FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Jake, wake up."

He slowly came awake. He was still wrapped up in Chet's cozy, warm, and furry embrace, spooned with his back to the big polar bear. Chet's body was partially over top of Jake like a big blanket and the bear had his hind leg up over Jake's legs and his fore leg holding Jake tightly to him and his chin was on top of Jake's head so that only the man's face was exposed to the cool air of the room.

Chet kissed him on top of his head and said, "Wake up, little one. There is something going on."

Jake suddenly heard three short warning buzzes from the intercom and then a brief pause followed by three more buzzes.

A female voice then said, "Prepare for acceleration, commencing in three minutes. The ship will be undergoing unusually high acceleration over an extended period. Please follow combat acceleration preparation procedures."

Chet said, "That message first came on with ten minutes to go, then was repeated again with five minutes remaining. I have no idea what is happening."

"Have there been any other warnings? Has Srythryn said anything over the intercom?"

"No. There has been no call to battle stations or any other sort of alerts. I suspect the ship is simply being pushed harder to reach its destination. It may take us considerably less time to reach my match now and I fear it will shorten my remaining time with you."

"I wish I didn't have to get up, but I suppose we should try to find out what's going on," Jake said, "I'm so comfortable right here wrapped up in your fur I could stay like this for a few more hours quite happily. How long did we sleep?"

"It is still early night. You slept only a couple of hours. I woke an hour or so ago and just lay here with you in my arms. I was thinking about the things we did earlier and where I put my tongue. The thought of it made my penis emerge from my sheath on its own. That has never happened before."

Jake chuckled and said, "It sounds like you're awakening to your own sexuality. It's a good thing."

"I think it's more than just that. It felt unexpectedly pleasant to hold you as you slept. I felt content in a way I don't recall feeling before. I feel somewhat fonder of you than would seem appropriate given the short time we've known each other and I quite enjoy the close contact."

Jake stretched and turned himself around to face Chet and wiggled upward a bit to wrap his arms around the big bear's neck and hugged him.

"You can have as much close contact with me as you want. I love it. You're so big and warm and furry and you feel amazing against my skin, but you're not homosexual, remember? We were not to hold each other or kiss in any sort of loving way. Did you actually just kiss me on my head and call me 'little one'?" Jake asked.

Chet chuckled and rolled onto his back, pulling Jake along up onto his chest exposing Jake's back to the chill air.

He wrapped his big furry fore legs around Jake and hugged him tight with one massive paw covering Jake's upper back and one down on his ass, his long neck curved so he could look down at Jake, and his large hind legs spread wide and splayed out on the sleeping mat fully exposing his crotch in the typical pose of a lounging polar bear and said, "I am not the affectionate type normally. None of the males in my race generally are, but you seem to have brought about an unexpected change in me.

"I have been lying here this past hour thinking about you, trying to figure out why it felt so good to hold you and why I wanted to do it. Do you know that in all of the time I have been with my match, we have never held each other this way? It's just not our style. We lie together against each other, but that is the extent of it. I imagine myself holding her like this and it does nothing for me. I think of letting you up now and I feel a sort of reluctance to do it. I would much rather hold on to you. You bring out a strange part of me that I didn't know existed. I think your size may actually have something to do with it. You are so small and seem so delicate to me and it makes me want to cradle you and protect you."

"I'm actually built very solidly, but I guess compared to a thousand pounds of he-bear I would seem delicate and small. Maybe you're the fatherly type and you see me as a child that needs to be cared for. Have you had children before?"

"Yes, I have sired dozens of them in my long life. Among my people the male has no involvement in the rearing of the young other than to teach the male ones how to be men and how to hunt and fish and how to provide for the females. I have never felt this sort of affection for any of my offspring. It is not that. I don't see you as a child. You are a man in all ways. Perhaps it is simply a sexual thing for me that I was never aware of before because I'd never been exposed to that side of myself. Perhaps I've never been so affectionate with females of my race before because they are too large and fat. Even though they are normally half or even a third of my size, they are still rotund and holding each other is awkward for us. You are a quarter my size and slender and you fit wonderfully well in my arms and I wish I could keep you there always. Perhaps holding you this way brings out some strange motherly instinct in me. It is the females of our race who rear the children and show them affection and love. It may even be that I've been homosexual my whole life and haven't known it because I've never been exposed to the right male before. Perhaps that is why I've never thought of sex with a female as anything other than a bodily function that must be attended to when the need arises."

The acceleration warning came on over the intercom again with one minute to go this time.

Jake pulled his head back and looked the bear in the eyes and said, "Well, if you want to explore your affectionate side more with me I would be absolutely thrilled. My old life was an empty and lonely one and I find myself addicted to close contact now. I would never get tired of being held by you like this."

Chet smiled at Jake for a moment and then he quite suddenly kissed him lightly on the lips and nuzzled the side of his face, then pulled back and smiled at him again.

Jake grinned and moved his face in and kissed the bear on the lips once more but a bit longer, then pulled back again.

Chet had a dreamy look in his eyes and his big paw moved from Jake's upper back to the back of his head and gently pulled him in as the bear put his lips to Jake's again.

Jake extended the tip of his tongue to touch Chet's lips and the bear jumped slightly beneath him, but then relaxed and his lips parted and the tip of his tongue emerged to touch Jake's.

Their dance of tongues was interrupted before it even really began when the three short warning buzzes came over the intercom again and the female voice said, "Brace for combat acceleration, commencing immediately."

Jake suddenly felt a strange swooping sensation and felt like he was falling sideways. It wasn't a powerful sensation but just enough to make him feel slightly motion sick.

"Do you feel that?" he asked.

"Yes, we're accelerating forward at a considerably greater rate, should we go out and see what's going on?" Chet asked.

"We may not need to. Computer...explain why we're accelerating faster."

There was a 'bong' and the female voice of the ship's computer said, "You do not have the clearance to be given that information."

He wasn't terribly surprised by the response. He was a civilian after all. He did know someone who certainly had the clearance though.

Jake said, "Computer...can you patch me through to Srythryn?"

There was a 'bong' and the voice said, "The captain is on the bridge. Civilians are not permitted to interrupt the captain on his duties and only officers may contact him on the bridge."

Jake said, "Well, I guess we'll have to go out and ask someone."

Suddenly there were two quick beeps and Srythryn's voice came over the intercom and said, "Chet, I know this may seem unusual, but I need you to report to the bridge immediately. Jake, please accompany him. I have instructed the computer to guide you and allow you through."

"We're on our way," Jake said to the walls.

"Thank you," Srythryn replied, and their was another beep indicating the link was closed.

"He sounds concerned. We'd better go quickly," Jake said as he got up off the bear and found his shorts and stepped into them.

Chet rolled over and got up to join him.

The door was pulsing green.

They went out into the hall and followed the green line to the elevator and got on.

"He asked specifically for me. Do you suppose it has something to do with my match?" Chet asked.

"I think it must. If we're accelerating there must be something going on at her planet. Try not to worry too much until we hear what Srythryn has to say."

"I am concerned, but not terribly worried. She will still be in the process of resurrecting and would be unaware of anything that might be happening. I feel a strange disconnect with her now. I had almost forgotten about her to be honest."

The elevator continued to accelerate and it took them on a very long trip toward the front of the ship and finally rose up again and opened onto another hallway.

They followed the green line to a door with a frame that was pulsing green.

Jake touched the frame and the door opened and they immediately heard Srythryn shouting at someone.

"What do you mean it's happened before? Why did you not inform me of this?" he asked in an angry voice.

As Jake walked into the room, followed by Chet, he saw that the person Srythryn was shouting at was Xelzix, but the small alien did not seem the least bit intimidated. He also saw Thriststris standing beside the captain and several other crocs at their stations around the bridge.

"There was no reason to inform you of it," the alien said, "The rhuxus people are somewhat new to the collective and they did not have a great deal of business with us yet nor any close ties with any other race. News of the incident there has not yet spread and we wished to keep it quiet for as long as possible for our own reasons. The events that occurred there were already under investigation with the intent of bringing those responsible to justice. That incident in no way involved the operations of this ship."

As soon as he heard the alien's voice, Jake realized it wasn't Xelzix but someone else. The voice was slightly lower and more stern and forceful. It had a completely different character to it. He looked exactly like Xelzix though.

"Well, it certainly seems to be affecting the operation of this ship now, Xaxsil!" shouted Srythryn.

"Yes, that is clear. That is why I am here speaking to you. We had another ship attempting to intercept the unknown aggressor in the rhuxus' system but they managed to exit the heliosphere and jump away before they could be reached. There was no way to track it once it jumped and we had no way of knowing where it would be going. The ship's masking field blocks all of its emissions completely and it can only be spotted visually if you already know it is there. Had we known they were involved in the incidents here and that they might be en route to this system we would have had you accelerating inward at full power to intercept them from the moment you jumped here," Xaxsil explained.

"What else can you tell me about the other world that was destroyed?" Srythryn asked.

"There is nothing more you need to know. The incident there mirrors the one here. The ship launched satellites into orbit around the planet, and as we moved in to attempt to capture one to study it they self-destructed and vaporized. We know nothing about the devices other than the fact that they were clearly of zeth manufacture and we do not know exactly what their purpose is or how they work, though we have strong suspicions that I will not share with you. They may in some way be related to the incident that occurred there earlier with the match that is currently aboard your ship. All you need to know is that the threat is a significant one, as you can see by the state of the planet."

"What of the miquanowans? Is there any chance these events are related to what happened to Jake there three months ago?" asked Srythryn.

"We cannot rule that out. We have sent a message to our envoys there and they have informed us that nothing untoward is happening yet. For all we know, that world may be the next target."

"Did they use the satellites to do this? Are they able to control the nanos with them?" asked Srythryn.

"I am not at liberty to discuss the details of what we suspect with you, but as you can see with your own eyes, the nanos on the planet have been directed to dissolve everything and everyone on its surface, turning everything into a soup of molecules. If you don't wish to see that happen again that ship must be stopped. It is because of that ship that two worlds have been destroyed already. The fate of other worlds may well rest on your ability to stop it from reaching its next destination. Due to the size of your propulsion system and your antimatter buffer, your ship is the only one that may be capable of reaching it in time and destroying it before it can escape us again."

"What more can you tell me of the ship then? I will need to know everything you know that may help me. It does not appear to be of zeth design. It looks like a very small capital ship from the collective but I'm not familiar with this model," Srythryn said.

"We do not know all of the details of its capabilities. It is a new design of the rhuxus people. Their race is stealthy and fast by nature and it appears their first attempt at designing a military vessel was influenced by that nature. They built it as an extremely fast, first-strike stealth ship. Its design focuses on maximizing thrust with a lower mass to enable it to dart in to combat situations and bring its main weapons to bear, and then dart out quickly again to keep it out of reach of other capital ships that might attempt to bring it down. It has been fitted with a masking device to make it as stealthy as possible. Any attempt to scan for it reveals only empty space. This results in automated targeting systems being ineffective against it unless they have the option to use optics alone and can get into close range and directly behind the ship. Your torpedoes should be able to lock onto it with optics, but only if the ship is under thrust.

"We would not have been able to find it were it not for the warning of its approach by the ark ship in orbit around the planet. They spotted the massive warhead launched at the planet from the stealth ship and they tracked backwards from the warhead to see where it launched from. Their telescopes detected an odd bending of the light coming from some of the stars. It appears the ship is coated on the outside with the same display technology used on the inside of most ships and it uses it to display an image of whatever is behind it, making it essentially invisible if standing still. They've even constructed it with a physical cowling extending well past the rear of the ship to cover the bright cones coming from the plasma thrusters. The cowling also displays what's on the other side of the ship so there is no way to see even the thrust cones except from directly behind and only if it's under thrust. The reason the ark ship orbiting the planet was able to locate it is because as the stealth ship moves, the stars come in at the edge and follow the curves of the ship causing them to dance slightly. Their ship's computer spotted the anomaly.

"Once they alerted us, we focused and zoomed the Slirkstrith's scopes and scanned the area. It took some time but we were finally able to locate the ship. It was already moving away from the planet at high acceleration just after the world, and the ark ship orbiting it, were both dissolved. Whoever is in that ship, they are the cause of this horrendous act and it is up to you to stop them, as we are unable do it ourselves."

Jake and Chet looked at each other at the news of the destruction of the ark ship. Chet's match was in the process of being resurrected aboard that ship. It looked as though she was going to have to start the process all over again at some other resurrection site. It sounded like her entire world had been dissolved as well.

"What do you mean you are unable to stop them? Are you telling me that the people aboard that ship are somehow out of reach of the Lawkeepers? Can you not use their nanos to stop them?" asked Srythryn.

"We have no readings from any nanos aboard that ship. None of its crew are transmitting and no surface of the ship has any nanos working it. There are no transmissions from the ship of any sort on the QECH system or we would be able to intercept them at the hub. Somehow they have managed to manufacture a ship completely free of nanos and crew it with individuals who also have none in their bodies. With the lack of any sort of QECH communication emanating from it combined with its masking device, the Watchers are completely blind to their activities and the Lawkeepers cannot use the nanos to bring them to justice. This is a disturbing and dangerous situation and it likely indicates these people have taken sides with the zeths. The threat is unprecedented. The ship must be destroyed outright, and those that remain of their race will be interrogated and dealt with severely."

"Those that remain?" Srythryn queried.

"The other planet that was destroyed before this one was that of the rhuxus people who built that ship. There has been a civil war raging on that planet for some time between a faction that wanted to break away from the collective and those who wished to remain. A similar uprising had recently begun on the planet in the system we're in now and we've heard rumblings of the same thing beginning on the miquanowans' world. Since the stealth ship is of rhuxus manufacture we can only assume that the breakaway faction is in control of it. The entire rhuxus race is gone other than two ark ships that were in other parts of the universe. We lost contact with all nanos in both of those ships around the same time as their planet was destroyed so we assume that the ships were destroyed as well."

"Have you begun the process of resurrecting all of those people that had contracts who were lost on the two worlds and the ark ships?" Srythryn asked.

Xaxsil said, "As I said before, the threat to the First Ones is unprecedented and we must take all necessary precautions to protect ourselves. Both of the worlds affected were undergoing political upheaval related to factions who wished to break from the collective and we suspect that had something to do with all of this. For the time being, we will not be resurrecting any of those who died on either planet's surface who had the insurance as we cannot know which ones may be involved in this conspiracy. We will not be resurrecting any of those aboard the ark ships either.

"The people of the planet in this system have an ark ship elsewhere in the universe as well and we have been attempting to contact it but have not been able to raise it. It is likely gone as well. All of the nanos on the surfaces of those planets suddenly stopped transmitting just after they'd started the process of dissolving the worlds. Right after the nanos stopped transmitting, the zeth satellites self-destructed, so once again we will not be able to collect one to study it."

"The nanos stopped transmitting? Are you suggesting the zeth have somehow figured out a way to block your communication with the nanos as well as controlling them themselves?" Srythryn asked.

The diminutive alien stared at Srythryn for a moment and then said, "I am not at liberty to discuss the details of what the technology may be capable of. Until we can get a better understanding of what is going on we are also suspending all resurrections for those whose nanos stop transmitting unless we have definitive proof of them being vaporized."

Jake and Chet looked at each other again. Their own deaths were as a result of their nanos simply stopping the transmission of the changes to the synapses of their brains. If the First Ones had come to this decision earlier, neither one of them might be alive now but frozen in limbo with their minds locked up in some memory bank somewhere.

"What about Chetichwal's match? She was in the process of being resurrected aboard the ark ship that was in orbit around the planet. Her death happened under those circumstances. Will she not be resurrected now that the ark ship was destroyed?" Jake asked.

The alien looked at Jake and then looked back at Srythryn and asked, "Are you allowing civilians on to your bridge now?"

"You forget that you are essentially a civilian as far as the command of this ship is concerned, Xaxsil. Answer his question or you'll simply hear it repeated from my own lips and you will answer it then, or our conversation will end," Srythryn warned.

The alien shrugged and continued to speak directly to Srythryn as he said, "She is no exception. We would be overloaded if we tried to resurrect all of those whose nanos have gone silent on those worlds and in the ark ships. If we do not get a clear signal of death from functioning nanos, the individual will not be resurrected until we can definitively ascertain the reason for their death. We will revisit individual cases in future but for the time being all resurrections are suspended for any that die as a result of their nanos ceasing communication.

"These events reveal a threat greater than any we've faced before and we will be brutal and decisive in our efforts to eliminate it before it spreads. A massive force of collective ships has contained the majority of the zeths that remain outside of their own galaxy to the heliosphere of a red giant star. We have requested all members of the collective to send their most powerful capital ships to join the others and when a sufficient force has gathered we will crush the zeths once and for all and eliminate their presence from our space. This ship is an even greater threat than all of the other zeth forces combined though. Our main concern now is stopping that rhuxus ship from leaving this system. If that ship escapes it is conceivable that, over time, it could bring about the dissolution of all of the worlds in all of the galaxies in this super cluster rendering our entire known universe into a mass of grey sludge."

"If that ship has the power to control the nanos then you are asking me to risk the Slirkstrith and all souls aboard! They could dissolve this ship as easily as they did those planets and the other ark ship!" Srythryn shouted.

The alien stared at the captain for a moment and looked as though he were trying to decide how much information to give away, though it almost looked to Jake as if he were trying to come up with a convincing enough explanation to stir Srythryn to action. Jake found himself wondering if there was some critical piece of information that the alien was not divulging for some reason.

Finally Xaxsil said, "The field emanating from the zeth satellites appears to be a form of radio and as such it is unable to pass through active shields. So long as you keep your shields up, they cannot do anything to this ship. If they wanted to dissolve this ship, they would have to use an external device and it would have to pass through your shields somehow. If their ship launches any sort of device at us you will need to ensure that it doesn't reach the Slirkstrith. Beyond that we will have to take our chances."

Srythryn said, "They somehow managed to dissolve that ark ship in orbit around the planet! All ark ships keep their shields up at all times! How did they manage to dissolve that ship? I can't help but feel there's something important that you aren't telling me about their technology. How do you expect me to operate effectively without all of the information I need?"

Xaxsil began to look angry and he said, "We will provide you with what information we feel is warranted and no more. The details of what their technology can do are of no concern to you at this time. You must understand the level of the threat to our entire universe. If that ship escapes we cannot know which world it will visit next. They may bring about the destruction of dozens, or hundreds, or even thousands of planets before they are finally stopped. How many worlds are worth the lives of the people aboard this ship? Would you let hundreds of billions of people fall in order to protect the few here? You must do everything in your power to stop them. As for placing your entire ship at risk, you know full well what your contract with us requires of you and I need not tell you that, should you renege on the agreement, we Lawkeepers will take action and the consequences would be dire. Until this threat is eliminated your ship will do whatever we require of it!"

Srythryn's shoulders stiffened and he said, "I am well aware of what the agreement entails. The First Ones may direct us to aid them in any way required of us during emergency situations but that does not mean you may command this ship. I am still its captain and I will decide the best course of action to achieve what you ask."

"Decide quickly then," Xaxsil barked.

Srythryn paced back and forth for a few seconds and then said, "Theirs is not an ark ship and as such they are able to accelerate at a much greater rate than us and we may not reach them in time as it is. We cannot allow them to reach interstellar space. They will not need to charge for a jump as their antimatter buffer would contain more than enough energy for an extremely short jump even after the long race to the edge of the heliosphere. They need only jump half a light year in any direction to elude us and their masking device will prevent us from locating them again if they sit still. They'll have the luxury of charging a more significant jump to any destination then. We cannot risk them outrunning the Slirkstrith. Even under combat acceleration combined with all of the speed we've already built during the few weeks we've been accelerating in this system it will take us almost a week to reach them. It's pure luck that their vector is at a right angle to ours so we need only change course slightly to try to intercept them. I will not risk emergency acceleration levels as that would mean the end of all life in the jungles and oceans and would still not guarantee we would reach them in time. I would also prefer to keep the Slirkstrith out of range of any device they might attempt to use to dissolve her.

"The only logical course of action is to launch smaller ships forward to try to catch them. We will continue to use combat acceleration to get the Slirkstrith to the edge of the heliosphere as fast as possible, but our only hope of actually catching that ship is likely to rig our Juggernauts for a long range strike and send them out at maximum burn to intercept the ship. The heavy fighters will be able to accelerate at a significantly higher rate than the Slirkstrith and can reach the rhuxus ship within a few days. We will have to send out a strike force armed with heavy antimatter torpedoes with optical targeting systems to attempt to at least disable the ship so that we may catch them with the Slirkstrith. At the very least, the Juggernauts should be able to force the rhuxus ship to divert a great deal of its power to its shields and that will decrease their acceleration significantly giving the Slirkstrith the edge she needs to catch up to them. I will lead the force myself. The Slirkstrith will continue to push as hard as possible to try to take them down with the main cannon before they can jump. She will need to get in close since we'll have to target manually. With luck we may be able to take them out without coming into range of their nano-controlling devices."

"The details of how you do it are of no concern to me. We know that you are a capable commander. That ship must be stopped at all costs. If you eliminate it, then you eliminate a threat that may otherwise eventually affect the entire collective, and even your own home world. I trust that you will do everything in your power to succeed," Xaxsil said.

"I will do as you require but I would prefer that you leave my bridge and return to the section of the ship set aside for your people. I will be removing your access to all other sections of the ship for the time being and will remove all access to your section except for officers of my crew. I would like all of the First Ones to stay within your area until this threat is dealt with," Srythryn said.

The alien said, "Understood. I will return there at once. We will be monitoring the situation closely and I will contact you if we require you to change this ship's tasking."

Without another word the alien turned and left the room.

Srythryn shook his head and sighed heavily, and then he said, "Thriststris, bring us to battle stations. Computer...ship wide broadcast, record and repeat three times with alert status."

There was a 'bong' and then Srythryn spoke clearly and loudly and said, "All hands to battle stations. I want Blue, Green and Gold Juggernaut squadrons manned and readied for extreme long range strike loadouts. Optical torpedoes only. We will launch in ten minutes. Gold squadron will be with me. I want light fighter squadrons at the ready. Gamma and Delta Rapier interceptor squadrons will launch immediately and take forward defensive positions. The XO will provide tasking details. Computer...end communication."

There was another 'bong' and then a klaxon blared several times over the intercom followed by the captain's recorded message and the whole thing repeated three times.

Srythryn turned to Chet and Jake and said, "I am sorry that you had to witness that. Xaxsil is the representative of the Lawkeepers. He barged in here after I called you both to come. It was my intention to more gently break the news to Chet. In case it is unclear, the ship that your match was being resurrected on has been destroyed. More importantly, the entire surface of her planet has been destroyed. It is a horrific event beyond anything I've ever seen. I am very sorry Chet, but given the current state of affairs, your contract may well be in jeopardy. I recommend you continue with your plan to challenge the certification test for the Juggernaut. It would be my honor to take you on as a member of my crew along with Jake.

"Jake, do you recall the discussion we had about the favors when you first came to our home? It appears your pessimism was well placed. The favors have broken down absolutely everything on the planet and the ark ship orbiting it including every person, plant, building, stone, mountain and even body of water. Everything has been reduced and combined into a grey colored sludge distributed across the planet's surface. An entire world wiped out in a matter of hours. It is truly horrendous and the prospect of it happening again is terrifying. That ship must be stopped at any cost. There is no time to lose and I must be off immediately. Chet, I ask that you please take care of Jake for me and keep him company until I return."

Chet nodded.

The captain then turned to Thriststris and said, "You are in command. Your priority is to get the Slirkstrith's cannon in range as quickly as you possibly can. Keep some fighter interceptor squadrons out in front at all times in rotation. Should that ship attempt to launch anything towards the Slirkstrith they must intercept and destroy it before it reaches her. Keep the ship at battle stations and keep patrols out until this is over. We can't be sure that there is only one stealthed ship in the system."

Thriststris nodded and saluted.

Srythryn turned to Jake and gave him a hug, "I must leave you now, my love. It will take me three to four days to reach that ship and destroy it. The Slirkstrith will pick us up a day or two following that."

Jake asked, "Will we still be going to Komakwa's planet? This movement of his sounds a lot like the breakaway faction that the Lawkeeper mentioned. If what happened to me there is in any way related to what happened to Chet and his match, and if it all ties back to this ship that's able to dissolve entire worlds, isn't it possible Komakwa and his people are at risk too?"

"Yes, it is possible. Should the ship elude us we will head there immediately in case that is where they go next. None of this makes sense to me to be honest and I am not comfortable with Xaxsil's somewhat cagey reaction when I try to get more information out of him. If these people simply want to break away from the collective, what reason would they have to destroy their own worlds? I can't help but wonder if the zeths might be somehow manipulating or controlling them, and using them to achieve their own goals.

"There is no time to think about it now, though. Try not to worry too much about it. There is nothing more we can do at the moment other than to focus on that ship. If it manages to elude us it will be our top priority to go to Komakwa's world and further investigate this movement of theirs and try to discover if they are connected to these events. His world is close to a thousand light years from this one. We can make it in one jump but that small rhuxus ship would require several. We can be there well ahead of them."

Jake nodded and kissed the big croc and said, "Be careful out there. I love you."

Srythryn smiled and said, "I love you too, my sweet man. Don't worry about me. Use the next few days to work hard in the simulator and we will do a bit of dogfighting when I return so I may see how much you've progressed."

Jake smiled and nodded.

Srythryn turned back to Thriststris one last time and said, "My ship is in your hands."

The captain then turned and left the room.

Thriststris turned to Jake and said, "It's good to see you again, Jake. I wish it was under better circumstances. I want to apologize for what happened to you at the water park. I should have been more careful. I was reckless and Srythryn paid the price."

Jake said, "It wasn't your fault. It was just an accident. I never blamed you and neither did Srythryn."

Thriststris smiled and said, "Well, I certainly blamed myself. I've been doing all I could to make it up to the captain, and look where it got me? The lives of everyone on board this ship are now my responsibility. If you'd asked me six months ago if I ever wanted this I would have asked if you were crazy. I feel intense pride that he trusts me with this and I will prove his trust well placed."

"What exactly happened out there?" Jake asked.

"The details are coming from the Lawkeeper. They told us about it after it all happened so we didn't see any of it for ourselves. He tells us the rhuxus ship came in to the star system stealthed and as it approached the planet it launched some sort of massive missile ahead of it. It was spotted by the ark ship that was in orbit. Before they could react, the missile broke up and twenty-four small satellites powered their way into orbit around the planet. Minutes later all communication with the planet and the ark ship was lost and within hours everything was dissolved by the favors ripping it apart at the molecular level. The satellites then vaporized themselves using their own antimatter power cores to leave no evidence behind.

"The Lawkeeper was cagey about it but it seems obvious to me that the satellites are some sort of zeth technology designed to take control of the favors and use them as a weapon. It's a terrifying prospect. There aren't a whole lot of zeths left outside of their own galaxy and now that they've destroyed the worm gate they can't bring in more, but it wouldn't take a whole lot of them to finish us off with that kind of technology. By using the favors of the First Ones as a weapon, they could ultimately wipe us all out if we can't stop them soon."

"Do you think the Slirkstrith will have any chance to be able to catch the rhuxus ship?" Jake asked.

"I can't say for sure yet, but things have played out somewhat in our favor. We've been accelerating inward for almost a month so we've built up a tremendous speed. The rhuxus ship didn't appear to be aware of us yet when they began to accelerate outward. They were heading at close to a right angle to our direction. They can't divert now or it will take them even longer to get to the edge of the heliosphere. They haven't been accelerating long so our speed is far greater than theirs. We have changed our heading to place it at the point at the edge of the heliosphere that the rhuxus ship is heading for. With luck we will intercept them before they reach it so we can prevent them from jumping away. With our increased acceleration combined with our existing speed it will take us only five days or so to make it back to the edge. With their far superior acceleration they may still beat us if the captain's strike force can't slow it down at least. I have never seen a vessel of that size with that much thrust. It was clearly built for speed."

"So the Slirkstrith can travel a lot faster than it normally does?" Jake asked.

"You need to think more in terms of acceleration than speed. Yes, we can sustain a rate of acceleration ten times greater than we normally do, combat level, but we avoid it for multiple reasons. The main one is that we are an ark ship and there is a great deal of life aboard that depends on normal conditions to thrive. The low amount of acceleration we normally use is almost completely unnoticeable, yet because it's constant we can still build up significant speed over time. Higher acceleration can get us where we need to be much faster, but it can actually be felt and will somewhat stress the life in the jungle and oceans, as well as making things more unpleasant for us. Also, given the Slirkstrith's mass, the amount of fuel it must consume to accelerate at such a high rate is exorbitant. It also stresses the thrusters to the point that their useful life would be drastically reduced and the ship would have to go to dry dock to have them replaced much sooner than otherwise at another exorbitant cost and taking her out of commission for months.

"We will definitely see an improvement in our speed within the heliosphere as a result though. If we were to always operate at these levels of acceleration the three month trip from the edge of the heliosphere in this system to the main world would be reduced to just over ten days. The ship can actually accelerate at an even greater rate equivalent to fifty times normal, emergency level, but it would require evacuation of the people to our emergency section and it would result in the death of all life in the jungle and oceans. We would only use emergency acceleration if the ship itself and all of the people aboard her were on the line. Now that we're operating under the orders of the First Ones, they will cover the increased cost as per our agreement with them, so we'll use combat power until this crisis is past and then return to normal as soon as possible.

"You may find yourself getting a bit of motion sickness over the next while because your body will constantly feel itself being pulled to one direction slightly like the floor is tilted. The medical bay can help you with that. The ocean wave generator will be shut down and the swell wall will be raised. The ocean tide will be high enough to reach the door of your house otherwise. I'm afraid you won't have much of a beach view until this is all over, and the water park will be shut down as well."

Jake shrugged and said, "I'm not allowed to go to the water park anyways. At least not until I get certified and become a member of the crew with the insurance of return."

Thriststris smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess it's best to stay away from the water park. Srythryn told me about your idea to become a member of the crew. That's awesome, Jake. You'll be one of us, and I'll be able to order you around and get you to do anything I want."

Jake grinned and said, "I've found I like taking orders now and then. It could lead to some interesting times in the zero-g playroom."

There were snickers all around the bridge and Thriststris shouted, "As you were!" and then he grinned at Jake and winked.

"Should I be worried about Srythryn? Will the Juggernauts have a chance against that ship?" Jake asked.

"It's never safe to go into battle, but that ship doesn't look like it's meant to get in a real fight. It's designed to strike from stealth and run away. It's not as big as a normal capital ship. It's not even big enough to launch more than a few light fighters. It was built lean and light, for speed. It might have a decent main gun, but that kind of weapon is intended for large corvettes and capital ships. Fighters are too fast and maneuverable to be targeted by it. I just don't see how that ship could stand a chance against three squadrons of Juggernauts with full torpedo loadouts. That's thirty six ships with four antimatter heavy torpedoes each. That's way more than enough power to strip her shields and vaporize her several times over. I suspect Srythryn didn't want to leave anything to chance so he chose to go with overkill. Don't worry. If the captain reaches that ship before it can jump, it's toast. If they can't reach it before it jumps then we'll pick them up at the edge of the heliosphere. Even once he's taken care of that ship, we still won't know if there are any other ships just like it out there in the universe somewhere. It's a frightening thought. In any event, you can trust that Srythryn will be back in just five days or so, then we'll figure out what to do next."

Jake nodded and said, "Thanks. That makes me feel better. I guess we should get off the bridge and let you guys do your stuff."

"I'll keep you apprised of everything that happens, Jake, don't worry. I know Srythryn wouldn't want me leaving you in the dark."

"Thanks. I'll see you around," Jake said.

He and Chet went back out in to the hall and began to walk back to the elevator.

"It's late and I guess it's time to go to sleep. I'd really rather not be alone right now. Would it be alright if I came back to your quarters?" Jake asked.

Chet smiled and said, "Of course. I can think of nothing I'd like more."

They got on the elevator and Jake directed it back to the shipping bay and it sunk into the floor and started the journey.

"How are you feeling, Chet? It can't be easy, knowing your match is in limbo right now. I assume once this all gets straightened out they'll bring her back. I don't see how they couldn't. They're under contract."

Chet shrugged and said, "I would have been upset a day ago if I'd gotten this news then. Now that I've met you I find myself losing interest in the match. If Srythryn is serious about his offer to allow me to join his crew, I might consider doing that. I would prefer to spend my time here on this ship rather than return to my mundane life. My match is a wonderful female and I feel bad that she is being treated so, but as you say, they have no choice but to bring her back eventually as they are under contract. The way I feel now though, I think that when they do bring her back, I will ask that my contract be canceled and I will stay here. It is where I would rather be."

Jake smiled and said, "That would be wonderful. You're a terrific guy and I would love it if you would stick around."

"That is good to hear because, to be honest, you are the reason I would stick around. I have never felt drawn to anyone, not even my match, the way I am to you. I feel that with you in it, my life would be more than just simple existence and would actually feel more like a worthwhile pleasure."

"I feel drawn to you too. I know what you mean about life seeming like nothing more than existence. Before I was picked up for the match, my life was pretty empty and meaningless too. I'm flattered and thrilled that you like me enough to see me as a reason to stay here."

"I do like you, a great deal. I can't wait until tomorrow when we go back into the simulator because I also very much like to kick your butt," Chet said and he winked.

Jake grinned and said, "It seems to me just a couple of hours ago you showed you also like to lick my butt."

Chet smiled and said, "Yes, I will admit I've acquired a taste for it. I wish this stupid elevator would go a bit faster so I could have another go at it."

"You don't have to wait so long. Let's see what you do with this scenario," Jake said and he turned around and dropped his shorts and thrust his ass towards Chet's muzzle.

"You are now facing Jake's Moon. What is your solution?" Jake asked.

The bear stuffed his muzzle right into the crack of Jake's butt and took a long sniff and jokingly said, "Ahhh, yes, that's the stuff."

He then extended his long tongue right between Jake's legs and under his balls and proceeded to lick all the way back over his scrotum and up to his anus and beyond to the tail bone. He licked again and again becoming more aroused at what he was doing.

It had just been a gag at first but Chet could feel his erection begin to slip from his sheath already as he tasted the man's most private region and was carried away by the strong attraction he felt to Jake's natural pheromones.

Chet began to lick the man's sphincter with abandon, rubbing his tongue along the ridges and salivating at the taste.

He groaned and thrust his tongue once more at Jake's pucker and pushed hard to force it in. Jake relaxed and let him through and reveled in the wonderful sensation of the warm, wet tongue as it invaded his rectum.

Chet moaned and put his front paws on Jake's butt cheeks and pulled them apart to try to open him up even more and jammed his tongue in as hard as he could and as deep as it would go.

The two were so into what they were doing that they didn't notice the elevator slow down and rise up to floor level again.

The doors opened just as two crew members came to board it. Their eyes popped wide open and grins spread across their faces as they saw Jake bent over with his hands against the side of the elevator and the massive white bear behind him doing everything he could to try to shove every inch of his tongue up Jake's backside.

The two were moaning and Jake was squeezing his anus to clamp it hard onto Chet's tongue while the bear slowly pulled it out and then pushed it back in again to get another taste.

They went at it for a while before Jake finally opened his eyes with a start when he realized they were being watched by the two crocs who were grinning and rubbing at their own growing erections through their shorts.

He pulled his ass forward right off of Chet's tongue and the bear whimpered his displeasure before he noticed the crewmen too.

Jake quickly pulled up his shorts and stepped off the elevator.

Chet got off behind Jake and smiled at the crewmen and said, "I was peckish. I couldn't wait to have a snack."

The crewmen continued grinning as they got on the elevator.

As they headed toward Chet's quarters, Jake heard the sound of Velcro ripping and he looked back and saw one of the crocs on his knees behind the other croc and pulling down his shorts, while the other croc was leaning against the wall and lifting his tail up to present his sphincter just as the elevator doors closed on the scene.

They entered Chet's quarters and the bear immediately headed to the sleeping pad and sat down on it upright and crossed his legs and held his arms out to Jake.

Jake smiled and stepped out of his shorts and crawled into the massive bear's lap and wrapped his legs around him and hugged him.

Chet wrapped his arms around Jake and held him tightly.

The two hugged in silence for a few moments and Chet pulled back and looked down at Jake and said, "It feels good to be holding you again. Could we pick up where we left off before we were interrupted?"

Jake smiled and tilted his head up and kissed the big bear and Chet immediately extended his tongue.

Jake parted his lips and sucked the bear's tongue right in and Chet moaned lightly and began to explore Jake's mouth.

The two necked softly for a while and Chet's breathing grew faster and he began to rub his tongue against Jake's more urgently. He put his big paw up behind Jakes head and pressed it into him as he drove his tongue deeper and tilted his head one way, then the other, sucking up Jake's saliva and lapping at the inside of his mouth with passion while softly moaning.

Jake felt the warm, hard, wet rod of Chet's massive cock rising up out of its sheath between them and his own cock grew stiff and rubbed against the bear's warm, soft fur.

Jake loved the sensation of the fur against his naked body and he began to grind his crotch against the bear as they necked.

Chet pulled back and looked down between them at the sight of his large red tool sticking up and growing longer right beside Jake's long, thick cock.

The bear sighed and leaned a bit further back and brought his paw in between them and took Jake's cock and began to gently stroke along its length. He seemed mesmerized by it and was deep in thought for a while as he stroked it some more and coaxed more precum out of the tip, and then rubbed Jake's cock along the side of his own red, wet tool.

The bear suddenly came to a decision and turned to the side while bringing Jake along and then leaned forward to get Jake to lie down on his back on the pad. Chet then backed up a bit and brought his head down between Jake's legs and extended his tongue to lick the precum off the end of the man's cock.

He moved a bit further back and then put his big paws on Jake's knees and spread them out to the sides and then he leaned his head in again and began to lick Jake's big, hairy sack. His wide, warm, wet tongue snaked into the crook between the man's balls and his thigh on one side and licked the salty sweat there and then licked the other side. Then he cupped the underside of the big sack with his wide tongue and slowly and lovingly licked from around behind the big balls to the front of them and then up along Jakes' long, thick cock to the end.

Chet was completely enraptured with Jake's crotch and seemed to love the idea of this type of intimacy that he'd never shared with anyone before. He was cleaning the man's private area with his tongue and it was exciting and personal and erotic and sensual. All he'd ever done before for his whole long life was stick his cock in a female and fuck her, then walk away. The whole idea of taking the time to explore someone else's body for his own pleasure was new and titillating to him.

He lifted Jake's long, stiff cock up with one paw and moaned as he drove his muzzle into the patch of pubic hair at the base and inhaled deeply. He absolutely loved the masculine scent of the man.

He began to lick urgently at the pubic hair while still holding the cock up. He then moved his paw down to the base and gripped the cock there while switching to licking the shaft of Jake's penis. He stuck his tongue way out and the wide warmth of it hugged the shaft of Jake's cock and then he slowly ran it up the length of the hard tool right up to the end, licking it like a lollipop. He licked it over and over again, focusing on one side and then the other, the topside and then the underside.

Finally, he stopped and took one more look at it, and then moved his face back in and opened his mouth and sucked the end of Jake's cock right in and proceeded to push his head down slowly, trying to take all of Jake's cock in. He made it quite a way before he finally gagged slightly as the big head reached the back of his throat and bumped up against it. The bear pulled his head back and then pushed it down again and began to suck up and down with a slowly increasing rhythm.

Jake moaned and groaned at the pleasurable sensation. It thrilled him to know that the big beautiful bear had never tried this with any male before in his three thousand years but that he found Jake attractive enough that he couldn't resist.

Chet loved the very idea of what he was doing and he began to focus himself completely on giving Jake as much pleasure as he could to see if he could make the man cum. He could only get about three quarters of Jake's cock into his mouth before he gagged so he took the base of it in his big right paw and squeezed and twisted and worked it up and down while he sucked to stimulate the full length of it. He sucked harder and faster, bobbing his head up and down on the end of Jake's cock and drooling as he slurped at it.

He added his other paw down at Jake's big balls. He began to fondle them and move them around in the sack. He ran one fat finger underneath them and lightly toyed with Jake's anus.

Jake moaned at the sensation and put his hands on Chet's furry head and groaned and squirmed beneath him and began to buck his hips lightly up at the bear's face as he began to feel his orgasm build.

Jake wasn't sure how far Chet wanted to take this. He didn't think the bear would want to go from not being homosexual or even bi one day, to suddenly taking a massive load of semen in his mouth the next day.

"That feels so good. I'm gonna cum soon," he breathed, "if you don't want it in your mouth you'd better stop."

Chet moaned and began to suck even harder and faster and lightly toyed with Jake's balls until he began to feel them tightening up in his paw.

Jake's breathing grew sharper and faster and he began to gasp as the electricity started to spread out from his loins and his orgasm slammed into him hard. He felt the cum rush up the shaft of his penis and he grunted and bucked up hard at Chet's face as his cock head expanded and the massive load of cum exploded into the bear's mouth.

Chet groaned and sucked harder to try to get more out and Jake grunted and bucked again as another long jet of semen shot out of his piss slit into the bear's eager mouth. Again and again he bucked and shot more of his seed into the bear until he was completely spent. His cock began to soften and oozed the last of his load out, yet Chet was still sucking on it with gusto and the sensation was too much for Jake.

He pushed against the bear's head and said, "You need to stop now. It gets too sensitive right after I cum."

Chet stopped and lifted his mouth off of Jake's cock and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Jake smiled and said, "It's fine. You did so great. It felt fantastic. Thank you."

Chet gently rubbed at the base of Jake's cock as he watched it shrink back down and he leaned in and kissed the shaft of it. He turned his head to the side and kissed the inside of Jake's thighs. Then he moved up and kissed Jake's belly.

"I find your body so wonderfully appealing," the bear said, "I don't understand it. I have a strange feeling like I want to eat you up, or like I want to merge myself into your body. I feel almost as though I can't touch you enough or smell enough of you or ever feel I've tasted you quite enough. Is this what desire is? I've never felt it before. It is nearly overwhelming. In the past I've only ever felt driven to mount a female while I'm in rut and satisfy my urge and that is all. With you I want to stretch it out and explore and taste and smell and touch and look at every inch of you. It is a wonderful feeling."

Jake smiled and said, "Yes, that's exactly what desire is. I feel it for you too."

Chet rubbed gently at Jake's legs and his eyes wandered over the man's body and he said, "I believe I was right in what I said earlier. I am homosexual and simply didn't know it until now."

"It's possible," Jake said, "but it doesn't have to be so black and white. You might still feel the urge to mount a female in estrous when she passes you by. Maybe you'll never be attracted to a male of your own race. Are you still homosexual then? Can't you just be attracted to me without having to put a label on it?"

Chet smiled and said, "You're right. I still don't feel attracted to males in general. I suppose it isn't necessary to try to sharply define what I am, or what I like and don't like, and simply go with what feels good. It feels amazingly good to do this with you and I don't think I could ever tire of it."

Jake smiled and the massive bear leaned in again and kissed him on the belly once more. Then he moved up and kissed one of Jake's nipples, then the other. He extended his tongue and began to lick at the man's nipples as they began to immediately stiffen up at the attention. The bear smiled at the sight of it and he tried to latch on to one of them like a cub suckling at his mother's teat. He suckled and slurped noisily and it sent small jolts of electricity through Jake. His nipples had always been sensitive and it was like they were directly wired to his loins.

The bear moved to the other nipple and suckled it for a while, and then he lifted Jake's arms and planted his wide soft nose into one of Jake's arm pits and snuffled at it and moaned at the light scent. He licked at the soft hair and enjoyed the salty taste of the man.

Finally he moved his muzzle back to Jake's face and licked at it. He licked his chin and his cheeks and his nose and forehead and finally he probed his tongue at Jake's lips and once again plunged it in and explored the inside of Jake's mouth for a while.

Finally he pulled back and whispered, "I must fuck you again, you beautiful man. Roll over onto your hands and knees for me."

He moved to get off but Jake grabbed him around the neck and said, "Wait, could you do it while facing me? I want to look into your beautiful face while you take me."

Chet smiled and nodded and lifted himself up onto four legs while Jake hooked his own legs around the bear's waist.

He reached down and found the hard red tool that was more than half way out of the sheath and he guided the tip of it right to his anus and held it there while Chet began to push his weight down to spread Jake's anus wide and the first few inches of his cock slipped into Jake's tight hole.

The bear moaned long and loudly and stopped and held the position for a moment. He wanted to take the time to enjoy this instead of just humping and cumming.

Jake's shoulders were down on the sleeping mat and his ass was up at Chet's waist so the bear could now press downward slightly to fuck the man while looking down at his face.

He slowly pushed himself deeper into Jake until his thick cock came up against the first ring of muscles in Jake's rectum and then he pause a moment and then pushed forward again and reveled in the sensation as the muscles spread to allow his thick cock passage and then clamped down on it to squeeze and massage his hard member.

Chet slowly pushed forward again until once more his cock came up against another ring of muscle and he paused for a brief moment and then pushed forward firmly and slowly again to engage the ring onto the end of his cock and then paused once more to enjoy the sensation of the muscles squeezing and working his throbbing penis.

He continued this slow and wonderful progression until the full length of his fourteen inches of rock solid male power was fully embedded inside Jake's rectum and he stopped.

Jake was aching for the bear to begin to fuck him for real. It felt so good to have the thick meat filling him up and he wanted to feel the sensation of it ramming into him repeatedly.

Chet held himself still, with his cock pushed in as far as it could go and he turned his face down and began to lick at Jake's face once more. He placed the side of his face against the side of Jake's and rubbed it slowly and tenderly.

He kissed Jake on the cheek and said, "This is where my cock belongs and nowhere else. I have never felt so right with myself as I do now. Are you ready to be fucked?"

"Yes," Jake breathed.

The massive bear stared deeply into Jake's eyes as he pulled his cock nearly all the way out and then he roared as he thrust himself forward and downward fully into the man.

Jake's head immediately began to spin from the sensation of all of the nerves in all of the rings of muscles in his rectum firing their intense pleasure up through him one after another in sequence.

Chet pulled back and thrust in again, slamming his massive balls against Jake's ass and groaning at the pleasure of fucking his man.

Again and again he pulled back and thrust forward hard, driving himself as deeply as he could into the tight warm tunnel of Jake's rectum. He humped harder and faster building up a rhythm of longer and deeper strokes and Jake's body was jarred and pummeled as he took most of the weight of the bear's pounding.

Chet was in heaven as the end of his thick cock bounced against each ring of muscle inside Jake in sequence and spreading them wide and then was squeezed and massaged by them, and then he reveled in the sensation as each tight muscle popped off the end of his throbbing cock again as he pulled it back out.

Jake was so turned on by the sensation of all of the muscles in his rectum being stretched, and his prostate being hammered, and his inner testicles being stimulated by the thick meat and his external balls being bounced forward each time Chet's weight came down and slammed him forward. Chet's huge furry balls where bouncing off of Jake's ass and the sensation of his naked skin against the bear's warm, soft fur was amazing. Jake once again felt the familiar energy begin to build rapidly between his legs and explode out through his body.

His orgasm spun him over the edge of the precipice and he felt like he was falling as the waves of pleasure washed over him and once more he felt the sensation of a thick stream of cum rushing along his long shaft, and the head of his penis swelling and pulsing as he shot such a powerful jet of semen that he could actually hear the sound of it blasting out the slit of his cock as he grunted and the stream of his own semen shot along his chest and up to his chin.

Each time the huge white bear slammed himself into Jake, the man's pelvic muscle would pulse hard and another powerful stream of cum shot out of Jake's throbbing cock and joined the rest in a growing puddle on his chest.

Chet had been getting close to his own climax already and with Jake's anus and the rings of muscle in his rectum now pulsing and squeezing even harder with the rhythm of his orgasm the bear began to feel the tingle growing in his loins. He groaned and thrust his tongue forward into Jake's mouth. His humping became quicker and his thrusts sharper and shorter as he began to pant and grunt and his massive back paws began to scrabble and slip on the sleeping mat as he tried desperately to work his thick, red, pulsing cock deeper into Jake's stretched anus.

Finally the powerful orgasm that had been building slammed into him and the big bear roared as he thrust forward once hard, and he grunted and held the position as he sprayed a massive stream of seed into the man's rectum.

The huge bear groaned at the sensation as the cum continued to surge out of him, and when the flow began to slow down he pulled back and grunted and thrust in again and another powerful jet began to spray into Jake. When that stream slowed he pulled out of Jake and let his butt drop down onto the sleeping mat and he quickly moved forward and thrust his still spurting penis into Jake's mouth and held the end of it there to feed the man the rest of his load.

Jake greedily sucked at the end of the thick, hot, red tool as another surge of semen shot out of it.

Chet softly humped at Jake's face as the last of his seed slowly pulsed out of him and finally his hard, red cock once again began to retract back into his sheath and Jake chased it in, wishing he could suck on it just a little longer.

Finally, Chet's penis disappeared completely back into his body and he pulled away from Jake's face and turned to the puddle of Jake's cum on his chest. He sniffed at it and moaned and then his long tongue came out and he lapped up every drop of it. When he was done licking up the treat he moved back over top of Jake and lay down on him with his massive hind legs splayed out downward and his fore legs up above Jake's head and thrust his tongue back into Jake's mouth and moaned as he lovingly necked with the man for a few more moments.

Finally he rubbed his muzzle once more against Jake's cheek and then moved onto his side and wrapped the man in his warm and furry embrace once more to protect him against the chill of the room.

Jake turned around once again to spoon his back against the big furry bear and wiggled deep into the warm cocoon and sighed his contentment.

The two lovers held each other and once again succumbed to the siren call of sleep in the comfort of their embrace.