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The Exodus - Part 3

A warning siren sounded through the halls of the launch bay, signalling that the transport was ready to go. The sleek little vessel was a passenger ship, rigged up for short range travel between planets orbiting the nearby red dwarf star. Its silvery hull reflected the overhead lights here and there, as it was moved via conveying systems into a giant sized airlock. Once inside the doors closed, and the outer ones opened. This let in the toxic atmosphere and incredibly hot temperatures, but it did not matter at this point. So long as the horrid atmosphere was kept out of the station, all was well.

The ship rose up gently on small glowing thrusters, then picked up speed and launched itself up and out of the little landing bay. The sealed spaceport was left behind, and the underground facilities with it. The third planet from this dwarf star, was just a mining outpost these days. The surface was too warm, and the atmosphere too thin to support life. So ships, crew, and all facilities were brought underground for safety. Only a few thousand Horoshi stayed in the outpost at any given time, working in the giant resource gathering mines which wormed their way this way and that under the surface.

The fifth planet out was a cold ball of rock, also with very little population. Some research and development was conducted there, as well as mining. Its residents lived in large atmospheric domes, which let in sunlight at least, though it had a red tinge to it. It was enough to permit large farms to be constructed at least, both hydroponic and the dirt kind. Perhaps ten thousand Horoshi lived here, and for both outposts, the population rotated away after a few years like clockwork.

The mixed population had come up with names for their various new homes, after some debate. The rocky and warm third plant was dubbed Titania, named after a very ancient Horoshi who once exploded a vast desert on their former home world. The cold and desolate fifth planet out was named Trophet, named after an old settlement in one of their old polar regions.

The fourth planet from the star, which held the vast majority of the Horoshi population, was named Aquitas. Some argued that it was a simple name, loosely translating to "ample water", but the name stuck. The transport which had left Titania was bringing back workers to their beloved ocean world, whom had just finished a year of labour and were now being rotated off site. Many people alternated their duties as was required by current resource needs and the like. A typical Horoshi would spend a few years bouncing between one of the outposts and the main colony, before settling down for a while. Then after a decade or so, would start the process again. Others chose to make a career of it, either staying on one of the outposts full time, or occasionally staying in the great orbital platforms above Aquitas.

The platforms were at least nice to live on. They had more space than the old Arcs everyone used to live on, that much was certain. There they received and processed resources from the mining outposts, and built useful things to send down to the surface. For the longest time, travel between the surface and the orbital platforms was done by cargo ship. But construction eventually started on an orbital elevator to make traffic between the two much more efficient. The main elevator was opened to traffic on day 256, year 132. It was expanded on time and time again, with more super-strong "strings" going up into orbit, able to haul cargo and passengers straight up or down. Currently there are 10 elevators in operation, in a large circular configuration around a massive transport hub.

The hub is located right in the centre of the main Horoshi city, floating just above the waves of their large ocean world.

Though floating is of course the wrong term for it. Any Horoshi could describe the giant underwater pillars that keep the city on the surface, and provide all sorts of useful things from the ocean floor. It wasn't always this way of course. Many decades of work went into developing this system into the habitable place it is today. Not long after the Horoshi landed upon the ocean world, they built many temporary floating platforms to live on. These provided a base of operations to make something considerably more stable.

Over those first early years, great pillars were made in orbit, and brought down to the surface to be sunk under the waves. Miniature submarines were also built to work in down below, each one built for a single Horoshi worker. Using these new tools, the pillars were driven into the ocean floor, creating a large ring of metal. This was filled with a kind of concrete created with materials mined off the two outpost worlds. Mixed together, it would harden even under water, into a very thick and sturdy construction material. The project took years, but eventually they had created a huge conical shaped pillar that went from the ocean floor to just a few meters above the surface of the water. The innards were drained, and within the huge towering structure facilities were built.

Over time the entirety of the pillar was filled up with level after level of factory space, ore processing facilities, and other such needed infrastructure. Atop the pillar, a much larger platform was built. Its underside sat ever so gently against the water, partially floating but mostly supported by the great pillar. When it was completed, the pillar had a diameter of over 750m, but the platform above was several kilometres across. It was decided that mass occupancy would be the best bet for the time being, so construction began on the first of many Archologies.

It rose up off the platform as a great and smooth cone, packing in ample living space along with interior work and commerce facilities. Hydroponics and fusion power plants were also put together, running off the ample hydrogen extracted from the water all around. The water itself proved to be a very useful resource, as it had a very low salt content. A Horoshi could drink it directly, and could easily deal with the excess salt within. But for taste and convenience, most of the potable water was filtered slightly.

With each completed level of the great building, Horoshi would move in to live and work. Hydroponic farms were built and filled, while others went out to docks and boats to fish. With each passing year more levels of the huge building were completed, all created out of locally mined resources. It was said that the mines below the surface went on for unfathomable kilometres in every direction, both out and down. It was clear that this planet was rich in valued minerals.

The huge sub-surface pillar was built up more and more, ringed with corrosion proof metals and even fitted with observation ports here and there. As the main Archology building neared completion, construction teams quickly ringed the outer wall of the huge surface platform with smaller buildings, and access-ways poking out to the open water. These would eventually be connected to additional platforms, until a huge network of floating surface cities was created. As more and more Horoshi came down to live on the surface, the Arcs were scuttled and ultimately scrapped for parts. Many of these went together to create the basis of the main orbital platform facility, and to this day still bears a lot of the look and markings of the first Arc ships.

Decades passed, and the ocean population swelled. More and more pillars were built, each metal monsters over a Kilometre thick. Atop each one were huge circular platforms, each with their own primary Archology building, landing pads for suborbital ships and larger cargo vessels, surface factories and larger farms, fisheries, and whatever else was required here and there.

One large platform was left almost completely empty, ringed only by the moving sidewalks the Horoshi so loved to build as mass transit systems. This was to be used as a transit hub for larger orbital craft, and was eventually taken over to be used for the space elevator. These days the city of Aquitas holds over 2 million Horoshi, within 8 Archology buildings and several other smaller facilities. All 8 platforms are built in a ring around a 9th central platform, which is home to the space elevator and several landing pads for transport ships.

Smaller communities were built around the equator of the ocean world, mostly one platform jobs with a single Archology, or occasionally a handful of individual houses. Some Horoshi preferred a quiet life with less people, after all. You could still find the odd migratory floating platform as well, built like the first ones to set down on the ocean world. The population living there were fishermen, drifting around the seas hunting and gathering. Occasionally the entire platform would drift or sail into port, to trade goods and take on cargo. Sometimes a few Horoshi would leave the wandering life, while others would join up to go and ply the sea and make their fortunes.

There were ocean-floor outposts as well, used mainly for research and studying marine life. In total the population of Aquitas was roughly 3 million, and growing by the day. Another hundred thousand lived in orbit on the massive station, building new transport ships, conducting business, observing the stars, and mostly going about the business of science. Everyone had a good life for the most parts, and people rarely complained. And what was largely regarded as the best part, is that the Horoshi finally had enough to eat again. Their once more well-padded figures thanked them heartily.

In the years since the Horoshi had settled down again, new families had been created, and several generations of Horoshi had been born. This was definitely a good thing for the race, as they were finally getting the chance to rebuild their numbers. It was also making for various interesting situations. Some of the younger generation aboard the Arcs had spent their entire lives aboard ship, and had never set foot on land in their lives. Those born on Aquitas were in a similar situation, spending upwards of a century living on platforms above an ocean. The only dry land they ever finally saw came in the form of the off-world outposts. Though many would probably agree, walking around in a cave or under a pressure dome is just not the same.

There was nobody left in the Horoshi population who had actually walked around on dry land, in a breathable atmosphere, not under a pressure dome or wearing complex survival suits. But it didn't seem to bother them any, as they did not know what they were missing. For now at least, they had enough room to live without being cramped, had more than enough room to play, and could partake in the new favourite activity of the species. Namely, swimming.

The water was warm, and could be pumped into huge pools for easy swimming and relaxation. Other pools were warmed up further, and transformed into giant public bathing pools. Having a bath soon became a social event, as there was always some helpful Horoshi close at hand to scrub your back and take care of all those hard to reach places. It was a rare breed indeed that didn't like such comforts, and stuck solely to getting clean via private refresher.

Some Horoshi chose to swim directly in the oceans as well, but that had its risks. There were many large fish in the water, some big enough to view even a well fed Horoshi as a tasty snack. Compromises were taken in the form of making floating underwater fences, to keep the large critters safely at a distance. Smaller creatures could still get in, and they were usually consumed by swimming Horoshi. It was a system that worked for quite well and in their favour.

Swimming proved easy for the big reptiles, especially with all the extra padding they'd put back on. Fat does float rather well, after all. Their buoyant hides could be further helped out by a good dose of compressed air before they went splashing about. Despite their natural padding having returned, quite a large population of the Horoshi decided to keep bloating themselves up with air much as they had done aboard the Arcs. It was fun and made for all sorts of interesting and potentially perverted social situations. More than a few Horoshi could be seen bloated up practically into spheres, being passed around the pool by many pot-bellied comrades having some fun. Usually with uproars of laughter from any spectators.

It was all good fun, that much was certain. Some liked it so much that they kept themselves as pumped up as possible at all times. Fortunately public spaces were quite large no, so they were in no danger of filling up a hallway until they couldn't move anymore. But that didn't stop a few rather stretchy individuals from giving it a try anyways. Rajax remembered one day where even he had gotten a little larger than he expected, and wound up both causing a traffic jam and earning quite the few whistles and cat-calls for his efforts. It had been a fun day, that much was certain.

These days Rajax lived with his two partners in their home, in one of the many Archologies in the primary city. There's was Archology #3, and they had a family sized unit high up in the building. Each one of the massive structures was a little over 2km in diameter, and just over 1km in height. Each floor was 5m in height, giving them 200 wide floors to play with per building. It was not a surprise to most that an average of about 250,000 Horoshi lived in each mega structure. Like many others, Rajax and company had lived in temporary structures for quite a while, as the first mega buildings were constructed.

He had married Teeka and Chu, and after a few years they had started a family. Together they had borne two healthy eggs, which they took with them into their small condo-like shelter for their early years. There the infants eventually hatched, giving the two breasted Horoshi a male and a multi-gender child to nurse. Living was cramped in those early days, but they had a loving household so all was well. Not long after Teeka and Chu each laid another egg, and they added two girls to their growing nest of children. With their paws full and only so many teats to go around, they decided to hold off for now and try not to knock one another up again just yet.

In order, they named their kids as they hatched. They had Scarl, the male, named after the ancient Horoshi whom Rajax thought to be his father. Gryff was the name assigned to their herm child, named after a host mother to many Horoshi back on the Arcs. The two girls were each named Rath and Reth. They were not technically twins, but they hatched at the same time so they were treated as such, and thus given similar names just for the fun of it.

Scarl wound up being a deep seamless orange from tip to tail, which likely contributed further to his naming. Gryff was dark red with a light underbelly, colours that suited hir well. Rath and Reth wound up looking quite similar indeed, namely a nice red-violet colour with lighter purple undersides, running towards pink. The only way you could tell them apart was that Rath had purple frills, and Reth had black ones.

As the years passed and the children grew up rapidly, they finally got moved out of their cramped quarters and were given a large family sized unit in the Archology tower. It wasn't quite high up at the time, but it was the best living space available. And they certainly didn't complain!

There was 4 large bedrooms spread out along the tower and deep into it, all rigged up with everything possible to make them nicely lit and very comfortable. The main room faced all the windows, with the rest of the rooms towards the inside of the tower. Additional light was given to them by putting windows into the rooms facing towards the well lit master room. It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely one way to get some natural light in there. The kitchen, dining area, and living space all filled the master room, and yet left it quite open. Each bedroom was more than enough space for several Horoshi to sleep and play in comfort, and that's exactly what they did. The adults all stayed in one room together, on a big bed which practically filled the whole room on its own. It was used quite happily on a day to day basis.

The "twins" got their own room, as they liked staying together. Scarl and Gryff each got their own room as well. Quite possibly the best feature of their large unit was the group washroom. It filled up a rear corner of the place, had a bathing pool, and several individual refreshers. The Horoshi young were certainly not raised to be prudes, and quite often the whole family would stuff itself into the large bath and make sure everyone got clean. Those were good years, ones that everyone remembered fondly.

It wasn't long before the young started attending school, and the adults fully returned to their jobs. It had become customary for those in school to spend their last few years of junior education away from their families, and be housed together in the creche to learn without parental influences. The process worked rather well, and usually produced very well adjusted minors whom had not been swayed one way or the other by any potentially odd or strange views their parents happened to have. This usually wasn't a concern for the majority of the population, but there were a few Horoshi with backwards opinions or beliefs, that could be harmful to a child.

So the creche levelled the playing field, so to speak, and put all Horoshi young on the same level as far as being raised and general education was concerned. They could go home for a visit during certain times of the year, and all were welcome with open arms. After their early years in the Creche, they would return home and continue with their advanced education. By that point most Horoshi were generally 14 or 15 years old, having spent the last 10 in junior education. They still had another 10 to go however, but now they had options. If they had already chosen a particular field of interest to study, they could alter their course-load and education to fit with it. Horoshi that wanted to be Scientists could obviously take more scientific courses, as an example. The rest stuck with the general education, and branched out as they saw fit.

During this decade of learning and training, a Horoshi could stay in the creche if they wanted, or live at home. Or, any combination of the two. When it came to Scarl, Gryff, and the twins, they stayed at home for the first little while. By the time they were 20 however, they decided to move out and live on campus. It was nothing personal against their parents, it was just more convenient to live right there at school rather than having to go so far each day to reach one of the many schools. In later years there were enough schools in the Archologies themselves to go around, but at that point most still had to travel to other buildings to get their education.

With their children growing up and all the extra space not needed anymore, Rajax, Teeka, and Chu decided to pack up their things and move to a smaller unit in another tower. Namely building #3, floor 156, unit 12. They still live there, even now. It was a more cozy job, built for two or three Horoshi instead of a large family. They still had two big bedrooms, a master living space, and a good bathing unit however, so they were happy. Rajax installed new air compressor lines in the main room, should anyone want to have some puffy fun. The kids visited from time to time, either all together or one at a time. That's what the spare bedroom was for, after all.

When all was said and done, the kids completed their advanced education with good marks and many the happy experience, and soon found work to do or additional training to complete. One by one they all celebrated their 25thhatchday, the point at which a Horoshi was now considered a young adult. They would be considered full adults at 50. There was no difference between the two ages of course, it was just a point in their lives. Scarl went on to teach Engineering as Rajax still does, and the two work together quite often even still. Gryff decided to take a job in the Creche eventually, after spending several years out with fishing fleets just to see more of their ocean world. There wasn't much to see however, just more and more water. The twins wound up following in Teeka's footsteps, and became chefs. They worked in several community eateries for a while, but eventually rented out their own business space and started a gourmet restaurant by the name of Big Fish. Naturally their most prized dished involved fish at some point.

Time kept on passing, and the kids grew up into fine adults. They even eventually had children of their own, three each which gave the family a grand total of 12 grandchildren. Rajax loved having them around when they were young, and still enjoyed their company even when they had grown up into fine young adults. On this day in particular, he was waiting at the spaceport for one of them on the incoming transport. Gratch was the 4thborn grandchild of the family, and he was on his way home from a year of mining on Titania. It was his 5th tour on the planet, and he was likely to go back a few more times. He figured it was good experience, and certainly toughened a fellow up. Plus he was learning some building and engineering tricks that weren't done often on Aquitas.

His ultimate goal was to get into some of the high sciences, but having experience in other subjects was always an asset. His work tours were part of an advanced degree in engineering, with a minor in geology and resource management. Next on his list was theoretical physics, but that would have to wait for a few more years. His work contract wasn't quite up yet, nor was his current education complete. But at a young 28 years of age, he certainly was doing well for himself. Rajax waved up at him as he left the freshly landed transport ship, and walked down the passenger ramp to the smooth tarmac.

"Hello there Gratch, good to see you again M'boy."

Rajax hugged his grandson tight, tail swishing around with obvious delight. Gratch hugged his elder back just as warmly, grinning to himself as he lifted the older Horoshi right off his paws with a laugh. It was always good to see family again, especially his. Gratch was huge for a Horoshi, and it definitely showed when he finally put Rajax back down again. Even his elder was above the average in terms of size and girth, but Gratch definitely took big to new levels.

He towered over most other Horoshi, standing at a full 4m in height. It was very evident that he spent a lot of time in the off-world mines, what with his musclebound frame. With legs and arms like barrels, it was no small wonder that he could pick his grandfather right up off his paws. Like most Horoshi he was very well rounded in other areas, possessing a big gut, large rump, and very thick tail. He was large all over, and he knew it. Fortunately he never let it go to his head, and wound up becoming a very mature individual. His hide was a lovely shade of blue, with a dark blue tinge to his underside. It was likely some interesting mix of his parents, though colours did get random from time to time.

With a laugh he threw his grandfather right up over one broad shoulder, and began walking along to one of the moving sidewalks.

"Lets get you home grandfather, we wouldn't want you to get all tired now."

Rajax snorted and wiggled around, his own large size still not much of a match for the large Gratch.

"Don't make me bite you, kiddo. Put me down, or I'll be forced to resort to drastic measures."

This likely would involve several playful bites and a whole lot of tickling, as the large brute of a Horoshi had very ticklish arm-pits. Seeing the big fellow curled up in a ball laughing insanely was definitely a conflicting sight. Gratch put Rajax down again, and the two wandered along to one of the moving sidewalks, and around the next large platform. They decided to stop in to one of the many public eateries in building #3, namely the one where Teeka was currently working. She came out from the kitchen to welcome her Grandchild home, with much crooning, preening, and embarrassing kisses.

Soon the trio were sitting in a semi private booth towards the back of the restaurant, enjoying a lovely spot of lunch. Gratch hadn't eaten all day thanks to the transport schedule, so it was a very welcome meal. He was on thirds and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, when Teeka had to say goodbye for now and go back to the kitchen. Grandfather and Grandson stayed to chat a while, then they too got up and left.

Gratch was back in town to take another term of schooling, then he'd be shipped back to the mines for another year. He figured by the time he was 30, he'd be finished his current set of education, and be able to get on with the high sciences. But that left him a few years yet to go, so he'd best get on it. He'd be staying with his grandparents for now, until he either got his own place on campus, or shipped out again. They had a spare bedroom for a reason, and somebody was always welcome to use it. Besides, he liked staying with his elders. They were good company, and Teeka was a good cook. That and Chu was still sensual enough and sufficiently talented at massage, to make him try very hard indeed to remember that shi was family, and therefore off-limits. There would really not be anything wrong with one or all of them having a tumble for the hell of it, but there was just enough social taboo left in place to make it risky business.

Besides, Gratch could find many willing partners to bed. Why worry one's self? Rajax took him home for now, and got him settled. The spare bedroom was basic, but it would serve his needs. There was a big sleeping pad on the floor, which had obviously been rolled out prior to his arrival. It was the inflatable sort, and he flicked a switch on its side to get it blown up to a good size for his bulk. While it filled, he took off his all important vest, and hung it on a rack. It contained what little tools and personal equipment he'd need while on Aquitas, his larger mining gear left behind on Titania for now. He turned off the built-in pump on the inflatable bed, and flopped down on it to give it a test. It was just firm enough and quite comfortable, and long enough even for his huge hide. It was meant for two Horoshi, but fit him with just a little extra room.

While laying there he noted the compressed air hose poking out of one wall, likely an addition made by Rajax decades earlier. The whole family liked to pump themselves up every now and again, and provided every means to do so. He'd have to give it a try later, as he'd not had the pleasure of a good pump for quite a while now. He had to make do with his naturally bulked out belly. Chu would likely be getting back later, once her duties at the Creche were done for the day. The family would have dinner together, and wing it from there.

Rajax had stepped out for a while once he got Gratch settled, and now the big fellow had the place for himself for a few hours. Tired from his trip, he decided to put the free time to good use. He made short work of one of the refreshers, getting extra clean and then some. He was fairly certain he put a dent in the cleaning fluid levels by the time he was finished. Then freshly clean and dried, he returned to his room and gave that concealed hose a try. Popping the nozzle in his maw, he flicked some settings on the control panel within the little cubby, and turned it on. His hide quickly started filling up with high pressure gasses, belly and sides stretching out with a squeak.

He purred as he filled, rounding out more and more in the gut, his musclebound chest stretching out larger by the moment too. His rump and tail swelled up several sizes as well, and the trunks of his legs and upper arms began to get quite swollen as well. He grinned around swelling cheeks as he watched his belly get as wide as he was tall, then just keep going. His legs began to move outwards around the bloat, as his whole hide took on a more spherical shape. His already muscle-bloated limbs took on even more immense proportions as he continued to fill, pleased that he'd remained so stretchy even after weeks of not keeping in practice.

He rose up off the ground on his massive belly, the frills on his head bumping into the ceiling and flattening out. He knew he could go bigger, but he didn't want to risk getting stuck in a confined space at the moment. After all, there was nobody around to get him out of a bind. With his massively bloated body filling most of the room, he spat out the hose and rolled forwards onto his belly fully. Rumbling loudly, he cuddled and squeezed at his huge hide, and decided now was a fine time to have a nap.

Rajax came home sometime later and poked his snout into the quiet guest bedroom, only to come face-to-face with a giant bloated blue balloon. Said balloon was distending outwards slowly followed by deflating somewhat, as the giant sized Horoshi snored atop his own bloated gut. He figured he might as well let the fellow rest for now, and wake him up when dinner was ready. After all, sometimes you just needed a good nap. He decided to do much the same, and was soon filled up quite nicely, napping in the front room with the sun warming up his air-bloated hide. He wasn't nearly as large as Gratch was at present, but he still did fairly well for himself. The two were soon snoring happily, until the ladies got home.

Everyone came to dinner in one state of bloat or another, partook in all sorts of entertaining conversation, and ultimately finished off the evening watching some program or another on a big entertainment screen from the comfort of their group bath. Gratch didn't mind bathing with his elders at all, nor did the vast majority of others. Bathing was a social event, after all. Why not share it with your family? They were all laughing over one thing or another on the flat screen while soaping one another up at random, and generally having a great evening.

It was late when they all went to bed again, happy that at least some of the family was together again. Like all families, they ultimately spread out over time. For now at least, they could enjoy this little get together. It was likely as not to be over again before they knew it.

*** ***

It was quite common for Horoshi in their adult years to not see much of their family for extended periods. They were busy with learning and training, and more often than not located outside of reasonable travel times. When it came to Gratch, his parents were off under a dome somewhere teaching and working on Trophet. He'd likely see more of them when he finished his current education and moved onto the high sciences. As quite a lot of research went on there, he'd spend many years in and out of the labs. Most of the scientists in training just stayed there full time, minus the odd vacation back to Aquitas. It had a larger population than the mining world, and as such had more to do.

Every few days Horoshi were coming and going from the great spaceport, either landing directly on the surface, or taking the elevators up and down to the orbital stations. It was quite a nice ride on the big orbital elevator. The cars had grown in size over the years, and now had enough space for a person to have a comfortable seat, get something to eat and drink from vending machines, and maybe watch something on the entertainment screens. Or you could always look out the window, and watch the atmosphere go by, replaced by black space and bright stars. It only took about half an hour to make the transit, which suited many Horoshi just fine.

As his brief bit of additional training finished up, Gratch was soon leaving for Titania again. His grandparents were sad to see him go, but they knew they'd see him again. And the rest of their family, from all corners of their little empire. Horoshi were always coming and going however, minus those in their later years that had fixed careers in one place or another. Some still moved around a lot even then, but not as much as the younger generations.

Years passed, and Gratch spent time in the mines learning, building, and helping to provide more raw materials for additional constructions on their three settlements. New mines were opening on the other side of Titania, and already they were extracting all sorts of useful materials. His large size and strength helped in all sorts of very physical situations, and the large fellow only got stronger from the workload. When his time was finally up, he looked like he was a champion sports star and then some. Others compared him to some kind of hulking brute who'd eaten several sports stars, if his gut was to tell any tales.

He saw his grandparents again at his graduation ceremony, and they joked afterwards that he could likely fit the majority of the graduating class in his mid-section, and still have room for a good puffing. He took it all in good stride, and for quite some time was always making jokes about eating people if they wronged him. It was unclear at times just how many people believed it was actually a joke. As many Horoshi had done in the past, he took some time off to relax, play, swim, and distend himself in various entertaining ways. Vacations were nice, especially after one just spent several years hard at work.

This time he found his own place, a bachelor pad built into a large structure just outside the orbital elevator complex. It was a simple affair, but left him with enough room to have a good bloat every now and again, entertain guests, or have relations with anyone that tweaked his interest. He only needed it for a short time, but it definitely suited his needs. Many the trip were made up to the orbital station, getting familiar with the layout of the place more-so. He'd likely be spending quite a bit of time there prior to shipping off to Trophet.

It had seemed like such a short time had passed, but before he knew it he was right in the middle of his 30th hatchday celebration. His grandmother Teeka made him a lovely feast, consisting of all sorts of tasty fruits and vegetables, combined with ample portions of fish and Crustaceans. Several of his friends attended as well, and even his aunts and uncles made it. The twins Rath and Reth had helped Teeka in the kitchen, while Gryff had been the lucky fellow to catch the rather gigantic fish making up the bulk of the meat present. His father, Scarl, was delayed and unfortunately couldn't make it. They would likely catch up with one another privately another time, so all was well. At least he'd received a video call earlier to make up for it.

The party was fantastic, as was to be expected. His family was certainly good at celebrating things and having a good time. After stuffing their faces they all travelled to one of the large public bathing facilities, to relax and splash around in the company of others for a time. Somebody even spiked the pool with copious quantities of their favourite cleaning fluid. The splashing and playing collection of Horoshi soon turned the clean and clear waters into a giant frothy mess, and they had a bubble party instead. Likely they were cleaning soap fluff off other buildings for days to come. Gratch even met a lovely mixed-gender lass with the odd name of Whizzer. The two had a wonderful bubble-covered tumble behind a utility shed, taking turns at who was boning whom. They both left with considerably larger bellies, sloshing around with the warm goopy contents each had left behind. He made a note to invite hir over again sometime for another romp. Shi was good company, and quite cuddly.

Nobody commented on his sloshing and undulating belly, or the overpowering musk of freshly sexed Horoshi as he jumped back into the party sized bubble bath, creating a small tidal wave while he was at it. They'd all had similar fun in the past, and nobody really cared about casual relations with others. After all, their contraceptive methods were so effective, that nobody got knocked up unless they wanted to. It had been that way even before they'd left their long-ago home world of Horoshi. The party soon broke up for the night, and everyone went their respective ways.

Gratch thanked everyone for such a wonderful time and wobbled his way home as well, smirking to himself with the slightest blush on his snout, as his belly gurgled and sloshed with every step. He found his way back to his unit and decided he definitely needed a shower, to get all the fluids off as well as dried soap suds. He found a certain cuddly and bloated somebody waiting there for him, with a big grin on hir snout. Apparently it was time for a top-up already, likely as not for the both of them. He thought to himself while riding hir from behind moments later, and feeling her belly slosh and fill up even bigger, and he had one hell of a good life.

Neither of them got very clean that evening, or slept all that much. Work work work, no rest for the Horoshi.

*** ***

It was definitely a good time for prospective scientists, both on Aquitas itself, in orbit, and even on both of their outposts. Something was always being worked on, or researched, or tested, or even just conceptualized. The search for other places to live was continuing, though not at the break neck pace it had once had. The Horoshi were comfortable on their collection of settlements, and there would likely as not continue to be a population explosion for several more decades.

However some teams of scientists were convinced that to really thrive, they needed to find another planet more like the one they left behind. To do that, they were developing new engines, new technology, new ship designs, and new computing and sensing equipment. Despite the great progress they had made with the old Arc systems, they still agreed that much of the technology had been rushed, and definitely not the kind of thing serious explorers would use to go from system to system. It was technology born of necessity, not design. So, they sought to fix all that now that they had the time and resources to go about things properly.

One thing they definitely needed was more Horoshi interested in the high sciences, plus with skills in other useful fields. Naturally Scarl learned of this years back and had planned accordingly. He was unsure if his size or bulk was the chief intimidating factor, but most of the other scientists seemed almost frightened of him early on. They were mostly around the Horoshi average for size and bulk, so he had a meter on them in every direction. His friendly attitudes and eagerness to be helpful won them over however, and they stopped looking at him with concern all the time. He could swear one of the shorter fellows had honestly thought he was going to eat him at one point.

He made a note to stop with the "I'm going to eat you" humour in the future. Not everyone appreciated it as much as others. Despite the vast reduction in physical workload, he'd kept much of his extremely well muscled physique. This would likely soften further over time, but not so much. Once a Horoshi got big, they tended to stay that way. Gratch was assigned as a junior researcher in his first year, working on ship engine concepts via computer simulations. They had already improved the old fusion torch designs, compacting them down and getting more reaction mass out of them with less fuel. They were faster and better than the early engines, but they still were just not good enough to really get back out into space on any serious level.

The improvements had allowed more expansion and traffic around this new system of theirs however. Construction had started on space stations further out, around a trio of gas giants that made up the outer bulk of their star system. Each one was a massive spinning ball of gas, possibly useful for sources of fuel, or other applications. The plan was to have room for a few Horoshi in orbit above each one, then expand them as need be. If any resources there could be exploited, they'd be expanded further to do just that. No point was yet seen in exploring the furthest reaches of their system, as it was largely just balls of ice and rock out in the Oort cloud.

There was however a large asteroid field between Trophet and the first of the gas giants, that several fusion torch exploration ships were searching for signs of valuable materials. If metal-filled asteroids could be brought back to the inner systems, they would be invaluable in aiding construction efforts system wide. Why mine out planets when you can use a bunch of asteroids floating out there in space?

This and many other efforts were going on everywhere you looked. Gratch however spent his time looking at a computer monitor, testing things and building simulations as he was instructed. It was not the most glorious of work, but it was good entry level training. Between work sessions he was studying or in the class room, being taught all about higher level physics and other flavors of general science. He drank it all in happily, expanding his mind during the day, and eagerly expanding his body during his down time. He found it quite easy to fill his quarters from wall to wall, and floor to ceiling. Then again, they weren't all that large to begin with. He still had more room than what his Grandparents did on the Arcs, that much was certain. Instead of a small cabin he had a lovely little apartment in one section of the orbital complex.

Its main room was about 10m square with 6m high ceilings, and it branched off to his bedroom, a small kitchen with dining nook, and a fairly sizable refresher. He had widened things here and there to let his large bulk be comfortable, and all was well. He had a large window looking out into space from the main room. Similar portholes could be found in his bedroom and the kitchen, though they were smaller. He couldn't see Aquitas from here, as it was directly below his point of reference. He could however convert the main window into a large display screen, and show a picture of the planet below relayed from several cameras. He left it on this mode more often than not, as just empty space and stars got boring rather quickly.

If one were to exit the quarters, it lead out to a wide hallway with a built in moving sidewalk. This would zip you through the long line of living spaces, to various elevators going up and down the levels. There were also master elevators that connected to the rest of the facility, including the labs that Gratch worked in. There were plenty of places to eat as well, if one didn't want to cook for themselves all the time. It took perhaps 10 minutes to get to work or class every day, and that was just fine in his books. The slightly reduced gravity compared to the surface was nice as well. It tended to put a spring in one's step.

There were entertainments galore up there in orbit, from recreation facilities to theatres, plus a multitude of other games, pools, and general hang-outs for mature Horoshi. Or if one wanted, it was a short trip down the elevator to enjoy the endless ocean. More often than not Gratch was far too busy to bother going up and down the elevator frequently. His work and schooling kept him busy for the majority of the day, and some leisure plus food and sleeping ate up the rest of his time.

But he did manage to amuse himself however he could. Time continued to slip on by, and eventually his superiors and instructors took notice of the work he was doing. His grades were quite nice as well, so he was moved up and became a full fledged researcher. He didn't have a team or anything, but was an independent scientist assigned a group lab with several other Horoshi, all with a similar goal in mind. Namely, the advancement of space travel. It was a subject he enjoyed, and they welcomed him into all their projects. It involved much the same work, but he had a somewhat more relaxed schedule now. And any day now they were going to ship him to Trophet to continue his studies there in larger facilities.

He had wisely packed up his things into a few bags, and had them waiting by the door of his station quarters. The call to report to a transport came in the middle of one shift, and he had plenty of time to go home, grab his bags, and have a leisurely meal at the orbital spaceport before departing. They fed him again on the sleek silvery craft as it launched itself from orbit and onwards to Trophet, and he managed to catch a nap for good measure.

From his perspective at least, the trip ended in no time, and he was woken up as they landed on the cold 5th planet out from their red sun. He was pleased to finally be here, as he could visit his parents again. Plus the labs here were quite larger, and he'd have more room to both work and live. Plus there was a bounty of fresh fruit grown in the domed over farms. It was likely he'd find some of his siblings here too, toiling away in the dirt or hydroponics bays.

It wasn't long before he was settled into comfortable quarters much like what he'd occupied on the orbital station, but these were in an actual building, with windows looking over farmland and orchards, all covered above by almost perfectly transparent domes. Sure the view past the domes was usually cold barren rock, but it was better than nothing. Their activities on the planet had been altering the atmosphere here and there as well. Moisture was gathering for perhaps the first time in centuries, and occasionally it would snow.

The various scientists in charge of such projects thought that with a bit more intentional changes here and there, they might not need the atmospheric domes in a century or so. It would still be chilly outside compared to their tropical ocean world, but one would be able to breathe the air and walk around without a pressure suit. For now however, they stayed in the domed areas.

Scarl was happy to see him, as was his mother, Luulia. He visited them when he could during his down time, but as always he was quite busy with his training. They all understood, as they'd been through it all themselves decades back. His new workspace was wonderful, and filled with dozens of other eager Horoshi whom wanted very much to further their own development as well as that of the species. Science was big here, and that was a good thing. Gratch found that his size and strength were valued here very much, as there was always heavy lifting and work to be done in the test labs, building new equipment and even new sections of the spaceport. It was definitely nice to be appreciated, and not have people shy away from one's rather large size.

He was put together with a handful of other Horoshi to work on engine technology, and generally given a free-hand to do as they will. So long as they found out things one way or another, all was well. After all, research did always pay off in the end. One day while working on some figures and simulations, the team came upon an idea. All of their engines worked on a principal of constant thrust. In theory, they could just keep building up speed if they built the engines right, and could build the ships to withstand the speed. The main trouble they had was time dilation, but it wasn't too big of a deal on short hops around the system. Going elsewhere would be problematic however, especially on research and exploration trips.

Their new idea however, was playing with the way the ships built up speed. What if they accelerated to very near the speed of light, then suddenly kicked the engines up to full power? In theory, they would leap right over the speed of light entirely, and do... something. Some theories stated that the ship would destroy itself, or become a black hole, or explode into photons. Others thought it couldn't be done, and that light speed itself was an impossible barrier. The only solution was to give it a test!

With that in mind, the team set upon outfitting a robot ship with one of their new fusion engines, and programmed out a course for it to follow. Ideally, the ship would take off remotely, fly into orbit, speed itself up while burning hard away from the planet, then kick over the light speed barrier and cut its engines after 1 second. Hopefully they'd see some kind of results once the ship reported back.

The test was easy enough to set up and obtain clearance for. It was mere months later that they were actually launching the test ship, and crowding around monitors to see what happened. A grand total of 6 Horoshi had worked on the idea and made the prototype, Gratch included. Dozens more were eagerly watching, hoping that some kind of major breakthrough would happen. As they predicted the ship easily boosted itself faster and faster, and finally hit that one critical moment. Its engines flared, and the ship vanished in a blink of light.

The team was stunned to say the least, looking at their instruments after the data had caught up with them. Had the ship simply ceased to be? They would have to pour over the information they had, and hopefully find an answer. About an hour later they started getting more data from the ship, much to the surprise of everyone present. It had suddenly zipped from one point to another in their solar system, namely out to the farthest orbits of solar debris. It was practically at the Oort cloud, and all in the blink of an eye.

Deciding to test their little ship further, they plotted out another course and beamed the information out to the remote pilot, and waited. Hours later the ship blinked into existence in a high orbit above Trophet, and the research team threw up a cheer of triumph. Whatever they had done, it was nothing short of amazing. The little ship was brought back down to the surface and taken apart, and wound up being studied again and again for months. They had an answer to their question, that much was certain. From what they could tell, the ship actually jumped from one point to another when it crossed the light speed barrier, coming out of its jump when the engines were shut off. The transition happened in an instant, with no time dilation to speak of.

Needless to say it wasn't long before a small craft with one Horoshi test pilot was launched, and tested in person. It was also equipped with interesting new systems to reduce strain on the craft from the immense speeds, as well as its contents. It didn't matter that the pilot was building up towards light speed, he didn't feel more than the force of standing on one of their planets. The pilot brought his ship up to speed faster than the robot craft had, and as expected seemed to blink away into the void. He was back again in moments, and reported he'd been out to the gas giants and back in mere seconds.

Instruments aboard the craft confirmed this, and also revealed that the time dilation from the massive acceleration was relatively minor, as it only took place for such a short duration. They may have finally invented a practical star drive for deep space exploration. A curious report was made by the pilot, about what he saw during the jump. He reported feeling the slightest wave of dizziness, and having seen a flash of colours outside the view-ports during the jump. It seemed that some time passed while he was jumping from place to place, but only fractions of a second. It was possible that for longer jumps, the elapsed time would also be longer. Only further testing would know for sure.

It was a year later that a larger scale test ship had been outfitted with their modified engines, and sent out to find out for sure. The ship ramped up its cruising speed in no time at all, blinked away, and a second later, re-appeared 1 light year out from their star. The process was repeated, and it took 2 seconds to travel 2 light years, plus the cruising speeds around wherever they were. Further testing confirmed all this, and before long they were sending out exploration ships to another star system once more. It was a G2 type star located 10 light years away, and the team got there in under a minute.

The craft spent much longer simply leaving the space port and breaking orbit, then flying a save distance away from any inhabited planet. The transition point where the ship blinked out released a large electromagnetic pulse, so it was considered safe to do it far away from other ships and inhabited orbital facilities. Nobody wanted to suddenly find themselves in the dark up there.

Gratch and the rest of the small team were hailed as brilliant heroes for discovering this wonderful bit of technology, and were eventually promoted to be project leaders in their new space program. Gratch chose to become head researcher on one of the exploration ships, and spent quite a lot of time happily zipping around space or planning missions.

During one of his stop-overs back home on Aquitas, he ran into Whizzer again, and they hit it off with style. It didn't take long for the two to wind up getting married, much to the approval of family and friends. They had a relatively informal wedding back on Trophet, and eventually settled into comfortable quarters together. They definitely enjoyed the company of one another, and hoped to start a family of their own in a few years.

Bit by bit research ships explored all the local systems, and discovered that their new engine had a limit of sorts. It could only go 100 light years in one go, and then the passengers and crew would have to wait while it cooled down and built back up its energy reserves. But with such fantastic leaps of distance, they could afford to wait a few hours or even a day before making the jump yet again.

Space was vast, but its selection of habitable planets was limited. Over time many possible candidates for new Horoshi colonies were found, but none were selected. The search continues, lead by many Horoshi including Gratch and his lovely wife, Whizzer. Surely, they would find someplace new eventually.

For now however, they will just keep looking, and hoping.