Kaleidoscope VII

Time and Space

---

The Hermes

Custom Freight Frigate

En-Route to Vapor Furnace Prime

---

...

"You can do it, Kino. Don't--Gah!--give up."

"I'm not a pilot, Captain! I'm not supposed to evade lasers and--!"

"Crap. He's waking up." Leannan leaned over Artemis, looking into his lidded eyes. "Please tell me you can do something about that, sissy."

"I-I-I'm not s-sure..." Arty felt a pinch in his chest, then Caitlynn brought glowing-blue-stained paws over his head. "M-Maybe this?"

"You've got this, Cait. Just calm down and we'll get through th--"

...

...

"He's the only one that knows how to unlock it."

"Well we can't get the dive system working again without him. I don't care how much it hurts, Void needs to get his tail out here." Lea walked closer and rested a paw on her sister's shoulder. "Cait can patch him up long enough to fix things."

"...Wha?" The pink puffball snapped out of a daze, her glowing paws still working their magic. "No, I can't. It's taking everything I have just to keep Arty breathing."

"Well something has--Oh, no. He's awake again."

"What? No, that's bad right--"

...

...

"What do you mean, 'They're back!?'" Vydr hobbled over to his pilot's seat and nudged Kino out. "We don't have weapons and they only have one target now. I'm flying."

"Aye, Captain."

"Just be--" Lea found her sister sleeping on the job and whacked her head as everything began fading to black. "Cait! Wake up! He's not breathing!"

"Ah... Ah!" Cait placed her paw near Arty's mouth and started shaking. "He... Oh, no..."

"Sissy, you're on top of this. Don't give up."

"But I let him slip away!" Cait winced as she tried to feel Arty's chest, then closed her eyes in disgust and followed through. "He... Uh... His heart! His heart's stopped!"

"Oy, get back. I have an idea." Lea raised her SMG and primed the first shell. "Tasers are basically defibs, right?"

...

Entropy Optik Medical Research Center,

Vapor Furnace, Restricted Research Ward 001

Orbiting Aurellia Prime, Lumina-Aurellia (LA-5)

10:09, 36/1/2

---

Artemis weakly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room. He tried to get a better look around, but a massive spike of pain stole his breath away. He ended up tensing his chest and noticed a mass of bandages wrapping him. Then when all hope of regaining his senses seemed lost, he turned his head to the side and shared a gaze with an awakening vixen at his side.

"Art, you're awake!" With a ragged breath of relief Vixellyn dug her head into the panthott's neck, unable to hug him properly due to the medical work done to him. "Thank the gods. I thought I lost you..."

"I guessed that was a one way ticket myself, but apparently that wasn't the case." Arty strained to place a kiss on Vix's head, then relaxed in his medical bed. "You must have been there a while; My arm's gone numb. You mind getting up for a bit?"

"Art... your arm isn't..."

"Oh, the monitors didn't lie this time." Elliot walked into the room and immediately grabbed a clipboard at the end of the bed. "Well now that you're finally awake we can cover your condition."

"Condition? I don't remember a lot of what happened and--Ah!--"

"Sorry. I had to give you pain meds to sleep but I didn't want to overdo it now that you've got less maximal blood volume." Elliot reached for an intravenous drip machine and raised the dosage. "That's not making you dizzy, is it? It's hard to dial in this Yangurraar venom based stuff."

"No, I'm... feeling pretty good now, actually."

"Good good. I'd be afraid to explain the rest if you weren't." The otter reached for Arty's neck and checked his lymph nodes while talking. "I can't get around the obvious issue, so let's start there. Vix, could you move for a moment?"

"Yeah, my arm's killing me with the pins and needles--" Arty checked the spot as Vix reluctantly rose, but found himself shaking and gasping at the metal cap where his arm should have been. "D-Doc... My a-arm-m...?"

"I'm sorry, Arty. Your brother recovered it, but we couldn't reattach your arm. We had to clean it up and stop the bleeding... but on the plus side you took really well to the neural interface I installed." Elliot sat on the edge of a visitor's chair and tried to keep the mood positive. "That's a state of the art prototype Olivia was inventing. In a little while you'll be able to effectively replace your old arm with something potentially better."

"Doc, I lost a fucking arm. There's no substitute for that!" Arty clutched his empty shoulder socket, then immediately regretted it when his other, cast-covered arm lit up in pain. "God damnit... Don't tell me it's both."

"Not both, no no. The other was crushed and broken, but thankfully you inherited the same nanite buggers I put in your father." Elliot put away the clipboard and sat down again. "I suspect they're the only reason you're still with us. Your arm's almost healed after the week you've been in here... Though I would make sure to thank Caitlynn too. That girl kept you alive for two whole days, kept the wounds clean... She's got potential as a medic."

"I'll... make sure to thank her, yeah." Arty nudged his chin to hint that Vix could come back, shutting his eyes and relaxing some upon feeling her warm fur against his. "Anything else? I'm having issues taking deep breaths."

"Yeah, it'll be harder until your new lung breaks in a bit more. Actually, let me check that." Elliot pulled back some bandages and checked a few blue-filled gauze pads. "I swore after doing this to your father I wouldn't put myself in the same position again. I don't like replacing half of a family member. At least your damage ends at your waist though, unlike that reckless bum."

"You're the one that fixed up dad?"

"Yes yes. I brought him back from the brink after he risked everything to save us... my brother especially." Elliot pointed to Iolvin balled up sleeping in another chair in the corner. "There may not be a lot of brains on his side of the family, but there's a lot of heart and heroism. I could never do what you did. Be proud of that, Arty."

"Did you just imply I'm dumb?" Arty tried to laugh but the pain in his artificial lung suppressed him. "So where is everyone? What's the point of battle scars if you can't flex a bit for the ladies?"

"Well you were especially handsome, Art--dangerously handsome." Vix eased her paws to cup Arty's jaw and nodded her point home eye-to-squinty-eye. "You're not going to make me scared for you again though... Right?"

"Never. You're everything to me, Foxy."

"Ahem..." Elliot stood to give the couple some space, waving to the hallway as he left. "Everyone's here, but I told them to give you breathing room. You guys are free to chat if you want, but nothing physical. That includes sex, at least until we check your range of motion later. Sorry, Arty."

"It's understandable." Arty licked one of Vix's paws and laid back in his bed, angling the head upward with his nose. "See, I've got this."

Vix groaned and pressed the button for the panthott. "I know you think that's charming, but after what happened I don't want to risk more injuries. We... barely started being this close and..."

"You're the boss, Foxy. I just don't want to put this burden all on you."

"You two are adorable together." Nadiya felt her way around the door, Yiff having jumped the gun to glide onto the end of the bed and leaving her blind. "I take it you're doing better than you look?"

"Only because of the stuff pumping through me. Ask me in a day though and... well..."

Qesis walked over and flicked Arty on the forehead. "No. Positive thoughts."

"Way to treat a defenseless, armless victim, Qes." Arty licked the human's finger and she recoiled it with an 'eep'. "So how long have you guys been out there? How long was I out?"

"The first few days we stayed non-stop, but after that we decided to attend classes at the very least." Nadi grabbed Yiff as he started licking Arty's leg, then scanned the room quickly using his eyes. "There he is. The only people that stayed here non-stop have been Vix and your dad over there."

"Really? He had some kind of deal to broker though." The hybrid stared at his father, considering waking the caring fool. "He gave up on being an ambassador for me?"

"He's been sitting right there the whole time. I think he's only slept one other time in the last six days." Nadi jumped the gun and nudged the otter gently. "He didn't even want to eat until you woke, so we had to get him carry-out whenever classes were done."

"Damn..." Arty plopped his head back and took a slow, careful breath. "So where are the others? I'd expect Cher to stay pretty close, honestly."

"Oh, she was just outside with Glacier while her father worked in here. He's not showing it, but he's been concerned about her being in trouble over all this." Qes took a moment to clear her lungs as well, then raised her voice to the hallway. "Cheren? He's calling for you."

"Oh! Sorry!" The djinn practically scrambled into the room and bumped against the bed, drawing a hiss from its inhabitant. "Oh... Oh, no. I didn't mean to--"

"Cher, it's fine. I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me. I'm guessing you're the one that carried me out of that mess too?"

"No, I didn't. I helped Quill hold off that woman, but we got separated when the cave collapsed from the fight. I thought I lost you there." Cheren donned her head in shame. "I couldn't save you. Your brother had to get you out of there."

"But you kept that woman busy while Vix escaped? That's what I would have wanted more. You did good." Arty lifted his arm to pet the ocelot-like genie, but only ended up groaning at the cast holding him back. "So where's Void? I vaguely remember him getting hurt along the way, but... well I may have been hallucinating on these drugs too."

"No, he's healing up on your ship." Elliot returned with his daughter literally in tow. "I damn well made it known he needed observation but he's refusing help. Maybe you'll have better luck convincing him now."

"How bad is it? How'd he get hurt?"

"That cave-in? He was protecting you when it happened." Cheren dutiously adjusted and flattened her Master's sheets, trying to detract from the negative conversation. "He's broken a few ribs at least. He didn't want to be scanned however, so we're still in the dark on that."

"Oh! I forgot that part!" Elliot grabbed a data chit and plugged it into a screen, revealing an X-ray of the hybrid's chest. "Two of your ribs had their ends cleanly cut off. They were cauterized already so fusion wasn't an option. The sternum should reattach soon enough, but I'd avoid taking any hits to that area even after that."

"Good to know. Anything else?"

"Well you could be missing half of everything like your old man." Carbon walked into the room with a basket of goodies. "We barely managed to escape the storm on the planet. Sorry for not coming by earlier, Arty."

"No biggie. I was apparently in a coma anyway." Arty noticed a hint of pink behind the hybrid and purred out a request. "Is that you, Cait? There's no need to hide."

"She's afraid you won't approve of how she treated you. It's been the only thing streaming out her muzzle for a week." Leannan walked over and nudged her sister from behind their father. "If you should be mad at anyone it's me... although I'm pretty proud I managed to save someone by shooting him for once."

"You really did tase me! Fucking..." Arty grunted as he remembered the feeling, but suppressed his negative emotions for Cait's sake. "Just give me a hug, Pinky. You deserve a lot more for what you did, but I've got nothing left in the tank at the moment."

"Really? But I failed you..." Cait forced herself to make eye contact, and after a moment she understood Arty was being quite honest. "I'm happy if you're happy, I guess."

"At'ta girl." Carbon smiled at his two children, then pointed his focus to someone else in the hallway. "Hey, Eve? What's going on out there?"

"I'm not sure. Quill is acting strange and writing something, but I haven't seen enough patterns to understand her yet." The enigma gave up and slipped into the room, sending Arty's monitors into a beeping frenzy. She strode over to the end of the bed, losing her smile with each large step. "Not you too... What's wrong? What did I do?"

Carbon huffed out a sigh. "I was surprised at your new look too, but you're literally killing the poor boy, Eve. Maybe we should leave."

"Y-You...!" Arty started to calm down, but Vix was clutching his shoulder painfully in fear. "Don't you lay a finger on her!"

"I don't... understand..." Evelyn ingested that half the room was scared of her, then looked over herself again--standing tall as a solid black jackal with glowing indigo accents. "Should I change back? It takes a few days, but... I just wanted to fit in better with my mates..."

"Out. He hasn't adjusted to the lack of blood yet. This is getting dangerous." Elliot shooed Evelyn toward the door, his eyes staying on the blood pressure and heart rate monitors. "Maybe we should all let Arty rest. He apparently doesn't heal as well as his father or brother and he's probably too weak for all this."

"Okay. I'll leave, but... I feel responsible for sending those boys on their mission..."

"W-Wait..." Artemis hissed as Vix tightened her grip, which thankfully brought the girl to her senses. "Ah!... Eve... You're... You're really Eve?"

"Yes. I'm not sure what...?" Evelyn looked at her new body and then furled her brow to the panthott. "We're missing something here. Who exactly did you think I was?"

"I don't know. I just remember that she ripped my damned arm off and left me to die." Arty shut his eyes and laid back, his vision blurring from the excitement. "I really wish I could say more, but..."

"You don't need to, Master." Cherenkov walked into the room pulling Quill along by a death grip to the shoulder. "I'm certain Quill knows exactly what's happening."

"Cher, don't bully her." Arty turned to his side and nuzzled Vix's paw. "Do you think you could talk with her for us? Find out more about what's happening before I pass out?"

"Art..." VIxellyn took another look at Eve as she cradled her injured lover. "I'll try, as long as you stay away from Art."

"Well you're all staying away from the boy. I'm calling this." Elliot tapped Iolvin's forehead as he finally roused from his deep slumber. "That means you too, pops. Sorry, but Arty needs to rest while I prepare some tests."

"He's awake!?" Yoyo jumped to his hindpaws but Elliot held him back by the scruff of his neck. "Hey! That's my boy, Ellie!"

Elliot pulled the larger otter down to whisper in his ear. "You'll regret it if you cause complications. Plus I'm sure he'd rather see you in a better state. The next room over's got a bed made up for you. I'll wake you when we're done his tests."

"But..." Yoyo looked into his weary son's eyes and took a slow breath. "Right. Thanks." The father led the charge, quietly leaving the room for his son's health. "I love you, Artemis."

"I... love you too, dad."

Rihzyet Personal Dock

Capital Ship Tether, UNEO Ward 015, Vapor Furnace

08:49, 35/1/3

---

"I fucking hate you, dad." Artemis drooped his head as his father bussed him around the dock on a wheelchair, the only redeeming element being the vixen riding in his lap. "This is embarrassing. Even Elliot agrees I can walk."

"He said you might be able to walk but shouldn't risk it." Iolvin tapped his son's good shoulder and explained himself. "That cast might have come off, but Ellie only did that on the grounds you didn't stress the recent fractures. If you fall the only thing that you can catch yourself with is that arm..."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I just wish you didn't have to baby me like this." Arty kissed Vixellyn's neck from behind and rested his head on her back. "It might be okay if a beautiful woman was pushing me instead."

"Maybe, but I'm not in the habit of letting young ladies do hard labor." Yoyo scooted along until they reached a wide walkway suspended over the dock well. He slowed to a stop and turned the wheelchair to the inner side of the dock. "Your home's not looking so hot, kid."

Arty turned his head to take a look, groaning in disbelief when he spotted the Hermes riddled with burns and ablated holes. "Thanks, dad. You towed this in here so I could see I'm out on the street? What the hell happened?"

"Your brother's ship wasn't spaceworthy anymore and the public docks don't allow immobile clients. They had issues with people ditching derelicts instead of scrapping them." Yoyo clicked a wheel brake into place and walked over to the railing. "We couldn't let Void scrap this ship though. It means too much to him and M'n'M would blow a gasket."

"Well I don't have anywhere else to go, so I'm blowing a gasket." Vix eased off her lover's lap and joined the otter for a clearer view. "What are we going to do, Art?"

"We'll find another place. It just might take a while to find one that avoids regular security scans." Arty tried to look around the others and huffed in defeat. "At least tell me we can salvage our belongings, dad."

"You can actually live there like this. The damage looks worse on the outside, honestly. She's just not airtight." Yoyo stepped behind his son again and resumed wheelchair duty. "Void's been locked up inside there and doesn't want to see me or his mom. I figure you'd be able to get to him easier. Besides, we've got to wait for the others to start the main event."

"Oh, God... There's more to this than going home?" Arty tried to keep calm, his new lung fighting with his increased heart rate. "Okay, whatever. I just need a break first if you're pulling something later."

"You deserve a break too, sir." Cherenkov slowly reformed herself from her lantern hanging from the chair and nudged Yoyo to the side. "I'll take care of my Master from here, if you don't mind."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess that's your job, huh?"

Arty reached back and Cheren stroked his paw gently in acknowledgement. "Nice save, Cher. Good to see you."

"I've been having trouble recovering my strength recently. Call it worry, perhaps. Apologies for hiding in my capsule, Master." Cher resumed the walk to the Hermes with a duteous smile. "I see you've discovered the fate of our ship."

"From the sound of it, my family's going to make sure he flies again." Arty extended his paw to the side and held Vix's own for their odd stroll. "I'm just happy we still have somewhere to go back to after this. I want nothing more than some quiet time with my special Foxy."

"I'm definitely liking the sound of that." Vix kept her voice down and nudged her head to Yoyo as he trailed behind the group. "I think your dad wanted the same, though. He looks like he wanted to spend some time with you and you shucked him off pretty fast."

"I can appreciate if he wants to bond a little, but not if he's abusing my weakened state to do it. If he wants to hang out, he needs to just say so." Arty held out his paw as they neared the side hatch to the ship and commanded the entry to open wide. "Right now I'm more concerned about my brother. He deserves better than to be neglected and alone after he risked himself to save me."

"Kino mentioned he was losing his mind the other day. I hope she was exaggerating." Cheren lifted the wheelchair over the lip of the hatch with ease, carting her Master through to the common area. "It really doesn't look so bad inside."

"Ain't nothing wrong with my Hermes." Vydr tossed a glass bottle of what used to be beer into a sizeable pile on the floor. He took his hindpaws off the dining table and sat upright, or as upright as his inebriated state allowed. "One of these days you're tellin' me how you get past that door lock, brother."

"Magic." Arty pointed to the bottles, then rolled his eyes as his brother reached for another nearby. "Really? Warm beer? Are you even old enough to drink that?"

"No, not legally. I don't care. I'm part of my ship, and my ship needs a fuckin' drink. Ergo..." Void placed Mime's paw over the cap and it formed into a crude bottle opener just long enough to pop the top. "Hey, you got a minute? Think we can have a chat, brother to brother?"

"That was the plan. Everyone else is focused on me, but I thought you deserved some attention yourself."

"Much appreciated, but that's not what I meant." Void took a chug of his drink, then flicked the lip of the bottle to everyone except Arty. "I got som'n to ask you, an' only you. You lot mind gettin' some air for a bit?"

"Um... Sure. I guess that's fine." Vix kissed Arty's forehead in passing and hooked Yoyo's arm to drag him along. "Let's give them a moment. Maybe you can tell me about that Volk guy in the statue over there..."

"Master?"

"Nah. Yer good, love. Just keep this quiet, yeah?" Void took another long draw of his beer, then snapped his fingers and pointed to the sofa a room over. "There. Now we're all good an' ready for a chat."

"What did you do?" Arty turned to look a the couch but Cheren was a step ahead with turning the chair. He almost wished he hadn't looked when he spotted a nude Arctic wolf writhing in confusion. "Seriously? Why do you torment Sparks? You're drunk, Void."

"No! I was so close!" Sparks unknowingly sat upright as a piece of entertainment for the brothers before a blanket appeared above her. "Ah! Vydr! You've gone too far this time!"

"I gave you yer sheets, didn't I? What, you need to cum too?" Another snap of his fingers and a vibrator landed in the wolf's lap. "Finish up an' we'll get to talking. Finally got Arty here all alone."

"When I said to contact me about that, I meant with a damned phone call. I didn't mean to break me away from one of the best mornings Ashen's ever--" Sparks shut her mouth at that point, silently taking the toy beneath the covers and hiding herself from sight. "It takes something special to piss off a lady in heat, Vydr. Couldn't this wait?"

"My ship's busted up som'n' awful. I damn near karked it back on that planet. No, this ain't waitin'." Void swished another mouthful of beer for a moment, swallowed, and pointed the bottle to his brother. "You notice anything strange with that girl o' yours, lately?"

"Do you really need to play games, Vydr? The least you could do is ask him straight."

"What's she talking about, Void?"

"This may have been my fault." Glitch phased into reality next to the drunk otter with an apologetic expression about her. "I may have discovered a Jester about your brother. It's odd, having so many creatives in one realm. I... may have gotten carried away and given him a few odd ideas."

"No shit, love. Now answer my damned question, brother."

"I don't...?"

Void groaned and slammed his beer onto the table while he fought to reform his query. "When we came 'cross that rogue planet, what was Vix up to?"

"We were trying to sleep. We weren't doing much of anything." Arty sighed under pressure as he took a moment to think back, the light buzz of a powered vibrator distracting him briefly. "Vix seemed a little angry, but aside from that we were just being our normal selves."

"She got an'ry? O'er what?"

"Well I let it out that I requested Glacier stay with us. We were hoping for some... alone time until that happened. I understand how she felt, but it wasn't anything serious."

"Oh, it was serious. If you'd have bedded her then we might not be in this mess." Vydr finished his beer and tossed it into the pile, reaching for another but finding he was out. "Kino? Would you kindly--?"

"No. You've had enough, and that's considering your biology." The construct moved over to Sparks to check on her, then eased away with widened eyes upon realizing what she was doing beneath her covers. "What the hell is going on today?"

"I'm confused too." Arty eased himself out of his wheelchair and stepped out of view of Sparks to grant her an iota of privacy. "Void, just come out with it. What's bothering you? I want to help."

"To put it bluntly, yer girl is my issue. She wrecked my ship, and all my work to now in the process." Void held out a paw and another beer appeared in it. "That Vix did som'n' to make that planet appear. Tell him, Sparks."

"In a... Ah... In a minute!"

"Damn, woman." Void dropped his forehead into his palm and ruffled his hair. "Look, so... She only sees magic an' stuff that don' exist in this real'ty. She damned well saw that there planet."

"So you think she summoned it somehow? That's a bit of a stretch, Void."

"So then it ain't hard to explain 'er actions, yeah?"

"Damn, Void. I told you, she hasn't been acting strange."

Cheren stepped from around the rear of the chair and held her paw up. "Actually, that's not entirely true. I've noticed a few oddities surrounding Vix, lately."

"See, brother?" Void gestured with a wave of an outstretched paw. "Please love, continue."

"Er..." Cheren waited for a nod from her Master before continuing. "The incident from before we spotted the planet was oddly timed with our arrival. Additionally however, Vix has had similar motive followed by odd actions."

Arty squinted in thought. "Similar motive? What's that mean, Cher?"

"Vix had no need to bring you to the restroom at the café, yet she requested you specifically. When you tried to give her privacy you were forced to hide with her. Further, against likely odds, a... situation presented itself to allow the two of you to become romantically proximal. The combined odds of this scenario unfolding naturally touches on the astronomical." Cheren paused to gauge her Master's puzzled state. "There's one case that defies all odds though. I find it unlikely the weight of Vix alone would have caused the collapse that led to your fall, and if it did the odds she'd need to reach you to trigger the collapse--requiring precisely her full weight--are extremely remote. Beyond that, she shouldn't have fallen at all."

"So you're saying she can defy odds? Is that maybe some kind of magic?" Arty looked over to Sparks as she poked her flushed face from the blanket, gasping in the afterglow of recent release. "Sparks was concerned with Vix having a lot of magic flowing through her, after all. Either that's the case or things just happened to play out unexpectedly. I don't see where Vix was directly responsible either way."

"Master... you're not understanding what I just said." Cheren placed her paw on her Master's shoulder, trying to brace him for her next words. "Vix cannot fall unless she wills it. The Tyet bindings won't allow it."

"Ah, see!--"

"Shut up." Arty pinned his brother in his seat as he tried to rise. "I... You're right, but..."

"Master..."

Artemis shrugged off his genie's paw as he finally understood her point, yet he knew in his heart there was more to the situation. "She was scared to death of the cave. She wouldn't have willingly put herself in that position. Vix must... She must have some kind of magic power she can't consciously control, right?"

"Bingo." Glitch booped the hybrid on his nose. "She's been unaware of her capabilities. Consequently I've been trying to avoid you two while she was exercising them. There's only one thing a figment like me fears more than boredom, and that's oblivion at the hands of a more powerful being."

"More powerful? In what sense?"

"She finally told you, eh?" Sparks wrapped herself in her sheets and slowly walked along the wall with one outstretched arm. "I believe I was mistaken about Vix. She isn't a well of mægicka; she's the flowing font."

"Vix is that powerful?"

"Powerful? No, that's far too meager a descriptor. She's omnipotent." Sparks found Arty and gasped at the lack of an arm, groaning and softening her tone upon realizing the panthott was already in bad shape. "Arty, I believe Vix can will realms to blend together. If she wishes for a planet to appear to separate you from Glacier, or perhaps a ledge to collapse to bring you time alone, she would merely need to swap the elements of this realm with one that contains those changes. However I do believe you are correct that she isn't keen to this information yet. For all of our sakes, we should aim to suppress this power of hers until she can control it outright."

"Vix... can mix universes?" Arty sat down in his wheelchair, the room staying silent except for the hum of several ship systems. "Why would she want to summon an evil version of Eve? Why nearly have me killed? She loves me... I... I thought..."

"Arty, she does love you. I could tell that the moment we met." Sparks shook her head slowly, trying to fill in the blanks herself. "Something else is happening here. Perhaps there are consequences for using such a power? Or perhaps it opens gateways to the other realms? In any case, we really should be care--"

"Hello? Are you guys still chatting? Sorry, did I interrupt?" Vixellyn quietly stepped into the common area and nervously asked, "Can you maybe spare a minute? Your father says his surprise is ready and timing is apparently important."

"O-Oh... Yeah, that sounds great." Arty nodded to Cheren and Vix, then pointed to Sparks' awkward situation. "Why don't you two go ahead while we sort this mess out? We'll only be a second, I'm sure."

"Oh, alright then. Just be quick. I don't want you to disappoint your dad, not today."

Arty smiled for his favorite squinty-eyed fox as she left with glee, then broke down the façade to groan toward his brother. "Void, either get this poor woman some clothes or I'm stealing some of yours. Then for the sake of the universe apparently, you're coming to see whatever dad's got to show us."

"Fi~ne..." A dress and robe blinked into place over Arty's lap. "Get dressed and leave me be. I'm not in the mood to play dad's games."

Sparks reached for her clothes blindly, having only spotted them during the brief window of Void's blink. Upon finding them with Arty's aid she pulled them to close and and turned a few times in confusion. "Ah... I'm lost. Artemis, could you point me to a room I might use?"

"Sure. You can use my room right--"

"It ain't like we ain't seen all o' ya' before." In another split second the blankets covering Sparks disappeared, leaving her bare to the boys. "Just change and leave me alone already."

Sparks raised an arm and a paw unhinged Void's jaw, only to her surprise it was Arty that did the punching. "Stop being such an ass! Sparks is lost and vulnerable and you keep on teasing her!? The fucking balls you must have, Vydr!"

Sparks whimpered as Arty hissed in pain. "Artem--"

"I'm fine. Keep walking straight and you'll find my room." Artemis paused a moment to let his teacher hide away before finding his wheelchair again. "What the hell's gotten up your ass today, bro? This isn't just about the damned ship, is it?"

"Damnit, brother. You throw a mean punch for a lame guy..." Void rolled his jaw around with his paw, spitting up a bit of blood where he'd bitten himself. "Ria left me, Arty. She's gone."

"Shit... You two seemed happy though." Arty relaxed his back now that he wasn't on the defensive, instead leaning over his pained forearm with wishing he had another to rub it. "So what happened? She figured out what you do for a living?"

"No, she knew tha' much. I reckon she favored that part." The otter sighed and shook his head to the floor. "No, she said she couldn't give me what I wanted--that it was for the best. I tried to figure out more, but her parents involved 'emselves and now..." Vydr stood on shaky legs and walked to his brother, manning the rear of the chair. "I don't want to disappoint her parents. If there's one honest thing I want in this life, it's what I had with Ria. Now I can't even have that. Maybe this thing dad's doing can take me away from this..."

"Fuck it. If you need to stay here and talk it out, I'm here for you little brother."

Void began pushing the wheelchair, the adrenaline from his hit doing wonders for his sobriety. "Best not to wallow if it's got the likes of you whinin' over me. I need to come up with a plan to win Ria back. Hey, little voice? I might need you too."

Glitch nodded and giggled. "Of course! I always adore helping a Lover win over another heart."

"Lover?" Arty sat up straight when his brother nearly dumped him out the chair while crossing the outer hatch. "I thought you said he was a Jester?"

"Oh, not at all. He's most definitely a Lover. He's as soft as they come where it counts." Glitch peeked through the wall to Arty's room and returned with a smile. "No, the lady he's pining over is the Jester. She's like her father, but in a very interesting way. I'm sure she'll be quite fulfilling to assist."

"Keeping in mind you feed on that assistance, of course." Arty held the edge of his seat for dear life as his brother picked up substantial speed and rode on the rear support of the wheelchair. "Void! This is the opposite of what I need right now!"

"Oh, do come now, broth--"

A wall of solid air smacked Vydr off the back of the chair, leaving Artemis to glide into his father's waiting arm. "I see you're getting along, but please don't break your brother's arm a second time, let alone tip him into an endless pit. You alright, son?"

"Yeah. That sounded painful, though."

"It was." Void slowly came back to his senses and joined the growing crowd of crewmates and family on the tether walkway. "What the bloody hell is all this?"

"A bit of a gift. You're barely in time, too." Iolvin stood between both his sons and placed his paws over their shoulders, guiding them to gaze toward the larger tether point. "Take a good look." The Starbreeze inched its massive frame into the enclosed dock, drifting toward the tether point gracefully for a capital class ship. "Get a gander of your new ship, my boys."