FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Foe and Friend _ Part II - Betrayers and Refugees. _ Written by Raziel.

The jungle was alive with sounds: a multitude of calls, whistles and growls coming from both high in the canopy and among the low foliage. Something else started to rumble through the trees, the sound muffled by massive trunks but still carrying far. The sound was a high-pitched staccato, the deeper tones absorbed by both the distance and the surrounding jungle. The calls and sounds of life were stilled, as if everything held its breath. A dull thump rang out that sent a slight tremor through the forest floor. A colourful, four-winged bird exploded from a low bush and disappeared into the canopy with a squawk. Other sounds became evident; yells, strange howls and roars. Closer to the source, the sounds gained more definition. The rattle of carbines, the explosions of grenades, the hiss of hard-point lasers superheating the air, the whistle of air across a blade. Soon, the growls became more forceful and strong, whereas the yells became panicked screams. The machine-gun rattle turned from steady, controlled groups into a constant drone as discipline shattered. And with a final howl, it was over. The jungle remained silent, patiently waiting for another burst of sound not native to the world. What happened instead was a slow progression solemnly moving through the woods, following a path so choked with plants that it could hardly be called a path at all; it was all but invisible among the splashes of vivid colour illuminated by sunlight filtering through from above. The range-finder pegged the distance of the group at 156 yards out. They snaked around trees and bushes carefully, moving in a rather unpredictable pattern but the general direction took them away from him. Samuel breathed carefully; the jungle was so silent that he could swear he heard the Sergals' clawed feet on the path. If he could hear them, they'd surely be able to hear him breathing if he wasn't careful. A mild cramp made him move his leg slightly, and almost instantly, the Sergal leading the group - the marks on the armour denoting him as a scout - perked up. Samuel froze as he saw the sleek, black-white furred head scan the surroundings. His throat became dry when the red eyes seemed to stare right into the binocular, right into his eyes. What seemed like minutes passed and Samuel's heart began to race, preparing his body for the flight it was expecting. The lead scout cocked his head. Samuel's attention was drawn to the red marks of dried blood surrounding the scout's mouth.

Another bird escaped from the foliage with a shockingly loud call and burst of sound, so close by that Samuel would have yelped if he hadn't been pinned to the ground by a combination of fear and latent survival instinct. The lead scout's eyes followed the bird's flight for a moment and then visibly relaxed. A peculiar hand-gesture made the rest of the group fall in again. A number of Sergals carrying stretchers appeared and it was immediately evident that they weren't carrying wounded. All were laid to rest in solemn poses, hands folded across their chest, spears still clutched. Sergals did not cover their dead during transport and the wounds that killed the warriors were proudly displayed. For Samuel, it just seemed morbid and made him flinch when the last stretcher came into view with a pitiful, flayed form placed upon it. He'd seen the effects of a razor-mine before and he felt he'd never get used to it. He felt himself hoping that the Sergal had been killed instantly. Finally, the line of Sergals passed out of view. And then there was the soft sound of fur on the earthen ground behind him. A hint of metallic rattle from interlocking plates. His first conditioned response was to fling himself around and bring his sidearm to bear, but words he'd learned from someone else brought a faint smile to his face. If you hear something and aren't dead a second later...we don't want you dead. The movement continued and seemed to settle down beside him, just as he made a final sweep of the area ahead. "You were right, there's a path." He whispered. "It's obvious if you know where to look." Was the response. The voice was music to his ears. Samuel lowered the binoculars and faced the new arrival with a smile. "If you bare any more teeth, I'd think you were trying to threaten me." Risa was only inches away from him; her stern expression further emphasized by her war-helm. Her nostrils flared as she took a breath of his scent, and he could see a quirk at the corner of her mouth. Then it disappeared and her purple eyes narrowed, indicating not so much a shift in mood, but a non-verbal hint that there was business to attend first. "How many?" "Eight, plus three deceased." Samuel retrieved the map he carried, and placed it between them. Coloured figures had been added to complement the original notes, showing areas where Risa warned that her fellow Sergals patrolled frequently. "Considering that we're about here, and the sounds we heard seemed to be coming from there...I think they hit this outpost." His finger tapped a small icon on the map marked Epsilon-22. Risa nodded. "The battle didn't last long; I think they infiltrated through the river." Samuel eyed her, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't Sergals hate water?" She shrugged, the slight rattle of her armour adding to the gesture. "Not sure where that idea came from, but we felt disinclined to correct it." "Huh, wonder why." Samuel's eyes turned back to face the jungle, staring in the direction of the outpost. "It might be a way through." "Through what?" He tapped the map again. "Our lines. Epsilon-22 is hardly the most forward base. Honestly, I find myself wondering why your colleagues attacked this one, only to leave again." Risa sighed. "Because it'd be a harder target to get to; in a way it's fear-tactics, like what we do to patrol we ambush." Samuel shuddered. He remembered stumbling across the scenes Risa was hinting at more than once. Limbs stretched and tied to large trees, dead men with gaping mouths dangling by their feet with spears still through their bodies. He couldn't deny the effectiveness in demoralising and unnerving the troops...it was just that the higher-ups didn't care and it only made it easier to make the Sergals look like monsters back home. His reminiscing almost blocked out Risa's calm voice until it shifted into emerging anger. "...them that the tactic wouldn't work on the long term, but nobody ever seems to listen. Instead, I was marked for punishment for speaking out against the elders." Samuel nodded. "I think we should head to Epsilon-22. As quick as it all went, I find myself wondering if they got word out. If anyone else heard." "So?" "So perhaps we can use it to our advantage. We do have an army here...and an army needs supplies. Off-world supplies that are sent down via the space elevator." Risa's purple eyes narrowed. "You want to try and use The Spire it to leave Xarantha?" Samuel nodded calmly. His eyes slid along Risa's prone form, thoughts drifting back to a few days ago. Clear memories of what she looked like without her armour. Memories of what they'd shared. He paused. "...Come with me." Risa's eyes remained narrowed and something in her expression hinted at the feral nature behind them. For a moment, he worried about her response. There was a growl to her voice. "Why would I want to leave?" Samuel paused. "Look...maybe we need to talk about this later, right now, we should go to that outpost, see what the situation is and then we'll figure it out from there. This might be the best chance we'll have in a long while." Risa remained silent, the slight growl still resonating within her throat. It stopped instantly when Samuel reached out and touched her hand gently, his fingers tiny compared to her slender, clawed ones. The metal of her armour felt cold to the touch. "Trust me, okay? Like how you gave me the benefit of doubt when we first met." The gesture seemed to shock her, stopping the growl instantly and her eyes snapping open wide. A fleeting moment, there seemed to be a hint of blush beneath the beautiful, white fur on her cheeks. "Very well. Follow me and keep up." Risa sprang up in an instant and grabbed Samuel by the neck of his flak-vest like a cub, putting him on his feet before bounding away into the jungle - perfectly in her element. Samuel took a deep breath, and ran after her.

Seeing Risa move through the forest was a sight to behold; she simply flowed. How she managed to detect the pitfalls of the jungle was a mystery to him. Memorisation? Some inherent instinct? All he knew is that he'd best follow in her footsteps as well as he could manage. He thanked the heavens whenever she stopped, waiting for him to catch up with a slight hint of impatience that almost seemed motherly. Samuel smiled wryly as he imagined Risa crossing her arms and tapping her feet. Then he noticed her eyes focussed on something that wasn't him. He fought the urge to stop and turn around, watching how she craned her neck up slightly, now looking at something towards the canopy. Then her purple eyes were on him again. Just as he reached her, he though he noticed a hint of anxiety wrinkling her muzzle but before he was sure Risa bolted again, zeroing-in flawlessly (he hoped) on Epsilon-22. He saw her shift direction suddenly, sliding between to large plants...and she was gone. Samuel flinched and a gut-feeling made him move slower and sink into a more crouched mode of movement. In any other case, he'd have welcomed the break as his lungs ached as much as his legs did from the speed-march through the harsh terrain. He didn't notice the clawed hand reaching out for him until it clasped him over the mouth and pulled him into the foliage behind him. He struggled in a moment of blind panic, but the hold was like iron. And then he heard a short but strong hiss, warm breath caressing his ear. A familiar scent reached him. He relaxed and nodded.

Risa released him, gesturing him to be quiet. As Samuel slid to the ground as soundlessly as he could, sweat prickled his neck. He started to notice the heat of the jungle despite the micro-cooling system in his standard-issue uniform. At least command figured they'd fight a bit better if they were relatively comfortable, but the truth was that the system was overtaxed by all exertion above normal patrolling. All it could do was ease the discomfort. When he turned to look at Risa, he realise that she wasn't next to him anymore; leaving only a faint impression of where she had lain only moments ago. He became aware of something moving nearby as a sweat-drop rolled across his nose and dripped to the earthen ground below him. There was the distinct sound of sniffing, followed by a growl that was at the same time familiar and different to a degree that it seemed to chill his blood by several degrees; the growl sounded not unlike Risa...except that it was obviously not her. Something swooped through the air and Samuel couldn't repress a shout when a dull thunk was followed by a loud clang that seemed to tear into his eardrums. The unknown Sergal's spear bounced away from the steel shaft of Risa's weapon - thrown perfectly into the tree next to Samuel to protect him. Their attacker's spear sang from the solid impact and the warrior was clearly struggling to get the weapon back under control again. Suddenly Risa was in front of him and he growled in apparent surprise, face drawn with hesitation and recognition. Risa snarled and her claws tore at his throat, lacking the hesitation the other warrior showed and proving once again that fights can be decided in the blink of an eye. As blood streamed from the cut skin, the warrior's instinctive response was to grasp for the injury in shock. Samuel felt the air-flow when Risa pulled the spear out of the hard wood without apparent effort, and brought it around in a wide arc. Light reflecting off the blade marked its path with a silver ribbon and the edge carved through the warrior's throat without breaking stride. Risa carried the slash through perfectly, making a full spin and ending facing the decapitated body still standing upright for another moment before it collapsed. A second Sergal descended upon her from the treetops and Risa dodged at the last second, his blade audibly scraping along the curve in her armour. His roars trembled with rage and something that might have been words were spat out in Risa's face as he slashed his blade at her again and again. Risa used her spear to defend herself, finding herself being forced back. Her weapon too large and unwieldy compared to his combat-sword to properly bring it to bear. And then a shot rang out, biting a large chunk out of the Sergal's calf. The leg snapped sideways with the force of impact and forcing him to his knees. A silver ribbon flashed again, and the sword was sent flying through the air as his hand detached from the rest of his body. His yelp of pain was stopped cold when the return-jab of the spear slid between the segments of his chestplate at an upward angle, cleaving his heart. The body went limp and Risa kicked it off the spear.

She cursed in her native tongue before glancing at Samuel standing at his 'hiding' spot, blue smoke still curling into the air. It took her a few breaths to steady herself. "They were following us. Or rather, you - They hadn't noticed me. They weren't very experienced considering they forgot to observe more than just the target." Struggling for words, Samuel voiced the first stupidly obvious thing that came to mind "You...just killed your own kind..." The comment only made her raise an eyebrow. "Don't humans?" Samuel nodded awkwardly. "Yeah...we do. Sorry." Beyond her cold assertion, Samuel could still feel the strange sense of resignation in her body-language. Her shoulder slouched slightly. "Sergals kill Sergals often enough...unless they are clan-mates." Samuel glanced at the bodies. "You knew them, didn't you?" She nodded solemnly. "I did. I guess that marks dahaka...if I haven't crossed it already." "Daha-what?" "There is no bigger treason, especially during war. Unforgivable. Desertion is just a clan-matter. A killing like this marks a warrior for death to all clans." Samuel nodded. "Point of no return, sounds like." Risa nodded in response. "We should keep moving. We're almost at that base of yours." She didn't wait for his response. Samuel followed her silently, understanding that now wasn't time for words.

She'd been right; they arrived scarcely fifteen minutes later, the sudden grey of the compound-walls a harsh contrast with the surrounding organic environment. The main doors had been opened and when Risa pointed them out, Samuel saw the Sergal-tracks too. He shrugged upon seeing the open doors "Well, why get wet when you don't have to?" Inside of the compound, Samuel shivered; Risa's suspicion that the raid had simply been to demoralise. The human bodies left after the fight were on morbid display. Some displayed the unmistakable signs of having been fed upon; flesh torn by wickedly sharp teeth. Samuel almost immediately recognised the layout of the outpost. Just another quick-build prefab-base airlifted to location piecemeal. Wordlessly, Samuel and Risa exchanged roles; her following him into an area where he was the one to know the lay of the land. Despite having never visited this particular outpost, Samuel was able to locate what he was looking for easily since it was the same back on his old home base Echo-04. The radio-room was a mess, showing clear signs of battle. A burst of static made a smile come to his lips. The radio was still working, and the blood and corpse on the metal floor told the tale; the operator hadn't been at his post when the attack hit and never had a chance to report. It made Samuel wonder if the raiding party had known that they had to hit this building first to prevent reinforcements. "Epsilon-22, Epsilon-22. Received reports of gunfire in your area, please respond." Samuel reached for the headset, rehearsing the response in his mind, and began rubbing his sleeve on the microphone. "This is Epsilon-22, do you read me?" There was a brief pause on the line. "Epsilon-22, there's a lot of breakup on the line." Samuel breathed deep. "Our comm-tower took a hit. Will probably have to shut it down for repairs, damn xeno's. We saw the attack coming and managed to send them packing back into that jungle. " "Do you need reinforcements." There was a brief moment of hesitation again when a plan started to form. "No. We're fine. We're sending a transport back to base." "What's the cargo?" Samuel took a long look at Risa. "A live specimen."

A few minutes later, Samuels could barely breathe when Risa slammed him against the side of the transport cage and lifted him up by the throat. "That's your plan? Expecting me to get into that cage?" "Risa, please." Speaking hurt as he forced the words out between gasps. "It's the best chance that we're going to get. I won't let them hurt you." She loosened her steel grip, letting him slide down the cage until his feet touched the floor again. "So what, then?" "We use it to get past the checkpoint. Ditch the transport once inside. That deep inside 'our' areas, security is known to be lax because Sergal's can't get that far. From there, we can go orbital." Samuel took a few deep breaths, despite the pain it still caused him. "But I won't do it without your permission. We can always try to find another way." Risa closed her eyes, a growl building in her throat and her lips baring her teeth. And then she sharply replied.

A while later, a tracked transport came to a trundling halt at the massive, steel door marking the area fully under human control. A small communicator was built into the walls surrounding it, exactly at the height of the driver's cabin. The driver's window opened. "Origin and cargo?" "Epsilon-22, live specimen."

Risa flinched from the bright light when the armoured shutter slid open, the light of the setting sun shining directly into the compartment. She recognised the uniforms but not the people in them. Anxiety rose in her chest and she reached for a weapon instinctively, only to find that it wasn't there. "Damn, you guys actually weren't kidding!" "Holy shit, it's been a long time since we've seen a live one." A third voice came from outside, one she recognised. "Knocked out by a concussion-blast, bitch wasn't happy when she came to." Risa snarled. She didn't recognise the word but she'd recognise a slur anywhere. She felt angry at him, and then angry at herself that she cared who it was that had said it. One of the guards leaned closer, but seemed smart enough to remain well out of arms' reach. "Our friends from the lab are going to have a lot of fun dissecting this piece of crap." Samuel spoke again. "Guys, I know freakshows are nice and all, but I really need to get going. They're waiting for that thing and I don't want to get it in the ass because I'm late." One of the guards mimed pointing a weapon at Risa, and pulled the 'trigger' with a pop. "Hope they keep you alive as long as possible without using anaesthetic, fucking animal." Risa flinched again when the shutter closed, once again turning her environment into a pitch-black hole. She curled up as the engine starting resonated through the transport. Risa swayed when it chugged into motion, burying herself in her memories. She'd been in dark, confined spaces before, but this was something else. It became hard to keep track of time and after a while, she didn't bother anymore. Instead, her mind began to dwell on other thoughts. She wondered if it was supposed to take this long and she realised Samuel never mentioned anything and she hadn't thought to ask. Even in the darkness, she could feel the bars of the cage closing in on her. Other Sergals had been captured before, is this what they had to go through as well? She felt renewed anger well up at Samuel's fellow humans, amplified by a primal desire for revenge. Maybe the elders of the clans were right and they were evil as a whole. Even Samuel. Her throat clenched when the thought hit her; what if he had no intention to let her go? What if it was all some plan to capture another specimen? She'd even given up her armour and weapons. Risa blinked to clear her eyes, rubbing her forearm across her cheeks with a snarl. She grabbed the bars of the cage and roared, pulling at them with all her might and weight. The poorly-secured cage rocked back and forth, but the bars themselves never budged an inch. And then the resonance of the engine stopped. Moments later, light flooded the compartment again and a shadow stepped inside. "I'm going to get you out of there." Risa was gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest and instinct at the forefront of her mind. Her purple eyes narrowed into thin slits. The instant the lock clicked, she sprang forward, the door flying open and sending Samuel into a wall with a grunt. She stumbled into the light, emerging into a pathetic bit of jungle. Her mind was a blur with only one clear thought; escape. Or perhaps martyrdom; she'd already committed the greatest betrayal to her clan and dying while taking as many of the true enemy down with her might prevent them from truly erasing her existence from the records. Then she saw the two humans, and they saw her. They froze as if they weren't sure if they were seeing what they thought they were. The hesitation turned to outright shock and fear when the realised the jungle wasn't playing tricks on them. Risa charged, her fingers spread wide and her claws shining in the light falling through the pathetic little canopy that remained. One of the soldier raised his weapon as the other brought a hand to his helmet. One muffled crack, two. Something sang through the air past her. The soldier with the rifle fell as part of his head exploded. The other soldier staggered as the second shot bored through his light flak-vest and a follow-up shot made him fall. Risa whipped around to see someone familiar leaning against a tree, breathing hard. "We...we need to hide the bodies. I hope the trees muffled the shot enough for nobody to hear it." Indecision froze her as Samuel approached, releasing his rifle with one hand and folding it across his chest. "It'll be the firing squad for me after this, for sure. I guess we really are birds of a feather now." A burst of guilt went through Risa as she saw Samuel struggle to move as fast as he could despite whatever injury she'd caused him. She couldn't bear to speak before they'd hidden the bodies with the transport. "I'm sorry, I panicked." Samuel nodded. "And I never thought to tell you that it might be a while before I could let you out." Risa stared at her clawed feet. "Did I..." Samuel shrugged and grunted. "Bruised rib, I'll live." The response was immediately followed with a small burst of laughter that made him wince. "If you keep this up, I might wind up needing a surgeon to remove all the scars you're going to leave on me. First bite-marks on my shoulder and now this." Risa stammered, a deep blush shining through her white fur. "I..." A firm pat on the arm made her halt. "Just kidding. Come on, let's get you back in your armour, where you belong. I took a 'scenic route' to get us to this area; it's one of the few bits of jungle still standing here, so I figured that might help us in getting to the space elevator...hopefully before anyone noticed the missing transport, soldiers, or lack of further response from Epsilon-22. I don't think my excuse will last much longer.

Risa, for all she had seen and experienced, had to admit that the space elevator simply stole her breath away. She'd seen it from a distance, but the thin spire reaching through the clouds did little to convey how gigantic the construct truly was. She'd heard stories that the arrival of the humans was heralded by shooting stars and a massive earthquake, whatever was done to build it undoubtedly had to do with that. Samuel sighed. "I have to admit, it's amazing what they can do. Orbital-dropped the basic terminal and then sending down prefab components for the rest. 'Small' parts first, and then bigger and bigger until they could basically transfer entire buildings if need be. "How are we going to get in there?" Samuel extended a finger. "Right there, the cargo area." Risa realised that what she took to be a building complex, was in fact simply stack upon stack of silver containers. They were smooth and oblong, not unlike bullets. "Not much security there, we're so 'far' from the front line that most of the people working here haven't even seen any of your kind except in picts and videos." "And thus doesn't need as much security as the outer edges." Samuel nodded. "Quite." Risa sighed. "What then?" "What when?" "Once we get away from Xarantha, where do we go then?" Samuel's reply was instant, revealing he'd been thinking about the same thing for quite some time. "Going by cargo, the area we'll wind up in at the transfer station is completely automated. Even the non-automated areas only run a skeleton crew, so we can probably get to a evac shuttle and make a run for it. As your kind isn't spacefaring, they never bothered to put up a cordon of warships so once we have a shuttle, we'll be okay." "And then?" "We go for the borderlands, the frontier-areas. Rather lawless, but they won't care if you're not human. And after that...I guess we'll see." Risa noticed that Samuel was apparently keeping a close eye on something. Her own eyes followed his gaze, until she noticed two humans talking down below. After a while, one of them left and the other took his place.

Steve Carver yawned as he leaned against one of the sleek, silver containers. When he signed up, this wasn't quite what he was expecting. Excitement, adventure...instead he got tedium and boredom in obscene amounts. His shift had only barely started and he already felt the dullness creep into his mind. And yet, at the same time he remembered one of those videos that Müller had shown; the helmet-cam of some poor shmuck on the front-lines. The videos where the guy just got killed out of nowhere while walking point weren't the worst he ever saw. The videos were all marked top secret to prevent morale from taking a hit, and it made him wonder how much longer Müller was going to stay lucky: someone was bound to notice his unauthorised access to the systems, or someone he showed the vids to blabbed to the wrong person. Carver took a smoke out of his chest-pocket and lit up. The taste of the tobacco laced with some other ingredients made the tedium flow out of him, replaced by a pleasant warmth. He leaned his head back against the cool metal as he let the smoke pour out of his lungs with a content sigh. He knew it'd only last about an hour after finishing his smoke, but until then, he felt fine. He closed his eyes, and just then he felt how a shadow passed over him, his eyes snapping open instantly. "Who's there?" He coughed as smoke was caught in his throat, and tried to wave away the haze surrounding him. "Simmons, is that you?" No response. Carver was sure he'd heard something, felt something. Suddenly his pistol was in his hand, leaving its holster for non-cleaning or training related purposes for the first time ever. Even the training with it was long ago, and the weapon felt awkward and heavy in his grip. He rounded the container, aiming the weapon down an alleyway made by two stacks side-by-side. His hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't line up the iron sights properly. And then something drew his eye, something that looked like a footprint... "Hey, man." Carver yelped and whipped around, only barely able to keep his finger from squeezing the trigger when he saw the uniform. "Asshole! Why didn't you-" The rest of his sentence disappeared in a sigh when something slammed on the back of his head hard. "Nice blow." "Nice distraction." Risa grinned - it still surprised her how easily humans went down for the count. Samuel seemed check the prone form's pockets and retrieved a small card. "Got what we need." He eyed Risa awkwardly. "Um...could you carry the guy? I'd rather not leave him somewhere where he's found easily." Risa grinned. "Can't expect a human to do the heavy lifting." She easily shouldered the burden, making Carver look like a plaything. "Won't they sound the alarm if he's away from his post?" "Eventually, but they'll first assume he's just taking a piss or whatever; discipline is notoriously lacking in these areas."

Samuel pressed the card to a door in the side of the space elevator and it opened with a faint beep. They quietly entered and left Carver in a corner, tied with a piece of cabling that had apparently been discarded after some previous maintenance. Inside the massive hall was nothing but noise as containers were loaded up and put in line for the ride into space. "Don't worry, plenty of stuff that gets sent over doesn't handle vacuum well, so these things are pressurised. And with only the two of us, there'll be plenty of oxygen for the trip." As they picked their way along the dozens upon dozens of catwalks, it was reasonably easy to find their way into the loading area thanks to the signs. A yellow bar marked 'caution' was the only thing preventing them to slip into the container before it was permanently closed. "We have to be fast; if we slip in too early, it'll detect the life-signs and stop the loading." Risa narrowed her eyes. "How do you know all that?" Samuel shrugged. "Thought the space elevator was interesting enough to read up about before arriving here. Had a friend who worked here too before he got shipped elsewhere. Lucky bastard." Samuel's face suddenly turned steely. "Window's coming up." Risa's breath slowed, pushing herself into the focus as the red pulses slid over the length of the container, its door still slightly ajar. Suddenly the red lights blinked off. "Now!" Samuel's cry was almost cut off when Risa hoisted him up instantly, and dove for the black triangle that was to be their escape from the planet. She twisted in the jump, smoothly passing through the opening, her fur only slightly rustling against the sides. And then it was pitch black as the door was finally closed. They rolled across a metal floor and slammed into something hard, and then lay quiet. They listened, but realised the only thing they heard was their own breathing; the airtight seal would not allow any but the loudest of sounds into the compartment. They breathed a sigh of relief when the transport started moving again, the ground shifting under their feet. Risa heard an odd click, and a peculiar, yellow light started to shine from a small stick with a liquid that Samuel was vigorously shaking. "Okay, we should at least have a light for the entire trip. This baby should last for hours, and we only need about 2. Now we..." Risa and Samuel shifted slightly as they lay there and felt how the orientation of the floor started to change, slightly at first, but soon the floor had a noticeable incline. "We're being loaded." He turned to face Risa. "Listen, once it's upright, we'll be launched up the line. We need to get on the floor as flat as we can. We won't get crushed by the acceleration, but it's not going to be pleasant and it'll last a while. It might be an idea to take your armour off, though...Okay?" Risa nodded and swallowed. "You could've mentioned it before." He shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't care, badass as you are." Risa tried to smile. "Badass? What's that?" Samuel chuckled. "I'll explain in orbit."

As the transport got into position, Samuel and Risa moved with it, following the spin until the floor became the wall and vice versa. They'd found a good, flat spot and lied down, taking deep breaths to steady themselves. "So...here we go." Risa nodded. "Yes." For that moment, their hands found each other, and both felt oddly relieved to feel the other clench hard. There wasn't any noise as the magnetic coils engaged, just a sudden shunt that forced their bodies flat against the metal wall. Their stomachs sank, their bones and muscles strained. The entire container shuddered and resonated as it cut through the air despite its aerodynamic form. Risa felt how the air was being forced out of her lungs like something heavy sat on her chest, and could only barely manage shallow breaths. Her arms were pinned to her side, and suddenly she felt herself focus on the warmth of Samuel's hand that was in such contrast with the cold metal. She felt glad that she'd agreed to take off her armour beforehand, imagining the added weight crushing down on her. Even Samuel had taken off his flak-armour and was on the floor wearing just his shirt and pants. Then panic started to rise when the shallow breathing started to make Risa woozy from lack of oxygen. She knew what encroaching unconsciousness felt like and had to struggle to keep what little breathing she managed from turning into hyperventilating. As if he sensed it, she felt Samuel's hand clench hers once more, feeling it despite the pressure that was already on them. And then something shifted. The resonance stopped, leaving them in nothing but silence. The pressure eased up on them. Slightly at first but then it quickly shrank into nothing. And they started to peel away from the floor, gasping loudly to fill their lungs with air. After a few good lungfuls, Samuel laughed aloud. "I never thought's I'd say it, but I'm glad to feel a little zero-G after all that." Risa felt puzzled as she started to float, the feeling of weightlessness feeling strangely pleasant. The small light-stick rose from the floor along with them. "This is...amusing." Samuel smiled at her, and reached out. His fingers stroked through the fur on her cheek gently. "I'd say enjoy it while it lasts...we're stuck like this for a few more hours." Risa smiled in return. She looked at him and memories about that night a short time ago came to the forefront of her mind. At the time, they had a good reason for doing it, and she'd considered that the end of it. But then there was the bite, and his help. Something about him warmed her heart in ways that she wasn't sure why it did. She shuddered pleasantly at the warmth of his fingers on her cheeks. "Whoa!" Samuel couldn't stop himself from shouting when Risa pulled him close to her and curled herself around him as they floated in the compartment. She was so warm that it overwhelmed him. "Risa, what's wrong?" She shook her head and faced him. "Nothing." Her mouth opened slightly, the pink tip of her tongue emerging and gently lapping him across the cheek. Samuel froze up, uncertain what to do next. "What are you..." She smiled at him, as they floated in the compartment, curled up. "I felt like I should make something up to you. And that we should celebrate." Carefully, she peeled Samuel's shirt off him, revealing the ugly bruise the cage-door had left. Her tongue curled out further, and carefully - lovingly - ran across it. The ticklish sensation made Samuel shudder. He brought his hand to her face, brushing through her fur gently. "Risa, you don't have to. I understood you didn't do it on purpose, and I was aware that...last time was just to get you through your heat." She raised her eyebrow, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile before her tongue slithered back onto her mouth. "And what if I feel otherwise? Would you say 'no'?" Samuel blushed, even without the pheromones of her heat, she smelled enticing. Her nude form was just as sensual as it had been last time. He managed to smirk. "I wouldn't. I'd love to, even." Risa nodded. "Then let's get this thing off you and have some fun during this...new experience."

The moment Risa let go of him, they floated apart. Samuel, having experienced zero-G plenty of times before, easily managed to keep his orientation and stay close to her. Slowly but surely, they floated together again, and Risa pressed her back against his chest. "I want it like this..." Samuel nodded as he put his arms around her, his hands finding the familiar orbs of her breasts. Her buttocks were as firm as he remembered them, and the fur tickled him into eagerness down below. "I have to warn you, zero-G...activities like this can be awkward..." A shudder went through him when he felt the small, curious tentacle already curling around him below. Risa turned to look at him from the corner of her eye, bright with lust and a hint of smugness. "...then again, us humans don't have one of those." Risa's clitoral hood-tentacle slithered across his member slowly with deliberate, snakelike motions. He grunted against the experience, trying to not enjoy it too much and end the meeting too soon. Risa was warm, her fur brushing against his chest. He could feel her breathing, her chest rising and lowering slowly and steadily. His nose close to her, every little scent of her found its way to his primal drives and instincts. That he felt nothing else but Risa thanks to the zero-G was a fantastic experience. Risa growled pleasantly, letting out the occasional moan as Samuel caressed her breasts. His fingers skilfully played with her hardening nipples. Her tentacle began to show her eagerness; slicked with her own liquids, it began to try and pull Samuel inside of her if she didn't make a conscious effort not to. Despite that he was behind her, her sensitive nose picked up his scent, the hormones raging in his body changing it as his desire became more enflamed. She shuddered as she could feel him plant small kisses along her spine, the one between her shoulder-blades sending a flare of heat through her entire body.

Samuel grunted when he felt the tentacle draw him inside of her. Risa snarled as she felt his member slip into her, the inverse penetration touching her in all the right places. The tentacle moved and curled around him, preventing him from being pushed away from her as she began to move to meet him. She tightened around him hard and instantly, her body going through reactions normally reserved for mating with intent to procreate. Her tongue extended again as she began to pant loudly, her body taken by primal instinct and a desire to feel his warmth flood her again. A violent shudder went through her from head to toe when Samuel's hands slid along her sides and gripped her hips, and yet another when he used his leverage to push himself in even deeper, touching her in spots where she had never accepted a mate before this time. Risa moaned and growled from the pleasure and desire, her clawed hands playing with her breasts, nails scratching through the fur and leaving red-hot marks of pleasure-pain. Her breath became frantic quickly, her inner muscles tightening around Samuel's member even tighter and massaging it along the full length. "Oh god, Risa...I'm not going to last." She reached down, her hand curling into his on her hips. "You don't have to...it's alright." Risa yelped when he thrust into her again, her breasts bouncing and swaying in the zero-G. Small, clear droplets began to radiate away from them. She had to use every ounce of will to force the words out. "Bite me. Bite me now. Bite me as hard as you can!" Taken by instinct, Samuel did not ask her why. His jaws chomped down on her back and he clenched, clenched until his mouth hurt from it. Risa yelped when she felt the slight pain - so undoubtedly different from a Sergal-bite - enflame her desire and send her over the edge. Samuel groaned as he felt the metallic taste of blood drip into his mouth. And then she clamped down on him intimately. He released her and threw his head back in a moan so loud it was all but a shout that carried small droplets of her blood. His entire body shuddered as he came inside her and Risa roared when she felt his seed enter her deeply. Her body was wracked by violent shudders, even more than during their first time, her body rewarding her for what it thought was an impregnation even if her mind knew that couldn't be.

As her tentacle retreated and closed her off again, they floated together still, curled up and happy. In the haze of pleasure, Samuel felt a question well-up that for some reason he decided couldn't wait. "Why did you want me to bite you?" Risa purred as she pulled him close. "I wanted to make our mateship official...I left a mark on you, now you have done the same on me." Samuels couldn't manage the mental faculties for more than a pleasant, goofy grin. "Well...never thought I'd have such a lovely wi...mate. Especially considering I've only known you for a day." Risa smiled down at him, her sharp claw carefully tracing around his bellybutton. "Life could end at any moment, why waste it with courtship if you can sense the feelings are true?" Samuel shrugged and smiled. "I see your point, love. And I agree...now let's just...enjoy the afterglow." Risa let him sink into the haze she herself was feeling too. She had to admit to never have thought she'd feel that way about a being not even from her world in such a short time. But something in him warmed her, something more than base need. A kinship perhaps, both feeling betrayed and having betrayed their own kinds in turn. She wondered what their life would be - she'd never thought she'd leave (or could leave) the planet of her birth. But apparently there is much more out there...

She looked at Samuel's pleasant smile and licked him across the cheek. But she couldn't help but feel that she'd experienced some of the best it had to offer already.

The container made its way up the space-elevator to the main cargo exchange. From there, it would be a small jump and walk to the emergency-escape shuttle that was there in case it was ever compromised. Where they would go from there, neither knew. But there was plenty of choice in the borderlands. They'd make it together.