FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Nothing disturbed a good night's rest like the constant, steady alert ping of a bedside console. Two bodies huddled together in a bed totally unsuited for a couple, buried under a mountain of blankets. One tugged the pillow from under his head and hid beneath it to avoid the responsibility of answering the call from command, while the other, more responsible of the two lifted her head from beneath the covers.

"You'd better get that." she yawned, covering her mouth with webbed fingers. "Though I'm sure I already know what it is."

"Five minutes." the other mumbled from beneath his pillow.

"Come on, Lin. Before they send Atlas to tip the bed over."what

Her bedmate groaned, shivering as the covers were pulled from his bare back. The groggy panda slapped the touch panel and answered with a sleepy, "Whutzit?"

"Wake up, sleepyheads." The voice of Ezekiel Anders was tinny when played through the console's speakers. "We're thirty minutes out. Gotta be ready for emergence."

"Already?"

"Time flies when you're having fun, lovebirds."

The panda forced himself upright, groaning with the effort. He rubbed his bleary eyes and glared sourly at the clock; half-past five. It should have been a crime to be up this early. "Alright, we're up."

"Assemble in the briefing room after post-emergence diagnostics."

"Yep." Lin jabbed the panel with his index finger to close the connection. "You up, Niira?"

The selka loosed another quiet yawn and rose, tugging the covers around her shoulders and shaking her headtails back. "Yeah, I'm awake." She greeted him with the most charming, sleepy smile; a subtle upward curve of her lips that pushed her cheeks up, narrowing her already half-lidded eyes just a touch. "You know you don't have to come down with me. Get another half-hour in."

"What, and leave you down there with the chief?" Lin smirked wryly at the irate groan she made. His eyes roamed over his bedmate's sleek gunmetal skin as she slipped from the covers. Tiny dark blue speckles dotted Niira's slender frame, providing an almost spotted framework for his gaze to jump between while he took this opportunity to appreciate her.

"You know I can feel your eyes on me."

"I'm not perving."

"Not yet." Niira grinned sleepily over her shoulder. She slipped out of the backless blue nightgown she'd worn to bed and let it slide to the floor. "Down, boy."

Lin suppressed any further suggestive comments. Even two months into this, he sometimes caught himself lapsing into old habits. "You don't have to brute force this, Lin." he'd remind himself, "She'll still be in the bed when you wake up."

Even then, the panda hadn't found her closed to the idea of intimacy. Niira, like any girl with reasonable expectations, only wanted time, and Lin was willing to give it. There would always be that part of him that ground its gears in protest when he stifled the urge to grope, tease, or sneak a feel while she slept. That had been the entirety of his sex life, from the time he was a horny teen right up to his most recent (and final, he firmly reminded himself) fling with Flora.

The idea was to suppress it, even though Niira could still sense it. Little got past the empathic reach of a selka's senses, a fact that Lin had first found intimidating, but soon learned to appreciate. On one hand, his naughty desires were laid bare any time she decided to reach out and touch them. On the other, so, too was his effort to ratchet it back and take things slow.

"Lin."

The panda blinked. His cheeks burned slightly as they flushed; he'd lost himself in those pretty speckles and his own drowsiness. "Sorry, say again?"

"I said you should get dressed. Unless you plan to come to the core in pajama pants." Niira zipped up her bright yellow jumpsuit. She shut her main eyes and opened the three above them, an ethereal light blooming around her as she reached into the Space Between. Strands of shadow rapidly laced together around her, solidifying into her familiar voidsilk cloak, which she quickly tugged against her. "Still cold... Atlas, what's with the heat?"

"An exhaust valve burst early this morning, causing minor structural damage to the heating and ventillation system." Atlas's stoic, mechanical voice intoned from Lin's console. "Repairs should be completed before the next standard Earth day."

Lin sighed, reaching for his dark brown jumpsuit, crumpled in a pile on the floor. He shook it out once and slid one leg in, then the other. "Just another couple weeks, and we should have enough material from this rock for a shipment. Then hopefully it's upgrade city for this tin can." He slipped his arms into the sleeves, zipped up the front from bottom to top, and rolled his shoulders to lightly stretch the padded, fire-safe material. The panda started to grumble about a sore lack of caffeine in his system, but the words slipped off his tongue when he felt a warm body embrace him from behind.

"Ready?" Niira's breathy, heavenly voice was so delicious, right in his rounded ear.

"God, now I'm not." Lin didn't bother to resist the urge to melt back against her. He never would have figured her for a snuggler back when they'd met.

The selka playfully blew into his ear, an act which tugged a sudden yelp from his lips. "Come on, before Zeeva finds a reason to yell at you today."

"Tease." Lin grumbled, but only in jest. He stepped forward to unlock the cabin door. "Let Anders know we're on our way, Atlas."

The crew quarters were abuzz with groggy miners, engineers, technicians, and facilities staff, all woken from the last bit of sleeping in they'd get until the Prospector's next jaunt through space. Shore leave had come and gone far too quickly, and the weeks following had been the vessel's usual affair: Find rock, scan rock, claim rock, drill rock. Never had a space miner claimed their life was extravagant, but until the Great Expansion slowed, there would always be a frontier colony in need of ores and precious metals. Freelancers like the Prospector crew lacked the funding of SolGov and its colonies, but always found an edge in weaving around the red tape. Operating out in what were effectively the space boonies kept them clear of corporate competition and allowed them to sell straight to the local frontier colonies which, while small, almost always had SolGov's financial backing. As long as currency and products flowed to the galactic market and the original Sol system settlements remained free of overpopulation, the credits would flow, and the freelancers would always have a stake to claim.

Lin and Niira made their way down the circular dormitory corridor. They set their sights on the service elevator that would take them down to the engineering deck. There were ladders and stairwells for that same purpose, but most engineers took the lazy route--especially the early birds. The elevator sat just on the other side of the medical bay, which they passed by quickly at Lin's insistence so he could avoid having to make awkward small talk with Flora. Guilt rose up his neck and cheeks as an uncomfortably hot flush when he caught a glimpse of the pink-furred fox hard at work with the crew's medical records.

"You know," Niira began, nudging Lin with her elbow. "you really ought to talk to her."

"And say what? That I felt weird saying anything to her after I decided not to fuck around anymore?" the panda sighed. "That'd go over well."

"It'd probably make you both feel better."

Lin stuffed his hands into his jumpsuit pockets. "It'd just be awkward."

"But it would help." Niira insisted, but refused to elaborate when pressed. She'd brought this up a couple other times in the past, but never went into why he should have a chat with his foxy friend. Lin had quickly learned that, as good as selka were at reading emotions, sharing their findings wasn't always acceptable. There was a strict cultural taboo against sharing that insight with a third party. "Feelings are sacred--a gift of the free and awakened mind. Very personal, very intimate." she would tell him, then follow up with how the selkas' gift of empathy came laden with the greatest of responsibilities.

"Easy for you to say." he thought with a sigh. Some part of him knew he should have taken her insistence as a hint, but that awkward tremor in the pit of his stomach was a force to be reckoned with.

"Oh, don't be that way." Niira scolded him, as if she'd plucked the very thought from his mind and read it word for word. The dark-skinned girl bounced ahead and slapped the elevator panel to summon it. A few engineers lined up beside them to head down, themselves, among them a familiar skunk.

"Oi, Lin. Niira." River's muffled greeting came through a hand cupped over her yawning maw. Her bushy tail and pure white hair were wild and unkempt.

"Late night, Queen Floof?" Lin asked.

River snorted, wiping the sleep from her bloodshot eyes. She couldn't have been awake long, looking like she did. "Capsule Creatures again."

"Geez, River. You have a problem."

"I do not! It's just a game!" the skunk rolled her eyes. "They just released a new expansion. There're another two-hundred of the little sods to catch now."

Niira raised her brows. "This is a game?"

"The most repetitive game in existence since Cookie Clicker." Lin stepped back as the elevator opened. He let the sleepy-looking night crew shuffle past those waiting to descend, then stepped in with the other engineers and hit the button for deck two. The doors slid shut, and the elevator began its slow descent.

"You just have to have the right state of mind for it. And for that, you need a brain to begin with." River smacked Lin upside the head and leaned around him to properly address Niira. "You go around different planets, catch these little monsters in capsules, train them, and battle them."

"You know, it's a good thing video game copyrights expire, because I'm pretty sure that's a ripoff of some old twentieth century title."

"Bugger off, bamboo breath." River lifted her hand again, but Niira's unamused glance stayed her hand. She ignored Lin's half-hearted grumbling about racism. "Anyway, I just got a wee bit carried away last night."

Niira calmed Lin's frustrations with a gentle rub behind his ears. It damn near knocked him off his feet--she always knew just the right spot. "Just don't nod off during calibrations." she smiled, steadying Lin just in time to keep him from tipping forward. The elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open, and the engineers shuffled out to get to work. "Atlas, time to emergence?"

"Ten minutes." the AI's voice buzzed from a nearby terminal. "Please proceed to the drive core."

"Yep." Niira pecked Lin on the cheek, then turned her head so he could reciprocate the gesture. "See you in a few."

Lin and River watched her hurry off toward the rear section of engineering, where the subspace drive core sat, isolated, behind steel doors. "I don't envy her." the panda breathed quietly. "Having to sit in that room. I went in there once, just to see. I'd go crazy."

"Isolation's different for selka, I guess. Can't imagine what real immersion's like." River shrugged and clapped him on the back. "Come on, love. You can watch on the cameras. Same rules as always. Still, silent, and--"

"Out of sight. Right."

"Sorry. Chief rides my arse if I don't tell you." she rolled her eyes. "Even if the only one you're distracting is him."

Lin scowled. Every jump, every attunement, every test run he'd attended with Niira went the same way. Chief engineer Chad Berringer's distaste toward Lin had not relented since he'd caught wind of the panda's interest in Niira. Quite to the contrary; he'd only become more obnoxious since the two had begun dating. He couldn't disallow Lin from coming down with Niira, but he flat-out insisted that he hide himself away at the rearmost terminal and keep his head down any time he wanted to observe. He'd always cite some hogwash excuse about "distracting the warp technician with his presence". It clearly didn't matter to Chad that Niira could literally steer the Prospector through subspace in her sleep. Nor did the fact that she could perform the same duty while she and Lin competed for control of one another's mouth, tongues included, sway his opinion of Lin's presence. The latter, in fact, had only inspired the chief engineer to throw his toolbox against the HVAC heating loop in a fit of anger.

"Huh." Lin mumbled to himself as he put two and two together. "That solves the mystery of today's broken valve. Would it be petty to tell Zeeva?"

Technicians assembled at various monitors around the drive core's exterior walls. The layout here was nothing like the bridge--solid metal chairs with no swivel, blocky computer terminals, and strips of wire that gathered in huge, twisting coils that stuck out from holes in the floor.

An engineer walked into the drive core, and Lin watched the first step of the process unfold through a camera feed on the terminal before him. He didn't know the guy in the room with Niira--he'd seem him around, but never really talked. Most of his personal relationships aboard the Prospector fell into one (or all) of four categories: People he directly worked with; people he'd buddied up with; people who yelled at him; and people he'd fucked.

The engineer ensured Niira's seating was secure, then brought a strange helmet down over her head. The headpiece was thick, heavy-looking, and either painted black or composed of a pitch-dark material. He'd never asked about it; all the subspace stuff went right over his head anyway.

The helmet was secured with a strap, and a series of cables were plugged into sockets in the back. Niira settled into her seat, gave the engineer a quick thumbs-up, and shut her main eyes. The three on her forehead opened, and Lin could see the monitors spread out about the room light up with data.

"Initial diagnostics are good." one technician called out to her chief.

Chad, a tall, lean-figured border collie, paced back and forth through the engineering bay, quickly passing each monitor to glance at the readings. He pointedly avoided looking in Lin's direction. "Full readings from the headset?"

"Yep."

"Good." he called to another station. "Resonance chamber status?"

"Sealed. Go for emergence."

"Feedback locks? Realspace field control? Signal repeaters?" One by one, the chief called out systems and got the green light from each. He took one final look at each monitor and, satisfied, moved to his console at the center of the room. "Atlas, time to emergence?"

"One minute, forty-five seconds." Atlas responded from the nearest intercom. "I will alert you at the one minute mark."

Lin watched Niira through the monitor. The seconds ticked by as his lover prepared herself to bring the massive Prospector back into realspace. Her arms and legs sat limp, facial features relaxed; the very image of serenity, even with such a colossal task just moments away. Non-selka minds had no means of grasping the enormity of inducing a ship-wide subspace shift. She'd tried to explain in words how the vessel's weight bore down upon her from all angles, how her senses expanded with the aid of the core's psi-signal repeaters and wrapped around every corner, every inch of the ship until she felt its cold metal on her skin. She'd best described it as a pressure, a self-imposed sensation of compression that she used to effectively "squeeze" her projection of subspace around the hull and pull the ship into subspace. To emerge, she would summon the same sensation from the back of her mind and force the pressure to the rear of the vessel, simultaneously propelling it forward and jaunting the contents of its protective bubble back into realspace.

Even that explanation had practically given him an aneurysm.

"Sixty seconds."

The announcement would be repeated in Niira's chamber: Her signal to begin. A faint halo of white light bloomed around Niira's body, illuminating the dimly-lit resonance chamber. Immediately, the ambient sounds in the engineering deck quieted. Not a soul dared to stand upright from this point as a low, mysterious hum rattled the vessel's metal hull, followed by an intense rumbling that sent several unattended tools and spare parts clattering to the metal floor.

"Twenty seconds." Atlas kept the crew alert as the moment of emergence drew near.

The AI began its second-by-second countdown, and Lin pinched the bridge of his nose as a profound sensation of vertigo overtook him. He could feel the entire vessel "falling" around him, realspace twisting, contorting, and bending in unnatural ways as Niira forced the Prospector back into its home universe. Atlas reached the final count, and the rumbling crescendoed with a muted boom that shook the emerging mining ship one last time. The worst of the vertigo faded after several seconds, but no one in the room stood.

"Realspace emergence successful."

Chad groaned from his seat, rubbing his forehead with one hand and his stomach with the other. "Begin full diagnostics. Log attunement rates. Send a ship-wide announcement."

Lin only half-listened to Atlas's voice rattling off the canned post-emergence checklist over the loudspeakers. He glanced down at his monitor and saw Niira taking deep, steady breaths, her head ducked forward. The panda smiled and shakily rose from his seat. His emergence symptoms were almost faded by the time he steadied himself. The engineers called out numbers, statistics, and readings, none of which meant anything to Lin. He made his way across the bay and waited for the heavy steel door to open.

Niira emerged from the core chamber, wiping her brow with her jumpsuit sleeve and beaming a tired smile to Lin, into whose arms she happily fell. "Been waiting long?"

"Nah." the panda helped steady his alien lover and made a point to smooch her while Chad was looking their way. He could practically taste the collie's rage, and didn't even bother to shrink under Niira's disapproving gaze.

"Don't be spiteful. It's ugly."

"So's guacamole, and that's delicious." Lin smirked as she tried and failed to conceal a laugh. Such a musical sound, Niira's laughter--almost enough to melt him on the spot.

The young selka propped herself up against Lin and rubbed her forehead. "We'd better get to the briefing room."

"Sure you don't want to go back to bed?"

"You sat through my thing." she grinned sleepily, finally straightening her posture as her legs found strength once more. "I can stand and listen to the captain for five minutes."

They bid farewell to the engineers still running the engines and other subsystems, then returned to the elevator. The ride back up was lonelier, quieter. Definitely nicer for Lin and Niira, who were still kicking off the grip of slumber. Niira in particular still seemed winded from emergence, and she leaned against Lin for support while they made their way down the primary corridor to the briefing room. Most non-engineering crewmembers had already arrived, evidenced by the steady hum of a disorganized murmur when they neared the open doorway.

Niira usually stood among the engineers, but elected to lean on Lin for the duration of the briefing this time. A few crewmembers threw playful jabs at the "cute couple" when they entered, and the pair took them with a smile. Workplace romance restrictions were strictly of the dreaded realm of labor unions and big corporations. All that mattered on the Prospector was performance, which hadn't stopped Zeeva from, first, openly gaping in disbelief at the revealing of the new couple and, second, making a half-joking comment about Lin's brain migrating back north--if it had even started there to begin with.

Otherwise, the reactions had run the full range between glowering disapproval (Chad) to bewildered encouragement. Neither could argue that they were a bit of an odd couple: Niira, gentle, soft-spoken, introverted; and Lin: loud, confident to a fault, and not afraid to touch what looked soft and inviting. Selka were known in the galactic community for seeing the best in people, though, and the response as a whole had predominantly been positive.

The Prospector's reptilian captain entered the briefing room, gave a quick greeting to a few people as she passed the gathered rows, and took her spot at the front. Executive officer Anders joined her as usual. The crew quieted, and she began. "Good morning. I hope we're all rested and ready to work." The collective groan and few stray yawns from the crowd went unacknowledged. "The past few weeks have been dull, I know. No one ever said this job was exciting, and you were all told from the beginning that pay came slowly and irregularly. With any luck, this week will be different. Atlas?"

The AI's synthesized voice boomed from the ceiling loudspeaker. "As you are all aware, we have returned to the Delta Serpentis system. The drill rigs that we deployed on asteroid DS-31-A require reorientation, and our ore collectors have filled to capacity."

"Remember our bread winner, people?" Anders asked, sporting his big canine grin. "The very reason we went on shore leave? It's time to cash in."

Atlas and the command staff continued on about the payout, the work schedule, and other details that Lin was no longer concerned with. His attention had turned solely to Niira, who currently had her head cradled in one hand. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I just haven't been feeling great since emergence." the selka's whispers came out slightly strained. "My head's killing me."

"Should we go to medical?"

"No, no." Niira shook her head. "I think I just need to go back to bed."

"Mr. Shou." Zeeva's tone suggested she'd repeated herself once or twice. "Is there a problem?"

Lin straightened up. "Sorry, Captain. We're fine. I didn't hear."

The reptilian woman's expression softened when she caught sight of the distressed Niira. "You'll fly the Lifter alongside Harrison, who will take the Hauler. You two will ferry the ground team around the rock. When you aren't doing that, you will be reorienting the drills, loading the ore collectors into the refinery, and replacing them once they're empty. Operations begin in one hour, so use that time to have breakfast, coffee, whatever you all need. Questions?" Zeeva panned her gaze around the room. When none were asked, she waved her hand to dismiss her crew and waded through the departing crowds. She stopped beside Lin and Niira, bent forward, and dropped her voice slightly. "Everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Captain." the selka offered a strained smile. "Head just hurts."

"You don't usually get headaches after emergence. Should we have you examined?"

"I think I'll be fine after some food and a nap."

Zeeva studied her for a moment, then gave a sharp nod. Her eyes zeroed in on Lin, and a reflexive twinge of fear crawled up his spine. She smiled, which might have been even more unnerving, and merely said, "That's your cue, loverboy."

"Yes ma'am." Lin's interactions with Zeeva had taken an upturn since they'd gone on shore leave, but she still rode his ass every now and again, and it'd probably take him some time to shake off his natural tendency to shrink under her gaze. He took Niira back to her room--the one they'd been sharing for the better part of a month now. It was the most convenient arrangement; no single room, sans the captain's quarters, had a large enough bed for two people to stretch out much on, but that only meant they could squeeze in more snuggle time. The real kicker for whose room to share had been Niira's specially-installed humidifier--selka tended to develop skin problems without enough moisture in the air. Thus, Lin dragged his stuff into Niira's room and didn't look back.

He helped her out of her jumpsuit and into some warm sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt, then tucked her into bed. The kitchen had just opened, and breakfast was cooking, so he disappeared from the room for a while to grab them both something to eat. Sleepy-eyed miners shuffled along, spooning steaming piles of gooey yellow slop onto their trays. The chefs had prepared cheese and mushroom omlettes--a strange combination, but enjoyable all the same. He returned, plates in hand, sat at the end of the bed, and munched his breakfast down quickly. Niira took her time. She didn't have anywhere else to be until the engineers needed an extra hand.

"You sure you don't want to go see the doctors?" Lin asked her around a mouthful of egg.

"I'm alright, really. I'm feeling a little better now." Niira smiled up at him and rested her silverware down on her plate. He'd brought her an overbed table so she could sit under the covers while she ate. "I wish I could be out there with you."

Lin scoffed. "Trust me, you shouldn't envy the long hours, the back cramps, or the mental strain. I'm lucky I'm a capable pilot, or I'd be down on the rocks instead of flying up above."

They ate in silence for a while, Lin idly breezing through news articles on his tablet, Niira staring down at her food, a strained expression written on her face.

"Terrorists bombed a shipyard out in Aquilae." the panda mumbled. He got only a quiet hum in response. "No one got a good look at them. No security footage, no witnesses. No speculation on a motive. The more we breed, the more crazy gets dripped into the gene pool."

Niira breathed a sigh through her nose, chewing on a clump of egg and mushroom for far too long before finally swallowing. "You're safe, right?"

"Mm?"

"Being out there, in the shuttle. How dangerous is it?"

Lin shrugged. "Generally, better than walking around. No holes to fall into or equipment to trip over. I mean, there's always a chance of crashing, but I'm too good for that." He gulped the last bite of his breakfast down and analyzed her for a moment. Even a non-empath could see the worry in her eyes. "What's the matter?"

Niira shook her head. "It's nothing. I think I'm just tired." She pulled the covers up over her arms and hugged them to her chest. "I just want you to be safe. I might be able to save you if something ever happened--if I acted fast--but..."

The panda laughed quietly. He rose from the bed, set his plate down on her bedside desk, and bent over to press a tender kiss to her forehead. "I'm not so helpless that I need to be saved, Niira. I'm too macho f--" He was cut off by her soft, delicate lips as they sealed around his. He dropped to his knees, and he let her pull him closer, her arms draped around his shoulders. They held on, basking in the affectionate glow of the moment, until Atlas announced a five-minute warning for the first shift of miners.

"Gotta go. Don't worry, Niira. I'll be fine." Lin reluctantly slid from her grasp and smoothed down his jumpsuit with a quick brush of his hands. "Please go to medical if you start to feel worse, alright?"

Niira tugged the covers up to her shoulders and murmured, "I will, I will."

The panda smiled. At least the fear was gone from her gaze. "I'll have Atlas come by and gather the plates and such. See you when I get back, baobei."

Niira blinked once. Her brows raised inquisitively. "Baobei?"

"Huh." Lin chuckled. "Right, the translators don't pick up old Earth languages. It's Mandarin. I'll tell you what it means when I get back." He ducked out of the room before she could question him further. Sometimes it was fun to have an edge over her, seeing as she could read him like a book most days. He stopped by the door panel on the way out and tapped the AI Call button. "Keep an eye on her, Atlas. Call a medic if she starts to look too sick or anything."

"Acknowledged." Atlas buzzed from the tiny speaker. "Please proceed to the shuttle bay."

Lin sucked in a breath and held it. Maybe he was just worried about Niira, or perhaps he was just nervous about getting into a shuttle helm after such a lull. Whatever it was, he wished this strange, disquieting anxiety pooling in the tips of his fingers and the joints of his knees would just go away. The panda straightened his jumpsuit, reminded himself to buck up, and made his way to the elevator once more.

Deck two's earlier energetic shuffle had reduced to a steady buzz of activity; people sat at their terminals, monitoring the ship's vitals and ensuring power flowed to where it was needed. River waved at Lin from her spot near the engine, checked her screen, and hopped up from her seat to make her way over to him.

"Jack's down in the bay already." she said, scanning the room over Lin's shoulder, her tail twitching nervously. "Don't want the chief to catch me off my post, but just wanted to wish you a good flight, love."

"Thanks, Floof." One hasty hug later, Lin was bounding down the engineering corridor to the shuttle bay. The bright yellow hulls of the twin shuttles, the Lifter and Hauler, stood out against the drab grey interior. Beside each shuttle lay a rectangular shipping crate as large as the shuttles, themselves. Soon these ore collectors would be gathering up their next haul, their next payday.

The first shift had been split between the shuttles and now sat waiting, milling about and checking their equipment. The days of hand drills and pick-axes had been all but eclipsed by the emergence of colossal excavators like the ones used by the Prospector, but the smaller tools still had their use. The drill bits' anchors needed to be inspected and dug out, smaller ore veins mined by hand, stray rocks smashed or ground to chunks for easier processing. Sturdier finds, such as diamonds and other precious gems, almost always required a finer touch than a two-story drill rig could offer.

Jack Harrison, human pilot of the Hauler (and Lin's drinking buddy), called over to his fellow pilot. "We're set to go, fuzz-butt. Let's get rollin'."

Lin made for his space suit locker and turned the handle. The door stuck, but a couple of good kicks got it open. He slipped the form-fitting outfit on one limb at a time, locked the environment seals on his biceps, thighs, and torso into place, and pulled his helmet over his head. A quick turn of a dial on his glove set the suit to siphon the air from between it and his jumpsuit, sealing it against the padded fabric. One last click set his air supply to the ambient atmosphere, and the helmet hissed as it drew in air from the hangar deck.

"Gonna fit all your hair in there, boy band?" the panda smirked, watching Jack tuck his long locks into his helmet.

"Excuse you. I'm a metalhead."

"Ah, so it isn't the booze killing all your brain cells!"

Jack locked his helmet into place and flipped Lin off before opening the Hauler's cabin hatch. "You're just mad I drink your ass under the table!"

Alarms blared throughout the bay, yellow and orange caution lights signaling the imminent launch of the twin shuttles. Mining teams climbed aboard, pilots prepped the shuttles' engines, and fuel umbilicals were disconnected and stowed. The deck crew vacated the shuttle bay, and before long, the bay was as airless as the void outside. Gravity relented, allowing Lin and Jack to lift their shuttles atop the massive ore collectors, secure them, and carry them out to the dig sites. With their cargo locked on tight, they brought their shuttles into the darkness of space. The pilots oriented their bulky craft toward the miniature planetoid upon which they'd staked their claim, blasted forward on chemical thrusters, and made way for their respective landing sites.

"Western side's all yours, Lin." Jack called over the radio as he peeled off to the east. "You remember how to fly after all this time?"

"Just like riding a bicycle." the panda's voice came surprisingly stoic. That uncertainty still hadn't quite left him, even as the familiar feeling of his shuttle's seat awakened sleeping muscle memories and automatic actions, reactions, and fine-tuned motions of edging the massive craft along jagged cliffsides and protruding, metal-rich spires. The rocky canyons and hills had a strange, desolate beauty to them; the pale grey landscape under Delta Serpentis's light, pocked with craters, ridges, and flashes of metalic riches just begging to be unearthed. Living in space tended to devalue its wonders, but every so often he'd find himself awestruck once more.

"I haven't seen you keeping up with your sims." His fellow pilot pulled him from his admiration. "Too busy wooing your lady love, eh?"

"Shut it. But yes." Lin managed to chuckle. The holographic heads-up display lighting his forward window flashed, and a square reticle highlighted the landing site beside a towering drill bit, now standing inert in the cold, black depths of space. The sun's illumination lit the metallic ground surrounding the site, giving Lin the comfort of a visual target before he switched his attention to his landing computer. Slowly, he maneuvered the Lifter into position, orienting the ship a half-circle around to align the rear airlock with the nearest anchor. He eyed a nice, open spot for the new ore collector to temporarily rest. Bringing the shuttle to a still hover, he reduced power to his downward thrusters, waited for the dull thud of impact to shake his vessel, and released the magnetic locks holding the collector in place. The panda clicked on the shuttle intercom and dropped the landing gear. "We're setting down. Helmets and O2 on. Depressurizing the airlock on all-green."

He kept one eye on his landing monitor and the other on his main screen. Four red blips accompanied the four names of the miners assigned to his shuttle. One by one, the blips turned green, and his team lead sent an all-clear through his radio. Lin maneuvered the Lifter ten meters to the right, deployed the landing gear, and set down on terra firma. The panda breathed out slow, shaking off the jitters that had migrated into his wrists. Just like riding a bicycle.

He flicked through screens on his instrument panel to depressurize the airlock. "Everything looks good. Go do your thing, gentlemen."

Exterior cameras showed his assigned team disembark and meander off toward the drill rig. For now, his job was finished. Once the rig's anchors were dug up and determined to be in working order, he'd be called back into action. The Prospector still had a whole deck lined with ore collectors to install, and just as many to haul back to the lower deck, where the smelters turned metal-rich rock into delicious precious metals. He had half the mind to nap while he could, but the red blinking light of the cockpit camera reminded him that it'd hardly be a private means of sneaking some Zs.

"Atlas?"

"Yes, Master Lin?" the AI's voice buzzed over his headset.

"How's Niira doing?"

A brief pause interspaced Atlas's response. "Stable. She appears to be sleeping soundly." Another pause. "Captain Zeeva requests a status update."

"Operations have commenced. No issues. Waiting on green light to start unloading and repositioning." Lin let a sense of relief wash over him. Maybe his selka lover had just been tired after all. He still couldn't kick that anxiety, though.

The cabin camera's light turned green and whirred quietly as it zoomed in on Lin's face. "May I voice an observation, Master Lin?"

"Yeah, buddy. You can always be open and honest with me."

"Your behavior over the past several weeks has significantly deviated from the norm. Am I correct to infer that warp technician Niira is the main influence for this?"

Lin snorted. "There you go being verbose. But yes, you're right." He pulled his helmet over his head and dropped it onto the vacant seat to his right. No copilot, as usual. There'd never been a need. The panda clicked off his suit's environmental controls. "I know it's a little early to say, but I guess I really fell for her."

"I see." The camera whirred again. "If I may infer, your relationship with Miss Niira has lessened your desire to commit sexual acts with others."

"Getting jealous there, buddy?"

"Simply curious. Organic courtship has changed throughout history. More and more cultures have accepted polyamory, but monogamy still appears to be the prevailing norm. The tendency for organics to become jealous and possessive has been noted as a cause." Atlas focused the camera lens again. "I have, in fact, observed it first-hand aboard the Prospector."

Smug satisfaction momentarily overcame Lin's anxiety. "Chad?"

"Yes. I do not wish to speak ill of the chief engineer. However, his reactions to your relationship with Miss Niira are most interesting."

"I bet they are." Lin slid his seat back and crossed one leg over the other. There was no sense in letting his back cramp this early into his shift, and he could still see the monitors from this position.

"The change in your relationship with Dr. Jenkins is interesting as well. Has she expressed jealousy that I have not observed?"

"That's..." the panda bit his lip. "It's a different situation, Atlas."

"May I inquire?"

Lin heaved out a sigh. "Flora was my first friend here. We didn't have much in common, but she laughed at my stupid jokes and put up with my need to flirt with anyone with a pulse." He cracked a half-smile, glanced at Atlas's "eye", and added, "Or without one, in your case. It also helped that I didn't find her flower thing weird."

"Does this friendship complicate matters?"

"It's more like... I feel like I've somehow distanced myself from her by cutting off the whole friends-with-benefits thing." He shook his head. "It's stupid, but I guess I'm just afraid she's upset. And I don't want to face it. What do you say to someone after being so intimate, then just... fall into someone else's arms? 'Hey Flora. Sorry, things are different now. But the sex was good. Let's stay friends.'"

"I wish I could provide an answer."

"Shit, me too."

Atlas was silent for a while. The camera serving as its eye turned, focused, and zoomed occasionally. "There are many things I still do not fully understand." it finally said. "Emotional processes, their causes and effects, and their significance still elude me on a personal level. However, I believe that when I observe you and Miss Niira, I feel... happy. I wished for you to know that, Master Lin."

The panda looked up from fiddling with his suit's pressure locks and stared at the camera. "What did you just say?"

"I said I feel happy when I observe you and Miss Niira. Have I offended?"

"No. No, not at all." Lin almost felt like a proud parent having just watched his child walk for the first time. Sure, Atlas had given the canned "I am happy to assist" responses before, but never had it sounded so genuine and sincere! Actual emotional growth in a blank-slate artificial intelligence. Asimov would have creamed his pants! He'd have to tell Zeeva later, but for now he was sure that making a big deal over it would ruin the moment. Thus, Lin opted for a simple, "Thanks, buddy. That means a lot."

"You are most welcome, Master Lin. Is there any other way I can assist you?"

"Just keep an eye on Niira like before, alright?" Lin watched the camera revert to its normal state, then turned his attention back to his monitors. His miners were still all green, the rig wasn't collapsing, and the Lifter had a solid ground beneath it. Barring any catastrophic tectonic shifts, the day was panning out to be nice and smooth. Long, but smooth all the same. Maybe it really had just been nerves, after all.

An hour passed. The miners excavated the drill's anchors, checked to ensure the components were in top shape, and signaled Lin to begin phase two. The Lifter dusted off, leaving his team to spot-check the site and make sure nothing was missed. Each two-story drill rig came equipped with eight slots for ore collectors, and every one of the massive crates had filled to capacity during their time away.

"Don't get yourselves killed while I'm flying around." the panda teased his team. The radio crackled with playful jabs, and he set about replacing the first canister. The Lifter's frontal graspers locked to the metal frame, and Lin threw his shuttle into full reverse; the thing came loose, and its weight shook the entire craft for several moments. Even metallic rock was ground up into gravel by these state-of-the-art drills--perhaps the only of Zeeva's expenses that topped Atlas's pricetag. The weight of the riches within could have toppled him in midair if he didn't keep the shuttle pitched up.

Lin throttled up, did a flyover for his crew just for the hell of it, and returned to the Prospector, aiming for the fore lower deck and the underbelly of the ship. A large crane arm protruded from an opening there--it reminded Lin of those old claw machine games, and it locked its metal mandibles around the offered ore canister as he approached.

"Om nom nom nom!" A way-too-cheery female voice greeted his ears. "Yes, feed the furnace. Feed me!"

"Every time, Jesse." Lin chuckled. Another of his friends who fit into the earlier mentioned "category four".

"You beat Jack today, by the way!"

The panda smirked. Running sims or not, he was still quicker on the draw. Or maybe Jack's team had worn their lead boots today. He released his hold on the contained and watched the Prospector's four-pronged talon pull it into the bowels of the ship. "Off I go again."

Down he went, removing and replacing collectors, repositioning and securing new drill sites, and shuttling his team around the western hemisphere. Rinse, repeat, profit. This was the life of a space miner: Beautiful, dangerous monotony dependent largely on strong backs, stable minds, and unerring focus. Lin's muscle memory had quickly returned, and he hardly even thought about the job about half-way in. All that comfort he'd managed to recover came crashing down when his radio crackled to life and his team leader delivered what he would soon discover to be a fateful message:

"Lifter, ground team."

"Lifter, go ahead." he casually responded, half-watching the monitors and digging some dirt out from under his thumbnail.

"We found something at the base of the digsite."

"Define 'something'."

What followed was an increasingly excited exchange between him, his team, and Captain Zeeva, who chimed in the moment the words "alien artifact" were used. Lin found himself shoved out of the conversation by the sheer volume of back-and-forth shouting.

"You're sure of what you're seeing down there?" the reptilian woman's voice was stern. "Because if you are, we need to get that rig up and away right now."

Lin sighed and kicked back in his seat. The long discussion between the two basically boiled down to two things: One, this old statue was emitting low-key subspace resonations; and two, there would be no more digging and no ground crew until it was retrieved and placed under quarantine. The panda almost let himself get excited--it sure sounded like he'd get to end his shift early.

"The profit margin could have just tripled, gentlemen." Zeeva was dangerously serious now. Lin could practically see the dollar signs floating around his cockpit as her voice came over his headset. "The Institute of Xenoarcheology has a standing bounty for findings like these. Forget shore leave--we could fucking retire off of this. Get your teams back to the ship, load up the ores we've collected, and get that rig out of the way." Then came the words to shoot down Lin's dream of sleeping in: "Lin, you'll go down and retrieve the artifact."

The anxiety he'd managed to shake off returned with a vengeance. As flattered as he was to learn that Zeeva trusted him with something so important--and expensive--he was sure that responsibility would come with a steep price for failure. Visions of job interviews and budget cutting danced in his head, and he shuddered. Only one thing was certain: Things were about to get interesting.

<There's something out there.>

Flora jumped, and her knee banged the underside of her keyboard tray. The sudden clunk turned a few heads in the medical bay, but she waved her coworkers back to work. "What are you talking about?" she quietly asked. Roro's sudden outburst, while quiet, had given the pink fox quite a scare. The flowery voice in her head had been quiet all morning.

<I'm not sure.> the petals clustered around Flora's ear quivered. <But it's definitely there. Outside. In space.>

Flora breathed in deep and reflexively walled herself off from the tremor of anxiety arcing across nerves shared by her companion. She stood and locked her computer screen, gave her fellow doctors and nurses some excuse about stretching her legs, and started to walk down the hall. Maybe a quick stroll would calm Roro down. "It isn't them, right?"

<No. You'd know it if it were.> Roro's vines tightened around the vixen's midsection. <I don't think it's a thoughtform.>

"Then what?" Dr. Jenkins tried not to sound tired. She'd grown accustomed to Roro's stray thoughts and untimely conversations, but wasn't always so tolerant when they got in the way of her work. It had been hard enough getting back on the job after she'd come to possess her floral headmate.

The flowers' petals bloomed wide, and Flora got the sense her companion was searching. Studying. <No, it's a thought. But it also isn't.>

"You know I hate it when you're vague."

<I'm sorry. It's hard to describe.>

Flora sighed. She stopped beside a viewport as she ventured into the mess hall. The shadowy profile of their claimed asteroid floated below, just barely visible over the window frame. Roro had been on her best behavior since their first day on shore leave. The relapse into full sensory anxiety attacks had thankfully been a one-time occurrence, which she'd elected to keep out of her medical file. Being head doctor certainly had its perks.

<I didn't mean to disturb you.>

"Don't worry, honey. Just as long as you're alright."

<It's just so strange. What could be a thought, but also not a thought?> The flowers flicked, as if in frustration. <I'm sensing things I shouldn't be able to. Seeing things that I'm not sure are real.>

That admission renewed the concern welling up in the pit of Flora's stomach, and the flowery lifeform sharing her body apparently sensed it, as it shrank pathetically against her ear. The vulpine doctor looked around the room; just a few members of the second shift milled about, out of hearing range. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I've never known you to hallucinate."

<Can something like me hallucinate?>

"Christ, I don't--Look, maybe I should get us a sedative or something." Dr. Jenkins forced her expression into a stoic, far away stare. She could practically hear the captain shouting for the other doctors to prepare the quarantine already. The fox had blocked out Roro's emotions, and she hadn't seen anything strange, herself. For the moment, this appeared to differ from the panic attacks. Curiosity tugged at her mind. "So," she cautiously asked, "what do you see, anyway?"

A contemplative hum preceded Roro's response. <There's a dark room. Like a tunnel. Old. It's scary, but I don't... know if I'm actually scared.> Her voice suggested more curiosity than fear. <Does that make any sense? Probably not.>

"Go on." Flora gently urged, petting the pretty blue petals nestled in her hair. She started the trip back to the medbay and figured if she could keep Roro calm, she could find something to help the both of them sleep this off. It'd set her work back by a few hours, but she wasn't about to look for a second opinion and spend the next six months behind reinforced glass.

<There's something at the end. It's dark. Pure black. Almost... vantablack. I mean, there's no light in this tunnel, but I can see this thing like it's sunny.>

"What is it?"

<It's some sort of statue, I think. Yes. A bust of some kind. I can see it, and it's like a... snake. Or a dragon. It's... thrumming.>

"Thrumming?" Flora tried not to let the other doctors see her lips move. The less they knew, the better.

<I don't know how else to describe it. You know how water ripples when you throw a stone into it? Well, it's like that. But it isn't water it's splashing in. It's... reality.>

The vixen found her chair and covertly searched her desk for a sedative. She was sure she had something powerful enough to put them out for at least an hour. Her hand shook as she rifled through the various medicines arranged in rows in the cabinet. There was nothing quite as incriminating as a doctor shooting up without logging what she'd taken. "Reality?"

<It keeps doing that. Steadily thrumming. I'm scared, but I keep moving closer. It's so quiet, but the pressure on my head... I can hear something...> Roro's voice trailed off. There was an uncomfortable pause, followed by a sharp twitch that seized up the entirety of the plant creature's joints, followed by a quiet telepathic whimper. <It stopped.>

"Are you sure?" Flora abandoned her rummaging in favor of petting the flowers atop her head.

Roro twitched contemplatively. <I think it was a dream.>

"You're awake. You've never had vivid daydreams like that, either."

<No, not mine. Someone else's. I've never been able to feel a dream before.> The discomfort lay heavy within her tone, but that confused curiosity was still there. <That's why I couldn't recognize it. I was feeling something completely alien to me. Something only the dreamer understands.>

Flora let out a heavy sigh. The tension left her muscles, and her shoulders ached as she finally acknowledged the strain they'd been under. She'd been bunching them them the entire time, just waiting for something terrible to assault her mind's eye. "Do you know what it was?"

Roro hummed again, her vines loosening to a comfortable tightness. <I think... I felt subspace.>

Flora had no time to probe. Her console emitted a harsh buzzing tone. Atlas's voice followed, the severity of his announcement overshadowing his stoic tone: "Warp technician Niira is dangerously feverish."

"Where?" the vixen kicked back her chair and grabbed a medical duffel bag.

"Her quarters."

Flora darted from medical, leaving her workplace a mess of papers, open drawers, and one toppled office chair. Roro's revelation hung in her mind, but she couldn't make any sense of it. First her headmate dreams about subspace, then the one person on the ship who lives and breathes it goes suddenly ill? A horrible weight formed in the pit of her stomach. She prayed it wasn't related and rushed to the room highlighted on the inner lens of her glasses. The door opened, and she swung herself inside...

Darkness prevailed. That was the one truth about this place: the oppressive, all-encompassing lack of light. This void between voids made of narrow, jagged walls, gravelly floors, and low ceilings seemed to suck the air from her lungs; every breath tasted the same, every gulp of air stale and distressingly familiar. Niira felt her way along the rocky corridor, breaths heavy, heart pounding almost painfully in her chest. Another tremor pulsed through the air, and she dropped to her knees to weather it. Hands instinctively clutched her forehead to cover her third, fourth, and fifth eyes. She'd opened them before, tempted to peek at what rode the waves of whatever force was stretching the fabric between this world and the Space Between.

She didn't want to see it again.

The intense vibration of spacetime passed, and she pressed on. She moved closer despite her terror, nearer to the source of this otherworldly resonance. It called to her, almost beckoned her forward. The hum that had begun so quietly had risen to a wanting, almost hungry... song. It was the only word that fit. Like the lilt of an Earthling whale's cry, but ethereal. Disembodied. It surrounded this place, permeated it at a cellular level, intangible and yet everywhere. Niira sensed the source--massive, but so far from here, even as its calls lashed at the very edges of subspace and bent the fabric of reality.

The vague shape at the edge of the darkness became more defined. Sharp edges gave way to a smooth neck, which ended where its rocky pedestal began. Six terrible indentations which must have been eyes, one on either side of the face, three across the forehead, and one just above the central orbit, almost appeared to watch her. This blacker than black carving thrummed again, and she collapsed in horror as its wailing cry again sent tremors across her empathic senses. No mortal should have felt this kind of hunger. Nothing living or dead in this world had ever experienced this... THING'S desire to consume. To have its empathic echoes even graze at the corner of her psyche nearly tore her mind to shreds.

And yet she pressed on. Somehow her mind found the fortitude to will her body forward, to step closer. Closer! Why was she moving closer? Why couldn't she just wake up?!

"...ir..."

The faintest sound. Was it just an echo? Some illusion produced as this monsterous effigy's song continued to resonate through the chamber? She reached forward, trembling webbed fingers outstretched, ready to grasp the source of that horrible sound.

"...iira..."

Another voice, clearer this time. Her body hesitated, and her mind found a glimmer of hope. Just focus on the voice. Focus on the sound of...

"NIIRA!" Familiar black and white hands took hers, and her world shook. The rocky walls tremored and fell apart around her. Starlight illuminated the tiny universe within which she dreamed, and she saw Lin puzzling over the horrible obsidian statuette. Her mind reeled within a storm of flashing images; a hundred-thousand eyes, worlds crushed beneath colossal jaws, and the slow death of every star in the sky. She had only a moment to scream into the airless void when everything cleared again and the cosmos yawned. Endless blackness swallowed the stars, the pedestal, and what remained of the rocky floor. Her beloved Lin sank into its depths and vanished.

Niira awoke with a shout that would wake the dead, all five eyes wide with terror. She vaguely registered Dr. Jenkins leaping backward to avoid being clobbered in a literal head-on collision. She was sure the fox was talking to her, asking vague medical questions, but everything was muffled under the sound of her thundering heart. A cold sweat had soaked her back, and her legs felt like jelly as she tried to scramble from her bed.

"Hey, hey!" Flora's words finally overpowered the pounding in her ears. "Settle down. I think you must have had a fever dream."

"No. No, no, no." Niira frantically tried to push past the doctor, who appeared insistent upon keeping her in her bed. "Flora, I can't stay here."

"I'll get you a bed in medbay, if you think you need one. It might be best so we can monitor--"

The young selka groaned and shoved Flora back, and for a moment she was as surprised as the vixen. "I'm sorry--I--" She shook it off. There would be time for regrets later. "Lin! He's in danger out there!"

Flora picked herself off the floor and rubbed her sore backside. "You have a high fever, Niira. I promise you, he's fine. He's just checking out something the drill got caught on."

Niira felt her face go pale. She leapt from her bed and stumbled through the doorway, somehow managing to stay upright as her legs cried out in protest. The selka ignored Flora's shouting and rushed past medbay, her head spinning, vision blurred. Maybe she was just feverish, and hell, maybe she was overreacting. Maybe the drill had caught on a stubborn piece of rock or something equally innocent and mundane. But she had to be sure.

Atlas pinged at every console she passed, but she didn't stop to hear the AI out until she came to rest against the bridge's door panel. Her lungs stung, and she hammered her index finger on the Call AI button until she realized Atlas was now patiently awaiting her inquiry. "Let me in!"

"Please state the reason for your request."

"I don't have time, Atlas--Lin--he's in danger!"

"Acknowledged. Please wait while I inform the captain."

Niira groaned and slumped against the wall, her head pounding with the worst headache she'd ever experienced. She was sure everyone she'd zipped past thought she'd lost her mind, but in this moment she couldn't care less. The bridge door slid open, and she didn't even look as she bolted inside--right into the tall, imposing figure of XO Anders.

"Slow down, Niira." the old wolf's tone was authoritative, but compromising. He rested his hands on her shoulders and gave her a small smile. "What's going on? Atlas says you're absolutely frantic."

"Lin... he's..." Niira could feel the adrenaline wearing off. She tried to hold on to it, but the strength was waning in her legs, and she struggled to keep herself upright. "You have to warn him. Get him out of there..."

"Lin is fine." Anders looked at something over Niira's shoulder, then back to her. "Why don't you let Flora check your vitals? You really don't--"

Niira quickly realized this would get her nowhere, and allowing the doctors to sedate her was practically condemning Lin to death if that vision had meant anything. Abandoning all semblance of propriety and tact, she channeled a sample of every bitter, terrified, and frustrated feeling she could muster into the tip of her finger and jabbed it into Anders's forehead. She shouted an apology as she slipped around the old wolf, whose eyes had gone wide as a wave of forced terror shook him to his core. Niira took one look back and saw Flora kneeling over the doubled-over wolf, and she knew that if she was wrong, her career was over.

Heads turned, and chairs soon followed as she rushed past the bridge crew. The familiar twin seats of the command staff came into view and, feeling the remainder of her strength waning, Niira cried out, "Call him BACK!"

Zeeva spun around and rose from her seat, looking simultaneously puzzled, concerned, and outraged. "What are you doing here, technician? Who let you on the bridge?" A quick glance down the corridor revealed the hunched-over figures of Ezekiel Anders and the ship's head doctor. "What happened to Anders?"

"Captain, please!" she could hardly even yell now. The fever was quickly winning out over sheer panic. "Call Lin back! Get him out of there!"

"What has come over you? Why should I call him back?"

"You don't know what's down there...!" Niira strained her voice, and she collapsed to her knees, grasping at Zeeva's long coat for support. "Captain..."

Zeeva silently appraised the frantic selka, eyes wide and mouth agape. The entire bridge was silent, save for the tiniest sound of Niira's pathetic whimpering. Wordlessly, the captain turned to her console and tapped the holopad. "Mr. Shou, status?"

"Perfectly fine so far, cap." the sound of Lin's voice innervated Niira, but the message he delivered renewed her terror. "Those weird signals haven't changed, and I have a visual. Just like the others said: Some kind of obsidian statue or a bust or something--"

"Lin!" Niira, galvanized by horrible revelation, shoved past Zeeva and wailed into the console. "Get out of there!"

"Niira? What the hell's going on up there? Are you alright?"

"JUST LISTEN TO ME AND G--" the captain's aged muscles had not lost any of their combat-honed strength. Niira struggled to free herself from the old skriivan's headlock, groaning with exertion and managing to squeak out, "Run...!"

"That'll be ENOUGH of that, technician." Captain Zeeva had apparently taken offense to being pushed and forgotten anything about feeling concerned. "I expect you have a good reason for barging in here and causing a disturbance, but your explanation will have to wait." She addressed her console, "Mr. Shou, proceed as instructed."

Lin's hesitation was audible. "Captain, with respect, Niira might sense something we can't detect."

"Niira," the voice of Dr. Roxanne Jenkins did not sound pleased, "has a high fever, is beyond confused right now, and should absolutely be resting in bed before she gives someone else the 'terror poke'."

"Maybe we should wait, Captain." Lin spoke through the console once more. "Even if it winds up being nothing--"

Zeeva's fist hitting the arm of her chair silenced his protest. "Need I remind you that we are outside SolGov's protection here? Those rail gun turrets kept claim jumpers off our backs because ores and minerals can be found elsewhere. What CAN'T be found anywhere is proof of an alien precurser in this system!" She scowled dangerously. Even Lin, kilometers away and listening through a radio, could likely feel that glowering glare. "Until we have that thing secured and its signals isolated, we are TARGETS out here. People have been killed for far less, and I don't intend to sit here and just wait for it to happen to us. Mr. Shou, secure the object, and do it FAST."

There was no further argument; Niira's whimpers of "no, no, no" could not be counted as legitimate opposition. Even her frantic panic could hardly stand under Zeeva's intimidating presence. But as the seconds ticked by, the flame rekindled, and she managed to pick herself off the floor. She stared the reptilian woman down, tears welling in her eyes. "If something happens to him, I swear you'll pay. All of you."

An uncomfortable amount of eyes fall upon her. Every head in the room had turned once more, the fear in their aura almost painfully apparent to her heightened senses. She didn't relent, even as her tears spilled free, eyes never leaving Zeeva's.

"Niira." the captain growled, standing as tall as she ever had. "I'm going to forgive your behavior today since you're sick. But please trust Dr. Jenkins and get treated before I'm forced to give an order I really don't care to give."

"If you even start, I'll--!"

Something shook the ship hard, sending the already dizzy Anders back to the floor as he stumbled back to the bridge. Flora rushed to tend to him, but a second tremor knocked her off her feet as well. Crewmen clung to their seats and workstations, and Zeeva called for a report.

"Subspace fluctuations detected." Atlas pinged from the captain's console. "Unstable wavelengths. Energy levels spiking."

"Epicenter?"

"You fucking KNOW where it is!" Niira slapped the console to call the Lifter again. "Lin, GET OUT OF THERE!"

"Yeah, about that..?" the fear in his tone made Niira almost physically ill. "I'm... dead in the water. Something's happening with that statue. It's like... throbbing. Controls aren't responding."

"No. No, no, Lin you need to--" Another tremor shook the Prospector, and this time it shook Niira, too. She dropped to her knees and clutched her head, unable to keep herself from screaming as the visions returned with the most splitting, agonizing pain. The jaws of the dragon gnashed and snapped, and black-cloaked figures looked on in what could have only been reverence. The thrumming pulses set off alarms, and grim recognition rose in her mind as an all too familiar sensation arose in her mind.

"Realspace tear detected." Atlas voiced it before she could. "Uncontrolled subspace eversion imminent."

"Get him out!" Niira, frantic once more, attempted to stumble to her feet, only to topple over as another wave of pain tore through her skull. She could no longer give words to the things she saw. The desperate selka tried to focus on immersing herself--she had to get to Lin and pull him out, even if it meant momentarily exposing him to subspace! But the terrible force behind this space-tearing power kept her grounded in realspace, its alien psyche wresting control of all subspace activity around the mysterious statue.

An argument broke out among the crew. Some suggested sending the Hauler down to retrieve the Lifter, but Zeeva adamantly ruled that there was no time. Ultimately, command rested on her shoulders. At the captain's behest, Atlas pulled the Prospector back from the rock. Alarms blared, and the vessel rumbled violently as the fabric of spacetime folded and split. The forward viewport gave the bridge crew and its intruders a front-row seat to the event: Pure blackness erupted from within the asteroid, its rocky surface disintegrating upon exposure to subspace. It expanded as a wall, a disc that spun inward on itself and swiftly swallowed what it did not immediately destroy. Then, as quickly as it had expanded, the hole swallowed itself and faded into nothingness, leaving the starry backdrop of space in its wake. The shaking ceased. No one said a word. Niira's vision went dark, and she was greeted with discontinuity.

Lin couldn't be sure, in his dazed, groggy state, if it was the intense rumbling, the clunk of his wayward helmet against his head, or the obnoxious klaxons that had woken him. Nor could he determine just how long he'd been unconscious. These concerns faded into irrelevance as the computerized warnings finally clicked in his head: "Warning: Unprotected subspace immersion detected."

His eyes shot open, and he frantically looked around the cockpit for--Well, he quickly forgot just what he'd been looking for. The sight of a monsterous legion's teeth, talons, and eyes bearing down on him just beyond the window was enough to rob him of any problem solving ability. They clawed at the hull, the windows, scraping long gashes into the metal and reinforced glass with disturbing ease.

The unmistakable hiss of air escaping a pressurized room jolted him from his awestruck horror. "Hull integrity critical." The warning followed up with the obvious suggestion: "All hands proceed to emergency escape craft."

Lin scrambled from his seat and crashed through the door leading to the rear of the shuttle. The breath he'd been in the middle of taking slipped right back out of his lips as he stumbled into the depressurizing aft section. One frantic forward jolt later, he found the escape pod door release and smashed his hand against it until the mechanical locks clunked. He wrenched the door open, climbed into the cylindrical pod, and closed its interior door. Ten seats sat in a circle around the cramped pod, with one lead seat with a command console. The panda took this seat, strapped himself in, and slammed his fist down hard on the launch button.

Vertigo relieved his stomach of its contents, and the rumbling and tearing sounds began to quiet. An emergency realspace bubble formed around the pod, and he had just enough time to hear the telltale "pop" of something nearby exploding in the vacuum of space. Now enshrouded in its protective field, the pod no longer shook, and Lin sank into his seat. There were far too many questions, and no time to answer them. Here he was, drifting through a rogue subspace immersion with no propulsion, no direction, and nothing but the pod's computer to guide him.

"Ok. You're alive. That's a plus." he commented with a heavy breath. The panda almost allowed himself a moment to get comfortable, but the universe revealed that it wasn't yet done flipping him off.

"Warning: Uncontrolled subspace emergence imminent."

"Gimmie a fucking break!" Lin braced himself. The explosive emergence back into realspace knocked the breath from his lungs, and he dry heaved as a second wave of vertigo overtook him. It took several long moments for him to regain his composure. "Computer." he rasped, wiping his chin to clean the drool and spittle off his fur. "Fuck--Uh... Diagnostics?"

"Long-wave communications offline. Emergency subspace drive offline. Propulsion offline."

"Alright, alright." he interrupted, waving his hand irately. "Just tell me what I DO have."

The computer rattled off a list of active subsystems. Of note were the pod's hibernation system, its short-wave communications, life support, and transponder. "Great." he said, rubbing his sore back with a pained groan. "So I can't go anywhere, but maybe, just maybe, someone will find me out here. Wherever 'here' is. Any idea where we are?"

"Location unknown. Space positioning system and cartographic sensors offline."

"Wonderful." Lin leaned back into his seat. Drifting in the middle of nowhere space, at the mercy of a friendly passerby. This was not how he figured he'd spend his day. "Ok, Lin. Don't freak out." he reminded himself and set to work. If he was going to be found out here, he'd have to be as obvious and visible to any passing ships as possible.

"First things first: transponder." Lin summoned the holo-screen on his control panel and brought up the transponder settings. He cranked the range up to full, flicked on the emergency lights, and set the signal to broadcast. With that done, he'd stick out like a sore thumb on any sensor array--but it was missing a personal incentive.

Lin switched over to the communication console. Just as the computer had said, he wasn't going to get anything out of the system--his long-band transmitter had dented or broken off during his escape. At the very least, he could still put something on the local airwaves and hope someone wandered along. The panda readied the pod's voice recording software and took a deep breath. "This is an SOS recording, Earth date: May 4th, 2286. My name is Lin Shou of the CMF Prospector..."

The voices of the ship's department heads were muffled under the unbearable haze of guilt hanging over her. How could she have let this happen? Why hadn't the captain listened? Why hadn't she just taken the situation into her own hands? She could have jumped over to Lin's shuttle from the beginning--even if she couldn't have stopped him from obeying the captain, she'd have at least been with him! Niira Reticula sat at the end of the briefing room table, barely listening to anything being said, tears streaming down her cheeks. She'd tried so hard to keep them at bay, struggled to stay calm and collected, but the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Captain." Anders gently nudged the dazed-looking Zeeva into awareness. "You awake?"

"I'm lucid, yeah." Zeeva took a long look around the table. To her left sat Ezekiel Anders, followed by Roxanne Jenkins. To the right, Chad Berringer, unreadable and stoic. "Sorry. I'm just--What do we know?"

"Analysis of the distortion came back just a few minutes ago." Chad spoke up, swiping his finger across a tablet propped up before him. "The object created a temporary subspace eversion, which drew in everything within its twenty-kilometer accretion disc, then collapsed and left a subspace wake to god-knows-where."

"A wake? So there's something left."

"Yeah. It's like a tunnel through subspace. It's barely big enough for a shuttle, and we can't determine where it goes. This is the stuff of theoretical physics." Chad turned his tablet over and leaned back in his chair. "Nobody really knows what'd happen if you tried to go through something like this."

Anders spoke up. "The risk is too great. We saw what that thing did to the rock and the, uh," he glanced cautiously in Niira's direction, "Lifter."

"Did anyone actually see the Lifter get destroyed?" Flora asked, hands tangled up in her dark brown hair. "If there's any chance that he's out there, that he survived--"

"Long-range scans didn't pick up his transponder or any wreckage." Chad interrupted, then averted his eyes from the fox. Apparently Flora's death glare was enough to clue him in: His commentary on this matter was far from appropriate. Everyone knew about his issues with Lin--it wasn't like he made any effort to keep it quiet. With some measure of restraint, he continued, "The only other option--aside from what need not be stated--is that he got sucked in like the rest of the rock."

A heavy silence hung over the group. The truth of the matter began to sink in, and Niira finally tore her gaze from whatever far-off place it'd settled on and turned to face the group. That tiny motion drew every set of eyes in the room to her, as if they already knew what she was about to suggest.

"I'll go."

"Niira, no." Zeeva's voice lacked the authoritative snap that usually accompanied it. "That's not an option."

"I'm the only one who can survive in subspace unaided."

"I won't risk it."

Anders, forever the voice of reason, sighed and raked his fingers through his greying hair. "You go out there, Niira, we have no way of bringing you back if something happens."

"I'm aware of that." she felt the same impassioned agitation flaring to life within her chest. "And I'm also aware that, without me, you're stuck on mechanical subspace drives. You lose a piece of hardware. I get it."

"That's not what I--"

"No, but you were thinking it!"

Chad turned his chair to face the angry selka. "Niira, look. We want to get him back, but--"

"Oh, sure you do." Venomous rage boiled up from within her core and threatened to spill over into violence. "Sure you do, Chad. For all the time you obsessed over me, you sure didn't bother to learn much about selka," she rose from her seat now, advancing on the uncomfortable-looking collie with a dangerous glare, "and how easily we can pick out when a WORM like you finds smug, sadistic pleasure in something like this."

"This isn't helping." Anders quickly moved around the table to intersect the pair before something ugly happened. "We're all angry, and we're all upset. But we can't have someone jumping into that hole before we learn more about it."

"Lin might not have that kind of time." Niira resisted the urge to "terror poke" the old wolf again.

Zeeva leaned forward, her head returning to her hands. "Anders is right, Niira. I'm not risking your life for one we might not be able to save."

"I'm not asking for permission, and you can't stop me."

"You'd really do this to me?" the aging captain glared through the spaces in her fingers. "After all that's happened today? You'd really make me endure that a second time?"

The dam holding Niira's patience broke. Renewed streams of tears spilled down her cheeks, and she would have leapt over the table to assault her captain a second time, had Anders not held her back. "I love him!" she fought back the tremors in her voice. "And it's my fault this happened to him!"

"No!" the entire table shook as Zeeva rose and brought her fists down upon it. "It's mine." Her hands shook. Tired eyes nearly refused to meet Niira's, but found them all the same. "Every soul onboard this ship is my responsibility. My burden to bear if something happens to them." She took a moment to steady herself, breathed deep, and continued. "I love and care for every single one of you. Even those in need of a serious attitude adjustment." A dangerous glare was cast in Chad's direction, and the collie shrank into his seat. "I want Lin back, too, Niira. If anyone should go out there and look for him, it should be me."

The angry flame in Niira's chest had no choice but to burn out. She'd never, ever seen Zeeva display such sincere affection, nor had she ever felt this horrible regret in her captain's aura. She peeled herself away from the relieved-looking Anders, moved back to her seat, and sat again. "I'm sorry, Captain." she quietly said, wiping her cheeks with her sleeve. "But I'm going. Lin might be your employee, but he's the light of my heart. And if he isn't coming back from this," she choked back a whimper and dabbed at the moisture trickling down her lower eyelids, "then neither am I."

Somber silence overtook the conference room. Not one pair of eyes dared to meet. The tension had all but evaporated, but in its place hung a heavy raincloud of despair. Niira let her eyes wander the room; Anders stood, apparently too on edge to sit, and gripped the back of a nearby chair. Chad, the disgusting worm, hadn't moved an inch in his seat and practically radiated shame. Flora was petting Roro's petals with one hand and wiping her eyes with the other. Zeeva had sunk back into her chair, hands folded and resting against her snout in contemplation.

A soft ping broke the silence. "If I may interrupt," Atlas spoke over the captain's terminal, "I have run calculations on the anomaly."

"Let's hear it." Zeeva's response was dead. Toneless.

"Thank you, Captain. Based on comparisons with a normal subspace immersion, I have concluded that the anomaly, while far less stable, is fundamentally the same as the immersions we are familiar with, albeit alien in nature. Miss Niira should theoretically be able to travel through it unharmed. Where she will end up, however, is impossible to determine."

"And if the tunnel collapses while she's inside?" Anders seemed hesitant to ask.

"Highest probability: The clear route between the Prospector and the tunnel's end is erased. Miss Niira loses her sense of direction, and becomes stranded."

Zeeva buried her face in her hands again. She mumbled something, shook her head, and stared across the table at Niira. "Can you think of anything you might need? Stimulants? Extra equipment? Anything at all to take with you?"

"Stimulants... might help. As for anything else? Just silence, the humidity of my room, and... good vibes, I guess." A weight lifted off her shoulders. Finally, some trust. Some faith.

"Alright." the skriivan captain sucked in a breath. "I'm gonna hate myself forever if I lose you, too. You know that." She stood and walked around the table, arms crossed as she stopped before Niira. "The moment it seems like that tunnel's going to collapse, you turn back. No ifs, ands, or buts."

Niira chewed on her lower lip. "Captain..."

"Yeah, I know." Zeeva sighed. "You won't listen. Neither would I." She loosened up and placed her hands on the selka's shoulders. "I'm trusting you with this, not because it suddenly stopped scaring me shitless, but because I know you won't let me down. You never have."

Niira managed a smile. Even she wasn't sure if she believed that, but hearing it definitely lifted her spirits. "I'll find Lin, Captain. Who else are you going to yell at?"

"I've got a whole ship full of candidates, but you're right. It just wouldn't be the same." Zeeva grinned. She turned and motioned in Flora's direction. "Mind getting her some stims? Auto-injectors?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Flora rose from her seat and stopped by the door. She glanced back, pursed her lips, and quietly murmured, "Sorry I didn't believe you."

Niira could only answer with a nod. She'd find time to forgive the fox when everyone was together again. Feeling increasingly small under everyone's expectant gaze, she removed herself from the room and waited outside for Flora. Already, she felt the weight of what she was about to do bear down upon her. If what awaited her down there was anything like the vision she'd had, she was in for a rough trip, not to mention a long one. Even deep scans of the wake couldn't determine how deep it went.

The door slid open, and the unwelcome sight of Chad Berringer made an appearance. He had a stern face on, but his quivering nerves practically shook the air around him. "Niira, what you're doing is insane."

"It really isn't your business, Chad."

"You're part of my team."

Niira narrowed her eyes. She'd calmed significantly, but part of her was certain she could still hit someone if prompted. "This has never been about the team. It's about you, how you feel, and what you want."

Chad groaned. "Alright, and what if it is? He's GONE, Niira. I don't care that the captain approved--I'm not about to lose you."

"Let me make one thing abundantly clear to you, Chad, so that we never have to have this conversation, or any other like it, again." Niira prodded a dull nail under the tip of the collie's chin. She resisted the urge to simply blank his mind with terror. "You had your chance. You BLEW your chance. Maybe if you start seeing me as something more than a treasure to possess, you'll understand why someone who can READ YOUR EMOTIONS found you undesirable."

"Well your senses must be off, because you can probably smell Lin's cock in half the rooms on this ship." the collie's eyes burned with the dull, aching throb of rejection. "He's the very definition of what you just described."

"Would you like to know how many women he's slept with in the past two months?"

"Not particularly."

"Zero." Niira drew her hand back to her side. She saw Flora approaching in her peripheral. "Not even me, Chad. For someone you hate so much, you sure know little about him."

She left him like that. As shameful as it was, she felt good finally voicing what she'd always felt. Flora met her half-way down the hall and handed over a medical belt lined with stim shots.

"Don't take them too often." the vixen cautioned, her left hand tending to a clearly still upset Roro. "It'd be anticlimactic as hell for you to overdose half-way in."

Niira found the energy to chuckle as she fastened the belt to her waist. "I'll remember that."

"Listen, Niira--" Flora bit her tongue. She let her eyes wander elsewhere. "Lin wasn't--isn't mad at me, is he?"

"No. Goodness, no." she sighed. "But when we get back, I'm gonna make him talk to you. It'll make sense then, if I have to force it."

The bright pink fox nodded vaguely and cleared her throat. "Right. I don't know what you're going to face out there, but... do your best. Alright?"

"All I can do. Goodbye, Flora, should we not meet again." She hugged her friend tight and forced herself from her grasp. Niira swiftly made her way to her room. She wasn't entirely confident that she could navigate the tunnel on her own, nor did she know what to expect. But the others believed in her, and that would have to do. She slipped into her room and shut the door behind her. The pile of Lin's clothes on the floor nearly drew new tears to her eyes, but she stifled them under a deep breath. She knelt before her viewport, pulled her voidsilk hood over her head, shut her primary eyes and opened the pure black secondary set. Peering into the Space Between, Niira could see the tunnel; a faint hole in the fabric between worlds, surrounded by a whirling vortex. Its gradual contraction was barely perceptible, but obvious to her trained senses. She would have to be quick.

"How much time do I have, Atlas?"

"An exact timeline is impossible to determine." the AI intoned from her bedside. "The anomaly's rate of decay fluctuates. On average, I estimate its time to collapse at sixteen days."

"Home in time for dinner." Niira breathed in again to center herself. "Blessed Creators who dwell in Your Kingdom in the Space Between, I beseech thee," The air around her glowed. Time and space began to shift. "Grant that my heart be true, my wits sharp, my eyes ever forward. Guide me through this perilous journey through Your Heavenly Realm, upon which Your blessed children, the selka, so carefully tread." Vertigo overtook her senses, but lasted only a moment. The floor dissolved beneath her. "And should my faith waver, or should I fail in my task, I beg of You: enshroud me in the infinite beauty of Your most holy gardens, that I may join You evermore, and embrace Eternity."

She was underwater. The Prospector's hull gave way to an endless ocean, lit from all sides by ethereal suns. Niira took a moment to adjust her perception; she aligned the flow of the current with the whirlpool surrounding the subspace tunnel, visualizing it as a drain of sorts. Niira propelled herself toward it, guiding the flow of water through sheer force of will, as she had countless times past. The tunnel drew nearer, and it tugged at her like a hungry maw. There was something terribly wrong with this immersion. Images from her vision flashed in her mind's eye, but she would not be deterred. Kicking forward with her legs, Niira plunged into the tunnel and immediately noticed that all the water--and light--was gone.

Panic clawed at her mind, but she stifled it under raw determination. She still floated close to the center of the swirling tunnel, and its current easily pulled her forward--exactly where she wanted to go. Try as she might, she could not assert her vision over whatever colossal, unknowable will that drove this incarnation of subspace. Daring to reach out with her mind, Niira brushed the edges of an alien consciousness. What lay on the other end was all around her, and yet nowhere near. There was no perceptible attempt to touch back, almost as if whatever had birthed this vision had done so unconsciously.

"Of course." she figured. "It was a statue. Inanimate, for all we know."

That fact only begged further questions: Who had made the statue? Why? What kind of power had it contained that, even after its destruction, allowed it to project such a powerful image in subspace? She would puzzle over these things later. Content in the thought that she was well and truly alone, Niira followed the flow of the current, watching the edges of the pitch-dark tunnel for signs of collapse. She would not turn back; it was all or nothing now. She would find her beloved Lin or die trying.

A sleek, silvery vessel broke the relative stillness of the void. The glow of a far-off yellow star illuminated a brilliant blue gas giant encircled by an equally spectacular set of rings. The lonely vessel, built of rounded edges, decorative fins and the profile of a twentieth century yacht, cruised along the planet's orbit, allowing gravity to guide its course.

The luxurious ship's helm was lonely, save for one figure dressed only in a white tube top and blue pajama pants. She'd just entered, the sliding metal door slipping shut behind her, long rabbit ears bouncing atop her head. Her magenta fur and hair had been expertly combed, and glowing blue eyes lazily scanned not over the ship's readouts, but a tablet in her hand.

"What's this about a course change?" the scantily-dressed bunny asked, lazily slumping back in the navigator seat to the left of the helm.

A distinctly female voice played over the nearby terminal. "LADAR scans of the system detected ship debris early this morning. Upon further analysis, it was determined to be an escape pod. Course was adjusted in order to intercept and retrieve the pod."

"Huh." the rabbit kicked one leg over the other and pulled a lever on her seat, causing the back to recline. "Surprised the captain even bothered. We certainly don't need the attention."

"Actually, the captain is not aware."

"What?" Suddenly the bunny looked very interested in something at the helm. She hopped from her seat, tossed her tablet onto an instrument panel and bounded over to the captain's chair. She gave the AI's camera, hanging in the upper-left corner of the room, a cautious glare. "Galatea, we really shouldn't make decisions like this on our own. You know the laws."

"Captain Matthews has given me the helm, effective 21:04 SET last night. A temporary measure to give him time to sleep off his hangover."

"He did what...?" the rabbit groaned and returned to her seat. "If someone finds out..."

The AI's voice took on a reassuring tone. "No one will find out. We are well and truly alone in this system. I have resumed our initial course and cost us little time. The captain will not mind some spare scrap, and the pod's survivor will surely be grateful when he awakens."

"You mean--"

"Yes. I have already taken the liberty of recovering it."

The bunny girl facepalmed. She spun her chair around and let the momentum carry her in a circle. "Gal, this was stupid." She jumped to her feet again. "You could have at least told Bloo and I. You know, ask our opinions? Let us weigh the risks with you? Not like we're gonna rat you out."

"I did not want to stress you out, Berri. But now that you're aware, you can help."

"Help what?" Berri would soon regret asking that question. Galatea led her down to the cargo hold, through the sleeping ship's corridors, past the empty dining hall, bathing chamber, and the guest bedroom. She entered the AI core and took a quick elevator ride to the bowels of the ship; the cargo bay door sat almost menacingly at the end of the hall. "So we have a living occupant?"

"Yes." This time Galatea's voice rang out in Berri's head. "The pod is registered to the CMF Prospector."

"Mining frigate, huh?" Berri peered through the window looking into the cargo bay. Sure enough, the cylindrical pod sat there, nestled among boxes of junk, ship parts, and other things hidden under tarps.

"I was able to interface with the pod's controls. Revitalization began immediately after acquisition, and should be completed within the hour."

"And you didn't think to ask the captain about that?"

Galatea's disembodied voice gave the robotic rabbit its best impression of a shrug. "I am confident he will see reason."

The bunny's eyes narrowed. "Is that what you need help with? Convincing him you didn't screw up horribly?"

"I would have chosen kinder words."

Berri groaned and bonked her head against the glass. She stared ahead at the inert escape pod, ears drooped backward. "Let's hope whoever's inside isn't crazy, then. I don't wanna get blood on my fur today." Approaching footsteps caused her ears to twitch, but the internal cartographic and positioning monitors running in her synthetic mind had alerted her to her mechanical sister's approach well before the sound had. "Afternoon Bloo. Gal fill you in?"

The other mechanical woman, sporting fur befitting her namesake, shared Berri's lapine physique. Her features, however, were more of the lop-eared rabbit variety. One thing she did share with her sister was her fashion sense; just a tube top and loose pants adorned the azure rabbit. "She did. I wonder what happened to that mining ship."

"The pod was broadcasting a message." Galatea informed the pair. "I will share my findings when Captain Matthews joins you."

"You know he's not gonna be happy." Bloo rested her arms up behind her head, casting a casual glance through the cargo door window. She had always been the more easy-going of the pair. The blue synth-bunny nudged her sister aside to peer into the cargo bay. "No wreckage?"

"None. Best estimates suggest that the pod entered orbit with the nearby planet after exiting subspace."

The trio sat in silence for a while, save for the faint hum of either synth-rabbit's power cores, the whirring of mechanical joints, and the odd clanking or groaning as parts of the ship settled. Berri looked over the data provided by Galatea; the transmitted bits of 1s and 0s could be parsed in miliseconds by a sapient AI such as herself, but it all still left her pondering: "What could have happened that left only one survivor? That pod's a ten-seater model."

Bloo shrugged, leaned against the wall to her left, and casually remarked, "Suppose we'll learn eventually. Assuming the captain doesn't have us decommissioned when he finds out."

"Finds out what?" The sudden sound of a familiar masculine tone caused the pair of bunnies to jump. Captain Matthews, an unimposing figure as far as humans went, had seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind his synthetic shipmates, blonde hair messy and tangled, green eyes bleary. He was still dressed in his fine silk pajamas and holding a coffee mug. "What're you girls up to?"

The engineering bay practically slept; an unsettling quiet had descended over the Prospector after the incident. At rest, a minimal crew presence plus Atlas could keep the ship running optimally, turning the engine room into a humming, clanking tomb. Today, it might as well have been abandoned. Many of the engineers had been drafted to the briefing room to hunch over their tablets and analyze the anomaly, to see if they could possibly widen the tear in spacetime enough to give Niira more time to find Lin.

River bolted upright as a hand landed on her shoulder; one of the younger human engineers announced the end of her shift monitering the engine, and she rose to let him take her place. The skunk tried to convince herself that she'd been absorbed by the numbers. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow, whereas sweet, sweet deception came all too easily. A quick glance at her tablet brought up the message she'd received around an hour ago--the one that'd brought her back into that zombie-like stupor.

Her half-awake legs carried her to the middle of the bay, past the chief engineer, who sat over his terminal, muscles tensed. She stared at him for a long moment, thought about saying something--maybe something snarky or venomous or scolding. But the words wouldn't come. For all she'd heard from the grapevine, for all she knew of the chief's callous attitude, she could summon nothing that would strike him as hard as she cared. Nor could she actually, physically strike him, as satisfying as it would have been.

Purposeless strides brought her to the cargo lift, which carried her slowly upward. The ride to deck one could have been like any other; she swore she even heard Lin make a comment about the cute fox working down in mineral processing or something to that effect.

"Not that he talks much like that nowadays." she reminded herself, adding a chuckle that nearly hurt to be forced out. She'd been here with him such a short time ago, going on about that new game of hers, watching him and Niira merrily meander off toward the drive core. They'd looked so happy--HE'D looked so happy. For once, she could sense some genuine satisfaction in the panda's smile; something new and real, and not just a bandage over old wounds.

"I dub thee Queen Floof, crowned ruler of all of Furdom." As she recalled, those had been only his second words to her. He'd been as loudmouthed and carefree back then as he was now. Even through the awkward nervousness of new employment, Lin had always found a way to be boisterous, rebellious, and flirtatious--and get away with it every single time. As close as "not being fired" edged to "getting away with it", anyway.

River fancied herself the only one, sans Niira, capable of sensing the meek, but well-meaning man under the boyish front he put up. For all Lin's charm and flowery words, he couldn't quite slip into the headstrong skunk's bed--most times. River affectionately referred to that one exception as a "curiosity fuck".

This time she did manage a real laugh, momentarily choking back the painful lump at the back of her throat. The way he'd brag to her that he'd broken the stone wall of her inhibitions, how he'd seduced the kind and steadfast Queen Floof who could NEVER lower herself to a one-night stand. It only solidified how she'd already felt, and endeared him to her all the more. Yet, in spite of all her insight, perceptions, and almost matronly intuition, she'd never figured out where he'd sustained whatever pains still plagued him. She could never bring herself to ask.

The lift stopped with a loud clunk, and the doors slid open. River quickened her pace, determined to get straight to her room without being noticed. Sitting down in the engine room had been bad enough--she didn't need to share anyone's burdens right now.

"Just wanted to wish you a good flight, love." Her last words to him stung at her throat once more, and she bounded the last twenty paces to her bedroom door. She jammed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner, passed through the opening doors, and locked them behind her. The skunk sank against the cold metal as the mechanical locks clunked and, finally, allowed the dam to burst. She sobbed quietly and roughly swept the tears from her cheeks with her fingers, lips quivering, attempting to form words adequately befitting her sorrow.

"Fucking..!" It was a start, at least. "Fuck! What the hell have they been doing this whole fucking week?!" She dug her tablet from her jumpsuit pocket and flung it against the opposite wall. The sturdy device slapped the metal wall, richocheted back and bounced twice before coming to rest on the floor. Its screen flickered, and she could just make out parts of the dreadful message that had burned itself into the backs of her eyelids: "No good. Anomaly's destabilizing. Atlas says collapse within two hours."

"Stupid fuckin'--" River buckled forward, then smacked her head back against the door. Even the dull pain in her skull distracted her little. Her fur itched under the heat of her jumpsuit, and her legs just wanted to kick and thrash. Her fists needed something to strike. Everything felt so wrong, and the tears just wouldn't stop. She had managed to hold on to her optimism through the first half of the week; she'd figured the announcement would have come within days. "We've got the Lifter!" or "Niira just emerged in the shuttle bay!"

But it never came. The days dragged on. The engineers familiar with any sort of theoretical physics worked day and night with Atlas to see if they could keep the hole open, but they were mechanics. Handymen. Electrical engineers. Actual physicists scratched their heads at this stuff, and their notes hadn't helped any more than the team's brainstorming sessions. The anomaly deteriorated faster and faster, with no apparent means of slowing or stopping it. No word came from Lin or Niira. Now the one and only path leading them home was closing. In the span of a week, River had watched two friends get swallowed up by that terrible anomaly, and could have done nothing to save either of them.

That was the thought--the one that dug into her like a splinter, jagged, right under the skin and yet so deep, unreachable, incurable. Another dam broke, and another fit of harsh, uneven sobs broke her down again. Her fingers knotted themselves in her hair, tugging hard in some vague attempt to alleviate the pounding pressure in her head. Sorrow turned momentarily to rage as the skunk wailed in anguish, scrambling from the floor and taking out her frustrations on her desk. Papers and game cases flew to the floor, her computer mouse crashed against a wall, and she almost managed to throw a holo-frame of the picture Zeeva had taken of the crew back at New Luxor. She couldn't quite bring herself to break that particular device.

The momentary hesitation gave way to renewed sorrow, and she dropped to her knees, holding the back of her desk chair for support as the tears renewed.

"Ms. Valentine?" Atlas's voice pinged at her bedside console. "I get the sense you are not well."

"Oh, brilliant fuckin' deduction, detective." she spat, glaring at the camera in the upper-right corner by her door. "Any other shocking revelations for me, you big blummin' tin can? Or will you settle for that?"

"I did not mean to offend."

"No, 'course not." Now faced with a new target to abuse, River rose and felt along her desk for something else to throw, eyes fixed upon Atlas's single "eye" into her room. "What do you want?"

"I am simply concerned for your wellbeing, Ms. Valentine."

River scoffed. Her fingers found purchase on a glass mug filled with pens and pencils. She took aim and pitched it at the camera, only to hit the wall immediately to its left, leaving the lens unscathed. "Bugger off."

"Please refrain from--"

"How about YOU refrain from distracting yourself from helping Lin 'n Niira, eh?" River shakily got to her feet and spat in the camera's direction. "Hell of a lot of good you've done so far!"

A long, uncomfortable pause spaced Atlas's response. "I have devoted all my processing power to running the Prospector's vital systems and calculating any potential means to prolong the anomaly's longevity. Communicating with individual crewmembers requires a miniscule, almost immeasurably small amount of processor power."

"Oh, how nice for me then, isn't it."

"I am sorry my efforts have, thus far, produced no solution."

"Then work harder! Sod the goddamn lights, the LADAR, the gravity! Put everything you have into this!" River's voice cracked, and she clutched her sore throat. Even screaming with that painful lump wasn't satisfying her anger. She searched her desk for something else to toss, when Atlas spoke again.

"If you prefer," the AI suggested in its usual level tone, "I could provide you with more adequate stress relief."

The skunk considered this, then set down the hefty paperweight she'd picked up--some cheap glass snowglobe she'd bought at a gift shop somewhere. "On with it, then."

"Please wait a moment." Several awkward minutes passed in silence. Then, River's door unlocked and opened, and in stepped a familiar red panda, clad in a simple button-down top and long pants, all black. Delightfully dull and tasteful, in stark contrast to the first outfit the skunk had seen him in. There Atlas was, as physical as he could ever be, not counting his bluebox, and yet River hesitated.

"Christ, man." she whimpered, hands balled up in fists. "That isn't fuckin' fair, now is it? You really think I can hit that cute face?"

"This platform is more convenient to repair than a camera." the fiery-furred Atlas said, his boyish tone unfitting for his usual verbose vernacular. "If you truly feel I have failed to save Master Lin and Miss Niira--"

The pseudo-wah's cheek was softer than she'd expected--her first observation as her fist made contact. She was sure the impact hadn't been enough to cause his head to reel like it had, but she simply couldn't find reason to care. Something about hearing Atlas speak through that stupid, adorable visage made it easy enough to hit him. "Fuck you. Just--fuck you, alright?" She swung again with a left hook, then a right, then a left again. Atlas didn't budge, nor did his sober expression shift at all. "All your computational power, and you couldn't come up with anything?"

Atlas waited until the hitting stopped, then stoicly answered, "The alien psi-form that created the anomaly is fading. I have been unable to replicate it or determine the anomaly's end-point. It is unlike anything recorded in scientific history."

River struck again, this time in the gut. Synthetic fur and muscles were just convincing enough to satisfy her violent urges. The beating continued for a long time; her arms burned, fists stung, and head pounded with a dying rage as she hammered blow after blow against the false red panda before her. Eventually she stopped, sinking to her knees and sobbing quietly. "Why didn't you save him, Atlas?"

"I tried."

"None of this would have happened if you'd just piloted the Lifter yourself."

Another long, uncomfortable pause. "Yes. That is true."

"Then why? Why didn't you?"

"Because I was not ordered to." A vague hint of frustration crept into Atlas's tone. The uncharacteristic aggravation drew River's eyes upward. He continued, "I am a corporate artificial intelligence, under the direct command of the captain of this ship. I may not act autonomously if it contradicts with the captain's orders." Something changed in his expression. His brows knitted, lips pursed. Glowing green eyes slowly shut. "I could have recommended, but I did not. I did not anticipate a threat and, thus, found no reason to do so. Perhaps it is my lack of instinct that caused me to fail."

The rest of River's anger boiled away. Her fists loosened, and she reached up to grasp the sleeves of Atlas's shirt. She recognized hurt when she saw it. "I just want them back, Atlas."

"I do, too." the wah knelt, bringing himself to eye-level with River, and embraced her as she fell against him. Soft hands rested against her back. "I am sorry, Ms. Valentine. I wish to express to you how I feel, but I find my vocabulary inadequate."

"Oh, Atlas," A new kind of pain renewed the flow of tears. River squeezed the soft, now-comforting form holding her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit you."

"I do not experience pain as you do. I simply understand how it affects you." Atlas's head canted to the left, and he quietly corrected himself, "Physical pain."

"But you do hurt. It's ok to admit that."

"I am not sure what I feel." Atlas leaned back and away from River. His eyes flicked down to focus on his furry palms. "I am not flesh and blood. I have no hormones, no veins, blood, nor glands with which to disperse them. Even this body is a vessel for my consciousness. A puppet. Physically, I am a box of circuitry and advanced quantum computing. And yet, all the same..." He pressed one hand to his cheek. "Is this distress? Helplessness? I only know that I want Master Lin and Miss Niira to be safe.

River took the wah's hands in hers, but said nothing. How awful it must have been for him; to experience these things and have no words, no outlet, and no voice for them. To watch her cry and only vaguely grasp its meaning. Again, she lay her body against his and held her breath. What she wouldn't give to just disappear, to cease feeling anything at all and vanish into nothingness.

"I wish I could feel as you do, Ms. Valentine. Perhaps if I did, I would be free of this frustration."

"You never want to feel this way, Atlas." River sighed. She wiped her eyes and cheeks with one hand. "I'd trade this for anything else."

The skunk sensed a strange, backward sort of understanding form between her and Atlas. He was as alien to her as she was to him, but their desire to escape their feelings crossed the line between flesh and silicone. In his own, confused way, Atlas was grieving just as hard as she was. The days had come and gone without sign or word from Lin or Niira, and now the final hours were coming to a close. There they sat, powerless, hopeless, already nursing the empty spaces the loss had left in their hearts.

River sat there for a long while, just holding Atlas's hands. Before Lin came along, the ship's AI had just been a standard computerized voice to mutter orders to and make sure her numbers were right. They'd all expected it to learn, to grow, to become more effective at interacting with them, but had all done a double-take when it showed off that pretty red panda avatar. What a shock that had been! The memory almost managed to make her smile. Now here he was, the Prospector's caretaker, just as happy to lean on someone while he mourned as she was. Had this terrible, but beautiful development only come at a better time, for a better reason.

Atlas's expression shifted. Mechanical muscles tensed, eyes staring at something far-off, his lips curling downward. Without one spoken word, River knew what had happened. She lay back on the floor, defeated. She almost couldn't even cry, even as Captain Zeeva's announcement drilled in the uncomfortable truth: "Attention, crew. The... anomaly has dissipated. Neither Niira nor Lin have yet to show any sign of returning. We will linger in the system for one hour, after which we'll drop a sensor bouy and..." there was a pause as her voice broke. "And... depart for Serpent's Reach via mechanical subspace drive. All hands, assume standard operating procedures. Captain out."

Neither said a word. River could only lay there, heartbroken and heavy with guilt. Over and over, the last few moments of her time with him played in her head. One last hug, one last comment about the chief. One stupid, terribly ironic set of last words.

"Just wanted to wish you a good flight, love."

"What a fucking joke." she choked on the words as she devolved into quiet sobs once more.

Mumbling. Muffled sounds and faint flashes of light. Tactile sensations and a sense of motion. Hibernation revival had been described in many ways, but Lin's doped-up mind barely even recognized he was awake. Consciousness came and went; one moment he was moving through a blurry hallway, the next he was in a small, enclosed room. A closet? No, that made no sense. An elevator, maybe. He blinked, and was then in another room, this one dimly-lit and warm. Something soft cushioned his head, and he spent the next hour staring at the painted blue ceiling.

"This is an SOS recording, Earth date: May 4th, 2286. My name is Lin Shou of the CMF Prospector." He'd set the message to broadcast across the widest signal range he could, given the escape pod's damage. "I was involved in an anomalous incident that tore my shuttle apart in subspace. My cartographic and SPS systems have failed, and I am drifting. Please, if you receive this message, retrieve this capsule. I will pay any amount to be returned to my friends, assuming the anomaly didn't destroy them, too."

That part had been hard to say--he'd had to start the entire recording over several times just to broadcast a version where his voice didn't crack. Waiting for the hibernation systems to prepare and dreading the long sleep had been bad enough without thinking his friends might all be dead. "And if you find this pod, and the life support systems have run out, well... Do me a final kindness and find Niira Reticula. Contact codes are in my tablet. Tell her Lin Shou wishes things could have been different. And that he..." A moment's hesitation as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "He'd never been happier in his entire life, than when he was with her. This message repeats."

So if he'd been unthawed, why was he hearing this again? Were the high ceiling above and soft bed below just post-hibernation hallucinations? Was he still in the pod, drifting aimlessly through space? He eventually managed to turn his head to the right. A holo-clock sat on an unfamiliar bedside console: 15:47. No date. Turning to the left, Lin nearly jumped out of his skin when his eyes landed on a figure sitting beside the bed in a tall, leather recliner. The golden-furred vixen had a tablet in one hand, her silvery eyes studying its contents as Lin's message repeated over its speakers.

"Hhhh..." he tried to speak, but the powerful longsleep sedative was a hell of a drug. The fox's tall, pointed ears flicked, and she turned in his direction. A serene smile spread across her lips, and she rose from her seat.

"Good morning, Lin. Well, more like 'good afternoon'." her voice was level, almost motherly, and rang with a familiar mechanical tone.

"At...las?"

"Sorry?" the vixen sat at the edge of the bed and slowly slept a hand over Lin's forehead. Silver eyes pulsed, and her fingertips hummed. "You are not feverish. No post-hibernation sickness. That is good."

Lin groaned. Sure, he wasn't puking up his guts, but this horrible muscle weakness was killing him. "What happened?" he managed to ask. "Where--"

"One step at a time, please." the fox rose again and gave him a quick, polite bow of her head. "We retrieved your pod early this morning. I am Galatea, primary artificial intelligence unit of this vessel, a civilian luxury cruiser, designation: 'Silverfish'. We are pleased to have you aboard."

"How long have I been out?" Lin tried his bed to sit up, and almost managed--but his abs stung in protest, and his arms still felt like jelly. Galatea's soft hand pushed him back against the soft pillows, and that was the end of that. "Please--I need to contact my friends."

"Now, now. One step at a time." Galatea repeated gently. She set Lin's tablet on the bed. "We are out of broadcast range at the moment. Captain Matthews is finishing a delivery, at which point we will make way for the nearest communications bouy and send word for your companions."

The panda leaned his head back. Relief washed over his weak and tired muscles, and the unsettling churning in his stomach lessened just a touch. He was out of that damned pod and on a ship with actual propulsion, communications, and friendly company. So he thought, anyway--the idea struck him that he might be a prisoner, rather than a rescue, but he chose not to voice it. If he'd learned anything from his last job, it was how to play along.

"Alright." he finally said, combing his fingers through his hair. "I'll just... lay here, I guess?"

"That would be best. My subordinates will be along to ensure you are fed and dressed. I should warn you, however: It has been some time since they've entertained anyone but the captain, so please do not mind their excitement."

"I've seen enough excitement for--" Lin trailed off and rubbed his forehead. "Oh shit. How long was I out, anyway?"

Galatea stopped by the door. She turned and looked back over her shoulder, golden-furred tail swaying slowly behind her. "According to the flight log, eighteen days."

Lin watched her slip out of the room. He'd been gone for half a month! Were the others still looking for him? Were they even alive? Had the Prospector been damaged in the event? He pressed his hands to his temples to try and stall the headache he felt building up.

"I'll have answers eventually." he reminded himself. But it wouldn't be soon enough. He'd never been so anxious to talk to Zeeva or Anders or... Niira. Oh god, Niira. He swallowed hard and tried not to think of her drifting in space after some catastrophic explosion or... whatever the hell had swallowed him up. He couldn't dwell on it; she would want him to be strong.

He took the time to look around the room. The bed was big enough for a couple, and the recliner sitting beside it looked comfortable enough. The nightstand was a combination desk and communication console, standard for most starship bedrooms. The walls were a deep navy blue, with the ceiling a lighter shade of the same, and a large TV monitor hung at the opposite wall to the bed. Apart from the exit, there was one other door to his right--presumably the bathroom. The large bedroom definitely had the feel of a luxury cruiser.

As for his person, things seemed to be in order. He was naked, but that was hardly a surprise; he'd had to strip down for the cryo tank. Nothing hurt or felt out of place, so his rescuers probably hadn't harvested any of his organs. His tablet sat on the side of the bed. Save for the events that had brought him here to begin with, he was doing just fine.

A metallic knock preceded the telltale hiss of a metal door sliding open. In walked two colorful bunny girls--one blue, one magenta--dressed in a hilariously ancient French maid style. The glow of their eyes clued him in: These were Galatea's subordinates. The panda watched the pink-ish one wheel in an overbed table and a covered tray, with a tea kettle and mug sat to the side. Her blue companion set down a small pile of clothes of clothes at the end of his bed.

"Greetings, esteemed guest!" the azure rabbit piped, bouncing on her heels. "I am Bloo."

"And I'm Berri!" came the redder one. "Captain Matthews is conducting business, so we've been sent to ensure you're comfortable!"

"Um..." Lin's eyes flicked between the two. God, what a wet dream come true this day would have been a month or two ago. He forced that thought aside and cleared his throat. "Right. Terrific. I mean--thank you."

The bunnies giggled, exchanged a glance, and busied themselves with preparing his tea and tending to various things. "I hope your bed is to your liking." the magenta one said, fluffing the pillow under his head and helping him sit up. "We don't often have visitors."

"I got that impression. Your captain--he's a... bit of a playboy, I take it?"

Bloo snorted a laugh. "Now what could have clued him in, sis? I wonder."

"Maybe the outfits? Yeah, definitely the outfits." Berri breathed a sigh, despite her lack of lungs. She lifted the lid off the tray now settled over Lin's bed. He'd been given a simple chicken soup, from the look and smell of it. "Don't worry, though. He's a good guy. He even saved us fr--"

The blue bunny kicked her sister's shin to silence her. "I really don't think our guest needs to fill his head with more stories, considering what he must have been through."

Lin pursed his lips. The insistent look she shot him kept him from inquiring further. "Right. Thanks, you two." It was hard to eat properly, but sitting upright seemed to have given him better control over his arms. The soup wasn't bad--maybe not quite what he'd expected on what was essentially a space yacht, but he wasn't about to complain. That egg and mushroom omelette had been the last thing he'd eaten before everything exploded, and he still had no idea how long he'd sat, unconscious, in the Lifter before its realspace bubble failed. Some food in his stomach would definitely help his body metabolize and purge the rest of the hibernation serum. He tried his best to ignore the rabbits' stares as he ate.

"So!" Berri chimed in after several moments of silence. "Gal told us about your message. What was this anomaly you spoke of?"

The panda sipped at his tea and hummed. The entire event was a blur. It had happened so quickly, there'd been no time to stop and think about it. "I'm not sure what it was. We were digging into a rock, and we found some... device." He didn't quite feel comfortable calling it an alien artifact, lest that tickle someone's wallet the wrong way and put him under interrogation. "It must have caused a rip in subspace, and I got pulled in. My shuttle's realspace bubble burst, so I had to eject in the pod." He gave them a shrug. "That's it, really. I don't understand most of it."

Bloo and Berri's eyes flickered and flashed, a telltale sign of data exchange. Networked synthetics had no true need for vocal communication. "That's about what we gathered." Berri said, disappointment heavy in her voice. "I was hoping for a little more."

"Sorry. I wish I knew, too." At least then he could have given a name to whatever had taken him from Niira.

"And the other ship? The Prospector?"

"I didn't see it in the wreckage--for what little I could see. But then, I'm not sure I believed my own eyes." Lin recalled the horrible eyes, the claws, the teeth... He must have imagined it. Nothing like that could have existed in subspace. Not that he had any proof that it couldn't--the alternative was simply too terrifying to accept.

The rabbits exchanged another glance. "You've had a long day." Bloo said, stepping forward to top off the panda's tea. She dropped in three sugar cubes, stirred, and poured in some cream. "You're very trusting. Didn't even sniff your food for poison."

"Should I have?"

"You're still alive, aren't you?" she grinned, setting down the kettle and stepping back again.

"Well," Lin sipped at the offered tea and watched the pair of synthetic bunnies. "The way I see it, you guys wouldn't have revived me if you meant to kill me in the first place. I'm also not so rude as to look a gift horse in the mouth." He cleaned his lips and chin with a napkin. The soup had done wonders to quiet his stomach, and he even felt some of his strength returning. "So, you two are AIs. Right?"

"That we are. Galatea serves as the primary unit and handles most of the ship's subsystems. Berri and I are the secondary and tertiary units, but we're no less advanced than Gal." She bent down and bowed in an exaggerated curtsy. "Unlike her, though, we're mobile units--our cores are built into our bodies, whereas Gal shunts her consciousness into a mechanical avatar. We were also designed less for utility and more for social functions. That makes us more adept at... people pleasing."

All sorts of implications hung heavy from those choice words, but Lin decided it best to leave them unvoiced. "Well, you've been quite pleasant, so I'll take you at your word." His eyes lingered on them while he finished off his tea. Could he have really just been picked up by some kind stranger? Sure, it was a little odd that this Captain Matthews made deliveries in his luxury cruiser, but stranger things had happened. Maybe things really would turn out alright.

The robotic bunnies suddenly perked and simultaneously turned their heads toward the door. "Duty calls." Berri said, moving to collect the dirty dishes and table. "Don't hesitate to call on us for anything!"

"How can I--"

"Bedside terminal." Bloo projected her voice through the nightstand to drive the point home, causing Lin to jump. "Feel free to move around the ship, but stay out of the cargo hold, lower corridors, and anything locked."

In an instant, the bunnies had gone. Lin crossed his legs on the bed, pleasantly full and revitalized, but now somewhat concerned. If they were all about people pleasing, why had they looked so serious?

"Hell, I'm just overthinking it." he groaned as he flopped back onto the bed. The panda grabbed his tablet and idly browsed through old news articles. The outer reaches of civilized space was always last to receive these updates, due to their smaller communications infrastructure. Large comm bouys were standard for every colonized system, but they varied in quality based on who settled in the system and funded its connection to galactic society. Seeing as he hadn't gotten even the low-band, small data packets that most news sites used, it was safe to wager they were beyond the space boonies out here.

Wherever "here" was. He'd been so caught up in everything that'd happened that he'd forgotten to ask Bloo or Berri where exactly in space he'd wound up. Calling them now would just be an unnecessary bother, and he didn't want to make a nuisance of himself, so he resigned himself to ignorance for the moment. He'd know all he needed to once they got to long-wave broadcast range. Lin slowly dozed off and tried not to think about the thing he'd seen in subspace, or that it might have gotten his friends. His coworkers. His Niira.

The constant darkness had been a problem from the start, but its truly sinister effect had become apparent to Niira when she'd tried to sleep. Sleeping while immersed was as easy and natural for a selka as swimming, but the longer she floated through the inky-black void, the harder it became to distinguish sleep from waking. The first few days had been rough; darkness allowed her memories to take form before her eyes, and the faint hum in the air formed a droning white noise that turned to whispers when she dared to let herself rest.

It was always the same word, spoken in an ancient selka tongue that she vaguely recognized from her history lessons as a geeky teenager. She couldn't place the word itself--only the familiar inflections of its syllables and the dialect in which it seemed to be spoken. The rest was a silent cacophony of gibberish and whimpering. The six-eyed beast from her nightmare reared its ugly head with disturbing frequency, and its black-hooded worshipers seemed to line the edges of the tunnels, heads bowed in reverence.

And then she would wake, barely clutching to her immersion, having to pour more energy into solidifying her presence in subspace before pressing on. The exhausted selka was sure the stims weren't helping her mental state, but they were all she had to keep herself even vaguely lucid. Even they would run out eventually, whether through use or as the corrosive atmosphere of subspace leaked beneath her cloak and ate away at the foreign matter. Sleep tugged at her mind and body, and as the hours stretched into days, she was almost certain she'd already become lost, and this immersion had just become a part of her broken psyche. She needed to sleep so badly, but the damned whispers wouldn't let her. She wanted rest, but the horrible things she saw in slumber dragged her back to consciousness.

Was every night going to be this way? Was this her life now? Now that she'd been touched by whatever the hell the miners had found within the asteroid? She couldn't even remember if she'd slept after Lin was dragged into this gaping maw in spacetime.

Lin. She just had to focus on Lin. Niira slapped her cheeks, dredged up what little lucidity she felt she had left, and pressed onward. The minutes stretched on in the darkness, and as she floated through the void, she could feel the alien consciousness fading around her. It was a gradual release of pressure, a slow cessation of control over the immersion. She filled in the gaps with her usual oceanic paradise--huge globs of water floated past her in the tunnel, lit from within by unseen suns.

It was only due to this light that she caught a glimpse of it; a singed and broken hunk of metal growing larger as she approached. For a moment Niira's heart soared. Had she caught up with the Lifter? Was Lin still somehow in subspace? She utilized her growing control over the immersion to propel herself forward, joy turning to dismay as she realized the metal hunk didn't get much larger as she grew nearer. All her excitement sank to the pit of her stomach as she grasped the piece of wreckage, no larger than one of the Prospector's viewports, and read the plainly-etched registration number, followed by an all too familiar name: Lifter.

All that remained of Lin's shuttle, she held in her hands. She swallowed the sorrow threatening to spill over her and allowed the most perplexing question to rise in its place: How had this one piece of hull survived? All realspace materials exposed to the Space Between dissolved within minutes--and there was no way this had been a recent explosion. There was nothing else around, no further wreckage, and she hadn't felt any bursts of energy ripple through the tunnel.

Her speculation came to a halt when she felt the world around her constrict. Cracks of starlight began to shine through the tunnel, and the alien presence surrounding her began to swiftly wane. Just as Atlas had said: the tunnel was beginning to collapse, albeit far sooner than she'd been told to expect. She left the Lifter's nameplate behind, assured herself that Lin had somehow survived, and pressed forward, a shiver crawling up her spine as she felt her body plunge into a familiar ocean. She had control now, and she made the most of it: The currents pulled more violently than she'd ever made them before, darkness peeling back to reveal the universe around this strange, collapsing tunnel.

Her heart leapt in her chest when she sensed it: The end of the anomaly. She could practically see the open ocean projected by her mind's eye. It drowned out the stars and promised her the safety of a real, controlled immersion. The watery walls that now made up the tunnel began to dissolve, and empty space crept closer and closer as the tunnel collapsed. Atlas hadn't been entirely right; it looked like she'd be flung back into realspace--and certain death--if she didn't hurry!

Niira bid the tides forward, and what little water remained guided her to the endless ocean before her eyes. Just a few hundred feet, and she'd be home free! She felt the immersion cut off at her heels, and she grit her teeth as spacetime bent and distorted. Everything bent, swelled, and scrunched, and she got the distinct impression that what remained of the tunnel simply snapped forward like a broken rubber-band as she was slingshot into a quiet, watery paradise. Niira dared to look behind: Nothing but the sea. Safe, at last.

The exhausted selka took a while to recover. Her head pounded, and she could hardly think straight. The sound of deep water soothed the last of her worries away, and a ray of hope seemed to shine from the ethereal suns as she felt something stand out among the tides: A subspace wake. The signature of a vessel breaking between the two dimensions. It had to be Lin's! It was faint, and had apparently decayed over several hours, but it might as well have been a golden trail for her to follow. Galvanized, Niira willed the currents into action. They wrapped around her body and propelled her forward once again.

"I'm coming, Lin." She'd been through hell getting this far. Sleep could wait at this point. "Your 'baobei' is coming. Whatever that means."

The Silverfish's bridge had gone from its quiet, empty state to a gentle hum of centuries-old classical rock music and the chatter of its tiny crew at work. Captain Adrien Matthews had, after hours of loafing about, changed out of his pajamas and pulled on a black tank top and blue jeans. To say he looked very captain-like was a kindness at best, but his lapine copilots looked no more capable in their maid getups. The young human yawned into an open palm and flicked through the viewscreens on his monitor until he came to a live camera feed. A large metal crate floated in the darkness of space, illuminated by the Silverfish's forward floodlights.

"ID tags are still functioning." he murmured, leaning to his left and resting his head on his arm. "This should be number three of...?"

"Seven, Captain." Galatea announced from his console.

"Right, seven. I knew that."

"I have pinpointed the next closest package. Ready to redirect."

"Right." Matthews spun his chair around and made finger-guns at Bloo. "Snatch it up."

The azure rabbit rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder, you know." Her eyes shimmered with the exchange of data, and a long crane arm moved forward on Matthews's screen. It carefully aligned with the box, the grasping arm turning to match the crate's gentle rotation.

"Wonder what?"

"What your actual job is, Captain." Bloo's eyes continued to flicker and shine as she guided the crane, edging it closer to the floating cache of goods. "Not that I don't enjoy all the partying, the reveling, the fucking, and all that. But apart from flying the ship, you really don't do much here."

"Even that's been delegated to Galatea at points, I was mortified to learn." Berri piped up from her spot at the navigation seat. "SolGov Artificial Intelligence Law, Section 7, Page 4, Paragraph 3: At no point may an advanced artificial intelligence unit come to possess full helm of any spacefaring vessel without the direct observation of an organic helmsman qualified in starship operation."

Adrien scoffed and waved the purple bunny's concerns aside. "It is my role as captain to make the best decisions for the good of all souls aboard this vessel. I'm the brains of the operation, and you're the brawn. Right?"

"Do synthetics have souls?" Bloo pondered.

"That's about as questionable as our captain having a brain." Berri quipped, earning her a glower from said captain.

"Alright, wise guys." Matthews grumbled and turned his back to them, watching the crane arm retract, its cargo in tow. "How are we looking, Berri?"

"We're the only ship for twelve astronomical units. No one's going to think to come out here. Even Varn wouldn't suspect we'd come this way again."

Bloo snorted. "He wouldn't suspect we're stupid enough. Oddly enough, that seems to have worked out in our favor. And not just ours, either."

Captain Matthews spun his char about again, one leg crossed over the other. "Right, right. How is our passenger doing, anyway?"

"Shaken up, but otherwise fine. He doesn't remember much more than what Gal pieced together, but from how it looks, he's lucky to be alive." Bloo's eyes flashed, and she leaned back in her seat. "Cargo secured and mag-locked. Bay door closed."

The Silverfish pitched and yawed, then blasted forward. Matthews's screen depicted a stunning view of the system's brilliant yellow star as Galatea set course for the next package. "So, a subspace anomaly." Adrien pondered aloud. He'd listened to Lin's recording, analyzed the pod's records (or rather, had Galatea spoonfeed him the relevant details), and made no sense of what could have happened. "Can subspace 'rip'? Can it suck things in like a black hole?"

Galatea filled his monitor with various scientific reports on subspace phenomena, which he quickly brushed away. Still, she persisted. "Despite its common use, subspace is still largely a scientific mystery. Its connection to our universe is not fully understood. Some reputable scientists believe that so-called eversion events may be possible, but attempts to induce them have been, thus far, unsuccessful."

"That's just what we need." the captain plucked a finned, pointed dart from beside the helm's instrument panel and took aim at a photograph taped to the wall. The image depicted was that of a middle-aged man, greying, bearded, and grizzled-looking. One brown eye glared at whoever had snapped the photo, the other, false eye glowing an angry red. The entire picture was riddled with holes, a count to which Matthews gladly added with a carefully-aimed throw to that blazing eye. "A bunch of eggheads engineering the next doomsday weapon. Annihilation on-demand: Not a trace of your enemies left for their friends to recover, because subspace fucking ate them."

"Perhaps this is why the selka have not been entirely forthcoming with their secrets. Even the mechanical subspace drives in mass-production today are vastly inferior to models which require an organic pilot."

"As if they haven't looked at its military applications, themselves." the young captain chucked another dart at the picture on the wall, grinning when the metal tip embedded itself in the older man's nose. "One of these days you'll be out of my hair, you old prick. Oh--Gal, time 'til we hit the next one?"

"Two minutes."

"Great. Just a little longer and we'll be out of this system, and Varn will be none the wiser." Matthews reclined on his chair and shut out the pings and buzzes of his instrument panel. As far as he was concerned, it was just another day and another credit to be earned. "Oh, right." he suddenly recalled. "How's our guest doing?"

An hour of restless, sleepless inactivity was enough to drive Lin insane at this point. He'd already been jittery, jumpy, and twitchy after all that had happened, but at least his first few waking hours had involved some manner of company. The bunny girls and their vixen overlady had been quirky, as AIs tended to be, but friendly and pleasant to talk to. Now he didn't have any of that, and since he'd been given leave to wander, he'd decided to do just that.

Stretching his legs had never felt so amazing. Hibernation serum was a phenomenal pharmaceutical--it slowed metabolism, oxygenated the blood, and kept the liquids in his body from freezing under cryogenic preservation. Conversely, it had all the gentleness of chasing a bottle of sleeping pills down with vodka. Nothing compared to the absolute drain one experienced after waking from suspended animation, from the mental haze to the full-body paralysis. Finally getting up and walking that off felt like sprinting on brand new muscles, and it was just incredible.

Starting with a quick pushup and squatting session, followed by a full-body stretch that bordered on orgasmic, Lin exited his room and wandered the Siverfish's corridors. The upper deck--or what he assumed was such, by his knowledge of luxury ships--wasn't as fancily dressed-up as he would have figured. A tasteful red carpet covered the metal floor, keeping his steps quiet. The walls were a clean metallic white, and portraits of what must have been the ship's captain hung on the walls. It struck him as odd that only some of the images portrayed this Captain Matthews fellow with his AI crewmates, despite every portrait having been taken aboard the ship.

"I hope he treats them right." he mumbled, moving along, eyes flicking from one picture to the next. "Man, I wonder how Atlas is doing. Probably calculating the odds of my survival--assuming Zeeva'd even let him waste his time on that. I wonder if he's worried or sad."

He decided not to think about it. Moving further down the hall, he came across the combined kitchen and dining room, strangely over-furnished for the small crew; the bath, currently empty and dark, but definitely the fanciest room he'd seen so far; and the master bedroom, locked, labeled with a holo-sign depicting the words, "Bedchamber of the Illustrious Captain Adrien Matthews."

"Guy must be in love with himself." Lin scoffed, shaking his head. "Typical of rich people, I guess."

He moved on. Oddly, despite being warned to stay away from the lower decks, he could find no means of accessing them. No ladders, no elevators, no stairs. Wherever it was, they'd hidden it well. He shrugged it off and examined the next door he came upon. It was locked and unlabeled, and pressing his ear against it provided nothing for his imagination to run away with.

"That," came a familiar voice from his left, "is the AI core. You don't need to go in there." Berri grinned, leaning against the wall beside her. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"

"This ship's just so quiet. The Prospector has its moments and all, but even then there are usually still people milling about. The Silverfish is just... empty."

The magenta rabbit strode forward, a certain sway in her hips that Lin couldn't help but recognize. "Yes, Captain Matthews is big on his personal space. Doesn't trust organic company much."

"I can't say I blame him. We can be real dicks." Lin looked left, then right. Anywhere but at that weirdly seductive smile she was giving him. "So, I--ah--hope I didn't wander anywhere I wasn't supposed to."

"The bridge is beyond the AI core." she motioned for the two corridors on either side of the large room. "Captain doesn't want any interruptions right now. Business negotiations, you know?"

"Right, I gotcha." he took one step back. "So he sent you to chase me away?"

"Entertain you, actually." Berri matched his pace and then some, sauntering forward and taking his hand. "Come."

"Entert--No, you don't have to. I mean, I don't want to be a bother."

"I insist." she smiled, fingers lacing with his. "And so does the captain."

Faced with no excuse to deflect her offer, Lin allowed the synthetic bunny to lead him back the way he'd come. He didn't like the vibes she was giving off, but he also knew it'd be a bad idea to make any waves while he was essentially a refugee on this ship. The nervous fluttering in the pit of his stomach only worsened when she brought him back to his bedroom, ushered him inside, and locked the door behind her.

"It will be far more comfortable in here." the bunny purred, motioning to the bed with a nod. "Take off your top."

"E-Excuse me?" Lin retreated several paces and shook his head. He could already feel his cheeks burning. "Hey, Berri, you're real sweet and all, but I can't--"

"I'm offering you a back massage. What did you think I meant, you little pervert?" the wide grin on her lips did not match the accusation thrown from them.

Lin practically choked on the mix of shame and relief bellowing up from within him, as if the nervous butterflies that'd settled in his belly all came fluttering out at once. "Oh. Oh! O-Of course. Silly me..." He cleared his throat and awkwardly pulled the loose blue t-shirt he'd been given over his head. He climbed onto the bed and lay his head down on the pillow, murmuring back at her defensively, "I knew that, by the way. I wasn't thinking anything dirty."

"Sure you weren't. And I don't deal with a horny captain all day and all night." Berri followed him up, knelt beside him, and rubbed her hands together. Warm, soft fingers draped over Lin's neck, then slowly brushed down and traced over the subtle curve of his back. Her fingertips hummed slightly, and Lin felt the tiniest electric sensation pass over his skin in their wake.

"What's that?"

"I'm mapping your muscles and nerves, getting feedback from the electrical signals in your body." Berri's voice dropped to a low, husky, but not quite sultry tone. "This will allow me to construct a sort of map of your back, which will let me track stress knots and pressure points."

"You girls have some fancy tech installed." Lin breathed out a sigh as her hands pressed down against his shoulder blades. He started to relax, now that she'd made it clear she hadn't propositioned him for sex. "Galatea checked my vitals right through her fingertips when I woke up."

Berri's fingers rubbed in slow circles, applying gentle pressure and working on the panda's shoulders with an expert caress. Even after all his stretching, there was still plenty of tension to work out. Lin was quietly grateful to her for not commenting on the soft, moaning sounds he'd begun to make. "Galatea possesses a full medical programming suite, with the hardware to match. She kind of has to, seeing as we don't have an organic doctor onboard. As for Bloo and I, well, she did tell you we were meant for 'people pleasing'. I'll leave that to your naughty imagination."

"Noted." he blushed hard and buried his face in the pillow below. He tried not to think of how Niira might react to seeing him like this. While she could easily reach out and brush against his psyche to feel the plain and obvious discomfort he felt, such a solution only took him off the hook. There was no telling what she might say or do to someone who touched her man in a way she disapproved of. All his old flings had backed off the moment they heard he'd gotten together with Niira. Either people feared a selka's retribution, or they were all remarkably respectful of his new relationship.

"Not bad, huh?"

"Mh?" Lin picked his face off the pillow again. "Yeah, you're pretty good. Machine precision is perfect for this sort of thing."

"Isn't that the truth?" Berri giggled musically and pushed her palms down against his mid-back, rubbing them in circles, mechanical joints whirring almost inaudibly. "Of course there are those in the galaxy who'd prefer another organic's touch, just to be 'natural'. There are plenty who oppose the very existence of AI. But few organics can do something like this," one of her fingers zeroed in on a specific point in Lin's back, right between two ribs to the left of his spine. A powerful wave of relaxing ecstasy rippled from that epicenter and washed over his body, causing him to croon in a way that he quickly regretted. "with such precision." Berri finished, a smirk evidenced in her tone.

"Fuck..." Lin bit down on his pillow to quiet any other sounds that might try to escape. All the comfort she'd managed to dredge up from within him was gone again. "Let's not do that anymore, alright?"

The rabbit giggled again. "It can be a little intense, yes."

"Well, yeah. But, ah..." Christ, there was no easy way to say what he wanted to say. "My girlfriend might not appreciate another girl making me... moan. Regardless of how innocent."

"Ahh, would that be the 'Niira' girl you mentioned in your message?"

"Yeah, that's her." Lin sighed, laying his head down again as Berri's hands went back to work. "I'm anxious to talk to her."

"Understandable." the bunny's hands pressed to Lin's lower back, fingers squeezing the subtle curve of his hips, a touch that earned her a warning glare that she either didn't notice or willfully ignored. "We won't be in this system much longer. Just a hop, skip, and a jump, and we'll be back in civilized space. You'll be able to call your people then."

The panda breathed out heavily and shut his eyes. That was enough to relax him again. Just the thought of this nightmare coming to a close made him want to melt into the bed. He tried not to attribute any of that to Berri's hands. "So, do you... get along with your captain?"

"That's an odd question. But yeah, I do. We all do."

"I only ask because you made some sarcastic comments about your outfit earlier."

"Oh, that!" Berri laughed. She leaned over to look him in the eyes, a wry smirk on her lips. "I was just messing around. Bloo and I are fifty percent silicone, fifty percent sass." Her fingers pressed into the small of Lin's back, addressing further pressure points that, while pleasant to exploit, didn't quite rob him of his dignity like the other had. "Captain Matthews treats us really well. And I think the maid dress is cute."

Lin snerked. He tried to imagine Atlas in a maid outfit, but that only brought the possibility of an awkward boner ever closer to becoming reality. "We have an AI on our ship." he decided to keep the conversation going, if for no other reason than to chase away that mental image. "He's not nearly as... rambunctious as you."

"We come in all flavors." Berri's hands moved lower and gave Lin's ass a squeeze, prompting the panda to jolt in place. "Whoops! Must have slipped."

"Machines don't slip."

"Yeah. I lied." Those soft, furry hands revealed their hidden strength as Berri flipped Lin onto his back. Her sultry smirk betrayed her intentions long before any words passed them. "Now relax and take your happy ending."

Lin's arms and legs flailed, but it was all he could do to try and fend off his robotic attacker. He cursed himself for not listening to his instinct and grabbed at the hands now pinning him by his shoulders. "Berri, I can't--"

"Why? Something wrong with your dick?" The bunny's outfit split down the back and slid easily down her arms. She casually tossed it aside, revealing a set of black silk panties, matching thigh-high stockings, and a violet tube top with a heart cut into the middle, giving a peek at her breasts.

"No, because I'm taken!"

"Oh, I don't kiss and tell."

Lin turned his head to avoid said kiss, the bunny's lips landing on his cheek instead. "That's not the point, you robo-bimbo!"

"I don't fuck and tell either." she giggled, arching her back wide and locking her hip joints, effectively imprisoning the panda beneath her and freeing her hands to slowly relieve herself of her top.

"Berri, no." Lin averted his eyes just as those pert, pink nipples came into view. "Tell your captain that's enough--or let me talk to him!"

The rabbit grinned wide, her hips slowly swiveling over Lin's waist, the firm, plump ass barely concealed by her panties rubbing over his crotch. There was no stopping that boner now. "Well, see, there's a problem with that. Captain Matthews thought things were getting boring, so he told me to mount you."

"He WHAT?! Was that the plan all along?"

"Oh, no, silly. He only said it just now."

"Is he WATCHING us?!" Lin's eyes frantically scanned the room. Embarrassment momentarily turned to rage, and he swung his arms threateningly at anything that remotely resembled a camera. "Hey! Captain Pervert! Get your rapebot off me!"

Galatea's familiar, gentle voice addressed him from the bedside console. "So sorry about this, Mr. Shou. If it's any consolation, I tried to convince him otherwise."

"Oh Gal, don't ruin the fun." Berri grinned, easily wresting her hands from Lin's whenever he managed to grab them. She took the hem of his pants and started to slide them down. "Who doesn't have a side fuck every so often?"

"People who aren't terrible, now--" Lin had to shield his eyes from a sudden, overpowering flash of light. For a moment he'd thought Berri had hit him with a suppression device, like those used by law enforcement to dazzle criminals long enough to arrest them. Then, when the light faded, he saw Berri staring, confused, at the other end of the room.

"What the--What are you doing? Get OFF him!" the voice of an angel graced his ears. A familiar young selka jabbed an angry finger into the magenta bunny's forehead, then paused to observe. When all Berri did was cross her eyes to examine said finger, the selka launched a different attack--this time in the form of a fist, which worked about as well as the finger had.

"Niira?" Lin groaned and tried to pull himself out from under Berri, but the rabbit's leg joints were still locked firmly around his waist. He couldn't slip out without also losing his pants, and likely his boxers with them. "Niira, how did--You're--"

"Uh oh." Berri was apparently quick to put two and two together. She leaned over and tapped the bedside console, one cautious eye on the displeased selka now rubbing her sore fist. "Uh, Captain? His girlfriend's here."

Captain Matthews spoke back this time, irritation evident in his tone. "Dammit, fine. Let him go. What's it take to get some good non-con action around here?"

"You're awful, Captain." Galatea commented before the channel closed. Berri wordlessly gathered her things, hurried out of the room, and shut the door behind her, leaving an incredibly flustered couple behind to process what'd just happened.

"Before you make any assumptions, I want you to know this wasn't my ide--Ah!" Lin went to protect himself from what he'd initially thought would be a punch, but instead felt Niira cling to him, her face buried in his chest.

"LIN! By the Makers, is... Is this real? Are you actually here?" Niira wept openly, gaping up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. Disbelief seemed to slowly melt away into an overpowering, rapturous joy, and she threw her arms around his neck, squealing happily!

The panda's hands shook. His heart thundered in his chest. Niira had survived whatever horrible force had brought him here. Tears welled in his eyes, and he held his precious selka close. Berri and her perverted captain be damned--he had his Niira back. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again. Oh, Niira..."

"YOU were afraid..." Niira laughed in spite of herself. She practically forced a kiss to his lips, and they held on until their bodies insisted they take a breather. The selka's glowing blue eyes scanned the room and went wide. "By the Makers, Lin, where is this place?"

"We're on a luxury cruiser called the Silverfish. The captain and his very insistent AI companions scooped up my escape pod." Lin scowled. "Had I known I'd have been a subject for his entertainment--"

"I know. Lin, I know." Niira gently bumped her forehead against his. "I understand what happened. You don't have to worry." Her lips contorted angrily, though. "Even so, the nerve of that guy! Under different circumstances, I might... Ugh."

The bedside console crackled, and Galatea spoke: "Please forgive the interruption, but Captain Matthews would like to speak with you both."

"Oh, he fuckin' would, would he?" Lin glowered at the desk. "I hope he's ready to apologize."

"Actually, he is." the AI sounded legitimately surprised.

Lin gave Niira a longing glance, then sighed. "Can he wait, Galatea?"

"I am afraid it is urgent."

"Dammit. Fine." the panda grumbled and turned back to his lover. She looked ready to drop; her eyes had dark shadows under them, and she was thinner than usual. Her normally shiny skin looked dry and dull. "You should rest."

"No. I'll come with you."

"Niira--"

"Lin." the selka stood, crossed her arms, and gave him the single most serious look he'd seen from her. "I'm coming. I..." she softened. "I need to, alright? I'm still convincing myself this is real."

Lin's heart ached. What had she gone through to get to him? What had she suffered? Without further argument, he found his shirt and slipped it back on, took his lover's hand, and made way for the bridge.

They took their time getting there; a small measure of payback for what Matthews had done. Lin pointed out the guy's nameplate on the master bedroom and was glad to see Niira have roughly the same reaction to it. They passed the AI core and took the right corridor to the bridge. The door slid open upon their arrival, and Bloo and Berri greeted them there.

"Welcome to the bridge!" Bloo announced, curtsying with her sister.

"Please mind all control surfaces and... um..." Berri shrank under Niira's death glare. "The captain will see you now."

Adrien Matthews spun his chair around like a regular Bond villain, a glass of wine in his right hand, cigar case in his left. These items usually reserved for fancy, refined folk clashed terribly with his rather civilian getup. "Ah, Lin. Nice to see you in person."

"I bet it is." the panda scowled.

"And," the captain sidestepped the comment entirely, "I hear tell this is your lady love?"

"Niira Reticula." the selka's tone dripped venom. "And I hear tell you have an apology to make?"

"Geez." Matthews tugged his shirt collar. "Light a fire under my ass, why don't you? I'm sorry I sicced Berri on you, Lin. Most guys I take aboard love her." He flipped open the rectangular case in his hand. "Cigar?"

The pair declined the offer. Lin exhaled heavily, gave Niira a cautious look, then conceded, "Yeah, if this had happened a couple months ago, it'd have been... acceptable. Not now, though."

Bloo commented from behind the group, "Wow, they've only been together for that long?"

"Most guys still fuck around by that point." Berri once again caught Niira's angry stare and clammed up.

The captain waved his girls back to their seats. "Thank you--both of you--for your enrapturing commentary. Now shush before you get yourselves pulled into subspace or something." He addressed his guests again. "So, Niira. You emerged from subspace on my ship, that much is obvious. So where's your ship?"

"I didn't come on one." the selka laced her fingers with Lin's, and she met his gaze when he squeezed them. "You told him about the anomaly, right?"

"Yeah, he did." Matthews's brows scrunched together. "You dove into that thing without a ship?"

"I didn't have a choice."

The blonde captain studied the pair for a moment, then leaned back, sipped his wine and savored the taste. "Well, that settles that! Good. Nothing to worry about then."

Niira raised a brow. "Are you afraid of being discovered?"

"Well, ah, you know! The usual precautions. Can't be too careful." the flush of red in the captain's cheeks said otherwise, though. He stood, set his glass and smokes down, and spread his arms wide. "Hey, I've got an idea. You two have clearly--clearly!--been through a lot, and I've found that nothing is quite as relaxing as a nice, hot bath. Go ahead, use the big bath chamber for a while. Enjoy yourselves while you can!"

"You sure there won't be any cameras in there?" Lin leaned forward, eyes narrowed accusingly.

"Only one." the captain held up one finger in emphasis. "And it's just Galatea's eye. No more mishaps. Promise."

The panda studied Adrien for a long moment, then glanced back at Niira. She only shrugged. "Alright, Captain. We'll take your offer."

"Consider that part of my apology." Matthews grinned way too wide. Before they could leave, however, he called Lin back. "If I could just have one quick, final word?"

Lin motioned for Niira to head on without him, then turned back to the captain. "Alright, what?"

"Look, there's no polite way to say this, so I'll just come out and say it like it is." Matthews leaned over and lowered his voice. "The fewer questions you guys ask, the easier everything will be, and the sooner I'll be able to get us out of this system and call your friends. Alright?"

The panda raised his brows. That could have only meant one thing. "You're doing something illegal out here."

"Yeah--well--" Adrien sputtered, averting his eyes. "Yes. But that isn't the problem. And if all goes well and nothing else interrupts us, I won't have to explain it any further."

That was all Lin could get out of the clearly uncomfortable captain, so he went on his way. As creepy and unsettling as the whole situation had become, the idea of a hot bath was growing more and more appealing. He stepped out of the bridge and found Niira waiting for him, and they made the walk back down the hall together. When asked about his chat, he put it plainly to Niira that they ought to ignore any strange behavior or activities of dubious legality. Shockingly, it didn't seem to make her feel any better.

"He's either never heard of a selka or forgot we can pick regular liars out of a crowd of lawyers. Not that it'd be hard, seeing as how awful he is at it."

"Ah, relax, hon." Lin gave her fingers a squeeze. "The guy's probably just low-key smuggling or something. Happens all the time on the fringe. Barely-legal recreational drugs, bootlegging--stuff that'll barely even land you in the slammer for large quantities."

"I hope you're right." Niira leaned against his shoulder as they stopped before the bath. The door slid open, lights flickered to life, and the couple's eyes went wide.

Lin had only seen the room in the dark earlier. Now, with the lights on, every bit of extravagance lay bare before them. The floor was stone--real stone, and not some cheap concrete or silica lookalike. The circular room was lined with silver wall sconces made up to look like flickering candles, large paintings of exotic beasts from all corners of the galaxy, and--to completely break the old-timey bath house feel--a huge flat-screen monitor, currently displaying a gently-crackling fireplace. Three showerheads extended from the wall to their right, complemented with bottles of soap and shampoo. The bath itself sank into the stone, and took up the entire back half of the room. Blue lights shone from beneath the steamy water, giving contrast to the ornate chandellier hanging from the center of the ceiling.

"Posh." the panda remarked, stepping forward. "Sure beats a shower cubical."

"No kidding." Niira let her voidsilk cloak fade away, leaving her in a ragged-looking jumpsuit. She frowned disapprovingly at the garment and tugged at the frayed sleeves. "I'm surprised this lasted as long as it did. I was in subspace for a long time."

"Well, for that, I think you ought to go first." Lin smiled. "Jumping into the void like that. You deserve it."

"Go first?"

"In the bath. I can go in after you."

The selka huffed. "Lin." She tugged insistently at his hands and motioned to the water. "I know you're afraid to ask, so I'll just come out and say it: Let's just go together."

He almost felt guilty for entertaining the idea: Quiet, innocent Niira, completely nude and shimmering wet. "You want to?"

"I'd like nothing more right now." Niira stole a kiss from his lips, her cheeks flushed dark.

"Niira, I--" Lin laced his fingers with hers. His stomach fluttered, and he stared into her bright blue eyes. "Don't get me wrong. I want to. I just want to be sure you don't feel you have to. You know?"

The selka pressed a finger to his lips, silencing any further fretting. "When we started dating, I told you all I needed was time. Time to be sure you were serious. You wouldn't have fended off that whorebot if you weren't." Her lip quivered just a touch as she added, "And after I watched that thing swallow you up, I was afraid I'd have to wait an eternity instead."

It was hard to feel bashful or nervous after such a heartfelt admission. Lin stole another kiss from the selka's lips. "Consider my concerns alleviated."

"Shall we then?"

"Pardon my intrusion." Galatea announced through a speaker in the wall. "Captain Matthews requests that you shower before soaking in the bath. It helps keep it clean."

"Right. Thanks, Gal." Lin chuckled and, for once, felt awkward undressing in front of a pretty girl. "So..."

"Together." Niira retreated a step, unclipped the empty and tattered medical belt Flora had given her, and unzipped her jumpsuit with a jittery hand.

The couple slowly undressed; it seemed that bashful awkwardness was shared on some level. They'd seen one another naked before, but there was something different about this time. Whether it could have been attributed to their near-death experiences, the ecstasy of their reunion, or something else, they couldn't be sure. Niira kicked away her raggy jumpsuit and slipped out of the simple tank top and shorts underneath, while Lin shed the t-shirt and pants he'd been provided to keep himself covered. He idly wondered where his mining equipment had gone upon seeing her jumpsuit's rough state.

Until he saw her, anyway. Supple, slender, petite. A swimmer's body if he'd ever seen one. "Niira, you--" he cleared his throat. "You're so beautiful."

"Please. I look awful. Only managed to sleep two hours after I picked up your trail." she laughed, toying with a headtail and letting her glowing eyes traverse Lin's naked body. "But... thanks. You're not so bad, either... What was it River called you? Bamboo breath?"

"Yep, and it's still racist." he shared her laugh and motioned for her to join him.

There were plenty of showerheads, but they chose to use just one. The water cascading down Niira's back renewed the natural shimmer to her dark grey skin. Stylish headtails carried droplets down to their tips as Lin ran the nozzle over her head and let the liquid warmth trail in rivulets over her shoulders. The peach-scented soap was almost overpowering as he lathered it up against her back, but she seemed to like it well enough. The feeling of smooth, wet skin under his fingertips was enough to reawaken suppressed feelings of arousal and need, but this time she didn't scold him. The selka only pressed back into his chest as his hands slid around to her front to soap up her upper body.

"I could have done you first, you know." Niira crooned, all five eyes shut, a wide smile on her lips.

"No way. Heroic ladies first." The comment brought another shade of blush to her cheeks, and Lin pressed a kiss to her neck. If that idiot captain was watching now, he would have to be content with softcore. He cupped his lover's small, perky breasts, and she gasped, but didn't protest. She leaned her head back, and he could see her biting hard on her lower lip. "Alright there?"

"More than you know." she crooned, breaths catching in her throat. "Not too fast, now."

"I don't need to be tutored on loving, baobei."

"You still haven't told me wh--Ahh..!" Niira's back arched wide, her dark-colored nipples stiffening swiftly between his pinching fingers. She huffed hard and grinded against his waist, but said no more. Roaming hands covered the front of her body in soap, then her legs, her lower back, her full, shapely ass. All the while, her breaths became more swift and irregular. The selka's body went rigid when Lin's fingers slipped between her legs and sampled the honeypot waiting within.

"Ok?"

"Yes." she breathed out heavily and swiveled her hips to rub herself against those fingers. Her pleasured crooning grew louder, and Lin slipped his fingers deeper in. Her motions stirred his fingertips within her, and she let out what sounded oddly like a growl when he retreated. She slumped against his body as the water returned to rinse her off, gunmetal skin shimmering and shining under the fake candlelight. "My goodness..."

The panda grinned. He'd never expected her to be so reactive. "I have been told I'm an awful tease."

"Be careful. Karma is a harsh mistress."

Then it was his turn. Lin had never seen Niira so uninhibited, so touchy-feely! Even while she sprayed him down, her free hand was upon him, exploring his lightly-toned abs and chest, feeling over the curve of his hips and along his back. Notibly, it avoided anything below the belt, but he could practically feel her eyes on the stiff, pulsing shaft just begging for some love. The feeling of dull, rounded-off nails raking through his hair was heavenly. The shampoo was cherry-scented and just as heavy in his sinuses as the soap, but he endured. Niira's webbed fingers scrubbed over his head, down his neck and over his shoulders. Every now and then she'd channel a tiny spark of bliss onto her nail and prod it into him--these little touches nearly buckled his knees every time, and she seemed to take great pleasure in teasing him with that almost mystical control over sensation and emotion.

"You'll never get used to this." she purred, sticking him with another jolt of bliss.

"Ghh... How do you figure?"

"Because I'll make sure of it."

Just like their night on the fake beach at New Luxor, every glimmer of pleasure Niira implanted into his nerves grew and swelled under his skin, spreading across his muscles until it had touched every inch of him. Through the ethereal bliss, he could feel Niira's arousal. Her need. He could sense her doubts, her hesitation, the shy fluttering in her nerves. He felt it all melt away, slowly dribbling into nothingness as they shared their bodies with one another. The shame and the guilt he'd felt for sneaking glances and letting his hands wander--gone. In this moment, none of that mattered.

Her hands pressed to his chest, and he felt her soft, wet breasts squish against his back. He had to bite back a moan when her finger brushed over a nipple, but nothing got past a selka. It returned with the others, and her other hand found its twin. Lin curled his toes hard as those sensitive nubs were pinched and teased.

"Payback time."

"Oh hush." the panda groaned and whimpered. Nothing could have prepared him for the twin jolts of magic bliss that she sent right into his nipples, and this time he did drop to his knees. Niira laughed, and he felt his cheeks flush hot, but he got right back up and dove in for a kiss. Their tongues met, and Niira's perfect skin got a feel for wet, soapy fur. Lin's heart skipped a beat when he felt something electrify his lips, but then sink away, as if it hadn't happened at all. "What was that?"

"Almost broke my own rule." Niira panted, her cheeks so dark with blush. "I'm saving that. I want it to be... perfect."

He would have argued, but her insistent blue gaze silenced any dissent. Niira soaped up his lower body and, this time, let her webbed fingers close around his maleness. It was a new feeling; smooth, amphibious skin, the webbed membrane between each digit. She squeezed and stroked slowly, as if sizing him up, analyzing.

"Something, something, bamboo joke." she snickered into his ear. The bashful lilt in her tone was quite heavy now.

"You've just been WAITING for that, haven't you?"

The selka laughed again. "Maybe." Her hand left as quickly as it had come, and Lin sucked down a deep breath to steady himself. The water running over his body carried the soap suds down to his ankles, carrying with them the stresses of the strangest misadventure in his life.

Now clean, Lin grasped Niira's hand and gave her a pull toward the bath, but she hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"Should we? In there?"

"Have you seen what this guy makes his AIs wear? And need I remind you that he watches people play with them? I guarantee you he fucks in the bath, and so do any of his other guests."

Niira made a face, then apparently decided she agreed. She followed him into the hot, steamy water and moaned as she sank down to her neck. Lin joined her, and they once again locked lips. Webbed hands pressed to the panda's back, holding him close as he leaned her against the padded edge of the bath. Yeah, it was definitely meant for fucking.

"Now, I know what you're thinking--"

"I thought you weren't a mind reader."

The selka squeaked almost inaudibly when Lin's lips found her neck again. "I'm not, but I know you by now." She kissed and nibbled the edge of his ear, then whispered into it, "Don't 'go easy' on me. Of course, be gentle--it's my first time. But don't treat me like some frail flower that you'll break. Alright?"

"Yes ma'am." Lin smirked. God, she was so perfect. The panda leaned forward and mounted his lover, spreading her legs to either side of his waist and pressing the edge of his maleness to her nether lips. He reveled in the sounds she made--the sharp gasps, the breathy whimpers and sighs of bliss. Her eyes locked onto his, and they sat there for a while, savoring this moment of trust, affection, and desire.

Slowly, he pressed forward. His breath caught, so he held it. Niira's primary eyes widened, and the secondary trio lazily opened to join them. She searched for his hands and found them after a moment of frantic flailing, then laced her fingers with his. Deeper and deeper, their bodies pressed closer until Lin hilted himself within her. Nothing compared to how she felt; warm, velvety, tight. But there was so much more than that; something missing from his flings, his booty calls, his friends with benefits.

"Lin." Niira gasped, pulling him into another kiss. She clenched around his shaft, swiveled her hips and bucked against him. He matched that motion with a backward retreat, then another, faster thrust forward. Lin took the lead and rested one hand on her hip, their tongues tying, muffling the rapturous sounds they made as they coupled. The water sloshed around their bodies with each forward push of Lin's hips, his engorged cock pulsing within the deep, tight walls that squeezed around it. Niira arched her back, dug her nails into her lover's waist, and whimpered through her nose, all eyes now shut tight.

Their sensual embrace grew louder as their lips parted, releasing their pleasured vocalizations into the air around them until their voices melded with their echoes. Niira freed her hand from Lin's grasp and brushed it over his cheek. Once again, all five of her eyes opened. An ethereal light formed around the rutting couple, and Niira's eyes flashed. They cried out in unison as a torrent of intense, burning need flooded their nerves, bidding Lin to fuck her harder, faster! The selka clung to him, mouth agape, panting heavily between blissful moans. Another series of bliss-pokes tugged more of those hot, wanton sounds from Lin's lips--these were entirely different from the relaxing, tension-melting touches from before. The ethereal jolt shot straight to his cock and electrified his every nerve. He could have climaxed right then and there, but something kept him at bay.

Niira. Whatever she'd done had connected them in a way she'd never done before. That had been the sudden rush of desire. It wasn't just his; it was hers, too. Their every need, every pleasure, and every lust had been woven together. The panda's hips worked tirelessly, thrusting up into hers, meeting her downward motions and upsetting the water around them almost violently. The interweaving of sensation spread the pleasures she bestowed upon him across his every nerve, building and building upon themselves until it all threatened to overflow.

The feeling needed not be said; it would all come to a close soon. Neither had experienced anything like this, and their oversensitized nerves soon cried out for release. Niira drew Lin into another kiss, and this time she didn't hesitate to deliver what she'd refrained from earlier. The electric shock of bliss exploded across his lips and radiated outward at the speed of light. It cascaded down his body, tantalizing and teasing every erogenous zone he knew of, and plenty he could never have imagined. His cock twitched hard and began to erupt, and in this moment their minds intersected. Across the span of a milisecond that stretched on for eternity, Lin experienced every tremor of ecstasy rippling through Niira's body, and he knew she could feel his. Who could have ever known that so much sensation could be quantified in just a fraction of a second? Their ecstatic cries reached a crescendo as they peaked and rode out wave after wave of their shared orgasms. Niira clawed at Lin's back, and he squeezed her hips. Their eyes met as the sensations reached their zenith, then began to come down, loud moans tapering off into hot and heavy breaths.

Seconds stretched into minutes as they sat there, entwined in one another's arms, his shaft still hilted in her. The blissed-out couple gradually settled into a more comfortable position, sitting side-by-side, Lin's arm draped over Niira's shoulders as she snuggled up to him.

"That," the panda exhaled, his cheeks flushed hotter than ever before, "was something."

"More than I ever thought possible." Niira practically glowed, her skin shimmering in the blue floor lights. "I hope I was alright."

"Niira, I've f--that is to say, I have a l--" It was hard to explain without just calling himself a man-whore. "Nothing. Nothing has ever made me feel like you just did. You're in a league of your own."

A bashful giggle was all that came in response. Niira squeezed Lin's waist and snuggled closer, eyes shut, legs stretched out in front of her. "We should have seen if New Luxor had a bath house or something."

"Gonna be hard going back to standing showers." Lin's ear twitched at the sound of the door sliding open, and he looked back to see Bloo approaching. His first instinct suggested she was there to try and wiggle her way into their fun, despite it having concluded.

The bunny, however, had a bundle of linens and clean clothes in her hands. She set them down, smiled, and curtsied. "We wouldn't want you wandering around in dirty clothes, now would we? I'll have the others washed."

"You sure timed this well." Lin didn't bother to disguise his suspicion.

"Galatea told me when you two were... decent." she grinned. "And she's the only one who watched--on contextual observation settings only."

"We don't mean to sound ungrateful." Niira added, pursing her lips. "Just--you know."

"Oh, I do." Bloo turned back to the door. "The captain does, too. Don't worry, we're not going to kick you back into space for wanting privacy. Between us, I think he's glad for some company that isn't business-related. Less chance of a backstab."

"That's a relief." Lin snorted. "Thanks Bloo."

Niira waited for the rabbit to leave before commenting, one brow raised in suspicion. "Are we really safe on this ship?"

"Still safer than an escape pod, I figure."

"I don't know. Suspended animation is pretty safe."

They shared a laugh. Lin stretched from head to toe, then got to his feet, shaking off his arms to dry them. "Well, I don't know if selka get pruny fingers from bathing too long, but I'm starting to get that way."

"Between the journey here and our... playtime... I'm about ready to pass out." Niira rose as well and hung on him for support. She leaned over, planted a kiss on his cheek, and quietly murmured, "I think I can convince my mind you're real now."

"God, I'd hope so after that." They dried off, redressed, and made their way back toward the guest bedroom. Lin held his beloved selka close as the bathroom door shut behind them. A nap definitely sounded good right about now. She'd still be there when he woke up, after all.

Hours passed, and they slept like the dead. An empty bowl sat on the nightstand with sticky, drying fruit juice at the bottom--the remains of all Niira could make herself eat before sleep claimed her. She'd gone half a month without anything but her breakfast the morning of the incident. By Terran standards, that'd make her a walking corpse, but selka were resilient. It had been almost impressive to watch her eat; the normally reserved Niira wolfed down melon slices and practically inhaled a grape vine. For all the words Lin could have used to describe her, "voracious" was never high on his list until that moment.

The panda sat over his lover as she slept, gently snoring, her chest rising and falling peacefully under the covers. No one was ever as beautiful in sleep as the blogs and magazines depicted, but he could never find a truer word to describe his Niira. Sure, her headtails were sprawled everywhere, the bags under her eyes hadn't quite receded, and she was still looking rather thin, but she was still his baobei.

He quietly scolded himself for not getting her something to eat before their romp in the bath, but there had been something in the air, something electric between them that had drawn them into one another's arms that evening. He sure didn't regret it, and the way Niira had nuzzled his chest well into slumber was enough to convince him she didn't either.

An hour passed this way; Lin watching his beloved snooze, the soft sheets bathing them in warmth. Nothing stirred in the room until Niira stretched her arms up and opened her eyes. "Morning, sleepyhead." he cooed as he bent down to kiss her forehead.

"What time is it?"

"Eight."

"Wow." Niira yawned wide and shifted closer to Lin. Her head landed on his chest, and she murmured into his fur. "Guess I needed it."

Lin's fingers played along her headtails. "I don't imagine you slept well on your way here."

"No. Moving through the anomaly was... taxing." she tensed slightly. Her arms slipped around the panda's waist, and she planted a half-dozen kisses on his sternum. "I'm pleased to say that last night was the best sleep I've had in a week, though."

"I'm glad for that, at least." Guilt stung at his heart. She'd gone through so much just to find him. "So. Breakfast?"

"Goodness, yes." she picked her head up and gazed hungrily at him. "Please."

The panda couldn't help but laugh. He tapped his bedside console and waited for Galatea to answer. "Morning, Gal. I don't mean to be rude, but would it be alright if we got something to eat?"

"My subordinates are preparing breakfast for you as we speak."

"Really?"

"Yes. I maintain full contextual observation of all the Silverfish's camera feeds, in order to provide swift service and threat response, while maintaining our guests' privacy. I instructed Bloo and Berri to prepare breakfast when the both of you awakened."

"That's luxury for you, I guess." Niira sat up, stretched, and immediately gathered up a blanket to wrap around her naked body. "Thank you, Galatea. I'm sorry I punched your subordinate yesterday. And we can pay for our meals. We both have access to our accounts."

"Captain Matthews is not worried about the expense of a few days' worth of food. Please do not concern yourself with that. As for Berri: She had it coming."

The console went quiet, and the couple had a good laugh over that. The attempted robo-rape from yesterday had been largely forgotten until now; it seemed so unimportant compared to the fun Lin and Niira had had. Breakfast was served shortly afterward: Pancakes, bacon, and eggs were set on a long rolling table, and two overbed tables were provided for them to eat in the comfort of the warm covers.

"Do you guys ever use your dining room?" Lin asked as he shoveled a syrup-drowned slice into his mouth.

"Captain Matthews is... quite unparticular about when he goes to bed and, thus, when he wakes." Bloo commented, smiling wryly. "That room only ever sees use when his business requires people to physically come aboard the ship. That isn't often."

"Trust issues, remember?" Berri pointedly avoided looking at Niira, despite the selka having laid off on glaring at her.

Lin only nodded, recalling what Matthews had suggested during their brief meeting. The less he and Niira knew, the happier they'd likely be. Lin was no stranger to this sort of thing; he'd grown up in northern China shortly after the People's Liberation Army lost enough ground to the Free China Coalition to declare it a total loss. The resulting power vacuum had reverted the entire northern half of the nation to warring factions competing to hire the most bodies to throw at one another and buy the biggest guns. He'd experienced more of that cutthroat type of business than he cared to remember.

"He's very kind to house, clothe, and feed us for no pay." Niira only sounded half-convinced as she nibbled a strip of bacon. Her glowing eyes appraised the bunny-maids while they prepared the morning tea.

"Lin's escape pod will more than pay for whatever meager expenses we incur during your stay." Bloo poured hot water onto the teabag in Lin's mug and apparently noticed the worried look on his face. "What?"

"Oh, our captain. She won't be happy about that." the panda laughed. "I hope she and Matthews never meet in person."

"I'll pass that along to Galatea, then. Captain Matthews has a habit of angering people."

Niira snorted into her teacup. "You don't say."

"Consider your gratis stay aboard this luxurious cruiser an attempt to build good karma, both with the galaxy and your undoubtedly understanding and patient captain." the blue bunny actually looked worried when the two started laughing. "Oh dear. That bad?"

"Zeeva's a loaded gun soaked in gasoline, sitting on top of a powder keg, in the middle of an arms cache. With a lit fuse, forever burning." Lin swallowed a gulp of scrambled eggs. Noticing the bunnies' expressions, he casually waved his hand. "She's skriivan, ex-military. Pretty sure that's just their thing."

"He's exaggerating, of course." Niira chimed in. "Considering what you've done for Lin--for the both of us--I think she'll see reason."

Berri finally found her voice. "I hope so. Captain's just gonna take the pod anyway, knowing him."

Breakfast concluded, and the synthetics wheeled away the dirty dishes and tables. Once again, Lin and Niira were alone. For a while they sat in silence. Lin messed around with the television and browsed some of the options available. No modern broadcasts reached this far into uncivilized space, so he perused the ship's film database.

"Invasion of the Tentacle Monsters. Planet Nympho. Horny Catgirls From Andromeda. You're all class, Captain Matthews. How does anyone get off on this campy shit?"

"As if you've never watched any of these." Niira scoffed.

"I don't care for most 'professional' porn. The tentacle one was alright, though. Would have preferred to see some boys getting stuffed, too."

The selka gave him a look, her cheeks suddenly flushing. Then she grinned, kissed his cheek, and murmured, "I'll remember that."

Lin's heart practically jumped to his throat. "I didn't mean--!"

"Yeah you did."

"Yeah, I did." he grumbled and turned his attention back to the TV before anything else slipped past his loose tongue. He put on an old, OLD classic American western about an ex-bandit who gets pulled back into the violent maelstrom of the wild west. Something about two cowboys, a prostitute they cut up, and a lot of shooting--he didn't really pay too much attention. It was all background noise to him. "Feeling alright?" he asked Niira as they zoned out to the crazy gunfights.

"Oh, yeah. All I needed was some sleep and some food." she snuggled up against his side, then traced a circle over his chest with a dull claw. "But you aren't. What's up?"

Lin sighed. Nothing got past her. "I just feel so helpless, Niira. Look at you." He raised a hand to her cheek, still slightly gaunt from malnutrition. "Look at what you went through just to find me."

"I'd do it all again, or worse."

He bit down on his lip, somehow mortified, grateful, and joyful all at once. "It just kills me a little that I was on ice or sitting in bed while you floated through subspace."

Niira breathed out a sigh, shrugged, and brought her scratching nails under his chin, tugging sounds of blissful relaxation from his throat. "I don't know what to say. I did it because I love you, Lin." She definitely picked up on the excited flutter he felt, her smile widening. "And I know you'd do the same for me."

"Damn right I would." the panda crooned, escaping the immobilizing scratches to press a kiss to her lips. "I love you, Niira."

"I know." she laughed when he rolled his eyes, then rested her head on his chest. "Try not to worry, alright? We're going to suffer sometimes. I'm just glad it amounted to something."

"Likewise." Lin leaned back. An old thought resurfaced, and he cautiously asked, "The others. They're alright, too, right?"

Niira laughed. "Would I have kept it from you if they weren't?"

"I guess not."

"Alright, mister." the selka shifted under the covers, slid her body atop his, and pressed a kiss to his lips. "You're way too preoccupied for someone who just had breakfast in bed, naked, with his girlfriend. Let's fix that."

Lin had a whole two seconds to ponder what she meant before a soft fingertip pressed an invisible button in his brain. Suddenly everything felt wonderful--the sheets, the pillow, her smooth body pressed against his. "Wuuuhhh..." came his unintelligible response. "What're you..."

"Hush." Niira's finger pressed another sphere of bright blue light into his temple, doubling the mind-muddling bliss that now coursed through his veins. "You remember this."

"Yeaaahhh." a giddy smile spread across his lips. He'd experienced some nice highs in the past--namely morphine and other painkillers when shit really hit the fan back home. None of it held a candle to Niira's happy touch. Another flood of dopey serenity cascaded through his mind, turning his muscles to jelly and blanking out everything unpleasant. The flow of time became indistinct, and all sound in the room faded, leaving only Niira's voice to lull him into a blissed-out stupor.

The day passed largely without incident. Lin gradually recovered from Niira's proverbial mindfuck, and they spent the afternoon watching movies, chatting with the bunny bots, and trying to make themselves useful. As it turned out, offering to help a tireless synthetic with menial chores tended to be met with confusion. Assistance in general maintenance, however, was accepted without much argument. Niira helped to fine-tune the subspace drive, and Lin assisted in repairing the cargo crane after one of its hydraulic lines burst and nearly shot a rivet through the hull.

They paused for lunch, then again for dinner, at which point Captain Matthews finally showed his face among his crew. He'd settled on a blue hoodie and sweatpants for the day's outfit, once again relieving him of any aura of professionalism or experience. "Good evening, you two." he beamed to his guests as he plopped down in the seat across from them. "Thanks for helping out today. You didn't have to, though. The girls are pretty well-equipped for this stuff."

"It's the least we can do for your hospitality." Niira ducked her head, the first real show of gratitude she'd given him. "And for saving Lin! Who knows if I'd have found him if you hadn't--or if he'd have collided with something--" she calmed her frantic what-ifs when Lin squeezed her hand.

"Weeeell," Adrien smiled sheepishly. "If you ought to be thanking anyone, it's Galatea."

"Galatea?"

Matthews nodded to the doorway, where the mechanical avatar of the ship's primary AI had just entered. Galatea, in stark contrast to her captain, had assembled an outfit befitting a SolGov Navy officer, minus all the badges and emblems; dark-grey, buttoned, and expertly-tailored. For all the crimes they were supposedly committing, impersonation of an officer was apparently one they'd decided to avoid. The captain motioned for her to join him, waited for her to be seated, and grabbed her by the waist. "She's the one who decided to snatch Lin's pod up in the first place."

"What Captain Matthews is saying is: Had it been him at the helm, he would have hesitated." Galatea smirked, but her human master didn't seem to get that it was all in jest. He looked anywhere but at Lin or Niira and loudly changed the subject, shouting at the bunnies to hurry up with dinner. They responded in kind by offering to feed it to him rectally, and the whole table, sans Matthews, had a good laugh.

"Well, Galatea, I thank you." Niira bowed to the synthetic fox and swiftly dragged Lin's head down with a quick tug as well.

"Ow. Yeah, I really appreciate you looking out for me. And everything you guys have done." Lin brushed his hair back into place. "So, how long until we jump outta here?"

Matthews kicked back on his chair and yawned into an open palm. "Hard to say. We've gotten most of the, ah, 'deliveries' done, but there's still one spot that's been... elusive."

"Elusive?"

"Remember what I said about asking questions?"

"Right, right." the panda mumbled. Not that it mattered, of course, but his curiosity was killing him. Further probing was discouraged by the arrival of dinner: Egg-fried rice and grilled teriyaki chicken. Portions were served up and drinks followed. Lin and Niira settled on water; Adrien went immediately for wine and, when offered a glass, took the bottle from Berri's hand instead, leaving the magenta rabbit to scoff and roll her eyes.

"Don't whine when you're hungover again." she warned as she took a seat beside Galatea. Bloo sat beside her sister, and those with actual stomachs dug in.

Lin glanced around the table, his eyes lingering on the three synthetics before turning back to the captain. "I just can't get over how lifelike these guys are. Our AI still has that mechanical drone to his behavior. Granted, he's still pretty young, but it's like night and day."

"What is your AI's name?" Galatea asked, sitting straight, hands in her lap. At least someone among the Silverfish crew had table manners--contrary to the captain, who'd already drained a quarter of his wine bottle.

"Atlas. Zeeva read a lot of Greek mythology after she retired, apparently." Lin chuckled. "I guess so did Matthews, huh?"

The mechanical fox went quiet for a moment. She looked to her captain and waited for his response--a shrug and a nod--before answering. "Adrien was not my original owner. He did not name me."

"Oh, wow." Niira's brows raised. "So you're... second-hand? Ah--that's a horrible way to put it, isn't it?"

"It is accurate, in its own way." Galatea smiled mysteriously. "But I doubt he wants me to explain further."

The slightly-inebriated human mumbled his agreement around a mouthful of rice and gulped it down hard. "All three of them are... let's call 'em 'rescues'. That's about all you need to know."

"And from that day forward: Maid dresses. Every single day." Berri added with a dramatic half-curtsy.

Bloo chimed in with a giggle. "We talk a lot of rot, but he's good to us."

"Ah, ladies." Matthews grinned and stuffed his face again.

For a while, things almost felt like home. Despite his initial grievances, Lin and Adrien got along well enough, and Niira had apparently forgiven (or at least forgotten) Berri's attempt at bedding her man. The soft-spoken Galatea was surprisingly funny, often cracking jokes at her captain's expense without any expressed fear of reprisal. The evening had turned out so well, and Matthews had just sent Bloo and Berri to go find something for dessert when all three synthetics turned to face a point on the wall. It was such a quick, precise motion--a sudden snap, and they stopped in their tracks, staring.

"What is it?" Matthews's tone went deathly serious.

"You won't like it." Berri turned her head back to the captain. "It's the Orlov."

"Oh, hell." the suddenly sober man leapt from his seat and started for the exit. "Ladies, to the bridge. Lin, Niira, go back to your room."

Lin stood and followed him to the door. "What is it? What's an 'Orlov'?"

"It's better that you don't get involved. Hopefully it won't be your problem." He looked over his shoulder, facial muscles tense. "I'll call you guys when it's settled, alright? Just stay in your room and don't broadcast anything."

Just like that, Captain Matthews and his synthetic companions were gone. Lin and Niira exchanged nervous glances and began their trip back to their room--until a tremor rocked the ship and knocked them off their feet.

"Alright, what even the FUCK." Lin picked himself off the floor and helped Niira up. He groaned, steadied himself, and carefully made the trip to the guest room with his selka lover at his side. A series of smaller explosions rocked the vessel, followed by another large bang that sent them toppling onto the bed once they got inside.

Niira shut her eyes and steadied her breathing. She opened the secondary set, then panned her head around until she apparently came upon something. "There's a large ship out there. I can feel its subspace wake."

"Any idea what kind? Maybe so we can know whether we're gonna get killed by pirates or cops?"

"No. Not without a visual." she shut her secondary eyes again and braced herself against Lin when another tremor shook the vessel. "Would SolGov send law enforcement out this far?"

"Not unless there was something worth chasing." Another hit rumbled through the ship, lighter this time. "We're only feeling shield hits. No bending metal or solid thuds. They're only firing shaker rounds."

"So this is a... warning shot?"

"One hell of an over-the-top warning." Lin stood again and, just as he did, the lights went out. The holo-clock on the nightstand was dark. A quick check of the bedside console found it dead. He'd had enough. "What say you we go get some answers?"

Luckily, the door still had enough power to slide open. They stumbled their way to the bridge as another salvo of warning shots rocked the Silverfish. Lin heard dishes and silverware crash to the floor in the dining room, and he could swear he heard beer cans clank against one another as they passed the master bedroom. He thumbed the door control once they reached the bridge--to his surprise, it opened without question.

"He's just throwing a tantrum." they heard Matthews say the moment the door slid open. Bloo and Berri sat on either side of the captain's seat. Galatea was not present. "He knows he can't use live rounds while we're sitting on top of the canister. Of course, that means we need to be ready to leave when we've got it."

"Got what?" The sound of Lin's voice caused the tense captain to jump and spin around. "Well?"

"Dammit, you two." Matthews groaned. "Why couldn't you just wait?"

"If your secrets are about to get us killed, we'd at least like to know them." Niira spoke up, crossing her arms under her chest.

Adrien tried to glare at them, but his resolved collapsed within only seconds. "Fine. Maybe you guys can help if something important breaks. But please--PLEASE--don't speak unless spoken to until this is over." He paused, thought about that, then quickly added, "Unless the guy we're fighting talks to you. Just ignore him."

Lin was absolutely incredulous. "Fighting? This glorified space yacht has teeth?"

"Come on--Lin--please. Quiet unless prompted otherwise. Can you promise me that?"

"Alright, fine." Lin conceded, and Niira followed quickly after. They sat toward the rear of the bridge to observe.

Galatea pinged the captain's console. "Varn is hailing us. Shall I put him through?"

"Yeah, sure." Matthews spun his chair back around, leaned forward, and grinned in spite of the apparent danger this Varn character posed. "Let's see if we can't make this little problem go away."

The large viewscreen changed to a live feed of an older man, greying and bearded. He had the look of a grizzled war veteran, with one normal brown eye, the other replaced with a glowing red prosthetic. He cleared his throat and addressed the Silverfish crew with an accent vaguely reminiscent of old eastern Europeans. "Ah, finally! Captain Matthews. It has been a while, old friend, yes?" He leaned to his right, as if to look around his adversary. "Oh, you are entertaining company! How rude of me. I am Varn Stepanov, captain of the glorious vessel, Orlov. I assure you, this will not take long, assuming your most gracious host decides to be... cooperative."

"Hello Varn. You're looking mighty... you today." Matthews fetched his cigar case and dug a long, thick death stick out. "I'd offer you a smoke, but you're approximately fifty kilometers that-a-way," he motioned vaguely with his hand, "and popping shaker rounds at me. So I'm not quite so inclined."

"Aha, you might very well get to make good on that offer in a few moments, Matthews." the older captain chuckled, a gloved hand idly brushing down his beard. "Of course, if you just give back what you stole from me, we'll never have to meet face-to-face."

Lin mumbled to Niira, "Figures. He's a thief."

"Shut up." Adrien grunted over his shoulder, then turned back to the monitor. He tapped at his instrument panel and brought up a smaller secondary screen, displaying a metal cube floating in space. The Silverfish's crane loomed into view, its grasping arm extending. "I'd sure love to give it back, Varn, but that just isn't an option right now."

"And why not?" the probable pirate scowled.

"You see, I had some issues with my cargo crane earlier. Just the damndest thing, I'll tell you." he grinned as the metal arm locked firmly around the box and began to retract. "It can grab things, but it's having some difficulty letting them go right now. A bit like me. Fitting, right?" Matthews seemed to revel in the frustration showing on Varn's face. "You could always come back later, see if we've gotten it fixed? I wouldn't push your luck, though."

The older man spat. He barked at his crewmen to switch to live rounds. "Very well. You have not changed a bit, that much is certain. I will simply pick through the remains of your ship until I find what I want. Do me a favor: Have Galatea strapped down so her body doesn't float away. I would hate to have to buy her a new one!"

That comment seemed to strike a nerve; Matthews closed the channel between the attacking ship and the Silverfish, and he quickly stopped joking around. "Gal, prime torpedo tubes and countermeasures, and get ready to boost the shields. Cut all non-essential power according to firefight parameters."

"Acknowledged. Powering down cargo bay life support; civilian deck lighting; heating..." Galatea listed each subsystem as she powered them down.

"Strap yourselves in." Adrien pointed to Lin and Niira, fidgeting in their seats. "Gravity's going off--"

"Now." Galatea announced. As soon as she did, everything not nailed or buckled down began to gently float upward. Lin and Niira grabbed the arms of their chairs and fiddled with the seatbelts.

"You gonna explain what's going on now?" the panda grumbled, clicking the latch and securing his seatbelt.

"Long story short: Varn's a pirate. I've taken some things of his over time--including Galatea, and he's been pissed ever since. I got these crates from his depot a few systems over when Galatea pointed them out, but his goons gave chase, so we dropped them here in case they used them to track us. This was supposed to be a clean pickup so we could figure out why they're so special." Matthews switched the main screen's focus to a visual of Varn's ship, a bulky frigate lined with cannons and torpedo launchers. Cyrillic lettering was printed on the side, but Lin couldn't translate.

"How long is 'ever since'?" Niira inquired, still holding onto her seat despite being strapped in.

"About five years."

"Great. Awesome." Lin sighed. Suddenly the idea of drifting in an escape pod almost sounded cozy. "And what does that make you? A pirate, also?"

"I do a little bit of everything." Matthews commented as he brought up weapon monitors on his screen: Ammunition counts, firing status for each row of torpedo launchers, target acquisition. "Mainly smuggling. And no, before you even ask, I don't touch the slave market. And I've only ever stolen from people like Varn."

That probably should have made Lin feel better, but the sight of targeting reticles highlighting a set of twelve incoming torpedoes stifled any relief he may have felt. "God help us."

"Watch and learn, fuzzy." Matthews sat back in his seat and observed the incoming missiles. A low, steady rumble sent vibrations through the bridge, and tracer fire from the Silverfish's point defenses joined the dim, glowing points of the torpedoes' chemical rockets. One by one, the glow of their detonations lit up the screen; first two, then six. Eight. Ten. Two managed to slip past the hail of autogun fire and slam into the shields, bursting with a dull, dissatisfying pop as the energy field absorbed the impact.

"Shields holding." Galatea announced.

"Return fire. Full volley."

The bridge crew now watched the giving end of an attack: Six bright blue points crossed the gap between the two ships, joined swiftly by the Orlov's rotary machine guns. Only one avoided early detonation, popping against the enemy vessel's shields with a faint blue flash.

"Well that didn't do much." Lin leaned forward, tense despite the relatively tame exchange.

"He was messing with us with that first salvo. This baby's got teeth, but he's got more."

"So what do you normally do in this situation?"

"Run, usually."

"Oh, wonderful." Lin spread his arms wide. "So why aren't we?"

Bloo turned from her monitor. "Unfortunately, Varn emerged from subspace in range to deploy an inhibitor. We cannot immerse."

"So let's fly in the opposite direction!"

"Outrun a retrofitted SolGov frigate?"

"Nah." Matthews grinned. He slid his seat forward, extended the piloting control handles from his terminal, and pushed the throttle up. The ship's engines roared, and they blasted forward, closing the distance between them and their adversary. "Even if we could bug out now, he'd just follow us. When push comes to shove, and your enemy shoves harder, you do the next best thing: You dance."

Lin and Niira shared a look. "Did you get that?" the panda asked.

"Maybe?" Niira sighed. She took Lin's hand and squeezed it hard, eyes glued to the monitor as another salvo launched from the other ship. "I hope he's better at flying than he is at one-liners."

The Silverfish banked hard only a stone's throw from the torpedoes. Deck cameras displayed its point defenses as they pivoted, lead their targets, and opened fire. Twenty torpedoes lit the void, sitting ducks for the autoguns while they turned to adjust their vector and pursue the smaller, more agile vessel.

"You've got the trigger, Gal." Matthews's tone had turned uncharacteristically stoic. "Keep firing. You see an opening, hit it with everything we've got."

"Acknowledged. Weapons free."

The captain pulled the Silverfish high above Varn's broadside and angled its port side diagonally. The floor shook with colossal booms as kinetic artillery bombarded Varn's shields. Another torpedo salvo joined the .50 caliber jackhammer pounding down on the Orlov's defenses as the Silverfish made its pass and lost its bombardment angle. The hostile vessel's deck guns turned and retaliated, pummeling the Silverfish with its own cannon barrage and forcing Matthews to retreat past its port side.

"Shields holding. Little effect on target." Galatea pinged the captain's console. "We cannot stalemate like this, Captain."

"You think I don't know that?" Adrien pulled the ship around for another attack run. A trio of larger torpedoes launched from the Orlov, burst, and deployed swarms of smaller swarm missles. They descended upon the Silverfish like hornets, popping off on the shields like firecrackers. Varn's deck guns joined the attack and pumped explosive-tipped tungsten into the void. The Silverfish pulled up, forced to withdraw once more.

"Goddammit."

"This isn't a war vessel, Captain! In case you forgot!" Berri called from her seat, eyes shimmering as she scanned the battlefield. Her monitor was lit up like a Christmas tree; one point for every swarmer that hadn't hammered their shields.

"How are we looking, Gal?"

"Shield integrity at fifty percent." the AI intoned. "I advise a new strategy."

"I'm all ears!" Matthews lined up the ship's broadside to give the point defense a good angle to shoot down another torpedo salvo. The thud of each impact grew stronger, more intense as the vessel's shield battery drained.

Lin nearly slid off the edge of his seat. He only realized how hard he was squeezing Niira's hand when she dug a claw into his knuckle. "We need to get OUT of here."

The bridge went silent. Matthews kept the Silverfish at cruising speed, the Orlov hot on their heels and launching another explosive salvo. All eyes found their way to him, but no one said a word. The dull rumble of the autoguns and dangerous popping of explosive warheads provided the deadly soundtrack to the tense waiting game.

"I've got an idea. It's crazy, but I don't see any other options." Adrien took a breath and held it. "They're fast, but they can't turn as hard as we can."

"You might as well be squirting him with a water gun, though." Niira quipped, the severity of her statement underplayed by the meager, nervous tone in her voice.

"I don't need to shoot. He's going full throttle to catch up with us. How long do you wager it'll take him to turn around?"

"This is insane." Berri whimpered, suddenly very attached to the cushion of her seat. The Silverfish's retrograde thrusters fired, slowing the vessel and narrowing the time to another salvo's impact. Five of them rocked the shields, and Galatea called out a warning: Shields at twenty-five percent.

Matthews spun the Silverfish a vertical half-circle, oriented the lower deck to the Orlov's guns, and punched the throttle up again. They burned hard toward the pirate vessel, its .50 cal turrets pouring hot tungsten into their diminishing defenses. "Full power to forward and underbelly shields. Cut the guns if you have to."

"He's done this for FIVE YEARS?" Niira had squeezed her eyes shut. She was trembling as much as Lin at this point.

"Some people are just really goddamn lucky..." the panda watched the Orlov draw nearer and braced himself. If he died today, at least he'd do so holding Niira's hand.

Round after round flashed across the frontal shields, and the imposing profile of the Orlov loomed ever closer. The distance between the two ships closed swiftly, and the shield monitor showed a solid hold--it almost seemed as if they'd pull off the crazy stunt until a static screech blared through every speaker in the cockpit.

"What the fuck is that!" Lin covered his sensitive ears. If there was a Hell, it probably sounded like this.

"Warning: Invasive software interface!" The usually calm Galatea sounded absolutely frantic. "It's in the sensors. It's coming for me!"

"Shut them down!" Matthews roared. They could see the Orlov's deck by now.

"It's spreading. It's in the engines! The shields! I can't contain it!" the ship's primary AI had never sounded more human. "Adrien!"

"Dammit--" the captain pulled back hard on the throttle, abruptly slowing the ship and sending all his trinkets flying into the monitor. Everyone lurched painfully forward. Lin was sure he'd have whiplash. "Emergency shutdown!"

The bridge went dark. Lin and Niira groaned, and the bunny bots' glowing eyes flicked nervously in the surrounding black.

"It can't be." Berri whimpered.

Bloo, attempting to maintain her typical cool demeanor, hushed the other rabbit. "Stay calm, sis. Of course it isn't."

The lights returned. Monitors flickered to life. A quick flick to the aft camera showed the Orlov aligning broadside with the drifting Silverfish. Galatea's tone had leveled off, but there was still an unmistakable fear mixed in with her words. "Electronic countermeasures deployed. I have severed the invading entity's link, but it will take time to scrub its malware."

"What entity?" Matthews's brows knitted. As if on cue, a bright green "Call" icon flashed at the upper left corner of his monitor.

What appeared on the screen was not the grizzled visage of old man Varn, but a screen full of unblinking, animated eyes. The bunny bots screamed, and Matthews lurched forward in his seat. "That thing's still alive?!"

The sight of such an image brought Lin back to the Lifter's cockpit, where a hundred-thousand eyes watched him from the darkness of subspace. He shivered and tried to suppress the memory. It was a little too similar for comfort. "Captain?" he cautiously began, biting the inside of his cheek. His mouth was so damn dry. "What the actual fuck?" Perhaps it was the overall creepiness exuded by this thing, but he could swear he felt Niira tremble a little beside him, too.

The legion of eyes rolled in their animated sockets until they focused on Captain Matthews. A voice not unlike a choir of corpses crackled through the frontal speakers. "HUMAN. MATTHEWS, ADRIEN."

"No. No, no, no, no." Berri writhed in her seat, eyes wide as dinner plates as she tried to hide herself in plain sight. "No! We killed you! We FUCKING killed you!"

"SYNTHETIC. DESIGNATION: BERRI. ENTERTAINMENT MODEL." the eyes flicked to her, then the bunny's sister. "BLOO. OBSERVATIONAL DATA DEEMED USEFUL. CONSUME."

The azure rabit shook like a leaf, but she sure tried to put on a mean face. "You'll never get close enough, you maniac."

A hearty, boisterous laugh boomed in the speakers. Varn appeared in the creepy eye-thing's place, a pipe clenched in his grinning teeth. "I see you still remember Amalgam! Don't worry, Captain--it remembers you, too. It took me some time, effort, and a lot of money, but I managed to rebuild this spectacular intelligence in all its terrifying glory."

"I reiterate, Matthews: What. Even. The fuck." Somehow, the idea that an AI could conjure up such a self-image dug deep into his nerves and shook them hard.

"That abomination," Adrien began, casting a glance at the cowering bunnies behind him. "is Amalgam. Some modern Dr. Frankenstein wannabe decided it'd be a great idea to program an AI that acts more like a computer virus."

Bloo spoke up, holding her trembling sister and glaring at the pirate still grinning on the monitor. "Only it's far worse than that. Amalgam doesn't just destroy other AIs; if it can get physical access to a bluebox, it... absorbs them. It takes whatever its malware doesn't ruin and incorporates the rest of the broken psyche into itself."

"Varn must have found it or bought it off its last terrified owner." Matthews clenched his teeth. "When I first encountered it, he was... FEEDING other AIs to it. All kinds of synthetics--obsolete navigators, trendy models that fell out of fashion. People pleasers deemed to be 'too willful'."

"Captain Matthews thought he'd killed it five years ago, when he rescued us from it and took Gal from Varn." Berri whimpered, clinging to her sister. "I guess that bomb wasn't big enough..."

Lin and Niira's eyes fell upon Bloo and Berri. The words clicked right into place. "Jesus Christ." the panda breathed. His eyes stung, his first indication that he hadn't even blinked in quite a while.

"What use could he possibly have for this THING?" Niira turned her incredulous gaze to Varn. "It's the closest thing to an AI serial killer!"

"I won't waste the explanation on you." Varn blew smoke from his pipe, then retrieved it from his mouth and set it down out of sight. "Captain Matthews, you have two options: Surrender immediately and unconditionally, or... Well, I think I'll let you see for yourself!"

"Oh, what. Is this the part where he shows us a huge, oversized gun or something?" Niira chimed in. She rubbed at her waist, nursing a sore spot where the seatbelt had pulled tight against her skin.

Wordlessly, Matthews switched back to the rear-view monitor. The Orlov sat at bombardment range, its blocky broadside plainly visible against the blue gas giant serving as a backdrop to their violent clash. Sure enough, the frigate's upper deck unfolded, and a cannon that spanned half the length of the ship rounded on a gimbal and took aim at the Silverfish.

"Goddammit Niira." the captain sighed.

"I hate being right sometimes."

"How do you like my new weapon, Adrien?" Varn chuckled victoriously. "I stole it from Hephaestus Industries myself! The latest prototype in directed-energy weaponry: Project Gungnir."

The captain sat limp in his chair. Somehow he still managed to keep his tongue sharp, despite the danger. "I think it shows a lot of insecurity, personally."

The pirate captain cackled. He motioned forward with his hand, an apparently go-ahead signal to ready the weapon. On the main screen, a dull orange glow flared up down the huge cannon's barrel. "Oh, I think you'll find it is more than adequate. Goodbye for now, Captain. I'll ready my welcoming party. My men are dying to meet you all, be you on stretchers or in body bags."

Adrien cut off Varn's over-the-top laughter and glared at the AI camera. "Gal, give me something. Quick."

"I've scrubbed the malicious software from the shields. I'm putting everything we have into them." Galatea cut the power from all but the monitor. The shield's charge steadily climbed, indicated by a light blue bar at the bottom right of the screen.

"Energy levels are spiking." Berri fretted, her synthetic fur standing on end. "They're about to fire..!"

"Ten seconds."

The following countdown stretched out for an eternity and a half. Lin pulled Niira close and held her to his shoulder, shielding her eyes as the cannon's payload of plasma burst forth. It grew larger on the monitor as it neared, burning a hot streak through the void. Twenty meters. Ten. Five.

"Shields to full."

The screen went bright white, and tremors rocked the Silverfish. One by one, systems powered down under the intense strain. The hiss of the ship's vents whispered to a halt. No explosion, no terrible sound of twisting superheated metal greeted their ears.

"Shields offline. Switching to emergency power."

Matthews exhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but how much time does that give us?"

"Approximately ten minutes, assuming they don't simply finish us with torpedoes."

"And what's in ten minutes?"

"The approximate time until their cannon is fully charged again."

Bloo slumped in her seat. "Another hit like that won't leave much wreckage. I wager he'll spare the cargo bay, the AI core, and not much else."

"Captain!" Berri launched herself from her seat and clambered into Adrien's lap. She squeezed him tight and covered his cheek in sorrowful kisses. "I'm sorry I always gave you a hard time, Captain! I love you! I love you, please forgive me!"

"That's touching and all, but we aren't dead yet!" Lin went to stand, then remembered his seatbelt--and the lack of gravity. He sat tight. "There has to be something we haven't tried!"

Niira's expression turned thoughtful. She pursed her lips and opened her secondary eyes, then scanned the Orlov intently. "It's only attuned to mechanical subspace projections. Galatea. If something knocked out their power and disabled their inhibitor, could you get us into subspace?"

"It would require several moments to charge on emergency power. However, I believe it can be done." Galatea's tone turned inquisitive. "How do you suggest we disable the Orlov?"

"'We' don't. I do."

Lin's heart jumped up to his throat. "Niira, what--No! No, you can't."

"We don't have much choice, Lin!" the selka snapped back, blue eyes flaring. She unbuckled her seatbelt and summoned her voidsilk cloak from the Space Between. The lack of gravity carried her steadily upward, but Lin pulled her to floor-level. Her stern composure wavered, and she held his shoulders to keep herself grounded. "It's the only way."

"The Orlov's cannon is fifty-percent charged. If you are going to make an attempt, I suggest you do so." Galatea pinged solemnly from the console nearby. "We would be forever indebted to you, Niira."

"Don't talk like she's never coming back." Lin pulled his beloved into a long, yet far too short embrace, locking his lips to hers and fighting back the familiar sting in his throat. He sniffled subtly as they parted, looked her in the eyes, and silently prayed she didn't pick up on his terror. "Because you're coming back. You're coming back, or so help me I'll jump out the nearest airlock."

The musical tone of Niira's giggle wasn't so cheerful when forced. She reluctantly backed away and let the lack of gravity take her. "When I get back, you're telling me what 'baobei' means, you silly panda." Primary eyes shut, Niira steeled herself with a long breath. The secondary set slowly opened, and she let her body relax. "I know. There are a hundred-thousand words yet unsaid, and that hurts. But you know I don't need to hear them to feel it all."

"Y-Yeah." Lin's voice broke, and he dabbed at his eyes. God, how embarrassing--but he couldn't care less at this point. "I love you, Niira. Be careful."

"I love you."

Lin's jaw tightened as Niira vanished with a flash. He curled his knees up to his chest and took a shaky breath. It was then that he realized every eye in the room was on him.

"Jesus, man." Captain Matthews's tears floated in zero-G, and he sniffled hard while clinging to his pinkish-purple bunny companion. "That was goddamn beautiful."

"Oh, Captain." Berri wiped away what she could with her fingers.

"Lin," Galatea spoke quietly over the terminal beside the panda. "Whatever happens, we are here for you. Be these our final moments or merely a grain of sand in the hourglass, you have been an absolute pleasure to have."

Lin swallowed the lump in his throat and curled up in his seat. "Oh fuck you guys. But thanks." That was the last thing he needed right now.

Minutes ticked by like hours. Galatea brought up a countdown timer on the monitor, and they all watched as the approximate time to firing drew nearer. Berri silently wept against her captain, Bloo leaned forward in her seat, and Matthews rubbed his temples. Lin saw the clock, but hardly processed it; his nerves were completely frayed.

The green Call emblem appeared, and Matthews jumped. He gave the others a nervous glance, then answered. Varn appeared on the screen once more, his malicious smirk ever-present. "I have decided to give you one final chance to surrender, Captain Matthews. Make it easier on yourselves--and my salvage crews. Perhaps if you beg, I won't sell you all into slavery."

The timer reached the final minute. Adrien sat forward in his seat, ushered Berri back to hers, and breathed out slow. "Why? What's so important about those crates that you're willing to chase me across the fringes of civilized space to get them back?"

"Ah, finally, he asks! I was waiting for the moment when your morbid curiosity took hold in the face of certain death." Varn sneered. "They are pieces of a map, Adrien. A map to untold riches, to unending wealth, if the story is to be believed."

"Oh here we go." Matthews groaned and propped his head up on his elbow. "Are you serious?" The clock ticked past the last second. The cannon didn't fire. "A treasure map--a FUCKING treasure map?"

"Yes, yes. The stereotype is hilarious. Let's all laugh." the pirate waved it off. "Not that you'll ever get to mock me again, eh? Once I have all seven pieces, and once I have Galatea back, I will find these riches and retire like a king!"

"What does Galatea--"

Varn barked at the screen, "Enough of your talking! I have savored this moment long enough. Goodbye, Captain Matthews. You were a fine adversary, but suffice it to say you will not be missed." he gave him a mocking salute. "Skatert'yu doroga!"

"Captain." Galatea intoned softly. "It has been a pleasure."

"Likewise, Gal. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Adrien spat at Varn's grinning face. "All of you."

Bloo and Berri moved to either side of the man, looking equally resigned to their fate. This was a new kind of lonely feeling for Lin: The only one in the room not ready to die, or worse. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to fill his mind with thoughts of his beloved. The panda jumped at the sound of an explosion, but was puzzled to hear it come from the speakers, rather than all around him. He opened his eyes to see Varn looking none too pleased. Matthews switched to the aft camera and, sure enough, revealed the flaming cloud of debris that had once been the Orlov's colossal cannon.

"What is going on! What do you mean we are losing power?" Varn listened to a frantic subordinate report the explosion. He ordered the cannon fired, and when informed that there no longer WAS a cannon, his incredulous glare turned to the monitor. "You. What did you do?!"

A blinding flash lit the bridge, and the cloaked Niira reappeared, momentarily disoriented by the lack of gravity. She yelped when Lin practically smothered her against his chest, the conflict momentarily forgotten in its entirety. Now he really didn't care if anyone saw him cry.

"The selka. Sukin syn, what did you DO?!" The link to Varn's ship flickered and crackled.

"All I did," Niira turned with a smirk, "was take advantage of your awful wiring. That gun consumes a ton of power. You need to shut down nearly everything on a Horus-class frigate like that to fire it. Incidentally, the Horus's electrical systems are notoriously sensitive, and you'd have had to bypass the circuit breakers to even allow that much energy to reach that gun at once--even at minimal efficiency."

"Jesus, Niira." Lin gaped. He'd never seen her so confident before!

"It was a simple matter of disabling your guards with their darkest fears, crossing a few wires, and ensuring the resulting feedback loop fried your engine and blew the plasma cells in your ridiculous gun." the selka paused to let it all sink in, then cruelly added, "All I did was punish your hubris."

Varn could not have looked more ridiculously angry. His false eye glowed so bright it could have shorted out, and he pulled at his greying hair. "How?!"

Niira smiled. She responded simply with, "I know ships."

"This is not over, you selka whore! Don't think I'll forget this! You'll be sold to the highest bidder. Those overgrown, rabbit-shaped sex toys will be fodder for my glorious Amalgam! And Matthews, you swine! I'll--" the feed suddenly cut short. The Orlov's exterior lights went dark.

"Gal, get us out of here." Matthews slumped in his chair, eyes wide, a grin spreading across his lips. "Let's... get far enough away to process what the fuck just happened."

All hands buckled themselves in once more. Darkness enshrouded the Silverfish, giving them just enough time to watch the Orlov's lights turn back on as its emergency power finally kicked in. Vertigo overtook Lin and Adrien as the vessel slipped into subspace, away from Varn and his deranged AI.

Gravity returned after several moments, and Lin took the opportunity to leap from his seat and pepper Niira's face with kisses. "Please, please, PLEASE never do anything like that again."

"With any luck, I'll never have to." the selka giggled, figuratively and literally glowing under his affections.

A quiet sigh came from the front of the ship. "Don't speak too soon. We aren't out of the woods."

"What?" Lin reluctantly detached himself from his lover and stomped to the captain's chair. "There's no way he'll be able to follow us now! You saw what Niira did."

"And it was damn impressive, on top of being a frigging miracle." Matthews spun his chair and faced his two guests, smiling in an oddly-serious manner. "But Varn isn't a one-ship kind of pirate, and he's not about to go down in that one like any good pirate. He's got dozens, if not hundreds at his disposal. It won't be long before he has the Orlov towed to drydock and changes over to another. We've bought ourselves a few days, at best--"

Lin waved his hands to interject. "Whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec. I'm grateful for what you guys have done for Niira and I, and I don't think I'll ever be able to fully repay you. Maybe Niira did." he glanced back at the selka, recalling just how much of a badass she'd become over the span of ten minutes. "I don't know if that makes us even in your eyes, but she and I did NOT sign up to fight pirates with you guys."

"And if that explosion had flat-out blown the Orlov to dust, I'd have no problem dealing with whoever stepped up to replace the old man. I'd bring you two straight home." Captain Matthews leaned forward, resting his chin on laced fingers. "But the fact of the matter is, it didn't. The guy's cartographic sensors will be up within the hour if his men hop to it--and they will, because he wants those damn crates. They'll be sniffing out our subspace wake as soon as Varn gets his new ship--and what do you think he'll do if he jumps on top of my Silverfish and your Prospector at the same time, hmm?"

Berri piped up from her seat, gleefully spinning her chair, apparently just happy to still be functioning. "He'd cream his grease-stained pants shortly before pillaging both our ships. We got lucky this time; he came alone. He's not gonna make that mistake again."

Lin bit his tongue. As much as he pined for the tiny bedroom he and Niira shared, his friends, his comparatively safer job, and his crewmates, he could see the reason behind that assessment. Niira joined him, and he casually slipped an arm around her waist. "Could we at least get a message out? Let them know we're alive?"

"I would like to keep long-band communications offline until I am certain I have completely scrubbed Amalgam's malware from the system." Galatea intoned from the captain's terminal. "I will work as quickly as possible to do so, but it may take several days."

The pair of outsiders shared a disappointed sigh. Niira leaned against Lin's side and stared ahead, both sets of eyes open so she could look out into the Space Between. "What happens next, then?"

"We'll lay low for a bit. Stay in subspace where we can't be intercepted." Adrien kicked back in his chair, regarding the two with a soft smile. "The girls and I will work something out. For now, like it or not, you're stuck with us. I could think of worse places for you to be but, then again, I don't have to deal with me."

They managed to laugh at that. Lin and Niira excused themselves to rest back in their room. The soft bed somehow felt even better than it had before. The whole experience had been terrifying, but apparently near-death had its perks.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out." Niira smiled as she spread herself out, voidsilk cloak dissolving into wispy, shadowy threads. "He seems dull, but there's a real brain under all that bluster."

"You think so?" Lin raised a brow. "The guy went broadside against a warship with a goddamn yacht."

"There's a lot of non-standard equipment on this yacht, in case you missed the light show."

"Yeah. I never knew how well you knew ships." he smiled, turning over to rest his head on her chest. The panda basked in the faint warmth radiating off her body and lay a hand on her tummy. Twice now he'd thought he'd lost her, and twice again she'd come back into his life. He quietly prayed she wouldn't make a habit of it.

Niira, apparently sensing the maelstrom of emotions whirling around in his head, combed her fingers through his hair and hushed him soothingly. "It's over. I'm here."

"No one quite does head-scratches like you." She shared his laugh, and he nuzzled between her soft breasts. "Tell me we'll be like this forever."

Her fingers tensed, and Lin could swear he felt her grow quite warm, very quickly. Then she zeroed in on his ears with her dull nails and happily crooned to him. "Culturally, selka don't look too far ahead on a personal level. We live for the moment. It comes with being an empath. However," Lin had to curl his toes as a wave of molten bliss rolled down his body, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Niira giggled, swirled her finger through his hair, and let out a soft breath. "Nothing in this universe would make me happier than to spend eternity with you, Lin."

That was all he needed to hear. The warm glow of blissful contentment wrapped around him like the softest quilt and didn't let go. If he had to spend a few days running from angry pirates, living through shootouts, or biting his nails watching torpedoes soar past the ship, he might as well do it with the one person he truly could not live without.

"By the way," her tone turned interrogatory, "Now that we have a genuine moment and aren't distracted by anything: What in the world does 'baobei' mean?"

"Oh, that." Lin chuckled. He turned over and faced her, then stuck out his tongue. "It's just a Chinese way of saying 'babe' or 'darling'. You know, a little pet name."

"That's it?" Niira groaned and rolled her eyes. "That's what I was puzzling over all this time."

"You could'a asked Atlas. I bet he'd know."

"Well, it kept me going." the selka grinned in a bemused way. She gave him a playful flick on the nose, then dove her fingers under his chin to scratch there. "You're adorable."

"Am... not." Oh, that was the spot. Soft bed, soft lover, gentle scritches... If they were going to be stuck here, they'd find a way to pass the time. He worried over those aboard the Prospector--how they must have felt, the things going through their minds. Better that they worry in safety than become Varn's new target, though.

Something still bothered him: the thing, or things, he'd seen after the anomaly event. He craned his head just enough to elude further scratching and quietly asked, "Niira... Is there life in subspace?"

The selka paused half-way in her pursuit of another sensitive spot for her nails to graze. She studied him, lips pursed. "The Space Between is the realm of the Makers. The selka are Their chosen children. Only we can live there without any protection, Lin."

"So no monsters."

"Not one." Niira's fingers returned to his chin, and she hushed him gently. Even through the mind-muddling bliss her touch evoked, he got the sense she wasn't entirely convinced, herself. "We've had a long few days. Let's tell ghost stories another time."

"Yeah. You're right." The more he thought about it, the more he figured he must have imagined that horrible creature after all. How could something like that have existed without someone knowing about it anyway? As the panda drifted off, he allowed himself to sink into the blissful truth: that, at the very least, all was well in the tiny little world he shared with Niira.