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Up on the moon. By the talented Elia Nemmar (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/elia/ ) from my idea about my heroine M'raava. February 24, 2011

PLEASE FEEDBACK IF POSSIBLE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT.THX!

Being a high ranked officer definitely had its perks. First class tickets for the earth bound shuttle were one amongst them. Slipping out of her shoes she punched down few dials then let herself sunk into the leather padded seat as it slowly descended into a near horizontal position. Her ears twitched, steady purring of the engines put her at ease, letting her mind finally relax. It was a dull year, dull, boring and uneventful. The holiday leave came as a real blessing for she would not stand a minute more behind that desk. Paper work, then some more paper work and after that even more paper work. How on earth these people could survive through all those centuries with all that bureaucracy! Honestly that wasn't something she'd expected after enlisting, well at least not in such excess. Damm... All it took was few milliseconds, few damn milliseconds that got her grounded. M'raava winced, she could still remember the pain from that explosion. How long it's been? Ten years already? Ten years from her last combat flight. They've been a part of a deployment send to the Orion's nebula, the operation Hammer Head. A plan to tackle down all the remains of so called space pirates. A bunch of outlaws and mercenaries that broke off from the planetary council after the great war. They run away seeking for better future and after finding none they came back reaping from earth what they could not find elsewhere. And the earth did not welcome them with open hands but rather with heavy gunships. She was escorting one of such ships when all hell got loose, they found the pirate base but the pirates were waiting. It was one of the longest battles after the greatwar. She didn't remember much of it even though hermecha's flight journal countedmore then fifty shoot downs. What she remembered was the dull metallic clunk when her arm canon jammed. The rest was history, screens went red, beeping and flashing all possible warnings. Flares deployed, She yanked at the controls performing perfect evasive maneuver avoiding the outburst from the hard kill system. All done but a millisecond to late, one missile got through. The impact alone wasn't too strong, barely scorching her mecha and shattering it's arm. What finished off her career was the mecha itself. The broken feedback circuit roasted the radial nerve in her left arm before the safeties kicked in. It was a miracle she hasn't blacked out - howling with pain in her helmet - and another one that she somehow managed back onto her flagship. Crawling out of the cockpit she refused the stretchers and smiling marched towards the infirmary only to collapse after few shaky steps. She woke up, eight months later, floating within cryorecovery pod with some tubing tucked deep into her nostrils and a rookieMED poking 1 2 at the glass wall of her pod. What followed was six months of re-convalescence and a month of through out testing before the Military Medical Board. Their decision? Unsuited for combat. Of course no one said that to her, officially she's been awarded for extraordinary service and promoted. If she had known the same general who congratulated her on the promotion also stamped an approval on her reclassification from S1-Elite to A2-Reserve, she might have clawed his face off. "Ma'am?" One of the stewards gently shook her arm, braking her nap. "We'll be entering the earth atmosphere in about ten minutes please fasten your seat belts and secure your belongings" "Thank you..." She yawned surrendering her pillow and slightly annoyed, she reset her seat to the standard position. Kicking her shoes into the locker under her seat, she flipped the window switch and looked outside. The magnificent blue orb was hanging right above them so close she felt she could touch it. How wonderful it must been, seeing it directly with her own eyes not just through the live HD feed. But that's ain't gonna happen. No one sane would built a spacecraft with so many windows, they were usually built with no windows at all. Well maybe except for the small ones in the cockpit that could be used for navigation in case all the electronic died. The passengers had to make do with the high resolution LCD screens shaped to imitate the late twenty century airplane windows. Well it had some good sides, she toggled through different angles and finally settled with the broad cockpit view. Earth, her home. It's been half a century now since they were introduced to this planet and probably even more since they were snatched from their home world, Shashtii. Who were the invaders? What were their motives? No one knows. They came without warning and strike without a reason. Ripping worlds of their life, one after another, they exploited whatever they could then moved to another planet. Eventually they came to earth. Her ears dropped, the shuttle drifted over a continent once called America. Now? A scar on Earth's surface. One amongst many. A message popped up and the window shut down, they were landing. She hunkered in her seat and double checked her seat belts as the red entry lights flashed in the cabin. Suddenly her fur stood up on its own, turning her into a distorted furball. Damn it. The shuttle used the newest safety field generator, latest advancement in re-engineering the alien technology. It was perfect for keeping the load factor at human survivable levels but it also had a nasty habit of buzzing her fur out. Bugger... Anyway, it wasn't as bad as it used to be when she first started usingmecha. Well mostly due to the safety regulations, dust and hairballs clog air filters at a horribly fast rate. Not to mention the fire hazard. In oxygen rich environments such as the space stations or mecha's cockpit, an accidental spark could turn her into a living torch. Due to all that and many more, her kind was obligated to keep the fur short or none at all if applicable. Not that there were many S'hestir enlisted. It was a rare case for someone to find their calling in the Military, most preferred less violent occupations. The shuttle shuddered, breaking the sound barrier. She winced, that supposed to be soundproof? She could hear the boiling plasma all around the ship in the raging inferno of the reentry. Her old training mecha was better shielded... Sigh, humans. *** 3 The blue ford new continental peacefully slipped through empty, snow covered streets. The car's wiper zigzagged over the windshield, tirelessly sweeping away white shining flaks. The raspberry sunlight was slowly seeping through puffy white clouds, it was a beautiful morning. "Ma'am?" The driver asked as they turned into quite a familiar street. "Second one on the left" She spoke watching the baroque alike, colorful facade. The building shape and colors might been too fancy for a human eye but she found it strangely pleasing, especially after spending so much time surrounded by the dull and shapeless military designs. He parked near the stairs then sprang out to open the passenger door and carefully helped her eased on her coat. High rank really had it's perks, she mused smiling. "Thank you Private, that's all" He put down her luggage and was gone way before she could say Good Speed. Well no wonder, judging by the amount of cologne he was wearing, a hot and ready girlfriend was probably waiting for him somewhere out there. Humans. It must be really interesting, enjoying your life without waiting for that part of the year... "Good goddess, who on earth could it be at this hour... M'raava!" Her mother almost jumped into her arms. "Henry! Come quick! Our prodigal daughter finally returned!" "Oh stop screaming ya old woman, I'm not deaf. At least not yet but soon i might be if you keep on screaming like that. You better let her in and close that door before she freezes, can't you see her winter fur hasn't kicked in?" "Oh dear, oh dear, you're trembling! Come in, we'll warm you up and get you out of that dreadful thing!" "Mom... It's a uniform and it's not dreadful." "Of course it is! Henry tell her!" "You look stunning my dear. Ah those womans in sexy uniforms, if I'd been a human I'd be rock hard just by looking at you..." "Henry!" "A but that's true mama, just look at her..." "Argh! You both lost your minds!" "Thanks dad." She hugged him. "It's good to have you back sweetie, been misin ya. How long will you stay?" "Two maybe three weeks if you can stand me... I'm sorry I should have change at the space port, I upset her." "Don't worry hun, she'll be over it in no time. I'm sure she's happy, though... she might have had a point" He smirked watching her. "You reek like a rusty old boiler." Ah, that. We'll it was some sort of issue though after ten years in that moon base where you could actually taste the brand of oil used on the air filters, she totally forgot about it. "Anyway your room's ready, you might as well take a quick soak before your mother gets another of her attacks" He flapped his ears and sighed, marching towards the kitchen. "Dad, can I asked you something? All those years, you never said a thing. Does it not bother you?" "M'raava, your choice... I don't have to like it. It's your choice, your calling, your 4 life. I respect that. Now off you go, that bathtub won't wait forever." Watter. Hot, running watter. Contrary to the common believe that felines hate watter, M'raava dunked herself into the bathtub full of hot steaming watter. Ah the ecstasy, there was nothing better than a nice hot bath after a year on that old, rusting moon base. Well there was one tiny little thing that would make her even happier, a mind blowing orgasm. Unfortunately her last steady partner bid her goodbye when she joined the Navy and doing it alone just wasn't the same. Screw it, better this than nothing, she though spreading her legs as her paws found her secret garden. "M'raava, are you still in there? Someone's asking for you on the phone" Her father knocked on the bathroom door. "No way in hell I'm gonna answer that!" She called panting, her fingers were thrusting faster and faster, splashing watter all over the place. Familiar tension was gathering inside her. "It's from the moon base..." "I don't care, I'm on a leave! Whatever paper i haven't sign already, can wait till i return!" She arched in the bathtub as the pleasure exploded, sweeping away her mind. "They say it's urgent..." She sigh and relaxed, sinking in water. Her orgasm suddenly evaporated, leaving no trace of that pleasurable tingling or any content at all. "Fine I'll take it" She spoke, feeling she's gonna skin someone when she'll go back to base. Warped in a white bathrobe and wearing pink bunny sleepers M'raava went down the stairs, her soaked fur dripping heavily. She caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror and winced, thank gods none of the cadets saw her like that. "Hello?"She picked up the handset. "Colonel M'raava?" She recognized that voice in an instant, Peter her aide. It baffled her. He knew how much she valued her leave, he wouldn't bother her with something trivial. "Peter? What's going on?" "Colonel please, follow the procedure." The procedure?! What on earth... "Lieutenant Colonel M'raava Shigieshtii, rank number nine-oh-five-oh-six-nineseven- seven-four-oh-two" She recited into the phone. "Identity confirmed, opening channel... Channel opened." Emotionless female voice answered her. "Talk." "I'm sorry ma'am, I know you wished not to be bothered but we have a little situation here..." M'raava winced, digging her claws into a wooden plate hanged near the phone just for such occasions. It's been her first day off and the famous trio already had made a mess. Why on earth... Through the past ten years since she came to that moon base, appointed as a mecha flight instructor,many cadets passed through her paws but those, those... Since they came to training, exactly a year ago, it's been a constant chain of disasters. "So what you tell me is that they went out for a drink, trashed themselves, trashed few noisy fellas then trashed the place as well and got arrested when... do i wanna know how they manage to park their car on the roof of a Police station?" She massage 5 her forehead trying to steady herself. "No, on the second though I just don't wanna know. I'm tired and I don't care, let the disciplinary commission handle that. Maybe they'll finally kick them out. So Peter if thats all of the bad news i would like to start enjoying my holiday leave" "I'm sorry ma'am, that's not all. The thing is..." Peter's voice became uneasy. "According to the log we've already answered their inquiry and dispatched an officer to handle the situation locally which is..." he paused searching for a better word. "Quite impossible since we haven't sent anyone. Not to mention receiving the actual request..." Court martial, a voice of doom was screaming in her head while stars were spinning in front of her eyes. She yelped and rapidly sucked air, feeling as if she couldn't breath. Those morons, they were gonna get her jailed if not worse. Forging of official documents and hacking one of the top security military networks and probably impersonating high rank military personnel just to cover up their excesses... Oh gods! Suddenly she realized something, the procedure! Usually in such cases, the officer dispatch would be... "I beg you, tell me they haven't used my name." She whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry ma'am..." The wooden plate snapped under her claws. Even though she wasn't directly responsible for their actions, if the news of what they done would ever reach higher ups, her carer would be flushed down the drain. "Ma'am, is everything alright? Ma'am?" "Yes" She answered after a brief pause. "Does anyone else knows about it?" She asked hoping for a miracle. "No ma'am. As far as I can tell with my clearance, no one else noticed. It appears Sifer had been buzzing in the system and cleared the records after he arranged the dispatch. Tho i think he overlooked the fact that our journals are linked, i got paged and checked it..." Well at least that was good news. "Peter can you handle the clean up on your end? Make sure it looks legit. Also I'm gonna need some transfer papers andMP escort, armed. How fast can you arrange that with a local base?" "Including all the formalities? An hour, maybe a half. Sifer pushed some papers already so it might be easier, i just validate them" "Thank you." She relaxed a bit, the situation could still be resolved in a more or less quieter manner. At least she hoped so. "Best of luck colonel, i don't really yearn for a reassignment." He forced a laugh and disconnected. The line beeped for a while then went down after the same mechanical voice announced the end of secured transmission. M'raava stood there listening to the static noise flowing through the handset, battling with her thoughts. If she could intercept them, she might be able to minimize the damage they've done. Was that really the only way? "Hey furball!" Surprised, She jerked her head to see who was shouting. Her father was standing near by, pointing his cane at her. "Dry yourself. You're flooding my floor." "A?" A giant puddle formed around her soaked slippers. 6 "Sorry! I'll clean that!" She ducked her head avoiding her father's cane and sprinted back to the bathroom. Vladimir Kovalskey trio, or rather Vladimir and Kovalskey trio was a group of well known misfits, gently speaking. Where chaos and mayhem spread you would find them, the infamous trio. Such was the saying that went round and round the moon base. Generally no one really knew how they manage through the academy or how did they pass the qualification tests but one thing was sure, they were good. Extremely good at breaking rules and regulations. The time they spend in flight and combat simulators could only rival the amount of time they spend in brig. M'raava sighed going through her old wardrobe,she already knew who's gonna have to sort out the mess they made. "Dammit!" She tossed the brush away, it was useless, her fur was still soggy here an there. The bath turned out not so much refreshing as she hoped for, mostly due to one unwelcome phone call. Never the less it made her realize how much her uniform stank. Without even checking, she dumped all the cloths she brought home straight into the washing basket and tightly slam the lid. It'll be a miracle if she manages to wash that before her mother sniffs it out. Anyway, she had more important matters to attend. She took out from her closet a white elegant shirt and a gray dress smartsuit she once bought. Amazing, it's been more than fifteen years since she moved out but her room was still intact, jut like she had left it the day she had told her parents about her enlistment. Somebody was even keeping it clean all this time, there was no sing of dust anywhere. Her mother must have... She discarded the thought, for now she needed a clear mind. She zipped the tail flap and put on the jacket then turned in front of the mirror. Good, that can be called official. Ah, one more thing, she put on her black leather boots. Not that she needed them, shoes for s'hestirs were more of a commodity rather then necessity, their feet could handle snow and ice at temperatures witch would made humans loose their legs. However wading through half-melted, salty snow and brownish disgusting mud bare footed, was quite a different story. Plus M'raava loved the looks these boots gave her. "M'raava, there's a gentleman here asking for you." Her father knocked at her door. "Coming" She garbed her purse, a matching black leather coat and left. *** "Ma'am?" Sergeant Brown nodded at the marked military ford that stopped in front of the police station, it seems they've made it in time. "Let's go." She got out of the van and casually walked over to the green ford, her escort paced in right behind her. Her little private army generously donated from the navy special task force, nine square-jaw muscular G-mans, wearing inconspicuous black shades and 'make sure you see me' white earphones. A young private opened the ford doors and froze dumbfounded, humans had some trouble telling s'hestirs apart though none would have any trouble guessing who those gentlemen in black shades were. He readjusted his jaw and let the higher ups do the talking. M'raava took the initiative, watching her clone getting out of the car. "Colonel M'raava Shigieshtii?" Her clone, wearing navy uniform opened and closed its mouth several times then straightened up and saluted. 7 "Thank you for your cooperation, we'll take it from here. Private, you shall return to base and await further orders" She pressed a piece of paper into his hands. "Yes, ma'am!" There wasn't much to read, just enough for him to turn pale and drive away within next fifteen seconds without asking any further questions. "Hello Sifer, Been busy I see?" She spoke at her clone, there was no place to run, M'raava's little army surrounded them. "Nice Suit by the way, Polymorph mark three?" Sifer's fake tail twitched nervously. "Bit sweaty isn't it? Never could catch my breath in one of these, it always made me pant like a dog" Sifer small frame shuddered visibly, his eyes jumping from M'raava to her escort. "Probably that's why mark five have built in cooling system. Anyway, documents please." She stretched out her hand. Sifer looked around then opened his purse, pulling out a batch of papers, each carrying her signature. Fakes... M'raava winced, the quality of those papers was, poor. Sifer was a smart kid, probably even smarter then she was, however it was a miracle if he managed to sing his own name withoutmisspelling it. Poor kid, without Kovalskey standing behind his back, he couldn't really do much. She sighed tearing the fakes in half, then simply gave a nod to her escort. The black van silently took the place where the ford stood, seconds later its side door opened and a strong arm pulled in the uniformed woman. One of the G-mans slide shut the van doors, others quite inconspicuously looked around. M'raava's ears registered a muffled scream and a taser zapping someones unconscious, then sergeant brown emerged from the van carrying a black briefcase. "Done." He announced. Few blocks away someone put down the phone and pressed few keys on his notebook, the surveillance cameras in front of the police stations suddenly started working again, just like they mysteriously shut down exactly a minute ago. Chief Konrad Sanko studied the papers spread before him, studied the fluffy female sitting before him then studied the overgrown muscle in a black suit that stood behind her and his six friends waiting outside his office. He moved his eyes back to the woman feeling her gaze run him through, then quickly looked back to the papers and reread the last few lines then asked. "There will be no official investigation?" "No." There was no emotion in her voice neither her body moved. Sanko stared into her unblinking cat's eyes, it was driving him crazy. Normal people blink all the time, she did not. Normal people sweat, scratch themselves, drum with their fingers... She did not. She was a monument of unmovable cat's grace, staring with her eyes at her prey until it surrenders. Annoyed he scratched his signature on the transfer papers and pushed them away. "Thank you for your cooperation." She stood up while the muscled suit collected the documents. Sanko pushed the dial on the phone. "Morris? Prepare the suspects for transport." Vladimir Pavlovski was a bear like man from what left of Siberia. He was large. M'raava always wondered how did he pass the pilot's test with a body like that. His damn biceps was larger then her torso! And yet, he passed. Well he was most likely able to pick up a car, bare handed. Maybe his heart could really handle that twenty 8 G? Who knows? After all, he was the base medical mystery. Right now five police officers were trying to stop that medical mystery from plucking arms away from one of their colleagues, while three others were having a similar trouble with Kovalskey. "Vladimir! Kovalskey!"M'raava screamed at the top of her voice, even dust froze for a moment. "Polnyi pizdets..." Vladimir cursed, then simply laid down on the floor, hands and legs wide apart. Kovalskey shut up and cast a quick glance at their guests. "Indeed we are." he whispered and followed his friend example. Vladimir and Kovalskey never had the slightest trouble recognizing their colonel. She could be standing in a crowd of s'hestirs and they would knew, their balls knew. Kovalskey still had scars... "Sergeant if they try anything shoot them. If they try to speak, shoot them as well." "But Col..." Kovalskey opened hismouth though the sound of safeties being flipped off silenced him. Swallowing, he backed off. Those weren't the stun guns used by the police but good old rifles loaded with live ammo. Also the MP's looked extremely trigger happy. "And more importantly,"M'raava continued. "If that short one," She pointed at the bound and naked Sifer, apparently MP's stripped him off the camouflage suit. "Would try to touch something even remotely connected with a microchip, some sort of a network or even a light bulb, shoot him, then shoot him again till he stops moving. That'll be all, get them off planet before i change my mind." "Ya heard the colonel, move out!" The sergeant screamed at his men, then with a quick salute he bid her goodbye. M'raava watched till the unmarked military van, alongside it's escort, disappeared behind the corner. No troubles, no press, no questions. All went smooth, Peter did a great job arranging all this. With a sigh she got back into the car, the familiar young private from the morning closed the door behind her then hooped onto the drivers seat. She studied him, nice young human, probably in his late twenties. Tall, well built... Not entirely her type. "You've got some lipstick left behind your ear" Burning bright red, he tried to remove the invisible lipstick with his palm. M'raava looked away, rolling down the window and letting some fresh air in. Of course it was easier to say 'you have lipstick behind your ear' then 'you stink like the bitch in heat you just fucked'. Humans just didn't get it. She sighed with relive when wind cleansed a bit the car's air. Not that she had anything against females, human females usually smelled much better then males but this one, she felt like... Cats! Those little... Urgh! M'raava's insides cramped in terror. Even though her kind was considered of feline family, she would not allowed herself anywhere near one of those night prowlers. Definitely not during spring. Something deep within her made sure of that. "Ma'am?" Private Luis cast her few curious looks in the mirror, unsure what was happening. "Tell me private, is there any place near by that serves something worth eating?" She asked searching for a way to excuse herself from his further, aromatic company. "Emm..." He took a quick glance around before answering. "I think there's a nice restaurant right the corner, should be already open at this hour." He consulted his watch. 9 "Is it any good?" "Hard to say Ma'am, too fancy for my paycheck. Though I heard they're always packed by the evening, hard to squeeze in." He answered, impatiently watching his wristwatch as the red light stooped them. He winced, one hot chick was waiting for him back in his apartment but unfortunately every minute was bringing him closer to finding a cold and empty bed. "In a hurry are we?"M'raava observed as he begun sweating even more while they waited. "No Ma'am." He answered though there was no confidence in his voice nor in his scent. Her rank was intimidating. "You sure? Maybe she's still waiting for you? Is she?" Fighting with herself M'raava leaned closer. "Emm... Yes Ma'am. Sort of..." His face turned darker shade of purple with each word he spoke. "Okay, here's the deal. Drop me off by that restaurant and you're free." "Is... is it really okay Ma'am?" His eyes shined with happiness. "Yes." Whatever, as long as I get out of this car! She though, taking shallow breaths, unable to take that scent any longer. *** The air, fresh marvelous air! Taking long deep breaths M'raava enjoyed the fresh morning breeze as it carried mouth watering smells from near by bakery. Her stomach growled in less then civilized manner. That remained her, she had skipped her breakfast. "'The Jungle', huh?" She read the name from a strangely colored neon sign. Fancy name for a restaurant. Oh well, she might give it a try, can't be bad if it's so popular. She thought as she marched through the automatic doors. The small sized waiting room was rather typical, lots of stones, wood paneling and crystal candelabras. Nothing fancy. M'raava surrendered her coat and after being carefully taxed, she followed themaître d' up to her table. Shemarched through a door frame imitating a cave entrance, wondering what a table her semi-formal, civilian attire got her. Judging by the look maître d' gave her, possibly nothing fancy. She wasn't really dressed for this place... Good goddess! M'raava gasped when they entered the main room, it was impressive. There were real trees and bushes growing here! And the floor, the floor was covered in nothing more then grass. Natural living grass, amazing. In a large, court sized room, somebody planted a bounty of all sorts of plants and trees, forming a maze of conveniently set, private alleys. Each ally was supplied with it's own marble table and a set of four white lacquered, oak chairs. S'hestir made chairs. From each table a single patch of round varnished sandstone slabs run towards the entrance, joining on its way with other paths, forming larger branches that finally connected together in a trunk at the entrance. Amazed, M'raava studied the stone tree. "This way please." Smiling Maître d' beckon her down the stairs onto the main floor and guided her through the stone branches maze to her table. After helping her with her seat, he presented her the menu, bowed and left. Astonished,M'raava looked around. The walls and the ceiling were made of hardened glass or some other similar 10 material and were a part of a giant fish tank that surrounded the whole room, filling it with gentle blue glow as all light came only through those walls. "Saa, i do hope it's not too fancy for my paycheck..." She sigh staring at the mermaid that just swam above her, sending her a kiss. If that was a girl in a mermaid suit, it was a freaking damn realistic suit! "Who do we have here? Had an angel came to earth? Moon wasn't enough for you M'raava?" A velvet whisper coming from nowhere made M'raava's fur puff out. Somebody stalked her from behind. "As jumpy as ever fluff? Haven't they taught you anything in the army?" That scent! Only one person could smell like that. "K'sita!" "Hello Fluff, been a while hasn't it? Anyway what kind of greeting is this? You're not even gonna hug me?" K'sita dropped her ears and made a sad face, when it came to these little acts there was no better actress then her. M'raava sighed and stood up, well it's just a hug isn't it? "Ma'am if I may suggest a private place where you can continue your conversation with full intimacy..." A slightly bothered maître d' appeared from nowhere, making K'sita withdraw her tongue. Released from her friend's arms and slightly out of breath, M'raava dropped back to her seat. There was something in K'sita that would make anyone melt in her arms, or in case of males, she could pump them up so painfully hard till they were able to punch holes in brick walls with their boners. "No need Paul, we were discussing our order." And her tongue was about to go where no one else have gone and do what no one else have done. "We'll take the usual. Also if you'd be so kind and pick us something nice for a drink, I'd be very happy." She prised him with one of her magical smiles that made pants drop with anticipation. "Ah, with my pleasure ma'am!" He bowed and left, honored. Some people paid her much for such smile, he had it for free. It wasn't long when their order came up, with best regards from the chef, carried in by a three waitresses. The girls, human, were stark naked, not counting the paint that covered them from head to toes. Each was painted as a differed animal. Lynx and ocelot set down their plates for them while a gazelle filled their glasses. The usual turned out to be a red meat salad, with lots of juicy red meat and well,M'raava stabbed her portion with a fork, maybe they'll find the salad later after they deal with themeat? "So fluff, talk. Where have you been, what did you do and why did you ignored your good'ol friend?" K'sita sat leisurely across the table, her entire body focused on M'raava. It was almost mythical, her ability to listen. It made everyone loosen up their tongues, spilling out most hidden thoughts. She just sat sipping at her wine whileM'raava blabber out whatever came to her mind. The ate talking and when their plates were clean, a ferocious fox came and picked them up. "Well, well, well... So Miss "Slice me own throat" Fluffy eventually turned out to be an upstanding citizen. I shall call you Colonel McFluff..." She mocked up a salute, surprisingly even that looked sexy. "K'sita, please..." "Heh, you're no fun Fluff. You live in space, you've seen some distant stars and alien planets, you fly most advance and most expensive equipment and your job lets 11 you blow things up. Plus all those young cadet's at your disposal... Honey you have one of the most interesting jobs on the planet, show some contentment." "Contentment?!"M'raava sighed, her ears dropped. "I live in a rusting, oil-stinking tincan three hundred thousand kliks away from any civilization. Last time I went to the outer stars I almost died, ending up in a jell-o for eight months. We fly junk-grade training equipment while most of the time, my job makes me responsible for preventing morons from blowing things up and the cadets are a constant pain in the ass. The most interesting thing I did last year was growing a tomato in a shoe box!" She Shouted, her voice echoing through the room. The maître d' praised all gods they were the only guests at the moment. "I'm sorry, my holiday leave had a bad start and my cycle is totally messed up by the moon-earth transition. Sorry."M'raava hide her face in her hands. "You do smell stressed... You should use some fun, relax. Tell me when did you do it last time, had some fun?" K'sita's eyes were piercing. "Well, now and then when I feel like, just like anybody else..." "Oh, don't give me that crap, I'm not talking about self service. It's like smelling food, it doesn't count, it leaves your body hungry. Well? how long?" M'raava remained quiet, her face still hidden in her hands. "No, you're joking... Right? M'raava? Girl, that's unhealthy. Not even a quickie? Good lord, what the hell your mate been doing all this time?!" "What mate?" M'raava sprawled herself over the table, her paws drumming mindlessly. "But I thought..." "We talked once or twice since I enlisted. I thought we could patch things up, I rent a room for a Christmas leave. No one ever showed up." She shrug her shoulders. "C'mon we're leaving." "But the bill..." "It's on me, come." They stood up and left. M'raava wondered, it happened so fast. One second they were getting inside a taxi, the next, rolling in a giant heart shape bed, rubbing against each other, K'sita petting her, working out the mood. Her own purrs roaring through the air. "One thing I don't get. You've been locked out with all those males and well, nothing?" K'sita's tongue slowly worked its way up M'raava's neck. "I'm the only S'hestir on... b-board..." Waves of shivers were making its way through her spine. "So what? Males are males, you take one and you use it. Give it nudge, stick it up your ass and it's smart enough to do the rest." K'sita's breast were rubbing against her. "But a human?" "Why not? Almost all of my regulars are human. I'd say sex with a human is even better, if you're careful that is." K'sita's paws were finding all the magic spots, awakening the long surpassed need. M'raava bit her lips, her body tensed with pleasure but the relive not came , K'sita withdraw her paws. "Nuh-uh! Naughty, naughty, selfish little girl. Did I allowed you to cum? No. Naughty, we do not rush into things, we savor the moment." The little pink pill she inserted when they arrived at the hotel, should have dissolve by now. A warm, plea12 surable tingling deep inside her abdomen confirmed it. "And naughty girls should be punished" They shuffled. The dark furred female settled herself above her friend's head, pressing her private lips against M'raava's muzzle. "Lick" She ordered. M'raava grabbed the feline's bottom, pressing it closer. Her tongue worked in long, deep strokes. "Sah, Not bad. Not bad for an amateur, not bad at all..." K'sita thrown her head backward and enjoyed, Her juices were flowing in a steady silver stream, spiced up by a secret, pink ingredient. M'raava lied motionless, someone was licking her face clean. Everything was a haze. Her heart pumped madly, her breaths were fast and shallow, her body burned ready to explode. "The heck did you gave me?" She whimpered. "A bonus..." Strong arms rolled her over, her body instinctively took the lordosis pose, lifting her rump high. Her tail shifted exposing her swollen private lips, flooded with M'raava's love juice and ready. K'sita smiled adjusting the strap of her human shaped, extra large, double dildo. She ran her paw along the shaft, testing her newest toy. Its second end wriggled hidden deep inside her while nano circuits stimulated her clit. That's space technology for ya! K'sita bit her lip tightening another strap, this time around her tail, pushing a second intruder deeper into her tailhole. Now she was secured, a s'hestir from behind and a human upfront. Both toys molded up to the finest detailed and a bit overgrown. She steadied her breath, now to cater to her guest. Impatient, M'raava wagged her butt in the air, between her legs a puddle was growing bigger and bigger with every second. Slowly, K'sita crawled back onto her oversized bed and with her face an inch away from her friends private garden, she puffed at her soaked pink lips. M'raava screamed, spraying her lover's face with juice. She had cum, she climaxed just from that?! Unimaginable! Her whole body burned, something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong, it should not be this good... She scowled, K'sita grabbed her but and spread her pussy lips with her paws. "Naught, naught girl..." She spoke, her hot breath whipping M'raava's private parts, sending jolts of pleasure deep inside her. "You've cum without me. Shame on you! As a punishment, I'm gonna show you how I lick a pussy." She pressed her face againstM'raava's bottom, her tongue dancing a waltz of ecstasy. She sucked, leaped, kissed... M'raava lost track halfway along the waves of emotions overflowing her body. Her mind was at the edge or breaking, so were her body. K'sita kept her at the brink of another powerful orgasm, making the tension gather and cumulate to the point M'raava could no longer handle. "S-stop... N-no, n-no m-more..." She pleaded, unable to break free. "Say it, say what you want. Beg for it!" K'sita teased her, sliding the dildo's tip up and down her entrance. "Lauder! I want the whole building to hear it! Speak what you want!" She groped M'raava's tail at the base and pressed the invader firmly against her pussy lips. "Fuck me! Please make it stop! Let me cum, please! Fuck me!"Desperate, with tears in her eyes M'raava screamed at the top of her lungs. K'sita smiled. "Good girl." She whispered then took her hard from behind, just like a male would 13 do, nipping at her neck. Shocked, as in slow motion, M'raava felt something large sunk inside her. The feeling was of a fuse slowly reaching its end then, when she was filled, her muscles twitched and forcefully contracted, blowing her world apart. Breathless, pushed way off the edge, M'raava fainted, sinking in pleasure. *** "M'raava? Sweetie? M'raava?! Are you alright? Can you hear me?!" Someone was screaming into her ear, She wagged her hand at it and grumbled something. "Thank goddess! She's alright..."A laud sigh of relief came from above, making her rock her bottom. Surprised,M'raava discovered her belly was still full of someone. Painfully full. She risked her eye open. Her head was resting on a furry chest, a chest with extraordinary large breast. At least for a s'hestir. "Honey! Don't you ever dare to scare me like that!" K'sita hugged her, pulling her even closer. "Buh?" Baffled, M'raava winked at her. "You've been flying for five hours straight, I've been starting to worry. I shouldn't have given you that much..." K'sita's ears dropped, concerned. "I'm fine, I'm fine..." M'raava pat her boob, making a small round bell attach to K'sita's nipple, jingle. "But... urg... Can you please pull it out already?" It was already past beyond a point of being pleasant. "Uh... Well, I would if I could. It seems you are holding it with your teeth." She gave her a little smile. M'raava reached under her own tail, her muscles were rock hard and painfully cramped. "Fuck..." She sigh. K'sita pet her gently. "It happens. Try and relax." Or we'll call the paramedics, K'sita thought. Stressing a stressed out person usually don't help. They spend another hour simply cuddling and talking, as long as you consider cuddling in terms of M'raava squeezing K'sita's boob. It was an exceptionally nice boob with a beautiful nipple. Many believed K'sita had a boob job but only a happy few knew they were hundred percent natural. M'raava cupped the bouncy lump in her palm. "Ain't bored yet Fluff?" K'sita raised an eyebrow at her. "Never!"M'raava grinned and squeezed happily. "Well then, maybe if you'll let me unbuckle..." "Hell no, you stuffed it in, now suffer." "If you put it that way," K'sita reached for a silver remote with a pink button. "Then let me at leas have some fun." "Whatever." She played with a bell attached to K'sita's nipple. "Verywell then." She pressed the button releasing the vibrations. M'raava screamed climaxing again and again... "D-don't..." She whimpered when the spasms finally cased. The aphrodisiac still held her body under its charm. "So sorry Fluff." K'sita kissed her forehead, petting her head. "Sorry?" M'raava chittered. "I haven't felt better in years!" She rolled in bed, stretching herself. Her last spasm 14 disconnected them, splashing the room with her juices. "Heh,what a perverted pussy. C'mon let's get you a shower. You stink!" *** "Take care Fluff." Hugging her, she planted a kiss on M'raava's lips. It was one of those making your knees bend, leaving you yearning for more. But there was no more, the cab doors slammed shut leaving her behind on the other side. M'raava smiled, K'sita really did made her happy. Happy, written with giant H and triple P. She was one of those rare people, spreading happiness wherever they went. It was truly amazing how she read others, giving them , not what they wished for but what they really needed. Even if that meant a kick in the balls with a steel pointed stiletto... M'raava smirked, why could she imagine people actually wiling to pay just for that? Sigh, it was possible. Especially after that special treat she received. Well she still felt a lil bit stoned and even a slightest scratch on her secret button would send her through the roof but for the first time in a long, long while, M'raava felt good. Really damn good. She felt satisfied, as if a giant load was finally taken off her shoulders. She stopped to give her hands a rest, the bags were biting into her paws. Her Christmas shopping were done and now she simply prowled through the mall, happily humming an old tune her band once played. Those were the times. She got her throat chopped and almost lost her voice, all in the name off music. She stopped by the music shop watching through the window a clerk setting up some fancy instrument. Her memories were coming back. How old she was? She couldn't remember. Probably too young and too stupid. She gathered few friends, as silly as herself and they called themselves... Something funny that was, The Beasts perhaps. She wasn't sure so long ago it seemed. They weren't bad, quite the opposite some might say. They played here and there but nowhere truly important. The reason was simple. Even as good as she was some notes would never pass through a S'hestir throat. They found some doctor, a butcher was probably a better word, who agree to do the procedure... She raised her head, concealed beneath her fur a thin vertical scar ran from her collar bone almost up to her chin. Since her parents would never pay for such madness, the band chipped in and paid for her surgery. It left her mute for five long and sore months but when her vocal chords finally healed, the effect was outstanding. She could sing and gods how she sang! It was unbelievable how much her voice had changed, from an unknown local band they morphed into super stars, the latest discovery. She cleared her throat and sang trying her voice, it was still inside her, all those alien tones. She closed her eyes, her song now carrying untold sadness. It was after their second concert, she walked off the stage coughing and sputtering with blood, unable to say anything. They rushed her to hospital right after she collapsed. When she came to, she found herself in bed, connected to a respirator, tubes running down her throat. The diagnosis? The guy who cut her, botched it. Her vocals were indeed empowered however every time she sang, she put so much strain on them they were deemed to fall apart. In other words she was slaughtering her own voice. She could sing for a year, maybe two but then... A tear slide down her cheek, if only the medicine was what it is now. It's been more then fifteen years before they could 15 threat her but, by that time her band cased to exist and she had already moved along another path. The song ended. "Bravo! Bravo! Bravissimo!" Few people were clapping their hands, starring at her. "A-ten-hut!" Someone screamed and all suddenly straighten up. "Been a while colonel" A male wearing white Navy suit came out from the crowd. "Thomas?" Surprised, She watched her old left wing. "Commander Thomas" He grinned flashing remarkable white teeth and showing off his new insignia. "You a commander? I'll rather wax myself clean then believe it!" She chittered. "Better tell me who did you buy that from?" "Colonel, you hurt my pride. These are real... A but anyway, boys what are you waiting for? There's a Lady here, show some respect" He nodded at his company. "Ma'am if you allow..." Two young pilots took out the bags from her hands before she manage any protest. "Senora..." Thomas bowed kissing her hand in an old-fashion way as he always did. M'raava's ears flickered with embarrassment. "Chasing Skirts as always Tom?" Another Voice joined in, familiar one. They turned around facing a man who just came out of the music shop, holding a pack of drumsticks. He approached them with that carefully paced gait, so typical for any self respecting drill sergeant. M'raava coked her head gently to the right, studding the green eyed stranger. She could not place him under any name she recalled, however... A whiff of wind stirred the air, her nose twitched tasting the scents. "I'msorry but have wemet already?"He was dressed civil yet he smelled strangely familiar. Deep dark wood with a trace of lemon grass and a tint of... gunpowder. A dangerous man. "Yes, i believe we had. Alex introduced us." He stretched out his hand. "Colonel Arpad Apaffy." His grasp was strong. She felt he might have had easily crushed her paws if he wanted. "Lt. Colonel M'raava Shiegesti." She let her claws gently pinch his skin. Their hand shake seemed unusually longer then it should be. What was that?! Her imagination was probably playing tricks on her, his face... It was brief, a blink of an eye but she could swear his face looked as if he was disappointed he let her go. "I think we've got all now." He addressed Tom. M'raava looked from one to another, what could they get from here? Navy shopping in a music shop? She raised an eyebrow, it was at least suspicious. "All what?" She asked. "Instruments,We're setting up a new years party at the base."Tom sighed. "Somebody spread some fake flayers advertising our band and the so called new year's party. We managed to straighten things up but unfortunately the higher ups thought it was a good idea and gave a go for the whole thing. As you can imagine the excitement went through the roof - every excuse to get drunk is good enough for those rookies - and now we're stuck with responsibility." "You mean the Flying Orchestra gonna perform again?" She chittered. For some strange reason her old squad was packed with musicians or at least with people able to play on something, not necessarily designed for that purpose. 16 "Si senora. Toni, Paul, Adam, Everard, Otto and Arthur our new singer. You probably don't know him, he took over our squad after you got promoted. He's quite good." "So I've been told. What about Joice? I haven't heard from her in a while. Is she alright?" "She's fine. She finally got a child permission and got pregnant last spring. She probably won't come, she took the maternity leave. Alas we were lacking a drummer, fortunately our friend from the confetti section," He nodded at Arpad. "Agreed to take her place." "Confetti section?" She stared at him in disbelieve, Arpad smiled. "Internal security, department of handling of sensitive data. We store, sanitize and dispose of every document that passes through the base." Well that would explain the confetti joke, her own office produced at least six barrels of paper shreds a weak and tones of documents. She imagined how much the whole base must produce with its endless bureaucracy. "It's not that bad, machines do most of that crap. We only handle sanitizing requests, those have to be done by hand." He seemed to be reading her mind. She gave him another glance. Funny, he didn't look like a librarian, more of a spec ops. All those muscles just didn't fit with an archivist. "What about you M'raava? Will you come?" Tom broke the sudden silence. "Come? Where? The Party? No thanks, I'll pass. I'm on a leave and I don't wanna any cadets within three mile radius of me. Enough is enough. I don't wanna babysit those "ma'am I'm sorry I've forgot my brain" maggots, for the whole new year. No-no." "Oh come on, you wont even notice. MP's gonna moderate the whole thing." "I'm sorry but that's a final decision. I'm not gonna change my mind, i want some peace and..." "I'll get you the VIP pass? You'll be sitting with the band, best place right next to the stage. Every one from our squad should be there. What do you say?" "Free drinks?" "You can drink out your liver if you want, all on the house." "Alright, alright. I'll come." *** Sneeze and sneeze again, M'raava worked within the white walls of their cellar, hanging out laundry. It was the warmest place in their home yet her paws still felt numb. Dammit! She triple sneezed, almost dropping her freshly washed uniform. That damn moon base, her yearly cycle was completely messed up because of it. She sneezed, making her own ears ring. It's been the most freezing weak of the year yet her damn winter coat still hasn't kicked in. It'll be a miracle if she won't end up with a cold or something worse. A runny nose can totally ruin the feast. "I've turned the heating up a notch" Her father sat himself on some old boxes. "Tha-a-a-anks da-aad..."M'raava sneezed out. Her father sighed and shook his head. "Honey, why don't you sleep it off while you still can? Tomorrow's the feast, you wanna be sick whole year?" An hour ago M'raava would argue, right now it seamed 17 quite reasonable. "Oh, i almost forgot. Your brother called, they'll be coming tomorrow. He was anxious to see his big sister, it's been a while." Indeed it's been. Last time she saw him was about five years ago. Her holiday leave never quite fit with his free time, they were always days, sometimes hours apart. "They? Who's coming with him?" She asked, hanging out her socks. Her father looked puzzled. "You don't know? He got married two years ago, i thought you guys keep in touch with each other." M'raava sneezed, her knickers shot out of her paws. What to say? They called each other from time to time but that was rather sporadic. The sub-space calls were too expensive for private non military use and the old radio connections lagged terribly, making the conversation unpractical. "He really haven't told you?" "No, its new to me." She pulled out a napkin and blew her nose. Her father hissed in distaste, he was an honest man, he would never tolerate disrespect in his family. "Please don't blame him, it probably wasn't his fault. It's a nightmare for civilians to contact a moon base. Besides, we had a large CaB two years ago, if he send the notice through normal mail it's no wonder it never reached me." She put away the empty basket. Her father squinted his eyes, studding her. "CaB?" he asked. "Crash-and-Burn, the cargo ship got hit by a micro meteor and crashed during landing. There wasn't much to gather after it burned." Two hundred thousand pounds of fuel and oxidizers went ka-boom when the ship touchdown at twenty kilicks per second, it literary kicked her out of her bed that night. "That cargo ship was carrying mail and..." A sneeze of a cyclone magnitude bend her over, her eyes watered. "Fluff. Bed. Now." Her father spoke, his voice was amazingly calm considering that a long yellow snot just landed on his face. "And don't you even think of getting up until that cold goes away." "Yes, Sir!" It's amazing what a bowl of fat broth with lots of juicy meat chops and a night of good sleep can do for you. Humming happily,M'raava brushed her fur. The sneezing was gone, her nose was clear, she looked and felt better, much better. Done. She put down the brush and admired her work, her fur looked purrfect. She smiled to herself. That nap was really a good idea, not only her cold passed away but she also avoided all that holiday uproar, and that was something even worse than a runny nose. Her mother put the house upside down and inside out, preparing for the feast. The dinigroom was cleared of all unnecessary furnishing, leaving only the old, round wooden table, standing proudly in the center of the room. It stood surrounded by nine, equally old, encrusted, s'hestir chairs. Way too many for five people but, as they say, better more then less. Especially on the feast night. This night was an affluent night. A night when each cub could fill it's belly and every adult shared good hunt. A night to pray for goddess grace. Such as the old one's believed, sigh most people nowadays didn't even understand. Christmas, Feast, Yom kippur, Vesak... All no different for them, just another occasion to celebrate and throw a party. The great war brought many deaths and many changes... 18 "M'raava honey, aren't you ready yet?! N'arjn should be here any moment! He called they just got off the highway." Her mother screamed somewhere from downstairs. Her high pitched voice seemed to ignore all those thick walls and other sound barriers. She sigh and donned her white, high-neck long dress. It had a seductive open back, with the cut running as low a her tail base, but otherwise was elegant enough to satisfy her mother taste. Well she probably could go stark naked, clean-shaved or wearing anything she fancied as long as it bore no resemblance to any military uniform. Sigh. She was half the way down the stairs when an irritating, familiar sound made her stop. Her tail fluffed out, her ears flared. "Daad!" She growled at him. Her father greeted her whistling and bumping his cane against the floor, the racket he made could compare with a room full of cadets ogling a hot chick. "Henry! Stop that nonsense at once!" Her mother slapped his tail with a dishtowel. "You old fool, when will you learn to behave? A?" She wag her paw at him, he just smiled making big cub's eyes. "Argh! M'raava, you handle him. I have no strength left for this old clown!" Her mother scowled and tottered away, fixing this or that in some final preparations. "Well?" M'raava walked over to her father, giving him a look she often used on her cadets. He didn't budge a bit, apparently countless years tucked under his tick hide made him indifferent to such tricks. "Stunning as ever my dear fluff." He barred his fangs in a broad and wide smile, the black tux he wore and his elegant cane made him look royal. "Saa, i wish i knew how mom puts up with you..." She readjusted his bowtie and leaned closer, whispering. "Really dad, where did you learned to whistle like that? A?" She asked, nibbed with jealousy. A whistling S'hestir was not an everyday view, she for example, just couldn't. "Here and there." He winked at her. "C'mon Fluff, let's greet our guests. I think I've heard their car." Nonchalantly, he offered her his arm then, together they walked to the door. It seemed awkward at best. Three against four, stood in the broad hall. News of Her brother marriage came as a surprise to her but she would never though... Silent, for a second that seemed like eternity, they just stared at each other. Shocked. Probably too scared to actually realize what he's doing, N'arjn introduced them. R'hrsa, S'errei and Fran, his girls. M'raava knew he was running in full auto mode, his mind replying what was thought and practiced countless times. During the heat of battle all soldiers worked the same, conciseness switching off while instincts and training took charge. She studied them one more time. R'hrsa, a tall and slender siamese kitten, probably the oldest one from the lot. S'errei, she was smaller and seemed most fragile of the three. Her fur resembled the one of a clouded leopard. She wore a dress similar to the one M'raava had. And there was Fran. Dressed in white, fur-padded coat and white satin gloves, blond haired goddess. Shyly, she smiled with her full pink lips and gray marble eyes. A human. Shocked, her parents stared speechless. They knew N'arjn have taken a mate, a more than one they've learned. But a human?! Scared, Fran step back a little, until 19 her back bumped into N'arjn's chest. R'hrsa and S'errei flanked her in a protective manner. M'raava watched, this moment lingered way too long. She stepped forward, she knew how it feels to be different. She embraced Fran, hugging her and rubbing against her in much overdone passion. "Hi! It's nice finally meeting you. N'arjn talked so much about you!" She cast him a bone numbing look, his ears dropped instantly while his eyes cried thank-youthank- you-thank-you... "My ow my, such beauties. I'd never imagine I'll live the day when i have four daughters." Her father picked up the act instantly. He greeted them one by one, according to the lore, blessing and welcoming at the same time. When he reached Fran, he held her palm pressed against his cheek for a bit longer, looking deep into her eyes. "Beautiful indeed." He finally spoke and guided her through the doorsill, into the living room. "Mother, me thinks we can finally do the light and fire ceremony like the old ones did. Why don't you take the girls and prepare everything?" Their mother's eyes suddenly light up. "Light and fire..." She whispered, her nostrils flared excited. "Yes, Yes! Let's make haste, it's nearly nightfall!" She hurried them into the kitchen. N'arjn, with his ears dropped and his tail warped round his legs tried to follow yet his father cane stopped him. "Young man, " He said softly. "We need to talk." Henry never shouted at anyone, the majesty of his voice usually was enough to make one's knees tremble. "Yes, Sir!" *** Shadows danced in the orange glow of the fireplace, adding to the sacred atmosphere. There is something magical in those warm flames, in that amazing radiance. It baffled, amazed, served and terrified people for centuries. It cleansing known not only amongst humans. In a world without a moon, S'hestirs learned to prise it's glow and the safety it gave. It purified the food, fought off predators, kept them warm through the winter nights, lessen the darkness and ward off ill fortune. Now, in a room stripped of the electric light, they gathered around the fire as the tradition told. M'yerra as the oldest female of the house, conducted the ceremony. She thrown a handful of herbs into the fire and praised the goddess for all they received. Then Henry, as father of the house took some herbs from the pouch she offered him and thrown them into the fire, again praising the goddess. Another portion of herbs was thrown and the children retold their parents prayers. "Goddess let your light protect this household in the coming years, for such we offer," M'yerra bowed and with long iron pincers, she picked up bright red burning coal from the fire. "Youngest in the east," She touched the coal to the tip of feast lantern filled with oils of the youngest fruits. It instantly light up with bright blue flame. S'errei stepped forward and took the lantern, then walked over to the easter corner of the room where she held it up high. "Strongest in the sought," Again she touched the knot of another lantern, this one 20 however was filled with strong scented oil of a rare fruit, valued for its medical use. Urged by her mother's stare, M'raava took the lantern and plodded to the southern corner. It was said that the bearer of this torch would remain in good health for the coming year. As kids they joked that's because of it's stench, even the sickness runs away... "Wildest in the north," Encouraged by the Henry's nod, Fran shyly took the third lantern and following the others example, she moved to the northern corner. The oil in this lantern came from the lr'hon tree, considered a strongest aphrodisiac amongst their people. A drop of this oil granted all the wildest passions. "And the oldest which governs the west." R'hrsa took the last lantern filled with the oil of most mature fruits that burned with strong white flame. It was the brightest of the four, a mark of the wisdom and guidance. Holding it high in the air she went to the western corner where she stopped for a single moment then, still holding it high, she circled the room. "Be prised the easter light! Protector of the youngest." She stopped behind S'errei and bowed her head towards the light. "Be prised the southern light! Warden of hale." She spoke standing behindM'raava who, was moments apart from blowing away the flame with a giant sneeze. "Be prised the northern light! Keeper of family." Her tail discreetly slide over Fran's ankle. "I prise you western light! Guardian of the path." She returned to her corner and raised her lantern as high as she could then, after a moment of silence the girls lowered their lanterns and left them shining in the corners. "Thank goddess..."With watering eyes,M'raava blew her nose in the silver napkin her father produced. She eyed Fran, the girl seemed normal and unaffected or at least unaware of the torches trickery. On the other side, Fran's pupils were unnaturallywide open... Oh somebody's gonna have a pleasant night. "Nicely done,"Henry clapped his paws smiling. He could see the spark in his mate eyes, she's gonna gloat about the ceremony, so rare.... such an honor... Sah. He came up with a perfect escape route. "Now i think we all deserve a little treat to our dry throats and i have something special saved for..." He made a step toward his study and collapsed, hissing in pain. "Henry!" In a blink of an eye M'raava's mother was next to him. "Henry!" She screamed holding his arm. Henry's face was a mask of pain and torture. Scared they gathered round him. "Not a seizure... not a stroke... neither heart attack..." Fran pushed through and run a quick check on his vitals. "Muscle cramp?" His right leg seemed painfully bent, she could feel the tension under the skin. Gently she stretched his leg a bit, it seamed to lessen the pain. So, a normal cramp? She pulled his leg until it returned to more natural position and held it there. The difference was already visible, Henry's face relaxed instantly, his breathing slowed down. "I'm... alright, alright..."he stuttered. His leg was still fighting with Fran's grip. "Like bald you are! You scared the hairs out of me you old fool! Falling like that..." "Fran, is it serious? Can you something about it?" N'arjn looked from her to his 21 father. She pressed a portable medical scanner against Henry's lap, It pinched him, taking a sample then beeped several times and printed out the results. "As far as I can tell there's nothing to worry about,"she scanned the numbers. "Simple cramp cased by fatigue. Sir, i assume there's a reason you're using that cane? " She asked. "A, old wound. My right leg tires pretty easily, can't run marathons without it. My third leg." He smiled yet his ears were still half dropped. Fran considered his answer. "Honey, can you bring the table from the car and those self heating pads? I might be able to help a little." N'arjn shoot out of the room instantly and after a minute of two, was back holding a massage table and a blue, plastic case. "Where should I set it?" "Somewhere private would be best. A smaller room on this floor?" "There's a study here..." "Don't know what you're trying to do but that unnecessary I feel much better already..." He tried to stand up and winced in pain, his muscles were still tensed. "Oh shut up old fool and do what she says!" "All set Fran!" N'arjn came from the other room. "Good." Suddenly, she put her arms around Henry then simply hoisted him up and carried away, much to everyones amazement. Only M'raava left more or less unaffected. She had seen such strength displays on a daily basis, especially when Vladimir was somewhere nearby. It puzzled how much strength was hidden in Fran's gentle frame however it was not unusual. This was earth, humans home, they were born to it's gravity. It made them stronger, much stronger. *** "Please don't look at me like that." Fran's face burned up. If she were a s'hestir, her ears would have dropped at least by half. Amazed and hidden under a dozen of self warming pads, Henry studied the human female. "It's really nothing unusual. In my field of work a lot of strength and stamina is required. My patients need help with lots of simple tasks." And all those sex marathons those three give her on a regular basis, possibly have some effect as well. "A, that I believe. Saa, honey did anyone told you already, you have talented hands. It's been ages since anything made me purr like a cub."A steady rumble was coming from his throat. One by one Fran worked through his muscles. "Sir, if I may ask something..."She asked after a while of awkward silence. "Nope. Well, unless you drop the 'sir' thing." He chittered. "Just call me Henry or dad if you prefer." She went silent for a moment, gathering courage. "So... Dad, may I ask you something personal?" "See honey? It wasn't so bad." He snorted out. "Ask what you want sweetie." "I've been wondering, why Henry? It does not seem like a S'hestir name." "Saa, that's it?" he laughed yet his laughter soon changed into a hiss when Fran's hands started working on another muscle. "My name is (...)" He made a long growling noise. "H'rarregrret..." Fran's tongue gave up half way, Henry's name could not pass 22 through her throat but simply ended as a cough, making him chitter. "You sure are something kiddo, most people don't even bother. Rot it, not even my kids can spell it. For them I've always been Henry. Even my M'yerra have some trouble saying it. But that doesn't answer it does it? You see, when i was a cub myself, those weren't the easy days. You had to work to live and fight if you must, no one cared about the names. It's been a hard year and I've been strong enough so father got me a job in the nearest factory. They didn't care either, as long as you could work, everything was fine. I still remember the manager's face when he ask for my name. Henry, he said, you look like Henry. They gave me a work jumpsuit with the name Henry sewn onto it and a guy named Butch shown me what am i supposed to do. Then came the other jobs, the name was easy on humans and it just sticked. I don't mind it, it grown fur on me. That much covers it i believe. So now honey, satisfy my own curiosity. Why N'arjn, why not someone else?" He eyed her, Fran's face burned up with scarlet. "I... I'm not sure how it happened. It's a long and convoluted tale." She spoke shyly. It still baffled her how open those people were about things like that. "My dear, those lumps ain't just for show," He flapped his large triangle ears. "They make us great listeners. Try me, the short version that is." He winked at her, making her smile. "The short version a? S'errei seduced me, i think that would be it. I was her lead DPT during her physiotherapy, i supervised her workouts and... well from word to word, touch to touch. Something that started out as a medical massage turned into an affair and later when they sniffed her out it ended me up in a bed with two horny felines and your son fucking my brains out." She sighed, the actual story was much more bizarre. "Quite bluntly said my dear." Henry smiled enjoying her touch, the pain was long gone and his leg never felt better. "Are you happy with them? Does N'arjn takes care of all your needs?" "Yes." She whispered and her face again burned up. "Well then, there's nothing I'd be concerned about." He grinned sitting up. "Come, let's join them before my M'yerra eats her own paws. *** Good goddess, never again. I ate too much. M'raava burped heavily while loading up the already overstuffed dishwasher. As usual for this kind of family meetings, where lots of specialty dishes was made, there was no way of saying no to all this food. Every year she made a promise, she would never, ever, eat this much again and every year, she failed miserably at keeping that promise. Well, maybe next year... "Hey there big sis, whacha doing?" N'arjn scratched on the door frame. "Trying... to... make... this damn... thing... work!" M'raava finally slammed the door closed and set the washing program. Maybe she shouldn't pack there so much stuff? She turned around and asked. "How's Fran? She's fine?" "Uh, yes. The girls are keeping her entertained."He shrugged his arms and sighed. It took some time and some wine but the effects of the western light finally took the best of Fran. She became overly too friendly and well, they took her upstairs back 23 to their room. She inhaled a lot of the oil fumes while the strong wine did the rest. Right now her mental state was probably no different from a living sex toy. Quite an interesting way of spending your evening. "Pops didn't know the stuff affects humans as well." He said, doubting in each and every word. M'raava shook her head, their father always carefully thought through his decisions. "Anyway, I'd wanted to thank you for, you know, everything. I thought pops gonna kill me and you never answered my mail, I was scared shitless. It's amazing how well they took it. " His ears dropped, She pat his shoulder. "I never got that, so sorry about not knowing. Hope he didn't scold you too hard? Did he?"She coked her head. "Ah... well we had a little chitchat. Nothing serious."He quickly assured her. "And thanks for the book! How did you know? An original transcription of the S'errar tales. It's a rarity, there were only a few printed." "A wild guess I'd say." It was easy enough, her brother loved reading books. Get him a good one and he's your best friend. "By the way, girls got you something nice. I've put in your room, hope you don't mind?" "Gifts? You can put there as many as you want." She smiled, it was always nice to get something. His watch beeped. "Huh? Already?" He mumbled to himself cheeking the watch, then pulled out a box of pills and gulped down some. Sigh, poor N'arjn. Unlike humans, s'hestir males required some help in getting into the mood. Well, he knew what he was up to, taking three mates. He saw her grim face. "Hum? Want some? They work on females too." He offered the pills, they smelled funny. "No, thanks. My stomach ain't gonna make it if I'll add more chemistry to the mix." "It's herbal," He chittered. "Completely safe and tested. Non addictive. Well, they can make you eat your own carpet but i assure you, you gonna have a great time eating it." Nepeta cataria, She read the label. That explained a loot. To put it bluntly, Catnip... "I'll pass. Tho, you should not make your ladies wait." She winked at him, indicating the growing bulge in his pants. "Oops. Thanks again sis."He hugged her and quickly run up the stairs. "Good night to you too." She chittered. Oh, catnip. Saa, she had some interesting memories of it's use and abuse... Including, waking up in K'sita's arms. She sat at the bottom of the stairs, those were the times. Young and fearless, she lived fast and... stupid. She made choices, some good other worse. She experimented. The Navy changed her. For better perhaps? There was something in her work that she deeply loved, something she could not live without. "But a human Henry? How..." Her ears caught some bits of conversation. Warped in blankets and huddled together, her parents sat near the fireplace. They talked about, Fran? Sah, such a surprise. She would never thought that her kid brother... Triple married and with a human. Sigh, it's funny how people change. "Leave it be honey, she's a good girl. Besides I like her and I'll risk saying you 24 gonna like her too." My, my. Her father defending Fran? She really was something, there was no easy way into his favors. "Why don't you give the girl a chance she deserves? A?" He nipped at the back of her neck while his hands were traveling beneath the blanket. "H-Henry?" Her mother breath was becoming heavier, her purrs lauder. "I've snatched N'arjn some of his magic pills. I think they're working..." That was enough for her, a tiny little bell rang inside her head, signalizing the end of eavesdropping and a good time for retreat. Knowing her parents still had enough strength left for sex at their age was one thing but witnessing it? Umm, no. Just no. She shook her head. At some age people deserved even more privacy then they thought. She got up and climbed the rest of the stairs, then followed the empty corridor, back to her room. She paused half the way, her ears twitched. Sigh. S'hestirs put a lot of thought into their houses, they value their privacy. Multiple bathrooms, thick walls, heavy reinforced doors, sound muffling tapestry and wood paneling. All that was important to give one some sense of private space, yet... A moan echoed through the hall. Gotta love those feast night traditions filled with passion of lr'hon fruits, M'raava sighed. Her brother was definitely enjoying it. Lifeless, she plodded along. Hopefully there's gonna be something on TV. Something like, porn? Yes, perhaps... Porn. Humpa-dumpa, humpa, humpa, hump-a-splat porn. The problem with most porn was simply too much of pumping and too little or no quality at all. Heck, anyone could make such movie if they wanted and lots of people did, net was full of it. Unfortunately only a few knew how to make good porn. The result of thatM'raava currently observed on the fifty two inch screen of her plasma TV. Boring to say the last. Lame actress squealed some incoherent curses in a fake voice from under a grotesque mask, her face turned into. It was hard to decipher either she was suffering a severe cause of constipation or if it was her interpretation of a sexy 'more I'm cumming' pose. On second thought, M'raava squinted her eyes and crooked her head bit to the right. Nope, that didn't help. Now her face looked as if she was gonna puke any moment plus, at this angle her jumping fake boobs looked as if the implants were gonna poop out... That was too much,M'raava changed the channel. Moremales banging on more females, a woman humping a gaged man, an international threesome, a man doing a sheep, a horse whacking a pony-dressed up female... Each channel she flipped to aired something not worth even four seconds of attention. Well, maybe except for a woman strapped to a table in somewhat intriguing pose, doing self cunnilingus. She decided to change the channel before her bored brain managed to coaxed her into seeing if she could reach hers with her own tongue... "Boring, boring, boring, I've seen this one already..." She skipped through the channels, dangerously nearing the end of the two-hundred, channel list. "Oh com on, even the reruns from the late twenty century are more interesting..." Desperate, she turned up the volume. The laud thumping sounds and muffled cries of pleasure coming from across the floor were annoying. "Holy fuck... It's been five hours folks, give it a break already!" She groaned, the thumping became even lauder. "That's it, I'm counting to ten and then I'm crushing the party!"She laid down counting. "One..."Laud THUMP! came from behind the door. 25 "Two..." THUM-THUM-THUMP! It seemed to go even faster. "Three..." THUM-DA-THUM-DA-THUMPP!That bedwill not holdmuch longer. She was about to Say four when the music distracted her. Music? She raised her head, another movie was starting however this time, it had music. Some porns had something unimportant plim-pluming in the background, most didn't even bother but this one, it was different. Erotic, mesmerizing melody quickly enchanted her. It was morning, warm orange light soaked in through large Italian windows. The room was spacious, occupied only by an old oak desk, tall book shelf and a black leather sofa. It was a study of sorts or maybe an office. Inside, a lone man in his mid thirties, sat behind the desk. He had short, jet black hairs, uncanny emerald eyes and neatly shaved, handsome aristocratic face. He was nude apart from the silk, scarlet gown loosely draped around his athletic body. His hand worked tirelessly, dismounting and cleaning his silver gun as if he was actually caressing his beloved girl. Suddenly, a knock on the door broke his concentration. Without an invitation, somebody barged in. Irritated, he looked up at the intruder. Bathed in the morning light, surrounded by his goons, there she was. A beauty hidden under long, silver fur coat. Just like he ordered. He waved off his guards and leaned back in his chair. Hidden under her hood, breathing heavily, she waited until her escort left. It was hot, unbearably hot but that was the idea. The combined warmth of the cape and the that spring morning made the workings of the pill she had taken even more intense. Just like he ordered. She looked up, he was watching her, enjoying her torment. There was that glow in his eyes, she shuddered, was he going to... No! Terrified she watched him reaching for a crystal vial and spill two more pills on his desk. They've been giving her those since yesterday, one every hour. Her body was glutted by the pure lr'hon juice and her mind was at verge of breaking, she could barely think. Just like he ordered and now he ordered her two more. She hesitated, he urged her with a nod. Trembling, she walked forward and reached for the pills, there was no escape, she put them in her mouth and swallowed. Content, he watched her shiver. Her body was at edge, her time was now. "Dance."He ordered. Slowly, she removed her hood and unbuckled her coat. Freed, it dropped on the ground exposing her slender frame. Careful, she stepped out of it, balancing on the tall, platform stilettos. A creamy haired s'hestir lady, dressed in a thigh, shining-red club dress with large lacing on the sides. She swayed her hips starting the dance. Mesmerized,M'raava pushed the record button. This was it, a good one! It was real, so real she could not believe it. With her eyes glued to the screen, M'raava followed the girl, reading her moves, her emotions. Oh gods, it was real! You just can't fake something like that! Suddenly he grabbed the dancer and pressed her against the wall, lifting her off the ground. With one hand he held her arms above her head while in the other, she shivered, he had a long, shining dagger. He brought it close to her face, making her kiss the blade. Scared, she waited while he let the blade slide lower, its tip brushed her neck, then traveled down the valley between her breast where the dress fabric stopped it. Terrified, she dared a look at his face, his eyes were burning with desire. Snip! She shuddered. Snip, snip! One by one the blade cut through the lacing, freeing her of her 26 dress. With final snip, it fell on the floor. Again he raised the dagger, she screamed, he punched it somewhere high in the wall. Now with a free hand, he undone his gown and raised her leg. Her juices were dripping with a steady flow, he smiled and rammed hard inside. M'raava bit her lip, her paws found her already moist groin. She creased it a bit and easily slide in, her juices had overflown long ago. He took her against the wall then thrown her on the desk and hit her from behind, her breast jingling up and down. Screaming and clawing at the wood, she trust her hips at him, returning his passion. Lying with her butt up high, M'raava slammed her paws in and out while her second hand rubbed her clit in a frenzy. She wanted more, more! It was the final scene, they were lying on her silver coat, now she was on top, riding him. He held her arms away from his body, pumping her while she rammed her bottom against him with even much greater vigor, her claws sliding in and out of it sheaths. Panting,M'raava stared at the giant human dick sinking again and again inside the girl, splashing her juice all around. She was almost there. With one final trust, they both climaxed, the feline gal roared trowing her head back. The movie ended, freezing on the girl's face, twisted by a powerful orgasm. M'raava scowled, spraying her bead, enormous pleasure exploded inside her womb. Panting she reached for the remote, rewind then frame by frame examined the ending. It was good, so fucking good. She felt a distant hunger, she wanted more! Oh what she would give to be in that actress place... What a silly though, fucking a human. But that giant... rocking up and down... She longed for some pleasure she could not describe. Wondering, she stood up and walked over to the box, a mock-up of a reinforced military crate. A Box of Essentials, stated its title, her present. She undo the clamps and lifted the lid and pulled out the manifest. She had read it already, she just wanted tomake sure she really saw that. Here it was, number nine. Cyber skin, human shaped, multi speed, piston action with harness included, Lucky Nine. She pulled it out, it was - large. Holding it in one hand she went back to bed and fetch he purse, holding one last present. A crystal vial with a small pink pill floating inside. K'sita's parting gift. Should she? Her body longed for, she gulped the pill. She rewind the movie then forcefully pushed in the intruder, tightly securing it with leather straps. Surprised, she found it had an attached padlock, her though run quick, she would be locked out without release... Excited her paws snapped the lock on their own free will, the key was in probably in the box anyway. Ready, with one remote she pushed play,the other she set to low, awakening the mechanical beast. The movie unfolded, nearing its end, the actress roared, M'raava squeezed the remote. Small red light flashed indicating turbo trust mode. M'raava's body arched but she was no longer there. All that left was pleasure, the pill worked it's magic. The remote fall out of her lax hand and smashed on the floor, jamming itself on the random pleasure mode. Inside M'raava's belly a fearful motor steadily purred, the feast night gonna be long. *** Humming Fran walked to the bathroom, finally she had some time for herself, the 27 others were out, shopping. The last few days have been a blur for her, the last she remembered clearly was the feast, the bounty of food and that wonderful wine... Well that was it. After that all she could recall was pleasure. Too much of pleasure, she was still sore here and there and her back looked like the dark side of moon, riddled with cuts and jabs. Urgh, it's gonna sting for sure, she winced. Her pelt wasn't as hard as theirs and she usually suffered some damage but she wouldn't ask them about declawing themselves. It felt horrible, like asking a human to cut off his fingers. No, she wouldn't dare to ask for that. "Oh! I'm Sorry! I didn't know someone was in, the doors were open..." Fran quickly backed out from the bathroom, her sister in law,M'raava was in there. Hoping she didn't offend her, she turned around... Hold on, something was wrong out there. "M'raava? Is everything alright?" She knocked on the door. Strangely, there was no answer. Worried, Fran put her ear on the door. She couldn't hear anything... Suddenly a muffled cry made her jump back. It sounded strangely familiar... Oh, what a faux pas, she caught her sister in law while she played with herself. And when she thought she was up to a good start, something like this happen. Silently she retreated, hoping M'raava won't hate her for such intrusion. "W-wait!" A pleading whisper came from behind her, hanging clutched to the doorknobM'raava looked at her, her eyes begging for help. "C-can... y-you... Aah!" She collapsed onto the floor in what appeared to be an... orgasm?! Fran rushed to her side. "M'raava are you alright?!" Suddenly she saw something familiar, locked round M'raava's waist. "Not again..." Fran sighed, she warped M'raava in her bathrobe and carried her back to her room. "Feeling better?" The human asked, pondering through her luggage. "Y-yes, thank you. It stopped." Shyly M'raava sat on the large s'hestir bed, observing Fran. "How did you know?" She asked. Fran liberated her from the torture pleasure with a universal remote. "R'hrsa is an engineer, she owns the company that designed those. It's her best selling product, tho it has few drawbacks. Like the thin key snapping inside the lock and the remote jamming in random. Here it is!" Happy, Fran came back holding a small leather case. "Open up wide please." She ordered then kneelt between M'raava's legs and unfolded the leather package. "Wow. What a collection. What are you again, a physician?" M'raava looked at an impressive collection of lockpiks. Fran smiled. "What can i say? Living with those three makes you learn all the time." She took two strangely folded wires and begun prodding at the lock of M'raava's belt. "Sah, that i believe but where did you learned that?" Instructed by Fran, she took a different position. "Well, when R'hrsa brought back home the production samples, guess who tested it." She took another lockpick as the previous one didn't work like she expected. "A. I can imagine. How long it took you?" "About four days tho i had my sweet revenge. And you?" Fran siled and her red 28 smile suggested she wasn't so docile when she wanted. "Since the feast." Fran looked at her in disbelieve. "That's long. Lets get you out of it then." The lock clicked happily and Fran unhooked the malfunctioning padlock. "All done." She helped M'raava got up. "Tho, I'd advise you to be in the bathroom when you unbuckle that." "Thank you sis, you're a life saver." M'raava hugged her, eager on getting that large synthetic intruder out of her womb as fast as possible. "No, I should be thanking you. N'arjn couldn't handle it without your help. He told me everything. Thank you. If there's any way i can repay you..." Suddenly M'raava sneezed. She pulled a napkin from her robe and blown. "You can tell me where did you got that coat of your's. My whole cycle's messed up, my winter fur won't grow. I'm thinking I'm gonna need one of those if I'm to make it through my leave without freezing." She nodded at the Fran's snow white coat. "Is it synthetic? It does look warm." "Huh? That one? Nope, its real fur, custom grown, s'hestir fur. S'errei's fur in this case. She donated few of her skin cells and they've grown it over a custom made frame. Sound's creepy but that's the best coat I ever had. I just don't wanna know what the paid for it." M'raava studied the coat, now that she thought of it, the coat did smell like her. It was faint but it was there. Creepy or not it seemed warm and that was something M'raava needed. Maybe she'll manage to buy a regular one at least? She's definitely gonna need one if she's going to that ball tomorrow. "I wonder if any shops gonna be opened tomorrow." She wondered out laud. "Fat chance. It's new years day, most of the shops closed today already." M'raava winced, she had nothing else that would fit with her satin dress. Well it was only needed to get her there without freezing but still, she just couldn't go in anything. "Say, we're staying in tomorrow. Would you like me to lend it to you?" Fran grinned, plotting something. "Would you?" M'raava asked. "Well, I could. But on one condition. Can you tell me where your parents keep the rest of the oil from that lantern I held?" Ah, M'raava suddenly understood, already imaging herself arriving at the party in her scarlet satin dress and Fran's white coat. "Deal." She said. *** "Thank you and welcome all to this new years ball. I'm not really sure who's brightest idea was to make our good for nothing band play tonight tho I'm quite convinced that the amount of booze available behind those counters will compensate..." The sudden laughter of few hundred men silenced him for a moment. "Anyway, beforewe start and before you'll get too drunk to actually listen..."Another wave of applause cut into his sentence. "I'd like to introduce you someone special as we have a very amazing guest today. 29 Since it's an old friend of my own old friend and since I've heard a lot about her, I thought i should do a little background check. Gods, you gotta love that high level clearance." Another round of cheers hit the air. "Easy men, easy. I know you're eager but before I'll introduce her I'm gonna tell you some about hear past..." Half listening, M'raava looked around intrigued. There's been quite a lot of ladies out there in the ocean of males, even a few more S'hestir were present. Her table was right under the stage, the chances were the special guest might be sitting near by. She wondered, who could that be? A famous model? An actress? A porn star? M'raava let out a sigh, somehow she could think of nothing sensible. Tomas and his pack were simply too perverted. "Never the less, She proven herself in combat during the..." Oh so she was from navy? Interesting. She casted another look yet none of the girls she could see around, fit the description. Wait a second... Her fur stood up. "And since her path started within the great Lirium Hall i even went to the trouble of buying one of her CD's. Laugh all you want, I'm satisfied. It happens her band committed a cover of a very old song, a song I've fallen in love with, a song with witch i would like to open todays evening. So without any further ado, i present you, Colonel M'raava Shigieshtii" A jupiter light suddenly flooded her table, her jaw dropped. Not really sure how it happened M'raava stared at the gathered guests clutching tightly the wireless microphone, the thundering applause still ringed in her ears. The band finished setting up some of the most archaic instruments she ever saw and they begun. Her tail swayed, her body already matched the tune. She took a deep breath and sang. Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides Figures dance around and around...1 M'raava hauled herself back to her table. She was drunk, tired and sleepy. The night already passed by without her noticing. She looked around, on the stage Arthur was singing Soldier's Side by System of a Down, witch sounded remarkably good considering what he have drank and the fact that he was keeping near vertical position only thanks to the mic stand witch he was clutching with both hands. Here and there some pairs were dancing to their ow beat, ignoring the surroundings, kissing. Somewhere further away somebody was puking his guts out already, M'raava's ears couldn't exactly pinpoint the direction. The crowd was melting away, people were leaving and MP's were picking up from the floor and toothing to the cars those who could not go by themselves. It was time to leave. "Quite a night, don't you think?" Arpad dropped at her table, tossing away the drumsticks into an empty glass then finishing the water directly from the crystal jug. "Hrnth, talk to me more. Maybe I'll even remember it by tomorrow..." Well, the chances were rather low, every pore inM'raava's body was oozing alcohol vapors, one more drink and she won't need a rocket for the return journey. "I guess that means yes?" Arpad laugh. The band lost count after the sixth crate of booze, even his head felt bit clouded. "Hrnkhhh... yuurr anhaa yaa..." Arthur mumbled then tumbled down and fell asleep hugging the microphone, large subwofers magnified his snoring. M'raava 1 All Souls Night Lyrics by Loreena McKennitt. 30 winced and checked her watch, it was seven in the morning already. A time to go home. "I think I'm done for... Gods i haven't drank that much in ages." M'raava's voice was sore, she hasn't sing that much in a long long time either. It'll be a miracle if i can talk tomorrow, she thought. "Ladies and gentlemen, or at least all those who still can understandme..." Thomas liberated the microphone, he seemed awfully sober. Of course he was, he never drunk. "It appears I've got the doubtful pleasure of announcing the final dance. So here it is, thank you all for coming and spending this night with us. I hope we all can say, we had a good time tonight. One last time, for you all. Good bye." He bowed and walked off the scene, leaving the air filled with soft piano music. One last time the floor filled with dancing couples.2 "Care for a dance colonel?"Arpadwalked over to her and offered his hand. M'raava hesitated, should she? Her body had slight trouble staying upright, s'hestirs really weren't born to handle liquor and what she drank was sufficient enough to knock out two. She felt a slight tug, Arpad pulled her out of her chair and right into the middle of dancing crowd. Just when did her paws ended up in his palm? Who knows, there was some kind of magic hidden in those moments. A magic that made anything possible. They swayed trough the crowd, Arpad's arm embracing her waist, brushing her fur. Suddenly he pulled her closer, pressing her small frame against his body. M'raava smiled, it was pleasant. Somehow this song felt as it it was meant to be dance like that. She let her head rest on his shoulder. However magic can not least forever, the song ended sweeping the floor with silence. Here and there people kissed. Sigh, i wouldn't mind a kiss or two, she thought locked in his arms. "Gods I'm drunk..."Shemumbled. Arpad smiled and released his grip, it felt awkward. Silent, they walked towards the coatroom. "I'm so, so terribly sorry ma'am..."The check girl seemed more then terrified. "Your coat ma'am... we can't find it anywhere..." M'raava glanced at the human in velvet bunny suit. It must be some kind of a joke, she hoped. "W-we can offer a compensation for the l-lost i-item i-if you fill in this form ppleas." The girl shyly pushed forward a blue form, scared of the drunken high ranking feline that might turn feral any moment. Apparently it was not a joke. Crap. "N'arjn gonna kill me, that was Fran's coat..." M'raava sighed taking the form. "Can you at least get me a taxi?" She asked making the bunny girl turn from pale troubled to pale frightened. "Taxi? At this hour? On the new years day? Come on, i have a car from base, I'll drop you off." Arpad picked up his fur padded leather jacket. Why not? M'raava wondered, should be fine. She nodded then slowly followed him outside. "Jimmy! Hey!" Arpad shouted at a young lieutenant, casually chatting with one of the bunny girls. "Sir?!" He run up to where they stood and saluted. "Get the car ready but on the double, we have a lady to escort." "Sir! Yes, Sir!" Smiling, he saluted again and disappeared within the parking lot. Funny did he blink at her? M'raava shivered, it was snowing. 2One Last Time by James Onohan 31 "You're cold?" Arpad eyed her carefully. "It's nothing."She put on a weak smile. "Don't mind me, I've been born in a fur coat. I don't mind little cold." To late, he was already unbuttoning his jacket. "Come here, you're almost naked in that dress." Technically he's right, M'raava noticed. Her satin dress was the only garment she currently wore. "Better?"He warped her in his jacket, it was pleasantly warmed up by his body. "Mmm."She nodded enjoying the warmth. Jimmy Finally brought the car and sprang out to open the door, they slipped in and huddled on the back seat. She felt the acceleration pushing her deeper into her seat as the car speedily zoomed through empty streets. Her body relaxed a bit, gravitating towards Arpad's arm. She felt so sleepy... "M'raava?" Somebody gently shook her, pulling her conciseness back into her body. "We're here." "Hrnh?" She blinked with her sleepy eyes, haven't they just got in? "A, sorry. I must have dozed off." She yawned looking around, that was her neighborhood. Hope i haven't drooled on you... Hope i haven't drool too much, her mind corrected itself, there was a lager wet spot on his shoulder. Arpad politely pretended he hasn't noticed, neither have he told her she licked his face. It was a secret worth keeping, who knows maybe some other time he'll give her something more to lick on. "Come." He opened the door and helped her out, then guided her up those few ice covered steps. M'raava's stiletto heels crunched the ice as they walked. They stopped at the door step, Silent. "Say would you..." M'raava started but she was given no chance for even a word more, their lips touched, Arpad sealed her mouth with a kiss. M'raava's eyes suddenly got bigger, her tail puffed out and lashed madly. What on earth?! Her body seemed to work on its own, she returned the kiss, their tongues found each other. Finally their lips parted, yet they still stood there locked in each other gaze. Gods, what's going on? M'raava was lost, her body had never reacted so strongly towards anyone yet now a mere human exited the deepest parts of her being. "How dare she!" Suddenly a loud shriek coming from inside, shuttered the silence. "What will people say, we were respected citizens! Out of my way Henry! I'm gonna show her! Once and for all I'm gonna show her what do i make of her and her army!" Bare claws clattered on the floor, towards them. Arpad straighten up just before the doors flung wide open. "How many times..." Her mother's jaw dropped, her voice stuck in her throat. Arpad was all she could see. Giant, muscular, almost twice as big as her. If fur could change colors, her mother would be pale right now. "Thank you for a wonderful night colonel. It'd be nice to do it again sometime. Ma'am" he took his jacket and with a cheerful nod at her mother, was gone. M'raava watched as he walked back to his car with a fluid, almost inhuman speed. Yawing, she pushed her mother inside and closed the doors behind them. She can deal with her later, she thought marching half-asleep towards her bedroom, much, much later. *** 32 Fran thought she had seen much in her life, yet again life surprised her. And by all means it is not easy to surprise someone named Franchesca and weed into a polygamous s'hestir family. However Fran, slightly surprised, stopped at the kitchen door and stared. Bathed in the reddish evening sun, her sister in law, loosely draped in a pink bathrobe, slept behind the kitchen table. Giant chunks of blue cotton wool were poking out of her half dropped ears while a big bag of ice topped her head in a gravity defying manner. Fran smiled, apparently the party was a blast. M'raava's conciseness slowly returned to her body, allured by a magnificent, familiar smell. What was it? She wasn't sure, none of her senses worked properly thanks to the roadworks and missile testing currently occurring inside her brain. "Black?" She risked a guess, pushing out her hoarse voice from terribly dried throat. She could almost feel the sand moving with each breath she took. "Nope, just chocolate latte with some honey and spice" Fran's whisper scratched the boarder of pain, M'raava's plastered ears tried to sunk back into her skull. "I've made you a toast..." She added now in the softest voice she could muster. From her experience she knew that s'hestirs with hangover didn't fit well with human company, best to leave them alone. She picked up the tray with breakfast she prepared and walked out of kitchen. Nibbling at her toast, M'raava studied the naked human. Her back that is. Hundredths of thin, long scarlet lines crisscrossed all over her body. She wondered... "Does it hurts?" It made Fran stop in the door. She turned around and cast her a troubled look, her face was burning. "Sometimes... Sometimes they forget. Human skin is not as thick" "I'm sorry that was untactful of me. Pleas ignore it, I'm drunk" "No need to. I wouldn't trade this family for any other. I'm proud I'm a part of it" Fran smiled, it was a true smile. "Besides a quick rub with first aid lotion... M'raava, are you expecting someone?" "No, why?" "There's a military car in front of the house." *** "Ma'am, will you please come with us." A uniformed sergeant spoke much too laud for her ears and definitely too laud for her hangover. M'raava looked over his shoulder, pale young guard with a machine gun poorly concealed under his duster, stood near the open car doors. The body armor he was wearing made his head look small compared to his torso. "Ma'am?" The sergeant remained her about his existence, serving her one of the standard military issued shut the fuck up and get in expressions. She sighed and went down without saying a word, anything else seemed quite pointless. Finishing her latte, she surrendered the mug and seated herself inside the car, adjusting her bathrobe until it covered all the proper areas. The base seemed deserted. Except for the gate guards and her escort she hasn't seen a soul within the complex. The party aftereffects would explain a mild lack of personnel but this? No. Something big was happening, whatever it was. "Ma'am, everything's been prepared..." They shoved her into a briefing room and 33 sealed the door. "Morning colonel" A familiar voice greeted her from the screen, Peter looked more or less the way she currently felt. He gulped down some bubbling white liquid and continued. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience ma'am but the situation got even more interesting. About three hours ago sensors picked up an unidentified object nearing our solar system with extremely high velocity, its estimated course will pass the earth's orbit within seventy two hours. It has about one point nine mile radius and unreadable mass signature. All units are being put in stand by and there are sealed orders awaiting you ma'am" Peter paused and went through some papers while M'raava took out few pills from the prepared box and thrown them into a glass of water, they bubbled viciously. "I've arranged for an emergency shuttle, it is being prepared as we speak. I'm afraid it'll be one of the UCV's refitted for passengers. They're not very accommodating but it'll be a quick journey. Also about the uniform, that was the only fitting one they could provide..." "Will do"M'raava waved him off and disconnected. That conversation could wait, right now she was focusing all her will power at keeping inside her stomach the bubbling white liquid she just drank. SAT-53 could remove most of the deadliest toxins from the body within seconds and even cure hangovers over minutes, unfortunately it also tasted like shit and had a nasty tendency of making the user puke his guts out. M'raava pulled her face out of the toilet and flushed, her insides finally settled down. Now all she needed was a shower and industry grade hairdryer. Unfortunately there was no time for that, she cleaned herself with a paper towel and sucked onto few mints. It made her look more tolerable, well at lest by human standards... She advanced towards the foiled package hanging on the wall then sliced it with her index claw. Tossing away what left of the foil, she skimmed through the manifest. "Military parade uniform, female, shoulder marks included, Rank Lt. Colonel. One jacket, white, buttons golden. Check" M'raava took it off from the coat hanger and put it down on the desk. "One shirt, white, long sleeves. One necktie, blue. Double check. One skirt, short, white, built in waist chincher, s'hestir compatible... Lovely, check. One tights, light tan. Check" She throw them straight into bin. "One thongs, white, back lacing, s'hestir compatible" She studied the article, stretching them in her paws. The idea of wearing underwear seemed repulsive. However her statutory short fur did not cover much. "Oh joy" She sighed pulling them up and readjusted the back lacing around her tail. Well better this then flashing pink at everyone. "Checked. Let's see what left, One cap, check and one pair high-heals, white and of course, s'hestir compatible..." Not bad, not bad at all. Well, they haven't called this Parade uniform for no reason, M'raava thought as she paraded through the empty corridor alongside her drooling escort. Even the sarge thrown her few curious looks, it pleased her in some almost sickening way. She caught a glimpse of herself in the glass wall they passed 3 Standard Anti Toxin, 5 mg. 34 and grinned. She was hot! Maybe she wouldn't dare to challenge anyone from the Recruitment department, their boobs and other traits were legendary, but the suite worked it's magic. As hellish uncomfortable as it was, it made her look... One of the soldiers almost tripped when her tail lashed against his swollen groin. Joy, oh joy. She remembered the actress from that human porn movie, her shuddering body, her cries full of ecstasy, her content purr... M'raava's not entirely sober imagination pictured her in the actress place, screaming, clawing, riding that human to the sounds of her own purrs... Her thongs suddenly became uncomfortably moist. "Ma'am" The segregant punched in few dials on the lock and shown her through the door, stealing one final glance at her. His cold demeanor could mask what he felt, even his eyes said nothing but M'raava's nose knew the truth. Amazing what a piece of garment can do to a human while her pheromones could not. The doors hissed behind her, giving the sarge a chance to scream at his men. "Morons! Imbeciles! Dimwits! Fucktards! Son's of bitches..." She stopped, this doors were probably bullet and sound proof by human standards. "Dick heads,When will you learn to think with your brain instead of your balls..." Tho it seemed, they were not s'hestir compatible. She sighed and walked down the ramp towards the docking bay, her ears still could pick up a faint conversation. "Hope the guys from surveillance got us a photo or maybe a clip, the angle they can get with those new cameras..." "Don't even start it! We already got the cleaning duty and i really don't wanna do it with a toothbrush..." Unmanned Cargo Vehicle or UCV for short was a large orange pipe with an engine strapped onto one end and the second end bolted shut, thus creating a cargo hold, fitted for the current needs. M'raava knew those kind of vehicles, she have seen many of them as they regularly cruised between moon and earth caring supplies for the base. Sometimes they've missed the landing point, providing some form of entertainment for her and her cadets as she often volunteered to do cargo recovery missions. Well every excuse to get some real flying done was good enough plus, it provided a break from the ever present base boredom. She remembered last year when Admiral Maxwell Hurnth, a day before his retirement, organized some decommissioned UCVs for target practice. That was a good day... "Do you carry any weapons colonel?" The white dressed technician asked when she step into the scanner box. "Apart from the built in ones?"She stretched out her claws, neatly clipped and blunted round the edges but still deadly. "Nope" She rarely carried a weapon, there wasn't much need for that. "Any jewelry or other items you wish to report ma'am?" he asked in the same bored tone. "No. Other items?" The technician gave her a polite smile. "Artificial limbs, medical implants and equipment, body pricing, sex toys, intelligence equipment, identity chips, weapons..." Speechless, M'raava stared at him, the list seemed endless. "Ma'am, I've been working here for five years and I've already seen many interesting items and pulled out more then few from more or less interesting places" He pointed at the box of rubber gloves. 35 "So none of the above?" He smiled and his smile implied he can be either very polite or very thorough. "No..." The machine buzzed and started scanning. "All done, right this way please" He unlocked the security gate and led her trough the bay towards the black striped, makeshift yellow lift. It was a simple metal cage strapped onto a mobile crane and fitted for personal safety. He locked them inside then fiddling with the console, he brought them up to the UCV's hatch. "Ma'am, if you please step away from the gate. Thank you." He made sure the lift cage was properly aligned with the hatch and after testing if the space is safe to pass, he gestured her into the ship. They passed through the L-shaped corridor and through another airlock into the main passenger compartment. Now this is more military like, M'raava sighed. Calling this section of the ship small would be an overstatement. It was, bluntly speaking, a corridor with six rows of double-seats, cramped under each wall. "Your seat colonel." Disappointed, she dropped into her cup shaped safety seat and let him do the rest. The technician belted her tightly and readjusted her seat position. The archaic five point safety harness was compatible with neither her tail nor her mini dress. Well at least that crotch belt covers more than those thongs, she tried positive thinking. "The ship is fitted with the newest safety field however, for your own safety, please remain in your seat during the liftoff and landing procedure." He warned, yawing discreetly then saluted and left. M'raava listened to the sounds of his footsteps until they disappeared on the other side of the airlock. At least this gonna be a short one, she hoped. At full speed those tincans can do it in twelve hours, to the moon and back. Well with actual people on board that might be up to eight hours one way, not bad either. "Attention! Commencing starting sequence, stand by for countdown." Emotionless, computer voice announced. Why do they make them all female? She wondered. Even her mecha's AI, Chubby sounded as if K'sita did the voice-over, possibly enjoying something set to full speed in both her bodily sockets at the same time. "Two... One... Liftoff." Suddenly and invisible force stomped her into her seat while the gravi-magnetic support sleds, accelerated them up to the escape velocity. What the hell?! M'raava huffed and puffed, squeezing her muscles just like during the training, doing all the anti G maneuvers she knew just to remain conscious. A safety fields?! That was at least five or six G and she had no damn pressure suit! "Safety field engaged." The voice announced. About the damn time! She hung limply in her harness, for the first time in her life tankful of the fur fuzzing, tingling sensation that spread through the cabin. "Well, lets hope it lands better than it starts..." A male voice cough out from the seat on her left. M'raava jerked her head surprised, how did he?! Weren't she supposed to fly alone? Wait a second, that scent... "Arpad?" She risked a guess, the male in navy uniform struggled with his seat. His large frame had no luck either in fitting into those cupped torture chairs. "Well at least my bigger part," He lean out of his seat, grinning at her. "I think we've lost my stomach somewhere above eastern Europe." "Please, don't remind me..."She winced at the memory, She left hers in the base 36 toilet with a little help of SAT-5. "What on earth are you doing here?" "Hiking a ride beauty."His eyes were glued to her, staring, groping. Another wave overflown her already soaked thongs. Damn you parade uniform! "Something wrong with that colonel?" He asked, his eyes still traveling. Uh, there was nothing wrong with that, she knew all military personnel was probably rushed back to their posts and he had the right to be here but his eyes... "No, I just thought I'm gonna be flying alone. " She finally spoke, it was more of a wish then a statement. After that party, there were some unresolvedmatters between them. Like, for example, that kiss. That fucking damn good kiss... an ancient switch flipped inside her, putting her body on full alert. Her nostrils flare sniffing while her little triangle radars mounted at the top of her head scanned all the sounds. "Something's wrong."She spoke staring into distance while her fur fluffed out. Arpad stared at her wagging tail, she looked like one exploded hairball. What the fuck could set her off like that?! Suddenly the lights flashed in a familiar way. M'raava hissed, all the horror movies she saw suddenly passed through her mind. Too many started with flashing lights on board some abandoned spaceship. "Power surge?" He asked studding the flickering light. "No, i don't think so." Her ears turned left and right searching for something. "The engine's not working, i can't hear it." "Come on, we're inside shielded passenger compartment, do you really believe..." "We're not on a first class cruiser, the engine's less then sixty feet away! In this tin can even you should feel it!" That shut him, Arpad sat in silence listening. "The air filters are dead as well, can't hear the humming..." He finally spoke after a while. M'raava nodded, it explained the density of smells now reaching her nose. It's nothing big, she tried to convinced herself, the backups should start any moment. Well, even if they didn't there was still the passive system, two large liquid oxygen tanks. They should hold enough air for about five day long journey, plenty for a trip to the moon and back. The lights flickered again, then one by one shut down with a laud clung. M'raava's eyes blinked, her night vision sucked out all colors from the surrounding. The emergency lights shined like small suns, tucked here and there for convenience. "Now that's ain't what should happen..." Arpad blindly fiddled with his seat belts. M'raava was faster, she already got up and moved through the narrow passageway towards the cockpit. She was almost at the hatch separating pilots fromthe passengers, Arpad few steps behind her, when the world ended. It is hard to describe the feeling, maybe like an eighteen wheels truck ramming your chest, blood boiling in your veins, unearthly silence crushing your brain and most terrifying, the ice cold hand squeezing your heart so hard till it stops. And when your heart stops, there comes darkness. Thick, suffocating darkness. Within that darkness M'raava cough, gasping for air, sucking it into her burning lungs. What the hell happened?! Were was she?! Why is it do dark in here?! Her mind boiled with questions, feeding her fear. Why am i... Floating?! Panicked, she trash around but neither her arms nor legs, not even her tail, could find any footing. Blind, suspended in nothingness, she screamed terrified, clawing at empty space. "Mi a baszás!?"Arpad cursed, plucking his ears. Terrified catgirls, howling within 37 confined space were not exactly eardrums-friendly. "Meg?orültél M'raava!? Franc megegyen macsek, the hell you screaming for... Szent szar!!" He barley dogged a furious claw aimed at his face, right now M'raava was no more then a spinning ball of claws and fangs, franticly searching for some footing. "Na, ezt most jól kifogtam!" He grabbed her tail and pulled, she landed safely in his arms. "Kurva élet!!" Arpad scowled. Putting a person in a headlock usually helped safely detain her. Usually. However now he had some second thoughts. A set of sharp fangs and claws can cause second thoughts. "Faszom!!"M'raava anchored herself in his armin a way a scardycatwould anchor himself. She bite and clawed at anything that gave her any support. "Francba!Normális vagy, M'raava!? M'raava!" He screamed into her ear. *** "Emmm... Sorry 'bout that..." She uttered warping a white bandage aroundArpad's forearm, the thick, operalenght rubber gloves she wore, squawked and squealed with each move. It was a part of the standard military first aid kit. Cheap transparent, plastic raincoat and long, claw-proof rubber gloves. Bit cumbersome yet simple and extremely effective at keeping fur away from the wounds and blood away from the fur. It saved many lives during war and even more long after. "Happens..." Aprad frown studding a small plastic cylinder he took from the kit, a full syringe was trapped inside. Again, he reread the label. API-HT, 5cc.4 In case of S'hestir bite inject into muscle tissue. "You were vaccinated, were you?" He looked into her eyes, they glowed reflecting the chemical light stick that floated above him. "I'm scheduled for a renew next month..."M'raava's ears dropped. "Nem is én lennék..." His fucking luck, when something goes wrong, it goes wrong all the way. He pulled out the syringe and removed the needle cap with his teeth. He hated crappy politicians, he hated all that useless bureaucracy, he hated that fucking moon base... Yet that was nothing compared to the way he loathed needles. Why oh why the fuck it has to be the long one!? Taking a deep breath he squeezed the air out of the syringe, then before he could change his mind, he stabbed his arm. "Are you... alright?" Nursing his arm, Arpad floated an inch above the floor. His face turned bit pale plus he hasn't spoke since the injection. "I'll live. Say, that renew of yours. Is it combat or basic?" he finally spoke. "Both, why do you ask?" He laughed, making her fur puff out. "In that case, here you go" He tossed her another plastic container. API-ST,4cc5. In case of digesting human blood, inject into fat tissue. S'hestir only. "Crap..." M'raava's ears dropped even more, it was a freaking damn long needle! It's been more then fifty years since s'hestirs came to earth, or to be more precise, since they were brought. They were peaceful people, handy and hard working. However they did not came alone, their bodies brought visitors that traveled without 4All-Purpoe-Injection, Human type 5All-Purpoe-Injection, S'hestir type. 38 tickets. Silent, unseen, waiting. Waiting for an emotion that would set them free. Some say it was love others point out hate. The truth was simpler, both of them were guilty. Two different species, locked on one mutilated planet... People experimented, on both sides. These were the first victims of the scratching fever. Scientists were not entirely sure what it was, a virus or a bacteria? There were not many left alive that could name it. It came from the s'hestir's body, grew up in human blood stream then went back where it came from and started killing. It decimated those who survived the war before the vaccine was made. "Stand still Colonel" M'raava bend over Arpad knees and dug her claws into the synthetic carpet, anchoring them both to the floor. Or at least to the wall that used to be the floor before the gravity decided to go on vacation. "H-hey!" She yelped when strong male arms rolled up her skirt. Well, there wasn't much to roll up. Those skirts were designed for walking, parading, not for sitting and definitely not for bending over. Arpad grinned, what a view! His hand slide over her ample rump, brushing the silky fur. "Sah! What kind of medical procedure is this? Mind you not do that!?" She hissed, covering herself with her tail. Shame, such a view... Ah, he loved parade uniforms and those magical military issued thongs. Made for the recruitment department out of that wonderful dry-opaque fabric. It was quite an excellent imitation of silk with one tiny difference, add a drop of water and you get a see-through membrane. Ah, quite a view. "Ma'am" He spoke politely, barely restraining his laughter. "Please remain calm, I'm just surveying for an injection spot." His hand hand traveled back and fourth over very well developed fat tissue deposit, located at her bottom. "Gee and i thought it was groping... oh unlucky me..."She smirked, warping her tail tighter between her legs and round her waist, covering what neither her short fur nor her thongs hid. Arpad sighed watching the needle sunk into her bouncy butt cheek, it really was a dam long one. "All done." He tenderly stroke her buttock, making her tail twitch. Strangely this time she didn't protest it, just silently enjoyed his touch for a moment or two before she released her grip, making them float apart. "There's no power?" She finally asked, studding the chemical light stick Aprad took from the emergency kit while she was unconscious. "No, the engine blew it all. The shield's barely holding on what's left, hard to say how long, we're running on fumes. Though i wouldn't be bothered by that." "Huh?" M'raava's ears rose up. "See for yourself." He nodded at the now open cockpit hatch, it was strangely dark inside. Alarmed, she bounced off the seat and floated towards the hatch, snatching on the way one of the floating lightsticks. The inside of the cockpit was dark, strange. Here and there some lone control lights flicked unsettling yellow or orange however the whole place seemed dreadfully dead. She flipped the navi unit switch several times, then gave up. All it did was barked out low power warnings. Hoisting herself into navigators seat, she pressed her eyes to the visor. Well, nothing fancy like a window but even this thincan had some optical navigation system in case of power failure. The quality of picture send through the beams of optical fibers was, shitty. 39 That or something very wrong happened with her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and tried again unfortunately with the same result, some small bright dots hidden behind veil of bloody red mist. "Fuck..." She squeezed her eyelids tight, pressing her palms against her eyes. Something was wrong, very wrong. The lightstick floated somewhere behind her back but all she saw were her paws and lighted up parts of the console, everything else drowned in the red mist. Her night vision was gone... "Everything's fine?" Arpad slipped in through the hatch. "That one's broken." He pointed at the visor. "A?" "Something busted the main line, switch to the backup." He pushed a leaver near the visor, changing the batch of the fiber lines. The visor instantly lit up. "What the hell?!"Franticly she flipped through back, front and the sides. Neither earth, nor the moon was anywhere in sight. But that's impossible! She scanned the stars looking for any familiar shapes or set navigation points. Not even the far away constellations looked right. "Impossible! We... we jumped?!" Her ears dropped. A nightmare of every space traveler, a jump through hyperspace without any set destination, straight into unknown. "Seems so." Unwillingly, Arpad confirmed. His voice was dull, yet somewhat peaceful. M'raava run through various scenarios in her head. Experience and military training calmed her. "How long?" She asked, trying to recall what she knew about the UCV. "Five days on pure oxygen. Two, three weeks if we get the air scrubbing systems working." He read from a note riddled with various calculations. It surprised her, she felt nothing. She just heard she had days, maybe weeks of life left and not even her ear twitched. Strange, she always though such news would brake her yet she sat there unmoved, cold as ice. "We won't starve, the cargo's full of food but we're low on watts. The shield's eating what left of our fuel cell, as of now it's on eighty percent and dropping. Probably won't hold if we hit something big. The system turned off all it could but we still lack about two hundred watts to get the life support working and at least ten times as much if we wanna try any long range communication."Arpad finished flipping through his notes. "Fubar..."She sigh closing her eyes. Mom, dad, I'm sorry. "Don't give up yet honey, I've got an idea. Come." Kicking against the console, he pushed himself back into the passenger compartment, M'raava followed. They stopped near the airlock doors, Arpad cheeked the pressure gauge then opened the first hatch and flown in. M'raava paused by the door, starring at the wall. It was... dented. Something smashed pretty hard against it. Goddess... The wall, it... "It's better not to think about it." Arpad's voice made her shudder, he saw what she was studding. "Did we?" Her paws were trembling. "Yes. The ship jumped when we got up, the physics did the rest. The safety field just couldn't take it, we hit the wall pretty bad." He fiddled with a fake wall inside the airlock, it's lock gave up exposing an emergency stockroom. 40 "How?"M'raava's large terrified eyes met his gaze. It was impossible, they should be dead by now. Arpad unbuttoned his shirt, beneath... "Impact armor?" He nodded. "It saved me more than once but i never thought it's cat-proof."He forced a smile, it wasn't a pleasant memory. He hit the wall so hard, his whole world went black, milliseconds later she rammed into him, his body cushioning her fall. It was a miracle he hasn't broke any ribs, his whole chest still hurt. Damn, they were so lucky. His armor exhausted the whole charge, the battery got literary cooked and that's something difficult. It takes about six direct hits with those pre-war, old RPGs to discharge it... Better not to think about it. He calmed himself. "Well, take a look a this." He tapped at a small control pane, covered with discouraging warning sings. Emergency signal beacon, orbital use only. Huh? So what? M'raava mind was still occupied by that large dent in the ships wall. A small orbital probe, providing geolocation, weather reports and a comlink with orbiting ship for survivors in case a rescue party arrives. It's usually deployed just before landing if the planet is suitable. Here, out in nowhere, it was completely useless. Anyway, they didn't have enough power... "It has it's own power cell?! You think we could tap into it?" Excited, M'raava recalculated their chances. They were looking much ,much better now. "I'm more than certain, It's a standard point two gigawatt fuel cell. We can patch it through the auxiliary circuits, straight into the main backups." It sounded simple. "So where's the catch?"There's always a catch. If all brilliant planswere so simple, world would turn into a better place, like eons ago. "It's deployed by small blasting cap and a solid state rocket motor. It's gonna kick it pretty far away from the ship. Somebody has to go out and catch it before it'll fly away. I think it goes without saying, this might be a one way journey." Damn you Murphy's law... In a place like this anything can go wrong. And by saying anything, you mean anything. A swarm of micro meteors can turn you into Swiss cheese, your oxygen tank might fail, safety rope might snap, your suite can leak, you can forget to open the valve, your jetpack might run out of fuel or the darkness can snatch you... That was not uncommon, people often went insane just by staring into the wast, endless nothingness. They called it stare of doom. It can happen to anyone, anytime. You can not get used to it, you can not master it. It shuts down your body and locks your mind. Not many recover, it depends on the severity of the experience. It can go from simple panic attack to complete withdraw. "Is that necessary? Can't we access it from inside?"She asked already knowing the answer. "If you don't mind cutting through the plaiting..."Arpad shook his head, there was too much risk involved. It has to be done from the outside. "Okay, we've got the suits, we go out. What's then?" Let's hear his plan, She thought. Her own mind was too confused at the moment. "We'll blast it from the airlock. The ship should counter automatically so hopefully we won't start spinning. I'm not exactly sure how fast the beacon will move but we have approximately ninety seconds before it'll go out of the jetpack's range. Somebody have to catch it and stop it before that happens, then bring it back to the 41 ship..." One of rare qualities of vacuum is it's friction or lack of thereof. Throw a coin up and it will continue traveling up, endlessly maintaining it's speed until someone or something stops it. Though it also works the other way round, let your jetpack run out of fuel and you're done. You can hang an arm length away from your ship unable to reach it, there's nothing out there you can use to push yourself back to the ship. "I'll do it."M'raava slowly spoke, making him stop middle word. "You'll do it? " "I'm smaller and lighter then you also i have more than twenty thousand hours of flight experience on those." And every other flying crap stationed on the moon base, she thought. "If we are to maximize our chances, it has to beme." Arpad frowned, her reasoning seemed right. She was a pilot, who would be better suited than her? Besides, her S'hestir frame granted her some advantages. With less mass, fuel efficiency would be higher and the same oxygen tank gave her about fifteen to twenty percent more time compared to a human. There was no point arguing, It really made sense. "Fine, you'll do it." *** It was a small room. Plain and unappealing in it's utilitarian design of white walls and reinforced doors. What else is there to say about a brig? On a space of no more than twelve squaremeters three holding cells were set, each with its own set ofmassive steel bars, all in one toilet-sink and wall mounted, sleep-on-me-not cot. "Fuck, fuck, fuuuck! We're so fucked!"Sifer, possibly the smallest of the three, squealed banging his head against the wall. This time they've dunked into some really deep shit. "Yes, we've heard the first time. Mind you stop doing that already?"Kovalskey moisten his finger against his tongue than carefully flipped another page. The book he was reading seemed terribly worn out as if through years of use. It was a thick book yet not so old as its look suggested. It was the newest military rules and regulations cookbook. For some reason it seemed valuable to know what they're accusing you of while you accidentally end up in a military court. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Kovalskey sighed disappointed, the kid was rather stubborn. "Vladimir you try it, I've lost my hope in him." He changed another page. "Zavali yebalo..." Vladimir yawned from above of his round of solitaire, His cards seemed even older then his friend book. For some strange reason Vladimir's requests were usually honored quite instantly. "Thank you." Kovalskey spoke from below his lecture, it was a good book. Suddenly the main gate flung wide open and rather annoyed guard marched in, screaming. "Attin'hut!" Sifer seemed too terrified to move, Vladimir sighed and dealt another card while Kovalskey rustled changing another page, it was well audible in the resulting silence. All in all, the trio ignored the order. "At ease, thank you corporal. I'll handle the rest." The laud sounding dismissal gathered their attention, especially while it made their guard turn darker shade of his usual annoyed purple. Whatever was able to set him off like that was worth some attention, Kovalskey looked up from his cot. 42 "I'll be darn..."He put down his book. The presence of M'raava's aide, First Lieutenant Peter Jackson did not signal any bright prospects for their future. He was her personal lap doggy, usually doing all the dirty work. Vladimir raised his eyebrow, now they really were fucked. "Hello ladies, been a while hasn't it?" He smiled, the trio winced remembering the last time he dealt with them. "And here i thought you'll be happy to see me. Bit disappointing i must say. Anyway, the reason I'm here is because i have a proposal for you. Two days ago a grid of our long range scanners detected an unidentified object nearing our solar system with extremely high velocity, as of today it is possible that it was a false positive caused by some fluctuations in the scanners network. However until we are sure, all defenses are on top alert." He took a deep breath which was quite unusual since he often made an expression of being able to talk without breathing. "However an incident has took place, an UCV carrying on board colonel M'raava has been declared missing short after liftoff. Possibly due to a malfunction in its warp drive..." "That's heavy..."Sifer whistled. Such a malfunction usually resulted in either a big boom or unguided space-jump, both equally deadly. Peter silenced him with a stare and continued. "Our sensors have not detected any subspace explosions and based on all our tracking data, entry conditions, drive type, available energy and jump survivability a list of some possible exit coordinates granting the highest chance of survivalwas calculated." He unbuckled his shirt pocket and presented a square navi-disk. "Unfortunately since base currently cannot delegate any resources... Computer, emergency lock release! Verification code..." He spat out a long line of scrambled numerals. "Verification rejected. Access den-n-n-n-ied!" The artificial female voice stuttered then suddenly the main lights went out and emergency sings flashed red. The cells locks disengaged. "I've spoke with the old man, you've got seventy two hours. After that you either find them or report back." "And say if we don't?" Kovalskey came closer and took the disk from his hand. "You're officially AWOL, the safety codes you've received will expire within seventy one hours fifty nine minutes and ten seconds. You better not miss it..." *** M'raava tugged at the golden buttons slowly stripping off her uniform. She yawned, the ship's watch showed Monday morning. They've spend last twelve hours going over the details again and again until it sunk deep into her mind. She could replay each step and procedure they though up without looking at the wall, almost completely covered with plans and schematics they've painted. The plan, a product of their hours long mind storm, have taken a seemingly acceptable form and covered most probable outcomes as well as few improbable ones and a happy go lucky one... Sigh, She scratched her side. As much as she loved the hourglass figure the skirt's corset gave her, her back and her ribs were killing her now. She should have taken it off yesterday, before going to sleep. After they settled on the details, they've agreed 43 to rest. A hungry and tired body can do more damage then hordes of most cunning enemies. It was a good choice, she felt better now, warmer inside... Or maybe that was just the effect of the emergency ration tube she just sucked out dry? Never mind that, first thing first! She yanked at the corset's zipper, apparently stuck with her fur, and hissed. The damn thing pulled out few hairs but finally surrendered. With a sigh of pure ecstasy, she unzipped her skirt. "Thank Goddess..." She rubbed her sides and stretched her back. At long last, her waist size as well as her breathing, returned to normal. Undoing the tailflap, she pushed her dress down and shook it off her leg. She would have done that yesterday, just like she got rid of her heels, but some modesty forbid her from doing so. After all she was traveling with a human, an outranking officer and to make matters worst, it was That human. Something made her turn and see if Arpad wasn't peeking. What a though... Hilarius! Never the less, she moved bit deeper into the airlock and unbuttoned her shirt, from time to time eying the cockpit hatch. Well, he might have... She sigh, what was she thinking? It sounded almost as if she wished he would peek on her. Poor kitty, you have banged your head too hard, she told herself staring at her own breast. The fancy push up bra gave her at least onemore size to her cleavage. She poke them with her paws, the view was impressive. Her wardrobe would definitely benefit from a few more bras like this one, she noted and reached for the clip. Unhooking it, she took off the bra and carefully stored it in a small locker, hoping he won't find it. Now, all what left were her thongs. Theoretically there was no need for those in a space suit or even they might end up being in the way if she would require any of the suit other capabilities but, for the first time in her life, she felt somewhat reluctant to remove them. Murmuring annoyed at herself, she pulled them off an quickly tugged them in alongside her bra. If she were bit more careful, she would noticed the thongs were clearly see-through in places where she moisten them. Naked, she reached for the suit. It was nothing like the old bulky space suits. These were the newest one piece, rapid on, Titan-Five suits. Based on re-engineered alien technology, made of a fabric so strong it wasn't cut but simply molded into it's shape under tremendous heat and pressure. Five millimeters thick suit of that fabric provided a protection comparable with about fifty feet of bunker-grade, reinforced concrete and all this under a mere twenty pounds of weight. She opened the suit's back and hoisted herself inside, warping her tail around her waist. It wasn't very comfortable but for a while, she could manage. She put her arms into the sleeves and fit the helmet over her head then closed the suit back lid. The autolock mechanism initiated itself, sealing and pressurizing the suit. With a hiss it molded itself around her. "Testing, testing, can you hear me?" "Laud and clear colonel." Arpad's voice beamed from her headset. Hissing, she readjusted the volume to a s'hestir tolerable levels. "The suit's locked and sealed. Running overpressure test... Test complected at one point seven oh one ATM, pressure stable. Running self diagnostic. All systems fine." "Roger that. Be there in a while." M'raava depressurized her suit and opened the visor, there was no point in wasting oxygen waiting. "Ok, the weather seems fine. No space junk, dust clouds or meteors within our 44 scanner range and as much as i can tell we are stationary. If were gonna do it, I think we should do it now." Arpad flown out of cockpit, wearing a similar suit. He stopped at the airlock entrance and studied her, his face concerned. "You're sure about this?" He asked, She answered with a nod. "Ok then, let's do this." He helped her on their only jetpack, checked if all the tools were secured, checked their suits then they did a dry run without blasting the beacon then finally, refilled their tanks and took their places in the airlock. M'raava at the outer doors, Arpad deeper at the controls. "Ready?" "Yeah." "Blasting in three, two, one..." There was no explosion, just a mild and distant thung that made the UCV shudder. More or less she was ready for this, she waited till the UCV countered then, like and unwinding spring she shot out of the airlock, the throttle pressed full open. The beacon showed up exactly where they thought it will, left of the airlock and already two hundred yards away. She took a lock on, her HUD instantly adding markers and displaying estimated distance. It was quickly flying away however it's speed was constant while M'raava still accelerated. Focused on the little white dot she squeezed out whatever she could form her jetpact, trying not to think about the mad rate at which it burned through its fuel. Ninety five percent, ninety two, ninety, eighty nine, eighty eight... It was around eighty percent when she matched the beacon's speed but she let it drop past seventy five before she let go of the throttle. So far so good, she was approaching it with a steady nine meters per second, holding a hook in her hand, when she noticed something. "FUCK!" She cursed adjusting her speed. "The damn thing's rotating!" In all of their planning they've mislooked this one. It was a spin stabilized beacon. "Ignore it. It will stop when you decelerate. Just hook it up and mind your hands, the teether will hold. You've got forty seconds left!" Gritting her teeth she catch up with the beacon and positioned herself just behind it. She could see the eye on the side of revolving satellite, now just to time her arm... The eye and the hook meet while the momentum yanked it out of her paws. Gotcha! She squeezed the throttle, switching to counter thrusters. The safety line painfully tugged at her harness but didn't snap. It worked, she was slowing down! "Deacceleration completed at eighty nine seconds." Arpad announced when she came to relative stop. She released the throttle and let the stabilizers do the rest. She caught it, they were half there. She looked at the fuel gauge, forty seven percent, not much of a safety margin. It was even less then she thought. Did they made a mistake? They've calculated the fuel consumption several times, considering every possible variant off beacon size, speed, mass and model. The took in the account the type of blastingcap and the size of the solid state rocket. They've checked, several times, each others calculations. There was no way they could fuck this up, unless... Her eyes found the beacon serial numbers, it was one of the earlier models, decommissioned long ago, almost twice as heavy ans the ones currently used. They've failed. "Everything's fine? M'raava? Speak to me. What's going on?" Arpad voice echoed in her headphones. He was no more than a distant dot of blinking warning 45 lights. Heck, she wouldn't even noticed him without the tracking marker. Her body was shivering, her heart rumbled inside her chest. She read the distance, two thousand one hundred sixty nine meters. "Colonel please respond. Colonel? Dammit M'raava! Stop fucking around and say something!" He watched her through the ship telescope, she floated motionless, tethered with the beacon. "I... I'm not gonna make it." Her voice was weak, no more then a whisper. Arpad relaxed, she was alive! "What the fuck are you talking about! We run through this, we crunched the numbers. Stop fucking around and get back in here!" She did not respond, all he could hear was her wheezing breath. Dammit! Wait a second... You moron! He slapped his forehead and toggled his screen to her readings. Her EEG was off the chart, same with her heartbeat and breathing. Fuck, if she won't stop hyperventilating, she's gonna burn through her oxygen tank within minutes. A warning beeped up, elevated ammonia levels, great, just great. Poop went her bladder... "Fuck it." He hacked into her suit override, scanning for injector controls. Well, she was in shock, wasn't she? He pushed confirm, her suit calculated the dosage and jabbed her hip, pumping in the sedative. It was instantaneous, her breathing and heart rate dropped right after the injection though her EEG, although back into nominal parameters, was showing up lots of irregularities. She was stoned. Well, could've been worse... "Wake up soldier! What the fuck are you doing maggot! Who told you you can rest?! Bring that piece of junk over here! Move it, move it!" Arpad screamed at the top of his voice, ordering M'raava around. His drill segregant would've been proud hearing him and seeing the proficiency at which he jammed orders into her, keeping her constantly occupied. "Sir! Yes, Sir!" She screamed back, her hands working on their own. "You call that flying!? My grandma would do better!" "Sir! Yes Sir!" Fuck! She ain't gonna make it. There was not enough fuel for it, or to be more precise, she won't have any fuel left to stop. Gaining speed in space wasn't a big deal, losing it? That was interesting. She already burned almost all what she had left on simple corrections. "Good, now keep it steady soldier! Keep it steady!" He grabbed a gun shaped object and crawled out of the airlock. "Sir! Yes Sir!" M'raava answered, carefully working the throttle, unaware of her empty fuel tank. The jetpack run dry. C'mmon honey, just a bit! Held on the outer bulk of UCV by a strong magnetic shoes and three safety lines, Arpad raised the grappling hook and aimed. C'mmon, make it close, make it close. He had only five hundred feet of wire attached to the magnetic hook. "Bring it nice and steady soldier!" He could see her already without zooming in, she was coming dead onto the UCV. Now! He squeezed the trigger, sending the hook at the beacon's center. It slammed against it silently and sticked there. Seconds later, M'raava zoomed past him. What happened later was so brief none off them could clearly recall. Tho, Arpad had never forgot those giant sparks coming out of the grappling gun while its brakes 46 burned. Scared he let it go, thankfully it was chained to his harness. It yanked him off the bulk and snap two of his safety lines. Floating in space, he cursed. "Never! Fucking! Again! I'm gonna board one of those!" He grabbed his last safety line and pulled himself back into the airlock then started reeling in the wire. At its other end M'raava dangled, chained with the beacon. *** There are mornings and there are mornings. One of those you wished to last forever and one of those, more common, pray it never happens again mornings. M'raava suspected it was one of those more common ones as she woke up with a mother lode of all headaches. She groaned. "Why, morning colonel. Hope you had a nice dream coz we're still stuck in this fucking damn thincan." Arpad welcomed her with a wide grin. He was back in his uniform, currently pulverizing the contest of a military ration. M'raava sniffed detecting a faint trace of chicken curry but apart from that, the air was clean. Its quality significantly improved over the past few hours. M'raava's ears twisted, she caught the faint murmuring of air filters doing their job. "We did it?" She asked squinting her eyes. "Yes, you did it. You caught the damn thing and brought it back and you did it with a surgical precision, you missed the ship by only three feet but never fucking again you dare to scare me like that! Under-fucking-stood!?" He screamed at her, threating her with his fork, making her ears drop and her tail puff out. His reaction was at least awkward. Silent she studied him. He was irritated, she could sense that, it was oozing from him. Their situation improved, he should be happy but he's mad why would he? Because he cares. Something from deep inside answered her. What a silly thought, why would he care? They've just meet, well they had some fun together and that mind blowing kiss could have some meaning behind it but would he really... a human... "I was low on fuel, there was no way the jetpack would make it with that payload. How did i stop?" She asked, her headache intensifying. "I've caught you with the grappling hook, you've fainted when it stopped you. I pulled you out of the suit,hope you don't mind." He gave her a quick look, finishing off his ration. "Not really. Thank you." She rubbed her hip, it stung. He had put her in the emergency mylar bag and tied her to the wall. It was quite comfortable and covered her from neck to toes though, she would use something else then duck tape to secure it round her neck. The duck tape had a nasty habit of pulling out her fur. "..." He murmured something. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand." He Looked at her, how could she... Ah, those ears. He relaxed and leaned back in his seat. "I'd be surprised if you did, it was Hungarian. Just don't mind it, it's a bad habit of mine." "Bad habit a?" She chittered. "I too have one of those..." And a drawer full of chewed out pencils. A, that reminded her, if they ever make it back, she have to pester Peter for more of those scented wood, chewing sticks. Soft peach was pretty good. 47 "Hungry?" He nod at the crate of emergency rations secured in a chair next to him. Her belly growled. "I'll take that as yes, Garfield." He laughed. "Why you human!" She hissed at him, being compared to some old cartoon! "I'm not fat! And i don't sleep whole day!" "And you are much better built, those are quite nice assets." He made a suggestive gesture with his hands. "Hey!" "Well, pardon me colonel but I ain't telling lies. Anyway, what do you want? We have chicken curry, mashed potatoes, rice with vegetables, teriyaki beef, salsa. Well i advise you start from those you least like and work your way up." "Blah, I'm not that desperate. I would never forgive myself if we were rescued before I'll reach my favorite." She rustled inside her bag then using her claws, cut out two holes for her arms and put them through. "That's handy, a built in scissors." Arpad watched her carefully. She grinned at him and unbuckled herself from the wall then pushed away, aiming at the rations box. That did not end well, the bag hindered her movement and she ended up heading, butt first, towards Arpad's face. "Gottcha." He caught her and put her on his lap. "Do that again and I'll start thinking you do it on purpose." "Pff, humans ain't my type. Now, where's my chicken?" She slide off his lap and buckled herself in the next seat. "Sigh, you broke my heart. Here you go." He handed her already steaming ration. "Self heating? Nice. It seems you've got some good points, i like men who can cook although, I didn't know spooks have hearts." "Oh, we do have them. We lock them in our desks at work, so they won't bother us while we heartlessly censor your emails before some third grade journalist publish them." "You read peoples mail?!" M'raava froze with a fork in her mouth. "Nah. It's all done by computers." That relaxed her a bit. "Well on the other hand , if it's full of spicy details about your sex life, we read it out laud." That almost choke her, she cough out large chunk of meat and stared at him. "Hey, hey! Why the scary face? I'm just kidding. True, we have to check everything that goes in or out of the base but it's done with full secrecy and you know that. Nothing leaves the desk of the one whose reading it, it's not worth it. You'd get a court marshal and a bullet in the head if it did." He considered her expression, it was hard reading those people but it was visible she was unsettled. "Fine, better change the subject. While you were having you lovely cat-nap, I've connected the fuel cell and run few tests. Life support is fully working now and if we believe our navi unit, we should be somewhere between Earth and Andromeda so it's not that bad considering we have a colony there. They might even pick us up on their sensors." Well it raised their chances,M'raava thought licking out the remaining sauce from her ration. "What?" She asked, Arpad stared at her in that special way people sometimes 48 stared at her while she used her tongue. "Oh, nottin." He smiled and looked away. Funny, she got a lot of that especially when she ate popsicles. Life of a space castaway isn't very exiting. Apart from waiting there's not much else to do so, they waited. They ate. They slept then they ate some more and then slept some more. After they got too bored to sleep, they talked. They talked about work, about life, about themselves about the future and the past. About her family, aboutArpad's Hungarian family, a noble family. The time flown lazily and it strangely pleased her. Maybe because she was with him? After those few days it became apparent there's at least some sparkling between them. M'raava wondered, they've been avoiding a certain subject all the time. "Say, do you find me attractive?" They could die any moment, why shouldn't she ask? "Huh? Is that a tricky question? Why do you ask?" "I'm just curious. I never really put much care in that mater but please, tell me, as a human being, what do you think of me? Do you find me attractive?" Arpad frown, he didn't expect something like this. "Oh, just forget I've asked..." "No, I don't mind." He looked at her. "What do I make of you? You're a smart and attractive woman. The fact that you're a S'hestir makes a relationship only more interesting." "More interesting? Well, from what I've heard most people call such relationships disgusting, we're considered animals after all." "Nah. You shouldn't listen to that kind of babble, especially when more then sixty percent of humans have a thing for felines and it haven't changed for ages. Besides, more than two third of all porn circulating through the Internet is currently S'hestir related. On our base, for obvious reasons, I'd say it's even more than that. So yes, I find you attractive." "Hmm, If you put it that way... I have one more question. That time, after the party... Was it because we were drunk or..." Annoyed, Arpad closed her lips with a kiss. A long and deep kiss. It left her speechless. "Did I satisfy your curiosity?" He spoke holding her chin, his nose an inch from her nose. With closed eyes M'raava slowly run her tongue around her lips, tasting their kiss. "Not sure," She finally spoke, looking into his eyes. "Mind you elaborate on your answer?" Smiling, Arpad pressed their lips together again,M'raava embraced him, her claws digging into his vest. Finally their lips parted. M'raava shivered, that was impossible! She wanted more! Her body was yearning for this human, she was dripping wet and all that just from a kiss?! That was improper and unrealistic but it was happening. Good goddess, M'raava girl, what did you pack yourself into? Her conciseness set off all warning sings. "Um, c-colonel, I believe it is highly inappropriate to continue in our current sstate. The shock we've receivedmight be impairing our judgment." She tried to escape from his grasp yet he just pulled her in even stronger. "And what if i decide to continue? Will you oppose? Will you defend yourself?" He whispered into her ear. She already knew the answer, her body was screaming it 49 for her. She had no rule over it. "No..."She said softly. Covering her breast with her arms, M'raava shyly floated in the cabin. She had never felt like this before, so bare, so exposed. Arpad stripped her and now he was openly staring at her body, running his fingers through her fur, his fingertips gently stroking her skin. "You're beautiful." He pet her neck with his index finger until a steady rumble filled the air. M'raava' ears dropped, she was ashamed how easily he made her purr. Why does he look at her like that?! Why does it feel so strange, so good... She shivered when he brushed his face against her chest, holding her with his arm. Arpad inhale deeply, the smell of her, the smell of her fur... So wonderful. Their eyes meet, gently he pushed her arms away, exposing her erected nipples, all the while looking into her eyes. Shyly, she looked away. Interesting. He have heard lot about s'hestirs and their mating rituals tho, no one mention them being shy. Far from it. Smiling, he sucked onto her pink nipple. "Ai! Don't bite! They're very sensitive." Gently, she pushed his head away. "Should I stop then?" He threaten. "No!" She guided his head back to her chest, running her paws through his hairs while his tongue dance with her nipple. It was interesting tho she wanted something more, something more direct but should she ask? He was a human after all, What should she do? Suddenly she gasped, something brushed her, tickling her private lips. Arpad's fingers toyed with her entrance, his fingers hunting fro her pleasure button. "Sah!" She jumped in his grip, it was so sudden, so different from the touch or her paws. "Something's wrong?" Cautious, he stopped. "Wrong? No. Just different." She warped herself around him, Face to face. "It's good. Quite good." She started another kiss, her tongue pressed against his lips and slipped in. The kisses she enjoyed, a silly human thing that felt quite good. Pop, pop, pop. One by one she unbuttoned his shirt, clipping its buttons off one by one with her claws instead of unhooking them. Returning the kiss, Arpad rubbed her back, enjoying the shape of her rump. It felt so good as if it was made to be caressed. His hand slide beneath her tail, she was ready!? Breaking the kiss he looked into her eyes, a secret desire was burning inside them. She wanted, so fast... But how should they do it? On earth the gravity did most of the job but here? As if reading his mind, M'raava floated away and anchored herself on first seat, exposing her butt. He was hard already, she remembered the bulge she felt in his pants but now, the pinkness of her exposed sex made him even harder, almost painful. "Well? Ain't you gonna claim it?" She wagged her butt. Smiling, Arpad pulled off his pants and tossed them away. Freed from its caged, his member rise up, swollen to the point where all its veins became visible. A thought crossed his mind, he stayed in his vest and put back on the velcro shoes. "Careful what you wish for." He said grabbing her butt from behind and spread her pussy lips with his fingers. Her juices leaked out in bubbles, unable to drip on the ground they sticked to her fur. She looked almost like a woman down there, possibly bit tighter then average human female and her lips were better concealed but a woman she was. 50 "Oh, i wish for a big, hot boner sticked right in here..." She pat herself, splashing her juices all around. Weightless sex was always messy. "As you wish." Her pressed his shaft against her entrance and slide in, making her hiss in pain. M'raava bite the seat, digging her claws in. Great mother of all fuck, he was huge! He filled her all the way in and stretched her to her limits yet, there was still more. And K'sita did that every day?! Fuck! She groaned through her teeth, panting heavily, her body was at the edge of breaking. Arpad stopped, she was tighter then he thought, this might be a trouble. He waited awhile, she was burning hot inside, possibly due to her higher body temperature. Stroking her back tenderly, he spoke. "I'm gonna move a little..." He pulled out half way then sunk back in and again... M'raava clenched her teeth, she felt like screaming. With each stroke he rammed her faster and faster... Suddenly she found herself slamming her own butt against him, unaware when the pain had vanished. Apparently her muscles have adjusted, allowing him to slide in and out almost effortlessly. Again the air was full of her purrs and her cries of pleasure were filling the air. Arpad grit his teeth, her body felt amazing, he might not least any longer. Suddenly her muscled clenched, trapping him inside while her walls contracted, pulsating, milking his stick. Arpad came, unloading his hot semen deep inside her. It seemed there was no end to their unified orgasm. Sweating allover and panting like a dog, Arpad finally pulled out of her. That was insane, his whole mind almost got blown away and there was no end to it! Her pulsating muscles kept him at the edge for all this time! He looked at her, her pussy was still twitching, spiting out her juices mixed with his cum. Finally she settled down and opening her eyes she turned around, facing him. "Morrrrrre!"Was all she said. There was no escape, she jumped, warping herself around him, anchoring her claws deep in his vest. Thank gods he had it on, he felt her claws raking at the bulletproof fabric. She pressed her rump against him, her secret mouth swallowing him in on gulp. Riding him in this mad ride, she altered her pace and technique, changing the depth of her strokes, the angle, the speed... Arpad scowled, she made them cum again, then again. There was no end to it. Her body sucked him dry and when he had nothing left to unload, she still rode him. After about three hours that seemed like whole eternity for him, M'raava finally settled down, pressing herself against him. Overtaken by pleasure she haven't noticed when Arpad, with a shaking hand, reached for his pen and she couldn't even feel the needle jab while he pressed it against her neck. A hidden piston worked squeezing out the drug. They had some fun, now was time for some work and hopefully, some answers. *** "Nier a'sharr Ma'raa." Soft whisper tickled her ear, M'raava pulled herself closer, anchoring her clws in Arpad' vast. "Hrth." She snorted. "Been a while since I've heard that." She answered, her purrs still rumbling in the air. "Was it? Hard to believe after what you just shown me. " Arpad smiled, she was a one horny pussycat. What a treat he got himself... Well, she left him sore here and there but it was worth it. 51 "Most people these days use simplified English. You'd be surprised how many s'hestirs can't even spell their own clan name. We've been assimilated, I think. Anyway, where did you learned that? A?" Her tail warped around their bodies kept them together as they floated in the cabin. "Y'hhra Shessrr fhrra's." "Showoff. Tho i didn't know they teach s'hestir in a cowshed." She chittered. "And here i though i was doing great. There goes the catch phrase." He sighed. "But surely, how do you know so much about us? You're not some kind of a fur-freak rapist? Are you ?" "God forbid. Work requirements. I can also speak German and some French although you don't hear those too often these days. Old languages are dying out alongside the old world. There's so few of us left these days that language diversity became a hindrance. Maybe that's better? The less divide us the stronger we stand." Arpad stared into empty space, mindlessly petting her back, just above her tailbase. It was strangely pleasing. "Fh'rras." She spoke, guiding his hand back to the spot where it felt best. "Y'hhra Shessrr fh'rras. Next time you should say "Y'hhra Shessrr fh'rras", unless you were indicating your teacher is a cow-udder." "Why thank you miss..." "Did you hear that?!" "Heard what?" "Shh!" She silenced him, her ears turning left and right. "Orange-honey-pot, orange-honey-pot, this is bad-boy-one, over... Orange-honeypot can you hear me?" A voice mixed with static flickering, ran through the cabin. Naked, bouncing off the walls, M'raava rushed to the radio. The same message repeated again and again, they were being hailed. She grabbed the mic. "This is orange-honey-pot! Bad-boy-one can you..." and then something clicked inside her head, her brain put two plus two together. She knew that voice. "KOVALSKEY!!" Maksymilian Kowalski yanked off his earphones and quickly turned down the volume. He rubbed his ear, Colonel's voice, if she wanted, could give a migraine even to a dead man. He flipped a switch opening a long range channel. "Moon base, calling moon base, this is bad-boy-one. We found the package, over." "Bad-boy-one this is moon base, we read you. What's the status?" "The package's safe and sound,"Very sound, it was still ringing in his ears. M'raava's vocal chords were know from the broad spectrum they could produce, from extremely pleasurable soft near-purr whispering up to the suicide-inducing heavy noise she used while discipling her cadets. The felling was comparable with being squashed by a giant tombstone while myriads of old, grating cemetery gates played crescendo inside your brain. After such a peep-talk people could be easily divided between one of two types. Most common, I'm never doing it again type or less frequent, type of people that started carrying a pack of heavy-duty rubber earplugs, wherever they went. "Commencing extraction..." His left hand instinctively reached and felt his side pocket. Inside, a small plastic box held a pair of white earplugs. *** Arpad sunk back into his armchair, it was one of those things that grown on peo52 ple. Just like an old pair of shoes snugly fit over their wearer, the black leather seat welcomed him. It was old, dirty and falling apart, yet on the whole damn base there was nothing more comfortable. At least for him, over the years the armchair molded itself around his body. He was tired, his arm hurt like shit and he was irritated. Five days, he wasted five days on nothing. Well maybe not entirely, his fingers played with empty, labelless vial. Damn at least that worked. Somebody screwed up, they almost died. He pulled out his phone and send an empty message to an empty phone number. Most cellphones would not allowed such, however not this one. Arpad did not wait long, the phone rang just when he was about to put it away. "Yes, it's me. I'll live. Yes, the compound worked. Nothing. It's a dead end, she's clean. Fine. Can you check something for me? Who knew, i want the names... Fuck him, I want those names. Sound's good, I will" He closed the lid disconnecting. How the hell they knew he'll be there? Were they trying to get rid of her? No, she's irrelevant. She knows nothing, she's been nowhere... It was aimed at him and him only, he was supposed to disappear. "Bassza meg!" He slammed his fist against nearby table and winced, the arm was killing him. It was probably the high time to take care of it, the ambulatory was down the corridor anyway. He got up and paused, M'raava... Her dossier lied open on the table, her blue eyes shined at him from her photos. Slowly, he closed her file. Arpad had one golden rule, never mix work with his private affairs. Up to this day his interest in her was purely professional but now, she was clean. There was no need for further investigation. He picked up the documents and shoved them back into the safe, double cheeking the lock before he left. Relaxed, he strolled down the corridor, into the med-bay. She was off the list and away from the interest of his department. It was quite possible their paths will never cross again, even working on the same base. He grinned, since it was like that, maybe it was time to show her some private interest? Maybe, he smiled, maybe. *** Desperate not to blink, M'raava stared into the blinding brightness. Her heart raced pumping blood ful of adrenalin, she was terrified. God pleas no, please no... She prayed silently. "Look up please. Good, now to the left. Good, and to the right... Ok, that's it. You can blink now." Doctor Jean Atteri scribed something it the files, browsing through M'raava's medical records. "Well, let's see colonel. The scans show no internal damage, the lungs are clean, heart's fine, blood tests are fine, no signs of the fever..." She paused and gaveM'raava a strange smelling white stick. "Can you please chew on this? Good. What else..." She studied the form, ticking off points here and there. "The patient is responsive... Who the heck designed those forms... Hmmm, minor damage to the retina..." M'raava shivered, so it was true. "Iz, Iz shomthing ong 'ith my eyez?" "Well i can see some irritation here and there also you probably suffered a mild concussion, it would explain that temporary blindness... Oh, relax big scarily cat! 53 I'm not gonna take your license, its nothing your body wont handle on it's own." M'raava sighed with relive and quickly smoothed her erected tail fur. That puffing out, annoying fifth limb, was sometimes more embarrassing than blushing. "To be on the safe side take two of these once a day. It should speed up the recovery and strengthen the blood vessels in your eyes. You can give me that already." She took the stick before M'raava could bite it in half, it's end turned dark blue. "And as perceived the saliva test came negative. As much as I'm concerned you're fine but just in case I'll keep you here over night plus judging by the elevated levels of your hormones, i think a week off should do you good colonel. Now if you please go through that door, there's a bed ready in the lab." M'raava slide off the exam table and shuffled along to the airlock. A box of horse size pills and a week off... It could have been worse, she tried to convince herself. Crap, she rubbed her eyes. It was dark in here and her night vision was still screwed since the accident, the muddish red fog covered the whole room. She sighed and waded towards something she hoped, was the aforementioned bed. Being as naked as her kind can be, she let herself drop on the bed. It made a laud Ough! "Mi a cafrangos nyavaja!? Who the fuck..." Arpad's hands grabbed chunks of fur, apparently growing all over the attacker. "M'raava?" With ears dropped, her blue eyes met his in I'm so terribly sorry glance. What the fuck was goin on?! What is this place and why the hell was he naked?! Wait a second, last thing he remembered was the medbay, Jean patching up his arm and - he wasn't sure - something pricked his neck... He pushed M'raava away and slammed the intercom with his fist. "You fucking bitch! You drugged me! What the hell do you think you're doing!" He barked at the comm box. "Tsk,tsk, tsk. Is that how you thank your friend?" Jean toggled the cameras until she got a better view. Arpad was cursing her back up to the fifth generation, accenting each sentence with a punch on the intercom. She sighed, so predictable. "Pofa be!" She ordered, Arpad shut up instantly. Over the years she learned cursing in every single language humans used. It wasn't very hard, not when you had to deal with suffering people. It's amazing what they can come up with when you show up carrying a large rectal probe. "Now if you please listen. Both of you have been through some quite significant trauma and even if you can't feel it, your bodies need some time to recover. Also there is a slight possibility that you may have contracted the scratching fever. The chances are very low however due to the fact that this disease can remain dormant for generations until given proper conditions, it's still a possibility. Since both of you've been slack on statutory vaccination renew, this makes you both a threat to the base and planetary safety. As a base medical officer i can not ignore such threat. You'll be detained for the duration of the statutory quarantine period so please act like reasonable adults and use this time to rest. By the way, the lab is sealed and the comm network disabled in case you got some brilliant ideas. Also, after the beep, I'm gonna totally ignore your presence. Beeeeeep!" She turned off the comlink and silenced the speakers. On the screen Arpad silently screamed, waving his fists at the cameras. Jean got up, her stomach was growling. It was time for a snack. "Dögölj meg!" With one final punch Arpad smashed the comm box, venting his 54 anger. Quarantined... "Fuck!" He dropped back on his bunk, it was pointless. They were stuck in there. "Sorry..." M'raava whispered, her ears dropped. She felt guilty, it partially was her fault they were here. If she had kept her cool on that ship, they wouldn't be here. On the other hand, she grinned, if she had stay cool some things might have never happened. Quite pleasurable things. In a bit better mood, with her hands outstretched, she waded through the thick red mist. Where the heck was that second bed? She was sure she smelled some fresh beddings from this direction. Probably just few more steps... She shrieked. "Wha..." Arpad gazed at her and froze. It seemed as if he saw the whole scene in slow motion. In the other end of the room M'raava's body became airborne. She tripped over a stool and plunged face first toward the ground,madly flapping her arms. Her claws grabbed a shelf, that slow her down but did not stop her. The cheap plastic rack tightly packed with laboratory glassware, soon followed her in the journey to the floor, spraying the room with glass shrapnel. "Good grief... M'raava?!" Something yelped from under the plastic rack. "Just don't move, there's glass all over the floor!" Arpad sat up looking for his shoes. "Easy to say for ya..." She balanced on her knees, her fur puffed up. Thank goddess the empty rack wasn't that heavy. Arpad reached beneath his bed and opened a small cupboard. It was empty. "That whore! She took my clothes! Tolvaj ribanc!" The floor was glittering with small, deadly sharp diamonds. He looked around, there's gotta be a way. Taking his bedsheets he tear off two large shreds, folded them and tightly warped around his feet then with the remaining part, he started clearing the path towards the catgirl. "Hope you're not going anywhere coz this gonna take a while..." "Ha... ha... ha... very funny." She froze in half push-up pose, her knees were killing her. "Better don't move that leg, there's a large chunk next to it." "Fuck!" "Told ya... You cut yourself?" "Don't know, can't see it. I think it's just a pinch, can't smell the blood. Mind you hurry up?" Her strained arms were sore and trembling. "You can't see it?" He stopped sweeping. Main lights were turned off, only the emergency exit sing was casting a dim blue light. Quite enough for him and his human eyes, but for her? It should have been no different then broad daylight, maybe colorless but quite bright. "It's temporary." But might become permanent if you don't hurry... She added in her mind. There was some vicious glittering in a place where her face might fall. "From the jump?" He had to assure himself, the compound's documented side effects were nausea, diarrhea and excessive sweating. But blindness? No definitely not. "Yeah." She sighed. "Jean says it could've been worse if i hadn't hit you." She forced a laugh, it didn't sound convincing. They've hit the wall at five hundred G, they'd be dead if not for his impact armor. It took most of the beating, they've got one tenth, maybe one twelfth of 55 it. Heck, it was design to sustain subsonic projectiles in repeated series and all other crap people can shoot or throw at you. The old Kevlar vasts were no match for it but he would never thought it can dampen a drop like that. They've made a nine inch deep dent in the wall, the bitch was right. If M'raava had missed him by a hair, her body would simply splatter all over the wall. "Okay, don't move." He put his left arm under her armpits and his right arm between her legs, then picked her. "Hey! Watch it! Where do you thing you're groping?!" "Huh? I don't know what your talking about, I'm just making sure you won't accidentally drop while i carry you." He grinned and carried her up to the air curtain and punched the switch with his elbow. The steady cold blow quickly swept away the fine glass dust from her fur. "Careful!" She hissed as he readjusted his grip. "You know, girls are sensitive there too..." "Youmean here?" Arpad pulled back his arm a bit,M'raava yelped. Now his palm, instead of resting on her belly was directly cupping her secret lips. He let his fingers play. M'raava wriggled in his arms a bit then hanging limply she surrendered, taking in all the pleasure. "Pervert, i should skin you for this." Her purrs were becoming lauder and lauder. He put her on the bed. "Well i think your body doesn't agree with you." His hand was flooded. "Should i stop?" He withdraw his fingers. "Don't even dare!" She grabbed his hand and pressed it back where it was. She even spread her legs wider apart, something seemed off. "Are you gonna do something with that piece of pork or should i?" "How did you..." His shaft was getting painfully hard, her reaction did not make it any easier. "I don't have to see it, i still can smell and hear it. Your heart is awfully laud and your male scent... " he saw her nose twitch. "I wonder... i always wanted to do that." Suddenly she grabbed his butt and pulled herself closer, his whole stick disappeared in one gulp. Arpad scowled, M'raava's head moved back and forth, her tongue dancing around him. She finally released him and chuckled as she carefully licked his tip. "Funny, it twitches inside." Arpad was breathing hard, the hell was that?! Her rasp tongue, her warm mouth, her razor sharp fangs... All was in there, the thrill, the pleasure. M'raava slowly licked him from the base up to the tip, then again she sucked his whole length in, her purrs thundered through the room. "Ow gods!" He screamed, grabbing her head. It felt as if his mind gonna explode any moment. "Ek-Khem!" Came from the intercom. M'raava froze, her mouth was full. "Before you continue, there are leather gloves and condoms in the box on the wall. I must insist, I don't feel like scrapping samples from all over my clean room. thank you..." "I'll go get it."Arpad volunteered, M'raava sighed and let it slowly slip out of her mouth. 56 *** M'raava's purrs vibrated in the silence that filled the room, it was amazing. She did it again, she slept with a human. The same human. Her body floated up and down in waves of his breaths, she could hear his heart racing in tact with her own heart. She never felt like that. It was... Good. Ow crap! No, not right now! No! She definitely wasn't thinking straight, her cycle... Her body was pumped up with hormones, endorphins and all that chemical mambo-jumbo that made you feel butterflies in your chest. This couldn't be love, could it? Love, love was a human term for and emotion design to justify lust and hardwired into human brain by the society. Her kind did not worked like that. For s'hestirs it was simpler, they met and bond if they liked, if they found trust. You take, you must give as the old ones said. But humans, humans just took. Was he just taking now or would he give back? Sex wasn't a problem, they did not perceive it as taboo, rather as a pleasant thing to do. It bound families, made them stronger. The only trouble was in timing. Once a year females were keen on choosing their partners more carefully, it was a sign of greatest trust to be chosen by one. She felt vulnerable, what would he do with such gift? You won't know until try, K'sita always told her. It might hurt if you choose poorly but it will hurt even more if you'll let the chance slip through your paws. Was this the chance K'sita was talking about? M'raava wasn't sure. However, her body longed, it felt the need. She gambled. "Say... would you... i can invoke a certain rule... once a year... I'm entitled to a week off with..." She swallowed. "With my designated mate" There, I said it. Now he's gonna weird out and run away. M'raava thought snuggling to his chest, praying not to hear the words he'll probably say. "Would you like me to?" He asked running his fingers up and down her spine. "Yes."Goddess only know how strongly she wished it. "Then I'd love to. Lharn h'rra sha6." He answered, planting half kiss-half lick, right behind her large fluffy ear. "Thank you." She whispered hugging him closely, Arpad winced, gritting his teeth. "Next time you're taking the damn gloves..." *** Jean slurped in another mouthful of instant noodles, sitting behind the reception desk. She liked her job, it was boring. Being the head of base medical division was the easiest job she has done so far. She was a trainee from the deep space, Jupiter quarantine division. Half of the stuff they dealt with in there was still classified and another half could give you nightmares for lifetime, after that everything seemed easy. "Dr. Jean Atteri?" Somebody knocked on the glass wall. "Yes?" She answered, poking in the white box with a pair of chopsticks. Some dried sauce sticked in the corner of her lips. "I'd wish to speak with colonel Apaffy." A civilian dressed in a plain gray tunic, popular amongst space travelers, stood in front of the desk. 6A phrase from the old Language, part of the mating ritual. Spoken by the male taking in a female in heat. Lit. I accept the Gift 57 "Colonel Apaffy? I'm sorry never heard of." She returned to her noodles. "It's strange i was told I'd find him here under your care." She casted another look at the stranger, this one longer then before, then in a theatrical fashion she leafed through the patients log, making sure he'll get a glimpse of each page she read. "Nope, there was no one with that name admitted within the past ten days. May i have your name Mr..." "Plain. Joe Plain." Oh sure, they all were plain. She have seen many of the like on Jupiter S-3 base. "May I inquire about current whereabouts of colonel Apaffy. Please?" Damn. There was level four clearance red visitor plate hanging round his neck. He had rights to know. Jean sighed putting down her snack and keyed in Arpad's name into the system, it buzzed and spat out few lines. "ColonelArpadApaffy has left for earth on December twelfth. He has yet to report from his holiday leave. Is there anything else i could assist you with Mr. Plain?" She glanced at him over her spectacles. "Yes, there is. May i speak with mis M'raava Shigieshtii?" He asked omitting M'raava's rank. "I'm sorry that is currently impossible, colonel Shigieshtii is being quarantined." Eat this! Clause eight of the interstellar safety regulation, no actions may be taken against subjects of quarantine until they being declared safe to the general public or until their disposal. "I see. Thank you." He left under the now more attentive eyes of security. Jean wondered, her remaining noodles were cold she thrown them into the trash can. Crap. She pulled out her phone and send an empty message to an empty phone number.