Under Ice: Thunder and Lightning (11)
Thunder and Lightning, the two best pilots in the solar system! Both these short guys have a passion for each other, but a passion to help. They want to be useful and they want to have a little extra fun.
18 January 2083
Allen walked briskly down the hallway. He was on his way to the dorms to find Tucker. He'd left Pekko to keep an eye on the Nova. The badger had a problem only Tucker could solve. He knocked on the door to the rabbits room. No answer. Allen took a quick look around before using his access card.
“Tucker, you in here?" The badger cracked the door open.
“Uhhh, yeah, just a minute!" came his voice, “Just wait in the living room, I'll be right out."
Allen entered the room and took a seat on the couch. He could hear water running. He must have caught him in the middle of a shower. The water stopped and the rabbit came out a few minutes later.
“What's up boss?" he asked.
“We need to figure out a way to allow the crew of the Nova to scramble their video feed signals," said Allen, “Just keeping a direct line to your network."
“That's gonna be hard," Tucker tightened the towel around his waist, “There's a lot of empty space between us and them. Anyone can probably grab onto that signal."
“Do we have any friends on Mars?" Allen asked.
“Everyone is friends with me on Mars," Tucker smirked, “I'm the one that modifies their requisition forms and gets them stuff they're not authorized for."
“I really need to keep a closer eye on you," the badger chuckled, “But anyway, can we maybe have them interfere with the signal and make it harder for anyone else to grab it?"
“I'd have to figure it out with them," Tucker sighed, “Allen, is this worth the risk? We can get liquefied."
Allen rubbed the bridge of his nose, “I know. It's not too late for you to back out. I don't want to put you or the others at risk. So much rides on not letting the investors taking over again."
“The bone of Mars," Tucker nodded, “I knew about it before they did."
“This is why I wanted you on my team," said Allen, “Cause if they found out you knew, you'd be in a lot of trouble."
Abe stuck his head out from the bedroom, “Should I leave?"
Allen looked between the rabbit and lion. Tucker turned red.
“No Abe," said Allen, “The more you know, the better. We gotta work this out as a team."
The lion was still damp from his shower but had his uniform on, “What's the bone of Mars?"
Allen got Abe up to speed. The lion's jaw dropped at what he heard. He ran his hands through his mane trying to get himself together.
“Those bastards," Abe shook his head, “They covered up the greatest discovery ever made?"
“That's right," said Allen, “And I'm not willing to let them cover this one up."
“What do we do?" the lion asked.
“Open a line to Mikhail Morozov," said Tucker, “I think we should work with someone outside of the ISA on Mars."
“I'll assume the RFK?" Allen asked.
“You know it," said Tucker, “He owes me a favor. Kinda saved his ass a few years back from getting court martialed by finding evidence that was apparently destroyed."
“How would he help us?" Abe asked.
“RFK's satellites interfere with ours all the time in deep space," said Tucker, “It's common for their stuff to cross over our feeds and mix the signals. They both fade out. The ISA would be more suspicious if our own systems were getting scrambled all the time without something else being the cause. We can only use electromagnetic radiation as an excuse so many times."
“Get on it," said Allen, “And don't tell Bruce. I think he's starting to get his pockets lined with cash, and can't be trusted anymore."
19 January 2083
“Hello comrades!" the message flashed across the screen on the Nova, a fox with a thick Russian accent had sent them a message, “I wanted to send an apology to you on behalf of the RFK. Our satellites seem to be cross signaling there in deep space with yours. I am working on fixing the issue. It may take some time as I am locked in at Mars base. I know you are on an important mission, so I recommend making backup of your videos and messages so you can send them at later times, or at the very least, archive them. I've already notified your ISA with the issues. I wish you all the luck!"
“Unusual choice," Rasul whispered to Diego.
“They're outside of our system," said the bat, “But in the very least, we can ghost most of our messages to the ISA now. Hacker's setting up a network for us to work through with Perky."
“This has me nervous," said the wolverine, “We're defying a large network of people with money and several governments behind them."
“We still have to find something first," said Diego, “The bacteria and algae excited them, but they want something that's at least an animal. They'll just cover it up though and move in to make a private sector based here at Europa."
“At least their goal isn't fuel," said Rasul, “We fucked up enough of Earth with that."
“More oceanfront properties though," the bat chuckled.
The wolverine slapped the bat on his ass and went to the back of the ship. He grabbed Magnus and brought him below to bring him up to speed. The raccoon understood the need for secrecy. He himself had been working on a way to have outages on the ship seem accidental so that they could have meetings. They had a bunch of plans to keep themselves under the radar.
“What happens if we do find life?" Magnus asked.
“We keep it under wraps the best we can," said Rasul, “And when we get back to Earth, we present the proof to the right people."
“How will we know they're the right ones?"
Rasul sighed and patted the raccoon on the shoulder, “We'll cross that bridge when we get there."
“Commander, what kind of danger are we in?" the raccoon asked, “Hugo and Bruno are concerned about the consequences."
“If we find life, and the investors find out," Rasul sighed, “They'll dismiss us from our positions on the project when we get back to Earth and put us under surveillance until the end of time. They'll move in to take over the project."
“Who exactly are the investors?" Magnus frowned.
“We don't know," Rasul rubbed his forehead, “They pay for our projects and missions. Frankly, they control too much."
“Stick it to the man, as they say," Magnus nodded.
“That's the plan," Rasul smiled.
“What if someone on the ship works for the investors?"
Rasul paused, “That's something we've considered. But, we're all just too comfortable and close…"
“Happens all the time in movies," said Magnus, “It's always the twist. We should be cautious and remain on guard."
Rasul nodded and headed back for the bridge. There was giggling coming from the showers when he passed by. Errol and Hyperion were in there with Ken. The wolf had become a spectacle for the both of them. Especially since both of them had become more open about themselves.
“Dude, we gotta know," said Hyperion, “I mean, your balls are massive, and your sheath is huge. We're really curious about what you have going on."
Ken blushed as he hid himself beneath the water, “It's pretty big."
The wolf was doing his best to control himself, but both Errol and Hyperion were too cute. And both of them were relentlessly flirting with him. Hyperion turned himself under his shower and bent down to wash his legs, shaking his ass at the wolf.
“Fine," Ken chuckled, the tip of his shaft poking out now, “Help me out with it?"
“Hell yes," Errol giggled.
Both the weasel and fennec were sporting boners already. They were both nipple height to the wolf as they moved in. Ken gasped as they latched onto his pierced nubs. Errol was grinding his swollen eight inch prick against the wolf's leg. He slid his hand down to rub against the wolf's heavy sac.
Hyperion was slowly trailing a finger over the tip of the wolf's cock. Ken gasped as he grew from their actions. The thick pole bulging out with thick veins pulsing up from the meaty flesh. Hyperion's hand could barely even get a grip of this monster. The wolf sighed out as he felt his sheath stretch out and roll back over his enormous knot. The thirteen inch beast the wolf kept hidden now fully exposed for Hyperion and Errol to idolize.
“Fuck dude," Errol gazed down over the wolf's pride.
Hyperion wasted no time. He got down and started to lick over the wolf's cock. Ken gripped a hand over the fennec's shoulder to steady himself. The weasel went down too and started to lick over the other side. Ken was so turned on as Errol and Hyperion made out with his cock and each other.
Hyperion ran his tongue over the slit of the wolf's cannon, “Can uh… would you… try and mount me?"
Ken laughed a bit, “I dunno Hyperion…"
“Come on," Hyperion presented himself to the wolf, “Errol loosened me up this morning."
“Plenty of cum still in there for lube," Errol chuckled as he spread the fennec's cheeks for Ken.
Ken huffed. This was such an unusual offer from such a small guy. Ken ran his hands over the fennec's back as he prodded his fat tip up against that tight hole. Hyperion shivered beneath him. Thick pre spread over the fennec's pucker before the wolf gave a push. Hyperion howled out as he clenched his hole down over the head of Ken's fat cock.
“Oh whoa!" Hyperion huffed out, drawing in deep breaths.
“Need me to pull out?" Ken was concerned.
“No!" Hyperion giggled, “Just give me a moment."
Ken flexed his cock as the fennec adjusted. Hyperion started to push back against him. Ken gasped as he felt the fennec's depths start to give in to his size. The fennec gasped out with each push back of his hips. He bit into his lower lip when he got about halfway down. He pulled forward and started to rock himself along what he could.
Ken groaned out. Errol got behind him and knelt down. The weasel stuffed himself beneath the wolf's tail and started to lap into his hole. Errol stuck his tongue in as deep as he could. The wolf struggled to hold himself upright as he was getting double teamed.
Hyperion worked himself into a steady rhythm. The wolf let him do the work so he didn't risk hurting him. He whimpered out happily as he speared himself back on the massive pole. The weasel pulled himself up from the wolf's ass and took position. He slid in with ease. The weasel blushed from this, having forgotten the wolf visited Magnus quite a bit.
Ken shook with pleasure, moaning out as the fennec and weasel made love with him. The wolf gasped as the weasel started to pound against him. Errol slid a hand around him and gripped behind his monstrous knot. This helped him speed things along, his body growing tense. Errol could feel the hot grip over his cock as Ken enjoyed having a nice prick stuffed deep inside him.
The weasel huffed as he worked hard against the wolf. The wolf leaned forward and held around Hyperion. He wrapped his hand over the fennec's cock as he started to grind down now. Hyperion cried out as the wolf was starting to slip in a little deeper. The grip behind the wolf's knot increased as the weasel panted heavily.
Ken gripped down beneath the fennec's knot as he started to cum. The wolf howled out from the release. The thick river of cum blasting into Hyperion's guts. The pressure instantly made the fennec cum. Thick ropes of cum splattering across the floor as the wolf unloaded in him. The weasel doubled his efforts from behind.
The clenching of the wolf's hole around Errol's cock drove him close to the edge. The fennec below was getting more than he bargained for as the wolf had dumped over a pint of cum into him. The weasel groaned out as he felt himself release. The second time today, and it left him weak in the knees.
Hyperion pulled himself forward and collapsed onto the floor in his cum. The thick load oozed out of his hole as he did his best to catch his breath. Shivering in pleasure, he tried to collect himself. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.
“Oh fuck," he gasped out.
Ken chuckled as he pulled free from the weasel. His fat cock was still painfully hard. He took a seat and started to lick the head of his cock clean. Errol huffed from having been freed from the wolf's hole. His cock dribbling some last bits of cum from his tip. He went to grab some towels so they could clean up. He helped Hyperion get up and under a shower to wash off. The fennec could barely stand from how much his legs were shaking.
Ken had to tug around his sheath and pull it back over his knot. He was still incredibly swollen and ducked into a cold shower to help himself out. The two pilot's sure took it out of him. He never imagined such small guys would take advantage of him and his needs. He didn't regret it at all.
“You good?" Ken grinned over at Hyperion.
The fennec held up a thumb, leaning against the wall with his chest, “I'm good, man. Fuck, thank you for indulging us."
“Anytime," Ken blushed.
“He's gonna have to air out for a while," Errol chuckled as he rubbed the fennec's hole, helping him get clean.
Hyperion whined out, “Oooo… I think that was too much…"
Ken began to get dressed. He stuffed his cock down a pant leg. The wolf exchanges smooches with the weasel and fennec before setting off for the lab. Hyperion eased into his uniform with a deep sigh. His legs were still shaking as him and Errol set off for the bridge.
Diego took notice the fennec was having difficulty walking, “What happened?"
“Ken," Errol smirked.
“Noooo," Diego started laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, get it out," Hyperion whimpered as he sat down at his console.
“What's the agenda for today Papa Grande?" Errol asked.
Diego chuckled, “Well, looks like you're flying the Spider today. You have Harvey and Julio to take down. Me, Rasul, and Hugo will accompany you."
“Sounds good," Errol nodded, “I guess I'll get me and Lightning some lunch before I go."
“Good idea," Hyperion shifted onto his side to ease up the weight on his bottom.
Errol left to get them some food.
“Got yourself all warmed up for me, huh?" Diego teased Hyperion.
“Only if you're smaller than that," Hyperion chuckled, “That dude has a major growth problem. I didn't know dudes could get that big."
“Was it worth it?" Diego grinned.
“Hell yes," Hyperion blushed.
Errol finished lunch with Hyperion on the bridge before setting off for the Spider. The crew loaded up and made their way down to Europa. The fennec was starting to regain his composure. He started to check the ship's systems with Magnus set up at the station behind him. He noticed their orbit was several degrees off again.
“Magnus, can you think of any way for us to stabilize our orbit?" the fennec asked, “We keep having to burn fuel to move us back into place."
Magnus checked the ship's orbital feed and ran some numbers, “Hmm, I'm not too sure. Perhaps we try to change the ship's angle? Face us away from Europa so the heavier end is in the drag zone?"
“Wouldn't that put us at risk for falling into a spin?" Hyperion asked.
“Gravity is working differently than most places we've traveled to," said Magnus, “Our other option is to go vertical with the moon like the space stations around Earth and Mars do."
“A decent way to fuck with the view," Hyperion chuckled.
“With the way the wheel works, if we have it spin with the orbit, it could lock us into a better position," the raccoon said.
“Alright, let's give it a try," said Hyperion.
“Shouldn't we ask the captain first?" Magnus suggested.
“We've been working on fixing this orbital issue for a while," said Hyperion, “If we figure it out while he's away, I'm sure he'll be happy."
“You're the one that gets in trouble," said Magnus as he stood up and took the station next to the fennec, “Ok, I'll get the thrusters positioned. Gravity is going to get a little bit weird as we reposition."
“Attention Nova," Hyperion got on the PA, “We are working on adjusting the ship so we fall into a stable orbit. You'll be feeling a bit of pressure as the gravity drive adjusts with our movements. There's no reason for alarm."
Hyperion started to flip switches as he gripped the throttle. Magnus turned on the thrusters and released their locked position. The fennec pulled back as the ship started to creak. He moved the ship to lock in a vertical orbit with Europa. The ship started to barrel roll.
Marc stumbled up to the bridge, the spinning force made it difficult to move, “Oi, Lightnin' man, w'as the intent 'ere?"
“Trying to get us locked in a proper orbit," said Hyperion, “I just need to figure out how to stabilize and make the wheel spin and not us."
“Try adjusting the fins and expanding the wing on port," Magnus suggested as he entered some codes into his console.
Hyperion did as he suggested. The fennec extended the wing first, retracting the other wing as tight as he could. The ship rumbled and the spinning stopped. The ship was now rocking back and forth. Hyperion started to adjust the fins. He fanned out the port side fins and fully extended the starboards to point back. The ships rocking slowed down. They were still moving back and forth as they settled into the orbit.
Magnus started to run some numbers, “Hmm, I'm not sure, but we may have to wait and see if the ship stays like this. It seems there's a gravity battle. Which probably also explains our occasional drifting."
“If we can't stay locked in a proper orbit, how much fuel can we burn to keep doing daily adjustments before we hit a point of no return?" Hyperion asked.
Magnus sighed as he ran some more numbers, “We should be fine, we just can't do too many major burns. Or fry more algae."
“I'm adjusting to widen the elliptical orbit," said Hyperion, “And hopefully the rocking will stop."
“Ai 'ope so mate," said Marc with his arms crossed, “This here may put me te sleep."
“I'll be sure to sing you sweet lullabies," said Magnus.
“You'll get te deal with me snorin' then," Marc stuck his tongue out.
*****
Hugo was running the drill down to a depth of five hundred feet. The tiger didn't make it far when there was a loud creaking. The drill had caught on something and the Spider started to spin. He ducked out of the way as the legs slid across the ice, tearing deep grooves into the surface. Diego ran over and powered the drill down.
“What the hell happened Hugo!?" the bat asked as the Spider skidded to a stop.
“I think the drill snagged on something," the tiger said.
“Hey!" Errol called from inside the ship, “Can you guys settle down out there! Just freaked me the hell out."
“Sorry Errol," said Hugo, the tiger frowned as he tried to reverse the drill, “I can't get it in reverse."
Try as the tiger might, he couldn't get the drill to break loose. He tried looking down the hole but the drill was too far down. He wanted to rub his temples so badly but the helmet on his suit blocked him.
“Magnus is gonna kill me if we lose another drill," Hugo sighed.
Diego tried to get the drill to break loose as well, “Lets send a cam down to see what we're dealing with."
The bat and tiger prepared one of the drones as they waited for the pipe to cool down. Diego connected to the drone as the tiger fed it down the hole. The bat hit a vast pocket of water and turned the propellers on. He dove down for what felt like ages. He zipped his way further down into the depths.
At the bottom of the water was algae as far as he could see. He made his way down the hole and finally found the end of the drill. Diego tilted his head trying to figure out what was holding the drill in place.
“Is that diamond?" the bat asked.
“I thought diamonds were white," said Hugo.
“Black diamonds exist," said Diego, “They're not common is all."
“Looks like the bit is wedged under it," said Hugo, “Looks like it was making its way through, but it got squeezed off at the top there."
“Hmmm…" Diego was deep in thought.
“You have a plan?" Hugo asked.
“It's not the best plan, but losing a second drill this soon would be pretty bad," said Diego, “And I'm not a fan of this plan."
Rasul came up to them, “I know what you're thinking, and I don't like it. He needs to understand the situation."
“Hugo, go relieve Errol from his station," said Diego, “I need him out here."
Hugo nodded and went into the ship. Errol was confused as he was ready to swap places with the tiger. Hugo tried to figure out a way to sit in the cockpit. He settled for sitting next to the chair and watching the monitors from there.
Errol made his way over to Diego and Rasul, “Boss? You're not thinking of sticking me down there, are you?"
Diego sighed, “I don't like it either, but we're not even halfway done here. Continuing with one drill for over a month would be too much of a risk."
“You don't have to do this Errol," said Rasul, “Yes, it would be a safe bet to say we won't make it long on one drill, but your life is more important."
Errol stepped up to the hole and looked down, “Thunder never backs down from a challenge."
Diego nodded and handed the weasel a cutting tool, “You'll need this. There's some diamond shards sticking over the top of the drill. You'll need to cut those loose. I'll be feeding you through upside down, so you're going to get lightheaded."
Errol nodded, “You can count on me boss."
Diego strapped the tether to the weasel's waist. He checked that it was secure and lifted the weasel up. He turned him upside down and squeezed him in next to the drills pipe. It was a bit tight but he slid right on down. Rasul held tight to the tether as Diego helped lower the weasel into the depths of the unknown.
Errol was drawing in deep breaths as he descended. The tight passage against the warm pipe and ice was drawing up a new found fear in him. He closed his eyes as he was lowered. He heard his helmet clunk. He opened his eyes as he was slipping into the vast ocean of water.
“Oh fuck," Errol whispered.
“You ok?" Diego asked.
“Y...yeah," Errol responded, “This is just, kind of spooky."
“I know," Diego sighed, “If it helps, the pipe has cooled down enough. You can use it to help guide your way down with your eyes closed."
“I'll keep them open, thanks," said Errol, “May never know if something alive is down here."
“You're just getting yourself psyched up," said Julio, the hyena had joined Diego and Rasul up top, “Just focus on your breathing and the task at hand. You'll be fine."
“Great, now I have Smiley trying to make me feel better," Errol sighed.
“Just shut up, and do as I say," Julio said sweetly.
“I'll just let my anger at you keep me alive," said Errol, the weasel was pulling himself at a steady rate as he moved hand over hand down the pipe.
“Good boy," Julio smirked.
“We really need to work on your therapy methods," Rasul shook his head.
Errol found himself surrounded by algae now. The tendrils glowing all around him as he moved further down. They were already attaching to the drill. Good thing the heat will burn it up when the drill gets turned back on. The weasel pushed down the hole and found the drill bit. He started to cut into the shards that had shifted over the top of the drill.
“You want me to save these?" he asked.
“Yeah, Marc boy will probably enjoy taking a look at those," said Julio.
The weasel slid one of the shards into the pouch on his suit. After about twenty minutes, he broke the last bit free. He started to push up from the drill when he felt something wrap around his leg.
“SOMETHING'S GOT ME!" He screamed.
He felt himself getting pulled up at a rapid pace. The blinding light of the algae surrounded him as he started to thrash around. He swung the cutter in all directions to try and fight off whatever had a hold of him. There was a panic of voices calling out to him but they seemed so distant. Errol started to cry.
He felt his leg get released and he floated there in the empty ocean. The algae glowed all around him as he looked in all directions. His breathing was heavy and panicked but he saw nothing. He still had the cutter held out in front of him.
“GET ME OUT!" he cried.
Diego and Rasul double timed their pull. The weasel was upright now as he latched onto the pole. He was trying to increase the speed of which he got out of the water. Diego was soon pulling him up to the surface. The weasel thrashed his arms wildly to get everyone away from him.
“Fucking hell," he collapsed to his knees, “Fuck me… What the fuck!?"
Rasul put a hand on his back, “Calm down, just breathe."
Errol gasped in air, “Something grabbed me!"
“Are you sure it was just the algae?" said Julio, “Or maybe the tether wrapped around your leg?"
Errol stared up at Julio in disbelief, “I've had enough of your snarky attitude."
The weasel leapt up and punched Julio right in the chest. The hyena flew backwards from the impact. Julio went at him but Diego stood in the way.
“That's enough," said the bat, towering over the both of them.
“Something latched on, and pulled me up into the ocean," Errol was mixed between fury and fear now, “That bitch doesn't get to decide what may or may not have happened. You always downplay people."
Julio pursed his lips and walked away. Errol and Rasul swapped places with Hugo. The tiger went out to help get the drill back up and to lend a hand getting samples with Diego. Errol slammed himself into his seat. He looked down and there was some sort of white slime on his suit.
“There!" the weasel held his leg up for Rasul, “You see that! It's that white goo they found!"
Rasul looked it over, “So it would seem."
“Proof that something grabbed me!" Errol crossed his arms.
“Shame we went through contamination," Rasul examined the weasel's leg, and something did in fact wrap all the way around it, “We'd be able to pull a sample from this, but it's dead now."
“We can check my headcam, can't we?" Errol asked, “Maybe I saw something amidst my panicking?"
“We certainly can't rule anything out," said Rasul, “And I'm kind of with Julio on the algae. That stuff doesn't act like normal algae. It's fast growing and seems to attach to everything. It may also be the source of the white substance."
“If I got scared because of some damn water plants, I'm going to be upset," Errol huffed.
*****
Back on the ship, they loaded up Errol's headcam. The weasel was intent on proving that something grabbed him and pulled him up. Everyone had gathered around to watch. The video recorded his screaming as he was rapidly pulled up. A bright light flashed over the screen and then it was gone. The video feed only showed him surrounded by algae.
“Something definitely pulled him up," said Diego, “There's no way he would have gotten out of that tunnel that fast on his own."
“But what could it have been?" Julio crossed his arms.
“You're the scientist," Errol crossed his arms too.
“What of the white goo on his suit?" said Rasul, “It looks like the same substance Hugo found earlier."
“It might be some sort of excretion from the algae," said Julio.
“Is that something you observed in the lab?" Diego asked.
“No…"
“Then let's rule the algae out," said Diego, “We need to continue our search. If there's something down there, it may be eluding us. We are a foreign entity invading it's territory."
“I can't believe you think something more than algae is living down there," Julio rolled his eyes.
“Doctor, I'm putting you on leave," said Diego, “Until you can pull your head from your ass, you're to stay here on the ship."
“You're joking?" Julio looked livid.
“Stop being an ass then," said Diego, “Errol's right, it is getting tiresome. Just because you're the biologist onboard, doesn't mean you get to downplan everything we put on the table. We've had plenty of evidence of the unusual here. We can't rule out anything."
“Fine," Julio uncrossed his arms, “I'll take your theories, and prove them wrong… or right… Either way, don't take me off. That's just unfair."
“Stop being a dick then," Diego stared him down.
“Ugh, you're being too soft," Julio left the room, “I'll behave. I promise."
“He's never been good with authority, has he?" Rasul asked.
“Unfortunately not," said Diego, “I knew what to expect from him though. He has to reel it in though. We can't be having heated arguments out here."
“Sorry boss," Errol lowered his ears.
“It's not your fault," Diego patted him on the head, “I would have reacted the same way if I were you. You should get some rest. You still look pretty shaken."
“Yeah, thanks," Errol nodded and left for his room.
Hyperion followed him in, “You ok?"
“Yeah," the weasel pulled the fennec to him and held on tight, “Don't ever let me do that shit again. Let's just keep Thunder and Lightning as the pilots."
Hyperion chuckled, “You got it, Thunder."
“Let's get some sleep, Lightning," the weasel pulled the fennec into bed with a kiss.