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"Niishal? Are you here, my sprout?"

"Mother!?" Niishal stood abruptly from his couch and tried to shut the panel door to his room, though his mother was quicker than he liked. "Ceel, please... Now is not a good time. We can speak in a moment."

"Oh? Is that why you are nude and your room is filled with mating pheromones, my sapling?" The Yangurra's mother pressed her way forward, knowing full well her son would not resist any further. "So you have picked a mate? Your father tells me you've come of age, so you may pick any tribute offered of another great house. Don't be afraid to use this honorable right, son."

"I just had... urges. I haven't picked a mate yet, Ceel." Niishal moved back to the couch in his room and hovered over a sleeping girl about his age. "Sheena is a good friend and she offered to help."

"Gaia's fire affects us all differently, but you were right to seek help. The mental anguish of those flames can kill a man if they are not extinguished." Ceel lashed a vine with one of her son's, though in affection instead of a Link. "You watch over her closely these cycles. Are you sure you haven't chosen to sow your seed in the fertile ashes of your fire? She does burn for you as well, yes?"

"Mother... Sheena and I are friends."

"You know that the fire is only started when a woman feeds it, right? It is the beauty of Gaia's children that stokes the flame."

Niishal drooped his head as he threw a blanket over Sheena's nude body. "Sometimes I think about her in that manner. Given the chance, I'd rather focus on something else. I like how we are right now."

"Niishal, as our house priestess I've many arcs of experience guiding our young. I know love when I see it. I also know of many Yangurraa whom have died alone because they were afraid of what their potential mate would say in return." Ceel groaned as she tried to put her professional title aside for her own progeny. "The dark cycle approaches. Focus on finishing your studies with your father. When the dawn cycle comes, the two of you will be of clear minds. Sheena will accept you, I'm certain."

"I'm not so sure."

"She will make a wonderful mate, even if she isn't a noble." The elder Yangurra gave her son a hug. "Your father won't like it, but he's far too rooted in Gaia's garden for his own good."

"Yeah, that's an understatement. With his focus on order and procedure... I swear he wants to kill me." Niishal held up his arm and presented a recent gash near the elbow. "He's turned to violence and obedience now. Is it really so important that I take his place?"

"It's a tradition that keeps the great houses at peace. Our houses require leaders. We've grown as a society though. A little of Xor's chaos won't destroy us. Change isn't evil, after all." Ceel took hold of her son's arm for inspection, then moved onward to examine a bruised vine. "Your father is respected. He guides our armies as well as this house, so this is important to him. However his honor should not come at the price of our son's health. I will talk with him in the coming dawn."

"I still have a study to finish. Maybe I should go work on it now and avoid father's... persuasion."

"And leave poor Sheena here like this? No, help her root in the sleeping garden. I might be lenient in some ways, but treating guests improperly isn't one of them." Ceel nodded and left her son with a rub of her hand against his jaw. "My little seedling is growing into such a wonderful plant. I love you, Niishal."

"And I you, mother." Niishal gave his mother time to leave the room, then flopped down to cuddle his sleeping lover for a moment. "And you most of all. Please accept my love when you wake, Sheena."

— — — — —

"Another day, another dollar." Elliot stretched with an accompanying yawn as he closed the door to his personal living quarters. "Well, except I'm not paid. Or would this room and board thing count?"

"The endless stream of thanks from your peers isn't enough?" Ashe gave her laptop a few final taps before shutting the lid and pulling off her headphones. "Well then I can think of at least one way to make it all worthwhile..."

Ellie silently smiled as Ashe laid back on their bed and tugged at the collar of her shirt. "Just because you get paid for your own brand of comfort doesn't mean it's as good as cash." The otter slid onto the bed and cuddled his love from her side. "I mean, I happen to think it's better but that's just one opinion."

"That, plus we both get something out of the deal." Ashe placed her laptop equipment on the nightstand, paused to take a puff from her medicated electronic cigarette, then returned to Ellie to coil her bushy tail around his leg. "Do you want to grab something to eat first? Take some time to recover from work?"

Ellie outright laughed at that query. "I take it anything but a 'no' would be painful? I had a guess earlier you might be in heat." He slid a paw up and down Ashe's bare leg, pausing now and then to jut a thumb beneath the lip of her shorts. "How can I deny my beautiful when she's in need?"

"You're way too good to me, or too addicted to sex maybe." Ashe giggled as she began removing her shirt, only to end with a growl by time the garment hit the floor. "Damnit, guys..."

"Hmm? What's the matter?"

Ashe sighed as she held still, only pausing her undressing until the wall made a loud thud. "Ashen and Sparks..."

"Yeah, it's a bit weird seeing you hooking up with yourself." Ellie ignored the noise from the side room as he aided his lady in removing her remaining clothing. "They sure like to make love with vigor. At least they seem happy together. Under the circumstances, I don't think that's wrong or anything."

"I... guess. I mean, it really isn't any worse than when we let Punk into bed." Ashe kicked off her shorts and panties, then probed to unbuckle Ellie's belt. "I mean, she really knows how to get me off. I understand that aspect of it. Oh, not that I don't like the idea of you and her—"

"You like the sounds, right?" Ellie pulled off his top and added it to the growing pile. "I figured you already like written smut, so the logical step up for a blind woman is audio porn. I pieced it together when I tried biting Punk's nipples that one time and she barked; you came harder than I've ever seen that night."

"I... Yeah, I like that." Another loud thud announced an endless series of lighter ones against the wall. "Gods, I need you in me now."

Ellie pushed down his pants and cooed as Ashe's paws wrapped around his hardening manhood. "Just what the doctor ordered. How do you—?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Ashe's cyberpunk clone walked in from the side bedroom and froze in place. "I was just trying to leave those two alone, but..."

"We were just getting started. If you'd like to join us..."

Ashe pulled her man close and kissed his neck. "Elliot, I've got first dibs."

"I'll just watch a movie in the other room or something. You two should have your fun too."

Ellie sighed as he noticed a damp spot in Punk's pants as well as the slight matting of her paw fur. "Are ~all of you~ in heat right now?"

"Um... Y-Yeah, I think so." Punk scooted backwards into the common living area and pulled a curtain hologram over the doorway. "Don't worry about it. You can't really help me, but I know how to keep it settled down."

"Yeah... Anything we do to help is riskier right now. Sorry." Ellie fell onto his back and Ashe immediately scrambled atop him. "Though I do know ~someone's~ not concerned with potential pups."

"And who said that?" Ashe wasted no time, finding Ellie's cock and guiding herself down over it. "Ah... I happen to be very concerned, mister. We're not the same species and... after seeing Ari's and Yoyo's... And now there's Carbon's sweet girl..."

"You really want to add to ~the family~? I'm... surprised. You always acted afraid whenever I brought it up before."

"It's not an act. There's a real possibility either my baby or myself would die, and even after that if she's a girl it'd only guarantee she'd only be like me."

Elliot held Ashe down as she tried to move her hips. "What do you mean, 'only'? You're wonderful. We wouldn't be joined at the hips if I thought otherwise."

"Ellie, I didn't mean it like that. I just... we would need to consider that there's a strong chance of bringing a blind child into the world. That's already tough in a city with accommodations for it, but in deep space?"

"It doesn't bother me. I want as many children as we can make, if only because it means a little more of you to love in my life." Ellie jerked his hips upward, prompting Ashe back into action. "I love you entirely, Ashe. I'm certain I'd love anything that we bring into the world, too."

"Gods, you're sappy today." Ashe smiled, then briefly leaned forward to plant a kiss on Ellie's lips. "I just need to fuck you until you forget about all that."

Ellie let Ashe build up a moderate pace and then added his own slight countering thrusts to the rhythm. "Pretty sure it'll only make me think of you and our pups even more, beautiful."

"Gods... Ah..." Ashe felt around randomly for Ellie's paws, then brought them up to grasp her tits. "You know, you're not helping Punk with that sweet talk."

"Huh? I don't—" Elliot chuckled as he watched Ashe's extremely sensitive ears turret towards the living room. "Aha. You know, she could have easily joined us. I wouldn't mind helping with a paw or something."

"But you have two paws—perfect for my two tits." Ashe gasped as one particular spot inside her was scraped just right. She fell to her side and pulled Elliot with her. "Right now you're all mine. But if you want to have sex with her, just go for it. You let me have sex with others, but at least with Punk there's love."

Ellie repositioned himself between Ashe's legs and shoved back inside her warm tightness. "But what about pups? She could get pregnant."

"And that would be her choice. Besides... you want children, right?" Ashe crossed her legs around Ellie's ass and played with his tail. "More women means more chances to prove nature wrong. I'd rather you have a child with her and be happier than not have one at all. I'd know you'd still love me."

"That right there is why you're beautiful, Ashe." Ellie slammed himself home, then started rocking the final half of his length in and out of the Arctic wolf with a quickened tempo. "We'll cross that bridge later. Right now I'm about to lose it, hon."

"You know what happens to me when I'm like this and you fill me up. Oh, but—"

"She'd like it doggy." Punk walked around the curtain sans pants and sat on the edge of the bed. "Pretty much goes for every bitch in heat, actually."

"Oh, hey. Sorry if we got too loud." Ellie took the advice to heart and flipped Ashe over, giving her time to settle on her paws and knees. "Tail, or no tail?"

"Fuck pulling my tail. Bite me." Ashe swished her tail to the side for a clear view of her swollen, dripping pussy. "I want to hear you gasp when you claim me."

"Fuck, hon..." Elliot looked back as Punk shoved her paw into between her legs. Satisfied with their guest, he then leaned over Ashe's back as requested, clamped down on the scruff of her neck with his teeth, and slammed himself home inside his white wolf. "Ah, shit. You're always so hot like this. And you're so tight... I almost can't move."

"Well she needs it, ya' big dope." Punk couldn't hold herself back and slid behind Elliot, her muzzle homing directly to his balls while her slick paw pressed a finger deep into his ass. "Mn... That scent..."

"Shit, Punk... I can't last much..."

"Then let me help a girl out."

Punk saw an opportunity in a particular tell of hers: the base of Ashe's tail was flagging slightly as both her holes gripped tighter. She knew this meant only one thing, that Ashe was on the verge of a massive orgasm—one that her lover might not have the endurance to reach. She repositioned her muzzle and started licking the juncture of the two lovers, but after making herself known she shifted to a hard suckling on Ashe's clit. In seconds the girl was firing on all cylinders, bucking and writhing in the throes of pure bliss. The extra clamping and milking wasn't enough for Elliot though, so she upped the ante.

"Gods! Elliot!"

"Ah, Ashe! I'm so—" Ellie soon found an extra digit pressing into his ass, then another... Soon the whole of Punk's paw carefully pressed into the otter, finding a much easier purchase upon his prostate than before. "Oh, fuck! Ashe, I'm—"

Punk reached up blindly and pulled Ellie's chest downward. "No! Claim her right!"

Elliot's eyes rolled back into his head as his own peak fought to unleash itself. In one final move he gave into instinct, his teeth clamping down firmly yet harmlessly on Ashe's shoulder fur. With a final two slams of his hips to hers, Ellie unloaded the contents of his balls into the love of his life. His tail flagged and tossed about with each pulse of his cock, until soon he couldn't hold up his own weight.

"Ah!" Punk shifted from below Ashe as the two collapsed onto the bed and nearly crushed her head. "Holy... Holy shit. I can feel you cum."

Ellie reached back and carefully eased Punk's paw from beneath his tail. "And I'm extremely sensitive thanks to that. That... No, you were awesome, Punk."

"I just... wanted to help, really." Punk reached for a packet of wet-wipes and cleaned her paw, if only as a temporary measure until she found a sink. "Was I too rough? I've never..."

Ellie rolled Ashe over and spooned her from behind, his cock still inside her. "It was perfect. Little warning next time, though?"

"Ah, y-yeah."

Ellie smiled with a nod, then kissed the spot on Ashe's neck where he bit her. "I love you, beautiful. Was that too much for you?"

"If anything it was a little too soft for my current state of mind." Ashe pulled Ellie's muzzle upward and locked her lips to his. "I love you, Ellie."

Punk sat upright and spun around to stand from the bed. "You guys are having a moment. Sorry I jumped in uninvited like that. I'll just—"

"Well... maybe we should thank you." Ashe pulled her clone into the spooning and her cigarette to her mouth, her paws soon finding their way to her nethers once she was in position. "I appreciate you helping us, Punk. That, and I owe you a mind-shattering orgasm."

"A what?" Ashen walked out of the side bedroom and felt his way through the curtain hologram. "Were you three doing this too?"

"Yeah. Seems the ladies among us are in synchronized heats." Ellie pulled his manhood free of Ashe's extremely tight confines and angled his rejuvenated length towards Punk. "If you don't mind, we'd like some more time to ourselves to finish this."

"Oh, take your time. My Sparkles only gave me a minute, so I assume we're still going at it." Ashen returned through the curtain with two bottles of water in his paws, nearly dropping one as he ran into the a corner. "Ouch. Take all the time you need. Just enjoy it."

Ellie pulled Punk's hips downward and sank half his cock into her needy muff. "Oh, we'll enjoy it alright."

"Wait! But—" Punk shivered and gasped as Ellie bumped the end of her passage. "What about a condom? What if I get pregnant?"

"Well that's the point, dear." Elliot pulled out entirely, then slammed himself flush with a hard thrust. "How else am I gonna breed you? That's what you want, right?"

"I, ah... Y-Yeah..." Punk hiked Ashe's legs around her waist and gave Elliot all the access he needed. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

— — — — —

"Hello? This working?"

"All clear, Ari. Now for the video channel..." Rhyme tapped a few buttons on an old mechanical keyboard and a flatscreen monitor lit up, though it was zoomed in on Ilaria's chest for an unknown reason. "Wow. Yeah, that works for ~me~."

"Huh? I can see you, but..." Ari tapped a few virtual keys on her end and the view corrected to show the whole of her above the waist. "I'm not even gonna guess which of these hologram cameras was singled out."

"Tits. We had a whole thirty inches of those beautiful lumps."

"Uh, 'We'?"

Rose waved from out of frame, followed the familiar webbed paws of Yoyo's boys. "Sorry, Ari. The guys wanted to check out Cid's new place."

"Even though I told them it wouldn't happen." Sydney walked into full view whilst shaking her head. "They got a ride from your girls. You might want to talk to those portal-happy kids about restricting access for now, for safety reasons."

"Always the protector. Thanks, Cid. Now, uh... Ah..." Ari paused for a moment, then continued once she'd regained her composure. "Rhyme, what's the word on repairs?"

"Um... They aren't going as fast as I'd like. We did a lot of damage when we rammed her. She's heavily modified for a civilian vessel, but she's no warship." Rhyme groaned as she pulled up a clipboard with real paper notes. "At this rate our kids will have grown up by time I'm done over here."

"Yoyo and I—Ah!—are keeping an eye on them. He's really good with kids, b-believe it or not." Now Ari couldn't shake a distressed expression, though she played it down. "Y-You don't have to worry anyw-way. The twins can take you back whenever you want to visit."

Both Rhyme and Cid looked at each other for a moment. "Ari, hon... Are you alright? You need me come back for the pups while you rest?"

Ilaria pounded her fist into her desk and bit down on her lower lip. In a matter of seconds she finally managed to exhale forcefully, her fist opening so her paw could slap and grab the side of the desk. "Oh, damn... S-Sorry, hon. You were taking so long with the data connection and Yoyo was here..."

A webbed paw rose up from beneath the desk making the sign of the devil playfully, though it took Rhyme a moment to process what the gesture really meant. "You two... oh..."

"Three, actually. Zoë just did the heavy lifting and now—Ooh!" Again Ari went to beating her desk, her eyes shutting in bliss once more. "Ah, fuck... Yoyo, stop it!"

The otter's twin rose up and licked his chops with a smile. "Sorry. I couldn't just stop at one taste. Oh, Zoë? You don't need to clean it ~all~ up..."

Rhyme sighed and drooped her eyes down to her worksheet. "So while I'm working my tail off you're getting what, two furs giving you muzzle?"

"Hey, his idea. He wanted to show me how good Zoë's blowjobs have gotten. You should see her, too. She uses those huge tits and everything..." Ari quieted herself down before the frustrated tanuki turned angry. "I'll give you the same treatment tonight, alright? I'm just trying to be friendly with my brother."

"No, I understand. I'm guessing the triplets are down for the count and you got bored?"

"Y-Yeah..." Ari rolled her eyes and pulled Zoë out from under the table. "I need a towel or... well, a shower if I have time. There's too much..."

Zoë wiped her forearm over her completely cum-covered face and then gave it a lick. "Oh... I'll get everything ready for you then."

Both Ari and Yoyo smiled as they watched the amber-iced human walk into the bathroom. "I'm happy for you three, lil' bro. Oh, but wait. Isn't she breaking her own rules?"

"Nah, I told her those didn't need to be enforced any longer. She still tries, but she's been bending the rules more and more." Yoyo held up a finger as he gave an example. "Zoë? Hey, you there?"

Immediately the human presented her face through the doorway. "Y-Yes, master? I h-hope I didn't stray too far..."

"Nope. Not at all, sexy. Just wanted to have you grab another towel." Yoyo placed his paw into his sister's exposed lap, enticing a jerk from her. "I think we'll have some more fun if you want to watch the pups for us."

Zoë shoved back into the bathroom, suddenly all smiles. "Oh, certainly! Of course that's what you wanted."

"See? I think she gets a thrill when she breaks the rules."

"That's just mean, Yoyo. Don't tease her like that." Ari smiled at the silliness, then futilely and temporarily halted Yoyo's ceaseless pawing. "Sorry, guys. What's the plan, Rhy?"

"The engines are working and thankfully not leaking fuel, but they could start to any minute. I think I'll start there now that the dock and cargo airlock are working." Rhyme flipped through her pages and gave out the summary highlights. "The cargo bays are all leaky. The grapples and gantry need major structural repairs. The primary power reactor is... well, destroyed, but we have a functional fission system as a backup. Your... our girls are working on the mains right now. Lots to do."

"Well stay safe. That goes for your guests too." Ari moaned as she leaned forward to place a virtual kiss. "I love you, Rhy. Don't work yourself too hard."

"So I can have my way with you tonight?" Rhyme grinned as she gave her end a kiss as well. "Your tongue will be raw for ~days~. I love you too, Ari."

Ari made a protesting expression as the feed was severed, leaving everyone in the room giggling except Rose. "So I guess you boys are fine watching your parents have sex? I have to say... it'll take getting used to the idea."

"All families don't do that sort of thing together?" Phoebe cocked his head to the side, sharing the same confusion as his twin brother. "So... are we weird?"

"Yeah, I mean it just feels good." Themis shrugged his shoulders for Rose. "It's not a bad thing, right? There isn't any harm in it."

"There's nothing wrong with incest if you're open and knowledgeable about it, boys. And watching the act shouldn't be frowned upon if it's kept private. That's the Yangurraar way, anyway." Carbon walked in from his living quarters and paused to raise his mask and give Sydney a kiss. "In olden times incest was invented as a taboo to discourage close relatives from marrying, that way daughters could marry into better families. It's to promote genetic diversity these days."

"Yeah, but... I mean, I knew these two opossums in school that were good people..." Rose shook her head and tried to drop the matter. "My parents have really bad things to say about it, but I guess I'm not them... and I guess we did walk around nude a lot..."

"That's a healthy attitude." Carbon took Rhyme's list for a moment and perused the details. "Yangurraa are pretty closed-minded on sexuality. They have issues keeping their species alive, so anything that might risk reproduction is chalked up as pure evil."

"So... what about interspecies, uh...?"

"Well I'm considered a demon, but you can see I'm just a normal-ish person. Hell, things worked out in the end and I ended up being able to have kids." The hybrid gave back the clipboard with a quiet 'thank you' and returned to his mate. "I'm guessing that wasn't a random question, Rose. When all of this is done, if you need someone to help with your parents I'm always here."

"I might have to take you up on that offer. I know..." Rose moved between the boys and threw her arms around their waists. "I know we don't really have a chance at kids, but we make each other happy."

"Oh, you mean..." Cid grinned as she walked over and gave each of the twins a punch to the shoulder. "Sharing a sexy woman? Damn, I'm almost proud, guys."

"Yeah... I had no clue." Carbon pointed towards a makeshift airlock leading towards the damaged sections of the barge. "Congratulations, you three. Now I'd love to stay and chat, but I don't want Eve looking for me and finding that reactor. I'm basically immune to radiation, so I'll be helping the girls out."

"Cool, wait for me. I'll be in the engine room." Rhyme picked her brand new space suit's helmet off the ground and sighed as she followed Carbon. "...Just not the same..."

"The girls can make you another suit like your old one, you know. We should ask them while..."

Sydney smiled pervertedly as she watched her otter's thick tail swish back and forth in his tight bodysuit. "Yeah... So you've seen my new home. What now? It'll be a while before anyone can bring you back to the Starbreeze."

Themis nudged his snout toward the meerkat's living quarters. "I could always take a few pics of Lea."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Phoebe started moving the group over in that direction, a sly smile on his face. "You probably want company if you're taking care of her today, right?"

Sydney all but scowled at the teasing otters, the two knowing she would have to expose her modest breasts at some point to feed the baby. "Sure. Why not."

The group entered the large living area of Cid's quarters, but held still when they found Evelyn staring into the distance and mumbling to herself. "I'm sorry... Why, father... Xor..."

Sydney walked over and shook the plant girl awake, taking Leannan from her arms in the process. "Eve? You're definitely still not doing well. What's wrong? How can we help?"

"Huh? Oh... Shit." Eve drooped her gaze downward, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes. "I'm alright for now. Just... don't tell Carbon about this. He doesn't need to worry about anything right now."

Rose broke away from the boys and sat next to Eve, her arms wrapping around the stone-hard flower girl for a tender hug. "Eve, what exactly is the matter? You look like you know what's wrong."

"Well... I think I have too many memories in me." Eve leaned against Rose, allowing herself to soften for more pleasant hugs. "It takes all I've got just to keep from, well... reverting into a black hole. And if that happens, I endanger everyone and... there's no guarantee I'll come back..."

Cid sat beside the two and rocked her little girl. "Then explain that. How do memories figure into this?"

Eve closed her eyes as she checked the health of her new body. "I'm getting better at controlling myself, but with these new memories I picked up it's harder to maintain my coherence." The plant perked up in a fret as she realized what she was saying. "Please don't tell Carbon. I'm hiding these memories from him so he isn't distracted, but if he gets a hint they exist—"

"He'll never have a reason to ask about them, Eve. Your secret's safe with us." Sydney placed a paw on Eve's leg and reassured her further. "You talked about it. I don't care to who, but you aren't holding that in anymore. That's what's important. And when the timing is right, explain everything just like that and Carbon will understand. I'm sure of it."

"I'm not so sure about that myself. He'll hate me."

"Hmm? Why? He loves you." Cid gripped down on Eve's leg, finding it took a moment for her to make that area softer as well. "Carbon rarely gets angry. Eve, what could you ever tell him that would make him hate you?"

Evelyn stiffened her form again defensively as she once again favored eying the floor. "How can I...?" Eve closed her eyes and started sobbing. "How can I tell him his father was a murderer?"

— — — — —

"Chleek, please... I need rest..."

Chleek Ors slammed Niishal's face into the top of the ætiir. "Perhaps you should not have spent so much time last cycle flirting with Sheena? You know you are slow to learn, son."

"But father... If I don't sleep, my veile will—"

"Always with the excuses! You don't see me sleeping, boy!" Again the boy's father smashed his face forward, this time holding it there and grinding his skin against the device. "Once a tome of memory is started, it must be completed. Instinct drives Gaia's will, and over-thinking only leads to Xor's deception. Now focus, before you disappoint me—before you disappoint the whole house of Ors."

"But I'll die! I'm nowhere close to understanding this tome!" This time Niishal dodged his father's hand, holding up his own in fear. "Alright! I'm sorry, Chleek... I'll..."

"Son?" Niishal fell on his face, his breathing slowing to a halt. "Son, get up. Niishal... Goddess, boy. I had a bad feeling you couldn't make it." Chleek reached over and inspected the statue his son had collapsed in creating. "The work was actually quite flawless. Shame." He dropped the stone statue on his son's head quite purposefully. "I guess we'll have to suffer the humiliation of your sister as the next Chleek after all."

"Why, father...?" Niishal lifted his head up slightly, proving he was feinting even as glowing green blood streamed down his face. "You don't care if I die!? You'd rather kill me than see disgrace!?"

"Niishal, my son—"

"No! Don't you dare!" Niishal grabbed the statue and smashed it against his father's head, sending the older Yangurra to the floor. "You and your precious Path of Gaia! Look what it has earned you!"

"Son, please—!"

A loud, wet thud sounded as the statue raised up then came hammering down. "Your precious goddess can't save you from your own evils, father." Niishal shook as he raised the bloodied bludgeon one last time, his father weakly raising a hand in defense. "Now I see. This is how it happens. She tricks you into unquestioned devotion."

"Please..."

"I see it all, now. We must embrace the chaos of our ways, if we are to understand and learn from our mistakes. We must praise Xor, under my guidance."

"Nii... shal..."

"No, father. You are mistaken." The statue slammed down, creating a mist of fine green. "I am the new Chleek."

— — — — —

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present Chloao." Ilaria waved her paw over a small dot on the foremost Bridge window, then when nothing happened she looked to her giggling girls. Once the image was actually allowed to enlarge Ari continued, "We don't know much about the enemy yet, but we're close enough they could detect us if they tried. We'll find a gap in their defenses and sneak down. Questions?"

Alex looked up to the otter ahead of her and fielded the first query. "What's the thing made of? Gravity matters in my flight plans."

"Good question. Buck, you got this?"

"Not exactly ma'am, but I'll try anyhow." The moose pulled up a few overlays near the planet through his science station one at a time. "From the rate of growth and parallax in scope I's guessin' she's about fifteen-thousand clicks wide. The worbly shape means a lot of liquid an' some moon lovin'. Can't really confirm what liquid since the sensors ain't workin' worth a damn though."

"Really? Shit, is Rhy neglecting the Starbreeze for that barge?"

Rhyme stood up and headed over to the science station to check it out. "Nope. Checked the sensors this morning, specifically for this." She tapped a few keys to trigger a diagnostic check and everything lit up green. "All systems report 'go' inside and out. Must be something else."

Ari ducked over and lowered her voice. "Rhy... I thought you were with the kids."

"Dropped 'em off at Eve's daycare. I figured we'd need all paws on deck today."

"Oh, thank the gods. I though you were gonna say you left them with Cid or Yoyo's kids." Ari widened her eyes when she saw Sydney in the back corner of the Bridge. "Right. So the sensors do look good. What's wrong with the readings?"

"There's a smidge too much radiation, ma'am." Buck zoomed in on a specific wavelength bracket and the planet lit up bright white on the window. "Not quite post-war Earth, but she's gettin' there. If those Sect Yangurraa suppos' ta' be there, they'd be glowin' in tha' dark."

Carbon chuckled and held up a glowing paw pad. "They already do, technically."

Ari immediately shot her gaze to Carbon and the two Roses. "Do the Yangurraa have the tech to kill a whole planet?"

"They barely break orbit." Carbon ruffled the fur behind his ear as he thought hard about potential weapons. "Hell, it takes centuries to travel from Yangurraar to Earth. If they could fry a planet, they'd have used that tech for space travel too. Right?"

"Actually, what if that's not the case at all? This might be natural." Ashen slowly made his way forward, with a member of the security crew leading the blind Arctic wolf the last half of the way. "Can I use a... Oh, you don't have audible terminals. Um..."

"I made one." Ashe smiled as she flipped open her trusty Bartlet Pro laptop and pulled up her headphones. "What do you need? I can tap most of these systems."

"Nice of you to tell me about that hack, little sis." Ari took control of Buck's station and followed along. "High-energy and neutrino impact sensors look like they're getting the most activity."

"Decay particles. Quite interesting." Ashen balanced himself and came up with a good starting point. "Do you know how to calculate the de-Broglie wavelength of the particles?"

"No, but the sensors do." Ashe read the results for a moment, the complex numbers taking a few tries for her to parse as audio tones. "Okay, these are some really odd numbers with exponents. "There's a lot at six-pointSixFour to... the twenty-seventh exponent."

"Sounds like alpha particles. I've seen the similar coming from that strange energy source in the cargo bay."

"Oxydium," Ari corrected.

"Yes, that. Tell me, what peak charges are there?"

"Charges? Um... charge..." Ashe looked around, barely understanding the information without any time to study it. "These are, ah... kiloelectronvolts? Yeah, well nine-pointTwo of those... ten-pointSeven... There's a huge spike at twenty-fivePointFive and another at thirty flat."

"Well the first two are the signatures of ionizing water—probably X-rays—so that makes sense. The second two are much farther into ionizing radiation, far beyond gamma. Those are more like the decay in a fission reactor." Ashen took a slow breath as he came to a conclusion. "The oceans may be filtering and storing radioactive decay particles from some sort of natural deep-core fission. The planet might keep it's core molten this way and the water cools and contains it."

"So, water? I can plan around that." Alex started typing out an equation and paused at a percentage unit. "How much of the planet is water though?"

"To properly contain a radioactive core? The whole thing, save maybe a few islands. I'd guess eighty percent of the whole volume."

Ari sighed as she checked the calculations. "Well at least we can float."

"So can most of the enemy ships. They may have converted a few into a flotilla if this planet is important enough to them." Carbon walked over and confirmed the energy signatures. "There's got to be a high concentration of æti in that water... Oh, of oxydium."

Sydney understood where her mate was headed. "So this is a fuel depot? Sounds like a good thing to destroy."

"We know what happens if you blow up the stuff, Cid. Let's not try that again." Carbon delved deeper into the numbers, working as best he could without Eve aiding him. "The oxydium would feed off the oxygen in the water, which could also rip apart the remaining hydrogen into subatomics. What do you want to bet that's what we're getting on sensors?"

"You, sir, are a genius." Ari smiled as she stared at the planet. "We need oxydium for diving. We need oxygen and hydrogen for liquid fuel for the whole fleet. Ladies and gents, I'm proud to reintroduce you to our galactic gas station—if you don't mind a little space pirating."

Trick looked up from her pilot's seat with a grin. "The fleet gets to fire up the liquid engines the rest of the way? I get to fly?"

"Damn straight. Crew, ready your stations in case we hit resistance. Car, open a hail to the fleet." Ilaria smirked all the same as she threw up her false leg on the edge of a railing. "Yarr! Swab the poop deck and man ye' sails, me mateys! Tonight we be pillagin' an' piratin'!"

Sydney threw up her paws and spun around to leave, passing Iolvin a parting remark. "Oh gods, your sister's finally lost it. Mutiny, anybody?"

"Mutiny? But she said we could swap her ~poop deck~." Yoyo smiled with his twin sister as she quite literally read his mind. "I wouldn't mind spending a whole night ~digging up her buried treasures~, either."

Adrian followed Cid, giving his husband a painless whack on the back of his head. He adjusted his eye patch as he passed and beckoned with deliberately wide swooshing of his tail. "Keep on talking and I won't ~walk your plank~ when we get back to the room."