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"Guess they found our escape pod on the second moon, just outside an Arctic fox refugee camp," Ketchy explained, repeating what she'd overheard through the comm channels. "A few miles from a downed wasp cruiser. The High Command dispatched a rescue team, but the pod was empty."

"Any idea where they went?" Kody asked, worriedly, of Field and Adelaide. Especially Field. He flopped onto the couch and glanced out the window at the snow rabbit Home-world, as well as those said moons. So deceptively beautiful. And peaceful, too. He and Ketchy were back in their quarters, again. They'd each slept a bit since last night, though separately. He'd napped in sickbay while watching over his patients, who were now in the clear. They'd both gone back on duty mid-morning, and were now on their hour-long lunch break. Things were finally returning to normal.

"They probably had to leave by foot-paw when the pod's systems failed. Wren wanted to send a shuttle down with our own rescue team, but they told him to stay put. Said they could handle it."

"They?"

"Local High Command security. Down on the moon." The squirrel paused, seeing the worry on the white rabbit's face. "Field and Adelaide will be fine. They've survived worse, right?"

"I guess so," Kody echoed, rubbing at his face and whiskers. He compartmentalized things so well, of course. But it'd been a long twenty-four hours, and even he had his limits.

"Just try and think about something else," she insisted, gently. She didn't like seeing him waver.

"Mm ... " He let out a deep breath. "Know of any good distractions?" he replied, giving her a hopeful, encouraging look. With a dash of mischief thrown in.

Ketchy unsuccessfully hid a smile, making no immediate move to indulge him. She knew what he was asking for. He was a rabbit in all the best ways, after all. "To be honest, I'm not really in the mood, Kody ... " Which was half-true. But not an outright refusal. She could be convinced ...

He whimpered cutely, pulling out all the stops. Twiddling his ears and flickering his bobtail.

"Playing for sympathy?"

"Is it working?" he whispered, batting his 'bedroom' eyes.

"Maybe," she responded, coyly. She rarely initiated sex. In some ways, she was more submissive than Field. The mouse, though never one to lead, at least gave off clear, and incredibly cute, signals when he was horny. The squirrel was much more reserved.

Kody knew this and was more than used to it. As a doctor, he had no problem considering her his patient. In need of sexual healing that only he could provide, no less! He had to fight back a silly grin. "Sixty-nine," he told her, sweetening the pot. "A slow sixty-nine. With you on top."

She cleared her throat, slowly breathing in through the nose, smoothing at her big, bushy tail with a degree of self-consciousness. That was tempting, but ... well ... " ... how slow?"

Expertly playing upon his mate's weakness for authority, he began to pull his clothes off in front of her, exposing his fit, white-furred body, promising huskily, "You'll build up so much steam, so gradually, I'll make you squirt like a geyser in the end." A breathless beat. "Now, show me that pretty pussy ... "

Ketchy buckled visibly, trembling with arousal at his tone. More submissive than not, she always responded to confidence. And she had no doubt he would fulfill his promise. She began to undo her pants.

"There's a good girl ... " Kody grinned, folding his paws behind his head and sprawling out lazily, now completely naked and waiting for her to get on top of him. No longer worrying, he could only hope Field was okay. And furthermore, that the mouse felt as good as he was about to ...

The hot, milky mineral water sloshed about, giving off visible steam as their bodies stirred it up, their pelts soaked through. The bat was straddling the mouse's lap in the shallows, bare breasts barely cresting above the surface with each wet, buoyant bounce. Their splashes echoed throughout the dim cavern, as did their raw, high-pitches noises. Field squeaked, huffing on her pretty cheek, while she let forth an echo-burst or two, turning to meet his lips. A glistening kiss, a held note in an acoustically-erotic symphony.

They'd never been in a 'hot springs' before, let alone made love in one. True, the Arctic foxes had led them here to wash off, and also to use the caves as a shortcut to the wasp ship instead of having to trudge through the surface's bitter cold, but the mouse and bat were perfectly willing to multi-task. Especially when nature was so adamant! Adelaide was no less in heat than she'd been a few hours ago. If anything, she was more so. It was driving the harvest mouse mad.

Field whined weakly, nose and whiskers tingling. He rocked his whole body against her. Close. So close! His mouse-hood sizzling like a lightning rod, he didn't bother to pace himself. The friction was too much, and he blissfully painted his mate's feminine walls, slumping against her with his maw hanging open. "Ah-h, ah ... "

Adelaide's purple eyes rolled back. She shut them, fangs flashing hotly as she moaned herself, loins a-flutter, clamping down around the mouse's essence. He gave it all, and she took it all. Her clitoris buzzed, too. Long, luscious tongue lapping at Field's chin and cheek, then attacking his lips. It wiggled its way into his mouth, eventually.

"Mm-h," he went, opening up, allowing her to explore insides of his cheeks. His paws fished about under the water, ending up on her rump. He grabbed it, squeezed it. Pulling her cheeks apart and then eased up, stroking at her rudder-tail before holding to her fertile hips.

The bat's tongue eventually pulled back, and she giggled. "That was the best bath I ever took ... "

"Adelaide," he murmured in response, voice spiked with pleasured affection.

"Mousey," she murmured back. The raging fire of need and desire had been doused once more. But, as before, it would rekindle itself. The madness would continue. And to think she was only halfway through her cycle! Of all the times for this to happen ...

"I feel a little dizzy," he murmured, water dribbling off his weighed-down whisker-tips.

"Me, too." Now that he mentioned it ...

A third voice boomed, "That's probably because you dehydrated yourselves."

The mouse and bat looked up, quickly.

Ural. The 'leader,' as it were, of the Arctic fox group that had rescued them. He stepped out of the shadows and into view, looking distinguished as usual. "Didn't mean to startle you. You'll need to melt some snow or ice and drink it. You've been sweating in that hot water. Probably more than you realize. Not to mention all the panting you've been doing. You can't lose all that fluid without taking any in."

"Thanks for the heads-up," Adelaide said, her telepathic feelers swirling about the room. She hadn't sensed him there until just now. But, then, she'd been very distracted. "Were you watching us the whole time?"

"Was I?" A toothy, mischievous grin, not answering the question. "It doesn't really matter. We could all hear you well enough to fill in the blanks." He didn't mention that some of the other foxes had taken to 'pawing' because of it. He hadn't indulged himself. He had an extraordinary amount of self-discipline. And a good memory. He'd save it for later ...

"Sorry," Field apologized, sheepishly, his delicate ears turning rosy-red.

Ural shook his head. "I've had my share of females, mouse." He let that hang in the air for a bit, like a badge of pride. "If I had a mate who was in heat, I'd be all over her, too. Perfectly natural. But," he amended, "we can't dawdle here all day. We do have a mission, impromptu as it is. I'm sure you'll agree that time is of the essence ... "

The mouse just nodded, holding closely to his pink-winged wife. He was extremely glad their bodies were mostly underwater. He didn't want the fox to see that he was still inside her. That was too intimate a sight for other eyes.

"I don't have any towels to dry you with. You'll have to drip dry. Thoroughly, too," he told them. "You don't want any part of your fur to be wet when we venture back into the open air." They could travel part of the way through these caves, but not the whole way. The wasp ship, like the escape pod, had landed in the open. "And, remember, hydrate. I'm serious."

"Thanks," Adelaide said, with a hint of impatience. She could sense he was enjoying this. Catching them in the act. He liked seeing prey squirm.

"You're welcome," the fox said, bowing and turning about, wandering back into the shadows, his white, bushy tail making him seem like he was a sly ghost.

"I can't get a good read on him," she whispered to Field once Ural was gone, lifting her hips to dismount.

"What's that mean?" Field whispered back, squeaking as he left her body.

"I think he's been mentally trained in telepathic evasion." It took months of intense training and a lot of time and energy. But it could be done. "The only reason non-telepaths would train themselves for that is if they were extremely paranoid. Or part of military security. Otherwise, it's not worth the hassle. We're the only species capable of it." Well, the wasps were, too, but that was only the Queen, herself. And it was strongly rumored that the now-extinct dragons and certain avian races had cognitive abilities ... but, for all intents and purposes, bats were the galaxy's master telepaths.

"The rogue bats had a colony in the DMZ," Field remembered. "The Arctic foxes were trying to get rid of them for a while. Ural could've been part of a task force created to hunt them down." The foxes hadn't been able to flush the rogues out on their own. They'd needed the wasps help for that. Of course, after helping them do it, the wasps had then flushed the foxes out, as well. 'Do unto others ... '

"You're probably right," Adelaide admitted. "But if he was willing to hunt down and exterminate the rogues that recently, and they're bats, and I'm a bat ... why should I feel safe around him?"

"Maybe he changed when the tables turned. Maybe he met a few bats and realized they weren't all that bad." Field, himself, had never met a bat before Adelaide, and he'd fallen in love with her at first sight. How could anyone resist batty charms? "We don't have a choice. And we're on a snow rabbit moon. If he hurts us, he answers to the High Command. We're officers of their fleet. He saw our pod. He knows that." The mouse paused to think before adding, "Maybe he also knows that, to win this war, we all have to work together. Bats aren't as big a threat to him as the wasps. There's a downed wasp ship. He needs a bat to help subdue the drones. Maybe he's just using us, but ... " Maybe you're thinking too much, Field. Over-analyzing the situation as always. "We should probably get out of the water, now. We can lay on the rocks to dry off." He stood up, almost toppling over with a splash.

"Careful," she reminded. A male mouse's blood wasn't solely being diverted between his legs during arousal, but to both his ears, as well. So, Field could get a bit dizzy, afterwards. Especially when standing quickly.

"Y-yeah ... I'm okay."

"So cute," she breathed. The pink bat stood up with no issue and wrapped him up in her wing-arms, grazing her fangs along his neck. "I wish I had the time or energy to bite you, again ... " To have such unbarred intimacy, to form a complete physical circuit? There were no words ...

"Me, too," he whispered, vulnerably. Adding, "Maybe because so much stuff has happened since it started, and we're trying to get pregnant on top of that, but this is definitely your most memorable heat ever."

"I'll say." She sighed, softly. The water was so warm, almost bubbling with heat in spots, full of helpful, soothing minerals. It was hard to leave it. But they had to. She began to nudge Field onto the rocks. "We'll have to recreate these hot-springs on the holo-suite when we get back to Luminous," she said, finally out of the water, sprawling nakedly on her back with wings extended at full span.

"Yeah. It's very romantic," the mouse agreed, laying beside her and drinking in the sight of her pink, beautiful body. He never tired of admiring her. Her wings. Her sweeping ears. Her blunt, toothy muzzle. Those breasts and those thighs and ... oh, he had to look away, though, lest he work himself up again. Her pheromones were already mixing with the moist air. It was so hard not to think about her touch. Her extended thumbs hooking around his sensitive ears, and that wily tongue attacking the lobes, and ...

A few hours later, decked out in winter gear, they were out of the caves and in the open tundra. The wasp ship was easy to spot. They approached it cautiously and made it inside, using the foxes' phase pistols to short-circuit the locking mechanism on one of the docking hatches, then prying open the heavy, metal doors wide enough to let them slip through, one by one. The interior of the vessel was dark, warm, and dry, with a slightly oily scent. Even the lights were 'hot' in color. Red, yellow, orange. There were no decorations, no carpeting on the floor. Just metal, everywhere. It was fairly intimidating.

"Now what?" Field asked, nervously, prehensile tail wavering about like a wayward rope. His eyes took a moment to adjust. "Do we just go on a rampage?" He wasn't really keen on such an idea.

"We could," Ural said, a little too eagerly.

"Wait." Adelaide squinted, her telepathic feelers grabbing hold of something. Another telepathic source. It was hard to believe, at first, but there was no mistaking it: "She's here!"

"Who?" Ural asked, looking around in confusion, powerful black nose sniffing for the enemy.

The other foxes began to growl and point their weapons.

Field swallowed, a shiver running down his spine. He answered for his mate. "The Queen."

"I'm detecting a strong telepathic presence," Adelaide confirmed, nodding at her mate. "Of insect origin. Definitely her. Has to be."

"Has she detected you?" Ural asked, tensing.

"I don't think so. Not yet. She's dazed. Distracted." A pause. "Must be injured ... " The odds of them finding the Queen were pretty low, she had to admit. Maybe it was a trick? Or maybe a twist of fate. Regardless, she wasn't going to question it. "We can't let her get away."

"We won't. She'll be easy prey," one of the other foxes declared, confidently, puffing out his chest and flagging his tail.

Adelaide gave the predator an annoyed look. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. The Queen is no doubt flanked by her best drones ... " The bat trailed off. The Queen's presence had been such a surprise, and so strong, that she'd almost missed something else: "Hold on. We're not alone ... "

"Where is it?" the same 'cocky' fox asked, ears swiveling.

"Calm down. It's not a wasp," Adelaide whispered. "It's a fur." Mammal. Female. Tough and determined. Weary. A little scared but trying not to show it. "Just ahead ... "

Ural nudged Field in the side, giving him a sly, foxy smile. "She's good," he whispered, of Adelaide. "What else can she do?"

"Um ... stuff," the mouse just mumbled incoherently, his lobes getting hot under their makeshift ear-mittens.

"Fun stuff, I'd wager ... "

"We know you're there!" a fox barked. "Come out, slowly." When there was no response, he became impatient, and growled, "Now!"

Being a diplomat, Field frowned at such tactics, taking the point and saying, in his light, gentle voice, "Let me handle this ... "

The fox crossed his arms, grumbling.

"We're not going to hurt you. We're here to help," Field called. Getting nothing in response. "We're with the High Command ... "

Finally, an ear. And another. Both of them tall and twiddling, like a rabbit's. A monochromatic body followed, attractive but battered. Her fur was strikingly silver. She was wearing a threadbare uniform and a deadly serious expression. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"We're allies. We're here to help," Field said, simply.

"Prove it." This group of furs could be nothing but another one of the Queen's illusions, telepathic projections meant to get her guard down and her hopes up. Well, she'd fallen for that too many times. But their scents were real. That was important. You couldn't telepathically fool the nose. She advanced a little closer, readying to defend herself and looking for further assurance.

"Stop right there, rabbit," one of the foxes said, threateningly.

"I'm not a rabbit. I'm a hare," she corrected with clear annoyance.

"Same thing," the fox said, dismissively.

Her scowl turned positively stormy. "Spoken like a true fox," she spat.

The vulpine bristled. "Meaning?"

"You're an arrogant bastard. Clear things up any?"

Field stuck his arms out, stepping between them. "Hey ... calm down! Both of you. Our enemy is the wasps, not each other."

"Who are you, exactly?" the hare asked, brow furrowing. "I thought I was the only fur aboard. Did they keep you on another deck?" They didn't look as haggard as she did.

"I'm Commander Field, from the starship Luminous. We crashed on this moon during the big battle. Just like you. We broke in just a few minutes ago ... "

"Luminous? Moon?" the hare repeated, squinting in confusion. "You said you were with the High Command ... not the Federation?" She'd held out some slim, delusional hope that they would finally come to rescue her.

"Ex-Federation."

"Me, too," the hare whispered, sadly.

"Then I guess we have something in common." The harvest mouse lowered his arms, extending his golden paw. "We're with the High Command, now."

"So, we're in snow rabbit space?" She looked at his paw. Took it. Shook it. And began to relax, if only slightly.

"You didn't know that?" He blinked, unzipping his coat. It felt like a desert in here.

The hare rubbed at her forehead with confusion and agitation. "You don't get tactical updates when you're a prisoner of war."

"How long have you been on this ship?" Adelaide asked.

"Six months? Longer? I have no idea." She eyed the bat, curiously. They were telepathic, right? "You reading my mind?"

"Just the surface," she admitted. No use in lying.

"How civil of you."

"You're a tactical officer," Adelaide told her, correctly.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"You'd take the same precautions in my place. We have to know we can trust you."

Field interjected, sympathetically, "I was a prisoner of the wasps, too. Not for as long as you, but I understand what it's like." He shuddered horribly at those memories. The whole incident made him stronger, but had the fear and pain been worth that growth?

"Really?" the hare challenged.

"Yes. I do," he repeated, seriously. "I understand."

"So you dream every night about wanting to murder those who hurt you? You fantasize about new ways to kill them?"

Field twitched silently at such a dark response. "Uh ... "

"Then you don't understand," the hare emphasized, coldly.

Adelaide stepped in front of her mate, flaring her wings and defending, "Look, you're not the only one who's ever suffered. While you've been locked up in here, we've been fighting an intergalactic war."

"Like you said, bat: I'm a tactical officer. I'd more than welcome a good fight. I'd rather be in the game than on the sidelines."

Field, though much appreciating his mate's protection, used his paws to lower Adelaide's wings, telling the hare, "The Queen's aboard this ship. I'm sure you're aware of that already."

"Uh-huh."

"Will you help us subdue her?"

"I'll help kill her," she amended. "And I assume, as payment, you'll take me with you when you leave?"

"We'd take you with us whether you helped us or not," Field said.

"How liberal of you," the hare quipped. "Such compassion. I guess that's what mouses are known for, huh?"

Adelaide flashed her fangs, again.

The hare was unimpressed.

Ural, growing impatient, raised his voice and said, "Enough prey chitchat! And you say us predators are irrational." He shook his head. "If we don't commence with the hunt, now, we'll be discovered. We have to strike while we have the element of surprise." He looked to the weathered hare. She must've been in her late-20's. "You know this ship better than any of us. And the bat can hone in on the Queen's location. You'll have to work together. Me and my foxes will flank you."

The hare glanced at the bat, suspiciously. Work together? "I suppose ... "

Adelaide glared back. "What's your name?"

"You mean you haven't taken it from my mind yet?"

"I'm being polite," she replied, patiently. She had, indeed, gotten it already.

"Sheila. Yours?"

"Adelaide."

Sheila wrinkled her nose, sniffing the air. "Bad time to be in heat, Adelaide ... "

"Thanks for reminding me," the bat replied, sarcastically. And for reminding the foxes, who gazed at her with renewed lust. Field, of course, needed no reminder.

"You're welcome." The hare, sadly, hadn't bred in over half a year, which simply wasn't natural for any fur, let alone a member of her species. To make it worse, every time she'd even tried to paw, the wasps had interrupted her, tying her arms behind her back, denying her self-pleasure, too. They'd found it amusing. She'd found it torturous. Needless to say, she was incredibly pent-up, almost violently so. Clearing her throat, she pushed her instincts aside. You can deal with those when you get out of here. Just a little while longer, that's all. "I'm going to start walking. I know where the Queen's chambers are. But that doesn't mean she's hiding there. You'll have to let me know if I'm hot or cold ... there are certain security systems, too, we'll have to avoid. Though most of the ship's systems are offline, so ... " She trailed off.

"Alright," Adelaide agreed.

And with that, Sheila hopped off.

Adelaide flapped after her.

Field blinked and scurried after Adelaide.

And the foxes, all grimacing at such displays of silly emotion, followed the prey.

"Orbital 9 held up pretty well, all things considered," Admiral Flint said, touring the Promenade with Aria. There was some damage here and there, of course. Repair teams were wandering about with suitcases full of equipment. Through the oval windows, work pods were inspecting the outer hull. But the station was still in one piece.

"That it did," she agreed, bobtail flickering proudly. "I hear not every station was as lucky ... " Of the nine stations above the snow rabbit Home-world, Orbital 2 lost several docking pylons. And 4 and 5 received major damage to their habitat rings. For the most part, though, the stations had been well protected by the combined snow rabbit/Arctic fox fleet. "I'm just glad it's over. And that we appear to have won."

"The key word is 'appear'. We still don't know where the Queen went. She's the final piece on the board."

"I'm sure she'll be dealt with in due time," Aria insisted, trying to remain positive. She stopped at a second-level railing, looking down at the restaurants below. They were mostly empty. Like her stomach. During times of high stress, she tended to eat very little. "I don't consider myself to be a social butterfly, but I miss the normal chatter. It's so quiet." Before the battle, the civilians had been evacuated down to the planet. They'd yet to return. A few Arctic foxes were lingering about, though, in close eye of her deputies. "What are we going to do with them?"

"The foxes?" the Admiral asked, closing his eyes tiredly. He shook his head and opened them. "Their Home-World will need new infrastructure to replace all that was destroyed by the wasp bombardment. We'll have to keep some of them here for quite a while, I'm guessing. Some of them might even request asylum, or want to join the High Command. I've even heard of a few snow rabbits mating with Arctic foxes ... "

"Seriously?" Aria quirked a brow. She was very open-minded. After all, she and Ross sometimes had 'threesomes' with Elim. But a snow rabbit mating an Arctic fox? She hadn't considered that possible ...

"I haven't met these couples, myself, but after working in close, space-based confines, with all the tension of the war, 'comrades-in-arms' becomes a literal phrase, I guess." He paused. "But they've been on their best behavior. Most of them. And we don't want to return to a Cold War status, again."

"No," she agreed. She'd had enough of wars, both cold and hot.

"We plan on hosting a diplomatic summit in a few weeks. We'll begin hammering out these issues then."

"Where? Down on the planet?"

"Yes. In the capital. We're already putting out the invitations. Us, the foxes, the Federation ... a few other, lesser governments just to avoid any hurt feelings. Post-war, the political situation is still unstable. We need to get everyone on the same page. Especially the Federation. They're the biggest government after us, but they're also the most unstable. We can't have that going forward, not if we wish to keep the peace."

"That's going to require more than a few official meetings," she told him.

"It'll take months," he agreed, "if not longer. It'll be worth it, though. As furs, we need some semblance of lasting unity, don't we? Just because we beat the wasps once, doesn't mean they won't come back for revenge in the future. And there are other threats to our kind out there. I keep hearing rumor of something called a 'human' ... "

Aria tensed a bit.

The admiral raised a brow.

"Nothing," she insisted, quickly. "I've just been on edge for too long."

"You need to get away."

"I'm too devoted to my duties to take shore leave."

"That's not quite what I meant. Though you do deserve some 'R and R'." A friendly, little smile. "I wasn't lying when I hinted there was a ship with your name on it ... "

"Naming a ship after me?" she teased. "What do I owe for such flattery?"

"You know what I mean."

She nodded. "Yes, I believe I do."

"It's called the Arctic." He let her mull over that. "It's an experimental class, first of its kind. Rushed into service because of the war. Needs some heavy shakedown. It's a powerful beast. A patrol ship." He paused, confiding, "I normally prefer tactical officers captain patrol ships."

"Makes sense." A light, restrained smile, nose and whiskers giving excited twitches. "Are you promoting me? Officially? Here, right now?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"Will you accept?"

She looked away, overwhelmed. Then back to him. Eyes glowing. "Can I choose the crew?" She wouldn't go without Ross, of course. That was a deal-breaker. And she'd like to bring Elim with them, if possible. And here were a few crew-furs from Luminous she'd like to pilfer ...

"It's customary for captains to choose their senior staffs. All the lower officers, however, will be assigned by the High Command placement office." A pause. "Your mate, of course, may accompany you, as well, enlisted or not."

She nodded, and held out her prim, snowy paw. "Then I accept."

He shook that paw in his own bigger one, giving her an affectionate, relieved look. "I was hoping you would. We need rabbits like you to get us back to full strength. Though I will miss our little chats."

"Am I being sent far away?" Her ears twiddled and her brow raised.

"In a matter of speaking." He let go of her paw. "The wasps originate from the Uncharted Territories. Most insects do. The humans are said to be from there, as well. A lot of unknown threats. Piracy is rampant there. Lawlessness. Our trade routes from our space to the Federation often get disrupted. We're already working on establishing a stationary outpost within the UT to curtail such behavior, as well as be a general lookout."

"A station?"

"Yes. Redwing. An abandoned avian outpost just outside our territory. The Federation tried to claim it once, but they got ran off. We're hoping we'll have better luck. It'd be prudent to have a ship in the area ... more than one, ideally, but with so many losses, we can only spare one for now. Eventually, you'll have friendly company. But consider yourself a deep-space presence for the High Command. You'll be like a sheriff on the frontier. One or two other ships will be within comm-reach range should you need backup."

"Sounds like a big challenge," she said, approvingly.

"Which is why I wanted you for the job. You've proven you can handle anything."

Aria puffed up, proudly, admitting, "I will miss you, as well, Admiral. You've been a pleasure to serve under."

"Thank you." A slight hesitation. "Though, selfishly, I wish that pleasure had been a little more literal."

"Of course," she breathed. "But I'm sure you have no trouble finding breeding partners ... "

"No. But, still ... " He met her eyes, wistfully. Another time, maybe. Another decade. Another life. They would certainly meet again. "I'll send you more details on the Arctic later. You won't take command for a few weeks. We still have to clean up the aftermath of this battle and have things settle down a bit. And we still have to find someone to run the station for us. No one wants to take the job. They view it as a fool's errand ... "

"I understand. Thank you for the opportunity. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." Clearing his throat, the male snow rabbit gestured to the nearest staircase. "How about a trip to the repli-mat? It's past lunchtime."

Aria nodded agreeably and gladly led the way.

"No," Sheila insisted, forcefully, as they discussed their final plan of attack. They'd closed in on the Queen's location. Surprisingly, they'd yet to be detected. Maybe the wasps were just that confident? They didn't view a few measly furs as a legitimate threat. Or maybe they were luring the team into a trap ...

"Excuse me?" Adelaide challenged.

"I deliver the kill shot."

Field cringed at such a violent term, not to mention the burning look in her eyes. Were hares really so different than rabbits? She wasn't anything like Kody or Constable Aria. Had the wasps put her through that much, or had she always been like this?

Adelaide held her ground. "I'm better equipped to fight wasps than you are. I'm telepathic."

"For me, it's personal."

"They tortured my mate," the bat emphasized, nodding at Field. "It's personal for me, too."

"Girls," Ural interrupted, impatiently. "It's cute how you think you're predators all of a sudden. But like I said: work together."

"He's right," Field said. Ural was quite reasonable for a predator. Maybe in the new Arctic fox government, he could play an important role. "I have a plan," the mouse said, thinking quickly. "I'll be the bait for the Queen. Adelaide uses her telepathy as a distraction. And Sheila circles around for the fatal blow. The foxes provide blunt-force backup when the drones realize what's going on."

"You're not bait," Adelaide insisted, worriedly.

"But I have to be," he told her. "The Queen will remember I had the Gateway knowledge. She'll know who I am. She'll want to come after me. I'm more valuable. Besides, I trust you'll protect me," he told her. He was being way braver than normal. Or maybe foolish. But he just wanted this to be over. If he could help bring that about, he would.

Adelaide brushed her telepathic feelers through his mind, lovingly, giving him extra confidence through her influence.

"Then we're agreed?" Ural said.

Assorted nods and murmurs.

"I need a weapon," Sheila said, simply. Sure, she could deliver some hardy, vicious kicks that would leave some definite bruises, but it would be nice to have an alternative.

Ural squinted and took an extra phase rifle from one of the other foxes. "Just be careful where you point it."

The silver hare didn't respond. Just cocked the weapon, took the safety off, and set it to kill. All without blinking.

Field took a deep breath, his heart beginning to hammer. It beat so hard it almost made his chest hurt. He rubbed at it, weakly. Even with Adelaide's telepathic aid, the anxiety was still intense. He was still a mouse. He gave one last look at the pink-furred bat and left the group. It was time to meet the Queen ...

Tail dangling in the air, the blue-grey meadow mouse pulled his hips back slowly, carefully, inch by inch, still rather sensitive, and then sighed as he finally slipped out of her, flopping down beside the snow rabbit, rolling onto his back. "Oh ... mm ... "

"That was some celebration," she said, approvingly, knees bent and thighs still open. Also on her back. But she'd been there the entire time. He'd done most of the work. He'd insisted upon it. She reached a paw down, fingers feeling about. "We're gonna have to change the sheets." His excess seed was leaking out of her in hot, gooey strings.

He turned his head, looking at her with dilated, adoring eyes. "Well, you got promoted. You deserved something special."

"Sweet mouse ... " She ran her fingers through his pelt.

Blushing, Ross wriggled onto his side and mouthed at her shoulder, idly fondling her breasts with his left paw.

Straightening and stretching her lithe, loping legs, the snow rabbit mewed and said, in regards to what they'd been talking about before making love, "I can't make you an actual officer. I've fabricated identification documents for you, but I don't think they'd hold up if someone from High Command went through them thoroughly enough. So, we can't put you in too high a position."

"I understand ... " He tweaked her nipple.

"Mm-h ... " She blew a breath at his nearest ear, playfully. "But there's going to be an opening for a chef. Or, at least, someone to run the mess hall. Would that be okay?"

"I accept!"

"Good. Such an enthusiastic crew-fur." She smiled, arms pulling at him. "You'll enjoy exploring space."

"I thought we were just patrolling?" he murmured, his ropy tail restlessly snaking about. He turned onto his belly and half-sprawled atop her, chin resting on her bosom.

"No reason we can't explore things of interest along our route. Phenomenon are bound to pop up, along with the occasional crisis ... "

"My main 'thing of interest' is you," he waxed, poetically.

"But you've already explored all of me," she teased.

"Have I?" he replied, lightly, giving her a tight hug. Using both arms this time. Their pelts meshed together. "I love you, Aria."

"I love you, too," she replied, a sense of incredible relief washing over her. It was more than just 'afterglow,' too. The war was over! And she was now mated and promoted. Things were looking up in every way. Maybe this is what progress felt like? Or maybe it was evolution? Regardless, she hoped it continued to happen for a long time to come ...

The mouse hesitated before rounding the corner. Don't do it. You can still go back. One of the others would be happy to take your place. But, no, he wasn't going to be a flake. Maybe, at one time, he would've been. But he was a Commander in the High Command. He'd been through much worse. Most importantly, he had a love, and she made him strong. A cliché, perhaps. But the unequivocal truth. Let's just get this over with ...

The Queen, even in her weakened state, sensed him before he came into view. A fur. A mouse? No, 'the' mouse. The one connected to the Gateways! How was this possible? Pushing aside improbable circumstance, she raised up, her antennae bending as she probed the rodent's mind. Her mandibles opened and closed, making clicking noises. Yet she spoke without words, directly into his mind: 'I don't know how it came to be, but you were a fool to return here, rodent. What are you hoping to accomplish? Are you seeking revenge for the pain I caused you?'

Field spoke in a wavering voice, fighting the urge to submissively hold his tail in his paws. He didn't answer her questions. Just gave her the facts: "Your ship is downed. The snow rabbits know you're here. It's only a matter of time before their reinforcements arrive. They'll take you into custody as a prisoner of war. Put you on trial for war crimes."

'Unlikely.'

"There's only one way out of here. Through the frozen tundra. It's over ... "

'Perhaps I have my own ships searching for me.'

"The snow rabbit fleet won the battle." He didn't know this for sure, obviously, having crashed during the peak of it. But if the furs had truly lost, he doubted the Queen would still be here. She would've been rescued by now, and the moon occupied by her forces. "They'll pick off any of your ships that comes back. Your drones abandoned you."

"If so, a tactical decision," she said, out loud, figuring he would be more intimidated by her raspy, alien voice.

He was. His ears swiveled timidly. "They're already moving on to another Queen," he goaded, trying to distract her by starting an argument. Don't stutter. Sound confident, Field. "I'm sure the princesses delighted in your failure to win the war. I hear competition to hold your spot gets pretty vicious."

"If you think the conflict between our species is over, mouse, you are mistaken. Unlike mammals, insects are of a single mind. When we want to do something, we do it. Failing on the first attempt is merely a learning experience while we prepare for the next."

"Maybe you'd save a lot of time and resources by simply getting along with us. Negotiating a settled peace."

"For millions of years, you have swatted at us, mistrusted us. It's in your instincts."

"Yet you attacked first ... "

"A preemptive measure," she insisted. "You can't be trusted."

"Your justifications are flimsy," Field said, prolonging the distraction without missing a beat. "When we learned about the Gateways, we thought of using them for exploration and travel. You thought of using them as a weapon."

"Nature designed us all to eat and kill each other. A harsh truth. But nature has no moral compass."

"No, but sentience does."

"If you were an insect, you would understand my position. Mammals have always been the dominant class. You take it for granted. And you are also a hypocrite. How many civil wars has your 'Federation' endured between its predators and prey? Isn't that based on instinctual differences?"

"But we try to get along. You're not even trying ... "

"What you control can't hurt you," the Queen said. "If we control the mammals, they cease to become a threat."

"We don't like to be controlled."

"That is rich, coming from a submissive species ... "

Field didn't respond.

"The Gateways, though. You still have their knowledge somewhere deep inside. I'm sure of it. If we'd been able to obtain it the first time, maybe we would've fared better. You may have been able to deactivate them, somehow, but that doesn't mean it can't be reversed for future use ... "

"It can't," he promised.

"We're dealing in science, mouse, not magic."

"Dragons, actually," Field replied.

"Enough discussion. You are clearly stalling for time. But why ... " Her antennae waved about, and her flimsy, gossamer wings buzzed. Her hypnotic, fragmented eyes didn't have their usual glow to them, else she would've hypnotized the mouse upon sight. She was too weak to do so. Her drones could've done it for her, but she'd been too busy arguing with him ... what was going on here ...

Field tensed and began to back up, whiskers twitching. She knew. The game was up.

"Stop him! He's not alone!"

It was then that Adelaide stepped in, pink, feminine, and not to be messed with, her wings open and fangs glinting threateningly in the low light. Using her telepathic tendrils, she drove an invisible wedge between the Queen and her drones. Without the psionic crystal, and in her ovulating state, her level of mental control was less powerful than normal. But it was just enough to be effective.

The Queen, buzzing with annoyance, mentally lashed back at her.

The pink-furred bat staggered, chittered, and closed her eyes, redoubling her attempts. She'd learned a lot of techniques from the rogues. They came in handy. The drones buzzed, confusedly, lethargically moving to take down the bat. And the mouse. Field had taken refuge behind his mate. And, behind them, growls and yips, as the Arctic foxes stormed in like a blizzard to engage the drones in combat.

Torn between the mouse and bat, and realizing her drones were probably going to lose, the Queen waited for the combatants to bump into Adelaide. The bat lost her balance, freeing a path to Field. The Queen lunged at the rodent. The Gateway information was more important than her drones' effectiveness.

The harvest mouse squeaked, twisting away, tail flailing and whiskers stiffening.

The Queen aimed her dripping, hollow stinger. "You like being pierced by things, mouse?" she taunted, of Adelaide's bites. "Maybe you'll enjoy this."

"If you kill me, you'll never have the Gateway knowledge," Field reminded her, pulse pounding in his ears.

"Oh, don't worry. I can give you enough venom to keep you alive but make you wish you were dead." Her stinger advanced, slowly. It was inches from the mouse's heaving chest.

Though trying to maintain his bravery, Field's eyes eventually watered. He began to whimper-squeak.

Adelaide, having picked herself up, made a bulrush at the vendetta-blind Queen, tackling her from behind. The wasp's stinger swung around, jabbing like a knife. It missed the bat by inches, giving her quite an adrenaline spike, and she flapped aside, keeping her invisible tendrils wavering about the room. The disoriented drones were losing to the well-trained foxes. They were almost done with.

Fed up, the Queen turned on Adelaide. "You're his mate, aren't you? Perhaps if I get rid of you, his willpower will be broken."

Adelaide squinted, raised her wing-arms, and almost dared the Queen to take her out. "Try me."

Field bounced upright, breathing hard.

The Queen knew, by now, that she was outnumbered and outgunned. But if she wasn't going to get out of here alive, at least she could take some of these damned mammals with her. Her antennae moved around. "You are fertile ... how amusing ... "

"Is that so?"

"The way your kind reproduces," the Queen continued, "is rather messy, isn't it? Unclean. Not to mention the sounds you make, the looks on your faces? Rather juvenile. And yet you do it so often. Then you get attached to the ones you do it with. That is a true weakness ... "

"Guess wasps don't fall in love," Adelaide insisted, passionately.

The Queen just scoffed, but the sound was hollow. Her drones were crumpled about on the floor. The foxes had defeated them and were waiting around the perimeter of the room, watching the insect and bat face off with a gladiatorial interest. "Will they stop me from killing you?" she wondered. "Or are they here for a show?"

"You won't kill me," Adelaide said, briefly looking past the wasp's shoulder.

"And why's that?"

"Because you won't get the chance," came a new voice. The silver hare. Sheila. Holding her entire phase rifle with one paw, she casually pushed its muzzle against the wasp's neck in defiance. "Remember me?"

"How could I forget? The prisoner. You're out of your cage ... "

"Yeah, how 'bout that," Sheila murmured, matter-of-factly. Her ears stood tall. She lowered her arm, though. And her weapon. Firing it without hesitation at the wasp's stinger, shearing it right off.

The Queen let loose a horrible buzzing noise.

Field covered his ears and turned away, shutting his eyes, too. He knew what was coming next. Sheila seemed too hardened to forgive and spare her torturer. There was no point in trying to stop her.

And, indeed, the lapine grabbed the reeling Queen's head, holding it tightly. "Apologize."

"For what? For your captivity?" Her mandibles tried to bite at the hare's paws but couldn't reach them. "The mouse hinted of peace and passion. He thought we could come to terms. He's a fool."

"I was a fool like him. In another life," the hare said, sadly. "Idealistic, open-hearted." She trembled. "I wish to God I could get that back. But you drove it out of me."

"A delusion," the Queen shot back. "I'm a telepath. You've been my prisoner long enough for me to 'know' your soul. Your heart was damaged long before we captured you." An angry buzz, adding, "If you even had one to begin with."

The hare didn't like hearing that, and she twisted the wasp's neck a bit. "Give me a reason I shouldn't I break your exoskeleton?" she breathed.

"Big-eared bitch," the Queen hissed, wriggling intensely, trying to push the hare off. She knew she was doomed, and she wasn't going to give the hare any satisfaction.

Sheila grunted, twisted, and ...

... Field winced.

Adelaide grimaced.

The foxes just looked on with primal interest.

SNAP!

Sheila, panting with adrenaline, let the Queen go. The motionless wasp slumped aside. There was a moment of silence, filled only by heavy breathing. Eventually, she glanced to her fellow prey. "You're welcome, by the way."

"For what?" Adelaide whispered, less disturbed than Field seemed to be, but clearly not liking the hare's attitude. The Queen, of course, had started a war that had killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions. She deserved her fate, didn't she? But to treat another death so matter-of-factly ... the line between right and wrong was confusedly blurred.

"For doing your dirty work for you." A pause, trying to slow her dangerously quick heartbeat. Her whole body hurt. She hadn't realized how much of a toll this captivity had taken on her until now, upon realizing it was over. "One of us had to get rid of her. Right? I took the blood off your paws. You can sleep peacefully." She cleared her throat. When it appeared she wasn't going to be thanked, she continued, "So, you taking me to your 'Luminous' now or what?"

"Guess so," the bat said, simply.

"Of course," Field echoed.

"Let's go, then," the silver hare insisted. "I've spent too much time in this fucking ship." Good riddance. Time to go get her life back. "Foxes," she went, nodding for them to follow her.

Several of them ogled her with lustful interest. She behaved so much like a vixen. And yet she was clearly prey. The juxtaposition was quite a turn-on! If Sheila noticed, however, she didn't acknowledge it. She didn't acknowledge anything on the journey out. It was very hard to do so when you were numb all over. Maybe, now, she could regain some of that feeling. Her prospects were better than they'd been a few days ago. She was free. On the outside, anyway.