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Welcome back, my lovely reader~

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

And with that out of the way…

Welcome back, my lovely reader!

Another adventure awaits! But I'd say Junon's crew is a lot more comfortable with her compared to their first departure. Some are more comfy than others, of course…

There's going to be plenty of plot and drama this go around. A lot of it focuses on our young Earthling caught in the middle of his two sexy aliens!

Yes, I'd say Tyler's life is about to get even more complicated than it already is...

Let’s jump right in!

—*—

Episode 12:

Reassessment of Destiny

-*Captain’s Log- SD: 242 - August 29th Standard Federation Time.*-

We’ve been in warp for about a cycle and a half. We’ll most likely reach our destination within one more cycle. I’m still shocked and impressed by the distance we’re covering with this new technology and how quickly it was integrated into our reactors.

The crew seems refreshed and eager once more now that they’ve had several cycles' worth of leave. I personally was eager to get back out here despite missing my Racha. I do hope one day he and I can go on these adventures together, but I realize he has a major role to fill.

Leona and Tyler are doing quite well. If I’m honest, I might be a little jealous of how much time they’re spending together, but that’s okay, I’ve got a cute little Danlazi doe to keep me company when they’re busy with one another!

-*Finish Entry*-

With a soft hiss, the medical bay door slid open as the older Rashvian looked up from her desk while cradling a steaming cup of tea in her paws.

The young Earthling fox who entered gave her an awkward smile, his blue eyes darting away at the intent stare of the older wolf.

“Ah, uhm… Sorry to bother you, Chief Medical Officer…” Tyler said sheepishly.

Claris offered a small grin as she laid her cup down onto its saucer with a quiet clink of glass. “Why, yes Officer Londre, I'm terribly busy as you can see,” she giggled, resting her paws in her lap.

“R- right… I was here about, well, I mean… I was-”

“Tyler,” Claris interrupted. “May I call you, Tyler, dear? ”

He just offered a small nod.

Claris gave him a knowing look. It was the same look he would get from his mother, or grandmother, before he was told something he should have known already. “As a Rashvian, sex is a very important and common topic for us to speak of. We literally run an entire military on the pretense of getting some cock.” The words poured out of her easily as she flashed him a disarming grin.

The crude words made Tyler let out a small yip.

She offered a motherly chuckle and waved a paw. “I thought that might rattle the nerves loose. Please, dear… Just relax and tell me what you need.”

“Right… Leona told me I should occasionally get some kind of treatment since we're seeing one another?” he asked with a frown.

“Why yes, an injection of antagonistic beta blockers aimed at the neural pathways of the- Ah never mind, yes… Something to keep you from becoming a full blown addict, yes?” She chuckled again as the fox looked away.

“Would I… Really get addicted to that degree?” he asked while watching the older Rashvian slowly stand from her desk.

“Did you know relationships between Rashvians is very common in our culture, despite needing alien males to reproduce?” Claris asked, motioning for him to follow.

“I didn't, no,” he answered as the older battle maiden patted the exam table. Tyler hopped up to sit as Claris took out her tricorder and approached. She ran the small device along his chest area, nodding along as his vitals were uploaded to the device.

“It is, and for good reason. We may be a militaristic species that subjugates, but we still know and seek love. However… Finish the chain of logic, my young Earthling,” Claris said as she moved to her medical replicator.

“Uh…” Tyler thought for a moment then continued, “Your Fhiels grow so addicted, they… love regardless?” he asked.

“That's right… the lines blur the more you partake… Leona could be horrible to you, but you'd just grow more and more fond of her with each touch…” Claris said darkly as she approached with a small syringe.

Tyler gulped at that. “That sounds really scary, not going to lie…” he muttered.

Claris flashed another grin as she pulled the cap off the needle. “Every Fhiel in our society ever would argue with you adamantly about how wonderful it is… Roll up your sleeve.”

Tyler did as he was told then gave a shocked yip as Claris grasped his arm with one paw. He felt a jolt of energy course straight up his spine, then settle in the pit of his belly.

“We're poison, Tyler… A sweet, delicious poison… that you'll quaff and call ambrosia…” Claris looked him in the eyes, her own grey ones looking weathered with the years, but her touch making butterflies erupt in his stomach.

He was about to start panting as the warmth overtook him. The older, experienced battle maiden’s touch was clearly more potent. Then, he felt a stab of pain as she sunk the needle in and made the injection.

“The fact that she told you to get this treatment… shows she cares beyond subjugation,” Claris said simply as she withdrew the needle and placed a small bandage over his arm.

“Did… the sensation pass just now because of the injection?” Tyler asked with a dry mouth.

“Of course not, dear. It will be several hours to take effect. I simply chose not to focus further, such acts take it out of a wolf my age,” Claris confessed candidly.

“Wait… You mean you can control it?” he asked with shock in his voice.

She simply giggled again before shaking her head. “Yes, with time and experience, we can control it to a degree… You see, we give off chemical and electrical impulses as we touch… So you see… Us being venomous isn't such a far-fetched statement, my young Earthling.”

Claris gave him that same motherly grin as she tapped his snout with one padded finger. Tyler again felt the small, warm jolt as he bit his lower lip.

“My…I've not shown off like that in some time… Still, I hope I've made my point? My sister clearly cherishes you, and respects your autonomy…” Claris put the syringe away then turned back to the replicator.

Tyler found his eyes wandering to the female's hips. For a moment, it didn’t matter that the wolf was literally thrice his age. He snarled and pushed a paw to his forehead, as if to gather his thoughts as he clenched his eyes shut.

“It will pass soon enough, my little fox…” Claris hummed as she stepped forward once more, presenting an injection pen.

Tyler's paw hesitated before he collected the pen, careful to not make too much contact with the older female’s paws.

“Oh, you're adorable… Were I twenty years younger…” Claris offered a small growl and wink as Tyler gave an awkward yip, his cheeks growing warm.

She barked a laugh and turned from him, waving a paw. “The pen has ten doses. Once every three cycles, understand?”

“Y-yes… And this will keep me from losing my mind when me and Leona have sex?” he asked while climbing from the table.

“Oh heavens no! You'll still melt for her, sweetie. This will ensure you don't need to take a week off between sessions!” She took a seat at her desk once more with a huff, then took a sip of her waiting tea.

“Thank you, Claris… Sorry if this was awkward?” Tyler said with a smile as he returned to the front of her desk.

“Awkward? Yes, I suppose it was for you. For an older battle maiden like me, though, it’s a small boost to the ego to know my touch could still coax a lovely young thing like you…” Claris flashed him an almost predatory grin. She was still a voracious Rashvian at the end of the day.

“R-right… Uhm…thank you for the treatment… again!” Tyler barked as he bowed slightly.

“Take care of my sister, sweetie… Give her lots of strong pups once you two are settled, eh?” Claris said in a bemused tone. Tyler just awkwardly nodded with a small gulp as he exited the medical bay.

Once the door slid closed, he pushed a paw to his chest, feeling his heart still pounding. Claris wasn’t a bad looking wolf by any stretch of the imagination. Rashvians aged gracefully, and her touch was so-

“Get it together…” he muttered to himself, rubbing his face. The older battle maiden’s point was crystal clear. Still, Leona was watching out for him, she wanted him to get the treatment, she cared. She wasn’t just trying to own him, right? He pondered this as he fingered the pink collar on his throat.

As he made the walk back to his personal quarters, he mulled over what he had gotten himself into, his heart easing over time. The door to his quarters slid open with a hiss - then suddenly, he was grabbed up, shoved to the wall, and before he could react, soft, warm lips were on his.

Tyler shuddered, his tongue coming forward obediently, feeling Leona’s own, and their kiss instantly deepened. His Rashvian mate growled with approval as she tilted her head, her paws now cupping his face as she drank in his adoration and their tongues slowly rolled together.

She broke the kiss a few moments later, humming proudly as she scratched her claws through his jaw fur, seeing the little hearts swimming in his young eyes as he blinked into her own adoringly. Knowing she had her first Fhiel made her heart flutter with pride, as she cooed while starting to rub at his large dark ears and blonde locks.

Tyler couldn’t remember anything that was worrying him. Just feeling his owner petting and adoring him made everything go away. Nothing mattered but her.

“Did you get your little shot, my fox?” Leona finally asked, rubbing one of his ears as she kissed along his jaw.

“Y-yess…” he sighed adoringly and lifted his chin, offering his throat submissively. Leona gave a small chuckle and gave his neck a few love nips with her sharp teeth. The small bites made him gasp excitedly. He could feel his skin break faintly through his fur, then his goddess dragging her tongue against the marks, tasting his love for her.

She finally whispered into his ear, “Good boy… good dog… my dog…” His heart pounded at the sound of her praise. The words swam in his mind, hers, her dog… They sounded so sweet, and-

Tyler huffed and squirmed against her for a moment, before he whispered, “L-Leona?”

She could see he was trying to muster something and slowly pulled from his arms, letting him breathe.

“What is it, my Fhiel?” she asked once he seemed to get his head together.

He shuddered at the title, feeling a tremor of pleasure sink into him before he swallowed thickly. He then asked in a whisper, “Why… did you have me get the injection?”

Leona perked her ears and shifted her paws to her hips. “Why? Because you're not just mine. I won't just let you drown in my touch, Tyler. You belong to me and Junon equally.”

“So, it's for Junon?” he asked while rubbing his collar.

“What? I mean…” Leona hissed through her sharp teeth and rubbed the back of her head. “I don't really want you losing who you are, you know? I like you in general, Tyler. I want you to be my slave in bed, but not day to day… Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “It does… I'm happy to be that for you and her, Leona… I'm-”

“Don't get the wrong idea, Tyler…” she growled, trotting over to him, her finger dragging along the collar he wore. “You… are ours… but you're also mine and I won't share you with anyone but Junon, is that clear?”

He shivered and bit his lower lip, nodding rapidly. His mind drifted as she cooed and cupped his jaw again, her touch easing the worries away. Why would he resist? He had two perfect girls owning him; why would he need more?

“That's my fox… My Fhiel…” She growled the words with pride in her voice as she casually slipped from the robes she wore, revealing her body to him.

Tyler let out an adoring groan at the sight, then gasped as Leona hugged him tightly. So much of her exposed body pushing against his just further drowned him in her love.

“Take off your clothes,” she whispered. “I want as much of you touching me as I can get… I want you drunk on me…”

Tyler eagerly complied, hastily starting to peel his shirt off. As he stripped down fully, he gave her another more drunken groan as Leona pushed closer, her ample breasts pressing to his chest, her claws digging into his back. The Rashvian leaned close and puffed into his ear, “Good dog… my Fhiel… I’ll have you worshiping me again tonight, understand?” His only response was a nod with a needy little whimper.

-*Marvullia Public Data Archives*-

-*General Knowledge Database: Enter Query?*-

-*>Marvullian Species>*-

(NOTE; The following data archive has been interspersed with USF standard time and distance notations, as well as other notations. Please be advised one-hundred percent accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Marvullian:

The Marvullian species has had access to spacefaring technology for tens of thousands of (USF standard years). Their original homeworld was lost to the cataclysmic crash of a massive meteor into the planet. The impact was so great that all life that remained on the surface was obliterated. The remaining population, aboard habitable colony ships, were eventually able to find a satisfactory system to call home. The artificial planet of Marvullia orbits a blackhole and neutron star in a delicate balance, and the two spacial anomalies serve to protect this location from other celestial threats, such as large meteors.

Once re-established, the Marvullian empire began to rapidly colonize their sector of space. Soon afterwards, they made use of spacial fatigue points to move warships quickly into unexplored sectors of space. It was not long before the species had spread throughout all known corners of the sectors.

Records are conflicting on the main reasons of the issue, but approximately eight thousand (USF standard years) ago, a major collapse of most of the fatigue lanes left Marvullian colonies cut off from the main home sector of their species. (For unknown reasons, no attempt to re-open these collapsed lanes has succeeded.)

Contact was lost with fringe colonies and has not been re-established since. (USF Data Archives indicate most of the lost colonies were likely assimilated into other species’ cultures or lost entirely.)

Marvullians have always prided themselves on their bio-engineering skills, and frequently use these skills to gene-tailor offspring, pets, and even their own bodies. Self-modification typically takes the form of enhancements of psychic prowess. Of course, such modifications are tightly regulated; the ancient civilization has endured many mishaps throughout their history as a result of both careless mistakes and intentional overenhancement.

Though sponsoring a massive navy of tens of thousands of warships, the Marvullians are a peaceful species that has strict colonization rules, and similar primitive species laws in effect. In fact; the last three hundred (USF standard years), (There has been a strict ban on new coloniziation, showing the Marvullians are an old enough and wise enough species to know the hazards of rapid expansion.)

-*End Archive*-

“Ma'am!” Klasko spoke.

Junon turned her attention to the equine officer seated at his console and nodded. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“We're getting a faint hyperwave transmission on sensors.” He spun in his chair to look upon her.

“Interesting… it still shocks me to be picking up anything in warp. What kind of signal is it?” she asked while rising from her chair, crossing over the bridge to his station.

Klasko pulled up some references on a separate display window to confirm. After all, they were all still getting used to the new Marvulian technology.

“It appears to be a broad range, nondescript type anyone can pick up, typically used for…” He frowned. “Distress signals…”

“A distress signal here in the middle of uncharted space?” Junon rubbed her jaw.

“C-Captain? You don't think it could be Garrish do you?” Shelby mewed out, some concern and panic seeping into her voice.

“Highly unlikely, he was heading in the opposite direction on the charts,” Leona spoke up as she joined Junon, standing next to her lover with her arms clasped behind her.

“The signal is incredibly weak ma'am. It's a wonder we picked it up even with our new sensors…” Klasko explained.

“Hum… We can't very well just ignore it, now can we?” Junon put her paws on her hips and nodded to her Navigator.

“Ma'am, I'll attempt to narrow the signal's origin,” Klasko said as he started working the consoles. His hasty training was showing; he'd have done it in seconds on the old tech.

Within a few minutes, he spoke up again. “Got it. Originating from red star fourteen on our temporary charts.”

“Helmsman?” Junon looked to Shelby, who quickly went over their charted course.

“Ma'am, we can deviate and reach the system in just under two hours, with minimal loss to our estimated arrival time to the yellow star we had initially plotted for.”

“Make it happen, but keep an eye on sensors,” Junon growled before returning to her chair.

“What do you think, Captain?” Leona asked as she also took her seat.

“Hard to say… I trust Garrish was shooting straight with us, and I’m sure he would have mentioned others in this sector,” Junon said while rubbing her jaw again in thought.

“You don’t think it could be a trap from pirates, do you?” Leona cocked a brow.

“I don’t foresee that either. First off, there’s nothing out here for them to prey upon, and as lightly armored as Garrish’s ship was, it’s clear that it doesn't seem to be a threat in this region of space.”

Leona looked ahead for a moment. “Imagine that, a peaceful region of space…”

“Heh… getting introspective, First?” Junon gave her a grin, her tails rolling behind her with amusement.

Leona’s eyes lingered on Junon’s before the Rashvian turned their conversation inward. ‘Let’s just say, between what you and I went through at the beginning, and what’s going on with Tyler and us… Well, it makes me question a lot of things.’

‘More than fair, my Racha… We’ve been through a lot, and we've had a lot on our hearts lately.’ Junon gave her a nod as she returned the thoughts.

Her lover just gave her a dumbfounded, shocked look. The Salarian quirked a brow. ‘I can feel your shock and confusion, what’s going on, Leona?’

‘Of course I’m shocked! How could I not be?!’ Leona growled and clenched her fists, her heart starting to pound as her crimson tail wagged.

‘Sorry… What?’ Junon asked again, looking confused herself now.

‘You just called me Racha!’ Leona practically mouthed the words aloud as she gave Junon an intense stare, hearts already starting to show in her green eyes.

‘No, I didn’t-’ Junon pushed a paw to her own muzzle, blinking several times as she quickly thought back on it. The term just casually slipped out like she was talking to Andrew, and she didn’t even notice it.

“Yes, you did!” Leona growled the words aloud as she shifted closer to her Captain.

‘Cresh cha… I did, didn’t I?’ Junon stayed in their thoughts as she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. ‘You really have gotten into places I never planned to open up ever again…’

‘Do you regret saying it?’ Leona thought back.

‘Technically, I didn’t actually ‘say’ it,’ Junon cracked a grin as she opened one eye.

‘You know what I mean!’ Leona puffed her cheeks out cutely and glared.

‘I know what you mean, my pet… and I suppose… I can’t deny that it just slipped out, but maybe it’s true… maybe I should start calling you that as well as my good girl, my pet, and the host of other things… Would that please you, Leona?’ Junon met her gaze with a full grin, pushing a flirty paw through her blonde locks.

‘Yes! Please! I- I want to hear you call me that with your words as well!’ Leona gave her a cute, fussy look, her tail beating up against the side of her own chair.

‘Alright… come sit next to me, and I’ll whisper it into your ear…’ Junon smirked as she scooted over in her chair. Most of the bridge crew noticed as the First Officer took a seat with the Captain. Tyler just gave them both an amused grin.

Junon moved close to Leona, then leaned in, drawing her muzzle nearer to the Rashvian’s large, fluffy ear, her breath hot against the fur within as she whispered, “Beg me to do it…”

Leona bit her lower lip, whimpering as she practically panted the words in a whisper only Junon could hear, “Please… please my Dalrae… please my mistress… If I don’t hear it, I’ll simply die…”

“Die, will you? Do you need me to say it as you need to breathe air to live?” Junon cooed and growled as she gently rubbed her wolf’s fluffy ear.

“Yes yes… I’ll wither away and die without you…” Leona whispered back into her ear as the two of them hugged up to one another. The entirety of the bridge crew gave them side-eyes, trying to watch the officer’s drama unfold but look busy with their tasks.

“Good enough…” Junon gave Leona’s ear a small nip, then puffed hotly into it, “Ra… cha… that’s you, baby… my… Racha…”

Leona gave a shudder, then her heart-filled eyes focused as she grunted and threw her arms around the smaller dog. Junon gave a shocked yip as the wolf just pushed in to kiss her eagerly, bridge crew be damned.

Junon groaned, feeling the other girls' overwhelming affection, love, and dedication to her through their bond. Their tongues rolled as her paws tangled into Leona’s hair, rubbing her ears. Both of them embraced in a deep kiss, unconcerned with protocol or onlookers.

Leona drank in the taste of her fox’s kiss, their tongues dancing together as Leona just hugged her tighter. Before she knew it, Junon had shifted to straddle her lap.

Leona finally broke the kiss to snarl, “I love you… I love you so much…” She immediately pushed back in for more. Junon just groaned and wrapped her own arms tightly around the Rashvian’s neck, kissing her as deeply as she could.

‘And I you, my pet, my love… my Racha…’ Her thoughts flooded into the wolf’s mind, both of them shuddering from the feedback, as if their bond and emotions were simply reinforcing their love.

“... tain… Captain!” Tyler barked out.

“Toth! What is it?!” Junon snarled as she broke the kiss, glaring at her other lover. Tyler frowned in response.

“Uhm… Is now really the time?” Shelby followed up awkwardly.

“You two have been at it for several minutes now…” Klasko said politely.

“Several minutes?! We only just-” Junon snapped her jaw closed and started trying to recall.

‘Did you not hear me calling out to you?’ Tyler asked in her mind.

‘What? No! You were saying something? I would have heard it, Tyler,’ Junon looked back at him with a quirked brow.

‘I was! I called out to you several times, because you were getting so heated and unresponsive!’ He stared, eyes admonishing yet flecked with concern.

‘Leona… did that blur by for you too?’ she thought to her wolf.

‘Yes, I thought we were only kissing for a few seconds…’ Leona frowned but kept holding Junon tightly.

“I uh… beg your pardon everyone… That was very unprofessional of me…” Junon finally spoke out in as much of her authoritative tone she could muster, realizing she needed to straighten her uniform. She and Leona must have been really getting pawsy.

“Ah… Captain, may I speak freely?” Shelby mewed out.

“G-go ahead, I’m sure I deserve it…” Junon hissed through her teeth and nodded to her Lieutenant.

“Ah… You two were… I mean… I could… feel something from you two, and I don’t mean…” she trailed off, not sure what she was even saying.

“You two were practically radiating psychic energy,” Klasko offered. “I’ve felt it before when I was stationed on a ship with a few psychically powerful species… It was giving me a headache…”

“Y-yeah! I was getting a headache too!” Shelby mewed out.

“I’ve got a migraine…” Tyler growled as he rubbed his own head.

“Ah! H-How… that makes no sense!” Junon barked out as she got similar sentiments from her other crew members on the bridge.

“For what it’s worth… I didn’t feel in control of myself, Captain… Perhaps this has something to do with… You know?” Leona said respectfully.

“Maybe… Ah… I apologize to all of you again, I’ll make sure-”

“Hey, I like the free shows you two put on, just maybe take it easy on the psychic gymnastics?” Klasko neighed out a laugh to try to lighten the mood.

“Don’t worry about it, Captain… We were just worried about the two of you, for a bit there it looked like you two were so into it you weren’t breathing…” Shelby chuckled.

“Come to think of it, I was really winded when we pulled away, I guess I wasn’t breathing…” Leona rubbed her own head with a frown.

“Okay, okay… Well, sorry about this again. We’ll get back to work then. I and Leona will try to sort out whatever this is on our personal time. Thank you all again for your understanding!” Junon barked the words with finality in her voice, and that was the end of the discussion.

*-*

The ship came out of warp before a tiny, long-dead red star. The system was barren; no doubt any planetoid masses that were once here were destroyed, or drifted out of the star's orbit once it died.

“What a bleak system… Is there anything on sensors?” Junon asked while looking over the bridge display.

“The signal is radiating near the star, well, near enough to it anyway… It’s probably the only thing in this system other than dust,” Klasko said as he pinpointed the location. “Alright, sensors will have a feed momentarily…”

A moment later, a small ship appeared in view against the backdrop of the faint, weak glow of the red dwarf. The hull looked scorched from clearly having been in orbit near the star for some time.

“Database records that Garrish shared with us match it as a freighter, no doubt a similar model to his own… Marvulian, naturally,” Shelby spoke solemnly. Everyone on the bridge knew this wasn’t likely a rescue mission at this point.

Junon gave a composed sigh as she folded her paws behind her back. “Alright, impulse speed until we're within range. Let’s get scans for life signs…”

Once they arrived a few minutes later, Klasko spoke out, “We’ve got nothing coming in on lifesigns, and just the faintest energy signal… More than likely a backup power sub-system that’s just been keeping the distress signal going for… who knows how long… The ship does have sensor shielding, though, so I’m only ninety percent on that…”

“Ninety, eh?” Junon frowned, then closed her eyes. She had to treat this like a proper Captain would; she had to do this the way Andrew would want her to do. Her eyes opened and snapped over towards Tyler as she spoke in her authoritative tone, “Chief of Security, gather a small away team and suit up. We need to be damn certain that’s a coffin and not some poor spacer clinging to life.”

Tyler immediately frowned. She saw the look of concern in his eyes, but he gave her a salute. “Ma’am!”

Leona tilted her head, her thoughts entering her mind as Tyler left, ‘Junon… that’s a pretty grim thing to ask of-’

‘First Officer, you once accused me of promoting Tyler to his position out of favoritism, and I insisted he could handle the task.’ She turned to face her lover, and their eyes locked. ‘He is precious to both of us, but that is his duty, is it not?’

‘You’re right… I apologize for questioning your orders, even here in our thoughts.’ Leona gave her a small, silent nod.

‘Don’t, I understand… We’ll just do our best to comfort him if it’s too rough in there, but this is experience he needs if he plans to keep the position I promoted him to. He is ours, but I will not coddle him when it comes to our duty.’ Junon looked away to stare at the burned ship before them.

Klasko spoke up once more, “Ma’am, I’ve managed to scan the cargo holds of the ship. It appears to be carrying several exotic transplutonics, ores, and-”

“We are not scavengers, nor are we in dire need of such things. We’ll let the treasures of this tomb lie. If the Marvullians wish to reclaim it, we’ll share the location of this grave with them when they arrive at the fleet.” Junon spoke pointedly as her officer nodded.

*-*

“Alright, you know the drill,” Tyler barked out as he stood before the trio of security staff he would be leading. Most of them were close to twice his age, with more experience in wreck searching just like this. “We transport over and we check for any signs of life or identification of remains. We probably have nothing to worry about, but keep your eyes open for any hazardous things such as explosive gases, liquids, and the like… Any questions?”

“No, sir!” the trio answered respectfully.

“Good. I know all of you have more experience in this matter, and I’m a green officer, so I’ll be counting on all of you!” He barked the words, showing some humility before his officers. He pushed the vac suit helmet into place, hearing a small hiss as it sealed. A moment later, fresh artificial air brushed up against his whiskers.

“I’ve sorted out a safe transport location,” said the Transportation officer, “but remember, you’re going in under zero-g conditions. Have the magnetic restraints engaged on your boots, and even if the suits are reinforced, try to avoid any sharp or hazardous objects!” She stared directly at Tyler as she offered the last-minute advice, as if reminding the young fox who was leading the expedition.

“Thank you… Four ready to transport!” Tyler said politely as the officer nodded and activated the transporter.

The jump was disorienting, as the sensation of all gravity suddenly halted. The vacuum was dead silent, but each of the away team heard their own suits clunking down into place as their boots connected with the interior of the scorched freighter.

“You ever watch or go through any of those old ship horror sims on the holosuite?” one of the crew members asked jovially over their comms as the four of them started taking in their surroundings, shining their suits’ flashlights into the dark.

“You mean the one where the xenomorphs would come busting out of the ventilation shafts of the ships to rip you to shreds? Yeah, good stuff!” another laughed out casually.

“Are you guys having fun trying to fuck with me?” Tyler laughed awkwardly as he shone his own light about. The interior was pitch black, but there were some torn-away wires still sparking and hissing from an old, torn-open control panel.

“Absolutely!” his third security member laughed as he moved over to examine the torn-open panel.

“What do you suppose happened here?” Tyler asked while shining a light on the sparking wires.

“Compression failure in the CO2 levels most likely… Usually, a panel is the first thing to go… it makes sense given how the outer plasteel is shredded like this,” one of his veteran crew answered.

“So you think there was some kind of catastrophic life support fail, and that’s why it’s here?” the younger fox asked.

“Nah,” the same crew member answered. “Had it been instantaneous like that, poor bastard wouldn’t have had time to activate a signal… I bet this happened from just systems wearing down… This tub has been here for a while… possibly multiple USF years… ”

“So this was just an identification mission and not a rescue, that’s too bad…” Tyler sadly started moving through the corridor towards where the piloting systems of the ship would be. All of them had a holographic scan of the ship’s interior overlaying their visors.

“Yeah… I wanna warn you, boss… Things can get pretty grim on a derelict ship… Especially if life support fails… things can bloat, swell… pop… but there’s no microbes to eat the flesh, you know?”

Tyler winced and gritted his teeth, trying to keep his stomach from turning over. He suddenly felt thankful he hadn’t eaten much for breakfast. “Y-yeah… I’ll keep that in mind,” he stammered out as they moved along.

“Just trying to prep you, not fuck with you, boss… Look, if you need us to take the lead-”

“No… no… Junon… The Captain assigned me this position because she trusted me. I’ll not cower from it like some pup… Let's just get this over with…” He tried his best to muster an authoritative tone like Junon would do. The other three gave him nods of approval as they moved through the corridor to the main door of the pilot cabin.

“Short-range sensors?” Tyler asked one of his members.

“Nothing…” the other security officer said darkly. “We’re opening up a coffin for sure.”

“Alright… Part of me wants to just say this is proof enough, but I know that’s not good enough, so…” Tyler sighed and grabbed the handle of the door, giving it a good, firm yank as the metal whined but resisted. “Ugh… of course it couldn’t be quick…”

“Let me in here, boss…” The biggest guy of the group moved in and grabbed the sides of the door, giving a labored grunt as he wrenched it further open.

There was a single occupant slumped over in the pilot chair, silhouetted in a haze of dim red light. The red dwarf glowed passively, but its presence was overwhelming this close, like a great crimson eye staring coldly at the corpse. The space where the pilot’s head would be was instead half-blank, the top half of his skull reduced to a grisly display of bits of flesh floating about in the zero-g.

“Oh my gods…” Tyler muttered and tried to push a paw up to his mouth, but of course, he was in a suit, and the impact of his glove hitting the visor shook him about for a moment. He just snapped his jaws and eyes shut tight, fighting down the urge to wretch, struggling to compose himself.

“Damn, that’s nasty… still, props on the guy for doing it himself,” one of the older crew members said as Tyler slowly cracked his eyes. He tried to blur them slightly so they couldn’t focus on the horrid scene.

“Did it himself, you say?” Tyler asked.

“Yep… that’s why half his fucking head is missing… Used this number right here, I’d wager…” One of the older spacers pointed at the plasma phaser still loosely held in the corpse’s limp tentacle.

“Found our signal!” one of the other crew members called out as the other three moved over to him. There was a small coffin-shaped box about the size of a crate sitting on the floor in the corner, with a soft blinking light weakly attracting attention to it.

“What in the hell is it?” one of the older members asked.

“A small cryo-stasis pod,” said the one who found it, as he wiped at the glass of the pod with his paw. A small furred creature curled up inside, asleep, looking to be a primitive earth feline, but with four tails.

“It’s… a pet…” Tyler said in shock.

“Yeah… apparently, a really important one too, it looks like the poor bastard made sure the cryo pod would have enough power to keep stable and send out that signal, even at the cost of cutting life support early…”

“What a guy… instead of struggling and draining the batteries waiting, he hedged the bet to save this little fella…”

“Then did the job before the void could… I can respect that…”

As the older marines spoke respectfully of the dead pilot, Tyler just stared at the sleeping cat in the cryo-pod. After a moment to think, he then nodded, stood up, and forced himself to look back at the pilot out of respect, gritting his teeth against the fresh wave of nausea that threatened to tear its way up his throat.

“L-Load…” He had to fight back the gag in his throat before continuing, “Load up the pod, we’ll take it back. Least we can do, and it’s clearly what the pilot wanted…”

“Roger that, boss!” the other crew member said as he quickly disconnected the pod from the struggling system. The battery it was attached to instantly fizzled and burned out the moment the wires were pulled.

Tyler looked around the small area near the pilot's chair. This was once a comfortable, lived-in locale for a space trucker. There were no family pictures, just lots of pictures of that pet and a few of what looked to be the Marvullian that once was holding it. Tyler gazed upon his intact face, briefly memorizing what this poor trucker used to look like.

With a composing sigh, he chanced one last glance at the dead spacer, then spoke into his communicator authoritatively, “This is Officer Londre, we’ve got four to transport as well as an unidentified lifeform in cryo-sleep. Get us out of this coffin, Transportation!”

The away team arrived back in Transportation in one of the hermetically sealed bays. They stood in silence as their suits were sanitized for any alien pathogens.

Junon and Leona were both waiting outside the bay when he arrived. In that moment, his two older lovers looked more akin to mothers waiting for their frightened kit to return than fellow officers. He frowned but offered a salute as he spoke, “Captain, First Officer. It’s as you suspected. We found the lone passenger of the freighter dead. From the looks of it, by his own paws, before his life support could fail.”

Junon gave him a small nod, then looked over at the cryo-pod still in the transport bay. “What’s that?”

“It would appear the Captain of the vessel had a pet; it was clear he went to great lengths to ensure the creature survived, even shortening his own time to hold out for potential rescue. Bringing it back felt like the right thing to do.” Tyler spoke politely but confidently in his choice.

“Interesting… Well, it’ll stay on ice for now until we can look into exactly what it is. Excellent job, all of you.” Junon gave an approving nod to the four security members present.

Tyler quickly spoke up, “My three guys deserve all the praise, Captain. Their experience and knowledge were what got it all sorted, I was just there to-”

“Now now, boss- I mean, sir. You led the whole thing and even made all the decisions, we just backed you up!” one of the older salvagers said in a husky voice.

“That’s right, it was your call to push forward,” another spoke up. “Had we just left the cabin sealed after we got no life sign readings, well, that little fella over there would have eventually followed his master. His death would have been completely in vain!”

Leona gave a snort as she put her paws on her hips. “Chief of Security, your men seem to have the right of it. Either way, good job on your first away mission. A shame it had to be to identify a body.”

“We’ll see what the Science Officer can make of that pet you brought back along,” said Junon, waving a paw. “We might find data on it in the Marvullian records, given it was clearly a Marvullian vessel and Captain.” She then turned on her heel. “Officer Londre, resume your position on the bridge. The rest of you, return to your duties, and good job once again.”

The other three offered a salute before the small party splintered apart. One of them clapped Tyler on the shoulder as they filtered out of Transportation.

As the trio walked back to the bridge, Junon’s thoughts entered Tyler’s mind. ‘I hope it wasn’t too difficult on you…’

‘I think I’ll be seeing that sight in my dreams for a while,’ Tyler answered with an audible shudder, ‘but I’ll be okay. Thanks for trusting me to go see it through instead of just assuming I couldn’t handle it, Junon.’

‘Of course, my fox.’ She flashed him a small grin as Leona lifted her muzzle, acknowledging she knew the two were having their own conversation.

Once they got into the lift, the Rashvian spoke aloud, “Captain, may I request permission for us all to disregard rank for a moment and be at ease?”

Junon cocked a brow but gave a nod, “granted.”

Leona spun on Tyler and pushed a paw under his muzzle. His tail fluffed behind him the instant she touched him. Her claws raked gently through his fur as she dotingly whispered, “Good job… good boy…”

“T-thank you…” Tyler whispered out with another shudder.

“Computer, please hold the lift here!” Junon barked out. The system gave a small chirp as the lift smoothly halted, then she pushed up to Tyler’s side with her own cute growl. “Yes… Very good job my… our fox…”

“I- I just wanted to make… the two of you proud… Do my duty as I am… erm… expected to… do?” Tyler stammered as both the fox and wolf nuzzled the sides of his jaw, scent marking him, both comforting and rewarding him for the difficult situation.

“I think we should all stay together this off cycle, my Dalrae… Let’s properly dote on our little Earthling so he has nothing but pleasant dreams…” Leona growled as she offered a few love nips along Tyler's throat. The pink collar was absent for now, as it wouldn’t be allowed with his uniform, but she knew he’d have it on the moment their duty ended.

“Yes, I think that’s a splendid idea… Don’t you, our fox?” Junon cooed as she offered her own nips, both girls pushing themselves nice and close as the younger fox just sighed blissfully at their touch and nodded his head rapidly.

-*United Space Federation Data Archives*-

-*Galactic Lore: Enter Query?*-

-*>Psychic Powers>*-

Psychic & Psionic Powers:

Throughout Earth’s history, there have always been unexplained fringe cases of psychic sensitivity from various races across the globe. Even with focused study and dedicated research in the matter, there had never been instances of harnessing or training such abilities. The power seemed to be random and showed no signs of following lineage.

It wasn’t until SD: 26 and first contact with a species known as the Argnek that psychic abilities were perceived to be a learnable, focused skill. The naturally gifted psionics, a philosophical species, were happy to share wisdom with the USF on their natural abilities.

All sentient creatures with the capabilities of cognitive thought are capable of psychic connection to other sentient creatures, but usually require some sort of outward stimuli to ‘awaken’ the dormant abilities.

Some species are naturally more gifted with psychic and psionic powers, their brain-equivalent simply evolved or engineered to promote the gift.

-*End Archive*-

The following cycle, Junon called Tyler and Leona to the Science Department of the ship.

“Ah, there you are, took your time, did you?” the Chief Science Officer grumbled as Leona came in.

He was a species known as a Falue. He sported a thick, rugged coat of fur like an ox and curled horns like a ram, yet his paws were nimble, dexterous, like a primate. They were a smaller species by nature; this Officer came to around four heads in height. Their culture typically favored trade over scientific pursuit, but here was a brilliant outlier.

“Hardly a way to greet a First Officer, Lieutenant Chak,” Leona growled as she folded her arms.

“Need I remind you,” Chak snapped back, “Honorary Lieutenant, First. Officer.” He only offered her a half salute of his paw before turning to walk back over to the cryo-pod.

It was true, he was technically a civilian. He had been given an impromptu rank and position in the Navy, for unknown reasons. There was no doubting his scientific prowess. Perhaps the USF brass just decided he was too valuable not to have.

“Thanks for waiting, Doctor. So what do you have for us?” Junon asked while Tyler peered curiously at the sleeping creature within the pod.

“Well, first off, we found a data chip with a recording on it. Figured I’d wait until you were here to view it so I didn’t get nagged,” the Falue said matter-of-factly as he pulled up a vid window and loaded the data.

The video window flickered a few times before the pilot of the freighter came into focus. He had the same purple furless skin as Garrish, along with a similar rodent’s muzzle. His skin was clammy and clearly covered in sweat, shimmering slightly in the eerie glow of the red star that bathed the room behind him. Beyond that, the cabin was dark, as all systems were switched off. The alien was panting slightly as he began to speak.

“Well, if you’re watching this… guess I should… apologize for the state of how you found me. Huff… I’ll do it myself before I let the void claim her due…” The Marvullian offered a weak grin as he thrust a tentacle back towards the soft blinking light on the cryo-pod behind him.

“Tucked the little missus in while she was napping. She’ll be madder than fire over me doing this but… Ain’t room enough for me in there anyway…” The pilot focused the camera back on him as he coughed a few times, struggling to draw breath as he continued. “Probably got about… half a cycle of life support left after I juiced up the battery. The thing should hold for easily… ten solar years… So I hope you found my little lady before it gave out.”

He sighed and pushed a tentacle to his sweat-covered brow, then closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself. “I guess that’s all there is really… Just take care of my little lady, she’s the only family I’ve got left, and… If you do find my old hunk of junk floating about out here with me in it, once you get her out and safe… Well if you don’t mind giving me a little push, just send her into this damn star I’ve been staring at for the last few weeks, eh?”

The screen slowly faded to black. Tyler frowned deeply. Even with both his lovers exhausting him into a veritable coma last night, he had dreams about what he had seen. Seeing a man moments from ending his life and creating the scene in the ship… It’s tragic.

“Alright… Well, that was as grim as I expected… Moving on,” Chak sighed as he opened a new vid window that showed a holographic diagram of the sleeping pet in the cryo-pod.

“This is a bio-engineered companion known as a Reinsha. They are commonly found in Marvullian society. Apparently, its four tails act as sensory conduits for psychic bonding. They’re harmless as far as alien fauna goes, with not much other than claws and teeth. The data presented doesn’t really elaborate too heavily on the psychic conduits though.”

“Companion? It’s not a pet?” Tyler asked.

“That’s what it says, companion… but aren’t pets typically companions too? I didn’t write the damn file, just reading it to you, Lieutenant,” Chak grumbled as he shrugged.

“Interesting… Do you think it’s safe to revive it, Doctor?” Junon asked as she rubbed her jaw. She tried not to let her concern show too much, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy after seeing her young lover looking so ill from the recording.

Chak snorted through his nose and pushed his small set of spectacles up on his snout. “I can’t promise you anything, Captain. The numbers say it’s probably safe, but maybe the thing will just brainwash all of us upon waking up? The only way I could be certain would be to dissect the thing, and I doubt you’ll agree to that.”

“No no, keep your scalpel tucked away, Doctor.” Junon rubbed her jaw again, then looked over to Tyler. “What do you think, Chief of Security?”

“Me? Why me, Captain?” Tyler perked his ears and pointed to himself.

“Because you're in charge of the safety of the ship,” Leona answered for her.

Tyler frowned at the two of them; it was clear they were trying to give him more authority in his own position. He looked at the small feline-looking creature and then nodded his head. “We’ll release it, but let’s do it in a secure cell until we can be certain.”

“A sound idea. Who’s going to open the pod, though, once it’s secure?” Chak asked skeptically.

“We could just rig up a small drone to do it,” Junon spoke up.

“I’ll do it,” Tyler quickly interjected. “The poor thing might be frightened, and I don’t want the first thing it sees to be some metallic drone looming over it!” His voice carried that authoritative tone. His mind was made up, and he left no room for argument.

‘He’s taking it personal, he wants to prove something to himself, huh?’ Leona’s thoughts crept into Junon’s mind.

‘Better than having to go see the ship's counselor over the trauma. I’ll trust him to do it his way,’ Junon thought back, before looking to Tyler and nodding as she spoke aloud, “Alright, Lieutenant, we’ll do it your way, but if the thing attacks you-”

“Don’t worry, Captain. I’ll be on guard. If they were known for being hostile, I’m sure the files would have said something!” Tyler interrupted.

Once the decision was made, the cryo-pod was loaded into a secure holding bay with reinforced walls. A psychic dampener was also active, to prevent harmonic frequencies from easily leaving the cell walls.

Tyler frowned as he stood before the small pod, thinking back to the video and the condition he’d found the spacer in. Closing his eyes to compose himself, he moved a paw up, then opened them again as he disengaged the locking systems on the pod.

A small hiss filled the cell as cold mist spilled forth out of the coffin-shaped pod, obscuring vision for a moment before rapidly evaporating. Once things settled, the small feline could be seen more clearly without the swirling cryo-mists obscuring it in the tank. It had a shiny coat of cool blue fur that tipped black at the ears and ends of each of the four tails.

“Life signs, Doctor?” Junon asked.

“Stable, the subject should come around to consciousness any moment now,” Chak said as he looked over the data pad monitoring the creature's vitals.

The Reinsha’s ears were the first things to move, with just a few slow flicks, before the tails began uncurling from its small body. It let out a faint grunting sound as Tyler squatted down before the small creature.

Her eyes didn’t open, but she slowly lifted her head, tilting it to the left, then the right, as if working a crick out of her neck. The tails slowly lifted, the dark tips seeming to glow, as if searching the aether of an unseen void for traces of something.

After a few moments, he watched her body visibly slump while still sitting there, then her head tilted, and the small feline's face turned to look upon him. Her eyes finally opened, and when they did, they looked like they were made of crystals. They caught the light, dispersing it into every hue and casting it about like a diamond, making it impossible to discern a true color within them.

‘Lujack is dead, isn’t he?’ an unfamiliar feminine voice entered his mind, but he wasn’t surprised; he expected this for some reason.

‘He is, I’m sorry…’ Tyler thought back as he stared upon the alien creature. Their eyes locked, blinking in time.

‘What a fool… I insisted we hold out, I knew help would arrive soon enough… And yet here I am…’ She let out a small sigh as she tilted her head the other way. ‘How long have I been asleep?’

‘We can’t be sure, but the ship’s data analysis guesses the freighter you were on has been adrift for about twenty-five hundred of our standard cycles,’ Tyler explained.

The Reinsha’s ears perked at that, then her eyes narrowed in thought. Tyler felt a faint ache in his head. Nothing agonizing, just a slight tug of pain, as if… As if someone were digging into his very thoughts for… information?

‘So that’s how long a cycle is for you? Around six Marvullian standard years… The fool was right…’

“They’re just… staring at one another…” Leona whispered.

“They’re talking,” Junon said simply.

“How can you tell, Captain?” Chak asked skeptically.

“Because I’m no stranger to telepathic conversations. There’s just a way two beings look and stare that gives it away…” She frowned and shook her head as she folded her arms, “Tyler… I hope you’re alright…”

‘He left a message before he died,’ thought Tyler, ‘said to save you and-’

‘How did he die?’ The Reinsha narrowed her eyes as her small body finally rose from the curled-up position, but her gaze stayed locked on the Earthling’s.

‘By his own paws, with his sidearm it appeared.’ Tyler gave her an apologetic frown.

‘At least he went out on his own terms… Part of me knew when I went down to sleep… I’d not see him alive again…’ She gave another small huff of a sigh, then closed her crystal eyes to shake her head a few times. When she opened them again, she straightened and began to speak aloud. Her voice was small, but confident. Haughty, even. “What’s your name?”

Tyler's ears sprang up in surprise as the small pet spoke aloud. The other three outside of the cell also looked a little shocked. “It’s Tyler… May I ask yours?”

“I don’t have a name anymore, but you already know it, don’t you?” the Reinsha asked with a smug-sounding tone of voice.

“Yes,” Tyler answered with a nod. “It’s nice to meet you, Shallie.”

“What the hell?!” Leona barked out, sounding confused, annoyed, and concerned all at once.

“Tyler, are you okay?” Junon asked from the other side of the energy screen that was barring the cell.

“Of course, Captain!” Tyler answered as he rose from his crouch to stand. Shallie gracefully leaped from the floor of the cell to perch right on his shoulder as the young fox walked over to the energy field.

“Fascinating! Simply astounding… I’ve never seen a psychic bond harmonize like that before…” Chak huffed out as he started fiddling with his data pad, making notes.

“You must not get out much then, whatever you are…” Shallie said in that smug, tiny voice, before looking the other three over. “I’m a Reinsha, we are created just for this purpose. I liked how this… fox… Yes, fox. I liked how this fox’s mind felt, so I offered him a bond, and he accepted.”

“It didn’t look like you offered him anything to me. How can we know that’s true?” Leona put her paws on her hips, but then Junon raised a paw.

“No, I think that is the truth…” Junon said gently. Then, she shifted her tone to sound more in charge. “I’m Junon Topaz, Captain of this exploration vessel you’re on.”

The Reinsha tilted her head and lifted her jaw as she looked down on the smaller fox. “Captain, is it? A… Salarian… and you, you’re First Officer Leona Sussnel, a Rashvian.”

“Is she just reading through your knowledge as if it were a book?” Chak asked curiously as he made notes.

“Ah… It’s complicated,” Tyler admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. “At first, it felt that way, but we’re communicating… in real time both here and on another level… Shallie is asking me lots of questions as we talk, and I’m answering her as best I can!”

“Can you just bond with anyone like this, Shallie?” Junon asked.

“Not anymore, I can't… I’m on my last cycle,” the Reinsha said simply as she splayed her tails out. The tips of three of them were black, but the last bore a new color, blue. It wasn’t the cool blue of her fur, but more the same blue as Tyler’s eyes.

“Why my Lieutenant?” Junon waved a paw to Leona before continuing, “Disable the field, it’s fine.”

“I can answer that, Captain,” Tyler said as Leona followed the orders and brought down the energy field. The young fox stepped out with the small, smirking alien solidly perched on his shoulder, “Reinsha must maintain a psychic bond with a master, or they will die. Lujack’s wife and his wife’s mother were Shallie’s host before me.”

“That’s correct… I would have preferred to spend my last cycle with Lujack’s daughter, but after her premature death, he and I were all that was left. I was content to spend my third cycle with him and make it my last, but…”

“Alright, but my question still stands… Why my Lieutenant?” Junon put a paw on her hip.

“Because he had a calm, gentle mind; I was fond of it. Not to mention, Lujack would not have wanted me to just expire after his efforts, so I did it for him as well. Besides…”

She lifted her jaw and peered over the three of them before looking to Chak. “Your mind is a maelstrom of chaos, questions, and self-hatred.” Her eyes then looked between the other two dogs in the room as she continued, “As for you two… With your current bonds of oath, I question if I’d have even been able to do so. I’ve never felt such a resolute bond, and I’ve been around for a long while now, about one hundred and twelve of your standard USF years.”

“Bonds of oath?” Leona asked, her voice sounding a little more pitched.

“Yes, uh… Marriage, yes, I believe that’s what Earthlings call it. You are wives, yes?”

Tyler bit back a laugh, but he couldn’t hold in a brief snort. Junon and Leona’s ears perked and tails fluffed practically in unison, as they went silent.

‘You did that on purpose!’ Tyler thought to Shallie.

‘Yes, but also I could sense you wished me to do so. They truly do have a bond I’ve never witnessed, though… It is shockingly strong…’ Shallie responded in his mind.

“Be that… be that as it may…” Junon cleared her throat, composing herself as Leona tried to do the same. The Rashvian’s tail betrayed her, wagging excitedly even as she took a more powerful-looking stance.

“So what are we doing, Captain?” Chak asked.

“You’re returning to duty while I sort all this. Thank you for your help, Chief Science Officer,” Junon said simply.

“Huh…” Chak seemed like he wanted to say more, but just shrugged and walked away.

Junon turned to her young lover. “Tyler, let Shallie rest in your quarters for now, we need to return to-”

“That won’t work for me, Captain,” Shallie cut in.

“Oh, is that right?” Junon growled, sounding annoyed.

The small cat snorted and rolled her crystal eyes. “Spare me your bruised ego, Captain. I must maintain some sort of reasonable distance with my master, or he and I will both suffer intense pain in our minds. This will be a temporary matter until our bond fully establishes.”

“What is a reasonable distance and time?” Junon growled.

“Within… around fifty or so yards of distance. Isn’t that what Earthlings use, yards?” She looked over to Tyler, who nodded. “As to time… perhaps approximately one USF month.”

“That sounds rather inconvenient…” Leona grumbled.

“Rest assured, I’ll be more than happy to excuse myself to another location when either of you or both of you are mating with my master. Though I’ll be truthful that I’m terribly interested in seeing it first hand, his memories sound… delightful…” The small cat showed her tiny, sharp teeth in a Cheshire grin.

“S-Shallie!” Tyler barked.

“So in the end… You just got another strong-willed girl to boss you around… You really do have a type, my Fhiel,” Leona cooed with amusement.

“It would appear that is my master’s preference, yes,” Shallie flicked her tails as she answered.

Junon thought to her young lover, ‘Will this complicate how we-’

‘Yes.’ Shallie’s crystal eyes locked to the Salarian’s in an instant.

‘I know this will take some getting used to, Junon but-’

‘Tyler?’ Leona’s eyes widened as even her own thoughts joined in.

‘Okay, explain this, Shallie, now!’ Junon snapped her teeth as she glared at the small Reinsha.

‘We are psychic conduits. Simply put… You planted a seed into my master’s mind, I made it explode into a tree, is that a good enough example? I’m still going over Earthling metaphors,’ Shallie thought.

‘So you’re acting as a sort of go-between for the three of us?’ Leona thought back.

‘Yes and no… Even if I were to expire, the strengthening of my master’s psyche is quite permanent. I don’t believe this was within the realm of my abilities normally, though. I believe it’s osmosis from what you already did to him, Junon.’ Shallie gave the Salarian another smug look.

‘So, Tyler and I can talk to one another like he and Junon were doing?’ Leona tilted her head.

The Reinsha gave her a nod. ‘That’s correct. And if it puts your minds at ease… Remember, I’ve been bonded through multiple generations. Mating, offspring rearing, and arguments are all things I’m accustomed to. Rest assured, I know when to keep my thoughts shut off, and I can even close off the psychic connection temporarily if you seek privacy.’

‘So what happens after the month or so of time?’ Junon asked.

‘Captain, allow me to use another metaphor. Think of Tyler and I as having a string or chord tethered to us. The line can stretch and pull for a time, but it will eventually need to be brought back in. The further away it is, and the longer apart we spend, the less we will like it.’

‘Like it?’ Leona asked next in their thoughts.

‘We will start to feel more and more pain, both emotionally and physically. Headaches, fatigue, nausea, etcetera. These will, of course, only happen with intensity at extreme distances or times apart. The length of a starship should be fine, but if we changed ships without the other, it would be quite uncomfortable, and if one tried to stay planet or ship side while the other went into warp… You would have a comatose Lieutenant for a month or so, and I’d be dead.’

“Dead?!” Tyler barked out loud.

“Yes, Tyler… You are my final bond; if we separate too far or for too long, I will expire. As a general rule of thumb, we should strive to never be more than a lightyear apart or so,” Shallie said pointedly.

“There’s so much to unpack here,” Junon sighed. “However, I don’t think you’re a danger to my ship or my lover, so I’ll formally welcome you aboard, Shallie. Just understand that if you’re part of Tyler’s life, he has a duty to fulfill. Am I clear on this?” She put her paws firmly on her hips once more.

“I am one with my master. His duties and obligations are mine as well. I understand, and I thank you for welcoming me, Captain. Rest assured, I will offer your title respect and adhere to your USF protocols. However, you’ll forgive me if I can’t salute you properly, you’ll have to be satisfied with me standing at attention.” As Shallie finished, she rose from her lounging position to stand at attention, her four tails snapped back and fanned out.

“Thank you. We’ll be holding a ceremony for your former master before we send him and his ship off like he requested. Will you be attending?” Junon asked in a firm, diplomatic tone.

“Though it pains me, I shall. I have seen my other two masters off, I will not shirk my responsibilities to see him off as well. I do owe him my life and new bond after all. Yes, Captain, I shall attend,” Shallie held her stance for another moment, then settled back down to curl up on Tyler's shoulder, her four tails brushing along the back of his neck to poke out under his hair.

*-*

“Tractor beam has been set to repulsion, Captain. We can activate it at any time,” Shelby called out from her station.

Junon gave a nod as she activated a ship-wide comms channel. “All hands, please direct your gaze starboard or to the vid display. Though Lujack was not a member of the USF, he was a spacer fighting back against the cold, soulless void, and that makes him one of us all the same. We may not have been able to save him, but we can at least fulfill his final wishes on how to send him and his ship off.”

Vid windows installed across the entire ship displayed Tyler in full military dress, along with all ten of the ship's Security Officers also dressed in their full attire, all standing on the bridge. The small alien feline on his shoulder now sported a collar and regal-looking cape, traditional Marvullian mourning attire.

“Ten-hut!” Tyler barked as the other ten marines all drew and shouldered their phaser rifles in unison. “Present… Arms!” The marines shifted their rifles before presenting them forward, holding the barrels pointed up.

“Activate the repulsor beam!” Junon ordered. A moment later, a pale green energy wave shot forth from the Occam, grasping hold of the freighter and slowly pushing it out of its orbit towards the star it circled.

“Salute!” Tyler barked a final order as the ten security officers presented their rifles in formal position while he threw his own paw up in a salute. Junon snapped her own paw up in salute, along with Leona and every other officer on the bridge. Every member of the ship held their own salute while watching from wherever they may be.

As Lujack was a former Navy member, a Marvullian military funeral song began to play throughout the ship. The haunting melody sounded not unlike bagpipes from the Sol system.

All held the salute as the music played, as the beam pushed the ship closer to its final destination. Soon, the small star’s gravity finally started to pull it in for good.

Shallie hopped off Tyler's shoulder and moved to the main console overlooking the display, her cape billowing from her movements as she stood there. She watched the ship that used to be her home growing smaller, glowing red as the heat of the star started to consume it.

As the music started to fade, the freighter's hull finally succumbed. The combustible ore and volatile materials in the cargo hold ignited, helping to finish the job, and a small plume of light signaled the ship had exploded in the lazy flares of the dead star.

Shallie’s crystal eyes shimmered that same violent red, and the trio behind her could all feel her emotional feedback in intense waves. They held their salutes even as they felt the Reinsha’s sorrow seep into their own hearts, as if they had personally known the spacer themselves. She sighed, forlorn, “Goodbye, old friend…”

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