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Chapter ten of Star Hopper, a furry sci-fi book I wrote. It has taken me two years of off and on writing to compleat and I'm so happy that it's fianlly done! You can actually buy it off of Lulu.com if you want after all the chapters have been uploaded here (there's 17 of 'em). Now, I don't pretend to be an editer and I've had to edit this myself so yeah athere are going to be some typos but please look past those and enjoy the book.

10

The strong arms pushed Skye into the court, she fell flat on her face. "Ow! Was that really necessary?"

The guard only responded with a grunt. She slowly got to her feet and dusted off her clothes to find herself in the presence of a judge.

"Oh!" she said with a surprise, "My mistake, sorry!"

The judge rolled his eyes like this had happened many times before. "Yes, well take your seat." Skye scanned the room to find a chair, she sat, her tail finding its way out of the hole in the back. The judge rested his elbow on his desk and placed his head in his paw almost half asleep. "What's the charges, what did she do."

An uptight wolf that Skye had seen on the Apex stood up and saluted the resting judge. "Sir! She was found collaborating with the pirate Black son. We don't know what they were doing though."

The judges eyes didn't change, they were still the same glazed over look as he had when they marched in. Skye sat there with both paws between her legs, her head and ears down.

The judge rubbed his eyes, "now do you know that she actually did anything? Do you have any proof?"

The wolf cocked his head, "proof? I told you, she was with Black son!"

He rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I don't know what to do with you guys. You need to have material proof, tangible evidence of anything. Even though, sometimes they don't follow that." The last part he said being under his breath. The judge moved around in his chair, "Well, based on these circumstances and lack of PROOF!" He stared directly at the wolf, "I can't convict her of anything. She is free of all charges, and is free to leave."

Skye's hopes lifted through the roof, she was sure that she'd be killed. But she just happened to get the only nice judge on the planet. Or maybe he was just tired, that seemed more likely but she didn't care. She was free, it's all that mattered right now.

Skye stood up and smiled provocatively at the wolf, in turn he growled at her. "Lucky bitch." He grabbed her and pulled her eye to eye, "I've got my eye on you!"

"Sargent! Leave her alone!"

Reluctantly he let go of her and released a quiet "yes sir." Skye jerked out of his grasp and quickly left the room to board a shuttle that would take her to the space port. Then at the space port she'd charter a bus to take her back to her store on Veare.

The king sat upon his throne with two figures before him, on was Daysus and the other was Trent. Both stood as straight as they could, looking their best in front of the king. Meanwhile the king himself couldn't' look less formal, his attire looked as though he'd just gotten out of bed, "Quite oxymoronic." Thought Trent.

"Ok, I called you here for one reason." Daysus and Trent nodded their heads, although Trent couldn't help let his tail wag, he knew what was coming. "Captain Daysus." He stepped forward, "Yes, sir?"

"I am promoting you to Commander, you will be the captain of the new flagship. The Trepidation."

Daysus took a bow at the King, "I will not fail you you're highness, I'm looking forward to it." King Raidon smiled, "I'm sure you are, and I expect greatness." His attention turned to Trent who stepped forward while Daysus stepped back. "Officer Trent, you are being promoted to take over command of the Apex from Commander Daysus." Daysus's tail slightly wagged, he liked the sound of that, Commander Daysus.

Trent took a bow like Daysus did before him, only he wasn't exactly filled with the same gratitude, "could have been sooner." He thought.

"I'm looking forward to see how you perform as captain, Captain Trent. Can I trust that you won't let me down?"

"You can trust me with anything." Trent said with a sneer, the king smiled. "Good to hear it, now," he stood from the throne. "Report to your new commands, the ships are waiting for you. Although Daysus." He saluted, "you'll have to take a shuttle to The Trepidation, it's too big to land on the surface."

"Yes sir!"

"Now get out of here." With a wave of the kings paw, both turned on a dime and marched out.

"So, what do you plan to do now? You're hearts been torn out, by me, and you have everybody you've killed haunting you. That must feel good."

Ian sat hunched in the corner of his shared cell. His back against the angle of the corner while his arms wrapped around his throbbing legs. The fur even began to fall out of them leaving a tan spot on him when it fell. In front of him sat three people, Erit, Luyi, and Colleen. Colleen being a figure of his crazy head, she'd been tormenting him for the past two weeks. Almost to the point where he couldn't take it anymore, the thought that death was coming though kept him from killing himself.

Erit and Luyi had kept Ian alone mostly saying little more than where'd you come from or what'd you do. They also were kind enough to give him his own space, or it could be that whenever they got close he growled at them, not because he meant it or anything, it was just reflex. He'd also found out why both of them were locked away. Apparently Erit was a serial killer, who targeted high profile government officials; he said he liked it because it gave him a challenge to hide. Unlike all the "cubs," as he put it, who try and go for teenagers. He went on to say that he was caught after killing Xanede Reef, A wolf governor. He'd made a mistake by biting his neck, they were able to find saliva and trace it to him and his home. He always seemed proud of his work, like he was doing the world a favor, it seems as though all serial killers seem they're doing the world a favor. Well, all the ones' he's met at least, which happen to be a lot in this place.

Luyi on the other hand, who was nicer than Erit was charged on a bank robbery and 7 rapes. "Never got any of them pregnant." He said with the story, "in fact after, they all said that they enjoyed it but, it's the way you get them. I guess drugs makes any act against the law." He sneered, "I always asked them it's just when it came to the time...things happened." He was eventually caught after the bank robbery with a prostitute, claiming he was trying to stop the rape and use hookers. The problem being, he robbed the bank to get the money for the hooker. He'd told the story several times and always at the end he says, "the bitches never remember what I did correctly either. RAPE! RAPE! They screamed in court even if they liked it. That's why I'm here."

Ian heaved a slight sigh while Colleen bounded next to him. She herself looked different to the one he was used to. She looked as though she'd never fallen in that vat of strange liquid, no red stripe, no red eyes. Just as though she'd never met him. Her voice somehow was provocative, making anger well up inside of him, not like he could do anything about it.

"So Colleen, why are you here, what do you want?"

The hallucination tipped her head and gave the same answer she always gave when Ian asked this question. Which happened to be a lot in the past two weeks. "Oh I'm just here for you my dear!"

She began to waltz around the cell laughing, "you know Ian. I hope you realize this but, I never liked you. I'm a princess and you're a pirate on death row." She laughed. The squeaky laughter echoed through the cell blocks even though he was the only one that could hear it. "It almost makes for a crappy romance novel. Could you imagine? HA!" She danced around on her paws a bit more but then suddenly stopped, "I should get going for now! But I'll be back don't worry. Toddles!" She used her fingers to wave as she left and the apparition vanished into the cell walls,

Colleen lay in her bed with both paws on her stomach, she could see the budging now. She figured it about a week ago when the first bit of budging came, at first she'd tried to pass it off as other things like the food she'd been eating but that just reinforced it with cravings. No matter which way she looked at it, Colleen knew she was pregnant. A flush from the bathroom and a quick run off the faucet made way for the door to open revealing Rilph; he smiled at walked to Colleen. He sat on the bed reaching his paw towards hers. Colleen stared at his eyes; she had a bigger dilemma then the kit. She didn't know who the father was, Ian or Rilph; she'd done it with both of them less the a week apart. A species mapping wouldn't help for both had wolf in them. Out of options Colleen sighed and squeezed Rilph's paw, he giggled. "How's it coming?" Colleen put up a fake smile which he bought, "why don't you feel for yourself!"

Colleen pulled Rilph's paw up on to her stomach and let him feel. His paw on her fur kind of tickled.

To avoid any trouble she told Rilph that he was the father, after all what could happen? It's obvious that her cubs going to be a half-breed and that would work out, she hoped.

Colleen threw her head back on the pillow, "I don't' know what to do Rilph, everybody's going to figure it out once I start getting bigger and it's really noticeable."

He slid from his sitting position to lay next to the fox, he used a paw to brush some hair from her eyes.

"It will come as a shock to everybody that's for sure. Mostly because I'm a wolf and you're a fox but also that I'm a lowly servant and you're a princess, the tabloids are going to go crazy. There is also a chance that I could be arrested and sent to Nuimi or something." He chuckled, "for knocking up the princess."

Colleen gave him a stare that said never say that, which he obliged to. Rilph snuggled up close to Colleen, wrapping his paws around her. "Whatever happens though, I'll be here. To protect you."

Tears started to well up in Colleen, her mind raced back to Ian and his little Star Hopper. As her mind betrayed her the tears started to fall, leaving her fur wet. Rilph just held her closer to show that he was there for her and she could trust him.

The tears got in her eyes and they began to sting. She tried to rub them but they still stung, "OW."

When she brought her paws down her vision blurred, she couldn't see anything, she tried blinking with no avail.

Rilph began to take notice, "What's wrong? Something in your eye?" She continued blinking and rubbing, "Yeah, I don't know what it is." Rilph got closer, staring into her deep eyes. "I don't see anything."

She slid her paw against her eye once more, once she did the pain and bur left. She looked down at her paw and in it lay the silver lined contact. Rilph looked confused, "Colleen, your eyes? What's wrong, one is red?" She chuckled, "Oh, it's nothing just some irritation." Rilph eyed her strangely. "The queen commissioned that I have these made so I wouldn't look any different. The red color will go away in a couple days."

"Oh," Rilph replied looking at the contact, while Colleen sighed inside he'd bought it. "Do you need help putting it back in, I have very dexterous paws." Colleen gave him a half-smile, "yeah, go ahead."

She dropped the small piece of plastic in his paw, after which he moved in front of Colleen. Placing it on a fingertip Rilph carefully planted it on her eye. A smile appeared on his muzzle, "Ah there we go, back to normal!"

Colleen forced a smile, "Thanks."

Skye sat on a stool behind her stores counter, her paws holding her bored head up. Behind her, her tail swished back and forth slowly and low. While her ears lay down.

After she'd gotten out of her quick trial and all her charges were cleared thanks to a tired judge, Skye had gotten on a shuttle that would take her back to Veare. After a three days' worth of travel she arrived on planet and back to her electric junk shop. For the rest of the time business was incredibly slow, maybe, she thought, because they all saw me taken away and think that I am a traitor. Or, the one she hoped, that nobody knew she was back and open. Her eyes moved from their constant stare at the door to a broken message relay that lay upon the counter next to her.

With nothing better to do she reached for a screwdriver and the relay. She tried her best at fixing it but the light in the store didn't suffice. "I need my head lamp." She said to herself as she got up to grab it out of the back room.

She moped back and flipped the switch, "where are you?" she muttered as her eyes scanned the messy workspace. Finally, she found it hanging on a desk lamp, "go figure." As she picked it up the sound of the door ring played through the speaker. Her ears pricked up, as well as her tail, "ah! Finally!"

She raced back to the counter only to find nobody waiting, nobody was there. Without knowing it she scratched her head behind her ears, "damn."

With the headlamp tightly secured and turned on she sat down to work on the relay. Suddenly the sound of metal tapping on metal filled her ears, silently she reached under the counter for the plasma pistol she kept under there for this type of thing.

"You'd better show yourself or else." She got off the stool as her eyes moved back and forth trying to nab the person in her eyesight. Abruptly the sound stopped just as it began, "what? Where are you." Without a word more something jumped on top of her counter and almost made Skye fall backward.

"Skye? Is that you?"

She looked closely under the lamps light, "Bot?! Where'd you come from? You nearly scared me half to death."

He sat on the counter in front of her, "I've been spending my time on the rooftops of this city, waiting until you came back."

She though it over, "If you've been here the entire time, then why didn't you come sooner? I've been here for quite a while now, almost two and a half weeks."

Bot began to pace upon the counter top, "I didn't find out that you were back until about a week ago and the time before that I feared that you'd been executed or something. This past week got into a little run in with some other androids, something regarding a stolen battery junction. I think that their mood emulators were twisted in wrong. I couldn't even get a chance to even get over to this district, they kept trying to attack me."

"How did you manage to get over here now?" Skye asked.

"Oh, I gave them a fake junction. And now that I'm with an organic life form they'll leave me alone, because you could tell them what to do and they'll listen to you."

Skye was surprised to hear that an artificial life form was able to concoct a scheme like that. Though she took a little pride in it because, she designed him. But Skye shook her head, "What do you want from me though."

Bot resumed his pacing back and forth, "I saw you guys get literally dragged away, I also noticed Ian's condition. I know he's going to die unless I or we do something. I already know that he was sent to Nuimi prison on Ridlyyn."

Skye, still staring at Bot, sat down on her stool. "You know Bot, I think there's something wrong with Ian. I think he's crazy. A danger to anyone of us."

A chuckle filled the room, "What are you talking about? Ian's one of the most level headed people I know."

"And how many people do you know exactly?" Skye responded crossing her arms, by which Bot didn't respond. Skye shook her head and sighed, "There's something up with him, I know it plus I've known him longer then you've been alive." Bot in return shook his metallic head back at her, "and how could you tell just by looking at him?"

"Well," she explained, "it's hard to explain to a robot but we possess this ability to be able to read people if we know them long enough."

"And how long have you known Ian?"

"Well quite a while," she said scratching her head, "he's my little brother."

Bot felt almost as though his world just exploded, "What," he stuttered with the rest of his words, "how, how is that possible."

Skye watched the small robot run back and forth trying to wrap his chips around what was just said.

"Well technically," Skye said, "he's my step-brother, our mom had me before she met that fucking wolf in the bar."

Her paws clenched, but slowly they relaxed and she drew a deep breath. "My father was a wolf as well though, but somehow even though mom was a fox, those genes passed by me and I was born full wolf. Can't say the same for Ian as you know."

The news still shocked Bot as he stood motionless on the counter, for a second Skye though he shorted out, but he twitched showing that he was fine. Skye's thoughts went back to their plan,

"You know Bot? I think the best thing to do right now is to sit tight and wait."

Bot didn't quite get it, if Ian was crazy like she said then why wait. "Why, what's the point in that? If he's not stable why not go and rescue him now?" Skye stayed silent, "why Skye?"

"Because," she paused, "because I think there are only two things that can free him, one being death." The sound of that made Bot flinch, "and the second being Colleen."

"The princess," Bot said, confused, "Why her?"

Colleen rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe that one of her creations hadn't noticed this, "he loves her! I saw it the moment they walked in. Then the moment she rejected him he shut in, closed up, basically died. Yeah, I know it sounds clichéd but it actually happens."

Bot started nodding his head, "Oh, so she's the only one that can get him back on his feet!"

"What!, No, plenty of things can."

Bot was even more confused, "But you said that there are only two things in this world that can get him back on his feet!"

"I know what I said, those are the only things that can free him. Free him completely of guilt, other things like you or I can get him back to being level headed. It happened once when we were being transported to Ridlyyn. He suddenly snapped back to his normal self, quick, resilient, and ready to take on any challenge, but that turned sour and he went back to his moping."

"Then why don't we go save him now!" Bot argued, "if you can get him back on his feet then we can continue living like we always have. On the run."

"Because," she said in a firm tone, " he'll probably run into Colleen at his trial and they'll most likely make amends, hopefully. Then after that we'll make a daring rescue there and leave. He'll be normal for the rest of his life without worry from constant nagging from his long lost princess girlfriend."

Bot finally understood, "so we'll wait until they themselves fix it and then we'll rescue him?"

"Exactly."

"We'll just have to figure out how to get into the trial."

The queen, now visible that she was pregnant, strolled along the halls humming a happy tune, a date for the pirates trial had been moved up and everything was going exactly the way she wanted them too. In just one day, both Colleen and black son would be dead and her master plan could be put into effect. She just had to be careful about her announcement for it could cause some unrest among the spectators. She followed the hall and ducked into a door on the left. Inside was Colleen and her personal servant Rilph,

"You servant," she pointed at him, "leave, now."

Rilph quickly bowed at the queen and pranced out of the room as fast as he could. Colleen meanwhile sat on the edge of her large bed wondering what the queen was doing.

"Colleen," she said moving closer, "I want you to come to the trial tomorrow."

Colleen gave a face, she didn't want to go to that trial, she knew she'd somehow come in contact with him and that might cause problems. "I really don't think I should go, I...I have things I have to do tomorrow, things that can't be ignored."

The queen looked slyly at her daughter and crossed her orange furred arms, "really? I'd love to be informed of these things."

A unsure smile appeared on the sides of Colleen' s mouth, while her paw clenched the blankets on the bed. Her mind raced to find things, doctor? No, she could easily check the records. What about shopping, no, she didn't have any money that she could spend.

"Well Colleen?"

"I, I'm going for a walk." The look on the Queens face gave what she thought of the excuse, a really-you-actually-thought-that'd-work type thing. "I'd hate to interrupt your important walking, I'm really sure it couldn't be ignored but," she leaned in close, "I think this is just a teensy bit bigger."

A weak, toothy smile showed that Colleen was forced to accept the queen's request, "I expect to see you there early."

She left the room with Colleen to think, what could she do? Slowly she got up and moved to the mirror and gazed at herself. A stunning vixen with fur glistening like glass, her orange fur was like the sun radiant and warm drawing jealousy from everybody who saw it and her white fur was as perfect and bright as new fallen snow. Both complemented each other to make an unmatchable combination of beauty and perfection. But something still nagged at her, she moved to the bathroom mirror and brought her arm up to eye level. She turned on the water and slowly moved her arm under it. The clear water ran though her fur cleaning it of imperfection, but that's not what she was after. Suddenly part of the white began to drain away with the water and a dark red began to become visible. Colleen quickly withdrew her paw from the water and held it close to her chest with her other arm over it. It was still there.