FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Richard picked up his beret from the desk and examined it. He was in better spirits after he expressed his feelings towards the vulpes, who slept soundly in the office. Tiny claw holes marked the edges of the rim. He smiled at the markings, just another story for the old, dusty thing.

He placed the hat on his head and returned to filling out paperwork. Sheet after sheet of injury reports from his men and draftees. Roma was busy keeping track of the weapon confiscations and armory checklists. Roma failed to get through the paperwork to make sure the personnel get compensated for their injuries. Fortunately, Richard's hands recovered enough so that he could finally hold a pen.

What he read would have disturbed the young man anyway. Richard hardened himself to the harshness of the corporation, over 26 years will do it to anyone. Central command thought of the men as nothing more than a checklist of body parts. He swallowed deeply as he filled out the forms confirming the damage reports to the personnel and the treatments they received.

Something caught his eye; he furrowed his brows further. The lizardmen's paperwork stated they haven't been treated at the time of reporting. All the surviving humans had received their treatments or were awaiting care.

Discrepancies grew as he took a closer examination. The medical care his men received didn't align with the injuries. The man in question showed off the scars in the breakroom. Boasting about his first engagement and a reward of two bullet scars on his arms. A minor wound like that would've involved antibiotics and a suture, right as rain in no time. Yet his treatment involved the stasis pod, a procedure only reserved for critical care or partial surgery.

The lizardmen were forced to wait on their treatments. Richard clenched his teeth causing pain to spark from his throat down to his chest. Is this their thanks for sacrificing themselves for the ungrateful people on the station, dying on a cold table? He grabbed the paperwork and wheeled toward the scanner to send the copies to central command. He made sure to scan a set for himself to get a better look at the treatments. A follow-up with his men would be required to confirm his findings.

Soft murmurs left Trixi's snout as he worked through the paperwork. A twitch of the ear woke her up from her morning nap. She failed to sleep in the ice-cold room the night before. She cooed to Richard, "Hello handsome."

Richard smiled at the orange fluff sticking out of a pile of brightly colored blankets, "Are you feeling better?" His tone betrayed displeasure.

She shuffled under the bedding looking up at him with her blue eyes, "Still tired…" she answered with her maw open in a yawn, "is everything okay? You sound annoyed."

Richard swallowed. Trixi had already been through so much adding to her stress was the last thing he wanted to do. He feigned a smile at the sleepy fox, "it's nothing. I'm just frustrated with how much work I need to do."

Concern echoed in her voice, "Are the bandages too tight?"

He showed off a hand and flexed his fingers. "You did fine, I can hold a pen quite nicely today," He looked at the work that still needed to be done, "finally got started on the mountain of paperwork… you can go and catch up on your sleep, I'm still busy with all this. I'll let you know if I need any assistance."

The vixen quickly disappeared into the covers, falling asleep almost instantly. Pleased with the response he wheeled himself to the desk again and pushed the coms button at his waist, "Roma, can you come to my office, please? I need to talk with you about some details."

The door hissed open shortly after and Roma stepped through. He eyed Trixi's outlandish red and white blanket bed. Once he took a seat Richard bluntly stated what he needed, "Can you ask for confirmation of the injuries the security team got? I'm going to need a physical copy, preferably voice recorded. Things aren't adding up on the paperwork."

"I- Yes sir." Confusion marked the younger man as he answered.

Richard nodded, "Good, I expect to see it on my desk by the end of the day."

Roma asked, "What did paperwork say?"

Richard leaned back in his chair and gave an indifferent smirk, "It's all just a part of Nanotrasen's paperwork process." He changed the subject quickly, "Just like the armory… Speaking of which, do you have that paperwork filled out? I'll need to send it to central command as well."

"Yes sir, I'll bring it right over."

Richard shook his head, "And please stop with the 'sir' business." Roma nodded and backed out of the room to grab the armory forms. Richard sighed, he hated obfuscating his intention, but Roma had a loved one involved. Might cause the young man to lose himself in an investigation. Richard resumed and filed the paperwork away, keeping copies in his desk for cross-referencing.

The room was silent. He pondered the next action he would take, he looked over to Trixi's corner. The bed moved ever so slightly with her breathing. He cursed his position, "dammit." If things were slightly different, he would be laying in bed, with her. Instead, he had to pick up duties of those that were lost, damage reports and equipment lost needed to be completed.

How would things of changed if he made different choices? Would Jack be around if he took the armor? He wondered if it was the armor that caused him to think he would survive the blast. Would Roma have perished instead? What if Trixi was killed if he was too slow to save her? His mind was caught in a loop of potential mistakes while unfinished work was clenched in his hands.

Trixi woke up bringing the man back to the room. She brushed the wrinkles out of her coveralls as she jumped out of the bedding, "That was amazing. I didn't think I would feel better sleeping on some furniture and blankets. I think your scent in the room helped out with that; I felt safer." Her bare claws tapped at the steel floor as she stepped toward Richard.

Richard smiled at the vulpes hiding his mental anguish. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He placed the paperwork down and rolled to face the vulpes. She started to look and sound like her old self, her fur bushy and smile bright. He reached up and stroked her head and down the side of her cheek. The bandages and numbness prevented him from feeling her fluffy face.

The comforting touch did help her though as she leaned into it, "I'm glad you're feeling better as well." She reached up and traced his scars with her paw pad. The blisters around the face were healing nicely in the open air. The two of them stared into each other's eyes until the door hissed open again. They quickly collected themselves and faced Roma.

Roma cleared his throat, "Sorry about the intrusion, but here are the forms. Signed and accounted for. Several weapons went missing, but the A.I. reported them destroyed in explosions or lost to space. Including your X-01 pistol."

"That's quite alright, they will deduct that one from my pay. The rest will be written off as an occupational loss. I'm sure you did a good job accounting everything." Richard took the files from the man and stamped them after he took a brief glance over the work. "Excellent, I'll submit it to Centcom."

Roma nodded and looked over at Trixi, "How are you holding up? Bakes said you were quite the mess last time he saw you."

"Oh, me? I'm doing much better now. The first bit of sleep without waking up shaking like a diabetic."

Roma chuckled at her bubbly attitude, "Good, I'm glad everything is working out then. Richard can be a bit of a handful I bet." Trixi laughed looking at Richard who was trying not to smirk while he scanned the paperwork through. Roma nodded comfortable that things were taken care of, "I'll be back on the syndicate ship if you need me. The crew stripped out everything but the hull plates. I'm going to inspect their job."

Richard waved farewell, "Thank you, Roma, you've been a blessing."

Once Roma left Trixi asked a question. Something that burned in the back of her mind since they left the shower, "So how was the first time with me? Did I do a good job?" Puzzled, Richard looked over to her. She blushed through her fur at her question and then bobbed on the tip of her feet, stretching her heel up and down.

"What are you talking about? I should be asking you how well of a job I did with you."

She bounced over and pressed her snout to the side of his face giving a little lick, "You did something I never thought I would experience, it was absolute bliss." Her blush deepened as she stood by his side, "I was talking about the kiss." She paused for a moment and lowered her voice, "I watched so many videos of humans and my kind kissing, even my sister sent me a video of her and Dirk kissing to demonstrate," she admitted, "I may have been a little obsessed."

A small laugh escaped, "Your tongue is raspier than I expected, but it wasn't unpleasant. I just hope I didn't get rusty."

Her pearly canines reflected at him. She hopped up onto his lap and hugged him, tail bouncing excitedly. "I want to do whatever you want. I've seen what humans like, I'll get on my knees in front of you wearing a collar and a leash, panting on your scent."

Richard creased his forehead in shock, "What videos have you been watching?"

Trixi covered her cheeks with her paws. Her voice trembled, "sorry… I thought it might have been something you would like."

He held her close with his bandaged arms, "You don't need to do any of that for me."

She sighed and confessed where she got most of her human sexual information, "a lot of stuff I watched are on xenophile websites. There is a vulpes on there that wears only a collar. She's the only vulpes actress that has sex with humans."

Richard's mind was flooded with an image of Trixi wearing a collar. A blush took his face, "Please you don't need to be a sex slave. I don't want a sex slave!" He petted the top of her head causing her tail to whip around, "I want a happy woman who isn't completely helpless, you've already proven that."

The vixen wrapped her arms tightly around his broad chest, "I know, I know… I'm glad you see me that way. I must be the luckiest girl for having found you." She pressed her muzzle to his lips. Their tongues met for a brief second, her blue gaze returned to his eyes when they separated.

Richard continued his work while Trixie remained on his lap. The high-energy vulpes didn't have a problem with the boredom of bureaucracy. He welcomed the company, kept his mind from drifting to darkness.

She watched him. The silence was occasionally broken with a question. The who, what, when, where, and why of Richard's past, "I told you my selfish reason for working for Nanotrasen… why did you join? Did you want to be head of security? What about your family?"

He chuckled at the barrage of questions; her curiosity amused him. They were simple questions he answered many times to his men. "I joined many years ago. I can't remember the exact date anymore, but it was one of the only opportunities I had to get off-planet." Richard paused his work into the 'to do' pile, "My father was an earthling, colonel in the United Earth Government Navy. He moved my pregnant mother to Raia while he fought in the colony rebellions." A glazed look takes his eyes as he thinks about the questions some more, "I guess I was just destined to be in space like him… maybe it's genetic."

Trixi giggled at the story, "You're a spaceman, just like the stories, the underpaid pilots, lost explorers… I learned quite a bit from songs and battle hymns from your human culture." She tilted her head as her train of thought shifts, "it confuses me as to why humans hate aliens so much. What could our races have that cause humans to hate us so much? We are so weak..." A frown crept across her muzzle, "My species hates humans because we only have a couple of planets and a small colony… we're scared."

"That's a very complicated question, your species feel the same way the lizardmen did. Humans are seen as a massive force with tons of planets and resources and people at our call. It's only natural. However, our people aren't all living in luxury, and Nanotrasen furthers the divide with their hiring practices."

Trixi furrowed her brow to this, she heard many reasons why humans hated her, but nothing involved Nanotrasen. "What does the company have to do with any of this? I was always told by the friendlier humans, 'oh he's just a jackass' or 'that guy hates everyone'."

"Most of that is true, people hate things that are different, doesn't stop at aliens. But Nanotrasen profits by keeping all the other aliens under their control. They can use their species as cheap labor…" He sighed as the vulpes was further confused. She was getting paid more than any of her peers on her home planet. "You haven't been to a human world, but you would be dumbstruck how expensive things are. That bet you won from that guy, would maybe cover a small condo on earth, excluding taxes. Hell, the newest model GM spinner costs three million."

Trixi frowned at the realization, "at least the money will buy a nice home for my sister's family." Richard agreed with the sentiment, glad to be part of the improvement in their lives. The talk of money had her ask one of the forbidden questions, "How much do you make?" He scoffed, not wanting to answer her query.

"Not enough for the job but more than enough to cover my expenses." She pouted at his non-answer and crossed her arms in a huff. This irritated him, "ug… I'm not supposed to tell you about my pay… it's rude to ask that about a man."

Trixi's tail flicked around to tease his face with it, "even for your girlfriend?"

Richard wanted to touch her tail for such a long time. He seized the fluffy appendage and pressed the silky fur to his face. It smelled clean and was surprisingly warm, "you're right." The tail retreated with a smirk from the vulpes. "I make around 1.6 million a year, you make about 70k, while a clown in a similar position would make 600k." Trixi's mouth hung open in the disparity of pay while he continued. "On top of that everyone on this station gets 50% hazard pay bonus… except for aliens. They don't get hazard pay."

Her pointed ears were flattened, and her posture deflated. She wondered why Nanotrasen would think so little of her or the other non-humans. The only question she could think of next was, "Why?"

"Cheaper labor," Richard's bandaged hand comforted the fox and elaborates, "Nanotrasen controls alien economies. They sell cheaper luxury items on alien worlds. Usually, 10% of what it would normally cost, that three million spinner is only 300k. The domestic economy gets strangled out allowing complete economic domination." He curses and then rolls his eyes, "Nanotrasen gets away with it all, thanks to their monopoly on plasma energy. Once they take over a world's entire economy, they force them to only use earth's credits."

She focused all her attention on him, her eyes betrayed sadness. She closed her fist tightly, "When did this all start?"

He sighed for a moment trying to think of when it started, "The practice has been going on before we even made first contact with aliens. Comstar did it when we first discovered FTL. Now they are just doing it to aliens. Sell them goods at a loss to keep them working for the company and save money for generations. They can hire a skilled engineer at 5% of the pay… In turn, this built resentment with the humans who are trying to find work, as all the skilled and unskilled labor jobs get taken up by aliens." He flicked his wrist like swatting an annoying bug, "The only saving grace for humans was with the UEG blocking Nanotrasen from hiring only aliens, now they're required to have a quota of humans aboard all stations."

Trixi slinked away remaining silent while she processed all that he said. The thought of her entire species being forced to work for a company that didn't care for them, or their futures. It hurt. She mustered up the courage to ask another question, "Will my people be slaves to the company?"

Richard assertively shook his head 'no', "The lizardmen have already gone through what your planet's going through. They can't block interstellar travel and the mixing of species. Lizardmen had their pay increased in the company to near-human equivalencies," he shrugged, "it will eventually work itself out."

She half-smiled at the only sliver of optimism he said in the conversation, "well that's something." The man watched her carefully, the truth couldn't have been comfortable for her. "Thank you for telling me."

"I try not to think about it, above my pay grade to do anything. Just like every poor SOB in the universe, trying to live our best lives for themselves and their children." With a heavy exhale he returned to his paperwork.

Trixi laid down while he worked in silence. Richard was agitated as he answered her inquiries. The subject was one he hated to discuss. She left him to his work as he grunted in irritation at his work. The silence was broken as his pen was set down. He pressed his communicator button and groaned in frustration, "I'll be there shortly, sir." He looked over to Trixi, "The captain wishes to speak with me. Can you take me to the bridge please?"

_____

On the bridge, the captain waited. He sat in his large office chair in front of the monitors overlooking the station's systems. The head of personnel lingered with him. Ali looked dejected and stared at the steel floor. Richard was wheeled in by Trixi. His presence perked up the two of them. The captain stood up, "Thank you for coming Richard. We have some news."

"Just news? Sounds ominous."

Martinez smiled, "well, a little more than that. First, I will have to ask Trixi to step outside for the time, it's sensitive information." Trixi naturally protested this decision, but it was quashed when Richard raised his hand and shrugged at the vixen. She huffed waited out the door, once it sealed the captain started talking.

"I told Ali she was fine, but he refused to believe me." The head of personnel deflated and sat down. The captain looked Richard over, "you're looking better."

"Recovery has been quite painful, but the pills have helped. Forgot how hot those energy swords get." Richard flexes his trussed-up fingers, "I should be getting full mobility in my hands in a week."

"Excellent! I want you to be fully healed up when the Nanotrasen liaison arrives. The company is sending him here to speak with you about the attack. They were quite alarmed about the attack, which makes sense concerning circumstances."

Richard shrugged, "What's that got to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you!" Martinez beamed, "I sent them some footage the A.I. gathered. That's the reason they are coming over, so they can speak with you and review the files directly. They were quite impressed." Richard rolled his eyes at the thought of speaking to a VIP Centcom agent. "I know that feeling. I already gave them an earful when they first contacted us."

Richard gave an indifferent look, "Is that all you wanted to speak with me about?"

The captain looked over his shoulder with a grim expression on his face. Ali slowly raised himself, "I wanted to apologize. I have been at wit's end about everything… felt helpless." Richard glared at the troubled man who quickly fell to his knees. "I'm sorry for everything, it's all my fault."

"What was your fault?" Richard asked with confusion.

Ali gazed up at the wheelchair-bound man, "I fled leaving the disk behind, I'm the reason you got injured. I could have done more to help you." His face was holding back tears from his torrent of emotions, "We should have given you the authentication disk, I just abandoned it to hide under a desk." Martinez looked at the show and just shook his head shrugging at Richard.

Richard just groaned, "get up!" Ali bounced to his feet quickly. "I don't want to hear that. You would have just been shot dead if you stood your ground." He waited till the HoP composed himself before he continued to berate him, "is that why you wanted to drag me in here? Just to hear you blame yourself for your mistakes?" Ali nodded. "Good god man, I already hear that from my own conscience and Trixi," Richard hung his head, "everyone is blaming themselves and I'm done…"

Martinez patted Ali on the shoulder, "Thank you, Richard. I'll take it from here; you can go now. Just remember, the liaison is top secret. No one needs to know about it other than you me and the HoP." They agreed to be done with the topic before Ali fetched Trixi to take Richard away. Richard just groaned in exhaustion, not wanting to discuss the matter.

Trixi remarked, "that bad huh?" While they headed back to the security wing.

Richard shook his head, "It's nothing important, I didn't get to talk to him about what I needed to talk about." He let out a long sigh, "I need to get back to my work."

Time passed as he got caught up with the security paperwork. Then came the medical appointment to make sure the treatments were coming along. He was given another burn treatment and skin regenerative treatment. His doctor told him that things were on schedule and that he would make a complete recovery after surgery. This excited the vulpes who wished to celebrate the news.

Richard asked the doctor an unrelated question, "How are the lizardmen doing in the xeno level?"

His doctor paused for a moment and gave the head of security what information he could. "The team stabilized the infections I hear; I have no formal experience with xenobiology so I can't give a definitive answer." This was satisfactory enough for Richard, at least there won't be any more unnecessary deaths.

Trixi was a bouncing ball of joy upon hearing the news and whisked him out of the medical department. As they traveled the halls toward the bar, they passed their fellow crewmates. The warm wishes and heartfelt gratitude were given to Richard and even Trixi. The vixen pumped her chest with pride.

Richard on the other hand had his mind preoccupied with worry and extra doses of pain medication. She accepted the crewmate's words for him with a bright smile on her muzzle. It felt good to be out and about with the crew. She even invited them to the bar where they would be sharing some drinks.

Bakes whipped his tail excitedly upon seeing Richard. "Richard! I'm glad you are well! Let me clear the path for you." The pair took the lift around back to avoid the stairs. Bakes was speaking non-stop as he moved the boxes for them.

Attention from the patrons shifted to their direction. No longer just a boss of the security station but a hero to the crew. Richard was still divided if he liked that. To him, it was just another job. Lost in thought he ordered his usual.

Bakes gave him two bottles and continued the conversation about how things have been going. Richard just drank the bottles offering some nods and single-word responses. He wouldn't admit it but relaxing with a beer successfully helped unwind him a little.

"Thank you Bakes, you have done your part keeping the station together while I been away. People probably would have revolted if they didn't get their booze," Richard said in a half-joking manner.

The lizardman flashed his sharp teeth in a smile, "I'm jussst grateful you helped with the bomb, I have never messssed with the consssole before. Had to of been… four yearsss ago on another ssstation."

"Happens too much. But that's corporate warfare for ya," he chuckled at the commonality of situation.

Trixi listened carefully to the two reminisce. It disturbed her. She couldn't sleep after just one attack, the memory of that red-suited man and the shaking station haunted her. "Why do they attack so often? It shouldn't be so normal…"

Bakes and Richard looked at each other, then the vulpes. Richard reminded her of the conversation they had about the monopoly Nanotrasen had with plasma. He went on to describe how other corporations have a coalition to attack Nanotrasen, "the syndicate wants to break up the monopoly. They have been at war with each other before us and will be at war long after we're all gone. Eventually, the monopoly will break up and splinter, bickering like nations of old did."

Trying her best to understand Trixi lapped up a glass of water she was given. The gravity of the situation chewed at the back of her mind. All the stories the older crewmates told each other; were quite real. Every death, every battle. She thought of Jack and how Richard never spoke about him or the others. This wasn't his first fight, he probably lost countless others in his long service in the company.

Bakes poured another beer for Richard who was relaxing in his wheelchair, his back muscles loosened up; it wasn't that long ago when she was just trying to comfort him in the bar. Catching herself staring she blushed and gazed around the saloon.

It was a packed house. Everyone relaxed after their shift. She couldn't help but admire how quickly the crew softened after the attack, like it never happened. If she had her clown supplies, she would perform for the crew. Maybe some silly tricks, a song? An idea popped into her mind and she hopped off the barstool. Her bushy tail disappeared into the small crowd.

Richard placed the beer down. chuckling under his breath about how much of a lightweight he was. He turned to speak to Trixi, but she was gone. It wasn't long till he spotted her orange visage standing on the stage. She had a guitar and a microphone.

She sang for hours as Richard drank. Starting with everyone's favorites, 'Cargonia's Anthem' and 'Banned from Argo'. The crew loved the old space tales, even though her voice was far too high pitched at the pace the acoustics were going, but they cheered her on. Once the mime jumped on stage the entertainment picked up. Jacques played every invisible instrument at once with his singing partner. Some drunks even jumped on stage and joined in. Human and lizardman getting along with the vulpes. Things were back to their original state.

Several people approached the HoS. Richard smiled warmly at them, face flushed with alcohol. They exchanged a few words and bought him more booze. Thanking him for stopping the destruction of the station. The drinks piled on and between interruptions he just watched the orange furry creature sing her songs, the lyrics blurred in his mind until the crowd left for the night.

A handful of people remained in the bar, they assisted Bakes with the cleaning. Trixi sang one last song while watching Richard. It was in her language, soft trilling words.

Richard couldn't understand the lyrics, but the way she looked at him caused his heart to pound with the strums of her fingers, clearly a love song of some sort. He gave her the attention she deserved and watched her every movement. It looked like she was dancing with her bushy tail, sashaying it about with the rhythm. A night they both needed.

Bakes spoke up with his forked tongue flicking out, "It was great to see you friendsss, the mime doesn't exactly make good conversssation company."

Trixi busted out with her laughter returning to the counter, "Oh I know, I wish I could stay here longer but I'm busy looking after this lovable cripple. He would never heal with how stubborn he is." She stared at the man in question who was half asleep. "I'm just glad to see the crew doing well. The smell of fear was completely gone from the room."

Bakes nodded, "I'm grateful they moved passst it, they're ssstronger than they look."

With their goodbyes, Trixi pushed Richard through the back halls again. He started muttering to himself in a drunken stupor, free booze would do that to anyone. She stopped by her own room and wheeled him in. She picked up some of the belongings she was missing, something to pass the time the following days. She grabbed her bag of holding and started to put all the toys and even her computer inside. With that out of the way she took one more glance around the room and saw the handle of the energy sword sticking out from a pocket of a discarded jumpsuit, she tossed that with the rest of the belongings.

Richard was forced to drink water while he rested. The vulpes really didn't want to deal with his hangover. He whispered what he believed to be sweet things, but it came out as incoherent murmurs. She physically held her muzzle shut to prevent herself from laughing too loud.

Back in his room, he rested in the chair; too heavy to be moved to the bed. She stared at him for a moment wondering if she should stay. The blanket was tucked in around him. Protecting him from the cold station air. Once that was complete, she gave the sleeping man a good night kiss, before leaving him for the night.

Alone in his office, she unpacked some of her belongings. The vulpes set up her computer so she could contact her sister. She crossed her fingers, hoping that Kaila would answer. The screen came to life and her sister's bright orange face filled the screen. "Kaila I'm so glad you picked up. I have been trying to contact you!"

Kaila looked past Trixi at the dull grey walls, curious as to where Trixi was located. "I know, I had multiple missed calls. It took a while to get the extranet in place… Did you do something to your room? Your computer is up higher than normal."

Her ever-observant sister's comment warranted an explanation, but there was a laundry list of things to talk about. Trixi started in their quick barking language, first the attack, the injuries. Slipping in the attacker being crushed between the events. The last part of her story was how Richard expressed his love for her and they are now together.

The vulpes on the screen was in shock, she turned away and yelled out, "Dirk, I'm going to be a minute Trixi's on call right now!" Her undivided attention returned to the camera. "This is more to unpack than what we have at the new house," there was a brief pause while Trixi caught her breath, "start over again, so the attack wasn't a false alarm?"

Trixi shook her head and went over every aspect she remembered. This moved into the nightmares after the attack and the red armored suit that tried to kill her, "the only sleepful nights I had were from sleep medication. I can't even sleep in my room without thinking the station is shaking itself apart."

"I… wow, no wonder the precautions were in place. I passed the training you were doing because he was interested in you. You have to quit this job. I don't want you to die for some corporate war." Kaila swallowed her worry. "We have a big house and enough money to last a lifetime, you can live with us."

The premise sounded lovely to Trixi, she could just quit and join her sister. She looked back at the door behind her, thinking about the man she fell for and how he still needed her. Even if he wouldn't admit to needing the help, "not yet." The vulpes on the screen frowned, eyes drifting down from the camera. Trixi softened her up, "I have my boyfriend to take care of now. He finally expressed his feelings for me!" Trixi held her muzzle shut to keep from being too loud from the excitement. Her sister just laughed at her.

"I told you. No one would spend that much time with someone if they didn't care for them. This Richard sounds as stubborn as you said. Guess that's why he's in that position fighting off bad guys and saving the day."

Trixi was warm with happiness. "He saved my life, I can't quit. Even if every fiber of my being is telling me to run away. I feel safe near him, I can sleep soundly with his scent."

Kaila smiled at her dear sister, "just be safe. I don't want you to die. I wish I had picked up sooner. It must have been hell to go through all that." She paused for a moment making sure no little ones are listening, "so… you going to tell me what he said when he spilled his feelings?" The two sisters laughed as Trixi explained everything in excruciating detail, completely unashamed about the activities the two did. Kaila offered some advice about procedures when dealing with human and vulpes differences, there was nothing the sisters wouldn't talk about.

They spoke throughout the night till Trixi's yawns interrupted their conversation, "it's about time I went to sleep. I have to get up early to help Richard get ready. He keeps pushing himself to be useful on the station and I have to help him in every way I can."

Kaila chuckled, "Sounds like someone I know, always running into situations without planning." The two waved farewell to one another, "well, good night, sweet dreams!"

The screen went black just as the station's air cooled, signaling time for bed.

_____

Another morning, another day closer to surgery. Richard was grateful that Trixi gave him some space as he washed his clothes and the bedding he was wrapped in. The shower was boiling hot once more as he slid his body into the tub from the wheelchair. He quickly scrubbed his lower half off before leaning back to relax under the warm trickle.

Trixi entered the private bathroom with a bright smile on her face, she brought in fresh bandages, "What's on the agenda for today?"

"I'm going to overlook some data, double-check the injuries on the reports, and then I'm going to send a message to the captain. I also need to double-check the remains of the infiltrator ship we captured and ensure that it is being dealt with properly… I doubt I'm going to find a problem with anything."

She stripped speedily as he spoke. The activities sounded pretty mundane. At least scrubbing the man off was entertainment enough for the vulpes. She hopped into the warm water with him and let the water completely soak through her coat before crawling onto his chest, "that sounds easy enough."

His arms wrapped around the wet and lithe figure. She let out a soft pleasing coo when he touched her. The only sensation his nerves sent back was a gentle numbness. The doctors told him it could take weeks for feeling to return.

As he rubbed her body, he mused to himself how he finally won the company of a woman that wanted to be with him. Yet, in cruel irony he couldn't feel her or be pleased by her. Some old god must be laughing his ass off. He sighed and remembered the song she sung. Touching his chin to her soft fuzzy forehead he asked, "What was that song last night?"

Trixi nuzzled under his chin; she was impressed he remembered the last song, "it translates to a shade of white. It's an old folk tale about a lost love. The vulpes used her tail to lead her mate back from the snow." She blushed, "I didn't do the tale justice singing it, just mouthed the words with the chords."

He moved his hands along her body enjoying her presence, "I thought it sounded beautiful."

The warm water gave a nice wake-up call to the day. Then she grabbed the luffa and started to scrub him down gently. She gave him quite the show as she moved around his body. Lifting her wet tail high as she worked on his legs, letting a leg rest around his shoulder showing off her flexibility while she scrubbed his chest and back.

Soft kisses were her reward. From the bottom of her paws, against her inner thighs, and puffy vulva. A shudder of delight was just what she wanted for a morning routine. The breathless fox washed the juices off her lover before helping him out of the shower, "Breakfast is in your office already, lots of protein just like you want."

Richard continued to fondle the fox. His hand danced across chest causing her to shudder as he brushed against her hardened nipple. Disappointment dripped from his face with the water as he watched her touch his flaccid shaft.

Her heart pounded in her chest still from the activity. Determined dipped down and tried lapping at his cock. The physical activity caused the penis to swell a little, but it deflated as soon as she stopped manipulating it. She pleaded under her breath, "Dammit, come on please work."

He interrupted her, "please don't bother. Nothing is going to happen."

Her wet naked body was scrunched down between his thighs. Her blue eyes were on the verge of tears. She didn't want to be a selfish lover. She stood and pressed her chest to his and hugged him tightly burying her muzzle under his head.

He comforted her, "You can help me get up dry off, that is more than I could ask for."

Richard kissed her on the muzzle as she dressed his scarred arms. "Thank you." The pain he once had was nearly gone. The medication sped the healing process nicely, soon he wouldn't be needing bandages. "I'm grateful to have you. When I get better, I'm going to miss being cared for to this extent."

Trixi paused for a moment, "Why would I need to stop doing this? I like doing this…"

He frowned at her response, "I'm going to have to get back to what I normally do, and so will you. The bar needs their entertainment back, along with the crew." He pondered about his time off he still had banked, "We can spend off time together, perhaps play on the holodeck together." He lifted her muzzle to bring her eyes to his, "I can't just hoard all the joy in the station to myself."

She chuckled lightly and nuzzled him. "I'm missing the pranks and the crew's faces." She rested on him and sighed, "But I need to get off the station, I don't think I can deal with it alone anymore. Being in a crowd is fine, but I am having trouble… alone. When I was out getting breakfast, I stared at the emergency bulkhead's caution lines for 5 minutes before jumping over. I felt like a ball from how my fur puffed out."

Richard held her close, he comforted the vixen. When he traveled through the halls there was always a slight pause before those very emergency doors. He brushed through her damp fur, "I'm here for you."

She backed off not wanting to soak his freshly bandaged arm. Her eyes watered, "Let's hurry up and dry up, the food is getting cold."

_____

The records weren't lining up. The recordings his men gave reported minor injuries, while the medical charts were listing life or limb wounds. Simple bullet wounds, glass shrapnel punctured the extremities but were reported as ruptured major organs. From the words of one of the security members, he received a single automender treatment, bandaged up, and sent on their way. For unknown reasons, the report read that he was placed in a stasis chamber.

Richard copied the audio to a file at his desk and compiled the information into a single file and messaged Martinez. A few lines accompanied the compilation, 'I have noticed that my men were in stasis while many lizardmen died waiting for surgery. I'll need to speak with you on the matter.'

Richard knew the captain would be very interested in the information and will bring it up with the medical department. Their inattentive nature toward the aliens on the station disgusted Richard, he looked over at Trixi who munched on some deep-fried sausage while playing on her PDA. His mind went to dark places once more, how things would've been different if he wasn't able to protect her, just like the others.

She noticed him staring and tilted her head curiously, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head and went back to his work, "nothing… How's the food?"

"The sausage is great! Wilma always makes tasty breakfasts." Trixi finished the sausage and licked her pads. "She gave me extra helpings for you, I think she likes you," giggling as she teased the man.

Richard just brushed it aside with a soft chuckle. "When you see her again, tell her I appreciate the extra food. How about everything else on the station. You always did have your ears out for how everyone is feeling."

The vixen smiled, "Everyone is improving. I make sure to put smiles on their faces, even the regulars that dislike me have turned a new leaf."

"That's great. I hope to be walking the halls with them soon."

Her dark lips pouted, "Why not now? I can wheel you around to see their faces…"

Richard did a once over on his desk. The only thing he was waiting on was the captain to respond to his query. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Let me just grab my hat and stun baton and we can get a good early morning patrol around the station."

They entered his room where he gathered his belongings from the high-security locker. His awards, medals, and accolades cluttered the storage bin. She asked him questions about some of the secret things he kept hidden. "Why don't you hang any of this stuff up? Your room could use the splash of color."

"It just reminds me of my time wasted," he picked up a frame with two medals of service along with a picture of several young men and an older bearded man, they smiled for the picture while holding up their weapons in celebration. "The company just chews people up and spits them out, I thought I escaped it when I found someone. Someone to look forward to seeing when I finally hung up my uniform."

Trixi placed her paw on his bandaged arm and stroked it gently, "What will you do now that you have me?"

"I'm still not sure. I'm getting too old to run around space," the picture cried out memories of the past, none of them were pleasant. His finger pointed to the gentleman on the far right in the picture. "Samson was killed by a blobbernaught."

"Blobbernaught?"

Richard whistled then answered the question "a large monster construct of a blob. Tough as shit and can tear apart bulkheads in a second."

Trixi quickly remembered the list of threats he spoke about when they practiced together. She scrunched her brow, "You said blobs were a minor threat."

He shrugged, "If you let them grow large enough, they become a problem and start to fight back." He changed the subject by pointing man on the far right in the photograph, "that man right there was killed by friendly fire during migration of space carp. Friendly fire tends to be the highest mortality rate in this field."

The fox remembered space carp sightings in her textbooks when she was in school. The babies were quite cute. "What harm can space carp do? They kind of just swim around in the vacuum of space."

"Migration season. Parents breath fire and the wizard federation see them as protected species…"

Trixi looked at the picture, "Which human is you?" He pointed out a young man in the group of several, a bright smile on his face and a laser rifle up high. Uniform pristine red and head full of brown hair, he was so small compared to what he became. Trixi yipped, "Aw, you were so cute!"

"If I remember correctly, I was 19 at the time." He placed the frame back into the locker, "Everyone died in that photograph except for me."

"You should quit. The company doesn't treat anyone with respect."

He wheeled around and placed the stun baton on his waist, "I don't do it for the company, I do it because I need to look after everyone. There are many threats outside the station and inside."

"Then I will stay with you. I want to be by your side, no matter how bad things get."

Her blue eyes peered into him, caring and deep. Richard lifted her to a hug. He brushed his arms along her body and down to her fluffy tail. He sighed and pressed his face into her fluffy neck. "That's more than I could ever ask of someone." Once he set her down, he was grinning wide.

A chuckle escaped her muzzle. She remembered she had a gift for him. She left him to the office and returned shortly after, "Here you go! I delivered it as promised." The metal shaft was passed to him, familiar weight and shape as he clinched it.

"Where did you get this?"

Her orange tail bounced with excitement from side to side, "Doug found it in the trash, said it was left behind. I promised I'd give it to you."

He activated the handle, and the eerie hum of the red energy sword came to life. He slowly passed the blade through the air, the burning edge hissed. "Did anyone see it? Did the A.I. see it?" She shook her head, the sneaky fox knew where all the cameras were located, no one would be able to catch her. He shut the blade off, the handle was warm. "I can't believe Doug remembered I used to collect the blades," he smirked, "every time I moved to a new duty station my replacement would confiscate a dozen from my collection." The hilt was placed into the security locker, "Thank you, Trixi. If only I had a blade beforehand, things would have been very different."

Trixi moved behind him and grabbed the wheelchair, "You want to go on patrol now? I'm sure the crew would love to see you around. It would make them feel safer."

"That would be great, I can speak with the captain about some things and get to see the progress on the infiltrator dismantling."

_____

The two patrolled the station, Trixi laughed as Richard awkwardly accepted thanks and handshakes. Last night he was doped on medication and alcohol. She wheeled him through the different departments so he could get a feel for how the station was coming along. The crews' purposes were defined, and laser-focused. The sight had Richard in a great mood. The final department they visited was engineering, Trixi was asked to leave the security head in the chief engineer's office for a private conversation.

"Thank you for understanding Trixi, it won't take long." The older man said to the vulpes as she slowly walked out of the room. "You wanted to know about the lizardmen and their treatment in the medical department?"

"That's correct, they were under my care as volunteers and I'm responsible for their treatment. So, please tell me how many are still injured, you're probably the only other department lead on the station that cares." Richard looked out the window of his office to two lizardmen working at consoles for the supermatter crystal, thick padded yellow suits covered them from head to the tips of their tails.

The engineer agreed, "They're doing a lot better now that the warden chewed out the medical staff. Are you aware that five died shortly after being admitted into the clinic, three more a week later?" Richard nodded to the somber statement; the facts were etched on the engineer's face. "My department suffered greatly; they were beloved friends."

"I sympathize"

The chief brushed his mustache nervously, "I'm sorry Richard… you lost close friends and colleagues as well. I just wish I knew what went on in the medical department."

"I'm hoping to find out, first I need to speak to the captain about it, I might have to wait till I get my surgery, so I'm not bound to a chair like a damn house plant."

The two chatted around the subject of who they believed to be behind the reasons the aliens were not treated. However, protocol required all the evidence to be in line and statements gathered if another department head was to be implemented in a crime. With the chief engineer's story verified it gave Richard some peace of mind that things are improving for the lizardmen.

Trixi was allowed back in to take him away to his next destination. She hummed happily to herself as they headed toward the bridge. When they arrived, a similar conversation took place, Trixi once again asked to leave.

She let out a huff, "Do I really have to?"

"Yes, this is the last meeting," Richard had a mote of sadness in his voice. He watched the vulpes drag her feet out of the conference room. Once the door was shut, he faced Martinez. "I'm going to be opening an investigation into the malpractice of the medical department, I believe they have purposefully neglected their duties to the aliens on the station which led to the deaths of eight lizardmen."

"I'm glad you told me." He pulled up his PDA and looked over the data he received. "I visited medical not too long after I got the message. Roma had gone through the department, some doctors told me they were shocked at the situation in xenobiology." The captain leaned back on the large office chair, "I went to the xeno level myself and checked on how the patients were feeling. Three are still fighting for survival, the station's night cycle isn't healthy for their cold-blooded bodies. I ordered them to keep their rooms heated round the clock."

Richard sighed, helpless. He couldn't do a damn thing about it and Roma has not taken a break in countless days. No doubt worried about his scaly woman. He cliched his fist, "I wish there was more that I could do."

The captain stood up, the creaking of the old chair exacerbated by his body's slow movement. "Let me get the doctor's claims recorded, I'll add it to your investigation while you recover. I'm responsible for all my crew's wellbeing as well." He opened the door to let Trixi into the room, she bounded to Richard's side. "You're not alone on this matter."

Richard saluted the captain, "Thank you, Martinez."

Martinez saluted back but frowned as he watched the man get wheeled away. It was written all over Richard's scarred face that he was unhappy with how it was handled. He opened a drawer from under the table and pulled out a bottle of aged whiskey. Something to calm the old captain's nerves. Much like Richard, he blamed himself for those that gave their lives.

Trixi whispered to Richard as they left the bridge, "What's wrong? Did the captain yell at you?"

"I'm just trying to deal with something important." He slumped his shoulders and deflated into the chair. He asked, trying to change the subject, "Did you have fun at least? I saw that some people were excited to see you around."

She had a weak smile on, "Everyone has been really kind. I haven't been able to do my normal routines yet, and I am required to be in uniform to perform hijinks."

Richard bolstered her mood, "let's check cargo then. maybe they have your order?" The hopeful vulpes pushed on to visit cargo.

Inside the warehouse was a thin fog of smoke and Doug reeked of marijuana. He slowly rose his hand to welcome the pair. Trixi coughed and pulled up her collar over her snout while Richard wore the same tired look he always had.

The quartermaster buzzed out of his mind put on his aviator sunglasses to hide his bloodshot pink eyes, "So… what can I get ya?"

Richard answered him as Trixi continued with her coughing fits, "We're wondering if the clown supplies arrived." Doug didn't respond just scanned the room with a sluggish speed. The entire cargo department laid about not doing anything, half were completely asleep.

Trixi was fed up with the room with her hypersensitive nose, "Where did you even get this much marijuana?!" This caused the quartermaster to go into a giggle fit. He was useless in this state. Richard spotted a small metal crate underneath a sleeping cargo tech. He started to wheel himself to the box before Trixi grabbed the chair and pushed him, "no, let me do it. It's my job right now." Her voice was muffled by her cloth.

The cargo tech was passed out snoring loudly. Richard pulled out the stun baton and before the man knew it, he was on the ground. He quickly rose ready to strike at his attacker but quickly pocketed his rage when he saw the serious-faced head of security staring back at him. Doug burst out laughing along with a few of the other cargo techs that watched the events unfold.

"Sorry, sir. Uh, didn't know you'd be here." He backed away slowly holding his stunned abdomen.

Trixi's laughter was hidden inside her shirt. The small box and it had her name on it. "It's here! Let's head back to the office so I can try it on."

She couldn't wait to open her clown supplies. Right as the door hissed close to Richard's office, she opened the crate. The scent of banana crème wafted from the container. She pulled out her new clown suit. Orange fur puffed out as she stripped from the restraining clothing. Richard watched as she slipped on the clown's uniform. Her fur vanished under the polka-dotted white shirt and red overalls. She rolled up the pant legs so she could get the final touches of the uniform the squeaky red shoes.

The smile she had on rubbed off on the man. She started to bounce from one foot to another in a funny fashion, each step with her paw sounded off with a squeak. Richard picked up her discarded uniform and folded it neatly.

She hugged herself, rubbing the new clothes with her paws. The clothing hung loosely around her body. "This feels so much better! Coveralls just rub my fur all the wrong ways, I was going to have bald spots."

Richard asked, "What does a vulpes' usually wear?"

"In our homes, underwear. Or sometimes in a light clothing called rashine. It's a single fabric that drapes over our bodies with a hole for our head, it's very light silk."

Richard pictured her small frame silhouetting a white fabric. Her curves outlined in shadow. "Huh, do you have a rashin'?"

She smirked at his mispronunciation, "Nope. I was told to not pack anything from my homeworld other than an issued coverall. Said it was policy."

An exasperated groan left Richard, "They are still doing that after all these years? The recruiters don't want any alien culture to get on the station..."

Trixi tilted her head, "it's okay, honestly. I love the variety of human clothes. Woman have so many different options. Vulpes don't have anywhere near the many colors and verities." She clutched her clown shirt that smelled like bananas, "When you have your surgery, we could go into the holodeck and I can replicate the clothing to show you."

He leaned back in his chair and smiled, "That would be lovely. I would also love to see what your planet might look like as well."

The vixen nodded in agreement as her attention drifted back toward the sweet-smelling crate. "Great! I can't wait to show you some things, and then you can show me what your planet looks like." She pulled out the culprit of the smell, a long colorful tube mechanism loaded with banana crème pies. She laughed and then rolled backward, "I can't believe it! They sent me a pie cannon!"

Richard joined in her laughter. "Don't get into too much trouble with that thing." The fox was enamored by the shiny toy.

"You're not going to take it away from me?" Confusion warbled her voice.

Richard got an idea, "I believe the cargo techs might have the munchies. So go have some fun."

"What about you? What if you need to go somewhere?"

"I am not going to go anywhere."

She looked at him seriously, "promise?" The man put a hand over his heart. The fox flashed wicked smile on her muzzle, "Thank you, I'll be back shortly. It only has like 10 pies loaded."

Trixi went to her room and applied her clown makeup once more. She spent the rest of the shift firing pies at the crew with her pie canon. Once it was emptied, she annoyed the chef to get more pie. The crew wasn't bothered too much as they watched the squeaking menace fire salvo of sweet treats across the halls. It marked a return to normalcy for the station.

Richard however worked hard to compile information on CMO. He knew Allison hated the aliens but couldn't figure out why she allowed events to unfold the way they did. He added the chief engineer's statement to the investigation. There were still testimonies from the medical department that needed to be taken. Back pain took Richard's mind off his work. The constant activities from the day worsened. He groaned and mumbled to himself, "just a little longer than this will all be over."