Vacation on Corallis

Story by Antarian_Knight on SoFurry

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#13 of The Odds Against


Alrighty, the second chapter in the set I have completed. Once again, I hope you enjoy it.

As always, comments are appreciated and requested.


Continued from 'Machinations of Conspirators'...

11-08-3015

Time Index; 1547 hours GST

TFV Zephyr

Asgard system, Terran space

"She is all set General, loaded up with the supplies you requested and fully fueled." My new lead mechanic stated as I stared at the sparkling new Tartarus raider that sat before me. It was the very first of the non-prototype fighters off the assembly line, the very first of the production series. It, along with eleven others, had been shuttled out to the Zephyr from the Asgard production facility earlier that morning by myself and the first three flights from Samurai squadron. The mechanics had then spent all day painting the fighters with their new colors. Traditionally speaking, only aces and command officers were considered as having earned special paint jobs on their fighters, but I had a good reason for breaking that rule. Last night, in a meeting of my fellow conspirators, we had decided that we couldn't afford to try and tackle the Conclave ourselves. Every day that we spent without moving against them was another day that we chanced being discovered. We had agreed to begin bringing in everyone we knew we could trust on our plan. And since I already trusted my pilots implicitly, they had been an obvious first choice for me.

After the initial meeting with Pride and Dillinger, I had spent the rest of the night meeting with all of my pilots individually, explaining the situation and then asking if they were willing to join me. To a man, every one of them had volunteered to join in, and then, in a meeting with the whole squadron early in the morning, one of my flight leaders had made the point that we would probably need a way for our allies on the other side to differentiate our fighters from other Federation forces. And a custom paint job seemed, incongruously, to be the most inconspicuous way to do it. In the wars of the Federation's past, elite or famous squadrons had painted their ships in unique ways to strike fear into those that faced them, and Samurai squadron, with every member having at least a score of interceptor combat sorties under their belts, was nothing if not elite. The squadron's fighters were now painted predominately glossy black, with a white, seven pointed, half-sunburst pattern painted from the nose of the ship back to about the level of the cockpit, a design that no other squadron had ever had.

When I had first seen my fighter in the hanger at the production facility, it had looked magnificent, shining and new, glistening, wholly unmarked and pristine. Now, loaded for battle in its 'Raider' configuration, it looked downright dangerous. The rakish paint job, completed with the traditional rank stripe of bright blue extending back over the engines from under the white sunburst, made it look like a predator waiting to spring more than a fighter craft, not to mention the dozens of red and black 'kill' silhouettes under the cockpit on the left side of the fighter. Single kills were usually recorded in black, but as the war had marched on, the fighter corps had had to resort to recording flights, that is to say, four of the same type of kill, in red to save space.

"Nice work, Senior Chief." I commented, shaking hands with the mechie. In addition to painting it, the mechanics had gone through the entire ship, double checking that every system was at its peak for my upcoming flight. Any other crew of mechanics I had ever served with would have taken twice as long, and not done nearly as good a job as they had. "How soon can you get the others ready?"

"Give my guys three days and both squadrons will be so good they could take on a fleet sir." He replied, the confidence in his voice giving me no doubt of the truth of his words.

"Take your time, we won't be going anywhere for a while." I replied, grinning at his bravado. "By the time I get back will be fine."

All military mechanics everywhere had the same attitude when it came to mountains of work. To them, it was more than a point of pride, it was almost a matter of honor, that they could get more work done in less time than their counterparts on other ships, to say nothing of in the civilian world. And so far, this crew was the best I had seen.

"Yes sir." He replied, then turned to look towards the hanger entrance as a growing roar signaled the arrival of another flight of four new fighters. Moving off towards where they would be landing, he shouted loud to his work crew. "Alright people, snap it up, we got work to do." Smiling at his back, I climbed up into the cockpit of my fighter and was just settling into the seat when the comm. system in my helmet chirped.

"Cramer here, go ahead." I said, clipping my carbine into its holder on the side of the seat and then plugging the connectors for my helmet's HUD into the fighter's controls.

"Sir, we just received a message from the Endeavor, tagged for your personal communications cache." Dillinger replied from somewhere in the Zephyr's sprawling corridors. My entire staff was in the process of moving into the ship even as the work crews refitted its systems. Very soon, the Zephyr would be serving as my command ship, even though it currently had no crew to speak of. "Do you want to view it now, general?"

Tapping the activation keys, I waited for the fighter to start up around me while I considered that. If the message was from the Endeavor, than it was probably official business from Admiral Tack, since the aging officer wasn't inclined to personal communication. On the other hand, my flight plan had already been logged, and if I was to get to where I was going on time, I would have to leave soon.

"No, link with my fighter's communication system and download it, I will look at it later." I replied, lowering the canopy into place and bringing the engines online. A moment later, the comm. system lit up, indicating that the message had been transferred. "Keep up the good work while I am gone, major."

"Will do sir." Dillinger replied and the com unit clicked off.

Smiling at being behind the controls of my own fighter once more, I lifted off from the deck in a hover and then lined up the nearest launch tube in the fighter's view screen. That was another advance that the Zephyr had that was unique from other ships. The hangers where fighters were stored and underwent maintenance had main doors where fighters could enter and leave in safe areas, as well as smaller single fighter launch/recovery tubes where fighters could leave during battle. In all other ships, it was one or the other, which had both advantages and disadvantages. The main doors, for obvious reasons, were a hazard during combat because they were essentially a massive gaping target just begging to be hit while open, but they were also the easiest way of getting large numbers of fighters into and out of the bay. The launch tubes had the advantage of being small enough that they were very difficult to hit, and numerous enough that even if a few were damaged, fighters could still deploy and land. Of course, having a large number of fighters, some in all likelihood damaged, trying to get back into the launch tubes all at the same time produced situations where sometimes half the bridge crew was devoted to directing them.

Boosting the thrusters, I guided the fighter out of the tube and into the larger bay where the Zephyr had been constructed. Circling the magnificent ship once, I took a moment to admire its smooth lines one more time and then headed for the huge space doors that were currently hanging open to allow my squadrons to come up with their fighters. Clicking the comm. unit on once more, I switched over to the Prometheus station's frequency.

"Prometheus dockmaster, this is Samurai leader requesting permission to depart." I said, watching as my fifth flight entered the bay and vectored in towards the landing bay I had just left. Each of the four fighters in the flight waggled its wings in salute as it flew by me and I returned the gesture, a grin spreading across my features. By the end of the day, my entire squadron would be aboard with their new ships, and the next day the new, still nameless squadron would be coming up to settle into the bay on the other side of the ship as well. And as soon as I could recruit everyone we needed, we would be all set to head out. I knew all my pilots were looking forward to that day as much as I was. As dangerous a profession as it was to be on a combat assignment, fighter pilots hated being confined to a core world where all we had to do was patrol duty, and most of the time, not even that.

"Samurai leader, you are cleared to depart." The dockmaster's voice replied, snapping me out of my musing. My grin turning predatory, I pushed the throttle forward and jetted out of the station at max thrust, turning towards an outbound vector, my heart soaring for more reasons than one...

***

11-09-3015

Time Index; 0835 hours GST

TFMC Tartarus Raider Samurai One

Corallis system, Terran border space

Stretching my arms above my head, I couldn't help but smile. Having spent the last fifteen hours in the cockpit, I had to admit, I loved the Tartarus. I had decided that my original assessment of the design had been spot on around hour ten. The pilot's chair was heavily padded, and molded specifically to provide the best comfort no matter what position you were in. It also reclined all the way into a bed, and the cockpit was so roomy that I had had no trouble dropping off for a nap when I had been in hyperspace. And, with compartments containing food and water within easy reach, it was actually more like a lounge than a cockpit. I didn't relish the prospect of being cooped up in it for longer than a day, but I knew I could manage if I had to. The main problem that I had was the boredom. Even orbiting the planet below me was starting to get boring, and it wasn't like there was much else to do. When I settled my weight back into the seat after my stretch, I happened to glance over at the com system, which I had switched to a special frequency that Katy and I had agreed on and the message I had received as I was leaving popped back into my head.

I had completely forgotten about it in the joy of playing around with my new fighter's systems. Shaking my head at my own lapse of memory, I accessed the file and found that it was a text only message from Admiral Tack, as I had thought. Reading the short message through, I sighed. It was short and businesslike, typical of the admiral's communications, containing a request for a meeting on board the Endeavor at my earliest convenience, though he didn't say why he wanted to meet. It said that the battleship had returned to Asgard for equipment upgrades and repairs of battle damage, so it would be in-system for about a month. I made a mental note to visit when I returned and switched the system back to standard scanning mode. I had almost put the message out my mind when a sudden thought formed in my head and I forgot my boredom for a few moments more.

It occurred to me that I could ask Admiral Tack for crew recommendations, and as a matter of fact, I could also ask Dr. Taggart, Tack's CMO, for the same thing in regards to the Zephyr's medical staff. That would solve the crew problem, so the only thing left to find upon returning to the dock would be a viable security and defense force for the ship. And while I had some names in mind for members of the security detail, marines that I knew from all over the service, I hadn't a clue who I could ask to lead it. Shrugging and reclining my seat so I was lounging again, I filed the problem away for later.

Then, moments later, just as my mind was fading back into a light doze in the warm cockpit, my sensor board lit up, jarring me into action. And, as I jerked upright, flipping the controls from autopilot to manual, I got another surprise, something that hadn't been mentioned in the technical specs. The pilot couch automatically returned to its upright position when the autopilot was switched off, the environmental controls instantly cooling the cockpit, the sudden drop in temperature clearing the drowsiness from my mind in an instant like a drink of cold water. I would have to remember to thank the designers for that little feature. Taking control, I guided my fighter out of its gentle orbit, bringing the weapons system online and vectoring towards the new contact. The sensor board had flagged the contact as a small orange dot, indicating that it was an unknown, but probably hostile, fighter sized craft and I instinctually lined it up in my HUD. Then, ready to fight if it proved to be an enemy, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, reaching out gently with my mind, though my psychic senses were already thrilling with anticipation.

And then, as we steadily closed on one another, I found a familiar, answering presence reaching out for me and I relaxed, switching the weapons back to standby. We still weren't close enough for our comm. systems to broadcast to each other, set to low power as they were, but it wasn't needed, I knew who was in that fighter. And, as my mate and I twined our minds together in a close link that was only possible when we were this close, I felt my heart start to thud out a rapid jig in my chest. Then, just as the sensor system popped up a window in the corner of my display, detailing a rough wire frame of Katy's new fighter, the legend under the sensor profile marked as 'unknown configuration', the comm. unit crackled and I heard what had to be the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

"Hello again Knight." Katy's voice said, slightly altered from the comm. unit's distortion. "It is good to see you."

"And you Falcon." I replied using her call sign as she had used mine. Then, as we flew right past each other, I pulled a hard loop around and then came up beside her, the other fighter slowing down so I could catch up. Then, looking over at her, I spoke again. "Welcome to Corallis."

"Its good to be here." She replied, and I saw her blow me a kiss. Grinning broadly beneath my helmet, I tapped a control on the nav system, transmitting a course across to my mate's fighter that would take us to a landing zone I had picked out. "Course received. Lead the way."

Still grinning, I pushed the throttle to pull ahead a little ways and then nudged the stick until my fighter started to ease into the atmosphere. The planet we were coming into was the second in the Corallis system, an earth-like planet that was, as far as we knew, unique in the universe. It had about the same axial rotation as earth, roughly the same land mass, a gravitational pull ever so slightly lighter than Earth and an atmosphere that was as close as you were likely to find to our standard. But the odd thing about it was that while countless species of plants and fungi had evolved on the surface, there were no animals, not even insects. It was as if the planet had decided to skip that form of life entirely, the plants and fungi spreading without their help. When the Corallis system had been discovered by a survey team just inside Terran space, and the lack of animal life on its one inhabitable world had been noted, it had immediately been declared off limits for colonization so it could be studied. And then, just as an expedition had been authorized to begin the exploration, the war began. With the fighting raging so close to the system, it was deemed too risky for a scientific expedition, and the planet had been mostly forgotten, which made it an almost perfect place for a clandestine rendezvous.

When my fighter broke through the clouds and arced in over the pristine forest below, heading for the landing site I had picked out, my hands were trembling so badly that I had to work to keep the fighter stable. By the time I found the clearing and engaged the hover mode for landing, it was all I could do to hold it level. And then, as soon as my fighter touched down and I turned off most of its systems, I suddenly found the roomy cockpit much too small and confining. Fumbling with the control to raise the canopy, I saw Katy's fighter settling down across from me and I didn't so much as notice its new design, my eyes glued to the dim silhouette in the cockpit. Finally, my clumsy fingers figured out how to work the switch and the moment the canopy came up, I sprang from the cockpit, tugging my helmet off and tossing it haphazardly back into the space I had emerged from before hopping down to the ground. Forcing myself to walk, not sprint, to Katy's fighter, I saw that she was having the same problem I was, but, as I drew nearer, she doffed her helmet as well and climbed out, dropping lightly to the ground just as I came within a few steps. The moment her feet touched ground, she turned to face me and then, we were kissing, our arms about one another, and I didn't remember crossing the distance to her, nor did I care to think about it. All I knew in that moment was that I had my mate in my arms, and all of a sudden, everything was right with the universe...

***

11-09-3015

Time Index; 1157 hours GST

Corallis 2, Planetary grid N17

Corallis system, Terran border space

Katy allowed herself a smile, keeping her eyes closed, letting her mind drift lazily from one topic to another as it pleased. She had been lying like that for what seemed like an hour, and yet, as tired and comfortable as she was, something kept her from dropping off, and she had a feeling she knew what it was. Drawing a deep, heavily scented breath, the vixen played the events of their landfall over in her head once more, trying to ward off the odd topic a little longer. It had been almost ten minutes before they had been able to let go of each other at all after that first embrace, ten minutes of a sweet, silent embrace, their armor and pilot's gear not hindering them in the slightest. It had been all they could do to separate long enough to retrieve their survival gear from their fighter's.

Even after they had gotten the gear, it had taken them more than an hour to set up the tent that her Terran love had brought, despite the fact that it was designed to be set up much faster than that. The problem was that neither of them had been able to go for more than a few minutes without being in contact with the other. But once the tent was up, albeit a little haphazardly constructed, they hadn't even bothered to unroll the sleeping gear before they had been all over each other.

Heaving a deep, contented sigh, the pretty vixen let her gaze drift across the camouflaged surface of the tent to the jumble of grey that was her and her mate's armor and flight suits, now so hopelessly jumbled that she couldn't tell what pieces belonged to her and which to Devin. The only pieces of clothing that she was able to recognize were the small pile of undergarments that capped the mound, and even they were balled closely together. The Terran fighter must have had the capability to carry more than one crewman, since there was enough room for their equipment as well as them. A moment later, one of her mate's arms shifted across her chest, pulling her a little closer to him, his limbs wrapped protectively around her and her smile deepened. Of course, it wasn't like they were taking up a lot of room at the moment anyway.

A sort of fuzzy, euphoric haze covered most of what happened after they had closed the tent, leaving her with a rather vague, but still very warm and pleasant, set of memories. She clearly remembered the two of them curling up together, their naked bodies pressed close, holding so tight to one another it was if they were trying to force their bodies to merge into one. They hadn't bothered with words, relying instead on a form of communication that only powerful psychics were capable of.

While they had been snuggling, all the barriers in their minds had gone down, and with no other sentient being within at least a few dozen light years, they had been able to share...everything; everything that had happened to them since they had parted. But it had been more than words, so much more. It was images, emotions and every other little nuance and aspect of an experience that a person felt, even those so common that they were never noticed. It felt as if they had been able to experience everything that the other had been through since they parted, and all in a few minutes. And though neither of them had felt comfortable enough with someone else to have done it before, now that they had, Katy had found that there was an immeasurable feeling of comfort and closeness in it. Now, even her paranoid senses were gone, and she felt as relaxed as if there was nothing at all in the universe to be concerned about, just her and her mate and nothing else.

Finally feeling better, they had drawn back into themselves, dwelling in their minds once more. And then, feeling somehow even closer than usual, they had made love several times at least, though she couldn't remember the details well enough to count them. When their passions had been finally exhausted, her Terran mate had fallen asleep, spooning her closely, their legs intertwined, fingers laced together, the regular sound of his breathing almost enough to make her join him in dreamland. Almost.

And with that thought, her mind finally came back around to what had so far kept her from sleep. With all the wild emotions that had filled her for weeks gone, a peculiar feeling had seemed to appear out of nowhere in her mind. It was the same sort of feeling that she had gotten back in school when the answer to a complex problem was hovering right in front of her face. Though, since she wasn't thinking about anything in particular, that feeling was very out of place.

Taking another breath filled with the scent of her mate, she again forced her mind to drift, allowing the answer to come to her, as the answers always had when she wasn't trying to think about them, rather than trying to reach out and grab them. Of course, it wasn't like she hadn't tried this already. The closest she had gotten to an answer was the odd sensation that there was a secret out there, a secret tied intimately to the two of them, that everyone had kept from them. It was almost like...

"Can't sleep?" Her mate's quiet voice asked from behind her ears, the first words they had shared since landing making her jump. Turning her head to peer back over her shoulder, she caught the blue gaze of her mate, his usual easy smile drawing a grin to her lips as well. "What's wrong love?"

"I just have this really odd feeling." Katy replied, pressing herself back against him, lacing her fingers through her lover's hand once more "It feels like there is something important that no one has told us. It doesn't feel ominous or anything, so I don't think it is related to the Conclave, but still, it feels...well...like its important."

"I'm glad." Devin replied and she turned over a little, looking at him in surprise. Seeing her gaze, he grinned. "I meant, I am glad I'm not the only one."

"You feel it too, then?" Katy asked, suddenly relieved. When her mate nodded, she continued. "What does it feel like to you?"

"Sort of like...waiting for a gift, you know?" He answered and she nodded in agreement. "Only, its more than just a gift... it feels like when you know something really good is coming, but it's still a long way off. I just...well, I just don't know."

"I know what you mean." The pretty vixen said, caressing her mate's jaw with one clawed finger. "Oh well, these things tend to answer themselves eventually." Giving her love a kiss, she turned over completely in his arms, nuzzling her human's neck, drawing in his indefinably pleasing odor. In reply, the Terran drew her close, and she nuzzled him again, the elation of having her mate hold her turning her heart to jelly. Then, even as they held each other so close, she suddenly felt something hard poke her thigh and a mischievous smile made its way onto her lips briefly before she banished it, pretending not to notice. "You know, as pleasant as this is, we will eventually have to get to the data we collected."

"I know." Devin replied, kissing the top of her head. "But we have plenty of time to get it later. I doubt anyone would notice if we took our time."

"Well, normally I wouldn't mention it." Katy replied, shifting her hips slightly, nonchalantly guiding the hard organ up between her legs. "But we have a lot of data to go through." As she said that, she gently scooted a little farther down so her lover's tip was resting against the folds of her nethers, the chemical scent of her arousal beginning to permeate the tent once more. "Unless of course, you can think of something you would rather be doing..."

"Oh I can think of a few things." Her mate replied, his hips giving a short thrust against her, grinding their hips together.

"I think I can too." Katy replied, a heavy note of mischief creeping into her voice as she nestled her head under his chin, giving his neck a gentle lick. Smiling broadly, her mate loosened his hold on her for the first time in hours and the pair shifted apart slightly, their lips meeting in a kiss. After a moment, Katy felt her lover's tongue slip past her lips, gently caressing her sharp predator teeth before meeting her tongue, even as her lover's penis slipped into her moist crevice gently. As the hard shaft worked its way up into her body, she pressed herself tightly against her lover, her breasts against his bare chest, letting out a pleased sigh as it finally stopped, its tip just short of her cervix, their bodies tight against one another. Then, when she felt her lover start to pull his hips back to thrust into her, she tightened up on his shaft and wrapped her legs around his hips, keeping him from moving for the moment. When her lover pulled back from her in surprise, she grinned and shook her head slightly. She wanted this time to be different. Surprised, but perfectly willing to oblige, her lover tugged her close once again and nuzzled her neck.

Then, still fully joined at the hips, Katy traced her hands along her lover's back, her claws following the curve of his shoulders, raising goose bumps along his flesh, and she grinned to herself, teasing the bumpy texture with her red furred palms, sending shivers down her lover's spine. Moments later, as she had hoped, she felt her lover's hands begin to roam her back as well, tracing gently down her spine to her tail, then massaging their way back up, making her gasp as a sudden thrill washed through her, his fingers finding the sensitive spots with ease. Smiling, she traced her hands downward as well, caressing his rump with the tips of her claws and she felt him give a short, involuntary thrust into her at the unexpected contact, sending a thrill like a static shock through her as his tip lightly grazed her cervix. Grinning to herself, she began to rhythmically tense and relax the muscles of her vagina, working his cock within her, teasing him like they had done on the remote moon orbiting their shared home world, making him start to pant, his hands gripping the fur of her back as he worked to restrain himself.

For a few minutes, Katy kept up her teasing, until both of them were panting from holding themselves in check. Finally, when she could feel her lover's pulse through his privates, his body quivering with his arousal, Katy finally relented, relaxing her legs and letting him go. Her human lover didn't need any more encouragement. The moment her grip relaxed, he began to thrust into her, his rhythm already ragged. Moments later, Katy realized she might have teased him a little too much, because her mate's behavior suddenly changed. In moment's, he was thrusting so hard she had to hold on tightly just to stay put, her fur sliding easily along the smooth floor of the tent.

The first few thrusts in his lusty rhythm were so hard it was almost painful, but then as suddenly as if a switch had been thrown, the vixen let out a gasp, her claws gripping tightly on her lover's back as she came, a wild explosion of pleasure lancing through her like a lightning bolt. Katy suddenly clenched up again, letting out a sound that was almost a yelp as she was pushed over the edge and then, two wild thrusts later, she gasped as she came a second time, her eyes squeezing shut with the intensity. Then, even though she was already tensed as tightly as she could, she felt her muscles try and tense even tighter as a third peak and then a fourth exploded into her. But, because she couldn't tense any tighter, the pressure that each climax forced into her couldn't go anywhere and she began to cum with every hard thrust, her body trying desperately to release, every nerve on fire with the sensation. And, inexplicably, the pressure in her body was sweet, bringing pleasure rather than pain.

And then all at once, as if she had crossed some invisible boundary, Katy felt her mind shut off entirely in an instant, every thought banished in an instant and she ceased being a thinking woman, becoming instead a being of sensation and emotion. Finally, wallowing in the pleasure, she felt her lover thrust as deep as he could within her, his penis beginning to pulse, sounds of pleasure coming from his throat that she hadn't known a human could make. And then, twitching like she had plugged her tail into an electrical socket, she let out a wild, animalistic cry as her mate came, spraying his seed into her womb one more time, the orgasm that accompanied it more powerful even than the last, obliterating the last vestiges of her mind. With her eyes squeezed shut, an explosion of color spiraled through her like the view through a kaleidoscope for a few moments, before suddenly being swallowed into darkness once more. And, as the color faded away, she felt herself going with it, tipping into darkness...

***

Panting hard, I finally released Katy from my tight embrace and pulled out of her, allowing her to slump limply onto her back, utterly insensate. Drawing in a deep breath of warm, scented air, I slumped over onto my back and stared up at the dappled sunlight coming through the surface of the tent. Smiling tiredly, I turned my head, looking over at the gorgeous woman with whom I was forever bound. Her eyes were closed and she was completely limp, her breathing calming, but it was clear she was unconscious. Smiling and gently clasping her hand, I sucked in another deep breath, reveling in the mix of scents that filled the air of the tent. And then, all at once, as if the breath escaping my lungs took all my energy with it, a sudden wave of exhaustion nearly drowned me in the same warm darkness that Katy seemed to have landed in.

Staring up at the patterned sunlight once more, I let my mind drift, striving to fight off the crushing darkness of sleep, at least until my mate recovered so we could snuggle up close again. As weak an excuse as that was, it was enough to drive back sleep, but only barely. And, as I drifted in my own drowsy sea, I found myself wondering idly for the second time in less than a week just what the hell had come over me. In all my life, I had never felt anything even close to what I had felt while loving my mate just now. Sometime between when she had started teasing me and when she had let me have at it, something had changed. I had felt something wild rear up within me and before I had known what had happened, it had taken over. It was as if I had suddenly become some sort of wild animal, whose sole instinct had been to breed its mate with all its strength. And I had done it too, with gusto, holding nothing back. I had only ever felt anything remotely close to this when I had first heard about Tyr, but that was only a vague brush when compared to this.

And now, somehow, as if the wild thing within me was hovering just out of reach within my mind, I felt a strange feeling of accomplishment as I looked at my red orange furred lover, as if this was what I supposed to have done with her all along. And, just as quickly as it had risen within me, it was gone, my normal human self taking over again. Smiling wanly, I gently rolled my vixen over onto her side and then pressed up against her back, drawing her close and spooning her while she was unconscious. There was no way this was normal, not even for a situation like ours. This was something new, I could feel it.

The problem was, there was just so much we didn't know. Up until we had done it, no one had even known it was possible for a human and a Merxian to share a mate bond, much less what the effects of such a bond would be. And more than that, as evolved as we liked to think we were, there was more of the primitive animal that mankind had once been still within us than we liked to admit. And, having experienced how my mate had been acting while she had been in heat, it was probably the same thing with the Merxians. Still, in those warm moments, cupping her body with mine and nuzzling into the warm red fur at the back of her neck, I felt more and more sure that we were truly unique.

Perhaps the mate bond had in some way brought those ancient instincts to life within me, or maybe it was something else entirely, completely unrelated. Still, I really couldn't complain when whatever they were came out like this. And now, something even more amazing, even after the instincts had left the foreground of my mind, elements of them remained. Incredibly, despite what we had just done, I was still aroused, my heart thumping hard in my chest. My thoughts were dragged back to the present when I felt my mate shift in my arms, beginning to stir back to wakefulness. After a few more moments, I felt Katy's eyes open a crack and I kissed the back of her neck, making her smile.

"What time is it?" She mumbled, rubbing one of her eyes with the heel of her palm.

"I don't know." I replied, "It hasn't been that long."

"Huh?" Katy said, her eyes opening wider for a moment before she narrowed them again, squinting in the camo-tinted light. "I feel like I have been out for hours."

"Minutes love, minutes." I replied, nuzzling her once more and pressing tightly against her. She suddenly frowned, tilting her head back down her body. After a moment, she looked back over her shoulder at me, a questioning look on her face.

"Are you still horny?" She asked, incredulous and I nodded, feeling a blush warm my cheeks.

"I can't help it." I answered, trying to calm myself down as best I could in spite of my new instincts (and failing gloriously at it) and she sighed.

"If I didn't know better, I would think you were experiencing some sort of male equivalent of heat." She said, stretching out her legs and wincing slightly. "Ugh...I am too sore down there to do it again."

"Awww..." I commented, and a shudder passed through my body, the announcement having the exact opposite effect I had expected it too, my instincts still surprising me at every turn. "Please? I'll be gentle."

"I don't know..." Katy sighed, pressing back against me as my hands began to trace her ribcage beneath her beautiful red-orange pelt on their own accord. Grinning widely, I nibbled at her neck and she gasped.

"You wouldn't have to do anything," I pleaded, my body still refusing to be calmed. And, even as I pleaded, I realized that what she had said, although jokingly, sounded exactly like what seemed to be happening within me. It was as if some sort of fire had been lit in my heart, a fire that my instincts seemed to know how to cure. "I would do all the work."

"Oh...alright." She began, giving me a look of mock frustration. "I can't stand to see you beg."

Grinning broadly at her and giving her one last kiss, I let go of her with one hand, gently guiding my stiff equipment into position once again, nestling it into the folds of her crevice slowly. Then, with gentle movements, little by little, I began to work my way inside her once more, stopping for a few moments if she displayed the slightest hint of discomfort. At that rate, it took me almost a full minute to hilt myself in her tight warmth once more, but once it was there, I held still, forcing my body not to start thrusting yet, denying the instincts an opening. Then, disentangling my arms from hers, I gently cupped her breasts, passing my fingers in a gentle circle around the nipples, first one way then the other, a gentle massage that made my lover shiver, her eyes half closing in pleasure. Then, keeping up the gentle teasing of her chest, I slowly withdrew my cock to the head, and then just as gently pushed back inside, beginning to build a smooth, continuous rhythm, more like a massage then loving and Katy let out a pleased sigh, a smile reaching her lips. With her eyes closed and her face relaxed, I began to change the motion of my fingers, gently rubbing her nipples directly until they erected themselves.

And then, when both were standing at attention, I began to tease them with both hands, making my lover gasp quietly as a shiver passed through her, the unexpected sensation exciting. Then, as I felt her breathing starting to get deeper, her arousal getting the better of her exhaustion, I closed my teeth on her neck, eliciting another gasp from her, the vixen arching her back in surprise. Gently nibbling up and down her neck and shoulder, I kept up my slow, steady thrusting, massaging her tits as she began to press back against me once more, quivering as her body responded to my own's urging. This slow, gentle loving was so different from anything I had experienced before, the sensation exciting and yet at the same time very soothing. And, all at once, I marveled at something I had almost missed. Her alien crevice, though still as oddly textured as ever, was somehow more silky in feel than before, though I was sure that she hadn't changed. It was more like my own perception of her had changed, or perhaps, it was simply that my body was recognizing it as 'normal' now.

And then, finally, after a few minutes of gentle teasing, I could feel her peak approaching and I gently closed her nipples in between my thumb and pointer fingers, pinching her and she shuddered, loosing a moan from her throat. Then, as she began to pant, I tightened my fingers, increasing the pressure on the sensitive nubs and she suddenly tensed up once more, her teeth set tight against the growl that issued from her as she came, her body tensing up around my shaft once more, the added sensation pushing me over the edge as well. Burying my penis as deep into her as I could, I felt my balls clench to the base of my shaft and I bit a little harder on her shoulder as I came, the taste of her fur oddly pleasing. And, besides the growl she had made when she had peaked, we shuddered against one another in near silence, and then, all at once, it was over. It wasn't nearly as intense as the one before it had been, but Katy seemed to enjoy it just as much, turning her head so she could reach me and giving me a tender kiss.

"That was different..." She started to say, her voice taking on a dreamy sort of quality once more, as if she was starting to doze off once again. "Very...wonderful? Different?"

"I know what you mean." I replied, kissing her cheek and settling in closer to her back.

"I love you Devin." She whispered, stifling a yawn and pulling my arms around her once again as if I was her blanket, holding her close once again. "Never met anyone like you..."

"I love you too Katy." I replied, smiling as she slipped immediately into sleep. The feeling was very, very mutual...