No End in Sight
AUTHOR'S NOTE -- This is the series finale of "Solstice" ...
"Illustrious is not answering our hails."
Advance sighed. At the head of the conference table. In the conference room (just off the bridge, on the opposite side ... as to where his ready room was). "Keep trying."
"Also," Aria added. "Sensors are picking up ... what appears to be a station."
"A station?"
A slight nod. "A rather big one. Housing and research."
"So, it's a science station?"
"They could," Audrey said, quietly injecting herself into the conversation, "be developing the mutating virus there ... or, you know, refining it, or ... "
" ... preparing it for mass-distribution," Welly finished, biting his lip. Nodding. "I mean, they turned Ross into a TOTAL fur ... so, the re-sequencing WAS working. It just went too FAR. Their aim is to make sure it's a half-and-half deal. They want to retain certain human organs and ... traits. While acquiring the best of ours."
"The best of both worlds," Advance whispered, at a stand, pacing to the window. The stars streaming by. He paused. "But if they have their way ... " He turned back to his senior officers. "Furs as we know it ... will become extinct."
The skunk shrugged weakly. "I have no idea. I just ... "
"We have a plan, though," Bell-Bell interrupted. "I mean, we were thinking ... Welly and I, I mean. It's ... if we could get a VIAL of the virus. Analyze it. Maybe we could come up with a counter-measure. A counter-dosage that, if all furs got injected with it ... would protect us from any sort of attempt ... you know, to mutate us into ... whatever." A pause. "We could re-engineer the thing ... or, at least, dissect it."
"Create an anti-virus?" Herkimer asked. Whiskers twitching.
"That would require some ... very delicate," Aria observed, "work."
"Hey, I was SECOND in my class," Welly defended. "I'm not just a pretty piece of tail."
Small smiles at this ... especially from Bell-Bell.
"Second?" Tess asked, her bushy squirrel tail flickering through the tail-hole in her seat. So that it was hanging in the behind her chair.
"I, uh ... mistook a pre-ganglionic nerve for a pre-ganglionic fiber," the skunk admitted sheepishly.
"Well, that could happen to ANY-FUR," Herkimer teased. The mouse not even knowing what 'ganglionic' meant.
"I know!" Welly agreed. "Seriously."
"Alright ... alright," Advance said, taking a breath. And then letting it out. "Okay, so, Welly, you can do that? Create an anti-virus?"
"Well, it'll take TIME, but ... yeah, I could do it. But I'm talking WEEKS ... I can't do this overnight."
"Well, as long as the humans don't launch a contagion before you find a cure," Tess said, "we should be fine, right?"
"But what's to keep them from doing that?" Audrey asked. "I mean, for all we know ... they've finished the virus. Or ... you know, just need a way to distribute it. Assuming it's contagious through breathable air, all they have to do is ... fire a torpedo loaded with the stuff INTO the atmosphere of Home-world, and ... you know? That'll take care of half the furs in a single shot! And the rest of us ... out on the ships and the colonies away from home, they can pick us off one by one. Or simply destroy us. I mean ... "
"Look, I can DO it," Welly insisted, leaning forward.
"There's a station, right?" Bell-Bell asked. "Assuming ... we're assuming they're developing the virus there."
"Yes," said Aria. "Whatever stealth capacity the human ships have now developed ... does not seem to have been applied to their station."
"Or maybe it's just too big to hide," Herkimer whispered.
"We have that transporter," Bell-Bell reminded. "The one we found in the wasp wreckage. It has TWO uses. The FIRST use ... we beam a vial of the virus off the station. And the SECOND use ... we beam a torpedo ONTO the station. Deposit it right next to the core. And we blow the whole thing up."
"That would kill several hundred humans," Aria reminded.
"They deserve it," was Bell-Bell's unflinching response.
"Maybe so, but ... are we to play God? Pass judgment on other creatures by taking their lives? We can simply DAMAGE the station. Or erase their computer ... we do not need to kill them all."
"We have no choice," was Audrey's quiet voice. The squirrel, a week pregnant ... thinking about the future. "We have to get rid of them. They're a menace. If we don't? They'll only come back later, and ... we'll have passed on the opportunity that's presenting itself right HERE, right NOW."
Aria squinted, ears waggling. Saying levelly, "You would launch a preemptive slaughter ... to potentially PREVENT the same?"
"Aria, give me a break! It's not like we'd make a habit of ... killing creatures. You know? It's ... "
" ... easy," the snow rabbit assured, "to justify a course of action ... after the first misstep. And the next. You fall into a pattern of behavior." A pause. "My species was at WAR with the Arctic foxes. I witnessed BOTH sides slaughtering the other ... for no other reason than they 'had no choice'." A breath. "There is ALWAYS a choice. And I am simply asking that you do not treat killing LIGHTLY," she emphasized. "No matter WHOSE life it is ... you are ending."
"What are you trying to say?" Audrey whispered coldly. "That ... that I'm blinded by my pregnancy? That I'd do anything to protect my unborn child?"
"I am saying this situation is a delicate one. It calls for logic. Not emotion."
"Screw logic!" the squirrel barked.
"Aud!" was Advance's immediate response.
The squirrel, breasts heaving, swallowed. Her breath shook a bit. Her eyes darted. And she fell quiet.
A moment of quiet.
Advance, whiskers twitching, slipped delicately into his seat. "Is there any way," he whispered, "you can LESSEN ... the yield of the torpedo? So that it only ... destroys their computer. And not the station?"
"Any interior explosion ... that close to delicate equipment? Is going to have casualties," Bell-Bell insisted.
"Can you rig the torpedo to do its job ... without killing EVERY human aboard?"
"I could," Bell-Bell said defensively, "but ... "
"Do it."
"Captain!"
"Do it!" A huff. He shifted in his seat. "We can't SAVE all furs, Lieutenant, by ... by LOSING what makes us furry. Our compassion. Our ... faith. Our ... we're not gonna become casual murderers."
"They destroyed Riparian!"
"We do not entirely know that," Aria said calmly.
"They did. They killed that crew," Audrey said, agreeing with Bell-Bell.
"Stop it, stop it," Advance ordered, shutting everyone up. "DISABLE the human station. Make sure their computer core is compromised. But do not DESTROY the facility ... there are gonna be casualties. But we are not going to premeditate the death of anyone. Not today ... " A sigh. And the mouse rubbed at his eyes, and ... his ears swivelled. His whiskers twitched. "How long," he asked, eyes still closed, "before we get there."
"Seven hours," Tess whispered.
"Alright ... " A breath. "That, uh ... gives us a bit of time. I'm ... " A flush. "I need us all to be sharp. Alert. I ... so, get some rest. 'Be furs' with your mates, and ... as many times as you can. I don't know how long this confrontation will take."
"Most of us can go ... seven to eight hours without an orgasm," Welly whispered quietly, " ... um ... before agitation and any haziness, uh, sets in. But, uh, if I need to, I can give injections ... to simulate yiffy endorphins."
"Injections?"
"If I need to. It'll ... have some, uh, side effects. And I don't recommend it."
"No injections. That's too risky. But ... I can't have us in the middle of a battle with the humans," Advance said, "and my crew making KEY mistakes ... cause they need to be bred. Take a break. A nap. Eat something. Breed before you return to duty. That's an order. All of you."
Quiet nods.
"Report back to your stations ... in six hours. Alright?"
A chorus of quiet "aye, sirs" ...
"Dismissed."
Tess let out a nervous breath, and ... swish! And she looked up, and sighed, and, "Where have you been? I ... I ... "
" ... was all over. Vacuuming loose fur. It's shedding season."
"Yeah." A pause. "I forgot."
"Mm ... look at our couch."
The squirrel looked down. Strands of fur all over the cushions. "Uh ... a mess."
"Mm-hmm. You gotta brush your fur ... forty minutes a day. Half in the morning, half at ... "
" ... night," the squirrel whispered. "Yeah."
Handel tilted his head. "I, uh, heard about the distress call. We're going to fight the humans, aren't we?"
"I don't know," was the squirrel's quiet reply. "We're going to investigate ... doesn't mean we're gonna fight."
The porcupine's eyes darted. "I think you know we are," he whispered.
And she ... paused. And nodded quietly. "Yeah." A slow breath. And she looked up at him. And smiled lightly. "I, uh ... we have five hours ... until we have to get back on duty. We're all supposed to rest up, get a bit to eat, and ... uh ... "
"You wanna do the 'uh' part first?" A smile.
"I was hoping," she whispered, licking her lips. Swallowing. Nodding. "Well, now and ... right before my shift resumes." A pause. "You know, cause ... I'll need it. I don't know how long this is gonna take."
"You don't need to give me reasons, hun, to ... to be with you," the porcupine whispered, sitting down next to her. On the couch. He put a paw on her arm. "You're tense. You're twitching all over."
"I'm ... scared," she confessed. "I'm surprised you aren't."
"I've got quills."
"Quills can't protect you from what we're facing."
"No, but ... not all quills are literal. There's faith. Prayer. I ... I just have to believe we'll be alright." He rubbed at her arms.
Tess closed her eyes.
"Believe that, okay?" he asked. "I mean, I know ... I'm shyer than you, but ... so, who am I to be giving such advice? You're the one with the sense of humor. You're the one ... that I love." A pause. "And ... but, please?"
"I just ... I don't wanna be at the helm!" she squeaked. "I should be in the shuttle-bay. Where I'm comfortable. Where it's safer. I don't wanna be piloting the whole of Solstice ... into this mess! I mean, why'd Advent have to get all muscle-sore? What was she doing, anyway? She's ALWAYS sick or something ... " A whisker-twitch. "I don't wanna be at the helm," was her whispered confession. And she met the porcupine's eyes. "But I'm gonna be, and ... it's ... pressure, and ... " Her eyes scanned him. And her lips were inches away from his. And she was breathing raggedly. "I ... "
"Calm down," was his whispered plea, as he leaned in ...
... and initiated the kiss. Which she didn't fight. And which she closed her eyes for. And ... which she gave BACK, and ...
... "Hmm ... hm." A breath. "Uh ... "
The mouse, with tired 'napping' eyes, only half-awake, suckled like a baby. Lips on a nipple, nose on a breast. Suckle-suck ... suck ...
"Oh ... " Opal's raspy, long cow-tongue licked at her own nose. Lick. Breathe ... moan. Naked and flat on her back in the strewn sheets of their bed.
Herkimer, half-sprawled over her body ...
" ... uh." The cow caught her breath. Held it. Released it in a sigh.
His tongue danced, in lazy, luscious, loving licks ... across her nipple. Her hardened, sensitive nipple. And muzzle sucking. A ring of cream on the fur around his lips. And stray milk-drops hanging from his whisker-tips. And milk. The milk. HER milk ... creamy, buttery ... whole milk ... piping hot (coming right from the source). And bathing his tongue, and streaming down his throat ...
... the mouse not knowing his nap-time snack was drugging him. The milk making him loose, lax, and ...
... her hoof-like hands on his back. Stroking through (and parting) fur.
The mouse drank. He was giving her 'a milking,' as cows called this kind of oral ...
He often had her milk ... even, sometimes, in the middle of the night. She'd blink groggily awake ... to find the mouse, eyes-closed, suckling her teats ...
Herkimer drank. Suckle-suckle-suck ... mm ...swallow ... mmm ... suckle ... eyes still closed. His body felt SO nice ... SO relaxed ... like he could float away. Anxiety? What anxiety? The chemicals in the milk were masking it ... as well as feeding his hungry tummy!
The Jersey's belly rose and fell. The cow bigger than the mouse. And his slender body rising and falling with her breaths. For his body was mostly on top of hers ...
Herkimer's lips, dripping with creamy, hot milk ... pulled off her nipple. He squeaked. Little, cute squeaks, and eyes still closed, he blindly mouthed and slobbered on her breasts ... looking for the other nipple.
"Baby ... to ... t-to your right ... "
Sniff ... sniff-sniff, whiskers brushing (lightly) the fur on her breasts.
"That's it ... a little more," she whispered, almost cooing.
Chitter-cries! "Mm ... mmm ... milk," he stammered. "N-nipple ... " Mouth, mouth ... where was ... it! It! Mm ... mmm.
An inhale!
He found it, suckling all over again. With hungry need. Hardly aware that his cock was rock-hard ... and his tail was waving around like he was drunk. So focused on her warm, supple breasts. And those teats. And her milk ...
And ... and she didn't ... m-mind at ... a-all ... mm ... mm ... " ... moo! Moo ... "
Cows got SO much pleasure from being milked ...
... and, oh, furs got pleasure from milking them ... oh ... mm ... suckle-suckle-suck ...
"Mm ... moo!"
The mouse squeaked from the throat. Ears gorging with blood, and picking up every pleasured, reverberating ...
" ... moo!"
Mm ... mm ... milk!
Opal, eyes glazed, huffed a bit ... the suckling action, and the milking motions, it ... gave off waves of fluttering pleasure. Yiffy pleasure. And she mooed. Moo!
And he squeaked ... mm ... mmf ... mmm ... h-how long had he been drinking?
Opal's heart hammered.
The mouse, unconsciously or not, was ... playing her nipples like ... violins. With ... his tongue. The way he used his tongue WHILE he sucked ... mm ... he was getting good at this! That was ... that was for sure ... mm ... mm!
The Jersey mooed ... LOUD. As if in orgasm ... as her breasts emptied of their last drops and the dry sucking that followed ... made her nipples extra-sensitive. Dry sucking, and ... and! And the mouse let up ...
"Mm ... mm," he went, licking his creamy, buttery lips, grooming his whisker tips. Weakly getting to his knees. Licking his paws, and swiping back his whiskers (as mouses groomed).
"Oh ... oh," she panted. "Herkimer ... "
His eyes, opening weakly, weakly ... 'til half-open ... he looked to her. "Mm?" Shyly.
"Huh," she panted, swallowing. Closing her eyes to breathe. And then opening them again. "I've ... I've ... " A breath. "I've been milked by bulls, but ... it was never this good. Huh ... you ... you've got a good muzzle for milking ... "
A flush.
"That was the best milking ... I've ever had," she continued. "Oh ... mm, my mate." She eyed him lovingly.
Herkimer, still on his knees, swayed and flushed. "I feel ... nice," he moaned.
"You ... you drank a whole tank," she said, almost giggling. "Bulls are ... aggressive," she explained. "Very. So, before we breed ... us cows coax them with our breasts. They drink. The milk makes the bulls very docile and mellow ... and it temporarily doubles their semen production. So they can better give us calves."
"S-sounds fun," Herkimer slurred. "Bein' a ... a bull."
"Well, when the milk wears off, they're back to their hot-headed, aggressive selves ... which is necessary. It makes them great protectors of our herds. And good providers. They never let us cows go hungry or ... get into harm's way. But ... it's necessary to tame them in order to breed. Else they get way too rough, you know ... "
"Mm ... I ... I don't know," the mouse admitted. "I ... I don't know much about cows. I ... I'm sorry."
"Well, that's why I'm telling you," she said gently, stroking his sides. "Mm." A pause. "Come here."
He fell, hazily, into a hug, lying down atop her body. Eyes half open. Tail and whiskers lazily snaking and twitching.
"You said you grew up in the country ... around horses? Not cows ... "
"Mm ... mm-hmm ... "
"We had mice where I was. On a lot of the farms. They were the kindest creatures. So cute. Mm ... but, at the time, it would've been inconceivable for me to mate with one."
"Mm ... w-why," Herkimer slurred.
She hugged. Hoof-like hands on his flattened back. Both of them breathing out and in. With little, little pants.
"The bulls wouldn't have allowed it." A quiet pause. "That's why I ran away ... and worked myself to where ... I could go into space. I didn't wanna be a domestic cow. I wanted ... other things," she whispered. "I mean, not that the other cows are misguided or anything. They live a comfortable life. But I just ... felt I had some things to prove. You know? I ... so, here I am. And I've got you." A pause. "And I'm never letting go," was her assured, added whisper.
The grey-furred mouse's eyes watered. "Mm." He sniffled.
She continued to rub and massage his back.
"Opal," he whispered airily.
"Yeah, baby?" A deep breath of him. Of his mousey scent.
"Mm ... mm ... I ... I love you," he breathed. "Am I gooder," he said, the milk's effects on his speech becoming more evident now. "Am I gooder than a bull ... "
"You are," she assured, holding tightly to him. "You are. And I love you, too ... always. I'm going to keep you safe, and ... " A breath. "You don't have to be afraid," she promised him, "when you're with me. Just give your burdens to me ... "
The mouse sniffled again, eyes closing. "Mm ... " A breath, and then a whispered, "thank you ... "
And the two furs, mutually dozy, mutually in love ... resting while they could.
Nearly seven hours later, and ... Aria, Bell-Bell, and Tess in the lift. All heading for the bridge.
All of them quiet.
"I'm, uh ... sorry," Bell-Bell eventually said, "about earlier ... " Looking to Aria. "I didn't mean to yell, or ... you know? I'm just on edge. I ... "
"We all are," the snow rabbit said gently. "Think nothing of it."
A slight nod on the doe's part.
More quiet.
The whir of the left (whisking them away).
"So, uh ... how'd it go? Uh ... with you two? You and your ... mates?" the doe asked, raising her eyes.
Aria looked to the doe. "I was on top," she said simply. Elaborating no further. She knew Ross was uncomfortable with her discussing their yiffy life in detail ... to other furs. "You?"
"Doggy-style. And then some ... heh ... "
Both heads turned to Tess. Who ... gave a small smile. "A little bit of everything."
The lift came to a stop. And the three femmes stepped out.
"By those smiles on your muzzles, and ... or in your eyes," Advance said (to include Aria), "I'd guess you're all 'rested' up?"
"You could say that." Bell-Bell grinned and went to the engineering station at the back of the bridge.
Aria said nothing. Taking her place at tactical.
And Tess slipped down to the helm. Letting out a deep, nervous breath.
"You gonna be okay?" Advance asked her.
A quiet nod from the squirrel. "I think so."
"Think?"
"I will be. Sir. I will ... " A swallow. She cleared her throat. "I just wish Advent was in tip-top shape ... "
"Advent's had a rough few weeks. Your skills are sharper, right now, than hers. You've got better focus. I know," the Captain assured, "you can do this. Alright?"
Tess nodded.
Audrey was at Comm. Herkimer at Ops. Welly ... entered next, taking a seat in back. Near the science station. Somewhat near Bell-Bell. The two mates exchanging little, non-verbal cues. (Which weren't as undetectable as maybe they believed.)
Closer, closer they got ...
... toward the location. Toward the distress call (which had long since gone dead). Toward the human station.
Toward what?
And when they got there, Tess took them out of warp. To impulse.
Aria kept the hull plating charged, weapons armed, and was ... " ... picking up debris. A field of it."
"Can you put it on viewer?"
"I believe so." The snow rabbit looked up. And watched as the image blinked into focus. "I shall magnify it." She looked back down at her console, and ... enhanced the image.
Advance stepped forward. "The Riparian," he said simply. His whiskers twitched. He flinched, and his eyes darted. Tail snaking. Mousey motions in overdrive. "Aria ... Aria, scan for ... "
" ... there are no life-signs," Aria whispered.
"Pods ... "
" ... no pods."
"Keep scanning for ... "
" ... nothing there. There is nothing there," the snow rabbit said. Her ears waggling. Pure-white fur ... cast in a soothing, blue glow (from the tactical lights). She seemed ... pained? Agitated? It was hard to tell, sometimes, with her.
"Advance," said Audrey.
The desert mouse turned. "Mm?"
"I'm detecting comm chatter. Lots of it. I ... between a few ships? I think. I ... three ships. They're coming toward us."
"They are human," Aria announced, before anyone could ask.
"We HAVE to make it to the station," Bell-Bell reminded. "We ... just GUN it. SCURRY to the station. We beam up a vial, beam IN a torpedo, and we haul tail ... "
"Those ships match our speed, right?"
"Correct," was Aria's reply.
"They'll be hammering us ... the whole while. How long can we last?"
"We have no choice," Audrey whispered knowingly, drooping. "We have to ... try ... "
"Tess."
"I'm already there," she whispered, eyes forward. On the viewer. Paws flying blindly over the helm, and ... taking them right for the station.
"We are being hailed."
"Hailed?"
Aria nodded.
"The humans have never initiated a hail before ... " The desert mouse trailed. Paused. "Put it on," he whispered.
And, expecting to see the sight of a pink-skin, the mouse blinked ... at seeing ...
"Wasps!" Audrey hissed.
"This is our territory," the wasp on the viewer said. In deadpan, droning monotone. "You are to stand down. Surrender your vessel. Your crew. Your technology. You will serve us. Comply."
"The hell we will," Advance grimaced, stepping forward. Uncharacteristically angry ... " ... you ... your ship? We found a wasp ship."
"Stand down. Surrender your vessel. Your crew. Your ... "
"You were watching the humans the WHOLE time, weren't you? You've always wanted to assimilate them ... you view them as the 'apex of organic creation' ... you wanted them. But you didn't want to GO to them. You had to wait until they came to you. Until they breached furry space. That way," Advance whispered, his mind whirring, quickly figuring things out, "you could get humans AND furs ... at the same time. A simultaneous war on both sides. A ... "
" ... comply. You will comply." The wasp cut the channel.
"All three ships," Aria whispered, "are ... approaching. They are ... they are surrounding us."
"I guess we don't have to worry about a mutation virus at the moment."
"No," Advance whispered darkly. "We have to worry about walking, buzzing needle-tips." He scurried back to his chair, shouting, "Get us out of here! Tess!"
"I'm ... they're ... "
The ship shook.
Furs lurched, and ... sparks. The deck slanting a bit beneath them. The viewer turning to view one of the wasp-controlled human ships. Had the wasps killed the crew? Harvested their organs? Dissected them? ATE them? What did wasps do with prisoners? Aside form torture them ... as they'd been known to do with furs they'd caught ...
"Advance, Riparian's crew could be aboard one of those ships ... being held hostage. Being ... "
"There is no way," Aria said calmly, "we can get them out. Not without being destroyed ourselves."
Lurch! Spark!
The lights flickered, and ... a coolant leak. Gas, vaporous (but not toxic) spewing into the air. Bell-Bell's hooves scuffing on the light carpet of the floor as she grabbed a tool kit and hurried to fix it.
Alarm sounds. Beeps. Whirs.
And cracks!
Weapons ... slamming into Solstice's pretty hull. Scarring it, tearing wild, vicious holes ... spewing metal. Venting ...
" ... atmosphere. We're venting atmosphere!" was Aria's normally-poised voice.
"Hull breaches ... E-Deck, F-Deck ... "
"Get us out of here!" Advance squeaked.
"Sir, I CAN'T ... they've got us in some kind of hold ... " Tess, chittering, tail wavering, starting to panic ... her paws slammed on her console.
The wasp ships, angular, black, maroon, looking so arid and ... vicious ... swarmed. The three of them. They swarmed, and ... Solstice shot back. Fire, fire, fire ... launching purple, sparkling torpedoes that pierced the void of space.
And PUNCHED into their targets. Causing them to shimmer and shudder a bit.
More firing.
They fired back.
SLAM!
The deck pitched hard right, and ... Audrey flew from her chair, slamming onto the deck. Squeaking with pain. A fire from somewhere else on the bridge. The smoke, and the ... singing. Electrical sparks raining down. The furs covering their tails and heads ... lest their fur catch fire.
Aria, with a bit of grime on her white fur, streaking it with patches of unnatural black, she hunched over her console. Armed the phase canons. And ... SLAMMED her paw down.
CHOOM ... CHOOM ...
SPEW!
Back and forth ... weapons fire. Phase canon fire. Torpedoes. Solstice, though outnumbered, had teeth, and ...
" ... their hold is breaking! We can move!"
"Then MOVE us!" Advance squeaked, having wriggled between the railing behind his chair (not bothering to go around it) to get to Audrey. Making sure she was conscious. Was okay. And ...
... Solstice slipped through a gap between two of the vessels, and then ... hit the reverse thrusters.
"What are you doing?!" Herkimer shouted, quiet until now ... cowering at Ops, trying to help, but ... unable to do anything but watch.
Tess, fur matted with sweat, didn't respond. Was it hotter in here? Had the environmental controls gone offline?
Solstice, reversing hard, then pitched its nose down ... and the two wasp ships, which had been conversing on either side, tried to veer ... but too late. Too little. Too late.
They collided, shearing apart, in violent fireworks of metal, light, and ...
... shudder! Shake!
Spark!
"The remaining ship ... " Aria's console sparked, and she yipped, falling back, paws singed.
Welly was at her side in an instant, med-kit ready ...
" ... the ... the remaining ship," Aria winced, still standing, still trying to do her job, though her paw-pads now had second-degree burns. "The remaining ship is ... targeting our engines. They're trying to disable us."
"They want us intact. They want to board us," Advance realized, helping a groggy, blinking Audrey to a chair. The deck pitching again, and ... the air hazy. Cloudy. "Vent the air!"
"Environmental controls ... "
" ... need to be BACK online," was Advance's response. "I don't want to hear what's NOT working." He made it back to his chair. Loathe to leave Audrey, but ... they had one more wasp ship to deal with. Human/wasp ship. Whatever.
And that station ...
BOOM!
"Eek!" Herkimer squeaked, skull slamming into the wall. Dazed.
Welly frantically going from Aria, who's paws were still throbbing, to the now-unconscious mouse.
"Injury reports coming in from all over the ship ... "
"We won't last much longer!"
"Fire at will!"
Aria, her paws hurting so, so badly, her eyes ... welling up with tears. She, for the first time in her life, cried. The pain. The ... pain, and ... the fear. If Ross was okay ... she'd made him stay in their quarters, and ... and ... fire. Fire. Punching buttons. Fire. Aim. Fire.
The wasp ship screeching, shuddering, and ... luckily, these ships were not wasp-made ships. Wasps' technology was very advanced. No, these were human ships being USED by wasps, and ... perhaps they hadn't adapted the technology to suit their own purposes yet. Perhaps. But ... whatever the case ...
... the third ship finally buckled. And finally gave way. And finally exploded in a dizzying display of metallic light. Sending a shockwave that washed over Solstice like a violent tidal wave, eliciting squeaks and yips and barks of pain and disorientation.
Still, the coolant leak hissed, and ...
... still, the lights flickered.
Still, the smell of smoke. And the whimper-squeaks of downed furs.
And Advance, having been thrown from his chair by that last blast, clawed his way back into it. Tapping on his arm-rest console. "We ... I can't get a reading. What ... "
"I can't use my paws," Aria said, her voice choking. The burning ... for a fur of the ICE to be burned by fire? By heat? Was an almost unendurable pain. "I ... I ... "
"Welly, help her!" Advance ordered.
"Herkimer's got a concussion," the skunk said, lingering. "I ... dammit!"
"Engineering to the bridge ... "
"Bridge!" Advance barked.
"The warp core containment field ... is no longer holding. We can't go to warp. It'll take hours to fix, and ... we need Bell-Bell ... "
"I'm on my way!" the deer shouted, and ... made her way for the lift. Hoping it was still working. And catching Welly's eyes as she left. Saying 'I love you' with a look.
Audrey, still groggy, slipped back into her seat ... " ... I ... I think that station is powering its array."
"What?" Advance looked up. Squinting at the viewer.
"I, uh ... it's, uh ... I think the wasps took it over. They're trying to turn it into a base."
"They're trying to contact their fleet in deep-space," Advance whispered. "Let them know they've fortified the system. Or ... "
" ... call for reinforcements," Audrey finished.
Herkimer was out cold.
Aria's paw-pads were being healed by Welly's scanners.
Tess had a sprained wrist. But was still doing some fancy flying.
The lift at back ... swished open.
"What happened!"
"Advent ... I thought ... "
"I am needed," she said, huffing, eyes burning. She'd been napping with Lipton, and ... had been resting. And then the ship had quaked, and ... " ... I wish to help," she said earnestly, trying to calm down. Trying to quell the predatory fire that burned in her eyes.
Advance met her gaze. And nodded quietly. "Take over Ops. Herkimer's ... unable to."
The jaguar looked, ears flattening against her forehead. She swallowed. The mouse unconscious. With a nasty gash on his forehead, and ... despite having left their relationship behind. Despite having 'gotten over it' ... to see him, someone she'd been intimate with, like ...
"Advent," Advance whispered.
The jaguar blinked. "Of course." She hurried for Ops, pushing the emotions aside. At least Lipton was safe. Or ... he had been when she'd left him ...
Aria, her paws healed now (and allowing Welly to go back to Herkimer), sighed, closing her eyes, opening them. "The station is, indeed ... trying to activate a homing array."
"Shouldn't the other wasps," Advent asked, slipping behind the Ops station, "shouldn't they know about all this already?"
"Wasps travel in loose packs. Loose, isolated hives. They only call upon other hives when ... a particular invasion warrants it."
"So, they're calling other hives?"
"We have to stop them," Audrey said, coughing a bit. Wincing. "We ... have to destroy the station."
"Even if we DO, that's not going to alleviate the wasp threat," Advent said.
"Nothing will," Advance realized. Sighing. "Not now ... not with the resources we have out here. This is deep space. The wasps have the edge. If ... but if we keep giving them bloody noses, maybe they'll think twice before investing resources in trying to make 'inroads' into our territories ... "
"So, we beat them back? Buy ourselves time? Sooner or later ... it will be war," Advent reasoned.
"Are we in any condition to fight a war right now, lieutenant?" Advance asked, exasperated.
The jaguar went quiet.
"So," Advance said ... " ... we eliminate the wasp presence in this sector. And hope they keep their distance next time. If not ... well, we'll have to put together a force, a plan ... the Furry Council's gonna have to take both the wasp AND human threats seriously ... after today." Advance swallowed. Sighed. Taking a breath. His head hurt. "Let's just survive this, okay? We'll worry about the rest later ... "
A few nods. A few sighs.
"Can we destroy that station? And get the virus vial before we do so?"
"The station is armed," Aria announced. "And we are battered. If we were at full-steam, but ... "
"We have to try. Before they get that signal out," Audrey realized.
Tess, at helm, whispered, "Advance ... I need a course."
Advance looked to her. Realizing, not for the first time, that ... pretty much ALL the crew-furs, now, were on somewhat of a first-name basis. Oh, sure, they still used each other's rank in a crunch, or in teasing, but ... more and more, it was just by name. And, to the desert mouse, it signified not a laxity in the chain of command. But, rather: the formation of a family. A collection of furs who cared about one another. Who'd grown dependent on each other. And ... it ...
"Advance?" Tess whispered, biting her lip.
The desert mouse's eyes burned boldly. "Set a course for the station. Aria," he said, turning, "give them everything we've got."
"That may be difficult ... "
"Just do it," Advance sighed.
"I gotta get Herkimer to sickbay," Welly piped in.
"Is he ... is he going to be okay?" Advent asked with concern.
Welly looked up at the jaguar. Squinting with a bit of suspicion. But ... he nodded. "I think so. He'll have to stay off-duty for a week, but ... if I can get him to sickbay, he'll live. "
"I'm reading another ship ... coming into range," was Audrey's interrupting squeak.
"I read it, too," Aria said. "A heavy ship. They're coming for us."
Advance's dishy ears went pale. He sagged. "Another human ship. Or ... wasps, rather. I ... why didn't we detect them? Stealth?"
"I do not know."
"They are hailing. They are demanding to speak with you," the snow rabbit whispered.
Advance closed his eyes. Nodded weakly.
The viewer blinked on. "My good mouse, you require assistance?"
Advance opened his eyes. "Captain ... "
" ... Kalmbach. I trust you haven't forgotten?"
The desert mouse beamed. "I ... have NOT," he assured. "Oh, you've no idea how good it is to ... you got our message?"
"Took a while to get here. I know I'm quintessentially predatory in my timing, but ... I'm here." A pause. A head-tilt. Ears flicking. Eyes squinting. "Riparian? She didn't make it?"
A ghostly head-shake.
"That's a damn shame." A sigh. The snow leopard's gaze burned. But the time for remorse would be later. There was still a mission to complete. "I trust you need help destroying that station?"
"We do. And ... we'll have to run scans of all this, and ... figure things out. I ... we need help."
"And we have come," Kalmbach assured, nodding regally, "to give that help. I'll see you at the station."
The screen blinked back to its star-view.
Advance nodded at Tess, and Solstice followed Illustrious ...
... five days later ...
Advance was on the couch. In his ready room. Staring, unblinking, out the window.
Door chime.
"Come in," the desert mouse said. Softly. Distractedly.
The doors wished, and ... in stepped Aria.
"Hey," was Advance's response. Looking to her ... and patting the couch cushions. Indicating for her to take a seat next to him.
Padding in, the doors closing, she did so. Delicately. Paws on her lap. Sitting up straight. She was a snow rabbit, after all.
"How's my ... first officer? AND my tactical officer?"
"I am well," was her quiet reply.
"I, uh ... heard you got offered ... " The mouse trailed. " ... a ship," he finished.
"Captaincy of the Arctic."
A giggle-squeak. A quiet one. "Appropriate."
"I thought so."
He held his breath. "So, you ... accepted?"
The snow rabbit bit her lip. Seeming ... hesitant? "I did," was her whisper. "It's a smaller, sleeker vessel. Faster, with stealth sensors. But less in terms of ... armaments and durability. It's ... however, 'she' ... " A pause. "I have yet to understand why ships are 'she's' ... "
"Cause they're pretty. And you can't live without them," was Advance's smiling, light response.
An eye-smile from her.
"So, Captain Aria, huh?"
"Not yet. I ... she is still in dry-dock."
"At Home-world?"
"No ... not yours, anyway."
"She's a snow rabbit ship," Advance guessed. "But they have their OWN space-faring organization ... separate from ours. Their own military, their own ... everything."
"It is a joint venture. An ... olive branch, if you will." A pause. "With the growing human and wasp threats ... I believe they recognize it is to the benefit of all furs to work together."
A quiet nod. "Yeah ... "
"So, she will be the first snow rabbit built ship, Crystalline-Class ... to be commissioned into the Furry Fleet ... and they asked me ... since I have experience with a wide array of furry species. The crew will be a multi-species crew. And ... smaller. A smaller ship. Only a crew compliment of forty-eight."
"I see."
"She, like Solstice and Illustrious, will patrol and explore the uncharted territories ... and be part of the first line of defense. So, I've no doubt," she assured, "we will run into each other constantly."
"Is that a promise?"
A head-tilt. And a nod. "It is."
Quiet from them both ... for just a moment. The stars streaming by outside the window. Solstice at warp.
"I guess I'm gonna have to change course, then. Head for the snow rabbit world ... "
"Yes."
"You said you were never gonna go back there."
"It is only ... to retrieve my ship. And then I will leave."
"But you'll have other snow rabbits on the crew, right?"
"The agreement between the snow rabbits and the warm-furs ... is that HALF the crew shall be snow rabbits. The other half of mixed species of my choosing."
"Sounds like it'll be ... one interesting ship." A grin.
"Of that," she assured, "I've no doubt."
"Well, at least you've got a cook, right?" he said, referring to Ross. Her mate. Undoubtedly going with her.
"I do." A pause. "He is ... my love," she whispered, and tilted her head. And she paused. "I was very saddened," she whispered, "to hear of Audrey's miscarriage."
Advance swallowed. Wincing. "Well, uh ... when she got thrown from her seat," he said, "during the attack ... her body got bruised and hit so hard. Harder than we thought. I don't ... I don't know," was his weak response. "I ... just the way it goes."
"I know this is small consolation," the snow rabbit provided, "but you are young. Healthy. You will have plenty of chances to try again ... "
A sad, little smile. And the desert mouse said nothing. Just swallowed. Cleared his throat. And breathed. They had destroyed all human/wasp presences in the sector they'd been in (with help from Illustrious ... Captain Kalmbach's ship had, afterwards, gone back out 'unto the breach,' as he'd likened his patrol of deep space ... )
The snow rabbit took Advance's paw and ... squeezed it.
The mouse sniffled. "Thanks ... " His tail was still. His whiskers only weakly twitching. "You know, I'm losing one officer ... for the price of two ... or something like that. You'll be hard to replace."
"As I said ... Arctic will be near you," she told him, "most of the time. We will see a lot of each other."
"I've ... I've appreciated your sense of calm. And control. And ... we both come from hostile environments. We both know what it's like to grow up ... to grow up WANTING. To grow up in need, and ... I think that's allowed us to work well together."
"And I am very grateful," she whispered, "for the opportunity you gave me ... and I will, of course, treasure my time on Solstice. But ... I did not wish to turn down the offer."
"I don't blame you." A pause. An admitted, "I wouldn't have, either. Used to? I tried to turn down Solstice when they gave her to me ... I wasn't even their first choice to captain her, but ... they persisted. They thought my background would lend well to ... to all this, and ... well, here I am. I don't regret it." A pause. "You won't, either."
An eye-smile.
A breath from Advance. "Welly's almost done with the anti-virus. He says ... sometime next week. And then all furs can be given a dose. Once it's replicated on a mass scale. Ship-based furs will get it before planet-based furs ... just because we're more on the front lines, as it were. I guess we've got our OWN little cold war now," the mouse admitted. "But ... " A breath. "So, the humans can't mutate or ... transform us, or ... but that won't stop them from coveting our bodies. And our territory. I doubt we've seen the last of them."
"And the wasps?"
"You know the wasps better than I do ... they're relentless. They always come back. They're a menace ... short of finding their hive world and obliterating it, I don't know how to remove them from our radar. They're too deep beyond our borders, and they ... operate under stealth and secrecy." A pause. "But ... I had a chat with the Furry Council over the comm line the other day. They're going to start designing ships ... exclusively FOR wasp and human combat. They're going to draw plans of strategy and attack ... for a potential invasion. We'll be prepared. We'll be ready. But, hopefully, it won't come to that ... " He trailed. Hopefully.
"With my absence," Aria realized, "who will keep an eye on Advent?" It was meant as a joke ...
... and Advance smiled. Shrugging. "Lipton. He's ... I don't know what's happened with her. She's changing. I like it. I mean, she's STILL a feline, that's for sure. She still has that swagger and that predatory ... burn ... but ... she's not so unwieldy anymore. I think she's settling in with Lipton. I think it's gonna work out between those two. And ... as for the rest of the crew? Herkimer's sore, but ... resting nicely with Opal. And ... everyone else is fine, and ... they're all just relieved we're out of danger for the time being. Looking forward to some shore leave." A pause. "Which will have to wait 'til after we've delivered you to the Arctic."
"I believe there is a resort colony a few days beyond our borders," she said. "However, you could always take shore leave with us."
"Shore leave with a few million snow rabbits ... on a world of ice and snow? Mm. Tempting." A teasing smile. "But, uh ... my ears would get frostbite. They have no fur on them." His dishy, pink ears swivelled.
"There are always ear-muffs." An eye-smile.
"They look ridiculous on mice."
"Or cute ... "
A weak giggle-squeak. And another (tired) sigh. "Well ... " He trailed. "I'll have Advent alter our course. And ... it'll take a week, I think, to get there? From here?"
"Thirteen days."
"Mm ... well ... gives us all time, then, to ... be together. As a family. All of us."
"Ross and I are the only ones leaving," she noted.
"It's two departures too many," Advance whispered, biting his lip. His eyes watered. He blinked the water away. "But, as I said ... I'm happy for you. Had I turned down Solstice ... I would've regretted it. Which is why I know you need to command Arctic. Cause you'll make a great Captain. And ... you're an excellent strategist. You have a keen mind. You're cool under pressure. But you also have a passion that ... more and more ... has melted through to the surface of your personality. And it makes you a good friend." He held out a paw, and ...
... she took it.
And he squeezed. "You promise to visit?"
"Weekly," she assured. "Perhaps our vessels can run side-by-side patrols."
A smile. "Sounds good." A pause. Looking out at the stars. "You know something ... something I've noticed. For all the growth we do, and ... all the changes. As quickly as time passes ... "
She raised her brow.
" ... the more things change, the more they stay the same." A pause. "Kind of," he admitted. "Maybe." A pause. "Just seems like a good thing to say."
"I think I understand," Aria whispered.
A pause. Advance swallowing. "Guess we should get on the bridge, huh?"
"Perhaps." She carefully stood, and ... padded for the door. White bobtail flicking.
And he followed her through the whooshing doors of the ready room, and ... on his way out, made a detour to the Comm station, where he leaned in (in full view of every-fur) and gave Audrey a lingering, loving kiss. Right to the lips. Closing his (and, by contact, her) eyes ... before continuing to his chair. Looking around before he sat down.
Everyone was where they were supposed to be.
Everyone had found their place.
And, taking a breath, the desert mouse said, "Advent ... set a course for the snow rabbit world. We have a captain to ferry."
"That's two weeks from here."
"I know ... it'll be a leisurely ride. And we're gonna relax, and enjoy it, and ... " The mouse's eyes suddenly sparkled with the innocence inherent in his species. " ... we'll see what's out there." A breath. Alive. Hoping. Yearning.
And, now, going.
In a different direction. Through the stars.
No end in sight.