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On the Rim, Ch 21, 22, and 23: Duct-Tape, Claw, and Lizzy

2020 copyright comidacomida

Part 1: Duct-Tape the Handyman

The cave system was abuzz with activity the following morning. With the expectation of what would possibly be several new residents (or at least guests) to the base, Overseer Simpson had requested another wing of personal rooms dug. While that task was predominantly Cole's the sheer amount of work required meant that he couldn't do it alone. Cap'n spent his time on watch and Doc was busy caring for Ben in the med-bay, which meant that the only available assistance was Myra, Duct-Tape, and the Overseer herself.

Cole focused on doing the hardest work; he used the pneumatic pick to do the vast amount of carving out what would become the hallway leading to the rooms while Duct-Tape did the fine work of smoothing the walls and installing the wiring. Myra dealt with all of the heavy lifting, moving stone chunks out of the work area and the Overseer kept the area clean by sweeping up rock shards and dust. Although it was tiring for the Fox, he enjoyed it and felt like he was part of a team getting a job done-- which made sense, because he was!

The group took a break for lunch; the majority of the work had been done, at least to a point that the tunnels could be used. Cole and Myra would finish up and later in the afternoon Duct Tape would be called back to finish the wiring. Until that point, however, the Fox chose to stretch his legs and straighten his back; so much time hunched over dealing with fabricated wires wasn't the best thing for his posture and he planned on making the most of his freedom before he'd be doing the same thing in the hydroponics room.

Taking his lunch to go, Duct-Tape made a slow circuit of the base, pausing just outside the open door to the med-bay so he could enjoy the quiet conversation going on within. It wasn't snooping-- not precisely; the Fox just didn't want to interrupt the pleasantries exchanged between Dr. Zimmerman and Ben. The poor Wolf sounded as though he was suffering from horrible cabin fever and wanted to be able to contribute, but his objections were invariably interrupted by coughing fits. Doc held firm to his insistence that Ben focus on getting better before anything else.

Although Duct-Tape hadn't interacted as much with Dr. Zimmerman as much as he would have liked, the young Human came across as intelligent, insightful, and empathic. He had an excellent bedside manner and, assuming the Fox's opinion meant anything, Duct-Tape thought the role of doctor really suited him. Having met plenty of medical professions since before and after working for DRC, that meant something to him.

Eventually the conversation within the med-bay turned a little more personal with the two discussing backgrounds and their respective families; feeling as though he were intruding on something much more private, Duct-Tape quickly took his leave and headed toward the hydroponic tables, which would serve as his afternoon project. Combining his love of plants and of technology, the Fox considered it as much a pastime as an obligation.

The time passed quickly and Duct-Tape lost track of how long he spent on equipment maintenance and plant care but his zen-like day was disrupted by the sound of commotion from outside the cave system; he knew right away from the voices that the rescue party had returned. Moreover, he could tell that there was drama. Although he was not a fan of drama, the Fox made his way outside in case his presence could somehow be helpful. As it turned out, it was.

The origin of the argument was evident the moment Duct-Tape saw Kurta Cacoltre. He knew her face and the vague specifics involving her though he couldn't say he knew her personally; the LLC she had belonged to occasionally traded with the pirates who had enslaved him. He knew that Planet A was a small world, but to learn that he also knew Lizzy vicariously since before her joining the Relegra group was thought-provoking, but he resolved to save the thinking for later when he realized just what the problem was: the folks from Relegra were still thinking about core system directives.

The Fox stepped forward. "I'll vouch for her, Overseer!"

The four voices arguing fell silent when Duct-Tape chimed in. It was Sandra who eventually started the conversation up again. "What do you mean?"

Smiling, the vulpine handyman stepped forward, carefully choosing his words as he spoke. "I realize that she is an NHH, and that there are certain 'guidelines' in place as to how unauthorized genetic experiments are supposed to be... resolved... but we aren't in the core systems, and reliable, trustworthy, useful people are at a premium, and are one resource we cannot stand to lose."

Commander Artie, who was apparently walking the corporate line let out a sigh before turning to face Ms. Simpson. "If she joins then it will have to go in my report, Ma'am. You know what that could mean...."

The Human woman nodded. "Thank you for your input, Captain, and yes: I understand." She looked to Lizzy. "You say you worked with her for a number of years?"

The Cytkus nodded. "Yes."

"And you would vouch for her?"

Lizzy nodded again. "I would."

The Overseer looked back toward Duct-Tape. "And you said you'll speak on her behalf?"

Duct-Tape offered a calming smile. "Yes, Ma'am."

"And how do you know her?"

The Fox stepped forward. "Indirectly, granted-- she worked for an LLC that occasionally traded with the pirates that kept me. Her coworkers said good things about her. She's a gardener, and a veterinarian, and a good one, from what I've heard."

Ms. Simspon glanced around to the group. "We aren't in the core systems, and, as you've all realized, the laws here are focused on survival, not political preference. Until or unless Kyrta proves herself to be a threat to the welfare of this group, she will be welcome here at this installation."

Although there were a few murmurs of concern, the majority of the group appeared pleased with the Overseer's decision. Lizzy turned and gave the newcomer a huge hug. "Welcome to the group, Kyrta!"

The Overseer then added "Since Lizzy and Duct-Tape are taking responsibility for her, they'll be responsible for getting her settled and integrated. Everyone, please back to work."

The end of the 'ceremony' was rather bland, but Duct-Tape couldn't argue with the results. He walked right up to the new woman, holding out a paw. "Pleasure to officially meet you, Ms. Cacoltre; I've heard good things."

She smiled, and accepted the paw; a moment later, once Lizzy whispered into her ear, the woman's smile grew even wider and she let go of Duct-Tape's paw in favor of giving him an enormous hug instead. "Oh my word-- I've heard about you too! You wouldn't believe how much it hurt everyone on trade duty that we couldn't do anything to help you when--"

He held up a paw to forestall her apology, which he knew was coming. "Water under the bridge. We're here now, and 'here' is a great place to be."

His tail had started swishing, and didn't stop as he and Lizzy gave Kyrta a walk-through of the installation; considering the Cytkus was fairly new to the group it was the Fox who handled the majority of it. Once they arrived at the NHH's room, Duct-Tape's tail stopped swishing. The woman stood in the doorway, her face completely devoid of emotion. She remained that way for several moments before speaking quietly. "You've got to be kidding me."

Duct-Tape's opinion of the room was vastly different from how the woman's comment made it sound but, then again. he'd been enslaved, and his accommodations at the pirate base were quite literally 'horrific'. He attempted to improve her outlook. "I realize it isn't the same as a hotel, but--"

She turned around, face flushed red. "It's abysmal! The wires are exposed, and the bed looks like a pile of wood with a burlap sack thrown on it! The LLC didn't have much, but at least it knew how to look after us!"

Taking careful account of her objections, Duct-Tape made a quick decision. "This room was thrown together fairly quickly and we haven't done the finishing work on it-- I apologize. Let's head down the other hall; I finished one of those myself those just before lunch."

Still red-faced, Kyrta followed after him. "I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything-- I mean, your rescue team DID save my life, but, with the wet season coming, I don't like the idea of my room blowing up from a short in the wiring, and that bed was--"

Lizzy began to console her as Duct-Tape led the two down the other 'residential' hallway. While her reaction seemed to be far more emotional than logical, he did appreciate the fact that she tried to walk-back and reason her visceral reaction. He also realized that she did have a point; the wet season could wreck havoc on electronics and the group did have precious little protecting their wiring. He stowed that information away for future use if or when he had the chance but, in his mind, the first item on his list was to get their new resident settled in.

She accepted the second room, either considering it acceptable, or at least having the grace to pretend it met her requirements. It was getting late and, by the time she was situated, the base was called together for dinner. Cole, with his knack for being both industrious and prepared, had enlarged the table, which meant that there was more than enough room for everyone to dine together. Dinner chat was pleasant for the most part... at least until a fresh signal started tickling at the Fox's mind. Glancing around the table, Duct-Tape saw the winces on every male face and he realized what it was; everyone suffering from the psychic droning groaned in unison.

The gathering broke up shortly after that with most of the participants heading off to bed. Despite his familiarity with the droning, Duct-Tape had always found it hard to get to sleep with it ticking the back of his mind so he chose to spend some extra time in hydroponics. The Fox always enjoyed being around plants and he used an hour or two among them to help him center himself before retiring to his bed. He was tired enough that he hoped sleep would eventually find him but, despite his experience with the droning it would be difficult. Duct-Tape was also worried the newcomers to Planet A; he still remember his first few times dealing with it and he didn't envy them one bit.

* * * * *

Part 2: Claw, On Watch

When Claw roused himself from bed the following morning he knew three things for certain: first, although he was used to the psychic droning, it still got in the way of a good night's sleep; second, first watch was not all that enjoyable a prospect without any rest; and, finally, if he ever found out what was responsible for the droning he was going to get his revenge. All things considered, he was not a happy Badger.

Throwing those thoughts aside, he focused instead on getting his day started with as little interpersonal communication as possible; the breakfast table was as busy as he hoped it would be empty. Sighing, the Badger went and took a seat. "Fuck."

Whether everyone around him could read his expression, or they were just lucky enough to not try and strike up a conversation with him, Claw avoided the worst of the chatting and only pointed out peoples' annoying quirks twice; it was a good record for him, especially with Missy's annoying giggle and the way that Leo chewed with his fucking muzzle open like some god damned cow. Claw was almost certain that the Lion was doing it on purpose, but he bit his tongue to avoid causing a scene; it would only cause more problems.

The day improved marginally from there once Claw was able to get away from everyone and everything, just focusing on himself and his surrounding as he started his walk-about and primary task of guard duty. He made sure to get a little extra time in the sun; he'd always been told that Gen hormone control worked better with some Vitamin D. It was during one such walk-about that the next event for the day caught his attention.

Missy, who regularly considered it her responsibility to scout out the woods, came back toward camp, followed by a large, puffy, black-and-white dog. The four legged canine had a collar on it, which Claw found intriguing, but the strange mystery was solved far too quickly as a shout came from the cave entrance. "Desiree!"

The dog's ears perked immediately at the voice and it turned into a black-and-white blur as it barreled past Claw and toward Kyrta. The commotion that followed was a major to-do among the group as the woman explained that Desiree was her dog, and that she'd sent her off into the jungle when it became obvious that her base was being overrun. She hadn't wanted Desiree to get caught and butchered by the tribe that was attacking, and so she set her free. She finished the explanation by giving the excited dog a big hug. "And I guess she's okay."

Claw scowled as he walked by. "Doubly-lucky... First, letting her go into the jungle was stupid and you're lucky she didn't get torn to shit by something out there... and second, yeah-- you're lucky she found you here. Better check with the Overseer before you think you're gonna get to keep it."

Kyrta apparently didn't much care for his insight. "Wow... and I thought everyone here was so nice. I guess there's one in every group, huh? And Desiree is not an 'it'-- she's a 'she', just so you know."

The Badger wasn't really interested in celebrating the double good luck. "How nice. Speaking of 'one in every group', you should probably keep it away from Leo... that Lion'd probably try to fuck it."

He was technically off duty by that point, and, once he returned to his room to change into his work clothes, the Badger went back outside to get to work out on the rudimentary training dummies Captain Archie and Corporal Grizz had put up to help teach the other survivors a little bit about hand-to-hand combat. After about ten minutes Claw realized he hated them, and spent the next hour improving the set-up.

It took some doing, but after combining some green branches, leather scraps, and some discarded cotton, the Badger managed to upgrade them to something that had a slightly more realistic movement, swaying beneath repeated strikes, and a firm-but-yielding texture. Once he got the targets into what he considered an acceptable condition he spent another hour working out before deciding he'd had enough fresh air for the day.

Returning to the cave, Claw bathed himself and settled into an afternoon of laying on his bed and staring up at the stone ceiling above him; throughout the day the annoying buzz had stuck with him, and he was ready to break something, or at least render himself unconscious by repeatedly striking the wall with his head. He took some comfort in knowing that the group with which he'd signed up had every intention of leaving Planet A; the psychic drone was definitely one thing he certainly wasn't going to miss.

After nearly an hour of restless lounging the Badger trudged out of his room; he didn't like the prospect of having to deal with anyone, but he wanted to keep busy since it helped his mind stay focused on something other than the godforsaken buzzing in his skull. He hung out near the comm console to listen in on the Overseer communicating with a passing orbital trader; he found it sad how she always ended up asking if the traders had an interest in taking on passengers.

Claw had spent almost two decades on Planet A and he'd never heard of an orbital trader risking a landing on the pirate infested rim world and, despite constant statements of as much, apparently the Overseer still wanted to try. Perhaps it was a useless gesture, or maybe she'd have luck in a way nobody that came before her did but, in Claw's mind, at least it was a suitable distraction to the-- "Fan-fucking-tastic." The moment he thought about the buzzing it came back with a vengeance. He trudged off outside.

The Badger was joined a short time later by Myra, Cole, and Lizzy. Claw didn't realize exactly why it was they were gathering outside until he saw them all looking up, shading their eyes against the afternoon sun. Doing the same, he realized what they were waiting for: the orbital traders were sending down a cargo pod. The Overseer showed up in the doorway to the cave, followed by Captain Archie and Corporal Grizz, who were carrying a collection of furs and raw meat products.

The moment the drop pod touched down one of the two doors on it opened, extending outword into a ramp. Overseer Simpson managed the loading of supplies into that side of the pod and, after the team finished, the door closed. A moment later the second door on it opened, revealing a variety of components, parts, and supplies; the labor team got to work unloading it quickly. Once the pod was empty a warning siren sounded and, when everyone moved well enough away from it, thrusters kicked it and the pod launched up into the air; it was out of sight within a minute.

With the event complete, Claw went back inside ahead of everyone else, not waiting to wait around long enough to dwell too prominently on the buzzing still eating away at his brain. With few activities left, the Badger chose to check in again at the med-bay. Claw had left Ben in Dr. Zimmerman's care the prior morning, and, for whatever reason, the Wolf still hadn't been released. He stopped by long enough to ask a few quick questions of the Human, nod toward the Wolf with a quick "You'd better not be faking, slacker.", and make himself scarce before the good doctor decide to conscript the Badger for another round of 'sit in the med-bay until I release my patient'.

After that, Claw was desperate enough to find a way to distract himself that he almost toyed with the idea of trying to strike up a conversation. Those invariably went bad since everyone around him was always so sensitive to his honest truth, but discussions wouldn't be as painful as the psychic droning that had plagued him for nearly a full day. Just focusing on it again made him grit his teeth when he realized that it would only make it worse but, at that very moment, lady luck finally decided to grace him with her presence, and the droning came to an end.

The Badger immediately retired to his room, quickly washed up again, and doffed his clothing. He landed muzzle-first on his bed and reveled in the peace and quiet of having his brain back to handling his thoughts and nothing else. Claw contemplated the different ways he could spend the quiet time before bed. A number of thoughts came quickly to mind, but what came even faster was sleep.

* * * * *

Part 3: Ferco "Lizzy" Etek

Planet A was a mystery that was near impossible to solve, but Lizzy had always enjoyed enigmas. Every new thing she learned about the planet usually meant that there were two new things to discover but she didn't let that stop her. She wasn't a philosopher; she wasn't a scientist; she wasn't even capable of good grades back at the academy she'd attended, but one thing that Ferco "Lizzy" Etek was happened to be was tenacious, and that counted for a lot.

Lizzy grew up as part of a large family. Unlike most large Cytkus families, hers only had a single bread winner, but her mom made exceedingly good money, allowing her dads to focus on raising the kids. Her male father usually spent time with the younger kids, while her hemale father took care of Lizzy, her elder sister, and her only hemale sibling. As one of two female offspring, her role was evident: she was going to learn how to be a tenacious career woman, and that training started early.

She and her sister got their first job at an agro-coop on Lomin IV, which was one system away from her family. It was hard to leave them but, at the same time, the independence that came with it was unlike anything she'd experienced before it. Her time on Lomin also introduced her to the many other races of the galaxy; she met Humans, Gorumn, and even a Voljoi-- she liked most of them. She gained an appreciation for those different from herself, even as she grew more distant from her sister. It was to be expected, of course; female siblings usually either grew apart, or grew competitive, and in Lizzy's mind, her sister didn't stand a chance, so why bother?

Work went well for the young Cytkus, but education didn't. After failing her academy classes, Lizzy doubled-down on learning applied sciences as they related to agriculture and animal husbandry. She didn't know why, but those concepts had always been far easier for her to understand and, as she entered her adult life, also became her career. Despite having failed formal education, her knowledge of plants and animals took her places-- literally; after finishing her contract out at Lomin IV, the Cytkus hired on with a small exploration corporation and she was off to the outer rim.

A series of (mis)adventures later, and Lizzy wound up on Planet A. She enjoyed the LLC she eventually came to call home, but, after several years working as their chief agriculture technician that all came to an end when they were attacked and overpowered by the tribesmen that came to take everything... and more. Lizzy didn't know it, but that was the last time she'd see her coworkers; many of them she had even considered friends, but they, like her family, were in the past.

The Relegra corporation employees that had survived the pirate attack on their ship had turned out to be a fortunate turn of events for the Cytkus. Having not only a safe place to stay, she also realized that the majority of her new coworkers were good folk, especially after she'd succeeded in convincing them to take in the only other surviving member of her prior work group. It was an odd arrangement but, then again, she'd dealt with odd arrangements her entire life and, when push came to shove, she tended to thrive in them.

Kyrta had been settling in well with the folks from the Venture, and Lizzy was pleased that everyone seemed to mesh together. It had been several days since the fateful return with her, and the Cytkus was glad that things were going smoothly. Of course, as Lizzy knew well, things going wrong were most noticeable when things were otherwise great, and that morning was no exception.

The Cytkus was out early in the morning doing a survey of the plant life around the settlement. She'd learned through trial and error that Planet A had a number of edible plants, but also some 'not so safe' ones. Fortunately for the group, the vast majority of the flora in and around the valley was benign. Granted, that wasn't as helpful as it being useful or, better yet EDIBLE, but it was far better than some of the stinging nettles in the swamps or, worse, carnivorous plants that ate rats the size of small dogs near the eastern side of the continent.

Having concluded the flora count for the day, Lizzy was contemplating checking on fauna and doing a migration check to see if any of the wooly muffalo that were so common on the continent came anywhere near the base, but her quiet morning was suddenly interrupted by a shout, and a call for help, followed by a snarl, and the sound of pitched bestial combat. Although Lizzy moved quickly, by the time she arrived at the scene, the damage had already been done.

Missy was holding her forearm, which was bleeding profusely, but rather than focusing on her own arm the Lynx's attention was on the bloody lump of fur and flesh laying unmoving beside the enormous corpse of what the locals called a wargh, the unholy mix of a large predator combining the nastiest elements of lizard, wolf, and hunting cat. Lizzy went immediately to check on Missy and her arm. "Let me see."

The Lynx would have none of it. "No. Grab Roscoe... he's hurt!"

Rather than argue, Lizzy hefted the torn up wolf, registering the copious amounts of blood gushing from what remained of his right leg. She paused long enough to tie off a tourniquet around it before urging Missy forward. "Back to camp. Now. I'm right behind you."

Quickly taking control of the situation, the Cytkus herded the dazed Lynx back to camp. Once they were within sight, the Lynx broke into a run. "Help! Roscoe's hurt!"

Missy made it as far as the front door before someone noticed her and, even then, Duct-Tape was far more worried about her. The strong-willed feline was still arguing with the Fox when Lizzy closed the distance. "God damn it, woman, go to the med-bay. Duct-Tape, take her there, then find Kyrta... she'll help me with Roscoe."

It took some more convincing but, finally, after another set of arguments, Missy followed after Duct-Tape, but only once Lizz promised that she'd see to the wolf. Kyrta was along a few seconds later. As expected, she took complete control of the animal health emergency and within a matter of minutes had gathered everything she needed to fix the problem; less than an hour later, Roscoe was resting comfortably, all wounds cleaned, closed, and cared for. Missy was by the very second she was released from the med bay, and Grizz was with her.

The Bear rested a large paw on Missy's shoulder, and the other on Lizz's. He faced her as he spoke. "Thank you for being there."

The Cytkus nodded with a comforting smile. "Hey... we're all on the same team-- gotta look after each other, right?"

He nodded, then looked to Missy. "Seems like he'll be okay. That's one courageous wolf... did he really throw himself in front of that beast?"

Missy looked like she was going to cry but, instead, she cleared her throat and nodded, responding with a voice that went from shaky to ironclad over the course of a half a sentence. "Yeah... he just--- he saw the threat before I did and he acted. We took that son of a bitch down together, but we each took a few hits of our own. Doc says I'll make a full recovery, but it looks like Roscoe's short a leg for the trouble."

Grizz let out a deep snort. "I'll talk with the Overseer... we got some smart people here-- I'm sure there's something someone here can do to help."

Kyrta, who was still in the room spoke up. "With the right parts, a machining table, and a fabricator it wouldn't be too difficult to put together a basic prosthetic... a little more elbow grease and the right components could get us a bionic limb-- the tech isn't that advanced."

Just like that Lizz was left alone in the room as all three of them went to hunt down the Overseer. The Cytkus wasn't around for that conversation but she definitely heard the end results: the group's brainpower turned toward fabricating medical prosthetics. Fortunately, Ben was released from the med-bay that afternoon and his brainpower was added to the think tank. Remarkably, by evening they had a useable prototype and Kyrta volunteered to install it right away, with Missy's permission of course. Said permission was granted with a tight hug and a full-on kiss to the vet. After Grizz objected, he got one as well.

The group came together for dinner and everyone was warned about possible dangerous creatures in the forest and to be on their guard. Small talk replaced the warning and, as the meal came to an end, Kyrta came out, followed by Roscoe. Lizzy, who was always used to seeing Roscoe without a tail was doubly surprised at the metallic counter-balance system that Kyrta had installed; it looked close enough to a tail that it completed the image, and matched the smooth, metallic finish of the Wolf's front leg. Also, she noticed, it was capable of wagging.

Missy was a bundle of tears and joy, alternately hugging Roscoe and Kyrta. Lizz was exceedingly glad that her friend had suddenly become the hero of the day; if nothing else it helped secure her position with the group. It was a feel-good night, but that only improved when every male member of the survivors stopped and smiled... even Claw. Duct-Tape was the first to address it. "Oh... sometimes that signal-thing does this too."

Lizzy didn't know what 'this' referred to, but she could guess. Although the psychic droning usually affected males, it occasionally hit females too. Just as rarely, it sometimes had an amazingly soothing effect. The Cytus headed off to bed shortly thereafter, thankful for good fortune, good friends, and good times.