FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

«So these suits of yours only work for the few of you?» Ceylon grabbed onto the side of the elevator shaft as he floated against it, anchoring himself by his rear hands. «May I pry into the reason why?»

"Glad to see you're not probing us so hard today." Ilaria smiled as she hovered 'above', lining up the leg of her suit with her real one. "Well these suits require a connection called a 'Link' to control their various functions. In particular we need to control the fit while we push air into it, or else we'll either be crushed to death or the suit will blow up like a bubble and possibly pop."

"Glad you were crazy enough to try that first, Ari." Carbon finished slipping into his suit and moved to help Sydney with hers. "Just take it easy and control your breathing, Cid. I'll guide you where we need to go, so just focus on staying calm. Alright?"

"I'm not a fan of the water, but I'm more concerned about the thirty pounds of homemade plastique strapped to my legs."

Ari sighed at Cid's pessimism as she finally got her suit aligned correctly. "My girls make it better than you'll get from any military armory, Cid. Their machines build the explosives perfectly uniform, which makes them even safer than normal." Ari adjusted a few gaskets near her artificial limbs and cranked her arm around her shoulder to test the fit. "Finally."

«You require this suit, but you don't protect those appendages?»

"Oh, uh... these?" Ari twisted a latch on her leg and then removed the limb for a moment before resetting it. "They're fake and more than resilient enough for this kind of pressure... I think. I mean, it worked last time and we were deeper down."

«This 'Olivia' you're afraid of appears to be concerned. So are you, in turn. Oh but I'm prying again, aren't I? Your minds are so unguarded. Apologies.» Ceylon watched as Ari anchored herself to the wall and moved closer. «These injuries only prove what a fierce warrior you are. I admire courage in a woman.»

"Well I'm glad I lost the arm since it means my daughters are alive as a result, but I'm not exactly proud of these faults."

Ceylon grinned as he flipped over Ilaria, pinning her to the bulkhead with his large body. «You don't need to play these games, you know. I can tell what you're thinking. Honestly, I could use the stress relief before this hunt myself.»

"What? Ceylon, I think--" Ari froze still when she felt a familiar firm yet gentle prodding against her knee. Then it moved to her thigh... then her stomach. "~Oh~. Ceylon, I'm sorry but I wasn't thinking about... um..."

Ceylon understood his misinterpretation immediately, shifting himself back to rest on his own section of the wall. «Well you are now, quite clearly. So what was that different feeling a moment ago?»

"I was... thinking about my brother." Ari lowered her voice as she commented, hoping her twin at the opposite end of the elevator shaft wouldn't hear her. "He always wears loose clothes, but that tight suit..."

«Ah, I see. It ~is~ quite revealing.» Ceylon grunted as he looked down at his fully erect square peg of a penis protruded almost two feet into the open. «I apologize for my misbehavior. It is common in my culture to clear our minds of distractions before a hunt, especially if a strong female is willing to help. My culture is not yours, however.»

"You don't care about us? Huh. If your tribe is as alright with incest like mine it must be pretty good." Ari smiled for Ceylon, though she pointlessly tried and failed to look away from the gargantuan alien cock on display. "You wanted me to help with that? Holy shit, Ceylon. That's as long as my leg, and I'm tall!"

«There are more ways to satisfy than penetration, dear. Honestly I would have liked to try though.» The Versa grabbed his cock and gave it a squeezing stroke, proving that the appendage wasn't as dense as it seemed to his otter friend to calm her. «While quite large for you, I do wonder if it might still be accommodating enough. Perhaps one day we'll find out?»

"Maybe, if you play your cards right with my crew. Me, I'm fine with my Rhy." Now that Ari had the go-ahead to look at the beast of a dick, she soaked in the details in case it was a one-time deal. "So that thing hides away somewhere when you aren't using it? And what are those all around it, the darker parts?"

«Curiosity is getting the better of you, dear.» With another grunt Ceylon started retracting his manhood back whence it came, the appendage slipping backwards into his tail about halfway. «Our genitals reside in our 'tails' and we can control a fair amount of their exposure. The rest is similar to your own I believe, the blood and sex drive controlling the rest. These other parts are... 'ridges', we'll go with. They aid in flexibility and stimulation, as well as holding a female in place...»

"Sorry if I'm prying too far, Ceylon. I'm just... impressed." Ari moved her head a bit to get a better angle, confirming from a profile view that except for near the 'head', every inch thereafter were inch-wide grooves notched out of the whole circumference, nearly just as deep as they were wide. "Gods, you're ribbed the whole way? Fuck, even the thin parts are thicker than my own cock. Whatever girl nabs you has her work cut out for her."

«Thank you for the praise, Ilaria. I'm actually... not that large compared to others, so it's nice to hear this for once.» The Versa's manhood finally began to wane, the central 'spine' shrinking so that the larger sections collapsed lengthwise. «When this hunt is concluded, perhaps we might explore this further? Without attachments, I mean.»

"Just to see how the plumbing works? Maybe, sure. I guess we could have a little jerking contest for a laugh."

"Could we join?" Themis latched onto the wall next to his aunt, helping his brother do the same. "I'm sure we could get some decent photos for the record books."

"Actually, I'd like to know exactly how sex works compared to us. It's a shame we don't have a female here as well."

«It isn't very different than yours, I'd assume. You stick your rod into the female's rod and both thrust away.» The odd looks Ceylon received for that comment only drew out another. «Your genders do have these 'penises' for this reason, yes? For procreation, or am I reading you wrongly?»

"I think... maybe we aren't the best examples to use." Ari looked down at her own covered crotch then to the boys. "We aren't typical for our kind. Due to various genetic reasons we have multiple sets of genitals, hence I have a penis when normally I shouldn't. I can explain better later if we... ~get together~."

«Ah, my mistake. I see that Cid here--»

"Shh! Are you sending that to just anyone!?"

«Oh, no. This was only between the three of us. I sense privacy being an issue for the small female. I regret probing her now.» Ceylon adjusted his tail now that his manhood was completely retracted. «Interesting that you have dedicated roles. Only one of you is involved in carrying a child though... Yes, quite interesting.»

"And you share that duty? Wow. Maybe we ~should~ do some research on your sexual habits."

"You guys talking about sex? Can I join?" Iolvin finally finished his preparations and floated up to the others, donning both a hearty smile and a new set of flexible armor plating around his joints and vulnerable bits. "We gonna chat all day or strike that base? I'm dying to take a swim."

"You sure that armor won't impede you, lil' bro?"

"Even if it does, I'm not letting him leave without it." Adrian clambered up the wall and held onto his husband's shielded arm. "I can't thank your girls enough for this, Ari. It scares me to death when my Yoyo's out there, but with Zoë encumbered I need to know he'll be alright."

Zoë groaned as she wrestled with the only other positive-pressure rated air suit on the ship, which happened to be a hazardous conditions suit and designed for grounded use alone. "I'm not sure how effective I'll be, but I'll try my best to bring my master back in one piece."

"I know you'll try, Zoë... but you can't blame me for wanting all the protection we can get."

Yoyo coiled an arm, admiring the way the plate armor not only racked upon itself but also bent slightly to accommodate the larger range of motion involved. "I shot this stuff last night and it barely gained a scratch. I won't ask what it is, but it works. I think I'll keep all my parts, babe. My props to the girls, Lulu."

"You can thank them later when we get back. I'd be worried about your own whelps for now." Ari snapped her helmet into place and signaled for the others to do the same. "Test... Oh, they're digital. Okay, mics work." She turned to Pho and Em and leaned forward like they both had the attention span of small children. "So we know our roles, but I have to stress that you boys need to stay near the Starbreeze and help Rhy with her thruster repairs. If we don't have enough lift for exit velocity, we might not make it back to the fleet in one piece if our plan fails. I'm counting on you two."

Phoebe nodded as he clenched a bag of tools. "We'll try to keep everyone safe, aunt Ari."

"Oh, dad. Here, you almost forgot this." Themis stowed his camera just inside a gravity-affected area of the Observation Deck, then pulled out a pistol-shaped tool connected to a small external battery and gas tank. "I'm not sure how helpful it'll be, but... I don't want you to come back like our other dad either, so..."

"Thank you, Em. I'll stay safe, and this freaky nano-tool might just let me do that easier." Dee checked the device, still barely able to tell it was working even though he'd had a while to examine his gift. "Okay, let's do this before I chicken out."

"You're braver than that, Dee." Ari cycled the dorsal airlock chamber and pulled herself inside, clearing enough room for the rest of the attacking party. "Boys, wait for us to get some distance and then come out yourselves. Same goes for you, Ceylon; sorry, but you're a bit large. Everyone else good? Sealed up tight?"

"Oh, one sec Lulu." Yoyo reached for his husband's arm and sealed a cuff he'd left open. "There you go, Adri. We look alright now."

"Good catch. Okay... cycling. It'll be a little cold at first, but you'll warm up your suit soon enough." The external water flushed into the chamber in bulging freshwater spheres for a few seconds until the gravity systems shut off and the planet's normal gravity took root. "Well that was pretty cool. The girls are doing a great job with those things and keeping us from crushing to death."

Dee kicked his hindpaws one after the other, testing the feel of the water against his bodysuit. "Actually, Gimbal showed them how to counter gravity altogether like that. That hunk of rock has quite a brain on her."

"Yeah, she's turning out to be really useful for a stowaway," remarked Sydney.

"Well she nearly died for us. That makes her part of the crew now." Ari instinctively held her breath as the water rose past her neck, her very open field of view causing her to forget she was wearing a helmet. "Pah! Forgot I didn't need to do that."

"Silly otters." Cid smiled for a moment until the chamber slid outside the ship's hull and rotated open. "Gods, it's so ~deep~!"

"It goes all the way through to the other side of the planet, Cid. Calm down and breathe." Carbon was the first to exit the airlock, offering a guiding and protective paw to his love. "I've got you. I'll never let you go, meerkitten."

"You want me to relax and you say shit like that? Damn romantic..." Sydney took the offered paw with two of her own and held on for her life, most literally. "Just hurry up! I'm not sure how long I can do this."

Ilaria powered up her new gravity propulsion thrusters and effortlessly helped steady Sydney as Carbon transported the meerkat. "Don't worry, Cid. We've all got your tail."

"Oh, th-thanks..."

«So I finally think I understand this 'tail' thing. You refer to your rudders with this, correct?» Ceylon almost instantly crossed the gap after going through the airlock on his own, his aquatic evolutionary traits proving far more effective than even the otters of the group estimated. «Then again, not all of your kind appear to favor water. Perhaps another term is indeed appropriate.»

"Coincidentally, we get called 'rudderbutts' quite often. But to answer your question, yes we do call them tails for that reason." Ari looked around through the much clearer waters near the surface and found the bottom of a Yangurran cruiser bobbing just ahead. "We're close. Now maybe you could answer a question for us: what are we looking for here?"

Ceylon juggled a long, metal spear between his various arms as he navigated around the group. «The destroyers appear to have built two bases. One is on land but it remained an enigma until their machines attacked you the other day. The other floats just ahead and causes many problems.»

"Oh, so this ship ahead--no, three ships--they must be a manufacturing flotilla of some kind."

«Yes. One purpose it seems to have is to take our water and clean the toxins from it. The other purpose... is where they earned their name.» Ceylon swam ahead of the group and led the way, deferring the others towards a specific location of one ship. «They send their explorers from this machine. We observe them as long as we can, but once they start experimenting on our waters and scarce land we must end them. So far they've broken away half of Great Isla and returned it to the sea, all to place metal rods in the sands.»

"I see that..." Adrian detoured momentarily to inspect one such rod. "They're trying to build a life support system and anchors. They want to build a more permanent structure, I'd guess."

«The land feuds they start are killing off far too many of our tribes. My people cannot allow this to continue, and a select few of us will do whatever we must for the others.»

Ilaria slowed to a stop when Ceylon did, finding a hatch just above them. "And now I'm guessing that's why you were exiled?"

«Not exactly, but that is close enough to the truth. My wife died of a bad child-gem while I was away to fight the destroyers.» Ceylon went silent for a few seconds, then refocused his attention on the hatch. «I allowed that to happen, but... that is the past. For now I must settle with making her loss and my efforts not be in vain. This opening must function similarly to your 'airlock' now that I've experienced one. This is where the destroyers enter our waters.»

"Ceylon..." Ari grabbed onto the rough lip of the hatch and curled up a bit as she fought off the remembrance of her own lost wife. "I... I think I can bust this open with my nanites. Cid, leave me a block of explosives, then you and Dee can try planting the rest on the anti-air."

Cid perked up, grasping at her explosives protectively. "And what do you plan on doing with one stack and no detonator?"

"With how much we had flying at us, there's a decent chance we don't have enough oomph to take it all out." Ari snatched a block of plastique and stuck it to the back of her smooth suit. "This is plan B. If I find a central control unit I'll hit that too. I can improvise a detonator."

"I'm sure you can, but--"

"Cid, she's right." Carbon groaned as he checked for a control panel to no avail. "I should go with her, too. I can interface with the ship's systems so we might not need to blow anything up. Sorry, meerkitten."

"Well I'm blowing something up one way or another. You don't get to dredge me through an ocean without giving me ~something~." Sydney flailed a bit until Iolvin steadied her. "If you leave me like this, I'm rigging the whole island to blow."

«Please don't.»

"He isn't serious... mostly." Adrian pulled out his multi-tool and pointed it toward the hatch. "I think the best plan is for Ceylon and my Yoyo to go with you, Cid. They can watch your back while we take the more technical approach. Besides, I think I can get inside without making a lot of noise."

«This plan appeals to me. I know the layout of the land and some locations of these weapons.» Ceylon flicked his tail to right himself, then elegantly 'galloped' out into the open. «Come. We will fulfill our part and pray it isn't necessary.»

"Yeah, that does sound like a decent plan. Yoyo, keep them safe."

"You know me, Lulu. We'll come back grinning." Yoyo followed behind Ceylon for a moment, then paused when he remembered Sydney. "Hey big guy, Cid here needs a lift."

«Oh, pardon me!» Ceylon flipped around and returned to Cid, grasping her softly but securely with one of his rearward hands. «Here, hold my shoulders. Our young like to ride like this, so perhaps it will work for you as well.»

"Hey! I might be small but I'm not a kid!" Sydney slipped and nearly fell into the abyss, but Ceylon caught her and seated her paws on his shoulders and hips. "Th-Thanks... Just... get going."

"Nobody saw anything, honey." Carbon turned away with a wave, only to reveal his hysterical giggling beneath his mask to the others. "Okay, how do we get in this thing? There's no controls to hack."

"Well I'm not entirely experienced with this thing yet, so you might want to stay back." Dee pointed his pistol-like tool at the edge of the hatch and fired up a particle beam that lit up the seams. "Give me a minute. I think I can eat the seals away."

Carbon sank down a few meters and treaded water. "Well that'll be quiet, but won't the resulting implosion sort of make a fuss?"

"Nope." Evelyn formed her humanoid body and smiled for her love. "Physics, Carbon. I thought we went over this."

"Well we did, but I had you inside me to remember all that stuff and it was like... fifty years ago. Sorry if I'm a bit rusty without you."

"She's right though. It'll be like a moon pool, with a bubble of air that stops the water from rushing inside." Ari gave the solid phantom a quick inspection, finding it odd that she simulated breathing beneath the water. "You can do alright out here, Eve? Any concerns?"

"I'm more dense than thousands of this planet combined. If I couldn't tweak gravity for myself I'd have sunk like a rock." Eve pulled Carbon out of the way as the hatch quietly broke free and wafted downward into the dark. "Careful. I can handle myself a bit better now, but one tear in that suit and you're in trouble."

"Love you too, Eve." Carbon shot upward to the edge of the opening they'd created, then engaged his suit's cloaking and slowly peeked his head past the water line. "I... don't see anyone. No alarms, either. I think we're in."

"That was easier than I thought." Dee held his new gadget up to his visor for a moment before holstering it. "So I think I've figured it out; basically this thing's a programmable nanite gun. Would have been nice to know that without your kids being so cryptic, Ari."

"They recently got a knack for riddles and puzzles. It can be annoying... but fun too." Ari followed Carbon's lead and slowly pulled herself into what appeared to be a small hangar. She stayed low once inside, both out of caution and due to the low ceiling near the edges of the room. "So I'm not a fan of the architecture..."

"They're small people, Ari. ~You~ volunteered for the ship team." Carbon avoided a bop from Eve for being rude and waved her off. "Sorry. We're tiny too, so let Eve and myself lead the way. Ladies first, dear."

"Thank you, Carbon." Evelyn appeared to phase through a split door, but it automatically opened midway to reveal she was simply slipping through the crack in the middle. "Uh... I guess the doors aren't locked? Yeah, the controls say the whole ship's unlocked."

"That's... odd, even if they assumed they shot us down. Sect military tend to keep on guard at all times." Carbon followed Eve further along until she suddenly vanished while passing a corner. "Eve? What's wrong?"

«Enemies.» A crystal landed in Carbon's paw as Evelyn reverted to her more basic form. «I didn't get a good look, but neither could they.»

The hybrid held his paw back to stop the others as he carefully engaged his cloaking and peeked around the bend. «Let's see... Oh. Well either they're fixing a ~really~ stuck pipe together, or...»

«Oh, my...» Eve's incorporeal self stood in the open in Carbon's vision, her mouth agape as the pair watched two Yangurraa wildly buck into each other. «That's pipe's... not up to code, I take it? About to have a huge leak?»

Frustrated, Ari tried to join in the peeping. She failed to check her footing though, a squeak in the odd petrified wood floor forcing both of the aliens to jerk apart. "<Sorry! We were just sating each others' needs so we could focus-->"

"Well, shit." Ilaria pulled out her pistol Mjolnir and held the barrel up towards the couple. "Carbon, how's your alien-ese?"

"Decent. Give me a sec." Carbon shed his hood and then soon his cloaking system altogether. "<You're engineers? We don't want to hurt you, but we can't have you setting off alarms. Do you understand?>"

The female hid behind her frozen lover defensively, but still was the first to give a response. "<You speak our language?>"

Carbon pinged Eve for a moment about the air mixture, then removed his helmet. "<I'm partially like you. My veile helped teach me your language.>"

The male finally blurted out an excited reply. "<But you're those intruders from Terra! You... You died!>"

"<No, we made it appear that we died so the fighting would end. We're only here for resources, nothing more.>" Carbon took a deep breath, somewhat enjoying the ability to breathe deeply without mechanical assistance. "<Look, we just want to make sure there's no more fighting. Show us where the controls for the big guns are located and we'll get out of here. You can continue right where you left off.>"

"Carbon? What's the--?"

Suddenly Evelyn formed herself near the female and reached out her hand, preventing the enemy from calling reinforcements. "She had a panic switch. We're good though."

"Thanks, Eve. If--"

"<A djinni!?>" Both Yangurraa backed away from Eve, though the male rapidly took in as many details as they could of the walking singularity. "<How is this possible...?>"

Adrian stepped around the corner to pose a question. "Did they say 'genie' a second ago?"

"No, djinni. The 'djinn-' base word means... well, it's close to our use of 'avatar' in English. It might be related to genie lore though. Most supernatural myths come from our ~favorite aliens~."

Ari posed a furthering of that questioning. "But why are they calling Eve an avatar then?"

"Good question." Carbon turned back to the two to translate those concerns. "<Djinnii represent and embody large concepts. What does my veile represent to you?>"

The female slid out from behind her lover, now much calmer when it became clear they truly were safe if they played along. "<You don't know? She's... She has the body of Gaia and the aura of Xor. She's... Great Spirits, she must be the Reclaimer.>"

"<I don't understand. What's this Reclaimer? What does that mean?>"

"<The Reclaimer, who will reunite our people in the harmony of the two Great Spirits.>" The male sat on the edge of a pipe and pulled his lover into his lap. "Oh, but of course this concept is foreign to you. The Zealots have brainwashed Terra for so long.>"

"<No, Moigal. The Reclaimer is his veile. That means-->"

"<An ancestor of the Prophet? No, he died after finding the fourth holy ætir. My father spoke of his burial on Terra.>" Moigal scrunched his eyes as his own veile fed him relevant genetic memories. "<There... does seem to be a resemblance, though.>"

Carbon huffed out a confused sigh and drooped his head. "<I don't get a thing you're saying. We have guns to disable and you know how to do it. Are you going to cooperate, or play the classic enemy?>"

"<If you are the next Prophet, we would not want to get in your way. I'm a scientist, but my mate here works in the control systems.>" Moigal stood and offered his wife to the group. "Meita will help you, so long as you keep your word. We don't need our lives to end in a damned water purification plant, and if we help the Reclaimer then something good comes of this too.>"

"<Thank you. You have our word.>" Carbon huffed in relief and spun to face Ilaria. "They'll help us. Ari, better keep that stick of boom ready just in case though."

"Carbon..." Evelyn backed away, eventually hiding herself behind the corner of the hallway. "These aren't bad people. They're just... water farmers."

"Yeah, seems odd. I thought all of the Sect was militant, but it makes sense they have a support team as well."

"No, that's not what I mean. When I touched Meita..." Eve raised her voice and projected it around the bend. "<Your child... he's with your family on Yangurrar, yes?>"

Moigal's face blanked at the unexpectedly personal question. "<Unfortunately, Spirits protect him. We hope one day our son will be freed of my family's vile grasp.>"

"<You'll be together again. We're aiming for peace, between our planets and within your own if possible.>" Eve slumped against a nearby wall and slid to the floor. "I can't believe this."

Carbon crouched to hold his love's hand. "What was that all about, Eve? What's wrong?"

"We're fighting the wrong side."

---

"Niishal...?" The Yangurra's younger sister poked and prodded her brother as he slept while draped over his own work. "Goddess, that's right... Chleek?"

"Nm... Niima?" Chleek groaned as he stretched his arms and gained his bearings in the process. "Oh, thanks. I guess I worked myself too hard there."

"I swear, you're the only person I've ever seen take so many naps." Niima picked up a crystal phial of glowing liquid and gave it a careful inspection. "What are you working on, anyway? Something to gain back the favor of the other families?"

"Hey, I can't help that they have such closed minds. No, this is more... a backup plan. No, it's a backup for a backup technically."

"And what exactly has my dear brother been scheming? Are these all from the ætir?"

"Yes, they are. For now they're just a new type of fii, but if I can figure out the remaining components it'll be revolutionary." Chleek took the sample from his sister, harshly at first until she allowed him the phial of her own will. "Thanks, sister. These are sensitive, so I'd like to keep them safe--and secret."

"If it brings honor to our family, I have no objection to that." Niima sat down on a nearby bench and relaxed a bit. "You should check on Sheena, though. I've been looking for you for quite a while on her request."

"Really? She's used to my tinkering, I thought."

"Well maybe she wouldn't be so needy if you didn't mate like forshaa..."

"...What?"

Niima shot her brother an inquiring expression, but sat upright in surprise at the lack of a response. "Really, Chleek? You don't even know when your own mate has come with child?"

"With...?" Chleek sat up straight himself, his eyes nearly expelling themselves from his head and his jaws dropped in bewildered joy. "I'm to be a father? This is great news!"

"Seriously? Brother, go to her. You two need to have a long Link over this."

"I will, but..." Chleek frowned and slumped in his seat again. "I can't grow a child in a world so... oppressive. I need to continue my plans, such that my seedling will know both Great Spirits. I refuse to let my child grow in such a restrictive society, Niima."

"Chleek... I hope you know what you're saying. Even our own family might not follow you if you keep bringing up Xor."

"Sister... Niima..." Chleek stood and moved to his sister's side, rubbing her shoulders once he got close. "Without Xorxes there is no balance to Nature. Gaia cannot lead us alone; without shadow to shade us from her light we will surely all burn. I'm certain of this."

"Chleek, I love you but to say his name--"

"Niima, it's alright. Xor is not pure evil as the other families promote. Through Chaos he merely allows the world to change, and change is scary to those in power. Perhaps that is why Xor favors our dishonored family." The older Yangurra sat and leaned his shoulder against his sister's in a pseudo hug. "I will go talk with Sheena right now. There is still time yet for getting the other families to recognize there are two Great Spirits."

"Thank you, brother. I might not care much for your views on religion, but I do care for the health of my niece."

"You think I'll have a daughter? Damn, and you're ~always~ right with your guesses."

Niima rested her head in the nook of her brother's neck and closed her eyes. "It's just a gut feeling. My veile seems to agree though."

"Damn. I wanted an heir for the next Chleek."

Niima's hand slid down to her brother's waist, then beneath his belt and beyond. "Well I could always help. I miss this now that you have a proper mate."

"Niima, we said that was just until we found mates..." Chleek groaned as his manhood was fondled to full life. "Gods... Though maybe we can, on occasion..."

"Well now that I can definitely agree upon." Niima's head slid down her brother's chest, soon to begin bobbing in his lap. "Congratulations on becoming a father, Niishal."

---

"...Eve!" Carbon sighed when he finally seemed to reach his daydreaming love. "Where the hell do you go all the time in that head of yours? We need you to watch those two while we work."

"Sorry, Carbon. I'm going though... a phase or something." Evelyn Sat herself down on a small stool and held out an upturned hand. She pulsed some sort of eerie energy though her palm and it arced into her finger tips in a display of power. "I've got them under control. I don't think it'll come to violence, though."

"Let's hope you're right." Carbon returned to modifying the insides of a crystalline console, now with the aid of Adrian. "I'll run the tests if you're up for the grunt work."

"Sure, but this is all alien to me. It'd be a lot easier if these guys used screens." Dee pulled out a data card of some type, apparently made from quartz. "This looks important. Okay, let's start here."

Suddenly the radio line crackled into life with Sydney's voice. "Guys, how far along are you? You're not seconds away from done, by chance?"

Ilaria dropped the parts of her own console she was handling due to the worry in Cid's voice. "What's wrong? They didn't see you, did they?"

"No, we have that covered. I'm more concerned about the big damn gun they're erecting as we speak."

"Shit..." Carbon huffed out a sigh of frustration as he grabbed his helmet to use his own mic. "Cid, it doesn't have six feet does it?"

"Not yet, but it's looking that way. The BDG's held up with a crane thing right now."

"Well six legs is bad. That's a particle beam cannon, and it doesn't use targeting software." The hybrid shoved his helmet over his head and tapped a button that automatically sealed it to his suit. "I was hoping they wouldn't keep trying to kill us so hard. That thing can point and shoot at any of the ships in far orbit. It's line of sight."

"Yeah... I think I see a cockpit, too. Fuck." There was brief silence, only disturbed by the dulled sounds of construction. "We've got to blow the charges. That BDG will still be standing, but hopefully without anyone to finish building it."

"Normally I'd agree with you, meerkitten..." Carbon met Evelyn's pleading gaze and the hybrid confirmed his intent. "Cid, you sure there isn't another way? We think... these guys might be a neutral party working independently."

"You can't seriously--"

Iolvin wrestled with Cid's transmit switch and clicked his own. "We have children on our ship. We have a whole planet that's undefended without this fleet. We can't risk it all on a chance. Besides, even if it's just defense we still need to actually defend ourselves."

Ari wobbled on weak knees from the emotional feedback running through her Link to her brother. "Yoyo, whatever you're thinking, please--"

"I'm sorry, Lulu."

The dim maintenance area began pulsing with bright white lighting accompanied by various sonic crystals resonating in perfect synchronization, resembling an alarm. "Yoyo! Gods, you didn't--"

"No, I did. I have a family now too." Sydney's voice barely broke through the chaos surrounding her, her tone changing about the time the explosion's shock-wave shook the alien ship. "Tell our baby girl I love her."

Carbon kicked the control device he was hacking and head for the engineers. "Cid, you'll tell her yourself. Get out of there before they--"

"Reinforcements? I think... Shit." There was a pause of relative silence, a few clacks and thuds peppering the gap. "Hey, guys! I know this looks bad, but we're totally not--"

"Corsu! Sholla des void!"

"No... Cid..."

"Do as he asks and give them your weapons." Evelyn reached for Carbon and commandeered his radio through a Link. "Cid, Stay calm and don't draw attention to your radio. If I couldn't figure out how a laryngophone mic worked without a book, hopefully neither will they. Maybe we can at least keep a line open while we think of a plan."

"That's good and well, except I chose my cans today..." The headset audibly shook and slid around, soon only picking up Sydney faintly. "Give that back, you alien bastard! That shit's expensive!"

Carbon visibly shook in anger for a moment, then tried his best to breathe as he clicked his mic. "<Don't touch a hair on her head. Can she breathe?>"

"<Oh, so this team speaks a civilized language after all. And here I thought I'd be wrangling eloo back into their pen.>" The enemy took a moment to elicit a grunt from Sydney. "<She can breathe, barely.>"

"<I'm only going to say this once. I have your people. I have the heart of your ship. I have a particular set of skills that make me a menace to terrorists like you.>" Carbon sincerely hissed out a low growl beneath his last words. "<I'm taking back my mate. Choose to get in my way if you dare.>"

"<...Challenge accepted.>"

"W... Wow." Evelyn took a step back and broke her Link, her former host's rage muddled with love proving too potent for her. "Do you have a plan? How can we turn this around? We can't exactly attack them in the open."

"We don't have to. They're coming for us, without a doubt." Carbon sealed his mask and walked back toward the moon pool. "Which is why we're leaving before they get remotely close. They won't risk their hostages coming with them, so we snatch them back while they comb this ship for us."

"You sneaky little shit." Ari smiled as she flushed some fresh air through her suit to defog her view. "A classic bait-andSwitch. That's the makings of a ~great~ space pirate. Let's go save our family."

Dee followed suit but hesitated to dive into the water. "But what about them? These two could ruin that plan if they talk."

"They're fine. Trust me on this." Eve nodded her head respectfully as she untied the simple, single restraint keeping the engineers hostage. "<We are taking our leave. We will do our best not to hurt anyone, so please-->"

"<We understand. Your host only wishes to appear violent.>" Meita tested the skin on her sore wrist, then checked her husband's as well. "<We will say that we were unconscious. Go in peace, Reclaimer.>"

"<Oh, please...>" Evelyn hopped off the edge of the opening ind into the water. "...call me Eve. I'm just trying to live like you do. No need for theatrics.>"

Moigal nodded as the singularity sank below the water's surface. "<She's as humble as she is wise. Now I see it, Meita."

"<Yes, my love.>" Meita held her husband close and rubbed her forehead against his affectionately. "<One day soon our family will be reunited, thanks to her. Thank the Great Spirits.>"