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Welcome back, my lovely reader~

Being a writer is my dream job but it has full-time hours and doesn't pay the bills. I want to keep writing these stories for everyone to enjoy and your support on Ko-Fi helps make that happen. I also appreciate non-financial support like faving, voting, and following me here or on BlueSky. Thank you so much for your continued support! Please enjoy the episode.

And with that out of the way…

Welcome back, my lovely reader!

We left off with our vixen and crew starting their adventure in earnest, and Leona finally resolved things with Junon. Well, at least one thing was resolved, but now that Rashvian has a different interest drawing her to the Captain, now doesn’t she? Nothing screams, ideal mate to a warrior like kicking their tail, yes?

Of course, Junon’s mission weighs heavily on her shoulders. To almost everyone else, it’s just an adventure to explore unknown space, but she and Tyler know that the stakes are higher now. Not just their crew, but the thousand-plus souls back in the fleet are all counting on them for long-term survival if they can’t find a way home.

One problem at a time though, and a Salarian is still going to be a Salarian, so if something lovely is interested, then why would she pass up the chance to… tease it relentlessly! I hope Leona is ready to pay the price of admission to get on this ride, it might come at her own pride.

Let’s jump right in!

—*—

Episode 6:

Revelries & Adversities

-*Captain’s Log- SD: 242 - August 1st Standard Federation Time.*-

We’ve been in warp transit to the new star system for approximately four USF standard cycles. The crew is excited but also nervous, which is fully what I expected as we venture into the unknown. I could only imagine how they’d feel if the crew knew these missions were a lot more paramount now as we are effectively stranded for the foreseeable future.

Tyler has handled things remarkably well, or perhaps he’s just doubling down on that new relationship smell me and him are enjoying.

My First Officer and I have seemingly resolved our tension from before, but now there’s a new interesting tension I’m sensing from Leona. That big tough wolf might have a little bit of puppy love going on, and honestly? She’s attractive and I’m digging the idea of teasing her for a while, but I don’t want to push things and fracture the foundation we’ve established. She’s my First after all and I need her at her best. Still she's so cute when she submits to me…

There were nearly two dozen stars scanned that spread out from the trinary system we left. For now, to make things simple, we’ve designated this star as ‘Red-I’ and will just start adding color and values to them based off the order of exploration.

We’re due to drop out of warp soon, I better end it here.

-*Finish Entry*-

“Captain, we’re within distance to disengage warp!” Helmsman Shelby mewed out, her solid white eyes looking up at Junon.

“Security, if you will?” Junon looked over to Tyler who was already opening comms.

“All personnel, we are about to exit warp,” he called into his microphone. “I repeat, be advised we will be exiting warp!” Then, he looked back to Junon.

She took a few moments before lifting her paw. “Take us out of warp and let’s see what we’re looking at…” At her order, the ship lurched slightly, before slowing to normal impulse speed. As she looked out over the bridge, the red star looked small in the distance, nothing like the massive one they had been at before they left civilized space.

“What do we have on sensor?” Junon asked.

Her Radar Officer responded, “Ma’am, it looks like we’ve two planetoid bodies orbiting the star, one is in close proximity of its coronal field, the other a bit more distant and closer to us.”

Junon gave a small grunt as she spoke, “That one that’s right on top of it can’t be more than a lump of charcoal, but launch a probe to scan it, we’ll move towards the nearest planet for a more thorough scan. Any asteroid fields or nebulous pockets of gas?”

“No ma’am, this system seems fairly barren!” The equine officer responded, looking up from the radar.

“I suppose we couldn’t be so lucky on our first spot… How long to the planet, Helmsman?” She rose to her feet, taking in the view over the bow of the ship.

“About two hours, ma’am!” the calico responded.

“Give the engines a little bump and have us there in one, I don’t want to spend too much time in this system.” Junon tried to hide the edge in her voice. A tiny part of her hoped she’d be surprised and they’d find something worthwhile, but she knew in a system orbiting a red star, that wasn’t likely.

“We’ll have probe data on that first planet in about two hours, ma’am!” The equine officer spoke out.

“That fast? Probe technology has come a long way in my six or so years off,” she muttered. Then she raised her voice to follow up, “Thank you, keep me posted Officer Klasko!”

Leona frowned. “I can practically smell your dejection, Captain… but we didn’t have much expectation for a red star, yes?”

“I know, First… I just hoped we’d get lucky I suppose…” Junon hissed and rubbed her snout. There was a lot more at stake now, and she was feeling the pressure.

Her lover reached out into her mind. ‘Sorry, love… but we’re just getting started, so don’t get too down on yourself. The crew will pick up on the Captain’s mood, yes?’ Tyler flicked his blue eyes up at her from his own console.

‘You’re right, sweetie… We’ve got years of time, but depending on how far some of these systems are from us, we could easily eat up weeks of that on each trip.’ Junon rocked back and closed her eyes. ‘I may have to be more choosy about what stars we visit. Had we not been under a time limit I would have just done a methodical sweep moving out from that trinary system…’

The crew all settled into their work, idly chattering among themselves. Junon had pulled up a personal vid screen and was just aimlessly playing a simulation of a Salarian card game to pass the time. In her periphery, she saw Leona staring intently. She lifted her ears and asked, “Yes, First? Are you about to lecture me for killing time on duty while we are aimlessly moving to that planet?”

“What? Oh no, not at all Captain. I was just watching you… Trying to understand the rules,” Leona confessed with a frown.

“Oh, well that’s good. I pretty much allow any of the crew to distract themselves when they have no task anyway…” Junon pivoted the vid screen a little more towards Leona. She sensed a chance to have some fun and scooted over in her large chair, patting the space she’d created next to her. “Come.”

She saw Leona clearly gulp as her tail fluffed. ‘Someone’s on the hunt!’ Tyler’s voice filled Junon’s mind.

‘Shut up, you!’ Junon thought back with a grin.

“I can … see it fine right here, Captain, no need to inconvenience yourself,” Leona muttered gently.

Junon gave a small pout, her ears even folding to complete the look, “I don’t mind, First, are you sure?”

Leona perked her ears at the display and huffed out, “Ah! I… as long as you’re sure… I mean no disrespect…“ The Rashvian moved over to squeeze into the chair next to Junon. It was a very large chair, but their hips were still pushing together, the Salarian’s figure soft against her own more muscular legs.

“So…” Junon cooed as she pulled the display screen between them, refreshing the game. “This is Rodak Sharee… It’s a single-player card game…”

“Kind of like the Sol systems games of Solitaire or Mahjong?” Leona asked.

“I’ve no idea what either of those are,” Junon confessed.

“Oh, it’s okay… Please continue, Captain?” Leona rumbled a small growl as she focused, but then her jaw clenched and her ears perked as Junon laid a paw on her right thigh while leaning against her to point at the screen.

“Well, you start with a deck of cards… Then you lay out four of them…” Junon started explaining, pushing nice and close. Her scent tickled the Rashvian’s nose, and a faint growl rumbled in the wolf’s throat. Junon smelled really nice and she was so confident in how she touched and pushed against Leona.

‘Are you actually going after her, or just teasing her, love?’ Tyler asked in her head, clear amusement in his thoughts.

‘For now, I’m just enjoying being her personal ‘Pack Leader’, I’ll tease her a bit and see where it goes,’ she thought back with a grin. ‘I can tell she’s enjoying submitting to me… Such a cute little wolf…’

“So what happens if you run out of the Creya card symbol?” Leona asked as she pointed at one of the cards, bringing Junon back to her task. The Rashvian was actually listening, and was actually interested in her culture; she'd have to give her bonus points for that one.

“Then you lose, reshuffle, and try again. Rodak Sharee has a very low win percentage since it’s a game of chance more than skill,” Junon explained with an approving grin to the larger girl.

Leona felt her heart flutter at the smaller fox’s cute but cocky grin, her tail gently thumping against the Captain’s chair. “Ah… that’s pretty interesting, thanks for showing me Ca-”

“Do you want to try? I can walk you through it…” Junon shifted forward enough to get one of her tails to flop down behind the wolf’s back, laying it against her own. Leona instantly shuddered. Like Salarians, Rashvians had very sensitive tails and touching them was an intimate gesture.

Leona visibly struggled to focus as Junon’s tail brushed and purposefully wagged against the wolf’s. A little thrill rolled up Junon’s spine as she gave Leona an innocent look.

“T-that’s kind of you Captain… O-okay…” Leona huffed awkwardly, trying to keep her tail from breaking into a fitful wag at all the stimulation, a faint whisper of a pant on her breath.

“Of course…” Junon told the game to reshuffle and then deal the cards before pulling the vid screen straight over to Leona. She leaned up against her body now, her shoulder pushing against the Rashvian’s plump right breast. “Okay… make your move…” She whispered in a confident growl.

“M-Make my… move?” Leona huffed, feeling a second tail had joined now that Junon was so close to her, the two fox tails warm and soft against her own. The wolf’s thicker tail started to wag, despite her efforts to fight it.

“Yeah… Make your move, Leona…” Junon said as she cut her mismatched eyes up to the other dog. Seeing Leona freeze awkwardly, Junon cooed, “The game doesn’t start, until you make the first move…”

Leona gulped loudly and nodded, trying to compose herself as she brought her paw up, starting to manipulate the screen to make the deck deal cards, feeling Junon’s tail constantly pushing against her own and her left paw squeezing at her thigh.

“There you go… Don’t forget to watch out for that symbol, it will be a pain if you leave it around… Mhm… that’s a good move, good girl…” She huffed out gently, the Rashvian’s tail shuddering at getting praised and called such things.

Leona gave a small grunt and swallowed a lump before trying to focus on the game. She endured the constant stroke of those tails and that warm paw on her thigh for several minutes before the deck finally emptied and she was out of moves.

“Cresh cha… that’s too bad… You had a really good run for your first time!” Junon softly yipped as she reset the field on the vid screen.

“Thanks…”

“Did you like it?” Junon smiled and continued to lean up against the wolf as if she was still instructing. Neither of the women were paying the slightest attention to the actual game, and Junon’s paw merely lazily ran through the deck of cards. Leona shuddered but didn’t pull back.

“I did, thank you again for showing me…” Leona growled, her right paw flexing awkwardly. Now that she wasn’t using the screen, it had nowhere to go and she wasn’t sure where to place it. A little part of her wanted to put it around the fox's shoulder.

Junon shifted herself up, puffing against the wolf’s ear in a whisper, “Thank me… properly…”

“Hgn… D-didn’t I?” Leona whispered back.

Junon showed her sharp teeth in that cute haughty grin as she shook her head, her blonde hair bouncing slightly. “You didn’t… remember the discussion I had with you in the lift a few days ago?” Leona’s eyes widened as she nodded.

“So… thank me…. Properly…” Junon cooed, then lifted her own large golden ears expectantly, pretending that she didn’t see half the bridge crew lean in to listen as well.

Leona gulped loudly and puffed gently into her ear, “Thank you… my… Pack Leader…”

Junon felt a shiver roll down her spine and growled cutely. “Again… call me it again…”

The larger wolf whimpered faintly at the aggressive teasing as she whispered against the fox’s ear again, “My… Pack Leader…”

Junon growled and leaned close, puffing into her ear, “Good dog…” Her breath was hot, tickling the short fur inside the cusp of the wolf’s fluffy ear, another shiver rolling up her spine.

“Captain, we’ll be in scanner range within ten!” Officer Klasko called out, trying to keep his own voice composed. A soft chorus of giggles and whispers rose from the majority of the crew, who could practically smell the sexual tension between the two commanding officers.

“Ah! Very good Officer Klasko!” Junon hopped right up and gave a lazy stretch, her tails fluffing out and lifting right in Leona’s face, letting the Rashvian get a good look at the small fox’s perky, mostly bared rear.

The wolf gave a shocked grunt and shoved her paw over her mouth to avoid yipping. Junon looked back with a wicked grin as her tails lowered. “What’s the matter, First?”

“N-Nothing, Captain, just… thought I had a sneeze coming on…” She muttered as she quickly pulled from the seat to go take her own again.

‘You are terrible!’ Tyler’s voice filled her head, the amusement clear.

‘Terribly good at building the tension you mean?’ Junon hummed back as she trotted forward a few paces, getting the blood flowing in her limbs again.

‘Damn… Seeing you work like that? No wonder I didn’t stand a chance! What did you make her say?’ he asked.

‘I had her call me her Pack Leader.’ Junon smiled over at her lover.

‘Hot… That’s so hot…’ Tyler cracked a goofy grin at her.

‘Mind drifting to Leona and I, and you between us, sweetie?’ Junon asked in her mind.

‘W-well it is now!’ Tyler practically barked the thoughts as a loud snort blurted out of him.

A few minutes passed before the Radar Officer called out, “Scans complete, Captain!”

“On screen!” She barked out, paws on her hips as the data displayed.

-*Barren World*-

Planet Class - II

Trace minerals are present on surface, but tectonic reactions and lack of atmosphere make habitation extremely ill-advised. The following mineral manifest is as follows… -*

Junon clicked her tongue at the report. “Not really promising, but it’s… something?” She shrugged and spoke out, “Make a note of the resources, they could come in handy in the future if we need extra for refining!”

“I’ll add it to the logs for this system, Captain!” Tyler barked as he pulled up the documentation and quickly noted the planet's characteristics and resources.

A little over an hour later, the probe's data returned with exactly what was expected. A hot, scorched planet with nothing of value. Junon grunted and closed the vid screen. “Navigator, get our next waypoint setup, go to warp in three minutes. Security, be a peach and warn the crew,” Junon commanded before flopping into her chair.

In just a few minutes, the ship was back in warp. Junon sighed and called out, “Lieutenant Shelby, what’s our ETA?”

“Approximately 39 USF hours, Ma’am!” the calico responded.

“Alright, let’s get the automated systems up. Stay in uniform until your shift is finished, but otherwise, you’re all on free time, good work everyone!” Junon stood and offered a salute, and the rest of the bridge stood to return it.

“Dismissed then, reach out to me if anything is needed. I’m gonna go blow off some steam in the holosuite,” Junon growled as she put a paw on her sword, even going so far as to draw and flick it about with a roll of her wrist a few times before making her way to the lift.

-*United Space Federation Data Archives*-

-*Species Dosier #162*-

Marvulians:

Marvulians are an oddity on the galactic stage, as there is debate if there truly are any pure blooded ones left in the cosmos at all. A space-faring civilization that far outdates Earthlings, they had discovered space travel long before recorded Earthling history. They have no known homeworld, and rumors circulate that it was lost to an unknown cataclysm long ago.

Little is known of their ancient culture that spans hundreds of thousands of USF standard years, but what is known is that sometime in the distant past, their species began to integrate with other societies, either bringing them to that long forgotten homeworld or mingling with the local culture.

Marvulians have notable trademark features that make them instantly recognizable. Any offspring will always have some form of purple pigmented fur or skin. They also have solid colored eyes, lacking sclera. This is not simply cosmetic, as their eyes make up tens of thousands of tiny optical lenses that give Marvulians the ability to see objects with perfect clarity that other species would need visual aids to see. Additionally, the offspring will always produce a spade-like tail, regardless of their origins.

Marvulian DNA is not picky and is compatible with all known species. Oddly enough, Marvulian heritage either takes full effect, producing the trademark traits noted above, or not at all. Offspring with this DNA will either have the features or not, and multiple generations will not dilute the genetic earmarks. There have even been cases of Marvulian genetics remaining dormant in a lineage for hundreds of years before manifesting.

Given the nature of their species and seemingly random gestation of their offspring, the Marvulian have no official designation as a galactic power. They simply exist uncommonly through most civilized species.

-*End Archive*-

Junon was in the midst of her practice set when a ping sounded out over the simulation. Her ears lifted and she hit her communicator, panting, “Go ahead…”

“... Captain, it’s me,” Leona’s polite voice responded.

“Mmm… Fine, enter!” The simulation paused as a door slid open, seemingly out of thin air. The Rashvian stepped through, dressed in a simple casual robe similar to an Earthling yukata.

Junon grinned and put one paw on her hip as the other held her wooden training sword across her shoulder. “Nice robe. You take a wrong turn looking for your shower, Leona?”

The wolf gave her a glare and shook her head. She growled, “May I speak freely, Captain?”

“Hmm… Call me… My Pack Leader instead, and you may!” Junon gave her subordinate a wicked little grin.

“M- Must you?” Leona grumbled.

“Then permission denied, please excuse yourself so I can resume!” Junon turned her back on Leona to return to the training dummy.

“Wait! Damn it… Fine! Permission to speak freely… My… Pack Leader?” Leona tried to sound defiant, but there wasn’t nearly as much heat in her words as there should have been.

Junon grinned and looked over her shoulder. “Granted,” she cooed.

“About earlier… on the bridge…”

“Yes? When I was teaching you that card game?” Junon smiled and put a paw on her hip.

“You were doing more than that!” Leona barked out in frustration.

“Was I?” Junon rubbed her muzzle and shrugged innocently.

“D-Damn it, Junon!” Leona snarled.

Junon folded her arms, letting the wooden sword hang limply in her paw. “So… What did you need, Leona?” she asked with a smug, confident grin.

“I… wish to spend time with you,” the Rashvian growled, clenching her paws.

“Time with me? I’m in the middle of my training, wolf!” Junon laughed again. “And you’re in a bathrobe!”

Leona barked angrily and slung the robe off, revealing her workout gear: baggy shorts, a tank top, and a sports bra peeking out from beneath. “I wanted to… train with you… spar perhaps?”

“Can you even use a sword, Leona?” Junon tilted her head.

“No! But… I couldn’t play that game either! And you showed me that!” Leona hissed, glaring harshly at the fox.

“Big big difference between a card game and swordsmanship, my dog…” Junon approached, casually flicking the wooden blade about and keenly watching Leona’s tail going stiff. “Why me? You could dial up a training program on the holosuite.”

“Because… You’re my … Pack leader… and…” Leona clenched her teeth.

“And what? Me being your pack leader doesn’t mean I should train you…” Junon smirked. She saw where this was going. Her wagging tails betrayed her interest.

“Can’t we just say that’s enough?” Leona asked.

Junon offered her a mischievous grin. She rolled her paw towards the wolf and coolly demanded, “Tell me the real reason, or the answer is no.”

Leona looked taken aback by the point-blank threat of rejection, then she clenched her paws with another snarl. After a moment of hesitation, she finally hissed out, “I… like you…”

“Do you now?” Junon asked, raising a paw to her chest in mock surprise. “Not long ago you hated me, wanted me rotting in the void… Why the change of heart, my dog?”

“Don’t mock me, Junon!” Leona barked out. Her outburst was met with the tip of Junon’s sword right at her nose. Leona yipped in alarm and went stiff.

“Why?” Junon hissed, tilting her head. In an instant, all her good humor had evaporated.

“Tch… You’re strong, and you’ve overcome a lot… and … You don’t make excuses…” Leona whispered.

“Oh really? Because before, you accused me of only making excuses, Leona… It was only after we came to blows, and I showed you that fucking footage, that you fucking listened!” Anger suddenly welled up within Junon, and she threw her sword down against the training pad. She thrusted a padded finger into the wolf’s chest. “I don’t owe you shit, Leona! You disrespected me, you attacked me, and worst of all, you called me a liar! Cresh cha! The last one alone is enough to make my blood boil!” She shouted and bared her sharp teeth right in Leona’s face.

“I’m sorry!” Leona dropped to her knees and lowered her head to the mat before her Captain, her Pack Leader. Junon twitched an eye, shocked that this wolf was completely swallowing her pride for her. A part of her wanted to apologize, wanted to take it easy on the girl, but she knew what Rashvians were capable of if you showed them weakness, especially-

Junon put a paw to her muzzle. No, this was her prejudice showing. Leona wasn’t doing this as some scheme, she needed to stop thinking like that. She knew how much pride the wolf had - this was a very significant gesture. And besides that… seeing her so submissive was… thrilling.

“Get up, and take this,” Junon barked. She nudged the sword she’d tossed down with her foot.

Leona bit her lower lip but nodded as she awkwardly grasped the wooden sword and rose. Junon collected another from a weapon rack, rolling her shoulder a little as she returned.

“Where do I even begin? I’m no teacher…” She sighed and looked the wolf over in her workout gear. Her whole figure was strong and defined, her ample breasts tucked neatly into the sports bra, her rear firm. She even had some definition in her abs through her fur, just visible beneath the hem of her short tank top. In truth, Junon preferred her fairer partners to be softer, not chiseled. Still, she couldn’t deny the wolf was cute, sexy even in her own way. And of course, her level of commitment to this whole thing she’d shown lately was unexpected, and exciting.

“You owe me one for this,” Junon snarled as she set her sword.

“How can I repay you, pack leader?” Leona asked politely.

Junon showed her a grin, her tails wagging as she licked her chops. “Oh, I’ve got just the thing in mind, but let’s get your first lesson out of the way…”

Leona gave her a nervous look. The vixen stepped back, brandishing her sword. “Alright, let’s see what I’m working with,” Junon confidently hummed as she beckoned the wolf with her free paw. “Come on, Leona… Make your move.”

*-*

“You got those scones ready, sweetie?” Junon cheerfully called from the front counter of her bakery.

“Pulling them out of the oven now!” Tyler's voice responded from inside the kitchen.

Junon hummed, poured a cup of tea, and placed a small muffin beside it on a tray. “Okay, take that to table three, pet!” She showed her teeth in a sharp grin.

Leona stood before her, scowling. She wore a flowing black and white maid-style dress that just came to her knees. The top cupped the attractive swell of crimson-furred breasts to show a deep cut of cleavage. In her hair, right between her fluffy red ears, were fine black ribbons that accentuated her short red locks. Beneath the countertop, she was wearing polished high heels, with white stockings that were held up by a garter hidden beneath the skirt. To top the whole outfit off, she wore a small choker with a tag that read, ‘Property of Junon Topaz’.

“I've never been so humiliated in my life,” she groaned as she collected the tray.

“You look great!” Junon yipped. She then leaned in and teased, “And… You like it. You do like it, don't you, my pet?”

“Yes, mistress,” Leona hissed. She turned away with the order and started to walk, awkwardly wobbling a little in the heels.

Tyler poked his head out of the kitchen. ‘Damn… you’re really laying into her, aren’t you, love?’ he thought to Junon with a grin.

‘Yes, and she loves it,’ she responded, humming to herself.

“You sure about that?” Tyler asked out loud as he moved beside her to place fresh scones in the display case. They both watched as the wolf snarled at a crew member while placing their order down.

“You can smell it on her, she’s soaked…” Junon smugly puffed into his ear. Tyler just bit his lower lip as he looked at the glaring wolf who was trotting back over, her large breasts bouncing in the top awkwardly.

“What are you staring at, runt?!” Leona barked at Tyler.

He yipped and stepped back a few paces. “Ah! Nothing… I’ll be in the kitchen, love!” He spun on his heel and retreated, and the doors to the kitchen continued to swing long after he disappeared.

Junon giggled and pouted up at the larger wolf. “Aww, you scared him, Leona!”

“Hmph…” She stuck her nose up, fussy and smug, but then her tail stiffened as Junon guided her to look down with a gentle, firm paw on her jaw. The smaller fox licked her own chops as she dragged her claws down the Rashvian’s throat, brushing a padded thumb over the tag on her collar.

“Do you like dressing up for me? Be honest, my good girl,” Junon cooed, scratching under the large wolf’s jaw. She saw the fluffy tail behind her starting to shudder and wag.

“Y-Yes… Mistress…” Leona puffed out awkwardly. A small whimper escaped her throat as Junon pushed closer, her other paw resting on the wolf’s hip.

Junon rose up on her footpaws to reach Leona’s large, fluffy ears. “So… what do you like more?” she asked, warm breath making Leona’s ear twitch, and Leona herself shudder. “Pack Leader, Alpha, or Mistress?”

“Ah! A… all of them are nice, Junon… As long as it’s you saying them…” Leona whispered with a small growl. Her green eyes were blown wide, submissive and obedient, as the fox felt pride swell in her chest. She also felt a stirring of butterflies in her own belly at the wolf’s earnest confession. She should reward her eventually, but for now, she was having too much fun breaking her new pet in.

“Hmm… Alpha sounds a little silly, and pack leader is a mawful… so yes, I think Mistress will do nicely for now, my pet…” She lowered back down, giving the wolf’s jaw a lap of her tongue on the way, the most affection she’d ever shown the Rashvian.

Leona gave a small shocked yip, hearts in her eyes from the kiss. Then, she tried to move in to return the kiss, but Junon pulled her muzzle away with a smirk. “Now now… we’re still working, my pet… my good girl…” She stepped back as Leona let out a frustrated whimper but straightened up.

Their little shift at the bakery cafe moved along with Junon relishing in teasing the wolf constantly, smelling the desire on her the whole while. Eventually, they closed for the day and Junon ordered her to go get a cold shower before they started their time on the bridge.

*-*

Leona had beat her to the bridge, punctual and orderly as always. Now that she was in her uniform again, she seemed like a different wolf entirely. Upon her Captain’s entry, she barked out, “Captain on the bridge!”

The whole bridge crew stood to salute, and Junon gave her own in return. “Are we ready to drop out of warp, Helmsman?” She asked while walking to her seat, giving Leona a small smile before sitting.

“Yes, Captain! We’ll be at our destination in just a few minutes!” Officer Shelby called back.

“Good good, let’s see if we fare better with this one,” she mused as she pulled up a vid screen. New data had been gathered since she departed, and the Occam’s hyperwave broadcast pulse had located new nearby stars.

“White stars tend to have more planetoid bodies in their systems than red ones do, so hopefully…” Leona said with a frown.

“First Officer, take a look at this.” Junon shifted the screen and zoomed in closer to the sector of space they were in. Only a few parsecs from their next stop was a blue dwarf.

“Oh, that’s interesting…” Leona rubbed her jaw in contemplation. “It’s a small star but…”

“But smaller blue stars tend to have more resource-rich worlds,” Junon finished. “We probably wouldn't find any habitable planets, but it might be worth a pit stop there, we may find some resources to resupply the fleet… What do you think, First?” Junon tilted her head to the wolf.

Leona bit her lower lip. Her duty and obedience must be starting to pay dividends; Junon was genuinely seeking her counsel on the matter. She cleared her throat and called out, “Helmsman, can you pull the distance up to our next target after this system, then tell me the excess time if we detoured for this blue dwarf?”

The calico fiddled with her console, pulling up a few vid windows to look over the chart. “Ah… From our current location to the White-II, it’s approximately three cycles… It’d take two cycles to get to the blue dwarf from here. From there, two more cycles to the white star, then five more cycles of travel to return to our origination point!” Officer Shelby explained.

“It’d add a day to our trip, but the fleet won’t get nervous unless we’re weeks late… Yes, Captain… I believe the side trip could be worth our time!” Leona nodded to Junon as she confirmed.

“Thank you, First,” Junon gave her a gentle, approving smile that made the Rashvian’s heart flutter. Junon spoke to the Helmsman, “Officer Shelby, be a peach and adjust our course path accordingly for that new blue dwarf, register it as Blue-I as well!”

“Aye aye!” After making the adjustments, the calico looked up again and mewed, “Captain, we can drop out of warp on your word!”

Junon gave a nod to Tyler, who went right to the comms and delivered the usual ship-wide announcement. She waited a few moments, then lifted her paw. “Take us out of warp, Helmsman!”

The calico disengaged warp as the ship slowed back down gently to impulse speed. Junon stood to look over the view before her, seeing the white star in the distance. It was easily five times the size of the red dwarf, but not very large in terms of other white stars.

“Preliminary scans coming in now, Captain!” the equine Officer Klasko spoke out.

“On screen!” Junon barked as a vid display lit up over the bridge, showing a diagram of the system. After a moment, five locations blinked into view. One was clearly a gas giant, and one of the bodies was its own moon circling in.

“Well… A much more lively system isn’t it?” she hummed as the computer estimated the types of planets, each of them assigned a color based on their predicted attributes. Junon quirked a brow at the planet highlighted in blue and tapped for details. She muttered, “A water world?” Her heart sped up a little at that prospect.

“Helmsman, set course for the second planet in the rotation! Radar, how many probes do we have at our disposal?”

“Three, Captain!” Klasko responded.

“Get one on that gas giant, that’ll kill two with one stone… Send the other two off to planet one and three, we’ll cover all the bases that way while we look at that potential water world!” Junon barked out the orders.

‘You think it really is a water world?!’ Tyler’s words filled her head, and he sounded as hopeful as she did.

‘That’s what the ship's early readings are showing,’ Junon thought. ‘Even if it’s uninhabitable…’

‘There will be carbon!’ Tyler thought as he looked right at her.

‘Right. Minerals are good, but we need water and carbon to synthesize food and… well, drinkable water.’ She nodded back to her lover before sitting down.

“Helmsman, do we have an ETA?” Leona asked.

“I’d estimate… three hours, ma’am!” Officer Shelby answered.

“Wonderful!” Junon said aloud. “Even if it’s not habitable, if that’s a water world, this is cause to celebrate. We can top up the ship stores of carbon, and we have a beacon of hope that we can sustain the fleet out here if we need to!” She sprang back up to her feet. “Let’s have a little celebration, I’ll go to the bakery and bring some treats and tea up for everyone!”

“Does this mean First Officer Sussnel will be wearing that little number from earlier?” Officer Klasko said with a braying laugh.

“You shut up, horse!” Leona barked sharply.

“Ha ha! First Officer, Security? Come help me gather up some treats and tea for the bridge!” Junon wagged her tails as she spun on her heel to trot over to the lift.

“Captain, I’m not going to have to wear that ridiculous outfit am I?!” She snarled in protest as they walked. A few of the bridge crew chuckled and giggled amongst themselves.

The trio returned several minutes later with a few boxes of various leftover treats and some heat-safe containers for the hot tea. Leona was mercifully allowed to remain in her uniform, though Junon had teased her relentlessly about making her change nevertheless.

“Now make sure you be careful not to spill it or get crumbs on your console, yes eating on the bridge is against USF regulations, but it’s my ship, so I say it’s allowed today!” Junon barked out cheerfully as the bridge staff collected treats and tea.

The crew was in high spirits during their travel, and before they knew it, the Occam was near the second planet. Junon stood and called out, “On screen!” The vid window popped into display for the whole bridge to see. The planet was clearly covered in thick snow and ice.

-*Frozen World*-

Planet Class - III

Aproximately 96% of the planet appears to be made up of ice sheets and glaciers, with faint land mass regions scattered in islands near the equator. Temperatures are harshly frigid and though an atmosphere is present, the constant storms and lack of solid land to build upon make for poor habitation options. The following mineral manifest is as follows…-*

“Technically a water world?” Leona said as she stood beside her Captain with her paw on her hips.

“Let’s see the sensor reports please!” Junon called out as a smaller vid window popped up before her. She clicked her tongue as she looked over the data. “It’s not ideal… But we can work with it… Apparently, the whole shell of the planet is covered in ice that goes several meters deep.”

“But it’s got carbon and synthesizable water?” Tyler asked from the console.

“It does!” Junon chirped.

“Shall we launch a resource probe to top off our personal supplies, Captain?” Officer Shelby asked.

“Yes… After the Science department scans for any pathogens and such… I assume our resource probes can handle that temperature and those wind gusts?” Junon looked over to her Radar officer.

“It should be fine, Captain,” Officer Klasko nodded as he spoke.

“Make it so, then!” She barked out as she pulled up the information on the probes they sent to the other planets.

“Anything of note?” Leona asked.

“Well… a few have better resources than the last system… I think… I might recommend the fleet move to this system and just leave a waypoint beacon drone near the… present location…” She trailed off, picking her words carefully.

“Good thinking, the beacon could allow any other ships that come through to know where we were,” Leona said with a nod.

Junon rubbed her muzzle in thought. If the Astral left her current location, the crew couldn’t keep studying the area of the anomaly that brought them here. At least, it would be more difficult in the future. Getting to and from this location would take nearly a week.

“A-Anyway… We’ll leave that decision to the Admiral!” She barked out and closed the vid window. Despite her quiet dilemma, she felt a bit of relief. The situation still wasn’t ideal, but at the least, this system alone could provide the resources they needed to survive out here. She wouldn’t have to worry about her crew starving to death or the fleet falling apart.

-*United Space Federation Data Archives*-

-*Equipment Dossier #7*-

Deflector Shield Technology:

Deflector shield technology has been in use even before the establishment of the USF, largely for personal protection by peacekeeping forces or military personnel. These more primitive shielding modules consisted of a dedicated shield pack that could absorb kinetic impacts before burning out and becoming inoperable.

The advent of phased energy rectification weaponry, commonly referred to as phasers, eventually made the first deflector shields obsolete, as they had been designed to only stop kinetic impacts. The newer phased-energy models, on the other hand, gave ships the capability to counteract energy impacts as well. It took researchers decades to finally develop a functioning shield to consistently absorb energy blasts, but these models required a massive amount of battery power to use.

On SD: 23, a starship successfully field tested a ship-based deflector shield. Unlike today’s models, this shield was only forward-facing, and it needed to be manually rotated to defend specific areas of the vessel, leaving the rest of the hull unprotected. It wasn’t until SD: 73 that a fully functioning shield that encompassed the whole of the hull was put into service.

Deflector shields have a capacity limit based on several factors, from ship size to the quality of protection they offer. It’s common practice to install backup batteries into a ship to help offset shield overload.

Standard operating procedure for most USF vessels is to maintain shields at all times. A percentage is rated to show how much the shields are being utilized in any situation. Displacing micro-meteorites or various small space debris will rarely bring a ship past around 5%. However, sustained weapon fire or very large object impact such as those from asteroids can quickly take a shield to the maximum output.

When a shield reaches 100% output, the engine that controls them will start to overheat. Batteries can be used to offset this to a degree. If shields continue to be taxed when in this condition, the generator controlling them will eventually fail, often with cataclysmic results. Thoroughly overheated generators will often need thorough, expensive repairs to be functional once more.

-*End Archive*-

After the Occam’s resources were topped off, the crew embarked toward their new destination, the blue dwarf system. Another cycle and a half passed without incident, and Junon was already feeling better about the survivability of the expedition. Leona quickly became a permanent fixture of the bakery, and the fox was thrilled to have her for almost daily teasing. It was simply doing wonders for her own morale.

“Hey sweetie?” Junon called out from her bedroom. She was dressed in one of Tyler's shirts and just a pair of panties.

“What's up love?” Tyler emerged from her personal bathroom, his fur glistening and damp from the shower they had just shared.

“I was putting my clothes away and I can't find my teal panties! You being a cute little Earth fox and hiding my underwear?” Junon flashed him a grin.

“What?! Junon, I'm not messing with your underwear unless it's to take them off!” He laughed and put a paw on his hip. “You probably just misplaced them.”

Junon gave him a snort. “Tyler, I'm a military brat. I can be a bit of a slob sometimes, but I was taught to always organize and keep track of my uniform! I have my panties color coordinated for the day-cycle, and I always wear my teal ones on Wednesday!”

Tyler barked out a laugh, then shrugged as he approached her. “Love… I don’t know what to tell you, could the cleaning atomizer have destroyed them?”

“Impossible, that simply doesn’t happen…” She grumbled and kept folding her clothes.

“Can’t you just have the ship fabricate you a new pair?” He moved over to his own bag next to the bed, taking out his uniform for the bakery.

“Of course I can, it’s just… I’m irritated that I can't find them,” she growled, growing more frustrated.

“Well… it’s not like someone is just going to steal your panties, right?” Tyler smiled at her as he asked. “Honestly though, is anyone even in your quarters but me to try?” He began directing his attention to closing the buttons on his shirt.

“Only you… Well, I mean… Claris comes over for tea every other cycle, and we’ve been having tea together with…” Junon put a paw to her jaw in thought. “No… that couldn’t be the case.” A grin was slowly creeping up one half of her face.

Tyler’s eyes grew wide as he quickly put the pieces together. “Wait- LEONA?!” He broke out laughing again, and once he caught his breath, he added, “You HAVE been teasing her up for over a week, love!”

“Sure but… Cresh cha! Why my panties?!” she awkwardly barked.

“You smell good? You’ve been rubbing up on her, even petting and pawing… Maybe she wanted to get a direct hit of that musk of yours!” Tyler cackled with a wicked little grin.

“Oh gods!” Junon yipped as she shoved her paws over her face. “Toth! I was working under the impression they would at least be clean!”

“You keep your laundry hamper in the restroom… Where else would a guest go if they had to… well, go?” Tyler was clearly enjoying this.

“Toth! S-Shut up!” She groaned into her hands.

“You brought it upon yourself! Maybe she was huffing your dirty musky panties and stroking herself?” Tyler mused with another amused bark.

“Oh my gods! Tyler, shut up or I will break up with you!” Junon thrust her paw at him and bared her teeth. “And strip your rank, and make you clean the cargo bay with a toothbrush!”

“Okay okay, Captain!” He threw his paws up, still laughing.

Junon growled and resumed folding her laundry. Tyler finished drying his fur, and they dressed for their shifts at the bakery in silence. Finally, he spoke up again. “Seriously, though… She’s like… in love with you, Junon.”

“Hmph… I doubt that, Ty! She just likes being teased,” Junon yipped, fussy.

“No, really.” He put a paw on his hip. “When are you gonna go for it? You already got the poor thing huffing your panties, she’s probably whimpering and calling your name out while masturbating!” he laughed.

She hissed and thrust her paw out towards the door. “Get out, you’re fired as my boyfriend!” she decreed. But Tyler suddenly sank to the floor and wrapped his arms tight around her legs, her commanding aura undermined by her own startled, adorable yip.

“Oh have mercy, mistress!” he mockingly begged. Junon grunted - the words sounded foreign coming from him, but she couldn’t keep her tails from wagging for a moment, as she instantly thought of Leona.

“Heh, okay okay, pry yourself off me, we got work to do!” She laughed.

“All I’m saying is, haven’t you teased her enough, love?” he asked with a grin as he stood.

“Isn’t that for me to decide? Maybe I’m making sure she can handle it before I pull the trigger!”.

“I think you’re just enjoying tormenting her.” He gave her a knowing look.

“Maybe… Maybe I’m worried about taking that step…” She sighed and stepped over to the window of her quarters, watching streaks of stars go by while they were in warp.

“Why, if I may ask?” Tyler tilted his head and followed her.

“She’s a Rashvian… I don’t want her to think I’m just sleeping with her out of good will or something…” Junon growled as she laid her forehead against the glass.

“I think Leona knows you’re not some bigot now, Junon… You told me about the whole thing.” Tyler put his paws on her shoulders from behind. “I think if anything, she’s trying her best just like you are… It could be that she also has some prejudice towards Salarians.”

“That’s possible… Maybe…” She smiled up at his reflection on the glass. “I’ll talk to her after work today.”

“That, and maybe hike her dress up and see if she has them on! You guys have about the same size hips even if she is taller!” He laughed.

“Oh really, you staring at her hips and ass, Tyler?” Junon gave him a challenging grin.

“Hey hey… You didn’t say I couldn’t look! She’s hot!”

“She’d probably try to break you like a damn twig, also if you do get her in bed, you better be careful, Rashvian’s are notoriously fertile…” Junon mussed as she rubbed her jaw.

“That makes sense given their culture. I've been getting spoiled with you and not needing to worry about that, huh?”

He grunted as Junon poked his ribs. “Yeah yeah!” Junon growled, pulling away to finish dressing. “Just don't get lazy sleeping with me and forget you still have consequences with other aliens!”

*-*

Leona arrived at the cafe, punctual as always, dressed in that frilly, lacy outfit Junon demanded, collar and all. Despite the humiliating garb, Leona held herself with the same confidence she showed on the bridge. Her head was held high, her posture was perfect, and she was even getting better at walking in her heels. But as Junon approached, she noticed the Rashvian’s body language shift. Her ears perked, her tail stiffened, and her snout ever so slightly angled down, as her eyes widened expectantly. Submissively. Junon couldn’t help but smile and soak in the sight, slowly looking Leona up and down with her hands on her hips. “Ready for another few hours with me, my pet?” Junon cooed.

“Y-yes, Mistress,” Leona growled. She looked annoyed, but her tail began wagging behind her, making a telltale swishing sound beneath her short skirt.

“Hm hm… I’ll admit, I’ve enjoyed this even more having you around,” Junon hummed, lifting a paw to scratch under Leona’s jaw. “My good girl…” Leona’s eyes instantly softened as she gave a small huff.

Junon pulled away, then began to slowly circle her pet, making a show of closely scrutinizing. Leona followed her with her eyes and shifted awkwardly. “W-what is it? I’ve got the whole outfit on and- eep!” She yipped as Junon casually lifted the back of her dress. Underneath was a nice, firm rear, with some simple white panties.

“Junon!” Leona barked as she jerked from her paws, pushing her dress down with an annoyed glare.

The fox cracked a grin and said nothing as she trotted into the back. The wolf glared at her back and did not press for more. She was preoccupied with subduing the butterflies rattling in her stomach.

The trio shortly got to work. Their little bakery was only officially serving for the first few hours of the morning cycle before they went to the bridge for their actual jobs, so it passed fairly quickly as it always did.

Junon thought about confronting Leona about the panties, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut. She worried that if she just outright accused Leona and she did simply misplace them… Well, it wouldn’t look good, and Leona would be very upset at the accusation. A little part of her now wanted to believe Leona had taken them, that she liked her that much to risk it.

Once dressed, she made her way to the bridge. The door of the lift hissed open, and once again Leona’s familiar voice barked out, “Captain on the bridge!”

Junon gave a salute back to the crew as they rose. “At ease, let’s get a status update!”

“Captain, we should be within safe distance to disengage warp in about fifteen minutes!” Shelby mewed out.

“Excellent… I’ve read that blue stars can sometimes house resource-rich planets or all sorts of other anomalies! I’m excited to see what we’ll find on our first one!” Junon clenched her paws, grinning ahead.

“We could also not find anything but a really hot or dead star, Captain…” Leona said, offering a realistic foil to Junon’s eagerness.

“Don’t be a stick in the mud, First, where’s your sense of adventure?” Junon asked, sticking her tongue out at her playfully. Leona harrumphed but didn’t argue with her.

After a few more minutes, the calico called out once more, “We can disengage on your order, Captain!”

“Security, if you will!” She stood and pointed to Tyler who nodded and got right on the comms to warn the crew.

She hummed eagerly and rolled her tails, hips shifting in anticipation. She’d never seen a blue star up close before and was eager to get a good look at this system. Meanwhile, Leona found her eyes lingering on her Captain’s squirming hips. She broke away and stood instead, paws folded behind her.

“Okay! Helmsman, take us to impulse speed!” Junon thrust a paw out with a bark.

“Slowing to impulse speed!” The engines slowed and the blurring streaks of light coalesced into a pure screen of white. Junon parted her jaw to speak, confused, before a massive surge of force rocked the whole ship. The bridge erupted with startled cries and blaring alarms as Junon was violently knocked off her feet.

“Junon!” Leona dove forward with surprising speed and caught her in a kneel before jerking her muzzle up in a snarl.

“Shields just went from twenty percent to max!” cried the weapons officer. “Captain!”

“Engineering, engage the extra shield batteries now!” Junon shouted into her communicator while still clinging to Leona. Another wave hit the ship as the deflector shields cast an ominous green haze over the solid backdrop of white. Warning alarms screamed across the ship.

“Captain, I’ve hull breaches on decks two and four, in… all over!” Klasko shouted out.

“Shelby, turn us around and get us the fuck out of this system, now!” Leona roared out.

“The warp dissipator is still cooling, it’s too dangerous!” The calico argued but was already rapidly engaging turning thrusters to maneuver the ship around.

“We’ll take our chances! Better that than have the whole ship buckle! Do as she says!” Junon shouted while kneeling on the bridge with Leona holding her protectively.

“Captain! Our batteries are nearly out already! The shielding unit is overheating rapidly!” Talleria’s voice shouted back on the comms.

“We’re turned, Captain!” Shelby mewed out.

“Engage the damn warp!” Junon barked as another wave of force slammed into the stern of the ship right. The engines engaged, and their sputtering sent tremors throughout the ship. With another violent shudder, the ship limped into warp at last, but Junon could tell by the streaks across the display it wasn’t under full power.

“Captain… We can’t maintain warp for long in this condition, the engines are all in the red and climbing!” The calico yowled.

“Hold it until we clear that system's proximity! Engineering! I don’t care if you have to hold it together with rubberbands, keep that fucking engine going!” Leona shouted into her own communicator.

“I’m trying! I’m one doe damn it! And I only have two paws!” Talleria shouted back before barking some orders to her own staff.

“Captain!” Far too soon for Junon’s liking, Officer Shelby begged, “We have to exit warp, now!”

Crimson glowed over the whole bridge crew as Junon shivered and Leona felt her hug closer, as if she knew she might be signing everyone’s death certificates with the order, the Rashvian squeezing her just as tightly. Finally, she barked out, “Take us out of warp! Give me what shields we can muster!”

The ship lurched hard as the warp drive didn’t so much finish as just fail the instant it was allowed to disengage. Crew members were flown from their seats, and Leona was very nearly launched with them. All of a sudden, it was over. An uncomfortable silence filled the bridge once everyone was standing. Even the sirens had stopped. But they still stood under the eerie red lights.

When Junon came back to herself, she realized she was still kneeling, and the Rashvian was holding her protectively, as if ready to die arm in arm with her. She blinked at Leona, and the two locked eyes for a moment. Then, with a small grunt, she pulled away and rose to her feet, calling out, “Status report!”

“The warp is damaged pretty badly, about ten percent efficiency at present…” Shelby said.

“I’ve got reports of hull ruptures throughout the vessel,” Officer Klasko solemnly said, “but the auto sealant systems seemed to have held her together… Barely…”

“Engineering, status report on the shields and engine!” Junon barked out.

“In a word? Fucked!” Talleria snarled back. She seemed to gather her composure with a sigh and added, “But I’ve got life support and impulse at sixty percent!”

Junon shuddered. “Computer, clear the alert!”

The bridge went dark for a moment before returning to its normal lighting. The fox’s knees felt weak as she moved over to her chair and flopped down. “Tyler, hit the comms, tell everyone to report to their commanding officer, we need to get a headcount to make sure no one got ripped out of one of those ruptures before the sealing system activated….”

“Aye, Ma’am,” Tyler responded grimly. Into the comms channel he ordered, “All personnel, please report to your commanding officer so we can take crew tally!”

“Didn’t expect a neutron star… Cresh cha…” Junon rubbed her face with both paws, her heart still pounding.

“We jumped straight into a pulsar stream of radiation… Even from that far back… Had we been any closer…” Leona whispered.

“Had we been any closer, we’d been none the wiser… We’d have all been torn to shreds in microseconds…” Junon growled and shook her head. “Toth!” she suddenly screamed. “I should have pulled us out of warp sooner to get better scans!”

The whole bridge was completely silent. After a long, tense moment, Leona said, “You couldn’t have known…”

“Exactly! I didn’t know! I let my excitement get the better of me, and flew us straight into a fucking neutron star system!” She stood up once more. “How’s it looking so far, Tyler?” she barked.

“We’re still getting reports coming in, so far all personnel are accounted for. We’re… getting multiple injury reports coming in all over the ship though…”

Junon hit her communicator, “Any officers with medical training who aren’t assigned to repairs, get your tails to the medical bay to help the doctor! We’re going to have a lot of wounds to lick!”

“Are you going as well, Captain?” Shelby asked from her console.

“No… I want to, but I’ll do more good here organizing the ship and coordinating with First Officer Sussnel on our efforts.” Junon pulled up a vid window and requested a diagnostic report on the ship. The report loaded in a few seconds, and what she saw wasn’t pretty.

“Sensors, do we have any looming issues or threats that you can see out there?” she asked with a sigh.

“Radars are only functioning at forty percent currently, ma’am, but from what I’m seeing… just us and the void,” Officer Klasko answered.

Then, Junon called into her communicator, “Engineering, the top priority is getting life support back to at least ninety percent, then we’ll worry about the engines and shields!”

“Roger that, Captain!” Talleria huffed, sounding winded.

“Officer Shelby, Officer Klasko… I know both of you have some reasonable Engineering experience. Please go and help Chief Engineer Frostrose with whatever she needs, I’ll keep an eye on the radar,” Junon sighed.

Both Officers stood, offering salutes before leaving. She turned and smiled at Tyler before shaking her head as she gave him an order, “I need you to walk the ship and offer aid where you can. I know you’re not bad with a medkit, so keep one with you… the crew will feel better seeing the Security Chief checking in on them.”

“Yes ma’am!” Tyler said with his own salute before excusing himself.

For the next few minutes, Junon continued delegating her bridge crew across the ship where they were needed. She had studied her crew’s dossiers over the last two weeks, and she knew where everyone would be most helpful. The ship wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon; there were more important things to do than sit here and push buttons. Soon her whole bridge was empty. The only person she told to stay was her First.

Junon somberly approached Tyler’s comms panel and opened the shipwide channel. “This is your Captain speaking.” The first words were easy, but as she took a breath to continue, she found the rest of her message stuck in her throat. After a moment’s hesitation, she pushed forward in the best command tone she could muster. “We ended up slamming straight into a neutron pulsar… I know a lot of you are banged up, but it looks like we made it through it in one piece. Life support is stable and repairs are already underway. I ask that you avoid using the fabrication system at this time to avoid stress on it. If you have any injuries, please report to the medical bay, we’ve got extra staff assisting there.” The comms crackled as she ended the message.

She stood there, staring down at the comms display with her paws planted. The various consoles surrounding her innocently beeped and chirped. The quiet lingered, at once comforting and foreboding. Nothing was going wrong… yet. She felt the Rashvian’s eyes watching her back.

“That was… pretty scary, wasn’t it?” Junon turned and looked up at her.

Leona huffed. “Quite the understatement.” Then, her shoulders relaxed, and she added a more gentle, “Yes.”

“You kept me from slamming straight into the floor…” Junon took a few steps closer. “Thank you, Leona.”

“Protecting the Captain is one of my jobs, right?” Leona offered a small smile.

“Is holding her and clinging to one another also part of that job?” Junon laughed, desperate for the tension to break.

The joke didn’t quite land for Leona, who folded her arms and growled, “No, I suppose not.” She took a breath, and asked, “Captain, can I speak freely since we’re alone?”

“...Go ahead.” Junon smiled softly.

“I felt you clinging, and I also held onto you tightly… When you gave the order to drop out of warp, we didn’t know if we were clear, and we wouldn’t have survived another pulsar blast. I was… preparing to accept death…” Leona frowned as she looked her in the eyes.

“Is that why you were holding me so tightly?” Junon cracked a grin.

“You were clinging on me just as tightly!” Leona barked back in her own defense.

“I know! I know! I’m not trying to harass you about it…” Junon’s paws twitched, before she lifted them to take the wolf’s larger ones. She felt Leona shiver before easing into the gesture.

“A little part of me said… if it had to happen, at least I’d die in your arms,” Leona growled as she squeezed the smaller dog's paws.

Junon huffed and stepped forward, releasing her paws to hug her. Leona looked shocked at the embrace, but happily returned it. The two held one another for several moments, relishing still being alive.

“Leona, do you think I’m being unfair to you? The way I’ve been teasing you?” Junon asked while keeping her face against the larger girl’s chest.

“Ah… It’s complicated, Junon… I hate it and love it at the same time… you know?” Leona tried to explain.

“Is that why you stole my panties?” Her mismatched eyes glanced back to watch that thick tail shoot straight out in a full-on fluff. She had her answer.

“I don’t know what… you’re talking about, Jun- guh!” She couldn’t finish explaining as Junon grabbed her collar and yanked her down to eye level.

“Don’t play games with me, Leona! I know you did because they went missing right after you visited with Claris! I organize my panties and color-coordinate them! Unless you’re going to have me believe Claris took them?!” Junon stared the wolf down with a furious glare.

“O- Okay okay! Y-yes I took them,” Leona hissed out, looking away and trying to pull out of Junon’s grip, but the fox just jerked her back and hugged her around the neck.

“Tell me what you did with them,” Junon puffed gently into Leona’s fluffy ear. The wolf let out a shrill, involuntary yip. “That’s an order…”

“J-Junon… please don’t make me say that…” Leona pleaded with a whimper.

“Tell me… I want to hear… I haaave to hear… I order you to tell me, my pet…” She gave her ear a gentle nip, a cute growl filling her throat that seemed to roll straight down Leona’s spine.

Leona whimpered a little then puffed out, “I just wanted to smell you… better… You always smell so good,” she quietly confessed, ashamed.

“Hmm… and did I smell good? My sweat, musk, and… you know I remember that day… I masturbated with them on, they were soaked in my lust for you…” Junon growled eagerly.

“Gods… I… I thought… they smelled… hgn…” Leona barked as Junon pushed closer to give her throat a few nibbles.

Junon decided she’s had enough teasing. After nearly dying together, she wasn’t going to keep wasting time. “It’s because of you… teasing you… taunting you… making you want me… it gets me so wet…”

“You… masturbated… T-thinking of… me?” Leona whimpered, blinking into her mismatched eyes, little hearts showing already.

“I did… and you did huffing my musk, didn’t you?” Junon cooed as she fondled the star on Leona’s collar.

“Y-yes! I… even before then, I had while thinking of you!” Leona barked another confession.

Junon growled with approval and cupped her wolf’s jaws. “After we get things somewhat functional, I want to come to your quarters tonight, Leona… No more teasing… I’ll let you bury your muzzle between my thighs… smell me directly, and even taste me… Then I’ll do it to you… How’s that sound?”

Leona’s green eyes sparkled as she hugged Junon closer, nodding rapidly. “Yes… Please… I’ll be your good girl… your pet…anything… just let me smell you, touch you… let me please you,” she moaned hotly into her commanding officer's ear.

“As long as I get to please you too, Leona…” Junon rubbed under her jaw, grinning as she leaned in to brush her lips to her own as she spoke.

“I know this isn’t the time… I know we have a ship to patch back together… but please… Can I kiss you?” Leona whimpered.

Junon hummed and tilted her head, saying nothing as she closed the gap between their muzzles, rewarding her obedient dog at long last with a deep, eager kiss. She slipped her tongue through, and the Rashvian was keen to meet it with her own. The two girls savored their first kiss, tongues flicking and rolling as they both let out growls of happiness. Their paws tightly hugged one another as they drank the moment in, their bodies screaming for it, both riding high on the near-death adrenaline.

Junon’s ears lifted as her communicator pinged. She broke the kiss but kept holding Leona, petting one paw against her ears, as the Rashvian growled blissfully. “Go ahead,” Junon spoke into the device.

“Captain, I’ve got life support fully in the green! I can also give you some time estimates on the engines and shields!” Talleria panted.

“Good work, Chief Engineer, what are we looking at then?” Junon kept petting Leona, who was content nuzzling her throat.

“I can get the engines back up to minimal safe warp power in about six hours,” Talleria explained. “The shields… Well, I can get you fifty percent, and all the snarling and threats in the cosmos won’t get it any higher. We’ll have to rendezvous with the fleet to get proper repairs.”

“You said minimal… Can we not get the engines to full one hundred, Talleria?” Junon asked with a frown.

“I’m afraid not, Captain… Minimal warp is the best I can get us and still be safe,” Talleria sighed.

“Make it so then, good work!” With that, Junon ended the call.

“Leona, go over to the navigation console and get me some readings on that?” Junon asked as she kissed the wolf’s forehead and stepped back.

Leona immediately pulled away to do as she was told. She punched in the command, and after a moment, sighed at what she was seeing. Junon simply came over to look, clicking her tongue. “Damn… It’ll take us at least a week to get to that white star now,” she muttered, “whereas before it’d been two days…”

“More to the point,” Leona growled, “from our current position, it’ll take us easily three weeks at minimal warp to get back to the fleet… If we continue on to the white star? We’re looking at possibly a month plus…”

“We can’t risk that, especially at half shield power… Toth!” Junon snarled and shook her head.

“I think we should cut our losses and limp back to the fleet, Junon… If we push our luck with our ship as banged up as it is…” Leona trailed off.

“I agree with you, First…” Junon groaned and hit her communicator. “Engineering?”

“Captain?” Talleria called back, sounding a little annoyed.

“We’re going to limp back to the fleet from here for proper repairs and cancel the trip to the other star…But it’s going to take almost three weeks at minimal warp… If you can somehow squeeze a bit more juice out of the engines, I’ll consider it a personal favor!” Junon barked out.

“Let me pull up the console,” Talleria growled. “One moment…” After a minute, her voice came back. “Captain, I can shave it down to one week if you’re willing to accept a ninety-nine point five efficiency…”

Junon growled but nodded as she spoke, “Make it so then, but we’ll need to watch the system like a hawk for even the most minor fluctuations. Thank you, Talleria, I owe you one!”

“You sure do,” the doe trilled under her breath before ending the call.

“Heh… I like you overlook her sassy mouth when we’re in the heat of it…” Leona confessed.

“Hey, she knows her stuff, and she’s kinda cute…” Junon smiled and gave a shrug, then leaned back on the console. “Do me a favor, First?” she asked.

“What is it, Captain?” Leona straightened up.

“If we’re ever heading for a blue star like that, please remind me to drop out of warp early to get proper scans…” Junon said with an awkward grimace.

“Certainly, Captain,” The Rashvian responded dutifully.

Junon gave her a small nod. “Thank you, First.”

“After this incident? Rest assured, I’d have spoken up even if you hadn’t requested me to do so!” Leona barked with a laugh.

“Hmph… troublesome wolf…” Junon growled and strutted over, grasping Leona’s collar and brushing her paw over the spot Leona’s tag would be if she was wearing her choker in the bakery. She then scratched under her muzzle. “But… who’s troublesome wolf is she?” she asked in a coo.

Leona shuddered and growled, hearts in her eyes as she huffed down at the smaller fox, “Yours… happily yours, Junon…”

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