FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The day passed in a frenzy of activity as the Ro'Xanshin grounds were made ready for the arrival of Baronet Wei, Toroi fortunately had to endure little of it once he had made it quite clear to the servants, with the aid of a few poignant swings of his shiversword, that he was not to be consulted on the matters of decorations, guest placement or menu choices. He hadn't managed to escape the clutches of the tailor who was to design his presentation robes, however, and endured a long morning of being sized and examined and being dressed up like a doll. He left much of the actual decisions up to the tailor anyway, a prim and immaculately turned-out fox who spoke in nearly poetic tones about the virtues of Trabar silk and could compose sonnets on how a particular colour complemented his fur.

The theme of his presentation robes, he was informed, had been decided as 'inspired by the warrior-philosophers of the ancient tales'. Having worn them he doubted any warrior, even one of a philosophical bent, would wear anything remotely like them. He had at least managed to haggle the tailor down to just two layers of robes, a black underrobe trimmed with gold at the collar and a main robe of red, the thought of wearing the four-layered monstrosity originally proposed over the course of a day was out of the question, if it didn't kill him from heatstroke it would have been a miracle. He'd had to concede to a vitralis overcoat though, constructed of thousands of individual prism-beads of ruby-red glass woven onto a mesh of steelsilk threads, it was heavy and difficult to move in but at least it was cooler than the voluminous silks. Besides, he had to admit that for all its impracticality it did look rather impressive. Even his headfur, usually kept in a neat braid, had been the attention of a stylist. He turned aside a number of possible arrangements before finally agreeing to a ponytail with an engraved gold-ring hair clasp held in place by two needles of black-lacquered steel, having vociferously refused the bejewelled gold hairpins originally proposed on the grounds that they made him look ridiculous.

"Merciful ancestors," he thought in the privacy of his own mind "Is it not enough that I should have to get married, do I also have to look like a wedding cake?"

They'd even tried to put his shiversword in a jewelled scabbard before he informed them that anyone who attempted to make his sword, master-crafted by the warsmith-priests of Kageron Quintus, into something that looked only fit for a courtier would soon find out first-hand exactly why the warsmith's crafts were so feared. He loved his shiversword like a brother, it had served him well and saved his life on several occasions and while he had to put up with the humiliating presentation dress his sword most definitely didn't.

After having to deal with halfwit servants and obsessive clothiers with artistic pretentions it came as a blessed relief to return to his chambers in the afternoon, and to his lessons with Uelo. The Lotus Man's beatific calm and soft voice would be a soothing pleasure to return to after the commotion of the day, undesired though his presence was it was still far preferable to the orchestrated chaos that lurked outside.

He waved away the small swarm of servants that had buzzed around him nigh-constantly for most of the day and slid open the screen to his chambers, stepping inside as swiftly as the heavy robes allowed and slamming the screen shut behind him. He leaned back against the screen and shut his eyes, his rapturous sigh of relief soon became a welcoming kiss. His eyes sprung open in surprise to find that Uelo had come seemingly out of nowhere and taken full advantage of his relief-parted lips.

"Mmmn...damnation, you scared the living daylights out of me!" he cried, breaking off the kiss.

Uelo smiled innocently, one long-fingered hand still resting against Toroi's chest "Did I, my lord? Well, you looked like you needed something to get your blood pumping again, so perhaps that's all for the best, ne?" he said, sweetly.

"There's easier ways to go about it." Toroi grumbled, though he sudenly realised that the start he'd gotten had actually undid much of the fatigue of the day, releasing a little of the adrenalin he'd been much deprived of.

"Perhaps you are right, my lord," said Uelo and brought his other hand up to dangle a bottle of Va'Se before Toroi's eyes "maybe another little taste of the prize that awaits you would be more agreeable a method of whetting your appetite?"

A few minutes later and Toroi was seated on one of Uelo's cushions and happily sipping Va'Se, delighting in the bubbling upon his tongue as the ermine slowly helped him undress. With the liquid precision that characterised the Lotus Man's movements he folded the vitralis coat and heavy overrobe in a fashion that would see them un-creased come tomorrow and put them away safely in Toroi's wardrobe.

"Do they teach the clothiers art in the Lotus Temple too?" inquired Toroi, half-seriously, as he reclined back against the cushion.

"Amongst other things, my lord," replied Uelo, settling himself onto the cushion opposite Toroi "A lotus adept must have many and varied skills."

"Oh? I thought you were...courtesans," he caught himself before he said 'whores' "what other skills do you need exactly?"

Uelo's smile deepened just a fraction "Well, my lord, I can if you desire play a number of musical instruments, should my client wish music to help them relax, I can also make fine conversation, dance and exercise flawless etiquette if I am needed as an escort to a social event, I can speak three dozen languages and numerous dialects thereof, competently discuss literature and philosophy, perform emergency medicine, I have already shown you my skills as a masseur, and..." the ermine paused to pour himself a small cup of brandy "should my client require protection, I can kill or disable anyone that comes within arms reach of me." he took a sip, adding "Instantly."

"They teach the martial arts at the Lotus Temple?" asked Toroi, sincerely interested.

"Oh yes, long before any instruction in the ways of pleasure, intiates join the Temple at the age of eight, remember. Fencing for grace, archery for poise, unarmed combat for stamina, all add to the whole as well as being useful in their own right." replied Uelo.

Toroi nodded silently, rather impressed, he'd guessed that Uelo had recieved some self-defence training but he'd never suspected that a Lotus Person would have truely studied the martial arts. If he was honest he'd never really thought much about the Lotus Order at all, one look at their fees had convinced him that they were far outside his price range and he'd largely ignored them after that. It did occur to him that with the wealth he would gain from promotion to Marquess that would no longer be the case, he could even afford a life-long Jade Contract with the Lotus Temple and have a Lotus Person as a personal concubine, it was...not an unappealing prospect. Briefly, some foolish corner of his mind even considered contracting Uelo in such a position but he swiftly brushed it aside for the nonsense it was. No, he would have a Lotus Woman, if at all.

Still, there were some things that needed to be said to Uelo.

"Uelo?" said Toroi in a nervous tone.

"Yes, my lord?"

"I want to...apologise. For what I said, I mean, and truly this time."

Uelo set down his cup and straightened his posture on the cushion, folding his hands on his lap "So your first apology was not sincere, my lord?"

"Well you did rather, how to say this...have me by the balls? Metaphorically and actually, there wasn't really anything else I could have said, but...this is sincere, I am sorry for, er, what I called you. It wasn't true."

With that, Uelo nodded his delicate nod and bowed "Apology accepted, my lord. And thank you."

"Ah, well, I was wrong and I can admit that when it's deserved," said Toroi, bashfully, making a dismissive wave "and I'm still going to take your brandy, Lotus Man, and don't forget it."

Uelo flashed him a knowing grin and for just a moment Toroi thought he could almost see the depth of wisdom that was reflected in the gleam of the Lotus Man's eyes "You may at that, my lord." said Uelo, his voice like liquid silk.

"So...when do you want to begin the, ah, lesson?" asked Toroi, awkwardly, after a moment.

"Ah, but my lord," said Uelo "it already has."

Over the course of nearly an hour Uelo again demonstrated the deftness of his hands in the application of massage until every tensing of the shoulders he had made in anger and frustration at having to deal with the matters of the day was beaten into submission by the ermine's masterful fingers. In that part, at least, Toroi could find nothing to object to as he lay on the silken cushion sighing with satisfaction periodically. His loincloth had been undone without him even noticing by means of some slight-of-hand like a magician's trick, when Uelo finally bade him to sit reclined against one of the massive cushions.

"If you are ready, my lord, then I shall begin the practical aspect of today's instruction." said Uelo, kneeling before him as he shrugged off his robe. For just a moment, the way it fell around the Lotus Man's narrow shoulders just before it slid to the floor left a lump in Toroi's throat. He was finding it increasingly hard to deny just how arousing Uelo was, he was not like any man he had ever known, he did not brag or boast or speak loudly and coarsely like the House soldiers he spent most of his time with, nor did he seem to feel the need to comport himself in any way that was stereotypically masculine. But at the same time, Uelo did not strike him as being feminine in his manner either, as he might have expected of a Lotus Man who serviced other males, he dressed in silks that bore feminine colours and prints, spoke softly and moved with a delicacy that was almost female but it seemed he did so because these things were almost a uniform of sorts, a mark of his calling, and because it suited him to do so. And he could be fierce too, there was power in his eyes, he now understood why his father had made the comparison between Uelo and a Jägercat, when roused to anger the creature was notoriously deadly. Uelo was simply Uelo; sensual, sexual and so beyond stereotype as to not merely defy such cliché's of gender, but to ignore them entirely.

"Yes," he said at last, noting with some interest how Uelo's rose-silk robe pooled so well around the curves of his shapely rump "I am ready."

Uelo bent down over the reclining fox-lord and took Toroi's shaft in one hand, stroking it with feather-lightness, just letting the fur of his hand sensitise the flesh, Toroi drew in a breath over his teeth at the feeling it brought "So I see." said Uelo, wryly, and leaned in to plant a kiss on the side of Toroi's member "Now, for reasons that shall become apparent, I will not be able to provide much verbal instruction during this lesson so I want you to just watch and feel. Try to visualise every movement."

"So, what are you-" Toroi's question was cut short by a gasp when he found the answer in the form of Uelo's lips slipping over the head of his member. The sight alone of Uelo, eyes closed and kneeling as if in prayer while suckling on the tip of his shaft made Toroi's fur bristle with embarrassment, he knew it was ridiculous but it almost seemed like he was intruding on something private and sacred.

Nonetheless, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

He could feel Uelo's tongue move in spirals about his cockhead, inflicting exquisite torture upon the sensitive flesh that made Toroi have to bite his lip to avoid gasping in pleasure with every passing moment. His eyes widened as Uelo took him deeper into his mouth, engrossed by the sight of his member disappearing slowly past those gorgeous lips and the feelings that came with it. He knew what Uelo meant now, he could visualise it; he could feel the things the ermine's tongue did to his flesh and see them in his mind, without knowing it he began to mirror the movements with his own mouth, mimicking the Lotus Man's techniques.

Uelo's movements became more insistant, lips wrapping tightly about his member and the attentions of his tongue growing almost agressive as his head bobbed on Toroi's manhood, sometimes withdrawing entirely to worshipfully kiss his flesh or run his mouth along the side of it. Toroi gave up trying to hold back his expressions of pleasure and let out a throaty moan of an intensity that surprised even him. Perhaps in response, Uelo cupped his sac in one hand and gently kneaded the twin orbs within, rolling them between his dextrous fingers in such a way that Toroi nearly went crosseyed with bliss for a moment.

A moment later, Uelo withdrew Toroi's maleness from his mouth and looked up into the rapt fox-lords eyes "Now I feel rather guilty about having treated these so roughly before," he said, smiling mischievously while fondling Toroi's testicles, before bending down and kissing the furry sack, a motion so sensual that Toroi gulped just at the sight of it "but I think I can make up for that." said the Lotus Man in a sultry tone and leaned low to wrap his lips around one of the fleshy orbs into his mouth and then the other, Toroi envisioning the slow circles Uelo's tongue traced around the orb and then the figure-of-eight's when the second one joined it, his own tongue matching it unbidden.

Toroi was almost at peak when he felt Uelo's mouth leave his sack and the warm tongue follow the line from between his balls and up the length of his shaft to again swallow his maleness. It took little longer before Toroi's body shuddered and he moaned in almost shocked pleasure as orgasm took him and he writhed and fisted his hands in the fabric of the cushion, his whole body seeking release. Through half-lidded eyes he looked down to see Uelo lick his lips as though Toroi's seed were a drink finer than the Va'Se.

The ermine rose from his knees to straddle Toroi and slowly lowered himself until they were chest-to-chest, face-to-face, Toroi stared into Uelo's soft hazel eyes for a moment and opened his mouth to speak but before he could say a word Uelo devoured his lips, the heat of his mouth was firey and mingled tastes of sweet alcohol and his own male essence assaulted his senses, if sex had a taste then he found in in Uelo's mouth. Time lost all meaning as he lay entwined with the ermine, running his hands along the soft, satin-smooth fur of Uelo's back as the Lotus Man did the same with him, their hands exploring eachothers bodies as the kiss continued, hot and ferocious. His only breath was Uelo's, Uelo's only breath his, he felt delirious, his head swimming as he returned the kiss with as much passion as it was given.

Which one of them finally broke the kiss, he wasn't sure, the parting soft and breathy, accompanied by the deepest of sighs. Toroi stared at Uelo's face, inches from his, for a long moment before he realised his hand was cupping the ermine's right cheek and absently stroking the white lotus symbol there with his thumb. The shock of what he had been doing startled him out of the blissful fog his mind had been occupying and he jerked his hand away, touching another's House or Caste markings was a sign of the very deepest affection, reserved only for the very closest of lovers.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I-I didn't realise..." he stuttered, pushing himself away from Uelo on the cushion.

"Shhh, my lord," crooned Uelo, placatingly "there's no shame between us when we are together, never, I won't allow it." he pushed himself up on one hand and with his other reached out and brushed the back of his finger along the red half-moons beneath Toroi's eyes that marked him as a Ro'Xanshin noble.

"There," he said "now we have both touched eachothers markings. If there is any dishonour, and I don't believe there is, we both share in it equally and so can ignore it."

The gesture brought a smile unbidden to Toroi's lips, the Lotus Man had an almost preternatural ability to banish any awkwardness or discomfort, he realised, it was as if Uelo knew always what was exactly the right thing to say. Was that some special quality that only he possessed or was it something that all Lotus People shared? And if the latter then was it something that could be taught, learned by rote, or was it something inborn that the testers of Lotus Temple sought out in a potential initiate? He didn't know. In fact, come to think of it, he didn't care, it was wonderful and that was all that mattered, he felt so comfortable in Uelo's company that he could scarcely believe it.

And that was a worry all of it's own.

The smile dropped slowly from his face "Uelo?" he said.

"Yes, my lord?"

"How do you do it?" said Toroi, pointedly.

"Would you like me to demonstrate the technique again? I can if you desire."

"No no, not that," Toroi paused to clear his throat "how do you...make me feel like this, I've never felt this way for a man before, not once, but..." his voice trailed off.

Uelo rose to a sitting position, his expression still carried a faint smile but complex though bubbled below he surface so strong that it was practically visible "Partially, it is a matter of my skills. A Lotus Person, or anyone who walks the Lotus Path for that matter, can make certain...adjustments to their bearing and manner that can make themselves more appealing on a subconscious level to one whom they have studied. It is hard to explain in detail but, simply put, I can, if I desire, make myself attractive even to one who has never felt any particular desire for one of my gender. It is a trick, a deception, a way of flipping mental switches that should not ordinarily be flipped by my presence. It is called the petal dance in my order, and before you ask; no, it is no great secret."

"And you have been using this ability on me?"

"Yes, at first." replied Uelo.

"What do you mean, 'at first'? I still find you attractive." said Toroi, confused but not angry.

"When we first met I used the petal dance to make myself more attractive to you, to make things easier for you, but...I noticed something in you, while we made love, something that made it irrelevant, so I stopped. It is something that is hard to detect, especially if the subject does not know it is there themselves, but I am quite sure of it now."

"What?"

"You are a wave-soul, like me." said Uelo, putting a hand over his heart.

"A wave-soul? What is that?" said Toroi, uncomprehending.

"Ah, sorry, it is a term used in my order to describe someone who finds both genders attractive." explained Uelo.

Toroi sat silently for a moment, studying Uelo's face for any sign of humour "Pah, rubbish!" he scoffed, finding none "How could that be? Just because I find you attractive for some strange reason, that still leaves the fact that you are the only male I have ever felt like that for. You are mistaken, Lotus Man."

"I am not mistaken, my lord, you are a wave-soul, I am quite sure of it." said Uelo.

"And I've already explained that that's impossible. You are just an exception to the rule for some reason, that's all." replied Toroi, firmly.

"Then let me ask you a question, my lord," pressed Uelo.

Toroi turned his head to look into Uelo's eyes "Ahhh...very well, then." he said, at last.

"Thank you, my lord," said Uelo, bowing "the question is this; besides your family, what other men are you usually likely to spend time around?"

Toroi considered the question "Erm...well I suppose that would mostly be my soldiers...and my friends, of course."

"Soldiers that are crude and boisterous?" inquired Uelo, sweetly.

"Never met a military man yet that wasn't to some degree." replied Toroi, just before realising that such a description could very easily be applied to him.

"And friends who are, while no doubt fun to be around, similarly...energetic?"

"Well.." said Toroi, trailing off, most of his friends were young nobles like himself and tended toward the rakish firebrand in their personality.

"There, that is the key," said Uelo, nodding sagely "it is not males you find unappealing per se', so much as it is excessive masculinity. It is not uncommon in an alpha male such as yourself, you find other men who share your overt masculinity threatening, which colours your perception of them whether you are aware of it or not."

"That sounds a little contrived, Lotus Man." said Toroi, sceptically.

Uelo was silent for a while, his face an unreadable mask "Perhaps...perhaps you are right, my lord, a wave-soul proclivity is hard to detect, after all, only a master of mistress of the fifth petal can do so with any great accuracy if the subject is not already aware of it. I may have made a misjudgement, perhaps it was just some after-effect of my petal dance." he said at last, holding out his hands palm-up in a gesture of defeat. Toroi didn't like that, it seemed wrong on some intrinsic, unnameable level for Uelo to be defeated by anything.

"In any case, let us return to the matter at hand, shall we?" said the Lotus Man, at last, clapping his hands together.

"Practice?" inquired Toroi.

"Practice." replied Uelo, decisively, reclining back against the pillow as Toroi slid to the floor to kneel before the Lotus Man, his teacher "But first, a little something to help you, a teaching aid if you will." he said and rolled over to fish about in his satchel, sitting beside the cushion. He withdrew from it a long silk scarf and bent down to face Toroi, he kissed the fox-lord furtively on the nose and then placed the scarf over his eyes.

"Hey, what...what is the meaning of this?" said the suddenly-blinded Toroi, feeling Uelo's hands tying the scarf loosely behind his head.

"This way you will have to use your other senses, and not rely on your sight which can distract you from a task like this." he heard Uelo say while at the same time he felt a hand come to rest on his head, a thumb stroking his ear as it guided his head down until he could smell the delicate musk of Uelo's sex, in his minds eye he could see the ermine's maleness erect before him, inches from his muzzle, just as he could almost feel the heat of it against his face.

"And when you are done I shall send for some cool drinks and show you the many and varied uses of the humble ice cube." said Uelo, a tone of wry mischief cutting through his voice.

"Careful, Lotus Man, give away all your tricks too soon and it'll only hasten the time when I win our bet." replied Toroi and before the Lotus Man could reply his tongue snaked out and found Uelo's shaft, running up it until he found the head and took it into his mouth, repeating the spiral-motion of the tongue he had felt Uelo perform.

"Hmmm, well you are a swift study, my lord, I wouldn't want to hold you back." said Uelo with a hint of amusement and a sigh on his lips.

~~~@*@~~~

The Dragonfly at last pulled into harbour at the House Rabarii starport, it had taken hours to furl the neutrino sails and retract the struts, though the motors could reel in or unreel the sails at several hundred miles an hour it still took some time to bring in the vast sheets of reactive plastic which while only nanometres thick had the combined diameter of a small moon. Still, it was necessary, three days riding in Wayspace had put allot of stress on them and if a sail had ruptured it would have taken days to repair, both delaying Baronet Wei's presentation on Byzantium Tertius and putting them at risk, stranded in open space and unable to travel in the Way any number of things could have happened from pirates, to radiation storms to micro meteor showers.

No, thought Captain Yaroi, better to pull into port and let the sails settle for a while, they were making good enough time as it was so there was no need to rush and risk disaster. The starport operated by the Patrician House Rabarii was a natural choice, it had a reputation for security and discretion. The stations guards, the Yanisari, were legendary in their devotion to keeping the peace onboard the station and were rumoured to be a race of clone soldiers House Rabarii had commissioned made especially for the purpose.

He could believe it, two Yanisari were standing on either side of the entrance to the stations communal area when he stepped out of the Dragonfly's airlock, both of them panthers, seemingly identical, dressed in uniforms of baggy navy-blue trousers and skin-tight sleeveless shirts that showed every inch of their rippling muscles. Each had a white star nano-pigmented onto their left eye, marring their otherwise pure-black fur, and held a massive two-handed shiversword upright before their faces, gripping them in fists clad in ceramsteel gauntlets.

A Rabarii administrator, a black cat wearing a buttoned coat and trousers the same colour as the Yanisari's uniform and with three tiny white stars about his left eye, one above, one below and one at the corner, approached Yaroi with a welcoming smile, carrying no weapons or anything more threatening than the large datapad in the crook of his arm.

"Welcome to the Rabarii starport, honoured guests of House Yusho." he said with a bow.

"We bring with us only peace." said Yaroi, returning the bow as he intoned the ritual greeting.

"And only peace shall you find." replied the administrator, completing the greeting "Though we would ask you to turn over any projectile weapons before entering the station, and only the Yanisari may wield shiverswords here, for safety reasons, you understand."

Yaroi nodded, a single puncture to the stations hull could put every occupant at risk "I trust your security, I carry only an unpowered blade." he said, drawing his sword partway to show that it lacked sonic mechanisms.

"Mono?" inquired the cat.

"No, just sharp."

The cat nodded, apparently satisfied, and tapped his fingers on the screen of his datapad "Will you be requiring anything? Maintenance, fuel, water?"

"Just a days berth to settle our sails...and security, we are travelling with an important member of House Yusho."

The administrator tapped a few more commands onto his pad "I have ordered extra Yanisari sent to patrol the cabins and visitors area and to guard you at all times, your ward will be at no risk." he assured the Captain "Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you." said Yaroi with a short bow.

"Very well, one day's berth, extra security," he tapped a final command onto his datapad "total fees come to twenty-five hundred Imperial scrip." he said, holding out his datapad.

The captain nodded and waved a currency wand over the pad's reader, transferring the funds. The pad made an acceptance 'ping' and the administrator smiled happily.

"Very good, sir. Once again, welcome to Rabarii starport, and please enjoy your stay." he said, bowing low and opening the entranceway with a click of a remote.

Trailing behind Yaroi came a contingent of Yusho guards, their usual armaments shed in favour of the blades Yaroi had made them practice with for situations such as this, who flanked Wei and the four servants he had brought with him. No longer attired in his presentation robes but a more practical set of travelling clothes; a blue and silver diamond-shaped kaftan over loose-cut trousers and a light knee-length tunic of fine white linen cinched at the waist with a slim leather belt. The kaftan had been Yaroi's addition, it concealed the VF-shield pack he had affixed to Wei's belt as a precaution against snipers. He saw now that it was largely irrelevant, nobody on the station would be carrying a projectile weapon and VF shields were useless against daggers and swords that could get inside their radius, something he and his men would not allow to happen, but it comforted him to know it was there, nonetheless.

As their small retinue left the airlock they were joined by an escort of six Yanisari, his men looked apprehensive about them at first but he flashed them the 'ally' sign in the Yusho military hand-language and they slowly relaxed though they still kept glancing, perhaps understandably, at the enormous warriors who marched silently alongside them with their gargantuan shiverblades held before their unblinking eyes.

If Wei noticed the disconcertion of the men then he made no sign of it, when Yaroi chanced a glance behind him he saw the young mouse glance about him with wide-eyed amazement at the unfamiliar surroundings. They emerged into the cavernous visitors area, abuzz with the comings and goings, conversations and arguments, of travellers from a thousand different places and of numerous different races. Merchants conducted business beneath the colossal glassteel observation dome above their heads, food vendors mostly, though there were those selling clothes, videobooks and assorted conveniences to the spacers who stopped at the station. Wei let out a quiet squeak of awe at the sight of the place.

It occurred to Yoroi that Wei had never been away from the Sirens, the three anvil-worlds of Cho, Lar and Rem that made up the primary holdings of the House, in fact he wasn't sure the little mouse-lord had ever left Cho, where he was born, hidden away safely for precisely this time. The Sirens were uninhabitable on the surface, airless and each continually scoured by gravitational flux-waves from the others which hung in their respective skies like moons of impossible proportion. The grav-waves could crush a man into a red film a few microns thick and a few miles wide in less than the space of time it takes to draw a breath. Wei had lived his entire life in the Yusho's subterranean factory-cities, never seeing the surface. Surrounded by luxury and splendour, to be sure, he was a member of the nobility, but only the splendour of art and architecture and other manufactured things. Briefly the captain wondered how he would adapt to his new life on Byzantium Tertius, the home of House Ro'Xanshin was a paradise world and, while the starport may be unfamiliar, to set foot upon the surface of a world, breathe air that was not artificially recycled and see not by photo-lamps but by sunlight...for Wei that might be an experience so alien as to be unimaginable.

A gaggle of otter smile-girls, their red-satin dresses made with indecently provocative cuts to show off their slinky bodies, made a big show of making their come-on's and catcalls at their group as they passed by. The Yusho soldiers and the Yanisari alike ignored them, only Wei took any notice and smiled at them, waving back innocently, much to his servants embarrassment and the smile-girls delight, judging by their peals of bawdy laughter.

Virgin, Yaroi remembered, his young master had probably been kept isolated his whole life from anything even remotely sexual in nature, he doubted the little mouse-lord had any idea what the girls were selling. It was perverse, really, that Wei, nearly twenty years old, would be so sexually naive, kept cloistered away to ensure that he remained 'pure' for the purpose of sealing a deal to end a centuries-long feud of the noble house he happened to have been born into. Yaroi grimaced, purity was for gold or drinking water, not people, but the archic traditions of the Houses rarely made sense, at least there was the solace that the alliance with Ro'Xanshin would undoubtably save many innocent lives. He dimly hoped that Uelo did his job well or the consummation of the marriage was going to be a frightening experience for Wei, he didn't deserve that.

At last Yaroi breathed a sigh of relief when they reached their cabins, his eyes seemed to see Lashani assassins in every corner no matter how much he reprimanded himself for the foolishness of such thoughts. No one beside him and the Dragonfly's crew knew they were here, how could they? Their stop here had been entirely unplanned. Still, something just nagged at him not to let his guard down.

The guards took up positions in the two bunk-filled rooms on either side of Wei's own cabin, the Yanisari silently standing two aside each of the three doors. After assigning them shift-protocols Yaroi went to check on his young master.

"Your honour? Are you well?" he called as he entered.

Wei had shed his kaftan and his servants were in the process of checking the room over with hand-scanners for any suspicious devices, Yaroi supressed a sigh of despair that the little lord should have to live like this, like sudden death lurked at every turn. Still, having become accustomed to it his whole life Wei hardly seemed to notice the precautions, it was just how life was for him. Yaroi long ago resolved that however difficult the life of the low-born was he'd never want to be a noble.

"Captain!" squeaked Wei, turning to the door "What a wonderful place, I've never seen anything like it!" he said, excitedly.

"It is merely a spacedock, your honour," said Yaroi, amused by Wei's reaction and more than a little happy that his previous anxieties seemed to be gone for the timebeing "You will see far more interesting things on Byzantium Tertius."

"But that great dome, you could see all the stars!"

"Your Honour, you have already seen the stars."

"Only through a little viewport, not so many as that at the same time." said Wei, almost defensively.

"Well imagine how many more you will be able to see when you stand under open sky."

"On Byzantium Tertius?"

"Yes, your honour."

"What's it like? Have you been there?" inquired Wei, eagerly.

"Once, your honour. I was just a sergeant at the time and I didn't get to see much of the planet, I was accompanying your father." he didn't mention that he had been accompanying Duke Yusho as part of his honour guard to negotiate the terms of Wei's marriage with Toroi, Wei could do without being reminded of that for a while "What I did see though...breathtaking. Byzantium Tertius is a world of matchless beauty, it's plants use several different chemicals for photosynthesis, not just chlorophyll, so the plantlife is extraordinarily colourful, the Ro'Xanshin estate overlooks a field of iridescent grass that seems to change colour with the wind, it is quite a sight. And the sunsets!"

"Sunsets?" said Wei.

"Oh, yes...well you see, when the sun passes near the horizon it makes this sort of effect you see..."

"I know what a sunset is, Captain, the Sirens may not have them but I have watched videobooks." said Wei with a slight ring of indignation "What I mean is, what is so special about the sunsets of Byzantium Tertius?"

"Ah, right...sorry, your honour," Yaroi cleared his throat "Well it is my understanding that the planet has certain rare gasses in its atmosphere as a result of its unusual plantlife and some of these form additional atmospheric layers that...well...make the sunsets rather beautiful." he finished, a tad lamely.

"Ah, I see." chimed Wei, apparently satisfied with Yaroi's answer, however poor it might have been.

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, you'll see it for yourself soon enough." said Yaroi, abashedly.

"Yes," said Wei, for the first time that day a tiny twinge of panic eked into his voice bt it swiftly vanished "but first I would like to see more of this station."

"I'm not sure that's so good an idea, Your Honour, this station is a pretty rough place, and it's entertainments are not really suitable for a noble." protested the Captain.

Wei waved silence "I'm sure it will be fine, Captain, and I think I shall be the judge of what is suitable for me." he said, the last part was said almost bitterly. Yaroi understood now, this might be the last time Wei had a chance to make any real decision for himself. As sapphire husband he would be duty-bound to be obedient to his ruby husband's wishes, his imagination had likely been conjuring all manner of nightmarish scenario's for weeks, imagining Viscount Toroi to be some overbearing monster that would come to dominate his entire life. For all Yaroi knew, that might even be accurate.

He sighed "As you wish, your honour, though I would advise bringing suitable protection."

"Just the Yanisari, I do not wish to cause too much undue commotion with my presence. You may come as well, of course." replied Wei.

"In a place like this you'd have to break my legs and gouge out my eyes to stop me from keeping a watch on you, your honour, because that's exactly what your father would do to me if anything happened to you." said Yaroi, chuckling at the ashen look his black humour left on the little mouse-lord's face.

His amusement was interrupted by the insistent chiming of the station comm system terminal set into the wall, both he an Wei turned to see the screen flashing the "Incoming communication, accept?" message.

"Tess? See who that is, would you?" said Wei to one of the servants who was closest to the comm panel, she nodded and keyed the call acceptance button.

Immediately an image of a fox of aristocratic bearing appeared on the screen, richly attired in red silks and with the red half-moons of the Ro'Xanshin beneath his eyes.

"Well, isn't this a surprise!" he exclaimed "Here I am on my way to Byzantium Tertius to attend my dear cousin's wedding and I get to meet the betrothed before he does, isn't the universe odd like that?"

Wei looked surprised "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage, sir." he said.

"Oh, of course, please forgive me. Really, where are my manners?" said the fox on the screen before bowing flamboyantly "I am Lord Rashar Ro'Xanshin, first cousin to Viscount Toroi Ro'Xanshin, my transport is currently berthed here, what a coincidence, eh!?"

"You...are Viscount Toroi's cousin?"

"Yes! Can't tell you how surprised I was when I saw a Yusho transport pulling in, nearly spilt my drink, don't you know." said the fox-lord, animatedly punctuating his speech with expansive hand-gestures "Now, dear boy, we simply must meet for drinks this instant, I won't take no for an answer, there's so much I'd love to discuss with you!"

A bright look appeared on Wei's face "Oh, yes, that sounds wonderful, where shall we meet?" he squeaked excitedly.

The fox-lord on screen leaned closer to the camera and put a hand to the side of his face, eyes darting about as he whispered conspiratorially "Well right now I'm at this place called 'The Bright Nebula Bar', got tempted in by the name, don't you know, turned out to be a bit seedy though," he whispered before raising a conical glass to the camera "Still, they make a damn fine cocktail!" he said, downing the multicoloured contents of the glass in one gulp.

"We'll meet you there." said Wei, ignoring Yaroi's sound of objection.

"Oh, marvellous, you must have one of these," said the fox, holding up the now-empty glass "see you there soon, or here soon, depending on how you look at it. Oh goodness, now I'm forgetting where I am, bwaha!" he chortled, and cut the comm.

"There, see Yaroi, now you have no excuse for not letting me see the station." said Wei, happily, darting over to where his kaftan was folded over the back of a chair and tugging it on before his servants had a chance to dress him.

"A little...eccentric, isn't he, this Lord Rashar?" said Yaroi, sceptically.

"A little, yes, but he seems nice enough." said Wei, gazing off in thought "I wonder if he's anything like Viscount Toroi?" he said after a moment, his tone almost hopeful.

"Couldn't say, your honour." said Yaroi, carefully.

"Well at the very least he might know what he's like." said Wei, decisively "Let's go, Captain, no need to keep lord Rashar waiting."

"As you wish, your honour. Though might I ask if I could see your shield pack before we leave the cabin?"

Wei didn't object, merely brushing aside the edge of his kaftan to show the small black box affixed to his belt that was even at that very moment invisibly guarding him with a velocity filtration bubble that would block any incoming projectiles less powerful than a shot from a ship-to-ship weapon. As long as he wore it Wei would be safe even if someone tried to attack him with a rocket launcher, at least until weapons-fire drained the shield's batteries. Yaroi kneeled to check the power-settings and deemed them acceptable after a moment's perusal.

He eventually persuaded Wei to take the whole guard with them on the concession that they would remain outside the bar when they arrived. The Bright Nebula Bar, true to Tord Rashar's description, was among the biggest dives Yaroi had ever seen, and he'd been to his share of seedy bars. Among the dim lighting, tacky decorations and smoky air, Wei looked like a flower at the top of a dunghill, he expected the mouse-lord to at least wrinkle his nose in distaste but instead he merely scanned the room for Rashar.

"Over here!" came a call from the other side of the room where Rashar sat at a small round table. He waved at them, making a loud jangling from the multitude of bracelets and bangles about his wrist.

Wei squeaked happily and ran over to where Rashar was sitting, Yaroi and the two Yanisari trailing close behind. Two tall, multi-layered cocktails sat on the table, Yaroi groaned internally, he was pretty sure that someone Wei's size wouldn't have much of an alchohol tolerance and the thought of having to deal with the young master when he was drunk was not an appealing one. He'd rarely even seen Wei so much as touch anything harder than fruit juice and knew he didn't really like the taste of alchoholic drinks but he might try it anyway, just out of conditioned politeness if nothing else.

"Lord Rashan, it's a pleasure to meet you." said Wei, bowing as the fox-lord rose and gestured to the other chair at the table, causing another minor commotion of clattering bangles.

"The pleasure is all mine, dear boy, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine!" said Rashar as Wei seated himself "Please, won't your guard sit too? I know these big Yanisari fellows never do but there's no need to stand just on principle."

"I'll stand, thank you, milord." said Yaroi, dutifully taking his position at Wei's side.

"Oh, very well," said Rashar with a tut and a dismissive wave "honestly, millitary men, eh? They're all the same."

"Viscount Toroi is a millitary man, I think if he is anything like as virtuous as Captain Yaroi then I shall be most pleased with him." said Wei, defending Yaroi subtly but still clearly enough that the old ferret recognised the praise.

"Oh, they're virtuous, certainly, if you like that sort of thing." replied Rashar, making circular motions with his hand and gazing off despairingly.

Wei was smiling bemusedly and about to lift the drink before Yaroi put a hand on his arm "One moment, your honour." he said and drew a poison detector from his belt, plunging the sensor-wand into the liquid.

"See what I mean?" said Rashar offhandedly, Yaroi barely noticed. A second later and the detector flashed a green light.

"Safe." said Yaroi with a twinge of relief and withdrew the wand, if it had read anything else he would have gutted Rashar where he sat, lord or not.

"Thank you, captain." said Wei, primly, and raised the glass to his lips, taking a tiny sip and then another larger one, apparently finding the concoction palatable.

"So, it's good to see you face to face, I'm not sure I would have had a chance to meet you properly on Byzantium, there'd likely be far too much commotion around your arrival for me to get a word in edgewise, why I doubt I'd be able to do so much as get within arms reach." said Rashar, fiddling absent-mindedly with the bangles on his left wrist.

"Yes, I must say that this is an unexpected pleasure, I take it you are travelling to Byzantium to attend the...uh, wedding?" said Wei in reply.

"That was the plan, yes, I had some other business as well but now that you are here it's all old news now, dear boy,"

"I'm not sure I follow you," said Wei, cocking his head in confusion.

"Ah, well, you see I had some messages of congratulations to deliver...from those that couldn't make the wedding, you see." explained Rashar, Yaroi noticed that his fingers were playing special attention to the largest of the bracelets, a thick bronzite cuff with a large oval gem-setting on it.

"Oh, how wonderful!" exclaimed Wei "Is there anyone in particular?"

"Yes..." began Rashar, fingering the ornate setting on his bracelet "Indeed there is, now that you mention it..." for the first time Yaroi realised how close he and Wei were, the table between them was only a meter or so across so Rashar sat...

...Rashar sat inside the protection radius of Wei's shield.

"Duke Lashani sends his regards!" in one fluid movement, Rashar held out his left arm and with his right hand pushed down on the gem set into the ornate bracelet. At exactly the same moment as the fox moved, Yaroi put his hand in the centre of Wei's chest and pushed with every mote of strength he could muster, the little mouse yelped in surprise as he toppled backwards, the contents of the glass in his hand sent flying along with him, Yaroi hoped it was far enough.

There was the sound of a sharp 'phut' of compressed air from Rashar's bracelet and for the briefest of moments Wei's whole body became enveloped in a sphere of blinding white light so bright it left afterimages seared onto the retina. A split second later and the Yanisari burst into action, the first brought his shiversword down, severing the fox's arms at the elbow and the other wheeling his own blade round in a deadly arc to neatly bisect the fox's torso from stomach to spine.

Rashar died screaming an instant later when the first one beheaded him, the fox's corpse, cut into five pieces, leaking copious quantities of blood onto the bar's floor. A general ruckus broke out among the clientele, some shouting, some screaming, most just running for the door.

Over the din Yaroi ripped his sword from it's scabbard and stood over Wei's dazed form, brandishing it at the ready, barking orders to the Yusho soldiers outside at the top of his voice "You men, get in here! Form a shield; don't let anyone near the Baronet!"

With haste and efficiency the Yusho guards forced their way past the teeming masses with a combination of muscle and intimidation and surrounded he and Wei, blades drawn.

"Are you hurt, your honour!?" Yaroi cried, bending to help Wei up, the little mouse just stared uncomprehendingly into his eyes, mouthing soundlessly "Are you hurt!?" he repeated, forcefully.

"N-no...no I don't think so...ohhhh," stuttered Wei, his eye's going wide when he caught sight of the dismembered pieces of Rashar's body "What...happened?" he said in a shaky voice.

Yaroi picked up something he saw glinting on the floor, a tiny needle of hard plastic, it's tip stained green with venom.

"This was fired at you." he said, holding it up before Wei's eyes before driving it point-first into the surface of the table.

"But why?" asked Wei, plaintively, his eyes still glued to the fox's remains.

Yaroi had suspicions but moved to examine the body anyway. His suspicions were correct, already the red half-moons beneath 'Rashar's' (he doubted that was a real name) eyes had disappeared to be replaced with two black arrows above and below his right eye, the mark of the Whispered Death assassin sect, and his pointed fox ears had begun to round, his fur discolouring from it's ruddy fox appearance as the nanites in his body, now without orders from his brain, reverted him back to his true species, Yaroi didn't wait around to find out what that was.

"Nanoshifters!" he spat, as though it were a curse. He pointed to four of the six Yusho soldiers "You four, you come with me and we take his honour back to the cabins, let no-one get within two meters of him, if they try; kill them, no excuses." he looked up at the two mute Yanisari "That okay with you?" he said, when they made no reply he added "Good."

He pointed at the remaining two "You two get down to the ship and tell the engineers to swap out the sails," he paused to toss them a currency wand "buy new ones, we are not waiting here a whole day, this place could be lousy with assassins, now MOVE!"