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And number six is here. I had a laugh with the first half of this one. Hopefully it didn't reflect as bad writing though. Same as before, do let me know what you with with comments. Tear it apart with critique, it'll be that much easier to try and improve if I know what I'm doing wrong. Or shower with me praise and affection. Either way, let me know.

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Stellar Wayfarer: Six

Helmsman Sevin Cryda's star log: Coalition date 173.8.1. I dunno why I have to do these stupid logs too. I mean it's not like anyone's ever gonna read them or anything. Captain Merrolth keeps making me though, saying it's some kind of tradition or something. Even had to record them while we were all stuck in bed sick from that radiation a couple weeks ago. I barely had the energy to get up to get food on some days it was that bad.

"Well kid, what'cha got to say for yourself this time?" The partially armor-suited black and brown Resalvan inquires, pacing around my quarters while I remain seated on the edge of the bed. "I know you're still young and all, but sometimes there's a point where you're goin' too far. You gotta learn where to draw the line. We all have to."

I just stay seated, staring at the brown carpet and my own brown and black legs, the only sound that escapes me might be taken for some kind of apologetic whimpering. "I got the commander's story, but I want yours now too." Bhyrt closes the lid on the big metal and plastic chest next to the rather dull wood paneling that covers the room's walls. "Tell me why you did it, and what made you think it was such a good idea in the first place Sevin."

Slowly, with my fox ears still pointing down, I watch the judge and jury sit down and lean back. "Well, you see..." my voice squeaks nervously, "commander Cassa wouldn't stop teasing me about everything. Like my collar, and how my tongue sticks out of my snout when I sleep."

"That don't sound like the Coalition officer I know." The rabbit crosses his arms over the thick white laconian breastplate covering brown fur underneath it. "Now, the professional officer I know would never start anythin' like that. Maybe say somethin' as a comeback, but she wouldn't just call you out on your little love collar outta the blue."

I moaned and turned back down for a moment, because he was right_. Merrolth or I would be doing something, then drag her into in. And she always managed to one-up me. Like, every time too. It's not fair._

"But..." I moan.

"No, no you need to not bite off more than you can chew little fox."I'm not really that short, even though everyone keeps saying I am. Maedallans are the smallest race in the Coalition, then Resalvans, then us Firnulfians, and then the Avittans. Most adult mouse morphs get to be about 110 to 140 centimeters. Cassa and I are both right around the 120 or 130 mark. I think that the captain's about average height for one of us foxes, 180 centimeters or so.

Bhyrt sighs and scratches one of his straight brown ears. "So, you and Cassa get into some kinda argument, and she musta won. Then you got prolly got angry 'bout it and what'd you do next?"

My face grimaces at the thought of having to explain my big plan to him. Maybe it was a bad idea after all to do this. "Well, since she was always picking on me for the collar, I thought that she might leave me alone if she was busy with her own romance of sorts. So once yesterday's duty shift was over, I went back to my room here, and wrote up the fake love letter."

The muscle-bound rabbit laughs. "You really think she was gonna fall for somethin' as corny as that bro? Nah, if you wanted to get that mouse off your back you shoulda tried to find out what she really likes, then surprise her with somethin' big publicly."

Wait, what? That's completely not what I was expecting to hear. I thought he was going to yell at me, not laugh at me. But especially not give me pointers on how to get women.

"Yeah, you need to think with your head, not your tail Sevin," he continues, as I still sit staring blankly. "Still got a lot to learn kid. But hey, gettin' to fly around in a cool starship like the Aurora at your age? I'm sure the does'll be all over you in a couple years."

A second round of laughter as Bhyrt slaps his paw across his knee. "But get'n back track," the light green uniformed rabbit grins. "What'd you do with the letter loverboy?"

"I... I figured that the commander was in the mess hall eating like she usually does after shift. So I tried sneaking into her room to plant the letter."

"Go on."

I swallowed and turned my head back down to the floor anxiously. "And it turned out Cassa wasn't eating, but in her room. And... she caught me."

If the Resalvan's bucktoothy smile was any wider, he'd need more face to hold it_. I didn't know it was possible for someone to do what he was doing._ "You're leavin' out some of the details Sevin. Don't leave the story half done now."

Whatever was making this all sound so hilarious in the big brown rabbit's head was making me feel the polar opposite. My throat was beginning to dry and get sore, and I'd almost have thought he was literally sitting on my chest. "Do I really have to say it?" I whined, wrapping my tail around one leg as they dangled off the bed.

"You don't want me to lock you up in the brig under charges of withholdin' information and impedin' an investigation do you?"

"No, but we don't have a brig on board I thought?"

Bhyrt scratched his chin, giving his smile a more sinister look as he leaned back against the wall. "No, but Gilnei's got an empty cargo container or two down below deck. I'll be sure to crack the lid so you get air."

I seriously don't know if Bhyrt was joking around. He already knows what happened from Cassa, but why does he want me to say it so badly? Is he trying to mess with me like everyone else does? I screwed up, it's not really that big of a deal. Can't you just let it go? I'm sorry.

_ _ "Well?" the lapin continues to lean back, watching me fidget and squirm; toes digging into the short pile brown carpet, face contorting in terror.

"Look, I'm sorry I tried doing it!" I plead. "I won't ever do anything like that again. I promise."

"Sorry kid," Bhyrt replies, apparently not accepting the apology. "Make a choice. Spill it or you get the crate. And I'll be sure to have one of my guys bring you down some of chef's bean wraps. You know, the ones everyone can tell you had. Just remember how cramped those little shippin' containers get. And I know Firnulfian noses are better than mine."

A few days in his stupid shipping box, or the embarrassment of saying it... Something like this is going to spread around the ship in a matter of hours, and then everyone's gonna know. My social life is ruined either way after what I did in there. I won't be able to show my face without getting laughed at.

"I... I got caught and..." my words come out clumsy and awkward. "And Cassa must have heard me sneak in. And she came out from her bathroom..."

"Quit stallin' and say it. I don't have all day."

My voice drops to near inaudible levels as my own social death sentence leaves my mouth. "And she came out without her shirt on..."

"That's it! Don't stop now Sevin! The good time's only just gettin' started!" The rabbit cheers, nearly jumping from the makeshift seat.

Slowly I whine and whimper more of my head under the axe. "She started yelling at me, demanding to know what I'm doing in her quarters uninvited. But she doesn't make any effort to cover up herself. And... And."

"And you were in for quite a surprise you couldn't take your eyes from eh?" Bhyrt laughs, nearly doubling over at how pathetic I must have sounded.

"So... I just out and told her that I was trying to play a joke on her, and handed her the letter. She read it, but I couldn't look away from her the whole time. Without the uniform Cassa was a whole different person."

The rabbit leans in towards me. "So Sevin, how many did she have then?"

"What?!"

"You heard me," he responded in the most serious tone possible, still grinning like a clown. "How many?"

"... Ten." I mumble softly.

Bhyrt sits back upright again, not satisfied with my weak answer. "What was that? I didn't hear you ensign. Speak up."

"Ten! She had ten of them. And they were all so small compared to a Firnulfian or Resalvan."

The lapin's paw went back up and stroked at his whiskered muzzle. "Ten you say? And just how small were they then?"

It takes me a moment to try and think of a suitable comparison. But more importantly, why is this even relevant? "The topmost ones were a little smaller than my fist, but they got smaller and smaller all the way down."

"Well then, what happened next? What did you do after the commander's little surprise show?"

"She started to yell at me, bringing up all kinds of numbers and specific Coalition stuff. And then she noticed me staring at her," I respond, nervously clawing at the pads of my paws.

"Don't stop now, this is the best part," Bhyrt was apparently enjoying the show he had created from the defeated fox. At no point did his face ever display anything but a wicked smile.

I swallow hard again. "So then Cassa started to flaunt them around me, and tease me with something new altogether. She asked if I knew anything about Maedallan anatomy, compared to Firnulfian anatomy."

"And did you know anything?"

"No. No, not really."

For the fourth time the brown and black rabbit erupts in laughter. I don't know how he could make me feel any worse than I do now. That crate might have been the better decision after all this just now. "So did the busty commander Cassa give you a private lesson in biology then?"

"She... she started to explain that her people normally had eight or ten, compared to a vixen's six; all the while acting like it was some kind of game. I didn't know they had that many. I thought mice women had the same number as foxes."

"Oh? Then how about the quality over quantity we Resalvans have?" Bhyrt inquires jokingly. "I'm sure that that many might be nice and all, but nothin' beats a big soft pair you can bury yourself in."

I had no answer to that. I don't even feel comfortable talking about it. I just want it all to end. "When she finished explaining the differences to me, her expression changed to a really sadistic looking one. Then asked if I wanted a hands on demonstration."

"Ooo, I didn't know our little mousy officer was into them kind of things. Did'ja take her up on the generous offer?"

Cassa wasn't actually going to do anything, right? She wouldn't have actually let me even if I could. It was all a play to scare me? Trying to teach a lesson in behaving better. Right?

"N...No..." I sighed. "There was no way she was being serious. I just stood there terrified, and then she grabbed her communicator to call you."

"You don't know that," Bhyrt responds, standing to stretch at the conclusion of this horrible tale of me. "Maybe that's just how Cassa likes her men. Confident and proud. Not some pup that needs his hand held all the time, but one that can stand up take grab what he wants."

The lapin turns and heads for the door after giving me a firm pat on the shoulder. "Well, I guess that was punishment enough for you then. Don't think Cassa was going to report you or anythin' anyway. I just hope you learned your lesson Sevin."

"Yes..."

"Yep, think things though before just jumpin' into them. I swear, you're just like Zarrolth and his son." Bhyrt steps though the door and into a small crowd of his other security team all huddled out in the hallway for some reason.

"So, how many Bhyrt? Who's buying drinks tonight?" One of them speaks up, throwing an arm around his fellow rabbit.

"Sorry bro, looks like it's gonna be on you and the fox brothers tonight." Jeers and laughter fill the hall as the team head off, leaving me alone with my shame. I just curl up under my blanket and grab my tail to try and bring some kind of comfort to myself after all of that.

How am I supposed to go back onto the bridge tomorrow and face her again? Things are going to be awkward and weird now. And the whole ship is going to know me as 'The Peeper,' or 'The Scared little Fox.' I know things weren't exactly going so well for me trying to find a girl before, but now they're all going to avoid me after what that mouse did to me.

I don't dare show my face for food that night, instead just drifting off to an uneasy sleep after spending hours in silent reflection. Tomorrow is going to be terrible. We're supposed to dock at this abandoned ore refinery out in the middle of a stripped out asteroid belt to look for any kind of spare parts we can. And I'm supposed to be on one of the search teams...

Sometime during the night, the Aurora Zephyr docks at the derelict ore processing station. These kinds of things are fairly common throughout the Coalition. The respective astrogeological corporations would bring in a big mostly prefabricated station, which are usually a big drum can looking structure with a ring around it for non-ore freighters to dock at. All the important machinery is housed in the middle. I don't really know much about refining metals, so I'm not really sure what's in there.

Most of the time it's cheaper to just abandon the station after the system is cleaned out. Most of the equipment inside gets taken, but Coalition law says power and air have to remain functional. Supposed to be in case they ever needed someplace else to fall back to and defend, but most of the time these places get gutted. Everyone, Coalition included, need little odds and ends.

Because of the unusual design shape of horizon class ships, the main docking port is actually at the back of the cargo bay, on the very bottom of the ship. And it also needs the station to have an extending hatch seal. Basically the Aurora has the female end, and wherever she's berthing the male end. Fortunately though, there's almost always the correct ports throughout the Coalition and this old junk bucket is no exception.

"Well well, if it isn't everybody's favorite Firnulfian himself! Ready for your second new adventure this week?"

"... So how many people know what I did, Bhyrt?" Apparently he had noticed me trying to stay out of sight behind one of the piles of crates near the door in the cargo bay.

The rabbit grins, the same wily toothy grin that was stuck to his face the day before. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe just us, or maybe just the whole ship." He walks over to me and leans onto one of the stacks of metal and gray plastic boxes.

I knew it. Everyone was going to find out just what I kid I am. "Hey, don't look so down Sevin," Bhyrt continues, watching me sit and hide my face with my paws as I sat on a smaller crate. "I didn't tell everyone that you got shot down by Cassa like that, bro. Nah, I told 'em somethin' you might like a little better."

"What could be better than me just freezing up at the sight of her? What, did you tell them she tied me up or something too?" I glance around the chief of security and get a look at the groups being formed up both to bring materials in, and organize them here. It looks like a ten-ten split, in groups of two.

His smiling face turns to contemplation for a moment, but it doesn't take long to be seeing those big front teeth of his again. "Yeah, I could see that mouse being into that kind of kinky stuff like that. I bet she gets a kick out of being in control, you know what I mean?"

Bhyrt laughs, probably at imagining the commander doing things like that. I don't to think about those things. Not with her. She's like twice my age. "But nah, I think you're gonna be thanking me for this one. 'Specially when all the doe's and vixen's try to get a hold of you."

Oh Reynard no. He didn't make up something like that did he? Please tell me that's not what they're all going to think I did. "Oh, don't look so worried. I didn't say nothin' like that," the lapin responds to the mild panic I was trying to hide, and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Just between you and me, I think you getting caught might actually work out better than you think. With a little help from yours truly. Let's them all know you're interested and available now. Just go along with it kid."

"Yo' Bhyrt! Looks like you and me are the last team to head out," one of the Maedallans from the dwindling crowd calls out. "Cept' for the commander. I dunno who she's supposed to be with."

Wait, if they're the last pair, and I haven't been assigned yet...

_ "_Ensign Sevin! Front and center!" A rather loud irritated voice calls out almost as expected, causing me to jump to my feet and dash.

"You were expected to be present at the briefing ensign," The light green uniformed mouse morph continues with me standing like a statue in front of her. "I don't want to hear your excuses either. It's bad enough that the captain said he was still feeling sick. The last thing I want is a crewman who can't follow orders."

If I could sweat, there's no doubt in my mind that my uniform and white mantle could be soaked by now. Cassa goes off her list of what we're doing and looking for inside the station. As much as I was trying to pay attention to everything she was saying, this fear kept me locked up and anxious. That, and the image from yesterday continues to distract me. Why won't it go away?

Cassa sighs dejectedly at the end of her list and shakes her head. "Normally that fox the first one out the door for one of these little trips. I suppose that since we're only here to scavenge parts and materials, he'd rather hide in his room and play with that sack of his. How could little pieces of painted wood be better than this?"

By this time everyone else had already gone though the massive bay doors that connected us to our potential treasure chest. I was handed a hand scanner to help detect specific things we're looking for, but no weapon. The commander was the only one with a plasma handgun. Apparently I'm not old or experienced enough to handle one of those.

Our walk down that long dimly lit corridor felt like a prisoner's march to his awaited execution. Each clack of clawsteps on that ceramic tiled floor rang through my ears much louder than they should have, had I not been a bundle of nerves following behind the Maedallan's swift pace. The equally large exitway slowly divided itself open, revealing a long forgotten piece of history to its newest set of visitors.

Inside the ring that circled the heart of the giant were the abandoned sleeping and living quarters for the original occupants, seemingly untouched since their exodus. Everything was covered in a fine coating of dust, much to the dismay of my nose.

"Alright ensign, we should make our way down the center hallway here and turn left onto one of the access ports into the processing area. There's a higher chance of finding what we need in there," Cassa says, stopping momentarily to check her scanner. "Keep your eyes open for anything useful. We mostly can use parts, but good sections of scrap metals are good too."

I nod my head quickly, too scared to actually speak. The entire outer ring section is lined with rooms on both sides of the hallway, some shut, some open. From the quick glances I could catch of the visible rooms, the only things the workers left behind were of little consequence. Empty beds, mundane tables and chairs, and the occasional personal effect they must not have bothered to bring to their next posting.

The inner corridor was much the same as the first. Lighting had been poor everywhere so far, and this little tunnel was no exception. Only one of the halves of the exit door opened, to which my partner commented about the poor quality work some of these corporations did building the place. "A disgrace to the standards of the Coalition," she said.

Another band of much taller rooms greets us on the inside. Everything so far has been quite lightly decorated and colored. Bare ceramic tiled floors and sheet metallic walls. Very basic, very cheap; gray and light gray, the industry's standards.

"This floor should house some of the machine shops and finer processing equipment," the commander points to one of the nearby rooms, already open and accessible. "We'll start in there. You know what to scan for, right ensign?"

Nodding my head again wasn't enough to satisfy her for an answer. "Yes commander."

"Good, then let's begin."

While all of the large machinery was long gone, there were surprisingly still smaller bits and parts on some of the shelves. Thanks to my hand held scanner, a rectangular palm sized device with a screen and simple inputs and sensors, we comb though here in no time at all. Most of the loot wasn't immediately useful, but a lot of little relays and components are good elsewhere.

Our goods get piled up near the partially open accessway, and Cassa calls for it to be taken back to the ship. Although I might have been in the same room with the object of my fear and loathing, time passes rather quickly and calmly being able to focus on something. Something that kept me busy without having to look or think about it.

As long as our interactions were quick and painless, I was starting to feel a little better as the hours marched on. I don't know if she was avoiding me too, feeling awkward about my stupid incident last night, but I did my best to stay as far away as possible.

After the deck got finished up, making a full trip around, we head up the elevator to the next floor with four other people. I overhear some of their whispering about me in the small room, but not enough to understand what they're saying.

_ So it's true then, Bhyrt did tell everyone something. They're probably all talking about me, and laughing. Even if these four aren't showing it now._ We all get off, and Cassa and I go off to the right while one group goes the other way. The remaining two stay at the elevator and wait for things to be brought out for them.

This deck must have been full of larger equipment for doing more basic refining. I'm guessing the ore came in through the huge steel door at the far end of the room, towards the center of the structure, and was unloaded in one of machines that used to be here.

Despite trying like hell to concentrate on doing my work, I can't stop feeling self-conscious over the fox and mouse talking about me a few minutes ago. What did Bhyrt say to everyone?! Why can't all this just be put behind me? This nightmare isn't ever going to end, is it...

My problems continue to plague me, even as our latest haul is carried off by the pair of mice. If it weren't for this sensitive nose of mine, I might have kept dwelling on such stupid things. "Uh, hey commander," I say as she looks around for the handle for our next room, sniffing the air inquisitively. "Something doesn't seem right. I don't think you should open that door just yet."

Cassa stops feeling around and turns to look at me. "And just what do you mean ensign? What's the problem? What could possibly be behind that door that you think you know about?"

"Well," I begin clawing at the pads of my paws again. "I think I smell di-nitrite and tetra-oxide. Explosives, you know."

The mouse gives me a look of lofty surprise, clearly taken aback over my bizarre claim. "And just how would you know about what they smell like? You did not grow up in a war zone, or go though any kind of training. I checked your background."

"I... When I was younger," I stutter, sweeping my tail between my legs. "Me and my friends knew a Resalvan who got that stuff for his engineering job, and he'd give us some little fireworks and stuff to play with."

Her curiosity quickly changes to anger as I could've sworn she was about to smack me upside the head. "You were PLAYING with high explosives!? You and your friends could have very easily gotten yourselves killed, or done massive damage to someone's property! What were you thinking!?"

"We were careful with them," I try to weakly argue. "He taught us how to be safe with explosives and everything, it's not like we were just lighting and throwing them. And nobody was going to mind a few holes out in the middle of a huge prairie or anything."

In her sudden fury, Cassa had nearly forgotten why I brought this up in the first place. "Get your scanner and check for them if you don't believe me commander."

She unclenches her fist and sets the device to search for explosives. A few heart stopping minutes later confirms my muzzle's claim. A second sweep gives the same results. "There should not be any explosives on board an ore refinery. Especially one like this."

The commander gets her communicator out and radios all of the other groups to stop what they're doing. "I repeat, we have confirmed high explosives on board. Do not enter any more rooms, and I want all teams to rendezvous outside the Aurora as soon as possible."

"I'm not going to get in trouble, am I?" I whimper, slinking down as low as possible.

Cassa rubs her eyes for a moment to think, then calmly faces me and responds. "No. I still think you were incredibly stupid for playing around with things like that, but I suppose I really should thank you. Well, Firnulfian noses at least."

My ears perk back up. "You're not mad at me or anything? I'm sorry for playing with explosives, and I'm sorry I tried to put that letter in your room last night."

"Are you still upset over that?" She laughs, putting her free hand on my shoulder. "Have you been avoiding me all day because I caught you?"

I softly mumble my response, feeling uncomfortable to have the mouse this close to me again. "A little, but mostly because you came out unexpectedly all half nude and tried to get me to grab you..."

"Sevin, it's not a big deal," Cassa grins and retracts her hand. "You should know that I only do things like that to you two when you start trouble. Besides, I have a hard time believing that a scene like that would be anything completely new to a fox your age. With as much time as you spend on that holo-computer of yours, I'm sure that you've seen it all already."

"Only Firnulfians... I didn't know that you had that many. I thought your people had three like ours, but just smaller because you're all smaller than us."

Seeing how distressed this was all making me, the white mouse tries consoling me. "It's a big galaxy out there Sevin. You shouldn't be so surprised to find people who are different than you out there. We four of the Coalition may look similar at a glance, but in reality there are many differences between us. Racial biology would be something that our doctor could teach you if she has time, or maybe Catio."

Ria would go about teaching me alright, teaching me manually with herself... I don't know if I would want to get those kinds of lessons from someone old enough to be my mother. It's just not my thing.

"Let's head back to the ship and re-plan our scavenging with this new danger in mind," Cassa says. "And I am sorry if what I did was a little extreme. It's just that you should know not to go into someone's quarters uninvited like that. I'm sure that you wouldn't want me to just barge in your room while you're getting ready to take a shower."

Well, maybe under the right circumstances something like that would be kind of cool. I don't know about with you though.

---

I don't want to give the wrong impression that all of these are going to be this heavy in sexual implication or suggestion. I do want to make it "No-yiff," but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. Just going to have to see where things go I suppose.