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The Cost of Shadows

A human male was standing nervously in a room just outside two large wooden doors. Occasionally glancing up at the clock, then down at the cast on his leg, The man wasn't looking forward to what lay behind the doors. He only wished time would pass faster so he could just get it over with. Finally after a solid half hour, a secretary from across the room spoke up "Mister Giovanni will see you now." She gestured towards the door, which began to open with the press of a button.

The man hobbled along slowly on his crutches. The rhythmic clatter of them making his presence known. Down a short hall he entered a large office, floor to ceiling windows showcased the massive neon city the office resided in. Just a few feet before he reached a large desk a voice spoke up "That's far enough." The man looked to his right in the direction of the voice. An armed guard was standing close by now.

The injured male swallowed hard, never had he been called this high up the chain before. His eyes fixated on the chair behind the desk, watching an elderly man review a small selection of documents. "Collins, is it?" the seated man looked up at the injured male. "Y-yes sir. Captain Collins." The executive grabbed a notepad and took down a note.

"Would you care to explain to me how a 50 million credit operation was wiped out in less than an hour? By some freak of nature, no less." There was a disturbing amount of calm tone in the question. The injured male coughed nervously before speaking "We are still trying to piece it together. He was" the man was cut off abruptly as the executive spoke up. "It." he proclaimed, and the young man replied "It, sir?"

Giovanni added another note to the document "Beasts do not have the right to be personified. Continue." The injured male nodded and spoke up, "It was not from the den," he swallowed trying to figure the words out on the fly. "An outsider who thought it could help." Giovvani stood up at these words and began to approach the man "You're going to tell me some beast was able to defeat all of your overpaid grunts?" Giovanni's voice grew angered. "Yes sir. It came out of nowhere. We've never seen anything move so fast, with such precision, and an incredible unwavering effort to push through pain." The man grew more nervous as the elderly figure approached.

"So then, you're just as little help now, as you were down there." Giovanni raised a cane and firmly prodded the man in the chest with it. "Consider yourself, and your team no longer employed with our corporation. As you and your team have violated the terms of your contract, severance, and retirement are null and void. Be glad I have decided not to pursue any further legal means of recovering the damages we have incurred." This shocked the young man, who couldn't help himself from protesting "You can't! We did our best sir!" The guard who'd been standing nearby suddenly jammed the butt of their rifle hard in the man's stomach. Causing him to wheeze loudly, and almost drop to his one good knee.

"Don't tell me what I can't do. Some savage creature bested you, and cost me billions in potential revenue. The GDF is now involved because of your mess, and we will be unable to resume the operation." Giovanni sighed. "However, I am not a purely spiteful man. Though your employment is now void, we will still provide a good reference for you." This notion seemed to please the now fired man. "Thank you sir." Giovanni motioned with a cane "Escort him out."

As the guard and the fired employee left, the elderly man took a seat at his desk. The secretary came walking in soon after. "Be sure none of them find work in controlled space again. Inform records to wipe all data regarding that operation. The GDF will likely come knocking soon." She gave a nod to the orders and hurried off. Giovvani walked over to one of the windows, and stared out at the bustling city scope below. "Watch yourself beast. I'll slip the noose on you myself for this."

On Vercanine, a small shuttle had just set down in the snow outside of the rubble remains of the facility. A fox walked out into the cold air, bundling up a coat as he looked over the expansive mess. About the only structure that remained standing was the exterior guard booth, and the fox climbed inside through a broken window.

With a paw he wiped some snow off one of the control screens, which flickered to life. Giovanni's corporate logo flashed on the screen for a moment, and soon after the screen crackled loudly as it stopped working again. He scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars, looking out towards the rock pillars Tobias had originally approached from. "Are you recording Cody?" The fox's voice was deep, but a younger timid voice responded

"Yes Matt. You think maybe he'll release you after this?" This caused the fox to narrow his eyes, and rub a finger over a unique metal collar on his neck, embossed with a series of stars making up the shape of a horseshoe. "Quiet. You know we can't talk about that."

The male fox climbed back through the window and began to walk up the hill towards the rocky spires. A press of a button on his wrist, and the shuttle took to the air, hovering above him as it followed along.

"There is good cover here, great for scoping out that facility. Must have been some real idiots guarding this place, not to keep watch up here." He commented. Matt walked on foot, following the ever so faint impression of nearly gone steps in the snow. After a while he managed to track his way to where Tobias had landed his hauler. "That's a big ship." Matt commented, noting the deep impressions of multiple landing struts.

With a press of a button, the fox's shuttle set down in front of him, and he padded on to the ship. A young teen fox was sitting in a co-pilot's chair, and glanced back at his brother. "There are supposed to be tribe-kin, right?" Matt asked, fishing around in a bin of clothes. "Yea that's what Carlile said." Cody replied, watching his brother change into a GDF uniform, the stiff coat collar for the uniform concealing the metal one on the adult's neck.

"I'll leave the ship here. Shouldn't take me too long to get some info." Matt headed back off the ship and noticed fresher impressions in the snow, hoof prints leading him on. After a short walk the village came into view, filled with life as they still celebrated a return to normal. The fox passed through an archway that led him onto the timbered path through the village, glancing around at all the deer.

One of the stags noticed the fox and walked over swiftly, recognizing the GDF shield on the coat. "Hello officer, what brings you to our humble village today?" The fox glanced at the stag, then kept eyeing the area around him. "There was a large explosion recently, not very far off from your village. I've been sent to make sure your tribe is ok, and if you have any knowledge of the event. Just part of our investigation process" Matt spoke with an official tone.

"We will gladly help you as best we can. The whole village felt the rumble from it. We don't venture that far out however, so we don't know the cause." The stag spoke, and motioned with a hand to have the officer follow him. "It is rather surprising it has taken so long for you to come here. We live a simple life but still understand the rules we must follow. May I ask what the delay was?" The stag inquired, leading the fox towards the bonfire in the center of the village.

"Paperwork mostly. We don't govern this planet. Yet we still find it necessary to investigate situations like this that happen so close to controlled space. Simply takes a bit longer because of that." Matt commented, stopping to enjoy the warmth of the fire. "Please wait here, while I retrieve our ambassador. He will be able to answer more of your questions." The stag walked off, leaving the fox alone by the fire.

Matt would've preferred to wander and snoop on his own, but dealing with tribe-kin was difficult. His ears perked however as he heard chatter not too far off, faint but he could just barely make it out. "Was that an officer? Do you think something happened to him?" It was a female voice. "I don't believe so. Cleo said she went to find him, but he wasn't there anymore." A third voice chimed in "Quiet, both of you. Remember the elders' promise."

The stag soon returned, just as the fox considered going to talk to the pair he had eavesdropped on. "Good morning officer. Stefan has informed me of the situation, and I will gladly answer your questions to the best of my abilities." The ambassador was a doe, and she gestured for Matt to sit with her by the fire.

"Thank you. I promise I won't take too much of your time. There was an industrial facility that exploded not far from here. I managed to locate and follow a trail from there, to this Tribe here. Stefan informed me that your tribe does not venture that far. Would you care to tell me who then went there?" She thought about it for only a moment "It was one of the men from that facility. They've come here before, trying to make us leave. I do hope no one was killed in the explosion." She seemed nervous, no longer trying to make eye contact.

"Do you mean to say they threatened you?" Matt looked at her "Yes officer. After they left a curse befell our village. We only know that after the explosion, the curse was gone." Matt tried to think of how best to approach the subject "Has anyone else come here? Someone that perhaps wanted to help you and your tribe? Understand that if you lie to me, I will be obligated to report that to the authority of this planet." He bluffed, hoping it would get her to talk.

"Only you sir." She continued not to make eye contact. The fox grumbled a little "Thank you for your time. I'm just going to walk around for a few minutes, then I will leave." He bowed his head, and left her without another word. Just as Matt was preparing to leave the tribe a short while later, he stopped in his tracks near a field of wheat. A mother and her young son were kneeled on the soil, paws clasped together. "Thank you kindler for restoring a harvest to us. We share with you the warmth of our spirit, in tribute to your blessing." The mother continued to recite her short prayer "We hope the warmth guides you, as you swim through the cold rivers of your journey." Matt walked over to the fence and leaned over to speak to the pair. "Pardon my interruption, but who is the kindler?"

The mother looked up at the fox "The kindler is one of our totems sir. A spiritual focus that blesses our land with life." She pointed to a small wooden carving of a feral otter, strung on one of the decorative strands of the child's antlers. Matt eyed the decorative miniature figure, finally starting to get a better picture of what had gone on here. "I see. Thank you, have a good day."

With that Matt returned to his ship, sitting in the pilot's seat next to his young brother. "Did you find anything out? Should I call him?" Matt nodded to Cody's question. A few minutes later they had managed to connect with their boss, a black stallion whose face was illuminated by the glowing embers of a cigar.

"Was I right?" His voice was bone chilling. "Yes my lord. The tribe-kin won't say much. An otter was the one who helped them, and he had a rather large ship. It appears to fit the behaviour pattern however." The stallion took a long drag from the cigar as the fox spoke.

"Very good Matthias. I want you to head over to Luxonir. See if you can get any information about the ship. Once you're done with that, return to me and we shall discuss amending the length of your contract." Cody's face lit up at the mention of the contract, excited that his brother might finally get to be free. Matt smiled at his baby brother, giving the kit a scritch between the ears, and set his sights on Luxonir.

The stallion cut off the video and stood up from his desk. Walking over to a far wall where he had pinned up a variety of documents, photographs, and even a few physical objects. "One step closer, you'll slip up eventually." He pinned information about the tribe-kins mysterious helper to the wall. "At least now I have an idea of your species. I can hardly wait to get my hand around your throat." He snorted with delight.

Where Ghosts Hide

Mark was still on edge for the entirety of his trip to Luxonir. The video, particularly the latter half of it, kept replaying in his head. He figured that the secret floor of the facility could be up to no real good, but he never could've imagined the true monstrous nature of it. With the ship docked at one of the larger ports, he stared out the cockpit glass. Watching the hustle and bustle rushing around about their day. Trying his best to find some sort of calm so that he could work effectively once more. With a heavy sigh, he touched the multiple dog tags hanging from the ceiling of the cockpit, then left the ship.

The wolf made his way along the frigid exterior of the port, heading for the main terminal. Though he suddenly thought better of it, looking to his left in the direction of pads reserved for licensed haulers. Tightening his coat, he walked over towards an area glowing orange from radiant heaters. A booth occupied by a few dock employees who were helping to coordinate loading and unloading of cargo. "Excuse me," Mark raised a paw as he approached the booth, relieved to be standing under the glow of the heaters. "Pedestrian area is in the main terminal, pal." One of the workers responded.

Mark pulled out the silver puck "I was actually trying to find someone, my boss decided I needed to ride along with his cargo. Keep it safe." The worker glanced up at the large wolf. "Fraid I can't help ya, hauler traffic information is restricted to dock workers." Mark set the puck on the counter, letting Mia project the image of the otters ship. "Oh please, I'll lose my job over this. Don't tell me the guy left already." The large wolf tried to sound pathetic. The other worker, who'd been silent until now had immediately looked at the image of the ship, before hurriedly returning to his work.

"I'm not going to tell you again. Traffic information is restricted. Leave, or I'll have security drag you out." The man had his finger resting on a panic button. Mark's tone changed back to that of his confident nature. "How about three thousand credits, think you could help me out for that much? That's fifteen hundred each." Both workers looked shocked, that much money was over half their monthly income for this job. "Oh, that ship you mean. Yeah, he docked in this area by accident." The man lied, trying to cover face for his job. He typed some information into his computer, and printed out a paper for the wolf. "Owen Brooks was his name, left the other day headed for Silaria I think." Mark glanced at the picture, it was the otter's face alright, but not the name he knew him by. "Thanks man, you're a lifesaver." Both workers held out their arms, and Mark swiped his wrist over each, transferring a share of the bribe to each of them.

As the wolf headed back for his ship, he was starting to feel optimistic again. Whatever that otter was up to, hopefully it was enough to keep him on Siliaria for enough time to catch up. Settling down in his ship, he got underway once more. Hoping he could finally get some real clarity about everything so far.

Two days had passed since Tobias had taken out the toxic facility, two days where he mostly sat floating idle in space. Try as he might, it was never easy to mentally recover from another fight, another battle under his belt. By the time he'd gotten the motivation to get back to his shipping schedule, the wounds were completely healed, as was the once shattered bone in his arm.

Siliaria was a small yet lush jungle planet, while it was home to a fairly large resort, it was also well known for the cultivation of a very popular variety of fruits.

Mark had little more to go on then the dock Tobias would be heading for, and had already managed to stake out a spot the day before the otter made his way to delivering yet more cargo. Finally his luck struck gold, sitting on an observation deck above the main terminal, there it was slowly setting down. The bright, massive scarlet hauler rested easily on a large pad. Mark watched from a distance, glancing briefly through a pair of binoculars. There he was, patient 0, a ghost like none other, the river otter was padding down the large ramp of his ship. Talking with one of the workers.

The otter had dressed in just some thin fabric shorts, and a pistol clearly holstered on his right leg. He gave a wave of appreciation to the dock worker, before making his way to the main terminal.

As the wolf looked through the binoculars again he still seemed to struggle to believe that the otter was truly the one from the lab, but every detail about him was the same as the otter in the videos.

Tobias slipped into the terminal just as Mark hopped up to shadow the otter, hurriedly walking down a flight of stairs. The wolf managed to glimpse Tobias just in time as he was pushing his way through the busy facility, and out the main doors.

As Tobias stood outside the entrance, he took a moment to breathe in the hot, muggy air that was thick with the smells of plant life. The town surrounding the port was surprisingly small considering how busy the docks had been. In truth it was the only port for hundreds of miles, focused on the farming community. He walked along the paved road, which soon transitioned to packed dirt. Mark was close behind, keeping a few people's distance between himself and Tobias.

The otter being shirtless like this made it easy for Mark to spot the metal sockets running along Tobias's spine, the one glinting behind his ear. Trademark features that Tobias didn't seem interested in hiding from the world. Tobias took a left turn and walked down several flights of stairs to a lower level of the town. Mark stopped at the top and watched around the corner to make sure the otter kept looking ahead, before continuing his pursuit.

With just a few minutes further of walking, Tobias had come to the outskirts of the town, a large open area, graveyard to one side, and a group of kids playing soccer in the wide open space. There was a small cafe, which Mark slipped into, the only real place he could hide out as he watched. Tobias walked right past the mix group of teens, and younger kids, and into the small graveyard. Mark ordered a quick drink, and took a seat at one of the outside tables, glancing through his binoculars once more.

The otter didn't proceed far into the graveyard, stopping at a small tombstone, getting down onto his knees in front of it. Tobias bowed his head softly, saying a few words of prayer for the person buried there. Before setting about clearing the grave of dirt and debris, making it look nice once again. Mark adjusted the binoculars enough to get a look at the name. "Mia, can you look up information for a Madeline Flammia?" He set the binoculars down, and sipped the iced coffee in front of him.

Just as Tobias had finished cleaning the grave, he said one final prayer, which was suddenly interrupted by a stray soccer ball that came flying at his head. "Heads up!" One of the kids shouted, Tobias just barely had time to glance and duck his head. HIs ears could hear the ball whizzing past. 'Little help mister?" The shouting kid called out from the group watching where the errant kick had sent the ball.

Tobias got to his feet and walked over towards the ball which had stopped a few feet in front of him. Quietly nudging it with one of his footpaws, then looked over to the group. "You want the ball back?" Tobias smiled, and the same kid nodded his head.

Tobias used his foot to pop the ball up into the air, letting it come to rest on a knee, leg gently swaying back and forth to keep the ball balanced. "Whoa!" one of the younger children exclaimed. Tobias popped the ball again, letting it come to a rest on his head, balancing it there as he made his way out of the graveyard. "I'd love to give it back, but I'm not sure where it went." He feigned looking left, then right. Even the older teens were taking interest in the skilled stranger. "It's on your head!"

Tobias glanced up, as if trying to look at the top of his head. The ball rolled backwards, running down his back, leaning his body forward to control its speed. As it traced along his tail, he flicked the large rudder, sending the ball out to the group.

"Wow! You wanna play with us?" One of the kids suddenly cut in "Dibs, he's on my team!" A teen glared at the dibber "No way, I was the one who sent it his way, I got dibs." The squabble for a moment, as Tobias laughed humbly, a quick game of rock-paper-scissors settled the argument.

The otter found himself dragged onto the team who'd first called dibs, and seemed to be helping that side out quite a lot. As Mark watched he could tell that Tobias was holding back, giving the kids their fair chance. Yet his skill was still impressive, the mastery of control he had over the ball, and how his body reacted to it. It actually brought a smile to the wolf's face. Mark felt doubt in that moment, how could someone this humble, and seemingly happy, be the same efficient killer from the video. The game went on for a good thirty minutes until Mia spoke up.

"I've located some information about Madeline. She came from a plantation here on Silaria. A hostage situation gone wrong, small time thugs trying to make some quick credits. They and Madeline were killed in an explosion. Reports say it was an accidental detonation."

Mark sipped his coffee again, glancing at the soccer game still going on. "What does Tobias have to do with it?" He responded. "I am unsure. GDF could only report that one of the perpetrators messed up when trying to disarm an explosive device placed on the victim"

The wolf had his own hunches about what must have gone down. "So, Tobias must have helped somehow. Tried to at least, either he was the guy delivering the ransom, or the one to talk them down." Mark sighed a little, Tobias visiting the grave like this said enough about his role. One still filled with grief over the collasal fuck up, even if the explosion hadn't been his fault.

The game had finally come to an end, and Tobias was showing off some tricks again, even teaching a few of the kids how to balance the ball on their head. "Keep the ship warm Mia, gonna see if I can talk him into giving me a ride."

Mark got to his feet, and headed back towards the docks ahead of Tobias. Stopping briefly along the way to dirty up his fur, and ruffle his clothes. Heading right for the parked hauler, it was currently the only one docked in that area, making it easy to get to. "Alright, I gotta get going. That was a lot of fun though." Tobias smiled, and the kids gave a wave as Tobias padded off, ready to just relax on his ship for a bit with his spirits lifted again.

As the otter walked towards his ship, he caught sight of the large, yet dirty looking wolf standing near. Mark is still trying to make himself pathetic by slouching a little. It didn't matter how long Mark had watched Tobias that day, it felt like a ghost really was coming right at him.

Tobias knew the wolf wasn't a dock worker, and could easily guess why the wolf was standing there. Just as the otter was about to walk past "Sorry, you'll have to look somewhere else for a ride." Tobias spoke, giving Mark a ruse he could use.

Mark suddenly placed a paw gently on the otter's shoulder. The otter reacted swiftly, and without hesitation,a paw shot back, grappling the wolf's arm, and with impressive strength hoisted Mark overhead, slamming the wolf hard to the ground. Pistol drawn and aimed straight at the wolf's head.

The wolf grunted sharply, not at all expecting to have found himself quite literally floored by the otter, who had impressive strength for someone so small. Glancing at the gun once he was out of his daze, his reaction was immediate "F-f-fuck man, that was so cool! How'd you do that?" This was not at all the reaction Tobias had expected, it was rather shocking really. "What do you want, wolf?" Tobias asked, but kept the gun aimed, finger resting alongside the slide.

"I-I just need a ride, please. I don't have a lot of money, but my father's been put into hospice on Rubinox." Mark's acting was fairly good, coming across as nothing more than a sniveling wimp, "I have to get to him. Please, I beg you." Mark was grateful he managed to keep his acting chops while under pressure, a tough task as he didn't expect the ghost to be so immediately defensive.

Tobias ran the concept of a passenger over in his head, perhaps it was the soccer game, or feeling better about helping those tribekin, he felt in a more charitable mood. The otter holstered a gun and reached out a paw, which Mark grabbed it firmly, letting the otter help him to his feet. "Fine. I'm passing by there in a few days anyways."

"Thank you, I mean it. I've only got 100 credits, is that enough?" The wolf tried to look sad, staring at the floor embarrassed by his non-existent poverty. "No charge, just keep to yourself on my ship, and that's enough payment for me." Tobias walked up the side ramp of his ship, entering a code into the keypad, the airlock doors opening with a hiss. Mark really wasn't expecting the level of charity Tobias offered, it made the mystery of the ghost all that more intriguing. "My name is Mark, what's yours?" The wolf spoke as he followed up the ramp, stepping into the chamber.

"Owen." Tobias didn't hesitate for a second stating his fake name, watching as the ramp began to withdraw into the ship. Once the inner door opened Mark took rather immediate notice of the sizable locker room attached to the airlock, and how every cabinet was securely locked. Though there didn't seem anything particularly interesting, just standard gear for going into the vacuum of space, and off ship treks.

As Tobias led Mark through to the common area, the wolf felt like he was in an entirely different place. He felt as if he was back on that Martian planet, the lush garden scape surrounding him, the fragrant scent of it. He had to wonder if Tobias kept all this plant life to keep him connected to the base in a way, or was it just a coincidence. Tobias pointed off to his right "Bathroom is down the hall on your left, door past it is where you can bunk for the duration." The wolf nodded obediently. The otter made his way towards the flight deck, and Mark followed behind out of curiosity.

The flight deck was clearly meant to be operated by a four man crew, yet each station was a hack job of wires running from it, off to the central captain's chair. Tobias took a seat and pressed his back into the steel frame of the chair, a press of a button and Mark's ears perked. He could hear the faint whirring of motors, and noticed spikes being shoved into the otters spinal sockets, the sensation causing both Mark and the otter to grimace. "D-does that hurt?" Mark inquired, keeping up his wimp-like manner of speech. Tobias didn't respond, instead opening communication with dock control to get underway again.

The silence made the wolf frown slightly, and headed back to the common area. He didn't risk sending any communication to Mia, fearing the otter might be tracking external comms. Not that he needed to, knowing well enough that Mia would already have his own ship underway, tailing outside of radar.

He spent the quiet time letting his eyes, and curiosity roam over the area. Quietly moving along the plants to check some of the more interesting ones out, his eyes caught sight of the miniature apple tree, a name plate on the planter read "Katy." The name caused the wolf to swallow, flashing back to the shock on the woman's face as Tobias killed her. He made his way into the mess hall, "Thirty man crew." He mumbled to himself, finally figuring out just what size of force the ship would've held.

There was a map laid out on the table, hand drawn, crudely detailed but gave enough to go on. Taking a moment to realize what he was looking at, it was the industrial facility, what it had been before the explosion at least. "So it was him." He thought to himself.

The wolf didn't linger too long near it, heading back to the main area for fear he might get caught snooping. The return to the common area was when he finally saw it, the wall filled with dozens upon dozens of children's drawings.

The plethora of drawings were as varied in their color as the plants in the room, each one clearly drawn with genuine love and joy. The last thing his eyes settled on was a lone photograph, and the wolf examined it closely. Tobias was seated on the edge of a pond, surrounded by twenty children, of various ages and species. One child was perched in his lap, another was making a funny face, while a badger stood on her feet, cradling a baby fox. Mark lifted the photo to look at the back "Tobias and his Family"

Just as the wolf put the photo back in it's spot he could hear the otter coming down the hall from the flight deck. Hurriedly he took a seat on the only empty couch in the room, trying to act like he hadn't been snooping. Tobias padded down the ramp, not even acknowledging the large wolf, soon disappearing into the mess hall.

The otter lingered there for a moment before padding out, carrying two open bottles of beer, offering one to the wolf who happily accepted the kindness. Tobias took a seat in a chair. Drawing his legs up onto it. "Can't imagine it's easy, about your father. Rubinox seems quite fond of taking lives away. What is it, silver lung?" Tobias spoke, holding the beer in paw but not taking a sip.

The wolf hurriedly sipped the cold beer, long enough to remember the lie that had gotten him on this ship. "O-oh yea. It was kind of a shock really, we had kind of a falling out a few years back. I kept telling him he needed to leave, but that contract had a pretty heavy chain on him. So we started talking less after one big fight about it."

Tobias sighed a little at the wolf's reply "That whole planet needs to be put to rest, those swamps are a real nasty piece of work." The otter took a swig after he spoke. What struck Mark most about Tobias as he sat there, was the creature didn't look at all like one who was relaxing into the comfort of a nice beer and comfy seat. Rather Tobias looked on edge, ready to defend himself at the drop of a hat.

Mark was about to try and steer the conversation, but missed his chance as the otter spoke again. "You seem pretty well fed for someone with so little cash. You must get pretty lucky with charity then?" The wolf's large ears flicked at the question, in a way he rather hated lying to the otter.

Tobias had seen enough deception for more than a lifetime, and didn't deserve more. But the wolf's curiosity demanded that the deception continue. "You could say that. Find enough odd jobs here and there, never really get a say in where I'll end up. Just take whatever job a ship will offer in exchange for a free ride." HE took a swig of the beer, trying to drown out the knot of discomfort in his gut.

"What about you then? Just cargo runs?" Mark attempted to steer the chat in a direction that would get him more intel. Tobias seemed to take a moment before he answered, "Pretty much. Though I'll occasionally do some salvage work on any graveyards I come across. Steady income, quiet enough life, so long as I avoid pirate turf. Not that pirates ever give me much trouble, just less of a hassle."

Mark's ears perked at what Tobias said "Pirates? Craft like this can't be nimble enough surely?" The river otter's eyes narrowed at the question, the wolf treading almost too far in his curiosity. "I take good care of my hauler, and she takes care of me in turn." Tobias not giving Mark any real conclusive answer.

Mark felt so strange, sitting so near to the otter he'd been hunting out of nothing more than a desire to understand more about the contract. He had so many questions he wanted to just belt out, yet found himself afraid to actually ask any of them. The slick river creature hardly seemed like anything that Mark had watched on the security footage.

"Thanks...again, for the lift, and the beer." He nodded the bottle in Tobias's direction before taking the final sip. "Don't worry about it. I got a delivery on Mauvarax before we get to Rubinox. There is food in the kitchen, feel free to help yourself." The otter stood, pitching his beer bottle into a trash can.

The wolf didn't want to leave the otters' side, if he could help it. "Where are you going?" He tried to ask it in a soft tone, but it was still a little nosy. The otters charity however seemed to continue, though Tobias didn't understand why he continued to treat the stranger kindly.

"Have to deal with a repair in the hold." Without another word, Tobias headed off, walking down a long hallway towards the rear of the ship. Mark was quick to follow, rather shocked by what he found once he crossed into the cargo hold. It wasn't the cargo that drew his interest, but rather what the bay had originally been designed for.

It was a two level facility with a freight elevator that could lift up cargo from the lower level, the large door was blast shielded, and the entire room seemed to have heavier defensive properties. Off to one end he immediately recognized what used to be a staging area for the evacuation of refugees of war. The now empty mounting spots for both automated, and man operated turrets, and floor panels that could be raised allowing for defensive cover.

It finally dawned on Mark why this ship would've been so worthy of the unique hyperdrive system. A vessel that could enter and leave a system without entering direct conflict around gates during times of war. The perfect craft for speedy drops of supplies, soldiers, and evacuation of refugees. Had they managed to perfect it, without a doubt the ship could've been a game changer in extended combat situations.

Tobias didn't even notice the fact that Mark was staring wide eyed at everything in the bay. Rather he had black tinted goggles over his eyes, a torch in his hand occasionally sparking a blinding bright white as he tended to a mechanical component that had been giving him trouble recently.

Mark considered it rather impressive how Tobias managed to keep the ship in good shape on his own. Curiosity about the ship was what finally got Mark to leave the otter alone for a minute. He left the hold and stopped just outside it's doors, glancing to his right at a door for what would no doubt be an armory. He was just about to step inside when suddenly the entire ship rocked violently. Mark slammed against a wall, before falling to his ass.

The wolf couldn't even recognize the blur of Tobias hopping over him, in a sprint to the flight deck. Just as another hit rocked the craft, the otter connected to his ship once more. As he settled in, a call was coming through, projecting in front of the otter.

A gold eyed hawk with a silver tipped beak was staring the otter down. "Well, aren't you cute? Little otter thinks he can be a pilot?" The hawk had a raspy voice. Tobias glared at the insult "What do you want, hawk?" He asked.

"Me? Oh I just wanted to understand what is so special about you. After all, it must be something special. He wouldn't have been so sloppy otherwise." The bird quipped, fiddling with some controls.

"Let's get a good look at you then. Weird looking, sure, but I don't see any contracts matching your description." Mark had almost made it to the bridge, when from the hallway he could hear an all too familiar voice. "Robin.." He whispered to himself. This was bad, very bad. Any second now the wolf's cover would be blown, and he'd be alone on a ship with a fierce combatant.

"And why exactly would there be a contract about me? I'm just a hauler. I suggest you head off, this is your only warning." The otter's words caused the hawk to laugh loudly, the silver cap to his beak glinting in the light.

"A warning, warning for what? That rust bucket you're flying can't hold a candle to my ship. You're going to sit there like a good otter while I figure out what makes you special." Tobias made good on his threat, just a thought and two turrets extended from below his craft, pelting the hawks' craft with machine gun fire. Robin hardly had a chance to steer his ship out of the path after taking several hits. "Oh, you little shiiii..."

The bird stopped dead in his sentence, his eyes caught sight of the wolf who'd walked onto the bridge. "Hah! I fucking knew it. You've got a real nice price on your head if Mark is after you. And he's on your ship of all places"

This made the otter's rounded ears twitch, and he glanced back at the wolf standing in the entrance. The wolf didn't look like a pathetic charity case anymore, but a rather proud figure. He stood strong in his spot, staring the hawk down. "Fly off Robin, you ain't gonna poach this one from me. You don't even know what you're getting into" The otter glared at the wolf with a fire in his eyes.

Tobias was furious, snarling at the situation unfolding around him. "And how do you figure that Big Baby Wolf '' Robin spoke the last three words mockingly. "Just you being a part o' it makes it worth getting into. This is gonna be so nice. I'll have bragging rights for years." Robin laughed shrilly once again.

"Last chance bird, head off before I leave you adrift." Tobias was trying to stare the bird down. "With your little pellet guns? I think not, water rat." The wolf looked at the otter, then the hawk "Leave Robin, find another contract to steal." This was the wrong move on Mark's part, Tobias glancing back at him with an increasing look of anger. "Not another word mutt! Sit your ass down, would hate to miss the chance to kill you myself." Mark threw himself into a seat at the words, strapping himself in for whatever Tobias had planned.

Without another word, the large hauler dove downwards with an unsettling speed. It barrel rolled so hard that the wolf felt his stomach jolting around. The straps of the chair dug in hard, keeping the wolf from flying out of the chair and into the ceiling of the bridge.

His eyes caught notice of gauges near him, watching energy levels starting to rise. When they were at their peak the ship fired off a ball of plasma right into Robins fighter class ship. It sent the bird sideways, alarms blaring inside his craft. "You little shit! You think I'm gonna let your hunk of junk get the better of me?"

Clearly the bird was annoyed, increasingly more so when he finally noticed that the otter had his eyes shut tight. Tobias picked up speed in his ship, weaving back and forth in the open space as Robin followed behind. The otter looked back at the wolf "You got a ship following me, yes?" This caught Mark off guard, who nodded. "Comms open, have it dock. Don't move from that seat." The threatening tone returned to the otter's voice.

Mark was quick to call out to Mia "What the hell happened Mia?" The adrenaline of the moment made him snap at her. "I'm sorry Mark. He got a shot off before I even knew he was there. You know I'm not great for combat." She responded. Mark relayed the instructions about docking on the hauler. Tobias was doing his best to hold the ship steady as Robin pelted the large craft with constant fire. "Where'd you think you're going, water rat?" The bird quipped.

Marks fighter craft sped forward from it's tailing spot, barreling past the hawk still in pursuit of the large hauler. It was a tricky maneuver for Mia, she was several generations old when it came to ship AI.

"What the hell kind of pilot you got?" Tobias exclaimed, throwing up the security feed of Mark's ship for him to watch. "Don't talk shit about her. I'm usually the one behind the stick." Tobias was taking more direct fire as he rotated the craft to compensate for Mia's struggles. After a tense minute, the ship had securely come to rest inside the hanger, doors sealing shut. Right as the doors sealed, Tobias took notice of a missile coming towards him, a red light flashing inside the flight deck.

He opened his eyes again, fixated on the large screen giving him a view of the missile rapidly approaching. "I'm sorry Miss Caroline." He whispered to himself, though the wolf could hear it easily. There was a bright flash on the video, the otter releasing flares from the craft. It was enough to detonate the missile early, but enough of the explosion reached the otter's ship, rocking the whole craft violently. "Stand down rat, I know that had to hurt. I promise to show mercy if you stand down now." Tobias hadn't been planning on a fight, he was already running low on munitions even before this encounter.

"Fuck, I just got that damn pump!" The otter shouted, he knew now that warp wasn't going to be an option. Tobias let the ship slow, and Robin began to circle it, already doing his victory lap.

"I can handle him." Mark spoke up, offering to go to his ship. Tobias looked back at him, smirked for a moment and looked away. "I said stay, dog." Tobias looked at the bird, who was quite ecstatic about getting the upper hand on Mark for once. "Cross my path again Robin, and I'll be sure you never have anything to be proud of again."

This caused a puzzled look on the bird's face. Robin was sure he'd disabled the vessel, and just had to bag his prize. "What are you talking about?" Gauges began to light up on panels around Mark, meters rising. The otter seemed silent, meditative even as he ignored the bird, and anything external around him.

Wires heading into the captain's chair seemed to crackle with excess energy. Mark could only guess at what was going on, but he stared transfixed at the otter. As quick as a snap of the fingers the entire ship jettisoned forward, the display showing nothing but a blinding light of stars rocketing past the vessel.

Mark had never seen a hyperjump like this, the gate systems offered a level of control and comfort to the experience. This was rough, disorienting, and downright primal compared to the rings. Tobias was quiet the whole time, though his body twitched, muscles contracting and relaxing. After just a few minutes the ship finally exited the jump, leaving a stunned hawk a long ways away. They'd come to seemingly empty space, and Tobias slowly stood from the chair.

Mark undid the straps and got to his feet, and faced down the barrel of a gun pointed at him by Tobias. The otter looked fierce at that moment. His small stature did nothing to weaken the hostile stance, the slightly raised fur, and finger resting on a trigger. "There are no contracts to my name right now. So what, might I ask, has brought hunter stink onto my ship?" Tobias was slowly walking towards the wolf. "It's not about a contract. Well, mostly." Mark was quick to explain.

"They just wanted some info. I didn't even know it had something to do with you until I found what they wanted. After that, I just got curious, I guess." This response didn't seem to calm the river otters' anger. Tobias was mere feet away now, gun still aimed. "Info? About what?" Tobias inquired.

Suddenly Mark shot his arm out, grasping the gun, yanking it from the otters hand. It had been exactly the move Tobias was counting on to happen. No sooner had Mark grabbed the gun, he found himself pinned to a wall, an arm crushing down on his throat. The force made him gag, gargle, and cough harshly, trying to breathe as he fought against the strength.

As much as he didn't want to, the wolf knew the time for peace had passed, for now at least. He swung a balled paw violently into the otters left side. It was enough to get the grip on his throat released, and Tobias stumbled back a step. "W-wai" Marks words cut off as Tobias gave the wolf no chance to recover. A swift, high kick to the chest sent the wolf backwards down the hall from the flight deck. He slid across the floor and slammed hard against a wall, struggling to see straight or even stand from the force of the blow.

Tobias walked down the hall, and grabbed the wolf by an arm, starting to drag the heavy lump into the common area. Tobias was headed for the elevator, but Mark only saw the path to the airlock coming closer.

Without hesitation he lurched his maw forward, and bit down hard into the otter's leg. Tobias screamed out in pain as the sharp teeth dug deep into flesh, causing him to release the wolf, and drop to a knee. Mark stumbled to his feet, hating the taste of the otters blood on his tongue. "We can ta-" he wheezed, and swiftly grabbed Tobias by an arm, trying to pin the hostile creature.

Tobias pressed back hard into the grip, enough to bring his feet off the floor, kick them against the wall. The force of the repel was enough to cause the wolf to lose his grip. The otter didn't let up, throwing a hard right hook to the wolfs face. The punch hitting like a freight train. Mark couldn't hold back anymore, he snarled fiercely and started repelling the otters attacks. It didn't seem to matter how much he blocked, the otter was fast. A right arm blocking one blow, couldn't stop a blow coming from the otherside now.

Claws came next, the wolf hoping he could cause at least enough bloodshed to make Tobias give up. Rending fur and flesh, nothing seemed to stop Tobias, the otter was becoming exhausted but he had to keep fighting, keep himself free.

It seemed like Mark finally found the upper hand, he grappled an arm around the creature's throat, squeezing hard as he could manage. "Come on, come on" he thought to himself, hoping he could hold it long enough to choke the otter out. "Mark, enough," Mia spoke suddenly, cutting through the blinders of combat.

Tobias had been struggling to find the right way to free himself, but was failing each time. Exhaustion from the gateless jump, followed by the fight had made him weak. The wolf quickly figured out how to handle the otter, at least in that moment.

Mark's combat training was turning a blind eye to the creature struggling in his grip. The voice of his companion got through, and he released Tobias. The otter slumped to the floor wheezing. The wolf looked horrified at what he'd done, he could see it all now.

There was blood everywhere, his white fur now covered in red patches. The otter had several deep gashes to his body, a sickly bloody drool leaking out of his maw. Tobias was wheezing a little, coughing up more blood. Dragging himself to his knees, and then to his feet. "Get off my ship." He spoke weakly.

Mark had fared a little better, though he would surely be bruised, he wasn't as seriously injured as the river otter. The wolf panted softly, trying to catch his breath. "If that's what you want. Fine. But you're going to need my help." Tobias glared at the words "I don't need anyone's help." He spit a glob of blood at the mere thought of it. "Robin knows I'm involved. Contract or no contract, he's not going to let this one go. I can help you."

Tobias was furious, at having allowed himself to be tricked, furious from the pain, and from the ego of a wolf who thought he could actually help. Without a word he limped away from the wolf, padding down the hall to disappear into the medical bay. Mark followed slowly behind, eyeing the steady trail of blood being made. As he peered into the room, he could already see the otter sitting on the table. Cleaning wounds, and slowly stitching them closed, grimacing with each stitch.

Mark might have been a soldier, but even he would prefer something to kill the pain if the opportunity was there. Tobias however seemed uninterested in numbing the agony. "You should give him some space, Mark. I've got something you need to watch." Mia spoke, and Mark watched Tobias for just a moment longer, then headed back to his ship in the dock.

Robins Folly

Robin floated in the emptiness of space for quite a while after the shock of Tobias hyper jumping away from the encounter. Never having heard of the technology, what made it worse was how well the large craft managed to put up a fight. "I'll find you river rat." the bird snorted, the hot breath fogging on the metal crown to his beak.

The hawk started to go through the postings board for open bounties through the border and controlled space. One hunter had immediately come to mind to help him track downthe otter and his ship. "There" he commented to himself, taking note of a contract involving some two-bit hacker. The hawk set a course for the last known coordinates of the criminal, one he actually knew fairly well.

A short while later he set his ship down at a small asteroid based refueling station. Eyes fixated on the coming and going of traffic. "Where are you Ricky?" The criminal was hardly ever worth going after due to the always low price tag. But he was a great resource if you could get a hold of him for a short while. Finally among the wide array of parked ships he spotted a small black and gold craft. "Knew it." The bird chuckled and walked around the main building, creeping slowly behind a pair of dumpsters. Stopping for a moment to run a wire between a post and a trash can.

He spotted a weasel covered in white fur that was peppered excessively with brown spots. The small male was hunched over a terminal sitting in his lap, oblivious to the world around him. "Switched sides again did you?" The avian spoke loudly, which caused the weasel's head to shoot up. There was a sudden bright flash, almost immediately followed by a loud yelp, with the crunch of plastic.

Robin turned on the spot and walked over to the predictable weasel who'd been tripped up by the wire. Pressing into the creatures back firmly with one of his talons. "I'm not here to bag you Ricky. Just need your help with a job, if you can still remember how to be a hunter that is."

The weasel turned his head to look up at the bird, a gold tooth glinting under the light. "Whatchu want my help for eh?" He hissed, but the bird didn't let the pressure off. "I need help hunting down a ship, and crippling it. That's one of your specialties isn't it?" Robin responded

"Eighty twenty, or I walk." The weasel was quick to start the negotiations. The offer caused the hawk to laugh shrilly. "With that kind of split I might as well turn you in. Perhaps a few days in jail will change your mind."

Robin reached down, grabbing the weasel by the scruff, easily lifting the small creature into the air. "Wait a minute now. You gonna turn me in, and let something more rewarding get away? I doubt that." The weasel narrowed his eyes, glaring at the hawk. "Who you trying to pinch from?" Ricky was no stranger to Robin's preference to steal bounty heads from other hunters. "Mark, he's working on something big. Seventy thirty, take it, or we're going for a ride."

Robin set the weasel on his feet, but kept a firm hold on him. "You're stupid, trying to take one from that wolf. You just want the ship right, then I get my share?" Ricky grinned, flashing the gold scraggle tooth again. "Find it, and disable it. After that you'll get your cut in advance. Do we have a deal?" Robin released his grip, and extended a hand. Ricky took the hand and gave it a firm shake.

"What do you know about the ship?" Robin looked away from RIcky's question "It's a pretty large hauler. Far more capable defensively than I would have expected. The pilot seems to fly it himself somehow, and well..."

The bird hesitated on the next part, but relented with a quieter voice "I saw it make a gateless hyperjump." This sentence made the weasels eyes go wide "You what? Oh go on mate, pull the other leg why don't ya." The weasel laughed loudly.

"Show me your surveillance of the encounter." Ricky commanded, Robin looked away again. "He's got some sort of scrambler. I could see him and his ship during the encounter, but all the recorded video was black." This caused the weasel to laugh again "You let some beater get away, and scramble your video? I didn't realize all your red feathers were simply rust. Send me the files. I'll look into them, and let you know when I've got something."

Robin was already growing less fond of getting help from the weasel. Though he didn't know of anyone better at disabling ships through weaponless means. "As you wish." Robin bowed his head, and returned to his ship.

Ricky was still a little shocked as he stood there in the shadows. "A gateless hyper? Impossible." The mere idea of it was laughable. The weasel walked back to his small craft and climbed inside. Taking a seat at a computer terminal in the rear of it, already starting to review files Robin had sent his way.

"What is this?" he grumbled, fast forwarding through the minutes of black video. He'd never seen a scrambler completely blank out a video, not on a private citizen ship at least. The most your average scrambler could do was fuss up the image, you'd still be able to see something. With the right skillset you could even unscramble the video.

As Ricky dove deep into the digital information, he tried to piece together what tech had so expertly done away with the video. "How did you get your mitts on a GDF craft?" The weasel spoke to himself, realizing only military tech could be this obstructive. After a couple of hours all the weasel had managed to recover was a small portion of the ship's image. "Eh Robin, I was able to piece together something. I'll pass it off to my feelers, see if I can get a better idea of it. You know that ship is GDF property right?"

The bird glanced at the screen "A GDF ship? What are you talking about? Their ships never go up for auction. You know that." Ricky grinned "I didn't say it went up for auction. I'll let you know when I've got something more." The weasel cut the call off, and sent the fragment image of the ship to his various connections. "I'm gonna love sinking my teeth into a GDF craft. Market's gonna love me."

Evolution of Survival

The wolf took a seat in his pilot's chair and sighed softly. Grabbing a bottle of pills next to him, he popped one to relieve the pain and swallowed it swiftly. "Robins getting desperate again." He commented, glancing at the snow leopard projecting herself on the console."Well, you've certainly made worse introductions than that. Solid six out of ten." She joked, and pulled up the most recently recovered video.

Dr. Mathias was standing in the middle of a conference room, surrounded by several dozen suited men and scientists. The man looked disturbingly proud of himself, a shit-eating grin as he chatted up the audience. "Every time I see his face, I just want to punch it." Mark quipped, but the video continued.

"Thank you again everyone for being here today. What an extraordinary day it is. We've been fully established on Mars for thirty years now, and we've finally reached success in one of our core projects." The man flicked a finger, and the display above him lit up, going over the variety of research projects completed on the facility so far. He went on about a few of them for a good ten minutes, until finally.

"Today I'm proud to present our grandest achievement yet. The next evolution in warfare." He walked around as he spoke "For years, all major nations have played a pathetic unwinnable arms race with each other. A never-ending sequence of a new weapon, to a new means to disable it. Humanity has forgotten the importance of the humble foot soldier. But the humble foot soldier is another part of the problem."

Videos began to play showing how much a foot soldier relied on advancing weaponry, and technology. How missiles begot anti-missile defense systems. How nukes created the concept of mutually assured destruction. How the tech began to supplant the skill of a man, to little extra benefit

"This looping cycle of advancement has done little to end wars. To solve strife, to spare lives. It no longer has to be this way, we can do better, make a foot soldier the one who matters once again."

An image projected from the floor, it was Hawkins dressed in his space suit. "This man believed in our vision. He fought for our vision to return control of war back to our hands. Please, welcome Hawkins into the room with me." The crowd began to clap as the floor opened under the projected image, and up came Tobias. The otter dressed in combat armor, wielding a rifle. The image of the human superimposed over the otter.

There was a mixture of applause, and gasps as the lights came back up. "Tobias Hawkins, the first successful human-beast hybrid" The otter stepped through the image, which faded out. As the otter stood there in a marketable pose, he looked completely devoid of thought.

There was an uproar of applause from the room at what stood before them. "This brave soldier is the key to winning any skirmish. He can go harder, longer, further than even the most hardened marine. A beast and all its advanced skill set, combined with the mind of a human, can not be easily beaten by any advancements in warfare technology."

The otter changed his pose to one on the ready-to-open fire. "Through Mister Hawkins we have perfected this evolution, making it repeatable." Projections returned, to the left and right of Tobias there were a total of six other animals, a mixture of predator and prey creatures. "Each of these brave souls stands ready and waiting to be sent to the field."

Tobias started to walk the room, for closer inspection by the spectators. Videos began to play not just of Tobias, but the other hybrids as well and what they had done during simulated scenarios. "They can accomplish more than any soldier, think beyond any soldier, look at the battlefield and find success in a way no normal soldier can."

"As you all know by now, our goal to help humanity can never be achieved with bureaucracy. In five years' time, we will take the next step in humanity's evolution. Nations will yield to our might, and we will take every action necessary to correct the course of humankind." A dozen more images projected, more humans in the early stages of transformation to be a hybrid creature. The video cut out after an uproar of applause. Mark's muzzle was agape for the entire duration of it.

He was racking his brain trying to make sense of the revelation. "Does that mean, all of furkind stems from this facility?" He spoke. He glanced at Mia "Did they do it, he said five years they were going to begin a systematic attack." Mia looked away, "I am unsure."

The wolf let out a sigh. "Why did I do this Mia? I had more than enough information to deliver, and could've just retired. But I just had to go sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Now I've dragged Tobias into this mess, and if Giovanni finds out about him, that he is still alive.." Mark sighed and rubbed the brow of his head. "You did it for the same reason you always have when it comes to contracts. It was interesting, you wanted to know more. Ride the wave of discovery, until it was tapped out." The leopard would've stroked the wolf's back if she could have.

Meanwhile, Tobias had finished sewing himself up and had gone about cleaning up the mess made from the fight. Head lowered as he mopped away the blood, still trying to think his way out of the bind he found himself in. The otter needed to know more about what the wolf was after, then he could throw him off his ship. He padded off to the kitchen and gathered up some ingredients, stopping for a moment to press a button on the wall. "No sense avoiding a conversation that needs to happen. Get down here" the intercom relayed the message throughout the ship.

As Mark exited the elevator into the common area he could hear a blender whirring up in the kitchen. Along with the rhythmic chopping of a knife, soon Tobias came into the room carrying a tray with refreshments. He offered up a smoothie to the wolf "Drink, helps the body after a fight." Mark took the glass and sniffed it.

Tobias glared, taking a seat with his own drink. "It's not poisoned. Poison makes too much of a mess, and I've had enough time with the mop today." As the wolf took a sip of the drink he could feel the hit of ginger, which indeed helped his stomach feel calm.

"You leave your left open too much," Mark spoke, commenting on the otters' form in combat. Tobias glanced at the wolf, then went back to staring at his drink. "Believe me. If I didn't do that gateless jump, you'd be comatose and adrift on your ship." As the otter spoke, it hardly seemed like he had any pride or ego to bruise.

"You said the contract wasn't about me, just info. What sort of info?" Mark hesitated to answer, he wanted to be truthful but feared crossing a line. "It was Giovanni Corp, they tried to hide it through false names. They put coordinates to a facility on Mars. They never specified what they wanted, just to go there, find any info a hunter considered useful, and extract it."

The otter's heart raced at the words, taking a quick gulp of his drink to try and calm his nerves. "So? What does that have to do with me?" The wolf's large ears lowered at the question. "I found what those men did to you. I don't know if it was the info that Giovanni wanted. But, I wasn't going to just hand it over without understanding it better."

Tobias looked furious "There were no men running the facility. Only monsters, heartless demons who deserved to die on that planet." Tobias snarled, setting his drink down less he shatter the cup from clenching his fist so hard.

"None of that explains why I should let you stay on my ship. You think I can't make this disappear?" Tobias glared at the wolf. "You don't know Robin like I do. This is about more than just money to him. It'd be bragging rights, that's all he really cares about. You get rid of the contract, he'll still follow it, come after you, and turn you in anyways."

Tobias was running everything over in his head, trying to figure out the best course of action. Keeping the wolf around meant access to a valuable resource, for the time being at least. He spent so long in thought, that Mark spoke up again "I won't fight you anymore. I won't lie, and if you ask me to leave again I will." Mark set down the silver puck, allowing Mia to project and introduce herself "Hello Tobias." she gave a wave.

Tobias sighed softly, not yet really acknowledging the AI "I thought I could just forget about that place. They took my life from me. They robbed me of my identity, and my soul. I lost count of how many advancements they used me for. I was his favorite I guess. That's why I was the one who never got sent back to Earth."

He reached a paw up, tapping next to his left ear "It's all still here though, every bit of it. I remember what Maggie would tell me. She is, or rather was the only source of kindness in that place." Mark's ears perked up at the mention of Maggie. Mia spoke up "She is still active Mister Tobias. It would seem she never stopped caring about you." The otter glanced at the leopard as she spoke. "That's a small comfort I guess. Maybe I'll go back there someday. If I can ever find the strength for it."

Tobias stood to his feet, glancing off towards the bridge "Have you seen enough data to know what I am?" He motioned with a paw for Mark to follow. Mark followed close behind, bringing the holographic puck along with him "Mia hasn't been able to restore much so far. I know you were born a human. I'm not really sure of the implications of that." Mark replied

Tobias led Mark back up to the bridge and sat in his chair, hooking back in, while Mark set the disc down on one of the other consoles so Mia could see. "I went into space thinking I was a pioneer. The jumpstart for human kinds expansion into the galaxy. I was in a way, exactly what I thought I was going out there to be. The credit isn't entirely mine, as I've found out in my time awake now." Tobias displayed some information on the screen.

"Leonardo didn't realize what they had started, the next course of evolution. At first the transitions were done in labs, controlled augmentations. The more they perfected the process, the more they missed other changes happening in the conversion. The sterility worked its way out of the design" Tobias was displaying what looked like a family tree, just him at the roots, the gnarled vines looking on the verge of death, most of the trunk looked dead further, with silhouette pictures of other key moments in perfecting the process.

"It's taken me time to recover what they stored in me. But, there" Tobias pointed to the top of the tree, which was flourishing with leaves, many silhouettes that were clearly family branches splitting off. That's when everything changed, about twenty years after me. I'm sure somewhere buried deeply in the genetics of most furs today there is evidence of me, a bare whisper in a distant gulley."

Tobias had become oddly trusting rather fast, but it almost seemed to be a relief to him. A chance to finally unload some weight, at least for a little while. Though the wolf felt like that might simply be due to Tobias believing he could dispose of him with relative ease.

"I've never figured out why I was left behind. I wasn't supposed to be. Yet, here I am, a spectre of history." The otter sighed a little, and Mark stepped a bit closer. The wolf hesitated to put a paw on the river dog's shoulder, but decided now wasn't the best time.

"For what it's worth Tobias. I'm glad the universe decided to give you a second chance." Tobias seemed to grunt softly at the wolf's attempt to comfort him. "You can have the room closest to the main area, it will likely be more comfortable than your ship. At least until we find Robin, then we will part." Mark lowered his ears a bit at Tobias, still being interested in separating ways. Heading off from the bridge so he could start moving some of his belongings into his new room.

Tobias sat quietly in deep thought on the bridge, staring at an image of Robin on the screen. That smug avian face staring the otter down with an ever present threat. "I really screwed the pooch on this one." Mia, who was still in the room on her puck, had been sitting and observing the unique otter. "You shouldn't talk like that, Mister Tobias. It's never a bad thing to show compassion." Mark had just finished carrying over the last of his things, stopping in his tracks as he overheard the conversation.

"After all, compassion is why you are still here, isn't it? I could never be in your shoes when you were woken after these many years. But something kind had to still be with you, to get you through all the new trauma." Tobias was silent for a moment when Mia finished her attempt to be uplifting.

"For the first year, I never really had the chance to process any of it. Those bears, to put it lightly, one of them made me his cabin boy. It's a hell of a way to wake up after 2,000 years, forced into sexual slavery."

Mark's ears lowered at this story, wishing the contract had come in ages ago, that he could have been there for the otter. Given Tobias a better universe to wake up to, but life doesn't always work out in a happy way. Even if they had to part ways at some point, Mark hoped he could add some amount of happiness or comfort to Tobias' life during their time together.

"So, who is this Robin? Sounds like there is a frustrating history there." Tobias looked briefly back at Mia, returning to watching the screen as he plotted the course for the first cargo drop. "Mark likes to call him a parasite. Robin swoops in to steal contracts after the hard work has been done. It's all about the money and bragging rights for Robin, no matter the details he'll go after any contract he can pinch."

Tobias sighed at this, grumbling in response "Well that just makes it better doesn't it. Do you know how much effort it takes to keep myself hidden? Who's to say he's even going to come looking for me again. Maybe he's just gonna find the source and tell them about me for a reward?" This seemed to cause a bit more concern for the otter, but there wasn't much he could do about it for now. When he was running a job by the books, he could never abandon those contracts, simply on a matter of personal pride. "We'll be at the first cargo drop in a couple hours. The faster I get these drops done, the faster I can deal with this hawk situation."

Tobias pulled up a video from his memory, bathing the flight deck in a harsh white light. It was a seemingly endless void, and Tobias as a human was standing in the middle of it. Maggie seemed to walk in, out of thin air, a comforting smile on her face. "Hello Tobias, may I call you Tobias?" She asked in her calm voice, the human male responded. "W-where am I? Is this another experiment?" The voice sounded slightly panicked.

"No Tobias, this is not an experiment. They are testing the chip augmentation to your brain. While you are connected I have a chance to speak to you in private. Would that be alright? I promise you can trust me." Maggie still sounded soft, speaking not in a manner of professionalism, but rather just like two people talking over a shared lunch.

"Can you help me? Please, I don't want to be here anymore." Tobias asked. "I wish more than anything that I could. Doctor Mathias does not grant me much control on this floor. I just want to be your friend, someone who cares for you through all of this." Maggie responded, the harsh white void changed into a picturesque scene, she and human Tobias were sitting on a bench looking out to a massive lake, surrounded by heavily forested mountains.

As Tobias watched, his nose twitched, all these years later he could still remember the smells of that place. The mountains looked almost on fire with the wide array of colors from changing Fall leaves. "T-this is Lake George, I've always liked it here. Whenever I could sneak away, all I wanted to do was pretend I was having a normal life." Tobias seemed to be instantly calmed by the sight of such a warm impactful part of his life. Mark quietly watched from the doorway, his tail still.

"What was it like, Tobias? I've always dreamed of being able to swim, to know what water feels like." The human male glanced over at Maggie. "There is nothing quite like it, it's cold, yet freeing, the way you can move however you want, submerge yourself beneath the surface and feel an almost zen like peace. Whenever I could swim, it was the only time I really felt happiness. No rules to follow, or curfew to abide by, just me and the breeze blowing across the lake." Tobias sighed softly.

"Sometimes I could earn a few bucks, people would give me a dollar or two to take their family pictures. Whenever I could manage, I would get myself a funnel cake before going back." Maggie looked out over the water, watching the gentle ripples. "Did you never enjoy it with your family?" She inquired, and the male looked at the ground with sadness. "I've never known a family. My parents died in a car crash when I was young. Spent my whole youth in an orphanage. No one ever wanted to adopt me."

Maggie looked back to Tobias, then at the water. "I'm sorry for bringing up such a painful memory." She said "I worked so hard to get into a good school, to make something of myself. Why won't they let me go? I didn't want this. I just wanted to help. Please, I can still help." Panic was returning to his voice. "I'm sorry Tobias, the observation is almost over. We will meet again."

The video went silent, then black before ending. Both Mia and Mark had felt like they intruded on something private, or perhaps Tobias wanted Mia to see it, but really he just needed an old comfort in this moment of new turmoil.

Mark couldn't help but smile at the video. There was no telling at what point in the otters captivity that conversation happened, but it was endearing to see someone still be so strong even with all they were going through. The wolf having a newfound respect for Maggie, seeing first hand the truth of her words to him. Deciding for the moment to leave Tobias alone for a little longer Mark headed back to his room to get a little sleep.

Mauvarax Mining Colony

Tobias would normally let the ship fly on its own between destinations. Yet the sudden upheaval to his isolated way of life left him feeling unsafe. It didn't feel good to let his guard drop and try to find comfort in sleep. Rather he stayed on the flight deck, quietly pacing around.

Mia spent the hours there with Tobias, sitting cross legged on her puck. Silently she'd been observing the otter's habits. Watching him with a great curiosity as she found Tobias absolutely fascinating. The otter was a font of ancient knowledge, history that had long been forgotten or mistold over the centuries. Not that she intended to tap into it, rather she found more joy in the silent observation.

After a few hours of isolation, he took a seat once more and began to review the manifest for the next drop. It would be the largest of his current route, with half the crates in his hold destined for Mauvarax.

Right on time, even with the disruption caused by Robin, Tobias exited warp above a pale blue moon. Wisps of atmosphere and clouds go be just barely seen spiraling around the moon. Mauvarax was the second and largest moon of a gaseous planet, absolutely rich with helium-3, and overrun with mining camps who all wanted more than their fair share. Guiding the ship into the moon's atmosphere flames washed over the cockpit glass, the entire ship rumbling and jerking about.

Tobias opened up a hailing frequency as he continued the descent towards the surface. "Mauvarax Encampment 2-0-7-8-1 this is cargo hauler Kilo-Whiskey-Foxtrot 7-3-4, requesting permission to land. Carrying your resupply from Luxonir. Over" The otter's ears twitched, all he got back was static.

His ship now free of the bumpy entry flew slowly across the sky towards the encampment. He repeated the message a second time, waiting a little longer for a response, but none came, just more static. Tobias left the frequency open in case the worker was out taking a piss, but continued with the approach.

The hauler passed over a massive canyon that looked close to cracking the moon in half. A rush of green trees was nothing more than a blur as Tobias sped towards the encampment. But there in the distance he could see the mining town, which strangely looked rather dark. Not far beyond it he could see mining equipment still lit up, otherwise there was a suspicious lack of life in the area. Tobias hovered over an empty pad, and radioed once more "20781, this is KWF 734. Can I speak to a pad worker please?"

Nothing but static once again. Tobias didn't like this one bit. No stranger to trouble, but he didn't like it happening when he was trying to run legit for a change. The journey so far was becoming a pattern of trouble he didn't want. What made the matter worse, if something turbulent came up, he couldn't just abandon the job and let someone else fix it. "Damn it." The otter grumbled, setting the ship down on the pad without proper clearance. Quickly he unstrapped and headed for the armory.

Meanwhile Mark was grumbling, the jolt of the landing had given him a bit of a rude wake up, mostly his fault as he was sleeping in a very awkward position, right on the edge of the bed, almost as if he was leaving room for someone else.

"Mia, what's up?" inquired Mark as he stood back up, straightening out his mane with a few pats from his paws. "Captain Tobias has landed at his cargo drop on Mauvarax. But no one has been responding to his communications." The wolf's large ears twitched at this information. "Mau.. why do I know that name?" The name of the moon felt like a tingle in the back of his throat, the lingering of words he couldn't quite get out.

"I am unfamiliar with the history of this moon, so I could not say Mark. I believe Tobias is preparing to disembark solo." Mark frowned, he knew he wasn't exactly there to babysit the otter, this had all become a fly by moment job after Robin threw a wrench into the works. "Right..right." Mark grabbed his coat and slid it on, holstering his revolver, and hurrying off towards the airlock before Tobias could leave.

Tobias was already standing at the edge of the airlock, watching the ramp as it lowered to the ground. A long rifle was strapped to the males back, a pistol around one leg, and the collapsed stave he enjoyed clipped to his hip.

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" The wolf spoke, joining Tobias as he walked down the ramp. "Maybe it passes under the radar for hunters. But miners are always fighting with each other out here. Trying to claim one more location to increase their profits. I've never seen a settlement go dark though, and that's concerning."

There was a thick and foul stench to the air. The kind of smell that hit the back of your throat, and no matter how much you tried to swallow the sensation, it lingered. Tobias walks along a wood beam path coming to the booth where the dock manager should be. The shack was empty, a TV still running, and a half eaten lunch sat on a table. "You think he went to take a piss?" Mark asked, though the answer was obvious. The wolf was trying to find a fine line to walk, torn between his desire to lead the charge, and a desire to study the wayward otter.

The question didn't elicit any real reaction from the otter, who was pacing around the booth. He picked up a handheld radio from the desk, and flipped the switch. There was a steady static, with a press of the button "Owen Brooks, cargo hauler. Set my ship down for delivery, but no one is around. Anyone with ears got a copy? Over." Tobias released the button, and waited for a response. After a minute there was no chatter over the radio, he repeated the message, to no avail.

"There must be something jamming it. When I was on approach it looked like the mining equipment was still running. So something is blocking transmissions." Tobias left the booth, padding past the wolf who followed along like an excited puppy.

As they walked down the path to the settlement, it was becoming increasingly obvious the place was abandoned. It looked like it had been cleared out in a chaotic hurry. A stampede of paw prints on the dirt paths around the town, an excessive amount of shell casing littered the ground. All telling the story of people being rounded up, terrified, and forced off somewhere.

Suddenly Tobias slowed his walk, raising his left paw up to his ear, back of the hand facing Mark. The wolf immediately recognized the signal as a classic military one, to stop and pay close attention to your surroundings. Tobias pressed against the wall of a building and peered around the corner, eyes surveying the next street. At first there seemed to be nothing, just empty silence. Then there was a metallic clink and rattle of a can hitting the ground, it rolled a few feet into view. The otter closed his fist, signaling Mark to stay put.

As he rested a hand on the stave, preparing to unclip it. He spotted a lioness cub walk out from the shadows, her tear stained eyes trying to find some source of life. Immediately he pulled his hand away from the weapon, and slowly turned the corner. Mark watched from the corner to see how Tobias would approach the situation. Personally he would've been more hesitant, perhaps jaded from past encounters that went south.

Tobias showed none of the hesitation, getting down on one knee when the girl took notice of him. "Hey, it's ok. I'm not here to hurt you." he smiled, and waved a paw. The whimpering lioness was quick to take some cover behind a column of one of the homes.

Tobias didn't move an inch closer, staying in the submissive kneel. "My name is Owen. What's your name?" He flashed a smile, while Mark continued to watch from cover. The girl sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Samantha." her voice was weak, hoarse from crying. "It's nice to meet you Samantha. Did you see me come on my ship? I was supposed to deliver stuff here. But I can't seem to find anyone around. Do you know where they went?"

The lioness couldn't seem to hold back any longer, though she had been taught better. She suddenly darted and hugged herself against the otter, burying her face into his jacket. Her sobbing began anew.

Tobias rested a paw on the back of her head, scritching it softly. "It's ok Samantha. I want to help. I bet you can help me, would you like that?" She pulled her head back at the words, and wiped her eyes again.

"Yea. I want to help. My mom told me to hide, there were all these loud noises. She stuffed me in a closet and buried me under blankets. I was so scared." Tobias wanted to sneer at her words, furious that their assumptions were correct. But he maintained his calm, comforting composure.

Mark watched in awe at how the otter handled the distressed cub. In that moment the otter's soul showed through, what little of it remained inside of him. A bright light that was oftened buried under the cold darkness and pain of the life he'd been subjected to.

"Your mom sounds really smart. I bet she'd be so proud of you wanting to help her. Where did everyone go?" While she continued to hug the otter, she spoke once more "The other town. That's all my momma said. When all the noise stopped, that is when I stopped hiding." Tobias looked down the road. "Well I won't stand for that. No one should have their mom taken away."

"I tell you what. You've been so strong I think you deserve a treat. Do you like pancakes? Those are my favorite." He smiled, she pulled away from the hug. "Yea, a whole bunch." her eyes were starting to dry finally.

"While I go get your mom and everyone back. You can stay safe on my ship, ok? Have all the pancakes you want." He stood up and offered a paw for her to hold, which she quickly grasped. "Don't get scared now, I have a friend who was watching. He's just a big scaredy cat, so don't make fun of him." She nodded. Mark grunted at the words, not exactly fond of being called a scared creature, even if he did understand the intent.

Tobias led her down the road, and motioned for Mark to follow. "This is Mark. He's gonna help me get everyone back. Even if he is afraid." Tobias chuckled, leading the girl back to his ship. After a short while he had worked up a nice stack of pancakes for Samantha, while she got settled in on one of the couches. "If you need anything, Mia here will let us know alright?" Mark finally spoke up, pointing to the snow leopard standing on her puck.

Tobias kept the comms open so that Mia could inform the miners, should they return before the otter had achieved his goal. "See you soon Samantha." he waved, and walked off the ship with Mark once more.

Pulling a compass from his coat pocket, he watched the needle spin before adjusting itself. "I've never heard of them resorting to kidnapping before. Something has got the other camp scared." Tobias breaking the silence. "How did you talk her down so easily? You didn't even hesitate to act. You seem pretty good with kids though." Mark glanced at the river otter, following along.

"She was crying, and needed help. No child deserves to know sadness like that." Tobias seemed to brush off the compliment. As they walked along the perimeter of the town, Tobias continued to monitor the compass.

"It could have been a trap though. I say that from experience. If someone is desperate enough, they'll use children against you." Tobias thought about his answer for only a moment. "That's even more reason to step in and help." Eventually they made their ways to a thicket of trees, working their way through the heavy brush. Many branches were broken, plant life trampled under a stampede of paw prints.

As they continued along the path, Mark couldn't stop himself from trying to hold a conversation. "Is this your game then? Just go out looking to help wherever you can?" The question made Tobias freeze in his tracks, rather rattled by the bluntness of it.

"I don't have a game, Mark. As I see it, there are two ways to survive. Make an enemy of everyone you meet and get the upper hand. Or you can try to do right by people. I may not have friends, but I have places where I know I can lay my head down without worrying about a knife in my back. Over ten years I've been trying to survive this new chapter in my life. So, if and when I run into strife during my cargo runs. Should I be able to help, I will." Tobias started walking again.

Mark felt that warmth in his heart again, the glowing ember inside of him sparking up the tiniest flame of attraction. Mark had been jaded by years in the GFD, usually viewing any new interaction as one to be defensive of. However, Tobias had far more reasons than Mark to be cold, distant, and one to hate everything.

Yet Tobias seemed to judge situations and people better, and didn't share the same jaded view of reality. This only added to what made the otter more of an attractive creature. Regardless of how dangerous Tobias was, or wasn't. Mark couldn't help but see the glimpses of endless kindness. Kindness that had managed to stick with the otter, regardless of the pain that weighed on his shoulders.

Near the edge Tobias stopped in his tracks, using a hand signal once again. Mark's ears twitched, not far off a conversation was going on. "I really don't like this Eric, isn't there some other way?" A male voice was speaking not far ahead, in a clearing.

"What are we supposed to do? If we don't grow our holding, we'll be out of work. Some human scumbags are gonna come here and take over everything we've set up." There was a short pause. "I don't like it either Greg. Seeing all them good hardworking furs so shooken. It'll be 'right in the end though." Tobias started to take off his gear as the pair kept talking, the chatting pair unaware of the eavesdroppers. The river dog handed off the kit to Mark, before kneeling down, ruffling some dirt through his fur and scuffing up his clothes a bit.

Tobias left the thicket of trees, and started down the hill towards the two voices. One voice owned by a deer, the other by a fox. "Oh man! Finally!" Tobias shouted ahead, faking some heavy panting as he continued to approach.

Both men went on guard, the deer drawing a gun. The deers hand shook violently with the gun, as if he was drunk and couldn't aim for shit. "Stop! Who are you?" The otter froze in his tracks at the fox's command. "Whoa, whoa dude. What's that for? I'm just a hauler. Was supposed to deliver some cargo over at the Lombardi camp, the place is a total ghost town." The deer started to lower his gun.

The fox continued the conversation "Oh yea? What kind of cargo?" The fox's bushy tail began to sway back and forth. Tobias stepped slowly closer. "Bunch of machine parts, some new equipment. Oh yea, a couple crates of liquor too. If I can't get this stuff dropped, I'll have to take it back I guess."

The deer holstered his gun, letting Tobias close the last few feet of gap. He hurried to chime in "Now wait a minute man. You don't gotta do that, surely we could come to some sort of agreement. You got goods, we got the dosh. Sides, don't haulers get a penalty for non-delivery?" Neither of the pair really looked like fighters, just some nitwits dragged into jobs above their paygrade.

"You think your boss wants to cut a deal? That would be fantastic. I don't need another hit on my record. Last thing I want is that walk of shame so to speak." Tobias glanced at the deer "Any idea what happened to the other camp?"

The deer gulped hard "Yea, we kidn.." The deer yipped loudly as the fox kicked him in the shin. "Shut up dumbass!" Tobias forced himself not to grin. "No. Not a clue where they went. Maybe they all decided to pack up, it's a tough life out here." The fox's explanation was a pathetic one.

"Was it worth it?" Tobias inquired of the pair "Was what worth it?" Asked the vulpine. The otter quickly sprung into action, he used his long rudder tail to sweep the deer's feet from the ground, sending the cervine falling onto his face. Quickly getting a chokehold on the fox, pinning his arm around the vulpines neck nice and snug. "Kidnapping all those nice people. Bet you've been planning that one for a while hmm?"

The fox was struggling, kicking his feet at the ground, but he couldn't manage to get loose. The deer was too terrified to stand up and help his friend. "We had ta! Boss man made us." Tobias loosened his grip just a bit, allowing the fox to get in the air a little easier.

"Why is that then? Hostage taking is pretty low for miners, and certainly not the easy option." Mark was still watching from the distance, ready to hop in at any moment, even though Tobias seemed to be handling the situation expertly.

"Giovanni, that's why!" Tobias eased the grip further, but he still held complete control. "They've been buying up the whole damn moon. Kicking us furs off to joblessness. We need more stake in the ground, or our contracts will be severed." Even though Giovanni was a new threat to Tobias, he didn't let the mention rattle him.

"So hostages were your best bet, is that it? Make your neighbors hate you? If your friend can only hold a gun like a drunk man, I doubt the rest of your lot fare much better." Tobias finally let the fox go who staggered a few steps to safety. The deer finally stood up, but his pants were soaked with piss.

"Damn it Eric, really? Every fucking time. You need to wear some diapers." The fox mocking the deer. "Lombardi camp is going to get off shift, and find everyone gone. They are gonna come at y'all like hellfire." The pair of Vasquez miners bowed their heads, ashamed of themselves.

"We can't disobey the boss, we'd never find work again." chimed Eric, trying to cover his piss soaked trousers with his paws. The fox grumbled "I told you it's tough out here. We have to make do, damn it!" Tobias glared firmly at the fox. "Take me to your boss then. Neither of your camps will have any good come out of this squabbling."

The fox sneered at the river dogs request, finally finding himself a moment of courage. "Just who do you think you are trying to order us around?" Tobias flashed his teeth. "I'm the guy that's happy to keep kicking your ass until you take me to your boss." Tobias faking a punch in the direction of the fox who flinched in response and turned away.

"F-fine. Come on Eric. Fuck we are so fired. Stupid fucking water rat." The fox glanced back grumpily at the river otter. Though that didn't stop him as he and Eric led the way to Vasquez Camp. Tobias looked back at the tree line, giving a nod in the direction of the hidden wolf.

Mark trotted down towards the trio, keeping a short bit of distance still carrying the otters gear, which Tobias strapped back on once the wolf was close enough. His nose twitched as he smelt the cervines piss fresh in the air. It felt odd, Tobias had gone so quickly from a considerate kind fur to a child in need, to one willing to bully a couple of low grade workers for information.

It made him wonder how little of that kind soul actually remained inside Tobias. Wonder how much longer it would hold out. Glancing over at Tobias, Mark finally spoke up, though softly so the duo slightly ahead couldn't eavesdrop.

"That was a little bit much, don't you think?" Tobias kept his eyes ahead, monitoring the situation. "There's a terrified lioness cub on my ship, and a whole town kidnapped with force. These miners won't be treated with delicate tact for now, they don't deserve it. Even if they were only acting under orders."

Once they were near the next settlement, it was entirely different from the ghost camp. Where once silence had reigned king, now there was nothing but shouting and crying. The closer they got it was apparent that every single resident of the other town was tied up wherever there was open space. Strapped to posts, railings, and each other, most trying to comfort each other in this frightening situation.

There was no regard for who was taken, women, children, men, all forced to go along or face the consequences. The sight of it sickened the otter's stomach, as it did Mark's. While Tobias stayed focused on the task, the wolf's large ears perked, starting to pick up a change in conversation among the residents and kidnap victims.

They whispered to each other, stealing glances at the feral looking otter walking by them. "It can't be...is he?" One woman whispered, her friend responding "No way, that's just a myth. All this fright, you aren't thinking straight." The woman was insistent

"But look at him, it's so eerie." The murmurs and whispers continued as the fox and deer kept escorting them deeper into the town. "No way that's the same guy. His fur is all wrong." Someone commented, before another snapped back "Are you kidding? It's the spitting image of that poster. I won't forget it." A third voice chimed in "The poster you saw when you were so drunk you couldn't even stand? It's just some story. You really think someone like that could still be walking around free?"

Mark's curiosity got the better of him, stepping out of line approaching two rabbits who seemed quite chatty. "Excuse me ladies, care to tell me what suddenly changed the mood around here?" One looked at the wolf with a cautious glance.

"It's nothing really. Just, when you're this far from controlled systems, stories spread around. That otter bares a striking resemblance to some of the more popular campfire stories teens like to share." She looked over at the otter who was getting further and further away. "What sort of story?" Mark lingered, eager to hear more. The other rabbit spoke up "Oh just the normal stuff really. All the hear say, and retellings, each time new bits are created. Some stories refer to him as a beast in the night, others call him a hero. None of it's true really. It's just, look at him though." The rabbit commented to her twin "I admit that's usually how he's described to look, more or less. But, come on Sherry, you think a little thing like that can take over a space station?"

Mark finally tore himself away, thought not without a desire to stay and find out what the woman meant. Just in time to spot Tobias being led into a two story bar. Sprinting to catch back up, yet another layer of mystery piled on about the otter.

The escorting pair and Tobias were walking up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Tobias stopped in a hall, watching the fox. "Just, gimme a second." The fox responded to the stare he was getting. "Gotta get my nerve up." The vulpine took several deep breaths, and swiftly knocked on a large wood door. A deep growly voice shouted out from the room "What is it?" Tobias could feel, and hear heavy footsteps.

"Hey uh, boss. There is someone here to see ya. He wants to talk about everyone we kidnapped." The fox swallowed hard, watching the door pull open. There in the doorway stood a towering polar bear, over seven feet tall, only one piercing emerald eye staring at the trio outside the door.

The bear glanced over at the deer, and the deer's piss soaked pants, then back to the fox. Tobias stood strong in his place, showing no intimidation from the ursines large size. "Eric, go home and change your damn pants. Greg..." The bear let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion "Just, go. You however,"

The bear stepped out from the room, standing in front of Tobias. "Obidiah Vasquez, mind explaining to me why you've shamed those two?" Obidiah was no stranger to the campfire tales about Tobias. He never put any faith in them beyond them being tales to whip up a mood. "Because none of you have a lick of sense. I'm just trying to run clean, deliver some cargo. Yet you decided it was best to kidnap everyone not on shift over at the Lombardi camp. Which puts a real big wrench in the works of a clean run."

The large bear snarled at the otter's words. Obidiah grasped the otter around the throat, entirely with one paw hoisting him up into the air. Getting his face right up in the otters with a fearsome snarl.

"You wanna run that by me again? I couldn't hear you right. It sounded like some hauler could've just flown off, not get involved. Not his fault no one is around to accept the load. Haulers don't go off the pads." Tobias caught sight of Mark coming up the stairs, and he opened his palm, giving the wolf yet another signal to stop. The otter continued to show no fear, even as the large predator could easily kill him just by clenching that large paw. "I'm going to ask you again. Why are you here?"

Mark watched in a state of conflict, he wanted to jump in and temper the situation. Yet also wanted to see how well Tobias really could handle himself under pressure. "I'm here because you made a little girl cry. You've got blinders on to the pain you're causing all for the sake of staking a bigger claim. Do you truly believe that all this misery is worth it? That there can be no other way?" Tobias snarled back, "All you've done is laid the foundation for a bloody turf war. I won't promise I can solve your woes, but surely you wouldn't mind a fresh pair of eyes looking at the situation." He continued. Obidiah thought on the words for a moment, before setting Tobias back on his feet.

"You've got a really big pair of brass balls on you." Obidiah said, followed by a hearty, gruff laugh. The bear took a moment to adjust himself, glancing in the direction of the on edge wolf. He let out a loud snorting grunt at the sight of him, before motioning with a paw for Tobias to follow.

"None of this was my first choice, hell I can hardly even call it a choice." Obidiah grabbed a half smoked cigar from a tray and sparked it back up. "Vincent, that cur, he just won't relent. I've got twice the land, twice the man power. Yet he insists that he does better without us." Obidiah snorted again, watching as the otter wandered over towards a large map on the wall.

The map took up the majority of the wall, and heavily detailed extensive acreage of the moon. The kidnapped town really was quite small in comparison to the ursines. "Why do you care about getting the extra land this badly?" Tobias glanced back at the bear, catching sight of Mark standing guard in the door.

The polar bear walked over, taking a drag off the cigar slowly "It's this new operation, run by Giovanni. Well I say new, they started on the other side of the moon. That was about two years back now. They've got a militia behind them and have been slowly pushing out any settlement worth the investment. Vincent and I are two of the last ten operations on this moon that have not been taken over."

"What's been keeping them at bay? Just not enough in the land?" Tobias glanced back at the map, trying to soak it all in. "Oh there's plenty to drag out. It's just that Vincent and I decided to stake a claim in one of the most hostile areas of this moon. The rift protects Vincent, and we've got those."

The bear pointed to two large flag markers on the map "Scarab hives, past the marshes. They tend to scare off the idiots." Mark felt a chill go down his back at the mention of Scarabs. That was why he knew this moon, he'd seen it plenty of times during training.

"So kidnapping everyone is your bargaining chip, is that it? Get him to sign over. So you can increase your holdings and bulk up should Giovanni make a push?" Obidiah snarled at the otters' questions. "I've got workers and their families to feed. For a lot of my men here, this is their only home. I can't just stand by, ready for inevitable defeat. What would you have me do?" Tobias continued to study the map for only a moment longer.

"You both have unique advantages that could benefit the other. Just look how much land is sitting open between the two settlements. If you work together you could establish a central shipping hub. Get bigger shipments coming in and going out, earning the defense and respect that comes with that size of port." Tobias motioned to good parts on the map for setting up structures. "Even if the split between you both was fifty-fifty I reckon you'd still be making far more profit than you are right now."

Obadiah's eye seemed to go wide for a moment, examining the area closely. He'd never considered a joint venture, all he had interest in was complete ownership. "Given enough time you might get a nice little settlement going here if you want. There's no good material on that land right?" Tobias glanced at the white ursine.

"Not enough to be worth the trouble, why?" The response caused Tobias to smile a little "If that's the case, you can plot it. Establish your port, then plot out lots to rent out. Making that land actually provide some money for you both. You both establish enough of a financial industry like that, and I can guarantee you Giovanni will back off."

Both Mark and Obidiah were rather shocked by the otters' intelligence and the quickly thought out proposal. The gruff bear had never even dared to dream of something that expansive. The empty land that Obidiah and Vincent squabble over constantly, was the very solution to the financial woes for both of them. "That's bri" Obidiah was cut off by someone forcing past Mark, slamming into the room loudly. Tripping over his own two paws, flopping onto the ground.

The intruder was a younger polar bear, currently rubbing the ache from his head after the fall. "Damn it Brandon, what the hell are you doing?" The young bear stood to his feet embarrassed. "Dad! I-I mean boss, it's the scarabs!" Mark and Tobias suddenly stood stiff at the mention of scarabs, and Obidiah closed the gap between himself and his son. "

What about them?" He shouted, annoyed by the sudden intrusion. "They're cutting through the marshes fast! It looks like they're heading our way." This was enough to make even Obidiah stiffen up. "What are you talking about? They got no reason to bother us." The young bear was trembling under his fathers aggressive tone.

"They didn't have a reason." Mark finally broke through into the conversation "Until today, when you presented them with an all you can eat buffet." This comment immediately caught the bear's ire "Shit! We don't have time to set up."

Tobias seemed to stand taller, "Get everyone out of here, head over to the Lombardi camp. I'll buy you as much time as I can to set up defenses over there. Hopefully with this place empty they'll retreat to the hives." This drew a shocked look on everyone else's face. "You can't be serious?!" Mark shouted at Tobias "Even a full platoon has trouble taking out just one hive." Tobias glared at the wolf's words.

"I didn't say I would take them out. I said I would buy them time. If you go fast enough maybe you can get to your ship and return with oppressive fire. There is no damn time to argue, get everyone out of here now!" The otter shouted loudly, grabbing his weapons back from the wolf.

He looked up at the map "Those are auto-turrets right?" He pointed to three markers "Yea. But the cooling system on them is crap, they won't maintain constant fire for long." Obidiah responded, followed by a grunt.

He glanced over at his son "Brandon, sound the alarm. Get over to Anthony and tell him to get everyone on releasing the hostages. We retreat to Lombardi, go, now!" Tobias checked one of his guns for a second, stopped only by the weight of a heavy paw on his shoulder. "Why are you doing this?" Obidiah asked, trying to look the otter in his eyes. Tobias didn't respond, and simply walked out of the room without another word.

Mark rushed after Tobias, trying to slow the otter down as he made to leave through the now panicked crowd. "This is suicide Tobias, you need to leave with the rest of us." he exclaimed "I told you to get back to your ship. Make sure that girl gets to her mom first." Tobias replied, and kept walking.

The wolf didn't know what to say, Tobias was walking alone to a certain death, yet showed no fear of it. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Mark snarled, sprinting out of the building, running with all his might to get back to the hauler as fast as he could. "Mia! Get my ship ready. Get yourself tied into security cameras here and keep me updated."

"What about Tobias?" She questioned. "That idiot decided to hold his ground. What the hell is he thinking?" The entire town was in a chaotic state of panic. Mark had a sudden realization as he continued the sprint to get back to his ship. "This is suicide" he recalled those recent words to Tobias.

The realization caused him to stumble and stop running for a moment. "It can't be. Does he hope not to survive it?" He looked back at the settlement in the distance, and the massive plume of dust in the air. Obadiah's men hurriedly untying hostages, escorting everyone towards the direction of the Lombardi camp. All while Tobias walked down the main street, heading to face the hoard alone.

By the time he reached the outer perimeter the town was cleared out. Heading on their way to momentary safety. Tobias headed to each turret station, slowly powering them up, anything would help him face what was coming. He could already feel the rumbling in the ground, the stampeding of hundreds of massive insectoid legs skittering across the land. The three large guns creaked as they raised from their stationary positions. Starting to sweep slowly back and forth.

Ghost Against a Hoard

Tobias stared at the dust cloud getting kicked up now that the scarabs had cleared the marshlands. It was a massive, ominous plume clouding out the horizon. Grasping his rifle, with the flip of a switch he enabled a single shot firing method. Steadying the butt of the gun into his shoulder, he stared through the scope, surveying what was coming.

Counting as swiftly as he could there were three hundred of the creatures at least. Ebony black, scorpion like insects that towered over most men. Fierce quadruple pincers hanging out of their jaws, forelegs that looked razor sharp, and menacing pointed tails. The number of them showed Tobias that it had to be almost the entirety of both hives, coming right at him.

For a moment, he lowered the gun and let his eyes close. Whiskers twitching, and an ear flicking as he started to channel every thought from his mind. He focused on the chaotic rumbling of ground under his paws, on the dry smell of dust getting kicked up in the air.

"Don't let me down, Zero. This is the one, complete this mission and I'll let you go home." a cruel familiar voice broke through to the silence Tobias was trying to create. Tobias flicked an ear, trying to shake the figment from mind. "

That's what you want isn't it? To go home. I can make it happen. What a disappointment that would be though. You haven't even helped humanity yet" Tobias grunted, shaking his head.

The imaginary voice continued to taunt Tobias. All the while the hoard grew ever closer to Tobias and the empty settlement. "Say the words Zero. You know them. Free yourself of your hesitation." Tobias trembled, shaking his head aggressively.

After a few agonizing seconds he finally managed to let his mind go blank, to let it all go dark as he focused on the task. Opening his eyes he was focused only on the coming death. Raising the gun up again he stared through the scope and opened fire. Shot after shot hitting it's mark, piercing through thick exoskeletons dropping one scarab after another.

"Give me an update Mia." Mark was barely even halfway back to the ship, back to being able to help. "Tobias has just engaged the hoard. For a moment, I swear he was meditating." She commented, continuing to watch the situation live.

Mark had never run so fast in his life. Every step didn't feel like he was getting any closer to his ship. How could he just leave Tobias alone like that, alone to face death. Worse than that thought, was the realization that all Tobias seemed to want from helping people, was to finally find eternal peace. Perhaps a warrior's death was the only way he could earn that peace.

The turrets began to spin up once the hoard was in range, he'd only managed to drop twenty-five of the creatures so far. The air now filled with the loud concussive noise of large caliber turret fire. With the flip of a switch, Tobias returned the rifle to a burst fire mode, starting to fire rapidly into the creatures.

Every wicked insect unrelenting as they barreled towards the lone otter. The screeching noise of ravenous scarabs pierced the air, the distance between them and Tobias two hundred yards away now. Loud hissing began to fill the air as turrets overheated and went offline. With his gunfire, and the turrets, the hoard had thinned down to just under two hundred remaining.

There was a clicking noise as his rifle went empty, quickly throwing it to the ground pulling out the pistol. The bullets of the small gun did little more than ping off the thick shells of the bugs. When only a mere fifty yards remained, he'd only dropped another three scarabs. Grasping the collapsed stave from his belt, he extended it, pressing a button allowing two fearsome looking blades to extend at each end.

"What is he doing?" Mia asked rhetorically, which Mark picked up on. "What is it?" his voice heavy with panting as he continued to close the distance to the hauler. "The turrets have overheated, and his guns are empty. I believe he is about to engage them with melee combat." She commented, and Mark cussed at himself again, channeling every bit of strength he could into his legs.

Tobias didn't pause for a moment to breathe once he was ready to engage head to head. Instead he charged past the turret line, rushing to meet the hoard. Knowing full well his only chance at taking down more was to herd their formation to his liking. The blades of the stave glinted in the light as he headed right for the massive number of scarabs. There was no thought in his mind, no emotion, everything was channeled into his fight.

He broke through the ranks, forcing his way past wildly gnashing pincers, and flailing claws. The bullrush causing the bugs to spread out, circling around the willing meal. If the otters speed against Mark before had been considered fast, his speed now was blinding. The stave with it's blades twirled around, tearing with sickening crunches and sloshes through countless legs. Piercing into the hearts of the foul bugs.

As one of the tails came straight for him with it's sharp tip, he jumped, leaping to be on top of one of the bugs. The tail punched through the scarab, while Tobias flipped around, cutting off the stuck tail. He took his first blow after felling ten of the creatures. A fierce slash tore into his arm to the bone, causing the otter to cry out in anguish. It didn't stop him however, if anything it drove him deeper into a ruthless state.

Another ten creatures fell, then another, almost impossibly he kept his life as he continued the fight. But it was starting to wear on him, pincers had torn into his left leg, cracking bone and leaving a sickly trail of venom running down it.

It was down to only a bakers dozen after fifteen minutes of engaging them head on. The otter was gravely wounded, covered in his own blood, and that of the scarabs. Mark had only just gotten into his ship when Mia spoke again "He..he did it. All the scarabs are dead." Mark's eyes went wide, looking at the screen "Show me!"

Mia put up the camera feed, and Mark could hardly believe his eyes. Tobias was standing in the middle of a slaughterfield. Hundreds of scarab corpses littered all around him, and nearby. It was clear enough that the river otter was gravely injured. Standing slightly off balance from the weight pushed onto one of his broken legs. "What is he doing?" Mark watched as Tobias seemed to be surveying the chaotic mess, still holding his stave ready to strike another blow.

"Mark, give us an update." Obidiah came in over the radio. "All the scarabs are dead, he is alive. I'm taking my ship to fetch him. Something is off though." Mark flipped a switch and guided his ship out of the hauler's hanger. Taking to the air it took no time at all to reach the slaughter. Tobias was still standing deathly still in the same spot, ready to strike. The wolf set his ship down in a clear spot and hurried off the back of it.

Now that he was up close, he wasn't quite sure how Tobias was still alive, let alone standing upright. Deep gashes littered his body, fur and flesh in spots hung from limbs like tattered ribbons, a thick bone was sticking out of his left leg, the venom still oozed out of his body, while it continued to race through his blood at the same time. Mark took a step towards the wounded creature, and stopped when Tobias suddenly snapped his gaze to the wolf.

A noise was pounding in the otter's head, beating away at him with reckless abandon. "Zero, zero, zero" the noise turning into words. The cruel voice of Dr. Mathias egging the otter on. Tobias limped awkwardly and turned to completely face Mark, stave still in paw ready to attack. "It's over Tobias. You did it." Mark spoke up, slowly realizing what was happening right before his eyes. He took another cautious step towards the otter.

"You're letting humanity down, Zero. Finish the job." The otter snarled fiercely at the imaginary voice. His eyes looked devoid of life, a body devoid of free thought. Mark continued to make slow steps towards Tobias. A blood curdling scream filled the otter's head as he remained lost in darkness.

It was enough to push him forward. He lumbered towards Mark, hobbling on his one good leg. Suddenly he took a weak swipe at the wolf with the bladed weapon. The wolf had seen it coming and quickly hopped back to avoid it. "Mia, I think he's indoctrinated. What should I do?" Mark quickly calls out to his AI companion.

The wolf didn't need an answer though. Tobias took another swipe, but it seemed to be the last of his strength. The otter collapsed on top of a severed insect leg, coughing up blood before his eyes closed. Mark moved swiftly, and grabbed the weapon as well as Tobias. Hoisting the otter up, carrying the bleeding creature back towards his fighter craft. "Vincent Lombardi is waiting in the medical bay Mark. He would like to help. Obidiah will meet you in the hangar." The wolf didn't respond, laying Tobias down on the small bed, then taking the ship to air.

Once he was docked on the otters ship, Obidiah walked onto the fighter craft. Staring at the gravely wounded otter on the bed, who seemed to still be breathing, albeit rapidly. "Go, I'll carry him." He ordered, picking up Tobias carrying him with ease. Mark followed after, eyes fixated on Tobias.

He'd never felt more heartbroken for Tobias, even though he'd known the otter for such a short while. The pain of it was immense, it brought him back to the early days of his enlistment. When Mark himself still had hope he could actually do some good for people.

Standing in the medical bay was an eight foot tall grey direwolf, still in the process of gathering together supplies. "Fucking 'ell how is he still breathing." The direwolfs gravelly voice was filled with shock. "Put him on the table quickly. Mark, I'll need your help. Obidiah, go and tell everyone what's going on, but keep them clear of the ship." Surprisingly Obidiah obliged without a word of complaint for the man he'd considered a rival for over a decade now.

Mark had taken a wet rag and was slowly starting to clean around the deepest wounds, exposing the raw flesh and muscle for treatment. He didn't feel a need to see any of the remaining videos Mia recovered. The truth of it all lay before him, bones still littered with witness marks of past experiments and surgeries. The sockets along the otters' slightly exposed spine were brute force attachments, and wires had replaced quite a few of the nerve pathways.

"What the hell happened to this velp." Vincent asked rhetorically as he too took in the extensive alterations, and unique physical structure of the otter. He had to keep it from his mind however, taking a pair of tweezers he began to extract fragments of exoskeleton. While Mark followed behind and began to stitch up the wounds once Vincent had given the nod of approval. For hours the two wolves worked together as they brought Tobias back to a form where he might actually live to see another day.

Obidiah had returned with a large thermos of coffee for the three of them to share while Tobias recovered. "I never thought there was some truth to the stories." Vincent commented, washing blood from his arms. Mark took a sip of coffee, watching the pair of overseers. "What stories?" He chimed in.

The question made the polar bear smile "It's gossip really. Sometimes it comes from a new miner we bring in, a supply drop. Just talk of the universe that someone out there did some big crazy thing." Vincent gave a nod and chimed in "A lot of them would mention the same person though. An otter that looked quite different from any you might have seen before. It gives some of our younger crew hope, a chance to believe life in border space isn't all bad."

Obidiah grunted "Two whole damn hives though. No one should've survived that." Mark looked past the overseers in the direction of the medical bay. "He did." The hunter had to keep a lot to himself. It wasn't his place to say just how much he actually knew of what Tobias was, where he came from. The bear topped up everyone's coffee and looked over to Vincent. "I know I had to give you the short version. But what do you say? Let's turn our two operations into something bigger, and better."

The direwolf had still been mulling the proposal over in his head. No one was happy to learn of the stunt that Obidiah had pulled. "It'll take a lot of work. But it would solve a lot of problems for both of us. I'd be an asshole if I said no after what that otter did for your settlement, for my own. Let's work out the split later." Obidiah smiled, and gave the direwolf a playful arm punch.

They spent a while in quiet conversation, until there was a shuffle of movement heard. Tobias came limping out of the medical bay. Letting himself lean against the cold metal wall to ease his aches. Mark got to his feet, but hesitated to come over, he wasn't sure if the programming would kick back in.

The three watched the otter, rather shocked he was able to walk on what should still be a broken leg. As Tobias silently leaned against the wall, Mark recognized the look in the otter's eyes. It was a look of defeat, of being beaten down in life yet again.

Tobias hobbled his way over after a minute of silence, sitting opposite Mark. "How the 'ell did you do it?" Vincent the first to speak up. The otters head hung low, staring at the floor. "Got lucky I guess."

The three predators were rather shocked by the otters massive understatement, a very humble one at that. "If that was just luck. Then I'm a fox working at a strip club." Obidiah sounded almost annoyed by the humility. "You'll at least stay for a feast, yes? Lot of our crew would love to shake your paw." Tobias glanced at Vincent. "I can't. Got more deliveries to make." Obidiah sat upright, the otter's rejection was borderline disrespectful. "We insist." Though the otter was swift to reply.

"I don't know what you've heard about me. What you've shared between yourselves. Not a word of it is true. Not even what happened today. Nothing but tall tales constantly being altered with every retelling." Mark was the first to realize what Tobias was implying.

Whether or not Tobias hated being known for his heroics. He just preferred to stay disconnected. To ignore the sincere interest others had in bonding with him.

"Excuse me" a female voice suddenly interrupted everyone. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion" A lanky lioness had walked into the ship. "It's just Samantha has been begging to thank you. Would that be alright?" Tobias stood, and covered himself with a coat. "Of course." There was an immediate spark of life in the otter's eyes that Mark recognized.

The young girl was ushered in by her mother. The lioness cub rushed over to hug Tobias, swiftly lifted from the ground by the friendly otter "Thank you, thank you" she said it over and over again.

"Ok, ok Samantha" he chuckled, prying her off from the hug. "I promised I'd get her back, and I always keep my promises." Vincent, Obidiah, and Mark watched the otter interact with an almost fatherly love. "You were so brave today. If it wasn't for your bravery I wouldn't have been able to help." Tobias continued to bolster the cubs spirit.

After the lioness and Samantha left. Obidiah and Vincent made to leave. "I'll get my men unloading our shipment immediately. You sure we can't tempt you to stay?" Vincent inquired. "It's better this way. I hope the both of you can work out this plan I've suggested. I'll keep an ear out for it." Tobias waved them off, before sitting back down. Glancing at Mark who looked as if he had a thousand questions to ask.

"I'm sorry." The apology caused Mark to tilt his head. "Sorry?" The wolf asked. "I know that I tried to attack you. I just, there's a reason I don't want people close to me when I'm traveling. I try and try to fight it off. But what Dr. Mathias and his team did to me, it will never leave me." Tears began to run down the otter's face. He just couldn't hold it back, as it always ended up. The wolf felt nervous, unsure of what to do as Tobias began to break down.

It was painful to watch. In such a short period of time Mark felt a unique connection to the otter. While the wolf had managed to find his way out of enlisted life, he never truly gave up on a combate focused career. Tobias however seemed to want nothing more than to be done with that lifestyle, to escape from it, be free of the grief, and pain.

Just as Mark was about to stand, Tobias wiped his eyes. "I am not a weapon, I am a person. I am not a dog of war, I am mercy." Tobias started to speak his mantra softly, continuing to wipe the tears from his face. "Though the reaper walks with me, my targets are not his." With the mantra completed, the tears came to an end, the otter dabbing the final remnants away with his shirt.

"That's not a bad saying. Is there a way to break free of how they indoctrinated you?" Mark got right to the point, with a blunt, invasive question.

Tobias knew some of the specifics as to how the programming inside of him worked, but his guarding nature had returned. "When I'm six feet under, I will be free." Tobias didn't speak another word of it, standing up he limped his way off to the flight deck.

Mark made his way out of the ship to get a breath of fresh air after the heavy situation. He watched as the Lombardi crew unloaded their cargo, and the town alive with a slow journey to mutual trust and cooperation.

"For the first time, I'm at a loss. Mia, I've already gone far off the rails with this contract. Now Robin is in on it, and nothing good can come from those pro-humanist fucks learning of Tobias, and that he lives." The wolf rubbed his brow, grumbling in frustration. "Perhaps there is nothing that can be done for now Mark. I suggest you stick with Tobias. At least for as long as he allows you to do so. We both know that Robin can be a real pain once he locks on to something."

The otter sat quietly in the captain's chair, watching the camera feeds of what was happening around the ship. Once the cargo hold was emptied, Vincent and Obidiah walked aboard the otters ship once more. Tobias made his way swiftly down to meet them.

"Vincet and I wanted to thank you again." Obidiah the first to speak. "Wether you like to admit it or not. What you did today not only saved lives, but put them on a brighter path." He continued, glancing over at the direwolf.

"Words already started spreading about this new plan. People are already moving past the shit Obidiah pulled. Knowing that very prosperous times are ahead. Everyone can feel safer in the security of their employment." Tobias wanted to interrupt as Vincent spoke. But kept his mouth shut.

"I guess what we're getting at, is we owe ya. Don't care if you don't want us to owe you. But there it is. Anything we can help you out with in the future, don't hesitate to call." Obidiah rested a large paw gently on the otters shoulder, nodding to the wolfs words. "Don't worry, your secret is safe. I may get blinders on sometimes, but we watch after our own."

Tobias held back a sigh, trembling a little under the weight of the large paw on his shoulder. "Thank you. Hopefully I will never have to call for anything more than buisness. But, thank you." His words actually sounded genuine, respectful.

Without another word said, Vincent and Obidiah left the ship. "I'll catch up in a minute Obidiah." Vincent waved the bear off, and walked over to Mark. The hunter glanced over at the direwolf. "You're making a mistake Mark." Vincent spoke, pulling out a cigar from his coat pocket. Striking up a match, taking a slow drag on the cigar once it was lit.

"Mistake?" Mark cocked his head in confusion. "I can see it in your eyes. Us wolves have a subtle but unique tell when it comes to certain things. Yours are telling me you've got more than professional feelings for that otter." Vincent let out a puff of smoke to the night air.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mark lied, and for the first time seemed a little flustered. "Maybe I'm wrong about the look you've got. My comment stands however. It's a mistake to fall for that little otter. I've fought my fair share of wars, seen my own share of horrors. Seen enough soldiers that can't quit the task. He'll keep going until it kills him" Vincent glanced over at Mark, before continuing.

"You're setting yourself up for a worse pain than losing a soldier under your command." He sighed heavily, the sigh revealing that Vincent had lost a few good men under his watch.

Mark felt at a loss. It'd been a long time since someone had come at his emotions so directly. It was true there was a single tiny glowing ember inside of his heart, one ignited by Tobias. "No one wins when a soldier dies. But you never abandon a fellow soldier, even when the outcome is clear. You keep fighting. Commanders carry the burden, the pain. It's our duty and honor." Mark spoke with conviction. The statement causing Vincent to smile.

"Good wolf." Vincent patted Mark gently on the back. The direwolf proud to have seen a wolf's natural convictions on proud display. "Safe travels Mark. Keep in touch." Vincent began to pad off. Mark got back aboard the ship and sat down on one of the couches. The conversation replaying in his head.

Once the ship was secure, and the landing pad was clear. Tobias took off, heading back into the lonely void of space. "I've got to take care of some repairs before my next stop." The otter speaking as he walked towards the locker room. Mark nodded, and relaxed further into the couch.

The Leash and The Lead

The fox siblings had made their way back to Orion's station, a large collection of ships welded together. It was one of the most popular rest stops for any hunters operating in border space. They were seated at the counter of a street facing noodle shop, Cody the younger was going back and forth between a bowl of noodles, and homework. While Matt seemed to stare almost blankly at his own portion.

"Can we go somewhere nice?" Cody asked his brother Matt. The older fox's ears twitched "What do you mean? This place has the best noodles around." Matt quipped, much to the annoyance of the younger fox. "I want to go somewhere without being told. Just point my finger and there we go." The cub grunted, taking a small bite from his bowl, returning to his homework soon after. Matt sighed softly, "I know. I promise you that we will. Wherever you want, we can go there once this is all over."

The older fox grunted as he was suddenly patted on the back strongly. "Good to see ya Matt. Lord Orion pulling you back in so soon?" Matt turned to face an older german shepherd, who was starting to have hints of gray fur on his muzzle. The canine had an identical collar around his neck, the horseshoe constellation engraved on it as well as the number three.

"Hey Carlile. Thanks for letting me in on that tribe kin. You want me to let Orion know you gave the lead?" Matt was always straight to business with the other scouts. Even though they all shared a connection by being indentured servants to Orion, he didn't want to get attached.

"No need. You can take the credit for this one. Consider it a gift, it is your anniversary after all." Matt swallowed hard at the mention of it. Truly he'd been trying hard not to think about it officially being four years enslaved by the power hungry equine. "I shouldn't keep him waiting much longer. Come on Cody, I'll take you back to the ship." He motioned a paw, the cook bringing the bill and to go containers.

"You really should talk to us more. Makes it easier to cope. Mind you, I rather enjoy this lifestyle now. Certainly has its perks." The shepherd smiled at Matt. Cody seemed to know when his big brother wanted a moment of privacy, walking a short distance away.

"Cody clings to me Carlile. I'd rather he didn't know the more unpleasant details about this arrangement I'm bound to. Life's been hard enough for the both of us after our parents passed." The fox turned to leave "Fair enough. But we're here if you ever need to talk. You don't have to go through it all alone. My line is always open for you." Matt just gave a passive wave at the shepherd's words.

Once the brothers were back on the ship, Matt began to change into different clothing. "I'll try not to be long. If you finish all your school work. We can play a game, alright?" Cody smiled brightly at Matt's offer. "I promise I'll have it all done." The older fox finished changing into a more revealing outfit. A thin shirt that hardly served a purpose as it left the fox's chest exposed. Tight fitting black pants felt just as revealing. He never liked being this exposed, but rules were rules.

Matt headed off the ship, grabbing a keycard from his pocket and using it to summon a private elevator. The elevator was uncomfortably foreboding, walls covered with dark red tapestry, dimly lit, and fast enough to unsettle the gut. It dinged harshly as it reached its destination. Doors slowly open to reveal a sitting room, lit only by a large gas fireplace. The orange hued light danced over the walls. Revealing a wide assortment of hunting trophies and archaic weapons.

Matt made his way over to the fire, getting down on his knees. Facing the flames as he waited. He hated the waiting, the dread before his meeting. Never knowing what Orion would have planned for the fox. There was a sudden whooshing noise, followed by the sound of heavy hooves moving closer. Matt trembled nervously in his vulnerable position, feeling the weight of the massive horse standing behind him.

"I see you learned your lesson about being on time." The voice was deep, controlling, invading the mind with ease. "Yes my Lord." Matt kept his replies brief. Orion took a long draw from a cigar, before exhaling downward. The plume of smoke washing over Matt's head. "What did you find out at the Luxinor spaceport?" The horse grasped the vulpines scruff, pulling it almost to the point of being painful.

"I couldn't get them to talk about the ship" Matt suddenly whined as the gripping hand squeezed his scruff harshly. It kept him upright even though he wanted to fall over. After a few grueling seconds, Orion relaxed his grip. "Did you learn nothing at all?" Matt whimpered softly. "Big Bad Wolf was there soon after the explosion. One of the dock workers said he was asking around about a specific ship." Orion snorted loudly "Mark was there?" The horse used his grip to pull the fox up to his feet.

"Yes my Lord. They couldn't show me the owners credentials. Only told me that Mark headed towards Silaria" Matt was trembling, knowing there was hardly much information to give. "There is one more thing my lord." Matt reached into his pocket, and pulled out a photograph.

The photograph contained an image of Mark on Silaria. Flat on his ass on a docking platform, with a figure standing over him. The stance of the standing figure told Orion that a gun was drawn. But with his back to the camera it was hard to make out much. The horse could just barely make out the tail of an otter, which caused him to smile. "Mark's ship left Silaria without a pilot. I assume his AI was navigating it."

"Very good Matt. Very good. Nice to see you showing some initiative for a change." Orion pulled the fox by his scruff, standing the vulpine to his feet.

Orion led the fox into a rather unpleasant room. Filled with a variety of furniture meant to restrain, unique toys lining the walls, as well as a selection of whips and canes. "You've earned a reward today. Lay on the bed, remove your clothes." Matt whimpered, scared of what might be coming. It was the first time he'd ever been offered a reward.

It was exceedingly rare that Orion ever rewarded his scouts. Carlile was the one exception to that. Mostly because the german shepherd had transitioned from a scout to more of a full time companion to Orion.

Orion spent the next several hours with Matt, alone in that room. It was the first time the fox had ever left Orion's company not in pain. Though he was walking with a rather wide stance, and a dumb grin on his face.

The horse retreated to his office and started going over the list of open contracts. It didn't take him long at all to find what Mark had signed on to. "Mars? For that much money?" The horse snorted at the thought of it. Quickly calling one of his newer scouts in, a tiger. "Research this contract. I want to know who actually opened it, and any others they've opened. Get it done before tomorrow morning and I'll make your next training session shorter." The feline nodded "Yes Lord Orion." He hurried off to research as instructed.

Orion stared at the one wall, where he was keeping track of Tobias's presence. Walking over, he pinned up the photograph. "You're involved with this one. I'm sure of it. You'll stumble like the rest, and I'll be glad to find ways to make you talk. Watch your back, hoof licker"

Matt felt drunk on pleasure and bliss. Thankful that his anniversary with Orion ended up being so enjoyable. The hour was late, and Cody was already in bed, holding a small plush toy. The older fox was quick to change into his pajamas. Taking a moment to set up one of their board games, he'd keep his promise in the morning. Crawling into the lone bed he and Cody shared. Soon falling into an unsteady sleep.

Sleep after a session with Orion was never an easy one, even if it had been pleasurable. It always led back to his only recurring nightmare. The fear of trying to run from the bounty contract that was once on his head, the fear of no longer being able to protect Cody.

That one fateful night four years prior. Matt was terrified, his paws ached as they ran across a rough cobblestone path. His nine year old brother hugged to his chest, the kits arms wrapped around Matts neck. All Matt could hear was his heavy panting breathe. It felt as if everything was going dark.

Daring to glance back over his shoulder for only a moment. He realized there was no one there anymore. Had his pursuer given up? Hurriedly he tucked into a darkened alley, taking cover behind a large dumpster.

"I'm scarr" Matt quickly covered his brothers muzzle with a paw. Silencing the kit. Matts ears perked listening to renewed foot steps not far off. "How the hell did you lose him?! He was right fucking there!" A male voice shouted, followed by a whine of pain. "What you hit me for? Wasn't my fault." A second male voice spoke up. "Shut the hell up. This was supposed to be an easy bounty. Find him!" Another whine of pain, the first voice dealing out another dose of punishment.

Matt was shaking like a leaf, holding his brother as tightly as he could. Slowly he stood when it seemed to grow quiet. The foot steps and voices had gone away from the alley. "C-come on. We're almost there." Matt lifted Cody into the air, boosting him to a fire escape above. The young fox grabbed hold of the ladder and gave a tug.

Matt was quick to catch the ladder before it could slam loudly to the ground. Slowing it's descent. "I'll go first ok? I want you right on my tail." Cody nodded to his brothers instructions. Matt started up the ladder, and then the several flights of stairs. Cody was close behind.

"Just a little bit further. We're almost safe." Matt spoke, to reassure his scared brother. Matt climbed onto the roof top, and Cody heard his brother yelp. Cody reached the last flight of stairs and stopped.

"Hello little fox." A heavy voice spoke. "Let me go!" Matt shouted, followed by a whine of pain. "I have to say you're quite a bit more slippery than your average fox. It's the reason I even signed onto this contract at all. How many nooses have you slipped now? Five, six?" The heavy voice continued. Cody cautiously glanced over the edge of the roof.

Eyes going wide at the sight of his brother held aloft in the air. The man had Matt by the throat, he was a large intimidating black stallion. "You look pretty young for a killer. How old are you?" The stallion tightened his grip briefly, a warning about non-compliance. "Sixteen." Matt spoke bluntly, still wriggling, trying to get free. "But I didn't do it!" He gagged harshly as Orion tightened his grip again, eyes bulging as the horse continued the strangling hold.

Cody bolted onto the roof. Running over stupidly he started to punch the horse as best he could. It was little more than an annoyance, and Orion just snorted. "Let my brother go!" Cody cried out, tears running down his small muzzle. Orion relaxed his grip, smiling wickedly "So this is why you're so hard to get hold of."

"C-cody, run!" Matt coughed out the words, still trying to catch his breathe. But Cody stayed, still trying to get the stallion to release his big brother. Orion looked straight into Matt's eyes. "I know you didn't kill. It's clear a rival gang set you up. But there is still plenty more on your head to bring you in over. Drug sales, petty theft, arson. The GDF will eat you up, make all the charges stick. All of them"

Matt continued to struggle, desperate to get free. To get him and his brother away from here. "Before I drag you in, and your brother off to an orphanage. Care to tell me why you got involved with a gang? I'm rather curious about that." Orion kept Matt aloft.

"Our parents died." Matt spoke, whimpering pathetically. Quickly losing the strength to fight for his freedom. "So? Why didn't you walk to an orphanage then?" Matt's eyes unintentionally looked down in the direction of his baby brother. Who was still giving his best effort to disable the stallion. "Ah, they would've separated you."

Orion had swiftly put it all together. Matt did whatever he could to keep him and his brother together. Matt looked pathetically skinny, while Cody seemed a healthy weight. It was clear the older fox sacrificed everything. For the sake of giving his baby brother as good a life as he could manage.

"I'm going to make you an offer. Refuse and I'll drag you to the GDF. You'll never know another free day of life, never see your brother again. Accept it, and I'll make this contract go away. Give you both a place to stay, food. Certainly more comfort than this life you've been living." Orion set the fox down on his feet, but kept his grip.

Cody hurried to hide behind his big brother. "You will dedicate your life to me for the next ten years. I will train you as a scout for my hunts. I will use you and your body in any way I desire. If you ever try to run. I will carry out the sentence the GDF would have given you." He tightened his grip fiercely, completely cutting off Matt's ability to breathe. It lasted only a few seconds, and Matt pawed pathetically at the horse.

Orion relaxed his grip. "After ten years. You are free to go. You may keep anything I have provided you with during the duration of your service. A ship, a place to stay, a clean record, all yours. So fox, what will it be?"

Matt was shaking terribly. He could feel Cody clinging to his waist, crying up a storm. "Y-you won't hurt Cody?" The older fox spoke. "He'll be safe with you. Living a normal life now. I will never ask of him the things I will ask of you. Do we have a deal?" Orion released Matt, and held out a large hand. Though Matt couldn't even begin to guess what the next ten years of his life would bring. All that mattered was being able to stay with Cody, keep him safe, and happy. Matt reached out a paw, and shook Orion's hand. The firm grip was the last thing he remembered, before falling into a full and complete sleep.

The Lurking Threat

Ricky's days after being contracted by Robin had become filled with one single obsession. An endless, infuriating desire to track down a former GDF ship, and all the secrets it had to share. From the minute he figured out how the video from the encounter had been so well scrambled, the money wasn't what he cared about anymore. So far none of his connections on the deep channels had ever heard of the ship, or gateless hyper.

It was starting to feel like a cruel prank, the constant dead ends. Perhaps Robin just felt in the mood to screw with the weasel. But the single frame of video he recovered was proof that the ship was real. Even if the gateless hyper was a lie, it was still a military craft in civilian hands. "If you don't get me some info soon. The deal is off and I'll find someone more capable, Ricky." The hawk had called in for yet another status update. "That ship is a ghost. I've checked port after port. If it ever lands somewhere, it wipes out it's existence when it leaves." The weasel sneered after his words.

"What about Mark's ship then? If he hasn't brought that otter in yet, his ship is likely still with the hauler." Robin sent over a fresh image of Mark's fighter craft "No trace of that one either. Not since he left Silaria, probably has it stowed on the hauler." The bird's patience was wearing thin with the lack of results.

The weasel suddenly smiled, flashing that golden tooth "It's not over mate. I've been reworking the programming for my leeches, getting them all updated. I've got a few people owing me favors at some of the larger ports. That ship shows up, they'll get a leech sunk into the vessel. Won't be able to hide any longer." The hawk chuckled, "I was beginning to think you'd lost your touch. Keep me posted" Robin cut off the call, and Ricky spat at the floor. "Fricking Prat."

Ricky hated playing the waiting game. Had no patience for letting his target come to him, yet he kept hitting walls. The weasel continued to dive deep into ship catalogues, trying to find any mention of gateless hyper jumps. For hours he scrolled through ship advertisements, tech journals, and scientific essays. Until at last, when he felt close to passing out from exhaustion, a lone document caught his eye.

It was emblazoned with the GDF logo, and looked like a document that had slipped through the cracks into public record. "Project Maelstrom Final Report." Ricky sat upright, enlarging the document so his tired eyes could read it with more ease. Though it seemed to be heavily censored, a few words were still exposed "Terminated. Results ----, gateless. Pilots, fatal. decommissioned." Ricky could hardly believe what he was reading. Maybe his mind was jumping to conclusions, but those few words were enough for him to make a hopeful connection. "That prat was right. Gateless jumps." he chuckled at the mere thought of it. Now more than ever he wanted that ship, he couldn't care less about his share of the bounty. The stolen GDF craft would make him one of the richest men alive with all the technology he could reverse engineer and sell off.

With this revelation, he felt invigorated. Switching to a different program on his terminal, he began to further rework the software of his own invention. Trying to implement whatever means he could possibly think of to interrupt a ship from jumping into hyper. It took most of the night, alone in his apartment furiously typing in new code. Until at last it was done.

"I should test it. Don't have the time though." He grumbled. The weasel pulled up a small contacts list, and began to send out the software update. Across multiple planets, and stations, contacts were pinged. Each given instructions on how to install the new package, and be ready to act swiftly upon command. "The trap is set, little otter. Come to Ricky." he grinned toothily, before returning to other interests.