like? Et cetera, et cetera. It was fun at first, but after while it became more and more redundant. But one way or another, it had to be done.

Tari really is a wonderful fem, though. She’s a very special and gifted lady… The information I’ve pulled up about her people, the Kitsune, is vague at best and downright misleading and misdirecting at worst. I can’t say I expected more; they are, of course, shrouded in myth and legend for a reason. I’m hoping she can clarify what’s fiction and what’s fact if she’s allowed to give the details to outsiders. There’s no real hurry, of course. She’ll be here for a while.

I can’t help but think about what it would be like to settle down with someone who’ll be around for the next several centuries. Someone who can understand what I have to live with - going on, watching entropy take friends and loved ones… I’m certain even she’s subject to it, eventually, but she gets more time here than others…

… Damn it. There it is again.

A new warning has cropped up in my mind, now… Every time I think about myself and Tari, in the terms of more than what classifies in this area as friendship, I get the vibe that she’s got a ‘hands off’ sticker of some sort. I don’t quite understand it yet, but it reinforces my earlier alarm of taking her from Terra. Before, it could have been for any reason. Now, with this warning… Someone else is out there for her, someone she needs to meet for one reason or another, and this particular person is on Terra. Somewhere.

The strangest thing, though.. She may have a proximity alarm in my head, but every time I’m in the same room with her this peculiar euphoria bubbles up that I can’t explain. It doesn’t feel like an emotional thing… It reminds me more of hypoxia, oxygen starvation, but it’s so brief… I’m really at a loss about that. Bee says she doesn’t see a thing wrong with me.

Nine days left to Veloria. We should be back within the safety of Aligned space this afternoon.

Jadyn circled past the center of the mat, never removing his eyes from those of his opponent. Candlelight flashed off the blade of his sword as he padded along the edge of the circle, judging his opponent. The cat tapped his own blade with Jadyn’s, testing him. Teasing him. Taunting.

The indigo fox stopped his appraisal, gliding smoothly into an intermediate stance. The cat misinterpreted the move and made a defensive attack; the slash was easily blocked. They exchanged test blows for a time, getting a better idea of each other, then the competition turned into an all-out festival of metal on metal. Blades clashed. Legs and arms flailed as one fighter or the other moved out of the way of a deadly motion. Fists, feet, and tails swung, making blows where swords failed.

Jadyn ducked past a slash that could have easily taken more than a little off the top and kicked the cat’s feet out from under him. The feline’s sword went flying to the side, sticking in the wall, but the cat didn’t fetch it. Leaving the mats would result in a disqualification. Instead, he hopped upright, baring his teeth and claws for replacement weapons. Jadyn took a few steps back, not looking away for even a second. The cat crouched down, glaring at him with a frenzy only matched by that of a berserker tasting blood. He tensed up like a bedspring, leaping with a feral scream.

Too easy, Jadyn thought, falling to his back. As the cat passed overhead, Jadyn thrust his sword upwards into flesh and felt the grip yank free from his hands, earning scratches over his face in the process. The cat landed in a heap a few feet away, disappearing into the air and leaving the blade to fall to the ground.

He stared at his sword for several seconds, then carefully stood up and brushed off his training uniform. Opening his hand towards the blade, it righted itself and floated gently into his grip.

“Aerin, end training program. Put on some normal light, please.” The scene faded away, leaving him standing in the middle of the gym. Picking a rag up off the corner table he wiped his face lightly, noting the crimson on the cloth. “Bah… I’m rusty.”

“Not too bad. I think I could take you, though.”

Jadyn’s ears flicked back at the kitsune’s voice. “How much did you see?”

“Oh, just a few minutes worth. Enough to see that you’re pretty good against a hologram.” Tarioshi padded up next to him, examining his face. “Why do you have it set up for this? T’bia said there’s safeties to keep from hurting people.”

“An opponent who can’t hurt you is no challenge. I get sloppy otherwise… And then this happens. I heal fast, anyway.”

“For someone with no apparent healing gifts, I have to wonder how you do it.”

“I charm the wounds.” He picked up a clean cloth and lightly polished the meter-long blade of his sword. She glanced at the weapon curiously.

“That isn’t holographic?”

“No, it’s the real thing. I don’t practice with a reproduction in my hand. No offense to the system, but I like mine.” From somewhere above them sounded a disdainful snort. He smiled, passing the blade to Tari carefully. She ran her fingers along the edge, eyebrows raising as she studied the craftsmanship.

“Beautiful engraving… Sharp to boot. A little lightweight for the size, but good… Almost seems like it should be a show piece instead of one for use in a fight.” She slipped her hands to the grip, stepping into the empty center of the room and swinging the sword around a few times. He could tell she was no stranger to a decent blade, just by watching her work with it. “This thing is incredible… It feels like it’s an extension of my arms. You can’t possibly balance at the same point I do?”

“Probably not, no.” He grinned, leaning against the wall as she tested the sword. Out of nowhere a training dummy appeared for her to work against. “It’s called a ktsi. This is one of three weapons that were said to have been forged by the Spirit of War Himself. The three respond better to someone attuned to the Art, but anyone can effectively use them so long as the current owner physically hands the sword over, or the sword takes a liking to the new wielder.”

“How do you mean?”

“If this sword doesn’t like someone, for whatever reason, they get a rather uncomfortable wake-up call.” He pointed at the glowing blue gemstone embedded in the base of the blade. “The gem there is known as the Eye of the Light… If the ktsi is simply tolerating you because you were handed it, the Eye just looks like any other gem. That glow it’s got, right now, lighting it from the inside… It likes you. Void, as bright as that is, it likes you a lot. Even if I’m not around it’d let you use it, probably even come right to you if you called for it.”

“There were three like this?” she asked, taking a series of quick swipes at the dummy. Half a dozen pieces scattered across the floor, vanishing with a pop. A new dummy appeared out of the remains of the old.

Jadyn nodded, watching Tari spin around the target and remove its ‘head.’ Where it landed, a new dummy appeared. “Not all three were swords - one was a staff, a xiyndan. They were kept in the hands of three highly respected families as a symbolic gesture to maintain the peace. It didn’t help with orbital bombardment, but we hadn’t had a war among ourselves for well over twelve centuries before that point. A few minor political squabbles here and there, sure… But no bloodshed.”

“Must have worked…” She studied the grip, then padded over and offered the blade back. “Where are the other two weapons?”

“Don’t know. I couldn’t find them. This was my father’s blade to keep safe, and that’s probably the only reason I was able to find it - it wanted me to, as the last surviving member of the bloodline.” He put the ktsi back in its sheath, hanging it carefully on the wall. “I’m guessing the others were lost deep in the rubble or someone else was meant to find them.”

“You haven’t talked much about your home… Keeps sounding like it’s gone. What happened?”

Jadyn exhaled, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. “The super-short version of the story: We refused to open trade agreements with a war-inclined race. They took us out.” A frown spread on his muzzle as he took a seat on the mats. “The full edition takes some time to tell.”

“If you’re willing to share, I’d like to hear about it.”

He nodded, and was just opening his mouth to begin when a sharp jolt rocked the ship. Tari fell down, yelping as she landed on her tails; Jadyn pulled her to her feet before running to the door. “T’bia! What in the Goddess’ name was that?”

“We’re being shot at. I’ve had the cloak offline for all of thirty seconds… They came out of nowhere. No idea how they dodged our sensors.”

“Drop to sublight and come about.” He dashed up the corridor, hearing the kitsune following close behind.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“Pirates, I’d wager. Bee - Can you recloak?”

“Not yet. It’ll take at least two minutes to bring it back up after that volley of proton charges.”

“They polarized the hull…? How could they know that’d work…?”

The cockpit doors stood open, waiting for their arrival. T’bia had commandeered the helm controls; Jadyn took the seat opposite hers, pulling up tactical displays. The ship didn’t have much for weaponry, but the little they’d installed packed a punch. “Tari, strap yourself into one of those other chairs. This won’t be nearly as fun as those holographic rides you’ve been on. What do we have out there?”

“Three ships, all on attack vectors. They’re coming around for a second pass.”

“Configuration?”

“They’re similar… no, identical to what attacked us the first time. The exact same three. They still have the same blast patterns we left on their hulls.”

“They’re about to become very unlike what we fled last year. Shut down the holographic imaging systems and route the power to defenses.”

Her avatar vanished. “Done. They’re coming into weapons range.”

“Communications open. Unidentified vessels, you are breaking Aligned treaties by continuing this course of action. Break off now and power down your weapons. Perhaps we can settle this over a cup of tea?”

Another round of fire assaulted the ship. Tari screamed as a console exploded, spraying debris all over the cockpit; Jadyn hung onto the controls and fired back as the ship bucked under the force of the impact.

“Apparently they don’t like tea,” T’bia quipped. “Whatever they smacked us with there hurt. Massive power surges all over the ship. If we take another hit like that, we’re going to have a huge portion of our systems offline.”

“They’re trying to disable us… How’d they get through the shields - No. I’m fed up with these idiots. I’d rather not get into an extended firefight after the mess they caused us last time… What kind of shock wave could we produce if we opened a Flashpoint and then collapsed the field?” he asked.

“It’d probably take us with it.”

“How about sealing them inside it? Highly doubt those three ships have the force needed to punch their way out of a closed wormhole.”

“Works for me. I’ll fake our path and hope they ‘follow’ us in. The trio is behind us and closing. Cloak array is back online.”

“Okay. Flashpoint startup.” Jadyn punched in a series of commands and watched as a pulse of energy left the ship, blossoming into a fissure of space-time several hundred kilometers before them. It took mere seconds for the event horizon to stabilize, leaving a bright, prismatic cavern in the center of the rift. He ignored the beauty completely for the first time in his life as the wormhole’s maw hung before them, waiting.

The pilot controls beeped quietly as the AI operated them from within. “Laying in first course and engaging. Programming second course…”

Jadyn felt the deck shudder as the gravity of the rift caught them and began to pull them in. “Activating cloak… Now.”

“Engaging course two.” The rift slid from the center of their view as the ship shook off the gravity well. Jadyn wondered for a half-second where T’bia was planning on moving the ship. He studied the sensor readouts, watching the trio of pirate raiders stop short of the wormhole’s event horizon.

They sat in silence, waiting for what seemed like millennia in their blue-green darkness. Finally, the lead ship moved towards the wormhole while the other two turned back several hundred kilometers. The tactical readout chirped a warning as a new echo appeared on the scans. Jadyn studied the readouts, then ran over them again.

“Bee? If they detonate a mine in the event horizon, we’re going to have a large problem in short order.”

“Tarisali’s tails!” the AI cursed. “Laying in escape course -”

“If we take off now, they might detect our Displacement wake. We have to wait.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, kids.”

“Jay…? T’bia…? How bad are we talking here?”

“It’s enough of a blast to vaporize most of your solar system’s inner planets. There’s no way they’ll make it out alive. The leading shockwave travels faster than light because it’s not traveling through normal space, just extending into it. Most forms of FTL in the area are useless for weeks afterward…” He stared at the screen, and added in a whisper, “We’ve never had to outrun anything like this…”

Tari swallowed hard enough so that even he could hear it. “I should have stayed in bed today…”

“Better than full Displacement ready, Jay. Here’s hoping the core can handle it.”

Jadyn bowed his head in brief prayer. “May the Spirits show mercy. Bee… Your show.”

Dead silence occupied the cockpit for ten full seconds before T’bia gave the word. “The lead ship is targeting the mine. One torpedo away. Five seconds to impact. Routing maximum power to engines. Displacement… Now.”

Every light, every console readout, everything in sight instantly went blank as power was routed back to the core. Jadyn swore he could feel the very fabric of reality ripple around them with the amount of energy that the engines had suddenly been given to play with. In all their travels, they had never pushed the engines past fifty percent of their ratings. There had been no need, no reason to stress things. Full Displacement power was simply asking for trouble. Boosting the inputs past the normal ‘full’ was just ludicrous. And yet, ludicrous speeds were now what they needed to soak out of the ship.

You just had to tweak everything, dad… Thanks.

The window filled with blinding light before it shielded them from the exposure, the ship’s biohull forming into one giant mass of bulkhead in front of them. The Serin lurched uncomfortably as untold forces hurled the craft well past its rated maximum velocity, something the inertial dampening system couldn’t completely cover for. The entire endoskeletal frame shuddered with the massive push propelling the ship. Seconds ticked by, every one feeling like an hour.

T’bia finally broke the deafening silence as the forces lessened. “Reducing power to twenty percent for engine cool down… We’re clear of the shockwave and the FTL distortion wave. By the time anything reaches us it’ll be little more than flatulence. I’m… pleasantly surprised… I figured… Well, nevermind what I figured…”

Jadyn realized he was holding his breath and let it out in a long, slow whistle. “What was in the area where it went through?”

“Nothing but debris, us, and those other ships. Maybe a couple of sensor drones. We’re at the very edge of Aligned territory.”

He nodded, running his hand appreciatively over the panel in front of him. “I’d like to never do that again… What I want to know… How did they know we would be going through there? We didn’t broadcast our flight plan, did we?”

“No.” T’bia’s avatar reappeared in the pilot’s chair; consoles resumed displaying information as she ran system checks. “You delivered it by hand. The plans for coming and going were along different routes and randomized so no one could trace where we’d been. This wasn’t the same place they attacked us last time, either. This time, they attacked at the very point we were scheduled to drop cloak and check in with the nearest listening post.”

“Makes zero sense… Twice they’ve known right where we’d be, and when… How could they know unless someone… Someone leaked it. I’ll kill him.”

“Who?”

“T’zran,” he growled. “That son of a -“

“Calm down, Jay. We’ve got no proof.”

“No proof? He had full access to the plans. He contacted us, breaking comm silence, just to ask when we were leaving. I should have known better than to tell him the truth… We’re making a course change. Cloak status?”

“Ready on your call.”

“Get us to Donami. Whatever speed you think we can handle, use it. It’s high time I called in a favor or two.”

The lights faded once again, leaving them bathed in the backlighting. A second later a slight tremor swept over the ship as T’bia pushed the craft back above the light barrier on its new course. He wondered if they had hurt the engine core at all.

Jadyn stood up slowly, turning to look at Tari. She was huddled up in her chair, tails bristled, ears laid back, completely oblivious to everything. He reached out carefully and touched her shoulder; she barked and recoiled in fear. Only the seat harness kept her from falling to the floor. All his anger vaporized instantly. He quietly chastised himself for not checking on her first.

“Tari… It’s over… We’re all right.”

She whimpered plaintively, head tucked down, eyes clamped shut.

“Uh, Bee… Can we spare enough for a site to site transport for two?”

“Yeah. Yours or hers?”

“Hers.”

The transporter cycled, depositing them in Tari’s room. Jadyn knelt beside her bed, stroking the kitsune’s head lightly. Free of the seat’s harness, she had curled up into a fetal position, still shivering.

“Talk to me, Tari… Please…”

A few quiet cries escaped her throat. Something about not wanting to die before she dropped into Japanese… He reached out, running his fingers through her hair slowly.

“It’s alright… You’re safe here…”

Her quiet, restrained tears suddenly burst into heaving sobs into her quilt. She didn’t even seem to notice he was there, but in the back of his mind he knew it was better to be with her and not be noticed than to be noticed missing. He slid his hands down to her shoulders in a smooth motion, rubbing gently to try and calm her down.

“That’s right… let it out…” he cooed to her, feeling her sobs lessen. It was another ten minutes before she was still and only then because she had fallen asleep. He sat beside her silently, watching her light breathing. His thoughts swirled, wishing for things that couldn’t be.

Why not? he asked himself. Why not dump that little premonition thing and do what you know feels right this time?

The answer presented itself as a short but utterly descriptive memory: the last time that he had ignored the vibe - the only time, as far as he could recall - had resulted in the deaths of over a dozen innocents. The event in question hadn’t been a relationship, but the unmistakable warning sensation had been there. It just didn’t pay to not listen.

There was a definite difference this time, though. The past had been a mere sensation, a small tug to move his decision one way or another. This… This was much larger. The more he studied the sensations, the more absolute it seemed - something in the years ahead depended on this vixen meeting someone else. She had a destiny, and it wasn’t to be with him.

Jadyn sighed, easing away from the kitsune and standing up. He watched her for a few more minutes before turning around quietly to leave. T’bia was standing in the doorway, shaking her head.

What? he mouthed.

A small screen popped up next to her, providing subtitles in her own silence. How would you feel if you cried yourself to sleep next to someone, then woke up later to find yourself alone?

He grimaced. She had a point.

I’ll come and get you if anything comes up. She needs you. Get some rest.

The embrace of slumber was slow to lift from the kitsune’s mind. Images from her dreams blurred together with input from her senses. For a moment she wasn’t sure where she was - Japan, America, in a snow bank - completely lost? Conscious perceptions slowly replaced her fading subconscious imagery. Before long she realized she was back in her quarters on the spaceship.

How did I get here?

Tari thought back to the previous night. The ship had been attacked. They had opened some sort of… thing in space. A wormhole… No, what had they called it? A flash point? The other ships had done something to it… After that there was nothing except terror. She shuddered at the fear her memory recalled and pushed it to the back of her mind. How Jadyn and T’bia could live with that sort of thing on a routine basis and not completely lose their minds -

She suddenly realized that there was a warm body lying next to her on her bed. Rolling over slowly, she watched the blue fox as he slept. His face was different; no concentration, no pain, no hiding whatever thoughts he didn’t feel he could share… Almost all the time he had been open with her, sometimes almost uncomfortably so, but certain things caused him to abruptly change the subject. Even that - changing the subject - had sometimes been done with such grace and finesse she hadn’t always realized he had done anything.

Now, though… He was completely relaxed, dreaming whatever he was dreaming. Tari ran her fingers along his muzzle lightly, caressing the short fur that covered it. His whiskers twitched at her touch but he didn’t stir from his sleep.

I wonder how much I don’t remember… What happened last night?

She looked down at Jadyn’s body, noting he was still wearing the fencing uniform. Parts of the cloth had been charred, a few holes burnt through the fabric. Her own clothes were still in place, so whatever had occurred hadn’t been anything she really wouldn’t have wanted to miss.

Gently, she moved closer to his chest, cuddling against him and enjoying his warmth as he slept. It had been a long time since she had been able to enjoy even the simple pleasure of being close to someone. Very seldom had she been able to be in her true form around others, and never like this. It was a refreshing change that she didn’t have to worry who saw her as she truly was. Jadyn was as close as someone could really get to appearing like herself without being a fellow kitsune.

She studied his face quietly, fingers brushing over his whiskers and tracing the contour of his muzzle. He was rather handsome - and somewhat exotic, too, blue furred and all. She silently wished he would make some sort of move. Her own interests in him should have been as obvious as the attack on the ship, but he acted like he didn’t notice. It had been less than a week since they’d met - or was it more? Time was so hard to keep track of with no real day or night. Still, she felt drawn to him, somehow. Every time he was in the room, she felt refreshed, energized… And his evasiveness was only piquing her interest, the huntress and her prey…

At least a half an hour passed before he stirred, moving his arms smoothly around her as he stretched. Rubbing his eyes, he blinked as he saw her face so close to his own, and smiled sleepily at her. “You look better this morning. How do you feel?”

“I’m cuddled up next to a comfortable blue faux-pillow and I feel completely rested. I’d say I feel pretty good. What about you?”

“Well, I can’t argue with what I do find.” He smirked, shaking his head. “Do you even remember what happened?”

Tari sighed. “Not past running very fast from things that went boom.”

“You were completely incoherent after that. We had to transport you down here. I was afraid you’d hurt yourself if I tried to pick you up.”

“Really?”

He nodded solemnly. “I didn’t know what else to do except let you get it out and wait with you. I wasn’t sure if I should stay with you through the night, but I really didn’t want to leave you alone after that.”

“It was sweet of you to stay, Jay… Thanks.” She nuzzled his cheek - kissing only worked well in a human form - then slid out of bed. Stepping to her bathroom slowly, she paused. “I think I’m going to take a shower quick -“

“Alright. I’ll give you some privacy.” He smiled and left her room before she could object to his departure. She leaned against the entry to the bathroom, shaking her head as the doors closed behind the fox.

Would you like to help scrub my back?

Høstfest

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:56:24 GMT

The last day of the annual Norsk Høstfest is upon us. Ray Stevens performs tonight and it should be a good show. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t spend a couple of days at the festival; I used to volunteer and work the front gate before I changed careers. Before that, in my final years of high school, the home-ec department ran a dinner booth out there I worked at. It was always great to see the wide range of people coming through from all over the world. “Hi, where are you from?”

This will be the first time I’ve been there in probably five years. I’m looking forward to it.

Fiction Almost-Friday: Lunar Picnic

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:07:56 GMT

As noted in an edit on the previous entry: Lunar Picnic is present and accounted for.

Changes: Minor language usage, slightly more detail involving Bee’s ‘vandalism’ of an Apollo landing site. Also threw in a random reference to the fact the Earth wouldn’t rise on the horizon like the moon does from out point of view. Dropped the stuff about the asteroid belt because the stated time would imply they were already above lightspeed, among other reasons.

Lunar Picnic

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:03:41 GMT

Tari yawned off her slumber, stretching out carefully and glancing around the hazy blue-green darkness of her cabin. She quickly realized she’d fallen asleep during the massage - Jadyn was nowhere in sight. The backlighting had been turned down and she wasn’t certain of the time. Frustration crept into her mind - she hadn’t wanted to fall asleep, but the massage had felt so good…

“What time is it?” she called out, sitting up.

“Fatal error: unable to properly translate to Terran reference without a Terran time zone reference. Time is presently 0204 hours GMT, TS,” Aerin replied.

“Oops,” T’bia muttered. “Oversight on Jay’s part. I’ll tweak that to the time where you were at. Uh… GMT minus six would make it 2004 hours down there.”

“Eight PM? We must be getting onto a different schedule… May as well start giving it to me in whatever you guys use.”

“Can do. Technically, we’d be observing early morning right now, but Jay’s going to take a day or two more to break in.”

“So how long was I asleep this time?”

“Thirteen hours,” T’bia chimed. “And yes, that’s Terran hours.”

“Thirteen HOURS?”

“There an echo in here?”

“I wasn’t that dead, was I?”

“Apparently.”

Tari flopped back on the bed, shaking her head in amazement. “And somehow, I still feel tired… Where’s Jadyn at?”

“Sleeping. Been out for about six. I made him put the ship back together after we got done with the last bit of testing. Not because I couldn’t, but because I didn’t want to.”

“When did he sneak out?”

“About half an hour after you fell asleep. He finished his TLC before he realized you were out. I think he enjoyed it as much as you, to be honest. He wouldn’t admit it but I know he’s really missed having someone that enjoys a good backrub.”

“If he wants practice, I’ll accept any day of the week.” Tari grinned, crawling off her bed. “How’d the project turn out?”

“It’s working better than it ever has. With the modifications we made to the engine core and the shields to make up for the norm before, we’re now missing from our own scans. We both owe you.”

“Well, I’ve got to pay rent somehow. I don’t know enough yet to be of any real help anywhere else.”

“You’ll adapt. If all else I’ll give you a primer on ship systems. We can’t have you going around without a basic education, right?”

“That’d be great.” She stepped over to the mirror, glancing up as the ceiling directly above her head brought itself on to a dim level of illumination. Turning her attentions back to her reflection she clicked her tongue a few times in appraisal. The garb she had donned after the workout gear still covered her body - a simple green cotton halter top and green denim shorts equipped with a tail-hole. Having clothing that came ready for her tails was both an unusual and welcome change. Her hair was presentable, but slightly resembled a case of bedhead. The rest of her fur wasn’t much better, flattened and mussed from her sleep. “I don’t suppose there’s a brush around here anywhere?”

“Err… Forgot to place one, sorry. Have a preference as to a type? Nylon, boar-bristle, otherwise? I’ll eject one out of the replicator. Try to duck.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it - I’ll just cover it up for now. I really don’t feel like taking the time to do it right, anyway.” Stretching out her arms, she summoned her blue silk robes. They were one of her favorite sets, the same she’d worn when she first revealed herself to Jadyn: a golden and silver dragon embroidered into the fabric, its body curling all the way around her torso and ending in a second head, facing the first. A simple slit ran up the back to allow room for her tails and fastened at the bottom to keep the halves from drifting apart too far. A clasp at the neck fastened itself for her as she dropped her arms.

“Very nice,” T’bia complimented. “I really hate to plagiarize, but I do like that robe enough to tempt me to do so…”

“You’re welcome to it. Maybe a different color scheme?”

“Hum… I’ll have to tinker. Thanks for the thought.”

Tari smiled, padding back to the bed and sitting down. For some reason, the small table and the pair of chairs previously flanking the table were missing. “So, what’s the plan for the day?”

“Not much. We’ll be parked here for another day at the least. Ship-wide, everything is in a low-power state while the hull soaks up sunlight and the other organic components go through a deep regeneration phase. They’ve missed out on getting lighter daily and weekly regens since the controls were funky for months. Different things take different times for a regen cycle, so as the day progresses we’ll get more and more things back. Overhead lighting is going to be down the longest. Holographic emitters come in at a close second, which inconveniently removes most of the tables and chairs for a while.”

“Was wondering where those went. How much stuff around here is holographic?”

“Lots,” T’bia confirmed. “Tables, chairs, decor, all sorts of other mundane stuff. I’m on low-power as well… Running entirely off of one processing node I’m sharing with Aerin - under protest - while the rest regenerate. Here I am, a brain the size of a solar system, and I’m reduced to swapping CPU time with an inferior autonomous program… Ugh.”

“So no sparring this morning, I take it?”

“We could, though I’d likely be overprotective of my ‘Achilles wrist.’” T’bia snickered. “Going to pop the avatar onto my bracelet shortly. So, let’s see… What’s there to do in low-power mode… Ooooh! Excellent, though I’ll have to wait for Jay to wake up and accept to my terms.”

“For what?”

“Can’t say. Don’t want to ruin the surprise any further than you knowing I might have a surprise for you in a couple more hours. Instead, allow me distract you with tomorrow’s schedule of events. We’ll be leaving Terran space in the morning, en route to Veloria’s orbital spacedock for check-in. I’ll make sure you’re awake for the FTL transition, at the very least.”

“FTL?”

“Faster-than-light. Crossing the light barrier with our engine is all pretty and sparkly and stuff. After that, the rest of the day and the next several are pretty open on how you want to pass the time since we’ll have full power available again. On days like this, Jadyn usually does some writing in his journal or listens to music… Sometimes during transit he fences with one of the holographic opponents to keep himself in shape, or with me if he wants to lose. I don’t have an obvious need to relax, but I enjoy it anyway.”

“Er, wait…” Tari shook her head, slightly confused. “How do you relax?”

A giggle reached the kitsune’s ears. “Odd thought, no? A program - by definition, a machine that never needs to cease work - that likes to relax… I can shut down most of my cognitive functions, disable the sensor inputs from the rest of the ship… Leaves all my processing power to idle. It’s hard to explain, having no physical basis to judge it by. It’s a little different than what I’m at under the current regeneration protocols, though.”

“I think you’ve got the gist of it. Anything you can suggest for me to do right now?”

The AI hesitated for a brief second. “Well, we’ve got music available, games, books, all sorts of things. If we don’t have something on hand it can be created in pretty short notice. I downloaded a lot of things from Terra’s so-called ‘Internet’ as well, so there’s all that… Might be able to get current news feeds if you follow that sort of thing. I do recommend a large amount of exercise over the next couple of weeks… You need to get used to this higher gravity. It’s still wearing you out by the end of the day.”

“Eh… I just woke up, don’t feel like working myself up to a stink quite yet. Though I have to say, the shower after yesterday’s workout was probably one of the best I’ve ever had.”

“I take it there aren’t many on Terra, if any, that can handle a full pelt properly.”

“Not really. Drainage clogs are a pain, and the lone showerhead usually doesn’t have enough pressure. That shower stall is like standing in a hurricane.” There had been extra jets not only overhead, but in each of the walls and a couple in the floor. “Any other ideas?”

“Breakfast, perhaps. If you’re hungry?”

Tari’s stomach growled on her behalf. The two burst into laughter.

“Light, it can’t be morning already,” Jadyn groaned. “Is it?”

“Well, if we’re going to get you back on the right schedule, yes.” T’bia grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet. “Come on, get that blood pumping.”

“Easy for you to say.” The fox stretched his arms over his head, making pleasant sounds to himself as he felt his muscles pull. “Mmm… Tari up yet?”

“About an hour ago.”

“Huh, okay. She really must be a creature of the morning… Always seems to be up early.” He padded to his closet, glancing through the contents and pulling out a pair of patterned steelsilk pants. Purple dots of varied sizes and shapes shimmered on a black background. “Hmm…”

“Aha.”

“What?” Jadyn asked, putting the pants away and snagging his plain black pair.

“You’re doing it too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

T’bia grinned. “If you don’t know, you’ve got it worse than I thought. Don’t worry, she’s done it too.”

“Done what?”

“Never mind. You’d just deny it. So, I’ve a proposition for you, on this day of downtime…”

“Oh, this should be good. Might explain why you’re on your avatar during regeneration?”

“Hey, the emitter bracelet had a full charge already. Figured I may as well use it so the shipwide arrays could get the rest.” T’bia grinned. “Besides. I’ll need it outside the ship.”

“Out…” Jadyn trailed off, examining the look of mischief in his partner’s eyes. “Bee? Just what shenanigans have you planned for today?”

“A picnic.”

“But you don’t eat.”

“You and Tari do.”

“I already told you -“

“Yes, yes, I know what you said.” T’bia sat down; her avatar apparently thought she’d parked on a chair, though there wasn’t one in her image. He’d never gotten over the absolute weirdness of seeing her do that - at least, not until he’d started doing something similar with the Art. “But hear me out, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll listen. But no promises.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Tari glanced from Jadyn to T’bia and back, slowly shaking her head. “You know, I’m having more and more trouble deciding which one of you two is the crazy one.”

“We alternate days,” T’bia stated matter-of-factly.

“It’s really not as crazy as it sounds,” Jadyn assured her.

“It’s just that… No, I want to make sure I heard you both right. You want to go outside…” Tari pointed to the window, indicating the lunar landscape beyond the glass. “Outside! Where there’s zero atmospheric pressure! And you want to have a picnic?”

“The weather’s good. No chance of rain or wind. And there’ll be no ants! No flies! On a serious note, the shield generators are already back online from their regeneration run,” T’bia explained. “We’ll extend and adjust their protective barrier a little and flood the interior with normal atmospheric pressure. It’ll be a big, safe bubble around the ship. Think of it - you’ll be the first Terran to walk on your moon without any protective gear. We’ll be leaving footprints in the sand that will drive researchers absolutely insane in the years to come.”

“That could be fun,” she mused. “I don’t know…”

“It’ll be a good time,” Jadyn said.

“Mmmph,” Tari grunted, looking out at the lunar soil. “You’re absolutely sure it’s safe? We won’t suffocate or any of that?”

“It’ll be just as safe as standing in here or on Terra proper,” T’bia confirmed. “Besides… What’s a little explosive decompression between friends?”

“I don’t think that’s helping,” Jadyn observed.

“Okay.” Tari nodded. “I’m in.”

“Great!” T’bia exclaimed. “Because I’ve already flooded the shields with atmosphere.”

“You knew I’d say yes?”

“No,” she replied. “We’d have gone out with or without you.”

Standing at the wide-open door of the airlock, Tari gazed out over the open plain. Several hundred feet away, a faint electric-blue glow danced along the ground, highlighting the distant edge of the protective energy barrier. The ship’s immense shadow stretched out over the lunar soil, standing tall in the morning sun. And morning, as she understood it, would last for days.

“Not made of cheese after all…” Tari joked, trying to find some measure of comfort to displace her anxiety.

“Maybe that’s why humans never came back.” Jadyn grinned. “You want one of us to go out first to prove it’s not going to immediately kill you?”

“No… Just… Give me a minute, okay?”

“Take your time.”

Tari nodded to herself, cautiously reaching toward the edge of the airlock. Briefly, she felt resistance against her fingers, as though she’d suddenly tried to reach through a vat of gelatin. They’d said that would happen - ‘a tactile sensation caused by the ship’s atmospheric retention fields’ or something. Basically, it was a warning that going further could be a bad idea.

Hell with it. Taking a breath, she shut her eyes and stepped out of the ship, expecting the worst. The air to be ripped from her lungs, the cold to freeze her flesh, the vacuum to boil the gases dissolved in her blood.

But nothing happened. As far as she knew, she’d just stepped onto any desert on Earth. Except, there were no abrupt changes in gravity on Earth like this. Terra, she corrected herself, remembering Aerin’s patient scolding. The quick adjustment left her dizzy; she knelt down to let her body acclimate to the change, running her fingers through the lunar soil.

“Wow…” Tari gasped, drinking in the view. “This is… I don’t know what this is, but it’s something…”

“Scenic?” Jadyn offered.

“We passed scenic a long time ago.”

He laughed, stepping out of the ship with a large pack slung over a shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he peered at the dark sky overhead. “Bee? What’s the ceiling on this?”

“About two hundred feet at the peak of the dome.” T’bia leapt out of the airlock, coasting easily across the open plain. She clearly had no problems with the shift in gravity, landing with unparalleled finesse just on the edge of the ship’s shadow.

“Like you were born here,” Tari mused.

“Hey, what can I say. I’m graceful no matter what I do.” She promptly tripped over her own feet, falling in slow-motion under the lunar gravity. “I’m okay! You didn’t see that, right? Right…”

“Say? When would the Earth rise on the horizon?”

“It won’t,” T’bia spoke, dusting off her uniform as she stood up. “Your moon turns on its axis once per revolution around the planet. If we were somewhere where it was visible, it’d always be in the same spot in the sky, going through its own set of phases.”

“Ah, right. And the goal was for no one to be able to see the ship from the planet.”

“You haven’t really seen the ship either, have you?” Jadyn queried of Tari, offering his hand and helping her to her feet. “Let’s wander around to the daylight side. Can’t get a good look from here.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going for a walk,” T’bia called to them, promptly taking off in a fast lope. The shields flickered slightly as her avatar passed through their protective boundary. Gliding easily across the landscape, she bounded off into the distance at a breakneck pace. “Back eventually,” her voice called from inside the airlock.

“Where’s she off to?” Tari asked, walking with Jadyn along the right side of the ship toward the bow.

“Who knows. Maybe she’s going to vandalize an Apollo landing site.” Jadyn shrugged. “I really don’t pay all that much attention. She’s just as free to do whatever she wants with her free time as we are. And I want to relax for a while, get a few messages sent off to a couple of places on Terra, and have a nice lunch.”

“Messages?”

“I promised the trucker who dropped me off at the corner that I’d make sure to let him know I made it out of that winter storm alive. Was anyone expecting you anywhere in the next year? You were going to visit friends, you said. Need to send a note off?”

“No, not that I’m aware of. They weren’t expecting me. It was going to be a surprise visit.”

“Okay.”

Tari squinted in the bright sunlight as they rounded the nose of the Serin. Jadyn walked straight away from the port side toward the sunrise -

“Do ‘port’ and ‘starboard’ make sense on a spaceship?” she suddenly asked.

“I don’t see why not. Just a permanent reference to the left and right sides, based upon looking forward at the bow, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, since there’s artificial gravity inside to define an up and down between worlds, and a definite front and rear, only follows that there’d be a defined left and right.”

“What if there wasn’t gravity?”

“Then it’d either be harder to move about, or time for a zero-gee party.”

“I vote party,” T’bia yelled from the distant airlock.

Tari shook her head, smirking.

“This should be far enough. Turn around.”

She did so, her breath escaping her as she saw the ship from the outside for the very first time. The Serin glistened slightly in the sunlight. Unlike the shadowed side they’d emerged from, every surface bathing in the sunshine shimmered a vibrant leaf-green. The texture seemed to shift about itself, the green occasionally darkening to a cerulean blue before brightening back to green.

“You weren’t kidding when you said a three-story house…”

“Two and a half might be more apt. Maintenance deck is more of a basement.”

“The coloring… Why does it keep changing like that?”

“The ship’s organics are very loosely based on plant life, but they can absorb a lot more than just the visible spectrum for power conversion. They’re black when not actively absorbing energy, and they shift between those green and blue shades depending on how much they’re processing into energy. There’s also an ‘overdrive’ version of this energy collection, to super-saturate the hull with energy that can’t be immediately processed to other storage points… Bee tends to turn that on and go sundiving.”

“…Sundiving?”

“Just like it sounds - a low flight over the surface of a star. No idea what color the organics go on that setting… I’d hazard a guess at white or silvery, just to reflect a portion of it back.” Jadyn dropped his pack to the ground, popping latches and tugging the bag open. “Sandwich?”

“Um… Yeah. Please.”

“Tuna, sliced beef, PB-and-J, egg salad, other?”

“Beef.”

Jadyn nodded, lightly lobbing her a plastic-wrapped package. “There’s some various cola products and bottled water in here too. Help yourself.”

To: William Cullington, Cullington Trucking LLC

Subject: Safe and sound on a snowdrift the size of the Moon

William -

As promised, letting you know I survived the storm and the insanity that was walking through it. Hunkered down in an abandoned vehicle for the night. By morning, it was clear. Reminds me - I need to have the plates checked so I can send them cash for repairs. Had to bust a window.

Sorry about the constant ‘religious reasons’ excuse. I do… sensitive work, for a prestigious organization. Occasionally I have to do insane and unsafe things to get my job done.

Again, thanks for the ride. And if any of the ‘steak money’ is left over, invest it as you will. Do consider shooting SETI a little bit. Anonymous is good.

— Jadyn

T’bia charged across the lunar landscape, eyes scanning both the position of the stars and visible landmarks as she bounded across the airless satellite. A slight course correction here, an adjustment there. Somewhere, a function had determined what maximum safe speed she could run before she might accidentally achieve an orbit. At the same moment her avatar sprinted across the lunar surface, another portion of her consciousness closely monitored the regeneration progress of the Serin. Every fractional change of the dozens of AI processing nodes towards ‘done’ gave her cause for joy; the sooner she could get back on her own array, the happier everyone would be.

An interrupt from the ship’s sensor array raised an exception somewhere in the back of her consciousness; she slowed in her run, her eyes focusing into the distance ahead.

There you are, she thought to herself, grinning widely. A final carefully-calculated leap dropped her neatly beside the remains of an antique spacecraft. Vandalize you, will I? Maybe I should have some paint replicated… ‘Bee wuz here’ or ‘aliens 4 life’ or…

Nah. Be enough to leave what I came here to leave.

… If I’d remembered to bring the damn datapad I was planning on leaving here…

Cursing silently in the vacuum, T’bia stomped the ground. The transporter regeneration cycle was nearly complete. A few more minutes at most and she could just beam a pad to herself. A delay was simply a minor annoyance.

“Bee?”

Her attention immediately shifted from her avatar’s location to the comm system. “Sup?”

“Have a link to Terra’s Internet still? I’ve got a few letters here I need mailed.”

“On your pad?”

“Yeah.”

A call to a data accessor later, the contents of his letters were at hand. “Be a little while, but I’ll get them sent.”

“Thanks. What are you up to, by the way?”

“Vandalizing! What possible other reason could I have for coming out here? Whoop, transporters are back online. Go away. I’ve got work to do.”

And she closed the channel with nothing more than a passing thought. She wondered briefly if the simple force of will she used to control the ship was similar to his control of the Art; setting a reminder to ponder the implications, she beamed herself a datapad and started writing a note.

People of Earth, she began, then paused. “Damn, that’s cheesy. Let’s try this again…”

To our cosmic neighbors. “Blah, boring.”

A thousand and fifty-seven openings later, she grimaced, turning back to the comm system. “Jay?”

“Hm?”

“Tari’s in earshot, it looks like… Say I were to leave a letter, addressed to your planet, sitting in the decrepit remains of an antiquity they left here…”

“Bee…” Jadyn scolded.

“What would you expect it to say? Rather, what would you not expect? I’d rather screw with their heads about the existence of alien life than actually provide any meaning.”

“Uhm…” Tarioshi fell silent, apparently thinking. T’bia tried another dozen ideas in the several seconds of quiet, finding them all not to her liking. “You thinking of a Rosetta stone kind of thing?”

“Not exactly - erm… That’s a good idea, actually, leave the same stuff in several languages… But I’m suffering writers block. Need a topic.”

“Grab the absolute worst spacey movie you found on Terra,” Jadyn suggested, “and leave the transcript in several languages with your scalding critique.”

Tari burst out laughing. “Why the worst? Pick any space flick they’ve done and tear apart the special effects and the like and explain exactly how and why they did them wrong!”

“Oh, I love that idea…” T’bia pondered the choices, examining the vast datastore of movies she’d snagged from peer to peer filesharers. “Excellent. I’ve got a nicely recent one to shred.”

“Oh?”

“Independence Day. They did it all wrong. First off, we wouldn’t come and use Terra’s own satellites. Too archaic. We’d blow them up to break their communications infrastructure, then go after utilities, power grids and the like -“

“You’ve given this a lot of thought…” Tari observed quietly.

“Only about seven seconds worth.”

“A veritable eternity,” Jadyn laughed. “How’s the regen going, by the way?”

“We’ll be ready to go by morning at the latest.”

“Go us. Bury the transceiver already?”

“Not yet. I’ll get to it before we go.”

“All right. Hurry up and get back here, would you? I need someone who can beat Tari at chess. She’s schooled me about a dozen times so far. I think she’s cheating.”

“I am not!” Tari protested. “You’re just not paying attention!”

“Now, now, children. I’ll be back in a little bit to supervise.” Turning her attention to the datapad for several minutes, she finished her review of the film, noted a D-minus-minus rating, and translated the whole thing into English, Greek, Japanese, French, and Velorian. As an afterthought, she left a series of wholly random pictographs, hoping to drive whoever was tasked with translating the ‘unknown’ languages out of their minds.

Not that her bare-footed footprints leading to the craft but not away from it wouldn’t have the same effect, but it was the principle of the thing.

Tapping the completed pad against her hand, she peered around the landing site. Simply placing it on some piece of equipment would be fine, presuming human explorers came back to the site to visit. She needed a guarantee, a way to be certain someone would come looking.

The only way to make sure is if they happen to be alerted somehow that there was something here of interest… So! Let’s paint a big target on it.

Popping into the pad’s operating system, she quickly rewrote the communications routines to broadcast a weak repeating signal of the first hundred prime numbers on a wide span of regular Terran frequencies. With a radio telescope, someone might find the signal and realize its artificial nature; should anyone actually visit the moon again, they’d certainly pick it up. The long lunar day would keep the pad powered with no trouble for years to come. And then, as soon as it detected it had been moved, the signal would stop.

Which would also conveniently let her know that someone had come looking.

“Where did all the air out here come from?” Tari queried. “Check, by the way.”

Jadyn growled, examining the board. “What the Void… I could have sworn that bishop was over there…”

“Are you going to complain, or are you going to play?”

He snorted, sliding a rook over to protect his king. “Happy?”

“Not yet. You didn’t answer my question.”

“Hm?”

“The air?”

Jadyn frowned, looking up. “That’s a fine question… Wonder where she pulled it from.”

“Who pulled what from where?” T’bia queried, coming around the ship. Peering over the chessboard, she laughed. “Good Light, Jay…”

“Quiet, you. Where’d you get the atmosphere to fill the shields?”

“Dirt and ice.” She sat down, watching the game progress in the kitsune’s favor. “Ice can be split into oxygen and hydrogen, the latter I tucked away in the ship. I used the replicator system to tear down some of the compounds in the lunar soil to make nitrogen and other inert gases. Replicators were powered down for basically your whole stint on the planet, so they didn’t need to regenerate.”

“And what are you going to do with all this air when we’re done?”

T’bia shrugged. “Like I’d think that far ahead.”

“You always do,” Jadyn countered, giving her a sideways glance. “Recycling it, I’d expect?

“Of course. Going to salvage what I can for our use and let the little remaining boil off.” The skunk looked at Tari, smirking. “Why, what a creative and judicious move.”

“Why, thank you.” The vixen smiled innocently.

“Hm?”

“Nothing, Jay. Hurry up and lose. I want a turn before we call it a day.”

“Tari?”

The vixen glanced up at her cabin’s open door, smiling at T’bia. “Come in… What’s up?”

“Curiosity. Your chess games earlier with Jay… How many of those did you actually rearrange the board when he got distracted by something? Other than the one I watched.”

Tari laughed. “Only a couple after he accused me of cheating. I started out playing fair. He’d be a good player if he got some more practice in.”

“There’ll be lots of time for that in the next couple of weeks.” T’bia glanced over her shoulder. “Woo! About time.”

“What?”

“My main processing array is back online.” The skunk rolled her shoulders and stretched lightly. “Much better… Mmh. I’ll let you get to sleep. Big morning tomorrow. Do you need anything from Terra before our first sojourn here comes to an end?”

“Can’t think of a thing. If I can’t remember, I must not need it, right?”

“Wish Jay would think like that when he packs.”

Jadyn sat down in front of the pilot’s console, adjusting the seat and activating the helm displays. “You sure you want me steering this thing?”

“So long as you don’t park diagonally in a parallel universe, I’ve got no qualms.” The skunk smiled, seating herself in the copilot’s chair. “I can always correct your mistakes before you kill us all too badly.”

“I’m not that bad at piloting…”

T’bia grinned, not answering as she looked to her console. Jadyn shook his head and began entering the Displacement warmup sequences. A soft tremor vibrated his seat and the control consoles as the system came online. Frowning, he turned to an adjacent console and pulled up diagnostic readings.

“You tweak something since I’ve been gone?” he asked.

“No… The reaction is off-balance after having been shut down for our work. I’ll tweak it as we get up to speed.” Another tremor shook the ship. “Correction, I’ll do it now and fine-tune it as we get up to speed.”

“Thanks. Thought you took care of it after we brought the core back online.”

“Powering internal stuff doesn’t scrape the top of what that thing has to put out for getting us beyond lightspeed.” Her console beeped a few times as her fingers danced over it. “Should do it. Goose it once.”

“All right.” Jadyn punched in a few more commands, watching readouts on the sensor panels around the cockpit spring to life. “How’s that?”

“Good… There we go. Shouldn’t really need more tuning than that.”

He nodded, looking at the window. Tari’s reflection off the forward viewport revealed she was staring intently at the starry backdrop outside. “What’s on your mind?”

“Just excited about this.”

“No reservations?”

“Well… A couple, but they’re nothing.”

“I’d be concerned if you didn’t have any.” He chuckled, loading the return flight plan from the datastores. A star map of the Terran system came up, then zoomed away as a red line tracing their course zipped off in several apparently random directions before taking an abrupt turn towards another distant star cluster. It chirped softly and zoomed in on the Velorian star system, the course twisting through two checkpoint stations, the orbiting Council station of Terac Lun, then entering the planet’s atmosphere and descending to the surface where his cabin sat. He confirmed the path and loaded it into the autopilot. The image shifted back to their current position along the route shortly thereafter.

“Can I ask you two something?” Tari said.

Jadyn glanced up at the window, looking at the kitsune’s reflection. “Sure.”

She smiled widely. “Are we there yet?”

“You evil, evil little girl… So all kids do that…”

“Apparently… I was hoping it was unique.”

“I’ve seen a lot of similarities in a lot of unique places with a lot of different species. This trip was the first time I’ve seen a magical race living among a race that thinks all that not their kind is Other, capital ‘O’, and less than they are. Even intraspecies, just by colorings…”

“They’re getting better. Some of them are even learning from the mistakes of history instead of repeating them.”

“In time I’m sure they’ll progress to space travel. Kind of a scary thought, knowing they’ll be out here someday…” Jadyn sighed, looking out the window. “Well, let’s do this. Aerin: engage cloak.”

“Cloak protocols enforced.” The overhead lights shut off, leaving the cockpit bathed in the blue-green glow of the walls’ backlighting. A brief haze passed over the viewport outside as shields were tuned. “Cloak online and functional.”

Changing the layout of the console with a few taps, he took manual control of the engines. The moonscape pulled away as the Serin lifted off; he circled around the satellite, bringing Terra into view. Tari gasped as her homeworld filled the window before them.

“That’s… That’s Earth?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Jadyn smiled lightly, gazing out at the deceptively tranquil world before them. The shadow of night covered much of the North American continent; electric lights spiderwebbed the coastlines and spread inward, tendrils of light spreading out between the major cities of the east coast. Things were progressively darker westward into the central plains where they had left the surface only days before, a few hot-spots of light here and there. It was an amazing view, he had to admit.

“It’s… It’s beautiful from up here,” she whispered. “I’ve seen pictures and that, but… It’s much more impressive in person…”

The console beeped quietly. He looked over the readout for the item calling for his attention. Most of the sensor text was in blue and scrolling by with updated readings, but one small sentence was imposed in green near the bottom:

I still say you’d make a lovely couple. She nicely contrasts you. Yes, yes… We don’t hardly know her. I mean, your colorings. She’s white, you’re dark.

He smirked, tapping in a response. Would you give it a rest? We’re friends, that’s all. No more.

Yet, T’bia countered. As I said before… You’re doing it. Most of the time you grab something at random to wear if you even bother at all. The only time you take more than four seconds to decide what you are going to put on - or not put on - is when you have company that you like. And by like… Well, I don’t think I need to explain myself there.

Jadyn glanced at the skunk. Eyes shut and fingers laced behind her head, her feet rested over the console before her. Bee, if I didn’t respect you so much I’d shut you off.

A grin spread over her muzzle, and her reply instantly came on screen: If I didn’t respect YOU so much, I’d turn myself off!

He cleared the display to bring up their current position, glancing over the course programming to confirm everything was well. “Tari?”

“Hmm?” Her head swiveled to look at him. Rather, the reflection of him that she was seeing.

Jadyn stood up, grinning lightly as he moved out of the chair. “Stand up.”

A look of curiosity spread over her face as she got up and moved towards him. Her eyes lit up with childlike excitement as he gestured for her to take his place. “No kidding?”

“Bet you never got to fly a plane when you peeked into the cockpit. This is easier. Besides, she’ll probably trust you more than me at the controls.” He thumbed at T’bia. She glanced over at him, smiling wryly, but made no objections to the swap.

“Wow… Okay…” She sat down slowly in the chair, settling into it and looking at the plethora of information before her. “Umm… Maybe it’s too much to hope for, but could I get this in either Japanese or English, or something else from Earth?”

The display flickered into some characters Jadyn couldn’t understand. Tari jumped when she looked back at the screen. “That was quick! I didn’t expect Japanese to be programmed in, really…”

T’bia chuckled. “Ask and Ye shall receive.”

“Things tend to be pretty flexible around here. You couldn’t at least set English, Bee?”

“Much more fun to watch you cope.”

“Pfft. Fine then.” Jadyn observed the layout was the same, even if it was in a language that was illegible to him. “Okay. This area is your solar system, with the orbits of each body in orange. The violet dot is our location. When we get past here -” He traced a speckled line on the grid. “- a green light will appear on the left side that says something like ‘run’ on it. All you have to do is touch it.”

“That’s all?”

“Most of the course is set by the computer, just so we don’t plow through the heart of a star or something worse.”

She nodded, tracing the line. “What’s the speckling?”

“Minimum safe distance for Displacement,” T’bia volunteered. “It’s how far out we need to be to minimize the chance of someone seeing the acceleration flash. A sonic boom you see instead of hear.”

Jadyn looked up at the window, giving Terra a last glance. “Well, let’s head out. Tap the yellow indicator. Should say ‘autopilot’ or something similar.”

“Okay.” Tari scanned the console, reaching out and lightly pushing down on the light. Terra swung out of view as the ship spun on its axes, the starscape sliding past as the Serin adjusted course. A distinct rattle shook the cockpit as the view stabilized. “What was that?”

“Just… Gah!” T’bia yelled. “The damn reaction’s still not tuned right.”

“Even computers aren’t perfect,” Jadyn whispered to Tari with a grin.

“I guess not…”

T’bia snorted and got up from her seat. “I’ll be in the engine compartment. Go ahead with FTL when the autopilot is ready.”

Jadyn watched as she left the room. With concern in her eyes, Tari glanced up at him. “Did I say something wrong?”

“She’s just self-conscious about the ship and its systems. As far as she’s concerned, the fact that everything has been so troublesome is a failure on her part. On occasion she’ll admit that she knows that she isn’t perfect and that we’re fighting an uphill battle… It doesn’t stop her from trying.”

“She mentioned that a day or two back, not being perfect.”

“Hope you got her to put it in writing.” Jadyn smirked. “The Serin wasn’t meant to stay in service this long, especially without a proper refit -“

The console chirped again - distinctly different than when T’bia’s message had beeped across - and the course execution light blinked green. “Now?” she asked.

“Not… yet. We’ve got one last turn.”

Stars slid past the window as the ship was reoriented to the proper direction once more. The light finally came on steady and chirped again. Tarioshi looked up over her shoulder, seeking confirmation.

“Whenever you’re ready to be the first Terran out of your star system, Tari. Excluding dimension crossings and such, of course.” He reclined into the chair T’bia had vacated and watched the kitsune’s tails swish excitedly behind her.

“Okay… Here goes.” She pressed on the green square, its color distorting like a ripple disturbing a still pond. A long tone played and every source of illumination in the cockpit went out, save for the controls before her. She barked in alarm; he touched her arm in gentle reassurance.

“It’s okay. If you hear me scream, you can officially panic.”

“Oh, that’s certainly reassuring…”

An electric blue haze passed over the field of vision outside the window, not unlike that of the shields, passing to transparency nearly as quickly as it appeared. The stars outside flickered momentarily before the entire cockpit was pulsed with a brilliant blue strobe of light. Jadyn found himself slammed into the seat by the force of the acceleration - which, by all measures, should never have happened. He heard the vixen scream again - this time out of sheer excitement. It was a bit like a carnival ride…

The ship felt like it was going to shake itself apart as the force simply increased in intensity. Once, it fell away, then came back in a second stage that was stronger than the first with another pulse of color as they broke past the light barrier. The forces faded after a quarter-minute when their velocity stabilized. He stared at the window while blood flow was restored to the reaches of his body, thinking about what had happened. There was only one explanation.

He glared at the console nearest him, entering a brief phrase: Warn me next time.

The panel surface quivered as if laughing. Aww… It was just a single inertial dampening node that I tweaked, here in the cockpit. You’re no fun. Next time, how about I do it backwards?

No, he keyed in, smirking despite himself.

The console shut itself off in silent protest. Stars outside the window stretched into rainbow streaks, visible through the faint haze of blue energy surrounding the ship. Backlighting came up to its normal dim green to illuminate the area.

“That was GREAT!” Tari exclaimed, shaking with adrenaline as she touched the glass. “That was… unbelievable… Wow…”

“You okay?”

“I’m wonderful! Thank you!” She pounced and clamped into a hug around the fox.

“I’ll take it you enjoyed that jump.” Jadyn laughed, returning her hug lightly.

Tari released him after a moment, visibly burning with embarrassment. “I… I’m sorry. I just -“

“No apologies. I would have done the same thing.”

She blinked at him. “Really?”

“Uh… Yeah, sure.” Jadyn smirked, glancing over the controls briefly. Everything was in the green. “Someone went out of her way to make that more exciting… Normally you wouldn’t be able to tell we’d crossed the light barrier if you weren’t looking outside.”

She nodded, glancing at the window again. “So what do we do now?”

“We find things to take up two weeks of travel.”

Fiction Friday: Reconstructive Surgery

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:16:16 GMT

Reconstructive Surgery has been posted. Again. No plot changes, minor language usage changes. If I can get this damn thing finished in my lifetime (at my rate of travel, it’s not looking good, is it?) I should get a book printed even if it’s just through Lulu or something like that. And find an artist who doesn’t mind being paid in firewood or grunt labor. Maybe I should get my mother a wacom tablet, she used to love to do art, but hasn’t had the time.

Or maybe she deserves a Modbook tablet? Hm.

I’ve had a lot of time to think but not much time to write, as usual. I’ve discovered my iPod’s voice notes feature, and with a set of headphones + mic, I can bounce thoughts off myself while I drive the short stretch to town and back. I used to do this with an old sony minidisc unit, when I was spending 4 hours in the car every weekend. These days, not so much time is spent behind the wheel, and people look at me funny if I’m talking to myself while working. Since I have to work with these people every day I prefer if they have the impression that I’m marginally sane.

So, instead, I usually just listen to podcasts of shows I’ve missed on the weekend (Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell me, Thomas Jefferson Hour). I’ve been looking for other interesting podcasts, but not entirely sure what to pull down to test drive.

We’ve been getting a new roof set up over the boss’ leaky trailer home. At some point in the past, someone thought it would be a good idea to build on an addition to the place. So, they built it upside-down in the yard (so they could put strand-board sheeting on the bottom), cut a hole in the side of the trailer, and rolled the addition over. By the size of the warp in the trailer (which we discovered halfway through the roof when nothing was turning out square) it appears the alignment on the addition didn’t go well the first attempts so they pushed it together with a tractor to close the gap.

Fun stuff. Rafters are mostly done, as is the sheeting; needs tarpaper and the steel roofing now. Also, we need to build a support header to extend the rafters out from the edge of the addition over an open air space still flanked by the trailer, a little 15 by 30 area that’ll now be a nice outdoor kitchen or something during the summer, and can be enclosed with tarps in the winter if he so chooses.

Eventually, we’ll get around to my roof. But it doesn’t leak, so I might be waiting until spring. Bunch of firewood orders to fill, too. Rained most of today, but ‘harvested’ six of the remaining 21 chickens. Tomorrow I think we’re doing several pruning jobs around town. Busy busy!

(Addendum: If you’ve been really good this week I may get a second repost done today.)

Edit: 1:04 AM CDT saturday morning. Not quite the Friday double feature, but close? Lunar Picnic is present and accounted for. I’ll make a new post just in case an edit doesn’t push down anything on the RSS feed.

Reconstructive Surgery

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:58:05 GMT

Tari had for some reason expected a spaceship to be tight on space, more so for living quarters. She wasn’t entirely sure about the logic for it - submarines were one of the closest analogs she could think of and they were a tight fit even for her. Nothing on the alien craft had stooped down to meet her expectations, preferring to exceed them. The sleeping quarters were simply the most current example. She had more room to herself than if she’d been paying for a good hotel.

The bed gave slightly under her weight as she sat down and undressed. Not quite a waterbed, and not quite a mattress… Some sort of semi-stiff gelatin, it seemed. She folded her clothing neatly, placing everything on a chair beside the bed. The ship still felt a touch on the warm side. She didn’t want to complain - perhaps the normal climate of the world that Jadyn and T’bia came from was like this? If they could put up with it with fur coats, she could adapt.

The bed turned out to be uniquely comfortable as she laid down on top of the sheets. She stared at the ceiling for a time, considering her hosts. An alleged fox of some sort, and an advanced computer AI… T’bia had been playfully crazy at times. At others, she had been deadly serious. Tari had found no small amount of difficulty in recognizing the two distinct states as she watched T’bia and Jadyn working. “Don’t touch that!” had meant “It will kill you” on one occasion, and “You’ll leave fingerprints and I’ll have to polish it again” on another.

Jadyn, on the other hand, seemed straightforward enough. Nothing in his body language indicated that he had anything immediate to hide - although T’bia’s secret hadn’t been wholly apparent, either. She wondered to herself what to expect when he changed back into his normal form. Most of the photos in the common room kept a dark-blue fox as a constant victim. Everyone else had been normal in coloring.

But what was normal? Perhaps where he came from, blue was as common as russet, gray, silver, or gold.

Fatigue soon caught up with her, whisking her mind into an all-too familiar dream. In the last many months she’d had a sort of recurring nightmare, but never could recall any of the jumbled assortments of images when she awoke. As she found herself lucidly walking the dreamscape once again, she finally recognized them for what they truly were - fragments of memories.

But whose? These aren’t my thoughts… Why am I seeing these?

The moment she experienced a memory, every detail was perfect. Seconds later they were gone, a fleeting thought, a wisp of emotion, a faint echo of the past. Over this way, a childhood memory, fuzzy at best… A sense of innocence, joy… Sounds of laughter… Another direction, another distorted remembrance, darkness… fear… a feeling of lost hope… Then another, aching with anguish, remorse, regrets…

Then, finally, one vision came crystal clear. She stepped off the Serin into some sort of private shuttle or cargo storage bay. Her surroundings all seemed perfectly familiar in the context of the vision; she knew where she was going, what she had been doing. At the same time, she knew she was only reliving the foreign memory, walking within the dreamscape. She was an observer, unable to change the flow of events around her.

Four assailants jumped out from behind alien shipping crates and other objects. She found herself defending against a surprise attack using a martial arts style she knew that she’d never seen before. A sword appeared in her hand out of nowhere, simply by making a mental summons; three of her attackers fell under quick, precise strikes of the blade. She hadn’t killed them, but they wouldn’t cause her further problems until they’d obtained medical attention to have critical tendons reattached.

Then she turned around, saw the fourth one move, wasn’t fast enough to block. She felt both nauseating pain and perverse warmth as something plunged between her ribs into the depths of her torso. Glancing down, she saw the hilt of a knife, crimson staining her clothes as her heart fell still.

And she laughed.

Tari woke with a start, sitting up in bed and panting heavily. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her body shivering despite the heat of the room. No other memory she’d seen had been clear enough to remember after passing… Or perhaps, disturbing enough to wake her in the middle before she’d forgotten. But was the dream a memory, or a sign, or just a strange nightmare? The area she’d seen was unfamiliar, but the ship… The hallways within had been the same blue-green and black, T’bia had been there… The details of what she had been doing there were missing… The only thing still truly clear was the knife’s hilt protruding from her chest.

Standing and padding shakily to the replicator alcove in the wall, she stared at the interior for a full minute before remembering why she’d gotten up. “A glass of water, please,” she whispered, still distracted by the nightmare. The machine beeped quietly, generating her request. She drained the cup in one swallow.

“Another,” she asked, setting the empty back in the alcove. The replicator beeped once more, providing a larger glass of water.

“You all right?” T’bia’s disembodied voice asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” Tari stared at the tumbler in her hand for a time, finally drinking the contents down. “Just a bad dream, I’m sure…” I think I’m sure… maybe…

“Bad dreams are always a bad way to end a night.”

“Yeah…” Tari sighed, then peered at the ceiling quizzically. “End a night?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have a clue what time it is. You’ve been asleep for onwards of nine hours.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. Jadyn’s still mistakable as clinically dead to the better part of this galaxy. Probably have at least a couple more hours if you want to go back to sleep. That, or if you need to talk, let me know. I listen well.” The AI paused. “Good Light, how’d I forget to turn down the cabin temperature? I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal… I figured this was normal for you two.”

“A year ago Jay complained it was too cool on board after his foray in shapedancing, so I tweaked it up a little… Completely forgot. Fixed now in your room and the halls. Leaving his cabin a sauna until after his shapedance.”

Tari padded back to her bed, sitting down on the edge. The cooler air was already apparent, a refreshing and welcome change. “But you’re… How can you possibly forget things? Same as the other stuff?”

“Same category, yes.” T’bia snickered. “I was developed to be as ‘organic’ as was possible with the tools Kieran had at hand, the fact my core processors are literally organic notwithstanding. Now, I can toggle off the fluff that would impair my operation or endanger the ship in times when it’s necessary, but under normal day to day circumstances I leave them on. Wouldn’t be my cheerful self otherwise.”

“I’m sorry, Kieran is who?”

“Jadyn’s long-deceased father, my original programmer slash creator slash father figure.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose being able to turn parts of yourself on or off must be nice…” Tari sighed, flopping back on the bed. “I’d shut off these weird dreams I’ve been having…”

“Oh? Like what?”

“… I’d rather not talk about it right now.”

“‘Aight.”

Tari rubbed her muzzle, trying to make herself think about something other than her nightmare. “I really don’t think I’ll be able to go back to sleep, either… Mind showing me the gym?”

“Lights.”

Jadyn stared groggily at the floor as artificial sunlight bathed the room. He hadn’t slept entirely well; what felt like a only couple hours of napping had been the whole night. Dreams of his past had tortured him throughout his slumber. Unconsciously, his fingers traced the scar on his chest before he stood up and stretched. Everything ached, every muscle pleading for more rest. His body knew what was coming, and was dreading it.

Or… Perhaps, the explanation was far more simple.

“What’s gravity at?” he queried, twisting his torso lightly to and fro.

“I gradually stepped up to Velorian between your boarding and the powerdown. Why?”

“Just trying to figure out why I’m so worn down.” Glancing around the room, he shook his head. “I think I’m going to use the gym for the shapedance reversal.”

“Wherever. Could do it outside on their moon’s surface if you wanted some extra torment. I’d actually vote for that so I don’t have to clean the floor.”

“I’d rather not explain why I can survive that to our guest just yet. Tari awake?”

“Been up for an hour or so. She and I are sparring at the moment. She’s pretty good. Bet she’d kick your ass.”

Jadyn raised an eyebrow, padding to the center of his room. Picking up the denims from the previous day, he hesitated.

“Anything you put on is going to be shredded on the other side,” T’bia pointed out.

“Shredding myself will be enough for the day, I think.” Glancing through his closet he took out a light robe and wrapped it about himself. While the garment was several sizes too large for his human body, the problem was generally solved after cinching the cloth belt around his waist. He plodded out of his room, opening the door to the gym across the hall.

Shouts and hand-to-hand fighting echoed through the corridor as the door slid open. Jadyn stepped inside, watching the two with a slight smile. Tari clearly was no novice at hand to hand combat. Her form seemed no more than a blur as she moved between offensive and defensive in time with her opponent. T’bia’s expression remained utterly stoic as she countered the kitsune’s attacks with her own. Not once did the motion between the two cease.

Tari had donned what appeared to be a fairly standard workout uniform: entirely black, sleeveless, seamless, ending just above her knees. It fit her mostly well, perhaps a tad too tight in the chest - though Bee might have replicated it like that on purpose.

After fifteen minutes or so, Tari stepped back and dropped to her knees, panting heavily. “Enough… Have to catch my breath… That’s really not too shabby a workout…”

“She makes a great partner,” Jadyn agreed. Tari looked up at him in surprise.

“When did you come in? Didn’t notice…” she gasped.

“Not long ago.” He leaned back against the wall. “I’d offer a round, but I’d prefer to get this shapedance over with so I won’t be dreading the inevitable wearoff later today. It’s really not a comfortable thing either way.”

She nodded. “Would you mind if I stayed?”

“Not at all. Can’t say it’ll be the most pleasant thing you’ll see while here.”

“I, however, can say with certainty that it will be one of the most unpleasant things on the tour.” T’bia’s clothing shifted back to her fleet uniform. An addition, however, was a very large umbrella in her right hand. “Ready here.”

Jadyn sighed, padding out to the center of the room. “You’re not helping, Bee.”

“You say that now, but just wait until I make you do the laundry. You’ll be yelling at me, wondering why I didn’t give you one. And I’ll laugh at you.”

Jadyn smirked and shed the robe, throwing it to the side of the room. Tari gaped at his nude form and quickly averted her eyes.

“Er…” she started.

“See you on the flip side,” T’bia noted, standing safely behind her umbrella.

Jadyn gradually drew in the familiar threads of the Art, letting the ancient energies seep through the core of his being. Weaving the delicate strands together into a crisscrossing pattern, he imagined himself within the center of the braid. Their warmth surrounded him, permeating his mind, flooding his veins. For a brief second, he felt utterly at peace with everything.

A single thought tightened the weave and set the manifestation’s teardown in irrevocable motion. Tremendous pulses of energy ripped though his nerves, locking every muscle in his body. The blazing pain only worsened as the energy fully descended upon his human form to enact the arduous rebuild.

Fighting to stay awake through the agony, he set his jaw and tried to suppress the sensory overload screaming through his brain. Millions of tiny pinpricks assaulted his flesh as his pelt regrew. Bones grated over, under, and past other bones as his skeleton forcefully rearranged itself. His skull jutted forward into a foxen muzzle with a sharp CRACK! that left stars floating in his vision. His ears rang for a time after that; had he not known better, he’d have sworn someone had slammed a baseball bat into the back of his head to get his nose back to its proper length.

Muscles pulled, tendons tore and stretched. Everything started healing; something else moved that forced it all to repeat. His suffering wore onward, his mind slowly slipping away under the torrents of pain. A strange euphoria swept him just before the darkness of unconsciousness finally covered his world, granting him peace at last.

“My Gods…” Tari whispered, watching helplessly as ancient magics the likes of which she’d never seen tore her host apart. Somehow, despite the torments raging throughout his body, he did not scream. Not so much as a whimper escaped his throat as his true form forcefully emerged from within his human guise. The very last sign that he’d ever inhabited a human body departed as his pupils lost their rounded shape. In the same heartbeat that they became vertical slits like her own, his irises faded from their bright and lively blue to a shining, silvery gray.

And then he collapsed in the middle of the floor.

Tari leapt to his side, looking to T’bia for help. The skunk merely shrugged.

“Come on! We have to do something to help him!”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“But -“

“He’ll be fine, Tari. Trust me. More than that, trust him. He can take a lot of torment.”

Tari shook her head, rolling Jadyn onto his back. Confirming quickly that he did indeed still have a pulse and that he was still breathing, she shook him gently.

“Jadyn… Come on, wake up…”

“Won’t do you any good,” T’bia assured her.

“I’m not just going to stand around looking pretty while someone’s dying in front of me!” the vixen snapped; T’bia blinked at her outburst, but made no motion to help. With a growl, Tari turned back to the fox lying before her and shook him again. “Jadyn! Answer me, damn it!”

Jadyn groaned quietly, his eyes fluttering open ever so slightly. His mouth cracked open, no sound coming forth; he swallowed several times before trying again.

“Ow,” he croaked, squinting at the lights.

T’bia cracked up laughing and vanished.

“Ow? Ow?! That’s one Hell of an understatement!” Tari yelled, her voice softening as she continued. “You could have killed yourself…”

“I’d only have gotten better…” Jadyn attempted to sit upright, giving up halfway and lying back down on the floor mats. “Ugh… Whatever you do has to be a lot less strenuous than this…”

“Promise me you’ll never use that… that… whatever that particular spell was, ever again, and I’ll try to teach you our way… Okay?”

“Deal.”

The door opened; T’bia waltzed in, armed with a white box slung over her shoulder. Tari recognized the first device she grabbed from within the container as the medical scanner she’d used the day before. Using the skunk’s checkup as a cover, Tari took a better look at Jadyn’s restored body. He was indeed a foxen being like herself; the only immediately visible difference between their forms was his lack of flat-footed feet and his single tail. And, of course, the fact he was male. She did her best not to look like she was staring at him, quietly observing his curious colorings as T’bia did her checks. Dark blue fur, perhaps a shade of indigo, covered almost every inch of his body. Only his hair, his chest, one arm from below the elbow to his fingers, both legs from below the knees to his toes, and the end of his tail contrasted the blue with a silver gray matching his eyes. She guessed he was a touch over six feet tall, though lying on his back as he was made him hard to judge.

After about five minutes of recording data and mm-hmming to herself, T’bia put the scanner away. “Okay then.”

“Diagnosis good or bad?” Jadyn asked quietly.

“You’ll survive. I know your opinion on this, but since you’re in no position to fight me off, you’re getting drugged up a little.” She pushed a different unit against his neck and pressed a light on the side, twice. “Your head should start clearing in a few seconds. Can you stand?”

“Stand what?” he queried weakly. “Your horrible bedside manner?”

“Up, furball.”

“Maybe.” He pushed himself to a sitting position, accepting their help to make his way onto his feet. His legs wobbled as he tried to find his balance. “Room’s spinning…”

“It’ll pass. Hmm…” T’bia peered at him curiously. “You… Nah.”

“What?” he prompted.

“I could be wrong…”

“What?”

“I haven’t gone over all the details…”

Jadyn frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I should double-check first, mind you, to eliminate any chance of error…”

“Bee…”

She held up her hand and set her fingers about an inch apart. “You seem about yay much shorter.”

“That isn’t funny.”

“You’re as normal as you normally are when you’re normal. I figured that you’d be out for an hour or two, at least.”

“Oh? How long was I down?”

“Maybe two minutes.”

Jadyn’s eyebrows coasted upward in surprise. “Only a couple of minutes…? Feel like I’ve been run over about a dozen times… I need to lie down for a little while, let everything settle… I think things are still moving… Uhg!” he grunted, one arm clutching his chest as he squinted through the pain. “Yeah, still moving…”

“We’ll make you run laps around the ship for six hours at double-gravity, you’ll be fine.” T’bia sighed, picking up the medical kit. “Tari, can you help him stumble back over to his room? I’m going to go and put this junk away yet again. Maybe I’ll organize it too.”

“All right.” Tari helped balance Jadyn as they walked out of the gym and covered the short distance to his bedroom. After easing him onto his bed, he noticed she seemed uncertain of if she should be doing anything else, or vacating the room, or doing something constructive to avoid looking at him.

“Tari?”

“Hm?” She met his eyes, then glanced away as the insides of her ears took on a slight reddish tint and flattened back.

“Pull up a chair. Let’s talk.”

“You sure? I mean, if you want to get some rest or something -“

“Tari.”

Her eyes came to meet his after a few seconds’ hesitation.

“Pull up a chair,” he repeated.

“…All righty.” Tari pulled one of the chairs over, sitting down. She’d positioned herself so she wasn’t really looking in his direction. With a quiet chuckle he laid back on the bed.

“You and the rest of the quad.”

“Huh?”

“Quadrant. This area of… Never mind. So, you’ve been on your world’s moon for a little better than a day, not that it’s easy to tell time or place up here.” A groan escaped his throat as he pulled his unwilling muscles into a deep stretch. “Oh, Light… Good to be myself again… Tell me, what’s on your mind after day one?”

“Well… ” Tari stared at the carpet, her tails twitching nervously. “I can’t say it’s exactly what I expected… Then again, I didn’t expect to find out that you were an alien or that T’bia wasn’t just an alien but an alien computer better at jujitsu and karate than I am.”

“She’s only better because her reaction time is several orders of magnitude faster than ours. Ask her to go with organic reaction times on your next match and you’ll probably stomp her into the ground.”

The kitsune fidgeted for a time. He didn’t prod her further, but instead simply worked on his stretching while she decided what she wanted to bring up. Masquerading as a human had been convenient for his research but the bodyform truly left something to be desired. They lived with it full-time and were surviving just fine, so it couldn’t be all bad…

“How long were you on Earth?” Tari finally asked.

“Standing on the planet, about a year. Been doing on-and-off surveys of planetwide radio transmissions for the past ten years or so.”

“In your time here - there,” she corrected herself, then stopped and shook her head. “Sorry. What did you actually do?”

“Started off in… Florida, I believe. Hitchhiked my way from there all over the place, stopping here and there. Posed as a writer to gather input on how aliens might be received. That area of the world - the United States of America. It’s such a diverse gathering of cultures… Our remote research figured it the best place to run our first bit of direct study. Difficult to say if that was a good choice or not.” He shrugged, rolling onto his stomach and pulling his legs over his back, forming a large ‘O’. “Things seemed calm, moderately peaceful… Viewing their news coverage of the rest world paints a bloody picture of so many places… That dark side of human nature wasn’t always apparent from the immediate areas I moved through.”

“They do have a good thing going there,” she agreed. “It was an amazing experience for me, the first time I set foot on their soil. The country seemed so alien at first… erm… That is…”

“There’s no problem using that term,” he assured her. “Technically, from my point of view, you’re the aliens.” Tari opened her mouth, then shut it again as she considered what he’d said. “But tell me, as a relative outsider among them - what do you think of their country now that you’ve spent time there?”

“I find their style of life… comfortable. Japan’s changed over the years too, adopted many western influences. There’s just something about the American lifestyle that attracts me. I’ve been traveling in various parts of the country for the last hundred years or so.”

At least she’s talking again… Did I make her that uncomfortable? “Anything memorable?”

“Watching their society evolve over the last century is a memory in and of itself. There’s been a lot of amazing things to happen here. There. Wherever.” She scratched her neck lightly. “Riddle me this, Batman…”

“Come again?” he questioned.

“Sorry. Comic book reference. Question for you about… clothing styles. You seem rather…” Her eyes shot to him for a heartbeat before focusing on the wall. “Um.. indifferent?”

Jadyn smirked. “Val’Traxans as a generalized whole were ‘indifferent,’ as you so delicately put it. There were several worlds that refused direct trade with us because of our apparently unique social morals. They thought we were too risque. We, on the other hand, generally thought they were anal. Clothing is for comfort and utility, if worn at all, but above all garments should accent the body. They shouldn’t be to mask its beauty or hide it altogether. Most Terrans seem to have forgotten that, presuming they ever knew.”

“Most people do scurry off to find something to cover themselves with if they find themselves nude with an audience. Even with fur covering everything, that level of modesty kind of rubs off on you after while.”

“Out here in the Alliance, there’s a degree of modesty… Not quite as severe as some of what I saw on Terra, but some. Openly expressing any degree of sexuality really seemed to be a taboo down there… Well, sort of. I don’t think they know what they want to do about it. Seems like there’s one push to bury it and a counterpush to drag it into the open. Lots of jokes and innuendoes flying about… Not much apparently done about them.” He laughed. “It’s so strange… There wasn’t really any differentiation to male and female in the overall social eye back home… It’s kind of hard to describe. I think part of the difference is that the huge divide between the sexes that Terra’s dealt with in the last several centuries never was an issue on Val’Trax.”

“Things were more open?”

“Far more,” he confirmed. “And females were never seen as less able than males. There was the occasional undercurrent trying to drive a wedge in and get things separated, but the masses openly laughed at them and went about their business.”

“Separated how? Private schooling or something?”

“Public facilities for changing, restrooms, showering.”

Tari gaped at him in surprise. “Everything was co-ed?”

“Different social morals.” Jadyn shrugged. “We believed in educating the young about themselves and the opposite sex at an early age, before they could make mistakes due to not knowing better. Unplanned pregnancies were damn near zero across the board, something other worlds couldn’t say about their own populations. Also, it wasn’t unusual to see individuals wandering the streets in only their fur - thereby technically nude in Terran standards. Most wore at least pants, though.”

“Why?”

“Pockets. Handy things for carrying stuff.” Jadyn sighed. “I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable. Not ‘if,’ since it was pretty clear you were. “

“I’m just too used to the mindset of the people I was around. Don’t be uncomfortable on my account. I’ll adapt… Not that I’m going to be here that long, anyway.”

“Oh, about that. What are your plans?”

Tari frowned. “Not sure yet. I suppose… I was heading into Canada to visit some friends… Maybe you could drop me off near Brandon? Would save me some walking.”

“Sort of a conflict in the flight plans…”

“How so?”

“We were thinking of continuing your abduction for a while,” he answered, a smile creeping over his face. The shocked surprise in her eyes was beyond priceless. “But since you’re going to be otherwise occupied, we’ll have to manage without you -“

“Nonononono, hang on there, back the chicken truck up…” Tari hopped off the chair, kneeling next to the bed and looking straight into his eyes. “Run over that again?”

“I’ve thought it over, heard Bee’s opinion, did some more thinking when she threatened to club me like a baby seal -“

“I did no such thing,” T’bia suddenly defended, her voice drifting from everywhere. Now that Tari knew about her, she’d dropped the comm artifacts from her voice. “There were no aquatic mammals involved in the threat.”

“Right, anyway. I doubt it would hurt things too much if we let you stay with us for a year to see what things are like out here. That’s one of the two conditions - no matter what, in one year you’re coming back to Terra.”

Tari stared at him, clearly trying to figure out his change of heart. “What’s the catch? Am I on Candid Camera?”

“No catch, no secret deal, no magazine subscriptions. T’bia is holding us to the timeframe - one Val’Traxan year, no more.”

“I can accept that,” she whispered, stunned. “Why a Val’Traxan year?”

“It’s longer. You’ll be with us for a little better than sixteen months by Terran figuring.”

“And the second condition?”

“You cannot tell anyone on Terra that we’re out here until we make ourselves known. Not that they’d believe you, anyway…” Jadyn sat up, lightly taking hold of her hands. “There are a couple of ground rules out here, too. Most importantly, unless you’re prepared to present yourself as a human for the next sixteen months - presuming you can do that?”

“I can, but I’d rather not.”

“Then we keep your planet of origin under our collective hats. Bee is working on a plausible background for when someone asks where you’re from. Secondly… Most worlds of the Aligned charter are on some level aware of what they deem ‘supernatural abilities,’ but still… Try not to use your gifts in public. At least, nothing immediately obvious. It won’t cause any lasting harm if you do something, but the less attention we draw to you, the better. Past that, there’s nothing I really think I’d have to lay out in advance. Just be mindful.”

“I can accept that, too.” Tari stood and put her arms around his neck. “Thanks, Jadyn. I really appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, hugging her in return. “And welcome aboard, again.”

“Can’t believe you convinced me to work this afternoon.”

“It’s my prescription for your recovery. Physical therapy.”

“Bah.” Jadyn grunted, pulling himself out of a crawlspace on the maintenance deck. Holding up a small, clear crystal in the light of the corridor, he turned it slowly between his fingers. “Hum… Have a look.”

T’bia took the stone from him, holding it before her eyes and gazing through it. “Not so much as a chip. Refraction index is still high… Lattices look good.”

“Apply a bit of your avatar’s field power.”

She nodded. The crystal gave a faint red glow before fading from view altogether, taking a large section of T’bia’s arm along with it. “I could be wrong, but this one seems to be working just fine.”

Tari, sitting on the floor nearby, watched on with avid interest. “That’s the cloaking device?”

“A small but critical part of the array.” T’bia’s arm returned, the crystal melting into existence between her fingers. “There are several of these crystals tucked away in an assembly hidden behind this wall. Bombard them with a specific energy frequency and they emit a kind of ‘negative’ energy, for lack of a better non-technical explanation. The assembly captures their emissions and routes that energy to the ship’s hull, rendering us effectively invisible to most sensors and to the naked eye.”

Jadyn crawled back into the wall, fumbling inside for half a minute. “Damnit… Who put these bolts in?”

“You did,” T’bia replied.

“I did a good job. Should fasten the power connectors with these blasted things… No room to get leverage with the impact drivers… Void with it. Suppose this is the same reason they’re so tight, anyway.” A groan of wrenching metal echoed from the crawl space’s maw; several dozen bolts rained down onto the floor inside.

“What’d you do?”

“‘Air’ wrenches.”

“Har, har.”

“Didn’t have the room for anything else. Toy’s a small guy, didn’t build this chamber large enough for anyone but him to work inside.” Jadyn slid back into the corridor, dragging a three-foot-wide metal sphere with him. T’bia’s avatar immediately flooded with static. She grimaced, glancing down at her hands.

“Icky.”

“You don’t look so good.” Reaching through the door of the cloaking unit, Jadyn pulled the rest of the crystals.

“I’m thinking this isn’t a good sign. Let’s have a look at those.” Jadyn offered her one; her avatar passed through his hand as she tried to take it. “Nope, this isn’t a good sign.”

“Tari, hold up each of these for her to look at? I need to run the extensions down.” Passing the quartz-like crystals off to the kitsune vixen, he crawled back under the shielding. A mishmash of electrical and fiber-optic connections dangled down from the ceiling of the chamber. Carefully matching strips of colored tape someone had conveniently labeled each connector with, he connected up an armful of extension cables and pulled the free ends back into the hall. T’bia and Tari seemed finished as he emerged from the crawlspace once again. “Verdict?”

“They’re all flawless.” T’bia snorted. “So much for a simple fix.”

“Told you it’d be a good idea to take it out.”

“I was hoping you’d be wrong.”

“So was I.”

Tari handed back the crystals one at a time; Jadyn seated them within the assembly before relatching the access door. “Really glad these are color coded,” he mumbled, picking up the extension cables and plugging them into the sides of the sphere.

“Glad you’re not colorblind.”

Tari shifted slightly on her feet. “You hook it up backwards and the ship is twice as easy to see on radar, that how it works?”

“Something like that.” Jadyn grinned at her, connecting the last power input and backing away from the sphere. “Do it.”

“Quick diagnostic first, for all the good that will do… Bah, failed it. Forcing a power-up for a full test run.” T’bia’s avatar flickered, filling completely with static before vanishing altogether. Intense white light blazed through the heavily tinted window on the door of the cloaking unit as power ripped through the gems within. Jadyn squinted, walking around to the far side.

“Power full on?” he queried the air.

“Yup. Starting to get responses in… Were any of those connections loose?”

“Two seemed wiggly. The red-green tape and the orange-black-white, I think.”

“Diagnostic output and secondary power input. I’m going to replicate some superglue at our next mass maintenance session.”

“Wouldn’t hurt. How’s it read?”

“Well… Nominal, in a manner of speaking. Input is nominal, in that it checks out normally. Output is nominal, in that it’s so insignificant that it took two sweeps to detect anything.”

Jadyn frowned, looking over the gleaming orb cautiously. “Any abnormal thermal patterns?”

“Not a one out of place.”

“Try kicking it?” Tari offered. “Works with the television.”

“Did that twice on the way out of the wall.” Jadyn grinned at her. “The big rubber mallet is next.”

“Okay. Was just a thought.” She smiled back cheerfully.

“The EMI field is larger than normal,” T’bia noted. “Holographic emitters are still trying to generate my avatar. I’m making a rather rude gesture involving a trout.”

“Was really hoping it wouldn’t be that… Shut it down.”

The illumination streaming from the door faded away. The nearby wall that’d taken most of the light exposure from the tinted door shifted from a bright leafy green back to the normal black and blue-green. A faint bit of colored static filled the air where T’bia had stood minutes before; nothing else happened.

“I think I’ve finally found the problem,” she mumbled. “We cooked our cloak.

“The assembly’s contaminated.”

“Big time… The diagnostic sealed its fate, but the damn thing would have been toast if I’d forced it fully online to conceal the ship.”

Tari looked at the device curiously. “So if the assembly itself is the problem, how do you fix it?”

“We don’t. This material is different than the stuff the power relays are made from, it’s a dense alloy… It’s supposed to be pretty impervious to any form of radiation, magnetic field, electric field… If it gets hit hard enough with a surge to be contaminated - especially enough to screw up Bee this much - there’s really little hope for it.”

The kitsune frowned. “Can’t you demagnetize it? Or do whatever would bleed off that field?”

“Not with anything we’ve got on board. Guess we’ll run without for a while.”

“That’s so not a good idea, but I don’t have any alternatives to offer.”

Tari fidgeted with her tails. “I know I’m the new face around here, so I hate to suggest things that seem obvious to me…”

“Do it anyway,” T’bia instructed.

“By all means,” Jadyn agreed. “If you’ve got a suggestion, please, share it.”

“Well…” She frowned. “Can’t you use your magic to drain the field? Like, do a spell that taps that sort of energy or converts it to something else?”

“Mmm… Nice thought. I don’t know of anything I have that will work. At least, nothing that will handle something this large on more than a temporary basis.”

“Men,” she mock-scolded. “Always getting someone else to do the work.”

T’bia snickered. “That’s how I feel most days. Did you know he doesn’t even -”

“Would you two like me to leave so you can bash me behind my back?” Jadyn interrupted.

“More fun to have a visible target.” Tari knelt beside the cloaking unit. “Well… I can try my fingers at it, but I don’t know how much I can bleed off. Magnetism and assorted stuff isn’t in my field of studies.”

“If you have something that works I might be able to adapt it after I see it in practice.”

She nodded, closing her eyes and reaching toward the device, stopping short of touching it by a couple of inches. A yellow glow surrounded the sphere as she concentrated. As the energy flowed towards her hands an ear-piercing whine screeched from deep within the metal orb. Three seconds worth of ultra-high-frequency pain ripped through the hall before it stopped.

“Bad noise, no biscuit,” T’bia scolded, her avatar showing initial signs of clarity. “Yow. Was all over the place… took an extra second to lock the antinoise processor on.”

The energy passing between the assembly and the kitsune’s hands was quickly slowing. Her small frame trembled with the effort; she’d clearly not been ready for what she was dealing with, and there was a tremendous amount of energy left to drain. He knelt down behind her carefully, trying not to disturb her concentration, and slowly meshed himself into her channeling. A raw surge of unchecked energy flooded through his body, rattling his mind before exiting through his tap to the Art. It left a horrible metallic flavor in his mouth - almost like the taste of blood after biting his tongue, but far stronger and unnatural.

Almost an hour and a half later, Tari fell limp in his arms as the last of the energy contamination was drawn from the cloaking unit. Beyond her labored breathing and her sweat-soaked fur and uniform, she seemed all right. He ran his fingers through her hair lightly, giving her a light scratch between the ears. “You good?”

“Just… exhausted…” She flexed her fingers a few times, making sure they were all still there. Jadyn laced his four with her five, feeling a small spark as static charges evened out.

“I don’t know how, but I’ll try and make it up to you.”

“Better… keep that promise.” She smiled peacefully, her eyes still closed.

Jadyn glanced up at T’bia, raising an eyebrow questioningly. She was sitting on top of the assembly, no visible distortions to her avatar. “You seem rather cohesive.”

“It’s got less of a charge than when we got the damn thing. Nothing to fall apart over.” She shook her head in amazement, switching to their native tongue. “‹Incredible. Can we keep her on with a maintenance contract?›”

“‹You know we can’t.›” He stroked the kitsune’s head gently to try and comfort her; she murmured pleasantly at his touch.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” she whispered, “but would you two mind speaking English when you’re talking about me right in front of me? Or at least something I can make out?”

“How do you know we weren’t talking about something else?”

“My nose always tickles when people talk about me.”

“Well… She started it. Anyway, Bee - I think I’m going to go tuck this one in for a nap. We can test the cloak again afterwards.”

“Take your time. I can get this ball rolling on my own. It’s topical humor! It’s a sphere. Ha-ha. Ha. Yeah?”

Jadyn shook his head and picked Tari up into his arms. The g-lift at the end of the corridor eased them up to the lower deck without so much as a bump. Her cabin’s door was a short walk away; the blue-green glow of the backlighting was the only illumination present in the room as they entered.

Tari groaned as he eased her down on her bed. She rolled over onto her belly, burying her head under a small pillow. He knelt on the mattress beside her, gently rubbing her shoulders. Every muscle his fingers found felt like it had tied itself in a knot.

“You’re wound up tight… Was it that bad?” he asked quietly.

“Nuh-uh… Uh… Not really, just got a lot… on my mind…” She sighed, relaxing under his ministrations. He thought he heard her purring.

“Any idea how you did what you did?”

“It had some sort of magnetic field or something, you said… I tried to change it to an electric one, I think… A little bit at a time, bled it off… Totally not my element, I don’t know for sure if I was working it right… Couldn’t even convert it to something I could use…”

“Electric, though… That would explain the shock I got. I thought it was some sort of subliminal warning.” He smiled to himself, kneading his fingers along her back. “What is your element of choice?”

“Forest… Trees, plants, stuff like that… You really helped me out… I didn’t realize how adept you are… ‘till you actually let me use your reserves like that… I wish I could - Nhhh, ow…” She whined softly as he passed over a tight muscle along her spine. He eased back, circling the area lightly with his fingers.

“Sore spot?”

“Yeah. Pulled a couple of muscles when I thrashed in the trap…”

Jadyn worked the point he’d discovered, channeling a small thread of Fire, and pressed gentle heat through her flesh. An appreciative groan rose from her throat as she shifted to a more comfortable position on the quilt.

“Mmmh, this is incredible… Where’d you learn to give massage like this…?”

“When you grow up in a society that doesn’t hide from itself with silly things like modesty, sensual touch becomes second nature. I don’t have as much training in massage as some did but I like to think I have the important things down pretty well.”

“I’d say so. I’ll have to keep you around… Need a masseuse on staff…”

“Someone else made a similar comment earlier about your talents.”

“I knew you guys were talking about me.”

“She started it.” The muscles in her lower back flexed and relaxed as she swished her tails lazily. Shifting his own tail about, he held both of hers down with it. “I’ll try not to do anything that would be considered unbecoming of a professional.”

“The only thing I’d consider unbecoming right now would be stopping… It would make me very, very unhappy…” Her ears flicked rhythmically instead of her tails: left, right, left, right… “And you do not want an unhappy kitsune in your midst… We tend to find ways to make ourselves happy again… Usually at someone else’s expense…”

“So what should I do if my arms get tired? I haven’t done this in a while, you know. Out of practice.”

“Then you can sit here… mmmh… and wait… until you can continue.”

He chuckled quietly. “Better finish the first time through, then?”

“I’m still not going to let you leave until I think you’re done…”

“I can’t stay forever.”

“We’ll see about that… Ooooh… Yeah, right there… Nhmm…”

Windows 7

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:42:25 GMT

Everyone’s been raving about how much better Windows 7 is over Vista. I chucked vista after about a month and went back to my old OS (non-windows). So, since everyone’s insisting this thing’s so good, I gave it a shot today.

After 12 hours of fighting the installer I finally got to the desktop. That alone is going to make me drop it, because if this is the Release Candidate, I don’t want to do a repeat of today when the release is out.

Here’s what happened. I’d boot the installation media for the 64bit OS. It would load up, give me the language selection, all that jazz. As soon as it present the list of disks to install to, it’d tell me:

Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the setup log files for more information.

Now, I’d gotten a similar error to this with a Vista install, once upon a time. After two DAYS of fighting that, I finally discovered it was because the boot volume in the BIOS was not the same as the disk I was attempting to install the OS to. This was not the case today. I went through the normal gamut of troubleshooting, going so far as to pull all other disks’ power cables; I even went and grabbed a bios update and flashed the motherboard. Nada. As to the install target, I wrote zeros to make sure all partition data was gone. Nope, sorry.

After the 11th hour (it was midnight by this time) I finally thought to try an upgrade from vista… Which meant, of course, reinstalling vista. It went in with no problem for a change. As soon as I hit the desktop I fired up the win7 install, and I’m now sitting at its desktop.

This shit is a pain in the ass. And people make fun of me for using a Mac? Go to hell.

(The sad part is Spore runs better on the windows side of this box. /cry )

14 August

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:57:33 GMT

Happy Friday, folks. Orientation is back up. A few minor changes in language usage, nothing really in terms of plot. I had to change the console lines from using - + and # because those are used by Markdown Extra and it started adding

Headers #

and

lists
in
the
middle

of the text. Replaced with %, – (not the same as -, different keycode) and ≠.

Orientation

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:53:52 GMT

Air roared in Tarioshi’s ears as the world turned green.

It was the strangest sensation she’d ever had the displeasure to feel. A nauseating vertigo swept her as the hotel room vanished behind the wall of turquoise light. The uncomfortable awareness of being stretched like a rubber band cascaded her flesh and for a brief moment she sensed she was in more than one place at once. It lasted an eternity, while only lasting an instant.

And then it was over. Tarioshi rubbed her eyes as the green haze dissipated, unable to make out her surroundings. Someone had very neatly stacked a layer of sand under her eyelids and left a dead monkey to sleep fitfully in her throat. Breakfast made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the lighted world. Unfamiliar smells and sounds assaulted her senses as she battled nausea and blindness.

The air was fresh, mildly warm; currents tickled her ears and indicated the source as slightly above her head. Something rubber-like, perhaps silicone, covered the floor under her feet. The surface felt warm to the touch and gave way very slightly under her weight. The scents of a springtime forest were completely out of place… The fresh, moist earth, the awakening plants… Winter was in full force outside, wasn’t it?

She blinked several times, clearing the cloudiness from her vision. Black paneling sections covered the walls, their surfaces contrasted by dark bluish-green patterns. The pliable material under her feet looked like a white glass, despite the fact it didn’t feel like glass. Set in a large oval, five smaller and darker ovals inset the rubbery glass. One of the darker ovals was immediately under her toes. The entire surface glowed gently from within.

Dark gray carpet surrounded the lighted section of floor. In the center of the room stood a podium-like object, lights and displays attentively blinking away. A few quiet beeps emanated from its general direction as the light underfoot dimmed slightly.

Ceiling met the four walls ten feet above the floor. Also illuminated from within, the light was uniformly white and far brighter than the floor. She immediately thought of sunlight - the illumination held a warmth lacking in both florescent and incandescent lighting. The section of ceiling directly over her head was about two feet shorter than the rest, shaped in the same oval as the floor. Some sort of metallic grid crisscrossed through the illuminated plating -

And then she flinched, a hand grabbing her shoulder. “Yee!”

“Whoa, simmer. You all right?” Jadyn gave her shoulder a pat, stepping onto the carpeted floor as though nothing had changed around them. “Sometimes the first few trips through that thing can screw with your equilibrium. Take a few deep breaths.”

“Just disoriented… We’re on… We’re really on a spaceship?”

“I tend to think of the Serin as an extremely mobile home. But yes, this is a vehicle capable of interstellar travel.”

“Amazing…” Tarioshi stepped onto the carpet, advancing slowly to the wall. The surface was warm and resilient just like the glowing section of floor. She looked closer, seeing the green and blue shapes shift toward her touch. She held her hand just over the wall; a colored pattern resembling her hand took form.

“Why are the walls moving?”

“They’re alive,” Jadyn replied, poking at the blinking lights on the podium. The light within the floor shut off, followed by most of the lights on the podium.

“I really hope that’s figurative.”

“Yes and no.” Jadyn stepped to her side, taking her hand. “There’s a lot here that is going to be strange and unusual. We’ll have plenty of time for tours and explanations later - right now, I really need to see what her malfunction is… Walk with me.”

He led Tarioshi to a section of the wall slightly lighter in hue than the rest. It slid aside with a soft whisper, allowing them passage out of the room into a hallway. She glanced back as the door closed, noticing the lights inside flicker off just before it shut.

“Lots of automation?”

“Mm-hm.” Jadyn smirked. “She and I do some admittedly frivolous things with power at times, but any room that isn’t in use gets tuned down. Bee?”

“Busy, flying.” Her voice came from everywhere at once as they walked; there was no echo along the corridor. A peculiar artifact accompanied the audio, vaguely reminiscent of a speakerphone. “Can it wait?”

“Two minutes ago it couldn’t! Our status so horrible that you can’t talk, pilot, and play cards at the same time?”

“Fine, fine. If we crash into a passenger airline, it’ll be your fault. All primary controls are dark. I’m stuck using alternate command pathways and manual control for everything short of… Well, no, everything. Cloak’s flaky at best. There’s other junk broken that regeneration can’t fix - oh, it’s broken too. Your idle hands will be much appreciated.”

“I miss the days when things just worked.”

“You have no idea.”

Jadyn grunted, scratching his neck. “Well, we have to start somewhere… A power relay still screwed up?”

“Three, actually. One is now acting odd, other two are dead to scans.”

“Damn. How many spares do we have on hand?”

“Only one. Field engineering isn’t a strong suit of yours, I know.”

“I’ll deal with it. We’re going to order more spares from Toy when we get home, though. As soon as you can, meet me in medical. You have a patient.”

“Then the patient can go wait there patiently.”

Jadyn rolled his eyes, opening a door and gesturing Tari inside. “You said before that you wanted no doctors involved… I’m taking a leap by assuming you only meant human doctors. Think you’ll be all right with an alien physician who won’t care that you aren’t human?”

“I… I guess. I don’t know…” Tari peered around the sanitized room. Two beds of some sort lay along the wall to the right of the doorway; a third sat squarely in the middle of the room. They all appeared to have some sort of computer equipment built into the base. A shelf of equipment along with several drawers waited on the far side of the room from the door. What appeared to be monitors filled the last wall, to the left. All the screens were dark. “This is all so… surreal. I don’t know what to think. Why am I even here?”

“When I committed myself to helping you, I couldn’t leave you back there with this injury just because you suddenly weren’t what I thought you were last night.” He gestured to the bed in the center of the room. “Have a seat. T’bia will be along in a couple.”

“Teh-bye-yah?” Tarioshi pronounced slowly.

“Close enough. I’ve always called her ‘Bee’ since that’s what dad called her… Never did understand how that got started instead of ‘Tee’ or ‘Stinky’ or whatever else.”

“Known her a while, then?”

“All my life. She’s the one soul I’ve always been able to trust implicitly.”

“She really sounds a little… off-kilter.”

“A healthy level of insanity helps keeps you sane. It’s even more effective as a group effort.”

Tari sighed, her gaze settling back on the allegedly faux-human before her. “So… What’s next?”

“For you? Back to Terra, as soon as is prudent.”

“Aww, come on… I just got here.”

“Sorry. I don’t make the rules. I’m supposed to at least make some marginal effort at following them. In the last four hours I’ve broken… Hum. I don’t think I have enough fingers to count the regulations I’ve blatantly ignored.”

The medical room’s door snapped open. “I’d say at least twelve or thirteen, Jay. Not the least of which is the cardinal law, ‘don’t surprise your partner with post-last-minute changes in schedule or crew compliment.’”

Tari looked up at the newcomer, eyes wide in surprise. A skunk lady, similar in form to herself, walked across the room to the row of drawers and began rummaging through the contents. She hadn’t given the kitsune more than a second’s glance. Fur as black as a moonless night cascaded over her body, highlighted by a pair of white stripes stretching up the bridge of her muzzle and under her short white hair. They were briefly visible once more, cascading down the back of her neck, before vanishing into her dark green full-body jumpsuit. Presumably, they ran down her entire back. Emerging from the suit at the base of her erect and voluminous tail, they ran all the way to its tip before ending together. Her plantigrade feet were bare and covered in white fur, as were her hands. At the most she was five and a half feet tall, just slightly more than Tari herself.

Jadyn grinned widely. “Yes, but breaking that law is only punishable by a slap on the wrist and a severe scolding. Tari, this is T’bia Halio, the one sapient who really knows how to keep this ship running -“

“You always forget ‘mefiritan,’” T’bia interrupted, moving a tool from one drawer to another. “Especially around visitors that don’t know what I am.”

“Mmm… So I do. Bee, Tarioshi, a kitsune friend I’ve made. Hoped I’ve made. I think I’ve made.”

Tari stared at the skunk for several seconds longer, managing to blink when T’bia looked at her curiously. “Uh… Hello.”

“‘Yo.’ That is the right vernacular, isn’t it? Regardless, Miss Tarioshi… We’re slightly out of practice at hosting visitors from planets that aren’t supposed to know about us,” she spoke, shooting Jadyn a cold glare. He rolled his eyes as she went on. “Just yell if you require something we forgot. Need to find the deep tissue regenerator, by the look of your arm… Where the Void did I put that thing…? Goddess knows we never use it… A hypo of painkiller and back to work…”

The vixen looked between the two of them, finally focusing back on Jadyn. “You’re like her? When you’re not masquerading as a human?”

“Similar form, different species. I’m biped vulpine somewhat like your present incarnation. Oh, reminds me - Bee, any idea the time left on that shapedance manifestation?”

T’bia paused in her digging long enough for a glance at her palm. “Thirty-six hours and change.”

“Velorian?”

“Val’Traxan. Not that it matters much at that resolution.”

“True, but thanks for grabbing us when you did. Could have wound up very bad if I’d been much later.” Jadyn moved to take off the tape securing Tari’s bandage; the skunk appeared at the bedside, slapping his hands away.

“Shoo! I’ll get her fixed up, thank you kindly.” She pushed him toward the door, forcefully evicting him from the medical room. “Go get prepared for your own pending medical emergency or do something else constructive. Not like there’s a lack of things to accomplish elsewhere. Oh, hey. Brilliant idea. Go land the ship before we crash into their moon. Autopilot is offline and I can’t steer from here right now.”

“All right, all right! Give me a holler when you’re done.” Jadyn stepped out of the room, glancing back at Tari before the doors shut. T’bia snorted, turning and walking back to the bed.

“I swear, organics are going to be the death of me.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Nothing important.” T’bia’s fingers gingerly peeled off the bandages, delicately uncovering the layers of cloth and dressing surrounding the wound. She let out a slow whistle as the last of the bloodied compress fell away. “And what the Void happened to you?”

“Kind of a long story…” Tari stalled. How much did she want to tell this lady? That she was a spirit-fox and had been following her crewmate as a quadruped? That’ll go over like a lead balloon…

“No shortage of time. This is going to take a little while.” Lifting one of the several devices she’d brought from the drawers and countertop, T’bia passed the gadget a few inches over the deep wound. Shifting symbols appeared seemingly at random on the wall of monitors. “When he said there was someone else coming up, I expected a human to grace our transporter pad… He called you a kitsune just now, yes? From what I recall of my research, that would peg you as part of mythology and legends from… Japan, I think that’s the right region?”

The vixen blinked. “Er, yes, that’s right…”

“Mm. So, technically, you don’t exist. You’re kind of like us in a way, alien to the human race and trying to learn, but you’ve got a distinct advantage in growing up with humanity all around you. Speaking of, may I be the first to observe that you have very interesting biosigns? Wow. If only I had about a thousand more of you to make a full genome profile from… Hm. Be good to get Jadyn’s scans of the humans he was in proximity to, as well, see how you compare… Bet they’re just as wacky as you.” T’bia nodded to herself. “Okay! I’ve got enough info here to get to work. Let’s amputate.”

“A-a-amputate?!” Tarioshi stammered. “But - I thought - Can’t you just -“

“What? Just patch you up? I suppose, if you want to do this the easy way. Spoil sport. This is a really bad injury, but we’ll have you fixed up in no time. Almost no time. That’s a really odd saying, too… It’s wasting time to say ‘no time’ because it takes time to do it, unless you’re already done in which case, why bother?”

“Er…”

“Hint: Nod and smile at the pauses.” T’bia changed out devices, using one that shined a reddish light on the wounded area. Tarioshi felt a slight tingle, just like the pins and needles of a hand that had gone to sleep, before it went numb altogether. “Don’t you worry. No loss of limb in the itinerary, at any rate. Tell me, how did you happen to nearly sever your own arm? Some horrible toaster-oven accident? Dangerous things, those.”

Tari exhaled slowly. “I was… following him, in the form of a native fox…”

“Ah, a shapedancer, are we?”

“Shape… dancer? Jadyn used the same word…”

“Shapeshifter, changeling, chameleon, whatever lapel pin you care to wear. I used to know a very gifted shapedancer, he could do this thing where he… Er, I’d best throw the tangent flag on myself there before I get started. Is that the more common term on Terra? ‘Shapeshifter?’”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. How’d you run into him?”

Tari stared at the wall, slowly shaking her head. “Jadyn hopped off a truck near the hills I was passing through on my way north. I was curious as to what fool would be walking anywhere in that blizzard and started following him… When he set up camp I figured I could sneak in after he went to sleep and stay warm next to him for the night.”

“Caught the weather reports. Looked like a bad storm.” T’bia changed out devices once more and donned a pair of dark goggles. “Don’t look at the light off this if you can help it. About twice as bright as a welding arc on the setting I’m going to use. I’d rather not have to do eye regeneration too - your body’s under enough stress right now.”

“Er, okay…” Tari shut her eyes, bright flashes shining through her eyelids. There was absolutely no sensation of anything happening at all as the flashes went to a steady light. “What is that thing?”

“Primarily, it’s a distraction. I enjoy how you called him the fool for being out in that storm, although I feel obliged to point out that you were also out there.”

“I’m a little better prepared to deal with inclement weather.”

“If you say so. You were going to pirate some body heat…?”

“Er, right. So, I was scoping out the area. Stepped right into the middle of a steel trap and missed every single sign that someone had placed one there. Honestly, the damn thing shouldn’t have triggered under my weight. Not sure who was trying to catch what, but a trap like that shouldn’t have been in a picnicking area.”

“Ouch. Amputation wasn’t far off the menu after all. He must have heard the sound and got you out of the trap, not thinking you were anything but a wild fox.”

Tari nodded, her eyes still shut. “I didn’t think I could handle being on my own while I healed. He must have thought the same and took me on his walk to that hotel. With his first-aid and a bit of my magic, I’d gotten it moderately well healed for the time I could work with it. Then I went and shifted forms to this without thinking what it might do. Tore it up all over again and made it worse than it was to start with… I’m such an idiot…”

“Mm, I wouldn’t say that. What you are is extremely lucky to still have that arm. Had you gone to a doctor on the planet they probably couldn’t have saved it, what with their leeches and hoodoo and whatnot. You can open your eyes now - you’re done.”

“What?” Tari looked at her arm. The flesh and fur were wholly grown back. She felt through her pelt lightly, not finding any obvious scarring. Rotating the arm was painless and smooth, though still mostly numb. “How’s that possible…?”

“Our medical technology is several centuries ahead of Terra’s. Things that take weeks to months of unassisted healing time we can take care of in a few hours or less, depending on the severity.Most of that arm will be numb for a day or two while your nerves finish growing back. There are a couple of small scars I’ll be able to clear out once that settles but they’re invisible under your pelt. Honestly not sure how they’d translate to other forms, if they even follow you like that. Might want to keep them for the memories. Or get a tattoo.”

Tari gazed at her arm incredulously, running her fingers through the newly regrown fur. “Someone out there must hate me…”

T’bia sat down next to her on the medical bed. “Come again?”

“The greatest adventure to be waved in the face of anyone from Earth is here in front of my nose and I can’t snag more than a glimpse. Every fiber of my being is absolutely screaming to see what’s out here, but Jadyn’s already said I have to go back to Earth.”

“Ah, that. Yes, you’re scheduled for a lobotomy at six, after which we’ll leave you naked in a cornfield in Kansas.”

“Not funny.”

“No? Would a pasture in Nebraska be more to your liking…? I suppose not. Well, to be honest, we’re really not supposed to interfere with the natural progression of a world. That includes exposing any member of a pre-contact world to our technology or influence. If we were following the rules to the letter, you’d probably be without one arm at this moment.” The skunk smirked. “Jay dropped the ball, so to speak, though in his defense I suppose he thought he was helping a regular quadruped and not a fellow sapient. Not to say he’d have left you in the trap if he’d known - he’d probably have been more… selective, perhaps, in what he’d said and done within earshot. As long as we’re nitpicking, he also should have sedated you before bringing you aboard.”

“So if I’ve already been corrupted, why not finish the job?”

“We’d have to kill you, and I’m not about to let him do that after I went to the trouble of fixing up your arm.”

Tari blinked.

“Lighten up! You’ll figure out when I’m yanking your chain, sooner or later.” T’bia laughed, hopping back to her feet and gathering up the tools she’d used. “We’ll see what happens. He and I have a pile of repairs to complete before we can even consider going close enough to Terra to drop you off. He’s not going to be in any shape to do real work for at least a day after that manifestation tears him asunder tomorrow.”

“What exactly is happening to him?”

“Exactly? Well… how about abridged?” The skunk squinted. “The shapedancing manifestation - that is to say, the ‘magic’ he used to become human for the duration of his stay on Terra. It wears off in a most unpleasant manner, slowly reassembling his DNA and everything else from the ground up. Nearly killed him on the transition from fox to human. At least then he had a choice whether to go through with the process or not. This time, it’ll happen regardless of what he tries to do. The most he can control is how fast it happens.”

“Wow… Is there anything I can do to help?”

“With his shift or with the ship repairs he won’t be able to do while he’s in a comatose state?”

“Either, I guess.”

“Probably not. Mm… Well, let’s look here and see what we’ve got on the to-do list.” T’bia dumped all the equipment in her hands haphazardly into a drawer and bumped it shut with her hip. Holding out her hand, she tapped away at a series of glowing symbols that appeared to float just above the fleshy part of her palm. “Need him for that… and that… that… Maaaaybe that one you could do with some guidance, but I need to get this and that done first, which is a two day job… And all of this depends on getting the power conduits back up, which I need his experience to get replaced and repaired.”

“Sorry…”

“Not your fault. I’ve been fixing all sorts of stuff I’m able to fix for the year he’s been on your planet… Another day isn’t going to make all that much difference. Just knowing we’re close to a workable ‘done’ is frustrating in itself.” The skunk sighed wistfully. “It’s still not going to be ‘finished,’ though. Getting the Serin back to her full capabilities these days seems like such a pipe dream… Anyway, enough of dumping our problems on you - did you get breakfast before I abducted the two of you?”

“We’d just finished,” Tari confirmed.

“Okay then.” Walking to an alcove on the wall near the door, T’bia touched at a lighted panel just beside the opening. The alcove glowed briefly; she took out a tall glass of an opaque pinkish liquid. “Humor me and drink this.”

“What is it?”

“Electrolytes in liquid suspension. Water, salt, simple sugars, minerals. Our healing tech is advanced but it still relies on your own body to do a bunch of the work. Going to nag you to drink one of these a couple times a day for a day or two, just to replenish what the cellular regeneration took out.”

Tari sniffed at the drink; it smelled faintly of citrus. A tentative sip proved tasty although the flavor wasn’t any fruit she could place. “All at once?”

“Better if you take your time with it like a warm beverage. Need to make a note, make the next one hot… Yes, that’ll do.” T’bia poked at her palm and scribbled a few symbols. “Okay, now to bother the alleged captain of our fine vessel. Jay?”

“Finally done?” Jadyn replied. Tari tried to spot the hidden speakers as she sipped the beverage. “Been over half an hour.”

“These things take time, though you wouldn’t know anything about that. Nice job on the landing, by the way. Didn’t feel a thing down here. You… did land the ship, didn’t you?”

“On the back side of their moon, within a few meters of the last parking spot. We are officially off their radar.”

T’bia noticed the kitsune glancing about and smiled. “Excellent. I’ve been thinking about the repair work some…”

“Oh, I bet you have. What’s first?”

“There’s one power relay that should be swapped out as soon as possible. Should be trivial to do as you are. We can wait on your impending shapedance and the follow-up coma before trying to rebuild the other two relays with parts we don’t have.”

“Sounds good. I’m thinking I should force the regression to fire all at once. The gradual way sucks.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll make some earplugs. We’ll definitely need your normal dexterity et cetera for the other two relays if we want them to work after the repairs, though.”

He sighed. “All right. Which one are we swapping out?”

“Cockpit power relay. It’s been offline for almost two months now. We sort of need it to plot the course back to Veloria, to initiate a desperately needed large scale shipwide regeneration, so on and so forth and et cetera and whatnot. A moderate plus is that there’s no crawling around in the bowels of the ship to get to the blasted thing. It’s under the floor in the hall outside the cockpit, beneath several inches of EMI shielding.”

“Lucky me. I’m going to get some work clothes on. Actually, I’ll snag a shower first - if that crap shampoo I used last night is making my nose itch, it must be absolutely gruesome for you and Tari.”

“I didn’t want to say anything,” the vixen confirmed.

“See you in a few, then.” T’bia nodded to herself. “Okay, now… I suppose I should find you a room or something, Miss Tarioshi.”

“Please, just ‘Tari’ is fine. Can he still hear us?”

“No. Need something?”

“Well… I was wondering if you two minded me watching the work.”

“It’s just your basic repair on an incredibly advanced alien spaceship… Oh, right. My bad. Sure, tag along if you like. You can watch us argue about how to remove parts we’ve pulled out a thousand times.”

“Are you… You and he… Er, anything special?” Tarioshi asked hesitantly.

“Special..?” T’bia blinked at her before bursting out in cackles of laughter. “Oh! No, not at all. Whatever gave you an idea like that?”

“You almost seem like a married couple.”

“Mm… More like siblings. Let’s just say he and I have an understanding that nothing like that would ever work. He’s all yours for the taking.”

“I didn’t mean -“

“I know entirely what you meant. That doesn’t mean I can’t willfully misinterpret it.” T’bia grinned as she donned a black bracelet from within the pile of medical equipment. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll show you to the common room - you can hang out there until he gets done with his shower. I’ll get a room cleaned for you in the meantime.”

“Oh, Light and Void, I needed that.” Jadyn toweled off his hair, walking slowly through his quarters. “I smelled worse than you.”

“Yes, you did. Especially since I technically have no scent glands of any sort.” T’bia leaned back against the door to his room, watching him put away the contents of his pack. “The air recycler was working double-time to keep up with your flowery funk.”

“Har. You told her yet?”

“About?”

“Your ability to walk through closed doors, hear every whisper, see every movement, and generally be omnipotent within these walls. When stuff’s properly online, of course.”

“Nah, didn’t bother with a proper intro to the glory that is Me.” T’bia peered at the ceiling. “Though if she’s not staying, it won’t much matter what we tell her, will it? I’m now the Grand High Overseer of Food Processing, in charge of culling the herds of humans.”

“I think not.” Jadyn reached for a pair of his favorite steelsilk pants, realizing as he held them up that they wouldn’t fit his legs for another day. “Huh. I’ve lost weight.”

“And several inches in height. Want me to get those in your current size?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Clean pair of denim shorts would be great, though.”

“Denim?” T’bia gasped in mock-horror. “I don’t know you anymore!”

“There’s nothing wrong with denim clothing!” Jadyn defended, folding the deceptively durable silken pants and tucking them away in a drawer. “I’ve actually found the material quite comfortable in the last year.”

“Sure, and I found I’ve a libido.” The skunk sighed, walking up to the replicator. “Denim… Next you’ll be singing the virtues of elastic polyurethane fabric.”

He grunted, snagging a sleeveless black steelsilk shirt and pulling it over his shoulders. “Erf… Would you consider this a very large vest, or a very short full-body robe?”

“Either or. Suggestion for field engineering, though… A plain fleet uniform.”

“I’ll change into something better suited for maintenance work after lunch.”

“Suit yourself.” The replicator hummed; T’bia snagged the shorts and lobbed them over her shoulder. “Dress yourself, too. Tari’s waiting.”

“Joining us?”

“No. Going to start prepping for powerdown.” She looked at her fingers as he gave himself a once-over in the mirror. “She’s cute, you know. Two tails are kind of sexy. One for each hand -“

“Don’t even start, Bee. She came here for medical help, and she’s going home as soon as we can put her there without further risk to her health.”

Tari paced around the ship’s common room, studying the various trinkets and possessions clinging to the walls and sitting on shelves. Paintings, tapestries, pictures, artifacts… A huge window across from the door presented a view she hadn’t been wholly prepared to see when T’bia had opened the iris-like shade for her. Timeless gray dirt pitted with meteorite impacts sprawled out in every direction, meeting a black, starry, airless sky at the horizon. She had gazed outside for a time, marveling at the fact she was indeed on the moon. The moon! Humans hadn’t been back in years and she was looking at the natural satellite in a way few others ever would see.

Eventually she’d started walking around the room, looking closer at the assortment of things while waiting for her hosts to return. Some trinkets could only have held personal or sentimental value - a few odd sculptures and the like - but others had a definite talent behind them, almost an enchantment in their craftsmanship.

One tapestry in particular drew her attention. A white vixen, portrayed from waist up, held a golden orb in her left paw and a blue-green orb in her right - a planet and its sun? Coal black covered the vixen’s paws, eartips, her nose, and the tips of her tails.

Two tails, Tari remarked silently. Just like me.

The woven image gazed back at her with vibrant green eyes, the same lively teal as Tari’s own. No clothing covered the vixen, yet none felt required. A sense of immense power and wisdom radiated from her, perhaps godlike… It sent a chill down Tari’s back.

She moved along, glancing over other paintings and photographs. None drew her in as fully as the tapestry until she passed by a portrait of a planet. The world clearly wasn’t Earth, the continental shapes wholly wrong. There was something else that didn’t feel right, but she couldn’t quite place what was bothering her.

Nearly five minutes of study passed before the problem became noticeable - the painting was moving. The moon had shifted slightly and the shadow of night had drifted further along the surface. Even the positions of the stars in the background had slid very slightly as the position above the planet held fast.

Hesitantly, she reached out and ran her fingers over the surface of the artwork. The material felt like canvas. Areas colored other than black felt painted. Pushing lightly did not distort the image, throwing out the possibility of a projection on the canvas.

“What is this?” she asked herself, pulling the painting from the wall and looking at the back. No wires, no lights, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

“Holographic rendering, planet of Val’Trax.” replied an asexual voice from the ceiling.

“Who said that?” she asked, looking up.

“You are addressing the autonomous computer array of the VTC Serin. For your future reference, this system has been programmed to respond to inquiries addressed to ‘Aerin.’”

Tari frowned. “You’re a computer? Like an AI or something?”

“A separate computational array handles processing of AI code. This system provides responses built from any available datastore based upon logical examination of input keywords and sensor evaluation of the inquirer’s surrounding area.”

“So… I can ask you a question and you’ll answer it?”

“Affirmative.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Please restate your inquiry,” it replied flatly.

Tari sighed, looking at the picture in her hands. “Computers… All right. This picture… Why is it moving?”

“The rendering is programmed with animation calculations.”

“Come again?”

“Accessing program comment, please wait.” There was a short pause. “Holographic database entry 611,984. Entry comment. ‘Holographic rendering of oil painting titled The World of Val’Trax by Aazi Lucen. Original non-holographic work destroyed in 2415 VT. Holographic vector rendering reconstructed by Jadyn Elon Tzeki, school project. Animation calculations added to personal copy, planetary positioning and shading based upon current time and date. Projection updated once every thousand hardware refresh cycles.’ End comment.”

“This is a hologram? As in, a non-material object?”

“Affirmative.”

She touched it again, running her finger over the frame, then the canvas. “Feels pretty real to me. The… Ah… The rendering of that vixen over there, do you have any information on that?”

“No holographic renderings in this room match your query. Please restate your query.”

Tari stepped in front of the tapestry after placing the planet’s picture back on the wall. “This.”

“Retrieving information from inventory datastore… ‘Tapestry of the Kshorahii,’ unknown artist or Artisan. Estimated age of work, nine hundred years VT. Comment as follows. ‘Tapestry depicting the Kshorahii Tarisali, Mother of the Val’Traxan people. Saved from the ruins of the Temple of the Kshorahii.’ End comment.”

“Nine hundred years old… Wow. And Jadyn really is five hundred?”

“Jadyn Tzeki is three hundred and sixty-four years of age, VT.”

“But he said… Wait, what’s ‘vee-tea’ mean?”

“‘VT’ is an identifier for the time scale used, indicating the Val’Traxan homeworld.”

“Oh, the letters ‘V’ and ‘T’. What’s that convert to in Earth years?” she asked.

“‘Earth’ is an ambiguous term. Seventy-three worlds’ names translate to ‘Earth.’ Please provide a planet registry identifier.”

Tari thought for a moment. “Jadyn and T’bia called it Terra? Does that help? It’s the planet we’re close to…”

“Terra of Sol. Time scale referenced internally as ‘TS’ and based upon the calendar year identified as ‘Gregorian’ by native inhabitants. Jadyn Tzeki is five hundred and ten years TS as of January sixth.”

“Getting used to talking to the walls, I see.”

Tari spun around. Jadyn stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame with a smirk on his face. “How long have you been there?” she asked, ears flattened in embarrassment.

“Just a minute or two. I’m impressed… I wouldn’t have expected you to be developing a rapport with the computer on your first day. Aerin: until Tarioshi asks otherwise, please use a Terran frame of reference for answering her inquiries.”

“Preference saved,” it replied.

“Should make it a little easier to work with. And don’t be shy about asking things, even if you’re just going rounds with Aerin.” He eyed her curiously. “It’s bad manners to ask a lady her age on your world, isn’t it?”

“Some people think so. I’m, ah… A hundred and fifty in another few months.”

“And yet you don’t look a day over twenty.”

She felt herself blushing, despite knowing she’d never look older. “Thank you.”

He grinned and nodded. “Care for lunch?”

“Not really very hungry yet… T’bia had me drink something after she finished working on my arm.”

“Aha. I suppose that’d be a good idea for me, too. Going to be needing some reserves for that shapedance…” Jadyn strolled up to an alcove in the wall, one much like T’bia had used in the medical lab. “Whatever Bee made last in medbay, Aerin. Oh - in case she didn’t tell you, these little holes in the walls are replicators. Among other things, they’ll provide you with generally whatever meal or snack you ask for. I’m going to assume we’ve a wide variety of Terran foods by now, though the recipes probably need adjustment.”

“Really?” Tari asked, looking over his shoulder as the drink appeared. “How hard is it to add something new?”

“Pretty easy… Can either put something in one and have it scan in the pattern or feed it a recipe of some sort. Recipes almost always need some amount of tweaking to come out right, in my experience.”

“What do you do with empty plates and glasses?”

“Put them back in and they’re deconstructed.”

“Handy way to do the dishes.”

“Don’t have to scrub off any dried up chunks of goo that way.” Jadyn squinted as he took a swallow of the liquid. “Oi, she made you drink this? Tastes like soap…”

“Mine tasted pretty good… Kind of fruity. Had a nice aroma, too.”

He raised an eyebrow and held out the glass. “Like this?”

Tari took a tentative sniff, wrinkling her nose at the medicinal scent. “Ick, no. That smells like a disinfectant.”

“I think I’ve been had,” Jadyn intoned, setting the glass back in the alcove. “I bet she -“

A chime interrupted him. “Jadyn, you’ve got a call that you aren’t going to be pleased with.”

“Who from?”

“Councilor T’zran,” T’bia’s voice replied.

“Damnit,” he cursed under his breath. “Tari, I’m really sorry, but I need to take that. One of my superiors.”

“Go ahead. I’ll be here, I guess.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He stepped out of the common room, walking fast to the grav-lift and waiting impatiently for the fall to the next deck. “Bee? He transmitting visual?”

“Yup.” Her voice had dropped the artificial filtering of a comm channel, now that he was alone; had he not known better he could have mistakenly thought that she was walking behind him.

Jadyn stepped into his cabin, locking the door and setting a privacy field out of habit. He briefly wondered why he’d bothered. “Either blank mine or fake my image. I don’t want him to see my ‘disguise.’”

“I’m feeling lazy, so blank it is,” she replied. “Ready?”

“No, but open the channel anyway.”

A holographic screen snapped to life immediately before him, displaying a black feline sitting behind an official-looking wooden desk. A few potted plants flanked the wall behind him; a pleasant sunny day outside the office’s window contrasted the dark malice in the cat’s eyes as he jammed a knife he’d been playing with into his desk’s surface.

“Captain?” he queried.

“Councilor. My apologies, but I cannot transmit visual at this time. To what do I owe this blatant breech of protocol?”

A dark smile spread across Ceth’s face. “Just checking in. I have been trying to reach you for several weeks but your computer kept telling me you were… unavailable.”

“I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear enough. I’ll ensure the auto-response is adjusted to add descriptive pictographs.”

“Thank you. I am looking forward to your presentation. Your report should be quite… enlightening. When are you returning to Alligned space?”

“I should arrive at Veloria Orbital within three weeks, as scheduled. When is the next Council session beginning on Terac Lun?”

“In four weeks.” The feline nodded, satisfied. “I will pass on word that you will be reporting on time.”

“Kind of you. Is there anything else, Councilor?” Why the cordial facade, Ceth? What the Void are you looking for?

“No. Just making sure you were not having any… unexpected difficulties. There have been some rumors about -“

“No difficulties worth reporting at this time. Councilor, I have a great deal of work to attend to in preparation for departure. If you need anything further, please wait until I return to the station. Tzeki out.”

The screen disappeared; Jadyn dropped himself into a chair. “Thoughts?” he asked aloud.

“He’s finally gone insane?” T’bia appeared near the door, leaning back against the wall beside the entryway. “Something didn’t seem right about that, but I can’t put my finger on what quite yet.”

“You mean, besides that being a rather creepy courtesy call from someone who hates my guts?”

“Yeah, other than that.”

Jadyn nodded acceptingly. “Scan through it again when you have time. For now, let’s deal with the local problems. We can get the power relays up, and then we need to get Tari dirtside before we go -“

T’bia grimaced. “Slight problem. That power conduit that was acting odd? It’s now among the dead.”

“Damn, okay. What was that one for?”

“Transporters.”

Jadyn blinked. “The power supply for the toy that takes us apart and puts us back together acts funny and you use it to bring us on board?”

“It was okay until after the cycle finished and the buffers were purging. I wouldn’t have risked turning Tarioshi into a puddle of goo if the blasted thing had been wonky at the start. You, however, might be more socially acceptable in a gelatinous state.” The skunk sighed. “You wanted a summary at the time you asked, not chronological detail on when things broke.”

“All right, all right…” He rubbed his temples, thinking. “Cloak, land, drop her off?”

“Cloak is flaky as well, remember?”

“How flaky are we talking? Worse than when I left?”

“A little.”

“And just how much is a little, sparky?”

T’bia scratched her neck. “After picking you up and getting the ship underway to the so-called dark side of their moon, I haven’t been able to get it to come back on for a diagnostic.”

Jadyn groaned, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “The way things are going, we’re going to be lucky to still have flight critical systems ready in a week.”

“Yeah, about those…”

“Don’t start.”

Tari glanced up from studying the tapestry as the door opened. T’bia stepped inside, whistling a tune to herself.

“Yo,” the skunk greeted, strolling up beside her and glancing at the cloth artwork. “You like this?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“You two could be sisters.”

Tari looked at the vixen in the work again, nodding slightly. “I guess there is a little resemblance…”

“More than a little. Add some black highlights and you’re twins. Well, almost. She’s a little more top-heavy.”

“Hm? Oh. I suppose so. Do you know who she is?”

“A religious icon.” T’bia smirked slightly. “That is a depiction of the Goddess of Val’Trax. Supposed to be, anyway.”

“‘Supposed to be?’”

“I’m somewhat agnostic on religious matters as of late. See, I know who my creator was and I know what he believed in. It’s my choice to share or not share his beliefs. More often than not, I do, but that’s well beside the point.”

“You mean your father?”

“Mmm… I suppose you could call him that.” T’bia sighed. “I usually prefer to drag this out but there wouldn’t be any point with you… You don’t have enough experience out here yet to figure it out on your own. Here, hold this bracelet for me if you’d be so kind? I’ll need it back in a few minutes.”

“Er, okay. What is it?”

“A mobile holographic emitter and AI processor. Did Jay mention that the ship has an AI?”

“No, Aerin told me when I asked if he… if it was. From what it was doing, answering my questions and such, it seemed like something that computer scientists on Earth would love to fondle.”

T’bia shook her head. “Nah, Aerin’s pretty basic when you get down to its core. It processes most of the autonomous functions like the doors, climate, lights… So on. There’s a lot of things it monitors and adjusts with no interaction, but it’s all programmed in.”

“So, if Aerin isn’t the AI, what is?”

“Well, before we get to that… The AI has a female personality pattern, and she’s not really a ‘what’ but a ‘who.’ For the sake of my own curiosity, when you think of artificial intelligence, what comes to mind?”

The kitsune frowned in thought. “Before I knew about any of this, I’d have thought of it as something like the machine that beat the chess player, maybe something fictional from a book or from television… Not really sure anymore after seeing all this. Aerin would have been a good candidate in my book.”

“Aerin has no free will, no ability to think for itself. A full and proper AI, by Val’Traxan standards, should think, evolve, react, learn, and grow. Ideally, the resulting consciousness should be indistinguishable from an organic mind, like Jadyn’s and your own.”

“I see…” Tari thought about what T’bia had said. It didn’t click for nearly fifteen seconds. “Not like yours?”

“Bingo. I’m the AI.”

Tari stared at her, then started laughing. “You’re kidding again?”

“Dead serious. This time.” T’bia smiled cheerfully. “I’m advanced even for the local space-faring worlds.”

“It’s just… No, you… A computer?”

“When Jay said the walls were alive, he meant it in more ways than one.”

“You don’t seem like you’re any less than… than…”

“Organic?”

“Yeah. No. Yeah.” Tari shook her head. “I mean, I’ve got no reason to not believe you, but…”

“But yesterday, the concept of a computer was something you’d use to browse web sites with, not someone you’d have an intellectual conversation with as she reattaches your arm. No problem. Control: Optimize for mobile… No, belay that. Reboot the AI, diagnostic display in Terran English here, optimization pass. That should give you something to -” T’bia flickered like a television that had been abruptly unplugged, then vanished. A screen of sorts appeared ahead of Tari, spewing forth lines of text.

! Restarting AI subsystems by request of running AI.

! Core memory validated… garbage collection complete… optimizing… 20%… 53%… 97%… Complete. Core memory saved. Purging system processors.

! Diagnostic reset of shipwide holographic emitter arrays in five seconds.

Several things in the common room vanished in a haze - the animated picture on the wall, the tables and chairs, almost all of the photographs, several other things - but all popped back into reality mere seconds later. Tari peered at her surroundings, wondering just how much of the ship was made out of light. A line of text flashing angry red called her attention back to the display.

% Reset of Emitter Array 34287 Failed - Projection area in use by non-holographic organic object

% Location: Deck two, section four, area two.

% Waiting… … … … Space occupied. Flagging for inspection and skipping restore of object from chair database.

! AI startup in progress.

≠ Artificial Intelligence Engine, System Version Tz-48.09a2.7jqt Experimental Final

≠ Original modifications to ARIA API for use on TBIA hardware completed by Kieran Ireto Tzeki

≠ Modifications extensively modified by T’bia Halio and Jadyn Elon Tzeki

≠ Compile comment: Powered by lint. And kitten hearts.

≠ AI personality file load in progress.

– Halio_T’bia01 229.80 exaquads code + 837.92 zettaquads long-term memory (estimated)

– Deep scan result cached from full diagnostic (PASS, 497 days old)

– Checksum PASS, fingerprint 2379VTTBIA-954enmed902hx

– Checking neural processor array… Fractal Generator PASS Heuristics PASS Registers PASS Cache PASS

– Linking neural array to internal sensor network and holographic emitter arrays… Administrative overrides enabled… Link complete.

– Sensory subroutine check: Auditory PASS Ocular PASS Tactile PASS Olfactory PASS Gustatory PASS

– Preloading personality enhancement modules flagged ‘Required’ - complete. Other modules will be loaded on demand.

≠ Quick Diagnostic complete. PASS

≠ Core memory restored.

≠ Personality Halio_T’bia01 ready. Loading avatar.

≠ Neural network activation.

T’bia’s form reappeared in the center of the room. She stood motionless for several seconds before returning to life and taking a breath. “I hate it when I get interrupted by my own reboot order… Ah well. Further proof, perhaps?” Her form blurred then resolved transparent, a dark fog with light patches where her stripes ran. “Ooooooh…. OOooOOooOOooHHAAaaaAA!! I am the ghost of AI past… Never mind, forgot the chains I’d need to rattle.” She blurred once more, coming back solid but with neon orange fur that shifted in brightness with her breathing. Her hair took on a gloss that shimmered through the entire spectrum.

“Wow.” Tari clicked her tongue. “… Wow. I don’t understand half of what went by on that screen.”

“Didn’t expect you to, but it was a good excuse to scale down my girlish figure. After a year without a reboot I had a lot of extraneous crap floating around up here to unload.” She tapped her head. “More importantly, I’ve purged off enough now to run entirely off the emitter you’re holding. To deal with power relays we have to shut down main power. The AI core draws too much current to use while we’re on the backup. Another thing on the eventual ‘to-do’ list…”

“It’s incredible… I never thought anything like… like you could really exist… I mean, you seem perfectly real.”

“While I’m standing here, I am perfectly… err, well I’m real, at any rate. I’m as perfect in form as you or Jay or anyone else, which is to say I’m not perfect. I won’t openly admit that often. Put it on the calendar.”

T’bia held out her hands, palms up and open. Tari looked at them, resting her own on the skunk’s after a moment of hesitation. She could feel the fleshy pads of T’bia’s palms, slightly warm as any real creature would be. Her fur felt soft and completely fur-like - regardless of the fact it was neon orange. A pulse beat gently through her flesh, and somewhere beyond was the gentle glow of something far more intangible. T’bia felt alive.

“Must be handy to be made of light… I’ve been trying to understand how this works, though. Solid light?”

“Our holographic technology uses the interaction of molecular-level force fields to create… Okay, let me back up a touch, since your eyes just glazed over. Let’s see… Non-technical. Okay. Magnets. You’ve played with them, I’m sure? Picture now, a wall of small metal blocks, all held in place via electromagnets. Now, save for the fact there are no actual metal blocks involved, that’s an extremely over-simplified idea of a forcefield. The actual particles the fields generate are somewhere around the molecular level… They can then refract and reflect ambient light or emit their own to generate the image of something - or, in my case, some one. Altering myself based upon that, I can as easily be invisible and tangible as I can be visible and intangible. But… It’s really not as handy as you might think.”

“No?”

“With this avatar, I can’t ‘feel.’ My senses, while potentially far more accurate than that of an organic, are a far cry from your own. I have sensations of taste insofar as I can estimate how the combinations of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter chemical keys will combine on your tongue and potentially send ‘yum’ or ‘eww’ to your brain. I register tactile input - temperature, pressure, all sorts of things. There are thresholds set in place so I know what would be uncomfortable, painful, harmful, potentially deadly, and can react accordingly. I don’t think I’ll ever really know your versions - the organic versions, that is to say - of simple touch, hot, cold, pain, pleasure. I’m infinitely jealous, and I cover that by acting all smug and aloof about how organics are slow and dull.” The skunk smirked. “Now, on the other hand, all these senses combined do add up to a picture I can interpret as you do your own senses, and I get along just fine with that.”

Tari nodded. “So… When you aren’t actually standing here… Can you still see what’s going on?”

“So long as I’m online and running from the ship’s AI core, I know about everything that happens on this vessel regardless of if my avatar is present at that location. I filter off a lot of stuff and don’t necessarily remember everything, and I don’t share details about what goes on in private, but I’m always aware of things that are currently happening. Might seem big-brotherish, but it’s really not as bad as you might think. A topical example is that Jadyn is waiting impatiently for us, having had a chair vanish out from under his butt. Totally worth the restart.” T’bia pointed at the bracelet. “Can I get that back?”

“What? Oh, right.”

“Thankya. AI Control: transfer execution to mobile emitter and shut down main processors.” T’bia’s image flickered briefly; she stuck out her tongue in distaste and adjusted her bracelet. “My Achillies’ wrist… Hate this thing as much as I love it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I feel numb when I can’t sense the rest of the ship. At the same time, this lets me exist when power is down or where there aren’t built-in emitters. Anyway, let’s go before he calls up wondering what’s taking so long.”

Standing over an open section of deck plating, Jadyn peered at the mass of wiring in disgust. The biotechnology that carried power and other electronic signals had proven impossible to regenerate without certain organic materials. Those materials and the secrets to grow them were buried over ninety-thousand light years away. Organic components had been replaced with mineral substitutes - polymer fibers and room-temperature superconductors. They worked well enough, though having cables strewn throughout the walls and conduits of the ship felt like a hack.

Footsteps sounded in the adjacent hall. Jadyn stood, dusting off the one-piece jumpsuit he’d donned to stay clean during the maintenance. T’bia and Tarioshi came around the corner seconds later, conversing quietly in a language he hadn’t learned. He briefly wondered why Aerin wasn’t translating. Then, he realized T’bia was day-glow orange.

T’bia finally shrugged and turned to Jadyn. “Sorry. Discovered I speak Japanese better than I thought.”

“Looks like you critically failed an attempt at degaussing, too.”

“Eh? Oh. Forgot about that.” Her fur faded to her typical black and white; her hair, however, stayed a shimmering rainbow. “We set?”

“All good here, presuming you know where the working relay is hidden.”

“Right, that would be good to have in hand before powerdown. Back in a minute.”

Tari watched the skunk leave, shaking her head slightly. “Just incredible… I would have never guessed if she hadn’t said anything…”

“It’s been a long road getting her where she is. When we started out she was pretty limited, more for safety regulations and the like. She was an experimental AI running on experimental hardware. The potential for catastrophic failure was huge.”

“I’d call her a resounding success.”

“For sure. Out here we’ve taken quite a few liberties with her code that we wouldn’t have been able to in our home space.”

“Where are you two from, anyway?”

“The world I was born on, ‘Val’Trax,’ is like ninety-five thousand lightyears away. The council of worlds that I’m currently working for is centered about forty light-years away on a planet called ‘Veloria.’”

“Putting that into a perspective of travel time…?”

“Let’s see… Here to Veloria is normally a two week trip for us. Here to Val’Trax is… hmm.”

“Depends on how hard we push the engine core,” T’bia noted, coming back around the corner. She carefully set a metallic device beside the gaping hole in the deck. “At our best miles-per-gallon ratio, a cruising velocity of a little over one thousand times lightspeed, it’d take us about eighty-six years. Could drop it to twenty years and chance burning out the core every two hours. Whenever you care to push the button, Jay.”

“It’s not even a real button.”

“I’ll correct that later. Just do it already. I’ve only got another hundred hours of runtime on this thing before I have to replace the blinker fluid.”

“Like you’d even find the reservoir without the manual. Aerin: Move life support and main computer to backup power. Shut down all other systems. Bring down main power.”

“Transitioning computer to backup power, one moment… Complete. Life support transition… Complete. Bringing down all other systems and running final powerdown scripts. Please wait.”

The lights overhead faded off, leaving them in total darkness. “Seems I forgot to bring my flashlight. Bee?”

“I’d rather not waste the energy making myself a nightlight,” T’bia replied. “Just make an orb.”

“Are we calling our wager? I haven’t so much as touched an elemental thread since the moment you kicked me off the ship.”

“Doesn’t matter. The bet was that you couldn’t go without hitting it at least once before you were back in your own body. Since the Art powers the shapedance, you automatically lose when that happens since it can’t be after itself. May as well throw in the towel, you stinking loser.”

“Some days, Bee, I really hate you.”

“You’d miss me if I was gone.”

Drawing in a thread of Light, Jadyn channeled the energy into the space above his palm. A brightly glowing orb rapidly took shape, bobbing lightly in the air as it rose to the ceiling. “Why didn’t the backlighting come on?”

“Don’t ask,” T’bia muttered. “It’s on the ‘to-do’ list.”

“How… How’d you do that?” Tari whispered, transfixed by the glowing ball.

Jadyn smirked. “Yours isn’t the only race possessing talents referred to by the uninformed as ‘magic.’ Aerin: main power status?”

“Powerdown command executing. Current state: discharging all conduits and venting Displacement core. One minute remaining.”

“But…” Tari visibly forced herself to look away from the orb of energy. Jadyn thought he’d seen a brief flash of an almost feral hunger. “It can’t be common…?”

“No. In this area of the galaxy I’d say uncommon to extraordinarily rare. There aren’t a lot of people who have this sort of ability, but so-called magic in various forms occurs just enough so that it’s generally accepted as a natural phenomenon.” He eyed her curiously. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. What’s wrong?”

“It’s… It’s nothing. Just… I’m a little tired, is all.”

“That’s not unexpected,” T’bia cut in. “You’ll need plenty of rest to help you recover.”

“Main power is now offline,” Aerin droned. “Notice: Electrochemical backup will deplete in eight months, three days, seven hours, twenty-three minutes, nine seconds at present usage.”

“Thank you, Aerin. Let’s break something.” Jadyn picked up a repair tool, tapping a configuration to unlock bolts into the side. Reaching down through the mass of wiring, he paused and laughed. “Bee?”

“What?”

“Look at this.”

“Hmm?” She walked around the gap in the floor, peering over his shoulder inside the mess of cabling. “What’s… I’ll be damned.”

“What?” Tari asked.

“One connector is totally unplugged… Looks like those others are loose…”

“Really wish the diagnostics you ran could have seen the difference between faulty and unplugged.” Jadyn plugged the cabling harness back in, checking nearby connections. “Lots of others ready to fall out here… They hit us harder than I thought.”

“T’bia?” Tarioshi scratched at her neck, watching Jadyn dig through the wiring. “Can I ask a stupid question?”

“Oh, please… No questions are stupid. Except Jay’s, of course. My answers, on the other hand, may be idiotic or mind-bogglingly cryptic.”

“Why couldn’t you work on this stuff?”

“It’s… complex.” The skunk stood up smoothly, padding around the open hole in the floor. “See, all this cabling used to be a sort of nerve-like organic fiber. Over time they stopped regenerating properly.”

“Regenerating?”

“Self-repair. Healing. The ship is entirely organic. At least, it used to be, before we replaced all the damaged fibers…” She sighed, pulling down a wall panel. “Data streams are now routed over multiply redundant fiber-optic connections between processing nodes. Energy is carried on superconductive cabling and routed through relays like the one in the floor there to the components that can’t use raw engine plasma.”

“Which is most everything outside of the engine core,” Jadyn added.

“No, there’s a few systems that can deal with it without power conversion. Defenses, Flashpoint… Even so, the converted power for everything else is far different than what these relays were designed to handle. They’re the only ones we could install that didn’t immediately explode when we fed them the current. Instead, they wind up burning off a portion in an electromagnetic field. We’ve discovered I’ve an… allergy.”

Jadyn smirked. “That’s putting it lightly.”

“It’s a really bad allergy,” the skunk tried. “The EM field screws up my avatar and other holographic fields around here something fierce. I wind up passing through the blasted thing. Can’t stay cohesive enough to work in the space immediately around it.”

Tari nodded acceptingly. “This magnetic field… It’s still there when the power is off?”

“Only some stuff. Cabling doesn’t hang onto the EM field. Larger conduits and relays are tainted after they’ve been running a while. Takes a long time to self-decay and we haven’t been able to find a reliable way to clean it. Worst part is, the EM taint causes more interference, which causes more tainting. If we keep using the same part extensively, eventually it’ll just burn off all the power moving through it into EMI and not pass enough along to do anything worthwhile.”

Jadyn looked at the open wall panel. “That where number two is hidden?”

“No.” T’bia peered through the jumbles of colored wires, tracing a bundle. “This set should be connected somewhere… around… Here. Damn! I bet half the system troubles we’re seeing are because of these broken connections.”

“What’s that one?” he questioned.

“Computer communication bridge for lighting controls. Specifically, the backlighting. Scratch that problem off the list.” An audible click sounded within the wall as she reconnected the plug. “Aerin, quick diagnostic of biolight network.”

“Please wait.” Soft humming sounds drifted from the wall paneling for several seconds. A similar noise floated from the white panels overhead before silence returned. “Main lighting passes. Backlight injector programming missing. Reprogramming… Completed. Backlighting passes.”

T’bia frowned, putting the wall panel back in place and heading around the corner. “I’m going to go check a few other connections I can actually get my own hands on.”

“Backlighting good to fire up?”

“Should be fine,” T’bia called over her shoulder.

“Why backlighting over regular lights?” Tari questioned.

“The main overhead lights take a lot of energy,” Jadyn replied, putting the flooring panel back down. “The backlights are less power intensive… Adding a different chemical in the ship’s ‘bloodstream’ coaxes the walls into doing it. We usually use them when we’re cloaked so that we’re harder to detect, less energy streaming through the ship. Sort of a bluish-green bioluminescent glow. We can tweak it a little with other chemicals to change the hue but for the most part we leave it alone.”

“I see… Sorry if I’m asking too many things.”

“I’d be more concerned if you weren’t.” He smiled over his shoulder, fastening the floor back into place. “Aerin: Can the cockpit power relay be tested without main power online?”

“Affirmative.”

“Give it a quickie.”

“Working.” A series of clicks and hums wafted up from under the floor. “Complete. Relay passes.”

“Great. Bring up the backlighting to full.” Jadyn reached overhead, sinking his fingers into the Light orb and breaking the manifestation apart. As the white light faded, a faint blue-green glow filled the hall. The lighting barely allowed him to see Tari, kneeling not three feet away. “Thought they were working now…”

“I can see you just fine,” Tari noted.

“Oh. Must be the poor vision of this body, then… Wonder if I can fix that temporarily.”

“How so?”

“Can tweak my senses to a point using the Art…” Jadyn squinted as he brought the familiar threads together into a braid. The hall immediately seemed far better lit, although color definition was lacking. “There we go.”

“The Art is what you call your… gifts?”

“Mm-hm,” he confirmed. “About two percent of my world’s native population had the ability at some level. A very small fraction of those became adept in the skill.”

“Only the native populace?”

“The ability to reach the Art was passed from parent to children, though no one ever found a genetic marker for the talent. Our entire genome had been mapped out long before I was born. They knew what every molecule of DNA in every chromosome was responsible for.”

“And I thought humans were doing well knowing if an unborn was male or female… Knowing everything… I can’t imagine that.”

“Mom and dad didn’t want to know anything, so they didn’t allow the normal suite of tests to be administered. They wanted to be surprised… They certainly got their wish.”

They sat in silence for a time, waiting for T’bia to return from her check. Jadyn stared at his fingers, looking at the last one on each hand.

“What’s on your mind?” Tari asked, interrupting his reverie.

“When I first took on this form, I had a heck of a time getting used to five fingers.”

“You only have four or something?”

“Yeah. Four fingers, four toes… Digitigrade skeletal structure in the legs… Going to just love learning to walk all over again. Lack of a tail for balance took more than a little getting used to. And pink, of all colors… Give me russet, black, gray, or even blue… but pink?”

Tari smiled. “Not all things pink are bad.”

Jadyn opened his mouth, then shut it again with a smirk. “Now who’s flirting?”

“Shouldn’t be hard to swap walking style,” she went on, ignoring him. “I’ve never done the digitigrade form other than when I’m running around native, but some of my people alternate depending on what they want that week. There’s a fair number who swear by it -“

T’bia stormed around the far corner, muttering obscenities in three different languages. “When we get back, we rip all these connectors and invest in something that locks in place. Never time to do things right, but always can do them over…”

“How many did you do?”

“I just reconnected about a hundred and forty on this deck. Let’s go check the other two relays and see what we get.”

“Three for three.” Jadyn hung a wall panel back into place; Tarioshi passed him the tool to secure the plate. “Thanks. Bee? Why did we use these connectors, anyway?”

“As I recall,” T’bia stated, leaning on the wall and watching them work, “Toy had several crates stockpiled. Insisted they’d work just fine. We were in need and they were free.”

“The second best price.”

“I’m not sure I want to know what the first is. Aerin: shipwide diagnostic, if you please.”

“Working.” A wave of white noise swept the hall as the tests all ran at once. “Failure: cloaking array.”

T’bia sighed. “Knew I should have made you pull that wall apart… Failure details?”

“Cloaking array cannot be tested without main power online.”

“Well, that’s simple enough,” Jadyn mused. “What time is it, anyway?”

T’bia peered at her palm. “2420. We can deal with the cloak later - no one is going to see us here on the dark side of Luna. Aerin: fire up the Displacement core, but don’t route power anywhere just yet.”

“Running Displacement startup scripts.” A slight vibration ran through the deckplates as the engine core came online deep in the ship. It was faint, but noticeable. “Displacement core is online. Main power ready.”

“Good boy,” T’bia praised. “You get a biscuit.”

“What are we starting with?” Jadyn stood up, glancing around. “Main lighting might be in order.”

“Going to do myself.”

“Kinky.”

T’bia bopped him hard on the arm, snickering quietly. “That way I can keep an eye on things and make sure it’s all stable, furball.”

“You’re also selfish.”

“Goes without saying. Aerin: power up AI control and its dependencies. Do not process the autorun script.”

“Routing power. Complete. AI Control active. TBIA AI core ready for initialization.”

“AI Control: Transfer my program execution to the ship’s systems.” Her avatar vanished, snapping back into reality a fraction of a second later. She snagged her bracelet out of the air before it ever touched the floor. “There we go. Let there be light!”

The overhead lights faded on, coming up to half their normal intensity. “You’ve always wanted to say that, haven’t you?”

“You’ve no idea. Let’s see here… Looking good, looking good…” T’bia nodded, looking around herself as though she were peering through the ship’s walls. “Cockpit is up and ready, transporters are back online, we’re completely up and running if you ignore the lack of functional stealth hardware. And it only took…” She looked at her palm. “All day. Go us -“

“Uh… stupid question…” Tari scratched the side of her muzzle absently. “Why do you keep glancing at your palm like the secrets of life, the universe, and everything are scrawled there?”

“Because they are. See?” T’bia held up her hand; the word ‘PANIC’ stood out just in front of her palm in bold red letters. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“Portable data terminals, these bracelets she and I wear?” Jadyn clarified. “They produce their interface as a holographic display just above your hand.”

“But… I mean, T’bia shouldn’t have to look, right?”

Jadyn grinned. “Perceptive of you. She doesn’t have to, no.”

“But I do it anyway. There’s a bunch of complex reasoning and research behind it, but it all comes down to the fact that organics are more comfortable around an avatar that acts like they do. I could go around all day, not breathing or blinking or glancing at displays for information… But not doing any of that really creeps a lot of people out.”

“Weird… Now that you mention it, I think it would start to bug me.”

“Worst part? You probably wouldn’t know what it was at first about me that was so disturbing. Anyway, Jay. Learn to work faster. I mean, really. All day? Slowpoke.”

“Pfff,” he hissed. “Would only have been two hours if the relay near the engine room wasn’t buried behind ten feet of cable bundles that use those connectors every foot. Think I plugged a thousand of them back in after you shoved me through them.”

“That’s what you get for wanting to skip the cloak for the afternoon.”

“Still hate you more.” Jadyn yawned again, stretching his arms above his head. “Mm… Force the shift in the morning, work on the cloak when I come to.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to go put the emitter on regeneration. See you two later.” The skunk padded to the grav-lift, heading to the upper deck of the ship.

“I’m way too used to Terran days,” Jadyn commented, yawning again. “We normally run on a twenty-eight hour day out here.”

“Must be nice to have four extra hours.” Tari stifled a yawn. “Stop that. You’re making me do it.”

“Homeworld was thirty-two. Minutes and hours are structured a little different, either way… Anywho, there’s one cabin we usually keep clean just in case we do have a guest. I’ll show you to it, then I’m going to crash. If it’s really bad I’ll just give you my room for the night.”

“I cleaned it up during your shower,” T’bia’s disembodied voice volunteered.

“Great, thanks.” He led the vixen down the hall, indicating one door in passing. “My room is here, if you need me for whatever reason. And this here is the gym. You remember where the lift to get upstairs was?”

Tari nodded. “How big is your ship, anyway?”

“Three story house.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned that before I actually believed you.”

“At least you remembered. Dad took down a few walls on this deck when he was working on things… Bee and I changed it a tad more here and there. If we clean out some of the junk we keep with us there’d be four livable cabins. Don’t really need that many with just myself and Bee, especially since she doesn’t want a room to keep anything.” He stopped in front of a door, gesturing her inside as it parted for them.

“This is for me?” Tari asked.

“Hope it doesn’t seem too small.”

“This is… This is bigger than I expected, really.” She padded around the cabin, shaking her head. “A lot bigger…”

“A pleasant surprise, then. Replicator is on the wall there, bathroom through the door next to it. Lights are voice controlled. If you need anything else, just ask the walls.”

“Thanks.”

“Pleasant dreams.” He smiled, leaving the room and heading back to his own cabin. The lights came on as he entered; he walked to his bed, falling unceremoniously onto the sheets with a groan.

“A tad tired?” T’bia queried.

“Exhausted. You haven’t worked me that hard in… ever.”

“You’re just weak.”

Jadyn rubbed his eyes. “Lights off, please. Dark is going to be welcome…”

The room faded to black. He laid on the bed, looking at nothing in particular, waiting for slumber to take him. Though he felt close to drifting off, something never quite let him get to sleep.

“Bee?”

“Shoosh, you’re trying to sleep.” her voice returned.

“Everything is working except the cloak, right?”

“Generally speaking, yes… I’ve tried to peek into the cloak housing but I can’t get past the triple-thick EMI shielding we installed around the damn thing.”

He nodded. “When do you suggest we leave?”

“After we get the cloak running or six days, whatever comes first. I really need to schedule a mass regeneration sequence now that we’ve got primary controls back, but it’ll take up to a day and a half to finish. Might end up as less. Hard to say until the process starts. I’ll need the ship in direct sunlight for the duration - lunar sunrise at our position should be in another day.”

“So probably three more days here… Start regeneration whenever you’re ready. What should we do about Tari?”

The AI fell silent. “I want to talk to you about her, but it can wait.”

“Now’s as good as later. Can’t get to sleep.”

He was vaguely aware of a sound near the door - the room’s emitters coming online as she took form. The backlighting came up as she sat down near his bed.

“You seem anxious to put her back on Terra,” she observed. “More so than just following protocol. Why?”

“Something is telling me that she needs to stay here.” Jadyn sighed, examining the mental flags that surrounded the kitsune fem. “It’s that same warning feeling again. Went absolutely crazy after you yanked us up, but I’ve been ignoring it as much as I’ve been able.”

“Ah. Guesses as to why she shouldn’t be here?”

“No idea. Hasn’t happened in a long time, though. Must be important.”

T’bia sighed. “Still… Consider her stance like this… You’re going about your business. Someone walks by with a book. Suddenly you notice it’s one of the lost Concatenations of the Art. They let you look at the cover, maybe a page or two near the front, but the book snaps closed before you can get to the real meat of things and have an understanding of what’s actually there.”

“Is there a rule somewhere saying that I shouldn’t have access to the book in the first place? Or, in the perspective of the book’s holder, is there a sensation that the book or the one holding it will burst into flame if they let someone else read it? That’d more line it up with what you’re getting at.”

“Well, it was worth a shot.”

“You really want to let her stay on, don’t you?”

“I’m surprised you don’t. I mean, we studied humanity for a year, no trace of any other intelligence on the planet. Then, during the very last day of your dirtside stint you find a member of another sapient race, another entire non-human subculture living secretly among humans. This kind of discovery doesn’t happen by chance. Well… I suppose it could, but there’s a better chance that it isn’t by chance. Does that feeling have any sort of timeframe about it?”

“Not really.”

“Okay then, what if we let her stay on for… I don’t know… a year? It’s not like it’s really that far to get back here. She already knows of our presence, so there’s not much more damage we can really do. Besides, she’s part of a society that keeps their own existence secret from ninety-nine point many more nines percent of the world. I really don’t think we’ll have anything to worry about.”

Jadyn considered, mulling the idea over and letting his mind work. “One year, not a second longer?”

“One year. I’ll time it myself from the moment we depart the system. She’d really appreciate the gesture. It’d show that we trust her. Maybe she’ll give us some more insights into the cesspool that is the human culture.” T’bia grinned, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Plus, she contrasts your colors incredibly well…”

“Oh, stop it already. What year are we talking about? Terran, Velorian, what?”

“Eh… Let’s go with Val’Traxan. Longest of the available and reasonably sane choices.”

Jadyn sat quietly for five minutes, thinking and studying his feelings surrounding the matter.

“Bee?” he finally whispered.

“What?”

“The warning is gone.”

Miavirs index

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:46:12 GMT

I don’t have the url under fingertip At this moment but last week when I peeked it seemed as though miavirs index was basically abandoned. Is there a replacement or a better community that has taken it’s place?

And so it begins… Again

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:11:00 GMT

It was more of a formatting test than anything, but Blizzard is back on the internet after … cripes, has it been 5 years? Or more?

I’m terrible, and I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.

Blizzard

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

“Looks like my stop is just ahead.”

“What? You want out, here, in a storm like this? I’ll be the first to admit I’m a crazy fool to be driving in this mess, but you’ve gotta be trying to kill yourself.”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, you’re going to be late enough getting to Winnipeg.”

The trucker shook his head. “Late or not, I don’t mind going a bit out of my way to get you out of this storm.”

“I really have to go on my own from here, William. Wish I could explain it.”

“Religious thing?”

“Something like that.”

William grunted at the familiar excuse, easing back on the semi’s throttle. They’d already been traveling slow; the blizzard had left most roads nearly impassable. Outside the windows of the heated cab was nothing short of a frozen wasteland. The locals had jestingly deemed the weather phenomenon a ’light snowstorm.’ Sustained winds of thirty miles per hour, gusts upwards of sixty. Ten degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of twelve below zero. The snow, falling generally in a horizontal fashion with the winds, left the visibility near zero.

“Gotta say, you’re the first hitchhiker I’ve picked up in a long time. We’re not supposed to. Couldn’t just leave you out there. Wouldn’t have felt right.”

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to stop, but I really appreciate the ride. Wish there was something I could do to repay you. Mm, there’s a thought.”

William waved his right hand dismissingly. “Don’t worry about - eh?” The trucker peered curiously at the thick white envelope being pressed against his palm. “What’s this?”

“Some funds to make up for the trouble.”

“Jadyn, I can’t take your money -”

“Where I’m going, I could just as well set fire to the bills for heat. Hate to see good currency go to waste when the funds could help someone else in need.” Jadyn pulled on his gloves as the trucker peeked inside the envelope. “Buy yourself a steak or something.”

“Sweet mother of God! There’s got to be over ten thousand bucks here!”

“Twelve thousand, nine hundred and seventy… three dollars. I think. Make sure it’s a really good steak. Give the rest to SETI for me if you don’t want it. Send them some anyway if you don’t know what to do with it. They’re on the right track.”

“You’re carrying around scratch like this and you’re hitchhiking…” William shook his head, setting the brakes as the truck slid precariously to a stop. “It’s not genuine, is it?”

“Totally legit. Came out ahead at a casino - receipt is in there if you get stopped at the border and have to explain.”

“Huh, okay. Oh, your cassette -”

“Can’t take it either.”

“Religious reasons,” William muttered, tucking the envelope into an inconspicuous inside shirt pocket.

“Nope. I don’t have a tape player.” Jadyn grinned as his host cackled with laughter. “It’s been a pleasure, William. Do yourself a favor and wait at the next truck stop for this crap to blow over.”

“Seriously think that’s a good idea. Take care of yourself.” William handed him a business card. “Drop me a line or something when you get where you’re going. I’ll feel better knowing you didn’t die out here.”

“Will do.” They shook hands briefly; Jadyn shouldered his backpack and adjusted his parka’s hood. Taking a deep breath of the last warm air he’d inhale for several days, he cracked open the door and eased to the ground. Wind whipped under the truck and around his insulated pants as he slammed the door shut. With a final wave he stepped away from the steel and iron behemoth.

William honked the horn twice in farewell. Oily dark clouds of poorly-combusted diesel spewed forth from the exhaust stacks as the vehicle slowly rolled down the road once again. Jadyn watched his former ride vanish into the wall of snow and slowly took stock of his surroundings. The highway they’d been traveling led due north; the last roadside sign had indicated the port of entry to Canada wasn’t more than a few more miles down the road. His own destination waited to the east, some dozen miles along a separate highway. The roads were fairly easy to pick out, now that he was standing upon them: the higher mounds of snow slicing through the low-lying land surrounding them.

Everything was draped in an endless blanket of white. The snowy ground at his feet blended seamlessly into the mass of airborne flakes, making an estimate of visibility nigh on impossible. The blizzard had raged on for almost two days. Had he not suddenly felt pressed to follow his schedule he’d have waited out the storm in a hotel. Instead, some subconscious madness drove him to begin walking in the whiteout. William’s welcome offer of a ride had been nothing short of a miracle. The only other vehicle he’d seen had been abandoned in a ditch. Upside-down.

“What the Void am I doing out here,” he muttered, adjusting his ruby-lensed goggles. “Should have arranged extraction for somewhere tropical… But noooo, have to do the rendezvous where there’s a low number of natives, which conveniently happens to be a winter wonderland at this time of year… I’ll kill her… reboot her… and kill her processes again… Yes… And then… And then I’ll take a nap in a warm bed…”

The wind howled across the wintry plain as he began his trek to the east. He was thankful the moving air was at his back. Slowly, the road began a gentle climb upwards into a region of hilly terrain. The range had been named the ‘Turtle Mountains,’ formed by glacier movement thousands of years prior. Nature apparently thought the job hadn’t been finished and spawned the blizzard to make a further attempt. The wind only worsened as he walked onward, icy fingers of air reaching through his winter clothes and extracting his body heat. He knew that the cold would only get worse at nightfall and prayed to the Spirits for shelter against the wind. His sleeping bag, advertised as good for extreme cold, had yet to have the claim verified. There was no small doubt in his mind that the conditions were beyond the ’extreme’ rating of the materials.

A little over a mile from the start of his walk he discovered a promising roadsign framed in ice. Visions of a place to camp for the night danced through his head at the suggestion of a small picnic area a mere five hundred feet away. His watch noted that the remaining daylight was short in supply; he decided to take a look at the area and see about settling down for the day.

Snowdrifts and broken trees filled the driveway to near impassability. Wading through the mess took far more time than he anticipated, but proved worthwhile - an abandoned vehicle sat silent in the clearing, waiting for an owner to return. The black sport utility had mostly disappeared under the snow. After peeking through the windows he confirmed no one had been trapped within the vehicle. However, all the doors were securely locked. A brief internal debate later Jadyn found himself shaking broken glass off his gloves. Survival - or at the least, the semblance of - versus a window netted a shattered window.

“Looks like a shelter to me,” he whispered, unlocking the back door with a grin. He found the rear seats folded down flat, saving him the trouble of figuring out how to make the change himself. Gently setting his pack on the upholstered floor, he removed the bungee cords securing his sleeping bag to the hiking frame and unrolled the insulated bedding into the open space.

Making some final adjustments within his refuge, he took stock of the area around the vehicle. Even with the slight shelter of naked trees and the vehicle’s profile there was still too much wind for a safe fire. Little metal camp stoves sat on posts near what were likely picnic tables under the snow, but getting any heat out of them would require standing in the wind once again.

Void with it, he finally decided. Maybe once the weather calms down -

A loud CLANK and a feral scream of agony turned his attention immediately to the forest. Gazing at the surrounding treeline, he retrieved his flashlight and started following the cries of pain to their source. The wind played tricks on his ears as he searched the trees, darkness settling where his flashlight failed to point.

“Oh, Goddess…” Jadyn grit his teeth, finally discovering the origin of the ruckus. Deep within the brush and snow outside the boundaries of the picnicking clearing, someone had set a steel hunting trap. The interlocking metal jaws originally designed to catch large animals had instead captured a small white fox. Its left foreleg had been caught deep between the blades. Were their places reversed, he imagined his bicep would have been well within the bite of the trap. The trap, the snow, and the fox’s previously pristine white pelt were spattered with rivulets of crimson. A branch no bigger than the creature’s foreleg had also wedged in the trap, quite possibly preventing the complete amputation of the appendage.

The fox bared its teeth at his approach, growling a warning. With quiet reverence he knelt down in the snow, just outside arm’s reach of the creature’s muzzle.

“What are we going to do with you, little one,” he spoke above the wind, shaking his head in disappointment. There were so many more considerate ways of trapping, versus letting the victim bleed or starve to death; though tolerant of the practice in general, he’d never partaken in the activity. “Can’t just let you bleed to death out here. Guess that means I get to figure out veterinary medicine this evening…”

The white fox gazed back at him for a time, no longer growling in his direction. Jadyn listened to the wind whistling through the trees as he considered what needed to be done. He wasn’t a vet; first aid, however, was still first aid. There had to be some amount of parallel. After all, most organic life forms could be classified as ‘animal.’ Humans tended to forget that they were neither vegetable nor mineral regardless of what they ate.

After a few minutes of contemplation, the fox finally laid its head down on the snow and whimpered imploringly. Jadyn inched forward through the deep snow to get a better look at the mechanical contraption restraining its foreleg. Grabbing hold of what appeared to be the spring, he put pressure on the thick metal loop. Stars shot through his vision as he doubled his effort; he cursed the limitations of his human form and pressed harder. The spring inched open, slack creeping into the metal jaws with excruciating torpor.

The fox quickly took the initiative and removed its paw from harm’s way. The trap’s teeth snapped back shut with a dull clank as Jadyn let loose of the spring. He’d half expected the fox to limp off into the night, exercising its newfound freedom; instead, it - she, he corrected himself, observing a distinct lack of male anatomy - she sat down on the snow, staring up at him with the lame paw held off the ground. Blood continued to drip onto the snow.

“Aren’t we the tame one?” he questioned aloud; the fox whimpered slightly, her body language registering as helpless and plaintive. He moved closer to the small creature, shining the flashlight on her injury. The flesh had been absolutely shredded, but the foreleg didn’t appear to be at any strange angles. He hoped the bone hadn’t broken.

Carefully picking up the fox in his arms, he trundled back to his makeshift shelter. Doing his best not to aggravate the creature’s injury, he placed her on the end of his sleeping sack and pulled the vehicle’s door shut behind himself. Dark had fully invaded as he rummaged through his pack for his first aid kit. “What I wouldn’t do for one of the suspicious models,” Jadyn muttered, popping the latches on the innocuous plastic box. Inside was nothing that couldn’t be found somewhere on the planet already: dressings, bandages, tape, scissors, tweezers, splints, and other tools; various medications, antiseptics, and painkillers also held a place. He’d only taken the kit along as a show of good faith. Until today, he hadn’t even opened the lid.

The vixen hobbled to his side and waited as he took out a dressing and a roll of gauze. She was far too tame for a wild fox, likely someone’s pet to be so trusting of a ‘human’ presence. Tossing his winter gloves aside, he donned a pair of sterile rubber gloves. She whined as he probed gently around the wound, trimming the surrounding fur as he worked. Judging that the bone hadn’t been broken, he tore open a packet of an antiseptic and anesthetic ointment. The lacerations ran deep below her skin, possibly into the muscles below; she wouldn’t be walking around with the foreleg for quite some time to come. Barks of pain escaped her muzzle as he applied an ointment-laden dressing to her wound. He quickly wrapped several layers of gauze around the dressing, finishing off with a few pieces of tape to secure the bandage.

“And that’s that.” Jadyn nodded to himself at his work. While he didn’t put the same level of concentration into binding his own wounds, those of others were another story altogether. Satisfied, he snapped the latches on the kit closed and placed the box back into his pack. Searching around for another few seconds he drew forth a bottle of water, a package of jerked meat, and a small metal bowl he’d often used for cooking. Several instant-heat glove warmers kept his drinking water thawed; he’d dropped in freshly activated ones shortly before disembarking William’s truck. The water steamed slightly in the cool air as he poured some for the vixen. She sniffed at the dish curiously, taking a few tentative laps before drinking down the contents with gusto.

“What to call you,” he mused aloud as she started gnawing on a piece of the meat. Pulling off his boots, he crawled between the layers of his sleeping bag to try and warm up. As an afterthought, he clicked off the switch on the flashlight. Batteries were no concern - the power source was something much more novel - but he didn’t feel like watching the snow outside the car’s window. The broken glass let him hear the storm clearly enough to picture what was going on. “You’re the same color as that snow outside… Maybe Viraneivo, think that’s roughly ’endless white’ in Ancient, closest description of a blizzard I can think of… Just ‘Vira’ might be easier on the tongue. What do you think?”

Through the darkness, he heard her wuff quietly; the sound felt somehow like acceptance. He felt her sniffing at his neck and opened the drawstring at the head of the sleeping bag slightly. Being careful of her injury, she crawled into the warmth of the insulated bag and curled up on his chest. Shortly, he realized she’d fallen asleep.

“Dream well, Vira.”

By morning the storm had blown out. Sunlight streamed into the windows of the vehicle, slipping under heavy eyelids and nudging him awake. His drowsy mind took several minutes to realize sunlight didn’t have a wet nose or whiskers to nudge with. Blinking the fog of sleep out of his eyes, he glanced at the furry white friend he’d made in the night. Gears slowly turned in his head as she scratched at the window, and he opened the door to let her out. The fox barked happily and limped her way into the morning. Within five minutes she’d returned and scratched at the door again, requesting to be let back in.

After sharing another meal of water and dried meat with the vixen and changing her dressings, Jadyn packed the rest of his things. He hated not leaving anything to make up for the broken window; noting the license plate number, he scribbled himself a reminder to look up the owner. He hadn’t given William all his funding, but leaving cash in an abandoned vehicle with unlocked doors wouldn’t have been the brightest thing he’d ever done. At the least, he could wire his nameless savior the funds to repair the damage.

The wind had all but died; his watch reported the air temperature around fifteen degrees. The day had the potential for getting several more miles off his walk. Vira looked at him expectantly as he shouldered his pack and donned his goggles.

“Well… Can’t really leave you here, can I? If you are someone’s pet, your home must be somewhere relatively nearby… But even so, you’re alone out here. You can’t possibly hunt with a leg like that. Guess I take you with for now… For lack of a nearby veterinarian, I’m sure Bee will fix you right up. Need a better way of carrying you all day, though… Hm.”

A flash of inspiration later, he’d designed a makeshift sling out of an extra flannel shirt and some light twine. Vira wasn’t very large, perhaps five to six pounds; the improvised pet carrier seemed to suit her just fine. Her additional weight wouldn’t slow him down too much on his walk, provided she didn’t try and squirm out of the sling too often.

Plows and sanding trucks had cleared the road sometime in the morning, leaving the path eastbound far more than simply passable. Numbers danced through his thoughts as he started walking - with five to six hours of light remaining and a generally brisk pace, he guessed he could make most of his remaining trip by sundown. And then, he only had to wait.

“Wonder how she’s fared this year… I swear, she’s got the easy job, sitting on her tail and downloading everything… You may like your planet, Vira, but… Goddess. It’s a backwards little ball of dirt, rock, and water… The people certainly are nice enough here, until you watch the news and see how bad it is everywhere else. You’re lucky you’re not human and off dying in one of their silly wars.”

Vira sneezed, rolling over slightly in the sling and burying her head.

“Oh, am I boring you? So sorry.”

Jadyn walked on for a time in silence, occasionally whistling or humming various tunes to himself. The pieces ranged from old folk songs from home to pop hits in the local sectors. Even a few melodies from Terra snuck into his head as he distracted himself from the task of hiking along the road.

As day approached evening, he found himself standing at a four-way intersection. The northern road looped around and across a lake for nine miles, the path eventually ending a mile east of the intersection. Either route would get him to where he needed to go.

“North…? Or east…? Doesn’t really matter, I guess. The rendezvous point is about four and a half miles along… I suppose we - hello, what’s this? A hotel, one mile east and one north… Mmm… Spend the night on the cold ground around a fire with dehydrated food rations, or get a warm room and a bed and something substantial to eat?”

Vira whined quietly. He hoped that the cry meant she didn’t want to spend another night in the cold. He knew he didn’t. And hotel rooms had showers. Warm showers. With clean water. And soap.

An hour later he was standing in the lobby. A young lady of what he guessed was Native American descent sat behind a counter, watching television; she glanced up at him as he approached the desk. “Good evening,” she greeted warmly.

“Hi. I need a room for…” He peered at his watch, pondering the day to come. If for some reason she didn’t show up on time… “Two nights, I suppose.”

“All right… A single for two nights…”

“Do you have a suite open?”

“There’s one that isn’t reserved. Also, there’s an extra fee for pets in the rooms.”

“I’ll take it.”

The woman nodded, pushing a form across the counter. He filled the document with the false information he’d long since memorized, flashed an equally false ID, and paid cash for everything in advance.

Tossing his pack down on a chair in the suite, he let the little white vixen down to sniff around her new surroundings. After diving through the shower and donning the only clean clothes he could find in his pack - denim jeans and a black tee-shirt with a stick figure running while holding scissors - he ordered two steak dinners from the hotel’s restaurant. One had been cooked to ‘rare’ for his companion; they wouldn’t send raw meat to the room, citing health codes and other nonsense. She seemed to enjoy the generally fresh red meat despite the slight searing. To his surprise, she didn’t finish the entire steak, and instead gnawed on part of a baked potato loaded with cheese and soured cream.

“Done?” Jadyn queried, noticing her waning interest in the meal as he finished his own. He popped the foam carton of food into the suite’s miniature refrigerator for her breakfast. Changing out her dressing once more, he found an impressive yet curious amount of healing already visible. With the rudimentary tools he’d been forced to use, what he saw shouldn’t have been possible on anyone but himself. If he hadn’t known better he’d have dated the wound at nearly two weeks old.

“Wonder if she didn’t sneak me some of her special brews, after all… Huh.” Wrapping her leg back up in a fresh dressing, he sat the vixen on the end of the bed and flicked on the television. His fingers idly scratched through the fur between her ears as some peculiar crime drama played out on the screen.

“The television alone proves that humans are primitive, Vira.” He flipped channels a dozen times, finally tossing the remote aside. “What advanced culture would knowingly inflict such a device on - Well now, what do we have here?” he wondered aloud, tracing a small, lightweight chain around her neck. A trinket dangled from the silver links, but didn’t resemble any identification tag he’d ever seen. After some thought he recognized the design as what someone had called an oriental dragon, crafted masterfully from silver and gold. A teal green gemstone sparkled magnificently in the light, the eye of the dragon.

“So… No tags, you’re incredibly tame, and someone had to care a lot about you to give you a necklace like this… You were someone’s pet at some time. Or maybe… Nah.” He laughed, shaking his head. Another option flashed in his mind, but the very possibility was so ludicrous he immediately discounted the idea.

He found the vixen looking back at him as he let go of the trinket around her neck, her slitted eyes a remarkable shade of teal he’d never seen in a native fox. She seemed to be gauging him in her own way; there was a sense of curiosity in her eyes, a depth he just couldn’t quite place. The only other time he’d seen a remotely similar look was when he’d first met a vulden who’d -

A vulden… who’d been pretending to…

“My Goddess,” he whispered, his ludicrous idea suddenly less so. “You are! You’re sapient, aren’t you?”

Vira blinked at his quiet revelation; her surprised look only reinforced his conclusion. He frowned, making a quiet growling noise in the back of his throat, but she didn’t return the greeting. Something wasn’t adding up. He felt he was missing a vital variable somewhere in his thinking.

There’s got to be a simple explanation here… Okay. She doesn’t comprehend Vuldaani, so she’s not one of them. The whole sector is a no-travel zone without special permission. I’m the only one supposed to be doing a survey at present, anyway. So. If she’s not from out there…

There’s another sapient race that evolved here?

“Crap, crap, crap,” he muttered to himself, flopping back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Vira carefully walked up beside him, looking down at his face. He recognized the concern in her features - now that he was looking for body language - and presumed it was for his own well-being. “I’m okay. Just… shocked. Awed. I don’t suppose you can speak like this?”

She shook her head a little in a negative reply.

“Didn’t expect so. But obviously, you comprehend me.”

A nod.

“Guess that’s a start… Can’t say I’ve heard it’s normal to have a conversation with a vixen around here. I should stop referring to you as a pet, at any rate. You might have masqueraded as one in the past, but as far as I’m concerned we’re on equal footing - opposable thumbs notwithstanding.”

Vira barked quietly, giving his cheek a lick. A thank you? As gracefully as possible with her limp, she padded to the head of the large queen-sized bed and curled up on a pillow. Within minutes she seemed asleep.

“Sure do snooze a lot, don’t you?” Turning down the volume on the television out of courtesy, he tuned to the local news and fell asleep halfway through the broadcast.

Jadyn woke in the morning with an unfamiliar weight on his chest. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the fact it was present was evident. Little Vira wasn’t possibly more than ten pounds; this felt more like a hundred. He inhaled deeply, the faint scent of his supposedly ‘perfumeless’ shampoo mixed with the earthy scents of the forest filling his nose. The weight shifted slightly as he moved through a gentle stretch of his arms.

What the Void? he wondered silently, opening his eyes. The world was a blur. He blinked several times to clear his vision, trying to make out what was laying on top of his chest.

A heavy blanket…? No… A full-body fur coat… Reaching out, he touched the pelt, feeling body heat and a heartbeat. Good Goddess, the coat’s still attached to its owner…?

A pair of teal eyes watched him intently behind a soft pink nose. Surrounding the slitted green pools lay a distinctly foxen face covered in white fur as clean and bright as the carpet of snow outside. The face was almost too familiar as the last of his slumber evaporated.

Kshorahii Tarisali…? No… Who is this?

They looked into each other’s eyes for a time, waiting for one to break the uneasy silence. “Good morning,” he finally whispered.

The foxen face swiveled slightly, apparently not expecting such a placid response. “So far, I would tend to agree with that sentiment,” she replied, the voice soft and feminine. She spoke English with a precise diction - nary an accent to be heard. “And you?”

“Do I agree? I’m not even sure I’m awake yet. I don’t usually find such a lovely vixen lying on my chest when I wake up in a room I’m sure I went to sleep in alone.”

“Alone?” she questioned, sitting up while remaining on top of him. Fine silk robes draped from her shoulders, shimmering blue in the sunlight trickling through the suite’s window. An embroidered oriental dragon twisted around the garment, gold and silver threads catching an occasional ray of light as she breathed. “Were you really?”

Dragon… Jadyn’s eyes immediately shot to her neck, a familiar green-eyed silver-and-gold oriental dragon hanging from a fine silver chain. “I suppose I haven’t been alone since I pulled you out of that trap, have I?”

She grinned, shaking her head. “No, you haven’t.”

“So, what are you? A shapedancer? A visitor from another planet? A really nice dream I hope I don’t wake from anytime soon?”

The vixen laughed, poking him squarely in the chest as her tails - two tails? he asked himself - as her tails swished in concert behind her. “What if I told you I’m as real as you?”

“I’d probably be stuck with another reality check I can’t foot the bill for. Do I keep calling you Vira, or do you have a name you prefer?”

“I’m Tarioshi. Friends call me Tari.”

“Can I call you that?”

“Are you a friend?”

“I’d prefer not to be an enemy to those teeth. Jadyn Tzeki. Just ‘Jay’ works for me.” He poked her knee, confirming she was still there. “Not a dream.”

“No.”

“And likely not human, unless there’s a large and unnoticed fork in the family tree. What do you put on your driver’s license?”

“‘Other.’” Tarioshi laughed again. “My race is called kitsune. It’s oriental - I’m from Japan.”

“Japan…” he thought aloud, trying to recall where the country was located. Wasn’t it across one of the oceans? “Long way from home.”

“I’m from there. It’s not home. Not anymore.”

“Ooh. I could sing a few bars of that. Lots of magical foxes running about on this world?”

“Kami.”

“Bless you,” he replied.

“I didn’t sneeze. Kami - we’re spirits of the land and elements. Different areas have different spirits. Generally, coyote spirits live in this region, but we don’t get along very well. I’m really just passing through to visit some friends up north.”

“Huh. I’m really not as well versed in legends and myth as I should be, I suppose - Wait. I helped a spirit out of a corporeal hunting trap?”

Tarioshi rubbed her cheek. “Yeah, I know how it sounds. It’s kind of an involved thing to explain.”

“Fair enough.” Jadyn sighed, peering at the ceiling. “I think breakfast is in order.”

“You’re taking this rather well,” she observed.

“I hope you’re not too disappointed, but you’re not as high on my scale-o’-weirdness as you might think. I’m slowly coming to terms with the concept that there are other sapients on this fair planet than the obvious, though.” Jadyn sat up slightly, waiting as the kitsune vixen slid off his torso. She remained kneeling on the bed as he stood and stretched. “How’s the arm?”

Tarioshi’s ears drooped slightly in shame. “My shapeshift tore it up pretty badly. I can’t move that arm much at all.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I’ve been trying to heal it myself…”

Jadyn grumbled a curse under his breath, grabbing his pack and digging out the first aid kit. “Can you roll up that sleeve far enough for me to take a look?”

“Probably not.”

“Then you either need to take it off or come to terms with me cutting into what looks to be an expensive silk robe.”

Tarioshi nodded; the garment evaporated into the air, leaving her in a white spandex halter and matching jogging shorts. Jadyn donned sanitary gloves once more and inspected the wound. The bandage he’d put on her before was not to be found - not unexpected, since there was no way it could have fit her current body nor the injury it had been intended to patch. There wasn’t any blood, but that could have been because she didn’t have any left. He’d seen butcher shops with more meat hanging around.

“Stitches would be a really good idea, but I’ll assume you dislike doctors about as much as I do.”

“No doctors,” she confirmed.

“A vet?” he joked.

“If I try to shift forms again, I think it’ll just get worse. It’s taking most of my concentration to keep it the way it is.”

“I was just kidding. Why’d you shapedan…er, shift, anyway? You could have stayed as the quadruped until this healed.”

“I really wanted a shower and those controls don’t operate well without thumbs.” Tarioshi winced as he applied the same ointments he’d used the day before. “Sadly, I didn’t get the shower, either.”

“It burn?” he queried.

“Not really. Just cold.”

“Good, good… Either way, it’s a sign that nerves are still working.”

She watched him work, helping hold the bandage with her good arm while he taped it down. “I wanted to thank you for the help… Especially after you figured out I wasn’t an ordinary fox.”

“You’re quite welcome.” He eyed her sidelong as he put his things away. “Definitely nothing ordinary about you.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did. But go ahead.”

“Yesterday, you made a reference to humans, as though you aren’t one…”

Jadyn bit down on his tongue, riding the endorphins in an effort to counter his panic. Crap. Crap crap crap. I forgot all about that… “You calling me inhumane?” he dodged, hoping he’d kept a straight face.

“No, not at all. I’m just curious as to your wording.”

“I talk to myself a lot. Helps pass the time when I’m out walking. Most of what I come up with is nonsense.”

“Uh-huh,” Tarioshi grunted. “You’re one of us, aren’t you?”

“What?” Jadyn laughed, shaking his head. “No.”

“You are! You’re taking this far too well. I’ve never had a human flirt with me like you are, either.”

“I what?” he questioned, thinking back at what he’d said and done since he woke up. “I suppose I might have, a couple of times. Not that you aren’t deserving.”

“There you go again. And I didn’t want to say anything before, but you absolutely reek of magic. Who are you, really? What family?”

“I’m not kitsune, nor… ‘Kami,’ wasn’t it? Today was the very first time I’d ever heard those words.”

“There’s no way you’re a human.” Tarioshi tapped on her chin. “But if you say you aren’t one of us…”

“Tari… I really can’t explain.”

“Why not?” she pressed.

“I just… There’s no good reason, okay?” Jadyn growled, walking to the telephone and lifting the directory of services the hotel offered. “Besides,” he added in a mumble, hunting for menus, “I don’t even believe the truth half the time.”

“Try me.”

“Do the math,” he countered, growing quickly more frustrated by her insistence. “You say I’m not human, and I say I’m not kitsune. What does that leave?”

“Well, an oni would have devoured my spirit already… Most other spirits don’t like to interact with humans all that much anymore… Ha! I know. Aliens!” she laughed.

Jadyn picked up a menu, glancing over the breakfasts available. Ooh, that omelet looks good. Wonder if they put olives in it…

“Er, you were supposed to laugh with me…” Tari spoke uncertainly.

Damn it anyway… Slapping the menu down, he turned to face her. What’s the worst that could happen? As far as humanity is concerned, she doesn’t exist, right? So I’m really not talking to anyone at all. “I’m a five-hundred year old alien, by the Gregorian calendar, and I’m on your world finishing a survey to determine the possibility of contact in the future. Happy? Now, what do you want for breakfast?”

Tarioshi stared at him incredulously. For a full fifteen seconds, no other emotion touched her features. Even her tails froze in mid-flick. Slowly, a grin tugged at her muzzle, becoming a snicker, then a quiet chuckle. Finally, she fell over on the bed in fits of laughter. Her face was growing obviously red under her fur as the hysterics forced tears from her eyes.

“I won’t take this personally,” Jadyn noted quietly, wondering how her disbelief had crawled so deeply under his skin.

“You… You should… take it… personally!” she gasped between cackles. Easily ten minutes passed before the semblance of control appeared; every time she met his gaze she’d broken back out in laughter. “Oh, Maker… Really, Jadyn. If you didn’t want to tell me the truth, you could have come up with something better than that… Look at you! An alien…”

“So delighted to be a source of amusement,” he snapped, walking to the door.

“Hey - where are you -”

“I’m going for a walk before I break something I don’t own.” He slammed the door behind himself, storming down the hall.

The bitterly cold air outside the hotel did nothing to cool his simmering temper as he stood by the front doors. He was honestly less upset with Tarioshi than he was with himself. Being in precise control of his mental facilities had long given him a sense of pride. Yet somehow, her laughter and preceding attitude had pushed buttons in his psyche that no one else had found in years. Decades, maybe. He still didn’t know what exactly had frustrated him into anger - her insistence, his breaking of silence for the first time all year, the laughter…

Just has to be the stress of the year getting to me, he decided. I’m a day away from leaving this rock… A day away from my own body… Yeah, that’s got to be it.

But what the Void am I going to do about her? I can’t just leave her with that injury. It’s not going to heal right without help, and she can’t get treated here while looking like that… Bee could get her fixed up in no time, but then I’m breaking even more rules… And then there’s the gut feeling that I shouldn’t take her along, but what else can I do?

Where’s my adult when I need one?

Taking a few final breaths of the cold air, he stepped back inside the building. He took a quick pass through the restaurant, picking up a pair of to-go boxes labeled ‘spanish omelets.’ Eggs, ham, hashbrowned potatoes, various vegetables, all topped with cheese and salsa. A few truckstops had offered the concoction; one had exchanged the ham with chicken, having run out of pork.

A ‘do not disturb’ sign hung from the doorknob when he returned to the room; checking his pockets, he discovered the key missing. Cursing quietly, he glanced up and down the hall before moving close to the portal.

“Tari?” he called, knocking lightly. “I come bearing food… and apologies.”

“Sec,” she replied quietly. A moment later the door clicked open, just enough for him to pass. A furred hand touched his shoulder and turned him around after the lock clicked shut again. “Before you say anything, I want to apologize for my… outburst. Part of our nature - some of us, at least - we play tricks on people, work mind games, stuff like that… We’re normally helpful to those who help us, though. Then I go and get carried away like that after what you’ve done for me and drive you off… You seem to believe in this fantasy you’ve created - who am I to shatter it? Er…”

Jadyn frowned. “You’re trying to do it again.”

“That came out wrong. I’m really sorry, Jadyn. I didn’t mean -”

“Yes, on some level you did. And it’s okay. Were I in a right state of mind you’d have a hard time getting me that upset about anything. Under normal circumstances I’d have helped you make fun of me instead of storming off in a hissy fit. You somehow found a quick way into my head to light what’s left of an already dangerously short fuse.”

“We can have that effect,” she admitted. “It’s not something I try to do. Sometimes nature prevails.”

“I don’t know about you, but my nature demands breakfast right now.” He smiled, offering her one of the foam cartons. “It suggests you eat, too.”

“Smells great.” Tarioshi followed him to the suite’s table, sitting across from him. “So… What’s got you all stressed? Other than me, of course.”

“I…” Jadyn sighed. He’d already told her the truth, whether she believed him or not. The options left were either damage control or disclosure. ‘Admit’ he’d made it up. or go on with what she still thought was a mere daydream. “Well, try to keep an open mind? Whether you believe what I said earlier or not, it’s still my ‘fantasy.’” He made quote marks with his fingers, grinning slightly.

“Okay, I’ll play along.”

“Gracious of you. I’ve been here for almost a year, wandering the country and learning about the intra- and intercultural interactions that make this part of the world tick. I’ve been beat up and run out of towns. Then a few miles down the road I’ve been welcomed into homes and lives. I’ve talked with more people than I can count, laughed with some, cried with a few… My off-handed remark about the planet wasn’t a terribly fair generalization.”

“What, that it’s a backward ball of dirt, rock, and water? I’ll give you that one, actually.” Tarioshi grinned. “In your so-called ‘outside’ opinion, is Earth really so bad?”

Jadyn inhaled slowly, poking at a corner of the omelet distractedly. “It has its issues. Individually, Terrans - sorry, you fall under that umbrella… Humans seem sane, one on one. Get larger groups together and the collective IQ plummets. If we were to show up tomorrow en masse and say ‘howdy, neighbors,’ there’d be mass panic on the streets. The only way to know a world is really ready for what’s outside their star is to wait until they step outside of its warmth for the first time. Sending probes doesn’t count, although they are a good way to let us outsiders know you’re getting closer.”

“Mm. Okay. If you’re really an alien… Where’s all your funky gadgets? Why aren’t you short and grey with big eyes? Asking with an open mind, of course.”

“Of course you are.” Jadyn smiled. “I only could take what could reasonably be found here, with a couple discreet exceptions. And the ‘grays’ as I’ve heard them called by people here… I have one idea of what they’re referring to.”

“Which is?”

“Crash test dummies.”

Tarioshi laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

“Humans test their automobiles with mockup people. Why should aliens be different? The testers grow generic artificial bodies embedded with thousands of sensors, then drop them in a vehicle and smash it up.”

“How’d the dummies wind up here?”

“I’ve a feeling that kids are crashing them on purpose just to screw with the population. No one is supposed to be in this sector without a whole lot of paperwork.”

“All right… What’s your spaceship look like? A flying hubcap?”

“Har. Not so much. It’s a little larger than a two or three-story house, slightly more graceful in the air than one. Hull as black as the night, mottled with a mix of forest green and indigo blue where the skin is absorbing sunlight. Two wings, low along the hull…”

“Why do you need wings in space?”

“Don’t,” he countered. “But, part of the engine array is mounted from tip to tip along the underside. It also looks better with them, and they’re handy for atmospheric entry when there’s no engine power to keep us aloft.”

“That could be a bonus - er… What’s that beeping sound?”

“Hm?” Jadyn listened to the noises in the room. “Don’t hear anything.”

“I think… Yeah. It’s probably just outside of human hearing… It’s coming from your pack.”

“Oh, she didn’t…” He grumbled, grabbing his pack and unceremoniously dumping the contents on the floor. He hoped Tarioshi wouldn’t immediately notice there was about three times too much junk to fit within the apparent volume of the container. “There?”

Tarioshi squinted, ears focusing on the sound. “Hard to tell… Think it’s still in the bag.”

“Yeah, I know what it is then… Funky alien gadget number three.”

“Three?”

“You’ve seen me using one and two, even if you don’t realize it.” Jadyn sighed, reaching in a different pouch of the bag and unclipping a hidden pocket. A small silver sphere fell into his palm as he shook the pack. Half the orb was blinking faintly. “I swear, I’ll set up a repeating task that kills her.”

“What is that thing?”

“A beacon. I’m being ‘paged.’ Who knows how many times I’ve missed a call. Well, someone does…” Jadyn gave the sphere two short half-twists; the blinking changed to a steady glow. “Should take about… Three… two… one…”

Silence sat in the room for two more seconds before his watch beeped. With a shrug, he pushed down on the face; the backlight changed from green to red, the only indication that anything was different. “So good of you to give me a beacon I can’t hear with these ears, sparky. Why are you breaking comm silence?”

“Why aren’t you at the rendezvous point, furball?” a female voice replied anxiously. Tarioshi stood up, eyeing his timepiece curiously. Jadyn simply grinned at her as the voice continued. “Problems?”

“Not… really, no. I’ve got a day left,” Jadyn pointed out.

“Bzzt! Wrong! You’re two days late.”

“What? We agreed on -”

“We agreed on two days ago, which you have missed by two days. Didn’t you listen to what I just said? You just don’t realize how much of a pain in the -” The voice suddenly paused. “Someone’s with you. I can hear breathing that isn’t yours.”

“Long story. Listen -”

“Why did you answer the blinky thing’s blinky-thinging if someone was around to see it?”

“Would you PLEASE stop interrupting me for five seconds? Goddess, Bee, you’d think everything had fallen apart or -”

“It has!” she wailed across the communications link. “The local military already caught more than a few glimpses because of system failures I can’t fix without you! And I really - Ah, damnit, here they come again. Okay, can’t wait for you at the island - let’s see about doing some rumormongering on our way out to the parking spot…”

“You about to do what I think you’re going to do?”

“If your idea involves a case of cheese-in-a-can and a thousand origami ducks, allow me to offer a resounding ’no.’”

Jadyn groaned, snatching his things off the floor and stuffing them back into his pack. “Doesn’t even pay to get out of bed… Tari, anything laying around that you need?”

“Uh… No, not that I know of. …Why?”

“You’re about to be abducted by aliens, is all.” Hurriedly scrawling a note for room service that they were checking out, he tossed the room keys on top of the napkin and took a final glance around. “If that’s not too objectionable.”

“Er… You really weren’t kidding, were you?”

“And to think you didn’t believe me five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, but…” Tarioshi sighed. “You know what that sounds like?”

“Probably like you telling me you’re spiritual in nature, yet you were stuck in a corporeal trap.”

“That’s different!”

“Right. Bee, two for transport.”

“Two? Blah. Hope you don’t get sick on carnival rides, miss.”

The pair vanished from the suite in a shimmer of light, leaving behind only a faint scent of ozone and a howl of surprise.

Also

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:55:48 GMT

I’m not going to promise anything, but I want to start (re)posting chapters this week. Due to the nature of WordPress, they won’t show up on an XML feed as far as I’m aware, but I’ll make sure to make links to them in posts that will.

I’ve also enabled something called “gravatars” or some spelling therein, if anyone cares about such things. Google it. Or Bing it, if that’s your thing. I didn’t see another way to get custom avatars.

Style

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:22:37 GMT

What’s easier on the eyes? Dark text on a light background, or light text on a dark background? I’ve had the site both ways. I personally prefer light-on-dark, but I can’t say that everyone would share my opinion. I’m usually in a darkened room on the laptop and find the dark background easier to deal with.

I really enjoy the colors on The Screaming Viking.¹

This site used to exist in 2009, but it’s not there anymore. ↩︎

Lost and Found

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:20:50 GMT

I was just sorting some of my old, old email, when I came across the archive of the NWA mailing list. It was a writing list from… oh, almost 8 years ago now. Some of you may have read the stories (it was a group effort, some very well written), but the theme was that some cataclysm had struck the Earth and erased from existence all but a few people - who were warped into living forms of their online personas. I was probably 21 when I was working on a story thread in that theme.

Anyway, out of curiosity, I popped the list leader’s name into Google. He’d also been running a food and recipe swapping list, and was an active participant of RecipeZaar.com.¹

Apparently he passed away in May 2005. I can’t find an obituary anywhere or even a mention of him other than that page (even using his “real” name). Sigh :/

It’s sad, really. Not just his death. We live in the information age. It’s all around us - at the touch of a button, we can find out all sorts of things about current events and the like. Stop and think, though. Of all the information we do get crammed down our gullets every day, how much dribbles off to the side and down the drain, never to be seen again? What’s out there that’s being lost?

We’re not getting better at recording stuff. There’s just more stuff, making it less obvious what stuff is missing.

My iPod touch died last week while I was enjoying a stay at Camp Wilderness in Minnesota. Backlight failed, came back on after a reboot, then failed and wouldn’t come back. In bright light I can see and use the UI, but nothing I’ve done (including forcing recovery mode and letting it rewrite the entire OS image to the unit) has restored the backlight. Apple’s shipping me a box to return it in. In a week or so it should be back in my hands. I wonder if they’d upgrade it to the 32gb model if I pay the price difference.

I’d much prefer an iPhone, but neither Apple nor AT&T believe North Dakota exists. We get no coverage from AT&T and there’s not an Apple Store to be had within our border. /grumble

This site used to exist in 2009, but it’s not there anymore. ↩︎

Status

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:56:06 GMT

Half of the year is well behind us now. I don’t feel like much has gotten accomplished, and my wallet would tend to agree. None the less things have gotten done. There’s a new garden plot cultivated, potatoes in the ground. Three loads of firewood bundles have been delivered to the state park. Docks have gone in for the season. A brick patio has been layed.

It would however appear that time to do much personal things has been scarce. Days off are just days where I can work on equipment that doesn’t directly pertain to regular work. This of course means that I have nothing new to report here. :(

Bleh

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:25:18 GMT

I’m apparently really bad at this.

Cookies

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:51:25 GMT

And not the intarweb variety, either!

2 ¼ Cups Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda

1 Cup Butter ¼ Cup Sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 4-serving package Vanilla Pudding (NOT INSTANT)

2 Eggs

12 oz Chocolate Chips

Sift together Flour and Soda.
Separately, Cream butter, sugars, vanilla, and pudding. Beat in eggs.
Add flour mixture.
Stir in chips.

Bake at 375ºF for 8 to 10 minutes.

Nom nom nom.

Day Job

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:41:40 GMT

The days are few and far between where I stop long enough to forage up something to call ‘lunch.’ I also seem to skip breakfast too often, so it’s a rare treat to actually be able to sit down and have something to eat at a reasonable hour. Today, it’s a steak sandwich at a little place on the Lake Loop Road called ‘Jerry’s.’

I’ve been thinking as I wait for the meal to leave the kitchen - I don’t think I’ve actually ever explained what it is that I do. Most days I’m not certain that I understand it myself.

I live on the shores of Lake Metigoshe, nestled in the scenic Turtle Mountains in northern North Dakota. We’re technically international waters, because the lake straddles the Manitoba border. If you stop at just the right place on the lake, a perfect line slices through the forest where the border lays. On the western shores, immediately south of the border, a road actually goes up to where this swath of treeless land begins. A series of intimidating 3-foot tall cement pylons and a 10” x 8” yellow sign indicate that it might be a bad idea to step across this imaginary line. There’s a picture on my photo site (also neglected): Tax Dollars at Work

About three years ago, the lake flooded. Water washed up into the lower floors of a great number of cabins. Idiots in speedboats ran around the lake at their usual high speeds, leaving their boat wakes to suck out landscaping and retaining walls as they crest over shore. My current employer was working on a brick patio; there was a pile of sand beside the location to be used as fill for the base. After the waters receded it looked like a minefield. Fish had used the nice sandy bed for spawning.

I’d come up for a few days of relaxation. My mother had been working with a real hillbilly of a guy for a year, doing seasonal dock installations and removals, the aforementioned landscaping, and firewood processing. So, I show up, and the water is lapping at the forward 4’ tall posts holding the cabin up. Both stunned and amused by this, I go along with them on the barge to take photos of the lake as they work. Then, I helped hook up chains to docks and lifts to try and help - it’s hard work for a two-man crew, even with a crane on the barge to do the big lifting.

Three years later, I’m still here, doing the same things: lake work, landscaping, firewood processing. We’ve also done demolition and remodeling; gutting a basement damaged in the flood, removing the water damage, and putting up new insulation and such. I’ve also learned a lot about mechanical work: I just finished a rebuild of the engine for the barge. I routinely have to fix wiring on the trucks. No matter how neatly and cautiously I bundle up the wires so they won’t get hung up on obstacles and get torn out, someone finds a way to do it.

Food’s here.

August

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:27:19 GMT

Where the heck has the year gone? I can’t believe it’s really August already.

So, a recap of 2008, so far.

I’m sure there was something novel between January and June, but I can’t think of anything right now. So, we’ll start with June.

As noted in the comments on another post - I should probably be dead. Wrecked my Explorer (hereafter ‘truck’). I was towing a load that was 1) 2000 pounds heavier than my truck, and 2) on a trailer that expected a larger ball hitch than was installed on the truck. It started to fishtail coming down a hill at 30 MPH, and I couldn’t regain control of the vehicle before it spun me around 180 degrees. Front tire caught the shoulder and the truck flipped, not once, but twice.

At the same moment, the ball disengaged from the hitch, and the trailer and its load (a Bobcat Skidsteer) came to a stop at the side of the road. Broke an axle on the trailer. Bobcat escaped without a scratch, still was running.

My truck was totaled. I was spitting out mouthfuls of dirt as it came to a stop with wheels on the ground, and my left shoulder screamed at me when I tried to move the door. Someone who lived nearby heard the racket and told his wife “That didn’t sound good.” They however were not the first on-scene. My dear sweet mother had been in the truck behind me, and had a wonderful show of watching her eldest son attempt to kill himself.

Mmmm.

Yet, I walked away, albeit with a type-III separated shoulder (that’s in the “acromioclavicular joint” where the shoulderblade and collarbone link together with ligaments). They said I shouldn’t need surgery, it’d heal on its own, just take it easy. That’s hard to do when you work how I do, but I didn’t need a lot of convincing.

So, it’s now been a few months since the accident. I’ve got generally the full range of motion back. I don’t have the strength in that shoulder that I used to. I’m not certain I ever will, but I’m going to get all that I can out of it. It’ll just take a lot of time.

Had a court date related to the accident here in July. Single car rollover with no damage to any property except my own. What’s the problem? My liability insurance had expired and I hadn’t renewed it because I didn’t know. It was supposed to automatically withdraw from my checking account, but I’d changed banks and hadn’t updated the information. $400. Oof.

August! 10 year high school reunion was held last weekend. I believe the banquet experience was best summarized by a gentleman at the table behind mine: It’s just like lunch in the cafeteria, except there’s girls sitting at our table now. My experience that night sadly lacked the girls. In fact, it lacked anyone else until I got up and moved to a different table entirely, and then other people sat at the table I’d just vacated.

I suppose that’s pretty much my high school cafeteria experiences as I remember them, too.

I did run into a few people I knew, although I didn’t have a chance to chat things up with as many of them as I would have liked. I really felt like I was the only one still single, looking out over the crowd. Which, as it so happens, is exactly the same as it was back in high school. Apparently my life has not changed in ten years.

Overall I would consider the reunion a ‘good’ experience. Not outstanding, not great, but enjoyable.

Fraud

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:03:16 GMT

Let me begin by stating my seething hatred for the human race.

Last week, I discovered that my debit card - along with many of my personal details - were used in the purchase of a product called PPT2DVD. I’ve never heard of this product. I was shocked and amazed to discover this charge on my already dangerously-near-negative checking account, not once, but twice.

Some jerkoff got his mitts on my billing and shipping addresses, my phone number, my card number… And ordered himself two copies of the same product. What’s it do? It apparently converts a Powerpoint Presentation to a DVD movie. I’m not even certain of this detail. I don’t really care. I just want this thing fixed.

What bothers me about this is that he felt he needed two copies. Why two? Jesus, why not just google for some serial numbers?

I wouldn’t have even discovered this if it weren’t for my daily charging limit. I went to buy milk and bread, and it rejected my card. This puzzled me as I hadn’t used it in a week, and I thought I had a couple hundred dollars to carry me through the month for fuel et cetera. I now have less than $2.

The email I received back from “Wondershare”, the alleged producers of this product, told me (and I quote): “since your payment was processed with legal procedure, we cannot help to remedy your lost”. It took me 4 days to get a one line ‘piss off, we don’t even speak your language’ email back from them. I’m not holding much hope for a refund with them.

So, I called the bank, and it turns out I need to show up in person and sign some forms to contest the charges and get chargebacks done and whatnot. Which means a 4-hour round trip, a day of firewood production lost (meaning $200-$400 in filled orders not to be realized that day), and $60-70 in fuel.

I’m still attempting to figure out where I made a purchase online that might not have been secure, or perhaps was unencrypted. Hell - maybe some processing clerk decided he needed to spend someone else’s money and I just got “lucky.” It has to be something recent; they have the shipping address as where I’m actually staying - I usually have things sent to an alternate address where someone can sign for it during the day. I just need to backtrack and figure out exactly whom has received this top secret data as of recently. I get the feeling it was either with Gamefly or Leatherman Tool Group. Since Gamefly seems to come recommended by a number of folks, I’m more inclined to believe it was some jerk at Leatherman. Which is sad, because they make really nice pocket tools. I love mine. But every time I look at it I want to stab someone with it.

On a side note, I think I’ve created new curses.

Now, onto more pleasant notes. I’ve found some time in the evenings to write, but every time I look at EISB I feel like I’m staring at a brick wall. I can see where I want to be, but I can’t quite figure out how to get there. So! In the interests of exercising my grey matter, I’ve jumped ahead slightly. I have part of a Christmas story with Tari and her future crush Lenard half-done. What could possibly go wrong at Christmastime, I ask you? What?! Perhaps someone steals her visa?

growl

I may just throw it up right here as I get it done, until I get further time allotted into web remodeling. If anyone knows a site that has a lot of various chapterized documents posted and has a template to present those works that is both simple to navigate and looks decent (making eyes not spontaneously erupt blood is the minimum requirement), point me at it. Otherwise, I’m going to try to get WordPress to work with the old Movable Type template - with some color adjustments, to eliminate that aforementioned bleeding-eye thing.

And to be fair, I believe it was induced by a pencil. Reports are sketchy at this time.

Chilly

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:42:54 GMT

My Windows PC’s power supply has been slowly failing. It’s been a contest between it and the laptop screen to see which would ‘splode first. I declared the laptop the winner, which of course made the PC jealous.

The guts make this squealing, hissing sound when it’s under high loads. Sitting on the floor, the damn thing got so cold it turned itself off tonight - the voltages dropped too far and the motherboard just turned off. Picked it up on top of the desk, waited 5 minutes, booted right up. Set it back on the floor, it shut down again after a few minutes.

Oh, and the can of pop I just opened flash-slushed. Ever seen that? Under pressure, it’s liquid, but as soon as you let the top open, the freeze point changes and it just instantly crystalizes.

Brrrrr… November is a bad time to work on walls and insulation when you’re a mile south of the 49th Parallel.

Noooooooo

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:02:14 GMT

I used to be able to tap the side of the screen (left side, about an inch below where it goes black) and have it come back to normal. Then, it took a couple taps. Then a slap. Then constant pressure on a spot about halfway down and one inch in from the left.

I can’t type while holding the screen just to keep it working :(

At least there’s a DVI port, although that removes the portability. New screen for a 4 year old laptop = $300. New laptop would be nice, but I can’t even afford the screen right now. Bleh.

Copper is Better Than Fiber

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:18:04 GMT

The local telephone provider has a trenching crew digging and boring holes all around the Lake Loop Road. There’s a little flag next to the box along the road at the top of the hill, marked “Fiber Node 6”.

This gave me no small amount of joy. At the moment, the only DSL product I can get is the so-called “Longreach” or “Extended” DSL. It’s a synchronous DSL, 768K up and down. It’s the best they could do for me where I am.

But secretly, I hoped with their new cable pulls, that’d be changed. They’re running more fiber-optic, along with new runs of 200-pair 24AWG copper.

I finally called the office today to inquire as to what was being changed. The first lady I spoke to transfered me to a “Service Desk.” I only wish I had the proper transcript of that conversation, but here’s a shaky rundown.

Me: I’d like to ask some questions about the linework going on at Metigoshe? The fiber they’re installing, will this result in my DSL running faster?

Scary lady: No.

Me: Then what’s it going in for?

Scary lady: <nonsensical reply followed by> because the fiber runs slower.

Me: Slower than… What? Copper?

Scary lady: Yes.

I do so love being lied to. Now, given, this poor soul could have just not known what she was talking about; however, she’s there to answer questions; if she that misinformed, she needs to be corrected. That’s not my job, and I usually delight in volunteering for it anyway. Not today, though.

She instead connected me to an engineer, who gathered that I knew at least a little of How Things Work and explained the fiber is being run to upgrade their cable TV service. Yes, our telephone co-op handles our dsl and our TV. They also make waffles. Tasty, delicious, waffles.

He went on to tell me that this time next year they should be finished switching their telephone system over to a new central office in the middle of the Lake Loop. I’ve seen the hut in question; it’s perhaps a mile away. Where’s my service routed through right now? A similar hut, five miles or so distant, next to a graveyard and church north of Long Lake.

After telling this story to my brother over his lunch break, he quipped, “At least that explains all the clicks and pops in the line.”

How so? “It’s haunted.”

Comics

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:29:12 GMT

https://ozyandmillie.org/2007/10-12/

Virtues

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 02:42:43 GMT

Patience

Come back later for #2.

Old fiction

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:26:40 GMT

If anyone is actually still here -

I know a couple of you had older versions of EISB and other things saved in different formats - mind tossing me a copy? I’m trying to sort through my mess and figure out which versions of what actually ever saw the light of day.

New layout

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:16:28 GMT

I’m trying to accomplish a few things.

Get my mind back into a state where I can actually get code writing done. I’m terribly rusty in everything right now.
Create or find a layout that doesn’t make people’s eyes spontaneously begin to bleed and that I can edit somewhat for my own needs. This template seems okay, visually; I prefer darker things, but the last one was a little too dark. This one’s really bright, IMO, but I liked the layout. It’s also blue. Editing the header graphic to toss in a shot of me on the lake wasn’t too bad to do either. P.S. I don’t have all that fuzz anymore.
Movable type exploded on me and nuked half my mini-templates from its database. Little things I was effectively #including into pages. I didn’t notice this until I clicked “publish” on the blog section. I was looking for a reason to trash it, and it provided. WordPress has been installed in its place; WordPress “Pages” (in contrast with “pages“) allow me to still use it for content management (read: my stories) without having to hack out a bunch of things to get basic navigation and sorting the index. The WP-Pages don’t innately support “Previous” and “Next” linkage like blog entries do; I put together a plugin in about half an hour that adds the functionality. Alternatively, I could just list all the chapters someplace (what it wants to do by default). Maybe the sidebar, that I took off those pages… Still trying to tweak the template to stretch it and fill in where the sidebar once was. Have to edit images and css.

Oscar

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:55:50 GMT

Oscar.

Man, I was so proud of myself for making that screenshot back in the day. Don’t know who made “Oscar” but he was fun to install in the computer labs!

Snowflakes

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:42:21 GMT

Some time ago, someone noted that it seemed like Jadyn’s story was without direction, like each chapter was just tacked onto the last haphazardly. As I’m looking over it, finding the forward momentum lacking a direction to travel, I have to agree. I started this whole mess nearly twelve years ago, working on improving my skills as a writer and trying to give this gaggle of characters in my head a voice. I’m not sure I’ve succeeded in the former; as to the latter, I think they’ve been choking on aspartame fumes. Poor guys.

Someone pointed me at the “Snowflake Method.” It’s helped give me an idea of just how broken this storyline has been. I’m sure it’s salvageable; I’m just not certain as to how as of yet. I’ve appreciated all the feedback over the years. I’m not shutting the doors on bluevulpine.net anytime soon. I do however need to step back and determine what’s going to have to change in order to make this story viable once again. To start with, I think I need to re-examine how Jay’s voice got into my head in the first place.

I started down the path of writing his story back in high school - if I’m not mistaken, it was in ninth or tenth grade. 1995 or 1996, or thereabouts. It all started from my experiences on a text-based gathering system - FurryMUCK. “Oh god, he’s one of those people!” Yeah. I was fifteen. Cut me some slack. I was trying to escape the mess that was my life; one parent not around and the other in county lockup. Any distraction was my goal. I don’t know how I found these folks, but it was just what I was looking for.

The character that would later become Jadyn was first known as “Bluefur.” After meeting various folks I found a great many of them had created backstories to their textual avatars. Some were simple; others had a great deal of thinking behind them. Some even had art. Hmm… A fifteen year old male surrounded by pictures of furry boobs. I was hooked.

I found myself engrossed in the stories that folks had written, reading all sorts of things from the innocent to the saucy. The Furry-lit mailing list subscription was a no-brainer; I even tried my hand at contributing a few of my early writings for review. As time went on I spent less and less time on the MUCK, more and more reading and searching for more things to read. I didn’t understand what plagarization was; a lot of my initial ideas wound up being my character (and by extension, me) being placed in the situations of other people’s characters, and seeing how he (I) would deal with the same situation.

I was also a fan of the Highlander TV series, and I had this weird thing going on about death. I was perpetually scared of not waking up. Making Jay an immortal was my way of protecting him from the things I myself was afraid of. His parents died when he was reaching adulthood; mine were separated. He had a little sister (who, while I’ve never gotten to reveal this in the context of the story, was intended to be an adopted sibling); I have a younger brother, who is actually my brother. He was good at a lot of things, athletics, music, martial arts; I was an overweight nerd, and although I do play the cello, I never spent enough time practicing. I’ve always had a fascination with martial arts, but for some reason I never actually got into any classes to learn. Wonder if it’s too late now…

I really wish I’d kept copies of all my earliest writings. But, composing it on a computer, it was prone to hard disk failure and I’ve had a LOT of disks fail. I didn’t like writing on paper because my handwriting is terrible.

On that note, I just went hunting for whatever I could spot. I found all my old muck logs, tucked away on a rescued disk image buried in the bowels of my raid5 array. Scary stuff. The last archive of all the “stuff” belonging to my avatar before it was wiped off the system for inactivity… Lot of chat logs… There’s bits I can’t repost anywhere (remember, I was fifteen, a nerd, with raging hormones… and it was the early stages of the internet! What’s ‘age verification’? …TMI?) although I do what’s happened to some of the folks I used to chat with.

Ha! I can still read MPI code. I’m such a geek. Random noises in a “forest” area: ‘A squirrel bounds by, looking for peanuts.’ And now I remember where I got the stepdisk idea from. Hmm… Someone was leading a writer’s workshop for a while. And there’s a snippet from something I wrote… Several things, written on a TI-92! My first portable keyboard. Wonder where its old files got put, there could be GOLD there.

Anyway. I’ve lost my train of thought, and it’s 4 AM.

not by much

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:07:13 GMT

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Since switching to a Dreamhost shared hosting plan, I’ve been struggling to get used to the fact that using such hosting is far different than tweaking one’s own hardware and software on one’s own DSL link. It’s been interesting. And by interesting, I mean, of course, not so much interesting as painful.

It’s not Dreamhost’s fault. Far to the contrary - had I used their software installer and actually thought ahead as I was trying to move my data, it might have worked the first time. Or possibly, the second. The main complaint I have is that perl and php are running as cgi, not apache modules. For shared hosting this is almost a requirement (running as cgi) from an accounting standpoint - otherwise, code runs as the apache server user and you can’t tell who is driving the box into the ground. At least, not so easily. So, I’ll adapt.

As it stands, I’ve now used it to properly reinstall Mediawiki; after their installer finished, it was a simpler matter to move my old database over and run an upgrade on the schema. I’ve also installed Gallery2 for my photograph collection, although it’s not populated yet. Also installed (though manually, since it’s not in their installer) is Pixelpost, to more immediately start to share some of the more interesting shots I’ve taken. My photos are going up on <cact.us>.

About

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 06:09:24 GMT

Who am I? I’m a lumberjack! And I’m okay.

Once upon a time I was a cubical phone jockey. Six years spent helping people with their PC or their internet connection, and occasionally with a website they used to access credit card data. After that I spent two years doing web and database programming and maintenance; I enjoyed the challenge, having to actually think and design instead of following a canned script.

After a series of unfortunate events, I’ve moved into general laboring: landscaping, construction, deconstruction, salvaging, firewood processing and firewood bundling. I’ve some college education (in Computer Science) and I love to cook (and would like to become better at doing so). I played the Cello for ten years in the education system and enjoyed it, but haven’t really had it out in the years since and am terribly rusty. I really want to get back into it.

While my focus in school leaned toward computing, I’ve enjoyed writing since I was fifteen years old. I dobut it’s something that I’d see income from, so for now my ‘bad habit’ is shared with the world on my dime. Many, many of my dimes.

The Perils of PPPoE

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:12:38 GMT

In the last week the phone and DSL was shut off because someone lost the bill in a pile of junk mail. No problem. Called up and paid over the phone (using a neighbor’s phone, of course), phone’s back on in 10 minutes.

Now, there’s a peculiarity with the PPPoE here. Presuming you never disconnect it, it will never bounce you. This also has the side effect of when the DSL was “shut off” all they did was disable the login/password. They didn’t bounce the existing connection. So, I remained online and oblivious to the fact that they’d not restored my account settings properly.

Login/pass didn’t work. I was promised a callback, but instead they simply re-enabled it and left me to discover this on my own.

However, after this, they caused a new problem:

I was no longer getting a static (“persistent”) address. I was told it would be fixed by noon the next day. Noon rolled around, no fix. Called back and played phonetree tag for four hours, eventually got to someone that was apparently in the NOC (Network Ops Center). He called over to someone else and called me back, made sure I could log in and was getting the right IP.
During this I discovered I had no inbound connectivity. I could connect out and browse the web and whatnot but any incoming connections for torrents (WoW Downloader) and the webserver here were being blocked. So, he proceeded to disable the firewall on the PPP connection…
Which promptly broke my “persistent” address again. He had to call over to the other person again, but she was no longer at her desk. He promised yet another callback, which he never came through on. However, the connection appears to be working as it should now - no ISP-side firewalling, and a persistent address.

Almost reminds me of fighting with Register.com so long ago. Although, it took them a month to fix something I can do in 32.6 seconds on godaddy’s web forms.

November 10, 2006

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 03:30:15 GMT

Okay, so I’m a little off on my goal of once a week.

A good friend’s younger brother passed away yesterday morning.¹

The lake’s completely frozen over now. Ice is averaging between 2-3” thick. We chip open a hole every morning and evening near shore for water to use for necessities (do I need to name them?) since there’s no rural water system up here. Drinking water we get at the store here, reverse osmosis stuff. I’m pondering the wisdom of a well in the coming years. It’d be nice not to have to haul in 5-gallon pails every day. There’s a 65 gallon tank outside that we need to put indoors but there’s a big crack in the top half right now needing repair.

Present temperature outside: 14F. Inside when we got home, 37F. In about an hour when the woodstove is smoking hot it’ll be 70F on the porch, 110F in the rafters on the porch, and 45F in my bedroom. Need to install ductwork…

Repaired the wood splitter at work in the last week. Fired it up today to do a 2-cord* load of wood and had the conveyor chain immediately break. Whee. Guess we’ll finish tomorrow.

I thought I had something else meaningful to note here, but apparently I don’t. Oh, changed the forum software.

*CORD, noun. A unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, now generally equal to 128 cu. ft. (3.6 cu. m), usually specified as 8 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 m).

This site used to exist in 2006, but it’s not there anymore. I’d met Kc a couple of times, he was a good kid. Hell of a cook behind a grill. ↩︎

Reverse Progress

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 06:25:02 GMT

Long entry incoming. Flee now, before it’s too late.

So. Software updates.

Bad stuff.

Of course, I should know this by now. Any time I try to update a piece of software on this poor little debian installation, it blows up in my face. I thought that the whole reason for debian’s packaging system was to prevent this sort of thing. First discovered problem: the apache webserver. Somehow, the upgrade script determined the stock configuration was the ideal upgrade to my haunted house of config files. It proceeded to wipe out my customizations to the apache.conf file, in addition to disabling all the virtual-host sites and every apache module I’d loaded.

Did I have a backup? Of course not. That’d be silly.

Obviously, as you are seeing this text, this problem has been rectified. Remembering the combination of modules to install was a trick. Did you know that the ScriptAlias directive doesn’t do a damn thing if you don’t also enable mod_cgi? Go figure.

With the Apache voodoo aside, a new problem reared its ugly head. I couldn’t connect to mysql with any script or user account. Even root, my super-secure root mysql account (no password ftw) denied me access.

Eventually, I was able to track down a method by which I could gain access to the privilege tables. It would seem that during the upgrade to mysql 5.0, the packager had determined that ‘root’ and ‘localhost’, as well as every other username and hostname in the table, posessed too few letters. It proceeded to add space paddings to the end of each occurance to rectify this oversight. ‘root’ became ‘root ’ and localhost became ‘localhost ‘. As in, it’d never match, so I’d never be able to log in. And how can I break things when I can’t access them?

Smart software, this.

In other news, the webserver has been moved to a new location to facilitate my foot’s need to connect with the side of the case. Several months back I determined a cause of my site woes to be my dsl modem. after running for several days, the device would simply stop bridging packets. A powercycle fixed the problem temporarily. In my infinite wisdom, I procured a light timer (you know, the widgets that flick your lamps on and off to give the illusion someone is at home). The dsl modem was connected and all was good.

Then, recently, we had four days where the box was inaccessable. I pawned a few organs to purchase gasoline and journed to the location of the box, some hundred miles away, only to discover the light timer (a digital one, mind you) had ceased to function. The display would no longer come on and it was stuck on the ‘on’ mode (since the modem had power). It was no longer cycling the modem, therefore, the old trouble reared up.

So. Now the server is with me on a new DSL connection, a PPPoE link that is neither static nor dynamic; my ISP dibs this wonder ‘persistent addressing.’ Yet, it performs exactly like a static IP in that I always have the same address. The downlink sucks (768kbit versus the previous 2000kbit+) but the upstream, how these electrons reach you, is decent (768kbit versus the previous 384kbit or thereabouts). Speed tests actually read my upload as higher than my download speed by about 10KB/sec.

Couple of the case fans are noisy, need replacing. This presents a problem since when I’m trying to sleep, the server is about four feet from my head.

Lake news… Oh, yes, perhaps I’ve forgotten to mention in these sporadic updates. I’m presently living in a small cabin on a nice little lake in northern North Dakota. Winter is starting to remind us that it is taking up residence. There’s ice forming nightly along the shore and occasional flakes in the air.

Two years ago, my mother lived here through the winter with basically zero heat; you couldn’t light a match in the place without it being blown out if it was windy outside. Electric heat ran her $700 for one month; all the heaters immediately went outside into the snow.

Last year, I stayed here; we used propane heat. Still the same problem, wind blows right through the place. We’d purchased a wood stove but didn’t get it installed before the snow landed. A month or so ago, we finally managed to scrape together the funds (thanks to my grandmother <3 ) to finish off the porch where the stove was to sit. There’s no sheetrock or anything up yet, but it’s a far cry from the drafty front wall that was there before. The stove is temporarily installed and is heating the place quite reasonably. Still lots to do. Pictures eventually.

We’ve gotten all our docks and lifts out of the water now. By ‘our’ I mean our customers’ units. The barge, such that it is, is still tied to our own dock, which itself is still in the water and shall remain there. It’s solid steel. It’s not going anywhere.

For those of you not privy to the wonders of winter and lakes, allow me to explain. As most children can tell you from school science lessons, ice expands when it freezes. Most docks and lifts we handle have hollow tubes in their frame. These hollow pipes become filled with water when they are placed into the lake. Winter arrives, breaks these tubes. Solution: remove the lifts/docks from the lake and put them on shore.

Aluminum docks and lifts aren’t too bad - aluminum’s fairly light and easy to move around. Steel units, while heavier by a fair margin, are also not too bad when we’ve got the barge crane hooked to their frame. Then, we come to a new class - the lovingly crafted home-made pieces of crap. Cobbled together from whatever steel their makers could find, these monstrocities are absolutely horrible to work with. Either they fall apart when we pick them up, or they’re so akward that they take multiple hours to safely move. We can normally do a commercial pontoon lift (big honkers, those) and the associated dock in a little under twenty minutes, if everyone’s got their heads on straight.

Wind’s coming up outside, fog and mist in the air… And it’s just below the freezing point. I can see ice forming on the walkway outside. Must remember not to slip and kill myself in the morning.

I’m going to make an attempt to put something here at least once a week, if not more often. Be it random garbage, what’s been going on, some of my photography, a blurb of something I’ve been trying to write (so little time as of late), or whatever. I’ve got some incredible pictures of the area. Lots of sunsets. I’ve grown accustomed to them, but I forget that not everyone gets to see a skyline not dotted with high-rise buildings and pollution.

Zzz.

Blah

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:48:37 GMT

Work killing me, bleh

An update

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 07:37:21 GMT

Yeah, so, Negotiation¹ is up. We finally get to see that other guy who left Chamaeleon’s ship after busting his lip open. Go go good team!

In other news, I’ve dumped the entirety of the Glossary page and am slowly (very slowly) constructing a wiki version. And while I didn’t like the colors of the default mediawiki skin… I’m not sure the replacement I’m using is much better :P

The wiki hides here.¹

With the full rebuild of my site, the content this linked to is gone. ↩︎ ↩︎

As an aside

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:41:30 GMT

Should have new chapters up this week. I’ve got several done, maybe I’ll toss up one a day or something.

— EDIT, 10 march 2006. Okay, I’m a little off what I intended to get done, but the funeral tore me up a little more than I thought it would. Looking at them on the six-hour drive home, they aren’t quite as done as I’d like, but they’ll be somewhat passable.

At least, I hope so. ^^

Dad

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:17:15 GMT

I just found out this morning that my father passed away last Friday. The news doesn’t come entirely as a shock… Well, that’s not completely true. I knew he had some health issues, but…

A little backstory, perhaps. The last time I recall seeing my father was on my high school graduation in 1998. I’d never had a chance to be real close with the man. When I was growing up he was always working away from home, site supervisor with an industrial construction company. I honestly don’t recall seeing him since that day. He and my mother were not on good terms, and since I was living with her…

Jump ahead seven years. We get a call from my half-sister. ‘Hi. Dad’s cancer came back -‘

Came back? No one had the fucking courtesy to call us and let us know the first time?

He’d been a heavy smoker and drinker for years, so again, that development wasn’t entirely unexpected (from my view, anyway). Sister went on to say that regardless of what had happened, he still loved us (myself and my brother) and that we should probably go see him since the end was near and he really wanted to see us.

Fast forward not more than a few weeks. At the same time all this crap was hitting the fan, a larger pile of poo was finding it’s way into an industrial blower. Divorce proceedings between ma and pa declared that he had willfully abandoned my mother and us, and that he was entitled to a large sum of money.

Uhhh, what?

(Well, there were more problems leading up to that on ma’s side of the proceedings, which I won’t get into since it’s still not entirely settled. Blah.)

But here’s the kicker - within the week of the judgement, pa comes up from South Dakota to collect some of his things - conveniently making sure to arrive when we are not there. Sure, he had a police escort so that he could get into the place legally… But - after having the message relayed that he wanted to see us again… He waits until we’re not around to get his shit.

That pissed me off to no end. I’d been planning to call the sister back (we’d been doing our conversations across phone tag) but I was so livid after that I buried her phone number.

Now on to today. I’m still upset and angry with him for just disappearing from our lives. I’d never gotten the chance to know him well, something I deeply regret. Still - he’s my father, and I love him. I feel terrible for not being able to overcome my anger and go see him before he wasn’t here anymore. I truly enjoyed and looked forward to the brief intervals I got to spend with him at home. Sure, there were really sucky times when he was drunk… That was never any fun. But there were always times when he wasn’t. Those are the times I really want to remember… But I’m having trouble remembering them.

Were there so few that I can’t think of them? Gods, I hope not…

What’s the saying… ‘Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.’ It was those special times, the times when he surpassed simply being my father… I want to remember those.

I only wish I could have told you this one last time while you were still alive.

Love you, dad.

Alien Relations

Sun, 27 Nov 2005 06:58:14 GMT

Coast to Coast AM has such interesting things on their programs late at night. On an AM station near you, as well as XM 165 “Ask!” starting at midnight CST.

For example: This.¹ Makes me think.

Hard to say if it’s a joke - I’ve no idea how reliable PRWEB is. Isn’t it a free service anyone can put press releases on?

Yahoo moved or removed this. Now, there’s a part of me that says ‘this is silly.’ Another part yells at the same time ‘someone needed to do it…’ ↩︎

Patents…

Sat, 19 Nov 2005 03:20:34 GMT

This absolutely terrifies me. First software patents, now plot patents?¹

It’s been ages since I wrote this, and the link isn’t valid anymore and has been removed. ↩︎

NaNoWriMo

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 00:52:46 GMT

It’s November. That means it’s time for the great National November Writing Month to begin.

Wraaaa!

My organizational skills

Sat, 24 Sep 2005 07:02:43 GMT

… are non-existant.

I went to look for a document I’d saved some time ago - I remember writing it, I remember reading it several times when considering ways to go about things, tweaking the continutity between other events, etc etc…

And now it’s missing. It’s not where I left it and I can’t find it on any of the backup images of my hard disk I have tucked away on a file server. What the hell. I mean, I never delete anything unless it’s a blatant copy of itself in two places or more, and even then I usually don’t. No idea where it could possibly have fled to…

I really need to organize my stuff better :P

Change is Constant

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 21:35:34 GMT

You’re all going to hate me.

I promise, it’ll be the very last time.

Really. I do. If I have to move all this crap again, I’ll just give up.

I’m finally upset enough with the piece of junk that renders the stories to do something about it. And no, I’m not rewriting it. I wrote it in the first place, and it scares the hell out of me.

Instead of another hack job, everything is going into Movable Type. The only hacking required has been tweaking templates to make things sort the way I want them. This I like.

This allows for a few things. First, I felt limited to a specific book-and-chapter style before, making no room to have a standalone work sitting between the larger goings-on. I also felt limited to doing things in chronological order. While that itself makes sense for some things, others are more difficult.

The new URL will be </chronicles/> once I finish moving everything. I’ll update the link on the right side there once I’m done. Currently, there’s only one character description up (T’bia wanted space to talk about herself) and a couple of chapters. Entries will be sorted by date - specifically, the Val’Traxan date. I’ll get Terran references attached to them once I finish moving the content over.

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.

Produce Accelerators

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 05:47:53 GMT

My brother came up to Metigoshe from Fargo a couple of days ago. The weather has been windy the last few days, but today the breeze finally died down. We took the opportunity this evening to break out the Produce Accelerator and put some potatoes into low orbit. Some might call this an air cannon, others a spud gun. If you still don’t have a clue what I might be speaking of, there are a few sites (like Spudtech) that have some more details about the Accelerator’s brethren.

The cousins (hullo Karl, Neil, Evan) had a cannon here at the lake when they came up last year. After watching them fire it, I knew I had to have one. After much browsing of Google, where the above site among many others appeared before my eyes, the brother and I formulated an initial design. My Accelerator (our Accelerators; Brother’s isn’t here at present) is a simple pneumatic-powered muzzle-loaded cannon, in an over-and-under design. There are two main PVC parts - a pressure chamber, and the barrel - separated by a Rain Bird automatic lawn sprinkler valve rated for somewhere around 130psi. We originally had attempted to make the solenoid work with three 9v batteries in series, then three in series, in parallel with three more in series, but for some reason the 27vdc regardless of the resulting amperage we were feeding the poor thing wouldn’t allow it to actuate properly. It probably needed AC, in hindsight. After much trial and failure, we’ve resorted to just using the manual releases on the valve. Can slightly unscrew the solenoid or another little plastic peg to make it actuate.

The two PVC parts connect through the valve with 90 degree elbows, allowing the barrel and the pressure tank to be side by side (over-and-under). The pressure tank is a piece of 5 foot long by 3 inch diameter (90*pi square inches of volume, if my math is correct) schedule 40 PVC pipe, capped on one end with a pressure gauge and a tire valve for filling with air. The piping is labeled as ‘cellular core’ - we’ve had conflicting advice as to the safety of cellular core PVC tubing under pressure. “It’s schedule 40, so it’s fine” versus “cellular core is an explosion waiting to happen.” Eventually I’ll probably chuck the cellular crap and go with a nice piece of 6 inch pipe with an actual PSI rating. We normally fill the tank to about 105-110 PSI before firing.

The barrel is a 5 foot long by 2 inch diameter schedule 40 PVC, rated for somewhere above 160PSI. The Accelerator is downstairs and I’m feeling lazy, so “160+” is the closest I’m going to get for now. At a 2 inch diameter, we could probably extend the barrel another 5 feet to closer match the volume in the air tank. (v=Lpir^2; v=60pi1.5^2; 135*pi cubic inches on the air tank. since 1^2 = 1 we could use 135 inches (11.25 feet) of barrel to hold the same volume). As it stands, the produce of choice (normally potatoes, they’re cheap) is moving rather fast when it leaves the end of the barrel.

I’m going to have to take a stopwatch out tomorrow and see about getting some accurate timings on launch-to-impact. I’m curious to see what the hang time is of a vegetable fired near-vertical. I think the ones we did last year with this cannon were staying up for about 10 seconds. At 10 seconds, the peak of the produce’s flight should be at the 5 second mark. With acceleration from gravity at 9.8 meters per second per second (m/s/s), the velocity when the produce hits the lake should be 49m/s (or 109 miles per hour), and that should also roughly match the speed at which the produce leaves the barrel. That also places the maximum height around 122.5 meters (402 feet, or 134 yards). Whee!

So, the potato is accelerating to 49m/s over the five foot barrel; that’s 9.8 meters per second per foot… With a ten foot barrel, assuming we managed to keep a constant acceleration (a big ‘if’), we could in theory have 98m/s velocity at the end of the barrel. 219 MPH. Zoom.

My math probably sucks. Oh well. (edit - yes, some of it did, and it has been… corrrrrected. 1.5^2 is not 1.5)

Opie and Anthony (XM 202; ‘cringe humor’ not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, XM has channel blocking options for a reason kids) are on vacation for a week. I don’t know how I’ll survive without my daily dosage of the Show That Is The Virus. Listening to Art Bell right now, on XM 165. Possibly on an AM station near you. Haven’t listened to his program much before, but the brother recommended it. Slightly amused so far.

Terror on the Prarie

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 05:41:03 GMT

We had 20+ inches of rain in June; Lake Metigoshe, my favorite place in the world (it’s even better than sliced milk) flooded a little bit.

From the time the ice went out this spring, it rose 52 inches. (For the math-impaired, that’s more than four feet.) The lake has dropped now and is no longer restricted to Idle Speed Only. I snapped a few (hundred) photos when the water was high; I don’t expect that we’ll ever see a flood like this here again.

For the curious, I’ve posted several of the pictures.¹ The first few are from last year, to show how it looks when the lawn isn’t under 18 inches of water.

With the full rebuild of my site, the content this linked to is gone. ↩︎

Template Shenanigans

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 04:41:39 GMT

Screwing around with Movable Type. My first attempt to get it running landed in an utter failure. Installation went fine, and it was running under CGI mode, but it was painfully slow. So, after looking at the directions found on Google, I went ahead and attempted to configure it as a mod_perl handler.

Calling any of said handlers promptly segv’d the apache child. Blah.

So, I backed up, and tried using Apache::Registry instead. And after four hours of “ExecCGI is not enabled” errors in the log, I discovered that the real path to the files was not the same path Apache was looking at. Goddamn you, symlinks. But working with the symlinks did nothing either.

Now, I’ve installed the 3.2 beta (I was fighting with 3.17) and while it is running under CGI mode, it seems zippy. For now, I’ve shelved the idea of getting it to tango with mod_perl, and have fought with getting all the little subtemplates to look like how I want the site to look like. Slowly getting there.

Chicago Fan Faire Report

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 03:55:20 GMT

Myself and a few friends travelled from North Dakota (one actually from Canada) to Chicago for the Everquest Fan Faire. The journey was perilous and not without danger…

A lot of the following probably:

Won’t make much sense unless you know Illia, Howjan, Wulin, and others mentioned;
Won’t make much sense unless you are vaguely familiar with Everquest, conventions, or some combination of the two;
Won’t make much sense at all.

But read on.

In most games these days I go by the handle ‘Agamenoar,’ or just ‘Ag’ in newer games, chat rooms, et al - when the developers trying to /summon you to testing events can’t spell your nickname when it’s on their own screen, clearly, you need a shorter name.

On with the travelogue! Tuesday. Illia arrives in balmy Minot, ND (population: 4 people and a gopher, the remainder of the population are actually being six-boxed by the gopher) somewhere around 7pm. Much rejoicing ensues as Howjan, Wulin, myself, and a couple others go to dinner and drinks, then migrate elsewhere for more drinks/pool/darts until our collective asses get punted out at close. Retreat to Howjan’s estate, drink a little more, pass out.

Wednesday. The North Dakotans pile into the Canadian’s tiny Audi at 8am, amputating arms and legs and tying them to the bike rack on the roof to make room. This lovely work of German engineering is completely unforgiving of English units; everything in the car is marked in Celcius or Kilometers. Panic ensues until Wulin breaks out a notepad and begins converting speed limit signs in realtime. As we didn’t get arrested, his math must have been mostly right. I briefly bitch about the overhead controls in the rear seat missing the stewaress call button.

Hurtling down the interstate in Minnesota and Wisconsin at speeds that we can only assume were approaching the sound barrier, we arrive in Eau Claire at four PM, stopping briefly to obtain rooms for the night as we’ll likely be too drunk/confused later to remember to do it then. Someone manages to find Kuddo’s phone number and contact with the EauClaireans is made. An International agreement later we arrange to continue diplomatic relations (read: eat something and drink a lot) with Kuddo, Takrogoth, Astryd, and Mugg at a nearby brewery/restaurant.

Finishing dinner, it is decided more alcohol is required for good relations to continue, so the conference is relocated twice as the first new location had been assigned a cover charge for the evening. Positive relations for the future are forged as the night draws to a close; I get tossed Illia’s keys and proceed to attempt to burn out the clutch in his Audi as I relearn how to drive stick. We manage to survive the trip back to the motel and pass out.

Thursday. Having failed at burning out the clutch, we get back on the road at 9:30 am. Hampered briefly by road construction we arrive in Chicago near 2pm, drive blindly around the city for anything that resembles a hotel, and finally locate ours. Obtaining our rooms we drop off our things and begin to wander around the establishment. The checkin for the Fan Faire itself begins at 4pm; I go to pick up my badge only to be told they can’t find one for me, and here’s a blank one that I can write my name on. Sigh, oh well, these things do happen.

I wander around solo for a while longer, glancing through the Bazaar briefly and discovering Velsha and Trisa browsing the wares as well. Greeting them merrily I wander on, attempting to locate Illia once more to determine where we shall be convening for the dinner plans made earlier in the week. Locating him in the hotel lobby, I am introduced to Allakhazam, Xenaida, Kaikachi, Gallenite, among others, as we pile into a small detachment of the Chicago Taxicab Fleet and migrate to Morton’s of Chicago, “The Steakhouse” according to the fine print under the name.

Holy shit. Holy holy HOLY shit. The cheapest thing on the menu barring appetizers, salads, and beer, is prime rib. I shit you not, they carry a seventy-two ounce cut of porterhouse steak. This four and a half pound side of beef is enough to feed an entire country for a year. Add hooves and a tail and you’ll have enough meat to know what the cow looked like down to the color of its eyes before they started to cut pieces off. No one daring to risk the wrath of bovine throughout the world, other meals are ordered in the stead of The Porterhouse.

We return to the hotel to allow the most remarkable steak dinner I think anyone in the room had ever been priveleged to look at, let alone consume, settle. We find Alturick camping the door waiting for our arrival. Takrogoth, Kuddo, and Kerasota (the creator of Lucy) also spawn. We attempt to get a repop of the lobby to ward off these even /cons (the paladin however is more of a lightblue) but the only members of the dev crew that we manage to locate are already working on their Alcohol Tolerance skills. Much joyous sampling of the hotel’s brews continues into the hours of the morning.

Friday. The crack of noon rolls around and the North Dakotans seek nourishment. Howjan and Wulin attempted to make peace with the hotel gods by eating in the steakhouse within the hotel. By the stories of even the ashtrays being so prim and proper one could drink from them and cure the diseases of the world, we determine something somewhat less stressing to the wallet is in order.

McDonalds it is. This fine dining establishment was found approximately four blocks away, allowing for roughly 1/1000th of the calories consumed to be burnt off on the walk back to the hotel. Returning to the event at approximately 1:30pm, we head to view the various panels being run by the staff of the Faire. I attend a demo of Everquest II, then migrate to another hall to observe the Everquest Live team answering questions.

Gallenite, Xenaida, Lyndro, and Rashere get raked over the coals as the people we normally only see trolling boards step into the light and get handed a microphone to ask whatever happens to be on their mind. For example:

Random_Necro00: “Necro’s need a targetable feign death that we can use to save wizards when they overnuke” Gallenite: “If a wizard is overnuking, the wizard needs to die” (many cheers from the crowd)

Random_Druid00: “Druid CH should be 2 seconds faster to cast” All_ClericsInRoom inhale Panel: “Uh… no”

Random_Enchanter00: “When I’m in groups as the only enchanter I’m doing so much I can’t get slow off fast on the mob the tank is tanking, please make our slow faster” Vein_onHowjan`sNeck00 bulges as his eyebrow twitches

We attempt to help calm the dev crew after the panels by inviting them to an Irish pub Illia discovered across the street. His socks apparently proc Find Guiness. Lunch and drinks are served, and we have a good time up until eight o’clock when the Fan Faire staff runs a reception event back at the hotel. Giving up our prime seats we wander back and observe Tom Taylor tossing back drinks behind the podium on stage as we attempt to find the Test table. Finding we need more room we comandeer an ajacent table (ninjalooted it from Xev) and greet those who we’d not had the pleasure to drink with yet. Hadler, Oakrunner (he’s twelve, no wonder we hadn’t seen him in the pub), Sarah (apparently has run Melbourne from time to time) and a big norsk looking dude that I can’t recall the name of. Allakhazam joins us as well.

Shotglasses, wine goblets, teeshirts, video cards are all given away. The names drawn seem to have more and more ‘A’s in them as Tom becomes more and more incapable of pronouncing them at all. But, of course, if names with too many ‘A’s are being drawn… The table bursts into laughter as my name appears on the screen; Tom doesn’t even begin to attempt to pronounce it, tossing back another drink instead. Go me! What did I win? Not a shirt, nor a shotglass or wine goblet… Not even a video card. So what hallowed prize gifts my hands?

A year free hosting at Guildportal.com.

What in The Fuck am I supposed to do with that? TP has maybe six people that play. So I consider the larger picture, to use it for TSF… but we have a messageboard, we have a calendar (when did that get added? it wasn’t there last week), and we have a roster (a very good one I might add cough). Oh well, maybe I can sell it on playerauctions. “Offical Fan Faire merchandice!”

The drawings complete and the entirety of the Test server (minus oak) plus most of the dev crew uses (in Lyndro’s most eloquent terms) ‘Succor: Pub’ and returns to the Irish pub across the street. I spend some time talking with Absor, just chatting about random things and enjoying the atmosphere until they kick us out at close.

Saturday. Begins approximately like Friday; food at McD’s follows the observation of dev-raking instead of preceeding it. However, one minor change in questions is presented:

Shaman_ThatWeWon`tName00: “Slow mitigation, it sucks, you use it too much, cut it out” Absor (who was passing around the microphone) “That wasn’t a question” Shaman: “In your humble opinions, what is the purpose of the overuse of slow mitigation on experience-granting creatures throughout the world of Norrath?” Panel: “Game balance, next”

After food I split off, wandering into the pub and finding Illia as expected - half-pint in hand, full-pint on standby. Alturick and another soul are helping keep him company as he conquers the beast that is Guiness on tap. Considering that the night will likely go as the previous did, I swing by the hotel lobby and extend the room stay by a day… No one is going to be ready to leave Sunday morning. We’d be lucky if we’re conscious by checkout time.

On a whim I wander back into the bazaar area to waste time before the banquet at 8pm. In the main halls there are banners for each server and each class, each one up for silent auctioning… However, at the close of the auction, they turned it into a “let’s see if anyone else wants to bid” auction and began naming off servers and collecting last minute bids. Tom Taylor is running this as well, however lacking a microphone it’s rather hard to hear him over the crowd. Banner after banner goes by, in no particular order… And Test’s finally comes up. current price is $25. Toot! I’ll bid 30…

Some guy on the other side of the tables tosses in 35… Now, this guy just picked up another banner for 200 bucks. I can’t make out his badge but he’s not a test player. One of the SoE staff behind the table bids 40; the unknown player goes to 45. I decide not to let this heathen scum have our server’s banner, especially if he doesn’t even want to socialize with us at our table! I bid 50. He counters every bid… 60. 70… 80. 100… 125. 135… 150. Okay, fuck you - 200! I win, rawr fucker, RAWR!

(as an aside, the cleric banner later was sold for 1k, and a couple class banners went for 700+. When I discovered this I felt much more sane about my purchase)

So, feeling my wallet loose weight even though payment and pickup wasn’t until Sunday, I trundle off to inform the Test crew of my win, then head to the banquet with them. We once again annex an additional table (tarew marr this time) and several of the dev group join us rather than sitting up at the SoE staff tables. This of course raises our morale and makes us feel good about ourselves. It’s promply quenched as we discover it’s merely because the SoE tables are full. Damn refugees.

Tom Taylor is up at the podium once again, and it seems that an unofficial contest begins between Povar, Veeshan, and Stormhammer to see who can take him the most alcohol. Stormhammer, of course, can afford to do this. Not nearly so many ‘A’s come across the screen as he draws for prizes. No one that matters wins anything, so we retreat to the pub once again. I steal Illia’s camera and head back to the hall to get pictures of the costume contest before joining them back at the pub. Niami (EQ Traders) joins us and she, Maddoc, and a few others have a fun discusson about tradeskills (bet you didn’t expect to see ‘fun’ and ‘tradeskills’ in one sentence) among other things until close.

A brief interlude is made to the SoE suite, but the North Dakotans get punted out after about 20 minutes. “If you don’t collect a check from sony, get out.” It wasn’t that we were being bad, it was more that he was trying to reclaim his room so he could sleep. I think.

Sunday. Auction pickup opens at 10am. I collect the phat lootz (including three alcohol tolerance pins, one for each of Illia, Howjan, and Wulin) and scour the hotel for a marker. By god if I’m paying 200 bucks for the banner, the SoE dev crew can take 30 seconds and sign it. :D

As I roam the hotel searching for people to hand the marker to, I realize that more than just the dev’s should be signing it, so I get the remaining few Test people (excluding Howie and Wulin, since they suck) that I can locate to sign as well. And what the hell, got Tom to sign it too, since he seemed to be running things.

Signatures collected: Tom Taylor, Gallenite, Lyndro, Prathun, Kaikachi, Xenaida, Solomonr, Holly (the lady who did the LDoN lore), Odyean (GM on Stormhammer), Illia, Velsha, Absor, Maddoc, Rashere, Azaliil.

Went to breakfast with Absor and some of the other SoE crew that hadn’t already left or gone to see the city; Illia wanders into the cafe, complaining about still being drunk. Apparently he didn’t get kicked out of the suite when we did. After about 30 cups of coffee and two pitchers of water he tells us a sad tale about waking up at 5am in his hotel bed, no clue how he got there, and only having one shoe off.

Breakfast out of the way, we head back to the hotel. I jog back to the room to grab my sunglasses, but in the process of doing this I seemed to have neglected to note that I was going to go along to sightsee and get left beind. Bleh, oh well. Howjan and Wulin regain consciousness and need sustanance, so I show them to the cafe. They eat, then we get directions to find a place to acquire a camera battery so I can ressurect Illia’s camera. It would seem that we’d missed a rather large shopping district a mere six blocks from the hotel.

Taking out a small loan to afford film for my camera and a battery for his, I make the purchase while Howjan negotiates to trade a used ranger for a box of toothpicks. The camera roars back to life as the battery is replaced, shooting several pictures of the area before consuming a small bus as a sacrifice. The North Dakotans wander on through the area, finding actual green grass in the bustling metropolis as we attempt to discover the path we followed to arrive where we were.

Angels sing as the hotel appears around a corner; we retreat to the safety of our room and watch some TV for a little while as I begin chronicling the events of the past week. Illia joins us as the last of the SoE crew leaves for the airport. We head to a nearby bar for dinner (as the irish pub had been comandeered for a private party, sigh) then head back to get sleep before our early departure.

Monday. 4:15am rolls around. We gather up our possessions and go wait in the lobby for Illia. He requests for the car to be brought out of parking. And we wait. And wait… and… some 20 minutes later he goes to find out what’s going on with the car. Apparently where you hand them keys is not where they are returned to your possession; the car had been waiting for 15 minutes in the basement parking area and no one had bothered to inform us of this.

We load up, head to the gate… The gate machine requests a token, which the parking people had conveniently neglected to provide us. Beating the hell out of the attendant we steal a token and escape the lot and attempt to locate the interstate. Somewhere in the area of Grand avenue we manage to find an onramp, which merges into the LEFT lane of the interstate and gives you approximately ten feet to accelerate from a near standstill to 80+ MPH if you don’t want to get rear-ended by the cars forever trapped circling the city with no way to exit.

Chicago vanishes behind us as we travel westward. Illinois and Wisconsin pass by quickly; Minnesota lasts a small eternity. Illia advises we write our congressional representitives and just have it deleted from the map as it seems to be a waste of space. A chorus of agreement rises from the car.

Onward we go at near-lightspeed velocities, yet still being passed by nuns on unicycles on the interstate. Finally making it back to North Dakota, we breathe a sigh of relief as Minot appears on the horizon at 7pm. Detouring for dinner at Applebee’s we then return to Howjan’s estate to finish the evening in relative peace.

Summary. In this adventure we (the North Dakotans) have had the opportunity to meet Absor, Lyndro, Prathun, Rashere, Xenaida, Kaikachi, Gallenite, Maddoc, Solomonr, Xeib, Bulkeen, Kerasota, Illia, Allakhazam, Niami DenMother, Ngreth, Velsha, Trisa, Handor, Oakrunner, Alturick, Kuddo, Mugg, Astryd, Takrogoth, and others I can’t remember right now (and perhaps some who’d rather not be recorded… )

We’ve learned:

1) Howjan curls into a fetal position when on the Interstate system near any major city.

2) Ag is no longer allowed to drive stick.

3) Wulin doesn’t appriciate Guiness. (nor does Howjan nor myself, but, I needed something for him and it’s late )

4) Illia needs a car that speaks American.

5) Finally, The Most Important Thing We Learned:

Viva Las Vegas, Baby ##

(translation: Next Fan Faire is in Vegas. If you don’t show up, we’ll hunt you down and kill you. Howjan has guns somewhere and I’m sure Wulin knows how to fire them)

Disclaimer. The opinions expressed above do not necessarily express the opinions of the North Dakotan Group (though they agree on most of it). Dissenting opinions are likely to be noted once the rest of the crew sobers up.