Sirius: Book Three - Project EPSILON: Chapter 4: Facilitation
#4 of Sirius: Book Three - Project EPSILON
Author's Note: Alright, so I'm a bit of a slacker, and real life gets in the way of my fantasy world. Agreed, I could have been more punctual, however I've been really motivated the past few days and this all just came dribbling out. (The last few pages, mostly) I admit right now that it might be sudden plot exhibition, but I don't think I'm jumping the shark.
Speaking of jumping sharks, this story contains (of course) Furry Homoerotica, Romance, Science-Fiction, Drama, Betrayal, Depressive Themes, Innuendo, and Violence. If you detest any of this, feel free to stop reading. You have been warned.
Sirius Setting, Characters, and Story are the intellectual property of WhiteArcticFox, and Arctic Fox Studios. Changes may be made to the story in the future at the author's discretion.
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Chapter 4: Facilitation
"Sir! Sensors are picking up a jump in brain activity!" shouted one of many white-coated humans. Sitting among a bank of monitors, the man turned to look at his superior; what had been detected wasn't a new occurrence. In a cold-storage unit, brain activity was usually a bad thing. It meant that the cryo-suspended subject was experiencing dreams and was therefore not suspended.
The other man--supervisor over the lab technicians--approached and studied the measurements. "That's Epsilon, isn't it?" he asked, letting his gaze rise to the video feed of the mentioned subject. Eyes shut, and mouth belying life; the Sirian Fox did not move, nor make a noise, but it certainly did not forget.
--
In the transport, ducking and weaving and wove, being tailed by any number of hostiles... another barrage searing through space between us and our goal; then emptiness and our only chance through. Calling out to the escorts, our pilot tucked our ship neatly into the space and began planet fall.
I didn't see it. A hostile ship uncloaking right on top of us; luckily the escorts were loyal new friends... Race... no don't--too late. I could see the shrapnel, and the battered, but living, body. He was still alive; and lucky for him he had been thrown clear of the planet. Alright, Mason, pick up Race and return to the ship.
--
They had called another member of the team over, curious now. She was bright, and might be able to shed some light onto the sudden spike in activity. Quickly moving on a hunch, she and the supervisor walked quickly through the halls. Concrete, old-fashioned concrete and stencilled letters in red paint; built before the war. The two approached a sealed off room.
Several days prior, there had been an escape. One of the warm-storage cells malfunctioned; the occupant taking the opportunity to slash the guard's throat and bolt before the guard even hit the ground. Deactivating the fields on the cells of his brothers, the four quickly began to head to this spot.
Stepping into the chamber, past the two heavily armed guards, the woman grinned a bit. "Epsilon... What are you dreaming about, hmm?" she said in mock, looking up at the good-as-dead Sirian. Why were they keeping him alive, she often wondered. His mind was too frail; his body too weak to support the full load.
They began to inspect the machinery, looking for anything that may have caused a malfunction.
--
On the ground now; the group is disembarking. I should join them, and I do. Our position is being overrun, get out of here pilot... good man. Their footfalls are heavy enough to send shocks through my legs, but I keep running. Up a piece of rubble and into the air with a wicked grin, I unload several high-velocity armour-piercing rounds into the scaled-creature's skull before landing with little more than a soft shift of dirt. Come on guys, let's go; move, move, move!
We begin to run again; towards yet another of our goals. I look around and grin quietly at the squad around me; good people all of them. Their shouts of war blaring as they run through the battle-scarred city towards that foul tower, it's time to end this war, and destroying their blood-and-diamond monument would do just that. Kill the emperor, mop up the stragglers.
--
Alpha stirred in his sleep; squirming and kicking his feet. He didn't enjoy the nightmare, but it simply wouldn't relent. Nothing could wake him from it; as though an exterior force was holding him into it.
Jasyn let his eyes slowly peek open, hearing whines from the other side of the wall. "Poorly insulated ship..." he gave a mumble of distress, before pulling his pillow over his head and going back to sleep.
--
Ducking and weaving between pillars and alcoves, we advance through the guarded hall. Our rounds penetrated the scaled beasts hides easily, but there was no way for us to fell them all with what we had. Time for me to improvise, I needed a terminal, somewhere to plug in and hack. If I could get the automated defences on our side; those beasts hadn't a chance.
Cryptic 22nd century algorithms, pathetic compared to what I had been used to. Slicing the system was a breeze; the turrets were now completely under my control. I assigned Yavik to the task; and began to ascend the tower's stairs. Every half-floor was a thirty meter long landing; just perfect. Climb, fight, run, climb... this is ludicrous; who built this sanguine-coloured monument?
Fourteen; fifteen--come on; sixteen. Okay, five floors to go; holy crap! That pulse just barely missed my face; gotta pay more attention. Pull the trigger now, come on...
--
Beta shook violently, remembering his baptismal of fire; ascending that sordid tower to destroy a threat finally. His squad had grown close; become like brothers. His dream suddenly subsided into nothing; he'd been shot. He woke up in that strange cell, looking up at humans with stinging eyes.
--
No! Dammit! Somebody take care of him, get him out of here! I ordered that; running up the stairs to the next landing. There were only two of us now. All of our previous strikes had been surgically precise. We hadn't lost anybody, he'll be fine if we get him immediate help. Those Crag are lousy shots; and this battle armour is wonderful for absorbing their ammunition.
Shit! Another patrol, duck behind the-
--
Another gunshot echoed through Gamma's mind and his dream went black. The brothers had had this shared dream before; their minds somehow linked through one purpose or another. Not at all strange; considering the abilities they possessed.
That left only two; but they never saw Epsilon in their dreams. 'Maybe he's the one controlling the guns; or the one in the fighter...' they always thought. They knew their names had been changed; they didn't know their actual names; but when they dropped out of the dream; they had found out which member of the team they were.
They never knew when Epsilon dropped out, however.
--
Great! The reinforcements have reached me. Alright, time to ruin a few good days. We're running into a corridor now, the hallways the same colour as the dribble of blood on my cheek. Oh; Aries has seen fit to join us.
Another wretched sound as a bullet ripped through my shoulder, and through the wolf behind me; if I could take out the rest of these bastards he would be safe. Get Aries out of here, I have an idea! Pick myself up and launch myself through the corridor. Forget the greivous wound, I'll be fine, is this the centre? Looks like it... They're still shooting at me--
--
In a white flash, Delta woke and breathed heavy. He held his chest and clutched his head, the pain from the shared-dream always head-splitting.
--
White paws wrapped around his chest, Jasyn smiled as he felt his Kit's warm body pressed against his own. Eyes closed softly, the two shared their tired moments just before passing into sleep.
Jasyn's eyes slowly parted; he already knew it was a dream. His cold eyes were barely damp, having cried himself dry many years ago for Axis. He loved him; so much so that he was ever tempted to end himself so that he wouldn't have to live a day without him again.
--
The readings began to subside; and finally they were back to nil. "Epsilon is suspended. Resume your position doctor. I'm going to see to it that the president hears of your excellent work here," smiled the supervisor, before turning and leaving the chamber.
The woman grinned and left as well; smirking back at the project. "Thanks Kit, you may have just given me my lucky break," she said, again in mock, as she walked through the doorway, which was quickly sealed behind her.
--
The steady click of boots against a solid floor echoed down the well-lit hallway, doors spaced every six or seven meters letting passers-by glimpses into the happenings of the rooms beyond with their small, rectangular windows. A subdued grey coated the walls, a single four inch stripe of vibrant red running the length of the hallway made of more traditional materials.
A pair of voices could be heard on the other end of the corridor, as the owner of the clicking boots made their way towards a set of double doors set just around the corner to the right. Gazing out with his crimson eyes, the half-blooded Sirian kept his pace steady. 'Alright Z, you can do this...' he thought to himself, knowing full well that if he changed his speed now, he'd be running away from where he intended. As he rounded the corner and walked through the large-windowed double-doors, a human woman in an Academy uniform glanced up from a monitor and smiled at him.
"Well, hello Zaivior. How can I help you today?" she asked with a grin, following the Sirian-Lyrii with her eyes.
His reply was nervous and broken. "Oh... um, I... I need to talk to the--um... the..."
"You want to talk to the Director? Certainly. Go right in; he's got no other appointments right now," smiled the secretary before directing him through the doorway.
Zaivior gulped quietly and stepped through the door, before being greeted by the amicable head of the school. "Ah, Zaivior Levi. How can I help you son?" he grinned, his human teeth white as he motioned that Zaivior sit.
The two looked at eachother for a few moments before Zaivior began to speak.
His voice weak and uncertain, the boy started to tell the Director about Lemkin. He kept his gaze down; explaining in vague detail what had been done to him--very vague, but clear enough. The Director nodded quietly throughout the entire explanation.
Afterward, the man took a long pause, reflecting on the new information for a few moments.He seemed to be considering it all; taking it in and chewing on the idea for a little while.
"He comes in on thursdays alot... usually pretty sweaty. Sometimes he comes on other days, but thursdays are more frequent. I think his self defense class is on thursdays..." Z said quietly when the Director didn't say anything. "Thursdays Dante has Piloting classes in that block; he has to stay late to inspect the shuttle. I don't have a class in that block; but when I go out, he finds me anyway..."
"Cadet! Calm down, please! One of the fundamentals about being with the Trian Fleet is knowing how to keep cool under pressure, so shape up!" said the Director the moment the boy had stopped talking. "Lemkin has been a bad seed from the beginning of his time here, the soldier types tend to be more abrasive but he's even more so."
"We'll investigate your room, and I'll have the on-campus medical team examine you for signs of rape... if that's alright. Listen Z, I believe you... but no council is going to trust the word of a Cadet without evidence," the man explained quietly.
"You'll find evidence..." Z almost whimpered, before clearing his throat and straightening up. In a shaky, but much calmer voice he asked, "May I be excused, sir?"
The director tented his fingers and looked at the Sirian-Lyrii quietly before he nodded. "Stay with a friend while we investigate, it might be a couple of days. Don't go back to your room until we tell you to," were his instructions--to which Zaivior nodded.
The Director lowered his hand to a small keypad and tapped a button before saying; "Medical."
--
Sunrise from orbit is less spectacular than sunset, partially because the sudden appearance of the sun has been known to blind the odd person. Awake already for several hours, the Brothers were sitting quietly in the Alakandor's small mess, eating their breakfast in near silence with their backs to the light.
They didn't need to speak to talk to one another, as they had found out long ago. Even without words, their conversation was vivid and pained.
A gesture of annoyance; being captured like they had been was not part of the plan. What had happened to Gamma's senses? Didn't feel threatened? Gods damn. They needed to go back and free Epsilon, it wasn't right that he was being held like that. Maybe he could help them figure out what was going on.
Their meal wasn't at all influenced by the arrival of Matthieu and Alraune; who strode quietly to an empty table, hand in hand. Their lives had been of eachother ever since Axis' death. Matthieu had been the kindest boyfriend Aura had ever had; the most loving and besides the odd spat, they fought rarely. They were very much in love; a comfortable love at that. From the diamond shaped marking on his forehead, to the exact shade his eyes were, Alraune knew Matthieu as well as any boyfriend could ever.
Maybe they could use this crew to their advantage. It would certainly make things easier. Gamma would need to figure out how they tick; they already understood the command structure, heirarchy. "Then it's agreed... we talk to Jasyn about freeing Epsilon," spoke Alpha with a clearly commanding voice. He was checking, of course, but their input was important to him.
The other three nodded and finished what they had on their plates. They stood and gathered up their trays, stacking them in the wall unit, automatically pulling the trays in to be cleaned.
--
Jasyn was absolutely astonished when the main computer core of the Falchion was found intact. Only a month after the Falchion incident, the humans had salvaged everything they could. This meant though that he had access to his favourite picture. Axis and he had held a small party in Axis' quarters, and they were playing a card game. Jasyn had just won a hand, and Axis had started accusing him, jokingly, of cheating. Jasyn stood up and rolled his sleeves up, also joking, as he invited Axis to settle it like a man.
Axis had thrown his shirt away and leapt at Jasyn, and after a few seconds of wrestling they'd heard a giddy Atlas. Both of them looked at him, and he was holding an imager. He threatened to arrange it so the photo ended up with Jasyn's parents, that is unless Jasyn took off his shirt too. The wolf obliged, but to this day he had always adored that shot of he and Axis, wrestling there on the floor.
He sat there, in his quarters aboard the Alakandor, watching the photograph move. It wasn't really moving, but as he stared, he could almost see he and Axis wrestling in real-time. His heartbeat was quick, but his face was solemn and sad. "It is my fault... if I hadn't asked him to stay... I would have known he was coming... I would have been able to protect him..." he sighed and tossed the picture, which was truthfully very detailed coloured glass; environmental concerns leading paper to being mostly abandoned for the FotoGlas technique. It didn't hit the ground, it didn't shatter. It made a soft noise as it was caught.
"Um... Excuse me? Jasyn... right?" asked the man who caught the picture. Jasyn looked up and saw Alpha standing there, picture in hands.
The wolf turned away and coughed a bit. "Yes... Can I help you?"
The fox looked down at the photograph, and he placed it carefully on the desk beside the door, walking further into the room. "Who... is that; in the photo, that fox?" he asked softly, curiously.
"My mate... Axis," replied the wolf with a quiet sigh. His voice was raspy, and just as coarse as ever.
"Oh. I haven't seen him on the ship, is he back on Earth?"
"No, he's on Sirius... Well; what was left anyway. He's dead, a little over ten years now," Jasyn answered, growing more impatient. "What, exactly, can I help you with?"
"Oh... right! I was talking to the crew, and somebody mentioned a partial file was recovered-" started the fox.
"Security isn't the greatest on this bucket of bolts, I see..." interrupted the wolf with a bit of aggrivation.
"Yes, well. Beta, my companion, is very adept at computers. He actually hacked the Toronto Dome, from a moving shuttle. Three minutes total. Perhaps he can find what-"
"You want to help us figure out what the hell those readings were? They were you. We know that now. There's no reason for us to look further," explained Jasyn with a growl.
"There's Epsilon. Me and my brothers want to free him; and we need help," started the fox. His pure white tail twisted a bit as he watched the wolf's reactions.
Jasyn crossed his arms across his chest, his eyes pessimistic as he regarded the ludacrous Sirian. "You're asking me to sway Atlas. To find your 'brother' and to put my own life on the line..."
"Well... yes but-"
"You're a fucking looney," spat the wolf as he turned away. "I see no benefit to me," added Jasyn with a bit of an angry growl. His tail swayed very slightly as he rolled the idea around. He truthfully wanted to do something, anything. Maybe finding their brother would distract him for awhile.
"How did you find us?" asked the fox with a quiet tilt of the head.
Jasyn let out an amused breath and turned back, eyes closed as he explained. "We tracked an energy signature you were giving off when you used your powers," was the 'matter-of-fact' response.
"How did you know what to look for, then... I mean, we can't be-urk"
Jasyn had pinned the fox up against the wall, an arm under his neck as he glared quietly. "My dead mate made that same signal when he used abilities, much similar to your own..." Jasyn calmed down a moment as the wheels began to turn in his head. He began stringing things together and growled again, "Axis family line was the only one among us Sirians that carried the gene to activate these powers. How the hell do you have them?"
The suspended fox sputtered a bit and Jasyn let up a bit, listening to the response. "The humans..." Alpha tried, after taking a few breaths. His voice was strained and weak. He coughed once and groaned as the air began to flow again. "They're experimenting... with DNA. Maybe... your Axis, his DNA could have been acquired. Gene splicing... things I don't understand," he fell as Jasyn let him go, and looked up at the wolf.
"That gives me a reason to help you." Jasyn turned away again and stared down at Earth, through the viewport. "If they're exploiting Axis... they're going to die. And if they aren't, they're still going to die," he spat with malice.
Alpha looked up at him, his body acting before his conscious mind could stop him. "Jasyn... that's not like-" started the fox, catching himself and looking wide eyed at nothing in particular.
"You don't know me... Axis meant-he means the world to me. Those humans are taking advantage of him, even now after his death. And if they aren't, they're trying to re-create his abilities to use as a weapon," explained the wolf, his ears standing aggressively as he bared his teeth. "They're obviously not doing a good enough job; considering your some of your companions' lack of power."
Slowly, as Alpha got to his feet, Jasyn moved closer. As they stood there, eye to eye, the wolf's senses picked up on something subtle. "Leave, now. Tell your brothers that I'm going to help you, but tell them that they've got no garuntee about Atlas."
Alpha's ears twitched a bit, and he shook his head, before turning to walk away. His hair fell down his back, and his tail swung slowly as he spoke over his shoulder. "I... knew you would help us. You're a good man, Jasyn Emitt. Thank you..."
Jasyn turned away one last time and stood at his window again, hearing the doors close this time. His ears flicked quietly and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Axis... I'll make them release you. I'll make them let you go. You can't be used like this..." the wolf sighed and lowered his head, feeling for the first time in years that he had a goal he could meet.
--
The crew of the Alakandor went about their business as usual, very lax but still smoothly run. Daemon and his Captain were sitting in the briefing room, alone. The half-wolf slowly ran his fingers against Atlas' chest and sighed. "Love... would you just tell me what's wrong? Ever since you got back from that meeting..." pleaded the Sirian, his eyes caring, worried.
"I've been distant and irritable. You would be too. I'm certain the government knows exactly what's going on with those readings. They're keeping it from me... and it's dangerous," sighed the fox with a bit of a growl, pulling his Dame into his arms. "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt."
"Love..." the half-wolf started. "Maybe... those foxes we picked up. They displayed a few abilities, from what Jasyn told me. There must be a connection between them and the read-" he stopped himself, hearing the door alarm ping. Standing up, he slid his left hand over Atlas' chest and whispered, "We'll talk later," as he walked to the door.
Jasyn stood there, and Daemon slowly stepped back. The expression he held was deep, concerned, and thoughtful. "Atlas. We need to talk about those four. They've got a very experienced hacker in their group. They also have information on where they came from," he began, his eyes barely moving from the view of the station as his hands slowly fiddled with something in his left jacket pocket. "The humans are using genetics to alter Sirians. They're giving them Axis' abilities... possibly from Axis' own DNA. Dead or not, they have his genes, and they know which ones let him use his abilities."
Atlas sat up slowly as Jasyn went on, he was polite when he listened to his brother's mate. Ever polite. His eyes were scrutinizing him though.
"We can either let the hacker have a go... or we can go to the facility," the wolf added, his voice becoming angrier. "We'll find out what they're doing, one way or another. If we just sit here, though..." he trailed off and sighed. "I'm not just looking for somebody to blame. I love him, always will; but it was my own fault. If they're using him, Atlas, there's no salvation. They'll pay,"
--
Using similar structure, the Sirian government had built an orbital array to rebuild their fleet. The major difference between Utopia Siribet and Utopia Terra was their design. Where Earth's shipyards were smaller stations, separated from one another; the Sirian equivalent was a pair of massive stations. They were put into orbit of Sirius' sun, in the same orbit as Sirius itself. Sphere shaped, the stations had twelve spires each, which in turn carried a pair of a similar stardock structures to those of Earth's stations.
As Sota walked onto the bridge of his ship, he smiled. His uniform was crisp, his hair tied back. He tilted his head as his second-in-command stepped up from his seat. "The bridge is yours, sir" Aries said, his uniform equally crisp. Identical, except for the stripe of gold, and the number of pins in his rank.
"Thank you, Commander. Helm, set a course for Utopia Terra. Our new arrivals will be there by the time we've arrived. I don't want to put strain on the engines, so Slip 300% will do," he ordered, sitting himself in the comfortable seat. Aries, seated on his left, began checking on crew rotations.
"Slip 300%, sir. Co-ordinates set," said the human at the helm, tapping at his console with a nod. "ETA 6 days, 5 hours," he added, before giving another measure. "Streaming in 20 minutes; arrival at around 13:00 hours Earth standard Time."
"Begin slipstream procedures. When we get to Min-Safe distance jump straight to Streaming Velocity. Commander, a word in private," ordered the wolf, his silver reflecting the light. The ship was Sirian in design, one of the first out of the Sirius Utopia Shipyards.
"Aye Sir," said the helmsman, setting the controls before he began to check thruster output.
Sota stood again and walked towards a doorway on the right of the bridge. They stepped into a sort of office, and Sota sat behind the desk. Aries seated himself in one of the other chairs in the room, eyes watching the wolf's demeanour, his sunburst eyes warm.
"The Academy has approved your request. If Zaivior makes the grade, he'll be stationed here," smiled the Captain happily.
"Wonderful. What are our standing orders, sir? We're headed back to Earth, and then..." the black wolf trailed off.
"We're going to a distant region of space. We think the Craganii have a colony on a planet in that system, and we're just doing some long-range reconnaisance. Potentially, we could find the location of their homeworld," explained the Captain with a sigh, "not exactly a perfect first mission for these Cadets. Dangerous, I know. I'm certain we'll run into at least a patrol, but ours is an advanced ship."
"The Lupus will make it," was Aries' proud response. "and this crew is talented."
"I hope they're talented enough... we're entering known Craganii borders..." Sota shook his head and looked towards the window. "We'll manage," he sighed, the words pessimistic.
The captain looked back up, his uniform making nearly no noise as he turned his body away from the window. "I did some checking with the schedule. The Alakandor is in for some repairs. They're set to remain docked for another two days, but from what I understand they have no standing orders. Atlas will likely put his ship into a stellar-synchronous orbit."
Aries smirked a bit and stood up slowly, as did Sota. "With any luck," he mused, his dark fur shining healthily, "They'll still be in the area when we arrive. I'd like to see old Atlas again."
"All in due time, Commander," the Captain chuckled. "We should be entering slip in a few moments..." he added after a moment, before raising a hand to his face and pressing down on a button in his cuff. "Bridge," a confirming noise. "Helm, Slipstream 400%, let's arrive a little early."
"Aye sir"
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The plot thickens... Thank you very much for reading, and I have a tiny announcement. I am most certainly not finishing book three by the end of the year, and I have a strong suspicion that Sirius will have further installments. I warn now, the characters are likely not going to continue past this book, however earlier versions of them, as well as their descendants, may be involved. (Yes, I said descendants...)
Comments would be appreciated, constructive criticism encouraged.
With All Fondness
WhiteArcticFox