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The Orca

We had found ourselves in the aftermath of the first major confrontation between the humans and the Orca race. We had won, and destroyed many of their ships, and the others had retreated. Our spacecraft had been one of many sent to resupply the warships, but most that had survived were in good enough condition to make their way back home. Only a handful had remained in the area, to participate in search and rescue. We had a full cargo of supplies, and a three-man crew, but little armament to speak of. Our drive system wasn't too bad, however, as we were meant to provide emergency support, on the front line if need be. We had armor, too.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, our primary mission was no longer necessary. Even with our advanced metadrive technology, it took us a good three days to arrive. As we have never had a direct altercation this large before, it was difficult to tell exactly how much in way of resources we would need, and how long this would play out. As more of their ships arrived and the battle dragged on for days, political and military concerns at Command were ready to commit what ever it took, even if it would set back our global GDP to levels seen over a decade ago. Everyone knew the stakes were high, and we needed to show the local cluster that we meant business.

We were new at this game, but so were the Orca. It was true that over twenty years ago we had cooperated to a certain extent to shatter the threat of the Zenith. However, our differences proved to be too great for us to coexist. Further, although we had-- between us-- discovered a handful of other alien species, they were merely anthropological curiosities. They were not worth the capital to maintain trade relations, much less the military presence necessitated by the mutual antagonism and political posturing between the two relative intersolar superpowers.

We were surprised by their seemingly immediate grasp of our language. They are xenolinguistics experts, due to their proximity to other intelligent races, they would listen in on the electromagnetic transmissions of other planets, including ours. Due to the fact that their technology uses very few electrical components (with the exception of passive devices such as their cybernetic arrays and telescopes), it seemed to everyone else that although high in organics, their planet contained no sentient life.

During our first contact, they had adopted our name for what we at the time had understood to be an Earth animal, our Orca. However, they explained to us that it was not only an alien species to our planet, but also their deity and progenitors. They accused us of systemic genocide and barbaric mutilation of the very race of being they held most sacred.

We attempted to explain that our orca were never sapient to the degree that they understood their local species to be. They regarded their orca as one of the most intelligent beings of any species yet found, many orders of magnitude more than our strongest collective intelligence that they found our comparison to be insulting.

We implored them to search their historical records of our broadcast documentaries, through all we assumed they may have known of our culture, but they insisted our species had inflicted cruelty upon their living deities in a way that was unforgivable and irreconcilable. Either these were a series of very unfortunate misunderstandings, or they were looking for a reason to scapegoat our species for the explicit purpose to make war.

Meanwhile, our mission had changed into recovering survivors, and-- more importantly-- neutralizing our technology, as well as anything they had which could be useful to us. The vast majority of Orca ship engineering consisted of biological components. This put us at a relative disadvantage in terms of salvage. By the time we get here, almost everything was dead, either by a kill signal or just natural death. Either way, when Orca technology was dead, it was dead for good. No way to turn it back on, and very difficult to reverse engineer with our technology. The technology they must have to engineer biotech of this degree would be worth trillions back in Sol.

We know very little of the Orca themselves, as they pride themselves in their stealth and meticulous counterespionage efforts. They have every reason to, as this has proven to be extremely effective and frustrating, to say the least. Everyone knows they have a peculiar manner of speaking, however. They seem to hum or sing in approximation to our spoken language, perhaps reminiscent of our orcas, but undeniably evoke an association to the cetacean. They punctuate this... elocution, they call it-- with brief hums.

The cause of our trouble is the hot cargo we're carrying; we have two Orca, one a high-ranking military officer, the other can speak our language and calls himself an engineer. He appears to have more knowledge of medicine than of technology. There's only so much background I can give, however...

I'm Major Stafford of the United Sol Directorate Stellar Military, overseeing operations of our non-combative support vessel, SMS Starbridge. I'm writing this account for when our ship breaks into the primary system of the Therians. We don't know how much they know, and they might be the only neutral party in this we can turn to, given the events that have transpired. It's over a year away with our metadrive, so we might as well be prepared by the time we get there. Besides, waking from cryosleep is always disorienting. I'll need to be on the ball, and keep my shit straight.

I have attached a video log.

---

"Major! We've found a ship, it's still online-- still working. We almost rammed it, they're running cold and silent." Lieutenant Cernan, the pilot.

"How cold?"

"Cold, but warm enough."

It's still alive.

"Thanks, lieutenant." Cernan saluted as Stafford pushed off towards the lower deck.

"Alright. Ship: Notify Lieutenant Evans to meet me at the forward airlock. The lieutenant and I will be suiting up for excursion." There was a pause as protocol was reviewed. "Confirmed." Stafford gave a sigh of relief as he didn't have to hold an academic argument with the computer over standard military procedure. The computer must think the same as him; this does not fit into the standard military procedure. In these situations, the commanding officer overrides, but it's your ass if you do wrong.

Evans arrived just as Stafford opened his suit locker. Evans was a slim, fit, model officer of European descent, but had developed a good American accent, presumably in training. He would have gotten far, if it weren't for his choice of partner. Now he's stuck on this boat, with the 'eccentric' Major Stafford. They both had gotten as much as they had by knowing others, looking out for their own.

Stafford had once been on track for--no, nearly destined to make Captain, an actual captain, of a real starship. He was a capable officer, and could recite protocol as if he was reading from a book, while still being a very capable soldier in field exercises. However, he suffered a fall from grace; Stafford was... a furry. As much as he tried to conceal this, people had ways of finding out. People he trusted had outed him. When you get to higher positions, people ask you for favors. He had made no drama about it, however. He was fine with his position, and was comfortable to quell his ambitions in light of the freedom of at least letting himself acknowledge who he was. It was still a painful thought, however, and had distanced himself from people who were once his friends. He was alone now.

At least he could count on people like Evans. Both minorities, both had their chances limited by their lifestyles, but both more than capable of doing their jobs.

Evans turned to him. "You think we should go in armed?"

"Of course. If they're running silent, this could be anything. It could be a trap, though if it were a bomb, it wouldn't take out much here other than us. Salvage is too far apart."

"This will be interesting."

"If it's still warm? Yeah, getting live tech... This would be invaluable. We'd be heroes."

"Don't count your chickens, lieutenant."

"Yeah, yeah." They both sealed their helmets. They grabbed their weapons, ISO 9K1's. Less powerful, but had to meet treaty specification for radiological damage. As long as they still got the job done, any other consideration was beyond their pay grade.

Facing the outer door, the inner doors closed and air hissed around their helmets. They were ready to get off this PT boat.

---

After docking and sealing with the other ship, they checked the atmosphere. Things seemed alright, Orca air was similar to Earth air. They probably were related. However, it wasn't safe to take off their protective helmets; they served more than just to keep their air stale.

He had expected something very different, very alien. The walls were black, with white striping, just like their bodies. The white striping seemed to provide light. He had mixed feelings, as this was definitely different, it wasn't anything like what the movies made them out to seem. And while the angles were rounded, there weren't any blue conduits of water to be seen.

It was a smaller ship by comparison, but large enough to get lost in, and to have a serious firefight. Stafford wouldn't be surprised if it played a similar role to that of his own command. They headed towards the core of the ship. Towards the command center. He had training on what little intelligence they had of the layout of Orca ships; although they were rotting meat by the time they got home, you could still roughly make out features of the interior.

Evans glanced at his computer, then did a double-take. "Major, our signal to the ship just got cut off!"

"Shit, must be their null wave technology. Do you think they just turned it on?"

"I didn't notice. I should have had that up on our HUD. We're almost to the command center, it'd be too far to get back to our ship; If this is an ambush, we're fucked anyway."

Stafford stopped. In his training, he remembered they were experts at ECM, and espionage. He put up his hand, motioning for Evans to be quiet. He nodded. This was serious.

They carefully made it to what seemed to be a command area, a good-sized room, several meters in either direction, but it was deserted.

Stafford saw something in the corner of his eye. He quickly jerked around, and nearly gasped as he stepped away from an Orca who had snuck up on them, definitely too close for comfort. It held no weapon, its humanoid hands up in surprise, or defense. Or perhaps it was peaceful. The Orca seemed scratched up, small wounds from different angles marking its black rubbery flesh, especially around its arms and neck.

He and Evans still pointed their weapons at the creature. They were more like a human than an animal, it would seem; he had a well-defined neck, long arms and muscular legs, with a fin only on his back. He did not appear to be wearing any clothing, only fresh wounds. A tense moment went by, until Stafford decided to ask a disarming question. "Are you hurt?"

Before the Orca could respond, it was tackled from its side, from behind the bulkhead to the right of where the humans stood. This was another Orca, and it had a weapon. It appeared as if it was trying to kill the first. Evans, to Stafford's right, and closer to the altercation, wasted no time intervening. He rushed forward, the other Orca stood surprised for a moment, which was enough for the Major to grind the tip of his weapon into its skin. He held his position, poised over the attacking Orca in a dramatic and menacing position. Orca were large creatures, about a foot or two larger than a human; it took talent to intimidate one of these. Major Stafford had plenty of experience in this category, regardless of his rank.

War-time diplomacy. If they were trying to kill each other, a dramatic breakdown in command had occurred. They must be the only ones here. If they could get these two alive...

"Hold it." Stafford calmly took a step over to the Orca, who were scrambling on the floor, but still chest-level with the humans. One was still making moves towards the other, unsteadily eyeing the humans. He wanted no movement whatsoever. He dropped his weapon, safety on, and ripped off his helmet. He shouted, "Stop!"

With Evans covering him at gunpoint, he rushed up and pushed the two creatures apart with his powered suit. The military had developed these once it was apparent they would be fighting the larger and stronger Orca when negotiations broke down after the Z-Axis War.

Now that they were separated, this allowed the Major to evaluate the situation. "Are you the only two on this ship? What's going on?"

The attacking Orca looked over to the injured Orca, as if he expected him to respond.

"We were the only two able to get onto this vessel before our ship collapsed. Our drive system was damaged and we were set adrift."

"Alright, but why is he-- this Orca-- trying to kill you?"

"Yes, he is a male; we are ... incompatible with each other, we dislike each other."

"He wants to kill you because he dislikes you?"

"We are not socially compatible, we are not friendly to each other. Our social structure is complex, and has been strained considerably by our separation from our kinsfolk."

Evans and Stafford exchanged looks of skepticism. "Alright, well, we're taking you to our ship, and we'll keep you separated so you don't kill each other," Stafford said sardonically. Evans smirked.

"This won't be good, we... We could die." He looked serious.

"Why, are you hurt?" Stafford examined this shy, meek Orca, his haggard expression and minor injuries.

"Well, yes, but we risk ... becoming mentally ill. Many Orca who have been isolated for too long quickly become sick and die." He seemed to have difficulty explaining, as if there was something else to the issue that he was reluctant to divulge.

Stafford considered his options. He came up with a plan. "Evans, can you get into your field pack, take the buffered line and strap down the violent one?"

"Sure can." As Stafford hoisted his weapon, Evans unstrapped the field pack held atop his suit's system pack. Inside was a canister of coiled cord lined with an inflatable buffer which kept its volume small, yet offered a good-sized durable cord for strapping cargo pallets, or prisoners or war.

Evans had to handle the larger, stronger Orca gruffly, as it tried to resist, and pushed his suit's actuators to their maximum load. Ultimately, their suits were stronger than the Orca, this was something they had verified once or twice. Stafford kept an eye on the two, as the other did his work.

He thought for a moment. Here he was, with actual Orca. He thought he'd never see the day. In wartime, a capable officer could go through his whole command without actually seeing his enemy face-to-face for any length of time. Then he thought... He tried to suppress these thoughts. They had caused him much pain in the past. He'd have to try hardest to resist those now, most of all.

"Major, what do you say we march these guys over to our ship now?" Evans had snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Actually, I say we commandeer the ship. Take it with us. It's a live ship, Evans."

The lieutenant looked around the control center. He was about to state the obvious. Stafford interrupted him before he could.

"We'll have our friend here help us. If he does anything we don't like, we bring them over to a cargo bay and keep them there... Together." The Orca grimaced.

"Alright, your call." Stafford could tell the lieutenant didn't share his trust.

Stafford marched over to the now standing creature, stowing his weapon over his shoulder. "What's your name, Orca?"

"It's Sohren." He seemed shy, or uncomfortable. "I can operate this ship to some degree, but not interstellar."

"Can you stop your null wave field so we can communicate with our ship?"

"This is a security measure, it would take hours to disable manually... But I can hail your ship through our comm station."

"Yeah, let's do that, Sohren." He nodded. Stafford felt he was building trust. Trust helps. The Orca made his way to a dull red console and sat down, careful to flip his tail out of the way. He began to make stroking motions on the panel, as if he were petting a cat. It turned bright orange, and they waited until a voice came over the comm.

"You have the SMS Starbridge." Cernan came through loud and clear, although his tone sounded a little uncertain.

"You have major Stafford. Everything's fine, don't worry. You sounded like you thought we were taken captive."

"I was beginning to get concerned, their null wave field was screwing with my instruments. I figured I'd let this play out, considering the drive was broken anyway; nobody was getting away."

Evans and Stafford exchanged surprised glances. What if shit had hit the fan? "Yeah, we care about you too, Cernan. So, you can let command know that we not only have control over a broken Orca ship, we have two live, and somewhat docile Orca captives."

There was a pause, then a whistle. "You think they're gonna believe me? Shit, I wouldn't. I'll do it anyway, since you wouldn't lie to command."

"Smart boy. Anyway, we're staying aboard, we're working with one to operate sublight navigation. Let us know of the rendezvous coordinates, but we'll start heading towards primary L2. You should follow." Metadrive engines can only reliably jump into the tops of gravity wells--Lagrangian points-- otherwise you run the risk of arriving inside the source of the gravity well.

"Roger that, major. Starbridge out." The comm went back to its original dull cherry color.

The Orca looked back up after he had turned off the panel. The major and lieutenant found a place to sit, across from Sohren and the tied Orca. Evans grinned and beamed, obviously looking forward to presenting their find to the brass who they would no doubt meet upon their rendezvous.

Sohren coughed meekly and blinked at the major, as if wanting to say something. The major simply stared with a curious expression. The Orca searched the cabin, but eventually got the nerve to speak his mind.

"My ... comrade is in pain. Mental anguish. He needs sexual attention, but will not accept it from me... It would be prudent for either of you to provide this for him, as he will become psychologically damaged within hours." Sohren looked sad, with genuine concern for his colleague.

The two humans looked at each other, very surprised.

"Is he asking you to do what I think he's asking?" Evans remarked incredulously.

"Uhh, I didn't get the impression he was asking -me- to do it." A pause. Stafford clarified; "I mean, you're the gay one here."

Evans coughed. "Sir, with all due respect, you're the one who's into this sort of thing--"

"Don't you 'sir' me. Furries do porn of all kinds of stupid shit, doesn't mean I'm into any of it. Who said I'm into Orcas? Or males, for that matter?"

An uncomfortable silence. They both stared at their squirming captive, a sliver of light pink visible beneath the buffered line pressing against his rubbery skin.

Stafford looked at his computer, to make sure the null wave field was still working. He looked up, and saw Evans had done the same. The major broke the silence. "If you want to do it, this is completely off the record."

The lieutenant nodded, then added, "One of us has to," as he began to take his suit off, lower, then upper, both of which split into halves on either side of his body. Removing this hardsuit was a matter of pushing the seams between either shell away using the other arm. It was easiest when using the strength of the suit, so he removed the lower halves first. He then unzipped his flightsuit, letting it flutter to the floor under the ship's weaker artificial gravity.

Evans knelt near the struggling Orca, and laid his hands on the creature. The Orca crooned, its sex had somehow slipped through the rope and dangled about, spreading tracks of clear liquid on the floor. He looked at its eyes, which had streaks underneath; perhaps it was crying. "Shhh," he cooed, while rubbing his belly beneath the cords. To Stafford, the human seemed to show some feeling for the creature.

He was rather surprised when the Orca's prehensile penis had found its way under his underwear. He nearly jumped back, but his nerves held steady, and he remained. The Orca slid its muscled organ between his thighs, and found his own erect manhood. The last piece of clothing Evans wore snapped under the strain as the larger Orca muscle wrapped around the human flesh, pulling it towards the Orca's genital slit. Evans wrapped his leg around the captive's body, and carefully slipped his member inside, with thick clear liquid gushing from the opening as the Orca's strong organ pulled him in, wrapped tightly around his cock and balls. He let out a groan, as he felt the warmth of the other being.

Stafford had watched intently. He looked over to Sohren, who seemed to be blushing, and was breathing rapidly. He couldn't deny this part of his personality any longer, however much he had wanted to repress it. Stafford figured asking this would require a great deal less nerve than his friend had first needed, desperation or no. "Need help there too, bud?" Stafford grinned to his Orca friend. His response was a plaintive squeal behind a solid grimace. They seemed to always grin, but the edges of their mouths betrayed emotion. It was cute.

The major removed his suit and flight garments much as his subordinate had done. He left this in a pile, and kneeled between the Orca's spread legs. Sohren sat in the chair, unsure of what to do with his hands, so he placed them on his knees, and looked down at this alien with that short fuzzy brown hair most humans shared. Stafford licked at the Orca's leaking slit, the white rubbery skin now a tender shade of pink. More of this liquid seeped out as the human lapped at this sensitive area, then began to explore, in an attempt to get underneath. It tasted subtly sweet, but also made his tongue slightly numb. Sohren thrust gently, pushing his prehensile organ into the human's mouth. Stafford pulled away, making eye contact with Sohren, and placed his arms around the waist of the Orca, who then groaned and ran his large rubbery fingers through this human's hair.

Evans was busy thrusting deep into the larger Orca's genital slit, their constant movement gradually loosening its restraints. The pair had shifted position so the human could better penetrate the Orca, which he was able to do fully with the large creature, who assisted with its own organ. The human grunted with every thrust, while the Orca's own pleasure was expressed through masculine barks.

Sohren was slimmer and had softer lines than his mute counterpart. The Orca also seemed to enjoy Stafford's ministrations more intensely, with nearly every motion of the human's talented tongue eliciting an enthusiastic response from the alien being. After Stafford had paid attention to the sensitive red flesh between that of the Orca's thick white skin and the base of the now oddly shaped shaft, he took a moment to examine the length of part of Orca anatomy. Sohren also took this moment to catch a breath. The human noticed a thicker clear fluid had begun to dribble in volume from the tip. This tasted more like menthol, and had a definite numbing effect.

Stafford was no expert on human anatomy, much less Orca anatomy, but he made a few observations about the part of this alien's anatomy that concerned him the most. The shaft was stiff but not rigid, and he was surprised as its length and girth kept growing as the Orca became more and more excited, presumably its erectile tissues becoming further engorged with blood. It appeared to flanked on three sides by long, strong muscles, which allowed it to flex in any direction. It seemed to do so less while enjoying Stafford's prudent ministrations, but searched for and engaged in pleasure when he let up, such as this moment.

Sohren looked down at his human, and marveled at his ability for oral sex. "Orca never use their mouths for play..." The major thought about this, and considered their razor sharp teeth. "Does this make you uncomfortable?" "It's better than anything I've ever felt. Please continue."

Major Stafford decided to take on what seemed impossible. With the numbing effect of copious amounts of this chiral-opposite liquid leaking from deep within his slit, and the thicker liquid from playing with the tip of his uniquely-shaped cock, his entire mouth was numb. He wasn't sure if this was a medical issue, but caught up in the moment, he steeled his will, pulled the alien organ towards his face, and pushed it into his mouth as far as he could. It was a strange feeling at first, especially since he could feel the strong Orca cock twisting and shifting into this tight space, but eventually, with a period of adjustment on both sides, he was able to slide it all the way down to the hilt, much as a sword-swallower swallowed his own phallic objects. He stuck his nose into Sohren's slit, and found he could still breathe through his mouth, around the odd geometry of the Orca's anatomy. He allowed Sohren to fuck his mouth, twisting and pushing deeper, for what seemed like several minutes. The Orca groaned, whined, cussing in his native tongue, closing his eyes and letting his mouth hang open, pulling his human closer to him, with surprisingly little protest from the man. Finally, he shuddered, hugging Stafford and gushing deep inside him, pushing torrents of semen straight into his stomach. They held for nearly a minute, the Orca's powerful thrusts injecting what could only have been an entire liter.

Stafford choked as the Orca pulled out, still streaming thick, white ejaculate all over his face and chest. He took a long moment to catch his breath, coughing the mucous out from his throat. He wiped it from his face, doing nothing but smearing it all over and making it sticky, and doing nothing for his feeling of being drenched in it, inside and out.

"Are you okay?" Sohren seemed very concerned now, worried he might have overwhelmed the human.

"I'll be alright."

"Damn, major. You really are a badass." Evans was leaning casually on his larger Orca, with its arm over his chest, a classic after-sex posture. A puddle the size of an afghan rug surrounded them, presumably ejaculate from the other Orca.

"I tried to restrain myself, but I don't think I did very well. I think I let it all go. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Sohren, I'm glad to--" He hacked up and spit up some more of that thick white liquid. "I'm glad to have helped you." A grin presented itself on his face.

The major got up and found a place to sit between those large Orca thighs, still wet with ejaculate, and with large rubbery arms holding his naked body close. He could sleep well here, within these strong alien arms.

"The thing is, our females have selectively bred us throughout the centuries, in order to achieve characteristics which they find attractive."

"Aha. I'll guess the volume of semen is one of those characteristics."

"Yes. They measure us, and mate with those they deem most attractive. Many of us are fortunate not to meet their standards, but we are put to work, and to war. Still, we are very social, and play is intrinsic in all levels of our society."

"Usually human culture thinks of sex only in respect towards reproduction."

"Well, even with such conservative ideas, I'd have to say I find your species very attractive, and I believe more capable than even an Orca is at play, don't you agree, Yohan?"

A contented warble was the only response from the other.

"I wish we weren't at disagreement. Our species could very well enjoy a good relationship." Sohren observed.

"I agree, making love, not war, is probably in our mutual best interests. However, I don't think our military is ready to see it that way, and I don't think we'll be able to get out of this together if we stay here for much longer. What do you think, Evans?"

"You know, I've grown rather fond of this Orca here. I also see it like this; the Orca aren't as terrible a species as they make them out to be, and I think our leadership is wrong. We should do something about this."

"Well, shit, I didn't think you were that political."

"Us gays are anything but," quipped the sergeant. The major laughed.

"Tell us, Sohren, why is it bad for you to be chosen as a mate with females?" Stafford was particularly curious about Orca females.

"Well, they are often cruel towards the more timid males, and this is why they have controlled society ever since our political structures have become organized. If a male is unlucky enough to find himself at disagreement with a female, she will take him, force him to have sex with her, repeatedly, and drain him. His body will continue producing semen, and he will die of dehydration. It's something they've built into us for centuries. Thus, with females, it is sex, and this is serious enough to cost a male his life, but between males, it is only play. No matter how angry we are at each other, we would never kill each other in this manner, it is very painful." He looked over at his kin, who nodded in agreement. He appeared sated, and much less distraught as he was before.

"Do you think you should rebel against your female leadership? Do you think that might end the war?" Stafford was thinking.

He grimaced. "If our males knew how beautiful, attractive, and talented at play as you humans are, it might change our feelings towards humans, but never the females. I doubt you would be as compatible, they are very picky, and they are very cruel. It is my feeling that they wish to see all humans die... Perhaps for this reason."

"If we can divide the Orca, especially their military, well, shit. This is a valuable strategic insight, don't you agree, Evans?"

"Uh, yeah, but that means we have to let them know about what we've done. Can't we just run off to some colony somewhere, like Pholywell in Antares, or Flocus?"

"Probably not; we won't find allies in the outlying systems, or anywhere in human space. The larger problem is, we're just too conservative a species to accept this sort of behavior. However..." Stafford was considering something. Evans seemed to pick up on this.

"Major, you know people..."

"Yes, but... I could lose my job by involving them.

"Well, shit, sir. This is important enough, yeah? We could be saving lives here, ending a war."

"Let's get back to the ship." They suited up. It was a quiet trip to the airlock.

---

Cernan, the pilot, greeted them at the airlock, weapon drawn.

"Holy shit, Major. Hostiles..?"

"Friendlies, Lieutenant. At ease." Stafford was hesitant whether to introduce them to one of their more 'conservative' colleagues. He might not take well to this sort of deviant behavior.

"Did you take your suit off? When you got in range, I found a gap in your biometrics. And, the suitcam..."

"Shit, Cernan. What do you know?"

"I know a lot, sir. It's fine by me, but the brass..."

"As far as I'm concerned, I no longer work for the Stellar Military. I've found a way to end the war. This will end the bloodshed and save our species."

Cernan nodded. "I'm with you on that, sir. Just..." He looked away, uncomfortably reaching back to scratch his neck.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not doing what you guys, uh, did."

Hearty laughter filled the room. Even the Orcas whistled.

"No problem, buddy!"

---

To be continued...