Family Matters

06:40, 32/2/5, 15 XP

Hermes Custom Frigate, Space Dock 003, Vapor Furnace Prime

System LL-188, Planet Numa (LL-188-7), Scientific Observation Orbit

---

"Mummy!"

Sydney perked her ears and nearly dodged out of the way, but upon determining the source of the cry she let herself get tackled to a knee from behind. "Cait? What are you doing here?"

"She missed you. You know how that goes." Leannan calmly walked over and gave her mother a normal hug. "I know we saw you last night, but when she has an urge..."

"It's not just that, sissy." Caitlyn nuzzled her mother cheek-to-cheek. "I won't complain if we get to cuddle though."

Cid suppressed a sigh and pointed her eyes to Qesis and Nadiya giggling at a nearby table. "Well I'm on duty right now, honey. I've got another officer taking over for me tonight, so we can have a family movie night or something."

"One blanket for all of us or no deal." Cait smiled as her mother agreed with a roll of her eyes and a lick. "Cool. Now for business."

"There's more? Can it wait until--?"

Nadi gave Sydney a pat in the small of her back. "We're safe enough on the ship, Cid. Don't be afraid to take a break now and then."

"Well I try to take all my jobs seriously, but it appears you've inherited your father's stubbornness." Sydney looked to her clients and then to her children. "I suppose I can take a minute or two if this is important."

Lea tugged her clingy sister off their mother and allowed the three to step aside. "Awesome. I had a question too, mum."

"Sure, girls. Just one thing first:" Sydney darted her eyes around the entrance of the ship and then raised an eyebrow to her girls. "How did you get here? Alone?"

"No, mum. Cait wanted to try that, but I suggested we wait for dad."

Cait rubbed a ruffled patch a fur atop her head and commented lowly, "It was a convincing argument. She's right though, us living so far from the Space Dock wards."

"Thank you both for actually thinking about your safety like I taught you." Cid took a fresh, calming breath of air. "So where is your father? He's not admiring another ship, is he?"

"Eve drew his attention, actually." Cait held a claw to her muzzle in ponderosity. "I think she saw one of her 'sisters' or something. Daddy was interested too, so they stayed just outside to check it out."

"Her sister, eh? Now I'm curious." Instinctively Cid noticed Vixelynn peeking her head into the room and shot her a knowing glance, the vixen slipping out of sight on eye contact. "Never a dull moment... So, what's on your minds? Cait, you asked first..."

"Oh, right. I... um..."

"Really? You came all the way out here and you're going to be shy about it?" Lea sighed and rolled her eyes. "What my perpetually timid sister wanted to ask was if she--"

Cait cut off her sister physically with an arm as well as verbally. "I want to go to magic school..."

"I thought you wanted to study botany. You've always wanted to tend to Ashe's garden." Sydney noticed her daughter sinking into herself in self doubt of her bold request. "What changed? I'm not against anything if you really have a knack for it and it makes you happy, but you can't let trends and the like choose your schooling either."

"It's not a trend. I... Well, look here:" Cait produced a small plant in a capsule from her bag, then with the wave of her paw the plant within traced the glass to follow her. "I still want to study plants, just in a different way. I need help to figure out if it's right for me though."

"That's pretty nifty, honey. Lucky you, they have some kind of tests they perform for potential students. I'm not opposed if they say you have promise."

Lea nodded in agreement. "That's what I said. Figure out if there's more to it first, right?"

"Certainly wouldn't hurt. So what's your question, Lea?"

"Something similar, actually. I'm thinking I want to drop out of school." Lea tapped her mother's gas mask on the 'nose', prepared for a negative reaction. "It's not like that. I'm thinking of joining the military. I'm better at the ROTC side of my classes than the parts with books."

"Leannan..." Sydney dodged another boop and pulled her daughter into a soft headlock. "No. Your father and I have thought it over and we don't want our children to fuel more war. If you're really against that decision we can't stop you, but there's more options." Cid took a velcro patch from her jacket and placed it in her daughter's paw. "You could take normal classes and spend a few hours a day letting me train you. If that leads to the marines, so be it. If you choose something better for the universe, all the better."

"I'll... have to think about that." Lea mulled over the security firm's patch, then looked to her sister and took a deep breath. "I just want to defend people, but I guess war could break out and fuck that idea. Hm..."

"Language, missy." Carbon strode through the room and booped his daughter on the snout. "Listen to your mother. I might have gotten into war blindly, but she knows her stuff about keeping power in check. She made an admirable career out of it, in fact."

"Thank you, love." Cid embraced her mate and nuzzled her mask into the side of his neck. "I appreciate the backup, but wasn't Eve with you?"

"She's just behind. See?" The hybrid rolled out of the way so Cid could spot Evelyn and Cherenkov giggle their way through a door. "We found someone interesting on the way. She's a--"

"A genie? Yeah, Cheren's kind are beyond me. Why are we letting science make people I can't understand again?" Artemis followed directly behind, Cid giving the kid a slap on his shoulder as he passed. "Hey, Arty. Loving those early classes? Regretting you signed up for them yet?"

"Considering one of my classes only had early slots, no regrets." Art took one good look at the girls beside Sydney then placed his bag and some take away food on a table. "Your kids? They're cute."

"Oh, yeah. I guess they haven't been around here much, have they?" Cid offered a paw before each. "This is Caitlyn and this is Leannan. They're our oldest. Oh, are the--?"

"Rose is taking care of our little ones, love. Don't worry." Carbon nodded as he understood the situation better. "I see the newlyweds are doing well. So you know Arty and Cheren from the same ship then?"

"Yeah. I thought I mentioned th--"

"Art!" The whole room went silent as Vix tackled Arty to the floor with a pouncing hug. "You're back!"

"Damn, Vix. Happy to see me?" Arty rubbed the back of his head, then between the vixen's ears, then pointed to the table. "I grabbed you some food. Shrimp ph?, I think; the vendor didn't speak a real language, according to my Sense anyway."

"Well I appreciate it. Thank you, Art." Vix calmed down a little, giving her friend a kiss on his cheek and rising to check her food. "It smells great. There's nothing else in it? Just shrimp?"

"I assume that isn't real shrimp, but yeah. You're good."

Carbon lifted his mask to smell the food, much to his delight. "She's got a strange diet? Pescetarian? I can definitely relate."

Sydney bonked masks lovingly. "Silly otter. I'm not sure, actually. She eats meat, just... she's picky, I guess?"

"She has her reasons. Let's just leave it at that for now, please." Arty found a seat next to Nadiya and melted into it. "I just came back to give you that gift, Vix. I have another class coming up soon."

"It's a pretty long walk to the university from here." Cait started blushing on behalf of the vixen raiding her food. "That's one hell of a gift, going out of your way like that."

"I only have a few minutes and I have to get going again. It's worth it, though." Arty took a moment to check his messages on his Sense, then stood back up with a sigh. "I should get to it. Vix, you gonna be alright out here?"

"Hm?" Vixelynn stopped drooling over her meal and looked around, practically curling into a ball once she realized how crowded the Hermes had become. "A-Art..."

"It's alright, Vix. This is my last class for the day, so we can hang out when I return." Arty grabbed the bag of food in one paw and corralled his friend back to her room with the other. "Just enjoy the ph? and I'll be back soon enough. Sound good?"

"Y-Yeah." Vix grabbed her food from Arty's paw and hunched down inside the doorway to her room. "Thanks, Art. You're too good to me."

"Just making up for the rest of us. Later, hon." Arty shut the door and gave the vixen some peace. "Welp, back to school. Hey Nadi, you have a class too don't you? Care to join me?"

"Won't say no to that." Qesis stood and the large book she was reading magically rose to follow her. "I have a class, but Nadi needs to check in with the Grandmistress for training anyway. Nadi, you gonna read that all day or what?"

"Yeeah tobla na nee sa teyoh." Nadiya finished gliding a paw over her own large book, the vixen ready by way of braille indentations in the specialized tome. "Right, that probably sounded dumb. Sorry Art. Yeah, let's take a walk. Yiff wants some air anyway."

"No worries, Nadi. You don't need to apologize for only speaking to one person at once." Arty moved to his bag and pulled it over his shoulder. "Ready when you are, ladies. Nadi, you want help with that grimoire?"

"Nah, I'm finally getting the hang of levitations." The vixen stood and her grimoire drunkenly followed her as well. "It's just a bit harder when you can't really see where you're making it move."

"I'll be your eyes, then. I don't mind." Arty looked over to various expressions of confusion, namely upon Lea and Cait, and rolled his eyes. "Right. Nadiya can't talk to more than one person at once. It'll sound like gibberish to everyone else."

"I expect no less strangeness of this family. I'm not surprised by the magic either." Carbon intercepted Nadi on her way out, giving her grimoire a short inspection as he scritched her chin. "I would have thought you'd go into the arts or sciences like your siblings, but this makes sense too in a way. Infiltrate all branches before you take over, right?"

"Is that really a magic grimoire?" Cait slipped against her father and took hold of the large, plainly-decorated book. "I thought these would look fancier. And why isn't there anything written inside?"

"I don't think that squinting is just for looks, sis." Lea emulated Nadi's perpetual state of squinting her mostly useless eyes. "Nadiya is blind, remember? I mean, the fox stereotype fits her but she could just as well wear a blindfold."

"She must see with magic, right? Right, Nadiya?"

"Indeed. I mostly get help with Yiffy here." Yiff poked his head out lazily from between Nadi's breasts as the vixen took back her grimoire and placed it in Arty's backpack. "That grimoire is pure magic though, so he has problems seeing it. He can't read in any case, hence the braille."

"Oh. That's amazing, though." Cait latched onto Qes' much more elegant, gilded grimoire next. "Can I come with you? I want to check out the magic school."

"Academia Arcanum? Sure. The more, the merrier. I'm not sure how much you'll understand, but you can take a look at that if you're careful with it." Qes let her special book fall into Cait's paws, the unexpected heft of two solid-gold-edged hard covers nearly letting it fall through to the floor. "Oh. I probably should have warned you about that."

"W-Worth it..." Cait fumbled with the grimoire until she managed to hold it open in both her arms, the insides scrawled with colorful hieroglyphs. "Wow. Exactly how much time do you spend writing in this thing? This is beautiful."

"I don't write at all, actually. I simply will the writing into existence and my magic makes it so. There's endless pages as well." Qes eased the burden by cancelling most of the gravity exerted upon the book then walked into the airlock with a smile. "My grimoire just knows what I want in him and takes care of the rest himself."

"So it's a magic notebook, then? Maybe I should join that branch of the school just to make my math homework easier." Lea helped her sister hold the book so she could focus on reading it while they walked. "I'm not sure I'll take well to any of it, but today should at least be a fun show. Right, Cait?"

"Right." The kitten picked up her pace and hopped into the airlock. "And as long as you're there, I don't need to be nervous. Let's have a blast."

Third Period

07:15, 32/2/5, 15 XP

Staff Offices, Academia Arcanum

North Wing, New Horizons Academy, Vapor Furnace Prime

Numa (LL-188-7), Scientific Observation Orbit

---

"Grandmistress? I sense you, but I can't see through you. Do you have guests?" Nadiya took a moment to focus and probe the head mage's office, but came back with more questions than answers. "Oh, I think I sense someone. We'll come back later."

"'We', you say?" A bit of a groan sounded from behind a bookshelf on the second floor. "I can't be a bad host when you've brought guests. Eh... Give me a moment and I'll be right down."

"Sorry. I'd have called if I could but--"

"But you can't actually speak without telepathy. I totally understand, Nadiya." Sparks stretched as she opened her secret bookshelf door, apparently having awoken from a rough nap by the state of her hair. "I hear quite a few people down there. Friends of yours?"

"Yeah, sort of. They're loosely family, actually." Nadi reached for Caitlyn's shoulder and tugged her forward. "One of them wanted to ask a few questions. She thinks she might want to study the arcane arts."

"More family? Really, now? I thought you would have brought forth the other, but yes... she has a nice aura as well." Sparks stiffened as another Arctic wolf ruffled her exposed back fur and planted a kiss on her neck. "Ashen! I told you to wait in bed!"

"I can't. There's work to be done for the new semester." Ashen smiled blindly for the guests. "I'll let you tend to your students, hon."

"Just hurry up. You're embarrassing me."

"I wasn't even trying, Ashe. No..." Ashen lifted his clone's skirt until the whole of her dress was made quite pointless, taking a moment to savor a grope of wolfess ass. Little did he know that Sparks hadn't replaced her panties, the act baring the pearlescent white aftermath of their copulation gushing from her exposed cunt. "There we go. Now you can be embarrassed."

"Ashen!"

"What? I overheard you. They're family, so a bit of showmanship is all in good fun." Ashen dropped the skirt and guided himself in for a farewell kiss. "We should have dinner tonight. Seventeen-hundred hours sound alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." Sparks allowed her lover to saunter out the door. "Until tonight, Ashen."

"I can never wait, Ashe."

After blinking a few times in disbelief Artemis finally broke the choking silence. "So you and the Administrator... look cute together?"

"I don't think I appreciate the tone of that." Sparks sighed and slowly made her way down the stairs. "I'm the dean of this branch. For the good of the university as a whole, please don't let anyone know he's sleeping with one of his deans."

"Your secret's safe with me. I'm just shocked, what with the Admin being a hard ass most of the time."

"Arty, quiet." Nadi shifted her mind towards Sparks' now that she wasn't on guard. "Sparks, forget all that. We're family so it'll be fine. Could you just please give my friend here an evaluation?"

"Ah, this one?" Sparks probed Nadiya's mind for names but the vixen wasn't familiar enough to remember. "A new friend, eh? Tell me, what is your name? What brings your seeking knowledge of the arcane?"

"I'm... Caitlyn. Caitlyn Karidan." A squeezing paw on her shoulder thanks to her sister eased the meerkat's jitters. "I'm... I think I can use magic. I can do a few things with my plants..."

"Plants? That's a tad rare." Quite used to testing nervous students, Cait's meekness didn't deter Sparks' confidence in the least. "Yes, you have a slow but strong flow of mana through your body. You say you can already perform some feats? Show me, if you can."

"Oh, sure. Um..." Again Lea came to the rescue, pulling Cait's small plant from her bag. "I'm not sure if this will work if you can't see, miss. Maybe I should--"

"I can see various arcane forces quite well, thank you. Please, continue."

"Alright..." Cait did her little trick, making the plant follow her paw through the glass dome covering it. "Th-There... It's not m-much, but..."

"Interesting. Could you try it again? I didn't expect this from an untrained practitioner."

"You... Really? Uh, sure." The second attempt didn't actually provide much for Sparks, but it made Cait feel more at ease as was the true point. "Is that something good? I'm not sure if I should apply for your school."

"Oh, you definitely should. Of that I have no doubt." Sparks attempted to recreate the simple spell and failed miserably. "Most people have issues even attempting their first spell without training, yet yours is subtly complex. A time control and regeneration spell targeting such a precise area is the work of a Journeywoman at the very least."

"A Journey...?"

"A Journeywoman is the second position in our guild of mages, just above the Apprentices. Nadiya here is just about to undergo her Journeywoman ceremony in a few weeks, for example." Sparks nodded to herself as she confirmed her assessment. "Not only that, but you have a decent affinity for druidic healing spells, a rare specialty due to the nuanced mægick affinities involved. You definitely should join our academy and focus on this further. You'd pass the entrance assessment with flying colors."

"R-Really? I can really be a magician?"

"A witch, yes. We... shy away from that other term after it gained a reputation for parlor tricks." Sparks smiled with her future student, then moved let that smile burn into Art's eyes a moment. "Now you on the other paw... I don't know what to make of you. I've only ever seen a few people spark with such raw mana coursing through them, and they had the help of little robots in their blood. You aren't closely related to Ilaria, are you?"

"She's my aunt, I think. Right? She's my dad's twin?"

"Well that makes sense. You're Iolvin's son, and you look like he does when he's making those barriers of his. Your kind don't need to perform incantations for simple spells, so I'm not sure if you're casting one now or not." Ashe moved a bit closer and brought up a quartz crystal to divine the flow of mana. "Many of your energies center around this object at your hip. What is this, if I may be so bold?"

"Who, actually." Arty slid open Cherenkov's lantern and called her out. "Cher, want to meet someone cool? She knows magic..."

"Really?" Cheren flowed from her container and stood beside the hybrid. "Oh, hello! I'm Cherenkov. Nice to meet a friend of my master."

"Master? Do we have another familiar wrangler in the family?" Sparks carefully observed the mana flowing around the two and shook her head. "No. His mana flows around you but does not bind you together. What is it...? Aha. The flow is heaviest going to this artefact around your neck."

"My Sense? That's just a computer, really." An idea suddenly hit Arty, the potter stopping his remote connections to various electronics in the area. "How about now? Did anything change, by chance?"

"Your mana is... gone? No. I should be able to see it welling inside you still..."

"Then how about now?" Art found a maintenance terminal near the ceiling and tapped into the electronics. "What do you see now?"

"This is... quite a strong concentration." Sparks drew a line with her crystal moving from Arty to the hatch in the ceiling. "I've never seen this variety of mana control before. What is your name, sir?"

"Artemis. I'm not interested in this magic stuff though."

"Well you should be. This looks like the work of a Master, yet you aren't even trying?" Sparks rubbed a paw against her face. "I'm not saying this to convince you. I'm saying this as a warning. The power you so frivolously wield is amongst the strongest of its nature. Unhoned, you are likely to hurt or kill someone one day. It is my strongest recommendation that you reconsider, if only for basic control training."

"I'm... huh." Arty shook his head as he considered those words... then the terminal to which he connected exploded from the ceiling. "Holy shit!"

"See? You have reign over a very powerful attunement, that of energy itself. There are few limitations to such an attunement, save the wizard's own mind." Again Sparks sighed, this time trying her best to entice the potter's decision. "I'll have the fees for this removed. I'll even train you myself if need be. I implore you to consider the safety of those around you."

"Considering I just busted a hole in your roof, I think I might take you up on the offer. I'll probably have to shift some of my other classes around, though."

"As with Nadiya, I'll be willing to teach you at odd hours. The safety of this station is paramount."

Artemis snapped his fingers a few times in thought, making up his mind upon creating a small arc of electricity in the process. "Crap. When and where?"

Many Electrocutions Later

18:48, 35/1/1, 15 XP

Hermes Custom Frigate, SD-003, VFP

Numa (LL-188-7), Orbital Escape Vector

---

"Sydney, you're a sight for weary eyes." Carbon slumped into the seat her wife occupied, nuzzling her neck with her mask. "Sorry I've been gone so long. Negotiations went south as we neared our deadline."

"Long enough you've changed again. Still, the colony is doing alright?" Sydney gave her mate a rub on her scruff. "I know you do better with a shotgun than words. Everything work out, love?"

"More or less. The Yangurraa wanted more fertile land for residential use and it took some explaining before the Terrans understood they need to root every third week." Carbon lifted her mask, then her wife's, and gave her an apologetic kiss. "I had to show them myself for a few days, but I think they get it. I hinted that they could use good soil as a bartering tool and they seemed happier with an initial loss."

"Well that's where it helps to have a bit of both races in one package." Evelyn waved as she looked around the recreational area of the Hermes. "Anyone seen Arty? Flynt finally came back and I wanted to introduce him to Cheren."

"Yeah, he's studying with everyone else in Nadi's room." Cid nudged her nose toward the aftmost door down the hall then returned to kissing her other mate. "Mn... We'll be here if you need anything."

"Have fun, you two. Save some for me later." Eve sauntered into the hall and grabbed Flynt's wrist. "Come on, guys. Let's give them some privacy."

Sydney perked up and gave a parting shout. "Kiss our girls for us!"

"Your family really is amazing, sister." Flynt pulled his own love closer, giving Gimbal a flaming nuzzle. "We may not be able to readily have children, but we're cheering you guys onward."

Gimbal's 'head' lit up lavender as she spoke her mind. "Indeed. Your offspring are... cute. Is that the correct way to use that? I never seem to get it right."

"You can't really go wrong with 'cute'. Just throw it out there and it'll usually stick." Eve opened the door and immediately smiled at the sight of her girls. "Lea! Cait! We're back!"

"Mom!" Caitlyn scurried to her hindpaws to hug her mother, entirely forgetting she was performing a growth spell on a plant. "You were gone longer than you promised."

"Ugh... Sis, if I didn't love you I'd deck you for this." Leannan held up her arm, half of which now shagged in hair-length fur. "Someone have some scissors? Arty, you have a trimming razor maybe?"

"Both. Let me finish this and I'll grab something." Artemis perused a hologram resembling a grimoire and sparks began crackling at his claw tips. He tried to make a short arc of current, but ended up statically shocking Lea's new patch of fur to stand on end. "Uh... sorry? Fuck, let me go grab those scissors."

"Arty!"

"Run, son! What did I tell you about a woman scorned?" Iolvin gave his son a slap on his back as he rushed out the room, holding back a snicker until the coast was clear. "Sorry, Lea. He means well enough. Still, I didn't know he was into magic."

"He's been practicing with us for about a month now, since the new semester." Qesis ran a finger over a set of hieroglyphs and created a small feral otter statue out of ice drawn from moisture in the air. "Here you go, uncle."

"Thanks. This is... interesting." Yoyo noticed the statue melted to the touch and wrapped it in a solid layer of solidified air as insulation. "Stop calling me that, too. I'm your brother, technically."

"Well that makes me feel old. You're my uncle now."

Layla giggled from her loft above. "My goddess' word is law, Yoyo."

"Shit. You got me there, I guess." Yoyo moved aside as his son returned with an apologetic expression. "So you're into shocking people with magic now? You any good at it, son?"

"About as good as that." Art pointed to the air curtain around the statue as he offered the scissors. "I've got the same talent as you from that glowing stuff in my blood, just I need to control it better like you do. Any tips, dad?"

"Meet an assassin out for your blood, save her from a collapsing building, then marry her and live happily ever after." Yoyo shrugged his shoulders and found a seat on the floor. "Worked out for me and Zoë. I guess you could say I learned under trial-by-fire."

"Huh. Okay, that's unexpectedly romantic but utterly useless." Art sat in his former spot and produced his grimoire out of thin air. "Guess it's back to the books until I find something that works."

"Seeing you working so hard for your future makes me proud, son. How's all this work? Care to show me?"

"I would, but this book only makes sense to me." Arty sighed as he focused on his studies. "Maybe I should just lend you Cher so I can work. She likes you enough when we share her."

"Ew." Sydney walked directly from the door over to Yoyo, stabbing her taser grapple into his prosthetic leg. "Don't corrupt my kids."

"Fu-uc-ck!" The shock was tiny, but the target sensitive. Yoyo fought his leg as it flailed wildly from being overloaded. "There's nerves in there, you know!"

"Really? Cool." Arty started an electric arc in his paw and repeated the maneuver with a laugh. "Wow. I should use you for further training, dad."

Nadiya grinned as she touched a crystal to Art's paw. "Sorry, big bro." She tapped the stone to Yoyo's robotic synthetic arm and it too flopped out of control. "Okay, that was actually the first time that's worked. Thanks, Yoyo."

"You're w-welcome... Ugh..."

"Don't be mean to your brother, Nadi." Ilaria poked her head into the room for a moment. "Wait, was there an invitation I missed or something?"

Nadi mistakenly zapped her sister in her good leg, causing her to wince and letting off a hint of singed fur scent. "Welcome to the party, pal."

"Gods... I thought I told you not to watch Yoyo's action movies. They're a bad influence." Ari recollected herself slowly, returned to the hallway for her own safety. "It's almost a new day. You should get some sleep, sis. Studying while tired only hurts things after a while."

"Thanks, sis. And sorry for the zap; I did realize I was seeing that in reverse through your eyes and--"

"Don't worry about it. It's all in good fun." Ari checked the room and shook her head. "Vydr isn't with you? Why does he have to be so anti-social?"

"Here to check up on our son, Lulu?" Yoyo stood and moved into the hall, giving his twin sister a solid hug. "He's in his own quarters. All he said was to leave him alone for a while, so I headed here next. Just a heads-up."

"Thanks. I'm about to fall over though so I just came to say 'hi' to him. The Volk is here for minor repairs so we have a few weeks to catch up. I saw the Starbreeze was doing the same?"

"Just having the ballast tanks scrubbed and some filters changed. We didn't break her, sis. Just keeping her in good order."

"Better keep changing the oil like that or Pillow is gonna gnaw your ears off. I'm happy to hear she's running well, though. Now if you'll excuse me..." Ari turned about and unexpectedly bumped into Carbon. "Ah, sorry. Visiting family after our trip too?"

"Yeah, then visiting the warmth of my mates in the nearest bed." Carbon snagged her wives in passing and pulled them into a pile of pillows on the floor. "We missed you so much, ottkitten."

"Keep your knickers on, dear. Plenty of time for that later."

"Have fun with that!" Ari giggled as she headed foreward for the captain's quarters, also unexpectedly finding her twin lifting her tail to spy her tight spats beneath her sirat drapes. "No free show today, Yoyo."

"Worth a shot. Besides, a little imagination is occasionally better than the direct approach." Yoyo reached forward and squeezed his sister's taut, toned ass. "We should 'catch up' a little ourselves when you're a little more rested."

"I think I might take you up on that. In fact, you can join me in bed after this if you can take my snoring first." Ari tapped the controls near her son's door and almost immediately tapped them again upon spotting an unfamiliar fur curled up with him on his couch. "Fuck... Oh, they're asleep?"

"I guess. Who's the bun?"

"I thought you'd know." Ari took a step inside and noticed a certain old action movie playing on a hologram. "Seriously? You infected him too?"

"Shush. Awesome line from Hans Cougar here. Bad accent." Yoyo held out his ice figurine like a pistol and quietly emulated the character. "What was it you said to me before? Yippie ki yay, mahduh fawkah?"

"Gods..." Ari turned back to Vydr as he woke in time to pause the movie before gunfire sounded. "Oh, hey Voi. Sorry your dad woke you."

"What can I say? I love this movie." Yoyo grinned and sat in a nearby armchair. "'Sup, Void? Who's that in your arms there?"

"Not that it's your concern, but her name is... Gods, uh... Ria. As in Ilaria, I guess..." Void silently sighed through his nose as he admired the bunny. "And it's not what you're thinking, dad. We were just watching a movie together."

"Nestled under a single blanket, spooning? Sure. We've all done that." Yoyo pulled his sister into his lap, drawing a yip from her that stirred Ria nearly to waking. "Oh, sorry. Your mom just came in from her mission and wanted a word."

"I just wanted to get a hug more than anything. You're busy though." Ari stood with her twin's reluctant aid. "I'll drop by tomorrow. Just... promise me you'll introduce us, Voi?"

"Sure. I owe you that much." Void checked his Sense and shot his eyes wide open. "Crap. It's already Nineteen-hundred? We just missed her curfew. Carmine's gonna kill me."

"Carmine? As in Graziano?" Ari gave the bunny sharing her name a closer inspection. "So this is Car's girl. It's a shame he went full hermit on us after the war. I should know her by now."

"I think it's more like Rose and my boys. Bunny boy probably just focused on family is all."

"Well I thought it might be the whole mind reading thing. It's unsettling sometimes and he definitely knows that." Void eased himself to his hindpaws, then blinked Ria into his waiting arms. "Give me a minute to drop her off. With any luck Carmine will sense I'm sorry with that power of his."

"Good luck, Romeo." Yoyo snuggled his sister closer. "At least he's found someone worth chasing. Of all people, I thought he'd have told you about her though. Void always calls you for emotional stuff."

"Last time he mentioned his love life it was complaining about not having one. I'm happy for them finding each other, though. And if that's Car's girl, she's definitely good for him." Ari nudged her brother's muzzle up with hers, then softly fell into a kiss. "He's come a long way from a depressed whelp. We're raising him well after all, huh?"

"I check in on him every chance I can get. He's cleaning up his act, for a devilishly handsome scoundrel anyway." Yoyo smiled as the otter in question blinked back into the room. "That was quick. Good with her pops?"

"Yeah. It's easy to have a whole conversation from just stern looks with Carmine." Vydr slumped into the warm blanket he left and took a deep breath of Ria's scent embedded within it. I think I'm gonna crash right here. You're free to take my bed or one of the other rooms if you like. You can tell me how things went on Numa over coffee."

Ari kissed her brother's cheek and hoisted herself to her hindpaws. "Sounds like a plan. Maybe you can tell me how you managed to fix your lack of limbs too."

"That's a bit of a crew secret. You just have to promise you won't let it leave this hull either."

"You know you can trust your family, son." Yoyo followed his twin out the door with a wave. "I'm interested myself now. Gussy up that story while I gussy up your mom all night."

"If you get pink man juice in my hair again it's pretty much going to be the exact opposite of that, Yoyo."

"Heeee."

Many Electrocutions Later

06:20, 35/1/2, 15 XP

Hermes Custom Frigate, Exterior Security Perimeter, VFP

Vasily (Yanni-Gurra-4), Orbital Capture Vector

---

"To think we nearly bit it on that last dive..." Vydr tapped a few holograms and a hard light joystick appeared near his pilot's seat. "We missed that debris, but your rough handling broke something loose on the port thrusters. Think you could fix that while I keep us steady, Kino?"

"Already on it. Hermes is a bit bogged down with stability compensation though so don't expect miracles."

"I'd just like to get back to a dock, love. Don't much care how." Void eased into the controls and took Hermes out of the equation. "You guys doing alright back there? Sorry for the lively awakening."

"Let's just say your father and I were painfully close until a moment ago." Ilaria finished pulling up her shorts below her sirat drapes and then gave her son a hug through his chair. "We're fine though. Just do your thing and make us proud."

"Ouch. Yeah, I'll try to keep things steady for you then." Normally Void shrugged off shows of affection from his parents, but something this time caused him to clasp his mother's paw. "Why don't you go find something for breakfast? I'll have us docked once we obtain clearance, but that could take a while considering the chaos."

"Sure. Good luck, Vydr."

Iolvin rubbed his sore groin and replaced his twin on the back of the seat. "What exactly happened? The Starbreeze is still here, right?"

"Yeah, she's trailing a bit behind since she has a dive-capable engine like us." Void cracked his neck as he too adjusted to waking so suddenly. "Kino got us out here on dock orders due to a collision alarm. We just surfaced from our last dive into some unmapped debris. We're past it now though, so no biggie."

"Ah, gotcha. Fly safe, son. I'll check the others for you."

"Thanks, pops."

Yoyo followed his sister out of the cockpit and through the main corridor. "He's acting chipper all of a sudden. Think that girl might be changing him for the better?"

"Ria? Maybe. He seems to have a lot more responsibility on his paws as well. You forget, but we were childish until getting the same treatment with the Singularity War." Ari popped into the dining and recreational area and smiled at the rest of the crew looking worse than she felt. "How's everyone's morning going? Anyone hurt from that last jerk?"

"We're fine, sis." Nadiya leapt into her big sister and hugged her cheerfully. "Good morning. Layla is cooking breakfast if you'd like some."

Embarrassed at the lapse in memory Ari mumbled, "Layla is... your wife's priestess?"

"Yup. Technically she's mine too. I get to be her people's first fox goddess." Nadi gave Yiff a kiss between the ears as he jumped into her arms. "They even mistake Yiffy for a magic fox even though he's not a fox at all. He'll be treated well in any case though, so better than being hunted. Eh, Yiffy?"

Ari chuckled as the familiar licked the both of them as his answer. "Well try not to abuse that privileged position, sis. Oh, and..." Ilaria sniffed and then looked at the bacon-like substance being fried on the stove. "Wow. She's got some great space legs. Well we'd be glad to taste some of that cooking. Thanks."

"I'll go ask Layla to make some more. Just relax, sis. I heard that yelp earlier..."

"I wondered that..."

Artemis flagged down his father as he cross-referenced something from a reading Slate. "Hey dad? Got a minute?"

Yoyo kissed his twin's cheek and moved closer to his son. "Worries about school? They usually have rain checks for these kinds of things, right?"

"Nah, that's not the issue. I was checking the telemetry from the station's last dive for one of my classes and... well, the math doesn't add up." Arty held out the text and then shared his own notes from his Sense to his father's Slate. "See? We should have surfaced about three thousand kilometers ahead of here and missed the asteroids. The reactor's showing proper output if the public feeds are correct. That means something slowed us down... Right?"

"This isn't really my area of expertise, Art. That does smell a bit fishy though." Yoyo waved his sister over, a sense of urgency also flowing through their wireless Link. "Lulu, got a minute? You're better at this trajectory crap."

"And yet you can fly Pillow's ship, somehow." Ari sighed and joined the two, Arty's equations drawing her into the issue sooner than expected. "There's an imbalance due to a missing variable. Sounds like your professor's trying to trick you, Arty."

"No, this was our last dive. What the hell is missing here?"

"Really? Interesting." Ari took a copy of the math into her own Slate and played around with it, rebalancing until she offset the unnamed variable. "It looks like a miscalculation of the station's mass. Maybe someone forgot to account for Flynt's arrival? He's usually the mass of a small moon, and that would fit the gap we're seeing."

"No... see? They added him in the mass modifier here." Art groaned and rubbed his temples for a moment. "In any case, it acted like drag weight. We don't follow those rules of mass when in a dive. If we were heavier, we actually would have gone a tad further."

"That's... interesting, yeah." Ari pulled up her custom watch and copied the calculations onto it. "Mind if I relay this to my wife and kids? They're more knowledgeable on the subject."

Arty moved his eyes closer to the watch and examined it with help from his abilities. "Sure, so long as you tell me where you got that gizmo on your wrist. I've never seen a Slate like that before."

"Oh, it's not a Slate. This is from before my brothers in-law figured all that out. In fact, they did ask to borrow it for a bit for research. My daughters made it for me as a present." Ari flaunted the device a bit before queuing up a message for her homegrown engineers. "They could probably make you one if you wanted. Their collective memory is pretty damn good so a few decades probably only helped the design."

"They took a few pointers from my dad, technically." Carbon slapped Ari's tail with her own in passing for a coffee run. "It's a good example of what good can come of the Terran-Yangurraar collaboration we're having now. Peace is nicer than I imagined."

"Yet your wife still works security jobs. There's always bad apples, I guess." Ari sent her message and returned her attention to the room. "Speaking of, I don't see Sydney guarding the these girls. Long night, heeee?"

"Definitely a long night for her. She isn't slacking on the job, though." The hybrid plant-otter pointed to a tiny camera embedded in the corner of the room. "Believe it or not, she's a pretty good splicer. First thing she did was tap into the ship's sensor matrix. Smile for the ottkat."

"Oh gods... Even the private room sensors? You mean she could--?"

"I can't confirm, but I'd wager against it since she doesn't have to watch you and your brother in secret." Carbon filled two spill-proof mugs and shuffled back to her room, another tail slap this time reaching Yoyo. "Coffee run complete. Oh, did our girls make it home before all this? I don't see them."

"I think they took the room beside ours." Yoyo pointed to the exact room down the hallway. "They're up and about. They've been making a ruckus and squeaking all morning so I don't think they even know we're undocked."

"Thanks, Yoyo. I might have to get them up to speed." Carbon grabbed her mugs with her vines and used a freed paw to wave behind her. "Have a good morning, guys."

"Oh, hey. Hold up a sec." Ari flagged the hybrid down, looping a nanite tendril around his waist from afar. "Are Eve and Flynt back there with you too? We came across something worth looking into and the two of them are effectively space elementals for lack of a better term. We could always use the extra sets of eyes."

"I'll let them know if I see them first. Last time we saw them they were chilling outside."

"Outside?" Arty queried.

"They don't breathe. Well, Flynt does but not out of necessity." Yoyo started looking out the few windows in view and shrugged his shoulders as he failed to find his quarry. "I've got my suit if you want to join them. They usually only go out if there's a view worth viewing."

"Maybe later. I've got enough to worry about right now."

"Got your paws full with Lix? That firefox worries me a bit the way she hides in your room, son." Yoyo gave his son a one-armed hug. "At least she's got someone dependable to look after her."

"Lix? Who's this, now?" Carbon stopped partway down the hall and turned about to think on the subject. "Wait, is there really someone your boy's dating and you haven't rolled them into the tribal ways yet? Who's this 'firefox'?"

"She's just a fox. A vixen? I don't know where my dad gets the 'fire' bit." Art held up a projected hologram from his Slate powered by an artistic rendition made on his Sense. "Vixelynn has her reservations leaving the room, so I hope this is good enough."

"It's wonderful. You made that?" Carbon nodded as she identified both the source of Yoyo's teasing nickname as well as the species designation. "Vix does look like she's got some red panda in her amongst a few other mammals; the rings on her tail are a dead giveaway. Red pandas are sometimes called firefoxes so... your dad's not wrong."

"Huh. I didn't know that. And yeah, she doesn't like talking about her parents so that's news to me."

"And knowing is half the battle..." Carbon squinted her eyes a moment and tried to make out the finer details in the hologram, the lighting not playing well with her odd eyes. "This might sound odd but... what about her parents? She looks familiar. What's her surname?"

Almost with a glimmer of hope in his eyes Arty offered an answer. "Trotter. Her name's Vixelynn Trotter."

"That's... How is that possible?" Carbon shook her head and turned about once more, masking her confusion by resuming her short walk. "Good thing we're stopping near Cathy's village. I have a feeling I might be breaking some family news."

That comment drew quite a few gazes, notably Ilaria's wide eyes. "Carbon, what? Don't run off on your own. You're part of this family too."

"Oh, I just didn't want to say anything until I confirmed things." Another rearward paw wave signalled the calm demeanor of the otter. "I'll say this though: Your grandfather that served with me in Vietnam? His name was Johnny Trotter, and he's where Nadiya gets her fox genes."

"W-Wait... So you think...?" Artemis suddenly found himself looking between his hindpaws, staring into nothingness as he delved deep into thought. "But she... We were close..."

"Johnny was single when we deployed and... I followed through in supporting their grandmother after the war. I'm probably wrong and it's just a coincidental name. I wouldn't think too much on it." Carbon stopped at her daughters' room and opened the door with a slight touch against the control panel. Then she stared into the room much the same way Arty stared at the floor. "Okay then. Family matters all around. We'll talk about this later. Sorry, girls."

"You look like my girls are hunting you down for some ass." Ari tried her best to hold back a chuckle which only ended up escaping as hopping squeaks. "They're playing too rough in there? Lea bullying Cait?"

"That's one way of putting it." Carbon shook off the sight and resumed her coffee run. "If you consider eating pussy with a rough feline tongue to be bullying then yeah, Lea's bullying Cait really hard."

Another squeak escaped Ilaria's muzzle before the room fell silent. After a few seconds a moan rose a whisper above the ambient ship hum. A slight giggle arose as a result, building and building until the whole living area went flush with laughter and chuckles.