# Up on the moon.

Author: Elia
Tags: F/F, Feline, Future, Human, Love, M/F, Novel, Space

**Up on the moon.  
  
Elia Nemmar  
  
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  
great war. She didn't remember much of it even though her mecha's  
flight journal counted more 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 cryo-recovery pod with some tubing tucked deep  
into her nostrils and a rookie MED poking 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  
using mecha. 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.  
  
\*\*\*  
  
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 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-nine-seven-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 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 and MP  
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.  
  
"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.  
  

  "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 without misspelling 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 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 his mouth 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.  
  
"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 the maître d' up to her table. She marched 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 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  
the meat?  
  
"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 while M'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 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, pleasurable  
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 against  
M'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 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.  
  
"Very well 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 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 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'm sorry but have we met 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.  
  
"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 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...  
  

  "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 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-you-thank-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 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 behind M'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 unnaturally wide  
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 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 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 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 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 that M'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. More males 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.  
  
"Two..." THUM-THUM-THUMP! It seemed to go even faster.  
  
"Three..." THUM-DA-THUM-DA-THUMPP! That bed will not hold much  
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 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  
to make 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 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 doorknob M'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 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, before we 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. 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...[footnote:  
 All Souls Night Lyrics by Loreena McKennitt.  
]  
  
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 in  
M'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 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  
understand me..." 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.[footnote:  
One Last Time by James Onohan  
]  
  
"Care for a dance colonel?" Arpad walked 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..."She mumbled. 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 p-pleas." 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.  
  
"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.  
  
\*\*\*  
  
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 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-5[footnote:  
 Standard Anti Toxin, 5 mg.  
] 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 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.  
  
"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 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 unresolved matters 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 from the 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 confined space were not exactly  
eardrums-friendly.  
  
"Meg?rültél 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 arm in a way a  
scardycat would 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  
around Arpad'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.[footnote:  
All-Purpoe-Injection, Human type  
]  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,4cc[footnote:  
All-Purpoe-Injection, S'hestir type.  
]. 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 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. 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.  
  
"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  
plans were 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 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 be me." 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 square meters  
three holding cells were set, each with its own set of massive  
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.  
  
"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 survival was  
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 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 one more  
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 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 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 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.  
  
"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 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, about Arpad'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 s-state. The shock we've received might 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 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.  
  
"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.  
  
"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-honey-pot 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 people. 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 gave M'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! 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 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 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..."  
  
"You mean 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.  
  
\*\*\*  
  
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 sha[footnote:  
A 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  
]." 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.  
  
"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.  
  

  "Colonel Arpad Apaffy 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.**  
    
  
 

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/Rm0YO5Qn