The Red Robin Part One - Mercenaries For Hire
Intro - On VCL, there exists an author called Kittiara, and Kittiara has allowed me to write a fanfic based on one of her stories. Her story is 'Tanj's Tales'. This story runs alongside that one. Go read it, and this one'll make more sense.
Now without further ado, hello everyone, nice to see you for my first story, and enjoy part one of my series (not very yiffy at the start but it gets better in later parts)
The Red Robin - Mercenaries For Hire
The sleek, slender shape of the mercenary ship 'Red Robin' cut through the void of space as it cruised toward the nearby planet - a blue-green orb, home to millions of different furs. The captain of the ship, a tall and slender arctic wolf in his early 20s called Callum, or 'Mr Wolf' to his clients, was watching the planet ahead out of the observation window.
"Looks nice." He said to himself simply. His first officer slinked up behind him.
"Mind some company, Call?" Callum simply smiled. He recognised the woman's voice as his first officer.
"Not at all." He turned his head toward the vixen. "I was just enjoying the view. It's nice to see a friendly planet again." The vixen nodded in agreement.
"It is, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Callum shifted slightly, so his tail didn't rest against the vixen's leg. The vixen sighed slightly, unnoticed by the wolf - she liked his tail being there. His voice turned more business-like and formal. "Do you have the list of what we need from Artanis Colony?"
"Down to every last detail, and that includes those burritos you insist on taking with you." Callum stifled a laugh. His fondness for burritos was legendary.
"That's good. We shouldn't need to be there too long then."
"No sir. Especially since we just had another job offer." Callum perked his ears with interest.
"What? Someone wants little old us to help them out?"
"Not just any old 'someone'. Governor Jarman, of the UFC."
"A governor? Why do they want OUR help? They're the ones trying to shut us down!" Callum snorted with disdain. The UFC, the governing body for this sector of the galaxy, were always trying to shut down mercenary groups, claiming that they cause more problems than they solve.
Callum didn't think so. And neither did the clients he served. As a mercenary, he helped people out so long as they could pay the fees. At least, in theory that's what he did - The reality of the situation is that half the time he ended up taking on a job out of sheer pity and sympathy for the fur in question, leaving him unpaid at the end. But rather than leave him penniless, it instead helped to boost his image and open up business opportunities and prospective clients who were willing to pay for his services simply as a gesture of thanks.
"I'll take the call, but that's no guarantee we'll take the job." The vixen just smiled, and turned to leave via the nearby lift. Callum followed behind, slinking through the lifts' closing doors. The doors parted a short while later on the main deck of the 'Red Robin' and Callum and the vixen stepped out. The banks of computer monitors and consoles beeped and blipped and there was the occasional sound of a ping - simple, ordinary sounds for the main deck. Callum stepped toward the comm panel on the left wall, just past the lift doors, and pressed the ACCEPT INCOMING TRANSMISSION button. The viewscreen on the small comm panel shimmered, and the image of a middle-aged, silver-grey wolf appeared on it.
"Governor Jarman. To what do I owe the pleasure of this transmission?"
"Mr Wolf, I don't want to waste any time, so I'll get straight to the point."
Well, this guy sure is in a hurry.
"I need your services to help find someone."
"We can do that for you, Governor, but if you don't mind my asking, why us? You on the council aren't exactly shy about trying to shut down our activities. Why should we help you?"
"I thought you'd say that. My terms are as follows. If you should locate this person, I will not only clear you for registration as a UFC alligned trading vessel," Callum stared wide eyed at the screen. That meant that he could get support from any UFC base! No more sneaking round the back way....there had to be a catch. "But I will also clear you of all criminal charges currently on your record. The same applies to each of your crewmates." This was too good to be true. Callum simply grinned.
"You have my attention, Governor. Perhaps we should meet to discuss this mission, after we are done here at Artanis Colony?" Governor Jarman also smiled.
"I have a vessel there waiting. When you dock at the orbital station, you will be greeted by my assistant, one Mr Stewart. He'll speak on the UFC's behalf until I get to your position in 1 hour. Governor Jarman out, and thank you." Callum flicked a control on the console. He could scarcely take in the offer presented to him - find one missing person, gain freedom throughout UFC space. A full trader's licence, assistance from any UFC base....again he wondered if there was a catch. He called to the vixen, who was sitting at the navigation console.
"Lou, get over here." The vixen, Louise, or Lou for short, raised from her seat and joined Callum at the now deactivated comm screen. "Get the rest of the guys together in the mess. We've got an interesting offer, and I want everyone's opinions on the subject first."
"Sure thing Wolfie." Louise smiled and headed towards the lift, opening it with the press of a button and stepping inside.
When the door opened, Louise stepped out onto the armory deck. Every wall and shelf was lined with the most varied selection of weapons around, be they bladed, blunt, projectile or energy. She could hear Andrew, the gunner and armory officer, practising with a kendo stick.
"Hey Marksman, got a minute? Wolfie wants us in the mess to go over a new mission." She called. There was a faint sound of clacking wood, and then another voice, bass deep, called back.
"Sure thing Lou!" There was another clunk as Andrew replaced the kendo stick in its' proper resting place and he joined Louise in the lift. Being an alsatian, and Louise a vixen, he towered over her, a good two and three quarter feet higher. He was the tallest of all the cre of the 'Red Robin'. Still, the lift was big enough for him to stand. A good thing since Louise was 5' 9".
The door opened again, this time to a surgically white room with medical instruments lining the walls. Lou placed on paw on the doorframe of the lift and stepped out with one pad of her right foot. "Paul! You here? Paul!" There was no response. Andrew chuckled, a deep throaty sound.
"Three guesses where he is." Louise just groaned. If Paul wasn't in the medical bay, then he was bound to be with his one other love....
The lift door opened once more, this time onto the engineering deck. Louise stepped out, leaving Andrew to hold the door open. "Phoebe? Phoebe! Is Paul with you?" She called, almost certainly knowing the answer. There came a giggle and a sound of purring, then a slightly deeper laugh of a male. "Get over here guys! Wolfie wants to go over a new job offer!" The sounds of the two sets of moaning and complaints about 'spoiling their fun' showed that both Phoebe and Paul were on their way. Sure enough, two black-haired felines were strolling to the lift, enjoying each other's closeness. Louise suddenly noticed that Phoebe was only just pulling her shirt on. She simply smiled and shook her head in mock disbelief. "You two are unbelievable." She told them. Phoebe just giggled again, and purred as she snuggled against her boyfriend, Paul.
"You're one to talk." Phoebe told her. "I've seen the way you look at Wolfie." Louise just shot her a glance, and then looked back at the door of the lift, which was now closing, and she didn't say a word. It was no secret amongst the four in the lift that Louise had the hots for Callum. Only Callum didn't know, and everyone was determined to convince her that she should tell him how she felt. Louise didn't think Callum would give her the time of day. She sighed as the doors opened up to the mess hall. The four furs stepped out of the lift and sat at the nearest table, and then the lift disappeared off to the main deck to pick up Callum. Eventually, it brought him to the mess hall, and he stepped out and headed to the head of the table where his crew were sat. Instead of sitting, however, he stayed standing and adressed the furs waiting for him.
"Guys, we've got a rather interesting prospect on the table, and I wanted your opinion on the subject. We've had another job offer....from the UFC." Paul's ears pricked up with interest, as did Phoebe's. Andrew cocked his head. Since she already knew, Louise didn't react. "Governor Jarman wants us to find a missing person. It seems simple enough. What he's offered us as payment, though , is enough to convince me that it isn't as simple as it looks." Paul spoke up.
"What did he offer?" Callum told about the whole conversation, with all four furs sitting at the table listening with rapt concentration.
"He offered WHAT?" Phoebe almost laughed. "He can't be serious!"
"So far, it seems he is. I wanna hear some more about this job offer, and so when we get to the dock at Artanis Colony, I'm going to meet with him. He'll be in the system in an hour. His assistant, in the meantime, will speak to us on his behalf."
"I wanna see this guy too, Wolfie." Louise added. There were murmurs of 'same here' and 'me too' around the table. Callum smiled.
"Feel free to join me. We'll decide whether or not we'll take the job when we're there. Agreed?"
"Agreed." They all answered.
"Artanis Dock, this is 'Red Robin' on final approach, transmitting docking details for confirmation." Louise spoke into the comm panel next to her navigation console. The orbital space station responded in kind.
"Confirmed, 'Red Robin', you are cleared for berth 109, upper docking ring. Please lower your velocity to 25 m/s. You will be guided to the berth by our tractor beam. Welcome to Artanis Station."
"Will do, and thanks." Louise punched a command into the nav console, and the ship slowed. Eventually, she felt the tug of forced gravitons take hold. The ship rocked slightly. She hit another button on the comm panel. "Hey Wolfie, we're docking. Berth 109." The panel was silent for a second, but Callum added his voice to the mix.
"Thanks Lou. I'll be right up." The vixen switched off the comm panel, and slumped in her seat. She sighed. Just tell him already! she thought to herself. She cursed herself for being so stupid. Why couldn't she tell him? Without dwelling on the thought too much longer, she got up and padded over to the drink dispenser, and ordered a Baraxian Sunrise. The luscious orange liquid filled the cup, and she downed it instantly. Satisfied, she returned to her seat to wait for Callum.
Soon afterwards, the doors parted, and Callum stepped out. He stood behind Louise, and placed one paw on the back of her chair.
"So, you all set to get what we need?" He asked, looking at her console.
"Yeah. Shouldn't take too long. Most of it's already paid for and waiting. The rest shouldn't be too hard to get."
"Good. Do you need an extra paw getting it?" He asked her.
Say yes, you can speak to him privately then. "Yeah, I could do with the help. Get it done quicker. Sooner we resupply, sooner we can look into this new job."
"Great! Andrew's been wanting to stretch his legs for a while."
Andrew?! Wait a minute! I wanted to go with you! "But, I thought you were going to go with me." She said, puzzled.
"I have to meet with this Governor Jarman's assistant guy. He's gonna give us some extra details. I wish I could go with you, but I can't." The vixen slumped in her chair, defeated. She just couldn't get a break.
Phoebe and Paul were laying in their quarters, snuggling each other and purring. Phoebe leaned over to lick the inside of Paul's ear gently. He giggled slightly and squirmed, purring louder than before.
"What did you think of what Callum said? About the job, I mean." She asked him, tracing a finger around his belly button.
"Sounds like it's worth it, but I'm still confused as to why the reward's so high."
"Maybe this person's really important to the UFC. If they've got important strategic info or something, the cost of giving us the licence and clearing our records would be nothing to them.
"Or maybe it's something personal. Maybe Governor Jarman wants, like, his daughter back or something."
"Could be. Anyway, why are we talking about work right now? We've got time to spend together. Let's use it!" Phoebe giggled at what Paul said, and rolled onto her back. She lifted up her shirt, letting Paul run a single finger around her left nipple. She purred as the sensations of pleasure started to fill her. He removed his finger and instead applied his tounge, licking and teasing her left breast. He moved slightly and did the same to the right.
"Mmm, lower." She purred with delight.
"Happy to oblige." He purred back. He shifted further down her body, and undid the zip on her jeans. Paul thanked the heavens she was going commando, and started to lick. His tongue worked its' way into her pussy, teasing her clit with its' rough edge. Phoebe's purrs turned to moans as she felt her climax build up inside her - but suddenly Paul withdrew his tongue from her clit, leaving her on the edge, and instead pushed his tongue deeper into her pussy. She looked at him and mewled with frustration. She wanted her climax, and she was determined to get it. She held his head in her paws and pushed it closer to her. Sure enough, Paul licked her enough to bring her to the edge again, but this time he pushed her over with such intensity, she spurted all over his muzzle. He simply chuckled as she threw her head back and howled with pleasure and started licking his lips. "You taste good." He told her. Phoebe simply panted as she looked at him, beckoning him forwards. She whispered two words in his ear.
"My turn." With that, she flipped him over and proceeded to unzip his fly, crouching between his legs. He simply laid back, perfectly willing to let her pleasure him. She licked at this sheath, encouraging his cock to appear, and licking it to full hardness. The tip of her tongue flicked against the head of his now rigid cock and sent Paul into a daze of purring and moans. She moved slightly closer to take more of it in, and started to swirl her tongue around the head before licking the underside of his cock. She pushed her head even further as she took the whole thing in and rubbed her tongue around as much of it as she could, before pushing even further so she could try swallowing, contracting the muscles of her throat around his shaft, sending ripples of pleasure up his body. He was panting, desperate to cum. Phoebe kept trying to swallow, letting the ripples caress his tongue. Paul yipped with pleasure as he suddenly spurted down her throat, before pulling back to spray a little on her lips. Phoebe just giggled and rubbed it off with a finger, licking it up. She then moved up to straddle him, sitting just a little closer to his cock. She licked it again to full hardness, and stroked it against her slit. Shifting slightly, she sat on it, sliding it without any effort into her dripping pussy. She then started to rock her hips slightly, bouncing up and down. The gentle motion soon sped up as both felines started to climax again. Their jont cries of pleasure ended once Paul came violently into her pussy. She leaned forwards and snuggled him, purring. He stroked a single finger through her hair.
"Pretty kitty feeling frisky tonight?" He asked.
"Mmm hmm." She murmured in response, curling up against him, a single finger stroking his chest.
"How about we try and find something fun down at Artanis Colony?" Phoebe giggled slightly at the thought.
"Yeah. OK then. We have a while to resupply. Let's head to the capital and do some shopping. Wolfie won't mind."
Andrew was busy practicing with his Kendo stick again when Louise went to see him.
"Andrew, got a minute?" She felt bad about disturbing Andrew's practice again, but Andrew said he didn't mind talking to her whenever she had something on her mind.
"Sure thing." He replied, replacing the Kendo stick and wiping some of his fur that was now damp with sweat with a towel. "What can I talk to you about, kid?"
"A couple of things actually. First off, Callum's assigned you to help me collectand load the cargo." Andrew nodded, and then waved his paw in a manner that indicated he wanted her to continue. "Second, I wanted to talk to you about Callum." Andrew knew Louise would bring him up at some point.
"You still haven't been able to tell him how you feel." Louise nodded glumly.
"I feel so stupid! Everyone else knows already, except him of course, so I have nothing to be embarassed about. I just....can't do it." She started to sob, but then fought to hold back the tears now matting the fur of her muzzle. "I'm stronger than this! I'm cleverer than this! I've survived dozens of missions with him, maybe hundreds! We've been through hell together, and I still haven'tmanaged to tell him I love him!" Andrew just looked at her, brushing her tears away.
"I'll tell you what. I'll give you until this time tomorrow - that's 0600 hours, then I'll tell him how you feel. If you want to avoid any embarassment, I suggest you tell him first." Louise blinked through her tears and started to protest.
"That's not fair! How can you do this, Andrew?" She backed away from him suddenly.
"I'm just helping things along. You want to tell him. Now you have a time limit to work against." Louise simply stared at him in disbelief, then spun on her heel and padded off to the lift. As the door closed behind her, she heard Andrew shout. "0600 hours! Remember!"
Louise slumped against the door of her quarters and groaned. How could he do this to me? Louise shook her head, letting her sumptuous brown hair fall about her shoulders. How could she just get up and tell him? Hey Callum, I just wanted you to know that Phoebe's replaced the EPS conduits in the armory and I love you. She scoffed at the thought. It was ridiculous. But if she didn't tell him, he'd find out anyway, in the worst way possible. Well, maybe not the worst way, but she still didn't want it to happen like that. She sat in the leather chair next to her desk and stared into the mirror, her muzzle slumped in her paws, elbows on the edge of the desk. What's wrong with you, girl? He'd never let something like this ruin your friendship. Just tell him!
As the ship slid in to dock and landed on the inner deck of the upper docking ring of the huge space station, Callum pressed a sequence of buttons on the navigation console, powering down the engines. A light started to blink on the comm panel next to him, and he hit the relevant button. The dock controller's voice started to speak.
"'Red Robin', this is Artanis Station. Confirmed docking succesful. Please submit to standard weapons search upon disembarking. Any medical emergencies, please notify station staff. Otherwise, enjoy your stay."
"Thanks Artanis Station. 'Red Robin' out." Callum hit the switch on the comm panel that changed from external communications to internal. "Guys. We're here. Anyone wants to shop, go right ahead. I'll call you when we're ready to go meet Governor Jarman." He padded over to the lift after deactivating the comm panel. Two decks down, the others were waiting at the airlock door. The lift door opened and Callum stepped out towards them. "Eager, are we?" He chuckled and gestured at the door. "Well, then. Let's go. Anyone wants me, I'll be in this meeting with Governor Jarman's assistant, Mr Stewart." With that, the airlock door swung open, and they were greeted by Mr Stewart, a rather young - too young to be in the council, thought Callum - brown ferret. He stepped up and rigorously shook each of their paws.
"Welcome Mr Wolf! I've been looking forward to meeting you!" He beamed, taking in the sight of the almost legendary crew of the 'Red Robin' standing in front of him. The guys back home are going to be REALLY jealous! "Governor Jarman will be another 50 minutes. In the meantime, I will answer all questions that are within my power to answer." Callum stepped forward, and smiled back.
"Thank you Mr Stewart. This is my crew. Louise Kershaw, my first officer and navigation officer," Louise stepped forward, and the ferret took her paw and kissed it gently. She smiled and stepped back. "Andrew Marks, my armory officer and gunner," Mr Stewart looked up at the domineering alsatian and nodded politely. Andrew nodded back. "Phoebe Harris, my engineer," The ferret took her paw and kissed it gently. She purred slightly and said her thanks. "and Paul Klein, my medic." Mr Stewart nodded politely at him, and Paul nodded back. The ferret looked at them all and began to speak. "Well, if you'll all submit to the standard weapon search, we can get down to business. I've arranged for some extra hardware to be delivered to you, courtesy of the UFC." Phoebe smiled at the prospect of new hardware to play with. "They include upgrades for your weapons," Andrew beamed this time. "enhanced resolution imaging scanners, both for navigation and your sickbay, to assist with surgery," Paul and Louise grinned. "and a cloaking device, as well as a tachyon scanner for detecting cloaked ships." Callum was stunned. Governor Jarman didn't mention any of this in his initial pitch. Now he was convinced there was a catch.
"Of course we'll submit to the search. But if you don't mind my asking, why all the extra hardware?" The ferret frowned.
"If you accept the job, then where you're going, you'll need it." That didn't reassure him. Callum simply beckoned his crew over to the guards waiting nearby, and they were scanned - all clean. None of them had a weapon on them. The guard smiled as he told them they were good to go and thanked them for their co-operation. With that, Callum and Mr Stewart headed out into the corridor towards a rather comfortable office, while the rest of the crew headed for the nearest ferry shuttle to take them to the planet.
Once down on the surface, Phoebe and Paul parted ways with Louise and Andrew, and the two pairs headed off, towards different areas of the capital. Louise and Andrew were on their way to pick up the cargo for the 'Red Robin' from the storage facility Louise had been told would be awaiting her arrival. Paul and Phoebe, however, decided to go shopping. They looked in some impressive shops, from supermarkets filled with exotic foodstuffs to clothes shops filled with items that made the Vixen's Secrets catalogue look rather tame, much to Phoebe's delight. Paul was delighted too - if Phoebe was happy, so was he. Plus, he thought, I bet she'd look great in one of those outfits! He shifted his gaze to where Phoebe was looking - and he grinned. She'd caught site of the toy section. Vibrators, butt plugs, bondage gear, everything she could ever imagine wanting, and then some!
"Do you reckon some of this would fit in our quarters?" She asked him.
"Of course it will!" Paul said, only too happy to see this stuff put to good use. Phoebe had obviously been waiting for him to say this, because she then promptly took what seemed like two of everything off the shelf and placed it into the already half full cargo loader, an anti-gravity platform that hovered just short of the floor. Pushing it over to the main desk, she held out her credit chit, ready for swiping. The mink femme at the desk smiled and chuckled slightly. Looking over at Paul, she said "You're not gonna get much sleep tonight, mate!" Paul just gave the mink a look that said 'Fine by me!'
Louise and Andrew loaded the cargo onto their designated loader, and headed back to the ferry shuttle port, to wait for Paul and Phoebe. Andrew was giving her advice about Callum.
"The way I see it, the solution is simple. You just have to get him alone, in a suitable setting. Dinner in your quarters, for example." Louise looked at him for a second, then back at the loader.
"You really think I should? I can't cook, for one thing. And my quarters aren't exactly the nicest place to eat."
"I'll help you tidy, and I'll cook for you. You just concentrate on having a good time with him and tell him then."
"You'd do that for me?" She asked. Andrew smiled. Of course he would.
"You bet. Tonight at dinner. I'll cook and clean for you beforehand, and then give you two some privacy." Before she could thank him, Paul and Phoebe showed up, pushing a heavily loaded cargo loader of their own. Louise stared at the contents, and then laughed.
"What the hell do you call all that?" Phoebe grinned mischievously.
"Just some new toys I wanted to try out...." She said. Louise managed to stifle her laughing, making it a chuckle instead. As Paul and Phoebe pushed their loader onto the ferry shuttle, Louise glanced at one of the 'toys', an 8" vibrator, made of gleaming metal. She swiped it without Phoebe or Paul noticing, but she heard Andrew laugh slightly behind her - he saw what she did. She turned to look at him. He just winked and pressed a finger to his lips, showing that he wasn't going to tell a soul. She smiled and quickly hid the 'toy' in her inside jacket pocket.
"So, this person we're supposed to find, does he or she have a personal connection to Governor Jarman?" Callum asked the ferret.
"That's correct. And it's she. His mate, an equine named Moonshadow. He was scheduled to retire soon, and settle down with her. Her freighter was attacked when returning from a trading mission with the colony on Tau Ceti. The freighter returned, but the captain, who was the only member of the crew left alive, said all the passengers had been taken prisoner. No demand for ransom came forward, so we decided to try a rescue." Callum listened with undivided attention. A freighter with his mate on board, and now she'd been taken prisoner. Who by, they didn't know.
"I assume the rescue would be us." The ferret nodded.
"We have the co-ordinates of where the freighter was attacked. It might be prudent to start from there, after speaking to Governor Jarman." Callum shook his head.
"No, I want to speak to the captain first, and have my engineer take a look at the freighter's battle damage."
"Of course. Whatever you need." The ferret told him. Callum smiled.
"Thank you, Mr Stewart." Callum looked over at the chronometer on the desk. Another 10 minutes until Governor Jarman arrived. "Can I speak to the freighter captain now? I'd like to have him here when Governor Jarman arrives." Without responding to the wolf, Mr Stewart turned to a guard at the door.
"Can you bring Captain Locke here please?" The guard, a 6'5" Welsh border collie, nodded and turned to head out the door. 5 minutes later, a bedraggled looking squirrel, stepped into the room in front of the guard. "Captain Wolf, please meet Captain Locke." Callum stepped forward and extended his paw. The squirrel just regarded it, and meekly took it, quivering slightly. Whatever happened on the freighter, it must have hit him hard.
"Captain Locke, I wanted to talk to you about the freighter mission you were commanding." Callum said softly, noticing his distress. The squirrel nodded. "Where did the attack take place? What happened?" The squirrel started to mumble.
"W-we were returning from....Tau Ceti....when a fuel line ruptured. We shut off the damaged systems, but need to refuel. The closest base was in Empire space." Callum fought back a gasp of shock. Being stuck in space with only the Empire to rely on was bad. VERY bad. The squirrel continued. "We managed to limp to a station that helped us, and everything seemed fine, but someone must have taken notice of our passengers and cargo. Once we cleared the sation, we headed back towards UFC space, when an unidentified vessel opened fire." The squirrel swallowed hard, the retelling of events obviously causing him discomfort. "We were boarded, and my crew slaughtered. The passengers were taken, as was the cargo. Once they were finished, they left me with barely enough to get back in one piece." The squirrel had tears welling up in his eyes. Callum spoke softly.
"It's alright, Captain. There was nothing you could do. But tell me, where did the boarding take place?"
"100 million kilometers from Elysium." Callum hadn't heard of Elysium. He'd never come across it. A planet he hadn't heard of was rare, but not uncommon.
"Elysium, you say. Well, that's where I'll look first." The squirrel fell to his knees and grabbed Callum's leg.
"You can't go there! If you get caught, you'll suffer like they did!" Suddenly the door swung open. Governor Jarman and two guards were standing there.
"Governor Jarman! Nice of you to get here at last." Callum grinned, taking his paw and shaking it.
"Captain Wolf, a pleasure." He returned the gesture. "May we get down to business?"
"Of course we may. Captain Locke, I suggest you get some rest." Callum said to the squirrel. He just got up on shaky legs and left the room, obviously tired and not wanting to argue. Before he left earshot, though, he called back to Callum.
"Don't go to Elysium! It'll be the end of you!" And with that, he strolled slowly down the corridor, back to his quarters, and slumped into his bed.
"Well, I hope Mr Stewart has made you aware of everything you need to know." The governor sat at the desk. Callum furrowed his brow slightly.
"Not quite everything. I want to know why we're being given so much before our job, and offered so much for finishing it, to find one person, even if she is your mate. I know she means a lot to you, and I respect that, but it seems a bit overkill to get her back."
"She means worlds to me. More than the universe. More than my job. More than the safety of the UFC, even. I just want her back, to know she's safe. And besides, going into Empire space, you need to be armed to the teeth."
"Yeah, I noticed the weapons. But how do you know I won't say no?"
"Because it's not in your nature, Captain. I know a lot about you, like the Deneb II incident, and the battle of Ro Tin." Callum supressed a smile. His record was extensive. "You fight for what's right, though maybe not in the right way. Right now, I need that. And I'm in a position to accommodate you quite handsomely. Now, do we have a deal?" And with that, Governor Jarman extended a paw. Callum studied it for a second....and took it, giving it a firm shake.
"We have a deal."
Later, at the 'Red Robin', Phoebe was going over the technical upgrades with the UFC technicians, arguing over how what should go where, and what setting should be at what level. There were shouts of 'The EPS conduits on your ship won't take it!' and 'I don't care what technical university you're from, this is MY ship and these are MY systems!' and other assorted cries of protestation. Eventually, the UFC technicians relented and let her guide the upgrades. Anything to shut her up the lead technician thought to herself. The process was slow, but eventually succesful. Fusion cannons and particle cannons and plasma cannons....at this rate, Phoebe thought there was going to be a kitchen sink cannon! The energy system WAS a work of genius, but even if there was a steep energy requirement, it didn't matter much. The 'Red Robin' could handle power hungry systems. The matter-antimatter reactor at its' heart made sure of that. Phoebe suddenly heard Andrew behind her.
"Phoebe, how are the new weapons coming along?" He asked her.
"Pretty good, the output of these cannons is awesome!" She exclaimed, visibly excited.
"Wouldn't mind some target practice with them. Think we'll have time?"
"Nope. Wolfie's taken the job. We'll be underway soon. Oh, and check this out!" She beamed as she stepped over to a console and typed a few commands. As she did, the ship faded from view. It was gone! She typed another few buttons, and it faded back. "The cloak works! And it's undetectable, completely undetectable! We just can't fire while it's on. Something I'm hoping to add to the mix once we get underway. Imagine it - the first ship to fire under cloak!" Andrew just shook his head at the overjoyed feline and entered the airlock, chuckling to himself.
"You coming, Phoebe?"
"Yeah. Just a sec." She picked up a particle torch, and covering her eyes with a special mask, welded a loose panel shut. "Done!"
"So, you're gonna play datemaker with Lou and the captain? Good luck to you!" Phoebe teased.
"I'm feeling confident about her, not to mention I'm only playing cook tonight. I'm leaving before the captain gets there." The airlock hissed and opened, and the two occupants stepped out. "You want to see them together as much as anyone. I reckon this'll help."
"Yeah, well, let me know how it goes." The two parted company and Phoebe headed for her quarters, while Andrew instead knocked on Louise's door, intending to help his friend.
"Come in." She called. Andrew opened the door and stepped in, careful not to step on anything that may be on the floor.
"You ready?" He asked her. She nodded and got out of her seat, and headed to the door to find Callum. "Leave everything to me. Have him meet you for dinner at 0400." She smiled as she nodded and left her quarters in the alsatian's capable paws. Stepping to the nearest comm switch, she flicked the button and started to speak.
"Callum, where are you?" Callum's voice came out of the grille on the wall.
"Main deck. Why?"
"Nothing, just wanted to speak to you is all. In private."
"Sure thing." With that, she pressed the button on the side and switched off the comm system. She headed for the lift - and froze at the door. She was really going to tell him. Tonight, she was going to tell him. She forced her paw to press the lift call button, and stepped in apprehensively, before thumbing the button for the main deck. Her tail danced nervously while waiting for the lift to arrive at her destination. Finally, when the doors parted, she saw Callum at the nav console.
"Callum, I -" Callum interupted her.
"I was just studying the new higher res scanners. They certainly are a beauty." Looking at her, her suddenly realised he'd interrupted her. "Sorry, you were going to say something?" Louise gulped nervously. She gasped for air. "Are you alright Lou?"
"I just wanted....wanted to invite you....to dinner. My quarters?" Callum just nodded.
"Sure. What time?"
"0....0400 hours." She struggled. Callum told her that he'd be there.
"That's less than half an hour. I'd better get ready." Louise looked stunned. Andrew had done it again. He'd deliberately chosen a time he knew wouldn't give her much time to prepare, presumably so she'd just say it. Sneaky bastard, she thought.
Later, in her quarters, Louise sat waiting. There was a knock on the door - it was Callum.
"Come in." She called, and the door opened. Callum was wearing his least scruffy clothes, trying his best to look tidy.
"Hey Lou. Looking forward to dinner. What we having?" He asked her.
"Steak. Prime rib."
"Sounds great! Haven't had a good steak in a while." He closed the door behind him, and he sat down at his laid out space at the table, ready for his meal.
Later in the day, at 1700 hours, Callum and Louise walked onto the main deck, with the eyes of the other three on them. One thing they noticed was that Callum was walking funny. They also noticed the grin on his face - and on Louise's face too. She walked up to Phoebe and handed her the vibrator.
"Thanks. It was great fun." She said simply, and sat in her seat. Phoebe stared at the vibrator, then at Callum, then at Louise....and she grinned. And then she started to cheer. Soon the Paul and Andrew were cheering as well, and Callum and Louise just laughed slightly. Yes, Louise had told him.
In the medical bay, Andrew was tinkering with an extremely tiny device, the size of Phoebe's middle finger. He was busy connecting the tiniest of tiny circuits to the almost impossibly thin cables and wires inside. The device contained a small droid, the size of a marble, with a powerful cutting laser. It was a marvel of nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The base of the finger-like device also had a chemical hypospray system, that would inject the wearer with a special chemical, designed to break down anything that was injected into the wearers' bloodstream, be it truth serum or sedative or anything else anyone would care to throw at it. It was designed for Phoebe - her own middle finger on her left paw was gone, the result of an engineering accident on one of her first missions with the crew of the 'Red Robin'. It was also the time when she first got to know Paul, as he treated her following the accident. The center of the artifcial finger had a scanner/scan inhibitor, designed to project a field identical to her own life signs, so the finger wouldn't be detected. He marvelled at his ingenuity. He knew Phoebe would love it, being the gizmo fanatic that she was. It was light, too. Just like one of her own fingers. He'd used a sample of her DNA to grow the fur to cover it, and now it was complete. He called Phoebe down to the medical bay with the comm panel and sat back, waiting for her. When she arrived, she saw Paul sitting there with a grin on his face. He held up the artificial finger when Phoebe asked what he wanted her for.
"I have a present for you. Something for when you get into a tight spot." He told her, still grinning.
"What is it?" She asked him. He told her about the different features of the finger, smiling contentedly as she beamed upon hearing more about what he'd made her. "That's brilliant! How does it work?"
"You simply tap it twice on the tip, and the droid comes to life. The scanner in the middle runs continuously, and picks up when something's been injected into you."
"It's brilliant, but I'm just wondering why? Is there any special reason?"
"I spoke to the captain of the freighter that was attacked. He was adamant that we didn't take this mission. When I told him that Wolfie'd taken the job, he said that it would be the end of us, and once we were prisoners on Elysium, there would be no hope for us. Well, now there's hope for one of us, should anything happen."
"You're expecting us to get captured or something?" She asked with a wry grin on her face.
"Well, no. But that doesn't discount the possibility." He said, scritching her ears slightly, smiling as she purred in delight.
"Thank you, honey. I love it." She thanked him, and then she kissed him deeply.
The day was pretty quiet all round. Their first destination was a trading station near Tau Ceti, the very same station that the freighter with Moonshadow aboard had visited at the beginning of their trading run.
"Open up a comm channel with the station." Callum commanded, and Louise complied. "Tau Ceti Outpost, this is the 'Red Robin' requesting permission to dock."
The station responded, with a femme's voice directing them to their relevant docking port. The Tau Ceti Outpost was distinctly less appealing than the station at Artanis. It looked battered, run-down, and in desperate need of a paint job. It was a mess, basically. The 'Red Robin' latched to the docking port that was designated for it, and soon after the airlock hissed and opened, with Callum and Andrew stepping out. The rest stayed behind, watching the ship.
"Come on Marksman, we've got to ask a few questions, and then we're leaving." Andrew nodded in response, and the two furs padded off toward the bar. It was an average deep space outpost bar - full of furs carrying various types of weapons, the pungent smell of three dozen and one different types of exotic drinks, and the sound of conversation. Andrew pointed to an empty table.
"I'll grab us a seat." Callum nodded back to him.
"I'll ask the bartender if she knows anything." Andrew walked over to the empty table and sat, regarding the crowd. He kept to himself, simply taking in the number of furs and the even greater number of weapons. He grinned - one of the furs had a Mark VIII Plasma rifle, Imperial issue. It was one of the few that Andrew was missing from his collection. The fur with the rifle, a femme coyote who was almost as tall as Andrew, noticed him and his apparent interest in the rifle. She winked at him and slinked as best a 6' 2" coyote could towards his table. She smiled at him as she helped herself to a seat.
"Hey there. Name's Andrew. What's yours?" He asked politely.
"Zara. Zara Volent." She replied. Extending a paw, she took one of Andrew's. He smiled at the warm touch. "What about you, handsome stranger?"
"Andrew. Andrew Marks. My captain calls me Marksman." Zara giggled, a pleasant sound to Andrew's ears.
"Marksman? Why's that?" She asked him.
"I'm a gunner, and a weapons enthusiast. I collect them as a hobby." Zara smiled.
"I like a man with some firepower. I collect guns myself."
"So I've seen. Mark VIII's are hard to come by. You must have spent quite a few credits on that."
"Yep. That it did. Mind you, it's worth it."
"Is it up for sale now?" Andrew asked her.
"Not really. Mind you, I might be considering a trade."
"What kind of trade?"
"A bit of firepower for a bit of action." Andrew looked at her, thinking he knew where this was going to go.
"What kind of action?"
"I want to join your ship. You came in on that Juventus class freighter, didn't you? By the looks of it, you're armed to the teeth. You must be expecting trouble. I've been stuck on this station looking for some action for too long. I want in." Andrew regarded her for a second. She was serious.
"You wanted this before you came over here, didn't you?" He asked with a wry grin.
"I wouldn't have been a very good trader if I didn't know what I wanted, now would I?" She laughed out loud, and Andrew joined her.
"I'll have to speak to the captain. I'm sure he'd be willing to have an extra pair of paws around the place."
"So what can you tell me about the freighter, the Minos?" Callum asked the bartender. The mouse at the bar shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing really. They came along, they drank, they kept to themselves, they left. No-one seemed to take much notice of them, and they didn't take notice of anyone."
"So it didn't look like anyone was interested in their cargo?"
"Can't say anyone was." Callum was confused. Why would Moonshadow's freighter be attacked if no-one was after the cargo?
"Alright, that's great. Thanks." Callum walked off to Andrew's table, only to see that he was busy talking to a coyote femme. He chuckled and kept walking. The mouse watched Callum leave for the far table, and then reached for a small communicator. She thumbed the button on the side.
"Get me Governor Jarman." She said to the communicator.
"Establishing comm link." Was the computerised reply.
"Andrew. We've got to leave. I've got the info we need. We should get back." Turning to the coyote femme, he added. "Sorry miss."
"That's OK Captain. She wants to come with us. Another weapons expert onboard can't be too much trouble?" Andrew looked determinedly at Callum. Callum just sighed.
"Alright. Get her up to speed on our mission. We're leaving now." Callum walked away from the bar with Andrew and Zara in tow.
"He didn't seem that bothered about me joining you." Zara noted.
"He's not, really. In fact, this is how we got our ship's medic, years ago. This mission is pretty dangerous, so we're told. It would help to have a hand at weapons. Plus, for some strange reason, Callum keeps insisting I find myself a femme to settle down with." Zara laughed.
"Well I wouldn't object to that!" She told him. Andrew stopped, stunned, as he watched the others walking down toward the docking ports.
"Say what?" He exclaimed, catching up with the other two furs. Callum was busy typing in the release code for the airlock. The door hissed and swung open, and the three furs entered.
After leaving the station, Louise plotted a course for the freighter's last recorded location, within Imperial space. The cloak was running, rendering the ship invisible. Callum, Louise and Andrew were on the main deck at their respective stations. Zara was also present, observing everything that was going on.
"So, what's the mission?" Zara asked.
"We're in search of a missing person. A freighter was attacked near here, and one of the passengers was the mate of Governor Jarman, of the UFC." Callum told her.
"UFC? Why are you helping them? They're always trying to stop us, put us out of work!"
"We've been promised allignment with the UFC if we succeed, which means that we'll be part of the UFC. They won't be able to complain, then." Louise added.
"And you believe them?"
"No reason why we shouldn't, especially considering the new toys they've given us. This cloaking device, for instance." Zara just 'hmmph'ed and kept watching.
"Callum, we've got something. An Imperial patrol ship." Andrew told him.
"Adjust course to avoid it." Callum ordered.
"Already done." Louise answered. The ship turned and avoided the small patrol vessel.
"Do you want to find our guest some quarters, Andrew?" Callum asked.
"Sure thing." Andrew rose from his seat and guided the smiling Zara from the main deck. They took the lift down to the living quarters, where Andrew showed her a room with just a bed, wardrobe, and a chest of drawers.
"Sorry it's not the best we have, but it's all that's available. My quarters are two doors down on the left. If you need anything, just ask." Andrew turned to leave her, but Zara placed a paw on his shoulder. She turned him gently and pulled him closer. Once Andrew was facing her, she kissed him on the muzzle gently. Andrew smiled. "Or I could stay here, if you like."