FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

We woke again close to the afternoon the next day, still exhausted from having stayed up so long. Niari didn't feel like getting out of bed, after drinking the other night, so i let her rest in bed until she was ready to get out by herself. I kissed her on the forehead before getting out of the bed myself. I dressed myself, and then walked out of the bedroom, gently closing the door behind me. I slid down the ramp again, and made my way to the living room. When i entered the living room, i was quickly reminded of our visitor, Crystal, when i saw her resting on our couch.

"Oh, morning Crystal." I said.

"Hey there, Iria. How was the night? you and your lover have a good time up there?" She laughed. I blushed.

"I... I'm not sure what you mean." I said. Crystal just laughed at me.

"Oh well, i would have loved a story. Anyways, are you planning on going back to that other planet? I believe it's name is Deralis-3."

"I would like to, but after thinking about what happened last time, i don't think it's such a great idea. It would take us a few hours to cut our ship from the vines again, and i've been putting enough stress on Niari recently, so i think i'll just let it go."

"Alright then."

"I'll be asking about the mining operation there though, something about it is strange."

"What do you mean?"

"The armor the people were wearing, we've seen it before. There was another planet we visited a while ago, where we met Fey'sel. They were there too, and they were looking for an artifacts of some sort."

"An artifact?"

"Yeah. It was given to us so that they couldn't get it, and now the planet is protected by the KDPS."

"What is the artifact?"

"I can show you, i have it stored away right now."

"Okay then." I took Crystal to my new lab room. It was very clean and organised for now, and some of the equipment i had before has been replaced with some nicer and better newer ones. I opened a locked case, and took out the vial of white superfluid.

"Here it is." I said.

"What is it?"

"I actually have no clue at all. I know it's a superfluid, and that it can heal injuries by having it near the wound."

"Have you ever opened it?"

"I've thought about it, but it's a bad idea. I don't know it it's poisonous by itself, and since it's a superfluid, the mess it will make will be very difficult to clean. All the things i have here are also not good enough to be studying it, despite them all being new."

"Have you ever brought it to a professional lab?"

"I'm going to, i just haven't had the time recently. I can probably get to doing it today though."

"Also, what do you mean by heal injuries?"

"Well... it's actually really amazing, and i can't explain how it happens at all. Back on Fey'sel's home planet, there was a woman named Ai'ren. She can use this substance to completely repair a person's whole body. She even used it on Fey'sel when she lost her eyes, and now she has them back."

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know, that's what's amazing about it. If we can figure out how this works, we can use it in hospitals or something else. That's also probably why the armored men were trying to get their hands on it, so they can use it for themselves."

"Interesting."

"I'll leave it here for now though. When we head out next, i'll see if i can submit it to a lab and maybe we can find something out about it." I put it back into it's little box, and locked it again. "Anyways, what do you plan on doing? I'm sure you don't want to hang around with us forever."

"Well, i could, but i'm not sure if you'd enjoy that. I'll have a look around and see what there is to see, then maybe i'll head home if i can't do anything here."

"Alright then." Just then, my phone played an alert. I took it out, and saw that Aielle texted me. It read: Hey, look at the news on Tv. The Alc VI has returned to earth.

"Who's that?" Crystal asked.

"Aielle, and she's telling me the Alc VI is home safe." I said, then to the living room. Crystal followed me curiously. I turned the Tv on, and switched it to the news channel. On the screen, there was a live feed of the Alc VI back on Earth, and all it's passengers getting off. At some point during the broadcast, they mentioned that pieces of the engine, and the entire Alc drive were missing, and that they had to tow the whole Arc back to earth with several ships. "They stole the Alc drive?" I questioned.

"Why would they do that?" Crystal asked.

"Well, that one in particular can travel at 5 MegaParsecs per second, so it's bound to be worth a few trillion credits. The ones who hijacked it are called the Fallen void."

"That explains it then."

"Our ship maxes at 1 Mpc/s, and it's worth half a trillion. So that one is bound to be worth five times that. More even, since it's powerful enough to carry an entire Arc ship." Right then, the broadcast mentioned two missing people from the passenger list. It seems everyone got off of the ship then.

"Only two people managed to get off of it before it was hijacked?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah, those two are myself and Aielle."

"Really? Well then, you're to be respected then."

"Most of the work was Aielle, since she was able to get us out of the lobby, but then again, I got us on the escape pod after we were both shot and she was unconscious." I explained.

"Interesting. So, are you planning to go to earth and see the commotion?"

"If Aielle wants to, i'll join her on the way. To be honest though, i don't want to be on a spaceport with 2 million people."

"Makes sense, i guess i wouldn't either." I texted Aielle back:

"That's great, i'm watching the cast now. Do you want to go over there right now?"

She eventually responded with: "No, too busy. I'd love to go find a few people afterwards though."

And then i responded with: "Alright, we can head out soon then."

"Aielle again?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah. I met her on the Alc VI, so we're pretty relieved about it's return.

"Ah, i see."

"Iria?" I turned around to see Niari.

"Hey Niari, feeling better?" I asked, walking up to her.

"A little bit...." We hugged each other, and then i led her to the couch.

"Next time don't drink so much. You know how much it sucks to have a hangover."

"I know...." We sat on the couch together. She leaned onto my chest, still tired, and i gently stroked her opposite arm.

"Hey, Niari?" Crystal asked.

"Hmm...?" Niari responded.

"Since Iria can't answer this question, have you two ever done it in the bedroom?"

"Hmm? Oh, no." Niari giggled, and i blushed. "We're waiting until Iria's ready for that." She kissed my cheek.

"I see. That wasn't so hard to answer now was it, Iria?" Crystal laughed.

"Whatever...." I said

"I've asked her a few times before... but i think i know when it will happen first." Niari claimed.

"Oh? When?" I asked, curious.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out, love." Niari said.

"Come on...." i complained. "Tell me...!" i said, a playful growl in my throat."

"Nope." Niari sang playfully.

"Ugh, fine." I gave up.

"Why are you so eager to know, Crystal?" Niari asked.

"Just askin'." Crystal said.

"Anyways... What's happening today, love? Got anything in mind?" Niari asked me.

"Well, I was thinking about taking that vial Ai'ren gave us to a lab, since i can't figure out anything about it." I said.

"Alright, interesting."

"You don't mean that."

"Whatever. I'm able to drive you if you want."

"Sure. We should wait a little though. Aielle and Fey'sel might want to see as well."

"Alright then. We can probably head out around noon. Before then though, i'm taking a shower. Hopefully it'll help me feel better. C'mon, you're coming with me too, i think you'll help me feel better as well."

"Wha- hey! Fine, i'm coming!" I complained as Niari started pulling me away from the couch. "We'll be done in a little while Crystal!" i called back to Crystal as we left the room. Niari nearly dragged me upstairs to the bathroom.

"Why are you so eager to bring me up here?" I asked as she closed the bathroom door.

"Because i want to be with you right now." She responded. Quickly enough, the water was on, and Niari pulled me into it. I sighed, but I reciprocated. Before i could fully relax into the hot water, Niari hugged me by my waist, and pulled me into a kiss. My back was then up against the wall of the shower. Her kiss was far more fierce than she's ever been, and it made me feel a little nervous, but i closed my eyes, and accepted it. I brought a hand up to hug her back, but she then intertwined her fingers with mine, and pinned my hand against the wall. She's never been so forward with me like this, and deep down, i kind of enjoyed it. I felt my legs start to tremble slightly, but she carried most of my weight. My heart fluttered as we finally broke our kiss, and i looked into Niari's eyes again. A thin string of spit was quickly washed away by the water. I found it difficult to look into Niari's eyes. I swallowed, but i still kept eye contact with her, and smiled nervously.

"I've been wanting to do that with you for so long." Niari claimed, releasing my hand. With her now freed hand, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders, and brought our bodies closer together. "How did you like that?"

"I... I thought it was great... but... why did you want to do it now of all times?"

"I don't know... i just thought now was the best time. It's just a small taste though." She giggled.

"Oh, now i see." I rolled my eyes. "Are you trying to coax me into something?" I challenged.

"Certainly not, what do you take me for?" She defended, laughing the whole time.

"C'mon, let's actually take a shower now, shall we?"

"Alright." She chuckled. After that, we had ourselves washed dried, and brushed in less than 20 minutes. Now, i was starting to feel a... desire for her, after what she did, but I think i can keep myself calm about it for now. We went back downstairs eventually, and had lunch before i texted Aielle about the laboratory trip. She responded that she wanted to go, and that she'll follow us on our way there. So with that all said and done, and after we ate, I grabbed the a the case with the vial in it, and all three of us headed out to Niari's car. We waited for a little bit, and eventually, Aielle arrived. We left our driveway, and as we started to drive off, Aielle followed us in her car, which Fey'sel was also in. It took us about an hour to reach our destination, which was a University, a highly renowned one on Reatha.

"Alright, so, are you coming with me to hear the sciency stuff or are you leaving?" I asked Niari.

"I'll go, i might as well." Niari said. Aielle parked her car next to us. We all then made our way to the university entrance. When we were inside, we found ourselves in the main lobby of the building. I walked up to the office window, and a secretary turned his attention to me.

"Can i help you, miss?" He asked.

"Yes, please. I have something with me which i would like someone to look at."

"What kind of thing?"

"A chemical substance. I've looked at it myself, and i can't understand what it is."

"Alright then. There's a chemistry lab just upstairs, in room 238. There should be a few people in there at the moment, so you can ask them."

"Thanks." I then led our group to the chemistry lab upstairs. When we found it, i gently pushed the door open. "Anyone in here?" I called out.

"Who is it?" Someone asked. I walked in, and was greeted by a kaithian male in a lab coat. He has red fur, black scales, spots, and hair, and amber eyes. He's around my height as well, at 1.8 meters.

"Hi, I'm Iria, and these are my friends." I introduced.

"It's nice to meet you all, I'm Sarien."

"I have something i'd like to have studied here. I've studied it for a while myself, but i can't find anything about it." I brought out my small box, and unlocked it. Sarien watched with interest. I finally took out the vial of white liquid, and offered it to him.

"What have you found here...?" He asked.

"The only things i've found out about it, are: It's a superfluid, and it's container can hold it. I've never opened it, but i know that it can also heal wounds when you bring it close to them." Sarien inspected it thoroughly.

"My mistress used to use it all the time when the students at our academy were hurt." Fey'sel added.

"That's... really amazing. Here, bring it to Auin right over there, he'll know where to look."

"Alright, thanks." I took the vial back, and walked across the chemistry lab with Niari, Fey'sel, and Crystal. I noticed that Aielle was actually staying behind and talking with Sarien.

"Excuse me, Auin?" I asked an old looking kaithian male. He has grey fur, white scales, black hair, and blue eyes. He's also sitting down, but he's probably slightly taller than me.

"Yes? Do you need something?" He asked.

"Can you have a look at this for us?" I offered him the vial. He took it with interest.

"Is this a superfluid?" He asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked.

"There's no meniscus, nor is the surface moving much. Either way, i can have a look at it for you, but can you tell me anything about it first?"

"It can heal wounds when you bring it near them." I said.

"Really?"

"It's true, my mistress used it all the time on wounded students." Fey'sel added again. Auin looked at his fingers.

"Well would you look at that, the burn scars are gone!" He said in fascination. "Do you mind if i open it?"

"If you're able to contain it in something, it's alright."

"Okay, let's take it to the fume hood." He led us to one of the three fume hoods in the wall. He opened the only empty one, and placed the vial in it for now. "I'll be a moment, let me find what i need. After a couple minutes of Auin making his way around the lab, he found several things, and placed them in the fume hood with the vial. They all looked very expensive and advanced. "Alright... i hope this doesn't explode...." Auin said.

"Don't we all?" Niari added. Wearing gloves, Auin slowly undid the cap on the vial, which was very intricate. The fluid didn't explode or become a gas, which was good. He poured a few milliliters into a small container, then closed the vial again.

"Alright... now what?" I asked.

"This should be enough for the identifier to tell us what it is...." Auin claimed. He hooked up a small machine, and pointed a laser at the substance. We all watched the screen, but it never showed is what the substance was made of. "That's odd... but also fascinating. This could very well be a new element."

"Really?"

"Possibly. If you let me keep this sample, i can run a few more tests and tell you the results when, or if, i find them."

"Alright, just try not to lose too much of it." I said.

"Please." Fey'sel said.

"I'll try not to, but hopefully we'll be able to replicate the process of creating it soon."

"Alright then. I guess we'll be on our way then."

"Right. Thank you for submitting this fascinating sample to our university."

"Make sure to tell us about it before submitting it to the media, i'd rather not have to come back here through a whole crowd of journalists." Niari said.

"Don't worry, you'll be the first to know, i promise." Auin promised.

"Okay, we'll head out then, good luck." I bid him.

"Goodbye." He bid us. We then made our way to the door. Aielle was mid conversation with Sarien though.

"Aielle, you ready to go?"

"Huh...? Oh! umm...." She said, surprised. "Yeah, i'm ready...."

"Alright then, we're on our way out now, you just take your time i suppose." I giggled knowingly. "Just remember that fey'sel is with you."

"O-okay...."

"Alright, where were we then?" Sarien asked as Crystal, Niari and I left the chemistry lab. Niari was giggling as we left the room.

"Man, someone's been struck by lightning." Niari said.

"Oh yeah, i noticed." I agreed. We quickly made our way out of the university. We made our way home faster than our way here, thankfully, and when we arrived, i put away the vial right away, as to not forget about it. I then joined Niari and Crystal in the living room.

"Alright, well that's all done. I supposed now we can wait and hope to hear from Aielle when she comes home."

"If she comes home. She was so into that guy." Niari laughed.

"She was, i know."

"Alright, i think i'm gonna go for a walk and check out the area. I've not really been of any help around here, so i might as well give you two some time together anyways." Crystal said.

"Okay then, if you want. There's a chance we might leave again as well, just so you know." I said.

"Alright, i'll probably be back soon. If i'm not, don't worry, i'll be fine." Crystal claimed. She then made her way out the door. When she was gone, Niari hugged me, and pulled me down to the couch.

"C'mon, we're alone, so let's make out for a little." Niari giggled. I smiled, and laughed with her. quickly enough, she moved us to lie down on the couch with me under her. She pressed her lips to mine, and we kissed passionately, wrapped our arms around each other. after a couple breath breaks, Niari finally pulled away from the kiss, and looked into my eyes.

"Iria...?" She asked.

"Yes, love?" I responded.

"I... Nevermind... not right now."

"Hmm? What?"

"I'll tell you later." Before i could ask again, she insisted on continuing our kiss, so i just dropped the subject for now. A little while later, we were, annoyingly enough, interrupted by my phone ringing. "You answer that, I've taken enough of your breath already." Niari giggled. We both sat up, and I checked my phone. Aielle texted me again.

"Sarien asked me out!" It read.

"What's it say?" Niari asked.

"Niari's going on a date with Sarien." I giggled.

"Good for her."

"That's great. Where're you two going?" I responded to Aielle.

"He's driving us out to dinner, but we don't know where yet." She eventually responded. "I'm so excited!"

"Be sure to tell us how it goes."

"I will!"

"Even over the texts she sounds excited beyond belief." I said.

"That's good. So, what do you say about heading out ourselves? Maybe we can find a better place than a fast food drive thru this time." Niari offered.

"Sure." I laughed.

"Awesome, i have a place in mind too."

"Oh? Where?"

"You'll see when we get there." With that, she led me out of the house. After a while of driving, and me asking questions to ultimately get no answer, we arrived at a restaurant. "Remember this place?" Niari asked.

"Hmm... oh yeah! this is the first place we've ever gone on a date to." I reminisced.

"Yeah, we haven't been here for a while. C'mon, let's go inside." We got out of the car, and walked hand in hand to the door of the restaurant, which is named Derassi's. Walking into the place itself was a huge hit from the past. Niari and I have known each other for three years now, and we started dating a year after we met. This was the first place Niari asked me out on a date too, and I felt like time was repeating itself. I was so excited when she asked me out here then. We found our seats when a server led us to an empty table. We sat next to each other in a booth table, since it was the only one available, so says the server. After being given a menu each, the server left us to our choices for now.

"Oh man, i forgot what they have here." Niari said.

"Same, it's been a long time since we came here." I agreed.

"Yeah, it has." After a little while of looking through our menus, we eventually found something to order, and just a short while later, we explained to the server what we wanted. He then took the menus, and left for now. Niari pulled me close to her, and kissed my cheek. I giggled, and leaned on her chest. Memories started to come back to me from our times together.

"Do you remember when we first kissed?" I asked.

"Hmm... Oh yeah," She laughed, "you were blushing redder than a rose when our lips touched. You were always so shy when we first met. Every time I'd see you you'd smile this adorable smile and wave with your other arm behind you back."

I giggled softly. "You were always so brave when it came to challenges, though sometimes you were silly about it, we contrasted so much when we first met."

"Yeah, we were almost polar opposites. I'm glad you're not as contained anymore. From what i remember, you were always that smart, shy girl who blushed whenever i was around her."

"What made you want to walk up to me?"

"Well... a few things. You're cute for one, and you're smart. Most of all though, you're a good person, great even. Something in my head just thought that you were the kind of person i could be friends with, and that... eventually turned into this. For the whole time up to our first kiss, i've dreamed about you being the person i could be with. What about you? Why did you want to stay with me?"

"Well, I honestly looked up to you. You always had a lot of friends, when i couldn't keep a conversation with anyone but my brother and sister. When you first walked up to me, and asked to be friends, i'm sure you must remember my face."

"I do, bright red." She giggled.

"Yeah, that, and i felt like i was noticed for the first time in my life too. All through school, i was silent. I got good grades, never thought about much else other than being good at what i was doing. But when i first saw you, i saw that you had friends, and were having fun all the time, and... I got a little jealous. I couldn't walk up to anyone, since i was so shy. When you asked me if we could be friends... it felt like my heart stopped for a few seconds. You really did change my life then, thanks for that."

"As much as i might have done that, i do kind of regret how i did in school because of all the people I hung out with... my grades were always below average, i skipped classes all the time, i rarely handed things in on time.... Believe it or not, i do envy your knowledge in physics. If i could change anything, it would be to go back and redo school... but then again, I might not have ever met you if I did that. I'm still happy with life though, more than happy with you in my life."

"Thanks. I feel the same way about you." I giggled. Right about then, our food arrived. Niari and I sat up as we ate, and the food was great. As far as i'm aware, it's actually the same thing i ordered the first time we were here. We ate, and talked about our past a little more, like when we first bought our old house, and when Niari was showing me how to use her car without breaking it, even though, when it comes down to it, it works just like every other car. Niari's car is special to her, since it was the first thing she's ever bought with her own money, and without help from her parents to get it, so it was like her baby when she first got it. I brought up the first time she brought me around for a cruise in it.

"You had this constant look of distrust in your eyes, i remember completely." Niari laughed. "I'm glad you toughed through it though. I have yet to get into an accident with that thing, and i don't plan on it, especially when you could get hurt in the process."

"I remember when i first drove it. You were on my ass the whole time, making sure i didn't do the smallest thing wrong."

"Yeah, i remember. I didn't let you go on the busier roads either."

"I need to get my own car at some point. I've never really bothered since we normally only go places together."

"Well there's enough room in the driveway to hold two cars."

"I know."

"Just make sure that if you do, you don't make it outshine my own. I don't want mine looking like a rustbucket next to yours."

"Alright." i laughed. "Your car is almost three years old now though, so anything i get might be better off than it."

"Yeah, I know. I don't really want to get rid of the thing though. If anything, i'll keep it in the garage if i get a new one."

"Or we can get a new one together, and fill the empty space in the driveway."

"Maybe."

"So, how's your food?"

"It's awesome, we need to come here more often."

"I agree. It's been a while, and now we've also got some money to be doing it too."

"Mhm." eventually we finished our food, and paid for the meal when we were done. We then made our way back to Niari's car, and headed back home. It was a few hours before sunset still when we arrived back home. There was no sign of Crystal when we got back, so I figured that she was still exploring.

"Niari?" I asked as we closed the door behind us.

"Yeah?"

"I never thought about asking this, since all that's been happening recently has distracted me, but... when we were back on Fey'sel's planet, how did you get out of your bindings when we were caught?"

"Oh yeah, that...." Niari looked a little nervous about the memory. "They obviously haven't seen a person with claws before, so i just cut through. I'd rather not talk about that day though...."

"Alright, i was just curious."

"You mind going to bed early tonight? I'm still a little tired from staying up so long the other day."

"I don't mind, but let's at least wait for a little bit. It's still a couple hours past noon."

"Alright." I walked to the living room then, and Niari followed without anything else to do. We sat on the couch, and i pulled out my phone, and texted Aielle again.

"You home yet?" I asked her.

"Yes, i am. Crystal has made her way over here too, and Fey'sel and her have gotten quite acquainted with each other apparently."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, apparently Fey doesn't mind when Crystal uses her body, i guess."

"There's no way for you to say that over text without it meaning several different things."

"Shut up, i'm sure you know what i mean. I don't think Fey'sel is interested in anyone right now either way. Honestly, i think it's because she's so much shorter than most people."

"So anyways, have you and Sarien made up your mind yet on where to go?"

"Yeah, we have. He's taking me to Derassi's."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Niari and i just got back home from Derassi's."

"How's the food there?"

"It's great, trust me, you'll like it."

"That's good. Anyways, we're going tomorrow, so i'll be busy around then."

"Alright."

"Who're you talking to?" Niari asked.

"Aielle. She's going to Derassi's tomorrow with Sarien." i said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hopefully her time will be as nice as ours. Also, apparently Crystal and Fey'sel are getting along really well."

"Is that right?"

"Apparently." We spent the rest of the day doing small chores and such, but we eventually went to bed early, like Niari wanted. The curtains blacked out the whole room from the sun, so it felt like it was night. It didn't take very long for us to fall asleep again.

We woke up again the next morning just as the sun rose. The morning was very straightforward, each of us taking a shower, getting dressed, having breakfast, but it was soon interrupted by a knock on our door.

"I'll get that." I said.

"Alright." Niari responded. I walked down the hall, and opened the door. Standing outside was a familiar person. It's the same man from the KDPS office we met a little while ago.

"Hello, is there something you need?" I asked.

"Is your name Iria Reyes?"

"Yes it is."

"My name is Nilo, and i believe you were the one to tell us about an inhabited planet?"

"I was, yeah."

"Well I wanted to come by to tell you that operation is going completely fine. A ziscal named Ai'ren explained to us what you did on the planet, so we investigated the scene ourselves."

"Really? Did you find anything?"

"No. The computers we found were all destroyed, but we did find the cause of the large fasaq's attacks. There was a radio emitter which made a subsonic sound only audible to them. It was also the right frequency for us kaithians to hear it as well. The sound drove the beasts mad."

"That makes sense. We'll probably go by and visit Ai'ren, if it's not getting in your way?"

"No at all, but don't expect the area to look entirely the same. Anyways, i'll be on my way now."

"Alright, goodbye." I closed the door as Nilo started walking away. I walked back to Niari in the living room.

"What was that about?"

"The KDPS wanted to tell us that Fey'sel's planet is doing completely fine. That reminds me, i need to ask what the planet name is."

"If there even is one."

"So, i was thinking about heading back there to see Ai'ren, and i'm sure Fey'sel would love to too. You want to come?"

"Sure, i can. What about Aielle though? She's on a date isn't she?"

"Yeah, i was going to ask her."

"Okay, you do that. I'll start cleaning up breakfast while you do."

"Okay." I went upstairs then, and quickly found my phone, which i left in our bedroom. I then started to wait for Aielle to answer.

"Hello?" Aielle's voice rang through the phone.

"Hey, Aielle." I said.

"Oh hi Iria. What's up?"

"We just got a heads up from the KDPS on Fey'sel's planet, and we we're thinking about heading over there. Are you alright if we go while you're on your date?"

"No, i'll be fine. I'm guessing you want Fey'sel to go with you?"

"Yeah, can you tell her?"

"Yeah, give me a second." Her voice dimmed for a second, most likely covering the microphone as she called Fey'sel. "She's more than happy to go. Shall i drop her off at your place a little before Sarien picks me up?"

"Sure, if that works for you."

"Alright then, i'll see you later."

"You too, bye." I then ended the call. We spent the next couple hours talking and cleaning, and eventually, an hour before noon, Aielle came by, and dropped off Fey'sel and Crystal, whom were sharing Fey'sel's body, which made Fey'sel look a lot taller.

"Good luck on your date, Aielle." I bid Aielle."

"Thanks." She responded. She then backed out of the driveway, and drove off.

"So, Fey'sel... and Crystal, you ready to go?" Niari asked.

"I'm really excited to go back, yeah." Fey'sel said. "Crystal's interested as well." she spoke for Crystal."

"Alright, let's hop into my car then." We all then made our way into Niari's car, and drove out to the spaceport once again. It took us 40 minutes to reach, and we were soon back inside the Quick tail. I turned on the Quick tail, and told it to travel back to the coordinates I bookmarked on Fey'sel's planet. It then began it's functions, taking off into orbit and waiting for the proper position.

"So, Fey'sel." I asked Fey'sel as i walked into the crew quarters. "How're you and Crystal getting along?"

"We're getting along alright. I don't mind her being with me if it makes her life easier. I'm not alone all the time either." She responded.

"Well that's good."

"Normally we separate when i continue my practices though."

"Makes sense. By the way, your home planet, does it have a name?"

"Yeah, it's called Arenan."

"Alright, that's good to know." In about five minutes, we finally reached Arenan. We landed just outside the gate to the courtyard, since we didn't want the ship to get in the way of a practice. We all got out, and Crystal left Fey'sel's body for now. The weather was actually really nice at the moment, there was no wind, and it was only a few degrees below 0 Celsius. Niari walked up to the pull rope, and sounded the bell. We didn't wait very long for someone to open the door, and when it was open and our greeter saw who we were, they instantly were surprised, and they called out back to the courtyard "Mistress Fey'sel is back! Come in, come in!" We all walked in, and the gate was shut behind us.

"Thank you." Fey'sel said. Fey'sel was quickly surrounded by a handful of curious ziscal. Quickly enough, the towering ziscal Ai'ren appeared from the academy, and walked up to greet us.

"Hello again friends! Thanks again for everything you've done for us." Ai'ren said.

"Hello Ai'ren, how have things been going ever since the other's have arrived here?" I asked.

"It's been going very smoothly. They've been setting up several buildings a short distance from here, and plan on teaching us how the modern technology works. Tell me, have you discovered anything about the artifact i gave you? and is it safe?"

"It's safe yes, and it's being studied. We're supposed to get a message when anything has been discovered about it."

"That's good. I'm sure it's in capable hands. But anyways, Is Aielle with you?"

"Aielle's on a date with someone she met a little while ago, so she's still at home."

"Ah, i see." We stayed and chated about the events since we left Arenan, and Ai'ren told us about the plans of the KDPS. After a little while, I walked up to one of the Kaithians working in the KDPS.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Hmm? Yes?" He answered.

"Do you know of a planet named Deralis-3?"

"Deralis... Deralis, deralis.... Let me look it up quickly." he looked through his holographic tablet for a couple minutes. "Oh yeah, i've heard of this place before. What about it?"

"I just wanted to ask if you knew about a mining operation going on there?"

"Mining operation? I don't think there is one there. It doesn't say here anyways."

"Well... My friends and I were unfortunate enough to land there a little while ago, and there was a mass scale mine there."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm.... Well then... Could you do us a favor then?"

"What is it?"

"We have an orbital camera that we often use to map out planets down to grains of sand. Would you mind setting it up on your ship and taking a few scans of it for us? It would take a little while for the KDPS to set the whole thing up by themselves, and we're busy here."

"We can, but is it complicated to use?"

"Not very. The only part that's hard is finding the area on the planet. Once it's set up though, it'll be easy."

"Well, considering how big the mine is, it shouldn't be that hard to find."

"You say that. Anyways, i can help you set it up. Once it's attached to your ship, the wireless connection will automatically connect to your console."

"Okay." After another hour, we eventually had everyone savvy of the new plan, and the camera set up on the ship. With that all done, we said our goodbyes to Ai'ren and the ziscal at the academy, and then headed off towards Deralis-3 again.

"So how was the visit, Fey'sel?" Niari asked.

"It was great." She responded.

"Well at least now you know that you're able to go back whenever. If you want to see Ai'ren again, all you need to do is ask." I said.

"So anyways, Iria, what exactly are we doing this for?" Niari asked.

"The scans?"

"Yeah."

"Well, one, it's disconcerting, the fallen void being there without anyone knowing, and two, I'm very curious."

"What about us? What if we're not curious?"

"I am." Fey'sel said.

"I'm curious too, but i'm trying to make a point." Niari said.

"Well, we could easily just drop you off back at home." I defended. "Is there a problem?"

"Not really, but you might want to ask first before agreeing to something that involves everyone."

"Alright, I was just a little excited, okay?"

"It's fine, i'm just a little worried.... Almost every time we've been on this ship, something has happened to us. I'm just a little on edge, alright?"

"Yeah... but that's just bad luck. The path to Reatha and Earth is very commonly used, so we've just gotten run off course a few times."

"I guess so."

"Just wait until we get home, this shouldn't take too long, and i'll treat you, okay?"

"Alright." Niari laughed. After a few minutes, we eventually found Deralis-3 again.

"Stay away from the vines, i don't want to get caught up in that shit again." Niari said.

"Don't worry, we'll stay in orbit." I assured. We slowly enough found a good resting point above the mining operation. The hole was easily visible from the orbit. We rested there for a long while, watching the console as the camera scanned unfathomably precise measurements. I could seriously make out every pebble in the hole. Eventually though, the scanner made it to the deepest part of the mine that was unobstructed, and something was there. I stopped the scanner, and had it run a live video feed instead.

"What's that thing?" Fey'sel asked.

"I have no idea... it looks like some sort of capsule." I said. We wondered at the strange sight for a little while, and watched the workers hurriedly examine it, and try to open it or something else. Suddenly though, just before i was about to change it back to scan, the screen became pure white.

"What?" I asked.

"What happened?" Niari asked.

"Move the ship! Move the ship!" Fey'sel screamed. Within a few seconds, the ship was moved far away from the planet. a fraction of a second before that though, i saw all the vines around the planet incinerate completely. After our quick jump, a massive light filled the void where we just left. Everyone was completely shocked, and my heart was racing after Fey'sel screamed.

"Quick tail, get a reading of that flash!" I ordered. A few seconds later, Quick tail responded.

"Reading completed. details are too large, please read the console for the information." We looked at the console. There were a lot of numbers, but what was completely shocking, was the energy of the flash. ~1e42 joules.

"Umm, Iria? That's a big number, right?" Niari asked nervously.

"That's a 1 with 42 zeroes behind it, yeah. I'm glad you warned us Fey'sel." I received no answer. "Fey'sel?" Fey'sel was sitting against the was with her hands on her head. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... just... shocked...." She responded slowly. We all took out time to relax and calm down, and after about half an hour, the flash disappeared.

"Let's go see what happened...." I suggested.

"But why?" Niari asked.

"Well... why not? Our shield will keep any debris away from us, so we'll be fine."

"Okay then." We quickly returned to the same coordinates we were at before. But what was there was not the same as before. There were no more planets around at all, nor the star known as Deralis. The only thing left was a massive cloud of dust and plasma. The planet, Deralis-3, was a massive cloud of plasma now, and heavily dispersed, and a massive column of plasma stretched out to where the star once was, and it completely annihilated it. Where the sun was, there was another masslive cloud of plasma, and an even larger trail of destruction behind it.

"What... happened...?" Fey'sel asked.

"I have no idea... but that...." I hesitated, not knowing at all what to say.

"i have no idea, but i'm getting a picture of this." Niari said, and did just that with her phone. just a few seconds later, in the dispersing cloud that was once the star, Deralis, i saw a small bright light.

"Quick tail... take us over to the light over there." We then slowly travelled towards the small light. after a few seconds, we were close enough to see the light, which was much dimmer by now.

"What's that thing?" Niari asked.

"I don't know. Quick tail, run a scan of this thing in front of us." I said. After a few seconds, Quick tail responded.

"Object is capsule containing: one life form."

"Something's alive in there?!" I exclaimed, in awe.

"What?!" Niari asked, shocked.

"What is the temperature of the capsule?!" I demanded.

"100000 kelvin, and cooling rapidly. 9000... 8000... 7000." We waited thirty seconds or so, and the capsule eventually reached 200 kelvin. Just then, the front of it depressurized, and the door opened on it, releasing a perfectly preserved person of some race i've never seen before.

"Get them in the ship! Fast!" I shouted. Using a tractor beam, we quickly depressurized our airlock, and pulled the person in. When everything was good again, we quickly had the body moved to the crew quarters. We lied the girl on a bed, and examined her. I felt her pulse, and it was shockingly slow. she was breathing, but barely at all. Her fur was bright white, and accented with a yellow, pinstripe like pattern. Her hair was yellow, and her nose and other fleshy bits were amber. She was completely naked, and all of us were confounded on how her body took no damage from the vacuum of space.

"Was she locked in that capsule inside the star?" Niari asked.

"That's my best guess." I said. I then told Quick tail to take us back to Reatha. right after that, The girl's breathing increased quickly to a normal speed, and her heart rate increased too. Right after that, she opened her eyes. They were beautiful, like yellow gemstones.

"What... time am i in...?" She asked softly, and coarsely.

"You can talk!" I said. "It's the year 50SA."

"SA?"

"Nevermind... we can figure that out later. Right now you need to rest. We need to take you to a hospital as quickly as possible." I said. After a small time, we were back orbiting Reatha again, and we were soon enough landed. I tried to help the girl out of the bed, but she insisted on doing it herself.

"Please... I assure you i can walk by myself...." She insisted, her voice still gravelly. Just like she said, she got up without any real problems.

"We should still take you to a hosp-" Niari was interrupted.

"Please, no... I'll be alright. I've been asleep long enough anyways."

"Are you sure?" Fey'sel asked.

"I am. I appreciate your concerns though...."

"At least let us allow you to stay at our home." I insisted.

"That... would be nice, thank you." We all left the Quick tail then, and we had to walk a little slower than normal.

"Do you have a name?" Niari asked.

"Yes, I'm... I...." She then hesitated. "I... forget.... my name."

"Do you remember anything?" Fey'sel asked.

"Umm...."

"Where are you from?"

"I... forget." She looked down at the ground.

"why were you locked in a capsule in the core of a star?" Niari asked.

"I don't know!" She stopped, and nearly broke down now, sadness clear in her voice. "I don't know...." She bashfully crossed her arms, and kept her gaze on the ground.

"Don't worry." I said, placing my hand on her shoulder, and she carefully looked into my eyes. "Your memory will come back, just give it some time." I comforted.

"But what should we call you while you don't remember your real name? If Star is okay with you, since we found you in one, it could work."

"Okay... sure... call me Star for now." Star accepted. We soon enough got off the spaceport, and were driving home. The whole time, Star appeared to be lost in thought. I constantly looked back at her to make sure she was alright. When we were about halfway home, i texted Aielle that we were back on Reatha, and that she should visit us soon. She responded that she would around the evening.

"How're you doing, Star?" I asked.

"I'm alright... just... confused." She responded.

"So... I don't mean to sound crass or anything, but... what are you?"

"I'm called an Aasariin. What about you all?"

"Niari and I are called Kaithians."

"I'm a Ziscal." Fey'sel added. "And I'm a Nibikus." Crystal responded using Fey'sel.

"I know the Nibikus quite well, but i've never heard of Kaithians or Ziscal."

"How do you know the Nibikus?" Either Fey'sel or Crystal asked.

"Well, they live for an extraordinary length of time, and have been around for a long while too, so I've met a few growing up."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"I think i was 48 on my last birthday... according to the year of my home planet."

"Do you know the name of your home planet?"

"No."

"Do you know anything of the aasarin, Crystal?" Niari asked as we pulled into the driveway of our home.

"Not much, but i think their planet is called Ayanin." Crystal claimed.

"Ayanin?" Star asked.

"Yeah."

"It... sounds familiar at least."

"I'll see if i can remember anything of them."

"That's great. Anyways, let's head inside." I said. And with that, we all got out of the car, and went into the house. "Aielle should be here soon."

"What's... i feel something in here." Star said.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you have... something here? I can feel it." Star then started walking around the house on her own accord. I followed her as the rest went to the living room.

"What do you feel?" I asked Star.

"I... don't remember... but i know it's here, i've felt this before...." She eventually went into my little study area, and found the little lock box which i kept the mysterious vial in. "It's in here, what do you have in here?" She asked, almost desperately.

"One second, i'll show it to you...." I took the box, which she seemed almost reluctant to give to me. I unlocked it, and pulled out the vial of white fluid. "We were given this a little while ago. Do you know what it is?"

"Can I... see it?" I gently gave it to her, and she took it. She looked at is as if it held her very soul inside, and she stood like that for almost a whole minute before she closed her eyes. "It's... it's a creation of my race.... We called it the water of life."

"the water of life?"

"Yes. it's not water, nor is it a liquid, but when you put it in water, the water can be used as a... healing spring of sorts. The effects last for a couple weeks until it fades, then more needs to be made."

"How do you make it?"

"I don't know, it was a highly kept secret, not even i was allowed to see it."

"What do you mean by 'not even you'?"

"It's still very fuzzy... and i can't remember names... but my race, the aasariin, have two clans. The Ari, and the Dal. they are both very powerful, through technology and energy manipulation. the two clans weren't exactly friends nor enemies, but they didn't get along all the time. I can remember that i was supposed to be born to merge the two clans, but it didn't work."

"How didn't it work?"

"Well... the Ari clan is based around the light energy, and all that can be perceived in the universe, while the Dal clan is based upon conscience of the mind, and all that can be imagined. But the problem wasn't what they stood for. The Ari have light fur, while the Dal have dark fur. As you can see, i have light fur, and I was the offspring of an Ari and a Dal. The Dal clan didn't sit easy with this... and one day i was taken away, and now i'm here.... I can't remember the whole thing, but that's the basis of the whole situation." She looked down, obviously not too fond of the memory.

"That's terrible, Star... are you alright?"

"I... don't really know. It's nice to remember... but the memories are painful...." I pitied Star, not exactly sure how to comfort her, but i ended up walking up and giving her a gently hug, which she accepted. We stood like that for a little while, and i could feel her slowly relaxing the whole time. eventually, we separated. "Thanks... Iria. I needed that."

"No problem. Anyways... that vial, you said it was made by your race?"

"Yes."

"I've heard that your race then has been travelling the stars for much longer than any other race. Millenia before."

"Before i was taken, we were in space all the time, yes, but i myself wasn't."

"So you might be a few thousand years older than you think."

"How so?"

"I've been told that your race has gone extinct, or at least has never been seen by anyone for a long time."

"Oh...."

"Come on, let's go rejoin the others, and you can sit."

"Can you get me a glass of water when we're up?"

"Sure." I led her upstairs again. She continued to carry the vial, and i didn't mind, it was more hers than mine, really. She went to sit on the couch next to Niari, and i quickly got her a glass of water. When she took the glass from me, she quickly had the vial opened, and then poured a few drops of the superfluid in. In a couple seconds, the water started glowing a light blue as the white disappeared.

"Is that what the stuff is for?" Niari asked.

"Yes, it is. This is life water." Star explained. She brought the glass to her mouth, and slowly drank the glowing water. She cringed as she finished. "I forgot how sweet it is." In a few seconds after she finished, her fur seemed to almost glow. it didn't exactly glow, but it made all the other colors in the house look dull compared to her. "That's... much, much better. I'm glad you happened to have this with you. it's restored most of my strength." She placed the vial on the coffee table, as well as the glass, and then stretched wide. She looked completely perfect, as if she's never seen a fight, or has ever been hurt in any way. Her fur looked like it was groomed masterfully, and her hair was so radiant looking. It wasn't like anyone else couldn't meet that height of beauty, but she did it by only drinking that water. She then ran her hands through her hair, and quickly gathered it behind her head, and when she dropped her hands back into her lap, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She doesn't have anything to do that though, how did she do it?

"Is something wrong?" Star asked,

"No, but... how did you do that? You don't have an elastic or anything." I pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, that. I guess your race hasn't created this level of technology yet."

"What, an invisible hair elastic?" Niari asked, confused about the conversation.

"No," Star laughed. "As far as i can remember, it's called consciousware."

"Is that something like neuralware?" I asked.

"A little, but it's far more advanced. You see, neuralware used direct commands from your mind, so to do something, you're going to have to give it an order to do a specific thing. However, consciousware is a different. Using consiousware, you can perform tasks just by imagining them being done. It uses the subconscious to activate, and is second nature to you when you get used to it. It's almost like magic."

"How did you do it with your hair though? something needs to hold it there."

"It's a type of nanomaterial, but it's actually infused into my body i think. It's something that the aasariin have become extremely dependant on. The bots are in my blood all the time, and they're so small, they can pass through my body, and that's what i did. If you could see with a microscope, there's a thin band of nanobots holding my hair there."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"Kind of a silly thing to use it for." Niari shot.

"It's not that it's trivial, it's that it saves time. Time is valuable, and when you have lots of it, there's much more you can accomplish. With it, i can use all the machines in my control and make them perform all the tasks i need them to do in a fraction of the time i could doing it without them. This is one of the many reasons our race advanced so quickly."

"Do you know how to make it?"

"I was never really one for engineering, but it might be reverse-engineerable by someone experienced in nanotechnology." Right then, there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably Aielle, i'll be right back." I said, and then went to the door. I opened the door, and as expected, Aielle was there. She looked much happier than normal, which comforted me a little.

"Hey Aielle, how was your time with Sarien?"

"Oh, it was great, i had so much fun. But anyways, why'd you ask me over here?"

"We have a guest."

"Are they that important?"

"Yes, very. We found her inside a star, come on." I started leading Aielle the the living room.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked, closing the door and following me.

"Hundred percent serious!" I said. We quickly got Aielle caught up on the whole journey, and she asked her share of questions about it. The hardest part was convincing her that Star was found inside a star, even after it went supernova.

"How did you survive the vacuum of space?" Aielle asked Star.

"It's my consciousware nanomaterial. I don't exactly know how it works, I've never been the technology type. Not that i had the chance, anyway." Star responded.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Well, i wasn't really given any special attention, considering my heritage. I was actually treated as a lower class than anyone else because of my mixed blood. No one wanted me around. I was more accepted by the Ari clan, since i looked like an Ari, but knowing that i was half Dal still made it difficult."

"Well you won't need to worry about classes here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Our society is acceptant to most species now, as long as you're not a warmonger by blood. The class system, or whatnot, is almost completely gone."

"Well that's good. I'm not saying that we had a class system either, just that is seemed like i was just inherently below everyone else."

"Still, you're just like any one of us on Reatha." Niari said. "As long as you're here, you're an equal among us."

"That's good to hear. How about you tell me more about yourselves? I've already exhausted my memory, as much of it as i still have at the moment." For the next couple hours, we continued to talk about the past. It was all very nostalgic to a few of us, to remember what everything was before now. Not much else really happened for the rest of the day though. The soon set soon enough, and Aielle eventually took Fey'sel and herself home. We arranged a plan for Star to sleep before we headed up ourselves, and it was made more complicated by her modesty, but we eventually convinced her to allow us to set something up for her. I wondered how well she would sleep though, seeing as, despite her collected demeanor, she's still insecure with her memories. I talked about it with Niari as we were in bed, and she continued to tell me that Star would be alright. I believed her, but it was still a little concerning. Eventually though, Niari and I fell asleep together again, hoping for the dust to settle, at least for a little while.