Sirius: Book Two - Battlefields: Chapter 11 - Earth: A Brief History

Story by WhiteArcticFox on SoFurry

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#11 of Sirius: Book Two - Battlefields


Edit: Glaring Inconsistency

Edit: Voting was disabled... GRR!

Author's Notes: *Post-History: Fictional history of a fictional future.

Plot development went smoothly. And yes, this whole history bit is just me filling space, but it worked, and it's important to the story. So no fault on my end. Enjoy the politics, but don't forget that the 'history' is only about 22 paragraphs long.

No actual sex, but it is implied.

Disclaimer: This story contains graphic, bloody, and violent implied themes. No actual blood, the graphic details are in terms of locale description, and the violence is a war of attrition type deal, so there's really not much bad, aside from the Homosexuality that seems to run rampant in my futureworld. If you have problems with homosexuality, furries, science fiction, science in general, or you are under Age o' Maj', turn away or risk trauma of the type you may never recover from, and will never get a settlement for. Enjoy:

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Chapter 11: Earth: A Brief History.

In the year 2139 the human race had severely overpopulated the planet Earth. A planet with an estimated population cap of nine billion was being forced to support a staggering third on top of that, thanks in no small part to the eradication of many diseases and an openness about sexuality. Fully three billion people over the estimated limit were crammed into the limited space.

It had become necessary to find alternative living arrangements. Homes were burrowed into the ground, built up along mountains like a spine, or even sunken in the water. For a while this worked, until those that lived in the alternative arrangements began to complain about the 'surface-dwellers' living in normalcy.

Many solutions were suggested; Colonies in space, terraforming planets, and even encapsulating half of the planet's population and shooting them in the direction of a habitable world. At this time, slipstream travel was limited incredibly. The hundred light-years that separated Sirius and Sol would take more than 400 years to cross with the technology. Plague ran rampant in the more cramped confines of the eastern world.

Medicine had evolved beyond the need to worry about such trivial things such as AIDS and the Bubonic plague, but new diseases seemed to crop up out of nowhere. It was discovered that some military groups, working hidden from their respective governments, were infecting the general population with a deadly virus, attempting to control the population.

These were the first instigations of conflict. Every country on the planet was in a class struggle, the underlings scratching wildly at the threads of the upper class. Eventually there was civil war everywhere. The government and the people disagreed on almost everything in this day, and violence betook the planet. Millions died because of war, millions more to disease and famine. On December twenty-first 2162 a mass-suicide of over three million people all across the globe shook the governments heavily.

The message prior was, in the most basic form, a plea to end the violence. The ones who willingly sacrificed themselves gave the world to those who would cease-fire.

This sent the entire planet into the throes of a war against eachother. Nobody trusted anybody, the entire infrastructure collapsed. People were killing out of a need for retribution. Everybody was touched or affected by the suicides, people of all walks of life. There were twelve cities on the entire planet that were not involved in this affront. They were linked by the simple cause of peace. Toronto, Berlin, Alexandria, Athens, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New Moscow, Waterloo, London, Hiroshima, and Paris were all at once joined in the same cause.

It was a covert event at first. Barrier technology out of Kitchener, Ontario was smuggled into the countries unknown to the Canadian government; Prime Minister Alec Renoir was the most supportive of war to date; and so there was no knowledge of the events until after they took place.

On July third 2173, simulcast around the globe was the final transmission from these twelve cities to the outside world for the duration of the war.

It came in the form of a malignant virus, infecting every system globe-wide and forcing whatever was inactive to be active. All across the world, every visual and auditory display on the planet sprang to life, bringing anger to the countries where the cities were situated. It was transmitted in Global, a language created and enforced as the trade language of the world. (The current Earth English, and two other global dialects; Global Trade, and Universal Sign later supplanted it.)

The message was as follows;

(Translated from global)Citizens of our once fair and prosperous world; you are sentenced to your war. The people of the twelve cities will not abide by your violence, and so we are closing ourselves off from you. As we speak, you may notice the transmission shorting out, as our current technology is beginning to block communications into and out of our cities. The barriers are rising, and none will be allowed to enter. Should you try to attack us; be notified that we will bombard you with our own weaponry. No further contact will commence, until each and every warlike being on this godforsaken planet is exterminated. That is all.

The red domes of the barrier technology sealed off the cities from the world and let it fight its war. The barrier can become semi-permeable, allowing gasses through, or just specific molecules, and the largest of stadiums, arenas, theatres, or other entertainment complexes were turned into Hydroponic Gardens. And so the cities bode their time, waiting for the war around them to cease.

Periodically a signal was relayed from the network of old GPS satellites, showing an accurate rendering of the planet's major cities. Battles raged and people continued to slaughter eachother for the sake of a cause they'd forgotten about years earlier.

Some ten years passed before the war ground to a halt. Masses of survivors from the conflict, of all races and walks of life, congregated outside of the walled cities and camped. They waited for a several months before anybody inside of the cities even noticed they were there.

Every city on the planet had been ravaged by war excluding some of the more remote island cities, and many underwater colonies. The remnants of the war machines rested in useless piles; the first prototype mechanized walkers, robotic soldiers, and corpses from the conflicting sects of humanity were littered across the globe.

After the peace was established, the mayoral leaders of the cities recreated government. Money was opted to be the first idea that was thrown away. Racism of any sort was now punishable by death. Measures that seemed too harsh were put in place to prevent any breach of the peace.

Another ten years passed, and as the new cities rose from the ashes of the world, and life began anew with the aid of the human occupants, it became apparent that to avoid another conflict of this kind, they would have to colonize outside of the planet. With its population cut in half by the fighting, Earth had a healthy six billion residents, but already there was beginning a population boom.

Slipstream technology was researched for years, as well as the barrier technology. Starships were being constructed on the ground. There were no orbital shipyards yet to satisfy the needs of the budding Fleet. The launch of the first Hyper-slipstream capable ship, able to go between places in the time it took light itself, was heralded as the founding achievement behind the first Sol System Fleet. Mars was less than a second away now, and this meant that the red planet could finally be effectively colonized.

Life was good for the planet, free of money and the corruptive forces it brought. A defence built around defence, and not aggression. The Earth's first ships were utterly unarmed, but had more barrier emitters than it did crewmembers. That wasn't to say phase-pulse technology wasn't known to humanity. To the contrary, it is why the barrier technology was researched. It wasn't put into practise until a group of disgruntled civilians; not particularly happy, or intelligent, about things that were going on in the world they decided to blow a cargo ship out of the sky. The one-sided battle lasted longer than a day, with constant fire delivered. The ship had lost all but 10% of its slipstream capability before it could raise shields, and it took twenty-six hours to reach its destination.

Upon arrival at Mars, the civilian ship was promptly disabled with an Electromagnetic pulse and boarded, the occupants arrested, and impounded. The civilians were charged with terrorism and exiled to a prison that mined minerals from the Martian surface.

Things were smooth and democracy reigned. Then the first Sirian transmission was received--

"Kit?" called Jasyn, interrupting Axis' studies. The fox looked over his shoulder and grumbled a bit before deactivating the computer. He smirked inwardly though, not showing his mate the look as he slowly stood.

Within a few moments Jasyn was on the ground being smothered in affections by his loving mate.

"Hey there, Captain. How are you today?" asked the fox, smiling warmly.

Jasyn looked up and brushed a paw solemnly against his mate's cheek, looking uneasy.

"What's wrong babe? You seem thoughtful, almost sad. Did something happen?" asked a concerned fox, his amber-flecked violet eyes scanning Jasyn's face. The wolf had let his hair grow a bit longer in the front, leaving it jawlength in the back. Parted to either side of his face, he looked almost strangely feminine. The white strands were, at the moment, between Axis' fingertips, as he fussed over his love.

"I'm fine... Kit. Really," Jasyn started. He smiled and added, in a paternally concerned voice; "Matthieu has expressed an interest to me about joining the Earth Space Fighter Corps. and I wanted to talk to you about it before making a recommendation."

Axis sat up and stared at the far wall for a moment, thinking quietly as he idly laid a paw on his wolf's chest. "I don't see much of a problem with that," he replied finally, his voice steady and light as he continued into; "it's his life to live. I don't want to see him get hurt any more than you do, but he's old enough to make his own choices." He further reassured Jasyn, his voice likewise caring. "Besides, the first year is all theory and physics, there's no actual flying allowed for first-year trainees."

Jasyn nodded and sat up, gifting his mate with a solemnly chaste kiss as he breathed an agreement. "Alright, I'll make a recommendation. I'd rather see him in a flight-jumpsuit than send him back to the Crag anyway," he said, nuzzling Axis gently under the chin.

Axis smirked and gently nipped his lover's ear, whispering softly; "Let's go get messy in the shower."

The wolf grinned devilishly and stroked his mate's back, whispering a reply. "You read my mind... kit," he said. The two of them slowly moved through the quarters, not breaking contact once as they readied for some time alone.

--

Orion awoke that very morning in a nightmare and was scared out of his wits to have Lucas' arms around him at first. The Dalmatian quickly kissed the fox's neck from behind and whispered to him soothingly. "Shhh... calm down Ry... it's just you and I here... and I'm here to protect you."

The two of them heard a pinging noise, alerting them to somebody waiting at the door. Without hesitation, Lucas released the fox and stood, walking over to the door. He was wearing only his uniform bottoms, but he saluted somewhat casually.

"Aah... Captain. I trust you have news about the rapist?" asked Lucas, standing in the doorway. Orion couldn't make out much, but he did hear Roman's name mentioned.

"The former Sirian Commander, Roman Caprius, came up as a 100% match to the semen found in your friend's violated space," started the woman, "He has been arrested and charged with rape, abuse, and gross misconduct. Without a testimony, he will be set free once a Trial is held on Earth, however he has been confined to the Brig."

This seemed to relieve Orion somewhat more.

--

Three weeks had passed,

Orion had been living in Lucas' room with him since the beginning of the trip. They were nearing the Earth, in fact by the time he would be waking up the following day, they would be in orbit. It brought him much comfort being this close to the Dalmatian.

Meanwhile aboard the Morningstar, Aries and Blaze had gotten more intimately acquainted without actually having any sexual contact. Sleeping with somebody who you haven't kissed proved remarkably liberating to the two. They spoke freely whenever they found the time; happening more and more often as they drew closer to one another.

Axis had locked himself away for hours on end, studying something or another; Jasyn paid it no heed, though, as he had a ship to run. The damage control teams had completely reconstructed most of the outer decks that had breached. All systems were back online, and overall the ship's status stood around 85%.

There was a familiar feeling between Axis and Jasyn as they approached the blue-green marble for the second time.

The two looked longingly at one-another, almost wishing for the days before, when life seemed so much better. The white, three tailed fox curled his arms and tails around his mate, who lay atop him, doing the same. Their eyes spoke of unrelenting love and trust between two beings, their hearts beating as one no matter how far away from eachother they were. They were mates, lovers; nothing would ever change that, and they both knew it. Even through death, it was highly uncommon for a Sirian to remate.

As they lay together sharing their silent bliss, Mathieu wandered into the room and they didn't even hear his footfalls as he crawled onto the bed and nuzzled Axis' shoulder. "C-can I... stay here with you guys for awhile?" asked the youth, looking between his official guardians.

Axis looked up at Jasyn, smiling in wonder again, before he licked his wolf's nose and said; "As long as Jasyn doesn't mind, Mati."

Jasyn reached over and hugged the young boy, and Axis did so in turn. The three of them just fell asleep there, held to one another comfortably as they dreamed.

--

The five ships in the Morningstar convoy dropped from streaming velocity, the hulls battered and charred. The remnants of a few Craganii Swarmships fluttered into orbit of the planet. Jasyn had woken up early, just to witness the exit of the slipstream event.

The planet just hung, spinning, as the strings detached from their slipstream runners. Fascinating technology, the runners grip onto energy trails which are abundant in slipspace, and the runners automatically guide the ship's path. Without at least two of them along the ship's fore-aft axis the ship itself would break apart the moment it entered the space.

In orbit was a debris field, clumped together and falling around the planet like a cloud of shrapnel. It wasn't clear yet what this field was, but the Morningstar crew assumed it to be one of several orbital junkyards.

"Take us into orbit, Ensign," said Jasyn to Blaze. "Lieutenant; Hail the planet, specifically the Canadian Capitol. Let them know why we've come back. Axis; prepare the ship for space-dock and prepare your fighter schematics for transfer."

The commander spoke up when Jasyn had finished, issuing suggestions. "Raise Serenity station and ask them if they have any space."

Jasyn nodded to this, and after a long gaze at the planet he turned towards the door, walking off the bridge. "I'm headed to the galley," he said, "The bridge is yours Commander."

--

Atlas was staring out the 'window' in the galley, looking intently at the blue-green world, which was coming into view. Soon enough, the world could be seen from below through any vertical window on the ship. Atlas watched as the Fledgling glided into view.

"They're lucky..." thought the fox, noticing how little damage the ship seemed to have taken. He was a pilot, first and foremost, he and the rest of the fighter pilots had nowhere to be while the ship pulled into the shipyards, so they had been wandering the ship all morning. The sun was rising in the Canadian capital, and Atlas could barely make out the barrier, a red blip on the blue-green orb.

The debris field that Jasyn had seen earlier came into view aswell, and Atlas shivered coldly. It was the wreck of the SES Falchion, the ship that started his journey through this universe. The memories of his childhood, his parents; his many sexual partners both intimate and not; they haunted him even past that day. At least Daemon was there for him now.

Jasyn walked into the Galley and took a seat by Atlas with a big plate of improvised pancakes; Sirian wheat-products and a recipe from the family Raltir. The omnivorous wolf dug in happily, watching the scene outside quietly, reflecting before he spoke up. "I just had a conversation with Eric about where he was headed..." he said, though it proved to be a vain attempt to start small talk.

"That's the Falchion, Jasyn," said Atlas in a very haunted voice. "That's the ship you and I were born on, raised on, and ultimately left behind. Our families died on that ship, and we never even had a memorial service. I'm sure the Earth Governments had memorials, but not one of us has held a funeral for our parents. We've been too preoccupied with the occupation," he finished, sighing quietly and looking down at his hand paws, clenched tightly in front of him on the table.

Jasyn blinked and watched the field as it spun and changed shape, almost alive. He thought for several moments before he said, "You're right... I completely forgot. De- despite all his shortcomings... I really miss my dad, and my mother. Hell, I miss you and Axis' mom too. She could never get past me being Axis' best friend..."

Atlas snickered and shook his head a bit, a minute tear rimming each eye as he remembered her. "She used to say things like, 'That Jasyn's an alright guy, I'm sure he'll keep you boys safe,' as though she knew you thought of my brother as more than a friend," he said, smiling a bit.

"Heh... I remember once... she actually sat down with me and said that Axis would stand by me no matter what I did. That she was sure he would be there if I needed him," replied the wolf with a bit of a sigh afterward. "Almost... almost like Axis had told her that he liked me..."

"That's... cause I did, Jasyn..." came Axis' quiet voice. He was standing at the window, gazing out. The two were preoccupied in their conversation, and they hadn't even noticed him come in.

"I trusted mum with everything, she actually asked me flat out," he added, "not a day goes by that I don't think about her. I thankful each and every day for her having that talk with you, because it was the day before you told me how you felt."

Jasyn followed the curve of Axis' back as the fox stood, gazing longingly out the window. He had to admit, if not for Fay Levi he would not have told Axis how he felt when he did. He may never have worked up the courage to tell him. "Kit..." said the wolf with a quiet trailing to the word.

The fox turned his head and smiled softly, his eyes rimmed with tears aswell, but many fewer than Atlas'. With a slight chuckle he said, quietly, "I'm seventeen next Tuesday, I'm not a kit anymore."

Jasyn shook his head and held out his arms. "We should hold a service for our crew. Nobody knew them better than those of us that survived."

Axis moved to Jasyn and pulled him to stand before he hugged his wolf tight, sighing quietly. "Jasyn... You, Atlas, Sota, and I are the only ones who are still alive from the Falchion. We should remember everybody, yes... but we wouldn't be able to do them all justice..."

Jasyn smiled and rubbed his cheek against his mate's, his hand paws stroking his kits back as he held him close. "Then a service for our friends and their parents. People we really knew."

Atlas had tuned the two out now, watching as the hexagonal grid like structure of the Serenity Station Alpha Dock was positioned over the Morningstar.

--

Ever since slipstream had been achieved, humanity had set about to explore the stars. To do this, they needed to have a place to build in zero gravity, so that they could launch ships using less fuel, and avoid the gravity issues. Ultimately the solution was the massive Utopia Shipyard, twelve stations in orbit with ship building facilities. The number of stations was increased to twenty in the months following the Sirius message.

The Echo Wind had been largely built in star dock, but it had been moved to the planet for finishing and the ease to transfer the Sirians aboard.

--

Jasyn's entourage consisted of himself, Axis, Atlas, Daemon, Aries, Blaze, Vae'run, and Phillips. Before departing the Morningstar he thanked the former captain, giving him his ship back, and addressed the crew. He gave them his thanks and boarded his old MPN with Mati, giving him a chance to see the old bird, to transfer to the station via one of the many fighter hangars. The rest followed in a transport.

Embarking the station, they were surprised to find Susan Kaine, Prime Minister when they'd landed, as liaison to the Canadian government. She welcomed Jasyn and Axis ecstatically, shaking their hands and leading them towards the much nicer accommodations in the station's domicile ring.

"I resigned from Prime Minister a few months after the Morningstar left here for your planet. I guess I just needed to be away from the bustle of politics. When I asked to be your liaison they instated me immediately. It is wonderful seeing you again; I just wish it had been under free circumstances. Nonetheless, we are more than able to accommodate your accompanying population," she said, more of a speech than anything.

"Um... Ms. Kaine?" said Axis, holding a datapad with his schematics. "I have some fighter specs here, and some interesting technology. Where would I go to deliver them if I wanted the fighters made immediately?"

The woman stopped for a moment and thought, looking at nothing in particular. "You'd have to talk to the station manager about that, she's an old friend of mine. If you like, I could arrange a meeting tomorrow morning. Till then, I want you all to rest after your ordeal, so let's show you your quarters."

--

A bank of cyan and white doorways spaced some thirty metres apart were designated their quarters. As Aries and Blaze were about to retreat to their own, however, a familiar voice echoed down the hall.

"Wraith!" called Orion, almost bounding down the hall and hugging the black and crimson wolf. A young Dalmatian who was carrying a pair of duffel bags followed him closely.

Aries exhaled suddenly as the fox hugged him and smiled, before Orion stepped away. "Hey Ry, haven't seen you in a bit," said the wolf with a chuckle. "Gods on deck, is that who I think it is?" he said, noticing Lucas.

"In the flesh. The last few weeks have been heaven, getting to relax and enjoy life for once. Wouldn't you agree, Wraith?" said Lucas with a smile.

"Of course, Phantom, but it's been a lot more comfortable having Blaze here around," replied the wolf, motioning to his Lyrii court.

"Hi there, I'm Orion,"

"Name's Lucas. Great meeting you, but Ry and me should check out our room. I want to look around the station today. Did you know they have recreational uniforms? I mean, really now, that's just pushing it."

"Heh, we'll catch you later too. I hear they've got a swimming area on board and I haven't touched water in ages," said Aries, before turning to the door and opening it. "Have fun you two."

Lucas looked to Orion, and the two shared a knowing look. "Oh don't worry, we will," they said in tandem, completely avoiding the topic of Roman.

--

Mathieu was eagerly wandering about the station, already knowing his way back to the quarters. He snuck into one of the hangars and got a closer look at one of the newer fighters in the bay.

"Woah..." he whispered, seeing the large Triennium birds hovering off the ground. They looked like darts, a wing on each side and a tail on top and bottom, all of which having a point towards the front, like prongs of a fork. The fuselage was placed in the centre, the dome of blast glass barely showing the interior.

"Well Hi there!" said a voice, and the young husky spun around to see a human teen, about his height, in a flight jumpsuit, smirking a bit with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh... um Hi..." said the youth, completely without embarrassment over getting caught. "This fighter yours?" he asked, motioning towards the ship beside him.

"That old thing? Yeah. I've been flyin' 'er for about four months. Prof says I'm not ready for an exoskeleton yet, but I've seen pilots less skilled'n me flyin' 'em," the boy replied, cockiness in his voice. He seemed perfect for a fighter pilot, razor wit, cocky, and lithe.

His hair was tied back in a ponytail, curly and dark. With hazel eyes the teen smirked and tilted his head, watching the Husky. "So, you came in on one of those ships today? Nice to meet ya, everyone calls me Aura. Well... Aura or Flinch," he held out his hand to Mati.

"Heh, I'm Mati. Yeah I came in today," he said, as he took the hand and shook it. "You with the space fighter corps?"

"Yeah, I'm set to be headed out to the Dog Star in a few months. Gonna' kick some Crag ass, yah!" smirked the kid emphatically, smacking his fist into his open palm to illustrate the point.

"Dog... star?" asked the Husky.

"Yeah. Oh, sorry. There's a constellation with a star called Sirius in our Galaxy too. It's been long considered the Dog Star, but we've attached the phrase to your homeworld too; makes it kinda ironic, wouldn't you say, Mat?"

"Yeah, heh," chuckled Mathieu, smiling a bit as he caught on. "Yeah, I guess it's kinda funny. I like that, 'the dog star'."

"Anyway... you probably shouldn't be here. It's off limits to unregistered pilots."

"Oh... Sorry. Nice ship by the way. I'll be seein' ya, Aura," remarked Mati as he turned and left.

The male just shook his head and chuckled, before hopping in his fighter and shooting into the surrounding space.

--

Axis looked out the large 'window' of his and Jasyn's quarters, a stunning visage of a blue-green world and a milky white moon greeting his eyes. He could see seven of the nineteen other identical stations in orbit around the planet, each one's orbit offset by a few hundred kilometres both in distance from the planet and in planar distance from eachother.

The stations were essentially a myriad of antennas and dishes above a stationary ring with three large honeycombed arches branching off. The arches themselves were large enough to hold a ship the size of the Morningstar by itself, or three or four craft like the Fledgling.

The white-furred Sirian male watched as robotic arms extended and unfolded from the honeycomb, actually forming the matrix of hexagons when they were not in use. As the arms unfolded they wrapped around the underside of the ship, able to cover every square millimetre of hull for assessment and repair.

A squadron of Firedart fighters, sleek and daggerlike, glided slowly past the window, the five pilots actually waving to Axis as they passed, before resuming their patrol. Axis caught sight of a more humanoid figure coming towards the station and watched it intently. 'Oh Jasyn would love to get his paws on one of those...' thought the fox, smirking.

The new model mechanized unit resembled an enhanced MPN armour suit. Sleeker, less bulky, and better armed, the exoskeleton disappeared through the top of Axis' field of view. Before it vanished, he noticed that there was a name painted on the armour's leg in burgundy; Emitt.

"That'll please him, a lot," said the fox aloud, before turning to venture into the habitat.

It was unlike anything Axis had ever seen, the blue and silver walls were attractively curved when they came to a 'corner', and the walkway was a few shades dark from white, not blindingly coloured, but lending an upbeat mood to the immaculate corridors.

The fox had only one mission for the day; find the station manager. He'd been scheduled some time to speak with her, but the unfortunate consequence of never having set foot upon a space station lent him no small amount of frustration as he searched. There was a touch-panel up ahead, it seemed that the station had been recently updated to a new operating system. Axis was unfamiliar with the interface, but it was luckily highly helpful out of design in showing him how to find what he wanted.

'Directions, Personnel, Command, Manager Harris,' he thought to himself, tapping at like-named 'buttons'; "Green level Section 2," he said aloud afterward.

--

After about twenty minutes of searching, Axis finally found the office, signalling his arrival with the press of a call button.

The doors slid noiselessly open and from behind a desk a respectable looking woman spoke levelly. "Ah, you must be Lieutenant Levi. You had some schematics of some sort to inquire about, if I'm not mistaken?" questioned the woman with a smile.

Her hair was dark brown and she wore a thin pair of glasses upon her picturesque nose. Her eyes the colour azure, she motioned towards the chair opposite her across the desk. She was not clad in an Earth Forces Fleet uniform. Her clothing was dark blue excluding a single pair of white stripes across her right shoulder.

"I am Manager Lari Harris; please take a seat. I am eager to see what you have to propose," she said, her voice, like her skin, seeming milky smooth.

Axis stepped in, his lithe frame seating itself in the chair, and passed her over the schematics. "Commander Emitt asked me to integrate cloaking technology from salvaged Craganii components into our own starships, and I have been experimenting. We now have a generator that will provide full cloaking for fifteen minutes at a time. As well, the variable wingspan employed by the Sirian Striker-Interceptor has fascinated me from the moment I saw it. I have, with some effort, produced detailed schematics of several models of fighter-craft for our next encounter against the Crag. The X-SMB, X-SMS, and X-SMF."

"Intriguing designs, care to tell me more?" asked Harris, flipping through the various images and notes.

"Well... the X-SMS was my original design; a stealth fighter..." began the fox.

--

A screen flickered to life in front of a young male dressed in a white uniform. He regarded the figure onscreen with a measuring gaze, before the being began to speak. The other being; a dark-skinned, intellectual human wearing a blue formal suit and a pair of sleek, stylish, and very retro glasses, had a mid-pitch voice as compared to other males of his species. He spoke with a deliberate formality, enunciation flawless as he regarded the uniformed male with a simple question; "How may I help you, Commander?"

The first male's eyes glimmered like the turquoise they so resembled, and his voice was towards the deep end of the mid-range. He pulled a stray strand of white hair out of his face and said, in his own slightly less formal Earth English he replied in full; "I would like to make a recommendation; a cadet pilot with several months of me and my family's personal observation. He has demonstrated his skills fairly well, and wishes to become part of the E.S.F.C."

The other man was quiet for a few moments, before he said with a look of intrigue in his chlorophyll-green eyes; "Indeed; might I inquire towards the name of this cadet?"

The first male smiled a bit and tapped a few buttons on the console he was sitting at, sending a biography and complete flight records. He folded his light-silver hands together and with a clear voice stated; "Mathieu Evans-Levi."

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A little longer, I think, than usual. The story has slowly begun to migrate away from mindless fucking. Partly to make way for story and partly because I feel like taking out my frustrations on my characters. I'm a jerk like that ;) (Yes, I'm kidding. Don't worry.)

3R's of the story-reading process. Read, Rate, and Review. (AKA: Comment an tell me what you didn't like!)