From the Ashes, Chapter 13- The Lost Ones
#8 of From the Ashes
Well, here's the next installment into the series, as promised.
From The Ashes- Chapter 13: The Lost Ones
Zach was used to being the center of the crowd, but as the people of the Confederation swarmed him and furries from all sides pressed themselves in for a chance to introduce themselves to the new Earthling. Flurries of names were shot off at him, blurring together as he barely had time to register someone was talking before someone else clamored to the front and shook his hand. Zach felt completely out of his element. True, he was used to handling crowds, but it was always because of what he was doing that he held their attention. Now that their attention was captivated by simply what he was, Zach felt like a fish out of water now that all he had to do was exist to have people butting elbows just to catch his eye. He couldn't say that he liked it. Worse yet, he'd lost sight of Fuse.
Wading his way through the thick crowd, Zach could find no refuge in this unfamiliar territory, neither knowing his way out nor knowing where Fuse was seemed like a favorable prospect in the slightest. Without a way out, Zach merely gave up and let himself be swept along in the crowd, essentially turning on his fan auto-pilot. "Yes, thank you. Very nice to meet you. A pleasure, miss. Thank you. Charmed, ma'am. Yes, hello, thank you. Hello." Zach allowed this to continue, unaware of his mate lurking in the corner....
****
Fuse sulked in the corner, watching the crowd have their way with Zach, familiarizing themselves with her mate. It wasn't fair. Zach was her mate, her Bond. Why should she let the others have fun with him while she stood on the sidelines and watched? It wasn't fair... Fuse cast a sour glance over to the other side of the room, watching Jared and Veronica share a close moment, she started grinding her teeth.
Fuse found herself imagining a viscious death on the shy otter that giggled playfully at some untold charm Zach had no doubt displayed, but when a brave young vixen had the audacity to come up behind him and hug him over his shoulder, her hands drifting playfully downward his chest toward more frisky areas, Fuse almost snapped. Barely stiffling a growl, she waded through the crowd, forcefully pushing her way through, drawing the ire of those who had not seen her initially come in with Zach.
Murmers of "Watch it!" and "What the hell is her problem?" were among the tamest of tongue lashes aimed at her as she threw people aside, her vision tunneling to the fox currently fondling her Bonded mate. Everyone else was forgotten as Fuse waded up to Zach and forcibly removed the bold fox's hands from her lover, affixing the unfortunate vixen with a threatening glance. Shocked by such an outburst, the crowd backed up warily, giving both the human, the fox, and the husky a wide berth. The mass fell silent as they watched the events unfolding, the fox looked quite taken aback but regrouped herself quickly. She met Fuse's stare with a look that plainly said, "You want to go? Make a move, bitch."
A silence fell over the entirety of the Landing Floor, the tension hanging thick in the air as everyone waited for one of the canines to throw the fist swing. Zach was unsure of what to do, but he decided to act fast, and thinking of his mate doing something so wreckless over someone else being too familiar with him, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he kissed her. Placing his hand on her arm, he gently spun her around to face him. Her snarl immediately dropped, and they embraced in a kiss. Unbeknownst to Zach, the Bond worked its magic, calming Fuse down. The jealousy and the anger washing away, forgotten to be replaced with a warm sense of serenity.
The crowd watched and a slow realization dawned on all but the most dense of witnesses as the two shared a lover's kiss. Jealousy was a powerful emotion, but one most anyone can identify with. Even the fox smiled in regonition, and backed down. No longer a matter of personal pride, she'd wouldn't have done much different if the roles were reversed. She faded back into the crowd as Fuse and Zach embraced, everyone else present all but forgotten to the Bonded couple. They broke the kiss after a moment, Zach reassuringly whispering, "It's okay. I love you." "I love you, too." Fuse replied.
Once again relapsing into crowd-control mode, Zach apologized to everyone he had yet to shake hands with, and explained he was tired from the journey and needed to rest. And with a promise that he would be around for them to introduce themselves the next day, Zach allowed himself to be led off by Fuse. She led him through the curved corridors of the Capitol Building and to the Living Quarters. Planet Hoppers, for their service, were allowed room and board in the Capitol Building. Most high-level officials also opted to live in the Capitol Building, Fuse and Zach running into a wizened old Mole on their way to their room. "Evening, Councillor Victor." Turning his head in their direction, he smiled. "Ah, Miss Fuse....and Jared? He moves like a human but the smell is different." The mole's face seemed to fall. "I cannot say I approve of this, Fuse..." Fuse gave a lighthearted laugh, "Not at all, Councillor. Jared is safe with his own mate, I'm not eloping at all. We have a new human in our midst."
The old mole's expression changed immediately. "A new Human? Ah, well then allow me to introduce myself. Fuse already said so, but I am Councillor Victor, head of the Engineer's Guild. Nice to meet you..." he trailed off, offering his hand. Zach grasped in and shook firmly, "Zachariah Cornelius. Call me Zach, Councillor." The old mole laughed, "Indeed Zach. Well, I shall not keep the young couple from the privacy of their room any longer by tallying when my company is...subpar compared to what they would rather be doing..." Victor laughed heartily at his own sly implication as he walked off, "You two have yourself a great evening." Fuse blushed at the Councillor's words as she took Zach into her room.
Zach barely made it into the room before Fuse had locked the door behind him. She affixed him with a raised eyebrow as she regarded him. He stood there, meeting her gaze, strangely nonchalant. Zach kind of had an idea what this was about. "Really? Is the evil eye necessary?" he said in a light-hearted tone. "I dunno, is it?" Fuse met back. Fuse's poker face was flawless. Zach honestly had trouble telling if she was serious or not, luckily, a little feeling in the back of his mind told him that Fuse was toying with him. She wasn't really angry.
Of course, Zach's bonded sense was right, Fuse knew full well Zach loved her, and while she was indeed jealous, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to take advantage. Fuse pushed him back, letting him fall back onto the bed. She undressed herself. Letting her hoppersuit slide off of her soft fur, her gaze never left Zach's face. He stood there, entranced by her eyes and her naked form. His heart beat faster in his chest as well as eliciting responses of a lower organ.
Fuse slowly walked toward Zach, and knelt before him. "Oh? At least someone's enjoying this." Zach laughed, letting out the breath he was holding as Fuse moved seductively to unbutton his pants. "I think he is very much." Zach replied as Fuse fully unzipped his pants, letting his erect member stand at attention. She grasped it into her soft paws and merely stroked. "Well I'm glad at least one of you is happy you chose me." Fuse said, not breaking her gaze from Zach's eyes as she stroked him. Zach was speechless for a bit. "Now hold on there. I didn't exactly ask for all of that, you know. I don't care how many of them threw themselves at me, I'm your mate and I would never-...okay." Zach was cut off from his protests as Fuse slipped his erection into her muzzle. Her tongue ran the length of his member and teased the underside of the tip. Zach groaned in pleasure as Fuse's dexterous tongue pleasured him. Fuse let out little moans of pleasure, further tantalizing Zach. "You make the cutest noises, you know." Zach said, fully engrossed in the experience. Fuse did not reply so much as give a little moan of acknowledgement as she took his cock to the base, allowing her throat to massage him to the fullest.
Fuse came back up and smiled as she dropped his cock from her mouth into her hands and continued to stroke, varying her grip as she massaged the tip with her nimble fingers. Zach was overtaken by the subtle stimulation and soon was oozing precum. Fuse delighted in this and collected it into a small film over her fingers. She pushed Zach backward onto the bed with her free hand and made a show of licking his pre off of her fingers. She .climbed on top of him and guided Zach into herself. Zach groaned as he entered her, and Fuse moaned out in pleasure. "Never get tired of that." Zach said, placing his hands on Fuse's hips. He rocked her back and forth on top of his cock, and soon she was involuntarily giving small mrrs as he bucked into her. Placing her hands over his and interlocking their fingers, she said "I love you". "Me, too." were the only words Zach could utter as he tried to keep himself from reaching climax before Fuse could. It wasn't a fair game, he though, Fuse had gotten him pretty far along before they started.
Luckily for Zach, he knew how to push a few of Fuse's buttons and soon the two were approaching climax. Fuse's whimpers of pleasure only heightened Zach's arousal as her warm folds milked his cock for all they were worth. Soon, Zach was overpowered. Gasping for air, he emptied his balls into the waiting folds of his mate. The sensation was too much for Fuse, as her own orgasm came crashing over her as Zach spilled his hot seed into her. She came, her contractions only serving to milk more out of Zach, and the two seemed frozen in climax as one stimulated the other for what seemed like eternity.
Fuse rolled off of Zach and the two lovers curled up in the bed together, spent after their exertion. They lay there, enjoying the afterglow. Their intimacy was without words, simply enjoying the closeness of one another as Fuse lay curled up against Zach. He nuzzled the nape of her neck as she pressed herself against him, each enjoying the other's heat. The two drifted off into a peaceful sleep as the moon continued to wax over Trillious Prime.
Zach awoke to Fuse stirring in bed. Both of them groaned, not wanting to break their comfortable sleep and face the day. Fuse was not looking forward to the day at all. She knew the talk of the day would be the Lost Planets, and she would be chosen to go. It was her duty as a Planet Hopper. Still, the Lost Planets being found again, it was more than she cared to think about so soon after regaining conciousness after her wonderful night. Zach, on the other hand, just didn't like mornings.
Still, after protests from Zach, Fuse managed to roll out of bed and the two enjoyed a shower together. They washed off the sweat and other fluids from last night, enjoying the warm water and being with each other. By the time they were done washing off, they felt invigorated. Walking down the hall, Fuse guided Zach to the Antechamber and stepped in.
****
Jared looked at the door behind him as Fuse and Zach stepped through and joined him, Veronica, and Auldron before the Council. The Elders each watched as Auldron manipulated a holoscreen to a specific point in the universe. "There. These are the coordinates I was given. The planet does seem to be hospitable, and their distance is the correct distance from Swarm territory to be the Lost Planets."
A collective whisper grew among the elders. Jared shot a curious glance at Veronica, who only gestured to remain silent as the Council deliberated. At a wave from Victor, the Hoppers left the room. "What are the Lost Planets?" asked Jared as they stood outside the Antechamber. Veronica took a deep breath. "Intel recieved from a previous Planethopper, Graf, spoke of a Swarm planet separating from the main Hive. This intel initially suggested the Swarm aren't as linked as we first thought. Still, at the time, the Swarm Invasion was too far advanced for us to investigate futher. Intel suggests that a planet whose evolutionary chain favored Snakes managed to forge an alliance with the Bird Planet Aven. They further managed to convince a sect of spiders from the Swarm to join them. Their worlds are inhospitable for most other races. However, the planet's vast jungles are the perfect habitat for the Lost Ones, who used the natural landscape to wage a guerilla war against the Swarm Occupation. Eventually, the Swarm decided they had lost enough of their Hive to the hit-and run tactics of the Lost Ones." "So you think the insects just handed over the location of the only civilization to fend off the Swarm?" Jared asked.
"Precicely." Veronica said. "Before the Lost Planets had faded into myth. After all, who could have possibly survived the Swarm? But now, maybe there is hope after all. With their help, we might be able to scrape together enough to press the attack."
"Wait a minute." Zach spoke up, "I thought the Confederates were peaceful." with a look at Fuse, "You said they can't fight. How is this possible that the Lost Planets would turn the tide just like that?" It was Fuse's turn to speak. "The Confederacy has the fastest production capability in the Galaxy. With replication technology and research, we can make weapons. We can make a lot of them, very fast." Fuse sighed, "the only thing we lack is warriors. Weapons aren't any good if nobody is willing to fight. We hope that the Lost Ones will accept our Alliance and help us beat back the Swarm. Spiders, Snakes, Birds. You tend to have a large population when you reproduce with clutches of eggs. We just hope they can provide the numbers."
Jared and Zach looked at each other. They understood, but each somehow felt that the entire situation was larger than them. Zach, in particular, felt next to useless when compared to even Jared. Still, he had resolved to stay near Fuse's side. No matter the cost.
The four filed back into the Antechamber once they were called back in. Councilor Trilliam looked down on them. "Alright, Hoppers. The decision is final. We will attempt to make contact with the Lost Ones. Preparations for contact will begin immediately." "Yes, councillor." answered Jared, Veronica and Fuse. Zach remained uncomfortable silent. Thoughts raced in Zach's mind. 'What? I'm being put in with them? Sent to some alien planet with the fate of a civilization on my back? I don't have any of the training these people have, I'm just one person! Its too much, why am I being roped into this!?'
As if sensing Zach's troubled thoughts, Fuse grasped his hand in hers. 'Eh, its not that big a deal', Zach thought.