FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The moment the projectors extend the field far enough ahead of the ship, a point in space grows from an infinitesimal speck to form a hole in space large enough for the ship to pass though. To the ship and its occupants there was no through. As soon as the ship breached the field that made the gate, the ship was transported to a new point in space and the field collapsed in its wake.

"You see," explains Zuhumi to the people packed into the cramped control room, "the technology seems to appear soon in several cultures not long after artificial gravity is discovered." He swings the ship around to aim at the next gate point and locks the controls. He turns to face the others in the room with him. "Now, we wait until we reach the next point."

Zuhumi explains that the points appear to be fixed in space. They remain stationary as systems and planets move. "No one knows exactly how many of them there are in the universe because while finding them is extremely easy, figuring out where they go is very difficult. Many have been opened into the darkest space and even a few opened into the hearts of stars." He explains that you need a large projector ship which can create a long lasting field to open a gate to send a probe through, look around for marker stars and then extract the probe again.

"The gate exploration ship," Zuhumi says, "must also be strong enough to withstand a glancing hit if the gate spits out plasma or something even more deadly. After a few ships had been lost over the millennia, they figure out how to aim a gate away."

Itico looks up, "This traveling appears to be instantaneous?"

"As far as we can tell," replies Zuhumi, "but any signals sent without the gate still has to come back at light speed, so it is not so easy to be precise."

The two shapes of Randa sit together next to Itico and the clone asks, "Do people know how this works, or just that it does?"

"Theories only," Zuhumi replies. "The theory that most people like is the quantum foam theory. That is, somehow we are piercing a nearby bubble and jumping through it to another part of our universe that is also touched by that bubble. We appear to be leaving and entering the same universe but would we really know if we were not? Many races have been using the technology for so long now though we all just take it for granted."

A little armored biped who currently sits on Itico's shoulders holds up a small clawed hand. It asks, "How long have you been flying in space? Pardon me if I'm being rude but this is my first time knowing I was in space."

"The question does not offend me," Zuhumi states. "My clan has been scavenging junked ships and abandoned bases for several hundred generations. We have been in space so long that we no longer use the calendar of our home planet." He shrugs, "I am still quite young. I have only been working solo a few hundred ship days." He waves a hand to encompass the entire ship. "You can tell I am young because I fly one of the oldest ships in our fleet. This ships has been out in space longer than even my mother. It was originally commissioned by her great grandmother."

A pleasant chime sounded from the communications panel.

"Speaking of my mother," he turns to the communication panel and pushes a few buttons.

From a speaker grill in the panel, Ishta's voice is heard. No one but Zuhumi understood their native language and the translators apparently did not work on recorded messages.

Zuhumi turns back and smiles a bit. He asks, "Would you mind a bit of a detour? My mother has invited everyone to a party."

It did take some convincing because many of the passengers wanted to head straight back to their home, even if there was the possibility that there home had been drastically altered by the invaders.

Clone Randa stood in the center of the cargo bay and addressed the others.

"I might just be a partial copy," she says to everyone assembled, "but I have learned one thing from this ordeal." She pauses to look around, "well, more then one thing but one thing in particular jumps out at me." She looks around again to judge the level of attention in the room, "if you don't take some time to rest, process what you have been through and regain your strength, you may not have enough to make it through the next ordeal."

Eventually everyone agreed, or agreed to go along with the group decision. Zuhumi altered the ship's course and plotted a new route towards his clan's current position.

A little later, Itico and Randa lay curled up against each other, surrounded by the others of their kind. A few other creatures who were more used to warmer environments where snuggled in where they could fit to stay warm in the cool cargo bay.

A couple of small lizard people sat on Itico's and Randa's front feet while using a small box as a table. They were playing a complex game with tiles and a little rubber ball that they managed to get out of the ship's replicator.

"I really do not know what we are doing," says Randa privately to Itico.

The ball bounces high off the table and Itico bumps it back with a slight nod of his head. The ball is caught by one of the other players, "Hey, not so hard," it chides the one who bounced the ball.

Privately Itico says to Randa, "Me either. What I do know is that if we do not go back to our home planet to see what can be salvaged, I will feel as if we gave up and let them take everything from us all."

The ball bounces off the table again and neatly clips a tile off an opponent's strategically placed arrangement of tiles. With a quiet rattle, the tile falls to the table and everyone looks pleased except for the player who just lost a tile. The tile is carefully removed from the table.

Randa admits, "I'm scared. We don't know what is there and if our former captors will fight."

The player who had just lost a tile was given the ball and after a moment of thought it carefully bounces the ball off the center of the table. The ball crashes right through the center of another structure and the lizard looks even more disappointed. It allows another player to carefully add a tile to the thrower's stack. They all wait as the demolished stack is rebuilt exactly as it had been before being smashed.

"I agree," Itico replies as he watches the players. "While they have lost their immediate leader, they still are loyal to the system that gives them purpose and power."

After the player has finished rebuilding their pile the ball is handed to them. With a complex motion, it bounces the ball into the center of the table again but instead of bouncing straight at the player they appeared to be aiming at, the spin on the ball changed its direction. The ball bounced and then rolled more gently into another player's stack where it dislodged a single supporting tile. While the ball rolled clear and the supporting tile fell over with a click, the rest of the structure wobbled, now only being supported by a single remaining tile. Everyone seemed to hold their collective breath. Everyone lifted their hands away from the table. Obviously no one wanted to accidentally bump it. After a moment, one reached down and plucked the ball off the table and a new bouncer was chosen by the previous player. As the creature took the ball, it looked really nervous. It made its move, more spin then bounce on the ball but the moment the ball hit the table, the finely balanced stack of tiles fell over.

"No matter what," Randa says, "We have to make it home and see what is left to salvage."

"Rocks!" the creature exclaims and removes its stack of tiles from the table. The one who had the finely balanced structure makes a mark on a score card and withdraws from the game. The others keep playing.

"No matter what," agrees Itico.

The ship gaves a little warning and lizards grab their tiles just before the ship jumps through another gate. After the jump, they set up their game again, exactly as before. The two players who were out got up and took the long walk, for them, to where some refreshments had been set out.

After a few more jumps and several more rounds of the game, Zuhumi walks into the cargo area and announces, "We will arrive at my clan's largest ship in about an hour. This was my home for much of my life. If you want to look outside, you will see my clan's several hundred ships surrounding the great clan ship as we approach."

People took turns going to view through the cargo ship's few viewports, including the largest in the control room. They watch as the ship approached the constellation of smaller vessels surrounding the great spherical ship that housed the clan leadership and most of the families.

As they approached, an escort of faster ships surrounded the bulky cargo ship. Zuhumi started to look a little nervous and embarrassed as the ships took up station and started to fire little colorful rockets around the cargo ship, bathing it in a halo of shifting colors and patterns.

Itico has his forefeet up on the console and is looking at the display. He turns to Zuhumi and asks, "Do they do this often?"

Zuhumi flushes darker under his brown hair. "No," he says, "this is usually reserved for visiting dignitaries from other clans and people of importance."

"Well then," Itico muses, "there must be someone important on our ship."

Zuhumi laughs, "Or my mother is yet again doing things which make me embarrassed to be related to her."

As they approach the great ship, they are instructed to give flight control over to the traffic control system. Zuhumi issues the command to his ship and the automated system steers the towards a large landing pad.

"Oh no," Zuhumi groans, "that's the ceremonial dock." His entire face looks a full shade darker from embarrassment. He turns to the others in the control room and states, "I hope you like parties."

The old cargo ship gently touches the landing pad. Magnetic locks latch onto the landing gear and the entire pad begins to sink into the skin of the larger vessel. After a long decent into the home ship the large pad stops and doors slide shut overhead to seal a large hanger space capable of handing a ship several times larger than the cargo ship it held now. Light panels in the walls wash the ship in a harsh white light.

"Visual inspection," Zuhumi says, "to make sure the ship has not received major damage which could jeopardize the crew or cargo during the next phase."

Suddenly, a torrent of water shoots out from every wall, quickly filling the large space and submerging the cargo ship. The water rushes away just as quickly after the ship had been completely immersed.

The landing pad begins to drop deeper into the ship. When they stop again, the ship rests in a much larger compartment filled with space faring vessels of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Ishta and a small welcoming party stand nearby waiting for the ship's ramp to descend.

As the ramp drops, Ishta hops up onto it and waves excitedly, "Come on! Come on out! Welcome everyone! Come on out, stretch your legs, it's time to relax, eat, have some fun! Meet new people!"

The little equine lady's energy was a bit much for some of the passengers but after a while everyone was off the cargo ship and enjoying the fresher air and larger spaces of the enormous hanger. People were being shepherded towards a reception hall just off the hanger and others were being guided to rooms where personal needs could be met.

An equine child ran up to the ramp and helped the smaller armored lizard people onto a floating child-sized toy sled. They zipped off after the running child who was exclaiming in delight.

Zuhumi, Itico, Ishta and the two Randa watched everyone else moving off.

Ishta turns to look at the two who were both named Randa. "Let me see if I understand this," she says and gestures to the quadruped, "You're back in your natural body."

Randa nods.

Ishta then gestures towards the bipedal Randa, "You are also Randa, but you're the one created during the telepresence connection."

That Randa nods as well.

Ishta kneels down and hugs around Itico's neck. "Now, you," she says, "are still the handsome one."

Itico huffs and noses Ishta.

Ishta stands and turns to her son. "Well, my son, you did it now. You went and changed everything." She grins. "Remember, it's all your fault." She playfully cuffs her son's ears. She then waves, "Come along, we have a lot to do."

As the five enter the reception hall, the ornately decorated room is filled with noise and joviality than the normal solemn and stately ceremonies that it usually sees. At one end of the long room, the large black horse was giving rides to small children and full grown adults alike. He was being smothered with attention and had been groomed thoroughly until his coat shon. His mane and tail had been trimmed and braided with a riot of colorful ornaments.

In the center of the room a large pile of colorful cushions on which scrambled and pounced the youngest of the tigers. They chased each other and the younger equines of the clan. They tumbled about with playful growls and the higher pitched squeals of equine excitement. Older members of all the species stood, sprawled or sat around the room chatting away and enjoying some refreshments and there were even some groups teaching each other various games.

Some of the equine children sat playing a game where the small armored lizard people acted as living game pieces.

Both Randas laugh, reacting much the same. They look at each other and laugh again. At the same time they say, "Well, this is different."

Itico sprawled on a large cushion to watch and chuckles quietly in his low mind voice. "I can't say I could get used to this, but it will do for now. Better than being in the cramped ship."

Ishta pulls the bipedal Randa aside and they quietly slip from the room.

Randa watches the two leave, shrugs and sprawls near Itico and sighs.

A group of young equines approach carrying two large bowls. Each pair of equines sets one down in front of Itico and Randa. The tallest one addresses both of them. "We tried straws and other things, but these just works best." Each bowl smelled of fresh, clean water.

"Thank you," Itico says.

Another of the equines states, "We have no meat on this ship."

Randa looks up at them, "Thank you. None of us has eaten meat in quite a long time." She looks over at the playing younger tigers, "Some of them are not even old enough to have ever eaten meat." She looks back, "We seem to do fine on the synthesized proteins."

The equines look relieved. The first one says, "We will bring you some, if you like."

"That would be fine," Itico says.

"These people seem very nice," Randa states without restricting her mental voice to only Itico. Anyone nearby would hear her voice as if she had been speaking aloud.

Itico drinks from the bowl, trying not to splash too much water about. "Very nice," he says publicly as well. He admits, "I'm not used to this. It makes me nervous."

Ishta steps up, now dressed in an even more intricately decorated robe. She sits and carefully arranges the folds of the garment around her on the floor. To Itico she says, "I completely understand. You and your people have been through a lot and you have no reason to trust anyone."

The two tigers look at her. Itico's face drips water. Ishta grabs a towel from behind her and carefully rubs it over his face. She continues before either can say anything. "Our meeting may have been accidental but you have opened our eyes to the truth about your former captors. Our clan, our species, may predominantly be traders but we will not stand by if a wrong is being done to others. Especially on this scale. I and all of the clans have decided to help in any way that we can. This means more than just stopping trade. Although I imagine that this alone will create major disruption for them."

Ishta leans forward and plants a soft kiss directly on Itico's nose.

"Keeping someone as handsome as you in a cage," she says, "definitely strikes me as wrong."

Itico snorts his amusement.

Ishta catches Randa looking around.

"Looking for your doppelgänger?" she asks.

Randa nods.

"You will see her again," Ishta says. "I think then you two should have a better time differentiating each other." She pauses with a light smile and says mysteriously, "You'll see."

A large male equine approaches and bows to Ishta formally. "Clan Leader, everything is ready."

"Thank you Lehoran," she offers him her hand and Ishta stands. She gestures to the two tigers. "Follow me."

They approach a raised dais at the far end of the room. Behind the dais is a large virtual window that shows the expanse of space outside as though there were an actual window instead of the several tens of meters of metal, water and wiring that made up the wall of the nearly dwarf planet sized ship. The expanse of the window displayed many of the clan ships that swarmed around the great clan ship floating serenely in space.

Ishta walks up onto the dais but Lehoran stops the two tigers from following. He directs them to two cushions, one on each side of the lower platform. They sit, facing each other and bracket the group on the higher step.

Zuhumi steps up near Itico, but stands a little behind and on the same level as everyone else. On the opposite side, Randa's modified clone body takes up a similar position near Randa. She is now dressed in a different robe. This one decorated like her own patterning in black, grey and white. The cuffs of one sleeve was adorned with the colors and emblem of Zuhumi's clan and the same space on the other arm had been left blank as though the embellishment would be filled in later.

Everyone else in the room was ushered to assemble in front of the dais in a mixed crowd. Even the small lizard people were seated on their own floating platform.

As Lehoran gestures, the room falls silent. Even the rambunctious tigers have been calmed into sitting quietly. Lehoran turns to an elderly woman who sat in a chair in the center of the group at the back of the raised platform. He steps up and asks, "Are you ready Great Mother?"

The aged equine grasps a cane with her left hand and Lehoran's arm with her right. She stands mostly on her own power but she does appear to need the help to steady herself for a moment. She stands up straight after a moment and hands the younger man the cane.

Lehoran steps to the rear of the dais.

The elder woman takes a steady step forward and turns to Rand. She nods her head and repeats the gesture to Itico. She then looks out at the crowd. She begins speaking. Even though she speaks softly, her voice carries to everyone in the room through a sound system. "My family, my friends, honored guests," she says, "many of us are lucky to live our lives fully without significant hardship and with the support of our clans. We know we are lucky to have this and we work hard to retain and build upon what we have." She spreads her arms, looking down at the two tigers a step below her. "We know that not everyone is as fortunate as us and that is why we trade between the many planets, stations, ships and species of our galaxy. We want to bring peace and prosperity to all that support these ideals. We do not support those few who desire to conquer and lay waste to others." She bows her head before continuing again. "This is why it pains me to announce to everyone here, to all the ships of our clan and to all the other clans. We must cease all trade with one of our largest trading partner species."

A gasp is heard from several of the equines in the room.

"I speak," the elder continues, "as the current voice of the clan council. Due to evidence brought to us by Clan Leader Ishta, which was provided by this astonishing creature here," she gestures towards Randa's natural form. "The clan council has decided that all transactions, contracts and informal agreements with the species identified as," she said something the translator was not able to translate, "be irrevocably and permanently terminated and that all clan ships should immediately return to space outside of their territories. All cargos currently being transferred off ships should be recalled if possible. Parties will be compensated for any losses. Why we are doing this will be transmitted to all ships immediately after this transmission. I warn you though, the evidence as it is presented is not for the faint of heart. Understand that the council does not take this action lightly. Due to the nature of the offenses all parties are granted the use of any means necessary for the protection of persons, ships, and cargos up to and including the use of lethal deterrence. This is the unanimous will of the Council of the Clans and this is the will of all of the people of the clans."

The elderly lady lowers her hands and bows her head. She then looks to the side at another male who taps at a handheld control. He nods to her. She relaxes a little and Lehoran brings her a tumbler full of water. She takes a few drinks before handing it back.

"Thank you," she says to everyone and none one in particular. "Now, let's get to the more fun stuff, shall we?"

The elder speaker turns to look at the technician again who makes an affirmative gesture.

The communication technician says, "The first transmission has been sent. The data packets are being loaded into needles now. We are ready for the next recording."

The clan speaker nods and turns back to the crowd. In a normal speaking voice she says, "Now, we have three more ceremonies to get through. I hope we all can last that long."

A few people laugh.

The speaker shrugs her shoulders, settling her heavily decorated ceremonial robe more comfortably on her shoulders. When she looks back out at the crowd, a light smile plays across her features.

"I bring you better news now. First, I would like to welcome our new friends to our home." She bows to Itico and then speaks to the crowd again. "I present Itico, elder of his clan here with us." She turns and bows to Randa, "This is Randa, second eldest of their clan. Welcome to you both and to all of your kind that are here with us today."

The audience in the room all click their hard fingertips together in a rhythmic clicking cacophony.

The elder raise her hand slightly to quiet the room again.

"Now, I am told that their kind is telepathic, so you might want to watch your thoughts around them," she jokes.

Some in the audience laugh.

The elder continues, "I understand that they could not speak directly to us until a translator was given to each one by a member of another race we had not met before. This creature is not here with us. I hope to meet her soon so I can thank her in person for helping us expand our ring of friends and allies."

The audience applauds again.

"Now," the speaker says, "I will ask Clan Leader Ishta to conduct the next these ceremony but she will be speaking for more than her own clan. She will speak with the voice of all in the clan council."

Istha steps up next to the speaker who carefully retires to her chair with the help of Lehoran. Ishta smiles and looks out at the crowd and speaks. "With the permission of the Council of Clans and the agreement of my fellow clan leaders, I would like to formalize an alliance between myself, my clan and the clan represented by Itico and Randa and the rest of their kind represented here and any we may find elsewhere. This alliance, furthermore, includes a clan adoption into the clan I represent and the greater society of all our clans." She looks at Randa and then Itico. "If you accept this alliance, my clan and all of our clans by extension will see you and all of your kind as full clan members, irregardless of our various species."

Those who have hands applaud.

Ishta looks down at the two tigers just a step below her. "Take a moment to converse with your fellows if you need to," she says.

While Ishta was speaking, Randa had thought to the other tigers, "They desire to make us part of their family. What do you say?" Even the youngest of their kind appeared to understand how important this was. They had been ripped from their homes, their parents and kin murdered in front of the. Then caged to be taken to foreign planets where they had been mistreated by alien creatures they had no way of understanding. They could see, and feel, that these people, though different from themselves, were also very different from their former captors, better, more trustworthy, safer. To a tiger they agreed.

Itico watches and listens and when Randa turns back to him and also gives her agreement, Itico looks up to Ishta, and his mental voice rumbling deep with emotion says, "We are all in agreement. We gratefully accept your offers of alliance and kinship."

Ishta looks up at where the recording devices must be and speaks, "Itico, Randa and all the others unanimously accept." She gestures and two hooded figures step up to first Randa and then Itico. The one holding a box opens the lid each time so that the other can carefully remove a pendent of the clan seal. One is placed first around Randa's neck and then Itico's. Then the two step back off the dais and melt into the crowd again.

As the other tigers are given similarly decorated pendants to wear Ishta continues, "Unlike the collars of captivity, these emblems open doors of opportunity to you. Where ever you go, where our clan and species does trade, you will be recognized and supported as family and ally."

The audience applauds again.

Istha steps down and hugs Itico and Randa then playfully pushes them off the step. "Now, go, I got more to do up here."

The tigers join their fellows in the audience as Zuhumi and Randa's former self step up onto the first step.

Ishta steps up to the higher level once again and turns to the crowd.

"It is a little confusing," Ishta resumes, "but understand that the Randa I just welcomed into the clan and this individual who now stands in her place were once the same person." Ishta steps down and pulls the bipedal tiger towards the center of the step to join her. "Right now," Ishta says, "We will acknowledge and honor this new, separate entity. We welcome you and all of your fellow newly awakened into our clan as well, if you so wish."

The bipedal tiger blushes under the white hair covering her face and neck, but smiles. She looks back up and calms herself with a breath before saying clearly, in the equine's own language, "Thank you, I accept."

The audience applauds, longer then last time.

Ishta raises a hand to quiet the room. Ishta takes the young lady's hand so that the clan emblems on each of their sleeves align into a larger mirror image pattern. She asks, "Have you chosen a name for yourself?"

The young tiger looks out at the audience and nods to Randa specifically before she looks back up and says in a strong voice, "I shall be known from now on as Aleya, Freedom. I am prisoner no more."

Those who were seated rise as they applaud, even the quadruped tigers stand.

Aleya bows her head, a tear falling from her eye.

Ishta hugs Aleya. When she breaks the embrace, the audience takes it as a cue to quiet down once again. Those who were originally seated retake their seats.

Aleya steps back to where she was standing before, folding her slender hands in front of herself.

Ishta grins and stops up to the higher step again and says, "I will ask Clan Leader Lehoran to present the last so that I do not appear to favor my one and only son."

Some people laugh in the audience and even Lehoran smiles as he steps up next to Ishta who steps back once again.

Lehoran clears his throat and begins, "Zuhumi, you know better than most that being the only son of a clan leader brings more risk than reward."

This gets a laugh from some in the audience and Zuhumi smiles.

Lehoran continues, "All parents want their children to do great things and those parents work hard to accept the choices of their offspring even when they choose differently then the parents desire. Many children do not follow their parents into the same occupation and few children of leaders ever decide that they want to follow their parents into leadership." He pauses. "Fewer still reach for or attain the same or surpass the levels of their parents."

Lehoran reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small box. He steps down to the first step and turns to face Zuhumi. He pulls a small pin from the box and affixes it to the cloth of Zuhumi's robe near the left shoulder. "By the authority entrusted to me from the Council of Clans and fellow Clan Leaders, it is my honor to welcome you to the rank of Clan Leader with all the responsibilities, obligations and what few perks the office can afford."

The other clan members once again stand and applaud. This time they shake the floor of the room by stomping rhythmically with their feet while still clicking their tough fingertips together.

Zuhumi blushes again and bows his head.

Lehoran steps back and quiets the crowd, "While it was chance that brought Zuhumi's ship into close proximity to an exploding vessel, his handling of the situation was exceptionally skillful. The discoveries that this situation has afforded us have advanced our knowledge of the galaxy as a whole and several new species in particular. The technology that he brought us has opened to us greater insights into the capabilities of the species we once considered friends but have now discovered their extremely dark nature." Lenora's pauses, then says, "Of course you can choose to decline the appointment but before you make your choice there is something you might want to see first."

Noticed by only a few, something large rises up from the bottom of the virtual window and darkly blots out the light from distant starts and the much nearer running lights of clan ships. The large shape reaches the center of the window as Lehoran speaks.

As Lehoran stops speaking, he turns towards the window and continues, "It is my honor and privilege as well to awards Clan Leader Zuhumi with a new, and I do mean new, ship to command." He gestures towards the window, "May I introduce to you and the rest of the galaxy the new Seeker Class Clan Ship Infinite Horizon."

At Lehoran's last words, the ship's running lights blink on highlighting its clan designation and name as well as the ship's unusual profile. A moment later floodlights from the larger clan ship illuminate the rest of the brand new vessel. It's profile was wide, flat and overall several times larger than his old ship. The nose of the ship sprouted many field projectors of enormous size that looked like it could project a gate field large enough to jump a ship twice its size.

Infinite Horizon begun to slowly spin to reveal the two large open docking bays and numerous hatches and ports. The regular engines on the aft end were large as well, looking dangerous as they pointed at the larger clan ship. The outside observer could see that the ship structure consisted of seven full decks. As it finished the spin, Zuhumi turned to Lehoran, a little wide-eyed. "It's armed?" he asks a little incredulously.

Lehoran nods, "the Seeker class is the first of its kind. The clans have been encountering more aggressive species lately so the council decided that we need ships with greater defensive capability and we hope that we never need to use these for offense but we can not count that out."

"So," Zuhumi laughs, "you name a first of it's kind ship after a children's entertainment?"

Lehoran laughs, "It was your mother's idea after the council decided to give you the command."

After the great reveal of the new ship, the recording was ended with people crowding up to the virtual window to marvel at the new ship.

As the ceremony ended, the party started up again. Itico and Randa were back on their cushions, sampling some of the synthesized protien dishes..

"Clan leader," teased Randa.

Itico huffs, "Their title, not mine."

Randa carefully tastes a morsel that was being offered to her by a younger equine who giggles at Randa's rough tongue. They talked in the open so anyone near could hear them. "Well," she continues, "you might as well be. You are the oldest."

Itico shrugs again as he tries another piece offered by the same youth. "You know," he says to the youngster, "we can eat our own food."

The equine laughs, "Yes," she says, "but it's fun to watch your faces when you try new things. I'm trying to guess what you think about each dish."

Itico snorts and replies, "Compared to what I have eaten for a long while, any of this is new and interesting. I'll choose favorites later."

Randa asks the youth, "What is your favorite?"

"Oh," she answers, "I did not bring you any of that because I watched the experiments with the straws earlier. I like the dishes with long noodles. I like to slurp them up noisily because it annoys my brother. Your kind doesn't seem like you would do well at slurping up noodles."

Randa chuckles, "No, we do much better with things we can bite and swallow. We tend to make a bigger mess when we eat, I'm sure."

The equines ears swivel as she hears a voice from across the room. She sets down the bowl she had in her lap. "Excuse me," she says as she stands, "my mother needs me." She bows slightly as she departs.

Itico returns to the conversation with Randa, "I'm not the one who organized a ship load of different species to stage a grand escape."

Randa chuckles softly, "That was not me, really. If anything, I was the thrown rock the disturbed the wasp nest."

"Right place, right time," Itico replies, "I think we know someone who just got a brand new spaceship for that sort of thing."

Zuhumi sits down next to the tigers and mutters, playfully, "You are impossible to sneak up on, aren't you?"

"Only when we're awake," Itico replies.

Zuhumi laughs. "They wanted me to come sit at the adult's table," Zuhumi gestures to the other clan leaders seated around a table in the corner, "but I told them I was not quite ready for that yet. I said I needed to let the shock wear off first."

Randa looks up from pulling more food out of a bowl. She swallows the bite and asks, "This sort of thing is rare?"

Zuhumi laughs, "You're now looking at the youngest person ever elected to clan leadership in all of clan history, in all of our clan's histories and it was not my mother who advocated for this. It was the Elder Speaker herself."

After another hour or so, all of the younger tigers were sprawled out on cushions and even the adults drowsed or talked quietly. Sleds were brought in on quiet wheels to carry sleeping tigers, cushions and all, to a room where they could sleep peacefully.

Zuhumi had returned to his former cargo ship and had removed all his personal possessions. This took him some time since it had been his home for quite a while. When he was finished a crate sat nearby waiting to be moved to his new ship.

As Zuhumi walked towards the new ship, Itico and Randa followed at a respectable distance.

Ishta explains to Zuhumi, "Everyone now can have their own quarters, or several can sleep in a bunk room, if they want. You have a lot more room to play with now. There's a clan leadership link installed in your quarters too, so when you're ready, you can join us at planning meetings."

Zuhumi laughs, "I so look forward to clan leadership meetings."

"Oh, I know," Ishta laughs, "not the most exciting part of the job but it's not so bad. Not any worse then the hours of education we have to sit through when we're young."

Zuhumi smiles and nods. He stops to look at the large vessel before him. It's curves and angles much more pleasant to look at than the boxy freighter he had been flying before. The ship appears small compared to the hanger it now sat in.

The old equine makes her way down the ramp from the ship and walks steadily, though she does lean on her cane a little, and stops in front of Zuhumi. She offers him a small data card.

The Speaker bows her head to Zuhumi, "May I present you with the command card to your new ship Infinite Horizon."

Zuhumi takes the card and bows. "Thank you Grand Speaker."

The old lady smiles and walks away, although she stops to stroke down Randa's back once before continuing on.

The passengers from Zuhumi's cargo ship form a line behind Ishta, Zuhumi, Itico and Randa as they start up the ramp into the new ship.