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For Reference:

Kyree (key ree): anthromorph wolf-like race

Kenseng (ken sang): anthromorph tiger-like race

Arastos (a rest tos): alien starship http://www.sofurry.com/page/248059

Arastos Crew:

Kanolos (ka no loss): male kyree, starship helmsman, mated to Riyla

Riyla (ri la): female kyree, starship captain, mated to Kanolos

Shyla (shy la): female kenseng, starship tactical officer/cook, mated to Yanashi

Yanashi (yana she): female kyree, starship tactical officer/physician, mated to Shyla

Eriras (ear rass): female kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Taylo

Taylo (tay low): male kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Eriras

Lumina (loo men na): holographic female kyree construct, starship supporting A.I.

Keith (key th): male human, human ambassador

Territory Map Diagram: http://www.sofurry.com/page/222716/

Counter Punch

Written By: Spudz

Finally... the work had been completed. The feat, as a whole, was nothing short of unbelievable as to just how much the alliance had accomplished in such a short amount of time. Captain Rubin could feel nothing but utter respect and pride for his crew. With the help of her newfound alien friends, the USS Maryland was once again battle ready, possessing a new and deadly weapon capable of reaching out to put the hurt on her adversaries in orbit...

It was four days from the moment when Ian's submarine first set out from Norfolk... four remarkable days that consisted of narrowly avoiding destruction by the skin of his teeth, meeting a band of intrepid allies in quite the most unlikely place, conducting an extensive repair and weapon overhaul while stuck several hundred feet underwater... and of course meeting the President of the United States in person.

The Commander in Chief just so happened to be standing alongside Ian at that very moment, with the two of them also joined by Kanolos and Riyla atop the deck of the sub. For a moment the two sides regarded one another thoughtfully, while the two kyree stood with Kano's arm draped lovingly around his mate's shoulder. The skipper had only just begun to befriend the crew of the Federation Axis vessel Arastos, finding each and every one of them quite friendly and sociable toward their human counterparts... and now it was time to part ways.

"I can't begin to express how much I appreciate all of the help you've given us," Ian proclaimed with a heartfelt smile. He reached up to adjust his glasses. "I look forward to testing out these new weapons on our friends in orbit."

"It was absolutely no problem," Riyla replied, mirroring the skipper's smile as she folded her arms across the chest. "Meeting an ally was certainly a welcomed relief. Aside from you and the Maryland crew, we've been alone since this war started." The black kyree felt her mate squeeze her shoulder slightly; providing reassurance that while the Arastos crew was alone... each individual was not.

Captain Rubin couldn't help but admire the close bond the kyree both shared. "You two really have something special. Not many can count themselves lucky to find their perfect significant other."

The two mates stole glances at one another, before again turning to regard Ian once more. "It's not always perfect," Riyla spoke with mock malice, while lightly grabbing Kano's wolfish ear to his amusement. "Sometimes I have to beat some sense into him."

Her mate only grinned wickedly in reply, his ear still held at the mercy of the captain.

"See... that is exactly what I was talking about," Ian chuckled.

"Captain Rubin speaks the truth," President Schrader chimed in. The Commander moved forward toward the kyree, before he extended a hand out to both of them. "Whatever happens from here on out... I just wanted to say thank you for everything you have done to help us." He offered the captain and helmsman a warm genuine smile, not the typical fake one used by a politician.

Riyla accepted his handshake with a slight nod of thanks. "It is our pleasure." The black-furred kyree released Schrader's hand as she shifted her stance from one foot to another. "And I have to say thanks for offering your help. Your speech will greatly help with the coming fight."

The captain was in fact referring to a special request President Schrader had made several days ago. As the political leader of his country, his main concern was the safety and wellbeing of his people. Thus one of the first questions Schrader had asked the Federation crew was how they could best protect humanity from the imminent confrontation. Surely massive collateral damage was going to occur... especially if the Domain utilized human cities as hostage shields.

There had been some initial discussion and exploration of various ideas. But, soon Lumina had come up with the best solution, which involved the use of President Schrader's influence and formal speech prowess. It was a particular talent he was best known for, that being the uncanny ability to sweep an audience up in powerful words... the gift to deliver a speech of the upmost enthralling nature. As it stood, not many possessed the capability to move people as he could. And now that influential talent would serve to play an integral part of the alliance strategy.

After a few rehearsed lines, along with some suggestions from Riyla and the A.I., the Commander in Chief had composed himself, stood before a recording device, and had given a speech that would later become his defining moment in history.

Now, his contribution was left in the hands of Lumina, who would make sure to employ Schrader's speech when the right time came.

The President sighed deeply. "I just hope that people will listen to my words. If what you say is true concerning the enemy's tactics, then there is no telling how many lives could be lost."

The group fell into awkward silence.

Suddenly remembering something, Captain Rubin leaned over to pick up a bag he had placed on the deck earlier. "I figured I'd give you sort of a going-away present," the skipper spoke, while he extended out the bag toward Riyla. "Once this whole mess is over, I figured you might enjoy a good read."

The kyree accepted the offered gift with a look of curiosity, her head tilted slightly. Carefully Riyla reached inside and pulled out two rather large novels, both roughly 450 pages apiece. Turning the paperbacks over, she read the writing printed on the surface. They were entitled Excession and Consider Phlebas, titles that perplexed the captain.

"I think Lumina might like these, along with the rest of you," Ian said, motioning to the books the kyree held in her hands. "Consider Phlebas is the first book of the Culture series written by Iain M. Banks. He presents quite a unique fictional depiction of alien conflict and society... a good read for sure... especially given the current situation." The skipper gestured to himself for emphasis. "Before you guys showed up, all us humans had to rely on was our imagination to envision the universe beyond Earth... and I don't just like Iain's books solely because he shares my name." His last statement was spoken with a sly grin.

Riyla turned the book over in her hands with an inquisitive regard. "I'll look forward to reading it. I've only read a few short novels myself... nothing this long." The black kyree's gaze again returned to Ian with a cheeky grin. "But I'm up for the challenge."

"Good. Perhaps if we meet up again, we can swap stories and talk about the books over drinks."

His statement caused Riyla's wolfish ears to twitch perceptively, her smile broadening across her muzzle. "I certainly hope to indulge in your hospitality again Captain Rubin. You've been quite a welcomed friend among our crew."

The two sides held eye contact for a moment longer in silence, allowing for an unspoken agreement to pass between them. Ahead lay a fight of the upmost importance, of which all would play a critical part in. Each placed their trust in the others without hesitation, knowing full well that their plan would succeed. They had labored hard to prepare... now, at last, the time had come for war.

And thus, no more words needed to be spoken.

With goodbyes taken care of, President Schrader gave a nod of farewell and moved toward the opened hatch leading down to the Maryland's control room. For the coming conflict, it had been quickly decided that the Commander in Chief, along with his Secret Service, would remain aboard the sub, a far safer alternative to the Federation starship. There was no telling how matters would unfold up in space... so it was best not to risk Schrader's life by having him remain aboard Arastos.

Meanwhile, Riyla and Kanolos both padded to a nearby transport platform, which was their ride back to the kyrees' own vessel. Silently, Ian watched with a vexed gaze as the two walked, their wolfish tails swaying hypnotically with each footfall behind their furry figures. The skipper wished there was something more he could do. He couldn't help but feel a sense of injustice that came with the Federation fighting for humanity's freedom, all while Ian hid underwater... blindly launching SLBMs skyward in a desperate attempt to assist from relative safety.

The idea was simply maddening.

Still, Ian was playing a crucial part in the Federation's attack strategy. If everything went according to plan, then the skipper would have his desired revenge for all of the hell inflicted upon his kind. That was far more than any other human could say when it came to taking the fight back to the enemy. Although, Captain Rubin was sure others were doing their best wherever possible.

And then there was the Ebola outbreak, undoubtedly humankind's greatest weapon. There was really nothing that the crew of Arastos could do to help contain the spreading pathogen. It was terrible to stand on the sidelines and watch the virus systematically worm its way through an untold number of unsuspecting hosts... but, thus far, from what Lumina had been able to uncover, the experimental Ebola strain had only infected drala. The idea was dismal, but the pathogen undeniably was serving to help the humans fight back... at least for now.

Ian just hoped that the strain wouldn't find its way into the human populace. There was no telling just how difficult it would be to contain such an outbreak. Thankfully, the incident involving the Russian scientist had been quite isolated.

While Ian was left to his thoughts, the mated kyree entered their personal transport and turned back to smile at Captain Rubin. The skipper gave a friendly wave back, before he turned to head for the opened hatch. They were going to win this conflict... come hell or high water.

"Give 'em hell, pals," Ian breathed softly to himself.

******************************

It was roughly two hours later when Ian assumed the con of the USS Maryland once more. With a deliberate eye, he slowly surveyed the sailors around him, noting the looks of determination and resolve evident on each and every face. His crew was ready, he was ready... it was time to act.

The temporary energy shield enclosing the boomer sub had already been removed, allowing ocean water to once again encompass her hull. Now, the ball was in Ian's court to get underway, by first testing out the repair jobs done to his ship.

"Alright gentlemen, let's get this show on the road," the skipper proclaimed, coming to stand behind his chair with hands placed on the backrest. Reaching up, Ian grabbed hold of a communication horn and thumbed a channel back toward the engineering compartment. "Engineering, Con... what is the status of the dampening field?"

For a moment a silence took hold, before a disembodied voice suddenly echoed from the bridge speakers. "Con... Engineering... as far as we can tell, the device is operational. It is drawing power from the grid and is functioning normally."

"Good... continue to keep an eye on it and report any abnormalities."

Captain Rubin's order was promptly acknowledged, while he replaced the communication horn and turned his attention to his officers present within the control room. "Alright, let's take our new prop for a little test drive. Helm, give me reverse turns for half a knot."

Ian's order was swiftly repeated down the chain of command; from the officer overseeing the helm station, down to the helmsman ensign manning the controls. For the first time in almost a week, the USS Maryland began to show signs of life, as steam was shunted from the reactor assembly toward the driving machinery attached to the propulsion shaft.

Ian and his crew held their breath, waiting for the screw to shear itself off the drive shaft... or the bearings to seize up once more. Nothing would be worse than to suffer through another breakdown of his boat, after all of the arduous repair work that had been carried out. However, everything functioned normally, testifying to the quality of the work performed by the crew and their alien friends. Only a slight vibration announced the prop's efforts to pull the sub out of the seafloor soot.

"Helm is answering reverse turns for a half knot," the helmsman spoke a few moments later, the relief quite evident in his voice. "I am showing no errors or warning indications."

Captain Rubin let out the breath he had been holding in. That was one hurdle out of the way... only a hell of a lot more to go. "Very well... gentlemen... let's get this boat leveled out. All back, one-third... zero bubble... make your depth one-five-zero feet once we pull the bow out of the seafloor muck."

Again Ian's crew sprang into action as orders were hurriedly issued across the various stations of the con, each team working to perform their individual roles so that the submarine could once again move. The skipper casually grabbed hold of a nearby railing while he felt the hull begin to shudder more violently, the propulsion screw now straining under faster RPMs to pull the boat free of her nose-down angle into the soot. The old girl protested for the briefest second... before finally gaining momentum and slowly yanking herself free.

"All stop," Ian promptly ordered, after waiting a few moments to make sure his sub was free from her underwater prison. Before ordering anything else, he quickly confirmed with the sonar room that the bow mounted arrays were once again functioning, the delicate acoustical sensors having now been removed from the seafloor.

It was no less than another small miracle that the bow arrays hadn't been damaged. They very well couldn't travel through the ocean depths without being able to hear effectively... not unless someone was willing to go outside the hull and lend their eyes. That thought brought on quite a humorous visual for Captain Rubin, before he quickly shoved it aside.

Now with the deck orientation once again level, Ian released his hold of the railing and moved over to the navigation chart table nearby, which was manned by his navigation officer and a handful of enlisted men.

Pete, who was the skipper's Nav officer as well as a sailor retaining immense experience in the Silent Service, stood bent over an array of charts, his hands grasping the corners of the table to steady his balance while he carefully scrutinized the information before him. His goal was to determine a course for the sub to travel, moving the boat away from the eastern coast of the mainland out into deeper water... where Captain Rubin could more easily conceal his vessel. If they were discovered now in this relatively shallow depth, there was little the Maryland could do to evade her adversaries, especially given the fact that her human-built stealth countermeasures were almost completely useless.

They did possess the alien dampening mechanism, but Ian didn't want to hedge his bets solely on a technology he did not understand. Besides, the plan called for him to put as much distance between his boat and the coast as possible.

"What've you got, Pete?" Ian inquired softly, as he came to stand beside the officer.

Before answering, Pete quickly reached over to grab a straightedge and carefully laid it down atop the chart. While the skipper looked on quietly, he lined up the edge against a dot marking the sub's current position, simultaneously using a protractor to align his tool on a set heading. Satisfied, the navigation officer then drew a line across the chart using a marker, before ending it with an arrow.

"I recommend a course of zero-eight-five... it will get us into deeper water the quickest." Pete emphasized his words by tracing his finger along the depth contour that illustrated the continental shelf, where the water depth drastically changed with the seafloor falling away in almost a sharp cliff.

Ian studied the chart for a moment longer, noticing that the mentioned course would get them off the shelf within about half a day. He removed his glasses and set about cleaning a lens with the cloth of his shirt. "Alright... helm, come to new course zero-eight-five... all ahead standard."

A general air of relief washed over the control room as the vessel once again became sea-worthy. Finally the USS Maryland was underway and battle-ready.

Again, Ian assumed his captain's position and stood regarding his crew, proud of the feats they had accomplished. Oh... how it was great to have a functioning submarine to command.

With a sigh of exhaustion, the skipper eased himself down into his chair and rested his elbows atop the armrests, steepling his hands before him as he did so. Now all Ian could do was wait... and hope that his boat was not discovered prior to the moment when he would enact his part of the alliance strategy. Lumina had assured him repeatedly that the Maryland would be safe, and the skipper fully trusted in her assessment. Still, the next day would certainly prove to be quite nerve-racking... for at any moment his boat could possibly be plugged full of holes by a passing hostile warship.

Not only that, but his boomer now housed weapons far more deadly than that of the vaunted MIRV nukes common on SLBMs. Ian didn't fully understand the science behind the destructive power now sitting atop the missiles aft of his position. As a result of his earlier inquiry, Eriras had explained the general concept to him a few days ago, almost causing the skipper's eyes to pop out of his head in astonishment.

There was now no question as to just how much firepower Ian had at his fingertips... although his meager arsenal of hybrid missiles paled in comparison to the armaments supported by the mainstay Federation fleet. That fact left the captain with quite a sobering thought.

"No matter how this conflict turns out... it's going to be God-awfully short."

******************************

Captain Riyla stood passively near the large panoramic window of the starship's bridge, her attention focused squarely out into the ocean water. The black-furred kyree's wolfish tail swayed ever so slightly as she continuously shifted her stance from one paw to the other, her restlessness getting the better of her.

The window of the bridge currently showed a clear visual of the USS Maryland, the surrounding murky water electronically filtered out of the display to distinctly show the submarine hull, almost as if the boomer was suspended in midair. Riyla watched quietly, her hands clasped behind her figure, while Ian maneuvered his boat carefully out of the seafloor soot, before bringing the hull level alongside Arastos.

A smile slowly worked its way across the kyree's muzzle. There was definitely a sense of pride that came with seeing the human vessel get underway.

Riyla was happy that their combined repair job was holding up well... not that the integrity of their workmanship was in question to begin with. The Maryland now sported a wholly new propeller more silent and durable than its predecessor, and there was hardly any mark to indicate that the bottom rudder surface had been replaced completely.

"Give 'em hell Ian," Riyla spoke quietly to herself, echoing her counterpart's words from earlier. Slowly the submarine's propulsion screw began to turn, pushing the hull forward while the twin rudder surfaces pivoted about. As the prop's RPM ramped up, the submarine turned away from Arastos, soon pointing her stern toward the starship and the kyree's point of view on the bridge.

Riyla unclasped her fingers from behind her figure and moved to place a hand against the window, continuing to watch silently. Gradually the profile of the boomer sub grew smaller before her_,_ until after a few minutes only a small holographic blue icon marked its position on the glass.

At that moment a clatter of noise caught the captain's attention from behind her, causing her pointy ears to swivel about toward the source keenly. Riyla grinned to herself while she turned about, already knowing who was causing all of the racket.

At first there was no one else to be found within the bridge compartment... that was, until a fox-like tail suddenly poked up from underneath the helm console position. Only one individual aboard possessed such a multifaceted tail.

"Having any luck fixing that blown circuit?" Riyla called out to her mate, who was on his hands and knees beneath the console, attention focused solely on an opened circuit panel. "I can ask Taylo or Eriras to come give you a hand if you'd like."

Kano's voice echoed up from beneath his work station, his tail still swishing about above the dash. "Nah... I found the damaged relay fuse... fixing it now."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Her mate's reply came in the form of a thumbs up above the console, causing Riyla to chuckle at his use of the human gesture. The captain padded over to the helm station and came to stand alongside the dash, looking down to admire Kano's shapely butt and fluffy tail. Bringing a hand back, Riyla gave her mate's exposed rump a nice firm slap, eliciting a startled yelp beneath the dash, followed by the distinguishable sound of a tool hitting the deck.

"Hey now... that was just mean," Kano whined, as a hand came back to feel along his abused rear.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist admiring that sexy butt of yours."

Her mate wriggled his haunches at her, growling playfully... resulting in another slap across his rump to Kano's amusement.

The bridge door swooshed open just then, baring three more individuals into the bridge space. Heading up the group was Keith, followed by Shyla and Yana walking abreast, who listened as the human recounted an interesting tale of his first venture into space aboard the Shuttle Endeavor.

"... and you're basically strapped atop a controlled explosion, with untold amounts of extremely flammable liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and solid rocket fuel stored just below." Keith paused for a moment with a smirk. "While the launch experience is unbelievably thrilling... I'll take your starship any day."

Shyla's feline muzzle parted with a roguish grin as she replied. "To be honest, I wish I could experience a launch on a Space Shuttle... just to feel the raw power of it all."

"Unfortunately we only have a handful of launches left... they are... were planning to retire the fleet sometime this summer."

The kenseng's expression grew solemn. "It's an unfortunate shame. In my opinion, humanity really needs a continual focus on expanding out into space... especially now given the current war."

Keith favored his feline friend with a wicked regard. "I'd reckon that a fire will be lit under some political feet... to say the least." He gestured around the bridge with a hand. "Hell... just the mere appearance of this starship was enough to rekindle our race's drive to reach for the stars. Until you showed up, we had little reason to do so."

"It will be interesting to see how this all goes down in history," Riyla chimed in from alongside the helm. She came to stand before the group, a thoughtful look painted across her facial features as she favored Keith. "Historians will definitely have a lot to account for."

That idea provoked a raised eyebrow from the lone human of the bunch. There was no telling how this entire string of events would be cataloged for future generations to learn about. Keith had chosen his side... but what if the Domain emerged the victor? He had no idea how far the drala would go when it came to propaganda... or manipulation of historical records. Given that fateful outcome, he could very easily be painted as the single human who conspired with the enemy. However, that was a matter that didn't concern Keith. He had no aspirations for fame or glory... just the will to fight for what was right.

"An interesting consideration to say the least," was Keith's simply reply.

Riyla nodded in agreement, before she moved on to a more important topic. "I realize now that I should've asked this question a while ago." The black kyree studied Keith with an inquisitive look, reaching a hand up to stroke through her whiskers. "How would you like to officially become part of this crew?"

The question almost made Keith stagger.

As the human tried to understand what she had asked, Riyla let a warm smile roll across her muzzle. His perplexed expression was actually quite comical. "We have always needed another helping hand to join our close-knit family," the captain continued. "... and I couldn't think of anyone better to ask than you."

Keith made several false starts trying to speak. "I... erm... wow... I don't know what to say," he finally managed. There was a momentary pause as he tried to formulate a question. "What... exactly would my job be?"

"Well... Arastos is the first vessel of a new starship class," Riyla replied. "Consequently, we are sort of a test ship to make sure everything functions properly. One such problem we have come to notice is that this ship really needs an Operations Officer."

Keith scratched his head in confusion. Just what did an Operations Officer do?

The captain took note of his puzzled gaze. "Your main task would be damage control during combat." Riyla moved to place a hand on Yana's shoulder, causing the grey-furred kyree to blush slightly under her fur. "The initial ship design called for six crew members. We found however, that no one can be spared for damage control while the ship is in combat. Yana here was initially tasked with the job... but she is too busy maintaining the defensive armaments and shielding."

Riyla held up two fingers. "The other task for an Operations Officer is ship security." The kyree cocked her head to the side slightly, stroking the underside of her muzzle as she did so. "I don't suppose you have ever fired a weapon, have you?"

"Well... I was never required to maintain good marksmanship in the Air Force... but I did, and still do, try to hit the practice range every chance I get for some practice with my Glock 17." Keith shrugged impassively. "I'm certainly not the best shot around... but I'm still fairly good."

The black kyree clasped her hands together eagerly. "Then you fit the job description perfectly."

Keith's expression again became reflective. Never had he considered the ramifications of joining the Federation. He couldn't ask for better friends than each member of the Arastos crew... he wasn't married nor had kids... and only called a humble apartment in Orlando, Florida home. There wasn't much tying him down. So what better way for an astronaut to explore the far corners of space and indulge in his childhood fantasy?

But, there were also the drawbacks. If they managed to survive the coming battle, surely Keith's new occupation would take him away from Earth, away from his close friends and family. The thought was troubling and caused him to hesitate.

Riyla took note of the conflicting emotions welling up within her human friend. Thankfully she knew exactly what was troubling him. "Don't forget that you still have your first job," she added, regarding him with just a hint of a grin. "As Ambassador to Earth, you would be obligated to return to this planet frequently." The kyree held up a finger to emphasize her point. "And I don't see any reason not to take a vacation when in the neighborhood."

That caused Keith to start with a notable gasp. He had completely forgotten about that new aspect of his life altogether. After considering her words carefully, it all came together. He was Ambassador to Earth on behalf of the Federation... it only made sense that he became part of the Axis fleet to make the position official.

Slowly Keith extended a hand out toward Riyla. "I'd be happy to become part of this crew."

Riyla's tail wagged happily behind her figure as the kyree grinned broadly, enough so that her canine fangs were displayed prominently. "Awesome... I couldn't be happier." The captain reached out and took Keith's offered hand, shaking cordially with the newest member of the crew. "As captain, I officially appoint you to the position of Operations Officer aboard the Federation Axis vessel Arastos... effective immediately. We can worry about all the useless paperwork later."

Grins were shared by the entire group, while Shyla reached up to pat Keith on the back. For the human... something inside him just felt... right.

At that moment, Kano suddenly stood up next to the helm console, his head tilted to the side in typical canine curiosity. "Did I miss something?"

Riyla chuckled softly. "Oh... we just accepted Keith into the crew."

Understanding quickly played across the fox-furred kyree's gaze, his ears twitching intuitively. "Ah... good to have you aboard now in an official capacity. I'm glad you can help take some of the stress off poor Yana's shoulders."

"I hate to cut the celebration short," Riyla interjected, while she padded over toward the holo chart display. "...but we have to get this show on the road." She came to stand before the projection mechanism, which for the moment was powered down, and reached over to grasp a small metal container resting atop the surface... if they survived the battle to come, the captain made a mental note to acquire some sort of table for the bridge. It wasn't good practice to continually use the holo chart for that particular purpose.

Swiftly the black kyree popped the latches on the small suit-case like container and opened the lid. She then produced two halo like devices from inside, which momentarily filled Keith with utter fear. They looked just like the sinister mechanism that had been used to literally cram an entire language into his head several days ago, through a process that had left him unconscious... and later with one hell of an ear-splitting headache, which made a migraine look trivial by comparison.

Riyla was already two steps ahead of Keith though. "Don't worry... these aren't language dubbing devices," she spoke quickly, holding one halo in each hand. "However, they are similar in design."

Keith eyed the mechanisms dubiously. "Just what do they do?"

"Remember earlier how I said Arastos was the first vessel in a new class of starships?" Riyla paused and allowed Keith to nod his head in reply. "Well, these suckers here are one such new technology that we as a crew are field testing, if you will." The captain reached up and gingerly placed one of the halos atop of her head.

To Keith's observation, the device was not perfectly round, but rather was molded to fit comfortably underneath both of Riyla's wolfish ears. The halo then bowed upward slightly across her forehead and back of the head, providing a perfect fit to her canine physique. Thus, any movement by her ears wouldn't unsettle the device atop her head.

The kyree made a few adjustments to the mechanism with her free hand, before returning her attention to Keith. "This is a neural interface," Riyla spoke bluntly, pointing to the halo now resting comfortably on her head. "It is designed to enhance crew performance during ship operations by providing a sort of link between individual minds." She paused for a brief moment, trying to drum up a better explanation. "It's basically telepathy as seen in Star Trek... although this is done through artificial means. As far as the Federation knows, there is no natural method to accomplish this feat."

The more she talked, the more Keith's mouth hung open in utter shock. The idea of actual mind-to-mind communication was both fascinating... and completely terrifying at the same time. He couldn't begin to wrap his thoughts around the idea that the technology even existed in the first place. Sure, telepathy was not a novel concept when it came to fiction plots... but that was a realm reserved for fantasy. And yet, here was a bipedal furry wolf standing before him explaining that such a concept was indeed possible.

Riyla had to stop and laugh at the utterly humorous look Keith sported. It seemed as if his eyes would pop out of his head. However he wasn't the only one who had been awestruck by such a revelation, since the neural interface concept had knocked the kyree off her paws when she first learned of its inception roughly a month ago. It was always amazing... the sheer incredulity of modern science and innovation.

"The idea is to streamline decisions and orders made between crew members," Riyla continued. "So far only a handful of fighter spacecraft have been equipped with the new system. Arastos is the first fleet starship to have it installed."

The captain paused and began to fiddle with the second interface still held in her hand. As Keith watched, Riyla somehow managed to adjust the band so that the contours designed to fit around a kyree's pointy ears flattened out, causing the device to become a true circular halo. She then adjusted a fitting along the surface, much like someone might adjust the Velcro strap of a hat to provide a better fit around the head.

Riyla handed the halo over to Keith, who accepted it cautiously. "Try this on and see if it fits. If it doesn't, I can adjust the band... I promise it doesn't hurt in the slightest."

Keith hesitated for a brief moment, turning the device over in his hands while eying it carefully. The mechanism appeared harmless enough... but then again, so did the language dubbing halo.

"Well... here goes nothing." Gently Keith placed the interface onto his head, closing his eyes as he did so. However... nothing happened. Suddenly remembering to breathe again, his eyes snapped open to look at Riyla in confusion.

"It's a little difficult to get these to work properly," Riyla spoke. The black-furred kyree reached up and thumbed a toggle along the outer surface of her halo, immediately causing a blue light indicator to snap on. "First you turn it on just like I did." Keith did exactly that. "Then the next step is to blank your thoughts as best you can."

He closed his eyes... then reopened them... looking at her inquisitively. "Everyone has their own way of going about it... I pick out a spot on a nearby wall and just stare at it. In contrast, Kano likes to pick a single random number and repeats it aloud."

Keith thought about it for a moment, before deciding to employ an old technique learned during his days of training at NASA... back during the hellish experience in the vacuum chamber. The emptiness of the massive chamber, coupled with the constraining nature of the spacesuit he wore, had begun to unnerve him greatly. He had only managed to overcome his fear by completely blanking his mind through a careful series of breathing exercises, of which involved staring into the back of his eyelids.

Sighing deeply, Keith closed his eyes and worked to steady his breathing. As the Federation crew looked on, the human emptied his awareness of all thought...until...

WHAMP!

The initial feeling of a whip cracking faded instantaneously from Keith's awareness, instead replaced by a soothing chill that seemed to spread all throughout his head. His mouth opened and closed while the human tried to figure out just what was happening. Yet, before he could come to grips with the weird euphoria... the feeling abruptly faded away.

"Quite the interesting sensation isn't it?"

Keith was about to reply when he realized no one had spoken. In fact, none of the crew's muzzles had so much as opened since he had reopened his eyes.

What the hell?!

"Try forming your thoughts into words... weave the words into sentences... the interface will do the rest."

The voice came again, although this time Keith was able to discern that it had originated within his mind... although the thought was not his own. It had a distinct feminine tone... foreign... yet also familiar."

Keith decided to do as the voice had instructed. "He...ll...oooo... th..ere?"

He felt the foreign speaker recoil away from his awareness, almost leaving a sort of void for a moment before returning. "Ugh!... try not to shout if you can help it. Not fun hearing someone scream inside my own head."

At that moment, Keith realized Riyla was grasping her head with both hands, her facial features creased in pain. And then everything became clear, as the initial shock of the experience wore off. He was speaking with the kyree telepathically... and apparently he was shouting his thoughts.

"Oh... sorry about that Riyla," Keith spoke aloud with chagrin. He subconsciously brought a hand up to touch the halo affixed to his head. He had no idea a simple thought could cause such discomfort through the link.

Riyla moved her own hands away from her head, the pain vanishing from her expression. "It's alright... usually takes a little practice to get the technique down." the kyree turned her attention to Kano. "Let's go ahead and get underway ourselves. I'll keep practicing with Keith in the meantime."

The helmsman acknowledged his mate with an overenthusiastic human salute, causing her to chuckle. "Yes Ma'am!"

Keith, for his part, could only stand there and concentrate on not expressing anything in his mind, lest he cause Riyla further discomfort. The undertaking was far harder to accomplish than he originally considered. Desperately, he fought to make the bridge stop spinning in a sudden bout of nausea.

In the meantime, Kanolos swiftly moved to sit comfortably in his seat, simultaneously accessing the dash controls to warm up the starship's atmospheric thrusters in one smooth movement. It was time to bring the hurt back to the Domain. But first they had to put as much distance between Arastos and the Maryland as they could.

******************************

Roughly six hours later, it was time.

According to the ship's sensors, they were now 400 miles due south of the USS Maryland's position.... a sizable distance; but, not quite far enough. Considering what they were about to do, Riyla wanted to make absolutely sure the human sub would not be discovered as a result of their actions. Thankfully the dampener would serve to alleviate that risk to some extent...400 miles would have to do given the short window of time they were allotted.

The black kyree currently occupied her captain's chair, legs crossed while she chewed on a claw nail anxiously. Kano always got onto her for the nervous habit... and lately she had been good about it... although the tension of the moment was now getting the best of her.

Meanwhile, her mate continued to work on the circuitry of his station console, his hands busy tweaking various switches and relays to fine-tune the control responses as he sat in his chair... a far more comfortable position than standing on hands and knees beneath the dash. His task was of the utmost importance, since Kanolos's skills as the ship's pilot were going to be sorely needed in just a few moments.

Keith now manned a console opposite the Tactical positions, which as it turned out was the Operations station of the bridge. He still had the neural interface placed on his head, and was busy trying to familiarize himself with the controls across the dash. Over the past couple hours he had practiced mind speaking with Riyla through the device. Now Keith was fairly comfortable using it, bringing about an immense sense of accomplishment. Not half a day ago he didn't even know this technology existed... and now he could talk through the interface almost as easily as forming words verbally. The accomplishment was a testament to Riyla's excellent teaching.

With a huff of exhaustion, Kano finished configuring the controls and leaned back in his seat. "Alright, I'm ready to go here."

Riyla studied the back of her mate's furry head for a brief moment, her restlessness clearly evident as she spoke. "It was easy to draw this strategy up on datapads and computer screens... but actually carrying it out is a whole other deal altogether." The kyree uncrossed her legs and sat upright in the chair, seemingly making up her mind. "It's now or never."

Everyone present on the bridge understood what the captain meant by her words. This was the moment when their plan swung into action. There would be no going back after this.

Both Yana and Shyla moved to man their side-by-side Tactical stations, before each donned an interface halo similar to the one Riyla sported. Meanwhile Kano did the same, as he punched a command into his console... the kyree's attention orientated solely on the readouts displayed across his dash.

Keith watched the helmsman go about his tasks curiously, noting that Kanolos's demeanor became serious and completely focused, something odd for the normally easygoing kyree. Sure, they were about to kick down the Domain's front door, which bore incredible risk... and everyone aboard had the right to be on edge. Still, something just seemed different with the fox-furred kyree... there was a certain intensity and concentration... a professionalism that belied Kanolos's normally mellow personality.

Keith was well aware that Kano was quite a skilled pilot... yet, he had no idea of one unique aspect of the kyree's piloting prowess. There was a very good reason why Kanolos had been chosen to fly Arastos.

As it turned out, Kano had the honor to be known as a Raithere Fang. The title dated back several centuries to a time when travel across Sora was accomplished through wind and sail. During this period a unique brotherhood of sailors, comprising both kyree and kenseng, had risen up to claim dominion of the seas, named for their skill and command over the trade winds spanning between far-reaching lands.

Utilizing small and agile single-sail craft, the Raithere Fangs outmaneuvered their larger and bulkier adversaries, pressing their advantage to overwhelm far superior enemies time and time again. As such, the term Raithere roughly translated to "nimble" in both the kyree and kenseng old tongue... hence Nimble Fang.

The mere mention of the brotherhood was said to strike fear in all who braved the ocean waters. Not many dared to test their luck against such a formidable foe, one that could spring up seemingly out of thin air... before again disappearing off into the horizon, leaving death and destruction floating in their wake. Consequently, the Raithere Fangs went on to control the seas of Sora for untold time, eventually earning the brotherhood a prominent place in Soran history.

Accordingly, the esteemed title of Raithere Fang had been carried out into the reaches of space, and now belonged to an elite group of pilots within the Axis... named for their uncanny mastery of fighter starship combat. The distinct red sickle symbol that once had adorned the hulls of countless wooden ships now bore the distinction as a badge of honor for these select few starship pilots, marking them as part of the esteemed brotherhood.

As such, the superior abilities of the Raithere Fangs, now commonly referred to as just Raitheres, were in fact only possible with the neural interface. By tapping into a pilot's mind, the device was capable of establishing a direct connection between the individual and his vessel, effectively streamlining reaction time and user input to create a starship capable of movements thought to be impossible.

For most of the Raitheres the sensation of employing the neural device was nothing ever experienced before. It was as if the starship became an extension of the pilot, reacting swiftly to his every will... two entities becoming one.

However, the system was not without its drawbacks. Only a select few possessed the innate ability to pilot a vessel in such a manner. The testing process alone to select candidates was said to be one of the most grueling and demanding trials within the Federation military. Those fortunate enough to make the cut still had to undergo mental and physical training of unparalleled intensity. Even so, a typical pilot could only endure using the interface for a few minutes at best, before the strain simply overwhelmed the body.

Kano had passed his trials and training with flying colors, earning the distinction to become the first Raithere to pilot a starship technically classified as a capital warship... although most simply referred to Arastos as an advanced scout class vessel. That fact notwithstanding, he was the first Raithere to pilot a starship that was larger than a single or two seat fighter craft.

As Keith watched, Kanolos's console began to move, catching the human off guard. Slowly panels opened up on either side of the dash, while similar panes folded back down below along the deck. After a few moments, the movement stopped, presenting two hollow sleeves on the console surface, and what appeared to be two large boots underneath.

These ports were in fact where Kano placed his arms and paws while operating the neural interface. As the kyree's mind was linked up to ship's systems, his paws and hands served as the user inputs for piloting the ship. Inside the hollow sleeves were two gloves, custom tailored to Kano's hands, while the boots sported similar features for his paws.... all of the fittings containing thousands of sensors.

Every subtle movement, every twitch of a finger or paw toe... all caused the starship to react in a unique fashion. With hands and paws placed in the sensor fittings, Kanolos gained the ability to maneuver his ship in any way he saw fit, allowing Arastos to perform acrobatic stunts only a smaller fighter craft was normally capable of. Along with the mental drain sustained with the neural link, it was this super-sensitive input interface that allowed only a select few to pilot using the technique.

"I can't say I'm excited about using this again," Kano breathed dismally, leaning back in his chair a little further to stare up at the ceiling.

Riyla quickly moved over and placed her hands atop his shoulders. "I couldn't ask for a better pilot to get us through this mess." Her hands began a gentle massaging motion, serving to unwind tense muscles to Kano's contented murr of pleasure. "I know you won't steer us wrong."

Her mate smiled warmly as he felt himself relax a little. "I'll do my best."

With that, Kano stood and eyed his console for a brief moment. Inhaling deeply, the fox-furred kyree shook his head to clear his thoughts and moved to place a paw in the first boot, his exhaled breath escaping in a puff from the sides of his muzzle as he did so. After a minute of awkwardly hooking himself up, Kanolos was fully setup with his hands and paws placed in their respective alcoves.

"I'm ready here," the pilot proclaimed, rolling his shoulders while he tried to loosen his body up.

Keith closed his eyes and ran through the exercise to clear his thoughts... and there it was... a sudden sharp crack that pierced his awareness. Riyla had stated that in order for the interface to sync up, the device first had to read the synaptic patterns of the mind. This task was easier if the user simplified their thoughts. As a result, the sharp snap that Keith experienced was the interface interjecting its influence into his mind, so that thoughts by him could be read and sent to others, while also allowing for theirs to be woven back into his own consciousness... almost like a computer reading and writing data onto a hard drive.

Unlike before, Keith immediately felt the presence of several others, seemingly crowding his mind quite uncomfortably. But, after the initial discomfort of the experience, he began to notice that the other entities remained apart from his own. Furthermore, each existed in what could only be explained as a certain direction.

There was a rather strong female influence above his awareness, radiating with authority... yet, also a distinctive charm and warmth. That had to be Riyla. To his left was a male presence... determination, focus, and the same warmth he felt from Riyla... obviously Kanolos. To the right, a female pair... one calm and reserved... the other outgoing with a witty humorous feel. None other than Yanashi and Shyla. And finally below was a male and female pair... both sharing the same calculating, observant resolve... Eriras and Taylo.

Together the crew's presence resembled what Keith could only call auras, which all continued to float out just beyond his own consciousness. The feeling was utterly surreal. They were many... yet, also one.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen... let's get things rolling." The voice originated from Riyla's presence above him. "Bring the core online."

Both engineers acknowledged wordlessly through the link. Further aft in the engineering compartment the two kenseng quickly set about powering down the auxiliary fusion reactors, before bringing the main plasma core to an idle reaction rate and finally switching all systems over from ground to flight configurations.

By now the bridge had become completely silent, save for the subtle hum of machinery beneath the deck just barely audible in the quiet. For the duration of the current mission, communication would now only take place through the neural net.

After roughly two minutes of silence, Taylo voiced his reply over the interface. "The core is online and sitting at idle. We're good to go down here."

Automatically Yana and Shyla began warming up the defensive and offensive systems, the gray-furred kyree charging the shield emitters and defensive armaments... her kenseng mate working to spin up the starship's complement of missile pods, point defense turrets, and the massive Longbow Cannon affixed underneath the bow.

Simultaneously, Kano momentarily removed a hand from a sensor glove to turn the ship's ignition key. At once the impulse reactor spun up to idle, resulting in a dull hum that emanated throughout the hull... soon falling back into white noise that went unnoticed. Normally the fox-furred kyree would've also brought the magnetic cushion online so that Arastos could hover. However, in this case, that wasn't going to be necessary.

Deftly, Kanolos tweaked his paws and hands ever so slightly, gradually working to raise the ship's nose skyward with the atmospheric thrusters. Making sure to keep the vessel completely underwater, he carefully lined the bow up on an almost perfect rocket-like launch trajectory... they needed to get into orbit rather quickly.

"Just let me know when, and I'll fully engage the piloting interface," Kano mindspoke to the others, his voice laced with anxiety. "From there on, I can only sustain the link for a few minutes."

The piloting kyree's aura brightened slightly in Keith's awareness, while Kanolos accessed the slipstream drive via the link and initiated the startup sequence. At once the four slipstream engine nacelles mounted along the aft superstructure began spooling up to an idle setting, the internal rotation rings quickly becoming a blur around the hollow center of each drive. With the nacelles still fully submerged, the rapid speed of the spinning machinery began to violently disturb the water, creating large knuckles of air pockets within and around the four engines. Thankfully the ship's dampener was still active; otherwise the Domain might have discovered the vessel's location before the crew wanted them to know they had guests in the neighborhood.

The familiar deep groan of the slipstream drive coming online reverberated throughout the starship, letting the crew know that Arastos was ready to live up to her reputation as the fastest ship in the Federation fleet.

"Inertial dampers are operating at 115 percent," Eriras reported, her voice echoing in Keith's head. "Hang on when Kano punches it... this might be somewhat of a rough ride."

At that moment, Keith felt another presence work its way into his mind. However, this new aura was far brighter than the others, and possessed a wholly different feel to him. There was an odd familiarity... almost a warm and welcoming sensation that resonated from her, which coursed through his mind in a soothing torrent. He could do nothing but simply revel in Lumina's touch for just a fleeting second... it was absolutely spellbinding.

And then she withdrew herself from him... but not before she presented Keith with a mental image of her white kyree form smiling warmly.

"Sorry I'm late," Lumina mindspoke, a hint of exhaustion evident in her tone. "Was just finishing up things on my end. I am, however, ready to go now."

All of the pieces were now in place. It was time to put the plan into action.

"Conduct a broad scan of all ships in orbit above us," Riyla commanded. "See if you can find a nice juicy target for us to say hello to."

There was a moment's pause, while Shyla accessed information on her console. After scrolling through several possible targets, the crimson-furred kenseng settled on one that was just too good to pass up.

A large image was suddenly displayed directly into Keith's mind, unsettling him for a moment as an odd double-vision messed with his equilibrium. He tried closing his eyes, which worked to clear up the disorientation.

The image was a live visual feed from a sensor camera mounted atop Arastos's hull, looking up to show a zoomed in shot of two large bulky starships orbiting above side-by-side. The ugly compartmentalized configuration of Domain ship design was clearly evident from each ship.

The first, a battle cruiser, was comprised of several roughly cubical segments, each linked together bow to stern to create the ship as a whole. The segment furthest aft also contained two large engine nacelles mounted on the port and starboard sides... completing the starship's rather ungainly appearance. The cruiser was absolutely bristling with armaments... but that wasn't their target.

The second vessel lacked the weapons of the battle cruiser, but was actually slightly larger in tonnage. The supply ship had the same general outline as the warship alongside her, the drala favored uniformity when it came to building starships, although with a much more bloated outward appearance due to added hull space for more cargo capacity. This was their target.

"Maybe we can get two birds with one stone," Shyla proclaimed evilly.

The rest of the crew agreed swiftly with the kenseng's choice, giving her the green light to proceed.

With expert hands, Shyla's hands flew across the controls of her console station, as she began shunting power to the Longbow Cannon system. At that same instant, Kanolos made small corrections to the ship's orientation, skillfully bringing the target into line with the massive weapon mounted beneath the bow superstructure.

The Longbow Cannon system was a unique weapon which was currently progressing through active trails aboard Arastos. In actuality, the armament was comprised of two wholly separate weapon systems, with the core cannon fully encased within a second hollow weapon infrastructure. It was this second system that allowed the Longbow to reach out and touch enemies several light-years away. However, for this particularly short distance firing setup, only the core plasma weapon was needed.

After roughly half a minute, the energy coils within the Longbow reached maximum charge, just as Shyla made finely tuned adjustments to the cannon's orientation relative to the hull. Now... she was ready to fire.

"Alright Shyla, we'll go on your mark," Riyla instructed via the interface.

There was a quick pause, while the tactical officer rechecked her calculations. The shot had to be absolutely perfect, while she still had the element of surprise on her side. Given the lack of defensive capabilities of the supply vessel, where the kenseng aimed would almost certainly result in a kill shot.

"Ok... go in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"

Time seemed to slow to a crawl... as the entire crew jumped simultaneously into action.

At that moment, the primed coils of the Longbow discharged instantly, the resulting rapid release of energy immediately directed down the massive barrel of the weapon. From the bridge, only a silent flash of brilliant blue light announced the firing of the gun, while the entire weapon bore recoiled back from the explosive force with a muffled report. Now unleashed from Arastos's armament, the resulting pencil thin beam of superheated plasma swiftly raced up toward the heavens at the speed of light, leaving a pool of boiling ocean water in its wake.

The relatively thin armor of the supply starship proved no match as the weapon shot impacted squarely along her ventral hull surface, liquefying the outer plating instantaneously. Within a millisecond the superstructure was breached while the energy raced within, the concentrated lance of plasma easily moving inward through several compartments... vaporizing anything in its path.

There was nothing the drala crew could do to save their vessel. Shyla had made absolutely sure to aim for the supply ship's most vulnerable position, that being one of its forward main cargo holds. In an instant, the plasma beam impacted into a stockpile of high-yield thermal kinetic warheads, setting off a deadly explosive chain reaction that quickly expanded outward... consuming bulkheads and everything else in a brilliant fiery blast.

From the vantage point of Arastos, the forward block of the supply starship became enveloped in a massive explosion, the vessel's outer hull blowing apart outward around her circumference in sickening twists of metal. The starship's keel quickly buckled under the strain, breaking clean across her midsection, just as the vacuum of space snuffed out the initial fiery blast.

Before Keith could register the demise of their target, the entire silhouette of the cargo vessel disappeared behind a curtain of brilliant light from a much larger secondary explosion, catching him completely off guard as all three plasma cores of the starship breached concurrently. The hapless battle cruiser, which had been taking on supplies alongside the target cargo ship, briefly became overshadowed by the eruption... but in another split second was also consumed and disappeared from view.

Yet, there was no time for the crew to survey their deadly handiwork. Right as Shyla had unleashed the opening volley of the Federation's counterattack, Kanolos swiftly engaged the piloting interface. The immediate result was always rather disorientating as he literally went blind. However, his viewpoint shifted dramatically, now allowing him to glimpse a multitude of different viewpoints from camera angles spread out all across the ship exterior. In effect, the fox-furred kyree now possessed a complete 360 degree view of his surroundings... a helpful advantage when dog fighting with the enemy.

Not even giving himself time to adjust, Kano swiftly disabled the safeties governing how quickly he could accelerate the ship... and punched it.

They had just crashed the party. Now it was time to get the hell out of dodge.

Arastos responded smartly as the three impulse engines mounted to the aft superstructure kicked into max thrust, forming a massive flux of energy just behind the starship. The result was instantaneous with the Federation vessel surged upward in incredible acceleration, creating a momentary void in the ocean water where the ship had once been positioned.

Even with the inertia dampers running above normal output, Keith still let out a gasp while his body was pushed back into the seat noticeably. The force was nowhere near what he had experienced when riding the Shuttle up into orbit; nonetheless, he couldn't help but grasp the armrests forcefully as he hung on with bated breath.

In an instant the bridge view of murky ocean water was replaced by a stunning sight of the vibrant mid-afternoon sky, with Arastos breaching the ocean surface in a gigantic splash of water... no reaction from the Domain yet.

Kano coaxed as much power from the engines as he could, willing his ship to fly fast and true. Swiftly Arastos clawed for altitude, straight up toward the unfolding carnage she had just wrought. He couldn't make the jump into slipstream until they had cleared Earth's atmosphere... still no reaction from the drala.

By now the sensorial cloak surrounding Arastos had been completely negated by the massive plume of energy radiating down from the impulse drive as the starship screamed upward. There was no mistaking the fact that the Federation vessel was now clearly painted on every nearby warship's sensors, providing quite an enticing target.

Only a few seconds, and already they had reached and surpassed Mach 10. Quickly the soft blue of the sky melted away into a darker void, the atmosphere pealing back to reveal the vacuum of space... and just that swiftly, Arastos returned to her natural environment.

Not even thinking, Kano performed the necessary calculations to make a jump, making sure to keep a portion of his attention on the Domain capital warships that now surrounded his starship on all sides... and they were only now beginning to react to his presence.

"Too slow," Kano mindspoke, his muzzle splitting in a wicked grin. He completed the calculations in record time with Lumina's help, and properly lined the ship up on the correct trajectory.

Just as a nearby Domain cruiser raised shields and began charging weapons, Kano threw the slipstream throttles to the hilt. Instantly, the nacelles ramped up to maximum RPM, violently ripping open a hole in space, before the engines swiftly pulled the starship viciously forward into the rift.

And just that quickly, Arastos disappeared into slipstream with a blinding flash of white light, leaving behind the destroyed remains of two drala capital ships in her wake. There was no hope of catching her now.

The opening salvo had been fired, and already Riyla and her crew had drawn blood.

The plan was now fully in motion.