FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I wasn't sure whether to include the following scene as part of this chapter, or split them up, but then decided it probably won't make much difference either way. This one's a little shorter than the previous one, but it should still be entertaining.

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"Your leg seems to be healing up fine. Even with the stress of the fix being quite the rush job, it seems to be coming back together nicely," Mirrie checked over the digital clipboard readings of the quickly recovering wolf in the less and less occupied medical lab. "I know I may have sounded a bit harsh when Amina dragged you in here last week, but it's not that I didn't care. Your broken leg just didn't take precedence over the system shock that some of the loboths in the cryo-pods were going through, being awakened far more suddenly than they should've been."

The bedridden canine nodded her head in understanding. "I know doctor. I just feel kind of bad having to sit around when there's so much work that needs to be done everywhere. How much longer till I can go and help with something? I've heard that there've been some animals or something breaking into the ship, and it doesn't seem right that I'm stuck here and can't do anything about it."

Mirrie sighed and flattened her ears. "I've been hearing nothing but loboths talking about those little brown and black furred bandit masked primates. Caryn hasn't spent one minute in the last few days not cursing them for trying to break into the agriculture laboratory. They're probably after food or something."

"Yeah, probably. Had that accident not happened though, we might have been able to do more of a surface scan and possibly get better readings on the wildlife down here. But what's done is done. There's no point dwelling about things we can't undo."

"It's too bad more loboths don't come to that realization." Mirrie walked back over to her desk on the other side of the rectangular room, sitting down and picking up another clipboard. "The cold reality of things is hard for some to see and accept sometimes. But I should probably let you rest. Another week or two and you'll be able to walk around with a little assistance."

"Thanks doc."

Mirrie called over the nurse who was tending to some of the less mobile and conscious patients. "Could you go and find the new captain or governor, whatever you'd call Amina in her position now for me?" She shook her head and continued, "we really need to get the intercom system back online soon. Having to track down everybody is becoming more and more of a pain in the tail."

The wolf affirmed her instructions and set aside the charts she was using. Not long after, she returned with just the leader Mirrie was looking for. "You called me, doctor?"

She got up and carried one of her small display tablets with her. "Yes, I've finished putting together an optimal projected growth plan for the colony, but I'd like to voice my opinion on the situation at hand too."

Amina tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "What's that, Mirrie?"

"To put it bluntly, I don't foresee this whole as being actually feasible."

"Not feasible? Why not? Is there some problem with Rhael? Or is it all just overwhelming for so few loboths?"

Mirrie handed the tablet with the charts and graphs to Amina. "A bit of both, and more actually. Putting aside the risk of potential biological and genetic problems in several generations, I just don't think that one male is actually going to be able to physically handle the job. Not to mention how big of a setback losing two thirds of the crew and the Exodus taking all that damage is. Things were already going to be quite difficult with everyone at full strength. But now...?"

"But if there's still a chance, then shouldn't we take it all the same? I mean, it's not like we can call for help or anything. A radio message would take more than 60 years to get back home, if there's anyone left to receive it. For all we know, this could be all that's left of our race if none of the other make it either."

The doctor stood her ground. "I don't know, and I doubt we'll ever know due to the century or more a reply would take, but I do know what the numbers say. And they're not good."

Amina put the tablet down and looked Mirrie in the eyes. "That's all the more reason to try and make things work then!" We may have gotten off to a rough start, but as long as we've got Rhael then it's not over yet. I may not be the ideal alpha loboth, but I don't think we can't just give up so easily, right?"

"I suppose so," Mirrie sighed. "I've got the data for how soon we should start breeding as well. Naturally, we can't go about having thirty litters in one week. That's just not going to work. No, the best way to do it is to spread everyone out over the course of about a year. Three to four per month would probably be enough."

"Right, not only do you have a reduced medical staff, but we'd have to dedicate a few loboths to caring for the pups, and possibly for milk too." Amina scratched her head, "but how are you going to be able to just schedule fertility like that though? I thought we could only get pregnant when we went into heat?"

"Easy. We've still got some hot doses of an estrus inducing drug," the doctor grinned at her own little medical humor and returned to her desk and rummaged through one of the drawers. She pulled out a sample vial and handed it to the lieutenant. "They were intentionally included as part of the colony's standard cargo. Now, they're not quite as good as a natural estrus and there are a couple of minor side effects, but they'll start to work in a matter of hours. I'm surprised you didn't know these were here."

Amina looked over the four centimeter long glass tube with its deep ruby red contents momentary before setting it down to speak again. "So you're saying that a shot of this, and we'll go into heat? I'm not sure I like the idea that someone came up with these things. It's bad enough that I lose nearly all my willpower and can't get my mind off anything but sex a couple times a year, but now it can be done at any time?" she shuddered and grimaced.

"So you're one of those who try to fight it then? That doesn't really work out so well, does it? The more you try to not answer your body's call, the stronger it gets, right? By the sixth or seventh day I bet your paw's doing anything it can to relieve that itch. But you do know that that doesn't actually do anything to make it go away?"

"Yeah, I-I know," Amina groaned and turned her head in embarrassment. "It's a hormone thing or something. My parents took me to the doctor's office a few times when I was younger for some sort of a shot that made it go away."

"We don't have any of that here," Mirrie continued to smile. "But I think you know what kind of fix there is on hand, when it's finally your turn. After all, you're the one who doesn't want to give up."

"Look, let's just drop it alright? There're more important things to worry about than what I do when I go into heat." Amina barked lightly. "We need to call up a full crew meeting anyway; the sooner the better. They've all got to know what's going on, and get a spot in line too. Although that sounds kind of creepy actually..."

Mirrie rubbed the underside of her brown muzzle in thought. "Hmmm, I suppose when you word it like that, it kind of does. But it's true, isn't it? That's really what everyone is going to have to do; take a number and get in the breeding line."

"I don't want to think about it like that. Let's just try and get everyone together this evening in the cargo bay. That's the only place on board that we'll all fit in at the same time."

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Things are moving along with only a couple of minor hiccups for Amina and the colony. Hopefully nobody (on board) has too much of an issue with the news they're about to get soon. Mirrie does have a point about what they're about to do though. How would you react in a situation like what's about to happen?