Orca Sol: Chapter Five - Finale
"I was hoping this would get your mind off of, you know, all that's going on," said Kodiak.
Zari smiled. "The holo-suite. I haven't been here in ages."
"You should use it more often. They're very versatile."
"Meaning what?" she asked with a grin.
He picked through the programs. They were standing outside the door. "Squirrel Love Slave. Squirrel Love Slave 2: The Revenge."
Zari laughed, leaning against the wall.
"Chasing Tail," he said, still looking at the program selection. "The Paws of Fate."
"Are there any programs in there that aren't yiff?" she asked in bewilderment.
"A few."
She laughed again. "Technology at its finest," she said, smiling. "Well, which program are you picking?"
"Which do you want?"
She shrugged. Smiled. "Surprise me."
His eyes darted to hers. "Are you up to Squirrel Love Slave?"
"Can't go wrong with an original," she said, shrugging again. "Which one of us is gonna be the slave?"
"We can always take turns," he suggested with a grin.
Zari nodded. "A compromise." Pause. "I like that."
Kodiak activated the program. Took a breath. "Let's go," he said, and they entered through the sliding doors. Into a dim, moist room. The windows were open. Fog seemed to be coming in. The room was a bit untidy, and there was a bed. A creaky bed.
"Isn't very romantic, is it?" Zari said, frowning.
"Well, I don't think ... love slaves," Kodiak said, looking around, "Have it ritzy, you know?"
Before Zari could answer, two holographic squirrels, part of the program, came through a wooden side-door. The biggest one was carrying paw-cuffs, rope. Toys. The smaller one wore no expression.
"Who are you?" Zari demanded.
"Your buyers."
"Buyers, huh?"
"Get on the bed," said the smaller squirrel.
"Why?"
"Computer," said Kodiak, interrupting. "Delete characters."
The two squirrels vanished.
"Why'd you do that?" Zari asked. "Weren't you curious about what they were gonna do to us?" She smiled.
"I didn't know that aroused you."
"What?"
"Submission."
She shrugged, looking around.
"Wanna try a different program?" he asked her.
She sat on the bed. It creaked. It was soft, and it sank. And it creaked. She shrugged again. "Might as well stick with this one."
"Yeah?"
She nodded, smiled. Slipping out of what she was wearing.
He took a breath. Exhaled. Which swirled the fog and the dust. Rain could be heard outside. And crickets, too.
"This is obviously," Kodiak observed, sitting on the bed. "Obviously, this shack here ... is in the middle of the forest." While he talked, she gingerly undressed him.
"I bet a lot of seedy things have happened in this room." Pause. "Literally."
He shook his head and smiled. And heard a click, looking down to his paws.
"Gotcha," she teased.
"You've cuffed me," he said.
She teasingly pushed him back, and then crawled on top of him. "You can't get away now."
"I bet I could."
She smiled, reaching over. And tying a blindfold around his head, covering his eyes. She smiled, telling him, "There's a whole box of gadgets over there."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she whispered, getting off the bed, bringing back some of the items.
She pushed his legs upward.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You'll find out."
He gave a sudden squeak, taking a sharp breath. As she jabbed a false squirrel cock into his tail-hole.
"Good?"
He squirmed a bit.
She shoved the toy deeper. And left it.
"You okay?" she whispered, lips on his nose.
He nodded. "Yeah," he whispered.
"Maybe," she whispered back, licking his lips, "I should tie your foot-paws together, too. You might try to escape."
"If you tied my foot-paws, I wouldn't be able to do this."
She was about to ask him what, when she gave a surprised squeak. He wrapped his legs around her back, his foot-paws clamping down on her tail, caressing its sensitive fur. Her tail twitched.
She kissed his nose, which twitched. She nipped at his whiskers before settling to his lips. They kissed and sucked for several minutes. Licking and lapping and squeaking airily.
"Un-cuff my paws," he told her.
"Why should I do that?" she whispered, kissing the fur on his neck.
He rubbed and bumped his chest against her breasts. "They're of better use to you ... unrestrained."
"Are you?" she whispered with a smile. She tilted her head. "Yeah, but you're a squirrel. You're nimble. Surely, the cuffs don't hamper your style." She giggled. "You're supposed to be a love slave, remember?"
"You want me to beg?"
She nipped at his firm sheath, going down on him.
He squeaked.
She nipped again, trying to coax his member out. And when it did slip out, it slid into her waiting mouth. Onto her tongue.
He sighed and whimpered, his legs still rapped around her back, foot-paws massaging her tail.
She began to suck. She closed her eyes and sucked, her saliva dribbling from her mouth. A slurping sound could be heard.
Kodiak's furry chest began to rise and fall faster. Blindfolded. Paws cuffed.
Still tasting him, Zari allowed a paw to go down to the toy in embedded in his tail-hole. She began to shove it in and out.
He squirmed.
She went faster. And lapped her tongue across the head of his member.
He squeaked, writhing helplessly. His bushy tail twitched, brushing at her. She got the hint, spreading her legs. Allowing his furry tail to slip beneath and between them, where it brushed up against her sensitive spots. Probing her. She tilted her head back and sighed, closing her eyes. And then, adjusting to the friction his tail provided, returned to her task.
She humped his tail-hole with the toy. Bobbed her hot, wet mouth and paw down on his member. And his tail rubbed her. And he, being nimble as all squirrels were, managed to bend his knees and get a foot-paw to bump and nudge her furry folds.
They squirmed together, tangled. Their fur was flushed.
And she suddenly felt a pulsing, a pounding from his member. It was steaming hot and letting go. Spitting its store of seed into her mouth and throat. She closed her eyes and moaned, starting to finger herself with a paw. Hard. While he rubbed her with his foot-paws. It took a minute or so before she hit her own climax, but it was worth it. She sighed and slumped forward, blinking, trying to clear her vision. Her mouth was full of seed. It dribbled from her mouth. She coughed once or twice. On all fours on the bed and panting. He whimpered, still tied up. She nodded at him and carefully took the toy out of his tail-hole, tossing it aside. And then undid the cuffs, and ...
Chirp-chirp.
She hung her head and growled. And then took a deep breath. And then another. And then she swallowed what was left in her mouth, clearing her throat, and responding to the comm-signal with, "What?"
"Ma'am ... "
"Lal, I told you," she started.
"They're here."
Zari licked her lips. Nodding (even though Lal couldn't see the gesture). "Alright. I'm on my way." She exchanged a look with Kodiak. And gave a warm smile. "Well ... " She shrugged. "Duty calls. You better prep the shuttles." Her smile faded. "This plan needs to work."
He nodded, leaning forward, kissing her.
She nuzzled his nose, hesitant to pull away. But she did, rapidly getting dressed.
Zari strode into Ops.
"Over thirty ships."
"Thirty, huh? I thought there would be more." She stopped, sighing. "Alright," she said, turning around. "Everyone knows the drill?"
"We lure the fleet close. We offer our surrender. They swarm us. When they begin to stop and dock with us, we set the self-destruct. As they board, we flee to the planet. When the station goes, if they're all within range, it'll take out the entire fleet."
"And if it doesn't," Zari said, nodding. "It'll cripple them, at least. Their new invasion will be on hold. Hopefully for another ten years." She didn't sound confident as she said that, but ... what else was there? And she loathed destroying this station, but ... either the N'Kiri would destroy it, in a firefight, or the squirrels themselves would destroy it. Hopefully, while the N'Kiri were lurking in the front row.
A beep-beep.
"They're hailing," said Lal. "It's Seel."
Zari made a face. "Put him up."
The wasp's familiar face popped up on the viewer. "Ah, Captain. Old friend."
"We got your mouse, Seel. He's doing fine, by the way. No thanks to you. Oh, and we found ... found a little tracking device on him." She squinted her eyes.
"Most useful, yes. Your station has a powerful shield generator. However, we now have the codes to ... "
"You think you're going to conquer Earth with thirty ships?" she asked.
"We have more," he told her, leaning toward the viewer, "Ships. However, one step at a time, Captain. One step at a time. It's vital we fortify your station."
"We've already alerted Earth as to your intentions. They'll be ready for you."
"We've had ten years to prepare. We've ... "
"You're going to destroy us, then?"
"Your station?" He made a mock face, considering. "That all depends. We would rather take it intact."
"And if we fight you?"
"We'll have to build a new one."
She sighed for show. "Well, I guess you've left us no choice ... we surrender," she said, as if agonizing over the decision.
"A wise move. You will be docked and boarded, and all of you," he said, "Will be taken as prisoners of the N'Kiri."
"How wonderful," said Zari, deadpan.
"And you ... shall be one of my prisoners, Captain. We shall have long talks."
"Talks," she said, nodding, squinting her eyes.
"Prepare," he said, "To be boarded."
The channel was cut.
"Gag me," said Ketchy.
Zari looked to her. "Tell me about it," she whispered. And she sighed. "Is everyone at the shuttles?"
"Everyone but us," Malcolm said, referring to the Ops staff.
Zari nodded. "Computer," she said aloud, looking to the ceiling, and then looking to the floor. Her nose and whiskers twitched. "Self-destruct sequence. Authorization pi-one-zero-zero. Arm. Set for five minutes. Mark."
"Voice and password confirmed. Self-destruct set."
"Five minutes?" asked Ketchy, concerned.
"It'll give us barely enough time to reach the shuttles and jet away from here, and it will give the N'Kiri no time to react," Zari said. "Let's go," she went, nodding.
They all scurried to the lift. Zari was the last one in, lingering. She hated destroying this place. "Aloha 'oe," she whispered, looking at the familiar architecture, the lighting, the ... the memories that were there.
The lift whooshed downward.
The shuttles, carrying all 112 squirrels and one mouse, swerved and zoomed out and away from the station. Punching down into Orcada's atmosphere. The N'Kiri ships, like wasps, were circling and settling upon the station ... when it blew. Tearing metal, collapsing, exploding outward, sending out a fire-like shockwave, which blinked and then expanded, taking a good half of the N'Kiri ships with it. Sending them careening into each other, exploding, buckling. A few escaped unharmed, but they veered this way and that, as if dazed.
Invasion had been averted. For now. And at the price of sacrificing Earth's only outpost along the N'Kiri border.
When they had landed (on one of the islands in a temperate part of Orcada, where Doctor Chavar had done his research a week before or so), Zari spoke to them all.
"Well, we're stranded here ... for a month, at least. Until the next transport comes. Or until Earth can spare a cruiser large enough to travel the weeks-long journey to get her, or ... " She sighed and shrugged. "However, we're built for the trees, and," she said, looking around at the humongous, thick trees. "There are plenty of those," she whispered, her eyes sparkling in admiration. At the grandiose, lush scenery. "And there's edible fruits and such, so ... you better like fruit. We have the technology from the shuttles. But we need to use them sparingly. The shuttles are our only form of escape ... if the N'Kiri decide to snoop about." She didn't think they would, though. The crippling of their fleet should scare them enough. "So," she said, sighing, looking around. "We'll have to manage." She didn't know what else to say right now. She was tired.
"You think they'll build another one? Another station, I mean?"
She looked to Birch. "Yes," she whispered. She nodded. "Yeah." She tilted her head and let out a breath.
Several feet away, Rye, nose and whiskers twitching, whispered to Lal, "I can't climb trees."
"I'll help you," she whispered back. She kissed his ear.
Zari saw the exchange from the corner of her eye. She smiled. And her eyes caught Kodiak's. She smiled wider.
"Dismissed, all of you," Zari said. "Filter, explore about. Stay close, though. This island's small, but ... use good judgment."
There were murmurs, and the crowd scattered.
"You okay," Kodiak asked, coming up to her.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"You seem awfully casual. You're not acting like any of this is bothering you."
"Maybe it's not."
"I know better," he whispered.
She sighed. "Look, I don't want to think about any of it right now. There's nothing I can do. We won," she said. "I don't know what that amounts, too, but for the moment ... the N'Kiri are not an immediate threat, and we have a month," she said, taking a deep, cleansing breath, breathing the natural, moist air, "Of time. In the wild."
"Might get boring."
"I don't get," she said slowly, putting her nose to his. "Bored."
He smiled.
"Care for a walk?" she asked.
His eyes glinted. "Sure."
So, they walked.